Azkaban - North Sea

  Tuesday, July 29th, 2014.

  8:30 AM

  "A few minutes later, and the Harnesses deactivated. Ah'm not ashamed to admit I kicked mine off like a sairp'nt frum Hel!" John's usually calm eyes were two dark pits. "Ah didn't know you could do that with the Harnesses! Did ye know...?"

  "I did not, John." Harry was scanning the rockscape as he spoke, his notebook open in his hand. "I would never put you in that position... Nienna! On me!"

  He saw the girl jerk up from examining something on the ridge, look at the broken rock between her and the Head Auror, and her Comet suddenly slid up under her. She rode it sidesaddle for the short distance, not bothering to mount up.

  Smart, smart girl, Harry thought. He tapped the last three pages in his notebook, Silently intoning, Gemino, Gemino, Gemino. He released his wand, which retracted into his sleeve. He grinned to himself. Should have thought of that years ago. Tilting the notebook made the three duplicated pages slide into his waiting palm. Aligning the loose pages, he folded them once, top to bottom, to produce a square. Then again, corner to corner, making a right isosceles triangle. As he tucked his notebook into his dimensional pocket, he Reached and Retrieved the Secure Message Shield. It, too, was a right triangle. He snapped it open by touching it with his thumb and the tip of his wand simultaneously. The folded paper fit perfectly inside, and it automatically snapped closed. It still looked too thin to open, much less contain a message.

  Nienna coasted to a stop, sliding off her broom to stand beside him. Harry smiled at her.

  "Apprentice Auror Robins, I have a job for you. This, (he held up the SMS), is a message for Kingsley Shacklebolt."

  Nienna's eyes widened, but she didn't interrupt. Harry went on.

  "That sounds simple, but it is not. This is a message for the Minister of Magic, only. Not his Deputy, not his Executive Assistant, not his Chief of Security. This is a System that he and I agreed between us, and no one else. With me so far?"

  Nienna nodded, slightly paler than when she arrived.

  Harry sighed. "Nienna, I am sorry to drop this on you. But it does have to be you. You are the only person I can spare that I am absolutely certain I can trust. I am almost certain there are... untrustworthy elements in the Ministry hierarchies. Also, no offense, but most people will dismiss you out of hand."

  Nienna gave a slight shrug and a small nod, showing she understood.

  "When I am done, no one will be able to take the message from you. That does not mean no one will try. Precautions have been taken, and I will explain them to you in a moment. First, I have to attach the SMS to your hand. This is not painful, and will cause you no harm. Please make a fist with the back of your hand up. Left hand, please."

  Nienna immediately presented her left fist. Absolute trust seemed to radiate off her.

  Harry held the triangle above her hand, and muttered, "Just a bit too large. Reducio." He laid the SMS triangle on the back of her hand, with the right angle pointing at her wrist, and the long edge parallel to her knuckles. He then laid the entire suite of protective spells, not on her, but on the SMS.

  “Protego Maxima.”

  “Fianto Duri.”

  “Repello Inimicum.”

  “Salvio Hexia,”

  “Cave Inimicum.”

  He then Transfigured the shield so it was soft and flexible. It molded itself perfectly to the back of her hand. It looked like a very detailed, very fresh tattoo.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "Nobody should be able to notice it, but, hey, plausible deniability. If anyone feels like jacking up Demelza because she let a 15-year-old get a tattoo..."

  Nienna grinned.

  The Shield was bisected by a line running from the point of the right angle to the center point of the long edge. On each side of the line was an indistinct blur.

  Harry took his wand completely out of his sleeve for this spell. Touching the tip of the phoenix-feather wand to the left of the bisecting line, he whispered, "Expecto Patronum." The blur took the shape of a prong-horned stag, filling out and glowing an ectoplasmic white. Resting the tip on the other side, Harry simply said, "Kingsley Shacklebolt." The blur became a simple outline of a lynx, without filling in. Harry stowed his wand away in his sleeve, noticing Nienna, Hannah, Daniel and John all paying particular attention.

  Erik, he thought, you've really started something.

  "Mission Parameters," he said briskly. Nienna snapped her gaze back to his face. Harry looked stern, handing her a single loose sheet with notes writ tiny. "Don't take the elevator all the way up. This is how you get around that."

  She scanned the page once, then read it thoroughly twice.

  "Got it?" Harry demanded. She nodded, he snapped his fingers, and the note disappeared in a puff of heatless flame. He met her eyes.

  "Speed is not why I chose you, Auror. This is your chance to show discretion. But, as they say, 'Moderation in All Things. Especially Moderation.' This message must go through."

  Nienna looked doubtful, but Harry held up a hand before she could speak. "I understand. A Brand-New Apprentice Auxiliary Auror has negative weight to throw around. But I have equipped you with the tools to succeed."

  Harry saw the interest alight in her eyes. "First, since you are going directly to the Ministry Arrival Hall, you will not need an escort. Much less noticeable. Second, if people casually notice you, and look like they might be about to speak, reach up with your left hand, design on the back toward them, and fiddle with your... well, pretend you have a necklace."

  The teen did so, clearly perplexed. Harry was expecting the subsequent effect, and ignored it. The three people looking on reacted in different ways. Hannah, who was expecting something of the like, still lost focus for just a minute. John and Daniel looked confused, then they caught sight of Hannah, then each other, finally returning their puzzled gazes to Harry and Nienna.

  Nienna's eyes widened. Harry grinned, and went on.

  "Second, if someone intentionally tries to stop you, an officious bureaucrat, security personnel, a person trying to recruit you for a World Cup pool..." Harry shrugged. "Whatever. Make a fist, raise it and turn the back of your hand toward them, and raise one finger."

  Nienna, (and Hannah), looked at him suspiciously. Daniel and John just grinned.

  "Which finger?" the girl asked doubtfully.

  Harry waved in an airy manner. "Let your conscience be your guide. Try it."

  Nienna slowly raised her fist, and deliberately extended her pointer finger.

  Harry said quietly, "Is that a bruise on John's neck?"

  Hannah suddenly gasped. "Is that a bruise on your neck? Did I miss something? John, are you feeling any unusual pain?"

  "Nah, not really," John said raising his fingers to his neck. "Danny boy, d'ye see sommat?"

  In a moment, the three only had words for each other, as they bent over John. Nienna gasped.

  "Take it down, now."

  Nienna looked to Harry, to see that he not only had his eyes closed, but had a forearm thrown across them as well. He didn't move, and Nienna realized what he was waiting on.

  "Uh... All Clear, Head Auror."

  His grinning face emerged from behind the arm. "Even with that, I felt the compulsion," he pointed out. "And, Third and Last..."

  Nienna goggled. "There's a Third?"

  Harry nodded seriously. "If someone is focused enough, angry enough, or just plain Psychostick, they may keep coming. If that happens raise a second finger."

  Nienna opened her mouth, thought a moment, then closed it, with a sour expression on her face.

  Harry grimaced sympathetically. "Yeah, sorry," he said. "We didn't think that all the way through. On the plus side, if you have to use it, they won't remember it after. We're not going to test that one though," he finished hurriedly.

  Nienna cocked a sceptical eye at him. "Why?" she asked. "What happens?"

  "Results... vary," he evaded, then rushed on. "Okay, you're good to get back to the sea mount?"

  She nodded, and started to ask another question...

  "And you know where to find the Portkey to the Ministry?"

  She nodded again, and...

  He was right beside her. "I'll reapply your Travel Shields. And here's your Comet, ready to go, what a great broom you have! And you take such good care of it. Hey, what about Ron's prototype broom? Did you hear about Krum's speed run at the Cup? I can't wait until that's declassified enough to let you in on..."

  And she was on her broom, speeding, (discretely), away. Her mouth was still slightly open, until she noticed, and angrily snapped it shut.

  ***

  Harry was still cheerfully waving goodbye, when he noticed the two small flying shapes overhauling Nienna's broom.

  Whoops, he said to himself. I meant to tell her not to take Ath?na along. And who is that other one?

  He fretted for a moment, then shook it off. Never mind, he thought. What could possibly go wrong?

  CRACK! Lightning hit an accumulator on the ridge about ten feet behind him. He jumped, torqued his ankle badly as he came down, and landed, sadly, on a pile of obsidian shards. Instead of the nice, friendly granite rocks.

  "HANNAH!"