12/2/03:  Wow, long time since I updated!   Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving (at least those who have such a holiday in their country)!  My baby finally learned to crawl over the weekend!

10. Good Cop, Very-Bad-and-Scary Cop

Harry sauntered through the dungeons, casually drinking from a bottle of water.  He checked his watch as he walked, figuring enough time had passed for Tway to be processed and waiting for them in an interview room.  Harry grinned; "interviewing" suspects was one of the best parts of his job.  Harry followed the dungeon wall until he reached the main corridor, accessible only to Aurors, where he found Captain Perry standing.  Harry automatically straightened and hid the bottle of water within the folds of his robe.

"Good afternoon Captain Perry," Harry said politely.

"Potter," the Captain said in way of greeting, and then gestured at Tway.  "He doesn't look like much in the way of a criminal mastermind, does he?"

"No sir, he doesn't," Harry said, and then added with confidence, "I imagine he'll break quickly."

Captain Perry snorted in amusement.  "What's the hold-up?"

"Detective Toms is taking care of some paperwork; he should be here shortly."

"Good."

"How long has he been stewing, sir?"

Perry checked his watch.  "About ten minutes so far."

"Has he lawyer-ed up yet?"

Perry looked at him in amusement.  "Lawyer-ed up?"

Harry grinned sheepishly.  "Ah, I guess I watch too much Muggle television."

The Captain just shook his head.  "He has, but we still get first crack at him."

Harry nodded.  It was just another thing to add to the list on why law enforcement in the wizarding world was easier than in the Muggle world.  The suspect was, of course, entitled to a lawyer, but not until after the initial police interview, up to a maximum of two hours.  The wizarding world may be catching up in some ways to the Muggle world, but some things were still rooted in the old ways – innocence until proven guilty was a relatively new concept.  Harry stood silently next to his captain as they peered through the wall at Adam Tway.  After being processed, consisting of simple paperwork, cataloguing his wand, searching him for dangerous object, etc., Tway was taken to the dungeons deep within the Ministry.  It truly was a dungeon, with cold, dank stone floors and walls.  Tway was currently in an interview room, which functioned much like it's Muggle counterpart, just one better.  While Muggles relied on the well-know trick of a two-way mirror, the Ministry interview rooms had an entire wall that was two-way.  Harry watched as Tway fidgeted nervously in his chair; often times the fear of what might happen was as effective as any interview technique they had.  After observing Tway for a minute or two, Robert walked up to them, Detectives Price, Casey, and Clarke, and Agent Tonks following behind him.  "Sorry about that Captain; there was an issue with the car."

Captain Perry nodded dismissively.  "I see you brought the entire team."

Robert grinned.  "I figured they could use with a good show."

A small smile twitched the corners of the Captain's mouth.  "Very well.  Toms, Potter, you're on."  Harry looked at Robert and they shared a grin.  This was the fun part.

*********************************

A common technique, equally as well known as the two-way mirror, was the reliable good cop/bad cop routine, which was very effective despite the tactic being known by criminals everywhere.  Normally, a relatively inexperienced Auror like Harry would find himself playing the role of the good cop, while the older, more experienced Auror played bad cop.  Robert, in fact, fit the role of bad cop fairly well, with his leathery face, gruff voice, and harsh demeanor.  Robert would go into the room and, essentially, scare the scare the living daylights out of the suspect.  Harry, in his role as the young, idealistic Auror who still played by the rules, would hold Robert back and force him to leave the room, whereupon he would play confident and protector to the suspect.  The suspect, in turn, would confess everything under the sun to Harry.

That was how the roles normally would be assigned.  But Harry and Robert soon learned that Harry's fame could come in handy.  Harry quickly placed two small candies in his mouth before he and Robert entered the interview room.  Tway looked up at them nervously as they approached either side of him.

"What the hell am I doing here," he blustered.  "Who do you think you are coming into my office and taking me away like that?  I have rights, you know!"

Harry snarled and grabbed Tway by his robes, lifting him bodily from the chair he was sitting in.  "You have the right to shut-the-hell-up!"

"Sheesh Harry," Robert said in an exasperated tone.  "Do you think maybe we can at least start the interview before you resort to frying his brain?"

Tway fearfully looked up at Harry's face.  Harry's eyes were literally crackling with electricity.  Harry glared at Tway for a moment before throwing him back into his chair.  "Fine.  We'll do it your way," Harry sneered before turning around.  As Robert pulled up a chair next to Tway, Harry hid his grin.  Being a part-owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes did have its benefits.  The crackling eyes and other effects were compliments of the genius that is Fred and George Weasley.

"Now Adam, let's be reasonable here," Robert said in his friendliest voice.  "We know something's going on over there at General Magics, something Ernie knew about that got him killed."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tway said in a shaky voice, trying to recover his dignity after Harry's treatment.

"Adam," Robert said in a disappointed voice.  "We know about the money."  Tway's eyes widened slightly.  "We have your Gringott's records; we know someone's been paying you.  Save us both a bunch of trouble and just tell us what you know."

But Tway grew resolute.  "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do, Adam.  Do you really wanna go through all of this?  I can talk to the Consul, we can cut you a deal.  You tell us what we want to know, and we'll be good to you."

"I'm telling you," Tway said in a show of righteous indignation, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Adam-" Robert said.

"That's enough," Harry said quietly, and then turned around to look at Robert.  "You've had your chance, now it's mine."

Robert gave a heavy sigh but backed away.  Harry had an evil grin on his face as he approached Tway.

"Y-you don't scare me," Tway said, obviously scared.  "I-I watch the WWN, I know you don't have your wands!  You can't do any magic to me without them!"

Harry looked down at the cowering man and smirked.  "You think I need a wand to do magic?" he asked.  Harry raised his arms and electricity crackled around his eyes.  A strong wind seemed to emit from Harry, knocking Tway to the ground.  He scrambled to his feet, but was forced against the wall by the strong winds.  The torches that lined the wall flickered in the gusts, only adding to the effect of terror.  Harry was truly a terrible sight: eyes radiating with energy, his black Auror robes swirling behind him, and his hair waving wildly in the wind.

 "Y-you can't hurt me!" Tway screamed over the noise of the wind.  "There's a witness!"

Harry laughed a horrible laugh.  "Do not forget who you're talking to!  I defeated Voldemort when I was only seventeen – what do a bunch of paper pushers compare to him?  And whom do you think people will believe?  I am Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, savior of the wizarding world!  What are you?  You think people are gonna care what I do to you?  You think people are gonna care that you accidentally broke all your fingers and toes?  That you accidentally cut off your own ears?"

Tway sank to the ground, trembling in fear.  Harry leaned over until their faces were inches apart.  "I shall enjoy watching you bleed," he leered.

"No, please!"

Robert struggled through the winds and put a hand on Harry's shoulder.  "Harry!" he screamed over the noise.  "Don't do this, not again!  I don't know how much longer we can cover for you if you keep mutilating witnesses!  Give me five minutes with him!"

Harry seemed to ignore Robert, and he grabbed Tway by the scruff of his robes and lifted him from the ground.  "Harry!" Robert screamed again, desperation in his voice.  "Five minutes, and if I fail, you can have him!"

Harry looked into Tway's horrorstruck face, who was nodding frantically.  Harry looked over at Robert.  "Five minutes?"

Robert nodded.  "Five minutes."

Harry looked back at Tway.  "Fine.  Five minutes.  But if you can't get him to talk, I get to play with him."  Then, abruptly the winds stopped, his eyes stopped emitting bursts of electricity, and Harry dropped Tway unceremoniously to the ground.  Harry gave one last glare at the shaking man before walking out of the interview room.  Harry probably should feel bad about reducing a once proud man into a quivering pile of goo, scaring him so badly he probably lost control of one or more bodily functions.  But Harry knew that Tway, as he knew with all the suspects he played his role to, was hiding something criminal from them.

"God Harry, you scared me so bad I think I have to change my knickers!" Tonks said as Harry joined the group observing the interview room.  Harry chuckled.

"Never seen Harry at work before?" Price asked her.

Tonks shook her head.  "First time, and boy, it was a doozy.  Remind me to never cross you again Harry."

"If you think I was good, just watch Robert.  You won't even recognize him; he plays the friendly uncle role very well."

The group turned their attention back to the interview room.  While they had joked, Tway had returned to his seat, looking rather disheveled.

"So," Robert said after taking a seat next to Tway, "are you alright?  Do you need some water or anything?"

Tway shook his head vigorously.  "He's crazy, absolutely out of his mind!  Did you see him?  He was gonna kill me!"

Robert gently placed his hand on Tway's shoulder, who flinched at the contact.  "Easy there Adam, he's gone now.  It's going to be okay."

"Okay?  Okay!?!  He's a bloody maniac that one is!"

Robert gave a heavy sigh and looked uncomfortable.  "He's not, it's just that…well, you have to understand…"

"What?  What do I have to understand?" Tway said, still clearly shaken.

Robert leaned forward.  "Promise you won't tell?"  Tway nodded.  "Well, Harry's normal most of the time, but sometimes, he just goes a little…psycho."

"A little?!" Tway asked incredulously.

Robert nodded.  "We think that…okay, you know how You-Know-Who didn't die the first time?  Well, we think that when Harry finished him off, to make sure You-Know-Who wouldn't come back, he absorbed some of him."

Tway's eyes were as wide as saucers.  "Absorbed?" he asked quietly.

Robert nodded gravely.  "Yeah.  It would explain all the dark power he has, and how sometimes he can torture suspects without any feelings of remorse."

"T-Torture?" Tway, asked.

"Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have said that.  Anyways, we've tried to talk to him about it, but what are we going to do?  He's Harry Potter.  So, we overlook all the dismembering, er, forget I said that, and hope he doesn't go all dark lord on us."  Robert and Tway sat silently for a moment, Tway literally shaking in his chair, Robert putting on the look of a despondent man.  Finally Robert made a sudden movement to check his watch, which startled Tway.

"Oh no!  We only have two minutes before Harry gets back.  C'mon Tway, talk to me.  I'm tired of cleaning up the bloodstains," Robert said, gesturing towards the dark coffee stains on the ground.

"I'm telling you," Tway pleaded, "I don't know anything!  I…"

"You what?  Tway, I've done everything I can for you.  Next time Harry comes in, I won't be able to do anything to stop him."

Tway looked ready to burst into tears.  "I swear, I didn't know they were going to kill him!"

"Who was?  Who killed Ernie?"

Tway leaned over and buried his head in his hands.  Harry looked at the others.  "That's my cue."  Harry walked over and opened the door to the interview room.

"God, Harry!" Robert said in an anguished voice.  Tway jolted up as if electrocuted, staring at Harry in fear.  "Give me five more minutes Harry, I almost have something."

"Almost?  Almost?  Not good enough.  I'll get the information out of him in two minutes, assuming he can stay conscious from the pain that long," Harry said evilly.

"No wait!" Tway screamed.  "I swear I didn't know about the murder.  I only did what he told me to do!"

Robert turned to Tway.  "Who?  Who told you?"

"I don't know!  I've never seen him before, we communicate by owl!"

"What did he tell you to do?"  Robert asked.  Tway paused, and Harry took a step into the room.  "Work with me here Tway.  I can't stop Harry if he decides to do something."

"A-All I have to do is ignore certain complaints, that's it, I swear!  Once a month he sends me an owl with money and a list of components to ignore.  That's all!"

"That's all?" Robert asked dubiously.  "What about Ernie?  How did he get involved?"

"E-Ernie wouldn't listen to me.  I told him I would take care of the complaints, but he kept asking questions."

"So you killed him!" Harry growled.

"No!  No!  I just sent an owl saying he was asking questions!  I didn't know they were going to kill him, I swear it!  I thought it was a Muggle killing!"

"Who's they?" Harry asked harshly.

"I don't know!" Tway cried out.  Harry glared at him in the eyes, and he believed him.

"What about Don Campbell?  How did he get involved?" Robert asked.

"Who?  Campbell?"

"He was a manager at Magical Solutions, and he was killed this past weekend."

What color that remained in his face drained away.  "Oh God," he whispered.

"What did you do!?" Harry demanded.

"I didn't know!  We hadn't hired a replacement for Ernie yet; Campbell kept calling me, complaining about our merchandise!"

"Why didn't you just deal with it, send him replacements?"

"I couldn't; my boss would get suspicious if I suddenly replaced an entire inventory!"

"So you sent another owl?" Harry asked, though it was more of a statement.

"Yes, but you have to believe me I didn't know they were going to kill him!"

Harry and Robert traded a look.  Harry inclined his head fractionally towards the door, and the two walked out without another word to the sobbing Tway.  Captain Perry met them at the door.  "Looks like we have a lot to talk about boys," he said.

"What about him?" Harry asked, jerking his thumb at the door to the interview room.

"Put him in a detention cell for the night.  Since the team's already here, we'll take a conference room somewhere and talk about what to do next."  Harry walked towards the entrance of the dungeons to arrange for the incarceration of Adam Tway.  As he walked, Harry knew that the Captain was right: they had a lot to talk about, a lot of new information.  But Harry was also excited; he had the feeling he usually got when they got a big break on a case.

A/N: Uh oh, I've got a problem.  It's not writer's block, but unfortunately by throwing in Cedric's memorial out of nowhere, my timeline is all messed up!  It's only Wednesday story-wise, and if the case breaks now, Harry won't be able to go to the memorial on Saturday!  So, the next chapter may be delayed while I think of new ways for Harry to pass the week.

I do have a request to all my readers: Help!  As you know, Harry will be going to Cedric's memorial soon.  Since I'm not very creative (just look at the names of my original characters; anyone see the pattern?), I would appreciate any ideas/suggestions for occupations of Hogwarts alumni, mostly those from Harry's year and above, and especially the Hufflepuffs.

Risty: thanks for the tidbit; I used Consul where I had prosecutor before.  I won't have a trial though, since, well, nevermind ;)

BlackDiva: Harry and Hermione (and the Rickster) will have a lovely weekend.  Then, something will happen that will cause Harry and Hermione to spend a lot of time together.

HeeroTomoe: I wasn't planning on having Draco appear in the story, but now that you mentioned it, maybe I will.  Already, I sense an idea forming…