January, 1927
CIRCE DALTON always thought that she's going to do something great in her future. She just never knew the extent of it, or how she's going to get to it. Or, well, she didn't expect it all to start with the Ministry of Magic storming inside her family's potions shop — The Chemist.
Under normal circumstances, she and her family would greet the Ministry officials with open arms, however, this time is different. There are several Aurors standing in the door, and they've charmed the 'OPEN' sign to 'CLOSED'.
The lead Auror of their mission is Theseus Scamander, the current Head Auror. Circe knows him from the Daily Prophet, as the journalists often like to talk about the most promising Auror in all of the United Kingdom. A war hero, they call him also, for saving Muggle lives during the first world war that they weren't even allowed to meddle with.
But she also knows him because he's the older brother of Newt Scamander — one of The Chemist's regular customers, though above all, her friend — and also because the Ministry itself gets many of their potions from the shop located in Diagon Alley in London.
Circe stays hidden behind a curtain in the back of the shop, letting her father and his brothers deal with the Aurors. She looks upon her cousins, who work in the family shop, too, and shakes her head to signal them that they shouldn't intervene and let the owners deal with it.
"Benjamin, Oscar, Richard and Roy Dalton, you're under arrest for the assistance to a known criminal, Gellert Grindelwald," says Theseus.
Circe's eyes widen as she hears it, her eyes darting between all five of her present cousins. They shake their heads, not knowing what is happening either. Their family does not support Grindelwald in any way. This doesn't make any sense.
"Our family does not support that man," says Benjamin at once, the oldest one of the brothers; and Circe's uncle.
"You've sold your potions to many of his supporters," states one of the other Aurors that came along with Theseus Scamander.
"What?" Circe can't help herself but step out to the front of the shop, staring at all the Aurors with her eyebrows knit together in utter confusion. "That is the most idiotic reasoning I have ever heard from an actual Auror for an arrest," she says, shaking her head. "Do you really think we give all of our customers surveys? 'Do you support Grindelwald? Check yes or no'?"
"Circe ..." Roy Dalton, her father and the youngest of the Dalton brothers, shakes his head at the girl to stop.
Theseus Scamander sighs, looking at the woman standing in front of him, as recognition gleams in his eyes. He realises they've met before, and that meeting alone should be enough proof that her family — or her specifically — does not support Grindelwald, his actions or his goals.
They have met in Romania, when Theseus was on a mission to hunt down Grindelwald. Of course, that mission proved unsuccessful until eventually, Newt managed to capture Grindelwald in New York.
Nevertheless, Circe was in Romania to gather some potion supplies, specifically dragon blood for some of their potions. (It is an expensive ingredient, but very useful and powerful.) Her brother works as a Dragonologist in Romania, so it's the best place to get the ingredient from. And, as she was there, she happened to find herself in the middle of several of Grindelwald's acolytes trying to wreak havoc and break the Statue of Secrecy. It nearly resulted in several Muggle deaths, though luckily, Circe had managed to cast a protective spell over herself and the Muggles.
Theseus was there, too, and the two of them obliviated the Muggles that had seen the entire ordeal to protect the Statue of Secrecy and themselves.
It would be safe to assume that she wasn't then and she isn't now a big fan of Grindelwald's, considering her rant that followed afterward.
"You just need someone to blame, don't you?" asks Circe, hitting the nail on the head as Theseus averts his gaze to the ground. The other Aurors don't react the same way as him, but his reaction alone tells everything.
"What potions are you speaking of?" asks Oscar to stop his niece from running her mouth and possibly getting herself arrested for disrespecting a Ministry official. Specifically the Head of the Auror Office.
Theseus looks at the older man. "Sunburst Potion mostly, that we know of," he answers sternly.
The Dalton brothers share looks, all slightly confused.
It makes sense to Circe. That they would use the Sunburst Potion, as it is quite an effective distraction and means of escaping. She just doesn't remember many people overall buying the potion. Maybe five or six, but if the Aurors came to arrest the Daltons, then the extent of the potion's use must be bigger than just six at best.
The Sunburst Potion is one specific to The Chemist as it is a family recipe. It is a clear liquid with a glittery golden essence inside. It is put into small vials that are meant to be thrown. It creates a burst of light upon impact, temporarily blinding the people in its proximity.
It's a potion that can give one time to escape; say when they're trying to avoid capture.
Circe inhales, shaking her head disapprovingly. "This is ridiculous," she says, running a hand through her dark hair in frustration. "This entire situation is rubbish. We've only sold about six vials of the potion that I can think of, and it was to people I know — they were not supporters of Grindelwald."
Theseus narrows his eyes at the woman, examining her and weighing his options. He does believe her. He believes that she is innocent, but he has no proof for the rest of her family.
Still, her conviction would be enough to get him to walk away as he, too, finds this predicament quite unfair to the entire Dalton family. There was no investigation on them, and their arrest is based purely on assumption. Yet it was enough for the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to declare the four Dalton brothers guilty of crimes they might not have committed.
Theseus, despite being the Head Auror, does not have enough authority over the Head of the Department to lead a thorough investigation to see whether they are, indeed, guilty or if their luck is simply not on their side.
"If I may; there is no proof of our alleged crimes — supporting Grindelwald —, correct?" speaks up Richard Dalton, staring at Theseus Scamander determinedly.
The Head Auror nods, trying not to sigh as he realises that Circe Dalton is right and this entire situation is ridiculous. Hiding his wand in the pocket of his suit, he approaches the Daltons. He hopes that he's coming across as unthreatening, and considering neither of them move away from the man, he supposes it's working.
Then again, Theseus has never been the intimidating type of person. Stoic and aloof, perhaps, but not intimidating. Unless people count his height into the equation.
"There is not much we can do, I'm afraid," says Theseus, a bit of defeat slipping into his tone.
He knows that what he is doing is wrong, but he does not have much choice currently. He has gone against the orders of a Minister of Magic, that is true, but he won't get another war hero title if he goes against his superior's orders again.
Circe glares at the man, and Theseus accepts it as she has all the reasons to do so. He is arresting her father and uncles, after all. They will be sent to Azkaban, for a crime they possibly haven't done.
"You could find more evidence and prove that they're innocent," Circe argues, folding her arms on her chest.
"It was Travers who gave the order, wasn't it?" asks Benjamin as he shakes his head. Knowing the man personally, he knows of his regularly made rash decisions that have landed many innocent people in Azkaban. Or worse, dead.
Merlin knows how he managed to climb through the Ministry ranks to become the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Theseus finds himself nodding once again.
"Alright. We'll go willingly," says Roy. "We don't want any trouble."
Circe gives a look to her father, glancing at her uncles, too. They seem to agree with one another, however, the woman shakes her head vigorously.
"Can't we just ... stop the production of the Sunburst Potion or something? Do we really have to go to such an extreme as locking up the shop owners in Azkaban?"
"We don't have a choice, Miss Dalton," says the Head Auror. "We've been given orders that we must follow."
"That's just an excuse to not think for yourself, Mr Scamander," Circe shoots back, giving the man a significant look. "And I'm sure you've plenty of things to say for yourself and the way Travers leads the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
She stares into the blue of Theseus' eyes determinedly, trying to find a solution that would keep her family out of Azkaban. Though so far, she seems to be losing as the Head Auror is too busy following orders instead of his own intuition. She can see it in his eyes; that he thinks her family is innocent.
"I'm sorry, Miss—"
Circe laughs in the Scamander man's face and shakes her head. "No, you're not sorry, Mr Scamander. Had you been sorry, you would have left already, because you know my father and uncles are innocent and have not committed any crimes. Not even the smallest of crimes that is agreeing with Grindelwald's views. Which, by the way, isn't even illegal unless we were to act on it."
Theseus closes his mouth as he stares at the woman in front of him, her brown eyes boring into his. She has a point. Unfortunately, Theseus still has a hard time finding the courage to go against given orders as it could jeopardise his position in the Ministry.
"Circe ..." Roy Dalton speaks once again, trying to tame his daughter.
"Sounds a lot to me like you've done your research on what you can and can't do, Miss Dalton. You sure you don't support Grindelwald? Since, like you said, having an opinion that matches his is not illegal," speaks up another one of the Aurors accompanying Theseus, a smug expression on his face.
Two other Aurors move toward Circe, but Theseus outstretches his arm and shakes his head at them both. "Don't," he orders them. "She's trying to defend her family. That's not a crime."
"Family? She doesn't even look like a Dalton," says an Auror in the back mockingly.
Circe glares at the man, reaching for her want within seconds, prepared to turn him into a pig. But Roy approaches her and lays a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, offering a small smile that she has a hard time returning as she's furious with the Aurors standing before her.
"That was over the line, Langdon. Get out," says Theseus through gritted teeth, sending the Auror away with a stern glare. He turns to Circe apologetically, but she ignores him, her attention on her father and uncles, instead.
"It's alright, Circe," says Oscar Dalton to the woman with a smile matching her father's. "We'll be fine." He shrugs. "And if anything, you're probably the one person who can get us out eventually."
Circe's eyes dart between the four brothers. She shakes her head in disagreement. "No. This can't happen. It's unfair," she says, looking at the men.
"We'll make sure nothing happens to them," says Theseus.
"Something has already happened to them, Mr Scamander. So that promise hardly stands," Circe replies indignantly, pursing her lips.
Theseus averts his gaze to the potions on the shelves behind Circe, unable to withstand her withering glare. He's used to dealing with arresting people on a regular basis, but this is strangely different. Because it seems that these people are actually innocent for once. At least, that is what his gut is telling him. And he can't do anything to stop this, unless he wants to face the consequences that him going against orders would bring.
"I don't understand why you're not focusing on the actual supporters of Grindelwald instead, as they're acting out because Grindelwald has been caught and detained in the United States."
"Do you think I don't know that, Miss Dalton?" A bit of frustration slips into the Head Auror's tone, and Circe raises an eyebrow at him. "We're currently doing the best that we can."
The Dalton woman scoffs. "Sure you are."
"Let it be, Circe. It's the word of the Ministry of Magic against us." Benjamin shakes his head. "They have all the power."
"Maybe they shouldn't."
"Be wary of the next words you choose, Miss Dalton," says Theseus warningly, and she looks at him in a way that says she doesn't care. But she doesn't speak another word either.
Still, they're already detaining a part of her family. What difference would it make if she had said something traitorous and ended up being detained with her father and uncles?
Her father gives her a look, and she knows that he wants to protect her. She and her cousins should take care of the shop while they're gone. But also, she knows she will have to do something about this.
Find proof that her father and his brothers are not guilty of anything they've been accused of. That everything about this is ridiculous. And essentially, to put the Ministry of Magic to shame for being unfair.
And for being incompetent, punishing and sentencing people who are innocent instead of those, who clearly aren't. Then again, it plays into the Ministry's incompetency, if they're not capable of catching the actual supporters, thus resorting to locking up the people they could easily get their hands on.
Although they've no part in any of Grindelwald's plots, and most of everything is just a stupid coincidence.
Though, unfortunately, the Ministry simply needs somebody to blame. And Grindelwald's already been caught.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
we're back! after secrets of dumbledore,
my love for theseus scamander has
returned from its beauty sleep :D