Private message to Gus

[alt_antonin]

Do you have a few moments this weekend? I'd like to pick your brains about the Octoboros system a bit -- I feel as though with the one having been stolen, whoever is behind the modified Fidelius may have incorporated some of the things they could glean from the Octoboros system. The Ireland wards, too; we know from experience that there was traffic back and forth and that at least a few of the groups Black is associated with had contacts in Ireland, and it's possible that they were able to pass information about the Ireland wards from side to side. If they have access to a strong magical theorist, who has pieced together multiple sources, it might explain why the modified Fidelius is so damn odd. (It is driving me spare; I would like to unravel the problem.)

I am upon Our Lord's business on Saturday until evening, but if you'd like, I will host supper, and throw in a chance at the library for bribe.

Comments

[alt_rookwood]

It is damnably odd. The more pieces I put together the more dangerous it looks as well. There's blood on the pebble pieces I've managed to gather. Those runes and blood of the caster (assumption) make this an incredibly delicate working to enact in the middle of battle. The ways it could go wrong are legion and some of the outcomes in my current list are truly horrific. If it was a Fidelius variant and the secret keeper is a second person and their blood is on it as well? The possibilities become ...

I can come up tomorrow. If I come up Saturday afternoon could I interview your 'ducklings' who were present? I'm trying to find anyone who might have witnessed the stones or the explosions and several of their after action reports were woefully inadequate. Are after action reports part of the curriculum these days? If so they need a refresher. Though I suspect that whatever underling Bella gave the task to decided to just included every single one that had the words 'stone', 'rock' or 'pebble' in it. Since this all took place over a bloody mine, that's every single bloody report. Lucius used to have a better handle on the stupidity of the bureaucracy, he seems to be slipping recently. Have we become so entrenched in our positions that we've lost our edge and let the little people get enough power to think they can mess about with Us like this?

Researchers on their side? Sirius was always useless at academics. The Longbottoms were thugs. Prewetts are dead and were all action without thinking anyway. Could they possibly be in contact with Albus in whatever benighted hole he's dug himself into? All the Potters are gone, even the smarter grandmother. Is Flitwick around anymore wedged in some tiny corner? Any particularly notable students of his? He'd be capable of that sort of analysis, even if his focus was charms rather than runes. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow and we can discuss.

[alt_antonin]

Lucius is indisposed, remember, Gus? Our Lord was displeased with him, and he's in Azkaban right now. I don't know why on earth you can't retain this fact; it's growing worrisome.

I'll be on Our Lord's business until evening, although if He is not there Himself, I'll split my time for the week into Saturday and Sunday mornings. If you want to interview the children in any detail, Sunday would be better -- it is not that you need my presence there, but most of them (Bella's daughter and Stephen's ward excepted) do not know you, and they would likely be reticent without a familiar face present. Or, come up tomorrow evening and you and I will make an evening of our work together, and then you can stay over the night -- I have made certain we have several sets of guest quarters prepared at all times -- and interview the children Sunday morning. Yes, let's do that. And I will have Poppy check you over while you're here.

Flitwick is dead; Savitha's doing, easily a decade ago and more. I can't recall anyone in the Order who was a particular protége of his. Honestly, out of the list of people who bear grudges against us, Snape is the most likely candidate -- he was certainly brilliant in his own way -- but his field was potions, not runes, and also he and Black were mortal enemies and I cannot envision them working together for more than thirty minutes without bloodshed. And yes, Dumbledore certainly has the sort of twisted mind that would come up with something like this, but last intelligence had him in America (though I never could find him; I looked for him for years, on and off). The journal monitoring department does look for patterns that could be contact from out of country, and I cannot think of a way he could smuggle letters through the wards.

Still. I will ask Ari's boy to keep an eye out; he's the one doing monitoring these days. And I will make a list of everyone I can think of who could possibly come up with such a thing. Perhaps I'll talk to Bathsheba sometime this week about her past notable students.

[alt_rookwood]

Ah well. Tomorrow dinner it is. I'm fine staying over. We all have fond memories of the castle. I'll bring the most promising fragments and we can play at the jigsaw puzzle as reparo and its ilk are obviously not options.

Good, he always thought he was too intelligent to stay in his place. Snape and Black working together, that is good for a laugh. Though if he had his hand in it, I'd expect unguents rather than blood and some too-clever-by-half twisted word play not these precariously balanced and political runes. He was very good at the little spells. Little but often useful. I'll ask around the Department for smart but politically suspect rune workers with a penchant for the dangerous, even if they are generally believed to be gone or dead.

[alt_antonin]

I'll have the elves make up the best guest suite we have for you, then. And you can meet my apprentice -- well, you'll know her, it's Lana Sandoval-Pennifold, from the last round of Our Lord's recruits. She's distinguishing herself very well, though, and will continue on the fast track to Mastery.

And it's odd; I've had several occasions this week to think of Snape. We had a spot of trouble with the children and had to discipline them, and several of my favourites got caught up in the net; I passed out a few of Snape's cruciation restorative. And after Erewash, during which several of us were living on invigouration potions, I sent along some of his general-purpose restorative. I suppose I should be thankful that he did not have a next of kin, and that when Our Lord saw no purpose to Snape's notebooks I spoke for them, as one of his tutors. It's a pity half the things in them are too damnably difficult for my hired brewer to produce. (We need more actual Masters in this country; we're down to, what, three, with Horace's retirement? Miss Patil, one of our new sisters, is interested enough in potioneering; perhaps I should encourage her in that direction.)

Anyway. I've been cudgeling my memory for who might be capable of doing that level of work. Sadly, most of the people who come to mind are indisputably on our side. You, obviously. Me, although if I wanted to achieve that effect, I would not start with runes; I'd probably begin with blood sacrifice and branch out from there into the magics I learnt from my mother. Lucius, if he had a damn good reason for needing it. Barty, though again, he would not choose runes as a first method of approach. There are not many additional names that come to mind.

At any rate. My sleep patterns are all turned around this week after Erewash, but if I don't at least try to get to sleep now, I'll be miserable all weekend. I'll see you tomorrow.

[alt_rookwood]

You know me. I'm always in favour of more talented and intelligent Masters. They're more fun to talk to.

Between you and me, I don't think we should discount anyone, at least from initial lists. We could have another small minded betrayer like Strangeweale on our hands.

I'lll take the afternoon to see if I can extract anything useful from these reports as to which of our foot soldiers I need to interview to narrow my search for additional fragments.