Harry knew he should have been focused on his wife that evening, but all this about Gerald and Voldemort being sprung upon him had gotten his priorities out of order. He lay there half-naked in bed, staring, yet seeing nothing. His mind was completely enveloped in this new case. This Oliver had to have some ties to the wizarding world here in Britain. Perhaps there was even a file on him at the Ministry...
"Harry?" Ginny's soft voice came from across the room.
Harry turned his head to see his wife had emerged from the bathroom, wearing thin pink lingerie. He gave a weak smile. He wasn't dumb. Ginny had been acting seductively since that evening. She would be leaving the next morning on the first trip of the Quidditch season and would be gone a couple weeks for training, matches, and meeting fans.
The woman walked over to the bed, slowly raising one knee onto it and then the other. She sat with her legs folded under her, spread apart as she shrugged her shoulders and flashed a flirty grin at her husband. He reached his arms forward, inviting her closer to him. Her smile widened and she crawled carefully on top of him. Smirking down on him for a moment as his hands felt up and down her body, then she leaned forward and began kissing his cheeks, lips, and neck.
Harry wanted to be in the mood, he honestly did, but he still couldn't shake his thoughts from this Gerald Davis. Was the man really a dark wizard? Maybe he was actually innocent of everything. Perhaps if he had been a death eater at some point, he turned his back on it just as some other death eaters had...like Professor Snape...
"You're still thinking about that American, aren't you?" Ginny spoke suddenly.
"Um.." Harry was caught off guard.
His wife then removed herself from him and laid down beside, pulling the covers up over her and grunting.
"I'm sorry," Harry rolled over on his side, placing his hand on Ginny's now covered stomach.
A brief pause passed while the witch crossed her arms and shook her head slightly. She uncrossed them, then sighed, turning toward her husband, "It's ok," she said, "I know how much...well, how much this must have shaken you." She moved onto her side, hand propping up her head. The pair was now facing each other, "We all thought we were done with Voldermort and then this bit came about out of nowhere."
Harry squinted, his head motioning side to side before looking at his wife, "And that's the thing," he started, "There may be nothing to this. Just because he was born to a dark wizard doesn't mean he is one himself. Same thing about knowing or being close to Voldemort... The man could be completely innocent, especially considering he hasn't been associated with any magical crimes."
"He did lie about practicing magic and about knowing Voldemort," Ginny pointed, "Also, MACUSA didn't even know he still existed until recently and when they found out, he disappeared. It kind of speaks against him."
"I know..." Harry trailed, slamming his head back onto his pillow.
"Harry..." the woman smiled sweetly, inching over to the frustrated auror, "It will all be okay. He's just another wizard and just another case. He's not Voldemort... Voldemort is gone for good."
Harry turned his gaze toward her. She was always so patient, so kind and understanding. Beautiful and Strong. The most perfect wife he could hope for. A contented grin reached his lips. He reached a hand upward and cuffed the witch's cheek in it. Ginny closed her eyes and nestled her face into his hold.
"Thank you," Harry said warmly.
Ginny's eyes opened and she fell into Harry's arms, planting her lips onto his. His lips parted in turn and the two embraced each other in a passionate kiss.
Even though Ginny had to leave well before dawn that morning, Harry still woke in time to see her off. She had already gotten everything packed the day before, but still she worried about here and there for the entirety of her waking. The wizard stood at a distance, sipping his coffee. He had learned by now not to bother her while she was focused on getting ready for a trip.
He watched with a kind smile and an occasional chuckle. After two and a half hours of flustering, the witch finally sat and enjoyed a quick coffee with Harry before heading out. They exchanged farewells and reassurances, ending with a kiss and then she was off.
It was still early, so Harry took the time to try and relax before he had to ready for his day. Unfortunately, the instant he laid in bed again, his mind was overwhelmed with the case just as it had every time he had a moment's peace since first hearing of it. Grunting in aggravation, he pushed himself back up and walked to his desk in their living quarters. The photograph of the three men was there in the middle of it.
Gerald Davis. Oliver Smith. Brad Angston. An American metal band.
Harry flipped the photograph over. The Devil's Children. He supposed it was a decent name for a metal band though he wouldn't really know as he never delved into the genre. It wasn't so popular in the UK, he didn't think.
He lowered the photo onto the desk and took a seat. He booted up the computer that he had gotten only a year ago. The internet had been an ever-evolving way of gathering information and he wondered what was there about The Devil's Children and its members. While he waited for the machinery to warm and the system to start, he retrieved a second cup of coffee from the kitchen.
Upon returning to his chair, he clicked on the small 'e' at the bottom panel. The screen turned white before displaying colorful letters that spelled the word 'google.' In the box below, he typed the band name and clicked the 'search web' button. The following page was surprisingly entirely made up of links to sites discussing the musicians.
'The Devil's Children Official Site'
'Metal Forums: Discuss 'The Devil's Children''
'The Devil's Children Receive Honorable Mention for Best Metal Performance GRAMMYS 2000'
'New Single Released by The Devil's Children: Don't Die Yet'
'Mary Christle's Blog: I met The Devil's Children! Gerald is sooo cute!'
Taking a sip of his drink, Harry clicked on the first link. The site had a black background with silver-tinted white text. The band's name was displayed artistically across the top and beneath it was a row of tabs with the main page consisting of a picture of the band. It was different from the one the minister had given him.
Gerald stood center again, his arms crossed, his head tilted to the side, and his lips curled into a smirk. Oliver looked much the same as he did in the other photo, but with his back to Gerard and holding a black guitar. The muggle, Brad, held drumsticks up to the camera, forming the shape of an inverted cross. He was winking and his mouth was open wide as if in the middle of a scream.
Beside them were a few paragraphs of text explaining how the three had all met about 8 years ago and formed the band. It also listed a couple of awards and honorable mentions. Nothing much of interest. Harry pushed his mouse to hover over the row of tabs. There were grids of show times, where to buy merchandise, when tickets were on sale, and also a way to contact in order to hire them.
Harry returned to the web search results and clicked on the next link. The forum had several threads. Most were dedicated to discussing the meanings of the lyrics of various songs. A couple were asking how they could go about meeting the band members and then another few were comparing their music to other bands.
Harry took another sip and went back to Google. He skipped the article about the GRAMMYS and the link to their newest song and clicked on 'Mary Christle's' blog post about meeting the band.
"Oh my god! I can't believe I actually got to meet 'The Devil's Children!' I've gone to 6 of their shows but never had VIP tickets. I went to last night's show in Dallas. I got there early because my mom said she would drive me because she was meeting her friends somewhere for dinner. My friend who lives in Dallas said I could stay the night and she would drive me home in the morning. So there I was, just walking around killing time. It was like two hours before the show. And Brad was actually outside, behind the arena smoking a blunt!
"At first, I didn't believe it was him. There was nobody else around. But I walked over to him and it was! He asked me if I was there for the show and when I said I was, he asked if I wanted to come meet Gerald and Oliver! EEEEEEEEEE! So I went inside with Brad. He took me to the backstage rooms and Oliver was there playing his guitar! He smiled when he saw me and said 'hey.' Brad introduced me and said, 'where the fuck is Gerald?'
"Apparently he was laying on the other side of the room on the couch sleeping. Brad went and hit him on the head with his drumsticks. I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help it. Oliver sat up and pushed Brad away. I think he was angry at first, but when he saw me, he got up and walked over and thanked me for coming to the show!
"So for the next almost hour, I sat around and talked with Brad, Oliver, and Gerald! Brad is just as goofy and crazy as he seems on stage. Oliver is really kind and calm and Gerald is very reserved. He doesn't talk much, but he's obviously really smart. It still feels like a dream, but I have proof!"
Below the article, Mary had attached a few pictures. The first was her standing with the three men. On one side of her, Brad showed a toothy smile, his arm around her waist. On the other side of her, Gerald smiled, but barely. His arm rested on her shoulder. Beside Gerald was a cheerful Oliver. The other two pictures were just candid shots of the four sitting around a stereo in one, and Oliver playing the guitar in the second.
Harry took his hand off the mouse and leaned back in his seat, drinking more java. His current internet finds had him in a better mood concerning the situation. Part of it was the positivity they had shown about the band and its members, but more of it was that he couldn't fathom what evil person would waste there time working with all of that. It just seemed out of character to him.
He pushed his chair forward again, setting down his mug. Returning once more to the web results, he scrolled further to see if anything regarding legal matters or indiscretions popped up. There was nothing on the first page, so he clicked over to the second.
Nothing.
Harry picked up his cup and began drinking while his eyes glossed over the screen in front of him. That's when he noticed something new on the site. Underneath the search bar was a button that read 'images.' He rubbed his hand against his face in thought before clicking on the new option.
Instead of pulling up a list of sites, this time, Google presented him with many different pictures. There were photos of the band's logo and showtimes and a few that seemed irrelevant, but there were also several of the band members themselves. And that is where Harry found something interesting: a picture of Gerald with his teeth bared, giving a menacing look. He was holding his left hand into the air, curled into a fist. There, on his arm, the dark mark was inked.
Harry clicked on the image and it grew larger. Well...it looked like the dark mark, but not exactly. Through an open-mouthed skull, a snake slithered downwards with its own mouth opened. It's fangs showed, dripping what could have been blood or venom. Looking back to the skull, though, Harry could see the symbol of the Deathly Hallows printed upon its forehead.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, for the record, Google was still pretty fresh around this time and Images was a new option ^.^ HOW MANY OF YOU FEEL OLD RIGHT NOW? XD I do ._.
