Harry Potter and the Stranded Mists of Spring

Chapter 28 - Slow Progress

"Oh, hello Harry. Good morning. I'm surprised to see you here this early," Edmund remarked, pulling his feet from the table as he leaned forward to greet Harry. In doing so he closed the book, tucking it into his jacket pocket.

"Good morning. I'm a bit surprised to see you here so early too. Did you stay at The Inn last night?" Harry wondered.

"I finally made use of the room you so generously provided for me, thank you," Edmund told him.

Harry nodded.

"Do you need help getting ready for the day?" Edmund offered.

"Maybe," Harry set a stack of the charmed paper for paper airplanes down in the center of the conference room table. "I'll be back in a bit. I need to get breakfast ordered," Harry explained.

"Don't mind me. Do what you need to do, Harry. I will too," Edmund told him.

Edward was next to arrive in the conference room. He took note of the stack of paper on the table and the fact that Edmund was already there, making a note in his little book.

"Good morning," Edward remarked.

"Good morning. Have a good weekend?" Edmund asked.

"One of the best. And you?" Edward asked.

"I did too. It was good to be home for a bit. Liz was happy to see me when I went by for a visit, through Joanne does miss me when I'm gone so long," Edmund remarked.

"I'm sure she does. Were you able to get what we need?" Edward wondered.

"Some of it. Those hematite caps are incredibly difficult to come by," Edmund shared.

"How many more were you able to get?" Edward wondered.

"Three. When added to the one we already had, that only leaves four for your entire team," Edmund cautioned.

"We'll give them to the most vulnerable," Edward suggested.

"Isn't that Harry's call instead of yours?" Edmund questioned.

"He'll probably agree," Edward remarked, just as Harry stepped into the room.

"You're sure I'll agree to what?" Harry asked.

"Edmund was only able to get three more hematite caps," Edward explained.

Harry shrugged slightly. "We'll give them to the most vulnerable. Personally, as long as I have a good piece of citrine, I think I'm good."

"Worried about seeing in the dark, Harry?" Edmund concluded.

"Most Death Eaters I know prefer to work in the dark. I've come to expect that whenever we are looking for them," Harry told them.

"Good point," Edward remarked.

"I picked up a couple of these in Diagon Alley over the weekend. Is there any reason they wouldn't work as well as the piece you had?" Harry asked pulling two walnut-sized crystals from one of his pockets, placing them on the table.

"They should," Edmund told him after inspecting them. "I don't suppose the shop where you got these carries hematite objects?"

"I asked, but they only had these." Harry added two polished but unshaped pieces of hematite to the stones already on the table. "They can't be fixed to a wand, but they can be attached to a staff, if we decide that is needed."

"My advice for the time being is to simply carry them with you," Edmund told him. "It is possible for you the affect may be similar."

"How are we doing with Mrs. Bumble?" Harry asked Edward.