1Written for Round 9 of QLFC as the Keeper for the Arrows. Prompt: The Rescuers
WC: 2,995
DEVIL'S EYE, NATIONAL TREASURE & HEART OF BRITAIN'S FAVORITE MUSEUM, STOLEN.
This morning, terrible news was broken to Britain's wizarding community. The Devil's Eye, a diamond so loved despite its evil name, was stolen in the night from the Britain's Wizarding Museum of the Natural and Unnatural. The largest diamond in the world and pride of our community was representative of Britain's Wizarding community's rise back to its former status and health, blessed by the Queen of England and the Minister of Magic themselves. Found by a little orphan girl and her two rescuers a few decades ago, the diamond is cut to maximize fire and brilliance and is truly a sight to behold! Or, was. The museum curator, Lyon Prickelby, said that authorities were alerted as soon as the diamond left its case, and that our Aurors are on the job now. However, he and Head Auror, James Potter, denied further comment. We will keep you updated as the story unfolds.
Albus put the newspaper down on the table and crisply folded it back into its original shape. He usually didn't read this one, the Wizarding Press, since he believed it printed mostly rubbish, but he made it a point to read all the sources he could before taking a case. This article wasn't particularly helpful, but it had let him know that this case would be taking a high profile. The Devil's Eye really was almost as loved as the Wizarding Press said it was.
Albus was a private investigator who specialized in finding items, stolen or lost, jewelry in particular. He worked for rich clients, but here, he was focused more on the love of Britain and publicity than money.
He tipped back his mug of tea and drank the last few drops before licking his lips and getting before the Floo to make a call.
"I work alone."
Albus was in James's office. He rather disliked being in this position, with James on the other side of the table, noticing the sign that very clearly read "Head Auror." Suddenly, status played a bigger role.
"Well," said James, "not this time. This is not a case for a single man."
James had agreed to hire Albus for the case, though Albus didn't know if it was for their relationship as family or for Albus's nearly perfect solved cases to total cases ratio and expertise.
"I don't want a whole team trailing me. It's bulky. It's a hindrance."
James rubbed his face, his tiredness showing in his red eyes. "Albus, sometimes I wish you were just an Auror so you'd have less negotiating power here."
Albus smiled, knowing he was being every bit of an asshole. "And you know why I'm not an Auror."
"Fine," James said, bringing his hands down from his face and staring Albus in the eye. "You will have a partner. It's just common sense to have backup, especially when you're an outside agent."
Albus clamped his mouth shut so he wouldn't retort that he'd done just fine doing things his own way. "Fine," Albus echoed. One person he could handle better than a whole team.
"Okay, now that that's settled," James muttered, "brother, you know I love you."
"Yes, yes," Albus said, feeling his lips smile involuntarily.
"Great!" James said brightly, too brightly. "So, here's your partner."
He got up and walked across the room slowly. He opened the door, and Albus saw the person behind it revealed bit by bit. Nice pants, ooh a jacket and gold watch, blond hair, ah, recognition.
"Malfoy." Albus got up from his seat, and Scorpius breached the distance between them.
"Good day, Potter."
A bit stiffly, but firmly, they shook hands. They were professionals, after all.
A few minutes later, they were seated in a conference room, a magical projector playing the security footage onto a white screen. Albus flicked his wand, and the tape rewound. "Here is where he entered the museum." Forward. "He seems to know the museum guard's path and has disabled the wards, both to get into the museum and to get the Devil's Eye. He must either have a fancy gadget or a talent for spellbreaking." Fast forward. "And now, he exits through the backdoor and Disapparates."
A team of Aurors, some young and some old in seniority, were gathered around an oval table to discuss evidence.
"Potter, thank you for your contribution, but that's already been established." Albus looked in surprise over at his partner and tried to read his expression. There was some annoyance and some superiority mixed in there along with his attempted stone-face, and Albus just knew he wasn't looking forward to this partnership.
"So, er, what about the magical signature of the wand used to denature the wards?" Scorpius suddenly looked uncomfortable as all attention turned towards him.
"The magical signature's here." An Auror put a glass bottle on the table. Inside were swirling marsh-green sparkles. "However, it matches none of our records, since the wand and user combination is, as expected, not registered. It's already one crime we can press charges for." The Auror clicked a button and the footage zoomed into the thief's face. "This man is The Burglar, who has been committing heists all over Britain, though our expert body language analysts confirm that even though this man has never been seen in two different places at the same time, The Burglar is a polyjuiced figure. There's most likely a network of individuals committing thefts around the country."
"So, suspects?" Albus asked.
"The Kilby family is high on the list. A close relative of theirs attempted a heist of an emerald from another museum by using an agency similar to the one that we suspect performed this heist."
"Anything I should know about them?"
"They're very, very new money, a bit reckless, and own a chain of factories. And then, there's the Parkinson family, a family fallen from grace during the war and likely to try to remarket the gem underground for a hefty sum. And a few other families, but-"
James motioned for Albus's attention. "Mr. Potter, the majority of the Ministry doesn't trust outsiders with investigative work, no matter how great you are at solving your private cases, and since you aren't part of the Auror force, getting you involved in the bureaucracy with warrants and legal things is not going to go well. As a result, you will be charged with the job of retrieving the diamond. The Auror cabinet agrees that you are the most qualified."
Albus grinned.
Albus and Scorpius walked around the museum floor, casting the diagnostic spells that make visible all of the magical signatures in the area of spells cast in the last week.
"What's that?"
Albus looked up from the device he had in his hand and waved it. Scorpius was looking at him rather contritely. Albus supposed it was his idea of an offer of peace. "This?"
Scorpius nodded.
"It's a handheld device that processes the data gathered by this spell we're casting, and then it matches the data with the signature I want to trace." He continued to cast the spells nonverbally. "It's similar to the technology you guys use to search your records." Albus took a few steps. "It takes a while to process everything, but...ah, here's the spot where the thief apparated." Albus looked through the web of colors and found the dark green strand that disappeared into thin air. "If we cast the same diagnostic spells around Britain, the diameters of the ranges of the spells we cast should let us know where The Burglar ended up."
"Why doesn't the Auror department have this technology?"
Albus smiled slyly. "Well, it gives me an edge, and, well… if anyone knew about this technology, the thieves would find a way to mess with my system."
Scorpius sighed. "You're a multi-talented man. Let's go."
They first went to a few major cities and wizarding hotspots and cast the diagnostic spells there. When they felt they had covered almost all of Britain, they returned to the museum.
Albus pressed a few buttons on the device, which he called the Handy Dandy Processor, and mentioned something about a blue dog and his green-shirt-wearing friend named Steve.
"Muggle London." Scorpius, who was leaning over Albus's shoulder to get a look at the screen, pointed at the dot that indicated a match had been found. "It takes magic to Disapparate at both the start and destination."
Albus nodded and turned to look at his partner in solving crime. Scorpius shrugged, though he wasn't unfriendly. They took this as a cue and Apparated.
Albus and Scorpius appeared in London almost simultaneously. Albus looked at his blinking Handy Dandy Processor and zoomed in to find the exact location of the magical signature. It wasn't showing up on any roads.
"Er, accio abandoned wand." Albus figured the thief would have gotten rid of it after Disapparating since the magical signature didn't show up anywhere else on the processor.
Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"It was worth a try."
Behind them in an alley, something metallic rattled, like something was banging against it. The two of them shared a curious look before turning around.
Something inside a trash compactor was banging itself against the interior.
"Clever," Scorpius observed. "Good thing these compactors don't do their jobs every day. How is your luck so good?"
Just as he finished that sentence, the compactor started to rumble. Albus yelped before leaping towards the compactor like a gazelle and screeching a spell. A white light streamed from the end of his wand, and he quickly cut a square into the side of the compactor.
"Accio abandoned wand!" Two pieces of wood flew out of the square Albus had incised just as the compactor "compacted" its contents. "Merlin!" Albus lifted the split wand into the air triumphantly. "You asked about my luck? My father's genes for excellent luck didn't skip a generation."
Over calming cups of coffee, the two discussed the current situation.
"So, now that we've got the wand, we can determine the maker," Scorpius said with a sip, "and then the buyer."
"Yeah, that'd be ideal, but you know The Burglar wouldn't be that careless."
Scorpius nodded. "I assumed as much." Unexpectedly, he leaned in. "Do you have the feeling we're being watched?"
Albus said nothing but stared back at Scorpius. He drowned the rest of his cup and set it on the table. "Well, let's find out."
The bell to Ollivanders rang just as Albus had remembered it when he got his wand. Albus approached the desk, and the old man gave him a small smile.
"How may I help you two gentlemen?"
Albus smiled, placing the split wand on the table. "I need to know the buyer of this wand."
Scorpius flashed his Auror badge.
"I trust you, Albus Potter, and I won't ask about your motives." The wandmaker picked up the pieces and put them together. For a long pause, he scrunched his face tight and tried to remember. "I...I don't know."
Albus let escape a small sigh. "Thanks, Mr. Ollivander. I guessed as much."
He shared a look with Scorpius and knew they were thinking the same thing. Obliviated.
"I do remember that the man was thin and had a quiet voice," Ollivander offered. "Let me check my records."
When he did and gave the name to the pair of investigators, the records were as expected. Scorpius checked the name, Stella Welreen, at the Ministry and got nothing.
"Any ideas?" Albus said when they'd left the Ministry hall of records.
Scorpius shook his head. "Let me think." He put his head between his hands. "Is there any way to tell who might have access to a device that can bring down powerful wards like that?" Almost immediately, he ruled it out. "Never mind, most Pureblood families have secret heirlooms."
The two stood in silence, their thoughts brewing, for a good few minutes. Albus felt his vision shake, as it usually did when he started to focus too much on the thoughts in his head.
"Wait," he said. "Diamonds are magical absorbers."
Scorpius's eyes lit up.
Scorpius was able to use his influence to talk to the museum curators about arranging for the same people who cast the original wards on the diamond to replicate the spells, which produced the same magical signature.
Albus cast that magical trace again using the Handy Dandy Processor, and the Processor was able to use the data they had loaded earlier that day from their first search for the wand to find a match for this magical signature.
"Gringotts!" he exclaimed.
With a quick thanks, they Disapparated.
"Okay," Albus said, striding forward quickly, "we can use the maps I've loaded into the processor, but they aren't very extensive. Otherwise, we're just going blind."
"Understandable." Nobody really knew the extent of Gringotts except the goblins.
The two of them got into a cart using Scorpius's very handy Auror badge and started to bumping down the tracks.
"The Processor says that the diamond is this way," Albus said, pointing northeast. "Can't tell where it goes or how to get there, though."
Albus and Scorpius decided to check a few different vaults in the general direction that the Processor was pointing. Soon, they discovered that the task of finding the diamond was nearly impossible.
They'd escaped more than a few booby traps set by the old Pureblood families to guard their riches and heirlooms, most memorably doors that closed behind them and stayed closed, impervious to any blasting spells or other charms. They were locked into a room tainted with so much dark magic that the Processor went into overdrive. There also were a few instances involving pits of snakes (how did they get fed, anyway?), huge swinging maces, and clay warriors that came to life. By the time Scorpius and Albus were through, they were just glad to have made it.
"It's been six hours," Albus said, glancing at his watch. "Want to call it a day?"
"What a day, indeed." Scorpius heaved, out of breath. Those clay warriors were surprisingly difficult to kill. "But more seriously, yes. We know which tombs we've already checked and are unlikely to have the gem. We just have to make sure The Burglar doesn't move the Devil's Eye."
"Can we employ some goblin guards?"
"Maybe?"
Albus was about to discuss that further before spotting a dragon staring at them from a vault further down the line. "Scorpius."
"Yeah?"
Albus pointed. "Let's take care of that dragon before he remembers us tomorrow."
The two made their way cautiously over, but surprisingly, the dragon didn't pounce.
"Should we kill it?" asked Albus. "This is the Kilby vault."
"Why? It's not doing anything."
"Is it possible to Polyjuice into an animal?"
"Don't think so. Potter, let's just go around it."
They circled the dragon, realizing they might want to check just one vault more before retiring for the day.
"Wait!" Albus hissed. "How'd you get past it without ringing the bell?"
"Why is its eye shiny?" Scorpius murmured back.
Forgetting his original question, Albus shouted, "That's the Devil's Eye!" Then, sobering, he continued. "Or a glamor. Only one way to know. Sectumsempra!"
The dragon's head toppled from its shoulders.
"It recognized your magic," Albus strode over to the dragon's head and extracted the diamond, performing diagnostics for Dark spells. It was always sad when he had to kill. "Nothing, and it's genuine," he muttered, pocketing the gem before continuing. "Why did it recognize you?"
Scorpius shifted uncomfortably. "That dragon," he said slowly, "was my father's at one time. I might have a similar magical aura to my father."
"I should have known the Malfoys were involved."
"Okay, well, it's not my fault."
"Prove it." Albus started to walk out of the vault.
"You can't just assume that people are guilty because of their family members."
"You're right." Albus suddenly loosened. He turned around. "I'm sorry."
Scorpius nodded.
Scorpius reported back to his superiors what they had found and promised that he would try to get more information from his father. He went to the Manor with an extendable ear while another Auror recorded the conversation. Draco Malfoy, who thought blood ran thicker than anything, trusted his son.
"I knew I could get you on the case. I have a few contacts in the ministry. And I thought our would bring prestige to the family...public adoration…" Draco Malfoy said.
"Dad, didn't you think that there were other ways? Didn't you trust me to do well myself?"
"I've been watching, and you did do well. I thought nobody would guess; the diamond was in muggle hands originally..."
The crumbling state of the Manor and the depleted Malfoy funds, which had both been eaten up by the war and Voldemort's expenses, reminded Scorpius of how little his father had to lose. He had gambled with pride.
"And I figured," Draco Malfoy continued, "that I made it easy enough to find me, even though I did try to sneak it into the Kilby vault without success. It would have made things easier for you, Scorpius, to solve the case perfectly."
Scorpius vigorously shook his head, and his labored breaths passed over the extendable ear. "Dad, I'm doing fine in my job. I'm bringing pride to myself and this family, and… this is all the confession I need."
Draco's eyes widened and he outstretched one of his arms, but Scorpius didn't look back.
DEVIL'S EYE FOUND BY THIEF'S SON AND HIS PARTNER
The largest diamond in the world was stolen from Britain's Wizarding Museum of the Natural and Unnatural but quickly found by our Aurors. Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter, who were charged with finding the diamond, offered no comments about the case, but we do know that the thief will be facing multiple charges. Currently, the diamond rests at the museum, though with more safety measures, once more!
