I'm sorry this has taken forever but, as you tell from the word count, this is a biggie. There are also a fair few tangents because I have so many headcanons about family members and I never know when to shut up.
Also, just a quick warning: there are mentions of domestic abuse in this story. There isn't much detail but I thought it best to warn you.
But fear not! This is total, tooth rotting fluff as usual. Just so happens that they're actually doing some work this time. Hope you enjoy!
"Excuse me, could you - "
The first thing Trixie saw when stepping into work on Wednesday morning was a teenage girl clutching a piece of parchment. She was desperately trying to catch the attention of a passerby but MACUSA was bustling and no one seemed to even notice her. Slowing in her stride, Trixie studied her. Her eyes were red, her skin pale and her hands were trembling. Immediately overcome with sympathy, she stopped next to the girl.
"Hi there. Can I help?"
She jumped, apparently surprised that someone had finally stopped. Her shaking hands opened the scrap of parchment. "I need - " Her voice was high and quiet. "I need to get here."
Holding Cells & Interrogation
"No problem!" She took a few steps and pointed to a wooden sign stamped with swirling gold writing. "If you just follow those signs - "
"I can't." She said, staring at her feet. "I can't read them."
"Oh." The girl's shoulders slumped and Trixie pushed aside her surprise, placing her hand on the girl's arm. "It's alright – I'll take you there."
Her eyes met Trixie's briefly before flitting away again. "Thank you."
She led the girl through the maze of MACUSA corridors, stopping to check she was still following as she was so quiet. A few times Trixie tried to make idle chat about the weather, about how busy everyone was, about how quickly the year was going but the girl said nothing in response.
She was relieved to finally arrive in Interrogation, even if the place was eerie and cold.
"Here we are." Trixie said. She pointed to the desk officer currently reading a paper. "Just tell that man who you're here to see and he'll help you." The girl said nothing and Trixie hesitated. "Is that alright?"
She nodded and walked away without another word. Trixie watched as she approached the desk, a strange reluctance to leave the girl alone. It was rare to see someone so young visiting a suspect in the cells. Checking her watch and realising she was late, she stepped away, glancing one more time over her shoulder and making her way to Major Investigations.
But the girl wouldn't shift from her mind all morning. Trixie was feeling increasingly guilty at leaving a vulnerable young woman alone in Interrogation. The morning's work was not her best and by lunch she had decided to check on the girl, unable to rest until she knew she was alright. She journeyed down several floors in the elevator and reached Interrogation, shuddering at the cold, exposed metal and the long row of interview rooms. Before she could even look for the girl, her attention was stolen by the large pane of one-way glass in front of her, giving her a perfect view of Mr Graves interrogating a wizard. Intrigued, Trixie stepped forward. She had never seen him in this aspect of his job and she was curious to see how he worked. Knowing that he intimidated his colleagues, she could hazard a pretty safe guess that he would be excellent at interrogating suspects.
He was sat back in his seat, looking more casual than she had ever seen him before. He was eying the wizard opposite him with a cocky smirk.
"I don't believe you, Astor."
The wizard growled, hunching over and glaring at Graves from below a heavy brow. "I don't care what you believe."
"Well, you should. I'm the one with the power to let you go or leave you rotting in jail for the rest of your life."
The wizard said nothing but Trixie noticed that he fidgeted slightly.
"Now." Mr Graves straightened his waistcoat and fixed him with a hard stare. "Tell me again: where were you during the incident?"
"I'm not tellin' you nothing!"
"Anything." He corrected sharply and Trixie almost laughed. "You say you saw your wife in the alley?"
"Yes!"
"What was she wearing?"
Mr Graves sat forward and Trixie mirrored him, stepping so close to the glass her nose almost brushed against it. He is utterly captivating to watch.
"What?"
"Come on, Astor. If I saw someone standing over a half-dead No-Maj, I don't think I'd forget it quickly. But you seem remarkably light on the details."
"It was dark! I don't know what clothes she wears."
Mr Graves chuckled and Trixie felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end with the menace of it.
"You're lying, Astor. How many times have we been here? Last year, for selling cursed antiques to No-Majs, the year before for distributing pro-wizard propaganda to No-Majs… the list of stupidity goes on. And every time I've interviewed you, you always deny it."
The wizard grinned then, showing a handful of yellowing teeth. "You've never got me for anything, Graves."
He sighed. "No." The wizard laughed but Graves just smirked. "Not yet."
Leaving the wizard's laughter dying, he stood up, took the file off the table and made for the door. Trixie was too engrossed in the interrogation to think about moving along, so Mr Graves noticed her as soon as he stepped into the corridor, the door clanging shut behind him.
He blinked. "Miss Barnes?"
"Ah. Hello." She said, uncomfortable that he had caught her watching him.
He fixed her with a small smile. "I wasn't aware interrogation was part of your job description." He cocked his head to the door. "You're welcome to take over."
She made a face at him. "Very funny, Mr Graves. I'm actually here on another matter."
"Do tell, Miss Barnes."
He stood there watching her, his hands in his pockets and strange look of delight on his face. She had a feeling he was mocking her but she continued all the same.
"I helped a young girl this morning, she was visiting someone here. I just want to check she's alright."
He seemed to understand who she was referring to but he still eyed her suspiciously. "What's your business with her?"
"She was scared. I want to make sure she's alright." And I want to know what's going on. "Have you seen her? Small girl, dark hair?"
There was another pause before he sighed and held a file out to her. She stared at it.
"What's this?"
"The case file you obviously want to read." But he didn't seem annoyed, just resigned to her interference. A little embarrassed that she was being so obvious, she took the file and quietly thanked him. He watched her as she flicked it open and began to read.
"You're not the only one who's worried about her, Miss Barnes."
She realised it must look like she thought him incapable of actually caring and she felt deeply guilty. "I know that, Mr Graves. And I'm sorry for being so nosy."
She went back to reading, not wanting to meet his eyes and see how displeased he was with her. There was a long pause before he said,
"You're sorry, but you're still reading my case file."
She didn't look up from it but she could hear the hint of teasing in his voice. "You gave it to me."
He sighed again. "Yes, I did." He half turned away and muttered something about her always getting what she wanted. She could barely stop herself smiling. Forcing herself to concentrate and ignore the strange fluttering in her chest, she read on and finally found the girl's name. Lois Gray. Her mother had been arrested for the attempted murder of a No-Maj and was found at the scene holding the wand that dealt the curse. She snapped it closed and passed the file to a bemused looking Graves.
"Got what you wanted?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Yes, thank you."
And with that, she turned on her heel and strode down to corridor to the desk officer. But before she could ask him anything, she saw a small figure sat on a bench around the corner. She slipped past the desk before the officer could stop her and approached the girl slowly. She was staring down at her lap, obviously trying to avoid notice.
"It's Lois, isn't it?" The girl jumped and looked at her with wide, brown eyes. She nodded and her bottom lip quivered. Resisting the urge to pull the girl into a hug, she just smiled as warmly as she could. "I'm Trixie. If there's anything - "
"Why do they think my mom hurt that No-Maj?" Lois' eyes started watering and Trixie quickly pulled a tissue from her pocket. "She wouldn't hurt anyone! She doesn't like violence!" She began sobbing and all Trixie could do was stroke her back. "Can't – can't they just l-let her go?"
"Oh, honey…" Trixie winced. "There's strong evidence against her - they've gotta ask her questions."
"But she didn't do it!"
Her insistence made Trixie frown. "Lois…do you know something about what happened?"
The girl swallowed, looking around wildly. "I – I can't…"
Unable to let the opportunity pass, Trixie stood and called to the desk officer, "Does this girl need to stay here?"
He blinked. "I don't think so. Though by rights she should - "
"Well, she's coming with me." She interrupted quickly. She crouched in front of Lois who was slowly gaining control over her crying. "I'm going to get some lunch. Do you want to come with me?"
She clumsily wiped her nose. "My mom…"
Trixie squeezed her shoulder. "She won't be out for a while. Why don't you come with me and have some food? I'll bring you back here once you're finished."
She nodded and stood a little shakily, making Trixie put her arm around her. They walked along the corridor, past the desk and then past three aurors, all in a hushed conversation with Mr Graves. He quickly dismissed them when he saw Trixie and Lois. As she went to walk past him, he gently took her arm.
"Miss Barnes, may I have a word?"
Lois looked panicked again but Trixie quickly reassured her and allowed herself to be led away by Mr Graves.
Feeling oddly self-conscious under his intense stare, she crossed her arms. "Yes?"
"What are you doing?" He muttered, glancing over his shoulder at Lois.
She tried to shrug casually. "I'm just taking her for lunch."
Apparently he knew her too well, because he cocked his head at her. "Really?"
"Mmm."
He shook his head, exasperated. "And what are you hoping to get out of this lunch?"
She huffed. "I know you might not approve, but she's a child and she's totally alone and I doubt she's eaten anytime recently." He was still waiting. "And she's scared."
"Of course she is, her parents are both locked up for nearly killing a No-Maj."
She frowned. "Her parents? I thought it was just her mom?"
"No, her father as well - he was the wizard I was just interviewing. But there's no real evidence tying him there." He eyed her. "Why?"
She watched as Lois nervously fiddled with the tissue in her hands. "She's only mentioned her mom. She keeps insisting she didn't do it - "
"Obviously."
"But she hasn't even mentioned her father." Pieces of the puzzle began to slot together. "And she's really scared of something. Something more than her mom being arrested."
Interested, he took a step closer to her. "You think she knows something?"
She nodded. "But she's so nervous I doubt she'd tell anyone, especially not in an interview."
"Alright." He agreed, and she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Take her and let me know."
She almost told him that she hadn't actually asked for his permission, but she didn't want to push it. So she just squeezed his arm. "Thank you."
Percival Graves sat at his desk, pouring over the file on Astor Gray. Beneath the desk, he was tapping his foot in a restless rhythm. He didn't like leaving investigative work to anyone else, especially where a man like Astor Gray was concerned. Over the years that he had monitored him, he had shown himself to be a cruel, violent man but time and time again, he had avoided conviction due to lack of evidence.
Aside from his crimes, Percival's main concern was for the welfare of his wife Tilda and his daughter Lois. Before now, he had never met them and he had always assumed his wife was complicit in Astor's criminal lifestyle. But now he had seen both his wife and daughter, it was obvious they were trapped – too afraid to flee from Astor. He had been reluctant to arrested Tilda Gray for the attempted murder of the No-Maj, despite the evidence against her, but he quickly concluded that a relatively comfortable cell was probably the safest place for her. He knew that Astor was responsible, even if his wife was the one holding the wand that dealt the curse.
Growing irritated at the snarling picture of Astor Gray looking up at him, he flicked the file closed. He drank the remains of his iced coffee and tried his best to wait patiently. He checked the clock on his desk.
It had been over an hour since he had let Trixie Barnes take Lois Gray to lunch in the hope of getting the truth from her and he was getting impatient. It took all his willpower to stay in his office and leave them to it. He had faith that Trixie would be more than capable of dealing with the young girl, no doubt far better than he could. If Lois wouldn't tell Trixie the true version of events, then she probably wasn't going to tell anyone. From working with her for several years now, Percival knew that Trixie had a talent for making people feel at ease and that seemed to make people want to be honest with her.
Even me. His tapping foot stilled and he smiled to himself.
Since her birthday just over a month ago, things them had become surprisingly comfortable. He thought that his gift to her had been too much but – loathe as he was to admit it – his brother had been right to push him. Trixie had become even warmer to him and he felt that she now regarded him as an equal, rather than a senior colleague. She certainly treated him like an equal, never missing an opportunity to tease or chastise him when no one else was looking.
He felt a strange wave of excitement bubble up inside him and almost cringed. It was all far too adolescent.
Just then, the door burst open and Trixie strode in, her face flush with excitement. Feeling like he had somehow been caught out, he schooled his features into a curious expression asked quickly,
"What is it?"
"It's Lois. She's told me everything."
Pushing his personal life aside, he said, "She's confirmed it was her father?"
"Yes. She said her father cursed the No-Maj and left him for dead. Her mother heard it all and stole Astor's wand when he wasn't looking. She was going to try and heal him when the aurors showed up. Lois is so desperate to free her mother, she's willing to testify against her father." Her face fell a little. "She's still so scared of him. We'll have to protect her - "
"We will." He couldn't resist briefly touching her arm, excitement and affection creating an unusual joy within him. "We'll make sure they're both safe."
She let out a breath. "Good." They began the journey back down to Interrogation, walking along the corridor to the elevator. "You know, he hasn't let her go to school?" She pressed the button and the elevator started to descend. "She can't even read. Imagine getting to that age and never have even read a book…" She trailed off and he saw that her eyes had filled with tears. Wondering if he could adore her any more, he placed a warm hand on her back and she quickly blinked. "Sorry."
He frowned. "You don't have to apologise for caring."
She smiled. "Thank you." She sniffed and said, "I don't know how you do this every day."
"This is more of a…special case. Mostly it's dealing with idiots who transform themselves into frogs to kiss No-Majs."
Her laughter filled the elevator and he was disappointed when the doors opened and they were plunged back into the bustle of MACUSA. They walked in companionable silence to Interrogation, their strides falling in line comfortably.
It was easy to spot Lois Gray; she was a quiet, dark shadow against the cold walls. She looked up when they approached and he could see her tense when she saw he was accompanying Trixie. He stood a little behind her, letting her take the lead. Trixie smiled reassuringly and placed her hand on the girl's arm.
"Lois, this is Mr Graves – remember I told you about him?"
The girl's eyes flicked back over him before returning to Trixie. She nodded.
"He wants to make sure your dad is locked away where he can't hurt anyone again. Can you tell him everything you told me?"
Lois swallowed nervously before nodding again, this time shakily. "I – I think so."
Trixie smiled again. "Good."
"Can you stay?" Lois asked quickly, obviously afraid that her new friend would leave.
"Of course." She took the girl's hand and didn't let go. "I'm not going anywhere." She turned back to him. "Is that alright?"
He nodded, afraid that his affection for her was beaming through his entire being. He gestured to one of the benches and said, "Why don't we talk out here? The interview rooms are cold."
Sitting next to Trixie in an effort to not rattle the girl, he discreetly slid a notebook from his pocket and cleared his throat.
"Lois. Can you tell us what happened on the night of June 17th?"
He made his way back through the weaving corridors of MACUSA, enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done. Not only had he finally secured a solid case on Astor Gray, he had worked with Trixie Barnes all day. Once again, she had shown once how talented she was at unravelling a case and he was almost tempted to ask her if she had ever wanted to be an auror.
The offices were dim – most people had gone home hours ago. As usual, there were a few aurors in Major Investigations, trying not to doze as they began their night shift. But through the door beyond them, he could see the soft glow of a single lamp. Stepping into the room, he saw Trixie Barnes sat alone in her department, meticulously working through paperwork. He watched her for a moment, a comforting warmth spreading through him. The glow from the lamp shone over her hair, making it strikingly gold against the dusk of the room. There was a small furrow in her brow as she focussed on her work, absentmindedly biting her lip. He cleared his throat and she jumped. Looking around, she saw him and she immediately smiled, her cheeks dimpling slightly.
"Hello again."
He wandered over to her, sliding his hands in his pockets. "I thought you'd gone home."
"I wanted to get the paperwork done while everything was still fresh. And I'm not sure I trust anyone else to do it right."
"And you have the nerve to tell me I work too much."
She laughed. "I'm not nearly as bad as you! Besides, I'm not sure I could relax yet. Today's been too exciting."
He understood immediately; the rush of solving a case often left him restless for a few hours afterwards. With a wave of his wand, he summoned a chair next to her. "Want a hand?"
She stared at him with mock surprise. "The Director of Magical Security lowering himself to paperwork? Are you going to help with my filing?"
He half-suppressed a smile as he sat next to her, picking up a file and opening it. "Don't tell anyone, Miss Barnes."
She raised an eyebrow and picked up her quill. "Of course not! I'm the soul of discretion, Mr Graves."
They fell into a comfortable silence, their shoulders bumping occasionally as they worked. As the time drifted past him, Percival basked a feeling of contentment he hadn't experienced in a long time. He signed off on a few papers and noticed that she had already worked her way through a considerably larger amount. He smiled and had the urge to say something stupid.
"Miss Barnes?"
She gave a small laugh but didn't look up from her paper. "Yes, Mr Graves?"
What was he doing?
"What…" He cleared his throat clumsily and this time she did look up, obviously curious. Stop. But it was too late and he could feel himself plunging into the unknown with nothing but blind hope. Fixing his eyes on the work in front of him in an attempt to appear casual, he said, "What are your plans for Friday evening?" There was a long silence and he added quickly. "There's an exhibition at Josiah Square that I thought might interest you. Perhaps we should go together?" A few more beats of silence and he could feel his insides twist with discomfort. "As friends, of course."
Convinced he had ruined everything with a few awkward sentences, he could feel his toes curling in his shoes. His brother had been right to wonder where the 'smooth Percival' of his early twenties had gone. It had been so long since he had been close to anyone and he had never felt so comfortable and yet so nervous around anyone before. He took a breath and steeled himself, knowing that he had to see her face to truly know her reaction.
But when he finally looked up, he saw that she wasn't staring at him at all. In fact, she was gazing past him with an odd intensity. He frowned and followed her eye line which seemed to lead into nothing but the dark corner of the department. "Miss Barnes?"
She groped for his arm, before finally blinking. "Sorry, what were you saying?" She gave his arm an apologetic squeeze, clearly oblivious to everything he had said. He wasn't sure if he was disappointed or relieved.
"Are you alright?"
She shook herself and smiled. "Yes, sorry. I just thought I saw a cockroach."
He wheeled around, curious. "A cockroach? Where?"
"On that chair over there." She pointed to a chair half-tucked under a desk on the far side of the room. "But I think I'm just tired." She laughed and said again, "Sorry, what were you saying?"
He hesitated. While he was desperate to spend as much time with her as possible (and the illustration exhibition at Josiah Square did seem like the perfect place to start) he had no desire to muddle his way through that invitation again. Thinking that it was probably best that he was off the hook, he said, "It doesn't - "
"There!" She cried, pointing over his shoulder at the chair again. "Do you see it? It's moving…"
Sure enough, he could see a large cockroach scuttling across the leather seat. He stood and just when he was about to pull his wand out and levitate it to the window, it stopped walking and started to twitch. He felt Trixie stand behind him and her breath brushed across his neck as she asked,
"What's it doing?"
He felt the odd need to whisper. "I don't know."
They both watch in morbid fascination as it started to swell. Then it began to mutate grotesquely, hard shell stretching wider and longer until it turned into…
"Astor Gray?"
The wizard broke into a demonic grin. "Surprised, Graves?" He raised his wand and Trixie shrieked but Percival was quicker, despite being on the back foot. He quickly cast a shield charm, pushing Trixie behind him with the other hand. Gray rained down curses on them and he deflected them with relative ease. His real worry was keeping Trixie behind him and as far away from Gray as he could get her.
"Get behind the desk!"
To his surprise, she obeyed. She quickly ducked down behind the desk. Gray was approaching steadily, firing curses with aggressive flicks of his wand. Graves knew he needed to buy them some time to work out a plan – catching an ordinary wizard could be difficult but catching an animagus was doubly hard. He continued to deflect Gray's spells and walked back slowly, edging around the desk to join Trixie who was sensibly keeping her head down. He crouched next to her, Gray's spells flying overhead. Without his shield charms, he could Gray's heavy footsteps approaching quickly. He took a deep breath and cleared his mind before standing quickly and casting four spells silently before ducking back behind the desk.
Trixie was frowning. "What did you do?"
"Rune spells." Graves sank down next to her. "Ancient magic and mostly forgotten now. Cast them on the ground and anyone who walks over them - "
From behind them, Astor Gray cried out in pain.
"- gets an unpleasant surprise."
"Ah! Nice."
Fuelled by pain and the frustration of being unable to get any closer, Gray launched more curses at them, some flying over the desk, some crashing into it. As some of the initial adrenaline wore off, worry settled heavy in Graves' stomach. He quickly scanned Trixie for any sign of injury. "Are you alright?"
"Huh…I guess?" She gave him a semi-decent attempt at a smile. "I mean, we are trapped behind my desk and a cockroach who just turned into a No-Maj-hating wizard is firing deadly curses at us, but apart from that, I'm fine." She let out a small, hysterical laugh and before he could stop her, she turned, poked her head over the top of her desk and grabbed a file. She sat back down just as a spell flew over her head and Graves swore loudly, his heart hammering cold fear into his chest.
"Don't do that again!" He hissed.
"I wanted his file! I want to see if there's a record of him being an animagus. Maybe we missed it."
Incredulity left him almost speechless and he was torn between shouting at her and kissing her. Getting a grip on himself, he just said, "Right now?! You want to look at his file now?"
She glared. "Yes!"
He swore again. "We already know he's animagus! We just saw it. What does it matter if it was in his file right now?"
Apparently losing patience with him as much as he was with her, she swatted him hard on the arm with the file. "If we knew, that means we did something wrong. And if we didn't, then it's another charge to put against him."
He gritted his teeth. "I understand that. But maybe we could look into that after we've caught him." Irritation growing, he flung a spell at the closed door halfway along the wall closest to them and it banged open as he shouted, "WHY IS THE DIRECTOR OF MAGICAL SECURITY BEING ATTACKED BY A MADMAN WHILE HIS AURORS FALL ASLEEP AT THEIR DESKS?"
He heard the frantic scrape of chairs and Trixie laughed next to him. There was the sound of several people running, then the blasts of several spells colliding all at once. Silence fell and together, he and Trixie risked poking their heads above the desk. A small group of aurors were stood there, bewildered, and Astor Gray was gone.
Graves groaned and clambered to his feet, helping Trixie up as she tried to fix her dishevelled hair. Feeling guilty for shouting at her but still annoyed that she had risked her life, he checked on her again. "You alright?"
She waved him off with a slightly shaking hand. "I'm fine, really."
He nodded and had half turned away before adding firmly, "Stay. Here. Yes?"
"Yes, yes! I'll stay here. No moving."
Satisfied, he strode to fill his team in on the situation. They all watched his approach with tense shoulders and lowered eyes.
"First off, what kind of aurors hear a duel going on in the next room and do absolutely nothing to investigate it?"
"Sir, we - "
"Secondly!" He cut across one of his younger aurors, Urvi, with a stern glare. "The attacker is Astor Gray, he's escaped from the holding cells because he's an unregistered animagus who can turn into a cockroach. Right now, he could be anywhere. We don't know what he wants but it's something more than his own freedom otherwise he would have just left."
"His wife and daughter are still here." Trixie Barnes had suddenly spoken up behind him. He turned to see her trying to make sense of the mess on her desk. "They are the only ones who could have given us enough evidence to convict him. I'm guessing he'll want revenge."He'lHHHhjH\HHHoap
He turned back to his aurors. "Where are they?"
"Signing off their statements with the Captain in one of the interview rooms, sir."
Graves felt a little more at ease. Captain Carneirus was a skilled dueller and a highly intelligent wizard who would be able to go head to head with Gray. "All of you, pair up. Scour all possible routes to the interview rooms. Urvi, take Cassie with you and go straight to Captain Carneirus and tell him everything." They all nodded. "Well, go!"
They all scurried off, wands drawn and cloaks billowing. Sighing, he turned back to Trixie.
"I'm going to take the last route down." He mentally kicked himself for not assigning an auror to stay with her. "You should stay here. Gray's unlikely to come back up here. I think he just wanted us to see him before he went for his wife and daughter."
"And maybe he wanted to kill you."
He shrugged. "Maybe."
She shook her head, looking almost annoyed that he had confirmed it. "You want me to stay here?"
Relieved, he nodded. He wasn't quite sure about how well he could do his job while constantly terrified that a rogue curse would strike her. "I think it'd be best."
"Hmm. You know that's not going to happen, but appreciate it anyway." She merrily wandered past, clapping him on the shoulder. "Come on! We've got a cockroach to catch."
"Trixie!" He grabbed her arm and hauled her back. "You can't - "
"Did you just call me Trixie?" She oddly delighted. "Well, Percival, you can argue all you want but I'm coming with you."
He couldn't deny that between her saying his name and her insisting they stick together, he was feeling far too giddy than the Director of Magical Security should in a serious situation. "I'll be fine."
He was brought back down to earth when she laughed. "Oh, I know you'll be fine! But I don't want to be alone if he comes back. And besides, surely the safest place is with you."
"Oh." He felt himself nod again. "I suppose."
They traced the route down to the Interrogation rooms slowly and unlike the others, they decided to avoid the elevator.
They took the back stairs down, winding around and around, scanning the floor constantly for any sign of a cockroach.
"Well," Trixie began in a stage whisper. "This wasn't exactly how I planned to spend my evening."
The corners of his mouth twitched. "Really? What were your plans?"
"Oh, I don't know. Have a relaxing bath, read for a while, eat with my family and then go to sleep?"
He was pretty sure he had never had an evening like that in his life. "Sounds peaceful."
"Yeah. Well, that was the plan." They crossed the landing of the Oblivation floor and continued down the stairs. "What were your plans?"
He thought about lying. After all, would it do any harm to make himself sound a bit more interesting? Perhaps he could say that he was going to the theatre or meeting friends for dinner. But as usual, he found himself just telling her the truth.
"Probably something just like this."
"Really?" Far from sounding impressed at his work ethic, she seemed dismayed. "Do ever not work? What do you do to rest?"
Feeling uncomfortable, he said, "Is this a good time for this argument?"
"Why not?" Despite his continued insistence that she stay behind him so he could deflect any attacks easier, she caught up with him again. "We have the time."
"But I don't have the answer." He snapped, before immediately regretting it. He knew he was on edge over the idea of anything happening to her - and he was even more on edge about the fact he couldn't actually tell her about it. He stopped and sighed. "I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I shouted at you earlier."
To his surprise, she just smiled. "Don't worry; I'd have shouted at me too." And she laughed, bumping her shoulder against his. He was immediately filled with that same, comfortable warmth and he found himself smiling back. Then her face fell a little. "I suppose I'm just scared…so I'm just talking garbage to distract myself." She shook her head and her hair covered her reddening face. "Probably sounds stupid to you."
He was, again, surprised by her openness. He didn't understand what he'd done to deserve her confidence but he was immensely glad he had. He touched her arm gently and said, "No. Doesn't sound stupid at all." She froze and he feared that had gone too far.
But she said quickly, "While I'm happy to have this heart to heart, there's a cockroach creeping into that department."
He wheeled around, whipping his wand out of his waistcoat and stalking towards the half-open door. "Stay behind me." He whispered, his hand on the door. "And I mean it."
She nodded and fell into line behind him, gripping her wand tightly in her hand. They edged their way into the empty department, both silently illuminating their wands and scanning the floor.
"Where are we?" Trixie whispered.
"Surveillance." He said, realising why they had been led here. "One floor above Interrogation."
He thought he heard a scuttling noise to his left and slowly advanced, tensing in anticipation. He saw a piece of parchment twitching on a desk and he gestured to Trixie. She slid into place behind him, peering with wide eyes over his shoulder. He slowly lifted the parchment up with the tip of his wand –
And all hell broke loose.
There was a burst of magic as Gray transformed quickly and immediately cast an explosive shield charm, sending both of them flying over the desk behind them. They scrambled next to each other, both breathing heavily.
"He's going to advance quickly." Graves said, wishing that Trixie had just stayed upstairs so he could have taken Gray on with only his own welfare at risk. "We need a plan."
"Right." She thought for two seconds before saying, "Got one!" She twisted onto her knees and pointed her wand at Gray. "Rictusempra!"
She threw herself back down next to Graves, flush with success, as Gray suddenly started to roar with laughter. Graves blinked and, not for the first time, started at Trixie with a feeling somewhere between frustration and adoration.
"Did you just hit a crazy, violent, transforming madman with the Tickling Charm?"
"Yeah." Then she laughed and he found himself laughing too. He suddenly had an image of his team finding himself, Trixie Barnes and Astor Gray all hysterical in the darkness. "What?" She said, through her chuckles. "It's an underused charm! No one can walk when they're hit with it."
As bizarre it was, it was true that Astor Gray could no longer move as he was doubled up in hysterical laughter. But he started to recover quickly and as the charm faded, he began firing more and more spells at them through his hooting.
"I'm sorry…" Trixie whispered.
"What for?" He asked, mentally timing the spells flying overhead.
"This would probably be a lot easier if you had an actual auror here, instead of someone who just does the paperwork."
He opened his mouth to respond but suddenly the desk was levitated from behind them, leaving them completely exposed. He silently cast a shield charm over Trixie before quickly deflecting a spell with a casual wave of his wand. Gray, apparently completely recovered, made towards him as Graves raised his wand. But before he could do anything, Gray transformed into cockroach again. Cursing loudly, he illuminated his wand and searched on the floor…
Nothing.
Then Trixie let out a shriek and he whipped around, his thundering heart and raw fear blocking out everything else.
He turned to see Gray, human once more, tucking Trixie's wand into his pocket as he kept her trapped against him with one thick arm around her neck.
"One step…" He said, staring at Graves with a mad intensity. "…and she's gone."
"Alright." His mouth was dry and he could hear his own ragged breathing. He held his hands up, a fear he had never known setting every nerve ablaze. His wand was loose between his fingers and he suddenly realised that he was dangerously willing to give up anything to have her standing back with him. But when he met her eyes, she was looking at him with determination. His fingers curled a little tighter on his wand.
"What do you want, Gray? What'll it take for you to let her go?"
"Get my wife and my daughter here now. Or I'll end her, Graves."
Just below his chin, Trixie gave Graves a small nod and he would have smiled if he wasn't so consumed with worry. "I'm not sure that's going to work, Gray."
"What do you – ah!" Trixie sunk her teeth into his arm and Graves could only assume that was his cue. Just as Gray floundered and Trixie wriggled free of him, Graves sent a stream of curses at him. He staggered and roared, only just managing to deflect them in time. But still the large wizard advanced, making him step back as he charged. In a millisecond break between casting shields, Gray managed to hit Graves with a weak hex, pushing him to the floor. With no damage except a bruise or two, Graves launched a stinging hex at him, making him cry out. But still the man lumbered towards him, an unstoppable force. He quickly raced through the moderate spells he knew, needing something to hold him still without hurting him too much. A leg-locking curse was on the tip of his tongue but just as Gray reached him, there was a crash and then he fell to the floor, revealing a dishevelled Trixie.
There was a beat of silence before he asked, "Did you just break a chair over his head?"
"Yep!" She tossed the remaining bits of wood to the floor and nudged his unconscious body with her toe. "He's out."
Graves clambered to his feet, straightening his suit and wincing as his head started to pound. He could see a mark on her jaw where his arm had pressed against her. "Are you alright?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking if I'm alright? You're the one he was trying to kill!"
He couldn't resist giving her a slightly cocky smirk. "Happens to me all the time. You're the one who just knocked someone out for the first time."
She grinned. "That's what you think."
Trixie sat in the cold corridor of Interrogation, a warm cup of hot chocolate in her hands.
Aurors bustled around her and security staff signed in prisoners and witnesses. Mr Graves had told her to wait, insisting she call one of her family members to take her home. At first, she thought he was fussing needlessly but now the adrenaline had worn off, she was feeling shaky and fatigued. She took another sip of her very sugary hot chocolate and waited for her brother-in-law Jack to arrive. Her elder sister Clara had sent her husband immediately upon hearing the whole story, partly out of a fierce protective instinct for her sister, partly because she wanted to help Tilda and Lois Gray.
Clara and her husband Jack worked for the Rehabilitation Centre for Magical Persons – a branch of medicine and care that aided witches and wizards who had been in magical accidents. Clara said that the centre would be more than capable of housing the Grays and helping them to improve their reading, writing and to give them knowledge of practical magic, all the time boosting their confidence.
With her last worry crossed off, Trixie allowed herself to think about the evening's events. It was so easy to be caught in the excitement but once it was over, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Mr Graves hadn't been there.
And had she really called him Percival?!
She cringed and took another desperate sip of her hot chocolate. On paper, it sounded like she had gone too far – calling him by his first name, arguing with him, disobeying his orders – but in reality she had felt strangely comfortable with him. And from his lack of outrage, it appeared that he had also felt comfortable with her.
She watched as he approached a gaggle of aurors some way along the corridor, efficiently taking in information and giving out orders.
She hadn't realised how different he was around her until the others arrived. His cool, professional mask had slid into place and Trixie was left wondering if those half smiles and reassuring touches had been a hazy dream. But then, still talking to one of his aurors, he glanced at her over his shoulder, like he was checking she still there.
She found herself smiling. Not a dream after all.
He gave her a half smile and a small nod, before turning back. He quickly dismissed his team and made his way along the corridor towards her. She stood to meet him, still clutching the comforting warmth of the mug in her hands.
"How are you feeling?"
She took a deep breath. "I'm fine actually. A bit shaken, but mostly fine."
"Good." He studied her for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let this happen. I should have assigned an auror to you and made you wait in the office - "
She knew he was trying to be kind, but irritation prickled at her all the same. "Made me? You can't make me do anything."
Far from arguing back, he just smiled. "Yes. I know." He paused for a moment before adding quietly, "I always seem to give you your way."
Trixie blinked in surprise. Was it just her imagination or was he being - dare she think it – flirtatious? It seemed so unlikely, and yet…
Her brother-in-law stepped into the corridor and Trixie was happy for the distraction. She waved at him and he spotted her, ambling over with an easy smile on his face.
"Sorry to get you here so late."
Jack watched her lips as she spoke, then shrugged, signing back, 'No worries – I was up the baby anyway.'
Mr Graves was watching with interest. He stared at Jack for a moment before realisation crossed his face. "Jack? Jack…Warner?"
Jack nodded and reached out, shaking Mr Graves' hand with a warm smile.
Trixie was once again surprised. "You know each other?"
"Jack was in a group of aurors I trained about ten years ago. But he had to leave before he completed his training due to an incident. A stray curse hit him…" He trailed off, obviously not wanting to bring up bad memories. She felt a rush of affection for him but was quickly distracted by Jack who started to sign again. She quickly translated,
"He says that you did all you could." She looked back at Graves who was looking rather touched. "And that nothing could have stopped him losing his hearing." Trixie smiled suddenly. "But he says it was all worth it, because he gained more than he lost."
Mr Graves frowned. "I don't - "
"Jack met my sister when she helped him recover after the accident. They got married not long after and now they have a daughter." Seeing that Mr Graves was still watching them, so she reassured him, "They are very happy." Jack read her lips and nodded.
"I'm glad." Graves turned to Trixie and gave her a smile. "It seems the Barnes women are quite remarkable."
She felt her face getting warm and was very conscious of Jack lip reading their entire conversation. "We are." She heard a noise behind her and Lois and Tilda Gray were being led out of one of the interview rooms. "You're sure it's alright that they come with us?"
He nodded. "I trust you." Then he cleared his throat. "And Jack. The Centre has a good reputation."
As they passed, Trixie couldn't resist giving Lois' hand a quick squeeze. She was in awe of the girl's bravery and knew that Jack and Clara would do everything in their power ensure their safety and development. The two women followed Jack along the corridor and through the door, clinging to each other as they went. Trixie and Mr Graves stood side by side and watched them go.
"A job well done." She said, placing her mug on the seat and pulling on her jacket. "I should be going."
"Of course. You must be tired."
She couldn't resist narrowing her eyes at him. "You should be going home too, you know. It's not good for you - "
"Not this again!"
" – to be working through the night!" She softened but still said, "If you're staying, at least eat something?"
He sighed. "I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Hmm." She wasn't convinced but she smiled. "Good night then, Mr Graves."
"Good night, Trixie."
A jolt of surprise shot through her but she tried not to show it. She set off along the corridor, her feet aching and her eyes itching. As she walked, she thought she could feel him watching her. She opened the door and glanced over her shoulder. She was right. His eyes were fixed on her, unabashed and dark. She nodded to him and let the door close behind her.
Despite the warm summer evening, a shiver shot up her spine.