Chapter Four

Making Inquiries

Jennifer came home with a shopping bag in one hand and Serendipity's hand in the other, glancing around the Baker Street house.

"Goodness, it's so quiet here when the boys are all working," Jennifer complained with a sigh. "Seren, why don't you go play before lunch? Is Severus down in the lab, Mercy?" she asked, putting her shopping bag on the kitchen bar to try and get to her pocket watch.

"No, Jennifer. He is in the library talking to Harry Potter," Mercy reported.

"Oh, really?" Jennifer asked curiously. "Could you put those away for me, Mercy?"

"Yes, Jennifer," Mercy said.

Jennifer made her way up to the library to find out what they were up to. There was tea and sandwiches on the small table between the chairs, but it didn't look as if they had been touched. Severus stood by the fireplace and Harry sat in one of the chairs by the table.

"Yes, he had come highly recommended by a friend," Severus was explaining to Harry. "Brilliant defense teacher, intelligent... good taste in witches. If it wasn't for that fiasco that sent students down to the Chamber of Secrets, perhaps I would have kept him."

Jennifer tilted her head and made a face. Well, the last part sounded like Lockhart, but the first part didn't sound like him at all.

"Wouldn't you agree, Jennifer?" Severus called out knowingly.

Sheepishly, Jennifer came further up the stairs and stepped into the room.

"Oh hello, Severus. Hello, Harry. I'm back from the market. Who are we talking about?" Jennifer asked, pretending that she hadn't been listening in.

"Rhett Heron," Severus replied.

"Oh, Rhett!" Jennifer said with a blink. "I typically only hear from him at Christmas, because we exchange Christmas cards."

"Apparently, Roy Lockhart happened to meet Rhett at Flyer's Headquarters and they decided to go off on some sort of adventure together," Severus summarized.

"They went to India. And they're missing," Harry added.

"I'm sorry, but I'm still trying to get over the thought of the two of them to be standing in the same room together, let alone adventuring together," Jennifer admitted.

"The battle of the Egos... or battle of the hair. Take your pick," Severus agreed.

"At least it sounds like Rhett is capable of taking care of himself," Harry said.

"Yes, he was a magical items smuggler before he was caught and turned over a new leaf, and I wouldn't doubt that he has experience in the region. Roy could have hired him to go along for multiple reasons, not just as a bodyguard. I'm not certain that Rhett would go on such a trek for money alone. It wouldn't have been worth the risk now that he's respectable," Severus ventured. "I suspect there's some sort of item involved, something legendary or highly sought after that might have interested him. You know how magic items experts will go out of their way to nose into things when they hear a rumor of some legendary item... or at least I know it. First hand."

"Hey," Jennifer said, squinting at Severus.

"Even if that's the case, I'm not sure how we can narrow down what it is they're after. Roy wrote nearly a dozen books about searching for legendary items, and a third of them were in that region," Harry said.

"But what if those books all had the same source?" Severus speculated. "What if those stories all came from the same wizard, the one Lockhart is trying to locate?"

"Good point. I wonder if Hermione's read all of his books?" Harry pondered.

"Not since she was a child," Jennifer replied. "Perhaps you could ask Corey, since he's working with the Ministry again. He could read them for you and help you needle out the details."

"What? He'd hate me for life!" Harry protested with a laugh.

"Just let him know that Jennifer was the one who suggested it," Severus offered.

"Good idea," Harry agreed. "Any other suggestions?"

"Well, you might try speaking to John Carnegie," Jennifer said. "After the two of them became friends, they've kept up regular correspondence over the years."

"Great!" Harry said, getting up. "I think I'll go look into that then. Thanks for the tea, I can show myself out."

"Let us know if there's anything else we can do to help, Harry!" Jennifer said. Severus blinked at that, frowning at his wife.

"Thanks, I'll keep you informed," Harry promised, then hurried down the stairs.

"Before you get any grandiose ideas, Jennifer, how about we make an agreement not to get involved in this?" Severus suggested. "We have enough on our plates, considering that you are going to have to help Hermione with school administration, and I must take over as pro tem Minister of Mysteries while our daughter is on maternity leave," Severus reminded her flatly. "Besides, I distinctly remember you suggesting that the two of us should take it easy this holiday, especially since we didn't have much of a summer holiday last year."

"Well, yes, I did say that," Jennifer said with a sigh. "But during the day when the boys are working and Seren has a play date at other relative's houses until dinner, I've gotten rather bored, really," she admitted before walking back down the stairs.

"Oh no," Severus said flatly.