Getting back into the habit of cliffhangers. Apologies in advance. (but hey, the development is almost finished. shit's gonna go down.)

Oh yeah, I forgot to add... REVIEW please, I like reviews. They keep me warm at night.

The Other Malfoy

Chapter Ten

George had read through the file on Saturday night and hardly slept, and it was now Sunday morning. Usually he worked on various experiments and inventions on a Sunday, but he knew he had to work towards finding Rookwood. George could never tell how soon a premonition would become reality – it could be happening at that very moment.

It was strange, because even though George had only ever seen Aurelia once, and didn't even know who she was, was unaware of her existence for all of his life, he felt a strange connection to her. Maybe it was more of a connection to the Malfoys in general, because of Rookwood. Rookwood had killed Fred, and George couldn't even stand the thought of having that happen to anybody. Surely the Malfoys had been through enough without having to suffer the death of a family member.

George wondered what was happening to him. All his life he'd called Malfoy a slimy git, hated him with a passion. He'd been that stuck up rich kid who always wanted to get his way. George didn't even think for a moment that there was more to it than that. If Lucius had been under the control of a horcrux for so long, there was no way of knowing what he could have done to his family. For Narcissa to have to rewrite her own son's memories – that was a terrible thing.

For the first time, George realised that the Malfoys, for all of their shortcomings, were just people. They were just like him, and if he wasn't careful, Rookwood would destroy their lives as he had already destroyed George's.

As he began to open the shop, Verity walked through the front door and shot a quick smile his way. "Alright, George?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

They spent half an hour sorting the shop, cleaning up and restocking the shelves. Verity was a brilliant woman – she always knew how much of everything there was, she checked the security charms and rechecked them, she counted the money at the desk and the money in the safe. Today was Sunday so they usually went to deposit what they earned down at Gringott's at the end of the day. There were less people there on Sundays.

Just before the shop opened, George said to Verity, "It's not going to be too busy today, and I've got a bit of work that needs doing. Do you mind if I pop upstairs for a bit?"

"No worries. I'll let you know if I need anything."

"Thanks, Verity."

George messed up her short blonde hair before she smacked his hand away and glared at him. "Watch it, Weasley."

George raised his eyebrows. "No need to get violent, Verity. You wouldn't want to mess with this." He gestured to his torso area, as though to show how strong he was.

"You're a twig, Weasley," Verity laughed, "You'd lose in a fight against me."

"Challenge not accepted."

The file sat on his desk, waiting patiently, where he had left it the night before. He flicked open the front cover, and Rookwood stared out at him darkly, making George's blood boil. It was his Azkaban mug shot – his face was unshaven, his eyes tormented and full of hate, his hair dirty and lank. He looked every part the Death Eater he was.

George began to reread the file, trying to find something he could use. The first few pages talked about Rookwood himself – when he was born, who his parents were, any known siblings. Just about everything was blank. The man was a mystery, no family or children to his name. He was an Unspeakable but during his time at the ministry he did not reveal to his co-workers anything about himself. He kept to himself, he did not socialise, he was never promoted and not fired. Nondescript as you can be – until he was revealed as a Death Eater by Igor Karkaroff.

He escaped from Azkaban during the mass breakout in 1996. He was arrested again after the Battle at the Department of Mysteries, and released the year after when Voldemort took control of the Ministry. He had taken part in the Battle of Hogwarts, and has been missing for two years since.

There had been reported sightings of him just after the Battle – he was seen at Hogsmeade just after the Battle, after being chased from Hogwarts by Aberforth Dumbledore, and apparated from there to central London to return to the Ministry. It had, by this point, been retaken by the Order. Rookwood fled from the scene and had not been seen since.

Rookwood was placed on the list of wanted criminals for both the wizarding and muggle worlds, but nothing had come of it. Nobody knows where he went – of the list of his known residences and possible residences, he had not appeared at one of them. Included on the list was the Malfoy Manor – George frowned at that for a moment, before he remembered that Voldemort had used it as headquarters.

Of the list there were a few which George found interesting – he had been born in rural Ireland and moved to live with his father in Kent when he was young after his mother died. She was a muggle. George found that curious.

Rookwood and his father had lived in a number of apartments which were now occupied by Muggles, and he had not appeared at any of them. His father had died shortly before he began attending Hogwarts. Having no family to take care of him, and no will left by either of his parents, he was moved to live in an orphanage in London known as Wool's Orphanage.

George frowned. Where had he heard that before? It seemed curiously familiar. Somebody had mentioned it before, as though in background conversation, and George tried to recall who it might have been. Wool's Orphanage. What was significant about the place?

He felt as though he were perched on the edge of remembering when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

George let out a startled cry of shock and leapt from his seat, tripping and falling to the ground. He groaned as he felt something dig into his back, and he stared up at who it was who had crept up on him.

It was Tabitha. She smiled down at him and reached out a hand to help him up. "Hello, George."

George took her hand and he said shakily, "Blimey, I wish people would stop sneaking up on me like that."

"I didn't mean to frighten you," she said.

Her skin was paler than he remembered – perhaps she hadn't changed the colour. George guessed it was easy to get a nice tan when you could change your skin tone. Her hair was a jet black colour, and George wondered why. He remembered when Tonks had been upset – her hair always used to turn darker.

"Are you okay, Tabitha?"

She smiled again, and said, "I'm fine."

There was something wrong. Her voice sounded monotone, her smiles didn't feel as warm as they had on Friday night. Her hands were shaking.

"Here, sit down," George said, turning to pick up his chair. "What was it that –"

As he turned back, George's sentence fell short as he saw Tabitha's hand outstretched, her wand pointed at him. Her hands were still shaking, and as she stared at George he noticed her eyes – they were glazed over, as though she was blind, and reflecting a light that wasn't there.

"Tabitha?" he asked carefully. "What are you doing?"

Her lip trembled as tried to speak but couldn't, her eyes were growing darker. Her breathing became heavy, and George could see she was fighting with herself. Something was oddly familiar about her behaviour…

George felt cold as he realised she was under the Imperius Curse.