All three of them stood up. Dumbledore had indeed arrived right after getting the message. It seemed that he was giving this matter quite the importance.
"Dumbledore." Kingsley greeted the man before him with a nod.
"Hello, Shacklebolt." Dumbledore said, still smiling at the man. He looked at Arthur and said, "Won't you invite me in Arthur? Molly? I hope I haven't disturbed you more this night?"
"Oh no!" Molly cried out softly. "Come in! Come in. I'll have some tea out for you." And she hurried away in the kitchen.
With the new addition sitting with the previous ones, Arthur finally spoke, "I got quite a shock this evening. Harry Potter! Up in the sky with vampires and ghouls on his tails!" It was as though all the calm he maintained with Kingsley had vanished. And he WAS maintaining a facade, rather he had to.
"Ghouls?" Dumbledore immediately zeroed on a detail, eyes getting sharp.
Arthur nodded at Kingsley and the latter explained briefly about the help call and his fight with the vampires. Then he also described the marks of a ghoul on the attackers, so as to confirm they were ghouls.
"That's why I'm going to check in with the MLE for missing wizards or witches. Thought it would narrow down the search for the vampire, if its from Britain that is." Kingsley added.
Dumbledore slowly nodded. "Very good. Although it would only cover for a small area of your search for the victims. The vampires are previously human before turning. After turning, they operate on very basic instincts… until they are back in control of themselves."
He leaned back. "After they are back in control though, they show surprising intelligence." He sported a small smile. "Very much alike a human."
"But that has not been the case for some time now." Kingsley rebutted. "What you said now was true before. Since the breakout of the disease in Italy, all the Turned people are nothing but-- well, as you said following their 'base instincts'."
Dumbledore sighed at his tone. The persecution against vampires in recent times was increasing. Although he wasn't advocate of vampires, he also wasn't someone who would hold a bias against them. Not after meeting the Dracula in Transylvania, Romania himself.
He had confirmed that this wasn't an coordinated attack on humanity or the magical humanity. Vampires had learned to compromise since long. Still, he wouldn't be incautious.
"As I have said many times before. Lets not give something name it does not deserve." He started by saying this. "Its not a disease, nor is it any illness. Many healers still are on fence regarding this…condition. Its spreading through biting, injuries inflicted by infected."
"Alright." Kingsley exhaled heavily.
Then Arthur chimed in. "Then what do you think about the ghouls? Do you think it could be muggles? Or Squibs?"
"Yes, there are chances that it could be muggles or squibs." Dumbledore nodded gravely.
"Yes, those poor souls were on the hard lines." Kingsley agreed as well. "Maybe if we look deeper into muggle records kept by their police, we could get a clue?"
"Unlikely." Dumbledore shook his head. "Although the victims were local, the vampire was most probably from outside."
"I disagree." Kingsley countered. "Ministry is being stringent in patrolling our borders. We have even infiltrated muggle forces on the borders and the shipyards."
"I am aware." Dumbledore said, surprising Kingsley. He took a sip from the tea Molly had brought him during their talk. "But its not impossible if someone is deliberately bringing the vampires here."
There was a beat of silence. And both Arthur and Kingsley exploded out of their seats while Molly gasped with horror.
"You think some is deliberately helping vamp--"
"Are you saying it's the French--"
Dumbledore raised a hand and said, "Goodness me, no. I'm not accusing the French of anything. Also I'm not accusing the vampires either. What happened in Albanian Forest still is unclear. What went wrong or 'who' did the wrong…is unknown."
Kingsley made a frustrated sound. Dumbledore clearly had something and wasn't revealing it yet. That's why he said, "Then are you saying it's a third party, entirely?"
Dumbledore held his gaze for a beat and quietly said, "That's the most unlikely yet the most probable scenario that fits this situation…for now."
Kingsley sat down heavily, thoroughly speechless. Arthur too leaned for support on the nearby chair.
Kingsley hadn't expected to arrive at some answer by himself. Heavens, he hadn't expected to Dumbledore to confirm it either. Was there really a third party? But who could it be? Causing such harm on such a scale? This was what the muggles would call a 'terrorist attack', but longer and whole lot of magical. What was the benefit of such actions? More importantly, who was the 'beneficiary'?
"But--" Three sets of eyes whipped to Molly, who had finally spoken. "--where does Harry comes into this? Why was he flying with Hagrid in the night? Was he being attacked?"
Now the focus was back on Dumbledore. He slowly caressed his beard and said, "It wasn't planned to have him out of his current residence now. He would have gotten the letter same as others… I was planning to send Hagrid to explain him about our world."
"I had also arranged protective, enchanted items for him. Although he did not know about it." Seeing others' confused looks, he explained. "As I said, I have suspicions that there is someone else behind our crisis. And I felt the need to protect Harry if they turned their eyes towards him. And it did happen. As the item felt a presence of vampire it immediately signaled Hagrid as I was out of country that moment."
"But he's a boy! A child!" Arthur exclaimed, "Yes, he's a famous child. Yes, he's the Boy Who Lived! But what would they gain harming him? Other than public outcry and vigilance?"
"Their motives remain a mystery to us, Arthur." Dumbledore said in his sombre voice. "But there are people who still wish harm upon Harry and I will protect him from them till I can."
After a moment, Arthur exclaimed again, "You-Know-Who!?" He looked at Dumbledore and Kingsley. "He is dead, is he not?!"
Kingsley too, couldn't help himself, "He's gone, isn't he, Dumbledore?"
"Yes, he's gone." Both relaxed at that. "But what state was he in that fateful day… no one knows."
"So you think this maybe him? All this terror? Is this his return, Dumbledore?" Kingsley asked, anxious.
There was silence. Molly, Arthur and Kingsley waited intently for Dumbledore to answer. They didn't know if they would like his answer…or guess. But if the answer was yes… the implications were unthinkable.
"I can't say for sure." Dumbledore finally answered. Everybody else though, frowned at his vague answer. They were dissatisfied at his vague answers, especially now.
Seeing their expressions, he said placatingly, "The worse we can do at this time is speculate wildly. We have to follow the trails and the proof of what we have. Even if Voldemort is behind this, we will have to confirm it first. Most important of all, we have to find a solution to this plight we face."
Others slowly nodded. But mind was a tricky web of thoughts. All sorts of new questions and scenarios flashed through their heads. New worries, anxieties and more work for the men working in the ministry and the nagging for her children and worrying about them for Molly.
Who knew what Dumbledore thought about? The man had countless thoughts and theories…facts, rumors on his ears and cryptic words seen by his eyes. He was always searching, verifying and noting. A peek into his mind would send some for a dark ride, as it was filled with things people would buckle at the sight of.
"Enough about the dreary and the dark." Dumbledore spoke again. "Have you checked on Harry, Kingsley? I see that Molly has done a good job patching his and Hagrid's injuries."
"Ah, yes." Kingsley broke out of his thoughts and answered, "Hagrid had some minor injuries, but wasn't bitten or scraped by the ghouls or the vampire. Showed no signs of turning. Harry had minor scrapes and no signs of turning either."
"I also checked Hagrid outside while coming in, I think he would be sleeping till the morning. That is good." Dumbledore said, while nodding at Molly. "I would suggest having Harry inhale the essence of Calming Draught also. Well thought, Molly."
Calming Draught was something of a household potion, similar to a muggle's first aid box. It helped in soothing erratic nerves and also aid in getting good sleep.
"But I would suggest taking him to St. Mungo's in the morning." He added, nodding at the Weasleys.
"So he can stay with us? He doesn't need to go to Hogwarts?", Molly asked.
"Goodness, no. Its still early for school after all." Dumbledore answered, chuckling lightly. He rose from his seat and said, "That said, I will return tomorrow. To meet him, of course."
As everyone else also stood up, Kingsley too got ready to return to Ministry. As they stepped out of the house, he turned to Dumbledore ans asked, "So I assume you will write to his relatives as well?"
"Yes, I will meet them instead. A letter wouldn't begin to explain all of this." Dumbledore said.
"And I will also see you at the Ministry? I can talk to the Head…not sure I can wake up the Minister at this time." Kingsley said, wryly.
"Yes to that as well. I wouldn't want to disturb his sleep too." Dumbledore chuckled lightly and turned to the couple. "Arthur, Molly. I apologize you had to handle all this commotion at night and ruin your sleep. Thank you for your help, all three of you."
And with a 'good night' to all of them, he disapparated. Kingsley to followed after asking Arthur to meet again at the Ministry.
And finally, the Weasley couple, tired and shaken went inside their home and closed the door, hoping to get their broken sleep. They had a long day ahead of them.