"HELLRAISER LETS GET GOING!"

          Leo Black sat casually on top of his desk, turned towards his fellow Auror's were all scribbling away at their paperwork. Which was exactly what Leo should have been doing himself, but it didn't matter how many times Patrick Hoode told him to get it done, he just wouldn't. It was as if Leo went into work every day with a stubborn will to just not participate in anything that wasn't on the move. So usually, his reports and files would pile up until the very last possible minute.

"Enjoy yourself, Black," Jorie McDonald mumbled from her desk as Leo hopped off of his own.

Leo smirked, "Oh, you know I will, McDonald." he said with a amused tone, "It pays up to kiss up to the boss."

She rolled her eyes and tried to stifle a snicker, "Give whoever it is hell for me, alright?" she said looking up at him as he grabbed his jacket from the back of his hair.

"That's what I'm here for." he told her as he hurried to catch up with Patrick Hoode.

         Patrick Hoode had worked for the Auror's office at the Magical Congress for five years, but he had spent years as an Auror at the San Fransisco branch where he started a few years after his graduation from Ilvermorny. He was also one of the few who decided to give Leo a fighting chance when he first applied to work with the Auror's department. They had every reason to say no, Leo could present a good reference or really any good grades to prove he had a idea of what he was doing. But he had excellent scores when it came to hands on magic in school, and he was eager— which was exactly what Patrick Hoode liked in him.

"Where to?" Leo asked as he caught up with Hoode as they made their way towards the fireplace in the department for easy access for them to the floo network.

"Seattle," Patrick replied.

Leo arched a brow, "Seattle? Isn't that more for the San Fransisco branch to deal with?" he asked as Patrick stepped up to the front of the fireplace and reached to the small dish that sat right on a small table beside the fireplace.

Patrick sighed heavily, "They're the ones that called us." he said as he stepped inside, and Leo stepped up next to him. "Amelio Fredricks was just killed an hour ago." he told the young Auror next to him.

         Leo stared back at him in shock, his stomach sinking. Amelio Fredricks was arguably one of the greatest Aurors to pass through the Magical Congress. He was one of the best during the first wizarding war, and he went back and forth between America and Europe on a pretty regular basis. He had made a fair share of enemies, but he had also made a lot of connections— and he found himself climbing ranks at the newly developed branch of the Magical Congress in California. Once he found himself head of the Magical Law Enforcement, that branch was the one that everyone reached out to. They rarely had to request help— Amelio only accepted the best of the best.

"Killed?" he echoed.

        Patrick gave a curt nod before dropping the handful of green ash— the two of them lifted up from the fireplace and they vanished into the the floo network until finally their feet landed in the fireplace of the San Francisco branch of the Congress. Patrick Hoode quickly left the fireplace and began to hurry down the hall with Leo close behind him. It wasn't until they finally got to the Auror department that Leo saw just how chaotic it was. Witches and wizards were hustling around, gathering papers to send off while they still could. They were quickly sending off urgent messages to other Aurors in America.

"Mr. Hoode!" a young girl, about Leo's age probably. "Mr. Hoode, thank you for coming so quickly!" she exclaimed as she waved them over to her desk— and as Leo approached it, he saw that there were flyers spread across her desk. Different ones with different pictures on them— each were copies of different undesirable wizard posters to be sent out. "It all happened so fast." she stated.

"Fredricks decided to go into the field for a call in Seattle, next thing we know is that David Gackle came back alone— he said that..." she paused, "he said that Fredricks was dead, and that Seattle was overwhelming for just their group..."

Patrick's frown deepened, "I'm so sorry for what happened to Amelio," he stated, "really, I am..."

The girl took a deep and shaky breath, her hands were noticeably shaking as she reached for a neat stack of paper that stuck out among the mess on her desk. "These are the death eaters we are sure were there tonight."

Patrick's eyes widened, "I'm sorry, what?" he was completely astonished at her statement.

Leo was as well, but not nearly as much. The Black Family, although Leo's side of the family wasn't as extreme as their cousins in Europe— had their fair share of secrets. Including their extreme beliefs, which Leo luckily hadn't acquired— however there was one person in the family that had and her face was right on top of the stack of flyers.

"Death eaters?" Patrick echoed, "In Seattle?"

The young girl nodded, Patrick turned and looked at Leo as he took the flyers from the young witch. His eyes barely scanned the top flyer before he gave Leo a look as if to ask him if he knew about this. It wasn't every day that one of his own Aurors had a family member labeled a death eater years after Voldemort's down fall...

        That night was a night that changed Leo— in more ways than one. Not only was it that night that Leo found himself getting the opportunity to take of the Aurors department. It was also the night that the Magical Congress didn't want to make public knowledge— to most of the magical public believed Patrick Hoode died from an accidental encounter with a wanted wizard who slipped right out of their grip. But Leo and the rest of his old department knew the truth, and time and time again they were told to keep the truth about death eaters quiet.

Now, here he was sitting across from Lydia— being told to keep their encounter at Riddle manor a complete secret.

Part of Leo wondered if the truth had been announced in nineteen-ninety-two— they wouldn't be in this situation.

Maybe Voldemort wouldn't have returned.

stay classy!

* edited 10/26/2020 *