A/N:
Characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and no profit is being made.

For story purposes, Unspeakables are assigned a code name corresponding to the Signs of the Zodiac.

Harry Potter (Leo)

Daphne Greengrass (Gemini)

Padma Patil (Libra)

Marcus Belby (Taurus)

Luna Lovegood (Capricorn)

Tracey Davis (Pisces)

On with the story!

Banquet of Consequences

Sooner or later, everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences. (Robert Louis Stevenson).

They were identical, and they did everything possible to emphasize that similarity. Their robes, of the finest silk, were light blue with silver braid. Their brown hair was cut and styled so that every strand framed their faces in the exact way.

And now, in one of the noxious back passages of Knockturn Alley, they were carefully posed in death.

"The Carrow twins, Flora and Hestia."

Kingsley Shacklebolt, the once and future Minister of Magic, nodded to the raven-haired young man in Unspeakable robes. "Did you know them well?"

"No. They were in Slytherin, while I…"

"Say no more, Harry."

"But they weren't Death Eaters, although other family members were."

Kingsley shrugged. "They weren't on the winning side, either."

Harry Potter-Black grimaced. "There were not so many on the winning side, Kingsley."

The other man laughed aloud. "Really, Harry? To hear people talk, you'd think Voldemort only had about a dozen followers; everyone else fought with you!"

Harry had to smile. "Okay, I get it. So, who is taking the case? You start your next term in another week, so…"

Kingsley interrupted him. "That's why I want to hand it off to the Unspeakables."

Harry had been expecting that, but he wasn't happy about it.

Kingsley read his expression. "Look, I know you've been busy with other things, but there's no one among the Aurors who can handle this!"

"Neville?"

"Resigned the day after I was reelected Minister of Magic," sighed Kingsley. "Said he'd been thinking of it for a while, and wouldn't want to serve under anyone else."

"Can't say I blame him," Harry admitted. "He's engaged to Hannah Abbott, and she wants him to find something a bit less risky."

"There's really no one else," Kingsley confessed. "Susan Bones and Wayne Hopkins look promising, but they aren't ready for something like this."

He looked Harry directly in the eyes. "So, take it away, Leo."

Harry made his way into the Department of Mysteries, in search of his boss, Algernon Croaker.

Soon he was among the black-robed Unspeakables. There were only twelve, each operating under the name of one of the Zodiac signs.

Harry himself was known as Leo, coincidentally his birth sign. But that was unusual among the Unspeakables, who were assigned randomly.

This was the department with the most unique requirements in the Ministry. Unlike the Aurors, grades and exams were considered irrelevant: it was the Goblet of Fire which made the selection, based on signatures signed in blood.

No one knew quite how the Goblet chose the winning candidates; Hermione Granger had been shocked when she was not accepted, while Harry had been amazed when he was.

The department members ranged in age from Croaker (Scorpio) who was around ninety, to Luna Lovegood (Capricorn), who had graduated from Hogwarts only three years before.

"So, the Aurors are handing this hot chestnut to us." Scorpio eyed Harry over the rim of his teacup. "Makes sense, if what you suspect is true."

Harry nodded. "Killing curse, but…someone has chanced upon a way to remove the magical signature."

"Put your team together," ordered Scorpio. "Better include at least one Slytherin."

Harry tried not to grimace. He'd largely gotten over his aversion to Slytherins by the end of the war, but the problem was that there were only two among the Unspeakables. One was Daphne Greengrass (Gemini), who faced the world with a distant attitude and icy blue eyes. Harry recalled viewing a film called Frozen with his young godson Teddy, and Daphne Greengrass was a ringer for Elsa.

But the other possibility was a witch named Tracey Davis (Pisces) who Harry loathed.

So, it would be Gemini by default.

The other two members of the team gave him pause. Normally he would enlist Luna, who was very perceptive in her own way. But Luna was currently in France, on a mission involving veela, and Harry couldn't afford to wait for her return.

He finally decided on Padma Patil (Libra) and Marcus Belby (Taurus).

Daphne Greengrass crossed her long legs and scanned her copy of the file.

"Why would anyone wish to kill Flora and Hestia?" she asked aloud.

"Perhaps being related to Amicus and Alecto was motive enough," suggested Padma Patil. "If they hadn't died during the Battle, I'd have been inclined to murder them myself!"

"But they did die," pointed out Marcus Belby in his soft, hesitant voice. "And Flora and Hestia had no part in that."

"Of course they did," Daphne looked up from the file. "Amycus and Alecto favored them because they were such good little Slytherins and obeyed them implicitly."

Harry couldn't help wondering whether Daphne had also been a "good little Slytherin" but had never ventured to ask.

"It's been four years since the Battle," Harry said. "If it's someone targeting the Carrow family, why wait?"

The other three all looked at him as if he'd suddenly gone insane.

"Harry," Padma began. "Uh, I mean Leo…"

There was an unspoken rule that members of the department must use their code names while at work, no matter how well-acquainted they were outside the department, and Padma hastily corrected herself.

"You must realize that anyone who did not openly support you is considered a pariah."

"They are?" Harry was truly astonished. "But very few did openly support me!"

"No one will admit that," Daphne said flatly. "As for the ones who openly opposed you, they have been targeted in all sorts of ways."

"It's true, Leo." Padma confirmed. "Many of them are facing ruin, they can't get jobs, and you know that the Wizengamot has forbidden purebloods from marrying other purebloods."

Harry had known that. It was Hermione's idea, meant to eradicate claims of blood superiority. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. He understood her reasoning, yet he believed people should be free to marry anyone they chose.

But when he said so, Daphne scoffed. "Do you think I ever had a choice about marriage? I was betrothed to Hector Selwyn, and fortunately for me, he was killed in a Death Eater raid in London. Before my father could arrange another contract, he was killed too. My sister was betrothed to Malfoy, and she had to go through with it, thanks to you getting the lot of them pardons!"

"Hey!" Harry said angrily. "I had no choice; I owed Narcissa Malfoy a life debt, and she called it in."

"We understand that, H…Leo." Padma placed a soothing hand on his arm.

Marcus coughed. "Maybe we should get back to the case?"

Harry calmed down. "You're right, Taurus. Are there any members of the Carrow family left?"

"There's a cousin, Ceres Carrow." Daphne considered. "She's the last of the line. She works in Eelops in Diagon Alley."

"Do you know her, Gemini?" Inquired Harry.

"Not really. I met her once."

"Good enough." Harry got to his feet. "We'll go talk to her. Libra and Taurus, find out where the Carrows were living and go take a look. We'll report back here at four."