FicWad

Life is Like T-Rex

by: slincoln

Disclaimer: The characters from Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling and are used here without permission. The story image is property of Jenny Owen Youngs and is also reproduced without permission. Story concept based on How I Met Your Mother by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas.

"Not trying to make you think this is some kind of great big deal
I just know exactly how you feel
I could be the thing you reach for in the middle of the night Let me be the one to treat you right."-Last Person, Jenny Owen Youngs

Chapter Four: Watching the Aurors

****

"Ok Harry, here's what I don't get," Uncle Ron said to me as we watched over the London Eye. "It's been years since the War ended, why stage a big attack against the Muggles now?"

"Because the Muggle government is more sensitive to these sorts of attacks," I explained to Ron. "And after Kingsley went through all that effort to convince the Muggle Prime Minister that we could keep a lid on any future dark wizards, if they don't think that's the case it would be...awkward."

"Awkward how?"

"This is highly classified, but Kingsley told me the Muggle government was close to mobilizing against Voldemort."

"What could they do against an army of Death Eaters?"

"They have weapons more destructive than Fiendfyre for one thing, not that I think they were even remotely close to using it against us. The Muggle army is not to be trifled with. They've come a long ways from the days when they tried to burn us at stakes."

"If you insist," Ron said dubiously.

"Trust me Ron, the last thing we want is for the Muggles to try to be more involved in our affairs."

"And a new string of high profile wizard attacks would go a long way towards making that happen. But why would a bunch of Death Eaters do something to get the Muggle government more involved with Wizard affairs?"

"And just how do you think the Pureblood families would take that? They'd have Kingsley sacked and probably start a fight with the Muggles.

"Yeah ok, I'll stop being dense," Ron said with a sigh.

"Why stop now? It's served you so well," I quipped.

Your uncle snorted, but did not reply. Instead he turned his gaze back to the Muggles getting on and off the giant Ferris wheel. The documents recovered from Mansfield's cottage had given us several potential targets that Vogler and Harris were planning to hit, and our interrogation of Mansfield had provided the date. However, we did not know exactly which locations were going to be attacked. With no better options Robards had split the Auror office up into two man teams and assigned them to each of the landmarks on the list. Which was why your uncle and I were disguised as a pair of Met PC's standing watch over the London Eye. We had already spent the morning placing as many protective charms over the area as we could. If Vogler or Harris were looking carefully they'd spot them and run, but our primary job was keeping the Muggles safe.

"I don't know how the Muggle police does this," Ron groused. "I've got cushioning charms cast on my shoes and my feet are still killing me."

"You're getting soft mate."

"Not bloody likely. I can out watch you that's for sure."

"You're not still cross because I'm the sergeant are you?"

"Technically you don't outrank me."

"That may be, but Muggles are more likely to ask the sergeant a question, and do you really want to give directions to Waterloo Station?"

"Er no, I guess not," Ron admitted. "I should take this kit back to the Burrow, Dad would get a kick out of this gear."

"Just don't forget, it's all Ministry property and they'll want it back in one piece."

"I wouldn't let him tinker with any of it, this time."

"Those radios aren't cheap you know."

"Oh give it a rest already. It was just the one time."

"Fair enough, so how's the wedding planning going?"

"We've barely started and I already know it's going to kill me. The negotiations between my mum and Hermione's are going to set back wizard/Muggle relations a couple centuries."

"That bad?" I asked as I cast a watchful eye over a tour group that walked past.

"They both insist we should have the ceremony where they want it."

"Your mum's pushing for The Burrow?"

"Obviously, and Hermione's mum wants it at the chapel she got married in."

"And what do you want?"

"I just want to get married and move on, the location doesn't much matter."

"Reckon you and Hermione will be wanting to find a place of your own after the wedding then?" I asked as casually as I could.

"Don't get me wrong, we love staying with you at Grimmauld Place, and we haven't talked about moving out at all, but yeah I expect we will eventually. Though if we do, promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Find another housemate. Grimmauld Place is entirely too big for one bloke and his house elf. I know you don't want to let more people into your 'inner circle' and that makes sense, but there has to be someone else out there who won't sell you out to the tabloids, and needs a place to stay."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," I said, feeling uncomfortable with where the conversation was headed, and cursing myself for bringing it up.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the sound of one of our warning charms provided all the distraction I needed. Ron and I turned as one and saw a crowd of Muggles watching in amazement as a once elderly man morphed into a much younger one, Blenheim Vogler to be precise. Vogler was a short man with a dark complexion and close-cropped black hair. If ever there was someone who looked the part of a Death Eater it was Blenheim Vogler.

"Good call on the anti-Polyjuice Charm," Ron muttered to me as we raced over to Vogler. We frantically cast shield charms around the nearby Muggles in case Vogler tried to act sooner now that his cover was blown.

"Surrender Vogler!" I shouted. "The areas warded, you can't escape."

"Don't be too sure Potter," Vogler sneered. Much like Mansfield, Vogler had been a very low level member of Voldemort's army. However that was not for lack of cruelty or guile. He had been a ruthlessly efficient Snatcher who would have risen far if Voldemort had not been stopped. Out of all the remaining Death Eaters he was the unquestioned leader thanks to his fanatical devotion to Riddle.

"Don't do anything that will make this harder on you," I cautioned Vogler as I aimed my wand at him. The Muggles around us began to realise this was not a safe place to be and started to run away.

Vogler reached out and grabbed a Muggle woman from the crowd. "Not another step Potter," he warned as a wicked dagger appeared in his other hand. "You don't want to see this Muggle get hurt now do you?"

"Easy now," Ron said. "There's no reason for any bloodshed today."

"Of course there's a reason. That's the whole point you fool," Vogler snapped. "All these Muggles prancing about when they should be serving their betters instead. The Dark Lord was going to set things straight."

"I stopped him Vogler, and I'll stop you as well."

"You have to catch me first," He said as he started to back away from us with the woman as a human shield.

I glanced over at Ron and gave him a slight nod. "Last chance Vogler, let her go."

Vogler jabbed the knife against the woman's throat. "Wands down Potter, you know I don't care if a Muggle lives or dies."

"Now!" I yelled. Ron cast a levitating charm on the woman sending her flying off to safety while at the same time I knocked the dagger out of Vogler's hand with a well-aimed stinging jinx.

Vogler swore as he drew his wand and fired a blasting curse at us. We dove out of the way and the spell tore a large hole in the sidewalk. Vogler seized on the opportunity to make his escape, and by the time I picked myself up off the ground he was already out of range of my spells.

"Check on the woman," I yelled at Ron before tearing off after Vogler. The sound of police sirens in the distance gave me added motivation to capture Vogler quickly. An encounter between him and the Met would surely end in carnage. "Give it up Vogler!" I shouted and fired a poorly aimed snaring curse at him. Vogler ducked the spell which instead caught a passing bike messanger. "Sorry," I muttered under my breath. It occurred to me that this was going to be a right mess to clean up, but I didn't have time at that moment to dwell.

Vogler rounded a corner and I realised he was headed for the Waterloo Station. If he was able to board a train he was more than likely gone. I went to follow him across the street when a large saloon came to a sudden stop in my path. Without breaking stride I jumped up and slide across the Jag's bonnet ignoring the protests of the driver.

Vogler spared a glance behind me and saw that I was still in pursuit. I could see his lips move as he fired another blasting curse in my direction. Using a shield charm I deflected the curse harmlessly into the air and then tried to catch him with a stunner, which he again managed to dodge.

Growling in frustration I cast an attraction charm on the cards lining the street, causing them to form an impromptu barricade. Vogler was not expecting that and pulled up to a stop. Realizing I had him cornered he whirled and shot a killing curse in my direction. With a wave of my wand I ripped up a section of the asphalt pavement and used it to block the curse. The force of the curse cause the pavement to explode sending shards of asphalt flying everywhere.

"I'm not going to Azkaban Potter," Vogler shouted, "All Hail the Dark Lord!" Before I could disarm him he cast a Blasting Curse at one of the cars blocking his route. The resulting explosion knocked me off my feet.

By the time I picked myself up Ron had caught up with me. "Bloody hell, are you ok?"

"I'll be fine," I assured Ron. "Just a little singed and bruised."

"What happened?"

I stared at the burning wreckage. "He didn't want to go to Azkaban."

"Can't say as I blame him, but that still seems a bit much."

The crack of Apparation behind us signaled the arrival of Robards and a team of Aurors. "I take it this is the work of the Death Eater you were after Potter?"

I nodded, "Yes sir, Vogler got caught in that blast. He said he didn't want to be captured."

"Well we'll just have to verify that. I want the pair of you to return to the Ministry. I'll expect your full reports by the time I arrive after settling things here."

"Sir, if I may, did we stop it, the other attack that is?"

Robards sighed, "Yes Potter, we did. Though the other team wasn't as...effective as you were in dealing with the offender."

"Meaning?"

"Harris escaped and injured Corsetti and Felkirk in the process. They've already been taken St. Mungos."

I nodded grimly, "I see sir. Thank goodness that was all."

Robards stared at me for a moment. "Yes, quite. Now don't you have somewhere you need to be?"

"Begging your pardon sir, but do we know what were they trying to accomplish with all this?"

"Exactly what you said they were going to do Mr. Potter. Kill a lot of Muggles. We will discuss this in more detail after I return to the Ministry."

With Robards there always was a time when it was safe to push for more information. This was not one of them. "Of course sir." Robards dismissed us with a curt nod and your uncle and I Disapparated just as the first Met police cars arrived on the scene.

****

Several hours later I knocked on the door to Robards' office with my report in hand. I entered the office after hearing the brusque command to enter. "Here's the report you asked for sir," I told Robards, setting the scroll on his desk.

"Thank-you Potter. Tell me, what do you make of this?" He handed me a small cube of stone with runes carved into it.

"It's, err, a cube."

"It's a bomb, and when activated it releases a Reducto Curse. Relax, this one's inert," he added.

"So that's what their plan was, set these off in Muggle London."

"Apparently so, you did good work on this case Potter, a lot of people are alive because of you."

"Though not everyone made it out unscathed."

Robards sighed, "Yes, we almost lost two good Aurors today." He stood and poured two glasses of Firewhisky from the bottle he kept in his office. "That's the problem with leadership Potter."

"Sir?" I asked, confused by the change in topic.

"Come now Potter, I'm sure you know this by now. The hardest part of leading is telling all these brave witches and wizards to go out and put their lives on the line."

"Yes sir, but why are you bringing that up now?"

"Because sooner rather than later you're going to be behind this desk ordering bright young Aurors to go out and die. I know you're brave Potter, all you lot are. You, Longbottom, and Weasley, everyone from your class. You're all exceptional Aurors because you've already met the fear, and know how to push past it." He took a sip of his drink before continuing.

"Sir, just so we're clear, I don't want your job. I like being out in the field."

"I appreciate that, but I don't want this job forever, and you're the best man to replace me. You might not want to admit it, but you are too important to be stuck in the field your whole career. Besides, there will come a day when you won't be so keen on doing those three day stakeouts. So how about it Potter, are you ready to order your friend Weasley to go chase down Harris?"

I fixed Robards square in the eyes. "Not right now, I'd rather catch the bastard myself."

"So would I Potter, so would I, but that doesn't answer my question."

I looked down at the glass of firewhisky in my hand. "It's like you said sir, we all were involved in the war, we know the risks better than most." I took a large drink from the glass. "So to answer your question, yes I would, but I'd also be right there with him."

"It's not cowardice you know," Robards said, more softly than I'd ever heard him.

"No sir, of course not. I never meant that. The head of the department has to be here, above the fray so to speak, you keep us together and focused."

"That's kind of you to say Potter."

"It's the truth sir. You've taught me what being an Auror really means."

"If that's the case then it's my greatest accomplishment."

"Sir?"

"I've invested my entire adult life into this department. When I do retire, which won't be anytime soon mind you. I'll be glad that I'm giving it to someone who understands just how special it is." He snorted. "You must think I'm a dottering old fool for telling you all this."

"I think you almost lost two Aurors today sir. A little introspection is allowed."

"Very well, in that case a toast, to Corsetti and Felkirk, a finer pair of Aurors I've never met."

"Here here," I agreed and we finished our drinks in silence.

"Unless you have anything further consider yourself dismissed. We can discuss finding Harris tomorrow."

I nodded, "Of course sir, goodnight sir." I set my empty glass down and made left the office.

"So what did Robards want?" Ron asked when I sat down at my desk.

"He just wanted my report on Vogler," I replied.

"Did he have you recite the bloody thing?"

"No, we just talked about…things."

"That's descriptive."

"He all but named me his successor," I blurted out, still not quite sure how to process the conversation I'd just had with Robards.

"Of course he did, that's been obvious to everyone from the moment you joined."

"And if I don't want it?"

Ron shook his head. "Doesn't work that way. You're the leader, that's been true since the DA. I'd thought you'd be used to that by now."

"That's...that's what he wanted to talk about I think, especially because of what happened to Corsetti and Felkirk."

"Yeah real shame about those two. Corsetti was always good for a laugh."

"Wait, did something happen? Are they?"

"No, they'll be fine, but we just got word from St. Mungo's, their days on active duty are over."

"That's a hard blow, but still, it's good that they'll pull through."

"Things could've gone much worse that's for sure," Ron agreed.

"So did you hear about Neville?" I asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Yes and I think it's brilliant. Nev will be great teaching at Hogwarts."

"Have you thought about doing that too? I mean what with the marriage?"

Ron shrugged, "I dunno, maybe someday? But right now Hermione understands this is what I have to be doing. And it's not like teaching DADA at Hogwarts is all that safe; besides considering all the things we got into at school, being an Auror is less risky."

"Well when you put it that way..."

"What's the matter mate? You normally aren't this introspective."

"Hermione must really be rubbing off on you if you're using words like introspective."

"That joke was old the first hundred times, now what's the deal?"


"It's just...it feels like everyone around me meaking these big life decisions."

"And you feel left out?"

I shrugged. "Maybe? I don't know."

"So does any of this have anything to do with your sudden renewed interest in my sister?"

"That's...I told you, we're just friends, she doesn't want anything more."

"I'd ask if you do, but I already know the answer to that."

"Oh stop, it's not like that. It's...it's all very complicated."

"Well I'd say you better figure it out mate, because I don't want to put with this mopey Potter for much longer."

"I'm not mopey!"

"If you insist, but you probably should get what you're after straight in your head. Ginny's not very tolerant of subterfuge after all."

A chilling bolt or realization suddenly shot through me. "Today's Wednesday isn't it?"

"When last I checked, why?"

"I agreed to meet Ginny for dinner in," I glanced at a clock, "a half hour."

Ron chuckled, "Better hurry along then mate and don't forget to pack an extra handkerchief, just in case!" He called out after me as I raced out of the Auror's office.

When I got back to Grimmauld Place to change I found Kreacher waiting for me with an envelope in his hand. "Master Harry, an owl left this for you."

"Thank-you Kreacher," I said as I took the offered envelope. My heart nearly skipped a beat when I saw Ginny's handwriting. I quickly tore it open.

"Harry," the note read. "I hate to have to do this, but Gladish," the Harpies manager at the time. "has us putting in extra practice time for the match against Puddlemere, so I won't be able to make dinner. We can reschedule for another time right?"

I fought back a bitter laugh and started to write my reply when a plan formed in my head. I dropped the note on an end table and ran up to my room to change out of my Auror robes.

****

Author's Notes: Confession time, I'm a huge fan of cops and robbers action, and this chapter reflects that. Having Harry do that Seventies-style power slide over the hood (or bonnet if you will) of a car was a vital addition. I also spent more time than was probably necessary researching the Met, but little details are important details. The title for this chapter comes from the Justified episode Watching the Detectives.

-sam