The Leader

Chapter 55

Shacklebolt and Tonks watched the stranger approaching them, a tray laughably called food on it. The stranger, a man, they deduced by the stubble on his face and the very obvious Adams Apple on his throat. Evidently, a wizard judging by the robes, and wand holster, everything looked as if it had seen better days. He bent over, tapped the cell before sliding the tray inside, all without saying a single thing. The food was bread, cheese and ham, and quite honestly…it didn't look all that appetizing, but they had been kidnapped, so they couldn't be blamed for thinking there was something wrong with the food.

"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Shacklebolt demanded, his deep voice resonating with power and authority much like his stance. None of his worries and fears were currently showing, as an Auror it would have been such a shameful thing to allow to occur. They were always taught to be calm in the face of pressure.

The stranger just stared at them, eyes revealing nothing but his face was set in disinterest, as though he was bored.

"Do you know who we are?" Shacklebolt spoke again, none of his agitations at the stranger's insouciance showing in any way. "We are Auror's, we work for the Ministry of Magic, and you will feel the full force of the Ministry if you do not let us go."

"We've already missed at least two shifts, unaccounted for, they'll already know we're missing," Tonks said calmly from where she sat, not quite up to risking getting up quite yet.

"They already do," the stranger agreed, utterly unruffled by the prospect of being wanted by the Ministry of Magic and the Auror division.

"What do you want?" Tonks asked, stomach twisting at the wizards ease, he was either not right in the head, overconfident or honestly felt secure in his ability to evade the Ministry even after kidnapping two of their best on the force. "Why have you taken us? What do you plan on doing with us?" she asked the questions slowly, despite the fact she was beginning to feel a serious panic coming on.

The stranger merely stared at them with pity.

Shacklebolt and Tonks glanced at each other, worry shining through their eyes, this definitely was not good. Not good at all.

"Eat the food," the stranger commented before leaving the lower level, the sound of footsteps was the only indication that Tonks and Shacklebolt had that there was a higher level.

"Kings…" Tonks whispered, her fear finally seeping into her voice.

"I know," Shacklebolt answered, stretching out, his bones creaking as he moved, before trying to non-verbally and Wandlessly open the door to their cell, it didn't surprise him that the lock glowed for a second before the spell was closed down. Whoever had them was a professional, or professionals, they weren't going to leave Auror's in a cell that they could get out of. All Aurors were capable of non-verbal magic, some were able to do it without a wand.

Neither of them so much as glanced at the food on the floor, they weren't anywhere near desperate - or stupid - enough to eat it. Even if their stomachs were grumbling loudly in complaint.

Sighing softly, Shacklebolt sat back down next to Tonks a pained look on his face. There wasn't going to be a way out of this, and obviously whoever had taken them wasn't Death Eaters, and obviously weren't after information…unless they were being played. His minds' eye remembered the look on the wizards face, and he knew, deep down, that they weren't being played. Not in the sense that they wanted something from them, no, he had the sinking feeling that their deaths were imminent.

"Do you think they'll find us in time?" Tonks asked grimly, obviously on the same wavelength as Shacklebolt, she did not think they were going to get out of there alive without aid. Whether that aid would come in time or not, well, it remained to be seen.

"No," Shacklebolt was through trying to remain strong or worse…trying to lie - it was useless anyway, Tonks could see through him. "I don't think it's Potter either." no, Potter didn't strike him as a coward, if he had them…then he would have most definitely been there himself, he wouldn't have sent someone else down. Then there were the clothes, the wizard was dressed so shabbily, the clothes both Severus and Harry had worn, they'd been extremely well made, expensive, probably from Gladrags or tailored from one of the best out there, like seamstress Lopez, who tailored for all the wealth and elite purebloods.

"Yeah," Tonks murmured quietly, hair turning black as she stared at the food on the floor, somehow she didn't think it was him either. He could have easily caught both of them off guard and dealt with them in the Leaky Cauldron. He had held his own against Voldemort, who could easily duel five or six Aurors single-handedly, no doubt Harry could do just as well, maybe even better. "Have you tried Apparating?"

"What? No, I won't risk leaving you behind!" Shacklebolt argued, he could Apparate without his wand, heck, he could without it on his person too. "We have no idea where we are." and sidelong Apparating someone without a wand just wasn't done unless they wanted to re-appear with certain appendages ripped off. He wouldn't be able to come back to get her if he did that.

"So what? You should get yourself out of here while you can!" Tonks argued.

"No," Shacklebolt reiterated, refusing to leave his partner behind to face certain death.

Tonks let out a frustrated huff, "Then we both die," she stated sharply.

"So be it," Shacklebolt replied, his tone quiet but firm. He would not be budged on this matter, he didn't care what she said while arguing about it. "You know as well as I do this place is secured, all I would get is a sore head," there was no way he would be able to Apparate out of here, these guys or guy had thought of everything.

Tonks shrunk in on herself, she couldn't deny it had crossed her mind as well, but if there was even the slightest chance of Kingsley getting out of here she wanted him to take it.

All they could do was pray that the Aurors would get to them in time.

As time slowly trickled by, and the day began to darken, they began to lose all semblance of hope…hope they truly hadn't had in the first place. How often did the Auror's manage to find their own in time? Half the time their bodies were never found, or if they were, they wished they hadn't found them. As they were forced to confront what exactly had happened to them while they were gone and the pain they had endured.

Was that what awaited in store for them?

Jack and the others who had gone with him trudged into the warehouse, the Alpha made his way directly to where Harry sat, pouring over maps. They had been searching for Tonks and Shacklebolt now for three days, with no sign of them to be had. Jack immediately drew a line over where they had checked that day. "Reg swears he caught a faint hint of their scents in this direction, it was in the air, and it was coming from the north, I didn't catch wind of it, I was in the abandoned building." pointing to where he had been at the moment in time that Reg had thought he smelt it.

"I really did, I'm not making it up," Reg said sincerely, worried that he wouldn't be taken seriously. This was the first time he'd been able to actually go out on a mission with the others. Sure he'd hunted for their meals with his Alpha but that was it, he was young but he wasn't stupid.

"I don't think you did," Harry said staring at Reg seriously, the boy's age was showing through, but Harry had never forgotten in the first place. "You did a good job, well done." praising the young werewolf, who positively beamed at him as if he hung the moon and the stars.

"We can head out again in a few hours," Rachel suggested, while Linus (Greyback's beta) nodded in agreement.

"No, we stick to the rotations, you need sleep," Harry informed her, "We can't risk any mistakes, especially with the Ministry searching as well."

"Did you encounter them today?" Severus asked, looking at the maps curiously.

"No, Wyatt says they've begun searching to the east," Jack tapped the map. "Near the train station,"

"What's in this direction?" Harry asked, looking at Josh, the only vampire to have gone out with the werewolves today, he knew every single side street better than anyone else. He'd lived everywhere in the England and Scotland, although London had always been his favorite spots, lots of people to chose from.

"Not much, just sewages, cabins and maybe a few warehouses, a couple were converted into nightclubs a few years ago," Josh didn't even need to look at the map to know.

"What if they've been taken to populated areas?" Linus pondered, "I mean wizards aren't known for their stealth abilities."

"That's putting it bluntly," Michael snorted, agreeing with his pack brother.

"Do not underestimate the wiles of wizards," Harry stated sharply, "It's one thing to dislike them, but it's stupidity to disparage their smarts, we were all wizards at one point, remember that." it was obvious Linus and Michael had swallowed everything Greyback told them and believed it themselves now. Harry would have his work cut out in order to make these betas see that their thoughts would only be their downfall.

Michael and Linus bared their neck subtly in Harry's direction, acknowledging that he ranked higher than them. They said nothing about whether they agreed with him or not but Harry wasn't expecting miracles.

"All of you get something to eat and go take a nap, get some rest," Harry ordered them, they looked dead on their feet. "Jack stay for a moment."

The rest of them sighed in relief, nodding curtly to their leader before exiting the room, quite eager to have something to eat and get some sleep. Reg was last to go, glancing at Jack as if he couldn't bear to be out of his line of sight for even a moment. Jack just nodded to him, to let him know he would be with him again soon.

"How were they today?" Harry asked, the maps forgotten as he stared at the Alpha.

"Better actually," Jack acknowledged, "They listened to what we had to say and were less cut off and trying to do their own thing."

"They're learning," Harry nodded his approval.

"Definitely," Jack agreed, "It always takes newcomers some time to get used to the way we work."

"You're happy to work with them again then?" Harry questioned, reclaiming his seat.

Jack sat down as well, even though he knew he would just be getting up and leaving in a few minutes. "Most definitely, they're good men, I've put up with worse at any rate," Jack admitted sounding amused.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it," Harry said, relaxing marginally, he liked it very much when things ran smoothly.

"Still, the fact we've had no luck and have nearly searched the entire country isn't a good sign," Jack pointed out grimly. "They won't be the first to have faded of the face of the earth."

"I know," Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, "I do hope to find them alive, but I also want who took them, I want to know the reason."

"Because you suspect Dumbledore," Jack nodded, he knew Harry was hoping for someone who knew all of Dumbledore's secrets so that he could present the Ministry with definitive proof of his wrongdoings, not just evidence shown on a piece of paper. Hearing all he had done would be such a bigger knock to the Ministry, and less likely to fight the changes that Harry wished to implement, it was quite ingenious. "What if it isn't him?"

"Then we take out another one of Voldemort's base of operations," Harry shrugged, sure he must admit he'd be disappointed if this wasn't one of Dumbledore's schemes, but not too badly disappointed. If it turned out to have nothing to do with either…then he'd be pissed at having wasted his resources. He didn't believe it to be the case, it was too much of a coincidence that Tonks and Shacklebolt had been in the file room, being watched then snatched.

Severus watched the interactions between the two, he hadn't seen Harry so forthcoming with anyone, hell even he had sort of had to fight tooth and nail to get any information out of him in the beginning. That was even with all the precautions that were in place that prevented anyone from revealing information Harry had given them. Then again the majority of it was Jack's quite accurate assessments of Harry's character. They were both leaders in their own rights, just Harry was the main leader while Jack was the Alpha and led the werewolves, but everyone knew Harry had the last say, even Jack. He pondered how the Alpha dealt with that, as far as he understood it, Alphas didn't like answering to anyone.

"Get some rest, you look exhausted," Harry demanded of the Alpha. He was aware they had probably been running the majority of the day, just like the others had been when it came to their turns, even he had gone out each turn, but they couldn't keep this up indefinitely, he couldn't risk suspicion arousing not when he was so close to his goals. Yes, he had those in the Ministry who would help if required, but he'd rather not have the Aurors even remotely questioning the presence of werewolves and vampires working together. It wasn't a giant leap that someone was behind it, although with Voldemort out there, he was who would get the blame.

The alpha stifled a yawn, nodding in agreement, "Hopefully you'll have some luck with the scent trail," he murmured, stretching out as he stood. He gave a nod to Severus as well before silently leaving the room, the momentarily sound of dozens of werewolves eating met their ears before the door closed leaving both Severus and Harry in silence.

"How much longer are you going to keep searching for them?" Severus questioned, it was more out of curiosity than any real concern that they were in any danger. He had seen how they worked, swift and quick, the Aurors wouldn't know what hit them if they did stumble upon a group of their own.

"That is the question, isn't it?" Harry stated, staring straight ahead, "Not much longer," his face didn't shift from his pensive expression, he had warned the idiots to be careful and obviously, they hadn't been. He wasn't responsible for them, for Merlin sake they had been watched by two parties, his own and an unknown one, and they hadn't been any the wiser and that was the Auror's, Aurors.

Severus couldn't say he was surprised that there was no concern for Tonks and Shacklebolt on his face. Harry only cared about his people, and he cared very deeply about them. He would risk his own life to save them, and if anyone, anyone was stupid enough to try and harm them…they would receive the full extent of Harry's wrath - which in itself was significant and terrifying - and Severus certainly wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of it thank you very much, he'd seen it up close and personal, when his and Rick's life had been on the line.

"I'd like to come with you," Severus told him, the last time he had been busying brewing potions and hadn't even been aware that Harry and a group had gone until he'd asked Rick where he was some thirteen hours later after going down. What could he say? He absolutely loved the potions lab, it was as if Harry had gotten into his mind and made it exactly how he wished it. He could get lost in time just brewing and he had done just that. It helped that he couldn't get remotely tired or end up with aches and pains, which had happened before he turned. He might have only been thirty, but he had suffered many bouts of the Cruciatus Curse, which didn't help.

"It's a good time to get some experience using your nose to divide scents and figure out what's coming from where," Harry nodded, as always thinking of more than just one way to make this experience worthwhile. He had neglected that part of his vampire education, but most figured it out themselves, so it hadn't been a concern, it's instinctive even after a while, even to werewolves once they got over the overwhelming abilities. Some were able to smell at greater lengths than others, Reg it seemed may just be one of them.

Which was a good thing, hopefully, since he planned on following where Reg had told Jack where the scent came from.

"It's a wonder a new werewolf was able to scent out what an Alpha could not," Severus confessed, his brow wrinkling as he thought deeply about it.

"He's not exactly a new wolf, but new werewolves can smell things more strongly when they're first turned," Harry educated, "Just like all humans, werewolves or vampires senses are different, some have greater senses of smell, while others are brilliant at tracking people physically, Reg it seems may just have a very good sniffer, on par or better than May." he wasn't surprised by Severus' questions, while the magical world knew they were good at things, no sane vampire or werewolf revealed the extent of their abilities, and then there was the fact they didn't care about them enough to actually learn about them accurately. The books they had on werewolves and other magical creatures were cannon fodder material. No doubt Severus realized this after his turning and had figured out most of the real information on his own. That's not to say there weren't decent books out there with the truth in them, but they were few and far between, and already owned by vampires or werewolves.

"Indeed," Severus replied, it was still odd to him, with his so-called 'human information on werewolves' to realize a young werewolf (new or not) could smell better than an Alpha werewolf, who in every book he'd read said their senses were much greater than any other werewolf, be it a lone wolf or a beta. Regardless it was quite liberating to learn new things, especially since he wasn't one for believing 100% everything he read in books. Which prevented him from outright processing new information that refuted what the books said, pretty much how he suspected Granger would react to information that contradicted books.

Harry grumbled so quietly that nobody, not even Severus who was right next to him could actually make out a word he was saying. Straightening up, donning his leader stance, "Let's get this over with." he said, he could honestly think of a dozen other things he'd rather be doing, but his cause came before all else, even his own wants and trivial desires.

"You've done this three times, perhaps you should get someone else to take over from you tomorrow, albeit if you don't stand down before then," Severus suggested, and when he wasn't searching he was here, ensuring everything was running smoothly, he hadn't been back to home (Potter Manor) since he'd heard the news that they had been kidnapped.

"One more day," Harry decided, and it truly was the end of it, when a decision was made he saw it through.

Severus said nothing, Harry's word was law after all, and only one exception had been made, and that was for him, thankfully enough.

"Have you heard from your godson?" Harry asked as he began to exit his office, unsurprised to see his group ready and waiting for him.

Severus pursed his lips, "No, nothing," he admitted, and it was worrying him.

"Our search will begin in Islington," Harry's commanding presence caused absolute silence. "Reg caught their scent faintly in the air from the north from their position just before they returned." explaining why they were going to Islington instead of Havering which was North/East and where they had originally set up to go.

That certainly caught their attention, and the excitement grew, the thought of locating their quarry and accomplishing something to show for their three days work was exhilarating, to say the least.

"I will Apparate us all together, you all know what to do," he ordered them, they'd spread out all still within hearing distance of each other, and if anyone caught wind of their scent they'd let Harry and everyone else know.

And with that, the group of eight disappeared under the guidance of Harry's strong capable magic.

Once they were in Islington, just a mile away from where Jack and the group ceased their own search, they fanned out and thus began their long arduous task.

It was three hours before Severus called 'Got it' when he caught a whiff of Shacklebolt's scent, "He was shoved down here, his scent is the strongest," gesturing to the stamped down grass.

"Tonks was similarly dumped here," Ashley, who had improved so drastically since she had been taken in by Harry after Callahan was dealt with, pointed to where Tonks scent was quite strong even after three days.

"I could kiss you right now," Jessie insisted in a cooing voice, her mate wouldn't be too impressed with her if she did, not that she'd meant it as handsome as he was…she valued her life…her leader would eviscerate her if she actually thought about it let alone acting on it.

Thankfully vampire couldn't show how flustered they got since Severus would have been bright red in the cheeks, he was used to many things but having suggestive comments made to him, even jokingly wasn't one of them.

Harry smirked as he watched the byplay between them.

"There are two maybe three others with them, it's difficult to determine if one of those scents could have been just hours afterward…" Severus admitted, after inhaling sharply, continuing on as if nothing had been said.

"So two maybe three potential kidnappers to deal with, they smell human," Harry nodded from where he knelt in the grass.

"But there's nothing here," Ashley pointed out, glancing around her as if she felt as though she'd missed something.

"They definitely didn't Apparate away, their scent remains," Harry deuced after a moment. "We may need Bill or Dale, especially if their scents stop near absolutely nothing," they were exceptional at ward breaking. If scents stopped beside nothing it may indicate strong wards surrounding properties, like they had done with the warehouse. Or rather like he had done at the warehouse to give everyone the ultimate best protection he could offer.

"Will I go get them?" Ashley asked, eager to help and impress.

"Not yet," Harry said, giving her an approving nod for asking, it showed she was taking the initiative which he liked in his people. While yes, the decision was ultimately down to him, he wanted others to offer their own suggestion and question things they don't understand, albeit respectfully.

"We best get going, we have no way of knowing if they're being moved or not." Severus urged them as he stood up, not noticing that the others immediately glanced at Harry who nodded and they stood as one, answering to Severus as another leader.

Rick would have just smirked and shaken his head at how blind Severus was had he been there.

Fortunately for Severus, he wasn't, fewer things to mock him with in the future.

And there would be definite mocking going on.

"Well these people sure are cautious," Jessie grumbled, half an hours trek later, miles after they had found their initial scent. They were going slower than they could though, to make sure they didn't mess up.

"I don't think they've moved from where they are," Severus mused thoughtfully, "There are no fresh trails of their scents, they didn't come and go, unless they've gone a different route, but even then, there's nothing in the air."

"Professionals make sure they have everything they need before acting, they don't make mistakes," Harry narrowed his eyes, "Hmm, we may be dealing with a contract hit wizard,"

"A hit wizard would erase all sense of their presence," Howard spoke for the first time, pointing out an obvious flaw in their Leaders thoughts.

"Yes, if they knew they were dealing with vampires and werewolves," Harry agreed, "There is no sign of actual magic, they've taken the time to erase their magical signature, or masked it completely."

"Oh," Howard murmured, he hadn't realized but he couldn't read magic like Bill, Harry or Dale. "We best stick together, whoever it is, if they're a professional they will have tripping wards placed strategically all over the place, on stones, boulders, sticks and even in straight lines. Both in obvious places and ones that are likely to be overlooked."

"Agreed," Harry nodded firmly, and like that everyone began to have more care where they stepped, as they headed closer to Harry.

It was half an hour later, and a much slower pace that they picked up a fresh breeze hosting Tonks and Shacklebolt and three others in the air. They had already dealt with seven tripping wards, and as Howard said, they were strategically placed, if not for their sense of smell they would have definitely tripped over them. Harry merely froze the charms with magic, giving them more than ample time to move without worrying about them.

"We're getting close," Harry said, with it being professionals, Harry doubted they knew anything, especially about who hired them. Nobody in their right mind trusted someone like a contract hit wizard, especially not someone like Dumbledore. It would be at the height of idiocy for him to do so, and Dumbledore was no idiot.

"Do you want them alive?" Severus questioned, tightening his grip on his wand.

"If possible to do so, yes, but if they are a danger to you or anyone in the group, kill them, no hesitation," Harry stated, it wasn't worth the reward by risking his people, especially if they didn't know anything. Even if they did know anything he still wouldn't risk his people. He hadn't come this far to let revenge become more important than the people who swore to follow him.

There we go! I have a quick question for you all, would you prefer longer chapters and an update every second night or shorter chapters and an update every night? It won't be constantly that way, just depends on the story on whether the muse is strong etc.. I feel like I'm cheating with the short chapters but it's all I can get done with the time I've got free each night you see. Anyway enough about that! will both Tonks and Shacklebolt survive? if only the one can who would you prefer? R&R, please!