Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling characters; but any other characters plus the plot, I do own.

A/N: Thanks for gu61 for his review, now on to the eighth chapter, enjoy.

Interrogation

The street was buzzing with noise as the ambulance cars pulled over near the crime scene, both Harry and Hermione were in an ambulance near the scene and being checked up by an EMT; Harry was okay, but Hermione has just recovered from the shock so she felt slightly dizzy. The EMT instructed her to lie down on a gurney he brought until she recovers fully, she tried to protest but the EMT left to tend to the wounded before she can say a single word and she pouted in disapproval.

"Hey, he is right you know; you have suffered enough being the main target in this whole mess" Harry said calmly

"No, I want to see the inflected damage myself" she tried to get up, but she felt dizzy and lost her balance; then suddenly she felt strong arms surrounding her, she looked up and saw that it was Harry; she felt goosebumps and pulled herself up.

"T-Thank you" she said nervously, and Harry nodded at her; he could feel her nervousness but he thought it was because of her recent experience. After Hermione has regained her balance and was able so stand up they both exited the vehicle and made their way to the crime scene.

When they have passed the crowd with difficulty they saw what gruesome it was; there were at least six bodies lying lifeless in horrible positions, and about fifteen wounded with the EMT taking care of them. Hermione felt the disgust rising up inside her "Those wankers" she in anger and felt like wanting to tear but her self-dignity prevented her.

"At least one of them was fool enough to fall from the car" Harry said "He can be our lead to the rest of the jokers"

"Well, well … Look who is here" a familiar voice said from behind them, and Harry felt so angry to hear it.

"What are you doing here Johnson?" Hermione was the first to turn and speak to the FBI agent who came with two other agents.

"I heard you were involved in the incident and wanted to see how much damage you inflected this time, and I can't believe you are improving every time. Twenty five casualties! This broke you last record" Johnson answered with a malicious look in his eyes; and Hermione felt her heart stung at his remark.

"This was not her doing, if you are blind I can show you the way to one of the culprits myself" Harry said firmly with a sly tone.

"This does not concern you, four-eyes" Johnson said in a spitting manner.

"He is write Harry; all of this is because of … Me" Hermione said in a sad tone which caused Harry to boil with anger at Johnson.

"You see four-eyes, she is admitting it herself; such weaklings are not found among the FBI"

"Firstly, I have a name, and it is Harry Potter. Secondly; this is because the dolts have filled the whole slots" Harry retaliated quickly, and Johnson steamed.

"Enough of the chit-chat, we are taking control of the scene now. Agent Donaldson, agent Preston, escort these two out of here" Johnson said firmly, and the two agents ushered both of our heroes the exit of the scene.

Harry walked slowly beside the sad Hermione, and he felt wanting to pound Johnson to the pulp for what he said to her. Johnson; as if he has took the cue, began to sneer at Hermione "You are a total failure Granger; why don't you pack up and return to penthouse you came from"

"That does it" Harry yelled and turned toward the sneering agent. The two escort agents tried to stop him, but they felt themselves thrown back by an invisible force, and Johnson's eye widened at what he saw; his escort, who were not light-weight, went flying across the street with no one touching them, and when he came to his senses he felt Harry's hands grabbing his suit and he felt every bone in his body screaming as he was pushed forcibly against the wall. Harry pulled one arm backwards preparing to land a fierce punch on his face when Hermione shouted at him.

"Harry … Please, he is not worth it; do not get yourself into trouble because of him … Please" Hermione plea touched Harry's heart; he stopped himself from landing the punch and he eyed Johnson mortally.

"Hermione's plea saved you this time although you do not worth a dime; only next time you will not. If you ever hurt her in any way, physically or emotionally, you will not live to see another day, mark my words; as I do not make threats, but promises"

Johnson didn't speak; in fact, he couldn't. He was frozen by the death glare Harry has given him; he can even see the fire raging in his emerald eyes behind the glasses, and he knew that he wasn't joking; Harry can take his life at anytime.

Harry dropped the gaping agent and moved toward Hermione; he ushered her to the exit of the scene and the crowd stepped aside and looked at Harry with a mix of fear and awe. Johnson stood there for a minute and tried to understand what happened; he looked at his incapacitated escort and sighed nervously "I should've brought more men"

Harry and Hermione walked to the precinct in silence and felt the piercing looks of the staff at his back; they reached the third floor and entered her office without a word spoken, and when Ron saw the grim look on their faces he slightly panicked.

"What happened?" Ron asked almost in whisper.

"There was a drive-by shooting in front of the precinct, and Hermione was the target" Harry answered with an angry glint.

"My God. Hermione, are you okay? Have you been injured?"

"No, but many innocents are" she answered in a bitter tone that was noticed by Harry.

"Ron" Harry turned to his best mate "Can you please go to the interrogation room and ask for permission so I can interrogate the captured culprit?" and looked at him with meaningful eyes.

"No problem" Ron said taking the cue, and went to do as he was told.

Harry turned to the sad Hermione; he knew what she is feeling now as he experienced the same thing in the past, she is feeling guilty and responsible for all the deaths that happened; much like him when his godfather fell through the veil, and his mentor was killed by the traitor. He sighed deeply before speaking "Hermione, I'm sorry for the people who died, but you have to know that it is not you fault; your must not let the guilt consume you"

Hermione's body started to shake slightly as she answered "I-I don't know what to say or how do I feel about the whole thing, I feel like I was the one who has killed those people out there, I feel like I tainted them by being a walking target among them; they died because I was near them" Hermione finished her remark with tears glistening in her eyes.

"No you are not" Harry said firmly yet in a gentle way; he had experienced the same thing before and used to feel the same guilt and self-loathing during Voldemort's reign of terror, and he didn't want anyone else to have the same feeling "It was not your fault Hermione, they are the ones who killed those people, not you"

"I just hate it" she exclaimed and her tears began to shed "Everyone I come to know is in danger of being killed. I hate Muerte, I hate him; he destroyed my life" she began to cry and the emotions she bottled during this accident, the case itself, and before has surfaced.

Harry was lost by now, he couldn't think of anything to do; he was a disaster when it comes to social interaction and he know it, but the sight of sadness he saw in Hermione tears his heart, so he did the first thing that came to his mind; he hugged her.

Hermione was immersed in her grief so she didn't notice that she was crying against Harry's shoulder, and Harry himself was saddened so much by her grief to notice what had he done and how close she was to him. They stood in the same stance for at least ten minutes with Hermione's cry has reduced to sobs; only then she noticed where she was, and she pulled herself away from him quickly.

"I-I'm sorry, I broke down and for a minute I forgot where I was" Hermione said nervously looking at the ground with the tears still frozen in her eyes.

Harry himself was nervous because of the brief physical contact; he never experienced anything more than a friendly or family hug; but a sob comforting hug? That was over his limit. He stood silent for a second to regain his composure then spoke.

"No problem, you needed a shoulder to cry on and mine was available" Harry said then leaned forward smiling and added "but remember to book the place next time before using it" and Hermione chuckled a bit.

Harry sat down and ushered Hermione to do the same; he took a deep breath before speaking "I will tell you a story about a person who experienced the same thing you just have; it is about a boy who experienced a series of horrible tragedies and many hardships nobody ever faced" he looked at her and found that the desired effect has took place, she looked at his interestingly and temporarily forgot about her incident. He changed his posture then continued "The beginning took place when he was one year old; his family was being chased by a lunatic murderer, this murderer was so intent in getting the little boy; so the family went into hiding with only one person knowing their place, this person is one of their best friends" he closed his eyes and fell silent for seconds then resumed "Unfortunately, the family whereabouts was exposed, and the one who told the murderer about it was no other than their so-called friend; the murderer reached the hidden location and brutally killed the father and mother of the boy which left the baby only; a fully-armed professional murderer pointing his weapon at the head of a defenseless infant" Harry looked at Hermione and smiled when he saw the interest on her face.

"What happened to the baby?" Hermione asked urging him to speak.

"To the murderer's surprise; the weapon didn't affect the baby; instead, the bullet has deflected back seriously injuring the murderer himself. He fled the scene leaving a crying baby and two dead bodies"

"Bloody butcher; and what happened to the poor thing?" Hermione asked feeling a bit emotional for the baby.

"He was moved to another house where nobody cared about him; he even lived not knowing that his parents where killed; after he went to school, he met an old man who was the headmaster of his new school; this man was destined to be his mentor and the parents he never had; he told him the very truth about his parents; and the reason why this murderer was and still after him"

"And why is that?" Hermione asked urging him to spill more beans.

"This murderer, who is also a leader of a group of outlaws, was a bit superstitious; he believed in prophecies and such; and once he heard a prophecy about his demise by the hands of a young man. This prophecy enraged him as he considered himself invincible with the power he has and the fear he impose on his followers before his enemies; he searched for the young man and by some methods he concluded that he was the baby; and you know the rest"

"What was the boy's reaction at the revelation?" she asked again.

"What would you expect from a teenager who has just discovered that the people of his country are depending on him to get rid of a lunatic murderer? Of course he felt like a heavy load was dropped on his shoulders. Also, he knew that anyone who comes close to him is marked for death by the murderer and his followers; even if this one was just an acquaintance; he learned it by the hard way though"

His emotions now were stirring inside him; he never thought that he will ever need to call back such sad memories, but he need to enlighten Hermione a bit. He took his time to tame the rousing emotions before continuing "First, he lost his godfather and the only family he knew; he stood helpless as he saw him fall to his demise. Then he lost his mentor and father figure who was killed by no other that the traitor who sold the boy's family to the murderer. He felt as if the world crumbled before him, he has no where to go to; he was going mental, and he decided to distance himself from everyone; he remembered something his mentor told him once, 'only with love and friendship you can surpass the mightiest opponent'. He reconsidered his decision, and promised himself that he will protect everyone he cared for"

"And then, what happened to the murderer? I dare to say that he never let the boy rest" Hermione stated, and Harry nodded in agreement.

"And you are right, but the boy never let his guard down from that point forward. He eventually dueled the murderer and killed him, and finally he avenged the lives of the his family, godfather, mentor, and many other innocents"

Harry finished the story without mentioning that it is actually 'his' life story, he looked at Hermione and saw that she has become gloomier than before; he smiled at her and spoke again "Why the long face Hermione?"

Hermione brushed away some of the escaped tears and answered "you know Harry, if you were trying to lighten my mood then you should know that you have failed miserably"

"Well, I didn't want to lighten you, but to enlighten you; if there is something to learn from this story then it is that you are not alone in this world, and every decision you make well affect the people around you, especially those you care about. Also you must know that you should not give up your friendships and family ties, because this is what your enemies are waiting for; divide and conquer; this is their favorite tactic"

Hermione didn't speak; she drew circles on the back of her hand by her thumb as she always does when she is in deep thought, and something suddenly hit her "What happened to the boy afterwards, and you didn't tell me his name"

Harry answered calmly "The name doesn't really matter, but maybe one day you will meet him; as for what happened afterwards" he leaned forward with a sly grin "He lived happily ever after"

"Hey" Hermione pouted "This is not your typical fairy tale to end like that"

"I know, but I wanted to prove a point and I did; maybe one day I will tell you"

"I'll wait for that day, just stick to your word Potter" Hermione remarked and laughed. At that moment Ron entered the office.

"Hey, it's good to see you laughing after all this Hermione; and Harry, the interrogation room is ready, it is on the opposite side of the morgue, just talk to the officer Crawford who in charge, he was more that happy to help you. I also asked some other blokes to search for the suspect file, and voila; here it is" Ron stated and handed him a dossier.

"Mike is a good old chap, he helped me a lot through my investigations" Hermione added in approval.

"Thanks Ron; I'll take it from here" Harry said patting Ron's shoulder.

"Always a pleasure mate; and by the way, Johnson witnessed my whole conversation with Mike and didn't interfere; do you know what's wrong with the bloke?"

"Let's say I have given him … an offer he can't refuse" Harry said looking at Hermione with a meaningful glance, and then left for the interrogation.

Ron stood there with a confused look before asking Hermione "What does he mean?"

"He means what you've just heard, you should have been there Ron; I never thought that dolt would be intimidated by anyone, but the look on his face when Harry grabbed him … Oooh" she chuckled a bit before continuing "I should give that bloke some credit; I've never seen anyone can be sooo intimidating"

Ron now can imagine what happened and roared with laughter "I really wish I was there; and I bit that Johnson said something too bad that set Harry on fire; I told that bloke before that his temper is as bad as a Weasley, maybe worse"

Hermione giggled for a minute before something hit her "Wait a minute, those two other agents weren't even touched by Harry and they went flying as if they were pushed back by a sheer force"

Ron was stunned at her remark "WHAT? Hermione are you out of your mind, no body can fly without wings or without someone sending them flying; they must have tripped on something on the ground" he tried to explain while cursing in his mind 'Bloody Hell Harry! I knew one day your hot temper will cause some bloody problems'

"I don't think so" Hermione relied intently "There was nothing on the ground; but then again, maybe they were too dumb to trip with nothing on the ground"

Ron fought the urge to howl with laughter as he remembered a certain pink-haired metamorphagus having the same dumbness "Anyway" he said with a hoarse voice "Enough about that and tell me, what has Harry told you to alleviate your mood"

"Well … He told me a story about a little boy and a lunatic murderer; where the boy's family where killed by the hand of the murderer and the boy miraculously lived after being shot at point-blank"

"Blimey, I never thought he would tell you this story. In fact, he never spoke of this story to anyone; he must have began to respect you Hermione, you should be grateful"

Hermione blushed for no reason and said defensively "Why all the fuss about him? He is just a private investigator after all"

"I'm not in the position of telling you, but one day you might know" Ron said cryptically.

"Is it me, or you blokes have turned cryptic all of the sudden?" she jeered at Ron who chuckled a bit.

"Nothing like that happened Hermione; but I have to tell you that the boy's story is true; and he is considered a legend among the shire inhabitants" Ron ended in a serious tone that attracted her attention.

"I thought it was just folklore; so that why he didn't tell me his name" she said as if she was speaking with herself, and then turned to Ron "Do you know the name of the boy.

"No" he lied "But I can tell you that he is better known as … The-Boy-Who-Lived"

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Harry reached the basement level where the interrogation room is; and walked a bit along the corridor until he reached the morgue and saw middle-aged man standing in front of a door in the opposite direction, he approached him and greeted him.

"Good morning sir, is this the interrogation room?"

"Yes, and who might you be?"

"I'm Harry Potter, a private investigator; detective Ronald Weasely said I will find Officer Crawford here"

"You are talking to him son. You are the young man who saved detective Granger, aren't ya'? I want to thank you for this; detective Granger is a hard worker and one of the few honest detectives who remained true to the cause, she is too good and important to be wasted in that way"

"I clearly understand sir" but it was quite the opposite; he never thought she was that popular amid the force staff, and her being the only female detective and a British one was not adding any easiness; but then again, her hard working nature and her friendliness must've helped a lot.

"Anyway" Crawford interrupted his thoughts "I heard from detective Weasely that you want to interrogate the detained suspect yourself; keep in your mind that usually private investigators are allowed to question the suspects detained by LAPD only after a long procedure and with administrative authorization; but due to your contribution in the recent incident I will overlook the paperwork. Also, I want to do this just to piss off that double-crossing asshole Johnson" Crawford stated

"Thank you for your generosity sir; and don't worry about Johnson, he won't be much of a problem" Harry said calmly

"Yeah, I heard about that too" Crawford guffawed "Good one by the way; you are beginning to earn high esteem among us LAPD"

"Thank you again sir for your trust"

"Now, now, don't get all mushy on my boy; I only said the truth. Now go on, there is another imbecile waiting for you inside"

Harry nodded and stepped toward the door, he stopped just before he entered and turned toward the officer "Sir, I want to say that the surveillance cameras might not work properly for some time" he said with a significant look.

"Well, technical problems could happen any time, couldn't they?" Crawford replied with a knowing grin, Harry grinned back and entered the room.

The first thing he saw the minute he entered was the thug sitting down on a chair with much confidence shown on his face. He looked at the distant end of the room and saw the camera hanging down from the ceiling; He slowly walked towards it and unplugged it, and before he do anything he quietly placed an obscuring charm on the one-sided mirror and a silenco charm on the whole room. After that he sat down while gazing the over-confident thug.

"What are you looking at?" the thug said almost spitting on him.

"At you, I never thought that a low-life like you can appear with such confidence while he is captured" Harry answered calmly.

"I should be; don't you know who I work for pendejo?" the thug sneered with increased confidence.

"You can tell me yourself" Harry leaned and said with the same calmness

"Muerte …" The thug hissed with a glint in his eyes expecting Harry to back up with terror; but much to his surprise he didn't even wince.

"No thanks, I had enough of him at breakfast; did you too … Marco, isn't it?" Harry replied while scanning the dossier with much coolness.

"Don't you know who muerte is" the thug exclaimed is a mix of surprise and anger.

"I know all what I need to know about him, just another smuggler"

"Smuggler!" the thug yelled and stood up in anger "A smuggler you say! I think you are either very brave or very idiota holmes"

"I don't care a bit about what you think wanker"

"Listen to me gringo; you are all going to die, no body have a chance in standing against Muerte and his new allies; you are comida para perros"

"You are really starting to annoy me with all this rubbish; if you want to keep talking, at least say something useful"

"I will not talk unless my lawyer is present; I know my rights amigo" Marco replied with much cheek.

"You don't get it, do you?" Harry said coldly as the room temperature dropped "I am not your regular happy constable" and the lights began to flash "When I want something, I first ask nicely" and a gust blew out of nowhere "Then I take it by force" and finally, Harry's aura shot up rapidly showering the room with greenish-blue light.

Marco witnessed the whole ordeal in increasing terror, while seeing and feeling every bit of it; and when Harry's aura appeared, he doubled over along with his chair. He retreated quickly until his back hit the wall.

"Dios mio! Y-You are El- El- … El Diablo" the thug stuttered.

Harry looked at the timid thug with killing glares before speaking "Will you cooperate or should I take what I want with force?"

"P-Please don't kill me; I will tell you anything you want" the thug pleaded.

"Tell me the count and names of Muerte's new allies"

"I-I don't know …" Harry's aura started to ripple, and the thug quivered madly "But I know the name of their leader; Flint … Yes, Marcus Flint; and they call themselves 'Los Mangeur de Muerte', the death eaters"

"I know all this" Harry yelled "Tell me something I don't know; like their names and number" and he remembered something "And the college break-in yesterday"

"I told you señor, I don't know their count; but I know that they stole a huge machine from the college yesterday because I brought them a truck at a pre-chosen meeting point, the machine was mysteriously floating in the middle air … I swear it was magia. There were four of them last night; and I heard one of them call the other Nott"

"Nott" Harry said and went into deep thought 'That makes sense' he told himself 'Only that cold-blooded lunatic can kill those officers with such brutality', he then turned his attention back to the groveling thug "Where is their hideout?"

"I-I don't know" the thug cowered as Harry's aura shot to the roof again "Please, you have to believe me, I am not one of Muerte's elite soldiers; only them are allowed to be in the hideout, the others are gathering in other places"

"Where" Harry asked coldly, but received no answer. He increased the intensity of his aura causing the thug to shriek with horror.

"Please, I can't say; if they know they might kill me"

"They might kill you if you spoke; but I WILL if you didn't, make your choice" Harry eyed him and waited for an answer.

"Oooh Dios mio! Salvar a mi" Marco said in a whimper "Colleja Motels"

"Motels!" Harry remarked while eyeing him skeptically "Why do I have the feeling that you are lying to me?" and the thug whimpered even more.

"Por favor … I only said the truth; don't kill me" the thug begged.

"Let's see then" Harry replied while levitating the over-shrieking thug and placing him on his already-straightened chair. He sat opposite to him and locked his eyes on his.

"What are you going to do" Marco asked while shivering.

"I'm going to validate your so-called confession … Legilimens" and he began his probing.

At first he found himself at a desolated place, and it was nighttime but he can see the twilight, so he assumed that it was near dawn. He was standing beside Marco who was leaning at a parked truck. A few minutes later, four hooded silhouettes appeared in the distance, and a huge shadow was following them. He recognized them as they drew nearer; they were death eaters. He saw Nott in the lead, and three other young death eaters he doesn't know; they were levitating a rather gigantic contraption he presumed it was the stolen EMPA.

"Dios! It is floating; this is magia" Harry heard the bewildered Marco exclaim.

"Cut the yammer and open the loading door" Nott hissed at him and then turned to the death eater who is levitating the machine "Manson, bring forth the machine"

They loaded the machine and secured the loading door. Then Nott turned toward the frightened Marco and spoke with malice "Now go to the rendezvous point and be sure not to get caught; and don't think about dawdling around, we are watching you"

After the truck moved Harry tried to follow it but the image got distorted and then went blank, and he knew it was the effect of the memory charm. Flint was very careful; he didn't trust anyone except himself and a few wizards of the inner circle.

He found a few other interesting memories including the Hermione assassination attempt. Also, he found some memories of ordinary conversations with civilians and other thugs, but he didn't understand anything as they were in Spanish. He felt frustrated for not learning such vital language. He tried to look for the motel he was told about but didn't find it 'Why I am not surprised?' he thought to himself, and drew himself out of Marco's mind rather aggressively.

"Wha-What've just happened?" Marco asked but Harry didn't care for answering, he swiftly drew his wand causing the thug to wince "What are you doing?"

"This is going be quite painful; I am not telling you for your sake, but for the sake of my ears … Memoria Extractum" and a purple ray of light flowed out from the tip of the wand, and at the instant it touched Marco's forehead his body convulsed violently and he screamed as he never did before and the purple ray retracted pulling with it a few azure semi transparent strands.

As the last strand was pulled out, Marco fell down unconscious; Harry stared at him with stone face while his aura faded "Even though you are riffraff you are still human, you shouldn't have experienced that painful charm, but you left me no choice" he said to the unconscious thug before innervating him and hitting him with a strong memory charm "You will remember me intimidating you, but you will forget that I used magic and anything related to it including the aura".

Marco blinked for a few seconds after the spell hit him, then he noticed Harry's presence and cowered. Harry didn't speak; he picked up the dossier and left the room not forgetting to wandlessly deactivate the pre-placed charms and plugging back the camera; when he got out he saw Crawford jogging toward him.

"That was the worst power fluctuation I've even witnessed" Crawford growled.

"What happened?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Haven't you noticed? The lights of the whole floor were wavering; in all my years in here I've never seen such malfunction; even some of light bulbs blown up"

"I thought only the lights in the interrogation room were malfunctioning" Harry lied and thought to himself 'I've gone a bit far this time'

"Anyway, I see that you finished your interrogation; has it been good?"

"Somewhat" Harry replied pouting "But I'm content with the little information I got"

"Don't be sad" Crawford patted him "It is always hard in the beginning, but something will come up and open new doors"

"Hopefully" Harry said feeling a bit exhausted "If you excuse me, I need to review my findings with your detectives before heading home"

"I understand; if you need anything else, I'm happy to help; the whole department owes you for saving our top detective. And by the way, due to the presence of the FBI, the third floor is open so you can reach it without a card"

"Thank you sir" Harry said then walked away from him toward the lift; he felt completely drained as he never thought he would be 'It must be the aura' he thought to himself, I should work on my endurance or my aura will be more a burden than a bless'. During his ascend he scribbled a concise note about the outcome of the interrogation on a piece of paper he conjured, and magically copied the culprit's profile.

When he reached the third floor he noticed that it was swarming with FBI agents, and a number of them noticed his presence and eyed him with malevolence but he paid no attention to them; he walked toward Hermione and Ron's office, knocked the door and entered.

"Hello, sorry if I'm a bit late"

"No problem mate" Ron replied

"Have you extracted anything useful out of that git?" Hermione asked anxiously.

'More than what I bargained for' he thought to himself, but he can't tell her everything so he said "Only a few confessions"

"That's too bad" Hermione said with disappointment. Harry handed her the dossier "I took the liberty of copying it, I hope you don't mind"

"As a matter of fact, I do" Hermione looked at him warningly "This is police property, you can't do as you like with it without the proper permission"

"Sorry, I will remember that next time" Harry said and smiled at her. She felt her heart skip a beat, and she scolded herself for that 'Why do I feel like a teenager around that bloke'

"Let's skip to the important business, shall we?" Ron suggested, and Harry sat down and began talking.

"It appears that the death eaters along with the Columbians are concocting something unpleasant; I read this morning an article about a stolen device called EMPA, which is short for 'Electromagnetic Pulse Amplifier', this device can knock out the power at a certain radius. The point is, this bloke …" pointed at Marco's picture in the profile "Has helped in the robbery"

There was a heavy silence in the room before Hermione break it "Has he said where they took it?". Harry looked at Ron it a significant look before answering "He said he can't remember"

"Hogwash" Hermione said in an almost yelling manner "He is definitely lying, this is what are they good at … Men; no offense boys"

Ron grimaced but Harry replied immediately with a smile "none taken" and then leaned forward with a firm look "Hermione; I have a favor to ask"

She looked at him surprised "What is it Harry?"

"Can you search in the police files here and in the other states for any mysterious and unsolved cases?"

"They are hundreds Harry, but why?" Hermione said in confusion.

"What I mean is cases of murders with unknown weapon, or robberies occurred in security-tight places; just like our case here"

"I understand now Harry; I will tell Pierce to look for it when he returns; he is better that me in this kind of work"

He nodded at her "Okay, in the mean time I will look for information elsewhere, so I might not come back in few days"

"Then how can I contact you if anything turned up" Hermione asked

"I will, so don't bother yourself"

"Hey" she said in annoyance "I thought we said we will work as a team"

"We will" he replied defensively "But I will keep my tracks covered for a while until I can confirm it is safe to tell; and you should be on constant vigilance after what happened"

"Don't worry about that; and you better not play with me Potter" she said pointing a warning finger at him.

"I'm not, trust me on that"

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"Señor Martinez, I thought we had a deal …" Flint expressed with a hint of anger apeear on his face.

Muerte interrupted him "I should be that one who is saying that holmes; you are utilizing my money, men and influence, while I got nothing out of this maldito deal; the bitch is still alive …"

"And she will be" Flint interrupted this time "If we acted rashly and without a plan"

"So, you say you have a plan" Muerte eyed him suspiciously.

"Of course" Flint said with confidence "But as good plans go, this one will take a month to take effect"

"A MONTH" Muerte exclaimed in fury "DO YOU KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN A MONTH?"

Flint eyed the enraged drug lord with provocative coolness and waited him to calm down before speaking "Señor Martinez, I should remind you that I am not one of your blokes to yell at me like that; I consider actions less than that to be offending and I punish the one who commits it immediately and painfully; but as you are a valuable alley I will forgive you this once … and only this once"

Muerte was startled with the coldness Flint spoke with but didn't comment; and Flint continued "Our main obstacle in achieving your desire señor Martinez is Harry Potter. As you have seen by yourself, he is a formidable opponent, even the former dark lord tried to persuade him to join his side, but his silly ideals and disgusting love for the mudbloods prevented him from that; the main problem is that he noticed that detective granger is your main target; and thus he bestowed his protection on her. My main goal is to end this protection by shattering their alliance; and for this I need a month of preparation for this"

Muerte growled for a minute before speaking "OK, I will accept that for now. But if I don't get what I asked for after that then our deal is no more; comprendé?"

"Fair enough" Flint nodding ending the initial argument with a mutual agreement.

---------------------------------

"Harry Potter, sir" Dick and Vlad shot up in a firm military salute as Harry entered the HQ.

"At ease, people. Honestly, you don't need to salute me every time I enter" Harry said firmly though couldn't help but to smile.

"We can't help it sir" Dick replied "We are so proud to work under the administration of a Legend; and every feat you achieve is proving that you are more that a legend, sir"

"I have to say that we are working undercover; so if you salute me every time you see me this could turn pretty nasty and we might get exposed"

"We understand sir; we will only salute you if no one sees us"

"I give up" Harry said chuckling a bit, then he turned serious "Now for our business" and both aurors paid their full attention to them.

"Detective Granger was caught in a drive-by shooting. However, she survived it; and one of the culprits was caught; I interrogated the git myself but I only got a few useful confessions; now what I want from you Vladimir is to go to the ministry and bring a secure pensive and a batch of freshly prepared Veritaserum potion, and tell them I want it to be placed in unbreakable bottles"

"Right away, sir" Vlad saluted him firmly and went to fetch the items.

"As for you Dick, How is the progress of the case"

"Not quite good sir; Professor Malfoy sends his regards and says that the research of the curse used on the victims will take some time; but he notified me to tell you that the spell profile indicates that it is an ancient curse"

"Ancient …" Harry muttered and an idea revolved in his mind "This is a fair finding; rule number one in our work, dick, never neglect any finding even the smallest one, because with a small fish you can catch a bigger one"

"I'll keep that in mind sir" Dick retorted.

"By the way, dick; do you speak Spanish?"

"Of course sir; it is mandatory in these parts because the big portion of the population here is the Latin-Americans, but way sir?"

"Because I have a few memories is Spanish that I want you to translate for me"

"Is that why you ordered a pensive sir?"

"That's right; now if you don't mind, I need to sleep for a couple of hour or I would fall from exhaustion. Inform me when Vladimir returns"

"Affirmative sir"

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"Ginny, hey there girlfriend"

"What do you want Alicia? I have work to do" Ginny said with impatience as her friend paced beside her.

"Where were you this morning? I called your home but you didn't pick up"

"My whereabouts are my business Alicia; and I think you are not my mother" Ginny retorted coldly

"Ouch, stab me in heart. Is this a way to speak with a friend?" Alicia replied rather joyfully.

"Honestly; if anyone see you acting like that he would thought we are a childhood friend, not a two-day acquaintance"

"That's me girlfriend; by the way, how is the handsome detective doing?" she asked evilly, and Ginny blurted "He is fine actually, and healing prop … Hey"

Alicia began to laugh madly "I know it, I knew that you were seeing him; so how was the date"

"Woman, I only checked him up nothing to fancy; pure professional work" Ginny said only to realize her mistake too late

"You checked him up? That's cool" Alicia laughed harder.

"ALICIA, I have a work to do"

"OK, OK; sheesh; you are no fun at all; do you know that?" the joyful M.D. said before going to her work

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"This is odd" Hermione said to Ron who looked at her curiously "What's odd?"

She looked at him intently "Are you blind Ron? Haven't you seen that bloke shivering during the interrogation; it is the first time I've ever seen one of Muerte's thugs to be so miserable. They always appear as confident as a peacock. What have Potter done to that poor bloke?"

Ron shrugged before replying "Knowing Harry, he might have intimidated him a little bit"

"A little bit?" Hermione exclaimed "If you ask me I'd say it was a lot of bits"

"Maybe he got carried away with the interrogation"

"You are really weird Ron, why are you trying to justify Potter's actions; one would say you are acting like a best mate or a twin brother more that an ordinary old friend"

Ron felt a bit awkward; she didn't know that she hit the heart of the truth, but he thanked God as she changed the subject.

"And I have to tell you; I never thought that Potter was capable of intimidating people; even when he threatened Johnson I didn't believe my eyes. When you brought him here I thought he was some kind of a reporter; but private investigator? That was a bit of a shock"

"Harry would amaze you sometimes" Ron blurted earning him another curious look from Hermione.

"I told you; you are acting like a best mate"

He felt awkward again and tried to change the course of the conversation away from him "And why you were shocked?"

"Well, I always thought that the private investigators where harsh and ruthless, and they would not regard the laws; but Harry is so gentle and caring, and his eyes show sheer calmness, and …" she was talking absentmindedly but stopped suddenly when she saw the look on Ron's face and realizing what she was saying; her cheeks turned crimson-red at the realization.

"Blimey 'mione, if someone heard you he would've thought that you are in love" Ron said and then roared with laughter as more red shade appeared on her cheeks.

"I'm not Ron. Honestly, why do you always turn any civil conversation into an awkward one?"

"It is what I'm good at 'mione" and he laughed even more.

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Harry slept continuously for two hours in the annexed bedroom in HQ before hearing a commotion in the main whole; he sat up feeling completely refreshed "This was a much needed sleep"

He exited the bedroom and saw Dick and Vlad bringing in boxes filled with bottles.

"Is that it?" Harry inquired.

"Yes sir, a whole batch of Veritaserum, freshly prepared and in unbreakable bottles sir. They are even are able to prepare more sir" Vlad answered as he brought in the last box.

"Good" Harry retorted as he opened a bottle and smelled the potion; he then closed it and threw it against the wall to test the unbreakable charm integrity "Really good"

"What should we do with it sir?" Dick asked in curiosity.

"To know that bring me the list of all the aurors under my command" Harry ordered the hacker auror, who complied immediately; he checked the list "Ninety-five aurors; Vlad, how many bottles have you brought?"

"Five hundred bottles, sir" Vlad answered with confusion.

"Which make it five per auror" Harry said with confidence that caused more confusion; Dick stepped forward and asked "May I ask what are you thinking sir?"

Harry looked at them and smiled "When I interrogated the culprit today I used some … exhausting methods of interrogation, so I felt the aurors who are working undercover should always carry Veritaserum just in case they need it; we got Hundred aurors including me, Ron, and the three of you, means five bottles per person to use; I doubt anyone will need more than more though; but better safe than sorry"

"Good thinking, sir" Dick said feeling more impressed with his ideal's way of thinking.

"Anyway; Vlad, I want you to go and round up all the aurors in this list except Ron, and bring them here for our first meeting; I will prepare the meeting room so it can fit in this enormous number of people"

"Right away sir" and he went to carry out the order, but Harry stopped him "Before you go, where is the secure pensive?"

"There it is sir" he pointed at the object in the corner.

"Very well, carry on then" Harry retorted as he walked toward the pensive, he ushered Dick to follow him. When he reached the object he drew his wand and point it at it muttering 'Memoria Recolo'

Dick's eyes widened as semi-transparent threads shot out of Harry's wand and into the pensive.

"Now, these are the memories I want you to translate, so go on"

Dick hesitated for a moment before asking "What was that spell sir?"

"It is a top-secret spell that only the high ranking aurors know; in other words, it is a death-tracker-only spell; now go on and do your chores"

Dick felt disappointed and unsatisfied with the answer but didn't dare to argue with his superior. He entered the pensive and began to watch the memories, after ten minutes he pulled out and saw Harry waiting for his report.

"So, what is it?" Harry asked in a commanding manner.

"Most of them were ordinary conversations; but there was one conversation before the assassination attempt; one of the thugs said that they would be changing their hideout after they return from their mission"

"Mission they said" Harry hissed darkly "Those lowlifes; but I doubt that git would know where it is"

"You are right sir; they were going to gather at their old hideout before exposing the new one"

"Too foxy for them to think that way; I bet it was Flint's idea to change the hideout. Anyway, we must put a search pattern for possible hideouts, but that can wait until the whole auror battalion is assembled. In the mean time, I will go to the ministry library and research the unknown curse myself; I will keep the invisible headphone open, contact me when they arrive"

"Roger sir" Dick saluted his superior and went back to his original position in front of the computer. Harry exited the HQ and apparated to the Ministry if Magic entrance. He entered the telephone booth and went down until he reached the library level. He walked through the doors and toward the librarian counter, who was busy with paperwork.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic library; here you will find a variety of books from all … Merlin's Beard, it's Harry Potter"

Harry fed up with his world wide fame; but he couldn't do anything with it "Pleasure to meat you; may I have access to the restricted section?"

"I'm sorry, but only the minister is allowed to enter that section, and …" he flashed his golden auror badge "High ranking aurors are also allowed, which means that you have access; let me show you the way"

She led him to an isolated corridor at the distant section the library; they reached a vast door at the end of the corridor; she turned to him "Your badge please" he handed her his badge and she used it on a crevice at the right side of the door, and it opened slowly, then she handed the badge back to him "You can enter now Mr. Potter, and if you need to access this section anytime in the future just follow the same procedure I just did, and no need to look for me, too"

"I understand; thank you for your help" Harry said and stepped inside the restricted section.

The place was dim and gloomy; the shelves were full of books with dark nature; he noticed that some of the books were actually monsters like an old book he knew. Lucky for him, they were all slumbering. He quietly walked toward the 'Ancient Curses' section as the sign indicated and began to browse the shelves.

Hours have passed, and Harry was immersed in his research; he skimmed through dozens of books and scanned the ones which interested him; 'Curses of Condemnation', 'The Unforgivables: A Thorough Look', 'Avada Kedavra: The Ultimate Curse', 'The Veil: Mysteries Uncovered', 'History of Curses', 'The Dementor Curse: Travel To A World of Madness', and much more. He felt so exhausted that he couldn't open his eyes properly; he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes and decided to call it a day and went back to the HQ for the last task he had, the meeting.

After he exited the ministry he apparated to the alley near the HQ, as he opened the door and heard the buzz coming from inside the meeting room, he walked toward the door and stepped in.

"Officer on deck" Dick exclaimed and the whole battalion of aurors stood up.

"At ease" Harry said calmly yet in a commanding voice, and then stepped in and assumed the lead seat "As you've learned early this week, I will be your commander in this operation", the aurors began to hum. Many of them were young, and have heard of Harry's story; they considered him a legend and an ideal auror, they followed up his last battle with the former dark lord with much excitement and disbelief because of the sheer power he and his former nemesis displayed; and when their director told them that he will come to the states and assume the command of this UK/USA operation most of them didn't believe it, but now he is here in front of them; although some of them felt disappointed to see a young man instead of a middle aged experienced auror; but considering his history, he is far more experienced that all of them united.

"I want to say that I've chosen out of a list of seven hundred top aurors; which means you are the best auror out of seven. Now, don't let that get into your heads and remember … Our opponents are not to be meddled with recklessly, they are the death eaters" and the humming began again.

A young female auror stood up "but sir, weren't they caught and defeated after You-Know-Who's demise?"

"Will that is not right Vanessa, isn't it" and the auror nodded "They are now under a new leadership which is far more problematic than Voldemort" and they whole room gasped and shuddered.

"Lesson number one in my team, fearing the name only increases the fear of the person himself; and honestly, only the fool fears a dead man. Anyway, you will be sorted into twenty different teams; each team with tasked with certain mission different than the other teams and each team will be provided with a hideout. You will report any progress directly to auror Howards here in the main HQ" and pointed at Dick "Aurors Pavlov and Blanc will monitor your progress during the missions; and any problem you encounter you either report to me or auror Weasley when he is present in the HQ. Also, each auror should carry at least a bottle of Veritaserum" he said as he summoned the boxes from the corner of the room.

"You will be given five bottles each, Use them in interrogation when no muggle is witnessing. Do not over use the potion, as the next batch might no be ready any time soon; any questions"

"Yes; why are we being dictated by a bunch of green kids who are not as experience as us?" a middle aged auror bellowed with total disrespect to the rank difference, but Harry didn't mind.

"Jones; isn't it? Well, I can see your points. But Aurors Howards, Pavlov, and Blanc have proved to be more efficient than you in terms of leadership, power, and creativity"

"I'm not just talking about them. I'm talking about you and that Weasley boy; I still don't believe that anyone can surpass the dark lord, or even survive a killing curse. You've only got lucky once"

"Hey, you have no right to question your superior's eligibility" Dick bellowed back at the raging auror; but Harry ushered him to calm down.

"Let him speak Dick; this is as the Yanks say it 'a free country'; so you think that I killed Voldemort by sheer luck" the whole room shuddered again including Jones "You see; this is our main difference. I do not fear a mere name, and a made-up one that is; but nevertheless, I'll give you the chance for promotion, we will duel right here" and the whole room buzzed with commotion.

"But sir, you look exhausted; are you sure you want to do this?" Vlad stated with worry.

"Don't worry Vlad; sometimes you have to fight while you are fatigued" Harry said joyfully as he conjured off the table and the chairs, and all the aurors stood near the walls giving the duelists their needed space; many of the aurors were anxious to see the legendary Harry Potter in action; but a few of them were sharing that same view Jones has, but were too fearful to bring it up; and now they can test their theory with nothing to lose.

"In this duel everything goes, even the unforgivables including the killing curse; keep in mind that you cannot apparate here due to the anti-apparition ward, but still you can dodge any curses, or have you forgot how?" Harry said scornfully.

"Why you …" Jones bit his lips in anger as he assumed the stance of attack.

"If you brought me down, then I will highly recommend you in the next auror promotion; and if you killed me, you can assume the command of the whole battalion, and everybody here will be a witness" Jones eyes gleamed as Harry spoke of the rewards "however, if you failed to do so or I defeated you, I will cast you out of the whole battalion", Jones thought for a second and calculated the whole ordeal; then he thought to himself 'I will not let that boy defeat me'

"Begin" Harry yelled and waited for Jones to shoot first. Jones pulled out his wand and threw his first curse "Discerpo" and the severing curse flew across the room, but it was stopped by Harry's shield.

"Being a bit ambitious, are we?" Harry sneered.

"Suctsempra"

"Awww, that was good; but not good enough"

Jones kept throwing a curse after another; but Harry didn't even budge and shield didn't weaken. Jones cried in frustration before bellowing "Crucio" and Harry dodged it in the last moment.

"Now you are being serious; I was waiting for that moment" Harry said in an apparent relief

"The moment of your death" Jones bellowed

"No, the moment you lose your temper; your accuracy has got pretty low right now"

"Pretty low! You'll see … IMPERIO" the curse hit Harry squarely in the chest; the whole hall gasped in terror and Jones stood in triumph "Bow to me; admit your defeat"

Harry simply stood with his hands behind his back and spoke "I admit …" Jones grinned with triumph "… that you are a bit old for this child play" Jones became stunned, and the aurors too were stunned to see someone who can fight the influence of the Imperious curse rather easily.

"H-How …"

"When you have a strong mind, which I doubt you have, you can fight this so-called curse easily. Now, show me how serious you are"

"AVADA KEDAVRA" and the sickening green lightening ray flew toward Harry who merely brushed his hand against it, and it reflected toward the ceiling.

"Enough play" Harry said firmly "Let us finish this … STUPEFY" the stunner flew across the room hitting Jones on the chest and he flew backwards for three meters; the whole hall went speechless and they looked in awe at the Boy-Who-Lived, the legend, their commander.

"Innervate" Harry revived Jones, who was feeling ashamed and frightened at the same time.

Harry looked at the defeated auror firmly "You've been weighed, you've been measured, and you've been found wanting. Now, return to the ministry at once"

Jones hastily stepped out of the hall, which was still in deep silent. Then Harry turned to them and spoke with a voice of authority "Everyone, return to your homes and collect your belongings; tomorrow you will be sorted into teams and your hideouts will be your new houses. Also, I will personally train you to be more agile and powerful, but it will be scheduled for … Dismiss"

A/N: Phew; that was a truly tough chapter to write, but it was necessary as a link between the previous and the next one. The next one will hold a surprise; so enjoy this one for a while.

Read and Review Pleeeeeeeeeeeease.