Oscar had been working that Death Eater key for a few weeks before he finally got a lead. A magical locksmith up in Manchester recognised the craftsmanship as belonging to a slightly shady colleague operating out of Paltry Place, Manchester's equivalent of Knockturn Alley.
"We can't just barge in there though," Oscar said once he stopped retelling everything the locksmith told him. "It's a maze, that shop. They would destroy any evidence before we found it."
"Informal reconnaissance might help," Moody said.
"Might it?" Oscar asked, tongue in cheek. "Who would do that informal reconnaissance, boss? Any friend of yours might volunteer?" He was clearly talking about the Order.
"Shut it," Moody growled, unimpressed. "Let's get back to this in a few days. I'll have something for you by then."
Moody strode back into his office, and the other aurors scattered to hide in their cubicles.
"If only he let us join that damn thing..." Oscar protested as he said down.
Ten or so minutes later, Moody popped his head out of his office. "Avery, a word." he hissed.
Claudia got up and walked across the room, fully aware that Oscar's eyes were following her.
Moody held the door open for her and shut it the moment she was over the threshold. "Can Black do this?" he asked.
"Do what?"
"Break into the shop and tell us where the keys are before we barge in tomorrow."
"I'm sure he can," Claudia smirked. "He's had plenty of practice sneaking around and going places he isn't supposed to be. Just ask Professor McGonagall."
"He'll need someone else to come with him. It's a two-man job," Moody said. "Is Potter back on duty? Or Lupin?"
Claudia thought about it for a few seconds. This was her chance. "I can do it."
"Out of the question. You know what I said."
"You'll have to let me take a mission eventually," she protested. But Moody did not seem convinced by that argument, so she changed tactics. "I'm the best person for the job. I know where to go, I know what to look for."
"And if you get caught?"
"As you said, if I get caught, I'm on my own," she said, sensing that victory was within reach. "I'd say I was abusing my position at the Ministry to rob them."
"Fine," he sighed. "Here's a map of where it is. Number seven, Paltry Place, Manchester. Get in after dark."
"Really?"
"Get out before I change my mind."
Ecstatic that Moody finally relented, Claudia emerged from his office. But Oscar and Ewan blocked her path towards her desk.
"What did you and the boss talk about?" Oscar teased her.
"Nothing."
"Really? Are you sure it wasn't about that light reconnaissance?" Ewan pitched in.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're forgetting we've met your boyfriend and we know what he does," Oscar hissed, but to no avail. Claudia kept her mouth shut. There was no surer way to get fired than telling those two she was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Under the watchful eye of her two colleagues, Claudia packed her bag and got ready to go home.
When she got there, Sirius was out, but there was a note on the kitchen table.
'Needed to clear my head. Gone for a ride.'
Claudia's stomach turned a little. She still was not sure about that bloody motorbike and every time Sirius was riding it, she felt nervous. She certainly did not like the sound of Sirius going for a ride to 'clear his head'.
But she not needed to worry. About twenty minutes after she got home, he walked through the door. But Claudia could tell he was not quite right. He was slouching his shoulders and barely raised a smile when he saw her.
"What's up?" she asked and gave him a hug.
"Last day of Hogwarts' term today," Sirius mumbled into her hair. "Regulus is graduating, straight into the arms of the Death Eaters."
Claudia knew that there was absolutely nothing she could have said about Regulus that would improve Sirius' mood, so decided to change the subject. "I've got something that will cheer you up. Moody's got an Order mission for you."
"What is it this time?"
"We need a maze of a store searched for a key," she said and took out a sketch from her pocket. "It's the key we found at the scene where Ted almost... you know what. We think there are more of these keys in the shop, but we need to know where to look before we barge in there with the full force of the law."
Sirius took the piece of parchment from Claudia's hand. "Is this what I think it is?" he pointed at the key. "The Dark Mark?"
"Yeah. We don't know what the key is for though, but it's the only link we have to whoever tried to kill Ted."
"And Moody is ok with me doing this?" he asked. "Not worried I'll mess up the precious investigation?"
"I've got the impression that this is not the first time he's using the Order to do the aurors' dirty work."
"It's a good plan," Sirius nodded. "If it goes wrong, he can't be accused of doing something illegal. And if it works, it works…"
"You in?"
"Of course I'm in," he smirked. "Just tell me the time and place?"
"Tonight," she said. "And I'll show you the place. Moody's letting me come along."
"Is he?"
"Yup. I couldn't quite believe it myself."
"Our first Order mission together."
"It's like Christmas. Better actually," Claudia whispered and kissed him. "We should get to Manchester now and then set off for the store after dark."
They packed a few things and left for the Leaky Cauldron almost immediately to make use of the Floo Network connections between all the main wizarding pubs. It was the easiest way to get to places that were either too far to apparate to, or previously unseen. Once in Manchester, they went for dinner in a muggle pub to avoid attracting unnecessary attention and waited.
Around nine, they made their way to Paltry Place. It didn't take long to locate the locksmith.
"Seems empty," Sirius whispered. "Lights off, shutters down."
"I'll keep watch here," Claudia pointed at an alcove that would keep her hidden, but gave her an excellent overview of Paltry Place. The little square was framed by run-down shops with their shutters closed and covered in garbage - old newspapers, food remains, rags were scattered everywhere.
"Few windows still have their lights on," Sirius said and pointed at a house on the other side of the square. "We might need to wait a little longer."
"Should've borrowed James' cloak again," she said.
"Remus has it for something he's doing for the Order," Sirius replied solemnly, but almost immediately grinned. "I bet you a thousand galleons a straight dog wouldn't get noticed."
"I think you're right," she whispered. It was a good plan, to make use of Sirius' animagus abilities. "We need a signal," she paused a looked around. "Use that window to get in and keep it open. I'll topple that flowerpot if someone is coming. Hopefully, that'll give you enough time to get out of there."
Sirius gave her a brief kiss. "For good luck."
"Good luck, Padfoot, or whatever they call you," she said and watched her boyfriend transform into a large, black, shaggy dog.
Claudia watched him sling through the shadows until he was seemingly unnoticed by the window she pointed at before. She could not see him properly from where she was, but few minutes after he left, she heard a faint sound of shutters being rolled up. Sirius must have successfully broken in.
She sat down in the alcove and waited. For five, ten, thirty minutes, nothing happened. The time move at a glacier pace. She was trying to figure out how long it might take Sirius to search one cupboard, how many cupboards there were per room, how many rooms the shop had. All in an effort to figure out how long was too long, a sign that something went wrong.
"Bang-" Claudia jumped up, clutching her wand, and looked around the square.
A stray cat was searching through garbage, pouring out of a bin that was upright just moments ago.
"You better not be a bloody animagus too," Claudia mumbled and sat back down. Her heart was still in her throat. She began to wonder whether she should abandon her post and go look for Sirius.
Just then, a couple in dark robes emerged from one of the houses and began walking across the square.
Claudia watched them walked straight towards the locksmith's workshop. "Shit," she mumbled, and jumped to her feet. She raised her wand and waved it in the direction of the window. A second later, a flowerpot landed on the ground with a loud thud. At least that worked, Sirius was warned. But that feeling of slight relief did not last long.
"What was that?" asked one of the figures, a woman, and changed direction toward the window.
Claudia's heart jumped. What she just did was the stupidest signal ever. She sent them right where Sirius' escape route was. He had no way out.
"Why is the window open?" the same woman said.
"Wands out," growled the other figure, and approached the front door. "You stay there, I'll go through the here. Whoever it is has no chance of escape."
Claudia rolled up her sleeves. She could stun them from here. But she needed the element of surprise, something to distract them. She needed someone to make the first move. Otherwise, she was outnumbered and a sitting duck.
Few seconds later, she had her distraction. The woman shrieked and fell over, and out of the darkness bounded a black dog.
"What was that?" The man yelled and run around the corner towards the opened window. Before he made it to where his toppled accomplice was, however, the black dog reached Claudia's alcove.
"A bloody dog," the woman growled. "I told you to close the windows, you idiot! You forgot again!"
Sirius, still in dog form, snatched the leg of Claudia's trousers between his teeth and began dragging her out of there.
"I haven't," the man's voice carried from behind them. "I swear-"
"This is the last time," the woman yelled. "One more time, and I'm divorcing you. It's like you don't know what's at stake." She mumbled some more, but Claudia was now out of earshot.
Sirius transformed back before they made it onto the main road, and they run back towards the wizarding pub and took the Floo Network back to London as soon as they could, in case the couple realised something was not quite as it seemed.
Only once they were out of the Leaky Cauldron and on Charing Cross Road, Claudia dared to speak.
"That was close," she said, slightly out of breath. Her heart was still racing.
"It was not," Sirius laughed. "Padfoot got me out of much stickier situations before."
"Did you find anything?
"Yup," he said with a grin. "A small room half-way down the stairs to the basement. There is a shelf there full of little ornate boxes. And among them, a small chest with a bunch of your keys. Dark Mark and all."
"That's fantastic!" Claudia exclaimed, the nerve-raking episode forgotten in an instant. "We do make an excellent team."
Sirius put his arm around Claudia's shoulder. "Can I come on the official version tomorrow?" he smirked.
"Not unless Moody gets hit on the head with something."
They walked hand-in-hand for the rest of the journey and went to bed like this was any other day.
At noon the following day, Claudia was back in Manchester. The aurors made a show of clumsily searching the whole place, while Moody, Barraclough and Claudia rushed straight to the room Sirius found the night before. And they got there just in time. The female proprietor was just shrinking the incriminating boxes into miniatures and throwing them in between the floorboards.
"Stupefy," the three aurors yelled, and she keeled over. They collected the evidence, bound their suspect and, together with her husband, took her to the Ministry for interrogation.
They questioned them separately. Moody and Ewan spoke to the woman, while Barraclough, Oscar, and Claudia got the man.
"Who asked you to make these?" Barraclough began and placed one of the Dark Mark keys on the table of the interrogation room.
The proprietor barely looked up. "They always been at the store. Since we bought it years ago," he whispered.
"So why was your wife trying to hide them?"
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Excuse me," Oscar said, and left the room.
"Where is he going?" the suspect asked.
"None of your business," Barraclough barked.
Ten more minutes of interrogation led to nothing. The man looked uncomfortable but denied any knowledge of the boxes, the keys, or what his wife was up to. Then Oscar came back.
"Shouldn't take long," he said to Barraclough. "I think we can leave this here."
"Alright," Barraclough exhaled, picked up the key, and stood up. "Anyone for coffee?"
"What shouldn't take long?" the man asked, looking around perplexed.
"Your wife is about to confess," Oscar said.
"Is she?" the man asked uncertainly.
"Well, she's about to confess that it was all your doing and that you forced her to assist the Death Eaters. She'll go free and you'll go to Azkaban."
"But," the man gasped. "That's not true!" He paused for a moment, his eyes darting around the room. "She was making me do it! Her brother is one of them. Her entire family supports the Dark Lord. You have to believe me! I had no choice."
Barraclough threw the key back on the table. "What are these?" he asked, his expression unreadable. You would not be able to tell that he just had a major breakthrough.
"They open these boxes, which are all connected to each other. The Dark Lord wanted them made to pass messages. It's much faster and safer than owls."
"How many have you made for him?"
"Seven. They take forever, you see. But so far only three men came to pick theirs up."
"I'll need their names, descriptions." Barraclough said.
"I don't know," the man replied. His voice was now trembling. "My wife dealt with them."
Barraclough turned to Claudia and Oscar. "Put him to the holding cell and make sure he doesn't get a chance to speak to his wife."
They did as they were told.
"That was lucky the wife was about the confess," Claudia whispered as they were walking away from the holding cells back to their office.
"She really wasn't," Oscar smirked. "Barely said a word."
"You lied to him to get him to talk?"
"It's a tactic as old as interrogation itself."
All the aurors were having a little breather, drinking strong coffee Primrose procured for them, and munching on English muffins.
"What now?" Claudia asked.
"We wait," Barraclough said with a little yawn. "We keep working the missus, and see what move the Death Eaters make. They'll be rattled now we have them."
Claudia frowned a little. "Shouldn't we go after them? Be more proactive?"
"No. We don't want to show our hand." Barraclough shook his head. "It's late. Let's all go get some sleep and come back first thing tomorrow."
Claudia went home, crashed into bed, and took out her two-way notebook. Sirius should have it with him now.
'You were right. We got them.'
She wrote into the notebook, set her alarm for five thirty in the morning and fell asleep within minutes. In the morning, she exchanged few words with barely awake Sirius and set off for the Ministry, just as the day was breaking.
The second shift was just like the first one. Moody went to see Crouch to give him an update. Barraclough tried to break the woman in interrogation, to no avail. And Claudia and Oscar got buried under the mountains of records they found in the workshop to see if there was anything useful at all. She doubted very much she was going to find an invoice in the name of Lord Voldemort, but kept going.
"Morning everyone!" Ewan was standing in the door with a tall, blond girl on his shoulder. "This is Tracey Holt, everyone!" he said cheerfully. "Our new trainee. Tracey, let me introduce everyone…"
"He didn't welcome me quite this jovially last year," Claudia grumbled to Oscar, who was sitting next to her in her cubicle.
"Well, you aren't a five-ten blond bombshell," Oscar smirked. "This is Ewan we're talking about."
"Shut it." Claudia poked him with her elbow.
"What are you two whispering about?" Ewan said as he approached them, before turning to his new trainee. "Tracy, this is Oscar and Claudia. Be careful, they both bite."
Tracy looked at Claudia, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "You used to date Black, didn't you?"
"Still do," Claudia replied, looking at the new trainee equally sceptically. "I'm sorry. I don't remember you."
"You might remember my sister…" Tracey whispered with a smile. "Leanne Holt."
Claudia grimaced, remembering the fifth year Slytherin-Hufflepuff game, and its aftermath.
"Don't worry about it." Tracey laughed. "We don't really get on."
Ewan was looking from one trainee to another, his mouth slightly ajar. "What happened?"
"Nothing," Claudia mumbled, a little embarrassed. "Look at the time, I need to get going."
"Where?" Oscar asked, also clearly enjoying the awkwardness.
"None of your business," Claudia barked when she could not think of a reasonable excuse.
"Let's go get your paperwork, Tracey," Ewan smiled. "And let's have a chat."
Claudia grimaced. It was only a matter of time before they found out what happened, and they were going to mock her mercilessly. But before she could leave for her made-up errant, Moody stormed into the office. "Avery!" he growled. "My office, now!"
"What have you done now?" Oscar smirked. "Killed another Death Eater?"
"He's always like this when he goes to see Crouch." Claudia rolled her eyes and followed her boss into his office, a little worried about what was coming.
"I just went to see Crouch," Moody began.
Claudia had to chuckle. Of course, she was right about the cause of his foul mood.
"He's sending his brat to spend six weeks here on a summer placement," he continued.
"Why?"
"To spy on me, of course," Moody growled. "He's not to know a thing. Understand?"
"Boss, why are you telling me this?" Claudia asked, somewhat perplexed.
"Because you'll be in charge of him."
"Why?" Claudia exclaimed. Baby-sitting Crouch's kid was the last thing she wanted to do. "Can't Ewan do it? He's good with people."
"He's good with the ladies," Moody corrected her.
"Oscar?"
"He'd kill him."
"And I won't?"
"You better not. Now get out. He starts tomorrow." Moody turned towards his cabinet and started to rummage through it. "Two new people in one day. It's all going to the dogs."
Moody did not look like he was going to discuss the matter any further, so Claudia sighed and left him in his office. She was dreading this extra responsibility. When she came out of Moody's room, Ewan was back. He was sitting on her desk and grinning.
"Attempted murder during a Quidditch game? Who would have thought?" He beamed. "And your boyfriend... Impressive form. I should get some tips."
"Drop it..." Claudia hissed and pushed him off her desk. She spent the rest of the day hiding in her cubicle and went home physically and emotionally exhausted.
"We have a new trainee at work," she said as she walked through the door to the flat. Sirius was on the sofa, reading.
"Someone we know?" he asked casually, barely looking up from the motorcycle magazine.
"Someone you know."
"Oh, no." Sirius was now on his feet and grimacing. The magazine laying on the floor. "Althea?" he asked tentatively. "Wait, she wasn't smart enough to be an auror... Vivien?"
"No!" Claudia exclaimed with a slight chuckle. "Tracey."
"Did I date a Tracey?"
"Tracey Holt," she replied with somewhat of an emphasis on Tracey's last name.
"Holt does ring a bell..."
"Leanne's sister!" Claudia finally snapped. "For crying out loud! How can you not remember Leanne?"
"Oh, that's alright then." Sirius dropped back onto the sofa and picked up the magazine again. "That's a lot worse for you than for me. You did try to k-"
"I did not try to kill her! Why does everyone keep saying it?" she yelled, interrupting him. Then she remembered that fateful Quidditch game and dropped her voice into a whisper. "It was an accident."
Sirius was chuckling into his magazine, so Claudia threw off her coat and marched into the kitchen, looking for something to eat.
He followed her. "Since you're already annoyed, there is something you should know."
"What did you do?" Claudia said with a frown and looked back at Sirius, who was now standing on the threshold of the kitchen, leaning against a doorframe.
"Me? Why do you assume it had to be me?" He laughed when he saw Claudia's sceptical expression. "Nothing this time. Your mother sent this," he added and threw a small jewellery box at his girlfriend.
She caught and opened it to find a gleaming vintage diamond ring. "My mother sent me an engagement ring?"
"No, your mother sent me an engagement ring."
"How?" Claudia said with a frown, still staring at the ring. "How does she know where we live?"
"She sent it via Gringotts..."
"You've gotta be kidding me." Claudia sighed, pushed past Sirius, picked up her jacket and strode to the door. "I'll be right back."
"Claude, wait! We can sell it." Sirius said, but Claudia did not turn around. "Be careful!"
Claudia pretended she did not hear him and run down the stairs to apparate right in front of her parents' house. She would have normally been more careful, but today, she was too angry to care if she was seen. She banged the door with her fist a few times until Sky opened it.
"Young mistress," the house-elf whispered and smiled. Claudia suddenly felt a flood of guilt in her stomach. She did not even want to imagine how Sky got treated since she left.
"Is my mother home?"
But Sky did not have to answer. Claudia spotted Cassandra descending down the staircase. Without thinking, she launched the ring box at her with all the force she could muster. And being a former Quidditch chaser, it was a lot of force!
Cassandra shrieked and ducked, and the box narrowly missed her head. Instead, it landed right in the middle of a family photograph that hang in the hall. A family photograph that Claudia hated. She got a right beating not five minutes before it was taken because she got her dress dirty. Yet, her mother was all smiles. She must have been around ten when it happened, but Cassandra's hypocrisy still annoyed her. The glass shattered, and the photograph came crashing to the floor.
"For the last time," Claudia yelled. "Leave us be!"
She did not wait for an answer, turned on her heel and apparated back home.
"You alright?" Sirius asked. He was standing in the middle of the living room, his mouth slightly ajar.
Claudia crashed into the sofa. "I'm alright. I think she'll drop it now." When she saw Sirius' uncertain expression, she hissed. "No, I did not kill her. Not that anyone would blame me if I did..."
Sirius sat down next to her. "I know I'm the last person who should be saying this, but try not to let her bother you."
Claudia smiled at Sirius and kissed him. "You really are the last person who should be saying that."
"Let's go get some dinner."
The following morning, Claudia found herself in the Ministry of Magic's reception looking for her intern. The spat with her mother was now a distant memory, as her mind was busy with something else. It was almost a year to the day she stood in the reception herself, waiting for Barraclough to pick her up. And what a year it had been – Rosier was dead, Linda was in America, and Ted's life was saved.
A lanky teenager was sitting in the waiting area, picking up fluff from his robes. That must be him, Claudia thought, and approached him.
"Please do not call me Barty, that's my father's name," he said and extended his arm. "I go by Bartemius."
"I'll call you Crouch," Claudia replied curtly. "I'm Claudia Avery," she added. "And I'm going to be supervising you for the next six weeks."
Crouch frowned slightly. "You don't remember me?"
"Should I?" Claudia sighed, remembering the almost identical conversation she had with Leanne just the day before.
"I am on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team," he replied. "I played against you, twice."
"Well, you couldn't have made much of an impression," she smirked. "Let's go."
For the next week or so, Claudia truly discovered the joys of management. Looking after Crouch was an absolute nightmare. He showed no interest whatsoever in the work. All he wanted to do was to chat up Tracey and Primrose. Claudia asked him to sort out some case files; they were even more messy than when he started. She told him to write up a report; he did nothing, left work at two o'clock and went to the pub.
At six, Claudia and the other aurors from the office went the same way. It was just the four of them, Barraclough, Oscar, Ewan and Claudia, each holding a pint of beer in their hands, when Bartemius approached their table.
"Is that what you are drinking?" he smirked. "They can't be paying you very well."
"True that," Ewan sighed, and took another long sip of his pint.
"I'll have a word with father," Crouch said and leaned close to Claudia. "If you ask nicely," he whispered into her ear.
Claudia pushed him away in disgust.
"Fuck off, you little pest," Oscar growled before she had a chance to say anything.
"Didn't Moody tell you?" Crouch smiled. "You're supposed to be nice to me. Father said-"
"Yeah?" Oscar stood up abruptly. "Is he going to stop me from beating the shit out of you right now?"
Claudia noticed a slight look of panic in Crouch's eyes. But before Oscar could make good on his word, Barraclough grabbed his arm and dragged him back to sitting.
"Do what's good for you," she hissed at her intern. "And get out of here."
"But I wanted to sit with you," he protested petulantly.
"Just take a hint, will you?" Barraclough lost his patience too. "And fuck off."
Crouch snorted, but did as he was told. It was four against one and he would not last a second if wands were drawn. Or in a fistfight.
"I need the bathroom," Claudia sighed after a few minutes of silent drinking, and stood up. "If he comes back and tries to take my chair, you have my permission to punch him."
"With pleasure." Oscar raised his glass and grinned at her.
Claudia was fighting through the crowd towards the bathroom when Alice caught up with her.
"They're always causing trouble, those three," she shook her head. "Such assholes. I don't know how you manage it."
"They aren't assholes," Claudia replied and looked back at her colleagues with a smile. "They're actually quite nice."
"You say that because you're now one of them," Alice said with a frown. "They are still assholes to the rest of us."
"Are you calling me an asshole?" Claudia asked and folded her arms across her chest.
"Come on," Alice sighed. "Be sensible. You know what I mean."
"Oh look," Claudia said sharply, as she spotted a familiar face in the crowd. "There's Eleanor. See you later." She added and set off to speak to her old school friend, which she had not spoken to since Hogwarts. She felt a little guilty about that, but also thought she had a good reason. Eleanor was dating her ex-boyfriend Julius, after all.
"How are you doing?" Claudia asked and gave Eleanor a brief hug.
"Good. Good," Eleanor replied. "I'm actually going to a muggle university to study music from September. I had to do a lot of tuition this year to make up for all the things they did not teach at Hogwarts, but I made it."
"Is university the school you go to after school?" Claudia asked.
Eleanor nodded, and they stared at each other awkwardly for a while.
"How's Julius?" Claudia asked, hoping that tackling the awkwardness head on was going to make it easier.
"He's good," Eleanor said, and quickly took a sip of her drink to avoid Claudia's eye.
"But?"
"But I met his family the other week, and it did not go well."
"That's not a surprise," Claudia shrugged. "They're awful bigots."
"I wish he was able to stand up to them." Eleanor mumbled. "Do you think he ever…" she trailed off.
"Do you want an honest answer?"
"Please."
"I think he just wants an easy life. And doing what his parents expect him to do is part of it."
Eleanor did not reply, just stared blankly over Claudia's shoulder. The young auror turned to see what her friend was looking at and spotted her ex-boyfriend walking towards them. When their eyes locked, Julius froze as if he had seen a ghost.
"I better make myself scarce," Claudia mumbled and patted Eleanor on the shoulder. "I've been meaning to go to the bathroom for ages."
"Is that why you broke up with him?" Eleanor whispered, seemingly ignoring the last two minutes ever happened.
"I broke up with him because I was in love with someone else," Claudia quickly replied and disappeared into the crowd. Talking to Julius was even lower on her list of priorities than Crouch.
When she came back from the bathroom, there was a fresh round of drinks on the table.
"You know what?" she mumbled. "You have it. I'm going home. I've had enough of people for the day."
"Charming…" Ewan smirked, and pulled Claudia's new pint in front of him.
"See you tomorrow."
Abandoning the drinking earlier turned out to be a wise choice. The moment Claudia stepped into the office the next day, she knew something was wrong. There were law enforcement patrol officers running all over the place. Barraclough was standing on his chair, barking orders at people left, right and centre.
"What happened?" she asked when she found Ewan in the crowd. He was pale and clutching onto a coffee cup for dear life, trying to ignore Crouch, who had clearly forgotten last night's altercation. He was all smiles and telling Ewan all about the girl he hooked up with.
"The woman we had in custody got murdered last night," Ewan whispered, completely blanking Crouch. "Right under the Ministry's noses."
"Right." Moody's loud voice carried over the crowd that assembled in their office. "Listen up. I just finished talking to the other detainee we had. He heard his wife shout the name of her attacker just before she was struck down." He paused and took a deep breath. "We are looking for a Mulciber. Avery, take Crouch and go through all our records. The rest of you, speak to your informants. I want this man brought to me now!"
"Let's go," Claudia sighed and turned to where Crouch was standing seconds ago. But he was gone. "Workshy bastard," she mumbled and left for the records room herself.
Claudia did not even get half-way down the corridor before she heard quick footsteps behind her. For a split second, she wondered whether Crouch saw sense, but it was not to be.
"Claudia!" she heard Oscar's voice. "Come back. We've got him!"
Claudia turned back. "That was quick," she uttered as she jogged past Oscar back towards their office.
"An informant mentioned this Mulciber to Ewan maybe a month or so ago. He was seen in some dangerous company."
They got back to the office to find Ewan sitting on the floor, surrounded by dozens and dozens of pieces of paper, his desk drawers turned out. Moody was standing over him, shouting profanities about the inadequacy of Ewan's filing system.
"Here!" Ewan screamed triumphantly. "Thirteen, Lonsdale Square Gardens, N1."
"I'll get the order to the Hit Wizards," Claudia said.
"No time." Moody grabbed the paper out of Ewan's hand and stormed out of the office. "Let's go."
The aurors ran to the atrium, discussing the best place to apparate to in the vicinity of Mulciber's residence, and not fifteen minutes later, they were standing in front of the door to his flat. They kicked it down to reveal a messy living room.
"Everything is turned out," Barraclough sighed.
"Did someone get here before us?" Claudia whispered.
"No," Barraclough replied as he opened the half empty wardrobe. "He knew we were coming."
"Fuck," Moody yelled, and kicked over an armchair. "Whoever leaked this is going to spend the rest of their life in Azkaban."
Claudia spotted something. She walked over to Mulciber's desk and picked up a photograph from his Hogwarts days. "How did I not realise?" she uttered. "He was in my brother's gang at school."
"That would explain how he got to the Ministry," Barraclough said. "And how he knew we were coming."
A/N – Lady_Murphyy and I have done a bit of an experiment – a fic that includes both of our OCs. It's called 'Torn Apart by Love and War' and it's a series of one-shots from the First Wizarding war (fully written but being posted as WIP on AO3). If you are interested in what may have happened if Sirius and Claudia tried to be friends while dating other people, give it a read.