Chapter 6: Harry Politics
Harry followed the American escort to a barren wasteland. It reminded Harry of the aftermath of a nuclear bomb test. The desert landscape was filled with a vast field of ash with people slowly shifting through it. It certainly looked like an odd place to find the Secretary of Law Enforcement for the American Ministry. Harry began to suspect that he had been led into a trap. But Harry made no motion for his wand. Like it or not (and Harry certainly didn't) Hermione was correct: he could do nothing to jeopardize the fragile peace between this nation and his own.
Harry's escort seemed to find what he was looking for, grabbed Harry and pulled him toward the ash heap.
"Mr. Brown, a Harry Potter here to see you from England." The man didn't look up. "Mr. Brown, you have a visitor!"
"I don't have time for a visitor Zimmerman, especially not from England. He'll have to wait."
"Respectfully Mr. Brown, I can't wait. My lead is time sensitive."
Mr. Brown sighed but didn't stop working. "So's mine Mr. Potter. Make it quick."
Harry had rehearsed this the entire time he was waiting for his escort. "A reliable source has indicated that a person of interest I'm looking for is in New York City. I did not want to intrude upon jurisdiction without informing you first."
Brown stood bolt upright. "New York? Absolutely not. The entire city is a crime scene right now, I will not have you messing that up!"
Harry made a quick decision: this was not the time to keep secrets. "The man I'm looking for is my son. I believe he ran away to attempt to take down a dark wizard; follow in my footsteps. I believe he is in New York now. Allowing me to find him will probably limit the damage to your crime scene."
Brown stood silent for a long time. Finally he said "Fine Mr. Potter. Go find your son. But only you, no one else."
"Thank you sir." Harry turned to head back from the ashes when his phone rang. He eagerly checked it, but it wasn't Ashley. It was his newest auror; Teddy Lupin. He answered it, "What's up Ted?"
"I think the tracker is broken, it has got a trace going crazy at a town called...um hang on a minute." Harry heard papers rustling in the background before, "Ah, here it is. The town is called Roswell, New Mexico. What would a British wizard be doing in New Mexico?"
Harry was already moving back toward Brown, "Parker, I'm currently in New Mexico. Lock in on my phone and tell me how far I am from the trace."
"Ok, give me a sec. Wow, it's about 5 miles northwest of your location."
Harry hung up and rushed back to Brown. "Mr. Brown! Change of plans. There is an active trace 5 miles northwest of here."
Surprisingly Brown jumped up and ordered a ministry SUV to pick him up. "Get back in touch; we need to find that trace."
"Why you?" Harry asked, quickly adding "No offense," after seeing Brown's look. The two got into the car which sped away as Harry called Lupin.
"The American trace is not like the British trace Potter. Here it never leaves you. Whenever someone casts a potentially illegal spell, we get told where and what spell it was," Brown explained after Harry gave the phone to the driver. "For the last two years we have been chasing someone who seems to be making an army of inferi. We know when he raises a body and where but we can never get there in time to catch him."
"Doesn't your trace tell you who it is?"
"Your's doesn't, what makes you think ours can?"
"We can tell whose trace it is."
"No you can't, you can only tell where it is. If it is near the place of a witch or wizard on your roll you can identify it, but if it is unexplained you're clueless. We are the same way."
"Haven't you identified this guy?"
Brown's face slacked as if he had just swallowed a rotten, sour candy. "No, we've tried to get an agent close, but he only associates with his inferi, so the only way to get into his circle is to be a corpse. Some have succeeded in getting close, we know that because he taunts us by sending them into the ministry after he has, um, 'transformed' them.
"The last time he struck for sure was 2 days ago. It was his biggest hit yet, even got the muggle's attention."
"What did he do?" Harry asked.
"He emptied a New York City graveyard. 217 bodies vanished. We got there in 15 minutes but he, and the inferi were gone. That's why we're patrolling the city, we don't think he got far with a group that large.
"Then this happened. It wasn't just a Fiendfire. Out trace picked up a killing curse and an inferius curse. Then we discovered that there are over 300 cremated bodies in that ash heap. I'm here to see if there is a connection to the New York case."
Harry wondered if Albus had been in that fire. But he pushed it aside. The trace was Albus, he was sure of it. Albus was fine. At least he hoped.
"There! Sparks at 9 o'clock," Harry exclaimed. The driver moved quickly. Harry couldn't see the source of the sparks when they all got out. "I hope you're not expecting your son, Harry," Brown said.
Harry's spirits sank, and his pace slowed. "Why, Jacob?" he asked, picking up on the change to first names.
"Because I'm staring at a girl," Jacob Brown said just as Harry finished coming around the car. He looked down: straight into the terrified face of Ashley Wright.
In reality it took only 5 minutes for Harry and Jacob to calm Ashley down and get her to relax in the car. But for Harry, it seemed like an eternity. He had been sure that Albus was the source of the trace; instead it had been someone he thought was in England. Now, He an Ashley sat on the middle seat of the SUV facing the head of law enforcement in the United States who had turned the passenger seat around. Harry felt like he was a lawyer in an interrogation; then he remembered that he might just be playing that very role. 300 people had been killed 5 miles away, it was possible both Ashley and Albus were in serious trouble. Assuming Ashley had found Albus, or vice-versa.
Harry spoke first. "Ashley, I know that look. All you want to do is crawl in a corner and pinch yourself to make sure you're still alive. When I was in school, it seemed like every time I had that feeling some adult wanted to know the story. And they never told me why. I need to know the story Ashley. I need to know anything that might help me figure out where Albus will be. I believe that what you know will help me. So please, pluck up some that Gryffindor courage and relive it just this once."