Capricorn Ⅱ

The room is silent until Alastor raises a hard gaze from the dusty floor. "You say, War, Percius. Are you referring to the allies of Riddle? And if so, have any giant sightings been confirmed yet?"

"Not yet," Percius admitted. "But Capricorn trusts Crow's information, and as do I."

Alastor nods his head once, before saying, "Well, onto business shall we, what else is there to discuss?"

Fabian is the first to change the subject as he says, "The Order will be transferring to a new Headquarters that is even more secure than the Hogs Head Inn. We have yet to be made aware of exactly when the transfer will officially occur as the Safe House is not yet fully ready."

"Mm," Alastor grunted, before interjecting, "Rufus and I have been tracking Runcorn and any known pureblood in connection to the Death Eaters. They are all keeping low profiles for the time being, either out of fear or simply waiting for Riddle's return.

"On the other hand, the underworld has taken a severe hit in their revenue and members," Gideon gleefully interjected. "Sanderson hasn't been able to make a move thanks to the A.P.D. as they are excellent at sniffing out any illegal substance and are superb at reconnaissance."

"Mm, I would not be too sure about that," Percius said through narrowed eyes. "Ogden hadn't meant to let it slip, but he said, 'that the Minister of Magic is reluctant to move on Sanderson without proof. And we all know of Ogden's hatred for Sanderson, but that does not mean his words are a lie."

"The Minister of Magic wouldn't have done such a thing!" Gideon protested before a trace of doubt entered his voice. "Could she?"

"Bloody, no good politicians the whole lot of them," Alastor huffed. "You get that into your skull, Gideon, even the best of them will sell their own soul for a price. And they all have a price believe me."

The conversation takes a turn to politics for some minutes, before Percius interrupts, "It is late, and we all have to be up in a few hours. A tired Auror makes for a dead Auror." (Which was true because a tired Auror could not properly react in time to counter a curse.)

"Fine," Gideon harrumphed as Fabian was finally unable to stifle a loud yawn causing Gideon to yawn in turn.

The two Prewett brothers stealthily slip away into the night leaving behind the figures of Alastor and that of Percius. Making sure the Prewett brothers are long gone, Alastor coldly says, "Now explain exactly just what this is about, Percius. I do not want any runarounds just tell it to me how it is."

Percius rubs the back of his neck tiredly as he stretches and leans back into his seat. "I was contacted by Damocles not too long ago. From what I understand Damocles owes a life debt to Reginald Prince and intends to pay the debt via the capture of those responsible for the murder of Sirsa Prince, and Tobias Snape. I wasn't certain of him at first, but since he has given his apprentice leave for the next month. I am certain that he intends to leak the location of his cottage with or without my aid."

Percius closes his eyes and sighs in exhaustion fighting off the urge to fall asleep right then and there. "Damocles through a Slytherin is not a bad sort, and he was always friends with Secundus despite being a few years older. He has a sharp temperament and is somewhat harsh in his dealing with others, but he is trustworthy as much as any Slytherin can be."

"But you can't do this alone, Percius," Alastor protested. "At least take Dawlish with you."

Percius shakes his head and says, "I've already asked Elphinstone for a month's leave, Alastor, today was my last day on duty."

Alastor looks as if he is going to loudly protest, but Percius quickly interrupts him by saying, "And Dawlish is still somewhat untrained, I will not put anyone else in peril if I can help it. I will depart for Damocles cottage tonight and that will be the end of that."

Alastor does not appear to be too convinced, but he does not speak further on the subject. Changing the subject, he says, "So have you learned anything about our mysterious disappearances during the Quidditch Cup?"

"No," Percius reluctantly admitted. "It is though there is not a single clue, and I would even say it is a product of my overactive imagination except I put a spell on those reports and they are subtly being destroyed or mistakenly filed one by one."

Alastor sends a sharp glance at Percius before his eyes turn distant in recollection. "Right after Sara's death, Alphard and the child met in private," Alastor confessed to the astonishment of Percius. "I knew Alphard was lying at the time, but whatever the child had asked him must have been pressing because Alphard never anything slip past his lips except for one night over drinks."

"And just what did Alphard let slip?" Percius asked.

"Alphard said that it was his fault that Saturina Shackleton was dead," Alastor quietly replied.

"Dead?" Percius furrowed his brows. "But she was a desk Auror, she couldn't possibly have-." Percius's eyes widen as a disturbing realization appears on his face. "Saturina would have access to Auror records that you and I regularly wouldn't be able to access due to being on active field duty. She must have found something, yes. What was it?!"

Alastor shakes his head and gravely replies, "Alphard never learned what it was, she was killed before they could speak by that Lobalug in a package that made its way to her desk without being caught by any of the mail clerk's."

"I always thought there was something suspicious about that incident," Percius whispered, "but I thought it was just my paranoia speaking."

"Paranoia," Alastor snorted. "Paranoia is what keeps us Auror's alive, Percius!"

Percius wryly glances over at Alastor as if to say, "Well, you are a clear example of the opposite truth of that, my friend."

Both wizards are silent for some time afterward until Percius looks at the clock and says, "We best be going now if we want to get any sleep before our early shift in a few hours."

"As if we are going to get any sleep after our conversation," Alastor grumbled under his breath, which was true. The likelihood of them getting any sleep at this point was low, and rather improbable. Still, the two carefully parted and each returned to their own beds to lie awake in thought until near dawn, before dressed for their day one in a scarlet uniform and another in casual robes. It was going to be a long day for the two of them.