Christmas.
For the British, Christmas was no less important than Lunar New Year was to the Chinese, so even the Joint Operations Office where Tver worked took a few days off.
What was interesting, though, was that ever since Grawp had been captured, Voldemort had reduced the number of Giants he was deploying.
It was hard to say whether that was because the Giants' numbers had already been thinned out after several cleanup operations by the office, or because, having successfully returned, he wanted to spend Christmas and enjoy the rare festive atmosphere for himself.
In any case, he had not stirred up any more trouble.
But that kind of uncharacteristic behavior only made Tver less and less able to make sense of Voldemort's pattern of behavior.
At the office, Tver had specifically asked Evans to bring in some professional criminal psychologists to build a psychological profile of Voldemort.
But under the strange looks of those experts, they could only come to one unanimous conclusion. The man was a highly intelligent lunatic.
Which was to say, Voldemort was capable of setting up a flawlessly meticulous plan, and equally capable of destroying that same plan on a fit of impulse.
But what gave Tver an even bigger headache was Marvolio's current state.
Ever since that conversation with Dumbledore, he had not shown his face at the office again. On top of that, he was deliberately hiding his whereabouts now, so even Tver could no longer find him.
The abnormal state of these two Tom Riddles made this Christmas holiday anything but pleasant for Tver.
Still, one piece of unexpected good news did make up a little for the stretch of time in which he had been so busy he had not even had the chance to eat any cake.
St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, second floor, Dai Llewellyn Ward.
"You can go in and see him. I don't think anyone will recognize that, looking like this, you're really Percy Weasley," Tver said to the stranger standing beside him.
In truth, that stranger was simply a face Percy had transfigured for himself on the spot. Tver could still spot plenty of awkwardness in it, but given the level Percy had shown so far, and considering the average magical standard of most witches and wizards, it was absolutely enough for him to walk openly around St Mungo's without raising suspicion.
As for why Percy was here, it was entirely because his father, Arthur Weasley, had been injured...
Tver had originally assumed that with Nagini now living the good life at Marvolio's side, the events that were supposed to happen in the original story would no longer occur.
What he had not expected was that Voldemort had arranged for a Vampire inside the Ministry of Magic.
To be precise, a Vampire working at the Ministry had been personally placed under the Imperius Curse by Voldemort.
Using the Vampire's nature, Voldemort found this honest, unfortunate Vampire, a man just going to work, and personally took control of him on the road there.
Then, under the pretext that a wizard had illegally jinxed a Muggle toilet, Arthur was lured out of the Ministry.
And it was in that lavatory that the Vampire, relying on strong magical resistance and Voldemort's control, attacked Arthur and the others.
Fortunately, before the Vampire could inflict his own magic on Arthur, Aurors who had received the warning arrived and subdued him in time.
So although Arthur was left with a Vampire bite mark on his neck that would be difficult to heal, he had not been turned into a Vampire.
As for why they knew the details of the whole incident so clearly...
Yes, Harry had "seen" all of it through Voldemort's eyes, which allowed him to report it to Dumbledore in time, and from there the information was passed on to the Auror Office.
"It's all right. This is enough."
Percy stood motionless in the doorway. His eyes, made somewhat distant by how hard he was suppressing his feelings, were fixed deeply on his father, asleep on the hospital bed.
"More than that, I want to know why Voldemort attacked my father, and why Harry knew about it..."
"You're not the only one. Dumbledore and I don't understand Voldemort's behavior this time either. To be honest, Dumbledore thinks it was provocation, a response to all the obstruction we've been causing him."
"But I can't shake the feeling that Voldemort's actions aren't that simple." Tver frowned deeply.
Of course, it was not that he thought Voldemort incapable of provocation or revenge. It was simply that Tver habitually examined things from several angles, and when something seemed too straightforward, he became more suspicious, not less.
"Still, since Voldemort has already interfered with the Vampire at the Ministry, it's very likely he'll control more staff there..."
"I'll monitor the Ministry closely. At the very least, I'll keep a careful eye on the condition of the senior officials, Fudge and the others," Percy said at once, almost impatiently.
Tver did not object. Without Percy's position as an assistant, it would not be easy to openly follow those high-ranking officials around.
"Then I'll head back now." Having received his assignment, Percy cast one last reluctant glance at his father.
"It's Christmas. You could stay here a little longer."
"No. My mother... will definitely come."
He refused Tver's offer to stay, then walked away with firm resolve.
Sure enough, not long after he left, Mrs. Weasley arrived with Lupin and Moody behind her, along with a whole gaggle of curious children.
"Tver?" Mrs. Weasley cried in surprise. "You've come to visit Arthur too?"
"That's right, though he seemed to be asleep... oh, and now he's awake."
Tver smiled and nodded to each of them in greeting, though he had no intention of going into the ward with them.
"I have to thank you. If it weren't for your potion, Arthur's wound would never have stopped bleeding so easily. You know, wounds caused by Vampires are always especially..."
Mrs. Weasley clasped Tver's hand gratefully and went on and on. In her eagerness to show thanks, she was speaking rather loudly, enough to make nearby Healers and patients turn their heads.
"It's all right, Mrs. Weasley. It's only what I should do."
Tver hurriedly cut her off. Judging by the direction things were going, even if they did not get thrown out, they would at least delay the next thing he needed to do.
"I take it Tver has other business to attend to. Am I wrong?" Moody suddenly said. His magical eye spun in its socket, as though checking the surroundings.
Because of Barty Crouch Jr.'s escape from trial, Moody still harbored some displeasure toward Tver, and always liked to keep an eye on his little movements.
"I do have something to do, right here in St Mungo's. If it succeeds, it will be of great significance to the Order of the Phoenix."
Tver deliberately kept it vague, mostly because he himself was not especially confident.
"Then I won't delay you any longer. Children, out of the way now." Mrs. Weasley quickly let go of his hand. She knew Tver had been busy outside all this time.
Harry, however, looked hesitant, as though there were something he wanted to say to Tver.
So as Tver passed him, he leaned in and whispered, "After you've visited Mr. Weasley, come find me on the fifth floor."