A Midnight Walk

Khaat had haunting visions going through her mind. She had just stood at the bedside of a dying child in St. Mungos. A small girl born to pureblood parents who had died tragically from an accident she had been in when she had tampered with a magical item. None of the healers at St. Mungos had been able to save her, and she had spent almost two hours afterwords with the devastated parents. They had left, leaving the exceptionally powerful magical amulet at the child's bedside. Khaat had taken it and had secured it in her office. It needed to be destroyed as soon as possible.

But for now, she needed some fresh air. She wrapped up in her long black cloak and walked down the streets, her wand in her hand, figuring nobody would notice a simple stick in the dark shadows of the night. She was preoccupied and troubled.

It was quite horrible, having to work at the ministry and at Hogwarts at the same time. Today Vincent had had a meeting at the ministry, a long one, and so he was late in returning to Hogwarts. It was very late at night, almost midnight perhaps, and the usually crowded London streets were almost completely empty. Vincent liked this, and figured he would go for a small walk, even if it was in an annoyingly loud muggle city. As he walked, he noticed someone on the other side of the road, Khaat Lupin. She looked quite upset. Vincent crossed the road over to Khaat.

"Hello Lupin, didn't think I'd meet you here," Vincent said quietly.

"Nor I you," she said softly. "Sometimes being a healer is very sad work. I just watched a 4 year old girl die because she got her hands on an intensely evil magical amulet. It does not look like a Flamel piece, but it cannot fall into the wrong hands. I have no choice. I have to destroy it, Vincent." She looked at him. "Why on earth am I telling you this? This is my department. Not yours. I'm sorry. That child died a hideous, gruesome death."

Vincent frowned, he wasn't exactly sure why she was telling him this. It seemed rather stupid of her. Perhaps she hadn't exactly been thinking right, being upset could really cloud your mind. "That is sad," he said, not really all that sad himself. After all, the living were the truly unlucky ones in Vincent's opinion. "But may I ask, what happened to the magical object? It seems to be extremely dangerous."

"Hello, Matt. I am surprised to see so many people out at this hour. Back to your question, Vincent. I have it secured. I have no choice but to destroy it. It cannot be used for anything but evil. "

"Well Khaat, if I am correct, it seems like this artifact is immensely powerful. How will you destroy it? This sort of thing belongs to Lestrange's department," Vincent said. And just as he said it, Lestrange appeared. How coincidental. "Speak of the devil... Good evening Lestrange. We were just talking about you. Lupin has found a very... fragile magical artifact that requires studying," he informed.

"At this moment, it belongs to me. It was left to me by the owners after it killed their daughter. It does not belong to the ministry," Khaat said quietly.

Vincent smiled as Matt instantly demanded the artifact, Vincent hadn't wanted to do that himself. "But Khaat, you want to destroy it, Matt will destroy it, whats the difference in who takes it? Or perhaps you are planning to use this artifact for some other means?" Vincent said, raising his eyebrows. Though He knew quite well that she didn't.