Moonlight spilled, the night breeze chilled, and shadows stretched beneath the ash tree.
Maeve picked up a leaf and twirled it in her hand.
"I heard about the Marauders Power Company over there."
At this, even the look in Maeve's eyes changed.
"The werewolf incident, the redevelopment of Azkaban, education reform..."
"Information travels slowly between there and here. I've been tracking a group of Dark Wizards, running back and forth between several islands in the South Pacific. If those things hadn't looked familiar enough for me to check with the Department of International Magical Cooperation, I wouldn't even have known it was you."
Douglas leaned against the trunk, his hands crossed behind his head.
"Who did you think it was?"
"At first, I thought it was Dumbledore," Maeve said frankly. "Then I saw the Marauders Power Company's registration details and thought it was the Black family. Finally, I took a closer look at the course those reforms took, especially the redevelopment of Azkaban..."
She raised her eyebrows.
"I remember you saying that the prisoners in Azkaban were a waste of resources. There should only be one person in the entire United Kingdom wizarding world who could think that way."
Douglas laughed.
"You flatter me."
She drew one leg onto the branch and turned sideways to face Douglas.
Douglas shifted his gaze from her face to the starry sky. "What does Australia have to say?"
Maeve shrugged.
"The official position is that they want to cooperate."
She pulled a long, thin Licorice Wand from her coat's inner pocket and held it in the corner of her mouth.
"But Australia was too late in approaching the United Kingdom. I heard the Department of International Magical Cooperation here was very busy and that we needed to book a slot. That was when I