Chapter 11: Explanations and More Surprises

New York

The group looked at each other in disbelief. Stella said, "I don't understand. Aside from Danielle's friends, witches don't exist."

Aiden shook her head, "What do you mean? This doesn't have anything to do with Danielle. It is possible for a magical world to exist without Danielle knowing about it."

Mac said, "Why don't you explain what this world is all about. Perhaps you could give us an example as to what this world does."

The rest of the team was going to protest again but quickly closed their mouths when Aiden muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa." They watched as she held the wand at a picture frame that was on the table in front of them and their jaws dropped as they saw it float.

Danny said, "Okay, I'd like to hear an explanation please."

Aiden glared at him yet again. She said, "The magical world is known as the wizarding world. We have schools, businesses, ministries and hospitals just like the muggle world has."

Hawkes repeated, "Muggle world? What are muggles?"

Aiden sighed, "How about I tell you everything and you can ask questions later?" The group nodded in response. She continued, "A muggle is a non-magical person, which means that the majority of them can't enter this world. In my world there are different people and creatures that you deal with everyday. My family is known as one of the oldest pureblood families around. Other witches and wizards could be a halfblood or a muggleborn. Yet sometimes squibs are born into a magical family and they don't have enough magic of their own to be able to use it."

She stood up and started to walk into the next room. She motioned for them to follow her and they nearly tripped over each other once they were in the room. She laughed at the looks on their faces and started to explain what was in the room. She said, "This is where I get my practice in for Defense and on the other side are the cauldrons that are holding the potions that I am working on." She paused as she went over to the shelf that held her completed potions and picked up a vial. She said slowly, "There is a way for you to learn about my world by being there if you would like."

Mac stopped where he was, "I thought that only witches or wizards could go into this world."

Aiden grinned, "Parents of muggleborn children can go into the wizarding world and squibs can also go anywhere they want in my world. I have developed a potion that will allow you to be a squib until the antidote is taken. This will allow you to go into the magical world as well as being able to visit the schools."

Her co-workers stared at her in surprise. They couldn't believe that she was actually inviting them to with her to a world that they knew absolutely nothing about. Mac grinned, "When and how do we leave?"

Aiden looked at the others and saw that they were all nodding. She answered, "We'll leave as soon as you all are ready. As for getting there, we'll be flooing."

Stella stared, "We're ready now, but what do you mean by flooing?"

Aiden smirked, "Flooing is the means of getting from one place to another by using a fireplace to go through the floo network, as long as the fireplaces are hooked up to the network. All you have to do is take floo powder, throw it down and clearly speak the place that you want to land at. This is one of the ways that my kind travel, as well as apparition, portkey and flying a broomstick."

Hawkes looked at her, "Where do you want us to go to?"

She grinned, "The Leaky Cauldron."

Las Vegas

Catherine watched as Sara walked down the hall and noted that she seemed to be in a better mood. She didn't think that any of the people in the lab would be able to deal with Sara if her temper was forceful again. Catherine walked up to Warrick and Greg who were also watching their co-worker. She could tell that they were also glad that Sara wasn't angry again. Catherine went to say something but she was interrupted when a familiar woman walked in the building.

Warrick's jaw dropped, "Is that Lady Heather?"

Catherine looked at the woman, "Yes, she is. I wonder what she is doing here."

They were even more surprised when Heather stopped in front of them. Catherine sensed that something was wrong, as Heather seemed to be increasingly agitated. Heather asked, "Are Sara and Gil around?"

Catherine shook her head, "They're out at a scene but they should be back soon if you want to wait."

Heather looked at her, "I will wait, but you should get all of your co-workers, Sara's cousins and Ecklie together. They need to hear this too."

Warrick and Greg looked at each other, than disappeared to find those that Heather had mentioned. The group was soon standing there and Gil, Sara and Brass walked in. Sara went to say something but stopped as she saw that Heather was in the crowd. The three eyed each other and wondered what was going on that was so important.

Sara asked, "Heather, is something wrong?"

Heather was pale as she answered, "Depends on your definition of wrong. Do you remember the photos that I took when we went away that I said that I would get developed?"

Sara nodded, so Heather continued, "The person at the photo shop got the pictures mixed up. When I saw what the photos were of, I figured that you needed to see them."

Warrick took the envelope that she was holding and walked into a nearby layout room. The rest of the group followed him and watched as he placed each photo on the table. Everyone paled as they realized that someone must have been following Sara as all, except one, of the photos were of Sara at various crime scenes and her apartment. The last was different as it was of a large sign that read "I'm back. M.B."

The group stayed still as they watched Sara back up and run from the room. Gil looked at Heather and she nodded. He left leaving Heather to deal with any questions the rest might have.

As soon as the two had left the room Heather waited for the others to start asking questions. When no one looked surprised, her eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the feeling that all of you know something?"

Catherine spoke up, "We know what happened in San Francisco, but we didn't want to say anything. After all, we are still wondering about you, Hank, and Teri being friends with them."

Heather shook her head in confusion, "What's so wrong about being friends? Or is this about the fact that you don't understand why we are friends, especially when you must have believed that the three of us had been more than friends with them at one time or another."

Warrick looked at her with his eyes wide, "How did you manage to pull it off? I mean, most of us here are CSIs, so how did we not notice that these relationships weren't real?"

They all jumped when they heard Sara's voice behind them. "You might have saw what you wanted to see. The other possible explanation is that we really are good at acting."

She and Gil sat down and started to tell them what they needed to know. After a while of questions and answers being tossed back and forth, they stopped as they noticed that Sam had orbed in. They greeted him and he eyed each of the people in the group while thinking of what he was going to say.

Sara looked at Sam and knew that he was going to tell them something that would change all of their lives forever.

Sam sighed, "I know that all of you about Danielle's life and where she goes, but she is keeping one part of her life a secret. One of her friends has been trying to convince her to tell everyone else about this life of hers, but she keeps refusing. It finally got to the point where her friend came to me and asked me to help him have you learn the truth, even if she doesn't agree."

The group was startled. Catherine took the lead by asking, "Who is her friend?"

Sam smiled gently, "His name is Harry Potter. The two of them are so close that they consider each other to be their brother and sister, depending on who you are talking to."

Warrick gasped, "Now that is a surprise, as no matter how close she is to all of the guys in her life, she has never been able to think that before."

Heather asked, "Why does Harry want us to know of the people in his life?"

Sara added, "For that matter, where does he live?"

Sam looked sheepish as he said, "Harry lives in England, but goes to school in Scotland. As for why he wants everyone in Danielle's life to know each other, I believe that he thinks that it will help us all to survive our upcoming battles."

Gil frowned, "How does he go to school in Scotland, when he lives in England?"

Sam swallowed and lowered his head. He whispered, "He goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Sara leaned forward, "Could you please repeat that? I heard you say something about a school for witches and wizards. Do wizards really even exist?"

Sam grinned, "Yes, wizards do exist and they have schools for them. Basically the wizarding world is the same as ours. The only difference is the fact that they use magic everyday and they don't have to hide it. As for going to school they have to get on a train in London that will take them to a small village near the school."

Catherine said, "You mentioned something about an upcoming battle. Are her friends in any danger?"

Sam winced, "I suppose that you can put it that way. The way Harry thinks of it is that they have to deal with the magical versions of Hitler and the Nazis."

That caught everyone's attention and they stared at him. Piper said for all of them, "Okay, when do we go there and how do we get there? Also, how old is Harry? What does he have to do with the battle?"

Sam looked down, "Harry is 15. When he was one, the head evil tried to kill him but failed and was forced out of his body for 13 years. Voldemort is back now and everyone believes that since Harry is the Boy-Who-Lived that he will be the one to save them all."

He watched as the group conferred and winced again as they glared at him. Catherine and Piper took the lead in asking the remaining questions, as they were the mothers of the group. Catherine asked, "Can we leave right away? The sooner that we get there the better that we all will feel."

Piper added, "That is for sure. There is no way that we will allow a 15-year-old to fight a battle on his own. Besides, this way we can teach him how to fight and to use our magic. If this works, than that means that he will have a distinct advantage."

Nick asked, "Who all is going to be there? Is it just us, or will there be other people coming?"

Sam responded, "After I orb you all to the Leaky Cauldron I'll be going to get those in Miami, New York, and on Breaker High."

The group stood up and everyone grabbed a hold of him. They orbed out and once they were standing again they could see that they were in some type of pub. As Sam was about to call out to the bartender the rest jumped when they saw people coming out of the fireplace.

Piper asked, "Sam, why did people come out of the fireplace?"

Sam looked at it, "That's called flooing. That is one of the ways that people travel in the wizarding world."

Nick started to ask more questions, but stopped when he saw that Sam was staring at the incoming group. Instead he asked, "What's wrong? Do you know those people?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, I do. They are the CSIs in New York. What I don't understand is how they know of this place."

As the team from New York went to go past them, Sam called out to them. They turned and when they spotted who was with Sam they stopped.

Sam said, "I'm not going to ask how you know of this place yet. I do think that it would be good for you to wait in one of the private rooms while I am getting the rest of the group." With that he motioned to Tom, spoke with him for a few minutes and orbed out.

When he was gone Tom showed them to one of the private rooms. Piper directed the question that was on all of their minds to Mac. She asked, "How did you know of this world? As it is, Sam was planning on getting you when he got those on Breaker High and the people in Miami."

Mac responded, "We learned of the wizarding world from Aiden, whom apparently went to Hogwarts. We will be going there, but we aren't sure as to how everyone will be able to see it."

Aiden ducked her head when everyone's eyes turned on her. She replied, "As I told my co-workers, I have a potion that will allow you to be a squib which means that you will be able to see Hogwarts. I'm not certain but I believe that those that already have their own magic won't need it, as they'll be able to see it on their own. That is why I won't be giving you the potion until we reach the gates. This way we'll see who can see it on their own and the potion won't be wasted."

Miami

Sam orbed into the Miami crime lab making Calleigh move to the side of the hall rather than having to walk straight into him. Once she stopped to say hello he grabbed her arm and led her to the meeting room. He quickly told her to call the rest of her co-workers, which she did.

Once they all were there he took a look around and smiled at the fact that even Suzie and Maddie were there. He said, "Before you ask anything I'm going to bring you all to a pub where the CSIs from both New York and Las Vegas are. Once I'm back from getting those on Breaker High I'll be able to answer your questions."

Leaky Cauldron

With that he took a hold of all of them and orbed them to the pub where Tom led them to the private room where the others were waiting. Once the door was closed behind him he orbed out again.

Calleigh took a look around the room and smiled as she recognized Warrick and Catherine from the case that had tied their teams together a couple of years earlier.

Aiden moved down on the couch, "Why don't all of you sit down? I'm sure that when Sam gets back we can start planning what we are going to do while we are in the Alley."

Breaker High

Sam orbed into the ship and looked around. He saw that Susannah and Edward were standing at the entrance to Edward's office, but it seemed to be that they were just watching their kids and the rest of the students. Susannah was the first to notice him and gave him a grin when he walked up to them.

He tried not to look at Susannah, as he knew that she would be yelling at him once she learned of Danielle's secret life. It wasn't just the fact that she had lied to everyone, but that her lies had allowed a teenager to nearly be killed a few times already and that would not go over well with any of the group, especially the parents.

Susannah noticed that Sam wouldn't directly look at her so she asked, "What's wrong Sam? Are any of the family hurt?"

Sam sighed, "No. No one is hurt. I just need the two of you, as well as Max and Cassidy to come with me. It might also be a good thing for their friends to come as well. We will be going to a pub in London, England where the CSIs from Miami, New York and Las Vegas are. The Halliwells will also be there."

Edward said, "You said that no one has been hurt, yet everyone is gathering. Why?"

Sam took a step back, "Danielle has a life that no one knew about and there is a battle between good and evil going on. There is also the fact that the one to be the leader in this war is 15 years old." He saw the look on both of their faces and ran over to the teens, as he knew that they wouldn't attack him when there were other people in the way.

Susannah and Edward stopped in front of him, than they quickly explained what he had said to the teenagers. Once the short explanation was done they all grabbed onto him and they orbed out of the ship and into the pub.

Leaky Cauldron

The group looked around at the place before Sam led them to the room where the others were waiting. The CSIs from New York were introduced to the newcomers, as they had already introduced themselves while they were waiting and the new group already knew those from Las Vegas and Miami.

Piper asked, "So, what is the first thing that we need to do?"

Aiden replied, "We'll start with shopping. I'll go into Gringotts to retrieve the money that we will need and than the first store that we will need to go to is Madame Malkin's. This is the place where you can get a variety of robes."

Alexx asked, "Why would we need to get robes?"

Aiden looked surprised, "What, you don't want to hide your identities and surprise Danielle? How much fun would it be to yell at her for keeping this life a secret when she doesn't know who we really are?"

The rest of the group smiled as they nodded. Sam asked, "Shouldn't the rest of us go into the bank to exchange currency?"

Aiden shook her head, "No, aside from Blaise, I'm the last Zabini. That means that I have my own trust fund from school which is still earning money, and the vaults that I received from being the heir and head of my family. I've got more than enough money and I don't have anything else to do with it as I'll never need it all."

With that they all stood up and Aiden led them through the pub and stopped at the archway. When they stopped the others were confused, as they didn't understand why they were standing at a wall.

Aiden smiled as she tapped the appropriate bricks and the others gasped in amazement and wonder. She said, "Welcome to Diagon Alley."