Albus Potter and the Prophesied Year

Ch 41 The Crystal Ball Arrives

Early that morning Albus and Cleopatra watched as two of the Aurors took Polyjuice Potion and transformed into passable duplicates of them. The duplicates took the ordinary Crystal Ball with them, along with many Aurors, as they Apparated to a nearby island and then took a well-guarded Floo network to Miami.

Al and Cleo put Jezebel's Crystal Ball into a previously prepared box. The box was lined with the special magical shielding material, but on the outside the box looked like an industrial tool box. Cleo tried to shrink the box, but it wouldn't shrink. It was too big to put in even her oversized pockets, so she carried it.

First a couple of Auror guards, then Ben and Karen Nguyen, then a new pair of Elves, and finally Albus and Cleo took a secretly prepared Closet network, eventually transiting through a couple of Closets on oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, before ending up in Houston, at a company specializing in drilling. They entered three large trucks with crew cabs, sitting in the back, as the trucks drove to the International Airport in Houston. The three trucks just fit into a large cargo airplane. Just before the cargo doors were closed four disillusioned motorcycles flew into the cargo compartment, became visible, and eight Aurors dismounted.

The airplane took off for Europe. Eventually it landed in Milan, and the trucks were unloaded. The motorcycles again made themselves invisible before exiting the airport.

Karen Nguyen checked with Harry, using a satellite phone. The DPW airplane had just taken off from Miami. It had been met by a large contingent of enemy. A battle had ensued, with wounded but no fatalities on the side of the DMLE guards. Everything was going according to plan.

Driving from Milan to the secret valley took hours, especially since no magic was used, and the trucks, although they had plenty of power, were not the fastest vehicles. Just before the DPW airplane landed in Bern the three large trucks pulled up to the hidden entrance of the valley, and Ben dismounted and spoke to the guards. The convoy was let in.

Over the centuries of its existence four tunnels had been created to allow goods and people to come into and leave the valley. All of the tunnels were guarded. The entrance these trucks used was the largest, but also the least used. It was mostly used at certain times of the year for freight. So the three trucks made their way into the valley and onto the roads surrounding the valley, eventually coming to rest in front of the palace. Galadriel and Thorin came out of the castle and said something to the driver in the lead truck, and then quietly Al and Cleo got out of the middle truck and, Cleo carrying the Crystal Ball, entered a small building, basically just a couple of small rooms, right outside the main door to the castle. It was normally used as a place for guards to stay, or occasionally Magi working in the square to use without going into the castle itself. Their escorts also went into the small building in the work clothes. Everyone eventually changed out of the work clothes.

The same number of people, dressed in similar work clothes, left the building and climbed back into the trucks. The trucks left for another location where they did drill a well that tapped into an underground source of water.

Everyone waited. Shortly after the trucks left they received word that the DPW airplane had landed, but Harry and Albus had agreed that Albus and his contingent would stay hidden until Harry was safely in the Swiss valley. They did not want to advertise that Cleo and the rest did not go to Switzerland with the others. They figured it would take two to three hours for the caravan of vehicles to arrive at the palace.

Two hours into their wait the group received word of the attack. The caravan had been delayed in leaving the airport and on the road, and things were not going as planned.

It took six hours for the caravan to arrive, motorcycles leading the way, two SUV's, a lorry with a smashed SUV on it, then another SUV, then more motorcycle escorts. They parked in front of the castle, and a tent was magically erected, roof and three sides, the other side being the front of the castle.