Having spent six years living and studying at Hogwarts castle, Artemis had seen a great deal of grandeur in her life. However, nothing at Hogwarts had quite prepared her for the splendour that was the atrium of the Ministry of Magic.

The atrium was a large and grand hall, bigger than any of the rooms in the castle, with dark polished floors and a high ceiling decorated with slowly moving golden symbols. The walls were even shinier than the floor, and lined with ornate fireplaces. Overhead, flurries of paper airplanes soared through the air, and she and her friends were surrounded by the hustle and bustle of hundreds of witches and wizards making their way through the grand room.

"It's a bit crowded, isn't it?" Charlie murmured as they left the security desk, dodging out of the way of a witch running through the atrium from a nearby fireplace in the direction of a monument in the centre of the hall.

"I quite like it. It's exciting," Artemis replied, and she pulled at his arm gently, her eyes on the monument the witch had just run past. "Come on. Let's go and see what that is."

"I need to go and meet Liz and Barnaby for the orientation-"

"I know, and you will. It won't take a minute to go and look, will it?"

Charlie sighed, and both he and Tonks followed Artemis to the centre of the atrium, where they were able to see that it was not simply a monument, but a great fountain, with five enormous statues in the centre - a witch, a wizard, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf - all carved out of bright shining gold. Artemis stared, mesmerised by the way the light in the atrium reflected off the surface of the statues and the water droplets that cascaded around them.

"They look a bit gormless, don't they?" said Tonks, one pink eyebrow raised at the house-elf statue.

"Shush," Artemis hissed back at her. "I think it's brilliant."

"Speak for yourself. All I'm saying is in all the times I've been to the bank I've never seen a goblin gaze lovingly at me like it wants to kiss my-"

Artemis rolled her eyes and turned to Charlie, who was also regarding the statues with a sceptical look in his brown eyes.

"Don't you like it either?"

"I mean, it's pretty," Charlie said, frowning slightly.

"But?"

"But I don't think whoever made it has ever met a real centaur before. Can you imagine Torvus looking at anyone like that?"

Following Charlie's line of sight, Artemis had to admit that he had a point. Torvus was the only centaur Artemis had ever met, and though they had eventually made their peace with one another, they had not gotten off to the best start. Looking closer at the golden centaur statue, Artemis could see a look of wonder and admiration in its expression that would have looked positively absurd on Torvus' face. Still, there was something about the centaur statue's gilded visage that seemed somewhat familiar. She was certain that somewhere - in a book or a painting, perhaps - she had seen a centaur look just like that before.

"Maybe that's just Torvus," she said, crossing her arms across her chest. "I know he's your friend, Charlie, but he can be pretty rude and abrupt sometimes."

Charlie blinked at Artemis. "Well, some people like that."

Tonks snorted, and Artemis shook her head and narrowed her eyes at Charlie, who almost smirked.

"Right then, shall we go and experience some work?" he suggested, and they made their way through the crowds to the lifts at the far end of the atrium.

Inside, they could see from the controls of the elevator that they were currently on Level Eight, several storeys below ground level. In fact, only two levels were below them: the Department of Mysteries on Level Nine, and the courtrooms on Level Ten, which could apparently only be accessed by stairs. Artemis froze, her hand still reaching out to the buttons of elevator.

"Artemis..."

"Sorry," she said, shaking her head quickly and pressing the buttons she required. "I just... Never mind."

Artemis avoided meeting either Tonks' or Charlie's eyes as the lift jolted into action, carrying them up and out of the atrium. Of course, they would know about the upcoming trial - it had been all over the Daily Prophet, after all - but she was not in the mood to talk or even think about it today. She was almost relieved when the elevator halted, with a voice calling out to announce:

"Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office, and Apparition Test Centre."

"That's me," she said, stepping out of the elevator. "See you both at lunch."

"Let us know if they have the report from Charlie's Apparition test. I'd love to read it."

Laughing at Tonks' request, Artemis made her way down the main corridor of the Department, dodging several paper airplanes that flitted past her. She wasn't quite sure where she was meant to go, so she stopped the first wizard she saw to ask him for directions.

"I'm afraid I just work for Magical Maintenance," the wizard said apologetically, his moustache wrinkling as he pursed his lips and frowned. "I'm sure that I can help you find someone who knows where you're supposed to be, Miss Hexley."

"How did you know my name?"

"You're wearing a name badge."

"Oh, yeah," Artemis nodded. "Thanks, um..."

"I'm Reginald Cattermole," the wizard said, gesturing to his own name badge, his sleeve slipping slightly to reveal a bandage wrapped around his forearm. He pointed his wand at a toolbox at his feet, which sprouted four stumpy legs and trotted alongside the pair of them as they continued down the corridor together. "But most people call me Reggie."

"I used to have a friend called Reggie."

"Did he look like me?"

"Not at all," Artemis grinned, looking up at the new Reggie. He was far smaller than her old friend, thin and pale-skinned, with strawberry-blonde hair and a fidgety and almost nervous demeanour. Her Reggie had been the opposite: tall, black, broad-shouldered, and perpetually calm and reassuring. Her smile faded slightly. She hardly ever thought of Reggie these days, but now that she did, she was surprised by how much she missed him, even now. "He was a Muggle. He lived on a boat."

"Well, he sounds like a very interesting character," said the new Reggie, and he and Artemis continued their journey in silence until they heard the sound of a man's voice in a nearby office. New Reggie looked at the name on the door the voice came from. "Ah, Wilkie Twycross. Good old Wilkie. He'll know where you're meant to go."

Wilkie Twycross was a small and slight wizard with a pale complexion and wispy white hair. At the sight of her, Twycross' light blue eyes narrowed and his barely visible eyebrows furrowed.

"And you are?" he asked her.

"Artemis Hexley. Work experience."

To prove her point, Artemis pointed to the badge on her chest. Twycross' eyes narrowed further.

"You're late."

"Am I?"

"Yes," Twycross sighed loudly. "You were supposed to be here at nine."

"It's only five past," said Artemis, frowning at her ankle, where she wore a watch that used to belong to her brother. "I'm not that late."

"Late is late, Miss Hexley. Transport has to run on time. I'll take it from here... Cattermole, is it? You'll need to fill out a health and safety form."

"You what?" New Reggie blinked, before looking at Artemis and grinning. "Oh. Her."

"Yes, her," said Twycross. He conjured a scroll of parchment and a quill as if from nowhere and passed it to Artemis. "Once you've filled that out I can show you around the offices. You will be in the Portkey office today, but you will need to know where the other offices are, and the tea room, of course."

The Portkey office was the thing Artemis had most been looking forward to. Portkeys were magical transportation devices that were disguised as non-magical items that could be easily hidden in plain sight of Muggles. Once they had been authorised, they could take witches and wizards all over the world, and Artemis was excited to have a go at helping to set them up and try them out. She filled out the health and safety form hurriedly, wondering all the while which far-flung destination she would get to visit first.

Unfortunately, it turned out that there was to be no foreign travel for her today.

"We have a lot of paperwork to sort out," said Basil, the wizard she had been told to assist, who seemed a lot friendlier than Wilkie Twycross. "We're having to arrange a last-minute international Portkey for Karasu."

"Karasu?" Artemis tilted her head and frowned. She couldn't see why her friend Tulip would need an emergency Portkey.

"Yes, Karasu from the Department of International Magical Co-Operation. He's our ambassador to Japan," Basil explained. "He is needed at an urgent meeting regarding the escape of a high-security prisoner-"

"Shiratori," said Artemis, nodding her head sagely. "I read about him in the paper. Can I help?"

"You most certainly can."

"Brilliant. What do you want me to do? I can help set up the Portkey, if you show me how, or I could test it out for you."

But to Artemis' dismay, Basil laughed and reached down below his desk and produced a large mug. He handed it to Artemis with a smile.

"Why don't you start by doing the tea round? Mine's a milk and two sugars."

***

By lunchtime, it was obvious that Artemis had made a terrible mistake. The workers of the Department for Magical Transportation did not appear to do very much - if any - travelling themselves, instead just filling out endless amounts of paperwork and drinking endless numbers of cups of tea. As a result, Artemis spent her entire morning wandering between the Portkey Office and the tea-room. It was tedious and tiring, and only made worse by the fact that all her friends had enjoyed the morning far more than she had.

"Nothing about dragons yet," said Charlie, who had been spending the morning in the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures with Barnaby Lee and Liz Tuttle. "But we got to watch the Magizoologists examine a Wampus Cat that's just been imported from America. Only from a distance, obviously."

"Obviously," Artemis muttered, jealous of any opportunity to have seen something as exciting as a Wampus Cat, even if only from a distance.

Apparently unaware of Artemis' growing frustration, Barnaby nodded excitedly. "It was very cool. I'm so glad that I stood up to my dad for once. He said that Magizoology is pointless and I should go with him to the Department of Magical Artefacts, but-"

"What's wrong with the Department of Magical Artefacts, Lee?" Merula Snyde - who had just spent all morning in said department - asked, her violet-coloured eyes narrowed at Barnaby. "It's good enough for your dad, isn't it?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Right... So, what have the rest of you been up to so far?"

Tonks had been in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement shadowing the Auror Mad-Eye Moody, and she entertained the group of students with impressions of him and his magical eye; Andre Egwu and Murphy McNully had met a selection of Quidditch players from the Caerphilly Catapults in the Department of Magical Games and Sports; and working alongside Merula, Badeea Ali had been allowed to sketch some of the items held by the Department of Magical Artefacts. It seemed like Artemis was the only one who had so far been bored by work experience, and she told them as much.

"Well, it wasn't that interesting in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, either," said Tulip Karasu. "The Obliviators mainly seem to do a lot of paperwork. But then, I was kind of expecting that, seeing as they work out of an office. My dad's the same. He's going to Japan this afternoon, though."

"Wait," Artemis frowned. "Your dad is the ambassador to Japan?"

"Yep," Tulip yawned theatrically.

"You should've done your placement with him, that way you might've been able to go to Japan with him later."

"Maybe, but this afternoon I'm getting to go to the Exploding Bonbon Disposal Unit, so..."

Artemis scowled. She would have loved to have seen the Exploding Bonbons. Unfortunately, all that awaited her back at the Portkey office was a stack of international Portkey requests, which Basil had her sorting into date order while he and his colleagues processed the most pressing of the requests.

It was whilst reading a request for a Portkey to Mexico the following week that Artemis noticed a spot of water fall onto the unscrolled parchment in front of her, blurring the exact location. She frowned, and a second later, felt a second drop hit her on her bare forearm. She looked up, and a third drop of water landed in the centre of her forehead.

"Is it just me, or is the ceiling-"

All of a sudden, it was as if the heavens had opened within the Portkey office. Though the room was several levels underground, the ceiling had begun to rain, and with each passing second, the rain was falling more and more heavily. All around Artemis, the office had descended into chaos, with the witches and wizards working there all sheltering themselves and their masses of paperwork under their cloaks. Within minutes, every one of them was rushing to leave the office entirely, taking their work with them in an attempt to save it from the deluge.

"Artemis," Basil called out to her, using his wand to conjure an umbrella, which he left levitating in the air over his own work as he followed his colleagues out empty handed. "Go to Magical Maintenance and find someone to sort this out, will you?"

By the time Artemis had found Magical Maintenance, explained the situation to Reggie Cattermole - who seemed a lot slower than he had earlier on in the day - and returned to the Portkey Office, the room was flooded, with water dripping from the now-empty desks into deep puddles on the floor, whilst still pouring from the ceiling above.

"Blimey," said Cattermole, his eyes widening at the sight. There was a great rumble of thunder overhead, and he grimaced. "Oh, blimey."

"Does this happen a lot?" Artemis asked him, and he shook his head.

"Well, you get the odd atmosphere malfunction, I suppose. Never seen anything of this scale before, though."

"Can you fix it?"

"I hope so," Cattermole pointed his wand at the ceiling. "Finite incantatem!"

There was another roar of thunder and a flash of lightning struck a chair at a nearby desk. Reg grimaced, and Artemis raised her eyebrows at him.

"Maybe I'll have a go," she said, remembering a spell she had learnt in her fifth year at school. She pointed her own wand straight upwards, and called out the incantation, "Meteolojinx recanto!"

At first nothing happened, but then, gradually, the deluge started to ease, the thunder stopped rumbling, and the rain came to a complete stop. Artemis smiled and pocketed her wand before wringing out her hair, the water she squeezed out of her sodden dark tresses splashing into the puddles underfoot.

"What in Merlin's name has happened in here?" said a voice from behind her, and she turned to see an impeccably smart wizard with almond-shaped eyes standing behind her. There was something familiar about him.

Before either Reggie Cattermole or Artemis could answer the newcomer, Basil appeared in the doorway to the office, his hair and robes still dripping wet.

"Terribly sorry, Mr Karasu," he said, squeezing past the well-dressed wizard - who, now that Artemis thought about it - bore a striking resemblance to Tulip. "Had a bit of a situation in here... Raining ceiling, you know how it is. Looks like Maintenance have sorted it now. Ah. Thank you for that, Cattermole, that will be all."

Basil nodded at Cattermole, and walked across the room towards his desk as he continued, "Thankfully we were able to finish arranging your Portkey before, Mr Karasu. I presume that's why you're here."

"Indeed it is. Though I hope that this strange rain won't have affected it."

"The Portkey, you mean? No, not at all. They're hardy things, Portkeys, a bit of rain won't be a problem. Besides, I left an umbrella over it, just to be..." Basil's voice tailed off as he reached his umbrella-protected desk and frowned down at it, before looking around himself as if he were lost. He bent down and looked under his desk, and when he emerged, he turned to Artemis with a troubled expression on his face. "Artemis, where is the ambassador's Portkey?"

"I dunno," said Artemis. "Probably wherever you left it."

"I left it here. Right here on my desk. Was it here when you got back from Magical Maintenance?"

"I'm not sure," Artemis' eyebrows furrowed. "I don't think so. Everyone was rushing to get their stuff out of the room when it started raining. Maybe someone picked it on their way out."

"No, I was the last person to leave and it was here then..." Basil's face blanched, and he turned to look at Karasu with a look of horror. "I'm afraid, Ambassador, that a situation might have arisen."

"Don't tell me that the Portkey's been lost," said Mr Karasu, a single eyebrow raised at Basil.

"It hasn't been lost, no."

"Well, then-"

"It's been stolen."

***

"I don't understand," Artemis said to Tonks, who arrived at the Portkey office with a group of Aurors half an hour later. "Why would anyone want to steal a Portkey?"

"Free holiday?" Tonks suggested. "They're pretty expensive, international Portkeys, aren't they?"

"I dunno, I've never had to buy one before. Would someone really be that desperate for a free holiday?"

"Maybe they just really like sushi. Or maybe a Niffler did it, like in that story with the detectives. You know the one I mean."

"I don't have a clue which one you mean," said Artemis. "Whatever the reason was, they all seem to think it's pretty serious."

Across the room, one Auror was deep in conversation with both Basil and Karasu. Artemis recognised the Auror in less than a second; with his heavily scarred face and one large electric blue eye, Mad-Eye Moody was unmistakeable.

"It's highly suspicious, I'll give you that," Moody was saying. "One can't help but think that this fiasco with the raining ceiling was simply a diversion tactic for the thief. The Portkey in question was meant to go to Japan, you say?"

"Yes."

"Well, that in itself is concerning, given the situation with Shiratori."

"That is actually why the Portkey was being arranged at such short notice," Karasu said curtly. "I had been asked to attend a meeting with the Japanese authorities regarding Shiratori's escape. It might be a coincidence, but-"

"I don't believe in coincidences," muttered Moody. "I believe in vigilance. Constant vigilance. We shall get some of our brightest Aurors on the case. In the meantime, I'll need this office kept clear. We will need it to collect evidence." He nodded to the two wizards and started to stride towards the door. As he did, he called out without even looking back, "Tonks, stop playing with the evidence."

Tonks sighed and stopped trying to splash Artemis with the puddle at her feet. She shrugged, and stood up straight as if to leave.

"See you later, then," she said, before frowning and calling back to the Auror: "Hey, Moody! Can Artemis come with us this afternoon?"

Moody turned back around and fixed both his magical and non-magical eyes on Artemis, whose heart lifted slightly. The Auror office was bound to be more interesting than the Portkey office, raining ceiling or no raining ceiling.

"Actually, that would probably be a really good thing for me to do," said Artemis quickly. "I mean, I'm only going to get in the way here, what with everything that's going on, and I was one of the witnesses, too. I might be able to help you with your investigation. And also-"

"Do you have any interest in Magical Law Enforcement, Hexley?"

"Not really," Artemis admitted. "But it turns out I don't have any interest in Magical Transportation, either."

Moody made a gruff humming noise, and walked away without any other response. Artemis and Tonks shared disappointed looks, and Tonks followed him. Resigned, Artemis pursed her lips and crossed her arms across her chest, but as Moody reached the door of the Portkey office, he raised his voice once more.

"Well, Hexley? Are you coming or not?"

A smile spread across Artemis' face, and she darted out of the Portkey Office before anyone could stop her. She followed Moody and Tonks back to the elevators, which took them up to Level Two, The Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Down there is where Charlie's dad works," Tonks said, pointing down the corridor. "And in there is the Improper Use of Magic Office. Chester Davies, that Ravenclaw Prefect who played the piano" - she mimed doing so to illustrate her meaning - "works there now. And this is the Auror office."

Tonks smiled proudly as they approached a set of large oak doors, which opened to reveal a large room with multiple desks, many of which were situated inside separate cubicles. At many of the desks, one or two witches were sitting, either working on files or discussing amongst themselves. A couple of the cubicles had black and white photographs floating in the air, bright lines connecting certain images with others.

"That's how they link evidence together to solve crimes," whispered Tonks. "I got to see them doing it earlier today. It was wicked."

Beside them, Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye rotated, as if he were looking at each and every cubicle in the room. It settled on one cubicle at the far end, and he made yet another gruff grunting sound.

"Wait there," he told Artemis and Tonks. "I need to talk to Shacklebolt."

He strode across the room, leaving Tonks and Artemis by the main door.

"Shacklebolt?" Artemis whispered to Tonks.

"Yeah, he's one of the other Aurors."

"I know that. He's one of the ones investigating R," frowning, Artemis watched Moody disappear into one of the cubicles. "Surely, this Cabal wouldn't be interested in stealing a Portkey, though..."

"Maybe they're not talking about the Cabal. Not everything is about the Cursed Vaults, you know."

"Yeah, but-"

"Isn't this amazing?" Tonks sighed. "Like, these are actual Aurors, doing actual Auror work. See over there, that's Rufus Scrimgeour. He's the head of the whole department, and that's Proudfoot and Savage, they're investigating an illegal potions house. And there, with the bandage on his arm? He's John Dawlish. He got hit by curse from a dark wizard a week or so ago, only started back on the job this morning." She nodded, a satisfied smile on her face. "Yeah. I could definitely see myself here."

"I could see you here, too," said Artemis, completely honestly, as John Dawlish the Auror fidgeted in his seat and, grinning, waved at Tonks with his non-bandaged arm.

"Hexley."

Mad-Eye Moody's scarred face and magical eye peered out at Artemis from the cubicle screen, and he beckoned her over with a forefinger. She and Tonks exchanged glances, and Artemis walked across the office towards Moody.

"In here, Hexley. There's someone I need to introduce you to," said Moody as she approached the cubicle, and he gestured to the wizard inside. "This is Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Inside the cubicle, a wizard in purple robes rose up from his seat, and as she saw his face, Artemis felt her heart skip a beat.

No. Surely, it couldn't be... Could it?

She looked at him more closely, her eyes widening as they took in his tall frame, his black complexion, his broad shoulders.

She knew him. Or, at least, she had known him. She had thought that she had known him, anyway.

The wizard Mad-Eye Moody called Kingsley Shacklebolt - but who Artemis knew by an entirely different name - let out a deep melodious chuckle that made her feel just a little bit calmer in spite of her bewilderment and confusion, and smiled at her as if she were an old friend.

"Hello, Tiny."