Chapter 5

Misery Loves Company

"What a farce, the whole damn thing", Abraxas said in an angry whisper. "All that work and Potter screws us at the last minute. Months spent tracking her down and for what? Nothing."

"Well, we did catch her and now she's going to rot in Azkaban, that's certainly something", John replied. They were sitting at a small table in the far corner of a dimly lit bar. There were windows all around the outside but all had their curtains drawn shut. Were it any other bar, it would have been surprisingly full for noon on a weekday, but the Leaky Cauldron was always busy. As the entrance to Diagon Alley and a pretty tasty spot for lunch, the Leaky Cauldron never lacked witches and wizards to serve…and sometimes other creatures as well. Today the majority of the Leaky Cauldron's clientele were sitting at the bar, with several more couples scattered about the dining area. No one else was seated within twenty feet of John and Abraxas.

Abraxas slammed a fist onto the table. "Don't give me that 'mission accomplished' crap. You can't sit there and tell me you're not angry about this? That case will get filed with one name listed as the convicting auror: Potter's. We did all the work, risked our lives, and spent a month SLEEPING IN A CAVE!" A few couples looked their way and Abraxas dropped his voice back to a whisper. "All while Potter just sat behind a desk and sent a few owls. The people who did the actual work on this case will know what we did but, to everyone else, it'll just be another footnote in Potter's biography."

John sipped his beer but said nothing. "You gotta give me something here, John! This was a career defining case and we're going to get the same amount of credit as the interns that fetch ink and parchment for the office!" Abraxas grabbed his own mug, which was considerably larger than John's, and drained it in one long pull.

"I am angry, alright", John said as he leaned forward. "I agree with everything you just said, but…" John ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "What do we do? What can we do? He's the Head of the Auror's Office – and a hell of a lot of other things too, I swear they give him a new title every week."

"We tell someone - anyone - that can look into this."

"And who might that be? In case you forgot, they reorganized the Department of Magical Law Enforcement after Potter took over as Head Auror. The Head of Magical Law Enforcement now reports to him, so any complaint in the Law Enforcement Division would end up going to Potter. Then there's Internal Affairs. You know, the Department that's run by Potter's brother-in-law? Good luck getting results there. Maybe you're thinking this is so egregious that we could charge him with a crime – well Potter has the second-highest ranking seat in the Wizengamot, so we'd just have to hope that he convicts himself."

John took another small sip from his mug then paused, looked at it, and drank the rest in one shot. He waved his empty mug at the barman and held up two fingers. "As far as I can tell, the only avenue outside of Potter's power structure would be for us to go directly to the Minister – which is also a terrible idea. I mean, have you ever heard of the Minister of Magic getting involved in some workplace spat like this? It's beneath him. We'd either piss him off, get laughed out of his office, or both. And even if he did agree to look into this – who do you think Shacklebolt's going to side with? Two Aurors he could care less about – or his personal friend, ally from the War, and political asset? Potter's his golden goose."

The two sat in silence for a long moment. Tom the barman came over, refilled their mugs (Abraxas' was more of a tankard) and glided back to the bar. "This may sound crazy, but what if we went abroad? Only worked on cross border cases, we'd be dealing mostly with foreign wizards and whoever's on the International Confederation of Wizards."

John smirked. "Who do you think is Britain's representative on the International Confederation of Wizards?"

"Stop it, that can't be Potter too! I thought McGonagall was our representative?"

"She was", John said after a small sip of his fresh beer. "She stepped down last year. Said that at her age, being Headmistress at Hogwarts and being on the Confederation was just too much to do. So, of course, Shacklebolt appointed Boy Wonder as her replacement."

Abraxas shook his head and raised his mug. "Well, let's drink until we think of something."

John saw the door open before he could raise his own mug. "The rest of them are here." Allec Flint led a large group into the Leaky Cauldron, dressed as always in that ridiculous open-buttoned shirt and enough jewelry to make a niffler blush.

"Tom, I hope you're well rested and that your bar is fully stocked, because we may be here all night!" Allec got a running start and leapt up onto the bar and spread his arms wide. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Hogsmeade Huntsman has been convicted of all charges! She is on her way to Azkaban as we speak!" The patrons' confusion turned to claps and cheers. Allec stooped low and pulled a bottle from behind the bar. "Tom, everyone's next drink is on the Ministry!" Cheers erupted again and Allec took a long pull on the bottle and hopped off the bar.

"How is it possible that he can be so disciplined when it comes to combat magic and also be such an overdramatic prat?" John said and Abraxas chuckled into his beer. Allec saw them and made his way over to their corner with a woman just behind him.

"And here they are, the conquering heroes!" Allec said with a pronounced bow. "Mind if we join you?"

John waved his wand and the nearest table and two chairs floated over and connected with their table. "I'm not at all surprised to see you, Allec, you'd sell your own mother for a free drink. In fact, I think this is the first time I've ever arrived before you. But, Melinda, I thought you were on holiday. Didn't expect to see you until next week."

The woman smiled as she sat at the table with a tankard just as big as Abraxas'. She was pretty, with green eyes and dark hair falling just to her shoulders. The hand that gripped her tankard was badly scarred and the tip of her pinky was missing. "I still am on holiday. Got back from America yesterday, but I'm not setting foot in the office until Monday. I mean, it's barely past lunch and I'm about to drink a barrel of beer, that sounds like a holiday to me."

"Well, I do want to hear all about America, but I think that may have to wait until later", Allec said pulling up his own chair. "Right now I want to hear all about the Huntsman case. Or more specifically, her trial. I was 15 minutes late heading down to watch and by the time I got there, everyone was leaving! What the hell happened? She just confessed?"

"Honestly, I have some questions about that too", John said looking at the door. "And fortunately, the man to answer them just walked in. Oi, Doxon!" The others turned as John waved him over. He'd lost the cape he was wearing earlier but still wore the black and grey robes of a lawman. Orion Doxon returned the wave, stopped by the bar for a glass of wine, and then made his way to the table at the back of the room.

"Here he is, the lawyer extraordinaire!" said Allec raising his bottle in a toast. "A lawman so proficient he managed to get his client convicted in record time! I say, Doxon, I want you representing the defense in all my trials going forward."

"Allec, be careful what you wish for. I remember, what was it, 5 months back? The Glamdring trial. You sent me three gift baskets with notes begging me not to take the case on behalf of the defense. As much as I enjoy the gift baskets, they don't compare to the look on your face when you lose." The Aurors all laughed and shuffled their chairs aside to make room for Doxon. He waved his wand but, rather than summoning a chair already in the room, he conjured one from nothing. Instead of a plain, wooden chair like everyone else was sitting in, a huge, ornate chair plopped down in the vacant space at the head of the table. It was more like a throne than a chair, with purple velvet trimmed with gold lining the seat and the arms.

John spoke up as Doxon took his seat. "So, what happened? You took the case just to plead guilty? Why expedite the trial?"

"And why keep us all in the dark if you knew you were just going to plead guilty?" Abraxas added.

Doxon gave a small smirk as he sipped his wine. "To answer the last question first, I am bound by attorney-client privilege. I cannot reveal the details of any correspondence with my client before the trial, under any circumstances. I took an oath in front of the entire Wizengamot and I take that seriously. Hopefully I didn't give you two too much of a scare." Doxon winked and took another sip.

John leaned forward. "So what happened exactly? Why did you reach out to her if she was just going to confess? To be blunt, it seems like a waste of your time."

"You've got it backwards", Doxon said, crossing a leg and leaning back in his throne-like chair. "She contacted me. You all know my process, I listen to every representation request I get. I listen to their story, evaluate the facts, and only take the case if I agree with it morally. This one", he shook his head and put his glass on the table. "Once I had considered all the facts, it was easiest decision of my career. She didn't hide anything, confessed to every horrible thing she did. I had access to the evidence you'd acquired", he said nodding to John and Abraxas, "and it was clear as day that she was both guilty and would be convicted. I wasn't planning on taking the case at first, but then she said she planned to plead guilty as soon as possible. Expediting the trial was her idea."

Doxon quickly glanced over his shoulder then continued. "I'll confess that having my name on a case like this is good for my career. You all know I'd never defend someone in earnest if I thought they were guilty. But she wanted to plead guilty! Another lawman may have tried to convince her to fight it, try to make a name for himself by beating a case with impossible odds. So the way I looked at it, if I took the case it guaranteed this monster of a person would be convicted and I got to attach my name to the biggest trial since the Second War." Doxon leaned forward and picked his wine back up. "Like I said, once I heard her out, it was the easiest decision of my career."

Melinda put her mug down and narrowed her eyes. "See, all that would make me nervous. I mean part of what we do, maybe the hardest part of what we do, is to get inside the heads of these criminals. Understand how they think, what motivates them. If she knew there was no way to avoid Azkaban, why speed it up? A case like hers could've spent weeks, maybe months tied up in court. The Ministry holding cell is a hell of a lot nicer than Azkaban. Plus the press makes some of these nutters into rock stars. I swear, the number of murderers I've put away that still get sent love letters and fan mail", she said shaking her head. "Why not make the most out of your last few weeks outside of Azkaban?"

Doxon looked troubled for once. "Actually, she did explain why she wanted to get the trial over with as soon as possible." He was staring into his wine glass. "She said the strangest thing. Claimed she wasn't safe in the holding cell at the Ministry. Said that 'he' would get her. Kept mumbling 'I'll die in Potter's house'. I'm not sure if she was afraid of Potter himself or if she just thought he'd be unable to keep her safe in his custody. Whichever it was, she was convinced she was going to die if she stayed in the Ministry for a few weeks. Only person I've ever seen that wanted to go to Azkaban."

Everyone was quiet for a few moments, even Allec. Tom came around and refilled their drinks. Once he was halfway through his second glass of wine, Doxon broke the silence. "Oh, I wanted to talk to you two as well. Obviously I saw all of the trial procedure documents. Potter was the only listed witness for the prosecution, other than Kingsley of course. What was going on there? Was he really going to be the only presenting Auror at the trial?"

"He sure was. Yanked the rug out from under us at the last minute." Abraxas took a deep drink from his mug. "So Potter's involvement in this case is similar to yours, Orion. But while you adhered to both your own and the Wizengamot's code of ethics, Potter just decided he wanted the credit for this one. The two of us", Abraxas said gesturing at John with his mug, "stayed up all night with him. Reviewing the facts, preparing for the trial. Then the morning of, he just says 'I'm doing it all, my name on the case file, thanks for all your help'."

"He did not", Melinda said breathlessly.

Allec looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "I've always said that kid has an ego problem. And he's just that: a kid. He defeated Voldemort", Allec said putting a hand over his heart, "and I've admitted that that is the greatest wizarding accomplishment of this generation. But does that qualify him to run this Department? To be our superior? I mean I know you left the Auror life behind, Doxon, but I look around this table and I see five people more deserving of the top spot. John, you and I have been aurors since before that kid was born. I mean, if we were literally chasing down Voldemort every day of the week, then sure, go on kid, tell us how it's done. Otherwise, he's just a name elevated way above his station. Fifteen, twenty years from now? Sure, he might be ready then. But come on, it's an insult to all of us here. He's been in charge for over three years now, he had a fair shake, but the writing is on the wall."

Allec pointed at John and Abraxas. "And now he's forcing his way onto your cases? Taking the credit you two earned." He shook his head and picked up his bottle. "I'd have hexed him the second he told me he was hijacking my trial, especially a huge one like you two had here. I think the kid is addicted to the spotlight. He's had it all his life. It's been 10 years since he took down Voldemort and I think he's desperate to feel that way again. I don't think this was an isolated incident. I think we need a change in command."

Abraxas opened his mouth to speak but John held up a hand, silencing him. "We can talk about that later. We have new arrivals." The whole table turned around to see a tall red-haired man enter accompanied by two women: one a bushy-haired brunette and the other a tall blonde.

"I still can't believe they're having this thing at the Leaky Cauldron", Ron said. "I mean they can go anywhere. The Ministry is paying for this and everyone has the means to travel instantaneously. Money and distance are no object and they choose the bar that everyone has been to a thousand times already."

"I've actually never had a drink here before", Amanda volunteered. "I've been through here dozens of times of course, but I've always just passed through!"

"Well, I hate to dampen your spirits, but the drinks here are the same as the drinks everywhere else." Ron led them toward the bar and broke out into a grin. "Williamson! They let you in here?"

At the greeting, a wizard with crimson robes and long ponytail turned to face them. "Weasley! Come here to beg and plead to rejoin the Aurors?"

"I'll rejoin when you cut your hair."

"Really, ginger, you're making hair jokes?" Williamson shot back. "But I take it you're here for the celebration? I'm in the process of having several drinks delivered to the back there. Our conquering heroes seem unwilling to join the main party, so I'm going to bring the party to them."

"Well who am I to stand here while Britain's finest go thirsty? I'll give you hand – or a wand rather." Tom had filled and placed no less than 20 mugs on the bar. Ron gave a quick wink to Hermione and flourished his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The drinks floated off the table and, Williamson leading the way, the four of them processed to the far corner of the bar.

"Gentleman and my lady", Williamson said with a bow to the table full of aurors. "We received a distressing call of excessive sobriety from this end of the bar. Fate itself has sent us to rectify this travesty."

"Well then why are you talking?" Allec yelled. "Hand out the beer!"

Doxon stood up. "I hate to mix and I've been drinking the elvish wine. I'll just kip to the bar for a refill."

"Actually, Mr. Doxon", Hermione said elbowing Ron aside. "I was really hoping I could talk to you about your latest published paper regarding goblin rights and the implication our laws have on the ethics of wizarding society. I thought it was wonderful and I have some questions I was really hoping you could answer."

"'Mr. Doxon?'", Orion repeated with a smile. "Call me that again and the answer is 'no'. Please, call me Orion. And of course, I'll talk to you about my paper." He looked back and forth between Hermione and Ron. "Walk with me to the bar and I'll answer whatever questions the two of you have."

"Oh not me", Ron said. "I understood absolutely everything you wrote in that paper and, consequently, have no questions for you at all. So, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to stay here with the beer."

Doxon gave a short bark of laughter. "Ha! Well said. Just you then Hermione, if you'd accompany me to the bar?"

Ron grabbed both a seat and a mug. "So tell me, are these two still required to stay at the bar until everyone else leaves, or have you gone soft on the arresting aurors since I've left?"

"Weasley, how are you going to leave the Auror's office and then come in here and act like you know the rules?" Melinda asked. "Also, shouldn't you introduce us to your blonde friend here?"

"Oh, I am so sorry! I'm Amanda, Amanda Boot. I'm Mr. Potter's new assistant! This is only my second day so this is all very new to me. But I am so excited to be working with all of you."

"That's right, I did hear Griselda was retiring", Melinda said. "Well I've been on holiday and won't be back in the office until Monday, but I'm Melinda Wafling. It's a pleasure to meet you, Amanda."

Amanda inhaled sharply. "You're the Melinda Wafling!? You're two whole lessons in N.E.W.T Defense Against the Dark Arts! I…you…you're the reason I wanted to work in the Auror's office. You are the most successful female auror the Ministry has ever had!"

Ron thought the dozen beers on the table might not be enough if Amanda kept rattling on like this. He and Hermione had bumped into her just after the trial. In the hour and a half since, she'd spoken non-stop about how Ron and Hermione were two of the most exceptional people that had ever lived and how she was mortified that their birthdays had not been declared national holidays. Apparently Ron and Hermione were in textbooks these days as well and, to a Ravenclaw like Amanda, being in a textbook was tantamount to being a god. Ron knew that quite a few people in this room were noteworthy for one reason or another, so he cast about for a change of subject.

"Melinda, Amanda's not the only one reveling in your past success, Charlie still asks about you. Says you're a dragon whisperer, wonders if you're keen on moving to Romania."

"And how is dear Charlie?" Melinda asked. "I will say that that case was a huge pain in the ass, but your brother may be the most grateful client I've ever worked with."

"Believe you me, his dragons are his real family. I see the man maybe twice a year and even then all he talks about are the hatchlings and the herd. His own family was secondary to all that."

"Wait wat, what's this?" Abraxas asked. "Melinda, you were involved in some case with Weasley's brother?"

"You haven't heard about this? Oh, Abraxas, it's quite the tale." Melinda leaned forward and put her drink on the table. "Romania, obviously famous for its dragon population. A few years ago they decide to have some type of dragon menagerie event. Wanted to drive tourism, make some money, who knows. Lord knows I wasn't involved in the planning, but these Romanians had 50 full grown dragons ready to display. Not to mention dragon eggs to show off. Poor Charley Weasley was involved almost against his will – hated the whole damn thing but came along to make sure the dragons were safe. Anyway, a group of bandits decides this is the perfect opportunity to steal some dragons."

"Enter us", Ron said. "Melinda here and me, on my first training mission as an Auror. I'm sure you seasoned, esteemed aurors are used to being treated with gratitude and respect upon meeting those citizens that call for your help. Anyone here ever get hit with a noogie when responding to an urgent distress call? No? Just me, alright then." The whole table laughed.

"Yes, yes Charlie treated you as a brother, not an Auror, but he was worried about those dragons. To be fair the whole country was worried about the dragons, but they were all concerned about the potential damage, Charlie was the only one concerned about the well-being of the dragons themselves. And everyone was right to worry. As a distraction, the thieves broke open every single dragon pen. They stole what, Ron? Five? Six?"

"I think it was only a couple full grown dragons but five or six eggs. Easier to train dragons that you raise from birth, you see."

"Sounds right. Anyway, that leaves 45-ish dragons just running loose. Scared, angry and causing mayhem. So yeah, the whole country was right to be worried", Melinda said with a laugh.

"Well what did you do?" Abraxas asked. "Dragons need at least – what? Seven or eight Stunners each to go down. How did the two of you handle it?"

"Well Ron here, was either the bravest man alive or he was trying to get killed. There was a Ukrainian Ironbelly that hadn't quite managed to escape, still had a chain tethering it to the ground. Ron yells 'don't worry, I've ridden one of these before!' He walks over and the thing tries to burn him to a crisp!" Melinda was snorting with laughter. "He's walking over with his hands in the air and its spitting fire like you wouldn't believe."

"I did ride one before!" Ron said indignantly. "Escaping Gringotts! I helped set one free! They should know that I'm a friend, that I helped one of their comrades!"

Allec slammed his bottle on the table cutting him off. "Please, Weasley. You don't need to tell this story to prove you're the bravest man here. I mean, look what you've done just this afternoon."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "I don't follow."

Allec leaned back and let out a loud drunken laugh. "Leaving your wife alone with Doxon, of course. Especially in a place like this. Don't tell me you've forgotten how he gets at these things, our handsome Auror turned lawman? A few drinks, some fancy words, and these ladies are lining up to take a walk to the closest bookshop to see his published works…except on the way there, Doxon will conveniently realize that he has copies of all his works at home and it'd be much easier to go there instead…"

Amanda gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. Ron's face grew hot. "Oh, Flint, you're horrible", Melinda said, putting her own drink down. "You're not the center of attention for once so you need to go and act like this. I swear, you stopped maturing before you even got to Hogwarts."

"That's not it at all!" Allec said sitting up, slightly unsteady. "All I'm saying is: I'm married", he said wiggling his ring finger. "And I'm not brave enough to leave my wife alone with Doxon. Come on, Mel, don't act like you've never, ah, been on the receiving end of Doxon's charms."

Melinda smiled broadly. "Not recently…but yeah, we may have almost visited a bookshop a time or two." She winked at Amanda.

"That's my point!"

"The point is that I wasn't married! Doxon's not out here preying on married women! He wouldn't do that." And suddenly Melinda seemed angry. "That man fought side by side with us for years. And Weasley did too. You're out of line."

Allec raised both his palms in surrender. "You're right. I guess I'm just sensitive to this type of thing. My old lady, she's an academic type. She goes out of her way to read every new paper Doxon gets published. She seems to prefer the smooth, charming type rather than loudmouth jokers like me. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how she ended up with someone like me." He raised his bottle in Ron's direction. "But I'm sorry, Weasley. I'm sure it's not like that with you and Hermione."

Ron's mind was strangely blank, but he raised his own mug and took a drink. No one spoke for a minute. "I need to go check on something", Ron said standing up.

Melinda rolled her eyes so hard she looked as though she might pass out. But she stood up as well and drained her mug. "I'll come with you, Weasley", she said with a sigh. Then her eyes landed on Amanda, who was staring at them with her mouth wide open. "You come with us too, Amanda." Melinda shot a venomous look at Allec and then the three of them left for the bar where Doxon was talking to Hermione.

As soon as Melinda had her back turned, Allec moved to the front of the table such that his back was to the bar and he was facing John and Abraxas. He gave his wand a quick wave and a small, multifaceted mirror appeared on the table in between John and Abraxas. Allec moved his head to peer into it from several angles and then adjusted his chair slightly until he was satisfied that he could see the entire room behind him reflected in the mirror.

He leaned in and spoke in a barely audible whisper. "Alright. Unwelcome ears are gone. Potter. Let's talk about solutions."