The aurors let themselves back out of the school in the midst of a class change. When students themselves, Harry and Ron had assumed Durmstrang had been an all-boys facility. During the Tri-Wizard Tournament, only male students came to Hogwarts and they'd never heard mention of any female students from the institute. However, tearing their way through the migrating student body now, there were several teenage girls about.
Harry found it weird that the presence of aurors in the hallway barely caught the attention of only a handful of the pupils. They all seemed so disciplined and focused. It was probably best anyway as it meant less distraction as they pushed their way out of the castle and into the slightly less crowded courtyard.
Outside, the aurors passed by a group of students who had stopped to talk with each other. They all turned their heads and watched as Harry and Ron walked by. It was their whispering that alerted Harry to their stares. Looking up, he gave them a polite nod, but the greeting was returned with nothing but cold and curiously intent eyes. Harry shook his head and put his attention back to the gates of the school.
''Vyperdysch!'' one of the male students called after the aurors as their backs turned to the kids.
Ron looked back to see the teenagers gradually start separating and heading back inside the school. Harry refused to give them any more consideration and instead continued onward to the outer wall of Durmstrang Institute.
''What do you suppose that means?'' Ron asked curiously.
''I don't know. And I don't really care,'' Harry almost spat as the two made some distance between themselves and the school.
''It's alright, mate,'' Ron calmed, seeing that his friend was becoming distressed again. ''There's still no need to worry.''
''Ron, he outright lies AGAIN about his involvement with the deatheaters and Voldemort,'' Harry said.
''Well, yeah, I mean we'd already put together that he was a liar, right? At least about something,'' Ron pointed. ''Like Hermione said, he's probably just worried about protecting himself. I'm just saying that there might not be anything more to it than that.''
There was a pause as Harry stopped and took a few deep breaths.
''No unanswered crime he could be a part of still yet, yeah?'' Ron added.
Harry sighed. ''I guess we have to have a meeting with Lucius for certain now...''
''Ugh, yeah...'' Ron agreed. ''Do you think Draco told him any details? You know that he could identify Gerald with?''
Harry shook his head, looking back to the school now a good distance away. ''I don't know. But I hope that whatever Karkaroff saw...that it wasn't anything too convoluted.''
''Completely,'' Ron chirped, ''Just a chance meeting maybe.''
Harry smiled. ''Well, let's get back to the ministry. The Minister may be about to see us sometime today.''
And with that, the aurors apparatus back to the airport and spent the next few hours on their return flight to London where the Floor Network took them to the Ministry of Magic.
And Harry had been right. Upon arriving back at their office, a note had been left for them. Just as Ron open-ended the door and the two walked inside, the paper laying on one of the desks beyond, floated into the air, folding itself, acting as the lips of the woman's voice that sounded.
The unseen woman announced, ''Misters Potter and Weasely, please see Minister Shackelbolt in his office before the end of day. Thank you.'' The note then promptly flattened itself and returned to rest on the desk once more.
Harry looked immediately to the clock on the other wall. Their travels had taken up most of the day, but there were still a few hours between the official close of the ministry.
Ron shrugged at Harry and turned on his heels, going right back through their door and to the elevator. The trip was silent and quick. When the machine opened again, it let them out into a room lined with the portraits of every Minister that had ever been.
Harry found himself easily aware of Bartemius Crouch's picture. His eyes lingered on the man as his figure swayed slightly in the portrait, his expression remaining stern and professional. Harry would never forget seeing the past minister's corpse while walking in the forest with Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione, the same year Voldemort had returned.
Shaking from his thoughts, Harry turned to face the woman in the desk at the end of the hallway. She had short, curved blonde hair and wore a bright smile painted in rose red lipstick which complimented her blue eyes.
''Hello!'' she beamed as the two came upon her. ''Minister Shackelbolt is free to see you now. You know the way,'' she giggled. It had been her voice in the note.
''Thanks,'' Harry smiled, stepping past her with Ron to stand in front of a black sheet of glass.
After just a moment, the enchanted doorway slid open, revealing the minister. They stepped inside and took a seat.
''I hope your trip today went smoothly,'' Shackelbolt greeted.
''Yes, sir, it did,'' Harry smiled.
''So you've been able to speak with Gerald and his counterpart?'' the minister continued.
''Right, and also with Draco Malfoy and of course Igor Karkaroff today,'' Harry answered.
''Hm. I've read your reports thus far. Did Karkaroff have anything to add?'' Shackelbolt put his hands in a pyramid in front of his lips in a contemplative stance.
''Only that he saw Gerald once, in passing, with Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy,'' Ron said.
''Hm. I don't see any reason to disbelieve that,'' the minister mused. ''So it seems our friend Gerald has a propensity for lying.''
Harry and Ron nodded and Harry spoke, ''We wanted to mandate an interview with Lucius, but I don't think it will go anywhere.''
''It won't,'' Minister Shackelbolt agreed. ''Nonetheless, it's proper procedure.'' He paused for a few moments. Suddenly, he removed his hands and placed them back onto the desk. ''After you've talked with Lucius, I want you to visit Gerald again...but don't let him know of anything the others have said about him.''
''On what grounds will we be seeing him then?'' Harry asked, unsure of the minister's line of reasoning.
''His wandless magic, of course,'' Shackelbolt grinned. ''Something so unusual needs to be learned about...studied.''
''So it's just a valid excuse to keep an eye on him and maybe put together some details?'' Ron surmised.
''Indeed,'' the minister nodded.
''Don't you think that that will be obvious to him?'' Harry questioned.
''Oh I'm sure it will. It's thin enough,'' said Shackelbolt, ''but there's no refuting it either. The first thing you need to do is register him. He lives here now; he's a wizard. That means he has to abide by our laws. Be patient with him though. If he avoids peaceful requests, it will only give us fuel to make sure he remains peaceful himself.'' The Minister leaned forward and looked intently into Harry and Ron. ''MACUSA might have let him slip through the cracks, but we won't. Whether he turns out to be harmless or not, I don't like him. And I definitely don't trust him.''
Neither auror could disagree with Minister Shackelbolt's feeling. Even though Gerald had not seemed all in all a despicable person when they had met him, his actions did color him as untrustworthy in one of the worst ways...the one that suggested he was a dark wizard.
Harry sent an owl to both Draco and to his father, informing them of Lucius' now legal requirement to meet with them. The minister had even signed off ordering him to come into the ministry. Kingsley Shackelbolt was well aware of the young aurors' apprehension about returning to Malfoy Manor. Even though he knew they would carry out their duties successfully regardless, he also knew it wasn't necessary to throw them into some situations when there was a viable alternative. Especially when Lucius also knew this about Harry and Ron and would have no qualms in using it against them.
The last thing they did before leaving the office was call Gerald's residence and leave a message with Oliver for him to come in for registration.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:: Vyperdysch is a Russian insult meaning 'someone who thinks they are important, but in reality is not.' The literal translation is 'someone who appears out of farting.' LMAO You're welcome for that tidbit :P