A/N: This is a short story for the flowerpot anniversary collection. Here is the link to their Discord Server; discord . gg / gS9EMw3N4P (without the spaces).
Shoutouts: A big thank you to Arty Words, x102reddragon for their awesome beta works.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: I have launched my patreo/n page for early access and my original works. Also recorded Fanfiction trivia sessions will be uploaded as podcast with free access for all. More information about my patreo/n and Trivia is available on my Discord server.
The Devil You Know
Chapter One: Help From Habersham.
17 years later.
Piles of parchments, arranged in rows, rested atop a wooden table. The room was in relative silence, save the consistent scratchy sound of quill on parchment.
James sighed as he circled another wrong sentence in a poor attempt at an essay. There were times he despaired about the future of upcoming youths. Grading assignments was right at the top of the list.
It had only been two weeks since he started to teach Hogwarts, yet James was already convinced that the DADA tutelage had been a waiting catastrophe. The last teacher to have held the position had been less. Jonathan Starling had been a good auror and while he had the practical knowledge of the Dark arts, he lacked the natural intuitive skill to be able to pass that knowledge on and it reflected in the education of the students.
James had never had any problems with Defence under Starling's tutelage, being who he was. But it became increasingly evident that it was not the same for others when he accessed the class records history and evaluated his students.
A loud chime interrupted the flow of work. James cursed as his eyes fell upon the large wall clock.
'Sarah is going to kill me.'
He was on his feet in a second and dashing out of his office in another, weaving around the plethora of students that littered the castle as he made his way to the front gates.
James crossed the threshold and turned on the spot. The familiar feeling of being squeezed through a narrow tube. With a crack of displaced air, he arrived at Hogsmeade. He ran to the Three Broomsticks. Sarah was waiting for him by the entrance, her face set in a glare.
"I am very sorry." James begged. "I lost track of time."
She bit her lower lip and tilted her head as if considering.
"It's alright, JJ." She said after a moment. "Make sure it doesn't happen again."
He released a breath he hadn't known he was holding. Sarah surveyed his face one last time, as if to confirm whether he was properly chastised or not. Satisfied, she smiled and kissed him before turning to enter the pub.
"We have much to discuss." She said, as she settled herself on a chair in a lone table not far from the door.
"Muffliato." James waved his wand over their heads. "We can talk now."
"The aurors refused to help." Sarah said. Her tone made it clear exactly what she thought of that.
"What do you mean they refused to help?" James asked. "They can't do that. It is their duty to protect every citizen of Magical Britain."
"Tell that to Head Auror Dawlish." Sarah said with a shocking amount of venom in her voice. "He was the one who spoke to me. He told me that all available aurors are tied up searching for the six missing aurors and dealing with the Dwarves. "
"I don't believe this." James muttered.
"Dawlish was lying." Sarah said. "He must have made the connection back to you, a Potter and you know the ministry are not very big fans of your father."
"Neither am I," said James.
"Yes," Sarah agreed. "I'm not sure if he even deserves your love, but your father is not the problem right now. We need to find Micheal, his mom has been worried. She sent me an owl the other day and it sounded like she's freaking out."
"I know," James replied. "I got one too."
He paused, taking a deep breath before he continued. "I checked in at the ICW military camp yesterday and his mates said that they hadn't heard anything from him either."
"If he has been truly abducted," Sarah replied. "Then we need to find out by who."
"I will work on that." James said, his eyes were fixed upon nothing of any particular interest. "You go back to St Mungos."
"You can't push me out of this, JJ." Sarah almost shouted and James was rather thankful for the Muffliato charm. "Besides, It is dangerous to go investigating alone, James. You'd need help."
"Oh, I will have help." James said darkly. "I will go to the only person that has a better chance to find Micheal than the aurors."
He appeared with a crack. This part of the alley was deserted. James suspected it was for that reason he chose to build his office there. To his left, the gloom of Knockturn Alley radiated with a forbidding resonance. He walked straight down the opposite lane. Habersham Lane was what was known to be the narrow street dividing Diagon and Knockturn. James walked till he got to the 7th building. He crossed the gates. He found his way towards the main office area. The desk at the entrance was empty. James thought it was for the best. He was not here for chit-chat. He followed the staircase to the top floor, till he was standing in front of a polished wooden door. His eyes fell upon the inscription on the plaque.
Captain Harry Potter
Private Hit Wizard.
He rapped his knuckles against the door twice. Silence met his ears. He pushed the door open and entered. It was a simple office, yet nothing at all about it was cliche. From the comfortable armchairs to the shining mahogany table. The tons of strange trinkets littered around the office. Even the multiple evidence boards that contained clippings of moving pictures and Daily Prophet entries.
His eyes fell on something glowing on the table. A small watch. He leaned in to take a closer look and to his surprise, he didn't see numbers but words like home, school, and mortal peril. He examined the two hands and saw the shorter one was inscribed with letters that read James. He looked to the direction it pointed and saw that it was on 'here'. James looked at the longer hand and sure enough, he saw Fleur pointing at 134th Cottage, Gamp's village.
He reached out a hand to grasp the watch, but stopped. The feel of a wand pointed against the back of his neck.
"Don't move." A calm voice commanded. James didn't recognize it.
"Put your hands in the air." James complied. His captor made a pleased sound at his obedience. "Now tell me, who are you and why are you here?" James remained silent.
"You had better start talking." The voice declared. "Before I decide to paint the walls with your head."
"I just want to see the Captain." James said. "Is he around?"
The voice paused. "Why do you want to see the Captain?"
"I'm afraid that information is confidential." James replied. "Only for the Captain's ears. So is he in or not?"
"Of course." The man muttered. "I could tell you if the Captain was in or not, oh, but I'm afraid that information is confidential."
"Oh?" James shifted his other foot slightly. His distraction was working. His captor hadn't noticed him move.
"Yes, as a matt-"
James moved. He turned in a sudden, circular spin, twisting his hand to the side. His palm found wood and James yanked the wand from the grip of the Hitwizard.
His attacker, though surprised, recovered fast. A flick of his wrist brought another wand to his hands and James was just able to put up a shield to defend the curse that was sent his way.
The Hitwizard jerked his wand in a short vertical line, firing another curse. James waved his wand, concentrating hard. A shimmer of air formed a solid brick right in front of him. The curse impacted on the brick with a loud explosion. James waved his wand to vanish the dust before they got to him.
"I mean no harm." James raised a hand. "Can I just please see the Captain."
A shard of ice flew at him. James swished the wand in his hand, blasting it to pieces. He flicked the wand before the ice could settle. The multiple particles gathered and flew at his opponent.
"Incendio." The ice particles melted against the heat of his opponent's fire.
"Expelliarmus." A voice snapped from the entrance of the room and both wands flew to the third party's hand. James looked to see his father glaring up at both of them.
"Now, can someone tell me exactly what the hell is going on here?"
"He's an intruder, Harry." James' opponent announced, pointing a finger towards his direction. "I caught him sneaking in your office."
"Is that so then?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. His expression was the same one of cold aloofness, akin to the one he wore when he posed for a picture on the Daily Prophet after putting down a Dark Wizard.
"Uhm, no?" James muttered, disconcerted by the intensity directed in his way.
"You can leave now, Teddy." His father said, handing both wands to the hitwizard. "I'll take it from here." The Hitwizard complied and left without another word.
"Whose dirty work are you doing then boy?" Harry asked. "The ministry? If it is, then tell Shacklebolt to jam his wand straight up his arse if he thinks a mere heist would produce all my classified documents."
"Er what?" James said, disoriented. His father paid him no mind though. Harry was walking towards his table waving his wand. The destruction caused by the duel between James' and his father's employee amended itself. It was so swift, almost faster than his eyes could follow. He stumbled as he almost fell to the ground trying to look at everything at once.
"Is the ministry so short staffed and incompetent that they can't even afford a decent fool to do their important dirty work?" Harry asked, an unimpressed note in his tone.
"Uhm, the ministry didn't send me." James said. "I'm not one of their staff."
His father rolled his eyes. "Of course not. Let me guess, you were sleepwalking when you somehow happened to find yourself in my office. Keep up the lies boy and I will rip off your tongue and make you feed on it."
"I'm not lying, I swear." James countered. "I came to see you, Captain."
"Really? And who the hell are you?"
"James Jacques Potter."
His father froze. James could see the shocked glint in his eyes. He saw as green eyes reassessed his features again before settling on their identical pair, realization widening in them. Rage burned through him for some inexplicable reason.
"Where did we leave off, dear Father?" He said, in a faux polite voice. "Oh that's right. You were just about to rip my tongue off and make me feed on it."
"James, I had no idea it was you."
"Quite refreshing to know that you don't even recognize your own son." James said, with a bite to his tone.
"I know I have wronged you and your mother, my son." Harry said. "And I beg you to please forgive me, even though I do not deserve your forgiveness."
"Save your breath father." James waved a hand. "I need to speak with you about something."
He watched his father open his mouth, as if to say something else before thinking better of it.
"Tea or Coffee?"
"You would have known I'm allergic to caffeine if you had been around, you know."
"Tea it is then," Harry muttered. He waved his wand and a kettle and two cups flew from a cupboard and landed on the table.
"Milked?" Harry asked. "Or do you also have Dairy Allergy?"
James bit his lips. "See, I didn't come here to fight with you." He paused, looking at his feet. "I came to ask for your help."
His father paused, caught off-guard by the request. James watched him in silence.
"What do you need my help with?" Harry finally asked.
"I need your help to find someone who has been abducted."
"Who?"
"My best friend, Micheal." James replied. "He disappeared three weeks ago. No one has heard from him since."
"Well, maybe he simply left the country." His father said. "You know, went on a vacation?"
James closed his eyes, begging for patience. "I would like it if you take this seriously, you know."
"I am serious." Harry replied, riffling through a file. "I've seen this many times with different clients. All of them trying to look for a pattern where there isn't any. First rule as a detective, son, judge on facts and facts alone. Right now, there is not much to prove that your friend has been abducted other than the fact that he is absent, which could be for a number of reasons."
"He has been abducted." James argued. "I know it. Look, no one has heard of him since the night we celebrated his promotion and redeployment. I've asked everyone, his mum, his old schoolmates, his ICW military buddies. They all said the same thing, that he just disappeared."
His father's eyes snapped up. "Are you saying that your missing friend is an ICW military enforcer?"
"Yes." James answered, blinking.
His father stood up. The tap of his boots against the brick floor filled the silence as he paced.
"Well that's interesting." James heard him mutter.
"What's going on?" James asked.
"You said it was three weeks ago that anyone saw him last right?"
James nodded. "Can you give me the exact date?" James frowned, confused.
"August 23."
"Of course." Harry muttered, almost to himself.
"Are you going to tell me what is going on or not?" James asked. Harry looked at him as if gauging him before he waved his wand. A cabinet flew open and a Daily Prophet newspaper landed at the centre of the table. James read the headline on the front page.
Missing Auror Mysteriously Appears.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement Agency has announced the return of one of their own. One, Richard Sanders who disappeared alongside six others on a raid on the Dwarven encampment at London, turned up mysteriously yesterday at the Ministry of Magic atrium with little memory loss. St Mungo's Healers speculate that they will be able to cure his memory loss. "We are trying our best efforts to ensure that Mr Sanders survives from this mild Dementia." Says Healer Davies. "We are confident that, with the superb skills of our healers here at St Mungo and the cordial cooperation of the Ministry of Magic, we would soon see a breakthrough." This reporter has confirmed it first-hand from a humble Ministry of Magic employee, the steps the Ministry has taken to ensure that Richard Sanders is well taken care of and that something like this does not happen again. Head Auror John Dawlish said in a statement yesterday. "The Auror Department is deeply saddened by the inconvenience that has afflicted one of their own. I give the great citizens of Magical Britain my word, that I will not rest until we have recovered our six missing aurors and the parties responsible are brought to books."
James frowned at the article. "What does this have to do with the disappearance of Micheal?"
"Look at the date that article was published." Harry said. James obliged, still unable to see the point of it. August 22, 2018, the date read. James froze.
"Are you saying that both disappearances are connected?" James asked. He truly hoped not. How was he going to tell the mother of his best-friend that her son had been abducted by Dwarves.
"It is a possibility I'm considering." Harry nodded. "Problem is the sole survivor is of no help, the Ministry were severely understating when they said he was diagnosed with mild Dementia. The lad remembers nothing at all, not even his own name. The Ministry is probably trying to cover that up, Idiots all of them are."
"Classic Ministry." James muttered, but he was wondering how the Dwarves could pull off an obliviation of such scale.
"I don't think it's the Dwarves." James almost jumped at the words. His father winked. "Your occlumency needs work." James scowled.
"Seven wizards were abducted." His father began. "All seven were warriors. One escaped. Two days later, another wizard disappeared. Also a warrior. See the pattern now?"
James nodded, tingles were rising up his arm. "But if you think the Dwarves are not responsible, then who is?" James asked.
"I have a suspicion." Harry replied. "If I'm right, then things are about to get messy."
James watched as his father walked towards an evidence board floating a few metres away from the ground. The board was almost empty save the sole clipping from a Daily Prophet paper from two years back. The picture of a mean looking wizard in grey clothes snarled at the centre of the paper. James squinted to read the headline paper.
Rodolphus Lestrange Still at Large.
A knock sounded from the door. Harry flicked his wand and James saw a grizzled looking wizard with a missing ear enter. The man stood in front of his father and saluted.
"Was everything okay at the Wizengamot, George?" Harry asked the strange man.
"Perfectly." The man, George replied.
"And, how was the trial?"
"Smooth." George replied, twisting a finger in his one ear and pulling. "The Golden Trio's accumulated evidence was foolproof. Flint has been convicted for twenty years now, at Azkaban."
"Good." Harry said. "Why did it take so long to bring your report then?"
"Forgive me, Captain." George replied. "I had a cuppa with Bill at The Three Broomsticks."
"Bill is back?" Harry asked. It was evident to James that this Bill had been gone a long time.
"Yeah, and he was telling me about the disappearance of seven Goblins. I thought it was connected to the missing Aurors case."
"Good thinking, George." Harry replied. "I take it, the Goblins of Gringotts were livid."
"Director Ragnok threatened to string them upside down and have them whipped when they return." George replied. "He thinks they skived off work to chase after treasures."
"Whoa, slow down." James interjected, raising a hand. "Are you saying that the seven missing Goblins and missing Aurors and my friend's disappearance are all connected."
"Your friend?" George asked. James opened his mouth to answer but his father beat him to it.
"Yes, James." Harry said, a dark glint in his green eyes. "Brace yourself, things are about to get messy."
A/N: If you like any of my works and want to discuss. You can join my Discord server by using this link; discord . gg / wnyWEsSBwB (without the spaces). Also, I occasionally host weekly Fanfiction Trivia Tournaments, based on many popular fanfictions and fan pairings, every Sunday, 2 pm (UTC) prompt. Information can be found on my Discord server. It will be a pleasure to have you on board, thank you.