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Rain dripped off Warren Hodges' hat, beading on his heavy leather cloak as he walked down the dark street, his boots splashing through the water that pooled on the cobbles. Grim-faced with weathered features, the pale glow of his lantern revealed the badge of the Hogwarts Constabulary on his jerkin. Next to him walked Graysen Sears, the persistent drizzle doing nothing to dampen his perpetual optimism.

'You know what I love about this job?' He asked, as he shone his lantern down a side street.

'No,' Hodges said, with a scowl.

'You get to see a side of Hogwarts that no-one else does...'

'Yeah. Dark, cold, wet streets on nights when most sensible people are in bed...' Hodges said, raising his lantern to shine it into an alley. 'Why don't...hey, what's that...?'

He raised the lantern higher, revealing the hunched shape of a man lying against the alley wall.

'Hey, you,' he called. 'You okay?'

When there was no answer, he handed his lantern to Sears, kneeling down and shaking the man by the shoulder.

'Merlin's beard!' He said, recoiling as the man rolled onto his back, nausea rising in his throat...

#################

Harry Potter finished pulling on his black robe, smoothing down his hair before heading downstairs. Dark-haired with round glasses, he looked perfectly ordinary apart from the lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

'Morning, Harry,' his Father said, from where he was sitting at the kitchen table, the Daily Prophet open in front of him. Like Harry, he had the same dark hair and round spectacles.

'Morning, Dad,' Harry replied, as he sat down opposite him. 'Anything in the paper?'

'Not really,' his Father said. 'Cornelius Fudge has been appointed as the new Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. So that makes him...'

'...my boss.' Harry said. 'Or my bosses' bosses' boss. What d'you know about him...?'

'He's an ambitious man,' his Father replied. 'He probably took the job to further his own interests...'

'Now, James,' his Mother said as she arrived with a plate of eggs and bacon for Harry. 'You know we don't talk about work at the table.'

'Sorry, Lily,' James said, turning back to his paper as Harry tucked into his eggs and bacon.

'Thanks, Mum,' He said, finishing his last piece of bacon and getting up, grabbing his cloak on the way to the door. 'I've got to run. I'll see you this evening...'

#################

'RON!'

Hearing his mother shout from downstairs, Ron pulled the covers over his head with a groan. However, this only made her shout louder.

'RON! Breakfast. Now!'

Grumbling, Ron threw back the covers and grabbed his dressing gown, stomping downstairs to the kitchen. Seated at the head of the table was his Father, his red hair receding slightly. Also at the table were Percy, Fred, George, Charlie, Bill and Ginny. Like Ron, they all had the same red hair and freckles. There was a general murmur of conversation around the table, except from Percy, who was reading from a folder open on the table next to him.

'Whatcha reading?' Ron asked as he dropped into the seat between Ginny and Charlie.

'It's a report on Dragon Fertilizer,' Percy said, without looking up.

'Sorry I asked,' Ron muttered, as his Mother came bustling in with a frying pan, ladling eggs and bacon onto Ron's plate. Short and stout, she had curly red hair and brown eyes.

'You'll need to eat up or you'll be late,' she admonished, turning to the others.

'Would anyone like some more bacon? Ginny?'

'No, thanks, Mum,' Ginny said, pushing back her chair and gathering up her plate. 'I need to get to training. The Quidditch Cup starts next week...'

'We need to get going, too,' Fred said, standing up and clapping George on the shoulder. 'We need to open up the shop...'

'Eat up, boys,' their Father said, glancing over at Ron. 'We need to leave soon, or we'll be late...'

'Keep your shirt on,' Ron said, finishing his bacon and heading back upstairs to get dressed...

#################

Hermione brushed out her brown hair, frowning at herself in the mirror. It had always been frizzy and unruly, no matter what she did to it. With a sigh, she headed downstairs to the kitchen, where her mother and father were waiting. Dark haired with green eyes, her mother was slightly shorter than her father, who was balding with brown hair.

'Will you be back in time for dinner?' her mother asked, as Hermione poured herself a bowl of cereal.

'I might be a little late,' she said and her mother frowned.

'...alright,' she said. 'Don't overwork yourself...'

'Don't fuss over her,' her father said as he poured himself another cup of coffee.

'I'll be fine,' Hermione said, finishing her cereal and standing up to kiss her parents on the cheek. 'See you this evening...'

#################

'Well, Doctor Hermann?' Dawlish asked as he stepped into the Auror morgue, where a heavyset, balding man was leaning over the body that was lying on the wooden table. Tall and broad-shouldered man with greying hair, Dawlish was dressed in a long leather cloak.

'Numerous bite and claw marks,' Herman said, without looking up. 'Although, I'd say that it was the bite to the jugular that killed him...'

'Any idea what caused the injuries...?'

'I'd need to check my books, but I think he was killed by a werewolf...'

'Let me know when you're certain,' Dawlish said. 'I need to brief the Minister...'

#################

'Morning,' Harry said, looking up from his desk in the Auror Office as Ron shrugged his cloak off.

'Don't remind me,' he muttered, heading for the coffee pot just as Kingsley strode into the room. Tall and dark-skinned, dressed in rich purple and blue robes, his shaved head only added to his air of authority.

'No time for that, Weasley,' he said, glancing at Ron, who was just about to pour himself a cup. 'I need you two for a raid on a suspected black market dealer. Let's go...'

Suppressing a grin as Ron glancing longingly at the coffee pot, Harry gathered up his cloak and checked his wand, before following Kingsley to the door...

#################

'Come in,' Fudge said and Dawlish pushed open the door to his office, stepping through and closing it behind him. Against the back wall was an ornate wooden desk, behind which was seated a portly man, his hair thinning on top. However, despite this, his eyes betrayed a shrewd cunning.

'Well, what is it, Dawlish?' Fudge demanded and he took a deep breath.

'A body was found last night, Minister, by the Hogwarts Constabulary...'

'And why are you troubling me with this?' Fudge said, without looking up from the paperwork on his desk. 'Surely, you're capable of investigating one suspicious death...'

'We have reason to suspect that he was killed by a werewolf, sir,' Dawlish said and Fudge looked up.

'A werewolf. Are you sure...?'

'Initial evidence suggests so, Minister. Our surgeon is cross-checking to be sure, but with his throat torn out and...'

'Yes, yes, you can spare me the details, Dawlish. For now, I want this kept quiet...'

'Sir?'

'We need to keep this under wraps. If people find out there's a werewolf on the loose in Hogwarts, we'll have a panic on our hands...'

...and you'll lose your job, Dawlish thought, although he kept it to himself. Instead, he said

'Yes, Minister...'

'Good. How many people know about this...?'

'Just myself, our surgeon and the two Constables who found the body...'

'We need to keep it that way. No-one else must know, Dawlish, not even the other Aurors. Where are the Constables, now...?'

'Still writing their statements at the Auror Office, sir...'

'Very well. I want you to swear them both to secrecy. And keep me updated on your investigation..'

'Yes, sir...'

#################

The lock clicked and Kingsley lowered his wand, pushing open the door of the house, gesturing for Ron and Harry to follow him. Quietly, they made their way down the hall towards the doorway at the end, where muted voices could be heard.

'...genuine goblin silver. Got to be worth at least 30 galleons...'

'Don't give me that. It's engraved. Even with the crest removed, it'll be hard to sell. 10.'

Glancing over Kingsley's shoulder, Harry saw two men, one thin faced and grim, the other slightly podgy, seated at a crude table. A third man stood in front of them, grizzled and balding, his arms folded across his chest. On the table in front of them were two tarnished silver goblets.

Kingsley raised his wand, Harry and Ron drawing their own as he stepped through the door.

'Don't move,' He ordered. 'Auror Office. Stand up, slowly, with your hands where I can see them...'

Slowly, the two men rose from their seats and the thin faced one turned, his hand darting inside his jacket. Before his hand had closed on his wand, Kingsley's stunning spell hit him in the chest, knocking him backwards.

'Expelliarmus,' Harry yelled, darting through the door to disarm the podgy man with a flick of his wrist. The bald man moved towards Kingsley, stopping in his tracks when he saw Ron aiming at him.

'Secure them, Weasley,' Kingsley said and Ron moved forward, conjuring ropes to bind their wrists. Once they were bound, Harry turned to the stunned man, muttering

'Levicorpus.'

His body gently rose off the ground and Harry guided him towards the others as Kingsley took his portkey out of his jacket pocket. Harry reached out to touch it, Ron doing the same and he felt the familiar jerk in his navel, accompanied by the sensation that he was being dragged upwards...

#################

Hermione sat at the table at the back of the library, surrounded by a stack of books, her quill scratching across the parchment open in front of her. At this time of the morning, the library was mostly empty, apart from a few students and Madam Pince stalking among the shelves, haranguing anyone careless enough to raise her ire by infractions such as mishandling her books or talking too loudly. Occasionally, she would reach out and turn the page of one of the books, before picking up her quill again.

'Good morning, Ms Grainger...'

Looking up, Hermione say Professor McGonagal striding towards her. A middle aged woman with a serious expression, she was dressed in somber brown robes and a tall pointy hat that didn't quite cover the greying of her hair.

'Good morning, Professor,' Hermione said, laying down her quill. 'I was just doing some work on my dissertation. I should have my outline and topics ready for you tomorrow...'

'You're aware that it isn't due for submission for 18 months,' McGonagal asked and Hermione nodded.

'I know. I just wanted to get started...'

'This project will take time, Ms Grainger,' McGonagal said, with a slight frown. 'You do not get extra marks for finishing first. Remember that.'

'Yes, Professor,' Hermione said and McGonagal gave her an indulgent smile.

'Very well. Meet me in my study tomorrow and we will take a look at what you have...'

#################

Reluctantly leaving Kingsley to process the three prisoners, Harry and Ron returned to their desks, to find a stack of folders and files waiting for them.

'No-one mentioned this during those career meetings,' Ron said, as he dropped into his chair with a sigh. 'Join the Aurors, spend all day reading reports...'

'Yeah,' Harry muttered, picking up the folder on top of his stack and starting to read...

#################

The wind whipped through Ginny's hair as she swooped above the Quidditch Pitch, dressed in her red Gryffindor robes. Between her and the goal rings were two of the Slytherin chasers and their keeper, Miles Bletchley. Deftly, she fielded the pass from Katie, dodging past Warrington and passing smoothly to Alicia. Alicia feinted left and then darted right, putting the Quaffle directly through the middle ring.

'Yes!' Ginny yelled, even though she knew that no-one else could hear her over the rush of the wind. As she swooped around, she saw a flash of gold from near the middle of the pitch.

The Snitch...

Her pulse quickened as she saw a flash of green, Malfoy diving towards it, followed by Morris. Morris had just about caught up to him when Malfoy snatched up the Snitch, swooping up with it clutched in his fist.

Dammit... Ginny thought, thumping her fist onto her thigh.

#################

'This is just like being back at Hogwarts,' Ron said, as he sat back with a groan, casting aside the report that he had finished reading.

'Yeah,' Harry said, without looking up from the folder that was open in front of him. 'And we don't have Hermione to help us, now...'

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...heard the rumour that there is a vampire working as a bartender in the Silver Moon club. Personally, I think that it takes more than being tall, pale and wearing eye shadow to make someone a vampire. However, I don't expect the rumours will stop anytime soon. Before I finish, there is one more thing that I wanted to tell you. Milly Chelmsford is 16 years old and she went missing two days ago. She has just started her sixth year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was last seen in Dragon Alley at around 2:00. I know Hogwarts is a big city and that everyone has their own troubles. I know that she wouldn't be the first teenage girl to run away from home. And I know there are many other strange and unexplained things in Hogwarts worth reporting on. However, she is someone's daughter and someone's friend. If anyone has seen her, or has any information, please write to the Quibbler. Thank you.

Laying down her quill, Luna stared out of the window from her room, stretching her shoulders with a groan. Massaging her neck, she rolled up the scroll and tied it together with the other three that lay on her writing desk.

'Squawk,' she said, turning to her screech owl, who obediently held out her claw and grasped the scrolls.

'The Quibbler Office,' Luna said and Squawk screeched softly, flapping her wings as she flew towards the open window.

#################

Carefully, Neville pulled on his leather gloves as he sat down in front of the Venomous Tentacular, extending his hand toward it. The Tentacular quivered for a moment, before it's vines lashed out to wrap around his hand. Venomous Tentacular lived up to their name due to the venom that was extruded through their shoots. Without the leather gloves, Neville would now be on his way to the Hospital Wing. Working quickly, he stripped the leaves from the branches, dropping them into a glass jar. He had just finished when Professor Sprout pushed open the door of the greenhouse. A good-natured, red-cheeked, stocky woman, she was dressed in heavy leather robes with mud stains on the knees.

'Nearly done, Longbottom?' she asked and Neville nodded.

'Yes, Professor,' Neville said, drawing his wand and tapping it onto the Tentacular. It quivered for a moment, the vines relaxing and Neville shook them off his hand.

'Good. Just take those along to Madam Pomfrey, would you? The first years will begin working with these next week, so she'll be needing to mix up some anti-venom...'

'Yes, Professor...'

#################

Ron peered around the corner of the alley at the warehouse across the street, just as a grim-faced man emerged.

'That's Roman Carson,' he said. 'Mad-Eye arrested him last month for receiving stolen goods. Looks like Kingsley's information was on the money,' he added as he snapped a picture with his micro-camera, glancing over his shoulder at Harry.

'The people we arrested this morning we're very keen to talk,' Harry said, just as there was a loud crack and a pink-haired woman appeared beside them.

'Wotcher,' she said and Harry grinned.

'Hey, Tonks...'

'You took your time,' Ron said. 'It's cold enough to freeze my...'

'We've seen three suspects so far,' Harry said, quickly, taking the camera from Ron and handing it to her.

'Thanks,' Tonks said. 'Get some rest. I'll take it from here...'

'Thanks, Tonks,' Harry said, heading towards the other end of the alley, just as Tonks called after them.

'By the way, Ron, it'd be cold enough to freeze mine off, too, if I had them...'

#################

Ron and Harry found that the others were already waiting when they arrived at the Three Broomsticks. They had already snagged a table at the back near the fire and Harry grinned when he saw Hermione arriving with two pints of beer.

'How was your day?' Neville asked and Harry shrugged, as they sat down, shrugging off their cloaks.

'Fine,' Harry said. 'Pretty average...'

'Lucky you,' Ginny said, with a scowl. 'We lost to Slytherin. I really want to wipe the smirk off Malfoy's face...'

'Yeah,' Harry said and Ron scowled.

'Do you want me to jinx him for you?'

'Ron!' Hermione hissed. 'You're an Auror. You can't just talk about jinxing people you don't like. We're not at school anymore...'

'I don't need your help to jinx Malfoy,' Ginny said. 'I can do that for myself...'

#################

The moon was rising as they left the Three Broomsticks, Ron and Ginny still arguing about Quidditch. He glanced over at Hermione, who rolled her eyes with a soft smile. As he followed them down the street, Harry saw a gaunt, blonde-haired man sitting against the wall with his knees drawn up to his chest. When he saw Harry looking, he scrambled to his feet, hurrying away and disappearing down an alley.

'You coming, mate...?' Ron asked.

'Yeah...' Harry said, with a last glance at the alley.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.