A few days of desk duty, and Fauna was climbing the walls. It wasn't like she'd never had to sit at a desk before and patiently work through case files. That was the bulk of the job, the menial and patient tasks. It was more the fact she had to, that her loss of magic prevented her from going out and waving her wand with the rest of them.

This first week of the new year, her mind was on the next full moon and assisting with preparations, wondering if she would get better by then, wondering if she would even want to get better by then. The cold moon weighed on her still, and her lack of magic acted as a constant reminder of how helpless they had all felt when they hadn't been able to send up red sparks or apparate out of the zoo.

The werewolf who had attacked and killed the muggles had recently been transferred from Level Four to Level Two. The werewolf had a name. Savvina Katopodis. She'd been used by those who would use her to do harm, she had a dog who was missing and who missed her, she acted with quiet dignity. Yes, she had chosen not to register and had procured wolfsbane from who knew what dodgy sources, but Fauna felt pity for her. Though she couldn't forget the sight of the wolf mauling the defenseless muggle guard, pity won out over anger. At least today.

Around noon, she'd had enough of sitting around. She let the Aurors know she was taking her lunch break outside, and floo'd close to the London zoo.

She wore her black trousers and boots and her puffy yellow coat with the huge pockets. The pockets that had once held SAWS posters now held fliers with the words:

MISSING DOG

Savvina had provided a photo of her dog, which Fauna had copied onto the fliers along with her own mobile number as the contact. If the Pilpher burglar remained a mystery, if the silver cuffs remained a mystery, if the tailor shop of horrors remained a mystery, at least she was making an effort to find one woman's lost dog. A small matter, but it mattered. Like Virgil's violin had mattered to him.

She began by pasting a few fliers on the advertisement boards near the Regent's Park entrance, and then she headed into the park itself, which was less busy during the weekday and the colder season. Fauna offered the flier to those strolling by with kids or pets. The older residents too. Anyone who looked like they might be a regular.

Her gaze strayed to the flower stall just off the path, where the seller displayed roses under heat lamps.

Fauna veered towards the stall and mulled over the options. Red and yellow. Red or yellow.

Her coat was yellow, so Fauna picked red. A bright spot of red against her yellow coat. Perhaps she'd owl it to Tia or surprise her at the Ministry when she got back.

Smiling, the sunlight warm on her face, Fauna turned and held the rose up to her nose.

She glanced up and went still, coming to a sudden halt.

In the midst of planning, supply gathering and ritual preparation, Cinaed had decided on a whim that he needed to take the afternoon off and it had proven to be a rather good choice.  It was good to get away from all of that and have some quiet time - not just for his own sake, but to remember why they were all doing this at the end of the day. 

Watching Fionn's attempts to toss a stick for the newest canine member of the clan was a good reminder of that. 

The werewolf's dog, Skylos, was proving to be a much better play companion for Fionn than Seamus; the mastiff was a better sleeping companion.  Already, almost fifteen minutes had passed and neither six-year-old nor hound had grown tired of playing fetch - a feat that was probably more remarkable on Skylos' side of the equation.  Fionn could hardly through the stick further than four feet, but the hound continued to fly after it with 100% enthusiasm.  Every once in a while, Fionn would bring the stick to him so Cinaed could chuck it across the lawn and his son could marvel at the dog's speed. 

This was the reminder he needed - the reason behind what they had planned.  From the ashes of the old, they would birth a new world.  One where Cinaed and, more importantly, Fionn wouldn't have to hide in the shadows.  Neither from the weak magic-less rats that infested their cities, destroyed their countryside and even filled the air with loud planes of war.  Nor the strong arm of the Ministry, which kept wizardkind bent to submission to protect those rats. 

Not only was this outing a reminder of the end goal, but it was just one more stolen moment with his son.  Cinaed was cocky and he loved the thrill of the fight, but he wasn't naive.  He knew that every time he stepped out of the safety of the Black Chimaera for a task or mission, it could be the last time he saw Fionn.  Whether the adventure ended with death or capture made no difference on that front. 

"Glenn, just let Sky get it.  She'll be able to find it," he called out.  The stick had taken an errant arc and had landed right in the center of a hedge.  Both boy and dog were neck deep in the branches, trying to locate the stick. 

Cinaed had assumed the appearance of another random muggle.  Fionn's hair had grown out and had been died a generic ashen blond but his appearance hadn't been otherwise magically altered.  It had been almost three years since the Ministry-abiding wizarding community had laid eyes on the lad; Cinaed was banking on the how much children looked alike to conceal his identity.   

"Really, barra!  Chances are slim either of you would know if you just got another stick."  He started crossing the short distance to the pair, still oblivious to the audience of one they'd attracted. 

A dog. Fauna spotted the dog through the hedge nearby, catching a glimpse of a tawny coat and dark, floppy ears as the animal darted around the bushes and snuffled joyfully at the stray branches. 

Glenn, Sky, a man's voice sounded from somewhere out on the lawn.

Fauna moved away from the flower stall and towards the hedge, curious and distracted.

A child. Fauna spotted the child next, glimpsing his blond head of hair and cherubic young face as he ran after the dog. In her limited experience, Fauna judged the child to be older than Pratt's youngest Pratt brat (a toddler) and younger than Pratt's middle Pratt brat (she'd forgotten the names of both children, and just hoped she never had to babysit again).

The man called out in a Scottish brogue. Fauna spotted the man last, striding up to the hedge.

The bushes rustled with the commotion of child and dog, and a stick fell out and landed on the grass.

Fauna stepped off the path and picked it up, wiggling it high in her hand, about to throw it over for them.

The dog.

Fauna's arm lowered, the stick still in her hand. 

The dog was a golden color, with a dark muzzle and ears, and soulful dark eyes. Fauna looked down at one of the fliers, and then at the dog again. The dog!

"Skylos!" She breathed.

The dog's ears perked, and the dog bounded around the hedge and hesitated, crouching low and wagging her tail. Stick? Why was the stick not being thrown?

The child too, followed the dog, halting at the sight of Fauna.

"Skylos," she repeated softly, watching the dog's ears perk, and then throwing the stick a few feet towards dog and child.

The stick went ignored. Dog went to Fauna, sniffing at her trousers and her hands, catching the enticing scents of stale coffee and Pez's dog fur. Heart melting, Fauna knelt a bit, and the dog sniffed at the fliers flopping against Fauna's arm, and at the rose bobbing brightly from her front coat pocket, the red petals bright against her yellow winter coat.

Fauna gave her a scratch behind the ears. How was this possible! How was this happening! This was a wonderful day!

"Er, sorry," she smiled sheepishly up at the approaching stranger, noting his height and build and face as unfamiliar. "Friendly dog you have here."

Sky. She recalled the nickname he'd used, and glanced at the collar, checking for ID tags.

Cinaed recognized the baby Auror immediately, though apart from his eyebrows twitching upwards, he was careful not to give any indication.  There was no indication that she'd noticed or recognized him and the papers in her hands suggested their crossing paths was a coincidence. 

Of course, he knew it could be a trap.  She was a decoy and there were real Aurors standing somewhere out of sight, waiting for the opportunity to pounce.  But, Cinaed had a hard time believing they'd have just sent her in, openly, without a disguise.  The Ministry claimed to have ethics; they wouldn't use one of their own, fledgling officers as bait. 

Especially since she seemed far more interested in the dog than she was in Cinaed or, more importantly, Fionn. 

And, luckily, Fionn seemed to remember their conversations about keeping distance from strangers and Side-Along Safety (Tag!  You're gone!).  The lad had followed Skylos towards Blake but had stopped short, well out of arm's distance. 

In several strides (okay ... more than several ... he really should stick with taller Muggles.  Their short strides was far too aggravating), Cinaed crossed the distance and stepped up next to Fionn.

"Oh - uh, hi!"  Cinaed offered, brightly, keeping his accent the same but assuming the personality of someone who was just bubbly enough to be borderline annoying.  "Oh, aye.  Thank you!  She really is a friendly, sparkly little pup.  Just adopted her, we did!"  He smiled brightly at Fionn. 

"Her name's Sky.  She likes the stick," Fionn offered, clearly focused on the stick Baby Auror was still holding. 

"Yes - the people we adopted her from said her name was Sky.  She seemed to like it, so we decided to keep it.  And, it seems fitting - she does seem to fly!"  Cinaed laughed brightly, as stupid people did when faced with their own, bad humor.

No ID on the dog. The stranger greeted her cheerfully from a few feet away, giving her space even though she was the one who had approached his dog without asking.

He seemed nice. Friendly and nice. Fauna couldn't help but beam at him, so relieved that she'd actually found Skylos. She tried to focus. He said he'd just adopted the dog from people who had called her Sky.

Level Four reported that Savvina didn't remember much. She'd gone on a walk in the park with Sky on December 7th, where she'd ran into an old friend. She'd known him from Beit Gaddol, but that was all. That was all that Savvina could remember before the ambush in the zoo.

Level Two had checked out her flat in the days following, and hadn't been able to find her dog. They'd been forced to conclude that Sky had been abducted along with Savvina, or had been hurt, or killed, or was lost out in the cold.

Now, nearly a month later, here was the dog, happy and well fed, and with a new family. Was it too good to be true?

Fauna smiled distractedly at the man's joke, and nodded in acknowledgement at the boy.

She rose. Skylos went to fetch the stick.

"I'm sorry, did you say that you just adopted her?" She chuckled and shook her head. He'd said it twice, she knew. "This is a bit awkward, and I can't believe this is happening, but, well-"

She paused, and then handed him a flier with the photo printed on it.

"I've been looking for Sky," her brows drew together contritely.

"Er, I'm Fauna," she offered the stranger a hand to shake.

So here they were.  Baby Auror recognized the dog.  Cin and Fionn were out in the open and there were no carefully planned magical escapes in place.  If she caught even a whiff of who he was, the neighborhood would be crawling with Aurors before he could get back to their current pad.  They'd have to relocate in a hurry and there were far too many variables with a youngster in tow. 

He'd have to distance himself from the magical world and Sky's owner.  The adoption story seemed to have done the trick; he'd just have to keep at least two degrees of separation from his true identity.

And, accept that he couldn't hold too tightly to the dog without raising some suspicion. 

"Oh yes.  Yes!"  He confirmed, keeping that stupid, cheery grin in place as he reached out to return the handshake.  Fingers that were far too small and weak closed around the girl's hand and for just a moment, his false grin faltered. 

It would take so little ... oh so little ... Grasp her hand.  Yank her off balance.  Take advantage of the moment of confusion.  Pull his wand out with his other wand.  He could drop her.  Imperious her.  Cripple her in pain before she'd even had a moment to realize her unfortunate mistake.  Another notch in his wand. 

But, no.  Now wasn't the time.  Here wasn't the place.  Fionn wasn't quite old enough to fully understand the price of freedom. 

Back to playing the role of some, poor schmuck who'd adopted a poor, lost dog.  He looked down at the flier in his hand. 

"Oh wow - yes.  I did adopt her.  Just a couple days ago.  This fellow put a listing in the local paper and we went to meet her.  Guy gave us weird vibes but Sky looked sad and lonely.  Wait - is Sky your dog, Fiona?" 

Baby Auror Fauna.  What information would she divulge to a strange muggle?

They shook hands. His hand was slender and didn't quite envelop hers. She met his eyes. There was a second, possibly two, when his smile faltered. Fauna clocked it in the back of her mind as she thought about what he'd said and everything going on around her. A few people laughed on the lawn, a few others passed by on the path. The dog played with the stick. The boy played with the dog. The flower seller leaned against the stall, paying little attention to their conversation. The day was like any other chilly winter day in the park.

Regret, she thought, as the stranger looked closely at the flier and started to explain. His faltering smile reflected regret upon realizing that he'd just adopted a missing dog.

"Fauna," she told him with an automatic smile of her own.

He'd adopted Sky a few days ago from a fellow who had put a listing in the local paper. A fellow who'd given him weird vibes.

Fauna blinked, tamping down a flicker of interest. It could happen, she supposed, though the weird vibes comment seemed convenient, just like the circumstances of their chance meeting here. Reget, she held onto her initial impression, studying his face as his bright, cheery voice rang in her ears. Regret, and something else. Some kind of weird vibe.

She shook her head very slightly. Sometimes people gave off weird vibes through no fault of their own. They could be nervous, or awkward, or skirting the truth, like Fauna was about to do.

"No, she's not," she answered, gathering her thoughts.

"She belonged to a friend of mine," Fauna's expression sobered and she ducked her head a little. "I've been helping her family look for Sky."

The stranger's story implied that he'd never met Savvina, but it made sense to stay consistent with the fact that Savvina hadn't been seen in the neighborhood since early December. The fliers under her arm were both a help and a hindrance. If she whipped out her badge and pretended to be with muggle law enforcement, she wouldn't be able to rely on her useless wand to smooth things over or fix her mistakes.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

She looked at him searchingly, and glanced at the child. Maybe she'd get the chance to ask a few questions, citizen to citizen, before the poor kid found out that his new best friend belonged to someone else.

Cinead turned from Fauna to Sky and, finally, Fionn.  The disappointment that drooped his shoulders and widened his eyes was two parts acting and one part ... legitimate.  He watched Fionn as the boy plucked the stick from the long grass between Sky's paws and took off running across the park, pouch bounding after him. 

All the politics and war with the Ministry and a fight for a free magical world was important.  Sky, Sky's owner and the Auror here looking for Sky were all chess pieces in the current battle.  But, now, at the center was a young lad who'd grown attached to a new companion.   

"Oh - she's not?"  When Cinaed turned his attention back to Blake, the regret at crossing her path was legitimate but the confusion was not.  He knew far more about the dog's history than she could guess.  If she was going to break his son's heart, she was going to pay for it. 

"Her family?  Why just her family?  Why isn't she looking for him?" he asked, concern and just a touch of suspicion sneaking into his voice. 

He could feel her eyes searching his face and turned his attention away, avoiding meeting her gaze under the guise of watching the boy and dog play.  Fionn had tossed the stick an impressive meter across the lawn and had turned to coming running back towards them.  Perhaps he was compensating for his lack of throwing arm by increasing the distance Sky would have to cover to run back to him. 

"Oh - name's Harvey.  Harvey Swanson.  And, my son's Glenn.  He's grown quite attached to his new companion.  This -"  He hesitated a moment before turning back towards Fauna.  "Perhaps, I can give you my name and contact information and Sky's owner can contact us.  We could have him come over and meet us and ... I don't know ... "

How long did he have before the polyjuice would start to wear off?  They'd been out here at least twenty minutes - maybe even thirty.  But, couldn't have been more than forty. 

The child chased the dog across the park and Fauna fought back a twinge of unease, watching the child and the dog disappear out of the corner of her eye.

His name was Harvey, his son's name was Glenn. A muggle family seemingly involved accidentally. Was it too much to hope for (or dread) that the fellow that Harvey had met was Savvina's acquaintance, or one of Tawse's lackeys, or someone else connected to this? She could not imagine the WBA leaving a note in the local muggle paper, or for that matter, bothering to keep or give away the dog.

As Harvey avoided her gaze, Fauna glanced around.

No one seemed to be watching them. Harvey showed no obvious signs of being affected by memory charms, or the Imperius curse, or any of Tawse's usual shite. He sounded like he wanted some distance from her, but any parent might in this kind of situation. Any parent would certainly want to meet later, to confirm what they'd been told.

Fauna nodded hesitantly, "We should exchange contact information. I'm sorry about all this, with your son already attached."

She paused, catching sight of the child running towards them. Harvey was the one connection they had so far to Sky, to the incident in the park, to the zoo ambush. If she could keep him talking, she might have a shot at reaching Level Two.

"My friend was in a bad accident," she admitted, rooting around in her coat pocket for her mobile.

"Um, we only realized that Sky was missing in the aftermath, and I really thought the worst, you know? I never thought I'd just run into her, here in the park."

Glenn returned, catching his breath. A few seconds later, Sky returned with the stick, dropping the stick at the child's feet. The dog looked from Fauna and Glenn and back again, tail wagging wildly.

Fauna pulled out her mobile and looked up at Harvey.

She looked up, up, and up just a little bit more, her pleasant expression faltering.

He stood...

Taller.

Cinaed tried, with moderate success, to not look surprised when Blake took the bait and offered to exchange contact information.  He knew (or, at least, he felt like he had a fairly decent idea) where the dog's owner was and he doubted the Ministry was about to let a person of interest swap owls with a random muggle. 

Was Blake bluffing?  Was this a ploy?  Or, had she figured out more than he'd initially assumed and was trying to score a lead. 

"That's too bad," he offered simply, not really giving the story much thought.  His lip twitched slightly with a touch of disdain as the auror pulled one of those muggle contraptions from her pocket.  Of course, the auror would have one of those bloody, annoying things with her. 

But, he took a deep breath and tried to shove himself back into character.  Just some poor, muggle schmuck out in the park with his dog and kid. 

"Well, you know, a lot of dogs look the same," he offered as he gestured to the papers in her hand.  "Are you certain that's the same dog?  I mean, I'm sure a lot of dogs are named Sky."   

Cinaed looked from the dog to Blake to Fionn.  Fionn was sporting that goofy, anticipatory grin he'd always get when he watched his father morph from one appearance to another. 

Was it later than he'd thought?  He waved a hand, beckoning Fionn closer to him, just in case he needed to grab the boy and disapparate. 

Fauna blinked up at Harvey, her heart starting to pound. Taller? Taller, she swore it. Was she panicking, or was this actually happening? Harvey of the uncanny valley!

She glanced away, her gaze landing on the child. The child she could not place anymore, could not understand. She'd felt ok to smile at Harvey and ask Harvey questions partially because of the child's presence, if not right there in front of her, then off in the distance, if not at the forefront of her mind, then in the back, making her feel stupidly safe.

She glanced away again, looking at the dog. The dog that someone clearly cherished. Sky. Lots of dogs were named Sky, he was saying.

"You know what?"

Fauna smiled at Harvey. Was his nose broader? His eyes set deeper? He had lost some of his enthusiastic energy from before.

She took a few steps back.

"You're right. I would hate to put the family through anything else. It's best to make sure, isn't it?"

The dog picked up the stick, wagging her tail, looking from the child to Fauna.

Shifting the fliers under her arm, Fauna raised her phone, angling it carefully, her heart nearly bursting out of her chest.

Click.

Her phone's camera went off.

Fauna glanced at her phone. No time to celebrate, no time to fully process, she focused on the dog.

"Who's a pretty dog, Sky!" She praised, holding her hand out for the stick.

The photo was indeed of the dog. The side of the dog's face, and the blurry stick paraded in Sky's mouth.

The photo was not just of the dog. In the background, Harvey was half-visible, the upper half of him cut off in the frame. Anonymous. A stranger in the park.

The child stood beside him, his face split in a grin, looking up at his father.