Chapter 7- Listening In

Harry apparated back to the house where he and Ron had been. Ron looked up at him when he heard the crack that signaled his apparition.

"Well, what did they say?" Ron asked.

"Apparently, we have the go-ahead to go beyond 'observe and report'. Kingsley told me to follow any plan I would have had for when I was looking for Elizabeth."

"OK, what was that?"

"Well, we're going to need some extendable ears. You wouldn't happen to have any, would you?" Harry asked.

"Actually, I keep some in my field satchel just in case we are in situations like this. Or if I'm observing a place and I need to find out if I'm actually in the right place. I'll listen in when I can't see anything to know if I am observing the right people. I try not to use them too much because I don't like invading people's privacy. Even the worst people have some expectation of privacy. I guess it's from growing up with five brothers and a sister and having very little privacy. Plus, it's not like any of it would be able to be used in any trial."

"Well, I want to hear if there is anyone else in there. I find it odd that she could disappear and turn up living in the same place as before she disappeared and Dudley not notice her at all even though it's only across town from his house. That would lead me to believe that she doesn't leave that house very often and the only reason she would stay in most of the time is if she has something to fear from going outside, either real or imagined." Harry explained.

Ron went rummaging through his satchel for the extendable ears. "Ah, here they are." He said as he handed them over to Harry.

"Got another set? We should both be listening."

"Mate, last time I checked you only had one invisibility cloak and we're past the days where both of us could hide under that without being seen."

"Well, I really want another person, someone not connected to this, to listen in so maybe I don't interpret this the wrong way. As for coverage, I can cast a disillusionment charm on you. It may not be up to Dumbledore standards but it's pretty good." Harry said as he tapped his want hard over Ron's head to cast the charm and then slipped the cloak on making them both invisible. They left the house out the back so no one on the street would see the door open and close with no one there. They crept around the side of the house and across the street. Once they were close enough to the house they got down on hands and knees and crawled under the open window. Ron took one end of the flesh colored string and fed it through the open window letting it dangle over the inside sill. He then pulled the other end into two separate strands and handed one to Harry.

For the first few minutes they didn't hear anything but the odd noise around the house. Then they heard a male voice call out in a slightly panicked voice.

"Elizabeth… where are you? Oh good, you are here. Where were you?"

"I felt bored, cramped, and suffocated so I stepped out and took a walk."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is, there are people that are after us and we can't risk being seen by anyone."

"I don't understand why, if there are people after us, that we are still here and not living abroad. That is the best way to be shot of them."

"These people are many and far-reaching. I doubt we could escape them by leaving the country."

"And yet you'd rather we be prisoners in our own home. If we're so doomed to be taken by these people, we should be somewhere there is less chance of being recognized. If this is where they are looking for us, then why are we still here?'

"The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm. It's the last thing they'd expect."

"Thank you, Peregrin Took. I'm really beginning to wish I hadn't gotten those movies for you. You quote them all too much."

"Tolkein is a classic. Besides, I'm too old to up and move us somewhere else. Think about it, I only speak English and I can barely find my way around this town much less a foreign land."

"Yes, you are hopeless, father. You know when I was out on my walk I saw a man and his daughter by an ice cream parlor and they both had a familiar feel about them. I can't put my finger on what it is though."

"It's probably déjà vu."

"Whatever, I don't believe in that. Anyway, I'm going to lie down for a nap."

Harry looked at where Ron's face was and made a slashing motion straight across his neck indicating that they should cut it off there and go back inside their house. They crept away from the house, across the street and around the back of their house so; again, no one would see anything strange.

"Well, that was interesting. Who is Peregrin Took? I thought they were from the Prince family." Ron asked.

"Peregrin Took is a character from a muggle novel called 'Lord of the Rings'. I had to read it when I attended muggle schools. They made it into a set of films that were a big hit. Anyway, when she mentioned seeing a man and his daughter she was probably referring to Dudley and Jessica. Does the fact that they looked familiar to her but she didn't know them have any meaning to you?"

"It almost made me think she is under a memory charm and that seeing them almost broke the charm." Ron said.

"That's what I was thinking. Do you know anything about memory charms to determine if that is feasible?"

"Yeah, if it wasn't a strong one then it's possible she could break it. I'd bet 100 galleons he won't let her out of his sight from now on."

"Yeah, which means we're not going to see her leave again so we'll have to concentrate on other people coming to visit them. If any. For now, let's report back to the office and let them know what we heard." Harry said as they left the house via the Floo.

They stepped out of the fireplace at the Ministry and made their way toward the auror's offices. They saw that the door to Thicknesse's office was open so they approached the threshold and knocked on the door to get his attention. Thicknesse looked up and motioned for them to enter.

"Did you learn anything new on your little eavesdropping mission?" Thicknesse asked.

"Yes, we did. Elizabeth Dursley is living in that house with her father. He appears to be trying to frighten her into staying put because he didn't seem too happy when she told him she left the house to go for a walk." Ron stated.

"Anything else?" Thicknesse asked.

"Yes" Harry added, "She had said that when she was out she saw a man and his daughter at an ice cream parlor and she had the feeling that she knew them but didn't know from where. He told her that it was just déjà vu, but he seemed kind of nervous about it. I think that he has her under a memory charm but for reasons other than him not liking Dudley. Like Ron said, he wasn't happy that she left the house but when he was looking around the house for her, he seemed a little panicked. In general, he is extremely nervous about something or someone trying to do harm to Elizabeth and himself."

"Do you agree with Mr. Potter's interpretation?" Thicknesse asked Ron.

"Yes, we came to the same conclusion. She definitely appears to be under a memory charm that may not be very strong which would explain why he wouldn't want her to go out into a city that is not far from her husband. He doesn't want to take the chance that seeing someone familiar might break the charm. We also agree that he is on edge about something."

"I'll inform the Minister. What is your next step?"

"Tomorrow we'd like to see if anyone pays them a visit. Eventually I would like to talk to him and see if I can get him to come clean about what has him so edgy."

"You do know that, as a wizard, he will recognize you. That scar is a dead giveaway."

"Well my plan is to cover the scar, let Ron do the initial talking, and use the cover of Scotland Yard agents." Harry said.

"Hmm, I suppose that will work. Before you go back there, stop at the Muggle Liaison Office and pick up your Scotland Yard credentials. In the meantime, k up your Scotland Yard credentials. In the meantime, go home and have a good night."

Ron and Harry left Thicknesse's office and went back to their desks before leaving for the day. "So do you want to bring Ginny and the kids over to the Burrow for dinner?" Ron asked.

"That sounds good. I'm sure Ginny will like not having to make dinner. And the kids like seeing their grandparents. We'll see you over there later."

Harry made his way back to the lobby and apparated home where he greeted Ginny with a kiss.

"So dear, how did your new case turn out?" Ginny asked them.

"The new case turned out to be what I was working on all along. The house we were told to watch turned out to be the address that Dudley gave me. On top of that, we found Elizabeth to be living there."

"So all that and she turned out to be there after all. How could she leave her husband and daughter like that?" Ginny asked.

"Well we're under the impression her father put her under a memory charm. We used the extendable ears to hear what was going on in the house. He seems to be scared of something happening to the two of them because he doesn't want her to leave the house. Of course, that might be because he fears that if she sees something or someone she recognizes it will break the memory charm."

"Hmm, sounds like an interesting case. At least you can keep your focus on Dudley's case as well. Do you plan on telling him about this?"

"No, I want to find out more. Or try to anyway. On a lighter note, Ron said your parents are hosting dinner tonight, so you don't have to cook again tonight."

"At least not here anyway, I'll probably help her over there. Sounds nice though. After all, the kids love going over there."

"Great, let's get them ready."

A/N: I'm going to end the chapter here and pick it up the next day. Please read and review. I have over 1400 reads and only 16 reviews. I like the feedback and you don't have to be overly nice either. It's a win-win.