Chapter Text
Kingsley Shacklebolt stormed down the corridors of the Ministry, anger and frustration vivid on his face. He wondered how long this would go on. Another body had been found, and Shacklebolt had about all he could take.
"Shacklebolt! Wait!" Kingsley paused for a moment as Chase Wickham, an auror from the French Ministry, rushed up to him. Chase slowed from his jog to a swift step. The blond man smiled wearily at Shacklebolt. "I suppose you've heard the news?"
Kingsley had to stop himself from growling in aggravation. "Yes! That monster did it again! I was going to call a meeting."
"Don't bother. Dillingham has called the meeting. I came to fetch you and your team." Dillingham, like Kingsley, was head of the French team investigating the cases on their soil. Once it was discovered that both countries suffered the same dilemma, they started collaborating.
Kingsley turned around to follow him. "Are we returning to your Ministry?"
"No. We are visiting the crime scene first."
Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks looked up from their desks as their office door opened. Kingsley and Wickham entered the slightly crowded office with disturbed frowns. The grim appearance of both men put the other aurors on guard. Whatever news Shacklebolt had wouldn't be good.
Kingsley's eyes darted over his three aurors. It was his silent way of warning them. "Let's go. There's been another one."
Ron grimaced. These cases were beyond disturbing to the young auror. "This is number what?"
"Nine." Tonks reluctantly stood from her chair. She didn't want to go through another one. The cases were appalling and were giving her nightmares. Tonks often found it strange that after the war, it would be her job causing sleepless nights. But those eight, now nine, lost souls weighed heavily on her mind.
Harry remained silent, although there was a hint of absent thought in his features. It was rare for the Wizarding World to have similar murders with similar methods of operation. He wondered what in the world was going on?
Wickham sighed at their slow pace. "Please hurry. Aurors are going over the scene now."
Ron suddenly turned a light shade of green. "Wickham, please tell me that we're not going."
Wickham smirked and Ron groaned with nausea.
Patting Ron on the back, Harry grabbed his auror robes and threw them on over his shirt and slacks. "Let's go."
A few hours later, eight emotionally worn aurors waited at in a conference room for debrief. Shacklebolt and Dillingham glanced at each other before both turned back to their aurors.
Dillingham began the meeting. "Ladies and gentlemen, this marks our ninth murder exactly." He raised his right arm and pointed over his shoulder to the wall behind him.
Nine large photos lined the wall from left to right, each with a number above their heads. Each photo contained a man, all of them of varying ages. Below the photos, a long table sat against the wall. Beneath each photo was a pile of papers and pictures.
Many of the aurors looked at Dillingham rather than the table and wall. No one wanted to see the grisly photos of the victims beneath their portraits.
Dillingham then pointed to another wall in the conference room. A large checklist covered most of the wall. Kingsley, who'd just hung up the photo of the latest victim and placed a stack beneath it, walked over to the large checklist, wand in hand.
"This last victim has been killed under the same M.O. as the others. May I have a full countdown?"
A French auror named Rollin began the check off. "The victim, like all the others, has been a victim of rape approximately four months previous to death." Shacklebolt flicked his wand and a check appeared beneath the new name on the checklist.
"The victim bore a mark carved into his lower back," grumbled Ron, who was disgusted by the entire thing.
Tonks was next. "A pregnancy resulted from the assault. Three months later, the victim aborted." None of the pregnancies had been kept so far. Such things were usually private affairs. The potion to abort the fetus was easy enough, even for more potion-incompetent wizards and witches.
"The victim was a dark haired man. A loner."
"The victim lived in a small isolated wizarding area of the UK or France."
Dillingham nodded angrily. His stomach still rolled after the visit to the crime scene. "Continue."
"Approximately two weeks to a month after the abortion, the victim goes missing."
"A week later, the victim's body is found."
"The victim has been sexually assaulted, mutilated, and had a similar carving placed on the abdomen." Harry stared straight ahead as he said it. He could see the markings on the photos behind Dillingham. Each scar, carved into the deeply bruised backs of the dead victims, was exactly the same.
It was in a flat temple shape, two vertical lines with a horizontal crossing the top. Another horizontal line fell a third of the way beneath the first but staying within the vertical lines. Inside the boxed area, from the top line down was a large Y with an extra arm in the center. From the second line to up and over the first was a large X.
Kinglsey finished the last check before turning to them all. "This has to stop! People are getting frightened that some insane serial killer is running through their towns and neighborhoods." The media wasn't helping much either. The story was simply too fantastical. They were only just managing to keep the details out of their reach.
Wickham shook his head. "What can we do? Every type of trace magic we have has failed to find the man."
Dillingham nodded. "That is true, but we can try a new direction. We should start looking for victims that our killer is after."
There was quiet before the aurors all began talking at once. Shacklebolt raised a hand and said, "One at a time!"
"Do you have any idea how difficult it would be to find every dark haired loner in a small community?"
Dillingham glanced over at Auror Julie Buxton. "True, but did you forget that each victim has been previously assaulted?"
"What if they didn't report it? We can't expect everyone to tell!" Dillingham and Shacklebot looked at each other then back at Ron.
Shacklebolt sighed. "Don't forget that all healers are obligated to create records for every patient they see. It's tied into their oath. From what we know of the first assaults, they were all rather brutal. It would be extremely difficult to hide the harm done, especially with the pregnancy. The victim would have to seek medical assistance. Remember that one of them was a healer!"
"I have someone bringing down files now for any reported assaults in our areas. We need to be very thorough. I don't want to see another body, do you understand?"
Everyone nodded at Dillingham. "Yes, sir!"
Tonks asked, "Have we gotten any further on profiling the killer?"
Ron leaned over to Harry as everyone began to talk about the difficult job. "Do you think we'll find this guy or any victims?"
Harry had an uneasy feeling about the entire situation. He glanced at Ron and gave his friend a weak smile. "You worry to much. We'll get him." Unfortunately, Harry wondered how long and how many innocent people it would take.
TBC