With you in my Arms

39. Going undercover with back-up

The head of the Auror Office, Harry, Neville, Ron, Dawlish, three more senior aurors and Kingsley Shaklebolt were sitting in the office of the Head Auror. They were discussing the interrogation of Rita Skeeter earlier in the day.

"We know now, that the Polyjuice Potion used by Skeeter to impersonate Weasley was brewed by that guy she got into contact with via Miss Parkinson, Julius Hanker. Has he been picked up, yet?

Shaw looked at Dawlish who nodded.

"Okay. We'll see, if we need Longbottom to talk to him. Next, Henderson, that Amortentia that was used on Blaise Zabini..."

"We are quite sure that is was also done by Hanker." answered a rather pale looking auror.

"Do we know of any other potions he has been doing?"

"Not so far."

There was a pause. The head of the Auror Office seemed to be thinking about their next move.

"Sir?" It was Ron that spoke, breaking the silence.

"Yes?"

"What about Parvati? You said there was something funny going on with her as well."

"Yes, yes there is. We know that Rita Skeeter has been using her in order to slip you the poisoned chocolates. Miss Parkinson on the other hand has been using her in order to find out where Hermione Granger is. Why exactly is that?"

Kingsley cleared his throat. Everybody looked at him.

"This stays in this room. Even so I'm quite sure half the wizarding world is speculating about it by now." He took a deep breath. "Miss Granger is in a relationship with Mr. Malfoy."

Stunned silence from the aurors that didn't know anything about that as yet. One of them, Mulligan, a rather tall and skinny guy, frowned and then asked, "Was it correct that the Prophet was saying she is pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Oh!"

"The situation is that Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger are expecting..." There was a knock on the door."

"Come in!" The Minister said.

A middle aged witch entered with a sealed envelope. She handed it to Shaw and then withdrew without another word. The letter was opened and a frown appeared on the tanned forehead.

"It seems that Law Enforcement have found a guy called William Rockwood, more dead than alive. He has been brought to St. Mungo's. The Imperius and Cruciatus Curse have both been used on him. He was muttering the name of Miss Parkinson over and over."

He looked at everybody present in turn.

"Does anybody know about a connection between these two?"

Nobody did. It took Harry a moment before he realised that he had heard the name before. After another moment he also recalled that it had been while watching a memory of Dumbledore for the first time by accident. The Death Eater Karkarov had mentioned the name. Which meant that any Children of the family would probably have been in Slytherin.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Potter?"

"There was a Death Eater called Rockwood and as most of the Death Eater children have been in Slytherin House I think that Pansy might know him from school."

"Yes...," Shaw pursed his lips, "I would reckon that that would be the case. Mulligan, get all information there is about the Rockwood family, especially any children there might be."

"Yes, sir." The pale wizard got up and left the room.

Rustled through some papers in front of him he then looked directly at Harry.

"Potter, you have been friends with Miss Granger for a very long time. I assume, you know what is going on in her life. Could you therefore illuminate us all here and share a bit of your knowledge?"

The young wizard felt all eyes on him and blushed with embarrassment. What could he be telling them without breaking his vows of secrecy? He would need to be careful how he was wording his reply.

"I have spoken to Malfoy a while back. He told me that he wanted to take Hermione on a long vacations to make sure she wouldn't see any more of the lies that were printed in the Prophet. He didn't tell me where he was going to take her. Abroad would be my guess, but I don't know for sure."

"They have been seen in St. Mungo's only a day or two ago, visiting Mrs. Malfoy." Dawlish could be heard saying. Harry's heart sank.

"Go and talk to her again, Dawlish. I want to know, what she knows about their whereabouts."

The auror also left the room. Followed by prayers that he wouldn't find out anything he better shouldn't find out, for Harry's sake.

"Mr. Weasley, you will need to owl Miss Patil and ask her to come here as soon as possible. Arrange for her to pick you up after work, something like that. We need to get her out of the clutches of Miss Parkinson. She'll need to spend some time under Auror Office supervision in a safe house."

"Okay." With Ron also gone there were now six wizards left in the room.

"Henderson, Wilson, I want you two to find Miss Parkinson. I don't care how you do it, but find her."

"Yes, boss."Wilson said, whereas Henderson just nodded.

Something was going on here. Harry could feel it. Better he jumped before he was pushed.

"Sir, can I talk to you? Alone?"

Kingsley stood up and smiled at him, "Don't worry, Harry, we'll get her." Then he left the room, Mulligan followed him.

Neville just left without having said a single word. As the door had closed behind him Henri Shaw turned to his most high profile trainee.

"What is going on here, Harry? I know, that you're privy to more than you're actually telling."

There was a silent nodding but nothing else forthcoming.

"You have been using the connections the Ministry has to the Australians in order find a certain Mr. and Mrs. Granger. I would bet that these are the parents of Miss Granger. Which raises the question as to why they are or were in Australia of all places while her daughter was facing a war back home. "

"Sir, I..."

His boss lifted his hand to silence him.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to punish you for this. Even so I would have preferred for you to come and see me first. I think myself pretty approachable, even for the most junior staff in my department."

Harry sighed.

"I have promised Malfoy to help him find Hermione's parents. She had send them to Australia after we finished sixth year and Dumbledore died. She knew, she wouldn't come back to school and wanted to make sure that her parents were safe. She obliviated them before she send them away."

"Oh." There was admiration in this one sound. Shaw wouldn't have thought about doing something like this to his parents. Orphan oneself in order to protect one's loved ones...

"Malfoy wants to surprise her. It's going to be his wedding present..." Draco hadn't actually told Harry that, but it had been so obvious that there would be no denying it on the ex-Slytherin's part.

"And there is also the fact, that they are no longer in Australia." Raised eyebrows were the only comment to this. "They are in Scotland. Her dad is working for the Forestry Commission."

"I see."

Harry just waited. He couldn't think of what else to say. He had probably said more than he should have already.

"So, there is a good chance that they are somewhere in Scotland right now."

"Probably in Edinburgh, because headquarters of the Forestry Commission is there."

"Okay." Henri Shaw got up and went to the window. For long moments he just looked outside. When he spoke again he turned and looked his young trainee directly in the eyes.

"I want you to find somebody for me. Do whatever it takes. As of this moment you are on special assignment. Your training is suspended. Nobody must know about this. If word gets out you are going to be dead within hours!"

A face drained of all colour was the only answer to this."

"I want you to go to Manchester. A place to stay and a job are going to be waiting for you there. You will pretend to just live your life having moved after your girlfriend has broken up with you. Once you find the man you'll send a letter by Muggle mail to the Leaky Cauldron addressed to me and care of Tom. Otherwise your previous life has never existed."

What could he say to that? Nothing much, except maybe that he thought it rather daft to send him after somebody so dangerous. Why not a fully trained Auror? He remembered George telling him that Ginny was coming home. He had intended to see her after work.

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't it be better to send a fully qualified Auror? I mean, I'm not even halfway..."

"You are going because you are not yet a fully qualified Auror. I know, everybody knows your name and what you have done, but nobody is going to know that it is you. Your appearance and name will be changed before you leave. Not even young Miss Weasley will be able to recognise you."

"Why me, Sir?"

"Your name hasn't reached the Auror Register yet. Which means, right now you are an unknown quantity and we need to use this advantage, if we want to find the man I'm after."

"Who is he?" He hadn't indented for his voice to sound so shaky.

"The name is William Norton, called Will by his friends and Notorious by anybody else. He has been on the Most Wanted list for the past three years. Shortly before the war ended we found out that Voldemort had tried to recruit him, but hadn't been successful."

"What is he wanted for?"

"Curse creation. He is rather good at creating bespoke curses, anything from lust enhancing to fatal. I have the funny feeling that it was him who created the curse that landed Mrs. Malfoy in a coma. I want him! With the misery he has spread the Dementor's Kiss is actually still not punishment enough for him..."

Harry shuddered. He liked this assignment less and less with ever minute.

"Sir, I don't think..."

"You will be leaving tomorrow morning."

The young wizard was dismissed without any further time to voice his objections.

'I don't believe this! I should just have kept my mouth shut and not given him the information about Hermione and Malfoy!'

He kick the wall hard as he walked back to the kitchen which was part of the room where they aurors spent their breaks.

"What's up, Harry?" Ron sipped a cup of tea and looked a bit puzzled by the worried expression on the face of his friend.

"I have been send on a special training assignment!"

"You are leaving London? Why? Where are you going?"

"Ask Shaw, if you are keen on details." His voice indicated that he wasn't going to talk about it. That he was too wound up because of it.

Grabbing a cup, swirling his want over it he made himself an extra strong tea before skulking out off the room. Ron frown.