A/N: This is a new story; a Laby/ Harry Potter crossover. I'm tentatively putting this between the fifth and sixth books, but its been a while since I've read the books. So, jump on in and feel free to give some feedback. This isn't going to be a long story and updates should be pretty regular seeing as I have several chapters already written. I shouldn't even had started this story (I have two unfinished that I'm working on), but I got bit by a muse and now have to see it through to the end. so, enjoy The Paths That Cross.

A Muggle's Death

Mavic Mavoria stood next to her partner Hoob Horbes in the living space of a muggle home. At first glance the flat was the same as any other well to do British family. This certain apartment was a little more posh than others that Mavic had been to, for it encompassed the entire top floor of the complex. The interior was spotless, but with a warm homey feel to it. Obviously whoever lived in the home took great pains to make it comfortable. A large painting of a maze covered an entire wall of the house. It was an odd picture and seemed out of place in the muggle home, but it was the only thing that did not conform with Mavic's idea of muggles.

Currently, however, the living room was crawling with the wizarding world. Wands were flicking and swishing as four or five young wizards ran to and fro examining everything and anything for clues. Mavic gave Hoob a pained expression as a witch looked under a paperweight. "This is why we do the investigations," she said warily.

Hoob gave her a small smile his soft brown eyes glistening with amusement. He reached into his deep purple robe, drew out his wand and tapped it three times against a wall. The hustle and bustle in the room paused, all eyes on him. "The Ministry can take over from here, back to stations." Disappointed groans and cracks filled the air and within moments Mavic and Hoob were standing alone in the room. Hoob pushed blond bangs from his eyes and sighed. "I know they need the experience, but must the cadets always taint a crime scene?"

Mavic just laughed. How easy it was for her partner to forget their training. On several occasions they had done the same to the other senor investigators. A shadow crossed her youthful face and pain reflected from her violet eyes. That was before...before the Dark Lord. Now, there were only a few investigators left and they had thier hands full trying to cover the muggle killings.
Working for the Ministry lately wasn't without peril, but both she and Hoob felt it necessary to continue.

Mavic and Hoob were part of a dying community. They were Seekers that worked in the Muggle Department in the Ministry of Magic. Not much was known about them, for they worked in secrecy, but their main mission was to discover if a muggle death could be tied to the wizarding world. The past few years, with the rising of the Dark Lord, the Seekers were finding themselves in a precarious position. Seekers were now being killed when sent out into the field. Mavic and Hoob both feared what this implied, but had no choice but to accept an order to investigate a muggle's death, so here they were in the muggle's home.

Hoob had meandered away and bent down over a figure lying face up on the floor. Mavic followed, the swish of her emerald robe the only sound in the room, until she too stood before the woman. The woman was beautiful, even in death: Pale skinned, black haired and the greenest of eyes. Now, however; the eyes were lifeless and gazing blankly. The once flawless face was bruised and there were several cuts all over the body. The clothes, some of the finest muggle clothes that Mavic had seen, were torn and ripped into shreds. Bruises, ugly black and purple splotches, covered the woman's bare arms and hands. Mavic had seen many deaths (more and more each month), but she had never seen anything as wasteful as the death of the woman before her. Her stomach gave a strange flip and Mavic forced herself to turn away.

Hoob waved his wand and a parchment appeared in midair. He began to speak in a clear, clerical voice as he began to examine the muggle. Mavic crossed the floor to a mantle above a fireplace. Pictures cluttered the surface of several different muggles, but oddly enough a few creatures from the wizarding world as well could be seen in the frames. Strange, she thought.

"Female Muggle," Hoob's voice began. A feathered quill scribbled on the parchment of its own accord. "Name: Sarah Williams; Age: 29; Relatives: Unknown." Scratch scratch continued the quill.

Mavic continued to eye the photos before her as Hoob documented the wounds on the body, and there had been plenty. A random picture caught her gaze and she roughly grabbed it from the mantle. There was the woman, Sarah Williams, but alive. Her eyes were gems of happiness. On Sarah Williams' lap was a young boy of maybe four with the brightest blond hair and the most adorable of smiles. And behind Sarah Williams, one hand resting on her shoulder one hand on the boy's, was the most handsome man Mavic had ever seen. He stood tall and proud, blond hair alive with its own energy. The entire family was dressed in muggle clothing, but Mavic was certain this man was not a muggle. Something about him, even through a muggle picture, seemed too alive and too vibrant. She forced her face away from the image. "Hoob, look here," she hurriedly gave the picture over," I think this must be her husband and child."

Hoob took the picture clearly uninterested until he saw the man. Of its own accord his hand touched the glass. "Who..." he began in confusion. Swallowing he looked up to his partner. Looking at the man had made him uneasy and he saw the same expression in Mavic's eyes. "Search the rooms for the boy," he said nervously. "I'll finish here." Mavic gave a quick nod and exited the room.
Hoob let his eyes fall once more on the photo still grasped by his hand. This man radiated a power and Hoob was quite terrified to think what would happen when he learned of his wife's death. Hoob couldn't understand his own intuition. All he knew was that he feared this man...more so perhaps than the Dark Lord.