VI

Severus Snape had spent quite a bit of time within the Dark Forest in the decades he had been at Hogwarts and had come to know it well; but no wizard alive knew that forest like Aurelius did. Ten years as the rider of the Unicorn herd leader had given him a unique perspective, opening his senses up to things that most tended to miss; the whispers of the trees, the smells of danger in the wind, and the understanding of the wild magic that existed in every living thing there. So why was it that when Severus found him standing by the brook that Aurelius had such an uncertain look on his face, as if his son didn't even know where he was?

"Anything new?" Severus asked casually, bringing him out of it. A couple of Enforcers looked up from their work and nodded politely to them before going back to scouring for clues. Aurelius merely shook his head, biting on one nail. "Working fervently, I see."

"The Centaurs made it clear to us they want us out of their area as soon as possible. They couldn't care less about 'our affairs.' They simply want us out," Aurelius said in annoyance.

"Shall I send for Dr. Sagittari?"

"No, Charlie Weasley is already attempting to talk to them, he figures this is the Magical Creature's Ministry jurisdiction," Aurelius said, shaking his head. "Honestly, I don't understand why they're behaving this way…it doesn't make any sense."

"You mean the fact that they are simply insisting we get out of their territory instead of blaming us that such a creature was brought here in the first place?" Severus asked.

"Well, I'm glad someone else sees that something's odd with that," Aurelius said, glaring at the two Enforcers who merely gave him dirty looks before turning to the site again. "It's as if they weren't one bit aware that there was anything strange in the area. The Unicorns don't seem to be particularly put out either."

"The Centaurs were aware of something," Severus said. "I recall hearing them complain about too many wizards in the forest."

"And yet they seemed disinclined to give any details about anyone who may have been in this area yesterday besides us…and that includes being willing to state that Andrew wasn't anywhere around."

"You need not worry about that any longer. Your mother and I went over to Andrew's place and cleared the matter up," Severus said.

"He confessed to where he was?" Aurelius asked.

"Not in so many words…or any at all, for that matter. He wasn't there," Severus explained, Aurelius staring at him blankly. "Your mother went to look for him, but it is of little matter if she doesn't find him. I already know where he was and who he was with during that time period and can prove he had nothing to do with this murder of yours. So let's try and concentrate on who may have done it, shall we?"

"Why do I have the feeling that you didn't bother to tell Mum that you know where Andrew was?" Aurelius said suspiciously.

"So, tell me more about what sort of reports were the Aurors and Ministry getting about this girl that caused you to arrest her," Severus suggested, ignoring the question.

"Oh, you know, the normal siren stuff, a few small commercial boats run aground and a number of small craft," Aurelius shrugged. "This is heavy tourist season up there, so all sorts of fishing boats and even some tour boats were caught up in it. I was asked to take care of it because of some silly yacht race or something or other. She was on one of the smaller islands, of course, and it took some time to track down which one."

"How hard was she to capture?"

"Oh, no problem at all, once the tidal wave receded," Aurelius said sarcastically. "Fortunately, the cave she was holed up in on the island had no exit."

Severus squinted.

"No exit to water at all?" he asked.

"It was on the beach, so I would guess the tide would pull in the entrance at times…"

"Even still, a bit unusual. She was in human form when you found her, then? Not mermaid?"

"Right, like I said, she was on land when I caught up with her," Aurelius nodded.

"And did she attempt to guile you at all during the capture?"

"Did you or did you not train me in defense?" Aurelius snapped. "I used a Sonorous Shield from the very beginning and silenced her the moment she emerged. I have more sense than to try to tackle a creature like that with full lung capacity."

"Perhaps," Severus said in such a thoughtful manner that Aurelius frowned at him. "I need you to take me to that island…or better yet, take your mother there. I will make a few calls here first."

"Oh? Like where?" Aurelius asked.

"The Ministry Morgue, for one. I need to see the corpse again," Severus said, turning. "Make whatever arrangements you need to spend an evening up north, somewhere easily accessible. I'll be joining the two of you as soon as I can."

"I suppose we can always find something in Kirkwall…" Aurelius said with a frown, wishing he could see his father's face. "What exactly is it we are supposed to be looking for?"

"It doesn't matter. I'll know when you find it," Severus said, leaving his son to stare at him as he disappeared into the forest. Aurelius shook his head, but then became aware of the two investigators that were murmuring to each other.

"What?" Aurelius demanded in annoyance.

"Nothin,' we were just thinkin' 'ow 'is job is seemin' to rub off on 'im is all," one of them said.

"Since when do either of you get paid to think?" Aurelius said tersely. "Now, get back to work so you can confirm to Minister Craw there's nothing more here to be found. Father's right; we need to trace this further back to the source."

"Well, for your brother's sake, I hope you find it," said the other Enforcer, shaking his head. "It's a scandal in the making for sure. The papers will be having a field day with it before tomorrow."

Aurelius' face darkened, but only partially because of his words. He found himself wondering if that was one of the reasons that his father asked him to bring his mother along.

But soon Aurelius realized that there were other advantages; Aurelius knew very little about boats in general and had literally gone island 'hopping' the first time to find his quarry, Apparating in and out and sustaining the element of surprise in the process. So when Jennifer insisted on taking a boat to the site, Aurelius had little argument that would hold water.

"Sirens live just as much in the ocean as out of it, so if there is anything to be found, it's just as likely to be in the sea," Jennifer had reasoned.

"And what about all the wrecks near the island? Not all of them have been salvaged, you know. It's just as well, for I'm sure all the debris provides a good explanation to the Muggles about why there have been so many 'accidents.' But we may become an accident ourselves…" Aurelius warned.

"Oh, nonsense. If I can navigate above the Fomorian City at low tide, I can handle a bit of debris," Jennifer said unworriedly, adjusting the sail. "You know that your father and I try to get out on the ocean at least once a year. People have a harder time locating us that way," she added with a mischievous smile. "Simply point me in the right direction, I'll take care of the rest."

Reluctantly Aurelius watched with trepidation as she rented a boat and took them out, leaving the seasick Auror to gaze out balefully off the side and shout anxiously at her any time she got closer than his comfort level to the rocks.

"We won't find out anything by staying away from the wrecks. And we're not even getting half as close as that Muggle fishing boat over there is," Jennifer argued. Rel grew alert, squinting over at the direction she was gesturing.

"They might be diving the wrecks," Rel mused. "Salvagers of some sort."

"Really?" Jennifer said with even more interest.

"Now, don't you dare go and suggest we break out the Gill Potions. You have no idea just how full of junk this water is…"

"No, I'm sure you're right, but I have a better idea. I'm taking the boat over there," Jennifer said, getting up. "Perhaps they've seen or found something strange."

"Now, what can they possibly find of any use to us that they would believe or even remember seeing?" Aurelius sighed.

"Don't start," Jennifer said curtly. "I know your job conveniently keeps you concentrating on magical issues, but we live in their world, not the other way around."

"What I do protects them too, Mum," Aurelius said back. "I seriously doubt they would have anything to say that would be remotely useful, since it would be distorted from the true facts behind the matter."

"Now I see why your father insisted on you taking me," Jennifer muttered, veering the boat closer. "Apparate to shore if you like, no one is forcing you to stay. But I won't be satisfied until I've had a few words with them. Besides, sometimes Muggles see more than they want to admit, and if so I can get to the bottom of that…"

"Just as long as you pay attention to the bottom of this boat as well," Aurelius said with a sigh, peering over the edge again.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I know spells to repair boats in an emergency. Just…don't ask me the circumstances behind exactly why I felt the need to know them," Jennifer said before concentrating on the rigging. For some reason, Aurelius didn't feel all that much better for her saying that.

His reservations didn't improve as they came closer to the boat; for although the motor was silent, no one was visible on deck.

"Hullo!" Jennifer called up, pausing a moment to listen for a response. "Surely someone would be on board as a spotter if they were diving?" she said as much to herself as to Aurelius before calling out again.

"Look for a line out over the boat," Aurelius suggested.

"I don't see anything. Not even any of those funny air contraptions," Jennifer said with a frown. "Shall we check below deck?"

"What? No, we can't do that! We don't have any authority to board strange Muggle craft…"

"But what if they're in some sort of trouble? After all, this was where the siren was. Perhaps there's more than one?"

"That's not the point. It'd be like breaking and entering…"
"Oh, nonsense! I'm not going to be satisfied until I know whoever owns this boat is safe," Jennifer said as their boat bumped up against the larger one. She headed up a ladder before Aurelius could stop her. "Hullo there! Is everything all right? We're coming up!" she shouted one more time, checking to make sure her wand was still in place up her sleeve before climbing on deck.

"This isn't a good idea," Aurelius said following behind, but by the time he got on deck she was already rapping on the cabin door.

"Do you smell something? Rather like burnt coffee," Jennifer said with a frown, gently testing the door.

"It's locked. We really ought to leave it," Aurelius said, but was unsurprised when Jennifer simply shifted her sleeve slightly then reached for the handle again. "Or not."

"We'll just make sure no one is in trouble and we can be off," Jennifer reassured him, stepping further inside. "Aha! I was right! Burning coffee! I wonder who was careless enough to leave it on?"

"It's not any of our business what they leave on," Aurelius sighed as he came in behind her. But a sudden noise made him look around and found a badge in his face.

"I would say you are quite right about that, sir," the MCA agent said. Jennifer looked around in surprise to see another one in the doorway to the pilot room, positioned as if he had been ready for anything. Aurelius suddenly felt the need to groan.