Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 27: Above The Law
Cassius was a veteran auror who had been on the force for over twenty years and had tangled in combat with some of the most dangerous individuals in the country.
But in front of this witch, he could not prevent his hands from trembling.
Morgan noticed this and looked amused. "Are you scared? Your boss should have told you not to come here, right?"
Cassius used all his will to keep himself together. "There is a missing child. We have reason to believe that he has been kidnapped, and the culprits came this way."
Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Are you suspecting me?"
"N-no! Madam Yafel. T-that is not w-w—"
"You think I'm hiding these kidnappers in my shop?" Morgan moved aside, clearing the entrance.
"M-Madam Yafel?" Cassius sounded a bit confused.
"As you probably know, I don't have to justify myself to your Ministry of Magic. But just for this once, I will let you take a peek inside, so you can see for yourself that I have nothing to do with this." Morgan was more than confident that this auror would never find her secret basement.
And if he did… it would be very unfortunate for him, because he would never leave.
Agent Cassius hesitated for a moment, but his duty was more important than his safety, so he ventured inside Madam Yafel's shop.
A place that everyone in London avoided like the plague. At least, everyone who knew about this vicious witch.
"Then… excuse me." Cassius went inside and immediately began to survey the area.
Despite the fact that no one came to this shop, the interior was clean, and the shelves were all filled with all kinds of stuff.
Some contained what looked like potion ingredients, while others had magical artifacts.
At the end of the room was a large counter and an open door to the left.
Cassius took a look behind the counter before pointing to the other room.
"That leads to the first floor. My bedroom and workshop are up there. Go ahead, but if I catch you peeking at my undergarments, I'm taking one of your eyes as punishment."
Cassius gulped and nodded. He was sure that she was not joking about it and would actually carry out the threat.
Feeling very nervous, he went to the first floor.
As Madam Yafel said, there were only two rooms on this floor. The bedroom was open, and he took a quick look inside while trying to avoid staring at any clothes lying around.
Then he opened the other door and found the workshop.
It was a very standard one, with a table for brewing potions and another one that appeared to be designed for runeworking.
Cassius was surprised by how normal this all looked, as it didn't match the witch's reputation, plus all the rumors about the dark rituals she would perform on a regular basis.
There was no evidence of anything illegal that he could see.
Cassius was not this stupid. He knew that she must have had a secret room somewhere, one where all of the illegal stuff took place.
But he was not here for that. He came here to find traces of Harry Potter and couldn't find any indication that the boy was ever here.
"Madam Yafel." He turned around to face the woman. "Can you tell me about the magical signatures a bit further down the street? It seems that a few spells were exchanged here not too long ago. Were you involved in some sort of… fight?"
Morgan shrugged. "I wouldn't even call that a fight. A couple of drunks decided to get too close to my shop and cause trouble. So I killed them and then cleaned the street a bit. I can't stand the scent of blood."
Cassius clenched his fist. "I… see." This witch had just committed a murder in front of him. But he couldn't do anything about it.
The Auror Department, as well as the Ministry of Magic, was extremely clear on how to treat any encounter with Madam Yafel.
There were even laws created specifically for her.
He saw the confident smirk on her face, and it made his blood boil.
'Calm down… remember your orders.'
"Satisfied?" Morgan asked with a playful grin while standing in front of the auror.
As much as Cassius wanted to say "No," he knew that answer would only lead to his death.
"Yes, Madam Yafel. I have seen enough. Thank you for your cooperation."
Morgan then guided the auror to the door.
"Oh…" Cassius took a picture from his pocket. "If you see this boy, please let us know."
Morgan gave the picture a quick glance. It was indeed a picture of Harry Potter, the same one who was currently hiding in her secret basement.
"Of course," she responded. Her expression did not change one bit.
Cassius, who had been paying close attention to this, was unable to read anything from her response.
"Then… I'll take my leave. Thank you again for your cooperation, Madam Yafel."
Cassius walked away, and his body continued to tremble until he was almost on the other side of the street.
"Are you okay?" his young partner, who had been waiting for him the whole time, went to his side with an expression of concern on her face.
She would have been even more concerned if she actually knew anything about Madam Yafel.
"I'm fine."
"Did you find anything?"
"Nothing that is going to help us solve this case," Cassius said.
"But what about the magical signatures in the street? What was that about?"
"That… forget about it. As I said, it has nothing to do with our case," Cassius said in a firm tone.
"Forget about it? But—"
"I said forget about it!" Cassius exclaimed. "There are many things you still need to learn. There are protocols in place that… never mind now. Let's get out of here and inform Madam Bones."
"So… in the end, we didn't get a clue of where Harry Potter could be," the female auror said.
"We know there is a good chance he was taken by a group of Collectors. That's a clue. It's just not good news for the boy, that's all," Cassius said.
Hawthorn frowned. "He is the Boy Who Lived… you don't think the Collectors would actually harm him, right? He is just too important."
Cassius glanced at her for a moment. "I hope you are right. Now let's go."
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