The Interview

'Look! It's blank. Nothing! No blemish!' Draco Malfoy waved his up-rolled sleeve under Auror Potter's nose as they faced another at the entrance of the International Portkey Travel Department within the Ministry of Magic. There was no Dark Mark. 'Can I move now? My Portkey to Paris is leaving in half an hour.'

Potter quirked an eyebrow. 'There is a reason why you have to arrive at the platform two hours prior to departure, Malfoy. Not half an hour. Two hours before.'

Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes. 'You have well established that I am not, nor have I ever been a Death Eater. There is no reason to hold me any longer.' The blonde tapped an impatient foot.

Harry Potter sighed. He had passed his Auror training just a week ago, and this was his first day working at the International Portkey Travel Department. It was his job to ensure no Death Eater or Voldemort sympathiser left the country. Technically, Malfoy hadn't done anything wrong. Being an annoying high maintenance git was no crime in itself. But estranged and imprisoned or not, notorious Lucius Malfoy, Draco's Father had been one of Voldemort's inner circle, and Harry didn't want to risk making a grave mistake on his first day of duty. Plus, there had always been something fishy about Malfoy.

Harry contemplated for a moment. It wouldn't hurt taking Malfoy to one of the investigation rooms for further questioning, just to make sure.

The investigation - it was more of a cell than a room - was a tiny affair with a blank table, two chairs, two tiny windows that were charmed to show the Statue of Liberty and the Chinese Wall, and a house-elf, busy preparing a cup of tea.

'Thanks Eleutheria,' Harry muttered as the steaming hot beverage appeared in his hands. 'You're most welcome, Master Auror,' Eleutheria replied, bowing so deep that her pointy ears touched the ground before disapperating.

'The polite thing would have been offering a cup of tea to your unjustified prisoner,' drawled Malfoy, who sat across from him, his hands in restraint, as he hadn't followed Harry quite that willingly.

'You should be happy that I took you straight through. Most suspects wait in holding cells before they are brought for questioning. You have two choices here.' Harry held up his fingers. 'One, you take the privilege of a swift investigation, or you have a cup of tea down in a holding cell, while you wave goodbye to your portkey.'

Malfoy rolled his eyes in response and mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'Head Auror Robarts will hear about this,' then louder 'I will file a formal complaint, Potter.'

Harry shrugged. 'Only doing my job Malfoy. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.'

'Get on with it then. The Portkey is leaving in twenty, and I can't be late.'

Harry leaned back in his chair, arms crossed and his eyes on Malfoy's still exposed left arm. 'You didn't take the mark.'

'How kind of you to notice. And it took you only what? Ten minutes staring at my arm to figure this out?'

'Your Father has a Dark Mark and so has your Aunt Bellatrix. Voldemort has lived in your house for almost two years. That makes me question where your loyalties lie.'

'My father and I have not spoken in two years, and my aunt has been dead for three. You cannot make me responsible for their actions.' Malfoy looked furious.

'No, I can't. And it not my intention to, however, considering the environment you have been raised in, your influences and acquaintances, portray a questionable background. Goyle took the mark and is on the run since having killed a family of muggles. Crabbe died casting the fiendfyre. Both of them were your best friends at school, weren't they?

'Look Potter...'

'That is Auror Potter to you, and you don't get to tell me where or where not I am supposed to 'look' at.'

'Auror Potter,' Malfoy parroted through clenched teeth. I don't deny any bad influences I might have had growing up. We both know that I was raised to belief to be of a superior race. I also admit that, as a child, I believed every world out of my father's mouth. Which young wizard wouldn't? Especially when the whole world seemed to kneel at your father's whim. But I lived through a war, the same war as you, and my morals have drastically changed.'

Harry studied Malfoy. He hadn't seen the other man since the battle of Hogwarts, nor had he any idea what the other man did with his life, or his current personal relationships. But then, every word out of Malfoy's mouth could have been rehearsed - that's exactly what a Death Eater would do, and Malfoy had always been a convincing actor and worse, a cunning snake.

'Do or do you not still life in Malfoy Manor?' He decided to ask.

'I do,' Malfoy answered.

'So you admit living in a manor that has been known for hosting dark artefacts, that was the home of Voldemort for two long years, that had held prisoners of the war in its dungeons?' Harry's nose flared and he was breathing hard. Malfoy Manor was still the centre of his nightmares, even three years after Voldemort's death.

'Its my ancestral home.' Malfoy grunted. 'Has been since 1308. All generations of Malfoys have lived there. There is so much history, so many memories...'

Harry interrupted by banging his fist on the table. 'I didn't ask you for a bedtime story. That was a simple yes and no question. Despite everything that had happened during the war, you have no qualms living in that manor? Yes or no?'

Malfoy, gulped, gaped and coughed, before uttering an almost soundless 'yes', followed by an even softer 'but,' which Harry ignored. In his mind's eye he could see the stain of blood Dobby left behind after Bellatrix had thrown her dagger into his little house elf heart. He could hear Hermione's screams as the scar, which formed the word 'Mudblood,' was cut into her forearm, the reason why she still didn't wear any short sleeves to this day. His hands were shaking and he bought hard onto his lower lip, almost hard enough to draw blood.

'Its the only thing I have left that reminds me of my mother.' Malfoy continued in a subdued voice.

Harry didn't respond. Instead he asked, 'What do you want in Paris?'

'I have a job interview at Beauxbatons.'

'You? A professor?'

'I have you know that I always did very well in my studies. Second to Granger in most subjects.'

'It's not your academic record that brings goosebumps to by skin, but the fact that you will be in charge of innocent students.'

'I guess that his for Madam Maxine to judge and not for you.'

'What subject?'

'Defence against the Dark Arts.'

Harry barked a cold laugh. You? Defence? You are in love with the dark arts. Always have been.'

'They had allured me when I was younger, I do admit, precisely the reason I now understand the danger, and...'

Again, Harry interrupted with a banging fist. 'You admit it! The dark arts allure you! Just because you don't carry the mark doesn't mean I can't arrest you for being a Death Eater you know!

'I said HAD allured me! It's in the past!' Malfoy's voice was raised too.

'Who says they won't allure you again? You have been weak once, have felt the power, the charm, the temptation. The seduction is out there. Everywhere. Who's to guarantee there won't be relapse? Where is the guarantee?'

Malfoy shook his head, as if struggling to find an answer. 'No one has a guarantee,' he finally whispered. 'Not even you.'

Harry spat on the floor. 'Keep your accusations to yourself.' His mind was racing. Would he be responsible for having put hundreds of French students in danger when he let Malfoy through. In a sense, the blonde was right. It was Madame Maxime's job to judge, but Harry knew Malfoy so much better than the tall French lady. He glanced at the clock. There was still time for a few more questions before Malfoy had to get his portkey. He would decide then. He looked at the blonde man, who slumped cockily in his seat. Out of the corner he could see something moving at Malfoy's shoe. Harry shook his head, squinted his eyes, then looked again. Indeed. Malfoy's left shoelace seemed to have difficulties holding still. He took a closer look and realised that this wasn't a shoelace at all. It was a tiny snake. Very slowly, Harry sat back down, shouted for Eleutheria and ordered two cups of tea once the elf had popped into the small chamber. A second later, when both steaming hot cups sat on the small table, Harry withdrew a small vial from his pocket. He placed a single drop into one of the cups, and pushed it towards Malfoy. 'Drink!' He ordered.

To his credit, Malfoy complied without much complaining, and drank the still searing hot beverage at once.

'So,' Harry started, leaning forward and steeping his hands. 'Here you are, trying to convince me that your a sample citizen, all while trying to smuggle magical creatures across the channel without a licence.' A smile played around his lips. Harry was thankful that his first instinct had been right, as usual?

'I don't know what you're talking about,' Malfoy hissed. 'I don't have any creatures on me.'

Harry wrinkled his forehead. He dropped another drop of veritaserum in Malfoy's cup, yelled 'aquamenti' until is was filled with a sufficient amount of water, and handed it to the scowling man across him. Yet again, Malfoy declined carrying any creatures.

'Remove your left shoe' Harry growled, 'then place it on the table and tell me you don't carry anything illegal.'

Malfoy raised an eyebrow. 'As much as I would love to comply,' he shook his hands in Harry's face, 'you still have me in shackles, which makes it difficult to remove my boot.'

'I'm pretty sure you manage.' Harry replied.

Malfoy groaned but bent down to retrieve his shoe and set it on the table. The small snake he had used as a shoelace seemed to be thrilled with the new surroundings, and curiously looked around.

'What do you think this is?' Harry asked sarcastically, pointing at the little head. 'The lace?' Malfoy asked, then started to chuckle. 'Dolce and Gabanna wizarding collection. Charmed shoelaces. This is not a real animal if this is what you have thought.'

Come to think of it, Harry remembered having seen little Teddy Lupin wearing a similar pair only last week. Only his were flobberworms instead of snakes. Of course, the little boy's shoes hadn't been a designer brand. Not only for budgeting purposes, but also... 'Dolce and Gabanna. No surprise you like them.' Harry announced. 'Dolce had been arrested for Death Eater activities in Milan three days ago. I bet you got them on a buddy discount.'

Malfoy significantly paled at this. 'I didn't know. I swear I... I never had... '

'Silence!' Harry bellowed. He had to think. Malfoy had two drops of veritaserum. This meant that he told the truth. This also meant that he had not done anything that justified being held here. But there was this feeling in Harry's gut and an image of Minister Shaklebolt's disappointed face floated to the forefront of his mind as the elder man questioned him why he had allowed a dark arts practitioner to portkey. Harry had to dig deeper.