Book 'Em, Danno!

Khaat had gotten the orders from her father, and the orders were crystal clear. She laid Roland's dossier on her desk and then drew out the parchment out of her large antique desk and picked up a quill. She was expecting Marcus to arrive at any moment. This could not wait. Some of Grindelwald's gang had already fled out of the Ministry's grasp. She could not chance letting this man get away. He had blatantly broken too many laws even before Grindelwald had tried to brush a bit of authority over them later.

The facts remained. Roland was brilliant. He was one of the most highly skilled aurors she knew, and he was politically very saavy. Generally. But this time he had thrown his money onto the wrong horse. And lost. She didn't know why. But enough evidence had been presented before her that she, by law, could not look the other way. She had no choice.

Truthfully, there had been a time when she had liked Roland. But, times had changed, and so had he apparently. She dipped her quill into the silver gilded inkwell on her desk and began to complete the paperwork on the warrant.

The warrant for the arrest of the ministry's Head of Propaganda, James Roland, for some of the most serious charges the wizarding world had. She sighed heavily, hoping Marcus realized what he was potentially up against.

"Come in, Marcus," she said. "Close the door and have a seat." When he had done so, she handed him the file folder with all they knew about James Roland. "The evidence against him is overwhelming. That does not mean the case will be easy to prove in court, but that's my problem. Grindelwald did his best to brush all Roland's crimes under the rug so that he could continue to use him indefinitely.

"There was a time when Roland was one of the most powerful wizards in our world. He is the stuff legends are made of. And I have seen him fight. I've been in battles against him. So has my father. He is one of the finest duelers I've ever seen. I don't know if he will go quietly or whether he'll take a stand. Taking on James Roland is a bit like playing with a cobra. Its very unpredictable.

"But here is the crime. Grindelwald needed people to believe he was benevolent. A good hearted soul with the best interests of our citizens at heart. And in order to do that, he needed someone to dupe the public into believing that my father was a completely dishonest, crooked man. And that Gellert Grindelwald was going to rescue Englands wizards and witches from the evil Lupins.

"And so, he hired the best. He hired James Roland. Roland is an expert at spinning a tale to suit his own purposes. He was the one responsible for creating the image that so many people had of Grindelwald--all that business of how he was going to make life into Camelot for us? And what a great guy Grindelwald was? that was all Roland. According to our laws, that puts men, women, and children in lifethreatening danger and acts deliberately against the laws and policies that govern our world.

"In short, the charge against James Roland is treason."

"Yes," she said. "Actually, I do. My husband has worked as an auror. And one of his friends. And my father has battled Roland on at least one occasion and, I believe, won. Any of them would back you up. My father is a bit harder to get free from his duties right now, but I'm sure Brian or Angus either one would go along. I don't think you've met either of them. But its your choice. It may well be that he'll just come without much of a struggle. But I'm not entirely sure where he's gone. We have some leads tucked in the file, but I don't know if any of them are valid.

"Some of Grindelwalds clan have skipped out of England. But i am hearing just underground rumors that not all of them have gone. I have no idea who stayed and who didn't or where they are for certain. But, in my opinion, Roland caused more damage than most of the rest of them, even though he didn't actually dirty his hands with any of the violence that Grindelwald did. Not as far as we can find out. His crime as more about twisting the minds of most of the witches and wizards in England.

"Just so you know, Grindelwald himself is still on the run. I don't think he'll bend over backwards to help Roland now. I think it would be far more like Grindelwald to let them take the fall for him."