The next day awoke to find a young Auror yelling his brains out to another Auror, this one older, in the Auror Academy offices.
"We could have had them! After six years of chasing them, we could have had them!" bellowed the younger Auror, his hair a red to match his temper. "But noooooooo – no Auror's among the Muggle police. It would be wrong. Bullshit!"
"You don't know that it as them," said the older Auror. He was dark-haired and seemed to be the cooler-headed of the two. Or so it seemed.
"Oh, bullshit, Sirius," snapped the redheaded young man. "You know it was them. And we could have had them…"
"But we don't," snapped the older Auror, Sirius. "I know Ginny is your sister but Merlin's beard, Ron. You're taking all this like it's you fault."
Ronald Weasley glared at his partner, Sirius Black, who though being forty-two and a full twenty-one years older than Ron could act just as childish (or more so) as him sometimes. But his temper was much worse than Ron's, which was a bad thing.
After the second fall of Voldemort, Sirius had been cleared of all charges against him with the capture of Peter Pettigrew. The man had rejoined the Auror's not long after that to find his missing godson, who had been expelled from the wizarding world by Cornelius Fudge before Arthur Weasley had taken over the Ministry. Harry Potter had been sought but the Boy-Who-Lived could not be found anywhere in the wizarding world, London, or any nearby area.
Ginny Weasley had vanished two years later after unknown suspects murdered her father and Neville Longbottom – to many dropped jaws – had become the new Minister of Magic (and had done well). That had brought Ron into the Aurors and somehow he and Sirius had ended up together. Luckily, in four years as partners, they had yet to cause any large casualties. Or kill each other.
"I have never said that," snapped Ron.
"You've acted like it," Sirius fired back.
"Smug hound." (Sirius had finally become a registered Animagus as well…)
"Stupid rookie."
"Son of a bitch."
"Now I deeply resent that, you snot-brained little…"
"If I can interrupt the testosterone for a moment," said Hermione Granger from the doorway of the office.
Ron whirled about and gaped at her, stammering, "H-Hermione! A-aren't you supposed to be at the Ministry?"
"I have some news," said Hermione, plainly ignoring his stammering and his question.
"On our little caper?" asked Sirius, swinging his feet down from where they were propped on his desk.
Hermione nodded and held up a manila folder. She tended to use the Muggle means of filing for her own, rather than the magical.
"All I could find on them. I did some digging in the Scotland Yard files…"
"You got in?" gasped Ron.
"Yes," said Hermione, looking perturbed. She looked back at Sirius and continued, "I found a good bit more on them than we've got. Too bad we aren't allowed to get an Auror in there. We might have gotten them before this."
"What's in the folder?" asked Sirius.
"A few of their contacts that Scotland Yard knows, places they've been seen, places they own…some history…oh, and their home address." The brunette smiled smugly.
Ron blinked in surprise and exclaimed, "The Muggle's have their address? And they haven't taken them in?"
"They've tried," said Hermione. "Six or seven times. But they've got some of the best lawyers on their tab and Merlin knows whom else. Scotland Yard hasn't been able to lay a single thing on them."
"Well, we will," proclaimed Ron. "Right, Sirius?"
"After we get more evidence," said the older man, leaning back in his chair. "If they're just piddling Muggle things we can't touch them."
"But we know…"
"We assumed. And assuming gets us a bloody bucket of nothing."
"House search?" suggested Ron, arching his eyebrows.
Sirius nodded solemnly.
"House search."
"And what if what you two yahoo's are looking for isn't in the house?" asked Hermione, throwing the folder on Sirius' desk and scowling at them.
"Then we do what we always do," said Sirius.
"Come back to you," finished Ron with a wide grin.
Hermione rolled her eyes and growled under her breathe, "Men." Then, louder, she said, "I'll wish you luck then." And then she was gone.
"What happened between you two?" asked Sirius as Ron picked up the folder. "You were practically married."
"This happened," replied Ron, waving the folder.
"Oh. You mean your obsession with catching Harry and Ginny."
"I am not obsessed!" bellowed Ron just as two young female Aurors passed by the open office door. They stopped and stared at his back until he turned around and noticed they were there. He blushed and waved pitifully. "Oh. Hi, Samantha, Gabrielle."
The blond, Gabrielle, wrinkled her nose and said something in French. Samantha, a sharp-tongued Irishwoman with blue dyed hair, sneered at him and snapped, "We know you're obsessed, Weasley. You slimy son of a bitch."
"We," said Gabrielle. "Slimey son ov a beetch."
"Hey, that's my mother you're talking about!" yelled Ron after them as they continued down the hall.
"Good!" called Samantha over her shoulder.
Ron let out a growl, his fists clenched at his sides, and growled, "Women." Then he whirled on Sirius and snapped, "What are you laughing at?"
"You, my friend," replied Sirius, reaching across his desk for the folder. "You have absolutely no luck with women. And didn't you ask those two out?"
"Yeah." Ron snorted and jabbed his thumb after the two women. "You think you can do better?"
Sirius laughed.
"I know I can do better."
"Okay. Let's see."
Sirius looked at the younger man like he'd just suggested shoving a broomstick up his ass before flying on it. "Please," he said, opening the folder.
"Why not?" exclaimed Ron.
"They're too young. What kind of person do you think I am?"
"You're a dirty old man!"
"Oh, now I really resent that," said Sirius.
"Oh, shut up. I've seen you looking at them."
"Yeah. Looking. What man couldn't resist looking at those two?"
Ron scowled.
"That's not the point."
"Really?" said Sirius as he grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, scribbling something down then tearing it off. He stood, closing the folder and putting it in a desk drawer as he grabbed his leather jacket off the back of the chair.
"Where are we going?" asked Ron, scrambling for his own coat as Sirius headed out into the hall.
"Here," replied Sirius, holding up the piece of parchment between two fingers as Ron ran up behind him. The younger man grabbed the paper as he shrugged one shoulder into his jacket and read the address after he'd gotten the other in.
"Hey, this is in…oh, what's it – Kent."
"On the outer edge," corrected Sirius, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. Ron's eyes widened at the sight of them.
"No," he said.
"What?" said Sirius, stopping. He then looked at the keys and added, "Oh, come on, Ron…"
"I'm not riding that thing again."
"You only nearly fell off."
"Yeah. Nearly. From two hundred feet up!"
"If it makes you feel better, these are my car keys."
Ron blinked.
"What happened to your motorcycle?"
"Since you're such a bad rider…oh, hell, you're a piss-ass rider."
"Oy!"
"It's the truth and you know it," admonished Sirius as he headed down a flight of stairs.
"Well you don't need to say it out loud," grumbled Ron as he followed him.
"Yes I do."
Ron snorted and staggered as he missed the last step. Sirius steadied him, shaking his head.
"You always forget that last step, you klutz."
"Sod off."
"Fine. Next time you can become a pretty floor decoration. Your red hair will match the décor."
Ron glared at Sirius, who tossed the car keys from one hand to the other then headed out of the building. The Auror Academy was one of a few wizard-built buildings that had an entrance to London and one to Diagon Alley, which made it easier for Aurors to get to where they were needed. It also had a hall that transported you right into a hall at the Ministry.
"Come on or I'm leaving you!" yelled Sirius as he pushed open the door and headed up a flight of stairs. The London entrance to the Academy was a sort of members only club in the basement of an apartment building. Only no one lived in the 'apartments' and no one could figure out how to join the club. Of course, Muggle's forgot abou it the moment they passed it by or tried to go in.
"C'mon, kid!" snapped Sirius as he opened the driver door on a green Bentley and slid inside, slamming the door shut after him. Just as he put the key in the ignition, Ron came barreling up the steps. He sprinted across traffic to the car, leaping and sliding across the hood. Once his feet his the pavement, he slammed open the passenger door and bellowed, "You could wait a bloody moment!"
"Just get in," said Sirius, turning the key so the engine roared to life.
"I'll get in when I…"
"Get in the fucking car!" yelled Sirius, blue eyes blazing.
Ron's own blue eyes went wide an he dropped into the passenger seat just as Sirius slammed the car into first gear and shot into traffic, shifting to third as he went.
"Shit!" yelled Ron, grabbing the seat in both hands as the car swerved into the opposite lane before Sirius jerked the wheel and got them back into the correct one.
"Shit!" yelled Ron again, scrabbling for the seat belt. He looked at Sirius after it snapped shut and spat, "You drive wilder in this than on that damned motorcycle!"
"And if you have a problem with my driving, take it up with the Complaint Department," growled Sirius, barely slowly down to take a turn.
Ron grabbed the panic bar above the door as the car nearly went on two wheels and moaned, "What did I do in another life to deserve this?"
