March 19th, 1892 — Head of Magical Law Enforcement's Office

It wasn't just every day he was requested to report to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. A less confident man may worry they had done something warranting discipline from not just their immediate supervisor but the Head themselves. Fortunately Walter wasn't that sort of man, every action he did was completely within his power to do and justified. Unlike some he wasn't one to abuse his position as an Auror to make shady deals or view himself as above the law. Did he bend a rule time to time, yes, that he did but only when the situation demanded it. Better to bend a rule and hoped nobody notices to prevent a dangerous criminal from escaping.

Straightening the collar of his shirt to make sure he was presentable, Walter knocked briefly on the doorframe of Greyback's office before entering.

"You wished to see me Mr. Greyback?" he asked, inclining his head to his superior in an appropriate manner.

  

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Murdock had put some appointments in the diary of a few of his aurors - this one wouldn't be a one man job. Infact, at this rate he would be suspending all other investigations until they worked out what was happening with that blasted lake. He stood and shook the other mans hand in polite greeting.

'Staghart' Murdock greeted with a nod, standing and gestured to the seat opposite his and his desk.
and retook his seat, unbottoning his jacket. Merlin this was a shit show. 'It's straight to business I'm afraid' he remarked, and pushed an alrady very thick file across the table to him, 'You'll have seen the repots no doubt.' how could he not have, it was all over the Daily Prophet - between this and the kidnappings it had been a busy few weeks. 'At first this was exclusively a Regulation and Control job, but with the deaths of the Makepeaces and their crew it's on us now.'

He knew Staghart would understand the level of scurtiny that this would put them under. 'We need a quick win on this one ideally, but nothing about it seems quick right now.''

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MJ is a National Treasure

Walter returned the handshake with a firm grip then took the offered seat. Once he settled in place, he waited for Murdock to explain why he was summoned. As he hoped, it was a new case but one that he hadn't expected to need the attention of an Auror. A shame several lives were lost in the attack but with the news claiming it was the work of some monster in the lake, Walter had assumed it would end up in the hands of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Department. His superior stated pretty much the same thing only moments after he thought it, bringing a slight nod of agreement in response.

"I'm more than willing to take a look into this, find out if there actually is a new monster in the lake or just somebody trying to cover their own crimes." Walter responded. He wouldn't put it past dark wizards to stir up rumours of a monster to cover their own crimes. He pulled the file closer to him, ready to go over all the details as soon as Murdock was done with him. "Are we working together on this or will I be going solo?"

"Is the Regulation and Control department putting any people on this as well?" Walter inquired. Whether he was working alone, with Murdock or another Auror, he wanted to know if he'll have to keep an eye on a non combatant.

  

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'our angle is mainly two fold' he explained, 'We have an unknown death investigation and hopefully a body retreival' the latter portion of that would be unpleasant work, 'But also to be on hand for when they discover this monster and it's origins- if someone purposefully or neglectfully dumped this creature in the lake, then they have culpability for the death - nefarious release or not.'it was a nuance of law that seemed unimportant, but the lawyers had confirmed that neglience to the danger that dumping a creature in a public water body was to have a hand, and indeed responsibility, in any death the creature caused - like allowing a vicious dog off it's leash.

'And yes Mrs Skeeter will be assigning a few bodies as well, I would say they will be more competant casters' he confided 'Given the potential size of this creature it wouldn't surprise me if it was the dragon restraint unit - at least until they know what it is.' it made sense of course, the dragon restraint and capture unit would be used to the sort of spell casting required to subdue the larger and magically resistant dragons. Given his limited knowledge of magical creatures he couldn't even fathom what other larger monster might exist in the world that could decimate a boat the way it had.

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MJ is a National Treasure

Dragging the lake to find missing bodies didn't seem like a job for an Auror, a thought Walter kept to himself. In all practicality he doubted that was what Murdock was thinking when he brought up the need to find the bodies. Once the cause of the attack, be it a new monster, nefarious criminals operating underwater with bubble charms for some reason or something else altogether, they can assign resources to find the bodies so they will be safe.

"Quite true," Walter agreed. If somebody intentionally left a dangerous creature in the lake, they most certainly would be responsible for all harm and damage it caused. He was no expert on magical creatures but he did recall reading about many different kinds while at Hogwarts. A few could be responsible for the attacks, after all the fishing vessel in question was designed for a lake, not the ocean.

"A good precaution," he agreed. He highly doubted it was a dragon, somebody would have spotted one flying around but if the creature was large, such a unit would be far more experienced and prepared for it.

"Was the fishing vessel itself recovered?" Walter asked, unable to recall if mention of it was made in the Daily Prophet article. "Examining the wreckage could give us some idea on what attacked it."

  

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'Most likely we will be sending you all on an underwater expedition' he explained, 'Plans are still not clear, - someone on the experimental committee is managing the particulars' someone with better knowledge of the necessary spells than him was on it as far as he was concerned, 'We are taking a large boat of our own, and giving it the ability to conduct an underwater search - I'm envisaging that you will part of that trip?' it was as much of a question as anything, it would be a dangerous engagement and he had no intention of forcing anyone to do it. He didn't much like the idea of being underwater and he didn't think he could, in good conscience force any of the men to take the same risk. That being said, this was the sort of assignment that made careers.

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MJ is a National Treasure

"I have no problem with being underwater," Walter assured his superior. He had learned how to swim during his school years in the typical way of boys, just dove in and copied his classmates to keep from drowning. In truth he wasn't a strong swimmer but with the use of a bubble charm he could propel himself through water if needed. The Black Lake didn't have any strong currents that he was aware of and the use of a specially enchanted boat to do the underwater searching would make things easier. "I know how to swim as well, just so you are aware."

When asked if he was interested in joining the team, Walter nodded firmly. He had already assumed he would be going on this assignment regardless of his actual wishes. Besides, he was wise enough to realize refusing to go would likely leave a dark mark on any future promotions. Besides, he needed a challenging case to focus on, he always felt better when working on a case.

"You can count on me," he responded, just in case his nod wasn't enough.

  

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'Excllent' Murdock noted somberly, the normally gregarious head of department austere -this case was worrying him. Human assailants he could handle, human assailants could be subdued, understood and brought to heel through tried and tested methods - giant creatures that stalked the dark depths of the Lake - well they were harder to know.

'There may be others who might be interested, if there are any of your fellows that might be of use, or want to be considered for the trip - tell them to come see me.' he said and pushed the copy of the file towards him, making it clear that this was now his copy. 'I'll have you copied on any further communications form the RCMC, I believe a Mister McKay may be joining them as mazi-zooloigists. '

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MJ is a National Treasure

Walter gathered up the case file, intending to read it thoroughtly once he returned to his desk. He also wanted to brush up on water creatures, magical or otherwise which could be responsible for the attacks. He hoped there were good sketches of the damage to the fishing boat or better yet actual photos. From the thickness of the folder he was confident he would find all he needed within to be up to date on the case.

"There are a few of my fellow Aurors who may be interested. I will definitely let them know to come see you if they wish to join the taskforce," Walter responded. He really didn't know if any of his colleagues would be interested but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Truth to be told, he would rather handle it himself, solving the case would definitely increase his reputation among other Aurors. However, he wasn't the sort to take unnecessary risks, having a second Auror around may be useful, especially if a dark wizard was behind the attacks and not just setting some monster free in the lake.

  

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'Thank you Staghart, it should be an interesting one if nothing else.' he noted grimly, and stood to shake the other man's hand. 'He pushed his own copy of the file over the table to him. Incase you need it' he tapped the copy, indicating he could take it for another interested auror. He would be given a new copy almost daily anyway - and the contents of the morbid file were almost permenantly seared onto the inside of his eyelids.

'MY door is open if you need me.' he finished

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Wrap?

  

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MJ is a National Treasure

Walter rose to his feet and grasped Murdock's hand when he offered to shake. Dealing with this beast and whoever was behind putting it into the Black Lake will be a challenge, one Walter was eager to face. It definitely wasn't like his typical cases but that made it all the more interesting.

"I will keep it in mind," Walter responded. Picking up both copies of the case, Walter tucked them under his arm. He gave a respectful bow to his superior and left.

ooc: That's a wrap. Thanks for the thread.

  

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Murdock watched him go - Good that was one thing off the table at least. His secretary came into the room, depositing some note slips on his desk, messages that had come in in the short time since he and Stagheart had been discussing the case. He flicked through them - Morwenna's secretary had confirmed.

'Can you let her know that anytime after 3 is fine, I'll go to her.' he confirmed for his discussion with the indomintable head of the DRCMC - Fraser was next on his list to check in on -but that could wait until tomorrow - a fact which was reminded to him when the clock struck the 6pm.

Right now he needed to make tracks, Titania was waiting for him.

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MJ is a National Treasure