Frederick's Darkest Secret

With May arrived warmer and more predictable weather, and calmer and more settled Claudia. Long gone were the days when she slept in the office, smoked like a chimney and consumed barely anything other than coffee or crisps. And best of all, Agrippa was back.

"What did I miss?" he asked casually the moment Claudia stepped over the threshold to his office on his first day back. He looked healthy, and if it was not for the fact that his eyebrows were missing, one would not be able to tell that he was caught up in a cauldron explosion.

"You better sit down," Claudia replied and slumped onto Agrippa's sofa. And after a deep breath or two, she began to recount the story of the missing artefact, taking care to conveniently leave out the detail of how she nearly ended the Department by accidentally telling the Ministry about it. As she spoke, Agrippa's face twisted and turned, going through every expression a human was capable off.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to help," he uttered when she finished. "But it sounds like you didn't need me anyway…"

"Well…" she sighed, struggling to work out whether he was impressed or mortified. "Not an experience I would want to repeat in a hurry. I think I aged about ten years."

"Do you want to take a few days off? To get a proper break?"

She chuckled. "Maybe I will go home early today. But-" she froze, mid-laugh. "I want to do today's staff meeting first, redeem myself in the eyes of everyone."

"Good. I hate doing those anyway."

"No!" Claudia exclaimed and theatrically threw her arms in the air. "You are not off-loading staff meetings on me too. I have quite enough on my plate as it is, thank you."

With a laugh, Agrippa passed her some more pay paperwork and sent her to prepare.

And she made the right choice staying. Having actually had a chance to study the pay material this time, she was able to answer all the questions thrown at her with compassion and composure. Feeling rather proud of herself, Claudia packed up her things and went home. But leaving work at noon, with nothing planned and her father finished, was not something Claudia was used to. By three o'clock in the afternoon, she was so bored that she began to tidy up the flat; a sure sign something was not quite right with her.

Claudia was saved from further housework, however, by the arrival of a letter from her godson. But to her great surprise, it was not about the Chamber!

'Dear Claudia,

I'm supposed to be picking what to study next year, and there are so many options I don't know what to do. Gran says I should take Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Ruins because that's what my dad took. But I heard Arithmancy is really hard, and I'm not really that good with numbers. Do you think Gran would let me take Divination instead?'

Claudia grimaced at the mention of the Divination class. She still could not believe she had to wait over thirty years to find out she had a cousin, only for the said cousin to turn out to be an eccentric. She was very tempted to tell Neville to stay as far away from that Sybill woman as possible…

'Uncle Algie swears by Magical Creatures, but I don't know. They all seem a bit scary to me. Which subjecst did you take? Would you recommend them?

I need to decide by Friday. Maybe I'll just do what Gran says.

Neville'

For a few minutes, Claudia stroked her chin with the quill, wrecking her brain about what to write back. On one hand, she wanted to tell him that Arithmancy was overly complicated and useless, Divination was taught by a weirdo, and Magical Creatures were going to leave a stench on everything he owned. But on the other hand, she knew that Neville needed to learn how to think for himself, and this was as good of a time to start as any.

'Nev,

This is a tough one, isn't it? Why don't you pop to the library during a free period and browse some textbooks, to see of anything sparks an interest.

You do best in a subject if you find it interesting, just look at Herbology. It makes you study harder and remember things easier, doesn't it?

Forget about what everyone else is telling you and pick something that you want to do.

Claudia'

The exchange of letters with Neville occupied her for twenty or so minutes, after which Claudia started to walk around the flat, looking for things to clean again. She needed to get out of there. Out to get a coffee, to go shopping, to go for a walk. A walk! She had not done that for ages!

With her wand safely tucked inside her sleeve, she set off towards Regent's Park.

The sky was bright, and most trees that lined the paths of the park were covered in blossoms. Petals were raining down like fresh snow with every gush of wind. There was warmth in the air and birdsong. It felt as if she was outside for the first time, staring at everything in awe.

As Claudia walked through the park, she remembered how beautiful London could be, and how much they used to enjoy it before everything went to shit. She missed this. And him…

Claudia used her muggle change to buy a cup of coffee and sat down at a little table in the shadow of a large oak tree. With every sip of the hot coffee, she longed for the days when she had someone to share these walks, and her life, with. Someone who would make her laugh and keep her warm when the wind turned the air cold.

She sighed and drained her cup. At least the person responsible for Sirius' imprisonment was now punished. Well, one of the people responsible, at least... She put down the now empty coffee cup and glanced at her watch. Maybe she should go and see how her father was doing, to check everything was working as intended.

Claudia popped back home for her invisibility cloak, then apparated to Hampstead Heath, and soon enough, she was looking through the window to her father's study. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen. Just as she was about to leave and grumble about a wasted journey for the rest of the day, she noticed that a person in a lime green coat – the same one worn by all St Mungo's healers – entered her father's study. They collected some books and left again.

Where were they going? Were they attending to Claudia's father?

She had to know what was going on! Claudia jumped down from the shed and made her way around the block and towards the front door. Not long after, the door creaked open and the healer appeared-

This was her chance! She squeezed past the healer through to the entrance hall. It was beautiful room, with staircase carved from dark wood and a large chandelier. Anyone who saw it would have been impressed. But Claudia was not. It made her feel physically sick being back there. On her left was the door to her father's study, where he so often threated her… And on the top of those beautiful stairs was where her mother tried to hurt her for the very last time.

With a shudder, she made herself stop thinking about the past. She was not here to reminisce! Pulling the invisibility cloak tighter, Claudia climbed the stairs and tiptoed towards her father's bedroom. The door was open, and Frederick was in bed, sleeping. She could not believe her luck.

Her Legilimency wand now raised, she closed her eyes and dived into her father's mind. What she saw shocked her. It was chaos – all his memories were fragmented by the pain of what she had implanted. Nothing was clear, the pain was ever present. Amongst all the mess, she struggled to see how her Voldemort turned out, so she fixed her mind on his face and dived deeper.

Lord Voldemort. Tom Riddle. The Dark Lord-

There was something there, something powerful, she could feel it.

An image started to materialise. It was hazy at first, as if it was hidden under a powerful memory charm for a long time, a memory charm that was clearly now breaking due to the stress Claudia's interference had put on Frederic's mind. Just like Mulciber and the Dementors, she thought, before digging ever deeper.

Suddenly, everything had cleared up. As if she had turned on the lights, or put on her glasses in the morning.

"What are we doing here, Tom?" Frederick's voice echoed in her head. They were on a field in the middle of nowhere. It was deserted and the night was bright.

"I told you, Frederick, it's not Tom anymore," came back a cold voice. The man who spoke was undoubtedly Voldemort. Claudia was not sure if it was the moonlight, but he looked remarkably pale. Her best guess was that he was around thirty.

Despite the memory being nearly forty years old, Frederick's resentment was so palpable that Claudia had no doubt that what she saw in Hortensia's mirror was accurate. He hated Voldemort. "I don't have much time," Frederick hissed.

"Keen to get back to the new wife?" Voldemort smirked. "I hear she is a beauty-"

"What can I do for you?" Frederick asked through gritted teeth, finding it impossible to obscure his true feelings by a thin veneer of politeness.

But Voldemort chose to ignore his tone. "I've been perfecting a spell and I need you to test it for me."

"What spell?"

Voldemort studied Frederick's face for some time before responding. "It's soul magic. I want you to split your soul for me."

As suddenly as the picture cleared up, thick fog descended in front of Claudia's eyes. The memory charm was still partly in place. But she refocussed and tried again. And soon enough-

The scenery had changed. They were in a city now, and Frederick and Voldemort were standing over a corpse of an old man in tattered clothing. He looked like a tramp.

"Now, drink this potion-" Voldemort ordered Frederick, and passed him a vial.

"Why?"

"This is my own enhancement to the ancient procedure. The potion prepares your soul for the next spell, makes it easier to split." He paused and then dropped his voice to a whisper. "Especially useful if you're trying to split off just a small bit."

Claudia could feel that, for a moment, Frederick hesitated but ultimately, he followed Voldemort's order and drank the potion. Almost instantly, the dimly-lit alleyway swirled in front of his eyes, and Frederick dropped to his knees. Overwhelming pain was emitting from the middle of his chest. Digging his fingers into the dirt to steady himself, Frederick looked up at Voldemort. "What is this?" he asked coarsely.

"How are you feeling, Frederick?" He asked. "Can you hear me?"

Frederick, now clutching his chest, nodded.

"Then stand up," Voldemort hissed, and took out a piece of parchment from his robes. "This is the spell you need."

The scene went foggy again for a moment. When it cleared up, Frederick was standing back on the moon-lit field and was holding up his signet ring against the moon. "So, this now has part of my soul in it?" he whispered and turned it over in his fingers.

"Give it to me."

After a moment of hesitation, Frederick obliged. Voldemort turned away from Frederick, as if he wanted to mimic his gesture with the moon. But it was merely a deception. He was quick but Claudia managed to spot what he did anyway. He slid the signet ring into his robes and conjured a replica ring, which he gave back to Frederick.

"What did you do that for?" Frederick barked. His eyes were clearly as observant as his daughter's.

"I apologise, Frederick-" Voldemort's face twisted in a nasty smile– "Obliviate!"

And just like that, the memory had dissolved, and Claudia found herself back in reality. She was extremely tempted to dive back inside her father's mind to see if she could somehow dissolve the charm and see the rest of this memory, to try figure out what this was all about. But then, she heard steps out in the hallway, and remembered where the fuck she was.

I was lucky to get away with this so far, she thought and tiptoed out of her father's room. Dodging the house elf, she went down the stairs and towards the door. Luckily, it was only on a latch, which allowed her to leave this nest of painful childhood memories without being heard.

At home that evening, Claudia searched every book she had for a mention of this kind of soul magic but found only suggestions and hints. She searched and searched until she fell asleep on the sofa, surrounded by books and pieces of parchment, with no one to tell her to get her act together and go to bed.

In the morning, with a clearer head, she had a thought. There was only one place that was sure to have answers she was looking for – the Inner Sanctum.

"I told you to take a few days off!" Agrippa's voice interrupted Claudia's attempt to sneak into her office undetected. "Auberon here-" he gestured towards Claudia's assistant who was grinning- "promised me he cancelled all your meetings."

"I had one afternoon off, which was plenty." Claudia replied with a smirk. "My flat has never been this clean. Besides, I want to do a bit of research. Nothing too strenuous. It's like I'm not even here."

"What kind of research?" Agrippa asked. Research always interested him more than what he was meant to be doing as the Head Unspeakable.

But Claudia really could not say out loud, as there were people around. So, she looked into Agrippa's eyes and used her telepathy powers. "Want to see what interesting stuff K.P. has in the Inner Sanctum archives."

"Like he's going to let you in there," Agrippa replied out loud.

Claudia chuckled. "I don't think he's in a position to say no to me."

And she was right. K.P. escorted her to the Inner Sanctum at once and left her under the watchful eye of the Keepers.

Claudia's search for information about soul magic led her past shelved and shelves of research on the matters of the mind. She did not even dare to think what she could learn in these archives and promised herself she would come back and find out. But for now, she had only one thing on her mind-

About an hour into her search, she opened a dusty box labelled 'Horcruxes'. There were dozens of rolls of parchment crammed into this box. Claudia picked one at random and started to read-

'A Horcrux is an item in which a person has hidden a fragment of their soul in order to become immortal.'

Claudia sighed and straightened her glasses. Immortality… This was going to be bad.

'For as long as the horcrux remains in existence, the soul of the one who created it is bound to the world of the living. Even if the body is destroyed, the soul lingers instead of passing through to the other side.'

Her mind was working at million miles per hour. If Voldemort taught her father how to make one of these horcruxes, it surely meant that he was attempting to make one himself.

She leaned back in her chair. So, the rumours were true. He was not really dead, which of course made a lot of sense with the stuff that happened in Hogwarts last year… And if Voldemort somehow managed to find a way to come back. Claudia shuddered; she could not even think about it. It would surely mean another war!

But she pushed that thought to the back of her mind and kept reading. Most of the research contained in this box related to experiments the Department of Mysteries run in the nineteen-twenties, and it contained fairly detailed instructions on how to make a horcrux. A murder was critical, apparently to weaken-

Abruptly, Claudia raised her head. Moaning Myrtle. In the memory she saw in Frederick's mind few months ago, Voldemort said something about ensuring immortality. Could her murder possibly lead to the creation of a horcrux? Surely not. He was so young! And this was complicated magic!

Her heart began to beat a little faster. He was a lot younger in that memory than he was in the one she saw last night. Which could only mean one thing. Voldemort was attempting to split his soul more than once!

She searched and searched for anything that could suggest that multiple horcruxes could be made from a single soul but found absolutely nothing.

In a desperate but ultimately fruitless search for instruction on how to destroy a horcrux, she did, however, stumble upon something rather interesting. A hint that both physical power and mental ability could be restored from a Horcrux (by effectively fusing it back with the master soul). She was very glad at that moment that her father did not remember making one… Last thing she needed was for him to get better.

As far as Claudia could work out from the papers, the Department of Mysteries' research on Horcruxes was abandoned a long time ago. According to the most recent report of the bunch, the procedure had "dehumanising effect on one's soul, both emotionally and physically". Claudia stared at that line. Was this the reason her father was a monster? Did dark magic do that to him?

Unable to supress a yawn, she looked at her watch to find it was past ten o'clock in the evening. No wonder she was tired. Unsure what the Keepers would do to her if she fell asleep atop priceless research, Claudia packed the things way and went home, promising herself to come back at the earliest opportunity.

Few days later, Claudia was still reeling from what she discovered in the Inner Sanctum, when Auberon barged into her office.

"Fudge needs you," he uttered. "Sounded urgent."

"Board meeting?"

"Didn't say, but you need to go now."

With a groan, she grabbed her notebook, got up and made her way to the Minister's office. It was bound to be bad news. Fudge had only ever needed her in relation to the situation in Hogwarts, and an impromptu meeting like this could only mean one thing… More drama, and even more ministerial panicking. If only Fudge was able to grip the situation and show some leadership, she thought. Instead, this was bound to be another meeting of passing blame and going around in circles.

"Good, Claudia, you are here!" Fudge exclaimed when she was rushed into his office by one of the eager private secretaries. "Sit down, sit down."

Claudia sat down on one of the free chairs and quickly scanned the room. It was not the full Board, just her, Umbridge, Bones and Haworth.

"I didn't have time to call anyone else," the Minister continued, pre-empting her question. "There has been a development. Two girls have been petrified at Hogwarts just now."

"Dumbledore has had his chance," Umbridge spoke before anyone else. "It's now a high time we acted."

"Acted on what exactly?" Bones scoffed and looked at Umbridge like she was a turd she had just stepped into. Bones had a point, Claudia thought. Despite all the effort from DMLE and the Department of Mysteries, they had absolutely nothing to go on.

But Umbridge was not phased in the slightest by the lack of evidence. "Remove Dumbledore and arrest that gamekeeper of his."

Claudia's eyes darted to Fudge to see how outraged he was by that suggestion but found an expression on his face that suggested he was considering it.

"The gamekeeper was deemed responsible for the troubles last time," he mumbled and stroked his chin.

"Minister," Claudia interjected. "With all due respect. It was thought Hagrid's Acromantula killed Myrtle Warren. I know what I saw in those memories; it was no spider."

Haworth took a deep breath, as if he wated to speak but did not get to it. Umbridge was faster-

"Who is to say he did not get himself a new creature?" Then, she dropped her voice into an almost sweet whisper. "Cornelius, we cannot take that chance. We must do something."

"It's too soon!" Bones tried to protest, but Fudge had clearly made up his mind.

"Dolores is right," he said with a sigh. "I'll go to Hogwarts myself. This has to be dealt with. You can all go-"

Bones shot out of the office so quickly Claudia had no chance to catch up with her to find out what she really thought. Haworth run off too, while Umbridge stayed behind.

Just as Claudia got to the Ministry's lift, and raised her hand to call it, she realised there was something she was missing. She left her notebook in Fudge's office. Cursing under her breath, she went back.

Umbridge was just leaving when Claudia got there- And Fudge was still sitting in his chair, nibbling on a biscuit. "Have you come back to try change my mind?" he sighed.

"Forgot my notebook," Claudia said and pointed towards the seat she was previously sat at. Her notebook was indeed still on the table. But this was too good of an opportunity to miss. "But since I'm here." She paused to quickly judge his mood. He looked tired more than anything else. Sympathetic tone was likely to yield the best results. "A word of caution, Minister. If you have to arrest Hagrid, don't make a big fuss out of it, in case it's later not right."

"What do you mean?"

"Pitch is as a precaution, not a victory…"

Fudge sat up that little bit straighter. He was listening. "What should I do about Dumbledore? Dolores has gone to speak to the school Governors."

Claudia thought for a second. "Leave him in place, I'd say – I feel no loyalty to that man," she quickly clarified when she noticed Fudge's eyebrows had contracted a little. "But if we take over the school now, and there are more attacks-"

"We could stop them!" Fudge interjected.

"Minister, with all due respect," Claudia resumed. "We have no idea what's causing the chaos at the school. If we take over now, and someone else is petrified. Dumbledore will be vindicated, and we'll look like fools."

Fudge slumped back into his chair. "You're right. I'll speak to Dolores…"

Claudia could just imagine how that discussion was going to go, but – remembering Agrippa's advice to be agreeable – she kept her grumpiness to herself and left with a forced smile on her face.

In some ways, Claudia hoped that Fudge and Umbridge would be able to show restraint, but alas, she found herself disappointed. She nearly spat out her coffee when she saw the front page of the Daily Prophet the following morning.

'MINISTER STEPS IN TO SAVE LIVES.'

Claudia quickly scanned the article. The Governors of Hogwarts removed Dumbledore and Hagrid was sent to Azkaban. The sensationalist headline was accompanied by a picture of Fudge, with Umbridge beaming behind him.

"Idiots," Claudia muttered to herself. "Complete and utter idiots."

She knew that if she stayed in her office, or had to interact with Fudge that day, she would not be able to hold her tongue, and all her work to get that old moron on side would have gone to waste. So, she asked to be escorted to Division Twelve and shut herself off in the Inner Sanctum archives again, this time drowning her sorrows in boxes of mind research.

But eventually, Claudia had to face reality again and return to her office to do some actual work. Soon enough, it became clear that she was going to pay for indulging her interests in the Inner Sanctum. Having totally forgotten that she had to write up performance reports for all the heads of the rooms, she now had to complete all of them in one sitting. No amount of coffee was going to make that an easy task.

About halfway through Cassius' report, she got startled by a knock on the door. Who could it possibly be at this hour, Claudia thought as she looked her the ornate clock on her desk. It was past eight! If it was Auberon, she really needed to give him a talk about working late. Just because she had no life, did not mean he could not have one either.

"Come in!"

The door opened, but it was not Auberon who stood over the threshold.

"You've got to be kidding me," Oscar snickered when he entered. "You are still here!"

"So what?" she replied, barely looking up from her parchment.

"It's your birthday!"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"Get your stuff, I'm taking you out."

Protestations about having to finish the performance reports got Claudia nowhere, and within fifteen minutes of his appearance, Oscar was shoving her through the door of a restaurant. A suspiciously nice restaurant, with crisp tablecloths, fresh flowers and instrumental music filling up the air.

"Isn't this bit posh for us?" she mumbled, once she noticed how well-dressed the waiters were.

"Aren't you meant to be like one of the poshest people in Britain?"

Claudia shrugged. "Only technically…"

They were seated at a small table in the corner of the restaurant, out of earshot of other diners. The whole place was bathed in soft light from the dozens of candles scattered around, and everyone's shadows were dancing to the soft music that played in the background.

"Sorry-" Oscar mumbled. "This place is a lot more romantic than I remember…"

"Apology accepted."

With a brief smile, he picked up the wine list. "What do you fancy?"

"I don't drink-" Claudia whispered.

"Since when?" Oscar's question brought a sad smile to her face. How did he not know? Has it really been that long since she had spoken to him?

"A while now…" She bit her lip, debating for a second whether to continue. "I didn't handle the end of the war very well-" she trailed off.

"Ewan may have implied some things." Oscar took a breath. "Sorry, I wasn't there-"

"You had every right to be furious with me…" Claudia jumped in before Oscar had a chance to vocalise how he really felt all those years ago. She cleared her throat. "How's Ewan, anyway? He used to send me the occasional postcard but haven't heard a peep out of him recently."

"He isn't exactly swamped with time–" Oscar replied, seemingly also glad about the change of topic. "Job at the MACUSA, three kids…"

"Three kids?" she gasped. "When the fuck did we get so old?"

"Shut up," Oscar snickered. "You're what? Thirty-four?"

"Thirty-three!"

Oscar waved his hand to dismiss her. "Foetus you are… Try being almost forty."

"Thirty-eight isn't almost forty!"

"Let's see how you feel about that in five years," he said with a laugh.

But before they could continue this particular squabble any further, the waiter arrived at their table, dressed impeccably in a coat and tie. "What can I get you, Sir?"

"Just water."

"And your fiancée?" The waiter kept looking at Oscar, which annoyed Claudia to no end.

"Not a fiancée," Oscar replied before Claudia could interject. "And I think she can order for herself."

"My apologies, Sir," the waited spoke. Again, to Oscar! "I saw the ring-"

"Coke for me!" Claudia said rather loudly and glared the waiter down until he left.

What followed was a long and rather uncomfortable silence. Claudia folded her hands on her lap, anything to get that ring out of sight.

"What do you want to eat?" Oscar eventually mumbled.

Claudia swallowed dry, grateful that the inevitable topic of conversation was postponed for a while yet. "A steak will do." Once they ordered, she was a little more comfortable again and rediscovered her voice. "How have you been?"

"The work's been different since the war ended, you know," Oscar said with a shrug. "More crooks, fewer murderers kind of different. Which in some ways is good…"

"But in other ways quite boring?" Claudia interrupted.

"Yeah…"

"Gives you time to have a life, maybe?" she asked a little cheekily, attempting to tease out if he finally settled down. "Finally have the time to be in a relationship, perhaps?"

"No wife or girlfriend, I'm afraid. But I do have a kid."

"What?"

"She's six. Her name is Sasha." He looked down and rearranged his cutlery. "She's awesome."

"How did it-" Claudia paused to find the right words. "How did that happen?"

"Do I need to draw you a diagram?"

Claudia chuckled. "You know what I mean!"

"Her mum and I were never really together; it was just a casual thing. She's getting married in a month or so… To someone else, obviously," he quickly clarified. "I get to be as involved as she wants me to, help out, get Sasha for the occasional weekend."

"It's weird to think of you as someone's dad."

"Tell me about it…" Oscar replied with a laugh. They chatted and laughed through their meal and just as they were finishing up-

Oscar looked around to make sure the waiter was not within ear shot. The rest of the diners had left, it was nearly closing time. "I need to ask…"

Claudia put down her cutlery and scratched the side of her head. "I know."

"What do you think really happened that night?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I know he didn't exactly make himself look innocent- But I'm so sure he wouldn't give up James and Lily. It's inconceivable to me."

"And the muggles?"

"Less sure about that-" Claudia whispered. "But- Nobody knows what happened. Not really…" Her throat began to close. "And nobody ever gave him the opportunity to explain."

She was half-expected Oscar to start arguing with her, tell her she was being naïve, but he did not. "That's Crouch for you. Not going to lie, the Auror Office is a better place without him.

"I can imagine."

"How is he taking having to sit on the Board with you?"

"Not well… Fudge said he's blocking my appointment to the Wizengamot. Or rather, discouraging the Minister from approving it. Or whatever. But Fudge likes me… So, keep your fingers crossed..."

Oscar smiled.

"What are you smiling at?"

"It feels like yesterday that this brash little kid walked through the door of our office, and now you're talking about being appointed to the Wizengamot."

"You have no right calling anyone brash…" she replied with a laugh. "But in all seriousness, getting fired from that place was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I'm beginning to see that-"

They chatted for a while longer, and eventually got kicked out of the restaurant. The sky has darkened, but the streets were still full of Muggles heading out to the theatre or home from the pub.

"I nearly forgot," Oscar said and reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, and passed Claudia an envelope.

Tentatively, she opened it. "Harpies tickets?" Claudia said with a smile on her face. "I haven't been to a Quidditch game in ages!"

"You can take your godson."

Still staring at the tickets, Claudia uttered. "These are really good seats."

"I know!" Oscar said with a laugh. "Almost kept them to myself and gave you a pair of socks."

She tore her eyes from her birthday present. "Do you want to come with me?" she whispered, not entirely sure what made her ask. Poor Neville, he would have loved to come with her.

"Well, if you insist."

Claudia chuckled. "Oh, I can take Neville."

"No! Please take me." He laughed and pulled Claudia into a hug. "I want to go with you," he added in a whisper.

Claudia shut her eyes and sunk into his embrace. She did not want him to let go- She was so tired of being alone, and this, this made her feel safe. Safe in the arms of someone who she trusted with her life.

"Happy birthday, Claudia," he whispered, his breath making her skin tingle. Then, he slowly released from his embrace. "Should I walk with you?"

Claudia looked into his eyes and her brain instantly transported her to the morning when she woke up, very hungover, in Oscar's bed. And she knew, right in that moment, that if she let Oscar walk with her, it would end the same way. "I'll be fine," she mumbled. "And thank you for dinner… For actually making me celebrate my birthday for once."

"Good night, Claudia."

"Night," she mumbled and walked away as quickly as her legs carried her, keen to be as far away as possible before her resolve abandoned her and she did something very, very stupid.

The next three weeks went quickly, and Claudia finally felt like she could do the job that Agrippa had entrusted her with. She was getting through her paperwork and meetings at decent speed, meaning she was often home before it got dark, which left her enough time to go for a run or a walk, and even cook some real food. She was by no means a great cook, far from it, but her pathetic creations were still better than sandwiches and crisps that had been sustaining her for months. Even her tattoo had been behaving and keeping her crippling episodes in check.

She managed to assign herself a lovely work trip to Cornwall to pose as a muggle archaeologist at a dig where some old druid ruins were found. That was standard Ministry practice. What usually happened was that the Ministry would leave the muggles to deal with the archaeology but send someone undercover to remove any magical artefacts that may have been found. With Agrippa and Birog as her competition, Claudia was by far the most likely to pass for a muggle, so she was the one that went.

It was a long drive, but the air was clear, the weather beautiful and three days in the sunshine did wonders for Claudia's mood. As did an innocent fling with the chief archaeologist's sister that finally made her stop thinking about Oscar's breath on her cheek…

But four days into the dig, Claudia was interrupted by one of the Ministry's owls. Discreetly, she retrieved her letter and hid in the shade of the tree to read it.

'Need you back here. The Chamber turned out to be real and a girl nearly died. Fudge is at Hogwarts dealing with it, but when he's back, all hell will break loose. It turned out to be a bloody Basilisks after all. Agrippa.'

Claudia re-read the message again and again. The Chamber was real? And the Basilisk? She sighed. Griffin was going to be insufferable, and she was sure to get a real bollocking from Umbridge.

Well, there was no point dwelling on it here. It was time to go.

Within fifteen minutes, she was behind the wheel of her car and speeding towards London.

By the time she got to the Ministry's atrium, everyone knew about what had happened at Hogwarts. Bugger, Claudia thought. That was going make any damage control nearly impossible, if only she was-

"Avery!" she heard someone shout and turned-

"Crap," she uttered when she saw that it was Rita Skeeter who had called her name. She tried to run but Rita's long, perfectly-manicured fingernails were sunk into her bicep, making an escape impossible.

"I thought it was you," Rita said with a smile. "No longer the little kid breaking into my office, or an auror accused of murder- Grown up to be an esteemed Board member, didn't we?"

"What do you want?" Claudia hissed.

Rita took out a notebook and a green quill flew out of her bag. "I need a quote from the Ministry on the disaster at Hogwarts. Why did Fudge remove Dumbledore and that gamekeeper when he had no idea what was going on? Did he even consider Basilisk as an option?"

Claudia pushed the truth deeper into her mind. Telling Rita Skeeter what the Minister really thought about the possibility of it being a Basilisk would leave her not only without a Wizengamot seat, but also quite possibly without a job. "Basilisk was one of the options the Minister had actively considered," she replied. "He had considered all options and done everything in his power to keep the children safe."

"I've heard you were smart-" Skeeter sneered. "You cannot possibly believe that."

"You are going to write whatever you want anyway," Claudia said with a forced laugh. "What does it matter what I tell you?" With that, she turned on her heel and continued her journey to the Department of Mysteries, her mood utterly ruined by that poor excuse for a journalist.

Before Claudia made it to her office, she bumped into Griffin.

"I told you so," he said cheerfully. "I told you all it was a Basilisk and you laughed in my face."

"Well done, Griffin!" Claudia replied through gritted teeth. She hated being wrong, and even more so when others pointed it out. "I promise that the next time you suggest something equally insane, I'll pay more attention. "

"It's all I ask," Griffin chortled and walked away, whistling an upbeat tune.

Claudia exhaled as she watched him leave. A typical Unspeakeable… Only concerned about research and being right… If only she could afford to be so single minded. Where would the Department of Mysteries be if she had not covered their collective arse and gave all the Basilisk information to Fudge, despite not believing the word of it? At least, he could not complain he was not warned. But it was not all rosy. There was still the fact that a dozen of their specialist failed to find the chamber…

But fortunately for Claudia, Fudge had other things on his mind when she met him the following morning. He was standing slumped over a copy of the Daily Prophet that was laid out on his desk. The unflattering headline was difficult to miss.

''FUDGE'S FIASCO; MINISTER FUMBLES THE HOGWARTS SITUATION'

"I should've listened to you," he sighed. "Now… just look at the headlines."

"Headlines will go away, Minister."

"Thank you for that-" he nodded towards the Daily Prophet. "For not twisting the knife in with Skeeter."

"What did she write?" Claudia mumbled and picked up the paper.

'Ministry officials continue to be blinded by their loyalty to Fudge. No one should believe a word of what Claudia Avery, the Deputy Head of the Department of Mysteries, said to me. "The Minister always considered a Basilisk to be a realistic option. There was no complacency." Yes, that infamous Claudia Avery! More of that sad tale on page six.'

Claudia supressed disgust at her own words. Giving quotes like that made her look like a bloody fool. But it was a price worth paying, hopefully.

"I've made the decision, Claudia," Fudge interrupted her train of thought. "That Wizengamot seat is yours. Your advice has been impeccable. There is no one's judgement I am inclined to trust more than yours."

It took Claudia while to speak. Her heart was racing. It worked! It actually worked! After a few seconds, she recovered her composure and threw the Prophet back on the desk. "Thank you, Minister."

"I think it's about time you called me Cornelius."

"Of course, Min-" she stopped and laughed. "Of course, Cornelius."

Fudge laughed with her. "And if you ever want to leave the Department of Mysteries, there is an undersecretary job here waiting for you."

Claudia's ears pricked up. "You already have an undersecretary-"

"Oh, Dolores wouldn't mind if there was someone who she could share her load with," Fudge waved his hand as to dismiss Claudia's fears.

It took a lot of mental energy for Claudia not to start laughing. She was pretty sure that if she took that job, she would be dead within a week. If there was one thing that Dolores Umbridge did not like, it was sharing the Minister's attention.

With yet another thanks to the Minister, she excused herself and very nearly danced back to her office. That particular bout of good mood was going to last a while… Or maybe it was not.

"Do I need to worry about you?" Agrippa opened their next meeting, which took place a few days later, in a grumpy tone.

"Why?"

"I've been reading the papers and you sound like a bloody Fudge loyalist!"

Claudia laughed. "This was your idea. You told me to make him like me!"

"And you've taken it too far."

Claudia folded her arms across her chest. "No, I haven't. This works – I can tell him anything I want, and that moron believes me. He told me the Wizengamot seat is mine, even offered me a job as his undersecretary!"

"Did you take it?"

Claudia smirked. The slight hint of panic in Agrippa's voice as he said it made her feel good. "Even my ambition has its limits. Having to fix his cock ups all day every day? While trying not to shout at him? No, thank you…"

"People in the Department of Mysteries will talk… They won't trust you if they think you're on Fudge's side."

Before Claudia could reply and say that everyone who mattered did trust her, Agrippa's secretary opened the door. "Sorry to interrupt," she said. "But Headmaster Dumbledore is here."

"Why?" Claudia whispered.

Agrippa looked at Claudia and shrugged. Clearly, neither of them knew why Dumbledore was there. Then, he turned to his secretary. "Show him in."

"Agrippa, old friend-" Dumbledore said as he floated in, before noticing that his friend's deputy was there too. "And Claudia, excellent, three brains are better than two."

"What is it, Albus?" Agrippa extended his hand and Dumbledore shook it. "No more Basilisks, I hope."

"No, but I fear-" he paused and took something from his robes and carefully placed it on the desk- "this is troubling me to a greater degree."

Claudia leaned over Agrippa's desk and examined the old leather notebook that the Headmaster brought. It had been pierced through the middle. "What is it?"

"I suspect Voldemort has hidden a fragment of his soul in this."

"A horcrux," Claudia mumbled, drew her wand, and poked the notebook with it. "Looks dead to me."

"It is dead. Basilisk venom had destroyed it."

"I'll get K.P." Agrippa said and made a step or two towards the door.

"No need," Claudia whispered. "I was bored in the Division Twelve archives the other day. I know everything there is to know about them."

"Alright," Agrippa said and looked at Claudia with his eyes slightly narrowed. They both knew she had no business hiding in the archives and researching horcruxes.

"You told to me to take time off real work, so don't now go and complain that I research interesting things." This telepathy business was paying off.

Agrippa smirked and turned to Dumbledore. "What can you tell us about it?

"He was about sixteen when he made this." Dumbledore explained.

"Who did he kill to make it?" Claudia asked. She of course had a hunch, more than a hunch, but wanted to see how much Dumbledore knew.

"I suspect it was Myrtle Warren."

"At least now we know how he survived that killing curse back when he attacked the Potters," Agrippa uttered.

"What I need to know," Dumbledore said. "How many could he have made?"

"There was nothing in the research papers about splitting off more than one piece," Claudia said.

"But do you think it would possible?" Dumbledore asked. "Could there be more?"

Claudia paused. Of course, there were more! But she could not say that without revealing how she knew that Voldemort was still making Horcruxes fifteen years after he murdered Myrtle Warren. No matter how much Fudge seems to like her, stealing the Ministry's resources to invade a fellow employee's mind and drive him to insanity was only ever going to result in a one-way ticket to Azkaban. She took a breath. "I don't see why it wouldn't be possible."

"I thought as much," Dumbledore said.

"The question is," Agrippa said. "How many?"

Silence fell over Agrippa's office. Not one of them knew the answer to that question.

A/N - Well, that escalated. My plan was to do a couple of chapters during the CoS timeline to set up the events of POA. Many, many thousands of words later, here we finally are :D