A/N. Happy Father's Day to all Dads out there.
And welcome to those who are joining the story just now - you, and those who continue to read, are brave souls!
I hate it that I have to set everything up and it's taking so long to get to the end. Warren decided to grace us with an appearance and the 7th POTH member dropped in sooner than I thought he would (these characters are out of control!).
Hope you go easy on Ron in this one.
XXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 58 - Wand vs Stone
Hugo woke up, alone in unfamiliar surroundings. He got up, walked across and gazed out the wide open window. It was just after noon and he was in the Being Village of Pag-asa. His Mum dropped him off with Warren a couple of hours ago and told him to get some rest.
Even though he didn't want to, he fell asleep as he listened to her and Rosie talk. It was weird; it felt like sleep that couldn't be put off. Since passing out at Grimmauld he had been feeling off and the conversation with his Mum about his father and sister was quite draining too. With the nap he was now re-energized and ready to tackle what was next. For him, even though his Mum would disagree, that was to be more prepared for Malvado.
He looked down the hill past the trees and trained his sight upon the clearing where dozens of Beings were gathered around earlier. The sun was hot and harsh. Understandable many beings were indoors and under shade, except for the few young Beings who were practicing magic with Rose and Al. This was the first time he had come here, the first he had heard of the place. He still was in awe of how an entire village could be hidden for so long and how these ordinary Beings were coming together to help fight Malvado.
When they first arrived, the Beings greeted his Mum with utmost respect and him with quiet scrutiny. While his mother had been known to them as the 'crazy' white witch who wanted to build an integrated school for wizards, witches and Beings in nearby Hiwaga, it was the first time they had seen her knowing she was actually Jean Peverell. Jean Peverell was a legend here; the Mistress of Death, the same one who kept much of this part of the world in relative peace years ago.
The Beings all looked at him funny, some with hopeful excitement, some with curious fascination just as his Mum warned him they would. Before arriving she talked to him briefly about what the Hag predicted, telling him what it all meant. They knew of the prophecy and hung on every word of it.
It was understandable. The village ihad been without hope for so long the prospect of the prophecy finally coming to fruition was cause for excitement. In spite of his Mum's caution Hugo felt the enormous pressure that went with it and the only thing that kept him from freaking out was the knowledge that he wasn't the only teenager to have ever experienced the weight of everyone's hope upon him. He reasoned that if his father survived the expectation of being the Chosen One years ago, he could deal with it no problem.
And besides, facing the expectation was not his biggest problem; facing Malvado again was. While he had lost his keenness to meet Malvado again he was almost certain that he would, even though his Mum said she would make sure he wouldn't.
There was a knock on the door. It opened before he answered and Warren joined him by the window.
Hugo didn't speak. He had been annoyed at the older man since finding out his Mum was alive and it only got worse when Warren kept on lying to his father. In the past, he would have blindly trusted the Canadian with anything, but with his Mum hurt and Warren's continued questionable actions, Hugo could only think the ex-Auror was up to no good.
But then again his Mum did entrust Warren with his and Rose's care, at least until her return from what she had to do (and Hugo gathered she wasn't back yet). She would never have done that unless she wasn't certain they would be safe with him. That restored his faith in the Canadian somewhat although it didn't make him less angry.
"You're still pissed at me," Warren broke the silence, reading his mind. Hugo didn't respond so Warren continued, "If you care to know I am sorry I didn't tell you about your Mum. With things being crazy here I couldn't look after you. I wasn't even sure I could keep your Mum alve. It would have been for the best had you stayed in London with your father."
He sounded sincere enough.
"If you told me she was alive then I might have."
"Don't bother lying. This is me you're talking to, remember?"
Warren knew him well enough that Hugo couldn't lie to him successfully, probably ever.
"And about the prophecy?" Hugo brought up the other important detail Warren kept from him.
"I promised your Mum I wouldn't tell you about it but I'm glad you found out. That was a hard one to keep."
Hugo sensed an inviting tone in his voice, one that seemed to encourage him to ask more questions. He went for it.
"You believe it?"
"Your Mum disagrees but the Hag was a pretty good Seer," Warren sounded convinced, which worried Hugo very much.
"What should I do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I met Malvado. He's invincible. How does one defeat him?"
"If I had the answer to that we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," was his reply, "But if I were you I wouldn't think about it too much. It is only a prophecy. What will happen will happen because it was going to, not because some Seer said it would. You just deal with it the best you can."
Hugo didn't think he heard right. Deal with it 'the best he can'? Was he serious?
Warren saw his reaction and explained further, "What's the worst case scenario?"
That was obvious.
"He kills me. He kills everyone I care about."
"Right," Warren confirmed, "On the flip side, Malvado may try again and fail again and again and again. Then you die an old man. We will all die eventually, even the ones we care about, even Malvado, be it by illness, by accident or by some gruesome death. While I understand why many are hung up about growing old and dying painfree, thinking about how not to die some other way is a waste of time. We die however and whenever it's time to go."
On some level Hugo got what he meant. But then again, he wasn't going to merely sit back and wait, knowing he was unprepared for what was likely to come. He learned that much from his father's experience with Voldemort.
"You disagree," Warren saw his thoughts and sighed audibly, "You are your mother's son. Your desire to shape what is into your preferred end is great. Just be aware that one can get screwed royally for messing with fate."
"So your advice is to what? Just let things happen? Not do anything? Just let him kill me?" Hugo couldn't think Warren really walked the talk and he remembered something, "Why didn't you just let Mum die?"
He chuckled lightly, amused at Hugo's observation.
"Your Mum always manages to bring out the hypocrit in me," was Warren's excuse, then muttered under his breath, "And I already know I'll get screwed for that one."
"Why are you even working to get rid of Malvado?"
"Because it's my job. It's my job to rid the world of bad guys. It's also your Mum's job and your father's," Warren answered, "It's not yours."
"But the prophecy said I'm the only one who can stop him."
He shrugged and replied, "Still doesn't make it your job to do it."
Hugo desperately wanted him to understand, so he would help, "He's coming after me. I just want a fighting chance."
"You have that," Warren reminded him, "You have more defensive magical skills than an average Auror rookie. Did you think that the things I taught in the past months were for extra credit at school?"
Hugo blushed, embarrassed that he didn't figure that part out. But...
"You never taught me offensive magic."
"Face it, kid," Warren looked him in the eye, "You don't have what it takes to kill anyone. I even doubt that you can work yourself up to really mean to hurt another Being. Your Mum didn't raise you that way and your father never had that primal instinct in him either. I thought to concentrate teaching you skills you would use. And besides, your Mum wouldn't have approved."
The truth in what Warren just said about him was depressing. He did, when he thought she was dead, believe he could kill Malvado. But given the opportunity, and it was a very good one, he failed.
Warren was sympathetic, "I know you're disappointed that you're not some lean, mean, killing machine but it's better that you have no such delusions that you are. And besides, with Malvado, offensive spells won't work, not unless he plays fair and becomes mortal."
"Mum was vague and so was the Hag. What exactly did the prophecy say, I mean, aside from what they told me?"
"It said the one who calls himself the Son of Death will rule without challenge until the coming of age of the Son of Death's Mistress. They will fight a battle unfought before, altering life and death as it is known," Warren finished, "I believe I quoted that verbatim."
Hearing the prophecy in its entirety made Hugo feel worse.
"That's it, huh? Just alter life and death?" the panic in his voice accurately reflecting how he felt inside, "And you're telling me not to worry?!"
Warren watched him lose his composure as if he expected he would, "Calm down. You're only a thirteen year old boy who doesn't know much."
Hugo began pacing, "If that's supposed to make me feel better it's not working!"
"Nobody's going to blame you if something bad happens. Your parents maybe, but not you," Warren pointed out, entertained by the thought.
"I think I'm going to throw up," Hugo walked back to the window and leaned further out, taking a big breath in, not feeling so good.
Warren patted him on the back.
"You're overthinking this just like your Mum is. What you need is something to get your mind off things. Hell, I need a break. I think we all do."
What Hugo needed was someone to discuss this properly with. But as unhelpful Warren's advice was Hugo had one burning question for him.
"What about the Hallows? What if I have all three Hallows? Do I have a better chance then?"
That made Warren take pause, serious now and thoughtful about what to tell him. Hugo tried to read him as Warren taught him, keeping in mind that Warren was searching for the Hallows too. He would find out straightaway if Warren wasn't telling the truth.
The older man replied with a poker face, "A better chance to survive, yes. Possession of all three will make you Master of Death and will give you immortality up until you give them up or they are taken from you. He can't kill you, you can't kill him, in theory anyway. Do you think you can hold on to them all until something shifts in your favour?"
That was the question, wasn't it? Could he? If he had them all he would try his best but to be realistic about it, against a wizard of Malvado's calibre, it would take a miracle for him to be able to. He couldn't find his voice to tell Warren that but the Canadian understood.
"As I said, don't worry. If that time ever comes you will do your best," Warren sounded more certain.
Hugo nodded.
"Is that why you want the Hallows? So you can fight Malvado and have a better chance to survive?"
Warren answered, "Unfortunately your Mum and the POTH have done such a great job hiding them."
"She doesn't think using the Hallows will help?"
"She said it wasn't about the Hallows during Voldemort's time and it isn't about the Hallows now."
Hugo frowned, trying to remember the stories she shared with him. She was talking about that time when his father was at a crossroad in their pursuit of how to defeat Voldemort - Horcrux versus Hallows. In the end, Voldemort got to the Elder wand first and they did have to destroy all the Horcruxes, including the one embedded in his father's scar, before they got to the Dark Wizard.
But wasn't it one of the Hallows that ultimately saved his father from Voldemort? And wasn't it the same Hallow that ultimately saved his Mum from Morpheus Gaunt? What if he got Malvado to curse him with the Elder wand? Would the Death Stick save him too and redirect the curse to the one holding it? Could it be that obvious?
The answer he came up with wasn't very encouraging. Fact - Malvado could not be killed. The AK that backfired on the Dark Wizard courtesy of his father did nothing. And Malvado didn't have any Horcruxes to hunt down either. What he had was an invincibility stone which had to be willingly given up, something Malvado would never do.
How does one get someone to willingly give up something he doesn't want to give up? Hugo thought, maybe he could use the Hallows to make Malvado do it. It was unlikely that somebody had tried using the most powerful wand tried before.
Hallows vs Invincibility Stone...Wand vs Stone…
Then a though crossed his mind. Malvado was also interested in the Hallows, the wand in particular. Maybe Malvado knew something that they didn't; maybe he knew someone using the wand could persuade him to willingly give up the stone. His head was beginning to hurt when Warren interrupted.
"Just promise me one thing," the older man said, "If Malvado holds everyone you care about hostage and threatens to kill them, don't do what your father did."
What his father did when Voldemort did that was the defining moment of the Battle of Hogwarts. It never crossed Hugo's mind that he would have to but now that Warren mentioned the possibility he could only think to do exactly that.
"Thanks for the tip."
"Don't mention it," Warren smiled at his sarcasm, then commented, "As noble as sacrificing one's self is it's really overrated. Your father only got away with it because he has always been a lucky bastard. And the last time he did, it was totally unnecessary and cost a lot more than just his life."
He wondered if by last time Warren meant his father's sacrifice to save his Mum from Gaunt's death curse. But what he said didn't exactly make sense. His father didn't lose his life then, just his memory.
Warren and his father had been partners and Hugo assumed they were friends. Until these past few days he never got this impression that Warren didn't like his father, maybe because he was too pre-occupied doing a lot of the disliking himself. And the way Warren was around his Mum earlier was odd. Even Hugo felt his impatience and frustration with her, which was out of the ordinary for him.
In the years his Mum and Warren had been lovers, for Hugo figured they were even though they tried to be discreet about it, he had never seen Warren like this. Warren was by no means perfect but he didn't try to be a father and, most of all, he didn't suck up to him like some of the others who wanted to date his Mum.
Was Warren jealous of his father being around? Was there reason for him to be jealous? Hugo hoped not. The thought of his parents getting back together was too troubling to begin to consider, especially if it was going to be because of him. That was just wrong. And, he at least knew for a fact that Warren cared about his Mum. He couldn't say the same about his father.
"I know just the thing to keep everyone's minds off Malvado for a while," Warren had an idea and was excited, "We'll have a party tonight, a surprise birthday party, for your Mum! We'll invite everyone!"
It was his Mum's birthday tomorrow and Warren was crazy. His Mum didn't like parties for herself, and Hugo already knew how much she'd like having an entire village surprise her with one.
"You want to throw Mum a surprise birthday party," Hugo repeated, just in case Warren didn't fully realize what he just proposed.
His Mum's friend reconsidered, "Right, she'll kill me. It'll just be a village celebration then. These folks don't really need much reason to party. A couple of rounds of Red Thestral ought to do the trick. And if some drunk Being starts singing 'Happy Birthday' then so be it."
Warren had made up his mind and it was set. They were off to tell Gracie to get things started. Even as they did Hugo still couldn't stop thinking about Malvado.
Wand vs Stone...that has to be it...
Then again, maybe his Mum was right. Maybe it wasn't about the Hallows. But if not the Hallows, what?
XXXXXXXXXX
A wand swished and, not a split second later, several others followed. Ernie was already off his feet by the time Ted fired in the direction of the person who cursed him.
Hermione blocked Ted's offensive hex that was meant for Seamus just as the Metamorph felt the sting of an attack from Gummy. Ted lost his wand and magical ropes wrapped around his arms and torso before he could get it back.
He struggled to get out of the bind but they only got tighter as he did. Scoping the field for help, he saw Ron lose to Boris and Gummy while Hermione restrained Seamus from attacking Ernie further.
"Hermione!l" Ron screamed out, "Get your thugs off me!"
That drew Gummy's ire. The MLE punched him in the face.
"We are not thugs!" Gummy told Ron angrily, the latter now bound in chains like Ted was.
"You just proved that you are one!" Ron spit in his face.
"Enough!" Dovalov held the MLE veteran back as Gummy wanted to strike again.
"Let us go!" Ron yelled at her.
Hermione appealed to the Russian, "The ropes aren't necessary."
It was Seamus who cut in, "Ernie is a traitor. He was at the Pitch and he tried to get the Snitch. Humptail got to him."
"That's not true!" Ernie denied instantly.
"I can vouch for him," Ron spoke up, "He's been in jail with me for hours."
"There's a logical explanation to this," Hermione said to the group.
Dovalov approached and scanned Ernie's mind.
He confirmed, "It wasn't him at the Pitch."
"An imposter? Why would Humptail do that?" Hermione wondered out loud, and everyone seemed to forget about them.
"Excuse me," Ted reminded them, "Can somebody untie us, please?"
No one moved. The young Auror quickly surmissed that something was not right.
Hermione was apologetic, "I wish it were as simple as that."
"What do you mean?!" Ron was enraged, "It's your little club of misfits! Just tell them to let us go!"
Hermione turned to Ron and chastised him, "Maybe if you shut up and stop insulting them, they just might."
There were footsteps coming from the corridor, briefly causing added anxiety to the situation until Dovalov recognized the newcomer and announced, "It's Cristos."
"The asshole is part of this!?" Ron exclaimed in disbelief, echoing the exact same thought on Ted's mind.
"Yes, the asshole is," the Head Unspeakable replied stoically as he appeared at the door and then clarified, "It's not her club. We don't take orders from her. We have rules. And I'm sorry for being late. I was unexpectedly detained. Did I miss anything?"
Max gave Hermione a not-so-pleased look which Hermione answered with indifference.
Dovalov replied, "Not much. We were interrupted just before Hermione could walk us through a plan."
Ron turned to her and complained, "How can you let this despicable Unspeakable be a part of this and not me?!"
Hermione pretended not to hear him, "Boris, they're family, close friends. They know about the Hallows. Ron has known about it as long as I have and Harry told Ted and Ernie everything. They are just trying to help."
"The rules..."
"The rules are from a different time," she pointed out, "They will not betray us."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Ron was just making things worse.
"Ignore him; he's trying to pick a fight with me," Hermione instructed them.
"Ignore me?! Did she just tell them to ignore me?!"
Everyone did try to ignore Ron (including Ted) as the senior POTH members, Hermione, Gummy, Max and Dovalov, went into a mini huddle close to where Winky and Figg were seated. Seamus joined them. Dovalov was not budging.
"We have to be certain. We have enemies in many places and families to protect. Some of us have done unlawful, unforgivable transgressions still punishable in some jurisdictions. We have to look after each other. We made a vow."
"I agree with Boris," Max put in his vote.
Winky, who had been quiet before, threw in her support for Hermione, "Winky trusts whoever Hermione trusts."
"So do I," Figg added.
"I don't," Gummy interjected, "But I don't trust anybody."
"Ask me! Ask me! I want to vote!" Ron exclaimed, an attempt to spoil the process.
"Finnigan?" Max drew everyone's attention to Seamus.
"I trust Ron and Ted, but Ernie, I don't know. I see him easily ratting us out like -" Seamus didn't finish the thought and instead apologized, "I'm sorry Hermione."
"That's 4 to 3," Max did the final count, "But most of us trust them enough. With the recent murders and Merlin only knows how many more, we could use some future pillars, particularly non civilians with above average skills, who can help us in adversarial situations like we are facing now."
Ron interrupted again, "For the record, I'm not just above average...more like cream of the crop, definitely good pillar material."
"Whatever," Max shrugged, adding, "The current membership is obviously lacking in firepower. No offense meant."
The Unspeakable looked over to the three new POTH members following the insincere apology. Seamus gave him the finger.
"The Unspeakable Unspeakable does have a point," Gummy observed, "Our less combat trained members are indeed dropping like flies."
Hermione wasn't supportive of Max's suggestion and made it clear, "This is not some private army. We have enough pillars."
Max answered Hermione back, "We need back-up. Finnigan was the last reserve. I don't see us getting rid of the Hallows soon."
"Our usual approach of choosing prospective members is much better. I don't approve of this coercive method of recruitment," Hermione argued back.
The Unspeakable pointed out, "This is not coercive."
Ron blurted out, "Except for being magically bound against our will, he's really right. Not coercive at all!"
Dovalov continued, "They can choose to join us or not. Your opposition to the practice is duly noted and we can discuss it at a later time. For now, you can either help or watch."
Hermione threw her hands in the air, giving up. She turned to him, Ron and Ernie, mostly apologetic but also frustrated. Out of principle she was choosing to watch. The junior members of the POTH were looking on too, curious as he was about what was next.
Ernie asked the question, "So, what happens now?"
Three parchments with identical writings appeared in front of them.
"Before you is list of vows, our vows - " Dovalov explained.
Ted's eyes wandered over the words and began reading.
I vow not to use the Peverell Hallows.
"Read them carefully and decide if you want to join us."
I vow to support efforts to destroy the Peverell Hallows.
"If you join us you will make these Unbreakable vows -"
I vow not to expose the identity and actions of my fellow Pillars of the Hallows.
"The Keeper will tell you where the other Hallows are and, under the Fidelus, you will keep that secret -"
I vow to keep secret the identity of the Keeper.
"And finally, a memory suppressing charm that will lift as soon as you are needed to sit at this table."
"And if we don't agree?" Ron asked seriously.
"We Obliviate you and you will have no memory of what you saw or heard here," Gummy replied.
"I strongly encourage Obliviation," Hermione suggested, cautioning them, "There is a fine print. Much will be required of you if you become part of this. You have to be very careful about what you say, who you say it to and what you do. It is not for everyone. Think of your family."
It was clear that Hermione didn't want them involved in the POTH and her mention of family hit home. The only thing Ted could think of was how it could affect his relationship with his wife. Not a few seconds after, Ron, still bound like him and Ernie, spoke up.
"It's settled then!" he was grinning smugly at Hermione as he declared, "I'm in, and only because she thinks I don't have what it takes."
"I don't think it; I know it, "Hermione said with certainty, keeping her emotions under control, "Think about it again. You're being rash."
"And you're being narrow minded. I can do this," he announced with confidence.
Ron's mind was set. Seamus released him from the magical ropes and welcomed him.
Hermione wasn't letting go so easily, "You're making a big mistake, Ron."
Ron walked over to where she was and stood within inches from her with a challenge.
"I am, am I? Why exactly is that?!"
"You want to do this now?!" she said through gritted teeth.
Ron growled back, "It's only been what - thirteen years too late?!"
Realizing what this was really about she excused herself from the group and led Ron out in the hallway. She stopped a few meters from the door and then created a sound privacy shield around them.
Then they had a row. By Ted's visual estimation it was really a bad one The POTH stood around awkwardly, trying not to stare, Max glancing at his timeteller impatiently, while the rest averted their gazes somewhere else.
XXXXXXXX
Moments earlier, Hermione took Ron outside to try and talk him out of what he was about to agree to.
"Don't do this!"
"Why not, I mean aside from the fact that it's a lame club to begin with?"
"Because you have no filters. If I thought this would be right for you I would have asked you to be part of it a long time ago!"
"You were thinking of what's best for me?"
"As a matter of fact I was!"
"And were you thinking of that when you lied to my face about who Hugo's father was?! You took me for an idiot, making me fall for that bit about raising Hugo on your own! Pure genius! Laughed yourself into tears on that one, did you?!"
"It didn't happen that way! I didn't ask you! You offered and I told you 'no' but you insisted!" she tried refreshing his memory and when all that didn't work, said to herself, "I shouldn't have let you volunteer!"
Ron heard it and set him off again, "You think?! Or at least told me the truth that you were fucking my sister's husband so I wouldn't even think of trying to save your dignity!"
"No, Ron! That wasn't about saving my dignity! You didn't do it for Rosie either! That was all about you and your stupid ego! You couldn't let go because you couldn't stand the thought of people talking about how you couldn't keep your marriage and about how your soon to be ex-wife got herself pregnant by another man! That was what that was about!"
"If you told me who the cheating father was that would have been a very different conversation! But you didn't! You deliberately chose not to knowing I would fucking kill him!"
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want him to know! And you would have never understood!"
"Damn straight! You let me save his ass! You let me save yours! I was a fucking convenience! You just had to take advantage of me!"
"I guess I did!"
"Well that's good to know! At least I feel less of an idiot knowing you did!"
"And I regret it! I would have been perfectly fine raising Hugo on my own!"
"Oh you've done such a great job, so far, letting Hugo face this thing by himself!"
"What?!"
"You're such a coward! Pretending to be dead and leaving notes so you won't have to personally explain to everyone how you fucked up your son's life!"
That hurt. Hermione was holding back tears both from how much that stung and how angry she was. She felt like exploding on him.
When she finally got herself to calm down she said, "If you believe I would let Hugo face this on his own, fake my death because I didn't want to own up to it, then I can't really do anything about that. And yes, I do live with the thought that what I made Hugo go through may have irreparably damaged him for life.
"But honestly Ron! You can be such an insensitive, tunnel visioned, prick! I know you're mad at me and you have every right to be! But this, this here, is not the time or place to be picking a fight!"
"I'll pick a fight whenever and wherever I want to! I'm not letting you get off easily, not like Ginny did!"
Hermione had it with him, "Fine! If you want to be part of this just to spite me, then do it! I'll expect you to whine about it when the time comes and when that happens I have no problem telling you, and you know this from being married to me, that I told you so!"
"Fine! Where do I sign!?"
XXXXXXXX
Sometime earlier, back inside the room, Ted and Ernie waited with the POTH.
"This is ridiculous," Max expressed his exasperation not ten seconds after Hermione left with Ron, "I don't have time for this."
Seamus came to Hermione's defense, "You can leave whenever you want."
"There's an idea," Gummy added, "There's some meeting you have to attend, right?"
Dovalov interceded, "A little patience, Cristos."
Winky chastised, "And a little empathy, perhaps."
Seamus scoffed, "Max doesn't know the meaning of the word."
Ted watched the POTH as Ron and Hermione continued to argue in acoustic segregation.
Ernie spoke, "I have a question."
"Yes?"
There was a collective relief that they had at least something else to talk about.
The MLE framed his query, "Not that I'm agreeing to this and not that I plan to break any of the vows if I were to agree, but has anyone actually died because they um - slipped?"
"It's amazing how the prospect of Death has deterred slip-ups," Max answered coldly, sending shivers up Ted's spine.
The elf commented not so innocently, "Winky understands that's particularly true for you?"
Max didn't deny the accusation but defended himself, "It is difficult to find ways to destroy something you cannot fully understand. As a man of science, part of understanding is using it. So, to answer your question, yes. The vow is the only thing that keeps me from using the Hallows."
"So why did you sign up?" Ted inquired.
Max's face turned red, "Unlike you I had no choice. I kept going after them and they got tired of Obliviating me. I was forced to join."
When he left it at that Dovalov reminded him, "And it was only way to get rid of parasitic beast within you."
Ted thought that interesting but realized neither would expound further even if he asked. Burkes and Dovalov must have recruited him in POTH but Ted wondered if Hermione was on board with Max being a member.
It was interesting and troubling to note how the usually hands-on Hermione wasn't involved at all in this current process. Ted earlier thought she led the POTH but these recent events showed that perhaps there were aspects of it that she had no control over. It somehow got out of hand when the Head Unspeakable arrived on scene. There was an obvious adversarial element to their interaction, like she was playing some private chess game with him. Ted suspected that the delay in Max's arrival here was her doing so she could push through an agenda without the Head Unspeakable being present and likely to be obstructive.
"After a while keeping the secret becomes second nature, really" Gummy said positively.
Seamus muttered, "Much easier if you only ever talk to yourself."
"True."
"To be fair I echo Hermione's caution. Joining is not without personal cost," Dovalov added, "It isn't vow to not use Hallows that's hardest to keep, for most of us. It's need for secrecy. We have been inactive for long time but back in days when we had to intervene often, those of us with significant others had our share of struggles. While we can reveal ourselves we rarely do, especially not to our loved ones for their own safety. Clandestine meetings with unknown individuals and unexplained absences are not healthy for relationships. You can imagine what first assumptions are."
Ted heard the privacy shell dissipate and both Hermione and Ron rejoined them. Hermione walked as far away from Ron as she could without leaving the room. They were done arguing, at least for now.
"Give him the contract," she snapped at Dovalov, her tone as cold as ice, extremely mad, judging from how flushed she was.
Ron had a scowl on his face too as he got his wand back.
"Hey Ted," he called out, "Just do it. I'll back you up."
The invitation was to undoubtedly rile Hermione up even more and he wasn't disappointed.
It didn't help when Seamus made an encouraging remark, "Yeah, we can back each other up."
Gummy began going over the parchment with Ron. By then, the attention of the rest of the crew was on Ernie. Ernie had finished reading the vows, more than a few times, and was next to decide.
The deputy MLE stammered, "I - I'd love to help but I'm not cut out for this. My family will ask questions and it will be difficult not to be honest. Thanks for the offer. Sorry."
"Don't be," Dovalov responded.
The Russian nodded over to Max after seeing that Gummy was not quite finished with Ron. Max immediately went to work on wiping Ernie's memory. Seconds later Ron was passed out on a reclining chair, put to sleep following the memory suppression charm. The blank expression on Ernie's face meant Max was finished too. It was his turn.
In the decision he was about to make he thought of Harry, of how the Head Auror had sent him in and was counting on him for information. He was intensely frustrated that he was about to let Harry down. If only he had held onto his disguise a little longer he wouldn't be in this situation.
But that was all moot. Briefly, he considered morphing non-human and possibly escape, but the last transformation still left him disoriented and he wasn't sure he could pull another one off safely.
Ted looked up, all of them meeting his gaze in eager anticipation save for one. That was odd. It was as if she didn't want to sway his decision one way or the other any further than she already had.
With all that Ted went with common sense. He took Hermione's advice, thinking about Tori and their unborn child, and how much more secrecy his marriage could handle.
"I'm out," he said, "Just be careful with my memory. My wife will kill me if I forget about her."
"I'll remind you," Seamus reassured, somewhat disappointed, "Sad though. I was really looking forward to having more of us here."
Dovalov was aiming at his forehead and was about to cast the spell when something distracted him again.
He turned to Hermione and asked, "Would you rather perform this yourself?"
Hermione was quick to answer, "I'm sure you're perfectly capable."
XXXXXXXXXX
Dunk Dillidingbat wiped the sweat off his fat face and aimed the miniature table fan at himself, without much relief from the hot humid air. Not even the intermittent mists from the nearby Fountain of Hope helped. A floor to ceiling magical fence was erected in front of it right across the main hall, separating the lifts from the arrival and departure bays, where a sea of witches, wizards and Beings were still camped.
Although some were Ministry employees, many of them were media and civilians hoping to be part of the Wizengamot gallery for a historic meeting. They waiting to get through one of the ten security lanes staffed by Aurors and MLE.
It was near chaos is the Ministry Atrium.
"Sign here, here and here, reason for visit, time here. Answer all these questions and hand them to me."
The veteran MLE pointed at the various parts on the parchment, giving instructions to the wizard he was checking in at the moment. It is already seven p.m. He had been at it for hours, signing in dozens upon dozens that all those going through were just a blur to him.
"It's busy here today," the wizard in front of him remarked as he signed in, "Expecting trouble?"
"The Interim MOM is just being cautious," he replied without looking up, "Wizengamot's choosing the new Minister tonight after all."
"Jericho just resigned last night. Seems uncharacteristically swift," he heard the man say. "What's the rush?"
"Don't know and don't care," Dunk bunched up the pile of filled out forms and started putting them away, "I just do as I'm told. Place your wand in the box."
The wizard did and handed him the filled out paper. He was quickly going over the answers to the screening questions (not a single one he went through today drew a flag) when an alarm sounded throughout the building, followed by a coded announcement.
"Two rotten eggs broken on Level Two! Clean up crew needed immediately!"
Several Aurors from the area immediately scrambled for the lifts. There was a jailbreak from the Auror office holding cell, not a surprise to Dunk at all. It was only a matter of time before Auror Weasley would, considering there was no one guarding him. All Aurors who reported back (and there were not many) were assigned to Wizengamot security.
"That can't be good," the man stated the obvious.
Across the way, Hank Trussell, the current Head Auror, stood on a chair and bellowed to the crowd, "We have an internal breach! Clear the Atrium! If you are not a Ministry Employee leave at once! We cannot guarantee your safety!"
The annoucement caused pandemonium and at that exact moment, he noticed the wand analyser going crazy, flashing him multiple, red cautions. He couldn't believe what he was reading. His insides going crazy, Dunk mustered the courage to look up at the wizard before him for the first time and recognized the man instantly.
Fuck...
"Is something the matter?" Harry Potter asked him.
The warnings continued on the screen.
Outstanding Arrest Warrant!!!
Proceed with utmost caution! Consider armed and extremely dangerous!
Maybe Auror Potter didn't know that there was an outstanding arrest warrant out for him but Dunk decided that, if that was the case, he wouldn't be the one to let the Auror know. Dunk wasn't paid enough for that kind of shit.
"N-no," the words stumbled out of his mouth, "N-not that I know of."
"Can you tell me if that was Auror Weasley who just broke out of prison?"
The MLE veteran nodded, paralyzed about what to do next. He figured that going for the weapon in his pocket was not going to be a good choice, particularly when the former Head Auror had already noticed the law enforcement crowd he was attracting.
Harry Potter sighed, "I guess that's one thing off my list. I'll be needing my wand now."
Shit...
"Please?" Harry Potter looked him in the eye, waiting.
"I c-can't," a voice from within him said.
His answer didn't impress the former Head Auror one bit. Dunk could see Aurors and Hit Wizards in his peripheral vision with their weapons out, waiting for a signal from Trussell. Even with the threat, Harry Potter looked calm, in sharp contrast to what he and everyone else was going through.
"Dunk," the former Head Auror put things in quite plain terms, "I know you have a job to do but I really like my wand. If you make me ask for it again, I won't be as nice."
Large beads of sweat poured down the side of his face. Dunk Dillidingbat couldn't think past what he was thinking.
I am so fucked!
XXXXXXXXXX
A/N. Who thinks Warren was telling Hugo the entire truth? Who hopes he was?
What about the Unspeakable Unspeakable?
Ron was being an ass but Hermione probably deserved it.
Many of you are really following the story well - some even better that me! Lol! You keep me on my toes :)