A Birth day

"They could be addicting little buggars, couldnt' they?" Marcus laughed.

"I'm almost ready to leave," Khaat said, shoving stacks of paperwork into her briefcase. "Damnit. It isn't going to close."

"Here. Allow me," Marcus said. He went over, flicked his fingers at the paperwork to shrink it and pack it. In a trifling, the paperwork fit neatly and closed with a snap. "Did I miss anything?"

"No. Thank you. I need to get a bigger briefcase," she sighed.

"No. You might need to try to delegate some of this paperwork to department heads, though. You really don't need to do it all. We've talked about this. You work too many hours."

"I know. I'm just trying to make my father's load lighter."

"Yes, by absorbing half of his paperwork. You need to delegate at least half of this to other people, and you really could, you know. Talk to your father and go through it all, and the two of you could decide what you both could really let go of. It would help you both."

"Oh, maybe you're right."

"And Abbey would love all the extra time you would have with her," Marcus said.

"Oh nice. Now i feel guilty," she said, shaking her head.

"You know what I mean. And while your father has nothing else to do but sit, this is as good a time as any to discuss it."

"Yes, but you're absolutely right," she said. "Okay." The secretary brought the reply and handed it to Marcus.

"Thank you," Marcus said, reading the reply. "Of course, he's going. Well, let's go, so we can drop Khaat off at home and pick up Jack, shall we?"

"I'm ready," Khaat said. Marcus decided to just eliminate walking through all the press and he apparated them back to the estate.

Aria finished her cookie as she saw the secretary bring Jack reply to them. Now done she brushed the crumbs off her clothing and stood up " you know delagating isn't being weak" she said softly " it's a sign of strength to be able to rely on those around you" She moved to stand with Marus as he says they should head back " Im ready" she said and took hold of his arm as she watched Khaat do the same so he could talk them to the main house.

Once there she saw Jack walk over jacket on and a smile on his face " so we gonna do this?" he asked standing with Aria as he waited "More so we find out what the little shit is up to the sooner we can put a stop to it" he added then took out a flashlight and handed it to Aria " for the catacombs if we go" he added and looked to Marcus " got to be ready for any eventuality

"You're right," Khaat said, knowing Aria had the right approach.

When they landed, Khaat thanked them for all their work that morning, and she went inside to go find her father and talk to him.

"Do you remember the layout of the catacombs, or would it help us to ask Angus to give us a quick floorplan?" Marcus asked Jack. "We have two fifteen year olds to find--Hugo Plumstone and Archer Littletree. Sam says he and Victor knew them in Hogwarts. They dropped out in their fifth year, and it looks very much like they grew up just a couple doors from each other in Puddlemere. Don't know that I've ever been there myself, so, i guess we'll just have to rely on our apparating skills to get us to the right street, unless you happen to have been there. The most I know is that Khaat said it looked like their neighborhood was on the other side of town from the quidditch stadium there. I suppose we could accio a map perhaps."

Aria smiled as Jack handed her a torch then walke dover to Marcus and listned to him talk to him. Jack thought for amoment then sighed .

"I remeber some of it but a map wuld be a great help, don't want to get lost down there." he said then Marcus spoke of the boys home town and he chuckled but then pauded " oh I know the quidditch stadium, went to watch a game once" he said to both Aria and Marcus " but again a map would be helpful" he added then did just what Marcus had sugested and accioed a map handing it to Marcus "okay heres one the other we'll have to get Angus to make" he said turning to walk to the duplex where he saw the lights still on.

Angus was up on his feet, and he was rooting through the freezer, looking for some packages of lean, cubed stew beef that he knew he had somewhere. Kate and Simone were cleaning and cutting carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, green beans, onions, garlic, and cabbage. They both believed that if they prepped the vegetables for him, that he could perhaps handle preparing the meat the way he wanted. They rather hoped he would leave the rest of the stew to them to finish. Edward had had a plan of just ordering supper out, but Angus had gotten an early start on the stew as soon as lunch finished so it could simmer all afternoon.

Marcus went to the duplex and opened the door and went in, leaving the door open for Aria and Jack.

"I thought perhaps you might be actually resting. Silly me," Marcus said to Angus, as he got out a couple large packages of stew beef and set a defrosting spell upon it. "Do you remember what the layout is of the catacombs?"

"Where the potions lab was? Sure," Angus said.

"Can you sketch a quick floor plan for us? I dont' expect we'll find anything there, but we'd like to keep it on our list to at least do a walk through, just in case," Marcus said.

"You want me to go with you?"

"No, I do not," Marcus said firmly. "I want you to try to not disobey doctors' orders too badly. Staying home might at least be halfways considered to be a reasonable attempt at it." He laid Angus's sketchpad and a pencil on the table. Marcus went upstairs and changed to black jeans, a gray tee shirt and a black leather jacket and came back downstairs. Angus sat down and did a quick sketch and handed it to Jack. He saw Jack looking at it wrongside up, and Angus frowned at Jack. He took the paper and turned it around.

"You had it upside down," Angus told Jack. "Look familiar now?"

"What would have happened if we had tried to follow it upside down?" Marcus asked.

"You'd have ended up eventually in the sewer system for Diagon Alley and Knockturn. And we probably don't want to know what sort of monstrosities that Knockturn has flushed down there," Angus said.

"Ever been in that section?" Marcus asked.

"No. Robert discouraged it, saying it was not worth doing unless we absolutely couldn't avoid it," Angus said.

"A wise thought, I'm guessing," Marcus said.

Aria and Jack followed Marcus into the duplex and watched while Angus sketched the map when he was handed it he looked down at it frowned but chuckled as Marcus turned it around "Yes that looks right" he said then listened to them talk of the sewer system for Diagon Alley and Knockturn. " might be worth checking out even if there's nothing down there, you know kids don't follow the rules. " he said handing Marcus the map back so he could keep hold of it both He and Aria nodded when Marcus asked if they were ready to head out.

Ruby moved to help Angus in the kitchen so he didn't overdo it "Maybe you should rest" she suggested as she held him with the beef and then started the potatoes and Mushrooms for him.

"You're right," Angus sighed, knowing he really had not taken even a moment to really rest. His head was really pounding, and he'd been trying to push through it. She was right, though, and he knew it. "The new recipe for seasoning the stew beef is on a piece of paper just sort of stuck in the back of the book. I think I titled it stout sauce, but it really is just a way to prepare stew beef with some really good stout and worchestershire sauce and some other things for some good, deep flavor. You could use that on the beef and as your foundation for the gravy for the stew if you like. You're right. I might need to just go sit for a bit." 

"Yeah. We probably should check it," Marcus couldn't argue with Jack's reasoning, "if for no other reason than to confirm that nobody's down there. I'd love to have a few boggarts. We could leave one down there just to scare the everloving daylights out of those little cottonheads. That would stop them from ever wanting to go back there. Maybe we need to ask Robert to make boggarts standard equipment."

"That'll never happen," Angus said.

"Why not?"

"Do you have any idea what sort of unfathomable hell Michael Tremaine would unleash against us all if we had a whole armory full of boxes with boggarts in them? We'd never be able to relax for a nano second" Angus replied. "Robert isn't stupid enough to let that happen. One boggart in a box is quite enough for anyone to let Michael have access to."

"Oh, you do have a good point," Marcus laughed. "Okay. I'm ready whenever you all are. So, should we check the catacombs first or Puddlemere? What are you two voting?" He looked at Aria and Jack.

Ruby smiled at Angus and took over preparing the meal following his recipy " I have it , go sit" she said softly to him with a smile as she continued to make the meal with simone and Kates help she looked up maing sure he was resting and smiled as she heard him continue to tel her about the meal and what he wanted done " okay we got it" she said looking to Simone and Kate.

Jak nodded to Marcus as he took hold of their arms and ported them to the entrance to the catacombs " lets check here first its on home turff , well sort of " he said and pulled open a large metal rust gate that was ment to keep people out of the catacombs but to his suprise he found it opened with out a sound and he looked to Marcus " well unless they have a caretaker whose good with grease some one fixed this door to now make a sound" he said holding it open for them to enter . Aria took out her torch and turned it on so she could look around, seeing nothing but sculls linning the walls.

" wow , scary" she said looking around and hearing the galt close behind them all. Jack cast lumos and walked in front of them untill he stopped " okay this is as far as I remeber" he said and motioned to the wall where several old scratched sat. " might want to use that map now" he added.

"Thanks," Angus told her, not bothered by letting her take over for him. He settled in his chair, leaning back to try to let his head stop pounding.

Marcus went in, his wand at the ready. He cast a lumos spell himself, with the map in his other hand. Marcus looked at the small holes in the walls where bolts had held up wooden shelves for potions ingredients and finished products once upon a time. There were scorch marks all over the walls and the floors, and Marcus believed he could smell, still, the faint odor of charred wood, charred potions ingredients, and whatever else had been down here back then. Clearly, someone had tried to use the space a time or two after Rob had had it, but it hadn't been successful.

"Smell that?" Marcus said to Aria. "I believe that's still the residue of Rob's illegal operation after Robert got done demolishing it. Angus said that Robert reduced it entirely to rubble and ash. I'm sure some of those ingredients probably stunk to high heaven when they burned. According to the map, this was where the main lab was. There should be a doorway straight across from us that leads to a short corridor with 3 store rooms on the left and 3 on the right, and straight on from that was some sort of corridor that had a water channel on the right. I remember Angus saying that they had used, basically, canoes that were steered by poles, similar to how a gondola is steered. The canoes apparently went to some sort of wizarding section of the docks down on the Thames and the potions were smuggled out from there. If that's the case, the water channels surely must go on for miles under the city. I presume that if we dont' find anything in the store rooms or right at the front of the water channel that we can give this up. I don't think we need to walk all the water channels. Or at least I hope we don't."

Ruby smiled at Angus as she saw him relax in the chair heading to where the meat was she prepared the stew beef with some really good stout and worchestershire sauce and place it on the oven to cook slowly so to make the meat tender once cooked. Walking back she refilled a glass with some whisky and placed it next to Angus " might help your head a little other than the potions." she said softly to him.

Aria followed Jack and Marcus  to the room entering she too smelt gunpowder and soot hanging thick in the air , Jack sneesed as he entered and looked around the room. Aria ran her hand over one of the darkened walls and looked at her fingers " hum " she said then glanced over as Marcus began to talk about what had happened their. She walked to his side and looked down the water chanels and saw faint  scratches  along the walls as if something had brushed against it and scrapped off the green algae that grew there. " I don't think so too , take a look at that." she said and pinted to the scratches.