Across To Elsewhere

Part One: Seventeen - Across To Elsewhere

All of Little Whining had been put under enchantments- the foundation of which were the very same that Harri had so readily left behind. Now they had been modified so greatly it no longer held any of it's original purpose. 

Only those invited could enter the premises, otherwise set off the caterwauling charm which would alert all to the intruder's presence. An imperturbable charm had been used several times, in two layers. (Around the entirety of Little Whining and around the front yard of number four where Voldemort built his passage through the wall of the house.) Surprisingly, there was no muggle-repelling charm. Instead, any muggles who came to investigate the oddity of a town going missing were captured. (Any muggle weapons that had been brought along had their ammunition bounce off the imperturbable charm and be sent right back at them, often leaving them vulnerable for capture if they weren't dead from their own weapons.) And what sort of protection would it be if apperating in or out of the area was allowed?

It was nearly midnight, the moon a waning crescent. They were in the alley between Wisteria Walk and Mangolia Crescent of Little Whining. 

It wasn't a real alley, like what you'd find in the city, nor did it resemble Diagon Alley in the least. Really, all the alley consisted of were four houses- two on each side, though the west side houses were on a short hill while the east were not- and a long dirt path that cut between the properties had been claimed by the township to be used as the place to set up the phone lines between the two blocks.

Harri lifted up her black turtleneck until the thin fabric covered her nose and mouth, simply brushing her fingers along the seam of it to coax her magic to hold it in place. Like Hermione, Harri had tied her long hair in a tight fish tail so it could be hidden under her black beret. Her hand enclosed on a spray bottle from one of the many pockets of her parachute cargo pants as her green eyes slid away from Kreacher to the south end of the alleyway where Wisteria Walk waited.

Kreacher told them everything that he knew about the situation, under the stern order to be truthful from Harri.

Not wanting to go to Harri and, hating Sirius, the old elf had gone to Bellatrix and Narcissa as the next members of the Black family in which he could comfortably serve loyally. When he appeared, he had been ordered by them to mention anything that happened within Grimmauld Place and anything he knew of Harri Potter. In exchange he could roam about freely and help serve the Dark Lord without fear of his own magic being taken- like so many other elves already- to help fuel the passage that was being constructed.

Hermione looked north, towards Mangolia Cresent as she zipped her anorak back up. At her feet Rajah gave a low hiss as he scented the air with his tongue. (He was no longer a tiny thing, barely longer than Hermione's hand. The basilisk was now just over the length of Hermione's entire arm and weighted just a little less than Crookshanks.)

In passing Kreacher had overheard that the students and teachers had been brought from Hogwarts into Little Whining and kept in the park. (Though Harri had to wonder why they'd bothered to keep them in such an open space rather than hide them inside one of the many now-vacant buildings of the town.) From the alley, said park was just beyond the north side of Mangolia Crescent. 

Apparently, those that did not readily agree to follow under the Dark Lord had been tortured one by one until they either joined the Death Eater ranks or their minds broke- all the while the rest of the students and staff were forced to watch. Thankfully, all was quiet at the moment. Though, hopefully, the relatives of those brought to the park would arrive soon and cause a commotion outside the perimeter.

The first thing Harri and Hermione did was get word out on where the Hogwart's students were being kept via patronus. They sent several out to find parents and relatives of students and staff. When found the patronus were to inform them of where those who had gone to Hogwarts were being kept and a time of when exactly Harri and Hermione would show up at that location to break everyone out. Then it was asked to pass the message on, in any way, to whomever else needed to hear it.