They Apparated outside the front gates of Malfoy's manor. Fortunately, it was in Wiltshire, and while it was cold, there was no snow on the ground.
"We have to walk all the way up there?" Caleb asked.
"Yeah, most of these places have serious anti-Apparition wards to discourage uninvited guests. Now, you remember how this works, right?" she asked as they began the long walk up to the house proper.
"I let you serve the warrant and do all the talking," he said by rote.
"That's right. And why is that?" She was thankful he was a quick study. The last time she had been partnered with a rookie, the poor kid had been so nervous he was nearly useless.
"Because Mr. Malfoy is intimidating, and I'm not used to dealing with people like him," he replied sarcastically.
"Exactly. And this isn't a joke. People like Malfoy will do what they can to make you feel like you are doing something wrong. This is your first raid. Watch and learn. Remember to defer any questions to me, and if you find something?" This was a very important question since two of the younger Aurors had been injured during the last set of raids.
"I'm not to touch it because I don't know what kind of protective spells it will have. I'm to find you."
"Good. Just remember that." They walked in silence until they were standing outside the door. "Get your ID ready," she ordered. She saw that he had obviously forgot to cast a warming charm in his nervousness. She truly despised working with rookies. Reaching up for the silver doorknocker, she rapped three times and pulled out her badge.
After only a few seconds a house-elf opened the door. "How may I be helping you?" it asked obsequiously.
Wendy flashed her badge. "Magical Law Enforcement to see Mr. Malfoy." The elf gestured for them to follow. She saw Caleb looking around with his mouth agape and realized that he had never been in surroundings like this. If she recalled correctly he was Muggle-born. She had lost count of the number of times she had been to this manor. "Close your mouth, you look like a fish," she muttered quietly.
"Sorry," he replied sheepishly.
She strongly resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The elf left them in a parlor. "Stand still," she ordered quietly. She watched Caleb stand nervously next to her. She crossed to the mantle and began investigating its contents.
"May I help you?" asked an irritated Lucius Malfoy.
She took her time turning to face him. "Mr. Lucius Malfoy, I am Auror Westin and this is my partner Auror Thomas. I have a warrant to search your residence for Dark artifacts and illegally enchanted Muggle artifacts." She held the warrant in her hand. While someone else would have walked to him, she would make him come to her.
Lucius scowled as he crossed the room to take the warrant from her hand. It was incredibly insolent behavior on her part. "I assume you have identification?" he sneered as he read over the warrant.
She flashed her badge at him. "Are your wife and son present?"
"They are at her mother's," he replied dryly.
That was not what she was hoping to hear. He would likely feel compelled to take certain liberties since he was home alone. "I will, of course, have to confiscate your wand for the duration of the search." She knew he did not have it with him, but held her hand out anyway.
He gave her a small smirk. "Of course. It's in my study, but I assure you, this search is a waste of time." He gestured toward the doorway.
"Thomas, start your search in the cellar," she ordered before gesturing that Lucius should lead the way. Caleb gave her a tentative look as though he was unsure about leaving her alone with Malfoy, but she shooed him on his way.
Once she was in the study, he closed the door. "He's quite young isn't he?"
"There is nothing dangerous in the cellar, is there?"
He picked up his cane and brushed her cheek with the snakehead. "Nothing overly dangerous that he shouldn't be able to handle. Are you looking out for me?" he purred.
"Purely by chance, but yes. Was I correct in assuming that you have nothing hidden in the cellar?"
"What makes you think I'm hiding anything?" He pulled her against him.
"Now, Lucius, I am supposed to be searching the premises." She half-heartedly tried to pull away, realizing she had a role to play.
"Of course. And any good search should begin with the master of the house. Young Thomas should be busy down there for quite some time. That was your intention, wasn't it?" He trailed the serpent down her body.
"Lucius, you're horrible," she chided playfully, hoping she would not succumb to the same bout of poor judgment that had overtaken her the other day.
He gave her a roguish smile, "I am, aren't I?" He devoured her in a kiss. "Now then, would you care to start upstairs with the bedrooms? The idea of having an Auror during a raid is positively divine."
"You are horrible," she joked. She reached around, pulled his cane out of his hand and forced some space between them. "I will have to hold onto this," she said as she pulled his wand free.
"Of course. I would never do anything to prevent an Auror from carrying out her job." He slipped his hand inside her robe and was pleased to feel her shiver at his touch. "I've always wondered what Aurors wear under their robes." His eyes twinkled with amusement and desire.
There was something about the way he looked at her that made her weak at the knees, and she could feel her resolve fading. "Then I guess I'll have to let you find out, won't I?" She ran her hands down his chest and pushed him away. In a very professional voice, she announced, "Now, Mr. Malfoy, I will begin my inspection upstairs."
As they walked up the stairs, he said, "I would be interested in knowing what would happen if a raid were conducted on your house? I know that Edgar had many things that could prove rather embarrassing, and I have to assume that you've found them all. Not to mention the fact you have done your own dabbling in the Dark Arts," he hinted malevolently.
"As I'm above reproach, that's not something I concern myself with. Don't worry, Lucius, nothing will be found during this raid. Your reputation will remain spotless, and you will be free to protest to Madam Bones about the horrid treatment you received by the Aurors conducting the search." She shoved him into the first bedroom they passed. Playfully, she brandished his wand and backed him to the bed. "Now then, Mr. Malfoy, which rooms should I keep my colleague out of?" she asked as she straddled him.
He drawled, "Truly, I will have to complain about this horrid treatment. The dining and drawing rooms along with the garden." Slowly, he began unfastening her robes.
"Good. Now that we have that covered we can get down to business."
"Yes, we can," he said. There was no way he would allow her to remain in control, and he flipped her onto her back.
Wendy was searching the library under Lucius' close scrutiny when Caleb returned from the basement. He was quite dusty and dirty. Wendy took one look at him and cleared her throat. He saw how dirty he was and quickly cleaned off the dirt.
"Well?" she asked.
"I found a couple of concealed chambers, but they looked like they hadn't been opened for a long time. Other than that, I found nothing suspicious," reported Caleb.
"As I said, this was a waste of time," Lucius drawled.
"Mr. Malfoy, thank you for your time and cooperation. We'll show ourselves out." She pulled his wand out of her pocket and placed it on a small table.
He crossed the room to retrieve his wand. His voice carried an air of menace as he said, "The Ministry will of course hear about this."
Wendy inclined her head slightly. "That is well within your rights, Mr. Malfoy. Good day."
Once they were away from house and walking toward the front gates, Caleb asked nervously, "What did you do that he's filing a complaint?" He was not looking forward to being disciplined so early in his career when he had done nothing wrong.
"Nothing. He just likes to file complaints of harassment any time his house gets searched. So you found nothing at all?" She had to make sure he wasn't just saying that in front of Lucius in order to avoid confrontation.
"I saw some strange things down there, but nothing forbidden. Did you know there's a second level to the cellars?"
She did, but since it wasn't on the drawings, she couldn't admit it. "Really? That's interesting. You'll have to update the floor plan." She looked over at him and he looked quite pleased with himself for his discovery.
The following morning, Wendy was assaulted by a memo ordering her report immediately to Amelia Bones' office. She had no idea what the urgency of the situation was, but it couldn't be good. She stopped by Kingsley's cubicle to see if he had received a similar summons, but he wasn't in.
When she arrived at Amelia's office, the receptionist admitted her immediately. Wendy saw that her department head was furious.
"Would you care to explain this?" Amelia asked as she thrust a piece of parchment at Wendy.
Wendy read the parchment as she took a seat. Lucius had filed a complaint and listed several indignities he claimed to have suffered. He had been particularly creative in his complaints. She began to wonder if he was trying to get her removed from fieldwork, since he had hinted that getting her a desk job would give her more time to devote to him. She shrugged her shoulders and placed the letter on Amelia's desk. "He's Lucius Malfoy. He loves to over-react to everything the Ministry does."
"Knowing that, you should have been more careful. The Minister is livid over this. I'm meeting with Mr. Malfoy this afternoon, and I'm going to see if he'll accept a formal apology from you. If he doesn't, I may have to suspend you from fieldwork and put a formal reprimand in your file. This is your last warning to behave within the Ministry's guidelines."
"That's what you said last time," Wendy muttered.
Amelia leaned forward across her desk. "Wendy, I'm serious this time. You know things are changing at the Ministry. Your style of work has been tolerated, but those days are at an end. You know that your presence within the Department has always been questioned. The less attention you draw to yourself the better."
"If I leave, there will be no one left to do your dirty work. I have seen my fellow Aurors flinch at what is asked of me. I produce results, and I always operate within the guidelines. If Mr. Malfoy wants an apology, I will give him one, though it will not be sincere." She couldn't believe he had done this. He could have filed a complaint without getting her in this much trouble.
Amelia sighed. "Just be civil and make him believe it's sincere. I'll summon you if he agrees."
Wendy maintained her composure as she left Amelia's office. It lasted until she noticed an unfortunate dustbin and launched it down the row of cubicles with a swift kick, narrowly missing Tonks as she stepped out of her cubicle. "Oy, watch it!" Tonks admonished.
"Sorry." She hadn't meant to hurt anyone.
"What's got you so worked up?" Tonks knew it was rare for Wendy to lose her temper.
"Lucius bloody Malfoy. He filed a formal complaint about the search yesterday. Now Amelia's begging him to let me apologize," she complained.
"What'd you do?" Tonks knew that Wendy was careful when she did searches not to ruffle feathers.
"Nothing. We didn't damage anything, we weren't overly rude, but he feels that we behaved inappropriately. That's what I hate most about these raids, dealing with people like him." Surely he was up to something. Probably just trying to prove how much influence he had. She knew he hated not being in control, and she had taken some of that control away yesterday. Seeking revenge in this manner was just the sort of thing he would do.
"I know what you mean. Wanna get together and talk about it tomorrow?"
"What time?" Wendy figured this was an announcement of the next Order meeting.
"Seven. Same place as usual," Tonks replied.
"I'll be there."
It was late afternoon and Wendy was just getting ready to leave for the day, when she was, once again, assaulted by a pale violet piece of paper summoning her to Amelia's office. She had actually begun to think that Lucius was going to be childish enough to not accept her apology. She headed towards Amelia's office, but did not rush, more than willing to play the same petty games he was playing.
The receptionist looked up from her desk. "You can go in," she said politely.
Wendy made her face neutral and entered the office. Amelia still looked upset, and Lucius was sitting there wearing that smug and superior grin of his.
"I believe you have something you'd like to say?" Amelia prompted.
Wendy looked at him coolly. "On behalf of the Ministry of Magic and Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I apologize for what you feel was unfair treatment during yesterday's search of your premises." She could almost see the steam coming out of Amelia's ears.
"Is that the extent of your apology?" Amelia asked.
Wendy continued reluctantly, "Furthermore, I apologize that you felt your privacy was violated, and rest assured that was not the intent of the search. I endeavored to ensure the inspection was carried out with the utmost dignity and respect of your personal privacy. If you were made to feel victimized, that was not the intent of the Ministry."
He gave her an amused grin over her apology. The grin was gone by the time he faced Amelia. "I will accept the apology as long as there are assurances that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated in future inspections. I believe that perhaps someone as overzealous as Westin should not be permitted to conduct future inspections."
"Of course, Mr. Malfoy. Westin has been counseled on the inappropriateness of her behavior and steps have been taken to ensure that something like this does not happen in the future," Amelia assured, pleased that that he was apparently accepting Wendy's apology and would not be bringing this to the attention of the Minister.
"Thank you for your assurances, Madam Bones. I will trust you to handle this situation appropriately, and I will inform Minister Fudge the situation has been resolved to my satisfaction. Good day." He bowed his head slightly at Amelia and scowled at Wendy, who glared back at him.
Wendy was turning to leave when Amelia called her back. Wendy sighed and turned to face her boss.
"That was not quite as sincere an apology as I had expected, but Mr. Malfoy seems to have accepted it. It will be a while before you will be conducting any more raids, but somehow, I doubt that seems like punishment to you. Just keep in mind that was truly your last warning. You can't go around antagonizing people like that. Once more and you will find yourself chained to a desk. Understood?" Her tone indicated there was no room for discussion.
"Perfectly," Wendy replied and was dismissed with a wave. She would definitely give Lucius a piece of her mind when she next saw him. Unfortunately, that came much sooner than she had anticipated. He was waiting for a lift when she arrived at the landing. "Mr. Malfoy," she said coldly.
"Westin," he replied in an equally polite tone.
Surprisingly, the lift was empty when the door opened. As soon as the doors were closed, she asked angrily, "I suppose you enjoyed toying with me like that, didn't you? She was going to take me off fieldwork over that little deception of yours."
"You mean she hasn't? Pity," he drawled and moved closer to her.
She shoved him away. "Dammit, Lucius, I love my work in the field, don't take that away from me." The conversation paused as the doors opened on the fifth floor for a flurry of memos. "When I said to file a complaint, I wasn't serious."
He smirked at her. "I thought it would be interesting, and it most certainly was. Fantastic apology, by the way. Are you busy this evening?"
"What?" She was caught off guard by his abrupt change of topic.
He softly brushed her cheek. "I'll come by your place for dinner, say six-thirty?"
She was unable to answer since the lift had opened to the lobby. She banged her head against the lift wall after Lucius left. Thankfully, Remus was still gone, but she would have to tell him when he came back.
It was mid-afternoon when Remus returned home, exhausted from his transformation. It had gone reasonably well with the new werewolf. He had a new collection of cuts and scratches, but it was nothing he wasn't used to. In a few days, when they had both recovered, they would get back together, and he would continue helping his new friend acclimatize to his new lifestyle. For now, he would rest on the sofa. He was sure that Cappa would be along shortly with food and drink.
Around five, he heard Wendy arrive home. He smiled at the thought of seeing her again even though it had only been a couple days.
Wendy entered the library and was startled to see Remus. "Remus? I wasn't expecting you back so soon."
"Sorry to surprise you. The transformation was short this time. You don't look entirely happy to see me, is something wrong?" Before the full moon, he had gotten the impression that she was hiding something from him.
She quickly put a happy smile on her face and crossed the room to sit next to him on the sofa. "Of course, I'm happy to see you. I was just a little startled, and you do look a bit worse for the wear."
"Do I look that bad?" He had not yet looked in a mirror.
She brushed his hair, which was somewhat matted by dirt and, she suspected, blood. Kissing him gently on the lips, she replied, "Yes, you do. I see that you've eaten so I'll have Cappa draw a bath for you. I'll be right back."
Remus' untimely return presented her with a rather large obstacle. Well, if she could get him upstairs, she hoped she could find a way to get rid of Lucius. Of course, Lucius did not take kindly to someone telling him no. She found Cappa and ordered the elf to draw a bath with a soothing potion to help with the cuts and scrapes. She then helped Remus upstairs.
As they passed the mirror in the bedroom, he paused to look at his reflection. "I guess I did take a bit of a beating this time, didn't I? You know, you take such wonderful care of me. Thank you."
She felt a pang of guilt at his praise and the affection in his voice. "You're quite welcome." She helped him undress and step into the bath. "I'll be in the other room if you need me. You aren't going to fall asleep, are you?"
"No, I'll be fine. I'll call if I need anything," he replied. He could tell that something was bothering her. Normally, she stayed with him and helped him wash.
As she was changing, she checked the clock. It was half past five. The odds were in her favor that Remus would be asleep by the time Lucius arrived. Then it was a simple matter of hopefully getting rid of Lucius quietly and quickly. She was definitely regretting her decision to renew her relationship with her old lover.
She was almost done flipping through the Daily Prophet, without really retaining much of what she read, when she heard Remus stirring in the bath. "Do you need help?" she called out.
"No, I've got it," he replied. It was another ten minutes before he emerged wearing the nightshirt she had laid out for him. He was leaning heavily on his cane. "I feel much better. Thank you." She rose and helped him into the bed. "Thank you again," he replied. "I do hope you will forgive me if I don't join you for dinner, won't you?" He placed his hand on her cheek.
She smiled warmly at him and covered his hand with hers. "Of course. Take all the time to recover you need. Can I get you anything before I go downstairs?"
"No, I just need some rest," he replied as he wriggled on the bed to get comfortable.
She kissed him gently. "I'll check on you later." She brushed his hair out of his face and looked into his eyes.
He saw a sadness behind her eyes. "Wendy, what is it?"
"You need your rest, I'll tell you about it in the morning." She kissed him again, hoping to diffuse the situation.
"What have I missed?" He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Whatever she was hiding from him must be truly horrible. Is she going to break up with me? he wondered.
She decided to tell a half-truth. "You remember how Albus wanted me to renew my old friendships? I ran into Lucius Malfoy at the Ministry today, and long story short, he's coming over for dinner tonight. I hadn't expected you here, so I didn't think it would be an issue. I'll try to get rid of him."
"You were going to have dinner alone with Malfoy?" He was outraged.
She flashed him confident smile. "I wouldn't worry about it. I'm used to dealing with people like him."
"I don't trust him. I don't want him alone with you," he protested. He knew what sort of man Malfoy was.
"Remus, darling, I'll be fine. We'll talk more about this tomorrow when you're feeling better." She continued to lavish attention on him, hoping to discourage further conversation.
"Promise me you'll be careful," he said as he brushed her cheek.
"I'm always careful. I'll check on you after I get rid of him. Now, rest." Normally, she didn't mind keeping secrets. That was the way of her life. This one, she didn't like keeping. The possessiveness he had displayed led her to believe he would not take her arrangement well, but it was too late now. She had committed herself to this course of action.
Wendy was in the library and it was six-thirty exactly when Cappa entered the room. "Mistress, Mr. Malfoy is in the drawing room."
"Tell him I will be with him shortly and offer him a drink." It wouldn't do for her to appear to be waiting for him.
After about ten minutes, she decided to join him. "Lucius, how good to see you again. I apologize for keeping you waiting." She watched him set down his drink and rise to greet her as she had expected. She did not expect him to pull her into his arms and kiss her passionately.
"You know I detest to be kept waiting," he chided.
"I do. Unfortunately, I have an unexpected houseguest upstairs convalescing. A very close friend of mine, and I couldn't say no." She brushed her hands on his lapels, trying to slip out of his grip.
He frowned. "A guest? Will this guest of yours be joining us for dinner?" He had not expected this and was disappointed.
"No, he's resting," she explained.
"Then we will be careful not to disturb him," he drawled before kissing her again.
She finally managed to extricate herself from his grip and found herself panting. Once again, her physical memory was betraying the actions her mind had planned. "Now, Lucius, you can't have dessert first," she reprimanded and then casually placed a chair between them.
He arched an eyebrow, taking her statement as a challenge. "Oh, really?" He circled around the chair trying to catch her as she did her best to keep the chair between them. He finally managed to grab her arm and pull her to him. "I always get what I want," he whispered quietly as he held her tightly.
She could feel her heart racing. "Dinner will be ready shortly," she said weakly.
"I'm sure it will keep," he purred as he threw her onto the sofa. "I never got a chance to properly thank you for your assistance during yesterday's raid." He buried his face in her neck.
She could feel herself losing control and used her Auror training to slip out from underneath him and pin him against the sofa beneath her. "First, you will have to allow me to thank for you for getting me in trouble." Lacing her fingers into his clothes, she ripped open both vest and shirt, sending buttons flying across the room in a clatter. She was pleased to see the look of shock on his face. "You aren't used to being treated like this, are you?" He tried to get up, and she shoved him back against the sofa. It was her turn to show that she would not meekly acquiesce to his every desire.
"You are quite a bit more aggressive than you used to be."
"Disappointed?" she asked mischievously, as she undid his trousers.
"Not in the…least," he replied, his voice cracking on the last word as she gave him oral pleasure.
Wendy watched him squirm under her careful ministrations. When she felt he was just about ready to burst, she pulled away and stood up.
"Wendy?" he asked. "Come back here," he ordered. How dare she leave him in this condition?
She kept her back to him. "No," she replied playfully.
This infuriated him. The purpose of a mistress was to please her man. He rose from the sofa, one hand clutching the waist of his trousers to keep them from falling and grabbing her with the other. "How dare you?" he growled and then found her wand at his throat.
"Because I can." She felt him release her arm. "Do not mess with my ability to do my job," she growled as she backed him to the chair.
"What are you…" he didn't finish his question because he had let go of his trousers and, in tripping over them, landed in the chair.
She pulled up her skirts and straddled him. There had been a momentary flash of fear in his eyes, and she liked it. "Something wrong?" she asked as she settled onto him.
The fear was gone now that he realized she wasn't going to hex him. "Not anymore," he replied as he grabbed her hips with his hands.
Due to his state of high arousal, he was finished rather quickly. Wendy remained on top. "Now then, any questions about the state of our arrangement?"
"None whatsoever," he replied. He could not remember ever having a woman dominate him like that. He had to admit that he had secretly enjoyed it, but he would never tell her.
She kissed him, and as she pulled away, sucked on his lower lip. "Now then, I believe it's time for dinner." She stood and smoothed her skirts. This was not at all like she had planned on this evening going. He just made it so hard for her to think; his very presence aroused her.
Lucius rose and was going to button his shirt, before remembering his buttons were scattered around the room. "Some assistance would be appreciated."
She waved her wand at his chest. "Tunica reparo." She watched the buttons fly across the room and reattach themselves to his clothing.
"That was quite…stimulating. I presume that you will permit me to thank you after dinner?"
"Perhaps," she replied playfully. She really needed to get rid of him. This situation was getting worse and worse. The more time she spent around him, the less resistance to him she seemed to have.