"Good," Croaker smirked himself then, "And we expect your cooperation while we learn about this unusual power of yours."
Gerald tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. His hand suddenly grasped at the wand that he now held carelessly at his side. "It's not like I can say 'no,'" he spat back.
Harry was growing increasingly aggravated with the unspeakable's needlessly hostile attitude. Nobody in the room particularly cared for Gerald, but blatantly treating him like an enemy was doing no one any favors.
"Thank you, then," Harry said awkwardly, but in a soft voice. He gave Gerald a smile when he had put his eyes on the auror.
To Harry's surprise, the wizard actually returned it. A sincere smile, nonetheless. The shifts in his personality were throwing Harry off kilter again. The small instances where Gerald seemed kind or sad kept making the auror second guess their assumption that the man was disagreeable or even evil. And when that happened, he immediately wondered if those things were trustworthy or part of some mind game. At the end of it all, what Harry knew for certain was meeting with the wizard and attempting to read him was completely frustrating.
"What else do you need from me today?" Gerald spoke in a moderate tone to Harry, but his eyes had shifted to watching Croaker.
"I believe that is all," Harry smiled again at him before reluctantly turning to Professor Croaker and adding, "Unless there is something you have?"
"Hm. No, nothing right now," the unspeakable gruffed, "but expect a visit from me soon to continue all this."
"Just you?" Gerald faced the wizard, his voice sounded combative.
Croaker straightened his back and lifted a brow, "Is that a problem?"
Gerald grinned, slowly closing and then reopening his eyes, "No, I just think things would go more smoothly should the aurors here assist."
The unspeakable kept his strict gaze on the strange wizard as Harry and Ron exchanged a glance. "That's actually a good idea," Ron squeaked, calling all attention to him. "I mean both our departments are supposed to be working on this and all... It'd be less things repeated and surely less frustrating for you," he threw the last part in quickly with a hand motioning at Gerald.
"I agree," Harry said. "Is that suitable for you?"
"Hm. Certainly," Croaker relented, "But I have to ask," he pointed at Gerald, "Why did you want this?"
Gerald looked at the unspeakable with a serious expression and responded with a flat voice, "Because I don't like you."
If it hadn't been for the man's shadowy past, his dark leanings, and his unusual power contributing to the energy of the scenario, Harry felt it would have been comical. However instead, it came off as a threat.
"You're not scaring anyone," Croaker returned, getting closer to Gerald, who shrugged.
"I wasn't trying to scare anyone. Just answering the question."
Seeing the two wizards in a sort of stand off was weird. Saul Croaker reached a height of over six feet while Gerald Davis couldn't have been taller than five foot seven at best. And even though the two men were close in age, the unspeakable appeared vastly older. Thinking about it made the situation seem surreal.
"Well, thank you again for coming," Harry stepped in. "We will be in touch."
Gerald looked to the auror and smiled before nodding and turning toward the door where he gave Ron a polite nod goodbye as well. He held his hand out to the entry and the door swung open. At first, the three ministry workers assumed he had opened the door himself until it cleared to reveal none other than Lucius Malfoy.
The suspected dark wizard stared at the deatheater for a brief moment before stepping to the side to get out of the way, planting himself so close to Ron that the two were almost touching. Lucius' eyebrow raised as he watched after Gerald. The aurors and the unspeakable seemed to agree without conference that they would remain silent and see if anything came of the situation.
So they all watched. Lucius' eyes bore into Gerald for a period long enough to make anyone uncomfortable, but Gerald appeared unfazed. He kept his posture relaxed, face without expression, and eyes resting on the deatheater, occasionally blinking. Lucius didn't show signs of anything other than his usual misplaced arrogance and finally, he removed his attention from the other white-haired wizard and turned to face Harry.
"After all that I have done to aid the Ministry, this is the treatment I get? Being forced in when I already informed you that I knew nothing else about this matter?" the man brought the cane from his side and rested his hands on it in front of him, letting it thud onto the floor.
Gerald had stayed in his position, keeping eyes on Lucius while making Ron uncomfortable with his close proximity. Harry stole the moment just in time to see a toothy grin crawl onto Gerald's face.
"What a dick," Gerald said loudly and it looked like he was holding back laughter.
Lucius immediately scowled, twisting to face the man and growling, "Do you have something to say to me?"
"Yeah," Gerald's grin grew, "I just said it."
Lucius immediately raised his cane and stepped toward the man, mouth open and ready to rebut. Harry could see Ron's anxiety increasing as he tried to back away from the two but was incapable. So Harry threw himself into the middle.
"Gerald, we need to speak to Mr. Malfoy privately," he remained calm.
"My apologies," Gerald responded, sarcastically placing a hand over his heart. He let his vision linger upon Lucius for a moment before dropping his grin and walking beside him to exit the room. The moment he was out of sight, the door flew shut.
"Hmph!" Lucius brushed off his shoulder with the back of his left hand as if wiping away the altercation with Gerald.
"I'm sorry about that," Harry said reluctantly.
"Indeed," Malfoy muttered.
The sudden introduction of the two wizards before them had taken Harry by surprise. He had barely managed to catch even a few clues from the scenario, but nothing to really suggest that the two knew each other. Maybe Ron caught something, although he doubted it with how upturned he had been basically being caught between the two.
"Mr. Malfoy," Harry started. "Are you absolutely certain there was no one else you knew to have associated with Voldemort on a somewhat close level? Deatheater or not."
"Why do I have to keep repeating myself?" Lucius grunted.
Harry glanced over at his partner who had mostly recovered, but not enough that he acknowledged Harry's look. "Have you never seen him before? The man that just left."
Lucius' eyebrows furrowed and he sighed angrily, "No. And it will be lucky for him if I never see him again."
Harry, Croaker, and Ron were all staring at Malfoy then, all trying to figure out the same thing: What had been his relationship with Voldemort's student? Karkaroff had no reason to lie about seeing them together, but the two certainly were inimical towards each other. They didn't appear to have been familiar with each other during the scene yet Lucius' threat spoke more deeply. It didn't seem natural for even the vile wizard that he was to take so heavily against a stranger with an offhanded and extremely general insult. Especially when appearances would tell Malfoy that the man was no older than his son...barely an adult.
"Fine then," Harry ended the session quickly, "Sorry for wasting your time."
"Hmm," Lucius glared at Harry and Croaker, then shot an intimidating glance at Ron, who nervously shifted his stance. Lucius picked up his cane and paraded back out of the office, his coat whishing through the air as he turned and followed down Gerald's path.
"That was quick," Croaker stated. "He might even catch up with Gerald."
"That's precisely what I was thinking," Harry grinned.
"Bloody Hell, you want us to go after them?" Ron whined.
"There's a good chance that they will meet up out there. If we lie low, we might be able to catch something of interest about them," Harry explained.
Ron sighed, "Yeah, you're right."
The unspeakable let out a soft laugh as he too went for the exit, "Well, it sounds like you boys have work to do. I'll leave you to it."
Harry and Ron stepped after the man, peeking out into the hallway and watching him stroll to the elevator which Lucius had apparently just boarded. Croaker slowed his pace just enough to give the machine time to whoosh Lucius away. When the deatheater was out of sight, Harry and Ron skipped several strides to gain footing with Croaker and the three got into the elevator together.
Croaker let the aurors go to their destination, the Atrium, first so they wouldn't lose any time. When the doors slid open and they departed, he gave them a smile and a wave before the machine was off once more.
Harry quickly spotted Lucius at the fireplaces in the distance. Maybe he wasn't following Gerald. Gerald would have had to use the visitor's entrance. The abandoned red telephone booth that acted as a secret lift from an old London street down into the Ministry. The aurors made a few swift paces to get closer to Malfoy before dropping their speed and hanging back far enough that they wouldn't be spotted.
Lucius stopped at one of the chimneys and looked into it for a few moments before suddenly looking off to the side and altering his trek. He went straight for the red booth in the far corner that was identical to the one exposed to the muggle world above. Seeing the haughty wizard place himself inside the box was funny to the aurors. Ron accidentally chuckled out loud, gaining a light backhand to the chest from Harry as the two lunged forward to use the elevator as well. Malfoy was well out of range of vision prior to them doing so.
Harry and Ron quickly boarded and rode upwards on the somewhat raggedy machine. As they did, Harry produced his cloak of invisibility from within his robes. Instinctively, he and Ron spread it over themselves, finishing just when they reached the surface. Scanning to make sure nobody was looking first, the two wriggled their way out of the box and into the street.
Lucius was walking casually on the opposite sidewalk.
The aurors creeped quickly, but carefully until they were a few feet behind the wizard. When they were, they caught sight of Gerald sitting on a bench down the way, arms resting on the back of the seat to his sides and eyes staring in front of him. He was surely there waiting to see if Lucius to catch up to him.
As the deatheater and the hidden wizards approached, Gerald cocked his head to the side, lifting both eyebrows, "Lucius."
The pure blood wizard stopped in front of the man and turned to face him, hands resting on his cane again, "Hm...It's nice to see you...alive."
Gerald grinned, "Wish I could say the same."
Lucius immediately frowned, "Come now, there's no need for that. Do you have no respect for an old friend?"
Gerald opened his mouth like he had a retort, but instead of speaking it, he bit his lip and turned his head to the other side, "What do you want, Lucius?"
"To be perfectly honest," the deatheater smirked, "I want a reason to keep my mouth shut." Gerald's eyes shot back to his past acquaintance. "I know what you are and I know what you've done," Lucius put his right hand up in the air as if to symbolize indifference, "Why shouldn't I share?"
"The question is, why have you not shared already?" Gerald pointed.
"Well, there was never a need. Had I known you were still living, I would have in a heartbeat," Lucius snapped.
The wizard on the bench tilted his head. "So what now? You're wanting my help or something?"
Malfoy's hand returned to his cane and he grinned, "Having you as an ally in...let's just say, a venture, would be highly beneficial."
Harry and Ron were doing their best to remain still, to keep their breathing low, and not show any outward interest in the events unfolding before them for fear of being discovered. But this sudden turn in the case had them reeling inside. The succinct silence they endured eager to hear a response from Gerald seemed an eternity.
"How about this," Gerald lifted his arms from the bench, pushing his hands against his knees to reach a standing position. He closed the small distance between himself and Lucius and looked directly into the deatheater's eyes with what Harry could only describe as menace.
"I know where your son lives and I know where your wife sleeps," his abrupt, cold words chilled both the aurors.
Ron barely kept himself from swallowing. Harry's eyes widened. Even when Gerald had been antagonistic or rude or even apathetic in other situations, Harry had NEVER felt such cruelty from the man...and the feeling led him to believe that Gerald couldn't possibly be bluffing.
Lucius was obviously shaken by the man's commination as well. He at first stepped backward, his stern expression failing, but then suddenly dropped his cane, pouncing forward with his hands grabbing his opponent by his shirt.
Gerald remained calm and refrained from reacting. Lucius held his grip for only several seconds before letting go and clearing his throat. He leaned down and swiftly retrieved his walking stick from the ground. He gave one last look at the other wizard. It was a glare, but it was weak. Lucius Malfoy left the scene, Gerald Davis watching for only an instant before he turned the other way and began walking off as well.
He passed so closely by the aurors, that the moving air caused a fold of their cloak to sway slightly.