"No, Harry, I've captured an illegal Animagus," Mia corrected him, tossing the glass
jar through the air and watching in amusement as he caught it. "Granted, it took some
effort to get her to cooperate, and my methods might have come on a little strong, but
there she is. Take her to the Ministry."
He stared blankly at her in obvious confusion. "You're not blackmailing her?"
"Of course not. I tried that once, and she couldn't keep her mouth shut for more
than a few years. Fool me once, shame on you.. ."
Harry sighed and rubbed at the scar on his forehead. Mia knew that it no longer
hurt since he killed Voldemort, but in times of stress, rubbing the lightning-shaped mark
had become a habit. "Hermione, if I take her to the Ministry to be charged... isn't that, I
don't know, a little hypocritical of you?"
"Why?" Mia asked as she walked over to the group, kissing Sirius's cheek in greeting
and taking Rita's wand from his grip so she could slip it into Harry's pocket. "Sirius and I
are legally registered Animagi. Have been for two decades."
"What?" Sirius and Remus both asked, surprised.
"I worked at the Ministry. You seriously thought I wouldn't take into
account that part of our future and create a fail-safe? I registered Jamie, too—not Peter,
though, shame," she said, her nose twitching. "Then I filed away the paperwork and put a
time-delayed Sticking Charm on it. I imagine our files have been stuck on the inside of the
Animagi Registry file cabinet for quite a few years. Should have fallen down by now. Either
way, the papers would be easy enough to summon if someone needed proof."
"Merlin's pants." Remus stared at her, gobsmacked. "You're brilliant."
Sirius grinned suggestively, stepping forward so that he could wrap his arms around
her waist. "Would you mind terribly much if I just took you home and... ?"
She laughed and pushed against his chest. "Actually, I would. We've one more stop
to make before I'm done with Miss Skeeter and these interesting articles she's been writing."
The sitting room of the Daily Prophet office was clean and quiet. Tacky art hung
on the walls between framed articles from years past. Most had photographs of Harry in
them.