Tracked

The next day, Albus came out from the meeting with Dawson rather conflicted. Dawson was not at all certain that they had a case to investigate, one conversation was not evidence, as he pointed out. He was willing to let them continue the way they had, but he would not make it an official investigation. He thought they should rather focus on training for their official Auror proficiency exam, but he allowed them to work on this when they promised they could do both. 

He saw Scorpius coming out from Harry's office. He also looked conflicted but didn't stop to talk. Albus ran after him. 

"How did it go? Dawson is sceptical."

"Sceptical how? Harry didn't say much, but he said I should continue the way I had, but to be careful. As if I am ever not careful."

"Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Scorpius stopped. "Sorry. I just figured I had no time to waste. I need to find the Crickeys again."

Albus nodded. "Keep me posted, when you can. And be careful. We don't really know what we are dealing with here."

Scorpius gave a small smile, then headed towards the elevators. 

Rose was taken aback by Dawson's refusal to help them with their investigation. She had pegged the Auror as one who was always open to new suggestions, a person that encouraged them to think for themselves. In this however, he flatly refused to listen to what they had found, saying he needed more information before he would help. Then he continued talking about their Auror proficiency exam. They had barely been allowed to continue with the investigation, after promising they wouldn't neglect training for their exams! She saw that Albus didn't like this very much either. Well. For today at the least, they would focus on the training Dawson insisted on, so they could show that they did listen to him. She wanted more than anything to be able to follow leads on her own, without having to have everything approved by another Auror. 

Albus was clearly distracted during their training. Rose managed to nail him 3 times during the first half hour. 

"Focus, Albus! Or you will be forced to stay here all day!" 

That seemed to startle Albus out of his thoughts, and their training was a lot more even after that. Training like this with Albus was fun. They had both improved a lot. In the beginning, Scorpius had also trained a little with them, but they were much better than him now, at least when it came to offensive or duelling spells. His deception spells were better, since that is what he used the most. At times, she didn't even recognise him. It was eerie. 

A lesser man than Scorpius might have felt insecure about all the time she and Al spent together, training, reading books or doing some of the seemingly endless amounts of reports and other paperwork they needed to learn. But he didn't worry. He knew his place in her heart, and Albus'. He supported her all the time, but he never tried to mollycoddle her. She didn't have words for how much she loved him for that. 

She was brutally taken out of her reverie by a spell from Albus. She tried to duck, but she was too slow. 

"You shouldn't daydream on the job," was all he said. He smiled though. It wasn't the first time he had gotten her like that. She just hoped she would never fall into that trap in a real situation. She doubted she would. With the adrenaline that came from a real battle, she would not be stopping to think lovingly of her husband. Worry about him, maybe. But not just standing still and thinking about love. Either way, it was a habit she needed to break. 

"Let's do one more before we take a break," she said as she raised her wand again. She was determined to not let Albus get her a second time in a row. 

As they took a break to get lunch, the conversation inevitably went back to their case. They didn't understand why Dawson was so reluctant to have them work on it, but they were determined to get to the bottom of this, no matter what. Scorpius would be able to help them, especially if he was able to get in on what the Crickeys were doing today. She thought he would, he was good at that kind of thing. 

"We should check out the shop that Tom was arrested in, to see if they could have hidden something else." Al said. Without needing to discuss it further, they both got up and headed for the elevators. But before they got that far, they saw Dawson heading out as well. They both exchanged glances, then, again without needing to speak, decided to follow him from a distance. Dawson rarely left headquarters in the middle of the workday. Was he following a lead in their case that he didn't want them to know about? They took the elevator right after him, and just managed to catch him leaving. Via Floo Powder. That was strange, Dawson usually Apparated. Where was he going, that he couldn't Apparate to get there? 

Rose and Albus exchanged glances. They both had the same thought. One of Harry's new policies was that all Aurors, and quite a few hitwizards, now had Trackers on them. Usually, not everyone could access the records, both for security and privacy, but Rose knew that her father had a master copy in his desk at work. He wasn't supposed to, but Hermione and Harry pretended they didn't know about it. It was George that made the devices, it was sort of hard to deny them a copy of their own invention. The only other device that showed everyone else was locked securely in Harry's desk. There was no way they would be able to access that. They had to try to get to the one Ron had.

"You know, if either of our dads catch us, we'll be in so much trouble," Albus said.

"Then let's not get caught." 

The two of them Apparated to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and Rose hoped that her father would be there, but that George would be busy. That way, Albus could sneak in and check the Tracker, and then they would know if Dawson was somewhere suspicious. Then they had to decide if it was worth trying to follow him at all. 

Rose quickly found her father. He was entertaining some customers, but as soon as they left, he went over to her. He didn't see Albus of course. 

"Rose. What are you doing here? I thought you would be working?"

"I am. I needed to ask you something."

"Ok, what can I do?"

"What was your Auror examination like?" Rose asked this both because she needed to keep her father distracted, but also because she couldn't help but worry about it. That was probably the most important thing she would do in her life, after her O.W.Ls.

Ron smiled. "Are you worried? You don't need to be, I am sure you will do just fine." He gave her a hug. 

"So everyone keeps saying," Rose replied. "But how can I be sure? I know that if I fail, I will prove everyone right, that I should have finished school first."

"Who says that?" Ron's eyes momentarily flashed with anger. Rose almost smiled. She saw Ron's office door move just a tad. 

"No one in particular, but I can see it in their eyes. Didn't you feel that?"

"Well, for me it was special circumstances. We had literally been through two major changes in government in less than a year and had the largest magical battle in Britain ever. There were more important things to worry about than school grades. But we had also proven our worth in that battle. You have done the same, though maybe not quite on the same scale."

"And you came in with Harry Potter, who had just defeated the greatest Dark Wizard of all time."

"Well, yes, but that is something that didn't matter whilst we were training. It was as if Auror training was the only place where Harry was not forced to put up a front, to pretend to be more than he was. I think that is why he has never wanted to leave it. The other Aurors treated him like any other apprentice. Now they treat him like a friend, or at least an equal, even if he is the boss. He craves that normalcy I think."

The door creaked just slightly. Albus had departed again. He made a quick hand signal that only Rose would see, indicating that they needed to go quickly. Rose gave her father a hug.

"Thank you for listening to me, dad. I feel a lot better; I should get back to work now."

"I am always here if you need me, Rose. Just because you are an adult, doesn't mean I won't be here if you need me."

Rose held on to her father for just a few moments more, then ran back out of the store. She didn't see her fathers amused look behind her.