A/N: It has been a while hasn't it? To everyone who sent me messages. This one is for you. Might not be exactly what you want, but I hope you like it anyway.
This is an ode to the Harry Potter universe. A set of interconnected stories that I will use to flesh out the universe. Might start out rusty, but give it time.
In hindsight, Dan Proudfoot realised that maybe not listening to his parents had not been the brightest idea.
"This cannot be happening. I cannot be dying" he said out loud, though there was no one there, no one who could understand anyway. "I cannot be dying"
Most people would instantly go into denial when confronted with the idea that they were currently being stared down by a manticore. A growling, ferocious, and hungry Manticore.
To the uninitiated, the manticore has the body of a lion, the stinger of a scorpion, and perhaps most disturbingly, the head of a human.
"Oh sweet Merlin's shaggy tits" he said to no one in particular, there was no one here on this forest full of oaks in South Western Greece, his voice sounded like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.
"How did this even happen?" he shouted loudly, watching the beast growl, afraid to even reach into his pocket and pull out his wand, for he knew the monster was fast.
"I do not deserve this" he said to himself more than anyone else, it wasn't like the beast could understand him. He had read somewhere that a famous muggle mind healer had talked about the various stages of grief. Of course there was nothing more that could be done now, except for some reason, think about grief. Grief of impending death.
"I cannot believe this, leave me alone" he said, trying to inject anger into his voice. "I cannot handle this right now, I just can't"
The beast was unmoved by his anger.
"I'll get you food?" he said, more hopeful than before. No response was forthcoming except for that slowly familiar growl.
"No, I have a family. I have parents. They will probably be bummed out" he said to the beast. Of course, Dan Proudfoot was a crazy man, facing death would turn some weak willed men crazy. He did not know that talking to a wild, savage beast was not going to help him in any way.
Finally it dawned on him, staring at the beast that was now inching toward him, ready to eat him and maybe leave his bones, right here, in this forest full of oaks, in South Western Greece.
He sat down, resigned to his fate.
"Eh, I didn't die a virgin"
The creature seemed to recognise his acceptance, and pounced.
He might not have been a virgin, but in the forest full of oaks, South Western Greece, he died nonetheless.
-x-
"...somewhere in the forests of Greece. Investigating aurors were baffled at the presence of characteristic- "
"Ron?"
Ronald Weasley was a man who had a lot on his mind. Firstly, he was twenty five years old. Secondly, he was a married man. Thirdly, the woman he had married was now expecting a child. Fourthly, things were not going swimmingly. Fifthly-
"Ron?" the voice repeated, harsher this time.
"I heard you the first time mate" he said to the man, as he looked up. The voice had a face that was happy, but eyes that carried a lifetime of pain. And really messy hair.
"I never thought I would see the day when Ronald bloody Weasley was bringing paperwork home" the voice said to him. It belonged to his best friend of almost fifteen years, Harry Potter, the Saviour Of The Wizarding World, and his boss.
"You do know I got kicked out of the house by my lovely wife because I was bringing too much work home?" Ron asked him, with a little bit of mirth in his voice. It caused Harry to chuckle.
"Ron, you have never done things the conventional way, if anyone would be scolded by Hermione Granger for, of all things, working too hard, it would be you" Harry said to him, walking from the doorway he was standing under, to the bed behind the table, causing Ron to turn around and look at him.
"Make yourself comfortable" Ron said as Harry sat down on bed.
"I plan to" Harry shot back. "It is my house"
"Oh yeah mate" Ron said, starting to get a little annoyed. "Something you have said around five hundred times, it is almost like you want me to leave"
"Of course I want you to bloody leave" Harry said to him. "Don't get me wrong, you're a brother in every way but blood, but I want you to go back to your pregnant wife"
Ron did not look happy at all, he didn't want to be forced into having this conversation now, not while he still had work to do.
"Can we just not talk about this now?" he pleaded.
"No" Harry said firmly. "It has been a bloody week Ron. Merlin, you've even got Ginny worried. I swear to god, Teddy has been asking about magical divorces. What on earth is going on?"
Ron stood up suddenly, causing Harry to almost draw his wand out of his pocket.
"You see that?" Ron said to him, clearly noticing Harry's hand that was almost ready to pull out the wand from his holster.
"See what?" Harry asked him, not sure if he wanted to deal with the answer.
"That" Ron said to him. "You killed Voldemort ages ago now Harry. It has been almost seven bloody years, and yet, we live in fear, do you know what I have been working on lately?"
Harry nodded. "Rowle"
"Exactly. Thorfin. Fucking. Rowle" he said, spitting those last three words out. "Do you know what Rowle did recently?"
Harry nodded, his face paling. Everyone had heard about the recent muggle tortures in Derbyshire.
"I'm bringing a child into this world, a child that is probably going to live in a world that is still full of all these lunatics, and I work a job where I can directly help deal with those same lunatics, do you really think I'm not going to work as hard as I can to deal with this problem?"
Harry knew where Ron was coming from. There were days, and boy there were a lot of those days, when Harry found himself in a similar position, scared to see a return to the past in any way. Suddenly the reluctance of all the wizards who refrained from discussing Tom Riddle when he was a child made sense to him, some things were just way too unpleasant to deal with. Both him and Ron had come into the Auror department determined to make the world a better place, and both of them had been guilty of throwing their heart and soul into it, maybe perhaps they gave more than they should have given.
"Ron" Harry said softly. "I understand, I do, but did you ever tell Hermione any of this?"
Ron shook his head. "You know what our arguments are like" he snorted. "We shoot first, the questions come later"
"Voldemort is dead" Harry said to him, with a tone of finality.
"Voldemort is dead" Ron repeated after him.
"World is better off without him" Harry continued.
"I'll drink to that" Ron said, rather wistfully.
"Funny you say that Ron" Harry said as he pulled his wand out of his holster and twirled it in the air, a bottle of Firewhiskey and two glasses appeared, levitating in the air.
-x-
Hermione Granger missed her husband. She was almost twenty six years old now, was married for around five of those years, had known her husband for fifteen of them, and never in her life had she met someone so infuriating and simultaneously charming as him. She was completely weak to him, which is why she was confused as to why they were even fighting.
Harry had explained to her where Ron was coming from, and then told her that Ron himself had confirmed it, and yet she found herself unable to let her pride go.
She was currently sitting across a very old looking Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister Of Magic. The years he spent on the job had not been kind to him, and rumors circulated freely that he was planning on picking a replacement soon.
"Ron and you still not talking?" he asked her, a grin on his face.
"You know how he is" she said, sounding resigned.
"Yes, but you know it too, you have for a long time, which makes it even more baffling-"
"Sorry minister" Hermione interrupted. "You did call me here for work? If I had to get relationship therapy, I could ask my girlfriends"
Kingsley chuckled. "Of course" he said, before picking up a file from his desk and handing it to her.
Hermione opened the file, and was immediately greeted with pictures of a very mutilated looking dead man.
She looked back at Kingsley, slightly disturbed by all the claw marks and the unrecognisable face.
"That is Dan Proudfoot"
Hermione stared at him incredulously.
"Yes, I understand the significance of this situation" he said simply.
Dan Proudfoot was one of those well off purebloods who had had nothing to do with the war, his family was away from it all. He had started school as Hermione had come back for her final year, after Voldemort's defeat.
What he was well known for these days was his frequent appearances in the Daily Prophet, featuring with several famous socialite witches, and indulging in activities which her mother in law Molly had deemed 'scandalous, downright scandalous'
What made Dan Proudfoot an often brought up name in her household, was not his sexual deviance, but his inheritance of the Chudley Cannons. Her husband's favourite Quidditch team.
"Did you tell Ron?" she asked him after thinking about it for a while.
-x-
"What are yer on about Harry?" Rubeus Hagrid asked his former student, now head of the Auror department.
Hagrid had become a hero thanks to him and his brother's actions during the war. There were talks of even normalising wizard and giant relations in the days after the war. Hagrid had presumably met with his mother, who seemed to be known (somewhat comically) as the 'Giant among Giants' and had proudly announced that she hadn't even broken anything of his when she met him this time. Needless to say, he had become the representative on the wizarding side, thanks to his heritage.
"Manticores" Harry said simply. "You have bred Manticores, have you not?"
"I have" he said gruffly. "Wild little beasts them, nothin' to mess about"
Harry nodded. "Well, tell that to Dan Proudfoot?"
"From that orange team Ron always cheers? Did he run into one?"
"If by running into one, you mean being mauled to death, then yes, he 'ran' into one"
Hagrid almost cringed. "How's Ron takin' it?" he asked Harry.
Harry rolled his eyes. Ron's reaction had not been, the best. He had seen grown men cry, but he had never seen a man wail about a 'lost future' as much as Ron had that day. The fact that the herald had come from Hermione hadn't really meant much, because the two had made up just yesterday, and Ron had moved back into his house, where he belonged, presumably now mentally ready to raise a child in, as he liked to call it, 'a manticore infested' world.
"Him and Hermione make up eh?" Hagrid asked him.
"Does literally everyone know?" Harry asked, almost exasperated. "Even my relationship troubles are not this well documented"
"People talk Harry" Hagrid said to him, somberly.
"These manticores" Harry wanted to get back on the topic and not let his best friend's marital woes derail the conversation. "Were they docile?"
"Docile?" Hagrid laughed. "Yer being naive Harry. Them manticores are savage beasts, nothin' to mess around, bloody well leave them alone I say"
"You cross bred them to make Blast Ended Skewrts" Harry said accusingly. Hagrid had the decency to blush when confronted with his slightly lunatic, animal loving ways.
"Aye" he said after recovering. "But I've been dealin' with these things my whole life Harry. Yer well aware"
Harry shuddered, thinking about the time in his second year when he had come across one of the 'things' Hagrid routinely dealt with.
"Do you think they could have been broken free?" Harry asked him.
Hagrid thought about it for a while.
"Look, I don' exactly have the permission to breed these things. Certainly wouldn't be off me rocker enough yet to leave them in the forest or summat. But a missin' manticore, people would know"
Harry nodded.
-x-
Dan Proudfoot And The Murderous Manticore?
Controversial witches' man Dan Proudfoot was found after missing for almost three days without any communication, his body was found in a highly deteriorated state and showed marks of being toyed with.
"Very bad" said Joham Dukakis, a worker for the Greek Ministry Of Magic in the Department Of Magical Creature Regulation.
"I run in the forest" he added. "Live close by. I see dead body, I apparate to ministry with body"
While the English was lacking, it is pretty clear that the harsh maulings were the work of a wild, mythical beast known as the manticore.
Continued On Page 2
British Manticores And Where They Can Be Found Page 3
-x-
"Missing" Ron spat at the letter. "Fuc-"
"Ron" Hermione almost shouted. They had discussed him swearing around the baby, Ron was incredibly sceptical about the baby being able to hear anything he said, but he loved his wife enough to handle it.
"Yes dear" he said, almost too sweetly. He then pulled tore off some parchment lying on his desk and fiercely scribbled the offensive word and showed it to her.
"Not sure that was necessary" Hermione said dryly. Harry, who was also in Ron's office with them laughed.
"How the he- heck?" Ron looked at Hermione for approval. She sighed before nodding. "How the heck is does no one in this merlin's saggy- sorry, this- place, not know where the government keeps its god- gosh darn Manticores"
"That is what we're paid to find out Ron" Harry said to him. "What do you say? You and I, like the old times, Ron and Harry el grecko"
"Not sure why the head of the auror department is involved in this" Ron said to him Harry looked toward Hermione, waiting on her explanation. Oddly reminiscent of their days in school.
"Manticores were wiped out Harry. Only two governments in Magical Europe still breed them. Belgium, which has accounted for all its manticores, and Britain. This is potentially an international incident, and something that needs highly reputed aurors, that is you two, working on the job"
Hermione told them about the travel arrangements for Athens, before kissing Ron on the cheek, and leaving.
"She's gone. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking fuck" Ron said, in a highly uncharacteristic way, usually when he insulted people, Ron knew how to make it count.
Harry laughed for a good whole minute before sitting down and pulling out a file from nowhere and dumping it on the table.
"I'm hungry" Ron said as he looked at the pictures that were in the file. There was already some outrage when one of the pictures of Dan Proudfoot's mauling had somehow made its way to the front page of the Prophet.
"They chose the less gory one, don't you think?" Harry asked him.
"Have we considered Rowle?" Ron asked him back.
Harry sighed. "Ron we've talked about-"
"No, enough sighing. Tell me the thought hasn't crossed your mind that Rowle and his lackeys didn't do this"
"There is no proof of that Ron"
"No proof yet, but we both know that he is the face of that bloody 'Resurgence Movement', and you and I both know that he most definitely has people around, they could be in the ministry"
Harry was almost scandalised by that.
"People wouldn't take too kindly to you reminding them of that Ron" he said, a tone that was barely holding back a warning.
"Harry, you of all people know how important it is to learn from the past. Tell me that the thought hasn't even crossed your mind"
Harry looked at him, and couldn't say anything. Because he knew that Ron was right.
-x-
Dean Thomas was not a happy man. The years after the war had been kind to him, he had been hailed as a hero, part of the resistance. Young witches had thrown himself at him, a job in the auror department had come calling not soon after, and he had thrown himself into it.
What he hadn't realised was that he was going to be working under the now husband of his once upon a time girlfriend, and that when the war ended, things had become way more awkward because for once, they could think about things other than mortal peril.
He was almost half convinced Harry had sent him here on purpose. The people he were working for spoke only greek, and were weird.
Suddenly he heard an excited squeal.
The greek woman (Dean couldn't help but notice she was attracted) had began jumping up and down, beckoning him to the spot.
'Merlin damn this bloody greek forest' he thought to himself as he walked over to the spot. As he moved closer to hit, he realised it was wet soil, and that there were fresh prints.
Fresh prints of a lion.
Dean looked at the still smiling, attractive greek woman.
"Shit" he said to her.
-x-
Ron was never ever someone who liked going places much. His favourite haunts were his home that he shared with Hermione, The Burrow, which had food better than anywhere else in the world, and the pub nearby which had drinks that were better than anything the wizards could ever serve (he himself was fond of a mysterious drink known as the cosmopolitan), but even he had to admit that Greece was simply, beautiful.
He didn't have long to be bewitched by the viles of Greece, because he was immediately pulled into a meeting with the Greek minister of magic.
"Ah, Mr Weasley" the man said in an enthusiastic and heavily accented voice. "We in Greece are a big fan of, how do you say, exploits?"
Ron was slightly awed by this short and venerable looking man absolutely gushing on about him, what was even more surprising was the short, greek version of 'Weasley Is Our King'
He had no idea that he, of all people, had a fan following, in Greece.
"Very regretful, yes" the minister then said suddenly. "We have no idea what Mr Proudfoot was doing in that forest, and what is even more confusing is the Manticore"
Ron had somewhat of a hunch on the Manticore really being used to be unleashed on Muggles. Thorfin Rowle had been missing, the last sighting in Magical Britain was a while ago. As an auror, Ron had learned a while ago to not believe in any coincidences. A missing Manticore and a missing death eater was just the kind of conclusion he would have made.
They conversed for a bit longer, and Ron found the conversation surprisingly enjoyable. He had been pegged for roles that would require a higher responsibility but had shunned them, he found bureaucrats tiresome, but this man was surprisingly likeable.
Before their conversation could proceed, they were interrupted by the door swinging open and a very tired and haggard looking Harry Potter bursting into the room.
"Ron" he said, his face pale. "Dean"
-x-
"He hasn't reported in?" Ron asked him. Harry shook his head.
"What about the Greek witch with him?" Ron asked. "Alexandria?"
"Also missing" Harry said. His face was pale despite the fact that they had just had a drink each.
"Did you try to get in touch with them, you know" Ron said to him, not wanting to reveal the secret methods of Auror communications lest someone hear them.
"We tried everything, nothing seems to work. If it has, he hasn't said anything. I'm not even sure if the thing has worked"
"Then what the hell are we doing here? We should be searching for him, shouldn't we?" Ron asked him. He knew the answer, the greeks knew the forests and the magical enclaves in the forest better than anyone else in the world, and Harry and Ron, being British would only be a hinderance to the search.
"You know why, they don't exactly want to work with us, and on top of that, there is a lot of resentment in the community"
"Resentment?" Ron asked him sharply. "What are you on about?"
"The news has spread Ron, the people in Greece are scared. Britain itself seems to have a very bad name in Europe because of our less than fashionable recent history" Harry said bitterly, Voldemort still being a sore spot with him.
"And now Dean is missing" Ron trailed off, silently considering the implications. It wasn't too long, because about a minute of silence ensued before a silver and vapour like Lynx burst into the room.
"Report to the Greek Ministry" the voice, which sounded very much like Kingsley Shacklebolt said to both of them, before the lynx dissipated.
-x-
"It is clearly an arm" a heavily greek sounding man said to him. "This your partner?"
Ron was surprised that not everyone was as eloquent as the Greek minister here, and he was irritated by the line of questioning.
"No. Our partner has darker skin" he said, for almost the hundredth time.
"He see no sunlight?" the man asked him. Ron had serious trouble understanding if the man was serious or was only joking.
"Let me look at the bloody arm" Harry, who had been a quiet spectator in this very dingy looking room finally said to him.
The greek auror gave him the heavily mangled arm that was found in the forest, and Harry knew instantly that it could not have been Dean's. For one thing, it was a shade too darker, and the fingers were longer than Dean's were (playing quidditch and working with a man for a number of years made him notice such things)
"It isn't Dean" Harry said to him. Ron let out a highly audible thank you and the greek auror snorted.
"Does the ministry have a criminal database?" Harry asked him, his tone a bit more harsh.
"Greek ministry have no criminal" the greek auror said to him in broken English. "We have no database. We find criminal, we take magic from criminal"
Ron could only shake his head, Harry had to stop himself from barking out a laugh.
"We need to send this arm to St Mungo's, they have this in their database"
"What are you saying Harry?" Ron asked him, not sure if he was liking where any of this was going.
"Let us say, I have a hunch of my own"
-x-
Ron and Hermione had promised each other to always talk to each other when in mental peril, they tried to stick to that promise as much as they could. They even had a two way mirror like the one Sirius and Harry used back in school.
"You look worried" Hermione said to him from the other side of the mirror.
"Of course I'm blood- bleeding" he said gritting his teeth. Hermione gave him a smug look. "Of course I am bleeding worried Hermione"
"What is bothering you, love?" she asked him.
"Proudfoot is. What in Merlin's name possessed him to go, of all places, to Greece?"
Hermione looked thoughtful at what he said.
"Well, he always was a little eccentric. Did I tell you about the time, he and Luna, well, you know"
"What?" Ron asked her with a flat expression.
"Well, you know, they, they did it" she said, not sure as to how to be upfront about it.
"Luna? Really?" Ron asked her incredulously.
"Well, according to Luna herself, she 'thoroughly enjoyed' him" Hermione looked pleased at Ron's blanching face.
"Stop" Ron said. "Please"
Hermione giggled.
"Don't worry love" she said to him. "Maybe it was just an accident"
"I don't believe in accidents Hermione" Ron said to her with a tone of finality.
"That's funny Ron because you are accidentally responsible for my current situation" she said to him before looking down toward her stomach and gently running a hand across it.
"Hey!" Ron said indignantly. "You are equally responsible for this you know, you are supposed to be the one keeping me in check, and instead, you were wearing, well, that dress, I couldn't help-"
"I don't care Ron" Hermione said to him. "It is going to be a very happy accident" she finished with a look of contentment on her face. It made Ron smile.
"I want a safe world for her you know" The healer at St Mungo's had run a charm on his wife and had told them that the child was going to be a girl.
"I want it too, I don't want them to face what we faced Ron, you know that"
"I know Hermione, I do, but- it is scary. The world is scary"
"The world was scary when we were seventeen, it was scary when we were eleven, and it was scary before we were even born Ron, you can't let that hold you back, can you?" she asked him.
Ron shook his head.
"That's my husband" she said to him. "I do have to dash though, Mum is extremely excited about being a grandmother, and has insisted she take me shopping today"
Ron looked gobsmacked at that. "It is a Tuesday" he said to her, his disbelief evident.
"Yes Ronald, it is"
"Are you taking the day off? What world is this?" Ron asked her, exaggerating his surprise.
"It isn't a world where Chudley Cannons have won a quidditch match" Hermione said to him teasing.
"Oh will you stop making fun of-" he trailed off.
"Hermione, wait, you said Luna was being, erm, thoroughly satisfied by Proudfoot, correct?"
She nodded.
"And this was recently, not a while ago?"
"Yes" Hermione said. "She was with him a week before he went off to Greece"
"I need you to take some time off and talk to her, ask her if she knows why he would go there" Ron said to her.
"I will do that Ronald" she said. "You just, just be careful okay, don't do something stupid. I would be cross with you if you did"
Ron chuckled. "It wouldn't be us if I didn't do something absolutely fucking stupid" he suddenly realised that he had made a mistake with the swearing, and Hermione's face reflected it.
"Like that" he continued, a little bit of fear creeping into his voice. Fortunately for him, Hermione's face softened.
"Just, be careful, okay? I love you"
"I love you too"
"And don't swear"
"God da-"
-x-
Hermione had been in the magical world for a long time now, and never had she seen something as surreal as Luna Lovegood. After a long day of shopping for what turned out to be maternity clothes with her mother, Hermione had decided to drop by the rook like Lovegood house (she smiled at the memory of Ron telling her about the chess piece and her mistaking it to be a bird when they were on the hunt)
Luna, Hermione had decided internally, was never ever going to change. She still had the same dazed look on her face, despite having gained a certain amount of respect as a leading researcher when it came to a certain few magical creatures. A lot of people still called her Loony, although Hermione did note that the way she was talked about had long since changed from bewildered stares and hushed tones to actual fondness for the kind of person she was at heart.
"Hello Hermione" she said to her, with a bright smile on her face. "You showed up at the right time, do come in, I was done with the Plimpy soup after all"
As Hermione was ushered in, memories of the last time she was in came back to her. It was here they had learned about the Deathly Hallows. Things had changed soon after that.
"I have to congratulate you" Luna said after sitting her down and fixing both of them some tea. "I heard about your pregnancy, I just didn't have the time to owl you, my research keeps me very busy you know" she added as a matter of fact.
"Yes, thank you so much for that" Hermione said as she began looking around, wondering what artifact sat in place of the Erumpent Horn that had blown up this house all those years ago.
"I have always felt Ron would make a fantastic lover" Luna said to her. "And a fantastic father too, don't you think?"
Hermione sputtered, nodding. 'She's right on both counts' she thought to herself. However she didn't say anything about it, she was still looking around, wondering how she had never bothered coming back here.
"Reliving your last visit Hermione?" Luna asked her. Other people might have intentions behind asking those questions, ulterior motives, but Luna was one of those people who talked about things as she saw them, and Hermione always respected her for that.
"Well, yes" Hermione said, pausing at the sudden discomfort of being asked about it. "But that is not what this is about"
"Oh?" Luna continued. "So what is with all the whackspurts over your head?"
Hermione had long since learned not to bother with the downright weird things Luna said about Crumple Horned Snorkaks and Nargles and what not.
"I'm here to talk about Dan, you know, Dan Proudfoot?"
Luna instantly brightened up when she heard his name.
"Oh Danny, he is just one of the best lovers I have had" she said, smiling widely. "How is he?"
Hermione paused, not sure what to say.
"Luna, he's dead?"
Luna did not seem to be too bothered by that, her smile faded away and she merely stared at Hermione for a while, before her eyes lit up in recognition.
"Oh yes, I heard of that. Very unpleasant"
'That's an understatement' Hermione thought to herself.
"He was attacked, by what people are saying is a manticore" Hermione continued. "Ron was curious as to if you know why he was in Greece of all places"
"Oh yes, of course I know" she said simply. "He went there to look for the silver star"
Hermione considered herself an avid reader, and yet she had never come across anything like the 'silver star' before. She asked Luna what it was.
"Oh it is nothing special, just a diamond that is rumored to bring good luck to whoever wears it. The Spanish Wizard Raids on Greece in 1467 was the last time it was seen, and ever since then there have been rumors circulating about its presence"
"Dan went there to look for the star?"
Luna nodded.
"Yes" she said. "He went to look for the star. He had heard things about some powers that the star held, and he was off looking for it"
Hermione was intrigued. Luna was prone to flights of fancy but someone like Dan Proudfoot would not have acted on something like this if there was no substantial evidence supporting it, or at least, that was what she thought.
"Luna, do you have anything more on this silver star?"
The blonde headed woman shook her head.
"I do have access to his manor. We can go there now if you please" she offered. Hermione accepted, anything she could find out about this star would be useful.
"On the way" Luna continued, "You could tell me about how Ron loves you at night"
-x-
'...and the Cannons are wearing black armbands tonight in support of their owner Mr Dan Proudfoot, who was mauled to death in the forests of Greece by what is suspected to be a wild manticore' boomed the voice on the wizarding wireless in Ron's room.
They were staying at this hotel in Athens which had refused to charge the 'saviours of the wizarding world' as a thank you for their services.
'Of course the Harpies fans seem to not care, they have been constantly jeering- and there goes Marcia Spinner for the Harpies, taking them up to a hundred points to the Cannons' twenty. A move that would make Ginny Weasley look at her with pride'
"Fucking Harpies" Ron almost shouted as he turned the wireless off with his wand.
His mind hadn't been on the game, it was on the fact that the arm that had been sent to St Mungo's had come back, and it did not match with anyone in the British Magical Database. What compounded his misery was Hermione hastily calling him from her mirror and telling him that she had discovered Dan Proudfoot's reasons for being in Greece.
He had never heard of the Silver Star before, if there was anyone in his family who had, it would probably be Bill, who was an avid fan of the history of magical governments.
"Stupid BIll with his Veela wife" Ron grumbled.
The minute his daughter went off to school, Ron decided he was going to quit his job as an auror and play chess for the rest of his life, while resting on his laurels. He had decided that it would be the proper 'Ron' way. Of course, that was just a wide eyed dream, he was probably going to be needed at the Joke shop when George would decide to take a back foot from managing that place.
He was interrupted again, by Harry Potter. Something that had become quite common these days.
Harry seemed to have aged a lot. Ron did not have the responsibilities Harry had, so he could focus on listening to the game and worrying about life. Harry was the one who was running around and attending meetings throughout the day.
"Dean still missing?" Ron asked him.
"Those fucking Greeks" Harry spat bitterly. "They're talking about looking for a body now, like he's already dead"
Ron immediately sat up in his char.
"You're saying he might be dead?"
"Ron, he was attacked by what a lot of people are saying is a maniacal manticore. I dunno if he could survive that, I dunno if you and I could, to be honest with you"
Harry collapsed on Ron's bed, burying his face in his arms.
"So here's what we do know" Ron said, not paying any mind to his friend who was in despair. He had learned that when Harry despaired, the thing that worked best was just continuing to work, instead of despairing along with him or trying to console him.
Harry looked at him from the bed, still lying down before closing his eyes, giving Ron his approval.
"Rowle did something, and died"
Harry nodded.
"Dean went looking for the manticore, and, well" Ron trailed off.
Both of them stayed quiet for a long time.
-x-
Somewhere in the forest full of oaks in Greece, Dean Thomas just woke up. He realised he was holding in his arms, the now sleeping, beautiful Greek witch (whose name, he had found out after a lot of gesturing about like a maniac was Alexandria).
He sighed at the current predicament he was in. They had been on the run for exactly two days now from something that was very obviously, mentally playing with them and laughing at them at the same time, and the worst thing was, their magic refused to work.
He knew the thing that had come at them was a manticore, and he knew that if he had his wand out, he could probably at least save his and Alexandria's hide, but their magic simply did not work. When they did come face to face with the beast, they realised something was way off, and decided to do the one thing humans were good at doing in the face of danger. Run.
They were now lost in the forest after running like maniacs, away from the manticore, which for some reason had refused to hunt them down. Their magic still did not work.
They had apparated in the forest perfectly well, and the people who had discovered Proudfoot's body also seemed to have apparated out of the forest, then why were they unable to do it.
Suddenly, Dean Thomas heard a growl.
"Shit" he said as he frantically began shaking the beautiful Greek witch named Alexandria awake.
-x-
"RON!"
The voice of shouting coming from his mirror woke him up. Harry was sleeping beside him, both of them drunk.
"Bloody hell" Ron said, not caring if he was swearing around Hermione. "What is it Hermione"
"It is the Stone Of Drain" she said excitedly.
"I'm the queen of England" Ron said, in the same mocking tone.
"Ron, this is not the time for sarcasm. The Silver Star is nothing but the stone of drain, I have heard of these things existing before"
Ron sat up, rubbing his eyes as he held the mirror to his face.
"It is a magical stone" Hermione continued. "It saps the magical power from a wide area, depends on the size of the stone. The only person who can perform magic when in its presence is the person who has activated the stone in the first place"
"Wait, what?" Ron was still confused.
"Don't you get it, people went looking for this stone. These are very rare and very expensive. All the known copies of this stone are in the possession of magical governments that keep it under lock and key, which means that a newly discovered copy of this stone has come in possession of someone"
"The forest" Ron said as his face paled. "Our methods of communication are not working because the stone is in the forest and it is stopping, it is stopping magic from going in and going out" he shouted out the last part.
He then turned to Harry and began shaking him awake as Hermione said she had to inform Kingsley and quickly ended the conversation.
"Wazzat?" Harry mumbled.
"Harry, we need to get to the ministry, now"
-x-
Dean stared at the sight in front of him. He now realised why the Manticore wasn't killing them. It was herding them. It seemed to have led them to a pond in the middle of the forest that had a glow to it, a glow bright enough that it was visible in the daylight.
Beside him, Alexandria, who Dean realised spoke not a single word of English almost cowered. He was terrified himself. A man stood in front of them, laughing. The manticore stood beside him. Purring.
'I'm gonna piss myself' Dean mumbled slowly.
"Welcome, Auror Thomas. Welcome to my forest" the voice said, before he turned around. The woman beside him, Alexandria let out a surprised gasp.
"I am George Manatos, the Greek Minister Of Magic"
-x-
Ron was one minute away from physically beating up the insolent Greek Auror who was looking at him. Harry, who was beside him, didn't seem to happy about the situation himself.
"What do you mean?" Ron said slowly, his voice promising death. "By the fact that you don't know here Jotham Dukakis is"
The auror merely shrugged.
It was at this point that Ron Weasley absolutely lost it.
-x-
The last five minutes had been a bit of a drag for Dean Thomas. For one thing, Alexandria and the minister both seemed to be speaking complete Greek, which meant he had no idea what was being talked about. He stared at the helplessness of the situation around him. He had his wand in his hand of course, but nothing seemed to work.
Dean couldn't help but be transfixed by the glow of that pond. There was something in that lake that seemed to be radiating, causing it to glow.
Now, Dean Thomas was not a smart man, but he was capable enough to know that there was something magical that was stopping him from using his magic. There was something magical in that lake. There was just enough of a correlation for him, and like his colleague Ron Weasley often said, there were no coincidences.
'I can do this' he thought to himself as he began slowly inching towards the pond.
"Why do this minister?" he asked the man, hoping to keep him distracted.
"Good question Auror Thomas, but the reason I did this is because I do not want this power to be misused"
Dean inched closer. 'A few more steps' he thought to himself.
"You British with your pompous ways" the minister continued. "You will never prosper because all of you are hellbent on showing off your power. But not I, I was content"
Dean inched even closer. He could see the source of the glow now, the minister himself seemed content with looking at his manticore.
"Do you realise the power I have Auror Thomas?" the minister asked him. "I can control this majestic creature" he was almost cackling now.
"Why kill Dan Proudfoot?" Dean asked him.
"He came looking for the silver stone" the minister said to him. "Jotham told him about it"
"Jotham?" Dean asked him.
"Yes, the man who discovered Proudfoot's body" the minister continued. Dean's eyes widened.
"He couldn't have, he apparated. You cannot-"
"Of course he did not" the minister continued. Completely oblivious to the fact that Dean Thomas had almost made his way close to the pool. Dean didn't even dare look back at what Alexandria was doing, but she had gone oddly silent.
"I had to imperiuse him" the minister continued. "And then I had to dispose of him. He knew too much"
"How did he find out?"
"All I wanted was to learn this. To master my control, do you understand Auror Thomas?"
Dean had moved close enough to have his feet touch the pond, and the minister wasn't even looking at him.
He then turned back and looked at Alexandria, who had tears in her eyes and was too shocked to even say anything.
He winked at her.
She looked at him with wide eyes as he jumped into the pond. He heard a cry of alarm as he fell into it. And he touched the stone. Everything went black after that.
-x-
"This is going to be a huge fiasco, Ron" Harry said to him.
"I'll take responsibility and quit" Ron said, obviously in no mood to talk to Harry.
Being locked in a Greek jail cell meant for Wizards was not something Harry had ever thought would happen to him in a million years, but then again, his life was never boring.
"I'm just worried about Hermione" Ron said.
Almost like clockwork, Hermione appeared, along with Kingsley Shacklebolt. Both of them did not look impressed, at all.
"What the bloody hell were you thinking Ronald Weasley?" Hermione yelled at him as a greek wizard unlocked the jail cell, indicating that they were both free to go.
"He wasn't" Harry said quickly.
"I didn't expect you to go along with this too Harry" Hermione said after looking at him sharply, Harry promptly shut up.
Before they could say anything else, a patronus that looked like a Jackal appeared.
"I am alive" it said before dissipating.
-x-
"So that's it?" Ron asked incredulously.
A week had passed since Dean had announced that he was still alive, before apparating with a subdued Greek Minister Of Magic.
"The new minister is a huge fan of yours Ron" Hermione said, as Ron rolled his eyes. "He was kind enough to not make a spectacle about this"
Ron snorted.
Dean's return had brought forth some shocking revelations of corruption in the Greek ministry of magic. What's worse was that he had no idea how the stone worked, just that it stopped working as soon as the light went out and that Alexandria had somehow managed to duel with the minister while Dean, who was blasted out of the pond lay unconscious.
Dean had been rewarded by the Greek Ministry for his efforts, with the highest possible honor, which was the Golden Sword Of Athens.
To top all of this off, Alexandria had publicly kissed him at the event, and the two were now most definitely an item. Surviving a manticore could do that to people.
"So Dean found love, glory, and we found out that the British Manticores were not even missing?" Harry asked both of them. They nodded.
"Hermione, love, when you become minister for magic, and you will, can you fire this guy?" Ron asked her. Hermione laughed.
"He's already been fired Ron" she said to him.
"That's fantastic" Harry said blithely.
"Can you believe that we came all the way to Greece, dreading that we were gonna have to see something evil or fight it, and we were just in a jail cell while Dean traipsed in and defeated the villain and got the girl?" Ron asked Harry.
"A most abrupt end" Harry said, doing his best Pompous Percy Weasley impersonation.
"Not really" Hermione said, looking thoughtful. "Our story is done with, don't you think? We did what we were supposed to do, and now it is time for others to make a name for themselves"
Both Ron and Harry were quiet. They silently agreed with her.
"We're not the heroes anymore, are we?" Ron asked them.
"Were we ever the heroes?" Harry fired back. "I think we were pretty much just doing what we were forced to do, weren't we?"
"I dunno about you two" Ron said, a grin appearing on his face. "I'm a hero"
"Oh yes you are" Hermione chimed in, she was used to this side of her husband, she had been for a long time now.
"What about Rowle, Ron?" Harry asked him.
"Not now Harry" Hermione chided him. "That's a story for another day"
-fin-
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