Breakthrough [Aurors]

[Max Kameren]

It was official, then. Max had spent the morning filling out paperwork and waiver after waiver for his physical safety until he was officially a temporary consultant for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

His father would be furious, were he alive. The one constant in Curse Kameren’s wishes for his son was this: Don’t join the Aurors. Don’t spend your days drowning in others’ tragedies, making their pain yours until you can unravel their troubles and straighten them out into a complete picture. Don’t live with ghosts following your every move blaming you for every step you failed to take, every decision you made or failed to make. Don’t put your body on the line when your mind and heart could be useful elsewhere. Don’t give your life fighting the endless circle of dark-versus-light until it finally takes you too. Don’t be like him, don’t be like Alex. Max hadn’t been given a choice; the threads of War tied his hands and pulled him in.

Max was the Aurors’ best bet as a source of information on the Shadowloved. Everything that had happened since the trouble started surrounded Max and Rowena, and their working independently of each other had come up short. It had gotten them nothing more than a trail of dead and Max missing his love. Max needed the aurors, and they needed him. It was an inevitable conclusion.

So here he was, not quite an auror but here to fight and help. Max pulled out his notebook, ready to finally be fully debriefed by Alex and get to work on tracking down Winston Warghollow and finally Rowena when he felt a hand on the back of his collar pull him down and back. “Hey!”

[Max Kameren]

Briar was tired of hitting his head against the wall.

Days ago they’d picked up this oaf for breaking and entering on Knockturn Alley, but one look at a scarred marking on his wrist left him suspicious. It was runic, something the auror recognized as protection for bloodletting in dark magic. Could this petty thief be a Shadowloved, connected to the torturers, murderers, and cannibals they’d been tracking these last few months? It was worth a second look, so they held him for questioning.

But whatever the wizard knew, he wasn’t speaking. Two night-long interviews had left Briar with nothing but frayed patience. If he wanted to get something out of holding this man other than a reprimand from Kameren, he would have to get creative. The auror rubbed his jaw as he thought, trudging to the interrogation halls for another round of tooth-pulling when a tall figure caught his eye.

“You!” An auror Max had yet to meet turned him around and stared up into the taller wizard’s eyes, narrowing with vague recognition. “You’re Alex’s kid, right? The one who joined us in Simulations?”

“Yeah – Uh, no…” Max’s brow furrowed in confusion as the auror pulled him in the direction of the interrogation rooms. Who was this guy? “I’m not Alex’s kid.”

“Whatever. You’re the one with the – the brain thing, right?” Briar waved his hands next to his ears, trying to create a gesture similar to how Max Kameren’s mental powers were described to him. He was something like a telepath, wasn’t he? What Evans would give to be able to see inside the minds of some of their subjects…

“I suppose so.” Max bristled at the description, but he understood what the man was asking him. “Why?”

“I need a lie detector.” Briar grinned wryly, opening the door to the observation side and pushing their new consultant in. Briar re-entered the interrogation room with renewed confidence, swinging the door behind him and plopping into a chair across from his perpetrator. The dark wizard glared up at him through limp tendrils of black hair. What was it with these blood magicians that left them all always so pallid and anemic-looking? “Hello again, Angus.”

What is this? Briar suddenly jumped at the sound of Kameren’s voice in his head and he glanced over his shoulder inquisitively. Telekinesis was right, apparently. It’s not telekinesis. Just think your replies, I can hear them. What are we doing?

Lower-level blood magician picked up in Knockturn Alley a few days ago, Briar informed him, keeping his round brown eyes boring into the spindly form of the dark wizard. Think he may be a lead into Warghollow.

What am I needed for?

He won’t talk, but he doesn’t need to for you to hear him. A feeling of understanding settled into the back of Briar’s head that he interpreted as Max’s acknowledgement. Briar ran a hand through his hair, leaning forward with his elbows on the table between him and Angus.

“What?” the wizard rasped, leaning back from the invasion of his personal space.

“Nothin’ Angus, just can’t get enough of your beautiful mug. Ready to talk yet?” Silence. Just as he thought.

[Alecsander]

Where is he...

Alex put his file down, glancing at the clock. Was that the time?? Max was later than he'd thought. Thr head auror glanced at the door, as if expecting his nephew to be standing there. Damn. He got up and stalked out of his office. He'd have to track him down then.

---

Nearly ten minutes later Alex finally let himself into the observation for Interrogation A, silently lifting a brow at Max before shutting the door quietly and coming to stand next to his nephew. Who was it--oh yes. Briar and the petty thief... What was it... Angus. Suspected of blood magic, but holding silent through the last two days of questioning. Just how had Max ended up in here? Briar's work, no doubt. Just a 3 year auror, he had been showing remarkable motivation. If a bit of a dare-devil streak.

[Max Kameren]

“What?” the wizard rasped, leaning back from the invasion of his personal space.

“Nothin’ Angus, just can’t get enough of your beautiful mug. Ready to talk yet?” Silence. Just as he thought. Briar sat back, a slow smile rising in his cheeks as the blank glare glowered dark. After hours of fatigue Angus’s mood was at the lowest point it had been since they picked him up. Briar was certain he had him inches from slipping, even closer with Kameren listening in. “Let’s walk through your evening one more time, shall we?”

“Afternoon in Diagon Alley. Escorted from Flourish and Blott’s for hanging ‘round the Hogwarts section, leering at students through the bookcases. Next you were spotted at the Cauldron, sneaking your own sips from unattended firewhiskey.” Briar’s thick dark brow rose with each reading of an incident. Oscar Angus was anything but inconspicuous; the mottled and gaunt man had been spotted four times in Diagon Alley before retreating into his customary gutter in Knockturn, where one last altercation brought him to Briar. “That sounds appetizing, but you weren’t finished. From the Cauldron your reign of terror moved to Hazel’s bakery where witnesses saw you pocket a few rolls on your trip through Quality Quidditch Supplies to gawk at more children. They heard from Flourish & Blott’s though and headed you off, sending you back to Knockturn Alley and into my loving arms.”

“Have I got everything?” Still silence, but Briar flashed a bright smile anyway. “That’s not why you’re still here though, I’m sure you know. Shoplifting, loitering, and breaking and entering into that back room we caught you sleeping in isn’t enough for us to hold you. But this – “ Briar reached across the table and caught Angus’s wrist, smirking up at him knowingly “ – is interesting. Want to tell me about it?”

He’d hit something, he felt Max perk up in the back of his mind. He kept going. “You see, we know what this rune means. We know all about your sect, and what you do. Who do you answer to?” Another stirring, he could see it behind his eyes. “What were you searching for in Knockturn Alley? Was it something for your Mistress? Master?” Bingo. Alarms were going off in his head. “Where were you going? What were you bringing them?” Briar cocked his head, his round eyes wide with excitement as he watched the man shrink back in his chair. “How many times do I have to keep asking you these questions, Angus? Your master must be getting impatient with you being gone this long, eh? What do you think he’ll do to you?”

Thnk. Knuckles sounded on the mirror behind Evans and he turned, shrugging lightly before pushing himself up and exiting into the hallway.

[Max Kameren]

If the auror needed a lie detector, a lie detector Max would be. If Evans was onto something that could bring them closer to Warghollow – and by extension Rowena – Max would help. As Briar resumed his place in the interrogation room Max leaned back against the desk in the observation room, taking a breath and closing his eyes. He thought of Varvara in Siberia, how she’d chided him: you don’t go far enough. The man in front of Evans was a dark wizard who’d sold his soul to gain power. If he wasn’t directly responsible for the pain and death Max had seen in the last few months he was at least complicit. His comfort and privacy was secondary. Max pushed forward, into Otto Angus’s dark, cold aura.

“Nothin’ Angus, just can’t get enough of your beautiful mug. Ready to talk yet? Let’s walk through your evening one more time, shall we?”

There was a quake in the wizard’s presence but the turning of the door handle in the observation room distracted Max. The stern emerald gaze of his uncle measured hi quizzically and Max preemptively held up a hand to quiet him, still trying to take measure and sift through Angus’s aura.

“Afternoon in Diagon Alley. Escorted from Flourish and Blott’s…” Max felt Angus’s anxiety grow with each point in the wizard’s day, dread building with each expulsion and retreat. But whe he dug deeper, Max could feel the dread wasn’t guilt or worry about the aurors: it was fear. Angus wasn’t afraid of Briar. He was afraid of the consequences he would meet for talking outside the Ministry. “…Headed you off, sending you back to Knockturn Alley and into my loving arms.”

“Have I got everything? That’s not why you’re still here though, I’m sure you know […] But this – “ Briar’s pause piqued both Max and Angus’s interest, and the Healer leaned forward to get a better view of the scar the auror pointed out. Unconsciously he touched his chest, where his own etched runes were embedded. His weren’t the same, but they lit red flags in the back of Max’s mind. “ – is interesting. Want to tell me about it?”

“You see, we know what this rune means. We know all about your sect, and what you do. Who do you answer to?” Fear pulsed brighter in the man and Max pushed forward into his memory, watching Angus wince with discomfort as Max pulled his memories to the forefront. Max reached out and grabbed Alex, his eyes widening and grip tightening as a face flashed through their minds: Winston Warghollow. “Where were you going? What were you bringing them?” A building. A fence. A… house? A fort? The word Fort. Fort… something. Faces, both of passersby on the street and of people he felt recognition for. The people meant something, were worth something. Max reached up and touched his earlobe: he could wager a guess. Max’s grip on his uncle’s arm turned to a shove to silently push Alex out the door. He knocked harshly on the window to capture Briar’s attention as he filed out, his mind racing.

“A house in a fort.” Max’s eyes were searching somewhere otherworldly, trying to make sense of the flurry of images and feelings Angus’s anxiety had bombarded him with. “He works for Warghollow. He finds him victims. He was to send them to a house in a fort…”

Max’s eyes sharpened once more and he glanced pleadingly between them. “Have you had leads on Warghollow anywhere near a fort? Fort…” Max ran his hands through his hair; he knew the name, he could feel it like it was on the tip of his tongue. “Fort Charles? Fort George? Fort William? Something royal. Fuck…”

[Alecsander]

Alex took Max's cue to remain silent as he entered further into the room. After a short silence, Briar began talking. Alex focused on the man's face, watching. Something was happening. He glanced briefly at Max, he had never explained just what he'd learned in Russia.

“You see, we know what this rune means. We know all about your sect, and what you do. Who do you answer to?”

Alex leaned forward as the image of Warghollow flashed before his eyes, unable to completely restrain himself at the sight of the man he'd been hunting for months. The man who had tortured Max. His view focused, mind rapidly searching through every scrap of information he'd been able to scrounge up on Warghollow.

“A house in a fort.” Max’s eyes were searching somewhere otherworldly, trying to make sense of the flurry of images and feelings Angus’s anxiety had bombarded him with. “He works for Warghollow. He finds him victims. He was to send them to a house in a fort…”

Max’s eyes sharpened once more and he glanced pleadingly between them. “Have you had leads on Warghollow anywhere near a fort? Fort…” Max ran his hands through his hair; he knew the name, he could feel it like it was on the tip of his tongue. “Fort Charles? Fort George? Fort William? Something royal. Fuck…”

"There were sightings of him in Inverness..." Alex said slowly, still thinking. Fort William. "Fort William, we can narrow it down." he met his nephew's eyes with determination.

[Max Kameren]

Briar spun out of the interrogation room to come face-to-face with the Head Auror, nodding somewhat meekly in acknowledgement of him before turning his attention to the frantic younger Kameren. Briar generally tended to avoid close interaction with his superiors, as his out-of-the box methods tended to grate on the rule-makers.

“A house in a fort. He works for Warghollow. He finds him victims. He was to send them to a house in a fort…” Briar arched a curious brow, swaying with the healer’s darting eyes to try to keep his attention in the present. This wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he snagged Kameren to be a lie detector - this was better. “Have you had leads on Warghollow anywhere near a fort? Fort… Fort Charles? Fort George? Fort William? Something royal. Fuck…” 

"There were sightings of him in Inverness..." Alex said slowly, still thinking. Fort William. "Fort William, we can narrow it down."

Briar’s eyes lit up with sparks of excitement; finally progress. After weeks of hitting walls the dam finally burst. “Put out the alarm for the aurors, then. Let’s get going!” The auror practically bounced between the two tall Kamerens, a bright grin flashing across his face before he tempered it to match their more serious tone. “Better be ready then, Kameren, got to look better than you did training day.”

With his wand in his hand Briar turned in the direction of his office, ready to prepare himself for battle. As he turned his nudged his bosses shoulder, leaning in to ask him outside his nephew’s earshot: “We get to keep him after his case? On interrogations alone we need him…”

[Max Kameren]

"There were sightings of him in Inverness..." Alex said slowly, still thinking. Fort William. "Fort William, we can narrow it down."

“Is Eden here? I have an image of the house in my head, if I can transfer it to her she can draw it…” Max’s mind was a whirlwind. His eyes darted back and forth in nothingness, trying to engrave any important detail he took from Angus into his memory. “A…Achintee Road. Off Achintee Road.”

“Put out the alarm for the aurors, then. Let’s get going! Better be ready then, Kameren, got to look better than you did training day.”

Max reflected the auror’s smile back reluctantly. He’d be lying to say he wasn’t nervous; the last fight he’d had with the aurors he shut down, and the last duel he had with Warghollow he’d been nearly carved to pieces. He sighed a bit uneasily, quietly trying to prepare himself for the fight ahead. It would be his first real test of his magic since his attack and his first attempt to duel since Rowena’s disappearance. There’d been nothing for so long and now it was time to act. Was he ready?

Briar broke off from Alex and Max. “We get to keep him after his case? On interrogations alone we need him…”

“No. I’m a healer.” Max didn’t need to be able to hear Briar to know what he said and he shook his head, breaking off down the hall for Alex’s office to prepare to be called upon for the ambush ahead.