"No Place to Hide"
Chapter three- the wage of sin
Alastor Moody couldn't read fast enough to keep up with the news. He quickly sent a Patronus to Auror Shacklebolt begging for help. Even asking for help put him farther behind as he grabbed the next message.
"What do we know?"
Alastor looked up and blinked as it registered who was talking to him. "And a good morning to you, Rufus," Alastor said.
Alastor smiled at Auror Rufus Scrimgeour before he went back to reading the sea of parchment that was flooding the operations desk.
"Have.. Have you been drinking, Alastor?"
Alastor looked up again. "It is called a smile, or the best imitation that I can make. I'm allowed to attempt to smile a few times a year. Bones and I have an understanding that I won't try it more often than that."
Rufus Scrimgeour wiped his face. "Moody, stop the crap and talk to me. I have to brief Bones any minute." Scrimgeour glanced at Amelia Bones' door as if a monster would come through it.
"I heard that Minister Crouch has been murdered. What do we know?"
"Oh, has he?" Alastor said.
Alastor Moody would take his suspicions to the grave but there was no harm in telling Rufus what he knew. "I have confirmed reports that manor homes of four pureblood families were damaged or destroyed. We have a suspicious accident at a rooming house on the East End. Robards is sending out a team for that one.
"I've called for help. I want all the Aurors who've had at least six hours off duty to come back to the office. I asked Shack to give me a hand reading the reports, but I need more help.
"What do you know about Crouch?" Moody asked.
"Just a rumor that he was at home and his home was flattened."
"We need more than rumors. Start reading and post the highlights on the board," Moody said. At a time like this, he'd take all the help he could get.
Moody started labeling folders and filing the reports to avoid duplication. There were confirmed reports of incidents at the homes of Crouch, McNair, Mulciber, and Malfoy, though the first reports from the Malfoy estate were contradictory. He posted those names on the situation board in the Aurors' den.
Scrimgeour came back from writing on the board. "Something hit Crouch's home. It looks like an aircraft landed on it. Another report says it was hit by a dump lorry full of rocks."
"That doesn't make sense," Alastor said. Rufus simply shrugged since first reports were almost always incomplete.
Alastor didn't know that Kingsley Shacklebolt had joined them until Shack put another folder on his desk. "The Lestrange lodge is burning and has collapsed. It looks like someone picked it up, vanished half of it, dropped it back into the basement and stepped on it."
Well that's thorough, Alastor thought. "Add it to the board," he shouted at Kingsley's retreating back. Kingsley was already headed to the front of the room.
Another Auror came in with an unfolded message, a report from another department that had arrived as a paper airplane. There had been four fires burning on the Malfoy estate. The latest report said that there were two blazes visible. That meant that either two of the fires had gone out or that the individual fires had merged into a larger blaze. Two Aurors were on site and two more were on their way. The Aurors on site were able to guide the local fire brigade through what was left of the wards so that the muggles could contain the fire. It would be a while before they could put down the flames.
It was always a little dry in July. Thank goodness the winds were down. If the local fire brigade could handle it, then they wouldn't need to use magic to put out the fires. There was no sign of the residents or guests at the Malfoy estate, but they might have fled the scene before the Aurors arrived.
The ministry would need a full team of Aurors and Obliviators at the estates once the ashes cooled and the muggles started shifting the rubble looking for bodies. Who knows what dark objects the muggles might uncover as they…
"Rufus, I'd like you in my office now."
Everyone looked up to see Amelia Bones. Rufus started to grab some folders but the head of the DMLE waved that away. It would be a verbal report only.
Alastor tapped one of the parchments against his forehead as he thought of something he had to do. He re-filed the report that was in his hand and headed down the hall to his office. He cast security and privacy charms after he locked the door.
"Lolly?" he asked. Moody waited a few seconds before his house elf appeared. Her arrival was almost silent.
"If.. if there are some elves who need a home.. they'd have to fit into our family of course.." Alastor pointed between himself and the elf. "..then I think we have room. Don't you? You know I don't want to take any work away from you."
He watched the elf repeat what he'd said as if she couldn't believe her ears. Her motions were slow for an elf, but nearly a blur for human eyes. Alastor found himself with an elf tightly hugging his real leg. She seemed to approve of his suggestion.
Alastor waited until Lolly was done with him. She nodded and then signaled her departure with a "pop" as she left in a hurry. Alastor cleared his throat and went back to work. He mumbled on the way back to the Aurors' den. "I have no idea what I've started."
Shacklebolt waved him over when he reentered the den. "The Aurors at the Lestrange estate had to Obliviate two of the firefighters. They saw the burned body of a basilisk and wanted to call in the muggle authorities. I've got the paperwork started."
The world was strange. He could uncover twenty burnt bodies of wizards and witches, all at a home with nary a car in sight, and no one would question it, but uncover one giant snake and everyone lost their minds.
Alastor wasn't a the Lestrange estate so he didn't know what had happened. Normally an Auror would call in the department of magical secrecy and security before a muggle would have their memory altered. Sometimes there wasn't time for that and you had to take a decision on the spot. Waiting for the bureaucrats sometimes caused more problems than it solved. There would have to be a review to make sure the Aurors in the field had not abused their authority and then altered someone's memory to hide their bad behavior.
There was a fine line between protecting the statute of secrecy and tempering with a witness. The body of the giant snake should be proof enough that they did the right thing.
Alastor continued to accumulate the reports. He also checked the board to see which teams were on scene and who was enroute.
Kingsley Shacklebolt had sent out a few more teams but had also kept a larger group in reserve. Amelia's briefing would end in a minute and she might have some people and places she wanted covered in a hurry. It wouldn't do to show her an empty staff room.
Moody would let Bones and Scrimgeour decide when and if to post teams dressed in dragon armor. Aurors in battle dress could either reassure or frighten the public. That wasn't his call to make, at least not yet.
Alastor had a moment to think. On the surface of it, someone had brought the battle to the Death Eaters late last night. That was a nice change, though Alastor Moody had no expectation that all the wizards with a dark mark were gone. He knew that when the dust settled and the ashes cooled, they would find the remains of both the evil and the good.
He'd learned decades ago that justice was never perfect. Justice that arrived in the dark of night might be a little better or a little worse than what he saw on the street every day and in the Wizengamot a few times a year.
He did feel a little put out that whoever had created this raid on the death Eaters, he had been kept out of their plans. That reaction lasted a few seconds as gratitude replaced envy. He couldn't compromise a secret that he never knew in the first place. It might have taken months or even years to put all this together, but someone had done a fair job last night.
The best news was that all the reports might not be in yet.
If Minister Crouch was really gone, then they were sure to hear from his rivals within the hour. No one had seen Cornelius Fudge recently, and Dolores Umbridge was still conspicuous by her absence.
The day was far from over.
HPHPHP
Author's note- I've left Nott, Goyle, Avery, Umbridge and Dolohov unaccounted for. The ashes are still warm so we have hope and options.
What do you think would happen to Severus Snape if someone got rid of horcruxes and dropped a mountain on Tom Riddle?
Your comments are appreciated.