CHAPTER 8
In this case, questioning the suspects was easier said than done. This case had to be handled with care; they could not afford to just walk up to the suspects and begin asking them questions. They also couldn't bring the suspects in for questioning since the Ministry demanded discretion on this case, meaning not even their fellow Aurors should know of their dealings.
What was one to do when left between a rock and a hard place such as this?
Spy.
For the next two weeks, the partners became masters of disguise.
Being high profile Aurors, they were easily recognizable. Their efforts during the war and their famous families had made them well known. Not to mention their trademark looks-- his icy and hers fiery. They couldn't just walk into a room filled with Death Eaters and expect not to be recognized.
The first suspects had been Nott and his son, Theodore. They had both been under surveillance by the Ministry after the war. The elder Nott was set 'free' for giving up names and nothing could ever be pinned on the younger.
The surveillance let them know of the elder Nott's favorite pastimes and the places he often visited, like his favorite restaurant, a little hole in the wall called, 'The Dragon's Nest'. It was one of those places that was open 24/7 and attracted all types of people. Their file on him told them that he often visited there on Friday nights and spent his time with a busty waitress named Bambi, who would sit with him and chat after she clocked out.
They had followed Bambi for two days, watching her patterns; the way she clocked into work half an hour early, how she addressed her costumers as 'love' or 'doll', the way she pushed out her amble chest, working hard for that tip.
They followed her home the second afternoon, pushing into her apartment and stunning her. Ginny searched through the woman's closet, finding an extra work outfit and apron. Meanwhile, Draco laid the waitress on her bed, plucking a blond hair from her head for the Polyjuice Potion.
Ginny had gulped down the foul tasting potion in the bathroom and watched in the mirror as her petite frame became taller and thicker, and her breast became heavier and fuller. Her sunset copper hair turned sunshine blonde, her brown eyes became blue and more round.
When the transformation was complete, she dressed in the waitress' uniform and stepped back out into the bedroom.
Draco was waiting for her there, tapping his foot, a bored expression on his face.
Ginny twirled in front of him. "How do I look?" she asked, trying to match her lower voice to the waitress' higher one.
He simply smirked, "I think I like you much better this way," he said, reaching forward and flicking one of her now much larger breasts.
She gasped and smacked at him, making him chuckle.
((((0))))
Waiting tables was a pain, Ginny had decided, as she served another butter beer to one of the many patrons of the night. As she stepped away from the table she had just served, she felt a hand swat her bottom. Her back straightened in shock.
Pushing down her anger and reminding herself that she was now 'Bambi', she smiled, sickeningly sweet, at the man before going to the next table to take their order.
The loud laugh from the back corner of the restaurant did not escape her attention, and as she made her way towards the front corner, she was sure to send a rude hand gesture to Draco.
The smirk he gave her in return looked strange on the older, ragged man's face that he was disguised as.
Ten minutes before Bambi's shift was up, the elderly Nott made his way into the establishment, taking his usual seat at the booth beside the one Draco had taken.
Ginny made sure to take his order, swinging her hips widely and sending a cheeky wink at the elderly man before going back to the counter and filling out the man's order.
Her shift ended quickly, and ordering herself a Butterbeer (like Bambi normally did), Ginny made her way over to Nott's booth, sitting across from him.
"Hello, love."
Nott smiled at her. "Looking lovely as always, Bambi," he said with a smile, and she smiled back.
"Knew you were coming in tonight, so I made certain that I looked 'lovely'." She flirted and the elderly man grinned.
Ginny could tell he was proud of himself. He may have been elderly, but he was still a self-absorbed, overly wealthy Slytherin.
They talked for a bit about nothing while Ginny tried to decide how to slide in the questions she needed to know the answers to.
Their topic changed to the news and she saw her chance.
Her case had been major news in Muggle papers, with the events being as they were.
"You hear about those filthy Muggles?" she asked, spitting out the words as though they were poison. "Sounds like one of our kind is giving them what they deserve." She giggled
Nott looked interested, leaning in closer. She had to suppress a smile.
"What happened?" he asked and her inner victory dance ended. Well, maybe he was just feigning ignorance.
"I heard from some of our costumers that..." She had to think quickly. If she said it outright, she might blow it, but if she changed the story slightly and he did know what was going on, he would correct her. She had to trust that his pride would be too great to let a mistaken rumor of his actions pass.
"That some Muggles were eaten by their houses! The house just turned on them. I think it sounds like magic." She smiled with wide eyes and took a swig of her Butterbeer.
Nott laughed at her and she sat there stunned. "Houses? Eating them?" He laughed. "Oh my dear, I think someone was messing with your head."
He paused, growing serious. "If one of us was going to punish the Muggles, we would make sure it was a much more… obvious display," he said, giving her a crooked and dark smile.
"Oh." She giggled, trying to convey both naivety and childishness. She must have done a good job because the crooked smile soon became a laugh.
He didn't know anything. Their topic quickly turned to other things.
(((((0)))))
It turned out that Theodore Nott was out of town for the week on business, so they went down the list of five other suspects, two of whom were found to be recently deceased. The other three, Travers, Alecto Carrows, and Goyle Sr., were all dealt with carefully.
While disguised as Alecto's butler, Draco found out that she had heard of the attacks. She stated that although she wished she could've been in on it, she had no idea who was behind it. As an after thought she added, "Hopefully whoever's behind it will think to inform and include me on the next attack"
Draco had lightly asked her who she thought was behind it and she had indicated that the Crabbe's had kept to themselves since the war and she wouldn't be surprised if it was them.
He could see the look in her eyes and decided to up the surveillance on her. Maybe she would lead them to the Crabbes who, until now, the Ministry believed to be dead.
It's was obvious Goyle Sr. knew nothing. He just sat in his backyard, drinking heavily and crying over the death of his son. After watching him for a few days, it was obvious that he was not in the appropriate mental condition to pull off such a task. Draco had simply snorted and said that he never had been.
They had found Travers at a clinic, seeking help for an addiction to the Cheering charm. They had looked over the dates on his chart and found that there was no way he could've had any part in the attacks.
They had found nothing.
No leads. Nada.
Their luck changed when Theodore Nott got back from his business trip. They had followed him and his two business associates to a Quidditch match.
Not needing to use Polyjuice, they just placed a glamour charm on themselves, changing their facial features, and then spelled their hair to be different. Hers was brown and cut to her cheek bones and his was black, short, and curly.
They sat behind him and his friends, listening closely to their conversation as the Quidditch match went on in front of them.
"I couldn't find any clean clothes this morning!" the fat and lumpy man sitting to Nott's left said. "Stupid maid is on vacation."
Nott laughed, slapping his friend on the back as the lanky man to his right spoke up. "It's been hard on all of us since the house-elves were freed. Impossible to find good help."
"Agreed," the other man sniffed.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen…" Nott laughed, gathering his companion's attention. "You are simply looking in all the wrong places. You should've come to me. I know where you can find the best help money can buy." He eyed them both sharply.
Seeing that he had their full attention, he lowered his voice. "Have you heard what has been happening to the Muggles?"
"Yes. Of course." The one to his right nodded
"Nott, what does that have to..." the left one began.
Theodore sat up straight, looking around him, and then huddling back down, whispering, "We can't talk here. Let's go," he said, inclining his head to the exit.
He stood and the other two followed, moving towards the exit.
The two Aurors looked at each other and nodded, following the three men after a few moments.
By the time they had made it out of the stands, the three men were gone. They searched some more, to see if they were anywhere to be found. When they didn't find them, Draco growled.
"Damn, we lost them!" Draco yelled.
They made their way back to headquarters, Draco hurriedly walking to the lift and hitting the 'down' button. Ginny had to jog to catch the lift as the doors began to close.
She looked up at his face. He was furious.
When the door opened on their floor, he stalked out and walked swiftly towards the hall that held some of the Auror offices.
Ginny stumbled, trying to match pace with him.
"Draco, it's ok. We'll get him," she said, trying to calm him down.
Draco stopped in his tracks and looked down on her, making her feel small. "This is entirely your fault, Weasley," he spat.
"Excuse me?"
He snorted. "Don't play dumb, Weasley. If you hadn't been leaning so close to him he wouldn't have run off! We lost our lead! And its. All. Your. Fault!" he yelled through clenched teeth, his hands fisted at his sides.
Her temper snapped. "You were leaning forward, too! How else were we supposed to hear what he was saying?" she yelled.
In the back of her mind, she knew that this wasn't using 'utmost discretion', but at the moment, she couldn't care.
He raised his eyebrows at her outburst and then lowered them into a scowl. "Don't you dare try to pin this on me, Weasel! You've barely done one thing right in that last two weeks!" he shot at her
"ME!" She laughed. She could see some of the other Aurors coming out of their offices to watch the show, and against her better judgment, she continued, her temper having risen too high to control. "For the last two weeks?" She laughed humorlessly.
"For the last two weeks, I've been trying to do my best on the most important mission of my career while putting up with an asshole I partner /I who, for those two weeks, has done nothing but BITCH AND MOAN!"
She stepped closer to him, poking him in the chest. "What the hell is wrong with you, Malfoy?"
He grabbed her hand and threw it away from himself before turning and walking the rest of the way to their office.
Ginny watched him go, flinching when she heard the door slam.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw that many of the other Aurors were still there, staring.
"Ginny... Ginny, let's go to lunch. Come on..." Neville placed his arm fully around her shoulders and led her back to the lift.