"I thought we were getting somewhere, but now I'm not so sure," the lead auror admitted in frustration to the Minister for Magic.
Harry and Ron had been readying to go before the man personally to report the latest turn in the Davis case only for Shacklebolt to instead show up at the eldest Weaseley's home just as they were doing so. His intuition had told him things were not going well. Hermione, Arthur, Ginny, George, and the aurors had been sharing the details of the night while Molly prepared tea and then stood nervously taking in the repeated stories.
"Let me get this straight," the Minister's strong voice hummed as he set down his steaming cup. "Grindelwald experimented on his pregnant lover to create his son as some sort of demonic creature. Gerald lost control of himself and his friend Oliver, who Gerald has been apparently very dishonest with, defended him. Then," the wizard paused, "Vampires took them both away."
"And his muggle friend is a vampire too," Ron added, drawing an odd look from the Minister.
"If he's a muggle, then he couldn't have become a vampire," Hermione retorted. "Seeing as to become a vampire, one has to give up their magic."
"Well, he did bite Gerald like a vampire, yeah?" Ron pointed out.
"Then I would imagine," his wife returned angrily, "That he is working under the vampires' control."
The redhead added nothing more to the argument, having long learned his lesson to just let things be when Hermione was so certain of herself. Ron leaned back in the couch between his two partners who slowly looked away from him as he began sipping on his tea.
The story sounded ridiculous. Especially put so simply...yet that was how it happened. To an investigator whose job it was to find out the truth and bring dark, evil wizards to justice, the situation was exasperating to realize that what was being dealt with were things unknown. Even as the pieces of the puzzle were put together, the picture they revealed didn't make sense. Nothing was known about demons, very little was known of vampires, and necromancy was... It was not a dark magic that was even thought to really exist...or at least not like this. Not in centuries. Harry didn't like the idea that it was a reality in such a powerful sense and that it was wielded by a man...a beast like Gerald. The auror was only slightly comforted by the thought that the American didn't seem to have any desire to push an agenda as his father and his past mentor had. Then again, they couldn't be sure what it was his captors wanted...
"Hm. Gerald is, at this point, still our prime suspect in Lucius Malfoy's murder, but he will be charged with resisting arrest, assaulting officers of the law, practicing the dark arts, and inciting conspiracy in a muggle," Minister Shackelbolt said, "Your goal right now is to find and arrest him using any means necessary. This should go without saying, but treat him as extremely dangerous."
"What of Oliver and Brad?" Harry asked. "And if we should come across any of these vampires again?"
The Minister exhaled deeply and placed folded hands beneath his chin, "I find Mr. Smith's loyalty rather odd..." he trailed off, shifting his sight to the company as if for their thoughts.
Arthur was the first to speak up, "I do as well. Gerald, for some reason, was honest with his bandmates regarding his father and having learned beneath Voldemort and therefore of his agelessness and wandless magic. He even told them about killing his mother, yet he neglected to tell them of his association with Malfoy, his necromancy, and anything of his true nature. This demon or what have you."
"It seems he said nothing about the vampires either or at the very least tried to hide that too," Hermione stated.
"Why would he be straight-forward with some of these things and deceitful about the rest?" Ginny inquired.
"All that MACUSA knew were the things that he shared with Oliver and Brad," Harry acknowledged. "Maybe he figured the probability of Oliver finding out, since he was also a wizard, was too high for him to lie about."
"So we're back to assuming that he doesn't care about his friends then?" the other auror questioned.
"I don't think he knows how to be honest," Harry was the one to answer again. "His life has been about self-preservation. His mother had him in hiding, he had to hide being on Voldemort's side, and even after his teacher died, he's had to continue hiding from MACUSA. I don't think it's as simple as him not caring about his friends, but rather...he's just messed up."
"That's actually a might sad," Molly's motherly voice kicked in.
Arthur reached for his wife's hand and rubbed her palm, giving her an understanding smile before putting his attention back on the dire matters at hand, "But Oliver isn't. Up until a decade ago, he had a normal life. When his parents died, he left everything and went to America where he stumbled upon Gerald. Now, even if he was able to take in what Gerald told him and judge him innocent, Oliver has since learned more about his friend that proves he isn't as he has presented. Some things before they came to England were revealed that apparently put doubt into Oliver's head, but with what has been discovered here..."
"Mr. Smith seemed to be at his wit's end after only some of these matters," the Minister picked up, "But suddenly, when even more came to light, namely the cursed bones given to his brother which he voiced his upset of, he's adamantly on Gerald's side once more."
"Do you think that...that Gerald started using the Imperius curse to control Oliver?" Hermione breathed.
Minister Shacklebolt purred, "I would not doubt it, though we will not approach any of them as if this is a possibility. Merlin knows that too many have been let off the hook for claiming use of this magic against them. As much as I fear it's true, do not put the idea out there. Instead, let us see what happens. If you see Oliver, arrest him for aiding in the escape of a wanted criminal."
"Right," Harry agreed absentmindedly.
"As for Brad," the Minister continued, "Treat him as any other muggle that is causing a problem. Arrest him and obliviate him. But not until after you have confirmed that he is not of magical blood. If you find any magical connection while he is in custody, get me at once."
"And the vampires?" Ron squeaked.
"If any of you recognize the ones that you saw, I am giving you allowance to subdue them. The crime being their attack on you," Shacklebolt's gaze upon the company was intense, bringing solemn nods from each and a nervous swallow from the younger auror. "Otherwise, seek to learn only. If we start arresting beings without reason, we will bring another issue entirely upon ourselves." He stood with those last words and began heading for the door.
Harry quickly rose and stepped after him, "Sir, Draco is bound to start up with something again. He thinks we're not doing enough for his father. I hate to say it, but charging him with interference isn't going to do anything but antagonize the situation."
Shacklebolt spun on his heels to face the younger wizard, "Then tell him that Gerald is being sought for the murder of Lucius. Keep him in the loop. Do what you must to appease him. His cooperation may lead to his help which might actually be beneficial for us."
"You're saying let him join in on the hunt if he wishes?" Hermione shot up from her seat.
"Indeed," the Minister confirmed, "Under a watchful eye, of course. A bit selfish and green still, Draco is not the evil man his father was. And as far as I've come to understand, he's capable enough in his skills to work alongside you."
"Not to mention he and his mother remain with many contacts and other resources that could lend this case aid," Arthur contributed from his chair.
"Hm. Well, I must decide how I will update the President of MACUSA. They've previously wiped their hands of Gerald, letting him be our problem, but...I wonder if given this new information, they would be interested in becoming involved again in order to learn about this strange being themselves," Shacklebolt sighed. "I would prefer they stay out of the picture and continue to let us handle him as we will. Gerald's already proven how well he handles having too many people nosing about."
The Minister kept on his way, carefully followed out by Molly Weaseley who bid him farewell at the door, watching him disapparate before closing it behind him and returning to the small den where her family waited.
"So, this guy is a necromancer?" George, who had been silently attending the conversation finally spoke up.
"Yeah, but don't you go on spouting your mouth," his younger brother poked playfully, but George's demeanor was anything but lighthearted.
"Yes," Hermione started in gently, "We don't really know much about it except it's a magic that evolved from divination."
"But he's brought Malfoy back to life?" George mused.
"As a ghost maybe," Ginny said, "But we don't know that was him."
"What about the other people? The ones that fended the vampires off? He definitely did that," her brother pressed.
"Yes and we don't know at what cost to them that it was done," Arthur butted in, not liking his depressed son's line of questioning.
Turning to gaze upon his concerned father's face, George shrugged, "I was just curious. This is the first I'm really hearing about all this."
Arthur released an audible sigh, "This is dangerous. I don't want your curiosity getting the best of you."
George rolled his eyes and shrugged again, offering an unconvincing laugh, "Yeah, yeah, Dad."
Harry and Hermione only barely caught onto the elder Weasely's thoughts behind shutting down his son's inquiries, exchanging subtle glances that they would speak with Ron on it later. They needn't cause any more alarm by voicing their suspicion in front if the others.
"Off to speak with the Malfoys and Stephen tomorrow then, yeah?" the redheaded auror spoke suddenly, easing the quiet tension that had overcome the home.
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "And we will need to hear Croaker's thoughts as well. Hopefully these events can help him determine more."
"I'll be researching and see what more I can find as well," Hermione chimed in, "I feel that Karkaroff might be able to offer more now that his side of things have settled down."
"As far as we are aware, they have anyway," Ron clarified.
"We will send an owl and see," the lead actor decided, turning sights onto his father-in-law, "We may be paying Charlie a visit in Romania soon. Especially if we come up short elsewhere."
"According to him, the likelihood of vampires being found in the area is immense if they do, indeed, exist at all," Arthur replied.
"And they obviously exist," Ginny said.
"It would be the best place to start if we find nothing else anyway," Hermione nodded.
"But all this can start in the morning," Molly smiled, walking around her husband's seat and lifting the tea tray from the table. "For now, I've got supper ready, then you all need to get a good night's sleep."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:: Sorry for taking so long to update! I've been working on my original novel, Visitor's Blood. It's on Wattpad if you'd like to check it out. Hope everyone is having a great holiday season!