A Birth day

Yu had finished in the kitchen and was tiding up when he saw Michael walk down and he nodded " thank you " he said poring Michael a cup of tea before replacing the pot and looking to him he tipped his head " oh,my shoes? it would be appreciated" he said and dished up a small plate for Michael "this is my moms recipe , please try it and let me know if I got it right?" he said sending the plate to Michael.

Ruby woke half an hour later as did Aria and they washed up in the bathroom heading down they smelt the food and smiled heading down to the living room Aria sat down as Yu sent over their plates both grateful for the food. " thanks Yu" Aria said and Yu smiled and bowed to her.

Michael cast the stealth spell on Yu's shoes and then sat down to eat.

"Thank you. It's perfect. Well done, Yu," Michael said. "Hiss, go upstairs and wake the boys, would you?" The rope nodded and slipped from Michael's waist and slithered up the stairs. 

It wasn't more then about two minutes, and Orin came downstairs looking like he'd seen a ghost.

"Does one of you have a snake about a mile long in here?" Orin asked, looking shaken.

"Not a snake. Just a rope," Michael said. "He's harmless."

"He?" Orin echoed. "A...rope?"

"Enchanted rope. He's more like a pet to me, and he's a bloody good missions companion. I sent him up to wake the boys. Give it about thirty seconds, and the boys are going to start screaming like Lizzie Borden's in the house." Sure enough, pretty soon, both boys let out started shrieks and then they heard two hard bangs from upstairs. Orin looked at Michael.

"He grabbed them around the ankles and yanked them out of bed. It is rather effective to wake one up, I've learned. I only use him as a backup alarm for that reason," Michael laughed. A moment later, Sam and Victor came into the kitchen, and Sam was grumbling 

"Bloody rope blew raspberries at me," Sam told Michael.

"What'd you do, try to tie him into knots?"

"I hexed him into one solid chain of knots," Sam said. "Didn't hold him ten seconds. And then he blew raspberries at me."

"Well, now, Sam, that was lame, even for you," Michael laughed. "Surely you didn't think a sentient rope couldn't untie himself, did you?"

"That's exactly what he thought," Victor said. "I told him it wouldn't work. Tell me you'll leave him to me someday in your will. He's awesome."

"Well, you never know. I just might," Michael laughed. "Come tuck into some supper. Yu's cooked a lovely meal." Orin and the boys fixed their plates, and Hiss returned to Michael and curled up around his waist

Yu heard Michael enchant his shoes " thank you" he said and smiled to him then saw the girls return along with Orin he could not help chuckle " Hiss?" he asked looking to Michel but paused hearing screams from above he could not help laugh again as he sent out two plates , one for Ruby and one for Aria.

Seeing the boys return and hearing the story of how Hiss got them out of bed he could not help but chuckle again as he plated up two plates with dumplings and Creamy Prawn Pasta before sending it to the boys and Orin " please enjoy" he said dishing up his own food and sitting cross legged in the day bed watching as Hiss returned to Michael . " you might have a fight on your hands Victor." he said smiling to him as he ate one of the dumplings..

As they ate, Michael introduced Hiss to everyone and told Hiss they were friends. 

"Hiss, do your cobra impersonation," Michael laughed. Hiss unwound himself a short way and then rose up slowly like a cobra and did a perfect impersonation of a cobra poised to attack. Michael pretended to play an invisible flute and the rope did the impersonation of a cobra being charmed by a snake charmer before giving it up and curling back around Michael's waist.

"Oh, top notch, Hiss," Victor laughed, and he and Sam applauded. "Full marks for a job well done." The rope took a small bow in gratitude. "And great supper, Yu. Thanks."

"You lot going to be ready to go? It's getting dark," Michael said. "We need to be good guests, so since you cooked, Yu, I'll handle the clean up in the kitchen. The rest of you, please make sure the space you used is as clean and neat as when you found it. Oh, and do let me charm your shoes, please?"

"I do not wear heels, Michael," Sam said, uncertain what Michael was going to do.

"Look. The only person I know who would or could wear heels to go grave digging isn't with us tonight. And, believe me, she'd make the heels look good doing it."

"Who would that be?" Orin asked.

"Robert's daughter. That girl has some incredible looking long legs."

"You mean the kind that go all the way up?" Orin asked, knowing the saying from their day that meant a woman who had the sort of beautiful legs that seemed to go up for miles.

"Damned straight," Michael nodded. "And believe me, she got them wearing 5 inch stilettos and learning to run in them."

"No woman runs in heels," Orin frowned.

"This one does," Michael said, as he cast spells on everyone's shoes. "Now, that little spell will keep you from leaving footprints. And unless we're damned clumsy with our digging, no one will know we were there."

"Nice!" Sam said. "I'm a proper catburglar now." Michael laughed. 

"Almost," Michael smiled. 

"I think we should go," Orin said. 

"Get your packs. You should wear your black missions gear, just in case," Michael said. He got his black jacket out of his bag and put it on and then shouldered his pack. He cast a clean up spell in the kitchen to hold up his own instructions at leaving Orin's house as good as when they found it. Orin got a black leather flat newsboys cap

"I made it into a portkey for tonight," Orin explained, "so if you can all join together, we'll be off."

When they were all joined, Orin ported them to a spot behind a large cluster of boulders. 

"If you peer, carefully, straight over the top of these rocks, and you look right across the road, you'll see a hill. The grave sites you want are at the top of the hill, and no, they aren't marked anymore," Orin said.

"I doubt that will be a problem," Michael said. "If the coast is clear, then, you lot, get over these rocks, across the road and up the hill. Make sure you aren't seen. I doubt there's anyone there tonight but be careful just the same. You see anyone, try to use a nonverbal petrificus totalus or something. I'll be right with you. Let's go."

Yu watched as Hiss impersonated a cobra and he laughed as he finished his food. placing his plate in the sink he washed it but paused when Michael told the others they would clean up since he cooked " if that's what you want." he said " I don't mind cleaning up after since I cooked, my mother said if I make the mess I should clean, though I did clean up the cooking pots and things I used ."

Ruby finished her food and loved every bite as did Aria hearing Michael say they should make sure there areas , meaning the beds were made and the room left as they found it ruby smiled " we , made the beds before we came down and yeah Khat though me to walk in heels " she said smiling then chuckled at Hiss before he went back to Michael.

Now all were fed she stood up and changed her clothing to her mission wear as did Aria and Yu both moved to Michael and held tight as they were ported to behind some boulders to witch Yu poked his head up and looked across the road nodding to Michael he saw what Orin was talking about. He listened to Michael and both Ruby and Aria nodded their head they understood.

"no killing just turning to stone." Ruby said Aria took out her wand and nodded to Michael. She turned to a dove and flew up into the air looking around the area she flew back and landed behind the rocks .

"its clear" she said looking to Orin " Animagus" she said smiling to him simply and quietly to him. Looking to Michael she sighed " its quiet I didn't see any one patrolling or in the grounds at all" she said " i'm guessing there staying out of this cold weather." she added.

"One moment," Michael said, drawing his wand. "Reveal!"  He cast the spell, hoping to find any more traps like they'd found in the cemetery in London. It lit up a strange looking wall of eerie green light. "Don't move until I check it out." He walked to the wall, examined it without touching it, and walked to one end. What he saw was that it extended into a perpendicular wall, so he walked around the corner.

"It's a cube," he told them. "It's an old magic protections thing. It wouldn't necessarily keep us out but it would alert whoever cast the spell that we've crossed into it. Generally speaking, it only alerts that caster if whoever crosses into the cube has magical abilities. Muggles, it doesn't give a damned about because muggles aren't considered by magicians to be a worthy threat. And the ones I've seen doesn't usually have a ceiling or a floor. But it certainly has four walls. These walls look to be perhaps only 8 or 9 feet high. High enough that we wouldn't be able to leap over them, but even so, if we cross over them, then we'd set off the alarm anyway."

"So, are we done before we get started?" Orin asked.

"No, not necessarily," Michael said. He opened his backpack and got out a smudge stick and matchbox and lit the smudge stick. He waited until the smudge stick was smoldering and then blew out the flame so that it produced the smudge smoke. He walked around the walls, looking for any breech in the walls, and then he found a very small hole in the wall. That caught his attention. He cast another reveal, this time through the wall, and saw another one of the same sort of protections buttons that they'd found in London. "Well, well. This is definitely the place. And, we know something else. Whoever planted the empty caskets in London created this cube and whatever is inside it because we found some old magic protections charms in London, and there's another one of the exact same type inside the cube. Give me a moment. Its a tad trickier to disarm it when I can't get near it."

He got the two tined fork out of his pack, and he tied it to Hiss. 

"Hiss, my friend, you won't trigger the alarm in this, i don't believe because you don't generate body heat. It does not recognize you as a living thing." He fed Hiss through the hole in the wall until one end of the rope was on the ground. "See that glowing coin on the ground? Go use the fork and pry the coin up off the ground, will you? Give it a go." The rope slithered over the ground until it reached the coin. Then, working carefully, it took the rope a few tense minutes before the coin flipped up off the ground, and when it did, the enchanted walls collapsed with it. "Good work! Best rope on the planet," Michael said, and Hiss returned to Michael and coiled back around him while Michael put the fork back in his bag. He got out a bottle of a magical powder and sprinkled the powder on the ground. It glowed but only very faintly. Even so, though it made two distinct rectangular shapes

"That's very odd," Michael frowned. 

"Those are the graves, right?" Orin asked.

"Well, yes, but, according to Robert, the powder is supposed to react to traces of magic," Michael said, "If there were magical bodies here, the powder should have reacted but much more strongly than it does. Still, though, beggars can't be choosers. Those are the dig spots, thou We'll have to do it quietly, so be careful about casting very large impressive defodio spells. The big ones are noisy. Let's not wake up anyone who might be around, shall we? Let's all cast numerous smaller ones until we reach what we're looking for."

Aria, Ruby and Yu watched and all nodded as Michael asked them to stay put and watch him. they watched as Hiss disappeared into a crack then the wall came down and Michael returned to them talking about what he had found " wow that's old magic" Radagast said watching Michael and hearing him mention about the graves they had found. " could they be trace magic from bodies that had been in the grave?" he asked.

Aria watched Michael and saw the coins and how hiss slithered threw the gap and then the wall fell " hum, I don't think that's the case , could be another dead end, pardon the pun" she said looking at the slight glow on the ground. Ruby looked to Michael " we'll be careful, but thoughts?" she asked

"Well, yes," Michael said. "Going on what Robert told me when he explained this powder to me, it could be, but Robert says there should be enough magic left in any witch or wizard after their death for it to react to this powder, unless the bodies are significantly over a hundred years old. Something isn't adding up right. This is more quirky business, I think."

Orin and the boys started firing very small defodio spells, and Michael joined in, focusing on spot closest to them. It didn't take long before they hit a casket.

"Hold. We're there. Give me a moment," Michael said. He jumped down in the hole and examined the vault. He did not find any spells on it. It was just an ordinary steel grave vault. Orin jumped down at the other end of the vault, and so did Sam and Victor. The four of them worked to get the lid off the vault. When they did, they found a black wood casket, with a sort of family seal on it. Some dirt had found it's way into the vault, something that wasn't actually supposed to happen, so Michael cleared away the dirt. He looked at the family crest and frowned deeply.

"Ruby," Michae said, "I want you to notice this. I am well aware of what the Florence family crest traditionally looks like. It's normally a flory cross. Someone had a very different feeling either about the Florence family or about crosses. Look here." He pointed out that the wooden crest that had been attached to the casket was a flory cross but it was being strangled by a pair of vipers. 

"Dark arts image, for sure," Orin said.

"Indeed," Michael replied grimly.

Aria listened and nodded she agreed when the others fired off small precise defodio spells she added until she heard the sound change and she paused moving to Michael side and clearing away the dirt. When he spoke to her she looked at the crest in front of her partly hid by the dirt. She moved some of it and looked at it nodding as she looked longer at it. Her brow frond as she saw the two vipers at ether side " yeah seems like they hate the Florence family." she said and looked up at him " but what does this tell us other than whom ever buried them hated that family?" she asked.

Aria looked down into the hols both Michael and Ruby sat in. " could mean we have a new lead, families and houses that didn't like the Florence family, and I believe yours hated them too." she said and looked to Ruby who sat back on her legs as she looked at Aria.

" Jessie would know, Hey Sam did you find anything in the papers that our family hated Florence family?" she asked knowing both boys had been in the storage room with Jessie while going threw the papers.

"No, not really," Sam said. "Nothing that goes back that far."

"Except a few love letters between Charlotte and Gideon. Gideon was away on some sort of a trip, and they wrote letters and sent them through muggle post. There seems to be no doubt that Charlotte's mum didn't like Gideon one little bit, and Gideon was promising to protect Charlotte no matter what, but that's about it so far. But we have boxes and boxes yet to go," Victor said.

Michael cast a reveal spell on the casket but came up empty. He opened the lid and pulled back the fabric off the face. He saw the face of what had once been a stunningly beautiful woman. She looked middle age, but she still had flawless skin and thick, ash blonde hair. She was dressed in a black lace gothic style dress.

"What's that on her neck?" Orin asked.

"Where?" Michael asked. 

"Just there, just under her hair," Orin said. Michael looked at the side of her neck, right under her ear.
Michael looked and there was a tattoo there of sorts. It was not anything he'd seen before. It looked similar to a compass rose but then again, it wasn't enough like it for him to say it was a compass rose.

"I have no idea, but Robert will know. If not, he can look it up. It isn't like the man is short on books."

"It's Charlotte," Sam said. "I've seen several copies of the same photo of her for days. She's older here, but it's definitely Charlotte."

"He's right. It's Charlotte," Victor concurred."