Trigger warning: some gory imagery
12 Grimmauld Place, London England
Harry Potter heard his alarm go off. He rolled out of bed and quickly showered. He put on his auror uniform and brushed his teeth. He threw his coat over his arm, along with gloves and a scarf for the cold weather. He hoped to not be called out of the office that day, but given that he missed the day before, he guessed that if someone had to go to a scene, it would be him and Ron. He made his way towards the stairs. He knocked on Ginny's door as he passed it. He heard her from inside
"Go away Harry" She said
"Can't you at least say bye before I leave?" He asked her
"Ugh, Fine" Ginny opened the door, her hair a mess and still in her pajamas.
"You look great"
"No I don't"
"You always look great"
"You sap" she rolled her eyes. She stood up on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek "Try and come back early." She asked him
"I'll try my best. Don't forget to change the bandaid on your shoulder. I love you" he said
"Don't worry so much. I love you too." She said, He made his way down the stairs. He really did love her. He still remembered the first time he told her he loved her. It had been almost a year ago. She had given him the best kiss when he did. She had told him that she loved him too. That was the first time anyone told him that they loved him, or at least that he could remember. He knew that his parents loved him and so did Sirius and Remus. He guessed that Ron and Hermione loved him like a brother, but none of them ever said it, probably because they knew that he knew it. Ginny knew that too, but he still loved it when she said it. He was lost in thought when he made it to the kitchen. He made a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea before sitting down. Ron and Neville were already at the table. They sat in a comfortable silence until an owl tapped on their window. Neville opened it. It had a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Anything interesting?" Ron asked
"Ginny made the cover" Neville said, drinking his tea.
"Anything else?" Harry asked. Neville skimmed through
"Hey, Harry, did you say anything about being possessed to the press" Neville asked
"Shit, I think I implied that I was" Harry admitted
"You definitely did" Ron said, with a mouthful of cornflakes
"What does it say?" Harry asked
"It's speculating that you were either possessed at 11, 15 or uh, right now. You aren't possessed right now, right?"
"No, I'm not," Harry shrugged. He finished his porridge. He put his bowl in the sink. Ron finished his breakfast a couple of moments later.
"At least they got one number right" Ron pointed out
"Want to apperate to the office's spot or take the floo?" Neville asked
"The office is probably the best today" Ron said
"Yeah," Harry agreed. The three Aurors walked out of the front door, into the December cold. They walked about a block before finding a quiet alley to turn into. They did and then disappeared with a pop. They reappeared in the Auror Office's muggle branch, where Zaima was already at her desk. Lyra was walking by with a box of new technology.
"Hey guys" they said. A chorus of greeting followed.
"Hey" Zaima said, not looking up from her paperwork.
"How was the press yesterday?" Lyra asked Ron and Harry as they sat at their desks.
"Hawks, like usual" Ron said
"Oh, speaking of the press, Harry you wouldn't happen to be currently possessed right now?"
"No and if I had a nickel for every time that someone asked today I'd have two nickels. It's not a lot but it's weird that it happened twice"
"Good to hear that you aren't possessed" Grey said
"Hey Grey," they said
"What's on the itinerary today?" Neville asked
"Ivan Yaxley is going to trial after the holidays. You guys are going to have to read over your statements and then sign them. I'll be interviewing him later today to try and find Knells and see if he has any accomplices. You guys will also prep with the prosecutors"
"Got it," Harry said. Their statements were already on their desks. Harry began to read over his statement when a mailroom trainee walked in. He made his way to Harry's desk
"Package for Auror Potter," the young man said, more than a little star struck
"Thanks, Er," Harry tried to read his name tag "Zach" Harry said. He wondered why someone would have sent him a package at the office. He grabbed a pair of scissors and opened the box. He nearly puked when he saw and smelled the contents.
"Harry, what is it?" Ron asked. Harry had gone a shade of white and now looked quite green
"Hey Grey, get over hear" Zaima said
"What is it?" Grey said, walking over
"I think it's a organ" Neville said
"Shit," Grey said. The mesh of muscles and what looked like dried blood stared back at them.
"I think that's Dorthey's missing liver" Lyra said
"Wait, there's something else in here," Zaima said. Ron gave her a pair of rubber gloves. She put them on and then moved the liver to reveal something else underneath. There was a blood stained envelope.
"Lyra, call Ivan's attorney and prosecutor, we need to move the trial. We just got a new line of investigation" Grey said
"On it" they said. Grey turned to face the young wizard who had delivered the package.
"Who delivered the package?" She growled
"I don't know, some guy"
"What guy?"
"Didn't get his name"
"Where is he?"
"He's in the mailroom last I saw him." Grey took off in a brisk walk. Neville followed her while Zaima and Ron stayed back with Harry. Grey raced to the elevator and pushed herself in. Neville followed suit. A few witches and wizards moved out of the way when they saw the Aurors getting in.
"What floor?" A house elf asked
"Neville, what floor is the mailroom on?" Grey asked
"Uh, I've never been there" Neville admitted
"Floor 8 ma'am" the house elf said
"Right, we need to get there right away" Grey said to the elf
"Hey, what about the rest of us?" A man said. Grey turned to face him
"Where do you need to get to exactly?"
"The department of magical creatures. I run the department of sentient creatures" he said haughtily
"This is official Auror business." Grey said "you can wait." The elevator lurched into motion. Neville turned to Grey
"Do you think he'll still be there?" Neville asked
"One way to find out," Grey said. The elevator lurched to a stop. Grey and Neville hurried out of the elevator. They rushed through the floor. People moved out of their way as they made their way through. The auror uniforms were fairly recognizable and the witches and wizards knew to let Aurors go. They found the desk in front of the mailroom. A woman was sitting behind the desk, reading what looked to be yesterday's copy of witch weekly. Grey knocked on the desk. The woman looked up, removing her reading glasses.
"What do you want?" She asked
"Aurors Grey and Longbottom, we have some questions for you"
"Jeez, what could I have done to get the Aurors to ask about me?"
"You sent a guy named Zach with a package to our office?"
"Yeah, what did he do?"
"Is the man who dropped it off still here?" Grey asked
"Yeah he refused to leave until he got to speak to Harry Potter. I was gonna call security-"
"Don't, we can take it from here" She said
"I think you might be wasting your time though. He seems like a bit of a quack to me. You guys should look at that Ginny Weasley though. She did some real crimes. I don't think sending the Aurors a package is a crime." Neville took a step forward but Grey stopped him
"That's why we are the Aurors and you aren't" Grey said "we can tell the difference between some bullshit," she grabbed the magazine and held it up "and a real crime" Grey said, gesturing to the mailroom where the sender was sitting. "Now if you excuse me we have work to do" Grey and Neville walked to where a man was sitting. He had messy black hair, parted down the middle, broken square glasses and distant black eyes. He looked up at them when they walked in. His face had several cuts and bruises, but underneath, he was clearly August Knells, alive.
"I need to speak to Harry Potter" he said
"You can speak to me" Grey said "I'm an Auror too"
"No, I need to speak to Harry Potter. He needs to read the letter and then I need to talk to him" said Knells
"Mr. Knells-" Neville asked
"How do you know my name?" He asked
"Mr. Knells how did you get hear" Asked Grey
"I need to speak to Harry Potter, pleases" he said
"What happens if you don't?" Grey asked
"They're going to take me back, please I need to talk to Harry Potter. I can't go back"
"If you talk to Potter, then will you answer my questions?" Grey asked
"Ok" he said
"Ok, we are going to Potter" She said and helped him up. Neville followed behind Grey. The woman behind the desk glared at them
"What was even in the box that made you think it was a crime anyway" she sneered
"A human kidney," Grey said. The woman behind the desk went as pale as a sheet. They took Knells through the elevator and back down to their floor. Grey led him to one of the Auror interview rooms. Grey left him in one of the rooms. She said something to him that Neville couldn't hear. She walked out of the room and they walked back to the main room. Harry, Ron and Zaima were standing over the letter. Lyra was scanning the package and letter. They looked up at them
"Did you catch him?" Ron asked
"Yeah, did you guys find anything on the letters?" Grey asked
"Not much. The letter had no fingerprints but the package has one set of them. They're Knells" Lyra said
"We don't know why they would be there though," Zaima sighed
"Probably because he delivered it" Neville said
"What?" They all chorused
"How did he get here?" Harry asked
"Isn't he a muggle?" Ron asked
"Why would he have it?" Lyra asked
"I thought we were working under the presumption he was dead" Zaima said
"We were, but he's clearly not. He won't speak to anyone until he speaks to Harry about whatever is in the letter" she said
"Why?" Ron asked
"He didn't say" Neville said
"Harry, open the letter. We need to get Knells talking as soon as possible" Grey said. Harry nodded and turned over the letter
"Shit," Harry said, his face paler
"What is it?" Grey asked
"Harry Potter, 2nd bedroom, 4th flour, 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England" he read "they even knew my bedroom"
"How is that even possible" Ron asked
"Read the letter Harry. We can work out the address after we talk to Knells" Harry sighed and read.
Dear Harry Potter,
My name is of no importance to you and neither is my story. Yours is, however, important to me. I sent you Knells and the liver as a gift. I wanted to show you that I am keeping an eye on you and your career. I do hope it helps. You might be wondering why we finally chose to reach out to you after over 18 months of silence. We chose to because it is almost time to meet again. We hope to see you soon.
Now Mr. Potter, I know the first part of my letter implied I did this out of the goodness of my heart but I need to clarify. There is a purpose greater than you or me that I serve. I will meet you because I must. I will be keeping an eye on you until then. Do not fear Mr. Potter
Mr. Potter, I do need to inform you that you will be hearing from me again soon, perhaps not in the way you expect, but you will nonetheless. Please be ready for when I do reach out.
RF
"That's not creepy at all" Lyra said
"What does he mean, he's going to be watching me?" Harry asked
"I don't know" Grey said "Harry, you and I will go talk to Knells. Ron, Zaima and Neville, get some theories on the board. Lyra, contact Knells' family." Grey and Harry walked to the interrogation room. Knells was pacing inside "Mr. Knells, this is Harry Potter" Grey said. Harry and Grey took seats across from Knells.
"Hi Mr. Knells, Auror Grey said that there was something you wanted to tell me?" Harry asked
"Yes, they aren't happy with you"
"Who are they?" Grey asked him.
"The Risen Followers. They need you to do better"
"Do better at what?" Harry asked
"They didn't like it at all"
"What didn't they like?"
"The world knows more of your story. They didn't like that. It supposed to be a secret, your secret"
"They're mad about the article about Ginny Weasley?" Grey asked. Knells nodded
"Yes. They called her a little whore." Harry curled his hands into a fist "they wanted it to be their secret."
"What was the secret?" Harry asked. Knells shook his head
"They can't tell me the secret. They are very mad at you for telling her. They wanted to punish you and her but wanted you to know that they would wait. They wanted me to give you a message first. They know where you are, what you are doing all the time. They are watching you. They don't want you to make another mistake. No more telling their secrets or they'll punish you both" he said
"What do you mean, punish?" Harry asked
"They will take her and hurt her" Grey gave him a warning glance
"How long have they been watching me?" Harry asked
"For 18 months" he said
"Just like the letter mentioned" Grey said "Mr. Knells, is there anything else that you need to tell Harry?" Knells shook his head "Ok can you answer a few of my questions, like you promised?" Grey asked him. He nodded. He looked as though his mind began to clear
"Did you work with a man called Ivan Yaxley"
"Yes, he worked next to me"
"Did you ever see him outside of work?"
"He took me to this place. I think it was a brothel. There were lots of girls there. I was writing a book about prostitution in modern London. He would pay, let me talk to them and then I would go" Knells said
"Ok, what happened next?"
"He brought a girl I already talked to. I reminded him. He said that we weren't going to talk. He put her and I in the car and then it's fuzzy. I think I was knocked out"
"What happened when you woke up?" Grey asked
"The girl was gone and, and" he choked on his words a little "red. lots of red and pain."
"Did you see any of the people there"
"They wore masks."
"How many of them did you see at most"
"3 or 4 I think"
"Good, Did you ever see Yaxley there?"
"Once or twice, and then he was gone. You arrested him by then, didn't you" Knells said
"Probably" Grey said, "you are going to stay here while I talk to my team, ok?" He nodded. Grey rose from her seat and Harry followed suit. They left the room. Harry's hands were shaking.
"Are you ok?" Grey asked
"I'm doing great" Harry said
"It's ok not to be" Grey said with a shrugged
"Well I am" Harry hurried as he walked
"Harry, this is crazy and I'm sorry this is happening to you. We will find out who is behind this." Grey looked him in the eye as she spoke
"I said I'm fine. Stuff like this happens to me" Harry said. They made their way to the office in silence. When they got back, Ron, Zaima and Neville were setting up a board. A photocopy of the letter was hung up, along with a photo of the liver. Zaima was putting up photos of the bodies of the women from white chapel.
"Zaima, what are we up to?" Grey asked
"Right now we are trying to establish what we know so we can start with theories"
"What do we have established?"
"We know the liver comes from Dorothy. Neville cast the test. That means that we have a connection from the white chapel murders to this RF. Lyra sent it down to Bonnie and Everett in forensics to double check. We are waiting for the results. We can also make a tentative link between Yaxley and this person. We can't confirm it yet. We also know they have some tie to Harry even if we don't know what it is yet. We can also establish that this person has been active for at least 18 months. Anything you learned that we can add?"
"We can confirm the Yaxley link. It sounds like Yaxley was part of kidnapping Knells even though he had to have been held by different individuals"
"Wait, Individuals as in multiple people?" Neville asked. Grey nodded
"According to Knells, the most he ever saw together were 4 but they were masked. They call themselves the Risen Followers" Harry said. Zaima erased the RF in the middle of the board and replaced it with the Risen Followers. She also wrote down the the number
"That is going to change things when we think about this case. We aren't catching a person, we are catching a group. One more thing to note, something in the Ginny Wealesy article set them off. We need to make a list of what that could be"
"The most obvious one to me is the killing curse," Harry said. "It was the only one that I had to tell Ginny. She was there for the rest of them"
"They could mean your scar too, you did have to show her it, she didn't already know it" Neville said.
"What about the diary?" Ron asked
"What do you mean Ron? Ginny was right there for that." Harry said
"You did tell her it was over," Neville suggested
"That wasn't what I was thinking about. Harry, you told her that the diary was a horcrux" Ron said
"Good point Ron," Grey said
"Do we have any indication that they were angry about Harry telling her about that horcrux, You Know Who's horcruxes or horcruxes in general?" Zaima asked.
"It's too early to tell. Write them all down" Grey said "anything else comes to mind?" Grey asked. They all shook their heads "Ok, any theories?"
"What about a group that worships Harry? It sounds like they believe that they are serving him based on helping him by sending the letter. They could feel like because they worship him, they deserve to know more about him than the rest of the world" Ron suggested. Zaima wrote it down
"Ok, building off of what Ron said, what if it is a form of worship, but not to Harry? It says that they serve a higher purpose than either themselves or Harry. Maybe he is just a cog in the machine to them." Neville speculated
"We also need to look at this through the view that they might not respect or even hate Harry, given their willingness to use dark magic," Grey said. Lyra poked their head out of their door
"Guys, I got in contact with Knells family, his wife is willing to meet with us" They said
"We'll put a pause on this. We should get Knells back to his family" Grey said
"How do you want to do this, Grey? They're muggles" Zaima said
"We'll all take him home so we can interview the rest of the family." Grey said. 10 minutes later, 5 Aurors and a Muggle were shoved into a ministry car, heading to Greenwich