Harry had reached for the envelope automatically, but old reflexes triggered. He jerked his hand away.

  There was a long, long silence. (Well, maybe not THAT long, but, Ye Gods, it didn't feel short). Ron and 'George' just looked at him. Harry felt his face getting redder by the moment.

  Ron finally bowed his head slightly, pinching the bridge of his nose. 'George's' attempt at the Weasley Grin was the best to date.

  Ron didn't even look up as he spoke. "By the Trickster's Unwashed, Poison-Spattered Loincloth, Harry. You have to get over this." He finally looked up and met Harry's shifty gaze. "You know what I think? I think you and Ginny and James have been feeding each other's bad habits for so long that you don't even know how to act around each other, any more."

  'George' shook his head, (Harry was never going to get used to that). "And, Harry? I am thinkink that the problem iss becomink more you and Ginny. The boy I met yesterday vas so happy to see his father. I could tell."

  Ron nodded in agreement. "James has had two of the best weeks of his life to adjust his attitude, and I think he really likes who he's becoming. You and Ginny though, you've had two of the hardest weeks of your lives. Between the two of you, I doubt you could claim a hundred hours of sleep over that amount of time."

  "I had a nice rest at Spider Glen," Harry countered weakly.

  "Unconsciousness does not count!" Ron said severely, and 'George' shook his head in agreement. (There he went again).

  Harry sheepishly took the envelope, partially to steer the subject away from the amount of sleep he had or had not gotten.

  "I watched him put it in the envelope myself." Ron tried to be reassuring. "If he slipped something past me, I'll put him to work at the joke shop."

  "I hope you didn't tell him that," Harry muttered. The envelope wasn't sealed. He pulled the sheet of paper out, noticing that it had been folded slightly crooked. That made Harry smile. He had the same problem, and had long since given up trying.

  Hey, Dad,

  It was great to see you yesterday. I'm sorry we didn't get to hang out more, but that wsan't my fault. You spring Viktor on a guy, and it kinda pushes everything else outa out of his head.

  I did have something I wanted to talk to you about. I have a problem. No, I mean, you have a problem. Okay, maybe both of us have a problem.

  Me and Anty Em Auntie Em and I were talking about something I noticed, and she said I should let you know about something I noticed.

  If you are wondering about all this crossing out, its cause it's because Irie is right over my shoulder and making me change stuff if when I get it wrong.

  Anyway, there's this weird guy. I just told Irie I'm not changing that because he was a weird guy. Anyway, there ain't nothing wrong with being weird anyway. It bugs me wherre where he was being weird. First time I seen saw him was at a Muggle Museum about Witccraft Witchcraft which was a right laugh because they don't know nothing anything about real magick. This guy dropped a crystall crystal ball and it made a racket and when I looked that way he was looking away like he had just been looking at me. He was dressed funny, but not Muggle funny. It was like Granda Weasley funny, when he thinks he's dressed like a Muggle but he ain't. I just told Irie I ain't changing that ain't cause because it's a perfectly good word. He bought three of the crystal balls and as he was going to the desk to pay for them he gave me a look like he hated my guts. When I talked to Auntie Em later, she thought it might have been because I had just mentioned Hogwarts.

  Anyway later we saw the same guy a few days later but we were in Diagon Alley. He didn't see me that time because we were looking at something Auntie Em had noticed at Mr. Barry Winkle's shop. It's the little one to the left of Uncle George's. Did you know that Mr. Barry is 700 and something years old? I really like him and he gave us a great deal on a skateboard for me and a little magic statue for Irie and some kind of yard bird yarn swift for Auntie Em. That reminds me I owe Auntie Em for my skateboard but I left my money at home and what does a third of a Sickle come to?

  Irie just reminded me I had something to tell you, but you kinda had to know that so I can tell you this. That guy had been in Mr. Barry's shop before we got there, and we could hear him before we went inside. Of course I didn't know he was him yet because I never heard him talk before.

  Anyway he was all upset because he wanted to buy some more of something he had bought before from Mr. Barry, but he had already bought all of whatever it was, and there wasn't no more. It was something called skeins which Auntie Em told me meant a hunk lot of yarn. And the sales lady at the Muggle museum made a big deal about the crystal balls being real crystal. So me and Auntie Em and I think he's up to something magical and because of that dirty look he gave me she thought I should tell you.

  Irie says I should tell you what he looks like too. He's a poncey-looking guy fancy dresser and both times we saw him he was wearing a blue what Aunt Emily tells me is a tailcoat and tight pants and black shoes that start as trainers with thick soles and then become laced boots as they go up.

  He was skinny and not real old like you and mom but older than me. Auntie Em just said he was slender, about two meters tall and looked to be in his late teens which is what I just wrote but okay whatever. His skin was dark but not as dark as your friend Dean. It was more like a milky caramel color. And his hair was white white, not blond white and I couldn't tell if he died dyed it. The sides and back were shaved and it grew in curls that kinda fell off to one side, and I don't care what Irie says he looked poncey.

  Auntie Em says to tell you everything I remember in case it helps. So he had marks around one eye that look like that Eye of Rah design Aunt Hermione has on some of her books. And he had a silver snake ring with green eyes and stuff on it. Oh, and he looked like he had been crying. At the museum, I mean. I didn't see his face at Diagon Alley.

  And I'm supposed to tell you we were at the museum in Boscastle, Cornwall on Sunday the 6th between 10 and 11, and we were at Diagon Alley on Wednesday the 16th just a little after Noon. And Irie says I should tell you the dates are in July, but I told her that all we have had this summer is July and it's still July and even you could figure that out. Sorry about that.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Tell Lily and Al I am having a great time and I hope they are too. I can't wait for Al to see my new skateboard and Auntie Em is teaching me cool stuff I can teach him. It was good to see you, Dad, and it would be good to see Mum.

  And I just told Irie I am not going to rewrite this cause because it's FINE and this is probably the most writing I ever did and my hand hurts.

  Love you. Bye.

  James

  Harry had to blink away a little moisture from his eyes, but James' last paragraph had caused a snort of laughter. The boy hadn't changed that much.

  Just then the pages snatched themselves up out of his hands and plastered themselves to the ceiling. Luckily, it was no longer adjusted for Hagrid's height, and Harry was able to read the words scrawled large on the back of the last page.

  Aunt Emily has been helping me work on my levitation spells. I can do all kinds now. If this worked, please have Uncle Ron let me know.

  Love, James.

  Ron and 'George' walked over to stand by Harry and join him in looking up. Harry did not look down, but Ron knew to whom he was talking.

  "You are NOT going to offer him a job."

  The pages began to turn loose and flutter down, one by one

  ***

  As Harry snatched at one fluttering page, he asked Ron, "How has Emily been helping James with spells?"

  "From what I've seen when I've been over there, she just talks to him." Ron shrugged as Harry gave him a look. "Like it's no big deal, as if she is just curious. Things like, 'Was that what you meant to do?' 'How did you get it to do that?' 'Do you think you could make it do this?' And James just thinks, and experiments. If he makes a mistake, everybody has a good laugh, he cleans it up, and goes back to trying."

  Harry tried to let the words, '...a good laugh...' and '...cleans it up...' find a resting place in his mind. It wasn't working.

  After he had gathered the papers back together, Harry looked around the kitchen. It had cleared quite a bit, but the person he wanted to talk to was still there.

  Nienna looked up from giving her notes a quick edit before heading back out for Malfoy Manor. Astoria was sitting beside her, and Draco next to Astoria. The two Auxiliary Aurors were going to travel together, standard procedure when actively working a case.

  Ath?na was perched on one of Nienna's shoulders, and Belisaurius on the other. Draco's Eagle Owl, Aquilla, was perched on the back of Astoria's chair, and was rooting around in her side hair affectionately. Apparently he had missed her. It was the least dignified Harry had ever seen the majestic beast.

  Before speaking, Harry handed out Murtlap Munchies to the two perched on Nienna's epaulets, and, greatly daring, held out three on an open palm to Aquilla. The Eagle Owl looked a little sceptical until Astoria plucked one off Harry's palm, and popped it in his beak. Seeing those great eyes widen was such a treat. I am never, never, never going to get tired of that expression, Harry thought happily. The owl reached out a massive clawed foot and gently took the other two, giving Harry a regal nod. He then leaned forward between Draco and Astoria, rotating his head to stare Draco right in his startled eyes.

  "Tell him what I do," advised Nienna. "Harry's the Head Auror. Of course he has the best treats."

  This brought a round of chuckles as Aquilla settled back to enjoy the taste sensation.

  Harry caught the teen's eyes. "Nienna, I've got something I need to run by you." His use of her first name set the tone for an informal discussion. She nodded, curious.

  "I'm going to read you a description. See if it is someone you recognise." He paraphrased James' descrition of the teen-age boy, managing to avoid the word 'poncey.'

  Nienna immediately nodded, as did, surprisingly, Astoria and Draco.

  "Sabino Zabini," she said definitely. "The tattoo is new though."

  Harry checked the letter he was holding. "James didn't say it was definitely a tattoo. He just called it 'marks.' I doubt he is familiar with tattooing."

  "James?" Astoria asked. "That's your eldest?" At Harry's nod she went on. "Where in the world could he have come into contact with Sabino?"

  "Well," said Harry. "Diagon Alley, which isn't that surprising, and some Muggle museum in Cornwall, which is. It's not the contact though. It's something Luna said. Demelli?"

  The D.M.L.E. File was on the kitchen counter where she could take record of the meeting conveniently. After the meeting broke up, she and Cook had been talking recipes. Demelli had been describing some of the more lurid poisoning cases in her public files, and Cook had been reading in delighted horror.

  Demelli wrote, Yes, Boss?

  "Print up, oh, six copies of the After-Action Report from Friday night, no, I guess it was Saturday, early morning. Something is bugging me.

  Can do, Boss. Are you sure it isn't real bugs, though? You have been some very strange places over the past week.

  "Oh, Har-har, hardy-har-har. Cook, would you be so kind..."

  Cook was gone on little cat feet before Harry had reached the third word. She was back in less than a minute, the Protean Printer having lived up to its new standard of excellence.

  As she handed the collated, counter-stacked and booklet-bound prints around, she said, "Master Kreacher asked me to assure you that if you need him, you have but to ask."

  "No, but thank him for me the next time you speak." Harry was already leafing through the pages of the surprisingly large report. "What I'm looking for is some reference to repairing the assemblage, or the array, or something like..."

  Ahem, Demelli interrupted. Page 32, which is on the left-hand side. It starts about three quarters of the way down the page.

  "Of course." Harry reached up and smacked his forehead lightly. "You're a marvel. Demelli. Everybody read through the pertinent section, and see what I'm talking about." He cast a pawky eye at Demelli's folder. "It is okay if we read for ourselves?"

  Of course, Demelli wrote graciously. It's just more efficient that way. By the time I read it to all of you, and explained it to all of you, it would be morning. And, by the way, Harry?

  "Hmm?" Harry was intently focused on what he was reading.

  I took it upon myself to read Astoria in, so you didn't just cock up security.

  "Couldn't do it without you, Demelli," Harry said absently.

  ***

  Harry gave everyone a few minutes, then looked around. 'George,' Draco and Astoria hadn't been at Spider Glen, but had been briefed. Ron had been there, but never left the ground. He was still fully up to date. Nienna looked deeply troubled, having been a witness to the whole thing. Harry nodded to her.

  She said, carefully. "When they did their emergency extraction... ('Scarpered,' Ron muttered. Harry quelled him with a glance). ...Sabino had to damage the... (she paused), ...array, in order to trigger it into disassembling itself. In the process, several of the lights were destroyed, and damage was done to the infrastruture of wooden beams and rods, ropes, cordage, and, I guess, yarn." She spread her hands. "I suppose the crystal balls are necessary for those lighting effects."

  "So, both Sabino and Blaise are searching for exotic material for this..." Draco flipped back a page. "...Containment Array." His face twisted in that fine patrician sneer that Harry was so familiar with from their school days. "I should have known. Blaise and his family all stayed on the sideline during the war, showing up only when forced. I despised him for it then, and, for different reasons, I despise him even more now."

  Astoria sighed. "Blaise and Pansy visited us a couple of times in the past few years. I thought it might be a break in the wall of those that called us Blood Traitors. Now, I believe they had ulterior motives." She tilted her head and laid it on Draco's shoulder. "I wonder where Pansy stands in all this."

  While Draco was speaking softly to his wife, Harry, Ron and Nienna gave each other slightly puzzled looks. They all glanced over at Demelli.

  They had no Need to Know. The message flashed up and was gone.

  "Father and Mother are going to be disappointed," Draco said. "Especially Father. Blaise's father was one of the few to visit him regularly."

  "Fishing expeditions," Harry surmised. "Who knows how long the Zabini family have been working up to... whatever this is."

  Draco nodded. "As for Lady Lucrezia, well, Mother could always take her or leave her."

  "Draco, I spoke to your Mother earlier today."

  Draco looked slightly surprised. "I had forgotten that was still on. How much did you tell her? Was she upset?"

  "Upset. Heh." Harry shook his head a little, a rueful smile on his face.

  "As for what I told her, I told her everything. Don't start, Demelli!" he warned, as a preliminary yellow spiral formed on the folder's cover. "I have my reasons, they are valid, and you and I will discuss them in private."

  The yellow spiral popped like an animated cartoon of a bottle rocket explosion.

  "As for upset..." Harry's smile had become grim.

  "Draco, old boy, she was ripshit!"