Chapter 14

"Nundus?" asked Severus, a laugh in his voice.

Hermione giggled as she took plates from the dresser and then opened the drawer for cutlery. "Narcissa really does have the most unique friends!" she exclaimed, shutting the drawer with her hip and walking to the table to lay everything in place. "Among the things we talked about today was her helping us with our situation. She has a network of 'spies', both human and, erm, non-human."

"And Nundus are part of her spy network?" Severus asked while tossing the salad he'd been preparing with a vinaigrette dressing.

"I don't think she uses them per se, but she knows a person who does. She knows several high-profile people, to be honest. Wouldn't surprise me if she knew the Queen of England," Hermione said as she twitched a spoon into place.

"Nor me," said Severus. "Nor does it surprise me she knows people who are spies. That woman has always been crafty; must be part of the Black legacy."

"I doubt the Blacks or Malfoys, knowing their penchant for all things pureblood, knew many Muggle MI5 agents," replied Hermione as the couple sat down to eat their dinner.

"What's the old saying?" began Severus, "Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer? The Blacks may have hated all things Muggle, but they kept their enemy close for when they needed them." He took a bite of salad and asked, around his mouthful, "Narcissa knows an MI5 agent?"

Hermione nodded. "A woman by the name of Draconia Corvus. Apparently, she was an apprentice magizoologist under Newt Scamander."

Severus shivered comically and said, "Shades of Luna Lovegood."

"Stop!" Hermione laughed. "Luna adores her father-in-law!"

"Love, our problem is not really MI5 worthy don't you think? It's just malicious gossip by that twit Rita and a few of her cronies, whom we probably know."

"I agree, but it's more than just malicious gossip. It is our livelihoods at stake. I don't care about your past lovers—well, I do, in a way—but I don't want you to lose your business over some stupid hag!"

"My past, erm, romances, such as they were, will never be a point of worry for you, I promise. And as much as you don't want me to lose my business, I don't want you to lose your job or your reputation over some idiot acting like a child because he didn't get the toy he wanted."

"I agree. We need a plan of attack. I've got Narcissa looking into her contacts, and I've got some new found language skills that will help me learn a few things at work."

"Language skills?" asked Severus, a confused look on his face.

"Not new in the sense of a spoken language," Hermione explained, "but a way to draw out the information, to hear what isn't being said. Narcissa taught me…it's all about subtly; the way of a hand is held, a foot is put forward, an eyebrow is raised, a shoulder is patted. I could hardly believe the ramifications of it all, to be honest. It certainly opened my eyes, and I will be watching more closely when I am with friends who are pureblood and my co-workers. Narcissa said that even the men have a subtly all their own with language."

Severus nodded. "I remember Lucius always seeming to know that more was being said in a conversation just from a simple gesture."

Hermione nodded. "There's so much Muggleborns or even Half-bloods simply don't know about the Wizarding world. Usually their first experience, at least in the case of Muggleborns, is their letter and their first trip to Diagon Alley. It's just a good thing the goblins understand this when they go to Gringotts to set up their school accounts!"

"I had told Albus and Minerva on many occasions that there needs to be an introductory course of some sort…something the summer before they officially come to Hogwarts…a primer on the basics of Wizarding life."

"I agree. In the long run, Narcissa has helped me realize I am not going to take this lying down and returned some of my confidence. I have friends who will help, and you, of course."

"Indeed you do."

"I'm going to write to Harry again. He said he'd look into a few things for me and perhaps this is another chance for us to rebuild some fences."

"Do you think you're ready to rebuild them? Won't repairing your relationship with Potter involve you seeing the Weasleys again, Ginevra in particular?"

Hermione pushed her fork around her plate, chasing a Brussel sprout. "I think I'm ready. Harry said Ginny was sorry for how she behaved."

"May I offer a bit of advice?" Severus asked earnestly.

"Of course! You know I value your opinion."

"Let's solve this situation first before you attempt to repair your friendship with the Potters. I would owl Harry and only deal with him as far as what information and follow through he may have regarding our problem. Then, without the stress of solving this mystery, you can consider contacting them with a clear mind."

Hermione considered what Severus had said and then stood to pick up her now empty plate. She leant over and brushed a kiss along her wizard's cheek as she went into the kitchen. "You're right," she said, "bridge building right now would be clouded by the doubt of whether I was wanting a true reconciliation or just me using them to obtain what I need. I'll keep it professional for now and then we'll see. Do you want pudding at the table or while we watch the telly?"

Severus stood, picking up the serving dishes and answered, "Our tradition is to watch telly, so telly it will be." He entered the kitchen and set the bowls near the sink. "By the way, tomorrow's Saturday; would you be able to help me in the shop? One of the clerks is off to go to a wedding over the weekend."

Hermione said she'd be happy to and began to prepare a tray of tea and pudding.

SSHG

Hermione arrived at work the Monday morning a bit earlier than usual, having timed her arrival so that she'd be there before the rest of the brewing staff. She wanted to have uninterrupted time to explore, both physically and magically, the hall leading to her office. She knew that there was the niche where the water fountain was, but she really had never paid much attention to structure and decorations of the hall after her first few days of employment years ago, as so many do when they become used to their environment. She realized know how detrimental her lack of attention was; Professor Moody's motto of 'Constant vigilance' bounced through her brain and she snickered.

The hall was approximately fifty metres long, and there were four doors—one at the far end that led to her office, two on the right—one led to a store cupboard and the other to an entrance to the main brewing lab. Hermione had an entrance from within her office as well. The final door, on the left, led to a small veranda where those who smoked were required to go; cigarette and cigar smoke could affect not only rare ingredients but the outcome of a potion, so Draco demanded workers smoke here. There was a charm on the door that removed all odours as workers stepped back into the hall. Two large windows on either side of this door allowed light in and allowed Hermione and any other workers see who was outdoors, in case they were needed.

She ran her fingers along the frames of all the doors for any devices that had been hidden away. Although magic could make an object invisible, it couldn't take away it's physicality; that was what Evanesco was for, after all. The frames were smooth and unblemished. Next, she looked at the window glass for any cracking that may indicate a breach in security and found none. She cast a spell over the entire hall, doors and windows to detect any listening or recording devices and found none. She studied the few pictures and plants that dotted the length of the hall to discover nothing unusual.

Finally, she slid into the somewhat small space between the fountain and its surrounding niche. It was a bit tight, but for someone slim—such as Kane—it could be managed. She was sure now that this could be how whoever had stolen her recipes had accomplished learning her wards.

As a final check, she swept the entire hall and all its contents for magical signatures. As she expected, there was heavy residue of her own signature. There was also very light residue of those she knew who used the veranda; perhaps they checked the time before heading back to work? She was dismayed, but not surprised to find the residue of another caster near her door and in the niche. It was not as heavy as her own signature but not as light as the easier cast charms such as Tempus. Someone stood here a long while casting magic. Gotcha! she thought as she pulled the signature and placed it in a phial she pulled from the bag over her shoulder. She would not be surprised if it was Kane's signature, but would need to prove it was him, rather than someone else using his wand. She smiled and giggled despite the severity of the situation; this spot would be perfect for one of Narcissa's little spies. She resolved to send her an owl immediately to recruit one.

Feeling more confident now that she had begun to tick off items on her 'who, what, how, and why' list she had mentally made, Hermione opened her office and greeted her work owl, Mr. Muggins. He was a small owl—not as small as Pigwidgeon—with brown and white feathers which had dark spots upon them. He had very expressive eyes and the cutest little feathers sprouting from the top of his head, much like a human would have a cowlick. Hermione learned early on by his firm nip to her finger that Mr. Muggins categorically did not appreciate having his little cowlicks 'boinged'. She adored him and even taught him a few tricks when she had been bored one afternoon.

"Good morning, Mr. Muggins!" she said happily. "Did you have a pleasant evening? I see you caught something last night." Hermione looked at the tray beneath his perch and saw the remains of what was probably a field mouse. She had charmed her lab window to open and close at a tap of Mr. Muggins' beak. "Will you take a letter for me? It's to Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy. She has a lovely owlery, according to Severus, and will allow you to rest there before sending a letter back."

Mr. Muggins hooted in the affirmative, giving her a big wink as he did so. Hermione laughed and quickly scribbled a letter to Narcissa. She gave Muggins a kiss on the top of his head, and he tapped the window and was gone in a flash.

The tapping upon the window reminded Hermione that she needed to recheck and recast all the wards on her office and began to do so, first making sure there were no devices planted anywhere. She paid special attention to the door that led from her office to the lab and was not surprised to find a signature that was not her own; someone had gained access to her office at some point. She also wondered if anyone knew that she had charmed her window for her owl. It was a common enough thing to do in any wizarding house or office so that one wasn't bothered with opening and closing the window for the owl. For that very reason, it would be the perfect access point for anyone wishing to gain entry. She decided that she would spend her time in the office today, working on developing a charm to monitor how many times the window opened and closed and if it were done by owl, human, or magic.

She had been working for an hour when a soft knock on her door interrupted her. As she looked up, Draco's head appeared.

"Can you break away long enough to come to my office for a few?"

"You came all the way here just to ask? You could have sent the message elf."

"They can be intercepted, and this is important."

"Can we not talk here?" Hermione asked, standing and tidying away her work.

"No. I have someone who wishes to talk to us, and it would be unusual for her to be in this part of the building."

Hermione looked at Draco questioningly and he nodded. "Lead on, then," she said.

Draco opened the door to his office suite, and Hermione was not surprised to see Draco's secretary, Miranda, at her desk. She smiled at the woman, but when Miranda stood and followed the pair into Draco's office, she became curious.

"Have a seat both of you," directed Draco. "Hermione," he began, "a few weeks ago, Potter and I had a meeting regarding the explosion and its investigation. We took the liberty of asking Miranda here," he gestured to the woman, "to help us in our search for information."

"May I ask why?" Hermione inquired.

"She can be in places I can't, such as the staff café or even having drinks with the other secretaries and employees. She can hear things I can't."

Hermione immediately understood the implication. "I see," she said. "I assume then we're here because you've found out something?" she asked Miranda, turning toward her as she did so.

Miranda answered, "As a matter of fact, yes. It's such a small thing, but sometimes it's the small things that matter most?"

"Indeed," said Hermione.

"Tell Hermione what you told me, Miranda," Draco said.

"Last Friday, Thelma—she's the accounting clerk—and I went for drinks after work, as we usually do. My father's a member of the Knick Knack Club, so we popped in there. We stayed at the bar since we weren't sure if we would have dinner—they were serving Lobster Con Frit that night; I've had it before and it was so overcooked, the lobster bounced—"

"Miranda!" Draco cut in exasperatedly. "The point please?"

The woman had the grace to blush and then giggle. "Oh, I do go on, don't I? Well, we were chatting away when we saw Narcissa Malfoy leaving which is not usual as she's a member, but it's who we saw when we were outside the pub about a half an hour later!"

"Who did you see?" asked Hermione.

"Rita Skeeter, Andrew Kane and that woman….oh the one Snape is dating, erm dated," she amended, casting a quick glance at Hermione.

"Alexis Hannaford," Hermione supplied.

"Yes, her. Anyway, they left the building, stood for a moment very close to talk and then went separate ways."

"Did you hear anything?" asked Draco.

Miranda nodded. "Just bits and pieces; to anyone else it would have made no sense. However, given the situation, I think it means more."

Draco asked, "What did they say?"

"I heard the words, 'next article', 'explosion', 'runes', and 'out of business in no time'."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"Well, there was a lot of noise on the street," mused Miranda, "but I'm fairly sure."

Draco and Hermione looked at each other, curious expressions lacing their faces. Draco said, "Thank you, Miranda for your information. If you'd continue to act as I have instructed, I'd appreciate it. You may return to your office."

"Very well, Mr. Malfoy. Miss Granger, have a good day." She closed the door softly as she left the office.

"So, we have our suspects then?" asked Draco.

"Most likely. But to play Devil's advocate, they could have simply been talking about it."

Draco laughed. "Honestly, Hermione?"

She smiled. "I know, I know. I did want to tell you something, though." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the phial. "I came in earlier than usual so I could investigate the hall to my office. You know we both surmised someone could fit into that niche?"

Draco nodded. "Someone slim, like Kane or even me?"

"Yes. I stood there, and it can be done. I also physically and magically checked the whole hall for any listening devices or recorders and found none. I then checked for magical signatures and while there are a few light ones by the veranda door and mine from undoing my wards, there was a heavier unknown signature as well. I was able to pull part of it." She pointed to the phial.

"I'll give this to Harry straight away," Draco said.

"Thank you. I sent an owl to your mum this morning; she offered to get in touch with Draconia Corvus. Do you know her?"

Draco smiled. "Conia? Of course! She's been a friend for years. I remember going to her office one time to see some of her animals. They were amazing. Why did you want to get in touch with her?"

"Your mum thought perhaps some of her little animals may be of use in our investigation. An unassuming looking spider sitting in its cobweb would see all sorts of things, no?" Hermione smirked.

Draco laughed. "That it would. Are you working on anything new by the way?"

"I'm stuck on the final runes for the new arthritis potion, but other than that, no. The explosion and Prophet nonsense are zapping all of my usual concentration."

"You're still leaving early?"

"Yes. When I can return to full days?"

"Let's give it another week, shall we? By then, we may have a few more answers," he remarked, pointing to the phial.

"Very well." Hermione stood as did Draco, who walked her to the door. "I'll let you know if I find any else important."

"Thank you," said Draco, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Hermione walked back to her office, passing a few employees who nodded in greeting. When she arrived at her office, she was taken aback when a small spider wearing a bucket swung into view.

"Oh, Hai! A friend said you needed some halp?"

A/N: Some readers may think Draco has the right to eat or go anywhere in his own business that he wants, and he does indeed have that right. However, he respects his workers enough that he does not eat in the staff café simply so that they have a place to relax and not worry about the boss 'snooping' around on them.