"I'm surprised that after everything, we just let them go," Ron sighed.

"I'm more surprised that it happened so quickly," Hermione said.

"How do you think Draco is going to take it?" Ginny asked.

"I dunno," Harry answered, "But I suppose we're about to find out."

The four had taken off the following morning to prepare the Malfoys of the news before anything was made public. They had started at his personal residence, but when they found it empty, they'd continued on to Malfoy Manor. Since the Gerald ordeal, the memories of the place had begun to fade, as if finally its evil was washing away.

They stopped at the doorstep and Harry lifted the knocker to request entrance. Several moments passed with no response. The auror repeated the action. Once more, nothing.

"Do you think he's pouting ag-" Ron started with a chuckle, only to have the building open up.

There was nobody immediately inside, so they slowly stepped over the threshold.

"Draco?" Harry called, his voice echoing within the empty home.

The couples paused as they neared the staircase, watching the door close behind them. When their eyes were once more on the interior, the Slytherin had appeared at the top of the steps.

"What do you want?" his voice was loud, but not strong, and his eyes did not meet those of his guests.

"We wanted to tell you-" Harry spoke again.

"That Gerald was freed? I'm aware," Draco seemed upset...saddened...but not by the release of his father's murderer.

"News travels fast, yeah?" Ron whispered, "Can't trust anybody."

Hermione shook her head at her husband and focused on the ex-deatheater again, "We're sorry, but you'll have to tell Lucius-"

"He's gone," the boy muttered.

His old classmates hesitated. So he had figured out what Gerald was alluding to.

"Draco," the lead auror took a calm pace forward, "Could you tell us...what it was?"

The man on the steps turned a glare to Harry, who readied himself for a furious excuse. It shocked them all when he instead, was met with teary eyes.

"My father failed Voldemort and he punished him by branding me a deatheater," Draco cried.

The aurors and their sister recalled the story Hermione had shared with them from Astoria, but didn't speak on it. They simply waited for Malfoy to carry on after fighting away showing his weakness any longer.

"I knew this," his voice had hardened, "What I didn't know?" he took a heavy step down, fist on his chest, "He offered me to him. My own father," his lips became a snarl as he uttered the word, "Willing to make me risk everything to fix his mistakes."

The aurors and their wives were struck dumb at the revelation. Speechless. None of them had held Lucius to any standard other than arrogant, selfish, and cruel. But this? To oust not only his son, but the boy who had adored his father his entire life and modeled his own character after? In that instance, even Ron felt pity for his old rival. And they all wondered if Gerald's inhumane punishment hadn't been so horrid after all.

"Draco, I-" Harry tried.

"Just go," Malfoy shook his head as he spun around, climbing the stairs again, "Leave me."

The four watched as the ex-deatheater vanished from sight before turning to leave themselves. Nothing could be said. Nothing could be given. It was best just to heed, and let the man be.

They made their way in silence back out of the home, down the path, and then dissapparating to the Potter household. Even amidst their own company, they found it hard to find the right words to address what they had just learned.

"I'll make some tea," Ginny decided on, "You're going to have a long day facing all of those unsatisfied when they hear about the Gerald situation."

Unfortunately, strings of complaints from the public wasn't going to be the aurors' primary concern that day. After resting for a while and waiting for tea until they actually headed into work, the cellular in Harry's pocket rang. Initially, he ignored it as he was in the middle of fixing his beverage. However, once it continued to ring after he took his first sip, he relented.

"Hello?" he picked up.

"Harry, it's Zudd."

Realizing it was indeed a business call, the auror gave the magical law enforcement officer his full attention, "What is it Timothy?"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...I've got another body for you," the wizard informed.

"Who-"

"You know I can't give that information on a line," Timothy replied. "But the scene is all secure. I warn you not to freak out, but...I need you and Ron to meet me at your brother's joke shop."

Harry's blood went cold. George?

"We'll be right there..." the auror mumbled, his voice cracking.

"Harry? You look... What's wrong?" Ginny had inched close to her husband and placed her hands on his thigh.

The wizard ignored her, standing on shaky feet. Tim had said not to worry, but how could he not when...

"Harry!" Hermione shouted, concern clear in her own unsteady voice.

The lead investigator realized that he had already made it to the fireplace without saying a single word to the others. He swallowed hard and tried to formulate an answer that wouldn't upset them as much as Officer Zudd's call had done to him yet his disrupted focus made him fall short of properly handling it.

"There's a body. We need to go check it out," he said, grabbing a handful of floo powder as his wife jumped to take hold of his arm.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"I think maybe just Ron and-"

"No," the witch refused, "You're obviously spooked. I'm going with you."

"Harry, where is it?" Hermione inquired weakly.

"Timothy assured me that there's nothing to worry about," the auror said first.

"And yet you're acting like you just lost..." his partner began scoffing, his attitude changing the instant the rest of that statement hit his brain.

"Ronald? Now you're both legitimately scaring me," Hermione said, "Where-"

"Weaseley's Wizard Wheezes," the lead auror reluctantly admitted.

Ginny didn't wait a moment longer before forcing the powder from her husband's hand and onto the floor as she spoke the nearest network to the twins' shop. She pulled the auror into the fire as the other couple rushed to take their turn after.

Coming out on the other side of the fire, Ginny quickened her pace down the cobble street, nearly leaving Harry behind in the process. The stunned auror took control of himself again and grabbed his wife's arm, forcing her to slow and allow him to take the lead, holding her tightly at his side.

The four came upon the roped off scene quickly, first laying eyes upon Timothy as he met them with hands up, "I know what it sounds like, but," the officer offered but was shoved away as the aurors and their wives pushed through.

As they made it past the tape and to the building beyond, they were stopped by a man exiting the shop.

"George!" Ginny cried, throwing her arms around her brother as the other witch bound forward to do the same.

They soon relieved the unsuspecting wizard to see a blank look rivaling that which had taken Harry over during the phone call.

"What happened, mate?" the lead auror asked, his own heart relaxing knowing that his brother was safe, yet not completely resting as the uncertainty of the scenario loomed.

The twin shook his head and raised his brows as if too disbelieved to explain the situation. Instead, he stepped away from the door of his shop, and gestured at it. The group watched as he began scratching his head and took a position a few feet away. Both Harry and Ron quietly asked their wives to stay with the twin as they moved onward.

The two investigators entered the shop. Inside were a handful of other officers taking photographs and nosing around the place. And although Timothy had caught back up to them at this point, he was too late to inform them of the incident. The aurors saw it for themselves.

"Blimey," Ron breathed.

Harry, settling his vision on the corpse that sat on the floor and leaned against the counter, knelt to better take in the sight.

Dead eyes open and set forward, a look of terror on his scarred face that was now washed of all color, drained of his vital fluids...was Augustus Rookwood.

In his lap was a bouquet of daffodils. The yellow flowers, laced with a note, perched from between the missing digits of the deatheater's hands. Every other finger had been severed...and was missing.

Harry reached out and took the note, and, flipping it open, read its message aloud.

This is the least I could do. I know it's not what you asked, but I hope it suffices. ~Angel of the Abyss