Notes:
Thanks so much for your reviews. I appreciate the feedback a lot. Onto the next chapter.
Chapter Three
Scott Dunn caught him completely unawares. He wished that there was something he could do with all of his magical prowess to figure the case out; to solve it before time, to Sectumsempra the hell out of the son of a bitch putting that frown on Kate's face. But there was nothing; no Marauders map to consult, no one to question with Veritaserum; no one who knew anything useful anyway.
Every lead that they caught ended up with a dead victim so no memories for him to sift through and most frustrating of all; the guy was smart enough to not leave a trace of himself behind so he couldn't even try the most obscure method of scrying. God the things he was willing to do to solve this one for Beckett and yet he had nothing. The great Harry Potter reduced to sit lamenting at the sidelines while the enemy scored point after point.
And to top it all off, it wasn't only Dunn who had caught him unawares. Standing outside the entrance to the Central Park Carousel having just discovered the second body; he witnessed, disembarking from an SUV that was part of an FBI convoy, none other than Susan Amelia Bones walking over to them.
Susan Bones, the niece of Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. One of the brighter students of Hufflepuff house, a member of Dumbledores Army and apparent survivor of the Second Wizarding War.
Susan had been completely destroyed after losing the last surviving member of her family in Amelia. She had retreated into herself that last year that he had been in school with her. Then all he had seen at the Battle of Hogwarts of her was sheer determination to destroy the evil that had claimed her family. Afterwards, what had happened to her? Nobody knew. He had assumed, like most that she had been killed and her body had never been found.
And now she was here. Standing in front of him and Beckett, claiming to be legendary FBI Profiler, Agent Jordan Shaw? And completely disregarding his presence. He knew he looked different but in no way would Susan not recognize him, she was one of his star pupils and she wasn't stupid.
And she had gotten hot! Well not hotter than Beckett obviously, but the obvious confidence that she presented herself with, along with the cool calm demeanor of a seasoned FBI Agent? Amelia would have been proud if she could see her niece right now.
And yet no acknowledgment at all. More over she dismissed him as useless until Beckett convinced her other wise even. He could see what it cost Kate to do the convincing. She was definitely not happy with how buddy buddy he had gotten with Susan once she had thawed out.
That first night, after discovering the body at the carousel there was knock on his door at eleven. He ambled over, a glass of scotch clutched in his hand and opened the door to Susan standing there with a tired smile on her face.
"Hey, Harry." She said quietly. "Can I come in?"
He handed her a glass of amber liquid which she downed instantly. "Mmm, Rosmertas?" he nodded. "I haven't mead in a bloody long time." The Irish brogue now revealing itself sounded misplaced on the sharply put together Jordan Shaw but reminded him fondly of his Hufflepuff friend of times past.
"Susan," he started and then stopped. What the hell was he supposed to say?
"I heard you're a father now?" she asked taking the initiative. "Anybody back home know?"
Alexis. Yes he could talk about her. "She's mine and Ginny's."
Her eyebrows rose at that. "So that actually followed through, huh?" she remarked putting down another shot of mead. "never thought the little Weasley would get that far."
He shook his head. "Ginny and I met by accident here in the states and we ended up making some not so wise decisions. Decisions which gifted me with a daughter and her with a non magical burden."
Her brow drew together now in a frown. "So she's a squib? I wondered why the Muggle world knew so much about her."
He looked at her shrewdly. "You ran me through your war room computers didn't you?" he wasn't surprised, the Jordan Shaw he read about liked to be on top of things and didn't let just anyone work with her.
Susan shrugged. "Occupational hazard Potter, I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't follow through."
"Castle." He corrected absently, taking a sip of his whiskey; he preferred his drinks non magical.
"What?" she asked curiously.
"It's Castle, it's always Castle," he let out a small sigh. "Harry Potter is gone. I'm not that man anymore and I don't want to be. Rick Castle is who I am now and I need you to remember that in case you let the name slip in front of Beckett."
She snorted. "Like I've done so many times in the last twelve hours?" she asked sarcastically. "And you do know that telling yourself that drivel you just spewed to me isn't going to make it true."
"Huh?" he grunted questioningly.
"Channeling Hagrid are we?" she asked smiling. He had forgotten how cheeky the woman could be when she tried. "Harry, tell me something. At this moment how many scenarios are you running through your head about helping Beckett out with this psycho magically? Let me guess, the answer is more than two and no less than a hundred?" she smirked at his silence. "I thought so.
"Another thing, if at some point the opportunity presents itself and you have to choose between saving your life or Beckett's, or hell even mine. What would you do?" she didn't bother waiting for a reply. "Let me guess again. You would choose to sacrifice yourself, am I right?"
He waited a beat then. "Wouldn't you?"
She smiled wider. "Of course. I would but that's because it's my job to do so; to protect and serve the people," she said honestly. "And thats a full time job, but truly? The only people I can positively say I'd die to protect are my daughter, my husband, and Hannah, because I love them."
"Well I..." he trailed of biting his lip and cursing his wagging tongue.
"Ah," said Susan grinning. "Huh," she let out infuriatingly. "So you do love her? I thought so." He remained quiet. "Anyway, the fact that you admit to freely sacrifice your life to save mine or Beckett's tells me that you are still the same Harry Potter I knew and followed back in fifth year, no matter what you're called now."
"I've admitted to nothing," he complained letting his playful nature come forward.
She couldn't resist the smile. "I have to admit, it's nice to see you joke and smile more, you were way too serious during school."
He huffed out a laugh not taking offence. "Yeah well, having a psychopathic super wizard trying to kill you for most of the time tends to have that effect on people."
She let out a soft laugh that lit up her face. He wasn't made of stone, he could freely admit that she looked beautiful and if he was a little less unavailable and she a little less married with kid, then maybe he would try something but as it was, he decided to treat this like a drink with an old friend.
"So tell me," he said resting his elbows on his knees, the half empty glass of scotch dangling from his hand. "How does, Susan Bones; niece of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement end up as a Profiler for the FBI."
The smile she gave this time was anything but indulgent. "After Auntie Amelia died I didn't really want to have much to do with the Wizarding World. I was already discriminated against for being a half blood, and being a proud Puff never gained me any points. Auntie was always advocating the rights for all magical people and look where it got her? Dead and buried like the rest of my family." She wiped a tear from her eye and knocked back another round, she looked at the glass in her hand then at him. "You got anything stronger than this?"
"Muggle or Magical?" he asked glibly knowing that the can of worms being spilled on his carpeted floor right now required something stronger. She just shrugged so her got up and ran his ring over the wall beside his liquor cabinet, it melted back to reveal an array of shelves filled with various vials and bottles.
"I never knew you to be such a potion brewer Harry," Susan remarked with a smirk as she stood up to get a closer look.
"I'm not," he replied. "the Weasleys offer mail order through Muggle means allowing me to anonymously acquire all manner of magical knick knacks."
Susan perused the shelves and snorted. "Potter, these knick knacks could lay waste to half of the State's if put in the wrong hands," she picked up a vial labeled 'Hiroshima! In A Vial'. "Really?"
"Okay, maybe for some of them, I make personal visits," He replied pulling out a tall bottle filled with dark liquid. "But you're not here to peruse my arsenal of Inferi repelling gear."
"Inferi? Is that what all this is for?"
He cast her a serious look. "The Zombie Apocalypse is coming Agent Shaw. Mark my words."
Susan pursed her lips. "You know I don't know whether to take you seriously or shake my head at you."
"Ah," He said nodding. "I call it the Beckett conundrum, I make it my mission to make her ask herself that same question every day." He closed up the hidden room and escorted her back to her chair.
She smiled at the mention of the headstrong Detective. "Tell me Harry, is there anything regarding your life that doesn't involve Kate Beckett?" At his arrested look she laughed. "I thought not." She remarked, accepting a glass of Ogdens Old Firewhiskey. "Relax Potter, being in love is not a bad thing, and you could do a lot worse than Kate Beckett, I can tell you that right now." she knocked back the glass of magical brew feeling the intense burn of that first shot bringing back both good memories of post Quidditch celebrations with contraband items smuggled through the Hogs Head to sombre shots being drunk in honor of fellow wizards lost during the Wizarding War.
He knocked back a shot of the burning elixir as well, admiring the complete aplomb with which Susan handled the drink, he had a hard time not sputtering when downing a shot of that thing.
"So, you were telling me how you came to work for the Feds."
"Look at you, using the local lingo," she snaked. "You know one of the things that threw me about you completely was the lack of any accent, I had to take classes to temper down my Irish but I can't help but think that you use some kind of spell or something to hide that London rasp that you had going on back in school."
He smiled at her. "Okay, I'll answer that but this is the last time I'm allowing you to change the subject," He nodded as Susan blushed at being caught out. "I drank a potion to permanently change my vocal chords the match a Hollywood Actors. Pretty nice, huh?"
"Which Actor? And I would assume that would be a very complex potion to make," she asked interestingly.
He frowned but allowed the further deflection. "Nathan Fillion, I don't know if you know -"
"Bloody hell!" She yelped. "That's where I heard your voice, you sound like Malcom Reynolds without the Western accent! Holy sh-" Her voice abruptly cut off as he put a silencing charm on her.
"Please don't shout," He whispered. "My mother and daughter are asleep upstairs."
Sorry, she mouthed and he waved a hand to release her voice. "But really Malcom Reynolds?!" She said in a loud whisper.
He grinned. "No, Nathan Fillion who played Captain Malcom Reynolds and now enough with the deflections, I want to know how you became an FBI Agent and leave nothing out. I want the whole story."
Susan rolled her eyes. "Of course you do, you're a writer."
"After you defeated old Snake Face I really had no body left for me in the magical world and while you had eradicated the result of all the prejudice and discrimination of that world the fact was that people like Malfoy and Fudge were still going to get away without so much as a slap on the wrist. I felt alone and lonely, and Hannah helped but even she was having doubts. So I left the Wizarding World and Britain. My mums sister lived in the states, she was muggle, my mom being muggleborn, she took me in and surprisingly muggle studies helped me adjust to my new life. I still keep in contact with Hannah but no one else."
"So you don't practice magic?" he asked gently.
Susan shook her head ruefully. "I locked my wand away, haven't touched it in ten years. And since I met Alex and had Jamie, I had no reason to."
"And your daughter? She's...?" he trailed off questioningly.
At this Susan sighed heavily. "She's half blood but definitely a witch. We've been having bouts of accidental magic on and off for the last few years."
"But you haven't told her? Or your husband?"
She shook her head. "She's seven. I will have to when she gets her letter. I'm not looking forward to that day. But I will not be sending her to Hogwarts you can count on that."
He nodded understanding the sentiment perfectly. "Maybe you can home school her in Magic and keep her normal Muggle studies going so she doesn't lose her friends?"
Susan snorted out an unamused laugh. "And where am I going to find a magical tutor in the States?'
He grinned a secret grin. "I know a very capable transfiguration teacher, and I'd like to think I know a few things about teaching Defense. Between the two of us we can cover the rest. Well the important ones at least; God knows we don't need to teach the kid Divination."
She respond to him with a grin of her own. "How the hell did we get from you being Richard Freaking Castle to teaching my kid magic?" she shook her head smiling and downed another glass of Ogdens. "Any way I appreciate the offer and assuming my husband doesn't divorce me for keeping this big a secret, I'll think about it."
He nodded agreeably. "But Susan, take it from someone who found out about magic the day he got his letter? I think you should tell your family about Susan Bones sooner rather than later. I can see that you love them very much and the longer this goes on the deeper it will hurt."
Susan sighed heavily again. "And here I was planning to ream the Boy Who Lived about leaving the Wizarding World. Who knew he gave such great advice."
He answered her smirk with a smile and took a sip of his firewhiskey. "My reasons for leaving are the same as yours, it got to be too much. I didn't stop practicing though and it's come in handy now and then." He topped their glasses up for a final drink, clinking his with hers in a toast. "The offer for the tutoring is open anytime. It was good to see you again Susan."
Susan raised her own glass. "It was nice to meet you again Harry." And with a last drink they parted ways.
End Notes:
Jordan Shaw is Susan Bones! I like that Bones is so vague a character in the books that I can take liberties with her history. I hope I did her justice and it seems plausible. I wanted to incorporate Boom! In this but the chapter was getting a tad too long. So next chapter I will have a conclusion to that episode Harry Potter style.
Hope you liked my twist. As usual leave reviews telling me if you did or didn't and I'll see you guys with the next one. Sayonara!