The Battle of Perfecto

Jinn was busy casting Protective Spells with the others on the Fourth Floor when a voice resounded all around them. It sounded as though it was coming from the walls itself.

“Fellows,” the voice said. “I trust you are nearly done with your preparations. Hidalgo is coming.”

The magically magnified voice repeated the passage as though it had also been magically looped to say it over and over again, like an alarm.

For a moment, she stood frozen, wand aloft. In her mind she was thinking This is it… the moment that all their preparations were being made for. She hoped very much that she would not die after this.

*

The wizard whose voice had startled the entire Perfecto building now stood by the fountain, watching his wizarding fellows complete the last of the Protective Enchantments around Perfecto. They were surprisingly calm, Don noticed, which was good. It was important to keep your head at a time like this, especially with a thousand lives at stake.

There was a whip-like crack! and a witch appeared beside him.

“Hello, Aly,” Don said smiling a bit. “I see you’ve received my Patronus.”

The witch called Aly nodded. She was wearing a purple hat with its long pointed tip twirled like a pig’s tail. It ended with a golden bell. When she nodded, the bell jingled cheerily.

“And you’re wearing my hat…” the wizard added, staring at the purple affair.

“Well, technically, it’s my hat now,” Aly replied, shaking her head making the hat jingle again. “You gave it to me, remember? Incidentally, didn’t I give you a cow-bonnet?”

The wizard’s eyes widened embarrassedly. “I hardly think now is the appropriate time to be wearing it!” he sputtered.

“Well,” Aly said, enjoying this. “If we’re going to die today, what better time is there?”

“Whatever,” Don rolled his eyes. “Well, since you’re here, would you mind assisting us in setting up protection?”

“Don,” Aly said, her tone worried. “In your Patronus you said that Hidalgo has the first half of the amulet.”

“I did.”

“Wouldn’t that give him the ability to block or break any spells?” Aly continued. “What’s the point of putting up a barrier around Perfecto?”

“I’ve done my research,” Don replied. “Apparently the amulet only provides the ability to break or counter spells one at a time. If we blockade Hidalgo’s path with several layers of protective spells we can at least delay him long enough for us to prepare—ah, good. They’re working fast.” He was looking at the building. An almost imperceptible bubble was now enveloping it. “We must do our part as well. I have to go.” With that, he Disapparated.

*

“Jinn,” Don said as he Apparated with a whip-like crack! beside her.

She jumped, startled. Turning away from the window, she looked at Don.

“What is it?” she said. From her wand tip slithered spell after protective spell, flowing through the window and spreading, covering Perfecto.

“You’re a Seer, aren’t you?” Don said, “I need you to See something for me.” He offered his hand and guided her to a nearby room.

“See what?” Jinn asked, suspiciously.

“Doubtless Hidalgo has a number of True Seers with him, already predicting what we’re doing and relaying it to him,” Don explained. “I need you to See into his ranks and find out how big his army is, what he’s planning, where he is…”

“All right,” she said, biting her lip, as though a bit uncertain. “The thing is, if I force myself to See, I go into a dreamlike trance. Once I recover I won’t be able to recall all of what I saw…”

In reply, Don pointed his wand to her temple. “Not a problem. Legilimens. ”

And he saw what she saw.