Borgin & Burkes II
Hermione's Point of View
"Percy Weasley?" I echoed incredulously, my eyes wide with disbelief.
"Percy Weasley, the stiff, lanky redhead who works at the Ministry." Borgin confirmed, in a disdainful voice.
"What's he doing here in your shop?" my eyes narrowed at Borgin. Percy Weasley, it does not make sense……
"Ah, that……" and he looked at the galleons on the table again.
Slime, I thought, as I made an exasperated sound and threw another galleon at him.
"He wanted help. From me" Borgin said, rubbing his hands in glee, before he picked up the galleon on the table.
"Help from you?" I do not understand. Why would Percy be needing this oily fellow's help?
"From what he let on" and Borgin furrowed his brows, as if thinking "Percy Weasley was involved in a corruption investigation of top Ministry officials. It seems that Arthur Weasley, his father, suspected that a cohort of officials were taking bribes. He raised this to Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, who gave the approval for the investigation and Percy Weasley was appointed head of the investigation panel."
I cocked my head to one side, imagining Percy swelling up with importance at being appointed head for such an important role……
Borgin continued "Percy Weasley believed that a certain Ministry Official has been bribing his subordinates to siphon funds from Ministry coffers."
"Why did he come to you?" I asked incredulously.
"I was hardly the right person, my Lady. But Percy Weasley believed that I would be able to play spy for him on a Ministry Official, who was on his list of suspects."
"Who?" I asked sharply.
"Why, Lucius Malfoy, of course."
Lucius Malfoy. Now, why was I not too surprised to hear this name cropped up, I thought to myself sarcastically.
"Like I told the lanky Weasley, I was hardly the right person. My dealings with Lucius Malfoy had dwindled over the years, you know. But Percy Weasley refused to give up on me. He believe I knew more than I let on. Which is not true, of course. My statement will never be enough to incriminate Lucius Malfoy in court. But that Percy Weasley was insistent, and pestered me no end."
"What happened next?" I probed.
"Well" Borgin continued. "one had to earn his keep, like they say. And business had been……rather poor in the shop. Percy Weasley offered me decent galleons in exchange for information. So I decided to strike a bargain with him. For although I could not testify against Lucius Malfoy, I, however" and Borgin's voice dropped to barely a whisper. "……could give names of officials in the Ministry whom I know have been receiving bribes from their superiors. I ,uh, will be paid for those names, and I would not testify in court."
"Percy Weasley agreed. I gave him those names, and as agreed, he paid me. That was a few months ago, and I thought that would be the last I saw of him. However, the day Arthur Weasley was murdered, I received an owl from Percy Weasley. In the early hours of the morning, before dawn. He said he wanted to see me urgently and would come by my shop later in the evening. He did come by, but Young Master Malfoy had to intrude upon us and……"
"And?" I probed again, my voice had gone tight.
"Young Master Malfoy taunted him. You know the Malfoys, they harbored great contempt for the Weasleys. Percy Weasley seemed very nervous and most anxious to push Young Master Malfoy of out my shop, but he hung around and refused to leave. Trying to annoy the Weasley, I supposed. Well, that certainly got Percy Weasley upset, and he whipped out his wand and hexed Young Master Malfoy."
"He hexed him?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes, I was caught off guard as well. Young Malfoy dropped to the floor, unconscious. Percy Weasley turned to me & said "I had to do it, the hex will wear off in a few moments. Now, Borgin, about those names you gave……who's goes there?" Percy Weasley never finished his sentence. For he suddenly dash out of my shop and……"
"He ran out of your shop?"
"Yes, I supposed he must have seen someone. He just dashed out."
"What about Malfoy?"
"Oh, I didn't want any trouble, you know. So I performed a Memory charm on the boy and left him at the back alley. He was still unconscious, but the hex will wear off soon, and he would not be in any danger, you know. No one dares touch a Malfoy, especially not in Knockturn Alley. But I, uh, did not want him waking up in my shop and start asking questions. He might think I was the one who hex him, and if he goes running off to Lucius Malfoy……" and Borgin's voice trailed off.
So Percy ran out, Malfoy got dumped in the back alley……
"You shouldn't have done that! Merlin knows……that's why his wand was stolen, it could be……"
"It was most unfortunate, of course. I confess I do not actually know if Young Malfoy was the one who killed Arthur Weasley. But I highly doubted it. For one, you would not go shopping in Knockturn Alley the day you wish to murder someone. And," and Borgin's voice went all mysterious, "I saw Arthur Weasley in his last moments before he died."
I froze. "What do you mean?"
"I heard him. I came back to the front of the shop an hour later, because I had forgotten to bring the ledger in. I seldom forget that, but what with the Weasley and dumping Young Master Malfoy, it got me a little distracted. It was past one hour before I realized that the ledger was missing. When I was picking the ledger from the counter, I heard someone shuffling in the snow, so I peeked out of the window. It was Percy Weasley, dressed in the same dark brown robes, and he was badly injured. Blood was oozing out of a wound on his chest. He staggered for a few steps before he fell, down on the snow."
"But, I thought you said Arthur Weasley……" I interrupted but Borgin continued "Yes, that was not Percy Weasley. When Percy Weasley fell, the Polyjuice Potion effect must have worn out, for that's when I saw it was Arthur Weasley who was lying down on the snow."
"Polyjuice, you mean it was Arthur Weasley all this while……"
"I have no idea who I dealt with, Percy or Arthur Weasley. But I do know that the Weasley who came to see that fateful evening was Arthur Weasley and not his son. Why he was disguising as Percy is, of course, beyond me." Borgin finished, eyes on the galleons again.
"And Malfoy? Do you know what happened to him?"
"No, I don't. Soon after Arthur Weasley fell, two passersby saw him and alerted the Ministry. There was a commotion as Aurors and medi-wizards starting apparating to the scene of the crime. Queer as Knockturn Alley may be, it was not a everyday scene to have a murder in our midst, especially of a Ministry Official. Oh yes, it caused quite a stir. People started coming out of their shops and crowding around……"
"Malfoy's wand was found at the scene of the crime. How did that happen?"
"Why, it dropped out of Arthur Weasley's pocket. I saw it rolled out when he fell dead to the ground. I thought that was his."
Thousand of questions were bustling in my head. Why………how……
"I think my galleons are due, my Lady……" and Borgin stretched out a dirty hand.
Draco's Point of View
I did not know how long I was unconscious on the stone floor. I stirred when I felt a kick on the ribs. With great difficulty, I opened my eyes. An Auror was standing beside me.
"He's not dead!". He called out to another Auror standing outside the cell. "From the looks of it, he won't last, though"
The other Auror smirked. "He's a Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy's son." "Yeah, I've heard of them Malfoys. High & mighty family from Yorkshire. Noble lineage too. Rumored to have a history of Dark Arts. Well, so this is a Malfoy. Not much to speak of, if I say so myself?"
The Auror laughed. "Well, he's just a boy, really. Heard he is the only son of Lord Malfoy. No daddy dearest to save you, boy?" He looked at me, his eyes mocking.
"Let……mm…me……die……pl…please……" I begged, every syllabus causing a sharp pain in my stomach.
"Begging for death? Pathetic. Oh, it will come soon, don't you worry. From the looks of it, I say, ohm, three weeks at most" sniggered the Auror.
"Two and the half weeks, and I bet five galleons on it" smirked the other Auror.
"You're on!" The Aurors laughed before stomping out, and the cell door locked with a loud clang.
No daddy dearest to save you, boy……daddy dearest……You were never daddy dearest to me, Father. "Daddy" is a commoners' term, used by the Weasleys, and the Potters and the Grangers. We Malfoys are a noble family, and we will carry ourselves like one, you said.
We Malfoys……do you consider me a Malfoy, Father? You disowned me, so I guess I had no right to call myself a Malfoy. I am nothing, reduced to dying in this filthy place. And I have to suffer the pain of whatever disease that is consuming me inside……
I used to have everything, or so I thought. Power. Wealth. Status. But my world crumbled, no, not when I was convicted. My world crumbled when you, Father, or all people, decided to let me rot & die in here.
Why. Why, Father? At least, take pity on me, and give me an explanation before I leave this world. Let me die in piece. I just want to know, why. Then I can die in peace.
I remembered my first-year, when you brought me to Diagon Alley to buy my school things. Second-year, you bribed the Quidditch team with the Nimbus 2001 so that I can be made Seeker. Third-year, I got a scratch in Care of Magical Creatures class and you turned the Ministry upside down……all that……and finally came to this……I don't understand……I don't understand……
I saw a light. That beautiful white light. It looks alluring, like it's beckoning me. It looks so beautiful. I never seen anything like it before. I want to be closer to it. It really is heavenly. It looks like, could it be the gateway to Heaven?
But, I, I don't want to die now. Not yet. I need to know the reason first. Yes, I need to know why, Father, and then I can die. I need to know……I need to know……before I die……
Author's Note: Just would like to say "thank you very much" to all of you who have reviewed the last chapter. Sorry that it took quite a while to get this out, but this chapter was, somehow, not so easy to write. To be honest, I had countless false starts because I was contemplating on how I should write to keep the suspense, but yet reveal enough so that it makes sense. And then exams had to come, so got to stop writing for a while to concentrate on that. Let me know what you think of this chapter.