Author's Notes: I put up a different novel (my first novel) Shelter for free on my account (Sarah Jaune). Please go read and leave a comment! If you like the book, the rest of my work can be accessed through the account for a very low fee (you can join for one month only and binge). If nothing else, please go find me on Facebook and give me a like. It helps.
Thank you to Arnel for beta'ing.
Please do leave a review if you read.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 81
James could not stop staring at the baby in his wife's arms. He was absolutely gorgeous, just as Alex had been, only he was a good bit bigger and stronger than when Alex had been a newborn and he was staring at them calmly, not in pain. It was a relief beyond words to know that his child was safe and whole. Nat had already looked at him, mostly to reassure Caroline, but she'd confirmed he was as healthy as could be.
He could see Caroline in their son's features, but only really in the mouth which looked like her. Otherwise, he looked exactly like James and Alex. James pressed a kiss to his wife's temple and murmured his love for her and then bent to kiss his son, yet again. He wanted to hold the baby, but Caroline had done all the work to get this little one here safely so he wasn't going to ask until she was ready to let go.
It had been two hours and apart from letting his aunt check the baby over, she hadn't let him go.
"Alex is up," Nat said as she came into the room with Alex on her hip.
"Hey," James said as he held out his arms for his son, who was suddenly looking very shy. They'd tried so hard to explain to Alex what was going to happen, but it was hard to comprehend for a boy who wasn't yet two. "This is your brother, Asher," he explained as Alex cuddled into his side and studied the baby. Rufus, who had been laying like a moldering old rug on the ground, grumbled to his feet and came over to stick his massive head into Alex's side.
Alex reached for Rufus, as he often did, without thought and his body relaxed into James as he set his head on James' shoulder. "Mummy," he said in a very small voice. Despite all Caroline's attempts, Alex was sticking with 'mummy' rather than the American version, 'mommy'.
"Oh, baby," Caroline reached out her free hand to cup his cheek. "Alright, come here," she instructed and she nodded to James. "Go ahead and take him," she said, referring to the baby.
He set Alex on the bed so he could take the baby and a moment later, Alex was clasped tight in Caroline's arms as she crooned to him about how much she loved him.
"There now," Caroline told Alex. "Everything is just fine. Are you ready to say hi to your baby brother?"
They made it through their first week with a new baby, although James wasn't entirely sure he remembered most of it. Asher was a very content baby, generally, but he set them on a schedule of nursing every two hours for exactly forty minutes, then he wanted to be winded, have his nappy changed, then sleep for an hour and ten minutes.
Then he repeated the process.
"Nursy time!" Alex screamed when Asher started to fuss one morning after he was just a week old.
It was so familiar a pattern that even Alex had it down. He clambered up onto the sofa next to Caroline and grabbed a cloth to help catch any dribble and hopped his way over to his mother to give it to her.
"Thank you, my love," Caroline said as she took the rag from Alex.
Alex flopped down on his bum and then scooted off the couch and ran for his toys.
"This is very different from when I was learning to nurse Alex," Caroline mused as James sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. They'd finished breakfast, but only just, and it was nearly eleven. Alex was still in his pajamas, but he had at least been put in a clean nappy. His mum would be over in a bit to help, James knew, but right now everything was calm.
"It's very different," James agreed with a big grin. "I was afraid to even look at you when you were nursing Alex. Now… well…"
"Stop," she laughed as she pushed lightly at him with her shoulder. "That is not what I meant!"
"Is it because we only have one dog this time and not two, or you giving birth, or our helper yelling things like 'nursy' and 'poopy' at the top of his lungs?" James asked as he tried not to laugh.
She giggled and shook her head. "No, well, all of that, but…" she paused and her gaze softened as she focused on him. "I'm going to bed with you tonight and not wondering and hoping if you're going to fall asleep in my bed."
"You hoped for that?" James asked curiously. He hadn't realized. Sometimes, when Alex had been a baby and they'd still been in separate rooms, he'd help out with Alex and fall asleep on her bed. He tried not to, but it had happened.
"I liked it," Caroline admitted. "God, I was so timid back then. Now…"
"Now," James said with exaggerated weariness, "You just tell me to strip down right now and- oof!" he laughed as she elbowed him. "Ten points for you not disturbing the baby when you did that maneuver."
His mother's arrival through the Floo stopped him from saying anything else to make his wife blush.
Ginny eyed him skeptically. "You're up to no good," she said, even as she picked up Alex who had sprinted headlong into her leg.
"No," James lied, just as Caroline said, "Yes."
His mum smiled. "Well, at least you're both smiling. It's good to see. Come, my darling," she said as she kissed Alex's cheek. "Let's go get you dressed."
~*~
Harry stared at Daphne across his daughter's kitchen table and wished, not for the first time, that it was anyone but Daphne Greengrass who had given him this lead.
He had a long and complicated relationship with Daphne that had absolutely nothing to do with going to school with her. He'd known who she was, of course. She was one of the Slytherin girls, a pretty blonde with blue eyes that always looked like they would have frozen him in place if he'd come too close. He'd never tried to get close to her. He'd never tried to get to know her. He'd actually never really spoken to her about anything of substance, classes together didn't count, until he'd met her in the role of being Scorpius' aunt.
She wasn't what he'd expected after he had met her. She was a damaged, fragile woman who was the best Scorpius had had most of his childhood and that was a sorry statement, to be sure.
"Your husband has gone missing," Harry told her simply. "It's been over a week since anyone has reported seeing him."
She nodded miserably and tapped her fingernail absently on her tea cup. "He has houses everywhere around the world. He could have gone… well, he could be anywhere."
"Did you think of any other locations he could be, besides the ones you gave me?" Harry asked her gently, trying to keep his tone even. She shook her head and silently swiped at a tear. "I gave you every place I could think of. I'm sure… well…" she let out a mirthless laugh. "I really thought I'd finally found love and Tony was a man I could trust, but if he was using me all along then he wouldn't have told me every hiding place he had."
Harry had considered it for a long moment and then shook his head. "Are you absolutely sure your Aunt Isabella didn't recognize you?"
"I'm sure," Daphne confirmed quickly. "I wouldn't have recognized either except that she looks exactly like my grandmother, Beatrice Fudge. My parents have pictures of her at about the same age and the resemblance is striking."
"Your grandmother has passed, though, correct?" Harry asked, just needing to verify she hadn't made a different mistake.
"My grandmother died before we went to school," Daphne assured him. "I remember her, though. You don't easily forget someone that beautiful. She had dark brown hair in her youth and blue eyes, about the same color as mine. She was stunning. Aunt Isabella was the same and she looked to be the same. I don't think she's letting herself age, maybe out of spite. She and I looked like we could have been born at the same time."
That was interesting. Harry had been having everyone search for her based on a sketch done from Nat's description of what a seventy-year-old woman would have looked like, not someone in their forties. "Alright, that's actually really helpful. She's been coloring her hair?"
"I assume so," Daphne agreed. "It was the same rich brown I remembered from the photo I saw of her, father, and Aunt Fionna. But it's the eyes. It was like looking in the mirror."
"If she'd have recognized you," Harry said slowly, trying to work through this, "Do you think she'd have let you walk out?"
"I don't know," Daphne said reluctantly. "I don't know her, but also," she hesitated and then shook her head. "If she knew who I was and that I was in the house, the only thing she could hope by not alerting me is that I would lead her here." Her eyes went wide. "Well, damn."
"That would be my conclusion, as well," Harry said evenly. "But she can't get into the house even if she comes here, so it's not like it matters. Lily doesn't need to leave and she's perfectly happy to stay here while we're assessing what's going on."
Daphne rubbed at her temple and shook her head. "I was just afraid for my life and I didn't think! I should go."
"You should stay," Harry said firmly. "First off, because if you leave you are likely going to end up dead and that will devastate your nephew. Second, you're the best lead we have to finding your husband who can, in turn, find your aunt. We just need more time and more information."
"I truly don't know anymore," she assured him earnestly. "I wasn't married to him for very long and ugh… now I need to get divorced from him or he can come here and start demanding things."
Harry hadn't thought about that and realized that she was right to worry, even though legally there was nothing he could do. They weren't soul bound, which was a relief, but they were legally married and the English wizarding community took that seriously. "He can't demand to see you and I can arrest him based on what you've told me," Harry reminded her. "He would be foolish to come here."
It turned out that Anthony Bugatti was a foolish man.
He showed up in England and the Aurors he had stationed to watch the man's London townhouse arrested him just as soon as he put his bag down.
"This is utterly outrageous!" Bugatti bellowed at Harry just as soon as Harry walked into the interrogation room, where he was shackled to a chair. Only one Auror was standing guard and Harry nodded at him to go ahead and leave the room, closing the door behind him.
"Hello, Mr. Bugatti," Harry said evenly as he pulled out a chair at the table and sat down across from the man. He was a bit older than Harry, maybe by a few years. His rich, brown hair was liberally sprinkled with flecks of gray that were the exact same steel color of his eyes. He was average height and a medium, but clearly fit build that bespoke of a lot of time working out. His suit was probably a very expensive Muggle suit, at least that's what Harry assumed, as it had probably looked nice before he'd been arrested in it. "My name is Harry Potter."
"I know who you are," Bugatti spit out. "Every god damned wizard on the planet knows who you are!"
Harry shrugged. "It seems rude to assume that. You were read your rights and you have been made aware of why you are under arrest."
"I don't know anything!" Bugatti hissed. "I'm just a business man! I haven't done anything wrong."
He wondered, briefly, just how far Bugatti would spin out that lie. He spotted the wedding band on the man's ring finger and wondered if that had meant anything to him. Poor Daphne. "Wonderful," Harry smiled evenly. "Then tell us how to find Isabella Crabbe and once we have her in custody, things will go smoothly for you."
"I don't know who that is," he said enunciating every word. "I've already told the Aurors that I don't know who that is! I want to speak to my lawyer!"
"We are bringing your lawyer in," Harry assured him. "It's taking a bit to get him here, as he was in Australia, but I have been told he should be here by tonight. But because of the nature of the crime you are being accused of, I do not have to wait for your lawyer to be here. I do not need anything, at all, to question you about someone who has enacted genocide on the world if you're accused of aiding her. I'm sure you can understand our position."
"I don't know who that is!" he shouted, finally losing his composure as his face went beet red. "I would never kill people! I create medicines for the world!"
Harry studied him and could see how Daphne could have fallen for this man. He had to be careful because he didn't want him to know it was Daphne who had reported to him, but at the same time he didn't know how else to get what he wanted without giving Daphne away. "You have been doing business with Isabella Crabbe."
Anger was still fierce on his face and then his expression froze and Harry knew he had to keep his own expression neutral, even when he wanted to kick himself. Bugatti knew…
"Daphne," he whispered. "Where is my wife?"
Harry's brows rose and he stared at the man. "We are speaking about Crabbe."
"I want my wife, god damnit!" Bugatti bit out coldly. "She disappeared on me and then, what? She came here? She told you that—" and then he stopped because he realized he'd just been about to admit that Crabbe had been at his house. "I'm not speaking to you anymore. I won't speak unless I get to see my wife."
"You will speak willingly, or we will make you," Harry said quietly. "You have no choice on that. I'm waiting for the potions masters to bring the truth serum."
Real alarm crossed his face and he shook his head. "I have rights!"
"That's such an American thing to say," Harry told him with faint amusement. "But even in America, if you're helping Crabbe, you've lost all rights. Veritaserum is the kindest thing we could do to you and you should be grateful for it. Every other person even suspected of aiding her is being treated harshly."
He heard a knock at the door and saw one of the potions masters entering with Teddy and Rick. Harry hid his surprise at the young, American Auror's appearance in the interrogation room until he realized that this was likely Teddy's doing.
They had Rick on loan from the Americans. They didn't have to hide just what Rick could do. It was well known he had these special abilities. Rick stopped and studied him for a moment. "Knock him out," Rick said without inflection.
"No, wait!" Bugatti flailed, truly panicking now as he tried to break his bonds.
Rick turned and left and Harry knew he was going back to get Nat.
"Do it," Harry told the potions master.
"Dreamless sleep it is," the man confirmed to Harry as he pulled out a vial of purple liquid from his satchel and moved towards the man that Teddy had put in a headlock.
It didn't take much to dribble it down his throat and within moments Bugatti began to relax.
"We can take it from here," he told the potions master. "Go ahead and leave the truth serum for us, just in case."
The man pulled it out and handed it to Harry. "I need it back if you don't use it. It's inventoried."
"Understood," Harry agreed as he pocketed the small bottle.
"I'll be back," Teddy told Harry and knew Teddy was going for Nat, as well.
Harry waited until Rick and Teddy were back in the room, the door closed, before he cast Muffliato on the room.
"It's too hot under this thing," Nat grumbled as she pulled off the cloak when Teddy had stationed himself right in front of the door. She tilted her head to the side and looked at the man curiously. "I… I actually have no idea."
"It looks like a curse to me," Rick said to her as they both studied the man.
"I agree, it does look like a curse but I've never seen anything like it!" Nat told Rick, clearly flummoxed as she pushed back her sweaty hair.
Rick let out a grunt that was almost a laugh. "Alright, that makes me feel better. When I didn't know what it was I thought I needed your expert help."
Nat shook her head. "No, it's nothing I've seen before. I wonder," she squinted and walked towards him, reaching out her hand. She paused before she touched the man and then took a step back. "Oh, no… that's very not good. Come feel, but don't touch him."
Rick did what she did but his expression went to alarmed very quickly. "He's going to explode."
"Excuse me?!" Harry barked that out louder than he meant to.
"No, I mean," Rick held up his hands to halt Harry from ordering them out of the room. "If we touch him, he'll explode. He's… he's like a Muggle bomb." Rick turned to Nat. "Do you think she planned on him coming here for me?"
"I would say so," Nat said with a long sigh. "There's a lot that's been done to this poor sod, but right now all I can see is that anything might set him off. We need Bill," she said, turning to Harry.
"Alright," Harry said slowly. "I am going to evacuate the entire ministry and get Bill. You're going home."
"No, I should stay," Nat told him absently as she continued to study the unconscious man. "I'll need to tell Bill what I am seeing."
"You are going home," Harry ordered without any room for negotiating. "Bill will speak to you there and then come here to deal with this."
Nat let out a small huff and then shrugged. She bent to scoop up the cloak she'd dropped, tripped on it and would have hit the floor if Teddy hadn't caught her. "Thanks," she said as she threw the cloak back on.
"You're taking her home and then going home yourself," Harry told Teddy. "You, too, Rick. Go find Al and Lena and tell them I said to scram."
"I don't like this," Teddy said to him.
Neither did Harry, but hard things were reserved for the boss and Harry was the boss.
