"It's not what you think…" Daphne had replied weakly. Somehow Blaise knew that she was responsible for her sister's death, and now there was no point in lying.
If he can tell, then others can too…
Theodore was the first to respond, and it was not supportive. He shot out of his seat, fists clenched by his side. "Daphne, are you serious? Why are you telling me this!?" he shouted angrily. "I am bound by law to report any crime I become aware of!"
"Then do it," Daphne replied weakly. She knew this was the risk when she invited him here, but he had to know. He had to know that not everything was as it seems and that she had no choice. "But you need to hear this…"
"I will have to prosecute you! Send you to Azkaban!" Theodore pleaded angrily.
Blaise rolled his eyes. "What they don't know won't hurt them, Nott," he replied with a tone of annoyance. Theodore rounded on him now, almost shouting in his face.
"We have Legilimens that check us, idiot!" Theodore replied acidly. "What do you think all those reformations were after the War?"
Daphne sat there as Blaise and Theodore exchanged a few more choice words for one another. She looked over at Tracey, who looked at her with sympathy. Daphne thought that Tracey must think she was a fool, maddened by passion and jealousy once more. Like they were children again at Hogwarts, plotting to break Pansy and Draco up all over again.
"I understand the consequences, Theodore," Daphne interrupted the arguing wizards. They stopped immediately and turned back to her. "And if you let me explain, maybe you will understand why I am telling you."
Theodore sighed with exasperation, and walked away from his seat, moving towards the fireplace. Daphne feared for a moment that he would leave; return to work and turn her in at that very moment, before she had time to explain herself. Luckily, he stopped, electing to simply lean against the mantel for support as he breathed heavily, trying to calm down.
"Darling, I know you're angry," Daphne leaned towards him and spoke gently. "But I need to tell you this. It's eating me up, and I can't take it anymore. I have to get this off my chest, or I'll go mad…"
Theodore turned his head, eyes a little watery. Daphne could almost literally feel her heartbreak. Doing this to him was worst than anything she had ever done, and yet it had to be done. She asked him to sit down again, and he obeyed, albeit in silence and with his arms crossed angrily. At last, it was Tracey's time to speak.
"Well, if it's not what we think, then tell us what it is," she asked with a sigh. Daphne nodded and began to regale her story.
8 Months Earlier
The elevator doors creaked open, and a few witches and wizards got off with Daphne. The courtrooms were always so much colder than the rest of the ministry, which on a summer day would have been a welcomed relief. But on this day, a cold and snowy February, Daphne shivered with a chill.
Daphne walked forward down the black hallway, back towards the Inquisitor's Secretary. Belinda was a short and stout woman with greying black hair, and thick square glasses pushed against her eyes. The woman usually looked perplexed due to her limited sight, but today, she looked particularly vexed.
"Good morning, Belinda," Daphne called pleasantly. The aging woman looked up and blinked her eyes as she tried to see who was approaching. Then, she smiled with recognition.
"Oh, hello there, Mrs. Nott. I'm afraid Mr. Nott is still in court at the moment. The case is taking longer than expected…"
Daphne pouted. "Oh, no," she replied with a pout. "I was hoping to take him out for lunch later, and wanted to ask him if he'd be free."
"Oh, I don't know if he'll be available," Belinda replied, now turning back to the stacks of inch-thick parchment rolls what were piled on the side of her desk. "I can deliver him the message though, once I see him."
"Oh, that would be wonderful, thank you," Daphne smiled graciously. She now looked at the pile curiously. "Merlin, what are all these for?" she asked with a small chuckle. Belinda sighed in exasperation and shook her head.
"Someone has asked for all of Mr. Nott's cases records, believe it or not!" she replied, flustered by the workload. "You really should tell that husband of yours to not work so hard!" she joked before she returned to checking and cataloging scrolls.
Daphne cracked a small smile at the joke, but she was still caught off guard by Belinda's work. Why would someone want all of Theodore's cases?
"Who asked for them? Potter?" Daphne pressed, hoping that it was for the Aurors to study and take notes from. Theodore had helped to champion many prison reforms in the memory of his father, a man driven mad and to suicide by the Dementors. He had made it his life's mission to stop anyone else from suffering the same fate, and had succeeded in releasing people who were considered 'low-level' supporters of You-Know-Who, who (like his father) were persuaded or bullied into joining the cause. Daphne was exceedingly proud of him, and although it was met with some resistance from Potter and the Aurors, most people agreed with him. So, the idea that someone wanted to read up on all his cases made her worried.
"Oh, no, it was…" Belinda paused and scanned the requisition document for the name. "Astoria Malfoy."
Daphne felt as though her stomach had dropped down to her feet. It was a name that she hadn't heard in years, and yet, it struck the same pang of distrust and hatred that it always did. But now, she felt fear. If Astoria was investigating Theodore, it was not to congratulate him for all his efforts. She was up to something.
"How long will it take you to gather all the case files, you reckon?" Daphne asked with a tight throat. Belinda looked at her oddly when she heard the change in her tone but quickly returned to her sense of overwhelming.
"Oh, goodness, I'm not sure," she replied with a sigh. "Some of the cases are already checked out, which means I have to recall them. And many of them have been archived already, which means I have to go down to the Records Room…" she paused and appeared to consider the amount of work, before she finally replied, "3 days or so, I think?"
3 days… I have less than 3 days to figure out what she's up to…
"Did you tell Mrs. Malfoy-" the name caught in her throat like it meant to choke her. She coughed and continued. "Did you tell her it would take that long?"
Belinda shook her head. "No. Alas, I thought all the cases were up here. I should let her know it will take a while, shouldn't I?"
"No!" Daphne answered quickly, stopping her before she could reach for her quill. She coughed again, then added, "I'll deliver the message. I'm headed that way later today anyway," she lied. Belinda thanked her for that and reassured her that as soon as she saw Theodore, she would relay him the message about lunch. "Oh, don't worry. We'll go another day. It's fine, Belinda…" Daphne deflected, not wanting Theodore to suspect anything. "And don't worry about those cases too much, ok?" she added. "I wouldn't be surprised if the request is canceled soon."
Daphne knew how she would find out what Astoria was up to, but it took a bit of preparation. She headed up to the Office of Misinformation, where her sister worked as a transcriber. It was a menial job that someone as dull as Astoria could hold, and she was close to one of the other scribes, named Jane Andersson. She was a very tall, waif-like woman who had even less sense than Astoria, but was very easy for Daphne to find. But first, she'd run out to Knockturn Ally, and purchased a ready-made Polyjuice Potion, since even Jane wasn't dim enough to tell Astoria's secrets to her mortal enemy. With the potion in hand, Daphne headed up to Level 4 and waited.
Sure enough, after a few minutes, Jane returned from the cafeteria with two cappuccinos. Daphne hid behind a column and waited for the girl to pass by, when she cast the Bewitched Sleep charm, causing the girl to simply stop walking, and fall to the ground. Quickly, Daphne grabbed some of her hair, then dragged the girl into the nearby broom cupboard. At last, she popped the long, blonde hairs into the potion, and poured the contents down her throat.
It was a nauseous concoction, to be sure, and Daphne almost threw up into the rubbish bin in the corner of the closet. But after a moment, her body acclimated and felt stretched out beyond measure. Quickly, she stripped down Jane, and stole her clothes, stashing her own in her bottomless purse. Finally, she took in a deep breath, picked up the cappuccinos, and exited the closet.
When she found her sister, she was sitting at her desk, legs propped up on a nearby chair. "Oh, finally!" she called once she saw her. "My head has been killing me! What took you so long?"
"Long line," Daphne required, mimicking Jane's airy voice. "I also ran into that woman from the Wizenagamot Courts."
"Oh? Is she delivering those case files?" Astoria mused as she sipped on her steaming drink. Daphne thought for a moment that she should have slipped a potion in there with the ease that she drank it.
"No, she said it will take another day or so…" Daphne started. "Something about them being in archives? I'm not sure how that is cause for a delay, though."
Astoria rolled her eyes and slammed her cup onto her desk. "I have half a mind to go down there and hex that woman! She's just old and fat; that's no excuse for taking so long!"
Daphne tried her best to remain calm. Astoria's arrogance was still ever-present. After a moment, she was ready to proceed, and see if she could get the reason for this request out of her sister.
"What do you need all those cases for anyways?" Daphne asked, before taking a casual sip of the disgusting coffee drink. She tried hard not to make an expression of disgust and elected to rather put the drink down on the table beside her. "The woman said there are hundreds of scrolls; what could you possibly need all those for?"
Astoria chuckled and gave her friend a wicked smile. "Reformation Number 43," she replied simply, then laughed heartily at her own joke. Then, she faded into a bitter voice, and added: "Like I'm going to share it with her…"
Daphne furrowed her eyebrows together. At first, she was confused. Reformation Number 43 had been put in place to prevent 'Sympathizers, Nefarious Individuals, and Supporters of Dark Magic or Anti-Muggle sentiments from using inherited funds to support their endeavors.' It had been put in place to stop the family and relatives of some of You-Know-Who's supporters from using their inheritances and family fortunes to fund a new uprising against the Ministry of Magic. But what did that have to do with Theodore?
"I… I don't get it?" Daphne forced herself to giggle as if they were sharing some secret joke. Astoria took her feet off the chair they were resting on, and turned her chair towards her friend, leaning in close.
"There is no way that Nott got all of those prisoners off with just that 'inhumane practices' speech of his!" she whispered, then giggled. "I think he's been using some other, illicit methods to help his cause."
So that's your play… Daphne thought. Make my husband look like he's been helping criminals out of prison for some Dark Cause? It's a stretch…
"How do you know? What if there is nothing?" Daphne whispered back, trying to match Astoria's giddy tone.
"Oh, you know I'm a skilled transcriber. I'll just make some new documents that support my claim."
You bitch… Daphne thought angrily. You would frame him? For what!?
"I'm still not following, Astoria…" Daphne continued. "What does Theodore have to do with your inheritance? He's not your brother…"
Astoria smiled and leaned back in her chair, placing her feet back on the chair, lounging like she didn't have a care in the world. "The Reformation doesn't just apply to biological family, Janey. It applies to the family by marriage, too. If he's found guilty, then she gets nothing!"
Daphne stared at her. This had been the closest she had been to her sister since Elora and Scorpius had started school. Part of her had hoped that she would have calmed down and matured a bit. But apparently, she was just as vicious and self-centred as she ever was.
"Money's that bad, is it?" Daphne mused before she could stop herself. She bit her lip immediately, regretting having let that comment slip. Astoria turned and glared at the woman who she thought was her friend. But, instead of suspecting the imposter, she answered the accusation.
"I told you, Jane; Draco's family fortune is practically gone! I swear Lucius has a bunch more stashed away somewhere, but Draco won't let me have it if he does!" she pouted and took another sip of her drink. "I'll be damned if I'm going to live in a house that grand with nothing inside it…"
Daphne couldn't believe what she was hearing. The Malfoy's were broke? And Astoria was going to use Theodore to get more money? But from where? Daphne hadn't inherited anything when her father died in November; why would she? Her family had disowned her, and hadn't spoken to her in over 20 years! And yet, Astoria was convinced…
"Well, I hope you get it…" Daphne replied, trying to sound as supportive as she could. Now she needed an excuse to leave. She picked up Jane's drink and looked at it with disgust. "Ugh, they gave me the wrong drink! I'm going back down there," she lied, standing from the chair and taking the cup with her.
"Get me some scones while you're down there," Astoria called, not even looking up at her friend as she left. Instead, she sat there, staring out the office window, leisurely drinking her coffee.
Daphne ran back to the broom cupboard. She frantically pulled the clothes off and threw them atop the still-sleeping woman, not having time to redress Jane. She then pulled out the antidote, downed it quickly, and redressed in her own clothes. Her mind was racing, but she knew that she had to investigate this matter more. As she bolted from the closet and ran to the elevator, she knew exactly where she had to go. She just wasn't sure if she had the courage to do it…