A few new, but familiar, faces discuss Emma and Harry, Emma gets some news, and Theseus works with idiots.

Enjoy!

***

After he entered the Manor, the door swung shut after him, his cloak sweeping against the stone of the floor as he strode to the Manor owner's study. The man had black shoulder length hair and dark brown, almost black eyes. He wore a black cloak with a midnight blue suit on with black dress shoes. After knocking on the door and hearing "enter," he walked in, nodding to the two men and the woman already inside as he sat down on the comfortable sofa near the fire, a table in front of them with a loveseat with two others on the other side of it. They had clearly been conversing before he entered.

The one closest to the man who just entered had sandy blonde hair, scars all over his face and visible skin, with bright amber eyes. His skin was pale, but not overly so, and he wore a white collared shirt under a brown sweater vest, with brown slacks and black dress shoes. The smile on his face was painted, like he was trying not to wince, and he moved like he was in pain. He nodded back to the man next to him.

The man sitting in front of them both had platinum blond shoulder length hair with bright silver eyes, his pale skin shining in the firelight. He was clad in black: a black suit with a black robe over the top and smart black shoes fit for nobility. His pointed face had a slight smile as he nodded to the man, his left hand over top of the woman's right, his wedding ring shining in the firelight.

The woman had pale skin, with pale but shining blue eyes, twinkling in mischief. Her blonde hair was pulled into a fishtail braid across her shoulder. She was in a regal purple dress that was floor length and was made of silk. The bust had small silver diamonds sewed into a floral pattern, cinching at the woman's slim waist. Her left hand was on the arm of the black loveseat, her diamond and gobli- made wedding ring shining contrasting against it.

"Severus," the blonde man greeted.

"Lupin, Lucius, Narcissa," Severus greeted back, nodding to them once more as he said their names.

"Oh please, Severus, I've told you I don't know how many times to call me Cissa," Narcissa tutted, shaking her head.

"Cissa, then," Severus conceded with a smile. "Hard to get rid of old habits."

Remus snorted, bringing his hand up to his mouth in an attempt to hide it. "Yes, like calling me Lupin when I've told you several times to call me Remus, it seems."

Severus smirked at the sandy-haired werewolf. "I could also call you Moony, if you'd prefer," he snarked, earning a glare in reply.

"Do that and the only thing you'll ever think of again is walking in on Lily and James snogging." Remus retorted, and Severus glowered at him.

Narcissa glared disapprovingly at them both. "Boys, enough," she warned them until the both of them cowered away from her stare.

Smirking at their obvious fear of his wife, Lucius cleared his throat, bringing the attention to him. "Severus, please tell us why you have summoned us tonight."

Severus sighed. "We all know of Dumbledore's interest in the Potter boy, yes?" At Lucius' nod, Remus' angry scowl and Narcissa's badly contained shudder, he continued with a scowl of his own. "He just let slip that almost three years ago, Harry Potter was blood adopted by Emma Swan. We all knew that he had been adopted in the Muggle way, but we had no idea that he had been adopted magically. According to Dumbeldore, Miss Swan, Harry's adopted mother, is a Muggleborn witch, and is the regent of all three of Harry's houses."

Lucius scowled. He'd known about Emma Swan for a long time. When he first found out about her, he'd learned that she was a Muggleborn witch who had only just been identified because of a block on her magic. He'd known she adopted Harry Potter when it happened because it changed the file he'd collected at the Ministry when researching Harry Potter and his move to America. He discovered the abuse his family had put him through, and the reports of Harry, which had been included in his file. The sole reason it was all in his British file was because, technically, Harry had dual citizenship in the UK and the United States. Lucius took Narcissa's hand in his. "What are his houses?" he asked. He knew that for Dumbeldore to want Harry this badly, his houses had to be important.

"Harry's houses are Potter, Perverell and Slytherin," Severus says, scowling at the last one.

Narcissa gasped. "Perverell and Slytherin?" she sputtered, her grip on Lucius' hand tightening. She was shocked. Severus had been giving them all updates on Harry since he moved across the pond three years ago as he was told information from Dumbeldore, who's unnatural obsession with a nine - almost ten - year old boy had gotten way too out of control.

She, Remus, Severus, and Lucius, once including her cousin, had been friends since they graduated Hogwarts all those years ago. It'd been only four years after they graduated when the Potter's were betrayed and killed, leaving Harry an orphan and Sirius Black imprisoned.

She had been close with her cousin since before they entered Hogwarts, and it had broken her heart when they had been separated into different Houses . . . Houses that fought like cats and dogs. But Sirius, the mischievous, sneaky boy he was, had snuck a letter to her one day after their Potions class and promised they could still be as close as they were. After that, they put on a show so spectacular that everyone in their class at Hogwarts - and likely every other grade level, too - believed the split between Houses had split the cousins apart, never to be reunited. It even had Bellatrix and Regulus fooled . . . but not Lucius. No, not the other heir to one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, who had been studying masks and the political game since he could walk, who had been the perfect heir in his father's eyes in public while making his own choices and opinions in the shadows.

And it didn't fool James Potter, either. Narcissa had guessed the Potters had ties to the Sacred Twenty-Eight, given the performance the man had put on after he left Hogwarts, but she never had confirmation until now. Still, James had been rather neutral regarding Sirius's stance with her until he learned Lily and Severus were in the same boat as she and Sirius: two best friends, separated by Houses that hated each other. They had formed their little trios inside their Houses - James, Sirius, and Lily in Gryffindor and she, Lucius, and Severus in Slytherin - and did their best to find ways to keep their friendships with each other intact. Remus, the clever boy, had seen through their ruse rather quickly. When the three Slytherins vowed to keep his lycanthropy a secret, the group of six friends became seven.

Peter Pettigrew, on the other hand, was caught up in the whole show. Seven never became eight, and Narcissa pitied the three fourths of the Marauders who had to pretend they absolutely despised the snakes they pranked. The spectacular blow-up Severus and Lily faked in fifth year, however, had been all it took to throw Peter off their tail completely. Narcissa would never forget how close to tears Severus looked as he sputtered apology after apology to Lily, barely able to be consoled. Lily had never faltered in her forgiveness, though, and Narcissa knew the Muggleborn witch had been a woman who would go far in the Wizarding World. Still, there had always been some tension between James and Severus that refused to change, even after they all graduated and James and Lily, then Lucius and Narcissa, married.

Then the war truly escalated, and Narcissa's world imploded. Her husband left for business at the Ministry one morning and never returned until a few days later, paler than snow and with the sickening Dark Mark of the Death Eaters on his arm. Narcissa had never hated an Unforgivable more than the moment she learned Lucius had been Imperiused by his father and given to Voldemort. Bellatrix had taken great glee in gloating over her Mark; the shrill laughter had sounded like nails on a chalkboard. The seven friends had been at a loss until Severus made the choice to join the Death Eaters, to ensure Lucius remained safe. The look of relief on Lucius's face, Narcissa knew, had been the one thing stopping James from hexing Severus then and there . . . well, that and Lily's hand on his wand arm.

As the war continued, Lucius's time under the Imperius Curse meant seven friends often met as six, and Severus spared no details when speaking to the Gryffindors, all members of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. Narcissa thought it was a miracle they somehow retained their friendship, even after all the battles the Death Eaters and the Order waged against each other. She considered it a blessing that Voldemort had been pleased by Bellatrix's inclusion in the Death Eaters and saw no interest in her. She had been glad when Lily left the lines of the war once she learned she was pregnant; the two of them had time to rekindle their friendship. Narcissa had found out she was pregnant at the same time as Lily, and was earlier in said pregnancy than Lily had been.

Then Severus had, in a panic, called for a meeting early in 2000, and it had taken several Calming Draughts before the young Potions Master had been able to utter the words that changed all of their lives. The prophecy had made James and Lily appear as if they were looking death itself in the eye . . . and when Lily weakly confirmed her child was meant to be born at the end of July, Narcissa realized they, in fact, were doing exactly that. That had been the beginning of Dumbledore's close interest in the Potters, and the start of Severus's double agency for the headmaster.

She and Lily had their children at very similar times, her son Draco being born almost two months before Lily birthed Harry. She had not been surprised when Sirius had been named Harry's godfather, nor had the Potters been surprised when Severus was named Draco's; after all, James and Sirius were all but brothers, and Lucius trusted no man more than Severus after all the Potions Master had done for his family. Remus, despite his worries about his lycanthropy, was an uncle both boys adored; Narcissa had never laughed harder than she did when Draco imitated a howl to get Remus's attention.

When James and Lily approached them with word they would be hiding under the Fidelius Charm, Severus had been the first to say - no demand - that they tell no one who their Secret-Keeper was. Lily had protested at once, but Severus had been adamant that they, at least, should not be told, lest Voldemort have any way of discovering their location. That, Narcissa knew, had been the day there was no longer any lingering distaste between James and Severus. Lily had reluctantly agreed that they would keep their Secret-Keeper hidden from everyone. Narcissa had to fight the urge to ask, as she knew it wouldn't be her.

The Potters went underground, the Fidelius Charm was raised . . . and Narcissa woke the morning after Halloween to the news of Voldemort's death, and the deaths of two dear friends. Seven had become five.

She had been inconsolable that morning as Lucius, free of the Imperius Curse at last, immediately searched for the rest of their friends. Severus, with a tear-stained face, shared that Dumbledore had Harry recovered from Godric's Hollow, and the rest of the Marauders were unaccounted for. Half a day had gone by before Remus, looking worse than he did after a full moon, Apparated to the manor, amber eyes almost glowing gold with rage. Only after he swore on his magic that he was not the Potters' Secret-Keeper was he accepted into the manor. He, too, had not heard from Sirius nor Peter since the attack had occurred.

When the news broke of the mass murder of twelve Muggles and Peter Pettigrew, neither Remus nor Narcissa left the manor for days, their grief was too raw. Narcissa thanked every god that existed for her husband, who navigated the political ring with ease, keeping his wife out of sight. Poor Remus, the one who had often been a seventh wheel without a complaint, was taken under the Slytherins' wings, never to be alone like Dumbledore must have anticipated. Seven friends had now become four, two dead and one imprisoned, and Slytherins took care of their own.

When, during the Death Eater trials, Lucius was proven innocent, Remus had been elected the member of the Order to deliver a formal apology. The quartet had been unable to stop laughing for minutes at the irony before cracking open firewhiskey to share. Since that day, Remus came around more and more until it was a normal occurrence for them all to meet up every other weekend in Malfoy Manor.

She was brought out of her memories when Severus nodded in confirmation to her question. "He's the heir of Peverell and Slytherin, and Dumbeldore knows it."

"But how does he know? Aren't things like that kept secret?" Remus asked, his voice tight and amber colored eyes shining in fury.

"Apparently he went into Gringotts and a goblin gave him a copy of Harry's inheritance test."

Remus' loud growl rumbled through the other three occupants of the room, and all three shuddered. "That man has no right!" Remus exploded as he stood. "No bloody right! He has zero claim to Harry, and even if he did, he'd never be able to take him away from Emma Swan! Who the hell does he think he is?!" Remus paced in front of the fire, a hard set glare in his amber eyes.

Narcissa, unafraid and unaffected by the werewolf's anger, walked towards him and placed her hands on his cheeks, turning him towards her and stopping him in his movements. "We will stop him from hurting Harry, Remus," she vowed fiercely, eyes boring into his. "I promise."

He nodded, calming enough to bring her into a hug, muttering an apology to her. She waved him off and pulled back from him, her arm around his waist, and she nodded to Severus when he nimbly stood and walked around the coffee table to sit on the loveseat with Lucius, the two men sitting together with an appropriate amount of space between them. She rolled her eyes at Remus' protests of her sitting with him, and plopped down next to him, refusing to heed his words. She would sit next to her friend whether he liked it or not.

"Labrey!" she called, and a small elf with big floppy ears appeared next to her. Labrey was her personal elf, gifted to her by her mother when she moved out and into Malfoy Manor.

"Yeses, Mistress Cissy?" the small elf bowed as he moved to stand in front of her.

"Can you please get us some drinks? Two hot chocolates and two tumblers and a bottle of firewhiskey?" Narcissa smiled at the elf, and the elf nodded happily.

"Yes ofs course, Mistress! Labrey will bes rights back!" He said and popped out again.

A few moments later Labrey reappeared, a tray of drinks in his hands. He passed Narcissa the two hot cocoas and she handed the bigger cup to Remus, who smiled at her in thanks. As she nodded, Labrey handed a tumbler each to Lucuis and Severus, then filled their glasses with the amber liquid. He finally bowed to Narcissa, then popped away when she dismissed him.

All of them sipped their drinks in silence, that silence only being broken when a boy rushed into the room. He had the same platinum blonde as his father and the same silver eyes his father has.

"Mum! Mum, look what I found!" Draco ran over with something in his hands that looked like his and Harry's shared baby blanket, which had been a gift from Sirius, panting as if he'd run from his room. He might have, in fact, done exactly that.

"Yes, dear?" Narcissa rolled her eyes playfully as he climbed up onto her lap, despite him being ten years old. "What do you have there?"

"I found a blanket with mine and Harry's name on it!" he said proudly. Draco had been told who Harry was, and how they knew him by his uncles and his parents many times, but had never seen this particular item, mostly because Narcissa had hidden it in one of Draco's dresser drawers, something he almost never went through. She wondered if he got bored and decided to look through his room for "mysterious" objects like he did all over the Manor whenever he was bored.

Narcissa smiled. "That was a gift from our cousin, Draco. It's been years since I've seen it." She gingerly took the blanket as Draco lobbed himself at Remus, who caught him easily and swiftly after he set down his cup of hot cocoa. The blanket was dark blue silk with Gryffindor red embroidering along the edges. Harry and Draco's names sat proudly in the middle of the blanket in silver and gold, Harry's name in gold and Draco's name in silver.

Lucuis smirked at Remus, who was getting climbed all over by a ten year old. Remus stuck his tongue out at the oldest blond.

Severus laughed openly, before growing serious again. "We still have much to talk about, but for now, let's enjoy this."

Narcissa couldn't agree more.

***

Emma had always had a love/hate relationship with the holiday season. She loved winter as a child, especially when there was enough snow on the ground to have a good old-fashioned snowball fight or create a snowman or even just drop and make snow angels. In her foster homes, however, she was usually reminded her placement was never permanent.

But after two years of living with Newt and Queenie with Harry, she had thrown the hate into the firepit and watched it burn to ashes.

She waved the last customers out of the bakery, then flipped the closed sign into place, sighing in relief and rolling her head, hearing her neck pop. "God, you'd think by now I'd remember how busy it gets this time of year," she grumbled, running a hand over her hair, styled like a Christmas wreath, complete with red and green ribbons in the braids.

"I love it!" Harry grinned from where he was helping pack the very few remaining cookies into a box.

"Oh, this has always been my favorite time of year," Queenie smiled dreamily as she took her wand. "Every family that comes through here catches the holiday spirit. It's like an energy drink for me."

"I can only imagine," Emma shook her head, taking her own wand and pointing it at the few plates left by those who had decided to eat in the bakery. "Scourgify." She smiled happily at the clean dishes, then gave her wand a swish and a flick. "Depulso."

Harry watched with wide eyes as the plates obediently flew to Emma's intended destination: their cupboards, where they would wait to be used the next day. "Awesome!" he cheered.

"You're getting even better, Emma," Queenie praised with a grin.

"You give me good ways to practice," Emma grinned bashfully. It was true - every time Queenie and Emma were in the bakery together after closing, Queenie would arrange the bakery so Emma could practice spells she had learned.

Queenie shrugged and smiled. "It helps that I have a good student." Harry cleared his throat loudly, and the woman giggled. "I mean students."

Emma snorts. "You should have known he was going to do that."

Queenie sighed, sighing playfully at Harry. "Yes, I should have," she agreed, walking over to Harry and brushing his hair back from his face before ruffling it, causing Harry to laugh and shove her off. She giggled, taking his hand and pulling him to the middle of the bakery, putting his hands on her waist and hers on his shoulders. They swayed gently as they sang along to the obnoxious Christmas music playing on the radio.

Emma shook her head as she watched her son and surrogate sister. Harry had grown remarkably from the small seven year old he used to be. He was now about two inches above her waist, and he had filled out as much as he could for a ten year old. He was no longer skin and bone, and overly small for a child but had strength in his arms and legs from helping Newt wrangle dragons and the other dangerous beasts on the reserve. He had sun-kissed skin and his raven curls that sat on his head stayed completely unruly.

Smiling, Emma finished what she was doing and put on her jacket and her hat and then grabbed her son's jacket and scarf and Queenie's coat and hat, making her way towards him and Queenie. She handed Harry's to him and he stepped away from Queenie to put them on. She gave Queenie her hat and her coat and then pulled the blinds down over the windows and made her way to the middle of the bakery where Harry was standing.

Queenie waved her hand and the radio turned off as she walked towards Emma and Harry. "Ready to go home?" she asked, looking at them. Both of them nodded.

"I want to go home so I can play with Echo and Demeter!" Harry cheered, and Emma smiled. Adherion had fathered two new female foals with a pegasus named Kore a few months ago, and the foals had been born last week. Harry had been out with them taking care of them on his own since they were born, only going to Newt if there was something wrong that he was either too young to fix and needed help, or just didn't know how to do it. He is also the one who named them.

For a little over six months he had been really interested in anything mythical, anything mythology related, and had asked his uncle if he could take him to Diagon Alley to go to Flourish and Blotts. Newt, as always under glamours, took him there and to Muggle London, and they came home with several books on Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology because that was what had caught his eye most.

Harry grabbed Emma's hand, and once Queenie had Emma's hand, the older witch spun on her heel and Apparated them back to the reserve.

When they got there, Harry took off running to the paddock after handing his scarf to his mom where he knew Echo and Demeter were, and Emma and Queenie watched fondly as Harry took over from whatever Newt was doing with them. He looked so grown up when he worked with Newt and on his own around the reserve.

Emma's Christmas spirit brightened whenever she saw Harry grinning at someone or something and waving cheerfully at them. She hated Christmas before she met Harry because she'd never had anyone else to celebrate with, and now she had three others to celebrate the jolliest time of the year. She finally had a family to celebrate everything with.

Emma shook her head as she and Queenie went inside to start on dinner. It was only three days till Christmas and she still had presents for Harry to wrap after they finished making dinner. She'd wrapped Newt, Queenie and Tina's the weekend before. They were making parma chicken with rice tonight baked in the oven, and she always helped Queenie make the parma chicken seasoning. Emma wasn't great in the kitchen when making dinner, she could do lunch and breakfast, but not dinner, a lot of the time.

"He's always so happy when Newt allows him into the reserve to help the animals. It's always my favorite scene during the day," Queenie smiled, taking off her jacket and hat and hanging them up in the entry. Emma did the same with her own protection from the biting New York cold and Harry's scarf.

Emma nodded in agreement. "I couldn't agree more. I love that he's so happy around magical animals and -"

She was cut off by a tapping on the kitchen window. She poked her head into the kitchen to see a tawny owl with big brown eyes with a letter in his beak. She quickly went and opened the window, letting the animal in and taking the letter from him before taking a treat and feeding it to him. She gave the owl a few head rubs before he left back through the window. After the bird was out of sight, she turned the letter around and looked down to see who it was addressed to. It was for Emma, and clearly it was from Gringotts, if the emblem of the bank was anything to go by.

"What's that, hon?" Queenie asked, peering at the envelope. Noticing the Gringotts emblem, she frowned. "They wouldn't send a letter to you if it wasn't important, Emma. Go on, I can get dinner started."

Emma placed a hand on her shoulder as she walked by. When she was in the living room and sitting by the fireplace, Emma tore open the envelope and started reading, quickly discovering it from Gornuk.

Lady Regent Emma,

It is with my deepest apologies that I inform you that Headmaster Dumbledore now knows that Harry Potter-Swan has been magically adopted by you. I only found out an hour ago myself, which is why I am informing you immediately. As the goblin in charge of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families, it is my duty to inform you of any and all people knowing of your and Harry Potter-Swan's inheritance tests.

Headmaster Dumbledore came to me asking to see the inheritance test for young Harry, and I said no because, quite frankly, I do not care for him and he has no right to your son. I told him this, and he told me he had permission from the Ministry to look into it. Again, I told him that he was not allowed to see it without Harry's guardian present, and I know you don't like him, so I took the opportunity to get him escorted from the premises. I was busy today when he came back again, and the goblin in charge while I'm busy had apparently not known about Albums Dumbledore and his incessant need to find anything about Harry Potter-Swan, and that goblin gave him a copy of Harry's and your inheritance tests.

The goblin has been punished, but there is little more I can do than tell you and inform the Ministry, which I have done. As there is only one Auror we trust, I'm sure he'll be very happy to help, considering he is Lord Theseus Scamander, Newt Scamander's older brother. You will likely receive a letter from him about this.

Once again, Lady Regent Emma, I apologize for this terrible inconvenience. I wish it had gone differently, but alas, we cannot change the past, only work with the future.

My sincerest apologies,

Gornuk

Head Accountant of the Sacred Twenty-Eight

Emma looked at the price of parchment in complete disbelief. "Queenie!" she finally yelled, getting up and making her way to the kitchen, the letter clutched angrily in her hand.

Queenie's head jerked up from where she was thawing the chicken magically, and she frowned, catching only snippets of Emma's thoughts. Most of them were cursing Dumbledore which, while that wasn't unusual, Emma always made sure to not be anywhere near her when she was silently brooding about him so her thoughts weren't yelling at her. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Emma shook the letter in her hand in front of her and then looked down at the tile on the kitchen floor, and then back at Queenie. "Get Newt and Harry in here, please," Emma shook her head, sighed and muttered under her breath about how she wished she was able to summon a Patronus.

Queenie nodded with a frown, whispering the incantation and sent the thunderbird off with a "Come back to the house, Emma needs to talk to all of us."

Out in the paddock, Harry was messing with Demeter and Echo and playfully chasing them as Newt pampered the still unnamed, pure white and silver wolf pup that had been brought to the reserve a few days previously, the uncle and nephew spending time together.

Newt's head snapped up when he saw a wisp of blue-silver. He watched as Queenie's thunderbird spoke its message, and he and Harry looked at each other and nodded to the thunderbird; with his message delivered, he shimmered away. "Aunt Queenie sounded worried," Harry commented, helping Newt put the Pegasus fouls back with their mother before locking the paddock gate.

Newt hummed in agreement, walking to the house with Harry, removing his winter garments in the foyer. He could hear Emma muttering angrily and what sounded like parchment rustling as he and Harry walked into the kitchen. "What happened?" he asked, looking at Emma and seeing she looked beyond angry, clutching a piece of parchment in her hand. Ah, so that was what it was, he thought.

Harry walked over to his mother, gently wrapping his hand around her hand so he could pry the letter from her. He smoothed it out and read it aloud for the adults, afterward setting it down on the table gingerly and stepping away from it. He looked at the parchment as if it was going to bite him; Emma couldn't blame him in the slightest.

Queenie gasped in outrage as Newt internally debated saying "screw it" to being in hiding so he could go curse the bastard. He shook his thoughts away, concentrating on Emma as he walked to her and pulled her into a hug. Harry scurried to Queenie and hugged her as well. "He's an ugly goat and the next time I see that man will be when I kill him . . . slowly," Emma muttered darkly into Newt's chest as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Newt snorted and kissed the top of his youngest sister's head, silently sending a prayer to Merlin that everything would work out.

Queenie nodded in agreement with Newt's thoughts, tugging away from Harry and placing a hand on Emma's shoulder. Emma turned from Newt's embrace and smiled tightly at Queenie, tugging Harry close to her and kissing his head. "We'll be okay," the older witch told her. "Everything will be fine, Emma, you'll see. Now, enough of this. It's Christmas time, we don't need to do this right now, it can be handled after the holidays."

Emma nodded, smiling at Queenie more genuinely now. She glared at the piece of paper again, and it burst into flames. She whipped her head around to see Newt getting smacked by Queenie as he tried to steal a cookie from the box they'd brought home. That left only one magic-user left, and she looked down at Harry to see the tail end of his wand being slipped into his arm holster. She smirked at him. "Better?" She asked, knowing the answer already. Seeing the letter being destroyed helped her as well.

"Yup!" Harry cheered, and she shook her head in amusement as she pushed him out of the kitchen.

"Go get cleaned up! We can read one of your books before dinner, sound good?" she asked, grinning at his delighted yell.

She knew everything would be okay as long as she kept her family near her.

***

It had barely started, and Theseus was already regretting agreeing to this mission.

He knew a raid two days before Christmas was probably a bad idea, but he had chosen to do it anyway. It was supposed to be simple: go into the warehouse with two other Aurors, take out the targets, clear the building, sweep for anything alive, and get out.

That was not what was going to happen now.

The two Aurors the Minister of Magic sent with him, despite the Minister knowing all too well that he was able to take care of this alone, were both imbeciles. Theseus had never met any other Aurors who were this incompetent. Andrew Barlowe and Noah Wright were the two the Minister chose because apparently Wright had a good eye, and Barlow had good dueling skills. The only thing: the two of them did not get along with each other. At all. All they had been doing since their assignment to Theseus was bicker like siblings. Barlowe could barely hold his wand properly and was constantly tripping over his feet - a good dueler, Theseus scoffed - and Wright had somehow walked straight into a Muggle car after Apparating to the warehouse with the other two and hadn't seen Theseus, who was next to him as he bounced back from the car, and was knocked over as he fell into Barlowe, who had yelled loudly as he, too, hit the asphalt. Theseus had gotten up and glared at them, both of them shrinking back like cowards. Theseus was definitely going to talk to the Minister about these two.

They managed to get into the warehouse undetected and without any problems, which with these two idiots was a miracle. Currently, they were in the rafters, watching the men below them discuss trading and prices. As he watched, Theseus noticed several box shapes surrounding the men, and then he realized. These monsters were trading and buying rare magical creatures. Theseus grinned sadistically, already thinking about how Newt would be proud when he heard about this.

That grin quickly vanished, and Theseus pinched the bridge of his nose as the two much younger Aurors both began whisper-yelling about something again. What, he didn't know and didn't care, but they were loud and Theseus was thinly hoping it wasn't going to catch the Watchdogs attention from the floor below them. Theseus quickly shushed the both of them by hitting them both on the back of their heads as all three ducked, hiding out of sight when the several men below them shot their heads up to look around, noticing noise that wasn't supposed to be there.

"Shut up, the both of you. That will be the last of your insolent behavior or you will be sent back to the Ministry in a full Body Bind that will last for weeks, do you understand me? You are going to get yourselves killed if you keep it up. Are we clear?" Theseus snapped at them both - quietly - and they nodded, faces filled with shame. "Good. Now listen to me. Do not, under any circumstances, engage any of them alone. You hear me? You need back up, you find each other. I won't be able to help you, I'll be busy with the three idiots down there. Clear?"

Both men grumbled, but a glare from Theseus had them both agreeing rather quickly. "Crystal," both of them muttered, turning to glare at each other nastily.

Theseus rolled his eyes. Children, he thought with a sigh. "Let's go," he muttered, jumping down and landing silently like a cat, making his way towards the stairs, wordlessly Stunning anyone he came across. The two Aurors followed his jump but didn't follow down the steps behind him. Instead, they went their separate ways, one to the right and one to the left.

Theseus quickly but silently made his way around and in-between several cages of magical creatures towards the three men that were in the middle of the warehouse, unguarded and clearly not expecting anyone else. He quickly cast a strong shield around himself that he knew would hold until he took it down himself, and he muttered a few words before gripping the pendant around his neck, feeling it heat with Newt's magic as it merged with his shield, reinforcing it. This pendant matched Newt's and, something that neither had known until they started wearing them, the magic used to create them imbued their magic into them, helping the other brother when they needed it. They didn't use the necklaces to communicate very often, once every few years, because they had a very unique magical signature, a mixture of both of their own combined into one, but when they did, it was when they most needed to hear the other's voice.

Theseus felt his pendant heat up again, and this time Newt's voice filtered through his mind: "Be careful. I love you."

Theseus smiled and gripped the pendant, muttering a word and thinking back to him: "I will. I love you too." He let go of the connection, the pendant cooling off, and he stepped into view of the three men, wand at the ready.

The first one to take notice seemed to be one of the buyers. He was a short man with a very expensive looking suit on. He had dark brown hair and electric blue eyes. He drew his wand and fired off a hex, but it bounced harmlessly off of Theseus' shield. He smirked at the shocked faces of the other two before they, too, drew their wands.

The second man, who seemed to be the creature's captor, was tall, almost as tall as Theseus, and was blond with green eyes. He had on a blood red cloak done up at his neck.

The third man, the other buyer, was average height with dark blue eyes and ginger hair, wearing a black tuxedo with a bowtie at his neck. Theseus snorted quietly. Newt wouldn't like that.

A curse, dark purple in color, soared toward him and he ducked and dived to avoid it, before standing up and casting a strong "Petrificus Totalus" at the one who tried to separate his limbs from his body, knowing the curse wouldn't release until he'd been bound, then threw a Stunner at the second buyer. It hit him square in the chest, causing him to be knocked back into an array of empty cages and knocked out.

Theseus smirked as he twirled his wand in his hand, circling his last opponent, sliding smoothly out of the way as the other wizard shot the Leg-Locking Curse at him. He sent a "Flipendo" and knocked the seller off of his feet, and Theseus smirked at him, casting "Incarcerous" before moving and binding the other two men. He wordlessly cast a "Finite Incantatem" at the second buyer, then he immediately shot the rope binding curse at him to bind him. He silenced them all to be safe.

He summoned his Patronus and spoke to it, then sent it off to the Minister. As the niffler bounded through the air, he turned to see the two bumbling idiots that were Aurors staring at him in shock. Theseus scowled, narrowing his eyes. "What?" he asked shortly.

Barlowe shook his head. "Nothing, just ain't ever seen a duel end that fast," he muttered and Wright just tucked his wand away.

"Well, now that that's done, two of us need to go see how many of these creatures are here. There are a lot of cages, but some of them are empty," he gestures to the knocked over empty crates, where the first buyer was still knocked out cold. He rolled his eyes. He hadn't hit him that hard. That was one of his weaker Stunners, for the love of Merlin! "Barlowe, with me searching crates. Wright, watch these three, full Body Bind them if any of them decide to try to move." Theseus ordered as he passed, picking up blankets from crates as he passed. All the one nearest them seemed to be empty, but the ones in the back seemed to have animals in them.

Barlowe examined the nearest cages of magical creatures, and Theseus felt his heart constrict when he saw a sickly-looking niffler peer up at the Auror with frightened eyes, a demiguise shuffling to block the niffler from sight while looking at Barlowe in distaste. "Doesn't look like they're very trusting," Barlowe remarked.

"I wonder why," Theseus seethed, refraining from hitting the man on the back of the head again. He, instead, walked up to the larger creatures contained in a larger cage,which was even bigger inside. The hippogriff narrowed beady eyes at him, and Theseus paused before bowing low at the waist. The hippogriff paused, examining him closely, and Theseus sighed in relief when the magnificent creature huffed and bowed in return. He wordlessly unlocked the cage and stepped inside, watching unicorns and pegasi and thestrals and griffins and hippogriffs alike watch him with a mixture of unease and timidness. Theseus attempted to look as harmless as possible, barely keeping from reaching out to comfort them. His time during the war with Grindelwald had given him a new outlook on magical creatures, and he found himself now in awe of most in existence. Newt may have been expelled from Hogwarts, but he had one of the most rewarding occupations in the world.

As he moved to the back of the cage, he found a thunderbird watching him in suspicion, moving to block the corner. Theseus paused, eyeing the thunderbird's stance. Newt had taken him to visit his former thunderbird, Frank, in Arizona once, and this reminded the Auror of the old thunderbird - a protector of something precious. "None of you belong here," he murmured, gesturing to the cage. "We're gonna make sure you're freed, I promise."

The thunderbird narrowed her eyes, then a weak whine came from behind the creature. The thunderbird snorted, then carefully moved to the side, revealing the final creature in the cage. Theseus felt his face drain of color, and he reached for the side of the cage to keep his balance. "Sweet Circe," he choked.

A deer-like creature with gold and bronze scales lifted her head off her front legs, meeting Theseus's eyes. She attempted to rise to her hooves, and Theseus immediately shook his head, stepping forward. "If you're hurt," he began to say.

The thunderbird screeched at him, and Theseus froze in his tracks, holding his hands up, hoping to show he meant no harm. "Boss?" Barlowe's voice came closer.

"Stay back!" Theseus snapped. He heard Barlowe sputter, but he focused on the Qilin, which watched Theseus with intelligent, kind eyes. The sacred creature finally bowed her head, and the thunderbird rumbled, backing away. Theseus moved forward, crouching and gently running a hand over the Qilin's head. "Merlin," he whispered as the Qilin nuzzled his palm. "What are they doing with - " He faltered, seeing exactly why the traffickers had the Qilin . . . the creature, just like the one Newt had found so many years ago, was visibly pregnant. "Bloody hell."

"Sir?" That was Wright.

Theseus swallowed, and the Qilin looked up at him with pleading eyes. There was no way he was going to let any Ministry employee find this creature, not when he thought of what happened the last time he personally encountered a Qilin. "Barlowe, did you catalog the other creatures?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Barlowe confirmed.

Theseus's mind whirled with plans, his decades of experience helping him form an ironclad plan . . . though based on the narrowed eyes of the thunderbird, he might need a backup plan, too. He was good at those.

First things first . . . how was he going to make sure a bloody Qilin escaped the Ministry's notice?

***

Oh, Theseus, hon . . . you are an honest to God saint for dealing with everything in your line of work right now. Honestly, you are getting a vacation the moment we can send you on one . . . *peers at timeline* You still have a ways to go, though. XD

So, welcome to what I call "taking canon, taking it to the edge of a cliff, tossing it over, and watching it crash and burn to ashes," folks! How many of you saw that change coming? We did say there would be changes to canon . . . you didn't think that just meant Fantastic Beasts, did you? XD Nope, we're taking all the canon and, in true Legends of Tomorrow fashion, screwing it up for the better (at least in our books).

Have a bit of good news, though: we're going to give you a bit of a break from all the angst and troubles next time (mostly - Miss Singer). After all, what's Harry Potter without a Christmas scene somewhere? ;)

~ Miss Moffat

***

*sheepishly peeks out and waves* Hi. . .Well, that was a chapter. I had said multiple times there were going to be some big things coming your way, dear readers. This was only the true beginning. Get ready for a Harry Potter Christmas next!

How did you likwe this chapter? Entertaining enough? I hope we don't have to plan any funerals. . .but we might have to anyway. Enjoy the changes!

As always, stay safe, stay cool, and stay reading!

~ Miss Singer xx <3