Percy exhaled heavily, as even more of his insides painstakingly made their way out of his bowels and into the toilet basin below. The small of his diarrhoea in the Indian summer was, quite frankly, revolting. He retched slightly, momentarily worrying that some vomit would soon join the watery excrement in the pan.

The stress of the past few weeks had caught up with him in a rather big and rather disgusting fashion. Perhaps signing up to this mission had just been one giant mistake. He had hoped keeping himself busy would keep his mind off of his brother's untimely death – and to an extent, it had. But he still wrestled with inner turmoil surrounding it on a daily basis, which combined with his homesickness and the constant change in climate, time-zone and lack of sleep was not a mix that his stomach appeared to be too fond of.

He supposed the constant change in diet hadn't done him much good either, as in each new country they usually found themselves eating something completely different. This had not troubled Dedalus however, as he was a well-seasoned traveller from his days as an international Gobstones player. He had been particularly looking forward to their stop off in Jaipur as he had been there many a time, albeit many decades ago in his youth.

Diggle had been very insistent in indulging in some spicy food, and, not wanting to be embarrassed or outdone in front of their host, Percy had naively agreed to try whatever it was the eccentric little wizard had ordered. Dedalus may not have been all that good at keeping down alcohol, but when it came to spicy food he seemed to possess an iron stomach, whilst Percy's stomach, used to the classic and not particularly adventurous British dishes that his Mother or the Elves at Hogwarts prepared, was evidently not so suited for such spiciness.

The mouth-wateringly hot dishes that the Indian waiters had prepared for them had been pretty tasty, but they had also been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back in Percy's stomach, leaving him no choice but to urgently excuse himself from the dinner table just as they had finished their main course.

He knew already that he had been gone for so long that both Diggle and his illustrious British-Indian host would have no doubt about what it was he was doing in the loos. It was far too long to have been a quick trip for a wee.

Percy cursed his luck.

One of the only things that had remained consistent throughout their trip so far was the constant rejection from the prospective candidates he was trying to recruit for the British cause. Whether they were a potions master from Venice, an Obliviator from Roskilde or a Magical Creatures expert from Malta, none of the prospective candidates had been interested in answering the call to return to Britain, which they had all once called home at various points in their life.

Ramesh Patil, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, was understandably distraught at how desperately bad their mission had gone so far. Percy was not sure if Patil blamed him and Diggle for the poor response so far, but when he had last spoken to him from a fireplace in Antalya a few days ago, Patil had sounded very stressed and disappointed by it all.

Perhaps he was concerned that after receiving the recent promotion that his new boss, the Minister of Magic, would already be casting doubts about his decision to give him the big job. Percy did not believe that Kingsley Shacklebolt would be so rash in his judgment – and, furthermore, even if he was, if this recruitment drive was anything to go by it wasn't as if he would be able to find a more experienced replacement at the drop of a hat either way.

This particular journey to Jaipur was a very important one though, as Kushal Shafiq, India's head of the Ministry of Magalu (muggle) Relations, was arguably the one person that Kingsley had wanted to hire more than any other. Shafiq, in his early thirties, had been getting rave reviews in international wizarding circles for several years – and he was an ideal candidate to feel the vacant Head of Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes post, which Sturgis Podmore currently held on an interim basis.

Podmore was a good worker, but he lacked the innovation and creative mind to reform the Department in the fashion that Kingsley envisioned in his mind. Shafiq was an ideal candidate to do it as he was more experienced and had spent the last few years revolutionising India's equivalent department, helping to lead them into the new age of modern magic, as well as playing a part in making them one of the most forward thinking and ground-breaking countries in the Wizarding world full-stop.

The best part of it was that Kushal Shafiq was not just an ex-Hogwarts alumni, but he was actually a distant cousin of Ramesh Patil, and Ramesh believed that the slightly younger man could very well be talked into moving back to Britain. He knew that Kushal had three relatively young children, all of which were rapidly approaching school-age, and the appeal of them attending Hogwarts, still a prestigious school on the world stage, as well as his own routes as a Ravenclaw prefect, would surely seal the deal.

Dedalus had also spotted something incredibly interesting in a local English language newspaper that he had found in the lobby of the restaurant they were currently dining it, which Shafiq's Father happened to own. The Magical Mumbai front cover story was actually reporting that Shafiq was in talks with the British Ministry of Magic over an important role, and that Kushal and his wife had refused to rule out a return to the country that he had been born and raised in.

"Defaeco," Percy uttered softly, before his bottom was wiped magically clean and he vanished the hideous mess that it had created in the pan below.

He exited the cubicle and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, before aggressively washing his hands. The soap by the sink smelled of a luxurious lavender, which juxtaposed how he looked and felt in that moment quite dramatically. His white shirt was drowned in damp-patches and his face was covered in sweat. He ran his wet hands through his thick, red hair as he contemplated all of his life choices that had led him to that moment.

The only thing still motivating him in getting through this mission was getting to see Penny when they finally made it to New York. There were a few stops after Jaipur before they would reach New York, but it was now days, rather than weeks, before he would see her again. The thought brought a smile to his face and gave him the motivation and confidence he needed to get back out there.

Percy exited the lavishly decorated bathroom, briefly pausing as he first left it to let a young waiter pass him on their way back to the kitchens. The smell of sizzling spicy meat almost made him make a u turn back for the toilet, but his stomach quickly moved past it and he strolled nonchalantly back towards their window-side table, where Dedalus and Shafiq appeared to be talking to another waiter, perhaps discussing the bill.

As he got closer towards them, Percy began to hear Diggle's unmistakeable high pitch tone in a conversation with the young restaurant worker.

"Are you ready to order dessert, sir?"

"Yes," he heard Diggle squeak in reply. "But my friend's just popped to the toilet."

"Oh," the waiter mumbled nervously. "Do you have any idea what he is having, sir?"

"Well he's been in there a while, so I imagine he's having a poo!" Diggle added, before bursting into laughter.

"Dedalus," Percy fumbled out with a smile, trying his best not to look like he was too annoyed in front of Shafiq, who in fairness did appear to have quite enjoyed Diggle's joke.

"Oh there you are, Percy!" Dedalus giggled. "Do you fancy a dessert?"

"Erm, possibly," Percy stalled.

He wondered if there would be an option that wasn't too heavy. Given the state of his stomach he could perhaps manage some kind of light ice cream type dish, but anything more than that would probably be a bad idea.

"What are my options?" he asked cautiously, more to the waiter than Diggle himself.

"Yes or no!" Dedalus quipped, before laughing again. Shafiq again found this rather funny, although the waiter just stood there looking pretty awkward, perhaps not sure whether he should laugh or not.

"I'll have the Payasam, my good chap," Diggle said to the waiter, as he reached over and handed Percy the menu.

"Excellent choice, sir," the young Indian man replied, making a note on his pad. "And for you, Mister Shafiq, sir?"

Percy studied the menu quickly.

It looked like Dedalus had ordered some kind of nut and raisin rice pudding dish. Percy did quite like rice pudding, but the thought of it at that very moment made him feel a little bit sick.

"Sandesh for me, thank you."

"Very good, Mister Shafiq, sir."

Shafiq had appeared to order a sweet cottage cheese based dish, which was enthused with cardamom and saffron. It didn't particularly make Percy's stomach feel all that good either.

"And for you sir, have you decided?" the waiter asked, finally addressing Percy himself.

"Erm," Percy mumbled, as he scanned the list of desserts for something as plain as possible. "I'll take the coconut ice cream, please, thank you," he decided, not wanting to stall any longer.

"Fantastic!" the waiter concluded, before scribbling Percy's choice down and politely taking the menu off of him, before scurrying off to the kitchen.

"Now that you have returned, Mister Weasley," Shafiq began, as he adjusted his purple-rimmed modern looking glasses, causing a scent trail of bergamot and jasmine to emit from his heavily perfumed hands. "I fear we must return back to business."

"Yes," Percy stammered, as he finished drinking some more of the icy bottled table water to steady himself and his stomach.

"As I'm sure you are no doubt aware," Percy began. "Our newly appointed Minister of Magic is most interested in acquiring your services in a similar role to the one you hold here in India."

Shafiq smiled.

"I believe that most of India is aware, Mister Weasley, not just me," he added somewhat smugly, most likely referring to the newspaper coverage this meeting had garnered.

"The British Ministry is willing to offer you and your family a most generous package should you be inclined to take up the position, as well as offering you a lot of flexibility in the implementation of your ideas to achieve similar economic and population increases that you have achieved here."

They had already discussed in some detail Shafiq's somewhat controversial policies that had made India one of the fasting growing Wizarding economies in the world.

In the last decade he had managed to help transform a dwindling population by incorporating a radical program, which involved expanding upon the way in which Indian witches and wizards found a partner to start a family with.

India, much like Britian itself, traditionally saw pure-blood families inter-marry to keep their blood-lines pure, with the occasional marriage to a half-blood here and there when there was a shortage of pure-blood suitors.

Shafiq's own Father had bucked this trend however, instead choosing to marry a muggle-born witch from a wealthy muggle family. This was a great departure, given the Shafiq line was synonymous enough with pure-blood lineage that the British contingent, of which Shafiq's father's generation had been part of, had been listed as part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight when it had been published in the 1930s.

Shafiq's Father, a fledging businessman who spotted a gap in the market, had originally set up what may well have been the wizarding world's first ever Dating Program many decades prior, 'Magical Matches', which was specifically designed to match Indian witches and wizards with eligible suitors in a bid to combat dwindling birth-rates in the country.

Magical Matches was a huge success and Kushal had followed in his father's footsteps, but, when he had been offered a job at the Indian government in the late 1980s, he had gone a step even further. With the help of his Father, he had revolutionised the dating program even more, by opening it up to include highly-vetted and highly-desirable muggle men and women too, most of whom were all extremely rich.

It had been considered very controversial when first introduced, and even now when Indian witches and wizards signed up to the scheme they still had to sign a waiver not to sue if they found a muggle-match but birthed a squib heir instead of a magical one. But, for the most part, this was actually quite rare, and in a society where decades of pure-blood inbreeding had made birthing children far from easy to begin with, it had been another raging success for the Shafiq family and made them even richer, as well as simultaneous increasing India's fortunes at the same time.

Kushal had been the poster boy for his own innovation, as he himself had found his muggle wife from Magical Matches and he was now the proud Father of three young magical children. This had clearly helped sell it to the rest of the country and the Shafiq family had since expanded in other international markets too, but never before in Britain.

"My Father and I have always been keen to expand Magical Matches to Britain. We have had much success across Asia, the United States and elsewhere in Europe." Shafiq stated, before pausing slightly as the waiter returned to serve them their desserts. "But all of the previous regimes in Britain have shown little to no interest in permitting us to set-up an office there. British exceptionalism was the most likely reason for that I imagine."

"Thank you," he added quickly to the waiter, as Diggle popped in with his own very excited thank-you before wasting no time and quickly tucking in to his dessert.

"Thanks," Percy said to the already departing waiter, as he took a small spoonful of the creamy coconut ice-cream, which he had to admit was pretty tasty.

"Kingsley's regime is different," he added, before quickly eating another spoonful. "I'm sure alongside other economic efforts that he would wholly approve of incorporating Magical Matches into the British market. I certainly would!"

"That is most interesting," Shafiq said, although he did not commit to so much as a smile on his face, despite Percy's heavily feigned enthusiasm to try to get him on side. "Would you sign up then, Mister Weasley? Are you looking for a partner yourself?"

Percy almost choked on his ice-cream.

"Wh-who-me? No! No I'm not at all," Percy managed to scoff out, as Diggle erupted into laughter.

"Young Perce here has already got his heart set on someone," Dedalus added, smiling at Shafiq.

"Oh, do you really, Mister Weasley? How lovely. I was not aware that you had a girlfriend."

"Well-

"She's not his girlfriend," Diggle laughed, as Percy furiously tried to kick him under the table to get him to shut up. "Not yet anyway! She immigrated to America, he hasn't seen her in almost a year, but I'm sure when we get there it will be love at first sight all over again."

Percy flushed red with embarrassment. He scoffed down a few scoops of ice cream in an attempt to cool himself down.

"You better get there fast, Mister Weasley," Shafiq said in a sly voice. "America's our fastest growing market for Magical Matches – and the ladies sure do love an American boy!"

Percy laughed awkwardly as Diggle giggled at Shafiq's remark, but his heart almost skipped a beat.

He had never really given any serious thought to the idea that Penny might have found love in New York.

In that moment the sudden realisation that she might well have done just that gripped him, making him almost seize up in fear and make him feel like he needed another trip to the toilet.

But no.

He and Penny were meant to be.

He had waited for her.

She would be there, waiting for him.

He was sure of it.

It was written in the stars.

"We will of course offer all three of your children a school-place at Hogwarts when they are old enough to begin their education," Percy said, as he changed the subject and attempted to gloss over Shafiq's comments. "I believe your eldest would be looking to start as soon as September."

"Ah," Kushal sighed. "So there is still a school left standing, then? It was my impression that in recent months it had resembled more a warzone than an educational facility."

"I can assure you Mister Shafiq, the school's faculty and Ministry staff have been working round the clock to ensure that Hogwarts is back in working order for the start of the new school year in September," Percy quickly clarified, keen to reassure Shafiq of any concerns he may have had.

"That was the main reason my family left Britain in the first place, you know," Shafiq said. "It is not safe. It is no place to raise a young family, Mister Weasley. In Britain, you have countless wars. Here in India, we like to count less wars."

"Let me promise you, Kushal," Diggle piped up. "You Know Who and his followers are gone for good this time! They won't be a problem any longer."

"What I believe my esteemed colleague is trying to say," Percy quickly added. "Is that we in Britain do not enjoy warfare, far from it, but as Dedalus quite rightfully points out, You Know Who and his followers have been defeated now and-

Shafiq scoffed, before eating the final piece of his dessert.

"You say he and his followers have been defeated," he said with a sneer, before taking a quick sip of water. "But you still have a whole pack of Death Eaters on the loose! That sort of environment is no place to a raise a young family."

Percy finished his ice-cream and felt somewhat deflated.

Shafiq was proving a tougher sell than the local newspaper had seemed to indicate he would be.

Perhaps he was just haggling for a better offer.

Percy decided to try and brown-nose him a little further.

"I understand your concerns, Mister Shafiq," Percy began confidently, as Kushal raised an eyebrow in a quite condescending fashion at him. "From all that I have read on Indian magical politics you have helped create quite a lot of very effective policies in terms of security and defence here. We would be very interested in using your experience in the field to help tackle the current slight Death Eater… niggle."

Shafiq sighed, perhaps not too convinced by Percy's hasty attempt to gloss over six very dangerous, radicalised dark wizards on the loose as nothing more than a slight niggle.

"You flatter me, but as I'm sure you're aware my concern and focus is purely with regards to security in relation to Magalu threats, not pure-blood extremist death cults."

Kushal was proving a hard nut to crack.

"And what Magalu threats are there exactly, if you don't mind me asking?" Diggle responded, seeming somewhat interested.

"Our primary concern of course is the threat of conflict and the nuclear arms race between the Magalu governments of India and Pakistan," Shafiq answered, seemingly a bit offended that Dedalus was not aware of it. "It is my job to ensure our magical communities are protected in the event of such a reality, where missiles or in the worst case scenario, a nuclear bomb is dropped. Which is not all that unlikely given in the last few weeks our Magalu government, and Pakistan's, have both been flexing their muscles and testing their nuclear capabilities. A concern to be sure, but under my watch there will be no repeat of The Nightmare of Nagasaki."

The Nightmare of Nagasaki was a horror story familiar with absolutely anybody who had taken even their first year of History of Magic at Hogwarts. It was one of the worst magical catastrophes of living memory – nothing in the last century really came close to it.

It was a story of love, loss and great tragedy.

Japan's muggle government had been locked in conflict with the United States of America for many years, with the latter keen to end the Second Muggle World War without need for a land invasion. The Japanese had no intention of surrendering that easily, so the Americans dropped an Atom bomb on the city of Hiroshima.

Percy didn't really understand the muggle science of what exactly an Atom bomb was, or how it was made, but he did know that it was a very destructive weapon, even by magical standards. The bomb had killed somewhere in the region of one hundred thousand muggles, such was the destruction that nobody could be too sure on the exact number of lives that had been lost.

One life that had been lost however, was Eriko Yamamato, a muggle woman in her late-twenties, who, as destiny would have it, would become a name synonymous in Wizarding history given the events that followed three days after her death.

Eriko, when she was killed in the Hiroshima blast, was pregnant with the child of her secret lover and fiancé, one of Wizarding Japan's brightest and most talented users of magic, Takeshi Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi burst onto the global Wizarding scene as a trailblazer and revolutionary talent as soon as he had left school, becoming known in the West as the "Merlin of the East". It was rumoured that he considered both Newt Scamander and Albus Dumbledore as close friends – and his work in experimental defensive magic and especially in warding, was second to none.

The nuclear strike on Hiroshima had not had a great impact on Wizarding Japan, because there was no magical infrastructure or communities anywhere near the city, with the nearest built-up Wizarding area over two hundred miles away in Kyoto.

Kyoto, as well as the northern island of Hokkaido, were home to a fair amount of Japanese witches and wizards, but by far the biggest magical community in Japan was based in Nagasaki. The community based in Nagasaki was well-hidden from muggles and far larger than any equivalent in Britain. Percy envisioned it being double or maybe even triple the size of the UK's largest wizarding village in Hogsmeade, as it had been home to over two thousand Japanese users of magic, as well as a vast array of creatures and beasts.

Whilst it had been proven throughout the Second Muggle World War that muggle weapons were no match for magical defences, the Japanese wizarding government were still proactive and wanted to ensure that they could protect their population against any potential future blasts. They instructed their Ward team to immediately launch protections against such strikes, tasking their best and brightest, Yamaguchi, with the most important job of all, protecting the large community in Nagasaki.

There were numerous different stories of what exactly happened next, but all of the most reputable Japanese and Western magical historians told varying interpretations of essentially the same story. Takeshi, unbeknownst to his higher ups or anyone around him, was stricken by grief and the loss of his wife to be and unborn child. He didn't sleep for many days, seeking solace only in drinking large amounts of sake, a type of alcoholic Japanese wine made from rice.

Three days after the Hiroshima nuclear strike, another Atom bomb was dropped on Japan by the Americans, this time flattening Nagasaki. The magical community there, of just over two thousand people, should have been protected by Yamaguchi's enchantments, but as he tearfully admitted at a grand trial six weeks later, in his sleep deprived, grief-stricken drunken depression, he had failed to adequately protect the magical village.

The death and devastation that followed as a result of this, was catastrophic. The entire village was flattened, with every magical man, woman, child and creature that had lived there being wiped off the face of the earth. There were no survivors.

Yamaguchi, who should have gone down as one of the heroes in the history of modern wizarding Japan, was instead confined to the history books as one of its biggest villains. He pleaded guilty to all charges at his public trial, which took place ironically just a few days after muggle-Japan had surrendered, ending the war and the prospect of any future nuclear strikes in the process.

Takeshi had disgraced both his family name and his nation, and following his public hearing had been left with only one choice to restore any sense of pride, face and dignity, Seppuku – a traditional Japanese ritual, which sees the partaker use a muggle blade to ceremoniously strike themselves in the stomach, killing themselves in the process.

The thought of it made Percy's stomach curdle.

He looked once more at Shafiq – and he saw someone who looked talented, capable, and a man who certainly would not repeat the mistakes of Takeshi Yamaguchi.

"Mister Shafiq," Percy sighed heavily. "Do you have even the slightest bit of interest in taking up the position we are head-hunting you for?"

"Not really, no," he replied quickly with a brief smile, much to Diggle's disappointment.

Percy cursed his luck and felt like ordering a round of heavy spirits, regardless of what his stomach might have thought of it. He was not looking forward to the conversation he would have to have with Ramesh Patil about this latest development.

"Then, indulge me if you may, why did you even agree to this meeting in the first place?"

To this, a bold remark even by Percy's usual standards, Shafiq really began to grin in a very suave sort of fashion.

"I could've sworn that local paper said you was interested 'n all!" Diggle cried indignantly.

"Mister Diggle," Shafiq said warmly, looking at Dedalus who really did seem quite put out by this rejection, given he had seemed to have put more effort than usual in building up rapport with Shafiq than other prospective candidates.

"Mister Weasley," he added softly.

"At heart, I am a businessman. It is nothing personal, but you must understand, allowing my President to believe that I had even the slightest bit of interest in your Ministry's proposal gave me a lot of leverage. That newspaper story especially gave him quite the fright," Shafiq said, before suddenly smiling once more.

"He almost doubled my salary overnight such was his panic!" he winked. "So please make sure to send Mister Shacklebolt my upmost regards… you have been most helpful."

"Bloody hell!" Diggle swore. "Now that is clever, Perce, you can't knock that!"

Percy mumbled in faux agreement as he rose from the table indicating to Diggle that they should now leave, he was not in the slightest bit impressed by how Shafiq had used them and wasted their time.

"Thank you for your… hospitality, Mister Shafiq, good day," he reluctantly offered as parting words through his tightly clenched teeth.

"That is no problem," Kushal said, rising up to shake both of their hands. "Oh and one last thing, Mister Weasley," Shafiq added, as he gleefully took a sip from his drink.

"My Father and I are still very interested in expanding Magical Matches to Britain, even if I will not be relocating and working in your government… if your Minister is keen, please do get in touch, after all… you may well need us if your missus has hooked up with a strapping young American guy!"