Professor Potter

Chapter 34

Chapter 34 

The dining room at Meadow Crest had taken on the look of a combat command center. A map was laid out on one end of the table while a small group of Aurors, the Special Tactical Squad, was assembled at the other. Deputy Chief Milligan and Evelyn Muntab had their heads close as they talked in low tones. Harry had been a part of the discussions for some time but now he was sitting back and taking the opportunity to observe what was going on. Since the day Milligan revealed to Harry the rumors that children had gone missing from the area around Durmstrang his unease about the childrens' pleading voices that had startled him awake had turned into full fledged anxiety. The first step had been to try and confirm the rumors. Milligan's law enforcement contacts, both magical and muggle, had finally been able to substantiate that at least six children had disappeared from villages or outlying farms in the region in recent weeks. 

What concerned Harry somewhat was that the first reported disappearance didn't occur until weeks after the first episode of hearing the voice calling for his or her father. But that was something to be pondered afterward. Once the disappearances had been verified, the animagi spies had been mobilized and the castle was closely observed. According to the reports received there were indeed six children, probably between the ages of seven and ten, being kept in a room on the top floor near the rear of the building. There were still a dozen or so adults, probably the 'faculty' and perhaps a dozen older students, looking to be in their mid to late teens. It was also concluded that the local magical law enforcement officials were either unable or unwilling to do anything and had requested assistance. That assistance was what was being planned now. 

As Harry sat quietly the events of the previous week and a half began to play through his mind. The messages were literally flying back and forth. Aurors were taking trips to the hills surrounding the castle to observe and track the movements of the giant and what appeared now to be a full half dozen mountain trolls moving about the high ground. The Transylvania bat wizard, as Milligan had referred to him, was brought back to England and between his descriptions and the assistance of Abagail, a detailed map of the grounds and building had been produced. That map was the centerpiece of the planning effort. 

It was agreed that the room would be easy enough to access from outside using brooms, as long as they weren't seen. All the spies agreed that no one spent any time in the room with the children when they were confined there, mostly at night to sleep. The door was guarded from the outside by either a teacher or one of the few remaining senior students. A window large enough to slip a child through was situated high on the back wall and the idea was to slip in one Auror who was barely larger than a child herself, but had proven to be incredibly tough, aggressive and more than willing to be the one to go in. 

What they would need is a diversion to keep everyone's attention away from the small room, preferably to the front. Harry was going to provide that diversion, and then some. He indicated when the time was right he would hit the front with everything he had and that he might be able to arrange for some additional assistance. It would be tricky to keep his actions and that of his dragon self separate but he thought everyone else outside would be focused on the rear of the castle and he'd have the front to himself. 

"Harry?" 

"What? I'm sorry," he replied. 

Ron was standing in front of his best friend and looking down at him. 

"I think we've got it all set. Mr. Milligan and Ms. Muntab want to go over it again one last time." 

"Alright," Harry said, shaking himself a bit and then he got up and went over to stand by the table where the map was laid out. 

"Alright, everyone, listen up," Evelyn Muntab began. "We're going to go through this one more time from the top. We'll assemble on the edge of this small town about twenty miles to the west of Durmstrang. From there the rescue team will fly in and take up position on the north edge of the grounds. As soon as you hear the commotion start out in front of the castle, you head straight for this window," she said, pointing to the one providing outside access to the room.