Disclaimer: Not mine.

Rebirth

Chapter 10

As Vincent said, to hide in plain sight could well be the best place to hide. He wrote a short missive and tied it around his owl's leg and let the bird soar away, then turned to Arthur.

"Now we wait."

"I hope you are right about this Vincent."

"One thing I know is how Draco thinks and trust me, if I try to pass him a secrete note he will suspect something."

"When you hear from him let me know. We will set up the meeting someplace you both agree on."

"He will only trust me if we meet here. If I offer to see him somewhere else he will suspect something. In all the time we were together, I never once met him in a public place, or anyone else for that matter. No, he needs to think nothing has changed."

Arthur apparated from the back patio as Vincent watched the owl make its slow journey to the horizon where it would dip out of sight and find the unplottable Malfoy Manor. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned back to the house for another meal with Helen and Lucy.

The two witches could embarrass him with a look, a word or a smirk. To make it worse they knew it and often took delight in his discomfort until they erupted in laughter as he stomped from the room. He realized that they were not really laughing at him as people had done before. They included them in their mirth, not hiding behind his back, and when it was over, they would sit and talk to him as a friend.

He sat that evening in the sitting room, again in front of the fire leaning his head back and letting Lucy quiz him on the evenings reading.

"Why does this matter?" she asked. "Its not like History and Charms are going to get you a job. And, what good is transfiguration when you live like this? It's not like you need to make another glass or dinner plate."

He sat up and looked at her, growing a little uncomfortable. "I guess I have something to prove."

"To who?"

"Myself, and I guess Professor McGonagall. She always said I would never be anything. I guess I want to show her I'm not as stupid as she thinks."

"Oh Vincent, I think she only tries to get you to do better. Sometimes I think she is disappointed in you, other times I think she blames herself."

"Blames her self for what?"

"That she didn't do more. That she didn't keep you and all the others away from the Dark Side."

"That's foolish. She…"

Vincent turned quickly at the sound of tapping at the window to see a small barn owl outside the window. He knew it was from Draco, no one else would be sending him a message.

He took the small missive off the owl's legs, and putting a treat down on the windowsill for the owl, he then unrolled the scroll and grinned. Looking up at Helen who had just stepped in he nodded.

"In the morning. He will be here in the morning." He handed her the note. "So it starts."

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Draco walked up the pavement to the house at 8:00 am. Vincent was waiting for him alone in the sitting room, the girls both back at the wand shop. Arthur stood in the kitchen where he would stay out of sight until the two wizards sat comfortably in the other room, and then he would take up a position at the door where he could listen. Elsie was the only one not nervous, and Arthur decided from the amount of food that she was preparing that she did not see Draco as a threat but as a hungry houseguest.

"Draco," Vincent said as he opened the door and allowed the silver blond wizard to enter.

"My gods Crabbe, I wouldn't recognize you." Draco stepped into the house looking Vincent over from head to foot, his eyes resting on the scar damage on his face and neck.

"You didn't." Vincent turned his back on Draco and walked into the sitting room. "I saw you in the Alley. I thought you saw me, but you looked right past."

"I don't see how you got out of that bloody fire. They searched the rubble, but figured there was nothing left. Then a couple of months later we hear you made it."

"Elsie." Vincent grinned and shrugged sheepishly. "You know how she gets."

"She went in after you? Hell!" Draco looked around the room, walked over to the chairs and sat down. "Where is she?"

"Here I is Sirs." Elsie popped in with a tray laden with food and tea.

"Well Elsie, I hear that you were quite the little saviour." Draco grinned and reached to pick up a biscuit. "I see you made my favourite."

Elsie nodded and bowed, backing out of the room, as she turned red with embarrassment.

"I have more Master." She looked at Vincent and disappeared.

"Well, I see she is the same." Draco laughed as he slid the biscuit in his pocket, and then joined it with two more. "She is the only elf I don't want to kick."

"I don't know why she likes you Draco." Vincent sat opposite him and shook his head. "You were always mean to her, but she still fixed your favourite foods and would get excited when we were here."

"Vincent!" Draco clutched his chest as if insulted. "Mean? I should say not. Sarcastic, quick tongued and insulting, but never mean. Well, at least no to Elsie."

"So what do you want Draco? You are not here to rehash old friendships." Vincent leaned forward on his chair, resting his forearms on his legs and looking directly at Draco.

"I know about the pensives, and I know that my father wants Snape's journal to do the same to his."

"And?"

"And what Vincent? I've changed. I think I did long before you. You don't know what it was like." Draco stood and began pacing in front of the fireplace, leaving Vincent to sit nervously alone.

"The Dark Lord was living in my home Vincent. How do you think that felt?" He raked his hand through his hair and stopped pacing to look at Vincent. "I did what he wanted or he killed my parents."

"Right." Vincent sneered at him. "And your great love for your father made you tow the line."

"I don't know. He is still my father, despite everything he has done."

"You mean is doing."

"I couldn't leave my mother alone Crabbe, I just couldn't walk out on her."

"Right." Vincent leaned back in the chair and looked at Draco coldly. "I think we have all changed Draco. Now that we have settled that, why are you really here?"

"You never did trust me did you Crabbe?" Draco smirked at him.

"Nope. Just doing what I was told, same as you." Vincent spoke evenly, no longer nervous in front of Draco. "So tell me again what you want."

"If the Ministry can not trust the pensives and empties Azkaban it starts all over again. Maybe not with Voldemort, but someone will step up to take his place."

"Would that someone be your father?"

"Yes." Draco sat down heavily. "Vincent, you don't know what he is capable of."

Laughter spilled out of Vincent's mouth as he shook his head and watched Draco's face change from surprise to shame.

"Come now Draco, do you really expect me to believe that you did not know what he was? What they all were?"

"I didn't believe it."

"You were there! You saw! You were at the same Revels I was at." Vincent felt bile in the back of his throat and moved his hand to his pocket where his wand hid.

"I didn't want to believe, no more than you did." Draco watched Vincent's hand but made no move toward his own. "I won't fight you Vincent. I won't do it."

"Why Helen Dolohov?"

"He knows you don't have friends, and figured that since he saw you two together he may be able to use it against you. Then he figured that if he couldn't get close enough to… well he found that poison thinking she would do it for him."

Vincent only looked at him, knowing he was telling the truth. Gone was the arrogance that Vincent knew to be Draco's cover. Gone was the brashness that he would wear as a suit.

"Vincent, I didn't tell him about Lucy." Draco's voice was quite, Vincent almost did not hear him.

"Lucy?" Vincent repeated the name. "How did you know about her?"

"Bloody hell man, you sat up at the Hogs Head all night with a whore, you don't think there was talk? I figured it was you when I heard the description of the scars on the wizard she was with. That and I knew … well… I knew you wouldn't take a whore."

"Thanks," Vincent said with a snort of laughter. "I guess there is a compliment in there someplace."

"So what do we do now?" Draco looked at Vincent hopefully.

"I call in Mr Weasley from the hallway, he asks his questions and you work with him."

"Weasley?" Draco's lip curled up as he said the name.

"Yes Mr Malfoy, Weasley, Arthur Weasley," Arthur said from the doorway.

"I thought I was visiting a friend Crabbe." Draco stood and sneered at Vincent. "I would not have come if I knew the Ministry would be here."

"The Ministry is not here, only Mr Weasley." Vincent looked up at the older man. "I guess he is a friend."

"Draco, why would your father want to subject you to examination by the Ministry? That is what would happen if he is found with pensives of what we would think to be your memories."

"Do you think he cares about that?" Draco laughed. "You really don't know him at all. All he wants is his so called friends out of Azkaban."

"If he plans on using the charm on his pensives, how does he plan on them coming to the attention of the Ministry?" Arthur asked.

"Simple, he changes the pensives, and then he gets caught doing something small. Something small that would not end in a sentence to Azkaban. Something that would mean a search of the Manor."

"Like what?" Vincent questioned.

"He plans on selling an illegal item in Knockturn Alley. Only he will have a pensive of my telling him that it is legal. All he needs is the journal." Draco looked at Arthur. "I want him to have the journal. I want to set him up."

"That would give him more proof Draco. How would that help?" Arthur shook his head at the idea.

"Do you have the vials of blood? They should have numbers to match the pensives. The code is in the journal." Draco looked from Arthur back to Vincent. "Add the matching blood to the pensive and the charm is gone."

"I thought there was no reversal?" Vincent asked suspiciously.

"There is no spell to reverse the spell. You need the blood. Snape knew that if they destroyed the blood he would need a reversal charm. That is what he never found."