* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 89: I've Got Friends That Will Run Through Walls

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

Run Through Walls by The Script.

Once he finished work that night, Harry went to Susan's apartment with Daphne and Teddy. The girls had a cup of coffee and played with Teddy while Harry tried to break the encryption on the call. He managed, but rather than getting a simple line of code that translated into coordinates; he was met with a second layer of encryption. At that point, he handed the job over to Daphne.

By the time she managed to get through it, Teddy had fallen asleep on Susan's lap. Susan looked tired too. She had obviously not slept well since Percy's disappearance.

"Got it."

Harry got up off the sofa quietly so as not to wake Teddy. He knelt next to Daphne and looked at the coordinates. He pulled a map out of his pocket and pinpointed them, "It's an abandoned warehouse in London."

"Dead end basically," Daphne said irritably.

"Yeah," Harry said, shaking his head angrily, "After all of that."

They both turned to look at Susan. Disappointment shone in her eyes, "I'm sorry, Suse," Daphne said.

Susan shook her head, "Don't be sorry, Daph. Thanks for trying."

"I just wish I could have done something more," Daphne said sadly.

"Don't worry about it," Susan said again, "You better get this little guy home, though. He's exhausted."

"Yeah, I will," Daphne said, lifting Teddy and popping his head on her shoulder. He began to cry, "Shh, it's alright, baby. Let's get you home to your bed."

Teddy settled back down on her shoulder. Harry smiled at her, "You get him home, babe. I'll stay and ask Suse a couple of questions. Then I'll follow you home, okay?"

"Okay, just don't do anything stupid, alright?" Daphne asked, her eyes meeting his, "If you want to go out and do any investigating, make sure you have Nev with you."

"I will," Harry promised her.

Daphne left the apartment, and Harry sat down next to Susan. He opened his mouth to ask her if she had any idea who might have floo-ed Percy, but before he could, the floo roared to life.

Susan jumped up expectantly, but Harry, who had learned always to expect the worst, grabbed his wand and pointed it at the fireplace.

There was no pause to imply that Susan had to grant whoever it was permission. The flames roared green, and Percy stumbled out.

"Percy!" Susan exclaimed in relief.

Harry didn't drop his wand. He cast a spell on Percy, which checked for any mind-altering charms. It came up negative.

Percy drew himself up, he looked perfectly fine, but there was something about how he held himself, which made Harry think that he was injured.

"Finite incantatem," Harry said quietly.

The spell washed away all enchantments, including glamour charms.

Susan gasped and let go of Percy as the true extent of his injuries were revealed, "What happened to you?"

"I'm fine," Percy gasped, holding his side.

"No, you aren't," Harry said, stepping forward.

"Harry, I'm-"

Before he could say 'fine', he passed out.

"Harry!" Susan panicked.

"Help me lie him down on the sofa," Harry said, and Susan did.

Harry then used magic to remove Percy's clothing, leaving him in his boxers. Susan drew back in horror when she saw how battered and bruised he was.

"What the hell was he doing?" Harry asked in disbelief as he scanned Percy with his wand.

"I have no idea," Susan replied tearfully.

Harry's wand buzzed, and he frowned, "Most of the injuries are superficial, but he does have internal bleeding. That was why he grabbed his side and passed out."

"Can you fix that?" Susan asked, "Cause I can call Lil-"

"It's okay. I can fix that," Harry said, casting a spell on the bruised area that Percy had grabbed before passing out. His breathing began to even out straight away, which made Susan sigh in relief.

She sat down by his side and began to heal the many bruises and cuts on his body and face.

"Do you mind if I hang around until he wakes up?" Harry asked, resting his hand on Susan's shoulder, "I need to know where he went, as an Auror and a friend."

"Yeah, I know," Susan said a little stiffly, "Grab a coffee and wait in the kitchen. I'll come and get you when he wakes up."

When Percy woke up, the first thing he saw was Susan's eyes, and they were full of concern.

"Suse," He said, smiling weakly at her and pushing himself up on the sofa.

Susan raised an eyebrow at him, "Don't you dare 'Suse' me. You disappeared off the face of the Earth for two days then came back half dead!"

"I was working," Percy lied.

"You always tell me when you're working," Susan said, crossing her arms over her chest, "Who floo-ed you?"

"Suse, it's really not that important-"

"Really?" Susan asked curtly, "Because Harry is sitting in the kitchen, and he thinks it's important."

"Why is Harry here?"

"He was helping me track you down because, for all I knew, you were dead in a ditch somewhere, Percy!" Susan snapped.

Percy met her eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry."

"So you should be," Susan said irritably, "But if you want me to speak to you for the rest of the year, you had better tell me what was so important that it made you run off like that."

Percy frowned and took his eyes off of hers, "Blackmail."

"What?"

"There is someone out there who has been blackmailing me," Percy replied, "It's why I've been trying to stay out of Britain for long periods. The reason I take on jobs all over the place is to stay away from them so that they can't drag me back in."

"What could anyone possibly have on you?" Susan asked ludicrously, "You're a good man Percy."

"Am I?" Percy asked, still unable to look at her, "Because I really don't feel like it right now."

Susan sighed too. She got to her feet and called, "Harry, I can practically hear you eavesdropping, so you might as well get your nosy arse in here!"

Harry stepped out of the kitchen sheepishly, "Sorry," he said.

Susan pointed to the armchair, "Sit down."

Despite the fact he felt like a dog, Harry did so.

"What do they have on you, Percy?" Harry asked, looking over at the man who he thought of as family.

"I did things for the ministry during the war," Percy replied, "Things that I'm not proud of."

"When you didn't speak to the rest of us?" Harry guessed.

Percy nodded, "I was forced to act as a spy, that much I think you know."

Harry nodded.

"But I've never told anyone about the rest of it," Percy admitted, his eyes meeting Susan's again, "Not even you, Susan."

"What did they make you do?" Susan asked, grabbing his hand.

"In addition to being a spy, they turned me into a Hit Wizard," Percy said. He shook his head, "You know how I was back then, convinced that my superiors in the ministry were always right, so I did what they said, blindly. I killed people during the war, bad people, but their blood was still on my hands, and I…" he frowned, "I avoided the rest of my family because I couldn't stand for them to know what I was. It was because…for a long time, I couldn't look them in the eye after all that I had done."

"And because you weren't employed officially as a Hit Wizard, they used that as leverage to bring you back in," Harry realised.

Percy nodded.

"What did they have you do?" Harry asked curiously.

"Kill a Muggle politician who had funded the Death Eaters," Percy replied, swallowing a lump in his throat and looking down at his hands.

Susan brought her hand up to her mouth but didn't audibly gasp.

Harry wasn't as phased by this as she was, but then again, he also wasn't married to Percy.

"Percy," Susan said, looking at him in disbelief, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I thought it was over, and I didn't want to tell you about that side of me. I figured a good girl like you would leave the moment you found out the truth," Percy replied honestly.

"Then you're an idiot," Susan said irritably, "I wouldn't leave, but I am angry. I'm angry that you never told me, and I'm angry that you let them blackmail you when your adopted brother and all his friends are bloody Aurors!"

"She has a point," Harry said with a slightly amused look, "I did notice that you said 'he' instead of 'they' when you were talking about the things that happened in the past, Percy. Have you met this guy?"

Percy nodded, "Yeah."

"So you could identify him from a series of photographs?" Harry added.

Again Percy nodded, "I could, yes."

"Alright," Harry said with a nod, "This stops here. Nobody is forcing you to kill anyone again, and I'm taking this to a higher authority. I have a hunch that the person who turned you into a temporary hitman was a rogue Auror. In which case, you were acting on the authority of an official ministry figure."

"Do you know who it is?" Susan asked in surprise.

"Not quite, but I have a couple of ideas," Harry said honestly, "Leave it with me and lay low until I have answers, Percy."

Percy nodded, "Thank you, Harry."

"Why are we in the supply closet?" Rob asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

"Because I need to talk to you without being spied on or overheard," Harry whispered, "And that's impossible in this department."

"And here was me thinking that you just wanted to see the elves," Rob joked.

"I'm serious, Rob," Harry said in a hushed tone, "My friend is being blackmailed, and I'm sure an Auror is behind it."

This caught Rob's attention, "Go on."

"My friend was duped into becoming a temporary hitman during the war," Harry whispered, "Once the war ended, he got out of that life, but a few nights ago, he got a floo call."

"Let me guess, whoever it was blackmailed him into coming back?" Rob guessed.

"Yeah," Harry replied quietly, "And he was forced to kill a muggle politician who had funded the Death Eaters, the same politician who we investigated for child abuse a few weeks ago."

"That's weird," Rob said with a frown, "But if he was blackmailed during the war, it would have had to be by one of the old Aurors, the ones who didn't think blackmail counted as going rogue."

"I know, and my gut instinct tells me that Organised Crime was involved," Harry added in a whisper.

"Half of the Organised Crime Aurors walked out when veritaserum testing was announced," Rob whispered, "It could be any of them."

Harry shook his head, "I don't think it was. I think it's someone who is still here, so I want to steal their files and take them to my friend so that he can identify the Auror who is blackmailing him."

"That's risky and stupid," Rob pointed out.

"I know it is. Why do you think I'm asking you in a supply closet, Rob?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at his boss.

At that point, the door opened, and Rob and Harry stared at each other in horror. John reached his hand in to grab something, then stopped and frowned, "What the hell are you two doing in a supply closet?"

"Not what you think," Harry replied quickly.

"He's way too young for me," Rob agreed, "And male," he added as an afterthought.

John narrowed his eyes at them, "Are you doing something illegal?"

"Not yet," Rob replied, grabbing Johns wrist and pulling him into the closet. He shut the door and added, "But we're about to. Do you want in on the act?"

"I'm Assistant Head of the department. I'm not going to just shut my eyes and let you do something illegal!" John hissed, "What's going on?"

"A rogue Auror is blackmailing a guy he forced to be a hitman during the war," Rob replied quickly, "So we need to steal some staff files to show to the guy so he can identify him."

"Okay, if you do that, you're going to lose your job," John said matter of factly, "However, if I sign over some staff files for you and say that you're the Auror on HR duty this month, nobody is going to blink an eye."

Rob grinned, "Do you know what? I love being friends with you again."

John snorted, "Can we move this conversation somewhere a little less cramped? I'm getting PTSD about that time you pissed Liz off, and she locked us in a vanishing cabinet for three days."

Harry sniggered, "You two were locked in a vanishing cabinet together for three days? Vanishing cabinets are tiny."

"I know," John said, glaring at Rob, "It's even worse when you have his big arse shoved in your face."

"My arse is not that big!" Rob objected.

Harry snorted, "You two remind me of Draco and Theo," he remarked.

"Woah, I take great offence at that!" Rob exclaimed in an outraged whisper.

Harry sniggered, "I'm going to leave first to avoid suspicion. Is it best if I bring our guy into your office tonight to look at the files?"

"Yeah, don't come in until after 5.30 pm," John advised, "The department will have emptied a good bit by then."

"Okay, see you later then," Harry said, slipping out of the closet and heading back to the CPS office. As he entered, he met Elizabeth by the door.

"Did you get the parchment, Harry?" She asked with a smile.

"Oh damn, got sidetracked along the way by Fee," Harry said, hitting himself on the forehead.

"Don't let your wife hear you say that," Elizabeth chuckled, "Don't worry about it. I'll grab a few extra rolls."

"Thanks, Elizabeth," Harry said, turning around to hide his grin.

"How does that kid keeping dragging me into illegal shit?" Rob asked in an irritated whisper, "I got myself kicked into Domestics because I believed in him, and he just keeps making me do it."

"It's kind of uncanny actually," John agreed, "And I did just find you in a supply closet with him. Not to mention it's been ages since you had a proper girlfriend-"

Rob opened his mouth to defend himself, but John cut in, "Gaia doesn't count, she leant on you, and you promised to look after her kid. It wasn't really romantic, was it? Was it even sexual?"

Rob made a face, "It was…no, not really, to be honest."

"And now you're dragging Junior Aurors into supply cupboards."

"He dragged me into a supply cupboard," Rob corrected his friend, "And I'm not gay if that's what you're implying."

"I'm not implying anything. I'm just saying that you haven't had a serious relationship with a woman since Liz," John whispered, "And the traumatic ending of that would have been enough to turn any decent guy gay."

"For fuck sake, John, I'm not gay," Rob muttered irritably.

At that point, the door opened, and both men turned to see Elizabeth peering into the cupboard. She dropped her arms to her side and shook her head in disbelief, "You lasted less than two weeks, guys."

"We're just talking-"

"About Rob being gay, in a supply cupboard," Elizabeth finished, raising an eyebrow at them.

"I'm not gay!" Rob exclaimed.

Elizabeth cocked her head at him, "Do you really believe that, though?"

"That's it. I'm done," Rob said, shaking his head and walking past her into the corridor, "I'm out of here!"

Elizabeth reached past her husband to grab a roll of parchment, then she looked at him in a long-suffering way and shut the door on him.

When Harry snuck Percy into Johns office at 6 pm that night, under his invisibility cloak, he wasn't surprised to discover that Rob was already in the office with their Assistant Head Auror.

"Where's your guy?" John asked, frowning when he saw that Harry was alone.

Percy shrugged off the invisibility cloak and breathed in deeply, "It smells awful under there, Harry."

"Sorry, it doesn't wash too well," Harry said sheepishly, folding the cloak up under his arm.

"Is that an invisibility cloak?"

"Yeah, it was my dads," Harry said with a shrug, "This is Percy, by the way. He's my adopted but not adopted brother."

"Molly Weasley practically raised Harry," Rob added for Johns benefit.

"Ah," John realised, he smiled, "Nice to meet you, Percy. I'm friends with your older brother Bill. He's a brilliant curse breaker. We've worked with him on a few occasions."

Percy smiled, "He is a brilliant curse breaker," he said simply. Harry figured it must be annoying, getting compared to your older siblings all of the time.

"We've narrowed it down to our most likely suspects," Harry said when Percy sat down in front of Johns desk, "So hopefully it's one of them."

Percy nodded and began to flick through the files. There was a tense silence between the three Aurors as he did so. He was nearing the end and hadn't said anything, which made Harry nervous, but then he noticed a little tell; Percy tensed up.

He leant forward to look at the file in front of Percy, and his eyes widened.

"That's him," Percy said, laying the file down on the desk.

John's eyes widened, "Graves?"

"Makes sense," Rob said as he got to his feet, "He's an old-style Auror, he's a pureblood, descended from the Lestrange's…."

"He's always been a loyal Auror, though," John said with a frown, "He was tested with veritaserum recently. He didn't work with Voldemort or the Death Eaters."

"There are more ways to go rogue," Harry pointed out.

"Like taking the law into your own hands," Rob said darkly.

John nodded and looked down at the file once more, "Percy, I can assure you that this will be dealt with come first light tomorrow, but I'm going to need a little more from you first."

"I understand," Percy said with a nod, "I'll give you any memories that you might need. I don't even want to keep a copy. You can just have them."

Harry shook his head, "You can't just erase your mistakes, Perce. You need to keep them, so you remember to learn from them and to prevent yourself from repeating them."

"Listen to the kid philosopher," Rob said, patting Percy on the shoulder.

"Can you come with me to the memory room?" John asked Percy as he got to his feet.

Percy nodded and got to his own feet. He glanced back at Harry and smiled, "Thanks, Harry."

"Anytime," Harry promised with a smile.

Rob crossed his arms and leant against the wall, watching Harry with interest as John left with Percy.

"Graves is going to get fired," Harry said, turning to look at Rob, "Isn't he?"

"Graves is going to go to Azkaban," Rob said, "Shep will get the memories from Percy, then he'll go straight to Jack. I reckon Graves will get arrested as soon as he steps foot in this office tomorrow morning."

"Good," Harry said firmly, "He deserves it."

"Oh yeah, he does," Rob agreed, stepping out of the office and looking at Harry, "You coming to the Leaky for a celebratory drink?"

"I thought no Juniors were allowed," Harry said with a frown.

"Not till they prove their mettle, and you just did Harry," Rob said with a proud smile, "You've only been in the doors a few weeks, and you just busted a rogue Auror."

Harry chuckled and fell into step with Rob, "Yeah, and after the last couple of days, a drink sounds good," he admitted.

Rob nodded as they left the department together, "Hey, do you think I'm gay?"

Harry frowned over at his boss, "Uh…well, I didn't until you mentioned it, but you do kind of flirt with everyone."

Rob considered this for a second, "Do I?"

"Well, you flirt with Elizabeth and John," Harry said, frowning again, "And kind of Sumner too, to be honest."

"What? I do not flirt with Jack!"

Harry snorted, "Are you gay?"

"No, I'm not bloody gay!" Rob groaned, kicking the door open a little too violently as they left the DMLE for the night.

"Harry!" Draco exclaimed the following morning.

"Draco," Harry said calmly.

"You'll never guess what happened this morning," Draco said in an excited whisper.

"What happened?" Harry asked, looking over at him and Neville.

"Graves was arrested," Neville replied, meeting Harry's eye, "He's a rogue Auror."

"Is he?" Harry asked in a terrible show of surprise, "I would never have guessed."

A snort from the doorway made him turn his head. Harry turned and saw Elizabeth standing there, "So I find Rob and John in a supply closet that you had just come out of, and then John doesn't get home until close to midnight last night," she said, stepping into the room, "And then Graves is arrested this morning. Does that seem a bit suspicious to you?"

"You got us, Lizzie," Rob said, stepping into the office and dropping his bag at the door, "I wasn't stealing your husband. I was plotting to take down a rogue Auror with him."

"At what point did I accuse you of stealing my husband?" Elizabeth teased, "I believe I accused you of expressing latent homosexual feelings towards each other."

Rob rolled his eyes at that and said, "Right, for the record. It has been a while since I dated a female, but I am not gay, which Harry will verify."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at Harry.

Harry chuckled and said, "We went to the Leaky last night, and Rob took the barmaid home. He did it to prove a point, but it definitely looked like he was into her, so yeah, he's not gay."

"Or are you just his cover?" Neville joked.

This comment made the office descend into chaos as they all burst out laughing.

"You excited to be home, Sade?"

Sadie smiled, but just like in the hospital, it didn't reach her eyes.

"Yeah," She said softly, "It feels good to be home."

"Do you want to go and lie down?" Theo asked, placing his hand on her forehead, "You're still a little hot. I think the apparition might have taken it out of you. I can get the twins settled down in their cots."

Sadie frowned down at the babies. She was holding Almina, and Theo was holding Charlus.

"Is everything okay, love?" Theo asked her.

"Fine," Sadie replied, faking another smile, "I'm just tired."

"Go and have a lie down then," Theo said, watching her walk up the stairs with a real sense of worry and dread in his gut.

By the time Theo had fed and changed the twins, Sadie was asleep. He settled them down in their cots at the end of the bed that he and Sadie shared. Then set up a charm on the room so he would hear any noises.

After that, he tiptoed out of the room and headed downstairs. When he opened the door to number 12, Draco was in the basement, "Hey."

"Hey," Draco returned with a smile.

"Can you come through?" Theo asked.

Draco caught his friends eye and saw the concern there. He nodded, "Of course I can," he said, stepping into the Nott family home and shutting the door behind him.

Theo set the kettle on to boil and leant against the kitchen counter, "Draco, I'm so worried about Sadie."

Draco had sensed this coming because he and Hermione had both noticed how distant Sadie seemed to be. He nodded and said, "Yeah, me too, Theo."

Theo looked up sharply, "You see it too? I'm not going crazy?"

"You're not going crazy. She's definitely struggling to adjust," Draco said quietly.

"She's so sad all of the time, and even looking at the twins…it's like she doesn't fully connect with them," Theo said, spilling it all out now that he had his best friend back and could talk to him privately.

"Did you mention it to the Healers?"

Theo nodded, "They said it was probably just the baby blues but to keep an eye on it. But it seems like a bit more than the baby blues, doesn't it?"

"She might have postpartum depression," Draco said, waving his wand to make the tea make itself as the kettle screeched loudly.

"She thinks she's a terrible mother," Theo whispered.

"She would think that way if she's depressed," Draco said, reaching out and grabbing Theo's hand, "I know it's not the same, but I can relate, Theo. Sixth year was the worst time of my life. I went through a really deep depression that year. I considered killing myself to get out of the dire situation that my father had gotten me into. When you feel like that…you blame yourself for your own depression. You think that maybe if you had just been able to think a bit more positively, or do things a little better, that you wouldn't feel that way."

Theo looked Draco in the eye, "I'm scared for her, Draco, I'm…" he swallowed, and his voice broke, "I'm terrified that she hurts one of the kids."

"I don't think she will, Theo," Draco said, pulling his friend in for a hug. He wasn't often the person to initiate a hug, but he could see how hard Theo was finding this, "She loves the babies, even if she is having trouble showing it. But you have to remember that she had a difficult birth which is probably where this stems from. She struggled to connect at the start, and now she just feels lost."

"But what can I do?" Theo asked. His body shook, and Draco could tell that he was crying, "What can I do to help her?"

"Support her as much as you can, and if you're this worried, get help from a Healer," Draco said, hugging his friend tightly, "I think it will get better once Sadie starts to get her strength back and adjusts to life as a mother."

Theo took a shaky breath and drew back. He wiped his eyes hastily and nodded, "Yeah, you're right, Draco. Sorry, I've just…I've been keeping this in for a while."

"I can tell," Draco said, pushing a cup of tea in Theo's direction, "Have a cup of tea, take a deep breath, then try to get some sleep. Everything will look a bit brighter in the morning."

Theo nodded and took another steadying breath, "Stay for a bit?"

"Of course, I will."

"Hey, Percy," Rob said with a smile.

Percy handed the Auror a cup of coffee in a cardboard mug, "A meagre thank you for your help, but it's the best I can do."

Rob laughed, "It's great. Coffee is always a good thank you when Aurors are involved."

Percy smiled, "You asked to meet me?"

"Yeah, I have an offer for you," Rob said as he and Percy fell into step together at the Muggle park where they had met up.

"An offer?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah," Rob said, drawing his cloak closer as a cold wind blew, "You were acquitted of all crimes because a little probe of Graves memories showed that he coerced and blackmailed you, which means you have a clean criminal record."

"Okay," Percy said with a frown.

"So I wondered how you felt about becoming an Auror?" Rob asked.

Percy's eyes widened, "An Auror?"

"Yep," Rob said, looking at Percy to gauge his reaction, "You were a bounty hunter, so we can fast track you straight into the department without putting you through training. You wouldn't even be classed as a Junior; you'd go straight in as an Auror."

"And you're seriously headhunting me for the job?" Percy asked in surprise.

"Yeah, course we are," Rob said with a laugh, "All it takes is a glance at what you did as a bounty hunter to see that you're a good catch. You're smart, you've got plenty of magical power, and you're resourceful. Not to mention that strong moral compass that every friend of Harry's seems to possess."

Percy laughed at that, "Well, I'm honoured and stunned by your offer. I really will consider it very carefully, but I need to discuss it with my wife before I make a decision."

"Of course," Rob said with a nod, "If you were to accept, we'd like to place you on the Missing Persons team. One thing you definitely proved in your work as a bounty hunter is that you're good at finding people."

Percy nodded thoughtfully, "I am," he agreed.

"Get an answer to me by Friday," Rob said, clapping him on the back, "See you later, Percy."

"Goodbye, Rob."

"The prodigal son returns!"

Theo grinned as he walked into the office, "Did you miss me?"

"Nah, it's been lovely and quiet for the last three weeks," Neville joked.

"All the paperwork has gotten done on time too," Harry added.

"And without errors," Elizabeth teased.

"Draco's been a right whingy bastard though," Rob smirked, "Sulking and walking around the place like a mopey zoo lion."

Theo laughed out loud at the image that popped into his head upon hearing Rob's words.

"In all seriousness, welcome back, kid," Rob said, patting the younger man on the back.

"How was Sade this morning?" Draco asked.

"Terrified of being left on her own with the kids for the first time," Theo admitted, "I took that extra week off work as a holiday to help her out, and I'm so glad I did."

"I'm sure she'll surprise herself by how well she copes," Neville said supportively.

Harry nodded, "And Daph is on call in case she starts to struggle."

"I'm glad someone is," Theo said, smiling weakly at his friends, "So what did I miss?"

"Oh tons," Harry said with a grin, "Rob and Sheppard are friends again."

"They hang out in supply closets together now," Neville added in amusement.

"But Rob's not gay," Harry teased.

Rob rolled his eyes, "Rob is right here, thanks."

Theo laughed, "Any big cases?"

"A few, you can read the weekly briefs to catch up," Elizabeth said, dumping three files in his hands.

Rob grinned at him, "Welcome back."

Theo could have groaned. He had walked straight into that.

"Memo," Neville said, picking it up and scanning it.

"Case?" Rob asked.

"Nope, acceptance of a job offer," Neville replied, handing Rob the memo, "Percy Weasley said yes."

"Percy Weasley?" Theo asked in surprise, "Susan's Percy?"

"How many other Percy Weasley's do you know?" Harry snorted.

Theo rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Harry, I've been out of the game, changing nappies and getting spewed on for three weeks."

Draco chuckled, "Percy was offered a job in the department, working with the Missing Persons team."

"And he just said yes," Rob said cheerfully, "I better tell Shep the good news. Theo, welcome back, get your arse in a chair and make sure it's a comfy one because Lizzie has got a return to work form to fill in with you and a fuck load of risk assessments that you need to be aware of now you're a Daddy."

Theo groaned and sank into a comfortable armchair while the others laughed at his expense.

"Goal!"

"It wasn't a goal. You cheated!" Bill exclaimed.

"How did I cheat?"

"You levitated the ball into the basket," Bill said with a shake of his head, "Which is cheating. Also, it's basketball, so you don't say goal. You say you scored."

"Yeah, but that's called the goal," Daphne objected, "So it's a goal."

"It's not!" Bill exclaimed.

"Also, you didn't state that I wasn't allowed to use magic," Daphne cut in.

Bill groaned and let his head drop onto the desk, "You're driving me fucking crazy, Daph. I need a case."

"I'm driving you crazy?" Daphne snorted.

Before an argument could begin, the floo roared to life, and they both looked over hopefully.

"Please be a client," Bill whispered, "Please be a client."

Daphne rolled her eyes then smiled when she saw Sadie's face in the fire. The smile on her face flickered when she saw tear tracks on her friends face, "Come on through, Sade, we're so bored, and I need tiny baby hugs!"

Sadie's face lit up, and she stepped through the fireplace with a baby in each arm.

"Sorry, Daphne," Sadie said tearfully, "But Theo went back to work today, and it's just so hard when he's not here to hold one of them while I feed the other or change a nappy. I feel like one of them has been crying all day, and I just-"

"Shh," Daphne soothed, "You're here now. You can get a little break," she said as she took Charlus from her arms and turned to Bill, "Here Bill, hold Charlie."

"Oh, it's been a long time since someone told me to do that," Bill said with an amused grin, happily taking the baby from Daphne.

Daphne shot him a long-suffering look and took Almina from Sadie's arms, "Hello, Mina," she said in a ridiculous baby voice, "Let's go for a little walk to make your Mummy a cup of tea. Would you like to see some scary goblins? They don't like babies. Can you throw up in their faces for Auntie Daphne? Because that would make me very happy."

Bill shook his head in amusement as Daphne left the room with Almina in her arms. He looked up at Sadie and smiled, "Sit down in Daphne's chair. It's really comfy."

Sadie sat down and looked at Bill guiltily, "Sorry to interrupt your day."

"You're not interrupting anything," Bill promised her, "We were so bored that we had resorted to arguing and playing office basketball."

Sadie chuckled weakly at that, and Bill smiled sympathetically as he shuffled Charlus in his arms, "I'm a dad, you know? So I know it's not the same, but I do know how hard it is to go from being your own woman to being a mother. You feel like you lose yourself in motherhood, and the thing Fleur found that helped her was having one night a week where she could go out and be Fleur, not Victoire's mum."

"I think I need something like that," Sadie admitted with a sigh, "I feel like my entire life has been turned upside down, and I just can't cope."

"You'll learn to cope quick," Bill promised, "Parenting is the sort of job where you learn on your feet."

Sadie smiled, "Thanks Bill," she said.

"No problem," Bill said, glancing over at the filing cabinet as Daphne came back with a cup of tea.

"Did she throw up on any goblins?" Bill asked with an amused smile.

"Unfortunately not," Daphne sighed, "Do you want to stick around for the rest of the afternoon, Sade?"

"No, I don't want to get in the way," Sadie said with a shake of her head, "Thank you for the cup of tea though Daph, I'll head off after I've had it."

"You don't have to," Bill said, looking over at the tired young woman, "We have a ton of letters in the filing cabinet to get through. It's boring work, mind you…sorting out the junk from the cases that don't involve magic to the ones that do involve magic but weren't interesting enough for us to take on."

Sadie shook her head, "No, it sounds great, and it would be nice to be useful again."

"Hey," Daphne said softly, "You're raising two awesome babies. You are being useful every minute of the day."

"You know what I mean," Sadie said, smiling at Daphne.

"We do," Bill said, unlocking the top drawer of the filing cabinet, "Knock yourself out. Charlie and me are gonna have a nap right here."

Daphne laughed and smiled down at Almina, "I'll just enjoy tiny baby cuddles for as long as you let me," she said honestly, "Why do babies just smell so good?"

"Hormones," Bill said, opening one eye to focus on her, "Don't even think about it."

"Too soon after adopting Ted, don't worry. Harry and I won't have any of these adorable little things for a while yet," Daphne promised him, "So I'm going to enjoy this one for as long as I'm allowed to."

"You really love babies," Bill chortled.

"Shh, don't tell anyone," Daphne said with a grin, "You'll ruin my reputation."

Sadie laughed at that, and it was the first genuine laugh that had escaped her lips since she had left the hospital.

* ~ TBC ~ *