In Search of: A Bracelet

Percy stood quickly and gave me an appraising look. He approached and held out his hand. "Harry Potter! Nice to see you again! How long has it been? Two years? Three?" he asked in a jovial manner.

Percy had changed a little since I last spoke to him. It seemed that he actually benefited from his association with Fudge. He learned to make himself more accessible to the average wizard on the street, and this ability allowed him to become one of the youngest Ministers of Magic. Once he finally achieved his main goal in life, he mellowed considerably. According to the Daily Prophet, Percy had married his girlfriend, Penelope, and they had a daughter that was about a year old. Everything was looking good, politically, for Minister Weasley.

"Hello, Percy. I don't think it's been that long. Three months ago we met up at your parents' house, remember? Though, I probably wouldn't have seen you for a little while longer if it hadn't been for tonight's...unpleasantness."

Percy nodded. "So you were at Fletcher's pawn shop this evening? Anything you can tell me?" He phrased it as a request, but it was really a "tell me what you know" demand.

"Well, as far as I can tell, Mundungus was attacked in his shop along with four customers. The customers were killed, and I think they were torturing Dung because he either refused to or couldn't tell them what they wanted. They must've been done with him and left him to die until I showed up. I summoned some emergency Medi-Wizards and we whisked him off to St. Mungo's. I was greeted there by a Kylie Thompson. She said she was an Auror..." I said, giving Percy a questioning look.

"Hmm...I'm not familiar with that name. We've been spending a lot of time rehiring the old Aurors that Stuart had sacked. That makes very little room left in the budget for new Aurors."

"The two wizards you sent to the shop..."

Percy chuckled. "One wants to be an Auror, the other is happy where he is. They were just Magical Law Enforcers that were on call tonight. They responded to complaints of loud noises, crashes, and bangs.

"Now, why were you at that shop today?"

A myriad of answers ran through my head ranging from the defensive to the sarcastic. I settled for telling Percy the truth. "I was working a case and I thought Dung could help me out with something."

A skeptical look appeared on Percy's face. "Mundungus Fletcher has never been an upstanding citizen. What makes you willing to rely on his information?"

I shrugged. "He's never steered me wrong. Before he told me the truth out of fear, now he does it because of the pay."

"Now, why did you go back to the shop?"

"I was hoping to learn who attacked Mundungus. Your sister-in-law developed a magical recorder and playback device and gave a few to me. I figured Mundungus always needs the extra theft protection."

"Indeed..." Percy answered dryly. "Do you have the recorder with you?"

I nodded, reached into my jacket and pulled out the cube. Each cube had a user specific code that would allow access to the playback data. I tapped the cube sides in the appropriate sequence and the cube unfolded into a little screen, about the size of a credit card. I pulled out my wand, tapped the screen, and said, "Engorgio!" The screen tripled in size so anything shown would be easy to spot.

Speaking to the screen clearly, I said, "Today, eight pm to nine pm, four times speed."

A scene faded into view on the screen. It showed a decent flow of people in and out of the store. One man approached the counter and pulled a bracelet from inside his robes. I continued to let the scene run, not wanting to tip off Percy to my interests. A few minutes later, an attractive young woman approached the counter and started to have a very animated conversation. In her brief talk with Mundungus, I saw her grab her wrist, indicating that she was interested in a watch...or a bracelet.

Percy watched all of this with some interest. He seemed to understand that any little thing could be the clue that would get the case moving, but his lack of knowledge of my case was hindering his ability to pick up on the same things that I saw.

Four minutes into the recording, a large hulking figure wandered in and began to browse through the store. Crabbe had just showed up, followed soon after by Flint. Flint approached the counter and blocked the recorder's view.

"Can the recorder pick up sound?" Percy asked.

I shook my head, "Hermione has been trying to combine a sound and sight recorder, but they've proven to be rather incompatible. Slow to normal speed."

A several minutes later, the picture came back suddenly as Flint dashed off. Four forms were seen hurrying towards the side exit. A few seconds later, I saw myself enter the shop carefully.

I let out a disgruntled sigh. "I don't think this is going to tell us anything. Mundungus might have shown off the recorder to a lot of people, so anyone could have known where it was."

Percy snorted loudly, "He probably tried to sell it to someone."

A wry grin spread across my face. "I wouldn't doubt it," I answered, "but Hermione has made them so that they only work for specific people. Leave it to Dung to try to sell something to someone that won't work."

Percy nodded and then gave me a stern look that reminded me of the time he was a prefect back at Hogwarts. "Now Harry, I know you aren't telling me everything, it's just the nature of your business, but I want you to reconsider that stance. It might help us find everyone involved."

"I don't think this had anything to do with what I was working on tonight. But there were at least four people in that shop when I went back later, I'm very sure of that."

"Five, counting you," Percy held up a hand, forestalling my retort. "Harry, I believe what you're saying. Crabbe and Flint are not exactly upstanding citizens, I just hope you didn't do anything too...damaging to them tonight."

A savage grin split my face (boy, I was smiley that night...). "Well, let's just say that I taught two Muggle-hating, card-carrying purebloods a quick lesson in Muggle Studies."

Percy sighed. "Did you shoot somebody again? Honestly, there should be a law about those Muggle thingies."

I laughed loudly at Percy's word choice. "'Thingies'? Perce, you earned 12 O.W.L.s, obtained the highest level of N.E.W.T.s possible, and the best word you can come up with is 'thingie?' We need to update your vocabulary."

Percy grinned. See, I told he was lightening up in his old age. I gathered up the cube and stood to leave. Percy stopped me by putting his hand on my shoulder. "I want you to keep me informed on your case. All of this might be connected."

"Right...well, I'll see you later Perce."

"Sooner than you might think," Percy answered with a wink.

I stopped and grimaced. "Your mum invited us to dinner again?"

"Partly...I think Fred and George are responsible for organizing this latest 'get together.' I think one or maybe both of them have some news. Worried about seeing all the Weasleys again, are you?"

I shook my head and grinned. Originally, a gathering of the Weasley family was simply a collection of nine people. But when they sort of adopted me when I was twelve, their little group expanded...and it hasn't stopped. It's good that Fred and George have had so much success with their joke shop, because a full family meeting brings in a lot of people.

"Well, if I was invited, I will definitely hear about it when I get home.' I glanced at my watch and swore loudly. "I have a bad feeling that I'll be hearing about a lot tonight. I really have to leave, Perce. We'll talk more, later."

I stood, gave my wand a little wave in the air, and appeared in front of my flat. It was nothing special, but it was home. Like all homes, it had its little problems...the front door, for instance.

"Ooo!!! Master is home late! The mistress will be so pleased! It's been so long since Marille has had its hinges shaken. Marille does so enjoy that. Do you want to know what she said at nine o'clock? I think it bordered on physical violence tow-"

"Shut up and let me in, you stupid door." I growled at it. I swear, one of these days I'm going to get a wood chipper and feed this door to it. The door was loyal and protective...just a little insane and that was very frustrating.

"Master, have you ever thought of changing the password? Marille doesn't enjoy being told to shut up four or five times a day. Hurts Marille's feelings, it does," The door protested in a pouty voice. Hmph, doors have feelings, too?

"Okay..." I pulled out my wand, tapped the door three times, and said, "The new password is 'If you don't let me in right now, I'm going to feed you to ravenous termites.' Better?"

"Oh yes, master, loads better. Marille prefers threats of physical violence to being told to shut up."

The door sounded so earnest about the new password that I wasn't sure if it was being sarcastic. I'm only glad that my fiancée has her own password. I don't think she hates that idiot door anywhere near as much as I do.

"Babe? You still up?" I called out. I walked into the living room and spotted a head of shimmering black hair over the back of an arm chair. Well, judging by the fact that she hadn't moved when I called out, she was probably asleep.

Cho always fell asleep before I did. It was the nature of her job. Running a wizarding day care was...tiring. Kids from magical families hve all of the typical energy of two to ten year olds, but when they also have uncontrolled magical outbursts...that makes the job even more exhausting.

I lifted Cho up and took her back into the bedroom. After laying her on the bed, I removed my jacket and shoes and laid down next to her.

I bet you want to know what happened next. Well, I could tell you to mind your own business you nosy bastards, but I'll save that for when something good happens. I just closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

My next conscious feeling was a thump on my stomach and someone pinching my nose shut. I opened my eyes to a broad grin and a beautiful face.

"Wake up, sleepy head! Your lovely breakfast is going ice cold!"

I groaned, stood up suddenly, and slung Cho over my shoulder. She gave a loud shriek, accompanied by peals of laughter and loud protests. I followed the smell of foods and coffee into the kitchen. I definitely needed one of these two before I got back to work.

As soon as we entered the living room, I put Cho down in the arm chair and moved off to get some coffee. Cho bounded to her feet and scurried past me to get to the coffee pot first. She poured two cups and handed one to me.

"You're an angel, babe, but I could have done that on my own,' I told her.

She gave me a mock frown that was a half-step above a pout. "Yes, well I felt like doing it. Besides, when are you going to get off this ground up burned bean juice? There are some very nice breakfast teas out there for general consumption."

I shook my head and took a sip. "As I recall, you were the one who got me started on this 'burned bean juice,' but I'll consider it. Where do you get all that energy?" I gave her my own mock serious look. "You haven't been eating children again, have you? Their parents really dislike that sort of thing."

Cho stuck her tongue out at me. It's amazing how being around kids seems to have affected her maturity. She bounced on her toes and watched me drink my coffee. She got impatient and dragged me to the dining table and forced me to sit down. She turned back to the stove, grabbed a plate and started piling food onto it.

As soon as she handed me the plate, I started to eat with almost unseemly haste. It had been almost twenty hours since I last had time for food. Kippers, porridge, and toast were cleaned from my plate before Cho could even sit down with her plate of food.

"Harry, you really should try to eat during the day."

"I know... I just had a lot to do yesterday."

"Oh? Tracking down more cheating husbands, are you? You shouldn't let those kinds of cases use up your time. Those jobs just are not worth it."

"Normally, I would agree with you, but this job started off strange and is just not getting any better." I then proceeded to tell Cho everything that occurred yesterday. She sat quietly with an interested look on her face.

When I finished, she immediately began asking questions. That's one of the reasons why I like to bring her into these cases. She's got brains to go along with her looks.

"Do you think Warbeck's bracelet and the attack on Fletcher are related?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. It could be a bad coincidence, but I'll know more when I find Warbeck's manager and when Dung is healthy enough to talk."

Cho stood and pulled me to my feet. "Well, you're going to have to get cleaned up. Molly sent us an owl yesterday, and she invited us to a family gathering for this afternoon."

I grumbled a little, but Percy had warned me the might happen. That's what you get when you're considered part of such a large family. Molly wants to make sure that her family remains close. Considering what happened twelve years ago with Percy, this borders on a mania for her.

I stepped into the shower to wash off the grime from yesterday. Yes, I went to sleep in the clothes I had worn the day before. Deal with it.

After I got out of the shower, I threw on a clean set of undergarments and a green robe. This last addition was more of a concession for Molly. When I was younger, she almost always sent me a green sweater or purchased green dress robes for me.

As I walked out of the bathroom, Cho walked past me in a towel...and not much else. I immediately wrapped her in a hug and lifted her off the ground.

She laughed and ran her hands through my hair. "Easy, tiger," she said, giving me a kiss on my scar. "We have to be at Arthur and Molly's in twenty minutes. There isn't enough time to get cleaned up again," she added slyly.

I put her down, gave her a kiss, and headed off to read the Daily Prophet. The front page story was a mixture of praise and derision for the newest laws in development by the Ministry and the International Confederation. I think Percy stopped looking at the front page, because he was usually the first to hear about important governmental stuff like this.

There was a story on the attack of Mundungus on the fourth page, but no mention of his shop or the other unfortunate people that were present. My name didn't appear either, so someone at the Prophet had a "source" at St. Mungo's.

Cho came out in a set of navy blue robes that looked as if someone had been throwing paint at her. I reminded myself that someone probably was throwing paint at her at some point in her time on the job.

"Why the work robes? We're going to a family gathering, not a nursery."

Her eyes crinkled in amusement at my naivety. "I think you can do the math. Bill has three kids; Charlie, Fred, and George each have two; and Ron and Percy each have one. There will be eleven kids there, and the oldest one is ten. I know what I'm getting into, Mr. Detective. Do you?"

"Lots of Quidditch, hopefully," I answered.

"Excellent deduction. Let's go," she said with a wry grin. She pulled out her wand and Disapparated with a light pop. I followed suit and appeared next to her at the edge of the driveway that leads to the Burrow.

The sight that greeted us was becoming more typical at these gathering. Now that most of the Weasleys had children of their own, they could no longer Apparate all the time, much to Fred and George's chagrin. Plus, Molly has asked that they not all Floo to the Burrow, so they end up swapping who has to drive and who gets to use Floo powder. This time Fred, George and Percy had to drive. So as we moved up the walk, we saw one Ministry car with the driver reading the Quibbler (upside-down, I might add), and two big black German-looking luxury cars with two children's car seats in the back of each of them. Business was very good for the twins, apparently.

Some families are blessed with children; the Weasleys are almost cursed with them. I've made calculations that I shared with Hermione and noted that in about ten years, one out of every five people would be related to the Weasleys. It's also one reason why I am in no hurry to start a family. I've already got eleven nieces and nephews, so I am not missing out on the raising of children and I would rather like to delay the inevitable.

The front lawn of the Burrow looked considerably cleaner now that only Molly and Arthur lived there, but plenty of chickens roamed the lawns, and I could still see some garden gnomes dashing from hole to hole. Some things never change.

I looked to Cho, who gave me a nudge towards the door. I took a deep breath and knocked. From the other side of the door, we could hear footsteps and the sound of a lock being opened. The door swung open and there stood Fred (or was it George?) with a little girl hanging in his back and a little boy wrapped around his left leg.

"Harry! Mum said she invited you," he dropped his voice a little. "Did you bring that little Ravenclaw ta-, hey, there you are!"

"I hope you weren't going to say anything that might get your wife mad at you," Cho answered with a grin.

"Well, don't just stand there, come on inside. The kids are all here." Fred (or George?) said.

The little girl on his back suddenly piped up, "I'm gonna tell Mummy what you just said!"

"So, George-" I began, but George cut me off.

"Finally figured out which one I was, huh?"

"Well, that whole 'identical down to the last freckle' thing makes it hard to tell you two apart. Anyway, how's business?"

"Doing quite well, though Fred is interested into branching out into more serious things," George said skeptically.

"Are Ron and Hermione here? I have something I need to discuss with them."

"Oh, Sam Spade on the case, eh? In trouble with the Ministry again, are you? I thought Percy looked a bit like someone had stuffed a metal rod up his arse."

There were three loud gasps. Cho had her hand over her eyes and was shaking her head. The two kids clinging to George let go, scrambled to their feet and dashed out the back with the little girl yelling, "I'm telling Mummy what you just said!"

The third gasp had come from the kitchen. This became apparent when a red and gray haired woman stormed out and began yelling at George.

"HOW DARE YOU USE THAT LANGUAGE IN FRONT OF CHILDREN?" Honestly, you'd think you'd never learned proper manners." She took a deep breath to keep going, but at that instance George dashed out of the house, following the two children.

The sound of stifled laughter escaped from Cho. I felt like laughing, myself and I almost burst from trying to keep a straight face. When I finally spoke to Molly, I couldn't keep the mirth out of my voice.

"Everything alright, Molly?" I asked, failing to stifle a chuckle.

Molly heaved a deep sigh. "You would think that running a business and becoming parents would have made them more responsible, but they still act like they're fifteen."

"It's better than when they acted like they were ten," Cho answered, unable to keep quiet anymore.

Molly nodded and turned to go back into the kitchen. She then pulled a double take and looked back. "Harry! Goodness, I was so distracted by George. It's so nice to see you again, and you too, Cho. Everyone is gathered by the orchard, so why not go and say hello to everybody.

Cho and I heeded Molly's suggestion and headed out to the orchard to meet the rest of the Weasley clan. As we walked, Cho giggled and turned to look at me.

"Did it seem that Molly was just trying to get us out of the house?"

"Not really...though I suppose it's possible. A lot of things women do still seem rather daft to me."

As we approached the orchard, we saw the feast that the Weasleys had laid out. It looked like a Ministry sponsored picnic (I've seen a few, trust me), only with more fun, a lot more red hair, and a whole lot more alcohol. My eyes strayed to a table that was covered with bottles of all sorts. Some were the standard wizard fair of Ogden Firewhiskey, but there was also the odd bottle of Bushmills and Chivas Regal populating the bunch.

We were about ten meters away from the gathering when a woman who could have been Cho's polar opposite glanced over her shoulder and spotted us. Fleur strode out to meet us, pulled me into a hug, and kissed me on both cheeks, causing me to turn bright red. She still had the ability to make me flustered.

"Molly said you were coming, but she did not say when," Fleur said. It was obvious that Bill's "private English lessons" had paid off...in more ways than one...at least three others, not counting her lack of an accent.

"How is everyone?" I asked, wishing that I hadn't blushed so deeply.

"Comme ci, Comme ça. Little Alexis has been sick off and on for the last two months and Bill and Christopher have started to learn to play Quidditch, so they are always getting hurt."