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Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to own Colin Farrell's Percival Graves, I don't. It upsets me.
Chapter 4:
"What's going on?" Percival asked. He felt out of his depth in this situation. He'd just broken out of MACUSA. What the hell had he been thinking? He'd just agreed to do what a random stranger had asked him to do. Was he mad? Had his time in captivity caused him to snap? Probably. He didn't know who this Adriana Arkin was but he needed answers now. He wasn't surprised everyone thought him a traitor considering how he'd just behaved. Adriana kept staring at him. She was shorter than him by a head. Her hair was long and black. Her eyes seemed to glint silver. There was a certain fire in them.
"Perhaps you should sit down Mr Graves." She said gently. Percival stared at her. Every time he heard Graves it felt like a stabbing sensation in his gut. He'd undoubtedly shamed his families name even more. His parents were probably turning in their graves. "Or would you rather I call you Percival?" Clearly the pain had shown on his face. He nodded and flopped onto the bed. "As I said before, my name is Adriana Arkin. I am an Auror with the British Ministry of Magic. I was under orders from my boss and Albus Dumbledore to get you out of MACUSA and bring you here." She paused. "Well not my house here but London."
"Why?" He asked. He was hungry for information. Did the British perhaps want to interrogate him? Did they think they'd been infiltrated?
"Unlike our friends across the pond we don't actually think you helped Grindelwald." Adriana pulled a face. "I think they were using you as a scapegoat to cover up their screw up."
"Right. But why am I here?" Percival asked again.
"Dumbledore would like to talk to you." Adriana said with a shrug. "He, and a lot of us, feel that Grindelwald will escape and we'd like to know as much as we can. We need to better understand his methods." Her expression softened slightly as she looked him in the eyes. "And we don't believe in condemning an innocent man to death." Percival nodded. He couldn't bear to look at her for more than a few seconds at a time. She was being too nice. He wondered if it was pity.
"And I'm in your house because?" He asked, playing with the bed covers.
"I thought you might like to stay somewhere you don't have to pay for." Adriana said with a raised eyebrow. Percival nodded mutely. "My room is just down the corridor. I'll be in there while you... unpack. The bathroom is just next door. If you need anything, just ask." She left, not entirely sure what to say. Percival did as he was told. He unpacked quickly. He used his wand to speed up the process. He noticed he had a slight tremor in his hands. He brushed it off. He was methodical. That made it easier. Do this. Do that. He went to the bathroom and to his surprise, realised he'd be sharing with Adriana. He also got the first look of himself in a mirror. He looked awful. He looked at the shower. He had his own towel. He doubted Adriana would mind too much. She'd tell him to stop if she didn't want him in the shower. The shower felt great. It was like stripping away everything. He towelled himself off and shaved. He felt better. Cleaner. His hair was too long for his liking but he could slick it back and that would have to do. He went back to the guest room and pulled on some clothes. As he was pulling on a shirt a sudden thought crossed his mind. Grindelwald had worn his clothes. Grindelwald may have worn this shirt. There was tugging feeling in his gut. It churned and gurgled. He barely made it to the bathroom before emptying the entire contents of his stomach into the toilet. He wanted to tear every single piece of clothing up. Shred them. Burn them. But then he'd have nothing to wear. And he didn't think his host would appreciate him walking around naked. And then people would see... He puked some more. There was nothing but bile left really. There was a knock on the bathroom door. Percival made a choking noise. He didn't know if he wanted anyone near him right now. Part of him did. He'd spent so long alone. Just the presence of another person would be nice. The other part him wanted them far away. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. So weak. So pathetic. So worthless. The knock came again.
"I'm fine." He said. He really wasn't.
"Of course you are." Adriana said. She sounded exasperated. "I was wondering if you'd like a tour of the house?" Percival sat up fully. That was not what he'd been expecting.
"Just a second." He said. He jumped to his feet. Bad move. He swayed slightly. He gripped the toilet to steady himself. He flushed. Washed his hands, and face. He opened the door to see Adriana standing there, a semi bemused look on her face. She led him back to the guest room and she picked up the invisibility cloak. She carefully folded it and walked back out.
"This is your room." She said. "The bathroom. My room."
She then pointed to a room on the other side of the corridor. "And this is my study. I kindly ask that you don't go in." Percival nodded. She was an Auror and that probably meant she had private work in there. She led him downstairs. "The living room." It was brightly furnished. Greens, blues and red. It seemed homely and comfortable with the almond coloured carpet and flowery curtains. It was the opposite of Percival's home. There were photos. Mainly of other people. Friends and relatives by the looks of it. "The dining room." Adriana was pulling him along. The dining room wasn't big but the table could easily seat eight. She pulled him through to the kitchen. It took Percival's eyes a moment to adjust. The kitchen was orange and yellow. Soft hues. In contrast, the wood was dark. At the back there was a small bathroom and then the garden. It was a... wild garden to say the least. "I never have the time to garden." Adriana said as if reading his mind.
"You have a nice home." Percival said a little rigidly. Ever since he was a child, good manners had been drilled into him. Adriana smiled warmly.
"Thank you. Let's get back inside. It's freezing." He briefly wondered what time of year it was. It had seemed so inconsequential before. He glanced at a calendar. It was the middle of January. That only made him feel sicker. Grindelwald had taken him, when was that... June? May? At least half a year ago. "Would you like anything to drink or eat?" Adriana's voice brought him out of his head. It was probably a good thing too. If he brooded too long he might really go mad. If he wasn't there already.
"No thank you." He said politely. They stood in the kitchen, not sure what to do.
"Sorry." Adriana said. Percival's eyes snapped to her.
"What are you sorry for?" He asked in confusion.
"I'm not a very good hostess." Adriana admitted. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do in this kind of situation." Percival stared at her.
"You don't have company... often?" He asked.
"No." She said with a short chuckle. "Married to the job I suppose." Percival understood the feeling. He hadn't had much time for socialising. He'd spent most of his life building a reputation. There had been... a few relationships. Two stuck out. And they both probably hated him.
"I'm at a loss of what to do myself." Percival admitted, if only to make the silence less awkward.
"Career man." Adriana said. She looked hesitantly at Percival. "Before we go any further I should probably tell you that I've read your file. All of it." Percival's eyes widened. His file! He knew that she wouldn't just be sent in blind but did she have to read his file? She knew more about him than he did about her. Maybe his file didn't have all his personal details, like what he liked and disliked, but it did have enough. "I just thought you should know." That stopped Percival in his tracks. She hadn't needed to tell him. In fact, she never needed to mention it. But she'd told him anyway. Full disclosure. That was strangely comforting.
"I don't suppose that means I get to look at your file?" He asked. He wasn't serious but he might as well try. Adriana shrugged.
"If you want to." Then she smiled. "Maybe we can swap information because I'll be honest. I have no idea what a Wampus is."