Harvest Moon

Deepest thanks as always to Heidi191976. Thank you so much for sticking with this story for so long. I sincerely appreciate it.

Voracious Reader: Your perceptions and commentary are marvelous. Reviewers like you are truly a blessing.

Bluezauza: Thank you for your compliments. Truly grateful for them.

Zets: Love you, darling. Very happy that you’re reading and still enjoying. Yes, it has been a stunningly awful day for me so review and make your poor author happy. I’ll explain as much as I can of the craziness to you later.

To everyone else reading, I hope you enjoy.



***

Upon reaching the sunlit dining hall they both sagged against opposite sides of the doorway. Arabella stared at them from over the top of the Daily Prophet.



“Merciful Goddess, you two look as though you’ve just crawled from a dustbin.”



“Close enough,” Lucius said. “We were in the vaults.”



“Hmm. Then what’s the reason you both smell as though you’ve run through a minefield and why did the whole house shake a few minutes ago?”



“It’s a long story, Ara,” Lucius said, coming over to one of the chairs and dropping down into it. Sweet gods, he was tired of this nonsense. He’d thought all of the intrigue and dangerous plotting was behind him since the dark lord had been vanquished but apparently that was not so. He explained to her about the reason they’d been in the vaults and about how the cabinet where his old Deatheater’s mask and robes were had exploded. Then about the traps that had been set on the staircase coming up from the vaults.



“Lucius, didn’t you mention that only family members could get into the vaults?” Hermione said thoughtfully.



“Yes,” Lucius said, frowning. “Then that means, whoever set those traps was family.”



“I’m afraid that’s the conclusion I’m coming to as well.”



“Sweet gods, this just gets worse and worse,” Lucius said, shaking his head in disgust. “I’ll also wager I can figure out which family member it was. Though how he got in without anyone’s knowledge disturbs me greatly. Unless . . .” he seemed lost in thought for a moment as his eyes narrowed and his lips tightened.



“I suppose now isn’t a good time to tell you someone was nosing round my flat earlier today,” Arabella said.



“What?!” Hermione almost squeaked. An icy finger of fear dragged down her spine and she only partially suppressed the shiver it induced.



“Mine, come sit down. You look as though you’re about to fall over at any moment,” Lucius said.



Hermione shrugged and came to sit down at the table. She was proud of the fact her hands only shook a little as she took the coffee cup one of the house elves offered her.



Lucius turned to Arabella. “How do you know someone was at your flat?”



Arabella shrugged. “My landlord called and said someone was there looking for me. But he couldn’t say who this person was, what they looked like or even if they were male or female. Which means he was probably obliviated. I’m frankly stunned they let him remember someone had been there. This leads me to believe it must have been one of the Prophet’s reporters,” she said, shaking the paper at him. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Since you and I have been linked since the outside of forever, Luc. I’m sure they were poking around for some sort of supplement to this ridiculous story. Damn annoying insects.”



“Or it could be our killer, Ara,” Lucius warned. “Remember that one of my house elves has seen things concerning you and Hermione. I think you should stay here where you’re at least somewhat safe.”



“Absolutely not, Luc,” Arabella said, looking mutinous. “I will not let some imbecile with a psychotic disorder keep me from my own home. Not to mention, what the two of you just went through makes me think being here is a little less than safe.”



Lucius threw up his hands in exasperation. “Are all muggle women as stubborn as you are?”



“A fair few,” Arabella said. “Most of us don’t get the opportunity to be delicate little pureblood flowers with big, strong wizards to protect us from the real world. If I recall correctly, you tend to like strong women.”



Lucius sighed. “Guilty as charged.”



“You can see me back to the flat if it makes you feel any better,” Arabella said. “The wards I’ve set up there should tell me who has been there or at very least give me an energy signature to work with.”



“You have the oddest ways of doing things, Ara,” Lucius said, shaking his head.



“Not everyone gets point and shoot magick, Luc. While I may not be a witch by wizarding world standards, I certainly am by muggle ideals. That means I have tricks up my sleeve the wizarding world has no knowledge of. Or at very least, doesn’t remember.”



“That is true enough if your opening the black gates is any indication. I’ll let it go for now, Ara. But if it happens again, come to me and we’ll figure out a way to keep you safe.”



Hermione was looking thoughtfully at Arabella, turning things over in her head. If the person who’d been nosing around her flat was indeed the killer, at least they had a solid target. Before it had been random and held to the women Lucius had been with at the Gilded Lily. That had made it hard to judge who the next victim might be. But this was clear and blatant. While she was worried about Arabella now, it gave her something to mull over and find a way to play this new turn of events to their advantage.



“Mine, what’s going on in that brilliant head of yours?” Lucius asked.



“Trying to get into the killer’s head and figure out how to turn this round to where it benefits us instead of them.”



***



“Ah, I see you’ve escaped unscathed yet again, Lucius. Pity really. It would have been amusing to see you turned into a puddle of slime. Then again, I really expected no less from you. You’ve always been able to slither out of even the worst situations in the past. But I wonder if you can wriggle your way out of this.”