NOTES: Rated M for violence, blood/gore, and maybe some minor sexual parts. Language too! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! It was time to remove the story description. I hope you like my story and please review! This chapter is pretty long, so bear with me.

Blink

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Harry Potter story, JK Rowling does. I am merely another author who wishes to write a story based on her stories. I own my made-up characters, places, descriptions, spells, items, and anything else you don't recognize from the original books. The characters in this story are fictional and are used fictitiously by the auther (moi).

Chasing a Shadow

Harris Earl

Northampton, England
Sunday afternoon

Head Auror Detective Harris Earl sipped some wine as he sat on his EZ-chair. He reclined all the way until he was lying down and closed his eyes. He needed some rest, he had been working for fourty-eight hours straight and had finally gotten some headway on a high-level investigation he was doing.

There was a group out there, who was taking after Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Though they were not as public as Voldemort was, several mysterious deaths had prompted the DMLE to investigate.

One thing turned up, and then another. Soon, Harris had found out about a secret group that was organized long before Voldemort returned to power. The farthest he got in researching and investigating the group was that they had group cells in every major country in the world. In England, they had at least one hundred cells or more with an unknown number of members.

He was going to continue investigating after a twelve-hour rest period which was demanded of him by the new director, he was working too hard and he was supposedly going to kill himself because of that.

He was so close to uncovering the location of one of the cells, but the director had unfortunately barged in and told him to rest. The director was an arse and was a little crazy up there, but he seemed hardworking enough. Though Harris had a strange feeling about him being ordered to rest when he was so close to uncovering something important, he let it slide.

The new director's name was Edward Jones, or as he tells people to call him, Ed. He had supposedly just happened to be close by and being a retired and very prestigious ex-auror, he had coincidentally been chosen to be temporary director of the DMLE. If something smelled funny, it would be him.

But that was another investigation for another time. He got out of his EZ-chair and headed for his office, where stacks of files were neatly organized to the side of it. He sat down on his comfy swivel chair and began to look through records of lot sales in London. Anything suspicious was written out ona pad next to him.

He then went through an intelligence report filed by two aurors who were working the field. One of them had supposedly infiltrated the ranks of this new group, but he had not reported back since he gave his report.

He was sworn to secrecy and with a magical contract, he could not say exactly where the cell that he joined was. In his report, he had stated that it was near downtown London, between two buildings that were pretty tall. That narrowed it down to a couple of dozen.

He reread the report, trying to find out which building was the right one. He hunched over the files and papers that were open and started reading again.

A large black SUV with unmarked plates parked on the corner of a street as another car that was completely identical to the first swept in and parked on the opposite end. An unmarked black van rolled through the street a few seconds later and stopped in front of a modest looking two floor house.

The SUV's moved and parked themselves perpendicular to the sidewalk, effectively blocking the street off. The back doors of the van burst open as black-clad figures stepped outside. Two of them carried what appeared to be sticks of some sort.

The other six were carrying different weapons. One of them had a 12-gauge military shotgun in his hands, which he clenched tightly. The other five wielded L85A2 assault rifles. The L85A2 fired 5.52x4mm NATO rounds and had a thirty-round magazine. If used by an expert, it could fire up to six-hundred and fifty rounds per minute.

It was small and easily maneuvarable because of that. One could quickly fix a bayonet on the end and it outperformed the M16, AK, and G36E in reloading times, accuracy, and effectiveness in close-quarters combat.

The black-clad men wore a special armor that was stronger than kevlar and they wore ski masks with helmets over that. They had mics in ther helmets to help communicate and a flashlight too. They had military-issue boots and they had pistols, knives, grenades, and other special forces equipment with them.

They had their weapons out and hot and walked towards the door of the house, ready to barge in and start firing. Before going in, they screwed on some silencers to help keep the noise level down, but in any event, they would be in and out fast enough so that, if by any chance, the neighbours saw them or heard them, they would be gone before the authorities arrived.

They waited outside the door, the one with the shotgun right in front, barrel pointing towards the door. The figure with the stick pointed it at the door and gave a little flick and mumbled something. A light appeared in the keyhole as the door opened, unlocked. They stepped into the house, quietly, guns at the ready.

Harris thought he heard something, but then again he was pretty tired and so he thought he was imagining something. He went back to researching and had narrowed it down to two buildings, both of which were likely candidates. He was probably just going to have to raid both of them simultaneously to be sure.

Creak.

He heard it again and his eyes squinted with suspicion. His wand was on the table, next to the notepad that was filled with his writing. He got his wand and quickly hid the papers and files. He stood and turned around just as the door started to inch open.

The barrel of the L85A2 assault rifle came into view as the bearer of the rifle slowly walked into the room. He checked to make sure no one was behind the door and then went back out again.

Harris breathed out and walked out, still disillusioned. He crept behind the figure who had gone into the office and prepared to stun him when he suddenly heard something behind him.

Pain exploded in his right shoulder as blood suddenly seeped into his clothes. He fell down just as another round tore through the air and hit the wall right in front of him.

He turned and fired a spell off at the shooter and caught him on the thigh. The shooter spun in the air and fell, but he quickly got into a kneeling position and started firing at him.

He cast a shield charm and the buillets hit the shield harmlessly. Suddenly he saw movement at the corner of his eye. He turned his shield just as the bullet left the muzzle of the rifle. The bullet impacted on the shield, making it flicker.

Harris sent a stunning spell at him, but the man ducked and hid behind the kitchen island. He turned his shield over as the first shooter peeked from behind the corner. He sent a spell at the corner where the figure was hiding and it exploded.

The man screamed, his left arm was shattered and bleeding in numerous places. He was cursing and calling Harris numerous names before he stunned him. The second shooter didn't come up from behind the island counter and so he took the chance to stand and head for the door. He couldn't apparate here because he himself had activated his anti-apparition wards and they were very strong.

He turned the corner, passing the stunned bleeding figure and the broken wall, and just as he turned to the foyer, two of the black figures stood there. One had a wand pointing at him and another had another one of the muggle weapons.

He raised his hands in defeat, expecting to be captured.

BANG

The shotgun had no silencer and the shot echoed loudly throughout the house and reached the neighbours house. The alarms of the cars on the street suddenly activated and honking noises filled the air.

Harris Earl's abdomen had been blown wide open and blood spilled everywhere as he fell to the ground. The shotgun muzzle had been a mere two feet away when it went off, and the shot had killed him instantly.

It had torn through him and exited through his back, giving massive damage to his intestines, kidneys, stomach, and all the other organs in the area. His lifeless eyes were staring up at the ceiling as the black-clad figures spread out, as if searching for something.

They left two minutes later, empty-handed. They had not found the files that their captain had told them about, but they had killed the enemy and silenced him, permanently.

Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Ministry of Magic
Monday

Hermione was already walking to her office, her trusty Starbucks in her hand. Everything had gone well over the vacation and she felt energized and ready to take on her job again. She never realized how tired she was until last week.

She sipped some of her coffee as she opened the door. Ron, smiling, was already there and he waved at her.

"Well you're early," she noted, quite surprised. She walked over to her desk and sat down. She sipped some more of the coffee.

"I woke up early and checked out of the hospital. You don't know how much I have been wanting to get out of that place! I almost went mad!" he exclaimed, making wild motions with his hands.

"So you're okay now?"

"Yep, better than ever!" he replied enthusiastically, "I actually think that one week of rest made me feel a whole lot better, really."

She felt the same way. She took another sip of her coffee as she read the daily department news that was on her desk. It detailed everything that happened the day before and everything that was being planned by the department, such as raids, scouting, tailing, and other things.

Nothing special jumped out at her and so she put the paper away. The door opened and Angela Parker entered the room.

She was their boss and was an auror first-class. Every auror-first class led a group of three pairs of aurors second-class. She was a stern and strict woman, more than ten years older than either Hermione and Ron, and was highly respected by her peers and subordinates. She was Korean, though it didn't really show since she looked quite British with her blue-green eyes and dirty blonde hair.

"Ron, Hermione - you have a special assignment," she said and with that she beckoned for them to follow her as she left their office.

They looked at each other as excitement filled them. A special assignment? Wow, they had never had a 'special' assignment before. They quickly stood and ran after her, their Starbucks completely forgotten on their desks.

Angela's office was a little bigger than theirs and was just for her, which made all the difference. Hermione had a feeling of jealousy, she was strong enough and high enough in rank to go and investigate things on her own and to do many other things that second-class aurors couldn't do. Well, she would get there soon enough, and so she banished the thoughts of jealousy and turned serious - this was a special assignment after all.

She went over to her desk and handed them both the same exact copy of files. "In there you will find all you need to know about the victim, the circumstances, and why this is a special assignment. If you have any questions, just come over and ask me," she said, "Don't let me down." Her tone was one of dismissal.

"Yes ma'am!" they replied in unison. They left the office and headed for their own, reading the file in their hands as if the meaning of life was written in the very pages of it.

They were so engrossed with their reading that they hardly noticed the figure following them from a distance. The figure eyed the files warily and then turned away as they entered the office.

Hermione sat down, a little shocked and confused. The folder she had in her hands was closed. The file read -TOP SECRET- and inside was a dossier on Head Auror Detective Harris Earl. After the dossier was a file that stated that Auror Earl failed to report to work last Friday. They assumed he was just gone for a bit. After all, Harris Earl wouldn't leave the Ministry, he lived for his job for crying out loud.

Hermione looked at Ron and nodded, at the very back of the paper was an order from the Shaklebolt Kingsley, who was using his rank as Senior Auror to initiate the investigation. Apparently, the director didn't order an investigation, stating that Harris Earl probably just left to go travel the world or something.

Kingsley wasn't convinced and so he had ordered the investigation and had recommended that Hermione and Ron handle the case. She opened the file and reread the order, signed by Kingsley at the bottom.

Aurors,

You are hereby ordered to initiate an investigation on the suspicious disappearance of Head Auror Detective Harris Earl. This investigation is of utmost importance and is deemed top secret and for your eyes only. You are not to talk about this case to anyone whithin the Ministry. Only me, Angela, and you know of this.

The director has deemed starting an investigation a 'waste of time' and he hinted that Earl may have just gotten tired of the Ministry. I know the man and I know for a fact that he would not do this.

Furthermore, I hereby authorize you, using my rank as a Senior Auror, to use any means necessary to handle this investigation. Good luck!

S.K.

She closed the file, the first thing they had to do was to go over there.

"We have to check if he's still there," she told him.

"Yep, there may be some clues over there about his disappearance," he agreed.

They stood, carrying their files with them. Hermione put her's in her bag, shrinking the file magically before doing so, while Ron put his into his briefcase. They left the office and made sure to lock it securely.

Heading for the elevators, they were already thinking of why a Head Auror Detective who woke up every morning because he wanted to do his job would suddenly disappear from the face of the Earth.

Harris Earl's home, Northampton, England

They had apparated a block from the house, deciding to walk the rest of the way there so that they could ask the neighbours some questions about Earl. No doubt the auror was friendly with his neighbours, after all, his dossier labeled him as a pretty nice person to muggles, unlike some people. He was somewhere above Draco's hate for muggles and below Mr. Weasley's love for them.

They stopped at the third house down the street from Earl's home and decided to ask the resident some questions. Hermione walked over to the house and knocked on the door as Ron followed her closely, silently.

The houses on the street were fairly nice. They weren't shabby and they weren't too expensive either. The lawn and the gardens were well kept and looked after and the street was clean and neat. There were good cars in the driveways, hybrids actually, which meant that these people looked after the environment and were above the average pay-grade.

She knocked on the door and moments later, an elderly woman answered the door. She was shorter than Hermione and hunched slightly, she hada gold wedding ring with a shiny diamond on it. Her hair had turned white long ago and there were many wrinkles on her skin.

She had some pearl earrings on and a pearl necklace, which went well with her outfit.

"May I help you?" she inquired curiously.

"Ma'am, we're detectives from the local police station. We're investigating -" Hermione began to explain, but she was cut off by the old woman.

"Harris? Are you here about Harris Earl? Down in number 325? Yes?"

"Uh - yeah, sure," she replied uncertainly. She could feel Ron's supressed laughter from behind her.

"Well, they must have told you what happened. I don't really remember much. It was actually my husband who heard it all happen.He heard the sound of cars and he looked outside to check on who it was. There was a black SUV parked at this end of the street and the SUV was parked perpendicular to the sidewalk, blocking the street.

He found it strange and so he went down and checked down the street from the window. There was another SUV, blocking the other side of the road. There was also a van parked in front of Harris' house, according to my husband. That was when I heard the gunshots," she explained.

She told them that she heard gunshots from down the street, coming from the direction of Harris' house. She also heard an explosion. She finished by telling her that the cops had come and cordoned off the area. "I never expected him to die. He was such a nice man and he helped us all with any problems we had. He was very friendly an- " she was saying, but Hermione cut her off, her mind on alert.

"Did you just say...he's dead?" she asked, "How do you know?"

She looked surprised that they didn't know, after all they did say they were from the police department. "It was announced on the news! Also, a police officer came and asked us the same thing you did."

"Oh, okay. Thank you for your time," she thanked her.

"Not a problem, detectives. Good luck!" she replied and shut the door quietly.

Hermione looked at Ron, who was just as intrigued as her. Harris Earl was dead and something about it wasn't right. They walked to the next house, and the next, and both had the same observations as the first old lady, but the guy right next to Harris said he saw black-clad soldier-looking guys who were armed to the teeth.

They had broken into Harris' home and later left in a hurry, that was after the explosion rocked the neighbourhood. He was, in fact, the first one to call 911. They thanked him and finally moved on to Harris' house.

It was not much different from the other houses, it was a two floor house and the architecture was pretty much the same. There was yellow police tape across the front door and on the windows.

Hermione stepped up to the door and tried to open it. Locked. She unlocked it with a flick of her wand and ducked under the police tape. Ron followed her steps and they were soon inside the house.

The first thing they noticed was that there were some mud marks on the floor, both going in and heading out. There was some blood and the white chalk mark outline ofwhere Harris' body was found.

They walked inside and checked the place out. Hermione saw the busted wall, which could only happen from a strong spell impacting on the corner. There was some blood on the floor near the hole and she made a mental note to get samples of them.

She opened the door nearest to the broken corner wall andsaw that it was some sort of office. She went inside and checked to see if there was anything that would give clues as to what happened.

Outside...

Two people had gone inside the house. The man who was stationed to watch it had seen them open the locked door with a stick. He knew what kind of people they were.

He was in a black toyota corolla, parked in front of one of the neighbour's houses. He reached into his pocket and extracted a cell phone, with which he dialed a number that was given to him forsituations such as these.

The other end was picked up after two rings.

"Yes?"agruffvoice answered the phone.

"We have a problem..." he began.

Hermione was looking at the frames on the wall. There were pictures of a younger Harris, much younger than the picture in his dossier. He was smiling after recieving his diploma. Probably from Hogwarts, she guessed.

There was a filing cabinet that she looked through, nothing special there. Only old cases that were all either solved, closed, or were just cold cases.

She looked at the desk, which had nothing on it. It looked as if he never used it, which she found strange. The man was a hard worker and most probably brought his work at home. As far as she could tell, there should have been papers all over his desk, stacked neatly of course. From the looks of the place, he liked order.

She reached out to see if there was any accumulation of dust on the surface, and was startled when she touched something a few inches above the table surface. The sound of paper falling to the floor snapped her out of her shock as she pointed her wand at the table top.

"Finite!" she said, poking her wand at the air.

Papers, quills, and files suddenly appeared on the desk. She returned the fallen papers to their respective stacks and observed the table first before she touched anything.

The swivel chair was turned away from the desk, indicating that he had left it at some point before he died. The papers on his desk were organized into neat stacks and everything was on the side except for a few folders, maps, reports, and other papers.

Near the edge, opposite the side facing the chair, there was a full ink bottle and a dry quill rested on a map, where he had started to circle something, but then stopped. A smudge of ink was near the tip of the quill.

Seeing that there was nothing standing out to her really, she turned the chair and sat down. Upon looking down and reading the files and papers he was looking at as well as glancing at the reports and the maps he had, Hermione couldn't believe what she was reading.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she flipped through a thin folder filled with reports from the spies sent into this strange group that had suddenly become active a few hours after Voldemort's death. She shivered, something about this didn't feel right.

"Ron! RON! GET OVER HERE!" she yelled for him, continuing to soak in this new information.

Apparently, someone from this group probablyfound out he was investigating them or something and wanted to stop him, immediately. Bribery or blackmail wouldn't work on such a man and only death would stop him completely, that was why he was killed.

Ron came to the office, his face showing little emotion, which meant he had found nothing of interest. Hermione didn't turn as he walked over beside her and looked down at what she was reading. They read together, in silence, as Hermione flipped the pages one by one.

When she finally finished, she looked up at Ron, who was shaking his head. He turned to look at her and smiled, "Just our bloody luck to get caught in this mess, huh?"

"Ron, whatever this group is doing, it must be really dangerous! Harris Earl thought so, and his death proves that they are trying to keep their existence a secret. I mean, they killed him after all!" she told him.

Ron looked thoughtful, "Well, if I was them, I would keep this house under watch until someone came. You did find these files here, untouched, right?" he said.

Hermione nodded, "They were invisible and I doubt they had seen it..." her eyes widened.

"Which means, they're waiting for someone to come and look for it. Which also means that we're in deep trouble," he said slowly, his wand already in his hand.

Hermione turned around, a black-clothed soldier stood in the doorway with a gun in his hands. An assault rifle to be exact.

Author's Notes: Hehe. Anyway, please review. Mucho thanks!