Chapter Eleven
"Lucius Malfoy. I spoke to your son just earlier today." Harry said, feeling little sympathy for Lucius, despite his injuries.
"Potter? It figures I'd get the Auror who would like nothing better than to throw me to the Dragons." Lucius said, laughing humorlessly. Harry shook his head.
"Between the two of us, Draco asked me to investigate your case independently. I told him that I could promise nothing. But that I would look into it. Let's go." Harry said, conjuring some cuffs of energy to bind Lucius's wrists, mostly for effect.
"Is this really necessary, Potter? I did nothing wrong."
"It's necessary for any suspected criminal. If it's necessary for them, it's necessary for you." Harry said to cheers from the Wild Mages. Harry nodded to them, and Disapparated. When they arrived in the Ministry building, Harry turned to Malfoy, looking hard at him, and bringing him to an interrogation room, where he brought in Lucy, who stood by, simply watching the interrogation.
"Now, Mr. Malfoy, answer my questions honestly. If you don't, we'll know." Harry said sternly. Lucius nodded, and took a deep breath.
"Good, now, have you ever heard of an organization called the Wild Hunters?"
"Yes. They hunt the Wild Mages who cornered me for sport. Given their apparent tendency toward aggression, I don't blame them."
"Okay. Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Wild Mages, the organization that you just mentioned?"
"No. I have no interest in being a hunter anymore. I've passed that point in my life. I'm too old now for that."
Harry looked at Lucy who nodded.
"Okay. Have you ever, even once, assaulted a Wild Mage?"
"No… Again, I'm far too old to be living such a lifestyle. The Dark Lord's rise to power took most of my remaining energy. I should like simply to live a quiet life."
Harry looked at Lucy, whose brow was furrowed. She didn't nod or shake her head, but Harry could tell she was suspicious.
"Are you sure? How about someone you didn't believe to be a Wild Mage at first, but then used Wild Magic on you?"
"Of course not. How many chances would I really have to come into contact with Muggles? They may have a spell or two that they can use, but they are still Muggles, and I want nothing to do with them."
"Lucy? Are you alright?"
"Yes. He's telling the truth. There's something odd about what he's saying, but he's not lying… At least not enough for me to catch him in it."
"Lucius… Have you ever come into contact with Wild Mages… Even once?"
"Of course. I came into contact with them when they assaulted me."
"And did you raise your wand against them?"
"Again, of course I did. I would have been a fool not to. A pack of savage Muggles attacks me, of course I'm going to defend myself. One of them disarmed me, though, and broke my wand."
"Did you harm any of them?"
"I believe I hit a number of them with stunning spells. But naturally, you won't believe me. To you, I'm a depraved monster who enjoys killing and torturing others, especially Mudbloods and Muggles. In the past, I was very much like that. Now, though I still hate them, I have no business attacking them. Again, I'm far too old to be engaging in such shenanigans."
"He's telling the full truth this time. He may be despicable, but he's not guilty of attacking those Wild Mages. We need to interview the Wild Mages and probe their memories for an accurate description of their assailant. While this incident shows that we can act with due haste when necessary, it also showcases our shortcomings. You're… Free to go, Mr. Malfoy… With the Ministry's apologies. We'll not hound you any further."
"You're just letting me go? Just like that?" Lucius asked. Lucy nodded, and Lucius took his cane, straightened his hat and walked out of the room with the proud stride that Harry had come to expect of the Malfoys. Harry sighed, and turned to Lucy.
"I actually feel bad for Malfoy. We were never friends, but his wife is about to give birth, and it seems like they're under a lot of stress, both from internal and external issues."
"Well… That's nothing that the Ministry can control. Go back to the Wild Mages and probe them as well as you can. I'll come with you. Sometimes, it's better to probe someone's mind when they don't know you're probing their mind. My legilimency works without words or motions. Come." Lucy said politely, apparating away with Harry to the house of the Wild Mage who had supposedly been assaulted by the Wizard.
"Excuse us… We're… From the Ministry of Magic. May we have a word with you?" Lucy called, knocking on the door. For a few long minutes, nobody came, then the door opened, and a cranky looking young woman with bright red hair, hazel eyes and freckles answered.
"Whaddaya want, ya tossers!?" She asked.
"Are you the Wild Mage who was assaulted recently by a blond, male wizard?" Harry asked. Her eyes lit up angrily.
"Yeah! We cornered him already and you wankers arrested him!"
"Actually, he was interrogated for hours under a potion that coerces truthfulness. He never laid a wand on any Wild Mages." Lucy said, lying, though she knew Lucius to have been being truthful.
"May we come in briefly so that you can describe the wizard who assaulted you?" Harry asked. The woman scowled, but nodded, opening her door wider for them to enter.
"You must be Harry Potter… Nissa won't shut her gob about you. You're the cat's pajamas to her."
"May we ask your name, first and last, and your Wild Magic ability?" Harry asked, following protocol for interviewing a Wild Mage for the first time.
"Amelia Stephens, and I can blow things up with my mind."
"I see…" Harry said, writing down that she could create a psychic Reductor Curse, and reminding himself to not anger her.
"Thank you. Now, please describe the attack in as much detail as you can." Lucy said, using her Legilimency to pick up as much as she could mentally.
"The man was blonde, as you well know. He had long hair, and was dressed as though he were wealthy."
"Do you remember how tall he was, how heavy he looked, any particular scent that accompanied him?" Lucy asked, keeping track mentally.
"He was 6'3", and thin… Not underweight, but maybe 158 pounds. He smelled like basil, really, really strong basil. It was a bit overpowering. He shouted something like 'petrifica totalis', and 'stupefy'. I was completely paralyzed for six hours, just lying there. The second spell he used felt like a freight train." She growled angrily. Harry nodded.
"Thank you. Do you have the information you need, Lucy?" Harry asked. Lucy nodded, and stood, bowing politely to Amelia, and heading to the door.
"We'll contact you by owl when we have a break in the case. As it happens, the man you and your friends assaulted may be a tosspot, but he wasn't your assailant." Lucy said. Then she added,
"And… For the future, the Ministry of Magic has its own way of going about investigations. Please try not to take justice into your own hands. I'm certain that it was an honest mistake, but a mistake that someone could easily become angry over, and justifiably so. Thank you for your time, Amelia."
"Amy."
"Sorry?" Harry asked.
"I prefer to be called Amy. Amy Stephens."
"Very well, Amy. Have a good day." Lucy said, smiling and disapparating along with Harry as soon as they left the house.
"Do you have a better idea of what the criminal looks like?" Harry asked. Lucy nodded, still working furiously on a piece of paper. After a few minutes, she looked up and showed Harry the picture. It did look like Lucius in the same way that boot looked like a sneaker. They both had long blonde hair and an angular face. But this man's eyes were blue, whereas Lucius's were grey. This man was at least three inches taller than Lucius, and they carried different wands.
And furthermore, while Lucius did tend to flaunt his wealth and prestige, he at least seemed to have refined taste. This man seemed gauche by Amelia's description. An excess of cologne, gaudy ornaments, etcetera. It wouldn't be nearly as hard to find this man as Lucy had previously believed.
"Harry… Does this man look familiar to you at all?" Lucy asked. Harry took the piece of paper, looking at it for a minute.
"No. Maybe we could put up a wanted poster for him. He seems like a fairly recognizable person." Harry said. Lucy nodded.
"I don't know, though. Wanted posters would tip him off that he's been found out. I suspect that he thinks that Lucius has taken the fall for him. If we show our hand, he may disappear, and we might never get a chance at him."
"That's possible. But wanted posters went up for Bellatrix Lestrange, and numerous other dangerous Death Eaters back when they were at large. I think this person is less clever than he gives himself credit for. He could have created polyjuice potion if he had gotten even a single strand of Lucius's hair, done a much better job of framing Malfoy. I could have done a better job of framing Draco for the same crime in my second year of Hogwarts."
"You make a good point. We'll talk to the Minister and get wanted posters made." Lucy said, nodding, and heading out of the room, leaving Harry alone for a little while. For a few minutes, he just sat there, thinking. He kind of wanted to get home to see Luna. He was really happy with her, and he also wanted to see Draco, if only to tell him that the case was closed, that Draco's father was cleared. He was sure that Lucius would tell him, though.
"Harry…" Shacklebolt walked into the interrogation room, sighing.
"What's wrong, Minister?"
"I need you to go to Liverpool. There's news of a Wild Mage there, one who can speak to snakes. He's been causing pretty serious trouble, instigating snake attacks, especially with venomous snakes and rumour has it that he owns a 27 foot, 480 pound snake that's been known to crush cars.
"I'm… Not certain what to believe, but your help would be greatly appreciated, Harry."
"Sir… I'd… Like to help, but… I lost my ability to speak Parseltongue after the last Horcrux was destroyed. I couldn't control the snakes, and… Well…"
"I ask not because of your ability to control the snakes, but because you've become… For lack of a better term, the unofficial diplomat between Wizards and Wild Mages.
"They've begun to see you, and to a lesser extent, Luna, as envoys between the two groups. You've done remarkably well in that capacity. Perhaps you could talk this man down."
"I'll try. Can I take Luna with me? She's the one who's good with animals."
"Sure… But I need you to go as soon as possible." Shacklebolt said seriously. Harry nodded, taking out a cell phone, and dialing Luna's number.
"Oh, hello, Harry… You've called at a good time. I just finished observing the Drall… What's up?" Luna asked. Harry smiled.
"D'you think you could join me for a job in Liverpool? It has to do with animals, and I feel like you'd be better suited for it than I would."
"Oh, sure, Harry. I'll be…
"Right over." Luna said, apparating next to Harry, startling both him and the Minister. Harry didn't even bother asking how she knew where he was. It was just something that Luna seemed sometimes able to do.
Harry smiled, and took her hand, disapparating away, and apparating just outside Liverpool, unfortunately being caught by a young man who seemed terribly shocked to see them suddenly standing there. Harry sighed, though Luna seemed unconcerned. She smiled at the young man, taking out her wand, and holding it up.
"I'm very sorry, sir… I'm going to need to Obliviate you." Luna said dreamily, sighing.
The young man panicked slightly.
"Wait! Please don't kill me! I swear I won't tell anyone!" He cried, holding his hands up in front of him to protect himself. Harry shook his head.
"No, we're not going to kill you. Just cast a spell and then the last few minutes of your memory will be gone. You won't remember that you saw us appear out of nowhere." He said.
The man seemed even more upset by this, though.
"Wait! Why? Why can't you just let me remember? I'm not going to hunt you or anything!" He protested.
"Well… Lots of reasons. Magical laws and all that. But mostly because that's just the way it's always been in our world." Luna said, looking the young man in the eyes and smiling reassuringly.
"I promise it won't hurt. Won't take more than a second, and Obliviate." She said, slipping the spell cleverly into the end of her sentence. The young man's face relaxed, and his eyes became unfocused, and before he could refocus, she had hidden her wand away, and stepped away from the man.
"Wait… Who are you two? Have you been here long?" He asked.
"Oh, no. We're just passing through." Harry said, taking Luna's hand and walking off into Liverpool where they questioned locals about a man that used snakes to attack people, eventually making their way to one of the poorer sections of town, where they found a rundown flat, with the name "Marco Rhydderch" on the mailbox. Luna stood back, while Harry knocked on the door.