In Too Deep (Blairon)

General Mad Eye

Ron's POV

Harry and I stepped out the car. I glanced at my phone, putting Hermione on speed dial just incase. I knew she and Draco were still recovering from their injuries from Blaise and Theodore but 'Mione was the toughest person I knew and if Harry and I needed help, she'd be the first person we'd call.

"Ah, Deputy Weasley. Deputy Potter. Good to have you back." Terrence McLaggen stopped two meters away from us with with open arms, as if inviting us home from a long journey. "Couldn't say the same," I scowled, glaring at him. Behind him, a familiar looking scientist and two men in military wear appeared, all looking grim. The shorter military man was standing slightly behind the larger one, so I guessed he was his superior officer.

McLaggen smiled sourly. "Sheriff, this is General Alastor Moody-" he motioned to the large, burly man. He had a square-ish, mangled face with so many scars it was hard to tell his expression. Stringy blonde hair fell against his shoulders beneath his cap. He held his cane like he was ready to hit someone with it and his sneer was so prominent it made me shiver. The most startling thing about the man besides the fact that just looking at him gave me chills, was the fact that he was wearing a large, wooden eyepatch. However, the eye underneath was still visible through glass lenses. In contrast to his other brown eye, the eye beneath the eyepatch was bright, electric blue and large. Which made him look quite mad and deranged.

General Moody (and I thought my surname was odd) hobbled towards us, leaning against a thick wooden cane and shook Umbridge's hand, not bothering with me or Harry. "Sheriff Umbridge, I've heard much about you," he said gruffly and I held down a gag when Umbridge blushed.

"As have I, General. And I presume this is Sergeant Finnigan?"

The man behind the General tensed at his name being mentioned. He was extremely short, pale and very  young. Possibly the same age as Harry and I. A very light dusting of shubble and freckles littered his face. Underneath his cap, his hair was dusty blonde and his eyes were sky blue, swimming with discomfort. I could tell Sergeant Finnigan didn't want to be here anymore than we did.

He shook Umbridge's hand gingerly, then shook mine and Harry's to our surprise. Shockingly, his hands were as smooth as a baby's, which I didn't expect from a military officer.

"Uh, afternoon Sheriff. Deputies." Finnigan spoke in an Irish accent, tipping his hat. He smiled a small, uncomfortable smile at Harry and I and I tried for one back.

"Let's move this into my office, shall we?" McLaggen asked happily. He turned to the scientist behind him and whispered something into his ear. His assistant nodded and scuttled back into the building. McLaggen turned back to us with a winning smile. "This way."

Being back inside the fancy, warm office of Terrence McLaggen left a bitter taste in my mouth. The floor to ceiling windows were as stunning as ever, letting bright sunlight flood the room. McLaggen led General Mad Eye into his seat behind the desk, the Sergeant standing obediently behind him. Three chairs had been set out for Umbridge, Harry and I and after some inner termoil, I begrudgingly sat down.

The General laced his beefy, scared fingers, glaring at us with his electric blue eye. His other brown eye, seemed to be looking in a different direction which unnerved me.

"You must be wondering, Deputies, why I've called this meeting," he said. He cleared his throat aggressively and continued. He turned to me and narrowed his eye. I resisted the urge to gulp. "McLaggen told me about how you subdued the mer-"

I suddenly became as uncomfortable as Sergeant Finnigan. "I saw the footage. You seem to have had a-uh....homosexual relationship with the creature pryer to the massacre?"

Harry wanted to smile and I wanted to punch someone. This embarrassment had to be the equivalent of being pantsed in front of the entire Precinct. I could feel my cheeks flushing deeply, the heat spreading up and down my body like a high speed elevator. Harry was fighting a grin beside me. He didn't show it, but though we were technically in a crisis, he still found the General's comment funny. His eyes gleamed with horrible triumph.

I coughed. "General, my partner and I have been working on a couple ocean related deaths. Shark attacks. But given our new.... evidence, I have reason to believe that these deaths were in fact murders caused my the mer. I suspect after a while it knew we were suspicious of the state of the bodies it left behind and it trashed my home, attacking my friends as some sort of leverage," I said indignantly. "The creature has been obsessed ever since."

I didn't know how I came up with the lie so quickly, but technically it was mostly true. When McMillan and I scouted the beach the night I found Theodore, I had been suspicious of the bite marks of the dead girl Ernie had found. The marks were too small to be a sharks, but too sharp to be a humans.

I didn't lie about Blaise trashing my home, or attacking my friends. But was he obsessed with me though? No, he couldn't be. Not after what I'd done to him...

The General grunted loudly. "I see," he muttered, staring at the parking lot through the window. "Let's cut to the chase then?" Umbridge asked, her tone polite, but with a hint of impatience. Moody blinked his brown eye and nodded, a triumphant smile suddenly taking over his sneer.

"Ah!" He smacked the table and everybody in the room flinched. He fixed his eyes on Harry and I.

"Yes, of course. You two must understand that Specimen B is extremely important to us. Dr McLaggen has assured me that you two have had previous encounters with the creature and know how to handle it. That is why I am promoting you," he stated, an unsettling grin spread across his face that made his scars ripple.

Surprised, I glanced at Harry who was glancing back at me, foreboding swimming in his now dark, forest green eyes. We both knew this wouldn't be good.

McLaggen took over abruptly, finishing off for General Mad Eye. "Specimen B has been kidnapped and you two are going to find him!"