The Not So Perfect Potter

42 ~ Searching

Two weeks had passed now and it was the morning of Isabelles departure. Jenn, Adam and Isabelle were awaiting by the fireplace for Max's arrival before he and Isabelle set off on their journey. Jenn had spent the last three days packing and repacking Isabelles bag, adding more clothing emergency food and anything else she came to think of. Isabelle had planned a map route of where she would go at each location and who she was searching for, she had tucked it into her bag ensuring to hide it from view. Jenn had prepared various snacks for Max and Isabelle to eat before they go, but of course Isabelle didn't plan on staying long. 

"Max will be here in a few minutes, do you want to grab the coat Adam said you could have?" Jenn said as she set down a bowl of strawberries onto the table with a pot of cream to the side. Isabelle nodded and rushed to the coat closet and pulled out an old leather jacket, brushing off the dust that had accumulated over the years. "Adam?" She called, popping her head round the corner. Adam poked his head out from the living room, "What's the matter?" He asked worriedly, but the panic faded upon seeing Isabelle's smirk. 
"When was the last time you wore this? It looks familiar and I don't know why." She said, holding it out for him to see. His face grew pale and he shot a look over to Jenn. The woman shook her head subtly before continuing laying down the snacks. Adam turned back to Isabelle and swallowed hard, "I wore it a lot when we first got you, it might just be familiar from then." He said rushed, his voice shaking slightly.

"I know that's a lie but Max is going to be here so I am expecting a letter of explanation as soon as I sent you my location." She said shrugging on the jacket that was a bit big but still wearable for her. She wandered out of the closet and into the room where she found Jenn standing, waiting to the side of the fireplace. Suddenly, a bright green light emitted from the inside of the fireplace. In a flash, the light turned into a boy, his hair brown and curly, his eyes a deepening blue and his body toned and muscular. "Max!" Isabelle shouted excitedly as she pulled the boy out of the fire and into a hug. Max chuckled and returned the excitement pressing a kiss to her lips quickly before pulling apart. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, looking down at her. Malia took a deep breath and nodded, grabbing hold of his hand and intertwining their fingers. Jenn beamed and offered Max various treats which he gladly took, stuffing some onto his bag that was hung over his shoulder and eating the others. 

"Are you ready to go?" Max asked gently as he stuffed yet another grape into his mouth. Isabelle nodded silently as she turned to Jenn and Adam, instantly they pulled her into a big hug, squeezing her tight.
"We're gonna miss you, Belle."
"Make sure you send us letters."
"We love you." They said, speaking over one another and keeping her into their arms. Jenn swept Max into their hug, squishing him and Belle together. 
"Goodbye." Isabelle smiled weakly, tears starting to form in her eyes. Max waved to them as they began wandering out of the house. 

"Ok, I have three weeks until I turn seventeen. I already know how to apparate but I don't have my license yet so we'll have to be careful when doing it. In my bag I have a map outlining everywhere we need to go and who it is we're seeing in each place. The last people we'll look for in the Order will be Remus and Sirius, so you'll go to Scotland to meet the Longbottom's in St. Mungo's." Isabelle explained as they rushed down the street, their bags on their shoulders. Max nodded, taking in the information and smiling, "You're incredible, you know that." He smirked, pressing a kiss to her cheek, Isabelle rolled her eyes and grinned before grabbing her wand from her bag. "We're going to apparate but we'll get tracked so we'll have to be smart about our movements after that." Isabelle said, waving her wand and instantly, the scene around her whirled out of site. Suddenly, they found themselves standing on a cliff edge, it was completely empty other than a few tree's surrounding them. "Where are we?" He asked, peering out over the edge and admiring the picturesque scene in front of them.

A huge forest stood out in the distance, flurries of trees towered over the gravel path that lead to a tiny cottage that without the use of magical aid would be inaccessible. The cottage was rather small, made of wood with a thatcher roof, it had glass panel windows on each side with lace, white curtains. Max turned and flicked his wand making a large orange tent fly out the end and land perfectly on the crumbling ground. He placed his bag down before helping Isabelle take hers off too. "So, who is it we actually have to find?" He asked, as he began to pick up various sticks from beneath the tree's that surrounded them, presumably to make a fire. Isabelle sighed and joined him, grabbing the leaves for the kindling in order to make it start. "Well, I know some of them were killed during the first Wizarding War like Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Benji Fenwick, Marlene McKinnon and my parents." Isabelle started as she pulled out the map that was tucked in her backpack and laid it out on the floor.

"Emmeline Vance in the North, then Sturgis Podmore over here." She said pointing to various locations on the map which were circled with a red pen and had extra notes of papers stapled to the edges. "There's Mundungus Fletcher but he's a criminal now so I'll let Dumbledore deal with him. Over here, there's Dedalus Diggle and then over here is Mrs Arabella Figg. She know's Harry, Dumbledore asked her to keep an eye over him during the summers and holiday breaks. She's a squib and won't be in the war but I want to make sure she's alright." She said, unfolding the piece of paper that was stapled to the side which revealed a picture of the old lady, she had a bright smile and was wearing baby pink robes. Max smiled and looked up at Isabelle, "How the hell did you manage to do all this, find out their location and do it all by yourself?" He chuckled wrapping his arm around her waist. 

Isabelle smirked and handed him a piece of paper, "I stole the list Dumbledore kept in his notes the day after Sirius left. I knew I was going to find him but then I found out about this spell and knew that I had to find this as well." She said, flicking her wand onto the sticks and setting them alight. "The Longbottom's were admitted to St. Mungo's after being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, of course Hagrid, Albus, Severus, Alastor, Remus and Sirius are all part of the Order but I'll send Albus a letter about what we're up to and tell him what we need him to do." She said, as Max read through the list which outlined the person life of each of the Order members and how to locate them without being seen. "You should write it tonight, that way when we're gone tomorrow he can't track you and stop us." Max muttered, placing the paper on top of the map and flicking his wand making it fold away neatly, landing inside the backpack. 

Later that evening, Max was curled up inside the tent, sleeping heavily with the faint sound of snores weaving in and out of the trees. Isabelle was sat by the fire, staring into it with her mind empty and thoughtless. A pile of parchment sat in front of her with the quill and ink beside it, screwed up balls of paper were burning inside the fire, crackling in the silent night.  She peered down at the letter she had begun to write and paused before dipping the white feather quill into the black ink and letting it drip back down into the pot. 

Dear Albus Dumbledore,
I know you're going to be angry with me, so there's no point in lying. I've gone in search of the conjunctio spell, I know it's dark magic and that it's going to put my life in danger but I need to do it. Voldemort has horcrux's like we thought and I need you to go in search of them. I think there's four or five left to find, I'll leave that up to you though. Sirius has gone to find the members of the Order but I know things that no one else does. I'm going in search of them myself, I will inform them all of my plan and from there it'll just be you and him. Max has come with me and help with the discussions, he doesn't know what the spell is or what it does and I'd like to keep it that way. He doesn't need to know the impact of it and if he did he'd never let me do it. I'll tell Sirius and Remus of the plan when it goes ahead but until then I want no one other than you to know. Albus, I'm doing this for Harry, I need you to ensure that whatever happens, whether the spell was successful or not. I need you to make sure Harry remains in protection and keeps safe until Voldemort is taken down. Harry is now your responsibility, I am laying down my life for him and I want you to do the same. I'm going to be long gone when you get this so don't bother trying to stop me, you have done many things to protect my family, some worked better than others but this is my chance to prove I am just like my parents and they didn't die for no reason. 
~ Isabelle Potter