Chapter 8
Harry stood in the parking lot looking around fitfully, what the fuck was he supposed to do now? He was highly suspicious of Jefferson, seeing as how the teacher was the last person to be seen with Victoria. Not to mention he couldn't help but feel worried about Max's sudden weakness in her ability. But of course things couldn't just end there... no.
Harry spun around quickly when he heard several pops sounding around him.
"Mister Potter, by decree of the Madam President, we are hereby placing you under arrest." One Auror declared while the others raised their wands.
"What am I being charged with?" Harry asked looking around and counting seven Aurors around him.
"Breaking the Statue of Secrecy. Now please surrender your wand and come quietly." the Auror responded in a business like manner.
Harry quickly noted his odds at taking on the entire squadron and found that he could probably pull it off, while not really sustaining much injuries. But if Max were to suddenly rewind, they would probably be dragged along with her, according to Luna's hypothesis; magic will follow the path of the time stream, meaning they would be dragged along with him. He couldn't risk that.
"Fine." Harry said raising his hands above his head. His wand appeared quickly with a flick of his wrist and he saw the Aurors tense at the motion. Harry dropped the wand and kicked it over to the leader of the group.
"Thank you for being understanding. Markle get the portkey ready." The leader said as he bent down and picked up Harry's wand.
They approached him and seeing as how he had surrendered peacefully the Aurors saw no reason to place him in cuffs. They surrounded him and placed a small statue in his hands. Harry felt the pull on his Naval and landed in a huff at the Ministry Atrium.
They led him down a couple of hallways until they were standing in front of a door, with three swift knocks they heard a voice telling them to enter. Harry was led into the room and in front of him at the interrogation table sat Johnson.
"Thank you, you may now leave." he said dismissing the Aurors before motioning for Harry to join him.
The two stared at each other for a moment before Harry spoke.
"The fuck's going on here? I thought we had a deal." Harry whispered to the man.
"We did, but keeping the President off my ass was harder than I anticipated. How close are you in your investigation?"
"Close, I have figured out a few main points but the situation is quickly reaching critical status."
"Oh?"
"Max Caulfield, the girl with the ability, she didn't get it through means I was anticipating. It was done by a magical creature, but under the instruction of a beast tamer and a seer." Harry informed him, enjoying the look of shock on the man's face.
"A seer?! Why would a seer help a no-mag and where is this seer now?"
"Dead, killed by the same man whom I believe is currently holding Max and possibly Chloe hostage."
Johnson seemed to be deep in thought before turning back to Harry.
"Okay, I can get you another 24 hours, maximum. Can you get everything accomplished in that time frame?"
Harry seemed to think on it and remembered that tomorrow would be Friday. He could investigate Jefferson's home, maybe corner Nathan somewhere, get them to spill the details of whatever operation they were running.
"I don't know... but I feel like everything's going to be coming to a head tomorrow. All I need are the Aurors off my arse and out of Arcadia Bay. Last thing we need now is them being caught up in one of Max's time streams." Harry said with a thoughtful expression.
Johnson nodded to the time frame and made to stand when Harry asked him one last question.
"Hey what are you doing all of this for?"
Johnson seemed to regard him for a moment, almost as if judging his character before answering.
"We want the Madam President out. Elections are coming up soon and honestly, she holds the ideals of the old times too closely to her heart. Magical and Non-magical relationships are monitored to all hell because of the fear that the Statue could be broken, which I mean, if the consequences were better explained there wouldn't be the need to monitor them so closely. Also, obliviation squads are sent out when there is even the smallest amount of magic used in an area, which risks exposing us more, especially in this age of technology."
Harry watched the man as he spoke about his plans openly and honestly, not holding anything back.
"Also, I want to propose to my girlfriend. She's a no-mag and I would highly appreciate some privacy in my personal life. So, those are my reasons, don't worry I don't plan to rule the MACUSA with an iron fist. We'd just like to bring it into a new age."
"We?" Harry asked with a frown.
"Yeah, Thornbell is in on it. Being the secretary to the President allows her to see and hear things I wouldn't be able to, she too believes that the Ministry's too strict on some cases. Well, Mr Potter, I don't know how much time we have left, so you'd best be on your way. Like I said; 24 hours, don't forget."
Harry nodded and was thinking of a way to get into Jefferson's home, he needed the address, he could get that from a light legillimence probe on the Principal... probably.
-Magic is Strange-
Max woke up feeling groggy and tired, where the fuck- The Dark Room?! What the fuck?! She had found the room with Chloe the day before, then they had found... Rachel, dead and buried in the old Junk yard... oh Chloe had been so upset... wait, Chloe, where was Chl-
The memories flooded back to her hard and fast and she sucked in air when she finally remembered what had happened. Chloe was dead... killed by Jefferson. Jefferson had been the one behind everything, they were so busy chasing Nathan that Jefferson had easily sneaked under the radar. Fuck how could they have been so blind, how could she have been so blind?! She tried moving and realised that she couldn't looking down at herself, Max realised that she was bound to a chair, unable to move in anyway. She pulled a little harder until she heard a groan just behind her.
Turning, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Victoria? Victoria... wake up!"
The blonde haired girl groaned from her position on the ground but had not woken up. Max noticed that she too was bound by tape around her wrists and ankles. It looked as though Victoria was still too heavily drugged at the moment to even notice their predicament. Max decided she'd try again a little later. She sighed and gave a mighty shove with her foot and felt her right leg detach from the leg of the chair and sighed in relief.
Looking around herself she noticed a trolley in front of her and used her now free foot to pull it closer towards herself. As she looked she saw a picture of herself, looking completely dazed and out of it, similar to how Kate and Rachel looked in their photos, in the binders Max knew Jefferson kept in the cabinets at the back of the room. She drew a breath and focussed on the photo, she swore she'd never do this again, after the débâcle with saving William and killing Chloe, but she had to do something, lest Jefferson came back.
The sounds of the world fell away as she started hearing a slight ringing noise, she assumed it was her ability resonating with the picture finding the point in time when the photo was taken so that it could take her to that exact moment. There was a flash of blinding light and she suddenly found herself unable to move as everything around her became blurry and sounds became distorted and disjointed. Then she heard him...
"Oh, that's great... Oh, Max..."
She was laying on the ground, her wrists and ankles tied together, much like Victoria's were when she first woke up.
"This angle highlights your purity, see? The slightly unconscious model is often the most open and honest. No vanity or posing just... pure expression."
This motherfucker was sick, sicker than Max could've anticipated, sicker than she had originally thought...
"Holy fuck! Max, what the fuck?! Are you okay?! Can you hear me?!"
Max suddenly looked around her eyes widening with a small amount of hope at the voice her and Chloe had been stupid enough to ignore the past few hours. Harry could've helped if he had been there... probably.
"Oh Christ, look at that perfect face." Jefferson's voice said again, sounding... pleased.
"Jesus, this is what he does in his spare time? What the fuck, Jefferson! Max, are you okay? Can you talk?!"
Then she saw him... somewhat, or at least the transparent version of him, same as last time.
"Harry..." she groaned out with great difficulty.
"Ah yes, you're little British friend." Jefferson spoke up, having apparently heard Max. "Not really anything spectacular, is he? But I've heard through the grapevine that he had a little crush on our dear sweet Victoria. Hmm, maybe he'll appreciate the photos I take of her, save them as a precious reminder of what could've been. Too bad she had the hots for me though, that'll probably break his little heart."
"I swear to God, when I get my hands on this prick, he's fucking dead." Harry growled as he paced around the area trying to get a better view of the place. "Max, if you can hear me, I need you to tell me, where you are, there's literally nothing here to give me some sort of location."
Max tried to get her vocal chords to cooperate but all that escaped her lips was a groan and slight movement of her head, which Jefferson did not appreciate.
"Hold that stare there! Don't move!" the older man yelled as he shoved Max's head back into the position he wanted it in. "Oh, Max you fucked up my shot! But... it's fine, we have all the time in the world, Max. Oh, if only Nathan could see this setup. He tried so hard, but you can't just throw a few subjects around and expect a cohesive style or theme. But he had an eye for shadows, and an eye for a whole lot more, as his elite family will find out... along with Arcadia Bay."
"Christ, he does love the sound of his own voice, doesn't he?" Max heard Harry mutter angrily as he moved back towards her.
"It's just too bad you're so goddamn nosy, Max! But, this room... is under 24/7 surveillance, so all I had to do was text you from Nathan's phone, and you fell right into my hands. You really should have focused on school work, not 'private detecting' with your little... friend." Jefferson said with a sneer as he examined Max from every angle, as to get the perfect shot.
"Chloe..." Max muttered weakly.
"Chloe? What happened to Chloe?" Harry asked nervously as he looked around and noticed that he couldn't see the blue haired girl.
"Chloe, right. Yeah, I'm sorry that I killed – that Nathan killed her in self-defence. But she had a troubled history like, most Arcadia drop outs. Nobody will be surprised... or care. Though I promise, Max. I wasn't lying when I said you have a gift."
"Wait... hold on... killed? No, Max, please tell me that..." Harry stopped, what reason would Jefferson have to lie about Chloe's death to Max, when he was more than likely going to do the same thing to her. Wait... had Max seen Chloe die...?
"This fucking arsehole!" Harry yelled in anger.
Max started struggling a bit more and watched as Jefferson stood.
"Maybe a new dose will calm you down..." he said as he walked over to the trolley and and picked a small bottle before picking up a syringe and drawing a small dosage of whatever it was that he was using to drug them with. "Remember my number one rule; Always... take... the shot."
With that he approached Max and made to give her the injection. Harry spoke up before she went under the effects.
"Max, the necklace! Don't forget the neckla-"
There was a bright flash of light before Max snapped back to reality and looked around, finding herself once more bound to the chair before going back. She felt sick at what had happened before remembering what Harry had yelled at her.
"The necklace..." she whispered. Looking around she could feel it resting against her chest but couldn't grab it with her hand. "Fuck..." she swore before turning back to try waking Victoria again, and this time she was successful.
"Max...?" The brown haired girl, had never and suspected she would never again, hear Victoria say her name in such a panicked and desperate manner.
"Victoria, can you hear me? Listen, you've been drugged, like Kate... and me. Do you remember how you got here?" she asked the blonde.
Victoria retold, what she could remember, that she decided to take Max and Harry's warning seriously, and had approached Jefferson for help, he had offered to take her home in his car so that she wouldn't have to worry, then... nothing. Her memories went blank after that.
"... then I woke up here. Help me, Max! Please, I'm sorry for everything!" Victoria cried as tears streamed from her eyes.
Max then explained the rest of the situation to Victoria, how Jefferson had orchestrated everything, how he manipulated Nathan into helping him, how he had been the one to tell Nathan to drug Kate Marsh so that he could photograph her and how he was planning on doing the same to them...
Victoria broke down a new and started muttering to herself.
"Please, get us out of here, Max. God, I was so fucking stupid..."
"I'll get us out, Victoria, but I need you to try and be calm, alright?"
"Please, don't hate me... I don't want to die..."
"No one's going to die, Victoria. We'll get out of this, I promise."
Max looked back to the trolley and noticed a few new photo's, she saw one where she looked a lot more lucid and turned to focus on it. The ringing started, once more and she knew she was close, then a sudden flash of light.
Blinking, she found herself strapped into the same chair she was strapped in before with Jefferson standing in front of her with a camera propped up on a tripod.
"So wise yet so innocent. I'm getting some spectacular images here, Max. Yes, Victoria would kill to be in your place, but... she doesn't get our... connection. You're the winner, Max. I choose you... your portrait."
"Fuck you." she said just as another voice said the exact same thing. "Harry!" she gasped in relief.
"Max, glad to see you more awake this time around. Can you tell me where you are?" Harry asked but before Max could respond, Jefferson spoke again.
"Oh, Max, that's the second time, you've called out for your Prince Charming... if you aren't careful, I might start becoming jealous." he said with a smirk. "Don't worry, he's alive, he wasn't on my tail like you and your litt- I'm sorry, I mean Chloe. So killing him would've just brought unnecessary attention on myself.
"Why are you doing this? Why use the Prescott family farm?" she asked trying to let Harry know where she was.
"Fuck, that doesn't help... There are too many farms in the area, Max. Searching all of them would take too long, and last time I checked the weather wasn't the greatest. If I tried apparating to some farm I could end up splinching myself." Harry explained while rubbing his face angrily.
"I'm so glad you asked me that, Max." Jefferson's voice said after taking a few more pictures.
"Jesus, what's with sociopaths and monologuing?" Harry said in annoyance as he paced back and forth before he suddenly stopped and looked just beyond Max.
"Is that... Victoria... no..." Harry said rushing over to the knocked out girl. "I'll kill him..." Harry muttered darkly.
Jefferson explained the situation to Max, everything. How he'd been targeting Max since the very beginning, how her naivete and optimism, drew him to her. He explained that he preferred Max's softer features to Victoria's sharper ones, how the Kate Marsh could have been his perfect muse, and how he had enjoyed breaking her spirit. Max growled at that statement. How Max had actually helped him by blaming Nathan for Kate's near death, setting the spotlight away from him and on to Nathan.
"You used Nathan!" she accused angrily.
"I prefer the term, 'manipulated'. Like with an image... Nathan's was easy to twist around." Jefferson said in a highly patronising manner. "I became a sort of... father figure for Nathan. It happens quite often in teacher/student relationships. It was kind of... touching for a while."
"Did you tell him everything about your plans?"
"Don't be stupid, Max. I told him what he needed to hear. In return, I had access to the Prescott family fortune; who do you think paid for this glorious dark room and equipment? How else could I get these hip, new drugs for my subjects?" Jefferson asked rhetorically while chuckling.
"Ask him about Rachel Amber." Harry said from behind Max.
"Rachel Amber. What did you do to her? She became your victim not your 'subject'." Max spat back to her former teacher.
"Oh... Rachel Amber... Hm. That's the real tragedy, Nathan thought he could be an artist like me... instead, the dumbass gave her an overdose."
"Why Rachel, though?" Harry asked, which Max relayed.
"I don't have time to tell you everything, Max. But she... was special. A human chameleon... So many visual possibilities... We had real connection."
"What?" Max heard Harry mutter in a confused tone behind her.
"She let you take pictures of her?" Max asked Jefferson, her own curiosity taking over.
"Rachel was in love with me. That's not my ego. Just look at our sessions. Not that I'd let you. Nobody loved having their picture taken more."
"That isn't true... Rachel loved Frank, I know that for a fact... she was just getting close to Jefferson... but why?" Max heard Harry say as he came around the front of her and began pacing again.
Max frowned but decided to question Jefferson about what Harry had said.
"What about Frank? Rachel had a connection with him too."
"Oh please, she was doing the whole 'bad boy' thing. She was over him the moment it began, Frank just didn't know it."
"Really? Well I have it on good authority that Rachel loved him, which would mean; that she was just using you..."
Jefferson froze and Max noticed, she'd pressed a button. She started laughing.
"Oh man, how does it feel?"
"Shut up."
"She probably just used you for some good photos for her escape to L.A."
"Shut up, Max..."
"How does it feel to have your so called 'lover', not care about you at all? Bet it stings. God, you're more pathetic than I first thought."
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up, you bitch!" Jefferson yelled before slapping Max across the face. "Oh, oh no, Max. You see what you did?! Agh, shit... that's going to bruise."
Jefferson turned around to look at his photos, every now and again he'd comment on how Max had been a perfect subject, and how he'd love to share the images with the world.
Max looked around and saw her photo album/ diary and devised a way to get him to show her a picture.
"Before you go..." she called out to him, as he made to leave. "You still have my diary."
"Don't worry, nobody's going to read it." Jefferson's faux caring voice said. "Thanks for reminding me, there's nothing more innocent than a teenager's diary. Oh... look at your selfies. What a waste of talent." He threw the diary towards Max and it landed on a photo she had taken in the beginning of the week. "Look at that shot, Max... You can do so much better."
Jefferson walked away and Max turned back to the photo and noticed Harry standing beside her.
"If I go back to here, would you be able to follow me?" she asked with a quiet hush.
"Yeah, but not physically. You haven't changed anything significant in the timeline yet, as such I'm just along with the ride until you do something that alters the course of reality in some way." Harry told her.
"Alright then, let's go back shall we?" she said with a frown as she focused on the photo taken earlier this week.