What I Always Wanted
Chapter 23: Pieces of the Puzzle
Caiaphas Artaxerxes, Agamemnous Melbourne, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Esmeralda Satterfield, William Leeds and a collection of aurors and Ministry law enforcement officials sat around the magically enlarged oval table in the Auror Dissemination Chamber. The room had been commandeered to serve as the command post from which the search for Hermione Granger-Potter was being conducted. Sitting at the head of the table on the right hand side of Caiaphas Artaxerxes was Theodore Dennis, the personal assistant to the Minister for Magic. He had been sent down personally by Minister Stanley himself to monitor the situation and keep him apprised of the goings on in the case. The assemblage sat around the table whispering in hushed tones as they pored over a collection of files scattered across the tabletop. This was the way Tonks, Ron and Harry found them when they entered the room. If Harry was at all taken aback by the persons seated before him it wasn't apparent from his actions. Harry strode into the room clutching a note between his pointer and index fingers sought out Will Leeds and said.
"You have news for me?"
Will nodded.
"Esmeralda would you like to go first?"
Harry turned his attention to Esmeralda Satterfield as she began to speak.
"Not much to tell really I went to the German Ministry and spoke with the director of the Department of Unknown Antiquarian Magic, Albrecht Ferdinand, and according to his documentation the Greenfendles story checks out. The real Daphne Greenfendle applied for a position with the German Ministry through an exchange program with the Brunhild Academy of Magic; apparently Daphne had spent a year there while at Hogwarts. She'd applied to the program, been accepted and moved to Berlin long before the Penneford girls passed themselves off in her place. A check on the Greenfendles showed them to be without connection to Penneford or any of his associates…seems their only crime is being a bit overly trusting. Alfonse did the checking on how it was that Daphne Greenfendle was selected for a Ministry post."
Harry directed his consideration to one of his horntails, Octavian Alfonse.
"Not much to go on there either I'm afraid. The Ministry made the selections based on a pool of qualified applications already on file. Seems this Greenfendle bird applied for a position as a Department of Mysteries assistant straight out of Hogwarts, her qualifications were more than adequate but there weren't any openings at the time she applied. When the position came open with Mrs. Potter, Greenfendle's name was at the head of the list. She came in for an interview and landed the job."
Tonks interrupted.
"But by then the real Daphne Greenfendle had been in Germany six months. How in bloody hell did these Penneford twins manage to infiltrate the Ministry and pass themselves off as someone else without raising any suspicions?"
Auror Alfonse was ready with an answer.
"When Daphne Greenfendle initially applied to the Ministry she never actually got beyond the applications department that we know of. And as we can't find anyone who can place the name Daphne Greenfendle with any face other than Penneford."
Ron wondered aloud.
"So how in the name of Merlin did they get access to Ministry personnel files …I mean it can't have been coincidence that these birds knew who to impersonate."
Deputy assistant Dennis frowned and replied.
"Surely you're not implying that these young women had an accomplice working inside the ministry helping them!"
Ron snorted as he answered back.
"Well it's kind of obvious that they had some sort of inside help!"
"Now see here that's bang out of order that is… no one employed by the Ministry would even think of performing such treachery!"
Ron cast a murderous glance in Dennis's direction but before he had a chance to voice his obvious disagreement with the other man's statement William Leeds interposed.
"If I may, I think I can clear up how it came to pass that the Misses Penneford were able to get away without being detected."
Both Ron and Deputy assistant Dennis along with every other person in the room directed their attention towards Auror Leeds. With a wave of his wand William summoned a picture of a blond haired blue eyed stoic looking young man. William directed the photo around the room pausing it at intervals to allow the assemblage to take a look at the young man's face. As the photo made its way to Harry and settled in his out stretched hands, Harry stared at it quizzically. Though he had never seen the young man in the picture before there was something oddly familiar about his countenance. While Harry pondered the familiarity of the unidentified man's features William began to speak.
"The young man in the picture is a bloke by the name of Benjamin Ackerman. Mr. Ackerman is a former security officer here at the Ministry as well as a former boyfriend of a Ms. Juliet Fowler an associate down in applications"
Dennis cut in.
"So you're saying that this Ackerman used his relationship with this applications associate to get information for the Penneford twins."
William nodded his head.
With a confused frown marring his face Dennis asked.
"Why would he do that?"
William Leeds cleared his throat and replied by saying.
"Sir that may have something to do with Mr. Ackerman's parentage… the bloke employed by the Ministry under the name Benjamin Ackerman isn't exactly who he claims to be. Benjamin Ackerman was born Benjamin Joseph Ware…"
A collective gasp rippled throughout the room, Ron exclaimed.
"Ware… as in Joseph Ware… right hand to Alexander Penneford!"
Leeds nodded as he replied.
"One and the same. Ackerman was Joseph Ware's wife's maiden name. It seems that following her husband being known to the public as a sadistic pureblood maniac Elizabeth Ware took to using her maiden name, packed up her three children and moved to the parish of Chorley in Cheshire. Benjamin hasn't lived with his mum since he was sixteen, seems he quit school and went off on his own. His mother didn't hear from him again until about a year ago when she ran into him in Diagon Alley. She hasn't seen or spoken to him since. It seems that Benjamin's employment at the ministry began about the time that Daphne Greenfendle first applied for a position with the Ministry. Benjamin met Fowler a few months after starting and struck up a casual relationship that lasted about three months before Fowler called it off. It was a month or two after then that Leah and Lyra Penneford turned back up in Britain. We have witnesses in Daphne Greenfendle's Marylebone neighborhood who've seen Benjamin and one or the other of the Penneford twins bumming about the neighborhood together. It seems they were quite the couple."
This time it was Agamemnous Melbourne who interjected.
"So you're telling us that this Benjamin Ackerman, Benjamin Ware or whatever his name is in this along with the Penneford girls…"
Leeds bobbed his head up and down in acquiescence, Melbourne continued.
"And exactly how is Isolde apart of this? Are you implying that she is masterminding this…are you saying that Ackerman and the Penneford twins doing this at Isolde's behest?"
Melbourne's question sparked a rather severe response from Ron who said.
"We'll of course she had something to do with it that's who got this whole thing started isn't it?!"
Melbourne replied sharply.
"True that's what led us to Ackerman and the Penneford twins but we haven't got any proof that she is in any way connected to them directly!"
Ron sniped back.
"Like bloody hell we haven't got proof…what in the name of Merlin is that damn Book of Spells if it's not proof!"
Agamemnous retorted.
"The Book of Spells only proves the Isolde is responsible for the dark magic that has been popping up all over it doesn't prove that she had anything to do with Hermione's kidnapping!"
Ron took a step closer to the table and railed.
"Isolde needed Hermione to translate the Book of Spells that's why she had Ackerman and the Penneford twins to kidnap her!"
Before Melbourne could fashion a reply Tonks raised her voice to be heard above the din.
"Alright everyone just calm down all this shouting isn't getting us anywhere! We need to think this thing through, there has to be a logical explanation as to what's going on and who is involved! We've got to work together to puzzle this out because every second we waste is another second that Hermione is locked up Merlin knows where being put through Circe knows what!"
Tonks' plea effectively ended the back and forth shouting match. Caiaphas Artaxerxes chimed in.
"Nymphadora is right arguing amongst ourselves won't get us one whit closer to finding Hermione Potter. Our job isn't to debate our personal beliefs, our job is to find Hermione Potter and Isolde Melbourne and bring them back safely. We'll manage the other details after we've brought them home…understood."
Agamemnous and Ron muttered their agreement. It was then that Harry spoke for the second time since entering the room.
"Will you said that some of the neighbors had seen one of the twins with Ackerman?"
Will Leeds looked at Harry from across the room and answered back.
"Yeah, several of them have seen them around the neighborhood having tea and the like."
Harry nodded and posed a second query.
"Anyone with specifics?"
Will nodded.
"There was one, a Mrs. Eileen Noble, a bit of an old busybody. You know the type, the kind who keeps an eye on everything and everyone in the neighborhood. I'm certain she'd be able to give you plenty of specifics."
Will then turned and looked at one of the Horntails near the door.
"Michaels collect Mrs. Noble."
Michaels gave a brief nod, turned and strode out the door. Following auror Michaels exit Harry said to the room at large.
"Now what else do we know about Benjamin Ackerman and Leah and Lyra Penneford?"
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Lyra ambled into the kitchen drawn in by the smell of a proper home cooked meal. It had been ages since Leah had cooked. Lyra entered the room and found her sister dishing up two plates of roast chicken, peas, carrots, rolls and mash. As Lyra contemplated what could have prompted her older sister to visit the kitchen in such a capacity Lyra remembered the two slags locked away down in the cellar. With a wrinkle of her brow Lyra shrewdly asked.
"You haven't felt the need to cook for quite sometime, what brought this on?"
Leah responded.
"We have additional mouths to feed and it wouldn't be wise to draw attention to ourselves just now."
Lyra rolled her eyes.
"Additional mouths to feed…you know Leah it's not good for captors to bond with their captives."
Leah ignored her sister's comment and placed the two plates on a serving tray then turned to the cooler and retrieved a carafe of pumpkin juice and two bottles of butterbeer. Lyra's face contorted into a frown.
"I don't see why you're going to such extremes for those two bitches when they're just as much to blame for daddy's death as Harry Potter. While you're worried about their health and well being you should be making them pay for what they've done!"
Leah carefully placed the domed lid atop the serving tray and turning round glared at her sister angrily and through clenched said.
"The person responsible for daddy's death will be dealt with, of that you can be certain… but if you've a problem with how things are being run I suggest you get out on account of I won't be changing how I do things for you."
With that said Leah hefted the serving tray off the counter and into her arms. She brushed past her sister without a backwards glance. Lyra stood in the middle of the kitchen fuming mad. For months now Lyra had been telling Ben that he was wrong about Leah but now she was beginning to think that he might be right afterall…perhaps it was time for her to seriously consider taking matters into her own hands.
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Ron sighed tiredly.
"We've been sitting here for hours going in bloody circles! And we're still no closer to sorting out this mess!"
Tonks heaved a sigh of her own and answered in reply.
"Focus Ron…the connection we're looking for is right here under our noses we just have to find it."
Ron shoved himself away from the table and stood to his feet and ranted.
"Connection…I'll give you a bloody connection…we've got one nutter who's in possession of one half of an ancient Book of Spells that she needs Hermione to translate. Then we've got the children of two pureblood wankers who got themselves off-ed rather than serve their time in Azkaban who have been watching Hermione from close proximity for the past nine months and who may or may not have something to do with her disappearance. And to top it all off the only bloody person who could possibly suss this mess out… i.e. Hermione…is the person we have to find!"
As Harry listened to Ron's ranting and raving everything suddenly became clear and it everything started to make sense. In a hushed tone almost to himself Harry said.
"It's a coincidence…"
Ron looked up at Harry and asked.
"What?"
Harry repeated himself more stridently than before.
"It's a coincidence…it's all a coincidence…"
Ron opened his mouth to question Harry again but Harry was expounding on his thought.
"Isolde and the Book of Spells…the Penneford twins and Ackerman…the reason we can't find a connection between the two is because there isn't one. Isolde isn't working with Leah and Lyra…she needs Hermione to translate the book but Leah and Lyra want to use Hermione to get to me. Their paths crossed somehow and now either Isolde has Hermione and the Pennefords or the Pennefords have Hermione, Isolde and the Book of Spells."
As those words left Harry's mouth Ron asked.
"Given that choice which one of those scenarios should we hope for?"
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