“Are you Mr. Gibbs?”

Midgets aside, you gotta understand that a guy in my position does not have that many people come knocking on my door. When your key selling point is ‘Hey, I’m a Squib – let me bumble through the magical world for you’ most people give me a wide berth, unless they’re really desperate. Desperation is my bread and butter. Without it, Pint Pot would have bitten at my ankle's months ago.

So when this vision of loveliness appeared, I have to admit I was taken aback. Standing up and doing my best to surreptitiously smooth my somewhat wrinkled shirt, I flashed her a welcoming if somewhat awkward smile.

“That is I… I mean I am he…”

I inwardly cursed myself.

“That is me. Please, call me Nic”

I stepped from behind my desk and headed towards the door. The woman was startlingly beautiful and would give any veela a run for their money. Unlike a veela however, there was a homely nature to her appearance. Her oval face perfectly framed in wavy brown hair and deep-set hazel eyes that looked down at her feet and radiated a hint of sadness. She was dressed in a fitted two-piece suit comprising of a black jacket and calf length pencil skirt She wore a simple gold broach on her left lapel that bore the image of what looked like an owl. On lesser mortals, the outfit may have looked severe but gave her a classic, timeless quality. I opened my mouth to speak but a low, nasally cough emanated from just out of view. As I reached the door, a small hunched figure appeared between myself and the woman. Great, more small statured folks. I got the sneaking suspicion that whatever these two wanted did not bode well.

He was a Goblin. His slightly ill-fitting three-piece suit highlighted his above-average weight. It was difficult to determine his age, but the small smattering of liver spots on his hands suggested that he was older than me. Through delicate gold pince-nez balanced on the end of his nose, he looked me up and down appraisingly before turning to the woman standing behind him.

“It is the one that we have been looking for?”

The woman gave a short sharp nod, and the two of them walked in closing the door. I stared at the pair of them open mouthed.

“Hey now hang on a minute…”

The Goblin held up a claw-like hand to silence me; I was so taken aback that I closed my mouth.

“My name detective,” he said in a low clipped voice; on the word ‘detective’ his voice dripped so much sarcasm that I could practically see him making quote marks with his little Goblin hands. He continued.

“My name is Thrangbard Ducket; I am the junior assistant operations manager for Gringotts wizarding bank. This is my assistant, Miss Cora Kelley.”

Kelley gave a small shy smile, and I couldn’t help but wonder how this witch could have ended up working for such a miserable oik. I turned back to Ducket.

“We wish to employ your services for a somewhat… delicate matter…”

“Woah, woah, woah… hold your hippogryphs Smeagol. I thought Gringotts fell under ministry jurisdiction. The last thing I need is those bureaucratic blow-outs on my back.”

The Goblin bristled slightly at my mention of the ministry but resumed his request.

“As I was saying detective, this is a matter of a sensitive nature. The Ministry is not without its sneaks and if the word got out to the media that Gringotts had…” He coughed nervously. “Minor security issues, then that could result in a serious destabilization of our economy.”

I resisted the temptation to point out that I had precisely eight sickles in my own vault, and that destabilization would have very little impact on me. However, I needed to improve my cash flow, and this situation was beginning to sound profitable. I sat in my chair and pressed my fingertips together in a vain attempt to look sage like.

 “Alright Mr. Junior assistant operations manager – enlighten me. How can I be of service?”

For a fleeting second, I noticed a glance pass between Thrangbard and Cora before the Goblin took a step forward and placed his hands on the desk.

“First of all, detective, what can you tell me about the group calling themselves ‘The Wizards Folly’?”

I rolled my eyes. Everyone had heard of the mysterious activists and their equally mysterious leader known as Falcon. You couldn’t escape stencils of the falcons head motif littered all over Diagon Alley. To me, they were nothing more than a bunch of angry young Witches and Wizards that didn’t really know what they were angry at, and I told Thrangbard as much.

“Pfft, a bunch of kids who take pleasure at being offended by pretty much everything; they use Tweets¹  to spread discord but as far as I can see, they have no real agenda.”

Thrangbard barked a small gruff noise that I could only conclude was supposed to be a laugh.

“We thought so too, but it appears, they have taken their operations up a level. Miss Kelley, perhaps you would like to take over and explain to it what your involvement is.”

“I don’t know if you little naked rats in tuxes are aware, but it is common courtesy to refer to a fellow by name when you are requesting his help. Any more of this ‘it’ business and you can take your delicate situation and shove it up your…”

“Of course detective," Said the Goblin through gritted teeth, though it gave him no pleasure to do so. “Miss Kelley?”

For the first time since entering the office, Cora Kelley looked in my direction, and I could see that my initial assumption of sadness had been correct I could see tears welling up in her eyes and she physically swallowed as she tried to compose herself.

“Of course… You have to understand… Mr. Gibbs… this is very difficult for me.”

Her voice was soft with little trace of any regional accent and the mere hint of a lisp that made her even more vulnerable. Standing, I gently took her arm and invited her to sit in the chair designated for clients. She acquiesced and smiled weakly. Perching against the desktop, I tilted my head sympathetically and smiled back.

“Please Miss Kelley, in your own time”

The young woman swallowed again and began her story.

“Four days ago, I was contacted by someone who was claiming to be a member of the Wizards Folly. He demanded to be put in contact with a Goblin in authority at Gringotts or else there would be serious repercussions. Of course, I reported the incident to Mr. Ducket who told me to inform him if anything like this happens again.

“As is procedure.” Piped up Thrangbard. “We can’t start investigating every crackpot who threatens our employees, otherwise we never get anything done!” I turned to Cora inviting her to continue.

“The day before last I received this.” Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled out a photograph and handed it to me. The background of the photograph was a bare brick wall and in front of the wall was a chair. I let out a small gasp of surprise as I realised that the figure tied to the chair struggling against her bonds with tears pouring down her face was none other than….

“It’s my twin sister Kara” Cora interrupted, breaking my inner monologue. She broke into heavy sobs and turned the photo over. On the back was directions to a secluded bench in Hyde Park alongside a date and time, yesterday to be precise. “I went to the meeting point, and this was delivered to me by owl.” She handed me a letter in very plain writing.

Miss Kelley,

By now, you are aware what we are capable of. Please inform Mr. Ducket of what has happened and that unless monthly transfers of 1000 galleons are not delivered to us at the drop-off points of our choosing, Miss Kelley will die, and she won’t be the last….

I looked up, a little embarrassed that I had been reading out loud like a security troll reading IDs. “Extortion? This is what it’s all about?” I looked at Ducket Skeptically.

“Please read on detective.” Said the Goblin sourly.

…. Please inform Mr. Ducket that once the transactions commence your sister will be released. Let him know that this is an excellent once in a lifetime offer. We have uncovered the Resigno Scroll, and if he doesn’t comply with our wishes, then Gringotts will find themselves paying a far higher price. For confirmation of our claim, please speak to anyone of the following businesses below.

I glanced down at the list that included half of the most reputable (and not so reputable) businesses in Diagon Alley. The letter was signed at the bottom with the familiar Falcon motif.

“We checked with the owners of every single business; every single one of them is now paying a sum of money to The Wizards Folly” The goblin spat contemptuously. Those who didn’t concede at first, found their day’s takings completely cleared out without a single shred of evidence that anyone had broken into their premises. They all soon conceded.”

My eyes darted over the letter again. “This err…. ‘Resigno…”

“The scroll?” interrupted Cora. “It was thought long since lost. It’s the instructions to a spell that can open any known and probably unknown lock. This isn’t like alohomora which requires skill and won’t work on magically protected locks. Resigno can break through any binding enchantments and complex locking systems. Including, we suspect, those at Gringotts.

Running a hand through my hair I looked first at Ducket and then at Kelley. “So what exactly is it that you want me to do?”

The Goblin sighed and spoke as if he was addressing a particularly stupid five year old. “Well I would have thought that was obvious. Find the girl, locate the scroll, retrieve it and uncover the identity of Falcon.”

The sound of maniacal laughter rang through the office, and I was surprised to find that it was me (mental note: remember this laugh – it could come in useful for scaring away doxies). “Mr. Ducket I’m not sure who you think I am, but I think this might…”

“We will pay a retainer of 500 galleons. You will receive an additional 1000 galleons for providing information that leads to these outcomes or 2000 galleons for completing the tasks yourself.”

“Sold” I said without hesitation.

Ducket gave me a slightly lop sided grin. “Thank you detective” Now to conclude our business, Miss Kelley, if you will…”

I turned to see that Cora had taken out her wand and was looking at me apologetically.

“Sorry about this Nic, but it has to be done.”

I looked blank. “What has to be…”

Before I even had a chance to complete my sentence, Cora had raised her wand and screamed.

“STUPEFY”

A blinding flash of light jumped the two feet from her wand and hit me squarely in the chest…

Up Next: Origins

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 ¹TWEETs  or The Wizard
Epistle Exchange Technique first emerged circa 2007. The technique is an
alternative to owls and uses the cheaper and speedier sparrow instead. Because
sparrows tend to fly in flocks, messages can be passed simultaneously to lots
of other TWEET users; thus creating a large communication network. Not to be
confused with the ekelectrical service used by muggles known as ‘Twitter’.