My beta-readers, fredfred and InquisitorCOC, deserve a huge thank you. They helped a lot.

Chapter 59: The Favour

Black Lake, Scotland, February 5th, 2006

"Thank you for having us over," Dumbledore said as he sat down in the lounge of their quarters.

Grindelwald grunted something that might have been taken for agreement - if you were very generous. And half-deaf.

But then, this being a visit was just a polite fiction that Dumbledore seemed to insist on keeping up. Perhaps he thought it set them more at ease, even though everyone was well aware that they were living on Dumbledore's property. At least it was a small dinner party - the wizarding Weasley twins, as well as Harry and Ron's own counterparts, had returned to their world. Without making contact with Ron's brothers, to his relief.

"Indeed," Rosengarten added as the Healer sat down as well.

"Thank you for coming," Hermione said, smiling politely. "There's a lot to discuss."

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "But I think we should leave such matters for after dinner." He beamed. "I've been told the cooks have outdone themselves today."

"If you continue like that, you'll undo all the benefits from magic," Grindelwald commented.

"A little indulging never hurt anyone. Not by itself," the old spymaster retorted - though he kept smiling. "But don't worry - I won't gorge myself."

"Not until dessert, at least."

Both old men laughed at that, and then the staff arrived with the hors d'oeuvres.

The meal itself was great - for a change, it was mainly Mediterranean, with paella as the main course, though the salad with fresh olives was a delight as well - at least according to Hermione and Ginny. Ron would've preferred it a little blander.

The desserts, though, were Italian - tiramisu, panna cotta, cannoli and gelati - ice cream - in numerous different flavours. And enough whipped cream to clog several arteries all by itself. Dumbledore sampled everything at least once before he leaned back, rubbing his stomach.

"Delightful!" he announced.

"And harmful," Grindelwald, who had only taken some panna cotta, retorted.

Rosengarten actually drew his wand and cast a spell before announcing that Dumbledore was perfectly healthy.

"See?" the old man told his partner with a beaming smile that didn't dim in the least when Rosengarten added that repeatedly indulging would cause harm.

"Now that we are settled," Dumbledore went on, growing more serious - though not losing his smile, "I have a bit of news for you, although you might already be aware of it: Mr Ivanovich has disappeared from the hospital in which he was being treated."

"We've heard, yes," Ron confirmed. It was the biggest news item of the day, probably the week - speculation was even worse now than before, after this new twist.

"Indeed. My contacts assure me that he wasn't in any state to do so by himself, so the conclusion is that President Putin's special forces acted faster than expected." Dumbledore shook his head. "Unless they already had assets in place in the clinic, they must have had a lucky break with recon to pull off such an operation in so little time."

"Or they are that good," Grindelwald added, baring his teeth.

"Or the German authorities weren't quite up to the task of guarding Mr Ivanovich," Dumbledore countered with a smile.

Grindelwald scoffed. "No surprise there. Standards have really slipped since the war."

"That's a rather damning verdict, I think," Dumbledore's smile grew a little sly.

"Canaris sabotaged the Abwehr," the German replied. "If he hadn't been a traitor, things would have turned out differently. At least in the espionage part of the war."

"Undoubtedly. Although the Gehlen Organisation was quite competent, I think."

"They'd never have let such an operation happen." The old German scoffed again. "We should have kept more Stasi members as well. They never had as many leaks as the MAD."

Hermione cleared her throat. "This is a fascinating discussion, but I think we have some more current matters to discuss."

"Of course. Please excuse our short detour - at our age, we sometimes get lost in the past."

Ron suppressed a snort. He didn't think for a second that Dumbledore ever got distracted like he'd just claimed.

The old man inclined his head. "As I was saying, I think we can safely assume that President Putin has reacted as predicted and kidnapped Mr Ivanovich. Which means he will soon be fed the information we planted in the latter's head. Which brings us to the question of what we will be doing now that the Russian threat is about to end."

"Provided Putin's fooled by all of this," Sirius pointed out.

"Provided, yes. But I think that's not too optimistic in light of our success. And we will certainly keep that possibility in mind - though we shouldn't let it paralyse us." Dumbledore spread his hands. "So, what future do you envision for yourself and your friends, Dr Granger?"

That was a good question. A very good question. Ron had a few thoughts, but Dumbledore was asking Hermione.

She pressed her lips together, frowning briefly before straightening. "I want my friends and families to be safe from Putin and anyone else who wants to use them to influence me," she said, staring straight at Dumbledore.

His expression didn't change as he inclined his head. "We've been working towards that, and, I believe, we're close to achieving our goal. So, assuming things go according to plan and your friends and families are safe, what are your plans?"

"With the portal secured, abolish Azkaban in Wizarding Britain. It's a stain on the country."

"Are you planning to enter politics, then?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'd prefer not to, but I doubt it can be avoided," she replied.

"Well, a characteristic of our political system is that we have representatives who, presumably, pursue goals in politics that we share and support while we are free to pursue other interests," Dumbledore said.

"Judging by what we know, your Ministry should be quite receptive to the right incentives," Grindelwald added with a cold smile. "Messrs Weasley were quite frank about the way things worked."

"The Ministry supposedly made great strides in the fight against corruption," Hermione said, with narrowed eyes.

"Well, that is true. Technically," wizarding Luna told her. "The Ministry's honesty has improved a lot under Kingsley."

"But a significant reason for that success is that it started from an abysmal point. Corruption was endemic. The whole system was built on it," Luna added. "Even our parliament and government would have been impressed by the depths to which your Ministry and Wizengamot had sunk."

Dumbledore inclined his head, not challenging her. Neither did Hermione - and it fit what Ron had heard from her about her home dimension.

"And how are things now?" Hermione asked. Ron knew that she had made inquiries of her own.

"Better, but things could still improve," wizarding Luna replied. "The Ministry is doing well - there are still protégés and nepotism, but blatant corruption is now illegal. However, the Wizengamot is not quite as reformed. Gold donations still are the preferred way of influencing members."

Grindelwald snorted. "An honest politician stays bought."

"And the Ministry relies on certain donations as well," Hermione said. "While most donations are tied to certain tasks and events, like the New Year's Ball or St Mungo's, it goes without saying that whoever finances those more or less essential services wields considerable influence just by threatening, whether implied or outright, to stop doing so."

"Things haven't really changed since I left the country, then." Rosengarten shook his head. "They just swapped out the people in charge."

"That's how things usually work out in our country as well," Sirius commented.

"The reforms go beyond that," wizarding Luna retorted. "But they haven't gone far enough, yet."

"Which is a good thing, from a certain point of view," Dumbledore said. "It will make it easier to nudge the Ministry towards adjusting its policies in accordance with our plans."

Ron saw Hermione bristle a little - probably at the way he implied his own participation. Or takeover. She shook her head. "Trying to reform the Ministry by perpetuating its questionable practices isn't a good idea."

"But it would, in my estimation, be the fastest and most efficient way to stop the horrors of Azkaban," the old spymaster replied. "Each day that passes without a change means more people suffering from those monsters."

That was a good point, of course. But the way Dumbledore argued… Ron shrugged. "Without actual reforms, it would just be a temporary solution. Easy to reverse if the Ministry or Wizengamot decides to do so."

"That is a risk with every solution. Short of destroying the prison outright, it will take decades before enough inertia has built up to render the threat of a reversal moot." Dumbledore sighed. "I wish it were different, but while I never entered politics myself, my former profession necessitated enough contact with politicians of all parties to be very familiar with how things are done."

"Destroying the Dementors is actually one of my goals," Hermione said.

"Really?" Wizarding Luna gasped. "You'd destroy an entire magical species?"

Ron couldn't tell if the witch was serious or not.

"I will settle for banishing them from our world," Hermione replied, "even though I'd prefer to destroy them. They are a blight upon our country." She shivered. "And they are evil."

"But that doesn't mean they should be destroyed," wizarding Luna retorted. "Everything has its place in nature."

"They seem rather unnatural, according to the descriptions I've heard," Dumbledore said.

"Indeed," Rosengarten agreed. "There's nothing at all natural about them." He shook his head. "Removing them will be a boon to any world."

Wizarding Luna pouted, but Luna put her hand on her arm, apparently keeping her from continuing the argument.

"In any case, removing the prisoners from Azkaban means the Ministry needs a proper prison to hold them. Building one will take time and considerable resources. Staffing it will cost even more gold. That means hurrying the proposal along with the help of bribes won't actually help very much," Hermione pointed out.

"But those incarcerated for lesser crimes would profit; they don't need to be held in actual prisons," Dumbledore replied.

"Not after Azkaban," Hermione agreed with a frown. "They tend to spend considerable time in St Mungo's. Unless they are outright psychotic."

Ron saw wizarding Luna nod at that with an uncharacteristically tight expression.

He didn't ever want to meet a Dementor.

"It seems that Wizarding Britain hasn't heard that rehabilitating prisoners is far more successful when it comes to fighting crime than revenge. If only they were aware of the Scandinavian model," Dumbledore said.

"Magical Scandinavia isn't quite as progressive," Hermione told him.

"Oh, but they are! They have the most progressive attitude towards werewolves in the entire world!" wizarding Luna protested.

"Which is why the country's never known a day without an ongoing blood feud for two hundred years," Hermione retorted.

"There's a theory that that is the natural behaviour of werewolves," wizarding Luna said. "But it's hard to test the theory without a proper control group, so it can't yet have been verified."

And probably never would be. "That aside, if we're about to reform Azkaban, we might as well go all the way." Ron shrugged when everyone looked at him.

"That's mission creep," Sirius said. "Stick to the clear goal: abolishing Azkaban."

"Rehabilitating prisoners would reduce the chance that a particularly violent crime will be used to reverse the reforms in order to score political points with the easily scared," Hermione said.

"Which make up the majority of the population of our country!" wizarding Luna said, nodding emphatically. Ron wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Not just your country," Luna added. "The world would be a much better place if people were not so cowardly."

"Certain dictatorships would have been toppled far earlier," Dumbledore said. "But we digress. I do agree that focusing on abolishing the worst excesses is the best course of action. Or, at the very least, the most effective plan that can be implemented in a timely manner."

"By bribing the Ministry and Wizengamot," Hermione said.

Dumbledore tilted his head slightly. "Would it be more moral to use less, shall we say, pragmatic methods, at the cost of letting people suffer for longer?"

"We already went over that," Hermione shot back. She sighed. "But even such a pragmatic solution requires quite a lot of money. Gold, in this case, since wizards generally have no use for muggle money - especially muggle money from another world."

"Money's no problem," Dumbledore told her. "Compared to the budget of the Phoenix Gruppe, the money needed to influence Wizarding Britain's legal system is a drop in the bucket."

"A rather substantial drop," Grindelwald interjected.

"It would still be a substantial favour," Hermione said.

Dumbledore's smile widened a little. "And you'd prefer an exchange of favours rather than a gift that you feel would make you owe us, am I correct?"

"Yes," Hermione confirmed with a glare that would've been rude if Dumbledore hadn't provoked her response. "I thought about using magic to provide the needed funds, but, even ignoring my world's Statute of Secrecy, there are certain issues with such a course of action which I would rather not have to resolve."

"Not least the threat of word getting back to your world, I presume," Dumbledore said, "where it would hamper the very efforts said actions would finance."

Grindelwald scoffed. "Laundering the money would take care of that."

"That wouldn't address the threat of blackmail," Hermione countered. "Or just rumours being spread."

"That, too, can be handled," Dumbledore told her. "Magical services wouldn't be open to the general public, after all. And with your ability to modify memories, literally no one would know."

Other than Dumbledore and Grindelwald, of course, Ron thought.

"You certainly have experience with information control," Luna said. Her smile was a little too toothy.

"Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, and sometimes, the truth does hurt - often innocents," Dumbledore replied.

"If the truth hurts then perhaps it means it should hurt," Luna retorted.

"And pain teaches us a lesson, life is suffering, etc. etc." Grindelwald rolled his eyes. "Could we please avoid the exchanges of cheap philosophy and focus on the matter at hand? We're not here to mince words but to plan our future."

Both Dumbledore and Luna frowned at that for a moment, but then the old spymaster spoke up again: "I fear we will have to continue this discussion later, my dear. For now, let's discuss finances."

"And politics," Hermione added. "It's quite obvious that there's a very lucrative market for magical healthcare among the billionaires of this world."

"That's indeed obvious," Rosengarten said. "And legal, in this world."

"The Wizengamot, or certain members of it, might not agree," wizarding Luna pointed out.

"And the Ministry would likely want to discourage such dealings - secrecy is certainly paramount when offering magical services to muggles in this world," Hermione said. "Although magical healthcare is not as much a risk as the more exotic services - which are far harder to explain as the product of advanced technology."

"The market for those services isn't as large, though," Dumbledore replied. "And while providing healthcare doesn't pose many, if any, moral dilemmas, things get a little murkier if we diversify."

Like mind control or hunting traitors, Ron thought. "More profitable, though, in a few select cases," he couldn't help pointing out.

"Indeed. And more tempting as well." The old man sighed loudly as if he were serious. "So much could've been accomplished by one or two additional adjustments to President Putin's memories."

"Oh, yes!" wizarding Luna agreed. "We could've saved so many animals from extinction!"

"We went over this already. Several times," Hermione said in a flat tone, her eyes narrowing. "It's not worth it."

Dumbledore nodded, albeit a little slowly, but the Lunas looked a little mutinous, so Ron added: "And should Putin lose his mind, he might order the last nature reserves destroyed - and the Arctic as well. Or oligarchs might attempt to exploit his apparent weakness."

"But sometimes, the risk is worth it," Grindelwald said. "You shouldn't dismiss the possibility of changing the fate of nations with a single spell."

"As we've demonstrated, it's a little more complicated than that," Hermione retorted.

"Putin was ready for you. Most people won't be." The old German scoffed. "Especially not the kind of dictators responsible for terror campaigns or even genocide."

Ron wasn't surprised in the slightest that Luna nodded in emphatic agreement.

"Those are exceptions," Hermione said. "And usually, things happen too fast to react in time."

"Few such crimes happen in a vacuum. Most of the latest tragedies could have been prevented if people had realised what was being planned." Dumbledore shrugged, once. "And we have access to some of the best information services these days."

"For a private business," Sirius spoke up.

"For any organisation," Dumbledore corrected him with a sly smile.

"We certainly have better resources than most countries," Grindelwald added. "And it would only be fitting if we could actually turn a profit from them after all the money Albus has spent on his private secret service."

"A vile exaggeration," Dumbledore retorted. "Most of the budget goes into sources in various secret services. Our own network is hardly that expensive."

"Not like the Shadow Government's secret service," Luna said, nodding again.

"I think we can make an exception for genocide and similar threats," Hermione said.

"And it's not as if anyone would mourn the sort of monsters who commit crimes against humanity," Sirius added, "so might as well kill them after dealing with their messes."

"That should be decided on a case by case basis." Hermione shook her head. "It cannot be a general rule or policy."

"Wise," Dumbledore said. "Although we've been, once again, diverted from our original subject."

Hemione pressed her lips together for a moment. "You want to know about the portal's future."

The old man inclined his head.

She sighed. "The Ministry will want to close it down, should they ever find out about it."

"With some justification," Rosengarten said. "What if a particularly dangerous dimension were to be discovered? Full of unknown diseases, for example?"

"With the appropriate precautions, such risks can be minimised," Hermione replied.

The old Healer shook his head. "You can't prepare for everything."

"So? Leaving your house puts you at risk. A small risk, though, so it's negligible." Hermione didn't quite scoff. "I refuse to abandon my research because of theoretical dangers that can be minimised with proper precautions. People have taken such risks for millennia - that's how we make progress."

"Yes! We wouldn't know anything about Ethiopian Nundus if Magizoologists had stopped searching for them just because they kept getting eaten!" Wizarding Luna's honest comment didn't help as much as she probably thought it would.

"There's a difference between risking yourself and risking others," Rosengarten replied.

"As I said," Hermione said through clenched teeth, "with proper precautions, the risk can be minimised.

"The Unspeakables thought that as well before they almost broke time," the old wizard told her.

"There's never been any evidence confirming that," Hermione said. "Today you'd call it an urban myth."

"Of course there's no evidence - they erased themselves from existence when they made a mistake."

"Do you honestly think that time travel could create a paradox that could 'break time'?" Hermione shook her head. "If it were possible, we wouldn't be around since as early as the nineteenth century, wizards were experimenting with time travel. Which do you think is more likely: that every time travel experiment avoided that danger or that it's just not possible to 'break time'?"

"Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence," wizarding Luna said, with Luna nodding along.

"But evidence of failed time travel experiments does exist," Hermione retorted. "People aging rapidly, for one."

"Yes, failed time travel experiments." Wizarding Luna nodded.

Ron patted Hermione's thigh as she sighed. "I won't experiment with time. Just with other dimensions."

Wizarding Luna beamed at her. "Good!"

"I've missed this," Ron said as they walked along the shores of the Black Lake on the path that they had created by taking dozens of strolls over months - and which Dumbledore's people had kept clear of snow, apparently, in their absence.

"The cold or the snow?"

"The walking," he explained. "The lake, at night. The sky." You.

"Ah." She nodded; he couldn't really see her face, but the light was bright enough to see her silhouette. "I didn't really miss the reason for those walks, though," she said.

He knew what she meant. The surveillance. By Dumbledore and MI5. Probably MI6 as well, after Moscow and Berlin. He nodded in agreement. "Quite." Then he saw her flick her wand and heard the faint buzzing noise of a privacy charm. "If the path is bugged, then they'll wonder what you just did."

"I'll blame it on interference from my generators," Hermione replied. "That might help dissuade them from pushing for prototypes."

"That won't work for long."

"It doesn't have to; just long enough for me to prepare and cast a Fidelius Charm." She sighed. "I really need to focus now on researching that charm. It's crucial for the safety of us all. But I also need to improve our protections."

"Magical protections?"

"Yes… oh. Well, not against magic; I don't think that's really a threat in this world."

"Not before Dumbledore and Grindelwald recruit more mercenary wizards," he said. Which they would.

"We'll have to screen them beforehand," she replied. "And we'll have to do some recruiting of our own."

"Mostly friends and family?"

"By preference, yes." She sighed. "It's hard to trust strangers. Who wouldn't be tempted by having a world without magic at their disposal?"

His own counterpart? Ron wasn't sure. "And how many won't realise the risks?"

"True," she replied. "Luna by herself is already a handful."

"More than that." He shook his head. "At least they have given up on the idea of mind-controlling politicians. Can you imagine a world ruled by Luna?"

She shuddered. "Or by Luna. Both of them are lovely women with great talent and bravery, but…"

He nodded. "I wouldn't want to live in a world ruled by either."

"Definitely not."

They reached the usual end of their walks, where a small bench had been cleared of snow as well, and sat down.

"So… what kind of protections are you thinking about?" Ron asked.

"Most of the magical protections I know aren't very useful for muggles. Wards will keep electronics from working inside their area of effect," she said.

He winced a little. No telly? No computers? No phones? "I don't know anyone who could live without modern electronics. Even Aunt Muriel likes her radio and telly."

"Ellen and Gabriel wouldn't stand for that, either. And it would be pointless anyway - I couldn't ward their practice; they couldn't work then, and so they would be targets there." Hermione shook her head. "And Anti-Muggle Charms obviously don't work either; they'd need my help to enter their own home."

"Can't you enchant some amulet or something to allow them to enter?" Ron asked. That was a common idea in a number of books and games.

"In theory, yes - it's not as if there's a lot of demand for that kind of enchantment. But it's tricky, and it wouldn't let them host guests at their home, either." She snorted. "I can't vet all their friends and acquaintances, and even if I could and had enough enchanted amulets, they would need to be compelled somehow to always take the items with them when visiting."

Ah. "So, now that we know what's not possible, what do you plan to do that would be possible?"

"Something to allow them to flee instantly if they are attacked. A Portkey would be ideal, but I never learned how to create those, and that knowledge is generally restricted - there was a wave of muggle abductions in the nineteenth century with Portkeys that were left for muggles to find, and since then, they have been heavily regulated."

Ron nodded. "Well, at least they cared."

She scoffed. "I think it's more that the Obliviators complained about all the additional work and demanded overtime compensation."

"Ah." That would fit what she had told him about the old Ministry. "So, you need to study and research both the Fidelius Charm and the creation of Portkeys?"

"And I need to find a way to get the Ministry to abandon Azkaban."

"And do so without ending up owing Dumbledore too many favours," he pointed out.

"I'm aware of that," she replied, and he could tell without looking that she was talking through clenched teeth.

"Do you have a plan yet?"

"I've got an idea. Or, to be honest, the beginnings of an idea. But I need to talk to Luna, first."

He winced again, glad she couldn't see his expression in the darkness. That was a scary thought.

Black Lake, Scotland, February 10th, 2006

"...and rumours of an attempted coup against President Putin persist despite repeated denials by the Kremlin. President Putin himself has been seen in public every day, which has been noted by experts as an obvious attempt to counter rumours that he had been wounded in an assassination attempt."

"They're still going on about this?" Ginny asked, sitting down next to Ron on the couch in the lounge across from the TV. "It's been a week."

"Russia's still one of the most powerful nations in the world," Ron told her. And they had an arsenal of nukes that rivalled the American one.

"But Putin's clearly still in charge. If it was a coup, it failed." She shook her head. "At least it seems that the plan has worked. I can now start planning for the French Open."

"Ah."

"More than two months; plenty of time to get back into shape, but I won't have the tournament practice," she went on. "I might play some smaller tournaments, to get back in the game. My ranking tanked, too, but I should get a wild card for the French Open."

He made a noise of agreement. "That sounds OK."

"It'll be a struggle to get my ranking back, though. Seles never really made a comeback."

"Seles was stabbed," he replied.

"Yes. At least my popularity hasn't taken too much of a hit," she said. "The terrorist threat has improved it, at least among some demographics, according to my agent."

"So, you'll be financially secure, at least." He didn't smile, but the way she frowned told him that she knew he wanted to.

She huffed again. "And I guess Harry and you will be busy with the portal."

Uh oh. "If it's set up by then," he said. "Hermione's still working on the Fidelius Charm. And afterwards, we'd have to find a new world to travel to, first."

"Ah."

"So Harry will likely be able to travel with you." And probably would, anyway - it wasn't yet certain that the Russians had really stopped their attempts.

"Good." She smiled. Not her proud smile. Not the smile when she had pulled a prank on him. Just a soft smile. The one usually aimed at Harry.

He cleared his throat, then pointed at the TV. "They're finally done with Moscow."

"Good."

"And now for something completely different," the announcer said.

Ron shook his head.

"The series of mysterious animal thefts in Britain continues. Various private habitats have been robbed of their animals. A number of commentators have speculated that this is the work of animal rights activists since all the habitats which have thus far been targeted housed endangered animals in conditions which Home Office inspectors have since described as 'not ideal'. The police have assured the public that they are doing what they can to solve the case - especially since there is widespread concern that the thieves may be unable or unwilling to provide the stolen animals with the necessary specialist care."

He sighed. "At least the Lunas aren't mind-controlling politicians."

"They're creating habitats to transport the animals," Ginny told him.

"Great. They're not about to release wolves and bears in England, are they?" That would certainly make headlines.

"I don't think so. But they've been talking about 'repurposing' the Malfoy and Parkinson estates." Ginny grinned.

Ron groaned. "I thought Hermione was going to talk to them."

"She did."

Damn.

He found Hermione near her new lab half an hour later. 'New lab' was a little misleading - it was actually a converted former storage room on the same level as the portal room, but, as Hermione had said, it would serve well enough and wouldn't put expensive computers at risk.

She also claimed that, since she wasn't spell crafting but merely learning a known spell, she wasn't at risk, but Ron still worried whenever she went to 'study'.

"Hey."

She stopped on her way to the portal room. "Hey."

"How's it going?" he asked as he joined her.

Scowling for a moment, she shrugged. "I'm making progress."

Not as much as she'd like, then. But she had higher standards than most people he knew. "I've seen reports about a series of animal thefts." She didn't quite gasp, but he saw her tense. "You knew?"

"I suspected." She pressed her lips together. "And, really, stealing - or liberating, as they call it - animals is pretty much the least troublesome course of action they could've chosen."

"That doesn't mean it isn't worrying, though," he retorted.

"They're not messing around with politicians or covering areas in Muggle-Repelling Charms. Or seeding magical plants to restore forests." She opened the door to the lounge and headed towards the tea kettle.

"Ah. Point taken. But England has only so many animals in need of 'liberation'."

"I'm aware of that." She didn't look at him as she started pouring the tea into two cups. "But let's tackle one problem at a time."

"Well, I can't exactly help you with the spell." He took his cup and sat at the table.

"You can help with the wording, actually," she told him as she joined him. "That's the most important part of the spell. Of an individual spell, at least."

That was true - he had forgotten about that, he realised with a smile. "I can't help with the Dementors or recruiting wizards, though."

"So you want to rein in the Lunas?"

He shrugged. "Someone needs to keep them from going overboard. And I know Luna best."

"I know." She took a sip from her tea, so he didn't see her lips, but she sounded a little tenser than before.

"I don't think they'll be deterred forever, though. Ginny said they're working on portable habitats," he said.

"Yes." Hermione sighed. "They're planning to release the animals in their natural habitats."

"Which have shrunk a lot, though," Ron pointed out. He wasn't a biologist, but the news had covered how much territory a tiger needed. "I'm not sure if there's enough room for all the animals."

"There should be," Hermione replied. "Perhaps if we find a virgin earth…"

"Wouldn't that be populated by other animals, which would have to be displaced to make room for the rescued animals?" It was only logical, after all. At least in his opinion.

"They should have some leeway."

"I'm not sure the Lunas would accept that." He was lying - he was sure that they wouldn't.

"Well, that would only encourage them to create and enlarge habitats in this world." Hermione shook her head. "And they don't have the resources for that."

That was a problem. A problem Ron wasn't sure he could solve.

Unnamed Highlands, Scotland, February 11th, 2006

Ron didn't even stumble upon appearing in a snowy field in the middle of nowhere, nor did he release wizarding Luna's hand. He had really got used to Apparition, then. But… "This looks deserted."

"That's the idea," she replied, nodding with a smile.

He cleared his throat.

She blinked. "Oh. Right. This way!"

She led him across a snowfield to the base of a hill. "We call it 'Underhill'. Because it's under the hill!"

Or because Luna liked her myths. Ron nodded anyway and didn't jerk when wizarding Luna waved her wand, causing a door to appear in the middle of a snow bank. A swish of her wand made it swing open, revealing…

...a huge hall. Far short of a stadium, of course, but bigger than the average warehouse. He whistled, genuinely impressed.

She beamed at him. "It's big enough to house all our rescues - provided we shrink them. I wanted a portable savannah suitcase, they are oh so practical, but the only one in existence is owned by the Scamander family, and they wouldn't sell to us for all the gold in Gringotts - they're jealous of The Quibbler's fame, you know?"

"Ah. Fellow Magizoologists?"

"Yes, but terribly conventional." She closed the door behind them. "Luna! We've got a visitor!"

"I know!" came the reply from what Ron identified as a cardboard cubicle. "Hi, Ron!" Luna stuck her head out of the cubicle, apparently leaning back on a chair.

She sounded a little too cheerful. Guilty conscience, he knew. He pointed at the various boxes and trunks. "Creating a miniature zoo?"

"This is just temporary!" Luna replied with a frown.

"Only until we can find a place for them in the wilderness," her counterpart added. "Which could take a while, of course. Do you want a tour?"

He shook his head. "Maybe later. I wanted to know what you're planning once you've collected all the endangered animals in England. Apart from trying to find them habitats."

Wizarding Luna pouted. "Restoring their natural habitats will take a long time. We might have to keep them shrunken until then. Or we could keep them in a spelled slumber, but the potion needed for that hasn't been sufficiently tested on animals, yet."

"It was only tested on humans?"

"Yes, of course."

That said a lot about the priorities of wizards. "What about Hermione's special project?"

"Oh, that's… well, we might need to ask Hagrid for help," wizarding Luna said.

"We've got some ideas left to try, but…" Luna shrugged. "The fire crabs are proving to be a little too big to be adapted."

"Yes. Although in our defence, I'm an explorer, not a breeder." Wizarding Luna smiled.

"And Hagrid is a breeder?"

"Foremost expert in Wizarding Britain," wizarding Luna said. "He successfully bred fire craps and manticores!"

"Perhaps we should call him."

And the wizard might also know how to deal with Dementors.

"The Fidelius Charm is a tricky spell. Unlike with most other spells, in the case of this charm, how well you can use it is much more important than how well you can cast it," Dumbledore said. "It is used to hide a secret - a piece of knowledge. Most often, a location - that was the purpose for which the spell was originally developed. However, it has more potential than that. In theory, you could hide someone's entire existence with this spell. You could evade the most determined, most Orwellian pursuit - or erase someone from society at the most fundamental level."

He smiled. "However, it has quite strict limitations. The more people who know a secret, the harder it is to hide it - initially. Once the spell has been successfully cast, however, it is nigh inviolable. Which is what makes it so dangerous." He grew serious. "People tend to trust it too much. Secure in the knowledge that their home is perfectly protected, they grow sloppy. And, of course, the ability to hide a specific piece of knowledge also includes hiding crimes."

She gasped. "It would allow someone to appear beyond suspicion if their crimes were hidden by the charm!"

"Exactly. There are ways around it, of course. Just because someone's true allegiance is hidden by the charm doesn't mean that they'll be trusted; most people and organisations have more than one enemy. And, fortunately, the Daily Prophet publishing anything without scruple has pushed many secrets above the level that the spell can handle." He grinned. "Mr Malfoy's past is too well-known to be hidden, for example."

That was a small consolation. "Can the secret, if it's a fundamental principle, like a spell, be rediscovered?"

"Not to my knowledge, Miss Granger."

She gasped again, shocked as she understood the ramifications. To think of all the knowledge - all the spells, all the discoveries - that could be hidden, unreachable for anyone, just because of one selfish, greedy wizard or witch! "But… that's… why is this spell not considered an Unforgivable?" It endangered the very fundament of civilisation: the free exchange of knowledge and information!

"Two reasons, Miss Granger. First, it won't last forever. A few years, certainly. A few decades, if cast masterfully. And second, who would be able to know that it was cast?"

"Ah." She should've thought of that.

"That you cannot keep more than one secret using the spell also discourages its, shall we say, frivolous use. It would be embarrassing, possibly fatally so, if you need the spell for your own protection, but have already cast it to hide a new spell you'd researched. Then, of course, there's the fact that casting the charm is by no means a small feat. And, obviously, there is the issue that if the original Secret Keeper dies, everyone who knew the secret becomes a new Secret Keeper."

She nodded. So, the Wizarding World might not break down as a few drunk wizards started hiding essential knowledge. "You mentioned the wording."

"Oh, yes." He smiled again. "As with genie contracts, the wording is key when casting the spell. Magic likes loopholes. Some say magic was the original loophole, so to speak. Magic certainly has a sense of irony, I've found."