Chương 27: Unplottable
Harry continued to worry. Dawson's boat had not been at its docking and according to the Muggle owner of the marina, it had not been there for months. Whoever the impostor was, they kept the boat somewhere else. He was frustrated as they kept making no progress. How could this have gone unnoticed for so long? An impostor coming into his office every day for three months! He threw a piece of paper into the fireplace as he tried to think of other ways to find the impostor. Hermione came into his office. It was clear that she was worried too.
"Harry, have you heard from Ginny today?"
"No, she had an early meeting with the editors, something about the strategy for the upcoming Quidditch season. Why?"
"Well, I was going to have lunch with her just now, but she didn't show. Normally, I would have thought she was just busy, but she usually lets me know if she can't make it. And given what we just learnt…"
Harry didn't wait to hear any more. He grabbed his cloak and ran for the exit.
***
Albus was outside Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He hoped Uncle George could spare him a minute. Harry had mentioned how James' Tracker had just disappeared from the map. He hoped George would have a solution.
Ron was serving customers, but pointed towards the backroom when Al mouthed "George?"
The backroom was filled with smoke, what smelled like gunpowder and some sort of acidic.
"Uncle George? Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a moment. Don't worry, the smoke isn't dangerous." George emerged from the smoke a few minutes later. Normally, Albus would ask what he was working on, but he didn't have the time. George noticed his mood and didn't waste time with his usual quips.
"You look serious. What's going on?"
"George, those Trackers. Is there any way they would suddenly stop showing up on the map?"
"Sure, if it's removed or disabled by the user."
"No other way?"
"What has happened?"
Harry had asked them not to spread the news, but Albus figured George wouldn't tell anyone.
"Scorpius and James are missing. As you know, Scorpius doesn't have a Tracker, but James does. It isn't disabled or removed. Would it just disappear if he died?"
"No, if he died it would start to blink, same as if it was removed. At least for a day. How long has he been missing?"
"Since Friday. But we've checked the Tracker locator since then and there is no sign of him."
George took out his own copy of the Tracker locator. Sure enough, no James. He fiddled around with it some more, then frowned.
"It is very strange. By all accounts, it should show up, but it doesn't. It's not out of range either. Maybe…" he mumbled to himself for several more minutes. Then he shook his head.
"I'm not able to see where he is. But the Tracker is active. Maybe he is at a place under the Fidelius charm? That might stop it from being visible. Or the place may be Unplottable."
Unplottable. Out in the ocean, on an Unplottable island? How were they ever going to find that?
Just then, Harry came running through the backdoor. He looked pale and close to tears. Albus had never seen his father so out-of-sorts.
"Ginny's missing too," was all he managed to say. Then he collapsed in a nearby chair, not even noticing the puff of gunpowder that rose when he sat down. George looked horrified, Albus felt numb.
First Scorpius, then James, now his mother. What on earth was going on here? Was someone targeting people close to him?
"Uncle George?" Albus said after a few moments of shocked silence. "Is there a way to see the last known location of James' Tracker? That may at least give us a place to start."
George perked up as he said that. He picked up the locator and started fiddling with it again.
"It's been less than a week. There may be a way…" George trailed off as he kept tinkering with the device. Neither Albus nor Harry dared to interrupt him. This was the only lead they had at the moment. Other than randomly sailing out to sea to look for an island that didn't show up on a map, this was their best shot.
Then George's device exploded in his hand. They all jumped back, Albus got his wand out as a reflex.
"Sorry," George said as he casually healed the burns on his hand. "I don't think that'll work. I need to make a new master device, then try again."
Harry just looked at the pieces of the device that had held his last hope. He tried Reparo but of course that did nothing. George looked at him with pity. He didn't know what to say. Ron came in from the front room.
"Was that an explosion?" he asked. He was used to weird noises from the backroom, but not when there were others present. Then he saw Harry's crestfallen expression.
"What's happened?" Harry couldn't even form a reply. Albus explained the situation with as few words as possible. Ron also seemed close to tears by the end of his story.
"I'll go close the shop," was all he said. No one argued against it.
As he returned though, Rose came running into the backroom.
"I found the boat," she said with triumph in her voice. She didn't see everyone else's heartbroken expressions.
"Where? How?" Albus asked. Harry was still too stunned to form words.
"Well, I remembered reading somewhere that the Muggles have a register of boats. I checked with Dawson, and he confirmed that his boat is registered there. It is apparently a requirement for all boats in Britain or something. So, I arranged with my mother to have the boat registered as "wanted" by the Muggle Coast Guard, but also as "do not approach". It appears the boat has been docked in Peterhead for the last few months. I checked and it is not there now, but I think it is more likely that it will return there than to Arbroath."
"That's good work Rose," Harry managed to say. "We will need to keep an eye out there as well. At least this proves that the impostor has used the boat, unless of course someone else has stolen it."
Albus then told Rose what had happened while they waited for Ron to finish closing. She got even more angry and kicked the nearest armchair in frustration.
"Not Aunt Ginny too! What on earth is it this person wants? That is the most frustrating part. I cannot see a logical reason behind his actions."
"We need to tell the rest of the family now," Harry said. He divided a list between them to gather everyone as quickly as possible. "Let's gather everyone at the Burrow. Rose, have you told Draco about Scorpius' absence?"
"No. I'll bring him to the Burrow as well. I just wish we had more to go on."
"As well wish we knew who was behind this." Harry said as they trudged out of the shop to start gathering people. None of them looked forward to this conversation.
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