"Sir, we have a problem."

Jared Tanner lifted his eyes from the Daily Prophet newspaper lazily. He was sat in the deserted common area of a large mansion house that lay in the centre of an unmapped forest, in a part of Great Britain Muggles hadn't seen for hundreds of years. A fire crackled animatedly in the hearth in front of him, the sole source of light in the room, but it didn't bring warmth or comfort with it. Not that it mattered to him. Comfort was a luxury he'd long since abandoned; it wasn't a luxury he could afford, not while there was work to be done.

To the left hand side of his armchair, a small, rather pudgy looking man stood with his head held high and his hands clasped behind his back importantly. Jared had never really liked this man. He was nothing more than glorified messenger. But, so long as he understood how things worked in this house and who was in charge, Jared had never had a reason to take exception to him.

"What is it this time?" he sighed heavily at the man, smoothing out his paper. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

The man's eyes dropped to the paper, where the headline read, 'BLACK SLIPS THROUGH MINISTER'S FINGERS'."Actually, sir, that is what I'm here to talk about."

Jared hesitated, staring at the picture of Black screaming and ranting up at him. He remembered Sirius Black very well; somehow, the criminal had managed to slip through his grasp on countless occasions. But, since the death of his family, he hadn't had any reason to care for the man's life any more. Selena Black had been the target; he'd been an inconvenience.

So how could Black be an issue now? Jared knew full well that he'd married Selena not long after leaving Hogwarts, and that they'd had at least one child. But he wasn't allowed to sort the young out; they were impressionable. They could be taught right from wrong, how to live with their abilities. His superiors were supposed to have tracked them down and brought them in.

"Black has nothing to do with us," Jared reminded the man sharply. "Not anymore."

The man cleared his throat awkwardly. "It has come to our attention that he has a daughter."

Jared lifted his gaze to the fire, his eyebrows tightening. "And? Any children of Selena Black's were supposed to have been handled twelve years ago. Are you telling me one slipped the net?"

"Yes, sir," he gulped. "Actually, none of Selena's children were ever found."

For a moment, Jared could do nothing but stare. Then a familiar irritated began to grow in the pit of his stomach and he threw the paper to the side angrily, pushing himself to his feet and turning to meet the man's gaze.

"None?" he questioned through his teeth.

The man held his ground with as much composure as he could, shaking slightly. "None, sir. There are three of them, that we are aware of, sir."

Jared's eyes narrowed. "Three?"

"Two boys and a girl, sir," the man nodded, clearing his throat again. "One is old enough to be passed to your department. His changes have finished, and his abilities are sound. Unfortunately, he knows we are looking for him."

Jared's nostrils flared in anger, his fists clenching. "Of course he does. I suppose being in hiding his whole life will make a young boy paranoid. What's his name?"

The man straightened and pulled a roll of parchment out from behind his back, reading the first few lines hurriedly. "Zane Murphy, sir," he answered. "We believe he has been living in Scotland, but attending school abroad. We aren't sure which one, but he's due to start his seventh year in September."

There was a pause as Jared thought through his options. If the boy knew he was being tracked, he'd be moving around, possibly out of the country. But if they waited until he returned to school, it would take too long to find which one he attended. Finding his adoptive parents, the Murphys, was probably the best bet. Jared hadn't tracked one target yet who wouldn't try to save the people who'd raised him.

"What about the others?" he barked. "The girl and the boy?"

The man shook his head furiously. "The boy is being well protected by a foreign government," he answered. "It seems Selena had a few favours to be returned when he was born. In any case, the boy doesn't turn thirteen until the end of August. We still have time to reach him."

"If you haven't already, I doubt you'll manage now," Jared scowled. "Just one more mess I'll have to clean up later. What about this girl?"

"The girl is causing a lot of trouble," the man frowned. "She is beginning to raise a lot of concern among our superiors."

"So let me clean it up," Jared shrugged easily.

"It's not that simple, Mr Tanner," he interrupted sharply. "She is already too involved in the wizarding community. We know exactly where and who she is, but getting to her may cause more trouble than it solves."

"Really? How so?"

"She's already found the link," the man explained. "The boy she'll most likely spend the rest of her life with."

"So we'll sort him out too."

"No," he snapped. "He has enemies of his own, enemies that we cannot engage with."

A short laugh slipped out of Jared's mouth. "Is that so? How old are they?"

"Almost fourteen."

"And a fourteen year old boy has enemies we can't fight? Now why do I find that hard to believe."

The man straightened himself out importantly, obviously as irritated with Jared as Jared was with him. "It may have escaped your notice, but the sole reason you are employed by our superiors is to keep their kind's influence over the wizarding world limited. Now imagine what would happen if you were to kill Harry Potter in their name?"

Jared froze on the spot in surprise. Harry Potter . . . this girl was getting involved in a wizarding war?

"Voldemort is dead," he blurted.

The man snorted. "Don't be naïve. How did you think we came by this information in the first place? Pettigrew escaped again, and he saw the boy's tattoo. We cannot go after her without involving Potter, and by association, Voldemort. We risk involving ourselves in a war that has been going on for decades. For now, she's their problem. Her abilities have barely begun to develop. You need to focus on her brother. Before he finds the others."

Without another word, the man rolled up his parchment again and wheeled around, striding out of the room with his head held high. Jared glowered after him, his fingers twitching at his sides. Three children . . . the Blacks had three children and he was only hearing of it now? The Murphy boy shouldn't be too much of a problem, and if the younger ones got in the way . . . well, that only made his job easier in the future.

"Frankie!" Jared yelled as he stormed out of the room. A thud and small squeak of surprise sounded from upstairs. "Get the others moving! We have work to do!"