InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "flava flavvvvvvvvvv!"

The best way to solve the problem of being exposed was to be busy elsewhere, or so Fabian reckoned. Fortunately with the sun not setting this time of year until almost 9:30, there was plenty of time after knocking off and eating a meal to get research and work done. Since the news had come down about the breach, the twins had been working on further advancing their divination so they'd have a proof of concept to present to Minerva McGonagall. Either they were going to survive what was about to happen or not, and if they made it, they'd be glad for the work being done.

Which was why Fabian was following Gideon, who was following the lead of a dowsing rod, around the grounds of a church in a village a few miles out of Cardiff as the sun sank under the line of the trees and the light turned from pink and orange to dim grey.

"How much further, do you think?" he asked, which was a stupid question and he knew it. Gideon would tell him when they got there.

"I'll ask the stick. 'Stick, how much further?' It's got nothing to say." Gideon pressed on. Llantwit Major was a lot of things, but the main thing it was now was a swampy river that may or may not have once been occupied by the oldest university in the world, muggle or magical. Caradoc had always told them that the main thing about dowsing was to let the wood lead, and try not to think about it too much.

He was thinking about it too much. They were both mostly sure that they could get around the avoidance spells and the unplottability of the place and even the invisibility curtain, but once they found the school, all bets were off. On a dowsing job like this, the main job of the stick was to keep Gideon from finding the walls of Cor Tewdws with his nose.

"I lied. The stick thinks it's between those two columns of rock. Also, her name is Ffon the Stick and she would like an increase in pay." Gideon pointed to the path.

"Then let's go thataway." Fabian was used to leading with his chin and finding things the hard way. Despite his vague and frankly increasing unease, he moved toward the twin pillars, shaking out his wand as he did so. They were dressed as Muggles in case they were caught, and had a cover story prepared in case the locals asked what they were doing. A book on dowsing, the Muggle kind, was in Fabian's valise, currently transfigured into a backpack.

About five feet before he got to the columns, the pressure of the desire to get away was becoming close to unbearable. It took Fabian standing there for about ten seconds to figure it out. "Some fucker put a wizard-repelling spell on it."

"Good thing we're obstreperous bastards." Gideon hadn't been quite clear as to why he was staying back from the columns, but as he made himself approach he felt the pressure as well. It was … odd, as if it existed in some directions but not others. Gideon frowned, and pulled out his wand. "Specialis Revelio! he cast, bringing forth a purple glow on the magical barrier.

"That's clever, and potentially useful in our own line of work. Some fucker made has made an invisible maze that repels you if you step wrong. I'm pretty sure we're on the right track."

"I'm absolutely sure we're on the right track. Now we just have to work our way through the maze. Or--labyrinth. It's a labyrinth, isn't it?" Fabian swallowed. "Caradoc would already know which one it was. Fuck, I wish he were here."

"So he could name the thirteen legendary lost labyrinths of Britain, of which we've obviously found one? I miss him every day, even though he would've been a pain-in-the-arse about this in particular.

"So if we were thousand-year old druids, we'd just already know the secret order. If we had secret time magics, we'd look backwards and see if we could watch a thousand-year-old druid walk an invisible maze. Trial and error seems unlikely to work quickly enough. I've only got one other idea." He looked around the damp riverbank. "We need a guide."

Fabian frowned and scratched at his beard with his free hand. "What kind of guide? Do you think there might be an ancient elf here, or the descendant of whoever served the masters of the school?"

Gid shrugged. "Or an ancient oak with a doddering dryad? No idea, maybe just someone who can see things differently than we can. Maybe they already go in and out all the time. Let's see who we can find. It's my best idea so far."

"It's a good thing we know the stories they tell Muggles about blood sacrifices were made up by the predecessor of the Muggleworthy Excuses Committee." Caradoc would have had a forty-minute rant about that, which both of the twins could approximate but neither of them needed to reiterate. He spoke in Welsh, probably more modern than that of whatever the local spirits spoke, certainly than any who had been there before Cor Tewdws closed twelve hundred years ago. "Hullo the college! We are seeking the College of Theodosius, or what is left of it. Do any here know of what we seek?"

"Ddewiniaid", a voice replied, "I surely do. You are the first to get this close in some long time, and the first I ever recall asking for help." A extremely wizened elf stepped out of the shadows and approached the twins. "What be your names, and be ye Saxons or Britons?"

Fabian looked at Gideon--this was as likely to be Gideon's job as his own--but since he'd thought to ask, he reckoned that he was on the hook this time. "I am Fabian and this is my brother Gideon. In our time we do not know the differences between Saxons and Britons. Our father's house is in Devon, south of the waters--" he gestured in the direction of the beach, a few miles away "--but his forefathers dwelt here in Cymru after the college had closed. We come seeking the wisdom of the college."

"Croeso, Fabian and Gideon. You're late seeking wisdom in this place. The last Druid, curse his eyes, died many and many years ago."

"Can you help us get inside? We'll try to find wisdom without druids," added Gideon.

"That's the only way you can, lad. I could help you, but you must grant me a favor first."

Gideon switched to English. "Hold on to your purse and your head. Maybe whatever's next is what the legends of blood sacrifices are based on."

"Please," Fabian said, with mock offence. As if he were going to agree to anything without knowing what it was. Turning back to the elf, he continued, "Sir, what favour would you ask of us?"

"I am Emrys, for no one should do a favor for a creature who will not state his name. Emrys the elf bowed, in a way that made the Prewetts doubt that he actually had bones. A year and a day after we buried his wife, Gofannon left this place for the last time. 'Emrys, do not let anyone pass until I return.' He lies in a well half a mile west of here, and I stay here, keeping all from passing."

"Bring the bones of Gofannon the Druid back to me, and only then shall you pass."

Fabian nodded and offered his hand to the elf. "This we can do. We shall return soon with the remains of Gofannon, and afterwards we shall bury him in this holy place."

Emrys shook hands with Fabian and Gideon, and when Gideon asked him how to find the bones, the ancient house elf ensorceled Gideon's dowsing stick.

With tools in hand the brothers marched back to the swampy riverbed and headed west. "I hope this thing isn't ruined for regular dowsing now. I'd hate to go looking for water and turn up corpses."

It was still light, just, when they returned. The body was a skull and a handful of bones, but the Prewetts were careful not to be disrespectful to the remains. "Very well, you may pass, but if I am not here when you return, you will need to know the labyrinth to enter."

For all the solemnity of the moment, having just buried the bones a druid who'd died twelve hundred odd years ago, Fabian found himself almost dizzy with excitement. Memorising the turns and twists of the labyrinth as Emrys taught them was simple enough, especially with the tricks that solicitors learned to reinforce everything they heard. And soon enough they were inside the compound, looking round at the buildings, still in surprisingly good shape due to Emrys' care. Who knew what they could find out in the library?

This was a safe place that Peter Pettigrew had no idea about, a resource for ancient knowledge, and--perhaps most importantly--proof that they could use the pendulum trick to find the missing items associated with the Founders with a reasonable chance of success. Fabian grinned at his twin and pulled him toward the door to the ancient library.

"Come on. Let's see what they've got."