No Earthly Idea

16th Feb 1993

Hogwarts

Hermione got the first hint that something was wrong when she came down the stairs to the common room.

"Good morning, Luna," she greeted the first year girl who had quickly become one of her closest friends.

"Good morning, Hermione," smiled Luna from the armchair she was seated in.

"Where's Ben?" said Hermione, looking around the room.

"I don't know," said Luna. "I didn't see him coming down."

"Strange," frowned Hermione. "He's usually here before us."

"Maybe he got hungry and went down to the Great Hall by himself?" suggested Luna.

"Perhaps," said Hermione, looking back at the door that led to the boys dormitories. "Still, let's wait for a few more minutes. Maybe he's just being a little late."

After a while, when Ben still didn't show, the girls had no choice but to head down to breakfast by themselves.

"Good morning. Where's Ben?" said Harry, when they approached the Ravenclaw table.

At first, they had agreed that whoever came later would join the one that arrived earlier at their House table, and for their first year they switched regularly between the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw tables. But when the Slytherin trio joined their circle of friends, they decided to just gather at the Ravenclaw table. After all, with the traditional rivalry between the two Houses, if Daphne, Tracey and Astoria even went near the Gryffindor table, the rest of the snakes would consider it nothing short of betrayal.

"He's not here?" frowned Hermione. She carefully looked around the Hall for any sign of her fellow Ravenclaw, but her search came up empty. "We thought he came down early."

"Well, Tracey and I were the first ones here among us, and we didn't see him," said Daphne.

"Maybe he's still in his room?" said Ginny.

"No." Rachel shook her head. "I saw Teddy outside. He doesn't leave Ben's room in the morning until he takes Teddy out on a walk."

"So, he is not in his room," frowned Neville. "Maybe he's in his lab?" he suggested.

"He did say one of his projects was nearing completion," said Tracey.

"Yeah...in fact, he went back to work on it after dinner last night," remembered Hermione.

"You think he's there now?" asked Rachel.

"I don't know. Maybe," said Hermione indecisively. "It's weird for him to miss breakfast, though."

"Perhaps he went down to the kitchens and asked the house elves to get him something to eat?" suggested Luna.

"Yeah, those little guys love him," agreed Neville.

"Perhaps... Either way, it's almost time for class. I'm sure we'll see him there," said Hermione, putting the topic to rest.

Unfortunately, they didn't see him there. Professor Binns kept droning on about the International Warlock Convention of 1289 in his usual monotonous voice, but for once in her life, Hermione Granger was not paying attention in class. Every few minutes her eyes with dart towards the door, hoping to see Ben walk in with a smile and an apology for his tardiness. But he never showed up. She was so distracted that she didn't even bother taking any notes - another first for her.

"This is not like him," said Hermione as they came out of the classroom. "Ben has never missed classes before, no matter how much he complained about them being so boring."

"I know," frowned Neville.

"I think he's just busy with something and probably forgot the time," said Harry, trying to stay positive.

"Maybe," said Hermione, sounding unconvinced.

"Alright, there's no point in worrying," said Neville. "How about we wait and see if he turns up for the next class? If he doesn't, we'll go looking for him during lunch break."

"Okay," said Hermione, nodding her head. "Sounds good."

There was no sign of him in Professor Flitwick's class, which only heightened Hermione's worry. Charms was Ben's favourite class. After finishing the given task, he would experiment with spells and try to create new variations of them. Oftentimes, he would just watch the other students try and give some advice if anyone asked for it.

"Are you alright, Ms Granger?" sounded Professor Flitwick's voice beside her. Hermione nearly jumped, so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the diminutive teacher approach. "You seem awfully distracted today," he observed.

"I'm fine, professor," she said quickly with an apologetic smile.

"Well if you're sure," he said, not pursuing the matter any further. He looked at the empty seat beside her. "Where is Mr Carter?"

"He is..." started Hermione, thinking of making an excuse before deciding otherwise. "I don't know, sir," she softly confessed. "None of us have seen him today."

"Really?" frowned Professor Flitwick. "How odd. The headmaster told me this morning that he wished to speak with Mr Carter about something."

"Professor Dumbledore wanted to talk to Ben?" Hermione creased her forehead. "About what?"

"He didn't say. But when Mr Carter didn't show up for breakfast, I went to his room. He wasn't there, and the bed didn't appear to have been slept in." The professor made known in a troubled voice.

"Perhaps he caught a cold or something and went to the infirmary, where Madam Pomfrey made him stay the night?" she said, trying to think of something plausible.

"The thought had occurred to me, but no." Flitwick shook his head. "I checked with Madam Pomfrey and she denied seeing him."

"If it helps professor, the last time I saw him was after dinner yesterday," said Hermione. "He went back to the lab to work on a project of his."

"You believe he is still there?" Flitwick raised an eyebrow.

"It's possible. Ben often loses track of time when something catches his fancy," said Hermione fondly. "My friends and I are going to check the club during lunch break to see if he is there."

"In that case, if you don't mind I would like to accompany you all," Flitwick requested. "I am curious to see what you and your friends have done with the place." he smiled.

So after the class was over, Hermione along with Professor Flitwick, headed to the Great Hall. Grabbing a quick sandwich, she waited a few minutes for the rest of her friends to join her and then they set off for the fifth floor, where they found another surprise waiting for them. Turning around a corner, they saw Professor Dumbledore standing outside the club, looking at the door with an appraising eye.

"Ah, perfect timing," said the headmaster, looking at them with a bright smile. "I was beginning to wonder if I might have to send someone to fetch one of you."

"Headmaster, what are you doing here?" Professor Flitwick queried, walking up to him.

"Much like yourself, Filius, I came to the conclusion that if we wished to divine Mr Carter's whereabouts, then we must begin with the place he was last at," answered Dumbledore.

"The place he was last at?" Hermione caught on quickly. "You don't think he is in there, professor?"

"As a matter of fact, I know Mr Carter is not in there, Ms Granger, just as I know he is not anywhere else in the castle right now. One of the perks of being headmaster, you see." Dumbledore answered with a small smile.

"Ben's not in school?" said Rachel with a worried look. "Where could he be? Did he go home for something?"

"That was my thought as well," admitted Dumbledore. "Unfortunately, your parents haven't seen him since the Christmas holidays. Did Mr Carter mention anything out of the ordinary to any of you yesterday?" he asked, but they all shook their heads.

"Then I'm afraid we must play catch up for now," he sighed. "If one of you would be kind enough to unlock this door? It's impressively well-made, I must admit. Even I won't be able to enter the room without destroying it, and that's saying something."

Hermione went ahead and unlocked the door, letting everyone in.

"Oh my!" Flitwick muttered in amazement as he entered the room.

His eyes took in the astoundingly large inner dimensions of what used to be a classroom that could barely fit fifty. Behind clear glass walls, he saw a round table surrounded by comfortable chairs and sofas, as well as shelves of well-organized books. As a former duelling champion however, he was especially intrigued by the clearly custom-made training dummies in another corner of the room.

"I see you have all been quite busy," said Dumbledore, looking around the room. "You have done wonders with this place. I could never have pictured it looking so magnificent when I had the key passed on the Mr Carter. What are those, by the way?" he asked, pointing to the machines in the Entertainment lounge.

"Those are muggle game machines, professor," answered Hermione.

"Really?" Dumbledore seemed surprised. "How very modern of you. Do they run on electricity as well?"

"Yes, sir," Hermione replied, surprised that unlike most wizards the headmaster knew about muggle technology. "Ben had to draw Isolation Runes on everything to make them work here."

"But how did he get electricity here in the middle of the Scottish highlands?" asked Professor Flitwick.

"He bought and improved some solar panels - muggle devices that convert sunlight into electricity," Hermione explained. "He put them on the roof and the electricity generated powers these." She waved towards the machines.

"Truly? Producing electricity from sunlight?" Dumbledore asked in honest wonder. "How marvellous! You know, I've always believed that we can learn much from our muggle counterparts. Unfortunately, while some of the Japanese wizards are trying to incorporate muggle technology in our lives, the rest of the wizarding world remains sadly ignorant." He shook his head with a small sigh, before collecting himself.

"Now, would I be right in assuming that's Mr Carter's workshop?" he asked, pointing to the smallest section of the room obscured by translucent glass.

"Yes,sir, but Ben said that no one except him can open the door," said Hermione.

"Not exactly." Dumbledore smiled mischievously. "Ms Carter, Ms Granger, would the two of you please come over here and place your hands on the glass?" he requested.

Rachel and Hermione looked at each other quizzically, before doing as the headmaster asked. They stood on either side of him and placed their palms on the wall. Dumbledore joined them and placed his own hand in the center. After a few seconds, Hermione and her friends were surprised when the lab door materialised as usual.

"Mr Carter added a contingency in case someone needed to access the room in his absence. The door can then only be opened with a combination of the biomagical signatures of Ms Carter, Ms Granger and myself." He explained.

The door opened without a sound. Dumbledore slowly stepped over the threshold and entered the workshop, the others following closely behind him. The room was empty, save for half a dozen stone tables and some stools. In comparison to the other richly decorated sections of the club, this part was almost barren. Yet there was something here... something in the very air itself that seemed to lend an archaic vibe to the place.

"Oh Merlin!" Professor Flitwick muttered softly.

"You felt it as well?" Dumbledore asked and his colleague nodded. "I was expecting this... just not how much." He said softly, his eyes fixed at the center of the room.

"What's going on, professors?" said Harry, unable to stay quiet any longer.

Dumbledore turned towards the group of students and regarded them closely.

"Last night, around midnight, there was a tremendous surge of magical energy through the castle," he said at last. "So powerful that it jolted me awake. I immediately checked the school wards, fearing we were under some sort of attack. Thankfully, that was not the case. It seemed someone was drawing power from the ley lines underneath the school. The phenomenon stopped shortly after it began, and no harm was done to the school or anyone in it."

Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms Granger?" Dumbledore asked amusedly.

"What are ley lines, professor?" she said.

Dumbledore seemed to ruminate a bit before answering.

"Magic comes from life, Ms Granger, and life comes from magic," he started. "Everything that lives creates magic of its own, no matter how big or small. Birds, beasts, humans, animals, trees...all of us. As do moons, planets and stars."

"Just like how veins and arteries keep precious lifeblood flowing through the human body, ley lines carry the magical energy generated by the planet from one place to another," explained Dumbledore. "They are invisible, intangible and extremely difficult to detect. The places where these ley lines intersect with one another however, are magically reactive. That is, it is easier to perform powerful magic in such locations and work spells whose results will last almost indefinitely."

"Hogwarts is located over the intersection of multiple ley lines, as is the Ministry of Magic and Diagon Alley. Their locations were chosen specifically because of those confluence of ley lines. In fact, the British Isles possess an unusually large number of such intersections compared to the rest of the world. It has been the subject of research going back centuries whether Merlin was responsible for creating artificial ley line intersections. Sadly, no conclusive answer has ever been reached," he sighed.

"In any case, after what happened last night, I suspected that it might have something to do with Mr Carter," said Dumbledore, walking around the lab. "And I was right."

"How do you know, sir?" asked Neville.

"Magic always leaves traces, Mr Longbottom," said the headmaster. "Whatever spell Mr Carter used was so powerful that even now, hours later, the very air in the room remains charged with magical energy." He stopped abruptly, looking down at something. "Ah, I believe I have found Mr Carter's intended message for us."

Everyone quickly gathered around the headmaster to read some hastily carved letters on the stone floor.

HAD TO LEAVE ON AN URGENT TRIP

WILL BE BACK ASAP

"And there we have it," said Dumbledore serenely. "It appears Mr Carter is engaged elsewhere. We should pray for his good health and wait for his return."

"Aren't you worried, Albus?" Flitwick looked at the headmaster curiously. "A student is missing."

"If it was any other student, Filius, then yes, I would indeed be worried," admitted Dumbledore. "However, I trust Mr Carter's judgement. I will put my faith in his abilities and allow him to explain himself when he comes back," he smiled. So saying, he started walking out of the room.

"Professor." Daphne, who had so far been listening quietly, called out.

Dumbledore turned and found her looking at him.

"Yes, Ms Greengrass?" he enquired.

"You said there was such a massive amount of magic being pulled from the ley lines that it jolted you awake." She hesitated. "What kind of spell needs so much power?"

Dumbledore opened his mouth, then closed it. For several moments he kept looking at them, as if wondering how to answer the question.

"I do not wish to alarm any of you," he began, peering at them over his half-moon spectacles. "But honestly," he shook his head, "I have no earthly idea."