Three cards were added to the investigation board. A photo of Fat Pig, a dingy bar in Brooklyn, and two sketches of a part of a man's face and a scar on it, and a gray eye of a woman. Percival stared at both pictures, trying to remember as many details as possible. But there were too little of them.
He looked, but he had the feeling that he could not see. Tinnitus was growing. A soft voice came from inside the room. However, he could not understand individual words. He lifted his tired eyes to the board, last time tracing the lines of the scar.
He rose sharply, catching his head. A chicken egg-sized bump pulsed in his back.
- Lie down.
He smiled sleepily at the sight of his beloved face. She turned her back to him and reached to the table for something. He ran his hand over her long blond hair. A gap in the mind.
- Boss? Boss ...
Someone was shaking him gently. Percival opened his eyes, staring at John Apricot's face in surprise. The young man straightened up, embarrassed, to hide his wand behind the strap.
- We found the trace of Rogers and Allen. The rest are waiting on the spot. Are you all right? You don't look good.
- Will you give me a moment, John?
- Sure. I'm waiting outside.
Graves rose heavily, pressing his hand to the painful side. He went to the mirror and looked at his gray face. He had dried blood under his nose and chin. He could barely go straight, feeling the pain in his temples. He rubbed his face and cleaned the collar. He put on a coat by joining Apricot.
- They were in Andy's apartment. At Bolden.
Percival nodded, heading quickly for the exit. He had to be in the open air as soon as possible. Apricot almost ran by his side.
- Boss, I wanted to ask ... my wife has a round birthday. And it's ... it's hard for her to take care of kids and to prepare something special. And she doesn't feel very well lately. And this ... I wanted to ask if I could get free tomorrow?
Graves looked at the man with clenched lips.
- Apricot, do you know that it's getting hot? And we need everyone?
- I know, boss. I promise to take someone else's change next day. Besides, nothing is happening right now. In a week, Christmas. I know the rules… and in general. We haven't supposed to... But I love her!
Percival couldn't resist, laughing aloud. John stopped short. As one of the younger auror, he never experienced a similar phenomenon. Several people leaving the Congress building looked at them. Graves put his hands on the young Auror's shoulders and patted him.
- I feel like a monster. Take free John. Take care of your family. Family is the most important.
Apricot smiled, feeling a little uncomfortable. He didn't think that his boss was heartless, but he didn't seem too open to people. When John came, he was in the training group of Augustus, who was the complete opposite of Graves. So he didn't have much opportunity to know another face of the Director. Auror grabbed the boss's shoulder and Apparated them.
They burst into the living room, dispelling scattered papers and boxes. August and Tina were looking at something on the desk. Anne and Ronald cleaned the scorched wall from which one could see the writing.
- Sorrow?
Auror approached Graves with a stack of papers.
- We don't know if it's Rogers and Allen. Someone was here for sure. And it's a long time. Besides, we don't know where exactly they lived and whether they lived together or not. The bathroom has old traces of blood. Older than the time of their disappearance.
- What about the wall?
- We can't see anything yet. But someone wanted to erase the tracks.
- So we don't have anything ... Damn it!
Aurors looked at each other without commenting. Everyone was frustrated. Time passed, nothing happened, but they still felt the breath of impending danger.
- Who is going to the Christmas ball?
Everyone looked at Smith who came into the room eating a sandwich. Seeing the grave faces, he bit another bite and began to speak with his mouth full.
- What? I think ahead. After all, it's only 8 days. Boss?
Graves looked up in surprise, noticing that they were in the Auror Office. He leaned against the column, staring unseeingly at the copy of the map from the main office. An exposure level indicator was next to it, flinching between two states.
- Boss? You have blood...
Smith stood before Percival, raising his finger to his nose and pointing at him. The man pulled the handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his face. He nodded in thanks and began to listen to quiet conversations.
- The President expects at least representatives of the Departments to appear - he heard his voice, but he had the impression that it wasn't him that was talking.
- Unfortunately, I have no choice and I will be present, so if you all have plans, I can sit on your behalf.
- Oh no, if they will serve this liqueur again like last year, you can count on me.
- You're alcoholic - Solice threw a colorful chain over the lamp, throwing a nut in the Deputy Director.
- Me? You don't remember how it was two years ago, Annie?
Graves stared at the mocking subordinates wondering when he had moved away from them. He felt the tickle of paper around his neck. Anne wrapped his neck with another chain.
- You look good in red, Mr. Graves.
The man smiled weakly.
- Look, this man is smiling! Impossible!
Sorrow took a sip from the flask and swirl Tina in a dance attempt. She smiled, embarrassed, but she twisted around her axis and stopped, laughing. Seeing the absent gaze of the Director who, surprisingly, as in the old days sat with them in the common room, she nodded slightly to Augustus.
- Perc? - the deputy stood on the other side of the column, leaning towards the auror.
- Huh?
- You look terrible. Maybe go back home. And stay also tomorrow. I will replace you. That's why I am here.
- I blocked the bar.
Sorrow laughed, muttering the "bastard" under his breath.
- No, seriously.
- You're right. I think I'll go home.
He felt like in a dream. Or like this one time, when they were still serving in the Department of Wanted Letters with Sorrow, just accepted, when they had drunk so much that they did not remember the evening or how they got to August's apartment. They also did not remember how they slept in one bed, Graves wrapped tightly in a blanket and August, naked, in a sheet wrapped around his hips. Everyone was looking for them the next day. They were found by Agatha, who was so angry that she didn't speak to both for a week, although she blamed mainly Sorrow.
There was a conversation from the back of the apartment. Clearly, Myra's voice was heard and child shouting around the house. Percival froze, hanging his coat. The youngest niece of Agatha, Eleonore, stood in the hallway. She ran to the man and threw herself on his leg. Percival instinctively lifted her up.
- Hello, Elle.
- Hello, uncle. Mom said you shouldn't called me that. She said she gave me beautiful name to use it not shorten it.
Percival smiled with half of his mouth and took girl with him towards sitting room.
- What's up?
The girl leaned close to his ear, covering her mouth with hand so that no one would hear.
- I broke two vases as I flew on Jonathan's broom.
- You shouldn't be flying on a broom around the house ...
- I know. But mother doesn't let me go outside. Can I fly here?
- Well. Okay. Just be careful.
The girl squealed with delight and jumped off, running into the hall, where a small broom stood. Percival, seeing the fair-haired, bowl-cut head, sat on the couch, glancing over the boy's shoulder.
- What do you read, John?
- Transmutation textbook.
- How you doing?
- Terribly. Professor Blackthorn constantly torments us with the transmutation of a jug into a rabbit. I mean, those who can't do it ...
- If you want, I can teach you on holidays. We will probably have to come, so ...
- Really ?!
The man smiled. He was much easier with children than with adults. He didn't have to spread the aura of domination around them, because they still respected him. Before them, he didn't have to be ... stiff. At each meeting of the growing herd of Myra, Auror himself discovered that he really liked children. More than adults. They were sincere, they didn't pretend to be someone they are not (not counting two teenagers) and they didn't wear masks.
Something was coming fast from the corridor. None too soon, Percival caught the girl by the collar of her dress, pulling her from the broom, which shattered inside the fireplace.
The noise brought women from the guest room. Myra stopped dead, seeing her brother-in-law holding her terrified daughter in the air. Hannah emerged from the kitchen, one of the teenagers, raising her head from the magazine she was reading.
- On Mercy Lewis! What is going on here?!
- My broom ... - the girl clung to Graves and began to cry, wiping her eyes and nose in his vest. He almost dropped her when she clenched her fist on the wounded side. Agatha quickly passed her sister and took Eleonore in her arms.
Percival went to the fireplace and muttered Reparo, trying not to listen to Myra's whining, who fell into her usual accusatory tone. Humming in the ears, painful throbbing at the temples and her high voice was too much. He turned around, putting on the most serious face and raised his wand up.
- Myra. Please, stop talking. Now.
His voice was threateningly quiet. It always worked better than a scream. Her eyes rested on his fingers holding the black wood.
- Children, dress up.
- But mom!
- Jonathan. Now, we still have shopping to do.
Agatha, torn between her sister and her marital solidarity, did not speak, leading Eleonore to her elder siblings. When they were ready to go out, she went to her husband, who was still standing by the fireplace, clutching the repaired broom in his hand. When she pulled it out of his hand, it was broken in half. She looked at him, smiling warmly, fixing wooden handle.
- Percy?
At last he looked into her green eyes and returned the smile. She kissed him gently on the cheek and put her hand on his neck. It always relaxed him.
- I'm going with Myra. I'll be in two hours. Maybe faster.
The man only nod his head.
- He's ill?
- What?
- Percival. It's two o'clock. As far as I know, you always said that he never goes back earlier than five.
- Myra ... are you really unable to let go? My husband comes back faster and you complain? You? He is not even your husband! You see each other several times a year, could not you be kind to him?
- I just can't watch you being wasted with him. Kitty…
- I'm not wasting myself. These four months have changed a lot. I have changed. I look back and see that I was only thinking about myself. He is not without guilt and I want to work it out with him. But I can't expect it will change from day to day. If I had kept us together ...
- You can't blame yourself for a guy with a heart of stone.
- It's not true. He has a responsible, hard work. Thanks to him, you, me, your children ... we are all safe. You can't be someone like that and have a heart in your hand. But you don't even have the slightest idea how big and good his heart is.
Myra decided to end the discussion, seeing that she would not win. Graves wrapped her sister around his finger. He made her feel guilty. That she must repay that, thanks to him, she fulfilled herself professionally. In life, she would not allow such a subjection to Steven.
- Steven wouldn't behave like that in his life.
- Because dad is afraid of you ... - Hannah said quietly.
Her mother gasped with anger, but she didn't speak anymore. She accelerated her pace, wanting to finish shopping as soon as possible.