Disclaimer: Curiosity is normal.
*****
It was with no small amount of trepidation that Hermione went to the meeting with her mother the next afternoon. She cast an envious look at her friend, Luna was bouncing along without a care in the world, it must be nice to be so innocent.
"Come in, girls," Anne said, waving them into her office.
"What's this about, mum?" Hermione asked.
"Luna had several questions for me about how relationships work that I was unable to answer the other day," Anne replied. "I am able to answer them now."
"You've spoken with Father?" Luna asked.
"I have, and he's told me that he doesn't mind me giving you this talk," Anne agreed.
Hermione's eyes widened in fear, she couldn't mean. "What talk, mum?" The girl's eyes flicked to the exit.
"I think we should start with biology," Anne said thoughtfully. "I presume you've already looked through my medical books?"
"I have, mum," Hermione squeaked.
"Good. Come over here, Luna." Anne waved the girl closer. "I've got pictures."
"Okay," Luna agreed.
"You too, Hermione," Anne commanded.
"I've already read about this, mum," Hermione said quickly, desperate to find a way out of the situation she'd found herself in. "I don't need to go over it again, I don't have any questions. The books were quite comprehensive." Hermione stole a glance at her mother's face and did not like what she saw. "They covered everything I might need to know so I really think that my time would be better spent on something el-"
"That wasn't a request, darling," Anne stated firmly.
"Yes, mum," Hermione sighed.
"Good, you can sit on my other side," Anne said warmly.
IIIIIIIIII
Harry was in the library studying his wand movements. He looked up from his book when Phil entered the room.
"Doing a bit of reading?" Hermione's father asked.
"Practicing a few spells," Harry replied.
"Thought you kids weren't supposed to be doing that till after you graduated?" Phil asked confused.
"We're not," Harry laughed. "On the other hand, I just happen to have a wand that can't be tracked and instructions to test it."
"Useful." He scratched his chin. "Could you get more for the girls?"
"Best to wait till after we get back to Hogwarts," Harry said after a moment of thought. "I made the one I've got and one of the teachers checked it out before I used it. Rather not take any chances."
"Good thought," Phil agreed. "Get your coat, Harry, you're not going to want to be here for a few hours."
"Alright."
IIIIIIIIII
Luna was fascinated by what she'd learned from Hermione's mother. And so, in contrast to her friend, Luna was intensely disappointed when the lesson came to an end.
"Would it be alright if I came back with questions?" Luna asked hopefully.
"Of course, dear," Anne agreed. "You may feel free to ask me any questions that come to mind and I will do my very best to answer them or, failing that, help you find an answer."
Luna seemed to mull it over for a moment. "Would it be alright if I came back with some questions right now?"
"Of course," Anne agreed. "What do you need to know?"
"I did a bit of supplemental reading after our talk yesterday to try to find my own answers since you were unable to tell me anything without first getting father's permission and . . . . wait here," Luna asked. The girl stood up and darted out of the room. She returned a few minutes later with a vellum covered book under one arm.
One Hermione definitely recognized if her moan of dismay upon seeing it was anything to judge. This promised to be good.
"What's your question, Luna?" Anne prompted.
"Well, I just don't see how this would be possible," Luna said holding out the book to show the extremely graphic engraving involving three individuals adorning the page. "I don't believe either Harry or Hermione are that flexible and I know for certain that I am not. Perhaps if we found the proper spell or potion to help. I suppose researching it could be interesting, but it just seems like a lot of work for very little reward." Luna flipped a few pages. "This one might be possible, but I'm not sure where we'd find another girl that both Hermione and I would get along with." She scratched her chin. "Perhaps Ginny. But I am not certain I would enjoy having Mrs. Weasley as a mother in law." The girl flipped a few more pages to another engraving. "Is it common for two girls to do this? There's something similar with four girls on the next page so I suppose it must be. I must confess that it's never occurred to me before. Do boys do something similar? There weren't any images in any of the books I was able to find, but I am not sure how comprehensive the material I've been using for my research has been." The expression on Luna's face conveyed nothing more than innocent curiosity.
"Uh . . . Luna," Hermione squeaked. Doing her best to ignore the way her mother's face was turning red and how the woman's frame was being rocked with suppressed laughter.
"Yes, Hermione?" Luna looked up. "Did you have a suggestion on another page I should flip to? I admit that there are several more that I find confusing."
"Where did you find that book?"
"It was hidden in a self shrinking disillusioned trunk under your bed along with several similar books," Luna replied innocently. "Why do you ask? Did you forget you had them or where you left them? Should I fetch the trunk so we can go through all of them one by one?"
"If you girls will excuse me for a moment," Anne said in a trembling voice. "I have something to take care of. I shall try to be back in a few minutes." She barely managed to contain her laughter until she was out of the room.
If nothing else, she thought as she fought to regain her composure, it was nice to have confirmation that her daughter had a healthy amount of curiosity. Time to go do the job her bitch of a step-mother would never dreamed have doing. 'Close your eyes and think of your duty to produce an heir,' Anne snorted. 'Hope that he finds a distraction or a secretary so you don't have to do your duty too often.' She spent a brief moment wondering if her real mother would have been any better. A shame the woman hadn't lived long enough for her to have found out.
IIIIIIIIII
Phil rolled up the partition separating the passenger compartment with the driver and turned to Harry with an unreadable look on his face.
"Harry, my wife thinks I should give you the sex talk and has insisted I give it to you. Do you want me to give you the sex talk?"
"Already got it from Ron's older brothers," Harry replied.
"Great, tell me if you have any questions," Phil laughed. "Oh, and don't be surprised if Hermione or Luna have trouble looking you in the eye for the next few days."
"Where are we going?" Harry said sterring the conversation away.
"Fancy another visit to the club?" Phil asked.
"Sure," Harry agreed happily.
They rode in silence for a few moments until Phil could no longer hold in his question. "So... which of Ron's brothers?"
Harry sighed. "All of them, at different times."
"What sort of thing did they have to say?"
"Well for starters Charlie basically said no doing anything anyone involved in wasn't cool with, Bill said the same again and added in that anyone getting pregnant probably counted as something someone wasn't cool with and, um, some charms relating to that, Percy got way way too far into the legalities of all of it but, y'know, that's what I expected since it's Percy we're talking about and boy are some things about the Wizarding World disturbing, and as for Fred and George they were all about how to not get caught by Filch or some-such, and that basically ran to use a secret passage instead of a broom cupboard or the Astronomy tower, and stuff that's supposed to be fun. Though I'm not sure how that thing with the Marmite and tweezers counts as fun; I think they were probably having me on." He hoped they were having him on anyway.
IIIIIIIIII
Amelia's eyebrows went up when one of her Aurors barged into her office and began sweeping for bugs.
"Is there something you'd like to tell me, Auror Tonks?" Amelia asked calmly.
"Two things, boss," Tonks agreed.
"Well?"
"Well I'm not going to say a word till I'm sure your office is secure and that you're you, boss," Tonks replied.
"Proceed," Amelia sighed.
Tonks used another dozen charms on the office before raising the privacy wards and throwing a cup full of water into the Director's face.
"You had better have a good reason for doing that, Auror Tonks," Amelia growled.
"Dispels any active magic on the target," Tonks explained. "Imperio to Polyjuice."
"That bad, then?"
"Gringotts slipped it to me along with a bit of info," Tonks agreed. "Voldemort is planning to hit you this summer. Had planned to do it a few months ago but we got lucky cause something else came up to delay it."
"That's not entirely unexpected," Amelia laughed. "Is that all?"
"Looks like Harry Potter and Dumbledore are also on the chopping block and it also looks like there's moles in the Department and at Hogwarts," Tonks finished. "I've asked Madeye to keep an eye on your niece and her friend and I'm not going to be more than three feet away from you till Voldemort kicks it."
"You're going to take that undercover assignment with the Granger family," Amelia corrected. "I can take care of myself."
"The Granger's head of security wants a sit down with you and I'm not leaving you, boss," Tonks said firmly. "You kick it and who gets the big chair? I know and believe me, I'd really rather not work for that bastard."
"I have several reasons to want you with the Grangers," Amelia replied. "That they'll shortly have enough wands to purge the department is only one of them. Another is because I think having a force outside Hogwarts is a good thing, a third is because it would give me somewhere to run, and a fourth is because I'd rather not lose you if the Ministry goes bad."
"Boss?"
"The fact that you could double for me isn't the only reason you got assigned to my protective detail," Amelia sighed. "How's the recruiting going?"
"Going good, boss," Tonks replied. "Grangers already have almost as many Aurors as the Ministry along with curse breakers and healers. Better quality overall too since they don't have to saddle themselves with any useless nieces and nephews."
"I see."
"Which means there's no reason I should join them," Tonks said quickly. "Being your double might not have been the only reason to keep me around, but it's still a good one."
Amelia pursed her lips. "You say Voldemort's planning to hit me this summer?"
"The goblins did, boss," Tonks agreed.
"Then I have no need of you until then," Amelia replied.
"Boss . . ."
"I'd much rather have you in a place where you can easily keep an eye on my niece," Amelia interrupted. "You said they were also going to go after Potter and Dumbledore?"
"That's the info I got, boss."
"They say when?" Amelia asked intently.
"No, boss."
"Hmmmm." Amelia sighed. "See if you can get me a sit down with the Granger, I've got a few ideas I'd like to bounce off him."
"Boss?"
"My ideas work and almost everyone is mostly happy," Amelia promised. "Before you ask: yes, even you, Auror Tonks."
"Understood, boss."
"So why did the goblins decide to share information with you?"
"Don't know, boss," Tonks admitted. "I was at the bank to deposit my pay when a couple of them started having a conversation outside my vault."
"I didn't know you spoke Gobbledegook," Amelia commented.
"I don't, boss. The conversation was all in English." Tonks grinned. "On my way out, they gave me that water, told me what it did, and asked me not to forget it the next time I was there."
"Curiouser and curiouser," Amelia murmured. "See about that meeting, Auror Tonks. The sooner the better, I think."
"So long as you promise not to leave the office without me, boss," Tonks said stubbornly. "Gonna have to insist on that."
Amelia's eyes narrowed and she allowed the full focus of her gaze to fall on the Auror, allowing the girl to feel just how annoyed she was by the demand.
"Right, boss," Tonks agreed. "I'll get Susan on my side if I hafta."
"On your way, Auror Tonks," Amelia sighed. "My schedule shows that I have no reason to leave for the next few hours."
"On my way, boss."
IIIIIIIIII
Philip led Harry into the club and back down the stairs to the richly furnished office belonging to his friend.
"Phil, Harry," the man called out. "Glad to see you could make it."
"Wife was having an important talk with the girls," Phil laughed. "I'm willing to do anything to get away from that, even suffer your company for a bit."
"Good afternoon, sir," Harry greeted the man.
"Call me Charlie," he said easily.
"Charlie?" Harry frowned in confusion. "But the name on your door . . ."
"Was the name of the first man to occupy my office," Charlie explained. "His successor didn't change it and now we're stuck with the tradition."
"I see."
"And please don't discuss anything you see or learn in the club outside the club," Charlie said with a twinkle in his eye. "We need to keep our secrets, 'eh?"
"No problem, Charlie," Harry agreed.
"Thank you, Harry. I will say that you've got a good eye spotting it like you did, most people don't." The man gave Harry an appraising look. "Ever thought about what you'd like to do after you leave school?"
"Not much," Harry admitted. "I was thinking I might see if I can become an Aur . . . uh, magical policeman."
"Might not be a bad career for you," Charlie said thoughtfully. "Then again, maybe we'll have other options for you to explore when the time comes."
"I'll be sure to explore them," Harry said with a grin. "When the time comes."
Charlie gave a booming laugh. "You up for a game of gin, Harry?"
"Up for anything, Charlie," Harry said.
"Wonderful, have a seat." Charlie waved at the chairs. "You know how to play?"
"Not really," Harry admitted. "Think I know the rules."
"Wonderful, we'll be on an even playing field then and speaking of playing fields . . ."
"Yes?"
"How's your polo game coming along?" Charlie asked.
"I think they're in for a surprise if they expect me to play like I did last time," Harry boasted with a wide grin. "I was terrible before, I've improved to the point that I can safely say that I'm just very very bad now."
"Been practicing then?"
"Enough for it to start showing," Harry said proudly. "Hundred percent better than I was last time which means a bit of time and hard work, maybe I'll be able to say I'm a mediocre Polo player in a few years."
"Good to hear, good to hear." Charlie turned toward Phil. "You said you had another list of people for me?"
"Thanks to Harry's connections," Phil agreed. "You're quite fortunate that a number of people on it already work for you."
"Which is the only reason you didn't snap them up yourself," Charlie grunted. "Bet you would have charged through the nose to hire them out to me too."
"I think you'd have found our rates very reasonable," Phil laughed.
"As reasonable as the rates you charged in your import business no doubt," Charlie snorted. "Money grubbing bastard."
"Not so reasonable as that, I'd have had more of the market cornered this time," Phil replied. "Your financial suffering would have been the stuff of legends."
"Speaking of your import business." Charlie licked his lips. "Any chance your men could fill another order?"
"It all depends on what's being ordered," Phil replied. "Send me the list later and I'll see what I can do to fill it."
"Thanks." Charlie broke the seal on the deck and began shuffling the cards. "Mind doing me a favor, Harry?"
"Depends on the favor," Harry replied.
"And how much you're willing to pay," Phil interjected.
"Mercenary bastard." Charlie shot his friend a glare. "Hoping you could use those connections of yours to get me a few things."
"What do you need?" Harry asked.
"Couple sets of what you gave Hermione's uncle for Christmas," Charlie replied. "I have some people who are quite interested in them."
"You know Hermione's uncle Jim?"
"We work together" Charlie said sourly. "He's the bastard responsible for a good percentage of my ulcers."
"Charlie is Jim's boss," Phil explained. "You can understand how fun that must be."
"You have my sympathy," Harry laughed.
"So is it possible?" Charlie asked intently.
"Very possible," Harry agreed. "I'm friends with the inventors."
"Think you could get me an introduction then?"
"I think I probably could," Harry replied.
"Great." Charlie began dealing.
"We'll discuss Harry's rates, later," Phil said as he took his cards. "Bleed the bastard as much as you can, Harry."
IIIIIIIIII
Molly was in the kitchen when the sound of a dog barking drew her attention. She walked outside, the barking ceased and she could find no sign of any dog. The barking resumed the moment she walked back into the house.
"Those boys," the moaned. Now was it an invisible dog or just a sound? She cast a couple quick detection charms and followed them to the source which turned out to be a large frog chewing on an old soup bone. "What in the world?"
The frog began growling as soon as she got too close. This wasn't something her sons would do. She knew her boys, they were creative but only an abnormally deranged mind would think of something like this. Her eyes flicked in the direction of her neighbor's house. And they'd wondered why the land had been so cheap when they'd bought it shortly after they'd gotten married. It hadn't taken them long to find out why and who their neighbors were.
"Peaceful place in the country, two sets of magical neighbors," she mimicked the real estate agent. "Perfect place for a young couple to raise a magical family my pale freckled ass," she muttered under her breath.
IIIIIIIIII
Phil threw down his cards in disgust, that was the third game in a row. It had been a long time since he's suffered such a long string of defeats at the card table.
"That's another game you win, Harry," he sighed.
"What about me?" Charlie demanded. "Beating you was a team effort. And don't forget, this win means that's twenty pounds you owe us."
"What about you?" Phil replied. He looked up at the clock. "I'm afraid I've got a meeting to go to for an hour or so. You mind staying at the club for a bit, Harry?"
"I don't mind," Harry agreed.
"Good, terribly sorry to do this to you." Phil stood up. "Be back as soon as I can."
IIIIIIIIII
Luna shifted closer to Hermione's mother, basking in the attention. Things were better than they had been in a long time, if only father and Harry were with them, then Luna Lovegood's life would be almost perfect.
"What was it like to go on dates with Mr. Granger?" Luna asked curiously, eager to learn more about how relationships worked.
"Knowing daddy, he showed up to the date in a flashy car and took you to a meal that cost as much as a house," Hermione giggled. "Then, he took you home, kissed you on the cheek, said he'd see you again for the same, and you stayed with him to spite my wicked ex-step-grandma despite how absolutely dull he was."
"Add the fact that he was wearing more jewelry than I was and that his clothing was much more fashionable than mine and that's mostly accurate," Anne allowed. "But you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss your father," Anne advised. "Our first date was anything but dull. He broke your uncle Jim's nose in a bar fight."
"Daddy got into a bar fight?" Hermione asked in disbelief, eyes sparkling with interest. "Wait. Daddy broke uncle Jim's nose?" she exclaimed in shocked disbelief.
"It was our first date," Anne giggled, setting the scene. "I thought he was a frightfully stuffy bore and had no intention of dating him again. As you'd surmised, I'd only gone out with him to spite your step-grandmother and because he promised to stop being such an insufferable git in class if I did."
"I thought you said you got together after the teacher made you?" Hermione asked.
"That's what started it," Anne agreed. "He found he liked me, I found I was willing to tolerate him but I was going through a bit of a phase and saw him as a corrupt oppressor of the struggling underclass. Not that I'd ever so much as met a member of the struggling underclass, you understand, but I was rather young and I was very sure I knew exactly how the world worked."
"So what happened?" Hermione demanded.
Luna nodded, wide eyed and obviously enthralled by the story.
"Well, to start with, your uncle Jim was still in active service with the Navy in those days," Anne began. How he'd found out about my date and why he'd decided to crash it were both questions he still refused to answer. She made a mental note to get a bit more revenge on the useless bastard to even the scales a bit.
"So?"
"So your father came back from the loo to find his date being harassed by an uncouth uniformed lout and demanded your uncle Jim apologize and leave us in peace," Anne replied. "Your uncle Jim, being your uncle Jim, refused and again, being your uncle Jim, was less than polite about it and dared your father to do something about it if he was man enough. Oh, and then he implied that your father was not man enough, insulted him, and told him to leave if he didn't want to get hurt. So your father punched him in the nose and broke it and proved him wrong."
"Daddy punched him in the nose?" Hermione exclaimed in shock.
"They growled at each other a bit more first but you have the basics of it," Anne agreed. "I called your father a bloody idiot and said that he'd just punched my brother. Your father immediately apologized, complimented him on having such an attractive sister, and offered to let your uncle Jim break his nose so they'd be even."
"Then what happened?"
"Your uncle Jim took him up on his offer," Anne said with a smile. "Then the bloody idiots left me behind with the cheque to go on a pub crawl." She giggled. "That made me so angry that I promised myself I'd never so much as give your father the time of day again."
"How'd he get you to forgive him?" Hermione asked quickly.
"He didn't. Still hasn't so much as apologized, the git," Anne said, sounding a touch annoyed. "Your uncle Jim stumbled into to my apartment at five the next morning, dumped me out of bed onto the floor, and announced that he approved of my boyfriend and that I would be a fool to let him go and that he would be proud to have him as a brother in law."
"Uncle Jim said that?"
"Then he vomited on my floor and passed out in my bed," Anne finished, smiling at the memory. "Your father showed up in class a few hours later immaculately dressed but covered in bruises and acting as if nothing had happened. I found out later that he and your uncle Jim had picked another fight in another pub after leaving me and, after befriending the men they'd been fighting had all gone to a third pub and picked another fight there. Then . . ." Anne dissolved into laughter. "He plops down in the seat next to me and says he had fun on our date and asks what I have planned for our next one. The bastard."
"What'd you say?"
"I asked him if he had anything to say to me," Anne snorted. "He told me that my family was a bit wild for a well brought up lad like himself but that I seemed normal enough so he was willing to overlook all that and keep dating me." Anne's lips pursed. "I was . . . less than pleased by that and was about to lay into him when he told me that I was cute when I was angry but that I was absolutely ravishing when I was enraged beyond reason and asked me if I was doing anything after classes with a request that I let him do the planning this time as his nose and ribs were feeling a bit tender and then he requested that I find something less physically demanding than a bar fight when it was my turn to plan again since he wasn't sure he could take another one so soon." Anne smiled fondly. "The other students started arriving then and he loudly announced that he still wanted to date me even after I had my brother break his nose."
"In front of everyone?" Hermione squeaked.
"In front of everyone. I responded that if he hadn't wanted my brother to break his nose then he shouldn't have offered and told him to be quiet and that that we would continue to conversation after class. He immediately agreed and told me he'd already booked a private room for us at a rather exclusive restaurant. That was how we planned our second date."
"And you've been together ever since," Hermione sighed.
"We have," Anne agreed. She turned back to Luna. "With luck, neither of your first dates will end like that. I had a devil of a time getting that vomit out of my carpet."
"You cleaned your own carpet?" Hermione asked in shocked horror.
"As I mentioned before, I was going through my solidarity with the working class phase," Anne explained. "Getting the vomit out of that carpet cured me of it nicely. I learned that while there's no shame in being part of the working class, the upper class is much more comfortable. One just has to be sure that one doesn't let one's self become an insufferable snob. Like your ex-step-grandmother." The useless bitch.
IIIIIIIIII
Charlie put down his cards when the intercom buzzed and hit the answer button. "Yes?"
"Someone to see your guest, sir. She has a wand."
"Show me a picture," he ordered. He turned his screen to allow Harry to get a look. "Do you know her?"
"That's Tonks," Harry agreed. "She's an Au . . . uh, magical police woman and she's also a friend of mine. Sort of a cousin too, I think."
"Show her in," Charlie ordered.
Tonks walked into the room with a smile. "Wotcher, Harry." After a quick glance around the room, she carefully placed herself between Harry and the other man in the room. "Who's your friend?"
"Is there a problem?" the man asked.
"I noticed that you were armed," Tonks replied. "That's not exactly common in this country, is it? Please do not make any sudden movements."
"It's alright, Tonks," Harry put a comforting hand on her off shoulder. "Charlie is a friend of Mr. Granger's."
"I'm also on first name terms with your boss," Charlie added. "Would it make you feel better if I told you that the lion and the unicorn were the best of friends?"
"It would," Tonks agreed, relaxing.
"It would make me feel better if you did the nose trick," Harry interjected.
"You've been spending too much time around Mad Eye," Tonks said with a smile, morphing her nose into a snout. "Satisfied?"
"Partly," Harry agreed pompously. "I'm now fairly sure you aren't an impostor, which leaves a staggering array of compulsions you could be under."
"Brat." Tonks reached out and tried to muss his hair, something that was not easy to do considering its normal state.
"What can I do for you, Auror Tonks?" Charlie asked.
"Was looking for Harry and Mr. Granger," Tonks replied. "Got a bit nervous when I found Harry without Mr. Granger in the presence of an unknown armed adult."
"You can track them?"
"I can track one of Harry's wands," Tonks agreed. "I can't track the other one and I didn't notice you hide it up your left sleeve so stop frowning, Harry."
"I see."
"We've also restricted the trace to the Director's office," Tonks added. "That means me and Madame Bones."
"Would you be so kind as to do me a favor, Auror Tonks?" Charlie asked.
"Just call me Tonks, and it depends on the favor."
"I would like you to check my office for magic and to put up something to ensure privacy if it wouldn't be too much trouble."
"I can do that," Tonks agreed. "Won't be as good as what the Grangers have, but it'll be something." She waved her wand, frowned, and waved it again. "I take that back."
"Something wrong?"
"This place is almost as tight as the Director's office," Tonks replied. "Looks like it hasn't been maintained or upgraded for a while though."
"Thank you, Tonks," Charlie replied.
"Talk to Mr. Granger to get things modernized," Tonks advised. "They should be able to arrange some top shelf stuff, even better than what Madame Bones is supposed to have around her office." But not necessarily as good as what had been put in unofficially.
"I shall," Charlie agreed.
"Which reminds me." Tonks turned to Harry and pasted on her best hopeful look.
"What is it?"
"All I want is to assign you a bodyguard or two," Tonks replied. "I promise that it's because I've got an ulterior motive and not because I don't think that you can take care of yourself." Well, not just because she thought he couldn't take care of himself.
"What is it?"
"The boss thinks something bad might happen, I want to be prepared," Tonks said.
"Has she shared any details?" Charlie asked eagerly.
"Nope, she hasn't really even flat out told me. But it's obvious if you spend as much time around her as I do."
Charlie wrote out a quick letter and sealed it in an envelope. "Be so good as to pass that along the next time you see Director Bones."
"Sure," Tonks agreed.
IIIIIIIIII
Phil stepped out of his car and took a seat at the cafe. He was joined a few minutes later by a man in an expensive suit.
"You'll like this," the man began.
"I'm sure I will," Phil agreed. "What do you have for me?"
"An even dozen BMW R65/5s, still in their crates," he announced proudly. "Along with two dozen 75/5s with the long wheel base, also still in their crates."
"Very nice," Phil agreed. "But I asked for three good beginner bikes."
"I got you those too," the man replied. "Three dozen Honda Cubs in crates, they came in a lot with the other bikes and didn't even scratch the budget you gave me to play with."
"I see. All legal I trust?"
"Since when have you cared about the law?"
"Since when have I not?" Phil replied.
"That air force you had me get you a few years ago along with all those tanks."
"Let me rephrase that. All legal in countries I care about, I trust?"
"Nothing but," the man agreed. "Speaking of that air force."
"Hmmm?"
"Got another contact in Russia, might be able to get a few more interesting things. Their space agency is also filled with people looking to supplement their incomes, so are their security services. Lot's of interesting possibilities."
"Wonderful timing," Phil said. "I was getting ready to make another order."
"What do you need?"
"Give me your list and I'll give you mine," Phil said after a moment of thought. "Anyone selling special munitions?"
"I don't touch that stuff," the man said quickly. "You know I don't want anything to do with any of that stuff."
"I wouldn't use you if you did," Phil said bluntly. "But I do wish to know if anyone is making offers so they can be dealt with."
The guy relaxed a touch. "Gonna pass it along to the same chaps you got the air force for?"
Phil just gave the man a bland look.
"Right," he agreed. "Pleasure doing business with you."
"Likewise," Phil agreed.
IIIIIIIIII
Molly stepped back to admire her handiwork. Sitting in a corner of her garden was a miniature white dog . . . er, frog house with the word 'spike' written above the door in red letters. To one side was a small pond and on the other were food and water dishes.
"Well, how do you like it?" Molly asked.
"Woof," the frog replied.
"Good." She scratched him under the chin. She'd gotten so lonely with the children out of the house and her husband at work. It was nice to have a pet.
IIIIIIIIII
Mandy's practice uniform was soaked in sweat as she and her teammates stumbled into the locker room after one of the worst sessions in recent memory. She ignored the distant thumps and shouting, they didn't matter, all that mattered to her was the shower she was about to take and the meal she was going to stuff herself with afterwards.
Her mind abruptly returned to the present when the door to their locker room banged open and several skull masked figures in black robes stormed in.
Mandy's eyes were locked on the Death Eaters in the doorway, what a time to be caught without her wand. Her heart sunk when she realized that the other players wands were also safely secured in their lockers.
"Purebloods on one side, trash on the other," one of the Death Eaters barked.
"What are you going to do to my players?" the coach demanded, stepping between the terrorists and her girls.
"We're going to use them to send a message to the league," the Death Eater sneered. "Trained animals have no place in a wizard's game. Quidditch is for people."
Mandy felt like she was floating outside her body, like she was a spectator watching her own actions. She was the product of a hundred generations of pureblood breeding, the perfect woman according to the Dark Lord's twisted ideology.
"Anything you do to my teammates, you do to me first. I'm a muggle born," Mandy announced proudly.
"So am I," the seeker, another pureblood, cheered. "To hell with you lot."
The other players rumbled their agreement, each pureblood on the team declaring that they would not abandon their teammates, not even in the face of certain death.
"So be it," the Death Eater growled. "Pick your targets." He pointed his wand at her. "We kill them all."