I own nothing from Criminal Minds or Harry Potter other than the plot.
Chapter One
Aaron Hotchner was not known for his sense of humor, particularly in regards to his job within the BAU. This was not a secret from other employees within the FBI and while he was known to have his moments of rare smiles and jokes with other agents it was not something that occurred on a daily basis. Yet sitting opposite the Sector Chief Erin Strauss he couldn't help but wonder if Morgan or Gideon had decided to play a joke on the Unit Chief.
"With all due respect Ma'am," Hotch began in what he hoped was his usual stoic tone and not the strained irritation he was currently feeling, "This has to be some twisted joke."
Strauss regarded the profiler sitting opposite her over her glasses, "Do I appear to be joking with you, Agent Hotchner?"
The already tense air between the two tightened; it was no secret that the Sector Chief disliked Agent Hotchner and the private conversation between the two was barely remaining civil if only for the seriousness of the discussion.
"I mean no disrespect Ma'am but surely you can understand my…skepticism on the matter." Hotch retorted coldly.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, "I'm not interested in your skepticism. The fact of the matter is that you and your team are being sent as representatives of the BAU to London." When Hotch remained quiet still reeling in the information he had received Strauss sighed, "Formalities aside Agent Hotchner, I do understand your confusion. But the situation is very real and we're lucky to even have this chance of some form of alliance being formed."
"How am I to explain to my team what the nature of this case is?" Hotch asked evenly after a pause.
Strauss stood and her action was imitated immediately by Hotch. She moved from behind her desk speaking formally once again, "I will be addressing the issue to them. I made the decision to inform you separately as Unit Chief."
Hotch followed her out into the BAU bullpen, the members of his team lifting their heads questioningly as Strauss headed to the conference room. At Hotch's indication they followed their superiors in and took their usual places at the table. A moment later Garcia and JJ filed into the room, politely excusing their lateness and seated themselves at the table with their team members.
Strauss folded her arms across her chest and addressed the confused team in front of her, "I'm sure you have all heard the past troubles that England, particularly London, has been having over the past few years." Strauss began, confusing the group even more, "And while many simply believed that it was terrorist activity we have the real facts." Strauss paused, studying the group in front of her critically.
"Ma'am?" Morgan prompted, raising his eyebrows questioningly when it was clear no one else was going to say anything.
Strauss sighed and took a seat at the table, clasping her hands in front of her, "Recently the FBI has been contacted by not only the American Ministry of Magic but also the British Ministry." She waited as her words were processed by the occupants in the room and as expected they reacted with incredulousness.
"Excuse me? Are you trying to tell me that there is a Ministry of Magic in America and England?" Morgan snorted and shook his head, "You don't seriously believe this, do you Hotch?" He inquired of his leader.
Hotch didn't have a chance to reply, Strauss cut in, "Agent Morgan I know this is a strange discovery but it is nonetheless very real." She said sharply, "The BAU has been invited by the British Ministry to form a friendship that will hopefully aid in protecting both humans and magical beings in the field."
"Why are we being invited?" JJ asked curiously, her brain telling her that magic wasn't real despite the reality in Strauss's words.
Strauss answered smoothly with no hesitation, "They want to build back the trust between humans and magic. While they know they can't go and tell the entire world of their existence they have acknowledged that, for the safety of the Defense Force, it is necessary for some to have knowledge of magic. Your knowledge of this it may be able to protect you if you should happen to come across a case of the supernatural."
"So they're going to give us pointers on how to deal with it?" Morgan asked, humoring the situation until he had proof.
"They may but it is still being debated as to whether one of their trained officers will join the FBI to help with cases." Strauss explained.
The team sat in silence, stunned by the news of their impending trip. They had encountered some of the most dangerous serial killers and rapists in America and not once considered the existence of magic. Using the stunned silence to her advantage Strauss continued with details of their trip, informing them of their departure in two days with her joining them. Two weeks would be spent in England, two weeks to come to terms with the magical world and the dangers that may be brought with it.
When Strauss finally left Garcia let out a small squeal, "This is awesome! Can you believe that wizards actually exist?" She exclaimed.
"That's if it's real Baby girl." Morgan pointed out, "Are we sure Strauss isn't just losing her mind?"
Reid shrugged, "It does seem exceptionally insane of her to suggest that magic is real."
"You think?" Morgan asked sarcastically shooting Reid an incredulous look.
Hotch rose from his chair, "Until we all see the proof that it's real we have no choice but to follow the orders. Whether the magic is real or not we have been officially invited by the British Ministry for two weeks. You have been given tomorrow off for time to prepare; we leave at nine a.m."
"What do you think Gideon?" Morgan asked once Hotch had left.
Gideon stapled his fingers across the table, "I agree with Hotch; until we have proof there's nothing we can do about this trip. See you all in two days." He nodded to them, rising from his seat and filing out the door.
The younger members of the team regarded each other carefully; their time in London was definitely going to be interesting, no doubt about it.
Hotch sighed tiredly, finally packing the last pieces of clothing in to the bigger suitcase for the impending trip to London. It was strange packing the medium sized suitcase, never needing to take anything bigger than his duffle bag for cases. Then again, this wasn't one of the typical cases that the BAU handled. He wasn't even sure if this could be classified as a case; it seemed more of a negotiation and treaty settlement than anything else.
He sat on the edge of his bed, resting his elbows on his knees. In the time that he had been in the bureau he had never once considered that the crimes they were investigating may have been the result of some supernatural interference. How close had they come over the years from getting involved in something beyond their abilities? How many of those unsolved cases were because of magical wrongdoings and not human killers?
That is if magic is even real.
Aaron Hotchner knew that countering Erin Strauss's claim that magic was real would not help him or his team. Knowing that Strauss would be accompanying them to London immediately made Hotch cautious; Strauss wouldn't hesitate for a moment to use the teams unwillingness or his own as a way to get what she wanted and he wasn't going to take that chance. He had fought too hard for too long to get backtracked by Strauss's manipulation.
There were times, despite what people may think, that he reconsidered everything he had worked for, thought back to what he could have had. He had been successful as a prosecutor but his drive for a career within the FBI had put a strain on the one long term relationship he had ever been in.
Haley Brooks had been the girl of his dreams no matter how cliché it sounded. All it had taken was a glimpse of her after accidentally stumbling in to a drama rehearsal in his final year of high school. She had been so carefree, laughing at one of her friends as they lounged around on stage waiting for the teacher to finish talking with other members of the cast. He had stayed at the top of the theatre, watching for a few moments as bits of the play was discussed by the group before he finally slipped out unnoticed. That very same day he signed up to the drama club and, as he had joked with Haley, been the worst fourth pirate in the play.
They had dated steadily not too long after the play had ended and it wasn't until almost five years later at the end of his degree that they mutually decided to go their separate ways. They both realized that they wanted different things; she didn't want the career orientated boyfriend that, she knew, would end up working more often than being at home. They had split the moment they both accepted their differences and still managed to stay good friends, Hotch even getting along with her husband of two years.
Hotch sighed and lay back on the queen sized bed, kicking off his shoes as he did so. He closed his eyes and silently prayed that the upcoming trip went as smoothly as possible. He couldn't help but think of the impending trip as a chance to speak with JJ outside of work, even if the whole case turned out to be a failure. His association with the media liaison was mostly confined to work hours and it was the knowledge that he wasn't her boss that allowed the relationship to grow outside of the office. Once the initial shock of the trip had worn off he couldn't help but look forward to the time he would get to spend with her outside of the office.
They had managed to keep their meetings outside the office a secret from the rest of the team. That in itself was worth celebrating, managing to avoid being caught by some of the best profilers around. JJ was the first woman to ever hold any interest romantically for him since Haley; not only was she beautiful but her intelligence and humor were something he valued greatly.
This trip was definitely looking up.
A/N so this is completely different from my other stories. Let me know what you all think and Emily Prentiss will be joining them in England. I'm making this a Hotch/JJ fic and Hotch is around 34 in this and JJ is 28. I will also be making this a Hermione/Morgan fic. Read and review.