A/N - Alright, so a short-ish prologue here. I have some reworking to do on the body of the story but I figured I'd put this up. Quite a bit of it is written which is unusual for me so I'm hoping it won't take too long to get it all done and posted.
So this is the main story - Harry Hunting, but there's actually a sort-of-prologue where I was experimenting with the concept for this fic. That one is already up and named 'Not a Veela'. It isn't necessary to read that one to understand this story (hopefully).
The five of them stood stiffly on the lift as a woman's voice announced their floor in a voice that was pleasant and yet completely fake. Even Arielle's initial excitement over the fountain had ebbed to be replaced with solemnity. All of them were heavily disguised thanks to Arielle's talents. They had considered leaving Fleur as is to make it easier to intercept Arthur Weasley – an employee at the ministry and her father-in-law. However she was expected to be with her group of visiting students and to be alone might arouse suspicion.
She would go to his office with Arielle, both in disguise. Arielle was needed to remove and reassemble the disguise on Fleur – which had needed to be very heavy to overcome her Veela heritage. Really they could have just gone to visit the Weasley's at their house but Molly still wasn't entirely welcoming and since they were going to the ministry anyway…
Fleur was disguised as a hunched old woman seeking out Arthur to help her with an enchantment she had found on her favourite new pocket watch that was attempting to snap closed on everyone's noses. Accompanying the old woman was her granddaughter, at nine years old just one year shy of being sent to Hogwarts. She adopted a haughty air and chewed Droobles Best Blowing Gum which left obnoxious blue bubbles in the elevator which hung in people's eyes and refused to pop, she picked at the nail polish on her fingernails ignoring the other passengers. Adelaide had coached the entire group in speaking without accents so as not to draw attention to them, and Fleur's hand trembled convincingly as she pressed the elevator button for Arthur's floor.
Sharing the elevator with them was what appeared to be a middle aged woman with a grey streak in her hair and a no nonsense expression on her face. They had designed her disguise after Madame Baudin. She needed to look authoritative. The two large men flanking her – designed after their earlier ministry escort – definitely helped in that regard.
Their job was much more difficult.
The five of them stepped off on the elevator at level two and made their way to the Auror office, fanning out and trying not to look like they knew each other.
Fleur and Arielle continued on past the Aurors through a large pair of double doors and from there to the cramped office Arthur Weasley shared. Just as they approached Arthur burst out, nearly running into them. "Monsieur Weasley!" Fleur called; reverting back to her outrageously accented English.
He looked back at her, blinking owlishly and clearly trying to switch mental tracks. "Fleur?" he asked, astounded.
"We need to talk to you – alone."
Arthur looked around completely conspicuously. "Come into my office – Perkins is out."
Arielle and Fleur walked into Mr. Weasley's office as Adelaide, back in the Auror office, was still meandering her way over to the records room, trying not to walk too purposefully towards it. Brand new propaganda posters lined the walls. In the week and a half since Fleur's wedding the ministry had undergone a significant makeover.
Across the office Nikifor Dragov was preparing his distraction. Shacklebolt had been warned they were coming by Minerva and had made sure the records were left temporarily unguarded. When Adelaide was just a couple strides away from the small door in the corner of the office, Dragov's bomb went off.
The office filled with a strange smoke which spread from the site of the bomb, consuming the desks and the Aurors.
Adelaide slipped into the office, and followed the labels to the drawer containing their targets file. Shifting through the papers inside, she looked for the name of their target – Harry Potter. Perfect.
If only Madame Baudin could see her now, Adelaide would love to see her try and say she wasn't focused enough as she copied Potter's file and rifled around to find the files of his known travelling companions – Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley.