Harry Potter and the Hall of Justice

Chapter 42 Fierkin’s Castle


Professor Dumbledore had been sitting at his hearth for several hours. He was still in awe over what he had seen and heard earlier in the day. Throughout his entire life he had accepted the presence and power of one creator, one God. Along with that acceptance, came the firm belief in an afterlife. But until today, he was never aware of what that life would be. “Throughout eternity,” Austin’s spirit guide had said. “We will each move along countless paths, on countless journeys.”

It had given the old wizard pause. He had to carefully rethink everything he was doing, everything affecting others around him. “Clearly, certain strategies should be reconsidered,” he thought. “But the work Athena and Coeus has been doing has to be absolutely the right thing to do. Evil must be fought. Many lives will be positively affected by their actions, as plainly there will be less evil spreading about with impunity. Yes,” he said aloud, “their work must continue.”

But most troubling to the old man was Voldemort. He had so desperately wanted to believe, and had tried hard to convince himself, that the wicked wizard was totally destroyed, both body and soul. Though now, he knew otherwise. The evil spiritual essence of the man would live on throughout eternity. He would indeed return. It filled him with great foreboding.

As he watched the flickering flames of his small fire, he nodded off to sleep. His dreams were of his mother. He was again in her presence. It was a very pleasant dream.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Early the next morning, Sandy O’Leary rolled over and kissed Austin Riley Preston on his cheek. She had slept in his bed and held him close to her most of the night. Never had she felt so alive in her life.

“Good morning,” she said and then repeated her gentle kiss.

Austin stirred and turned to her with a large smile. “Good morning,” he replied in kind, kissing her on her forehead. “Do you feel like a shower?”

“Yeah! Love to!” she exclaimed, jumping out of the bed and walking to the bathroom.

Austin stretched out on the bed. His muscles shuddered and shook as he extended them. He rolled out of bed and made his way toward the sound of hissing water.

When the two entered the dining hall, Austin saw a large, older wizard seated next to Drucila. She held up her hand and motioned him to join them.

“Austin, this is Minister Bartholomew Grime,” she said, as the large man came to his feet, holding his hand out to take Austin’s.

“Austin! Good to meet ya! Hermione told me all about you yesterday afternoon! Good to have you with us!” the man loudly exclaimed.

“Glad to meet you, sir. Hermione said you were the one to see about computers and such,” Austin hopefully stated, as he took a chair across the table from the large man.

A large grin came to the man’s face. “Yes, to that, my boy! I’m going to set you up with the best kick-ass system money can buy. Whatever you need, whatever you want, consider it done. You’ll have wireless access, too, and will be on the Internet in an hour,” he proudly replied.

“Thanks, I appreciate that. It means a lot to me,” Austin said, nodding his head and returning the large smile.

After breakfast, Minister Grime fulfilled his promise. Austin couldn’t believe the power of the machine he had brought with him to Falcon’s Lair, which now sat atop his desk in his bedroom. He was now thankful Drucila had such a large desk brought up to him, too. It was clearly needed. He was most impressed with the large plasma display. Grime showed him how to easily switch between the computer and the large number of television broadcasts he could receive on the same monitor.

“You have to hand it to the muggles; they make some great stuff,” Grime said with a grin.

“Yeah. I’ve been away from this for ten years. It has advanced way beyond anything I could ever have imagined.”

Grime went on to install much of the software he had brought with him. Austin didn’t leave his side for a minute. He really liked Grime for the kind of plainspoken man the old wizard was but especially because of their shared fascination with high technology.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Over the next two weeks, Austin spent hours researching shamanism and numinous beings. He was amazed at how different cultures around the globe had so valued their shamans, healers and spiritual advisors.

On a number of occasions, Austin sealed his room and spent time discussing what he was learning with Abraham. The old spiritual guide smiled at his enthusiasm and seemed greatly impressed with his thirst to learn more of the little understood world around him. “All you learn, Austin, will go with you. The knowledge will help you along your journey,” the numen repeatedly told him.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


About the middle of February, Professor Dumbledore took Austin to the Ministry of Magic early one morning. He had arranged to have him introduced to Minister of Magic Arthur Weasley and Minister Bones. When they arrived, the two men were about to leave for a meeting in a conference room located within the Department of Investigations. They were to receive a briefing from the wizard who had infiltrated the Olsto Fierkin alliance.

Jeremiah Bones was excited about the intelligence information they had been receiving from the man. “Please come and join us, Professor. It is, after all, his information you’ll be using when you send your teams against Fierkin.”

“I would like to hear him out. Would it be alright if Austin here joins us?” Dumbledore asked.

“Certainly, by all means,” Weasley replied, reaching out and patting Austin gregariously about his back, waving him toward the door.

Perkins jumped to his feet when he saw Professor Dumbledore enter the conference room. “Professor!” he exclaimed. “An honor to finally meet you.”

Dumbledore reached out and shook the man’s offered hand. Although he smiled and was cordial with Perkins, he instantly had a bad feeling about the man. Something just wasn’t right about him. His mannerisms and eyes disclosed something sinister, but the old professor couldn’t quite grasp what it was.

After introducing those at the table to Austin, the wizards took their seats. Besides Minster Weasley and Bones, two supervisors and two investigators with the Office of Investigations were at the table with Perkins.

“We’ve been worried about you, Perkins. You haven’t been passing information on to us like you were at first. What has happened?” asked Minister Bones.

“They’re a very untrusting bunch, Minister. I’ve had to be very careful. It’s taken me considerable time to gain their confidence, you see. But the information I’ve just received was much too important and timely to leave in a message. A meeting has finally been called,” Perkins said with a smirk, hearing gasps around the table.

“How many do you think will be attending?” asked Bones.

“Something well over forty. And they don’t expect a thing. Professor Dumbledore should have no trouble at all,” he said, nodding at the old professor.

“And Fierkin? Will he be there?”

“Yes. That is my understanding.”

“Carlson, do you have the map?” Bones asked, raising his head to one of the supervisors at the table.

The witch jumped up, grabbed a rolled map sitting on a credenza behind her and unrolled it atop the table.

Perkins came to his feet and leaned across the table; his index finger began slowly moving across the map. “Here,” he said. “Right here, this is where it’s to be held. It’s a large outbuilding on a farm. It can only be seen from above and the front, as large trees are all around it. A very large building, it is.”

“You’ve been there, then?” asked Dumbledore.

“Yes, certainly. They’ve set up three large tables inside. There’s a portkey on the large head table. Besides that, there’s only one way in through two large doors at the front of the building. How will your men arrive, Professor?” Perkins asked.

“By broom, of course,” he said, aware of the man’s great interest in the answer.

“You must send everyone, of course. They are a very nasty bunch,” he said, again with a smirk.

“Of course, I assuredly will be sending our whole force,” the old wizard replied, peering down at the map again.

Austin said nothing. He sat back in his chair and watched the ugly wizard talking and fidgeting excitedly.

“Yes, good. It should go well, then,” Perkins replied.

“When is the meeting called?” Bones asked out.

“On the evening of March the first. Just two weeks from today.”

“Does that give you enough time, Professor?” Bones turned and asked the old wizard.

“It is a rush, certainly. It looks like your man Perkins has planned it out rather nicely for us. We’ll just rush in and fight it out with them,” he said with a smile, turning back and giving Perkins a nod.

The ugly wizard’s eyes were ablaze. He sat back in his chair and glowed from the old professor’s compliment.

“Excellent!” exclaimed Weasley.

“We can expect to see you again, Perkins? Before the first of March, I mean?” asked Dumbledore.

“Yes, Professor. I’ll try to make it back here a day or two before. I can’t risk making any more appearances. They’re such an untrusting bunch, as I said,” Perkins replied, displaying a sinister smile.

“Of course, I understand. We wouldn’t want you to put yourself in any great risk, either. And you won’t be anywhere near the meeting on the first?” Dumbledore asked.

“No, no. Your people wouldn’t know who I am. It would be much too dangerous.”

The meeting ended and Weasley, Bones, Dumbledore and Austin walked back to the minister’s office. Along the way, Austin was able to glance at Professor Dumbledore’s eyes. Much passed between the two men the instant their eyes met.

After they had entered Weasley’s office, Professor Dumbledore was the first to speak. “Jeremiah, what do you know about Perkins? Have you known him long?”

“No, Professor. He’s one of our latest officers employed here,” he replied.

Dumbledore looked over at Austin. “What can you tell us about him, Austin?”

Austin looked at the men seated at the table before he answered. “He is lying, Professor. He has been compromised. They’re setting a trap for you,” he said flatly.

“What?” Bones yelled out. “What are you saying?”

Professor Dumbledore raised his hands to calm the Minister. “Let him continue, Jeremiah. I sensed things were not right, as well. However, Austin discerned much more than I did.”

“You sensed he was lying, Professor?” Weasley asked out.

“Yes, beyond any doubt,” the old wizard replied, turning his head back toward Austin. “What else, Austin?”

“He believes you will do as you said. He was hoping you would say your assault teams would go busting right in. Without any doubt, Professor, they’re setting a trap for you - - - an ambush.”

“Yes, I see it now. The building was carefully chosen to allow only one approach. It has but one entrance. Yes, it all adds up. Clearly, the evil bastard is laying a trap. What does Perkins know of our prior operations, Jeremiah?” Professor turned back to the Minister.

“Nothing, Professor. Only what he has read in the Daily Prophet. Only Arthur and I know a little about how your people operate. We have never let anyone else know - - - no one at all,” Bones replied.

The Minister of Magic nodded his head. “That’s right, Professor. We knew it must be kept absolutely secret. To do otherwise would endanger my own sons,” Arthur Weasley added. “In truth, we know little ourselves about how your people go about their business.”

“Very well, and thus it must remain. This certainly complicates things, but it isn’t insurmountable. I’m glad I brought you with me, Austin. I knew Perkins was telling less than the truth, but I would never of known how much. Great care must be taken in planning the operation,” Dumbledore said, looking down at the table and lost in his own thoughts.

“The first of March. That isn’t much time,” said Bones.

“Much must be done,” Dumbledore replied.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Dumbledore and Austin went straightaway to Falcon’s Lair and met with Sirius, Remus and Harry. A map was brought to the table in the library, and the old professor pointed out where the building was said to be.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see another location chosen before all is said and done. Fierkin might have used this just to keep us busy planning for this type of structure and change things up at the last minute. It will do no harm to begin sending out our teams, though. Let’s begin a twenty-four hour watch on the building to monitor all the comings and goings. We need to find a location nearby for a portkey, too,” Dumbledore ordered.

Sirius looked once again at the map. He began running his index finger along the roads and distinct structures noted on it. “We’ll get on it right away. I’ll take Oliver, Jordan, Harry and Remus with me, first. We need to take a look at the place and fix it in our minds. If they’re planning an ambush, we need to know what they are going to use. They might have secured some muggle weapons. It will be interesting to see what kind of man we’re dealing with in Fierkin,” said Sirius.

They all nodded their heads in agreement. Remus wrote the coordinates on a piece of parchment. They would use the muggle GPS equipment to fix the location exactly. Within the hour, the five wizards were dressed in their invisibility gear for their initial trip to Belgium.

Remus Lupin’s Coeus team had been using a portkey in a barn on a property outside of Arlon. The farm belonged to the father of Paul Montrose and had been in their family for generations. Paul was one of the first Coeus team members and often remained at the farm during their intelligence gathering missions in Europe.

Sirius thought it best to link through that portkey, instead of linking directly from Falcon’s Lair to the new location they would choose. They soon were all standing within the barn. With only about three hours of daylight left to them, Sirius quickly fixed the current location into his GPS unit and set the coordinates taken from the map.

“Looks to be about twenty-five miles north of here,” Sirius said. “Shouldn’t take us very long.”

The five of them kicked off and followed the small streamer coming out of the flap of the invisible broom Sirius was on. In a short time, they had slowed and began a close search of the countryside.

Oliver Wood was the first to call out. Once he did, he removed his own streamer. “There, off to the west, that may be what we’re looking for,” he shouted out.

“Okay, let’s put our streamers back inside, Oliver. Be careful now. Everyone fly slow and at different heights. We don’t want any collisions. Harry, you stay close to me, as you are the only one that can see us beneath our invisibility garments. He’ll come and gather everyone up when its time to return. When Harry tells you to, return to this exact spot. We’ll all gather here before our return to the farm,” Sirius ordered. “Keep your eyes open.”

Harry saw three of them take off in slightly different directions, as they had been trained to do. Sirius then slowly moved forward and decreased his altitude. Slowly, they closed on the large building.

No one was about and the farmhouse also looked to be deserted, except for a light seen inside the main residence. Sirius avoided that and moved on down to the roofline of the building. He and Harry moved along easily, looking about the tree line. Harry noticed some new construction along the lower part of the building at the rear. He dropped down to carefully inspect it, as it seemed strangely out of place. Slowly, he dropped to the ground.

Steps went down to what appeared to be a cellar door. He walked quietly down the steps and slowly opened the door. He then carefully peered inside the dark, narrow room that ran the entire width of the building. Taking out his wand, he whispered an incantation to light up the inside of the structure and instantly knew what it had been made for.

All along the lower, rear wall of the building, slots had been cut out. What he was looking at was firing ports. Fierkin, undoubtedly, was going to place some twenty wizards in this trench armed with muggle weapons to cut down those who entered the building. He walked down to the opposite end and found a stairway leading up into the large building. He opened a door at the top of the landing and stepped inside, again using his wand to light the surroundings.

Inside the building were three large tables. They were setup exactly as the ones encountered at the Cetus estate. Two ran down the length of the room and one was perpendicular at the head. Harry cautiously made his way down between the two long tables and looked back. The head table in no way restricted the firing ports, as no chairs set along it. Plainly, whoever entered would be cut down at the legs and killed after falling to the floor. The plan couldn’t have been any clearer.

Harry looked above him and saw other firing points. He walked up a stairway into the building’s attic and noticed other new construction. Firing stations had been built into a number of places along the high ceiling. Harry counted more than a dozen. Slots had also been cut into the front of the building, looking outward from the attic. He reckoned at least ten men would be assigned to take up stations there.

After Harry was satisfied, he quickly left the same way he came in and found Sirius slowly flying about in front of the building.

“Sirius!” Harry called out. “Have you noticed these firing slots?”

“Is that what they are?”

“Yeah, and there are many more inside. It’s plain they are going to use this building. Too much work has been put into it not to. They have firing slots at ground level at the rear and another dozen in the ceiling, inside. And I counted ten slots along here,” he said, approaching the building close to Sirius, pulling on one of the flaps to show him how the port openings worked.

Harry looked around and saw Oliver Wood slowly approaching the building, hoping to catch Harry’s eyes. Harry slowly rose to his level and called out for him to stop.

“Harry? Where is Sirius? I’ve found something you two should see,” Oliver said.

“Stay where you are. I’ll get him.”

Harry dropped back down to get Sirius. He reached out and took his hand, taking him back up to where Oliver awaited. After Oliver turned around, Harry urged Sirius on. They then dropped to a tree line about eighty yards from the building, which faced its front.

“Look down here,” Oliver said. “There are four of them. They weren’t camouflaged very well. They’ve dug trenches right here by the trees. And look at these mounts? What are they for? Each trench has one. They’ve been concreted into the ground and are solidly in place.”

“I’m not sure what they are, Oliver,” said Sirius.

“I bet they are mounts for machineguns or something like that,” replied Harry.

“Remember what they look like. We’ll ask Grime. If he doesn’t know, he’ll know someone who does,” said Sirius. “Let’s get out of here. We’ve seen enough for now.”

Harry went to find Lee Jordan and Remus Lupin. When they had all returned to the gathering point, Sirius asked around to see if anyone had found a good place for the portkey.

“Yeah, there’s a small clearing way back in the trees. Over to the north there,” Remus replied.

“Let go your streamer, and we’ll follow you,” Sirius said.

Shortly, they were again on the ground. Sirius agreed; it was a fine place to put the portkey. He laid the old crushed can between two rocks, and they used it to return to the barn on the Montrose property. From there, they immediately returned to Falcon’s Lair.

Dumbledore, Priest and Grime were awaiting their return. They were seated at the large conference table within the library when all five appeared in a flash of emerald green light.

As they went about removing their invisibility garments, Sirius explained what they had found. He then asked Harry to relate what he had seen inside the building.

Harry picked up a piece of parchment and a pencil from the table. As he explained what he had seen inside the building, he went about drawing the structure and shooting positions.

“No doubt, they’re clearly planning on using muggle weapons,” Harry stated.

Oliver then took the pencil and roughly drew what was believed to be mounts for large weapons. He showed the drawing to Grime. “What do you make of that?” he asked the large man.

“It might be a mount for a large automatic weapon of some sort. What else could it be?” Grime asked, shaking his head, never having seen anything like it before. “I have an idea who would know, though. I’ll find out first thing tomorrow.”

The old wizard tilted his head and looked in the eyes of Sirius. “Let’s begin our round-the-clock surveillance as soon as you’re able. As it’s awfully cold out at night, have your people stay for only short periods of time. Let’s setup whatever it takes to keep them warm back at the Montrose property and give them plenty to eat and drink,” Dumbledore commanded.

“We’ll start first thing tomorrow morning,” Sirius replied.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Fierkin himself had interrogated Perkins carefully when he returned from the Ministry. “You have done well,” he said, after he brought the man out from under the deep trance.

“They believed everything I told them. I’m sure of it,” Perkins said to the wicked man.

“You will return to the Ministry a day before their attack. We must assure them everything is as they expect it to be,” the wicked wizard ordered.

He quickly turned around to the three Death Eaters at the table.

“Maguire,” Fierkin said, to his evil underling. “Make sure our people carefully camouflage the work they’ve done. We don’t want them seeing what we’ve prepared for their visit. They should be sending along people in a few days to scout around. Make sure there is nothing about to be seen.”

Maguire nodded his head. Fierkin had put the man in charge of the construction, and he used a number of their most trusted men to quickly build their attack positions. It would do. Though, Fierkin would never be totally satisfied with anything.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Sirius and Remus changed all prior assignments of the Athena and Coeus teams. They concentrated solely on their surveillance of the building in Belgium.

Over the next two weeks, invisible teams kept a twenty-four hour a day vigil on the farm. The estimate Perkins provided for the number attending the meeting was well below what Sirius, Remus, Harry and Dumbledore calculated. Just taking the firing positions Harry and Oliver had found into consideration would easily exceed the number Perkins approximated.

“Don’t you think they’ll have someone present within the building as decoys?” Remus asked.

“Cannon fodder, most likely,” Sirius replied. “If they plan on having a clear field of fire, though, I’d expect they’d set up something else to make us believe there are a good number inside.”

“What are you saying? Something like mannequins?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, maybe. We’ll soon find out,” Sirius replied.

“Is Grime going to get us those shoulder firing rocket things he was talking about or not?” Oliver asked.

Sirius looked at Oliver and shrugged his shoulders. “He said he was. Without them, we’ll have to redo the whole plan of attack,” said Sirius, looking around at the portkey and wondering where the minister was. “Professor Dumbledore should be along later, too. It’ll be up to him whether we use them. One things is for sure, if we do use them, we’ll light up the night sky for miles around. That would mean we’d have to clear out really fast before the muggle authorities show up.”

Harry interrupted. “Professor Dumbledore doesn’t expect Fierkin to even be there. He thinks he’ll remain at his castle in Switzerland. If we can believe what Perkins reported before he was compromised, the man might have three Death Eaters with him, too. The professor doesn’t believe he’s the kind of man to stick his neck out. He’ll let his men take all the risks.”

“Snape’s team has been keeping a close watch on his castle. There has been no visible comings or goings there. They must be using a portkey or Apparating from inside. Snape says it’s a huge place and very remote,” Remus said. “I bet if we want Fierkin we’ll have no choice but to go into the castle and get him.”

“Yeah. And if he’s as paranoid as we’ve been told, he probably has the whole place protected with some very nasty surprises,” Sirius replied.

Professor Dumbledore and Minister Grime appeared in a flash of light within the library. They walked over to the table where the four wizards sat talking over the drawings they’d made.

“I’ve got an even dozen of the weapons, my lads,” said Grime with a smile. “Really easy to operate, they are. Just point and shoot.”

“What are they exactly?” asked Sirius.

“They are called rocket propelled grenades or RPG’s. I was able to purchase two types. The first is used mostly against tanks and armored vehicles and will mostly wound from light shrapnel out to about fifteen feet. However, as soon as the first are fired, the last six should be fired immediately. They are anti-personnel RPG’s and are lethal to about thirty feet. Our people, of course, since they’ve never fired them before, should be within about a hundred yards of the building, firing from above the level of the building and penetrating the roof,” Grime said, grinning confidently.

“Are you sure they’re that easy to operate?” Sirius asked.

Grime looked a little put out at his remark. “Yeah, no problem. A child could do it. But most important will be the angle they are fired and the placement of the follow-up round,” replied the old minister.

“Will that create a problem, Sirius?” asked Dumbledore.

Sirius hesitated but shook his head. “No. But we’ll need to make sure everyone receives proper instruction. We should have the Athena and Coeus members who do not have the amulets handle them and also take out these large weapon emplacements along the tree line here,” Sirius said, pointing down to a drawing. He again paused a few seconds in thought and then began tapping at the paper. “We can have our people at the ready behind the four guns and take them out as soon as the RPG’s are fired. And then only our team members with the amulets can go forward and finish the job.”

“Very well. When will you have the initial briefing?” Dumbledore asked.

“Tomorrow at noon,” Sirius replied, looking up at the old wizard. “Afterwards, everyone will mount their brooms to get the distances fixed in their minds.”

“Austin and I will be returning to the Ministry tomorrow. Perkins is to return and give his final report,” Dumbledore informed them. “Bartholomew, can you have those weapons here before noon so you can give everyone their instructions?”

“Yes,” the large wizard replied, nodding his head and looking around at the wizards. “I’ll have ‘em here.”


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Minister Grime did indeed show up well before noon. He transferred the crates of weapons to the library and left them in the middle of the floor. Drucila Priest was not amused but held her breath.

The Athena and Coeus members were all gathered in the large dining hall and finished their noon meal before the briefing began. Sirius finally pushed himself away from the table and walked to the large easel he had set up.

“Everyone here has pulled enough surveillance duty to know exactly how the building lays and the distances involved,” he began. “As this is our initial briefing, a number of things may yet change, but this is what we plan at the moment.”

He pointed to the drawing of the building on the easel. “Our first concern is the building. Coeus members will take up positions as they are shown on the map.” He then went on to call out the names of each pair of the members and where they were to take up stations. Sirius then briefly described the weapons they were to carry.

“After our briefing, we’ll take our brooms outside and, using one of the large residences on the estate, we will take up the positions shown. The height, angle and where your RPG round will hit the building is critical. For that reason, you will all be firing them from a relatively close proximity but still maintain a safe distance,” he said. He then pointed to the four gun emplacements along the tree line and called out the names of those responsible for them.

“It is critical those assigned to these guns make their way through the trees and approach the wizards from the rear. As soon as the RPG rounds are fired, you’ll immediately kill those manning the large weapons. Any hesitation could cause injuries to our teams who fired the RPG’s. And for that reason, once the RPG’s are fired, those team members will drop immediately down to the ground and control the perimeter. Are we all clear on that?”

Sirius then went on to name the members who would finish the work inside. Everyone quickly realized the ones he named were all Athena members, excluding a few, who were assigned to other duties.

Once the meeting was finished, he had everyone gather up their brooms. They then flew out to one of the large homes on the estate and took up the stations they were assigned.

Sirius and Minister Grime went to each of the Coeus members and positioned them at the height and distance they were to take up around the building. There were six assigned to each side.

Minister Grime, who was carrying one of the RPG’s, handed it to each member and gave them their instructions, while they practiced handling and aiming the weapon from their shoulders.

“You will fire your round straight into the roof,” he said to each one. “The round will penetrate and explode inside. The second salvo, the anti-personnel rockets, will immediately follow.”

Sirius made sure each Coeus member carefully fixed the image in his or her minds. “Remember the distance and height you are above the building. It is critical you take up the same distances.”

The teams carrying the RPG’s would fly off in pairs, each with a different RPG. It was also important they remained side by side during the firing of the weapons to avoid the blast from the rocket, too. They clearly understood the importance of that instruction. None wanted to suffer the consequences of being behind that blast.

It was then decided that Harry would make sure of their positions before the firings commenced. He would finally make his way to Sandy O’Leary and Patty Grayson in the middle position. Sandy would fire on his command; the others would immediately follow hers.

After the aerial assault teams were comfortable with their positions, Sirius and Remus talked the four members assigned to the gun emplacements through the steps they would take. Finally, the Athena team members were assigned and given a walk through of their task inside the building.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Professor Dumbledore and Austin were at the Ministry when Perkins arrived. The ugly wizard did nothing more than repeat the same information he had given them two weeks before.

“Do you anticipate any problems, Professor?” Perkins asked.

“I shouldn’t thing so,” Professor Dumbledore said confidently. “We’ll just wait until the meeting begins and fly down to the doors you told us about. We’ll give them a surprise, you see.”

“Yes, of course. How many men do you plan on using?”

“I would think ten of our people should easily handle no more that thirty of them, wouldn’t you think?”

“You should take more, Professor. There could be as many as sixty,” Perkins said, his eyes opened wide.

“Really? That many?”

“Yes, yes. They have been recruiting a good number these last months. But, of course, I don’t know exactly how many there might be. It would be best to err on the side of caution, no?” Perkins asked, with a smirk.

The old headmaster appeared to be considering what had just been said. He slowly nodded his head. “Yes, Perkins. Of course, you should know. Yes, we will do what you suggest. We’ll send our entire group.”

“And how many would that be?”

“We’ll have eighteen. That is, if I go myself,” Professor Dumbledore replied.

“Eighteen men are all you have, Professor? Surely you had more than that to take on Cetus and Nott, no?” Perkins asked.

“No, just eighteen of us. They weren’t expecting us, after all,” the old wizard said with a smile.

“I see,” Perkins replied, looking somewhat let down.

“You will be clear, Perkins?” Dumbledore asked.

“Yes, I’ll be miles away.”

Dumbledore and Austin stayed at the Ministry after the deceitful wizard left. The old professor turned to Weasley and Bones and nodded his head. “Clearly, he was expecting to have something more to tell Fierkin.”

“Was it wise to tell him you would be taking eighteen?” Bones asked.

“I would much rather they remain confident and not call off the little party they’ve planned for us. I think it’s doubtful Fierkin will change his plans,” Dumbledore replied.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


On the day of the raid, Athena and Coeus team members made yet another walk through of the attack plan. After Sirius and Remus were satisfied, the members were sent to their rooms to prepare their gear. Athena members would once again carry shotguns along with their side arms.

A couple of hours before dark, the team members began transferring to the barn at the Montrose farm. From there, they immediately left by portkey for the staging area. The only things visible were the RPG’s, as they gathered in the clearing.

Professor Dumbledore was the last to arrive. He followed Harry by broom to the farm to take a final look around the building. A number of wizards, dressed in dark cloaks, were seen walking around the outside of the building.

Harry then showed the old wizard the gun emplacements. They saw two wizards in each trench. This was the first time Harry had ever seen guns so large. From the pictures Grime had shown them, the weapons were plainly large automatic weapons. Dumbledore and Harry remained until just after dark. In that time, a number of other wizards had arrived.

They then returned to the clearing and told everyone what had been seen. “Remember to follow the attack plan exactly as it was given!” Professor Dumbledore exclaimed loudly. After several more minutes, all were sent on their way.

The members took to the air, as they were assigned. Professor Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus and the other Athena team members took up positions above and behind the tree line at the gun emplacements.

Long minutes passed. Harry slowly made his rounds and positioned everyone exactly as Minister Grime and Sirius had wanted them. He then went back to Sandy O’Leary and Patty Grayson.

“Fire when you are ready, Sandy,” Harry said to the witch. He then raised himself about twenty feet above her.

Within a matter of seconds, Sandy fired her weapon and the rocket struck the building within feet of where it was supposed to go. Five other rockets immediately exploded within the building followed by another six.

Harry heard shotguns firing at the gun emplacements and knew they were being assaulted. Within a minute, the night fell as quiet as it had been on their approach.

The Athena team members quickly were on the ground at the front and back of the building. Before the assault team assigned to the front entered, six Athena members rushed the door at the buildings rear and fired blindly into the long, narrow room. Round after round of shotgun shells shredded everything inside.

After their weapons fell silent, Professor Dumbledore entered the front of the building with the other team. Those inside the structure were dead or dying, and it took little time to finish their mission.

Minister Grime quickly made his rounds, counting the dead. After he finished inside the building, he went back to the tree line and found eight dead there.

Harry, Fred, George and Ron were sent off to the farmhouse but found it empty.

“What count do you have, Bartholomew?” Dumbledore asked the man when he reentered the building.

“Sixty-four!”

“As we imagined,” the old wizard said. “Sirius, Remus let’s get this mess turned to dust so we can leave quickly. Bartholomew, are you taking those large guns?”

“Yes, I’ll get right on it. We wouldn’t want to leave them. Also, you might have the other weapons gathered up, too. It will be interesting to see what they chose to use,” Grime said.

Grime went back to the gun emplacements and soon had the weapons lifted out of their mounts. He levitated them and took them to the clearing before returning to the building.

Once everything had been turned to dust and scattered, Professor Dumbledore ordered all to return to the Montrose Farm immediately. He and Grime remained behind to burn the structure to the ground. They, too, quickly left once it was consumed in fire.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Maguire and Keltin watched the assault from a vantage point a mile east of the farm. They were shocked to have seen rockets being fired into the building. Instantly they knew things were not going to go as planned. Within minutes the two men Appartated within Fierkin’s castle in Switzerland.

“What has happened?” Fierkin shouted out when he saw the shocked expressions on the Death Eaters’ faces.

“They have destroyed everything!” Maguire exclaimed.

“What? Who destroyed what?”

“Dumbledore’s forces! They destroyed everything using rockets. None could have survived the assault,” he said, shaking his head.

Fierkin rushed the man, grabbed his robe and shook him. “What are you saying? Dumbledore used what?”

“Rockets! He used rockets or something like that. They were fired from above, down into the building. There were many of them.”

“And what of our men in the trenches?”

“Dead. I never heard their guns fire. Not one automatic weapon did I hear,” he said, falling down into a chair.

Fierkin turned around and slowly walked back to his large chair at the head of the table. Keltin and Brashard looked at each other. Both realized it wouldn’t be long before Dumbledore’s forces mounted an assault on Fierkin’s Castle.

“That fucking old bastard!” Fierkin shouted out. “I’ll kill him myself!” He jumped out of his chair and stormed from the room.

Keltin and Brashard moved to take up chairs next to Maguire. The three had once discussed a plan to withdraw if things went sour. But none of them had ever actually thought it would happen. Their plan was something they knew they now had to consider in earnest.

“What are you thinking?” Keltin whispered to Maguire. “Nothing good will come of this, now. Dumbledore’s men will be here soon.”

“I know,” Maguire hissed out, holding his head in his hands.

“We can’t stand against them. We have no choice but to leave,” Brashard whispered, grabbing Maguire’s shoulder and shaking him.

“Can we get into his keep, Maguire? We should take some gold with us before we leave,” Keltin said. “We’ve given him years of service and received very little.”

“If he should find us breaking into his vault, we’ll have to kill him. Are you prepared to face him?” Maguire asked, looking into Keltin’s face.

“The three of us can do it. Together we are much stronger than Fierkin. But we must do it now, Maguire. We cannot wait. There’s no time,” Keltin pleaded.

Maguire came to his feet. His hands were shaking and his legs were rubbery. He knew Keltin was right. They had no time. It had to be done now, if there was to be any chance of escape. He turned to face Brashard, who nodded his head in agreement.

“Have your wands in hand,” Maguire said, reaching in to remove his wand. The three men slowly made for the door.

Against the wall, three invisible wizards stood. For hours, they had waited patiently, as first one man and then another entered the room where they all now stood.

Severus reached out and lightly felt for Vlad and then Sandu. He grabbed a handful of invisibility cloth from each of them and pulled them to him.

Whispering, Snape gave his orders, “We must follow them quietly. Be ready to strike. Have a hand on your wands at all times.”

The three wizards quickly left the room and saw the men heading down a distant stairway. They swiftly but silently moved to close the distance.

The long stairway went down deep underneath the castle. Soon they stepped down into a dimly lit dungeon and saw the three Death Eaters arguing over something near the back of the large underground room.

“Blast the damn thing, Maguire!” Keltin shouted.

“No! It’ll make too damn much noise. The lever is right here, I tell you,” Maguire said back, as he moved a hand over the seamless looking rock wall. Finally, they heard a click and a section of wall pulled free, pivoting heavily to their right.

“Now what?” asked Brashard.

“It’s goblin made, Maguire! We’ll have to blast it open, I tell ya!” Keltin again shouted out.

“Stand back!” Maguire ordered.

The three wizards pointed their wands at the door of the vault and let loose as much power as they could muster but the door was in no way harmed. The noise of their efforts echoed loudly through the dungeon. Again and again, they yelled their incantations but to no effect.

Thankfully, Snape, Vlad and Sandu had stepped to one wall of the dungeon, as Fierkin came charging down the stairs, his wand held high. He screamed out an Avada Kedavra spell, which struck Brashard from behind, killing the man instantly.

Maguire and Keltin swung around and shouted the killing incantation at Fierkin, who jumped behind a large rock pillar. The two Death Eaters then attempted to flee to safety behind other pillars, but Fierkin caught Keltin in the open before he made it to the safety of a large column.

“So you have decided to steal from your master!” Fierkin shouted out. “After all I’ve done for you, Maguire!”

“We were only taking what we were entitled to! It will do you no good, Olsto! Dumbledore’s army will be here soon! If you’re smart, you’ll take some of your wealth and flee!” Maguire shouted out.

“Flee? Flee, you say? You coward! I’ll kill that old bastard if he enters my castle!” Fierkin shouted back. “But I’m going to kill you first, Maguire!”

Maguire attempted to run to another pillar, but Fierkin hit him squarely with a killing spell. Maguire crumpled instantly to the ground.

Fierkin walked up to the man’s dead body and kicked him repeatedly. At his back, Severus Snape slowly and quietly closed on him. He raised his wand and screamed out a spell of his own.

“Stupefy!” he shouted, his wand within feet of the evil wizard’s back. The man instantly froze and fell forward across Maguire’s dead body.

Severus reached up, pulled off his hood and removed his gloves. Vlad and Sandu did likewise. Vlad quickly ran around and picked up the four wizards’ wands.

“Sandu,” Snape said, looking around at the young Romanian wizard. “Report to Professor Dumbledore as you were instructed. Tell him what happened and that we’re waiting for him to join us.” Snape reached into his robe and withdrew the portkey Professor Dumbledore had established. “Take this and leave it on the table in the anteroom. “Falcon’s Lair” is the operative phrase. Before you leave, instruct the others to take up their assigned stations within the castle.”

Sandu turned and hurried back up the stairs.

For the last ten days, Severus Snape and his men from Eagle’s Nest had been tasked with the surveillance of Fierkin’s Castle. Professor Dumbledore instructed Snape to have his men move cautiously and slowly about the castle. The old wizard had realized the operation in Belgium would be watched from afar by either Fierkin himself or some of his men.

Professor Dumbledore had told Snape a number of possible outcomes he expected. What had transpired tonight had been the one outcome they had hoped for the most. Clearly, Fierkin’s men would know of his wealth. With their evil associates dead in Belgium, the Death Eaters would have little choice but to flee and take some of Fierkin’s wealth with them.

Snape had Vlad help him strap the man to a torture rack within the dungeon. They then waited for the old professor and his team to arrive.

Within the hour, Professor Dumbledore, Grime, Sirius, Harry, and the rest of the Athena team were within the castle’s dungeon.

“As you expected,” Snape said, when the old wizard walked up to him. “The three Death Eaters turned on Fierkin. As you can see, they tried to break into his vault. They made so much noise the man came storming down the stairs and killed them one by one.”

“No one else is within the castle?” Dumbledore asked.

“He has a number of house-elves, and we believe there are two young witches locked up somewhere within the castle. I have three of my team going room to room to clear the castle now,” Snape replied.

“Remus, take charge of our Athena team, please, and assist Professor Snape’s men. Be very cautious. There may be unseen charms about,” Dumbledore ordered. “Harry, I want you to stay with Sirius, Grime and me.”

Remus and the Athena team charged back up the stairway. They realized, from the vast size of the castle, it could take most of the night to complete a thorough search.

Professor Dumbledore raised his wand, and Fierkin was wakened. Once his eyes cleared, he tried to jump off the torture rack but Snape had bound him well.

“Olsto Fierkin. I’m Albus Dumbledore. I was told you wanted me to pay you a little visit. Here I am in the flesh. Is there anything you wish to say?”

“You old bastard! Let me loose! You have no right to do this!” the man yelled out, fighting against the leather straps that bound him hand and foot.

“By order of His Lordship, Chief Justice Daniel Webster, I most certainly do have the right to do this. You have, by your actions, condemned yourself, Fierkin. Before your sentence is carried out, however, we wish access to your vault and other secret spaces within the castle. All you own has been forfeited, you see.” Professor Dumbledore said flatly and coldly.

“Go to hell!” Fierkin screamed.

Professor Dumbledore raised his wand and put the man into a trance. He quickly ascertained the access phrase to the vault, and the man told of another secret room attached to his library. Professor Dumbledore continued asking questions until the man’s brain was hardly able to function further. With a quick flick of his wand, the old wizard mercifully ended the man’s life.

The old professor walked to the vault, as Harry went about turning the four dead wizards to dust. The goblin made vault opened and revealed a huge rock hewn room. As Professor Dumbledore, Sirius, Grime and Harry were all present at the Cetus and Nott raids, they estimated the man’s wealth equal to August Nott’s. An incredible amount of gold galleons, muggle money, jewels and bearer bonds had been secreted away.

“Harry, please return to Falcon’s Lair and have Graciela go to the conference room at Hogwarts with her two assistants. Have the rest of the Coeus team members brought here immediately. We have much to transfer,” Dumbledore ordered.

Harry ran back up the stairway to the portkey on the table in the anteroom. Within the hour, Coeus team members were transferring the treasure trove from the dungeon directly to Hogwarts by another portkey Dumbledore had brought with him.

Graciela Calderon, Grace White and Preston Kelly stayed at the conference room at Hogwarts and transferred the plunder to the dungeon, which had once served as Falcon’s Lair. Harry returned to the castle to help the team continue the search.

Dumbledore left Sirius in charge of transferring everything from the dungeon. He took Grime and Harry with him up to find Fierkin’s library. Once there, Dumbledore opened up the secret room hidden behind a large bookcase. Inside, they found ledgers, manuscripts and the man’s financial records.

One of the drawers of a large filing cabinet contained records of Death Eaters living across Europe. Fierkin had, over the years, compiled extensive records of everything happening around him, as he became aware of it. Apparently, he had paid for much of the information, as it would later prove impossible to connect him personally with a number of evil witches and wizards in his detailed accounting.

“We need to get Graciela and her team to work scrutinizing these records,” the old wizard said, looking at Grime.

“Fierkin had his greedy hands in a great number of things, Albus. Look at these business accounts,” Grime said, running a thick finger down a page of a large open ledger. “It looks like the Fierkin family has had great influence for many years.”

Oliver Wood entered the library and reported there were two young witches and a number of house-elves found within the castle. “Many of the rooms look as if the doors haven’t been opened in years, Professor.”

The old wizard nodded his head. “Oliver, please go to Falcon’s Lair and fetch Drucila.”

“Yes, sir!” Wood turned around and left the room.

“Harry, go see if those two young witches speak English. If so, interview them and see what they were doing here. Find out all they know,” Dumbledore ordered.

Harry found Lee Jordan on the second floor of the castle. Lee pointed him down to a room at the end of a long hall, which had been locked. When he entered the room, he found two frightened girls sitting next to each other on a bed in a large bedroom.

“Are you family of Fierkin’s?” Harry asked them.

The two girls shook their heads. “He bought me several years ago from my aunt,” one of the girls replied.

“And you?” asked Harry, looking at the other.

“He brought me here a year ago, after he murdered my mother and father,” she replied.

“And? Why did he have you here?”

“He used us to pleasure him,” the first girl said, looking down at the floor.

Harry instantly knew there wouldn’t be much they would know to prove helpful. Both girls were very attractive and seemed to have been well kept physically. Emotionally, however, it was plain they were both shattered. He had seen the same look in Ginny’s eyes. Harry empathized with them.

“We will help you both in anyway we can. But first, we need to know what you can tell us about the castle and yourselves,” Harry said, looking from one to the other.

“We know very little about the castle. We were never allowed to leave this room. The only thing we’ve seen of the world around us is through those two windows,” she said, pointing to the wall on her right.

“You mean you were made to stay here the whole time?” Harry asked shocked at what she had said.

“Yes.”

“What’s your name and where were you from?” Harry asked the young witch who claimed to have been sold to Fierkin.

“Tracy. I was born and raised outside of London,” she answered.

“And you?” Harry asked, nodding to the other girl.

“Belinda. I was raised near Glasgow,” she said. “Where is Olsto? He’ll be furious when he finds you inside the castle.”

“Fierkin’s dead,” Harry replied, unemotionally and flatly.

The two girls brought hands to their mouths and fell into each other’s arms, crying. If someone unassociated with what had just been said had walked into the room, they would have believed the two girls were crying over a lost relative. Harry, on the other hand, knew their tears were from the relief they felt. Their days of imprisonment and abuse were over.

Harry realized there would be little more they could tell them about the man, and they would know nothing about the castle.

“Gather any belongings you have. You’ll be leaving here shortly,” Harry ordered.

He then walked over to the one other door in the room. It led into a rather large bathroom. Harry turned around to find the two girls looking through a chest of drawers. They removed two pillowcases and stuffed a few articles of clothing into them. The only other item they picked up were the hairbrushes off a dressing table. Very little else was in the room.

When they were finished, Harry pointed to the door, and he led the two girls back down to the library.

Professor Dumbledore instructed Harry to take the two girls straight to Falcon’s Lair. “Find Austin, Harry. Leave the two girls in his care.”

After Drucila Priest had arrived, the old professor sent her off to locate the house-elves and give them their instructions. He also wanted her to interrogate them and find out about the comings and goings of others at the castle.

The early March sun was rising in the east before everything was finally transferred to the dungeon at Hogwarts. Dumbledore and Grime went about scrutinizing the other items within the library. Snape and Vlad soon joined the two wizards.

“How are we to proceed, Professor?” Snape asked.

“For the short term, Severus, I want you to move your portkey into the anteroom next to the one to Falcon’s Lair. If you can, have two of your men stay at the castle at all times, I will have Sirius provide a like number. We will set up a one-week rotation of duties. There may be other Death Eaters about who will be anxious to get there hands on Fierkin’s fortune. My orders to our guards are simple: Stupefy any and all who come here until they can be interrogated.”

Snape nodded his head and then turned around to look at the expensive appointments around them. “It’s a grand old castle, Professor. Are we to make use of it?”

“Yes, I’m sure we will. But in the near term, it will serve as nothing but a drain on our resources,” Dumbledore replied.

Within a short time, as the sun climbed higher into the sky, the castle fell once again into silence.