Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.
Challenge list at the bottom.
Beta'd by the love of my life, Amber.
Word count without AN - 1703
See Me Now
"Seriously guys, tell me what has gone wrong here. Because from where I'm standing, this is a shit show and I'm done listening to your excuses. We have a serial killer on the loose, and you lot are sitting around twiddling your thumbs, hoping for a piece of evidence to jump out of nowhere and bite you on your collective arse!"
The Aurors could do nothing more than mutter their apologies and run through their limited evidence once more, hoping and praying that one of them would make a connection, and soon.
People were dying and they had absolutely no idea where to look for their killer.
...
Terry threw the spoon on the counter, picking up his coffee mug. He wrapped his hands around it, hoping to generate some heat into his freezing skin.
Looking around the office, at his co-workers talking amongst themselves, he sighed. Once upon a time he'd wished to be one of them, someone they looked to for advice or help, someone they wanted to grab a drink with after work, someone they could call a friend.
He'd spent his life being invisible.
Now though, he had new memories to keep the loneliness at bay. Only the previous night, he'd spent hours with a woman, making her scream for him. The echo of her calling his name was enough to send shivers down his spine.
Walking back over to his desk, he barely held his temper when Ian Speller walked into him, almost making his spill hot coffee all over himself.
"Oh, sorry, erm… Boot. I didn't see you there."
"It's fine," Terry muttered, sitting down at his desk.
He watched Ian walk away through narrowed eyes.
...
"I just don't understand. Victimology is all over the place!" Auror Murrey snarled, throwing his hands up in the air. "Women, men, blonde , brunette, green eyes, hazel eyes, old, young. There's nothing connecting the victims!"
Auror Hayes sighed. "Murrey, settle down. Nothing will get done if you can't keep your temper. Have you cast the spells for CSU to come in and collect any evidence?"
The fight seemed to leave him and he nodded. "I knew the vic," he admitted. "Ian Speller. I went to Hogwarts with him, he was in Ravenclaw, he was a good bloke."
"Sorry mate. This one seems more personal. The previous victims were all tortured with magic, this one… these are knife wounds. The killer did this by hand."
...
Terry cleaned the knife carefully, before he put it away in the drawer. He was still feeling the satisfaction of a job well done, and when he heard his mum knocking on the door, he opened it with a wide smile.
"Hey, Mum," he greeted, allowing her in.
She stared at him suspiciously for a moment, probably wondering about the good mood, he thought, before she moved passed him into the living room of his small flat.
Pushing her glasses up on her nose, she peered around with a disdainful look, before turning her attention to him.
"What are you so happy about?" she asked, her hand resting on her hip.
He shrugged. "Just having a good day, is all. How are you?"
He led her into the kitchen, and set about making a pot of tea. She sat heavily in one of the two chairs at the table.
"As if you care," she muttered. They both pretended he didn't hear her. Louder, she replied, "Same old, same old. The Auror's have been knocking on doors in Hogsmeade, annoying us all with their questions about this serial killer."
Terry faltered as he poured the water into the teapot, spilling it over the side.
She sighed at him, shaking her head behind him. "What, you can't even pour water without messing it up? Useless."
"What have they been asking?" he asked, spelling the water away. "The Aurors."
"Asking if anyone's seen anything suspicious, warning people about engaging strangers, about inviting people to their homes. None of the houses have and evidence of the wards being broken or anything."
Terry nodded. "I'm sure they'll catch him."
His mother snorted. "We'll see. They're about as useless as you are. I wouldn't bet on the killer being caught anytime soon."
...
"Seventy six year old woman. The torture was excessive, even for our guy," Auror Dan Smith reported as he entered the evidence room. He spelled pictures up onto the board for all to see. "How are we no closer to catching this guy?"
"He's good at removing any identifiable traces of himself," Auror Potter replied, looking over the board, his brow furrowed with concentration. "He's even removed his magical signature from the scenes."
"Five victims and not a scrap of evidence that can be used to find this guy. The prophet are having a fucking field day," Auror Murrey growled. "He's making us look incompetent!"
...
"Terry? Is that you?"
Terry blinked, looking at the pretty woman who'd greeted him.
"Hannah," he replied in greeting, offering her a smile. "How are you?"
She grinned at him, a little boy hanging from her hand. "I'm great," she replied enthusiastically. "Haven't seen you for ages!"
He nodded. He was actually surprised that she'd recognised or remembered him; not many people did.
"So, what have you been up to? Made your name, yet?"
He shrugged.
"Merlin, remember your speeches in the library when we were first years? About how you dreamed of your name being a household name?" she chuckled. "You were so ambitious, I always wondered how you didn't end up in Slytherin."
He nodded awkwardly. "So what have you been up to?" he asked.
"Oh, well, I'm still running the Cauldron, while my parents are away exploring the world. And little Frank here keeps me busy."
She smiled down at the child, who was doing his best to escape her grip, having seen something in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"Well, I should get moving," Terry murmured after a pregnant pause. "It was good to see you."
"You too," she replied brightly. "The DA still meet up on the first Sunday of every month at the Cauldron. You should come. I'm sure the others would love to see you!"
"Maybe."
"Well, think about it. Bye Terry!"
He nodded non-committedly before strolling away, his insides boiling with fury. The DA met up every month and not once had he had an invite.
His hands shaking with anger, he made it to the apparition point and left Diagon Alley.
...
"We've got something over here," Auror Smith called, kneeling down outside the house of the latest crime scene. "Fresh footprints, and they're not the victims. Her feet are too small for these."
Auror Murrey crouched beside him, nodding thoughtfully. "Have CSU take pictures and get them to the office as fast as possible," he ordered.
"This scene is messier than usual," Auror Weasley said, looking around at the blood splatters on the wall. "He was mad when he did this. Really mad."
"Something has definitely set him off. The question, is what was it?"
"The vic is called Emma Stone. She has a child," Auror Weasley added quietly. "Thankfully, the little boy was with his grandmother for the night while the victim was at her dancing lesson, but… what if the boy had been home?"
Auror Potter sighed. "Let's just be thankful that he wasn't. Has the grandmother been alerted?"
Auror Weasley nodded. "Hayes went a little while ago."
...
"Maybe when I get older, I'll be rich enough to buy you a house, Uncle Terry," the little girl said from the floor of his living room.
Terry snorted. "Sure, kid. That's what I thought when I was your age. Let me give you a life lesson. When your mum and dad tell you that you can be whatever you want when you grow up, it's a crock of shit. You can't. You'll be lucky if you get any attention at all from the world."
The girls bottom lip quivered as she looked up at him with wide eyes. "But Mummy said I can be whatever I want to, if I put my mind to it?"
"You think this is where I wanted to be?" he asked, his voice raising slightly. "Stuck in a tiny flat with a shit job, with nothing and nobody to care if I lived or died? Throw your dreams away, now, sweetheart, it'll save you a lot of pain later on."
Silent tears fell to her cheeks, and when Terry looked down at her, he felt a wave of guilt overtake him.
"Oh, Coral, I'm sorry," he offered, his voice softening. "Come here," he added, lifting her to his knee. "What does Silly Uncle Terry know, huh? You hold onto them dreams forever, maybe you'll do better than me, okay."
She nodded against his chest.
"Everything okay?" his sister asked when she arrived to pick Coral up an hour later. The little girl was sleeping on Terry.
He nodded, the guilt still eating him up inside. His hands trembled when he handed her over to her mum and waved them off with a fake smile.
...
"He's spiralling Auror Murrey muttered, taking in the latest scene. "Get CSU in here now, we might have something substantial this time."
The Crime Scene Unit did their work efficiently, and as the Auror's waited with baited breath, they were finally given the news they'd been waiting for.
"He forgot to remove his signature from the wards. I have a name for you."
...
Terry sat in the holding cell at the Ministry. His hands were shaking badly, and he held them between his knees in an effort to stop the movement.
The door clanged open, and two Aurors stepped into the cell, forcing him none-too-gently to his feet.
"You made the front page," one of them sneered. "Ready for another headline?"
When Terry frowned, the Auror laughed unkindly. "Terry Boot - Sentenced to Death. Has a ring to it, don't it?"
As Terry was led to the courtroom for sentencing, a memory of standing in the library, telling his classmates that one day he'd be a household name popped into his mind.
His dreams had come true after all.
Written for;
Serpent Week - 68. Water Moccasin - Spoon
Insane House Challenge - 476. Knife
Days of the Month - Pluto Day - Someone overlooked or forgotten
Disney - Magical Wishes - Dream comes true but it's not what the character wanted.
Character Appreciation - Glasses
Lyric Alley - 18. Maybe when I get older.
Showtime - 16. No Good Deed - Attention.
Tv Show Of The Month - Dr Camille Saroyan - "Seriously guys, tell me what has gone wrong here." / Knife / Dancing
Buttons - Serial Killer!AU / "Think about it." / Spoon.