TBAY The Missing 24 hours, the untold story

[lucky_kari]

No: HPFGUIDX 43170

SPLASH!

Both Avery and Eileen jump. Avery makes a dash under the new memory 
charm table Eileen has set up on the Fourth Man Hovercraft. 

"Aves, it's only Cindy," says Eileen quickly. 

"HELP!" yells Cindy. "Pull me out. The sharks..."

"Well, I don't know," says Eileen calmly, her smile twisted in perfect 
Rowling fashion. "You did leave me in the basement to be murdered by a 
DE. And you tried to drown Avery here. You even denied me the chance 
to discover if Cruciatus makes you stronger."

"PULL ME OUT, YOU SYCOPHANT!"

A change comes over Eileen's face. She sighs and stretches out a hand 
to the Big Bang Captain. 

"Towels, you are a life saver!" cries Cindy, reaching out for some 
white material on Eileen's table. 

Eileen snatches them back with JKResque shriek. "THOSE ARE LIVIAN 
TOGAS, CINDY! Five galleons a toga. Three for twelve galleons."

"Oh, I see," said Cindy glumly. "How much are the Viking Hats?"

"One for three sickles. Three for 7 sickles, four knuts. We hope to 
buy a new hot tub for the hovercraft. The last one was irretrievable 
after all that filth people tracked in here."

"Avery's not allowed in the new hot tub either," says Cindy sternly.

"Cindy, you really should re-examine your attitude towards poor Avery. 
Has it ever occured to you that you are exhibiting the traits of a 
bully in this regard? Just size yourself up in regards to Elkins' last 
post."

"But Avery is a bloodthirsty Death Eater who murdered people and 
tortured the Longbottoms to insanity," protests Cindy. "He deserves 
what he gets."

"Ah, the classic excuse of the bully," says Eileen, jumping out of the 
way of a paddle Cindy has picked up. 

"Shut up!" says Cindy. "If you like the shape of your nose. Can't see 
why you would, but.."

"I like your theory, though," says Eileen reluctantly. 

"I had an idea you would," says Cindy, a gleam in her eyes. 

"It's got Longbottoms and BIG BANG, after all. You know I can't resist 
the combination. And I think..."

"What?"

"Avery, get us a bottle of brandy. We're going for blood!"

Cindy shudders a second, then flashes a twisted smile and grabs a 
FEATHERBOA. 

"As I understand it, the theory stands thus so far. Harry spent the 
missing 24 hours with the Longbottoms because they could a) take care 
of him quite well, b) protect him while Dumbledore got the whole 
ancient magic thing ready. Mrs. Lestrange hears about it later and 
goes after Frank because he's obviously in the in with Dumbledore."

"Correct."

"Let me tweak it a little. Suppose Mrs. Lestrange didn't go after 
Frank because she wanted to find the location of Voldemort. Let's 
suppose she wanted to find out how to bring Voldemort back."

"Well, the first is essential to carrying out the second," says Cindy. 
"Even if she was a little woozey after her time in Azkaban, she would 
have known that."

"Ah, but Cindy, what if she thought (and maybe she was correct) that 
killing Harry Potter would bring Voldemort back. In that case, she 
went after Frank to discover how to kill Harry Potter. Can you imagine 
the whole guilt thing between Harry and Neville when that comes into 
the open? What if Neville was to blame Harry or Harry to blame 
himself? Meanwhile, Mrs. Lestrange has the secret to killing Harry, a 
secret she wrung from Frank who was obviously thick in the arrangement 
of the protections. Once she's sprung from Azkaban, she can tell 
Voldemort. On the other hand, if you like memory charms, Neville has 
the secret too, and it may work it reverse. How to finally kill 
Voldemort. What do you think?"

"It's definitely BIG BANGY," says Cindy. "BTW, I need a new gunner. My 
last bleeding heart refused to sink a nice happy boat involving Molly 
Weasley nursing Harry."

Eileen mutters something about Elkins' criteria for bullying. "I'll 
take a turn on the BIG BANG for a bit, though," says Eileen. "I still 
need to post about the BIG BANGY Wilkes scandal. Avery, you take care 
of the togas and Viking hats while I'm gone."

As Cindy and Eileen paddle the old Fourth Man kayak towards the Big 
Bang destroyer, Cindy asks, "What sort of a salesman is Avery, for 
heaven's sake?"

"He'll do well enough. He's planning a silent auction."

Eileen