In Vegas and In Trouble

There was a shout, the sound of something crashing and the screech of a very unhappy bird. Everyone turned to stare at the door to the apartment.

"Oh, no," Harry said softly. "Hedwig." He'd sent her off to Hogwarts when this disaster had first started, using a rather complicated charm that essential apparated an owl across great distances. The spell was difficult and draining, but necessary. He needed to let someone from the Order know what was going on. He just hadn't expected someone on the other side to return he the same way. Not many people could manage that charm.

Harry glanced quickly at the officer standing next to him. The man had started at the noise, but his eyes shifted back to stare at Harry. He wasn't going to let Harry wander off anywhere.

One of the other policemen was moving towards the door, one hand on his weapon. He cracked the door open just an inch. "Everything alright?" he asked.

"Shut the door!" someone yelled and then there as another crash and something that sounded like "damn bird!" shouted from inside.

Now everyone was staring at the door and Harry was starting to get worried. Hedwig must have brought him a response. Someone would probably try to take I from her, and she'd defend it like the proper owl she was. He just hoped she didn't get hurt.

The blond lady that had taken his clothes walked over to the door and tapped on it. "You two okay in there?" she asked. There was a response, but it was too muffled for Harry to make out what it was, but the woman was frowning now.

"Um, ma'am?" Harry lifted his hand to get her attention and ignored the disgruntled look from the officer beside him. He needed to do something about this now before something happened to Hedwig, or before Hedwig happened to someone else. She could be very aggressive in protecting his mail, and he didn't nee her clawing the face of one of the investigators.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?" the woman asked. She walked over to him and was staring at him the way his professors used to when they knew he hadn't done his homework.

"That bird belongs to me," Harry told her. He needed to stay calm, sound confident. Act Slytherin.

The woman just stared at him.

"Um, she's - ah, not going to calm down unless I'm in there," Harry told her. "I don't want her to get hurt."

"We won't hurt your bird," the woman told him, starting to turn away.

"But she might hurt someone!"

The woman stopped and looked back at him.

Harry stared right back at her. "She's scared, ma'am. Can't I just go calm her down?"

Something else crashed within the apartment and the woman turned to look over her shoulder at the door. Then she sighed. "Well, come on. You can get the bird to hold still until animal control comes."

Harry didn't hesitate to follow her, happy to get away from his guard. The man had been making him nervous ever since Harry had changed. Harry had managed to slip his wand from one pocket to another without the man seeing, but he couldn't help the feeling that he was going to be found out at any moment.

"Animal control?" Harry asked her. "Is that really necessary?"

The woman arched one carefully sculpted eyebrow. "You have a large, potentially danger, frightened animal? You think it isn't?"

"She's just startled, that's all.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, since he didn't have a choice. She probably would be fine. She just was not going to be happy with him.

They walked up to his door and the woman tapped on it again. Harry felt a little weird waiting to be let into his own apartment, but after a moment the door popped open just wide enough to see one eye looking out at them, framed by shoulder length brown hair.

"Mr. Potter wants to know if he can try calming down his bird. I thought you might need the help."

The door shut for a moment and they could hear voices on the other side. The woman who had opened the door wanted to know if they should let Harry in. After a moment, the door popped back open "Make sure you get in here quick. We don't want it getting away."

Harry wouldn't have minded if Hedwig managed to get away, but he didn't think that was going to happen, so he did as he was told and slipped through the door.

The apartment had looked better.

There were white feathers everywhere, not to mention quiet a few things knocked over, chairs, books and even his cheap little coffee table. Harry sighed. He liked this apartment. That was the only reason he was putting up with all of this. He didn't want to give up his quite life here in Vegas. Having his apartment trashed was also something he would have liked to have avoided.

There was a screech from the other room. Harry stepped farther in and could see one of the other men from before trying to get close enough to catch hold of Hedwig. But Hedwig was much to smart for that and was eyeing the other man suspiciously like she wouldn't mind taking a chunk out of his hand.

There was also a letter clasped in her claws.

Harry sighed. "Hedwig," he called softly. That was all it took. Her eyes shifted over to him and in a moment she was darting forward and coming to land carefully on his shoulder. She was a big bird, but now hat eh was a little older, he could support her weight as long as she didn't dig in too much with her claws. But Hedwig was much to fine o an owl to do anything like that, and instead she perched herself delicately, letter clasped lightly in front of her, waiting to be delivered.

Everyone in the room stared at the to of them an Harry felt like sighing again.

"I guess that worked fairly well," the blond woman, Willows, commented. The other woman just nodded.

The man from before stood up with the speed of someone whose knees aren't as good as they once were and walked over to join them. Grissom, if Harry remembered correctly. "That's a beautiful bid you have there," he commented. He didn't sound like someone who'd just spent who-knew-how-long trying to catch said bird.

"Her name's Hedwig," Harry replied, figuring he ought to introduce them. "Hedwig, this is Inspector Grissom." Grissom smiled in response and Harry felt himself relax a little. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad. Harry turned to the blond woman. "And this is Willows. And this is..."

"Sara Sidle."

"Sorry about the trouble," Harry told them, reaching up to rub Hedwig's head soothingly. "She doesn't always react well to strangers." He moved slowly over towards the couch. Her perch had been knocked over and he had to set her down somewhere. It was the only way he might have a chance at slipping the letter from her without anyone noticing. He managed to get as far as to move Hedwig from his arm and the letter from Hedwig when he was stopped.

"We'd like to see that, Mr. Potter."

Harry turned his head slowly to face Grissom. "This?" he said, holding the letter up carefully o that all they saw was blank paper. "It's just a spare piece of parchment."

"All the same, Mr. Potter," the man replied, just as politely. "If you would, please."