Mysteries

Chapter Five Lessons Begin

When Harry returned to the study Blackmoore was waiting for him, Peabody had returned to reading a book and Hannah was preparing to leave.

"Master Potter," Blackmoore spoke, "you have owl waiting to deliver a message to you. She is in your room."

Hedwig

! he thought.

Hannah gathered her belongings and bent to kiss him just to the side of his mouth. He could feel himself blushing instantaneously. "I will see you tomorrow Harry. Perhaps when Peabody shows you through Knockturn Alley you can stop by my shop. Until then." She swept out of the room, her muggle shoes clicking on the polished wooden floor.

Harry hurried to his room. A perch, rather ornately carved, had been placed in his room and his beloved owl sat perched on it as if it were her new home. "Hedwig! How did you find me?" he stroked her feathers and untied the bundle on her leg. He noticed that Blackmoore had set out two silver dishes next to the perch; one with water and one with owl food. Harry shook his head and dropped to his bed to read the letter. It was from Remus.

Dear Harry,

I don't mind telling you that you gave us a terrible fright. Dumbledore had us out in force looking for you. When we didn't find you at home we thought the worst. I'm still not sure you are in the right place, these are very strange people you are staying with and not very trustworthy. But at least we know you are safe. I will save all important news for when I see you again. I'd like to extend an invitation for you to come to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner. Please come, Harry. Next Tuesday evening at half past seven.

Your friend,

Remus

Harry sat looking at the letter feeling mildly angry. Who gives you the right, you or Dumbledore, to criticize who I'm with? Harry thought. Dumbledore had kept a secret from him for years. Remus probably knew about Peabody and his forecast of his parent's death. And yet, they were worried about him. Leaving him alone for a month and then sending no word about where he was going and when. "You're lucky Peabody came and got me Remus. According to him Voldemort would have me by now." He spoke aloud and looked over at Hedwig.

"From now on Hedwig, no one is going to choose my friends for me or make decisions for me. I have to look out for my own skin," he mumbled to the owl and placed the letter carefully in his knapsack along with the others. He stared at it for awhile and then out through the window. Wandering over he was amazed to discover that the window looked over Diagon Alley. They were so high up that no noise penetrated his room, but he could see very clearly all the traffic on the street. With a pair binoculars he could have seen individual faces.

Harry stepped was caught up in the view when Blackmoore's voice startled him. The vampire was standing at his shoulder. "Master Peabody waits for you in his study. He says that lessons will begin momentarily."

"Thanks," Harry tried not to look startled. He composed his face and nodded to the butler. "I'll be there in a moment."

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Hermione Granger adjusted the heavy suitcase in her hand, waved goodbye to her parents who were in their car and headed off to work. Her mother blew kisses and then turned around to follow the road.

Hermione watched them with some sadness in her heart. There would come a time when she would have to choose between the muggle world and the wizarding world and she knew which one it would be. It would mean leaving her parents behind.

After receiving Lupin's letter, she had made up her mind. Harry was more important than spending the holiday out of the country. Hermione knew it would be safer for her to follow the plan outlined by Dumbledore. She also knew that Harry was hurting and too stubborn to talk to anyone. He was running away from his friends, the very people who stood beside him and supported him.

"Sirius, if you were here today, I'd give you apiece of my mind," she said to herself. Throwing out her wand arm, she stepped back quickly so that the bright purple three-deck bus would not run her over.

"Yes, yes," Hermione said huffily as the freckled boy stepped out to give his speech. "Just take me to the Leaky Cauldron, London. Here," she handed Stan Shunpike the money for the fare and stepped on board. She wasn't going to stay at the Leaky Cauldron but intended to find her way surreptitiously to #12 Grimmauld Place where she knew Lupin was staying. Together, she hoped he would guide her to Harry.

A figure stood behind a tree down the street, blending into the urban surroundings. The minute the Knight bus departed the figure disapparated. The bus zoomed by, dogs and children unaware of it. An old lady who was pushing her two-wheeled shopping cart stopped to watch it. Shaking her head she mumbled through rubbery purple lips and kept on walking.

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Harry sat at the table where meals were served in Peabody's study. The man was standing with is hands on the chair back. What Harry was quickly coming aware of was Peabody tendency to frown and quickness of temper. However, it was usually not directed at anything and he could break into a ray-of-sunshine smile just as quickly.

Sitting on the table was a chessboard. It was a very expensive piece with the white pieces done in silver and the black pieces done in gold. Harry noticed that the only piece on the board was the silver King, representing the black piece.

"Now Harry," Peabody was saying. "I'm going to teach you something about Forecasting. It will come in very handy for you. It is an exercise for the mind, sharpens it you know." He circle his hand over the air above the board. "Look at this piece and in your mind think of every position this piece can take on the board, every move it can make. Do this in your mind. It will be like a chess master. When he sits down to play a game, just after the first move is taken, he will consider every possible move that both sides can play up until the game is won." Peabody raised his finger in the air. "And that is done before the next move is made. He will know how to beat his opponent because he will have played the game in his mind."

Harry studied the jeweled silver King. He knew how to play chess, but wasn't very good at it. Ron was forever beating him. He thought about the King, thought about it as Voldemort. He nodded to Peabody to show his understanding.

Peabody placed the black Queen next to the King. "Now. You will do the same for these two. You will think of every move that can be made by both of them. How they will interact with each other and cause an effect or an event to take place."

Harry stared at the silver Queen. He knew immediately who she was. It was Bellatrix LeStrange. He could still remember in the Department of Mysteries taunting him and goading him. He touched the figure and tilted it as if to lay it down in defeat. Peabody seemed to understand. He began to set the pieces on the board, one-by-one.

The, Harry realized the enormity of the task. "You want me to visualize every piece, every possible move it can take on the board, in conjunction with every other piece?" He grew alarmed. "Peabody, I can't do it!"

The man stopped and frowned, removed half the pieces he had already placed and left the King. "It is possible and you can do it. Take your time. Start with him." he motioned to the Black King. "There is parchment and quill at your finger tips if you get confused, diagram it or write it down. Keep notes until you can do it all up here." he touched his brow. "You must know and understand each piece."

Harry stared at all of the pieces and the lone one sitting in the middle of the board. Head on hands he began to play the piece, moving it from one square to the next. Peabody moved about the room without making a sound.

At noon, Harry raised his head and pushed the board to his side as lunch was served. He never took his eyes away.

By dinner, a short break to the bathroom and a drink of water, Harry had three pieces on the board: the King, the Queen- Bellatrix LeStrange and a Bishop-Lucius Malfoy. He was writing on the parchment Peabody had given him. The man wandered through the room like a ghost, lifting a book off the shelf and replacing one. They never spoke.

"Peabody, do you have any books that might tell me more about Tom Riddle, or the pureblood families? Like something on Bellatrix LeStrange and Lucius Malfoy," he asked scratching his head.

Without speaking Peabody began to sit books on the table. Dinner became a repeat of lunch. Harry opened and read and closed and set aside dozens of volumes. He ate with a book propped up in front of his goblet of pumpkin juice.

Night fell and Blackmoore lit a lamp and placed it on the table beside Harry. He was once again resting his head on his hands and staring at the chess board. He held a knight in his hand and twisted it back and forth in the candle light. The face on the figure seemed real , almost alive.

"Harry, perhaps you should retire to bed now and rest," Peabody set his own book aside and stood up from his favorite chair to walk over to the table.

Harry looked up, at first unable to focus. "Yes, I will." He felt exhausted and yet unwilling to stop. "Peabody, why are you helping me? Is it because you feel guilty about my parents?" He knew that he was being brutal. But as he looked at the pieces on the board, he was still trying to decide what piece would represent the man who had saved him but had failed to save his parents. He felt a slight twinge of regret but stared at the man waiting for an answer.

The man didn't react with surprise. Given what he was, Harry wasn't surprised either.

"No Harry, I am not helping you because I feel guilty. When you learn more you will understand."

Harry stood to stretch and lean his arms against the table.

"I'm happy that I have gotten to meet you though," Peabody said carefully. "I admired your parents. They were very good people." He studied the board that Harry had looked at all day. It was now peopled with several more pieces. "Will you tell me...?" He pointed.

Harry glanced down. There were now several gold pieces in the playing area. "The White King is me, the Queen is Dumbledore," he said and Peabody nodded approvingly. "The Knight is Ron Weasley. He would like to know that I've chosen the Knight for him." Harry looked at the piece and was reminded of his first year at Hogwarts and their confrontation with the giant-sized Wizard's chessmen in the depths of the castle. "The two Bishops are Hermione and Remus Lupin."

"You have been able to place them on the board because you know them so well," Peabody said. "Beware though, that can be a weakness in your calculations. You may think you will know how they will act and what choices they will make. But if you are too close to them you may be blinded."

"What happened?" Harry asked, still staring at his pieces. "What really happened with my parents?"

"You mean, why didn't I do something to prevent their deaths?" Peabody asked, taking a pair of pince-nez from his nose. "I did do something Harry, I told Dumbledore. But, he too, was blinded. He thought he knew me, thought he understood my motives. He thought I was helping Voldemort." He circled the table and continued to touch pieces that strewn across the surface.

"Why?" Harry shook his head. "Why would he think that? Were you?"

"What happened Harry was that I thought he was going to do something and he thought I was going to do something and in the end we did nothing." Peabody stopped and stood eye-to-eye with him. "You can blame me if you like. I blame myself."

"No, it doesn't do any good," Harry said.

"No, it doesn't." Peabody answered.

Harry knew that he was referring to Sirius' death as well. He glanced down at the pieces and noticed something that had evaded his conscious mind for hours. He leaned in again and studied the pieces.

"My friends they're in danger!" he gasped and looked up. Peabody didn't look down.

"Yes, they are Harry. But then, we are all in danger. But you are right, they most of all." He stepped closer. "Can you see it? Can you see the circumstances yet?"

Harry concentrated and looked at the pieces on the board. He reached over and grabbed a piece from the table, it was a pawn and set it on a square. Then he looked up. "Hermione is in danger. Voldemort wants her!"

"Yes," the thin man said.

"He'll use Percy," Harry said with growing alarm. "I've got to warn her!"

"Harry this is not the time." Peabody pointed a the White King. "Look at this piece again. Look at the interaction between them. Tell me what will happen if you act now, if you warn her now."

Harry stared and ran through the combinations of events that would result if he went to Hermione. Then he knew he would have to wait. He didn't know enough and he would put her more at risk if he exposed himself. He looked up at Peabody. "Will you tell me? Will you tell me when it's time to act. I won't let him have her," Harry hissed in fury. "Voldemort won't hurt her. I'll face him before I let him take her! Even if it means dying."

Peabody swung around. Out of complete darkness Blackmoore appeared carrying a silver tray with a decanter and two crystal glasses. They were already half filled with wine. Peabody handed one to Harry and took one for himself. Blackmoore took one step back and disappeared into the shadows of the paneled room.

"Yes," he said. "His eyes are on her as a means to get to you. But I think that you will discover the time for action yourself. You have done very well Harry. Drink this and then we shall go to bed. There is nothing that can be done this evening."

Harry accepted the wine, but held it without drinking. He bit at his lip and felt helpless.

"Blackmoore will go out and check on things for us," Peabody said sipping at the glass. "He is very good about those kinds of things. Tomorrow you will work even harder."

Harry drank the wine and headed for his room. He undressed and pulled the covers back on the luxurious bed. Hedwig was still on her perch, her head tucked under a wing and sleeping. Harry knew that she would wake soon and fly out to go hunting. He thought of Blackmoore out in the night hunting as well and shuddered involuntarily.

"Hermione, you need to watch yourself," he whispered. "Please, please don't get hurt." He felt the familiar welling up in his throat and he covered his eyes with his arm. Harry knew that he could send Hedwig out with a letter, but also knew that Hermione would be drawn to him. And behind her would be all of Voldemort's spies. The only chance he had was to use her as bait in the same way Voldemort was using her. He knew that he could follow whoever was following her. If he warned her, he lost the chance to follow Voldemort's spy.

The one question Harry had that remained unasked and unanswered was; How do you protect them all? If you know what's going to happen to them, how do you protect all of your friends, all the people that you care about?