A/N: Hey guys! I'm sososososososo sorry about how late this is! -hangs head in shame-
So, this is the longest chapter we've ever written :D Yay us! 7,159 words, not inclduding A/N's :D.
This chapter is in 5 parts, as you will soon witness. I hope you like it, because that's why we wrote it, to please you guys :)
Disclaimer: As you should all know by now, we don't own the original ideas of BatB or HP, just the one's that made this possible.
And with that out of the way, we give you the long awaited chapter 13...
Chapter Thirteen: Detectives at Work
Part 1: Goblin Detective Training
"This is highly irregular, Master Snagtooth," Griplock said, waving the piece of paper at his supervisor. "We cannot tell him anything yet this information is critical for Mr. Wells to understand the influences in his past life."
"The rules of the treaties are clear – if the British Ministry has sealed something, then we cannot just hand it to someone else with our comments on what may or may not have happened.
"However, should young Mr. Wells discover an item while he is in the course of going through the paperwork of his own new vault, then he would have discovered the papers by himself. And if you just happen to slip the interesting papers into the file by accident, well…accidents happen, even here at Gringotts."
Griplock now smiled a predatory grin as he looked at his supervisor and mentor. "Once again you demonstrate to me why you are a senior manager, Master Snagtooth. I shall return and review my student Mr. Wells' work and give him some new papers to peruse in deepening his understand of estate management."
The file that his goblin financial teacher had given him was unusually thick and was full of parchments and even heavier papers.
"The following are papers that come from your own new vaults, Mr. Wells," Griplock was saying as Harry examined the folder carefully. "One of the critical elements of estate management is to bring you up to date on the contents of papers in your estate vaults. As these have just arrived following the successful transfer of your vault holdings from London to here, I ask you to go through each piece of paper, categorizing them and making entries in your workbook that answer the questions – what is the paper; what is its significance and does the paper or parchment call for further action? If you are unclear on the meaning of a piece of parchment, make special note and when you return at our next session, we can discuss it."
"And I thought I would have no homework in this course," Harry grumbled even as he rose to leave with the folder.
"A banker's work is never done, Mr. Wells," the goblin replied. "Many have been the hours I have spent myself going through dusty files and old parchments – but it can pay off in finding lost gold or treasure.
"May your gold flow, Mr. Wells."
"And may your enemies tremble at your blade, Griplock," he replied with a bow.
"Is it done?"
"Yes, Master Snagtooth, it is done."
"Well now, let us see how good a financial student Mr. Wells really is."
It was only the third time that Fleur had come below and the two young people were sitting huddled over the folder in the library chamber. Fleur was feeling more and more at home with this underground community and was proud of the fact that she had navigated the tunnels by herself this time without getting lost. Now if only navigating the paperwork of the Black estate would be as easy.
Harry was both intrigued and frustrated. Initially he had tried to simply peruse the file but found that there were many old documents with dates indicating the late 17th or early 18th centuries. Didn't his godfather believe in a filing cabinet? He found himself quickly becoming lost in the labyrinth of papers and he had finally been forced to go back and sort the papers and parchments into piles by date.
He appreciated his friend Fleur volunteering to spend time with him even though she had tried to tempt him to use magic to sort the papers into order.
"I got the distinct impression from Griplock that he wanted me to review these papers the old fashioned way – I am supposed to give him a report that proves that I have scanned each one and answered his questions," Harry told her.
"Anything interesting?"
"Well, I can tell you that the price of sheep stayed remarkably stable for several decades in the 18th century and that the Black family appeared to have some predilection for dark magic and dark arts. But I've just started looking at these parchments of the last twenty years. Why don't we take a look?"
He picked up the eight to ten parchment sheets from the period he had referred to and split it in two, giving one pile to Fleur and taking the other himself. Then he settled down to read and make notes in his finance course workbook.
A sudden noise came Fleur drew his attention from a list of holdings of the Black Estate as of September 15, 1996.
"Fleur? Did you find something?"
Fleur's eyes had grown wide and her face seemed paler. "Oh, Harry. I am so sorry!"
"Sorry for what?"
She held out two pieces of parchment to him. "These are official copies of your birth parents' wills. They are dated July 31, 1981."
Harry had been curious since his rediscovery of the wizarding world about what his birth parents' wills would say and he almost snatched them out of Fleur's hands in his eagerness to read them. However, the first thing he noticed was the read stamp on each page of the parchments – "Sealed to the Ministry of Magic".
"What does this mean – sealed to the Ministry of Magic?"
Fleur wrinkled her forehead in concentration. "I am not familiar with British magical law, Harry. However, all Gringotts employees receive some basic introduction to common law and basic English legal concepts, especially since we deal with a country here in America founded on British legal principles.
"I believe sealing a will means that the provisions of the will were never carried out – that they were never acted upon. It would take an extraordinary event to seal a will."
Harry by now was lost in reading his birth mother and birth father's wills. Both documents were similar in tone and language and both laid out clear plans for the care of their son. The names of potential guardians such as Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Frank and Alice Longbottom, and Andromeda and Ted Tonks passed by Harry's eyes with only Sirius Black's name sparking a note of recognition. The provision which appeared near the bottom of each document was what he zeroed in on – Under no circumstances is our son to be placed with either Petunia or Vernon Dursley. Their strong sentiments against the magic of our house would put Harry in danger of abuse.
The name on the bottom of the will indicated it had been witnessed by Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore.
So his parents intentions had never been for him to be placed with his 'relatives' – his birth parents had known that were he to end up with his relatives, he would suffer abuse. A sudden spike of red hot rage flashed through him as he considered that whoever had sealed the will of his birth parents had also sentenced him to eight years of hell on earth.
But who could have done this act? How had he ended up with his relatives? Where was his godfather in all of this? He had learned in Modern Magical History with the goblins that his godfather was arrested a few days after the death of his parents – and subsequently thrown into Azkaban for purportedly betraying his parents.
He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. The more he dug through his godfather's affairs, the more questions were raised. He had hoped to find some answers, not more of a mystery.
Part 2: The Mom Detective Agency
Then the idea struck him – mystery. Mysteries involved questions, an investigation, finding answers and painstaking research – and there was one person in his world who was a master at investigation and digging out the truth. Mom.
Too many times he had been the subject of her investigative powers and too many times he or one of his siblings had been found out for some prank or misdeed – it was hard to lie or even attempt to cover up from parents who could sense if you were lying or not telling the whole truth. But while Diana Bennett Wells had tried mightily to shelter her family from her work and her talent in the world of investigative police work, Joe's occasional forays down below to ask for her help in extreme cases had taught her family one thing – she was a force of nature when she was on a case and she was very, very good.
It was time to bring in Mom.
Thus fifteen minutes later, Diana was seated in the library council chamber with Fleur and Harry directly in front of her and the copies of the wills of James and Lily Potter in her hand. She was perusing the wills, but only Fleur could sense that she was also stretching out her talent to draw what she could from the documents themselves.
"The impressions I can gather from these documents are faint at best," she said, touching the parchments. "They were afraid of something – deathly afraid….they were being hunted…they loved you greatly and wanted to make sure that you were safe….they were more afraid for you than for themselves…." Her eyes were closed as she tried to wring out the emotional attachments from the paper. "There was a loathing combined with sadness in regards to a sister from this parchment….a break between the sisters….fear of what they would do to you if they had the chance…"
She opened her eyes and looked at both young people. "Harry, your birth parents loved you deeply and the actions they took were to protect you – that comes across very clearly from these papers. It had to be strong to have remained with these papers this long.
"Unfortunately, I can get no further information from this."
With an apologetic smile, Fleur took out another parchment and handed it to Diana. Turning to Harry, she explained. "This was the last will and testament of your godfather – and it was dated for February 16, 1994. Once you explained what your mother could do, then I thought perhaps we could learn something from this as well."
Harry had been surprised to see the document but agreed once he thought about it. He had divided the pile of documents into two groupings and she had given up her free time to give him a hand.
"Mom, could you try with this?" He had noted how drawn his mother looked after touching his birth parents' wills and was concerned that she not overdo it.
"It might be easier with a more recent document although after this, I suggest that we don't do any more reviews today," she said with a tired air.
She held the parchment again and closed her eyes. "You were scared….foul things from the pit of hell….why did you not even have a trial….no sign of him….the old fool must have done something…rumors…he must be getting desperate….how to make sure that everything be left to Harry…not a sign, not a sniff of him anywhere….got to get the rat….make the rat pay….why did the old fool stick Harry there…." Abruptly she broke contact and sagged back into the chair.
"Mom…Mom….are you okay?" Harry rose up and ran to her side. She lifted her hand in a gesture to stop him.
"I'm….fine….your godfather, Harry, had very strong feelings about things, but his thoughts tend to be chaotic and even helter skelter."
Fleur nodded her agreement. "He escaped from one of the worst prisons in the magical world – Azkaban. The guards there are Dementors, a vile form of being who exist by robbing people of all their happy memories – they are even used to kill criminals by sucking the soul out of them. What they leave is a soulless husk.
"Sirius Black was Kissed by a Dementor in June 1994 although he remained alive until November 1994."
Both mother and son shuddered at the thought of beings who sucked out all happy thoughts and who could literally suck out someone's soul. Anew Harry wondered if he really wanted to continue his education to learn more about this world – on one hand it was brilliant in what he could now do, but on the other hand did he want to meet Dementors?
However, he needed answers now and while Diana had the gift of empathy to draw out emotions from objects and places, she also had a sharp investigative mind. And it was this that he was now interested in consulting.
"Mom, I'm frustrated and confused. Based on what Fleur here has been telling me, I'm the object of interest of a Dark Lord who wants to kill me, and also a so called good guy, who tried to kill me while trying to find me.
"Now I have wills left by my birth parents who made it clear that I was not be left with my 'relatives' as they hated magic and would abuse me – yet those wills were sealed and I ended up with those very relatives.
"And one of the witnesses to those wills was the very same 'good' guy who tried to kill me.
"Mom, what in heaven's name is going on?"
Diana turned to Fleur. "What does it mean to seal a will? Is it similar to ignoring and overriding the provisions of a will?"
Fleur repeated her earlier comments to Harry. "In France, it would take extraordinary reasons to ignore the provisions of a will and to refuse to carry it out. Whoever would contest a will would have to demonstrate before a court why the will's provisions should be ignored and what proposals should be made to correct or carry out a will.
"However, we in France look down on Magical Britain as it appears to be a corrupt place where laws are ignored and where money and bribes appear to the only way to get things done.
"Unfortunately, I do not know much about how things are done in magical Britain – I am only going on the rumors I have heard and the few times I have been in Britain myself. During the eight months I was there at Hogwarts, the leading British magical school, I experienced insult, prejudice and verbal abuse – simply because I am a Veela. Under British magical law, that makes me at the same level as a magical animal." The last words were spat out with a vehemence that startled both Diana and Harry who had never seen the French witch so worked up before.
They both were silent and allowed the young woman some time to come down from her obviously angry state. When the red tinges had left her cheeks, Diana cautiously began to move the discussion forward.
"You mentioned in the discussion with us a few weeks ago that Harry was called the Boy-Who-Lived. When considering a crime, one of the first things any detective or police officer would do is ask questions – who would do the crime and why would the criminal do it? I think it is safe to say that the crime or the questionable acts are as follows - sealing the Potter wills and sending Harry to live with his relatives when his parents had specifically excluded sending him there. There are some other strange occurrences – sending a man subsequently proven innocent to prison, killing that same man without even questioning him and the most obvious questionable act – killing Harry when someone was trying to find him."
Diana brought out a yellow legal pad and began sketching out a diagram. "Fact – the will handled details of your care. Fact – those wills were ignored. Fact – you ended up in an abusive environment. Fact – you died due to a magic spell fired off by a good guy leader. Fact – they were waiting for you to appear at this magical school. Fact – your godfather was innocent, yet thrown in jail, then killed without an attempt to get at the truth."
As she was speaking, she was writing the events in circles on the pad. To Harry and Fleur, there seemed no pattern to the circles, but to the practiced eye of Diana, one common element was becoming clear.
"Harry – it may not appear obvious, but everything revolves around you. You are the common element here."
Both young people sat back in sudden shock. It made sense in a weird kind of way. Diana continued her thoughts.
"The will gave control to your godfather and sure as anything he would not have allowed you to stay with the Dursleys. The emotions coming off that will included strong concerns about you – that was very clear to me. And if he was taken out of the picture, there were a number of other people to step up to the plate. So whoever sealed the will wanted to ignore your parents' wishes.
"As for your placement at the Dursleys, your father and I were discussing the entire story that you shared with us Fleur and one thing struck me. You mentioned a couple of things – Harry Potter was named The-Boy-Who-Lived and stories were told about a wonderful childhood, yet they had no basis in reality. While Harry was supposed to be living in a protected place, he was actually being abused terribly – we know the extent of that abuse because we dealt with some pretty horrific consequences. Then you tell us about the search for Harry and the final Dark spell that was cast to find him. That smells to me of an act of desperation, of someone who wanted to risk everything on one last roll of the dice.
"So your father and I thought that perhaps your placement with the Dursleys was deliberate – if you had been exposed to magic at the age of eleven as Fleur tells me is normal in the magical world, whoever would have rescued you from your 'relatives' …."
"Would have been seen by me as a savior," Harry completed the sentence with a hint of anger and bitterness.
"I think that the motive for these actions Harry is to control you somehow. My impressions from your parents' wills was that they were scared more for you than themselves – they were being hunted but for you, not them. I think they gave their lives to protect you – and whoever overrode their wills wanted to control you somehow."
Fleur now grew pensive. "If only I could discuss this with mon pere. He fought on the side of the good guys against the Dark Lord during the first war – France was concerned that if the Dark Lord became too strong that he would not be content with Britain, so our Ministry of Magic sent some 'volunteers' to fight alongside the British Aurors."
"Aurors?" Both Harry and Diana asked simultaneously.
"The magical word for our police and armed forces. We do not really have standing armies as our population is way too low and we are too mixed in with the non-magical population."
Diana thought about Fleur's comments and then another idea came to mind. "Anyone who could seal a will would have to have enormous power or influence to pull it off," she began. "And there is one name that has come up a few times in your stories and in reviewing these documents.
"Albus Dumbledore."
The three looked at one another. Harry was mentally kicking himself – all the facts were there and yet it took his mother to put all the pieces together. Why could he not have seen it? Fleur was wishing greatly for the presence of her father – she knew he had much more knowledge than she had and felt that if Diana and her father could compare notes, then a much clearer picture could emerge. Diana felt comfortable with her initial conclusions – she felt the motive was clear and thought she had a good guess on who the actual perpetrator was, but was still unclear on what the old man wanted to achieve. The method was clear – control Harry, but control him to do what was the big question.
But who could they bring in to explore the situation further without tipping their hand that Harry Potter was still alive in some form? That she did not know.
Part 3: Goblin Detectives
"Apprentice Wells, how did your perusal of the folder of documents go?" Griplock asked two days later.
Dare he ask the questions that had been burning within since he had discovered the wills, Harry wondered to himself. He had thought the issue through and discussed it thoroughly with his parents and Fleur before deciding he would risk it.
"My completed notes await your review, Master Griplock. However, I did note a number of peculiarities."
He had said it quietly yet he swore later that it appeared as if Griplock had stopped breathing for a second at his comment. "Peculiarities? Explain."
"First of all, I noticed the inclusion of my birth parents' wills in the folder. Secondly, it was in reviewing these wills that I noticed some terms with which I was not familiar.
"Why would my parents' wills have been included in that file? And secondly, what does the term sealed by the Wizengamot refer to?
Harry now held his breath in anticipation of Griplock's reply. Of course, the goblin teacher did not disappoint.
"Your parents' wills you say? Perhaps they were included because your godfather was the first line executor for your parents in regards to you.
"As for being sealed by the Wizengamot, one of your lessons in estate management Mr. Wells is to ensure that you have reviewed all pertinent documentation regarding an estate. And now that you are the new head of the House Black, you can review the following papers which were received for the late Lord Black from the British Ministry of Magic." With that, the goblin handed two official looking forms to Harry and Harry reviewed them quickly.
The first was an order from the Wizengamot of Great Britain dated November 1, 1981 which ordered the sealing of the wills of Lily and James Potter under the authority of Chief Warlock Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The second was a signed recognition dated November 8, 1981 that the same Albus Dumbledore was now acting as the magical guardian for one Harry James Potter and was signed both by Dumbledore and British Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold.
Looking up from the documents to Griplock, Harry indicated the will sealing order. "The order does not give the reason why," he began. "As for the recognition of Dumbledore as my magical guardian it somehow looks less official than the order sealing the Potter wills. Why is there a difference?"
"Our London brethren said the first order was definitely issued by Chief Warlock Dumbledore and came from his office – thus the official Wizengamot seal. He exercised the authority given to him under the Wizengamot charter though he was expected to be able to justify his action should any member of the Wizengamot had requested more information. The second order was not truly official as it appears to have been an agreement between the then British Minister of Magic and Dumbledore. Had a competent lawyer challenged it, it most likely would not have stood up to the light of day."
"May I have a copy of each form?" Harry now requested.
"Keep the originals, Mr. Wells," Griplock replied. "Now let us return to what other lessons you gleaned from reviewing the contents of that file."
Part 4: Harry Wells – Romance Detective
Another Tuesday – another coffee date for Fleur and Harry.
She had grown to love the atmosphere of Second Cup – the smells of the different blends of coffee, people seated at small tables engaged in animated conversations, even a few brave souls working on their large laptop computers, impervious to the noise around them.
But most of all, it gave her a set time to meet with the one wizard beside her father who appreciated her as an individual rather than a sex object.
She had been surprised at how easily she had fit in with Harry and his family as they had started the training with the goblins and their ongoing attempts to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of Harry's birth parents and his placement with his relatives. But these meetings at Second Cup were different.
She viewed their weekly coffee sessions which had begun their second week as her time with Harry, a break from the other issues surrounding their lives.
Of course, seeing him on a weekly basis had led to conversations on a wide range of topics and she had learned to read Harry well. In part, this was due to her Veela nature – she was sensitive to the emotions and desires of people close to her and she had only recently admitted to herself that Harry was getting very close. But as well, she had seen Harry in a variety of moods and she was becoming sensitive to minute changes in his emotions.
Thus, seeing Harry this late Tuesday in June, she immediately sensed something was troubling him.
He was already seated in their regular spot by the window and he was toying with a spoon stirring it in his coffee. As she approached, he rose as a matter of courtesy, but sat down again once she had found her seat. A pregnant silence came over them and Fleur tried to sense what would have happened.
She could see Harry was troubled about something and that he was trying to guard his emotions – in fact he was doing a fairly good job of it, she found out. But the silence remained for a few minutes even as she was studying him closely. Then he spoke.
"It's been an interesting exercise trying to sound out reasons for things that have happened in the past. I think we have made good progress in trying to figure out the motives for the various events that have happened in my life, even if they occurred several years ago.
"However, that got me wondering about other things – about motives and reasons why certain people are doing things today." He then grew silent and stared at his coffee mug.
"Harry, are you alright? Is there something bothering you that I can help you with?" Fleur asked to break the silence.
Harry started at her words and for a second looked almost guilty. Then his gaze returned to his coffee mug while he began speaking again.
"Fleur, I had a very eye opening morning with Snagtooth and my etiquette teacher at Gringotts. I learned a few things and I would like to ask you some questions, although you don't have to answer if you don't want to."
She nodded her acceptance and he seemed to gather up his courage. "Snagtooth has been filling me on the Black estate and the family holdings. He was telling me of the project that Gringotts has been pursuing in encouraging all wizards and witches to be tested for possible inheritances.
"He even explained why from the goblin perspective it made sense. Something about getting assets active again and allowing them an opportunity to make more money from asset management.
"He also told me about the bonus that is payable to bank employees for finding long lost heirs and inheritances."
Here Harry stopped to sip twice from his coffee. At the slight scowl on his face, Fleur guessed his coffee had grown lukewarm. But before she could perform a quick warming spell, he waved his hand slightly and steam rose from his cup.
"Snagtooth also explained to me about Veela – who they are, their natures and how they are viewed by different magical societies. All this information coupled with what we have discovered about people wanting to control me got me to thinking Fleur.
"It got me to thinking about you, Fleur – and I.
"What is going on, Fleur, between us? Why did you pursue following me up after our initial contact?
"Why don't I have the reaction to you that other non Veela males seem to have towards you?
"How much of our friendship is real and how much is a fraud?"
The flurry of questions at first caught Fleur off guard. What was he thinking – that she had pursued him for a bank bonus? Or that she was trying to seduce him? Did he not remember what his own sister had said the day they had met?
But then while she had begun exploring her own thoughts about this man, especially since the encounter with Narcissa, she had not come to any final conclusions. Or rather she just had not admitted them to herself.
She could understand the motivation for his seeking answers now. The revelations of how his life appeared to have been affected by one bearded old man's desire for control no doubt had opened his mind to asking about other relationships – including the friendship with her.
However, she knew one thing immediately. Harry was no longer the missing Potter boy. In fact, he had ceased being that within the first few days of their acquaintance. He was Harry Wells in his own right, someone she was coming to call a close friend – and someone she was hoping could become more.
She replayed the words of Erin and Narcissa quickly, but realized that in working to solve the mystery of Harry's placement, these thoughts had been pushed somewhat to the background. Perhaps it was time to reveal her own thoughts to him – even if it might mean losing him.
"Harry, look at me please," she asked in a gentle voice, taking his hand. HE did not withdraw it, but instead looked worried and scared, but still resolute.
"Harry, first of all, you are my friend. You are the first male friend I have ever had outside of my own father. If you remember your discussions with Snagtooth and others about Veela, then you might remember how we Veela are viewed. However, you cannot realize how difficult it is to move around the magical world with a gift such as mine.
"I often call it more a curse than a gift.
"Every man who sees me desires me – or lusts after me. They see my form, my body, my hair – and they are driven to foolish irresponsible behavior. They seek to own me – to possess me – but not to know me.
"And then you came, a young man who saved my life, opened himself and his family to me and who sees me as a person, not an object.
"Do you know how liberating that is? You see Fleur, the young woman, not the sex object.
"How could I not fall for such a man?"
At Harry's widening eyes, she gave a rueful chuckle. "Yes, Harry Jacob Vincent Wells. I have been falling for you for some time now."
She then gave an impish grin even as her eyes filmed over with a layer of unshed tears. "And I refused to claim any bonus for finding you.
"You are my bonus."
The look of relief on Harry's face was palpable and he broke into the first smile she had seen him give that day.
"I think I might be falling for you too. Shall we continue with our coffee?"
Part 5: Detective Versus Auror
While Diana Bennett Wells had grown accustomed to living in the tunnels below as part of the price of living with the man she loved and the family they were raising together, she could not get enough of the daylight and sun that bathed Central Park in the summer. Today was no different for her – it had been a late night the previous day as she, Fleur, Harry and Vincent had reviewed the orders from the Wizengamot and the announcement that Dumbledore had assumed magical guardian duties over Harry. They had thrown different ideas back and forth with Diana becoming more and more convinced that the various events around the Potter wills and changes in magical guardian all fit into a pattern of Dumbledore trying to keep and maintain control over Harry. The goal of that control was still not clear, but Diana's investigative instincts told her this was the direction to follow.
Today however was a day for Catherine and Erin in the park. The two girls, eight and six, today were enjoying the chance to run and play in and around the pond, feeding the birds and lapping up their mother's indulgent attention.
A glance at the two girls would tell any neutral observer that these were her girls – there was no hint of dark hair such as their cousin Alex had – instead Catherine's strawberry blond tresses definitely showed her father's influence even as her frame told anyone watching that she would grow up to match her mother in height. Erin's hair showed more of her coloring, but she was shorter and promised to be a more compact child as she grew older.
One of Diana's practices in any location was to do periodic sweeps of the surroundings even as she was relaxing with the girls. A holdover from her fulltime police beat days, she trusted her instincts to keep her informed if there was any suggestion of trouble. One additional feature of her periodic sweeps had come about from her training with Vincent on how to fully utilize her gifts and it was that gift which now alerted her that something was not normal in the scene before her.
The sun was lowering in the west and the shadows across the park grounds told her that it was nearing the time when she and the girls would have to return home. She had been looking forward to the evening – Fleur was coming again this evening, but it would be an evening with no thought given to mysteries, investigations or manipulative old men and dark lords.
It would be a simple games night with the girl that Diana was thinking more and more as a prospective daughter-in-law. And if the feelings she was sensing from both Harry and Fleur were accurate, things were moving rather quickly in that direction.
One of the reasons she had come out with the girls was to await Fleur and welcome her as a surprise – Fleur still was not fully at ease in negotiating the way down to the Hub and the Commons of the world below.
Now, in her sweeps with her senses fully alert, she sensed that someone was watching her and the girls.
Beginning with a slow survey even as she continued to respond to the girls excited chatter, she began quartering the ground around her. At first nothing appeared to her – there were no hints of strangers watching her or even paying unwelcome attention to the small group. But the feeling of being watched would not go away – in fact, it began to strengthen.
She turned back towards the path from the known location of the Magical Mall and she could see the blond head and shoulders of the young French witch as she made her way towards them. Then she felt it – a sudden sharp spike of interest in the young girl – there in the bushes not twenty feet from her left.
Rising slowly, Diana moved in careful, but powerful strides to the place where her senses were telling her someone was waiting. Someone was waiting for Fleur – the sense of anticipation was becoming stronger as she slowly angled closer to the site. Yet the intentions did not seem menacing – they seemed happier than anything else although curiosity as to her presence in the park also featured prominently in the emotions Diana was reading from the location.
There – a sudden spike of alarm as Diana walked close enough to smell the unseen individual's aftershave. Definitely a male, she thought to herself even as she drew her police service revolver. She had taken to wearing it even for short jaunts in the park with the girls because she knew the park's denizens and wanted to ensure they were safe.
Pointing the gun at the spot where she sensed the observer was standing, she hissed sharply, "I may not see you, but I know exactly where you are. I sense you mean no harm, but I will not take any chances. Unveil yourself and come forward."
She heard a muttered "Zut!" and then the strangest thing she had ever seen yet happened. First a head of a man in his early forties with distinguished graying temples emerged from the bushes and then his shoulders and finally his whole body emerged from what appeared to be thin air.
"Madame, I mean you no harm. I was simply trying to surprise my daughter who is now walking this way," he said in English with only the hint of a French accent.
"And you are?" Diana asked, not lowering her revolver for a second. She was attempting to shield the revolver from her two girls still playing near the pond.
"Sebastien Delacour from the Republic of France," came his reply. Further words were interrupted by the greeting Fleur gave to first the two girls and then to Diana until she saw the man standing near her.
Diana knew that Fleur Delacour was a very intelligent young woman, but she found out that the French witch had an explosive temper as Fleur's eyes went wide even as she first called out, "Papa?" before launching into a veritable explosion of French words and phrases, which if Diana could judge by the reaction of the man was definitely on the unfriendly side.
She quietly put the gun away, satisfied by now that this stranger was clearly Fleur's father. She then backed away and called her girls to her before turning again to the self-identified Sebastien Delacour.
"Mr. Delacour, I presume?" she said in a quiet tone. Surprisingly, her words broke Fleur's tirade and Sebastien nodded his head.
"Congratulations, madame. It is not often that someone gets the draw on Sebastien Delacour, former Head Auror for the Magical Republique de la France," the distinguished man said with a disarming smile.
Diana could see the similarities between father and daughter and she relaxed, holstering her gun with an economy of movement. "Well, it helps to be a police detective, so you have no cause to be ashamed."
Fleur by now had calmed herself and now approached the pair. "Papa, que faites-vous ici?"
Sebastien's face took on the long suffering look familiar to fathers of daughters everywhere. "Fleur, your letters home have been different – you mention a young man but do not mention his name – yet your letters are full of news about what you are doing together. Of course, I would have to check it out."
"Papa, I am no longer a child. I am 23 years old," the French witch huffed.
"But you are still and will always be my daughter," Sebastien replied. "It is the right of fathers to check out potential young men who are interested in their daughters – whether they are 15 or 40."
"And how did you find me?"
"Fleur, Fleur – I am a former Auror. I have had training as an investigator and I know how to track. It took me a couple of days, but – voila – here you are."
"Yet you got caught by Harry's mom. Good thing she's a detective herself," Fleur said with a smug smile.
Sebastien turned his gaze to Diana, giving her a shrewd and complete appraisal for the first time. "You used more than just normal police skills did you not, madame?"
Fleur realized she had not yet introduced Diana to her father. She corrected that oversight and then watched as Diana described her method of locating Sebastien.
"If I didn't know better, I would say that you have some magic blood in you, Madame," the former French Auror said in genuine respect. Diana found herself blushing at his praise, even if she was secretly proud of her efforts with him.
"Fleur has been trying to tell me the same thing," she said with a smile. "I just try to tell her that it is only police intuition at work."
Sebastien only smiled back at the tall woman with the auburn hair. A true professional, he thought to himself. Now, however, he needed to get to the bottom of what was going on with his daughter.
"Madame Wells, while I appreciate the skill by which you caught me, I am really here to find out what Fleur is doing here and what her relationship is with your son if I understood her comments earlier," he began.
Fleur's face had reddened as Sebastien spoke, but she squared her shoulders away and stood her ground. "I will be glad to tell you, Papa, but you must give me and Diana a wizard's oath that you will keep the secret of what you learn here today."
Sebastien visibly started at Fleur's words. "Wizard's oath? That is strong language, ma fille. Is what is going on here that dangerous?"
Diana spoke for the French witch. "Sebastien, it is. There is more here than meets the eye and many lives, including your daughter and my son, depend on keeping the secrets you would learn here today. I can assure you that we harbor no ill will against anyone nor are we involved in anything illegal. But we have uncovered some serious secrets and need your word that you will keep them as well."
Glancing at both Fleur and Diana, he noted the serious look on their faces and nodded a grudging acceptance. It took a few moments for him to give his oath and once the blue glow had died, both women had visibly relaxed. In fact, his daughter was now smiling at him, her earlier anger at his surprise now forgotten.
"Papa," she began, taking Sebastien's hand in her own, "The Americans have a story about Alice in Wonderland and how a young girl fell down a rabbit hole. I would like to welcome you to the rabbit hole."
As she was saying this, she was leading him to a drainage culvert followed by Diana and her two daughters.
"Rabbit hole indeed!" was Sebastien's only comment as the drainage culvert back opened and the tunnel behind was revealed. "En avant, ma fille! Allons-y."
A/N: So? Questions? Comments? Concerns? Tell us in a review what if you have any of these. And of course, tell us if you see any errors of any kind, so we can fix them ASAP :)
Also, for those who do not know French, the closing remarks are "Onward, my daughter. Let's go!"
And with that, I bid you farewell till our next post :)