Worthy Of Magic

Part 13 - Found

Rita Margaret Skeeter considered herself a highly successful journalist. She managed to get scandals and secrets out of high profile persons with ease that made her peers burn with jealousy. Add her acidic style of writing and she gained the power to inspire an entire world of people.

The last two years had seen her salary hiked numerous times, she was gifted bonus on top of bonus and soon, the expectations from the editor got so high that she began to find it difficult to find more sensational news reports.

It was then she resorted to fabricating stories and publishing more fiction than fact. She hated doing that, it was an insult to her investigative skills, but she was far too attached to lavish mansion and elvish foot rubs.

She patted down her dark green robes and checked if her hair was neatly bunned on her head. Satisfied, she slung her crocodile green bag and made towards the fireplace.

She had work to do, scandals to expose and news to invent.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Hogwarts; Fourth March nineteen ninety-three

"Did you find him?"

Remus Lupin, a man with grey hair and a tired disposition shook his head wearily and slumped into the chair he was seating on. "We tracked his movement to the point of origin. Apparently he apparated, which I still do not believe by the way, to a place called the Rann of Kutch. We found traces of runic magic. Harry used runes to summon water from deep underground."

"It's still flowing?"

"It looks permanent," Remus said, a hint of awe in his voice. "There were several such runes used while Harry travelled into the Thar Desert in Indian Territory. His movements suggest he is going up North but after the sighting by the muggles his trail got cold."

Being a werewolf Remus could track any living creature with unbelievable ease.

"Indian Territory?"

"The desert stretches into Pakistan and there's this massive fence between the two countries. I didn't inquire into it and from the little I gathered, the two countries are constantly at each other's throats. I fear if Harry wanders towards one of the hot zones, he could accidentally be shot at and killed."

"We have to find him Remus."

"Sooner or later he is going to bump into locals. Now we have passed flyers in the neighbouring states, ensured people living in nearby villages and borders are aware of our search and in general covered the area all around Harry. We will find him but we don't know when."

Dumbledore sighed.

"What is he Dumbledore?" Remus asked hesitantly. He had been wondering from the moment he had been told about the boy. No witch or wizard could survive in such harsh climatic conditions for more than a week without constant food and water. He realised Harry had made a water source for himself but what about food? The desert barely had any fauna around.

"He is a game changer," Dumbledore said solemnly. "There's so much power in him that it's ridiculous. Right now he's aimless. Searching for a direction. Dreaming of a dream waiting to be realised. He has the potential to change the world and not an ounce of empathy." Dumbledore sighed. "It's been a long time since I've felt like I don't know what to do Remus. Voldemort is going to come back and our fate rests on the head of a deranged boy who apparently skips to deserts when he feels like it!"

Remus stared at Dumbledore wide eyed. It was the first time he was hearing frustration in the headmaster's voice.

Sirius who was seated quietly all this time snorted.