Late evening, March 20, a few hours after this thread.


Ring ring!

Sasha: “Hi, Blake.  It’s Snow.  Sasha.  Schlagenweit, now Snow.  I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”

Fauna: -pauses-  "Uh, hi Sasha."  stifles yawn  "I'm good. Did you get a new number?"

Sasha: "Oh … uh … sorry.  It couldn’t wait but I didn’t mean … wait, one second."  muffled argument in the background  "Baldur’s hurt at my apartment.  He needs help but I don’t know what caused it.  Cops are still there, though." 

Fauna: longer pause  "Wait, Baldur's hurt? Who's..."  rustling sound in the background.

Sounding more awake  "Sorry - Sasha, where are you? Are you hurt?"

Sasha: "I’m not sure.  I mean, I’m fine.  I’m not sure about-"  brief pause.  "I’m at the Cambridge Police Station.  They didn’t give me time to check on him.  He was just hurt when we left." 

Fauna: "Ok... I'll send someone to check on Baldur at your flat. You only have one flat in Cambridge, right?"

Thudding sounds in the background as Fauna hurries down the stairs.

Sasha: "Thank you, thank you.  The … um …"  brief pause  "the fireplace in the study is connected.  But, there might be.  Other.  People.  There.  Like, constables.  So no theatrics."

Fauna: "Thanks - got it. Theta, can you...? Sorry, one second Sasha."

Voice slightly muffled  "... can you poke your head into the="  whispers  "-and get an animal healer on the - yeah no, Pez is fine. No, he's not throwing up again. It's for a friend. Um, try the McBoids, actually."

"Sasha? I'm back. Still Fauna. Right, so, I'm taking care of your dog and the, you know, people. Are you ok? What happened, exactly?"

Sasha: "Mein Gott.  Thank you."  long pause  "And, yes.  Just the one flat." 

"I don’t really know.  When I got home, there were officers at the apartment building.  I think something happened to my neighbors.  I went in - they saw Baldur and - before I could do anything, they put me in handcuffs."  long pause  "They keep asking questions but I have no idea what happened or what’s going on."

Fauna: pause  "Did they say they were arresting you?"

Sasha: "I’m not sure.  I honestly don’t remember.  I remember them saying they have questions and then they were cuffing me.  Everything’s kind of a confused blur.  I’m sorry." 

Fauna: "No, it's ok. I'm sorry you're..."  Fauna trails off for a moment.  "Wait, what was going on with your neighbors? Could you see anything?"

Sasha: "There were ambulances and medics with the officers.  I think … I think I saw a body bag.  This call is being recorded so I don’t know how much more I should say, though there really isn’t much more to it."  brief pause

"I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to drag you into any of this.  I tried calling Abby but she didn’t answer.  I couldn’t get to Baldur and -"  voice trails off

Fauna: "Shit, I'm sorry."  deep breath  "I'll get a hold of Abby, too. Listen, um... are you ok with me calling our, uh, online guild?"  nervous chuckle  "Levels two, three, the whole lot, if needed? I'll be on my way in a minute but, uh, just to be sure."

Sasha: long sigh  "I’m not entirely sure I’m okay with it, but I think that probably needs to happen.  I don’t know … whose jurisdiction this falls under.  I just, wait - one minute."  Muffled conversation.  "They’re telling me I’m out of time.  I … thank you.  Just … I need to know if Baldur’s, you know, alright."

Fauna: "Yeah, of course, it’s - I'll get you out of there as soon as I can, ok? I'll make sure everyone's ok."  pauses  "Talk to you soon."

muffled in the distance, sounding embarrassed  "Hi Duncan, this is Fauna…"

Despite all the ups and downs in their friendship, Sasha couldn't - and wouldn't - deny the profound sense of relief he felt when Fauna walked into the visit room.  They had a knack for getting under each other's skin and, yet, for some inexplicable reason, Fauna always seemed to be there when circumstances were there most unfortunate.  While Sasha had never predicted finding himself inside a muggle jail cell, it seemed unsurprising that it was Fauna taking the seat on the other side of the metal table. 

"Given the way the last few years have gone," Sasha offered with an uneasy grin.  It might not be a surprise that it was Fauna who met him here but that didn't make it any less embarrassing.  "I half wondered if, at some point, I'd end up getting arrested.  I just always pictured I'd have a better idea of what caused it."  Crime boss affiliation.  Experiment gone wrong. 

He glanced down at the handcuffs on his wrists and hesitated a long moment, a question clinging to his tongue but refusing to let go.  He didn't know how to acknowledge the potential of a tomorrow morning without Baldur in it.  Through all the losses and terrifying sleepless nights, he'd been a constant.  As long as Sasha didn't ask, there was the potential of hope.  Schrodinger's German Shepherd. 

So, he resorted to the safer problems.  "I'm so sorry to have dragged you out so late.  I'm - I have no idea what's going on.  Were you able to get in?  Did you see anything - with the others?"

Despite all their ups and downs over the years, the sight of Sasha, safe and well in the jail's visitor room, was at least cause for relief. Fauna smiled genuinely, making an effort to soften her gaze, which was shadowed by what she'd learned this evening.

As she sat down, she chose to ignore his maddening remark about how he wasn't surprised he'd been arrested. Merlin's sake!

The air in the visitor's room was stuffy, though they were the only ones using the room besides the cop at the door. Fauna kept her trainee jacket on, used to the extra layer that felt like armor. She was not used to seeing her friends in handcuffs - even Fig had been spared that, so many months ago. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself she had no authority here. She couldn't just vanish the handcuffs and walk out with Sasha right now. She was a visitor and would have to talk like one, while telling Sasha as much as she was allowed to tell him.

"I got in," Fauna assured him. She rested her arms on the table, her hands lightly clasped. Level Two was working on getting Sasha out, she thought but didn't say.

"Baldur is with Moira and Tulo," she said simply, hoping the mention of his close friend and Tulo the healer would offer some relief.

"He's doing ok, last I checked."

She paused, giving him a moment. She'd tell him about the people he must be worried about, first.

"I sent a friend to check on your grandma," she continued earnestly. "And she's doing well. Giada, too."

Giada, the house elf, would have been just fine handling things on her own, but Fauna had no regrets asking an Auror to look in on them. She'd worried that the same unwanted visitor who'd brought death to Sasha's flat had also brought yet more death to Sasha's house, which had seen too much already.

"Oh, and I," Fauna hesitated. "Abby is out pub-hopping tonight, so it's just a matter of finding the right pub and catching her at the right time. Her mobile doesn't work everywhere."

She smiled slightly, trusting that he'd understand that Abby's mobile only worked in muggle places. Fauna really didn't like that they hadn't found Abby yet, but they were doing everything they could.

Fauna, it appeared, wasn't a fan of humor used as a coping mechanism.  Or, at least, wasn't a fan of it at in the wee hours of the morning, which Sasha couldn't fault her for.  But, when trapped in a muggle jail cell for entirely unknown reasons and no ability to actually be helpful, it was easiest to focus on the unimportant. 

In contrast, Fauna moved straight to the important information and, after it actually settled in that everyone he knew was alive, Sasha was grateful for the directness.  His shoulders slowly settled and he offered a slight nod. 

"Thank God," he offered, quietly, lifting both hands to rub his face.  "Baldur's in the best hands, for sure, then.  He looked-"  Sasha hesitated and shook his head, again.  "I only caught a glimpse of him.  I'm sure Giada is a fretful mess.   She hates not being able to ... follow everywhere."  Giada had taken to her role in the household with all the dedication of any house elf and had frequently expressed her discontent at not being able to accompany Sasha and his grandmother to doctor's appointments. 

He grinned at the image of Abby pub-hopping, remembering the last text he'd received on the bus ride home before she'd disappeared 'off the grid' into a magical establishment.  By and large, everything seemed to be squared away. 

Except for the handcuffs.  And the crime scene at his apartment. 

After a quick glance in the officer's direction, Sasha looked back towards Fauna.  "They've been asking a lot about what happened with my parents.  And sister.  Like they're trying to uncover how this is connected."  Officer Smiley who had first interviewed Sasha when they'd arrived at the station from the crime scene had been dropping not so subtle hints that he was convinced Sasha was the unidentified connection between the three. 

Of course, the muggle investigation into both were very truncated and sparse on details. 

"Is there any sign they're connected?"

Fauna smiled, finding that person they had in common - Abby. It was good to see Sasha smile, especially after what he'd already been through tonight.

"Giada's worried about you and looking forward to you coming home."

If she sounded a little too earnest, she couldn't help it, hanging on to any nicety that she could.

Because here it was. Fauna sat back, surprised, though she shouldn't be, that the cops had looked into Sasha's tragic history to understand the most recent tragedy left on his front door.

Which sister did he mean? The older, who'd died from tainted potions, or the younger, who'd been murdered with his parents? Fauna was about to ask, but glanced at the guard nearby and decided not to bring up anything that might trigger another line of inquiry. The cops seemed to be on the wrong track, but she didn't need to make it more complicated than it already was, and it must be hard enough for Sasha to revisit the loss of his family while stuck here.

Fauna focused on Sasha, hesitating as she tried to find the right words.

"Not that I can tell, this early on."

The only possible connection Fauna could see at the moment was in the method and style. The tainted potions that had killed Jacoba had been part of a much more widespread attack that had killed 42 random victims. Ira Almasy had been behind that particular horror, but she wasn't the only one fond of using poison, nor had she worked alone.[1]

She twisted her mouth to one side thoughtfully, unable to tell him her suspicion yet.

"It seems like someone's trying to send you a message. Don't ask me what that is," she lifted her palms up on the table, and gave him a slight, rueful smile.

"Have you gotten anything similar these past few months, that you'd feel ok telling me about?" She tilted her head very slightly towards the cop at the door. Whatever he said might be overheard.

"On a smaller scale, I mean. Anything anonymous - like flowers or chocolates - sent to your work, or school, or at home?"

Yes, sorry Sasha, she had her Auror hat on, and needed to clarify a few things to move on this quickly tonight. She never would have thought that someone would leave a box of chocolates sitting unopened in their desk for weeks (Bagnold), but who knew! If Sasha had received a 'gift' earlier, she could picture him binning it obliviously once finding out it wasn't from Abby.

Abby... the one person they all had in common.

1.	Poisons and Painkillers plot

"Not that I can tell, this early on."

Sasha nodded, too exhausted in the moment to decipher what emotional response he should have.  While he was grateful those past chapters of his life weren't being revisited in the magical world, that information didn't necessarily flow freely into the muggle world.  The Ministry of Magic was adept at cleaning up magical incidents by closing muggle criminal investigations in neat tidy packages.  But those neat tidy packages weren't intended to hold up to the future scrutiny that reopened cases often brought with them. 

"Do you think they'd be satisfied if I explained I definitely got the message?" Sasha asked, countering the rueful smile with a nervous chuckle.  "I'll be sure to start decorating my front door for the holidays in the future." 

He leaned forward, resting his weight with crossed arms on the tabletop.  He considered the question for a few moments before shaking his head. 

"No - no anonymous gifts or deliveries.  I mean, Abby sends or leaves things all the time and Giada's always trying to sneak sweets into my lunch."  He hadn't had the heart to tell her he gave all his sweets away to classmates or coworkers - but those sweets had been helping his popularity. 

"I can't say I've verified everyone has come from them, but all have been innocuous."  They had been, right?  Worry flickered across his features.  He cast a quick glance towards the officers at the door before turning back to Fauna.  "The 9th Floor seems prone to odd behavior in people but I don't think anything strange has happened that wasn't ... expected?" 

He would have thought someone would have told him something if Unspeakables were disappearing and their disappearance seemed to be directly linked to Sasha's treats. 

Fauna cracked a smile at Sasha's joke. If only they could ward their homes with holiday decorations, any place that Abby bestowed her decorative blessings on would be a fortress!

Abby. Her smile faltered as she listened closely. She nodded when Sasha said that any gifts had seemed entirely innocuous.

"No extra strangeness on Nine. Got it," she agreed lightly.

Virgil, Level Nine's paragon and prodigy, had received an anonymous package of poisoned chocolates at his flat, but only she, Level Two, Bagnold, Virgil's flatmates, and possibly Morgenthau knew about that. Actually, the list of people who knew was substantial, but that didn't mean that anyone had told Sasha about it.

Onto her next question! She only had a few, but it would help her know what to focus on while they got Sasha out of jail.

"So if this is the first time that you've been targeted, whoever did it decided to visit in person, or sent someone to, er, decorate. Flowers don't just magically appear on doors," she cracked her own silly joke, covering a slight smile with her hand.

"If they wanted to mess with your door while you were in class, it's possible that they know your usual routine."

Fauna imagined that Sasha almost always attended class. The culprit either didn't care if he were home or not, knew him personally, or had been watching him.

"Um," Fauna paused, lacing her fingers together on the table as she thought. "The cops have probably asked you this dozens of times, but has anyone threatened you recently? Anyone you can think of that has a grudge against you? Again, whatever you feel comfortable telling me."

Without turning her head, she glanced in the direction of the guard.

"And have you felt watched at any time in the past few months? Have you noticed anyone following you? On the way to class or work for instance, or while visiting friends?"

By friends, Fauna was mostly thinking of Moira and Abby, but she didn't mention them by name yet. Moira might have told Sasha that the McBoids (Moira and Duncan and Donnan specifically) had been feeling watched since the beginning of the year. Moira might have even told him that she'd discovered a human skull nestled in a bouquet of white asphodel flowers at Iona's grave site.[1] Either way, it would help to know if Sasha had noticed someone or something unusual tailing him.[2]

1.	At The Grave, Moira admitted that she had felt watched recently
2.	That 'something unusual' would be a creepy owl, watching Sasha from time to time. Sasha is welcome to have noticed this over the past month or so!

Content Warning - Profanity used

---

There were a few more distracting, stress-relieving chuckles in response to jokes about magically appearing flowers before Sasha glanced towards the guards, curious whether they'd noticed anything peculiar or intriguing about the conversation.  But, as the moment of humor passed, frustration resurfaced and Sasha leaned back in the chair, shaking his head. 

No matter how he looked at the events of the last twelve hours, he couldn't think of anything that would help move them towards an explanation.  There was no shortage of fodder for speculation, of course, but nothing he could directly connect to the deaths in his apartment building.   The abundance of possibilities with no tangible evidence made the situation all the more scary and frustrating. 

"The cops have asked but they're obviously trying to get me to say something that will lead this all back to me.  They don't seem to be looking for other possible explanations - but, I'm afraid I don't have anything more helpful to offer you than them.  There's probably -" he hesitated a moment and glanced, again, towards the guards though he was less concerned about what they would think than what Fauna would think. 

They'd been friends once but a lot had happened since then.  Werewolves.  Kidnappings.  Quasi-adoptive criminal mastermind father-uncles.  Someone seeking a career in law enforcement.  If he said the wrong thing and, unintentionally, did incriminate himself, did he really know that Fauna wouldn't turn around and have him shipped to Azkaban right after he was freed from muggle jail?

"My family was killed - I still don't know who or why.  Does someone have a grudge?"  He'd also quickly obtained a position to benefit from Kronos' wealth, jumping ahead of quite a few of his underlings.  No doubt there's bound to be some grudges there but it was probably best not to share that detail with Fauna.  "I'm sure there's other toes I've stepped on," he opted for a more vague explanation.  "But no warnings that led up to this.  No threats.  I don't remember feeling watched."  Of course, he also hadn't been on the lookout for it.  Between juggling the ministry, classes and his own research, he could admit he hadn't been looking too closely.

"No previously forgotten faces that resurfaced." 

Other than Katsaros.  But, Sasha had summoned him to Kronos' property - Katsaros hadn't gone looking for him.   At least not before that particular encounter. 

Again, not information an auror needed to know. 

Except, maybe she did.  If it would help the investigation, then maybe she really did. 

Still, what would she do with the information?  Would she tell the other aurors?  Azkaban?

But, if it could help, wasn't it selfish not to take the risk?

"Fuck."  Sasha breathed and rubbed his face with a hand.  How did they get here?

"I don't know," he admitted.  Entirely uncertain about what he should do. 

As Fauna listened, she kept her face as neutral as she could. Yes, Sasha's family had been killed at his home that had mysteriously burnt down later on, and Sasha's sister, Jacoba, had been poisoned by Ira's tainted potions. Fauna had gone over this in her mind many times before, aware that any number of criminals could be holding a grudge against Sasha, but in a way, his life had been spared each time. She wouldn't blame him if he ever felt that what they'd done was worse.

They went after his family. Those he loved.

They didn't leave flowers on his door and a cursed note that might kill him. A note that just as easily killed his muggle neighbors and harmed his dog.

He wasn't being watched, that he could tell.

"No previously forgotten faces that resurfaced."

She latched onto that sentence, which seemed to sum up the situation. That, and his expletive.

Sasha rarely swore. Fauna reached her hand out a few inches on the table, then stilled, reminding herself that she was here as an Auror first, a friend second, and the best she could do for him right now was to get as much information as she could and then help get him out of jail.

"I know," she still said sympathetically, ducking her head for a moment.

"Listen. From what you've just told me, and from what we know at your flat, I don't believe this is connected to your family. It's too..."

This time, Fauna hesitated. It was too strange, too chaotic. No matter how much Sasha tried to get on with his life, tragedy kept finding him. Someone had missed him earlier, the note said. But when? Years ago?

It didn't make sense. They would return anytime. They were in no rush. They'd left a curse on the note, which could so easily be dropped, touched, taken by the wrong hands. They could miss Sasha again and again, and they didn't seem to care.

Flowers had been a theme this year - sent to her, sent to Virgil, sent to Bagnold even. Where else had there been flowers? There'd been wolfsbane in the telephone booth with Penny. And oh right - the white flowers at Iona's gravestone, arranged around the skull left there.

Fauna frowned. On the table, she fidgeted with her sleeves for a moment. She didn't want to ask this question, didn't see the connection, but she needed to verify. Level Three was checking on the strange owls spotted in the trees. Not a fun job. So she could ask this question for Two.

Fauna met his eyes again.

"On another note - has the full moon been quiet for you? I mean in the past few months, since December. Mad things always happen on or around the full moon," she widened her eyes just a little. Always stating the obvious! "I'm just curious. It doesn't explain today, but I hope you haven't had any trouble with anyone during the full moon, lately?"

The guard snorted. She ignored him, focusing on Sasha.

"I know.  Listen. From what you've just told me, and from what we know at your flat, I don't believe this is connected to your family. It's too..."

Slowly, Sasha peeked through his fingers and and slowly lowered his hands, his brows furrowed in confusion and hesitant curiosity.  He'd barely had time to ascertain if his dog was alive or dead before they'd handcuffed him and dragged him from the apartment, let alone inspect the area for more information or clues.  He was dying for any details that would provide answers.

He resisted the temptation to badger Fauna into providing more details, knowing she was likely limited in her ability to speak freely here.  Her hesitation dragged on as Sasha watched, closely, waiting patiently for any hint of what about the crime scene was "too...". 

He managed to avoid badgering her, but he couldn't avoid letting out a long sigh of disappointment when Fauna seemed to shift the conversation.  Disappointment was replaced with a brief flicker of suspicion as Fauna shifted the topic to full moons.  Was this a test?  Was she trying to decide how trustworthy he was before divulging more information and using his perspective of full moons as a metric?

"There has been the occasional ..." the guard's snort distracted Sasha momentarily.  "... kerfuffle.  Streets seem to be getting less and less safe on full moon's.  Abby and I camped out at Moira's over the last one to try and be safer.  There were suspicious noises but probably just some prowling fox or ... other beast."   He shrugged.  "But, today isn't a full moon, so I don't see how that would be connected to today."

But, again, Fauna knew more about what was seen in his flat than he did.  Maybe she saw something that might suggest they were connected. 

"Unless, you found something that suggests otherwise?" 

Sasha sighed heavily while Fauna held her breath, willing the guard to be quiet so she could hear him. She didn't enjoy bringing up the full moon, either! Her eyebrows drew together as he mentioned the suspicious sounds around Moira's cottage. Abby had been there, too?

"You and Abby were at Moira's cottage during the last full moon?" Fauna restated, surprised. Abby had mentioned something to her about a sleepover, but had she said it was during the full moon? At Moira's cottage? And that there had been strange sounds in the night?

Fauna didn't think so. It was odd, but she'd noticed some distance from Abby since December, since the pentral had left, and she didn't know what to do to make Abby feel comfortable enough to talk to her again.

Sasha mentioned unsafe streets. Moira had likely told him about sighting the werewolf in December, and perhaps even about the desecration of Iona's grave in February. The often-anxious Sasha seemed completely unconcerned, which Fauna hoped meant he had nothing to be concerned about.

But she wouldn't bet on it.

"Uh, it's possible," Fauna answered his question distractedly. Maybe someone knew Moira had seen a werewolf, or knew that Moira would be vulnerable after February. The McBoids had all felt followed, watched recently.

"So, you were with Moira and Abby when you heard some strange sounds outside," Fauna emphasized their names without meaning to.

Moira and Abby, Abby and Moira.

"Did you check around outside in the morning? Whatever it was could have left tracks or left something behind," she shrugged her shoulder for the guard's benefit, but her gaze remained serious. Fauna mentally retraced her own steps from the first time she'd visited the McBoid land, and how easy it was to catch her foot on a rock, and how far it seemed from the large cottage to the smaller, and how she'd passed by the grave of Moira's mother where the oak tree was standing guard.[1]

1.	Waning Moon Fever