Outlaws
Augusta woke late the next morning, feeling shaken. She hurried down the stairs to the bar where she found Algie and Enid picking at a breakfast of rather slimy eggs with disappointment.
“Shacklebolt’s got a place for us,” Algie told Augusta.
“It's down in Surrey,” said Enid. “I suppose we'll have to Apparate again.”
“My old lungs can't take another squeezing,” said Algie, shaking his bald head. “Last thing our Neville needs is the three of us Apparating ourselves to death.”
“The Hogwarts Express is still running,” said Aberforth, appearing from a room behind the bar. He set down a third plate of eggs for Augusta. “You could catch that to London and take the Knight Bus from there.”
As much as Augusta disliked riding the Knight Bus, she had been told at her last Healer’s visit that she was getting too old to be Apparating safely. Algie and Enid were even more fragile, and the two of them were eager to see how Ernie Prang was doing, despite his questionable driving. The trouble was, the Knight Bus was sure to be noticed appearing in Hogsmeade, and if Neville Longbottom's closest relatives were seen boarding it so close to the school, Ernie was sure to land in trouble. So after breakfast the three of them thanked Aberforth most earnestly for his help, then tottered off down the high street towards Hogsmeade Station.
They kept their hoods up and pulled scarves over their faces, hobbling along as fast as Enid’s bad knee would allow. A few Death Eaters in black robes were wandering the village, unmasked in the day time but no less ominous. Thankfully there were a few other groups hurrying through the village as well, and the three unlikely fugitives managed to blend in with the usual residents of Hogsmeade.
The Hogwarts Express was waiting at the platform, due to set off in half an hour. Vera Perkins, the elderly witch who had worked in the ticket office for years, was nowhere to be seen. She had been replaced by a stern looking wizard in navy Ministry robes, who surveyed them closely through a glass window.
“Name?” he asked Augusta, ignoring the coins she had dropped into his payment drawer.
“I beg your pardon?” asked Augusta, thinking very fast. Who did she know that might have business traveling between Hogwarts and London?
“The Ministry now requires the names of all passengers boarding the Hogwarts Express,” said the man, eyeing them suspiciously.
“Griselda Marchbanks,” snapped Augusta. “These are my colleagues, Professor Tofty and Madam Marsh.” She gestured behind her at Algie and Enid, who smiled and nodded politely. As she turned back to face the ticket officer, Augusta heard Algie murmur something faintly behind her. The ticket officer's eyes lost their focus for a moment. Then he cleared his throat, swept the money from the drawer, and slid their tickets through.
“Have a pleasant journey, Professor Marchbanks.”
It came as great relief to sit in the warm, comfortable train after their walk through the chilly village streets. Augusta had bought First Class tickets, of course, and they were provided with a proper menu of sandwiches and pastries to choose from as the train pulled slowly out of the station. They ordered an early lunch, since they had left most of Aberforth's cooking on their plates that morning, then all three of them drifted off while the train carried them out of the Highlands.
Augusta woke a while later to find that the mountains and forests had disappeared, replaced by dull, muddy fields full of cows and sheep. The change in scenery was a stark reminder that they were leaving Neville far behind. Augusta rummaged noisily in her carpet bag to find a deck of playing cards, one of many things she always carried, then poked Algie in the ribs to wake him up.
“Oh, what do you want, you spiteful old hag?” he grumbled, sitting up with much huffing and heaving.
“Here,” she snapped, thrusting cards one by one into his hands. “You're going to help me take my mind off my foolish grandon’s escapades.” Algie's expression softened slightly, and he nudged Enid awake to play too. After many rounds of Curse the Queen and Warlock’s Bridge, Augusta ordered a round of afternoon tea and invited Mildred Flume, the trolley witch, to join them.
“Oh, thank you very much!” said Mildred, setting out a fourth plate of scones and biscuits for herself. “I’ll not be missed, you three are my only passengers today.”
“I'm pleased the Express is still running,” said Augusta, adding plenty of milk to her tea. “Is it usually this quiet nowadays?”
“It’s quiet of its usual passengers,” said Mildred darkly. “No students seem to have made any weekend trips home, even over half term; we’re scheduled for an official school run for the Christmas holidays, but there's rumours that the kids won't even be allowed home for those.”
Augusta exchanged a grim look with Algie. How could they possibly hope to get Neville out?
“I don't know if I can face another school run myself,” said Mildred, spreading jam onto a scone with practiced movements. “You must have heard what happened at the start of term?”
“Whatever do you mean?” asked Augusta. Neville hadn't mentioned anything dreadful happening before he'd even arrived at the castle.
“Ooh, I was all of a dither!” Mildred recalled, glancing out of the compartment door. “Death Eaters, at least six of ‘em I’d say, searching the train for Harry Potter!”
“Never!” said Algie, slopping his tea onto his robes.
“How frightful!” said Enid, who suddenly looked as though she expected a Death Eater to come bursting into the compartment at any moment.
“There's been hordes of ‘em catching the Hogwarts Express ever since,” Mildred went on, conjouring a napkin for Algie. “I see the same faces going up and down every few weeks, in shifts it seems. Don't know what they're up to, but there's always at least two patrolling Hogsmeade at any time, and more guarding the school.”
“Well, I suppose it's to be expected,” said Augusta heavily. “Do they stay in the village?”
“They spend a lot of time in the Three Broomsticks,” said Mildred. “They seem to have taken it over since Ros left after that horrible Imperius business.” She shuddered. “But I hear they've made a base for themselves in Lower Hogsfield; that hamlet's been abandoned ever since the giants wrecked it.”
“Do you ever see the students in Hogsmeade?” asked Enid, trying to control her trembling fingers as she buttered her scone.
“Merlin, no, they haven't done any Hogsmeade weekends this year,” said Mildred. “Not a soul goes in or out of the castle except Death Eaters, so I've heard. Even the teachers seem to be forbidden from leaving.”
By the time the train pulled into a darkening King's Cross Station, Augusta was almost frantic with worry. She marched ahead of Algie and Enid, bustling past countless Muggles gawping at her long traveling robes and hooded cloak. She led the way to a quiet side street where they could safely hail the Knight Bus, and thrust out her right hand. With a deafening bang it appeared in the street, its doors creaking open as the bus skidded to a halt.
Ernie Prang was even quieter than usual. He nodded mutely at them when they told him where they wanted to go, and seemed no more pleased to see them than a stranger would have been. They perched on the armchairs closest to the driver’s compartment, and held on tightly as the bus lurched onto a dark country road with another bang.
“Heard from Stan, Ern?” called Algie tentatively over the rumbling engine.
“Nah,” said Ernie, his eyes fixed upon the road. “Last I heard he was in St Mungos. Somethin’ in the paper about a nasty fall.”
He fiddled momentarily with a horrible shrunken head hanging above his steering wheel. Augusta usually did whatever she could to avoid the Knight Bus, but she still found it odd that she had never noticed the ghastly decoration before.
“What’re you three goin’ ter Surrey for then, eh?” asked Ernie.
Algie glanced at Augusta, who nodded her permission. She knew Algie trusted Ernie; they had been friends for many long years.
“To tell you the truth, Ern, we're on the run,” said Algie, and quickly described Augusta’s fight with Dawlish. To Augusta's surprise, Ernie gave no reaction to the story other than a disinterested grunt. Perhaps he was too busy concentrating on his driving; the bus gave another bang and rocketed forwards, now hurtling along a motorway. Algie scolded Ernie cheerfully as he helped a disheveled Enid back into her seat, but his laughter was a little uneasy.
Augusta looked closely at Ernie as she picked herself up off the floor. His expression was oddly blank, as though he were far away, waiting to be called back. Augusta suddenly reached for her wand, as it dawned on her what spell could make an old friend seem so distant. But before she could shout a warning to the others, the bus gave another lurch and Ernie slammed on the brakes, sending the armchairs sliding into each other in a heap. Ernie turned his head slowly to look down at his friends, and opened the doors.
A masked Death Eater leapt onto the bus. Augusta Stunned him from the floor, then cast a strong Shield Charm around Algie and Enid while they gathered their wits, fumbling to draw their wands. Augusta staggered to her feet and Stunned the second Death Eater that tried to get in the door. He collapsed on top of the first, and his mask fell aside to reveal the unconscious face of Stan Shunpike. Algie and Enid began sending spells flying over Augusta’s head, crouching behind the pile of overturned armchairs. Ernie was gripping the steering wheel very hard, as though wrestling with himself, fighting to resist the commands of the Imperius Curse.
One more Death Eater was still standing on the pavement. He fired curses onto the bus as he scrambled over his comrades, sending Augusta backing away into the pile of armchairs, casting more Shield Charms. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Algie reach into his pocket and pull something out. He threw it before Augusta could see what it was; it hit the Death Eater in the face and exploded with Stinksap. He retched and staggered as the slime filled his throat, before Augusta Stunned him and he collapsed to the ground. She hit Ernie with a more gentle Sleeping Jinx, and he slumped forwards over his steering wheel, snoring.
“Everyone alright?” Augusta asked the others.
They nodded, but tears were streaming down Enid’s face. She was shaking so badly that she dropped her wand. Algie wheezed and clutched his chest as he stooped to pick it up. Augusta watched them, guilt creeping into her heart like a plague. She should never have dragged them on the run with her. She should have found a way to send for Shacklebolt at once, and made sure Algie and Enid were safe before she charged off to find news of Neville.
“We should modify their memories,” said Enid faintly, looking out at the dark Muggle street. The houses were large and square, with perfectly kept lawns and neat hedges. “This looks like the place Aberforth described, and we don't want this lot going back to tell the rest where Ernie was taking us.”
Algie levitated the Death Eaters out of the doorway, piling them up at the back of the bus. He conjoured ropes to bind them together, then helped Enid out onto the pavement while Augusta performed the Memory Charms. She altered Ernie's memory too, and wished miserably that there was something they could do for him. It was far too dangerous to bring him with them while he was still under a Death Eater’s control.
The three of them set off through the streets, crossing the road whenever they neared a Muggle. They followed Aberforth's directions past a children's playground where a group of teenagers around Neville’s age were loitering, smoking and passing around a bottle rather aimlessly. The house they were after looked exactly the same as those surrounding it, except for a little collection of seemingly Muggle gnomes by the gate. The largest of them winked at Augusta, and the garden gate swung open before she had even touched it.
Augusta knocked softly on the front door while Enid hurriedly wiped her nose with a handkerchief. They heard shuffling footsteps, then the door was opened by a bent little woman around their own age. She smiled broadly at them for a moment, then her face fell as she took in their ruffled appearances and shaken expressions.
“Ooh ‘eck, whatever’s happened?” she fussed anxiously, beckoning them inside. She took their cloaks and hung them up in the hall, then shepherded them into the kitchen to make them tea. Her house was the strangest thing Augusta had ever seen. The walls and doors all fit perfectly into place, with none of the odd angles and sloping ceilings of most wizarding houses. There were many photographs hanging on the walls, but the people in the frames were fixed perfectly still, not one of them so much as scratching their nose. The lights in the kitchen were set right into the ceiling, and the kitchen counters were covered in all sorts of mysterious devices that Augusta found quite baffling. Even the tea kettle was odd, boiling itself at the press of a button without a single flame to heat it.
They explained what had happened on the Knight Bus, and the old woman hurried to write a letter to Kingsley Shacklebolt. She disappeared upstairs and returned with a little owl perched on her arm. It took the letter in its beak, then she threw it out of the kitchen window before closing all the curtains by hand.
“Arabella Figg, at your service,” she told them. “I knew your son and your daughter-in-law,” she told Augusta. “I've been in Dumbledore's Order ever since the First War.”
She bustled around the kitchen, cooking a stew completely without magic as she asked them about Neville, and the fight with Dawlish.
“I'm a Squib,” Arabella explained, following her guests’ bemused gazes as she served the stew into bowls one at a time. “Been livin’ as a Muggle the past sixteen years though, I found it quite suits me.”
“I can tell,” said Algie at once, tucking eagerly into the food. “Don't think I've ever tasted anything cooked without magic, but it's almost as good as our Enid’s!”
The hearty meal and easy company of Arabella Figg cheered the Longbottoms up somewhat. The four of them retired to the living room after dinner and played many more games of cards, and had a few strong drinks to settle their nerves. Arabella insisted that Algie and Enid took her bed and Augusta had the guest room, assuring them that she'd be more than happy on her pull-out bed in the living room, where she would be able to watch something called ‘the telly’. Too tired to refuse her kindness, the Longbottoms bade goodnight to Arabella and drifted off to the bedrooms. Augusta did her best to tame her straggling hair, watched intently by an enormous, shaggy Kneazle with keen yellow eyes. Seeming to decide that Augusta was trustworthy, it began darting in and out from under the bed, depositing six grey kittens onto her pillow while she tried to get into bed.
“I think not!” she grumbled, shooing them away. “Go and pester Enid, she'll be thrilled to see you.”
The Kneazles ignored her, so she settled down grudgingly beside them, the sound of their purrs soon sending her peacefully off to sleep.