DISCLAIMER: Please see Prologue Page.
A/N: Hello I'm back! Quite a hectic two weeks for me. Thanks for checking out this story! Anyway, here is the next chapter of the story. It's 99% edited. Please kindly leave reviews. :-) Thanks!!!
*** Chapter 6: "Curious Disappearances" ***
Harry stared at the girl who had just come out from behind the door to the kitchen. She was about twelve or thirteen; had long straight black hair, light skinned, very slender, and a head shorter than him. She looked scared, and didn't look as if she fully trusted Harry yet (despite the fact she had said where her Uncle Willard was).
Steve took a look at Stephanie quickly as he sat still on the floor. "Dear child - what did I say to you about not getting out without my signal?" he said severely.
"It's okay, we won't hurt you two anymore…" said Harry to Steve. Harry looked slowly at Stephanie and then said in a manner as if a sudden change of volume might scare her, "You must be Stephanie - Willard told me a lot about you. I'm Harry Potter. And this is my best friend, Ron Weasley." Ron smiled curtly, made a quick wave at her, and withdrew his hands to his back.
"Yes, I've been wanting to meet in person you ever since," she replied, now with a lighter voice, slowly going out into the lobby. "But not looking like this…"
She looked down at herself and glanced back to Harry and Ron, looking embarrassed. Her clothes were a little dirty, suggesting that she had been sitting on a lot of dust for some time.
"No, it's fine," said Harry, "I mean, really - it doesn't matter." He looked at Steve who was still sitting down on the floor, and offered his hand to help him up. Steve smiled and took it gratefully, and just as soon he was upright, he and Harry shook hands. Harry had then noticed Steve was a large man, much taller than lying flat on the floor. He surely looked able to have put him and Ron out cold with just his bare hands without much difficulty.
"I'm glad to meet you, Harry Potter," he said with another sigh of relief in his voice. "Just so we're properly introduced, I'm Steve Wraskon, and this is my daughter Stephanie."
Harry also introduced Ron to him and asked, "Since when was Willard been captured by Death Eaters?"
"Less than a week ago," replied Steve sadly. "They came again for him, and this time they took him away."
"You said 'again'," said Ron, baffled. "Then they were here before for him?"
"That's what he told me while he was here - please, sit down," Steve replied, motioning Harry and Ron to sit around a small round table with four stools similar to the one they wrecked. Stephanie went back to the kitchen, apparently to get something.
"Stephanie and I came here days before the Death Eaters did," said Steve as he walked to the front windows and peeked outside. "Will told me he met you, Harry, and he had brought you to the nearby witches' pub to help you buy something important for a bargain. He was really happy about it. But when you left, some Death Eaters were already waiting for him to return here and tortured him for information about your whereabouts."
Harry and Ron ran a hand on their hair at the same time, feeling guilty of creating even more trouble for Will, who was a very unselfish man. "Did he get hurt?"
Steve saw their faces and said, "Don't feel bad for him - sure, he was hurt for a while but he asked us to come for him and Stephanie here is quite good in magical medicine despite her young age - she mended every broken bone and aching muscle Will had - but he didn't blame you one bit, I know." Steve moved towards the table Harry and Ron sat beside at, pulled out a chair for his own, and sat down. Upon hearing about Willard's broken bones, Harry and Ron moaned in regret.
Stephanie came back from the kitchen with two bottles of Butterbeer on a tray, and placed them in front of Harry and Ron at the round table.
"Stephanie - oh, please, you don't have to…" said Harry clumsily.
Stephanie only smiled at him and sat down beside her father to listen in to their conversation. Harry had thought that it was probably in their family's nature to be very hospitable to their visitors, and it even made him much guilty knowing that he had hurt Steve first and then got served with drinks. Still, Harry knew they only got violent after Steve mistook them for Death Eaters and almost killed them on the spot so they were even, he thought. Nevertheless, he thanked Stephanie for the Butterbeer, which tasted nice when chilled.
"And you said they came back for him - for what?" said Ron, gulping down butterbeer down his throat and eager for answers.
"We don't know," said Steve, "but we just have hunches. They just came in one night while we were serving guests, stunned him, ransacked the cellar, and took him away - scared the hell out of the customers. Before they were all gone, though, they threatened me and Stephanie not to go reporting the incident to the Aurors, or they will kill my brother. They also told us not to step out of this place, or they will find us in no time and kill us. And they said they will tell Will when he woke up to cooperate with them, or else they kill Stephanie." Steve sighed, and Stephanie shuddered. "Worst, they even sealed this hotel from both Muggle and wizard sight. We could shout and bang chairs for years and nobody would ever hear or notice us. Not even owls could find us."
"That's terrible!" said Harry, horror-struck. "They didn't leave you with any choice at all! What if you starved and needed to find food outside?"
"Yeah, we were coming to that, almost. Seems they left us for dead."
"From the looks of it, they look to be trying to force Willard to do something for them, too - what could it be?"
"I've been suspecting that it has to do about something he does as a hobby," said Steve thoughtfully. "The place in the cellar that the Death Eaters made a mess out of was Will's small laboratory - didn't he show it to you? No? Well, he loves to mix all kinds of chemicals - potions if it's for wizard. He's discovered a few new useful things for a couple of years, been recognized by the Bureau of Magical Potions for his work on cooking up the best treatment for magical herb maladies. He then invested all the money he earned out of it, which was not at all big, but just enough to start his hotel business."
Harry and Ron looked at each other in surprise, but they understood they had just met Willard for a night and he may have had a lot of achievements that they didn't know of. "But he didn't finish school, did he?" said Ron brazenly.
Steve didn't find that at all annoying. He smiled and answered, "Yes, that's true, but some achievers didn't get to finish school, like Miranda Hingkeltub, who discovered the uses of the Hingkeltub Fallow Sap, which was named after her. But don't get that to your heads, kids, because you can do even much better if you've finished school!" He looked at Harry, Ron and Stephanie.
"So what's the connection between the treatment for maladies with his kidnapping? It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe You-Know-Who could be hurt badly!" theorized Ron hopefully. "They need a miracle drug to heal him!"
"Possibly. Now that would be a very good thought…"
"And it could be for something else," added Steve, shrugging. "We just don't know. But they have him for some reason…"
"Do you have any idea where they might have brought him?" asked Harry.
Steve just shook his head, but he soon remembered something. "I've been hearing a lot of talk about a terrible fortress - You-Know-What. It's quite possible he's been brought there…I don't know. He could be anywhere!"
"Hey, how many people know about Xanthius now?" said Harry, interested to know what people think about the fortress. Steve, Stephanie, and Ron jumped upon hearing the name.
"Just about everybody," said Stephanie, wiping the tabletop of spilled Butterbeer with a rag. "Everyone gets freaked out when they talk about it. I mean, it's just terrible - rumors of more disappearances, people telling stories how they were taken away and had seen You-Know-What…"
"Which is rubbish, I know," added Steve. "Their claims, I mean. You know how people talk. I think if you'd see it once, you're good as dead…"
He stopped talking when he heard Stephanie let out a sob. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry, but we're not even sure Uncle Willard's in You-Know-What yet…" He embraced his now crying daughter to comfort her.
Harry sighed and looked at them sadly. It was indeed quite heartbreaking to know Willard could now be in mortal danger. He was such a good man and Harry wished he could have known more of him. He didn't deserve such a fate at all. He wanted to tell them that he had indeed been to Xanthius and had actually escaped from Voldemort to give them hope Willard could also pull that off, but Harry was only because he got lucky and had help with his friends. Willard might be alone in Xanthius right now with no help to turn to - if he was indeed brought there. Yet, he could be thousands of other places like Steve said.
"About his hobby - can we see his lab? If it's all right…" asked Ron.
"Oh, that's perfectly okay," assured Steve. He stood up from his chair (Stephanie still clung to him) and beckoned Harry and Ron to go follow him. "I'll lead you two downstairs to it."
They entered the kitchen. It smelled of stale food - Harry and Ron covered their noses as they passed by the pantry, watching and following Steve and Stephanie. Upon reaching a dark area in the kitchen, Steve dropped to one knee and pried a loose concrete slab off the floor, which revealed a wooden trapdoor covering a stairway leading down. One by one they filed in, until they were all inside a fairly wide, well-lit, and well maintained laboratory filled with different herbs, chemicals, beakers - the works. They saw a living monkey in a cage screeching at the unexpected visitors, and some white mice running a exercise wheel inside their own. The floor was wet and slippery with mixed liquid, and sharp broken glass were scattered everywhere. "What a mess!" Ron observed. "They really worked his lab out…"
"He spent a lot of his free time here discovering useful things," said Stephanie, who had now calmed a bit already. "He's really my idol…"
Harry smiled at her, and she smiled back. Harry knew how happy Willard was each time he talked about his niece, and he had now appreciated how very close they were.
Steve moved to the storage cabinet containing different kinds of mixed potions. "Nothing looks missing around - except in here." He opened it, and Harry saw the shelf labeled "Metavira Potion - potent mix" was bare.
"What's the Metavira Potion do?" asked Harry interestedly. Steve just shrugged because he didn't have a clue what it was made for.
"He didn't talk much about his work, except that he liked to work. But I bet that's what they wanted along with him and his journal. I couldn't find the journal everywhere - it's quite large and too colorful to miss."
"Whatever the potion was," thought Harry, "I think it does something they think it's useful for their purpose. We must find out what it does, and maybe it could help us understand why they took Willard."
"Thought so, too," Steve smiled slightly. "Only that we had no way of knowing while we were stuck here."
"We've been cooped up in the hotel for days," added Stephanie. "We didn't know who to call, who to turn to. And we didn't dare step out the door of this hotel because we were scared they might know about it and seek us out."
Steve nodded. "And, thank God, you were the first to come here, not Death Eaters…I bet her classmates are wondering what happened to her."
"You need help," declared Harry. "I want to help you - but I don't know how to start…"
Steve pondered. "Well, we're already happy that somebody as friendly like you had found us here - at least whatever bad happened to us won't be a mystery…and we do wish we could get out of here, but, you know…"
Ron moved forward. "Maybe we could help evacuate you, if you want. Dad's from the Ministry. He might be able to do something to help you. I can't make any promises, but he has friends who are Aurors. The Burrow's big enough for all of us, and then some."
"Thanks, Ron, good idea, it's the best chance we've got," Harry said. He then turned back to Steve. "We're gonna have to spirit you both out of here to the Burrow - that's Ron's house. Mr. Weasley knows who to trust in the Ministry, does he, Ron?" Ron nodded.
Steve and Stephanie was glad at first from hearing that, but then glanced at each other apprehensively. Harry read through their faces what they may have been hesitant of - that is, possible retribution from the Death Eaters.
"But the Death Eaters…" said Stephanie, looking alarmed as Harry had expected. "They might find out we've gone and they'll go looking for us. And if they knew we went talking, they'll kill Uncle Willard!"
Harry and Ron looked at each other uncertainly after they were reminded of this. They were thinking very recklessly of their next move without even considering the risks. Still, it won't make things better if the two stayed holed up in this hotel, and they might be attacked anytime and there was no way of others to know what had happened to them. Whichever way they turned, they needed to get out, though they had to tread carefully.
"Then we'll try to do this in secret," said Ron shortly, his eyes rolling while he was thinking. "Need to know basis - I know Dad had done some covert action before. I could go back to the Burrow and tell Dad first - talk to him about this. He might have better solutions how to hide your escape. Then whatever happens, we'll come back here either with help or maybe with just a few ideas…" "
However, Steve and Stephanie still looked worried. They weren't sure if they'd also take the risk, though they were indeed thankful Harry and Ron were going out of their way to solve their problems.
"Yeah, I think that's a better way," Harry agreed. "That way we won't get them into trouble early, and we could have some new things to think it over with. I still have about three uses left on my portkey. Can you work it yourself, Ron? We just can't leave them here by themselves."
Ron thought for a moment and nodded his head when he understood why Harry had to stay behind for the meantime and that he had to go back to the Burrow temporarily by himself. Leaving with him together for help might cause Steve and Stephanie to doubt them ever coming back again or get attacked while they were away.
"Yeah, Harry, I can," said Ron firmly.
Harry then looked at Steve, whose face now became firm. "Do you trust us, Steve? We want to know if you feel like leaving this place."
Steve nodded. "Yes we do, don't we Steph? We thank you for all your effort and trouble. They'll come for us anyway - Death Eaters can't be trusted, and I hope word won't go out we'll be reporting this to the Aurors or else it's Willard's life that might get lost."
Ron took the Portkey from Harry and said, "Going back here might take some time - I have to look for my Dad, but I'll be back tonight whether he agrees or not."
Harry nodded and reminded Ron what to do with Portkey. It was Harry who was always using the object, but just a little concentration was what he really needed to make it work. "We'll stay beyond the kitchen," he said.
"I'll call your name first to let you know it's me, Harry." Ron vanished shortly, while Harry, Steve, and Stephanie were all left in the hotel.
"Come, Harry," Steve said shortly. "Let's wait in the lab. It's safer there."
-o0o-
It's been four hours and Ron hadn't come back yet, though they've been expecting this. He might still be waiting for his Dad to come home to the Burrow from London, and explaining things to him also would take some time. If Ron was successful in convincing his dad to help, they would still have to wait while Mr. Weasley would call for help from his colleagues. Then they will still have to plan their moves, which would take even more time - that is, if Ron did it right. But Harry had faith with his best friend, yet he couldn't help to think of the possibilities that things might not happen as they hoped. "Brace for the worst and hope for the best" was his motto of the day.
To kill the time off he spent waiting for Ron, Harry helped Steve and Stephanie clean up Willard's kitchen and lab from the mess and debris. While doing so they talked about many things and he had learned more about father and daughter.
Harry learned Steve was a bank clerk on leave from Ireland - he had asked to use his vacation privileges to assist his brother with his hotel while he was recovering from his injuries. Stephanie, meanwhile, was actually a third-year student at Westwall School of Magic, the counterpart of Hogwarts in Ireland. The Headmistress of Westwall had granted her two weeks off her formal schooling to help heal Willard, which was actually applicable to her training as future Healer. Stephanie was into her second week away from her school. They hadn't expected to be stranded in the hotel at all, and luckily Harry had thought of paying Willard a visit or else no one might have known about their situation here.
"I really want to thank you, Harry, for all the help you're extending to us," said Steve sincerely for the millionth time. "I'm at a loss of how we could repay you…"
Harry smiled and said, "You're welcome. But you don't have to, Steve. Willard was very kind to us and this is the least we could do. Not that we're just doing this to repay him, but I just can't stand leaving you and Stephanie alone this way. The Death Eaters have been very mean with you - you all don't deserve this. You really need to get out here safely and quietly."
"Uncle Willard always told me you were such a nice person, Harry," said Stephanie with gratefulness emanating from her eyes. "He wasn't wrong…you're more than that - like the stories I've heard at school - you're a real hero, you are." She then beamed at him.
"Thanks," said Harry. He felt really flattered at what Stephanie said. "But we're still not out of the woods yet, as Ron's not back…"
Harry checked his watch. It was past five already. What could be taking Ron so long? For a fleeting moment, Harry thought of something horrible that might have happened to Ron. It was possible he had gotten lost and had to use the portkey the fifth and sixth time - or maybe Death Eaters have intercepted him and then took him away.
Here I go again, being the pessimist, Harry angrily told himself. Minutes earlier he was quite the opposite of it.
Soon Harry heard a faint pop from upstairs, and another, like the sound made by anyone apparating in. The three stopped cleaning the lab and looked up the ceiling.
"Could that be Ron with help now?" said Stephanie expectantly.
Harry, however, held out a hand to signal her to keep quiet. If it was really the sound of an apparation, then it could not have been Ron. He didn't know how to yet, along with him and Hermione. He had expected Ron to come back with the use of the portkey (which didn't make any sound at all).
It was possible that they could be Aurors already sent in for them, but then again they could be Death Eaters or somebody entirely different - somebody who could be dangerous. Harry had to be careful meeting their "visitors", and he got ready for anything.
Harry glanced at Steve and mouthed the words "wands out". Steve nodded and took out his wand, his face going back to what Harry had seen on him when he had gone out to attack him. "Stephanie, stay in the lab…"
But Stephanie had her wand out, too.
"There could be more of them than you two," said Stephanie severely. "We need all the hands on deck!"
This time Steve didn't protest and Harry led the way to peek out of the trap door. He had emerged with just a more few steps the ground floor, and looked around. There were shadows moving across the doorway to the lobby. They looked big. Ron could have already called out Harry's name, but up to now, whoever was up there hadn't talked. Harry then saw the shadows getting nearer the kitchen door, and it opened slowly, making a creaking sound.
"Harry Potter," said the man's rough voice, "are you in here?"
It wasn't Ron's voice for sure. It was somebody else's. It was very hoarse, and he had heard it somewhere before. It was a very familiar voice - but he couldn't recall at once.
"Slowly, it might be an ambush," said the wizard again.
"Ambush?" said another voice - female this time. She sounded young. "Harry Potter can't use magic here - he'd be expelled at school!"
"Shhhh- quiet! Don't count on it…just be prepared."
Harry was sure whoever they were knew he was hiding here. Yeah, you wait and see, whoever you are…
He sank back to the cellar, and planned his next move with Steve, but he froze when he heard the man say "I see him down at the cellar…with two others." Harry gulped - how could he have seen them all when they still outside the kitchen?
"Harry, what is it?" hissed Steve, reading the look on Harry's face.
"Whoever's up there, they know we're down here!" he exclaimed as softly as he could. "And where we're hiding!"
"But how's that possible?" asked Stephanie, her eyes widening. They snapped their heads up the cellar's ceiling again when they heard very heavy and very loud footsteps coming from up above.
"Come out, come out, Potter! We're here for you," called the wizard above hoarsely. He now sounded very dangerous. Harry, Steve, and Stephanie reared back towards the farthest wall facing cellar stairs and got their wands at the ready. Harry thought of a good curse to cast, expulsion from school be damned - he was being threatened!
"He's coming!" whimpered Stephanie.
Then Harry saw the feet of the wizard from above limp down the stairs in front of him. Before Harry had a good line of sight to get a good shot, his wand had flown off mysteriously from his hand, leaving him unarmed.
"Flipendo Tria!" bellowed Steve, but missed the wizard by an inch, hitting the wooden staircase and collapsing it. The wizard fell down with it a couple feet to the floor, but kept on standing straight as if nothing had shaken where he stood.
"Expelliarmus!" the wizard barked, and Steve was thrown off painfully back to the wall, and slid down to the floor. Stephanie screamed. The wizard had the ugliest face she had ever seen in her life!
"What're you staring at, girl?" he growled menacingly. "Do I look that ugly to you?"
Stephanie instantly went silent.
Even if Harry had been devoid of a wand, he thought he could still get physical. "You're not the real Mad-Eye-Moody!" he growled.
Harry sprinted towards him, right arm extended backward, hand clenched into a fist, and took very careful aim at the spinning eye. Getting to within a few feet from his target, Harry threw the punch but…
Poof! Pop!
The Moody look-alike dissaparated and apparated again, sending Harry through and flying off on top of the long table at the middle of lab, scattering stuff all over the floor! Harry looked back painfully at "Moody" who remained standing where he had last seen him, tutting annoyingly.
"You call that a move, Potter? Pathetic!" he commented while he shook his head. Harry roared in anger having been played at by this - impostor. Then he heard running footsteps again upstairs. Before Harry could make another move, "Moody's" female companion had run into the lab, landing in between the two, heavily panting.
"Hold your horses!" she shouted urgently, holding out both hands. "Before you hurt yourself, Harry, you need to calm down!"
"Who're you to tell me to calm down?!?" Harry yelled at the young woman who had weird purple hair.
"I'm Nymphadora Tonks!" she replied, breathing heavily. "Tonks, for short - Tonks. We've been sent in by Dumbledore to get you out of here."
"Dumbledore?" said Harry suspiciously. "How did he know I was here?"
"Weasley's son, he came asking for help…didn't he, Harry?"
"So where's Ron?" At the same moment Harry heard more popping noise from upstairs, and Ron's voice calling out his name.
"Ron, down here!"
Tonks looked at Moody scathingly and said, "See, I told you we should just call Harry's name instead of using stealth - you freaked him out! You wouldn't listen!"
Moody looked dismissive, threw his face away from Tonks, and then stared down at Steve on the floor, who was staring back up to him with wide eyes.
"They could've been the enemy - doesn't hurt to make sure."
Tonks rolled her eyes and threw here hands in the air. Moody then added, "I've lived longer than any other Auror that way!"
Ron had gone down inside the lab, followed by Arthur Weasley, and he made a face upon seeing the mess all around him. He saw Harry on top of the long table and moved hurriedly toward him.
"You all right, mate?" said Ron. "Sorry about this - I told them I should've have gone first to keep things calm but Moody wouldn't have none of it. Said there could be an ambush waiting back at the hotel and he disapparated along with Tonks!"
Harry glanced at Mad-Eye-Moody uncertainly. Because of his bad experience after the Triwizard Tournament last year, anybody who'd look like Moody could always be an impostor to him.
"Is that really…" Harry began.
"The real Mad-Eye-Moody, Harry," said Arthur Weasley calmly, dropping to the lab floor from the broken stairs. He saw Steve next still sprawled between the wall and the floor then moved over to him apologetically. "Oh, I'm so sorry about causing this little fright, Mr. Wraskon. Our Auror, Mr. Moody, here was just being too cautious. Here, let me help you."
Steve accepted Arthur's extended hand and he stood upright on the floor, patting his robes clean of dust. "Nothing to it, sir," he said shakily.
"And you must be Stephanie!" said Arthur. "Nice to see you're allright."
She stood still on one spot on the floor, still looking scared, and nodded her head quickly at Mr. Weasley.
"We're here to rescue you, Mr. Wraskon. Ron told me that you have had a problem with Death Eaters who had you trapped in here. We'll be taking you to my home where you'll staying under guard for the night, though we need your cooperation and we'll have to ask you some questions about this case. By tomorrow you'll be safely flown back to Ireland. I'm sorry to have heard the news about Willard - I know the man quite well."
Harry snapped his head at Arthur. He was surprised that he knew Willard like he said. He also knew which country Steve lived in. This made more questions than answers, and Harry needed to know more about Willard later, if he could have time talking with Mr. Weasley. Quite a small world, he thought.
Steve nodded gratefully at Arthur. "That's so kind of you, sir…"
"Please call me Arthur," Arthur said. "Don't worry about being discovered by Death Eaters that you've gone, Mr.Wraskon. We'll be applying some tricks in this hotel to make them think you're still here. Your testimony will only be heard by our trusted Aurors, too. I presume that about covers all your concerns…"
"Steve. Steve's the name, Arthur, thanks for your help. Thanks to Harry and Ron here, we wouldn't have the chance to slip away without being noticed."
Arthur looked at his son with pride, much to Ron's visible relief. Arthur however, was stroking something inside his pocket. "Yes, they're something, aren't they? Well, we should get going now. It gets more dangerous each passing second we're here. I suggest you pack everything you have now and let's start popping out of here - besides, I think we're all hungry!"
Moody was moving about the lab and looked around. "Was this how the lab looked like before Potter made a mess out of it?"
Harry threw Moody a derisive look.
"No, sir," replied Steve. "Harry helped us clean it up…"
Moody stared at Steve and Harry. "You cleaned the scene? You cleaned out an un-inspected crime scene…" Moody shook his head; his magical eye spun speedily around and looked back behind his skull, leaving only the white of his eyeball, making Stephanie scream again. "Amateurs!" he mumbled under his breath.
"C'mon, Stephanie, let's pack up our things upstairs," Steve instructed his daughter looking apprehensively at Moody, and they left the lab. Tonks approached Harry smilingly and held out her hand to shake, which Harry readily accepted.
"Glad to meet you, Harry. I'm an Auror, too, like Moody. I'm part of Dumbledore's Order."
"Dumbledore's Order?"
Tonks chuckled nervously - she had realized she said too much already in a single sentence. "Y-you'll find about it soon anyway," she recovered. "I heard Dumbledore wants to meet you very soon, something about your vacation…"
Harry didn't say anything to answer Tonks, and he only nodded uneasily. Dumbledore had already found out. It didn't make him feel good. He'll have to face the music soon.
"Well, don't you worry, Harry, we're here to help keep your feet dry. See you later; I have to go and oversee security…" She walked away looking sour on the face past Moody, who watched her intently at the corner of his eyes.
"Very good, Tonks," he hissed sarcastically. "What next, the Daily Prophet?"
Ron came again to Harry and helped him off the table.
"Sorry about taking long to come back with help, Harry. I had to wait for Dad to come home before I told him. He was furious at first we'd been away without his knowing, said it was completely dangerous and irresponsible, but after I explained to him what was happening and told him who was in trouble, he calmed down. Unfortunately, he confiscated your Portkey…"
Harry groaned. "Why?"
"He says it's a misused Muggle artifact," Ron shrugged. "He said he felt bound to take it away, even from us. Well, I admit it's a bit dangerous especially if it falls to Muggle hands - imagine a Muggle lighting up a cigarette and then popping up on Mars…"
Harry laughed. Ron had a point, and he thought he probably didn't need it anymore. Such was the power of the object to transport you to any place you wanted without having to worry about the Ministry of Magic breathing down you neck, he considered. He agreed it as a very dangerous object if it fell to both innocent and evil hands, but he still thought it was cool to have a go with it and go somewhere far away - like America.
Harry and company stayed at the hotel for half an hour more before they all agreed to pull out to the Burrow. Steve and Stephanie had already packed their belongings and were ready to go. Moody, with the help of Tonks and two other Aurors Harry didn't know (but felt that Dumbledore and Arthur trusted), treated the hotel with various spells to conceal the departure of Steve and Stephanie.
One curious spell they did was the conjuring of ghost-like replicas of father and daughter to stand in for them. Moody explained to Harry (in a very warm manner this time unlike his earlier demeanor) that it was the counter-charm for the spell the Death Eaters have left to know at once if they had gone. He pointed out that it's a charm restricted only for the use of Aurors, and that it was banned because it's the favorite of people seeking to break out convicted relatives in Azkaban.
Harry and Ron didn't have to use their own (already confiscated) Portkey because Arthur had already fashioned his own out of a tattered book. Moody and the rest of the Aurors would then follow soon by apparation.
"Gather round," said Arthur and instructed Harry, Ron, Steve, and Stephanie to touch the book so that they'd be whisked off to the Burrow. Soon afterwards, they popped in at the sitting room in the Burrow. Molly graciously welcomed Steve and Stephanie to her humble home, while Ginny and the twins were preparing the table outdoors for dinner. They had fashioned an invisible tent to protect them from the cold weather and snowflakes when they would eat outside.
Stephanie was visibly delighted with many Weasley gadgets and wizard objects and carefully examined each without touching them.
"This place is very cool!" she said, making Ron smile. "I've never seen much wizard thingies in my life - I've been brought up as a Muggle by my parents, you know."
Molly went busy cooking up a huge dinner for everybody while Steve was being interviewed by the Aurors Harry now knew as Sidney Nettleson and Martin Colby. He answered every question satisfactorily and there was nothing new for Harry to hear, but he listened on attentively anyway.
Later Arthur pulled Harry away quietly and started asking about what lighters did for Muggles - Harry explained that it is generally used to help start a fire, just like matches but without the trash. Arthur was so interested with the subject of lighters that he wanted to try restarting the already happily-crackling fire at the fireplace, but Harry told him that's how actually to start this Portkey, much to his disappointment. What really Harry wanted to discuss with Arthur then was about how he had gotten to know Willard and what he really did aside from running his hotel. He had his chance to find out over supper at the lighted backyard (protected from the freezing weather), when Arthur divulged to Steve some other events similar to Willard's case.
"It's a pleasant surprise that my own son had met the man I've gotten to know since the 805th Magical Potions Bureau Annual Recognition Rites twelve years ago - he was a hit with the doctorate crowd. Willard was pretty good on discovering useful concoctions despite his incomplete education at Hogwarts, you know. I became really alarmed when Ron told me Willard Wraskon was missing. I immediately told Dumbledore about this and he got concerned, too. We kind of found it odd that some other known - and less known - chemists or potion masters were reportedly rounded up by Death Eaters in a span of two days!"
Everyone around the long picnic table except the Aurors looked at each other, finding the news peculiar.
"How many were they, Mr. Weasley?" asked Harry, his eyebrows furrowing.
It was Tonks who answered for Arthur. "There are about three high-profile disappearances. Well, there's Franz Gerbeaux, Jill Jessop, and Rudy Roberts - all from London, and several lesser known but good potion inventors including Wraskon. Well, each of them has had well known and useful discoveries - that's about the other connection we could think of, but nothing of which are deadly or destructive."
"Thanks, Tonks. So I bet the Burrow they're cooking up something else with their group of prisoners," said Arthur darkly, "something new and possibly terrible, but the problem is we have no clue exactly what…"
"I remember some potion masters missing during You-Know-Who's last reign," said Steve thoughtfully, "and I think this is just a repeat of that. Well, whatever they were working on was never known and all of those missing then had never been found…" Steve stopped talking abruptly, and nervously glanced at his daughter who was sitting down beside him.
Harry saw Stephanie drop her fork, glared at her father and said, "Dad, please don't talk like that…"
"Sorry, dear…"
"Unfortunately that's true, Ms. Wraskon," said Moody insensitively, making Stephanie look at him with teary eyes. "That's history - you weren't born then - and it's repeating itself. You're still young, but you can make a difference by doing something to help us fight against You-Know-Who. So stop brooding about the present and start thinking what you could do for the future - be proactive!" He slammed his palm on the table and Stephanie jumped. "It doesn't help to sulk about while You-Know-Who's got the upper hand…"
"That - that's fine, for now, Moody," said Molly calmly. Steve looked surprised at Moody's behavior, but he just pursed his lips and rolled his eyes about. Apparently Moody had been also taken aback with himself, looked at everyone around the table, took a swig out of his personal flask, and calmed down. "Sorry about that, Wraskon…"
"I g-get your point, sir, thanks," said Stephanie, who tried to look her bravest with tears yet falling down her cheeks. What Moody said and how he said it had an effect on Stephanie. Harry only hoped it wasn't negative.
"One thing's for sure," said Arthur, motioning to Ginny to offer Stephanie something sweet to eat, "You-Know-Who has something up his sleeve and we won't exactly know what until we could only see the dirt marks he'll leave behind - but that'll be too late then and we'd all be busy scrambling to minimize the damage."
"Don't you have any spies at all, Mr. Weasley?" said Harry hopefully, and Moody's magical eye focused on him. "I know Death Eaters have blended in with the Ministry for ages."
"Almost," said Tonks. "We're working on it, Harry. We don't just tread dangerously on Death Eater territory. We have laws that limit what we could do and Death Eaters don't…"
Arthur cleared his throat very loudly, as if he was really making sure Tonks had heard it. Moody's face went red, and his Magical eye snapped from Harry to Tonks, who hid her face with both hands.
Arthur cleared his throat again. "We tried to connect the dots, sifted through all the clues and possibilities, and we're still left facing a blank wall. Since the last murders days ago it's been pretty quiet. I say these murders were just diversionary ploys to throw the Aurors off because they all happened at almost the same time the chemists have disappeared. Then again, they may be totally unrelated - it's frustrating to say the least. A high-ranking Ministry official went missing, too, y'know. Daedalus Lowrie. Said he was going to visit a good friend and he never reported back for a week already. Not like him who was never absent from his job his whole career."
"Daedelus…I've seen him before," said Ron. "Back in You-Know-What! He was reporting to You-Know-Who."
"That's right - and probably murdered, too," Arthur added. "Why, you ask. Well, let's just say all the known Death Eaters are either in Azkaban, dead, or pretending to be working for our side. They never go missing. It'll be a big surprise if he turns up working at the Ministry one day."
"So what did Minister Fudge say about this, Mr. Weasley?" asked Harry.
"Lowrie's just A.W.O.L., that old fart said," Arthur said bitterly. "I'm sure he's lying just to cover up any suspicion of Death Eater activity. He's living in his own dreamland and the wizard world is already paying dearly for it!"
"Please, that's enough talking about You-Know-Who for tonight," said Molly nervously. "Let's finish dinner and dessert and we could then go upstairs to relax. It's been stressful; we might all go down with heart problems when we keep ourselves at it…"
Everyone around the group agreed with Molly and fell silent, now obviously preferring to think of other things besides bad news while they savored her excellent cooking.
Just then Hedwig arrived and dropped a letter to Harry, which surprised him. He then realized after all what had been happening to him lately he had completely forgotten about Russelpunk.
He fumbled with the envelope when he tried to see what was written on front of it. The letter was addressed to "Harry Potter, from Professor Rowel Russelpunk, G.W.D." and that made him breathe a sigh of relief - if it were still the same letter he wrote to the professor, that would have been pretty scary. This new letter meant that he was alive and not dead like he saw him in his dream, which was not of the present but probably of the future. Hoping Russelpunk could hold out until they got back to Hogwarts, Harry then thought he needed to learn more who his teacher really was and why he's in great possible danger with Voldemort like his dream had revealed.
"Late night delivery, Potter," said Moody, his magical eye focused on the envelope. "From Peter Pan, I presume?"
"Peter Pan? What do you mean?"
"Russelpunk," Moody chuckled. "Never grows up, does he, Arthur? Forever young, he is."
"That's Russelpunk," said Arthur, pointing a concurring finger at Moody. "Can't say goodbye to the child within, of course. It's a good leap for his, er, late maturity being hired as DADA teacher, of course. Very interested with the Dark Arts…"
"He is?" said Harry.
"He's dipped his nose deeply into the books about You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters - he knows just about everything known about them - that makes a good DADA teacher. Other than that, he's a klutz - if it weren't for Dumbledore's desperation to fill the DADA post…"
Moody laughed very hoarsely. "Knowing him, he'd rather start his own dance troupe than a teaching job all his life. What's his letter about, Potter?"
Harry was further irked by Moody's intrusive attitude, but he read the letter anyway. "He's just thanking me for suggesting good spells to teach during next class…"
Moody roared with laughter again. "That's a real good DADA teacher, all right!"
"C'mon, Harry," hissed Ron. He looked extremely annoyed. "Let's get out of here before I poke his eye out."
Harry and Ron excused themselves, stood up, and cleaned up their plates at the kitchen. Ginny and Stephanie followed afterwards, looking very satisfied with the dinner they ate. Stephanie had now regained herself and kept thanking Harry all night for his and Ron's rescue, which made him feel real good about knowing that he had saved them out of a deadly situation. However the feeling was always dampened later on by the fact that they could do nothing for Willard at the present.
Harry knew that being a student would keep him from actively rescuing Willard before he was lost forever, and that was very, very maddening for him. He heard what Steve said about the missing who never came back. It appeared the only thing he could do was to hope for his safety and that he'd be rescued by real Aurors very soon. If only he was a full-fledged wizard right now, he angrily thought.
Everybody was now finished with dinner and it was almost time for bed. Steve and Stephanie would be escorted back to Heathrow airport for the next flight to Ireland by the next day, and Harry made it a point to say goodbye to them in the morning. He had grown attached to Willard's brother and niece, and he agreed with Stephanie to send owls with her, much to her excitement. It was only natural that he had to keep in touch with her for they have bonded in less than a day because of the grief they shared for Willard. Add to that, he would always want to know how she was doing in a regular basis, sending news regarding what they had learned about the status of his good friend and her beloved uncle.
The sleeping arrangements at the Burrow tonight (due of the unexpected guests) were Harry and Ron to share their room with Steve, Stephanie to sleep in Ginny's room with Tonks, and Moody and the two Aurors to stay in Percy's empty room.
"Good night," said Harry, Ron, and Steve to each other. Steve almost instantly fell asleep out of exhaustion while Ron opened another Chudley Cannon book to read, learning how to ignore Moody's annoying tendencies to get in their room and search for anything that looks out of the ordinary. Harry, meanwhile, seemed to have started a new habit of secretly taking out Hermione's picture and staring at it before going to sleep. After a couple of minutes of looking at her picture (and sighing after wishing she was around again), he replaced it under his mattress and began reflecting on other things.
For him it looked like new problems and concerns had been steadily mounting since the week they had returned from their encounter with Voldemort. First there were the murders, Hermione's accident in class and her lingering (though temporary) condition, his unresolved case with Dumbledore, and the prospect of Death Eaters at Hogwarts after Christmas. Adding to that lately was his bad dream concerning Russelpunk, plus Willard's kidnapping (which kept him worrying a lot about) and the other seemingly connected cases of disappearances for a purpose no one ever knew of.
Oh yeah, don't forget about your new strange feelings with Hermione, said Harry to himself. Now that wasn't a real problem, was it? It's fairly manageable, I guess, and possibly a wonderful thing at the same time.
Harry sighed. He didn't want to find out if there would be any more trouble in store for him and the people he knew in the near future. But knowing himself, such things were inevitable, like he was magnet for trouble with his very best of friends being dragged into it. It was all because of Voldemort - that cursed being who's been merely a thorn at his side when the whole of the wizard world dreaded of his existence. It seemed to Harry Voldemort was born to make his life hell and was also keen on removing everyone who cared for him to make his life even more miserable.
Did he know about his relationship with Willard and was that why he was taken away? Possibly. But it could only have been a coincidence that he had met Willard at the same time Voldemort had learned of his usefulness and decided to take him away.
Harry began wishing he hadn't known Willard at all because maybe he would just have been another statistic to him after all these disappearances, but then again, things might have been different today without his direct help. He could still be hiding from the law - he didn't know, but he couldn't deny Willard's generosity and good advice had been a big factor that made him and Ron think properly on what to do next in a very confusing and difficult time of their lives. In the end, everything went just right and that was when he felt grateful again to have met the very kind fellow.
For Harry, Willard was the personification of angels walking about the earth, just waiting to lend a hand and making a difference with the lives of people needing help like him, and for that he felt very blessed. Harry sniffed and wiped the silent tears that fell from his eyes for Willard with his pillow until he became too tired to hold himself awake.
-o0o-
In the middle of the same night, three white-robed, hooded, and silver masked wizards silently appeared from thin air just outside the Burrow. They looked up at the uppermost window certain it was that room where their next target was soundly asleep. Handling a wand at one hand and with something glinting under the moonlight at the other, they moved in to begin their mission for the Dark Lord tonight.
-o0o-
Next Chapter: Death Eaters Attack!