This was written for Pod_Together Challenge 2013 in conjunction and somewhat for S.K. Lee, who performed it. You can listen to his podfic on AO3 under the same title.
Disclaimer: I make no money off this and copyrights are held by their respective owners for Harry Potter and the X-Files.
Warnings for canon-type violence and some language.
The fic is mostly a gen action/adventure story with a little Skinner/Mulder thrown in and the Snape/Harry is very minor, so don't let that put you off.
[Scene 1]
[Open on a busy street scene in London. Shops are bustling with customers. People are hurrying by on the way to business. Wandering tourists are strolling down the sidewalks. Buses, cabs and cars are driving by on the street. An occasional homeless person is asking for money. Typical street sounds can be heard all around.]
Text: Clerkenwell Road, London
March 23, 1999
10:07 a.m.
[Family of five walks into view, clearly out shopping. Mother and two boys are carrying shopping bags. All are wearing nice coats and shoes.]
OLDER BROTHER: Mum, we've been at this for two hours already. Can't we pop in somewhere for a bite?
MOTHER: No, dear, we've got to purchase your sister's art supplies before heading to Winnelly's for lunch.
OLDER BROTHER: [groans]. Always her stupid art supplies...
HELENA: [looking small and nervous] It's okay, Mum. We don't have to get them today.
MOTHER: [turns to daughter] Nonsense. We've already allotted the time and we're going.
HELENA: [eyes darting around] Mum, let's not. I have a bad feeling about this.
YOUNGER BROTHER: Ha! You always have "bad" feelings.
HELENA: [annoyed at Younger Brother] Jonathan, really. My body's all tingly. That's never a good thing.
MOTHER: [irritated] Helena, we've been over this before. You do not have "spidey-sense." It's probably just eczema, as the physicians say.
HELENA: [getting really scared now] [shakes her head at Mother] No, Mum, that's not it. I never get a rash and I only ever feel it when something awful's about to happen.
YOUNGER BROTHER: So what is it this time? [points up] That gargoyle going to fall on our heads or something?
HELENA: [exasperated] Ugh, No one ever listens to me. You never heed my warnings and...
[Explosion occurs in a building down the street. People scream and take cover. Helena and her family crouch away from the blast. When they look up, there are strange people in black waltzing down the street, waving wooden sticks at everyone.]
RABASTAN: … and all you little Muggles are about to pay! Confringo!
[Red light shoots from his stick toward the building one up from them. Building explodes. People scream and run for cover or dodge debris.]
BELLATRIX: [wickedly smiling] Awww, isn't it a shame that all these Muggles can't defend themselves? Poor little dears, so weak and vulnerable. We should really put them out of their misery, right, Rudolphus?
RUDOLPHUS: [grinning] It would be all of our pleasures, my tot. Reducto!
[More things explode. People run and duck for cover. Strange colored lights fly through the air, landing on individuals, who twist and writhe in pain. Smoke from fires start wafting in the air.]
OLDER BROTHER: We have to get out of here.
FATHER: [grabbing one kid's arm and gesturing back behind him] Let's go down this way. There's a little alley back here.
[All agree and head off down the alley. It bends into a dead end.]
MOTHER: [wailing] No. This is no way out.
OLDER BROTHER: We'll try some doors. [starts pulling on handles]
YOUNGER BROTHER: Maybe we should go back to the main street. Those guys might be gone now.
OLDER BROTHER: Yeah, you could be right. All of these doors are locked.
[They hear a mad cackle from behind them and turn to look. Bellatrix is striding into the alley with a gleeful look on her face. The family immediately takes several steps back.]
BELLATRIX: Oh, look. I've found a lovely family to torment. What'll it be, dearies? Fire or ice, wind or stone? [smiles cruelly at them]
HELENA: [frantically looking all around and whispering silent pleas for help, she makes a decision] Stone!
[Then Helena pushes her family toward the dead end. The stones disappear, letting them run through to the other side.]
BELLATRIX: [furious scream] Confringo!
[Red spell light moves toward the family, but as soon as they are on other side, the stone wall reappears, as solid as ever, and takes the blast with no breakage. Bellatrix stares incredulously at the spot where they've gone.]
[Fade Out]
[Opening Credits]
Music: X-Files and Harry Potter
Title: Ye Olde Magick
Written: StarDuchess
Read: SK_Lee
[Scene 2]
[Typical busy government office building. Inside contains rows of desks and offices along the outer walls. Lots of papers and filing cabinets and computers strewn all about.]
Text: London Metropolitan Police Department
March 25, 1999
02:33 p.m.
[Pan into an open office where a boss and three subordinates are talking.]
BOSS: I don't understand how these reports are so widely varying.
DONALD: Look, sir, we've interviewed three dozen eyewitnesses and about half the stories are consistent - a little bit too consistent - and the other half are widely disparaging. A great deal more than we normally find.
BOSS: Yes, I'm quite aware of that. What do you make of it?
MICHAEL: It's unusual. The consistent reports state they all saw a terrorist group running around throwing bombs, which is all well and fine and collaborates with the general destruction of the street, but none of those witnesses can describe the offenders beyond wearing black clothing, and none of them have any idea of what happened after the panic started or how it stopped. They all just came away [stating pointedly] without a scratch.
BOSS: Yes, go on.
DONALD: The inconsistent ones range from just two individual attackers, a man and a woman, who point their hands and trip people, to an all-out invasion of demons and fire-light and angels in red. With people just popping in and out of existence. [throws his hands up] It's insane.
BOSS: Do we know who did it? Where they went?
MICHAEL: [shaking head] Not a clue; everyone just vanished. The forensics are strange, too. No tracks in or out, and the blast zones don't look like grenades or other explosive weapons. They don't know what it is.
PHOEBE: Sir, I suggest we get some specialty assistance in on this case. It looks like we're dealing with unknown weapons, physical disappearances, and possible mind alterations or hypnosis at the very least. This feels way beyond our scope.
BOSS: [nods] Any idea who we can call on this?
PHOEBE: Yes, Sir, I think I know just whom to ask.
[Fade Out]
[Scene 3]
[Fade in to a witness interrogation room in the London police headquarters. Both London and F.B.I. teams are talking to witnesses called in from the crime scene.]
Text: London Metropolitan Police
March 27, 1999
09:15 a.m.
[Mulder and Phoebe are sitting on one side of a low coffee table, while a witness sits on the couch on the other side. Skinner and Donald are standing, and Michael is sitting at a small side desk, taking notes. A big burly man with wiry beard and wild eyes is currently on the couch.
BURLY MAN: [holding up two fingers] And then these two in particular, mean, with pointed teeth and flashing hair, laughed at everybody and started shooting fireworks from their fingertips! [mimes pointing fingers and firing]
MULDER: [half-smiling] Must have been a sight to see. What did you do?
BURLY MAN: I dived for cover, of course! Weren't about to let 'em shoot me, were I?
MULDER: [shaking his head in agreement] Of course not.
BURLY MAN: So I scrambled into the clothing store what was behind me and I hid in the racks. Then I heard a popping sound, several in fact, but not like fireworks. This what more like a whip crack it was. My curiosity got the better of me and I peeked out, and I saw these other demons, their red wings flapping as they raced about [gesticulating with his arms], and they were hunting down the black ones, shooting their own fireworks at 'em.
MULDER: A veritable war zone. I'm surprised you didn't run further.
BURLY MAN: I almost did. I started to, in fact, but then I heard more popping and all the noises outside ceased. So I gathered my courage and I looked out again, and all the black ones and most of the red ones had vanished. Just like that! [snaps his fingers] But a few of the red ones stayed behind and was rounding up people and then the first one put his long finger to someone's head, and I didn't stick around to see what horrors they were going to do. I ran through the store and slammed out the back door and didn't stop running till I got home.
MULDER: That's some story.
BURLY MAN: Yeah, I ain't likely to forget it, neither.
PHOEBE: Alright, sir, thank you for coming in again. You've been very … helpful.
BURLY MAN: Anything to help.
PHOEBE: Alright, I'll see you out.
[Phoebe leaves with the burly man, giving a "good luck with this craziness" look to Mulder.]
MULDER: Wow.
SKINNER: [turning to Donald] How did you know to talk with him?
DONALD: Surveillance camera inside the department store. We obtained several bystanders that way, including some shop owners and employees. A few others came forward on their own to make a citizens report.
MULDER: Anybody catch anything on tape?
MICHAEL: [lifting his head up from his notes and shaking it] Nope. People were too busy fleeing for their lives and, unfortunately, there weren't any cameras pointing at the street itself where the attack happened.
MULDER: You should make another internet pass, check some unexplained phenomena, extraterrestrial sightings, religious cults, and government conspiracy newsgroups for mentions of the attack or pictures shared. People love to gossip about this stuff. I can give you a list.
MICHAEL: Sure, that would be great. [looking at Donald for confirmation] I can give it to the tech intern to work on.
DONALD: [nodding] Good, you two do that.
[Mulder gets up and walks over to Michael. They converse in low tones, Mulder giving him a thorough list of usenet groups to investigate, while Donald and Skinner talk.]
DONALD: Sorry to drag you all the way across the pond on such a ridiculous assignment. I'm sure you have better things to do than this.
SKINNER: Actually, Detective, this is exactly what my team is specialized to investigate. We've worked with Detective Green before, and she was right to call us in since your own government doesn't seem to have a paranormal division.
DONALD: [clearing his voice] Well, Sir, with all due respect, we don't see the necessity. It's all people gone crackers. Mostly a waste of our time and resources.
SKINNER: [barking a laugh] Yeah, I've heard the same from our side. But we've got to show the people that we take every threat seriously until proven that it's not, so if you don't mind, Detective, keep your opinions to yourself.
DONALD: [feeling chastised] Right, sir. [He looks away, back to the door]
[Phoebe comes back to the room. She is leading Helena, who looks unsure and anxious, followed by her mother.]
PHOEBE: Another witness has come forward. Everyone, this is Helena Brightsphere and her mother Margot, who says they were there at the attack.
MOTHER: Yes, we were shopping in the area along Clerkenwell Road, when Helena said something bad was going to happen, and then these people showed up and started blasting everything.
MULDER: [gesturing to the couch] Please have a seat. Can we get you anything?
MOTHER: [shaking head] No, thank you. And you are …?
DONALD: Oh, forgive our rudeness. I'm Detective Donald Sumners and this is Detective Michael Carbunkle. [he points his head in Michael's direction] And you've already met Detective Phoebe Green. We're all part of the police department working on this investigation. [he turns toward Skinner and Mulder] This is Assistant Director Walter Skinner and Special Agent Fox Mulder from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's Special Cases Unit, brought in to help us. Detective Carbunkle is going to be taking notes on this meeting, if that's alright with you?
MOTHER: [looking a little more at ease, nods head and takes seat on the couch, urging her daughter to do the same] That's fine. Thank you. Helena, dear, these people want to hear your story.
MULDER: [eyebrows drawing in] It's not "our" story? Weren't you there?
MOTHER: No, I was there, but I think Helena should tell you.
[Everyone passes looks around the room, concerned about the youngness of the witness, then focuses on Helena.]
PHOEBE: [bending down a little to the girl's height] So, Helena, what can you tell us happened that day?
HELENA: [nervously twisting her hands and eyes darting to people and away again] Well, we were all out doing some shopping-
DONALD: Who all is we?
MOTHER: My husband and I and our three children. We had come into town from York, as we do every year in the spring, and we were walking along to the art supply store two streets over. [smiles with pride and looks over at her daughter] Helena likes to paint.
HELENA: But I didn't want to go.
MULDER: Your ma said you felt something bad was going to happen?
HELENA: [nodding enthusiastically] Yes. I know when strange, bad things are going to happen, and something awful was going to happen that day and I didn't want to go. I tried to get my family to turn around and go back, but my brothers kept teasing me. [eyes and face going crestfallen] They always tease me.
MOTHER: She has such wild stories that of course the others tease her.
MULDER: [attempting to reassure the girl] I get teased a lot, too.
HELENA: [eyes widening] You feel bad things happening, too?
MULDER: [with self-deprecating smile] Not exactly, but I do have some wild ideas. So what happened after you had your feeling?
HELENA: Well, then these pops sounded and explosions went off and people started screaming. We all backed up to the wall to take shelter. Then these mean people were walking over to where we were and started yelling stuff.
DONALD: What stuff?
HELENA: I don't know. Just bad stuff. They wanted to hurt us.
DONALD: And they weren't demons?
[Phoebe and Mulder give Donald a hard look, while the mother's face becomes shocked.]
MOTHER: Goodness, no, they weren't demons. I admit it was all insane that day. They sounded angry but I didn't understand all the words they were shouting.
PHOEBE: That's okay. Please, do go on, Helena.
HELENA: My dad finally had us all run down the alley behind the shops but we ended up trapped at a dead end. We turned around to leave and that evil woman had followed us.
DONALD: Can you describe the woman to us? Any details you can remember would be helpful.
HELENA: [looking thoughtful] She had long, really curly, black hair, all frizzy and tangled, and a really pointy nose and chin, and big black eyes.
MICHAEL: Fat or skinny? Tall or short or average?
HELENA: Very skinny ... with good boobs.
MOTHER: They are called breasts, dear. And yes, they were a full size, though not overly large.
HELENA: She was kinda tall, and wore a black dress and black boots.
MOTHER: She was probably average height for a woman. Helena's correct about the hair; it was a permanent mess.
PHOEBE: And then what happened? How did you escape?
HELENA: Well, the bad woman asked if we wanted fire or ice or stones, and I don't want to be burned. I burnt myself on the stove once, and that was painful then. And I hate being cold.
[Mulder nods his head in solidarity and reassurance, urging the girl to go on.]
HELENA: All I could think of was that I wanted to get away, run through the solid bricks behind us maybe, so I shouted "Stones!" and pushed my family into the bricks. And then they were gone and we were running down the next alley back to our hotel.
DONALD: Wait a minute. What do you mean they were gone?
HELENA: [back to being nervous] The bricks, sir. They were just gone.
MOTHER: She's right. One minute it was a solid wall, the next it had disappeared and we were running. I don't think any of us looked back after that.
DONALD: [scoffs] Excuse me, ma'am, but walls don't just disappear.
MOTHER: [getting defensive] Well these did. We're not lying.
MULDER: [putting a hand up to stop the argument] We're not saying you are. There's lots of things it could have been - a trick of the light, a reflection off a nearby wall, or even one of those sidewalk chalk drawings that look real at a certain angle but aren't. If you can point out on a map which alley it was, we'll go back and check it out.
MOTHER: [nodding] Okay. I can do that.
MULDER: Did either of you notice any weapons the attackers were using?
HELENA: [animatedly] Yeah, they had these long sticks pointing at everyone. And they said some funny words and then coloured lights came out of them that blasted the buildings.
SKINNER: Interesting. [looking intently at Helena] You know when bad things are going to happen?
HELENA: Yes.
SKINNER: And you said you yelled "stones."
[Helena nodded her head, not sure where this was going.]
SKINNER: Would you say you willed the stones away?
HELENA: [looking scared now, answering quietly] Maybe … yes.
DONALD: What are you getting at, sir?
SKINNER: [holding up a hand for restraint, turning to the mother] Has this ever happened before?
[Mulder gives him a questioning look.]
MOTHER: [pulling herself up] Well, not exactly, no.
SKINNER: Anything unusual at all happen around your daughter?
MOTHER: [looking slightly nervous and hesitant to answer] She does seem to know when bad things are about to occur, but I always thought it was just her general paranoia. You know how ten-year-olds can get. But …
MULDER: [looking back at the mother] Yes?
MOTHER: There have been a couple of instances. Little things. Like her doll's hair changed colour one day.
DONALD: [smirking] That can happen with a good pen or crayon.
MOTHER: [firmly] No. The hair had changed from blonde to red. Copper red. The whole strands from root to tip, and not from pen.
DONALD: Could have been dye. Do you colour your hair?
MOTHER: [shaking head] No. There are no hair colouring products in our home. None of us use them. And then there was this one time when Helena was about six and she didn't want to eat peas for dinner. Threw the biggest tantrum. When we insisted she was going to eat them, she glared at us and said they would be mush and stormed off to her room. When I took the bag out of the freezer to make dinner, I opened the bag to find them all mushed together. I threw them out and we ate collared greens instead.
HELENA: [warming to the subject] Yeah, and then there was the time Angelica was talking bad things about me in school in front of everyone and I yelled for her to shut up and suddenly she couldn't talk anymore! Her mouth moved but no words came out. It was really funny.
DONALD: Alright, I think we have enough information. If you could just go with Michael back out to the main room, he'll take your name and address and where you are staying now. Please point out the alley, and if we can get a sketch artist to draw up what the woman looked like, that would be great. Thank you.
MOTHER: Of course, any time.
MULDER: Uh, one more thing. What brought you in today?
MOTHER: Oh, we heard the call on the telly this morning for more witnesses. Thought we could be of some help.
SKINNER: Thank you both for coming in. You're good citizens.
MOTHER: Thank you, sir. Good luck with the investigation.
[Michael takes his pen and pad and leads Mother and Helena out to the main room. Donald shakes his head in disbelief and exasperation. Mulder and Skinner both look thoughtful.]
DONALD: It's bloody crackers I tell you. All the loonies come out at stuff like this.
MULDER: Some people like the attention. Others could just be hallucinating, their overactive imaginations supplying details that weren't real. Still others could be telling the truth.
DONALD: Don't tell me you believe that crap about disappearing bricks.
[Mulder just shrugs and looks over at Skinner.]
SKINNER: [smirking a bit affectionately] You don't know whom you're talking to, son. Spooky Mulder here gets his reputation chasing down extraterrestrial aliens.
[Donald's eyes go wide in surprise as Phoebe gives him a confirming smile.]
SKINNER: Agent Mulder, go check on Agent Scully down in the morgue. I've got a phone call to make, then we should investigate the crime scene.
[Fade Out]
[Scene 4]
[Open back on the London street where the attack happened. Some rubble has been cleaned up, but large chunks of building and street are still missing with some areas petitioned off. The scene is lightly busy.]
Text: Clerkenwell Road, London
March 27, 1999
02:57 p.m.
[Phoebe, Donald, Mulder, Skinner, and Scully are wondering around ruins, examining evidence.]
MULDER: So the terrorists showed up where?
PHOEBE: According to the witnesses, they started over there. [points to first location of attack] Then they traveled outward to the west and south, causing all this damage.
SKINNER: Any historical significance about this place? Special political demonstrations? Famous celebrity sightings? Gang turf wars, that sort of thing?
PHOEBE: [shaking head] No, nothing like that. It's just your average commercial street, so lots of crowds during peak hours of the day. We've checked our local records, and there's been no gang or mafia activity in the area.
MULDER: Anything a terrorist organization would want? Amo, black market stuff?
PHOEBE: No, not that we're aware of.
MULDER: We need to find some more evidence if we're to pinpoint who these guys are. Where do you think they went? [muttering] Where do you go after blowing up a building?
DONALD: That's where things get fuzzy as you've seen with those witnesses. Most people claimed they were too busy running for their lives to care about the attackers. Others say they just left, went about their business, which I don't believe.
PHOEBE: [with a mocking smile] Don't forget the demons in red that came to take away the demons in black.
SCULLY: [turning to stare at Phoebe] Demons? I thought the report said they were people. Were they dressed in costume?
PHOEBE: [shrugging] Haven't a clue.
[Mulder and Skinner walk over to and are examining one of the blasted buildings closely.]
MULDER: You sure the witnesses say these were grenades?
PHOEBE: The one set did, yes, although our forensics team says no.
SKINNER: I agree with the forensics team, Detective Green. This damage spray is too tightly formed for even a handheld detonation device, and there's no shrapnel embedded in any of the bricks or concrete.
SCULLY: There wasn't any shrapnel embedded in the bodies either, although there was some concrete and glass, which is to be expected. The burn marks were very strange. Not from a bullet or flash torch, less messy than that, but wider and more sporadic than a laser.
DONALD: We wondered if there might be a new weapon on the market. Maybe they were here to test it.
MULDER: [shaking head] No, they would have done that in an abandoned town where no one would have heard the explosions or the screams. They were making a statement by coming here; I just don't know what yet.
[They continue to walk around the area, looking for clues. Mulder, Phoebe and Skinner walk to the alley that Helena and her mother pointed out on the map.]
PHOEBE: Here's the alley, and it certainly turns left as they said it did. And there's the dead-end brick wall.
[Mulder walks up to the wall and places his hands on it, even pushing it a little to see if it will budge. It doesn't.]
MULDER: Pretty darn solid. What's on the other side of this, Phoebe?
PHOEBE: According to the map, just another alleyway. The building owners must have had a fight over traffic conditions back here, who would have right of way and such. It's happened before.
[Mulder just nods and keeps looking for a trick, but he doesn't find anything.]
SKINNER: Agents, let's go back and see if Sumners and Scully have found anything else in the rubble.
[They turn and head back out to the main street. Donald is examining store fronts and possible target trajectories based on his actions by standing in the street and pointing his finger in various directions. Scully has wandered over to some trees and bicycle posts at the corner of Hatton Garden, just beyond the edge of the destruction's path. She sees something at the bottom of a tree trunk and bends over to look at it.]
SCULLY: [picking up a stick and examining it, then yelling to the others] Didn't your report say something about the attackers wielding wooden sticks?
DONALD: Yes, what ho?
SCULLY: [holding the wand out, walking back to the group] Something like this?
[The others look at the wand. Zoom in on Scully's hand and the wand, which is ornately made, carved with runes and polished smooth.]
SKINNER: Agent Mulder, Agent Scully, I think we've just discovered our X-File.
[Fade Out]
[Scene 5]
[Open on a sparse room without much decoration, just a single desk and three chairs. Skinner is sitting behind the desk with an open report file in front of him, deep in thought.]
Text: London Metropolitan Police Department
March 27, 1999
06:09 p.m.
[Michael comes to the door. Skinner looks over at him.]
MICHAEL: Sorry to disturb you, Sir, but you have a visitor.
SKINNER: If it's Jenny, send her in, Detective. Thank you.
MICHAEL: Yeah, be back in a mo'.
[Skinner grunts and watches Michael retreat, then looks down at the file again and closes it. He stares a minute more before Michael returns with a young woman in her mid-20s.]
MICHAEL: Here you go, miss.
JENNY: Thank you.
[Skinner stands and walks around the desk to greet her.]
SKINNER: Thank you, Detective. You may go. Jenny, how are you?
[Michael nods, turns and walks away, leaving them alone.]
JENNY: [smiling] Uncle Walter! [gives him a quick hug] I'm fine; how are you?
SKINNER: I'm well. It's been a few years.
JENNY: Yes, it certainly has. What brings you here? Not that it's not great to see you after all, but I figured if you were coming to see the family, I would have heard in advance. Not get a call this morning from the constabulary.
SKINNER: [gesturing to the chair across the desk for her to sit, then leaning on the edge of the desk] You're right; it was sudden notice. We received a call for help on an assignment and hopped on the first plane over. Some of the details on this case are strange, and it's the reason I had them call you in. [looks out the door] In fact, we're going to need privacy.
[He gives her a pointed look, then gets up and closes the office door. The blinds are already drawn on the windows, so no one can see in. He walks back around and sits behind the desk.]
SKINNER: If you'll do the honors …
[Jenny gives an uncertain, but intrigued look before pulling out a wand.]
JENNY: Muffliato.
[Magic sparks from her wand and settles in a circle around them. She lowers her arm but keeps hold of the wand, waiting with anticipation for Skinner to explain.]
SKINNER: There was an attack in Muggle London a few days ago. Some eyewitnesses claim that the attackers appeared out of nowhere, fired destructive lights from ... sticks in their hands, and then vanished again. Others claim that there were demons in red who came to take the perpetrators away. Still others said it was just a terrorist bombing. What I want to know is what's happening in the Wizarding world that's spilling over to our side.
JENNY: [letting out a long breath, then wringing her hands] Uncle, we're in the middle of a war. A dark wizard, stylizing himself as Lord Voldemort, has risen to some power and has been attacking towns all over Great Britain. Mostly it's been on the Wizarding side, but occasionally his Death Eaters have shown up to cause destruction in Muggle towns.
SKINNER: Why hasn't anyone heard of this sooner?
JENNY: [shrugging] I guess the Aurors have been able to contain it up till now. They are supposed to catch and Obliviate any Muggle who sees something. Clearly, some got away this time. Voldemort has been stepping up the attacks, so their resources have been stretched pretty thin. And we've been doing everything we can to stop them.
SKINNER: We? I didn't think you'd gone into the Auror program.
JENNY: Oh, no, I didn't, but many of my friends' family businesses have been destroyed, and I thought it was about time for me to do something about it. So I joined this anti-Voldemort group called the Order of the Phoenix. We're trying to pinpoint Voldemort's location and take him down.
SKINNER: Why bring this fight onto our side? What about your Statute of Secrecy?
JENNY: [scoffing] Voldemort doesn't care about that. In fact, he hates Muggles, wants to eradicate or enslave all of you. He thinks we witches and wizards are so much better, so why should we hide from a bunch of powerless Muggles.
SKINNER: Why has he come out to us now?
JENNY: Because we've been beating him or at least keeping him in check. He's tried several times to overthrow the Ministry of Magic and we keep thwarting him. He's attacked regular Wizarding citizens, but that never lasts long either, so I think he's finally decided on an easier target, one that's defenceless in its own right and that we'll have to get more involved in to protect.
[Skinner rubs his hand over his upper lip in frustration.]
SKINNER: What are we supposed to do about it? You've got two Muggle police forces on this now. We have a case that needs solving and I can't just sweep everything under the rug. People have lost their lives and their loved ones need a reason why.
JENNY: I'm sorry, Uncle. I don't know what to tell you. I should tell this to the Aurors so they can come back and alter everyone's memories, but somehow I doubt you'd want that.
SKINNER: I'd prefer them not to touch my agents' memories, and justice for the families involved should be served. They have every right to know what's going on.
JENNY: [sternly] Actually, they don't. Just drop the case and I won't tell anyone.
SKINNER: That's a little hard to do now. My agents are nothing but thorough. You'll see.
[A shadow appears outside the door and knocks. It startles Jenny, who starts to put her wand away.]
SKINNER: Take off the silencing spell first, please.
JENNY: [nodding once, flicking her wrist] Finite Incantatum.
[The sparkle of magic fades from around the circle. She nods when it's finished and puts her wand away.]
JENNY: [warningly] Not a word, though, Uncle.
SKINNER: [ignoring her] Come in.
[Mulder opens the door and glances over the two of them.]
MULDER: [smiling a little] Hope I wasn't disturbing anything.
SKINNER: We were just finishing, Agent. What did you find?
MULDER: We've been going over all the reports again and there's definitely a pattern. It seems that most of the witnesses who claim not much happened were all within the first 200 foot radius of the blast, whereas all the wild stories come from bystanders who were farther away. Scully thinks there might have been some hallucinogen or something in the air to cause the disparity. She'll have the toxicology reports back in a day or two from the morgue, but she'd like to get samples from some of the other witnesses in both groups.
SKINNER: Anything else you've found out?
MULDER: I took a closer look at the stick Scully found. A quick lab analysis showed it's made of maple wood and some sinewy substance running down the very middle and finely carved. I faxed sketches of the symbols over to a few friends I know as well as the code breaker teams here and in D.C. to find out if they mean anything. Maybe we can track down the maker or it's some symbol the terrorist group is using.
SKINNER: Good work, Agent Mulder. [glancing at Jenny] See what I mean, Jen? [turning back to Mulder] May I introduce my niece, Jennifer Wilster?
MULDER: [turning to Jenny] Hi! Walter's told me a little bit about your family. I'd always hoped he'd bring me over here to meet you. [holds out his hand in greeting] Sorry it had to be like this the first time.
JENNY: [shaking Mulder's hand] Oh, you must be the bloke who caught our Walter's eye. Mother told me he had a new partner, but I almost didn't believe it; he's so conservative all the time.
MULDER: [smiling shyly] Yeah, most people can't believe it, either.
SKINNER: [getting up] As much as I'd love to sit and chat in the office, perhaps we should continue the reunion over dinner?
JENNY: [grins] Yes, I'd like that. And I know the perfect spot, too. Come on.
MULDER: Sounds great. I'll go get Scully.
[The three file out of the office.]
[Fade Out]
[Scene 6]
[Open in front of a local hotel. Mulder, Scully, and Donald open the front door and move into the modern style building.]
Text: Haven Hotel, Paddington, London
March 28, 1999
11:33 a.m.
[Switch to an upstairs hallway. Mulder, Scully, and Donald walk up to a door and knock. Helena's mother answers the door.]
MOTHER: [surprised] Oh! Hullo. I wasn't expecting to hear back from you so soon.
MULDER: We had some follow-up questions we'd like to ask you and Helena. May we come in?
MOTHER: [opening the door further and standing back] Of course, please.
[The three detectives enter the hotel room decorated in white and blue. Suitcases are about and the rest of the family is getting dressed to go out.]
MOTHER: Carl, children, these are the police officers Helena and I saw the other day. [turning towards the agents] I'm sorry. I don't remember your names.
DONALD: I'm Detective Donald Sumners. This is United States F.B.I. Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who are helping us on this case.
MULDER: Sorry to disrupt your Sunday morning. We were hoping to catch you between church and lunch times.
FATHER: Well you have perfect timing, as we were just preparing for lunch out. Please, come in and have a seat somewhere. I'm Carl Brightsphere and you've already met my wife Margot. These are our three children: Francis, Helena, and Jonathan. Children, say hello.
[There is a quick round of hellos from the children and nods from the adults. Mulder then moves to one of the hotel chairs while Scully sits on the corner of a bed.]
MOTHER: So what brings you back?
MULDER: Well, first we wanted to tell you that we found the alley you were in and there's very much a solid brick wall there separating two halves of the alley. However you escaped it was … quite the miracle.
[Mother and Father sit quite shocked at this confirmation. Helena and the boys only have stoic expressions on their faces, but no surprise.]
OLDER BROTHER: We've always had strange things happen around us.
[Mother turns to stare at her child.]
OLDER BROTHER: [shrugging] It's true, Mum. At least around the three of us. You probably didn't notice it as much.
[Mulder raises his eyebrow at his colleagues before turning back to the family.]
MULDER: That's very interesting We'd love to hear more in a bit, but we first wanted to ask for a sample of your blood. Scully is a medical doctor and had a suspicion that there might have been a gas or other chemical substance released in the air that you and the other witnesses might have inhaled. We'd like your permission to test for it.
FATHER: [nodding, looking a bit worried] Of course, I'd be fine with that. Margot?
MOTHER: [nodding] Sure. It's fine. Are there any papers we should sign?
SCULLY: [lifting her briefcase and opening it] Certainly. There's a waiver and release form giving us permission to run the test and then I'll collect the blood samples.
MOTHER: Okay.
[The parents and Scully go about the business of signing forms and collecting blood from the family, while Mulder turns his attention back to the kids.]
MULDER: So what strange things happened ... Francis, right?
OLDER BROTHER: Yeah, that's me. Things like stuff disappearing from mine and my brother's room and ending up in my sister's.
DONALD: That's called mischievousness.
HELENA: [glaring] I didn't do it!
OLDER BROTHER: Yeah, she's right. Helena was sitting right there with us.
YOUNGER BROTHER: And then there's the time that Helena got really mad about a boy pulling her pigtails on the way home from school, and all the windows in our house started shaking!
OLDER BROTHER: And don't forget when the electricity went on the fritz at the scary point in that horror film. It was one night when Mum and Dad went out on a date and left us alone, just last year.
MOTHER: [blinks] You never told us anything went wrong, Francis.
OLDER BROTHER: [shrugging] Didn't mean to worry you, Mum. Everything was okay by the time you and Dad got home and nothing was broken.
MULDER: But no weird colored lights or explosions or anything like what you saw that day on the street?
YOUNGER BROTHER: [confused] Why?
MULDER: Why what?
YOUNGER BROTHER: Why ask that? She didn't do anything then.
DONALD: Yeah, Agent Mulder, why ask that? [scoffing and mocking] You don't think this little girl is part of the terrorists, do you?
MULDER: [brow wrinkled in thought] No, but I do have an odd hunch it's connected.
SCULLY: [having finished with the last via, looks up] And when Mulder gets hunches, you'd best pay attention to them. They're often more right than you know.
DONALD: That's just a bunch of superstition. I've never-
[An explosion happens at the door, blasting it into the father and knocking him out. Dust and debris obscures the air. The children scream and duck for cover behind the beds. Scully grabs the mother and pushes her against the protected wall, while Donald and Mulder pull their guns and fire out through the doorway. A scream is heard as a bullet lands in flesh.]
BELLATRIX: [angry] Horrid Muggles! Stupefy!
[Red spell light shoots through the room and hits Donald, who is knocked unconscious. Mulder fires again right at Bellatrix, who is prancing through the doorway. She deflects the bullet with her wand easily.]
MULDER: What the hell?
BELLATRIX: Poor little Muggle. Your guns are loud and useless, as are you. Crucio!
[Mulder screams as the curse hits him. Bellatrix cackles as she holds him under.]
SCULLY: [shouting] Mulder!
[Mulder continues to writhe and scream. Scully points her gun at the woman and fires, just as two male figures step into view. Rabastan gets hit in the arm and roars.]
RABASTAN: Fucking filthy bint! Expelliarmus!
[Scully's gun is yanked from her hand by magic and flies through the air, landing on the other side of the room.]
BELLATRIX: Grab the girl! I want to punish the one who dared to get away from me.
[Rodulphus steps toward Helena. Scully and her mother both lunge forward to intercept him, but Rabastan grabs Scully by the hair before she gets far.]
MOTHER: No, not my baby!
RODULPHUS: Out of my way, bitch.
[Rodulphus pushes the mother away, who bangs her head on a table and collapses in pain. Helena and her younger brother scream, clinging to each other, and her older brother crawls in front of both of them to protect them, but he is trembling. Mulder is still screaming and writhing on the floor.]
[Rabastan yanks on Scully's hair, pulling her back towards him. She yells at the pain. He latches his damaged arm around her waist.]
RABASTAN: Oh, no, poppet. You're not going anywhere. I'm gonna make you pay for shooting me.
[Scully's eyes turn wild and she tries to fight him, hitting and kicking, getting in one good swipe to the knee.]
RABASTAN: [yelling] Ah! Stupid bitch!
HARRY: [off screen] Stupefy!
[Red light hits Rabastan, who goes unconscious, releasing Scully and falling to the floor. Harry, Jenny, Ronald and Anthony rush into the room. Bellatrix screams in fury. She releases Mulder from the curse, who lays gasping on the floor, and starts trading hexes with Harry. Various spell lights flash out from wands.]
JENNY: [aiming at Rodulphus] Impedimenta!
RODULPHUS: Protego!
JENNY: [to Ronald and Anthony] Get the family! Expelliarmus!
[Rodulphus dodges the attack.]
BELLATRIX: Ittle bitty Potty here to rescue the fair maiden? Too bad she's mine. Avada Kedavra!
[Green spell light shoots out, and Harry ducks out of the way. Ronald and Anthony rush over to the family members, grabbing them, and Disapparate out.]
HARRY: Langlock!
[A purple spell hits Bellatrix and her mouth closes instantly. She puts her hands to her lips in shock, then her eyes turn to rage as she realizes she can't speak.]
RODULPHUS: Dammit. Confringo!
JENNY: [jumping in front of Harry] Protego!
HARRY: Everte Statum!
[Rodulphus is hit in the chest and goes flying. Harry grabs Scully.]
SCULLY: No, I - I have to see to Mulder and Sumners!
HARRY: Jenny, take him. I'll get these two.
JENNY: But we shouldn't Apparate with a Cruciod -
[Popping sounds can be heard outside in the hallway.]
HARRY: No time!
AUROR: [shouting in the hallway] Drop your wands!
[They both Disapparate with their charges as an Auror team runs into the room, too late.]
[Fade Out]
[Scene 7]
[Open on a dark and dingy parlor with several lounge chairs, a sofa, a couple of round end tables, bookcases along two walls, an open bar, and a huge stone fireplace. A large green, black, and silver tapestry adorns another wall and a plush silver rug covers the middle of the floor.]
Text: 12 Grimmauld Place, London
March 28, 1999
12:02 p.m.
[Ronald and Anthony Apparate in, holding onto their charges, who scream, fight, cry, and are nauseous.]
MOTHER: [fighting to get to her children] No. Please, no, not my babies!
RONALD: [letting go with hands open and up] Hey, take it easy, ma'am. We're not here to harm you. In fact, we might have just saved your lives!
MOTHER: [running over and grabbing her kids away from Anthony] You stay back! No one is going to take my children!
ANTHONY: Really, lady, we don't want your kids.
RONALD: Yeah, we just thought it'd be better to bring you here than to let the Lestranges have another go at you.
[Jenny and Harry Apparate in, bringing the agents.]
JENNY: Damn, Harry, that was intense. [indicating Mulder] This one is going to need help.
SCULLY: [frantic] Let me through; I need to see him!
JENNY: [stepping back] Hey, hey, it's okay. We'll get someone to look over him.
[Scully starts to examine Mulder, checking for a pulse, eye dilation, reflexes, concussion, broken bones, the usual.]
SNAPE: [voice coming from the parlor doorway] Pray tell, what horrible disasters have you idiots run into now?
[Everyone turns to look at Snape, the Order members relieved to see him, the family terrified. Helena screams, backing away as Snape sneers at her.]
HARRY: Nice to see you, too, Severus, but we could really use your help over here. [pointing to Mulder] This one took the Cruciatus curse full on from Bellatrix.
[Snape hisses through his teeth.]
SNAPE: [with fear and outrage] You shouldn't have been engaging her.
HARRY: Sorry to disappoint, but she was already there attacking these people. What else would you have me to do?
SNAPE: Deport yourself with some sense and self-preservation enough to cut your loses?
[The others in the room stare in horror at Snape's callous words, but Harry only chuckles.]
HARRY: You know I can't do that, Severus.
SNAPE: Be it my worst fate, yes, I do know that. [walking over to Mulder] Now let me examine this one.
SCULLY: [standing to block Mulder from Snape] No one's touching him until I get some answers.
SNAPE: Your fear for your colleague is admirable but misplaced, and your protection is completely ineffective, I assure you.
HARRY: We really mean you no harm. Please let Severus help your friend.
SCULLY: He's my partner and I'm not letting you touch him.
SNAPE: [sneering and lifting his wand at her] I know a thousand curses and you have no defence against any of them. Now, step aside!
[Scully only glares harder back at him.]
HARRY: [coming and putting his hand on Snape's wand hand, facing him]: Severus, don't. She's just scared and frightened and you're not helping. You'll catch more flies with honey, you know.
SNAPE: [shifting his gaze to Harry] Honey ruins the alkalinity of lacewings for use in potions. Why would I want that?
HARRY: [chuckling and shaking his head] Only you would deliberately misunderstand a saying. Calm down, Severus. [turning his head to look over his shoulder at Scully] Please, ma'am, let us help your partner.
[Harry pushes on Snape's hand and Snape slowly lowers it. They all wait for her response.]
JENNY: Agent Scully, please. It's okay. Do you want me to get my uncle? I probably should anyway.
SCULLY: [looking at Jenny] Who are you, really?
JENNY: We're a … group of people with special magical abilities who are fighting a very dark force. That woman you were fighting against, and her husband and brother-in-law, is one of the darkest witches of our age.
SCULLY: [disbelieving] Witch?
JENNY: Yeah, I'm one, too, but on the Light side.
[Scully just shakes her head in bafflement and shock.]
ANTHONY: Look, this is wasting time. If your uncle can help, Jenny, just go get him before we close the Apparition wards.
JENNY: [nodding] I suppose you're right. Be right back.
[She moves her wand to waist level and spins, blinking out of existence. Scully squeeks. Most of the family gasps.]
MULDER: Demons and witches …
MOTHER: [still frightened] Who are you? Why are we here? [looking around and suddenly panicking] Where is my husband!
RONALD: Calm down, ma'am. We're all friends here. You were being attacked by some very bad people. We were just coming to talk with you. We think your daughter may be a witch and that's why Bellatrix wanted her. She's about ten, right?
MOTHER: [startled] Yes, she's ten, but a witch? [getting upset] She's no such evil thing!
HARRY: Most witches and wizards are not evil. Just the ones we've been fighting, a very small handful. [squatting down to Helena's eye level and addressing her] You made a brick wall disappear to escape, didn't you?
[Helena's eyes widened and she nodded once in confirmation.]
HARRY: That's accidental magic. It happens when we're young until we go to school to learn to control it. You should be getting a Hogwarts letter next year inviting you to come to the school.
MOTHER: School?
RONALD: Yeah, we've all gone there. [looking at Helena] You'll love it, I'm sure. It's bloody fantastic!
SNAPE: Language, Mr. Weasley.
RONALD: [rolling his eyes] Mr. Tall, Dark and Scary over there is one of our professors.
MOTHER: [fearful] You're a teacher?
SNAPE: Unfortunately.
[Jenny Apparates back, holding onto Skinner, who doesn't seem fazed by the travel.]
JENNY: Okay, here's your boss.
SKINNER: Agent Scully, Agent Mulder, are you alright?
SCULLY: I'm a bit shaken up, but Mulder was hit with some … thing that was torturing him. Sir, what's going on?
SKINNER: Welcome to the Wizarding world, Agents. [turning to Jenny] Who did you say could help Mulder?
JENNY: [nodding her head in Snape's direction] Severus Snape here. He's a potions master but also has extensive knowledge of dark curses and their counter-curses.
SKINNER: [to Snape] Will you help him?
SNAPE: [smirking] If I'm allowed …
SKINNER: Agent Scully, stand down. Let him work.
[Scully looks fearful but finally steps away to Mulder's side. Snape takes a step toward him, raises his wand and runs a diagnostic spell over him.]
SNAPE: Yes, just the lingering aftereffects of the Cruciatus. [pulling out a vial from his robes] Ingest this potion to help ease the pain specific to this curse.
[He reaches forward to pour it down Mulder's throat.]
SCULLY: NO! [stopping him] What is that?
SNAPE: If you interfere, he could suffer massive nerve damage. Do you wish such a deformity upon your partner?
[Scully stares at him for long seconds.]
SCULLY: [relenting and backing away] No.
SNAPE: Good. [to Mulder] Drink this.
[Together they get the potion down Mulder's throat. Soon Mulder is sitting up and relaxing in less pain.]
MULDER: Thanks. What about Sumners?
SNAPE: Who?
SKINNER: [seeing Donald on the floor] Why is he unconscious?
HARRY: Bellatrix must have hit him with a stunner. We should revive him.
SKINNER: Actually, leave him like that. It'll be easier to clear his mind later the less he sees now.
JENNY: That's true.
MOTHER: What about my husband? He was hit, too.
SKINNER: [looking around] Where is he?
HARRY: [remembering] He must be back in the hotel. We didn't grab him on the way out. Aurors showed up and I didn't want to have to deal with them.
SKINNER: So he's probably been taken to the Ministry.
HARRY: Yeah. I'll get Kingsley Shacklebolt to retrieve him.
[Harry leaves the room.]
SCULLY: Sir, I really don't understand any of this.
JENNY: You're not supposed to, Dana. We try to keep our magic secret, but in cases like this, it sometimes spills over.
MULDER: But Walter isn't magical. I would know, wouldn't I? [looks at Skinner questioningly and with a trace of hurt]
SKINNER: No, I'm not, and no, you were never told. [looks placatingly at Mulder] I'm sorry. The only reason I was told was because my niece here is magical, and the American Wizarding population thought it might be a good idea to have an F.B.I. Assistant Director in the know and could cover for things like this. [turning pointedly to Jenny] They didn't count on a paranormal investigation team.
JENNY: [shrugging] What's done is done.
[Harry comes back into the room, followed by a black man in red Auror robes.]
HARRY: Here, I found Kingsley.
MULDER: [muttering] ... a demon in red …
KINGSLEY: [going over to the mother] Mrs. Brightsphere, so sorry we've had to meet under such conditions. I'm Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, a type of law enforcement officer, and I'll be helping you with your family's transition. We have your husband revived and healed back at Auror Headquarters and we need to get you all to the Muggleborn Registration Office.
MOTHER: I'm sorry, the what?
KINGSLEY: It appears your daughter is magical. Since you and your husband are not, she is what we typically refer to as a Muggleborn, the same as Jenny here. [indicates Jenny, who smiles in assurance] Muggleborns are usually registered in the Ministry for Magic when they receive their Hogwarts letters for school, but in this case we'd like to do that early. After that, I can take you on a tour of Wizarding London. Do you consent to come with me?
[The mother is unsure of what to do. She looks over at Jenny.]
JENNY: It's alright. You'll be astounded at the things magic can do, and you can trust Kingsley. He's part of our group. You should definitely go. And they'll get you protected from Bellatrix and her gang.
SKINNER: [adding one more assurance] You should go and get Helena registered as a witch. I suspected as much, so I told Jenny to come talk to you.
JENNY: Which is how we wound up at the hotel just as you were being attacked. Sorry we weren't there sooner.
MOTHER: [relaxing a little] That's alright. You were there to save us, though. Okay, we'll go.
KINGSLEY: Good. We'll just walk over there from here. It's not far and less strenuous for your family than Floo or Apparition.
[Kingsley and the family leave the parlor and can be heard going out the front door. Everyone else turns attention back to Skinner.]
MULDER: So what do we do now, Sir?
JENNY: Nothing. This is not your fight.
HARRY: Jenny! How can you say that? They stumbled right into the middle of this!
MULDER: And we can fight, help you take down these guys. It's what we do.
SKINNER: [shaking his head in agreement with Jenny] No, Mulder, you can't. You don't have the magic to do so. Neither do I.
SCULLY: But, Sir, this … magic - [under her breath] I can't believe I just said that - [returning to normal volume] it can't be the only way to fight. And if it's spilling over into our world, we should know about it.
HARRY: Actually, we've been working on a plan to stop that.
[Skinner, Mulder and Scully turn their focus to Harry.]
HARRY: [tilting his head toward Snape] Severus has been working on a potion to permanently Confound the Death Eaters into leaving the Muggle world alone.
SCULLY: The who?
HARRY: [grinning a little] Sorry, I guess you don't know.
SKINNER: That would be this dark wizard and his followers?
HARRY: [slightly confused] Yeah. How did you - [dawning understanding] ah, from Jenny.
SKINNER: [nodding head] Yes. What method of distribution will you use?
SNAPE: It's an aerial mist. We will need to provoke an attack and then release it into the air for inhalation. After that a confusion charm will be placed on them to forget the Muggle world even exists.
MULDER: Sounds good.
SKINNER: Sounds risky.
SCULLY: Sounds complicated. How can you be sure that it will be inhaled by the right people or in the correct dosage? What if the charm doesn't work on all of them?
SNAPE: [with increasing respect for the agents] I have factored those details into the potion. Even the smallest amount will affect memory recall once the spell is cast. There is a slight chance that someone could throw off the effects, but then they will be made outcast by the others for their ridiculous notions. [sneering] The group mentality will prevail as it has always done.
MULDER: Yeah, peer pressure and group dynamics can be powerful psychological tools, especially mixed with mass hysteria and public propaganda during warfare. So can we help?
[The wizards and witches stare in disbelief at Mulder. Scully and Skinner take it in stride.]
RONALD: They seem like decent sorts. Help us plan, yeah?
HARRY: [shrugging] Sure, why not.
[Fade Out]
[Scene 8]
[Open on the same alley as before, which is deserted and the light is fading into twilight.]
Text: Alley behind Clerkenwell Road, London
March 30, 1999
06:45 p.m.
[Harry, Anthony, Jenny, Ronald, Skinner, Mulder, and Scully walk into the alley and examine it from all angles.]
HARRY: [pointing] So Anthony and I will be here near the brick wall. Jenny, you and Mulder can take that area to the right. Ron, you can take the other agents around the back there. Use disillusionment charms for both groups.
SKINNER: You sure this Bellatrix woman is going to take the bait?
HARRY: [snorting] We bested her last time and she has too much pride to live that down. She'll come.
RONALD: Yeah, she's got to be pretty pissed. And any chance to take down Harry, too …
SCULLY: Why is that? You can't be any older than twenty.
RONALD: I just turned 19; Harry's 18.
SCULLY: [staring at them in shock] But you're too young ...
ANTHONY: No time for chit-chat. She'll be here any minute.
[Everyone nods and takes up positions. Ronald and Jenny cast the disillusionment charm on themselves and the F.B.I. agents, and they all hide, except Harry and Anthony.]
[One minute later, popping noises sound throughout the alley, and Bellatrix and many Death Eaters Apparate onto the spot.]
HARRY: [leaning against the brick wall with his wand held up] Hello, Bella. [mocking] Nice to see your arrogant face around again.
BELLATRIX: Potter, I'm not even going to let you survive to crawl back to Mummy and Daddy, [giggling in a high voice] not that it would do you any good as they're already dead.
HARRY: [bristling] We'll see, Bella.
[Harry twists his wand. Mulder, Skinner and Scully fire altered guns into the Death Eaters. The bullets explode in the air, and mist erupts around them. The Death Eaters jump at the sound, drawing their wands and turning, some casting curses immediately.]
JENNY AND RONALD AND ANTHONY: Protego!
[Jenny and Ronald grab the F.B.I. agents and Disapparate, leaving Harry and Anthony watching as the Death Eaters cough at the smoke.]
HARRY: Confundo Obliviatum.
[He makes an infinity symbol in the air, encompassing his full view of the Death Eaters.]
BELLATRIX: [furious] Protego! Crucio!
[Harry and Anthony duck out of the way as the Confundus spell takes hold of the Death Eaters, including Bellatrix. Their eyes gloss over and they stumble around.]
HARRY: [in a chanting voice] There are no Muggles. Only squibs with no magic.
DEATH EATERS: [reciting] There are no Muggles. Only squibs with no magic.
HARRY: They are poor and lonely squibs. There's no reason to attack them.
DEATH EATERS: They are poor and lonely squibs. There's no reason to attack them.
HARRY: There is no Muggle world. There's no reason to come here.
DEATH EATERS: There is no Muggle world. There is no reason to come here.
[Popping sounds are again heard. A squadron of Aurors led by Kingsley come to arrest the Death Eaters, rounding them all up.]
KINGSLEY: Excellent work, Harry. This will put quite a dent in Voldemort's plans.
HARRY: Thank you, Sir. It will indeed.
[They nod to each other and Harry and Anthony Disapparate, leaving the Aurors to clean up the mess.]
[Fade Out]
[Scene 9]
[Open back on Order HQ. F.B.I. team and Snape are there waiting.]
Text: 12 Grimmauld Place, London
March 30, 1999
07:08 p.m.
[Harry and Anthony Apparate in.]
SNAPE: All go according to plan?
HARRY: Right as rain.
SKINNER: So that's it? Did your Aurors come in and arrest them all?
HARRY: Yes. They're all being taken to the Ministry now.
SCULLY: [confused] Then what was the point of changing their memories?
SNAPE: In case they escape imprisonment again, they will have no need to attack your world. This was an excellent field test of my potion. We will be deploying it with regularity in upcoming battles.
ANTHONY: We'll be deliberately drawing 'em out over the next few months until there's none left but He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
HARRY: [grinning] And Old Voldy won't know what's hit them. It's brilliant!
MULDER: Do you wish us to help again?
HARRY: Nah, we got that covered. Thanks. In fact …
HARRY AND SNAPE: [at Mulder and Scully] Obliviate!
ANTHONY: [at Skinner] Locomotor Mortis.
[Mulder and Scully are hit with the memory charm and their eyes go unfocused. Skinner's legs lock and he can't move. Two more pops sound, as Kingsley and Jenny Apparate in.]
SKINNER: [struggling with his legs] Hey, what's the meaning of this!
HARRY: Sorry, we'll release you in a minute.
SNAPE: [to the agents] You will remember none of the Wizarding world. Magic only exists in books and fairy tales. Your case investigation leads to a small rebel group acting out of a back cupboard in Scotland with special firearms and a localized hallucinogen and is being handled locally there. You will think nothing further of this.
SKINNER: Stop it! You can't do this to them.
KINGSLEY: Unfortunately we can and we must. It's statute law, as I'm sure you're aware. You are given dispensation to have knowledge of our world; they are not.
SKINNER: But they won't harm you. All they want is the truth.
KINGSLEY: I'm sorry. Although you may trust your two agents, we cannot trust that this information will not be spilled or discovered from their reports. As we speak I have teams altering the documents and evidence to erase the magical from them. You will take your agents and go back to America with them none the wiser.
[Skinner looks murderous.]
JENNY: [pleading] Uncle, this is really for the best. You knew you could never tell Mulder even though you're together; this is just going back to that.
[Skinner and Jenny lock eyes for an intense minute, with Kingsley, Snape and Harry holding their breaths.]
SKINNER: [lowering his eyes] Alright, dammit. [sighs] I understand the rules. But I don't have to like them.
JENNY: No one said that you did. Thank you.
SKINNER: Just keep these Death Eaters off our side.
HARRY: [nodding] Will do. Anyway, it's time for you to go back. Jenny?
JENNY: I'll take my uncle. You take the other two.
ANTHONY: [to Skinner] Finite Incantatum.
[Skinner is released from the leg-locking curse and Jenny steps up to him, taking hold of his arm. Harry does the same with Mulder and Scully, who are still spaced out. They Disapparate.]
KINGSLEY: Do you think we should have Confunded Assistant Director Skinner as well?
SNAPE: [with a twinkle in his eye and a slight smirk] No worries, Shacklebolt. Potter's already on it.
[They share a cackle and go about their day.]
[Fade Out]
Text: The Truth Is Out There
[Closing Credits]
Music: X-Files and Harry Potter
Title: Ye Olde Magick
Written by: StarDuchess
Read by: SK_Lee
Produced by: Pod-Together Challenge
Copyright 2013