serinusniger | Hogwarts AU: New York City

The five teenagers are dropped, unceremoniously, into a side street, just within sight of the Brooklyn Bridge. Renee, who doesn't like traveling by magic at the best of times, and who has done so this time with a broomstick disguised as an umbrella jammed down her trouser leg next to her wand, is further discomforted by landing hard on her bum.

She stays sitting in order to clutch her stomach dramatically.

"Ugh."

Edited 2013-04-26 02:39 (UTC)

Renee is doing far better than Raph, who is propped up against one of the walls of a near by building throwing up firewhiskey and crackers.

"Aaah, the dulcet tones of portkeying," Mike quips as he gets to his feet. "Gotta love'em."

"Are you alright, Leo? We didn't splinch you, did we?"

"I'm okay," Leo says kipping up to his feet.

Renee pulls her umbroomstick out and stands, still rubbing her stomach and looking around with suspicioun. New York so far doesn't look all that.

At least not until a wizard appears on the wall a few blocks away. And three more pop into existence on a fire escape above her.

She switches her umbrella to a different hand and slowly draws out her wand.

Leo turns at the first pop of apparition and is in a defensive stance with his wand out by the second. By the third he's moved between his travel companions and the threat. The only other brother with as quick a reaction time is Mike, and he's sticking by Raph who is still dealing with the aftereffects of the journey.

It's hard to really between them and the threat, because as Renee looks up and around, she notices that they're completely surrounded, with grown witches and wizards that are all holding wands, but none are raised.

Did Ross send us into a trap?

She circles around, her back to Leo, putting Raph and Mike between them, and watches.

Until a man strolls into view at the end of the street: Not in wizards robes, but a shirt and braces, a cap on his head, and a cane in his hand that Renee is pretty sure must contain a wand.

He cants his head at the five of them.

"Well, well, well."

The boys continue as they are. Leo and Mike are in ready positions, Raph still mostly doubled over. Though there's a strong possibility that he's playing 'possum.

Don's the only one who commits to a very slight bit of movement. It almost appears as though he's fiddling with his watch.

Renee moves. She moves a hand out slowly towards Don, attempting wealky to stay him. This isn't good, but she really doesn't want this to get worse.

The man lifts his cane up but only so he can spin it dramatically in his hand as he walks towards them - specifically towards Leo. He's shorter than most of the teenagers, and makes up for it with cockiness (although the many wizards surrounding them probably help with that.)

"That's not a public access portkey," he remarks.

Once the recorder on Don's wrist is set, his hands still. He makes brief eye contact with Renee and nods ever so slightly.

It's okay. Whatever happens it'll be okay. Don will have it recorded for picking apart later. You know...should they survive this.

"I wouldn't know," Leo says with equal coolness. "But I'll take your word for it."

It'll be okay as long as no one does anything stupid. Her experience with the Hamato brothers is... well, Raph and Mike.

The man finishes walking right up to Leo and grins up at him.

"So I know you'll have a good reason for showing up in Brooklyn. Maybe you haven't heard that wizards aren't welcome here?"

"And yet here we have a fine wizarding welcome committee. Curious, don't you think?" By the tilt of his chin it's clear he's directing the question to Don.

"It certainly does put an interesting spin on things," Don replies, his tone crisp and level.

"I don't know, I think it's kind of nice. You know, a sign that someone cares enough to send the very best," Mike pipes in up from his spot next to Raph.

Renee rolls her eyes. She glances at Raph as if to check on him, and shakes her head at the whole macho grandstanding she's witnessing.

"Here's how it's going to go," he continues. "You're either going to come up with a really good reason for having access to that portkey, or tomorrow the Agency get a new set of examples why they don't send people here."

(One of the witches behind him frowns, turns to a friend. That friend shakes his head tightly.)

Aside from being doubled over, Raph looks fine. In fact, he looks as if he's just waiting for the quaffle to be tossed so the match can begin. It's that kind of itchy anticipation for a fight that makes him as good a beater as he is.

He's just waiting for Leo's signal.

Leo's eyes narrow as he gives the man one final sizing up. Raph should be in place by now if they need a quick retreat. Say what you will about Raph's temper, no one casts a Ninja Vanish like he does.

"Leah Ross," is all Leo says in reply.

Slowly, he smiles.

"Well, why didn't you say so?"

Raising his voice just to be heard, he addresses the rest of the wizards. "Right, everyone get back to what you were doing!"

They all disappear as quickly as they had arrived, leaving just the short man on his own with the kids.

Back to Leo, he taps the brim of his hat in greeting. "You'll be wanting to cross the bridge, then."

Renee glances at Don, in the hope he has the same questions as she does.

Don has many questions. Oh so many many questions, but before he can give voice to them...or even before he can give Renee a knowing look about them, Raph speaks.

"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me?" he says standing up right.
Someone's sad he didn't get to bust a head or two.

Don rolls his eyes. He's so put upon with brothers like his.

"Thank you, yes," Leo responds as if he hadn't heard Raph.

"Did someone offer you party then snatch it away?" Renee asks Raph with a smirk. When the man turns his back on them and starts walking towards the Brooklyn Bridge, she hurries to catch up with him.

"How do you know Professor Ross?"

He smirks at her. "I don't know her at all. But when she was just Leah Ross, we butted heads a few times."

"When she was at the Agency?" Don hazards a guess.

Raph will not dignify Renee's question with an answer. At least, not with words. Though he can be heard grumbling somewhat as he takes his usual position of bringing up the rear.

Mike speeds up so that he's walking alongside Renee. He is the guy that runs point, after all. And well...the faster they get to the bridge the sooner he sees the skyline that makes New York.

Leo just walks, his wand clenched in one fist. Somewhere someone has Dinah, and he's going find them and kill them.

"Don't let her hear you insult her like that," he says. "She can be vicious when provoked."

The frown that Renee sends Don is one of wishing she could read his mind, or that he could read hers so they could compare notes."

The man continues: "No, Ross never worked for the Agency any more than I did."

"She was a Quidditch player," Renee says, slowly as she thinks.

Don seems to take that less than veiled threat in stride. Also taken in stride? Renee's frown, which he sends back at her as if he understands what she's thinking at him.

Really, what he's doing is kicking himself for being rubbish at mental magic. It's a good thing he's amazing at technomancy...and that he's still recording. Later, when they're safely ensconced at Casey's apartment, he and Renee can go over the recordings with fine toothed combs and the new algorithms he's been working on.

"I'm sorry, question? Hi, yeah...who are you? And why are we following you?" Oh Mikey, out of the mouths of the completely non-threatening come the most bold of questions.

Renee stops in her tracks, letting Mike get a step in front of her before she catches up.

"That's Spot Conlon," she tells him, and it's partly asking the question.

The man in question shrugs one shoulder in answer.

To Mike: "He was keeper for the Brooklyn Bullets before they disappeared. At the same time Professor Ross was playing with the Arrows."

"Keeper and Captain," Conlon corrects.

Raph stops walking.

"No. Fucking. Way. You are not Spot Conlon."
Because of the four of them, Raph's the only one who ever paid the slightest bit of interest in sports of any kind.

Conlon looks over his shoulder at Raph.

"Who else?"

By now, of course, they've reached the ramp up to the Brooklyn Bridge, and he leans against the barrier to the footpath, jerking his head behind him in the vague direction of Manhattan.

They can stay and talk, or they can go.

"Who else," Raph says with hero worship in his voice as he elbows Don.
Don...doesn't get it, and it's clear that Don doesn't get it.

"Spot Conlon," Raph repeats for his sake. "He was the one of five keepers in all of Quidditch history to successfully pull a Morally Ambigious Teresa without losing so much as a finger or a toe!"

Still...nothing from Don.

"Against the Fitchburg Falcons? August 23rd? Any of this ringing a bell?"

Again...still nothing.

"What the hell kind of books do you read, man?"

Mike sidles up next to Conlon with a scrap of paper from one of his many pockets. "Could you sign this for him before this gets ugly? Please?"
Mike even has a pen on hand.

Conlon raises an eyebrow, but signs the paper.

"You kids get out of here," he says. "And tell that bird hanging out by City Hall to get gone, too."

It takes Renee, as the token British person in the group, a few seconds to realize he doesn't mean a woman.

"Consider it done, Sir. And thank you," Leo replies, punctuating his polite response with a respective bow.

Raph and Don are still glaring at each other when Mike wedges his way between the two of them distracting Raph with the autograph.

Renee grabs Don by the elbow and pulls him with her towards the bridge.

"Tell me what you're thinking."

Brooklyn: DUMBO

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