Sirius Black

Alarms just went up here in Maidstone. Their warehouse is on fire.

We'll put the fire out but Pansy, Jeremy, they'll be short on whatever we can't salvage.

Busy today?

I'm going down to Dumfries to help with a situation in the camps - as it's a nice day (and I've got to be back tonight for the full moon), I thought I'd take the bike.

Care to join? Or come on your own broom. Could use an Auror in case things get ugly.

The bank has been open for about an hour. Ragnik had told them to wait about that long, as there are usually a few customers who want to rush in right when they unlock for the day. That crowd should be thinning out by now. Draco and Hermione left a few moments ago to watch for their moment.

This is the part where we can't behave as if we're worried, isn't it. While hoping they either get done with it quickly and easily or have time to write and tell us how they're doing.

Being the one out there doing it is much easier. Even if we're sure the goblins won't throw up any roadblocks in their path.

Mordred.

We're running low on Patroni. If you haven't gathered up your charges, yet, use Imperius and get out. Or leave them where they are - there's no more time.

Remus, we're heading down to the pier with those who need the boats or carpets. Frank, get back to the dock if you can.

Sweet bloody Mordred.

Snape invited Draco down to the stillroom to help us brew. More like to help him destroy every cauldron we currently have!

Alice, for the love of Merlin, give them something to do. Can they attempt this Ministry thing, with the archives? Or go rescue a baby or steal a Sleeper for experimental potions or SOMETHING?

At this rate I'm ready to send them into New London to break into an apothecary if it'll just keep them OCCUPIED.

Moony, I sent them upstairs, anyway, just to play a game or rearrange the furniture or try to unstick my mother's portrait. I don't care what.

How's that student - Montgomery?

And have there been any aftereffects from the memory modifications on her companions?

I'm posting privately mainly not to worry certain types who, er, don't necessarily know what happened yesterday afternoon. Though eventually Alice and Charlie need to be told - I thought there was no sense worrying Molly everyone else, particularly with Hagrid's involvement in saving that girl.

Moony, Dora, I'll be home as soon as I can leave; I'm okay, just let me explain.

I went round to Strangeweale's house this afternoon (as you know). It didn't take long for his servant to entice Padfoot inside, since it was a cold, wet evening. I'd planned to see if I could get him complaining again, maybe get more information on the machines or where Strangeweale's holding his prisoners.

My hope was to be able to send one of us round to see him - or better yet, to change into myself right in front of him and offer him the chance to get away from Strangeweale. But before he started up a one-sided conversation, both Mulciber brothers came calling.

He told his furry guest to stay in the kitchen quietly while he went to see to the visitors. Next thing I knew, he dashed off a message to his master and Strangeweale himself came home not five minutes afterward. (They spent that five minutes disagreeing over which tactic to use with him: Corax wanted to ambush the man in his own home and Cadmus thought they could buy his cooperation. In the end they decided that they'd try to make him see the advantages of forming an alliance.)

From where I was in the kitchen with the Muggleborn (I learned later his name is Timothy), I could hear fairly well.

Cadmus Mulciber claims that the potion Strangeweale provided to him, which accounts for his improved health and apparently superabundant magic, is 'wearing off' and he wants more.

Strangeweale told him that he shouldn't need any more - and anyway, that what he has been able to store is for 'Our Lord Protector.'

Corax wanted to know exactly how the potion's made. Strangeweale was cagey about answering, but that's right about when he began to see the light. He told the Mulcibers that he needs a ready supply of muggleborns.

He told them a good deal more about his 'production line,' which I won't go into right now. But they came to a sort of deal: Corax Mulciber will find a way to get him 'more supply' and also use their influence to throw more funding his way in Mysteries' budget. In return Strangeweale will be setting aside more potion for both Cadmus and Corax.

It all makes me wish I'd changed back to a human before they arrived so I could have launched a surprise attack.

As it is, Timothy made his furry friend go into the root cellar so his master won't know there's an unauthorised dinner guest. I don't want to Disapparate away when he doesn't know there's anything special about the dog he's been hosting. So I'll have to wait until he comes back and I can convince him I need to go outdoors.

Well. A lot happened in the last few minutes.

Stephen McGivern's dead. I'm so sorry. I didn't see the whole thing happen - I can't go into details just now; I'll give you a full report in a while.

As near as we can figure, the spell to protect this area of the camp has affected its magical field and nothing magical works inside it. Including the journals.

I think I managed to gravely injure Corax Mulciber but then his brother drew a bead on me when we fled further into the woods. He put up quite a fight. Nearly got me before I managed to hit him with a wasting curse. Not sure I got him square on, though. But he dropped anyway.

Turner's with me; the others scattered and will make their way back to the Fidelius entry point. Dora was all right the last time I saw her.

Alice, I'm going in to find Frank and figure out what our next move is. And maybe get something for my arm.

We'll write back in an hour or two once we've regrouped.

Merlin, this place is big. It's not just one large farm like the Strettons have; it's a whole network of farms in the community that were merged into a large, inter-connected enterprise.

All right, I've got wands on the way to Meadow Farm, Gadfly Farm, Wood Farm, Kempston Nurseries, Bell Farm, Glenbrook Farm and (I'm not making this up) Justins Farm.

We still need people to go to Ransom's Wood, Lambert's Spinney and Calfsclose Spinney, where there are outposts.

It shouldn't be too difficult - as I said, it's nighttime, so there are only one or two people on watch at each major farmhouse.

Moony's here. We'll start securing the perimetre for the Fidelius and yes, Allie, Terrie will be the Secret Keeper.

Curtis Reinman should be happily ensconced at Moddey.

We talked about going yesterday, but then Dora pointed out that today's Molly's birthday - Happy Birthday, Molly! - and decided it might be preferrable to wait until today, so that she could bring a new addition with her to introduce at Molly's birthday supper.

So once Dora woke up this afternoon, she and I went to Ely to collect Curtis Reinman.

It went so quickly that we decided to take a little side jaunt, out to Walsingham to see if we could close in on that device thing.

No guards this time, but it's certainly got about half a dozen different kinds of ward on it. We didn't get too close - you could feel the repelling charms - but we did cast a number of spells to try to determine what sorts of protections were on it.

Besides the repellent, there's an Impervius to protect it from the weather, there's a stablising charm on the base of the menhir and then, the worst one: There's a spell that burns anything attempting to go through it. (I threw a rock and it went through but was considerably charred when it landed.) We could tell there were another few spells as well but couldn't figure out just what without potentially tripping the wards we could detect.

But there's another thing. Dora reported last time that it's on a node of a ley line. There was a sort of ... energy ... emanating from the ring on the top. It radiated in two directions - sort of like a beam of light that gets sent through a focusing lens. I almost felt like we could mount brooms and follow the line. Not the ley line itself, but the energy passing through the ring. (It was running almost exactly northwest-southeast, by the way, almost parallel to the coastline.) So we went north a little bit from the plinth and ... well, there's no other way to put it: Things got rather odd.

Simple spells wouldn't work properly. Complicated spells worked too well. Curtis started kicking and fussing and we noticed that the trees were unusually lush for an area so close to the sea. (Also we both felt considerably twitchy and with Curtis crying, we figured we'd better retreat before someone heard him.)

Still, I think someone should definitely try flying north along that line of vibration and see where it goes.