The FBI's Secret Involvement

Harry Potter leaned over and whispered to Ron, "How much longer?"

"Two minutes less than the last time you asked," Ron muttered back. "And I'm sorry to tell ya this, but I think based on your heart line, you should have died five years ago. 'Tis a shame, mate," he sighed and patted Harry's shoulder with sarcastic concern.

Harry laughed and withdrew his palm, "You mean my life line, right? Heart line is love."

"Ok, then you won't stand a chance of getting a girlfriend except maybe my sister, but we already knew that, right--" Harry shoved him with his elbow "--Honestly, Harry, do you think Trelawney cares if you never find true love? Nope. She just wants you to drop dead. Again, 'tis a shame," he sighed twice as loud, shaking his head.

"Glad to know you care so much about me, Ickle Ronniekins. Now, tell me again why we're taking this course for the fifth time?"

"Because Divination is a classic magical art and science and we have the privilege of learning from a true seer," he recited pompously, sounding remarkably like Percy. "And besides, in what other class can we make blatant jokes about the teacher and know we'll never be turned into a ferret?"

They both broke into snorts of laughter and neither paid any attention to Trelawney as she scolded them with dire threats of future bad luck if they didn't continue with the lesson. She hovered over them, skinny hands on her hips, attempting to look stern -- and looking more like a constipated dragonfly than ever before -- until, fed up, she shrieked that they would have to stay after class. Harry and Ron settled down almost immediately.

When the bell rang and their classmates filed down the trapdoor -- Lavender and Parvati shooting glares at them -- Ron and Harry awaited their punishments. Professor Trelawney looked wearily at them.

"Divination is a classic magical art and science, but I don't believe either of you have the Gift--"

"What are you saying, Professor? Are you kicking us out?" Harry exclaimed.

"But we've always gotten good marks from you. You loved our Predictions!" Ron cried out and turned towards Harry. He winked.

Harry feigned shock and covered his mouth with his hand. A small grin flitted under his fingers.

"Yes, boys, I think you would do better in Advanced Care of Magical Creatures. No real skill is involved." She sat down behind her desk and began to write a note.

"Great," Ron muttered sarcastically for Trelawney's benefit but grinned widely at Harry when the professor was busy writing a letter.

Suddenly, her eyes became unfocused and she went rigid in her chair. The lanterns in the room dimmed eerily as if an invisible force was pulling a shroud over the room, and a breeze from no where whistled through Trelawney's many bangles and shawls. Through her sagging mouth, a loud, harsh voice croaked, "The Heir of Slytherin will attack on the full moon. Hogwarts will fall. Many shall perish and then the Dark Lord will be all-powerful. Night will last forever. The world will decay. Unless...the remaining Heirs hold together and vanquish the Line of Slytherin once and for all!"

Harry and Ron stood frozen in the center of the classroom, gaping at their teacher. Neither joked or smiled now. Neither could even blink.

Then Trelawney slouched in her chair. The lights relit to their former brightness and the earlier breeze died. She mumbled something as if waking from a dream and yawned. "I'm sorry. Where was I? Oh yes, writing your transfer..."

The boys were already down the step ladder and dashing up the hall.

"What the hell was that?!" Ron shrieked.

"A prediction. A real one. I told you about her last one, remember? In third year, about Wormtail. We need to tell Dumbledore."

Ron followed Harry silently for a step or two. Then he asked, "So this brings her total of predictions up to ...?"

"Three, I think," Harry smiled crookedly. He didn't mention to Ron that he was one of the 'remaining Heirs.' The ruby pendant felt suddenly very heavy around his neck.

They reached the stone gargoyle outside of Dumbledore's office. Harry stared at it as he caught his breath. The gargoyle, for its part, stared right back.

"Now what?" Ron gasped, clutching a stitch in his side.

"Lemon drops?" Harry asked the statue. It didn't budge. Harry faced Ron, "Think of candies."

"Cockroach clusters?" Harry tried again. Nothing.

"Those are gross!" Ron grimaced. "How about, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum?"

"Pepper Imps?"

"Ice Mice?!"

"Toothflossing Stringmints!"

The boys were shouting out candies, growing louder and faster. Ron grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly. "Sugar quills! Chocolate Frogs! Every Flavor Beans! Fizzing Whizbees!!"

The gargoyle slid out of the way and the revolving staircase opened up. Ron whooped. "Those are my favorite, too!" They raced up the stairs and barreled into the office without knocking.

The headmaster was alone. He had his back towards them as he gazed through his window at the grounds below. "Are you boys getting into more trouble? This is the third time this year and it's only the second week in September!"

"Yeah, Professor, but you can't count the times Snape sent us here! He's prejudiced," said Ron indignantly.

Dumbledore smiled at them, "But venting about Professor Snape isn't why you crashed into my office, is it?"

"No, Professor Trelawney made a prediction just now," Harry said, "And I thought you should be notified."

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well. Please have a seat and explain everything to me."

They did. Dumbledore occasionally nodded or wrote a note down.

Just as Ron and Harry were about to leave for their next class, Charms, the door burst open.

A young woman strode forward and Harry's jaw dropped. She swept past him and Ron without noticing them, heading straight for Dumbledore. It was Cho Chang.

"I didn't know what to do or who to go to, but you were the most logical." Although she kept her voice controlled, her hands trembled and she seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She sank into a chair facing his desk.

"Earth to Harry. Harry, come in. Do you read me, over. Charms, Harry, Charms." Ron waved his hand in front of his friend's face.

Cho turned and noticed the two boys. "Oh, hello, Harry. And you must be one of Charlie's brothers. I work at the Dragon Reservation with him," she smiled faintly.

"Ms. Chang, what brings you back to school all the way from Romania?"

"Death Eaters."

A silence fell on the room. Dumbledore frowned and said, "Please go on."

"Well, last night, I was walking back to my apartment after checking on the Norwegian Ridgebacks when I was ambushed by three DEs. We fought, to say the least. By a stroke of luck, there was a slight pause long enough for me to Apparate to safety. I went to the Wizarding British Embassy and caught the first Portkey into Hogsmeade. Now here I am."

"Did the Death Eaters say anything to you?" the headmaster asked quietly.

Cho shook her head, "They never said a word and I never asked. There were too many hexes flying by to play Twenty Questions." She smiled crookedly. "But I had a feeling it had to do with this." And she pulled a chain from around her neck, revealing a large, dazzling sapphire.

"You're an Heir, too?!" Harry asked in surprise. Cho glanced at him and smiled. Before Harry realized what his hand was doing, he lifted from his own robes the ruby Sirius had given him.

Dumbledore watched them thoughtfully. " 'Unless the remaining Heirs hold together' I believe the words were, weren't they, Mr. Weasley?"

Ron picked his jaw off the floor and exclaimed astutely, "Whoa, no way! Harry, you...you're Gryffindor's Heir?!"

The headmaster chuckled, "Indeed, Mr. Weasley he is and now I have a job for you. Tell the rest of your Quidditch team that they'll have to practice this weekend without their Seeker. And Ron, everything said in this room, stays here. Do you understand?"

Ron looked slightly confused, but nodded and left the office.

"Professor, why won't I be at practice this weekend?" Harry asked.

"Because Harry, you and Cho, are needed at the Auror meeting tonight."

~*~

"You should be glad the fire confused everyone back there because otherwise, you would have been quite a sight for the muggles with those robes," Jade joked as they rounded a corner. Kori sniggered.

"And what, pray tell, is wrong with these?" Sirius asked in a stuck up voice.

"They're fine for a rather frumpy drag queen."

"Ha-ha-ha. You don't know what you're missing."

They walked in silence a step or two when Jade suddenly thought of something. "Pervert! You spied on me in bed! I was in my pjs!!" She glared at him.

It took Sirius a second to remember. "Oh, yeah...You were drooling on your pillow and mumbling something about green jello. You were quite amusing," he sniggered.

Outraged, she smacked his arm and cried, "You broke my Disney coffee mug. That was my favorite one!"

"Oh, um, oops," he grinned.

She fumed.

They crossed an alley. Jade kept moving down the sidewalk, but Sirius turned towards the shadows. Jade sighed, doubled back and caught up to him. "Now what?"

"Well, we can't walk to Surrey, can we?"

"Sorry, um, Surrey?" she asked, confused.

He nodded. Then, he stuck out his wand, gesturing like a hitchhiker. Jade arched her eyebrows skeptically and folded her arms across her chest. Suddenly, with a bang and a burst of light, a triple-decker bus appeared out of no where and thundered up the alley towards them. It lurched to a stop at Sirius's feet.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor this evening."

"Ladies first," Sirius stepped aside courteously as she closed her gaping mouth and climbed aboard. She muttered as she past him, "You're the one wearing the dress."

Sirius rolled his eyes and followed her in. The door clanged shut.

"Where yoo 'eaded?" Stan gestured them towards a couple of beds.

"Surrey," Sirius answered, handing over a handful of coins.

"That dog 'ouse broke?" Stan asked eyeing Kori suspiciously. The dog snarled indignantly and leapt up beside Jade on one of the beds.

"Yeah, don't worry about her. She won't even shed indoors," Jade said.

Sirius sank onto the bed opposite hers. "You'll probably want to hold on. This ride can get a tad bumpy." The words were hardly out of his mouth when the bus crashed forward and jerked down a side street.

"No kiddin'," Jade said as her bed slid back a foot.

~*~

That afternoon, Jade, Sirius and Kori slumped off the bus, slightly green, outside a respectable little square, two-story home in Little Whinging. The Knight Bus disappeared promptly.

"Welcome to the Auror HQ," Sirius smiled at the look of astonishment on Jade's face.

"This is the Auror Headquarters?"

"Well, temporarily. Our old place burned down. Really inconvenient, you know."

They headed up the walk towards the front door. An elderly woman straightened up from weeding the flower bed and waved. "Hello, Sirius. And you must be our newest volunteer. Good of you to come. We can always use extra help. Are you a Ministry witch?"

"No, I'm with the US FBI, actually."

Arabella stared blankly and then said, "That's nice, dear. There's cold milk in the frig and fresh chocolate chip cookies on the counter." Then she spotted Kori and frowned. "Oh, but dear, you can't take the dog in."

"But she's very well behaved--"

"I don't doubt it, but my babies would not appreciate it. Sorry, but the dog must stay outside." Then she bent back over the flower bed. End of discussion.

"Kori, why don't you stand guard out here, ok?" Jade patted her pet's head while the dog, definitely pouting, sulked down the walk to the short gate.

Jade and Sirius let themselves in the door. Dozens of cats of every color rubbed against their legs, making the act of walking difficult.

"Her babies," Sirius winked.

They headed towards a cozy kitchen flooded with the afternoon light. It reminded here of her grandmother's house, right down to the doilies on the back of the sofa. He grabbed a handful of cookies cooling on the table and a jug of milk from the frig, pouring two glasses full.

"This is hardly what I expected of Aurors," she chuckled.

"We've been camping out here at Arabella's for a couple of weeks now."

"Arabella's an Auror?"

"Yep. She practically raised every Newbie. That's why we all nicknamed her Grandma Figg. She's a real softy, until you piss her off," he grinned, shoving a whole cookie in his mouth.

"But where is everyone else?"

"You'll never see all of us together at once. At the meeting tonight, you'll meet most of us--"

"But no body else is even here except us and Arabella--"

"Actually, this place is a little deceiving. When she knew we would be using her house, she... remodeled. Besides the parts of the house you can see from the street, there are a half a dozen floors or so added on."

"Where?" Jade asked skeptically.

"Below. This place goes really deep. But even so, they're aren't too many Aurors here yet. Maybe a couple dozen, give or take, downstairs. The diehards. There are probably some catching up on sleep upstairs too, after working the graveyard shift. More will come over from London when the Ministry closes in a little bit; the part-timers. Several are out still, guarding known DE haunts. And the rest are teachers at Hogwarts."

An odd clunking drew their attention towards the kitchen door. A grizzled old man, leaning heavily on a staff, limped into the sunny room.

"Mad-Eye, I'd like you to meet Jade Walker. Jade, this is--"

"Alastor!" She smiled and gave the old Auror a big embrace. "I was hoping I might run into you."

"Walker, get off of me! Leave an ancient friend his dignity," he growled (Moody's laugh).

Jade squeezed him tighter before stepping away, and grinning, "So have you lost any more body parts? At the rate you're going there won't be much left of you."

Sirius glanced from one of them to the other, utterly bewildered.

"So how's the FBI been? Keeping you busy? Remember, constant--"

"Vigilance!" Jade finished for him, mockingly. "I thought you retired. What, did playing golf and wearing Hawaiian shirts 24-7 not agree with you?"

"Nah, too boring. Has your father retired yet, eh?"

"Nope, you're both curmudgeons," she laughed, then seeing Sirius's confused face, she explained, "My father and Al here were partners once upon a time. Even when my dad moved to the US, Mad-Eye would visit."

"So Walker, who are you hunting now?"

"Sullivan."

Moody's crazy eye fixed upon her, and growing uncomfortable, Jade stared out the window, swallowed and asked, "Have you heard any news of him?"

"Whose idea was it for you to go after Sullivan, yours or Orion's?" Moody growled.

"What difference does it make?" Jade glared at him before moving to leave the kitchen.

Moody held out his arm to block her and, changing the subject, he said, "We've been questioning Mildred Waterford all day. Fudge dropped by just before you two arrived to pick her up. She was too distraught to tell us much."

"I never did figure out why Voldie didn't nab Fudge but went after his daughter instead," Jade muttered almost to herself, sinking back into her chair.

"She had no idea why the DEs attacked?" Sirius asked Moody. The old man shook his head, but didn't take his eyes off Jade.

Just then, the front door opened and several Aurors scrambled in over the cats. Jade was vaguely reminded of a high school age baseball team invading and raiding the kitchen, joking loudly and squeezing around the small room. A few of the wizards perched on the counters, pulling out snacks from the cupboards and tossing them around to each other.

"Hey, Sirius, who's this?"

"Eh, a Newbie!"

"Fresh meat!" They laughed.

Sirius spoke above the din, grinning broadly. "Everyone, this is Jade Walker. Jade, these are the Ministry Part-timers."

Everyone waved and shouted out some sort of a greeting. A young redheaded guy with a ponytail and earring winked at her. She returned a grin -- 'Hey, he was hot,' she thought.

A short, bubbly wizard gave a small bow and shook her hand. "Dedalus Diggle," he introduced himself, "Nice of you to volunteer for our cause. Where are you from, my dear?"

"I'm an FBI agent from the US."

His smile became fixed with uncertainty. "Um, charming. An American, then."

All the Aurors shared his blank stare. Jade gave a mental sigh, 'The next time someone appears clueless of the FBI, I'm crafting a story that I'm an escaped carnie from Timbuktu with a toenail fetish, so don't mess with me!!!'.

"Oh yeah, Sirius, we questioned those DEs we caught last night in the park," the redheaded young wizard said excitedly.

Jade rolled her eyes as she drank her milk. They caught, indeed! She began to lose interest in the young punk immediately, the arrogant egotist!

"And you can't believe all the riddled info they said. Even under Veritaserum, they spoke in riddles. Hey, Lupin, show him the notes," the redhead exclaimed, motioning towards another Auror leaning against the doorframe next to Moody. Jade couldn't imagine anyone looking more stressed out. He looked ready to keel over; she immediately felt the urge to hand him Tylenol PM and send him to bed. Lupin held a bottle of beer, gazing out the window thoughtfully. When he was addressed, he calmly pulled out a small notepad and tossed it onto the table in front of Sirius.

"Thanks, Moony."

"Don't mention it."

Jade smiled at the familiar behavior between the two Aurors. They were as comfortable with each other as if they were brothers. Then she recalled the newspaper story from eons ago, showing Black, Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew-- old school friends.

The Aurors, having chowed down, began to move out of the kitchen, most heading down the basement.

Moody growled as the room cleared, "Lupin, why don't you let Walker help you with that riddle. She's got a knack for it."

Jade began to shake her head at Moody as he left. "He's lying; don't listen to him--"

"I could use a fresh look at it, actually, if you wouldn't mind," Lupin said pleasantly, sitting down next to her.

Sirius pushed the notepad back across to Lupin and Jade, sighed, "I give up, Moony. Riddles are not my strong suit," and moved to go get more cookies.

Jade read over it, but wasn't focusing. She asked, "Even with the Truth Potion, the Death Eaters would only say this much? Are you sure the serum was right?"

"Oh, definitely. We have a very...capable potion's master," Lupin said.

"It's the only thing he is capable of," Sirius snarled into his cookie.

Jade mused, "Then they must not have been told everything about their mission. Voldemort didn't explain why they had to attack Mildred, all they knew was this riddle."

"I'm not surprised he doesn't trust them, to be honest. Would you trust a DE?" Sirius said, through a mouthful.

"This must be pretty important if Voldie wasn't taking any chances," Jade said thoughtfully.

Lupin began to point out lines he had already figured out. "I think it starts out saying: The Legend of the Four, something something."

"Wow, good progress, Remus," Sirius said drily. "Well, while you two plug away at it, I'm going down stairs. Maybe Arthur needs some help that doesn't require--"

"A brain?" Jade asked innocently.

"Patience?" Lupin seconded.

"Skill?"

"Determination?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Try Boredom." And he swept down the stairs.

Jade and Lupin sniggered. They read and reread the message, spitting out possible translations or meanings, dismissing one after the other. Lupin had run his fingers through his hair so many times that it now stood on end and Jade had her jaw propped on her hands, staring in a trance at the pad of paper.

Sighing, she glanced out the window and realized it was dusk. She grabbed a dish off the floor that had old cat food in it. Jade added a handful of cookies, a few slices of bologna and some cold ravioli from the frig, filled a second bowl with water, and carried them outside for Kori's dinner. The puppy glanced curiously at the rather bizarre supper, sighed exasperatedly at Jade, and dug in.

The agent heard a thunderous bang and looked up. The Knight Bus had arrived for a second time, now dropping off several witches and wizards. The Hogwarts teachers, apparently, Jade thought.

The first wizard off the bus strode forward and, as the doorway's pale light flitted onto the man's face, she made out his long black hair, hook nose and permanent scowl. "Man, he looks like my chemistry Prof at Georgetown," she thought with a shudder.

Snape, eyeing the dog savagely, pointed his wand at Kori and seemed about to fire a hex when Jade stepped in front of the dog and glared at the approaching wizard.

He lowered his wand and snarled, "Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing, y'know."

Snape's eyes narrowed viciously.

Jade said, "I'm here with Sirius; I'm new."

If she assumed that that would appease him, she was much mistaken. He glared more violently at her and at the Newfoundland at her feet. Jade, gathering the wizard thought her pet was Sirius, quickly said, "This is my puppy, Kori. Sirius is downstairs."

With much glaring, the wizard swept passed her through the door. Jade flew him the bird behind his back.

A line of teachers streamed passed her through the door. Kori, having finished her odd dinner, jogged down the walk, greeting each teacher with a curious sniff. Satisfied that they were all trustworthy, the dog continued down the line to where a teenage boy and girl were the last to debark the bus, joined by a tall, thin wizard.

The boy saw the dog bounding towards them. "Snuffles?" He asked. Kori cocked her head to one side, then shook her head no.

"Smart dog," Cho commented at Harry's side.

Kori jogged alongside them as they approached the house. Jade had scooped up the dog's dishes when she saw the last three coming up.

"Skylar?!" Harry asked, shocked.

"Oh, hello again, Harry. But uh...it's Jade now; Skylar never really existed," she smiled amicably. Cho and Harry shared a confused glance.

Dumbledore stepped forward, extending his hand, "Ah, you're the volunteer Sirius brought along, I gather."

"Yeah, my name's Jade Walker. I'm with the US FBI. And it's a great honor to meet you, sir." She grinned at the famous wizard, as she shook his hand.

"FBI? Like the X-files?" Harry asked her. "And Skylar was what? An alias?"

Jade smiled crookedly, "You know, you're only the second wizard I've met who's actually heard of the FBI. I'm impressed, kid."

"I grew up in a muggle home. My cousin loved the X-files, though he usually had to sleep with the lights on afterwards," Harry smiled. "So are there--"

"X-files?" Jade finished for him. He nodded. But the only answer she would give was a mischievous grin and a wink.

"Walker? Are you Orion Walker's daughter?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Then we should feel honored having you join our ranks. Your father was a very strong Auror."

"Thank you, sir."

~*~

Jade sunk back into the kitchen chair next to Lupin. "So, have you figured it out yet?"

"Yeah, right."

"Let's see. So far we think it says something along the lines of ...hmmm."

"Yeah, 'hmmm' is right. We think it says: The Legend of the Four's Gifts--"

"And powerful Stones--"

"Of the Airs--"

"Airs?" Jade muttered. "What the heck?"

"And when joined, Airs and Stones united--"

"Will dispose of the Shadows," Jade finished with a shrug. "Well, that makes a helluva lotta sense."

Lupin's head slumped onto the table.

Sirius bounded up the basement stairs and grinned at them. "Ah, Moony, you're working those brain cells so hard. You need a sugar fix." He scooped up a stack of cookies and placed them beside Lupin's hand. Then Sirius took the entire bowl of cookies, grinned at Jade as she shook her head in disbelief and plopped onto the counter.

No sooner had he shoveled in his umpteenth cookie, when the hook-nosed wizard burst through the kitchen door. He immediately glared at Sirius, but he looked none too kindly at Jade or Lupin either.

"Snape, you know, Muggle doctors have perfected their science of plastic and cosmetic surgery. What do you say, snip off that honker a tad?" Sirius taunted.

"Do you know what they do to dogs in China, Sirius? How would you like to be Mr. Wang's Friday night moo goo guy pan? Yum!" Snape snarled in return.

'No love's lost between those two,' Jade thought.

Lupin lifted his head and gazed wearily at both of them. Trying to be the mediator, he asked Snape, "Can I find something for you, Severus? Figg baked cookies if you need a snack."

Sirius wrapped his arms protectively across the bowl of cookies and eyed Lupin as if was a traitor.

"No thank you, Lupin. I would be mad to accept help from a rabid mutt or a werewolf," Snape growled, drew out his wand, pointed it at the pantry and snapped, "Accio sodium chloride." The pantry doors burst open and a small canister flew into Snape's outstretched hand.

Jade couldn't help laughing. "Oh, of all the dumbest things I've heard!"

The three men turned to face her. Snape sneered, "What, didn't you know Lupin is a werewolf? Yes, you've been sitting here with a raging, sick monster."

Lupin glared at Snape but didn't deny it. Sirius had leapt off the counter and was, from the look on his face, about to rip Snape's jugular out.

Jade, however, burst into snorts of laughter. "You are one amusing guy, Snape. Ooo, Lupin's a slobbering, crazed killer; I'm trembling." She wiped the tears from her eyes. Then growing calm, she patted Snape's shoulder sweetly. "But dear, don't you worry. I always keep silver bullets in my gun on the likely chance of meeting a werewolf. You just never know in this crazy world!"

Snape, shrugging off her sarcastic hand, swept back down the stairs. She shouted after him, "And it's salt, ok, you pretentious, pompous ass!" Then she mocked in a snobby Brit voice, "Oh, please pass the sodium chloride!"

She calmed down as he passed out of sight. "I hope I don't have to work with him or I'm walking out right now."

Lupin and Sirius exchanged a glance at each other.

"What? Did I over do it?" Jade asked innocently. She chewed a cookie thoughtfully as she read the riddle again. Then, she asked, without lifting her eyes from the paper, "Remus, would you mind fixing my arm? Sirius was a dork and refused to."

Lupin glanced at her arm and nodded, "How did you break it?"

"Yeah, I'd like to hear for real this time," Sirius said with a grin.

"Oh 'for real' huh? Well, I fell off a roof when eavesdropping on some DEs."

"Naturally. So silly of me to ask," Lupin said, dead pan. He drew out his wand and muttered a few words. Then he calmly put the wand away.

Jade, skeptical, eased the bandage off the soft cast. Cautiously, she tested her range of motion and realized her bones were fine again.

"Not bad. Thanks."

~*~

The clock over the stove chimed 8:30. Both Sirius and Lupin stood up abruptly. "C'mon, meeting, downstairs." Sirius gestured to Jade who joined up with him.

Every witch and wizard in the house streamed downstairs, heading for the meeting. The stairwell soon was a traffic jam as the hundreds of wizards joined at each floor, all inching down to the lowest level where the meeting was to be held.

Finally, five flights later, Jade emerged into what looked similar to the inside of a bunker. It was a huge room, completely lined in concrete, with harsh artificial lights. On one wall was a giant map of England and Scotland loaded with color coded pins, titled "DE Whereabouts."

"This is some remodeling," Jade said.

The room was full of folding chairs like at a PTA meeting and Jade plopped down into one between Lupin and Sirius. She had a good view of the makeshift stage where Dumbledore sat with Arabella Figg and Alastor Moody. Harry Potter and the Asian teenager were off to one side of the stage.

When everyone was seated, Arabella began to speak. "Before we get started, I'd like to reiterate that my home can't stay the Auror Headquarters much longer. We need to find a new place and soon. My babies are stressed out of their minds and I miss my privacy. Thank you."

She then sat back down and Dumbledore began to address them. Jade was thankful he barreled right in without calling roll. "There are many important matters to be discussed tonight, so please have patience. The Death Eaters were busy last night. In Hyde Park, Mildred Waterford, the Minister's daughter was attacked by several Death Eaters and her husband was killed. If it wasn't for the heroic efforts of a few of our Aurors--"

A deafening explosion of applause followed and Dumbledore calmly waited until the din died down again. "Yes, well done, indeed. In Romania last night, Cho Chang, an intern at the Dragon Reservation, was also attacked by Death Eaters and it's a blessing she was able to escape."

A smattering of polite clapping rippled around the room.

"And just today, Harry Potter was a witness when Professor Trelawney made a prediction--"

"Oh, please Dumbledore--"

"Be serious--"

"Why don't we read fortune cookies for info instead--"

"We all know Trelawney's a fraud--"

When Dumbledore had silenced the grumbling Aurors, he continued, "She has made real predictions before and I believe this one should be taken seriously. Harry," he beckoned the boy forward, "will tell you her words."

Jade felt sorry for the boy; he didn't seem at all comfortable addressing the large crowd. He spoke nervously, but everyone hung onto his words. When he finished, he edged back over to his seat. The Aurors instantly broke into a heated discussion which filled the vast room.

"The remaining Heirs," Jade mumbled to herself. And suddenly, she understood. "Airs! Lupin, Heirs, not Airs!!" She said excitedly turning in her seat to face him.

"What?" Sirius asked, bewildered.

"Heirs with an 'H'. Not A-I-R," Jade hurriedly clarified.

"But that doesn't explain the Stones," Lupin said.

Jade groaned. "You had to burst my bubble, didn't you?"

Sirius looked at them. "You don't mean gem stones, do you?"

"What?" Lupin and Jade asked at once.

"Each Heir, y'know of the Houses, has a gem stone in the House's color. Harry, Gryffindor's Heir has a ruby pendant, supposedly to protect him from danger," Sirius explained.

"And to 'dispose of the shadows' then," Lupin said.

Jade looked up at the stage. Apparently, Dumbledore had given up trying to corral the boisterous Aurors and was calmly waiting for them to quiet down. Unfortunately, it seemed to be growing louder, as the many voices echoed off the concrete walls.

She wanted to talk to Harry. She waved energetically and finally he spotted her. She motioned him over and with a confused look, he slipped off the side of the stage and, dodging Aurors, made his way over to them.

"Harry, do you know that girl, um, Cho...Cho Chang?" Jade asked, pointing towards the Asian teenager.

Harry smiled crookedly. "Sort of, I guess. She was a year older than myself at school."

"Do you know, by any chance, if she also is an Heir?" Jade asked, barely containing her excitement.

"Yeah, of Ravenclaw--"

"So she has a Stone?" Lupin asked, catching on.

"A sapphire."

"Thanks, Harry." Jade grinned. The boy, not understanding their conversation, returned to his seat.

"What do you think the chances Mildred Waterford is Hufflepuff's Heir?" Lupin asked Jade.

And then she remembered something from that morning. "Of course! The topaz! Remember, Sirius, the DEs in your apartment said the Aurors stopped them getting the Topaz last night. They were talking about the Hufflepuff's Heir. And it wasn't Fudge they wanted, but his daughter, because...because, I'll bet you Hufflepuff's line is through Mildred's mother's side and not her dad's."

The two men nodded, thinking through all the details.

"Harry's guarded at Hogwarts, otherwise they probably would have attacked him, too," Lupin reasoned.

"So the remaining Heirs are the only ones capable of getting rid of Voldemort. He doesn't want to take that chance, so he sent his goons to get rid of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw," Jade said.

"If you believe the Legend," Lupin added. "They've been known to fail in the past."

"Voldemort must be feeling pretty worried now, when the DEs failed both times yesterday," Sirius sniggered.

"Don't we need to tell Dumbledore?" Jade asked.

Lupin nodded and stood up. Politely, he tried to raise his voice over the commotion. "Excuse me, Dumbledore--"

Jade rolled her eyes, stood up beside him and shouted, "Voldemort's trying to take out the Heirs."

That grabbed everyone's attention, she noted (half pleased with herself and half sheepishly). Sirius chuckled as he patted her shoulder sarcastically, "Good job, Jade. Way to wake 'em up."

Dumbledore returned to the center of the stage and looked out at them. "Explain."

"Well, sir, form the information we have from the Death Eaters captured attacking Mrs. Waterford..." Lupin described the riddle and what they had decided it meant. Jade and Sirius interjected occasionally if Lupin forgot anything.

"And just because we got the better of the DEs this time, don't expect Voldie to give up on the Heirs. If he thinks they'll be his undoing, then he's going to attack again, and probably harder," Jade finished.

"Then we can't sit around waiting for him," one witch shouted out.

"But what do you expect us to do, huh? We are doing everything within our power already!" An exasperated wizard yelled back.

"I propose we move the Auror HQ to Hogwarts. There's plenty of room for everyone and Arabella can have her home back to normal. We can guard Cho and Mildred, Harry's already a student there, and for we, teachers, it would be very convenient," a stern, commanding witch suggested.

Many voices supported the proposal.

Jade couldn't believe what she was hearing. Without pausing to think, she stood up and cried, "Are you all nuts?!"

Again, everyone turned and stared at her, but this time she didn't have Sirius's or Remus's support.

"Excuse me?" the stern witch exclaimed indignantly.

"Why would you want to draw even more attention to Hogwarts?" Jade shouted hysterically. "The DEs have already shown that they're not afraid of attacking Aurors; hell, they blew up your first headquarters, or need I remind you?"

The witch huffed, "Hogwarts is far more protected than Diagon Alley. And with the additional help of the Aurors, the school could never--"

"Fall? It's just a school and you're overestimating its strength. It's not a fortress and Voldemort, if he wanted to attack, won't be shied away by your presence." Jade swallowed, trying to control herself. "And do you think we'll always be so fortunate to overhear DEs planning their attacks in alleys? I seriously doubt it--"

"Alley?" Lupin and Dumbledore both asked at the same time, catching on to what she was talking about.

"Yeah, I overheard Malfoy and Pettigrew plotting in an alley, that's how I warned you guys--"

"You're the informer?" Lupin asked.

Moody chuckled, "Oh, I should have seen that one coming."

Jade made one last plea, "Look, learn from past mistakes and whatever you do, don't jeopardize the school." And with that, she turned and strode upstairs.

~*~

"That witch is a lunatic!" McGonagall huffed, red-faced from the argument.

Sirius wondered if Minerva would bite his head off if he corrected her: gifted muggle; not a witch.

Moody barked out at the Aurors, "Walker shouldn't be ignored, especially about Hogwarts," he sighed. "Do any of you remember Memorial Academy? It was a fine magical school like Hogwarts, same protection system and gifted professors. Death Eaters led by Montague Sullivan destroyed it on Halloween sixteen years ago." He glanced at Harry Potter meaningfully. "The Headmaster, most of the teachers and several students were killed. Walker's sister and mother were among them."

The Aurors were silent.

"Take that into consideration when you vote."

~*~

When the meeting ended, Sirius headed upstairs quickly. A clap of thunder shook the darkened house; it sounded like the skies were about to open up. He didn't see Jade anywhere in the kitchen or living room, but a spark at the window caught his attention. He stepped outside and saw Jade lying in the grass. Kori was spread across her lower legs and the dog cocked her ears when she saw him approach.

"You'll electrocute yourself if you're not careful," he said. She had one arm raised and was pointing at the thunderstorm brewing over head. A bolt of lightning zoomed at her command from one cloud to the next. She switched hands, and after concentrating a second, she sent a returning lightning bolt to the first cloud.

"I'll try not to, Sirius, just because you care," she chuckled. "Y'know, telekinesis with solid stuff's one thing, but you have no idea how long it took me to figure out how to control electrical impulses. I've been able to handle lightning only in the last year. I think it's the one thing I'm most proud of."

Sirius laid down next to her in the grass and watched her slice the sky with a few more lightning bolts.

"I guess we're going to Hogwarts, huh?" Jade asked quietly.

"It was a close vote, but yeah."

"You'll get to see Harry more often then."

"Moody told us about Memorial. So that's why you gave up magic."

"Did he tell you about my mother? She died trying to save my life. She's the biggest hero I can think of, and guess what? She was a muggle." Jade swallowed, and Sirius noticed her green eyes glistened. She refused to look at him, staring straight up to the night sky instead. "At the funeral, my dad and I saw it fitting to snap our wands and place them in the casket with her. That's why I'm a muggle." She stopped playing with the clouds and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm going to slaughter Sullivan if I ever find him."

Sirius glanced sideways at her and saw his own frustrations of hunting for Pettigrew mirrored on her face. She raised a hand towards the stormy canopy and sent one last bolt of lightning flashing. The answering clap of thunder was so loud that Kori whimpered and buried her shaggy head between Jade's shins.