After a few weeks of the new term everything pretty much settled into the usual routine. The teachers piled on the homework. Oliver scheduled a ridiculous amount of Quidditch practice. Filch stomped about the castle complaining about students. Moaning Myrtle flooded her bathroom on at least one occasion. And Fred and George regularly spent time narrowly avoiding being placed in detention. Even Peeves, who had taken to singing 'Potter you rotter, oh, what have you done? You're killing off students, you think it's good fun' at Harry every chance he got, became fed up with the predictability and chose to add some new dance moves to his repertoire.

In early February Hermione had returned enough to her old self that she was allowed out of the Hospital Wing which caused a great deal of excitement, as people started to badger her for an explanation for her disappearance. However, students were left disappointed when it soon became apparent that she had no intention of revealing the reason for her stay in the Infirmary.

The mood in the school had grown more hopeful since the start of the year. There had been no new attacks since those on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, and Madam Sprout was pleased to report that the Mandrakes which were to be used to unpetrify those that had been attacked were maturing nicely.

"I overheard Pomfrey talking to Filch the other day," said Lee, as he and the twins made their way down to breakfast. "Apparently the Mandrakes have to be repotted one more time and then left to fully grow for a bit longer. Then they'll be able to brew the potion to revive everyone."

"Including Mrs Norris?" sighed Fred. "I would say that having that cat back might make Filch less angry but he wasn't exactly laid back before she was Petrified."

"You never know, we might get lucky and the potion might not work on a cat," said George.

"When are we ever that lucky?" wondered Fred. He let out a yawn which he tried to stifle against the back of his hand. The Quidditch team had a late night practice the previous night that overran.

The boys made their way into the Great Hall and stopped at the door with their mouths open. The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers, while heart-shaped confetti fell from the pale blue ceiling. At the teachers' table sat Lockhart, wearing robes that matched the decorations, and the rest of the faculty who looked decidedly stony-faced in their usual clothing.

"What in Godric's name is going on?" said Fred, as the boys found their usual spot on the Gryffindor table.

"I think it's nice," said Alicia as he sat down next to her. She looked around the room. "Well… maybe a little over the top."

"A little?" said George, sarcastically. A firework arched through the air leaving a trail of heart-shaped clouds in its wake and exploded into dozens of smaller hearts.

"Okay, maybe it's a lot over the top," conceded Alicia. "But this place could use a little cheering up at the moment."

After a while Lockhart rose to his feet and waved the room into silence.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may I think the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I've taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all… and it doesn't end here!"

He clapped his hands together and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs all wearing matching golden wings and carrying harps.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" beamed Lockhart. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

If looks could kill then Snape's expression would have been enough to wipe out the whole school and a large portion of the population of Hogsmeade. Flitwick just buried his face in his hands.

"I take it back," said George, smiling. "This is going to be awesome."

Lee quickly understood what his friend had meant as halfway through their first class two of the dwarfs barged into their Charms lesson and looked at the students as though they were sizing them up.

"Lee Jordan?" barked one of the dwarfs.

"Er… yes?" said Lee. Every head turned to look at him.

"Ahem," said the dwarf, twanging a note on his harp. He then began to sing:

"Lee Jordan, you are oh so brave,

Loyal, wise, and well behaved,

Around my heart you have drawn a cordon,

Wonderful, beautiful, amazing Lee Jordan."

The dwarf then reach into the brown satchel slung over his shoulder and grabbed a handful of confetti and threw it in the air above Lee's head before stomping back out of the room. Lee stood in stunned silence for a few moments before looking around the room at all the people staring at him with their mouths wide open. His gaze settled on Fred and George who were doing their best to try to not laugh out loud.

"Oh, you complete gits," said Lee, launching himself at the pair.

"Don't blame me," complained Fred, hiding behind his brother as Lee tried to slap the pair of them.

"It was your idea," said George, holding his hands over his head.

"Yeah, but you came up with that song," said Fred.

"That's quite enough Mr Jordan," said Professor Flitwick, finally having regained his ability to talk. He waved his wand towards to door to lock it magically and prevent any further disruptions.

"Did you not just see what they did?" complained Lee. He suddenly realised he was talking to a teacher and added; "sir."

"Yes I did Mr Jordan," said Flitwick. "And while I understand your desire for retribution, as a teacher I cannot stand by and do nothing if I witness any violent reprisals that you may wish to visit upon your friends, however justified they may be. On the other hand it has been a while since I have enjoyed gazing out of this window at the lovely view across the lake."

Flitwick waved his wand and a stack of nearby books floated across the room and formed into a rudimentary staircase that allowed him to climb up and look out of the window. He stood patiently with his arms resting behind his back. There were two loud thumps.

"That should do it," Flitwick said to the room at large and turned back around. Fred and George were wincing and trying to rub some life back into their shoulders whilst Lee massaged the knuckles of one hand with his other. "Shall we get back to the lesson?"

"I don't know why you hit me," complained George. "As I said, it was all Fred's idea."

"I didn't come up with 'around my heart you have drawn a cordon'," said Fred. "You deserve a punch for that alone."

"You try and come up with something that rhymes with Jordan," countered George.

In fact Fred managed to come up with two phrases that rhymed with Jordan, 'warden' and 'boredom', which he used to get the dwarfs to interrupt Herbology and History of Magic and embarrass Lee further. Not one to take things lying down, Lee fired back by sending Fred and George two singing dwarfs each during lunch and also History of Magic. The latter arrived at the same time as Lee's singing dwarf which resulted in all three dwarfs trying their best to warble their message louder than the others whilst Professor Binns continue his lecture on the attempted implementation of Rappaport's Law in England during the late 1800's without paying a bit of notice to the new arrivals.

By the afternoon all the teachers were sick of the interruptions to their lessons, with the exceptions of Binns (who didn't notice) and Lockhart (who generally joined in), and took to locking their doors once the classroom had been filled. This led to the dwarfs lying in wait in the corridors to ambush the students when they least expected.

One poor recipient was Harry who had tried to escape through a crowd of students but was eventually chased down and tackled to the floor by one rather eager dwarf. The messenger proceeded to sing his song in full view of a whole pack of students that included a large number of first years and, even worse, Draco Malfoy and his two followers Crabbe and Goyle. Fred suspected that it might have been Ginny that had sent the message as the girl had done bright red the moment the words had been sung.

After dinner the Common Room was relatively subdued, at least it was after Harry retreated to his dormitory since Fred and George kept loudly singing the same song that the dwarf had sung to him in the corridor. Most people were sat around trying to finish their homework, reading to themselves, or chatting quietly in small groups.

"Fred?" said a voice as the boy came back to the Common Room after visiting the toilet.

"Oh hi Alicia," said Fred. "If you're looking to borrow my Transfiguration homework I haven't done it yet. Same goes for Potions… and Charms… also Herbology. I did start my History of Magic but turns out I wrote down the wrong page and did completely the wrong topic. Also haven't started Muggle Studies."

"Oh, it wasn't about that… wait, weren't most of those due yesterday and today?" said Alicia, frowning.

"Yep," nodded Fred. "Well, Snape's is due tomorrow. But I figured the others would be too busy marking homework from the rest of our year. I didn't want to add to their load."

"You're so considerate," said Alicia, flatly.

"I know, right? And they still threaten me with detention," said Fred, shaking his head.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks," said Alicia. "It was unexpected, but it was nice."

"Oh well, don't mention it," said Fred, nodding. There were a few seconds of silence before he continued. "But if you were to mention it, what would you be mentioning?"

"You know… the poem," said Alicia, blushing slightly.

"Ah yes… the poem," said Fred. "And what poem would that be?"

"Merlin's Beard, you can be annoying…" said Alicia. She looked around the room, moved closer, and lowered her voice. "The love poem."

"Okay," said Fred, slowly. "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Unless you mean the song George and I kept singing at Harry, cos we didn't write that one. I suspect it might have been Ginny though, she has a mad crush on him."

"No, I meant the one about me," said Alicia. "You said I had eyes like 'coffee swirls' and skin like 'caramel' and lips that… oh my god. You didn't send it at all, did you?"

"What? No, of course I didn't," stammered Fred, as the girl started to repeatedly punched him on the arm. "Why are you hitting me?"

"Because… because…" faltered Alicia as she bashed him with each word. She stopped and pointed a finger at him. "You're such an idiot."

"What did I do?" complained Fred, as Alicia stormed away from him.

"Apparently nothing," snapped Alicia, as she disappeared up the stairs to her dormitory.

"What was that about?" asked Lee, who like the rest of the room had been staring at the altercation.

"I have absolutely no idea," said Fred, sitting down with a slightly stunned expression on his face. "She was going on about some poem, and coffee swirl eyes or something."

"Oh yeah, I saw one of Lockhart's dwarfs singing to her earlier on in the corridor after dinner," said George. "Wait, does she think that you sent it? You didn't, did you?"

"No, pretty sure it was Rupert Cahir from Hufflepuff, he's always had a thing for her," said Lee. "Plus he was in the corridor when they sang it and looked rather pleased with her reaction."

"So she was pleased that she got the song but for some reason her first thought was that Fred sent it," said George. He turned to look at his brother as a wide grin slowly formed on his face. "Something to tell us Fred?"

"What? No, of course not," said Fred, frowning.

"Come on, you can tell us," said Lee, hitting Fred's shoulder with his own. "How long has it been going on?"

"Nothing is going on," replied Fred.

"Yeah right," scoffed Lee. "Why else would she think you had sent that song? Hang on, here's a thought. You should probably say something to Rupert. Tell him to back off. He shouldn't be sending love poems to your girl."

"She's not my…" complained Fred, standing up. "You need to shut your cake holes."

"That's it, that's what you tell Rupert," said George, snapping his fingers.

"I give up," snapped Fred, heading up to bed.

"Oh to be young and in love," said George, shaking his head.

"Aren't you the exact same age as him?"

"You say potato, I say potato," replied George.

"Po-tart-o."

"What?"

"The saying is 'you say potato, I say po-tart-o'. Otherwise you're just saying the word potato twice."

"Isn't that what you're doing as well?"

"Well yes, but you're supposed to pronounce it differently the second time."

"But no one pronounces it 'po-tart-to', it makes no sense."

"It's an old muggle song," explained Lee.

"About potatoes?"

"Well, yes," said Lee, sounding uncertain. "And tomatoes."

"Muggles are so weird," said George, shaking his head. "The important thing however is that I have something to tease Fred about."

"What? That one of the best looking girls in our year probably likes him?" asked Lee. "How could that possibly be something you could tease him about?"

"Po-tart-o, tomato, Lee. Po-tart-o, tomato."

"You're not using that the right way," advised Lee.

"To-may-to, potato, potato, to-may-to?"

"Just stop," said Lee. "I'm going to bed."

George quietly watched as Lee headed upstairs, before looking around the room at the remaining occupants. He patted his stomach and looked thoughtful for a few moments.

"I'm hungry. I wonder if the kitchen has potatoes."

Lexington and Miro did their best to try and track Wentworth after his escape from the hospital but even with the help of Bellingsbee, who had a surprisingly large number of contacts amongst the less desirable members of the wizarding community in New York, they were finding the going tough with numerous dead-ends and leads that turned out to be nothing but rumour. They were close to giving up and returning to England when Bellingsbee reached out to Lexington and arranged to meet with them. The location the custodian had chosen turned out to be a dark and dingy bar down a non-descript side-street that Miro wouldn't have given a second look if they hadn't been following the man's directions.

The windows to the bar were tinted and it was impossible to see anything from the outside. Pushing the door back they were greeted with a musty smell of alcohol and sweat.

"Members only," snapped a burly man sat just on the inside of the door. The pair had been warned by Bellingsbee to expect this and quickly showed their wands. The man grunted his approval and nodded for them to go inside. "No trouble."

Inside the bar was dimly lit and the low slung ceiling made it feel darker still. Miro followed Lexington through the main bar to a booth at the back where Bellingsbee was waiting for them. The booth provided them with privacy but the older man still leaned forward and kept his voice low.

"Sorry about the meeting place," said Bellingsbee, looking around to make sure there was no one nearby. "Couldn't really meet at the hospital, it seems that your little investigation is starting to get the attention of the MACUSA. A few days ago I had some Aurors come knocking to ask questions, they seemed pretty interested to know if I'd bumped into any Brits in the last few weeks."

"Why would they care what we're up to?" snorted Lexington.

"Well from what I understand you might have been getting a bit too forceful with some of your questioning," said Bellingsbee, settling back into his chair.

"That last goblin knew something I tell you," said Lexington.

"Either way you can't go throwing your weight around like that, especially not with goblins. They have a large amount of political pull within the MACUSA and aren't afraid to use it if one of their own are threatened."

"I didn't threaten him," complained Lexington.

"You said you'd curse his ears off," Miro reminded him.

"Ahh they were too big anyway," said Lexington dismissively.

"Anyway, I think the Aurors suspect I might be helping you," advised Bellingsbee. "The list of people who you'd reach out to for help in New York is slim. Pretty sure I've been put under surveillance, I spotted an Auror waiting outside the hospital when I had to run some errands this morning and I saw the same Auror again two hours later over the far side of the city. Can't be a coincidence."

"That explains why you wanted to meet here," said Lexington looking around the bar. "It's not exactly the finest of establishments."

"Exactly, no one from MACUSA would be welcome in here and Tiny over there…" Bellingsbee nodded to the man sat at the front door, "is very good at spotting them. Even ex-Aurors aren't allowed, I'm only given a pass because I helped his mother jump the queue a bit for treatment at Grönings."

"So I take it you have some news which you didn't want to send by owl?"

"Yeah, there have been whispers coming out of the Egyptian community," said Bellingsbee.

"Makes sense. Sect of Kai was from Egypt originally and the book that Formby got hold of was smuggled out of there too," said Lexington, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Well whatever's going on has them riled up. The goblins too."

"Why the goblins?"

"Your man Formby worked for Gringotts. That's goblin owned. The fact that an employee of theirs was killed after smuggling a Kai artifact out of Egypt does not look good for them. If word got out then it might result in Ministries around the world taking a much keener interest in how they do business, and the last thing Gringotts wants is interference," said Bellingsbee. "So watch your backs, because the easiest way from them to cover this whole thing up would be to get hold of that book you have and I doubt they'll ask nicely for it."

"Great, so we just have to worry about the Sect of Kai, MACUSA, and now Gringotts," sighed Miro.

"Don't forget the Egyptian Ministry as well," said Bellingsbee, holding up a finger. "They made a whole song and dance about having caught all remaining members of the Sect of Kai a few years back, so it wouldn't be good for their reputation if news of even one surviving member surfaces."

"So what were the whispers?"

"Apparently a number of Egyptian Aurors have been arriving in New York over the last few weeks, and none of their travel has been officially registered with MACUSA. They've all come in using muggle transport," Bellingsbee pulled out a map of the city from his pocket and fanned it out onto the table. He pointed to a large circle he had drawn on the map. "They've been spotted all around here…"

"Like they're looking for something… or someone," said Lexington.

"Exactly," said Bellingsbee. "They might have a way to track Wentworth, or at least his general location."

"What's the plan?"

"I have eyes on most of the Egyptians," said Bellingsbee. He took out an old battered notepad that was filled with scribbled sentences, turned it to the first blank page, and wedged it open on the table. "They seemed to be gearing up for something today. If it happens, someone will send me a message with the location. We get there and grab Wentworth first and escape. Hopefully before anyone realises we're there. Oh and we'll need theses."

The man reached down into a bag under the table and brought out three sets of copper coloured handcuffs.

"Can't we just freeze him?" asked Miro.

"Probably, but that man was able to Apparate without a wand," said Bellingsbee. "Not many could do it successfully which either makes him lucky or powerful. Either way slap one of these around his wrists and it'll prevent him from doing any magic."

"Right," said Miro, taking one of the pairs of handcuffs and sticking them in his pocket.

While they waited the trio chatted away or, more accurately, the two older men chatted about old times while Miro listened intently to their stories. It was about an hour or so before Bellingsbee leaned forward and looked at his notepad. Miro looked down and could see words forming on the page.

"Looks like we have a location," said Bellingsbee reading the words as they appeared. He looked up at Miro and waved a hand at the notepad. "Old Auror trick, I duplicated the notepad, enchanted the pages, and gave a copy to someone watching the Egyptians. Now when he writes on his notepad, it appears on this one, and vice-versa. Surprised you don't use it."

"They tried at the Ministry but we could never get it to work consistently, words got jumbled, changed entirely or just burst into flame. I think it has something to do with the paper over here," said Lexington.

"Well, I know this place," said Bellingsbee, pointing at the words. He put away the notepad and held his arm out. "You guys grab hold and I'll Apparate us there."

Miro and Lexington did as they were told and held onto the man's arm tightly. They felt the air squeeze around them and everything temporarily go black. Miro hated Apparating and closed his eyes for the duration only opening them again when he felt his feet back on solid ground. Opening his eyes he realised they were standing in a long but narrow alleyway with buildings all around.

"That's the building there," said Bellingsbee, nodding over the other side of the street. "It's an old theatre, that's one of the side doors. I'd say that'll be our way inside. Here's my man now."

Miro looked up to see a small figure rushing towards them. It was impossible to see its features as it had an oversized hood pulled up over its head. As soon as it reached them Bellingsbee leaned down and the individual whispered for a few minutes into his ear before scurrying away down the alleyway.

"I thought you said we had to watch out for goblins," said Lexington, nodding at the retreating figure.

"In general yes, but that one was fired from Gringotts years ago and has held a grudge ever since so I'm pretty sure we're safe in that regard," explained Bellingsbee. "He said the Egyptians entered the building about five minutes ago and from the look of it they are searching top to bottom. They've stationed guards at all the other entrances ways; they only missed this one because our goblin friend got here first and temporarily masked it while they were quickly checking the outside. If we sneak in now we'll just have about time to search the basement before they reach it. It's not much but it's better than nothing. Also, we have to be quick because if we run into any of them we'll probably have to fight our way out. The first thing they did when they arrived was put an Anti-Apparition Charm on the building."

"Just perfect," said Miro flatly.

"We had better be quick then," said Lexington. He took out his wand with one hand and held the set of handcuffs in the other, Bellingsbee and Miro did the same.

The three approached the door and, after carefully checking the coast was clear, quickly headed inside. There was a nearby stairwell and they could hear movement from the upper levels. Moving as fast as they dared whilst trying to remain quiet they made their way down towards the basement. There were a series of small rooms, each one filled with old props and partial production sets all covered in a thin layer of dust and cobwebs.

Eventually they found a room at the end of long corridor. Through the keyhole and the small gap at the bottom of the door they could see that a light was on inside the room, and by the occasional flickering they knew that someone was inside and pacing around. Miro leaned against the wall next to the door and placed his hand on the handle. Lexington nodded and he twisted the handle as Lexington barged into the room wand raised.

"Ah ah, easy now," ordered Lexington pointing his wand at Wentworth. Miro and Bellingsbee filtered into the room and checked there was no one else inside.

The room was larger than the others they had been in but basically looked the same with several clothes railings pushed against the walls each filled with different costumes.

"You're damn persistent, you know that?" said Wentworth, holding a sharp slightly curved dagger. Lexington quickly disarmed him with a spell, catching the blade as it spun out of the man's hand.

Instead of answering Lexington quickly performed a freezing spell on the man and caught him before his stiff body fell to the floor. He lowered Wentworth down onto his front, performed the counter curse, and before he could make any moves Lexington snapped the handcuffs around the man's wrists and pulled him back up.

"Surprised you didn't make it further," said Lexington, holding onto the man's arm.

"Without my wand it made it difficult. Ended up splicing myself when I Apparated," he turned his right leg slightly to show them a dried patch of blood around the calf. "Couldn't risk another wizard hospital and didn't have any muggle money to try one of theirs, so I just did the best I could."

"How very resourceful of you," said Lexington, guiding the man out into the corridor.

"I don't suppose one of you kind fellows would be interested in patching me up."

"We'll consider it once we get you somewhere secure and only if you start talking," advised Lexington.

"Secure?" said Wentworth frowning. "This building is pretty secure, especially since you put that Anti-Apparition Charm on it… unless that wasn't you? It wasn't, was it?"

"Shut up and move. And keep your voice down," said Lexington, pushing the man who then dug his heels in and flopped against the wall.

"Maybe I'd be better going with whoever is up there?" said Wentworth, raising his voice.

"It's the Egyptian Ministry," explained Miro. "You rather deal with them?"

"Seeing as they want me dead, I'd say no."

"Exactly," nodded Miro. He pointed his wand down the corridor. "Now move."

Lexington led the way while Miro held onto Wentworth's arm with one hand while keeping the wand aimed at their prisoner with the other and Bellingsbee brought up the rear. They had almost made it to the stairwell when Lexington held up a hand to stop them before quickly ushering them into a nearby room. Inside were a large number of cardboard paintings that depicted various different landscapes and backdrops.

"Someone was coming, well, probably more than one," explained Lexington, looking around the room. He pointed to a stack of the largest cardboard canvases that were propped against the far wall. "Quickly, we'll hide behind these and hope they don't look too hard."

They had only just managed to get into position as the door was forced open. Miro held his breath as he heard the footsteps of several people entering the room followed by a few harsh words in a language that he recognised as Egyptian from a Hogwarts school trip a couple of years previously. He could see the light from someone's wand skirt around the room as they gave it a cursory look. Miro almost forgot himself and went to let out a relieved sigh when they began leaving the room but he caught himself in time.

"Wait," said a voice, just before the searchers left.

There was a pause that could have only lastly less than ten seconds but felt to Miro like an eternity. Suddenly, he felt the cardboard leaning over his head being pulled forward revealing their hiding place.

"Careful now, we didn't come here to fight," warned Lexington, raising his wand as Bellingsbee and Miro did likewise.

"Really? Surely that's half the fun," said the owner of the voice, whose face Miro instantly recognised.

"Enoch?" said Miro, lowering his wand.

"The very same," said Enoch, smiling a broad grin. "Howya been lads?"