The Falling Stars

by k.e.williams515

Edouard Partee is an Auror for the Ministry of Magic in the beautiful city of Paris in the spring of 1965. As a seasoned Auror, there aren't too many challenges that Edouard and his wife Christiane can't handle. It is only when Edouard receives a letter from his incarcerated brother, Lestat, that a true test of his character begins in new worlds and dangerous places.

2. Part 2

Chapter 16

A New Auror

"Service, sacrifice and humility," Javert said, holding out a thick red book entitled, The Magical Code of Law. A much smaller child sized hand rested on the book cover.

"With service, sacrifice and humility," Vert's voice repeated.

Vert and Javert stood on a large stage with voice magnification charms amplifying their words. They were in a large central hall of the French Ministry where everyone could witness the historic event. Officials, Aurors, proactive wizards and newspaper reporters all packed into the room to see "the first non wizard Auror of France."

"Welcome to the elite fraternity of the Magical Ministry of France's Aurorship," Javert congratulated as he extended a very large hand that wrapped around the small hand of the house-elf. He gave it a delicate shake as blinding camera flashes filled the room and ministry officials clapped in applause.

The house-elf, who was still wearing his bowler cap, now donned the official black, blue and gold robes of the French Auror's office. His green eyes gleamed with pride as the Minister of Magic walked forward from a row of high officials and gave Vert a firm handshake.

It was obvious that over half of the high officials didn't approve of this decision to make a freed house-elf an Auror. The disgust smeared on their faces looked as if they had smelled something rancid.

"You can tell the pure bloods aren't a fan," Marie Goulet whispered to Édouard.

"They think non pure blood wizards are below them. I can only imagine what they think of when they see Vert," Édouard responded. "Let them sulk, change is necessary for the betterment of our world."

"The only reason the minister is making Vert an Auror, is to improve relations with the magical creature community."

"If a person does a good deed with the motivation of personal gains, is it still a good deed?"

"I don't know," Marie said. She turned her head and noticed that Christiane was sitting on the other side of the Ministry hall, "Still not talking to you?"

"It's been a few days and when we do talk, it ends up breaking into an argument."

"What are you going to do?"

"I've apologized more times than I can count," Édouard explained, "I don't know what else to do."

They watched as the Minister of Magic placed a large round medal around Vert's neck and the applause continued. There were a few more speeches and the house-elf beamed with all eyes on him. Towards the end, the reporters were given the opportunity to ask questions.

"You in the grey fedora," Javert said as he pointed to a reporter with his hand raised.

"Jean-Claude with the Wizarding Times," The wizard said, "Some claim that this is a political play to make the Ministry seem more progressive for upcoming elections. They say that Minister Roy has not had the best standing with magical creatures ever since he imposed the unpopular Goblin Tax two years ago. What do you have to say to those skeptics that believe Vert is not qualified to be an Auror and is just some political puppet?"

Javert cleared his throat before answering, "Vert is a highly qualified elf who has proven himself time and time again. I would not have approved of him becoming a part of my team if he did not possess the skills qualified for the position. In fact, he has been working with us for a few years now as an informant. I believe the Auror's department will back me up when I say that we are grateful to Minister Roy for agreeing with our decision to add Vert to our department."

The reporter in the fedora nodded his head in thanks before scribbling down the answer with his quill. Javert looked around and selected another reporter with her hand raised. This time it was a woman in a black and white checkered suit with horn rimmed glasses in the shape of wings.

"Madam Agate with the French Wizard Weekly" she said. A floating quill hovered next to her and scribbled on a notepad as she spoke. "My readers are curious. Who is going to have Auror Vert as a partner?"

Javert smiled as he looked through the crowd as he landed locked eyes on Édouard. "I in fact have known for a sometime who I would want to make Vert's partner should he be granted Aurorship. I feel that it is only right that the partner of this talented elf be the very person who set him free years ago. Auror Édouard Serge Partée will be granted the honor of having the first elf partner in the ministry. Together they will make history."

Javert pointed towards Édouard who sat amongst the crowd as the cameras turned on him and began to flash. Édouard's heart sank at the words knowing that it would mean the end of his partnership with Christiane. He looked over at his wife who did not make eye contact with him. Instead, she stared at her father with an unapproved look.

Édouard was shocked that his own father-in-law would give him a new partner. It wasn't that he didn't want to work with Vert, but he had worked with Christiane for years. Their partnership in the Auror's department began well before they were married. It was one of the aspects of his job that he enjoyed.

"Édouard!" One reporter in a brown suit called. "Are you excited to be working with your old house-elf?"

Édouard took a moment to compose himself out of his state of shock before he turned to the reporter who held a wand to his mouth to record. "Can you repeat the question?"

"Are you excited to be working with your old house-elf?"

"It will be nice to work with Vert," Édouard answered, still distracted by his thoughts.

He thought to himself, "Did Christiane know that this was going to happen? Why couldn't she look at me when the announcement was made?"

After another barrage of questions, the assembly was dismissed and the wizards headed back towards their respective departments. A table with snacks had been set up and some of the wizards and witches stopped to get a quick bite to eat and make small talk amongst the departments.

Édouard headed straight for Javert's office where he took a seat and waited. It was a few minutes before the tall man, walked through the door to his office with his daughter right behind him. She looked just as frustrated as Édouard.

"Bonjour" Javert greeted as he gestured for his daughter to take a seat as well. Walking behind his desk, he pulled out his own chair and took a seat. There was a high pitched squeaking sound as the springs in the chair bared the weight of the large man.

"Javert" Édouard started. "I think that Christiane and I should remain partners. Why would you split us up?"

"It wasn't my decision Édouard," Javert falsely admitted. "Once I proposed the idea of making Vert an Auror, Roy wanted a list of people that could be potential partners. I had to put both you and Christiane on that list because of your association with him. Once Minister Roy found out that you were the one who set Vert free, there was no turning back."

"Couldn't you have explained our situation to him?" Édouard asked.

"It wouldn't have helped. A husband and wife working together is already frowned upon as unprofessional. The fact that they didn't have me split you two up is just short of a miracle."

"We work best together," Édouard shot back. "There is no better team in this department than us!"

"Look Édouard" Javert explained, "You are already in hot water over your little disappearing act the other day. Then on top of that, you forgot your wand the day before. Maybe it is time for you to have a change in partners to sharpen you up. I can tell there is some spat between you two because you barely talk to each other. That is not good when you are out there in dangerous situations. I've seen many good Aurors die from less."

"Why can't we just add Vert to our team and work as three?" Christiane asked, trying to ease the tension in the room.

"That wouldn't work. If I keep you guys as a group of three, then that leaves an odd man out when our new recruit gets here this week. He will need a more experienced Auror to show him the ropes. I would rather have you both working with new Aurors than pairing the new guy with an elf. Especially since the public is going to scrutinize Vert's performance. There are a lot of wizards and witches on the Wizengamot that don't agree with Roy's decision to make Vert an Auoror. Potential rivals that want this decision to blow up in his face. Édouard, who better to train Vert than you?"

Édouard looked over at his wife and reaching over, he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I would rather be with her, Javert, sir, don't break us up."

"It's done," Javert said coldly. "Now is there anything else we need to discuss? I have to get back to work."

Édouard stood from the chair in frustration and walked out of the office towards his desk. Christiane quickly followed, "Édouard, wait."

"Did you know about this?" He asked turning around.

"I knew that he had suggested it to the minister," Christiane confessed.

"And you didn't try to shut it down then?"

"I didn't think it would actually happen. We work so well together! There were so many other qualified candidates."

"Why not mention that there was even the slightest possibility that we could no longer be partners?"

"I don't know," She sighed, her arms falling to her side. Her thumb began to caress the golden band of her ring finger. "I was mad at you. I figured maybe a little space could do us some good. I…"

"Well you got your wish," Édouard snapped back before walking to his desk and grabbing his Auror's robes. There was already a small miniature desk next to Édouard's desk. Vert was waiting eagerly, ready to start his first day as an Auror. The large bronze medal around his neck gleamed in the office light.

"Bonjour Vert," Édouard greeted as he tapped the house-elf on the top of the head. "Ready for your first day on the job?"

"Absolutely!" Vert said with excitement. "I've been waiting for this day my entire life Édouard!"

"Well, I am glad I get to share it with you," He said in a faux excitement before looking up at his wife with a cold expression. Édouard slid his wand into his robes before looking back at his wife. "You know, I am not upset at you for being mad at me. I messed up, I'll admit that. You can be as mad as you want and I'll always be by your side. What I am mad about is the fact that you can't find it in your heart to forgive me. That you would rather be so angry about my mistakes that you would let your father break us up and not tell me about it. Maybe you didn't feel like fighting for us but I would have."

Édouard slammed the drawer of his desk shut and headed out of the department with Vert following behind.

Chapter 17

Train Station

Édouard and Vert sat in the Bubbling Cauldron enjoying a nice cup of tea. It was their lunch break and the café in the Ministry was a popular place for department officials. Édouard was reading a history book as Vert enjoyed a strawberry tart. The elf flipped through a muggle newspaper, a practice that Édouard had suggested and Vert had taken to heart.

A month had passed since the two were paired together and there were already a few hiccups in the beginning of their partnership. Although Vert was learning quickly, there were a lot of spells that he was unfamiliar with. He never went to wizarding school and thus never received a formal education in magic. Elf magic was also different from wizard's magic and because of this Édouard could not anticipate his partner's moves.

Due to their early shortcomings, the two Aurors were being allocated to very easy assignments by Javert. Their days mainly consisted of rookie cases like dispatching boggarts, finding missing shipments of flobberworms and the retrieval of a very nasty pet Kneazle that had climbed up a tree and gotten stuck. Vert loved this Auror work but Édouard found it mundane compared to the cases he had been previously assigned.

Looking over Vert's shoulder, Édouard saw a wizard reading a magical newspaper. On the front page read "Galleon Counterfeit Ring Busted" followed by a picture of Christiane, Javert, Minister Roy and her new partner Louis Geroux. They all donned large smiles as their pictures moved and waved in front of a large pile of coins.

It was the third big case the two had cracked in the single month they had started working together.

Christiane's new partner, Louis Geroux, was top of his class at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, which was also Christiane's alma mater. He was a young wizard in his early twenties with buzzed black hair, thick eyebrows, distinguished facial features and deep brown eyes. He had a peculiar smile where one corner of his mouth came up higher than the other, creating what could be perceived as a smirk.

Christiane and Louis quickly became the best team in the entire department, always receiving open praise from Javert with multiple articles written about them in the local newspapers. This of course soured Édouard even more and thus acted like a wedge in their relationship.

"Édouard, why do you read American history during our lunch breaks?" Vert asked. He was always asking questions in order to learn from his partner. "Is there something in American history that makes you a better Auror?"

"It's a new hobby of mine Vert," Édouard said nonchalantly. "One should never stop learning. Take a look at this," Édouard said as he flipped a few pages in the history book. He slid the book in front of Vert and showed him a picture of a spectacled portly man flying a kite. Half way up the kite, tied to the string, was a key that dangled in a storm.

"Who is that and what is he doing?" Vert asked excitedly as his big green eyes watched the picture.

"His name is Benjamin Franklin and he is a muggle scientist," Édouard enlightened. Just then, a lightning bolt hit the key causing arcs of electricity to arc down the string and shock the portly man.

"Why did he do that?" Vert said as his big green eyes turned up to Édouard.

"He discovered electricity." Édouard explained. "By having it travel through metal. It's some of the interesting facts I learned when I study muggle history."

"Oh, ok," Vert nodded as he went back to his tart, "Should I start reading history books too?"

Édouard laughed, "Keep with the newspaper for now. Try and find three potential leads and I will examine what you pick out."

"Ok!" Vert replied excitedly as he picked up his tart and took a large bite. A glob of jellied red strawberry landed on the newspaper to which he quickly wiped off with his finger. Vert happily slurped up the jelly off his finger before turning the page.

Édouard went back to the section of his book that he was previously studying. There his eyes scanned the portrait of a wigged man in 18th century clothing. He wore fashionable military garb as he rested against a replica of Fort West Point. Underneath the printed picture was a small footnote that said "General Benedict Arnold." It was the fourth book that he had read on the 18th century wizard and they all said the same thing with minor variations. Édouard also found it interesting that most articles on Arnold were written by the magical historian Bartholomew Henry Periwinkle except for one book which was written by Bathilda Bagshot.

It had become common practice for Édouard to use his lunch breaks to find out as much as he could about Benedict Arnold in an attempt to find the location of his vault. It was also convenient to do his research at lunch because Christiane wasn't there to grow suspicious of his new found hobby. He read any magical and muggle book he could get his hands on, all the while not a single word of a bank was mentioned.

He visited the Imperial Goblin Bank of Paris, and asked if any vaults that belonged to Benedict Arnold but was quickly escorted out. He visited Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley and the Turnkey bank in the Americas without any success.

A small piece of Édouard didn't want to find the vault because know what dangers awaited inside.

Grabbing his small white teacup, he pulled out the tea bag and placed it on the saucer before draining the cup of its contents. The sweet and savory honey flavored drink felt good as it reached his stomach and warmed his entire body. Looking at the bottom of his cup, Édouard cocked his head as something strange happened. The bits of tea leaf stuck to the bottom of the cup began to orient themselves into the words "Gare du Nord."

"Samuel," Édouard whispered to himself. Setting down the teacup, Édouard watched Vert as he flipped through the pages of the newspaper. "Vert, what do you think if we called it an early day?"

"End work early? What about the cases I was supposed to find monsieur?"

"Take home the paper Vert and we will follow your leads tomorrow."

Vert shrugged his shoulders and finished the last of his tart before snapping his fingers and disappearing from the table.

Édouard rolled back the sleeve of his robes and looked at his watch before pulling out his wand and waving it over his robes, turning them into his regular clothes. He placed a couple silver sickles and a copper knut on the table before apparating from the café to the train station.

Gare du Nord was a larger train stations in Paris. The ground rumbled below Édouard's feet as a large red powerful locomotive thundered out of the station. Plumes of steam floated towards the large rectangular glass windows overhead that covered the hub. Green steel girders towered above in a web like pattern all the way to the roof of the building.

Édouard walked amongst the sea of muggles as they traveled to their various destinations. His eyes scanned each one of them as he looked for the familiar face of Samuel Redd. He was not sure if the American would be in disguise.

Making his way around a man pushing a long pallet loaded with bags of luggage, he found the American wizard leaning against a green column.

"Samuel," Édouard called as he approached.

"Mr. Partée," He replied with a grin. Extending his hand out, he gave Édouard's hand a firm shake.

"Have you found the location of Arnold's Vault?" Édouard asked.

"I am still working on the vault," Samuel confessed. "But I do believe I have found someone who can help us out. He is an old wizard by the name of Khor'ba Agni, who lives in the Temple of the Phoenix."

"The Temple of the Phoenix?"

"It is an ancient temple located high in the Himalayas where phoenixes are known to dwell."

"And why would Khor'ba…" Édouard paused as he had forgotten the second name.

"Agni," Samuel completed.

"Wi, why would Khor'ba Agni want to help us?"

"The monks of the phoenix are an order of wizards that have devoted their lives to the way of what they consider to be one the most sacred of creatures. They have denounced worldly possessions while focusing their energies on gleaning wisdoms and insights of the fiery birds."

"That is all good information but again, why would he help our cause?"

"To be honest, I don't know if Khor'ba will help us but he should be the wise man we are seeking for insight on the vault's challenges. Hopefully he could be persuaded with this," Samuel explained as he pulled out the gold phoenix pendant from under his vested shirt, "A phoenix tear."

"Salve," A sharp Italian voice greeted from over Édouard's shoulder.

Édouard's eyes grew as he pulled out his wand that was hidden in the waist of his pants.

"No need for hostilities," The Venetian said with a sly smirk.

"You left us to be captured," Édouard said just quiet enough for the muggles surrounding not to hear. A mixed expression of weariness and anger was on his face.

"Easy there," Samuel whispered into Édouard's ear, "We still need his help."

The Venetian stopped only a few feet away from the two wizards with his bodyguards' right behind him. The bald bodyguard had a look of disgust as if he had smelled something putrid while the other guard with the cut off leather jacket had a slight wild excitement to his look. The Venetian, compared to his men, still maintained his look of impeccable well dressed preciseness.

"Where is tall and ugly?" Samuel questioned as he looked around for the third bodyguard they had met in the villa.

"Doro doesn't do so well in crowds Mr. Redd. The staring upsets him and we wouldn't want that now would we," The Venetian explained before locking eyes with Édouard in a long stare. "Where's your elf?"

"You've done your research." Édouard snapped back. "Where's your home?"

"First my ship and then my villa, I find it peculiar that every time I run into you, I end up losing something Mr. Partée. I am not in the business of losing. I am a man who wins."

"So what are you doing here?" Édouard asked. "Because I guarantee if you start something in this terminal, you will lose for a third time."

"To help you Mr. Partée. To help you," The Venetian answered as he waved forward the long haired wizard with cut off leather jacket. "This is Oliver Spoon, he will join your team in order to make sure that my interests are protected."

"And what if we don't need his help?"

"You know, I only have so much patience for a wizard of your station." The Venetian said with the absolute slightest amount of frustration. Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out a long black wand.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Samuel yelled jumping in-between the two with his hands outstretched. "We will take your man."

"Buono," The Venetian said coldly.

Turning to Édouard, Samuel gave him a stern look, "We need the Venetian's help. I don't like it as much as you but at the end of the day, we still need him. Think of Lestat."

The name of Édouard's brother was like a shot in the heart as it sent cracks through his tough resolve. His stern look faltered before finally failing, forcing Édouard to turn away from the group.

"Then it is done. I have business in the north. Hopefully you will have something for me by then. Caio," The Venetian said before walking from the platform onto a large black locomotive with his bodyguard in tow and disappearing into the train car.

"I don't understand why we need him." Édouard murmured as he followed Samuel.

"You agreed we should add more people to the group," Samuel said as he weaved through the masses of people towards a long string of shops. It was clear from his tone that he was irritated.

"No, I meant the Venetian. What has he done for us that we can't do for ourselves?"

"He has the connections we need in order to break into Azkaban. Right now he is assembling another team that will help us break out Lestat and Mara."

Édouard grabbed Samuel by the arm and turned him around, "Look I am sorry if I was out of line back there but you have to understand. The Venetian is bad news. Ever since he showed up in France there have been dark wizards popping up everywhere."

"Oh, he's not that bad of a bloke once you get to know him," Oliver Spoon said playfully.

"You're English?" Édouard asked.

"Well my name sure isn't French, Frenchy" Oliver said with a smile before running his fingerless gloved hand through his hair. "So, where are we off to? Or would you two gents like to go back at it for another round or two?"

"Temple of the Pheonix," Samuel answered.

"And how do you suppose we get there?" Oliver asked.

"Floo network to Nepal, train into Tibet and we can fly to the temple using brooms because there is no official stop."

"Why don't we just apparate there?" Édouard said.

Samuel turned back to a man selling crepes and handed him a small bag filled with galleons. The vender opened the bag of galleons before pulling out a letterman's bag from under his cart and handing it to Samuel. Samuel opened the bag and shook his head before continuing to walk through the muggles, "I don't know exactly where the temple is but we will be apparating back."

"You know it is dangerous business apparating that far. I had a cousin splinched right in two. He left his good bits in Diagon Alley and his bad bits in a Hogsmeade!"

"I am sure we can manage." Samuel said.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Oliver Spoon asked as his eyes darted around from left to right.

Both, Samuel and Édouard looked around at the crowds of muggles going about their business before exchanging a glance of confusion.

"Hear what?" Édouard questioned.

"Ah, nothing." Oliver replied.

"How long will this take?" Édouard asked nervously. "I have a family that I will need to get back to. My wife is not too keen on me disappearing again."

"Four hours give or take. I can get us pretty close using the Floo network and the train should only be an hour or two before we reach the temple."

"Could we use brooms instead of taking the train?"

"It's cold up there. Trust me. We want to take the train as close as we can get." Samuel affirmed.

Chapter 18

The Temple

Samuel, Édouard, and Oliver listened to the rhythmic sounds of the train car on the rails as they sat in the small confines of their train cabin. Their seats were weathered and torn in some areas and the walls that had once been white had turned a yellow hue. The train snaked along sheer cliffs and dark tunnels, high in the Himalayas as it clunked along the old tracks. Gargantuan snow capped mountains towered high above the small train in every direction as far as the eye could see. The three wizards had traveled back through so many time zones that it was night time and a brilliant half moon lit up the sky, allowing for endless miles of visibility.

Édouard and Samuel shared one side of the cabin while Oliver sat on the other side with his legs stretched out. Periodically, Oliver had asked the other wizards if they had heard a sound that he could not explain. Édouard and Samuel found the practice strange, but then again, there were stranger ticks that other wizards performed.

In his hands, Oliver held an old tarnished silver spoon with a black string wrapped around its neck. He twirled the spoon between his fingers in a similar manner that Édouard had observed Samuel doing with his wand. Édouard remembered that it was the same spoon that Oliver had carried on his person in the villa.

"Why do you carry that spoon with you?" Édouard asked.

"This," Oliver said as he caught the spinning spoon and held it forward. "This spoon is my wand."

"Wand?" Samuel asked, closing a magical historical book from the 18th century written by Bartholomew Henry Periwinkle. "I thought wands had to be made out of wood, with a core."

"Wands can be made from anything." Oliver said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Wands are vessels that we as Wizards use to channel our magic. The reason why most wizards or witches use a traditional wooden wand with a core is that it is better for channeling that magic. They give you your wand at a young age, you build a relationship with it, you learn how it works and that bond with the wand grows making your magic stronger."

"So why not use a traditional wand then? Why use a spoon?" Samuel asked.

"There was no one there to hand me a wand as a kid. Instead, I found this."

"You're an orphan?" Édouard asked.

"One of many," Oliver explained. "The last big muggle war made a lot of orphans as they bombed their cities. There was no system for muggle born wizards to be introduced into magic. Sure they picked up one or two of us and sent us to school but for the most part mate, we didn't belong anywhere."

Oliver sat up from his bench and leaned in towards the other wizards before saying, "And if you got kicked out of school, which many of us did, we just went back to the streets. I think the pure bloods were kind of happy if you ask me. They didn't want us to be taught magic and with the aftermath being just as chaotic as the war itself, they were happy to leave us where we were."

"So how did you learn magic?" Édouard asked.

"We taught ourselves," Oliver sighed while examining the spoon between his fingers. "There were a group of us that knew we were different from the other kids. We could do things that the other kids couldn't. Make things happen that no one could explain. Slowly but surely we banded together to make a sort of gang and called ourselves the 'Wiz Kids.' Kind of pathetic now if you ask me but back then we thought it was wicked."

Édouard examined the tarnished spoon as Oliver performed all types of tricks with it, "And the ministry didn't stop you from performing magic?"

"For the most part they track wands, which none of us had, and besides that none of us did any real magic of note at first. We just seemed to make things happen. I found this spoon one day in a pile of rubbish that used to be some poor bloke's house.

One day I was finishing up my watered soup from the line and I was still hungry. When I dropped the spoon back into the bowl, it filled back up with soup."

"I bet that was a popular trick." Samuel noted.

"You bet Sam. That little trick of mine made me the leader of the Wiz Kids right quick and they called me Spoon. I don't remember my parents or my real name," Oliver explained as the grin faded from his face. "Eventually we all had various items that we started using to nick things here and there. We learned how to pick pockets with lifting charms and steal food, all the small time stuff. It all changed one day when one of the Wiz named Rose, said she was in a pub following a man with a real quality gold pocket watch. She says she saw him walk through a wall. Tapped some stones and was gone.

We snuck back to that pub that night and had her tap the same exact stones. To our surprise, the bricks pealed back and we were in Diagon alley. This was before some of us were recruited to wizarding school, so we had no idea that there were others like us."

"Did you start stealing there as well?" Samuel asked.

"We tried," Oliver admitted, "It didn't work out too well. Turns out that Wizards and Witches are better at stopping magical theft. We ended up operating in the muggle world but we knew we could always retreat back to the magical world if need be."

Édouard examined the black string that was wrapped around the neck of the spoon, "That string wrapped around your spoon?"

"Werewolf whisker," Oliver said. "One of the scarier times for the Wiz but when I wrapped it around my spoon, it changed my magic. It gave me more control."

"So how did you end up working for the Venetian?" Édouard asked.

"Eventually the Wiz Kids started making real noise and we had a few older Witches and Wizards take notice of our small organization. They taught us real magic, the dark stuff. It wasn't pretty," Oliver said. His voice seemed to trail off as his eyes began to replay the events of his hard life. "You'll be surprised what adults can make children do..."

Oliver paused and looked out of the window. He had a sad expression as he watched the glowing mountains in the distance, "We all have our debts to pay."

The cabin fell back to silence as the rhythmic churning of the tracks became audible again. The train car swayed slightly as they went around another bend.

"Hey, do you fellas?" Oliver started again as his eyes shifted around the cabin.

"No," Édouard quickly fired back, "I don't hear a thing."

Samuel pressed his face to the frosty glass and cupped out the light of their cabin with his hands. Peering out over a long valley, he saw a small glimmer of red.

"We're here!" He shouted.

The three wizards stood to their feet and put on heavy winter coats that Samuel had brought. Reaching into his letterman's bag, he began to pull out three long wooden brooms that they would be using to fly to the temple.

Exiting the cabin, the wizards walked towards the end of the train car where they saw that it lead outside. Quietly, they passed other cabins where families were sleeping and huddled together for warmth. Samuel placed his hand on a cold metal latch and pulled it back, releasing he lock on the door allowing him to slide it open. There was an instant blast of freezing wind, which stung the eyes, burned against the cheeks and froze the moisture in their nose.

"Glad we didn't fly?" Samuel called back as he made his way outside between the train cars.

Édouard and Oliver were too cold to give a verbal confirmation but shook their heads vigorously in agreement.

"Follow my lead. If you lose my trail, shoot red sparks!" Samuel yelled over the howling wind before mounting his broom and taking off into the night.

"Okay Ed, I definitely hear something!" Oliver shouted.

"There are a million things I hear right now. Like my ears freezing off my head! Now go!" Édouard screamed.

Oliver mounted his broom and in an instant was gone, flying high into the moonlit night, the tail end of his leather jacket blowing in the wake behind him.

"Humph!"

Édouard looked back at the narrow hallway where he could have sworn he heard a sound.

"He has me going crazy as too." Édouard thought before he mounted his broom and lifted off into the night. Although his broom looked to be an antique, its' performance was much worst. It flew sluggishly as he tried to keep up with Oliver and Samuel. The broom struggled in a vertical climb and at times Édouard wondered if he could make it across the large valley to the temple which seemed to grow larger as they approached.

Samuel landed first at the base of the temple and quickly turned around to illuminate his wand for the others to see. Waving it from side to side, he acted like guide for the other two wizards. Oliver landed easy enough while Édouard's broom came down faster than he expected and ended up crashing into a snowdrift.

Samuel and Oliver laughed at Édouard's misfortune as he waded through the freezing snow drift.

"Ed, where did you learn to fly?" Oliver asked.

"I know how to fly. That broom I was an antique. My grandmother used better brooms then that one," Édouard hissed.

"Well, you made it in one piece," Samuel said with a hint of optimism. "Welcome to the Temple of the Phoenix."

The large stone temple was built into the stone face of an absolutely colossal snow caped mountain. The architecture had heavy Asian influences with the long horizontal sloping roofs, high walls and drawn out corners. At the entrance was a two story statue of a phoenix with flames emanating from its' outstretched wings.

The three wizards walked up the long stone steps and passed underneath the legs of the giant towering phoenix. A muggle repelling charm had been casted around the temple to maintain its secrecy. At the entrance was a large stone door with the words "He who creates fire shall enter," carved over the top.

Pulling out his wand, Samuel pointed it at the entrance and casted, "Incendio!"

A small ball of fire was lit at the base of the large stone entrance and started to grow. The glowing trail of light crawled up the center seam of the door before starting to branch out and take the resemblance of the mythical bird for which the temple was so aptly named. The fire was warm against the exposed faces of the wizards at the entrance and felt soothing to their wind burned cheeks.

Then, without warning, the large doors of the temple began to pull apart and separate, revealing a very long open gallery where two rows of male and female monks sat in meditation. The monks wore red and yellow robes that were tied with a golden sash around the waste. Upon their heads they wore a small red cap with a phoenix feather dangling from the top by a golden string.

Behind each monk was perched some of the largest birds that Édouard had ever seen. With their majestic red feathers, golden beaks, golden talons, large black eyes, and glowing tail feathers, each phoenix was in its own right, a beauty to be seen.

Édouard had believed "Belle Dame," Christiane's owl, was an absolute beauty but she paled in comparison to these regal creatures who rested with their eyes closed.

Samuel entered the temple, followed by Édouard and Oliver, where the air was quite warm. They walked between the two rows of monks on a finely woven carpet that was embroidered with phoenixes that flew up and down the aisle. At the end of the long aisle was a simple stone alter where two phoenixes were perched. A beautiful moon white phoenix with silver tail feathers sat next to a large golden phoenix with a plume of feathers behind its head resembling a crown.

Looking above, Édouard's mouth dropped as he peered into the endless vastness of outer space. A large orange sun burned in the distance as an infinite number of stars twinkled in background darkness of space. A galaxy slowly spun as a bright white comet with a long twinkling tail slowly made its way across the breathtaking view. It was one of the most awe inspiring enchanted ceilings he had ever witnessed.

Édouard watched as a shooting star streaked across the sky and thought of his wife.

"Make a wish," he whispered to himself, before he looked back forward towards a large alter where the eldest monk sat.

"Welcome. I am Khor'ba Agni." The elder monk, whose Asian features had been kissed by time, smiled warmly. His golden eyes gazed into the distance as he did not perceive the world with his eyes but instead with his ears. His voice was soft and calm, yet it held a humble dignity to it that only the very powerful typically possessed. "What brings you pilgrims to our temple?"

Stopping just short of the alter Samuel respectfully bowed his head before urging Oliver and Édouard to do the same. "I am Samuel Redd and these are my fellow companions, Édouard Partée and Oliver Spoon. We seek your knowledge,"

The elder monk smiled as he tilted his ear towards his guests. "I will answer three questions. Remember that knowledge is a tool, it can be used for life and it can be used for death."

"We face three tasks your eminence." Samuel explained as he pulled out a scroll from the leather letterman's bag he wore. Placing it in front of the elder wizard, he unraveled it, revealing replicate images from the book he had presented to the Venetian.

The elder wizard pulled out a clear crystal and ran it over the scroll, reading the words as it passed, "The Lover, The Wise man, and the Fighter. Three you say Samuel house of Redd?"

"Yes, three challenges Khor'ba Agni," Samuel replied. "How do we get passed them?"

"In order to solve the challenges that you will face, you must understand what each challenge is asking of you. What does it mean to be a lover, a wise man, and a fighter? If you prepare yourself with that understanding, then you will be better prepared for what you face."

Édouard took a step forward and asked, "What do these three titles mean to you, your eminence?"

Khor'ba grinned as he tilted his head in the other direction so that his other ear would be closer to the wizards, "That is a very good question Édouard house of Partée," He lifted one of his delicate fingers and pointed towards his heart, "To me, a lover is a person who cares greatly for another. He or she is willing to do anything in order to bring their partner happiness and security. A lover is he or she who is able to sacrifice the betterment of themselves for whom they love most. Love is a powerful fuel for magic. A power we should be mindful to not let control us." He explained as he pointed to his head before resting his hand back in his lap.

"The wise man," Khor'ba Agni whispered. "My predecessor once told me that a wise man is neither the strongest, nor the smartest nor is he the best amongst his peers. A wise man is a humble man a respectful man, a courteous man. He is mindful of himself and he is mindful of the world around him. To truly know your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses is the gift of the wise."

Khor'ba made a fist and held it forward, "A fighter does not have to be a violent man, as many would presume. A fighter is one who is willing to stand for what they believe in most. To face your greatest fear in the midst of your enemies and not faulter."

Reaching into his robes, Khor'ba Agni pulled out a long slender elder wand with a phoenix core and waved it into the air creating a large golden ring. As a student of the circular nature of the universe, I cannot help but recognize that these traits are also cyclic in nature. A wise man will fight for what he loves and a good fighter will pick his fights wisely. It is only the very powerful who have truly become master of these three." With a wave of his hand, the golden ring disappeared before he tucked his wand back into his robes.

"Oliver house of Spoon," Khor'ba calmly noted. "What is the third question of your party?"

"We are looking for a vault that we cannot find your eminence," Oliver explained. "How do we find it?"

"hmmm," The elder wizard sounded as he squinted his golden eyes in thought. "Here in this temple we value the phoenix. We wear the colors of the great bird and we adorn their feathers to our garb. If you are looking for something that is of great value to another, all you must do is simply look upon that person to see what matters to them most."

"Thank you," Samuel said with another bow of his head. Reaching into his shirt, he pulled out his golden phoenix pendant and leaned forward to place it before Khor'ba Agni. The small golden phoenix glistened in the candle lit temple.

Khor'ba's ran his hand in front of him until he found the pendent. Placing it to his ear, he gave it a small shake.

"A tear," He said with mild surprise. "Might I ask why you have graced me with such a valued object?"

"We were wondering if you would do us the honor of joining us on our quest?" Samuel explained. "We do not know of the dangers that we face and a wizard of your greatness would be of great value as we go forward."

"The tears of the phoenix hold some of the most magical properties of our world. Although noted for healing, there are many others that that we are not aware of." Khor'ba said. "Unfortunately I am too old to travel with you on your quest but there is one who might be of more value. Would you be willing to exchange me for one of my apprentices?"

Samuel looked at Édouard and Oliver who both gave a nod of approval before turning back to the elder wizard, "Yes."

Standing up, Khor'ba clapped his hands once before calling out "Nyima house of Palden, step forward."

A petite young woman, no older than twenty, stood from the row of monks closest to the door with a large wooden staff. Tapping her staff left and right as she walked down the long aisle in the temple she slowly approached the altar.

"She's blind too?" Oliver whispered to Samuel.

"It would seem so," Samuel answered.

"Are they all blind?" Édouard questioned.

"I'm not sure," Samuel replied. "The only thing this book said was that this temple was dedicated towards the phoenix and that Khor'ba was considered one of the wisest wizards of Asia."

Reaching the altar, Nyima knelt down, "Teacher, what is it that you ask of me?" She asked in a very quiet voice.

"Nyima house of Palden, you are truly one of the most gifted monks in our temple. Your staff contains a feather from the phoenix Moon and you can perform magic well beyond your years. These wizards have offered a phoenix tear in exchange for the services of our temple," Khor'ba said. "Will you be our ambassador and take up their quest?"

"Yes teacher," Nyima answered reverently.

"Then rise, my apprentice," Khor'ba commanded.

Nyima stood from her kneeling position and faced her master who was unscrewing the top of the pendent. The elder wizard poured the silvery tear onto his thumbs and rubbed them together before reaching forward and rubbing his fingers over the eyes of his apprentice.

At first the young woman winced but soon enough the grey eyes began to turn a shade of dark rich brown with each blink.

"See again my child," Khor'ba said. "Go forth and be the fifth member of this party."

Khor'ba Agni sat back down and bowed his head and closed his eyes while his apprentice looked around the room, taking in everything she saw in amazement.

"Fifth?" Édouard asked.

"Yes Édouard house of Partée." Khor'ba Agni answered. "The house-elf that has accompanied you to this temple makes five members. Although I cannot see, I heard his footsteps when you approached this altar."

Édouard turned around and scanned the room, "Vert!" He yelled.

"Wi monsieur!" Vert yelled as he appeared from thin air. He patted down his Auror's robes and adjusted his black bowler cap before looking up at Édouard.

"Oh no!" Édouard cried in dread as he stared into the excited big green eyes of the elf.

Chapter 19

Counterfeits

Three wizards sat in a room that was no bigger than a walk-in closet. The walls were a bleak grey and a single light shone down from the ceiling. One wizard sat manacled in a magical restraining chair while the other two looked on from the other side of a black table.

The restrained wizard's eyes darted nervously around the room while a warm cup of cider steamed in front of him.

"We found you with over forty thousand counterfeit galleons in the safe of your store, Lamar," Christiane declared calmly as she took a sip from her own warm pumpkin cider. "That could be a very, very long stint in Azkaban."

Louis Geroux, Christiane's new partner, pulled out a set of moving pictures and slid them across the table. "You know laundering fake galleons is a very serious offense. On whose behalf were you moving all those galleons, Lamar?"

"I know nothing," Lamar protested. His squeamish eyes would lock with Christiane's cool gaze for only brief moments before darting away. "I am a victim here. Someone replaced my galleons with fake ones."

"You know, you're not the first one to tell us that," Louis said with a slight chortle. "We brought in two other wizard shop keepers who were doing the same thing. They eventually told us that you were the guy in charge. You approached them with the offer of fake galleons and that you would make the drops."

"I swear, you have the wrong guy!" Lamar yelled. He began to rub his hands together nervously, causing the manacles around his wrists to clink. His nails were unkempt and he had mousey features and grey matted hair.

Christiane leaned forward in a calm voice saying, "The other shop keepers only had a few hundred galleons at most. You had more than the rest of them combined. You had more gold in your safe than I've seen in most vaults in Gringotts and the IGBP."

"A lot more," Louis added. "We checked your wand for the spells you have been casting, and you are not making the gold which could only mean one of two things. One, that you're making the gold with an unregistered wand."

"Big offense Lamar," Christiane said.

"Or… you have someone else that is making the fake gold and bringing it to you," Louis theorized.

"Big offense Lamar!" Christiane said even louder. "People spend their hard earned cash in your stores and you give them back nothing but glorified Leprechaun gold? How did you ever expect that stuff to get past any of the major banks? It was the goblins that were the first to recognize your scheme and notify us, Lamar."

Sweat began to trickle down Lamar's temples. The pink faced man started to turn red as his eyes seemed to move even faster from left to right. He looked at Louis, then at Christiane, then back to Louis as if he wanted to say something.

"I, uh, I…" he stammered.

"Have you ever seen a dementor?" Christiane asked coldly.

Louis shuttered at the sound of the word, "We have one waiting right outside the door to take you away. I got a quick look at him, it was not pretty. Coldest I've ever felt."

Lamar's terrified eyes darted to the door.

"Look," Christiane explained calmly, "You give us your supplier and we can work out a deal. We gave the same option to the other shop keepers and that is why you are in here and they are back in their shops. You want to look like the victim, give us the guy who is making your gold."

"But, I..." Lamar uttered. The manacles around his wrist began to chatter as his hands shook.

"No use," Christiane sighed as she leaned back and yelled to the door, "Take him to Azkaban!"

The room got cold as frost started to grow along the seams of the door. There was a loud bang as the door shot open, letting in a flood of light. A scabbed grey hand began to creep around the door panel as black wispy robes danced into the frame. A deep dark moan emanated from just outside the door.

"ALRIGHT!" Lamar shouted on the top of his lungs. "His name is Garnak!"

Christiane's head shot around to the terrified wizard. "Garnak the goblin?"

"Yes!" Lamar screamed. "Please don't send me to Azkaban! Please!"

"Close the door," Louis ordered and the door into the questioning room was shut. Immediately the chilled air of the room returned to normal.

"You've heard of Garnak?" Louis asked his partner.

"Wi," Christiane answered. "He is a goblin that works in the IGBP. We worked with him only a month ago," She turned back to Lamar, "Tell me everything!"

Lamar sighed as his shaking hands grabbed the warm cup of cider. He nearly spilt all of it as he brought it to his mouth for a small sip before placing it back on the table. "It all started a couple of months ago. I was working in my shop at Lynx tail alley. We are a small cul-de-sac of shops that do alright but we don't get as much businesses as the main stores on the bigger streets.

So this goblin walks in and asks me if I want to improve my business. I of course agree to hear his proposition and that is when he tells me about the fake galleons. He explained that since working at the bank, he has found the perfect counterfeit that will get passed wizards, witches, even most goblins. It was so good in fact, that he promised it would get passed the IGBP.

At first I didn't believe him. Who would? I thought it was ludicrous but he showed me a set of galleons, one real and one fake, and by Merlin I could not tell the difference."

"How did you end up with forty thousand of them?" Louis probed.

"He told me for five thousand galleons, I could have forty-five thousand fake galleons. I only thought I would be getting a couple hundred, maybe even a thousand but forty-five thousand? Five thousand alone was nearly the entire worth of my store! I ended up taking out a loan against my store because it was the only way I could pay the goblin. The first payments on the loan were coming up and I had not made enough money to cover what I owed."

"And that's when you brought in the other shop keepers," Christiane said.

"Exactly," Lamar replied regretfully, "I had no choice and they say you never want to be in debt with the goblins. You could end up owing them more than just money."

"How did you move that many galleons?" Christiane asked. "It was a large mound of gold when we found it."

"Garnak had me meet him in the back of a store in Gobbledegook City. I think it was called 'The Minced Mushroom.' There he gave me a small felt pouch with strict orders to not dump out the gold until I was in a safe location with a lot of space. It was only after I had dumped the gold out that I realized how much trouble I was really in. I instantly regretted my decision."

Louis let out a small chuckle before leaning over and whispering to his partner "Not enough regret to stop him from selling it to his buddies or his customers."

Christiane acknowledged the comment with a nod before turning and asking Lamar, "And what time was Garnak in the Minced Mushroom?"

"He goes everyday after the bank closes, around seven," Lamar answered.

Christiane pulled back the black sleeve of her Auror's robes and checked a gold watch on her wrist. "We have twenty minutes until he shows up."

"Thank you for your cooperation Lamar," Christiane said before standing from the black questioning table and heading towards the door. Louis followed in suit, grabbing his cup of warm cider to take with him.

"Wait, what about my deal?" Lamar called out nervously.

"The head Auror will meet with you shortly with a representative of the Wizengamot. They will iron out your deal, pending this information you gave us." Christiane said over her shoulder.

Christiane walked to her desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a glass vial, "Nice work back there, with the cold air, frost and illusion, for a second I really thought a dementor was going to come through that door,"

"Thanks," Louis said with a grin. "I felt it was just enough to push him over the edge."

"It worked wonderfully. I usually just open the door and they crack sometimes, I'll make sure to write down what you did in the report. Javert might have to improve our protocol."

She placed her long slender wand to her head and pulled out a blue wispy glowing memory from her temple and gently guided it into a small clear glass vial.

"Francois," She called, turning to the desk behind her. "Can you give this confession to Javert for me and get Marie? I think I have the final piece of the puzzle to close this investigation."

"The counterfeit galleons case?" Francois asked excitedly.

"Wi," Christiane said.

Francois Rutan quickly shot up from his desk and jogged over to Javert's corner office. He tapped the shoulder of his partner as he passed by. Marie Goulet, looked up from a piece of parchment, grabbed her wand from her desk and followed her partner to the corner office.

"How did they realize that fake galleons were being used here in France?" Louis asked.

"A tourist," Christiane explained. "A wizard tourist from the UK was visiting over here on vacation. He had purchased a few things from some of the shops that Lamar had been selling counterfeit galleons to. When the tourist got back home, he deposited his extra galleons back into Gringotts. They discovered the fakes when the goblins took the Galleons down to the vaults. They passed under an enchanted waterfall and it set off all the alarms. They had to scan their entire bank for fakes along with kicking off an official investigation by their ministry. The Aurors over the channel realized that the galleons were perfectly designed to pass all the safety measures of the IGBP but not designed to pass the safety protocols of Gringotts."

"Does IGBP not have an enchanted waterfall?" Louis asked.

"They do not," Christiane affirmed. "The hardest part was convincing the goblins that it had to of been a banker making the counterfeits and not a witch or wizard. The fakes were too good to be an outside job."

A voice called over from Javert's office, "Alright let's go find some fake gold!" It was Marie, who was excitedly tucking her wand in her robes as she and Francois approached Christiane's desk. Javert stood from outside the door of his office and gave his daughter an approving nod as he held up the silver vial.

The Aurors arrived in the busy underground tunnels of Gobbledegook City just as the goblin workday was coming to a close. Pubs, restaurants and cafes were bustling with activity as the yellow glow of lights filled the upper floor housing that lined the cave walls of the streets. The large towering statue of Ragnuk the First loomed in the distance, just ahead of the golden pyramid that was the International Goblin Bank of Paris.

"Do we have a plan?" Louis asked.

"We move in fast and efficient before Garnak realizes what is going on," Christiane planned. "If Garnak has a chance to escape us, I don't know if we will have another chance to capture him. The goblins will show asylum to their own kind and aren't too keen on giving them up to wizards."

"Why are they all looking at us?" Louis said as he scanned the masses of beady eyes that were on their group.

"Goblins and wizards don't have the best historical track record," Marie Goulet said as she covered the rear of the group. "Countless rebellions and numerous bad deals have kept our two worlds on shaky grounds."

"Do you think they will warn Garnak of our arrival?" Louis questioned.

"I don't know," Christiane replied. "I hope not."

The Aurors walked a few more blocks down the main road until they saw the hanging sign of a mushroom covered in hash marks.

"We're here. I'll take point with Francois and Louis on my flanks. Marie, I want you covering the rear. Most likely The Minced Mushroom is a front for the counterfeit galleons so we will need to apprehend the store clerk before he has a chance to warn the others in back." Christiane said as she pulled out her wand. The other Aurors followed suit as they took their positions in a diamond shape.

They entered the store fast and furious with their wands out before them. The goblin store clerk of The Minced Mushroom didn't have a chance to react before the wand of Marie Goulet was pointed in his face.

"Don't move a muscle," She ordered the clerk who had his hands raised.

The three Aurors proceeded to the back door where they lined up single file with Christiane in front. She pointed her wand at the low doorknob and casted "Reducto!" causing the door to be blown off its hinges. She entered the back room through the door, where she stopped dead in her tracks.

"They were warned we were coming," Were the last thoughts to go through Christiane's mind before a massive explosion tore through the Minced Mushroom.

Chapter 20

Surprises

"I knew I wasn't going mad!" Oliver yelled as the group of wizards and Vert apparated into the empty backroom of the Goblin's Galleon. It was only seven o'clock in the evening when they had arrived in the Galleon and the sounds of Gobbledegook emanated from the front room of the pub.

"What were you doing at the temple?" Édouard asked, both shocked and slightly panicked. "I thought I told you we were only going to work a half day!"

"Well, you see…" Vert explained nervously. "Monsieur Javert told me that I should follow you."

"You should follow me?" Édouard said in disbelief. "How long have you been following me?"

His large green eyes scanned the various wizards who peered down at him, "Just after work, until you reach your house monsieur."

Samuel pressed his hand to his forehead as sweat began to run down his face. "You mean that your house-elf has been with us the entire time? He knows all our plans!"

Édouard knelt down, "Vert, were you with us at the station and in our train cabin?"

"Wi monsieur," He answered.

"Riding on my broom as well?" Edoauard asked.

"Wi. Although I must say it was quite scary back there. We were lucky to have landed in the snow."

"Our plan is ruined." Samuel stammered, as he fell back into one of the chairs surrounding a table. Turning to the bar, he raised his hand into the air. "Wolfy, I'm going to need a round of butterbeers and a fire whiskey for me."

The werewolf bartender, who was wiping down his bar, nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"How does this house-elf ruin our plans?" Oliver asked.

Édouard pulled out his wand and pointed it at the bartender who had his back turned to the group. "Muffliato!" He casted at the bartender's back.

"This little elf works for the ministry," Samuel explained, "He is reporting back to the head Auror of France with all of Édouard's movements. What do you think is going to happen when he tells him that Édouard plans on breaking his brother out of Azkaban?"

"Oh, yeah," Oliver said with a nod of his head "We're in barney rubble."

"Vert," Édouard said, making eye contact with his old house-elf. "You are a free elf with the ability to choose what you feel is right. I will not be upset with you if you decide to tell Javert what I am planning to do but hear me out. Lestat is in trouble and in Azkaban. He claims that he is innocent. As a part of our family, I need to see if that is true. If you tell Javert, he will stop me and I will likely end up in Azkaban for conspiring to break out a prisoner. Lestat always treated you like family because to both of us, you are family. Will you help us?"

The elf looked around nervously as he struggled with the idea, "We are family?"

"Yes we are," Édouard affirmed.

"Family sticks together!" The Auror elf declared. "Your secret is safe with me only under one condition monsieur Édouard."

"What is that?"

"I go with you from now on. You don't leave a partner behind."

Édouard smiled as he heard the words come from the small elf. Reaching in, he hugged the elf close, "Merci Vert," He whispered and for the first time, Édouard did not feel like he was alone in this endeavor. With Édouard's mother dying while he was young and his father passing just a few years ago, Vert was truly his only family he could talk to regularly.

Samuel was sitting at the table, chugging the last of his butterbeer when Vert and Édouard joined the rest of the group.

"Are we all squared away?" Samuel asked. His leg nervously bounced up and down under the table.

Both Vert and Édouard gave a confident nod.

"Okay, good," He sighed in relief. A wave of calm seemed to flow over his body.

Reaching into his bag, Samuel grabbed two large books and flipped them to the sections on Benedict Arnold. One book was of muggle history and the other was of magical history. The printed paintings of Benedict Arnold were identical with a man dressed in 18th century garb, standing in front of a small model fort of West Point. The painting in the muggle book was motionless while the portrait in the magical book moved.

"It seems that almost all the books were written by BHP," Samuel said.

"BHP?" Oliver asked.

"Bartholomew Henry Periwinkle," Édouard answered, "He was a historian."

Oliver sipped his butterbeer before asking, "Why don't we ask this chap where the vault is?"

Samuel shook his head in agreement, "That would be a good idea since he was a famous historian and the last one to read Arnolds book on magical items. Our only problem is that he went missing over a decade ago and no one has heard from him since."

"We need to find another way to discover the location of Benedict Arnolds Vault." Samuel explained as he pointed to the figure in both books. "He lived in both America and in England but when I went to the major magical banks of both countries, neither had records of him ever reserving a vault."

"What if he used a fake name?" Édouard asked.

"That could be a possibility." Samuel answered. "He most definitely could have used an anagram or some other trick to hide his identity. I think the key is that if we learn more about the man, maybe we can get into his mindset and find some detail we are overlooking."

"What about a muggle bank?" Oliver asked.

"That is a good suggestion." Samuel noted. "Wizards would not think to check a muggle bank for magical artifacts and the muggles that maintained the bank would not know the true value of the items they were holding."

"What if the vault is buried like treasure with a dragon protecting it!" Vert yelled as he put down his butterbeer. It was nearly empty. His high pitched voice got even higher as he became excited by the prospect of guessing where the vault could be. He contorted his small elf face and raised his hands as he began to imitate a dragon.

"An interesting suggestion," Samuel hesitated, "Although that is not good for us I guess."

Édouard reached over and slid Vert's butterbeer out of reach as the hyper elf continued to imitate the dragon.

Édouard looked over and watched Nyima who stood quietly holding her butterbeer. She had not tried the sweet drink but instead looked around the room, taking in all the sights. The world was new to her again as her dormant sense of sight was reawakened. Leaning in she smelled the butterbeer before quickly snapping her head back and rubbing her nose.

"The bubbles," Édouard explained but Nyima just nodded.

"What if someone has already broken into the vault and pillaged it?" Oliver questioned.

"Well that is one thing we know that hasn't happened." Samuel said definitively. "We know that the vault has not been opened. I scanned the book before I handed it over and none of the major artifacts have ever shown up in the last two hundred years. If the vault was opened and pilfered, we would have seen the objects showing up in markets or homes of the wealthy. Since we haven't seen the objects, my money is still on it being hidden."

Oliver re-examined the situation, "So, we have an unopened vault of a wealthy trader from nearly two hundred years ago. No records in the banks… Hey what about his house? I know tons of blokes who hide their valuables at home, under a mattress."

"Both homes are gone." Samuel answered. "That was the first thing I checked when I was over in England."

"Well that's just great," Oliver sighed in frustration.

Samuel watched as a long delicate hand floated over his shoulder and landed on the two paintings. Nyima's voice was quiet, just barely above a whisper as she quoted the words of Khor'ba Agni, "If you are looking for something that is of great value to another, all you must do is look upon that person to see what matters to them most."

Moving his head to get a better angle of what Nyima was pointing out. Samuel found that in both pictures of Benedict Arnold, the small replicated fort was painted in.

"Brilliant Nyima," Samuel said as he clapped his hands together.

Nyima's hand slinked back into her robes as she took a step away from the table, bowing her head slightly. "It was just the teachings of his eminence."

"Bloody brilliant," Oliver murmured. "The greedy little git made his own vault!"

"That's the vault?" Vert asked aloud as he stood on his chair and leaned over onto the table to get a better view.

"I bet you anything it is," Samuel said. A new excitement was in his voice. "It's nothing but spatial magic."

"But it is so small?" Vert noted.

"Well, the outside is small Vert," Édouard explained, "But on the inside it could be rather large."

Samuel locked eyes with Édouard and gave him a nod, "And we have just the wizard who can perform the charm we need to get us through that front door."

Oliver cocked his head and pointed to the small miniature fort in the picture, "Well that is all fine and dandy chaps but we still don't even know where this fort could be? Drawing says West Point."

"That's in New York." Samuel explained.

"I know of York, I didn't know they built a new one."

"No, that's a state in the Americas."

"Oh," Oliver said, his face turning bright red. He shrugged his shoulders, "I never went to school mate, don't know my geography."

"I am going to head to West Point and see what I can find. Oliver, you start looking in England and see if he brought the fort back with him." Samuel ordered. "Those are the two known locations that Benedict lived."

"Nyima, would you like to come with me to America or would you like to go back to the temple until we find this fort?" Samuel asked.

Looking up, Nyima gave a small nod. "I would like to see America."

"Awesome!" Samuel said as he pulled out a few silver sickles and placed them on the table. "We will meet back here if we find the location of the fort."

"Well then it's a plan!" Oliver said before pulling out his wand and apparating from the room.

Samuel offered Nyima his arm to which she accepted before the pair disappeared from the room with a loud "pop."

Alone at the table, Édouard turned to Vert who had gotten a hold of Nyima's untouched butterbeer and was polishing it off. "Vert, I don't want to make you feel like you have to do this. I feel like I might be taking advantage of your friendship."

Vert placed the empty mug on the table before wiping off the foam beard that had formed around his mouth. His big green eyes looked up at Édouard from underneath his bowler cap, "I know monsieur. Vert has made his decision as a free elf, for family. The older wizard said sacrifice and love go hand in hand. If that is the case, then I am happy to sacrifice myself for my family."

"Thank you. I am in your debt Vert," Édouard replied. "I…" But before Édouard could continue, the ground beneath his feet began to rumble. "Do you feel that?"

The sounds of the crowd in the front of the Galleon were all simultaneously silenced as everyone felt the slight trembling in the ground. Distant concussive booms started to echo through the pub as the glass mugs rattled.

Vert's ears perked up from behind his black bowler cap as he listened intently to the distant sounds coming from the city. "Madam Christiane is in trouble!"

"Take me there!" Édouard said.

Chapter 21

The Battle of Gobbledegook

Christiane's last memories were of her entering the backroom of the Minced Mushroom and seeing great piles of counterfeit galleons. Before she had a chance to react, the three goblins in the center of the room had all casted blasting curses and she was catapulted out of the shop window and into the street. The rest of her memories were a chaotic blur as the other Aurors were quickly over powered and forced into the potions shop across the street. Not only were they ambushed by Garnak but Anghook, the chief goblin banker, was also a part of the backroom attack.

Lifting her head over the shattered display window of what used to be the potions shop, Christiane observed Francois lying unconscious in the middle of the street. Next to his tattered body was her ivory ash wand. She had been separated from it when she was blown out of the shop and dragged to safety by Louis. The young Auror had saved her life before taking a very powerful curse to the head.

A white orb of light passed inches over Christiane's head, forcing her to take refuge back under the front window. The goblin clerk kept them pinned down with curse after curse while Garnak, Anghook and a third goblin, she could not identify, were performing some kind of magic she did not recognize.

Every breath hurt and by the feel of it, Christiane guessed that she might have broken one or more of her ribs. She winced as she tried to move but was paralyzed by the pain that radiated through her body.

"Louis, wake up!" Christiane wheezed as she shook the unconscious Auror on the ground. His black robes were shredded and burned as a deep gash on the side of his head continued to bleed.

Marie Goulet limped back into the front of the shop, keeping low to avoid getting hit by one of the curses that flew into the decimated shop.

"There is no exit in the back," Marie said as she held her broken arm. "What do we do, none of us have wands?"

"I don't know but we can't leave Francois." Christiane rasped as tears began to trickle down her soot covered cheeks. The pain of each breath was unbearable. "Look for a potion to distract the goblins… darkness powder or instant flash. My wand is next to Francois. I will apparate us back to the ministry, if only I could get to it."

Marie looked back at the hundreds of shattered glass potions that were scattered all over the floor. Some were glowing and creating weird smells while others burned different colored smoke. It was an indistinguishable mess of broken glass and different color liquids.

The ground began to tremble causing the broken glass to clink and the few remaining beakers of potion to rattle off the shelves.

"What is that?" Marie said with a terrified look on her face. She inched towards Christiane as they both peered over the top of the broken shop window. To their horror, they watched as a golden giant made out of galleons bashed its' way out of the Minced Mushroom. The colossus stood over thirty feet tall with its humanoid form. Its' body rattled like chainmail as coins trickled off of the colossus' body and rung against the stone ground of the street.

With the arrival of the colossus, the few goblin observers that had stuck around to watch the battle unfold quickly sought refuge with their kin. The streets of Gobbledegook City were empty like a ghost town.

Anghook looked up at the towering giant and pointed in the direction of the potion shop before yelling out a harsh command in Gobbledegook.

The coined colossus looked down at the goblin and nodded before all the coins in its head vibrated, creating a high pitched screech as it started to make its way towards the potion shop.

"No!" Marie cried as the tremors grew stronger.

"Look at me!" Christiane yelled, to get Marie's attention. She turned Marie's head towards hers with a shaking hand and locked eyes. "Hide in the back, don't make a sound. Escape if you can when it's all over."

"But what about you?" Marie asked.

"Go!" Christiane ordered. "Don't look back."

Marie hugged her broken arm close to her body and fought the urge to scream as she got up and ran to the backroom. Christiane let out a cry of pain as she too stood to her feet and took a step out of the shop window and into the street. She looked up at the tall coin colossus as it towered over her. Its' metallic flesh glistened in the street light in a sort of terrifying beauty.

Looking down, the formless head emanated a chattering roar before raising one of its' massive club like arms high into the air. The enormous arm cast a shadow over Christiane as coins trickled down and rattled off the ground all around her like a golden rain.

"I love you Édouard," Christiane whispered as she closed her eyes and braced for the final death blow.

There was a thunderous crash as the sounds of millions of coins scattering on the street echoed off the high walls of the underground city. Christiane's eyes shot open to see that the entire street was paved with galleons.

The massive stone head of the statue of Ragnuk the First rolled to a stop only a few yards away. Christiane looked down the street where the stone head had come from and saw a wizard and an elf standing in the street in front of the decapitated statue.

The sudden fear of death was replaced by hope as she yelled "Édouard!"

"Get back into the shop mon amour!" Édouard called back to his wife.

The four surprised goblins standing in front of the Minced Mushroom started to chatter in Gobbledegook before they walked into the street and formed a row.

"Vert," Édouard called, not taking his eyes off of the goblins. "Can you get into that shop and see to Christiane?"

Looking up with a firm expression, Vert nodded his head before snapping his fingers and disappearing. Vert appeared in the potion shop less than a second later where he found Christiane and Marie huddled over Louis' body.

"Time to go!" Vert said as he walked up to the battered Aurors and placed his hand on Louis. With a loud "crack" they all disappeared from the shop and were back in the ministry.

"Francois is still in the street!" Christiane winced before she fell over in pain and exhaustion.

Vert watched as Christiane fell unconscious and he said, "No one hurts my family." The elf was gone a second later. Instantly he arrived back with Francois as ministry officials ran to the aid of the fallen Aurors.

Back in the Gobbledegook City, Édouard found himself in a standoff against the goblin bankers.

"Four against one…" Édouard muttered to himself as the goblins let out detesting hisses. "Well, at least I have a wand this time."

Their beady black eyes and shark like teeth beamed with anticipation.

It happened in a flash as one goblin sent out a curse followed by another and another. They came in at rapid succession as green, red and white orbs of light that flew in the air. Édouard parried each curse skillfully with his cherry dragon heartstring wand. He raised his shield charm and dodged from side to side.

Édouard went to take a step back when he slipped on the galleon laden floor. For a split second he lost concentration and his shield dropped. With his shield gone, Édouard was blown back by a curse to the chest. His body rolled as he hit the ground and his ears rang with a high pitched whine. He placed a finger in his ear and rubbed it vigorously, causing his hearing to slowly recover.

Édouard heard four muffled pops from behind as he rolled onto his stomach and fought back to his feet. He watched as the goblins at the other end of the street look nervously at each other as they hissed in their native tongue.

Édouard felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back to see Samuel, Oliver, Nyima and Vert standing at the ready.

"Looks like you could use an extra wand," Samuel grinned as he removed his hawthorn wand from his vest pocket.

"Merci," Édouard thanked before turning back to the goblins. "This is your last chance to surrender yourselves to the Ministry of France willingly."

"I will not answer to your ministry wizard!" Anghook seethed. He gave a toothy grin before raising his hands with the other goblins. The last goblin on either end pointed his outer palm towards the galleons on the ground.

A yellow light began to glow in-between the outstretched palms of the goblins and shot into the ground. There was a sudden rumble in the earth as the galleons began to pull themselves into four growing mounds. At seven feet each, the piles of galleons started to shape themselves until four colossi stood in the street.

"Here we go again," Édouard muttered.

The four golden coin colossi let out their shrill chattering roars before charging towards the wizards.

Édouard pulled up a shield charm while Samuel and Nyima sent blasting spells at the giants. One of the spells caught a giant in the arm and blew the metal arm clear from its body.

Oliver pulled out his spoon and whispered an incantation before generating a large ethereal fist. He made a punching motion that smashed the fist into one of the charging colossi and the monster detonated into a shower of coins.

Anghook and Garnak called out another spell in Gobbledegook and the scattered coins of the colossus began to remold themselves back together. The two other goblins in the group stood sentry as they sneered and jeered at the wizards.

Édouard held strong as a massive metallic fist smashed into his shield. He saw Nyima vault over the one arm colossus as it reached down for her. She smashed her staff into the head of the colossus, causing it to shatter. To her amazement, the head and arm began to regenerate.

Samuel recovered from being hit by one of the colossi and pointed his wand to counter when a sudden slash cut across his chest. Blood ran down his torso as he placed a hand to staunch the wound. Looking up he found that he had been cursed by one of the goblins. In return, Samuel fired a curse back at the goblins but as the glowing orb of light got approached, it ricocheted off of an invisible domed shield.

"Beware of the goblins, they are shielded!" Samuel yelled as he pulled out a brown eagle feather and waved it over his wound. A thick gold smoke poured from the feather and filled the wound and healed it.

Oliver looked over at the snickering goblin who had cursed Samuel, "I have something for you mate." He said with gritted teeth. Pointing his spoon at the group of goblins, he sent a massive blue ethereal fist that was completely absorbed by the goblins shield.

Oliver witnessed a blue ethereal glow transfer from the two goblins maintaining the shield to the two goblins with their hands held high maintaining the metal giants. Looking around, he noticed that the coined colossi had a subtle blue glow to them. "They redirected my magic, those pointy eared, shark toothed, beady eyed… Oy, Vert!"

Vert disapparated out of the way of a charging colossus as it barreled into a store front. The small elf arrived asking, "Yes monsieur Oliver?"

"The goblins are the key to these metal monsters regenerating. We need an indirect way to take them out!"

"Metal… Key," Vert repeated as his big eyes turned to the four goblins and looked at the metal galleons underneath their feet. He gave a slight chuckle before snapping his fingers and disappearing.

Vert appeared in front of the golbins and waved Oliver to join him. Oliver nodded his head and apparated to the elf. Vert dodged two curses from the goblins before yelling, "Benjamin Franklin!"

Édouard clenched his jaw as he focused on his shield charm. Sweat began to drip down his temples as he gripped his wand ever tighter in his hands. The colossus, only inches away, leaned all its weight against the blue glowing shield. Édouard felt she soles of his shoes skid backwards, giving the slightest amount of ground. "This spell won't hold for long," He thought. Looking behind the charging metal beast, he watched as Vert blew the galleons into the goblins' shield until they were waist deep in the metal coins, while Oliver had casted dark grey ominous clouds overhead.

"What are they doing?" he wondered but his mind was drawn away by the chattering call of a second colossus as it tore out of the ruins of a shop.

Édouard thought to himself, "If I take my focus off my shield spell then I will be crushed between these two," but then he had an idea.

He could hear the clinking of coins hitting the stone street as it got closer and closer. Louder and louder the ringing became until it was right behind him. He felt the ground shake as a coin dropped onto his shoulder and slid to the ground.

"Now!" he thought as he dove out of the way and dropped his shield. The two colossi smashed into each other with awe inspiring force as they disintegrated into a large pile of coins.

Standing to his feet, Édouard felt the ground tremble again from the large mound of gold. Instead of two giants emerging from the pile of coins, one massive monster emerged. It let out a louder chattering roar, now that its size had doubled.

"J'en ai marre!" Édouard yelled in exacerbation. His body was wearing down from the fight and he felt as if he had very little energy left. He ached from the battle and yet he remembered how his wife had looked standing in the street. He found a new fire burning deep within as he pictured her battered look.

"You attacked my wife!" Édouard boomed as he raised his wand towards the fourteen foot coined colossus. His hands trembled in rage as a vein in his head bulged and pulsed. The green flecks in his blue eyes began to glow as he shouted "Draco Incendio Totalis!"

A blue flame of intense heat spewed from the end of Édouards wand, creating a monstrous growl as it tore through the air and blasted the colossus like a furnace. The air roared as the very atmosphere surrounding the inferno was cooked. Édouard closed his eyes and turned his face away from the intense heat. He only held the spell for a few seconds before he began to feel his hand start to blister. Dropping the spell, Édouard found a pile of melted coins. He was out of breath as he watched the liquid gold pile before him. To his greatest fear, the mound of slag shuttered with life. "No," he protested weakly.

From the other end of the street, there were a series of loud crackling booms as bright flashes of lightning were coming down from a small thunderhead that Oliver had conjured. The bright bolts of lightning were landing outside of the goblins shield but still hitting the large drifts of coins that Vert had pushed together. The bright bolts of electricity arced throughout the coins, underneath the shield, and into the small bodies of the four goblins. Their bodies' seizure as their teeth chattered and smoke poured from the top of their heads.

Oliver yelled, "Meteolojinx Recanto!" before lowering his silver spoon and ending the conjured lightning. The four goblins collapsed as the two remaining colossi broke apart back into piles of coins. Édouard let out a visible sigh of relief when he looked back over at the pile of molted coins and saw that it showed no signs of life.

The exhausted group of wizards came together at the center of the street. Samuel gazed at the four smoking goblins and let out a long whistle of amazement, "Now I can see why those goblin rebellions were so tough."

Oliver ran his hands through his long hair as he straightened the lapels of his sleeveless leather trench coat, "Those little gits were quite the handful."

Even Nyima looked disheveled and exhausted as she leaned on her long wooden staff. It was made from walnut and Édouard had observed her cast a few spells from it. She attempted to blow a few strands of black hairs out of her face as her eyes studied the goblin city.

"Thank you for your help," Édouard said to the group.

"It was nothing," Samuel said but he winced as he held his hand to his side, "Might need to put some ice on that."

"Whose idea was it to shock the goblins?" Édouard asked.

"That little elf of yours," Oliver replied. "We couldn't attack the shield directly because the magical energy would be turned against us. Instead, we needed an indirect way. Vert figured electricity could travel through the coins, through the shield."

Édouard turned to the elf, "Where did you get the idea to use the coins to shock the goblins?"

Vert looked up with his big green eyes, "Benjamin Franklin was the key!"

Édouard and Samuel laughed upon hearing Vert's response.

Vert walked into the center of the group and tipped his hat, "For family."

"For family," Édouard repeated.

Chapter 22

A Gift

Christiane Partée opened her eyes in her room at St. Garicoits Hospital for Magical Maladies. She took in a breath and felt soreness in her chest and back but it was nowhere near the excruciating pain that she had experienced down in Gobbledegook City.

Christiane's had a private room with no other patients that she would have to share with. The wall paper of her room was a cheerful mint green with white boarders. Turning to her bedside table, she noticed a few bouquets of flowers next to her hospital bed. She went to move her hand and felt that it was in the grasp of another. Lifting her head, she found Édouard resting in a chair by the side of her bed with his hand holding hers. The red diamond of his wedding band was next to the blue diamond of her ring. She watched the two rings side by side and remembered the day they had placed them onto each other's finger.

Christiane attempted to move without disturbing her husband but as soon as she drew her hand away, Édouard's head shot up. His eyes were red and tired as he rubbed them with a bandaged hand.

"Hi," Christiane said softly as she gave a weak smile.

Édouard sat up in his chair and moved it closer to his wife's side. "Mon amour, how are you feeling?"

Christiane tried to sit up and winced a little from the soreness in her back and chest, "I think I am ok. My ribs don't hurt as bad as before."

Édouard stood up to assist his wife in her hospital bed, "The medical healer who was taking care of you said that you broke three ribs and fractured two vertebrae. They were able to fix the breaks and fractures but they said the soreness is going to take some time to heal."

"What happened to your hand?" She asked.

Édouard lifted up the bandaged hand and examined it himself as if he didn't realize it was in gauss, "I burned it while performing a pyromancer's spell."

"Aw, I'm sorry" She said as she grabbed her husband's bandaged hand and placed a kiss on the white gauss, "What about Marie, Francois and Louis?"

"They are all in recovery like you. They set Maries broken arm and used Skele-Gro to speed up her healing. Francois and Louis had it the worst with the injuries to their head. The healers said they will be in here for a while."

Christiane looked out the window at the night sky as a look of shame came over her face, "I lead them into a trap."

"Hey," Édouard quickly interjected, "That ambush could have happened to anyone. The goblins don't like us being down in their city to begin with. The moment anyone of us shows up, they all know. There is no way you could have known that they would go as far as to attack Aurors of the Ministry."

"I should have brought more back up. We were foolish to only go in with four. Maybe I was getting too cocky," Christiane said in a low sad voice. "What happened to the goblins?"

"Dead," Edward answered. "They put up one heck of a fight and we really had no option. It was either us or them. Vert was the one to bring them down."

"How is he doing?"

"Like me, just a few scrapes and bruises but nothing too bad," Édouard explained. He reached into his robes, "I brought you something."

"What?"

Édouard pulled out an Ivory colored ash wand with a veela hair core and placed it into his wife's hand, "I believe this is yours."

Christiane gripped the wand and looked upon it lovingly as if she were being reunited with a long lost friend. It was a familiar feeling that all wizards shared.

Édouard pointed to the various bouquets of flowers, "These are from the ministry, those are from your family and the roses are from me."

"Thank you," Christiane said. Her voice became choked up as she wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek. It felt as is if all the emotions she had tried to suppress in her near death experience flooded her entire body at once, "I... I…"

"Shhh," Édouard consoled as he stood up and hugged his wife. "It's ok."

"I almost died down there Édouard," Christiane sniffled. "I thought it was the end and when I saw you… It was as if I was granted one last wish. I thought of you, I thought of our son. I just don't know if I can do this anymore."

Édouard leaned back from his wife, his blue green eyes meeting her brown ones, "You are an amazing Auror. I get shaken up too. If you are done with the Aurors department, I support you. If you want to take some time and go back to being an Auror, I support you. No matter what you choose to do, I will be there by your side to support you mon amour."

"Thank you." She mouthed as she wiped the tears from her face.

"I brought you something else." Édouard said with a smile. "I was going to wait until our anniversary next week but I figured I would give it to you now."

Édouard reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metallic heart shaped pendant on a silver chain. The metal of the pendant was a beautiful cross hatching pattern that reflected various slivers of light as it moved in her hand.

"It's beautiful."

"It's from a falling star," Édouard said as he helped her put it on, "Make a wish."

Christiane placed a hand over the meteorite pendant and gave it a gentle squeeze, "But it already came true. I got to see you."

Édouard leaned in and kissed his wife for a long time, feeling the warmth of her lips against his. Leaning back he wiped a tear that had fallen from her cheek. "I love you," He whispered.

"I love you too," she immediately answered back with a smile. Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt like she never wanted to let him go from her side. He had saved her from death and she knew that there was nothing he wouldn't do for her.

There was a knock at the door and they both turned their heads to see Javert standing in the doorway. His large body nearly took up the entire frame as he entered the room, "I hope I am not interrupting."

"Not at all Papa," Christiane replied as her father walked next to her bed and gave her a hug.

"Your mother and I are so happy that you are ok." Javert said. He stood straight up and looked Édouard in the eyes. He extended his large hand across the bed to Édouard, who gave it a shake. "Thank you."

"I would do anything for her." Édouard said.

"After today, I most certainly believe it." Javert answered. "To think that those goblins would attack members of the ministry is deplorable. I have been personally assured by the leaders of their community that Anghook, Garnak, Leehook and Grecknak, were in no way working with goblin leadership."

"That is good to know." Christiane said, "Can we assume that the case is closed?"

"With this new player in town who is calling himself 'The Venetian' I don't know if anything is really closed until we have him in custody."

Édouard turned his head away at the mention of the name. "If he had anything to do with this, I will make sure he answers for it." Édouard thought.

"Is she awake!?" a voice called from the hallway as a short witch with silver hair ran into the room. "Ma petite!" She yelled as she ran over to Christiane and gave her a long hug.

"Mama!" Christiane wheezed in the tight embrace of her mother.

The resemblance between Rene Lafont and her daughter Christiane Rene Partée was striking. The mother and daughter both had large brown eyes, smiles that created a dimple on only one cheek and an identical laugh. Édouard even witnessed Rene give Javert "the look" and it was nearly identical to the same look he would receive from Christiane when she was upset.

"Édouard, my son!" Rene shouted as she ran around the bed and gave him a large warm hug. She pulled away and looked at him, studying his face, "I heard about that awful attack, are you ok?"

"I am fine, thanks for asking." Édouard replied.

"But what about your hand?" She quickly said in shock as she held it up and examined the bandages.

"Just a mild burn."

"Well, I used to work two floors down in the pediatric wing so if you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask dear."

"Thank you."

"Mother?" Christiane asked.

"Yes dear?" she answered.

"Timothee.." Christiane began to ask but was quickly cut off.

"He is with your aunt Judy. A hospital is no place for a baby dear. He could end up with something terrible like Dragon Pox, Merlin forbid. I talked to your healers and they said you should be out by tomorrow and then you can see him."

Rene reached into her bag and began to pull out various sweets and a small cauldron with warm soup inside. "I brought you some chocolate frogs dear, I remember those were your favorite."

Christiane looked at her husband and whispered, "I haven't had those since my years at Beauxbatons."

Édouard smiled and placed a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder, "It's the thought that counts."

"I know," She smiled.

Édouard looked out to the hall window and saw a tall bouquet of Dirigible Plums making their way to the door. Entering the room, Édouard saw two small arms wrapped around a sienna planting pot with two small feet as they wobbling below.

"Vert!" Christiane greeted happily.

"Madam!" The high pitched elf voice called from behind the plant. "I brought these for you!"

"Oh poor dear can barely hold them!" Rene sighed. "Javert, take those from him Honey."

Javert leaned down and with one large hand, grabbed the plant from the small elf and placed them onto the bed stand.

The small elf jumped up onto the edge of the bed and walked towards Christiane with a large smile on his face, "I also brought you this!" he said excitedly as he pulled out a half finished bottle of butterbeer from his robes.

"But it's half finished?" Javert noted as he accepted the half empty bottle from Vert and placed it next to the floating orange fruits.

"I know monsieur," Vert said abashed as he adjusted his small black bowler cap, "I got kind of thirsty on my way over here."

Christiane and Rene let out a playful laugh while Édouard shook his head and thought to himself, "He's hooked. I should have never given that elf butterbeer."

"Now that you both are here," Javert said as his gaze moved from Vert to Édouard, "I just wanted to say that you both did an absolutely amazing job down in Gobbledegook. Not only did you save four of your fellow Aurors but you were responsible for helping to bring down a counterfeit ring that involved over a million galleons. Work like that does not go unnoticed and I want you to know that I have recommended you both for the Auror's Award of Heroic Bravery. I believe Minister Roy will fully agree with my decision."

"What an honor!" Vert shouted as he took off his cap and gave a deep bow.

"Thank you Javert." Édouard said, "That really does mean a lot to us."

"Well, keep up the good work," Javert said. He pulled back his sleeve and checked the time before making a sigh, "Unfortunately I have to head back to the ministry. I have to discuss the case with the English Minister. I will stop by to make sure everything is okay tomorrow and don't worry about work. It will be there when you are ready, just focus on getting healthy right now."

Javert kissed his daughter on the forehead and gave his wife kiss on the cheek. He turned to Édouard and Vert, giving them both a firm handshake before walking out of the hospital room.

Édouard, Rene and Vert remained in Christiane's room, enjoying the tasty pumpkin soup Rene had brought. The soup was sweet with a little bit of bite to it and it was all rounded out with bits of bacon. Both Vert and Édouard had seconds while Rene attempted to open one of the Chocolate Frogs which was able to evade her and hop out the room.

"Bad luck," Rene sighed before standing from her chair. She let out a long drawn out yawn before looking at the clock in the room. "Merlin's beard, is that the time?"

Édouard yawned as well as he stretched out his arms, "Yes, it is getting pretty late. I am surprised they haven't kicked us out of the room yet?"

Rene leaned over and winked at Édouard before saying, "The healers on this floor went to the same school as me." Turning to her daughter, "We will pick you up in the morning dear. Get some sleep."

Both Vert and Rene said their goodbyes leaving Édouard and Christiane in the room.

Alone in the room, Édouard looked at his wife who was smiling but was visibly tired as she look very long slow blinks.

"I guess it's time for me to go. I am going to go get Timothee from your aunt Judy. Get some rest mon amour," He suggested before leaning over and kissing his wife.

Christiane looked up at him, smiled, and gave his hand a soft squeeze as he slowly walked away. Her hand went to the small pendant that was over her heart and whispered softly "Thank you" as the lights went out in her room.