Disclaimer: I don't own anything except this plot line and any OCs I created to further it, the rest belongs to the wonderful JKR.
Hello again, I am so sorry that it's been so long since I updated, but I finally have a new chapter ready. Writer's block set root, as well as RL, but they're gone for now and I'm going to do my best to write as much as possible before RL drives away my inspiration and writer's block settles back in. I don't have a beta, so I apologize for any mistakes, as I'm sure there are plenty.
————————————-0.o————————————-
The room was sparsely decorated, the only furniture one large solid wood table surrounded by a dozen standard issue regulatorily uncomfortable chairs, most of which were empty as there were only four people still in attendance. The glaring off white walls were purposely bare of all decoration, as they were used primarily for planning missions and strategizing fugitive captures. When I first joined the Aurors they used a spell to write on the walls that left a semi-permanent shadow behind, requiring numerous scourgifys to remove completely. I sat through that first meeting internally shaking my head at these supposedly brilliant wizards and witches wasting so much time, keeping all of us there much longer then we needed to be. Needless to say I brought a large pack of dry erase markers to the next meeting, leading to the development of the Dry Erase Spell that we now used.
Tonight, the walls were practically bare as this meeting was a mission debrief, standard at the close of every mission, that kept dragging on endlessly. I wasn't even totally sure why I still had to be here as I'd already reported on my contribution to the mission as a Mentoring Auror almost an hour ago, the lead auror was new to the feild and it was standard practice to have a senior feild auror assist with the first few years of cases, my part was done and I just wanted to go home to my family and have a nice long bath. I'd already missed the girl's bedtime, and probably Hermione's too considering the pregnancy, as it was hours past what could be considered a reasonable time to be having a meeting this bloody redundant; it was all going to be in our reports filed tomorrow anyways.
Today hadn't been a strenuous day, or an exciting day, or a dangerous day; just a tedius and tiring one of running down leads that lead nowhere. The worst kind of day, second only to one spent entirely writing reports, and as a result my mind kept wandering to another much more interesting case I was working on with a certain blond haired sarcastic not-as-much-of-a-git-any-more Curse Breaker who was probably right now down in his lab analyzing the various different potions the suspect had been putting in his weird booby traps that so far hadn't seriously harmed anyone save for the one allergic reaction.
"Isn't that right, Mr. Potter?" The voice of the case supervisor Jenkins said, breaking into my wandering thoughts. I tried to keep the fact that I hadn't been paying attention off my face, while trying to recall anything about what they might have been talking about with no luck. After several minutes of silence, I finally decided honesty was the best policy, who knows how long I'd been zoned out for and Jenkins wasn't someone I could just agree with and everything'd be okay.
"Sorry sir, I was thinking about the Potions Trickster case, what did you say?" I hated the name the Daily Prophet had given the suspect Malfoy and I were pursuing, but without a better alternative I was stuck using it when addressing others, at least until I thought of one that didn't trivialise and glorify the damage this guy was doing. The other aurors in the room snickered quietly at the face Jenkins made before stifeling those same snickers when he turned that look on them. A brisk knock on the door interrupted whatever Jenkins had been about to say, the door opening almost immediately to reveal Malfoy standing in the door way.
"You better have a damned good reason why you're barging in here Curse Breaker Malfoy." Jenkins snarled, the way he emphasised Malfoy's title was obviously meant to make the man feel uncomfortable. Not that Malfoy seemed phased by it at all, and simply remained standing tall, those pure blooded lessons of propriety he had drilled him as a child serving him well for once.
"Of course sir. I need Auror Potter right away, there's been a development in our case." No one missed the way he said 'our' while referring to the case, and I wasn't inclined to correct him. We'd come such a long way in our ability to get along since that two week trip we took checking with the hard to find suppliers of some of the identified ingredients in the potion the trickster was using. Instead I stood hastily and left the room with barely a 'by your leave' in my wake. I'd hear about it later from Kingsley after Jenkins complained, but I was so relieved to get out of there I didn't give a rats ass.
"What happened?" I asked as we fell into step beside eachother our official ministry robes, maroon for me and blue for Malfoy, billowing behind us in a way that reminded me of how Snape's teaching robes would billow. A satisfied smirk crossed my face at the thought.
"Not here, I'll tell when we get to the lab. It's really best that I show you, actually." Malfoy replied, an unreadable expression on his face. I nodded and we continued to the Department of Mysteries where Malfoy was borrowing the use of a lab. It was the only department in the Ministry that had an extra Potions Lab available, ironically.
The room was non-descript and ministry standard, white wash walls and plain furniture, the only sign of use or personality was the various labeled potions vials, ingredients, and cauldrons strewn across the top of the work table. Malfoy walked straight towards one cauldron in particular, located at the far end of the long wooden table, and the device beside it that looked remarkably like a Muggle microscope. As I reached the work tableI realized it was a muggle microscope, very similar to the one Hermione had used for her uni studies.
"They're changing." Malfoy simply said, pointing towards the microscope. With a look of shot in his direction, I stepped forward and looked into it, thankfully this was a wizardscope, so it automatically corrected for my poor eyesight as soon as I was in position. I could vaguely remembered what the samples of the potions this guy had used looked like, and I tried to bring it more clearly to my mind as a comparison. It was drastically different, the al,ost fluorescent green colour of the potion was a sharp change from its near transparency of when we collected it.
"That's from the first attack we know about, almost a month ago. This is a sample from the attack a few days ago." Malfoy said switching the slides out after he thought I'd noticed enough about the first sample. They both looked the same, neither any more or less different then other. If they were changing because of environmental factors, or exposure to something, they would be changing at different at rates. No, these potions were brewed to change properties.
"How is this even possible?" I asked, "What does it mean?" potions still wasn't my strong suit, though I'd gotten better since graduating Snape's class at Hogwarts. I could brew a decent Pepper-Up, but I'd never be in the same league as Malfoy, Hermione, or Snape. This was way beyond me.
"I don't know." Malfoy said simply, sharing a look with me. That's when I realised we'd need the one man I'd successfully managed to avoid since Hermione and I went back to the shrieking shack for him all those years ago. Malfoy's return look showed he understood how I felt, maybe even sympathized a little bit, and it was a small comfort. Up until this point Malfoy had been consulting with Snape occasionally by going to him, but we both knew this was potion making beyond anything we knew and it was now time to bing him to the lab. This was Master level stuff.
"Well, at least our suspect list just got a lot shorter." I said, trying to look on the bright side.
"And a hell of a lot harder to get ahold of." Malfoy pointed out, reminding me that the list of registered Potions Masters in Great Britain could only be requested from the Potions Guild that awarded such mastery. The same Potions Guild that had already denied a request for information because we did not have enough grounds to prove this was the work of a master. "I'll go flu call Severus."
A groan escaped my lips before I followed after him to the atrium, if this night was just getting started I needed to flu call home and let Hermione know there was no point keeping my dinner under warming charms any longer, I wouldn't be home for hours now. If I made it home at all tonight.
—————————————-0.o——————————————-
A/N: The next chapter should be coming soon!