Author's Note:
I got this review and finally got around to doing it. It's a lot longer than what I posted for what is now the first chapter. Let's see where it leads.
Review from Arnie1701 - I'd like a sequel to this where Amelia Bones finds out who leaked the whereabouts of the Granger residence to Fudge. Looks like Fudge may get tossed through the Veil, as well.
Chapter Two
It was quiet in the office with just Amelia Bones there. It helped with the splitting headache she had now. The evening shift had just turned over the watch and she was chewing over some things she had learned today.
Fudge had shown up uninvited at the Grangers' house, where she was about to question Sirius Black. When she saw the gaunt form of Padfoot trembling in the guest bedroom, after having viewed the memories and read the thick letter, she wanted to cry right then and there. The ideals of Justice that she'd lived her life by had been trampled underfoot years ago without her knowledge and what very well might be an innocent man had never had the courtesy of a trial.
She took a moment to think about her day. It was described as… well, old Moody would have called it something she was trying not to say herself but it was getting harder and harder the more she remembered how things went.
=-{}-=
It was a bright morning in Crawley when she found the right house. Nice house, not too ostentatious, well kept and looked like a home should look like. Amelia rang the doorbell and waited. After a few minutes, it was answered by the daughter.
"Hello… Madam Bones?"
It hadn't taken the young woman long to identify her, Amelia noticed.
"Yes. Are you Miss Granger?"
"Yes. Come in. We've been expecting you."
She stepped into the small foyer. Miss Granger looked at the overcoat she wore, obviously wondering if she should take it to be hung up.
"Miss Granger, is everyone in the house aware of Magic?"
"Yes…" the question lead off in confusion.
Amelia breathed a small sigh of relief, then waved her wave over the blazer and pantsuit that she wore. She saw an eyebrow raise under the bushy hair as her Auror robes made an appearance from the Transfiguration. Her Auror badge shone brightly on the breast of her robes, over her heart.
"Honestly, it's more comfortable this way," she explained, even though she didn't have to.
The young woman nodded in understanding and motioned toward the dining room.
"Have you had breakfast? We just finished."
Amelia shook her head.
"Thank you, though."
Miss Granger led her to the dining room, where she met a middle-aged man that had her eyes.
"Madam Bones, this is my father, Dan Granger."
Dan eyed her robes and nodded.
"Be welcome in this house. Did you get all the information yesterday?"
Amelia shivered as she felt something pass over her and her mind immediately started speculating.
"I did. I have plenty of questions." Her eyes fell on a young man that had just walked into the room carrying a large dish of something that smelled scrumptious. "Starting with, is that Harry Potter and what is that?"
She hadn't meant to ask the second question, but as for the first part – she thought Sirius Black was trying to kill Harry Potter. What was going on?
The green eyes came up to meet hers and the most famous scar in the Wizarding World made its appearance. He didn't say anything about his identity as the young woman got up to take the dish from him. Her hands lingered on his, and despite herself, Amelia turned to grin at her father.
He sighed a bit and shrugged at her. Amelia turned back to see her kiss the Boy-Who-Lived on the cheek.
Well, now. This was interesting. She could hear Susan wanting to know everything about what she saw here with that serving dish.
"Madam Bones, Harry made apple turnovers this morning. It's something that Sirius wanted, but they're still cooling."
Amelia raised an eyebrow and addressed the young man.
"You don't feel to be in any danger, Mister Potter?"
"No, Madam Bones. Sirius Black is my oath-sworn Godfather."
She stared at him. Somehow, she'd missed that part. This changed a lot of things.
"What?"
"It's true, Ma'am."
She looked at him for a moment, then made a decision and turned to Dan Granger.
"Mister Granger, with your permission and since I have to do things a certain way, I would like to call in certain of my Aurors for security. All of them have knowledge of the information I received yesterday."
"Sure. How long before they can get here?"
She tried to keep from smiling when she saw the daughter roll her eyes. It was a lost cause, so Amelia busied herself tapping her badge with her wand instead.
"A couple of minutes, if that, sir."
There were muted pops in the back yard. She saw the young Mister Potter grin and jerk his head to the back door as he pointed to himself. Mister Granger sighed and nodded.
"Where are my manners? Madam Bones, would you like a cup of coffee? Normally, it's tea but this is a coffee day considering the subject."
"Please. Thank you very much. The coffee in the DMLE Headquarters leave much to be desired."
"Government brew. Tell me about it."
She watched as he poured her a cup and offered her milk and sugar. She refused both and he grinned.
"Takes a real cop to drink it black, huh?"
She snorted in amusement as her Aurors were led in.
"Especially when the spoon floats," she rejoined.
She heard one or two give their own snorts, having overheard. Dan Granger stood up and welcomed them like he'd done her. She was able to watch them give him looks as they felt the same thing she had but said nothing. He missed those as he'd turned back to her.
"Sirius is in the guest bedroom. We've talked to him and well, he's having a rough time."
The Aurors traded looks. Madam Bones took another sip of her coffee and stood up.
"Jim, Benjamin, you're with me. Mister Granger, I'm known to Mister Black from way back."
The slim sandy-haired man and the large black man with a goatee nodded. Miss Granger darted down the hallway, and Madam Bones looked at her father.
"She's developed a rapport with him. Sirius told me that she reminds him of his friend Lily, who he misses. She'll be okay."
She saw Mister Potter look up quickly and the start of wetness in his eyes before he quickly disappeared back into the kitchen. The other Aurors shifted a bit, clearly a bit uncomfortable. Madam Bones nodded and set off to the bedroom. When she got there, the young woman came out with a frown on her face.
"He's… well, he's worried. Go easy. He's on the bed. Watch the dog hair."
Amelia nodded, having a good idea what she was talking about. The two Aurors that followed her looked confused but after trading glances with her, took up posts on either side of the open door. Their wands were drawn.
The room was maybe ten feet by fourteen. It was cozy, with furniture that matched the rest of the house. A large window had drapes that was partly open just enough to let in some light. The bed had a large black Grim on the bed that looked starved and sickly.
Amelia could count the ribs on the dog from the doorway and it took everything she had to keep a tear from dropping from the eye without the monacle. She remembered that dog from long ago, before things had gotten so terrible.
"Padfoot…" she murmured. The dog shuddered in his breathing but didn't acknowledge her.
It was probably something that she shouldn't have done, but Amelia sat down on the corner of the bed next to the shivering Grim. He looked up at her after a few minutes of stroking his ragged ears. The big brown eyes were full of pain and Amelia was sure that if dogs could shed tears the bed would be wet.
"Sirius…" she whispered, knowing the Grim could hear. Shock was on the dog's face. He started to weakly struggle. "No, be quiet and listen. Your godson has given me information that I didn't have until yesterday."
The Grim stared at her, still trembling. She went back to stroking his ears, occasionally rubbing his forehead and snout.
"The fact that Harry Potter is your oath-sworn godson is one thing that's brought me here instead of a Dementor. He gave me memories, testimonies… and a certified copy of the Gringotts copy of James' and Lily's will."
She felt the dog stop breathing for a moment. Then he collapsed into her lap and sighed a doggy sigh.
"I never knew any of this, Sirius. Any of it, and I was kept from finding out. If I'd known, I would have been on it like… well, you know."
There was a weak wuff from the dog that rattled in his thin chest. Amelia could hear the wheezing as the Grim took a painful breath. They sat in silence for a moment. One of her Aurors looked in after a few minutes of silence. She gave him a thumbs-up with her other hand and he nodded before withdrawing.
"Also, Mister Granger tells me Harry has made apple turnovers for you, by special request."
There was another wuff from the dog, and the thick tail thumped weakly.
"We need to do this by the numbers, Sirius. Get you into protective custody – not Azkaban! – and get you checked out. I know some Healers that will keep their mouths shut."
The pain was redoubled in his eyes as he looked up at her. She gently pulled his head back down into her lap and resumed the slow petting. There was another few minutes of silence before she whispered again.
"I haven't forgotten what we were to each other and only a few Aurors know that too. All of them are here with us right now. If you promise to 'Amy,' not 'Madam Bones,' that you'll stay hidden here, I'll post them on detached duty for your house arrest. The fact that you never got a trial and thrown into hell for twelve years will let me do some things that I normally couldn't. But, Sirius, listen to me." She met the Grim's eyes and held them. "We have to do this by the numbers. I have some leeway, but I can't stray too far. Do you understand?"
A moment passed, and she felt him shift. The Animagus transformation was smooth, if slow as he flowed off the bed. More pain from unmentionable things was mirrored in the rough, craggy lines of his face and the depths of the grey Black eyes as he solidified on his knees with his head still in her lap. The voice was rough and slivered, full of gravel and agony.
"I… promise, Amy. I promise. Help me. Help me help my godson."
Her heart broke. The hand that had been rubbing a broken Grim's ears now found itself stroking a broken man's head as he sobbed silently into her lap.
=-{}-=
It was only about twenty or so minutes after that before they emerged from the bedroom with the open door to the dining room. Sirius had been able to take a shower the night before, which helped him be a bit more presentable. Amelia didn't want to think about how much filth had been sloughed off the man. He wore some frankly comfortable-looking thick terrycloth robes over sleep pants and a tee shirt. All in black, of course.
She looked at Harry, who grinned at the sight. It seemed to her that she knew who had procured the clothing. Sirius had stumbled along but shook off any attempts to help him move. It was painful to watch but he managed.
They had talked. He had a relatively small breakfast and the apple turnovers while he talked. Emma had relayed to the group that Sirius had quite a bit of things wrong with him and had passed over a notepad with a list of his vital signs for the past twenty-four hours, plus some of her medical observations. Amelia wasn't a healer but passed it to one of the Aurors who was. The concerned look on his face told her a few things.
"Madam Bones?"
"Yes, Mister Granger?"
"Call me Dan, first of all. I've been thinking. What I wanted to ask is this: This is my house. With Hermione here, that makes it a magical residence. Is there something I could declare to give Sirius sanctuary, that your magical laws would respect and that I could use to get him medical treatment? I mean, look at him."
That make her stop short for a moment. Sirius was enjoying his fourth apple turnover too much to hear the question, much less the "you're going to make yourself sick, Sirius," admonishment that Miss Granger gave him.
There was a diffident cough from behind them, and Madam Bones turned back to see Auror McGuire raising her eyebrow at her boss.
"What's on your mind?" she asked her subordinate.
"Aye, this might be a stretch, but this is not just a magical home – it's a Muggle home as well. It has standing and definition in both worlds, right?" Her Irish accent was soft.
"Yes…"
Dan Granger listened, intrigued.
"For magical persecution, which Mister Black could be said to have been subjected to, what if he asked for asylum from Mister Granger? We all felt the magic wash over us when he welcomed us to his home."
There was a moment of silence. Harry poked Sirius in the side.
"What?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at him, told him to wipe his mouth and explained what they were discussing. His eyes got wide and he started listening intently.
Another Auror, one of the ones that had accompanied her to the guest bedroom started rubbing his goatee in thought.
"What've you got, Ben?"
"Asylum usually applied to certain cities or temples or such buildings. I don't know that this building would apply."
There was a harrumph from the doorway leading to the kitchen. Eyes turned to see Harry Potter standing in the doorway.
"I can't believe you people. We're talking about magical asylum, right? Not political. Magic, in any form, is about intent right? Offer him asylum with the stated intent to protect him as he seeks healing, restoration and revenge against those that have done him wrong. The House of Potter hears the cry of its Ally and family, the House of Black. It will answer."
Mouths dropped all around the table. From the look Miss Granger was giving Mister Potter, Amelia was sure that he was going to be rewarded. From the look on Sirius' face, he was going to be teased mercilessly about that rewarding, after he stopped crying about his godson's declaration.
From the look on Dan Granger's face, he didn't want to think about that look on his daughter's face.
Still, he nodded after a moment.
"How could I swear a magical oath, though? I'm not magical."
Again, her Irish Auror had a thought.
"Muggles can't see the Leaky Cauldron unless a wizard or a witch holds their hands right? Skin contact, anyway. Mister Granger is wearing short sleeves. What if his daughter held on to his arm?"
More raised eyebrows. Amelia Bones decided that she was going to give her Auror some extra assignments if she could do critical thinking like that.
"I'm willing to try," Dan Granger announced. "Sirius needs help. Pumpkin?"
Hermione bounced up and took a grip on his right forearm. The Aurors watched her and now noticed that her father had a tattoo on the inside of his forearm. When he turned it slightly to give her a better grip, they saw that it was of a winged dagger. It had a ribbon of some kind that proclaimed something that they couldn't read from the angle that they had. Madam Bones could, and her eyes flicked up to meet his. He nodded, but said nothing.
Dan Granger stood still, thinking about what to say when his thoughts were interrupted by Harry Potter taking his other arm.
"A wizard or a witch, she said. What about both?"
Dan thought about it.
"Couldn't hurt. Thanks, son."
He felt more than saw the smile on his daughter's face and the surprise on his and gave them a moment to arrange themselves. Their free hands found each other behind his back, and he felt energy of some kind as if a circuit had snapped closed. That felt odd, very odd. He glanced at Harry, wondering just how much magical power he had.
Sirius stood for a moment, wavering on weakened legs before kneeling before Dan Granger. The dentist wasn't sure if the wizard was supposed to do that or if his legs had given out from his condition. The troubled grey eyes came up to meet his before Sirius spoke. His voice was still cracked and gravelly, but there was a tone and power in them that he hadn't heard before.
"Sire Granger, Master of the Lands of House Granger, I, Sirius Orion Black, of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black have been persecuted by those in political power. My brother of the heart and of blood has entrusted his son unto me for protection as his godfather by the most solemn of oaths, but another brother of the heart has betrayed us and murder most foul has happened. The persecution has been not just of me, but of my other brother of heart and of my godson. My very life, health, and family are endangered under the most false of pretenses and those that go against their own blood and family. I beg of asylum of home, of hearth, of magic, of blood against those that would see me dead for their unseemly means. I call upon Magic to witness this."
Everyone there could see the magic welling up in Sirius. Dan waited a beat, placed his hand on Sirius' head and spoke clearly.
"Sirius Orion Black, of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. I, Dan Granger, Master of the House of Granger, grant your plea of asylum. Be welcome within these walls. Find your safety and sanctuary as you recover to fight these base charges against you. Of home, of hearth, of magic, of blood, may you find what you need. May we all be kept safe as we fight against darkness. So may it be written."
Before anyone could comment on the wording, there was a huge flash of light. To either side of Dan Granger, the Aurors and Emma Granger could see that the teens' eyes were alight with power. A nimbus of the same power surrounded Dan and Sirius and it continued as the Magic within the oath judged all within its radius. Everyone not in physical contact with Dan, Sirius, Hermione or Harry had to shield their eyes as it went on.
Sirius felt currents of Magic sweeping through him. It burned, but at the same time was cold. He felt like he was being refreshed and beat up at the same time. It was the strangest thing he'd felt in a long time and he was fairly sure something was different.
Harry and Hermione both felt Magic sweep through them into Dan. The approval of the actions they took settled in their consciousnesses. Both were cautioned not to let go for a bit.
Dan felt Magic sweep through him. He could tell that there was some slowness, but he figured that it was his non-magical self that caused it.
So, one who is not of my children acts to protect one who is, eh?
Dan jumped slightly.
Who are you?
I am Magic, Daniel Granger.
Um, pleasure to meet you.
It is a pleasure to meet you as well. Your daughter and son-in-law are both fighters for the Light and I see that you are a fighter for that which is right as well.
Dan was very confused.
Son-in-law? Harry?
Oh, they don't know about the magical bond between them yet, but it's there. Some of the magical species will be able to see it, so don't be surprised if they mention it. Don't worry. They're young and it'll be a while before they figure it out. They have a decisive battle to come that both need to fight together. However, we need to discuss Sirius Orion Black.
Dan wrenched his attention back to the matter at hand.
You cannot wield magic as your children can. However, your actions have been accepted as though you could do so. Your intent was pure, as a fighter's should be. In recognition, you have been given providence as Master of your House to grant protection to those in need. You need to have at least one of those with my Gifts – wizard or witch as you call them, or a house elf, or a Goblin – anyone to live in your home and act as your hand.
Dan's eyebrow rose in surprise.
So for want of a better term, I need a Captain of Magical Guards?
Magic seemed to ponder, then gave an unseen but felt shrug.
That works as well as anything. Be warned. There will be battling in the near future and for times to come.
Thank you for the warning.
I will leave for now. Your body is not accustomed to the exercise of my Essence.
I understand. However, should I have questions? What then?
Your daughter is quite voracious in her pursuit of knowledge.
Dan blew out a breath. Well, of course. That was obvious and he should have thought of that. The presence went on with amusement.
Ask the Goblins for help. Go to the Potter Account Manager with your children, identify yourself and them along with your purpose, and tell them 'the dherlec shakhacis will be needed for House Potter.' Give them the memory of this interaction and of the circumstances surrounding it. All the circumstances.
I understand. Thank you for your help.
No, Dan Granger. Thank you for acting.
The presence was gone suddenly and he sagged. Harry and Hermione held him up and Sirius thumped over, unconscious.
"Sirius!"
One of the Aurors checked him quickly.
"He's okay, just knocked out."
Hermione noticed that her father looked a bit out of it.
"Daddy? Are you all right?"
"Pumpkin, I just had a conversation with Magic itself. It was very, very odd."
"Really?"
"I have to meet with the Potter Goblin Accounts Manager for some help as I can't use magic but have been granted magical head of house status."
Sirius had woken up by now, but Dan didn't see it and continued to speak to Hermione.
"It turns out that I also have to take my daughter and son-in-law with me to meet them."
"WHAT?"
Sirius fell over again, this time laughing. That was the last laughter the house heard for a while, as Cornelius Fudge showed up five minutes later.
=-{}-=
There was a quick knock at the door, and Amelia Bones roused from her thoughts. It had been a long, heated argument with the Minister and he had crossed the line enough during that argument to justify throwing him into a cell. The magical oaths that they worked under had knocked him flat on his back. Shooting a glance at her clock, she saw that it had only been a few minutes that she'd been lost in thought.
"Come!"
Senior Auror Thompson stepped in and shut the door behind him. He'd been at the Granger house with her earlier.
"You wanted me let you know when B.J. finished the Veritaserum questioning. The originals have been filed, with copies to DMLE, the Black Account Manager at Gringotts, the Potter Account Manager at Gringotts, Harry Potter and Sirius Black as you wanted. Plus, you didn't say, but I ran off another copy for you."
"Good idea, Billy. Let me see."
Amelia flipped through it quickly and set it aside. She would go through it later.
"What else?"
The man grimaced.
"It was far too easy to figure out how 'Minister' Fudge found out. Stupid easy."
"What? This quickly?"
"It's amazing what the promise of money does to a person – or in this case, a group of greedy people. Either that or just willful blindness or both. It's either been documented or will be documented in a couple of hours. I took a page from old Moody's book."
"The Constant Vigilance page?"
"No, that's every other page. I meant the 'better to beg forgiveness' page. That's after the third CV page. Our Goblin friends were very helpful once they found out what I was doing – well, as helpful as they get. They seem to like watching Hermione Granger shake things up and if they can help her shake the wand-wavers up even more, well… Plus, since this situation turns out to having started with her, they hate losing a good source of entertainment when they find one."
Amelia rubbed her temples.
"Oh, brother. What did you do… no, first tell me who you found, smallest to Minister order."
"Sure."
He pulled out a small notebook. Law enforcement the world over, magical and non-magical, all had a notebook somewhere on their persons.
"All right. Bear with me. This is going to be long."
Amelia waved him on.
"I started with something my daughter told me. If you want to know any gossip at Hogwarts, ask my daughter."
Amelia chuckled as he sighed in exasperation.
"As it turns out, she really wants to be like that same Miss Hermione Granger. So she studies, studies, studies – I can't be upset about that, right? My Missy's got a memory like an elephant, too. This means she's spending a lot of time in the library and one day she heard something a kid named Henry Chambers said. That's the first link, by the way."
"Okay, what's this kid got?"
"Miss Granger apparently doesn't know the Chambers kid exists. There's a bunch of kids at Hogwarts and besides what student always knows every other kid at Hogwarts?"
"I didn't."
"Me neither. Anyway, for some reason the Chambers kid gets it in his head that he's a pureblood and smarter, stronger, better, and whatever than Miss Granger even though her grades say she's beating the pants off him."
"And everyone else too, from what I've been hearing. I'm surprised the Unspeakables haven't already recruited her."
"And everyone else, too. So he does that bigoted thing some of them do," Thompson was a halfblood, "and takes offense for no good reason. So, he's got a bone to pick and bitches to his cousin, a Wayne Turner. The boy makes up a story that Miss Granger was ah, engaging in carnal delights with Sirius Black, Harry Potter, and some older girl named Courtney. He overheard her talking about this girl, but there's not a Courtney at Hogwarts right now. He feeds that story to Turner to get him going. He's the next link."
"Why does that name sound familiar?"
"Had him in a few times for public drunkenness and lewd behavior."
"I'm almost afraid to ask," she said dryly.
"He was waving his willy at a couple of witches and claiming it was the 'Turner Hammer.' He got mad when they asked where it was since they couldn't see anything but a couple of hairs with split ends."
She snorted at that and he went on.
"He got time in the drunk tank – no sober-up for him! – and a stern talking-to. Mostly stayed out of trouble after that."
"So where does he fit in the chain?"
"He told the Chambers kid that he knew a guy that knew a guy, you know how that goes, and he'd work on the so-called 'Granger chit' for him as a family favor. The kid was satisfied and goes back to doing whatever hooligans do at Hogwarts now."
"Same thing hooligans did when we were there."
"No doubt. Want to hear the kicker?"
"What is it?"
"This 'Courtney' is the name of a doll sold in the former Colonies that a cousin sent her. Miss Granger hasn't ever been much for playing with dolls like a lot of girls – and my daughter at that age – but it was something that meant something to her and she was talking about it with her friends."
"Oh, my."
"So, our boy Turner goes and looks up a guy named Marley Williams."
"Marley? As in Jacob Marley, dead as a doornail, Scrooge and Marley?"
"Yeah, except this Marley was into bribery instead of hoarding his money."
The Senior Auror looked down at his notes.
"We found out that he'd funneled three hundred Galleons a month into an account that he and only one other person had access to."
"Let me guess. Our next link."
"Got it. And you're not going to like it at all."
Having said that, Thompson got up and pulled a flask out of his pocket. He set it down in front of Madam Bones, who looked at him. Her face was perplexed. He waved at it.
"Pretend you're old Moody before I tell you. You're going to need it."
She squinted at him and he motioned to the flask. Wondering how bad whatever he had to say was, she unscrewed the lid and sniffed it. She cast every detection charm she could think of and a few finites and determined that it was alcohol.
"What is this, Billy?"
"I'll tell you after I tell you who and you drink."
"Billy," she growled.
"That other name?" His voice was unhurried. "It was Delta Shift Supervisor Auror Captain Delmar Johnson. He was being bribed by a now-proven Death Eater. That would be Williams."
Amelia Bones stared at him. He motioned to the flask and she sucked down a huge mouth full. When it hit, she started wheezing, coughing and wiping her eyes. He plucked the flask out of midair as she dropped it. When she got her breath back after a minute or two, she glared at him.
"What in the hell is in that flask?"
"Moonshine. I have my own cousin in the States. Keep that to yourself."
She rolled her eyes.
"All right, all right. Since you don't want me to go to Azkaban for murder, you pick a way to distract me with demon whiskey."
"Worked, didn't it?"
She didn't dignify that with an answer.
"So, Boss, the last link is Fudge himself, and he's being blackmailed."
"Somehow that really doesn't surprise me."
"Right? So as for what I did, I had everyone but Fudge and the Chambers kid rolled up."
"Where'd you put them?"
"Well…"
"Billy," she growled.
"Remember that part about asking forgiveness?"
She stared at him. He put the flask down again and she snatched it from his hand. A few minutes of coughing later, she pinned him with a glare.
"Talk."
"Wellllll, since I wanted a secure place, I had a good friend with diplomatic ties, a silver tongue, and about a hundred gallons of moonshine arrange for the Goblins to house them for, oh, about a week or so. They're going to use some cross-cultural exchange methods to obtain information. We get the take, especially since they got caught using Goblin means to do their illegal things. They get the moonshine and a cut of the vaults."
She stared at him and burst out laughing.
"And then?"
"Up to you, boss. Sirius Black needs a trial and some Healer intervention, right? He looked pretty bad."
"He does." There was a moment of silence between the two as she thought. The whiskey was really starting to hit her. "Too bad you didn't get the blackmail on Fudge," she mused.
He grinned at her.
"Oh, you mean this?"
He withdrew a thick file folder from his robes with a flourish and dropped it on the desk.
"Don't open that without more moonshine. I mean it."
She dropped the front cover back down.
"I'm going to regret reading this, am I?"
"Probably. So to recap, all this happened because some kid made up a rumor, but it broke loose a lot of truthful stuff and may break loose more. Fudge put his nose where it doesn't belong based on that rumor and some illegal actions and tried to murder a presumed innocent man. Fudge doesn't know who's been rolled up, but once you read that and whatever comes from the interrogations, you're going to have to take action."
"Okay. I can see that. You're forgiven but I still have work to do. Get out of here and go check on the Kennel. Then go home and give your daughter a hug from me for overhearing the right thing."
"Will do, boss, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry this got dropped in your lap."
She nodded at him and waved him out of the office. When the door closed behind him, she looked around on the desk.
"Dammit. He took the flask with him. Bastard."
Well… that took off. It looks like I have more story to tell here than I thought!
