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(St. John's Wood) Brainstorming
Author: Ron Weasley
Date: 12-21-08 14:25
On a long, tall wall in one of the many rooms of the St. John's Wood manor, a large map is affixed. Ron paces in front of it, muttering over and over, "You need to get warm. Very, very warm." Every once in a while he stops and facing the map points and mumbles then resumes the pacing and the muttering.
"I've always known Ron was completely barmy, Neville."
"Being your brother, Ginny, shouldn't you use nicer terms, such as eccentric or "
"Dotty. Loony. Demented. Batty. Starkers."
"I use that last to mean naked."
"Maybe if we wait long enough, he'll strip down as part of whatever ritual he's performing in front of that map."
Ron stops to face the doorway where Ginny and Neville stand with amused grins. "Do you have nothing better to do than stand around yammering nonsense about me?"
As one they reply, "No."
Ginny, with a slight smile still showing, ask, "What are you doing?"
Ron waves a hand at the map. "Trying to figure something out."
"What is it?" Neville asks, walking to stand near Ron, turning to study the map.
"It's a map," Ron replies straight faced.
Neville good naturedly punches Ron in the arm while Ginny retorts, "Why do I always get stuck with the idiots?"
"Hey!" Neville and Ron protest.
Ginny grins, "Sorry, Neville."
"And?" Ron prompts.
"And you are an idiot, Ron," Ginny snickers.
"Harry and Hermione never treat me so shabbily," Ron grumbles.
"Not to your face at any rate," Ginny replies with a bigger grin.
Knowing this back and forth between the siblings could go on at length, Neville gets the conversation back on course. "Ron, you'd been repeating 'You need to get warm. Very, very warm.' What does that mean?"
"Dunno. That's what I'm trying to work out."
"But what is it?" Ginny asks, now also studying the map.
"A clue."
"To what?" Ginny's starting to sound impatient.
"This stays between us. Well, Sirius knows."
Neville scrunches up his brow. "Not Hermione?"
"Not yet."
"You've got a secret from Hermione?" Ginny turns, looking incredulously at Ron.
"You've got a secret, Ron?" Hermione asks, walking into the room.
"Why don't we all talk more loudly and get everyone else in the mansion interested in this conversation," Ron sighs.
"So, what is it a clue to?" Ginny prods.
Hermione gives a small shake of her head. "What clue?"
Neville answers, "Ron's been staring at this map and pacing in front of it for ages, saying over and over 'You need to get warm. Very, very warm.'"
Ginny adds, "He says it's a clue."
"To what?"
The three look at Ron as Ginny says, "That's what we want to know too."
Ron glowers briefly at his sister, walks to the door, pokes his head into the hall, looks one way then the other, then pulling back into the room, shuts the door. He waits until he's rejoined Hermione, Neville, and Ginny at the map. "Let's try this again. This stays between us, though Sirius does know."
"Fine."
"Yes."
"All right."
Ginny, Neville, and Hermoine respond.
"It's a clue to where Harry is."
"What?" the three practically explode.
"How did you get this?" Ginny demands.
"Very good question, Ginny," Hermione says, looking at Ron with interest.
"I can't tell you."
"Can't or won't?" Ginny asks much to Ron's annoyance.
"Won't."
"You've not said anything to Janine?" Neville wonders.
"I wasn't going to say anything to anyone for a bit. I was hoping to figure it out."
Hermione asks, "So how does Sirius know?"
"We learned it together."
"How?"
Ron glances at Neville and shakes his head, "Sorry. I can't tell you that."
The other three stare at Ron for a long moment but he refuses to let them make him feel guilty for not sharing. Finally Hermione asks, "The entire clue is 'You need to get warm. Very, very warm?'"
"More or less."
Neville asks, "More or less? What does that mean?"
"There was a bit about how, in the search for Harry, we are cold. We need to get warm."
"Sounds like that kid's game," Ginny comments.
"It does, doesn't it?" Hermione replies.
"But what does it mean?" Neville asks, stepping back to stare at the entire map.
Ron shrugs. "It's got to mean Harry's not at Azkaban. We've been searching for the prison communities all over Britain. We've not found any on our own though."
Hermione nods. "Right. Each one we know about has not been because of someone stumbling over the location."
Ron makes a motion at the map, his hand indicting the larger of the two main British Isles. "I was thinking maybe the clue means we shouldn't only be looking only in Great Britain proper."
"So maybe Ireland or some of the smaller islands?" Neville says.
"That's a good idea," Hermione agrees.
Ginny looks at the map then back at the others. "Why stop there? There are the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, other places."
"Gibralter, some places in the Pacific," Neville agrees, adding to Ginny's list.
"The Caribbean," Ron says.
Hermione snaps her fingers. "The clue stresses warm. What if it's someplace like the South Pacific or the Caribbean?"
Neville turns to stare again at the map then asks out of the blue, "Has Pinky ever tried to go to Harry?"
"Yeah, I think so," Ron answers.
"Doesn't that work better if a House Elf is owned by the person?" Ginny asks.
"I think so but if Pinky could have gotten to Harry, wouldn't he have?" Ron replies.
"Maybe whatever spells are in place wherever Harry is, keep Pinky from being able to get a fix on the location," Hermione theorizes.
"What if Harry were to call for Pinky?"
"Good question, Ginny," Neville says. "Wonder if Harry's thought to give it a try?"
"I've been trying to send a Patronus to Harry. Just let him know we're trying," Ron tells them.
"Of course he knows we're trying," Ginny says, giving Ron her best don't be an idiot expression.
"You've no way of knowing if the Patronus is reaching him," Hermione states, "but in case it is, why not send the message for him to call for Pinky?"
"Do you think whatever spells the place has around it would keep a Patronus from getting through?" Ginny asks.
"Or the distance? If he is someplace very, very warm, that puts it fairly far from here."
Ginny, Neville, and Ron look to Hermione for the answer to that.
"I don't know about distance. We send them back and forth to places like France, Belgium and Spain all the time."
"But what about over thousands of miles?" Ron asks.
"We could try something to increase the chances that distance does affect a Patronus. If we don't want to go asking the older Order members that is," Ginny suggests.
Ron shakes his head. "I don't want to answer questions they might ask on why we want to know. What's your idea?"
"Do you think of we put our wands together, so to speak, we could create a - I don't know what to call it - a super Patronus?"
Hermione says, "Can't hurt to try."
The four pull out their wands and standing in a tight cluster point them at one of the tall windows facing out on one of the manor's gardens. "On three," Ron says.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
"Expecto Patronum!" the four firmly, emphatically chorus.
Four distinct Patronuses form, then as if knowing what's expected of them, merge into one. It's rather odd looking with the otter head and neck of Hermoine's, back legs and tail of Ron's Jack Russell terrior, and in between an jumbled mix of Neville's and Ginny's.
Together they give the "Super Patronus" the message for Harry to call for Pinky, then send it on its way. They'll only know if they succeeded if sometime within the next few days Pinky is drawn to wherever Harry is located.
(Mark) In Bed
Author: Isolde
Date: 12-21-08 17:09
Mark stirred in his bed. He didn't know what time it was but he figured it was late morning. Since he didn't have classes or other pressing appointments on Saturday mornings (thank Merlin for that!), he didn't feel any real need to get up early or even at what might be considered a decent hour. Besides, with it being so warm beneath his covers and cooler out of them, he preferred sleeping in for as long as he could stand it.
Cavall, Mark's snow-white kitten, protested profusely. He started when it was still dark outside, demanding breakfast even though Mark hardly considered it to be morning. Cavall meowed and meowed, and when Mark didn't stir, the cat jumped into the bed with a heavy thump in an effort to make his presence known. Mark eventually got up and fed the little beast, but only because some of his roommates had started to complain about the noise disrupting their beauty sleep.
Come dawn, Cavall padded around Mark's four-poster, waiting for the sleeping boy to finally get up. If Mark didn't stir, he jumped into the bed and stalked around until he got a reaction. He wanted attention––a good scratch behind the ears––and amusement. In his humble opinion, Mark had slept long enough.
Mark, naturally, didn't think so. It wasn't so much that he was tired, though he had gone to bed quite late last night. It was just so very pleasant in his bed. He didn't want to get up, not for Cavall and not even for breakfast. With the apparition lesson currently underway, he'd have to seek sustenance in the common room if the urge to eat something overwhelmed him.
Cavall pounced onto the bed again, right onto Mark's legs. He stalked up the length of Mark's body and peered into his face. Mark opened first one eye and then the other and then swept out his arms, scooped up Cavall, and tucked him under the covers with him. Cavall, who'd grown considerably since Mark first got him last summer, struggled in Mark's arms at first, but then discovered that staying in the toasty bed wasn't such a bad idea after all. He made himself comfortable in the crook of Mark's arm and dozed off, given Mark the peace he needed to enjoy the rest of his extremely lazy Saturday morning.
Breaking And Entering Without The Breaking
Author: Jet
Date: 12-21-08 17:51
Jet stood with mouth hanging open in awe in a foyer with polished marble floor, crystal chandelier, and walls covered with some sort of expensive looking treatment. When Hermione entrusted Jet with where to meet, he had no idea he'd be standing inside such a massive house.
"Jet, right one time."
Hermione comes through one of the doors leading off from the foyer, fingers working on buttoning up a coat. Coming behind Hermione are Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Ron Weasley. As Ginny says, "Hi, Jet," and Neville greets him with, "Hello," Ron's asking Hermoine, "Why won't you tell me where you are going?"
Hermione very sweetly says, "Tell me where you got the clue and I'll tell you where I'm going."
Jet has no idea what she's referring to but based on their amusement, Ginny and Neville do. Ron just gives Hermione a petulent stare before finally giving Jet a less than happy hello.
Jet says hi to all of them then asks Hermione, "Ready?"
"Ready. I'll see you later."
Hermione gives Ron a kiss then whisper in Jet's ear, "The alcove near the statue of Beedle the Bard."
Knowing that Hermione's whispering due to their audience and her obvious desire not to let them know what he and she are planning, Jet mutely nods. Ron shoots Jet a dark look but when Ginny shoves an elbow in her brother's ribs, Ron says contrary to his expression, "Good luck, you two."
Hermione throws an invisibility cloak over them and then together she and Jet disapparate, each hoping they have bargained correctly and the apparition restriction over Hogwarts is currently lifted for a lesson taking place right then. It's not until he's safely standing in the alcove near the Beedle the Bard statue that Jet realizes just how tense he'd been when apparating. He relaxes somewhat but only some as the hard part is still yet to come.
The invisibility cloak wasn't meant for two adults so Hermione and Jet have to walk slowly in a crab-like crouch. Uncomfortable but neither is going to complain when the cloak is keeping them from being seen. Halfway between the alcove and their destination, they press themselves against the wall, neither daring to so much as breath when Harriet Snider herself comes undulating past on a flying carpet.
They wait for approximately fifteen seconds after Snider's flown down the hall and turned a corner then continue on their way. The only other living soul they see is a House Elf directing several brooms down a side corridor. Reaching the statue at the entrance to what had been Albus Dumbledore's office, and still is in their opinions even if Harriet Snider is using it, Jet hopes they can get it. That's going to be the hardest part of this whole caper.