Truth be told, the whole thing had been a fluke. Phineas and Townsend had met at Hogwarts in Phineas's sixth year and Townsend's first, but were little more than house acquaintances until Phineas finished school and took over the position as Potions teacher. Townsend admired Phineas's magical skill, as Townsend wasn't the strongest in that area, while Phineas admired Townsend's quick mind and tongue. After Townsend left school and began working with his father at Malfoy Magical Law, the two stayed friends and found they had a mutually benefical relationship--Townsend helped unseat the current headmaster at Hogwarts, and Phineas began working on things that would help Townsend in court.
All Townsend had wanted was an antidote for Veritaserum. The stuff was only used in high-profile cases, which were the cases that Malfoy Magical Law had always attracted. Most often they worked defense, and most often for heinous but rich criminals, so the defendant spilling the truth on the stand was not an option. The night they made their breakthrough, Phineas had simply been idly tinkering with potions in the sitting room at Malfoy Manor, so when Pavo Black called, neither of them had had any reservations on letting him in. By that time, the antidote was nearly five years in the making and was showing no progress.
The three of them had been chatting when Phineas thought to add a few drops of thornapple nectar to the mix. The results were instantaneous; the dark blue potion suddenly took on a silvery lustre that moved unnervingly in the cauldron, as if something were alive inside just waiting to get out. Townsend gave a shout and stuffed a sheaf of parchment into Pavo's hands, ordering him to take notes while Phineas tested and refined the potion. What they created that night wasn't an antidote, but it kept the drinker from giving away the straight facts and instead allowed them to speak fully from their own perspective of the truth. It was a step in the right direction.
The problem was Pavo. He insisted on being allowed to help from this point on. Neither Phineas nor Townsend trusted him fully, knowing his family's reputation, and neither of them were overly fond of him. But as Townsend pointed out in a heated whisper, Pavo could easily go public with his knowledge--and that would be the end of Malfoy Magical Law and a new headmaster at Hogwarts. The potion they were producing wasn't exactly legal, and having a criminal lawyer as one of the makers didn't make things look any better. Phineas grudgingly agreed.
So for the next nine years, the three men worked together. Phineas had to grudgingly admit, Pavo was good. Pavo was very good. Pavo was, possibly, better than he was. Still, the three of them made no more headway. Townsend made use of the potion they had, but it still wasn't enough. Then Pavo got an offer to spend a year teaching at the Salem Witches' Institute, and it was agreed to put the potion aside for awhile. All three of them had children who would soon be leaving school and would require more attention than the potion.
All this was flashing through Phineas's mind as Townsend pulled him outside. The street was filled with Muggles staring at the last bits of fading wizard fireworks, still tracing out phoenices and dragons in the sky.
"What are you looking at?" Townsend snarled. The Muggles just stared at him. "Get the hell out of here!" he yelled, and finally they scattered. Townsend turned back to Phineas. "The gall of that damned fool!"
Phineas's mind was racing. "I'll wager he figured out the secret years ago and kept it from us. He's had time enough away to make it look like he came up with it all himself."
"No doubt." Townsend's pale face was reddened with anger. "And he's taken it far from the original intention. It's half-mind control. All we were looking for was something to free the mind, but he used our research to come up with some damnable piece of Dark magic. The he goes and announces it publicly to discredit any claims you or I might make. What an idiot I was!"
"We both were," Phineas corrected. "And now we're stuck. We've got no recourse, Townsend."
But Townsend had suddenly gone still and quiet. Phineas knew the look on his face--it was one he'd only seen before when the man was pondering over documents for a particularly difficult case. He waited, unsure of what Townsend was thinking about.
"No," Townsend finally said slowly. "We have recourse. We can't touch the potion, I'll give you that. But we can get to Pavo."
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"It's simple. Discredit Pavo."
"Surely you don't mean exposing the potion?"
"If it comes to that, yes." Townsend was in his best court mode now. He began pacing the sidewalk slowly as he spoke. "But there are other ways. Between you and me, we should be able to take him down with no problem. It will be complicated, and epending on which path we choose, we may have to get his idiot son involved as well. But that's casualties of war for you."
"War? I don't think I like the sound of that."
Townsend stopped abruptly to look Phineas square in the eye. "You don't think this is war? He's done more than steal from us. He's warped what we worked so hard for. He's dirtied it with his Dark magic. This isn't just about reclaiming what's rightfully ours. You don't think he'll profit from our work? You don't think he'll end up celebrated? He will, Phineas. He will if we don't step in and do something about it." Townsend resumed his pacing. "Oh, yes. This is war."
All Townsend had wanted was an antidote for Veritaserum. The stuff was only used in high-profile cases, which were the cases that Malfoy Magical Law had always attracted. Most often they worked defense, and most often for heinous but rich criminals, so the defendant spilling the truth on the stand was not an option. The night they made their breakthrough, Phineas had simply been idly tinkering with potions in the sitting room at Malfoy Manor, so when Pavo Black called, neither of them had had any reservations on letting him in. By that time, the antidote was nearly five years in the making and was showing no progress.
The three of them had been chatting when Phineas thought to add a few drops of thornapple nectar to the mix. The results were instantaneous; the dark blue potion suddenly took on a silvery lustre that moved unnervingly in the cauldron, as if something were alive inside just waiting to get out. Townsend gave a shout and stuffed a sheaf of parchment into Pavo's hands, ordering him to take notes while Phineas tested and refined the potion. What they created that night wasn't an antidote, but it kept the drinker from giving away the straight facts and instead allowed them to speak fully from their own perspective of the truth. It was a step in the right direction.
The problem was Pavo. He insisted on being allowed to help from this point on. Neither Phineas nor Townsend trusted him fully, knowing his family's reputation, and neither of them were overly fond of him. But as Townsend pointed out in a heated whisper, Pavo could easily go public with his knowledge--and that would be the end of Malfoy Magical Law and a new headmaster at Hogwarts. The potion they were producing wasn't exactly legal, and having a criminal lawyer as one of the makers didn't make things look any better. Phineas grudgingly agreed.
So for the next nine years, the three men worked together. Phineas had to grudgingly admit, Pavo was good. Pavo was very good. Pavo was, possibly, better than he was. Still, the three of them made no more headway. Townsend made use of the potion they had, but it still wasn't enough. Then Pavo got an offer to spend a year teaching at the Salem Witches' Institute, and it was agreed to put the potion aside for awhile. All three of them had children who would soon be leaving school and would require more attention than the potion.
All this was flashing through Phineas's mind as Townsend pulled him outside. The street was filled with Muggles staring at the last bits of fading wizard fireworks, still tracing out phoenices and dragons in the sky.
"What are you looking at?" Townsend snarled. The Muggles just stared at him. "Get the hell out of here!" he yelled, and finally they scattered. Townsend turned back to Phineas. "The gall of that damned fool!"
Phineas's mind was racing. "I'll wager he figured out the secret years ago and kept it from us. He's had time enough away to make it look like he came up with it all himself."
"No doubt." Townsend's pale face was reddened with anger. "And he's taken it far from the original intention. It's half-mind control. All we were looking for was something to free the mind, but he used our research to come up with some damnable piece of Dark magic. The he goes and announces it publicly to discredit any claims you or I might make. What an idiot I was!"
"We both were," Phineas corrected. "And now we're stuck. We've got no recourse, Townsend."
But Townsend had suddenly gone still and quiet. Phineas knew the look on his face--it was one he'd only seen before when the man was pondering over documents for a particularly difficult case. He waited, unsure of what Townsend was thinking about.
"No," Townsend finally said slowly. "We have recourse. We can't touch the potion, I'll give you that. But we can get to Pavo."
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"It's simple. Discredit Pavo."
"Surely you don't mean exposing the potion?"
"If it comes to that, yes." Townsend was in his best court mode now. He began pacing the sidewalk slowly as he spoke. "But there are other ways. Between you and me, we should be able to take him down with no problem. It will be complicated, and epending on which path we choose, we may have to get his idiot son involved as well. But that's casualties of war for you."
"War? I don't think I like the sound of that."
Townsend stopped abruptly to look Phineas square in the eye. "You don't think this is war? He's done more than steal from us. He's warped what we worked so hard for. He's dirtied it with his Dark magic. This isn't just about reclaiming what's rightfully ours. You don't think he'll profit from our work? You don't think he'll end up celebrated? He will, Phineas. He will if we don't step in and do something about it." Townsend resumed his pacing. "Oh, yes. This is war."