NOTES: Please review, I would greatly appreciate it. Oh, and sorry for the late update. Very late actually...

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 what she originally thought of. 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

Auror Special Forces

Harris Earl's residence, Northampton, England

The black-clad soldier raised the assault weapon and barked an order, "Hand over the files!"

Ron was facing him, though slightly turned to the right so as to hide his wand. He moved a finger on his left hand and hoped Hermione understood what he meant.

The figure snapped at them again, ordering them to give him the files and jabbing his rifle at them. However, before he could do so a third time, Ron dove to the right as he sent a stunning spell at the soldier. Hermione dove to the left just as he did so and just in time as the gun fired and bullets ripped up the wall, tore through the chair, and chipped the table, sending debris everywhere.

The man flew back out the door and hit the wall of the hallway. Hermione looked at Ron seriously and nodded. They shouldn't stay. They willed themselves to apparate, but that's when they felt the anti-apparition ward.

"Damn!" cried Ron as he heard shouts from across the house.

"We have to get out of here!" replied Hermione, her wand in her hand as she shut the door and cast numerous spells and wards on it. 'That should hold them', she thought.

"Move over," said Ron as he stood up.

Hermione stood as well and moved over to the side as Ron aimed his wand at the wall.

"Reducto! Reducto!" he cried twice.

The wall exploded outward as a hole appeared through the dust and debris, large enough for them to walk through.

They bolted out of the hole and made a run for it. That's when they heard the sound of engines starting and the shouts and yells of angry men.

Casting multiple shield charms and other spells on themselves, they continued running.

They heard the screeching of tires and Hermione chanced a glance over her shoulder. She regretted it immediately as she tripped and fell over hard. A black unmarked toyota was speeding towards them.

She pushed herself up and decided to make a stand, they were muggles after all. How could she lose?

She quickly sent a spell at the car that made the front of the corolla crumple. It also threw the car into the air and made it flip over a number of times before it came crashing back down to the ground. Nothing moved after that as broken glass littered the street.

Another black car came into view a few hundred meters away and it too was unmarked. It sped towards them without even being taken aback by the fact that the other car was pretty much destroyed.

Ron appeared at her side as the car screeched to a halt in front of them.

Hermione raised her wand and sent two spells at it. However, unlike the first car, the spells impacted upon some sort of shield, leaving the car untouched.

The rear passenger door opened and out came a man who wore a black dueling robe. He also wore a strange black helmet that looked somewhat like a medieval piece of armor. Two soldiers came out, one from the rear as well as one from the front passenger side. They leveled their guns at the two aurors, but the black-clad wizard raised a hand and they lowered their weapons.

"Give us the files and you shall go unharmed," the wizard said, his voice heavily accented. He seemed Russian or something similar.

"What is your interest in the files?? This is Ministry property as it is an ongoing case! You cannot have them!" Hermione replied defiantly. She knew both she and Ron could take the stranger and the soldiers.

The man shook his head, "You need not know what my interest is and I beg you to reconsider your statement," he said in a menacing voice, his wand suddenly appeared in his hand.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Reducto!" Hermione cried, her wand-hand raised in a flash.

The wizard had barely enough time to conjure a shield, especially at such close quarters. However, he created a shield in the wrong place, for his shield only covered where he faced.

The two stunning spells hit the two soldiers and they flew back a few feet. The blasting curse hit the car, on a point close to the gas tank actually, and caused it to explode. Since the wizard had his back to the car, he flew forward and landed on the ground. He was dazed but still conscious.

"Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Incarcerous!" said Ron.

The wizad's wand flew into Ron's outstretched hand as the red beam of light hit him and pushed him into a tree. Then thick ropes bound him tightly. It looked as if he was a mummy and Ron found it somewhat amusing.

"Well, the Department should be here any moment now..." Hermione said as she vanished and hid the file on the secret group.

Just a few seconds later, distinct pops of apparition could be heard as aurors arrived on the scene. The magic that was cast had been noticed, especially in a muggle neighbourhood, and already the alarms and wails of approaching muggle law enforcement cars were getting closer.

The two aurors identified themselves to the recently arrived aurors, who then proceeded to clean up the mess. Two more aurors were dispatched to take care of the muggle law enforcements as a reversal team was already on the way to obliviate all spectators. The car was fixed, fires were extinguished, damages were repaired, and the assailants were taken away for questioning.

"Well, what about a cup of coffee?" Ron asked, grinning.

Hermione shook her head, though she did need some caffeine in her system to help her think... "Fine. But we have to go over these files. I have a feeling that we won't like this secret group..." she replied as they apparated.

Unseen by the aurors, a black unmarked car rolled out of the neighbourhood and as it rounded a corner it sped away.

A few hours later, somewhere...

"My Lord, the files were not retrieved. Two aurors got a hold of it before we could and now they have it..." but before he could continue his report, the man was thrown against a wall more than fifteen feet away. Bones cracked and his spinal cord ruptured, piercing his lungs.

He slid to the ground and slumped onto the floor. Blood spattered the wall and pooled next to the gurgling and wheezing body. A few seconds later, it went still.

The dark figure looked at the others in the room menacingly. They shivered as his eyes swept their ranks. Though they could not see his face from under the dark hood, they could feel the evil reeking off the man.

"Failure is not an option. Retrieve the files. We must not be discovered this early into our plans. Now go and keep in mind what happens if you fail me," he dismissed them.

The others turned and ran in fear. The cold, dark hall was soon empty. This man was far worse than Voldemort was, they thought. Far worse.

The figure smiled as he read their thoughts. That was what he wanted to be. Voldemort was a fool. The figure shook his head. No, he would not be a fool like him. He would win.

A few days later, MLE HQ, Ministry of Magic, London, England

"Apparently, they've been very busy lately. Dark magic books, weapons, armor, wands, potions, meetings, killings, and all the other things that Voldemort was doing. However, this time it appears they're even better at keeping it a secret and they're also far more... professional," Hermione finished, playing with a strand of her hair.

They had been pouring through the contents of the file that Harris Earl had compiled. The secret group seemed like some revival of the Death Eaters, but were far better than the rag-tag amateurs of Voldemort.

The wizard and the two muggle soldiers that were brought into custody had spilled all the beans they held. The secret group was mobilizing. New members, hundreds of them, were being recruited. Muggle and wizard alike, it seemed. The giants were again being contacted and other dark creatures. The group was not leaving any stone unturned. The two soldiers had even more interesting news to reveal though.

Apparently, the leader of the group also commanded a private muggle army numbering more than ten thousand soldiers. This meant that the person was high-ranking in muggle status and yet was also a magic user. However, they did not know his name or anything about him. The one thing that all three knew was that he was fearsome, cruel, cold, dark and much worse than Voldemort.

The wizard had then been locked up in Azkaban and the two muggle soldiers sent to a special prison that was unused until now.

"Well, what could they be planning? Another attempt to rule the world? Hah! The wizard army, I can understand, but to fight us with a muggle army?!" Ron laughed and shook his head.

"Ron! Don't underestimate muggles! They created a weapon that could wipe out entire cities in a second. Plus, they outnumber us AND they have other things up their sleeves. Just because we use magic doesn't mean we will always win against muggles!" she retorted. She was, after all, muggle-born.

"No way, Hermione! We'd kick their asses without even getting hit."

"Humph! You'll see Ronald!"

Ron just shook his head and kept muttering. How could muggles defeat them?! Wizards!?! It was an absurd idea and so he brushed it off his mind.

"Hey, looks at this. It seems that Harris found a few of their safe houses and hideouts.." she broke the silence that had ensued, trailing off as she looked at the map with circles on it.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Kingsley came into the office.

"I heard about what happened. You guy alright?" he asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs in the small office.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other. "Yeah, we're fine really. What I'm more worried about is why this group is going into such great lengths to try to keep themselves a secret. Something's going on, sir. I think they may be planning something," said Hermione in a worried tone.

Kingsley nodded in agreement, though he stayed silent.

"Well, with the way they've been doing things, it seems they have some very competent people. Fighting this group may be harder than fighting Voldemort," said Ron. He long ago dropped the stuttering and cringing at the name. After all, he was dead now.

Kingsley nodded again and seemed to be in deep thought.

A moment of awkward silence passed. Kingsley was still thinking about something while Hermione fidgeted in her seat. Ron began drinking something from the bottle on his desk. No one said anything, though the two aurors were waiting on what Kingsley was thinking about.

"Okay.." he finally spoke, shaking his head from his trance-like train of thought. "What do you know about the secret department that's been set up?"

Hermione cocked her head a little to the side as she tried to remember.

"It's like the DMLE, except better and more dangerous. I heard from my Hit Auror friends that most of them are being transferred to that department in the coming days," Ron replied after a few seconds.

"Yes, Ron! It's just like the muggle elite counter-terrorist units or elite troops. Only the best of the best get in and they're very good. They fight against dangerous groups, usually behind enemy lines or without much backup. They face great odds and are in the thick of things," Hermione paused and then brightened up, "I remember now! It's Auror Special Forces!" she exclaimed.

"ASF.?" said Ron.

"Well, it was better than Ministry Elite Auror Network or Elite Auror Team. Besides, it's not bad," replied Kingsley, scratching his chin.

Ron nodded, it was better than the other choices. "So what are you getting at?" he asked.

Kingsley sat back into his chair, his posture straight, "Well, they've just asked me to be head of that small department. Well, it's not really small, but we won't have as much manpower as with the DMLE," he told thim.

"WHAT! You're...you! When did you know??" Hermione blurted out.

The older auror smiled, "A while back. Anyway, to the matter at hand, I am then entitled to extend to you an invitation to join my department. Unless, of course, you don't want to..." he grinned, trailing off.

Hermione was flabbergasted. She didn't expect to make it, though she did hope to join the new department since it would be a step above the DMLE.

Ron just nodded, his eyes wide as he processed what had just happened. This was his chance. He would bring in more pay if he joined the new department and he would also get better training, he hoped. Though he wasn't sure about that, so he asked.

"Well, just because I extend to you an invitation does not mean you instantly become a member of the ASF. You must first go through rigorous retraining and then after that you will receive numerous tests. Trust me when I tell you they'll be harder than the regular Auror tests. After that, if you've passed and you're okay, then we'll give you your first assignment and then depending on that first assignment will be if you join the ASF or not," he explained. "It won't be a walk in the park, I can tell you that."

Ron nodded again. He knew he wasn't as good a dueler as Hermione, but this was his chance to get much better. He needed to get better. He had to.

"Well, I'm in then," he told the ASF leader, smiling a little. "What about you Hermione?" he turned to his partner.

She bit her lip in thought. She wanted to join, she would benefit so much from it, but she wasn't sure she could make it.

Kingsley, as if hearing her thoughts, spoke, "If you think you won't make it, then think again. I believe you'll be one of the very few first members. No doubts about it."

She looked up, her chocolate brown eyes locking with his dark brown ones. Then she nodded, "Okay, I'll do it."

"Excellent! Start packing your things. I'll inform Pamela about it. Meet me in the lobby when you're ready."

He stood, still smiling, and left the office. In his wake, he left two stunned and yet considerably happy aurors.

Two months later, ASF Training Camp, Somewhere in western Britain...

Hermione ducked and rolled to her right, firing off a few spells as she did so. Multiple spells came at her in answer as she dodged most of them and let the others hit her shield. She winced in pain as she put some weight on her right leg, which had gotten damaged to the point that it hurt a lot if she put too much pressure on it.

However, she had no time to heal it and so just kept dueling.

She threw herself to the ground on her left as a particularly round of nasty spells blasted where she was a mere seconds after the maneuver. She raised her wand, her mind racing.

"Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Diffindio! Reducto! Impedimenta! Stupefy! Accio!" she managed to string out as she rolled to her feet with a blaze of pain.

She cast a numbing charm at her leg as her spells reached their target. Some of them simply smashed onto the strong shield of her opponent while others seemed to have a mind of their own and flick off course and hit somewhere else. Yet her accio seemed to have punctured the shield somehow as her opponent's shoe flew out, heading for her and toppling her opponent at the same time.

Siezing the opportunity, she sent off another string of stunning spells coupled with some more powerful spells she had recently learned and also the ones she already knew. Her opponent didn't stand a chance, having been caught off guard and having fallen down. However, he was still resilient and managed to erect another strong shield that took the brunt of her attacks.

He sprang to life and kicked off his other shoe to have better balance and to avoid what had just happened. He jumped forward, twisting into the air as he cast multiple spells and hexes at her. She twisted, ballerina style, to the right, and dropped to one knee as most of the spells whizzed over her head. The rest slammed harmlessly onto her shield as she poured some more spells at her opponent.

"Stupefy! Incendio! Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Diffindo! Incendio! Incarcerous!" she cried as she rolled away from a couple of stunning and fire spells as well.

He batted away the stunning spells and the disarming one while avoiding the fire spells. However, he was not so lucky with the cutting spell as it broke through his shield and cut him. The thick ropes started curling around him when Hermione started a new string of attacks from a different direction.

Then a new thought came to her, what if...

She vanished with a pop and reappeared on the other side of her opponent as the spells she just cast finally reached him.

He had burned and banished the ropes, and then set up a hasty shield while trying to heal himself. She was getting tired now, but she knew he was even worse so she couldn't relent.

Much to his surprise, she was no longer where she last was and he found her on his other side and had to defend himself quickly as a torrent of spells came at him. He had no time to apparate himself after Hermione began to do so numerous times until she finally overwhelmed the novice Hit Auror, who finally fell to the ground unconscious.

The sound of clapping knocked her out of her concentration as one of the ASF Hit Wizard instructors dismantled the dueling barrier and headed for them. He first healed up and ennervated Hermione's opponent and spoke with him for a bit, before heading for Hermione.

She struggled to keep standing as her leg seemed to be failing her. Deep gashes and cuts ripped her skin and robes as blood spilled everywhere. She looked, horrified, at her wounds and tried to heal them with her magic. Most of the small and moderate wounds closed up but she did not know enough healing spells yet to effectively heal the larger and more dangerous wounds.

The Hit Auror came over, looked at her wound, and with a few swishes of his wand and incantations, her leg was completely healed and the pain was no longer there. There was a slight pain resonance, but she knew it was just an echo of the former pain. She cancelled the numbing charm and stood at attention, as she was required to do in the presence of an instructor.

He smiled at her, exposing rows of brilliant white teeth. His name was Wayne Salfwinn and he was one of the best Hit Aurors in the Ministry. He had very short hair, like that of a soldier, and kept a helmet on at all times. The helmet he wore was some kind of enchanted leather helmet and she had yet to see his full battle gear.

She looked straight ahead of her as he stood still, watching her every move.

"Auror Hermione Jane Granger," he began, "Why did you not use any other more powerful spells? You know you are capable enough," he asked.

"Well sir, first of all I needed to see how good my opponent was and so I had to test him out in the beginning with some minor to moderate spells. Second, I did not want to waste my energy on powerful spells if I knew that I could defeat him with simpler and less magical-costing spells. Third, if I were to face numerous numbers of opponents like him, I would lose much of my magic after about ten duels or less," she replied quickly.

The intructor nodded in agreement, his smile breaking out again. "So tell me, what made you think of apparating to overwhelm your opponent?"

"Well, sir, I had been rolling around, jumping, diving, and dodging while I was dueling and it occured to me that if I wanted to change my angles of attack fast to overwhelm my opponent, then I should just use apparating since it takes less energy, sir," she said, a bit nervously. Would he approve? Her passing to the ASF depended on him and so she was worried.

"Good, well done. One of the simplest duels I've seen so far here and yet it was a good duel. I commend you for it. You will write down a short essay on what you would do in case anti-apparition wards were put up and you could not use apparition to overwhelm opponents. You are dismissed until your classes start," he said.

She saluted in a soldier's fashion, turned on her heel, and left.

As soon as she had turned, she let out a sigh and a smile as she walked to the mess hall. She was hungry and after that she could start on her essay and then plop onto the bed for a nap. Classes didn't start until about two hours anyway. Her steps were light as she hummed herself a tune from a wizarding band called The Remembralls.

Ron, on the other hand, was in a class at that moment. His dueling practice was scheduled after the classes. He had improved considerably and he could very well duel Hermione, though he had yet to beat her. He had grown taller too, if that was anything. Something about training that finally unleashed his final growth spurt. He stood at a formidable 6'8" and his red hair as flaming as ever.

He broke his quill as he tried writing down the formula to an advanced potion, so he retrieved another from his bag. He was suprisingly getting pretty adept at potions, though he would never be a master, he showed good skill - especially without Snape breathing down his neck.

He smiled as he thought of his upcoming dueling practice. He had a grossly expanded repertoire of spells since they first started training and he was much more confident now. He smiled as the bell rang and the other aurors and hit aurors in the room started to leave. His steps were light as he readied himself for his duel.

Somewhere in Tripoli, Libya...

The streets were choked with cars as the noonday heat beat down on the city. People bustled along the sidewalks as the angry blaring of horns and death threats of drivers echoed through the air. This, accompanied with the noise of the city and the chatter of the people, drowned out most sound.

Three men wearing dark robes slipped into an alleyway unnoticed, leaving the large throng of people on the sidewalk. The sun didn't reach as well here since the high buildings served to blot it out, but they did not seem to care.

On a day that was nearing the nineties in temperature, these men seemed out of place picking black as their color of choice. No one seemed to notice though and so they went on their way. Going through a few more alleys and side streets, they arrived at a relatively small building. It used to be a shop before but had closed down. Wooden planks covered the windows and doors.

One of them said something however and, unnoticed by the small number of people on the sidestreet, the planks disappeared and the door opened inward. One would have been surprised at this and probably fallen unconscious had they seen this event, but the two people that did see the occurence weren't surprised in the least bit.

"That's the tenth time in four days that they've gone to that building," commented one of them. He was a bit short, only about 5'5". He was a Libyan citizen, though his family had moved to England when he was eight. He had then gone to find out that he was a wizard and eventually ended up as an auror.

He had a thick black moustache and a rough and short beard. He had curly black hair and brown eyes that were unwavering and cold. His callsign was Curly, due to his hair, and he didn't mind being called that. It was better than some other names suggested to him.

The other was a female, Swedish in fact. She had dirty blonde hair and dark gray eyes. She was a little taller than him, something that unsettled the Libyan slightly. She was also an auror, having gone to England many years past to finish her schooling. Her callsign was Swede.

They had shown promise and so were sent on international missions, one of which they were handling now.

A conspicuous and secretive group had arisen and they had taken wind of one of their hideouts here. So far, they had only managed to see three of their members, who always went to this building every now and then. Frustrated that they could not observe closer, they had been trying to come up with a plan to try to get in without getting noticed. Something that was hard to do, given that this group was very good.

She sighed in frustration, "Yeah, and this is the tenth time we've ended up just watching the building and not getting to see what they actually do inside!"

He looked at Swede, "Well, why don't we just blast in and see! Or maybe try to sneak in next time while they are walking through the door," he told her.

She rolled her eyes, "I told you, we are not supposed to blow our cover. Also, they probably have wards that detect if there is someone unwanted there," she replied matter-of-factly.

He grunted. But before he could reply, he felt a tingle in his mind. He grabbed Swede and threw them on the floor as an explosion rocked the wall they had been hiding behind. Rocks and other debris fell on them as the dust settled.

"Thanks," she whispered, before they sprung into action, wands at the ready.

Apparently, they had been spotted.

The three had reappeared outside the building, but this time they were accompanied by five other black-robed figures. All had wands in their hands and steel helmets that hid their faces.

"Give up now and we shall spare you...somewhat," one of them hissed.

Swede laughed and then fired off a round of complex spells as Curly set up multiple barriers and shields around them.

The group sprung into action and soon some of the black cloaks disappeared, materializing around them. That was when the anti-apparition ward settled on top of them, rendering them unable to escape.

"Shit!" cursed Curly as he weaved around some spells, his steps light. His wand hand was swishing at a fast rate, but the black cloaks responded in kind. They were good. Well, some of them were. He had already downed two black cloaks, one with a severe cutting spell to the neck, beheading him. The other he had crushed his bones and then burned him.

Swede had taken down one so far and it seemed she was facing the better half of the group. She was hard-pressed and eventually resorted to just defending herself. Her magic was slowly depleting as she desperately fended off attacks from four black cloaks.

Curly hissed as a bludgeoning spell hit his knee and dislocated it, leaving a big bruise as well. He fell to the ground and yet in a flash had numbed and righted the knee while raising his shields again.

It was pointless, one more black cloak fell but the others fought even harder. Swede was knocked off her feet by a tripping charm and as she tried to get up, she was thrown into a wall with a powerful stunning spell. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

Curly screamed in rage and fougth back furiously, his small and yet nimble body dodging most of the spells while his shield took whatever he could not avoid. He was slowly losing his energy, but not before downing another black cloak with a few explosive spells and a ripping curse that tore through the man like a hot knife through butter. The three black cloaks they had been following all these days raised their wands, A transparent red snake slithered around his leg and slowly squeezed, burning the flesh as it did so. Distracted by the intense pain and unable to do anything else, the last thing he saw was the final moments of the duel as three green bolts flew at him and his life was no more.

The three figures looked at each other. One of them walked over to the fallen auror, spat on him, and then walked over to the unconscious one. The other two looked around at their fallen comrades with sadness.

"No matter, they fought bravely. However, we must inform the lieutenant of this matter," one of the two spoke.

"Go then. We shall go to the other safehouse. The Lybian Ministry of Magic will be here in a matter of seconds," the other replied coolly.

The first black cloak bowed as the second one took down the anti-apparition ward. The first black cloak then disapparated with a crack.

The third had already picked up Swede and walked over to the first black cloak.

"Bring her in for interrogation," the second black cloak said. The third nodded slightly and disapparated as well.

The remaining black cloak looked about him, his steel helmet glittering under the sun. Five fallen comrades. He sighed, they needed to train better, though he knew it was because these wizards they were fighting were very professional and very good. Too good for the five recently killed recruits. Well, there will be more, he told himself, they will be more.

He disapparated with a crack and just before he did so, he heard the distinctive multiple cracks of the Lybian Magic Enforcement Agency.

Author's Notes: Reviews please, as always. Harry's story will be unfolding in the next few chapters (so we won't see Ron and Hermione for a bit of a while).