Disclaimer: I own the plot, I apologize if it's been done before. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

AN: Hi! Real AN at the end! Enjoy!

Consanguina

by Jess S

Chapter 2: Mystery and Magic

Ron Wesley sighed. The summer thus far had been rather dull... or, at least, as dull as it could be living in the Burrow... Regardless of all that, he was bored! 'Course, he didn't want his mother to hear of this boredom – she'd find something for him to do, and he didn't want to de-gnome the garden again or start his homework!

Then, an idea struck him, making him feel like an idiot for not thinking of it sooner. Why not write to Harry? After all, as bad as his summer had been thus far, he could scarcely imagine what Harry's was like. He was, of course, still a bit peeved that Dumbledore had insisted on Harry spending the majority of his summer with the Dursleys...

Sighing once again, Ron got to his feet, and ran downstairs to the kitchen. "Mum!" he called, "may I borrow Errol? I want to write to Harry!"

"I don't see why not..." the red-haired witch replied, "just wait 'til after luncheon, your father's home early to help you brothers settle in. He may need him for work."

Apparently during the Wizarding Cup, both Bill and Charlie had made plans to come home for a part of the summer, and spend time with the family (undoubtedly at their mother's insistence...).

"Yes, Mum." He muttered, then perked up as he heard a *SCHWUMPH* from the fireplace.

~ * ~

Harry and his aunt looked around the room they had just arrived in, his eyes wide in awe.

Vivian smiled, "Welcome to the Potter Manor."

Both turned to stare at the witch.

"The P-Potter Manor?" Harry repeated, "This...?"

"This Manor has been in the Potter family for several generations." Vivian replied calmly, though one could see a distinct spark of humor in her eyes. "I have to check on something at the Ministry, Ollie will serve you tea, give you a tour, or show you to your rooms, whichever you choose. If you need anything, call her or one of the other house elves, although she'll probably be there before you can call her. I should be back in time for supper." And with that, she disappeared once again.

~ * ~

It was a short time after noon when all of the Weasley's were seated around the dining room table, passing various food items around as endless chatter engulfed the room.

Ron sighed (again), he was still bored! A tapping noise called his attention to the window, to see an unfamiliar barn owl balancing on the outside edge of the sill. Rising to his feet, he quickly went over to the window. He opened it, allowing the bird to hop into the room before accepting the delivery, which turned out to be a special edition of the Daily Prophet, the kind that was issued separately when something the Prophet's editors thought was important came up. After pouring some water into the dish by the perch the owl balanced on, and tearing up a piece of bread, he headed back to his seat.

Curious, he unrolled it and read the headline of the single article, which caused his eyes to widen and his face to pale, making his freckles stand out more than they usually did.

"Ron?" a voice called above the noise in the room, and his mother rose to her feet, watching him anxiously, "is something the matter, dear?"

He walked over to her and offered the article, which quickly summoned a response not unlike his own.

"Dear?" by this time, all of the Weasley's had noticed their kin's disturbed state, and Mr. Weasley reached over to his wife, "What is it?"

She placed the article on the table, and a shocked silence ensued.

HARRY POTTER KIDNAPPED?

By Rita Skeeter

Members of the Daily Prophet discovered a short time ago that Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, has recently been established as missing. It was late this morning of Sunday, the 10th of July, when an unknown Wizarding person was detected in the vicinity of the young wizard's home. It was detected by the auditor that monitored the wards set in place by the Hogwarts Professors with the assistance of several members of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. All of the Professors were at that time in the Headmaster's office, and wasted no time in hurrying down to Hogsmeade to Apparate to the young hero's summer residence. The wards against Apparating onto that street were of course removed for that short span of time to allow the Professor's a swift arrival. Unfortunately, it appears that the lowering of the wards also allowed the reason for the Professor's haste coming a swift escape, taking young Harry and his aunt with them, for upon arrival they could find no trace of the young Wizard or of his Muggle aunt, Mrs. Petunia E. Dursley.

The Ministry was immediately contacted and the officials who came confirmed that the mysterious kidnappers trail was untraceable. On another note, they also found Mr. Dursley, our young hero's Muggle uncle and his cousin, Dudley, "very disagreeable and uncooperative", as one said was putting it all too mildly.

One might wonder if this was the work of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who the Hogwarts Headmaster insists has risen again, and who young Mr. Potter himself was the one to first claim this statement. Minister Fudge however, remains adamant that as the Dark Lord has not returned, this could not be the case. "It was no doubt Black who was responsible for the boys disappearance," the Minister replied to this reporters inquiry, "and we are doing everything we can to recover young Harry as soon as possible..."

A search has been instigated, with Aurors Arabella Figg and Alastor Moody coming out of retirement for the assignment, assisted by Auror protégé Vivien L. Potier. It is requested that anyone with any knowledge as to young Mr. Potter's whereabouts please inform the Ministry by owling one of the three Aurors in charge of the case, and the Minister asks that "we all pray that young Harry be found safe, and soon."

"H-Harry's missing?" Ginny broke the silence, looking back and forth between her parents, eyes wide.

"It would appear that way..." Mr. Weasley sighed, rising to his feet. "I suppose I could go into the Ministry now and try to talk to Alastor, but he's probably already swamped because of this."

"Probably," his second eldest agreed, nodding, "but I don't think that's really necessary. Why don't we just go to Hogwarts? The Aurors will have to stop by to check the monitor anyway. I could ask Vivian, she'll probably know everything that's going on anyway. She would even if she wasn't assigned to the case!"

"Vivien Potier?" Bill asked, turning to his younger brother, "you know her?"

The other Weasleys blinked, and after a moment Mrs. Weasley inquired, "The Auror that was assigned to the case with Alastor and Arabella?"

"Yeah," Charlie replied, nodding to both questions. "I met her in Romania, she was working on an international case, chasing after some dark wizard." He grinned slightly, as if remembering, "Bloody brilliant fighter, too, I saw her take him out!"

Bill nodded in agreement, "Yeah," and upon seeing the inquiring looks from the other redheads continued, "I met her in Cairo, she was investigating that Ptolemy case a few years ago, remember?"

"The old ambassador who was murdered in the tombs?" Fred asked.

"Right," Bill nodded, again, "Of course, you know, he was technically murdered... but his assailant died a couple centuries ago! Vivien was the one who solved it."

"Why didn't they tell the press that it was solved then?" Ginny asked, looking confused, "and why would someone who dies hundreds of years ago want to kill Mr. Ptolemy?"

Bill laughed, "They were covering it up, they only told the press that the case was unsolvable because it didn't look good that one of they're most respected retired officials was idiotic enough to actually walk right into some old chamber that was previously hidden. Something caused it to open and the fool walked in, and was blasted by some ancient form of the Cruciatus Curse that was placed as a ward around the chamber. It gave him a heart attack and blasted him back out into the corridor. That's why it looked like he was tortured to death and why no one knew that he was actually killed by that room."

"How in Merlin's name did she figure that out?" George asked.

Then Percy cut in, frowning. "And how do you know all about it?! I thought the files were closed and everything was kept top secret by the Ministry!"

"It was," the older wizard shrugged, "but I was there when she solved it. She said it doesn't really matter, and that the only reason the files were closed was for Fudge to save face, so as long as I wasn't planning on telling the world about it there wasn't any need for Obliviation."

"Why were you at a homicide scene?!" his mother demanded after a moments silence.

Bill shrugged once again, "She came into Gringotts asking for someone who could help her with some of the hieroglyphs, and they said I was the best they had." He shook his head, "It was strange, but I remember that they were incredibly nice to her, as goblins go... Anyway, I was explaining some of the ruins to her in the chamber where the body was found, and she wanted to know what was on the wall the body had been facing. There were some ruins I didn't recognize on that wall, so we were trying out different analysis potions to see what they meant. One of them opened the door," he shook his head again, "that's how I know she's a good fighter. Her wand was in her hand and she'd cast some shield that blocked all of the chambers protections before I even realized what was happening!"

"How old is she?" Ginny asked, still pale, but interested nonetheless.

"Early twenties, I think." Bill offered, glancing at his brother for confirmation, "I met her a few years ago, it was when I first started working at Gringotts, she said she was in her late teens then."

Charlie nodded, "I met her last year. Another Auror came from the Ministry to yell at her for taking the case instead of a vacation. Then she made her go out to dinner for her birthday." He shook his head, "she can be pretty intimidating most of the time, but she's actually very nice and easy-going when she feels she can relax."

"Wait," Bill blinked, "You went with them?"

"Yeah," Charlie grinned, "Her friend – Ria, I think it was – invited a bunch of us along."

"Is she pretty?" Ron asked.

"Yes." His oldest brothers answered immediately.

"I think we're getting a little off the subject," Mrs. Weasley sighed, then glanced at her two eldest, "Do you really think she'll tell us anything?"

Both shrugged.

"It's worth a try." Bill offered.

~ * ~

Dumbledore offered a small smile upon seeing the familiar, though presently anxious, face in the flames. "Why hello, Arthur. I assume you've heard the news?"

"Yes," Mr. Weasley sighed, "May we come through?"

"Of course." The Headmaster stepped back and several bursts of green flame later all nine Weasleys stood in his office, concern evident on their freckled features.

"Professor, sir," Ron asked, stepping forward, "Have they–"

"I am afraid that little progress has been made thus far." Dumbledore sighed, "We've had little to go on... Arabella contacted me a short time ago, to confirm that the Apparation path was indeed untraceable and that she the others would be arriving shortly."

"Albus?" a rhythmic, feminine voice came from the fire.

"And it appears that they are ready now." With a slight smile, Dumbledore turned to the fire, "Yes, you may come through."

Green flames erupted from the fireplace, and a gray-haired witch stepped through, followed closely by Mad-Eye Moody.

"Alastor, Arabella," Dumbledore nodded to both of them, "welcome." Then he frowned, "But where is Mademoiselle Potier?"

Figg shook her head, smiling ruefully, "She should be here shortly, she volunteered to update the Minister on the current situation. Which I am quite glad for," she sighed, shaking her head, "I swear that man becomes more insufferable with each passing day!"

Professor McGonagall, who had entered the office moments before with the other teachers, snorted, "That is entirely probable."

"It is a wonder that he can control any part of the Ministry at all." Snape murmured in agreement, dislike barely concealed on his face, and quite evident in his tone.

"Most people won't go against the Aurors," Percy offered, nodding to Figg and Moody, "And they don't seem overly disturbed as a whole."

Figg snorted, "He has no control over the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he doesn't deal with us very often, of interfere with our work. If he did, there would have been a coup d'etat some time ago, particularly after the tournament!" she shook her head. "Most, if not all of the Department is controlled and run by the lower ranking officials... he may try and take part in this investigation, Merlin knows he was interested in Blacks case, which may be one of the reasons he hasn't been caught yet." She grinned, "We don't like interference from imbeciles like him, many of the Aurors would be careful not to catch him, if only to spite Fudge."

"But that makes no sense!" Percy protested, "Minister Fudge was elected by an overwhelming majority!"

This time, it was Moody who snorted, "Ever met his competition?"

Figg shook her head, "We only hope he'll stay out of this case. He almost always try's to take part in anything political." She grinned again, "Which is why Potier went to chat with him instead of owling him. She holds a rather influential position in the Ministry, being as she works for several departments and is an important contact with the French Ministry. Fudge usually steps lightly around her."

The roar emitted from the fireplace as another blast of green flame appeared interrupted the conversation, while at the same time overriding the younger Weasley's snickering.

A moment later, a tall witch in Ministry robes with long black hair and stunning green eyes stood in front of the now normal flames.

She greeted them in a lilting, feminine voice with a light French accent, "Good morning, I do apologize for my tardiness." She raised an eyebrow. "Did I interrupt anything?"

"No, not at all." Professor Dumbledore smiled, "Mademoiselle Potier, I presume?"

Vivian nodded, "Oui, but just Vivien, please." She smiled, bowing slightly.

"Very well, Vivien," Dumbledore smiled, "I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts current Headmaster." He nodded to Professor McGonagall, "This is Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House and Transfiguration Professor. This," he continued, gesturing to each Professor in turn, "is Professor Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin House and Potions Master... Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw House and Charms teacher. Pomona Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff House and Herbology Professor. Professor Sinistra, of Astronomy... Professor Vector, Arithmancy... Madam Hooch, our Quidditch referee and flying instructor." Dumbledore looked around, "It appears that our Divination Professor, Sibyll Trelawney, is not present. And I'm sure you already know of our school's predicament with Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Alastor was last years teacher."

Vivian nodded to each of them in turn, a slight smile gracing her lovely features.

She received nods from all of the teachers, smiles from Flitwick and Sprout, and a; "How do you do?" from McGonagall.

After that, Mr. Weasley stepped forward, and offered his hand, "Arthur Weasley."

A thoughtful look crossed Vivian's face as she shook his hand. "You work with Perkins in Misuse of Magical Artifacts, yes?"

Mr. Weasley nodded, looking slightly surprised.

"Pleased to meet you." Vivian smiled before turning toward the rest of the Weasleys.

Mrs. Weasley stepped forward, smiling. "Molly Weasley."

Vivian shook her hand as well, "A pleasure."

Bill stepped forward after his mother, "You probably don't remember, but–"

"Bill, isn't it?" Vivian asked, "From Cairo?"

"Yes!" Bill replied, looking rather shocked.

Vivian smile once again, "I rarely forget people," She added, before turning toward his younger brother, offering a hand, "And you're Charlie, right? How are things in Romania? Did you ever catch that Longhorn?"

"It's alright," he replied, shaking her hand, "and yeah, we caught it right outside of Sibiu."

"That's good to hear, the Romanian Minister must've been grateful." She smiled, then turned to the younger siblings. "And I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting the rest of you."

The twins were faster then Percy, "Fred and George Weasley," they said in unison.

"Nice to meet you," Vivian nodded, with a slightly bemused smile. She looked thoughtful for a moment before inquiring, "Founders of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, right?"

The twins looked just as shocked as their older brothers had been, if not more so. "Y-yeah... Why? Did you order some?"

Vivian nodded, clearly amused, "Yes, my colleagues and I have found many of your inventions very helpful for undercover assignments."

All of the Weasleys blinked at this, truly astonished.

Without waiting for a response, Vivian turned to Percy, raising an inquiring eyebrow.

After a moment, Percy gave a start, then introduced himself. "Percy Weasley, Department of–"

"International Cooperation? You were Mr. Crouch's assistant, right?"

"Y-yes." Percy nodded, looking slightly struck. In the weeks since Crouch's son's treachery and his former boss's death, the second youngest of the Weasley brothers had found that people now seemed to look down on any connection to the late wizard.

"So you decided to stay in the same department? Admirable," Vivian offered with a slight smile, "few have that much dedication, the Ministry needs more of it."

Percy blinked, "T-thank you..."

Vivian nodded once again, smiling as she turned to Ginny, "And you must be Virginia Weasley, right? Or do you prefer Ginny?"

"Ginny, please." Ginny replied softly, returning the older witch's smile.

Vivian offered a hand to her, shaking the younger girl's smaller hand. "Pleased to meet you, Ginny." She then turned to Ron. "And you are Ron Weasley?"

Ron nodded, shaking the offered hand lightly.

"You are one of Mr. Potter's roommates, and friends?"

Ron nodded again. "Yeah, we've been best friends since the beginning of first year."

Vivian nodded, "The news must have struck you hard then, especially considering how Skeeter presented it," she shook her head, her sharp emerald gaze not leaving Ron's face, "Do you have any notion as to where Mr. Potter may have gone voluntarily?"

"The Weasley's arrived only moments ago, Mademoiselle, they know nothing more than what Miss Skeeter's article told them."

The Auror nodded, turning back to the others with a smile, "Of course."

"Forgive me, Miss Pot–"

"Vivien." She interrupted, seating herself in one of the vacant chairs.

"Vivien," Professor McGonagall, "but, you believe Mr. Potter left voluntarily? That he wasn't kidnapped?"

"It's always a possibility," Vivian shrugged, "and the evidence shows little to the contrary."

"There isn't any real evidence." Mrs. Figg pointed out.

"Precisely." Vivian nodded, "He may have been taken, or he may have left on his own. There is little to indicate either being a more likely possibility."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement, "That is true..."

"But," Professor McGonagall shook her head, "anyone who Harry might leave with willingly is here."

"Really?" Vivian raised an eyebrow, "How can you be so sure?"

"Well..." Professor McGonagall stopped, shaking her head.

"Yes, the only people he's ever left his summer residence with willingly are the Weasleys," she said, nodding to the redheaded family, "and he would undoubtedly be willing to leave with one of his Professors if need be, but surely he must have other friends and acquaintances."

"Well... Hermione..."

"Miss Granger's family is ruled out because she is Muggle-born and underage. The Improper Use of Magic Office would have known about it, and her parents are Muggles."

The others nodded in agreement.

Mrs. Weasley sighed, "But there isn't anyone else, not someone he'd trust enough to–"

"I believe that Mr. Potter was rather close to his third year DADA Professor, Mr. Remus Lupin?"

"Yes," Professor McGonagall nodded, "he was." She replied slowly, exchanging a look with the headmaster. The majority of the people in the room knew that Remus couldn't be responsible for Harry's disappearance. One, because he'd never do such a thing unless Harry was in imminent danger. And two, because he was currently on a mission for the Order, but they couldn't exactly tell this young, aspiring Auror – who they knew next to nothing about – that!

"I suppose we could always send and inquiry to Remus," Dumbledore nodded, "though I believe he has been at home for quite some time now."

"Oh," Vivian blinked, then nodded, "That's right, I'd forgotten. He's a werewolf, isn't he? Well, that rules him out."

"It does?" Ron blinked, "Why?"

"Because, Mr. Weasley," Snape murmured in a soft, yet slightly superior tone, "the full moon was the night before last, and Lupin therefore would not have had enough time to recover and be capable of extensive travel by yesterday morning."

Vivian raised an eyebrow slightly, "quite..." she paused for a moment, then nodded, "I do believe that Mr. Black is still evading capture..."

Nearly everyone in the room stiffened at this. For everyone who was a member of the Order knew that Sirius was also currently on a mission for the Order. And for those who did not know of Sirius's innocence, the mention of the fugitive's name brought about even greater concern for the Boy-Who-Lived's safety.

"It is possible," Snape murmured, "that Black could have kidnapped the boy–"

"Possible, yes." Vivian nodded, cutting the Potions Master off, "but unlike. I do believe that Mr. Potter testified – not long after meeting him on the school grounds – that he believed Mr. Black to be innocent of all charges..."

"Yes, he did."

"I understand that you," The Auror turned to Ron, "Mr. Potter and Miss Granger were rather adamant about this proposal."

Ron nodded.

"Mademoiselle–"

"Vivien." The younger witch cut the deputy headmistress off a second time.

"Vivien," the Deputy Head Mistress nodded, "if you don't mind my asking... How do you know about that? I believe the Minister was very careful to keep that..."

"Under wraps?" Vivian supplied, then nodded, "Oh, he was. But the Ministry official that acted as scribe during the testimony sent me a copy."

Ron blinked, "Why did he do that?" he asked.

Vivian's face was expressionless as she replied, "Because I asked him to... So, that instigates that Mr. Black could indeed be the one who took Mr. Potter from his relatives house..." she frowned, "but it does not have any relevance as to why he would take the boy's aunt as well..." After a moment, she shook her head, "Ah, well, any ideas?"

Complete silence answered her inquiry.

Vivian laughed, and shook her head, clasping her hands together, "Very well then, we'll have to start from scratch!"

Everyone blinked at this.

"Pardon?" Snape inquired, not knowing what to think of this young, quick-witted and apparently very successful Auror.

"The Ministry has a number of procedures for kidnappings." The green-eyed Auror replied, "Thus far, the only part of any of them has been the notification of the press. It might be more productive to start a few of them, no?"

The others nodded.

Dumbledore smiled, "Indeed, we already have some people looking for Harry, but..."

"A few more sets of eyes and ears can only help," Vivian pointed out, rising to her feet. "I will see to it that some of those procedures are instigated." She walked over to the fireplace, tossed a handful of Floo Powder into the red and gold flames, then turned to face them once again, highlighted by the glow of the now roaring green flames, which emphasized her eyes dramatically. "Shall we meet back here... tomorrow?"

Dumbledore nodded.

She inclined her head slightly to them, in farewell, then turned throwing a handful of Floo Powder into the flames, she murmured, "The Potier Manor," and was gone in burst of green flame.

~ * ~

Hearing a 'whooshing' sound from the fireplace, Harry looked up and smiled upon seeing his sister walk out of the diminishing emerald flames. "Vivian!" he jumped to his feet.

The witch smiled, "Hello Harry, enjoying yourself?"

Harry nodded, "I keep getting lost though! This place is huge! It reminds me of my first few days at Hogwarts..."

Vivian laughed with a smile, "You get used to it." She blinked, "what is it? What's wrong?"

Harry fidgeted slightly, and a smile tugged on the corner of his mouth, "Well... nothing's *wrong* per say... it's just... umm..." shaking his head, and quite obviously fighting the urge to laugh, he gestured for her to follow him and started walking.

Vivian followed her younger brother, her face baring a look of puzzlement that was rarely seen there. She grew even more confused as they neared the kitchens. She raised an eyebrow when they stopped outside the door.

Harry gestured, and with a sigh she opened the door... and stopped.

The kitchen was a complete disaster... pots and pans... broken dishes, glasses and spills everywhere.

And there was her aunt... currently fighting with some of the house elves for a now very stretched piece of dough...

"Oh dear..."

End of Chapter 2.

AN: Well, that's it for Chapter 2! I'd like to thank Evil Bunny of Doom, Trickster Jaina Fel, Jaded*Secrets, and Rachel A. Prongs for reviewing. I'm glad you enjoyed it. And yes, a nice Petunia is rather shocking, isn't it? But it seemed to fit... I went back and filled the blanks in... sorry, I'd honestly thought that I'd already done that!

Translations:

Consanguina - related by blood (Latin)

Bye! ^_^

~ Jess S