Chapter Nine: Official Secrets Act

Author's Note: Although Canada replaced its Official Secrets Act with the Security of Information Act in 2001 (created after Sept. 11th), some readers of Harry Potter may be familiar with the fandom plot device that equates the Statute of Secrecy with Britain's Official Secrets Act. Therefore, for the purposes of this fic, Canada still has an Official Secrets Act to equate to the Statute of Secrecy.


"Okay, what the heck was going on in there?" Mister Ed demanded of Wordy as soon as the group had returned to headquarters. Although everyone was in the briefing room, no one was sitting at the table and Uncle Greg had taken the precaution of closing the room's steel door once all were inside.

"What in the world were you thinking, Wordy, to take the Sarge's kids anywhere near the subjects and go scouting all by your lonesome?" Mister Ed crossed his arms, glaring hard. "Sarge expected you to keep them safe and you dragged them into the line of fire!"

Lance and Alanna cringed from their position by their uncle. He'd wrapped them both in a hug as soon as he shut the door. Though both teens were still a touch uncertain about their new life, they were pleased at the care their uncle and his team had shown them, as well as the trust Wordy had given them during the crisis.

Accordingly, they both tried to speak up in Wordy's defense. Sadly, as they both spoke at the same time, no one could understand them and Uncle Greg had to hush them.

Instead of letting either speak, Uncle Greg looked at Wordy. "Start from the beginning, Wordy," he requested.

Wordy gave both teens an apologetic look. "Sarge, do you know about their parents being murdered?" he asked.

Team One gasped in shock, but Uncle Greg just sighed. "Yes, Wordy, I know the kids believe their parents were murdered. To the best of my understanding, the investigation is still ongoing."

"Believe, nothing," Alanna protested instantly.

Lance overrode her with, "We were there, Uncle Greg."

"You were there?" Mister Spike asked, eyes wide.

Alanna nodded, clenching her fists. "Those monsters cut us off, kept us from getting away. If Mindy hadn't been there…"

"Who's Mindy?" Miss Jules asked.

Lance, though, shook his head. "We can tell you later," he promised. "Right now, though, just the basics. I'm pretty sure the Aurors will figure out what 'Lanna and I did."

Alanna grimaced and nodded agreement. "Lancelot," she cast him an evil look for using Mister Spike's nickname for her, "is right. We weren't supposed to tell anyone other than Uncle Greg about our magic."

"Magic?" Mister Spike echoed, looking bemused. "What, like card tricks? Pulling a rabbit out of a hat? What's so secret about that?"

Lou shot him down with a wry, "How about pulling me and Wordy through what looked like a solid wall?"

"Or making an indoor mall look like an outdoor mall, right down to sunshine and clouds," Wordy added with a grin at the shocked expressions they were getting.

"Wait, really?" Miss Jules asked, eyes wide, but clearly still skeptical.

Then Uncle Greg added his two cents. "How about two suitcases the size of a paperback growing to the height and size of a small coffee table in less than ten seconds?"

There was silence for several long seconds. Mister Spike finally broke it, asking timidly, "You aren't joking, are you, Boss?"

"No, Spike, I'm not," Uncle Greg confirmed. "Before this morning, I would have agreed with you about magic. Nothing more than fancy sleight-of-hand tricks. Not anymore." He turned to the kids, frowning. "What, exactly, are you two worried about?"

"The Statute of Secrecy," Alanna explained, looking miserable. "Only Mu…non-magicals with magical relatives are allowed to know about magic."

"If anyone other than those relatives finds out about magic," Lance continued, looking equally unhappy, "Aurors and Obliviators make sure they…don't remember."

Alarm ran around the room. "You mean, they'd take away our memories?" Wordy asked, his face turning ghostly pale at the thought. The rest of the group looked torn between outrage and horror. When both teens nodded, Team One exchanged grim looks.

Miss Jules was the one who thought of another complication. "Lance, Alanna," she queried, tone and face tentative. "What about you two? Would you get in trouble for telling us?"

"Alanna won't," Lance said flatly.

"Lance!" Alanna objected.

"No, sis, I'm the one who told, not you."

"I agreed!"

Lance shook his head, hair flying from the force of his vehemence. "I'm the oldest, 'Lanna, and I'm saying I'll take the blame."

Before Alanna could argue more, there was a noise from the door and it began to slide open. Both teens spotted the new arrivals from their slightly lower vantage point and darted between Team One and the door. Two wands all but materialized in the kids' hands and they aimed their wands at the men who stepped through the door. The robes both men wore were reminiscent of old-style trenchcoats and sported silver badges pinned to their left chests. If Team One had possessed any doubt about whether the newcomers were wizards, it was dispelled by the wands the men were aiming at the children.


The stand-off was almost comical, with two kids on one side, protecting a group of SRU cops, and two full-grown wizards on the other side. Greg Parker stepped forward, planning to pull Lance back, but the teen merely sidestepped, keeping himself between Greg and the new arrivals.

"Can we help you?" Jules asked, polite despite the wands pointing at the kids.

The older Auror, a silver-haired man as tall as Wordy, inclined his head. "I am Auror Wilkins and this is my partner Auror Anderson. We've had a report that these two children have breached the Statute of Secrecy."

"To save lives," Alanna protested at once.

" 'Lanna," Lance hissed, giving her a glare that demanded she let him take the lead. He gave Auror Wilkins a formal half-bow. "My sister did nothing wrong; I accept full responsibility for my decision to inform my cousin's Auror team about the existence of the wizarding world."

After a beat, Auror Wilkins returned the half-bow with a dip of his head. "Why?" he inquired, his expression and words calm.

Auror Anderson gave a sputter of outrage. "Why? Who cares why some little British brat broke our laws. Let's just Obliviate the Muggles, arrest the brat, and be done with it."

"Auror Anderson! If you cannot show respect for one of the oldest magical families in our world, you may leave," Wilkins growled. "The 'little British brat' is heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Calvin."

Anderson's eyes widened and he backed off, actually lowering his wand. "I-I beg pardon Heir Calvin," he stuttered.

Lance ignored the apology, focusing instead on Wilkins. "You asked 'why', Auror Wilkins. My sister is correct; I acted as I did to help these non-magical Aurors save the lives of several people who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even the criminals who started the entire chain of events were arrested instead of killed. So I guess you could say I helped save their lives too."

Then the boy's eyes narrowed. "What do you intend to do, Auror Wilkins? Will you do as your partner suggested and arrest me? Or do you intend to let me off, simply because of who my family is?" The last sentence was nearly spat out, Lance making clear his disgust for the idea that he would skate due to his family's political power.

Team One read the elder Auror's long pause as easily as the kids did. Greg cleared his throat and stepped in, his negotiator mask dropping into place as he spoke. "Gentlemen, perhaps we could all relax a bit and take this slower? The kids," he gave both teens a stern look, "will put down their wands. The two of you," he gave the Aurors an equally stern look, "will also put down your wands and then we can discuss the events of this afternoon. While I admit that the children acted impulsively today, I can't fault their motive or the results."

Wilkins lowered his wand, casting a warning look at Anderson, who kept his own wand down and ducked his head a touch. "Very well, sir, I suppose it will do no harm."

Greg gave both men a noncommittal smile and stepped past both them and his nephew to tap a command into the door control. The barrier dropped once more, granting the discussion privacy. Team One kept to the side of the table closest to the windows, eyeing the Aurors with suspicion. Once Greg had rejoined his team on 'their' side of the table, he gestured to Wilkins to begin.

Wilkins in his turn gestured to Anderson; the latter pulled out a quill and parchment as he sat at the briefing room table. Then the senior Auror began to interview Team One, quizzing them on the exact circumstances and the chain of events. Though the team was unhappy, they answered the pointed questions and, for the most part, ignored the subtle insults Wilkins inserted into almost every sentence. Alanna and Lance were the last to be interviewed; the difference in their interviews was marked. There was none of Wilkins' scorn and mocking toward Team One in the kids' interviews. Instead, he was very respectful, almost deferential toward the pair.

When Lance's interview was done, Auror Wilkins took the notes Anderson offered, shuffling through them for several moments. With a near bow in Lance's direction, he began, "While the Statute of Secrecy does not explicitly allow for the self-defense of others, I believe we can make this circumstance fit the self-defense exceptions of the Statute. As the eight other Muggles involved in this situation have been given a suitable cover story, I will leave them as they are. However," he turned toward Greg, "to permit your team to retain knowledge of the magical world is something I cannot do."

"And I cannot permit you to harm them," Lance snapped. He would have pushed himself up, but Wordy, at a quick signal from Greg, kept the boy in his seat.

"I confess, I agree with my nephew. Allowing you and your associate free rein with my team is unacceptable," Greg said flatly. "I may have an idea, but first I have a question, Auror Wilkins."

"And that is?" Wilkins queried.

"What do you think of how my team handled today's events? Your honest opinion, please, with none of the prejudice you've displayed toward my people thus far."

It was, ironically, Anderson who replied first. "Five Muggles who'd never encountered the wizarding world before using it to their advantage? Bloody impressive, if you ask me." He cringed in his seat at Wilkins' glare.

"Six," Spike corrected with a grin. "Sarge only met the kids today."

"And what's with the word 'Muggles', man?" Lou asked. "Kinda sounds like an insult."

"Well," Wilkins remarked with a sneer. "It's not as if you lot have magic."

Wordy rolled his eyes and fired right back with, "And it's not as if you guys have technology. What exactly does us not having magic have to do with anything?"

Spike all but pricked his ears at Wordy's retort. "Wordy, they don't use technology?"

"Nope," Wordy confirmed. "That's why I had to turn my radio and phone off today. Otherwise the magical part of the mall would have trashed 'em."

"Phone maybe," Lou observed. "Radio might have made it; they survived going through that wall thing right there at the end."

Spike waved a hand. "No, no, you're missing the point. We have tech, they have magic." He beamed, but his face fell a little at the blank looks his teammates gave him. With a touch of frustration, he went straight for the punch line. "Technologicals. More accurate and less insulting than 'Muggles'."

Lou smirked as the light dawned. "You just want to use 'techies' for short," he accused.

"Well, whatever works," Spike feebly deflected, though his blush and head duck gave him away.

Wilkins stared as Lou pounced on Spike and started a wrangling session. He tore his gaze away and arched a questioning brow at Greg. "Although Anderson is…enthusiastic…I confess his impressions largely match my own. What is your point?"

Greg smiled, though his eyes held a predatory gleam. "What if you allowed myself and my team to…consult…from time to time on similar incidents in the magical world or occasions when a criminal from your side of the fence hides out on our side of the fence. Would an arrangement like that allow my team to legally retain their knowledge of magic?"

The wrangling stopped as Team One stared at their Sergeant, who gave them a slightly apologetic look. The team exchanged looks, nods, and shrugs as they 'discussed' the idea amongst themselves. When they were done, they looked to Ed Lane. Ed met Greg's gaze and nodded once. The team would back him, as Greg had known they would.

Wilkins was oblivious to the exchanges as he mulled the proposal over. On the one hand, permitting five Muggles to retain knowledge of the magical world was anathema to him; on the other, he would certainly be respected for brokering such an agreement, smoothing relations with Muggle law enforcement, and keeping a powerful family heir and his sister happy. In the end, it was an easy decision for the self-absorbed, self-important Auror.

"Auror Parker, I am willing to agree to your proposal with three conditions. First, your team will sign the Official Secrets Act, agreeing to keep the wizarding world secret. Second, any members of your team not present here today will require my office's authorization before they can be informed about the wizarding world. Third, your team will abide by our laws and operational procedures during your dealings with our world."

"Sergeant Parker, not Auror," Ed corrected, as he put his two cents in. "Boss, I don't know about that third condition…"

"Ed," Greg reproved. He met Wilkins' gaze. "Constable Lane, I believe, was about to make the point that our procedures are very likely to conflict with your procedures. I agree with his point; however, I believe we can work with your three conditions." Sergeant Parker's expression hardened. "If, at some point, a decision has to be made between following your procedures or saving lives, my team will choose to save lives, Auror Wilkins."

For almost a minute, the two men faced off. Then Wilkins offered up a tiny smile. "Then we have an accord, Sergeant Parker."


Greg sighed, running a hand over his head. He'd never gotten the opportunity to call his landlord about his lease, what with the hot call and the subsequent interruption of their debriefing. Wordy and Ed had cornered him before heading to the locker rooms and talked him into a team night out at a local pizza parlor, citing the fact that Greg didn't have much at home to feed the kids. So dinner was taken care of and the kids could wear their new clothes tomorrow; he'd have to make an emergency run to the grocery store in the morning, but that wasn't a problem. It would take much longer to pack his apartment up and talk his landlord into letting him move to a larger place, but he'd figure something out.

He hiked a brow as Commander Holleran approached, a wry grin on his face and Team One trailing in his wake. "Sir?" he inquired.

Holleran gave him a fox-like smile. "Sergeant Parker, when Constable Scarlatti reported in this afternoon, I realized you would be unable to speak with your landlord as you'd planned. I just finished speaking with him and he's agreed to roll your lease over to a new apartment large enough for you and the kids. Your team has volunteered to help you pack and move this weekend and Constable Wordsworth has offered your nipotes his family's guest room in the meantime."

Greg gaped between his superior and a blushing Wordy. Wordy coughed and explained. "I called Shelley and told her about your nipotes. She wants to meet them and introduce them to the girls; practically insisted on it actually." The big man ducked his head and added, "We don't have any other guest rooms, Sarge, but you can use the couch if you want."

By the time Wordy was done, Greg had recovered enough to smile. "Thank you, Commander. I appreciate it." He turned toward his team. "And thank you for rolling with everything that happened today. Wordy," he waited for the man to look up and winked. "As Shelley insists on meeting mio nipotes, I accept your kind invitation to borrow your couch until we can move into the new place."

Wordy chuckled. "No problem, Sarge." He turned, grinning at the kids. "Who's up for pizza?"

~ A principio ad finem


Author note: Thank you all for reading my latest humble offering to the Flashpoint fandom. 'A Principio Ad Finem' means 'The End of the Beginning', which indeed, this is. For those of you enjoying this story, please come back next Friday as I post the prologue and first chapter of my next story: Nobody Said Anything About Magic. Those of you who reviewed, thank you so much, I enjoyed every word. For the person who asked about the Toronto School of Magic, sorry, but it's not going to feature all that much...it's just going to be in the background, hanging out. And Sewtunes, sorry, but I don't currently have plans for a 'settling in with Greg' story, but that's a great idea; so maybe at some point...

Have a great week all, God Bless, Keep the Peace, and Happy Reading!