Prologue

A light rain made the streets of London glisten in the lamplight that evening when the existence of two hidden worlds was threatened. A loud noise like a firecracker disrupted the otherwise still evening, and a man in flowing emerald robes appeared out of thin air and immediately collapsed against a building. The street was deserted and only a few curious people investigated the source of the noise casually from their windows, only to dismiss it.

The man propped himself up against the wall of the building beside him and held on to his shoulder. His red blood started to mesh with the rain soaking his robes and he grimaced in pain. He staggered toward a red telephone box situated in a small alley and closed the door around him. He took the telephone dial off the hook and dialed a five digit number.

Before he could speak into the mouthpiece, though, a dark sedan skidded to a halt directly in front of the alley.

"Shit!" the man cursed as he reopened the telephone box and rushed outside. Before he could make it two steps, though, there was a "ftt" sound and another bullet pierced his back. His breath caught and he fell forward into a puddle, and the blood started to spill faster now.

Someone in a dark poncho stepped out of the vehicle and began to step toward the dying man. He watched helplessly as the assassin reached into the folds of his robes and drew out a sphere, half white and half red. The sphere seemed to glow slightly.

The assassin began to walk away and the dying man heard him speak- he knew Muggles had a way of communicating via something called a... blue tooth?

"It's done. I've recovered it." There was a short pause, then, "Yes, sir."

The assassin started to walk back. The man squeezed his eyes shut tight, but curiosity got the better of him, and he opened them to see the man pointing a silenced gun directly at his face.

The man could only whimper slightly as the assassin squeezed the trigger.

It was not a normal morning at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Mrs. Potter and the family servant, Kreacher, were bustling around in the kitchen, frying eggs and bacon, while the boys were play-dueling with children's toy wands. The wands had been the father's idea, and the mother could hardly say she approved, especially this morning as her youngest son leaped (impressively, she would admit) from the bannister to the living room couch and shoot an imaginary spell at his older brother.

"Boys, would you please not tear up the couch or each other, please and thank you!" the irritable mother yelled at them. They did not comply.

"Dear," she said, in a tone that conveyed anything other than affection. "Help, please?"

Harry Potter sat down the morning's Daily Prophet and leaned his chair back enough to see into the living room, as it was adjacent to the kitchen table and yelled, "Boys, listen to your mother."

"Lily!" Ginny Potter called as she magicked a fried egg out of the fryer and onto a saucer. "Come down for breakfast! It's your big day!"

There was no answer, aside from the ruckus of the boys.

"Harry, do you mind?"

Harry finished his last bite of toast and said, "Not at all."

He walked past his dueling sons in the living room and said, "Boys, if you don't settle down, you'll be spending the weekend with your Uncle Percy."

"No!" both boys yelled in unison as their father started up the stairs.

Harry arrived at the second landing and knocked on his daughter's door. "Lily? Are you awake?"

"Don't come in!" yelled a five-year-old girl's voice from behind the door.

"Why not?"

"I don't want anyone to see me!"

Harry frowned in confusion. "Why wouldn't I want to see you? You're my only daughter and the prettiest girl I know- don't tell your mother." He heard the sound of a muffled thump from the living room, followed by his wife's carrying voice, "Albus Severus Potter!"

'And right now you're my favorite child," Harry continued.

"I moved my dresser in front of the door!" Lily called. "You can't come in!"

"Honey, I'm an Auror in the Ministry of Magic Department of Magical Law Enforcement," said Harry. "I've raided more tightly secured places than this before."

"Don't!"

"I'm counting to three," Harry said. "One... two..."

The door opened, and there she stood, all three feet one of her in her pink footsie pajamas and her red hair tied up in pig tails.

"Hey, sweetheart," Harry said, kneeling down to her level. "What was that all about?"

"I'm five and a half," said Lily.

Harry was confused. "Come again?"

Lily took a deep breathe and explained, "Today's my half birthday. I'm five and a half."

Harry nodded in faux understanding. "Well, happy half birthday."

"No, daddy!" said Lily. "It's not, because I'm still only three feet tall!"

Harry suppressed a chuckle. "Well, how tall should you be?"

"James said if I didn't turn three and a half feet by the time I was five and a half, I was stuck and I'd stop growing."

"Honey, James stopped growing two years ago at 4 foot even," Harry said. "Your mother and I thought he was too big, so we put a jinx on him."

Lily giggled. "Really?"

"Oh yeah," said Harry. "And what's more, I put stretching jinxes on your mother while you were in her tummy. So you'll most likely end up taller than both James and Al."

"Oh, okay," said Lily.

"So what do you say?" Harry asked. "Ready for playgroup?"

"Yeah," said Lily, smiling now.

"That's what I thought," said Harry. "Go on get dressed."

"Okay!" said Lily, pushing him out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Harry made his way back into the kitchen and grabbed another piece of toast. The boys and Ginny were eating their own meal. "Time?" he asked.

"Two minutes to seven, Master Harry," answered Kreacher.

"Thanks... oh dear, I'm late," said Harry. "I'm off!" he announced, grabbing his cloak.

"Stay safe, dear," Ginny called and the boys both jumped up to give their father a hug good-bye.

"Oh, I love you boys," he said kissing them both on the head. "Now, I really do have to go. I'll let you know if I'll be running late."

He left to the choruses of "Bye, dad!" and stepped into the fireplace. "Auror Office!" he said, dropping the floo power, and he disappeared in a burst of green flame.

He spun round and round until he stepped out into the familiar cubicle. He dropped his Prophet on his desk and called out for his secretary, a bright young witch named Amy.

"What's the latest?" he asked as he sat down at his desk.

"The Director wants to know the status of the surveillance teams in Amsterdam," the tiny, blonde girl read, "and also, Magical Law wants to review the evidence of the Erica case... again."

Harry was already writing the memo for the Minister. "Tell Law I don't have the authority to disclose evidence, there's someone in their own office who can do that and they really don't need to be sending me reminders that they think I'm a lying bastard... again."

"I think if I told them that, they'd give me reprimand for rudeness," Amy said, quietly.

"Tell them I said it."

"You did say it."

"Then you're an honest woman and I don't see what the problem is," said Harry, signing his name and sending the memo on its way.

"Was that about the surveillance teams in Amsterdam?" asked Amy.

"It was."

"To the Minister."

"I know. Anything else?"

"Oh," said Amy as if just remembering. "Your... tellyfone... dinged?"

Harry looked at the two piece rotary dial on his desk. "My telephone rang?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"Who was it?"

"Inspector Carleton," said Amy, looking up as she recalled the name. "Wants you to call him back as soon as you can."

"Maybe start with that first," said Harry, reaching for the dial and the small sheet of parchment with Carleton's number on it. "Carleton is an officer of the law, even if he is a Muggle."

"Of course, I'm sorry, sir," said Amy. "Also, Robarbs wants to know if we should revisit the security-"

"Later," Harry interrupted. He listened to the phone ringing until he heard Lou Carleton answer. "Inspector, this is Mr. Potter. You called?"

"Hey, Harry, I thought you ought to know we found a gunshot victim in an alley."

"Inspector, gunshots usually imply a Muggle killer."

"Thing is, he's dressed like one of you... and he was found just by that visitor's entrance to your Ministry downtown."

That was curious. Harry thought about it for a second. "I'm on the way." He hung up and grabbed his cloak.

"Tell Ron when he gets in to meet me by the visitor's entrance!" he called to Amy, who nodded and watched him disapparate.

Harry appeared in a secluded spot behind a bar and made his way to the alley in question. He made his way through the crowd of onlookers and flashed a charmed badge at the officer manning the police tape who let him through unquestioned.

"Lou," said Harry, keeping his head down in the light drizzle. "What have we got?"

"Three gunshots- head, back, and shoulder," said the tall, thin man. "Two exit wounds, one bullet." Carleton handed the banged up tiny piece of metal in a plastic evidence bag. "The one from the headshot. He was wearing robes, and I found these on him." Inspector Carleton handed Harry a wand and a small handful of sickles.

"This bloke's definitely a wizard then," said Harry, leaning over to look at the face. "What's that around the wound?"

"Powder burns," said the Inspector. "Shot point blank."

He continued to stare at what was left of the face. "Something about him seems familiar," he said.

Harry noticed something gleaming on the man's neck and reached for it. It was a necklace and when Harry saw the charm, his heart sank. It was a butterbeer bottle cap.

"I know who he is," Harry sad.

"One of you?" asked the Inspector.

Harry nodded. He'd have to break the news.

"What is it, then?" came a voice, and Harry looked up to greet his partner, Ron Weasley. "Is he a wizard?"

"Yeah, Ron, it's Rolf."

Ron drew a blank at first, then his eyes widened in realization. "Not Rolf... Luna's-"

"Yeah," said Harry. "Luna's husband."

"So, the usual?" Carleton asked.

Harry didn't want the usual. He knew Rolf, it seemed like he deserved more. This was the love of Luna's life. The Vanishing Act seemed dishonest. But, it was the only way to fly under the Muggle's radar.

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry said. "Pull the van around." They waited as the coroner moved Rolf to the gourney and wheeled it to the van. Harry and Ron climbed in after the body and shut the doors. The van pulled away and then Harry and Ron both took hold of the body and disapparated, reappearing in the Auror Office morgue.

"So why was a magizoologist shot with a gun trying to get into the Ministry of Magic?" Ron asked. "Could it be random? A mugger?"

"Nothing was taken," said Harry. "Do you want to notify Luna, or shall I?"

"I'll do it," said Ron. "Find us some answers."

Ron left and Harry leaned over the gunshot wound in the back. Muttering a few choice spells, he magicked the bullet out of his back. Harry removed the robes and set them on an adjacent table.

This wasn't his first postmortem, but examining a friend, even if he wasn't particularly close, clearly wasn't the same. Harry took a towel from the cabinet and covered up Rolf from the waist down.

The door opened and Harry looked up, expecting to see Ron, maybe leading Luna, but instead it was Bob... oh Christ, what was his surname? Harry couldn't think of it. He tried to steer the direction in the right way.

"You're from Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, right?"

"Yeah, good to see you again, Harry."

Dammit.

"I received a letter from Rolf this morning. He must've sent it yesterday," Bob said. "He's been trying to get the Department to investigate his claims for years.

Knowing Rolf and Luna, Harry could imagine the sort of claims they'd take before the Ministry of Magic. "I know, they have sort of unconventional ideas about magical creatures."

"It wasn't that. He's written us several letters over the past few weeks claiming that populations of magical creatures have been going down. The letter I received this morning told me he'd found out something big, and as soon as he had some proof, he'd bring it to us. I guess he tried to get it to us last night, and that's why..."

"Do you have the letter?" Harry asked. Bob handed it over.

Dear Bob, (again, no last name)

I was right. Common Welsh Green populations have dropped nearly ten percent in the past month. I know what's happening, and I'm finding it hard to believe, and I know the Ministry will never take these kinds of allegations seriously, but if I'm right, the people responsible are really dangerous, and I'm trying to take the right precautions. I'm going to get some proof, and then I'll bring it to your office. If something happens, get to the Auror Office.

Cheers,

Rolf

Harry read the letter through two times. "Do you know what he meant by dangerous?"

"No," said Bob. "This is the first letter that mentions someone deliberately doing this."

"I'll need those other letters," Harry said.

Bob nodded. "If you'll excuse me." He left then, passing Ron at the doorway.

"Luna's unreachable," Ron said. "No idea where she is. Should I file a missing person's report?"

"No, she's safe, I'm sure," said Harry. "Look at this." He showed Ron the letter. "When he talks about precautions? He would've gotten Luna out of harm's way if he thought she was in danger."

"What was he onto?" Ron asked.

"I'm guessing a serious breach in the Statute of Secrecy. Dragons disappearing in Wales, a magizoologist investigating, and then he turns up killed by a Muggle weapon? I think Muggles have been capturing magical creatures."