Cornelius Fudge did not like or appreciate surprises. He hated surprise parties, surprise weather, and above all, he hated surprise guests. Percy Jackson was a surprise guest, and the more the Minister studied him, the more Cornelius Fudge decided that he might hate him. First there had been the sheer and utter embarrassment that had been the Potter trial. What was supposed to have been a quick and relatively painless sentencing, had turned into a mockery. Percy Jackson had been an unwelcome surprise guest then, and he had utterly ruined both the trial, and potentially his own reputation as a deliverer of justice.

Then, he finds out through Dolores, that he supposedly met with Amelia Bones for nearly two hours following the trial. Another unwelcome surprise; what had they plotting? Oh and he knew they had been plotting. He wasn't sure how, but Bones had somehow found a way to block the surveillance runes he had installed in her office. Shortly after Jackson's arrival, he had been informed of the meeting and had attempted to listen in, only for there to be nothing to hear.

Silence.

It wasn't a coincidence, he knew that. Cornelius Fudge was no fool. Bones and Jackson must have been plotting something. Plotting against him, against Britain, against magic itself for all he knew. It wasn't a coincidence after all, that Jackson should conveniently arrive as a surprise witness in the Potter trial, before holding a closed doors meeting with the head of the DMLE. But Jackson's arrival held even greater and more disturbing implications. After his arrival at the trial, Fudge had made some inquiries as to the man's assertion that he was an agent of the ICW.

All of his contacts had come back telling him that yes, Percy Jackson was indeed and an agent of the ICW as part of the United States' contract of international threat suppression with the confederation following the events of 2001. It had been even more disturbing to Fudge following this affirmation of Jackson's claims. If he was here, plotting with his director of law enforcement, then that had to mean that the ICW was supporting whatever coup was in the works!

He should have seen it coming, he should have known. They were jealous of him, jealous of his intelligence and successes as Minister. It had been him who had brought the World Cup back home where it belonged! It had been him that had brought back the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and had even managed to ensure that the Kingdom and Hogwarts played host! It was a result of his efforts that the magical economy was booming, and that the unemployment rates were dropping at hitherto unheard-of intervals. The Confederation viewed him as a threat and were now plotting to have him taken out before it was too late. He had too much power, and influence in the international community, that had to be it. The High Council was worried about him and what he might become.

It had all started to make sense, and so, when Dolores had rushed into his office that morning, panting that one of her informants in the department had alerted her of Jackson's presence, he had dropped everything and rushed down to nip this little coup in the bud. Lucius had attempted to calm his rising anger, but the head of the Malfoy family's pleas fell on deaf ears. For reasons that Fudge could understand, his most trusted ally and advisor was unsettled by the man's presence.

Of course, the reason for Lucius Malfoy's unease was very different from what the Minister believed.

Fudge had barged his way into Bones' office and had demanded that she bring Jackson in so he could kick the unwelcome surprise from the Kingdom for good.

She had complied, because what choice did she have in the face of the minister, and they waited. And they waited. And they waited. He wasted a good half an hour waiting before Jackson finally strolled in, and the sight of him made Fudge hate Percy Jackson all the more.

Fudge had been prepared to unleash a torrent of hell upon the intruder of his home, and usurper of his country, but all of his bravado and confidence went out the wayside as soon Jackson walked through the door.

From his perch in the courtroom, he hadn't been able to get too good of a look at Percy Jackson, but now that he was standing a meter away from the man, he got a much closer inspection of the growing thorn in his side. Where Fudge was short and rounding in his more advanced years, Jackson was young, tall, and more athletic than Fudge had ever been in his entire life. It was the difference in height that was the most infuriating however. Jackson wasn't simply taller than Fudge, he towered over the man. Eclipsed him by nearly two heads.

It was intimidating.

Leaders were meant to be tall, powerful figures. People were supposed to look up to them, not the other way around. But that was not true of this new, unwelcome, surprise. Jackson was looking down at him. Figuratively and literally, an amused and condescending smirk on his lips that set Fudge's blood to an instant boil. All of this before anyone even got a word out. Then Jackson spoke first, because of course he did. Fudge, in his sudden, intimidated stupor, had stumbled and had lost perhaps the one edge in the conversation. He didn't open things up, by not being the first to speak, he utterly lost the lead in the little power struggle they were engaged in. The first one to speak in any conversation or discussion always led the direction of the discourse. They were in the figurative driver seat, sure control over the direction of topics could be changed, but Fudge knew from a glance that Jackson, once given control of something, would not let it go.

It didn't help that, when Jackson spoke, it had been mocking and derisive.

"Well hello there, Minister," Jackson and said, a wide grin on his smug face, "You didn't have to come all the way down here just to say hello."

"Mr. Jackson-"

"Agent, Minister. I didn't take spend years in agent school to be a mister," Jackson snarked, a condescending smirk on his lips.

Fudge couldn't stop the snarl from creeping its way onto his lips. "Agent Jackson," he ground out, through gritted teeth, "Might I inquire, as to why you are still here." It took every ounce of willpower Fudge possessed, and all his years as a career politician, to maintain even a modicum of patience in the presence of the infuriating man. "Surely a man of your…position, has important duties to which he must attend to."

Jackson just waved him off dismissively, "Nah," he said nonchalantly, "I'm exactly where I've been ordered to be,"

Fudge's pulse quickened in anticipation as a thought struck him, "But you are only here on Holiday," he said, unable to stop the smug satisfaction from seeping into his words, "Are you admitting that you were indeed lying in the courtroom yesterday?" He had the smug bastard now, if he had indeed been lying in the courtroom the other day, then Fudge would be well within his rights to call for an immediate dismissal of the man, and he could push the Wizengamot for a retrial of Potter.

Instead of worry however, the only emotion on Jackson's face was pure amusement, and Fudge felt his hopes dash as fast as they had appeared. "I'm going to pretend that you didn't just accuse me of perjury," Jackson responded, "And why don't you just read this," he then produced a piece of paper that Fudge had not realized was in his hands.

Fudge snatched it out of his hands, and ripped open the seal on the document. Scanning the document, he couldn't help the scoff that escaped him, "Surely this is some sort of joke," he demanded.

"Hem hem," Coughed his undersecretary, and Fudge started. He had almost forgot the woman was even in the room, "Minister," she simpered, her voice taking on that fake tone of forced sweetness that he despised, "May I ask what that says?"

"I must admit, Cornelius," came the smooth voice of Lucius, speaking for the first time since entering the room, "That I too am very curious. After all," his eyes left the Minister's, and looked toward Jackson's. However, the second Jackson's eyes met the man's, they seemed to glow incandescently for a moment. Fudge felt Lucius stiffen next to him, a motion which was not missed by the agent. A predatory smile formed on Jackson's lips and Lucius averted his gaze quickly back to the Minister. If Fudge hadn't been boiling in rage, he would have been surprised by the seeming submissive actions of the otherwise unflappable wizard.

"It's a damn extradition order!" Fudge exclaimed, "What is this nonsense!"

Jackson, who had not taken his gaze off of Lucius, finally turned his attention back to the Minister. Jackson's look was almost pitying, and if Fudge hadn't hated the man before, he certainly did at that moment. "I think it's fairly straight forward Minister, but for the sake of the room, I'll just explain it. You see, when Sirius Black went on that rampage thirteen years ago, of those twelve mortals that he killed, eight of them were American citizens." Fudge could practically see the smug satisfaction seeping from the man, "Well, when Black was captured all those years ago, Congress was content to just let your Ministry deal with things. Justice had been served after all, and the families of those affected felt justified."

"You told muggles about Black?" Fudge interjected,

"Of course," Jackson responded with a brow raised, "They were simply told that a man went on a killing spree, murdering their loved ones."

"But that wasn't the official story we gave the muggle press," Fudge pressed,

Jackson just shrugged, seemingly not caring, "Don't know what you're yelling at me for, I was like, thirteen or fourteen at the time. I'm just telling you what happened. Anyways, when Black broke out, I guess someone must have leaked that news, because suddenly Congress was getting pressed by the mortal government to take care of the situation. I'm told that you personally assured President Rhodes that you would have the problem taken care of quickly,"

Fudge simmered. But not because it had been a lie; hours after Blacks breakout he had received a message from the American President, and he had indeed promised her that the situation would be resolved expediently.

Jackson continued, "Well, here we are, two years later and Black is no closer to being back where he belongs," The man just shrugged again, "I was already here because I got wrapped up in that dementor business, so President Rhodes petitioned the ICW to have me brought into the investigation. Since I already work as one of their on-call staffers, it was a no brainer for them."

Jackson then scratched at a spot under his right ear as he adopted a thoughtful expression, "I was surprised that they granted the request for extradition though. Not normally how that works, but I guess after Black, the World Cup, and the Tri-Wizard tournament the council isn't too happy with you Minister."

That was bait, and Fudge knew it. The man was now being deliberately disrespectful and hostile, and Fudge's hand holding the order shook in anger and frustration. Unfortunately, there was little he could do about it. Sure, he could petition the ICW to countermand the order, but he knew better than to think it would get him anywhere. The fact of the matter was, not that Fudge would ever be willing to admit it, that Jackson was quite right. Fudge had spent the last several years, working tirelessly to increase Britain's standing in the international community. It had been two great victories when he had not only successfully secured the Quidditch World Cup, but also the Tri-Wizard tournament. Both had been tremendous leaps in the countries strides toward reproving itself as the dominant magical domain on the planet. However, between the Death Eater attacks at the World Cup, and the sheer disaster that had been the tournament, his plans had crashed and burned.

Britain had gone from being the enterprising force of magical and political power, to a laughing stock.

Fudge felt a calming hand on his shaking shoulder, as once more, Lucius attempted to pacify the situation, "I was not aware that the Confederation had taken to individually superseding the autonomy of member nations." he said, his smooth voice thick with condensation. So, maybe Lucius wasn't attempting to pacify the agent, but Fudge took no small pleasure in watching someone take shots at the growing thorn in his side.

Jackson turned his attention back towards Lucius, "I'm sorry, but who the hell are you?" he asked.

Lucius, who appeared to have gotten over his slight trepidation of the man, straightened his back proudly, "Lucius Malfoy, head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Malfoy,"

"Uh huh…" Jackson grunted slowly, "Ok, I'm just going to pretend like that means literally anything, Mr. Malfoy," Jackson ignored the indignant noise made by Lucius, "I'm not a politician. I don't make the rules, I just carry them out. You got a problem with the order, take it up with the Council. But until I hear something from one of my superiors, I'm here, and you can deal with it Minister."

That was the final straw for Fudge, as he exploded in outrage, "I will not allow some American who does not understand his place, supersede my authority and attempt to run roughshod over my Ministry." He roared, and his magic began to seep out from him, as his control over himself began to break. There was a cracking sound, as a glass bauble on Amelia's desk violently exploded. "You think you can come here, into my home, into my country, and order me about as though I am some commoner? I will not be bullied by some child from backwater, insignificant, trash-heap" Fudge seethed, "You Americans think that you can go anywhere, do anything, and get away with it. That you can bully the rest of us into submission, and I will not tolerate it any longer. Britain is home to the strongest, most powerful magical community on the planet and you will respect it, and me, by doing as you are ordered!" Fudge panted slightly, as his slight outburst of magic began to dissipate from the room, and the heavy feeling accompanied by magical release disappeared.

The room fell still. As all eyes were fixed on the verbal battle between them. For a moment, Jackson didn't move, he didn't appear to even be breathing. Then, all at once, that shifted. Something in the air began to stir, as a new feeling took hold of the occupants of the room. If Fudge's magic had felt like a minor weight upon their shoulders, this was something else entirely. The temperature in the room began to rise, and Fudge began to sweat, as a heavy muggy weight descended. It was as though they had been dropped from the temperate north, into the middle of the tropics.

A loud crack of thunder ripped through the otherwise silent room. The occupants, sans Jackson, jumped at the loud noise. Fudge's heart began hammering against his chest, the sound of blood thundered in his ears as his body's natural fight or flight instincts took hold. His eyes darted over to Jackson, and Fudge had to fight his mind's natural urging to flee from the room. The flash of incandescence he had seen earlier was back in the man's eyes. Only now they almost seemed to pulse with power, and his irises looked almost like they were vibrating. The man's face features had morphed into something much more animalistic, and Fudge came to horrifying realization that this was not a man, but a predator.

The larger man's fists were clenching and unclenching in a steady rhythm, as another loud crack of thunder tore across the periphery.

That was when Fudge noticed something moving out of the corners of his vision. He was loathe to tear his gaze away from the threatening visage in front of him, but his body inevitably betrayed his wishes. He turned his head to look at the movement, at the same time as the others, as they too had caught sight of the shifting masses forming.

On either side of the Minister and his entourage, was a growing mass of water. Large spheres of water had seemingly materialized out of nowhere, and were shifting and pulsating, as though something were trying to break free from their confines. Just as the thought had crossed his mind, the spheres of water exploded into motion. The spheres flattened out, and transformed into eight three-foot long javelins. Faster than should have been possible, and entirely too fast for Fudge to even consider drawing his wand, the water-like weapons were pointing at Fudge.

"Allow me to make something abundantly clear Minister." Jackson finally spoke, his voice soft, but commanding. The voice of a leader, and a warrior, "I would not be here, if not for your own incompetence. Death Eaters, rampaging at the World Cup." Lucius tensed unconsciously at the mention, and Jackson took a step forward, "Seventeen-year olds getting butchered. Dementors, rampaging through the streets of Mortals." Jackson kept advancing, and Fudge found himself backing away. But with every step he took to try and get away, the watery constructs followed, "Your country is falling apart at the seams, and instead of acting like the leader you are supposed to be, you are spending your free time slandering schoolchildren, and making a mockery of due process." Fudge's back made contact with the door behind him, halting his retreat. He desperately looked to Dolores and Lucius for any sort of assistance, but the two of them were facing down their own potential watery grave. All the while, Jackson kept advancing, like a tiger, stalking a particularly helpless doe.

"I do not answer to you. You are not my boss, and you do not have my respect. I did not bust my ass to get to where I am today, to be threatened by little men, with big egos." The constructs parted and Jackson walked past them, so that he was nose to nose with the Minister. "Try to intimidate me again, or try anything more threatening than breathing my air again, and I assure you: old men ranting about dark wizards, will be the least of your concerns."

Fudge could barely breath, he could barely concentrate. The very essence of the man in front of him was too encompassing, and having such a presence so close to him had thrown him off completely. Summoning what little courage he had left, he tried for one last ditch effort,

"The C-Confederation" he managed to stutter out, "will not a-allow such a-a-a blatant, act-" But he never got to finish the sentence, because Percy slammed a fist into the wall next to his head. Splinters exploded outward from the impact as Fudge yelped in fear and surprise,

"I AM the goddamn Confederation Minister." Jackson hissed out, so close now that his warm breath was washing over Fudge's nose. "I may not be here on their behalf, but that does not change the fact that I am still their acting in their stead in the field. And before you bitch anymore," he said, as Fudge made a noise of protest, "Remember that it was their decision to allow me to remain here. They have trust and faith in ME, Minister. Not in you, but in me. You will respect that decision. You will stay out of my way. And soon enough, we will both, hopefully, never have to deal with one another again. Am I clear?"

The man whimpered, a pitiful and sad sound, but he finally nodded in acquiescence.

"Good," Jackson gritted out through clenched teeth, "Now get out. I have work to do."

Fudge had never moved so fast in his life.

BREAK

The pressure in the room disappeared the second the door slammed shut behind Malfoy. Locking it with a wave of her wand, Bones kept a keen eye on the man in front of her. He looked close to the breaking point. She watched in slight fascination, and abject horror, as the large man turned, and punched a nearby wall. His action cracking the surface slightly.

He cursed in a language she didn't understand.

"Want to tell me what that was all about?" She demanded,

The man ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I fucking lost my composure is what happened. I should not have done that, godsdamnit." he muttered, before he started pacing around the office. With a wave of her wand, she quietly repaired the damage that Percy's little tantrum had caused.

He collapsed in a nearby chair, running his hands over his face, "Fuck me sideways, this ain't good." he said,

"Aside from the obvious, you know, threatening an acting head of state, what is so wrong?" she demanded, taking her own seat behind her large desk.

Percy cracked an eye at her, "Malfoy," he said simply, "I completely forgot about that slimy bastard. This is going to get back to Riddle."

"You don't think he wasn't already aware of your presence?" she asked, concerned.

"I know he was," Percy responded, "But I didn't want to lose control of my power like that. I shouldn't have threatened the minister like I did. This whole thing rests on the idea that Riddle underestimates me, doesn't think I'm a threat. But I just showed, what looked like Malfoy, to be some seriously powerful fucking magic. I have no idea how the bastard is going to respond to this." Percy admitted,

It looked to Bones like his mind was jumping straight to worst-case scenarios. Not that she could necessarily blame him. That was something of a necessity in their line of work. Expect the worst, and hope for the best and all that.

"If I may," she interjected, cutting across his brooding. "I don't believe he will do anything, yet."

Percy raised a brow at her, but didn't cut her off, "You said it yourself, he's not ready for open confrontation. If you were to be suddenly attacked, if you were to disappear. Not only would the United States begin investigating, but the ICW as a whole." She frowned, as she thought through memories of the previous war. Running through the various tactics the Death Eaters had employed the last time, "My guess is, you're going to be followed though. As soon as he's aware of your presence, he is going to want a tail on you every second of every day. As you said, you just showed a not so insignificant bit of power. If there is one thing that intrigues mad men like him, it's person's of power. This is not an ideal situation, but it isn't the end all be all. We are just going to have to be careful. You are going to have to be careful, and watch that little temper of yours."

Percy frowned but nodded, having the good graces to appear embarrassed. "This could get tricky," he mused, "As utterly batshit as he is, the man isn't an idiot. He has to know who is in the Order, and who isn't. He is going to find it suspicious as hell that I'm working with three members on the Black case."

It was Bones' turn to frown. He was right, there were three members of the Order, suddenly all assigned to the same case, at the same time that a member of the ICW's elite policing unit shows up in the country. It was going to raise flags.

"Bastards probably going to be even more careful from now on." Percy mused, "But, I suppose it doesn't change things all that much." he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "First phase was simple reconnaissance after all. I suppose if I make it look like I'm simply acting in an advisory role, and I make sure to be quite visible in staying here, in the building for most of the day, we might be able to convince them that I really AM just here to work the Black case."

Bones nodded; the idea had some merit to it. They would need to take things a day at a time from there on out. "Do you have an invisibility cloak?" She asked, "If you're going to be followed, which I'll bet my estate you will be, you'll need some way to move around undetected.

Percy shook his head, "No, but I don't need one. I have my own ways of becoming invisible that don't require a cloak. Plus, I can throw off a tail well enough if need be, I appreciate the concern, but it won't be an issue,"

Percy groaned, rising out of his chair, as he checked his watch. "I need to check back with Sirius at his safe-house, then I'm heading back to the States to run an errand. I'll check back in with you tomorrow, hopefully I'll have some good news to share," With his piece said, he stood up, and left the office.

The boy was going to be the death of her, she knew it.

BREAK

Percy had stopped back in the conference room, he took just enough time to explain the new situation, and where he was going, before leaving. Utilizing his ability vapor-travel, he had reappeared at Number 12. He had some ideas about Sirius using the Black library as a means to scour for potential clues about potential life-extending rituals, or even soul magic. He was interrupted in his musings, however, by the sounds of shouting from upstairs. Following the noise, he found the source in one of the drawing rooms.

Sirius was hunched over, shouting at the gaunt, and horrific figure of the Black family house-elf. He had only ever had one interaction with the diminutive monstrosity, and it had been enough to solidify in Percy's mind, that it was a hateful little thing. Not that he could blame it, if his entire species was forced into magical servitude, he'd probably hate life too. Even if that was NOT the case for that particular creatures' venomous hatred.

On the other side of the room, barely being restrained by both Harry and Ron, was an irate looking Hermione. Percy had to hold back a sigh. The girl's heart was certainly in the right place, but gods be good if the girl couldn't be a little obnoxious in her outspoken beliefs.

His head was already throbbing from the particularly trying day he'd been having, and the shouting was doing nothing to improve his mood.

"Quiet!" he barked out, allowing a small amount of his essence to eke out of him. The room fell calm, and he looked at Sirius. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked,

He pointed at the still hunched figure of his house-elf, "Little bastard nearly gutted Ron over there over a damned necklace. Now, he's refusing a direct command, to give it over to me. Keeps saying that my brother ordered him to keep it or some such nonsense."

"That is not the nasty Master's necklace. That necklace belongs to Master Regulus. Kreacher will not allow you to have it." The elf hissed out, it's dark eyes nearly slits, as the pain in its body from refusing an order, seemed to be nearly excruciating.

"Kreacher," Percy commanded, looking it square in the eye, once more channeling his essence, "Come here," Over the years, Percy had realized something. Magical creatures had an innate, almost instinctual understanding of the supernatural hierarchy. Percy supposed it some sort of evolutionary defense mechanism. The same way an animal knew when it was around a predator. Percy didn't fully understand it, he just knew that when he allowed some of power to show, and issued a command, most magical creatures were willing to obey.

Sure enough, the elf slowly hobbled away from Sirius, though it kept one eye on the man. Clutched in the small thing's mitts, Percy could see a dilapidated, once rather ornate, necklace. Faceted around a golden chain, with an opal or other pressure stone in the center. Percy crouched down, so he was on one knee, something about that locket felt…off. He couldn't explain it, just that when he looked at it, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. It was the same reaction he had whenever he was about to be attacked, or was in danger. Not that he felt threatened by the miniature elf, but he stayed on his guard all the same.

He pointed at the locket, "Why is that locket so important to Master Regulus?" he asked patiently, yet sternly. Kreacher looked like he didn't want to comment, so Percy channeled some of the mist, to compel the elf to speak. It wasn't quite like charmspeak, but the right application of the mist, could influence someone or something the way he wanted. It wasn't something he liked doing. Altering a being's natural personal liberties that way didn't sit right with him, but something about that locket was setting off his warning bells.

With what seemed like great difficulty, Kreacher finally spoke, "Master Regulus, s-stole this l-locket from the D-dark Lord. Right before he-right before he-" He trailed off, bursting into tears at the sudden memory. Percy had never seen an elf cry before. At least, not a house elf. He could it to the list of things he never wanted to see again in his entire life. Kreacher took the term, 'ugly crier' to an all new level. Snot dribbled down from his overly large nose, as tears stained the gross, and foul-smelling tunic around his middle.

"Kreacher," Percy commanded again, after sharing a worried look with Sirius, "Why did, um, Master Regulus," he was careful to try and be slightly respectful. He needed the elf to talk to him, and being hostile would not be constructive, "Why did Master Regulus steal that locket from the Dark Lord?"

Kreacher sniffed, wiping his overly large nose on his tunic, "Master Regulus was a good boy, he did not want to fight for a master that would not fight for him. He knew of this locket, he knew of it's importance to the Dark Lord, even if he did not understand what it was. Shortly before Master Regulus was-was-" The poor elf couldn't finish the sentence so Percy just prompted him to continue, "He gave me the locket to hold onto, he-he gave me the order he did. That should Master Regulus not return home, I-I was to destroy t-the locket. B-bu Kreacher could not do it. In s-spite of Kreacher's best m-magics, the locket would not be destroyed."

Percy stared at the small elf, his mind racing. Looking over at Sirius, he saw the man would be of no help. He was speechless. Percy didn't know of his history with his family, hell Percy hadn't even known the man had a brother, but Percy knew that there had been no lost love between Sirius and his kin. However, judging from the man's eyes, he was having something of a personal revelation. Sighing, Percy pressed on,

"You said you don't know why Master Regulus wanted to destroy the locket?"

"N-no," Kreacher admitted, "But Kreacher knew that the locket was important to the Dark Lord. Master Regulus loaned Kreacher to the Dark Lord to test the enchantments that protected the locket."

Hermione squeaked from somewhere to his left, but Percy ignored her. "Kreacher," Percy said simply, and held out his hand, "May I please have the locket-wait, wait!" he said, seeing Kreacher immediately attempt to shield the item from Percy's grasp. "Kreacher, just hear me out," He tried to placate, holding his hands out in a calming gesture,

"Master Regulus ordered you to try and destroy that locket yes?" Kreacher nodded, "Well, I'm meeting with an old friend of mine in a little while. She's something of an expert on magical artifacts. If anyone on the planet will be able to tell us what that is, and how to destroy it, it is her. Please Kreacher," Percy gave him his most disarming smile, "Allow me to help you complete Master Regulus' last request."

Percy wasn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart. To be frank, anyone who sided with a man like Riddle could rot for all he cared. But that Locket was important to Riddle, and if it was important to that bastard, then it was important to Percy. He had no idea what it was, or even if it was going to helpful, but he still wanted it looked at.

Kreacher seemed to consider Percy's words very carefully, "Does you speak true? Can you destroy it?" he asked.

Percy shrugged, "I will make no promises, but I can give you my word if it pleases you. Would it mean anything to you if I were to swear it upon the Styx?"

Kreacher's eyes widened in shock, as he took a sudden step back. He looked at Percy in mild horror, and to Percy's disgust, adoration, "You-you are…you divine born…" he said, his eyes trailing over Percy, before descending into murmured musings. Percy couldn't hear him but he thought he made out something about how it explained his strength in spite of being a 'filthy muggle.'

"I swear upon the Styx, that I will do all that is in my power to destroy that locket," Percy said without further preamble. He was getting antsy, and rather sick of the conversation.

There was a sudden crack of thunder, and the occupants of the room all jumped in shock. Kreacher's eyes widened further, before he took a shaky step forward, his large head nodding slowly.

"Y-yes, your grace, please, t-take it. Take it and destroy it! Destroy it for Master Regulus!" He shoved the locket into Percy's hands. A manic and psychotic gleam in his eyes. Carefully, Percy took the locket, and put it in an evidence bag that he withdrew from one of the enchanted pockets attached to his belt. He pocketed the item and gestured for Sirius to follow him out of the room. Harry looked like he wanted to follow, but Percy gave him a look, and the boy stayed behind for the moment. Knowing that Percy would keep him in the loop.

"I assume you knew nothing about this?" he asked, as soon as Sirius had closed the door to the room.

Sirius shook his head, his shaggy hair flowing like a curtain, "No…I had no idea. My brother...I had known he was with Voldemort, but this…"

Percy just shrugged, "Family is hard, don't beat yourself up over it." He gestured down at his pocket, "So, I can guess that you have no idea what the hell this thing is?"

"Haven't the foggiest," Sirius confirmed, "But if Voldemort wanted it protected, and even brought in a house-elf to test the enchantments, I would bet my left testie that it's important."

Percy just stared at him, "Never talk about your testicles in front of me. Ever. For the love of all that is holy, just don't"

It spoke to the gravitas of the situation that Sirius didn't make a joke. So, Percy just sighed, and checked his watch. He needed to get going if he was going to catch her in time. "Alright, I have to go, I was going to ask my friend about soul magic, but I guess I'll have to add this to the list as well. I'll stop back in later tonight to talk with you about it. Harry too I suspect, as well as anyone else that's here that we're keeping in the loop."

Sirius just nodded, still lost in his own thoughts. Percy just clapped him on the shoulder and vapor-travelled out of the building appearing back in the back rooms of the pizzeria headquarters.

Poor Freeman, who had been standing over a pile of papers with Dempsey at the large conference table in the planning room, jumped in surprise at his sudden arrival.

Percy chuckled awkwardly, scratching behind his ear self-consciously, "Sorry about that, kind of in a hurry though. Got my Portkey?" He asked. He didn't mean to be so short with the woman, but it had been a trying day, and he was tired, hungry, and exhausted.

Freeman just grumbled under her breath for a minute, as she tried to gather the papers that had scattered when she jumped. Reaching into the pocket of her large overcoat, she tossed him a pen. He didn't even have a second to thank the woman, before there was a familiar tugging behind his naval. He experienced the annoying but familiar sensation of being squeezed tightly on all sides, as he landed with an ungraceful thud on the floor of the international transportation center at their headquarters back in New York.

"Graceful as ever Jackson!" Someone called out, and Percy just flipped them the bird. Normally he'd say something back, but he was in a mood. His loss of control with Fudge was eating at him. Bones' words had helped ease some of his concerns, but he couldn't help the worry in his heart that he may have jeopardized the entire operation, before things even got off the ground.

He shook his head, as he strode through the familiar halls of the headquarters. He couldn't think like that. Not right now, when he had so many other, more important things to worry about.

As he approached the national floo circuit, he wished, not for the first time, that he could travel longer distances with his vapor-travel. At the moment, the furthest he could go without giving himself a migraine was a couple of miles, and his destination was quite a bit of a ways further than his range allowed. Which was why he was being forced to use the floo network.

Grabbing a handful of the powder he yelled out "Ilvermorny!" Before being engulfed in the green magical flames. It was a curious thing, his relationship with magic. Most magics, simply were ineffective against him. But through trial and error, he'd found that, for the most part, it was magic that was meant to alter or hurt him in some way. Something like the killing curse, clashed with the blood of his father in his veins, and cancelled the attack completely, but since the transportation magics of a floo were simply moving him to a desired location, it worked.

He didn't get it. It was weird. But his whole life was weird so he'd given up trying to understand beyond that.

He walked briskly down the halls; he was unimpeded for the most part. Aside from the faculty member that stood guard over the one fireplace in the castle that had access to the floo network. Percy had simply flashed his identification, and had been allowed through into the building. The castle was old, gray brickworks and stone piled together in a style that was supposedly reminiscent of Hogwarts itself. Not that he knew for certain, or had any real intention of finding out. He doubted he would ever have the time to set foot in the esteemed school.

Before too long, he had found his way to his destination. Just as the bell chimed, signaling the end of lessons for the hour. Percy had timed things out so he would be there as her last class before lunch was heading out. He knew that she tended to take her lunches in her office, attached to the back of her classroom, so Percy expected her to be there.

He waited as the throngs of students exited the classroom, many throwing interested and speculative glances in his direction. When he saw the last student exit, he caught the door, and walked in.

She was still by her desk, hunched over a stack of papers. Her black hair falling in curling curtains that framed the side of her face. The long robe she wore, simply added to what Percy lovingly referred to as her 'Esmeralda' look. She looked up as he entered, her dark green eyes widening at the sight of him.

"Percy!" She squealed excitedly, before rushing out from around her desk, and barreling into him for a large hug. Percy laughed, wrapping his arms around her.

"Hey there Lou, long time no see."

AN: Alright, took a bit, but we back here in this shit. Sorry it took so long, got a little lost in My Hero Academia and that's been my whole world outside of my work. Also, literally nobody guessed this correctly, everyone was thinking the consultant was going to be Nico. Lol. I said, 'underused' especially between these fandoms. Nothing against Nico, he's just not the daughter of the fucking goddess of magic. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, let me know what ya'll think and please, for the love of god, stay safe and love each other like I love all of you. It's a mad world right now and we could all use some love. As always, if you like this story, check out some of my other stuff. Working on some One-Seven and Protector to have out relatively soon. Love you all, thanks for the support.

Love,

LilDB