Taking Charge
All of MACUSA was in an uproar since the Obscurial began rampaging through New York. Representatives, Aurors, foreign diplomats, all the way down to mailroom employees were running around in both silent and vocal panic. The Statute of Secrecy had been breached in a magnitude yet unseen in the whole of several centuries. At that point, it seemed the damage was irreversible.
Having used the fireplace in the Headmaster's office, Iris arrived in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement using the Floo Network at the height of the tumult. Not bothering to dust herself off, she headed out onto the hearth, almost getting knocked down by two officers barreling past in the process.
"Where have you been?" Yelled Manny Aldrich, veteran Auror and office curmudgeon, as he skidded to a stop at her side. He was heading out to the street to manage the damage of the attack.
"Merlin, what happened?" He gasped seeing the newly formed bruises around her neck.
"Long story," she muttered, her eyes desperately searching the room. "Where is the President? I need to speak with her immediately."
"With Mr. Graves and the Investigative Team, chasing down that Obscurial. Where'd you think she'd be?" He said, looking at her as if she'd gone nuts.
"I have to get to her," she told him urgently, the onslaught of new information fueling her desperation.
"You can't," he informed her. "They've trapped the Obscurial in City Hall Station using protective enchantments. No one can Apparate in or out. What do you need to tell her?"
"That the Percival Graves we've been dealing with for the past month is an imposter. He sentenced Goldstien and that Scamander fellow to death to cover his tracks and when I found out, he tried to kill me. I believe he may be Gellert Grindelwald in disguise."
"WHAT?" Manny shouted, somehow able to top the noise of the ongoing panic around them. "Are you insane?"
"Look at the facts Manny," she demanded harshly, beginning to make her way to the front of the room. "The Statute of Secrecy has been breached, the son of one of the city's most influential No-Maj's has been murdered by an Obscurial- the very same Obscurial Graves supposedly contained- and now it's inexplicably tearing our city apart. The exposure of our world, the killing of No-Majs, the use of Dark Magic to obtain supremacy over others," she listed heatedly, "tell me these aren't all the things Gellert Grindelwald wants. He has to be the one pulling strings here."
"Possibly…" he murmured as Iris pulled up a chair next to the illuminated map indicating the areas of magical exposure. "But an imposter? How?"
"He's incredibly skilled. That man is one of the most powerful wizards I've ever met. If I hadn't Dissapparated in the middle of our duel, he would have killed me. It's very possible he could have defeated Mr. Graves." She told him grimly.
"Then how are we supposed to defeat him?" He moaned, pointing out the futility of the situation.
"I don't know," Iris admitted before stepping up onto the chair so she was above the crowd. "But we have to be ready. May I borrow your wand? Mine is broken."
Manny nodded, pulling it from his leather trench coat and handing it to her. Iris held the wand to her throat and cast a spell to magnify her voice.
"ATTENTION EVERYONE!" she boomed. All movement in room suddenly stopped as all eyes turned to their Second-In-Command. Iris had their complete and undivided attention. "MACUSA's security has been breached at its highest level. Earlier tonight a wizard posing as Percival Graves attempted to use deadly force against me after revealing his true nature. It is highly likely that this man is involved in the latest Obscurial attack."
Frightened gasps erupted throughout the room followed by hushed whispers and doubting murmurs. Iris could see a few fingers among to sea of heads pointing to the fresh bruises around her throat that corroborated her claim. Iris did not stop to explain herself, they would all discover the truth soon enough.
"As you know, we cannot reach the President at this time, however we must be organized and ready to act once communications have been re-established. I need all officers who patrol the affected areas to come forwards. You will lead teams of the remaining officers into these neighborhoods where you will defend against the Obscurial and any other potential threats. Our goal is to protect and preserve life, both magical and non-magical, at all costs."
She had expected to hear complaints, but none came. Not even the staunchest of purebloods in the room spoke out against protecting the No-Majs. It seemed, for once, they were all in agreement.
When she was done speaking, all the officers Iris had asked to step forward had already formed a neat line in front of her. From there, teams were quickly formed and the groups Dissapparated to their assigned areas. Once they were all deployed, only Iris and Manny were left.
"What now?" the older Auror asked, staring across the empty office.
Stepping down from her makeshift podium, Iris sucked in a preparatory breath, "We have to reach the President somehow."
"Well unless you're an elf or something, you don't have a chance in hell of getting to her," he grumbled unhelpfully.
Iris was about to deliver a sour retort but something he had said struck her as odd. "Elf? What do you mean?" She demanded.
"House-elves, they say their magic works different than ours." He shrugged, not seeing the big deal. The odd little fellow, Normy, who worked the wand polishing stand informed him of this one evening after he'd made an apparently inappropriate joke involving a house-elf and an erumpent. The joke fell flat anyways because apparently no one but himself knew what an erumpent was.
"So they can Apparate into places we can't?" She asked, flabbergasted that he hadn't told her this in the first place.
"Who really knows?" He said throwing up his arms, having little confidence in what Normy had told him. In his opinion, the old house-elf was off his rocker.
"Well it's worth a try isn't it?" Iris exclaimed. "We have to find one!"
Pocketing Manny's wand, much to his dismay, the blonde witch took off running towards the elevator.
"Merlin, please don't run," the older Auror panted, hauling after her at a very nonathletic lope.
"Come on, Red," Iris muttered, urgently pressing the call button repeatedly.
Once the elevator arrived, she threw aside the golden door as well as the grated inner doors revealing a very put-out Red.
"I've told you a million times, Faeborn, don't touch the doors!" He growled, smacking his clawed hand across the already folded grate. "I've had it up to here with you DMLE big shots."
"I'm sorry Red, but this is an emergency," she apologized while stepping inside the car and tugging Manny in alongside her. The goblin bellboy didn't seem to care what her excuse was.
"And what is all this nonsense about a creature loose in the city? No one tells us goblins nothing," Red continued to snap bitterly.
"That's what I have to talk you about," she panted, her bruised throat making it hard to exert much energy. "We need to find a house-elf immediately. Is the cafeteria staff still here?"
"No, everyone's been told to go home," he snorted.
Iris shoulders slumped, deflated, as she realized finding a house-elf was going to be more problematic than she thought.
"Could you take us down to the lobby then?"
Red nodded, closing the doors himself this time and pulling the brass leaver. The car was dead silent on their way down. Everyone found a place on the floor to stare at and fixed their gaze on it awkwardly. Red fidgeted a bit, his shoulders hunched and arms crossed, looking unusually uncomfortable. He pursed his lips again and again, seeming as though he wanted to say something but was stubbornly holding it in.
With a defeated sigh, he finally spoke, "There was a sting at The Blind Pig earlier tonight. I saw several people were brought in- it looked like there was a house-elf with one of the wizards. You might want to check the holding cells."
She wasn't sure why the goblin was being so helpful, but Iris wasn't going to ask questions. "Could you take us down there instead?"
Without another word, Red flipped the leaver from 'lobby' to 'holding cells'.
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Iris and Manny hastily walked the line of iron-barred cells, searching for the house-elf Red had spoken of.
"Over here!" Manny called.
Iris hurried over to the cell the other Auror was standing in front of. Peering into the darkened room, she saw it was occupied by a slender man and a young, grungy, house-elf who had been relegated to the floor while his master took whole the bench for himself.
"Hey gorgeous, what's your name?" The slender man cooed.
"Auror Iris Faeborn, Second-In-Command of the DMLE," she informed him without much care how he'd take the news. "Is this your house-elf?"
He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, Topsy's mine. What of it?"
"I need to ask him some questions regarding another case," she explained, not wanting to give anything away. "Will you grant him permission to talk to me?"
The slender man sucked his teeth in a show of uncertainty. "I don't know… I'm in a pretty serious situation here. If I grant you permission how's about you get me out of here?"
"How about I don't convince the Director to charge you with the maximum sentence for your noncompliance and we call it even?"
"Whoa, I was just jokin' doll face," the man defended, his tone changing rapidly. "Talk to the elf all you want, in fact, do whatever as long as it ain't got anything to do with me." He then looked directly at Topsy as he snapped, "Get it?"
The diminutive creature nodded vehemently, "I'm not gonna say a word against Master!"
Iris opened the cell door just enough for the little elf to squeeze through and then resealed it with the magic enchantments that were placed upon it. The poor thing had old and new scars all over its shoulders and creeping down his back beneath the pillowcase he wore. Iris clenched her jaw at the thought of that skinny little nothing of a wizard beating the poor creature for whatever ridiculous reasons he thought justified.
"You're name's Topsy?" Asked Iris, speaking a bit softer than before. She didn't really have the heart to be stern with him. "Is it true house-elves can Apparate past magical barriers?"
"Yes Miss, it's easy for elves," he affirmed.
Iris felt her heart leap as it swelled up with hope. "Can you take Wizards with you?"
"Of course I can!"
"Could you take Manny and I to City Hall Station?" She asked, her excitement mounting.
"Master said 'do whatever' for the witch," Topsy considered thoughtfully. "So yes!"
He offered them his hands then with a bright smile. Iris took the left without hesitation and Manny gave him a doubtful glance before grabbing hold of the right and suddenly the trio Disapparrated.
"WHAT THE-!" Screamed the slender wizard as he shot up from the cell bench, his eyes bulging with fury. "He could do that this whole time and he didn't bother to get me out of here?!"
A drunk, slack-jawed wizard who had been watching in the adjoining cell to him shrugged, "Guess you didn't ask."
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Their bodies twisted around themselves and one another until they came to a stop in an empty subway tunnel. There were flashes of bright white light down the tracks and Iris immediately knew she had to move.
"What's that?" Manny muttered in a daze, trying to make his head stop spinning from the Apparition. He was really too old for this.
Iris didn't think to answer him as she sprinted down the tracks, her heart pounding in her chest and her throat burning. She had no idea whether or not Manny or Topsy were following her. Her only direction was forwards, her heart set on making it to President Picquery in time.
She heard voices up ahead- the pleading of Tina Goldstein and the sharp demands of the wizard impersonating Graves. Turning the corner, Iris saw them- Aurors, Congressmen, and the President on one side and Tina, Scamander, and Percival on the other. The Obscurial, black and threatening, hovered above them all. Without warning the group of Aurors raised their wands towards the Obscurial and fired on it in a merciless volley of curses until it was finally overcome. The black amorphous mass dissolved from the air, its edges singed and burning as it crumbled into nothing.
"The Obscurial was killed on my orders," President Picquery explained to the shocked trio on the platform. "It was far too dangerous."
Tina stared at the spot where the Obscurial had been, looking devastated, while Grindelwald turned his anger on the President and Congressmen. Unable and unwilling to hold back, Grindelwald suddenly let loose on them: lecturing them on their weakness and their inability to take action against the real enemies of the Wizarding World. He spoke with the passion and controlled rage of an expert orator. It was frightening how admirable the unthinkable sounded coming from his lips.
Once he had finished, President Picquery stepped forwards, calm as ever and spoke. "Relieve Mr. Graves of his wand."
Grindelwald's furious gaze zeroed in on Picquery then as he raised his wand to attack. Iris skidded to a stop beside her fellow Aurors, Manny's wand ready in her hand as he advanced on them. Grindelwald started violently flinging curses at the group, gunning for Picquery. Quicker than ever, Iris and the other Aurors began blocking his sudden barrage of attacks.
There was no room for any type of counter attack. All they could do was defend as he continued to make his way ever closer to his target. Suddenly a creature, much like a giant bat, swooped down and gripped hold of Grindelwald, binding him up in its giant wings. Tina snatched hold of his wand as he fell to his knees and the fight was over.
Mr. Scamander, who had released the Swooping Evil upon Grindelwald, approached him with great caution. Fixing the bound wizard with a curious look, he waved his wand and muttered, "Revelio."
Everyone stared in shock as the face of Mr. Graves melted away revealing the unmistakable features of Gellert Grindelwald.
Iris inhaled deeply, trying to remain calm as her worst suspicions were revealed. The imposter was indeed Grindelwald. She could hardly begin to think what this meant for MACUSA... what it could mean for Percival. Her stomach twisted in knots as she realized the situation was as serious as it could possibly get.
"Take him," she ordered the Investigative Team, stepping up to the foot of the stairs leading to the train platform.
The Group of Aurors jogged past her and took hold of Grindelwald who didn't seem to be putting up any sort of struggle.
"You think you can hold me?" He asked Picquery, challengingly.
"We will certainly try, Mr. Grindelwald," she promised.
He whispered something to Mr. Scamander as he was drug down the stairs to Iris who held out a hand, stopping the team.
"Where is he?" She growled, her tone dangerously low as she stepped in close to him.
Grindelwald merely smirked, his eyes narrowing on her. He wasn't going to tell her anything.
Iris felt a flicker of rage build inside her as she stared into his two-toned eyes. She willed herself to keep her composure, forcing herself to bite her tongue and accept there was nothing she could do about it now. Though everything inside her screamed to find Percival as quickly as possible, she knew the harder she pushed Grindelwald the more uncooperative he'd be. She couldn't risk losing her chance at getting him back. Nodding to the Aurors, Iris stepped back so they could take Grindelwald away.
Heading to Persident Picquery's side she informed her of the status of her men aboveground. "Madam President, I have deployed teams of officers in the affected areas. They're currently standing by, awaiting your orders."
"Very good, Miss Faeborn," she acknowledged seeming relieved to hear it. "As of now, you are the acting Director of Magical Law Enforcement and Head of Magical Security. However, it might be too late for countermeasures now."
"Not necessarily," Mr. Scamander chimed in with a hopeful smile.
Pulling a phial of Swooping Evil venom from his case, he explained to the group how it has strong Obliveative properties. Then he summoned the second half of his plan, which flew out of the case in a giant flash of gold and white.
"I'm sorry I can't take you the whole way home," he told the noble Thunderbird that now sat on the subway platform. He then gave it a hug before slipping the phial into it's clawed foot. "I'll miss you, Frank. Take this, you know what you have to do."
The bird nodded seeming to understand and flew out of the giant hole in the ceiling and into the air high above the city. There was a boom of thunder and then the sky opened up in a downpour of rain. The drops glittered blue with the venom that was going to wash the memories of New York's No-Maj population clean.
Mr. Scamander's plan was brilliant. Even Picquery couldn't suppress a grin. "Miss Faeborn, inform your teams about the Thunderbird so they can repair the damage and give aid to the victims. Make sure they're finished before the storm passes."
Iris curtly nodded, "Yes Madam President."
She then Apparated on the spot, hopeful for the first time that day.
AN: Review, favor, follow! Thank you so much for your feedback and support. It really helps push me forwards. Up next is 'Finding Mr. Graves'!
