Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them...Continued.

2: New Office

TINA
It was about seven in the morning when Tina left for work. The entrance was just as crowded as usual, the meters set to 'low threat'. House elves were polishing wands. Everything was as it should be; a normal day at MACUSA. But Tina was especially cheerful. She had slept well, had a good breakfast, and noticed for the third time this week that the New Salem Church was empty, even though it had been fixed. Her morning was going great.
So, naturally, something had to come along to mess it up.
"Hey! Goldtsein," a voice called. She turned around to find Mr. Walanby, emergency-appointed head of the Auror office.
"Mr. Walanby," she said. "How can I help you?"
"The Aurors are about to start the search for the real Percival Graves," he said.
"Good, I'll be joining them. When do they start?" She asked eagerly.
"See, that's the thing. We don't need your help with this one."
"Why not?" Tina asked, her heart sinking.
"Because we need you for a more personal case. Mr. Johansen's kids went missing last night," he said under his breath.
"Mr. Johansen?" Tina asked incredulously. "No one in their right mind would mess with Mr
Johansen. He's so high up he could--"
"Fire anyone on the spot," Walanby nodded."That's why we don't think it's a MACUSA worker."
"Any leads?"
"They found this in the kids' room. Take it to your office and examine it; this is a secret case," he said, passing her a bag. Tina took it and discreetly tucked it into her coat.
"Get going, now," Walanby gestured her away.
Once in her office, Tina took the paper bag from under her coat and opened it carefully. Inside was a green and gold bangle, that seemed too big to fit on a wrist. She lifted it from the bag with magic and placed it on the desk, dusting it for fingerprints. There were three, and the best one was full. After consulting the files, she finally found a match;
Elizabeth Penelope Graves.
Percival Graves's mother. Oh no.
Tina made a beeline for Mr. Johansen's office, where he sat looking more furious than she had ever seen him.
"Goldstein? I heard they put you on the case. What do you want?" He said sharply.
Tina took a deep breath."Sir, form this piece of evidence, I found the fingerprints of Elizabeth Graves."
Johansen studied her and his face went from enraged to confused.
"Graves's mother kidnapped my children?" He asked.
"Quite possibly, sir," Tina said cautiously.
"Find her, Goldstein," he said with a hint of desperation in his voice.
"Yes, sir," Tina marched out of his office, with a few ideas of where to start looking for her. The file gave her adress and place of work, of course, but the real Graves had once told her his mother liked to spend time at a coffee shop on the corner of Easton Street. She Disapparated as soon as she left MACUSA.
The coffee shop, Mooncoins, was small and steamy. The air was fragrant with coffee beans and muffins, and the few people that were inside enjoyed books and a mug of their favorite coffee. But no Elizabeth Graves. Then it hit her; why would a woman with two kidnapped kids leave the house? Cursing herself for not thinking of it before, Tina Disapparated in an alley.
She Apparated right outside Elizabeth's apartment door, and heard hushed voices on the inside. Excitement mounting, Tina listened.
"Please...take us home Mrs. Graves. We didn't do nothin' wrong..." a little girl said fearfully.
"I know that, child," Mrs. Graves said with surprising gentleness. "Your father is the one who did wrong. I need to keep you here until he fixes what he did."
"Sis...?" A little boy, younger than the girl, whimpered.
Tina flung the door open and aimed her wand straight at Elizabeth.
"Put your hands in the air and don't make a move for your wand," Tina said from memory. Mrs. Graves obeyed, though she gave Tina a look of sheer hatred. "You are arrested for the abduction of..." she adressed the children, keeping her eyes on Elizabeth. "What are your names?"
"C-cindy," the little girl said."And this is Joseph."
"You are under arrest for the abduction of Cindy and Joseph Johansen. Where is your wand?"
"My wand pocket,"Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Tina took her wand and bound her hands, holding her tightly by the shoulder.
"All right, kids," Tina said kindly. "I'm going to take you to your Dad, okay?"
"Thank you, Miss," Cindy said, taking her brother's hand. Tina took Cindy's arm tightly and Disapparated. They were suddenly on the doorstep of MACUSA, where Tina led Elizabeth firmly by the arm in one hand and gently held Cindy's hand in the other.
"Okay, this is your dad's office,"Tina said when they had reached Johansen's office, letting go of Cindy's hand. She ran ahead of Tina and burst into the office, running to her father and jumping into his lap.
"Daddy!" She squealed, burying her face in his chest. Joseph toddled after her and held his arms up. His father lifted him into his arms, tears of relief streaming down his face. He gave Tina a look that said very plainly, Thank you for my children. Now get that woman away from them.
So Tina dragged Mrs. Graves away, toward the investigation department. Mrs. Graves's exression of hatred and anger slowly dissolved to reveal one of fear. She turned to Tina, eyes full of terror, and adressed her for the first time since she surrendered her wand.
"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done it."
Tina looked at her curiously. "Why did you do it, then?"
"Because Johansen postponed the search for my Percy," Elizabeth answered, her eyes flashing with momentary malice. "I wanted him to know what it was like to worry about his kids."
"Graves wouldn't have wanted you to do it," Tina said after a moment's quiet. Mrs. Graves hung her head and went silent once more, her face melancholy.
In the interrogation room, Tina found out most things she could have predicted. She fed Mrs. Graves veritiserum, and of course she spilled the whole story with all the details.
"I was angry--very angry--when I read in the Ghost that the search for Percy had been postponed. He hasn't lived with me for years, of course, but I worry as much now as I did then. I Apparated to Mr. Johansen's house and--"
"How did you know his address?" Tina interrupted.
"Percy told me once and I wrote it down. Anyways, I went into the kid's room as silently as possible and took the sleeping kids. I guess my bracelet fell off while I was there. They'd been at my apartment all day, no harm inflicted. I fed them a good breakfast, I didn't hurt them, I treated them well. After all, I was doing it to punish their father, not them. I do regret my descisions; in hindsight, they were rash and angry descisions. I'm sorry."
"It isn't up to me to decide your penalty, Mrs. Graves. But....I hope things work out for you. I truly do," Tina said. It was not a lie; in fact she felt somewhat sorry for Mrs. Graves. Somewhat.
After that easy case, the day went smoothly. Everything was fine and calm. No-majs were more unsuspecting than normal, thanks to Newt's Swooping Evil venom. Tina told Walanby to keep her posted on the penalties of Mrs. Graves.
She was doing her daily share of paperwork (boring) when something in her sock stabbed her skin. It felt like a pinprick; like a little sticker or something had gotten stuck in there somehow. Tina had noticed it earlier in the day but she hadn't had the time to investigate until now. Annoyed, she took off her shoe and peeled her sock away. As she pulled it away, she heard a tiny pink like a penny hitting the floor. Pushing her desk chair backwards, she got on her hands and knees, lit wand between her teeth, searching for what had made the sound.
Something shiny finally caught her eye; a piece of jagged silver. She picked it up curiously, examining it. Then, it occured to her.
"Occamy shell," Tina said to herself, smiling. She and Queenie had helped Newt collect the Occamy shells for Jacob's collateral the day before. It must have--Lord knows how--gotten into her sock. Smiling to herself, she rubbed the shard between her fingers. Not a bad way to end a day at work, she thought as she left the office.