Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Chapter 3: Shacklebolt and Shiratori

"Long time, no see," said Kingsley Shacklebolt, in that strangely familiar reverberating voice.

Artemis blinked, scarcely able to believe that she was not dreaming.

"Reggie?" she said, her own voice a hushed whisper, and the wizard who looked and sounded like her old friend inclined his head.

"Yes and no," he replied. "It's good to see you again, Tiny. And even better to meet you as myself, after all this time."

"But... I... What?"

"Sit down, Hexley," said the gruff voice of Mad-Eye Moody, and Artemis found herself being pushed down into a chair. "You'll want to listen to this."

Kingsley smiled at Artemis again, and pointed his wand at the wall of the cubicle. "Muffliato."

He sheathed his wand into a belt around his waist and sat down opposite Artemis, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees so that his face was almost level with hers.

"You're surprised to see me here. I understand why," he said. "After all, the last time we saw each other, I was living on a boat, and - as far as you were concerned - I was a Muggle."

"You're not a Muggle, then?" asked Artemis, even though she had just seen Reggie - Kingsley - perform magic with her own eyes.

"I'm not, no. However, sometimes Auror fieldwork involves a degree of disguising oneself. Or, two and a half years of disguising oneself, in this case."

"Why?"

"When your brother went missing, the war had just ended. There were still Death Eaters walking free, and we were doing everything we could to round them up. At first, we suspected that Jacob Hexley had disappeared in relation to this, that he had been recruited into the Death Eater ranks and-"

"No," Artemis shook her head emphatically. "No, that's not true. Jacob was never a Death Eater."

"He was not, but his timing was suspicious. Not to mention that he had been expelled in the wake of a fellow student's death, and he had lost his father not long before. A bright and powerful young wizard cast adrift like that... Well, you can see why he might be the sort to have turned to a group of people offering him a sense of purpose, of belonging to something," Kingsley raised his eyebrows, and Artemis exhaled heavily. Kingsley was right; she could see why - from the outside, at least - Jacob may well have appeared to be a Death Eater. "It was only when we began to look into the circumstances surrounding his expulsion that we realised that your brother had already found a sense of purpose and belonging that had nothing to do with the Death Eaters at all."

"The Cursed Vaults, you mean?"

"The Cursed Vaults, the Cabal, Rakepick, all of it. It seemed then - and it still seems now - that the more we've uncovered, the more questions we end up asking ourselves. There have been and still are so many secrets and riddles, and even more dead ends."

"So, what do you actually know?" Artemis said, her eyebrows knitting together. "About my brother and the Cabal? About R? And why were you living on a boat outside my house for two years?"

Kingsley laughed, not unkindly.

"All very good questions, Tiny. Let's start with the easy one: I lived outside your house because there was a concern for your safety," he said, straightening up a little. "During our investigations we were made aware that the Cabal - R, as you call them - might make an attempt to-"

"Kill me?"

"Kidnap you," Kingsley corrected Artemis with a shake of his head. "Our source made it clear that whilst the Cabal are dangerous, they would not have harmed you physically." He must have noticed the confused look on Artemis' face, because before she could ask him who this source was, he continued, "Professor Dumbledore believed that R would be far more likely to use you in order to try and get into the Cursed Vaults, as that is their ultimate goal. According to him, you have a natural ability that meant that you might be of use to them, in that regard."