the case of the dark artefact

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The Case of the Dark

Artefacts by drcjsnider

Category: Harry Potter

Genre: Humor, Romance

Language: English

Characters: Hermione G., Ron W.Status: Completed

Published: 2009-07-22

Updated: 2009-07-22

Packaged: 2013-03-15 22:31:08

Rating: T

Chapters: 1

Words: 2,183Publisher: www.fanfiction.net

Summary: A crate of Dark Artefacts havebeen delivered to the Department for th

Regulation and Control of Magica


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Creatures. Ron has been assigned to fin

hem and bring to justice whoeve

mported them. A Ron and Hermione post

war story.


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The Case of the Dark

Artefacts

Title: The Case of the Dark Artefacts

Rating: PG- 13

AN: Written for Spring Image Challenge

This is the image I had to work with: imsrc=".com/albums/ss124/checkmated_".

'd like to give a big thanks to Kazfeist an

Queenb23 for agreeing to beta this. The

are both absolute dolls, who in addition tpreventing me from looking foolish

provide much needed reassurance.

Ron Weasley stretched his legs out infront of him and slouched down in hi

chair. Usually he enjoyed the mornin

Auror briefings, but today his mind kep


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wandering back to his girlfriend. Eve

since Hermione had moved in with hi

wo months ago, she'd been trying to figur

out the most effective way to wake him un the morning. Several of her attempt

had been bloody annoying like th

stinging hex to his buttocks. Thi

morning's experiment, however, had reapotential.

He had woken up to Hermione straddlin

him and pressing kisses all over his faceRon had allowed her to think it was wasn

working, keeping his eyes closed and hi

breathing steady until she'd given a cut

ittle huff of exasperation. He'd the

grabbed her by the arms and rolled on top

of her, burying his face into her neck and

gently biting her skin, causing her t


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squeal in mock fright.

"Who dares wake the big, strong

powerful Auror!" he had growled in thvoice he used when trying to intimidat

suspects.

Despite her vulnerable positionHermione had rolled her eyes. "Oh please

happen to know all of your weaknesses.

Still holding her down, Ron had scoffed"I don't have any weaknesses."

"Chocolate frogs, spiders, this"

Ron had felt Hermione's knee come up an

rub against his morning erection. He'

clenched his teeth together to stop himsel

from moaning.


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"Me."

With that, he had bent down and captured

her mouth with his. They'd spent the nexwenty minutes 'wrestling', as Harr

nsisted on referring to what Ron an

Hermione did together in their bedroom s

he never had to verbally acknowledge thfact they had sex, then rushed through thei

morning showers, barely making it t

work on time.

He began paying attention to Auro

Dawlish handing out assignments for th

day only after Harry kicked him in th

foot. Ron assumed he and Harry would b

on Diagon Alley patrol. They alway

patrolled the main thoroughfare the firs

week of every month. According t


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Minister Shacklebolt, the genera

wizarding population stayed calmer if i

got to see Harry in his Auror robes on

regular basis, and Ron never minded. Hiked being able to chat with George

Ollivander, Hannah, and all his othe

friends who worked in that part o

London.

He was taken aback, therefore, whe

Dawlish called out, "Potter and Ackerley

patrol Diagon Alley. Weasley, you arewith me."

Glancing over, Ron saw Harry shrug hi

shoulders before standing up and headin

off with the new recruit.

"Weasley, my office," Dawlish barked


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before striding away.

Ron stood slowly, worried that despite th

day's amazing beginning, things were nowgoing rapidly downhill.

0-0-0

Ron had barely taken a seat, whe

Dawlish shoved a folder at him. "We'v

got a problem that I need you to take car

of."

Opening the case file, Ron frowned as h

started to read the report inside. Th

Auror monitoring the Muggle CustomOffice the evening before had noticed

shipment of Dark Artefacts bein

collected by a representative of th


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Department for the Regulation and Contro

of Magical Creatures. "Why didn't Whitb

deal with this last night?"

"Apparently the official from the DRCMC

refused to hand over the box of Artefacts

Rather than cause a scene in front of th

Muggles, Whitby followed him back tMinistry. When he tried to gain admittanc

o the Department, however, he found th

facility locked and none of the guard

willing to permit a search until thimorning."

Ron flipped to the second page of th

report. "And today, no one on that leve

will admit to having received a Dar

Artefact shipment?"


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Dawlish nodded.

"Does Whitby have any proof beyon

what he saw last night that this crate reallarrived at the Ministry?"

Dawlish passed Ron an evidence bag tha

had two leaves sealed inside it.

"What's this?"

"Stinging Nettle leaves. They are used in host of dark potions and magical items

Whitby found one at the Customs Offic

and one outside the door of the DRCMC."

Ron placed the file and the evidence ba

on the desk then rubbed his eyes. "Wh

me?"


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"Why do you think?" Dawlish replied

arching an eyebrow.

"But sir" Ron began only to get cut off.

"Weasley, you know as well as I do tha

hree-fourths of the people who work i

hat department are nutters. All they carabout is not upsetting magical creature

and insuring the ethical treatment of al

ypes of monsters. We won't get anywhere

with them unless I send in someone with personal connection to a respecte

member of their staff. So unless you hav

broken up with your girlfriend in the las

welve hours, this case is now yours."

Ron thought about protesting th

characterization of the staff of th


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Department for the Regulation and Contro

of Magical Creatures as being dominate

by batty beasts' rights do-gooders, bu

since he'd been on the receiving end oseveral lectures from Hermione's co

workers about everything from th

necessity of a 'Ghost Repatriation Act' to

how Crup-fighting would soon become bigger spectator sport than Quidditch i

he Ministry didn't act soon to declare i

llegal, he figured that Dawlish probabl

had a point.

0-0-0

Twenty minutes later, Ron tried to strol

casually into Hermione's office. "Hey

uv."


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She didn't look up from her work. "No, no

and yes."

"What? I haven't even asked you anythinyet."

That did make her look up. "No, we ar

not hiding any Dark Artefacts. No, therwere no Dark Artefacts shipment

accepted last night. And yes, Whitby is a

diot."

Ron grinned, not even bothering to as

how she knew why he was there

Hermione was wrong and he was going t

enjoy himself. "Then how do you explaihis?"

Hermione picked up the evidence bag Ro


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aid on the desk, her eyes open wide i

surprise. "Ron, these are Stinging Nettl

eaves! They are a banned substance, use

n all kinds of Dark Magic. Where in thworld did you get them?"

"Whitby found them; one last night a

Customs and one outside of thidepartment."

"Impossible," she murmured, turning th

bag over in her hands to examine the bacof the leaves.

"You know, Hermione, not everyone in th

Ministry besides you and your co-workerare dolts. It is possible that Whitby is righ

and there is something suspicious going o

here," Ron replied, sounding slightl


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rritated by her dismissive attitude.

"Of course not everyone working at th

Ministry is a dolt, but you must admit thaas an institution we have more than ou

fair share. That, however, is beside th

point. There was already a thoroug

search of the department this morning anno evidence of a crate of Dark Artefact

was found."

"Then you won't mind if I give a looaround the facility?" Ron spoke in

commanding tone that made typica

wizards and witches nod in agreement.

Unfortunately for him, Hermione didn

respond like the typical witch. "Yes,

mind! You just can't go poking around


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here and disrupting everyone's activities

especially since your department ha

already disturbed our entire morning."

"Really? Was your morning disturbed?

Did you waste time participating in th

pointless search?"

Hermione shook her head, her cheek

flushing and mouth quirking slightly with

smile. "No, I got to the office later tha

normal today because of my randboyfriend."

He grinned back at her. "Let'

compromise. We'll search together; if youare right and there are no Dark Artefact

n this department, tonight I'll be yours t

command."


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"And if you are right?"

"Then this evening you'll get to pretend t

be a Quidditch groupie to my all-staChudley Cannon's Keeper."

Hermione laughed. "Fine, but don't b

disappointed if you end up spending thnight rearranging our file cabinet."

As Ron and Hermione searched th

department they talked comfortably abouwhat was going on in their respectiv

offices. It was amazing how easily they'

maintained their easy friendship in spite o

starting a romantic relationship. The thinghey'd enjoyed about each other before ha

simply multiplied when there was n

onger the underlying tension o


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unexpressed feelings.

When they reached the back wall of th

department, Hermione smiled broadlyalmost bouncing on the tips of her toes i

anticipation. "See, I told you, no Dar

Artefacts. I'm going to spend the rest of th

day figuring out how best to make use omy prize tonight."

Ron couldn't help but grin in return. Sh

was just so damn beautiful when excited"Not so fast." He pointed at a door in th

wall marked Danger Entry to Authorized

Personal Only. "We still haven't looked

back there."

"That's the just the quarantine facility fo

magical beasts. Nothing is stored bac


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here."

"I'd still like to see for myself."

"You're postponing the inevitable."

"Indulge me."

Hermione grabbed Ron's robes and pulle

him down until she could kiss him. "Onl

because it's you," she murmured agains

his lips.

He gave her a quick hug and then release

her so she could drop the wards aroun

he door. He then followed her inside andwaited while she raised the protection

around the area once again.

"There are fifteen rooms located off thi


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corridor. Each one can house a group o

magical or mundane beasts that require

observation." She took a clipboard off

hook on the wall and flipped through thpages. "It looks like there are currentl

five rooms being used."

Ron nodded and moved past her to thfirst door. Looking through the glass, h

saw what appeared to be a roomful o

drunken Bowtruckles. He raised hi

eyebrows at Hermione.

She shrugged. "A pub owner in Sherborn

found them in a barrel of mead thre

months ago. They still haven't sobere

up."

"That must have been some really grea


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mead," Ron chuckled.

She clucked her tongue disapprovingly

"It's not funny. It's been a real challenge tkeep them hydrated and from breaking int

fights."

Ron bit his lip and turned his head to keepfrom laughing even more at the idea o

ipsy Bowtruckles duelling. "What's in th

next room?"

Hermione glanced down at the clipboard

"Black aardvarks. They just arrived."

Ron glanced in the room. "Ugly buggersWhy are they here?"

"They are supposed to be mundane beasts

but they have been exhibiting high level


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of magical essence. We brought them in to

ry and determine what exactly is causin

he alteration."

Ron nodded and started to move on whe

he noticed something in the corner. "Wait

What is that next to the wall?"

Hermione looked in the room and gasped

"It's another Stinging Nettle leaf! Th

aardvarks must have been feeding on the

n their natural habitat. That explains theihigh level of magic."

"It also explains where the banned leave

came from," Ron mused. "But it doesnell me why Whitby thought he wa

dealing with Dark Artefacts."


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Hermione looked back in the room. "Tha

explains it," she said, pointing to where

crate clearly marked 'Dark Aardvarks

stood. "Is being able to read no longer requirement for becoming an Auror?"

Ron sighed, determined to wring Whitby'

neck the next time they worked together"Maybe it had some sort of Muggl

concealment spell on it that distorted th

words."

"I'm sure you are right," Hermion

grinned, wrapping her arms around hi

waist. "Nevertheless, you are min

onight."

"You're not really going to make me spend

hours organizing papers, are you?" h


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asked, turning in her embrace until h

faced her.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I've comup with a better idea. I think I'll pretend t

be a helpless Muggle being held captiv

by drunken Bowtruckles and you can b

he big, strong, brave Auror, who is goingo save me."

Ron laughed and pulled her more tightl

against him. "I think I pull the second parof that off convincingly. I'm not sure I can

magine you as helpless, though."

"I'll hide my wand," she said, tilting heface up to him.

"Still can't picture it."


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"And let you tie me up."

Ron smiled widely before kissing hi

ovely witch passionately. "In that case'll be home early with a bottle of mead."

The End

the case of the dark artefact

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