* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 78: Lightning Strikes Twice

A/N: The chapter title is from the song:

Lightning Strikes by The Shires.

"Is it wrong to purposefully bring up a difficult case, just to make your boss feel better?"

Harry snorted and looked over at Daphne while she wrestled with Teddy to get him to eat his porridge, "You're gonna have to explain that one."

Daphne sighed, "We've not had much work lately. Most of our cases are contracted, meaning people pay the bank, who then pay us a decent cut of the money to solve that case. But in the wake of Christmas, people don't have as much money, so there's not much work coming in for us."

"So you're making your own work now?" Harry asked, looking at her with an amused smile.

"No, I'm just actively looking for a case rather than waiting for one to come to us," Daphne admitted sheepishly, "And I've just found a really complicated one that will keep Bill busy for a while, therefore distracting him from his misery."

"What's so interesting about it?" Harry asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, it would involve our first real foray into the muggle world, for a start," Daphne said thoughtfully, "I saw it in the Muggle papers yesterday morning. A girl who went missing 15 years ago called her parents. There had been no contact, and she had been assumed dead this whole time, but then this phone call came out of the blue."

"You think it might be a curse?" Harry asked.

Daphne nodded, "An ancient one too, if I'm right. I mean the way I see it, either the girl is dead, and this is some dark magic curse to taunt her parents, which would imply that they murdered their own daughter."

"Or?" Harry asked. He liked to play devil's advocate to her during these chats.

"Or, she's alive, in which case it has nothing to do with us, but it's still an intriguing story to occupy Bill," Daphne said with a shrug.

"Well, it can't hurt to look into it, can it?" Harry said.

"That's what I'm hoping Bill will say!"

Bill tapped his fingers against the desk, deep in thought, after hearing Daphne's spiel about the Muggle 'case'.

"It's out of our jurisdiction," He said.

"I know," Daphne admitted.

"And there's a high chance that it has nothing to do with us," Bill added.

"I know that too," Daphne said, sighing quietly. She had known that it was a long shot.

"But it sounds more interesting than any case I've worked since my time in Egypt, so fuck it, let's go," Bill said finally.

Daphne grinned, "Really?"

"Really," Bill said, throwing on his coat, "I'm trying to adopt Charlie's attitude to life; throw caution to the wind, do what you want and see how it plays out."

"Fair enough," Daphne reasoned, "I guess that worked out for Charlie…eventually."

Bill ignored the slight jibe as they walked out of the bank together, "So, since you are the expert here, who do you think we should talk to first?"

"Not the parents," Daphne replied immediately, "If my suspicions are right, they could be the murderers. I read in the newspaper report that the girl was close to her Aunt, so she might be a good place to start."

"Any hint of wizarding blood anywhere in the family?" Bill asked.

"Not obviously," Daphne replied, "But I haven't looked into it in much detail. The general breakdown is that the girl was five years old when she went missing, so she would be 20 now if she is alive. She has been missing for 15 years. Nobody has seen her or had any contact with her in that time leading to the assumption that she was dead."

"What were the circumstances of her disappearance?" Bill queried.

"She was playing outside one evening in the summer. Her Dad was in his workshop with the door shut, occasionally looking out the window to check on her, and her Mum was in the house with the door open, doing the washing up, also keeping an eye on her. They both glanced out to check and couldn't see her, so a huge search party searched the street and the local woods for her day and night for a week, but no trace was found."

"And a body never showed up?"

Daphne shook her head, "No body."

"Alright, where are we going?" Bill asked. They had reached the apparition point.

"Keighley."

"What's our cover?" Bill asked Daphne as they walked along a quiet, residential street.

"I have a plan. Just roll with it," Daphne shrugged.

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, "Woah, hang on a minute. You're taking the lead on this one?"

Daphne shot her boss a smirk, "You just noticed?"

"I'm still your boss, and you're still not qualified," Bill said, he was trying to sound stern, but the slightly proud smile on his face gave him away.

"You're also being kind of pathetic right now, sorry," Daphne said. She shot him an amused smile then led him up a garden path to a small, quaint cottage.

A woman came to the door a few minutes after they had knocked. She had dark blonde hair, green eyes and looked to be in her late 20's or early 30's.

"Hi ma'am, my name is Daphne, and this is Bill. We're from a local newspaper, and we would like to talk to you about what happened to your niece," Daphne said politely.

"No, you're not," The woman said in a whisper, a frown knitting its way across her face, "You're from the bank, and if you're here, that must mean that you think magic is involved."

Daphne started at that, "I…uh…how on earth did you know that?"

"Because Lara and I went to school together," Bill said from Daphne's side, "I think you might be onto something with your whole, magic is involved here theory, Daph."

"You think?" Daphne asked sarcastically.

Bill smiled weakly at the woman, "Hi Lara. Don't suppose we can come in for a cuppa?"

Lara sighed and took a step back from the door.

Bill walked into the cottage, and Daphne followed his lead. They followed Lara into the kitchen, where she set a kettle on to boil with electricity.

"So, are you still living as a muggle after marrying Greg then?" Bill asked. Daphne detected a hint of awkwardness.

Lara rolled her eyes, "No, if you must know, Greg left me for some skanky girl at his work years ago. But being married to a muggle did teach me that sometimes electricity is more useful than magic. How about you? Are you married now, or are you and your brother still chasing adventure and dragons all over the world?"

Daphne made a face, "Sore subject, he just got divorced."

Lara's eyes widened, "Oh…I'm sorry about that, Bill. I didn't mean to bring it up like that."

Bill shrugged, "It's okay; it was a mutual decision. No skanky girls, or guys, involved. But I still don't really like to talk about it."

Lara smiled, "Still the most emotional Weasley then?"

Bill chuckled, "Nah, come on, you know that title goes to Charlie."

"How is Charlie doing?" Lara asked with a smile.

"Oh, he's alright, finally settling down, I reckon," Bill replied, "With this one's little sister, actually."

Lara raised an eyebrow at Daphne, "Forgive me if it's rude, but you don't look that old yourself, so how young is your little sister?"

"She's 18, but she's the CEO of an international company, so she acts older than her years," Daphne said with a shrug.

"And she brought Charlie back to the UK," Bill added.

Lara scoffed, "I didn't think I'd see the day that either of you settled back in this country."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at the two of them, "Okay, you two seem to know each other really well for two people who just went to school together."

"Yeah," Bill said sheepishly, "That's because Lara was in Charlie's year; she fancied the pants off of him till she found him snogging her best friend in a broom closet. Then she ended up dating me for…a little while until I broke up with her to run away to Egypt."

"Wow," Daphne said, "That is a dick move, Bill."

"It really was," Lara agreed.

"How long is 'a little while' exactly?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Three years," Bill muttered.

"Three years?" Daphne echoed in surprise, "Bill, you were only with Fleur for three and a half years. This is practically equal with your longest relationship!"

"Yeah," Lara said, crossing her arms to look at Bill, "It was kind of a big deal. Your Mother really wanted us to get married."

"Yeah, she did," Bill agreed sheepishly.

Daphne tutted and shook her head, "And you haven't spoken since then?"

"Nope," Lara replied, "We haven't seen each other in years."

"So will we talk about why we came here? Or will I just go out and get coffee to let you two keep catching up?" Daphne asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"No, because I really hope you are here because of Emery."

"Emery?" Daphne frowned, "I thought your niece was called Emily?"

"To Muggles, yes," Lara replied, "We didn't want to draw attention to her here, so we called her Emily, but my sister and I are both Muggle-borns, so she was christened Emery."

"I see," Daphne said, sitting down at the kitchen table, "So did you think she was magical?"

"I always thought that she would be," Lara said with a sigh, "She was so intelligent, and she had this magical aura around her…I think magic had something to do with her death…if she even is dead."

"So you think the phone call was real?" Bill asked curiously.

"I want it to be real, but I don't see how it can be," Lara admitted, "But if you're here, you must think it's a curse?"

"We think it might be," Bill admitted, "But why don't you think the phone call was real?"

Lara sighed again, heavily this time, "Because my sister confided in me a long time ago that her husband killed Emery that night when she began to manifest accidental magic. It scared him, and the angrier he got, the more volatile her magic got until he completely lost it in a fit of rage."

Daphne frowned, "If she confided this in you years ago, why didn't you come forward?"

"Honestly, because I was afraid," Lara admitted, "I wasn't a Gryffindor like Bill and Charlie. I was a Ravenclaw, and I was afraid that if I said anything, my sister would be implicated, and she had been through enough by losing her daughter."

"You don't have to have been in Gryffindor to be brave," Daphne said firmly, "One of the bravest and strongest people I know is a Ravenclaw, so I'm sorry, but I don't think that's a fair excuse. This man killed your niece, who you were very close to by all accounts and purposes. Surely you want him to be punished for that?"

"Daphne-" Bill warned.

"Don't be protective just because she's your ex," Daphne said calmly, "I know you agree with me on this one."

Bill looked at Lara's teary eyes for a moment and said, "I think there's more to it than you're telling us, Lara."

Lara sighed and rubbed her eyes, "Lucie and I have always had a theory that maybe Emery is an obscurial. Her Dad, Nige, he's a muggle, so we couldn't fathom how he had killed her and left no trace, no body, nothing. We thought maybe she had lost control and that if she had, there was a chance that we could find her."

"But if you told the authorities, they would hunt her down and kill her because obscurials are insanely dangerous," Bill finished.

Lara nodded.

Daphne sighed, "So to sum things up. Either Emery is an obscurial, in which case, we're all going to die. Or, there's a cursed object at play. Let's hope it's the second option."

"No, let's not hope that," Lara snapped, "Because if it is that, it means she's gone."

"Either way, she's gone," Bill said, grabbing Lara's shoulder and forcing her to look him in the eye, "You're smart enough to know that when someone becomes an obscurial, it's a one-way road, Lara."

Lara sighed. It was a heavy, world-weary sigh.

"So my question has to be, who would want to torment your sister and her husband for what they did to Emery?" Daphne asked, "This person thinks that they did it together."

"There was someone else there that night," Lara confessed, "Emery's older brother, Matthias."

"Was he magical?" Daphne asked.

"He never got a Hogwarts letter, so we assumed not," Lara said honestly, "He was 10 when Emery went missing, so he would be 25 now."

"Would be?" Bill frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

"I haven't seen him since he ran away from home when he was 15," Lara replied, "He stopped speaking after Emery's disappearance, then one day, he packed a bag and left in the middle of the night."

"So although he's not magical, he might know someone who is," Daphne realised.

"Or he's found a cursed object, and he's using it," Bill interjected, "He knows about magic, even if he's not magical."

Daphne nodded slowly, "Thank you, Lara. I promise that we're going to do everything we can to find out what happened to Emery."

Lara smiled weakly at her, then looked at Bill, "Do you think I might finally get some closure?"

"Yeah," Bill said, grabbing her hand and giving her a supportive smile, "I think you might, but I'm sorry that it's taken this long, Lara."

Lara shook her head, "Don't be sorry, just get to the bottom of this puzzle, Bill."

"I always do," Bill said, dropping her hand and getting to his feet.

He and Daphne left the house and apparated back to the bank silently, but once they were safely within the walls of Gringotts, it was a different story.

"So…Lara seems nice."

Bill rolled his eyes, "One adopted kid later, and you already sound like my mother."

"I'm not going to lie. I'm trying very hard not to be offended by that," Daphne remarked dryly.

Bill grinned at her, "Good, that was the intention."

Daphne made a face at him, "I hate you being my best friend. How did I, the self-professed Slytherin ice queen, end up becoming best friends with you, Bill Weasley, werewolf-extraordinaire?"

Bill let out a loud barking laugh at that, "I never thought we were best friends, but you're right. We are, aren't we?"

"Unfortunately," Daphne answered sarcastically, "You're my male best friend, congratulations; you've overtaken Draco. Lilly is still my female best friend, though. You don't come close to her."

Bill chuckled and put his arm around her, "Will I make us matching friendship bracelets?"

"Ugh, I hate you," Daphne muttered, "And I know what this is, by the way, a ploy to get me to stop asking you about Lara."

Bill snorted, "Was it that obvious?"

"I'm married to Harry Potter, I'm the queen at spotting obvious ploys to distract me," Daphne said, smirking at him, "And that feels kind of good to say, you know?"

Bill just laughed, "Look, you want the truth? Lara was my first love. She was brilliant, I honestly could have married her, but I didn't, and the reason I didn't was because I didn't want to become like my parents. I didn't want to get married straight out of school, have a bunch of kids and end up in a meaningless, badly paid job. I wanted to see the world, and back then, it felt like a choice."

"Lara or the dream job," Daphne said.

Bill nodded, "Exactly. Looking at it in hindsight, I should have just asked Lara to come with me, but hindsight is a wonderful thing."

"It is, but we've all been there," Daphne said with a smile, "But the universe is giving you a second chance."

"The universe?" Bill scoffed.

"The universe has its own plans, you know," Daphne said matter of factly, "Divination isn't the fools subject that everyone thinks it is. There is a lot to be said in the stars if you look closely enough. They can tell us about our past and our future, the universe has plans, and there's no such thing as a coincidence. You bumping into Lara today, it was meant to happen."

Bill rolled his eyes, "That's it, you've gone crazy. I'm karting you off to the loony bin."

Daphne smirked, "You're being offensive because you don't want me to see how hurt you are."

Bill echoed her earlier sentiment, "I hate you."

Daphne just grinned, "Maybe lightning strikes twice, Bill!"

"Or maybe it doesn't," Bill argued grumpily.

Daphne ignored him and said cheerfully, "Right then, you hit the archives and see what kind of curse could do this. I'm going to see where Matthias went when he disappeared off the face of the earth."

"Yes, boss!" Bill chuckled, "But before you bugger off, I need to talk to you about something."

Daphne turned around in the doorway, "Yeah?"

"You do realise with the way that this is going, there's a chance we're going to have to bring Aurors in?" Bill asked.

"Well, yes, I expected so," Daphne answered.

"And I know Harry's trainer. I've worked with him before," Bill added, "I wouldn't put it past him to bring Harry along."

Daphne scoffed, "First years don't go on field missions. He wouldn't break that rule just to get a laugh out of watching Harry have to work with his wife," she said with a shake of her head, "See you in the morning!"

Bill smirked to himself, "Wouldn't he?" he asked the empty room with a chuckle.

"Do you reckon it's too soon to set Bill up?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Daphne, "Just a few weeks after his divorce was finalised? Uh yeah, I think it's a bit too soon."

"Even if the universe wants it to happen?" Daphne added.

"Oh come on, not the 'universe has a plan' thing again, Daph," Hermione said, topping up her friend's wine glass, "You know my opinion of Divination."

"Doesn't make you right," Daphne said in a sing-song voice as she drew her feet up underneath her and got comfortable. She had a rare night off while Harry watched Teddy, so she was spending it drinking wine with Hermione at Grimmauld Place.

"Alright then," Hermione said, smirking at her friend, "Tell me how the universe has a plan, and I'll dispute it."

"We were working on a case today, and we bumped into Bill's first girlfriend, who he confessed was his first love," Daphne said, smiling smugly at Hermione, "Fate."

"Coincidence," Hermione argued.

"There is no such thing as coincidences," Daphne said, "It's just a word scientists came up with to explain things that they can't because they can't fathom that the universe has a plan."

"This whole idea of yours makes you sound crazy. You do realise that, right?" Hermione asked, leaning back in her comfortable armchair and sipping her wine.

"I have been told that," Daphne remarked calmly, "But for two people to be drawn together right now when they both need it, and they both need each other? That's not chance, Hermione. Something pulled and pushed them together, a force stronger than us."

"Look, Daphne, your one of my best friends, and I love you, but you're never going to convince me on this one, so shall we just drop it before it becomes an argument?" Hermione asked reasonably.

"Probably for the best," Daphne chuckled, "You seem to be in a better mood than you were when I first got here."

"Two glasses of wine and a bit of time away from Sadie will do that," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, "Honestly, Daph, I love her to bits, but I love her for her rational mind. It's why we get on so well, you know? And right now, she's so irrational."

"That's pregnancy for you," Daphne smirked.

"She's impossible," Hermione muttered, "I actually wait until she's asleep, then I sneak next door and hang out with Theo instead."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her.

"Not like that. He's my cousin, I wouldn't sleep with him," Hermione snorted.

Daphne just shook her head, "I could not hack a relationship as weird as your four-way. I mean, I just kiss Lilly when I'm drunk or when she won't shut up. It's a pretty effective way to end an argument."

Hermione snorted in amusement, "But I'm the one in an unconventional relationship?"

"Ah well, conventional relationships are boring. Anyway! Aren't I here to discuss wedding themes with you?" Daphne asked excitably.

"Yes, which should technically be Sadie's job as the maid of honour, but she snaps at me every time I talk to her so she can get stuffed," Hermione muttered irritably.

Daphne whistled, "You two really are on the rocks, aren't you? How do you feel about ice sculptures?"

"Oh no, not this again. I told you, I was on Lilly's side of that argument before your wedding," Hermione said, shooting her an amused look, "Ice sculptures are pretentious."

"And so is your future husband. What's the problem?"

Hermione couldn't help it; she burst out laughing at that comment.

"How was your night out?" Harry asked, smiling over his glasses at Daphne as she traipsed into the bedroom. He shut the book about Auror protocols that he had been reading and put it down on his bedside table.

"Good," Daphne said cheerfully. "We got lots of planning done tonight, and she had what she deemed a 'healthy' rant about Sadie."

"Oh god," Harry muttered.

"Yeah, she's irrational and moody. Hermione can't deal with it," Daphne said with a grin, "Also, Hermione still hasn't come up with a bloody venue."

Harry chuckled, "I feel sorry for you and Sadie, having to deal with her incapability to make a decision."

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Don't even go there."

"You seem remarkably sober," Harry pointed out in amusement, "You aren't normally this sober when you get back from Grimmauld Place."

"Well, I am a responsible mother now, and it is a school night," Daphne said, shooting him a grin, "I only had a couple of glasses."

"Not like the several tequila shots you have when you go to Longbottom House then?" Harry teased.

"Not like that, no, Lilly is a bad influence on me," Daphne tutted.

"I'm not convinced which one of you is the bad influence in that friendship," Harry snorted.

Daphne laughed, "The only reason I'm this late home tonight is because I went for a walk through London before coming home."

Harry frowned, "What's got you going for late-night walks? You normally only do that when you've got stuff to think about."

"Yeah, I was thinking about stuff," Daphne admitted, throwing herself onto the bed, "This case I hauled up for Bill to get him out of his rut…."

"Tough one?"

"Weird one," Daphne said, lying on her side and propping herself up on her elbow to talk to him, "What do you know about obscurials?"

Harry's eyes darkened, "I hope that's a hypothetical question."

Daphne made a face, "Kinda?"

"Daph, if there's the slightest chance that you could be dealing with an obscurial, you need to call in Hit Wizards ASAP," Harry said sharply, "They are unbelievably rare and dangerous."

"There is a chance we are dealing with one, but it's a very small chance because of how rare they are," Daphne said, "The magic has to be really strong, and I'm just not convinced that it would have been with this girl. She was the daughter of a decent muggle-born witch and a muggle."

Harry sighed, "Yeah…I don't want to sound prejudiced, but it doesn't sound like it. It would take a lot of power; one of the parents would have to be majorly powerful, like with Neville and Lilly. Or both of the parents would have to moderately powerful, like Hermione and Draco."

Daphne nodded glumly, "Which means that the poor kid really is dead, and someone is using a cursed object to torture her parents."

"Why would they do that?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Because her parents killed her," Daphne replied bluntly, "So they deserve the torture, but the kid's Aunt doesn't. She just wants answers, and she was Bill's childhood sweetheart."

"Well, that's one way of making the case interesting for him," Harry said, raising an eyebrow at her, "Did you know that when you pushed him to take the case?"

"Maybe," Daphne said, hiding her face behind a pillow.

Harry laughed fondly, "If this goes sour, I'm not going to help you deal with the fallout, you manipulative wench," he grabbed her and pulled the pillow away from her face.

"Fair," Daphne chuckled as she kissed her husband.

"Morning," Daphne said cheerfully as she set a cup of coffee down on the desk.

"Morning," Bill said with a smile, "Why are you so happy?"

"Had a nice little evening drinking session with Hermione last night," Daphne said, shrugging and sitting down behind her desk, "Wedding planning and all that, you know?"

Bill snorted, "You had a nicer night than me then. This morning I reminded my brother how to use a basic wandless silencing charm because I heard your sister saying things that I never wanted to hear last night."

Daphne grimaced, "Ew."

"Imagine having to listen to it through paper-thin walls," Bill pointed out.

"I'd really rather not," Daphne said, shaking her head to erase the thought, "I do have bad news this morning too, which is going to break the happy bubble a little."

"Let me guess. Our victim really is dead?" Bill guessed.

"Yeah," Daphne agreed sheepishly.

"I had worked out the same thing," Bill admitted, "There's no way the kid of a mediocre witch and a muggle could harness enough power to become an obscurial."

Daphne sighed, "Yeah, which means someone is using a curse to torment her murderers."

"It's got to be the brother that Lara was telling us about," Bill said.

Daphne nodded, "Looks like it's going to be a pretty open and shut case, doesn't it?"

"In a sense," Bill agreed, "But this is going to be a first for you. We are dealing with a murder case here, and someone knows about that murder and is using that knowledge for blackmail and manipulation purposes. This is out of our jurisdiction now."

"Does that mean that we need to give up the case to the Aurors?" Daphne asked irritably.

"No, it means you need to work with an Auror on it," A new voice said. A tall, balding man stepped into the office and smiled, "I'm Senior Auror Sumner, and this is the Recruit who will be assisting me with the case."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Daphne said in disbelief while Bill positively cackled with laughter.

Harry grinned, "Hey, honey."

Sumner crossed his arms and said, "In all seriousness, you two are going to be working together on cases like this a lot, so it pays well to be able to work professionally together when you need to."

"This is a test sir, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"Of course it's a test, Potter," Sumner scoffed, "Why else did you think you were getting a field trip?"

Harry smirked, "Just thought I was your favourite, sir."

"Quit showing off in front of your missus Potter, or I'll have you scrubbing toilets for the next week," Sumner barked.

At this, Daphne smirked triumphantly when Harry fell silent.

Bill was trying his hardest not to laugh at the hilarity of the situation. He put his serious Senior Curse Breaker head on and smiled at Sumner, "Hey Jack, been a while since we worked a case together, eh?"

"A good couple of years," Sumner agreed, shaking Bill's hand, "Good to work with you again, Bill. Wanna give us the lowdown on what's going on here?"

Bill nodded, "Yeah, here's the file, but the truth is that it's likely to be the brother who is using a cursed object to manipulate the parents."

Sumner skimmed the file then handed it to Harry, "Likely yes. You have no idea of the brother's whereabouts, though?"

"No," Daphne replied, "His Aunt said that he knew magical people but that he wasn't magical. That was all she could tell us, though."

Harry frowned at this.

"Well, we can head into the Ministry and research a little further. Hopefully, we'll find a last known location on Matthias. He will be a person of interest due to his magical heritage anyway, so-"

"Borgin and Burkes."

"What Potter?" Sumner asked irritably.

"He's not magical, but he knows magical people," Harry said, "He can get into Diagon Alley and therefore Knockturn Alley. Where would he go to acquire a cursed object? Borgin and Burke's."

Bill raised an eyebrow at Sumner, "He has a point."

"Which is why he'll make a damn good Auror," Sumner agreed, a little reluctantly.

"Assuming he bought it," Daphne said, "Sorry to trample on your idea, sweetie, but someone else might have bought it for him."

Harry smirked at her, "Doubtful, darling. This is a revenge crime, that makes it more likely that he bought it himself."

Sumner snorted at the interaction between the newlyweds, "The only way to find out is to go into the shop undercover and find out if he has sold anything to Matthias."

Harry nodded eagerly.

"And the best person to glean information from that sleazy old idiot would be the one that he will most definitely be attracted to," Sumner added, looking at Daphne.

"Uh…what?" Harry asked in surprise.

Bill frowned, "Yeah, I'm with Harry on that one. Daphne isn't an Auror, and that seems pretty dangerous."

Sumner and Daphne scoffed in unison.

"Dangerous?" Daphne asked in disbelief, "Flirting with a sleazy shop owner?"

"A dealer of dark items," Harry added, "He doesn't sell bloody flowers, Daphne."

"And I'm training to be a Curse Breaker, aren't I?" Daphne asked calmly, "I've dealt with my fair share of dark items. Harry, I'll be fine."

"I already hate this plan," Harry muttered irritably.

"She'll be in there for less than five minutes, and we'll be outside if anything goes south," Sumner said logically.

Harry sighed and caught Daphne's eye, "I don't like it, but I know my wife, sir. There's no talking her out of an idea once she's got it planted in her head."

Daphne smiled triumphantly, "Good! Come on then, boys. I want this case closed by tonight. I have to drag my friend to an antenatal appointment that she really doesn't want to go to, and that's at 6 pm, so the clock is a-ticking!"

"Is she always like this?" Sumner asked, looking between Bill and Harry.

"Yeah," They both answered quietly as they followed Daphne out of the office.

"Sometimes I forget I'm her boss," Bill muttered to Harry.

"Sometimes I forget I have an opinion," Harry muttered back.

"I can hear you both. You know that, right?" Daphne asked, putting her hair into a bun with a flick of her wrist and shooting them both a mildly amused look.

Sumner lowered his voice and said, "I'm still going to give you hell if she makes you late, but I understand why you don't argue with her and just take the laps."

At this, Harry laughed and caught Bill smirking out of the corner of his eye too.

"What are you doing?"

"Undoing a couple of buttons," Daphne answered as she adjusted her blouse.

"Why?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Because I'm going in there to flirt the truth out of him, cleavage helps Harry," Daphne said with a roll of her eyes.

Harry shook his head in disbelief, "You're impossible to work with."

"You're impossible to work with," She counteracted.

"I'm not being your go-to Auror when you need one," Harry continued, "You can have Draco and Theo. They can put up with your flirty 'I'm just stripping to get some information' act."

"She undid two buttons Potter, she's not stripping," Sumner said in a harsh whisper.

"I'm with you here, Harry. If she were my wife, I'd be fuming too."

"Well, I'm not your wife Bill, so respectfully, shut up," Daphne said, crossing her arm over her recently exposed cleavage, "And if you want me to keep being your wife Harry, shut up and let me do your job for you."

Harry glared at her but said nothing else.

Daphne pulled red lipstick out of her bag and began putting it on.

"Seriously?" Harry burst out, despite himself.

"Shh!" Daphne muttered irritably, putting the lipstick back in her bag and heading for the door, "See you in five," she promised.

Harry huffed irritably in her absence. Bill grinned, "You knew she was going to be hard work when you married her Harry, admit it."

"How was it you described Fleur again? Hot as hell, but she could rub you up the wrong way with just a couple of words?" Harry asked.

Bill snorted, "Yeah, that sound familiar?"

"Very," Harry said, peering into the window as Daphne approached the counter.

"Good luck with that," Sumner said in amusement, "My first wife was just like her."

"Your first wife?" Harry asked tentatively, "Uh…why did you end up having a second wife?"

"Because the first one ran off with my best friend and took all of my money," Sumner replied, giving Harry a pointed look.

"You're safe, Harry; she doesn't fancy Neville," Bill joked.

"Funny," Harry remarked dryly, but he did hide a small smile.

He glanced back in and panicked momentarily when he could no longer see Daphne at the counter.

"Where-"

Sumner cut in, "It's fine. I saw where she went."

"Yeah, but where-"

"Be quiet, Potter."

Harry was about to open his mouth to say no when the front door opened, and Daphne stepped out. She walked up the alley, and they followed her. Once they were a little closer to the point where Knockturn Alley met Diagon Alley, Daphne smirked and said, "Matthias was in there a week ago, and he made a purchase."

"What did he buy?" Harry and Sumner asked in unison.

Daphne looked at Bill when she answered, despite the fact he was the only one who hadn't asked, "A cursed skull."

Bill's eyes widened, "Of course…of course! And it's probably still at the house! A cursed skull, why didn't I think of that?"

"I don't know, because I didn't either," Daphne said, "But they are quite rare, aren't they? Borgin said that Matthias paid a very nice price for it."

"Where do you reckon he got that kind of money from?" Bill asked her.

"I don't know, but that's their problem, isn't it?" Daphne asked, shrugging her shoulders in the direction of Sumner and Harry, "When they arrest him, they'll have to work that out. We just need to find the skull and destroy it to break the curse."

"We'll come with you, just in case Matthias has returned to the scene of the crime," Sumner said.

Bill nodded, "That's probably wise. You will need to arrest the parents when we get to the house too. Daphne and I haven't spoken to them yet. We went through the Aunt when we took the case on."

"Alright, time for your first real-life arrest, Potter," Sumner said, slapping Harry on the back.

"I feel kind of bad for them."

"I don't," Daphne said darkly as they searched the dimly lit cellar, "They killed their daughter."

"He killed his daughter," Bill added, shivering at the thought, "Which I don't understand. I love Victoire with everything that I have, and I just don't get it."

"That's because you're normal," Daphne said, smiling at him, "A normal, great Dad."

"I don't feel like a great Dad right now," Bill sighed.

"I know, but you'll get there," Daphne promised him, "You and Fleur are working out a new normal right now; it's natural that Vic will find it a little hard to adapt. Give it a few months, and things will be fine again, I promise."

Bill smiled at her, "I love your blind optimism sometimes."

"Blame Harry. It's his influence rubbing off on me," Daphne said with a roll of her eyes.

"You two weren't kidding earlier on when you said you couldn't work together, were you?" Bill asked with an amused but knowing smile.

"No, we weren't," Daphne said with a shake of her head, "I love him to bits, but I can't work with him. He's overbearing as hell. I wanted to smack him."

"You should have. His Auror trainer would have pissed himself," Bill chuckled.

Daphne laughed too but stopped short when she saw something in the corner, "Bill!"

Bill saw it too. He saw it move a fraction even though neither of them had moved their wands.

"Don't move," He said, "Don't move a muscle."

Daphne stayed stock still, "What is it?"

"It's Matthias," Bill said, moving his lips as little as possible, "Borgin lied to you. He didn't buy that skull days ago. He bought it years ago, and he hasn't returned to the scene of the crime because he never left it."

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked, her heart beating out of her chest.

"He's dead. He probably died when he was 15. That's why nobody has seen him since," Bill replied, "He bought the skull to get his revenge, but it takes a soul to work. He thought it would take his sisters soul, but it took his. Matthias is dead, but that is his soul, and that is what is tormenting his parents; the skull is just a conduit."

"Like a Horcrux," Daphne breathed.

"Yes, and the minute you take your eyes off of him, he will jump into your body and possess you," Bill reiterated.

Daphne was about to say that she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to stay still for when the cellar door opened.

"Soul of Matthias is in the cellar!" Bill called out, grabbing Daphne and yanking her back towards the stairs as the light distorted all of the shadows in the cellar.

Harry and Sumner darted down the stairs and pushed the Curse Breakers behind them.

"Do you know how to defeat a soul attached to a cursed item, Potter?" Sumner asked, his eyes scanning the cellar for movement.

"Much the same as a Horcrux, sir," Harry replied calmly.

"Yes, and do you know how to destroy a Horcrux?" Sumner asked, "Because last time I checked, we didn't have any basilisk venom, or big shiny swords or your boyfriend in a bloody cardigan."

Harry would have laughed if it wasn't for the tension in the room, "Would fiendfyre destroy it?"

"It would, but nobody can control fiendfyre," Sumner said, "And certainly not in the cellar of a house. The whole place would come down on us."

"Not if there was somebody who was really good at controlling fiendfyre in that cellar," Harry pointed out, "Sir, shadow in the right corner!"

"Keep your eyes on it, Potter. It can't jump inside us unless we look away," Sumner said as he scanned the cellar for the skull, "Bill, there is a skull on the back wall towards the left. Is that our object?"

Bill did a diagnostic charm and nodded, "Yep, that's it."

"Alright," Sumner said calmly, "Potter, are you bullshitting me here or is one of your superhero boy who lived tricks that you are an expert at controlling fiendfyre?"

"I really am that good sir," Harry said entirely seriously.

"Okay," Sumner said, looking right at the shadow, "I'm watching your shadow so you can look away. Destroy that skull now, and civilians…out of the cellar, please."

"No chance," Bill and Daphne replied in unison.

"You know this is dangerous, Daphne," Harry said, turning to look at her.

"Yes, and I know how good you are. We'll all be fine," Daphne said confidently, "Just kill that thing, now."

Harry nodded and turned around. He held up his wand, took a deep, steadying breath and said the incantation. A string of fire shot out of his wand and weaved its way across the cellar to the skull. It then encapsulated the skull, which caused a scream to be emitted from the other side of the cellar where the shadow of Matthias had been. Harry let the fire burn the skull until the echoes of the scream had disappeared. He then twisted his wand in the other direction and took another deep breath before lifting one finger from his wand and beckoning the fire back towards him. Slowly, it weaved back across the room into his wand, leaving a small puff of smoke once it was gone.

"Back out of the cellar," Sumner said.

They all did, and the door was then snapped shut. They all breathed in gratefully and were happy to be standing in a sunlit corridor once more.

"Potter," Sumner said, looking at Harry with genuine admiration, "I've never seen anyone do that. Not in training or in real life, that was pretty amazing."

Harry smiled a little sheepishly, "Thank you, sir."

Sumner shook his head, still in shock at what he had seen such a young Recruit do, "We'll get the spirit division out here to secure the area and make sure that he really is gone. Until then, this area is sealed off, and we have the parents to question back at the Ministry."

"Alright," Harry said, he smiled at Daphne, "See you tonight after Sadie's appointment, love."

"See you tonight," Daphne agreed, kissing him on the cheek, "And you were bloody brilliant today, you know?"

"So were you," Harry said with a smile.

Bill made a face, "This is sickening. Come on, Daphne, we have to go and tell Lara that we cracked the case."

Daphne chuckled and let him drag her out of the house. It wasn't until they were outside that she said, "Do you know what? I think I'll just bow out a little early and let you tell Lara that we cracked the case. That way, you two can catch up properly."

"Don't think that I don't know what you're doing here!" Bill called as she began to walk away from him.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about!" Daphne called back, grinning at him and slipping between two houses to apparate away.

Knock. Knock.

"Bill!"

Bill smiled sadly at her, "Hey, Lara. We solved the case for you, but…it's not exactly happy news."

Lara's face fell. She nodded and pulled the door back, "Come in."

Bill stepped in and followed her to the kitchen.

"Tea?"

"Tea sounds great," Bill said, sitting down behind her breakfast bar.

"So, Emery is dead, isn't she?" Lara asked.

"Unfortunately, she is," Bill replied, "We tried our best to keep it on the down-low, but we had to work with an Auror who has arrested your sister and her husband on suspicion of her murder. Your sister will likely get a minor sentence because she only knew of the act. She didn't help."

Lara nodded and let out a shaky breath, "I understand."

Bill took a breath.

"Oh, Merlin, there's more?" She asked in disbelief.

Bill nodded, "I'm afraid so."

Lara sat down across from him at the breakfast bar, "What is it?"

"Matthias is dead too," Bill said quietly, "He died not long after he ran away from home, but his soul has been hanging around. He got a cursed skull to enact his revenge, not realising that it would take his soul, not Emery's. We had to destroy the object and therefore, Matthias's soul, to break the curse."

Lara let her head drop into her hands, "My family is so messed up, Bill."

"I'm sorry," Bill said, tentatively reaching across and placing his hand on hers.

Lara elaborated, "It was why I loved your family so much. They just took me in. I felt like I would always be at home with them and with…you…" she frowned and shook her head. She pulled her hand out from underneath his and stirred the tea, "Stupid, I know."

"It's not stupid," Bill said quietly, his tone softer than it had been a moment earlier, "Because you did fit in, and I was stupid to throw away what we had to run after adventure. I was an idiot, Lara. All I wanted was to break the norm. I wanted adventure and fun, not a wife and kids and a boring desk job. Back then, I couldn't see that I could have that without losing you."

"You were young, and rash, and stupid," Lara said, smiling sadly at him, "We both were, but we learned our lessons, didn't we? We've both been married, and we're both divorced. We've seen the real world."

Bill nodded thoughtfully.

"You moved up in the world," Lara pointed out, "I researched you after I saw you last. I learned about your hot French wife."

"She had a fiery French temper too," Bill said with a sad smile, "She was either hot or cold, there was no in-between, and the age gap between us became an issue. What split you and Greg up?"

Lara sipped her tea and sighed, "A difference of opinions and cultures. I missed the wizarding world sometimes, and he didn't get that. He thought we were all a bunch of weirdo's. He used to get a kick out of telling his friends that he had rescued me from a cult."

Bill scoffed, "He sounds like an idiot."

"He was," Lara admitted, "I don't know why I married him, to be honest with you. I think I got to a point where I thought that he was the best that I would get, so I might as well settle. Either way, he wanted kids, and I didn't, so he left me for his secretary."

Bill made a face, "What an arse. I didn't realise that you didn't want kids, though."

Lara shook her head, "Not particularly. I didn't come from a very loving family, as you know. All of this….it's more a reason to let the line stop with me."

Bill debated telling her about Victoire, but in the end, it just came out, "I have a kid."

"Do you?" Lara asked in surprise.

Bill nodded, "She's called Victoire, I wanted to call her Victoria because she was born in England, but Fleur said she should have a French name."

"Just call her Vic," Lara chuckled.

"I do," Bill said with an amused smile, "She's nine months old, and she's pretty much my whole world."

"Cool," Lara said with a fond smile, "Why did you tell me that?"

"Because you said you didn't want kids, and I was seriously thinking about asking you out, so I figured that might be pivotal information," Bill said, looking up to meet her eye.

Lara's eyes sparkled with amusement, "I don't want to bring any kids into my family, but I like kids, Bill. I'm not so convinced about you asking me out, though."

"Why not?" Bill asked, trying not to sound too hurt.

"Because I don't want to be your rebound," Lara said honestly, "You just got divorced, and the first woman to come into your life after that was me, a person with who you have a lot of history. I'm the obvious choice for a rebound, even if that is a subconscious choice."

Bill sighed and looked down into his coffee, "True," he admitted grudgingly.

Lara reached across the breakfast bar and placed her hand on top of his, "But I wouldn't say no to being your friend again because right now, I think you need one, and I need someone to help me get back into the wizarding world."

Bill looked up and smiled warmly at her, "I…I can do that. Friendship sounds great."

Lara smiled back at him, just as warmly, "Good," she said decisively.

"I am never, and I mean, never working with my wife again."

"Hey Harry, staying for tea?" Lilly asked in amusement.

"Yeah, Lil, what you cooking?" Harry asked, peering into the pot.

"Pasta and my spidey senses must have been tingling because I cooked an extra portion," Lilly said with a grin.

"Nev told you I'd be here because I had to work with Daphne today, didn't he?"

"Would I?" Neville asked sarcastically.

"Yes, you would," Harry said, grinning at his partner, "Traitor."

Neville grinned, "Shut up and grab us both a beer, would you?"

"Oi! Get me one too!" Lilly exclaimed.

"Yes, boss!" Harry joked, disappearing into the pantry and returning with three bottles. He tossed one to Neville, handed one to Lilly and opened his own, then he leant against the kitchen counter, "Seriously though, she's impossible to work with."

"Dare I ask, why?" Neville asked, clearly finding this entire thing hilarious.

"Well, she thinks she can get her way by taking her bloody clothes off for a start," Harry muttered irritably, "She used cleavage to get information from Mr Borgin."

"Funny how the things that attracted you to her when you first met are annoying you now," Lilly said with a sweet smile.

"Oh shut up, Lil, don't you start," Harry said with a roll of his eyes, "I've been getting this from my inner Hermione all day."

"Your inner – sorry what?"

Neville barked out a laugh as Lilly tried to process what Harry had just said.

"It's the little voice in his head. You know the one that keeps you alive and tells you when you're being a prick? His talks with Hermione's voice," Neville grinned.

"Hermione is your subconscious?" Lilly asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, kind of," Harry said with a wave of his hand, "But the point is, Daphne can't just spend the rest of her life putting red lipstick on and popping a button in her blouse to get her own way!"

"Weeeeeeelll…" Lilly said.

Neville snorted at that.

"It pissed me off," Harry muttered.

"Yeah, I did get that impression," Lilly said, hiding her smile as she dished out the pasta, "Do you think Daphne liked working with you?"

"Obviously," Harry scoffed, "I totally cracked the case and controlled fiendfyre. She's never seen me in Auror mode before. I bet it turned her on."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find out about that one later," Neville said as Lilly put three bowls down on the table, "Where's Ted, by the way?"

"Being babysat by his Grandad and Narcissa," Harry said with a shrug, "Daphne thinks they are friends with benefits, which is gross apparently because they're old."

Neville chuckled, "Either way, I doubt Cygnus is doing much of the babysitting."

"Yeah, I know," Harry chuckled, "Daphne had to drag Sadie to that antenatal appointment that Theo can't attend. She was nervous about going because he wasn't allowed to, so she volunteered in his place."

"Why can't he go?" Neville asked curiously.

"It's a late pregnancy appointment. They will want to do some charms and ask a few questions to make sure she's not a victim of any sort of domestic or sexual abuse. It's because they are both purebloods. It's a precaution to make sure she wasn't forced into the pregnancy or anything like that," Lilly said, waving her fork in the air as she spoke.

"That's horrible," Harry said with a frown.

"It's the procedure in the wizarding world," Lilly shrugged, "I don't like it much either, but it's better that they do it than ignore the issue, don't you think?"

"I suppose so," Harry said, taking a bite of pasta absentmindedly, "This is really good, by the way."

"Thanks," Lilly said dryly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Harry asked defensively.

"You didn't have to sound so surprised," Lilly said, only a little defensively.

Neville sniggered into his pasta, "Mate, just shut up and eat, or she'll either knock you out or kick you out."

"Yeah, okay, sorry Lil," Harry said sheepishly, taking another bite of his pasta gratefully.

"See? That wasn't scary, was it?" Daphne asked with a smile as she led her friend out of the hospital.

"No, but it was offensive," Sadie muttered irritably, "Daphne, could you slow down a little? I'm the size of a baby whale."

Daphne snorted, "Hardly Sadie, you're glowing," she said, but she did slow down a little.

"I can't believe they asked me all of those questions about Theo-"

"They were generic-"

"No, they weren't," Sadie said, lowering her voice as they left the hospital, "I saw a note in my file next to his surname. They asked those questions because of his family history."

"Well, you can understand why they have to, surely?" Daphne said softly, "To someone who looks at Theo on paper but doesn't know him, his background is a little worrying where kids are concerned. But I think she knew that there wasn't anything to worry about because she didn't really question you. She accepted your answer as no to all of the questions easily."

"I suppose. Do you think I'm doing that thing where I get offended over nothing because of hormones?" Sadie asked with a sigh.

"A little bit, yeah," Daphne admitted, smiling at her best friend, "But you are growing two babies, so I think we can all forgive you for that."

"Thanks for reminding me," Sadie chuckled.

Daphne just grinned at her, "Come on, let's get you home to your loving, supporting, sap of a husband!"

"Did you have to say it so loudly?" Sadie laughed.

"Just reaffirming that you and the rest of the world have nothing to worry about," Daphne said, smiling supportively at her friend.

"I love you," Sadie said tearfully.

Daphne laughed and pulled her into a hug, "I love you too, Sade, but you are super hormonal and tired, so right now, I think you need to get home."

"Yeah," Sadie said through her tears, "That sounds great. Oh, sweet Salazar, why am I crying so much?"

"I don't know," Daphne replied through her laughter, "But it's bloody funny."

Sadie glared at her pathetically through bloodshot eyes, and the two friends burst into laughter once more.

* ~ TBC ~ *