Prologue

The skies overhead shuddered and water poured down. The thick, seemingly impenetrable grey clouds hovered like hungry giants over the silent city. The water came down in sheets, battering the windows of the metropolis' buildings and creating small rivers in the empty streets outside. In a dark, back alley of London, three figures in strange robes stood over a fourth, who was bound by seemingly invisible ropes to a wooden chair.

"That's… That's all I know…" the man in the chair coughed, a trickle of blood running down the side of his mouth. One of the three figures, a young man of about twenty was crouching, looking up into the prisoner's face.

"The serum's still going strong." He announced, speaking in an American accent. He stood up and ran his hand through his brown hair. His brown eyes glanced at his companions. "Too strong, in fact. How strong did you make it? He's hemorrhaging."

"He's useless. Didn't tell us anything we didn't already know." The tallest of the three figures stated in a thick Scottish accent, ignoring the question. His short black hair revealed an angry looking face with faded blue eyes and a bushy black beard.

"So what do we do with him then?" the third figure asked in a strong Australian accent as she shook her mid-length black hair out of her face, revealing a set of piercing green eyes. She cocked an eyebrow as she looked at the prisoner.

"What we do with the rest of them." The Scottish man commanded, turning away walking down the alley.

Without a second thought, the young man stood up, pulled a rather narrow piece of wood from inside his robes, and pointed it at the man in the chair.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

There was a flash of green light and the prisoner fell onto his back, rolling out of the chair as if magically unbound. His unmistakably dead form lay on its side, eyes empty.

"Another dead lead… Literally, in this case." The young woman said, as the pair put cigarettes to their mouths in unison. The young man lit his companion's cigarette before lighting his own. He took a deep drag, letting the acrid smoke fill his lungs before answering.

"At least another of these low-life bastards is gone." His voice was slightly strained due to the smoke in his lungs. He slowly exhaled.

"Shit, Seda's already leaving. Let's go." The young woman tilted her head in the direction of the third member of their party.

...

Chapter 1: A New Turn of Events

Harry Potter walked into his office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It was close to the summer the year after the Second Wizarding War against Voldemort had drawn to a close. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement had been extremely busy, however. Though most of the Death Eaters had been imprisoned, there were still many alive, and who were now leaderless due to the fall of Voldemort. The department was tracking down the surviving Death Eaters. The aim was to get them to reveal locations of dark objects hidden away, or any information on the Death Eater organization that could lead to its total eradication (Harry had a passing thought of Tom Riddle's Diary). If they co-operated, their sentences would be much lighter. If they didn't, well… They could join their comrades in the newly repurposed Azkaban.

Though the goals were rather clear, they were becoming increasingly difficult to reach, and new problems had already arisen. The remaining Death Eaters were slowly being killed off. New bodies were turning up every week in countries around the world. In the past two weeks alone, five Death Eater bodies had been uncovered in Britain itself. As though his thoughts were being read, a red-haired, freckled young man stepped into Harry's office and dropped a folder with several pieces of parchment in it onto his desk.

"Another one… Last night…" Ron Weaslely sighed, dropping down in one of the spare chairs in the office.

"What?" Harry asked, exasperatedly, pressing his thumb and index finger together on the bridge of his nose. "Where now?"

"Where else? … London."

"What? Can't be… How-?" Harry began, but Ron simply pointed at the folder on his desk. Harry opened it, and began reading through the details. After several minutes, he suddenly shoved the file off of his desk in anger. The papers fell messily onto the floor.

"Damn!" Harry shouted to the ceiling, causing Ron to jump. Harry rubbed his forehead. "Why is this happening? Who's doing this? Do we have any ideas at all?"

"No... I asked around… They've never seen anything like this before."

"Great…" Harry mumbled. "Well, who were we going to ask next? Might as well try getting to him before they… whoever they are… get to him."

"You remember Jonathan Vorenus?" Ron asked.

"Voldemort's main man in Italy, right?" Harry said.

"Yes." Ron stated, still shifting slightly in discomfort over Voldemort's name being spoken. "Well he's in London now. We managed to contact him and move him here. Thought it'd be safer. Turns out it's not, what with-" Ron was saying.

"Look, just tell me what he wants." Harry sighed again.

"He's willing to hand over a few dark objects. Wants to give himself up." Ron stated. "Hopes he'll be treated a bit more leniently."

"Alright. I do not want to take chances with this one. We need a full security detail. Six other aurors besides us, at least… What do you think would be the best spot for a meeting?"

"He's paranoid. Probably already put countless charms on his apartment. And we could have sentries stationed everywhere. That'd be the best bet. There's no way anyone could curse him."

"Let's do that then."

"A galleon says you're off center." Maura Keelin transmitted through the headset Camden Dunham was wearing. He smiled as stood on the roof of a London apartment building, back pressed against the maintenance access hut. In his hands, he held a black, scoped rifle.

"I'll take that bet. Be ready to pay up, girl. Oh, I almost forgot. The U.S. is playing Scotland right now. I'll throw down another galleon on Conklin to come through as keeper. Oh, and Ramsey won't make more than 5 goals. You up for that one Colby?"

"Just concentrate on what you have to do," Colby Seda's thick Scottish accent came through the headset. "Don't loose focus."

"Spoilsport" Maura giggled.

"Are you sure you cast the Disillusionment Charm correctly?" Colby asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure. Though I'd much rather have hidden on one of the floors and had a silenced rifle. Or at least be able to cast 'silencio' on this one." Camden grumbled.

"Just concentrate."

"Seda… You know I'm the best at this." Camden stated, rather arrogantly. "Find someone who's a better sniper than me, and I'll listen."

"You're also human." Seda growled. "Humans make mistakes. You get cocky and it'll bite you in the ass. Make sure your position is secure."

"What the fuck ever." Camden stated, smirking at the London skyline as the sun began to set behind the Heron Tower.

"Besides." Seda went on. "There's no point in silencing your gun. They're going to have ears everywhere." Colby transmitted.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter if the Ministry goons hear it. Our target's gonna be dead and we'll be gone by then." Camden yawned.

"These ones are not just some paper pushers who wouldn't know a real curse from the charm they use to scratch their own arse." Colby stated. "They've started bringing out their aurors. They're after the Death Eaters as well. Except their method is a bit more… lax than ours."

"Careful, movement in the apartment building. They just came through the fireplace." Maura suddenly stated, watching the apartment building across from Camden's location from a hidden area. Camden immediately tensed up as he set his mind to his task.

"Tell me when our friend comes through." Camden stated, putting a cigarette to his lips and lighting it. "Watch the roof access well, eh Seda? Make sure none come up, since you seem so concerned with that."

"I swear, I'm going to throttle you when this is over." Colby growled over the radio.

"Okay, there's our man." Maura transmitted. "He's with a few more aurors and- holy hell…"

"What?" Camden asked, curious.

"Harry Potter… And… And Ronald Weasely! That makes it risky. Make sure you hit the right person, eh?" Maura said playfully. "Remember, you'll only have a few seconds once you step away from the wall." Camden popped his neck. He went over the motion in his head. Step out with his left foot, the window will be in view, aim, fire, back to the wall.

"Okay." Morrgian's voice became serious. "Get ready. He's standing near the dining table. You'll have a shot in three… two… one… GO."

It all happened at once. As Camden stepped away from the wall and brought his rifle up, the roof access shack in the target's apartment building swung open, and an awestruck auror noticed Camden's glimmering, disillusioned figure. Camden had forgotten to cast a protective charm on the door. There was nothing else for it. As the wizard reached for his wand, Camden put the rifle's scope to his eye, found the target, and fired.

*BLAM*

The death eater's floor to ceiling glass window shattered and his head snapped back as the 7.62 round dug into the bridge of his nose, blood spurting from the gaping hole in his face as his body crumpled to the floor. Then, in one motion, Camden swung the rifle onto his back and tore off. He felt a stunning spell from the auror fly past him, missing the back of his head by inches. He leapt across a small gap to an adjacent apartment building and kicked the roof access door open.

"Shit!" Camden yelled into his headset as he half ran, half leapt down the stairs of the 25-story building. "Shit, shit, shit…"

"You stupid little cunt!" Seda's angry voice came through the headset. "I fucking warned you not to get cocky!"

"I- I got-" Camden sounded dumbstruck as he tried to keep his mind on his escape.

"Camden! They saw you jump. Their heading to the building you're in right now!" Maura's voice cut over Camden's stammering.

"Shit. Tell me when they get to the entrance." Camden answered, his voice panicked as he continued his descent. The staircase seemed to never end, just as he was descending to the second floor, his radio headset crackled to life again.

"They're at the entrance! Do not go through the bottom floor!" Maura yelled. Camden found himself outside the door of the second floor, when the door below him swung open. Camden caught sight of a flash of red hair.

"You! Don't move!" A voice yelled. Camden had no intention of obeying as he yanked open the door to the second floor and took off, sprinting down the hallway.

"Camden! They climbed the fire ladder! They're on the second floor too!" Maura yelled through the radio. Up ahead, Camden saw a junction in the hall. He heard voices yelling from both sides. There was no way out except for the window in the wall of the junction.

"Hope I don't land on anyone." Camden thought as he sprinted full force towards the window. Behind him, he heard Ron Weasley burst onto the floor and give chase.

"You've got nowhere to go! We've got the hallways-" Ron's celebratory statement was cut short as he watched his quarry literally dive through the window, shattering it and sending glass shards everywhere.

Camden landed hard on the pavement in the narrow alley outside, but there was no time to waste. He painfully picked himself up and headed for the main streets. He slung his rifle off of his shoulder and dropped it on the ground. It was his pride and joy, but would cause too much of a commotion in the people-choked main streets, especially in London. The fact that he was in black tactical clothes didn't help, but he had no time to adjust for this drawback. He hastily cast the counter to the Disillusionment Charm, as that would simply cause more panic.

"I'm going out of reception range. I'll see if I can't meet up with you at the safehouse!" Camden yelled into his headset, before tearing it off as well and tossing it aside. He emerged from the alley onto a bustling street and didn't pause, sprinting across the city, pushing people aside, as he saw police men give chase.

"Not good." Camden thought, as people screamed and gasped. He pushed his way through the crowds, taking random lefts and rights, trying to shake his pursuers, but to no avail. He was in good shape, but after sprinting this whole time, he was starting to get tired, and he was vastly outnumbered. They'd catch him eventually. The thought barely had time to leave his mind before he stepped off of the sidewalk, attempting to cross a street. This was yet another in a series of mistakes. A black sedan slammed into him, sending him rolling onto the windshield, cracking it, before falling painfully to the pavement. Camden had failed to check for traffic before stepping into the street. The hysterical driver leaped out of the car, screaming.

"Oh my god! Are you alright? I'm sorry!" The driver screamed. "Why did you jump out like that?"

"God dammit." Camden coughed, spitting blood out of his mouth as he lay on the ground, pain coursing through his body.

"He'll be alright, miss." A tired voice stated. Camden found himself looking up into the faces of several aurors, including the red-haired one.

"Call our…" He looked around at the crowd of muggles that had gathered, "almubance." He stated, rather awkwardly.

"Ambulance." Another auror corrected him.

"Right, that." Ron said, turning slightly pink. "Oh, someone go tell Harry that we got him."

"This… sucks…" Camden managed to mumble before he blacked out.

...

"I'm going out of reception range. I'll see if I can't meet up with you at the safehouse!" Camden's voice came through the transmitter before Maura heard the unmistakable sound of the line going dead.

"DAMN." Colby growled. "He's gonna get pinched."

"What?" Maura transmitted. She was set up in an empty apartment, a hunter's scope set up at a window that she had been using to watch the aurors chase Camden. "Can't we go help him?"

"Later, they're bound to be after us as well." Colby said. "Go, now."

"What about you?" Maura asked. On the other end of the line, she suddenly heard a commotion followed by an unrecognizable voice.

"You! free-"

"Stupefy!" Colby's voice drowned the other man out, and Maura heard a light thud on the other end of the line.

"I'll be fine. Just go! Ditch your headset!" Cobly told her. Maura nodded to herself before ripping the radio away and tossing it aside. She unzipped her black tactical jacket and pants, and slid them off, along with the rest of her clothes down to her underwear. From a backpack lying nearby, she donned a pair of jeans and a black zip-up hooded sweatshirt. After tossing her combat boots and the hunter scope to the pile, she took out a thin piece of wood from her inside right pocket and pointed it at the gear.

"Evanesco." She mumbled, causing the entire pile to vanish into thin air. She stowed the strange piece of wood in her side pocket. Then, making sure her pistol and knife were hidden under her clothes, she made her way out of the apartment and the building, eventually ending up in the street outside. She slipped in with the crowds. Her mind was buzzing with what had occurred and she desperately tried to make sense of what was going on.

Sirens could be heard somewhere in the distance, but Maura ignored them, continuing on her way, attempting to look as inconspicuous as possible. Her mind was currently remembering the training she had received on how to escape safely when a mission had been compromised. Her mind finally settled and she remembered the process for extraction. She eventually paused near a small pastry shop and stepped inside. The cool air helped calm her down some. She found a corner and leaned against the wall, pulling out her cellular phone and putting it to her ear. She briefly pressed and held the number '2' on the keypad, waiting until the auto-dial feature did its job, then held it to her ear. Her hear beat in her eardrums as she waited for someone to answer.

"Hey, Mom? I've got a problem." She stated finally, her eyes looking around for any unwanted attention she might be garnering.

"Keelin? What's wrong?" A male voice answered into her ear.

"I need a ride home. Where can you pick me up?" She stated the coded message, her eyes closed to help her focus. There was a short pause on the other end of the line.

"Paddington Station's the closest one. The sole of an old, Keane leather boot in the bottom of the trash bin outside of Starbucks Coffee."

"Okay, thanks, Mom." Maura said into the phone. "I love you."

Immediately, she stepped out of the store as she closed her phone, and set off in the direction of the nearest underground station. She had been walking for several minutes, when she rounded a corner and saw several men and women gathered around the entrance to a police station. Her muscles tightened under he clothes as she walked towards them, trying to keep calm.

As she came closer, she recognized the faces of two of the men. It was none other than Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, two of the aurors who had been involved in the previous altercation. They were speaking with several muggle policemen. As Maura walked by, she overheard part of their conversation.

"-the suspect in custody." One of the police men was telling Harry. "That was one hell of a chase he led us on."

"When do we go ask some questions?" Ronald asked.

"Once he wakes up. The chief has given you clearance for a short interrogation. Keep in mind, we're not used to working with Interpol."

"This will be over soon, we guarantee it." Harry told him. "We'll hand him over to you to deal with the charges. He is going to be in serious trouble for that rifle, isn't he?"

"And the knife." Another policeman added.

Maura walked on, but she knew immediately what that meant. Camden's actions had gotten him captured. As she continued her walk, she began to run through plans in her head. She turned the corner around the police station and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes, trying to figure out some way to get Camden out of auror custody.

Every plan she attempted to form in her head seemed to fall apart due to several factors, whether it was being seen, being stunned, or even worse, being captured. Her musings were interrupted as several police cars drove by, and through the windows, she could see riot police sitting inside. Finally, her mind cleared as a plan formed in her head.

She glanced around the corner, watching the spot where Harry and Ronald had been previously. They were gone, inside the station interrogating Camden, no doubt. The cars carrying the riot police had stopped and its occupants had gotten out.

It took Maura several seconds to work up the courage as she watched one of the riot officers exit the police car and walk up to the others milling about the outside of the station. Though her intended location was the inside of the police station, her eyes were focused on several small, canister-shaped objects with small handles and pins in the utility belt of the riot officer. As she closed the distance between her and the police, her hand tightly gripped the small piece of wood inside of her sweatshirt pocket.

...

"Thank you." Harry Potter stated as one of the muggle police men led him into a back storage room with a single table, on which a large metal case and several seemingly random objects were lying.

"Take your time," The officer said. "We'll let you know when the suspect wakes up completely."

"Thank you," Harry repeated as the officer left and he closed the door behind him. He glanced at Ron.

"Hermione's on her way here." Ron told him.

"Good," Harry stated, walking up to the desk. He reached out and picked up a silver lighter, before tossing it back down.

"What's that?" Ron asked.

"It's a muggle object. Creates a small flame." Harry told him, glancing over the other objects they had confiscated from their suspect. "Not much else here." Harry stated. "A pack of cigarettes, a bandana, and a… a phone…" Harry paused.

"Wait, that's a fellytone?"

"Telephone," Harry corrected him.

"But I thought they were bigger and connected to a line?"

"Cellular phones, Ron." Harry stated, slightly annoyed. "Your girlfriend's an expert on Muggle stuff, and you don't know what this is?" He held up the little device.

"Not… really." Ron admitted.

"Okay." Harry said. "It's a smaller version of a telephone. They use it to make calls. Except… These usually have the last numbers dialed." Harry looked down and attempted to use the unlocking feature while Ron watched him with rapt interest. The screen showed a keypad and four white boxes. "Passworded. Figures." Harry mumbled out loud. He held the phone out in his hand, then reached for his wand. He brought the tip up and tapped the black cellular phone with it.

Almost immediately, the phone burst into flame, singing Harry's hand and he gave a gasp of surprise. His fingers released their grip and the phone fell to the floor, still burning.

"Bloody hell." Ron cursed, pointing his wand at the phone on the floor. A small jet of water came out of his wand, pouring all over the small device. The two aurors briefly checked the hallway outside to see if they had roused any suspicion, then glanced back at the now twisted and half-melted remains of the phone.

"Well, between Ramsey getting stupefied, and the charm on the phone," Harry grunted, flexing his fingers to try to get rid of the lingering burning sensation. "I'd say they know how to use magic."

"This is stupid." Ron stated. "How come we don't just go get some veritaserum or something?"

"We need to figure out the charges first, Ron." Harry said. "Besides, we need to give him the option first. It's illegal to force just anyone to drink it any time we need some questions answered."

"It'd work though…" Ron mumbled, "that's all… Or get a Legilimens."

Harry carefully picked up the now destroyed cellular phone and placed it back on the table. He turned to the case and carefully undid the clasps. He slowly opened the top.

"Hm… Well, we can at least get him on breaking muggle laws." Harry stated. "Seriously breaking muggle laws. Take a look at this, Ron."

Ron walked up and glanced inside the case. Among the headset and accessories in the case, inside was the rifle they had confiscated as well as a knife with a black, four-inch blade.

"Whoa… That's cool." Ron stated, taking the knife out of the sheath and holding it up. "I want one of these."

"It's illegal, Ron." Harry reminded him. "We're citizens of both magical and non-magical words, remember?"

"Oh…" Ron looked put out. "Yeah, right…" He placed the knife back in the case. "What's that?" He asked, pointing at the black rifle.

"It's our murder weapon." Harry said. "I don't know all that much about them, but they're extremely illegal in England. It's a rifle. See that on top?" He pointed at the telescopic sight mounted on the weapons.

"Yeah."

"You look through that, and it kind of zooms your view." Harry said. He then pointed at the trigger. "Then you pull that, and if you lined everything up right, you fire something called a bullet. This little projectile. Flies really fast. Muggles use them in wars all the time."

"Why not just use a wand, though?" Ron suggested. "I mean, you said yourself these guys know magic."

"I don't know." Harry admitted. "But you have to admit, we didn't expect this. We put every counter-curse and charm around Vorenus and his apartment, and they still got to him."

"Yeah." Ron stated, a puzzled expression on his face. There was a sudden knock on the door and the muggle police officer from before poked his head in.

"Mr. Perkins?" He asked.

"Yes?" Harry answered to the alias he had given the police.

"The suspect is fully awake now." The officer said. "Make this quick. He's very injured, and our superiors would be upset if we kept him that way for long."

"This will not take very much time at all," Ron stated, as he and Harry exited the room and followed the officer down a hallway to a white side room. At a long metal table sat their suspect, his hands resting on the table, chained together by handcuffs. The suspect looked up in their direction as the door opened and they stepped forward into the room.