TRANSGRESSION
See disclaimer and story content warning in chapter one.
Chapter 4 Harry's story
Ginny ran to Harry's bed and embraced him, smothering him in kisses. "Harry. Harry, I've been so worried. How are you feeling?"
"I've been better, love. But I'm doing ok."
Kingsley stood by and gave Ginny and Harry a few minutes before he interrupted their reunion. "I sorry Harry, but we must talk to you now."
He beckoned Mr. Cunningham over to Harry's bedside and introduced him to Harry. They shook hands, and the Scotland Yard agent started his inquiry.
"Mr. Potter, I"
Harry immediately interrupted him saying, "Sir, I hate being called 'Mr. Potter'. Please call me Harry."
"Alright, er, Harry. Please understand that this is of the utmost importance to our national security. We need you to tell us exactly what happened there in that warehouse. Do not leave anything out. Even the smallest detail could be important."
"I understand sir," responded Harry.
"Ok then. From the beginning." Cunningham started a small tape recorder and set it down on the bed.
"From the beginning," Harry started. "Well, Ron and I, er, you know who Ron is?"
"Yes. I have already interviewed him. Please continue."
"Ok. Ron and I were just finishing some ridiculously unnecessary ministry paper work when a call came in to the central switchboard. Fortunately we had muggle phone communications system recently installed. Otherwise, we would never have gotten that call."
Kingsley beamed. He had been instrumental in convincing the ministry that they needed an up-to-date telephone system.
Harry continued, "The call was directed to my phone in the Auror office. The caller did not identify himself. He simply said that there was a disturbance at a warehouse on Fillmore street. Then he hung up. Unfortunately we haven't had a recording system installed yet."
"Harry, what did the man sound like. This is important. Was he nervous or upset? Did he have an accent?"
"I don't know. He spoke calmly but fast. As I think about it, he did have a slight accent, but I couldn't place it."
"That's ok, Harry. Latter we will have a number of people with different accents talk to you to see if anything sounds familiar. Now do you remember exactly what he said, word for word?"
"Yes, it's exactly what I said. Anyway, most of the other Aurors had gone home, so Ron and I investigated the call. Normally we would send the younger, less experienced Aurors on such an assignment. It didn't sound that important."
"When we reached the warehouse, we looked around and didn't see anything out of place. We noticed a window in the front of the building that was partially open. We cast a 'do not notice' charm on ourselves and looked in the window."
"I don't know what that means, Harry."
King spoke up. "It's a magical charm that hides a wizard from being seen by muggles, Ed. I'll explain it to you later. Ok, continue Harry."
Ginny snickered a bit, then coughed to cover it up.
Harry continued, "When we looked in the window, we saw maybe half a dozen men, maybe more, putting a large steel drum into the back of a van, and connecting wires to it and to other drums already in the van. It looked like the entire van was a bomb of some sort."
"How do you know that it was a bomb Harry?"
"I didn't say it was a bomb. I said it looked like a bomb. Aurors are taught to recognize such things. Anyway, we overheard them talking, saying things like 'It's going to create quite a stir when this thing goes off'. And another said, 'Yea, Queens Bridge will never be the same'."
"Did you notice if they had accents? And did they sound like the caller?" asked Cunningham.
"I know that at least one of them spoke with a heavy accent, which I didn't recognize. And no, it wasn't the same as the caller. The only other man we heard was definitely British. Ron and I looked at each other and immediately knew that we had to enter the building and arrest them. We called the local police first, then slid open the door and entered. Under these circumstances our approach is to have one of us rush them in surprise, and the other stay back near the door. We did the rock-scissors-paper bit, which I lost. So I did the rushing."
"Wait a minute Harry. You said that you called the local police first. Why didn't you wait for them?"
"Several reasons actually. First, the response time of the locals is notoriously slow, especially at that time in the evening when they are changing shifts. Second, the locals have no knowledge of our world. If they found us there with wands in hand, it would create such an uproar in both worlds that we would never here the end of it. And thirdly, is that a proper word? Anyway, it looked like they were getting ready to move, so we decided to act quickly. What we normally do in such circumstances is take care of the problem, neutralize the situation, immobilize the perps, tie them up, and leave them to the locals to sort out. That would have worked except for the bloody thing blowing up."
"Ok, What happened when you rushed in? Did you surprise them as planned?"
"Yes. I rushed in and yelled at them that they were under arrest. Most of them froze on the spot. One of them pulled a gun and started shooting. I quickly immobilized him and ducked behind a large crate near the far wall. Three others made a break for the door. I knew that Ron would take them out, so I focused on those remaining. One of them ran towards the door holding something in his hand. It looked like a cell phone, so I ignored him knowing that Ron would take him out also. As he neared the door, he suddenly stopped and aimed whatever it was in his hand at the van. Next thing I knew I was here in this bed."
Cunningham just stared at Harry. There was nothing else to say. Kingsley finally spoke up.
"That's quite a story Harry. When we interviewed Ron we got exactly the same story. Word for word. Even the rock thing, whatever that is. That thing you saw in the man's hand was a detonator, Harry. That's what caused the van to blow. Ducking behind that crate shielded you from the blast, probably saving your life. Everyone else still in there was killed instantly."
"Yes, you did well Harry," commented Mr. Cunningham. "We will probably talk again in a couple of weeks after we get all this straightened out. It sounds like you and your partner did an extremely valuable service for the country. I can't even imagine the number of innocent people that would have been killed if those terrorists had been successful. Unfortunately, we cannot at this time make any of this public. You understand why, I know. Just a reminder Mrs. Potter. None of this can leave this room. Are we clear?"
"Yes, certainly Mr. Cunningham. Now if we are finished, I would like some time alone with my husband."
With that, they all said there goodbyes, and Harry and Ginny were alone at last.
End chapter four