Chapter 11

The Moon Market.

Adam almost ran the whole way down to the basement, worried about Tony and Arn. He need not have. He looked around the underground car park, finding the two of them standing beside a large unmarked police car. The car park was empty between shifts and dark.

"Are you sure you've sorted the cameras?" He asked staring at the vacant face of Arn.

"Yes. I passed several people running around screaming that the cameras have stopped working over the whole building."

"What the hell did you do?"

"I just turned them off. As soon as we're out of here, they'll come back on."

"What about the one in the interview room?"

"Dealt with. There will be questions about why it was off."

"Questions like that I can deal with, questions about what went on in that interview room, I can't."

Tony opened the rear door allowing Arn to sit down.

"I assume this is our car, it pulled up here on its own."

"All police cars are self-driving where possible." Adam opened the driver's door and got in, with Tony going round to the other side.

The central display unit on the dash was flashing a warning about authority. Adam tapped his tablet against the dashboard display, which switched from red to pale blue.

He announced his address aloud. The car thanked him and moved to the exit, accelerating out of the car park, up the ramp and onto the main road, slotting into the other traffic that had already moved to allow them access.

After a short drive, neither talking, they stopped outside the block of flats, where Adam lived. Tony headed inside with Ramsey following obediently behind while Adam instructed the car to park up and wait for them. The flat was the same as when they left it. Tony still checked every room with his wand before letting them in.

The three of them stood together in the small living room.

"I'll be about ten minutes while I get him to Azkaban and then get back here," Tony said turning towards Arn.

"Don't you want me to come with you?" Adam asked.

"You're not allowed in."

"Why?"

"Azkaban is a place that nobody ever wants to visit and you being a Muggle, means you might not come out again." He reached over and grabbed Arn's arm and apparated, giving Adam no chance to ask any more questions.

Adam used the time to make a drink, laughing at himself realising he would have to do it himself, the Muggle way.

He placed the cups down on the table in the living room before dropping onto the settee, deep in thought. Tony appeared in front of him, dropping on the other settee. He looked at Tony for a moment, noticing his quietness and his paler than usual complexion.

"Something bothering you." He said, breaking the silence.

"Azkaban. I'm not allowed in. I had to take him to a ministry building, they took him the rest of the way." He picked up the drink Adam had made, taking a sip, and pulling a face. "What are we going to do now?" He asked, putting the coffee back down.

"I recognise the Industrial estate from Arn's description, so a visit might be in order. We can take the car?"

"I can get us there quicker," Tony replied.

"Yes, you can, but I need time to think and recce the area before we go blundering in."

"Recce?"

"Check for ways in and out, places to hide, places to watch from."

The drive to the industrial estate had been quick as the traffic was quieter than usual. The silent car slipped through the darkening streets with an almost indecent haste before pulling up outside Hackney Wick station. They stepped out, unseen, Adam telling the car to find somewhere to park until he called it back.

"I know where they are." Said Tony looking towards the railway line. Adam turned towards him and went quiet.

"How do you know where they are?"

"I can see the shield they've put up."

"What do you mean by shield?" Adam asked looking around for some sort of barricade.

"They've put some form of hex up, which means they know when someone is getting too close, also it probably makes any Muggle decide to a head in a different direction." Adam noticed that he had taken his wand out.

"I take it you're expecting trouble?" He asked, feeling a little unnerved.

"I'm trying to put together some spells that will allow you to see what I can see for a short time, but, I've never done this before so." He shrugged his shoulders and pointed the wand.

Before Adam had a chance to protest, he felt a strange sensation flow over his body, almost like he was standing in front of a large fire, then a fan. It stopped and Adam gasped as he saw a glowing silver dome a few hundred meters away, above the top of the nearby building roofs. "It's bloody huge." He said to Tony, who was looking at him strangely.

"Anything the matter?" He asked.

"No, but I felt, for a moment, that something tried to stop me putting that spell on you."

"Is that unusual?"

"I have no idea, I've never done it before. Anyway, the shields over there." He replied pointing at something behind Adam.

Adam pointed the other way. "What the hell is that then?" Tony turned and saw a second and larger silvery dome.

"Shit." He exclaimed as he moved to one side and pointed in another direction, where they could both see a third smaller silvery dome. "I think we may have found an entire community."

"That could make things a little difficult," Adam replied.

A few minutes walking and they arrived at the nearest dome, which glowed with a faint blue radiance, now they were closer to it. Adam did not break stride as he passed through it. Tony went to stop him, shrugged his shoulders and followed, knowing the element of surprise was now long gone, he also realised that the shield should have stopped Adam in his tracks. He wondered whether he had overdone the magic, he had just put on him, too late now he thought.

They rounded a corner and found themselves in a busy marketplace, small glowing balls hung motionless at each overflowing stall, each a different colour, giving the area a very magical feel. Many people were animatedly walking and talking as they looked and bought items at the stalls.

"Where the fuck are we?" He asked of Tony, who was striding forward to the nearest stall. He stopped in front of it beside several people, who were dressed in so many styles' Adam gave in trying to pin them down. He looked down at the stalls produce and saw a whole manner of items, mostly unrecognisable. Tony took off at a fast walk, going from stall to stall, forcing Adam to follow in his wake. He was picking up items, then replacing them, stopping from time to time to ask questions, none of which made any sense to Adam.

"Where are we?" He asked again when he stopped for a moment.

"This is the Moon market." He replied an excited gleam in his eyes until he saw the look on Adams' face. "The market is supposedly a myth."

"I take it you didn't believe this?"

"No. At Hogwarts, it's a myth and never discussed. At Durmstrang, this is the place to go for all the things you can't buy through normal channels."

"Are you going to explain the normal channels?"

He gestured to Adam to follow him to a nearby stall which had many people, all of which seemed to be haggling at the same time.

"That plant, the tall one at the back?"

Adam looked, his eyes getting larger yet again. "Do you mean the one that is moving?" He asked, not believing what his eyes were telling him.

"Yes, that's an Abrus Antagonist, the spines contain a poison that paralyses anything that brushes against it, human, or animal, works in seconds."

"Then what does it do?"

"Nothing, it's just a defensive measure."

"Why the hell would a plant have a defence like that?"

"Depends on the plants and animals that live near it and could feed on it."

"And where would something like that live?"

"I have no idea. The poison in the leaves is used in a great number of potions and cost a bloody fortune; annoyingly, the plant itself is illegal here in the UK."

"The poison's not illegal?" Adam said sounding surprised.

"No, I expect Pinne uses it in his wand making and would have a decent sized bottle in his store. The seeds are interesting and the reason for the ban, they are about the size of a pea and they are expelled at great speed, fast enough to kill if you're in the way. Imagine the carnage if a Muggle got hold of one and planted it in his front garden." Tony paused for breath before continuing. "The market is not supposed to happen in the UK, however, if you know the right people, you are told where the next market will be." He looked at Adam, seeing he still had more questions and took pity on him. "The market is called the Moon market because it only used to happen on the first night of the full moon. Its location changes every time, hence you need an invitation, or you'd never find it unless you are very lucky and stumble into it like we just did."

"So I assume that all this is illegal to a degree?" He gestured around himself.

"Illegal. I doubt there's a single item for sale which is legal in the UK."

"What's your plan of action?"

"I'm going to find the guy who runs the show."

"What and then arrest him?"

Tony stopped and looked at Adam. "No, I'm going to try to get an invitation to the next one." He strode off into the crowd leaving Adam alone and a little apprehensive.

Gazing at a stall that was full to bursting with an assortment of different sized cages, all of which contained something. The nearest small cage had a small plant that seemed to be breathing. A hand pushed him to one side.

"Watch yourself, it's about to spit in your face. You'll be in Mungo's for a week."

Adam looked at the man, dressed in an old brown caretaker's overcoat.

"What the hell is it?"

"Didn't you go to school?" The man eyed him suspiciously.

"Yes, but not one you'd know."

The man moved away to serve a woman, who would have made Pinne seem small, she almost bent double to get her head under the stall's cover. He watched the animated talk between them before the stallholder started taking leaves of several plants, placing them in a paper bag.

Tony was suddenly standing beside him smiling. The stallholder and the tall women's heads had turned and were looking at Tony in a very unfriendly way.

"The next one is in South America, so that's no use, but at the end of next month, it's being held just outside Lykkeligdal."

"You got an invite then?"

"Yes and something else. The second large dome," he pointed towards the station, "is another part of the market, taverns, food stores, and the like. The third smaller dome is nothing to do with the market, in fact, someone has been warning shoppers off."

"I assume that's where we're going to next then." It was clear that Tony's current loyalties were being questioned as he looked at Adam then around at the market wistfully, before taking a deep breath.

"I offered to take a look at the other site, that's how I got the invite. This way." He said before striding off in the direction of the third dome and out of the market.

"It's only a few weeks away," Adam said catching up before stopping again.

Tony stopped and walked back. "The Moon Market used to happen every full moon, but the planet's a big place, so now there's a market almost every week. The next one is called the Wine Moon market."

"Is the market really that important?"

"If you knew what you can get here."

"Can you take me to the next one?" Adam asked.

"No problem." In the dim light, he could see the smile on Tony's face.

As they got closer to the smaller dome, they could see a milky blue radiance. Adam thought it looked different to the one they had passed earlier. He took the lead down the dimly lit street, the evening sky darkened further by low grey clouds. They stopped at the edge of the dome, and Tony waved his wand, which formed a large semi-circle forming an arch in the shield which allowed them both to enter, unobserved, he hoped.

They passed broken down doors and smashed windows, the walls covered by many layers of spray painted tags. Litter piled in every corner, dumped by mindless idiots and blown by the wind. The whole area had an air of long neglect. There were no lights coming from any of the windows, but Adam's years of experience told him that someone was watching them.

He looked back at Tony, tapped his ear and gestured for him to walk closer to the walls, rather than down the middle of the street. He obliged, hugging the wall while looking upwards.

Tony jumped as a quiet beep sounded in his ear. "Tony, get your head down, we're being watched." Adams' voice came from the earpiece he still had in his ear, the first time he had used it.

A noise from above Adam, made him freeze, his arm raised up, with the palm out.

"There's someone above me." Came from Tony's earpiece.

Tony dropped down and started looking at the house. He was standing next to a doorway, the doors missing; litter piled up inside, a deep unpleasant acrid smell told him what the locals used it for. He slipped inside, the street lights some distance away, reflecting off the low clouds provided a dim light, allowing him to negotiate the room to the stairway. He climbed, taking care in the dim light, slipping into the room that overlooked the street.

"Where are you?" Adams urgent request seemed loud in his ear.

"I'm in the house opposite, on the first floor." He whispered into the air, hoping the tiny microphone could hear his whispered voice.

Adams' voice came back. "Good, look at the roof; I think I hear someone walking over the tiles."

He looked out of the window and saw Adam creeping towards the door he was near too. He scanned the windows and roof opposite as he slipped his wand out of his sleeve. He whispered Homenum Revelio under his breath, brandishing his wand towards the buildings. A muffled shout came from the building, followed by a bright flash and a scream, sharply cut off. Tony watched Adam pass through the door and out of sight. Seconds later, Adam came back out of the door back first, before landing in the street; a figure came out, frontwards and running. Tony's wand moved again, Immobulus, the figure grunted before crashing to the floor. Adam crawled to one side, clutching his side, obviously hurt, a constant stream of curses, most Tony had not heard before, were being relayed into his ear. Movement caught his eye on the rooftop opposite, someone's head and shoulders on view. He was about to use his wand when he realised if he froze the person on the roof, he would probably fall to his death. The man on the roof rose up, crossed over the apex, down the side, and looked down on Adam. Tony realised the person had his wand drawn.

Immobulus, thought Adam, the man on the roof jerked for a moment before looking at Tony, then there came a sharp crack and the roof was empty. Tony fled back from the window, moving into the darkness where he could see the whole room and the top of the stairs and waited.

He didn't wait long, a figure apparated onto the top of the stairs, looking at the window where Tony was standing. Tony whispered, Incarcerous then, Locomotor Mortis. The man grunted and slumped forward, before twisting and turning towards Tony, a flash of sparks smashed into the wall above his head. He returned with flippendo, the figure crashed back into the wall and slid to the floor. The man groaned and moved. Tony repeated the incantation, the man slammed into the wall again, harder this time. He slid to one side and lay still.

He moved across the room, keeping low until he was next to the unconscious man. He whispered Incarcerous, this time the spell worked, he checked out the small body of the person to make sure they were not going anywhere and finding out it was a woman. He pulled her hat off and saw she had short blond hair. Smiling to himself, he ran down the stairs without tripping in the dark, and then outside crossing the street to Adam, who had not moved. Something was warning him they were still being watched. He touched Adams arm, his head spun around and looked up at him.

"The bastard stabbed me, luckily it's not deep, my coat took the impact. Is it safe to stand up?" Adam's voice echoed in his head as he was hearing it from Adam and through the earpiece.

"No. Stay down," Tony replied.

A loud crack came from above them, immediately followed by another. Tony ran back into the building and up the stairs, finding the immobilised woman had gone. A yell came from outside in the street, making Tony reverse his run back down the stairs. A bright flash lit up the street, followed by yet another crack. An anguished cry came from outside, repeated in his earpiece. Tony rushed out into the street, Adam was laying down and unmoving.

He groaned as Tony put his hand on his shoulder, breathing a sigh, knowing he was not dead.

Walked up the street, wand at the ready, only to realise the first person he had caught was also missing. He flicked his wand down the street and yelled in anger. The deserted street erupted in fire, rubbish was thrown into the air, as burning fragments.

Adam was sitting up looking along the street in amazement, as the flames died back, small pieces of black soot floated down to the ground. He felt quite relieved not to be on the end of the magic coming from Tony's wand.

"Bastard used his wand on me, felt like I was on fire for a moment, then something burnt around my neck." Tony knelt down. "I never even took my gun out of my pocket." He exclaimed.

Tony clasped Adams' arm and a moment later, they were in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.

Adam slumped onto the long bench that ran the length of the huge kitchen table while Tony opened the fridge and started rummaging through the small bottles.

"Here, drink this." He said, handing over a small bottle. "Then rub this on the burn marks on your neck." He placed a second small bottle on the table in front of Adam. He held them both and looked at Tony.

"One replenishes blood loss, the other clears burns. How deep is the knife wound?"

Adam lifted his shirt and looked at the thin red line across his stomach.

"Minor flesh wound, a little bloody."

Tony went back to the fridge and pulled another bottle out, this one a little larger, with a dropper. He pushed Adam back and dripped a little of the clear liquid on the wound and watched it stop bleeding and start to close until it disappeared.

"That's not a knife wound," Tony said, watching the wound close. "That was a spell and a nasty one at that."

After putting the bottle back in the fridge, he sat down and used his wand to pick up the charred necklace and slowly rotating it around in mid-air.

"Where the hell did you get this?" He asked, staring fascinatedly at the object.

"The wandmaker, Pinne, gave it me when you first went to that foreign place."

"He saved your life."

"What the hell was I hit with?"

"It's wasn't the killing curse. I think he tried to burn you alive."

"I think we may have upset someone, several someones's."

Tony slumped heavily onto the bench opposite Adam and put his head in his hands.

"Thanks for saving me back there. I was totally out of my depth." Adam said quietly.

"I was out of my depth as well; they made a bloody fool out of me tonight."

Adam looked surprised. "You seemed to know what you were doing. You went into the opposite building, thinking ahead. I've seen very experienced officers not handle themselves under fire as well as you did tonight."

"This is really my first job." He said looking straight at Adam. "Why have they put me on such a dangerous job, with a Muggle? I'm nowhere near skilled enough for work like this. I'm out of my depth."

Adam waited for a moment. "What are you saying?"

"I think I was put on this case, to fail."

"Prove them wrong," Adam said with finality as he slipped his shirt back on.

Tony took a deep breath and waved his wand at the table. Two large glasses of beer appeared.

"If you're right in what you're saying." Adam continued as he picked up his drink. "Then there is corruption within your ministry, at a very highest level."

"Then who do I trust?" Tony Implored.

"No one. Keep the information to ourselves and seed a little confusion in those you're reporting to. I've done that many times."

"How can I do that?"

"From what I can see, in the last few days, you have told people where you're going, or you use a method that can be monitored, so whoever is pulling the strings is ready for you." Tony nodded. "Make sure you tell people you're going somewhere, but go somewhere else."

"But all the travel methods can be monitored."

"We have a car. Do you monitor our transport systems?" Adam paused for a moment. "In fact, the best thing we can do is tell everyone, at different times, that you're going somewhere different." Adam smiled. "The important thing then is to be somewhere else."

"Doesn't that get confusing?"

"If it's confusing for you, imagine how confused your enemy will be."

"Is this what you do as a policeman?" Tony asked taking a drink.

"I do what I need to do. Tony nodded. "I had no idea what an Auror was, but I realise now, you're a sort of magical policeman, but you don't seem to be a detective." Tony Smiled. "I have no doubt that your training will have been exemplary and you're a good Auror, the problem is, you rely on your magic to give you the answers. In other words, you're doing what they expect. It's time to turn the tables somehow."

Tony had shown Adam his room and the crime board that had been set up. A big grin had appeared on Adam's face as he studied it.

"When were you going to tell me about these two?" He tapped on two pictures.

Tony smiled and stood next to Adam. "Hedgecock was found in a closet in the Ministry, the door was magically locked from the inside, and she had been killed by an unknown curse."

"Someone apparated in, did the deed and apparated out?"

"No, apparition within the Ministry is not allowed."

"Does that mean it can't be done?"

"Yes." Adam looked at him.

"Are you sure?"

"No, I'll check."

"Good. Have you spoken to her family?"

"She wasn't married and her partner has since disappeared."

"Her partner has disappeared and somehow the Ministry thinks this is somehow involved in our murders?" He nodded. "Have her work friends been interviewed?"

"I'll check."

"Who found Hedgecock and have they been interviewed?"

"I'll check."

"Good, we need to find her partner as a matter of urgency, just in case he is another victim, or." He left the sentence unfinished. "Next."

Tony ignored him, took a large piece of parchment out, along with an ornate pen and a bottle of ink. He wrote quickly and neatly, all the things Adam had mentioned. He turned to Adam when he had finished.

"Ninian Ferhe, as you know was killed in his bed in Torkel. Again an unknown spell was used."

"I thought it was by that avado thing?"

"Avada Kedavra, probably." He took the parchment and added more.

"Family?"

"None.

"Friends?"

"Many, you've met Charley Weasley. Most of Likkligdal was friends with him, for many years."

"Is that it, has anyone been interviewed as yet?"

"No." Adam nodded as Tony added this to the list.

"What have your people done to investigate Ferhe and Hedgecock's deaths so far?" He asked, Tony happy that he said people rather than him.

Freya took that moment to come in from her evening flight and sat on Tony's' shoulder getting the attention she thought she rightly deserved. He watched Tony roll up the parchment and attach it to her leg.

"You do realise this is basic police work, talk to family, talk to friends and workmates."

"I'm beginning to get it." He replied as Freya left through the window.

"Where's your bird going?"

"To the Ministry with that list of questions."

"Good, anything else about Ferhe I should know?"

"He knew Argonia Huxley for many years."

"OK, I see the link for Ferhe, but Hedgecock?" He shook his head.

"I agree. One more thing I need to do." He said, picking up some more parchments.

He looked at Tony as he placed the tip of his wand on his temple and pulled a fine silver thread from his head, he flicked it at the piece of parchment in his hand. The parchment slipped from his hand and pinned itself to the board.

"This doesn't hurt." Tony's wand touched the side of Adams' head; again, the thread of silver left his head and ended up on the board as before. Adam realised the parchment contained a picture of the man who had hit him with the magic, twice.

"Can you make another copy of the picture of the man who stabbed me? I'll get it into the computer system and see if it will come up with a name and address."

Tony waved his wand and another piece of parchment flipped into the air. Adam reached up and caught it. The man's face shown in black and white, moved to look at Adam. He yelped and dropped the parchment.

"What's wrong?" Asked Tony catching the parchment before it hit the floor.

"The picture was moving."

"Sorry, Adam. I should have told you." He walked up to the wall and pointed at some other pictures. Adam followed him and saw that most of the pictures were moving.

He looked at him. "How come I didn't see this earlier?"

"The spell I put on you at the market, allows you to see most of the magic that's around us. The pictures are magic, so now you can see them as I see them." Tony said grinning.

"No, when we stood here a moment ago, I didn't see them moving, now I can't see anything else. That is so strange."

Adam dropped the photograph on the table, pulled out his notebook, took a photo of it and the other picture Tony had produced. The second picture showed an elfin-faced blond short-haired girl.

"I have a question?" Said Adam, Tony looked up. "Would that charm the wand maker gave me, have saved me from that killing curse?"

"Not for a moment and from that range, he wouldn't have missed."

"Next question. Why did he use a curse that the charm could stop?"

"I don't understand."

"The killers are not afraid of the ramifications of life in your prison, so why use a curse that can be stopped, when they could have killed me outright?"

"They didn't want you dead, just out the way, perhaps," Tony replied and then after a moment. "I would guess they knew nothing of Pinne's charm."

"Or it could also suggest Pinne is involved."

"Not necessarily. He could be acting in good faith."

"I think we need to have a chat with him again."

"As much as Pinne is a very gentle man, he wouldn't take kindly to being woken at this hour."

"He's probably in the Leaky Cauldron, a little worse for wear," Adam said making Tony look at him.

"He can put more of the local brew away quicker than you and still walk afterwards."

"Then I see no reason why we shouldn't go and see him now," Adam said starting to rise.

"Not on your life, I need a few hours' sleep and so do you after what happened tonight."

Adam sank back down. "You're probably right and he's not going anywhere."

"Do you want me to take you back to your flat? I only have access to my room." Adam went to speak. "Hold on," Tony said, leaping up and going to the living room.

"Meninda." He called gently into the empty room. A loud snap made him jump and the little grey man was standing beside him.

"Good evening young master, how may I help?"

"Do you have a spare room for my partner for the night?"

"All rooms upstairs are currently occupied, however a small room at the rear of the house is available, with a small bathroom."

"Wonderful."

"Am I right in thinking your partner is the Muggle?" Tony nodded. "Meninda has not worked for Muggles before; does he know about house-elves?"

"No, he doesn't."

"I will make sure not to surprise him."

"Thank you Meninda and his name is Adam."

"The Muggles room will be ready in five minutes. I will make sure his clothes are clean, repaired, and ready for breakfast."

A loud snap signalled his departure before Tony could thank him or ask who was in all the occupied rooms.

"He went back into the living room and found Adam deep in thought.

"Are we ready to go?" He asked.

"No need, I just checked the spare room at the back, past the kitchen. You can stay there for tonight. Leave your clothes on the floor outside your door. Someone will arrange for them to be cleaned and repaired ready for tomorrow."

"You get looked after a far better than we do, or do you use magic?" He asked.

"Magic yes, but not by me. I think this place is just for the time I'm on this case. When I get down to normal Auror work, I'll have to find somewhere proper to live, if I can afford it."