In the Melancholy Moonlight, Part 5: Dark Matter

Chapter 217: Come and Get Your Love

GEORGE:

I was in front of the shop just about to flip the sign from "OPEN" to "CLOSED" on Saturday evening when two familiar hoodies rushed toward me — the brown hoodie belonged to Henry, and the dark green hoodie belonged to Archie. Their heads were bowed against the roaring wind and pouring rain, so I called out rather than waving.

"Evening, gents! Come to join us for pasta night, have you?"

Henry glanced up, a hesitant smile finding its way to his face. "Is it really?"

"Oh, Mr. Magpie, even if it wasn't, I'd hunt down every last box of pasta in the United Kingdom just to make you smile," I said with a bright grin. "Come on, hurry inside, it's freezing out here."

"You do know you have magic, right?" Archie asked once we were all safely inside. "You could charm the sign to flip itself, or you could flip it from inside with just a flick of your wand. I'm all for doing mundane tasks the Muggle way, but, mate, you'd have to be crazy to go outside in this weather willingly."

"You two were outside in this weather," I pointed out, frowning as Henry shivered.

Henry blushed. "I enjoy walking in the rain."

"Like I said, crazy." Archie shook his head. "But I found him and brought him here because it's time for his first Order mission. Fred's here, right?"

"Yeah, he's upstairs," I replied.

"Excellent, I can debrief all of us at the same time. Just got word from Mad-Eye that a certain someone has surfaced again after four months in hiding after whatever the hell you and Fred did to him."

I sucked in a sharp breath. "Maxence Auclair lives after all, then?"

"Well, for now." Archie grinned.

"Holy Helga Hufflepuff. FREDDIE!" I shouted as I started running up the stairs. "FREDDIE FREDDIE FREDDIE! GUESS WHAT?"

Fred's head snapped up as I burst through the door. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's brilliant, Henry's here. Archie too. Archie said Mad-Eye found Maxence."

"Oh, that is brilliant." Fred slammed the ledger shut and tossed it aside, rising to his feet and pressing his hands flat on the table, eyes suddenly flickering dangerously as he smiled. He glanced over my shoulder and jerked his chin in greeting. "Alright, Graye, what've you got for us?"

"Mad-Eye suggested we split up into two groups of two," Archie said, striding into the room and slamming two scraps of parchment onto the table. "He spotted Maxence entering the Ministry of Sound nightclub, and he used a tracking spell to find his new flat, since he hasn't gone back to his previous flat after what happened in August. Two of us will hit up the nightclub and keep him there while the other two investigate his flat. He doesn't want us to engage with Maxence if we can help it. This is just a reconnaissance mission. And remember, Dumbledore doesn't know we're still interested in Maxence, so this stays between us, Mad-Eye, and Remus, once he's back, which should be any day now that I think about it." He glanced at Henry. "Well, where would you be most comfortable going, since this is your first Order mission?"

Henry shrugged. "I don't know. Where do you think I'd be most helpful?"

"Maybe Henry and George can scope out the flat," Fred suggested, "while Archie and I, er, keep an eye on him at the nightclub."

"This is supposed to just be a reconnaissance mission," Archie said, narrowing his eyes at Fred. "You know what that means, right? Hands off Maxence. You know, maybe since he's tangled with you twins before, it would be better if Henry was with me — "