Chapter 5 Daedelus Graham and Maximus
Walking towards the end of the tunnel from the One-eyed Witch normally took an hour of walking, but Harry managed to cut it to three quarters. He didn't want to take any chances and miss the Hogwarts Express because doing so would mean the end of Ron. He looked at his watch and it told him he only had about fifteen minutes hour left.
At last, he reached the bottom of the trapdoor that opened to Honeydukes, Harry and Ron's favorite shop in Hogsmeade where all kinds of sweets can be found, including the odd blood-tasting lollipops. He listened carefully for any sign of movement above, and after making sure there weren't, Harry opened the trap door ever so quietly and got in the cellar of Honeydukes.
It was almost midnight, so the tenants would surely be asleep then, Harry thought. He had to hurry up, or else the train leaves in a few minutes, and hurrying up meant that he would get careless. He walked briskly from the cellar, and got up to the showroom where the main door was at the end of the dimly lit room. He was too pre-occupied with reaching it to get out that he didn't notice the witch who tended the shop was up late checking inventories. Harry was halfway towards the door (already passing by her), and he was startled when he heard a loud thump and a high-pitch scream from behind him - he tripped on a box full of liquorice wands, and fell down to the floor.
"EEEEEK! Burglar inside! HELP!" shrieked the witch.
"N-no - I just want to get to…" Harry tried to explain as he held out his hands in front of the witch to signal her to stop screaming, but she didn't. Harry heard running footsteps upstairs and he thought this was absolutely the best time to make a break for it. He got up on his feet, ran towards the main door and fumbled with the locks. "EEEEEEEEEK!" the witch kept on screaming (like she hadn't breathed at all for more air) and this didn't help Harry in any way, because he seemed to have forgotten how a dead bolt worked from all the noise.
Still struggling with the last lock, Harry saw a middle-aged wizard emerge from the other room across the doorway holding a wand at the wrong end. He might have been the husband of the screaming witch, but Harry didn't care to ask. The wizard looked like he was also surprised seeing Harry so soon (who was staring wide-eyed back at him) he froze completely. Harry had finally released the last lock, opened the door with a slam, and ran full out of Honeydukes along the dark cobbled street without daring to look back.
The wizard chased Harry and stopped just outside of his porch and yelled after him, "And don't ever come back!!!" Some neighbors were awaken by all the commotion; some of them were peeking out of their windows thru the smallest gaps of their curtains trying to see what was going on. The witch at Honeydukes had already stopped screaming and said, "Did that boy look just like Harry Potter?" Her husband just stared at her.
Sweating furiously, Harry kept on running towards the general direction of the train station and disappeared in the shadows. He had to stop for a moment to catch his breath. At least the whole encounter did something good, he thought, because he already covered most of the distance from Honeydukes to the Hogsmeade train station remarkably in record time.
Although he was still heavily panting, he inched closer towards the Hogwarts Express and scouted for any guards that might be patrolling the station. The amazing thing about Hogsmeade station, he just remembered, is that it didn't need to have any guards at all. It was always Hagrid who met them when they arrived all the way from King's Cross Station in London, and the Hogwarts Express had only one driver and a cart lady for a crew. So the chances of being spotted going inside the train were almost nil, Harry thought, though he didn't want to risk it, unless the Ministry Wizards got here first.
Still, he made sure no one saw him get aboard the train and hid himself in one of the compartments at the last car where all the lights were off. Harry expected that the Ministry Wizards holding Ron will come any moment, and he wasn't disappointed: he now heard voices outside, the most prominent was that of Maximus'.
"In here, son," said Maximus, apparently talking to Ron. "You'll be locked up in car number three and don't try to break any windows. They've been subjected to an Unbreakable Charm and you'll just be wasting your time and energy." Harry heard many footsteps walking about around the train, and one was too loud that he thought he'd be discovered soon, but to his great relief, they went farther away.
Harry felt the train start to move and gain speed, and he heard a door lock and a different voice this time that sounded tired. "Do we really need to stand guard and watch the boy all the time, Maximus?" said a wizard, yawning. "We've all been awake for the last thirty six hours and we need to get some sleeeeehhp."
There was a long pause; Harry was sure that Maximus was deciding what to do. "Oh, I suppose not. The boy can't go anywhere, anyway, Bruce, can he? Let's hit the sack in car number two. The seats there can be made into beds…"
The train now cruised the rails in its normal speed, and they were now heading south. Harry decided to wait for a couple of hours before making his move - he thought it would be safer when everybody had fallen asleep rather than breaking Ron out now when the almost all the wizards were still functionally alert. He didn't know how many of them were in the train, but he hoped he'd never had to find out.
Fighting off drowsiness, Harry managed to wait out the two hours he set for himself and when he thought it was time, he started to get out of his compartment. There were no other sounds now except what the Hogwarts Express was making. He peered along the corridor to make sure no one was around and he inched his way, wand out, to where he thought Ron was.
It was easy to spot which compartment Ron could have been thrown into. All of the compartment doors in the car were open, except for one - Harry slowly crept toward it, and felt it was locked. Harry peered in the compartment and he saw that Ron was alone inside, who seemed to be asleep, lying on one of the seats in a fetal position. Harry tapped the door lock and muttered "Alohomora" and the door quietly opened. To shut out any sound, Harry closed the door again and moved slowly towards Ron.
"Ron," Harry whispered as he nudged him gently. "Wake up. It's me, Harry."
Ron opened his eyes and when he saw Harry in front of him, his jaw dropped. "H-harry?" he said with disbelief. "What're you doing here…"
"Shhh," warned Harry. "Don't make any noise; I'm here to get you out."
"But you shouldn't have - you'll get yourself into a lot of trouble…"
"I can't explain right now, but you're in more danger than you think," said Harry seriously.
"Wh-why?"
"I'll tell you later, but first we gotta get out of here." Ron still had a bewildered look on his face, but he nodded to Harry. Like a good friend, he believed Harry without asking anything further questions - until later at least. They both listened intently for any signs of movement outside, but there weren't so Harry opened the compartment door again to get out. Their hearts pounding, they both moved back slowly towards the last car and hid themselves again in one of the dark compartments.
"Harry," Ron hissed. "Thanks, but I don't want you to get into trouble with the Ministry or…"
"Ron, I told you we'll talk about this later," said Harry impatiently. "First, we need to find a way how to get off this train. You need to get out of here, trust me."
"That'd be a big problem and I really don't want to jump off…maybe we could detach this car from the rest of the train?"
Harry smiled at Ron. If Ron were a muggle, Harry would have thought he had watched too much TV. It was worth a try anyway. He pulled Ron towards the car connectors outside and found the pin that held the car with the train. "How do you work it, Harry?" said Ron.
"I think we just release the lock and pull this thing off…" said Harry as he grasped the pin and pulled it up hard. With a small jolt, the car detached itself from the Hogwarts Express. Harry and Ron felt their car going gradually slower, and the next car in front of them getting farther away with the train.
"Hey, that was simple," said a triumphant Harry as their car used up all of its forward momentum and stopped moving. Shortly however they heard the Hogwarts Express, which was more than two hundred feet in front of them, use its emergency brakes to screech to a halt.
"Uh-oh. I think the driver knew this car was missing…" said Ron, looking at the direction of the train.
"C'mon, let's get out of here before they find out you're gone, too," said Harry urgently. They both jumped off to the wet grass and ran as fast as they could from the railway to disappear into the night. There were some angry voices traveling through the silent air behind them. "I guess they already have…" surmised Harry.
"Where are we going, Harry?" said Ron, now panting. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"Anywhere, as long as we're away from those wizards." They both climbed a small hill and when they reached the top, Harry stopped and squinted under the dim moonlight to decide where to go next. "I see some light right there, but we're not going that way - too obvious…"
"I think we'll just walk until we get too far from here…" suggested Ron.
"Okay, then after that we can hide just around some woods for the while until everything calms down," said Harry, still squinting. He took off his glasses, tapped his wand on it, and muttered "Oculus Nocturno!" Harry's glasses could now magnify light many times than normal, enabling him to see in the dark.
"Hey, cool," said an impressed Ron. "Where'd you learn to do that spell?"
Harry grinned and said "Who else, from Hermione." But he felt his chest feel heavier again as the thought reminded him of Hermione who was left behind in Hogwarts. He didn't want to talk any further with Ron yet as they were still in danger of being caught by the wizards. "Let's get there before they catch us - I'll guide you in the dark, Ron."
"Yeah, thanks, and please watch out for any traps around the field - the dung kind," Ron managed to joke.
"C'mon," said Harry. They both hiked for hours and stopped just at the edge of a grove of trees. Feeling very tired, they both slumped on the ground and leaned on a very tall and thick tree. He and Ron were already wearing thick clothes, and Harry remembered Hermione's scarf inside his robe pocket. "Hermione sends you her love, too, Ron," said Harry as he handed over the scarf to him. Ron took the scarf gratefully and he immediately wound it around his neck.
"How is she?" said Ron quietly.
"Very much worried about what's happening to us," replied Harry, picking a few leaves and throwing them back on the ground. "I didn't mean to leave her all alone back there, but I didn't want her to get into trouble with the law either."
"Harry, thanks again for getting me out there, but why're you doing this?" asked Ron gently. "You know when they'd find out you're missing they'll really think you helped me get away and you'll be branded a criminal. And - and - they'd really think I'm guilty because I ran away, too."
Harry patiently told Ron what he and Hermione did tonight and about the letter he discovered. "So, you see, once you got in Azkaban you'll be murdered, too," he concluded.
Ron's mouth was hanging open. "Why me? What's everything got to do with me?"
"I dunno," said Harry, thinking hard. "But Volde - I mean You-Know-Who himself is trying to put Hogwarts in a weakened state - getting Dumbledore killed can guarantee that - I don't know what his real intentions are. And looks like it's working 'cause nobody knows what to do anymore back there."
"Why didn't you just show McGonagall the note? I could've been released from jail, and Chadron sent to Azkaban instead of me, and everything would come back to normal once Dumbledore wakes up…"
"McGonagall's out of action, Ron, she tried to kill herself the other night."
Ron was further shocked by the news, but this didn't stop him to make up more theories. "I bet it was also Chadron who poisoned her to keep her quiet…"
Harry laughed a bit. "Yeah, maybe. I'd want to know the truth about this like you do but the point is we have no proof. Handing the note to the teachers couldn't have been a good idea - Snape would've torn it apart in a heartbeat when he knew it came from me."
"So after this, what's going to happen to us?" Ron said anxiously.
Harry just hung his head as he stared at the wet grass. Rescuing Ron from an untimely death was on top of his list tonight, but he never really stopped to think earlier today what would happen once he accomplished that. After this, he'd forget about graduating in Hogwarts and living a quiet muggle or wizard life as far from Voldemort as possible. At worse, he'd now be looking to the rest of his life as an outlaw, pursued by righteous wizards, and probably never be able to trust anybody anymore just to save his hide from prison - for as long as possible. So this is how Sirius might be feeling right now, he thought.
He wished he could communicate and tell his godfather what's happening to him now, but he had no means to do that just yet. He didn't have Hedwig with him, and all he had in his pocket are a few galleons, just enough for him and Ron to buy food for a few days. Going to Gringotts was very risky as Diagon Alley was always full of Ministry Wizards. He couldn't even remember how Sirius managed to buy him a Firebolt broomstick while on the run.
Harry was sure Sirius will believe his story once he told him what happened, and getting his attention seemed to be a good idea at this moment - he had to find a way how to do that. He'll probably find some owl post office to send the message. Sirius might scold him as soon as they met, but that would only be a simple god-fatherly reaction to his situation now, and ultimately he'll just tell him and Ron to stick to him evading the law, anyway. Sirius will understand, he thought, because it's always a good decision to save the life of a best friend from death, especially when he doesn't deserve such a fate.
"Come, Ron," said Harry when he saw Ron start to shiver. "Let's get a little deeper inside the woods and build a campfire." They both walked about a hundred meters through the forest and found a small spot where the firelight couldn't be seen from anywhere outside. Harry and Ron collected many twigs and put them into a pile. They didn't need a match - and being wizards in training had its practical uses.
Harry placed the tip of his wand to the nearest twig and muttered, "Inflamaren!" A hot spark blasted from his wand and lit the pile of twigs into a bonfire. This gave them the needed heat to stay warm for the night. Ron checked what he had in his pockets - he just a small sandwich he made out of his last dinner, and the flask that Hermione gave him the other day.
"This is all we have, Harry," said Ron apologetically.
Harry smiled. "That's fine, Ron, we can save that for tomorrow. Tell you what, we're going to the nearest village some time tomorrow to buy what we can with all the money I have. I'm sure no one will have known that we're on the run yet."
"Okay," said Ron with an extreme look of anxiety in his face. "D'you think everything's gonna be allright, Harry?"
"I'm sure we'll find a way out of this - at least we can keep on hoping Hermione's still on the case. I think I'll buy her all the butterbeers she wants if she finds something…"
Just then, a gray owl swooped down and delivered an envelope to Harry. "What the," he muttered. It didn't wait for Harry for a response and flew immediately back and out of sight. "Hey! Wait!" he cried after the owl. "I need you to deliver a note to…" Harry stopped when the owl was long gone. "…Sirius."
"Aw, rotten luck," said Ron, slapping his palm on the ground. Harry was puzzled who could have sent him a note this time of the night. What he saw made him open his mouth because he had received this kind of a letter once before. He opened and read the message fully, knowing what it would be bringing him, but instead of crying, he snorted and shook his head.
"What's the letter about, Harry, can I read it?" Ron just snatched the letter from Harry's shaking hand. The note said:
Dear Mr. Potter,
We have received intelligence that you used an Alohomora charm, and an Incendiary charm just twelve minutes past two in the morning and thirty-three minutes after three in the morning respectively.
As we have warned you once already that underage wizards are not allowed to do magic outside school (after you have performed a hover charm three years ago) and further spellwork will lead to your expulsion, you have not heeded such warning and performed at least two unauthorized spells in one day.
Therefore, with the powers vested in me by the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, I regret to inform you that you are now eligible for expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and any pleas for your reinstatement may be heard in a case-to-case basis.
You are instructed to surrender your wand for destruction, and further use of it is a criminal act and is punishable for a life term in Azkaban.
Beatrice Runeshark
Improper Use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic
Cc: Office of the Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
"How worse can anything else get, huh?" said Harry, picking up the humor of their situation and laughing a little, though nervously. Like Hermione said it's dungbombs hitting the fan. "I guess, we're in the same boat now, Ron."
Ron felt deeply guilty about all what was happening, and Harry saw it on his face.
"It's all right, Ron," said Harry, smiling and placing a hand on Ron's shoulder. "I don't care now if I got kicked out of Hogwarts by breaking a lot of serious rules just to get you out. At least I'm sure you're alive…"
Ron shook his head gratefully at Harry. He couldn't express enough his gratitude towards Harry who was sacrificing his future just for him. Ron held out his hand to shake Harry's, and he took it. They both then hugged like good brothers and Ron could not hold back his tears while saying, "Thank you, Harry, I owe you my life."
"Don't be silly," Harry said while still hugging Ron, patting his back very firmly. "What are best friends for…I know all what's happening isn't your fault, and we'll find a way to get you out of this mess." Then they both broke apart slowly.
"Hermione…" said Ron quietly as they both sat down on the grass again, starting to shiver in the fog.
"I guess she's our only hope now whether we like it or not. She even insisted on going with me to help you escape. But I know you wouldn't want her to do that, too, right?"
"Yeah, you thought right. But d'you think she got insulted by saying no to her?" said Ron.
"I'm sure she didn't," said Harry as he walked around the bonfire. "Hermione knew why it was important that she didn't have to go with me to come rescue you. I don't know how many times I've already said this, but I do feel bad about leaving her all the burden of looking for a way to clear you, but she also knew why I had to leave her - because if I hadn't, you're dead meat. If she were with us now, then there's no chance to ever finding the truth about the whole thing - at least we still have a shot for it with her back there. Still…if she couldn't do anything I'll understand - I'd be happy she won't be in the same situation as us…
"I wish there was another way we could have done this, because we were hoping you could survive a few days in Azkaban while we worked on the case, but I think it was some sort of a blessing that I found that letter in Chadron's room. If I hadn't, well, I'll say this again: you're dead." Harry breathed hard and stared at the patch of sky the forest allowed him to see, positively worrying about Hermione.
"I know what you're thinking, Harry," said Ron as he looked at Harry who was visibly worried. "She'll be okay; she's strong and clever."
Harry just nodded and threw a twig into the fire. "The grass's too wet for us to lie down on," he said as he felt his hands on the ground. "I'll try to conjure us some mattresses." Harry concentrated hard and waved his wand. Two fluffy sleeping bags popped out from the end of his wand, but they were a foot too short for both them.
"Better than nothing, Harry," said Ron, grinning. They seized one for themselves, slid inside the bag and cuddled in.
"I reckon it's near four in the morning, I guess it's better if we move at night rather than daytime" said Harry wisely.
"Yeah, good thinking" said Ron, yawning. "As long as we won't get caught, I can manage. I just hope we don't find wild animals about…"
They both didn't talk anymore, and fell off to sleep in an instant.
-o0o-
A few miles away, several wizards have gathered and were talking about the escape of the prisoner that morning. The Hogwarts Express was immobile and it had sat there on the rails since the driver felt one of its cars was missing.
Maximus was in a very bad mood. He was especially angry to Bruce who suggested they all sleep instead of watching over Ron, and because of this, they had to face the impending wrath of their superiors, who they are expecting to arrive at any moment. It was almost dawn but the sky was still dark. A small group of wizards (sent by the Minister of Magic to assess the situation) were on broomsticks and were descending towards the Hogwarts Express.
"They're here, Maximus," said one of his wizards. Maximus stood up and breathed deeply, preparing himself for some tongue-lashing. As the first wizard had landed and had gotten off the broomstick, Maximus approached him in a professional manner. "We hope you had a safe journey, Daedalus," he said nervously.
Daedalus, his direct boss who was six inches taller than him, didn't answer and just surveyed the train and its cars. He had about five other wizards with him, four of whom he knew, and one he didn't recognize. Daedelus walked around with the four wizards behind him while Maximus and his group just followed. At last, Daedelus whipped around and looked at Maximus with cold eyes.
"Explain!" he barked. Maximus flinched, but still able to start and tell his story. He didn't dare lie to Daedelus and told him exactly what happened. "And we couldn't find them anymore as he could have escaped in any direction," he timidly concluded.
"Minister Fudge is especially irate with your recent blunder, Maximus," Daedelus said angrily. "The prime suspect of the attempted murder of the greatest wizard of modern times escaped under your nose - ten noses to be exact!" Maximus spat as he looked around Maximus' and his group. "They were just kids! And you didn't try to spread out and look for them? Fools!"
"They? T-them, sir?" said Maximus, confused.
"Didn't you know, Maximus? Witnesses said they saw the Boy Who Lived in Hogsmeade who ran toward the train station last night. Your fellow ministry wizards were busy investigating since this morning. It's assumed that he helped Ronald Weasley escape from your watch! How could he have snuck in and out of the train without your knowledge?"
"You mean Harry Potter, sir?" said a few wizards in unison.
"Yes!" Daedelus roared without taking his eyes off Maximus. "Beatrice Runeshark reported that she had sent an expulsion note for him because he used magic outside Hogwarts just this morning. In the first place, he isn't allowed to leave Hogwarts in mid-term."
"I-I don't believe it, sir," said a shocked Maximus. His other companions were murmuring behind him. "Potter?"
"Sir Daedelus," interrupted a wizard. "I think you better see this." The sky was already brightening, and they could now see the grounds around them. The lot followed the wizard as he pointed to the damp grass where they found two sets of footprints. "Looks like they were headed to the west."
Daedelus nodded and called the wizard Maximus didn't recognize. "Graham, I believe this is where your skills in the search for fugitives would be put into use. I suggest you start with this clue." Graham, a middle aged, tall, and skinny white fellow with large eyes nodded slowly and didn't say anything. "I, meanwhile, will return to London and report to Minister Fudge with these idiots," Daedelus said as he jerked his head towards Maximus and his team, who mostly bowed their heads. "Report any developments that come in your way," he added to Graham who picked two ministry wizards from the group he came with. Graham then took the lead in the search for Harry and Ron and started walking away.
"Why don't you fools re-attach the last car to the Hogwarts Express so that we can be on our way?" Daedelus said to Maximus frowning. Maximus and his team were glad to be away from their boss's breath and went to work. Bruce tapped him on the shoulder as they walked together.
"That Graham bloke looks dodgy to me, Maximus," whispered Bruce as they walked towards the detached car. "Have you seen him from anywhere before?"
"No," said an annoyed Maximus. He was still mad at Bruce for the whole thing. "This is out of our hands now," he said flatly although he could not understand why he felt worried about Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley this time.