The week went smoothly and the men got back into the flow of working. Hydrus and Harry started lessons again and those were going well. Nothing more happened with the store and the papers dropped the story now that it was old news.
Hydrus received a letter of apology from Mr. Greengrass. In it he stated that he had not known his wife took losing their son so hard. He explained that they were doing what they thought best for the child. Now his son could prosper in the non-magical world. They had donated a lot of money to the orphanage and were one of the ones who sent gifts to the other children. He promised to get her help in the form of a mind-healer to help her better understand that she didn't lose a son; he was just in a better place.
The family was sitting at breakfast on Saturday morning and enjoying the quiet time, when the phone rang. "I'll get it," Hydrus said as he got up and made his way to the living room. All the while hoping better mobiles would come out soon. "Hello."
"Mr. Hydrus Black?" asked a deep male voice.
"This is he," the immortal said, recognizing the voice of one of his investigators.
"Mark here. I have a report for you," the now named Mark said.
"Go ahead," Hydrus sighed as he plopped down on the sofa and hoped for good news.
"First, I wanted to report that I did a background check on all the women you know and they all come up clean for using Dark magic. There are a few minor things, but nothing Dark. Second, I took a deeper look at the timed spell used in the store and I don't think that it was the Greengrass woman's work. The signatures on the howler and the balls are different. We're pretty sure they were working together, but when we questioned Greengrass, she had no recollection of the spell. We think her mind has been wiped." The man took a deep breath and continued, "Third, we got into Azkaban and talked to Skeeter. She said that she only heard a woman's voice in passing that she was 'going to make them pay' and took it to mean that this person was an up-and-coming Dark Lady. She never got a look at the woman," Mark droned in an apathetic voice. "Also, we don't have an origin on the spell; the motion detector on it was a masterpiece. Whoever did this is very, very smart." He actually sounded a bit excited about that bit of news.
"Well, damn. Thanks. Let me know if you find out more and give your report to the DMLE," the time traveler said, running his hand down his face. At least he knew it wasn't his friends or employees.
"Of course," the detective said and hung up.
"Good-bye to you too," Hydrus mumbled as he replaced the receiver. He went back to the table and shook his head slightly and mouthed 'later'. They resumed their meal of Scotch eggs. When they were done, he sent Harry to do some homework and the adults trooped to the living room. Hydrus told them what Mark had said and they all settled with thoughtful looks on their faces.
"Well, I'm clueless," Sirius said after a minute.
"Me too," Remus sighed.
"I don't have any ideas either," Hydrus said. "Let's wait and see if the DMLE comes up with anything. What are you guys doing today?"
"I have a date with Laura," the dogman said, waggling his eyebrows.
"I have to go to the book store. We are having a sale today, in the magical side, to clear out some of the inventory. There is a new mystery novel set to come out and we need the space," the werewolf said.
The new mystery was going to be a bestseller. It was the first magical one on the market. While the magicals hadn't gotten around to making cartoons and movies, they were taking things from the non-magical books in The Book Nook and adapting them for their community. They had a few romances that flew off the shelves, but this was the first mystery that used magical and non-magical means to discover the villain. Remus was excited.
"I have to go to the appliance store. Mr. Parker said one of the employees quit and he wants my opinion on the applicants," the immortal said. "One of us needs to stay with Harry." He looked at the other two.
"My date isn't until later, I can stay until around one," offered Sirius.
"Okay, I should be done by then. Have him finish his work on the book I assigned and I'll be back before noon."
"Why are you making him do homework on a Saturday?" Remus asked, once again thinking that Hydrus was pushing the boy too hard.
"It's only reading," Hydrus said with a bit of a bite. "All he has to do is read and come to me with the words he doesn't know. If I can get him to read a bit every day then he will learn faster."
"Still, it is Saturday," the werewolf pointed out.
"And when he is done, I'll take him flying the rest of the day. Look, we all agreed that when it came to Harry's education I was in charge. I don't think I'm pushing him too hard, if he starts to hate reading then I'll back off. But right now he is enjoying it, doing well and learning fast. So let it be," his tone suggested the subject was over.
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