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SIYE Time:15:03 on 29th March 2024
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Oceans Apart
By Catwoman

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Category: Alternate Universe, Post-DH/AB
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Romance, Tragedy
Warnings: Dark Fiction, Death, Extreme Language, Intimate Sexual Situations, Mild Sexual Situations, Rape, Sexual Situations
Rating: R
Reviews: 80
Summary: The war is over, Harry and Ginny are back together but does it mean end of problems for Harry and Ginny?
Hitcount: Story Total: 53074; Chapter Total: 1555







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Jennifer looked at the photograph that Elliot had acquired from Malfoy Manor. It was very small which just about captured a sleeping Scorpius Malfoy who was gagged and a blind was put on his eyes. It nearly broke her heart to see him like this. She knew what it felt like. To be bound and gagged and completely at the mercy of captors. It was a horrible feeling, one she had spent most of her life avoiding. Doing everything in her power to stay in control of her situation. She didn't remember much about her previous life except for the horrible bits about her rape at the hands of Amycus Carrow. She blinked. That was his name. I finally remember his name. The man responsible for almost everything that had happened in her life. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Try as hard as she might, she couldn't picture his face. Perhaps it will take more than just deja vu or random thought to remember his face. Jennifer opened her eyes and started perusing the photograph again.

“Tired already, Neveu?”, she heard Hammer ask.

“Didn't sleep well last night,”

Hammer’s face immediately changed to a troubled expression.

“Troubled dreams? Have you started having flashbacks? If that’s the case I don't think it's a good idea for you to go out to the field. I can handle it,”

Jennifer sighed, “No I am not having flashbacks yet. Just nightmares. Nothing unusual,”

“That doesn't sound good. Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Of course I can. They are just dreams. Nothing new. Those nightmares have never really stopped in ten years. I know how to live with it and how to function without too much sleep. So don't worry. I can handle being on the field. If I can't I would tell you,”

Jennifer didn't like lying to him, but she didn't know what else to do. She knows that sooner or later she would have to deal with these flashbacks but they didn't have much time now. Time was of the essence. They had to find Scorpius before they did something else to him to get to her. She vaguely heard Hammer tell her something but she was too focused on what boy’s condition might be than her present surroundings. I cannot let them harm the poor boy because of me.

Hammer snapped his fingers in front of her breaking her out of her stupor. She blinked and looked at him.

“I said the buildings Scorpius is locked in might have a prehistoric architecture,”

“What makes you say that?”

“Look at these walls here. Where do you see these kind of bricks anymore,” he said pointing to the walls in the picture.

“Hmm. But it looks too new. Artificial. Like it was renovated,”

“Yeah. So a prehistoric architecture building, medieval style interior-”

“He must be in a hotel. Or some wealthy guy’s mansion,”

“There aren’t many mansions in this country with this kind of architecture. The ministry can take down all of these mansions in a single day. Not a great place to lock up a kidnapped child. Hotels are too inconspicuous. Too many people around. Someone is bound to notice if something was fishy,”

“Perhaps. On the other hand, it’s a weak lead. There are hundreds of hotels in London alone. He could be in any one of them,”

“Well that’s clever of these people. How do we look for a boy of four in London hotels then!” Hammer yelled and banged the table angrily, as was his habit whenever he was frustrated. Jennifer didn’t even flinch when he did that.

“The photograph is too small to judge the interior design qualities. For all we know he could be locked up in a shady motel, far from the city. Still I can find out about all the luxury hotels in the city since Anand conglomerate owns more than half of them. I’ll check out the mansions too, just in case,”

“The kid won’t be locked up in a luxury hotel, where security is good,”

“Wizards can break into any muggle security systems like walking into a park,”

“So you are saying the kid is locked in muggle hotels? I didn’t know Anand conglomerate does business in the muggle world too,”

“The Anand family origins go way back. Wizards started appearing in the family tree only about 5 centuries ago. Before that they were a renowned family in the muggle world. They still are, their legacy is still alive in the muggle world, though none of the family members alive are muggles or muggle-born,”

“Even if you can get information from all the hotels in London, there is no guarantee that the kid is in any one of them,”

“It’s worth a shot, we don’t have any other leads. The kidnappers are clever,”

“Maybe not clever enough. If it is a trap, they will have left some bread crumbs for you to find,”

“I’ll have Elliot run some tests on this photograph, see what he can find,”

 

***

 

“I have run all the tests that I could think of. None of the test results gives me any clue as to where this was taken,” said Elliot, dejectedly.

Jennifer sighed, sorely disappointed that even Elliot couldn’t find anything useful.

“What about the properties that I told you check out?” asked Jennifer eagerly.

“Came up empty. It is entirely possible that Michael still has some properties that we don’t know about. The kid could be locked up in one of those properties,”

“I gave you the list of every property that was under Michael’s name or one of his aliases. If the Bureau hasn’t seized all of them, that means he still has some aliases that we aren’t yet aware of,” said Jennifer, sighing loudly and thinking what else they could do.

“There is someone who might help us. He is a bartender in a wizarding pub downtown. But that’s just the side business. He is the eyes and ears of this city. Anything you want to know about the criminal underworld, you can guarantee he knows it or he will find out soon enough. He used to be a notorious potions smuggler until he was caught in a raid. Since then he has kept a low profile. He wasn’t severely punished for his charges and was released early. But I bet he is working as a CI now. Probably for the auror who caught him,”

“So why don’t you ask him? You know him right?” asked Jennifer.

“He and I have a history. He won’t tell me but you might be able to weezle some answers out of him,”

“What’s his name then? This bartender/CI,”

“He goes by the name Bottlecap,”

 

***

The next day, Jennifer walked into the pub named Joey’s looking for the CI. She had run out of all the other options. She ran checks on the hotels owned by Anand Conglomerate as well as the mansions in this country. They all came up empty. This CI was her last option. The only way to find Scorpious.

As she walked to the counter, she looked around and found who she was looking for.

“Hey, can I get a Negroni?” she asked another bartender. As he prepared her drink she looked at Bottlecap who was intently listening to a woeful tale by a drunk middle aged man while looking at his watch. The bar was preparing for closing off, giving her a good opportunity to question him.

She just sat there and sipped her drink waiting for the right time. After a while she watched from the corner of her eye to see that Bottlecap was now inverting chairs of the empty tables. She was the only person left in the bar aside from him. All the other staff were outside now. He walked over to her and said,

“Sweetheart, the bar is closing off,”

“Why don’t you sit with me then and pour me a drink,” Jennifer said giving him an alluring smile.

“That is the sweetest thing I have heard all day Sweetheart,” he said eagerly giving her a toothy smile. He took the stool beside her and poured a Firewhiskey for her.

“So. Rough day huh?” he asked.

“You could say that,”

“So what can I do to relieve the stress from your body?”

Jennifer inwardly grimaced but smirked.

“You can start by telling me where a kid might be taken after he is kidnapped,”

She saw him stiffen and said,”Uhh I’m sorry Sweetheart. I wish I could be of help, but I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,”

“Oh really? I was told that you were the eyes and ears of this city,”

“Eh Loo- Look, I’m a simple man, owner of this humble establishment. All I do is pour drinks, listen to people wail in hopes of extra tips. You are barking up the wrong tree woman,”

Jennifer smiled and said, “So how would you feel if I say confiscate this humble establishment of yours? See I looked into you and there are some serious racketeering acts that you haven’t been charged with yet. I saw dozens of health code violations in your so called establishment. I could put you in for five years minimum. Lucky for you, I’m willing to look the other way, if you can answer some of my questions,”

“I was acquitted of my criminal acts a while back lady, there ain’t anything you can charge me with,”

“If you think that your deal with the aurors here is going to get you out of this, you are sorely mistaken my friend. I’m from Internal Affairs,” she said showing him the badge, “The aurors have no authority over us. So if I decide to haul your ass to Azkaban then that’s what will happen unless you answer my questions,”

She saw the blood drain from his face. She could get into serious trouble for impersonating an IA officer, but it seemed to be working.

“What do you want to know?”

“Do you know anything about a rogue gang known for kidnapping for hire?”

“Possibly,” he said.

“Well?” she asked, gritting her teeth.

“I need to jog my memory a bit. See I work with only one lawman. I kinda promised him that I would only work for him. Lucky for you I can make a special case for you. Perhaps 20 galleons will do the trick Officer,”

“Okay”, she banged his head on the counter, pulled out the stool he was sitting on dropping him on the floor and pinned the stool on his chest.

“Is your memory good now or does it need more jogging?” she said pressing the stool on his chest.

“You’re crazy. Ugh-” he said trying to remove the stool from his chest.

“Tell me what I need to know or so help me I will jam the legs of this stool down your throat until you answer my questions,” she said.

“Please, please. Don’t hurt me. I’ll tell you anything,”

She relieved the pressure a bit, but didn’t remove the bar stool from his chest.

“A boy for four was kidnapped weeks ago. His name is Scorpious. Where can I find him?”

“I haven’t seen anyone taking a kid. But there were some whispers about it. A few days ago, a gang was hired to do a job. The crew is mostly known for kidnappings and extortions. They have never been charged with anything, but if the kid was taken from this area in the last week, they may have him,”

“Where can I find them?”

“I’ll write the location in a piece of parchment, just remove this stool from my chest, you are killing me, woman!”

“No I’m not killing you. If I wanted to you would be dead. Here,” she handed him a piece of parchment and a quill, “Write down the location. If I find out you are lying prison will be the least of your problems, Bottlecap,”

“I hear you lady,” he said as he jotted the location in the parchment and gave it to her.

“How many men are in this gang?”

“There are 10 guys. But they all split up for their jobs. They usually run 2-3 jobs simultaneously. They are all very dangerous. For a kidnapping, there must be at least 4 guys working on it,”

“Tell me about the members of this gang. I need some descriptions,”

“You can identify a member with a dragon tattooed on their arm. And there is this big, caucasian guy named Jake, who is bald and really scary looking. The only member of the gang you can identify easily. He usually handles the kidnappings,”

She removed the stool and threw it across the bar. She was at the door when she heard, “Aren’t you going to threaten me lady? You aren’t worried that I’ll tell my boss aurors about our encounter?”

She turned back and looked at Bottlecap, “No Bottlecap. I know you are not foolish enough to tell the aurors that the IAB is investing them. Or are you?”

She smirked at him when he didn’t answer and just nodded and left the bar.

 

***

“I got a lead. We should check it out. I say we hit the place tonight,” said Jennifer.

“You don’t wanna canvas the area first, Neveu” asked Hammer.

“We don’t have much time. There is this street gang that was hired recently. They have been accused of multiple kidnapping and extortions but nothing proven yet.  The location I got is a residential area. There is a row of Victorian-styled houses outside North London. A small project which was started 5 years ago. So it’s relatively new. This place confirms what we deduced from that photograph. The area is very secluded and mostly owned by rich people. I think this gang has locked up Scorpious in there,”

“So just the two of us is going against an entire gang. Without backup. I don’t like the odds of this mission Neveu. Perhaps it’s time to inform the Minister,”

“If we involve the English Ministry, the mole will alert them and who knows what they will do to Scorpious. We can’t even inform Malfoy about this. We have to do it alone. And even if we tell them, it will take atleast a day to gather everyone before we can make a move,”

“But going in without backup is stupidity, Neveu. Especially since this most likely is a trap. They must be waiting for you. And if they are, they are very well prepared to capture you. Don’t underestimate the main perp. He has been out for you for a decade. He is not gonna let this chance slip by. He must have thought through everything to ensure your capture,”

“I understand the situation Hammer. But who can we trust? We can’t involve Ted in this. The only person I trust is the Minister,”

“You have a brother on the force-”

“Who I haven’t met in a decade and I don’t even remember him. I can’t ask him to do this for me,”

“But it’s someone you can count on. Someone you can trust. Probably the only one apart from the Minister,”

“This is not how I want to meet my family-”

“Well you won’t be able to see them, if you are dead or captured,” yelled Hammer. He sighed ,”Neveu, just tell me what’s the deal. Because you are not making much sense,”

“You don’t understand Hammer. You won’t. I may have brothers, but I don’t remember them, I don’t know them. It’s not about trust,” Jennifer sighed and continued, “I know our options are limited. But I owe my family an explanation about the last decade, before I involve them in this. And this is not how I want to start things with them. Until I meet them, I can’t work with anyone or ask anyone to help me. They may be my family, but they are as good as strangers. Until I get past this, I can’t ask them for help. I mean we are having an off-the-book investigation about the murder of my husband. A man they have never met,”

Jennifer rubbed her hands over her face and said, “Scorpious’s life is in danger. I can’t resolve my family problem, knowing that there is someone holding a wand to his head, to get to me. We have to rescue him now, before they hurt him. I don’t care if it’s a trap, I’m going to rescue him. Whether you join me or not is entirely up to you,”

Hammer looked at her incredulously, “Are you kidding me? Ofcourse I want to join you, but we need to have some contingency plan, in case things go south,”

“He is right, Jennifer”

They both turned around to see Alfred standing at the door. He came in and closed the door behind him, “You two should head out there to rescue the child. But if things start to get bad, I’ll inform Ted about the current situation. I’m sure, even in that limited time span, he can get some help. You have to agree to this plan at least, Jennifer,”

Jennifer knew that Alfred only addressed her by her first name, when he really wanted something or was concerned about her.

“Fine, we will be in contact at all times. But if all goes as planned, don’t tell anyone. As soon as we locate Scorpious, we will get out of there. First we will apparate to a safe house, make sure no one is on our trail first. And then come here,”

Both Hammer and Alfred nodded. In the next hour, they went through their plan, carefully discussed every route to be taken, on the map she had acquired of the area. When both Alfred and Hammer left to prepare for their mission tonight, she looked out the window of her study.

Somehow I think I’m going to meet my family a lot sooner than I thought Samar.

 

***

“I have searched every street in this area. No sign of the guy you described. Lights are off in several houses, so I can’t be sure in which house Scorpious is hidden. What’s your stat, Neveu?”

“I have asked some people who live in this area. They haven’t noticed any suspicious activity in this neighborhood. If the kidnappers are here, they are doing a very good job of remaining hidden. I haven’t run into anyone who has a dragon tattoo on his arm,” Jennifer said, holding her phone earpiece close to her ear.

Hammer sighed and said, “I’ll keep walking and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. You go and look in the local shops and cafes nearby. Maybe you will find one of the guys there,”

“Fine”

She disapparated and appeared a few yards from the main street and looked around her. After making sure the disillusionment charm was still on, she started walking. It was nearly midnight, so almost all the shops and cafes were closing. She searched the ones which were open and spotted a lone man sitting at one of the tables, eating. She hid behind a tree and watched. Upon closer look, she found that he was bald and there was some tattoo his arm. She went closer and took out her binoculars to get a closer look at him. She recognized the dragon tattoo on his arm. It was exactly as Bottlecap had described.

About fifteen minutes later, he got up and started walking towards the street of the houses she had left. She started following him and called Hammer.

“I found someone. He matches the description of the man named Jake, the informant told me about. He was in one of the cafes. Looks like the kidnappers are taking turns in getting some fresh air occasionally. I’m following him now. As soon as I signal you, disapparate from wherever you are to my location,” she said and disconnected the call.

About ten minutes later, the man turned to another street with more houses in that row. He kept walking, until he stopped in front of a mailbox. She messaged Hammer the signal to apparate. The man then tapped on the mailbox a few times which seemed like a pattern. A moment later, she heard some disturbance behind her. She turned around and saw 2 adjoined houses separating from each other, like it was being moved by someone. She almost gasped when she saw another house appearing in between the two houses as they were being separated. The man she had followed walked past her towards the house now, waiting for the door to fully appear.

This is ingenious. I never would have found this place on my own.

Suddenly she felt dizzy. With horror she realized she was spinning and she quickly held on to the lamp post as she waited for the dizzy spell to end. The house in front of her was fading and she realized too late that she was having another flashback.

 

She was walking with a group of people in a well lit street lined with a row houses. She heard the crickets and some strange noises coming from the houses. It was getting dark. A couple were walking a couple of feet from her. Behind her walked two boys both whispering to each other furiously.

“Fred, do you know where we are going?”, she asked.

“I’m as clueless as you are Ginnykins”, said the gingered-haired boy who was walking with her.

Ginny’s faced reddened and she yelled, “Don’t call me that! I’m not six anymore,”

She heard her mother speak but couldn’t see her, “Ginny! For merlin’s sake lower your voice. We are in a muggle street. Say the wrong word, and you and your brother will find yourselves locked up in your rooms for the rest of the summer,”

She quickly shut up. She hadn’t left the Burrow in summers except for holidays and mum had told her that they were most likely not coming back to the Burrow  before the end of summer holidays. When she asked her parents why, all they said was to just follow their instructions. So here she was with her brothers, following her parents to Merlin knew where.

Her dad stopped and turned to them all. He handed a piece of parchment to each of them.

She looked at the piece of paper,

The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.

 

She felt something hit her leg and then she heard a voice.

“Jennifer? Jennifer wake up! “

She felt someone shake her and she opened her eyes to find Hammer’s face hovering over her. She sat up, trying to ignore the fact that her head was exploding. She looked around and saw she was still in the street where she was earlier. The house the man had entered, had disappeared.

“Jennifer? Are you okay?”

“Huh? I’m fine”

“Don’t give me that crap. You are not fine. What happened? You have never fainted on field before,”

“Look it’s not a big deal, I’m fine. Just feeling dizzy. I didn’t get much sleep last night remember,” she said hoping Hammer didn’t catch the lie.

He looked at her, obviously not believing her.

“We need to get out of here. There’s obviously no sign of the kidnappers here. I checked for anything that might be a hidden place-”

“I have, I was standing right here when it happened that’s why I contacted you”

“Oh? What did you find? Because when I got here I couldn’t find you. Your disillusionment charm was still on, so I couldn't see you at first. Then I accidently hit you, so I assumed the man you were following caught you somehow and knocked you out and disappeared,”

“No I was following him. He didn’t find me. He actually tapped on that mailbox there,” she said pointing to that mailbox “and a house appeared right in between these two. Like out of nowhere, and a door appeared and the man went inside. I guess after that the house just disappeared before you came here,”

“Woah, I would have loved to see that. Anyway how are we going to get in?”

“We will stick to the plan. These guys are taking breaks in turns. One of them is bound to show up soon to get some fresh air,”

As if on cue, she heard a disturbance again. Both she and Hammer, ran to the opposite side of the road and hid behind trees for cover. She heard Hammer gasp as he watched the house appear.

“This is so cool. It’s lucky that you were here to see it happen,”

Someone exited the house and started walking towards the main street. She nodded to Hammer and he left.

She turned her eyes back to the eyes, watching out for neighbours or even the other kidnappers. A few minutes later, she heard a rustling sound behind her and she found Hammer dragging a man’s body.

“He’s out. I have slipped him a sleep draught. He will be dead to the world for the next 12 hours at least,” he plucked a few hairs from the head of the man and gave it to her.

“Here. Get ready, while I figure out the pattern of taps that will open the house to us. Did you catch the pattern he used?”

“I think so. I think I can get it with few tries. Let me get changed first,”

About five minutes later, she was standing and looking down at the foreign body she was in. She put a portkey in the unconscious man’s jacket and watched it disappear. After making sure the kidnappers clothes’ fit properly, she left the tree cover and went to the opposite side of the road where Hammer was standing. She tried some taps that she managed to catch earlier and after a couple of attempts, she heard the same disturbance again.

She looked at Hammer and said, “Okay now. Time to get some action,”

She punched Hammer in the face and he doubled over in pain. She kicked him in the gut causing him to fall down. She heard the door open and someone walking about, so she stunned Hammer.

“Oy, what the hell do you think you are doing Trevor!” yelled the main behind her.

“I was tapping the password, when this lunatic came out of those trees and tried to grab me. I think he has been watching us,” she said in the stranger’s voice.

“Whatever, let’s just get inside before anyone sees us. Let’s take him as well. We can question him before killing him off. Did you take his wand?,”

She nodded and they both picked Hammer and walked into the house. The door closed behind her as soon as she entered the house. They walked down a corridor to a hallway. The man with her threw Hammer down. Only then she was able to get a good look at her surroundings. There were two more men. The bald man, Jake sitting on the couch and another on one of the window sills. The man who came with her, went to sit on a chair.

“Quite a night huh, Billy?” she heard Jake address him.

“Yeah. Trevor got almost attacked by this one. He was hiding behind those trees on the road. We should question him, before disposing him off. What do you say?”

“Did you make sure, he was the only one who was hiding behind the trees?”

“Uhhh, No”, answered Billy sheepishly.

“Are you an idiot? What if someone else was there?” the man at the window asked incredulously.

“Relax Joe, I’ll go outside and check again,”

She grabbed Hammer and dragged him to center of the room. She conjured up a chair and tied him to it. She then placed the body binding hex on him.

“I’ll be right back,” she said with Trevor’s voice to the other two men and walked to a door which she assumed led to other rooms in the house. Once she was out of the sight of the two men, she cast a charm to check for human presence in the house. The charm revealed silhouettes of Jake and Joe in the hallway and a third presence upstairs. She took the stairs and walked to the room. She quietly opened the door and peeked inside. Scorpious was awake now, still tied to the bedpost and gagged, but otherwise looked fine.

Hang in there kiddo, I’ll get you out of here soon.

She closed the door and went back to the hallway to see that Billy had joined them.

“-are safe. I checked every corner in the 50 yard radius. No one else is there. If there was, maybe they got away. Let’s wake him up now and ask him, shall we?”

Jake and Joe both came to stand behind Billy, their wands ready in their hands. Jennifer stayed a good distance behind both of them, her own wand ready.

“Rennervate!”

Hammer stirred and blinked his eyes to see them clearly. He looked at Billy in front of him and panicked. He tried to move but couldn’t because of the hex she had placed on him.

“No need to try old man. It will be some time before you can move,” chuckled Billy, “You are not going to be here much longer, so why don’t you start telling us why the hell you were watching us and who sent you? Who are you working for?”

Hammer didn’t say anything, just continued looking at Billy. While the others were focused on Hammer, they didn’t notice Trevor muttering a charm behind them. Billy moved away when Jake came forward. He touched his wand to Hammer’s forehead removing the body binding curse from his face that he thought was still on. He punched Hammer in the face and sat down in front of him.

“Let’s try again. Who are you working for?”

Hammer groaned and looked up. He spat on Jake’s face and kicked him hard in the guts. Hammer got up free of his ties while Jennifer shot a stunner at Joe from where she was standing. Joe, who had his wand pointed at Hammer turned to her. He cast a stunner at her which she blocked deftly. They both dueled while Hammer removed his wand from his socks and started to attack Jake.

Joe was giggling, enjoying the sport apparently “Oh you are not going to get away with this!”

Jennifer blocked hex after hex, moving behind while doing it. As they moved towards the door into the corridor, she went to take cover behind a wall, to dodge the next hex. She narrowly missed it as she hid herself.

“Oh come on, don’t hide like a fucking coward you bi-,” he shouted.

He didn’t finish his sentence as Jennifer came out and shot a stunner right at his head. She went to the hallway and saw Hammer locked in combat with Jake. She shot him with a tripping jinx and when he fell down, Hammer shot a stunner at his head. She and Hammer levitated the rest of the guys to the center of the room and tied them up and gagged them.

“Nice work Neveu. Good to know you have still got it,” spoke Hammer when they were done.

“Give me the serum. Scorpious is awake. No doubt he must have heard the racket we just caused. He will panic if I go in there as Trevor,”

Hammer handed her a vial and and she drank it. She immediately felt the effects of the polyjuice potion wearing off and getting her own body back. When she was herself again, she went upstairs and opened the door to the room where Scorpious was locked in. She saw him getting scared when he saw her, but she ignored it and went to him. She got on the bed untied his gag first with her hands so as not to let him think that she was going to curse him.

“Hi Scorpious, my name is Jennifer. Your father sent me here,” she said gently, “I’m going to untie your hands now, okay. I’m not going to hurt you,”

Scorpious looked at her, his eyes wide and nodded feebly. She untied his hands and legs and then rubbed them to make the blood flow again in his limbs.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

Scorpious didn’t speak, he just looked down at his hands too afraid. She tipped his chin up so he looked at her as she spoke, “Listen Scorpious, the men who took you are not going to hurt you again. You are safe now, do you understand? I’m not going to hurt you. I’m friends with your father. I’m going to take you home to him okay? Wouldn’t you like to see you parents?”

Scorpious whimpered and said feebly, “Yes”

“Okay then let’s go,” she said and lifted him up in her arms. Scorpious wrapped his hands around her shoulders and held onto her tightly.

“You are hurt,” she heard Scorpious speak quietly. She looked at him and saw him looking at her shoulder. He was right, she was hurt, but didn’t even realise it. The skin was cut and she was bleeding a bit. She hadn’t dodge the hex completely as she had thought. It had graced her.

She went down to the hallway and placed him on the couch. “Just sit here, okay? We will get out of here soon,”

She turned to Hammer and asked, “Did you check the house? Did you find anything useful,”

“No. I checked their clothes too. Didn’t find anything that might lead us to their employer. I doubt they know anything,”

He looked down at her shoulder, “What happened to you? Did you get hit with a severing charm?”

“Looks like it. But I’m fine, it just graced me. Hurts a bit. Let’s just search their minds now. Find out what Jake knows. Then we can leave them here. Did you plant the potions?”

“Yes, it’s in place. Were you hit with anything else? A tracking charm perhaps?”

“No I don’t think so. Let’s just check and get rid of that too if we were,”

They both sat down and concentrated hard. They searched the minds of the kidnappers. It was something that she hated to do, but it had to be done. In the end it didn’t get them anything useful. From Jake’s mind she found that they were hired by some named Max, obviously an alias. The entire communication took place through owls and they were paid the entire money i.e 400 galleons full cash in advance. After that they started to clean up the place, wiping any evidence of their presence in the house. When they were done Hammer spoke, “You take the kid, go outside and tap the mailbox. I’ll send an owl to tip the Aurors. As soon as they get here, signal me and I’ll apparate outside,”

“Fine,”

After making sure that none of them had a tracking charm on, she walked over to Scorpious lifted him up in her arms and went outside. She tapped the password on the mailbox and watched as the house appeared again. She walked across the road and went to hide behind the trees. She watched the surroundings still holding Scorpious in her arms. Scorpious let out a yawn and asked, “Are you an Auror?”

She looked at him and smiled, “Something like that. Are you hungry?”

He nodded. “Well, when my friend comes out of that house, we are taking you to a safe place and then I’ll get you something to eat. What’s your favourite food?”

“Pumpkin pastry,” he muttered, still too afraid to speak.

Before she could say anything to comfort him, she heard multiple cracks around her. She looked around her to see, a few people in Auror robes apparate a few yards from the house. She messaged Hammer as she saw someone open the gate and the next second he was outside standing beside her. Scorpious shook in her arms on seeing him suddenly appear but didn’t say anything.

“Hold onto me tight,” she said to Scorpious and closed her eyes. She felt the familiar pull in her stomach and the next moment she was standing in the living room of her safe house. Hammer appear next to her.

“Where are we?”

She put Scorpious down on the couch and said, “This is a farmhouse outside London. No muggles stay nearby. If anyone apparates within a 50 yards radius, we will know,”

She spoke to Scorpious, “I don’t have pumpkin pastry here but I can fix you a sandwich quickly. Would you like that?”

“Yes” he said happier now at the thought of some food.

“I’ll be right back”, she went to the kitchen and opened the cabinets to prepared the sandwich, but winced as a sharp pain shot through her arm.

“It’s okay, I’ve got this. You just tend to your arm, apply bandage on it,” Hammer said and starting preparing the sandwich.

She nodded and looked at the cut on her shoulder. It looked like a deep cut, but wasn’t bleeding much. She opened the tap in the sink and took some water in her hand. She was washing the cut when she noticed it. A little bulge in the wound and something shiny embedded in her skin.

“There’s something in here,”

Hammer dropped the sandwich he was preparing and took her arm. He removed the object from her wound gently as she winced. He looked at it and cursed,

“Damn, this is a tracker. We have to get out of here now. Get a portkey ready for the manor,”

She nodded and grabbed a bottle to prepare the portkey.

“Portus” she muttered and the bottle began to glow bright blue. She dropped the tracker on the floor and banged hard on it to crush it. Suddenly the alarms started blaring and she looked out the window to see multiple hooded figures apparate outside. She counted at least five men, outside the kitchen window, which meant there must be more outside the front door. They were surrounded. She heard one of the windows explode behind her. Curses started flying inside exploding everything. She crouched down and crawled out of the kitchen. She met Hammer midway who came running towards her, bent low, holding Scorpious in his arms. Scorpious looked terrified and was crying.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go”, Hammer yelled.

She grabbed his hand and waited for the portkey to go off. She had just heard the front door open when she felt something behind her navel jerk her forwards. Her feet left the ground and she saw her surrounding disappear. They were all spinning and then suddenly she hit the ground and fell over. She raised her head to see Hammer gracefully land himself with Scopious’ face pressed against his neck.

She started to get up but then her head seemed to explode and she felt an uncontrollable pain.

What’s happening to me ?

She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out of her. The last thing she saw before the blackness surrounded her was Alfred’s face.

 

***

Ted and Harry apparated to an empty street in London. They both started walking, discussing last night’s match between the Magpies and Turnadoes.

“I’m not saying that the Tornadoes aren’t worth supporting. But they weren’t that successful until twenty years ago they started their winning streak, winning the league five times a row. I know it’s a record, but most of them only started rooting for them after that. If Turnadoes league points start to drop, they will be the first ones to drop their support. Ron is right. Supporters should have some loyalty for the teams they support-”

“Oh don’t start talking about this Ted. I have been listening to Ron jabber about this matter for years. You don’t know the headaches he has given me, going on and on about Turnadoes’ winning streak. He once criticized an ex-girlfriend of mine because she was a Turnadoes supporter,”

“Maybe he is jealous, that it isn’t the Chudley Cannons instead of Turnadoes” chuckled Ted.

“If the Cannons start winning their matches, even the exhibitory ones Ron will start raving about the matches as if he himself was on that team. And then again he will criticize everyone starts supporting the team because they didn’t support it before,”

“But you have to commend his loyalty to the team,”

“Oh please, while I admire his loyalty in general when it comes to quidditch he stretches it a bit too far. I would show some loyalty to my team too but only if they won matches occasionally. Not if they stay in a slump forever,”

Both he and Ted laughed and continued to discuss the brilliant moves displayed by the Turnadoes chaser yesterday. They both walked into a pub and signalled the bartender,

“Two butterbeers, Emily” Harry said and took a seat at the bar counter.

Ted continued to chat animatedly about last night’s match, but Harry tuned him out as he looked around the bar. The bartender brought their drinks at the counter and asked, “Anything else Mr Potter?”

“No thanks Emily. Where’s Carlo?”

“Oh he took the day off. Said he wasn’t feeling well,” she said.

“Oh. What happened?”

“He said he had the flu,”

Harry was disappointed. He was thinking what he should do, when he noticed that the Emily was still standing there, twitching her hands nervously.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“I don’t know. But last night shortly after I left I thought I heard a commotion in the bar, so I came back. I came through the back and saw Carlo straightening up a stool. His hand was on his chest and he was in pain, so I asked what happened. He said there was a fight between two men and one of them push him too hard. He then made some excuse and almost ran out of there. If I wasn’t there, maybe he would have,”

“So what’s the problem? I mean it does make sense, don’t you guys have to intervene sometimes when fights start here?”

“Yes, but when I left there wasn’t anyone here. We were closing up,”

“I see”

“I just thought you should know. I hope it’s nothing. Carlo has been really nice to me, I don’t want him to fall into some trouble,”

“I’ll look into it, don’t worry about it”

“Thank you, Mr Potter” she said and left to take orders of other customers.

Harry sipped his drink and thinking what kind of trouble Carlo might be in.

“So we aren’t here to just relax and kick back a few beers, are we?” asked Ted.

“No” Harry said sheepishly.

“Harry-”

“Look I know you already have someone looking into your case, but I can’t just sit around and do nothing,”

“It’s your vacation. You are supposed to do exactly that” said Ted exasperatedly.

“Oh so you don’t want to look into it? About why Astoria has suddenly appeared in your life in a dramatic fashion, threatening to bring it down?”

“Of course I want to. But Jen specifically asked me to stay out of this, until she came here. I talked to Alfred and he said they will be here in about 4 days. Moreover she already has started digging into this case,”

“But why wait? I don’t see any reason why you can’t be looking into this too. You are the victim here, you will be helping her. We might find something helpful if we did”

“We? I didn’t realise you wanted to help me or get anywhere near this case given the events of the last few days,” snapped Ted.

“Ted I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you the way you wanted me to. I feel horrible about it. Everything that has happened in the last few days is no excuse for how I treated you. I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry. But now I am and I wanna help any way I can. Please Ted,” said Harry beseechingly.

Ted sighed and said, “It doesn’t matter now,”

“Look I’m on a vacation, you’re in a sabbatical. We are bored of sitting around and as much fun as it has been hanging out with Ron and let Hermione’s pregnancy distract us, this case has been hanging over your head. I know you feel it, and as long as it’s there you won’t find much peace. So let’s just start solving this case,”

Ted looked at him suspiciously, “Is this your way of getting close to Jen?”

Harry looked affronted, “No! I told you, I’m not interested in her like that. Ted this is about helping you get back to work. This has nothing to do with her. Moreover if I felt that way, which I don’t. But if I did, you think I would use a case or you like that?”

Ted just shrugged and drowned his butterbeer. He put his head down and after a long moment he raised his head and said, “Fuck it. Let’s just do it,”

Harry beamed and they both high fived.

“So what was your plan? Who is this guy Carlo?” asked Ted.

“He is one of my CIs. It’s a long shot, but he might know if the Malfoys are involved in anything illegal again,”

“Okay then. Let’s find him,” said Ted.

 

***

Harry knocked on the door and a moment later a man answered it, wearing a bathrobe.

“Potter”, he acknowledged.

“Bottlecap” said Harry evenly.

“Why are you here?” he asked sullenly holding the door open.

“That’s the tone you are going to take with me?” asked Harry walking into Carlo’s apartment.

“Sure, why not,” shrugged Carlo, “And who are you?” he asked Ted.

“That’s none of your business?” said Ted.

“When you didn’t show up at the pub today, the bartender Emily told me to look into it because she is worried about you” spoke Harry.

“Gee really? And here I thought you were concerned about me”

“What’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?”

“Even if I was I wouldn’t tell you of all people,”

“If you were, the first person you turn to should be me, because I have a greater chance of resolving your situation than any of your previous associations in the criminal underworld,”

“You mean my present associations. The contacts that I have had to keep so I could keep informing you like a snitch,” snapped Carlo.

“You made some questionable career choices years ago, the least you could do now is continue you affiliations to do some good,” said Harry.

“No that’s not the deal. The deal is I give you information and in return you keep me out of Azkaban for my past convictions. But if I’m just going to be thrown into Azkaban anyway, then what’s the use of working for you. I don’t see the advantage in that”

“What do you mean?” asked Ted.

“It means I’m done giving information to you Potter. All I wanted is a little security from you and your lawmen in exchange for some information. But I won’t give you what you want, if you can’t fulfill your end of the bargain,” yelled Carlo.

“Okay stop yelling! Tell me what has happened? Is someone threatening you?”

“Yes! And before you suggest it, no it’s not someone from my past. It’s one of your own. Someone from Internal Affairs is looking into your department and threatened to throw my arse into Azkaban, unless I helped. So I did,”

“The way I see it you were the one who broke the deal. The deal also said that you only work for me,” said Harry angrily.

“Well pal! No one was even supposed to know who I was or what I did for real. She knew everything about me and threatened to have me acquitted for the racketeering charges, you know the ones that I wasn't charged with. If she wants to put me in, she will do that. And you and precious department can’t stop her of course, so tell me why should I continue working for you?”

“Wait, she was an officer from IA?” asked Harry.

“Yes, I saw her badge too. She is looking into your department and I don’t want any more trouble. So we have to end this arrangement, Potter”

“Carlo-”

“No Potter. Look I have to find my own way out of this and talking to you is only going to get me into more trouble,”

“Listen Carlo” Teddy spoke, “It’s not because of Harry you are in trouble, it’s because of me,”

“What?”

“What?”

Both Carlo and Harry looked at each other weirdly and turned back to Ted.

“Well the news of the case against me has spread everywhere right? The IA is probably investigating me to see if there is any truth to this,”

“Well if that is the case, I need you both to leave now,” said Carlo.

“Okay we will. But tell us one thing at least. Who was the officer? What did she ask you? Did she specifically ask anything about me?”

“I don’t know her. She wasn’t anyone I have met before. She didn’t ask anything about you, so I don’t know for sure who she is investigating”

“So what did she ask you?” asked Harry.

“She asked me some questions about the kidnap of some kid named Scorpious”

“What?”

“Draco Malfoy’s son has been kidnapped?”

“Scorpious is Draco Malfoy’s son?” asked Carlo.

“And here I thought you knew everything,” mocked Harry.

“I know criminals. You can’t call Draco Malfoy one. The guy is a coward. I have met kids more dangerous than him,” snapped Carlo.

“Never mind that. You’re saying that Draco Malfoy’s son has been kidnapped and it didn’t occur to you to inform me about this? I told you, if you find out anything about something like this, you come to immediately ” yelled Harry.

“I only found out about it last night from her. There were some whispers about a job to kidnap, but I didn’t hear anything about it more than that. I didn’t know for sure who was looking and who was hired. But I told her who I suspected would be hired. Gave her the gang’s location where they might hold the kid,”

“But why would some officer from IA look into a case like this. This is usually done by Aurors,” said Ted.

“Yes, this is something that the Auror department usually handles. IA would never keep something like this a secret. They would have brought in the Auror Department and we would have known immediately. Since we don’t, it means either the person Carlo met last night wasn’t an officer from IA or she is working a non-approved case of the department,”

“Or both,” said Ted. There was only one person Ted could think of who matched that description. He looked at Harry and just by looking at his face he knew that Harry was thinking the same.

“What did she look like? Describe her” asked Harry.

“Uhh black hair, grey eyes. She was wearing a leather jacket. I couldn’t see her dress color clearly since it was dark, but I think she was wearing a green tank top. Very tight fitting”

Harry frowned, disappointed at Carlo’s answer but Ted continued, “And what color was the jacket? Was it dark brown? Looked very worn out like it was very old,”

“Yeah” said Carlo thoughtfully.

“And was she wearing dragon skin stilettos? Also dark brown?”

“Yup. She was. How do you know?”

“Never mind, thank you for your time Carlo. Come on let’s go Harry”

He and Harry left Carlo’s apartment and walked out into a deserted alley.

“So is that woman who I think she is, Ted?” asked Harry.

“Yes. I have seen her use that disguise several times before. It’s definitely her. Jennifer is here,”

Harry didn’t know why, but his heart suddenly started beating fast. He ignored it and said, “But you said that it would be another 4 days before she came here,”

“That’s what Alfred said to me 2 days ago, when I spoke with him. When I said I wanted to talk to Jen, he said that she was out researching for my case. This whole time she was already here and she didn’t tell me. Why? I’m the one who is involved in this damn it,” yelled Ted kicking on a wall.

Just then Ted’s phone started to ring and they both jumped at the sound. He took out his phone and looked at the caller’s id, “Oh speak of the devil. It’s Alfred” he said, showing the phone screen to Harry.

He answered it and started yelling, “You better not be calling me to say that it will take another week to get here old man, because I know you have been here in London for at least a week,”

There was a short pause before he spat, “When the hell were you planning on involving me in my own case?”

After another brief pause he yelled again, “Enough games now Alfred- No I don’t want here you say that you were calling me to inform me,”

“Okay so if you did, why now. You have been here for days and you didn’t think it was important to let me know that you are working on my case. The fucking victim-”

Ted suddenly stopped yelling. He froze for a second. He looked at Harry and asked, his voice breaking, “What do you mean she is hurt?”

Harry’s heart started beating wildly and he was suddenly back on the day when Mrs Weasley informed him that Ginny had not been home for hours. The day she disappeared. He pulled himself together and shook his head to clear his mind.

“What the fuck?” Ted yelled again.

“What’s happening Ted?” asked Harry desperately. He didn’t know what was happening but he realised that might never see her. Again.

“Okay. Penny and I will get there as soon as we can,” said Ted. He looked at Harry again for a long moment the call still on line and then spoke, “Actually Alfred we will come by the longer route, so it will take some time. I’m bringing someone with me. And you don’t get to have a say in that,”

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