The Justice Team
Chapter 4 - Erumpent Fighting
It turned out that before the team could go anywhere they had to do paperwork which to say the least, hadn't left anyone happy.
"We can't just rush off to Europe. We've got to do some background work first, find out what we're getting ourselves into," Draco had said, ignoring the others groans.
So that was how they ended up as they were, scattered around the basement at their desks. Daphne and Neville were doing background checks on Callaghan and any of his known or possible associates to try and find out their last possible location, and Theo (with the help of Eddie) was trying to dig as deep as he could into Callaghans life.
"Aha!"
"What?" Draco asked, spinning to look at Theo.
Theo smirked at him, "Callaghan has an ex-wife. She was permitted to annul the marriage after he was tried for adultery and found guilty 3 years ago."
"I don't think she'll be able to help us much if they haven't seen each other for 3 years," Neville pointed out.
"Just because they're divorced doesn't mean they haven't seen each other," Eddie said.
Daphne nodded thoughtfully, "It's at least worth checking out. Do you have an address?"
"Her last known address is in London, as long as she hasn't moved, we're in luck," Eddie said, looking down to the file in his hand.
Theo got to his feet and grinned, "Looks like I'm going fishing," he said as he strutted out of the basement.
Neville frowned and glanced around the others, "Fishing?"
Daphne rolled her eyes, "You're so naïve Longbottom," she teased, "Don't you know what fishing is?"
"Well, I'm assuming it's not the kind where you catch fish and roast them on a campfire," Neville said with some amusement.
Draco chuckled, and Eddie said, "Fishing is what Theo calls it when he goes out trying to seduce rich widows or divorcees. Usually he does it to get money out of them, or something he can sell for a lot of cash. This time he's doing it for information."
"And if Callaghans ex-wife is attractive, he's probably also hoping to sleep with her," Draco remarked.
Eddie chuckled and showed the others the picture on the file of a busty blonde, "Oh yeah, he's definitely going to try and sleep with her."
Draco rolled his eyes and said, "Eddie, Longbottom. I've got a job for you."
They were immediately in front of his desk, and Draco smirked slightly at how eager they were to get out of here, "I've managed to trace the port used to transfer the Erumpent young to Europe. They ship from South Africa to a port in Southern Italy. You still know some Italian Eddie, don't you?"
Eddie smirked, "Oh, Rosa taught me enough to get by on."
Hiding his smirk Draco said, "Well off you go then. Report back when you know something."
Eddie and Neville nodded, leaving the basement as quickly as they could. Once they were gone Daphne sniggered, "Didn't you tell him Rosa was using him for the money?"
"No," Draco said with a slight smile, "If he didn't figure it out when she left the moment the job was over then I didn't want to break his heart by telling him."
Daphne chuckled, "He lacks that Slytherin trait of perception, you'd think Ravenclaws would be good at that."
"It's almost refreshing," Draco said, hiding his smile, "Finding a criminal with that innocent streak. I feel for the guy though, there's been Rosa, and Maria, and those two French twins that he dated at the same time."
"Well that was Theo's influence," Daphne said, flipping through another file as she spoke to him.
"He's given Eddie a lot of confidence though, so it's not all bad," Draco said as he got to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Daphne asked, narrowing her eyes at the man.
"To talk to Granger."
"Why?"
"Because she's the Assistant Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical creatures, and I want to find out if she can tell me anything else about Erumpent fighting," Draco said as he strutted towards the door.
"Well, I'll come with you then," Daphne said quickly.
"No, you'll have to stay here. Someone needs to keep going with the back-up checks," Draco said with a smirk, the last thing he saw as he exited the office was Daphne glowering at him. He chuckled and jogged up the concrete staircase.
He didn't get any funny looks as he walked along the almost deserted corridor. This was the back corridor leading to storerooms and basements, so it gave the team which weren't supposed to exist some privacy. They didn't have an elevator however, so to get to Hermione Grangers office Draco had to jog up the stairs to her level, two floors up.
Knock. Knock.
"Come in!" She called politely.
Draco walked in, shutting the door behind him with a snap and turning to face the woman he had antagonised during their school years. She smiled slightly at him from behind her black-rimmed glasses, "So it's true what the rumour mill is saying in the justice department. Draco Malfoy is reformed."
Draco chuckled and sat down across from her, "You could say that, it's a little more complicated. I'm surprised your best friend hasn't told you, he hired me after all."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "Harry, I assume? I doubt Ron will speak to you anytime soon, or ever for that matter."
"Potter, yes," Draco said in amusement.
"He hired you? So you're working in the Auror department? You're an Auror?" Hermione asked in surprise. They weren't friends, but they weren't enemies either, they were two people who enjoyed irritating the other.
"It's a grey area," Draco said with a shrug, "But anyway, that's why I'm here. I'm working on a case about illegal Erumpent fighting."
Hermione sighed, "It's a disgusting thing, they call it a sport," She said distastefully, "What do you need to know?"
"Well, where would they be likely to do it? Do you know anything that could help us track down the place, or the people involved?" Draco asked.
"It will be a team, one man will make sure everything runs and pocket most of the money. But you'll have the importer who is bringing the Erumpent from Africa. Then you will have the exporter. As you may know, when the Erumpent collide one horn explodes, killing the Erumpent. The loser is then the winner, because it's the last one alive. The horn is taken from it and sold on the black market here in Britain, by people like you," Hermione said, a dark look in her eyes.
"Don't make this personal," Draco said with a raised eyebrow, "For your information, I never sold Erumpent horns or anything from a living creature. I sold goods stolen from live humans, and dead ones…."
"So unethical," Hermione muttered.
Draco ignored her, "So you're saying there is an importer and an exporter?"
"Yes, and don't bother looking for a connection, you won't find one. They deliberately pick people to ensure they don't have anything in common. As for your location, well you'll be looking at Bulgaria or Romania. It will be a rural area, an old barn or a farm is where they'll conduct the fights."
Draco nodded and got to his feet, "Alright, thanks a lot for your help Granger."
Hermione only nodded as Draco walked towards the door, he shot a smile back at her, "Don't worry, we'll catch these guys. I hate creature cruelty as much as you do."
He could see that she very much doubted that, but she nodded all the same as Draco slipped out, shutting the door behind him and escaping into the back corridor and the empty concrete stairwell that nobody else used.
GGG.
Knock. Knock.
"That you, Draco?" Daphne called out, looking up as the metal door was pushed open.
"Sorry, it's me," Harry said as he walked into the room and looked around, "Just you, is it?"
"Draco left me doing background checks," Daphne said with an eye-roll as Harry sat down nearby her desk.
"Where are the others?"
"Why? Are you checking up on us?" Daphne asked.
"Is it that obvious?" Harry chuckled.
Daphne smiled slightly, after a lot of hours undercover work with the guy, she actually quite liked him, "Yeah, for an Auror you're not very subtle."
"Subtlety has never been my strong point," Harry admitted, "Do you like donuts?" He asked, dropping a box on the table and grabbing one with pink icing and sprinkles.
Daphne took a chocolate one, "If you're bribing me with food you know it will work," She joked.
Harry laughed, "I'm not checking up on you. I just wanted to see how things were coming along, and by the looks of it things are either great because everyone's working or terrible because they're all at the pub."
"Everyone's working, apart from Theo…he went fishing," Daphne said.
"Fishing?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, "For information or women?"
"Uh, both I think. The victim has an ex-wife, and knowing Theo if he can get both, he will," Daphne said as she bit into the chocolate donut.
Harry didn't seem fazed by this, "Well as long as he gets the information that's the main thing."
"Eddie and Longbottom are in Italy, they're trying to identify and track the guy importing the Erumpent from Africa to Europe. We tracked it down to an Italian port, so they could be a while," Daphne said casually.
"And Malfoy?"
"Oh he's with Granger," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "He's trying to find out more about Erumpent fighting so we have an idea of what we're looking for."
Harry frowned slightly, "Hmm."
"He's just in her office, it's not like they're having lunch together," Daphne said in amusement, "Are you jealous?"
"No, of course not," Harry said as he pushed himself to his feet and shoved the last of his donut into his mouth, "Hermione and I are like brother and sister. I just don't want Malfoy screwing her over. Keep an eye on him, if he makes a move on her tell me."
"I'm not your spy Potter," Daphne called as Harry left the basement. He knew she would tell him anyway. Despite the teasing they had become good friends in the last few years. It was hard not to with the amount of cases they had worked on together.
Harry got as far as the top of the stairs before he was met with an obstacle in the form of Draco Malfoy.
"Ah Malfoy," Harry said, stopping in the doorway so that Draco couldn't get past him to go down the stairs.
"What do you want, Potter?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes at the man.
"What are your intentions with Hermione? I know you were in her office," Harry said, watching Draco suspiciously.
Draco frowned, "Uh, I have no intentions. I was just trying to get some information about the case."
Harry raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "Just don't screw her over. She's been through enough shit without you messing with her."
"I'm not going to screw her over Potter, that's Weasley's job," Draco said casually.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes.
"You don't, you're just going to have to trust me when I say she's not my type," Draco said simply, "So can you quit being overprotective now and let me get back to work?"
Harry observed him for a moment but seemed satisfied as he stepped away from the doorway, "Alright, good luck with the case. Notify me if you find anything else."
"Will do," Draco said as Harry walked off down the hallway. He rolled his eyes and stalked down the concrete stairs, managing to slam open the door which was quite some feat given that it was metal and heavy.
Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "Granger still frustrating then?"
"Grangers fine, her moral compass is constantly set to ridiculously high, but Potter's the frustrating one," Draco said in annoyance as he sat down heavily at his desk.
Daphne smirked, "Potter's lovely. Look he brought us donuts."
"Give me one of them," Draco said, snatching one of the pink iced donuts which Daphne knew were his favourite.
Daphne's smirk got bigger, "Aw, you and Potter even have the same favourite donut," She joked.
"Shut up," Draco said as he bit into the donut violently, "He had the nerve to question me about the fact I was briefly in his best friend's office," he scoffed.
Daphne sniggered as she pushed the file away and turned to him, "He's probably just looking out for her, his hearts in the right place."
"What would you know about Potters heart?" Draco said with a raised eyebrow.
"Not much, he keeps it pretty guarded. Like I said he wouldn't even sleep with me when we were undercover. I reckon he's one of those old fashioned types, doesn't like sleeping around," Daphne said.
Draco frowned slightly, "Anyway, break over, let's get on with some work."
GGG.
The following morning when Harry walked into the basement it was empty bar one person, and that person was asleep on one of the two sofas. Harry smiled slightly as he kicked the sofa and jolted Draco awake.
"What?" He asked sharply as he sat up and blinked a few times.
"Good morning sunshine," Harry joked, leaning against the doorway, "Don't you have a flat or something?"
"No," Draco said with a glare, "Because you arrested me and seized my assets."
"Ah, right," Harry remembered, "Sorry about that. As soon as we've removed anything illegal, you can have it all back."
Draco yawned, and said sarcastically, "That's very useful, thanks a lot Potter."
"Where are your team? It's 9.30," Harry said, the basement was much emptier than it should have been.
"They'll probably be a little late, they were all investigating leads when we called it a day yesterday," Draco said, performing a few glamour charms to fix his hair and adding, "Next time you decide to wake me up, bring me coffee."
Harry chuckled in amusement as Eddie, Neville and Daphne walked into the room together, Neville carrying disposable coffee cups with him.
"Longbottom, you have the right idea," Draco said, taking the offered coffee and glaring at Harry again.
Neville only chuckled and said, "I figured you'd be here Harry, so I brought you one too."
Harry smiled as he took the coffee and said, "So, any idea where Nott is?"
"Merlin knows," Draco said, beginning to wake up a little.
"I'm here," Theo drawled, walking into the basement and pushing the door shut behind him.
"Where have you been?" Draco asked in slight annoyance, "I've not seen you since 11am yesterday."
"I was getting information from the widow, it was an overnight job," Theo said, taking the coffee Neville offered him and drinking deeply from it.
Daphne snorted, "You don't have to sleep with every woman you try and get information out of," she remarked.
"Don't bicker you two," Draco said, "It's too early for it. Did you get any information, Theo?"
"Oh you know, only a few addresses in Bulgaria where she knows he's held fights in the past," Theo smirked.
"Good," Draco said with a nod, "Eddie, Longbottom, what about you? Did you do anything useful on your day trip to Italy?"
"Bloody hell Malfoy, you're worse than Harry in the morning," Neville remarked in amusement.
Harry rolled his eyes at his friend, and Draco snapped, "Did you find anything?"
"Just answer him, he'll be pissy till his second coffee of the day," Daphne muttered.
"We found the guy, Simba Natini, we saw him take what looked like a shipment of Erumpent," Eddie said, "He was at the port, and it was definitely him. He took the shipment and loaded it into a van, a Muggle van, that's how they're getting through customs, they aren't going through wizarding ones."
"And you didn't talk to him, did you?" Draco asked.
"We didn't talk to him, we watched him all day and put tracking charms on him, they're deep and subtle so he shouldn't pick up on it unless he tries to go through wizarding customs which I don't think he'll do. Like Eddie said, that's how they're getting away with this," Neville said simply, "I checked this morning, the charms are still active and he's in Belgrade, in Serbia."
"So he's definitely en-route for Bulgaria," Draco said brightening up a little, "What were the locations you got from the ex-wife, Theo?"
"There were three, all in rural Bulgaria close to the border with Romania," Theo said, "They are isolated in the countryside but the closest place names I could get were Butan, Brest and Kubrat."
"Well we're closer than we were 24 hours ago," Draco said hopefully, "Longbottom, at the rate Natini is travelling, when will he arrive?"
"Well, that depends on which location Callaghan is using, between 5 and 8 hours I reckon," Neville said, and Eddie nodded his agreement.
"I reckon your next step is to go to Bulgaria. Try and get there before Natini does," Harry piped up from the sofa.
Draco nodded, "I agree Potter, but before we go anywhere we need a plan."
"And you have one, I can tell, you have that look in your eye you get when you think you have a good idea," Theo said matter of factly.
Draco shot the man a glare, "I do have a plan, but whether or not it will actually work is another story. Obviously this is a sensitive job which means if anyone goes in they do so undercover. Daphne, you're the obvious choice but since you're well known in certain circles you're going to have to go in under glamour."
Daphne nodded, "Alright, I'm fine with that."
"Someone else will be going in with you, posing as your boyfriend. He'll be going there to bet on the animals and watch the fight, and you'll be your useful sexy self. That's going to be the key to getting this guy."
"He's a sleazebag so it should work," Harry said, trying to keep his input to a minimum.
"Look mate," Theo said, "We all know undercover isn't my thing, I'll be much more use to you on the sidelines."
Daphne grinned, "We all know it can't be Theo, he's too scared of me so Eddie?"
"No," Draco said, taking her by surprise, "Longbottom?"
Neville raised an eyebrow at Draco, "Me? I don't tend to do much undercover work. Harry normally snaps it up."
"You'll be fine," Harry said, patting Neville on the shoulder, "Good luck. If you get him bring him directly to me," he said as he left the basement.
"Weren't you an Auror? Aren't they all meant to be good at undercover?" Eddie asked Neville.
Neville shrugged, "I didn't say I'm not good at it. It's just been a while since I did it. I've been fired for 6 months, and when I was an Auror Harry tended to take all the undercover jobs."
Daphne nodded thoughtfully, and Draco said, "Then here's your shot to prove you're good at it. You'll both be going in under glamour, just don't screw it up Longbottom."
"Thanks for that excellent advice," Neville said sarcastically, but Draco was ignoring him and talking to Eddie and Theo.
"While they are undercover you two are going to be hard at work putting tracking charms on everyone so if there's some scuffle we know where they've gone afterwards. We aren't letting them slip through our hands. Got it?"
"Got it," Eddie and Theo said in unison.
"I'm going to keep an eye on things from the side-lines. If anything goes wrong I'll come in and sort it out," Draco said, "We might have to re-evaluate once we get there but for the moment that's your guideline. We'll apparate to Butan and take it from there."
There were nods all around and Draco pushed himself to his feet, "Let's get a move on then."
Once they were all in Butan the game was on. They sat down in a café to discuss their next move.
"Natini has just crossed the border between Serbia and Bulgaria, he'll be in Butan in 2 and a half hours."
"If Butan is the right place," Daphne pointed out, "Can you tell by his route where he is going?"
Eddie shook his head, "We can only tell that he's using Muggle roads. We'll know soon enough if he diverts his route whether he's coming here or going further west."
"Good," Draco said thoughtfully, "You two need to get ready, just in case. Feel like being a brunette Daphne?"
Daphne shrugged, "I'll try anything once," She said in amusement.
They finished their coffee and left the café, ducking into an abandoned building to transform Daphne and Neville. By the time they were done Daphne had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and had changed into something a lot skimpier. Neville had also undergone a clothing change into a lot of leather which he felt incredibly uncomfortable in.
"Leather robes?" He had exclaimed, "Do I really have to wear those?"
However, he had been wrestled into them. His hair was jet black, and his eyes dark blue. They looked unrecognisable.
"Stick some glasses on you, and you'd look like Potter," Daphne said with a chuckle.
Draco cocked his head at Neville, "Yeah, if you had green eyes instead of blue you would look a bit like him," He agreed.
"Uh, guys," Eddie said with a frown, "He just diverted his route."
"Towards here?" Draco asked sharply.
Eddie nodded, "Doesn't look like he'll come through the centre though, he seems to be heading for a rural area a little north of here."
"Good," Draco said, "Let's get a move on. We need to scope out the area. Granger said old barns and farm buildings are ideal locations for his fights so look for that sort of thing. Eddie, Theo, you're with me. Daphne, Longbottom, stay together."
They nodded as Eddie gave them co-ordinates. They spun and with a collective crack they all vanished.
"So, what's the deal with you never doing undercover work?" Daphne asked as she and Neville sat atop a tree, scanning the countryside for any sort of building Callaghan could be using.
Neville shrugged, "I just tended to let Harry do it."
"He did so many undercover jobs with me," Daphne said thoughtfully, "At first I thought he had a thing for me, but he wouldn't sleep with me. So obviously that wasn't why he was doing the undercover work. Why does he do it?"
"Honestly, Harry doesn't like who he is," Neville said with a frown, "He doesn't think he's a good person. He's convinced a lot of people have died because of him. Any chance he gets to be someone else, he takes it."
Daphne was silent as she took this in.
"Greengrass, could that be it?" Neville said, looking to the east at an old outhouse with several trucks outside of it.
"Looks promising," Daphne said, tapping her ear three times, "Draco?"
"Yeah?" His voice said into her ear, "You got something?"
"Longbottom spotted it and it looks promising," She said, telling him the co-ordinates and jumping down from the tree. She and Neville bumped into Draco, Eddie and Theo halfway across the field to the outhouse.
"That's it, we just saw Callaghan go in," Eddie said under his breath.
"So what now?" Theo asked.
"We infiltrate it," Neville said simply.
"Yes, but how? You can't just walk in there, he'll wonder how you knew where it was," Eddie pointed out.
"I did background checks all day yesterday, I know all of Callaghan's old acquaintances. When did he start using this place, Theo?" Daphne asked.
"According to his ex-wife he's been using it for five years," Theo replied.
"Well I know a handful of people who Callaghan worked with, I'll say one of them told us about the place," Daphne said simply.
Draco nodded, "Be careful, and remember, you are officially Arcturus and Athena the moment you walk into that place. Don't mention your real names, or any of us. If you need pulled out give me the emergency signal."
"Don't worry Draco, I've done a fair bit of this in my time," Daphne said with a slight smile.
Draco nodded, "I know, but this guy is a nasty piece of work. We've set up a work station in a tree nearby, close enough to watch whose coming and going, and close enough to get you two out if need be."
"Got it," Daphne said, turning to Neville, "Ready, Arcturus?"
Neville smirked, "Ready, Athena," he said, slipping his arm into hers as they walked out of the long grass towards the outhouse.
"Come on," Draco muttered, "Let's get out of sight and start monitoring who comes and goes from that house. I want as many people tracked and identified as possible."
Theo nodded, and as they began the walk back to their temporary work station Eddie said, "Natini has stopped in Lorn, he's just under an hour's drive away from where we are now."
"I still can't believe he's using Muggle transport," Theo said distastefully.
"He's doing it because he's smart and he knows the wizarding authorities don't monitor it," Eddie said honestly.
Draco smirked and said, "I knew Potter had a point when he told me I needed a half-blood or a muggle-born on my team."
Eddie smiled slightly, surprised to hear his blood status as a compliment. In the criminal world it was usually used as an insult against him, and it had been the cause of many a fight he had been involved in when he first started doing jobs with Theo.
As they reached the outhouse Neville slipped his hand into Daphne's and they fell into character. They walked in without any resistance. Although on the outside this appeared to be an outhouse, on the inside it was so much more. In the centre of the large room was a pit, sunken into the floor with two gates which housed small Erumpents behind them. Around the pit were seats, and at one side was a bar. The place was already bustling with people dressed like Neville and Daphne, they blended in seamlessly with their surroundings.
A tall, attractive man walked over to them, "Well who we got here then? Don't think I've seen you two around here before."
Daphne grinned, "I reckon you've seen me before Mr. Callaghan. Athena Blacklaw, we met a few years back at that big dragon tournament in Romania."
"Ah," Callaghan said, his charm already turned on high, "Now you mention it…rings a bell. You weren't one of the marvelous three girls they sent up when my dragon won?"
"That would be me," Daphne said smoothly.
"And who's this bloke you've got with you?" Callaghan asked, surveying Neville.
"Arcturus Cartwright," Daphne said offhandedly.
"Cartwright? Don't recognise the name."
"He's Irish," Daphne said.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Callaghan asked, his eyes flicking from Neville to Daphne.
"I can speak for meself," Neville said in a broad, and very good Irish accent, "And yes, I am her boyfriend."
Callaghan smirked, "You've got balls Cartwright, nice to meet you."
Neville shook the man's hand, "And you, I've heard a lot about you in Ireland. I hear this is the place to make meself a fast profit."
"Oh definitely, but if you bet wrong it's the place to lose a fortune," Callaghan said with a laugh.
"I never bet wrong," Neville said smoothly.
Callaghan smiled, "I like you even more. Enjoy the fight boyo, as your Irish comrades would say," he winked at Daphne, "If you get bored of the Irishman…" He left the sentence hanging and walked away.
"Nice accent," Daphne whispered.
Neville smirked, "Turns you on, doesn't it?"
"Don't get your hopes up," Daphne said, shooting a smirk his way, "Get me a drink, let's scope this place out."
Neville grinned, "Sure, but I'm going to kill you for this. I'm going to have to keep this Irish accent up all day."
"What do you reckon they're doing in there?" Eddie asked.
"Talking to people, blending in," Draco replied offhandedly, "It's getting pretty busy in there now. I think the fight must start at around 3…I don't expect many more people will be turning up."
"Apart from Natini, he's about 5 minutes away at the moment," Theo said.
"And if he's bringing the Erumpent, the fight won't start without him," Eddie added.
"He might be bringing more, but there will be some in there anyway…There don't seem to be any wards, Daphne and Longbottom walked in there easily enough. They probably do have silencing charms up though, so we won't hear anything out here."
"So what's the plan?" Neville asked as he sat down at a table off to one side of the pit. Daphne slipped onto his knee with ease and said, "We'll have to let the fight happen. Then I'll seduce Callaghan, get him to confess to impress me and cuff him."
"Sounds like a plan," Neville muttered.
"Until then, act natural," Daphne said.
"How do we do that?" Neville asked quietly.
"Like this," Daphne whispered, leaning down and kissing him.
"That's Natini," Eddie whispered as a truck pulled up and a bald African man jumped out of the driver's seat.
They waited and watched as he pulled open the back of the truck and hauled out 4 crates, he opened one and they got a look inside. Each crate contained one Erumpent.
"Four of them," Draco whispered as a man came out and helped Natini take the crates inside. They put tracking charms on him and did an identification charm. Adding him to the portfolio of people the Auror office could prosecute. Eddie was noting things down, and Theo was taking photographs on a wizarding camera.
When all of the crates were inside, Natini locked up the truck and entered the barn.
"It's starting," Draco whispered.
"It's starting," Daphne said, pulling Neville to his feet, "You put a bet down didn't you?"
"Yeah, on the one you told me to," Neville said, as they walked to the front of the crowd, "You've got to look eager, and excited," She whispered in his ear. Neville nodded, and with a shout the fight began as the two young Erumpent were released from behind bars.
It was brutal, and fast. Trying to pretend he was enjoying it was hell for Neville, and it wasn't exactly easy for Daphne either but they managed and when Neville's Erumpent lost Daphne whispered for him to make a big deal of it. He swore and shouted, "You stupid bitch! Telling me to vote on the wrong bloody animal! What do you think you're playing at?"
Daphne glared at him and slapped him, "It's not my fault you're useless!" She snapped, stalking away from him to the other side of the stands around the pit. Neville glared at her as she went, and the next fight began as two new Erumpent were released into the arena. Daphne cheered along with the others, and as the third fight began she felt a presence from behind her.
"Ditched the Irishman?" Callaghan's smooth voice asked.
Daphne smiled slightly as she turned around to face the men, "He just lost a fortune and blamed it on me."
Callaghan tutted, "Not much of a man at all."
"He was never powerful enough for me," Daphne whispered in Callaghan's ear, "Far more of a follower than a leader, if you catch my drift."
"Ah, a phoney?" Callaghan asked, snaking an arm around Daphne, "After my Erumpent wins, I'll show you a powerful man."
"What if your Erumpent doesn't win?" Daphne challenged him.
"It always does," Callaghan smirked.
Daphne turned her attention back to the fight just in time to see Callaghan's Erumpent win. Callaghan chuckled and said, "See now, I told you," as he gently led her away. She let him do so, letting him take her behind the bar and up a set of stairs to some sort of makeshift bedroom.
"So you reckon you're a powerful man, huh?" Daphne asked as he pressed her against the wall.
"Powerful?" Callaghan chuckled, "I don't think that word is strong enough to describe what I am."
"And what exactly is that?" Daphne asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes as Callaghan pressed his lips against her neck and lifted her with ease, she wrapped her legs around his waist and let him pull her top off, wondering how far this would have to go before she could get information from him. In any other case this would be enjoyable, but the man was a scumbag, even if he was a good looking one, and she was on duty.
"I am a criminal overlord," Callaghan smirked, "I can do whatever I want, and whoever I want. I own everything illegal this side of Europe."
"And the rest too, I bet," Daphne said in between his bristly kisses, "A man like you could rule the world."
"Not the world yet sweetheart," Callaghan mumbled, "Just Europe."
Daphne grinned, "Now this is the kind of powerful man that turns me on."
Callaghan smirked, "Well you feel free to come by any of my fights any time you need a thrill, I'll always be happy to help."
"I'll keep that in mind," Daphne said with a grin as she let the man kiss her again. While she had him sufficiently distracted she pulled her wand out of its holster under her skirt and with the small amount of wordless magic she knew bound his hands and legs. They snapped together as the bonds curled around them. Daphne gracefully untangled herself from him as he fell back onto the bed.
"Mr. Callaghan, you have just admitted to several illegal actions, including owning an establishment used for illegal Erumpent handling. I am going to have to hand you over to the British Ministry of Magic."
"You fucking-"
With a flick of her wand Daphne used a silencing charm and conjured a red piece of cloth. She yanked open the dirty window and waved it a few times, hoping by now that the others would be on the lookout for the signal.
Daphne smirked at Callaghan as he glared at her, and a few seconds later Neville soared through the window, landing silently just as Daphne was putting her top back on. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she rolled her eyes in response. They attached Callaghan to a board and put a feather light charm on him. For good measure they stunned him and tied the board to both of their brooms. They got him out of the window that way, and landed close by the tree that the others were using as a base. The moment they saw Daphne and Neville coming they dropped down and with Callaghan in tow apparated back to the justice department in the Ministry.
"Keep an eye on him, I'll get Potter," Draco said, taking the stairs at a jog and crossing the threshold of his dull, old, out of use corridor, to the vibrant, busy corridor of the actual, legal justice department. He kept his head down as he walked along the corridor and slipped into the office shared by Harry, Ron and their two junior Aurors.
"Got him," Draco said as Harry looked up and caught his eye.
"Really?" Harry asked, getting to his feet hopefully.
"Yep, he's downstairs in the basement," Draco said.
Harry grinned, "Excellent. Ron, keep an eye on things here, I'll be back as soon as I can."
Without waiting for Ron to say anything Harry got up and followed Draco into the back corridor, down the concrete steps and into the basement. His grin widened when he saw Callaghan in a state of semi-undress.
"Nice work Greengrass," Harry said, shooting a look at the woman who was back to her normal self, but still wearing the undercover clothes, he caught a glimpse of Neville in his leather gear and sniggered.
"Nice look Nev."
"Fuck off Harry," Neville said half-heartedly.
Harry grinned, "I assume you did all the work, Greengrass?"
"The arresting him part anyway, yeah," Daphne said with a slight smile, "It wasn't exactly hard mind you. Here's his confession," She handed him a vial with a memory in it, "Do whatever tests you need to do, it's legit."
"Great," Harry said happily.
"And we thought you might want this," Eddie said, handing Harry a camera and a file, "The names of everyone we clocked going in and out of that barn, including pictures. Hopefully that should be enough to bring them down."
Harry looked genuinely impressed, "Good work, all of you. I'm going to take Callaghan up and start an interrogation. Merlin knows how long that will take…or the paperwork on this. I'll be back with pizza, you need to celebrate closing your first successful case after all," He said in amusement as with a flick of his wand Callaghan was floating along behind him out of the door.
Harry was true to his promise, they could smell the pizza before he walked into the basement, dropping the two large boxes on Draco's desk.
"Potter, you are a lifesaver," Daphne said, opening the boxes and grabbing a slice.
"Cheers, Potter," Eddie said, also grabbing a slice.
"Yeah, thanks Potter," Theo said reluctantly.
Neville just shot Harry a grin as he walked towards the door, "You did a good job, you deserve it."
"Are you leaving?" Draco asked in surprise.
"This is your team," Harry said simply, "I'm not a part of it."
"You can stay though, you did buy the pizza and all," Draco said.
Harry wasn't sure what to make of that, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, you are kind of our boss after all," Neville said in amusement.
Harry chuckled and moved away from the door, grabbing a slice of pizza and sitting down on Neville's desk, "Alright then."
"That didn't take much persuasion," Daphne said in amusement.
"You made a convincing argument, and I'm starving. Ron ate my lunch, bloody git doesn't understood labels on food," Harry grumbled.
"That's probably because he can't read," Draco said with a smirk, biting into the slice of pizza he had just grabbed from the box.
Harry rolled his eyes, but didn't defend his supposed best friend. The others got the impression he was quite fed up with Ron.
"You know for a first case, I think we did pretty well," Theo said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, better than I expected actually," Harry said in amusement.
Draco narrowed his eyes at the former Gryffindor, "Potter you have always been horrendous at lying, or keeping secrets. What did you do?"
Harry grinned, "Well Malfoy, the thing is…you know how you guys spent a day finding all the information, tracking everyone down?"
"Yes…" Draco said suspiciously.
"We knew it all," Harry said simply.
"What?" Daphne snapped, "I spent a whole frigging day doing background checks that you had already done?"
"What's the deal with that, Scarhead?" Theo asked testily.
"It was a test, you stupid git," Eddie said with a roll of his eyes, "Wasn't it?"
Harry nodded, smiling slightly, "We had the guy, but we couldn't arrest him. We weren't allowed to go near his establishments, or send in anyone undercover. It was all down to legal restrictions, I figured I'd give you it as a test to see how you worked. Given how quickly you solved it, I can say you've definitely passed the test."
"I suppose we ought to take that as a compliment, coming from the great Harry Potter," Draco said in amusement.
Harry scoffed, "Great? I'd have thought you of all people would know that I'm definitely not great Malfoy. You're one of the few people who stopped admiring me for long enough to see how messed up I was when we were at school."
"That implies I admired you in the first place," Draco remarked distastefully.
"Well you did offer me friendship before you started to hate my guts," Harry pointed out thoughtfully, "I wonder how things might have been different if I'd become friends with you that day, instead of Ron."
"Oh he wondered too," Theo said sarcastically, "About twice a week for all of first year. The whole dorm had to hear about it."
Harry grinned as Draco threw a quill at Theo who ducked and sniggered.
"You never could stop talking about me at school," Harry said in amusement.
"Even if it was just to insult you," Neville said with a chuckle.
"Exactly," Draco said dryly, but he was hiding a smile.
Harry laughed and Theo asked, "So is it true about you and Daphne?"
"Is what true?" Daphne asked with narrowed eyes.
"That you're the only guy to ever turn her down," Eddie remarked.
Daphne snorted, "He's not really the only guy to turn me down."
"But I did turn her down," Harry admitted.
"Why?" Theo asked, "Besides the obvious criminal serial shagger and murderer thing."
"Well that was pretty much it," Harry said in amusement.
"Damn your bloody moral integrity," Daphne teased with a smirk as she remembered the time they were discussing…
It had been a long week, Harry was a trainee Auror and had been assigned to a 'victim' while she hid out in a safe house. He was the Auror left to babysit her, because that was what trainee Aurors did, the jobs nobody else wanted.
Daphne Greengrass was tall, blonde and highly attractive and she had been flirting with him all week, but he had just ignored her. She was here because her boyfriend Blaise Zabini had been killed, and she was now scared for her own life.
On this particular evening he was fed up and tired, but when he opened the door to his bedroom Daphne was lying in his bed.
"Uh, what are you doing here?" Harry asked with a frown.
"Isn't this my room?" Daphne asked innocently.
"No, your room is next door," Harry said shortly.
"Oh," Daphne said with a shrug, "They look the same."
"Well they aren't, this is my room so get out," Harry said.
"Oh I don't know, I'm here now. We should just make the most of it," Daphne said with a grin as she threw back the covers. She was only in her underwear and Harry shook his head in disbelief, "Your boyfriend literally just died!"
"Valid point," Daphne said with a solemn nod, "Comfort me?"
"No," Harry said in disbelief, "I'm an Auror, I have to stay professional."
"You're a trainee Auror," Daphne pointed out with a sly smile, "So that means you don't have to be as professional."
"No, it means I have to be more professional because they can sack me easier," Harry said.
"They wouldn't sack you," Daphne scoffed, "You're the great Harry Potter, the chosen one, the boy wonder, the saviour of us all."
"Alright you can stop taking the piss now," Harry said with a slight smile.
Daphne got to her feet, "Oh come on Potter, it will be fun."
"Seriously Greengrass, I am not having sex with you," Harry said finally.
Daphne sighed, "Am I really that repulsive?" She asked.
"What?" Harry asked with a frown, "No, no, of course not. I just know what you're doing here, I know what this is."
"Do you?"
Harry nodded, "You use sex as a safety mechanism to stop people hurting you, or to stop you from hurting other people. I'm not sure which, but you do it because you're afraid to form lasting relationships."
Daphne shot him a glare, "You really think I'm doing that now? Just after my boyfriend has died? And he's not the first one, everybody leaves me!"
"Daphne, I'm sorry," Harry began, "I didn't realise how much you had been through."
"And that's not all!" Daphne said, tears burning in her eyes, "After the war my Father sold me to a group of thieves to be their sex slave, and then when they got bored of me they dumped me on the street in the rain!"
"Hang on…" Harry said with a frown, "I had a fling with your sister not long after the war and she didn't mention any of that. Not to mention I've met your Father and he doesn't seem the type to sell his daughter to thieves."
"You had a fling with my sister?" Daphne asked in disbelief.
"Uh, who hasn't had a fling with Astoria Greengrass? She's almost as bad as you are," Harry said with a raised eyebrow, "And she tried to kill me for my money."
Daphne rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "She always has to copy me."
Harry's frown deepened, "What? Hang on a minute…oh no…you… you killed Blaise Zabini! Didn't you?"
"Oops," Daphne said, "Time to go!" and in seconds she had apparated through the wards of the safe house.
"And that was how we first met," Daphne said in amusement.
"You were outsmarted by her," Eddie said with a chuckle.
"I was impressed she found the loop in my wards," Harry admitted, "But they are better these days. I was young and inexperienced then. But I did find out she had killed Blaise Zabini."
"But you didn't manage to catch her," Draco pointed out.
"But I've caught her now," Harry smirked, "She's working for the Ministry, isn't she?"
"Technically it was Draco who caught me," Daphne pointed out casually, "With that evidence he had on Blaise's death. I mean if you hadn't been drinking that night Potter your memory of my confession would have been enough. I bet you regretted that firewhiskey."
Harry rolled his eyes and got to his feet, "You're on the right side now," He said simply, "And technically all that means is I outsmarted Draco."
Draco rolled his eyes back, "No you didn't, I just agreed to your terms."
"Because you had no choice," Harry smirked, "Unless you wanted to spend 10 years in Azkaban."
"You've got to admit Draco, he's good," Theo said grudgingly.
"He's alright," Draco said with a glare in Harry's direction.
Harry laughed, "Well, I've got paperwork to do tonight, so I'd best be off. I'll be back around midnight Nev, so lock the door."
"Will do," Neville said as Harry left the basement. Neville turned to the others who were looking at him suspiciously, "What?"
"Do you live together?" Daphne asked in surprise.
"Uh, yeah, we share a flat," Neville said with a frown, "We have done for years. What's the big deal?"
"Well that's surprising," Theo said, "That the golden boy and his sidekick are living together."
"Fuck off Theo," Neville said dryly.
"I always thought he'd end up living with Weasley," Draco said, "And does that mean Potter lives in that hovel we found you in?"
"Not exactly," Neville said sheepishly, "That was kind of a ruse to get you to hire me. I wasn't fired for killing that death eater, but I was on suspension. Harry wanted me on this team to keep an eye on it, but he knew you wouldn't accept his offer unless I'd fallen from grace."
"Bastard!" Draco remarked.
"Clever bastard," Daphne said sounding impressed, "He played you good Draco."
"He played all of you," Neville said with a smirk, "But this is quite good, you've got to admit."
"It is kind of rewarding," Theo admitted.
Eddie nodded, "As far as my work experience goes, this is practically fun."
"Potter is still going to get his arse kicked for this," Draco mumbled.
The others ignored him, and Theo asked, "So how come Potter doesn't live with Weasel?"
Neville snorted, "Him and Ron would kill each other. It was bad enough when we all shared a dorm, Harry and me don't fight. But him and Ron fight pretty much constantly."
"Isn't it awkward?" Draco asked, "When you bring women home?"
"Sometimes," Neville admitted, "But only when it's someone that we both know…"
"Oh come on, spill the beans, who did he bring home that you knew?" Daphne asked eagerly.
"Well actually, I brought home one of his exes…" Neville admitted sheepishly, "He was supposed to be at work till late, but he got home early…we destroyed half the flat in the duel that followed."
"Which ex?" Draco asked in amusement.
"She-Weasel?" Theo asked.
"Nah, Ginny's like a sister to me," Neville said offhandedly, "And I don't think I should name and shame."
"I think you should," Eddie said.
"Yeah, come on mate, tell us," Theo added.
"Cho Chang," Neville said quickly, "Harry dated her in 5th year and it was a complete train wreck because Cedric tied them together and he had just died. I went on a few dates with her a couple of years ago, it didn't last very long but she was Harry's first girlfriend so he wasn't happy."
Eddie whistled, "Cho Chang. It always is the quiet ones."
They all chuckled and ate pizza, and Theo pulled out a stash of butterbeer. It felt good, they were getting closer already, and they worked well together. They were really starting to feel like a team.
TBC :)
