The FBI's Secret Involvement

Ch. 5

"He has quite some nerve, blowing off all of our concern for his safety and well being!" Seventeen year old Hermione Granger huffed as she and her friends, Harry and Ron, stepped out of the Leaky Caldron.

"Well, Snuffles has always done things his own way without worrying about what others have thought, y'know." Ron shrugged simply and pecked a quick kiss on Hermione's cheek. They had been a 'couple' for the last two years, though Hermione usually kept their show of affection down to a minimum in public. She promptly pushed him away and glared menacingly up at him. But Ron adored teasing her and playing those little tricks. Although she smacked him around for his games, Ron never failed to notice she always blushed and would smile to herself when she thought he and Harry weren't looking.

"It's not Snuffles anymore, it's Sean Potter, remember?" Harry called over his shoulder to his best friends. He was very eager to visit his godfather and his long stride was carrying him swiftly to the busy British street curb. After a truck passed with especially foul exhaust, the trio jogged across the street and headed toward the rather nondescript apartment complex.

~*~

"A little too ironic...and yeah, I really do think...It's like crying on your wedding day, it's a free ride and you already paid..." Jade sang quietly to herself, rather off-key as she sat on the stoop in the late August afternoon. Her CD player batteries had died and Jade didn't feel like actually getting up to go and buy new ones. So instead, she contented herself with her own singing of her favorite songs, much to the dismay of any passersby.

She ran a pencil under her cast on her left arm to try and relieve an itch. It had been a week since her fall and she was already sick of the restraints the sling and cast placed on her. Five more weeks! She didn't think she would make it.

But the week had proved very beneficial. The agent had gained a firm grasp on what the coded DE note said. Although she had no way to validate her speculations, she had made some fairly certain assumptions. "No longer Eve's Hallow" referred to All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. Therefore, whatever had been planned on that night, the date had changed.

So instead of being October 31st, it seemed it would occur in September, based on the line, "In the ninth." And although the number "2230" could mean anything from an address to the number of DEs in Britain, Jade had a gut feeling it was military time for 10:30 pm.

But Jade was still at a loss of where the plan was to take place. Somehow she felt the riddle would yet say.

She figured that the DEs had some horrendous plan for Cornelius Fudge's daughter, or the Girl of Maize and Chocolate. The "Daughter of Foe" would be Mildred Waterford (after she married the owner of the Montrose Magpies) and she was the pride and joy of her father, the Minister of Magic. Jade had made some basic inquires at the Daily Prophet and received a few blurbs of Henry Waterford's trophy wife reading at a children's hospital, opening supermarkets and so forth.

"Return to Riddle?" Did Mildred have some hidden information that the DEs sought which was coded much like Voldemort's riddled message? Why else would he need the run-of-the-mill brainless blonde? If it was just to get at the Minister wouldn't it be quicker to go straight to Fudge? Something wasn't fitting here.

"Sean Potter? Isn't that presumptuous to borrow your last name without asking?" A young male voice joked. Jade glanced up and saw three teens approaching her stoop. The red head who had spoken nudged the guy beside him with his elbow.

The black-headed friend grinned, "Yeah, well, I guess normal families share the same last name so why not mine." But his chuckle died in his throat when their female companion poked him sharply in the ribs and glanced meaningfully at Jade. The agent pretended not to notice and continued her tribute to Alanis Morrissette and studied the well-worn copy of the 'Riddle.'

The trio stopped chatting about Sirius and tramped up the steps. Only when they stood beside her did she casually look up again.

Her eyes fell on the nearest face, the tall boy with crazy black hair and startling green eyes. He smiled amicably and introduced himself, but his voice sounded distant and hollow as if echoing across a mile of barren territory. Everything faded away around her as she stared transfixed at his forehead where a dramatic lightning bolt scar raced down from his hairline. That famous scar...

Jade caught herself and quickly tried to cover up her mistake. She was not a witch and should think nothing of this scar, she reprimanded herself mentally. Snapping back to the present, she accepted Harry Potter's outstretched hand and introduced herself, "Skylar Lynn."

Apparently, he hadn't noticed her momentary lapse because he greeted her warmly and introduced his companions, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, as if nothing had happened.

"So you're Sean's visitors, huh?" Jade smiled at them. "He has talked of nothing else but you three coming today. I was getting a tad tired of it, to tell the truth. Oh, no offense or anything to you guys but I told him that if he didn't shut up with the 'my godson did this' and 'my godson did that' crap that I'd go and sabotage his motorcycle. I think that scared him 'cuz I haven't seen him since then." She said all this very fast and let some of her American terminology, that she hadn't used for quite a while, to slip into the conversation.

Ron chortled, "Man, you sound like my brothers!"

"Is that a good thing?" Jade asked.

"Well, if you like scheming pranksters with an undying sense of humor, then, yeah," Harry laughed.

"Hm...yeah, I think Skylar here would get along well with Fred and George Weasley," a voice chuckled behind all of them. They turned to see Sirius leaning casually against the doors, his eyes twinkling playfully.

Harry let out an excited cry and embraced his godfather like a brother. They shared a similar appearance (black hair, tall and athletic build) that would have suggested more a father and son than just a godfather-son relationship. Sirius was quickly surrounded by cheerful faces and a loud rush of greetings.

"It hasn't been that long since I last saw you three, has it?" he laughed.

"Several months at least," Harry answered, but he felt a tremendous relief just seeing Sirius alive again. Harry couldn't express how upset he would be if he lost the only family he had left, which although he hated to admit it, was highly probable while Sirius remained an Auror.

Sirius led the trio inside and upstairs to his apartment, leaving Jade a chance to kick herself for practically blowing her cover. "Skylar Lynn" should think nothing of Lord Voldemort and the famous Harry Potter. But then another, awed (oddly high-pitched and girlie) voice sounded in the back of her mind. That was Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived and who defeated the Dark Lord when he was just a baby. He is the one person believed to be able to bring about Voldemort's final undoing!

And Jade had shaken his hand!

~*~

"So that witch outside -- what-was-her-name, Skylar?-- doesn't even suspect her neighbor is a most-wanted?" Hermione asked Sirius while they had a light snack with tea.

"Nah, she doesn't know about me. She's just a muggle," Sirius corrected her.

Hermione's brow furrowed with thought and she paused to collect herself. "She's not? She obviously recognized Harry and his scar."

Sirius faltered and studied Hermione. "No...you think...are you sure?" His apparent concern stopped Ron and Harry's joking.

"C'mon, Hermione, you've seen how most witches react to Harry. They go ballistic!" Ron commented.

"Yeah, Skylar didn't faint, or ask for an autograph, or a picture. Hey, Ron, you remember that one witch outside of the bank last year who wanted me to sign her--"

"But maybe she was just being polite. I tell you, she clearly recognized you, Harry, like any witch or wizard should. A muggle would have no reason to stare at that scar. Besides, if she just wants to live a peaceful life as a muggle, it wouldn't due to act all silly like a witch would even if she was startled to meet someone so famous!" She caught her breath after her long rant and looked at the three faces which were all thinking about what she just reasoned.

No one spoke for a few moments. Finally, Sirius said, "Hey, c'mon, let's get out of this stuffy apartment and go somewhere."

They headed back outside and when Sirius passed Jade, he said, "Do you want to come play tourist with us? We are going to see Big Ben, Tower of London, Hyde Park, y'know, all the sightseeing stuff."

"Nope, I'm quite comfortable here, thanks. Well, tourists, make sure you bring me back a snowglobe or cheezy keychain, ok?" Jade laughed.

Sirius started to turn when he swung back around and stared at Jade. She looked up at him, expecting him to say something. Without a word, he reached out and grasped his sunglasses that she still wore. Then he slipped them on his own face. Jade arched her eyebrows but said nothing as he turned around slowly and left.

She settled back down on the stoop and listened to their voices grow faint. The agent replayed her meeting with The-Boy-Who-Lived and his friends when she remembered Sirius's comment, "Tower of London, Hyde Park...." It hit her upside the head with the force of an eighteen-wheeler and knocked the wind from her lungs.

Scrambling with impatient fingers, she unfolded The Riddle and read "Park and Hide." Just flip the words and change the 'i' to a 'y' and viola! Park and Hide was Hyde Park.

Jade couldn't keep in her grin. She made a mental note to thank Sirius one day for giving her two huge, inadvertent hints.

~*~

"I need to speak with you alone, Harry, ok?" Sirius spoke quietly, nodding towards Ron and Hermione who were bickering ahead of them and indicating they weren't invited to take part in the conversation. It was twilight and the trio was headed to their rooms at the Leaky Caldron. The Hogwarts Express would pull out of Platform 9 and 3/4 bright and early the next morning, carrying Harry, Ron and Hermione to school for their final year.

Ron and Hermione had always been privileged to anything Sirius had ever mentioned before so Harry glanced curiously at his godfather. "Hey, Ron, 'Mione, go on ahead to the tavern; I'll catch up with you later," he called. They looked imploringly at him then Ron shrugged and physically turned Hermione around and headed across the street.

Harry then followed Sirius back into his apartment. The seventeen year old sat hesitantly on the sofa and watched Sirius rummage in a beaten-up footlocker, throwing junk in every direction across the floor. Harry was oddly reminded of a stray dog tearing through Aunt Petunia's petunia garden. Five minutes later, Sirius was still excavating and Harry was on the edge of his seat, gazing anxiously over his godfather's shoulder to get a better view.

Suddenly, Sirius sat up straight and cried, "Ah-ha!" Apparently, he had found whatever it was that he was searching for. He turned around slowly and showed Harry what he held cradled in his arms.

It was a small wooden chest, smaller than a shoebox, with an engraved border of either Celtic or elvish design (Harry couldn't decide which). The dark wood was well worn and age cracks sliced across its sides. It looked ancient and tattered and Harry wondered why it deserved Sirius's ginger treatment.

Sirius must have noticed his godson's skepticism because he smiled mystically and laid the small chest on Harry's lap. "Go ahead. Open it up!"

Harry ran his finger under the edge of the lid and slowly pulled it upward. A bright warm red light burst out from under the opening and spilled out onto Harry's lap and hands. It glittered and twinkled in a thousand rays, as if a sunset had danced across a crystal prism, illuminating Harry in the drab apartment. But as quickly as the crimson light had escaped and flitted over him, it dimmed enough for his eyes to see the source. A ruby, the size of a sickle, glowing with an internal warmth and power, laid in the center of the chest. It was attached to a simple gold chain that had dulled and darkened from age and use. But while the gold chain appeared worn, the ruby was sharply faceted and fresh looking.

"What do you know about the Hogwarts Founders?" Sirius asked softly. Harry, never tearing his eyes from the jewel, shook his head. "Only what the Sorting Hat says each year."

"Your father should be the one handing this down to you and telling you what I'm about to say, and not me. But seeing as I'm the man your father picked to be godfather, I kind of get stuck in this position. Your father left this and his Invisibility Cloak with Dumbledore, and while he deemed you old enough for the cloak years ago, he only now decided to let you receive this. I've been guarding it ever since I technically became your guardian." Sirius paused and caught his breath while his eyes studied the precious stone. Then he blinked sharply and stared straight at Harry.

"Kid, you are Godric Gryffindor's heir."

"What?!"

"Oh, you heard me. Yeah, I know, weird, huh? But it's true. Anyway, each of the Four Founders, since they probably were the best wizards ever seen on this planet, wanted to hand down a special tool to their descendants. Each founder passed on their wisdom and strengths within an amulet. Ruby for Gryffindor, topaz for Hufflepuff, sapphire for Ravenclaw, and emerald for Slytherin--"

"Their house colors," Harry interrupted.

Sirius nodded. "Supposedly, the amulets would be a sort of protection, a guard thing, against mortal danger. Or so the legend says. How powerful the amulet is, no one knows for sure. And its useless to anyone but a descendant of a Founder. Did you notice the ruby's light? It only shed light on you a moment ago," he smiled with a paternal pride.

Harry sat stunned and turned the new information over in his mind slowly. "Had my father already given this to Dumbledore when Voldemort killed him?" he asked bitterly.

"No, Harry. Your father had placed it over your crib hoping to give you an extra shield." Sirius smiled at a long ago memory. "I remember watching you as a tot practically mesmerized by it hanging from your mobile...And though you survived because of your mother's love, I'm sure it didn't hurt to have this amulet nearby. When Hagrid carried you from the rubble at Godric's Hollow, I saw him scoop up this amulet, too, most likely on Dumbledore's orders."

Harry collected himself and swallowed back the lump in his throat. "We know Voldemort is the Heir of Slytherin, right? So do we assume he also has an amulet?"

"I can't say. But, I do know, this stone will play a big part in your life so hang on to it."

Harry lifted the chain up delicately as if it were a fragile egg shell and slipped it over his head. He took one last glance at the jewel before tucking it beneath his collar.

"And it's probably best if it isn't made common knowledge that you have such a gem."

~*~

After making his farewell with Harry, Sirius had a chance to rethink what Hermione had said. What if Skylar was indeed a witch? But a bigger worry began clouding his mind. What if she was a spy for Voldemort?

He could only think of two reasons why a witch or wizard would choose to live as a muggle, a) they were a squib and an embarrassment in the wizarding community or b) they were hiding from the wizarding community either like himself or perhaps, on orders.

Sirius weighed what he knew of Skylar and came up with quite a few blanks. He realized suddenly he didn't know much about her at all. But one major flaw in suggesting she was magical was her broken arm. Any witch could have easily mended the injury or had another help. Why go through all that pain and six weeks of constricted activity just to keep up a cover. It didn't make any sense.

He flopped next to the window in his Lazyboy and popped open a bag of Doritos. He was about to give up on sorting out the Skylar mystery, if indeed there was a mystery, when movement on the street below caught his eye. A black shaggy dog trotted under the streetlamp's light. It took Sirius but a second to recognize the Newfie as being Kori, his neighbor's puppy.

The dog stopped every few steps to sniff at one thing or another and often pounced playfully on bits of trash blowing in the evening breeze. A sudden idea popped into Sirius's head and he smiled to himself mischievously before dashing out his apartment. He raced down the flight of stars and when he reached the front door, he had already transformed into dog-form, without missing a step. Snuffles deftly placed a paw on the doorknob and it creaked open.

The night air filled his lungs, carrying a thousand tantalizing scents. But the human half of his mind reminded him that he was on a mission and didn't have time to screw around.

Snuffles found Kori just around the corner, where the puppy was exploring the trash around a dumpster. But as he approached her, she glared warningly at him, hackles beginning to raise. Snuffles wagged his tail as if to say, "can we be friends?" The puppy regarded him seriously but after they sniffed each other as an introduction, her tongue hung out to one side and she playfully nipped his ear. Snuffles breathed a sigh of relief.

Kori adored her new friend. She loved Jade dearly and would never forget her duties to her, but having a fellow dog-companion was a delight. She showed him all her favorite parts of London: various trashcans, hydrants, and trees in the park. The pair of Newfies trotted all over the city that night; Sirius patiently letting the dog grow to trust him, knowing she would eventually lead him to where he wanted.

It had to be passed 2 am when Kori yawned and turned around. She skillfully navigated the streets and headed back to the apartment, letting Snuffles tag behind her. Kori leapt on to the top of the dumpster and then onto the fire escape landing. Snuffles watched in shock and pawed the sidewalk hesitantly. The puppy then noticed he hadn't followed her up and woofed invitingly for him to join her.

After a moment's indecision, Snuffles leapt up onto the dumpster and his paws scrambled to find a grip. He scratched and floundered and made such a racket, he was surprised he hadn't awakened the neighbors. Finally, he found his balance and crashed onto the fire escape landing beside Kori. She gave him a toothy, canine grin before bounding through the open window. Sirius promptly followed.

He landed inside the darkened bedroom and smiled to himself. This was Skylar's apartment and she wouldn't even know he was exploring it. This would be fun!

On the bed, he saw her sprawled out with the blankets kicked onto the floor. She was mumbling in her sleep into her pillow and Sirius sniggered.

He padded quietly down the hall and into the main room with the kitchenette. Kori glanced up at him from her feed bowl but then ignored him while she finished eating.

"Okay, let's find something magical: a wand, a spellbook, a caldron, anything!" Sirius thought. But as he rummaged over her table and shelves, he had yet to find a single thing. Kori had curled up on her rug and was dozing off. He stealthily slipped into the bedroom again and used his nose to push open her closet door. But again he didn't find even one blasted robe.

Then another plan came to mind. Snuffles went back into the den and bumped into the coffee table, sending an empty mug flying. It crashed and shattered.

He had barely surveyed the damage when Skylar came striding into the den. He almost didn't recognize her; her usual sarcastic manner and smile were replaced by a lethal scowl. Her dark green eyes flashed dangerously as she scanned the room. She held a metallic object out in front of her, and Sirius thought briefly it was a wand. Then he remembered, "that must be a gun," from 101 Muggle Studies classes. Sirius was less frightened of the gun thing than of her glare. But then again, her severe demeanor was betrayed by the sleep-mused curls and fleece pajamas.

The agent, after realizing there wasn't a gang of DEs attacking her, relaxed her outstretched arm holding the pistol. She spied the shattered mug and her eyes widened when she saw the new Newfie. Without taking her eyes off him, she called, "Uh...Kori? Is this a friend of yours?"

The puppy had snapped to alert when the cup crashed and she now crossed to Jade, undeniably nodding her shaggy head.

Sirius watched as Jade sighed and laid the gun-thing on the kitchen counter. She rubbed her tired eyes and muttered something like, "God damn 2:30 am." She moved into the den and scooped up the fragments of her mug. "Man, and that was my Disney World one, too," she griped, tossing the remains in the trash.

Well, in Sirius's opinion, that settled it. Skylar was not a witch. He had deliberately broken the cup to see if she would use magic to repair it in the private of her own home. But she hadn't. She probably didn't even own a wand.

Sirius jumped onto the sofa and sprawled out comfortably and began to doze off. He was on the verge of a deep sleep when his sensitive-doggie hearing picked up Skylar whispering.

"Kori, did you stop to think if he might be a spy?" It sounded conspiratorial and it grabbed his attention. He opened his eyes surreptitiously and saw Skylar crouched beside Kori. The puppy cocked her head to one side and whined almost skeptically, if dogs could be skeptical.

"Y'know he could be an Animagus. The blasted wizards on Diagon Alley thought you were, after all, or need I remind you?"

Sirius's eyes widened and he had to catch himself from falling off the sofa in his surprise. Thankfully, he noted, they didn't see his reaction. "What?! Holy Shit...." he thought.

The puppy gave a short growl. Skylar answered, "Jeez, I know you're not. Don't bite my head off, dog!" She smiled crookedly and scratched her pet's ear. "All I'm saying is keep your wits about you, ok?"

The dog gave another unmistakable nod then trotted over to him. Snuffles raised his head quizzically and watched the other Newfie approach him. Kori looked at Skylar, then at Snuffles and gave the canine grin with her tongue hanging out crookedly again. Skylar stood on the other side of the den, her arms folded firmly over her pj clad chest. "No," she stated.

Kori yipped and sort-of pranced on her front legs. She nudged Snuffles gently with her nose then looked hopefully up at her owner.

"No, Kori, you can't keep him. I have my hands full enough with one Newfie, let alone two!"

Kori dropped her shaggy head in disappointment.

When Skylar went back to bed and Kori had dropped into slumber, whimpering quietly in her sleep, Snuffles slipped out the bedroom window again. He moved along the fire escape landing, out of sight from the window, and transformed back to human. With hands instead of clawed paws, he dropped easily and silently into the alley.

He went in the front doors and up to his apartment with a lot on his mind. Hermione was right. Skylar was a witch.