Auror Office
Wednesday, December 14
9:12 AM

Managing two major cases meant that he was perpetually behind, especially after having spent an entire weekend essentially offline while helping with the joint patrols.  That morning, Jonas had come straight into the office after he’d dropped Artie off at school, with the intent of chaining himself to his desk until he was finally caught up on all of his paperwork.

He was in the middle of a final read-through of one of the reports that he owed to Carstairs and Pratt when someone rapped on the cubicle wall behind him.  Trying not to sigh at the interruption, Jonas spun his chair around to see Kurby Bagnold leaning against the entrance to his cubicle.

The werewolf hunter still looked worn from the previous weekend.  He still hadn’t bothered to shave, and although his dark gaze was even as he watched Jonas, something about his body language seemed to convey the sense that he was exhausted, as if he hadn’t really caught up on sleep since his three-day watch.

“Bagnold,” Jonas greeted the younger wizard.  “Alright, mate?”

Bagnold lifted his chin slightly, acknowledging the greeting.

”Yeah, uh…” He hesitated, his brows furrowing. ”I’ve been goin’ through all of the reports from the weekend, and I caught something that seemed a bit odd,” he said after a beat.  “I thought I might pass it on to you lot.”

Jonas paused for a moment, considering.  He didn’t really need anything else to follow up on -- he was already behind on legwork related to the Hunt case, and there was plenty of work due to come out of this past weekend related to Tawse.  The thought of adding another task to his list…

But the werewolf hunter looked tired enough that he felt guilty running him around, and Bagnold usually had good instincts.  If he thought that something was deserving of bringing to Level Two’s attention, it was likely worth looking into.

The red-headed Auror gave him a nod.  “Shoot.”

Bagnold swallowed, taking a moment to seemingly gather his thoughts.  ”One of the patrols was near the southern edge of Regent’s Park a little bit earlier in the evenin’ on Saturday,” he said, meeting Jonas’s gaze evenly.  ”They noticed a figure in baggy robes -- wizarding dress -- so they took note of ‘im.  It was over near that, uh, Muggle wax museum --”

“Madame Tussauds, innit?”  Jonas supplied.  He frowned absently, trying to envision a map of London in his head.  Yes, that wouldn’t have been far from Regent’s Park, but on the opposite end of the park from the zoo.

Bagnold nodded.  ”Whoever it was, he or she was carryin’ a big bag full of somethin’.  They walked up to the side of the building and used their wand to open some sort of hidden compartment there.  Stashed the bag, then took off quickly.”

That was...a bit odd.  But then, magical folks did all sorts of odd things in London.  So did non-magical folks, who also might dress in baggy medieval-looking wear.  Jonas frowned, his forehead creasing.

“Why do you reckon that’s worth looking into?” he asked quizzically.  “You think it could be connected to Tawse?”

The werewolf hunter hesitated for half a beat, and then shrugged.  ”Maybe,” he replied.  ”Smith also mentioned in the report that he thought that whatever was inside the bag was movin’ or thrashin’ about.  Just struck me as off, all things considered.”

Something about this definitely felt off -- but it wasn’t entirely the details of the story.  Bagnold wasn’t usually one to bring Magical Law Enforcement strange hunches to run down.  In fact, the only time that Jonas had really seen the werewolf hunter come to Level Two was to bother his cousin, Nate Whitman, or to collaborate on the situation involving the direwolves.  Asking the Aurors to look into vague leads was usually not how he operated.

Maybe the other wizard was feeling more inclined to pass on potential tips after their recent cooperation?  Or maybe he was so overwhelmed after the events of the past weekend that he was being a bit more jumpy than usual?

Jonas studied him for a moment, considering his options, and then mentally sighed.  At most, it would likely take an hour or two of his time.  The best way to handle the situation was to probably just accept it as a necessary cost of maintaining their growing working relationship with the WCU.

“I’ll look into it,” he said, flashing him a reassuring smile.  “You mind sending me a copy of the report?  Or any other details that Smith noticed, yeah?”

Bagnold gave him a brisk nod.  ”Aye, I will,” he agreed, starting to turn away.  ”Thanks, Trevelyan.”

Per usual, with the point of the conversation achieved, the other wizard was departing.  Jonas debated for half a beat whether or not to say something, and then decided to hell with it.  The worst that could happen was that he got his head bitten off.

“Bagnold,” he called after the younger man. 

The werewolf hunter stopped in his tracks, glancing back at him.

Jonas assumed his best indifferent expression.  “You’re going to take a day off soon, yeah?” he asked nonchalantly.

Bagnold regarded him silently for a moment, his expression momentarily unreadable.  A beat later, he snorted. 

”Yeah, the weekend,” he retorted, raising a challenging eyebrow at him.  ”And Monday.  Assumin’ everything gets done first.”

Jonas flashed him a lopsided smile.  “Well, let me know if there’s anything else we can do to help facilitate that,” he replied cheerfully.  “Cheers, mate.  I’ll let you know if we manage to track down any wriggling bags.”

The other wizard made a show of rolling his eyes, but Jonas thought he caught the hint of a smirk as he turned away.  Satisfied, he returned back to his paperwork, taking a moment to find his place in the report again.

Well, at least he could probably find someone interesting to drag along with him on an expedition to Madame Tussauds in London.