Means to an End

It made so much sense to everyone it was painful. One could practically feel the tension in the air, the intelligent people slapping their foreheads in a collective cry of "duh!"

Two years in which countless thousands of witches and wizards were forced to adapt to the customs of a magic-oblivious Muggles. Two years in which wizards and witches were forced to move into semi-Muggle neighborhoods.

The Ministry of Magic, for all its blundering and stupidity, was brilliant.

No one in the little group of archaeologists was condoning its actions; oh, no! This revelation merely brought opinion of said organization to a new, rock-bottom low, a place in which the Ministry had never been before. The transition was simply a stroke of evil genius on its part.

"Honestly," Andrea had said. "To make all those people change their entire lifestyle so soon after losing their children...it was probably mental torture!"

"Actually, it makes sense when you think about it," replied David. "They had just lost their kids; wouldn't you want to leave the world that had taken them away?"

Even Hermi could not deny the signs. "I glanced at some very old Ministry records while I was there last night," she had mentioned to Morgan after the group broke up. "Apparently there was a slightly harsher push on the students of Hogwarts to take up a class they called 'Muggle Studies'. Perhaps they had been planning a shift for years; the disappearance of the school simply hastened the date."

Morgan had insisted that, instead of trying to enter either one of the tunnels that evening, the team have supper and get a good night's rest.

It seemed he was having trouble following his own advice; hence the presence of Hermi in his and Joseph's sleeping tent.

"Are we sure we should do this?" inquired Hermi. Morgan shot her a puzzled glance.

"You're the one who convinced me," he replied. "How can you be having second thoughts when we've nearly accomplished our objective?"

"I'm not saying we shouldn't enter the school," his patron said. "If we can, that is. All I want to know is this: do you think the world is ready for what we've already uncovered? The Ministry cover-up and what really happened during those two un-recorded years? If we get inside the castle, should we hide our findings until wizarding England deals with what happened to our original way of life?"

"I think," Joseph began slowly, "that the world needs all the truths at the same time. It's unfair for them to get half-truths when that's what they've been getting for the past five hundred years."

"I quite agree with you," Morgan stated. Hermi bit her lip. "Besides," he continued, "we've got the after part mostly sorted out. Why don't we find the before part and give it to the world in sequential order?"

The woman agreed reluctantly. "I've some sleeping draught, if you want it," she said to the two men. "I know I won't sleep without it now."

They both accepted.

The morning could not have dawned more slowly than it did. Five o'clock found Morgan pacing around his tent while Joseph sat calmly and drank his third cup of tea. By six, breakfast had been served, eaten, and cleaned up after. At exactly seven, Morgan called the team together.

"We're going to use the tunnel under Honeydukes," he stated. "Two people will go through first. If everything is clear and stable to the end, one person will return and we will all go through. If it's not, we'll try the tunnel to the grounds. David and Laura, you'll be the first group."

Half an hour later, the two graduate students climbed back into the cellar under Honeydukes covered in bits of earth.

"It began to collapse as we were maybe three-quarters through," panted Laura. "We ran the whole way back. I'd say it's completely caved by now."

Morgan and Hermi exchanged looks. "Alright," Hermi sighed. "Nice try, you two. Why don't you go get cleaned up a bit?"

"Meet us at the Shack," Morgan called to them as they jogged to their tents. "The rest of you, follow us."

It was unnaturally hot at eight o'clock. "Unbelievable," Joseph huffed as he helped Dinah and Andrea up the last few steps into the ramshackle house. They were joined by David and Laura a few moments later.

"Okay, people!" began their leader. "I'm going to go through this time with Connor--try not to move around much, as the floor was weakened by his little tumble yesterday. Ready, Malfoy?"

Morgan could not stop the anxiety which crept into his stomach as he walked along the dark tunnel. The Lumos spell barely penetrated the inky blackness. Dirt periodically fell atop their heads.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Connor?"

"I think we're about to have a problem."

And so they did. Before them and behind them, the tunnel suddenly gave way and crumbled like ashes. Morgan and Connor both stumbled and coughed violently.

"Fuck!" cursed the Malfoy. "Now what do we do?"

"We stay calm!" Morgan snapped at him. The younger man turned silent while Morgan tried to think a way around the Ministry's ban on spells at archaeological sites.

"Sir?"

"Not now, Connor."

"But sir..."

"Malfoy, I'm trying to think!"

"I know that, but this is..."

"MALFOY!"

"The scenery's not right!"

Morgan turned in the general direction of Connor's voice--there was a patch of light beaming down into the collapsed tunnel behind them. The archaeologist laughed.

"Why didn't you say something before?" he chuckled. Connor shook his head good-naturedly but continued to motion wildly to the opening.

"A breeze is coming through," he stated. "There wasn't a breeze within a kilometre of us when we first came inside. It's also quite a bit cloudier out there..."

"What if I gave you a hand up, then?" suggested Morgan. "You really do look a sight lighter than me."

Very carefully, Morgan hoisted Connor through the opening. None of the earth shifted any more.

"Alright, Connor? Now give me a hand..."

Wordlessly, the other man complied. It took a bit longer for Morgan to make it out. "Well?" he asked once breathing fresh air once again. "What do we have...Oh my god."

"That's what I said."

"Are you sure it's completely blocked?"

"No, because light gets eaten up down here. Perhaps if you all joined me, we could make some headway?"

Hermi's acerbic request caught the attention of the rest of the group. As a group, they journeyed down the tunnel to where it had collapsed a few minutes ago. The collective lights made it much easier to see the damage.

"I really hate the Ministry," muttered Marcus. "I suppose the Reductor Curse wouldn't do much anyway--this stuff's loose."

Hermi was taking advantage of the brighter light so she could examine the earthy ceiling. "I think the top isn't all that thick," she mentioned. "I can see the ends of grass roots. A Reductor Curse above us might be useful."

"But we can't," Dinah whined. "It's forbidden by the Ministry; you know that!"

"Presently, I don't give a flying fuck about Ministry mandates," Hermi flippantly rejoined. "All of you stand back. Clear? Good. Reducto!"

The ceiling shattered, and cloudy daylight flooded where they stood. Morgan's and Connor's backs met their gazes. Hermi and the others began climbing up the mound of dirt and grass to join them.

"There you two are!" she said. "We were hoping you weren't covered by the...oh my god!"

"That's what we said."

There, before the tiny group of archaeologists, stood the most beautiful castle they had ever seen. Towers and turrets flew high above their heads; stained-glass windows sparkled even in the weak sunlight. Light breezes ruffled banners while a mysterious pitch with high-built bleachers and six tall poles with loops at the tops of each one stood aside and alone. The scene was eerily silent, and equally as ghastly as their first impression of Hogsmeade had been.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was found.

End Chapter Five