A Birth day

Lucian heard Michael and nodded as did Aria . when a man walked in they both stood up and looked in his direction " pleasure Fabian" Lucian said as Aria looked at him up and down " maybe we should get moving" Lucian said and motioned for Michael and Daniella to walk ahead of them while they went to the muggle cars " we will ride with you" he said Aria staid quiet walking behind them.

Sitting in the car Lucian sat next to Fabian while Aria sat in the back . " so anything we need to know about the estate?" he asked hoping to get some form of information from Fabian while they drove. Aria saw other cars fall in behind them and watched the Paris houses flash past them as Fabian drove.

"It is quite large, and, we believe they have added some sort of enchantments lately. That seems to have occurred after Angus set fire to it a couple of times this summer. One of my men believes Gelding merely added a wizarding fire protection system, but since I have warned Angus about that, I don't believe Tom will find the fire system useful anymore. Angus likes the element of surprise, I have learned.

"There has also been some sort of re-decorating going on. Cans of paint, rolls and rolls of wallpaper, furniture, paintings, that sort of thing. Feminine looking things, if you ask me. Pink carpets, draperies with roses on them. I have no idea what they're doing but it is not for their baby. These are adult furnishings," he went on. "One of my men told me earlier this morning that they have had women coming and going. They started at 9 am sharp. Each woman stays for one hour and leaves at five minutes til. And another one comes at the top of the hour. We believe he is interviewing for a position perhaps. If what Robert and Michael are telling us is true, it may well be that they are interviewing for a nanny. Interestingly, some of my men believe Suzanne is not in these interviews because they added a conservatory this fall, and she is often seen there tending some sorts of plants. She's been there all morning today, as I understand, but the women that are coming and going have not been seen in the conservatory. I take it to mean that Tom is doing the interviewing without Suzanne. If they are interviewing for a nanny, then perhaps Tom is trying to impress the court that someone will be taking care of the baby when she is returned. That's just my guess, though."

Lucian listened to Fabian and could not help smirk as he mentioned fire protection " that's calling it mild" he said then listened again to what he said " could be that" he said " if so he could be trying to get one of them to say they have been looking after her for a while so not to put any blame on Susanne's irresponsibility" he said as they drove towards the house " as for decorating , that has to be so hide their lack of interest to the child, and make the house more homely to throw off any one from the courts, you've kept detailed reports right?" he asked just so they could add them to the file they were building.

" sounds like the both are looking for a scapegoat in a playable nanny" Aria said from the back. She looked at both of them " so what is it that we should look out for on the inside other than anything out of place?" she shifted in her seat as she saw the large gates to the estate appear in front of them.

Fabian showed his credentials to the man at the gate, and the cars drove through.

"Right about now, they're scrambling like rats trying to leave a sinking ship, I'm sure," Fabian said. "It could be staging, of course," he agreed with Lucian. "Or, perhaps they really are hiring a legitimate nanny so they can show a paper trail of trying to do the right thing. And of course we're keeping records." Fabian had seen this type before, but not usually in Lupin's men. This new one, Fabian thought, he had limited trust in others that he did not know. That didn't particularly bother Fabian. If that was what Lucian needed, then so be it.

"Open the glove compartment, would you? Get out two of those tiny little boxes, give one to Aria, and take one for yourself. Open them. You'll find they are lapel pins with the French Ministry insignia. Put one on, each of you. But be careful. I honestly couldn't care less if you had one, except that they're miniature wizarding cameras. The wording at the bottom of the lapel pin is the shutter button. All you have to do is touch it. Make sure you use the same hand that you put the pin on because the actual lens and the shutter is in the red, white, and blue striping right above the words. Use the wrong hand, and all we'll see is the palm of your hand in your picture. Get a photo of anything questionable that you see. Make sure you have someone with you at all times so the Gelding's can't accuse you of planting anything, and they have a habit of that anyway. Not the first time I've talked with them, but it is our first search warrant.

"If I were you, I'd look for anything that shows them to be neglectful parents. That's one of three concerns we have. Or, anything that proves what they do to other's children, because that's our second concern, but I'm sure their attorneys have had them moving that stuff for days in case this actually happened. Be careful that you don't overreact to any dark arts paraphernalia you find. Dark arts paraphernalia is not illegal here, not by itself. However, if it is used to hurt someone else, then, yes, that could be. Anything that shows some sort of proof of Suzanne's mental instability might be helpful, but that, on its own, is no crime. We'd have to use it as proof of either her unfitness as a mother or her obsession with Angus and her desire to eliminate him. And her obsession with him and her repeated attempts to kill him is our third concern. Got the idea?

"Professionally," Fabian said, "I consider the concerns to have equal importance. Personally, I am concerned, first for how they make their money and who they hurt in the process. Secondly, I am concerned about her relentlessness in wanting Angus dead, because I've trained with him. I've fought with him in some of those middle of the night raids. He's damned fierce when he's on those raids, putting everything he has into getting those kids home. I don't want to see your boss lose him to a daft old cow like Suzanne. And I know this is not politically correct, but I am not as concerned, personally, for the baby, because I know she's in safe hands as long as she's with Angus and Ruby. I don't know Ruby well, but I do know Angus, and he's not going to take up with someone who wasn't a decent person." He parked the car and put the keys in his pocket and then he got out. When Aria and Lucian got out, Fabian locked the car with an enchantment.

His other workers came up to Fabian's car, and Fabian told them in French not to get rough and turn the house upside down. He told them to leave those dramatics to muggle television shows but to stick to the task and be polite about it so that there wasn't any sort of accusations of inappropriateness on their part. they nodded that they understood. He was firm that he expected their British allies to be treated well, and he introduced them to the team by first names only.

"Lucian," Fabian said, "you might be a good partner for my second in command." He gestured to a young man with cocoa brown hair and glasses. He was well dressed. "This is Aubert. He has an eidetic memory, and that makes him particularly gifted on tasks like this. Aubert, you and Lucian look for the little details, yes? You're good at that, and I have a feeling Lucian is excellent with details too. I dont' think he misses much. I'd like the two of you to double check to make sure that the rest of the boys don't miss anything."

"Bonjour, Lucian," Aubert said. "I look forward to working with you."

"Aria, you're welcome to come with me if you like," Fabian said, "or anyone else you might like to go with. I want to start by finding where all the members of the household are, including their guests and making sure they're on the premises. Can't have them popping out, can we?" Fabian gave her a bit of a grin that he did have a plan in mind. He honestly did want Lucian and Aubert looking for any tiny little thing that Tom and Suzanne might be hiding. Something that might help Diamond or Angus, in particular. And he was hoping that Aria and he could find out perhaps what Priscilla was up to by coming here instead of being in New Orleans.

Lucian listened to Fabian and nodded as he spoke " good please send copies to me once were done here" he said then heard him mention about the glove box and small boxes. Opening it he found the boxes and handed one to Aria " hum nice " he said clipping his to his lapel as Aria did the same to her blazer.

" paper work left out , empty rooms hidden rooms or even just over hearing conversation between employees , they do like to talk when their master is not around" Lucian said then chuckled as he said he would be a good match with his second in command Aubert. When Fabian mentioned small details and how he was good at picking up those he chuckled " I wouldn't be an unspeakable if I didn't" he told him as he stayed facing towards the front of the car.

Stepping out of the car he was met by a young man with cocoa brown hair and glasses. Lucian nodded to him " good to be working with you too Aubert" he said as Aria moved to walk with Fabian " shall we get this started?" he asked seeing the front doors to the main house. " you have the warrant to give to them, right?" he asked " because we all know they will ask to see it."

Fabian merely nodded. He did not want to complicate today's relatively simple mission by trying to explain international chains of command regarding the sharing of evidence.

"Of course I have the warrant," Fabian frowned, not understanding why Lucian would ever think he did not. This, by far, was not Fabian's first time executing a warrant. "Let's go," Fabian said, motioning to his squad of aurors. He led the way to the door and knocked. A butler answered the door, and Fabian showed the butler his credentials and spoke to the butler in French and announced that he had a search warrant to come in and search the premises for a woman wanted in the attempted murder of a British wizard earlier that morning, as well as any evidence regarding the kidnapping of numerous wizarding children. The butler motioned for Fabian to follow.

"Aria, come with me for a moment," Fabian said. "The rest you may proceed with the search." Fabian followed the butler who led them into Tom's office. The office was no less than Fabian expected. Dark wood paneling, black leather chairs. A massive antique desk that was gilded in gold. It disgusted Fabian far more than he expected to feel, but he was deliberate in showing no emotion about it. This was neither the time nor the place.

Tom was outraged, and he stood up from his desk and shouted at Fabian in rapid fire ranting, using a good many French curse words, about the intrusion into his home, the stress and strain on his family, the embarrassment, and a host of other things, promising to call his lawyers and sue the French Ministry of Magic and strip Fabian of his badge. Fabian remained unmoved and unfazed. Tom demanded to know what they were searching for, and Fabian read the list straight off the warrant. When Fabian mentioned Priscilla, Tom looked at him, confused.

"She is here, then, I take it," Fabian said.

"She's a houseguest only," Tom said. "She's a friend of my wife's. Why? Why are you looking for her?"

"She was video taped in her attempt to murder a British man this morning," Lucian replied, not honestly knowing if she was video'd or not. "As you may know, such a crime is very serious. Where was your wife this morning, Mr. Gelding? We have witnesses who have said she was with Miss Jeanmard and participated with her in this felonious assault..."

"That's outrageous!" Tom exploded. "She was here. I'm sure she was here..." Tom went on a tangent about Suzanne's whereabouts, and Fabian knew that Tom honestly had no idea where Suzanne had been that morning. Tom was making it up as he went along.

"Then she shall have no trouble providing me with witnesses that can confirm where she has been today and the matter about her participation can be closed," Fabian smiled cordially, knowing all along that there was no alibi and that he was trying to cover for her. "I"m sure she'll confirm that when I speak with her..."

"No, you can't...you..." Tom stuttered. "My wife...well, she's not well, you see. It would do her great harm for you to upset her. The kidnapping of our baby has done her great harm, as you can well understand..."

"Then I will do my best to be quick about it," Fabian said. "We thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Gelding." Fabian turned on his heel and left the office with Tom still bellowing about how outrageous it all was, but Fabian had no intention of placating Gelding further. When they got out into the hallway, Fabian took a quick assessment of where they were. "I believe we need to go this way," he told Aria quietly. "We need to go straight to the conservatory to find Mrs. Gelding before she has a chance to apparate out on us."

The conservatory was enormous with a high vaulted ceiling, and it was filled with lush plants of every sort and plush furniture. Suzanne was wearing a pair of wide leg pink silk lounging slacks and a matching silk tunic over top. Her hair was bound up in a coordinating turban, and she even had coordinating silk slippers. Sitting nearby on a sofa was a stunning beautiful black woman. She was dressed in a deep purple long flowing skirt with a black blouse, and she had a multicolored turban of her own and big elaborate earrings and multiple necklaces. Suzanne Gelding looked rather aged, like a horse run hard and put away wet, as the saying went. The black woman, on the other hand, Fabian thought was breathtaking. He'd never seen a prettier woman in his life. he had seen her booking photo but it did not do her justice in any way. In another time, he could have seen himself falling immediately for her, but he was here to do a job and he knew it. This gorgeous woman was a cold blooded murderer, and he wasn't about to let himself forget it.

Suzanne and Priscilla looked up from the tea that Suzanne was pouring.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house..." Suzanne began, already quite anxious.

"We are from the Ministry, Madame Gelding. Good afternoon, Ms. Jeanmard. Our apologies for interrupting your tea, but we are on a matter of considerable importance," Fabian said.

Lucian walked with albert as Aria walked with Fabian " don't take it to heart, he's kind of give you a back handed compliment" she said and smirked at Fabian as they walked into the drawing room. As Fabian spoke to Tom Aria looked at some book cases that lined one wall her fingers brushed the delicate moulding finding small concealed button , as much as she wanted to see what was behind it she paused and moved her hand to touch the spine of a fake book instead. Hearing Fabian finish talking to Tom she walked back to stand behind him as they both walked out of the room . " he has a hidden room behind a book case, I found a switch and the books haven't been touched." she said softly to Fabian as they entered the conservatory , she could clearly see Suzzanne glad she didn't recognise her along with Ms. Jeanmard both innocently drinking tea as they entered . Aria rolled her eyes as she saw the look Fabian had " do not fall for that witch" she said softly to him, " she is a snake in wolfs clothing" she stepped in beside him as she kept him on track.

Lucian and Aubert looked around down stairs even going to the nursery or so called as he found it to be rather sparce, just one rug and a cot " hum says a lot" he said and looked around entering another room he saw it was the master bedroom all decked out in lavish things sitting on a table was some paper work he walked over and looked at it with out touching it making sure the cameras got a good view. before he moved around the room noticing a mirror that seemed out of place . Placing one hand on it he gently pulled "Albert look at this" he said and the mirror opened to shoe another broken cot that had fresh stains in it along with empty bottles on the floor and chains along one wall. Lucian looked at Albert as he spoke " what do you make of this?" he said turning back o the camera could capture what they had found.

"I know," Fabian told Aria. "He's just the sort that is more comfortable in the lead, rather than following, that's all. No offense taken." When she said there were fake books concealing the switch to a secret room. "Two things about that. It doesn't surprise me," he told Aria. "This house goes back to before the revolution. The place is bound to have all sorts of passages and rooms, and a man like Gelding would take full advantage of that. I have some of my agents looking to see if we can find the floor plans in any of our records or the muggle records. If we find them, I'll let you know. The second thing is that men like Tom don't read. They can't be bothered because no one can be bigger than themselves. We'll go back and check it after we talk to Suzanne."

Fabian didn't respond when Aria told him not to fall for Priscilla. He nodded slightly to acknowledge he'd heard her but said nothing more. He recognized she felt he did not have his head in the game, but he did. It wasn't a crime to notice a beautiful woman, and it didn't mean he wasn't focused.  His hand still resting at his side, he flicked his fingers very slightly, casting a wandless, nonverbal spell.

"Mrs. Gelding, Ms. Jeanmard, I am placing you both under arrest for the attempted murder this morning..." Fabian began. Both women leaped to their feet and attempted to apparate out, but their spells fizzled with an awkward deflating hiss sound that sounded a lot like air leaving a balloon. "Oh, didn't I tell you? I cast a little bit of a charm to prevent you from buggaring off once I gave you the news. It's a habit of mine. I hate running through old drafty caverns like this one, so I'd appreciate it if you both took your seats so I can read you your rights and we can proceed accordingly."

"You work for him," Suzanne hissed darkly, in one other most evil tones Fabian had heard in awhile. "If you work for him, you bought yourself more trouble than you know..."

"Sit down, Mrs. Gelding," he repeated.

"Shut up," Priscilla said sharply to Suzanne. "Just shut up, you little dumbass."

Aria listened to Fabian and nodded saying nothing more she did however catch the slight finger movements he did but made no motion that she had seen it and let him do the talking. She could how ever not top her self chuckling a lightly as they tried to aperate out and it fail dramatically in front of them she now knew that was what he was doing. Aria stood at attention beside Fabian as he spoke to them knowing this was his jurisdiction and she was just an observer learning from his actions as she watched him work.

Looking at priscilla she wanted to say " yeah you do that" but she stayed tight lipped knowing anything she said would just not help in any way. She did how ever note that some of the plants in the observatory were not exactly harmless and she motioned to one in a large pot " wolfsbane and deadly nightshade" she said softly to Fabian.

He read them their rights.

"Just who did I try to kill? Tell me!" Suzanne shouted at Fabian.

"A certain Mr. Angus Donohue..." he began.

"Oh. It's just him," she waved that away, wrinkling her nose as if the mere mention of the name nauseated her. "I admit I've tried to kill him several times, but as he still lives, clearly I was not successful..."

"Will you shut up, you cow!" Priscilla shouted at Suzanne at the top of her lungs. At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, Fabian saw a full apparition of a man, and he made a sweeping motion at one of the pots. The pot flew across the room and crashed into the end table next to Suzanne. The plant struck her, and she fell to the floor, in a horrendous seizure.

"Well, I'll be damned," Fabian said, stunned. He reached for his watch and pressed a button. "Aubert, sent an urgent message through to Lupin. We need a top notch healer here immediately." He looked at Aria. "Keep an eye on that one," he gestured to Priscilla. He looked at the image of the ghost he saw standing near Suzanne.

"Oui," Aubert said.

"Merci," he told the ghost, and the ghost nodded. Then he looked at Aria. "I can see those who have passed on. We have received some assistance from a man across the veil."