On the Run

Of course, Grindelwald's fall had come as a shock to James Roland. The only reason he had allied himself with him was because he thought that the dark wizard would not be defeated easily. That, his disliking for the Lupin's who had infested the ministry before he had brought Grindelwald to power. Of course, now that they were back, they were unlikely to forget who had gotten rid of them in the first place. So James Roland, rather than fighting and dying like Grindelwald's loyalists, packed his bags went into hiding.

His hiding place was a muggle house. The family had left for a week for vacations and had left the house vacant, so Roland settled in and made himself comfortable. Obviously, a far safer thing to do would be to leave the country, but that would not be comfortable, and James Roland liked being comfortable.

Marcus had received a memo stating that James Roland had fled from the Ministry. He thought that James was pretty smart for not fighting the Ministry like the rest did. Of course, the Ministry always know where everyone is so Marcus took this as a game.

A very interesting game.

Marcus apparated outside the muggle residence that Roland had been hiding out in. He's sure that Roland would be surprised to see the head of magical law enforcement himself. Marcus gave a smug smile and blew down the door.

"Bombarda Maxima!" Marcus screamed and the door blasted open, revealing Roland being "comfortable".

"Look. I'm tired. We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Marcus remarked as he pulled his wand out.

Roland jumped as the door was suddenly blasted open. He had not been expecting that. Perhaps a door knock, yes. But blowing down the front door was a little overboard. What if there had just been muggles inside? Quite strange really. The man was clearly an auror, so the ministry had already found him. He smiled at the irony, the one time the auror office were actually efficient is when it most ill-suited Roland. "Your the head of aurors aren't you?" Roland asked as he examined him. Roland had not bothered to withdraw his wand because, although he would have been more than a match for the young auror, the auror would be able to call in reinforcements, and Roland did not think he could take on a whole team. So he smiled instead. "That's great! I feel proud that the ministry sends the head himself to capture me... It shows how important I am, or was. Either way."

Roland nodded and sat down again. He wasn't going to fight, but nor was he going to come without a fight. There was only one way out of this. "Come, sit down, have some breakfast. Watch some television.. These muggles make the strangest shows really," he told him amiably. "And I'm sure we can negotiate this problem. This doesn't have to end in a duel, I so hate violence. Did I mention? I have a lot of gold," he added, hoping to bribe him. It was the only way out.

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Correction. Head of the Deapartment of Magical Law Enforcement," he said smugly. Marcus always corrected people to express how important he was. Marcus was taken aback by his happieniss.

"You shouldn't really feel important. I wouldn't feel that way if I was charged with treason."

Roland wanted him to sit down. Sit down? Really? He's the head of law enforcement. Roland must know Marcus isn't stupid. "I'm not interested in gold. I'm interested in getting you in to the Minister of Magic." Marcus tightened his grip on his wand.

"I will say it again. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Expecto Patronum!" Marcus said as he summoned two more aurors.

Brian had known about Dakota's efforts to bring Roland. He'd found out about it from his father in law, Robert Lupin earlier that morning that Khaat had signed the warrant. Brian had rejoined the auror force since Grindelwald had been ousted. He knew Dakota was going out himself to make the arrest. He had been on other auror business within the community when he saw the patronus. Brian's best guess was that Dakota had found his quarry. And if the lad had lived to send the patronus, either Roland was off his game or wasn't fighting back. If Roland had wanted him dead, Dakota would have been dead already. It was impractical for Robert to go himself but Brian believed that if Dakota needed a hand, then perhaps an experienced one might be advisable.

He apparated in the direction of the patronus and found himself in an alley beside the building where the patronus was originating from. He frowned. This was the muggle section of London. He left the alley and went up the steps of the house and entered without invitation, his wand in his hand, but in a relaxed position and not necessarily at the ready.

And there they were. Roland--seated, relaxed, certainly not in fighting stance. And Dakota--young, eager, wanting to flex his title to assert his power and position. Something that was not likely to motivate Roland one iota.

"You can't honestly be happy trying to pass as a muggle, Roland," Brian said, coming in and sitting down across from him. Brian gave Dakota a small wave of his hand, encouraging the young man to relax just a wee bit and sit. A civil approach seemed better with a dignified wizard of quite a bit of renoun that the man had rightfully earned. His biggest crime seemed to be backing the wrong horse. Roland wasn't going anywhere. "I must admit, though. Hiding in plain sight is an admirable and gutsy plan. Its too bad Grindelwald left you to take the fall, really. I always thought you were better than all of this."

Sorry, i forgot :/

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Roland sighted. So this man was that type of person, one who was all duty and honor, but with no common sense. He yawned at the threats. Of course, he would be captured now, Roland did not doubt it, nor did he want to fight back. He was a practical man, and he realized that right now, there was still a chance he could get out of Azkaban, but injuring or killing an auror or two would land him straight in the wizarding prison. "Ooh, a patronus. Do I look like a dementor to you?" Roland asked patronizingly as he looked at the patronus without caring a bit. "Happens I can do that too."

"Hello Brian," he added, smiling as another auror entered his house. "I'm not hiding, I was never really good at that. Just relaxing. Tell me, who is the judge in my trial? Not Robert Lupin surely?" he asked curiously. "And my boy here tells me that I'm charged with treason. It wasn't treason... but... nevermind." Roland got up, realizing that it wasn't worth arguing with two stubborn aurors with little sense. "I am prepared to face my fate. All I can hope for is that I get a fair trial. Although, knowing you people, that might be a little too much to hope for, but I am sure that you will find that I did nothing wrong."

*that never entered my mind. i thought we were waiting on the second auror dakota summoned. oh, btw, your post made me laugh out loud. nice!*

"You never did have a reputation of hiding," Brian admitted. "Its not a bad landing spot, as those go. I don't know whether you committed treason or not. But that is the charge. Personally, I think somehow you ended up placinn your bet on the wrong horse. And Gellert Grindelwald had an impressive bill of goods to sell. But beyond that, I just don't know enough. Robert won't be the judge at your trial. Fortunately for you, Khaat is back on the bench as Chief Warlock. And we both know she has a tendency to be merciful. And, I know this may surprise you, but she and Robert have arranged for your holding cell to allow more than the usual discomforts. You are being allowed far more luxuries and privieges than usual. I don't know if I would have done that, but even if they don't agree with you, they respect you. Or at least what you were. One or the other. I didn't bother to pick apart their thinking on it...." A shrill whistle interrupted him. "Teakettle?" he asked. "We have time. I'll get it. I presume you both take milk in your tea?" He headed to the kitchen. He found the tea mugs and poured the tea and brought the mugs back. He handed one to Roland and one to Dakota and then resumed his seat.

"Thank you," Roland said, taking the cup. He was quite surprised by Brian's friendliness and there was even a small bit of respect for him there too. Roland decided that he quite liked Brian, even if his loyalties were towards the Lupin scum. "Well I guess Khaat is as fair a judge as I could hope for," Roland admitted, even though he disliked the woman just a bit, she was not her father. He sipped his tea quietly for a minute before continuing. "But a cell is a cell. A comfortable one or a bad one... they both serve the same purpose. To lock in criminals, and I am not a criminal. I am glad you have enough sense to see that, even slightly, perhaps Khaat will too." Roland wasn't going to tell Brian his reasons for supporting Grindelwald, he would save that for the trial. And besides, Brian wasn't a politician, he could not possibly understand how complicated those things were. Roland finished his tea rather quickly. "I believe I am ready to leave, though I will wait till your both done."