Standard disclaimer still applies.
************************************************
Chapter 21: Search Party
Making his way through the different offices of the Ministry of Magic should have been very difficult for ordinary wizards, especially considering the date, but Draco Malfoy was not an ordinary wizard. He was, after all, a Malfoy. It didn’t hurt at all that he was so closely linked with Fudge, due to his influence in Bulgaria, but the part of his brain that still regarded his lineage as superior rejoiced to see that his name alone could still demand respect. The lower rungs of the Ministry workers, those that were not important enough to be involved in the traditional ceremonies and services of the day barely gave him a second glance as he made his way through the building.
He reached the office he knew wouldn’t be empty, even on this day, and entered without knocking.
“Malfoy, aren’t you supposed to be in Bulgaria?” Harry Potter, his voice tight and strained, looking annoyed at the intrusion.
“Aren’t you supposed to be out hunting evil wizards?” Draco answered, an eyebrow raised.
“On the 17th? Clearly impossible, given this day marks the anniversary of Voldemort’s death,” he sighed. If Potter was seen anywhere in public on this day, he would instantly be mobbed – it was a well-known fact among the wizarding community that he was never a part of the services or festivities of the day for this reason.
“Too true, Potter.”
“So, what can I do for you, Malfoy? Surely the desire to keep me company isn’t what brought you all the way out here, so what do you want?”
“To see if your skills at fighting the Dark Arts are actually as proficient as everyone seems to think they are. Do you have any information for me?”
“I can only confirm what you’ve been suspecting. There’s something going on. I’ve had reports of a certain spellbook gone missing, of ingredients of a peculiar nature being sought after, and of a group of wizards that no one seems to be able to name. Someone is planning something, and it all connects to your family land in Bulgaria.”
“Connects? How?”
“Malfoy, I know what lives on your land. I’m an Auror, it’s my job to know. The spellbook that is missing – there’s only one in the world, and it contains a certain spell.”
“Let me guess, the main ingredient would be unicorn’s blood,” Draco sighed wearily, fearing Potter’s confirmation of this concern.
“Yeah. We’re not too sure what the spell does, because so little is known about the properties of unicorn’s blood in the first place – other than it can sustain some form of life in a being that may or may not be alive. Remember Professor Quirrell? When Voldemort possessed him, he’d drink the blood of the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest to sustain Voldemort when they were trying to get the Philosopher’s Stone.”
“That’s when most of them retreated from the known wizarding world, and came to our sanctuary. Only a few didn’t come and only because they couldn’t, some wizards kept them as pets,” Draco explained, his disgust in that idea plain in his voice.
“Right. So whoever is attacking your protective charms needs the unicorns for their blood. And I’m going to assume that it has something to do with immortality or something along those lines. Have you heard of anyone in your circles talking about, maybe raising a new Dark Lord, or bringing one back from the dead?” Potter asked, his eyes dark and serious.
“In my circles? Well, I suppose that being a Malfoy does make me an evil bastard and naturally I would therefore assort with the lowest rung of society. But evil bastard aside, I do have priorities. If I had heard something ‘among my circles’ as you put it, I would have no need of you and your information, I would have taken care of this myself,” Draco said, preparing to turn and leave.
“Just remember, Malfoy. The full moon and it’s all over, and my Aurors move in. You won’t be able to withhold much longer.”
“I shall ensure that it won’t come to that,” Draco said. “Now, have you seen Ginny Weasley? She left for some important meeting, but considering the holiday, I can’t imagine who she would be meeting.”
“Probably with her family. They always celebrate together today,” he answered, the slight tinge of bitterness unmistakable in his voice.
“Cheer up, Potter. Gabrielle will probably swing by in a few hours, she’s been whining rather pathetically about you for the past few days. Enough to make a fellow sick, really,” Draco called out, as he swept out of the office, in a hurry.
Sitting alone in the practically empty building, Harry Potter smiled slightly, the thought of Gabrielle joining him on his self-imposed isolation making the day less bleak and brighter somehow.
* * * * *
Molly Weasley was busily fussing in the kitchen of the Burrow, happy in the bustle and confusion that came along with having her entire family surround her. Her children and their wives and their children…it made for a chaotic meeting, but with so many of her boys working gin the Ministry of Magic, the time rarely came when they could all meet together. It usually happened only on the 17th, the day celebrating the final defeat of You-Know-Who, and the end of the dark cloud of fear that had hung over her for so long, in fear for her family members. It was a day for family, to rejoice in the knowledge that they were all safe again.
Which is why she was so surprised to hear a knock at the door. She couldn’t remember anyone ever visiting on this anniversary, and all of her children were already there. Wiping her hands on her apron, she opened the door, and nearly fainted when she was met with the tall, blond man that could have been Lucius Malfoy twenty years ago.
“Mrs. Weasley, I was wondering if I could have a few words with Virginia? We have some important business to attend to,” Draco Malfoy said slowly, observing the small woman in front of him, who seemed to be frozen.
“Malfoy? What on Earth are you doing here?” an outraged voice cried from behind her. Ron Weasley stepped outside, his face already red with his anger. Draco sighed; he had hoped to avoid any confrontation with him.
“Just have something I need to discuss with Virginia, Ministry stuff, Weasley. Do you think someone could get her?”
“Mom, when did Gin get here? I didn’t hear her come in,” Ron said, looking to his mother. She stared blankly back at him. Her eyes widened suddenly as realization sunk in.
“Ron, I don’t think she’s come yet,” Molly Weasley said.
“Gin! Ginny! There’s a great big git at the door for you!” Ron hollered into the house, drawing a moment of silence before chaos was reinstated, and the din returned. “Sorry, Malfoy, looks like you’re out of luck. If she’s not here, that means she probably had some meeting or country to visit that’s more important than you.”
“You could try her office. I imagine that if she did have some work to take care of, she’d be there,” Molly said, with a disgruntled look at her son’s rudeness.
“Naw, Mom, doesn’t she normally spend this day with her Ministry officials? You know, all the official ceremonies and all? That’s where she was last year, wasn’t it?” Ron asked, his angry face taking on a look of puzzlement.
“Well, if anyone will know, it will be Clarice, her secretary. I can’t for the life of me remember if she was with us or not last year,” Mrs. Weasley said.
“Thank you, I’ll try her there,” he said, before Apparating back to London. With a shake of the head, he wondered over the famous Weasley family, who was supposed to be the picture of a perfect family – devoted parents, close siblings who were all friends with each other…and not a single one of them had realized that Ginny wasn’t there among them.
* * * * *
Clarice was waging war in Ginny’s office – reorganizing her filing system, a task that the busy diplomat hadn’t been able to do since the day she moved into the office. A few years of conducting backroom deals and meetings with the most influential tier of the wizarding political world left the woman quite a feat. A distraction that she welcomed on this day, in particular, therefore she was quite enthralled in sorting and organizing files, and was quite startled to see the one and only Draco Malfoy, almost hidden in the dark of the doorway, leaning casually against the doorjamb as he watched her work.
“Oh my goodness, I almost didn’t see you there! Most of the Ministry is closed, there’s no one about but me! Anything I can help you with?” she stuttered, recovering from her shock. Indeed, the rest of the Ministry building was almost deserted – a few guards here and there, but most of it was dark and empty.
“I’m looking for Ms. Weasley, and was told that you might be able to tell me where to find her,” he said, his gray eyes solemn. Clarice flinched slightly, and hesitated before answering.
“Ms. Weasley has a yearly tradition on this day, a standing appointment as she calls it, and that is a matter of her own business,” Clarice answered carefully.
“Look, Clarice, right? I’ve been looking for her everywhere, and no one seems to know where she is, or what it is that she does today. Except for you. Please, just tell me where I can find her, it’s important,” he said, taking a step forward. The small woman gazed up at him – the tall, powerful son of Lucius Malfoy, and nearly trembled from the memory it evoked. Forcing herself to look him squarely up and down, and assess what Ginny would want her to do, she paused in her scrutiny as she reached his eyes. There was something hidden there that dissolved her uncertainty.
With a sigh, she told him reluctantly where he could find her boss.
************************************************
Chapter 21: Search Party
Making his way through the different offices of the Ministry of Magic should have been very difficult for ordinary wizards, especially considering the date, but Draco Malfoy was not an ordinary wizard. He was, after all, a Malfoy. It didn’t hurt at all that he was so closely linked with Fudge, due to his influence in Bulgaria, but the part of his brain that still regarded his lineage as superior rejoiced to see that his name alone could still demand respect. The lower rungs of the Ministry workers, those that were not important enough to be involved in the traditional ceremonies and services of the day barely gave him a second glance as he made his way through the building.
He reached the office he knew wouldn’t be empty, even on this day, and entered without knocking.
“Malfoy, aren’t you supposed to be in Bulgaria?” Harry Potter, his voice tight and strained, looking annoyed at the intrusion.
“Aren’t you supposed to be out hunting evil wizards?” Draco answered, an eyebrow raised.
“On the 17th? Clearly impossible, given this day marks the anniversary of Voldemort’s death,” he sighed. If Potter was seen anywhere in public on this day, he would instantly be mobbed – it was a well-known fact among the wizarding community that he was never a part of the services or festivities of the day for this reason.
“Too true, Potter.”
“So, what can I do for you, Malfoy? Surely the desire to keep me company isn’t what brought you all the way out here, so what do you want?”
“To see if your skills at fighting the Dark Arts are actually as proficient as everyone seems to think they are. Do you have any information for me?”
“I can only confirm what you’ve been suspecting. There’s something going on. I’ve had reports of a certain spellbook gone missing, of ingredients of a peculiar nature being sought after, and of a group of wizards that no one seems to be able to name. Someone is planning something, and it all connects to your family land in Bulgaria.”
“Connects? How?”
“Malfoy, I know what lives on your land. I’m an Auror, it’s my job to know. The spellbook that is missing – there’s only one in the world, and it contains a certain spell.”
“Let me guess, the main ingredient would be unicorn’s blood,” Draco sighed wearily, fearing Potter’s confirmation of this concern.
“Yeah. We’re not too sure what the spell does, because so little is known about the properties of unicorn’s blood in the first place – other than it can sustain some form of life in a being that may or may not be alive. Remember Professor Quirrell? When Voldemort possessed him, he’d drink the blood of the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest to sustain Voldemort when they were trying to get the Philosopher’s Stone.”
“That’s when most of them retreated from the known wizarding world, and came to our sanctuary. Only a few didn’t come and only because they couldn’t, some wizards kept them as pets,” Draco explained, his disgust in that idea plain in his voice.
“Right. So whoever is attacking your protective charms needs the unicorns for their blood. And I’m going to assume that it has something to do with immortality or something along those lines. Have you heard of anyone in your circles talking about, maybe raising a new Dark Lord, or bringing one back from the dead?” Potter asked, his eyes dark and serious.
“In my circles? Well, I suppose that being a Malfoy does make me an evil bastard and naturally I would therefore assort with the lowest rung of society. But evil bastard aside, I do have priorities. If I had heard something ‘among my circles’ as you put it, I would have no need of you and your information, I would have taken care of this myself,” Draco said, preparing to turn and leave.
“Just remember, Malfoy. The full moon and it’s all over, and my Aurors move in. You won’t be able to withhold much longer.”
“I shall ensure that it won’t come to that,” Draco said. “Now, have you seen Ginny Weasley? She left for some important meeting, but considering the holiday, I can’t imagine who she would be meeting.”
“Probably with her family. They always celebrate together today,” he answered, the slight tinge of bitterness unmistakable in his voice.
“Cheer up, Potter. Gabrielle will probably swing by in a few hours, she’s been whining rather pathetically about you for the past few days. Enough to make a fellow sick, really,” Draco called out, as he swept out of the office, in a hurry.
Sitting alone in the practically empty building, Harry Potter smiled slightly, the thought of Gabrielle joining him on his self-imposed isolation making the day less bleak and brighter somehow.
* * * * *
Molly Weasley was busily fussing in the kitchen of the Burrow, happy in the bustle and confusion that came along with having her entire family surround her. Her children and their wives and their children…it made for a chaotic meeting, but with so many of her boys working gin the Ministry of Magic, the time rarely came when they could all meet together. It usually happened only on the 17th, the day celebrating the final defeat of You-Know-Who, and the end of the dark cloud of fear that had hung over her for so long, in fear for her family members. It was a day for family, to rejoice in the knowledge that they were all safe again.
Which is why she was so surprised to hear a knock at the door. She couldn’t remember anyone ever visiting on this anniversary, and all of her children were already there. Wiping her hands on her apron, she opened the door, and nearly fainted when she was met with the tall, blond man that could have been Lucius Malfoy twenty years ago.
“Mrs. Weasley, I was wondering if I could have a few words with Virginia? We have some important business to attend to,” Draco Malfoy said slowly, observing the small woman in front of him, who seemed to be frozen.
“Malfoy? What on Earth are you doing here?” an outraged voice cried from behind her. Ron Weasley stepped outside, his face already red with his anger. Draco sighed; he had hoped to avoid any confrontation with him.
“Just have something I need to discuss with Virginia, Ministry stuff, Weasley. Do you think someone could get her?”
“Mom, when did Gin get here? I didn’t hear her come in,” Ron said, looking to his mother. She stared blankly back at him. Her eyes widened suddenly as realization sunk in.
“Ron, I don’t think she’s come yet,” Molly Weasley said.
“Gin! Ginny! There’s a great big git at the door for you!” Ron hollered into the house, drawing a moment of silence before chaos was reinstated, and the din returned. “Sorry, Malfoy, looks like you’re out of luck. If she’s not here, that means she probably had some meeting or country to visit that’s more important than you.”
“You could try her office. I imagine that if she did have some work to take care of, she’d be there,” Molly said, with a disgruntled look at her son’s rudeness.
“Naw, Mom, doesn’t she normally spend this day with her Ministry officials? You know, all the official ceremonies and all? That’s where she was last year, wasn’t it?” Ron asked, his angry face taking on a look of puzzlement.
“Well, if anyone will know, it will be Clarice, her secretary. I can’t for the life of me remember if she was with us or not last year,” Mrs. Weasley said.
“Thank you, I’ll try her there,” he said, before Apparating back to London. With a shake of the head, he wondered over the famous Weasley family, who was supposed to be the picture of a perfect family – devoted parents, close siblings who were all friends with each other…and not a single one of them had realized that Ginny wasn’t there among them.
* * * * *
Clarice was waging war in Ginny’s office – reorganizing her filing system, a task that the busy diplomat hadn’t been able to do since the day she moved into the office. A few years of conducting backroom deals and meetings with the most influential tier of the wizarding political world left the woman quite a feat. A distraction that she welcomed on this day, in particular, therefore she was quite enthralled in sorting and organizing files, and was quite startled to see the one and only Draco Malfoy, almost hidden in the dark of the doorway, leaning casually against the doorjamb as he watched her work.
“Oh my goodness, I almost didn’t see you there! Most of the Ministry is closed, there’s no one about but me! Anything I can help you with?” she stuttered, recovering from her shock. Indeed, the rest of the Ministry building was almost deserted – a few guards here and there, but most of it was dark and empty.
“I’m looking for Ms. Weasley, and was told that you might be able to tell me where to find her,” he said, his gray eyes solemn. Clarice flinched slightly, and hesitated before answering.
“Ms. Weasley has a yearly tradition on this day, a standing appointment as she calls it, and that is a matter of her own business,” Clarice answered carefully.
“Look, Clarice, right? I’ve been looking for her everywhere, and no one seems to know where she is, or what it is that she does today. Except for you. Please, just tell me where I can find her, it’s important,” he said, taking a step forward. The small woman gazed up at him – the tall, powerful son of Lucius Malfoy, and nearly trembled from the memory it evoked. Forcing herself to look him squarely up and down, and assess what Ginny would want her to do, she paused in her scrutiny as she reached his eyes. There was something hidden there that dissolved her uncertainty.
With a sigh, she told him reluctantly where he could find her boss.
Leave a Review