[IC] A Magical World | headintheclouds & Denny

[Dio]

---

"I don't think that's a good idea, mom." Abram said as he nodded his head over the phone.

Somehow Abram's mom was convinced that he needed to be set up on a blind date because he was having no luck with the ladies, but it wasn't that he wasn't having any luck in the dating world, it was that Abram wasn't looking for anything serious and most girls his age were. He was single and living it as best as he could. A few one night stands were easier to deal with than a serious relationship that took a lot of time and commitment, especially since he was in the running for a promotion.

Abram was an Auror who was apart of the United States Auror Division, one of the field offices which was part of the Department of Aurors, a department of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. He was causing a lot of chatter in the department, making splashes, and hopefully getting a promotion within the USAD. Being able to have the freedom of falling into and pulling out of casual relationships made sense to him as he wasn't ready to make a full on commitment to anything or anyone but work.

"I don't need to meet Aunt Jo's friend's niece." Abram sighed. "I'm sure she's cute but that's not the problem. I just don't have any time in my schedule for it... Mom? What?"

The Auror was given orders to meet the girl, his mom had already set up the date and it was sooner than he would have expected. Maybe he could pick up an assignment and have a real excuse to miss the date. Most of the women his Aunt Jo associated herself with were well off in the wizarding world, but they all had one issue, they knew his family and if anything were to happen Abram wouldn't have heard the end of it.

"Alright, alright, fine." The wizard said, having to agree with no choice. "Thanks, I love you too. Tell Aunt Jo thank you too."

Hanging up the phone, Abram bit his lip as he rubbed the edge of his chin with his thumb, thinking about what course of action to take next. His mind wandered to the idea of really signing up for an assignment, but he figured that would be a really petty move on his part. With another heavy sigh, Abram flicked on the tv which was already tuned into one of the news channels that reported on most current magical issues.

The segment that was playing was one that Abram had already seen, a documentary about one of the popular magical chefs in the city. Abram didn't spend too much time in Los Angeles as the city was a little too much for him, but growing up in Santa Barbara wasn't much of a difference as he did spend a lot of his teenage years in LA fooling around the summer scene. The program was quickly paused as an emergency news message popped up and played on the screen.

"... reports say that three No-Majes were killed in the incident. The Department of Aurors were on the scene but had refused to comment until further investigation by their department along with the Major Investigation Department were conducted."

As the segment ended, Abram's phone buzzed, with the Auror knowing full well what that meant.

"Another sunny day in paradise."

[headintheclouds]

Claire had her feet up on her coffee table as she slouched on the couch, taking a break from going through the paperwork that she had brought home in an attempt to keep her eyes from spinning out of her brain. She couldn't quite understand why nobody had yet invented a magical way to do reports and file them; even with computers being adapted to allow for their use in high-magic areas, the technology was still woefully behind, and one could never quite trust whether the internet would work or the program would get a mind of its own or behave. Everything went into paper databases just in case technology failed, and it took twice as long even with magic to speed everything up.

Grumbling and picking up the papers again, she was about to finish filing in the summary report when her phone went off, and she picked it up. The alert flashing across the screen was specially colored, signalling that it was a magical alert rather than a No-Maj alert, which never mentioned anything important unless one was terribly concerned about the weather.

She didn't even get a chance to unlock her phone before a message popped up with a location. Normally she knew what was going on to some degree before the alert even showed up if she was going to be assigned to it; the speed of the location meant that it was a true emergency.

The paperwork got abandoned as she got up, slinging her bag over her shoulder and throwing her phone inside. Thankfully the location was just to the headquarters in Los Angeles, which she had been to before, and she apparated with barely a second thought, grimacing as she landing outside of the conference room. It didn't matter how many times one apparated; it still felt like being pushed through a tiny tube and spit out the other side.

"What is going on? I didn't get the chance to read the news, I just figured I would get here first and get the details later." She ran a hand through her bright teal hair. A lot of times she would change her hair color to a more natural, or at least less vibrant, color so that she didn't stand out as much, but she hadn't even had time to think about doing it. Being a metamorphamagus had its perks, but worry and duty had her focused entirely elsewhere

[Dio]

---

A few hours later and Abe was in Los Angeles, trailing behind a few other lead Auror detectives as they made their way through the US Auror Division LA headquarters. He had been to the building a few times but never really worked out of it. The incident that included the deaths of the No-Majes was a big worry as it was hinted that Dark Wizards were involved, and that meant more troubles were going to come their way.

Deaths of No-Majes were down by ten percent from the past year, but things were getting hectic in the States and there was a slight increase in cases involving witches and wizards using magic against No-Majes. Abram was brought in as new blood to learn the ropes, along with him to lead the group was lead Auror, Clayton Salt, one of the men responsible for Abram's growth and success within the department. Two other junior Aurors were brought along with them, Michael Santana and Rowan Chang, still seniors to Abram's youthfulness.

"We'll be splitting up after a short brief." Clayton barked as the group walked down the hallway of the Los Angeles headquarters. "This isn't our division, so you listen to what is asked of you and what is told. We show respect as this isn't on our turf." Abram's boss gave the youngest Auror of the group a wink and a chuckle knowing that it was him who was going to somehow get on the nerves of others. Abe had the thirst and drive to be a good Auror, but he also could step on toes trying to get the job done.

Clayton Salt was a stern and disciplined wizard, but he knew what he was talking about having been one of the most successful Aurors within their department. Abram knew that he could trust him and listened to every word he had ever said to him without hesitation. So as they entered a small conference room the group was left to their own as they waited on one of the lead Aurors for the LA division.

"Abe, I'm sending you out to the scene. I need your eyes and ears on the ground." Clayton ordered. "Find out as much as you can, play nice and try not to get into any trouble."

"Yes sir." Abram said, bowing after taking in his orders. "I'll try my best."

"You'll be escorted there by another Auror, just try not to get on their nerves. We're here as guests, remember that."

"Hopefully that's not too hard to do." Mike said with a chuckle. "Don't go all cowboy on us either."

Rowan chimed in with her soft, sweet laugh as she took a seat around the conference room table. "Let me guess, I'm on the kids to see if they saw anything else?"

The lead Auror nodded, smiling happily that the group already knew what their roles were. The group had been together for about five years, with Abram having joined them about a year and a half ago. "Yep, and Santana, you're working with a few of the Aurors on finding out possible suspect groups. We gotta make sure it isn't any terrorist groups or Dark Arts Extremists. Let's make this quick and easy, maybe we can even get back a few days early."

"It's Nick's birthday isn't it?" Abe said, reminding his boss of his kid's birthday. "Did you get him anything yet?"

"No, maybe you can pick something up on your way back from the crime scene." Clay chuckled. "Let's get to work."

The group split as one of the lead Aurors of the Los Angeles department entered the room, having a one-on-one conversation with Clayton. Abram rushed out of the conference room as he wandered to the front of the Los Angeles Division headquarters, playing with his wrist as he waited for his escort.

"Be patient, be kind." He chanted, trying to embed his order's in his mind. "Make friends of other divisions, not enemies." It wasn't that he wasn't cooperative, it was just that he sometimes stepped on too many toes of others.

[headintheclouds]

Claire had worked with the aurors from the Santa Barbara division before, but not the full team from the top. She had met Salt and Santana before, and had actually conferenced with Rowena before for advice on dealing with witness statements, though she had never actually met her in person. She had heard that there was a new auror that was pretty close to her own age, and while she had read some of his reports, she hadn't met him in person either.

She was surprised at how long it took the team to join them; it was too far for them to apparate like she had, but Floo Powder was still an option they could have taken. The alert must have been sent out to them at near the same time it reached her, but by the time their team arrived, her team had been fully briefed on what they had been able to find out and she had been assigned as a scene investigator. She knew the area better than whoever she was going to be paired up with, and considering this was a potential terrorist attack, it was a fairly high stakes occasion.

The Santa Barbara team finally arrived, though the initial meeting in the conference room was short so that they could get out of the office before the scene got wipes too clean. She hadn't gotten to

"Claire, your partner is waiting by the front door. You're going to have to take No-Maj transport into town; there's nowhere close enough to justify going by Floo, and its too far to apparate without risking an arm or a leg. They got the same reports we did, so work off of that. Remember it's a No-Maj situation, so go in quietly." Walker said as they walked out of the conference room to take their places. "Oh, and Claire? You're blue." Walker went over towards her desk to grab a few things while Claire headed towards the front door.

As Claire rounded the corner to the front door, her hair started to shift from teal and blue, her preferred color, to a more inconspicuous brown color, starting at the roots and moving down to the tip. She didn't notice, nor did anybody that was used to her walking around like that; it was purely a reaction to her boss telling her that her hair was still bright blue. By the time she reached the man, it was a weird mix of half and half that didn't look bad, but didn't seem quite right.


"You're Abram, right?" Claire piped up as she approached the only auror in the building she hadn't ever interacted with in some form. "I'm Claire, we haven't met yet."

[Dio]

---

From the corner of his eye Abe noticed a spark of blue light and then a voice that called out his name. Abram was surprised with a pretty face which caught him off-guard as she went on and introduced herself.

"Ah, yeah, Abram." He said with a nod. "It's nice to meet you, Claire." His eyes scanned her frame, starting from the top and ending at the bottom. Sure, he might have been checking her out a bit, but it was more to see who he was going to be working with rather than who he was going to try and flirt with. The man knew to keep it professional.

His head was thrown back into the game, focusing on the case at hand. He remembered a few of the case notes that he had read on their drive up. Three dead, three kids left alive, but who had their memories wiped. Nothing added up as to why the kids would be left alive unless it was a targeted attack. But if it was a targeted attack, why would they leave the possibility of witnesses. There were spells that witches and wizards could use to help retrieve the memories that people lost, but those were dangerous.

Of course, Abram couldn't help himself in flirting just a little bit with a pretty girl. So, licking his now dry and chapped lips, he chuckled and smiled. "I'm under your command, Claire, so I'll follow you're lead."

[headintheclouds]

Claire couldn’t help but smile when she saw the young Auror; he seemed to be around her age, and he seemed to have been caught off guard for at least a split second as she rounded the corner, likely surprised by her appearance. To his credit, his surprise didn’t last long and was quickly replaced by a full body sweep of her, sizing her up as well as checking her out.

She couldn’t be offended; she was doing much the same to him, finding him rather attractive. It was always nice to see a new face around the office, and it was doubly nice when that face was nice to look at. Flirting wasn’t her job, however, and a smile and a once over was going to have to do. He spoke and she nodded, tying her hair up in a ponytail so that it would be out of her face. Catching him licking his lips, she quirked an eyebrow, not quite sure whether he was trying to flirt or whether he was legitimately a bit dried out.

"Los Angeles can get visitors lost in an instant; luckily for you, you’ve got a seasoned professional." she said, reaching in her pocket and handing him a train card.

"No-Maj transportation is going to be our best bet for today; parking in the city is terrible, and ordering a car is dangerous. This should get you through the whole assignment, but we can recharge it if we need to." she explained, pushing the front door open and waiting for him to exit.

It was a weird case, and she couldn’t place who or why. She wasn’t even sure about the what; getting to the location would explain a little more, but right now it seemed like an unsolved mystery. Their surviving witnesses had no idea what had happened, and trying to make them remember could drive them insane.

[color=mediumaquamarine] “it shouldn’t be a long ride into the city; then a few minute walk to where we need to be.[\color] Claire continued, watching him curiously. It was always an interesting adventure to have a new partner, and especially when they were close to your own age and experience.

[Dio]

---

Following in suit as Claire lead the way, Abram trailed behind obediently. If he was going to make any friends he was going to have to listen, at least that's what Clayton had ordered, Mike had teased, and Rowan had reassured. Abram was pretty giddy at the fact that his new partner was a woman his age, making it less of a headache when it came to real seniority. The wizard assumed that they both had the same amount of experience, which meant they were both on the same playing field, and that in turn meant a mutual respect.

"Sounds like I'm the luckiest guy right now then." Abe said with a playful grin.

As the two made their way to the train station Abram couldn't help but wonder what they were going to find at the crime scene. As a detective one could only pray that they would be able to find all the evidence they needed, making a case pretty cut and dry. But Abram knew that as an Auror, that wasn't the case, especially when the dark arts were involved.

The trip itself wasn't going to be too long, by what Claire was telling Abram, but he figured he might as well get the lay of the land as most of the news he heard about the Los Angeles area was just from the case files the wizard had read.

"Do you know if any dark witches, wizards, or even shops are within the scope of area the victims?" Abe asked, figuring it was better to talk about the case versus asking his newfound partner a personal question. He didn't want to seem like he was flirting too much and having her take it as harassment. Abram didn't need an internal investigation on him for misconduct.

[headintheclouds]

Claire led him into the train station, used to using the train by this point. It was the easiest and most discreet way to get around town other than walking, and she accidentally didn’t mind taking a bit longer to get places. Swiping the card and pushing through the turnstile, she looked over at him and shook her head.

”None with any track record this severe, especially against children. We looked into the nearby suspects while we were waiting for your team to get there; no signs of activity. Hell, there were a few of them that seemed legitimately horrified by what happened.”

She was surprised that he seemed to be case focused rather than personality focused. It wasn’t that he seemed irresponsible or even a bad Auror, but he definitely seemed like a charmer. “people back at the office are talking to them more, trying to get alibis. A few people went out to the shops anywhere near the site to see whether there’s anything they can find out, any customers they thought were suspicious.”

She leaned against the wall of the station, looking up at the sign to determine what the closest train would be. “the fact that there was children involved makes it worse.”

Stretching her arms out in front of him, she looked over. Her voice had been relatively quiet, their conversation meant to only be between the two of them. It would have been better to speak privately, just in case, but this was a dangerous disaster waiting to happen

”are they putting you up in hotels while you’re in town, or are you staying with the department? We didn’t exactly cover where everybody was sleeping in the briefing.” there was a good chance this handsome quasi-stranger was going to end up sleeping on her couch for a few days.

[Dio]

---

"Damn," Abe swore. He was hoping that there would be some kind of lead they could go on, but of course, that would have made the case way too easy and life wasn't meant to be easy. It was good to hear that Claire's team was working diligently on the case and Abram knew that his team was working just as hard. Both teams wanted to figure out the case without any repercussions because no one wanted the magical world to be spilt into the non-magical world.

"Yeah, I agree." The wizard said, wondering how the kids were going to be. Most No-Maj children could recover from attacks and threats of magic with time, but having death caused by magic was a whole new playground. Abram was happy that it wasn't as severe as they imagined though, with the children of course still living.

As they waited for their train to arrive, the question of where they were going to spend the night was asked. Abram hadn't really thought about that, he figured Clayton would have Mike or Rowan get a few rooms at whatever hotel was close by, but once they got onto the case it was pretty heavy working nonstop.

"I assume a hotel nearby your department, but if not we just might be crashing in the conference room." Abram said. "I suppose those chairs did look a little comfy."

The young wizard smirked at the thought of Claire worrying about where he was going to sleep. Hell, he wouldn't have minded if she offered to let him sleep at her place. Abe figured it would be more fun than crashing at the office or the hotel. He knew they'd both enjoy a bit of company, especially after his mom and his aunt were trying to hook him up just earlier that day.

[headintheclouds]

“those chairs are horrible. We all camped out on them for that trafficking case two years ago, and then we all took a week off for chiropractor visits.” Claire said, smiling. “if they don’t give you a place, you can come crash at my place. I’ve got a couch big enough for you.”

It wasn’t uncommon to have Aurors crash on others couches, but they were rarely this close in age. It was a knee jerk reaction to invite him, but she blushed lightly, the tips of her ponytail turning pink without her realizing it. “I don’t live that far from the office anyways, so it’s easier that a lot of the hotels.”

That was at least true. She had been living in an auror supplied apartment, with the rent coming out of her paycheck, but once she had started to earn a little bit more money, she had moved into a No-Maj apartment outfitted with magical things. After a long day of work, it was nice to be able to come home and just discuss how the weather was or how cute the dogs in the neighborhood were. [color=color=mediumaquamarine] “I do live in a no-Maj complex though, so you’d have to be okay with that.”[/color]

[Dio]

---

"I might have to take you up on that offer." Abram said with a playful wink. "And I have no problems with No-Majes, magic kind of came into my life in my teen years, was oblivious to the fact that I was even a wizard until then too. But that's a story for another time."

As the train pulled into the station, Abe being the gentleman he was offered out his hand for Claire to enter first. Sure, it was playful but it was more so for the fact that he didn't know where they were going. Los Angeles wasn't that far from his own home, but it was another world if you weren't a part of it as he didn't spend too much time in the city.

The rest of the train ride was pretty smooth with the two talking about their day-to-days and whispering about little things on the case that they thought about or assumed; it was just nice for Abram to get out and mingle but also learn a few things from another Auror who was his age. Most had a lot of experience over him, but Claire was bringing in a new perspective, one that he did really feel interested in.

Pulling into their assumed platform, Abram stood stretching his arms, as the train rested. "Now the trek to the crime scene begins, huh?"

[headintheclouds]

Claire accepted his help getting on the train with a little smile, laughing as he escorted her to their seat. The ride to their stop was quiet and enjoyable, with little exchanges back and forth about mundane things as well as case details that needed to be discussed.

It was refreshing to have a new set of ears and eyes even though they had only just taken the case, and it didn’t hurt that the new eyes and ears were attached to a rather pleasing face and charming personality. By the time they rolled into the stop she found herself wishing that the ride was just a bit longer.

Getting up, she yawned and stretched her back out a bit, smiling over at him. “Just a casual walk to a crime scene.” she confirmed, stepping off the train and onto the platform. “It’s nor far from here.”

[Dio]

---

Like Claire had said the walk to the crime scene wasn't far at all and on the very casual side. Continuing on their conversations from the train ride, the pair made it to the crime scene in a matter of minutes.

Abe licked his lips as they neared the home of family. It shocked him that there weren't any real concrete witnesses as the house itself was in a well off neighborhood and also not too far from the train station. There were small crowds still around the house, with a few other Aurors still investigating off in the distance alongside No-Maj detectives.

Once they were next to the yellow crime scene tape, Abram flashed his badge, notifying those around him that he had the right jurisdiction, but he waited for Claire as she was the lead this time around as it was still her turf. That's when the wizard figured that the next person who walked up to them was an Auror as he greeted Claire with a smile.

"Claire Hannon," the man said with a low, husky voice. "I don't think a crime scene is a good place for a date."

Abram grinned at the thought of him and Claire going out on a date, not that it couldn't be a possibility.

[headintheclouds]

Claire was already in working mode when they approached the crime scene, showing her badge for a moment despite the aurors there already knowing who she was. She wasn’t exactly the most unremarkable person despite her ability to blend in appearance wise, considering that she was small and had a tendency to forget what color her own hair was st any given moment. That was proven when a man walked up to her and commented on her apparent choice of partner.

“you know me, I like to keep things interesting.” she said lightly, keeping a pleasant tone to her voice despite the seriousness of the situation. Humor was the easiest way to deal with the job at this point; alcohol and drugs were dangerous and made the work harder, but humor seemed to help a surprising amount.

“This is Abram from Santa Barbara, he had the unfortunate luck of being chosen to be my partner for the case. Anything that you can tell us about this that we didn’t get in the written reports? We’ve been on the train also anything you sent in after noon we haven’t read.” she adjusted her ponytail, which had settled into a brown with blue tips.

[Dio]

---

"No news yet." The man said, forcing a hand out towards Abram.

The Auror from Santa Barbara obliged at the courtesy the other man was showing, gripping his own hand into his with a smile. "Abram Fish, it's good to be working with you all."

"I bet." He replied. "You can call me Kyle."

"Kyle," Abe said with a nod, releasing his grip from the man. "You mind if we look around a bit? I want to get the feel of the scene, kind of put myself in their shoes." He waved his hands back and forth, letting out the awkward lion that was caged underneath the fresh and hungry one that was used to being out.

Inside his head he gave himself a nice, face palm at his actions, but it was already too late to go back on it, and he chuckled nervously as Kyle agreed to his request.

"Head on in then, I'm sure Claire can give you the run down once you guys get inside. Don't touch anything!"

"Thanks, Kyle." Abe said as he inched closer towards the house, leaving Kyle behind by the tape. "Kyle's an interesting guy." Abram let out as they made their way into the house. There were burn marks around the house, with scratches and huge claw marks all around the walls and tables, surprising the wizard.

"So we're dealing with more than just wizards then."

[headintheclouds]

“you’ll get used to Kyle once you spend more time around him.” Claire said with a little laugh as she ducked under the tape, finding Abram’s awkwardness endearing rather than odd. It could be terrifying to be in a situation like this dealing with new people and god knows what.

As she walked into the house, she let out a quiet string ofless than friendly words, instinctively reaching for her wand despite the fact that there wasn’t any distinct and present danger. “If it is just wizards, then god help us all.” She said, shaking her head. “they left this out of the reports...we might need someone from the creatures division to come out and see whether they know of something that could have done this, or at least helped do this.”

Instead of her wand, she just took out her phone, starting to take photos of the damage so she could show them to people and look at it later. ”from the looks of this, those children were insanely lucky their memories are all that are gone.” She said quietly, shaking her head. She had never seen a case like this, and she was honestly a little glad the children had their memories wiped so they wouldn’t have to remember whatever had happened here.

Looking over at Abram, she quirked an eyebrow a little bit. ”Any ideas now that we’re here? This is...” she trailed off, biting her lip as she thought about what could have Happened.

[Dio]

---

"Honestly, I'm clueless." Abe replied honestly. He wasn't expecting monsters to be added into the equation, it was already going to be hard enough as they were up against dark witches and wizards, now mythical beasts too.

The wizard stood silent as he gazed at the marks along the walls. The claw marks, including burn marks, it all had to be a XXXXX monster, something that Abram knew he wasn't ready to face. "Whatever we're dealing with now just made this case 100 percent more dangerous yet exciting in a way, but still super dangerous."

A chill ran down his spine at the thought of a XXXXX monster, known for purely being wizard killers. It was strange though if dark wizards were able to tame them or at least use them for their benefit as most monsters identified by the Ministry as a category XXXXX were known to be impossible to domesticate or train.

"We're dealing with professionals," Abe sighed. "You don't happen to have someone in your Creatures Division that owes you a favor do you?"

[headintheclouds]

”I’ll smile real nice, and then remind them they have no choice.” Claire said, reaching out and comparing the size of her hand for the marks. Whatever this thing was, it was something she she never ever wanted to face. To be completely honest, she would prefer Voldemort to whatever the hell this thing was and whoever the hell was able to control it.

“do you have anybody in your Creatures division that owes you favors? There’s no way this is going to be a one agency case, especially since this...thing is God knows where and obviously has no qualms about obliterating anything it sees.”

She started to take more photos, using her hand in the photos to show scale, shaking her head. “I wonder if bringing the kids back here would be useful. With some sort of art supplies or something, maybe they can draw the thing. I wonder if asking them now to describe a monster would do anything.”

[Dio]

---

"I don't know if a favor is what they'd call it..." Abe said with a hesitant chuckle. There were a few girls within the Creatures Division that he had gone out for a few drinks with that he did intend to call back, but never had the chance too, so he assumed they would be less than pleased if he went in there asking for favors. A sigh at his own actions escaped his lips as Claire went on wondering if bringing back the kids to the crime scene would help jog their memories.

"I'm not too sure that'd be a good idea right now. I mean, we don't know what we're dealing with, but I'm sure there's a few people keeping tabs on this place in case the kids do come back." The male wizard said. "I know if I was in their shoes, I'd keep a pair of eyes around."

A knock at the front door followed by the familiar low, octave of the man outside, broke the attention of Abram as he nodded and charmingly smiled.

"I know two just got here, but you're wanted back at headquarters." Kyle said, peeping his head behind the door. "Pretty urgent it sounded like, so that means you guys get to drive back." Tossing a pair of keys towards Claire the man nodded and returned to his post outside, mentioning before he left that it was ordered by Anna Walker, who was Claire's boss.

"Maybe they got lucky or something." Abe said spitting an idea out of left park out. "I mean, we can wish it, right?"

[headintheclouds]

Claire caught the keys Kyle threw at her, making a face when he mentioned that Walker had given the order and added the urgent label to it. Abe mentioned the potential for good news and she shrugged, walking out of the house and hitting the button on the keys to see which car responded. “I mean, that’s always a possibility, but there are five levels of urgent with Walker. We’re at a level four right now with the company car, the only thing above this is instant apparition back into the office. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”

It was a motto Aurors essentially lived by, especially in situations like this; they could hope for the best news possible, but they had to prepare for all out chaos. Sliding into the driver’s seat, she unlocked the passengers door for him and started the engine. “the urgency options below this are walking, nearest floo station, and public transportation. A soxth level is added if its at night; I can get you a flow chart.” humor was the b st way to handle things if at all possible and appropriate