Hermione heard the elevator ding as she checked her watch. 10:30 precisely. The doors opened and she entered the floor of the 99th precinct, looking around for familiar faces. Well, that's odd, I thought everyone would be at their desks, Hermione thought to herself.
She'd received confirmation that Jake and Charles had finished interrogating Gerteso around ten, and then they should have made the switch with Kingsley, Harry and Ron a half hour ago. Even Amy was supposed to be back by now, but the only person on the team sitting at their desk was Rosa.
The plan was for Jake and Charles to swap with the three wizards and return to their desks to continue the paperwork Rosa had started last night. To keep up pretenses, the 99 couldn't hang around when Harry and Ron revealed Gerteso to Martini, since they 'didn't know' magic was real. They decided not to risk it because who knew what conversation would transpire, since the hope was for Gerteso to rat his brother out and give away details of his role as The Cryptic. Amy was supposed to be accompanying Holt, who was leading Martini and two of his associates around the precinct. Even Amy was supposed to excuse herself for another case to return to her desk, since Holt was supposed to be the only member who knew the true identities of the British team.
Since Hermione was not an Auror, she agreed to stay behind and get a head start on packing their things, only making her appearance when things were wrapping up so they could all debrief. Something's off, she thought as she quickly made her way over to Rosa's desk.
Rosa looked up when Hermione sat down on the spare seat next to her desk. "Good, you're here," she said in a low voice.
"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Hermione asked for confirmation.
Rosa nodded. "They normally pat everyone down when they get here, so something must have been concealing their sticks." Rosa knew better than to use the word 'wand' just in case there were listening ears. Hermione supposed sticks could be loosely termed to indicate a weapon, so the cover was decent. "They're definitely armed, and I saw the two idiots Martini brought with him give each other a weird look."
Hermione took in Rosa's words as her brain was whirring faster than ever. "This was supposed to be an ordinary visit. Of course they'd still come armed, but how could they know. Things have been tight lipped. Unless…" Hermione looked up at Rosa.
"They'd been tipped off. Smells like a dirty cop on your end," Rosa confirmed Hermione's thinking.
"We need to go help them!" Hermione said quickly.
"On it." Rosa was already standing and placing her gun in her holster.
Terry looked up from his desk. "Everything alright?" he asked, giving them an odd look.
"All good, Sarge. Just keep everyone here." Rosa gave him a look and he knew she meant business as he gave a curt nod in response.
Luckily, it was fairly quiet. Gina was too self involved with her phone and Hitchcock and Scully were in the breakroom eating their mid-morning meal. Rosa and Hermione hurried down the hall, and were about to turn down the hallway to the breakroom when Rosa froze and held out her hand.
Ron, Harry and Kingsley were ahead of them and just now entered the survey room. Rosa didn't want to give them away yet, in case they were the only backup. Hermione cast a silent concealment charm over the hallway, so no one else would have a clue what was going on, and a muggle repelling charm on the other side of themselves. They inched closer to see what was going on.
"Ah, you've finally arrived. I'm not sure what took you so long," they heard a deep baritone voice purr, no doubt it was Martini.
Hermione immediately placed an anti-apparition charm around the entire floor. They needed to find a way to see inside. She was trying to think desperately of a plan to find out just what they were up against.
"Now, I know my brother's in there, but none of these No-maj pigs seems to have the key. So, I'm going to need you to go in there and get them, or they die."
Oh, Merlin, this is not good. Not good. Hermione felt Rosa nudge her with her elbow and nodded toward the end of the hallway. There was one of those corner mirrors hanging up. Hermione nodded at Rosa's idea.
She could hear Kingsley trying to talk to and reason with Martini. Asking why one of his men couldn't open it instead. As much as Hermione desperately wanted to hear what Martini was going to say, she knew she needed to put a sound barrier up briefly so they wouldn't hear the commotion of her summoning the mirror off the wall.
As she cast the charm, the mirror broke from its mount in the corner and came flying at them, she controlled it's speed and stopped it just before it could be seen by any of the room's inhabitants. Hermione hovered the mirror closer and closer until she got a clear view of what was going on inside the room, and then stuck it to the wall.
She made her observations and then said to Rosa, "There are four men in there. Do you know where the other two came from?" Rosa shook her head. "Each one has the 99 team at wand point, including Holt. Kingsley, Harry, and Ron all have their hands up, and I don't see their wands anywhere." Rosa nodded and Hermione lifted the sound barrier charm. They were both studying the mirror now.
"...clearly you have someone working for you in MACUSA," they heard Kingsley say.
"You're a bright one, aren't you," Martini scoffed.
Hermione looked at Rosa. "They haven't surrendered their wands, yet," she whispered, realizing this after she'd checked the floor and the hands of Martini's team. Quickly, she dug into her pocket and pulled out the coin. "Harry and Ron both have theirs, I made sure of it."
"What are you going to send?" Rosa asked.
"I'll send 'we're here,' but they won't read it. They should feel it heat up and know. We'll give it about thirty seconds after it's sent. Do you have a clear shot of his men?" Hermione was speaking quickly and in a hushed voice. They were running out of time.
"Yeah, I'll take the left."
Hermione nodded as she sent the message. She shoved the coin back in her pocket and drew her wand. They waited another twenty seconds before Hermione whispered, "Now!"
What happened next was a blur. Rosa managed to shoot two of the men holding her team hostage in the legs, Hermione stunned the other two, and now Harry and Ron both had Martini at wand point. The tables had turned in an instant.
Hermione cast Disarming charms and had collected all five of the wizard's wands. Kingsley was pulling more cuffs out of his robes. Just as they were about to cuff everyone, they heard a haunting chuckle come from Martini.
"Ah, did you really think I'd give in this easily? Granted, I wasn't expecting those two harlots to come barging in and ruining everything, but still.."
Hermione stopped listening to his soliloquy. She knew he couldn't apparate, try as he might, so she did a quick homenum revelio. There were fourteen in the room, which checked out. She turned her wand to the hall, where she revealed one person. She stepped back enough to see the mirror out of the corner of her eye, and saw someone approaching. The person had chosen that moment to turn and make sure no one was following and Hermione acted without thinking. With speed she didn't even know she still possessed, she took one step in the hall and shot a stunning spell, hitting the man square in the back. Hermione then disarmed the man.
"Well done, Charlotte," Kingsley said. Harry and Ron both looked surprised and impressed at Hermione's quick thinking as Kingsley handed her another set of cuffs.
"Thank you, sir," Hermione said as she looked at Rosa. "Cover me?"
Rosa nodded as they went into the hall. Hermione triple checked to make sure absolutely no one else was going to try and save Martini, and once she was satisfied they were clear, she approached the man and cuffed him. She set the counter spell for the stun as Rosa dragged him off the ground and into the already cramped survey room.
"Stanley?" Kingsley asked. He was clearly surprised.
The man simply scowled at them as Kingsley rounded on Martini. His former Auror training was now coming out in full force. "Is anyone else in MACUSA feeding you information or protecting you?" Martini's cuffs had already turned that same bright blue as Gerteso's had the day before. They couldn't take any chances.
The look on Martini's face mirrored the same reaction Gerteso had given. He wanted to say no, but instead found himself listing off four more names within MACUSA. Kingsley scribbled them down on some paper he found at the desk. He stuffed the paper in his robes and then conjured a patronus to send a message.
As the lynx sprinted away, Kingsley turned to Harry and Ron. "We're going to take these five to MACUSA first. I've just sent word to the President, and I know that he will deal with them appropriately. He is as trustworthy as they come." He turned to Hermione next. "You know what you need to do before we come back." She nodded slightly.
Holt stepped forward. The detectives had done a decent job in playing the shocked muggle role until that point. "I will wait with Martini in the hall for your return." Per the arrangement, he was the only one who did not need a memory charm.
Hermione lifted the anti-apparition charm and watched as Holt walked Martini out, and the three wizards grabbed the other assailants by the arms and disapparated. Rosa shut the door, and Hermione quickly silenced it, before sending a flash of orange light towards the security camera, disabling it for five minutes.
"Um, is no one going to do anything about the dudes Rosa shot?" Jake asked.
"Someone will take care of them in MACUSA, I'm sure," Hermione said.
"Do you really have to?" Amy said, changing the subject from Jake's question. She knew they didn't have much time.
"What's she gonna do? Oh! Don't tell me you've got one of those flashy things like in MIB where they wipe people's memories. That'd be sweet!" Jake said excitedly.
"No, Jake she's going to use her wand because she's a witch and she's going to obliviate us." Amy's voice dripped with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes.
"Uh, obliviate means she's going to wipe our memories, Jakey," Charles clarified.
"Thanks, buddy," Jake responded. "Neuralyzer! That's it! I still think that'd be cooler."
"Will you two shut up?" Rosa said harshly.
Hermione took a quick breath. "Okay, after I do this, you need to call us Charlotte, Jason and Nolan again, alright?"
"Are you not going to-" Amy started to say, but Hermione cut her off.
"Not completely. Everything that just happened here, yes. You're going to think it went off exactly as planned, and everything involving the case you'll remember as completely normal, muggle events with no magic involved. But, you'll still be able to recall who our true identities are, even if you can't call us by our names. That's if everything is administered properly."
"Cool, c-c-cool, c-cool, cool, cool," Jake said nervously. "So..should we be worried you could completely mess with our memories?"
"It'll be fine, you know she's brilliant," Amy reassured him and squeezed his hand, which did not go unnoticed by Charles and Rosa.
"What was that?" Charles shrieked.
But Hermione didn't give them a chance to answer, as she waved her wand and took away all the magical memories surrounding the case. She watched their faces with sorrow, and hated that they had to follow the Statue of Secrecy so closely. She lifted the silencing charm, opened the door and fixed the mirror as the memory charm finished it's work. As the fog cleared, the detectives all looked around.
"Are they gone?" Jake asked.
"All but Martini and Gerteso. We'll bring them back soon," Hermione said. She heard three faint pops in the hallway. "We're going to bring Martini in so he and Gerteso can have a word."
Kingsley strode in with Holt behind him. "Alright team," Holt said. "You'll need to get back and file your reports on the Gerteso case so we can hand them over to King's team. They're going to question the two once more before they take their leave. You're dismissed." The four detectives nodded and exited quietly.
"Charlotte, you may go assist with paperwork," Kingsley nodded. "Holt and I are going to debrief while Jason and Nolan take care of Gerteso and Martini. I'll be back to assist Gerteso's transfer to England when I'm through."
~o~
Ron watched Hermione, Holt and Kingsley go as Harry grabbed Martini by the arm. He knew Kingsley wanted Hermione to obliviate the team, and he was disappointed they didn't get a chance to at least say goodbye as his actual self.
"Alright, time for your family reunion," Harry said as he nodded to Ron.
"Right," Ron opened the door to the interrogation room. He shook the thoughts from his head as he placed his focus back on the case. "Sorry for the hold up, Leo, but we have a visitor for you."
Gerteso looked up, slightly confused, until the door widened and his brother walked through. "What the- How'd you find him?" he said.
"So you are alive…" Martini cut in.
"And it looks like the two of you are both going to rot in prison for a long time," Harry said.
"Why didn't you come back for me?" Gerteso asked. Though his voice was cold and there was a stiffness to it, Ron could hear the hint of desperation that he truly wanted to know.
Martini hesitated. "I wanted to, but Benedict said it was too dangerous. He was after our kind and if we didn't get out of the country then, they'd find us."
"And yet I lived across the street with that corner shop owner until I was of age, and I was fine. Benedict always preferred you over me." It was the first shot of emotion Gerteso had displayed, but it disappeared just as quick. "You took everything from me. It should've been me."
"No, England should have been yours," Martini said stiffly.
"I went to the Sanguinity! I appealed to them for Englandand they shot me down!" Gerteso said through gritted teeth.
"So what, you came here to take my spot?" Martini let out a shrill laugh.
"Alright, alright, any last words?" Ron broke up their verbal spat.
"Yeah, thanks for ruining everything," Martini said to his brother.
"I had nothing left to lose," Gerteso said quietly.
Harry looked at Ron and nodded before disapparating with Martini to hand him off into trusted hands with MACUSA. Ron stepped outside to wait for Kingsley to return.
It was sad, really, to see how broken Gerteso had become. And now, both brothers' lives were effectively ruined, from their own wrongdoing, of course. Ron's thoughts were broken as Kingsley strolled down the hall.
"All set?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"I'm going to take Gerteso back to MACUSA with me, where we have a 1:00 portkey waiting. Hermione mentioned you three and the detectives had some business to take care of before you came back? Something about a movie?" Kingsley looked at him intently.
"Oh, er, yeah. Jake has gotten us all into the Die Hard movies. We have two left that we were hoping to watch before we caught a portkey back. Plus, we have to pack, too. Will MACUSA be alright if we stay a few extra hours in the suite?"
"Yes, I think that will be fine. I'll speak to the transportation department and arrange a 10:00pm Eastern portkey back to London for you. I'm sure you want to get home to your families tonight, even if it will be early in the morning."
Ron chuckled. "Yeah, it'll give us a few hours' sleep before we need to pick up the kids from Mum and Dad. Harry won't be as lucky. I'm sure Ginny will have him up bright and early."
Kingsley laughed. "I would expect nothing less. You three have done a brilliant job on this case. I think the paperwork can wait a few days. I'll speak to your department heads and make sure you're not expected back at the Ministry until Monday."
"Thank you, sir," Ron said. He was appreciative to have extra time to reunite with his family. It'd been a long two weeks, and the kids had never had both their parents away from them for that length of time.
"Of course. You've earned it. Now, I believe you have plans. Go join your team." Kingsley shook Ron's hand before entering the interrogation room to collect Gerteso.
Ron felt his pocket heat up from the coin. It was Harry, letting them know he was heading back to the suite to start packing and he'd meet them there. Hermione had responded that the paperwork was wrapping up, and they'd be there within the half hour.
She really had been thinking when she made him and Harry take those coins. No one was expecting there to be a leak within MACUSA's Aurors, let alone from the head of their department. Of course, he wouldn't be able to talk to her about any of this until they returned home.
He walked back onto the office floor as the team stood up. Jake handed him the reports so he could use them back home to build Gerteso's case. "There ya go, Nolan," Jake said.
"Are we ready to get back and watch those movies?" Amy asked. Everyone, including Rosa, nodded, indicating she was going to join them.
They were about to make their way to the elevator when Terry joined them. "Hey guys, even though I didn't really get to work with you, I heard you all did a great job, and I just wanted to thank you for keeping my team safe."
"Oh, er, thanks," Ron said.
Terry nodded at him and whispered to Ron and Hermione, "Chant back alright?" Both were confused until they heard Terry shout, "NINE NINE!"
The rest of the team, including Ron and Hermione shouted, "NINE NINE!" back.
"It's just something we do here," Terry said through a big smile as he turned to get back to his desk. They heard him saying to himself. "It's yogurt time! Terry loves his yogurt!" The detectives rolled their eyes and laughed.
~o~
Once they were back behind closed doors of the suite, Amy asked, "So, should we pack first? Or did you want to start the movies?" The four of them looked at the trio.
Hermione spoke for them. "Well, our stuff is all packed and ready to go. If Harry's mostly packed up, we can jump right into the movies. Then maybe that would give us enough time to actually go out to dinner and go to Shaw's for a drink before we have to leave. We depart at ten, so we should be there by nine."
Harry and Ron were gaping at Hermione. She'd slipped up. But when they looked at the detectives, no one looked surprised. "Don't worry, we still know who you are, just not the details of the case," Charles explained.
The two men rounded on Hermione, who didn't look apologetic in the slightest. "They deserve to know our true identities, and I trust them. If you don't, then you can obliviate them before we leave."
Ron and Harry glanced at each other and then Ron noticed Jake, Amy and Charles giving them desperate looks. Rosa didn't seem to care either way.
"Are we doing this, or what?" Hermione asked.
The afternoon had passed by, and they watched the last two films in near silence. The only outburst was when Hermione yelled at the television during the dancing scene in the tent. "What the fuck were they thinking?!" It took a lot to get Hermione this riled up. Ron should have been annoyed as well, but he was so amused by her use of the foulest of language that he laughed at the absurdity of it all.
It was a solemn mood as the trio had to watch so many they were close to die again. Tears were shed at the end of part one when they lost Dobby, and again when they saw Fred, Tonks, and Lupin lying still.
Amy paused the movie before the epilogue, not wanting to show them that before they discussed the rest of the films. "Well?" she asked quietly.
"A lot of things were different, but it doesn't change the grief from the loss of it all," Ron said. Harry and Hermione nodded.
"I didn't realize it until these two films, but I found the voices with Polyjuicing odd. When you use the potion, even your voice changes, but it didn't here," Hermione commented.
"Probably to help the audience know who was who," Charles said.
"I honestly tried to forget the whole 'seven Potters' thing," Harry grumbled.
"Mate, we didn't exactly care to be you, either," Ron managed a laugh.
"Was it weird turning into a guy?" Rosa asked Hermione.
"Um," Hermione's cheeks flushed red. "I tried not to think about it." Ron was watching her carefully. He'd honestly forgotten that Hermione had experienced what it was like to be Harry. To- nope, we're not going there, he told himself.
"Speaking of, I can't believe they didn't Polyjuice me during the wedding," Harry said.
"Yeah, a lot of that whole scene was off," Ron agreed.
No one wanted to discuss the locket, or Ron's departure, which he was thankful for. He had a feeling Hermione was appreciative to see the scene of his movie self destroying the locket to get some sort of visual of what he went through. It wasn't exact, but it was close.
"The whole snatcher chase through the woods was bollocks," Harry said.
"Yes, and why didn't they let Ron yell for me?" He knew she was talking about Malfoy Manor. That was hard to watch. "That was what kept me alive. How could they leave that out?" she asked incredulously.
Amy just shrugged. "I've given up asking those questions. But if I ever get a chance to meet Steve Kloves, I fully plan on giving him a piece of my mind." Jake patted her knee to settle her.
"What about your injuries? How could they just pick back up in the second part and you were fine? We were at Shell Cottage for over a month! And you spent more than half that time healing! You were barely ready for Gringotts!" It was the first time they were really seeing Ron get heated over the movies.
"They were already dark enough as it is, no one needed that addition, I'm sure," Hermione told him.
"Oh, and they butchered your first kiss as bad as they did mine and Gin's," Harry said.
"Yes, well, how could they keep the integrity of it when they cut out all of S.P.E.W.," Hermione said bitterly. "And, we did not get soaked by a tidal wave in the Chamber of Secrets. Honestly, was that the best they could imagine for that scene? She also looked pained to kiss him. I was certainly not pained to kiss you, was I? Considering I made the first move?"
"Hermione, you're getting yourself riled up again," Ron chuckled. He was trying to hide his own disappointment at how all that panned out.
"I wish Snape's death actually happened in the Shrieking Shack," Amy said. "I never understood the boathouse scene."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "That seemed off, but Snape's memories and the forest with the resurrection stone was quite well done. Even King's Cross with Dumbledore, though I'm disturbed about how Rita found out about that," Harry shuddered.
"The final scene between you and Voldemort was shit," Ron said to Harry as Hermione nodded.
"So anticlimactic," she said.
"Yeah, there's some holes in how everything ties together because of it," Harry said, noticing the flaws.
"But that wouldn't make a good climax," Charles said.
"Charles, just say action or fight scene...honestly," Jake shook his head.
"Well, there is one more part," Amy said. "Want me to play it? Then we can go to Shaw's for dinner and drinks before you have to go."
"Um, sure," Hermione said as Harry and Ron gave a noncommittal shrug.
Amy pressed play and the epilogue unfolded. Harry, Ron and Hermione stared open-mouthed at the screen.
"But...nineteen years later isn't for another two years," Hermione said, a look of complete loss on her face. "When did you say the seventh book and movies came out?"
"The book was 2007, and the movies were 2010 and 2011."
"Hugo and Lily weren't even born yet. How could she have possibly known their names?" Hermione was completely flabbergasted.
"Hermione, how did she find out everything she wrote in those books?" Harry said exasperatedly.
"So, the kids," Amy said timidly. "They're real?"
Jake couldn't help but laugh. "What, like they're fake? Ames, do you hear yourself?"
"Yes," Hermione said, "and the names are correct, too." A thought crossed Hermione's mind. "What if she's a Seer?"
"I thought you didn't believe in that rubbish," Ron said.
"I'm skeptical, yes, but that scene hasn't happened yet. Either she totally made it up for drama or she saw it," Hermione persisted.
"Well, we won't know until it plays out in two years, now will we?" Harry said. "And seeing how it's Al and me, I guess I'll be the one to confirm."
"Are we ready to head out yet?" Rosa asked.
Everyone nodded and left the conversation there. Hermione grabbed the beaded bag, which had all of the trio's belongings, like old times.
"Thank you for showing us all of that. It was very...enlightening," Hermione said to Amy.
"Of course! Thanks for, um, keeping this part of our memory intact," Amy said as Hermione offered a small smile.
"To the best team of Brooklyn detectives and British Aurors!" Charles said as he raised his fist in the air.
In the absence of Terry, Jake took over his signature line. "NINE-NINE!"
"NINE-NINE!" They all echoed.
They took one last look around the suite before closing the door behind them. The mission had certainly been once of a lifetime, and the trio had made friends they wouldn't soon forget. And, the 99 detectives wouldn't either, thanks to Hermione's ability to skirt around the law.