Chapter 1
"Mum! A Hogwarts owl just arrived with my class schedule!"
Nymphadora Lupin looked up from her paperwork to see her daughter's excited expression. "Well, what does it say?"
Elizabeth opened the envelope and quickly scanned the list. "Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Potions, Introduction to Healing, and Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Defense Against the Dark Arts, what a splendid choice!"
"Dad, I do think you are rather biased when it comes to DADA seeing as you are the professor."
Remus Lupin gave his daughter a small smirk before turning to his wife and placing a delicate kiss on her forehead. Since the Battle of Hogwarts, the years had been kind to the Lupins. Reus had been offered up his old position of DADA professor, while Tonks worked her way up to Assistant Head Auror. Because Teddy had not been inflicted with Remus' "condition", Tonks convinced Remus into having another child. Shortly after Teddy's fourth birthday, she gave birth to a daughter. While Teddy inherited his mother's transfiguration abilities, Elizabeth was Remus' child. She mirrored his looks, with his light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, as well as his personality. This was to be Elizabeth's last year at Hogwarts, and her parents were finding it hard to adjust. Teddy isn't home much, he began working with the Magical Law Enforcement Squad the previous year after training was complete. And with the school year merely days away, Remus and Tonks enjoy these last few mornings they have with Elizabeth. As she continued to read through her class supplies list, Remus began the task of cooking breakfast.
"With all the preparations for the upcoming school year, I forgot to ask you how work went yesterday," Remus asked his wife.
"Very busy. We have been working around the clock on that mysterious muggle killing that happened last week. It turns out that magic was involved. We are trying to pinpoint the exact time of death and spell used. The only problem is that we don't have any leads. There are no witnesses, well at least none that can remember, and no evidence was found on site. At this rate we are going to have to use every enchantment in the book to even find the smallest piece of evidence."
"When did this happen?" Remus asked with concern.
"Tuesday. It happened in Godric's Hollow."
"Godric's Hollow?" At the mention of the town, Elizabeth looked up from her letter, worry evident in her face. "The Potter's live in Godric's Hollow. Are they alright? I need to owl James." She jumped up and started off for the den. Tonks shared a look with her husband to signal that that was a bad idea. Remus stood up to block his daughter's path.
"Elizabeth, calm down. They are fine. Everyone is fine actually. Like I said, no one saw or heard anything. We are still trying to put all the details together and figure out what happened." At her mother's explanation, Elizabeth seemed to relax.
"Alright, but I still need to owl James anyways. We were going to go to Diagon Alley as soon as our Hogwarts letters came. From past experience, we have learned to get our supplies as soon as possible in order to get the best stuff. Last year we waited too long and had to buy lacewing flies that looked as if they'd been around for centuries!" With that, Elizabeth left the room in search for Moony, her brother Teddy's owl.
After making sure that Elizabeth was out of hearing range, Remus approached his wife with a serious look on his face. "Dora, what is really going on with the case? What were you hiding from her?"
"I didn't want her to know several details involving the case." Tonks looked visibly shaken up by the information she was about to share. "The muggle was found in their house. In James' and Lily's."
Remus tried to hide the shock from his face, but failed miserably. "What! How can that be? There are enchantments surrounding the house, protecting it. There's only one way they could have gotten in."
"Dark magic. Somebody is trying to get our attention. The only wizards who would be bold enough to break the wards would be from the old regime. The remainder of His followers."
At this realization both Lupins looked at one another. Remus saw the fear in his wife's eyes. He knew this was serious if she was that concerned. He reached out for her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "We will find them. The Auror office has never been this strong in years. With Harry at the head, I am confident you will solve this case quickly."
Tonks gave a small, nervous smile at her husband before leaning into his embrace. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Little did they know that the death of a muggle was just the beginning.