Author's Note: I realized, as I was writing this, that it is going to be a very slow burning fic. Sorry!

Chapter 3- Dancing in a Hurricane

As Laura left her house the next morning, she was pleasantly surprised to find the morning's issue of the wizarding newspaper on her doorstep. She bent down and picked it up, smiling softly to herself as she thought about the Goldstein sisters. But her smile faded as she read the big headline on the front page.

AURORS CATCH CRUXMORE DAUGHTER IN PLOT TO AID GRINDELWALD IN AMERICA

So much for her report.

With a flick of her hand, the newspaper shrunk and flew into the pocket of the ugly Auror leather coat MACUSA made them wear. In England, the Auror's didn't have to wear such silly things. They also had a fedora they had to wear. Laura didn't mind the hat so much. Although, given her short bob cut, sometimes she thought she looked like a man beneath the hat. Especially on the days like today, when she was wearing a suit. Her heels helped, though.

Stepping into the Woolworth Building, where the MACUSA headquarters were located, was still like a dream for Laura. She couldn't explain what made the American headquarters so different from the British one, but there was something in the air. Maybe it was because it was new to her. Maybe it was because MACUSA represented a fresh, promising start.

Laura headed to the lift behind a small group of Aurors. She recognized most of them, including the angelic Minali Leenga. Laura didn't know a thing about Minali, besides her name and job, but she knew the woman was gorgeous. Tall, probably just under 6 feet, Minali kept her jet black hair in a braid that wrapped around her head and ended up in a small bun on the back. She had dark skin that she always accentuated by wearing bright colors like red and orange, much to the apparent dismay of her superiors who wished she'd go with less flashy colors. Laura had already noticed that Minali almost always had a smile on her face. Refreshing and hard to do, considering their job.

Most importantly, some of the other Auror's had mentioned that Minali was one of the best in the office. A lot of the younger women aspired to be her, while the men all wanted to be with her.

The small group of Auror's stepped into the lift and it was as she stepped in that Laura noticed her boss, Mr. Graves, in the back of the lift. He was too busy looking at his newspaper to care about the people around him. Unfortunately, she was the last one in and the only spot available was directly in front of him. So she took a deep breath and took her spot, her back to her new boss.

She tried to keep her face neutral as she stood so close to him. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, no, but for some reason this morning, she was starting to feel that sort of creeping fear of disappointment that so many of the Auror's had for their boss. He made her nervous and she didn't like being nervous.

"Good morning. It's Laura, right?" Minali said from the corner of the lift.

Laura looked up, surprised. She smiled. "Yes, good morning."

"Ah, the English. I just love the accent," she said in a soft, lyrical voice.

Laura smirked. "Just wait 'till you meet someone from the East End of London," she joked. Laura had grown up with a general posh accent, but she knew a wizarding family from the East End that had the typical Cockney accent. It wasn't that it was bad, it was just sometimes hard to understand. Like some of these American accents she was running into.

The lift arrived at their floor and the Aurors piled off, some chatting with each other. Minali stepped up next to Laura.

"D'ya think the Auror programs are the same between England and here?" she asked.

Laura shrugged. "Can't tell too much yet, but mostly, yeah. Some personality differences, maybe. But work wise, it seems the same so far."

"I've always wanted to visit England," Minali said, her eyes drifting up as if she was dreaming of England then and there.

"It's not that great," Laura said. "It's generally the same as here. I mean, the wizards dress a bit differently."

"Oh?" Minali's interest was piqued. She looked down at Laura, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"We still wear robes and stuff. Not around muggles, yeah? But, we probably don't follow muggle fashion as closely as you all seem to do."

"Perhaps that's why you have such a problem with no-majs' finding out about you," Graves quipped as he passed by the two women. They stopped in their tracks, watching their boss saunter off, clearly pleased by his comment.

Laura bit her tongue at a response. There was plenty she could say to that, but he was her boss and she was still too new to start a fight.

"Ignore him," Minali said softly. "Graves is an amazing Auror and leader. There's none better, but he sacrificed a part of himself to get there." She smiled at Laura. "Not all of us have problems with the No-Majs'," she added in a whisper. With a wink, she began heading to her desk.

Smiling appreciatively at the woman, Laura walked to her own desk, ready for the day to be over already. As she settled in for a long day, greeting Tina with a wave and smile, she hoped the day might pass quickly and quietly.

Unfortunately, Percival Graves had other ideas.

Only thirty minutes had passed when Graves called her into his office. Feeling like a scolded school child, Laura made her way to his office down the hall, the eyes of her fellow Auror's on her.

Just before she reached his open door, Laura quickly adjusted her suit and smoothed down her hair a little. With a deep breath, she walked up to his door.

"Inside," he ordered, clearly annoyed by how long it took Laura to get to his office.

She stepped inside the office and jumped slightly as the door slammed behind her. Why was she so nervous?

"Sit."

Laura took a seat in one of the wooden chairs in front of his desk. Rather plain (the Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic had an ornately decorated, large wooden desk that was piled high with things), there were just a few books and odds and ends. It was the rest of his office that Laura was intrigued by. His office was filled with glass cabinets. Inside were various trinkets and items. How she longed to go through each cabinet and see what he had stored.

"I will extend you the courtesy of assuming you know that Cassidy Cruxmore has been apprehended," he began. He briefly looked up from the paper he was reading on his desk before looking back down. "I am interested in how you knew that Miss Cruxmore had ties to Oliver Henning, one of Grindelwald's most notable followers." He set the paper down, laced his fingers together, and looked up at Laura.

She raised an eyebrow slowly. "It's all in the archives, sir. You just have to look."

Graves stared blankly at her. "Why did you think to look?"

"Because I was asked to put a file together on Miss Cruxmore and to, if possible, connect her to Grindelwald as it was being propagated that she, in fact, was one of his followers. So I followed connections and found she, in the past, had a relationship with Mr. Henning. I didn't have to talk to a single person to find that the relationship wasn't all that far in the past. In fact, not in the past at all, as I believe you discovered yesterday when you apprehended Miss Cruxmore and instead, quite in the present."

Graves studied her as she talked, his eyes watching her lips move. When she finished talking, he glanced back to her eyes. "A shame we didn't have that information sooner," he quipped.

Laura couldn't help herself this time. "A shame you didn't hire me soon," she said. "Sir," she added, feeling her cheeks blush.

She stared at him closely, waiting for the anger, and could have sworn the corners of his lips slightly moved upward. Instead, he sat back in his chair, unlocking his fingers.

"Miss Maurette, if you're half the investigator you appear to be, I do believe you'll be helpful in these coming months," he finally said. Although his voice was as stern as it always was, Laura let herself believe there was a touch of admiration. No, maybe not.

"I think you'll find, Mr. Graves, that I can be very helpful in numerous situations. It isn't all kittens and rainbows in England, you know," she said with a slight twitch of sarcasm to her voice.

Graves frowned. "I've read your file," he said in a low voice, heavy with a twinge of something. Something sad.

"I know."

A beat. He didn't look at her, but she could see it in his eyes. He understood. He knew what she had been through. Not just by reading her file, but because he had lived through the same kinds of things. Dark wizards didn't just live in Europe, after all.

"I want you to prepare to question Miss Cruxmore," he finally said.

Laura leaned forward in her chair, surprised. "I'm sorry, sir, what?"

"You, along with Auror Leenga, will question Miss Cruxmore tomorrow. She's being transferred in today and will be held in our cells until we get what we can out of her. Then the court will decide her fate. I want you to lead the questioning. Use whatever you have to against her. Get everything you can out of her. Understood?" His thick brown eyebrows moved as he talked, far more animated than the rest of his face ever seemed to get.

She tried not to throw up on his desk. It wasn't that she hadn't done things like this before, but she had only been here three days. This was going to be a huge test. If she passed, she might see time in the field quickly. If she failed…she may have to find a new country to live in.

Taking a deep breath, Laura nodded. "Of course, sir." She stood up, unable to keep her face from forming a deeply confused look. As she turned to leave, a book in one of his cabinets caught her eye.

The Gentle Sway

She paused as the harsh recognition hit her like a bag of bricks. Laura bit back a sob and reached for the doorknob.

"Take today to continue your investigation into Miss Cruxmore with heavy focus on Mr. Henning. Perhaps that is the key to cracking her," Graves said from his desk.

Not trusting herself to look back at him or speak, she simply nodded and quickly left his office, shutting the door behind her.

Laura closed her eyes and leaned back against the door, letting out a deep breath. Today was going to be a long day.