"Finally, we're a step ahead of Gerteso!" Boyle said after Harry and Ron had explained everything.
"What do you think the plan should be?" Rosa asked. "The sooner we wrap this up, the better. Not that I haven't enjoyed all this time with you all, but I'm itching to get on with a new case. Plus, Sarge is starting to go nuts relying on Scully and Hitchcock." Rosa's seriousness was interrupted by a brief laugh, as she was no doubt imagining Sarge and Gina losing their minds at the duo's stupidity.
"We should be able to apprehend him tomorrow. I don't think it's a good idea to wait too long because he's going to find out sooner or later that his brother's records aren't where he's looking. He's bound to check the immigration records in an upcoming visit," Amy reasoned.
Hermione agreed. "I know you're going to pull the, 'you're not an Auror, Hermione,' card again, but I think Amy's right. We can contact Kingsley and MACUSA to get permission to apprehend him. This needs to be done tomorrow."
"If you're careful, you may even be able to get him to rat out his brother, too. If he wants to take him down, this would be his last chance when he's in custody," Jake said.
"You know what, that's actually a good idea," Ron agreed. "Hermione, you, Rosa and Amy see what else you can find on Martini. We're going to need a location for the MACUSA Aurors to bring him in. I think we can play the angle of getting Martini to come in and verify the suspect, so we don't tip him off. That way we can give both of them the shock factor of seeing each other."
"...Especially since it doesn't sound like it's going to be a cozy little reunion," Charles said.
"Exactly. So how's this? Harry and I will go meet with Kingsley to see if we can gain permission for a sting in the Wand Records office. Jake and Charles, you should go inform Holt of the plan. There's only the one stairwell down from the lift. Hermione, we should station you with Rosa there, and then Jake, Charles, and Amy can be covering the main entrance to the Woolworth and the alley he disappears by, just in case."
Everyone nodded and went their separate ways to gather a plan. It didn't take long for Kingsley to respond to Harry and Ron. They took their time detailing everything they'd discovered and their idea for a capture.
"Are you sure it's him?" Kingsley asked them.
"Positive," Harry said. "Jake and Charles watched him drop the disguise or disillusionment charm in the alley before he disapparated. Jake confirmed."
"But didn't Ron obliviate him after their first meeting?" Kingsley asked skeptically. He and Holt didn't know that their true identities had been revealed to the rest of the team.
Harry recovered quickly. "Yes, but we've since spotted him on surveillance, and have still photos to work off of. Charles was able to snap a few pictures on his phone, too."
"Okay. I will check with MACUSA. Should I request backup?"
"That wouldn't hurt in case he manages to get up the stairs or to the lift. As long as we get questioning rights first," Harry agreed.
"I don't think that will be an issue, especially if we're aiding in bringing in The Cryptic."
Ron nodded. "We're hoping that we can get Gerteso to crack. We've got too much evidence to put forth with the Wizengamot to put him Azkaban for a long time. This could be his only chance to strike a plea to lessen the sentence. If he's trying to take down his brother out of spite, he just might give away what he knows."
Kingsley nodded. "I'll meet with them and be back shortly. Do me a favor and check on Hermione's status with the articles. I have a feeling MACUSA will want any evidence she's collected with the other detectives," he said just before he left the frame.
"I'll go check if you don't mind waiting?" Ron asked Harry.
Harry shooed him off as he sat on his bed, and Ron returned to the common area. "Any luck?" he asked them.
"Amy's managed to find a list of all the names of orphans Martini has 'taken in.' None of the kids ever make it back to the Orphanage. I'm cross referencing the names to the list I have from the Ilvermorny database. Most of the names are matching those on this list," Hermione explained. "Even if a child is not fully magical, their name still appears, and there's an 'S' next to their name, presumably for squib."
"I'm also looking up to see if any adoption records come up for these kids, or if there are any money transfers in an attempt to cover any of it up," Rosa added.
"Good, good, Kingsley will appreciate the information," Ron said.
"Oh, my God," Amy exclaimed as Ron was about to head back to Harry.
Various forms of 'what' chorused from everyone, and even Harry popped his head out of the doorway to see what was going on.
"It's not just Squib trafficking. I checked the names Hermione didn't find a match for and some of these are high profile missing persons cases." Amy looked at Rosa. "I need to call Jake."
"No, wait. Let's see what Kingsley says. We shouldn't move too many units in. It might spook him, and that's the last thing we want." Amy nodded and Rosa looked like she wanted to argue, but Harry called him back.
"Kingsley just appeared in the portrait." Ron moved quickly to join them.
"You have permission from MACUSA to set up the sting tomorrow. They'll provide extra coverage, but not until after he enters. Once you have him in custody, I'll join you for the investigation. The MACUSA Aurors are appreciative of any information you can give them on Martini. They've hit dead ends with the Squib trafficking ring for a while now. Make sure you bring any information about Martini tomorrow to be ready to hand over."
"Yeah, about that. Apparently, he hasn't just been taking squibs from the orphanage. Amy said there are some muggle missing person cases that some of the names and descriptions are matching. This is going to get messy."
Kingsley was quiet as he thought about this new development. "I will discuss with Holt and see what he thinks. First and foremost, Martini is a wizard, and will need to be convicted as such. Of course, the matters are out of my hands, as this is strictly American territory, though I'm sure MACUSA will be willing to work with and see if they can help locate any of the muggles on that list."
"Thanks, Kingsley."
"You're welcome. The last thing I need you to do is see what you can find for background on the Guarnieris. Any additional information will be helpful for questioning. We need as much of an upper hand as we can get. Hopefully, I will see you in person tomorrow."
Harry and Ron said their goodbyes and made their way back to the rest of the team to get the information Kinglsey said they needed. The girls were just finishing up their research connected to Martini, and then the group of five grabbed some lunch before diving into a deep search of the Guarnieri name.
~o~
Unfortunately, their searches didn't yield the detail they were hoping for. They did find out that Lorenzo and Leonardo Guarnieri grew up in London where they were orphaned at a young age. Apparently as Voldemort's influence was rising at the beginning of the second wizarding war, there was a Death Eater attack on the orphanage. Bellatrix had intel that there were Muggleborns in the orphanage and Voldemort had ordered an attack on innocent children.
Leonardo and Lorenzo must have been separated during the attack, as the orphanage's cook was credited with saving one of the boys, Lorenzo, who would one day become The Cryptic. It was clear from the articles that the cook had taken a keen interest in the Guarnieri twins, which caused Hermione to think that she, too, must have been a vampire, since why else would she take him to the Sanguinity. The article talked of the tragedy, and the cook had stated it broke both the boy's and her heart because she was unable to go back and rescue Leonardo.
Hermione was then able to find more on Lorenzo from published Sanguine journals in Italy. After verifying his descent, the Sanguinity took him in and he studied under them until they shipped him off to join the New York division. He was only 23 at the time, and he moved his way up the ranks quickly. The former leader died suddenly when Lorenzo was 25, and he was chosen by the Sanguinity to take over. Ironically, this was around the same time Leonardo started working at Gringotts.
Ron and Harry were less successful in finding any information on Leonardo, which wasn't surprising considering how he was able to pass through the system. Since he was presumed dead, Hogwarts never came for him when he turned eleven, and he only knew he was a wizard because the cook had discussed it with him and his brother. They found an article in a muggle newspaper about the mysterious orphanage attack that interviewed a lowly shopkeeper nearby, and it was Jake who noticed the small boy peeking out from behind a crate in the picture.
"There! That's got to be him, right?" Jake pointed to the screen.
"Yes! That's definitely him. You can see the resemblance to the boy in the other article," Ron agreed.
After finding the article, they'd hit a dead end. The team felt a little down because of the lack of information, but Charles, ever the optimist, reminded them that "because you know his real identity, and his motive, and that'll be enough to seal the deal."
"Charles is right," said Amy. "I think we've got enough for tomorrow, and the plan is ready to go. Who wants to binge more of the HP movies and try and relax the rest of the day?"
"That sounds good to me!" Hermione said eagerly.
"Do we really have to watch more?" Harry asked, not even bothering to hide his displeasure.
"The first one wasn't terrible, mate," Ron said. He could tell Hermione was anxious to see more, and if he was being honest, he was too.
Rosa opted to head back to the precinct to get some paperwork done for a bit while the rest of the team settled in on the couches. Charles had barely sat down when he realized they would need ample food to fuel their movie marathon. So, he ran out to get snacks and pick up sandwiches for everyone later. He insisted they start without him, since he'd seen them before. As the resident foodie of the group, he had taken it upon himself to give them the ultimate snack fest for their binging party.
Amy hit play and settled in a seat next to Jake, where Ron noticed she was sitting quite close to him and had to hide his smirk. He and Hermione shared a knowing look at the two of them, while Harry was watching the opening intently.
"Man, did Dobby really cause all that havoc at your Aunt and Uncle's?" Jake asked.
Harry nodded. "Yeah. Hey, mate, thanks again for the rescue mission. Things were not looking good," he turned and said to Ron, who simply smiled and nodded.
"One of the few times Fred and George actually worked with me and not against."
They settled in for a while until the Ford Anglia made its second appearance and they watched the movie Harry and Ron fly into the Whomping Willow. Ron couldn't help but laugh at the scene. "Well, Hermione, you always wanted to know what happened when we weren't on the train. I'd say this is a pretty good reenactment!" Everyone laughed at Ron's words.
Things were going well until the scene where Ron was puking up slugs. That wasn't the issue. It was what movie Hermione had said. Hermione was beside herself when she looked at Amy and asked, "But, why did I get those lines? I had no idea what a Mudblood was!"
"Well, at least they got the slugs right," Ron tried to remain optimistic.
Charles returned from his snack purchasing excursion just as the polyjuice potion scene was playing out. He was about to ask Hermione what it was like to be a cat, but Ron gave a firm shake of his head, indicating that it would be smarter to not ask the question.
Ron had to get up and walk out at the scene with all the spiders, mumbling something to the effects of, "I lived through it once, I don't need to watch it again."
Harry couldn't help but take the mickey out of him a bit, saying that, "this Grint character's facial expressions are brilliant, though! It's almost like he shares the same fear." Hermione tried to be sympathetic and not laugh, but she did admit it was funny.
"Oh, but Rupert Grint is terrified of spiders, too!" Amy confirmed.
They watched the remainder of the movie in relative quiet, and once it had finished, everyone turned to Hermione for her overall thoughts, while Amy got up to switch to the third movie.
"Well, aside from giving me several lines that I didn't actually say, I suppose it wasn't terrible," Hermione said.
"It's interesting how they interpret some of the events that happened," Harry chimed in.
"Were they close, at least?" Amy asked.
"For the most part." Harry didn't care to go into much more detail than that.
"Was Lockhart similar to his character?" Amy asked.
Hermione nodded. "The actor did quite a good job with him actually."
"Oh, please, Lockhart was more insufferable in real life. You liked him, so you shouldn't be one to judge," Ron cut in.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's not-!"
"Don't even try and deny it, Hermione," Ron laughed. "It's okay, I forgive your twelve year old self for your poor taste."
"Oh, no!" Charles cut in, preventing Hermione from any defense she may have had from Ron's statement.
"What? Did you forget the stuff for nachos?" Jake asked, looking alarmed as he glanced to the kitchen.
"No, I just realized I missed the slug scene!" Charles lamented.
Everyone stared at him, not really knowing what to say. Finally, Ron spoke up. "Er, was there something you wanted to know? Seeing as how I lived through it, I may be able to help.."
Jake groaned. "Wrong answer."
Amy agreed. "Yeah, Ron, take it back while you still have the chance."
Before Ron could ask why, Charles began shooting out a litany of questions. "What made you choose slugs to jinx with? What did they taste like? Was it like escargot? How would you rate the mouthfeel? I'll need to do some research to see if slugs are actually a delicacy somewhere around the world…"
"Charles!" Jake snapped him back to reality. "Leave him alone. No one cares about slugs. Besides, we're not supposed to know they exist, so you shouldn't be questioning him about this."
"It's fine, Jakey, I'll just say I did extensive research on it and the movie sparked the inspiration for the new blog article."
"Charles, no one is going to want to read about the mouth feel of slugs on your blog. Just stick to rating obscure restaurants." Amy said.
"I have so many questions…" Ron finally managed to say. "What is mouthfeel?"
"Oh, you see I write a food blog!"
"Yeah, I gathered that.."
"Mouthfeel is one of the twelve categories I rate a dish on. The inside of your cheeks are very sensitive, right? It's like the inside of your thighs except with a tongue-"
"Charles!" Jake and Amy both groaned.
"Alright, alright! Ron asked, so I answered. The slug thing just gave me an idea for my next blog if you wanted to share your experience."
Ron didn't know how to answer. He was twelve when it happened, and thankfully he hadn't had to relive that particular moment. Thankfully, Amy came to his rescue.
"Okay, enough, I'm starting Prisoner of Azkaban. If you want snacks, go grab them now."
"I'm going to get a drink," Harry said.
Ron and Hermione looked worriedly at him. They knew he was probably apprehensive about seeing Sirius and Remus portrayed on screen. Amy said she'd wait until the end to ask any questions, and advised them all to do the same. Charles was banned from any questions related to food.
When their second movie of the day finished, Hermione looked at Amy. "Is this whole, me getting everyone else's lines going to get worse?"
"Do you want the honest answer?" Amy asked through a grimace.
Hermione sighed. "As much as I still hate Rita for starting this whole thing by publishing the books, at least they were accurate. I'm starting to lose faith in these films."
"Do you want to keep going?" Amy asked.
"Might as well."
"Can we take a break and eat first?" Harry asked.
"I think that's a good idea," agreed Jake.
"Harry, if you don't want to watch the next one, we'll understand," Hermione told him. It was bad enough seeing Sirius and Remus again, and watching Pettigrew get away, but now he'd have to watch the Triwizard Tournament, no doubt watching someone play Cedric die, and see the fake Moody's deception. It was going to take a dark turn.
"I'll be fine," Harry said.
"You could call Ginny if you wanted," Ron suggested.
"You know as well as I do we're not supposed to contact anyone while on a mission," Harry said. But the toll of having been away from her and his family for longer than a week was starting to weigh on him.
"Can you imagine what she's going to say when we tell her?" Ron said. The trio all had a laugh at imagining Ginny's reaction over the whole thing.
"Hey, I have a question," Jake said as they sat down to eat. "How did you two not pick up on the whole time turner thing for an entire year?" He motioned to Harry and Ron.
"I did notice!" Ron defended. "That was actually close to how it happened. I'd notice her appear almost out of thin air in classes, but she'd always wave me off or ignore me when I'd ask."
"I couldn't tell you. We've been over this a million times," Hermione scoffed.
"Well then, why didn't you use it to catch up on sleep?" Jake asked.
Amy looked at him as if that was the dumbest question in the world. "Well, obviously she couldn't. McGonagall told her she should only use it for attending all of her classes. You have to use it sparingly."
"Yes, Ames, just because McGonagall says something, it's Hogwarts law," Jake shot sarcastically back at her.
"She's not wrong," Hermione clarified. "I was warned that if I used it too much I could run the risk of affecting the timeline, even if I wasn't seen. Time turners are a funny thing, er, were. I didn't want to risk messing with time too much. I was also fourteen and insistent that I could manage it all, too. Ron was the only one to make me see that I couldn't actually manage it." The three detectives nodded, though Jake didn't seem satisfied with the answer.
"I don't like how the actors who are playing Remus and Sirius and Snape are so old. They would have been in their thirties. We don't look that old, do we?"
"No, I think it was more about securing acting prestige when they signed them. It's not something I thought about, but you're right," Amy tried to explain. "Kind of like how they hired kids and had to hope their acting would hold up as they grew with the series."
"Yes, well, I'm still holding out an opinion, but I'm not sure how well I like Emma Watson."
"Just wait," Charles said as he took a swig of his beer.
"What's that-" Hermione started to say, but Amy cut her off as she jumped up and went over to the entertainment area.
"We should get started if we're going to finish this at a reasonable hour."
They cleaned up and settled in for one more movie that evening. Ron could tell that Hermione wanted to speak several times, and there were a few moments when Ron thought she was going to cut off the circulation in his leg at how hard she was squeezing.
The credits barely started rolling when Hermione let loose. "They completely cut out Winky and S.P.E.W.! Which completely changed Barty Crouch Jr.'s whole storyline! And why would they make Durmstrang all boys and Beauxbatons all girls? That's complete rubbish! Oh, if Fleur were to see her portrayal here...it's completely awful! They messed everything up."
"Hermione, I know it was bad, but they kept the integrity of the main points," Ron tried to calm her down. "Personally, I really enjoyed Movie Harry dribbling water all over himself as he gushed over Cho." He burst into a fit of laughter that did manage a chuckle out of Hermione.
"Oi! That did not happen, so don't you dare tell Ginny about it." Harry warned.
"Won't have to tell her anything mate, not if she sees it for herself."
Harry groaned. "Well, I'm personally disappointed that your row didn't happen in front of loads of people in the common room like it did after the Yule Ball. They really missed the mark on that one," Harry shot back.
"Well, they certainly got your sour attitudes right," Hermione told them both, "and the pig-headedness of your own row."
"Yeah, well, that's nothing compared to what's coming in sixth year. Can't wait to watch how they did that one," Harry said. Ron and Hermione knew he didn't really mean much by it, but they both still turned faintly red at the memory.
"Harry," Amy tried as gently as she could to change the subject. "Is that actually what Voldemort looked like?"
Harry was silent for a moment. "Er, sort of. His face was much more snake-like, and his voice was more chilling than that. But the graveyard scene was accurate, minus Bertha Jorkins absence."
Ron and Hermione were quiet. It was the one time they weren't with Harry as they had to remain in the stands while he completed the final task.
"I still can't believe Fudge just administered the Dementor's Kiss on Crouch without bothering to hear his story," Charles said, shaking his head.
"Yeah, well Fudge was bloody buggering-"
"Okay, Ron," Hermione cut him off. Harry nodded in agreement at what Ron was about to say. "Maybe it's time we turn in. We need our rest for tomorrow."
Everyone agreed. "As much as I'm ready to catch this asshole, I'm not ready for this to end," Jake admitted.
"Well, we've still got questioning and all that, so it's not like we're just going to disappear tomorrow or anything," Ron reassured him.
"You aren't going to obliviate us when this is all over, are you?" Rosa asked. She'd just walked in the door. "Oh good, movie night's over."
Jake, Charles and Amy all looked at the trio, waiting for the answer to the question only Rosa had been brave enough to ask. They knew with the Statute of Secrecy that they'd have to. The sympathetic looks emanating off of Harry, Ron and Hermione said it all.