Ch83. Finding the kids wandering

Tom and Natasha were finally about to reach the portkey destination when Hermione followed by Harry and Ron burst from the bushes, freezing upon noticing them.

Hermione was the first to unfreeze and she instantly rushed at Tom, grabbing him into one of her trademark bear hugs.

"I am so glad you are alright!" She exclaimed in apparent relief and Tom could only wryly smile at that while patiently patting her back.

Tom could feel that Hermione was more worried than he anticipated and that both made him want to smile and frown at the same time.

They separated after a while and Hermione instantly gained an expression that indicated she was about to go on a tiresome tirade of scolding them for suddenly disappearing so Tom decided to make use of her taking a deep breath, so she could speak for minutes without break, to cut her off before she could even start.

"Why are you here?" He quickly asked in an unhappy tone and crossed his arms on his chest as his very body posture screamed his dissatisfaction with the trio.

Stopping Hermione's indignation was only a small part of Tom's reaction. He was genuinely very unamused at the three kids roaming a dangerous area by themselves. For all they knew, the Death Eater wannabes could have been still roaming around.

Tom's ploy worked like a charm and Hermione alongside both boys became sheepish and embarrassed, donning uncomfortable expressions as they 'subtly' looked at each other, making both Natasha and Tom quite entertained.

Both of them actually expected a lie from how 'stealthily' the kids tried to behave. Ron's expression practically screamed at Hermione to lie while Harry was looking really indecisive as she silently urged him to tell her what to do.

They were obvious as heck but in a typical childish manner, they didn't even notice that Tom and Natasha watched them and their expressions in great amusement, just waiting for what hilariously ridiculous thing would come out of their mouths.

A few short seconds passed and Hermione eventually looked back up at Tom with a slight grimace, "Harry lost his wand so we are trying to find it."

Hermione obviously didn't think her words were very believable but she put as much sincerity in her tone as she could.

Fortunately for her, while her words did sound like utter bullshit, unlike Natasha who gave the kids a deadpan look, Tom's thoughts were different.

'Ah. That happened in the story too, didn't it?' He off-handedly mused.

Tom's memory was great and he remembered a lot of the Potterverse. Even some insignificant details. But he was just a human and missing memory or two was simply normal. It was impossible to account for everything so Tom could only inwardly shrug in exasperation at him missing that this was supposed to happen.

"And we also were trying to find you and Natasha too." Hermione added with a huff and an accusatory look that Tom just shrugged off with ease while Natasha completely ignored it.

"Good attempt, Missy, but I think we will have to talk about your common sense." Tom mirthfully said, making Hermione slightly blush from embarrassment as she realized their actions were indeed stupid.

Hermione was about to look down just like Harry and Ron did, but then, she heard something that made her look up.

Natasha let out a chuckle, gaining herself a betrayed look from Hermione... but she simply couldn't help herself and find it funny. Honestly, she wasn't about to get involved in disciplining Hermione, preferring to stay silent in the background during moments like this. She believed it wasn't her place since she wasn't related to the girl.

Nevertheless, she could still enjoy the show.

Tom rolled his eyes at their little byplay, "No matter, we should find Harry's wand first." That earned him a thankful look from Harry, "You can get your punishment later." Tom continued with a smirk, dashing the hopes of the kids and probably losing all the brownie points he won with his earlier sentence.

Unfortunately, the kids didn't get a chance to complain nor did Tom chance to enjoy the situation more because four men suddenly apparated near their position, making both Tom and Natasha sharply turn towards them, both on the verge of attacking...

Only for Tom to blankly blink as the corner of his lips twitched when he saw Crouch and three Aurors dramatically whipping their wands and pointing them at... him.

Really now. If this was a real battlefield, the time they needed in order to reorient themselves after their apparating and draw their wands would have been the end of them.

More importantly... Why the heck were they aiming their wands at him!?

Tom wasn't very worried about the drawn wands themselves. He was more exasperated than anything else. These wizards might be fully trained Aurors, a completely different league from some spoiled brats who barely reached adulthood, but there were only four of them instead of twenty.

In case it came to a fight, he and Natasha could defeat them. The problem would be protecting the kids behind them but at least with these people, Tom had an assurance they would not target them on purpose.

After all, the newspaper headline saying that an Auror killed or injured a civilian, much less the Boy-Who-Lived or his friends, was definitely not something either of these men wanted.

Then again, that was only if it came to fighting.

Tom quickly put his hand in front of Natasha who had already subtly drawn her pistols from her pocket dimension, ready to counterattack at any time. They were attacked just a few tens of minutes prior so Natasha was still on high alert.

Doing this was the best option because the situation could quickly escalate with the slightest of misunderstandings. Not only did it show Natasha that violence would not be necessary... yet... It also showed the Aurors that Tom didn't want to start a fight.

Just as Crouch was about to speak, Tom cut him off in the same manner as he did Hermione previously if only to slightly put the pompous-looking man in his place, "May I inquire why you rude gentlemen are having me at a wand point? I must say, I am not impressed with the manners of the English wizards so far."

That sudden insult totally halted Crouch's momentum and made his mind stop for a second, just as Tom wanted. A flustered opponent was much easier to deal with than an alert one, no matter if it was in a fight or a conversation.

Alas, Crouch was still the former head of the DMLE so he gathered himself quite quickly and threw a glare at Tom, "You are arrested for casting the Dark Mark! Don't resist or we will be forced to-"

Tom recalled that in the movies, Crouch was the one who found Harry's wand... somehow. Well, that didn't matter right now.

Most likely, he found Harry's wand here too, and used some kind of spell to locate its owner, mistaking it for Tom for some reason. That was really the only logical explanation for this situation Tom could come up with on the fly.

And while his mind worked hard to put pieces together, finding a way to get out of this situation without having to slaughter Aurors and Crouch, his mouth also did its share of work, rudely cutting Crouch off once again and not letting him gain full control of the situation.

"Oh, okay then. I am sure the public will just love Harry Potter being arrested for casting the dark mark." Tom said, turning towards the boy who instantly paled as he recognized his wand held in the second hand of one of the Aurors behind Crouch.

Tom innocently smiled, already knowing where to lead the conversation as he casually added with some obvious sarcasm, "That will be indeed great propaganda for the Ministry and the Auror Forces."

Needless to say, Crouch's determined expression faltered a bit, and even the Aurors behind him were wondering what the fuck the man they were arresting was talking about.

But as their gazes shifted towards the undeniable Boy-Who-Lived, one thing became sure. The whole situation seemed to get much more complicated.