Hermione broke the silence first.
"There are two solid starting points right now."
"First, the paperwork."
"Who signed, who approved it, who provided the funding."
"Second, the equipment."
"The Training Ring."
"Skynet."
"The equipment at New Azkaban."
"The teaching aids at the Reemployment Agency."
"And these new things at school."
"They may not all come from the same place."
"But they all use the same approach."
Ron looked at her.
"You mean..."
"Someone's putting the same set of things in place everywhere?"
"Yes."
"They just take different forms."
Ginny picked up her cup.
"And whoever's laying it all out isn't necessarily hiding from us."
"A lot of the time..."
"He's standing right out in the open."
As Harry listened,
whatever was about to surface in his mind drew closer.
The Training Ring flashed through his mind.
Golden Skynet.
And something else.
Ron suddenly looked at him.
"Speaking of tools..."
"Where's that trench coat of yours?"
Harry's head snapped up.
"What?"
Ron spread his hands.
"That Guardian trench coat."
"The one the professor gave you."
"Doesn't it change along with your progress in your studies?"
Hermione immediately picked up the thread.
"Yes."
"I was just about to mention that."
"It was never an ordinary gift."
Ginny fixed her gaze on Harry's face.
"You've left the most readily available way in sitting off to one side."
Harry froze.
Only then did he realize
that he hadn't thought about it in ages.
Since the summer holidays began,
Vernon's timetable,
the business with the Reemployment Agency,
and that whole string of changes at school
had dragged all his attention away.
He had stuffed the trench coat at the bottom of his trunk
and hadn't touched it since.
Hermione asked him,
"What state is it in now?"
Harry shook his head.
"I don't know."
"I