Ch 39 The Refugee
Hermione sat comfortably at the Gryffindor table eating her cereal while Ron glared back at a few Ravenclaws who were looking fearfully at Hermione's back as they walked as far as possible from her on the way to their table.
"While I appreciate the sentiment, Ron, you're not going to make people stop fearing me by glaring at them and taking away house points," she pointed out as she reached for a glass of juice.
"I just can't understand how stupid they can be is all, and besides, I need to…"
Hermione looked up at him and said softly. "Ron. It wasn't your fault. They could have kidnapped me when I went to use the girls' room. Were you going to follow me there?"
"Errr…"
"Besides, we know that they waited until Harry was gone. They probably waited for you to be away as well. You were with me all morning, right?"
"Yeah…yeah, maybe that was it. But I still shouldn't have let Draco get to me like…"
"No, you shouldn't have. But it won't happen again, will it?"
"Never! I'll never let you or Harry down again. I swear it."
She reached across and put her hand tenderly over the broad fist which had just slammed the table hard enough to cause more than a dozen cups to tip over and spill. "I know Ron. I know."
"Hey Granger, hands off my man," teased Luna as she sat down next to Ron. "Where's Harry?"
Hermione smiled broadly. "He's down training a bit longer with Saldar. He really hates it when I beat him at fencing."
"When was the last time he won?" asked Ron.
"Let me think for a minute…"
Ron started laughing. "If you can't remember it must have been a while."
"Hey! What's so funny?" asked Harry as he stepped behind Hermione, kissed her cheek lightly and sat down next to her and pulled several plates of food towards him.
"Nothing," choked out Ron. "Nothing at all."
Harry looked confused for a moment, then turned with the rest of them to look at the approaching owls bringing mail.
Hermione buried her head in the Daily Prophet while Luna and Ginny examined closely the latest issue of the Quibbler.
Ron looked over at Luna proudly, and then glanced at Harry. "Did you know that Quibbler sales have doubled in the past two months?"
"No, really?"
"Yep. When Luna turned seventeen ten weeks ago, her father turned over editorial decisions to her."
"Ronald, that's not why…"
"You don't need to be modest about it Luna. You've done a fantastic job with the paper. And that reporter you have, Raiveys, he's one of the most popular writers around right now. And you're the one who found him and…"
"Yes, I've had a lot of help, Ron…"
Harry just grinned at Ron, glad to see him so proud of someone else's accomplishments. He missed the quick shared smirk of Ginny and Hermione.
Hermione turned back to her paper and then stopped. "Another Obliviator Has Lost Her Way Home. Jaana Ehrlich, a retired Obliviator, was declared missing yesterday when she didn't show up for her retirement party last week. Concerned friends searched her house but found no trace of her. There appears to be no reason to suspect foul play or Dark Magic, but this is the third Obliviator to be go missing in the last two months. German investigators are baffled and there are no solid leads at the moment, though one source speculated that there could be a connection with the other missing Obliviators from Croatia and Norway. Those investigations remain open as well, and..."
"She probably didn't want a cheap watch and went on vacation early so nobody would bother her," offered Ron.
"Maybe one, but three?" asked Hermione.
"Why would someone want to kidnap or kill a bunch of old Obliviators?" asked Ron.
"I don't know, but the last time wizards started disappearing, I ended up in a graveyard with Moldie and his sidekicks," observed Harry ominously.
Breakfast was fairly subdued after that.
*-*-*
It was a beautiful spring afternoon, thought Harry. Warm and bright with a light breeze and a beautiful blue sky. Perfect for flying…and then the claws of the ridgeback drumenthal tightened around his sleeve and dug into his forearm.
"Keep `er steady jus another moment, Harry. She's more nervous than you are, I'd wager."
At that point, Harry could have cared less how nervous the ugly creature felt. It looked like some sort of cross between a black crow and a lizard. While the body and head were reptilian, the wings were jet black.
"Now give the poor thing another bite of that chicken leg, Neville. The skinny little thing looks half starved."
The drumenthal snatched the leg out of Neville's fingers and snapped the bone in half. It tightened its claws just before it leaped to the ground to pick up the scraps that had fallen as Neville quickly counted his fingers and Harry clapped a hand to his bleeding forearm.
Hermione walked over and swished her wand over his forearm. His arm tingled for a moment and then felt much better.
"Thanks. I knew I should have gone to History of Magic class today. Why does Hagrid always pick me to work with the dangerous animals?"
"Because you're his favorite Harry. That's just his way of showing how much he cares."
"Well, maybe he could find a less painful way of showing…"
"I suppose I could tell him how much you enjoy his treacle…" smiled Hermione.
"OK, OK, you win. I'm done complaining."
As they turned to watch the drumenthal noisily crunch the bones of the remaining chicken parts, they both noticed a slight movement at the edge of the forest. With a quick glance towards each other, they both disappeared and reappeared near the hidden creature, one on either side.
Behind the bush where they had spotted the movement there was nothing. They spun and saw a wild elf step silently towards them, his hands spread wide and empty. Though they shared the large, odd looking eyes with their racial cousins, the house-elves, there the similarity ended. While the house-elves often looked miserable and pathetic, weak and twisted into pitiful looking creatures, there was nothing weak or beaten in the demeanor of a wild elf. Their lean, thin bodies testified of their rough existence, and the long bow and quiver slung over one shoulder with the short sword at their side indicated they served no one.
Bowing slightly to Harry, he spoke quietly, apparently unsurprised at their abrupt appearance. "Elf-friend, I need to speak with you."
Harry glanced at Hermione and replied "Follow me," as he led them both into the Forbidden Forest.
A few minutes later, Harry stopped in a small clearing and raised several protective wards. "How can we help?"
The wild elf glanced around quickly and then spoke. "I am Vinheld, of the Maithi tribe. Unfortunately, I am also one of the last of my tribe now."
"What?!" exclaimed Hermione. "What happened?"
"The nightstalkers came while I was away from our village with two of my friends. When we returned we found all of the younger elves, both male and female, left dead. The oldest and wisest of our tribe were gone-where, I do not know. Finwiss and Krelin, my two friends, are spreading the news to the other villages of wild elves to warn them. We have heard of the Elf-friend who speaks with the wild elves of Wavlonde and invited them to help destroy many of their enemies in the great war last spring. I came to ask your help in fighting this new enemy that has annihilated my people. On my journey here, I learned that our village is not the only one to have been wiped out by the accursed nightstalkers."
"By nightstalkers, do you mean…" started Harry.
"Vampires," finished Hermione, her eyes flashing dangerously. "We will help. I need you to sit down and concentrate for a moment, think about all of the villages you know and where they are located. That's it. Good. Is there anything we else we can do for you? Are you hungry or thirsty or…"
"I just want vengeance for my slain people," stated the elf simply, in a cold voice.
"What can you tell us of Athlanti?"
"Athlanti? That is nothing but a myth!" spat the elf with contempt. "Silly stories told by the damned house-elves bragging of their past glory. Fables of how they used to wield powerful magic and ruled the world. Bah! We wild elves have no use nor need for such childish stories."
Hermione pressed the issue. "Who among your people tells the stories of the house elves? Do the older ones of the tribes tell the stories?"
The elf nodded. "There is one in every tribe known as the Myth Keeper. He or she knows all the old stories and tells them to the young elves. But they are just that-stories. They are mostly stories about the stupid, greedy, foolish house-elves and their fall from power. There are also stories about great elven heroes of the past, elves who fought with their wits and their weapons, not the mindless babbling and finger twitching of the house-elves, who try to imitate the magic of humans. But nobody really believes in these stories, they are used to teach us to avoid becoming weak and degenerate like the house-elves, they tell us to trust in ourselves and our own strength and skill, not magic. Umm, no offense."
Harry grinned. "None taken."
"Thank you Vinheld. We will do what we can to warn the other elven villages and find the vampires responsible."
The elf nodded quickly and then turned to leave. "Thank you." In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared into the forest.
"I guess now we know why the Obliviators are being taken," said Harry. "If one of these Myth Keepers actually knows something about Atlantis, who better than a highly trained Obliviator, someone very skilled in the analysis and modification of memories, to pry that information out of an unwilling or unconscious subject."
"I can't believe I never thought that the wild elves might know something about Atlantis. Just because Dobby said the house-elves were nervous about Atlantis, I shouldn't have assumed that…But Harry, Corlyn will still need translators, I doubt many of the Obliviators are fluent in Elvish."
Harry looked at Hermione in alarm.
"I doubt he's coming after me again Harry. It would be much easier to find someone else to translate for him than try and kidnap me again. I guarantee it would be much more difficult to do again."
"But what about the prophecy? He thought you were the one who would fulfill it. He might try and…"
"Let's not worry about that right now Harry. If he's stupid enough to come for me again, we'll finish him off for good this time." Her cold blue eyes met Harry's green eyes with grim determination.
"I think we ought to check with Remus and Arthur and see if they know of any missing interpreters. They would also be able to warn some of the other governments as well. I think I'll be joining you and Samuel on your little sanctuary busting expeditions as well, but I think we should broaden our scope a bit and try and visit some of these elven villages as well to try and warn them."
Harry smiled. "What about studying for the NEWTs? Don't you want to set the record for the highest score ever?"
"To tell you the truth, I'm getting a little tired of all the studying. I would rather go out and do something that might really help someone. Harry? Are you alright?"
"I thought I just heard you say you were tired of studying. Wait until I tell Ron!"
"Harry…"
*-*-*
Later that afternoon, they appeared in Lupin's office. Suddenly his nose twitched and when he looked up, he nearly fell out of his chair. "Harry! Hermione! Don't do that to me! You nearly gave me a heart attack." He glanced down at the dark chalk circle as they started laughing and added, "I guess you found the countermeasures to the teleport trap?"
Hermione smiled. "Of course. It might be a question on one of the NEWT's."
"Only on an exam for you or Harry," he muttered.
"We need to talk to you and Arthur, do you have a few minutes?" asked Harry.
"Yeah, I think so. Bev! Bev! Do I have any appointments this afternoon?"
In stepped a middle-aged witch who frowned when she saw the two teens standing in his office.
"You're free until 4:00, though I don't recall either of these two having an appointment for today."
"Ah, yes, spur of the moment meeting. Thank you Bev. Could you check with Arthur's office and see if he's free for a few minutes?"
"Do you mean Minister Weasley?"
"Yes, Bev, I mean Minister Weasley."
"I will check and let you know in a moment."
"Thanks Bev, err…Miss Wedgely," said Remus to the closing door.
"Cheerful, that one," muttered Harry. "But at least she didn't come in with her wand blazing like Megan did last time Ron and…err…" stumbled Harry when he caught Hermione's gaze.
"When were you here with Ron and why would Megan have attacked you?" asked Hermione.
"Hmm, well, wait. Where is Megan, anyways? Why isn't she here?"
"Well, she was on vacation for two weeks. Actually, she was supposed to be back today, but maybe she was having a very good time on her trip to the Caribbean. I do wish she'd get back here, though, Bev is…"
"Did she call in sick or anything?" asked Hermione.
"No, I just assumed she decided to stay an extra day or two…Odd, though that she didn't call at all, that's not really like her…"
"Doesn't she speak a bunch of languages? Samuel said that she…" asked Harry with concern.
"Yeah, she does. She's probably the most talented linguist we have among the Aurors."
Harry and Hermione shared a quick glance. "Do you know if she speaks Elvish?"
"Well, not off the top of my head, I'd have to look at her file and see…"
"Do you know where she lives?" asked Hermione.
Remus nodded and asked, "What is going on here? Why all the questions about Megan?"
"We'll tell you when we get to her house. It's hooked up to the Floo network, right?"
"Yes. Why do we have to go to her…"
"Trust us," explained Harry with a grim look on his face.
*-*-*
When the three appeared in Megan's living room, they looked around quickly.
"Megan?" called out Remus. "Megan? Are you home?"
Harry stepped into the room, looking around cautiously. A few feet into the flat, they saw a packed suitcase sitting on the floor by a couch. Hermione picked up a small booklet and quickly leafed through it.
She looked up at Harry and Remus as they looked around the walk in kitchen and towards the bedroom. "Her passport hasn't been stamped. She never left."
"They found her here," stated Harry in a flat voice. "She was packing her final bag when they must have surprised her…" There wasn't much evidence of a struggle, just some dropped clothing on the floor, but Harry knew there wouldn't have been much of an opportunity for Megan to resist all by herself.
Remus growled-a low, angry sound. "What do you two think is going on here? Who has taken Megan?"
"You've heard of the missing Obliviators, right?"
"Yeah. What do they have to do with this?"
"Have you heard of any missing interpreters?"
"There was one that went missing three weeks ago in Italy, but…"
"We think it's Corlyn. He needs the Obliviators and the translators to interrogate the wild elves."
"Wild elves? Why…"
"They might be able to tell him how to find Atlantis," finished Hermione sadly.
"Harry. Are you and Samuel still trashing Corlyn's sanctuaries?"
"Yeah."
"Would you like some help?"
"Sure."
"Then count me in."
*-*-*
A cold draft blew through the Gryffindor common room as Hermione marched through and went straight to her tapestry. The room immediately heated up as Harry came bursting through the portrait and glanced around the room, his gaze resting on the tapestry concealing the Head Girl's room for a moment. Several of the Gryffindore looked up, but most kept their heads down, focused intently on their books.
Ron looked up and started to say something, but Harry held up his hand as he strode through the room. "I just need to clear my head a bit. I'll be back in a while."
Ron nodded and sat back down next to Ginny and Luna who were studying with him. Ron was worried about passing his NEWTs, but he was more worried about Harry and Hermione right now.
"I'm telling you two, before we finish exams this week, one of them is simply going to explode. I've never seen them under such pressure before."
"They've got to be dealing with more than just the NEWTs, Ron. They're always gone, I never see them studying," mused Ginny. "Do you have any idea what they're up to?"
"I think it has something to do with either Corlyn or Atlantis…or both," he whispered so softly they almost couldn't hear him.
Ginny and Luna exchanged a look but said nothing. Ron chuckled. "I know everybody thinks I'm thick, but come on, it's not that tough to figure out. What else would be stressing out the two of them this much? Whenever they are around, Harry's eyes never stop moving, like he's expecting a surprise vampire attack at any time. And nothing would prevent Hermione from studying for the NEWTs unless it was something much more important-like trying to beat that damn vampire to Atlantis."
When Luna and Ginny just stared at him with wide eyes, he admitted, "OK, they told me a little bit, but I figured out most of it on my own."
Luna patted his arm comfortingly. "There's only three more days of exams, then most of the pressure will be
off and they can focus on whatever else it is that they're doing. And if you can't help them right now, you
might as well be studying Ron."
He nodded and turned back towards his notes sadly.
*-*-*
Harry drifted aimlessly around the pitch on his Firebolt. He smiled as he reflected on how Hogwarts had steamrolled Durmstrang and Beauxbatons in the final home matches of the Tri-School Quidditch Tournament. Suddenly he sensed her arrival and banked his broom back down to the stands.
"I don't know what else we can do Mione. We've visited every forest that we knew had a tribe of wild elves and we've only found three, well four if you count the one that was destroyed. Hunt, Remus, Hagrid and I have scouted dozens of other forests and haven't found a trace of any other wild elves. So unless he's already found a Myth Keeper who knows where one of the portals is, then I don't think he's having much better luck than we are finding one."
"But we haven't looked in Eastern Europe or Asia or in the Americas yet Harry. There could be one that knows…"
"I know! I know! But there's only four of us Hermione! It's going to take a lot longer to finish looking every where else. So unless you have a couple of Time Turners there is no way we can do it any faster until we're out of school and even then…"
"I know Harry. But I have a bad feeling we're not going to have that much time."
"Well, we can skip the remaining exams and the last week of class…"
"No, you're right. Three extra days for you to search is not going to make much of a difference…"
"Well, there might be another way…" started Harry.
"No, Harry. We can't do that. We'd be no better than Corlyn if we did that."
"But they might know something Mione-maybe they just don't want to tell us. The Yonnua can search their minds without even hurting them. He told me that he could…"
"They are our allies Harry. If they ever found out, they would never trust us again or…"
"If Corlyn finds Atlantis and the artifact first it might not matter one way or another…"
"No Harry. It's not right and you know it. I know you had him sift through Pidi's memories and I didn't like that…"
Harry's voice grew slightly sharper. "Pidi was no ally. And I don't care if he was sick and deranged or what. He was trying to kill you, Mione. And I would do anything to protect you-to make sure you never fell into the hands of someone like Corlyn again. I'd do it again in an instant if I had to…"
"I know Harry. I know. It's just that…"
"These things aren't always black and white Mione. If the choice is between preventing Corlyn from getting the orb or hurting the feelings of a few wild elves, I'll take…"
"What if you have to kill a few wild elves, or a young witch and a wizard looking for the orb? Where do you draw the line Harry?"
Harry paused for a moment and then nodded his head in agreement. "OK. We'll keep searching the way we are until we have a better idea what Corlyn may be up to. I know Aardus hasn't had any luck yet, but he may yet be able to find out something. Unless he does know something, but Corlyn isn't letting him reveal it or…" Harry shook his head again as he pondered the various scenarios which might explain how Aardus still seemed to retain control of what he was doing despite the indications that Corlyn had regained much of his former power. They had asked him to try and find the new vampires that seemed to be serving Corlyn and abducting wizards and witches from all over Europe, but he hadn't had any luck so far. They hadn't informed him of anything else they were doing, and he hadn't asked them-all three feared he might betray the information to Corlyn.
"Where do you want us to look tonight?" asked Harry.
"You remember you do have the potions exams tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, but they will be easy."
"What? How do you know?"
"I nicked a copy of the exam earlier this morning. There's a question on forgetful potions and one on the scaleskin elixir, as well as…"
"Harry James Potter! How dare you…"
Waving his hands defensively in front of him, Harry laughed. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"
Hermione continued to glare at him angrily.
"Oh come on, Mione. It was just a joke."
"Cheating on a NEWT exam is no joking matter," she replied sternly.
"I know, I know. But you could have stopped me sooner if you didn't really want to know which questions were on the exam, you know."
"Oh Harry!" she burst out in exasperation, but Harry could tell she was trying to keep from laughing.
"Look Mione, we know the spellbooks backwards and forwards, all we have to do is pass. And what we're doing is much more important than whatever score we earn…"
"I know, I am just worried that you're doing too much with everything that is going on at school right now."
"What are you talking about? All I do is portkey to the forests and have a look around. You're the one slogging through most of the books, keeping the map updated, and using Arithmancy, Muggle statistics, and heaven knows what else to try and guess where we might find these hidden elven villages."
Hermione smiled. "Well, it's just the potions exams tomorrow and then the DADA exams on Friday. We'll probably be able to squeak by those I suppose."
Harry grinned and gave her a hug.
"I'll meet you guys at seven in Hagrid's cabin to give you the new search locations."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Well, there are a few books I had wanted to look at, but they're not in the Hogwart's stacks. Maybe you could borrow them for me from somewhere?"
"Ah, from boy hero of the wizarding world to book-stealing gopher. If the papers only knew…"
Hermione just smirked as she handed Harry a pre-written list. "Thanks. And if you hurry, I'll even let you help me look through some of them."
Harry smiled and bowed low. "As you wish." Then he disappeared while Hermione chuckled.
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