President Seraphina Picquery lived in a state of constant frustration following the capture of Gellert Grindelwald. Her congress was divided and she could not get them to vote on the very important matter of their unwanted guest in the dungeons. Endless hours of persuasion toward the harshest sentence for the man had left her with little to show for. Many were in her favor, but just as many believed it unlawful since he was not a citizen of the United States. These discussions had been going on for months, it was already May and they had apprehended Grindelwald in December.
That he was apprehended had done little to quell the fears of the wizarding community she ruled under. The number of times she heard someone say "Madam President," followed by something she had to attend to, had tripled from the time before they'd taken Grindelwald into custody. His ominous warning that they could not contain him had resonated with many of her Aurors, including her newly appointed department head. Everyone was agitated and on their guard as their inner sanctum hosted a monster of a man.
Seraphina shook her head as she entered her office and felt the presence that had been following her stop at the door. The one thing that had frustrated her most was the increased level of security surrounding her at all times. She always had at least one body guard with her constantly, which did nothing to quell her nerves over the Grindelwald situation. She was a witch in her own right. Anyone would tell you that the President had to be a very powerful witch or wizard to gain the position. They should be guarding the prisoner to make sure he stayed put, not making sure their perfectly capable President was safe.
Sitting in her office, Seraphina took a moment to relax and almost enjoy the reprieve she got from her babysitter. She knew why it was necessary, it gave the impression of everything being under control, the impression of security presence, but it certainly didn't do it for her.
A knock came to her door, accompanied by a quiet "Madam President" from her current Auror attendant. She again sighed, looking at her clock and gathering her papers. It was time for her almost weekly interrogation of Grindelwald. It was a battle of wits, both of them being talented at both Legillimens and Occlumancy. The man was so good at Occlumancy that not even Queenie Goldstein, MACUSA's resident mind-reader, could get through. But as President, Seraphina felt she had to try.
Her increase in Auror presence was evident the entire way down to the holding block. President Picquery kept a sharp eye on her Auror department after the incident with Graves took place and could name each Auror she passed. It did little to ease her since she knew nothing they did would stop Gellert Grindelwald forever. Not unless she got approval from her congress to sentence him to death, which wasn't apt to happen soon.
When they reached the interrogation room, President Picquery took her seat. She expected the man to be brought in promptly, but her security detail was taking longer than usual. There was her shadow behind her, plus two additional Aurors at the door. She heard shouting outside the door, which prompted her to leap into action.
The President showed her Auror shadow why she was elected to the position as she quickly and efficiently blasted the door open and confronted the other Aurors. They were in some kind of shouting match where both were in agreement about the outcome, but terrified by the subject.
"Where is the prisoner?" she asked in a low, composed voice. Inside, she was shaking. Something was wrong, her gut told her so.
"He was gone when we reached his cell, Madam President," the shorter one, Francis, replied. As she glared at him, he cringed. A small crowd of other Aurors on the level gathered around the small altercation.
"And you didn't alert me immediately? Nobody was watching the security down here?" she demanded. The other Auror, Steven, shied away.
"Security footage didn't catch anything… he was there one moment and gone the next…" the man admitted. "It only just happened, not ten minutes ago… Madam President…"
"That doesn't answer why I was not alerted," President Picquery let her underlings know, her voice menacing with how calm it was. She could tell that the Aurors watching were panicking. They'd fallen into a false sense of security. She'd known better. "I will be speaking with your direct superior about this matter of oversight. Now sweep the building! I want him found!"
All of the preparation, the security measures she'd known were futile, all of the safeguards they'd put in place had been for nothing. The whole of the MACUSA building was searched. Yet the man was not found, evidently escaped from under their noses. The false sense of security her Aurors had established was shattered in the escape of Gellert Grindelwald. All they could do was hope the man would move along to his next target and leave Magical America alone.
A/N Ravenclaw House (extra HoH entry) Themed - Prompt Auror - 855 words