1994
Albus Dumbledore hadn't been to Germany is many years. In all of his travels around the world, he always seemed to find an excuse to not stop in the country. And yet, he was worried. So here he found himself, in a beautiful country that held such bad memories for him, at a prison no less. A muggle prison holding a very special inmate he was quite keen to speak to.
He was dressed in a deep plum muggle business suit, and carried with him a briefcase, filled mostly with sweets, one could never be too prepared after all. He explained in German to the officer in the entrance gate that he was a lawyer, who was here to visit his client. Upon hearing the name of the inmate the guard narrowed her eyes, but a well-timed confundus charm glossed over any suspicions she may have held.
He filled out the appropriate paperwork before being escorted into the private visiting room, reserved for client council discussions. The inmate in question appeared quite relaxed, lounging casually in her chair, examining her nails. Her hands were cuffed, with the chain running through a loop that was bolted to the table, which was in turn bolted to the floor. Her feet were similarly restrained though not connected to the floor. Her hair was a deep unnatural red color with darker roots shining through, and she had the look of someone who spent a fair amount of time outside in the sunlight. It was all a lie of course, a clever ruse. The woman sitting before him was the most wanted criminal in the magical world.
Albus had a copy of her file; it was one that he had read so many times that he had memorized it. Not that it was very thick however; it was instead filled mostly with deductions and guesses, because very little was known about her. They weren't even sure of her gender, or if she was indeed one person, or many working as a group. Because of the numerous gaps in the official knowledge of this woman, she was simply known by her codename, Magpie.
Albus of course knew more about her than what was officially on record. In fact, he'd known this witch nearly her whole life. He accepted that he was partially at fault that she became a criminal in the first place. Though it was her own arrogance and ambition that fuelled her journey to the top of the most wanted list.
"Du sprichst deutsch." She stated plainly.
"Ja, tatsächlich. Sollen wir in deutsch oder englisch sprechen?" Albus knew a great many languages, but German was one that he had neglected over the years. He was slightly relieved to hear her agree to speak in English.
"Besides, it'll be a nice break, and I think the guard outside the door doesn't speak English" the woman lounged, apparently at ease, but her eyes followed his every move, analysing him, probing for information.
Albus cast a muffilato charm around the room before greeting her properly, "you are a hard woman to find, is it still Sally? Or Ida?" he enquired kindly. She had the habit of changing her name on an almost weekly basis; she shed names nearly as much as she shed faces. Her identity was always changing, and under extreme measures, her apparent gender would change as well.
"That depends Albus, is this a social visit or are you here for business?" she made eye contact and he felt her gently probing along his mental barriers, looking for weakness. He of course was expecting this and tsked lightly in warning. She smiled sharply and ceased her legilimancy with a shrug.
"Business, though I am always hopeful that we could have a social catch up." She scoffed and twitched her head as if there were an annoying fly circling it.
"Like you could ever have a social visit you selfish, manipulative old man. If it's business then Magpie will suffice. What do you want? You are ruining a month long operation I have running here" she groused, irritation colouring her tone.
Albus glanced around the muggle prison before responding. Her criminal enterprise lived mostly in the wizarding world, however it wasn't entirely unknown for her to do business in the muggle world as well. Her chief outstanding charge was multiple counts of breaking the international statute of secrecy after all.
"I want to hire you" he said simply, crossing his hands lightly on the table as he peered over his glasses at her.
She laughed, incredulous. "Albus bloody Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, The supreme Mugwump tracks me, the leader of arguably the largest criminal empire in modern history, down to a prison in the middle of nowhere, asking in what I suspect is a slight burst of madness, to hire me. You're getting senile old man." He sighed at her description and display of mild narcissism. It was ridiculous, but he was indeed a worried old man.
"Come now, we've worked together in the past" he admonished lightly. She scoffed, "Dumbledore, you've never hired me, you paid a premium for gossip I had no use for, so you could fuel you machinations. Giving you gossip and working for you are two very different things." Her smile turned sharp and her eyes glinted as she took him in. He was rather serious after all. "what does someone like you even need me for, I thought you had enough lackeys to go around."
"id like to hire you for 10 months. Surveillance and security, full time"
Her eyebrows rose as she took in the information, it was not what she was expecting.
"You can't afford me Dumbledore." She said simply.
"You would of course have to assume a new identity, I will leave that to your discretion, and you would have to be ready to start almost immediately, there are job applications after all, arrangements that need to be made. Last minute alterations" Dumbledore continued, ignoring her refusal.
Magpie stared at him in mild disbelief. "And where am I supposed to be applying for a job?" her curiosity momentarily overpowering her dislike for the man.
"Durmstrang. Though you wouldn't be there for long, you will be accompanying Igor Karkaroff with his travels at the beginning of this term, to Hogwarts"
Albus would have missed it if he wasn't looking for it, but the name of the castle, a surprise that is was to her, brought a flicker of longing and greed flashing across her expression. He had hoped for that.
"I could duel you for it. You win, ill work for you, I win, I don't," she suggested casually, her mask carefully back in place, as she went back to examining her fingernails. Albus very shook his head "I do not think that is necessary, I am willing to pay" he suggested.
The woman looked up from her fingernails, her eyes flashing, as she named a ludicrously high number, a quantity of money that would make even the richest man pause. "Or of course, you could call in my debt" she suggested as an alternative, watching him very closely, hungrily. As much as she hated this man, she hated owing debt to people. His nose twitched. It was almost imperceptible, but she knew most of Dumbledore's ticks by now. "That sum is acceptable by me. You will receive the money in monthly instalments. However I expect this to be an exclusive contract." He said very seriously.
She stilled in mild disbelief, "I am calling bullshit Dumbledore, and there is no way you have that much money." He smiled serenely as he sat back, as some of his worry was beginning to lift. "Alas, I own many patents. Most I donated, however, not all, and have very little need for money" he shrugged "now, about exclusivity"
They continued their negotiation, back and forth, until the woman known as Magpie reluctantly agreed to the sum and terms. She would trust the daily ins and outs of her business to her employees, and leave her most trusted companion in charge of most things. She would however step back into her business if a personal touch was needed, in emergencies, and only when it did not interfere with her primary goal, to surveil Hogwarts, and help protect a one Mr. Harry Potter. Together the two hatched a plan, and she wondered if she should have asked for more money.
Albus left the prison in a better mood than when he arrived, he was pleasantly surprised he had managed to acquire the services of Magpie if he was being completely honest with himself. It seemed even the most bitter of grudges and resentment can be overcome with the right amount of money and a decidedly choice location to work in. He checked out of the prison with a jump in his step, and he barely paid any attention to a loud siren that interupted the serenity of the surrounding nature, having just disaparated as it sounded. It wasnt until a few day later when a muggle newspaper was delivered to him at breakfast that he was reminded just what type of woman he was working with. The headline was written in German, a local newspaper from the town the prison was located in.
Grisly Murder Of Two Inmates, Murderer, Ida Olmsted, At Large
He lost his appetite as he read through the news article, filled with shocking details of the crime, the face Magpie wore smirked up at him from the front page, mocking. She was sending him a message, reminding him exactly who she was. She was the woman who walked into a muggle prison, presumably on behalf of a client, only to ambush and stab two muggle women to death in the shower. It was brutal, it was grisly, and cold. For the first time since he made the deal, he wondered if approaching her was really the right thing to do. He wondered if that was exactly what she wanted him to think.
Authors Note: Hi folks, thanks for sticking with me so far. This was actually the first scene i ever wrote for Magpie, and just a brief reminder that she is not a good person. Not by a long shot! Id love to hear from some of you guys reading, if you have to time please drop me a line or a review! Also, if it wasnt obvious...I do not speak German. I really wanted to set this in Denmark, a language I am familiar with, but well..Germany made more sense for Dumbledore. Sorry for any German speakers out there...!