Mission Control
You're going to forget all about your killer instincts, oh;
You gotta get by on what they think that you can think of;
If you thought that you would do it somehow by yourself,
But when you shouldn't of been listening to everybody else;
You come and go; Mission control.
—The Dandy Warhols
At sixteen, when they sit all the fifth-years down and say what do you want to be, most people made up answers. There isn't that much to say and you're sixteen; who actually has an answer?
But then you're seventeen, and a legal adult, and everyone's pleased with the new ability to drink themselves into a stupor. A year later, they're at Hogwarts graduation and everyone is looking at each other like oops. We were supposed to get jobs and internships and pull ourselves together. And then, if you're me, your ex-best friend's dad pulls you and your boyfriend's roommate aside at graduation and says that we had the best Defense Against the Dark Arts NEWT scores in our year and the auror department wants recruits like us. And your boyfriend's roommate and you look at each other and, being the muggleborns you are with no plans for the future and, moreover, no idea howto make plans, say what the hell, say sure.
Looking back, I kind of wish I'd given it a heartbeat's more thought. Not that I wouldn't have chosen this life again—this life of midnight ops and more time conditioning than the Chudley Cannons (and I know that first hand, because my boyfriend is on that team and he doesn't run as hard or as long as Liam or I) and weekly trips to St. Mungo's for everything from burns to broken bones. Just, I always assumed, growing up, that I wanted the most normal adulthood possible. I wanted a desk job and to go home at five pm and see my friends on weekends. I'd had the childhood from hell. Surely, I'd thought, I could just, make up for my lost normalcy once I was in control of my life. Instead, I chose this job of lunacy and criminals.
Sometimes, I think I'm a masochist.
"I can't move." Jessie murmured on the floor of the workout room. I snorted at the younger girl's dramatics, crossing the training mat where we'd been sparring; I offered down a hand, and she stared at it numbly. "My whole body hurts."
"I win." I flashed her a wolfish smile; Jessie groaned dramatically. Jessie Grier was my only female teammate on Alpha Team, the best team in the auror department. Because we were the only girls—except for our Deputy Team Leader, who was also female—we were always paired together to spar. We'd become friendly—though I had never quite figured out the trick to female friends—despite the fact that she was three years younger than my own twenty-two years.
Jessie frowned at me, but lifted one hand to take mine—
And then slammed her legs around my ankle and pulled up.
I shouted as I went down, hard. My lungs felt the air rush out; I sucked in air desperately as Jessie rolled up to her feet. I pulled my own knees just as she was getting her balance, and kicked out with both feet; she leapt away, giving me enough space to stagger to my own feet, my wand flying across the room to my hand wordlessly. Jessie made an indignant noise.
"I can't get the wandless summoning spell!" She said irritably. "How do you do that?"
I smirked at her. "Magic." Jessie exhaled shortly as I advanced on her; she backed up one step, two, but then she was at the end of the mat. We stared at each other for a beat, and then she leapt at me; I caught her advance with two hands right below her elbows. As we went down, I brought my knee up to her stomach, hard; she rolled off me the second we hit the ground, and slammed the mat with her hand. "Tap out, tap out—" she gasped out, and I laughed, pressing a hand to my stomach. "Jesus, Molly." Jessie murmured. I laughed softly again, keeping my back flat on the ground as my lungs ached for air. "Human predator, you are."
"Got that right." A male voice from somewhere near the front of the room came, and I lifted my head slightly off the floor; two of our teammates stood in the doorway: Liam Fitzroy and Ryan Halstead. I barely spared a glance for Ryan, who was the same age as Jessie, instead looking to Liam, who had spoken. I held out a hand to Fitzroy, and he raised an eyebrow at me.
"You killed Jessie, again?" Liam asked, sounding grumpy; Liam was one of a few people on the planet to take that tone with me, and even then, it was only because I'd known him since we were eleven. Liam had been my boyfriend's roommate at Hogwarts and, now that we'd graduated, was my closest ally. It was hard to describe him as a friend, per se—after all, we argued daily. But he was my partner, and we had enough history that he was somewhere in my inner circle.
"She asked me to." I said, dropping my head back against the mat. "Besides. She has to get better. Or else someone who won't let her tap out will get the jump on her." There was a grim edge to my voice, but Liam didn't react to it, instead frowning down at me.
"We have to go on a raid tonight." Liam continued to sound the same level of grumpy.
"And?" I prompted.
"If you're both dead on patrol—"
"Two things." I cut in, holding up two fingers. "I'm not going on patrol." I put down my index finger so I was just flipping Liam off, and his expression darkened further; I wondered if I was pushing him just a little too far. "And second, I'm the one who planned this fucking thing. If you think I'd screw up like two months of work by kicking Jessie's ass two hours before, then you are soundly mistaken."
"Why aren't you going on patrol?" Ryan sounded pointedly resentful, and I glanced at him sideways.
"None of your business." My voice was low and even, a warning; Liam elbowed Ryan, and Ryan looked away. I looked back to Liam, raising my eyebrows; he rolled his eyes, and I exhaled heavily, pushing myself up to a proper seated position; beside me, Jessie rolled onto her stomach, pressing her forehead against the mat. "What're you guys doing down here, anyway?" Liam shrugged, and said nothing else; I rolled my eyes. "Alrighty." I slung my arms over my knees, clapsing my hands together in front of me. "Where's Will?"
"He got caught fooling around with the daughter of one of the barristers in the prosecutors' office." Ryan murmured. I snickered. Will Lowe was the remaining member of our team, and was a junior with Ryan and Jessie. This was such a typical Will story.
"Idiot."
"Yeah, well, Chris is reaming him out upstairs, and I thought we'd better steer clear of the line of fire." Liam murmured.
"I can't feel my limbs." Jessie moaned into the mat.
"Then you won't feel a little more burn." I pointed out, looking at her. "Let's go, another twenty minutes." She rolled her head to the side, staring at me accusatorily.
"We've been at it for like four hours." Jessie mumbled.
"Or like forty five minutes." I corrected with a chuckle. She groaned.
"When is she going to need endurance for forty five minutes of hand-to-hand?" Liam demanded.
"If she's over-prepared, she'll be faster and able to get back to business faster than you lazy idiots." I pointed out.
"She's over-prepared for ten minutes of hand-to-hand, which I've never had to deal with in four years on the force." Liam retorted.
"You'll thank her one day, Fitzroy." I promised, getting to my feet; I staggered a little once there, but remained up right. I was sore, I realized a little delayedly. "Alright, Jess, we're done."
"Thank Merlin." She muttered into the mat. Ryan moved to help her up with a sigh, and I crossed to stand unsteadily beside Liam.
"Family dinner tonight?" Liam asked lowly. I made a growling noise in the back of my throat. He chuckled. "How is the fam?"
"I hate these goddamned dinners. Augusta is just going to tell me I shouldn't be an auror again." I shook my head in irritation.
"She thinks women…?" Liam sounded bewildered, and I snorted, glancing at him.
"Are you kidding? That lady has fought in two wizarding wars. She's all for women everywhere." I leaned my head to one side, rubbing my neck. "She makes the valid point that if something happened to me in the field…" I leaned my head to the other side. "It wouldn't be fair to the kids."
Liam was silent for a long moment. "She's not wrong." He murmured after a long moment. I elbowed him, hard, and he frowned resentfully at me.
"Thanks." I said sarcastically. Liam shrugged, looking away from me to Ryan and Jessie; Ryan laughed as Jessie sagged back against the mat, pouting up at Ryan. Ryan was laughing a little too long, his smile a little too long, and I let out a breath, my eyes flicking between the two for a moment. "Do we have a problem, here?" I murmured.
"We will." Liam acknowledged lowly.
"Great." I muttered, turning away from them and pressing a hand to my sore lower back as I did. Liam turned to follow me. "No sex in the training room, idiots!" I called over my shoulder, and I heard Ryan's splutter as Liam chuckled behind me. I grinned to myself.
I loved harassing Ryan.
"Molly…" Albus whined, shifting in the doorway to our bedroom hours later, as I stepped into my dress, pulling it up. "We're gonna be late and—"
"Your dad will be fine with it, he's the one who made me late by having me cover Chris Diamond's paperwork." I retorted as I zipped up the side of my dress. I turned to Al, putting my hands on my hips, the silent question of how this dress looked waiting for his answer before he nodded, running a hand through his black hair.
"That's what you get for deciding to become an auror." Albus said, shaking his head; ignoring his bemusement, I turned towards my dresser and the mirror that hung above it once more. "I tried to warn you." I reached up, pulling the hair tie out of my hair and running my fingers through my hair in a hap-hazard attempt to brush it before I finally settled on throwing it back in a messy braid; I glanced in the mirror as I separated my hair into three parts.
"You didn't warn me about the paper work." I shot back, my fingers sliding the hair around, over, around, over. Merlin, it'd been long since I'd had a haircut. "You told me you didn't want me to become an auror because I'd work crazy hours and probably get hurt in the field which stressed you out." I finished the braid, wrapping my hair tie around it loosely.
"That still stresses me out." Albus pointed out. I shrugged.
"Man up." I told him, then glanced towards my boyfriend, a smirk pulling at my features as I reached up to brush a few strands of my hair forward, letting the braid look more natural. "You're a seeker!" I retorted, my eyes flicking to the Chudley Cannons sticker that Albus had stuck to my mirror the day the team had signed him. A picture of my boyfriend, a few months younger, waved out at me from the sticker, one of those ridiculous cocky grins of his on his face, his green eyes bright. "That's dangerous too. Don't see me whining."
"Seeking is the least dangerous quidditch position." Albus retorted; I snorted in laughter.
"If you'd stay on your broom, I'd agree with that." I shot back. At least once a month, Albus got within two feet of a snitch with another seeker, and to ensure he retrieved the snitch, leapt from his broom in midair. This had earned him a nickname among fans of the Chudley Cannons: Pilot Potter. I was not a fan, because Albus was definitely going to hurt himself at it, but those idiots cheered for him and Albus forgot about safety when his own name was roaring in a stadium.
"The broom-bound are so limited." He sniffed; I rolled my eyes. He bounced up and down on his toes after a moment. "Molly! Mrs. Longbottom already thinks I'm a bad influence!"
"She's right about that most of the time." I informed him, and Albus waved an impatient hand at me.
"Irrelevant." He deemed. "I want her to like me." Albus's bright green gaze focused on me. "I intend on being around for a while. She has to like me." His voice was a little softer, now, and I exhaled, glancing at him sideways. Augusta Longbottom had been my legal guardian before I turned seventeen, and was currently legal guardian of my youngest brother and sister, the only remaining minors among my four siblings. Before that, she'd had custody of all of us for a few years; when I'd been sixteen, my dad had gone to jail, and our mum had walked out the day after he'd been arrested. Mrs. Longbottom had swept in and taken custody in a heartbeat.
"Too late for that." I muttered to my boyfriend; Albus winced. Al's affinity for pranks had not put him in Augusta's good graces.
"I hate family dinners." Albus muttered, reaching up to run his hand through his hair.
"I hate this family dinner because the rest of Alpha is out on assignment tonight." I shook my head irritatedly. "I had to bail." I muttered; Albus laughed quietly. Alpha was one of the five teams in the auror department, and happened to be the one I was on. Teams were like houses had been at Hogwarts, except smaller; each team had about ten people on it, with a team leader and their deputy. Chris Diamond was my team leader, a sweet man of about forty who'd taken me under his wing when I'd started at the auror department. It helped that his daughter was the same age as my little sister Ellie, and the girls were friends. If it weren't for his temper, Chris would have been promoted by now, but his sharp tongue had held him back. His deputy, Halley Swann, was a really laid back, easy-going younger woman who was thirty—I'd gone to her birthday party last week—and probably as close as I got to a girl friend, though I spent more actual time with Jessie.
"You're the only girl I know who hates missing work." Albus murmured, coming up behind me and sliding his arms around my waist as he stepped up against me. I looked at him in the mirror.
"You hate missing work too." I noted.
"I play quidditch for a living." Albus murmured. "You run after bad guys and jump in lakes after them—"
"Only once." I said, turning to him combatively; Al grinned down at me, his hands resting easily on my hips. "And that was because he was a bleeding idiot who thought I wouldn't chase him into water and I couldn't just let him get away—" Al covered my lips with his, silencing me, and I reached up, my hand sliding from the side of his neck to the back. My breath left me after only a few seconds but it was a minute later when I pulled away, my breathing erratic. "Now it is your fault we're late." I murmured to him. Albus blinked down at me, then laughed lowly, and I pulled away, grinning at him as I crossed to my closet, before I pulled the only pair of high heels I had, black peep-toe things, out of my closet and dropped them on the floor, putting them on. I turned back to Albus, and he grinned.
"You look purdy." He told me.
"We were supposed to be at Augusta's fifteen minutes ago." I told him; Albus cursed, rushing past me and grabbing my hand, dragging me after him to the floo with muttered curses. I just followed him, raising the protective wards on our flat with a double tap on the fire place before we stepped inside. I should have known, then, from the feeling in the pit of my stomach, that something was wrong. But I pushed it from my mind.
My team would be fine.
"Harry, this is getting ridiculous." Augusta said shortly to Mr. Potter as she sat across the long table in Mrs. Longbottom's dining room; I crossed from where I'd just entered at the door, swooping around the table to press a kiss to the top of my sister's head and run a hand over Cal's hair. Albus hit the other side of the table, clapping his brother on the back to slip into the seat beside his brother's girlfriend, Sera Finnigan; he shrugged off his jacket and threw it over the empty seat beside it, saving it for me. "Molly's been late to the last two dinners because of work—"
"Not Mr. Potter's fault, Augusta." I said, pausing behind Cal's chair to meet my siblings' guardian's eyes. "I was helping train one of the new recruits." Augusta Longbottom's eyes flashed at me, and awkward silence descended on the room.
"Not appropriate work for you, my dear." Her voice was anything but affectionate. I raised my eyebrows.
"You've made your opinion on that quite clear." I murmured, before breaking her gaze and looking down to Nate; he smirked up at me. Nate was the oldest of my brothers, but at 21, he was still a year younger than me. Next up was Cormac, and he was three and a half years younger than Nate, at eighteen, and then the twins, Cal and Ellie, were fourteen, the both of them enrolled at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Having fun yet?" He murmured as I ducked down to kiss his cheek.
"Shut up." I muttered, pulling away to duck around the table. I nodded at Albus's parents and his brother before I slipped into my own seat beside Al, to survey the scene before me.
Family dinner had started back when Albus and I—and our best friend, Fred Weasley—had been sixteen, and then it was just because Fred's family had been taking care of me before Mrs. Longbottom had, and I'd bonded with his mum. Then Albus and I had moved in together after Hogwarts, and the Potters had come over for dinner to join us, and now it was just a mess of Mrs. Longbottom and my siblings and me, and the Weasley-Potter clan. Some Sundays there were more people than others; after all, Al's family was huge. There was no telling who was showing up, when. This week, it was smaller than some nights; Al's brother James was here with Sera, but not his sister Lily, and Teddy Lupin and his family were also missing. Mrs. Potter's various siblings were mostly missing, except for her brother George and his son; George's wife wasn't there, though.
"If she's training recruits, Augusta, that means they trust her to do good work." Mr. Potter interrupted my survey with a grin for me; he didn't seem bothered by Mrs. Longbottom's obvious irritation. "Halley told me how you tracked the Roslyn warehouse switches, I was very impressed, Molly."
"Halley exaggerates." I said flatly, moving my napkin to my lap; I looked across the table to where my siblings were seated. One of them was missing, though: Cormac. Where's Cory? I mouthed at Nate.
Work. Nate mouthed the word, and I nodded once in acknowledgement even as Albus touched my arm. I glanced at him.
"Where's Cory?" He murmured; I felt the corner of my mouth twitch up as I smiled at my boyfriend. I liked that there were more people looking for my siblings, now.
"Work." I murmured, smoothing down my napkin before I looked back to Augusta. The woman looked imperiously down at me, her lips pursed.
"Who is this new recruit? Is she from a good family?" She asked curiously. Nate, across the table, snickered.
"Yes, because the Gale name is held in such good regard." He said, leaning forward; I spared a glare for him, but didn't refute him. It wasn't like my dad had brought honor to our family.
"Molly's a rising star in the auror department and Cormac has a very prestigious clerkship." Mr. Weasley informed my brother proudly; Nate glanced at Mr. Weasley with obvious distaste, but didn't argue. Nate hated Mr. Weasley for having so much paternal pride in Cory and I. Our first round with paternal figures—namely, our father—hadn't gone well. To say the least. And Nate hadn't really gotten another go; while Mr. Weasley was really attached to us, and certainly fond of Nate, Mr. Weasley was not to him what he was to us. "The Gale name is doing pretty well."
"There's a man in a jail cell who might disagree." Nate murmured. What the hell. Even for Nate, this was ridiculous.
"Quitit." I hissed at him. He shot me an angry look and I glared at him pointedly; he shook his head after a beat, looking away. I glanced at Cal beside him, who looked concerned; Ellie leaned forward and forced a smile at me.
"Uncle Harry mentioned you did something well at work?" She asked in a strong voice. "Something about warehouses?"
I offered my sister a small smile—Ellie got points for diverting attention from Nate. "Someone's been smuggling pirated things—wands, magical objects, etc—into England, and I figured out where they've been coming through and how they've hid it for so long. My team is hitting it tonight."
"Who is on your team again?" Cal asked; I glanced at him.
"Chris and Halley are team leaders, and then Liam and I are senior field agents, and then Jessie, Ryan and Will are juniors." I reminded him.
"Who're Halley and Jessie?" My best friend Fred asked interestedly, his first words since I'd arrived. I flashed him a glare; he beamed at me, his white teeth bright against his deeply tanned skin. Fred's hair was scarlet, inherited from his Dad and the rest of the Weasley clan, but his ability to tan and his dark eyes had been inherited from his mum, Angelina Weasley.
"Halley's my boss, and she's not available for dating." I said firmly, and I realized that Nate had looked up, too. I rolled my eyes. Of course, the mention of a single woman would bring Nate out of his funk. "And Jessie is a junior and thus busy every day." I continued. "I can't imagine when she'd even date."
"You work in an office full of fit girls my age." He pointed out, his expression still making it seem like I'd just killed his cat. "You'd think I'd be allowed to date one of them—"
"I'm actually friends with Halley, do not go there." I snapped at him. Nate rolled his eyes, but looked down at his plate, looking suitably ashamed of himself. Fred, on the other hand, just sat back self-satisfactorily in his chair.
"Oh, Gale family harmony, how lovely it is." My best friend Fred said cheerfully from down the table. "On that note, I agree with Nate. You need to share the love."
"Just because you don't have a girlfriend, Freddie, doesn't mean—" Albus began, and Fred chucked a roll at him; Albus caught it, his seeker reflexes revealing themselves, before tearing off a piece, dipping it in olive oil and taking a bite. "Mm." he said contentedly, and I sighed. I swore, sometimes, I was dating a two-year-old.
"It doesn't seem fair that Liam gets to be part of the dating circle of girls at your office but I do not." Fred said shortly. I exhaled, glaring at him
"Liam works there." I retorted. "And there isn't a whole lot of time for Liam to date around. The whole busy-at-work-catching-bad-guys thing." I reached up, pushing a few stray strands of hair out of my face.
"That's legitimate." Albus commented. "I barely see Molly and I live with her." Albus said, reaching out to grab my hand; I turned to him, flashing him a small smile, and Al grinned at me.
"Speaking of," Mrs. Longbottom said, "when are you two getting engaged?" Nate and Fred both snorted in laughter as I felt my face flush as I turned slowly to glare at Augusta. "Come now. Living together just isn't right for a young man and young woman unless they've tied the knot." Mrs. Longbottom looked at me pointedly. "Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?" She mused. Nate made a choking noise.
"I'm not a cow." I said after a moment, completely at a loss on how to address this.
"I'm just saying, dear," Mrs. Longbottom began again, raising her eyebrows judgmentally. "He's an athlete."
"What does that mean?" I grumbled.
"Soon, Mrs. Longbottom." Albus promised beside me, and I glanced at him, my eyes sharp; he flashed me an embarrassed grin, and I felt a smile work it's way onto my own face. Albus and I had decided not to get married too young—just because we both wanted careers and both wanted to not put too much pressure on ourselves. Consequently, we'd had a few of these talks; this was the first time, however, that Al had said soon. "Molly and I decided a long time ago to stay together. Just because I haven't given her the ring yet means nothing—" I stared at Albus, catching his wording; he hadn't given me the ring yet. Not a ring. The ring.
"Means Molly can still marry that nice boy from work. Or the mailman. Or that odd girl with the purple hair two streets over." Mrs. Longbottom corrected, frowning. "Engagements require rings, boy." She looked to Mr. Potter. "What have you been teaching your son, Harry?" Mr. Potter was wrestling with a smile as he met Mrs. Longbottom's gaze.
"I apologize that I forgot to train my son in how to treat a lady between patronus charm and dueling lessons." Mr. Potter said faux-solemnly. Mrs. Longbottom held his gaze for a moment before frowning at Albus's dad, and reaching out to swat at his shoulder.
"Don't sass me." She ordered; I snickered as Mr. Potter looked caught halfway between amused and embarrassed. Before Mr. Potter could respond, however, a dog patronus swooped through the open window, galloping up to me and planting it's paws on my lap. "Oh for the love of God." Mrs. Longbottom snapped as she glared at the Mastiff. "They're not supposed to interrupt dinner—" I frowned at Augusta for a moment before the Mastiff opened it's mouth and red light flashed in the room, making everyone jump, and I blinked away the spots in my vision before I recognized the smudged, panicked handwriting curling in the air in front of me.
51.492488, -0.026734 Urgent
"Fuck." I murmured under my breath. "Liam sent me coordinates." I muttered, pushing myself to my feet abruptly as I stopped reading; the Mastiff disappeared, folding in on himself in a collapse of light, though the numbers hanging in the air remained. I glanced at Albus, who met my gaze with a frown. "He needs backup, I've gotta go." I swallowed.
"What's wrong?" Fred asked.
"Unclear." I murmured, putting the note down on my plate. I looked up at my siblings' guardian. "I have to go, I'm sorry—"
She surveyed me tiredly. "It's fine, I'll send some food for you home with Albus." Mrs. Longbottom said quietly; I nodded, then looked back to Al.
"I'll see you at home?" I asked softly; he nodded, and I bent down, kissing him lightly. His hand slid to the back of my head, running through my hair before cupping the back of my neck.
"Be careful." He murmured, pulling away to press his forehead to mine. I nodded once, pulling away from Albus and looking to Mr. Potter.
"I'll keep you appraised of the situation." I promised professionally; he nodded once, and I backed up from the table with a glance for Nate. He offered me half a smile as I pulled my wand out and held it tightly, before I pulled my arms in, closed my eyes, thought of the coordinates, and disapparated.
A moment later, the air around me seemed to explode with spells.
I was outside a warehouse, huge crates piled high on each side of me, and on either side of the crates, spells were flying at searing speeds in all different colors. Smoke was clouding the sky, thick and black—something was on fire, nearby, because as I sucked in air, my lungs protested. Shouting was somewhere past the crates in front of and behind me; I recognized one of my teammates' voices beyond the behind crates. I gaped at the hellscape around me, before I turned around, to see Liam crouching on the ground over one of our team leaders, Halley. His hands were on her chest as he straddled her, and for the briefest of moments, I didn't realize what he was doing. I thought maybe that Liam and Halley were having a moment, out here, in this terrible place.
And then I saw her unseeing eyes, the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and the way she wasn't moving. And I knew.
I crossed to him quickly, smothering the panic that was quickly rising in my lungs as I grabbed my partner's arm; Liam's wild gaze shot up to me, and I looked at him, my eyebrows half-way up my forehead in shock. Panic did this to me—I didn't cry, I didn't scream, didn't shake. I got low and quiet and angry. "What the fuck is going on?" I asked him lowly. "This was supposed to just be a raid—"
Liam exhaled so shakily it might have been a sob.
"No goddamned idea."
A/N: There's chapter 1, folks.