I need to apologize for the longer wait, I ran out of chapters. I need to thank you all for being such fantastic and patient readers. However I am afraid the updates won't be in such a rapid pace as before, though the wait won't be as long as this time.

I am also very proud to announce that from now on I have a Beta reader, the fantastic Zarathustra46, she also helped to correct all the previous chapters. Thank you so much! I might have mentioned it before, but it is such a great news, that it's worthy mentioning it again :)

(dana-san) Thank you. I played with Sherlock's part for some time, I am glad to hear it didn't sound totally weird. And I am sure Sherlock knows John has other interests, it was just combination of John choosing the more boring part (which he deliberately delegated to Ron, but he also had a point with not letting him near the computer) and thus preferring Ron's company (the horror! the horror!) - and at the end it even looked like they were just lazying around (all Ron's fault of course)... thankfully they were not, they were just that quick :) And that's exactly what I was thinking about the prequel! Thanks for your reply.

(Sailor Celeano) Of course Sherlock would choose the outlandish ingredients - the weirder the better :) Too bad he really cannot brew anything... Yeah, you're right about Hermione - and you bet she will be informed about his personality before meeting him, because Ron will grumble at home (if he cannot while working... much, then where else would he?)... And I really like your reasoning about the Houses too :)

(ilyena damodred) Thank you :)

(A Reader) :) I am glad you do. Of course we cannot have that :D He should dislike Ron and his incompetence just like he does! Why doesn't John see he is useless? ...Besides Sherlock wants to hear about magical stuff and Harry's past too, though probably not from Ron. But still - how dare they exclude him!

(kateydidnt) Thank you so much! :D You're very welcome. And regarding your idea - if he encounters her it will be done... and he shall, because it's a great opportunity to tell her off. Besides, Lestrade needs to be back sooner or later, it would be easy to make it so Sally (and possibly Anderson) can be present. Honestly, I think Sherlock is not blameless (because, seriously, when he is?) in their animosity, but of course you're right, calling someone freak at every opportunity is not really professional and quite malicious - Harry certainly would not appreciate it.

(Sarah) Thank you! That's great to hear.

(Guest) I know... poor Ron. Sherlock probably thinks of him as the magical equivalent of Anderson... Oh my, what have I done? *hides in shame* And I like Ron... sigh

(lulu) Thanks :) I though the snippets would do just fine - we know exactly what Ron talked about (I hope) even without having the whole conversation written down - especially since it was nothing groundbreaking (well, for us - John would beg to differ). To answer your question, yes, George, Angelina, Ginny and Hermione are planned in the foreseeable future (bear in mind that 'foreseeable future' may mean quite a few chapters, but actually about a day or two in the timeline) Hope this is a good answer :) Thank you for the response regarding the prequel, I think I really will... as soon as this is wrapped up.

(AnElegantCatastrophe) Thanks! I shall :)

(contest4jen) I'm glad. Harry will definitely appear again, don't worry. (And nope, I am not talking about his brief cameo right now)

(biblioholic) Done! I am glad you kept with the story despite the faults. Hope from now on everything will be okay :) I'm just sorry, I didn't do this sooner.

(KG86) Yeah, poor him :D Ron and John will definitely have more moments.

(jgood27) Thank you!

(Aria) I am glad :) Thank you!

(0Harry. J. Potter0) Thanks so much :) This story will definitely be finished, no need to worry.

(BlueMoonMaples) Thanks for the reviews. That would be a correct assumption :) He did. I just decided to give him his old job back, I didn't found anywhere that the office he got during the war still existed afterwards. It really sounded like something that was created and needed during the war but not that much after it ended. But I gave him bigger room (with windows too!) and more staff than just Perkins (who probably retired by this time anyway). So technically I didn't take away the promotion. Kingsely wouldn't do that. And Arthur would be happier with his Muggle Thingy office. Not that this all was shown to a great detail in the chapter :(

(Suffermysolipsism) Thanks!

CHAPTER 19

He took out his phone, turned it on and was about to start texting when Ron was once again forced to take a deep breath as he started searching his pockets, only to take out a mirror and stare at it intently, which distracted the detective.

John looked at him curiously too. He didn't have time to ask why he had it, because a familiar voice suddenly filled the room.

"Hey, how is it going? I cannot talk to you for long; I excused myself from a meeting. By the way, Mycroft was asking about Sherlock. Said his signal disappeared, tell him to turn his phone back on, he might have forgotten as he left the Ministry, okay?" said Harry sounding a bit rushed.

Ron opened his mouth to answer, but Sherlock beat him to it. He put the phone away the moment he heard the first words spoken by the Head-Auror and now was hovering too close for the redhead's liking. John wanted to see too, but even Sherlock needed to stretch a bit to see from behind the wizard's shoulder. And it was not like he couldn't hear anyway. The voice was crystal clear, as if Harry was in the room with them.

"No need to repeat that, I heard," said the detective looking into the mirror. "I hope you told him to mind his own business!"

"Not exactly," replied Harry. "He thought you're still at the Ministry and wondered what's taking you so long, so I told him you left to investigate already. He didn't ask for Milverton's address though."

"He doesn't need to do that," commented Sherlock as the irritated ginger stepped away from him. It caused him to lose sight of the dark-haired wizard, so he closed the distance again.

"Oh, I know," chuckled Harry. "I just want you to remember he got it by himself, so you cannot blame this on me. So did you find anything?"

Sherlock and John looked at each other. "He wouldn't...," sighed the doctor, while Sherlock only raised his eyebrows, silently questioning why would John doubt Mycroft's stalking tendencies.

Ron just frowned and started narrating the adventure with the housekeeper, once again getting away from the detective while he was distracted.

Meanwhile, John went through the hall towards the front door and opened them. No surprise awaited him... just one black car. He closed the door and shouted back at his companions. "He is here! Sherlock, if you already sent that text, I think you can cancel the cab."

"Of course he is," muttered Sherlock, not happy at all.

"... so Holmes got some computer thing –"

"Flash drive," corrected the man promptly as he started concentrating on the wizard again. He immediately stepped back into the mirror's view.

"Yeah, that – it contains a list of people Milverton blackmailed. There is also Eva Blackwell. He was supposed to meet her yesterday. And there were other meetings before that. We're going to see her now to find out what part she plays in this. Any chance you can get away from the meeting and join us?" finished Ron, giving up on getting rid of his new shadow.

"Afraid not," sighed Harry. "The Minister is here and few of the Heads too..." Suddenly they heard commotion on the other side and all they heard was unintelligible murmur, as Harry quickly pocketed the mirror and after a moment or two he reappeared. "Okay, I should be going. Tell Mycroft to hurry, okay? He is expected here. Don't keep him for too long," And with that he ended the 'call'.

Ron pocketed the mirror. "Should we be going?" he asked.

Instead of running out and taking the chance to continue with the case, Sherlock sat heavily on the chair and crossed his arms. "John, do we need to see him?"

"And what do you want to do? Outrun the car?" asked the doctor exasperated.

"Don't be ridiculous," replied Sherlock. "We can... apparate?" he said uncertainly, looking at Ron. He was not really pleased that he would once again need to rely on the man, but willing to use any means to escape.

"I don't think I'm going to help you there," said the wizard resolutely. "I don't need to be a seer to know that you will turn this on me. And I really don't need Mycroft Holmes to breathe down my neck just because his brother doesn't want to take a ride in his car."

John snickered. "Tough luck, Sherlock. Now let's go. We're going to say hello to Mycroft."

As they were leaving they glanced around one more time to make sure nothing was amiss. Sherlock was thinking hard about any kind of excuse all the way to the car, but wasn't very successful.

Mycroft was casually leaning against the car, watching them approach. He must have got out after John checked the road.

"Mr Weasley," he greeted pleasantly. "John, Sherlock."

"Mr Holmes," returned Ron politely.

"Hello," replied John. "Harry says you're supposed to be at their Ministry soon."

"Yes, I am aware," replied the man, dismissing the matter entirely. Then he turned to Ron. "Mr Weasley, I am afraid there is just not enough room in the back. I hope you won't mind sitting in the front seat."

"Not at all," shrugged Ron. "I'll tell the driver the address."

"Where exactly are we going?" asked Mycroft nodding his thanks.

"Chelsea," replied Sherlock. The prospect of Mycroft being tardy because he played cabbie for them cheered him considerably. "I didn't know you enjoy wasting your time so much. Aren't you regretting leaving your house to follow us now?" Unfortunately for him, his brother didn't seem to have a problem with that.

"Not particularly," replied the elder Holmes, ignoring the needling of his brother. As if he would lose his cool because of a detour.

Before the Auror got into the car, he suddenly remembered something and reached into his pocket. "I almost forgot, take this. Your brother thinks you can go through the list that's on it and find out if any of those people had any connection to the wizarding world."

Mycroft took the flash drive and they finally parted.

"Really, Sherlock?" The elder brother smirked after the three of them were seated in the back and the car moved. "You're willing to rely on me? I'm touched."

"Quit it," retorted the younger man. "It was either you or the wizards. And they are technologically inept."

"Indeed," agreed Mycroft. "You're more or less right, of course. But then you must have noticed they use different means than we do."

"So wizards don't use technology. You cannot use magic. How did you even talk to Harry before coming here?" wondered John.

"More or less right? Did you start a technological crusade – with the one that is easiest for you to persuade?" Sherlock looked at his brother. "Nothing stopped you from giving Harry one of those phones! Which apparently comes with pre-installed tracking system," he grumbled, taking his phone out and waving it in front of his brother's nose.

"Yours does," corrected Mycroft. "It was necessary. You were using it during your stay abroad. How else was I supposed to know where to send help when you were being stubborn? I haven't seen any reason to turn it off after you returned. It's not my fault you kept it. And no, that's not how I talked to him. While you're right and Harry is not as bad as many others in wizarding society, who refuse Muggle technology quite persistently, he still keeps only the landline. And while his wife is pleasant and his children..." he paused and scrunched his nose in obvious distaste, "charming. It's not really them I usually need to speak with. And I simply cannot get the man to agree to carrying a mobile phone around. It's frustrating." He paused as if he just remembered something and sighed, "Even though the phone would probably not last long if he got it anyway."

"You've met Harry's family?" asked John.

"Please," scoffed Mycroft, "of course I did. You must have noticed that Harry is basically a Weasley with different surname. And it's impossible not to bump into Weasleys once you enter the wizarding world – they are everywhere. That is especially true if you enter it as an associate of Harry Potter. Even if we don't consider Ronald Weasley, you cannot convince me you didn't meet with a few of them already. Now you've known about the wizarding world for about two days, think how hard it would be for me not to meet the majority of Harry's family during six years..."

"Well," admitted John. "We've met Arthur Weasley. But I don't think..."

"So how did you talk to him then?" interrupted Sherlock, glaring at his brother.

"For god's sake, it's no great secret, Sherlock!" replied Mycroft irritated. "I just used the Floo Network. Travelling is not the only use it has, you can contact others through it as well..."

"Oh," said Sherlock, "of course you have it installed too." He abandoned the subject now that he satisfied his curiosity. "Well, can you get one of those phones to John? Preferably without the bug. His stopped working while we were in the alley."

"Consider it done," nodded the older man.

"What?" asked John looking from one brother to another. "No! It's not necessary."

"It's annoying," said Mycroft instead of arguing, "to have your phone stop working every time you enter place with concentrated magic. And that is not all, if there is a lot of magic done around technology, it's not helpful either. I simply couldn't afford to turn off my phone for unforeseen amounts of time, nor did I remember it every time. So I had those developed, even though it took some time and creative minds to get it working. They are still not ideal though. Too long at the Ministry or in the Alley and even those are out, but it's unlikely you will spend days there. So what do you say, John, wouldn't it be better to just accept it?"

"Oh, okay," agreed John at least, after imagining a growing pile of useless phones he would acquire, as he was sure he would forget about turning them off every blasted time too. "But at least let me pay,"

"Please, John," scoffed Sherlock. "Just take it. And you were telling Mycroft how we met Arthur Weasley and another one earlier in the Ministry lift. Go on."

"Really?" asked John. "I was actually only thinking about Arthur."

"You cannot tell me you don't remember the ginger who spoke to Harry about Skeeter," wondered Sherlock.

"I do," replied John, "but being ginger doesn't make him Weasley."

"No," agreed Sherlock, "but the resemblance to the other two Weasleys we've met as well as the fact that he was present on the family photo in Harry's office does. I can't believe you didn't make the connection. I know for sure you were inspecting the photographs closely."

"It's not like we spent a long time with the man. And the people on those photos were moving!" cried John defending himself. "It distracted me!"

"That would be Percival," revealed Mycroft smiling slightly at John's reaction. "However I am more interested in the fact that you met Rita Skeeter. What did you do Sherlock?" he inquired preparing for the worst.

"Why do you think I did anything?" asked his younger brother defensively.

Mycroft just stared at him, while John rolled his eyes. "He dressed her down pretty badly," he replied instead of the detective. "Strangely it was one of those instances where someone deserved the encounter with Sherlock Holmes."

Sherlock gave his friend an annoyed look.

"Well, I don't doubt that," said Mycroft slowly. "But you probably need to accept the fact that there will be an unflattering article about you in the Daily Prophet sometime soon."

"Why?" asked John worriedly. "Harry hinted something, but can't he stop it? He is pretty high up."

"Not really... or rather he wouldn't really consider it," replied the man. "He fought rather hard so the Ministry wouldn't be able to control what is going to be published. It was actually one of the first things he insisted upon. Not surprising at all considering their past. But imagine that now he would be the one trying to stop public from knowing something like this – it will be fairly minor and manageable if they publish this article in comparison to the scandal Skeeter would create if Harry Potter started dictating what should and should not be published. So no, he wouldn't do it, even if it may prevent people from finding out the wrong way."

"But people know about us," said John bewildered. "When we entered the Leaky Cauldron Harry casually mentioned to Hannah that we should be allowed in. Why should this be such a big deal?"

"No, John," Mycroft shook his head. "I presume you're speaking about Hannah Longbottom, aren't you? She knows about you, because the Longbottoms are close friends of Harry. And he refuses to hide things from his friends. Another one of his quirks I don't fully agree with, even if I know where it came from. But the Wizengamot decided to keep it quiet, not particularly secret, but it surprisingly stayed out of focus and they did nothing to draw attention to it. But now Skeeter can influence the public opinion before the Ministry has the time to present it in positive light."

"Well," sighed John defeated, "we will deal with it when it comes."

Sherlock nodded in agreement. This at least explained why the security man at the Ministry was clueless. But another thought occurred to him. "Does this mean the meeting you have is about the Exemption?" he asked. It would make sense, if it was such a big deal and public could retaliate, then undoubtedly the Ministry can take action before people panicked. Who knows, who exactly heard about the incident in the pub. "Do they want to stop it? Now, that it barely started?"

Mycroft actually laughed at this. "It's nice to know that you are actually afraid you might lose this chance. I suspected you might find the whole wizarding world fascinating, but I didn't know you would be so taken."

"I am not!" argued Sherlock. "It would just be a terrible waste of my time if I found myself suddenly cut off after being invested during these two days."

Mycroft just hummed sceptically, but didn't contradict his brother. He didn't need to, he knew him well. "Well, rest assured, that the Ministry will not stop it, unless it proves to be an utter failure. But you're probably right; this can be one of the topics discussed at the meeting. I suppose that's why I am needed."

"Really?" asked John.

"Yes," replied the elder Holmes simply, "though Harry wasn't entirely clear when I called him, so I might be mistaken."

"Because you were too busy interrogating him about our whereabouts," snarked Sherlock.

Mycroft just rolled his eyes. "May I ask why are we going to Chelsea?" he asked to change the topic.

"To visit Eva Blackwell," replied Sherlock. "Currently the only person Milverton had as an 'ongoing project'."

"Ah... just don't drive her to tears, Sherlock," said Mycroft as the car suddenly stopped. He didn't have time for more. "I'll have a look at your list after the meeting. You'll hear from me if I find something."

Sherlock just nodded as he and his friend got out of the car, where there were joined by the redheaded wizard.