The Traveler's Secret

CHAPTER 21 HOGSMEADE

Though the hour was nearing midnight, the heat of the day still clung to everything. It clung to the drooping black leaves of the gray trees, to the darkened window panes of the houses, and to the skins of the witches and wizards who shifted restlessly, partially from the heat, and partially from the state of tension and terror they were in.

Albus Dumbledore stood starkly still, his skin pearly in the bright moonlight. All those who passed him would have mistaken him for a pale statue. Only the wave of his auburn hair, that rippled slightly in the hot, sluggish breeze, and his wintry blue eyes made those who passed him realize that he was human.

Despite his outward calm, he was barely able to control the rapid palpitations of his heart. He could feel his pulse throbbing in every vein. A visible shudder ran through his body; the wait was unbearable.

Over and over again he ran through all the spells and enchantments he and other witches and wizards had placed around the village. Alarm spells placed on strategic spots around Hogsmeade, especially on residential district- Vikious and I worked on. Anti-dark spells- Frederick worked on. Vikious, Frederick, and Dippet were back at Hogwarts protecting the castle, and Krum; also keeping an eye on Jean Fulver. Dumbledore's thoughts paused when he thought of Fulver and his suspicious letter, but he pushed the notion hastily aside, focusing on the list of spells again. He would deal with Fulver later. Repelling charms- Aberforth, Vikious and a few witches and wizards of Hogsmeade created. Double shielded charm around the entire residential and commercial district- Dippet, Wolfbane and I worked on.

No matter how many spells had been created and used, no matter how many witches and wizards there were to defend Hogsmeade, Dumbledore knew it wasn't enough to protect the entire village, not nearly enough; there were holes in the protection, but only key wizards knew of the flaws. Dumbledore felt an old worry take on a fresh skin; what if the traitor let the enemy know where those holes in the protection were? If that happened, then Dumbledore would know that the traitor was someone close, and that thought alone sent a blast of glacial cold into his bones. With that fear in mind and with Wolfbane's help, he secretly posted Aurors the ministry had sent to the spots of little or no protection. He told no one, but Wolfbane that the Aurors were going to those spots. If all went well, then there wouldn't be any trouble tonight, but if there was a traitor in their midst, a lot of things could go wrong. At least, the plan of protecting Hogsmeade felt a little better to Dumbledore, but he still worried. He feared for the surrounding countryside, and the nearby Muggle villages; there was nothing that Dumbledore could do with so short a warning to protect them.

Albus turned and watched his brother Aberforth as his brother ordered last minute preparations. He noticed that Aberforth stood as far away from him as he could, and never looked at him. Although Albus had tried to talk to his brother, Aberforth had not been keen to speak to Albus except to say what was necessary for the protection of Hogsmeade. At least Aberforth had believed him when he told him about Wolfbane's vision, and had done a swift job of getting the townspeople organized. It seems the people of Hogsmeade respected Aberforth, or were at least willingly to be led by him.

Aberforth had made the protection of the village easier by convincing those who lived on the edge of town to move into the residential district, if only for tonight. People were terrified and a little skeptical on the reason behind it, but Aberforth had convinced them by the use of the word "prophecy". He didn't tell them who had had the vision, since Johnny Wolfbane was looked on as being only a little better than a werewolf. No one wanted to be wrong if it so happened that the vision had an iota of truth to it.

So the farmers moved their families off their farms, after casting protective spells over their livestock, and moved in closer to the center of town. The people of Hogsmeade had opened their homes to these fleeing families. Lilah, the little girl from Wolfbane's vision, and her family had taken in a lot of these families and had been very helpful in setting up a large kitchen for those refugees staying in makeshift tents.

And in the middle of all this was Aberforth, ordering and organizing all the details. Albus was glad that his brother had found a place of acceptance, even after the scandal his father had created, but inside Albus, a small ache had opened up again in his heart. Ever since Ariana had died, and Aberforth had blamed him for her death, they had not been on speaking terms. Albus would have done anything to talk to his brother again, and have a semblance of a brotherly relationship, but it was not to be.

Dumbledore pushed yet another thought from his mind, trying to hide from his own pain. Instead, he focused his attention on figuring out why Grindelwald would attack the village. The only reason he could come up with was that Grindelwald wanted Albus to know that he knew Albus had Sergei, and he was showing that he had the means and will to attack. Dumbledore should have known how his former friend would have reacted; Grindelwald knew he couldn't get at Dumbledore while he was in Hogwarts; the castle was too well guarded, but he could attack Hogsmeade, wreak havoc on innocent civilians, which in turn put pressure on Dumbledore.

As Dumbledore watched Aberforth trying to calm the frightened children of Hogsmeade, he felt his anger inside him ignite, not towards his brother, but towards the man he had once considered to be a friend, and the man who had torn his family apart; Grindelwald was not going to win this battle. Just as Albus was feeling anger, he also felt a sliver of guilt. He knew all about guilt, how it sunk into the pit of one's stomach, and never left, how it clung onto every thought tenaciously. Dumbledore had had enough guilt over Ariana to last him a lifetime, and he was not going to let Grindelwald hurt anyone else, and add another scar to his conscience. Dumbledore was determined that Hogsmeade not fall.

Wolfbane let a growl roll out of his throat, and Dumbledore snapped to attention. He noticed the increased tension in his American friend's thick shoulders as Wolfbane paced at his side. He also saw the occasional shift of Johnny Wolfbane's skin color. Albus knew his friend was not completely in control of himself, but what little control he did have was enough. Wolfbane was anxious because the time was getting closer and closer to midnight. The beasts should be near the outskirts of town by now.

Albus steadied himself. He tried running over the spells around the village one more time, but found it difficult to do; other thoughts kept pushing their way to the forefront of his mind. One thought was persistent over the others; the pain of not speaking to his brother was competing with the perplexing situation with Jean Fulver. He couldn't escape the mental image of Fulver's face when the Frenchman had been put under house arrest. It had not been a pleasant scene.

After Dumbledore had received the news of the letter from Vikious, followed by the news of an imminent attack by Wolfbane, Dumbledore could not ignore the warning signs anymore, even though his heart told him different. A part of him wanted nothing more than to hand over the problem to the Headmaster and be done with it, but another part of him knew he couldn't; if anybody should be held responsible for Fulver, it should be him since he brought the Muggle into the castle.

Dumbledore, Frederick, Wolfbane, and a triumphant Vikious headed to the Great Hall to intercept Fulver. When entering the hall, they decided to wait until after the end of the year feast; there was no need to frighten the students more than necessary; they didn't need extra fear and doubt the night before they left for home.

So the quartet of wizards waited, keeping up vigilance over the Frenchman. Jean was at the staff table next to Sergei and was holding a seemingly harmless conversation with him. Dumbledore was surprised that the two men were getting along, which added to his doubt about Jean Fulver being the traitor, but then the thought of a letter arriving to Hogwarts addressed to the Muggle pushed that thought aside.

Jean Fulver must have known that something was not right, because he was waiting defiantly outside the door of the Great Hall. Dumbledore, Frederick, Vikious and Wolfbane surrounded Fulver and Sergei, who was at Jean's side. Krum was angry at first, but was soon hurt and puzzled when Vikious told him of the letter Fulver had received. Dumbledore could see that Sergei felt betrayed, especially since he had considered Fulver to be a friend.

Fulver, on the other hand, had a look of stark rage glimmering in his eyes. It had been Vikious who had taken up the charge of putting Jean Fulver under arrest, and leading him back to his room. At first, Fulver had resisted, but soon saw how pointless it was to fight when four wands were pointed at his chest. With eyes searing in anger, his lips sealed by a Silencing Spell, and his arms bound firmly behind his back, Fulver was led to his room, trailed by a stupefied Krum.

Once Fulver's bonds were cut and he was locked up in his room, Vikious took it upon himself to guard the door. He was quite smug in his victory, a feeling that Dumbledore could not share, and could barely stomach. He felt in his bones that this was wrong; something in this picture did not fit. The only time Vikious had not stood guard was when he and Frederick left with Dumbledore to help set up the defenses around Hogsmeade. Borden and other members of the staff had been asked to stand guard over Jean's room, but Fulver never tried to force his way out, which was odd to Dumbledore. Once Vikious had finished with his part in the defense of Hogsmeade, he had taken up his post again as triumphant as ever.

Frederick, on the other hand, had wanted to stay with Dumbledore and protect the village, but Albus needed some one he trusted to stand guard over Sergei Krum. Sergei was the one who needed to be protected over all things, and Dumbledore had confidence in his cousin's ability to give Sergei his protection. As a consequence, Sergei was not allowed to leave his room as well, but the man had taken his confinement with a sad resignation. Dumbledore had a feeling that Krum needed time to digest all the new information he had learned, especially if Sergei had considered Fulver to be a friend.

Albus sorely wished that Fulver wasn't the traitor, but if not Fulver, then the implications of who it was became too much for Albus to think of.

"Albus!" screamed Wolfbane.

Albus snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes quickly turning to his friend at his side. Wolfbane pointed towards the sky above the village opposite them. Red sparks shot up into the air, near the back end of the commercial district; it was also one of the places with the smallest amount of protection. Dumbledore felt his heart skip a beat. They knew where the holes were!

Wolfbane roared, and transformed into bear. He barreled through crowds of frightened wizards towards the spot, and Dumbledore followed behind him. Aberforth made a move to follow with a small sortie of wizards behind him, but Albus stopped him.

"Aberforth, stay where you are! We don't know if that will be the only place they will attack!"

With that said, Albus Disapparated away. Aberforth ordered the wizards to spread out along the border lines, vigilant and ready.

Albus Apparated into confusion. He had been right to place the Aurors on the weak spots, because there was a nasty fight taking place between the Aurors with Wolfbane at their side against vampires and werewolves. Dumbledore hit a nearby vampire, who was feasting on the neck of an Auror, with a powerful repelling charm. The vampire let out a snarl as he was hit by the spell, and was sent flying backwards, slamming into the ground twenty feet from them. The creature didn't get up.

Albus began aiming at werewolves who charged him, their eyes filled with hunger, their muzzles red with blood. Werewolf after werewolf fell under Dumbledore's well aimed spells. Near him, Johnny, the bear, worked his way through various creatures, sometimes battling a few at a time. His large paws sliced through the faces and arms of werewolves, his jaws crunching down on available throats.

Spells lit up the night as the Aurors, Albus and Wolfbane held their ground on the onslaught. Bodies hit the ground, howls and screams rent the air, and the smell of blood stung everyone's noses.

Suddenly the night was silent. The still forms of werewolves and vampires littered the ground around them, mixed in with wounded Aurors. Groans rose up into the oily night. Albus watched and waited, his heart pounding inside him. His hand was steady as he aimed his wand, even if his stomach was rolling inside him. He saw the shadows of other werewolves dart away from the battleground. They may not have made it in here, but they may try another spot.

Albus turned to an Auror near him. She was a witch with astounding green eyes, and short cropped blonde hair.

"Go to all the weak spots and warn all the Aurors of an immediate attack!"

She nodded and quickly Disapparated away.

Albus and the others waited apprehensively, their eyes scanning the darkness that was hedged in between the unused buildings of the commercial district. They listened. Wolfbane panted at his side, his huge form heaving with exhaustion. Albus could see his friend was wounded, but it was nothing serious.

No sound could be heard. Far away the howl of werewolves rang throughout the night, becoming more and more distant. Soon no unnatural sound could be heard. Albus couldn't believe the attack was over so soon. Something wasn't right. Obviously the traitor must have told the enemy where the weak spots had been, but had not known that Dumbledore was going to post Aurors in those weak spots. Only he and Wolfbane knew that. No one else, not even the Headmaster, knew that. Although, Dumbledore was glad that Wolfbane and Jean were now cleared in his mind of being the traitor, his thoughts deepened, trying to put the pieces together faster, in order to find this traitor.

Without Albus realizing it, Wolfbane had disappeared from his side. It was only when he returned that Dumbledore realized he had been gone. Now in his human form, Albus saw the extent of the damage done to Wolfbane. Dark scratches raked down his arms, scars that would be with him until the day he died. Albus wondered if Wolfbane, being what he was, would be affected by werewolf scratches. Johnny didn't seem too worried about them.

"Where did you go?" Albus asked.

"I was checking the perimeter, all the weak spots," Wolfbane replied. He was calm, and that eased Dumbledore's mind. Johnny would not be this calm if they were still in danger.

"And, what's the news?"

"Aberforth told me that he saw sparks in the other weak spots a little after the sparks went up here. I just got reports from Aurors and Hogsmeade wizards in those areas. They said that though there were nasty fights in those areas, the beasts must have realized they didn't stand a chance, and left. We got lucky Albus. From what I saw of the werewolves, they had been starved, which made them fiercer, but also not as strong. Someone purposely sent these hungry beasts after us. If we hadn't had the Aurors in those weak spots, the village would have become a bloodbath!"

Dumbledore grimaced, his anger rolling up inside him. It was bad enough that Grindelwald had sent some of the darkest creatures to attack Hogsmeade, but he had sent them half starved. Albus wondered at the lengths Grindelwald would go to get Sergei Krum and his plans, and shuddered at the thought. He knew his former friend was capable of true evil to get what he wanted.

"You're right. It would have been a bloodbath. We should send word to the surrounding counties of the danger they now face with..." Dumbledore stopped as he watched his friend's body stiffen, a milky haze descending over Wolfbane's eyes. Dumbledore knew when a vision was coming on his friend, and pulled closer to catch Johnny if he need assistance. Inside Albus' mind, red alarms started to go off. Maybe the attack wasn't over.

But the visions soon were, and Wolfbane was only a little disoriented; he stumbled a bit, but soon regained his balance. His composure was far from being calm; Wolfbane wore a haggard look of sorrow, horror and a small amount of puzzlement.

"What did you see Wolfbane? Did you see the outcome and effects of tonight? Will there be bloodshed over the countryside?"

Wolfbane looked at Dumbledore, his eyes dark holes of worry.

"Apart of what I saw had to do with tonight," Wolfbane began, but the sudden shudder than ran through the American stopped any further information.

"What do you mean by that?" Albus asked.

"I saw three separate scenes, three possible futures. One of the futures is unstoppable because it is a consequence of tonight, but the other two we still have time to stop, and Albus we must stop them from coming to pass!"

"Well, what did you see? What happens tonight we can't stop?"

Wolfbane sighed, his eyes large and vulnerable, and Albus suddenly realized how taxing this must be for Wolfbane. Johnny walked around a bit, and Albus followed him, knowing his friend just needed to move about.

"I saw one of the wounded werewolves wandering onto a nearby farm. It was the farm of one of the farmers Aberforth had not been able to convince to move into the center of town. They have a small boy named Fenrir. He will be bitten, but I sensed something about this boy is different. An obscured future lies in front of the child."

Dumbledore had heard of the boy. He was one of the boys that would have gotten a letter to come to Hogwarts. Dumbledore knew that Dippet wouldn't allow this boy to come now, not with all the parent's objections that would be sure to come. Just this past year, Dippet had had to face a lot of criticism about admitting the new boy Hagrid, who was obviously part giant. If he, Albus, ever became Headmaster, he would accept all children who wanted to learn, even ones who had darkness inside them that they couldn't help.

"Is there more Wolfbane? You said that only a part of the vision had to do with tonight. What about the rest?" Albus asked.

By this time, Albus and Wolfbane had walked closer to the center of town. Cleanup had already begun as wounded witches and wizards were tended and the bodies of the dead were moved. Johnny stopped, not wanting to get any closer to other people. He looked terrified, and puzzled.

"The other two parts I saw were somehow interconnected, and also seemed to hinge on a series of decisions made by various people that have yet to be made for them to come to pass. The first I saw was about Sergei Krum." Johnny stopped as he saw Albus tense up.

"What about Sergei? Does something happen to him, Wolfbane?!" Albus sputtered, his heart shuddering by the unexpected terror that gripped it.

"It wasn't clear if something bad does happen. All I saw was Sergei standing on top of the Astronomy Tower. I remember it was a clear night, the sky was bright and the stars sharp behind Sergei. He stood terrified and rooted to the spot, looking at me in pure fear. I saw falling stars behind him, and then it switched to the third vision.

The third vision was clearer as to what was going on. The Leaky Bucket was under attack, and Tom and his son were being held as hostages by Sergei's cousin, Marabella. She was giving an ultimatum to us that we either give up Sergei or she would start killing hostages. Oh God, Albus, I saw her kill the bartender's son, Tom, in front of his father."

Albus felt his knees go weak. Johnny looked at him, his face stern.

"All we have to do, Albus, is keep Tom at Hogwarts for the summer. He can't be killed if he isn't at the Leaky Bucket," Wolfbane stated.

"That's impossible," Albus said, though he barely heard the words that came from his own mouth.

"No, it's not. They can bend the rules for once to save this boy's life!"

Dumbledore looked at Wolfbane, his body now a tremble.

"Tom left Hogwarts early this morning after breakfast by special request. He and his father were going on a father-son vacation together!"