Chapter 731 - Interview for Divination Post Ⅵ

Elsewhere that same wet, cold night, there is a heavy mist on a frozen, muddy hill. On the frozen hill, there stands a circle of stones with two stones standing upright, one on top of another, and which muggles called Stonehenge. Muggle whispered that the formation was the gateway, the door to another realm. All of which were lies. For wizards, the ancient site possessed another name, Magicae Lapis, meaning "stones of magic." The stones marked the precise location where ancient magic gathered naturally together. Though the muggle governments had long since transformed the sacred holy land into a muggle tourist destination. It was still surprisingly easy to get into at night with a bit of magic.

The night was pitch black with the sound of sleet-like rain pouring from the dark heavens. Despite the awful weather, hooded figures trample through the frozen, muddy grounds. Each of the hooded figures wears an orange-colored stone mask except for the one with a pale stone mask of Zeus. The stone masked man stood in the middle of the stone circle, while the remaining wizards and witches came to stand in between the stones to form a complete circle.

"We are many but only one," the stone figure said as the rest of the orange figures answered back with the same sentence, before falling silent. The youngest vessel was not physically present nor connected to the collective. It was far too dangerous with the Hogwarts Wards fully repaired. And as for the other vessel in transition at Hogwarts was proving far more troublesome and difficult to assimilate than originally planned for. Nor could another fragment of themselves be transferred to the vessel in transitioning until the winter holidays came to further aid in the acquirement of the very troublesome vessel.

The only sound heard in the dark of the night is the sound of the sleeting, cold rain until the Zeus masked man speaks, "We have urgently gathered to discuss what was heard and learned on this wet night by the polyjuiced version of us, Mundungus Fletcher."

The short, masked vessel of Mundungus Fletcher steps forward. Despite being masked and hooded there is still a strong scent of tobacco and alcohol to him. "We have been surveying the Hogs Head Inn for many months in a polyjuiced form as it is the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. As we all well know the Order will shortly be moved to a disclosed location by Albus Dumbledore. My time as an informant for the Order is severely restrained by Aberforth Dumbledore as such we will depend on our other self within the Order to manipulate the Order meetings as we see fit," he said in a scratchy voice, but firm voice that did not sound at all like the Mundungus Fletcher known to all.

"We did not expect much of this evening as Albus Dumbledore interviewed one tedious applicant after another to fulfill the position of Divination Professor," Mundundgus Fletcher murmured. "To our astonishment, one of the applicants was the half-blood great-granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney, Sybill Trelawney."

There is a rustle of the hooded figures all moving in a unanimous movement to listen intently to the following words of Mundungus Fletcher. "Nothing was abnormal until towards the end when Sybill Trelawney spoke in a voice filled with the power of the Spirits," he paused to forewarn them. "We were only able to overhear a portion of that which was spoken over the rowdy crowd of the Hogs Head Inn. 'Two stars have fallen, both equal in might."

"We could not make it too obvious as we made our way closer to Dumbledore, and only caught the final portion of the prophecy. 'Yet life and death will clasp hands in solemn accord, the Hydra must perish…" A loud gasp in unison is heard from the hooded figures before as one they turn their heads towards the center of the circle.

The stone masked figure of Zeus is silent for a moment, before pensively saying, "We must enter the Prophecy Hall and retrieve the prophecy. What progress had been made to find the Keeper of the Prophecy Hall?"

A clear, confident young man's voice replies, "We have been using Bertie Higgs under the term of friendship, but we have not made as much process as we would like. And Rufus Scrimgeour is of no use in that department either. But Bertie Higgs is on friendly terms with Caradoc Dearborn, a member of the Filing Department and in charge of the Personnel Files. I am certain that we can easily acquire that which we need by becoming on friendly terms with the weak-minded wizard."

"Can he not be turned into a vessel?" Interjected, a soothing witches voice.

"No, he bears the faint scent of the Spirits," cheerfully answered a wizard's voice. "Ignoring that fact, he would need ample time to be prepared to become a vessel. We have suffered more sufficient losses in such a short length of time that we must use the remaining fragments wisely until the destroyed fragments regenerate. That and we cannot forget the CURSE, its effects have already begun, and they will only become that much more vividly apparent with the passage of time."

"Indeed, we have lost too many for comfort," interrupted a deep voice belonging to a wizard. "We have lost both Wilkes, Snyde, and we alone remain within the puppet's inner circle. We lost Minchum and most importantly the post for the Ministry of Magic. We lost Zephyros at Hogwarts and only the youngest vessel remains at Hogwarts along with the transitioning vessel. The losses have only increased over these last few months, but we cannot afford to move drastically with the curse in place."

"True, but we are far more concerned by Sanderson's movements," interpolated a cool male's voice. "He has been busy as of late gathering intel on the Ministry of the Magic and his own people within the underworld. Although I have not been pushed aside, he has not included me in all the planning. Sanderson is keeping his cards rather close to his c.h.e.s.t."

"Most unusual," whispered the other hooded figures. "Could Sanderson be planning to acquire more territory?"

"We know not," coolly replied the wizard, "but he has been keeping his movements rather discrete. Still, I am not overly concerned, sooner or later someone will talk."

"And what of the puppet?" Optimistically asked a wizard's voice changing the subject. "The puppet has not been acting as he expected and seems to have regained quite the cognitive function."

The deep wizard voice says, "A dangerous hazard especially with Lestrange advising at the side of the puppet. The puppet may break free of its string if it continues down this path."

"That is not what concerns us the most," interrupted a warm witch's voice. "Snyde slew the living sacrifice and we, in turn, have taken the curse. We can already see its effects with the destruction of our vessel, Emusa Snyde. Even more concerning is that the puppet sensed a small aspect of us, we forced it out of the vessel's mind in time but that was a telling mark. Not to mention that serpent of the puppet that is sneaking about, I trust it not. It sees and understands far more than any ordinary serpent should be capable of."

"The serpent seems familiar," whispered, a cheerful pleasant male voice. "Perchance, a look into the past is needed."

"Regardless, the serpent is troubling," said a young woman's voice, "but even more so as Life and Death have begun to subtly influence and move their own pawns. Fiona Bly was f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y ejected from the Hogwarts Board by Lucius Malfoy. All our hard-earned efforts to acquire the seat have resulted in absolutely nothing! The effects will only be expounded with the curse and our losses will only further increase with the passage of time. The puppet must die for the curse to desist!"

"We cannot afford to destroy the puppet yet," whispered the other hooded figures. "We must not forget the objective and the objective has not yet been met."

"Then wait we shall, but not for long," ordered the stone masked figure of Zeus.

"And what of the Prince's," asked the soft low voice of a witch. "It would seem in retrospect that the root of all of our misfortunes begin and end with the Prince's."

"The old Prince has been rather quiet as of late," murmured a cheerful wizard's voice. "But then again preparations are in full swing with the presentation of his two grandchildren."

"We shall finally accept Slughorn's invitation and attend one of his parties," answered the stone masked Zeus. "We need to evaluate the Prince grandchildren in person. They are the old Prince's soft underbelly."

"Indeed," murmured the soft low voice of a witch. "But we must aim for a certain kill, the old Prince will surely be prepared for an attack from the puppet's forces and the Verninac family's wards are a deadly hazard not to be taken lightly."

"No," they are not they whispered in unison. "The famous, but now deceased alchemist, Nicholas Flammel is a distant cousin of theirs. In the alchemist's youth, the Verninac's paid for a portion of his schooling and in turn, he repaid them with nigh unbreakable wards that still hold strong until this day."

"Either way, we must wait until the Giants arrival," murmured a cool wizard's voice. "The Giant's arrival will provide a perfect cover and distraction as needed. But in the meanwhile, I will convince Sanderson to move and attack the Ministry of Magic. The more chaos there exists the better for us."

"And so, let it come to be," the orange masked figures answered in unison, before walking off in every direction including the white stone masked figure of Zeus. With the curse hanging overhead, they seemed to be followed by misfortune with each step they took. If that was the case, then they would ensure that same misfortune touched others as well.