The Spellcrafters

Chapter Five, Breakthrough.

"Alex, could you please come in here and take Orion somewhere else. He is freaking out my lab rats again."

Since the 'bear-incident' Alex had decided the Demiguise had earned himself a name. After she and Max came back from Diagon Alley, Alex had performed a few diagnostic spells on him. Those had clarified that Orion was a three year old, perfectly healthy male. Alex had thought of 'Orion' because of the pure white patch on his chest, she thought it looked like a star.

With a sigh, Alex stood up from behind her desk. Why couldn't Max solve the problem himself? It wasn't like he couldn't get the animal out of the room on his own. When Alex walked into Max's lab, she saw Orion hopping up and down and scurrying around the cages containing the rats. He was changing colour back and forth, from crimson red to royal blue. He seemed confused as to whether he wanted to attack the rats and eat them or protect them. It was then she realised Max had called her in for the fun of it, seeing Orion jump up and down while changing colour was a real hoot.

Max had bought five white rats, a week ago at a Muggle pet store, to use as test subjects for a new potion he had been working on. From the moment the rats entered the door, Orion had been all over them, pushing and shaking the cages, putting his slim agile fingers through the bars, occasionally getting them nipped by the panicked rats. He was very clearly scaring the rats senseless.

When Alex called out to him, Orion looked up and immediately retreated three feet, away from the cages. His pelt turned to a silvery grey; the colour of apprehension, as Alex had learned to distinguish.

"Come along Orion, leave the poor little rats alone," Alex said while pointing out the door, "Shame on you for scaring them so." She chuckled when she saw him retreating from the cages.

Orion looked at the rats longingly for a few more minutes and then slowly sauntered out the room, following Alex into the hallway. Alex closed the door behind them and left Max to lock the door from the inside. Through the door, she could hear a faint 'thank you' and a suppressed chuckle, confirming her suspicions that Max thought Orion was a right laugh.

Simply closing the door had become ineffective at keeping Orion out as he proved two days ago by figuring out how door handles worked. Pull them down and out and the door opens, really simple and Orion was an extremely clever animal.

He had learned that when Alex or Max said 'Orion', they meant him and he reacted to his name very swiftly. He had quickly assimilated to living with humans and walked about the house as if he owned the place. Alex simply adored him, which Orion used to his advantage to get more treats.

Today he had gotten into Max's Potion lab by following him into the room while he was invisible. Max didn't even know he was there until Orion reappeared himself jumping up and down. Max thought it was a really funny sight but he couldn't work with completely terrified rats, it might contaminate his findings.

After getting Orion out of Max's way, Alex walked back to her desk in the library, hoping to get on with her own work. Orion followed her in his everyday colour, a light and indistinct beige; he seemed to like her presence more than he liked Max's. The only thing he seemed to like more around the house, were the rats and Alex wasn't entirely sure whether she should think of that as a compliment.

*****

Three weeks of studying Orion's movements and actions had provided Alex with a lot of new information. She had compiled a list of foods the Demiguise ate, which included both vegetables and meat, a detailed description of all its behaviour - including his behaviour pertaining to contact with humans, animals (mostly just his attitude toward the rats and the bear), its sleeping and awakening habits. Most notable was his ability to learn quickly.

The most important list she was working on was the list of colours and their significance. Alex figured she knew the meaning of six different colours by now, but Orion was still occasionally showing new ones. This meant that her list kept growing. She also thought she knew how Demiguises produced the different colours. She suspected they had worked out a technique to break light. It would account for their invisibility, as well as for the wide range of colours Orion was presenting.

Alex had bought a few books on mystical creatures, two weeks ago at Diagon Alley. She was now trying to classify the Demiguise, and in the process, came across an animal with a lot of similar characteristics to the Demiguise. If you stripped the magical abilities away from the Demiguise his behaviour was remarkably similar to that of a Bonobo Chimp a genetically close relative of humans. Alex had discovered in a Muggle book on Chimpanzees.

Right now Orion couldn't care less if he was Max's second cousin twice removed; he was curled up in front of the fireplace, quietly enjoying a midday nap. He didn't have a care in the world; all was well with him and his adopted family. Yes, he had adopted them even if the humans thought differently. When he saw Alex sitting across from him at the riverbank way back then, he had sensed something important was going to happen to her in the future. He sensed he would be needed and decided to forego his natural caution of humans and walked into their house later that night.

He hadn't regretted his decision yet; his family was nice and genuinely seemed to care about him. The house was warm and felt safe to him now. There was always enough food for him around; he especially liked the apples, which he had never tasted before he walked into the house. And right now, lying in front of a roaring fire seemed right; fire, which had previously scared him senseless because of its sheer destructive power.

((((

On a rug in front of a different fireplace, in a different house, in another country, another animal was curled up and deep in thought, listening to the sound of her scales rubbing against each other while she coiled her body around and around. At least she was until her Master walked through the door.

"Worthless, the lot of them," spat a furious Wizard to no one in particular because there was no one else in the room to hear, "Not a one that can fulfil even the simple task of keeping an eye on a sixteen year old boy. I've had my fill of their excuses."

"But Master he simply disappeared after those ministry cars dropped them off at Grimmauld Place." He imitated the whimpering excuse, one of the new recruits had made, and growled in anger, "I will get you Harry Potter, I will get you yet. And soon!"

When the man plopped down in a battered old armchair, she raised her head and slithered over to see if he wanted her services. Noticing her approach, he waved her away.

"You are the only truly loyal servant I have, Nagini. You are the only one who has never failed me. Wormtail should be here soon with your food. If he knows what is good for him at least. If he doesn't you can eat him instead. At least then he would be put to good use."

Nagini returned to her rug and positioned herself so she was facing the door, waiting eagerly for her meal, which came around only once every two weeks. She was hoping for a large rabbit or maybe even for a couple of white ferrets. Last time all she got was a couple of rats, too scrawny to make a good meal, and she had bitten the bold little man as punishment. The result had been a festering sore on his ankle that had lasted for over a week. She needed a good meal this time to keep up her strength.

*****

An hour or two later, it was already growing dark outside, a tiny balding man in tattered old clothes slipped in the back door with a large sack on his back. Inside, he tapped on the door of the living room, to let anyone inside know he was coming. Anyone foolish enough to barge in unannounced, would be on the receiving end of a powerful curse for their insolence, one that would most likely kill them.

Once inside, Wormtail dropped to all fours and crawled forward to kiss the hem of his Masters robes.

"Did you get something good for Nagini this time Wormtail? She was complaining last time. If she is not satisfied this time, I will have to live up to my promise to her and let her eat you instead."

"Yes, M-M-Mast-er-r," stuttered the cringing man, who crawled away from the armchair, back in the direction of the large sack.

He stood up and walked slowly in the direction of the fireplace keeping his eyes on the floor. The last thing he wanted was to anger his Master or the large snake in front of him. He reached into the sack and removed a large chicken and a hare. He then looked at his Master to see if he would be spared.

His Master spoke to the snake in a language Wormtail didn't understand and didn't want to understand. It sounded horrid; the hissing sounds emanating from a human mouth.

"Are you content with this offering, Nagini?"

"Yesss, Massster. I am content, for once thisss rat hasss provided an adequate amount of food that might actually tassste good."

Wormtail visibly relaxed when he saw the snake advancing on the hare and swallowing it whole. He was saved for another day. He then slowly retreated out of the room and walked up to the second floor of the dilapidated building to the room he called his.

*****

A small concrete box, with wallpaper peeling off the walls and paint chipping from the sealing. A bed in the corner with some ragged blankets and a table in the middle with a single wobbly chair. That was all he had to show for this late in his life.

He sat down on his chair and counted his blessings for having made it through another day in the presence of the most evil wizard of his time. 'Voldemort', even though he was one of 'His' followers, Peter could not bring himself to even say the word. That was, of course, the way his Master instilled fear in all his followers and enemies. Make people fear the word and there is no telling where the fear will end if ever confronted by the real thing.

Ever since he had been stupid enough to travel to Albania a little over two years ago, he had grown to regret every single step he had made. It was the single most deplorable thing he had done. He had returned the scourge of the Wizarding world to health and body. Ever since, he had sought ways of undoing this vile thing.

Two years he had looked in libraries through numerous volumes of books, trying to find a way to undo the ancient magic Voldemort had wrought with the use of the bones of his father, the blood of an archenemy and the flesh donated by a willing servant. Peter might have gotten a fully functional silver hand in return but he wished he had had the spine to refuse the willpower of his master.

He thought he now had the answer right in front of him...

((((

"Alex, Alex come quick!" shouted Max, "Hurry up, come here!"

Alex was annoyed that Max had disturbed her yet again! "What is it now, do I have to get Orion out of there again?" she said when she walked up to the door of the Potions lab, "Well, if you want me in there so very badly, the least you could do is open the door already."

"Oops sorry honey, I closed it this morning, didn't want a repeat of yesterday with Orion," Max stammered while he muttered the charm to undo the locks.

"Well then if you don't need me to get Orion out of your way then what is it?" Alex asked. She was getting curious.

"It worked, my potion worked. For the first time in years it finally did it!" exclaimed Max, who was beside himself.

"Honey, what do you mean, which potion? I know you've had a new pet project for a while, but you never tell me about them. Now calm down and explain. What happened?" she dragged her husband into the kitchen and started to make some tea.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Orion trying to get into the Potion lab while it was unguarded, "Orion, stop that! Come in here, quickly now and leave those poor rats alone."

Orion walked over to her clearly ashamed; he was sporting a mottled greenish colour, another one Alex could add to her list. He jumped up and sat down on the kitchen counter. Alex closed the kitchen door and started to put everything they needed on the table.

With the cups of hot tea in front of them, Alex urged Max to start talking.

"Darling, you know as well as I do that the most important part of our contract was to look for ways to protect people against the Unforgivables," Max started, "and over the years you and I have tried to do just that in vain, me by looking for new means of Transfiguration. You by trying to charm items to project protective barriers and I have tried several potions to achieve that exact result."

He chuckled, "But I think I did it this time though. I was almost ready to give up on this potion. I gave it one last try and poured some into one of the rats' drinking water. That was about an hour ago, I gave the potion some time to gain effect and then sent a Killing curse at the rat.

"Alex, it is still alive...."

Alex was in awe, "You cannot be serious." She got up out of her chair. "Where is this rat, I want to see it now!"

"I'll show you dear, come with me," Max walked out of the kitchen still holding on to his teacup.

Alex followed suit, when they closed the door to the Potions lab behind them; Max pointed out a cage in the rear and said, "That one, but I should warn you it changed colour. I am not sure if he will eventually change back or remain black. But compared to death it is a mild side effect wouldn't you say?"

Alex peered into the cage and looked at the rat. Max was right, last week he had walked in with five white rats and now there were only four, the fifth had died yesterday because the potion hadn't been complete then, but one of them was now as black as coal.

Tears started flooding Alex's eyes, "Max, my darling, you are a genius. You might have single handed saved the Wizarding world from those animals that call themselves Dark Lords." She hugged her husband tightly. "We should celebrate and send word to Albus that we might have a solution, he really should be the first to know."

*****

Alex and Max Apparated to London that night to celebrate their accomplishments. When they appeared behind the Leaky Cauldron, their disguises were already in place. Mr. Warren tapped on the bricks, opened the entryway to Diagon Alley, and escorted his wife through. They made their way down to Whitmore Lane, the place to shop for those with lots of money to spend, and the place to look for exquisite restaurants to savour delicious foods and fine wines.

When Mr. and Mrs. Warren arrived at the waiters station at the 'Quartier du Coeur', a restaurant of excellent reputation, the waiter immediately showed them to a secluded table in the back of the dining room, gave them menus, and presented Max with the winelist. Max ordered them a five-course meal. When the waiter returned ten minutes later to see if they had decided, Max requested that the wine they would be served would complement the dishes they would be eating.

Alex enjoyed herself immensely, it wasn't very often that they would spoil themselves like this. In fact, it wasn't often enough. Living in the middle of nowhere meant that she did all of the cooking herself and generally, only water appeared on the table to accompany the food. Consequently, Alex was, in fact, more then just a bit tipsy when the couple left the restaurant.

Max decided then and there that they had better stay the night in London. There was no way that Alex could Apparate in the state she was in. They walked, no, Max walked and carried Alex to one of the more high-class hotels on the street and booked them a room for the night. Once in their room Max lay his wife down on the bed, pulled the covers over her, and sat down in an armchair nearby, just to watch her sleep.

The next morning found the couple entangled on the bed, all the covers removed but one. Alex woke up and opened her eyes to see her husband right in front of her. She woke him up by kissing him on his forehead, his nose and finally his lips. The last kiss did it and Max's dark brown eyes opened a little spark making them twinkle as he kissed her back.

Two hours later the Crofts checked out of the hotel. Fortunately Alex had carried two extra doses of Multi-Potion along or their cover might have been blown. Max had written a letter on a piece of hotel stationary and the couple walked down to the Post Office on Diagon Alley.

Once there, Alex selected a high speed, emergency delivery. The post office attendant walked down the line of postal birds, mostly different kinds of owls, but the Diagon Alley office also carried several falcons for emergency deliveries. They were the property of the Ministry and usually only used by it, but when the birds where in the Post Offices care, other people were welcome to use them as well. The attendant came back with one and showed her to Alex. She approved and attached the letter to the falcon's leg. Max then paid the elevated price for the emergency delivery.

Max took the falcon from the young man and they walked out of the Post Office, where Max gave it a flying start and they watched the falcon fly off over Londen before Apparating back home.

((((

At Hogwarts, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were having lunch in one of the Courtyard gardens of the castle. They were some of the few people who spent the entire summer at Hogwarts. Most of the other teachers went home over the summer, to spend time with family when they could. The only teacher that was there, that hadn't joined his colleagues out in the courtyard today was Severus Snape, who was totally engrossed in brewing Potions in his Dungeon.

"Oh my, oh my, those House Elves really are bored aren't they," said an amused Headmaster, "They absolutely insisted on making every single thing they could think of today."

"Yes, quite, but they are always bored during the summers, there simply isn't enough for them to do," Professor McGonagall answered, "Albus, there is falcon trying to get your attention, I think. In that tree over there." She pointed at the cherry tree that adorned the courtyard with a little shade.

Professor Dumbledore got out of his seat, walked over to the tree, and extended his hand for the falcon to sit on. The animal hopped on and extended his leg to fulfil his duty and deliver his letter as soon as possible. The Professor removed the letter he found and thanked the bird before releasing it.

"Curious, who would send me an emergency letter in the middle of summer. That was not a Ministry falcon, this letter does not have their seal, Albus muttered to himself.

"Minerva, I'm going to my office, see you later today or if I have other duties, then I'll see you in the morning," he said in a distracted voice while walking towards the French doors that opened out from his office onto the courtyard.

"Until tomorrow then, Headmaster," he got in response. Professor McGonagall was getting up herself as well. She had a lot of letters to send out this summer, the school had received a lot of requests to admit transfer students. Probably because of the rise of Voldemort again, thought Minerva to herself. Not that Professor McGonagall could blame their parents. Hogwarts was the safest place to be for children when Voldemort was around.

When the Headmaster arrived in his study, he sat down and opened the letter.

Professor Dumbledore,

We've done it; we finally found a way to 'protect' people. A charm
bracelet will appear at five minutes to six o'clock tonight (If this
letter is received by the correct person), hold on to this letter
until it does. The bracelet is a Port Key; it will transport you to
our location so we can discuss any further actions.

We have not informed the Ministry of Magic, because we have been out of the loop for 15 years and do not know the internal situation and more importantly the security status of the people around there. We hope you will be able to assist us in finding a way to brief our superiors.

Yours truly, Alexandra and Maximilian Croft.

Now Professor Dumbledore was truly stumped, Alex and Max, he hadn't heard from them for at least fifteen years. Could they really have found a way to protect against the 'Avada Kedavra' curse? Oh, he truly hoped so.

"Dobby!" the Professor called out, "Dobby! I need you for a moment."

With a crack, the little House Elf appeared in front of the Headmasters' desk.

"Yes, Sirs. Whats can Dobby do for great Headmaster Dumbledore, Sirs?" the little creature stammered.

"Dobby, I need you to take a letter to Grimmauld Place for me. And I want you to remain there. I want you to look out for Mr. Potter while he is still recovering. You could help Mrs. Weasley with the housework. First, I would like you go to Professor McGonagall's office and tell her that I will be elsewhere for the evening and might have important news when I come back. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Sirs," Dobby saluted and started to leave.

"Dobby, when you have delivered that message to Professor McGonagall, come back here. I will have the letter I want you to bring to Grimmauld Place ready by then."

The House Elf disappeared with another crack to deliver his message. Professor Dumbledore started to write a short note to Remus Lupin, excusing himself for the Order Meeting that was supposed to take place tonight and explaining the extraordinary circumstances. He did specified the need to keep this possible defence against the killing curse a secret for now.

The Professor started packing some things into his overnight bag, you never knew what might happen. The note he had received from the Crofts and their long disappearance from his attention had made it clear to him that wherever he was going tonight, it wouldn't be to a nice little cottage in the country. You never knew.

At five minutes to six o'clock, on the dot, a charm bracelet appeared before Professor Dumbledore on his desk, he put it on the and mentally went down a list of all the things that needed to be done before he left. Dobby had gone to Grimmauld Place at five, McGonagall had been warned and Remus would be in charge of the Order meeting.

Everything was in order and when the grandfather clock in his office chimed six, he felt the familiar pulling behind his navel and was whisked away to his mystery destination.

Chapter Six, Gaining the Advantage.