The Love Of A Wizard

CHAPTER 16
Surveillance

\"Bye mommy! I love you.\" Emma waved to Claudia from the airplane door. An attendant took Emma\'s hand and lead her towards the plane. Claudia felt her heart breaking inside her chest. Her baby was going to stay with her mom for awhile, but that didn\'t make it any easier. They hadn\'t been separated since Joes\'s death, some years ago. Oh it hurt for her to be leaving. Tears stained her face as she waved to the plane and watched it take off. At least. Claudia thought, she wouldn\'t have to worry about Emma getting hurt for awhile.

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Later that night, Claudia and gang sat with Dumbledore, Remus and Severus.
\"I need you to find out where these men are. Who they are in contact with and whatever else you can gather about them. I would myself, but I am having problems with a teacher at my school.\" Dumbledore was unusually harsh when talking about this teacher. In fact, it was not the first time she has heard him talk badly about this Umbridge woman.
\"That won\'t be a problem.\" Nick said.
\"Excellent. Now, I think it would be good to have an Order member go along, to help out...\" His voice trailed off as he saw the people sitting in front of him shaking their heads.
\"Sorry Dumbledore.\" Claudia spoke. \"We work as a team, alone.\" Nods from the people around her.
\"No offense sir. But we all have our jobs and someone else will just get in the way.\" Rod stated very matter of factly.
\"I insist.\" Dumbledore said.
\"So do we, Sir.\" Bones said. Claudia didn\'t really know what to make of this situation. She hadn\'t thought all this out. She knew her teammates would never take orders from anyone. Everything they did, they did as a group. No authority. Besides, they were not members of the Order, were they?
\"Perhaps, it would be good for one of us to go along. Even if it is just to see how you do things.\" Oh Severus, you ARE good aren\'t you? Claudia smiled. Then she turned to Nick.
\"Maybe, we should. I mean, we really have no idea if other wizards will be there. What if they are? We will need someone to cover us?\" Every muggle eyebrow shot up skywards. A few flicked their eyes to Severus and back to Claudia.
\"Fine. Whomever goes, stays out of the way and let\'s us work.\" Nick said.
\"Wonderful. Remus, would you be so kind?\" Remus nodded consent and the meeting was adjourned.

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Claudia and gang were sitting in Nick\'s room that Friday night going over the plans for the nights events. Claudia had to laugh at herself. This would be the second time she had dressed herself up in sexy clothes and went undercover to spy for the Order. She looked down at the way-too-tight dress she wore. High heels and flashy jewelry and entirely too much makeup. She felt like a hooker. Probably looked like one too.
Nick continued speaking to them as they sat around the table. \"I believe we are ready, dah?\" All heads nodded in agreement. All eyes turned at the sound of Remus entering the room. A chorus of \"Hey\" and \"Evening Lupin\" greeted him. He looked pleased with the welcome he got. Except for Antonio, who looked at the brooding, handsome man up and down with a scowl. Claudia knew Antonio was sizing him up as a potential teammate.
\"Stop Tony.\" Claudia reprimanded him. \"Trust me, Remus is something to be scared of, aren\'t you Remus?\" She smiled and tried to convey to him that it was ok. He flushed a slight pink and busied himself with his fingernails.
\"What\'cha mean?\" Bones asked. Claudia went to Remus\'s side and put her arm around him. He was so handsome and sweet.
\"I mean, my dear darling Remus is a real and for-true werewolf.\" Howls from Bones and Rod, mixed with laughter.
\"Whatever.\" Rod said. But everyone else stopped laughing when they saw the look on Claudia\'s face.
\"Seriously?\" Antonio asked. Claudia and Remus nodded.
\"So you see, he is actually just as dangerous as we are. Huh Remus?\" She laughed and clapped him on the back. She figured that if she said it didn\'t bother her, it wouldn\'t bother them. She was right. All of a sudden he was surrounded by all of them asking questions and exclaiming how cool that was. The one who seemed the most impressed was Zulu. He couldn\'t stop staring at Remus.
After that was over, they headed out into the night air and Claudia was filled with excitement. Finally. She thought. I am back.

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The music was loud. Really loud. Antonio and Claudia remained undercover while dancing the night away. They were portraying a very retro looking couple who couldn\'t keep off of each other. They danced horrible actually. But that just added to the effect. Every once in awhile, she spotted Bones and Rod sitting at the bar in casual conversation. They just looked like two guys out for a drink. She never saw him, but she knew Nick was inside the bar too. Probably watching the exits, she thought. From the small piece of plastic stuck in her ear, she knew Chester was in the car manning their communications and Zulu and Lupin were told to await orders outside across the street.
They figured this was as good a guess as the next one, coming to this club. They knew Hernandez loved the night life and loved to flaunt money. This was one of the hottest places to be and they figured, what the hell? At least, they got a night out. Hours went by and Claudia was so tired of dancing. What she wasn\'t tired of was the running commentary Rod and Bones kept up in their ear pieces.
\"Ohhhhh weee. Look at that hot mamma. I could sop her up with a piece of toast.\"
\"Not your type bro. She looks smart.\" Laughter from all of them. But since they were so displaced from each other, no one could ever have known.
A little before 1:00 am They heard Nick speak into their ear pieces.
\"We have a fox to hunt tonight my friends.\" Years of training kicked in and Claudia felt herself stiffen. He was here.
Antonio led her off the floor and to a table for some drinks. They maintained their cover as a couple out on a date, so they sat closely and spoke in whispers. From their ear pieces, they heard Nick pose a question to Zulu.
\"Zulu, why didn\'t you alert us he was approaching?\"
\"Oh boss, you told me to wait with the wolf for orders. We didn\'t know that was our orders.\" Snickers and laughter could be heard. Nick colored him in curse words in Russian that made them laugh all the more.
Only a half hour of watching Hernandez flirt badly with women and he was out the door.
\"Showtime\" Claudia heard in her ear. \"The fox is hailing a taxi, Zulu, you and the wolf are on it?\" Chester asked.
\"We are going. See you soon.\" Zulu said. Unseen by anyone, a tall black man and a scruffy looking wizard apparated using a locater spell. Claudia wondered what apparating would feel like to Zulu.
Claudia and Antonio walked arm in arm out of the club and hailed a taxi back to the hotel. Rod and Bones left moments later headed for the metro. Nick slipped out a back door to meet Chester in the car. Rendezvous point for all of them was the hotel.
It took over a half hour for everyone to make it back. Everyone except Zulu and Remus. They stood waiting, pacing the floors when they heard the familiar \"Crack!\" and they materialized before them.
\"That is just too cool.\" Chester said.
\"Perhaps, next time you travel that way. For I think I never will agian.\" Zulu said.
\"Well?\" Nick asked them.
\"They are renting a house right outside of London. Small, broken down thing. But there are at least six people there right now. Three muggles and three wizards. I need to report to Dumbledore. I\'m sure he will be getting in touch with you later.\" Another \"Crack!\" and he was gone.
The rest of them decided to call it a night and everyone left for their rooms. Claudia was entering hers when she saw the outline of a man sitting in a chair. She smiled. It had been so long since she had seen him. She closed the door and switched on a light. Severus eyed her up and down.
\"What? You don\'t like my dress?\" She joked.
\"If I didn\'t already have something planned for us tonight, I could think of a few things to do with it.\" His black eyes glimmered in the light. Claudia went to him and stroked his head. She ran her fingers through the long black hair and kissed his forehead.
\"What do you have planned for us tonight?\" She said between kisses. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her. Oh, that. She thought. But he quickly released her.
\"Perhaps, you can change clothes? We have to be somewhere soon.\" Claudia\'s eyes got bigger.
\"Where?\" She asked.
\"More importantly, you should be asking me what we are doing.\"
\"What are we doing Severus?\" She asked him with a slightly irritated tone.
\"It\'s ready. If you consent, we will do it tonight.\" Understanding blazed in her mind. Coagmento Pectus, the potion he was brewing for them. Oh this night is about to get more interesting. She quickly dressed in blue jeans and a sweater. She tried to rub the makeup off as best she could. When she was ready, Severus opened his arms to her and she wrapped hers around him.
\"Remember to hold on tight.\" He whispered.
\"I always do.\" The tugging sensation and a dizzy feeling overcame her. Suddenly she realized where they were. They had arrived at the cottage.

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A/N: Well...what do you think Severus has in store for Claudia? Perhaps some juicy magic with a drop f lemon juice??
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