Author's Note: Hey everyone, thanks for the response to the third chapter. I'm glad so many of you are eager to learn more about the figure! And for those of you who knew the working title of this fic through countless word sprints, things will now make sense. :) I hope you enjoy xoxo

Alpha love as always to the wonderful Kyonomiko. Errors are my own.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchise.


The Ministry of Magic's library had nothing on Hogwarts, although it was a useful resource all the same. But Hermione didn't have time to enjoy the atmosphere with a good book in a soft armchair today.

She darted through the time displacement link in the Time Room and appeared in an underutilized alcove of the library in record time. Then she located the section on ancient and traditional magic, collecting several books from the shelves so she would have a head start on Malfoy.

But when she took her books to a bank of tables, he was already flipping through a book at a nearby table, his paper cup of tea sitting before him.

Curious despite herself, Hermione walked over to see what he was reading.

"Ancient civilizations," she murmured to herself.

"Yes," Malfoy drawled without raising his eyes to her. "Have you got a problem with that?"

"I thought you were trying to locate the source of the magic," Hermione said, her nose wrinkling. "These books may not have any mentions of magic at all."

"Why don't you scurry off and let me do things as I see fit?" Malfoy sneered, turning the page in his book.

"You know," Hermione said, shifting her weight as she clutched her books to her chest; her eyes swept over his stack. "I suppose it would make sense if we worked together on this. If we shared our research."

Finally Malfoy looked up, his eyes squinted. "I don't expect you to understand why being an Auror is important to me, Granger. I don't want to work with someone who would like to see me fail."

"It's just that we're dealing with potentially incredible magic here," Hermione carried on. "We should be sure we aren't missing anything."

He stared at her for a long moment, his lip curling; Hermione held his gaze, even as flush came to her cheeks at his uncouth appraisal. But to her surprise, Malfoy waved an absent hand towards the table.

"I'm not going to let this cost me my job," he drawled. "But kindly, don't speak to me unless you must."

"Fine," Hermione snipped, taking the chair across from him and one seat over.

As she spread her books out before her and selected one, she couldn't help but glance back at his stack again. "Perhaps we ought to determine which civilization we're looking at."

Malfoy rolled his eyes as they swept to her. "Hence, why I'm looking it up, Granger."

"Okay," she whispered, conscious of the skulking librarian. "Let me know if you find anything."

"Not exactly as if I have a choice, is it?" he scathed, "given you've held my statue hostage in your department and I can't return to the Auror's Office until I've figured this out."

Hermione ignored him and began her search for strange ancestral magic.


Draco sighed as he set aside Incas, Aztecs and Mayans: Early Civilizations of the Americas and drew the next book towards him. Only one of the civilizations in the book was even close to old enough to have fit the profile of the figurine, and their artwork wasn't remotely similar.

He drew the next book from his stack, Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent, and started flipping through, keenly aware of Granger watching from further down the table.

When Draco had told Robards he wanted a partner to work with, this wasn't what he had had in mind.

He would have to report to Robards with an update – and hopefully, progress – before the end of the day, but so long as he didn't leave the Ministry, he would be fine to work in the library for the rest of the day, if he needed to.

He was torn between the side of him that wanted to keep Granger in the dark, and the side of him that needed to rely on her expertise as an Unspeakable – and an incredible swot – if he wanted his figure back.

And to be honest, his curiosity had been piqued, and he was interested to learn more about the magic of the figure, now that he knew of its significance.

By Granger's sniffling and furrowed brow, she wasn't having any more luck than he was, and a while later Draco set the second book aside, having found no direct indication that the carved figure was Mesopotamian in origin.

It would help, Draco thought, if he knew the first thing about ancient civilizations to begin with.

"Anything?" Granger asked, her eyes flashing up to meet his.

"No," Draco replied, sneering. "If I find anything, I'll tell you."

Huffing, she returned to her book.

This would be a long day.


"Burke did what?" Robards exclaimed, his nose wrinkled as he planted his hands on his hips. "He took it?"

"The Unspeakable I spoke to did, technically, but under Burke's orders," Draco explained. "They claimed the magic was too obscure to leave the Department of Mysteries." He met his superior's gaze, bracing himself for Robards' infrequent but legendary temper. "I can try to reclaim it tomorrow, sir."

Robards blinked, running a hand through his hair, his lips pressed into a thin line. "If Burke wants it, let him have it. If the magic is so ancient it's better in their hands than ours. And you hated the damn thing anyway."

Draco's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't want me to carry on with the case?"

"What else can we do?" Robards said with a shrug. "I'm not about to march into Burke's office and demand he return it if he wants it so badly."

Draco was torn between relief and disappointment, though he couldn't locate the source of the latter. Perhaps it was a natural sense of competition between himself and Granger.

"Sir," he ventured, frowning, "would it make sense for me to continue researching it all the same? The Junior Unspeakable who has it is searching for the source of its magic. I thought I would determine the civilization from which it came, and see if I could solve it from there."

Robards' eyes swept to Draco's for a second, even as he stared the other way, watching several Aurors loitering at the refreshment cart. "You want to keep researching this statue?"

"With all due respect, sir," Draco said through his teeth, in a state of stunned disbelief that he was even pushing the matter. "If the magic in the sculpture is so significant it could be harmful. This was and is my case to solve."

Robards rubbed at his stubble and his focus landed on Draco once more. "That's admirable, Malfoy. I can respect your dedication, and know that I appreciate your initiative. But if Burke and the Unspeakables want to take over the case, they might not want an Auror around. You won't be able to access any of their research chambers."

"I will relinquish the lead on the case if need be," Draco said, his shoulders stiff.

He did not want to work with Granger – but he needed to prove to Robards that he was dedicated. And if he gave up on his first case so easily –

"Who is the Junior Unspeakable?" Robards said, his expression pensive.

Draco grimaced, dropping his voice as he said, "Her name is Unspeakable Granger."

"Granger," Robards repeated, his brow furrowing. "As in, Potter's friend Granger? Didn't know she was working for Burke."

Draco flinched as, across the room, he saw Potter's attention flicker to them at the mention of his name. He pressed his hands together, releasing a tight breath.

"Neither did I, sir," Draco admitted, "but she is simply the Unspeakable to whom Burke gave my case. I suppose they probably thought it was a laugh."

Robards gazed across the room for another long moment before turning back to Draco. "I'll tell you what. Because I value your commitment to solving the case, I'm going to give you my authority to continue researching the statue. But be aware that you won't be able to pursue every avenue the Unspeakables have at their disposal, and if Burke finds you to be a deterrent, we will have to relinquish the case to the Department of Mysteries."

"Understood, sir," Draco said with a sharp nod.

"I'll send a memo to Burke," Robards said with a tight smile. "But if this thing still doesn't go anywhere, I'll have to pull you from the case in favour of other work."

"Right," Draco muttered, "plenty of reports to file."

The smile on Robards' face faltered for a moment and Draco wished he hadn't sounded so ungrateful. But then Robards chuckled and clapped him on the back. "You'll make a great field Auror one day, Malfoy. This case you're on just became significant, and the others will see that. I highly advise you don't mess it up."

"Thank you, sir," Draco murmured, and returned to his desk to collect his cloak and return home for the day. He ignored Potter's suspicious eyes on him as he walked.


Hermione absently scratched behind Crookshanks' ear as she turned page after page, her feet curled up beneath her, a cup of lukewarm tea on the end table.

Her brow furrowed as she worried her bottom lip. She had yet to find a single thing that would explain why the magic detection spell had backfired on Malfoy's bicorn statue.

In her desire to find the answer before her old schoolyard rival, Hermione had checked out a dozen books on traditional, cultural and ancestral magicks, but so far nothing had turned up. She wondered whether Malfoy hadn't been on a better track investigating ancient civilizations, but he had checked out all the books in the Ministry library on the subject, so Hermione hadn't even been able to look for herself.

She was hopeful Robards would call him off the case now that Burke had decided the Department of Mysteries would be taking over.

The thought of Malfoy bulldozing his way through her research was not something that appealed to Hermione. She would be more productive and more effective working on her own. And it would be her chance to prove her worth to Unspeakable Burke.

Although Hermione still disagreed with Malfoy being certified as an Auror on principle, she supposed she could see how he had made it through training.

He had always been smart – Hermione had known that even at Hogwarts – but his attitude had always had a tendency to negatively impact his performance.

Hermione squinted as she tried to remember whether things had been different when they had returned to Hogwarts for their eighth year, in order to earn their NEWTs. When she really thought about it, Malfoy hadn't played any significant role in her final year at Hogwarts.

He had been there but had kept to himself, and his usual swaggering countenance had been all but non-existent.

She supposed she hadn't been surprised, at the time, given the way things had gone for his family during the war, and how his father had landed a considerable Azkaban sentence only a month prior.

But here, on neutral territory, Malfoy's rude and malicious attitude was back with unapologetic force. Not that Hermione would have expected anything less.

She understood well enough why he was determined to solve the first actual case he had been given, but unfortunately for him, the case was hers now. She hoped, but doubted, he would simply walk away.

She set aside the book after once more finding nothing of value, frowning.

Unspeakable Burke's reaction to the failed test had been intriguing, to say the least. He had – with no small amount of authority – demanded the figure remain in the Department of Mysteries. She wondered what exactly he suspected.

It wasn't what she had expected for her first project as an Unspeakable, but she didn't doubt it would prove interesting.

And for as much as she was excited and fascinated by the chance to work on her first case – even despite that there was an unfortunate side effect by the name of Malfoy – she couldn't help the melancholy that swept across her at the thought.

It was the days when novel and unusual things happened, that Hermione missed her parents the most. The easy conversation, the shoulders to lean on – the pride with which the Grangers had glowed when she would tell them about the things she'd been studying at Hogwarts.

She had spent the summer after the war back and forth between Brisbane and London, consulting with ever magical Healer she could find. And despite the best care her galleons could buy – and the monetary sum that had come along with her Order of Merlin had been all but depleted in the effort – there was nothing for it.

Nothing could be done about her parents' memories, according to every Healer worth their salt.

Harry had been by her side, and she knew he understood, but the pain stung and lingered on. It had been difficult to bear the truth, but the alternative would have been devastating.

Her parents were alive, and together, and enjoying their lives. It was what she had been forced to accept – and with a heavy heart, the thought had driven her back to complete her NEWTs in an eighth year that was uneventful at best, and a hazy, painful blur at the worst.

But on the days like this, that small reassurance didn't make things any easier.


"I won't say I'm not surprised to see you here," Granger sniffed as she slid into the seat across the table from Draco the following morning,

"This is my case," Draco drawled, taking a long sip from his paper cup of tea. Granger's eyes narrowed. "Did you honestly expect me to give it up so easily?"

"Yes, actually," she said, her voice escalating in pitch. Draco made a show of wincing. "When considering the fact that you will most likely have no clearance to access the chambers which will be required to determine the type of magic within the statue."

"Funny," Draco said, turning back to his book, "because so far I've had clearance for every step of the research. Or are you going to get your boss to relinquish my library access?"

"I didn't think your boss would approve of you wasting time and resources," Granger snipped, spreading her books and notes on the table in front of her.

Draco lifted one of her books by its spine and relocated it to her side, the offending tome having covered the corner of the sheet of parchment on which Draco had been taking notes.

"Robards appreciates my initiative," he said, lip curling into a sneer. "He has contacted Unspeakable Burke, and the two of them have decided we will both work on the case."

Draco allowed himself to enjoy the scandalized look on Granger's face for a moment, before he returned to the passage that had caught his eye.

She huffed, her eyes narrowing. Her hair looked particularly frizzy this morning, as if she hadn't bothered with it. "I should hardly think –"

"Granger," Draco muttered, pressing his fingertips to his temple. "Do you mind? I'm trying to read. Or do I need to ask you to move to a different table?"

She let out a small squeak of indignation but fell silent.

Draco's eyes returned to his book once more, his brow furrowing with disbelief as his eyes landed on a reference photo in the text. He read the description of the photo again, eyes widening. His heart skipped into a quick rhythm, his mouth dry.

He glanced up at Granger, but she wasn't paying him any mind.

He scrawled a quick note on his parchment and marked the page in his book, then tucked the small volume into his bag. With another furtive glance to Granger, who looked up at him, her eyes narrowed, Draco rose and ventured back into the stacks.

When he returned several minutes later with a pile of books related to the lead he had found, Granger was staring at him, her brows raised into her fringe.

"What did you find?" she asked, leaning over to read the title of the top book. Draco quickly opened the cover so she wouldn't be able to see and she huffed, rising to her feet and circling the table.

Draco scoffed in irritation. "Personal space, Granger, do you fucking mind?"

"You're going to have to tell me regardless," she snapped.

He shook his head, feeling a migraine coming on. "Fine, look then."

With another huff, Granger took the rest of the stack of books and flipped through them, her brow furrowing as she read the titles. She stared at Draco, her tongue flicking out to moisten her lips.

"Indus Valley?" she finally breathed, dropping back into her seat.

"Yes," Draco snipped. "What do you know about it?"

"Very little, I'm afraid," Granger said, shaking her head. "Simply that it was one of the earliest known human civilizations, and one of the largest and most advanced."

"The Indus Valley Civilization, or Harappan Civilization," Draco read in a stage whisper, "was one of the three earliest cradles of civilization of the old world, the other two being Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was a bronze-age civilization, and its mature phase lasted between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE."

Draco stared at her, watching the idea process through her mind, her gaze fixed on the page he was reading from.

"So why Indus Valley?" she finally asked, pursing her lips as she looked up at him.

"This is why Indus Valley," Draco murmured, drawing the first book from his bag and turning it to face her, pointing out the photo he had found.

At Granger's small intake of breath, Draco felt his heart rate begin to escalate. It was the first bit of information they had learned.

Her fingers ran across the photo – a photo of a clay seal which featured a bull-like creature with a striped neck like a zebra and a pair of horns attached to its head.

"It's the same as the figure," she breathed, her eyes wide as she looked back up at him across the table. "Only, a bit more crudely sculpted."

"Very good, Granger," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "So, we've found our civilization."

Granger snatched one of the books from his stack, instantly turning to the front page and Draco snickered, settling back into his own seat as he began to scour the book for any further information.

They both glanced up as a DMLE memo flew into the library and landed on Draco's sheet of parchment. Frowning, he removed the seal and read it.

Auror Malfoy

Please return to the DMLE at once. It is urgent. Bring the Unspeakable.

Robards

With a grimace, Draco handed the memo to Granger, who read it with increasing severity on her face. Her brow was furrowed as she returned it.

"Have you checked these books out already?" she asked, stowing her notes into her bag.

"Yes," Draco murmured, tucking his own supplies away as well. An urgent summons was unusual, and most likely, not bound to be pleasant in the least.

But the fact that Granger had been summoned as well was as much a relief as it was baffling. It meant Draco wasn't in hot water, but it also made no sense.

She kept pace with Draco as they made their way from the Ministry library to the Auror offices on level two. Draco made for Robards' office, feeling the anxiety spike as he dropped his bag off at his desk on the way.

The relief on Robards' face was palpable when he saw the two of them.

"Auror Malfoy," Robards said, with a nod, "and Unspeakable Granger, I presume."

"Yessir," Granger breathed; the tension in her shoulders matched how Draco felt.

"Please tell me neither of you have touched that cursed figurine," Robards said, a heavy furrow to his brow as he frowned.

Draco glanced at Granger as he shook his head. "We've been cautious with it, sir."

Granger chewed her bottom lip, then asked, "What is it, Auror Robards?"

Robards planted his hands on his desk as he leaned forward in his seat, looking each of them in the eye in turn. "Madame Moreau – the woman who owned the figure – was just found dead."

Draco choked on a breath.