A/N. Sorry this took so long - I got confused and had to go back to DH 101.
I kind of stumbled upon this obvious Hallows connection that maybe a few of JKR's characters, particularly Mr. Lovegood and those who knew of the triangular Hallows symbol, should have realized sooner. It's likely many of you spotted it already way before I did. Or maybe JKR's Mr. Lovegood did think about it but never really wanted the Hallows.
If you find plot holes do let me know. I rely on you guys to keep me honest!
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Chapter 34 - An Obvious Symbolic Connection
Pop!
Harry appeared right beside the familiar trap door, arriving inside the run-down Shrieking Shack as soon as he got Hermione's urgent but cryptic message. Loud voices immediately caught his attention.
"Untie me!" a man's voice, oddly familiar, yelled from somewhere on the upper floor.
"Shut up!" Hermione bellowed back and he could hear her pace across the squeaking floorboards above.
"If you don't untie me right this moment, I will have your wand...!"
"Oh shut it!"
Harry had responded to the call for back-up at Knockturn Alley and got a sketchy picture of the events from a still hurting but conscious Dean before getting the call from Hermione. What the hell was going on?!
He called out to her, ran up the wooden stairs two rungs at a time and when he got to the door could not believe the sight before him. The familiar voice belonged to Warren Gates. Warren was in the middle of the room, as pissed as Harry had ever seen him, a mix of fresh and dried blood on his face, hands and legs restrained by magical ropes. Hermione looked up and as soon as he saw the gash on her forehead, he immediately jumped to a disturbing conclusion. His thoughts darkened and Hermione must have recognized what it was for she immediately ushered him out the room even before he could draw his wand out, leaving a gagged and bound Warren livid as not only could he not move, he could not speak.
"Did he hurt you?!" he demanded from her, the sight of her non-serious injury tempering his urge to curse Warren.
"I'm fine," she reassured him.
"What happened?! Where's Dodgey? What is Warren doing here and why is he in restraints?" he fired off in succession.
"I'm not sure that's Gates," she told him seriously.
His mind slowed down enough to get what she was saying.
"What makes you think it's not him?"
"Dean and I were surveilling Borgin and Burkes when Dodgey's signature came up on the MIR. I went in and verified visually but he made me and eluded arrest. He almost took my head off trying to escape and hexed Dean badly," she recapped, "He transformed wandless right before my eyes. The MIR can't lie. It's has to be Dodgey only we never knew he was a Metamorphmagus."
He had to let her kniow.
"Warren is a Biomorphmagus."
"What?"
"He's a Biomorph. He's able to..."
She cut him off, "I know what a Biomorph is. But Biomorphmagy is science fiction. No one has ever proven the ability to transform oneself to an almost exact physical and biological duplicate of another person. The only way to do prove that is to examine DNA before and after conversion."
"And Warren hates giving tissue samples; kind of a pet peeve of his," he replied, "His condition is supposed to be top secret. He's gotten quite good at it too. He doesn't need a lot to transform himself into someone else."
"Okay," she was still unconvinced, "But even if Gates is a Biomorph that doesn't prove that the guy in there is him. He could still be Dodgey and maybe Dodgey can also morph. How would we know? DNA analysis can take a while."
Harry weighed her words for a second then replied, "Let me talk to him but before I do that, why did you bring him here? Why not straight to the Ministry?"
"A couple of reasons," Hermione answered vaguely then asked, "How much did Gates know about the Hallows?"
Harry shrugged, "Why do you ask?"
She seemed unkeen to answer that question too.
"From the Park-Gaunt case he knew of the Resurrection stone and its connection with the Peverells. But did he or Park or anyone else know about the two other Hallows and that they actually existed?"
He shook his head, "I don't think so. The last time around the Canadians figured Park was merely obsessed about raising the dead and happened to hear about the Peverell stone. Warren didn't care whether or not it existed; we just used the fact that Park believed in it to try and draw him out. We never discussed the other two. And I didn't tell him anything because I didn't need to."
"But that doesn't mean Gates doesn't know," she concluded with a deep frown on her face, as if she didn't get the answer she wanted.
"Why are you asking?"
"Whoever that guy in there is I think he and Burkes are looking for all the Hallows."
He tried to calm her down, "Hermione, many people are looking for the Hallows."
"I have a feeling that this is different," she replied anxiously.
Hermione turned away and walked into the room. He followed her, guessing that it was her reason for not taking the suspect directly to the Ministry. The subject of the Hallows was a sensitive one. It was one of those cases that could potentially set off an undesirable series of events. Hermione wanted to find out what this was about before an official interrogation just in case it was something that had to be investigated quietly, like that last one.
When they got in the frustrated man who looked very much like Warren began yapping his mouth off soundlessly. Harry picked up a few choice words directed mostly at an impervious Hermione, words which one didn't need to be a lipreader to understand. Her non-reaction riled him up even some more
"Ungag him," he said to her.
"I was so enjoying the peace and quiet," she commented, but did as he asked anyway.
"Release me!"
"Who are you?" Hermione demanded.
"I told you who I am! Release me now or I'll make sure you won't ever work in law enforcement again!"
"Ooh, I'm so scared," Hermione mocked him, folding her arms across her chest, "The MIR says you're Dodgey, I have no reason to think otherwise."
"Harry, tell her who I am! Tell her what I am!"
"I did but it's not good enough for her," he answered, "She needs more proof."
"Fuck proof! You know me!" the wizard was yelling so loudly his voice broke as he spoke, "Why are you letting some fucking broad think for you? You're a man, be the man!"
"It's definitely him," Harry confirmed.
"Undoubtedly," Hermione agreed, the disgust on her face plain as she took the magical cuffs off, handed Warren his wand and confronted him, "Where's my suspect?"
"I want an apology!"
"You're not getting one; live with it. Where's Dodgey?" she repeated.
"You hexed me!"
"You hexed my partner."
"It's not my fault he's too slow to avoid a simple spell!"
"Touche."
"Let it go, Warren," Harry advised.
But with them it was like trying to get bickering kids off each other and it once again brought back memories of what it was like trying to referee between Hermione and Ron. When they weren't done, they weren't done. He disliked seeing her like this, seeing her this passionately riled up by another man more so now than ever before and he knew exactly where his feeling was coming from.
Warren carried on, "You held me against my will even after I identified myself!"
"I guess after what you did to Dean I should have just taken your word for it!"
"If you thought I was lying then why didn't you take me straight to the Ministry?"
"Because I figured that if I was wrong and you were indeed who you were you were probably trying to get away so you wouldn't blow your cover. Arresting you and taking you straight to the Ministry would have done exactly that. You should thank me," Hermione explained, seemingly earnest about that too, "I was doing you a favor."
Warren was stumped, a mix of disbelief and awe on his face.
Harry consoled him, "And that's why I like her thinking for me. What's going on? Why are you back?"
"A case," he said cagily, wiping off his bloody lip on a sleeve and spat out what was inside his mouth.
She grunted, "Park escaped again, didn't he?"
Warren didn't have to answer. His annoyed expression that Hermione got it right again said it all.
"This is above me. I have no authority to speak about the matter."
Hermione played hardball, "Fine, we'll talk with Burkes. Just give me my suspect back and we'll pretend we never saw you."
"Honey," Warren said in his most condescending tone, "You know only too well that Burkes' counsels will make it nearly impossible for your investigators to get anywhere near him. And I need your suspect."
"You can't have my suspect. That should teach you to ask nicely the next time."
"You're not getting him back until I get mine."
"Then I guess I'll have to lock you up," Hermione said without emotion, "Dodgey is a wanted Briton. Under International Crime laws Canada has no right to incarcerate him without informing his home country who then reserves the right to waive or not waive his extradition and right now, we are so 'not waiving.'"
"He has information that can lead to the arrest of a wanted Dark Wizard," Warren rebutted, "Dark wizard turfs petty artefact thief."
"That may be true but she's right, Warren," Harry decided Warren was on the level and tried to smoothen the process. "You should have let us know."
"I'm telling you it's not up to me," Warren was trying to make them understand.
Hermione remained unsympathetic, "Hard to believe that you would actually follow rules but that's unfortunate. We have no choice but to bring you in. Too bad about your cover."
"No, wait," Warren backed off, his eyes darting between him and Hermione then back, "I trust you but can I trust her?"
"You can trust her with your life," he declared.
"Let's not get carried away here," Hermione corrected sharply, "What does Dodgey have to do with Park?"
"Off the record," Warren proposed and waited for their replies.
He nodded and she nodded. Harry noted the gravity of Warren's expression as he began telling them why he was back.
"Park's name is now Morpheus Gaunt. The second he got to Toronto he applied for a legal name change. He said he wanted to make his family proud, carry on the ancestral tradition of death and violence," Warren found it somewhat pathetic, "He claimed he had proof that he was truly Morfin Gaunt's grandson and that Uncle Tom was his hero."
Voldemort worship was not new.
"Where does Dodgey fit in to this?" Harry repeated.
"When Gaunt escaped a couple of weeks ago we went back to his last known contacts and associates. One person we wanted to interview was the old geezer who got him into the Peverell Resurrection Stone myth, a Torontonian by the name of Theodorphus Daniels."
He and Hermione exchanged a brief knowing look. She too remembered Daniels on the picture on Jollyweather's wall, the one with Luna's dad on it, the one with the triangular symbol of the Hallows.
Warren continued, "Daniels was a rich eccentric fellow with a passionate belief of the existence of three magical artefacts called the Deathly Hallows, the same Resurrection stone, a cloak and a wand, supposedly given by Death to three brothers," he paused, probably noticing that they weren't as clueless about what he was talking about, "You must know of the fairy tale by Beedle the Bard."
"Yes."
"I've read it."
They answered almost in unison.
"Daniels was a Quester of the Hallows. Many Questers, Daniels included, believe that the three brothers in the tale were Peverells," Warren regurgitated something that they already knew, "For a majority the quest is all fun and games but a select few take the Hallows very seriously because they think that the one who unites all three will be the Master of Death."
"The story doesn't say that," Hermione said blandly.
"Doesn't matter. Daniels believed it. Gaunt believes it too. Gaunt wants to unite the Hallows," Warren confirmed Hermione's fears, "Among other things."
Harry noticed how Warren kept referring to Daniels in the past tense.
"I take it Daniels is dead."
"We found him in his home; Gaunt's handiwork," Warren confirmed, "Aurors caught up with Daniels' assistant and ran his magical imprint through the database. It was Dodgey."
Hermione asked, "What was Dodgey doing in Toronto? Was he trying to steal from Daniels?"
"Far from it. According to Dodgey he was hired by Burkes and Burkes was one of the many artefact experts of dubious character hired by Daniels to find two of the three Hallows; the stone and the cloak. Burkes knows the market, he knows that the cloak and the stone Daniels was looking for had not been legally bought or sold in decades. He got this idea that some private collector must have them."
"So Burkes hired Dodgey to steal like magical artefacts from private collectors but Dodgey takes more than what they want so we'll think they're garden variety robberies," Hermione deduced correctly.
Warren added, "And not a bad way for Dodgey to make extra cash."
"Then when things got too hot here Burkes sent Dodgey to Toronto to cool off as Daniels' assistant," Harry concluded.
"Yes," Warren confirmed, "Only Gaunt escapes, kills Daniels and then Burkes, all of a sudden, has a new boss that he doesn't want to work for but scares the shit out if him. So I came back and I've been posing as Dodgey hoping to get Gaunt through Burkes but the bastard's smart. He hasn't showed himself to Burkes and I don't blame him after what happened the last time he was with him. We do know Gaunt's here because he thinks he has found the wand."
"He has the wand?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"Not yet. One thing that Daniels had written about the Elder wand in his journal was that its transfer of possession was quite obvious if one looked at magical history close enough. The wand can be traced by the death and violence associated with it. Daniels had this list of names of wizards of the past believed to have been its master. There is wide speculation about who its current master is but Daniels, it seemed, had eliminated most of the possibilities but one."
"Which one?" Hermione asked.
"The Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald. Daniels wrote in his journal how it was obvious that Grindelwald had been master of the wand during the height of his power. He used the triangular symbol of the Hallows many times, notably at Durmstrang Institute and at Nurmengard."
"Last week someone matching Gaunt's description accessed Grindelwald's arrest record illegally. Gaunt now knows that Grindelwald didn't have a wand when he was taken to Nurmengard. We think he thinks the wizard who defeated Grindelwald has it, or had it. It makes logical sense that the first place he'll explore will be Albus Dumbledore's tomb. We think he's looking for ways to get into Hogwarts."
Warren stopped talking and silence filled the room. He could tell that Hermione was thinking the very same thing he was. He wasn't concerned about Gaunt finding the stone or the cloak. The wand was truly the most obvious one to track down and the first obvious place to look was exactly where it was. He needed to step back from the thought of many others figuring this out.
"Why isn't the Canadian Ministry going through proper channels?" Harry asked.
Hermione was quick to accuse, "Because unlike the last time they now think the stone, the cloak and the Deathstick do exist and some asshole with rank decided that if found, they're going to be sneaked out of Britain."
"It wasn't my idea," Warren reasoned, defending himself from Hermione's glare.
"That makes it all better," Hermione mocked. "I wouldn't be surprised if their priority is no longer apprehending Morpheus Gaunt."
Warren's lack of response was troubling.
"So, how did you manage to get Canadian sentries into Hogwarts to watch the Professor's tomb? Headmistress McGonagall would have never permitted it, not without the Minister's okay," Harry asked, curious and stating the obvious.
"We have one. A temp Professor, a um… replacement for one that got suddenly ill," Warren revealed, "He set up a portal so that the second he sees Gaunt we'll make a move."
Security at the school wasn't what it used to be, that much he knew. Hermione looked at him, hoping to catch an inkling of where he thought they should go with this. There was really only one option.
Harry said to Warren, "We don't have a choice. We have to tell John and Kingsley what this is about, off the record."
He could feel Hermione tense up and stare at him in disbelief.
"But..." she started to say.
Harry interrupted her before she totally lost control, "The alternative is to step aside and let Warren and the Canadian Ministry walk all over our authority because they're greedy. It's a crackpot story but this could be entertaining. I'd rather be involved so I can watch. Wouldn't you?"
She nodded, stepping off the argument though he definitely had not heard the last of it.
"I understand," Warren said to them, "I'll let them know of your decision. I'd expect my Minister would be more than willing to talk to your Minister officially now. We'll be in touch."
Warren left without another word. Harry was already on his phone with Kingsley, asking to see him right away. The second he got off Hermione spoke.
"We can't just tell him," she bursted, "We can't just tell anyone."
"Why not? Many know about the Hallows," he reminded her, "It's a children's fable."
"Precisely. With Kingsley involved the Canadians will be forced to make things official. A formal Ministry investigation that will put the story and the Hallows on the spotlight," she made a pitch, which of course made sense.
"Let's just hope it doesn't become a formal one, then. At this point we really have no control over that," he told her what he knew she didn't want to accept.
"This is bad," she frowned, "The cloak may be safe and the stone may never be found but deducing where the wand rests is child's play. The Elder Wand needs to be better protected. If only we could move it."
She sighed one of frustration.
"We can't break into the Professor's tomb," Harry said what she was thinking, "We can talk to Professor McGonagall about better wards but we also need to get the Canadians and Gaunt off its trail."
"How?"
"I don't know yet but telling Kingsley and John will at least deter them from taking it."
"I'm not so sure about that," she said with tremendous scepticism, "I'll see you at the Ministry."
Hermione Disapparated. As Harry followed suite, he thought about how she was right. The wand's current resting place was not ideal. But the more he thought about it the more he felt that it was where the wand would always belong.
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Later that night Hermione was still upset about how the day had turned out. As much as she and Harry stressed that the case wasn't about the existence of the Hallows it was difficult to focus the grown wizards around the table. They were all fixated on the possibility of Professor Dumbledore's wand being the Deathstick, particularly that untrustworthy Deputy Unspeakable Maximus.
The involvement of Unspeakables was most unfortunate. After she and Harry told Kingsley what the Canadians were up to, he brought in John who brought in Humptail who suggested involving Head Unspeakable Jericho because the Canadian Head Unspeakable was also in the know. Max was invited by Jericho for his knowledge of the theories surrounding the Deathly Hallows, a subject the foreigner had become an expert on when he studied Gellart Grindelwald 'in the old days'. He too had noticed Grindelwald's use of the Hallows symbol. Just their luck.
The most worrisome suggestion that day came from the Unspeakables. Max wanted to disturb the Professor's tomb to get the wand and study it. Had Harry, John and Kingsley not spoken up against it with finality she would have lost it and broken her promise to him that she would keep her cool.
On the bright side Headmistress McGonagall had allowed Kingsley to put more protective enchantments around Hogwarts and to station a couple of Aurors to watch the Professor's tomb. Their story was the Auror office had reason to believe that Pureblood Supremacists were planning to sully the Professor's burial place and just the thought horrified the Headmistress so much she asked why the Ministry wasn't assigning more Aurors on the case.
The Canadian Minister had also made contact as Gates predicted. For now there was status quo; they would allow the Canadian Hogwarts spy to remain in place and in return, the Canucks would share all the information they had on the case so they could catch Gaunt sooner. Right.
It was still unofficial and off the books, just as she and Harry preferred but all the uncertainty and lack of real control over the situation was making her very anxious. Earlier she had suggested to Harry that perhaps they should put together a group like the Order of the Phoenix to watch out for situations like this, one that wouldn't be as bound to rules and regulations as they were, but they got somewhat sidetracked during that conversation.
She remembered how angry she was and how Harry distracted her, just as the memory of it was distracting her right now. They made love against the fridge and on the kitchen floor; the kitchen floor. Just thinking about it made her yearn for him again. It still overwhelmed her sometimes just how much more physical their relationship was compared to how she imagined any relationship of hers would be.
Hermione finished brushing her teeth, got out of the bathroom and was kind of disappointed not to find Harry in bed. She walked out into the hallway and found him already in pyjamas standing at the entrance of the third and smallest room. They were thinking about renovating it from the current bedroom that it was into something else.
He turned towards her as she joined him then naturally pulled her gently against his body and held her from behind. She leaned into his tender and warm embrace, holding onto his arms he had draped over her shoulders.
"A study," he suggested. "A desk by the window, some shelves along that wall."
They spent a moment imagining it.
"Maybe," she frowned, noncomittal, then told him what her partner mentioned, "What about a man room."
He chucked, "A what?"
"A place where men can be men and not feel the pressure of being judged for choosing to spend an entire afternoon watching sports on the telly or playing Muggle videogames or drinking all night with friends," she repeated verbatim.
"Dean?"
"Uh-huh."
"Tempting and I appreciate your sweet offer but I'll pass," he laughed and kissed her hair. "Are you sure you don't want a study?"
"Would you ever use it?" she asked.
"I could, we could, I have been having dreams about you in one lately," he chuckled.
"You're incurable," she laughed with him.
"Come to think of it, we could turn it into different rooms, different places, different times," he said suggestively, brushing his lips lightly against her nape, "Kind of a room of requirement."
"We could…"
Harry lifted her off her feet effortlessly and carried her to their bed cradled in his arms, her heart humming as they kissed. He turned the lights down and slipped under the covers with her. They made out, unhurriedly and tenderly, his ministrations emptying her mind of all worries about stones and cloaks and wands being found and being used for evil.
They were content to keep it to that and it was kind of funny and embarrassing how it was so relaxing that drowsiness crept up insidiously and overcame her. Her last memory just before she fell asleep was him laughing lightly after she apologized when she realized what was about to happen. He told her she was forgiven and then she felt his gentle kiss on her forehead as he wished her pleasant dreams.
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A/N. Was that Elder wand - Grindelwald connection as obvious as I thought it was to one who was on the quest or was I imagining things? Maybe it was one of those things that Mr. Lovegood knew but never got to share with Harry. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference.
The length of this fic kills me and sometimes I do wish the Hallows part of this back story wasn't important to the present. Thanks to those who continue to be patient and supportive. Next up is a bit more about Gaunt and trying to capture him. Warren will be back.