Tuesday, July 8th, 2014. 6:00 PM.

  Grimmauld Place, Borough of Islington, London, UK

  After D.M.L.E. File had everyone Yadda to the updated Disclaimer, Harry briefed them on the ROCC information Kingsley had shared.

  Luna and Rolf had set up a chalkboard. Harry noted that it was Oliver's old board again. Somehow, the tinsel boa had migrated up to the top point of the tripod, and was tied like a cravat. Luna set what was obviously a small photo album in the center of the tray. The rest of the tray she filled with blocky, soft-looking pieces of chalk, in four different colors; cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

  While she worked, Rolf started speaking. "Time for the big reveal, I guess. The connecting factor between our attackers, the Rare, Obscure, and Confounding Case Division, and even my grandfather, Newt Scamander."

  "It is Nifflers, as you probably guessed. The ROCC uses specially bred and trained Nifflers that give them an edge in all sorts of things, surveillance, reconnaissance, offensive action, and defence. The caveat is that their abilities, and even their existence, must be kept secret. As it, apparently, no longer is."

  Nienna raised a hand. "Why is secrecy so crucial?"

  Rolf sighed. "The potential for abuse is staggering. There are Nifflers that can set anything on fire. And by anything, I mean anything. They can set water on fire. Nifflers than can levitate anything smaller than, say, Hagrid, there. Two of them could even lift him. Digging through steel, digging through magic spells and wards. There are even, I am disgusted to say, Nifflers that can assassinate people, leaving not a trace behind."

  The kitchen was silent for a moment.

  Harry finally spoke. "I can't believe that either of you would have anything to do with an organisation like that. How do you know so much about it, then?"

  Shaking his head, Rolf said, "You're right, we aren't a part of it. I only knew ROCC as a sort of secret Magizoology organisation. I hadn't told Luna even that, because it wasn't my secret to share. The person whose secret it is, of course, is my grandfather, Newt Scamander."

  Rolf noted the puzzled looks around the kitchen. He gave a wry grin. "Where do you think the Nifflers originally came from?"

  ***

  "First photo, please, dear." Rolf stepped to the side, clearing the view of the board.

  Luna's wand flashed in quick, precise movements. "Geminio In Creta!”

  Hermione's smile was pure delight. After seeing it done once...

  Coloured dust smoked up from the blocks of chalk, mixing into colors that were definitely not in the chalk tray. The result was an image, resembling a slightly grainy photo. It was of a Niffler, reared up on its haunches with the added support of its broad, flat tail.

  The Niffler had dark blue fur over tan skin, with a longish snout. Its head hair, or fur, was tinged with grey.

  Hermione spoke up. "Not to distract you, Luna, but can you produce any colour by using just those four?"

  Luna looked slightly dissatisfied. "I can't do a Royal Blue, or a really bright Orange or Green. I would need emitted light instead of reflected light..."

  "Not important," Hermione said quickly. "We'll talk later. Please do carry on."

  Rolf spoke up. "This is Teddy, my grandfather Newt's 'friend' and constant companion. He's probably the most famous Niffler in history."

  Slyly, Ron said, "Did I notice a little emphasis on the word, 'friend' there, Rolf?"

  Newt chuckled ruefully. "Teddy got Grandpa Newt into more trouble than he ever got him out of. But some of those 'Out of Trouble' moments were bad enough to make up for the rest. The things they saw in their years together, the things they survived! Teddy was the only creature to ever survive Grindelwald's Black Fire, the Protego Diabolica, even if only slightly touched by it."

  He smiled over at his wife. "Dear, why don't you show off your new spell?"

  Luna muttered, "Don't stare at me, you'll make me nervous." Everyone ignored her.

  "Okay, Teddy, smile for the camera!" Then, sotto voce, "Imago Animatum!"

  The picture on the board came to life, looking three-dimensional without leaving the surface. His eyes scanned the watching people. Waddling around until he was in three-quarter profile, he looked back over his shoulder and attempted a coquettish moue, one claw tip to his lower bill. Frankly, it looked a little surreal.

  Hermione's eye's went wide. "Definitely talking later!" Harry wasn't sure if she realised she had spoken out loud.

  "Teddy eventually semi-retired with Grandpa, mated and produced a litter. Here's where things diverged."

  Luna Dispelled the picture of Teddy. The chalk dust on the board started sliding down the blackboard, while separating back into its key colors. Luna turned to a different photo, and cast the Geminio variant again.

  More chalk dust swirled up to join that sliding down, and a new picture formed quickly. This was of four baby Nifflers of various colors, two solid and two pied. Luna animated the picture, and the four started tumbling over each other. It looked as if they were playing 'King of the Mountain,' substituting their siblings' faces for the missing mountain.

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  "Until this point in time," Rolf went on. "...most Nifflers were coloured like Teddy, with minor variations. We don't know what caused this mutation. Teddy had been exposed to many kinds of magic throughout his life, both Dark and Light. Possibly even his exposure to the Black Fire of Grindelwald had changed him in some way."

  Rolf nodded at the picture. "I would particularly like to draw your attention to the solid black one."

  The kit in question was currently struggling up the back side of the pile. Reaching the top, it reared up in triumph. Luna stopped the animation right there.

  They saw immediately what Rolf was referring to. Though not the glossy jet-black they were way too familiar with, this kit was all black, darker than Teddy had been, and had the distinctive black bill and claws.

  Luna started the motion again, and the black kit overbalanced and fell backward, an expression of alarm on its face. Such as it was.

  Rolf continued. "As their colors were different, so were their powers. This was not immediately evident. As time went on, Grandpa Newt began noticing odd behavior. There was a fascination with things other than treasure, and the ability to access places that were otherwise Niffler-Proof. He even had to retrieve one from the nest of a quite indignant heron. It had built on the platform supporting an ornate weathervane, and it seemed that the Niffler was the first to ever drop in for a visit."

  "He reported his suspicions to the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The Head at that time, like my grandfather, was an intensely curious man. Together, they set up a super-secret Division to analyze the phenomena. Grandpa worked closely with them for a few years. That happened less and less as his other projects and pursuits needed more and more attention. At the last, he was only available to consult by Owl Post. This did not bother him, because he had left them under the supervision of a respected colleague. He never noticed when 'Rare, Obscure, and Confounding Creatures' became 'Rare, Obscure, and Confounding Cases.' In fact, he still didn't know until Luna and I got permission from Kingsley to tell him." Rolf sighed. "Effectively, these people have had a century to selectively breed Nifflers and train them."

  "Kingsley was as out of the loop as we were. He and ROCC kept each other at arm's length, even at the best of times. He went investigating while we returned to Hogwarts. The briefing we received when we made it back to the Ministry was all bad news. His contact in Magical Maintenance, the read-in job-booking clerk, had apparently assigned the ROCC types, the few Kingsley was aware of, to indefinite-length jobs. He then went on to assign himself the same."

  Rolf took a deep breath. "Kingsley knew of a Portkey that was supposed to allow him access to their headquarters. It was gone when he went to check. Since it was only accessed by Portkey, we have no idea where the headquarters are. They may not even be in Britain. The last time Kingsley remembers running into the booking clerk was about six weeks ago. They nodded at each other and kept going."

  Luna Dispelled the final drawing, this time allowing the dust all sift down to join their original blocks. She clapped her hands together to free the little bit of chalk that had strangely been attracted to her, instead of the board. She spoke to Harry. "So, there you have it. No more secrets, no evasions, just plain, simple life or death decisions to be made. So the next step in this phase is to plan. But not right now. I'm beat." Kreacher appeared at her elbow with a hot cup of tea and a plate with a gently steaming savory scone. A comfy chair had been moved behind her.

  "Oh, Kreacher," Luna said. "This is exactly what I need! Thank you, so much." She seemed as if she was about to cry as she sat.

  Rolf looked down at her, only to find Kreacher holding up an Irish on the rocks and a good-sized piece of beef jerky.

  "Are there any more at home like you?" Rolf asked wistfully. Kreacher grinned.

  Harry smiled at the byplay. "Okay," he said. "I am feeling much better about our understanding of the situation we find ourselves in. The only loose end is the nature of the anomaly." He looked at Rolf. "I gather that had nothing to do with ROCC?"

  Rolf shook his head. "Not a chance. I never got to examine it closely, but I suspect it is a creation of the group we have been calling Unknowns. Hermione was dealing with it, last time I saw."

  Hermione cleared her throat. "I had plenty of time to experiment with it, or, at least, its container. As I slowed its fall, I experimented with the shields I was putting in its path. I finally found that a combination of Protego Maxima and Fianto Duri would stop it in mid-air." She frowned. "I observed its effects on Harry and Nienna, and stayed out of the effective range. Once I had a shield that would work, it became a matter of containment. I lifted it further off the ground, to get a bit of room to work. I reshaped the combined spells from a flat plane to a sphere with the item on top."

  Shaking her head, Hermione went on, "This was where it got just a bit tricky. ("THIS was where...?" Nienna whispered to her mother, and was promptly shushed). I had to DisSpell the shield, let the artefact begin to drop, recast the spells with it inside, and invert the shield sphere so its protective magic projected from the inside, instead of the outside."

  She looked around at the wide eyes and open mouths. "What?"

  Harry massaged one of his temples. "So, it is contained then?"

  "Perfectly safe." She produced the wooden dodecahedron from her dimensional purse, letting it float over her hand. Nienna gasped, then settled down when she remained unaffected. Hermione smiled slightly at her, then looked back to the object. "I also want Luna to check it, both with and without her SpectreSpecs."

  Luna leaned forward in her chair and gazed fixedly at it, then pulled out her Specs. No sooner had they settled on the bridge of her nose, than she snatched them off convulsively. Giving a small cry, she cupped her hands over her eyes.

  Hermione was aghast. "Luna!" Before she could continue, the blonde woman dropped her hands, and blinked a few times.

  "I'm fine." She smiled at Hermione. "It was just startling, not even really painful. Without my glasses, I just got impressions. When I put them on, though..." She shuddered. "I could look through the shields, and whatever is in there tried to suck my magic out through my eyes."

  Hermione looked relieved, and the asked, "You said you got an impression?"

  Luna nodded gravely. "Dark magic." Hermione nodded back. Luna continued, "But strange dark magic. It seemed to have been transformed to be both worse and better at the same time."

  Harry breathed out, Whuff! "Something to go on with, then. For now, let's hear out Ginny and Viktor, then we'll call it a night. I don't know when we will all be able to get together again, but there's plenty to do, whether we're alone, or just in a small group."

  Hermione immediately pulled up a chair by Luna. Leaning forward, she said, "Okay, girl, before we get caught up in something else. My spell. Your spell. Dish!"

  Luna laughed softly. After a moment Hermione joined her, laughing at her own 'tough girl from the streets' impression. She stopped laughing to find herself holding a cup of tea, and a small dish of crudité, with a rich-looking dip on the side. "Perfect! Thank you, Kreacher, wherever you are! Now..." she said to Luna, who smiled.

  "When I saw you perform the Geminio, and especially when I saw Hagrid modify it on the fly..."

  "What's he like?" Hermione said admiringly.

  "I know!" Luna went on, "Well, anyway, it triggered something in my mind. I thought of how Minerva used Piertotum Locomotor to give the armor and statues some form of free agency, and then I remembered Bly's Animation, though he never used it for..."