Last time Harry and his family learned the gruesome details concerning four murdered wizards who were connected with The Harmony Project. Two American Muggles, John Baxter and Rebecca Covington, were assigned to solve the case. It was Rebecca who proposed the theory that a muggle with psychic abilities was responsible. Things were made even more complicated when word came in that two muggles who were also connected with the project were murdered. The chase is on to catch the murderer before he or she kills again. On with the show!
Chapter 4: Evidence and Rivals
"Do you mind if I ask you something, Rebecca?" Hermione asked.
"Depends on the question," said Rebecca as she shifted a shoulder bag she brought with her so it sat more comfortable. Harry and the others were currently en route to the crime scene where the killer had left two muggles dead. Harry sat in the expanded PT Cruiser trying to make sense of the evening's events; the announcement of the Harmony Project, the murders of several wizards connected with the project, and now the recent deaths of muggles who were also involved. It was clear that someone out there didn't want the project to succeed, the question was who?
From what Rebecca had said earlier at the meeting, a muggle with telepathic abilities might just be the prime suspect. Harry didn't know all that much on the subject of psychic phenomenon, but he suspected he would know a great deal about it before too long.
"Those other Aurors at the meeting," said Hermione to Rebecca, "why were they so mean to you?"
"Those sons of bitches?" Rebecca asked in a casual tone, "don't mind them. They think I'm some kind of joke. I've just been waiting for my chance to prove them wrong."
"How so?" Harry asked.
"Well, you know John," said Rebecca, "John Baxter," said wizard had gone ahead to ensure that the crime scene was secure, "we were in the same group in Auror training. You've probably noticed that he's in charge of this investigation, while I'm barely more than a desk clerk."
"It's true," said Samantha, "Rebecca is a Level 3 Auror, while Investigator Baxter is at Level 5."
"And you 'newbies' are still at Level 1," said Rebecca in a stern tone, "and I'll thank you not to rub in the fact that I've been held back over something that wasn't my fault."
"Give us a chance," said Chris, "we're only on our second assignment."
"And I didn't even say anything about that," said Samantha.
"About what?" Hermione asked, her curiosity clearly tweaked.
"Just why were you held, back?" Ron asked Rebecca.
"It's personal," said Rebecca as she looked out the car window.
"Well," said Harry, "if you don't want to talk about it…"
"No," said Rebecca as she turned to face Harry, "It's alright. There was a bit of a scandal during about a week before the final Auror certification. I don't know why it happened, it could have been the stress of the upcoming test, or the fact that my boyfriend dumped me, I don't know, but something made me snap and act like I was having a nervous breakdown."
"Did you?" Ron asked.
"If I did I wouldn't be an Auror," said Rebecca, "no, the healers couldn't figure out why I acted the way I did, but it wasn't due to stress, that they were sure about. I passed the certification test, but my episode was stuck in my permanent record, so I received very few field assignments. In short, the placed me as a desk jockey.
"But I'm not satisfied at being a desk jockey. I worked hard, hard enough that Director Irvine chose me to be on his staff. I've been waiting for so long for a chance to truly prove myself, and here I am."
"I hope you do prove yourself," said Hermione.
"Just what did you do that made them hold you back?" Ron asked.
"I really don't remember," said Rebecca, "I've tried to, but I just can't recall what I did when I had my breakdown. All that I do remember was being afraid, really afraid, like I saw something terrible."
"Maybe it's for the best that you don't remember," said Ginny.
"Maybe," said Rebecca, "but it doesn't bother me that much."
At that time the car arrived at the crime scene; a street intersection from where The Washington Monument was visible above the other buildings in the area. Harry and the others got out to find that the surrounding area had been cleared of muggles.
"A temporary charm to ward off unwanted lookers," said Rebecca, "no need for 'Crime Scene tape,' that would definitely draw attention."
"Wouldn't it cause attention if the muggles found themselves avoiding this specific block of the city?" Ginny asked.
"We'll be done here before too long," said Rebecca, "ah, there's John."
Right in the middle of the charmed area was John Baxter, a handful of Aurors, and two unmoving forms laying facedown on the sidewalk. As they got closer, Harry and the others saw that the two dead muggles, a man and a woman based on their clothing, were indeed without their heads; their necks ending in bloody stumps, while the sidewalk, street and building side within a ten meter radius were covered with blood, brains and skull fragments.
"Oh god, no!" said Chris. He and Samantha looked like they were about to throw up, and they did just that. They ran to a nearby trashcan and emptied their dinner into it.
"And I thought we saw terrible things during The Battle of Hogwarts," said Ginny, who was looking a little green in the face.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked.
"I'll be fine," said Ginny in a slightly shaky tone, "I grew up with six brothers, remember?" she then looked at the bodies again, "but I don't think growing up at The Burrow prepared me for this."
"No it didn't," said Ron in a affirming, disturbed tone. But then his Auror training kicked in and he asked Baxter, "you said that there were witnesses? What exactly did they see?"
"Just what I told you back at HQ," said Baxter, "the victims were just walking on the sidewalk, then they clutched their heads in pain, then their heads exploded."
"They must have been in indescribable agony," said Hermione.
"They were," said Rebecca in a slightly distant tone, her eyes were slightly glazed over as she looked at the bodies, or rather, beyond the bodies, "they were just having a normal evening, away from the pressure of keeping a great secret, just a night on the town, when the pain came.
"Pain…terror…pain…why…? Then…nothing…" Rebecca's eyes closed, then she stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. Fortunately, Baxter was there to catch her.
"Rebecca!" said Baxter, "Rebecca!"
Rebecca's eyes then opened again, "oh, John, what happened?"
"You were acting really weird there for a moment," said Ron.
"I was?" Rebecca asked, "oh yeah, I was. What did I say?"
"You were talking about how much in pain the two muggles were in," said Hermione, "and that they were afraid, and that they didn't know what was happening to them, and then they died."
"I think you just demonstrated the most incredible feat of insight," said Baxter to Rebecca.
"Or maybe she had a vision," said Chris as he and Samantha finished pulling themselves together, "a vision of the past."
"What?" Rebecca asked, "no, no way. I totally flunked Divination, so there's no way I had a vision."
"She did flunk Divination," said John Baxter, "both of us. We never really believed in that stuff."
"Me neither," said Hermione and Ron at the same time, both of them remembering just how terribly boring being in Trelawney's class was.
"Bunch of rubbish," said Ron, "me and Harry just made it up as we went along."
"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Divination," said Harry. True, he and Ron had to suffer three years of improvising their way though Trelawney's class, Hermione had to put up with less than one before dropping out. But then one had to remember that it was Sybil Trelawney who made the prophecy that started the whole mess between Harry and Voldemort, as well as predicted that Wormtail would come out of hiding and rejoin his master.
"Well, Divination aside," said Baxter, "and whatever Rebecca just experienced, we still have a murderer to catch."
"You're right," said Harry, "so, what's next?"
"Next, we…" but Baxter never got to finish, for he was struck speechless at the sight of two black SUV's approaching the crime scene.
"I thought you said the muggles would avoid the area," said Hermione.
"They are," said Baxter, "unless…" furious realization dawned on his face, " oh no…oh hell no! Not them!"
The two black cars pulled up to the edge of the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Harry saw a large symbol on the front doors of the cars: A bronze hand holding a silver hammer in a gold circle. Around the top of the circle were several Latin words, which Hermione would later translate as 'Truth, Justice and Freedom,' while a Latin phrase was between the bottom of the hand and the circle; 'in the absence of light, darkness prevails.'
"It's them, alright," said Rebecca as several people wearing black suits and ear radios exited the cars and walked towards the crime scene. But it was the two in front, a man and woman, each wearing a tan jacket with the same symbol on their sleeves, they looked to be in charge.
Both looked to be in their early thirties. The man was tall, about 6'3", with short brown hair and light brown eyes. The woman had shoulder length black hair and dark blue eyes.
Harry could tell that these newcomers were well armed and trained, especially the man in the tan jacket. But there was something about the woman, something…different. It was like she was…Harry didn't know what he was sensing.
"We'll take it from here, John," said the man in the tan jacket, he spoke in a light Midwestern accent.
"The hell you will, Travis!" said Baxter angrily, "we were here first!"
"Ah, but this time the victims were mortal, Mr. Baxter," said the woman in the tan jacket, she spoke with a heavy southern accent, "or muggles as you magic users prefer to call us."
"As if you could qualify to be a muggle, Patricia" said Rebecca.
"My dear Ms. Covington," said the southern accented woman, Patricia, "how nice to see you out in the open."
"And I'd say I'd be happy to see you," said Rebecca, "but not this time. John is right, we were here first, so go chase demons elsewhere."
"If only it were demons this time," said the Midwestern accented man, Travis, "but this is something else, something our organization have authority over."
"In a Manticore's ass you do!" said Baxter.
"Will someone please tell me what the bloody hell is going on here!?" Ron asked.
"Well aren't you the rude one," said the southern accented woman.
"You have no idea," said Ginny.
"But still," said Harry, "who are you?"
It was then that John Baxter sighed in reluctant defeat, "Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, this is Special Agent Travis Bachman," he pointed at the man, "and Special Agent Patricia Walker," the woman, "otherwise known as 'The Savannah Siren.' Both of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense."
"It's 'The Tallahassee Banshee,'" said Patricia Walker, "I'm from Florida, get it right."
"Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense," repeated Harry, "never heard of it."
"We prefer to keep ourselves below the radar," said Travis Bachman.
"You're muggles," said Ron, "yet you know about wizards and magic."
"We have our sources," said Patricia Walker.
"I'll bet you do," said Hermione, "I'll also bet that you know more about what is going on than we do."
"Well aren't you the smart one," said Patricia Walker.
"You have no idea," said Ron.
"Who are these people?" Ginny asked, "I'm kind of lost here."
"The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense," said Hermione, "they're a clandestine organization of muggles who protect the world against supernatural threats. They make it their mission to keep muggles in the dark about demons and other evils, but their existence is one of the worst kept secrets in the world."
"Oh yeah," said Ron, "I remember. Dad would talk about a bunch of muggles every now and then; muggles who would also clean up after weird and bizarre stuff."
"That's right!" said Ginny, "Mum kept saying that it was rubbish, but Dad wouldn't back down, saying that the BPRD was real and that everyone, wizards and muggles, they all knew of it. They just didn't talk about it."
Harry didn't. He didn't even know there were muggles who dealt in the supernatural before tonight. Then again, he did spend ten years of his childhood among the most unreasonable muggles in the world, so it was no surprise that there still was so much about the world that Harry didn't know about.
"You're still not taking this case from us," said John, "this maniac has killed severalwizards and now he's going after muggles."
"Which is why we should be in charge," said Travis Bachman, "or involved at the very least."
"That's how it starts," said Rebecca in a distasteful tone, "you BPRD people get involved in wizardly affairs, the next thing you know you're pushing your way into things that aren't for muggle eyes."
"Well if you wizards were a bit more responsible with your affairs," said Patricia Walker, "then we mortals wouldn't have to get involved, we wouldn't have to clean up your messes."
Harry had a bad feeling that this argument was on its way to getting ugly. "It wouldn't hurt to let them see the crime scene," he said to Baxter.
"Maybe they could help," said Hermione.
"They might just," said Rebecca.
"Maybe," said Baxter in a contemplating tone, "alright, they can examine the crime scene."
"Outstanding!" said Travis Bachman.
"But only as observers, Travis," said Baxter, "You and Patricia aren't to touch anything, and I mean it. If you see something that my people have missed, you can point it out."
"And don't even think about neglecting to point out something we've missed," said Rebecca, "only to come back for it later when we're not looking."
"The thought never crossed my mind," said Patricia Walker as she gave a disarming smile, but Harry could tell that, on the inside, she was seething with angry disappointment.
"Just so long as you remember whose jurisdiction this is," said Baxter.
"We'll remember it, John," said Travis Bachman. With that he and Patricia Walker followed Baxter and Rebecca to the remains of the two dead muggles.
"I have this sudden feeling that we're involved in way more than we should," Ginny said to Harry as they, Ron and Hermione also headed back to the center of the crime scene.
"You'll get used to it," said Ron.
"We've had the exact feeling since 1991," said Hermione.
Once they'd reached the bodies, Travis Bachman looked at the two dead muggles for less than five seconds before saying, "uh-huh, definitely the work of a 'Scanner.'"
"Exactly like the other victims," said Patricia, "all done by a 'Scanner.'"
"There've been other murders like this?" Baxter asked, "And you didn't tell us?!"
"You didn't ask," said Patricia Walker, "we would have been more than happy to share information, but you've been so busy telling us to butt out."
"I would have asked," said Samantha.
"Me to," said Chris.
"And me," said Harry, while Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement
"Well I guess that makes all of you special," said Patricia Walker.
"Never mind that!" said Rebecca, "what's this about other muggles being murdered? There, I'm asking you; please, tell us."
"Was it really that hard to ask?" said Travis Bachman, "since you said please; yes, there've been about a dozen mortal deaths in the past month, all of them murdered by a 'Scanner,' or 'Scanners' unknown."
"A dozen?" Ginny said in a slightly shocked tone.
"And all in the same way?" Harry asked.
"Exactly the same way," said Patricia Walker, "all with their heads exploded. That's what usually happens when a 'Scanner' turns his or her power on an unprotected mind."
"What's a 'Scanner?'" Ron asked.
"I have no idea," said Hermione.
This coming from Hermione was a bit distressing for Harry, considering that only a handful of times that he's knows Hermione that she didn't have any knowledge on something.
Unfortunately it would be a while before Harry received an answer as to what a 'Scanner' was, for at that second he heard a cell phone ringing, the ringtone being the choirs to 'Take me to the River' by 'The Talking Heads.'
It was Travis Bachman's phone that was ringing. "Yes sir," he said into the phone, "yes, we're at the crime scene…yes, Baxter and Covington are here, there's a bit of a problem as to who is really in charge."
"You tell whoever it is that you're talking to," said Baxter, "that this is a wizarding matter, and that you meddling muggles should stay out of it."
"I'll be sure to tell Assistant Director Callahan that," said Travis Bachman, but then switched to a sarcastic tone, "oh wait, he already knows, we're on speakerphone over at BPRD HQ."
"Well you tell Callahan to stay out of our business," said Baxter.
"You can tell him yourself, John," said Travis Bachman as he handed the phone to Baxter, "the Assistant Director wishes to speak with you."
Baxter took the phone, and while he was talking to whoever it was on the other end, Harry noticed that Patricia Walker was talking on her phone, her ringtone being 'Love Will Save The Day' by Whitney Houston.
"Yes, ma'am," said Patricia Walker into her phone, "yes, they're right here…yes, I'll be sure to tell them that," she hung up the phone and looked at Harry, "You didn't tell us that you're Harry Potter."
"You didn't ask," said Harry.
"Oh," said Patricia Walker in a slightly sheepish tone, "well I guess the joke is on me this time." her expression brightened, "anyway, that was Special Agent Megan Brooks-Lancaster, she's in charge of BPRD public relations."
"I thought you're supposed to be a secrete organization," said Ron.
"They are," said Hermione, "but I think in this case, public relations means keeping the organization a secrete."
"Exactly," said Patricia Walker, "but this time we're going to bend the rules. You, Harry Potter, you, your wife Ginny, your bother and sister-in-law Ron and Hermione Weasley, you're all invited to visit the headquarters of The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense."
"We're what now?" Ron asked.
"We've been invited to see the most top secrete muggle organizations in the world," said Hermione as she grinned with eager anticipation, "and, of course, we will attend."
"We will?" Harry asked. Once again things were moving a little fast for him.
"I don't think so," said Rebecca, "for many reasons, the most important at the time is that we're still working."
"I was under the impression that Harry and his family were on vacation," said Patricia Walker, "and before you can say anything else, Ms. Covington, you're invited as well."
"Me?" Rebecca asked in a slightly stunned tone.
"What about us?" Chris asked for both himself and Samantha.
"You two I'm not so sure about," said Patricia Walker.
"We're not going anywhere," said Harry, "not yet anyway. There's still the matter of the crime scene."
"It's taken care of, Harry," said Baxter as he handed the cellphone back to Travis Bachman, "I just spoke with their Assistant Director," he then showed a 'cell crystal' with a 'text' message, "and I've heard from Irvine. This is to be a joint AMA/BPRD investigation. And I've been told that, indeed, Harry and his family are invited to visit the BPRD, as well as Rebecca."
"But what about us?" Samantha asked as she and Chris gave Baxter a pleading look.
"You two are still assigned to shadow our guests from England," said Baxter, "go with them."
"I'll say this, mate," said Ron to Harry, "this is turning out to be one of the oddest Halloween's we've had."
"I'm with you on that," said Harry.
The end of chapter 4.
Next chapter, Harry and the others get far more than they bargain for when they enter the headquarters of The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defence. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie of your choice. Nee you next time!