Ride-Along
Trainee Auror Harry Potter goes on a Ride-along with some Hit-Wizards, to see what regular magical law enforcement entails.
-=0=-
Harry stood by the Hit-Wizards office, feeling a bit distinctive in his trainee Aurors robes. Ron, Dean and a couple of the other trainees were all doing their ride-along tonight, after Auror training had finished for the day.
An old, fat hit wizard in blue robes covered in black armour came out with a clipboard,
"Potter, you're with Meadows and Purcell. Just do what you're told" Harry nodded and followed the two Hit-Wizards along a corridor.
"Hey, kid, put this on" said Purcell; the name-badge on his armour in clear yellow letters. He handed Harry a set of black armour to put over his robes.
"I'm in Auror robes" said Harry.
"The armour helps, we can't always shield" said Meadows, who was about fifty and had short black hair.
Harry frowned and strapped the armour on. The name had just said "Trainee"
"We're going to Hogsmeade first, go round the streets, both pubs, the strip joint then back to Diagon, as far as Knocturn. We're not going in there after ten pm, unless we're called.
"There's a strip joint in Hogsmeade?" said Harry incredulously.
"Down the alley next to the shoe store, charmed door, invisible to minors" said Purcell. "We're going to go past, we don't go in unless the staff are having a problem. They'll floo call if there is one, and we'll get calls on our badges. You know how to work a talking badge?"
"Yeah" said Harry.
"Now keep your spells down to stunners. We're not the Aurors, and we mostly deal with… disturbances." said Purcell
Harry got dragged along to Hogsmeade by Purcell. "Have to side-along, otherwise, it's not a ride-along" said Meadows.
"Now we stroll around the blocks, every street, then the bars."
"And the strip joint" said Harry.
Purcell laughed "Don't get so excited, you can go on your own time"
"Oh I wouldn't go there..." said Harry blushing.
"Unless it was work" said Purcell, with a laugh.
The night was dim, and their wands lit their way as the patrolled. Some people passed them by, nodded to the hit-wizards, and a little alarmed to see an Auror.
"He's a trainee on ride-along. It's not a bloody disaster" said Purcell.
"Why are people worried, I'm an Auror, I'm going to stop dark wizards." said Harry.
"Where you lot are, bad shit is happening" said Meadows. "We deal with.. rowdy drunks, fights, and domestics" the last word said with a sigh.
"And lost pets. Gerry had to get that llama down out of that tree last week" said Purcell
"Bloody thing spat all over him" said Meadows. "Word of advice: llamas spit, just avoid them"
After visiting both bars; the patrons of the Hogs Head looked particularly cross to see them, they took a nervous Harry to see the doorway of the strip joint.
Harry could see the door in the otherwise boring alleyway, and when it opened, loud music came out. Meadows leaned towards the big troll-like security person, and they had a quick conversation. Meadows nodded and motioned to the other two and the left the alley for the street.
"Gary says it's been quiet, Hagrid's nowhere to be seen and no drama"
"Hagrid?"
"Bloody nightmare when he's drunk, fucking half giant."
"He'd never hurt a fly" protested Harry.
"He boxes trolls for fun. If he gets excitable, takes six of us to stop him. If he'd just stay sober, we'd have a damn sight less to do in Hogsmeade" said Meadows.
Harry felt guilty. His friend Hagrid was … a rowdy drunk. A rowdy, eight foot tall drunk.
They apparated to Diagon alley and strolled along, checking the side alleyways.
"We're looking for injured people mostly" said Meadows. "The ratbags are over in Knockturn, and that's either a whole squad, or you buggers going psycho."
"We have to capture dark wizards when we find them" said Harry defensively.
"And then everyone needs new doors, cos you've kicked them all in" said Purcell.
They walked along, checking windows and doors on alley, until Purcell's' badge spoke.
"Disturbance at apartment, forty three Easy street" said the badge.
"All right, we're up" said Purcell, "Potter, hang on, we're off"
with that, the two Hit-Wizards apparated to Easy street.
Harry noticed the lights. There weren't many. The street smelled a bit, and the building crowded the light of the moon and stars out.
Purcell took slow, careful steps to the building and led Harry to a large door. Purcell knocked.
The door opened a crack "Rozzers?" asked an elderly woman.
"Yeah" said Purcell.
"Number five, they've been fighting for a quarter hour" said the old lady, opening the door. Harry followed Purcell up the stairs, while Meadows, behind Harry spoke softly 'Potter be very careful, this is probably a domestic, and we want to be sure nobody gets hurt"
Harry drew his wand and Meadows said "Remember. Nothing bigger than a stunner, and only if we're in trouble"
The Door they wanted wasn't shut. A man and a woman were yelling at each other through the door. Harry's guts coiled with reaction.
"Shit it is a domestic" said Purcell.
Harry followed Purcell down a narrow hall, crowded with cloaks, into a room where a wizard in scruffy work clothes was arguing with a witch in patched robes.
"You couldn't leave it alone you had to go looking" said the brown haired witch.
The wizard spat back "It's my house too you bitch, and hit the witch in the head. She sailed backwards and landed against the wall, her nose bleeding. She stood up slowly, shook her head; the blood stopped flowing and said "Well Saul, you effing asked for it, you'll get it" and she jabbed her wand at the man, who flew across the room; banished into the wall.
"All right you two settle down" said Purcell.
Saul got up and cast some kind of knockback jinx and the witch again hit the wall.
Harry was desperate to do something, but Meadows grabbed his wand arm, "Not now" he whispered.
Saul walked closer to the witch "Eat shit, Glenda" he said.
Glenda stood up, shook her head, cracked her back and headbutted Saul. He cried out, clutching his nose.
Glenda took this opportunity to hex Saul with boils.
He stood up and cast a yellow spell mostly silently, which Glenda shielded clumsily.
They kept going back and forth, blasting each other into the walls, Glenda hexing Saul with more and more painful hexes.
Glenda was blasted backwards so hard, she flew through the wall, exposing the laths, landing in a heap. She got up and blasted Saul into the wall again.
"Glenda, Saul calm down" said Purcell.
Glenda cast a cutting hex and Saul cried out, a large cut on his arm, starting to bleed.
Glenda looked pleased and started throwing more hexes; more boils, a hair loss curse, then the tooth growing hex.
"All right Potter, Stun Glenda" said Meadows. Harry nervously stunned the witch, who collapsed.
Meadows stunned Saul. He stopped groaning. Meadows went over and cast a few quick spells and Saul was not bleeding and his largest cut was bandaged up.
Harry followed Purcell to Glenda. She was a bit battered and dusty, and her nose looked broken. Purcell cast a spell on her nose, and it set with an audible click.
"Now you know how to apparate back to the office?" Purcell asked Harry.
"Yeah"
"So you side along one, Meadows will take the other, and I'll tidy this place up , lock the door." said Purcell.
"He hit her" said Harry "He hit a .. woman"
"And she hit him right back." said Purcell. "Once a witch gets her dander up, she's every bit as dangerous as a stupid wizard like Saul there"
"She healed her own nose, wordlessly"
"Your a big war hero, right, you've been in a lot of fights?" asked Purcell.
"Yeah" said Harry.
"Ever noticed we just get up from hitting walls and keep fighting. Limp around with broken legs?"
"Er, yeah, but… we were lucky"
"Wizard, Witch, in a fight, unless the witch is really small and the wizard really big, magic equalises things. These two, they were already fighting for fifteen minutes before we turned up. Already tired, and they aren't bloody duellists, they know a few curses, a knockback jinx, a banisher, that's about it. We'll take them past the duty nurse, into the cells, and the night court, or maybe morning, can deal with them." said Purcell sadly.
"You've been here before" guessed Harry.
"Lots of times" said Meadows. "One or other will go too far one day."
"This is stupid" said Harry.
"People do stupid things" said Meadows. "Then we get called."
"So, ready to take these two in" asked Purcell.
"yeah" said Harry, and picked Glenda up, careful to collect her wand.
"Back to the office" said Meadows, and Harry and Glenda vanished with a crack.
-==0==-
Harry got changed out of his uniform in the Aurors locker room and put his robes in his locker.
Ron appeared, still in uniform, down the way "See you tomorrow" said Ron, as Harry walked out of the locker room, and signed out of the night.
He apparated home to Grimmauld place, opened the front door, went in and went to bed.
-==0==-
Harry Potter went to the Auror trainee locker room and put his robes back on.
He sighed, put on his boots and got up, to go sign in.
Next to the ledger, where the large armoured forms of Purcell and Meadows.
Harry nodded to them. Purcell spoke "Auror Potter, a word"
Harry followed them over to an interview room that they appropriated.
"You didn't sleep well?"
"How could I." said Harry.
"Domestics are the worst" said Meadows. "Though at least there were no kids, and no major curses."
"He blasted her through the wall" said Harry angrily.
"And you've never used a blasting curse?" asked Meadows.
"It was a war, it was different"
"And that's why domestics are awful" said Meadows. "We're sorry you were with us, you're a bit young to see that"
Harry sighed "I was in a war, I've seen worse"
"Not from two people who loved each other" said Meadows. "You're a Hogwarts kid, Griffindor right?"
"Yeah" said Harry.
"Everyone knows that about you" admitted Purcell.
"I hate Hogwarts domestics" said Meadows.
"Them Slytherin couples… so many bloody 'accidental' poisonings" said Meadows.
"Or one of them's into dark magic" said Purcell. "Fuckin sickos, then we have to get you lot in… and there goes anyone that survived, in the tender hands of the Aurors."
"Did my head in, one time, the raven-thingys, two of them, both dead, kids crying, too clever by half, and vengeful." Meados shuddered. "Glenda and Saul were just playing around in comparison"
"You get two of those Griffindors… you lot really make big messes, walls blown off.., huge fires." said Purcell.
"Stands to reason really, can't put two lions in one small cage" said Meadows.
"Oy, My girlfriend's a Griffidor, can it" said Harry fiercely.
"Well, I hope you've got a fucking big house" said Meadows, "room to avoid each other. Me, my wife's a Hufflepuff. I went to Hull"
Harry looked at Purcell; Purcell said "I'm an old copper. I drink, I go home, I sleep, I drink coffee, I go to work."
"I was in a war. I can cope with stuff" said Harry.
"Well good luck, Harry Potter, you're not bad, for a trainee" said Purcell.
Meadows made a strange gesture, two index fingers.. wands shooting each other, shook his head and left.
Harry Potter left the interview room and went to get a cup of terrible coffee before his first lesson of the day. Choking curses and how to escape them.
The coffee refused to go down.
Ron sat down next to Harry "How did yours go?" he asked.
"Awful. We had a domestic." said Harry. "It was so stupid" he said.
"Crikey, we just had a couple of rowdy drunks and a lost broom" said Ron. "You're still on for Sunday dinner right?"
"Yeah" said Harry, his hands shaking. Meadows comment '...not bloody duellists….' echoed in Harry's head.
'I'm not violent. I mean… I've killed people, but that was in a war' Harry thought.
"You Okay Harry?" asked Ron.
"I'm fine" said Harry. "just a bit tired"