Warnings: See File 1, 'cause it just inflates the word count. Capitalizing on the "messing with canon" warning in this chapter though.

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter franchise belongs to JK Rowling and associates, of which I am not one. The Detective Conan franchise belongs to Aoyama Gosho, Shounen Sunday, and associates, of which I am not one. I've never written mystery before, so go easy on me!

Featuring: AurorInTraining!Harry, Conan, and others from both series

File 4: Sleight of Hand

Life was about as normal as ever when Golden Week ended. School resumed, cases popped up seemingly at random, and Conan found himself bored by the curriculum that first graders were given. He was supposed to be sitting in Teitan Koukou right now with Ran, reading a mystery novel under his desk while the teacher lectured about some complex Algebra problem, or playing a decent game of soccer with his classmates.

No, he just had to go off half-cocked and get turned into a kid. Instead of doing something at least a little less boring, Conan was stuck tracing basic kanji with a pen that he had learned before he ever even started at school. It had been boring when he was six, and it was boring now that he was sixteen.

While the rest of his class was either diligently or lazily tracing over the kanji sheets, Conan had already finished his and had his head resting on his hand as he stared out the window. It was a nice day outside, and he was wasting it sitting here.

Sudden movement caught his eye, and Conan caught sight of two quickly running figures on the sidewalk, though he could make out what they looked like. It was rather suspicious to see two such figures, adults or older teens by their statures in comparison to cars parked on the roadside, running full out down the road in the middle of the day. The front one was shorter and fat, but managed to lope in an uncoordinated way. The one behind was taller, thin and sprinting, but kept having to weave about in his pursuit of the former.

And they were heading in a beeline for the school, which rang warning bells in the ex-teen's head.

"Kobayashi-sensei, can I go use the toilet?" he asked, raising his hand.

"It's 'may I', Conan-kun," the teacher corrected automatically with a smile. "And yes, you may."

The false child stood up from his desk and fled the room, making his way out of the school to see what exactly what was going on. He was not yet out the doors when a loud voice suddenly came through the halls as if from a PA system, but it was too clear to be the school's PA, and it was coming from ahead rather than above.

"Attention all students and faculty, please remain in your classrooms at this time," the voice was a smooth baritone, and it took Conan a moment to remember that this voice was that of the auror trainee he had met over a month ago.

He hadn't seen Potter in any cases since then, though he had heard mention from Megure a few times that the trainee was living up to his department's reputation (well, Megure had said "Potter's living up to his reputation", but Conan assumed it had to do with the ninth division). Apparently Potter's movements weren't limited to the Homicide section, as he'd been in the paper, blushing and looking very shy, for rescuing a kidnapped girl, and reluctantly gave an interview just a few days ago when he was involved in catching a high profile thief. Not as high profile as Kid of course, but high profile enough.

"I repeat, all students and faculty remain in your classrooms at this time. This is not a drill. A criminal has entered the building; he is not armed but he is dangerous. The school is under lock down. I repeat..."

Conan tuned out the booming voice that was somehow echoing through the corridors. There would be no need of Potter to give the announcement personally like that if he had already alerted the office, which also meant he couldn't be using the PA system. He wouldn't have time to bother really, since he was busy tracking the criminal.

The detective pulled a small mirror from his pocket that Professor Agasa had given him (apparently, in addition to reflecting, it worked as a video recorder, though Conan didn't see the point in using a compact mirror for such a thing (1)) and used it to look around the corner to make sure the next hallway was clear. He didn't want to run into this criminal unaware; not to say he didn't want to run into the criminal at all, but being caught and made into a hostage would not be a good way to go about being a hero.

The process of using the mirror to look around corners was repeated as necessary, and Conan was careful to duck under windows as he passed by rooms in use. The Detective Boys must have been freaking out by that point (except Ai, who was probably filling their heads with how the criminal had already found him, but that was Ai), and Kobayashi-sensei would be calling other classrooms to see if he had taken refuge elsewhere.

Such things were unimportant in the grand scheme though.

Footsteps, barely audible but nearby from an indistinct direction caught Conan's attention, and he pressed himself flat against the wall, though it wasn't much of a hiding place.

"Alright bastard, I've got – oh, Conan-kun," Potter's voice only caught the detective by a slight surprise, as it came from the direction opposite where he'd thought the footsteps were coming from. The Auror-in-training leveled the not-child with an unimpressed look as he turned around, and Conan felt the strange urge to shuffle his feet as though he really were a child. "Why aren't you in class? And don't say you were going to the bathroom, because I've used that trick too many times to be fooled by it."

Should a police officer really be admitting to that? Conan wondered silently. Seriously, Potter was supposed to be – both as a member of the regular police force and as an Auror trainee – a role model for kids of Conan's supposed age, so he should be saying he was a hall monitor or something and a great student.

Therefore, admitting to ditching class with such a lame excuse was really not something he should tell a kid he had done with any frequency.

"It's what I told Sensei," Conan decided to answer truthfully. He didn't trust the Auror trainee, no matter how useful he had been during the case Haido, for the simple fact that he would one day be an auror. Sure, he had used simple logic and relatively obscure facts to solve the case, much like Conan, but that didn't mean that would always be his method.

Potter actually chuckled a bit. "Alright then. Well, we're pretty far from any classrooms in use now, so the best safety you'll have is with me. Keep in my shadow and don't do anything to draw attention to yourself," the Englishman stated evenly and reached out to ruffle Conan's hair with a strangely focused look. His wrist tapped Conan's head in the process – though it felt like he had been poked with a stick – and the detective shuddered. That couldn't be right, could it? It was like an egg had been cracked over his head!

Potter, however, seemed to expect that reaction and nodded to himself as he gave Conan a once over. As he did so, he fiddled with the watch that was situated on his right wrist – which was weird, but some people did wear watches that way – tightening it or something. Only, that wasn't normal behavior for most people, and so Conan filed it away to think about later.

"Just keep in my shadow, and you should be just fine," repeated the trainee with a small smile, private and real unlike the clumsy, wide grin that Conan recalled him giving to the suspects last time. He turned about and continued down the hall, and, though Conan thought it was a dumb idea, made sure to walk at such a pace that Conan was literally walking in his shadow. It wouldn't help any; it wasn't that easy to hide a person, no matter how small.

Of course, Potter probably also thought the young detective was defenseless and that being in the shadow of a police officer just meant keeping Conan behind him, so the supposed child would have a human shield when they came across the mysterious "unarmed and dangerous" criminal who was currently taking refuge in the school.

Assuming he hadn't already managed to escape the school, though with windows in every direction, someone would have used the PA to inform the Auror-to-be of this already if this were the case.

"Are there other officers here?" Conan whispered, quite aware of how the halls near the cafeteria echoed with only the two of them there. There had to be other cops; a newbie officer who wasn't even of age yet wouldn't be in pursuit of a criminal alone, Auror trainee or no. Even if it was just one other officer, Conan would feel the case was in more reliable hands.

Apparently, Potter's sole purpose in life was to prove Conan's wrong in some way. When the young detective thought that no Auror could use normal detective-style methods and logic to solve a case, Potter did. When the most likely murderer was the son of the victim who would inherit half of his mother's assets, it was the female neighbor who was just obscenely loyal to her boyfriend.

So, naturally, Potter replied with, "Nope, it's just me," as if this were not the least bit strange. "But all the exits have been sealed off, and I've made sure he's not in any of the currently inhabited parts of the school; I just need to smoke him out now." Suddenly, he lifted his right wrist to look at the face of his watch, then around the area before informing Conan that they would turn at the next right, which led to the PE lockers.

"I wish you'd stayed in class though, Conan-kun," Potter continued as if the interruption hadn't happened. "I suppose you saw me chasing down the culprit?" He turned his head to look over his shoulder with a very knowing look, as if it was the sort of thing that had had done many times as a student, or something similar. "No matter, I suppose. I hope you enjoy your first Auror case." He cast a wink at Conan before turning his focus back to the matter at hand, not seeing Conan blanch.

The teen-turned-child didn't stop in his tracks at this particular revelation of the true nature of Potter's case, but instead put his body on automatic. An Auror case? Potter, a trainee who was learning regular police methods, was already working solo on a fully-fledged Auror case? It seemed liked just another instance of chase-down-the-criminal to Conan, but to find out that he had become involved in another Auror case so soon after meeting the trainee...

Well, to say his mind was abuzz would be a vast understatement. As a detective, Conan didn't trust what he had seen of Auror methods. He still didn't know what precisely fell under Auror jurisdiction except that "impossible" and "strange" seemed to be good indicators.

Even knowing this, none of the supposedly "impossible" cases that Conan had stumbled upon had required Auror intervention.

There was something more to their workings that Conan would need to puzzle out.

Embroiled in his thoughts as he was, it was lucky that Conan retained at least some amount of spatial awareness, and so came to a stop in tandem with Potter as the slap of shoes on the floor, quieted by distance, drifted down the hall. A moment later, Conan was impressed with Potter's ability to temper his speed to the point where Conan was still running in his shadow but not tripping over the Auror trainee. Compared to the pace Conan had seen through the window, this was nothing, but it was the perfect pace for running with a fast child like Conan.

Potter was just full of surprise, as expected of an Auror.

They rounded a corner not one minute after they started running, and Conan was surprised at the man who stood at the end of the hall despite having seen him outside. He was panting and wheezing, a stranger to exercise, and seemed nearly as wide as he was tall. He was short, shorter than Megure, with similar features, but he held himself the way a taller, thinner man would. Moreover, he moved with a jerkiness that implied he wasn't used to his own proportions, sort of like Conan had when first getting accustomed to his smaller body. (2)

It was among the stranger things that Conan had seen in his lifetime, because the man wasn't just clumsy, he was completely uncoordinated, from the distance of his steps to the reach of his arms. The sloppy lope made more sense now, seeing the man before him, and yet...

"Greetings Mr Hyde," Potter said in English as the man's eyes widened in recognition. "Care to introduce me to Mr Jekyll?"

"What ah you on abou', Pottah?" Conan jolted at the cockney accent from the apparent Japanese businessman. Yet another unexpected thing, something that didn't fit in the least.

"Right, I forgot, your lot doesn't have Hermione pressing literature down your throats." Potter's stance changed and he went for the gun that was holstered at his hip. "So, are you going to start cooperating, Shunpike, or will I have to subdue you the muggle way?"

Conan furrowed his brow. He had heard the word "muggle" a few times, while in America and from a few foreigners from English speaking countries, but he could count the number of instances on both hands. It wasn't a word that one could find in any dictionary – he had tried, and enrolled his father in the effort – and no one who knew the meaning was keen on telling it to anyone who didn't know. In the end, the Kudou family had decided that it was a racial slur or something of that ilk, but there was no malice or disdain in the way Potter said it. Like it was just another part of his vocabulary.

Not the first curious glance was sent in the Auror trainee's back, but Conan said nothing on the matter. Maybe he would have more luck in asking Potter the meaning of the word.

The criminal, Shunpike, stood in a lazy stance that looked completely wrong on such a body, grinning as if he knew something important that Potter did not. "Come on, Neville, I've managed no' to get caught this long, unlike those 'igh profile idio's you always face off agains'," the man smirked (which was a clumsy effort at best, whether on that face or any other). "Didn'choo wondah 'ow?" Something fell out of his sleeve and into his hand. A... stick? A very nicely carved and polished stick of course, but a stick none the less.

Apparently it wasn't just a stick though, because Potter's shoulders tensed and the grip on the handle of his gun tightened. "Where did you get another –" he stopped himself mid-sentence, and it didn't take a genius to realize he wasn't tempering himself for the sake of the criminal before him.

It was at that point that Conan realized that Shunpike hadn't so much as glanced at him. Strange.

But Conan was willing to use that to his advantage. If he was going to be so easily dismissed by this guy, the child was quite content to prove himself capable, even if there was a future Auror with him.

Conan raised his left wrist before him to take aim... and stared. He couldn't see his arm... no, he could, but it was difficult to see because his skin and clothes had taken on the texture of what he viewed beyond it. Like a chameleon or something.

"Wha', choo think only Aurah's can ge' mor'n one?" Shunpike snickered. He raised the stick in front of him, pointed directly at Potter's chest.

Whatever it was, it was obviously dangerous, and Conan had to shove the completely surreal thought of why he could practically see through his arm to the side. That had to do with Potter, but Conan rather intended to continue living, so he would give Potter the third degree later. He took careful aim with his watch and fired a needle that hit Shunpike right next to the carotid artery. A perfect shot, as usual.

Shunpike staggered a moment, trying to use longer limbs than he possessed to catch himself before he collapsed to the floor, face down with an audible crunch as his small, pig-like nose was broken. Conan darted forward and around Potter to make sure that the criminal was definitely out for the count, and noticed that while he was slightly easier to see under the fluorescent lights, it was still difficult. As disconcerted with this as he was, Conan was still pleased to confirm that Shunpike was unconscious.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Potter mused in a half-shocked half-amused tone. His shoes beat a steady tattoo on the floor as he approached the not-child and sleeping criminal. "I suppose worrying over you was a bit pointless then, saving my skin like that." He knelt down beside Conan, knee hovering just over the floor, as he checked Shunpike's vitals. "Hm... not a venom... some sort of chemical compound to make him sleep? Huh. Sounds a bit like a cut rate film, but who am I to deny what works? Interesting you've got though. Certainly explains a few things."

Conan furrowed his brow. Explains a few things? He didn't like the sound of that. "Professor Agasa gave it to me," Conan remarked, "'Cause Kogoro-ji-chan gets me into dangerous cases so much." Or, rather, because Kogoro was an idiot and needed Conan to solve cases for him. Potter didn't seem to believe him at all, but Conan had alternative ammo for distraction in the form of questions. "What does 'muggle' mean?"

Potter glanced at him and seemed to think for a moment before nodding to himself. "Muggle is an English word, a derogatory term for... I suppose a 'normal' person, you could say," he explained. "Well, it depends on who says it, whether it's derogatory or not, since it's so integrated into the vocabulary of certain parts of society. My mom's side of my family are all muggles, and one of my friends' family are muggles too."

It wasn't much of an explanation. A derogatory term for normal people? What made the difference between normal and... people like what Potter implied he was? But the police officer was still eyeing the watch, so Conan needed another question. It wasn't hard to think of one. "Why am I see-through?"

If the detective thought Potter would answer properly because of his age and the incident, he was sorely mistaken.

"Magic," the reply was prompt, without pause for thought or anything.

"There's no such thing, Ba~ro~ (3)," Conan informed the officer in a matter of fact tone. Did the man obviously think him so dense and childish as to believe it? Sure, the rest of the Detective Boys might have fallen for it, no matter how many times Conan had told them not to believe in stupid things, but he wasn't them. Potter was obviously looking down on him. "It's all sleight of hand and cheap tricks that can be explained with logic."

"Nonsense! Of course magic is real," Potter scoffed in mock insult. "You're thinking of simple magicians like Kaitou Kid. But if you can give me scientific reason to answer your own question, I'll consider ceding the point. Until then, I believe it's 'eliminate the impossible and what remains is the truth,' correct?" He grinned broadly, as if quoting Holmes (and not very well at that) was some huge accomplishment. He glanced at his watch and suddenly rolled the body over like it weighed nothing. "Let's see you find a scientific reason behind this. And three, two, one!"

Conan gave Potter a nonplussed look, wondering what the countdown was for, only to notice something strange with Shunpike's body. It was... deflating? That was really the only way to put it. It was as if over one hundred pounds of fat were just melting off, disappearing like they had never been there, only to leave a much-too-large business suit pooled around a thin frame that quickly elongated from 160 cm to 180cm, if not more.

Skin gained a ruddy, caucasian complexion, old pock mark scars surfaced, wrinkles vanished, skin tightened over a pointed nose and weak chin, hair turned dark brown and grew a good five inches... all this happened in the space of barely half a minute.

"That's impossible," Conan whispered as he watched the completion of the transformation from a middle-aged business man to a lanky man in his mid twenties. It was impossible, scientifically and logically impossible, and yet Conan had just seen it with his own eyes. There was no trick, it just happened.

And as impossible as it was to believe, it was twice as difficult to dismiss.

"That, Conan-kun, is what makes an auror case," the officer stripped the criminal of – of all things – his watch and the stick, sending a small smile to Conan. "Your rules don't apply to Aurors. Our motto leans more toward, 'eliminate the probable, for the truth is impossible.'" He ruffled Conan's hair again, and the breaking-egg sensation made a comeback, as did Conan's visibility.

Kudou Shinichi hadn't liked Aurors because they didn't solve cases like he did. He hadn't understood their methods or why a case was theirs. Seeing the impossible allowed Edogawa Conan to overcome that.

But he still didn't believe in magic.

Author's Note: Um... yeah. I'm not intending to be alternating every other chapter between Harry and Conan perspectives, that's just how it's working out at the moment. I'll use perspectives as I wish, future chapters will definitely not work out like these past few have... (next chapter is both Harry and Conan's PoV, so nyaa).

Huh. Already a good chunk through though. I mean, I don't know how long it will take to write Case 3 (or I didn't at the time of writing this chapter, September 1-2), but... I should have the entire story done with posting by the end of October. Unless Case 3 drags on for eternity I mean. Which it shouldn't, but there will be a lot of cover-up and then reveal and blah blah blah before things are actually figured out... I had the entire story plotted out before I even considered writing (for once), so... yeah. Well, I completely changed Case 2 (was going to have Ran help catch a crook that ran into Teitan Koukou, and have Harry take the Mouri family to dinner as thanks and then have an Auror case crop up there... but this ended up being more fun, I think), but that's fine.

I kinda liked tossing in Stan Shunpike :D I did my best on his accent... but I don't claim to be any sort of expert on accents, let alone British ones (I am but a little American girl (er... wait... I'm a legal adult now O_O") don't get mad at my lack of accent-writing ability! And cockney accents are weird). Um, if anyone can help me make it more accurate, that would be fantastic.

(1) No, this isn't actually one of Agasa's inventions from the manga, I just couldn't think of a reason for Conan to carry around a compact mirror that he could use to see around corners.

(2) Actually, I'm pretty sure Conan didn't have such difficulties (can't remember; although I just finished reading what's currently up in August, I actually read the first 250 chapters in March), but he SHOULD have simply because his mind, automatic processes and non, would be accustomed to greater height/weight/dexterity than that of his child body. I said I'd warp canon, so there ya go.

(3) Baro means "stupid" (the wavy lines ~ indicate he's dragging it out longer than normal, but I'm not sure on the character limits for documents - y'know, like in reviews *hint hint* how you can't do three of the same letter in a row - so I just used wavy lines like the mangaka). According to the character bios and such on chapter 500 of the manga, this is Shinichi's favorite phrase. Conan says it too, of course. (And so does Aoyama-sensei, according to the page)

Oh, and explanation regarding the whole watch-thing with Harry and Stan: The idea is that the watches are wrist holsters for wands. They have a hole of expanded interior in the band, which is where the wand goes, and therefore it's completely unnoticeable to muggles.