This chapter is short, but there will be more. Oh, and it ends in an Evil Cliffie as well.

Merry Christmas!

Chapter 2

Arthur dressed in his formal Ministry regalia. Everyone in his office knew he was mad to catch Lucius Malfoy at something, and went along with this most recent campaign. Of course, they weren't going to assign any current Aurors to his quest. Most of them had been involved in the past and wished to have a life, but this just meant they would look the other way should he end up in trouble again.

"Mr. Weasley," came that shrill voice that all men dreaded and most women, too. "Whatever do you think you're doing? Isn't your monthly report due on the Minister's desk next week? Shouldn't you be working on it instead of yet another foolish venture?" Madam Umbridge could have made herself heard through a stone wall. His plain wooden door didn't stand a chance.

"Ma'am," he said as graciously as he could manage, as he opened the door. "Surely with Mr. Malfoy in Azkaban, caught trying to raid this very building, it could not hurt to look into his possible business interests? If nothing else, Ashwinder eggs are extraordinarily dangerous, and pose a threat to those living on Knockturn Alley. I know we don't usually pay that area much attention, but if nothing else, there are those here who own property there and wouldn't like to see it damaged."

That was clearly the right note to sound. Her face grew somewhat more pensive and less scolding. "But why must it be you? We already have a department to investigate forbidden items and their import."

"But, madam, there was a Muggle device involved. I was strolling through the Alley when a horrific noise occurred. Upon investigation, I found this strange thing with wires and battys attached to it, on the rear door at Nora's. I believe it to be a Muggle item, but it's certainly not like anything I have ever seen before." He held out his modified car alarm. "Just touch it, and hear how it reacts."

"No, no, that's quite all right." She visibly recoiled. "Go on, then, since there is nothing I can say or do to dissuade you."

He gladly did so. He Apparated to the entrance to Knockturn Alley, which was barely less dowdy during the day than it was at night. 'Moody' was waiting for him, with a glare that should have melted the paving stones.

Then he remembered his manners, and 'Constant vigilance!'. "What was the last thing you did before leaving Snape's birthday party?"

"Lose my dinner and my good sense," 'Moody' grumbled, and then stumbled a moment. "Don't laugh, Minerva had to help transfigure this false magical eye and this beastly leg. No wonder he's so awful. If the fit just isn't right, bolts of pain run right up into my, um…" And then he fixed the magical eye on Arthur, and said, "So, what's this I hear about a strange device that came into your hands?"

Arthur grinned. "And rewired by myself in the back shed. Not that Madam Toad needed to know about that part."

"Ha. Well, let's be on our way. I'm sure someone warned Nora to hide her own illegal potions ingredients by now and to let us take what we came for. She's not stupid enough to pay the full amount for anything till she's taken her profit. If she's paid any attention to the Ministry bounty for the eggs, she will be shocked, shocked that anybody could try to smuggle them in through her. Then she'll protest mightily that she's losing her shop if she doesn't receive enough compensation, and pretend we don't know that she has already charged the person further down the chain for goods they have not, and will not receive. Which money it will take that person at least six months to get back, which she will blame all on the Ministry."

"My, she certainly sounds efficient…"

"She will, of course, scream loud enough for the whole block to hear. However, since you probably tested that device of yours several times, you have no hearing left anyway."

Arthur laughed. Moody and Snape really lectured in much the same way, though Moody growled more. A little bit, anyway.

They marched into the shop. The world turned into flame. "Sabulomenti!" 'Moody' shouted, with a wand movement almost like Aquamenti but not quite. Instead of water pouring out of the other man's wand, a wave of sand flowed to the ground and began putting the blaze out. Once the worst was over, Moody limped forward and cursed. When he stopped, he looked at Arthur and said, "Good thing you held off. Water mixed with some potions only makes the flames worse."

"I should know that," Arthur said. "I didn't, though, and I'm glad you did." He tried out the spell as he looked at the smoky mess in front of him, and got it on the third try. He coughed, as did 'Moody'.

"Clearly a boobytrap of some kind," Moody grumbled. "Now let's see if there's anything left for us to find. I hope the old bag isn't hurt, but she could have tried to play both sides against the middle once too often and made too many enemies."

Arthur looked around. Ah—the vile dolls he'd been warned about containing the Ashwinder eggs were right on the counter where anyone could see them, untouched by the flames. He wondered if all of them were there, and if they contained the eggs now. He decided to examine them from a moderate distance, however. His detection spells show nothing, but if the eggs had been wrapped in the proper materials, they wouldn't. He was going to have to cut the dolls open to make sure. He stepped forward—and then stopped. "Moody," he said. "If I open those dolls up with a knife or other sharp edge, could something unfortunate happen?"

"If they are nearly ready to hatch, just exposure to cold air could set them off," the other man said as he lifted the lid on a cauldron with great caution and sniffed. "Who in blazes is paying Nora enough for dragonsbane? She must be mad to brew this now. Maybe she doesn't know about the eggs."

"Probably the reserve in Romania where Charlie works," Arthur said. "The Ministry vetted the contract and the suppliers. Her name wasn't on the list, but she may be a subcontractor to one of the people who were. I know it's dangerous stuff. I'm surprised she would allow the dolls so near it. Even I know that it has some flammable stages."

"I wish my students would remember it," 'Moody' said with a sniff. "And I am very surprised that the fire which met us did not set this or the dolls off. Then again, a badly-placed Aquamenti might well have done it instead, and we would both be several hundred feet off the ground, in many different pieces."

Arthur began gathering up the dolls into a carry-sack which he had brought with him. There were twelve of them, and they felt heavier than he thought most dolls should. But once put through a Ministry interrogatory by the Magical Artifacts people inside a warded exam room, traces of how they came into Nora's hands ought to close the chain of evidence that would keep Lucius Malfoy in Azkaban for quite some time. With any luck, that might possibly get the blond man moved to a slightly less salubrious portion of the prison, despite the man's bribes.

He heard a rumble from the direction of the cauldron. "Sna—er, Moody, why is the fire underneath the potion still burning? I thought you put that out."

"Good question," Moody rasped. It was clear he was pouring sand on it again, only to see the flames flaring up through the grains. "Get out now, Weasley!"

Arthur darted for the back, since that door was closer. He heard a muffled explosion behind him, and for a moment, he hesitated. Snape wasn't used to being one-legged, and could need help. Then a ball of fire grew to his rear, and he fled out the rear. He'd summon help as soon as he was clear, he wasn't safe himself with those damn dolls in the sack.

As soon as he pushed his way to the alley, Bill the Spike rose from a garbage heap and went for him. Arthur struggled for his wand while still holding the heavy carry-all and the two of them went down in a tangled heap. He ended up bashing the tramp with the sack and heard at least one of the dolls break open. Another explosion shot flames out of the back door. Just as he finally set a stunner off into the tramp's belly, something hit his head. Everything went black.

Snape cursed, as even large amounts of sand on the flames and as many neutralizing ingredients as he could find on Nora's shelves failed to calm the excitable potion. Dragonsbane was touchy stuff even when fully brewed, and in its intermediate stages was never left unattended. Except for today. The only thing he could think of was to Banish the entire thing to the Gobi Desert, or to the Forbidden Forest, but London was too crowded and the closest safe space too far for him to send the cauldron to. Instead, he sliced the cauldron to bits to reduce the explosive potential, hopped out of its way as the liquid spread across the floor, and kept trying to drown it with sand to reduce the likelihood of its going up in flames.

Unfortunately, the liquid pooled underneath a wooden cabinet in a corner, and the smoking fluid started to eat through it. Snape was horribly afraid that was where Nora kept some of her more exciting potions ingredients, and that he needed to leave now. At least Arthur was on his way to the Ministry with what they had come here for.

But where was Nora? And the people who lived upstairs had to be warned. He put his wand to his throat and muttered a Sonorus, "EVERYONE WHO LIVES HERE GET OUT NOW! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! He heard muffled steps of people stumbling down the steps and decided he'd done as much as he could.

The potions cabinet exploded.