Chapter Text
It had been a slow week in the office.
In the aftermath of the war, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had been so busy, it had almost tripled in size. Three years on, no-one seemed able to remember what to do in peacetime. There were no spontaneous parties, no mourning families forgetting the Statute of Secrecy, and no explosions orchestrated by Voldemort’s regime. Everything was… strangely calm.
“It almost feels like the war never happened at all,” Hermione mused. She’d only recently transferred from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and had yet to see what they did in practice; they’d had no callouts since she completed her training. They’d been catching up on report-writing since. “It’s only been three years, but life has just carried on, like we didn’t all go through this huge trauma together.”
Draco nodded. “It feels like a dream, sometimes. A really shit one.”
“Language, Draco,” Daphne said mildly - because as their boss she had to, rather than because she had anything against swearing.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “Guess it doesn’t feel like a dream to you,” he added, turning his grey gaze on Harry.
“Some of it does,” Harry answered. “I suppose my whole life was sort of about the war in some way, so it doesn’t feel as…unreal to me. But it does feel distant.”
The alarm started to sound, and a red light flashed from an undefined point above them.
“Thank Merlin,” Daphne said, standing and stretching with a groan. “I was considering transferring to another department if we’d had no callouts by Friday.”
Hermione snatched up the Portkey that appeared on her desk and held it out to the team, scanning the parchment that had arrived with it hurriedly. “There’s an Occamy loose at a muggle zoo,” she said breathlessly. “Luna is there already to capture it safely, and we are to manage the memory alterations.”
“How in Merlin’s name-?” Draco shook his head in amazement.
“The Enforcement lot are looking into how it’s come to be there,” Hermione added. Draco nodded and reached out to touch the Portkey as it activated.
They all landed surprisingly elegantly in a cool, dark building, and Harry barked a laugh. “I’ve been here before,” he said. “I talked to my first snake here, and accidentally set it loose and then locked my cousin into its display. It was that one.” He pointed.
Daphne shot him a look. “I remember that,” she announced. “Amelia had to deal with the reptile keeper. ‘But the glass… where did the glass go?’ ”
Harry grinned awkwardly. “I was ten,” he pointed out. “It wasn’t deliberate, and I promise I was properly punished.”
Hermione glanced at him, frowning. Draco stared. Neither of them had heard him be so open about his childhood before.
Daphne changed the subject. “Luna is currently in that same display,” she announced. “I suggest her Occamy is too. Let’s see how many Obliviates we need today - unless anyone can come up with a strong enough cover story?”
“Hallowe’en prank?” Harry suggested weakly. His preoccupation suddenly made sense as Hermione realised it was the last day of October. She squeezed his shoulder while Daphne considered.
“You know what, if they haven’t seen the Occamy grow or shrink, that might just work.”