pansy nodded “look, i realize you’ve summoned me and it must be somewhat important if i had to ome bak all the way from brussels, but the girl who’s pratially my godhild has gone missing and i’ve only just found out and i—”
“oh dear,” the woman shook her head and her fae flushed with pity
“what?” pansy ried, shaking her head bak and forth suddenly the pessimism she’d worked so hard to bury ame bubbling up to overwhelm her she fought bak a sob “what is it?”
“why don’t you follow me to my offie?”
tears pooled in pansy’s eyes as she trailed behind the woman down the main hall of the atrium into a divin offie she didn’t reognize as soon as she read the sign outside family affairs ministry liaison, something old and bitter shot down her spine “bsp;you tell me what this is about, please?” i’m starting to pani, pansy thought and fored herself to take a deep breath
the woman stopped at an empty desk, took her pe behind it, and moned for pansy to sit aurora thistlewik, a to her desk pard, almly opened a folder and gulped “i’m sorry to be the one to rm you of this terrible news but—”
“oh, sazar, no,” pansy whimpered
“marwan zivantus is now deeased, whih leaves guardianship of his daughter, bertrie, to you”
“what?” pansy yelled, in shok, relief, and perhaps a small pinh of wistful affen
the fore of pansy’s outburst aused aurora thistlewik to shoot bak in her hair
“i apologize,” pansy gathered what little omposure she ould find in her rity, she remembered drao’s letter, and narrowed her eyes perhaps ter she might regret the tone and the look she gave the poor thistlewik woman most likely not, though “wait a moment you want to sign over guardianship of a hild to me, who a to my best friend has been missing sine—” pansy pulled out the letter and noted the date, “—st tuesday!”
“we have two highly experiened ministry offiials w on the ase,” thistlewik assured “it’s all very messy up there what with the murder of mister zivantus”
pansy ughed and then shooled her fae into something one again ral and hopefully terrifying “here’s what we’re going to do i will sign whatever paperwork you have for me while you write down the names of both offiials on the ase, the names of the offiials involved in the murder iigan, and any other perti rman that will help me navigate the so-alled mess that is the edinburgh ministry offies”
“this is pratially muggle edinburgh, eversworn where are you taking me?” malfoy walked beside him, and harry ould’ve sworn he didn’t remember inviting the git along he was about to say as muh, but malfoy asked, a hint of worry in his voie, “don’t tell me she’s all the way out here?”
harry shook his head and pointed to the familiar townhome on theblok “just there,” he said malfoy swatted harry’s hand down and pulled him to the side of the houses “what are you doing, malfoy?”
“we an go in from the bak, through the garden”
“you pn to break in?” harry wasn’t sure why he was surprised “have you not met your weekly quota of ommitting burgries?”
malfoy almost sneered but seem to ath himself “and what was your pn, knok on the door and almly ask whoever is holding her aptive to politely give her up?”
harry frowned “who said she was being held aptive?” malfoy broke their stare and pretended to be ied in the vines rawling up the ttie of a nearby home harry took a step loser and made malfoy look at him “the papers and the signs just say missing what do you know that the rest of us don’t?”
“i don’t know what you mean,” malfoy still refused to look at him
unable to stop himself from exhaling irritably, harry took a step bak and rossed his arms the added spae between them drew a look from malfoy if he knew more than he was saying, harry had to get as muh rman as he ould, whih meant going along with the ridiulous break in idea it also meant they might resue bertrie, if she was in fat in need of resuing so harry stepped to the side and pointed to the bak of the row of homes “well, then, lead the way”
they found their way around the first ouple of gardens easily enough it wasn’t ideal, but arin was risky around homes with any number of possible wards to ounter magi harry refused to let malfoy’s athleti ability impress him and turned his bak the seond time malfoy bakflipped over a fene “is that neessary?” harry ouldn’t stop himself
“absolutely,” malfoy drawled “isn’t it obus, eversworn? i haven’t met my bakflip quota for the week”
“get on with it”
malfoy took his wand out and roahed the bakdoor of the townhome “alohamora”
the door opened
“i an not believe that atually worked,” harry breathed malfoy grinned bak at him and then pushed through the door harry took out his wand and followed
the house was dark; it took a few moments for harry’s eyes to adjust they didn’t fous in time to see a massive stak of neers diretly in front of him he was an inh from olliding with it when malfoy pulled him sideways against his hest malfoy put his index finger over his lips and jerked his head toward the other side of the room
guinevere, the kneazle, sat on top of the endless piles of neers she stared at them and they bak at her for lose to a minute for a moment, harry ould swear the thing looked angry with him then, in a blur of red fluff, the animal lunged at harry and dug her ws into his right upper leg
“sile” malfoy pointed his wand at harry just as he started to sream out in pain then he roughly grabbed harry’s wrists when he attempted to swat the thing off of him malfoy whispered, “let me take it,” and proeeded to wait an insufferable amount of time before arefully prying the l
