"Luna still staying with you and Gin?" Ron asked Harry.
"Yeah," Harry nodded. "She says she'll leave once her Rolf gets back from China; luckily, it doesn't seem like she's in any danger. It looks like maybe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Hermione then entered the men's office. "Well," she said. "I've got all the names with the initials A.M.D.."
"Already?" Harry said, greatly impressed. 'Hermione, it's been less than two hours."
"Yes well, I figured you'd want to get it done as soon as possible," she shrugged. "Anyway, out of the entire international magical population, there are 49,981 witches or wizards with those initials. Out of those, 22,002 live in Europe. And if we narrow that down further, only 14,498 are of age, and only 55 have any record of working with the Dark Arts."
"You took nearly 50,000 names," Harry said. "And narrowed it down to a two digit sum? That's bloody amazing."
Hermione smiled while Ron just looked absolutely stunned.
"Here are the names," she said, handing Harry a list. "I've already sent some people from my department to bring in the first twenty names."
"I'll have some of my Aurors do the same with the rest," Harry nodded. "You're a real lifesaver, Hermione."
"Never ceases to amaze us," Ron said, giving his wife a one-armed hug.
"We should get going, though," Harry said.
"Where are you two off to?" Hermione asked.
"Kingsley wants us to keep tabs on Voldemort's relative," Harry said. "So Ron and I are off to Kremolton Gaunt's place. He lives in this little place near North Ireland."
"Do you know anything about him?" Hermione asked.
"Only that he did a pretty good job keeping a low profile," Ron said. "Kingsley finally found an address from an old package he had delivered by owl mail fourteen years ago."
"We hate to judge this guy based only on the fact that he's from Voldemort's family," Harry said. "But, well, seeing as how all those Gaunts were when I saw them in the Pensive…"
"Hopefully he'll be just a regular guy," Hermione said.
"Why would a regular guy hide as well as he did?" Ron asked.
"Probably because he knew his family history would cause him a lot of trouble," Hermione said.
"Come on," Harry said. "There's a portkey waiting for us at the front desk."
Harry and Ron took the lift to the lobby, where Ron picked up an old egg carton from the desk.
"It's supposed to leave in thirty seconds," Harry said, looking at his watch.
Sure enough, Harry and Ron soon felt an invisible rope pulling at their navels. Within five seconds they were thrown onto a grassy field.
"This is why I'll stick to apperation from now on," Ron said, massaging his shoulder. "Where is the place, anyway?"
"I'm guessing it's that cottage over there," Harry said, nodding to a small, unkempt place about half a mile away.
"Not exactly homey, is it?" Ron frowned as him and Harry walked towards it.
Ron was right. The house was fenced in with a white picket fence, but the fence was covered so much with ivy and weeds that one could barely see it. The grass was so overgrown that a small child could've stood in it and not have been spotted.
When Harry and Ron reached the cottage, they saw that the windows were filthy it was impossible to see out or into them. Harry knocked on the door. No one came.
"Want to try round back?" Ron asked.
"I don't think we can even get there," Harry said, pulling out his wand. He pointed it to the lock. "Alohamora."
The lock clicked and Harry slowly opened the door a crack.
"Mr. Gaunt?" he said, not entering the house yet. "Mr. Gaunt, we're from the Ministry of Magic."
When no one replied, he looked at Ron, who shrugged.
Harry opened the door all the way, and when he did, he almost passed out. A smell, so terrible, greeted them.
"Mr. Gaunt?" Harry said again, covering his nose with the sleeve of his robe. "We're Aurors from the Ministry of Magic and we have a few-"
"Bloody hell," Ron said.
The two had reached the living room. The smell was riper here, and now they saw why. In the middle of the room was a body. It was very decayed, and flies and maggots still swarmed it.
"Is that him?" Ron asked, his eyes watering from the smell.
"Yeah," Harry said. "What happened?"
"It looks like, well, a murder," Ron said, looking at the browned bloodstains on the wall and the dried dark puddle underneath the body.
"Must've happened awhile ago, judging by the body," Harry said. "And I mean years ago."
Ron, no longer able to take the smell, produced a bubble charm around his head. Harry did the same.
"I don't think he has a wand," Ron said.
"I think he tried to move after he was attacked," Harry said. "Look; there's a trail of blood going from that room."
Harry and Ron followed the blood trail. It led to a sort of kitchen area, with two chairs around a small table. Bones of a chicken lay on two plates, and wine glasses were on the counter. One was empty while the other was still full. Everything was covered in dust.
"Looks like he was having dinner then, before he was hit," Ron said. "With someone else."
"Maybe a woman?" Harry asked, pointing to a burned out candle. "It looks like an almost romantic set up."
"Yeah, the wine, the tablecloth," Ron nodded.
Harry noticed a bottle of wine sitting next to the glasses. He uncorked it, got rid of his bubble protection, and smelt in it.
"Ron," he said. "There's a love potion in it"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Normally, it would smell different to each person, but after it ages so much, it smells like rancid meat."
"How do you know that?" Ron asked. "Did I miss something in Slughorn's class?"
"I picked it up from something Hermione said once," Harry said.
"So was he the one giving the love potion?" Ron asked. "Or the one taking it?"
"I don't know," Harry said.
Him and Ron headed back to the living room where the body was.
"Hang on," Harry said, looking at Kremolton. "His arms are covering something on the floor."
"I'm not moving them," Ron said.
Harry took his wand out and levitated the body just a few inches above the ground.
"Maybe he tried to name his attacker," Ron said, struggling to read word. It was written in blood.
"Wret-Wet- Wretermoust!" Harry exclaimed.
"Claridina killed him?" Ron frowned.
"That's what it looks like," Harry said. "But why?"