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Disclaimer: TBH I think I'm writing these just to remind myself that I don't own this.
Chapter 6:
Percival woke up to find Adriana in the doorway, smiling at him.
"I made breakfast." She said proudly. Percival was semi aware of the fact that he was in pyjamas. This did not seem to be a problem for her.
"You didn't have to." He said, sitting up, the book falling off his chest. Adriana shrugged.
"I think that's what people do when they have guests." She said. "Like I said. I don't normal have any." She went downstairs again. Percival got up slowly, stretching out his limbs. There was a lot of cracking. He'd fallen asleep in the most awkward position he could imagine. He remembered that he was supposed to meet Dumbledore today. He pulled on a shirt and black, with a white collar, waist coat. He couldn't touch his long coat. Instead he went downstairs, black trench coat in hand. Adriana was in the dining room, already eating. She wasn't dressed fancily. Just work trousers and a blouse. Percival sat down and went for the toast. He was pretty sure that it wouldn't kill him. He realised half way through his second piece that Adriana had made pancakes. He didn't want to seem rude so he tried one. It was nice. There was cinnamon in it. Percival hadn't had cinnamon pancakes before but they tasted nice. Adriana beamed at him when he helped himself to a second.
"You don't make pancakes very often do you?" Percival asked, wiping his mouth with the serviette.
"Too busy." Adriana said. "But since I'm not really working today..." she trailed off. "I didn't know if you liked cinnamon or not."
"I think it like it very much." Percival said. She finished first but shooed him upstairs to clean up. He wanted to insist on putting the dishes away. She gave him a look and he hurried to the bathroom. He was ready to go when Adriana went to the bathroom. She came downstairs, nearly tripping in her hurry.
"We can't apparate in here." She told him. "I've got all these warding spells and things. We'll have to do side-along apparition."
"To where exactly?" Percival asked as they went to a secluded area.
"The Atrium of the Ministry of Magic." Adriana said promptly. Percival gripped her hand as she pulled out her wand. He hated side-along apparition. One second they were in a street corner. Next, they were surrounded by dozens of witches, wizards and a number of other beings. It seemed a lot more hustle and bustle than Congress. Adriana pulled him along to the visitors' desk.
"Morning Adriana." The wizard on duty said.
"Morning Adam." Adriana responded. She yanked Percival forward. "He's a friend from across the pond." Adam smiled and held out his hand. Percival relinquished his wand. Adam did... something with it and pulled out a receipt. He handed Percival back his wand and stuck the receipt on a stick. Percival nodded. Adriana pulled him off to the elevators. Percival was not entirely sure how he felt about this trip. There were no house elves in the elevator. Instead a rather bored looking man stood there.
"Level two?" The man asked, taking one look at Adriana. She nodded. The elevator moved backwards. Percival let out a surprised noise.
"Sorry. I should have warned you." Adriana muttered.
"Level two." A female voice said. Adriana was practically dragging Percival along. They reached the Auror headquarters. When they entered, a few people turned around. Some greeted Adriana. A few asked who Percival was and one very annoyed older man came stomping out.
"Adriana, you said you'd give my cloak right back!" He snapped a bit impatiently. Adriana smiled and handed him a neatly folded invisibility cloak. He glared at her before stomping away.
"Who's the handsome chap?" A female Auror asked. She fluttered golden eyes at Percival.
"A friend from across the pond." Adriana said. "And stop doing that Maya, he'll think you're unprofessional."
"Auror?" A red head asked. Adriana nodded. It wasn't technically a lie. She led Percival to her cubicle. They sat there. It was decently sized.
"We're early." She said. Percival nodded.
"Who am I meeting?" He asked.
"Dumbledore, the head of the Auror office, and the head of the department of magical law enforcement." Adriana said. She glanced at Percival. "Dumbledore said he'd met you before?"
"Yes. It was just after I became director of magical security and Picquery had just been elected. We were here, in Britain, for a meeting about... that man." Percival said. He couldn't manage Grindelwald. It seemed to burn his tongue. "Dumbledore seems to be a very smart man."
"He is. Best transfiguration teacher." Adriana said. "Lots of people think he should work in the ministry."
"Ah, you mentioned he was your head of house." Percival said, recalling last night's conversation. There was a knock on Adriana's cubicle door. She opened it. A rather sharp looking man was staring at her.
"We're ready for you." He said. Adriana gave Percival an encouraging look and they followed the man.
"He's my boss. The head of the Auror office." She muttered. "He's alright but he can be a bit of a stickler for proper procedure." Percival found that ironic, considering he must have approved something completely illegal to get him here. They went into a plush office. Already seated at the desk was a hard-faced woman. In front of her, looking quite comfortable in a chintz armchair, was Albus Dumbledore. He stood up and smiled warmly at Adriana and Percival. The woman merely nodded.
"Welcome Mr Graves." She said. Percival tried very hard not to look like that name hurt him. "I am Matilda Podmore, head of the department of magical law enforcement. This is Milo Diggory, head of the Auror Office. And I believe you have already met Albus Dumbledore." Percival nodded stiffly.
"Do sit down." Dumbledore offered, pointing at another armchair. Percival slid into the chair feeling distinctly uncomfortable.
"Thank you for bringing him here." Matilda said to Adriana. "You can go back to your duties now." Adriana looked surprised for a nanosecond before bowing slightly.
"I'd rather she stayed." Percival said quickly. Adriana glanced at him with a smile. He was in a room of strangers. He may have met Dumbledore but he didn't know the man. At least he knew Adriana a bit. Apparently, Matilda did not approve of this. She pursed her lips.
"She has nothing to do with this." Matilda said slowly. "I don't see why she should stay."
"She is still in the room." Adriana muttered so only Percival could hear her. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
"I think," Dumbledore interrupted genially. "Since Miss Arkin was the one who brought Mr Graves here and he stayed at her home last night, that he may be more comfortable with someone he is slightly more familiar with in the room."
"Very well." Matilda said irritably. "Arkin, you may stay." Adriana smiled and waved her hand. A chair appeared next to Percival's and she sat down. "Now then," She turned her attention to Percival. "Mr Graves, we aren't going to ask you to repeat what happened to you, we have all read the transcripts of your... interviews." Percival felt relieved. He really didn't want to talk about it again. He wasn't sure if he could stomach that. "Dumbledore has some questions for you about... Grindelwald's methods." Percival turned to Dumbledore. He smiled gently at Percival.
"It may be best to pretend they aren't in the room." Dumbledore said, jerking his head towards the two heads. "If you feel uncomfortable with any question that I ask, feel free not to answer." Percival nodded. He wondered if it was a British thing to keep reminding people that they didn't have to do anything they didn't want to. "When Grindelwald and you met, was he more interested in impersonating you or in gaining information?"
"At first it was information." Percival said. "Then he changed, he decided impersonating me was more important."
"And what was the information he asked for?" Dumbledore asked.
"MACUSA things mostly." Percival said. "And then he started asking about strange occurrences. He asked about an Obscurus." Dumbledore's expression turned grave. "I heard he found him." Percival had heard everything that had happened while Grindelwald was him while he recovered. He honestly thought that Credence had had it much worse than him.
"Yes. He found him." Dumbledore murmured. "When Grindelwald was getting this information, did he, forgive me, start with torture or work his way up to it."
"Work his way up to it." Percival said through gritted teeth. It was a fair question.
"Did he try to manipulate you into joining his cause?" Dumbledore asked softly. Percival nodded. "How?"
"He tried to make it seem a lot less horrible than it was." Percival explained. "He tried to turn me against No-Maj's and against the Statute of Secrecy."
"And when that didn't work?" Dumbledore asked. Percival was momentarily surprised. MACUSA had just assumed that Grindelwald had gotten to him quickly and here was someone he barely knew, hadn't really worked with, asking him what really happened.
"He tried to threaten me." Percival said. He was starting to disengage from what happened again. It was easier. So much easier. Let it be someone else's problem.
"Did he threaten to hurt you? Or loved ones?" Dumbledore pressed.
"Both." Percival said. He felt an arm next to his on the chair arm. Adriana's. Silent support. Barely brushing against each other. Just enough to feel her presence.
"And when he realised that didn't work he carried out his threats." Dumbledore said. It wasn't a question. "At what point did he begin impersonating you?"
"He was always doing that." Percival said, trying not to spit. "He just wasn't as interested in the beginning. He thought he'd get information from me but he didn't." That was the most important thing to Percival right now. That someone understood that he hadn't given that man anything. Dumbledore nodded.
"The change in interest. Was it sudden or did it feel like it had been building up?" He asked.
"Sudden." Percival said. Adriana frowned. She looked at Dumbledore.
"When Goldstein was demoted?" She asked him. Dumbledore waved his hand to indicate that she should continue. She turned to Percival. "When Goldstein was demoted, you were... incapacitated. That was when Grindelwald would have first met Credence." That made sense to Percival. "He must have thought Credence was close to the Obscurus instead of being the Obscurus. That's why it became more important to impersonate you."
"The information he wanted from me fits with the pattern of an Obscurus." Percival said. "So let's say he knows there's one in New York. But he's the most wanted man in the world. He can't just stroll in a start asking questions."
"So he needs to get information on strange activity." Adriana continued. "So he needs the head the of the department of magical law enforcement to work out what reports are unsolved and what ones have convicts."
"He also needs the director of magical security." Percival added. A strange feeling was churning in his gut. He felt like if he could get to bottom of this he would feel better. "Because they know things that are affect No-Maj's. And I do both jobs."
"So he knows that you are probably his best chance of getting information." Adriana prompted.
"But I'm a hard-working, loyal ministry worker." Percival pointed out. "I'm hardly going to just answer any question."
"So he sets a trap to catch you." Adriana continued. "A trap that doesn't seem like a trap but a calculated screw up."
"Being sighted by a low-level criminal. Who tells Aurors." Percival continued. He rubbed a hand across his jaw. "So that attack, was a trap to get me?"
"It seems so." Dumbledore said gravely. He continued the idea. "But he has to impersonate you or it will look suspicious that there's no body."
"It's easier to do because it would be reasonable to assume I'm in shock from the battle so he can work out how I usually behave." Percival said. This made more sense as to how no one had noticed. Grindelwald was a smart man. He could play slightly shell shocked and then see what behaviours were considered normal for Percival and act that way. "Then Goldstein attacks a No-Maj and he meets Credence."
"He thinks Credence is the key to finding the Obscurus." Adriana added. "So he decides that being you is more important."
"Credence has seen a man that looks like me give orders, seem important and trustworthy." Percival continued. "So I'm a good face to use." He sounded bitter.
"But he must have messed up." Adriana said. Percival looked at her with a frown. "There would have been no reason to use a revealing spell in you if they just thought you were a Grindelwald fanatic."
"So how did... Tina!" Percival gasped. Adriana stared at him. "Tina Goldstein. She knows I could never support Grindelwald so she must have told whoever did the revealing spell that it wasn't me."
"It also helps that Grindelwald attempted to kill President Picquery." Dumbledore said. "Something you would never do, being one of the people charged with protecting her." Percival nodded. It all made sense now. Grindelwald had carefully calculated a plan and it had almost worked. "Well that certainly explains a lot." Dumbledore said, running his hands together. He smiled at Percival. "One last question." Percival wasn't sure if he had that in him. He was feeling ill. Drained. Empty. "As a, forgive the term, security official, what would you recommend to ensure this doesn't happen?" Percival didn't quite know what to say.
"Security questions are always a good one." Percival said. "Checking everyone when they come back from a mission or job just to be sure."
"Excellent suggestions." Dumbledore beamed. "Thank you for talking to us Mr Graves." Percival stared. Was the meeting over?
"Yes. This information will be most useful." Matilda said. Percival nearly jumped. He'd forgotten about her. "Now then, since we effectively broke you out of American custody it is probably best not to send you back." Percival couldn't help but agree. "It may be in your best interests to stay here. Arkin!" She barked. Adriana glanced at Podmore. "I assume you don't mind housing Mr Graves until further notice."
"Not at all." Adriana said with mild enthusiasm. Podmore nodded.
"You two can leave then. We need to discuss security for Britain." She said. Taking that as a clear dismissal, Percival got his feet, shook hands with everyone and followed Adriana out.
"Can we leave?" He asked. He didn't want to be in the ministry. It hurt for some reason. Probably because he wasn't allowed to work in his own. Adriana nodded and they went to the Atrium. Percival was once again reminded how much he hated side-along apparition. They hurried to Adriana's house and here, Percival so much more comfortable.