Saturday, July 19th, 2014, NOON.

  12 Grimmauld Place, Borough of Islington, London, UK

  Lunch was shaping up to be a welcome break from the chaos of the morning. The DMLE Niffler/Anomaly Task Force was being chaired by Demelza Robins in Harry's absence.

  "Prior to the events of this morning, we had been unable to locate any member of the Zabini family, or their known associates. Careful inquiries at their various residences found mostly empty houses. In the case of their primary residence, they have what is called a 'homely' mansion somewhere in the Snowdonia Mountains. The exact location is unknown, and is assumed to be heavily warded."

  Draco gestured to be recognized. This was his first meeting with the majority of the Task Force, and he had mostly been remaining quiet and paying attention. His gaze sometimes went to his wife, sitting near Cook's work area on the other side of the Imperturbable Charm.

  "It is. I occasionally visited Blaise before the War. The place is no Malfoy Manor, security-wise, (this elicited a bitter chuckle from one of the older Aurors), but it is definitely Unplottable, even to the extent of visitors being unable to remember the way to it."

  Demelza nodded thanks. Draco looked to the door leading up to the hallway as his son passed. The door, still Hagrid-sized, showed the three children talking excitedly, with Scorpius' hands sculpting the air as he tried to make a point. Draco could not hear them through the Charm, but the animation in the boy's manner made him smile broadly.

  Demelza continued with the briefing. "Further investigation turned up the small town where the mansion's staff do their non-magical shopping, Caernarfon. Our people observed without interrogating, not taking a chance on alerting the family. The staff observed were oddly unanimous in sharing that the manse was currently being maintained by a skeleton staff, while the family were visiting kin in Italy."

  "For various reasons, we are not even going to try to confirm or deny this. The primary reason is, after this morning, I think it's bollocks. Secondary was the observation that the staff universally showed signs of having been Confunded. Attempts to unobtrusively follow the staff back to the mansion failed, no doubt for the reasons Mr. Malfoy posited."

  "Speaking of Draco, the stakeout of his home is ongoing. He is doing an excellent job of making the Manor appear to be occupied as normal. His manservant, Reginald Wilberforce, has been vetted and read in, as well. His assistance has been invaluable, as he is a very meticulous man of regular habits. In fact, he was able to alert us to a scouting probe conducted by the Unknowns, simply by spotting a patch of unaccountably flattened grass. He had noted it on the way back from doing some errands, fairly late in the evening. Per orders, our team remained out of sight. With the warning, however, we were able to mask our magical presence, and observe passively. They did have a limited number of the gloss-black nifflers with them, but seemed to only be using them as sentries of a sort."

  Nienna raised her hand, not tentatively, but with a touch of self-consciousness. At Demelza's nod, she spoke.

  "Ma'am, they also left one behind. Auror Langarm and I observed the cloaked figures constructing a small niche in a tree. It had a good view of the entry area. They installed a Niffler in it, with what appeared to be a food bowl and a water bottle, then sealed and camouflaged it with some pretty subtle spell work."

  Cerberus Langarm took up the story. "We maintained a watch on the hide. We noted that the Niffler was periodically casting a spell. We didn't think it was a good idea to drop our wards to find out what spell. Auxiliary Auror Robins posited that it was probably the Revelio variant that Nifflers were known to use, and they might be attempting to observe any magical changes at the Manor."

  Noticing Demelza's slightly blank look, he added. "I left the Auxiliary Auror to monitor the hide and sought you out. I had documented it in my notes and gave you a copy, but, before I could verbally report..." He grimaced slightly. "...the other Niffler incident, ah...," he paused, obviously searching for the right word.

  "Blew up," Demelza supplied, in a flat tone. "Figuratively and literally. Yes, I remember now, Auror Langarm. My apologies. I should have gotten back to you afterwards."

  "And I, you," Langarm admitted. "Given the pace we've been moving, though, this meeting could practically be considered 'afterwards.' I do wish to thank the Auxiliary Auror for remembering the issue, and bringing it up."

  "Yes," said Demelza. "Good work, Robins." She frowned slightly. "Robins, where is Ath?na?"

  Nienna sniffed disapprovingly, but spoiled it with a small smile. "She's up on the roof, making Goo-Goo Eyes at Belisarius."

  Demelza quirked a smile as well. "I suppose that's fine. She wasn't there for this matter anyway. Still, it's good practice to sit in on all meetings. We should have invited Belisarius as well."

  "Yes, ma'am," said Nienna. "I will pass that along."

  "And," Demelza continued. "That brings us to the other Niffler incident, as Auror Langarm so eloquently put it. A previously unknown variant of Niffler was deployed at the incursion. This Niffler was slightly larger than the black ones, about the size of a small- to-medium dog. Its coloring was bright yellow, and by bright, I mean incandescent. It had a black beak, a black tip to its tail, and black sock-like markings on the lower legs. There were two bright red spots on the equivalent of the cheek area. 'Bright,' once again, meaning glowing and almost overflowing."

  She scowled down at her notes. "The Unknown's purposes in bringing this creature are now known. They thought it could get them access to the Manor. Whatever they planned, It obviously went very wrong."

  "And, for once, something went very right, for us." She looked over the gathering. "Auxiliary Auror Lovegood-Scamander, would you take over the briefing?"

  Silence. People started to look around.

  Demelza sighed. "Luna!" she snapped. Luna popped up at the back of the room, hair standing up in all directions.

  "Sorry!" she blurted. "What?"

  Demelza made sure she had Luna's attention before continuing. "You. Talk now. Copasetic?"

  ***

  Luna said, hurriedly, "Yes, certainly!" Then she looked down at the burden in her arms. "Umm," she added. "Just a moment."

  She worked her way around the edge of the room to Hagrid. He and his oversized chair were seated against the back wall, so as not to impede sight lines. The bright, bright yellow Niffler grumbled sleepily, giving Luna one last static-infused nuzzle as she transferred it to Hagrid. It then settled into the crook of Hagrid's arm, and went back into a deep sleep.

  Luna continued up to the front, distractedly running fingers through her fine, fly-away blonde hair. This only increased her resemblance to a dandelion gone to seed. She huffed, drew her wand, and quickly siphoned the static from her hair. She looked around for some place to discharge it safely. Kreacher helpfully pointed to the serpent-shaped andirons in the currently unused fireplace.

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  The cast-iron piece rang like an out-of-tune gong, a spot of red heat showing on the metal for a moment. It cooled almost immediately.

  Luna apologized in a whisper as she came up to the Lead Auror. "Sorry, Demelza. The poor thing was just so starved for affection..."

  Demelza gave the poor thing a wary glance, replying softly, "Not a problem, Luna. If a little cuddling will keep it from going off again, I'll snog it myself."

  "It should be fine. Sparky will need at least a full day of rest to, ah, recharge." Luna's smile was a little tired. She wasn't alone, though, 'tired' seemed to be the theme of the morning. After an almost sleepless night, and the ridiculous amount of food Cook had shoveled into them for breakfast... Well, about half the attendant Aurors looked as if they would like nothing better than to slide off their chairs and go to sleep on the increasingly comfortable-looking floor.

  Luna turned to the assembly, and suddenly, she was all business.

  "I'll keep this short. I realise Four til Midnight has to prep for their shift, and Midnight to Eight desperately need rest."

  Some of the grumbles of agreement from her audience sounded suspiciously like soft snores.

  Luna gave another tired smile. "I realize I'm only an Auxiliary, but I really want to compliment the on-duty shift for their performance last night. You really held the line in preserving the secrecy of the mission, despite my, ah, impulsive outburst. The noise and confusion of their precipitous withdrawal was, I think we all will agree, deeply satisfying. I believe the Unknowns are still unaware of our presence at Malfoy Manor. As per usual, they took their dead and wounded with them." She paused. "Oh, and thanks for keeping me from becoming as crispy as fried chicken."

  "Don't put yourself down, Loonie," came a voice from the back. "You did your part." There was a murmur of agreement. Luna smiled at the use of the nickname. She had taken it from the mouths of her detractors, and made it her own.

  "Before the recap, one last aside: Hagrid, do not get too attached to Sparky, there. And, we are eventually going to need the three Giant Albinos back, so settle your mind to that!"

  "Perish th' thought," Hagrid said. "Think the girls dug themselves a den som'eres, but th' pups kin find Amō, Amās, and Amat enny time y'like."

  "You named them?" Luna moaned.

  Hagrid drew himself up in his chair. "I ain' th' one what named this feller, 'Sparky.' "

  Luna blushed, coughed, and retreated, resuming the briefing. "This is how it went down..."

  ***

  Friday, July 18th, 2014, MIDNIGHT.

  Malfoy Manor, County of Wiltshire, UK

  Demelza was finishing the shift change briefing for her people, who could be heard but not seen. They were under the strongest Muffliato she could cast.

  "...and you all know your posts. Your opposite numbers should be there, waiting to hand over. I know I keep repeating myself on this, but it continues to be an issue. Remember to cast an area-effect Muffliato, not a personal Muffliato, or the people you are relieving will not be able to hear you. We've had three people jinxed, and one counter-jinxed by friendly fire this week. The person who tried to jinx Proudfoot was lucky to only end up with cauliflower ears."

  Out of the emptiness, someone inquired, "Physically or magically?"

  This brought quiet laughter, until Demelza said flatly, "One each."

  She sighed. "Proudfoot thought he looked lopsided. Enough of that. Last item, SpectreSpecs off except for perimeter station. Those should remember to rotate wearers regularly. Deploy."

  "What about me?" came Luna's quiet voice.

  "You're with me," said Demelza. "Our station is the fountain in front of the main door."

  ***

  The watchpost inside the fountain was cool, dry, and comfortable.

  "RHIP," Luna said admiringly, after they had taken their seats.

  "Damn straight," agreed Demelza. "Still have to make irregular rounds, confirm readiness, but this is about as sweet a setup as I have ever seen."

  The water coming down was a dome-shaped curtain, created, not by water pressure, but by Shaping Magic. The surface was distorted by continually changing patterns, and lighting came from within the water. From the top of the dome protruded an abstract sculpture that itself continually morphed, albeit much more slowly than the water.

  Within the dome, there was a neat little table and two chairs. There was no sign of the base of the sculpture, which apparently rested directly on the water dome. The place was perfect for a romantic little tête-à-tête, as one could see out perfectly well, but no one could see in, or listen in. The patterns in the water dome were just a slightly refractive moiré over their vision.

  "I wouldn't have thought this was to the Malfoys' taste," Demelza said.

  "It wasn't," Luna replied. "This has been installed since I was a prisoner here during the War. Admittedly, I only saw the grounds once as I was brought in, but this is not something I would have forgotten. I asked Astoria about it, and she said this came from one of the Greengrass estates. It was her favorite place while she was growing up."

  "Oh," said Demelza. "Did the family give it them when they married?"

  Luna chuckled. "Oh, no. No, indeed. The Greengrass are Pure-Blood fanatics, even if they remained on the sidelines during the War. And while Draco's blood is as 'pure' as any, they consider him and Astoria to be Blood-Traitors, due to her sympathies, and the way they're raising Scorpius."

  "More loss to them, then," Demelza said, frowning. "Scorpius is a fine boy, and smart as a whip. How did the fountain end up here?"

  Luna was beaming. "Draco stole it. He lined up a crew of unsavory types with strong moving magic, swept in at the dark of the Moon, and before the Sun rose, it was here. Just as if it had always been."

  "And the Greengrass lot stood for that?"

  "Not much, I would say! But Draco left an open duel challenge at the spot where the fountain had been. It specified that for two days he would meet all challengers in the small grove he maintains outside the Manor's wards. For those two days, he would abide by the Codice Magico del Duello, unless targeted by lethal attacks. After that, he would Duel to Kill."

  "That man! Or any man, for that matter. I never thought much of him at school, but he has definitely changed." Demelza shook her head. "Did he get takers?"

  "Oh, any number of them. Astoria wasn't sure, because Draco asked her not to attend. But she stayed up in the observation tower each day after Draco left, and until he returned at dusk. She could only see flashes of spells, and magical effects that rose above the trees. They happened fairly continuously through the first morning and afternoon. The second day started with a flurry, then continued sporadically through the afternoon and evening. On the third day, silence reigned supreme until lunchtime, when Draco came strolling back up the drive, casually flourishing his wand. Astoria said they had a delightful little lunch in this very spot."

  "I'm surprised her family didn't pursue it through the courts."

  Luna laughed out loud. "Oh, they did! And it blew up in their faces! Once the Wizengamot started inquiring into First Causes, under Veritaserum, a veritable landslide of chicanery came tumbling down. That particular estate had been willed to Astoria by one of her great-aunts, to be granted to her upon her marriage. What with her views on pure blood becoming evident as she grew, the family 'forgot' to mention the matter after the great-aunt passed. The Wizengamot were so outraged, a full audit of Greengrass holdings was ordered. Astoria ended up with not only that estate and manor, but other major holdings across the British Isles, and even in Europe."

  Demelza and Luna were still chuckling over that, when they found themselves under an area-effect Muffliato. They looked about and saw Wilberforce, Draco's gentleman's gentleman, standing with his back to where the magically shaped dome of water disappeared into the tiled stone of the courtyard. The tall, well-dressed man with his composed demeanor was not getting wet, as the fountain produced no spray. The tip of his tightly furled black umbrella poked slightly through the water, allowing him speech with them. It was an open secret, at least among the Aurors, that the umbrella was constructed around Wilberforce's wand.

  He spoke, without overtly moving his lips, as he pretended to be regarding the night sky.

  "Auror Robins, I believe the estate is being infiltrated by person or persons unknown. I noted a flattened area of grass in the grove just outside the wards that was not present as I left this afternoon. Also, I did not feel the magic of the wards recognize me, as they should have."

  "They must be down," growled the Lead Auror. "But only in that one spot, or we would have noticed."

  "Agreed, madam," Wilberforce said politely. "Have you any suggestions or directions for me?"

  "How fast can you get inside and get the house wards back up?"

  "Almost instantaneously. Master Draco had Aquilla shadowing me from a great height. I gave him the signal to alert Master Draco to be ready. A matter of seconds only."

  "Can I make a suggestion?" Luna asked. Demelza nodded at her.

  "Wilberforce, set one of your packages down, as if you are looking for a key. Look at the night sky for a moment, just as you are doing now. Then, enter as normal, forgetting the package."

  "Quite sagacious, Auror Lovegood-Scamander. It will appear as if I am to return momentarily, giving them time to make their move."

  Demelza's smile was predatory. "Carry on, Wilberforce."

  "As you wish, madam."

  Yes, Yes I do. And don't call me Shirley).