With the Burning Man case closed, things should have slowed down. But there was always something happening somewhere. Plus, Ron had the additional bonus of people who would have usually bugged Harry coming to him. It kept him busy, so there was that. He'd given up trying to anticipate things that were happening next around the office, but when he was alerted that Cecilia Jacobs had come to see him, Ron hit a whole new level of absurd.
He could have waited around and let someone else bring her in, but there was no way he was making her wait even that long. He probably shouldn't be that interested in what her reasons were for coming by, but he was.
"Miss Jacobs? Can I help you?" He asked, all professional demeanor when he wanted to be, nodding toward the corridor that led to his office.
She hadn't been waiting long but she still felt her foot tapping on the tiled floor, her hands wringing as she caught sight of Ron. She didn't expect the professionalism but was grateful for it, only nodding as she followed him into the corridor.
She waited until they were out of the main lobby before saying anything.
"Well, um, you're aware of what happened with Draco Malfoy the other night?" she asked, knowing it was a stupid question. "I might have- well, I think there's something else going on-"
It was on Ron's radar. Sitting at the top of the list with a few other things, honestly. He'd been planning on starting to deal with that in the next little bit.
Looked like she saved him from it. Without breaking stride, he looked over toward her sharply. "You're going to need to be more specific and define something else for me," he told her as they reached his office and he pulled the door open, motioning her inside.
She flashed a look at him, a tired, unappreciative of his tone kind of look as she followed him inside his office. She shrugged herself from her coat, hanging it over the edge of the chair as she took a seat, finding herself feeling a little worried that coming to Ron was actually a good idea.
"Draco was not responsible for what happened in Knightsbridge," she said, catching his eye. "He was, of course, the one using the wand but it wasn't him in his head-"
Ron didn't like where this was going. He tried his level best not to have an opinion on Cecilia - past, present, indeterminate future - but maybe he should have expected her to turn up trying to clear Malfoy's name. Someone always had to do the dirty work and she was very tied up with the Weasleys these days.
Suspicion was becoming second-nature.
He didn't bother with his own chair, choosing to lean against the side edge of the desk instead. What she was saying could make sense, honestly. In a way. But it was also Malfoy and burning Muggles as retribution didn't sound so far out of the normal midday routine.
"The Imperious Curse?" Ron's eyebrows furrowed. "How can you know that?"
She frowned, knowing that this was where she had to speak up, tell Ron something she'd never even told George. She chewed down on her bottom lip as she shifted in her seat, her hands wringing in her lap again as she looked up at him.
"Because I know what it looks like," she said, glancing away from him now. "And what it feels like- when Draco and I were recruited, we both worked with other Death Eaters and Bellatrix had a lovely way of breaking in the new guys-"
She trailed off, brushing her hand through her hair.
"I had to break through it and you know, it's torture- it makes you feel sick and there's this pain shooting through you- and I can see it in Draco-"
Maybe he should have been shocked about what she was telling him. Ron found, however, that anything involving Unforgivables and Bellatrix was entirely too believable.
Part of him wanted to say he was sorry she'd had to go through that - no one should have to and she'd turned out not to be particularly awful, after all - but what good would that do?
In the end he nodded, fingers steepled in from of his face. "You can see it in him?" He dropped his hands to tap on his desk. "I'm not saying you're wrong or that I won't look into it. But who would use an Imperious Curse to frame Draco Malfoy?" On the other hand, Ron could name a few who would throw everything to the wind to do just that.
She wasn't looking for pity or sympathy. She'd made the choice, however stupid and pathetic it might have been, to be recruited. She'd live with the after-effects and the consequences for the rest of her life, she knew. She shifted in her seat then, her back straightening as she looked up to Ron.
She almost couldn't believe she was sitting here, going to him, of all people, for help. But a lot had changed since they were children.
"You ever see someone under the Imperious Curse? There's something dead behind their eyes," she told him. "And that just wasn't him- he's a prat but he was never a killer. He didn't have it in him."
She sighed, rubbing at the bridge of her nose.
"I'm still trying to figure that out," she said. "There's a bit of a laundry list- so many Death Eaters disappeared after the War. Any one of them could be seeking some sort of retribution. I mean, Draco and his mother got off fairly easily-"
Ron nodde. He had, unfortunately, seen it over the years. Not as personally as Cecilia had, apparently, but he'd seen it all the same. There was a look about them, but that wasn't ever much to go, really. Not enough for a defense.
Was he actually sitting here with Cecilia Jacobs thinking about clearing Draco Malfoy? Was he in a blackout?
"Got off entirely, comparatively," Ron agreed. There was no shortage of Death Eaters still free, honestly. While everyone tended to stay on high alert for them, they were cold cases mostly handed over to the Hit Wizards unless they were actively involved in cases the Aurors got their hands on.
"Other than the eyes and knowing he doesn't have the stomach for mass murder, what else can you tell me?" The more he had, the better this would go.
Cecilia certainly didn't argue. Too many families somehow managed to escape any sort of true punishment following the War. Including her own. It was what kept her and Daphne on such high alert.
"He's terrified of fire-" she said, though there was an inflection in her voice at the end. "Ever since the Room of Requirements."
She looking up to Ron knowingly.
"And he was in my neighborhood," she continued. "Regardless of what happened between us, he'd never purposefully put me in harm's way. At the rate he was going before I stopped him, he'd have burned my flat down too-"
Ron titled his head, expression going a bit awkward. Yeah, he wasn't too shocked by the fire phobia. That incident had very nearly been the end.
He'd never try to kill Cecilia. Well. That wasn't too shocking, either. At the same time, though. "You have to admit there's an argument to be made that he knew you weren't there. Or that he's snapped and stopped caring." The look he gave her was slightly apologetic. It had to be said, though. If Malfoy decided to turn tables on her, people wouldn't be shocked. Ron might be, from what little he knew, but it was a hard case to make to anyone that wasn't him.
For a fleeting moment, Cecilia almost agreed with Ron, thinking that maybe he did just snap- maybe everything she had told him finally hit him.
But still, she didn't miss that look in his face.
"This may be hard to believe, but Draco was never as engaged in the War as his father was- he never stood behind the message-" she told Ron, pursing her lips. "He was pushed into this way of life to appease his father and keep his mother safe- but he never believed in bloody purity- neither of us did. It was why we stuck together-"
She sighed.
"I just don't believe that now, after all is said and done, he'd go after Muggles so.. blatantly."
While his concerns - justified ones, Ron thought - weren't completely assuaged, he could see her point. There were moments when, looking back, Ron could tell Malfoy might not have been acting on his own accord. Everyone had a reason for things, didn't they? For the first time probably ever, Ron thought he ought to have paid more attention and tried to figure Malfoy's out properly.
Then she made a good point. "It is a bit more public than something I'd expect someone who has to know they'd always be under a lot of scrutiny would actually try." That had stood out when Ron had first been briefed on it. It was all but closed, though, save tracking down the other two.
"When's the last time you saw him and didn't think he was being controlled?" It might not help much, but if Ron was going to be digging around - which included talking to Malfoy at some point - a timeline would be handy.
Cecilia didn't doubt that the history between Draco and Ron was more than complicated. She'd seen first-hand just how messy it had all gotten when they were children, all of them wrapped up in a war that they had no place being apart of.
She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to think back to the last time she saw Draco act like himself.
She frowned, "That might be hard to pinpoint. Ever since my attack, I've had a pretty spotty memory. There's some time missing and a few things aren't very clear-"
She leaned back against the chair, a fear she'd been keeping tucked into the back of her brain squirming its way to the front. The connection between their tattoos, the attack- it was all giving her a very uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"But maybe the reunion? He seemed... well, normal then?"
It was interesting, Cecilia mentioning being attacked in this same conversation. Ron wasn't sure why that pinged with him, but he made a mental note of it.
"The reunion," Ron repeated. He didn't like that. It was a bit too far out for him. Too many variables could have popped up around then, what with years upon years of Hogwarts graduates converging at once and more than a few wayward witches and wizards deciding to stay. "Granted, it could have been turned off for that." No one would know, not really.
Not until someone started talking to Malfoy and hoped he wasn't currently being controlled or tipped his hand too far in one direction or the other.
"When you're under the Imperious Curse, how's your memory? Do you remember what was going on or is it a blackout? Or hard to even notice it's happened?" While Ron had heard the tales and knew the logistics, Cecilia was more likely to know if there had been little twists with the Curse, if they had semi-retired Death Eaters walking around controlling people they'd considered their own.
She was wringing her hands again, not sure what else to do with them as she looked down at her shoes. She remembered telling Draco about working against the Death Eaters. She remembered the tattoos. The reason for them floating in her subconscious. But the act? The moment where the needle hit her skin? Nothing.
And then she was waking up in St. Mungo's, only remembering a blank face with blond hair.
She blinked, realizing then, that Ron was talking to her.
"What?" she asked, before his words registered. "Oh- well, you know everything. You're just stuck in your head, watching and doing but never being able to control anything. And then you've got this voice in the back of your head-"
He could have waited around and let someone else bring her in, but there was no way he was making her wait even that long. He probably shouldn't be that interested in what her reasons were for coming by, but he was.
"Miss Jacobs? Can I help you?" He asked, all professional demeanor when he wanted to be, nodding toward the corridor that led to his office.
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She waited until they were out of the main lobby before saying anything.
"Well, um, you're aware of what happened with Draco Malfoy the other night?" she asked, knowing it was a stupid question. "I might have- well, I think there's something else going on-"
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Looked like she saved him from it. Without breaking stride, he looked over toward her sharply. "You're going to need to be more specific and define something else for me," he told her as they reached his office and he pulled the door open, motioning her inside.
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"Draco was not responsible for what happened in Knightsbridge," she said, catching his eye. "He was, of course, the one using the wand but it wasn't him in his head-"
She paused, her brow furrowed.
This was the part she had yet to figure out.
"He's under the Imperious Curse-"
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Suspicion was becoming second-nature.
He didn't bother with his own chair, choosing to lean against the side edge of the desk instead. What she was saying could make sense, honestly. In a way. But it was also Malfoy and burning Muggles as retribution didn't sound so far out of the normal midday routine.
"The Imperious Curse?" Ron's eyebrows furrowed. "How can you know that?"
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"Because I know what it looks like," she said, glancing away from him now. "And what it feels like- when Draco and I were recruited, we both worked with other Death Eaters and Bellatrix had a lovely way of breaking in the new guys-"
She trailed off, brushing her hand through her hair.
"I had to break through it and you know, it's torture- it makes you feel sick and there's this pain shooting through you- and I can see it in Draco-"
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Part of him wanted to say he was sorry she'd had to go through that - no one should have to and she'd turned out not to be particularly awful, after all - but what good would that do?
In the end he nodded, fingers steepled in from of his face. "You can see it in him?" He dropped his hands to tap on his desk. "I'm not saying you're wrong or that I won't look into it. But who would use an Imperious Curse to frame Draco Malfoy?" On the other hand, Ron could name a few who would throw everything to the wind to do just that.
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She almost couldn't believe she was sitting here, going to him, of all people, for help. But a lot had changed since they were children.
"You ever see someone under the Imperious Curse? There's something dead behind their eyes," she told him. "And that just wasn't him- he's a prat but he was never a killer. He didn't have it in him."
She sighed, rubbing at the bridge of her nose.
"I'm still trying to figure that out," she said. "There's a bit of a laundry list- so many Death Eaters disappeared after the War. Any one of them could be seeking some sort of retribution. I mean, Draco and his mother got off fairly easily-"
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Was he actually sitting here with Cecilia Jacobs thinking about clearing Draco Malfoy? Was he in a blackout?
"Got off entirely, comparatively," Ron agreed. There was no shortage of Death Eaters still free, honestly. While everyone tended to stay on high alert for them, they were cold cases mostly handed over to the Hit Wizards unless they were actively involved in cases the Aurors got their hands on.
"Other than the eyes and knowing he doesn't have the stomach for mass murder, what else can you tell me?" The more he had, the better this would go.
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"He's terrified of fire-" she said, though there was an inflection in her voice at the end. "Ever since the Room of Requirements."
She looking up to Ron knowingly.
"And he was in my neighborhood," she continued. "Regardless of what happened between us, he'd never purposefully put me in harm's way. At the rate he was going before I stopped him, he'd have burned my flat down too-"
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He'd never try to kill Cecilia. Well. That wasn't too shocking, either. At the same time, though. "You have to admit there's an argument to be made that he knew you weren't there. Or that he's snapped and stopped caring." The look he gave her was slightly apologetic. It had to be said, though. If Malfoy decided to turn tables on her, people wouldn't be shocked. Ron might be, from what little he knew, but it was a hard case to make to anyone that wasn't him.
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But still, she didn't miss that look in his face.
"This may be hard to believe, but Draco was never as engaged in the War as his father was- he never stood behind the message-" she told Ron, pursing her lips. "He was pushed into this way of life to appease his father and keep his mother safe- but he never believed in bloody purity- neither of us did. It was why we stuck together-"
She sighed.
"I just don't believe that now, after all is said and done, he'd go after Muggles so.. blatantly."
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Then she made a good point. "It is a bit more public than something I'd expect someone who has to know they'd always be under a lot of scrutiny would actually try." That had stood out when Ron had first been briefed on it. It was all but closed, though, save tracking down the other two.
"When's the last time you saw him and didn't think he was being controlled?" It might not help much, but if Ron was going to be digging around - which included talking to Malfoy at some point - a timeline would be handy.
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She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to think back to the last time she saw Draco act like himself.
She frowned, "That might be hard to pinpoint. Ever since my attack, I've had a pretty spotty memory. There's some time missing and a few things aren't very clear-"
She leaned back against the chair, a fear she'd been keeping tucked into the back of her brain squirming its way to the front. The connection between their tattoos, the attack- it was all giving her a very uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"But maybe the reunion? He seemed... well, normal then?"
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"The reunion," Ron repeated. He didn't like that. It was a bit too far out for him. Too many variables could have popped up around then, what with years upon years of Hogwarts graduates converging at once and more than a few wayward witches and wizards deciding to stay. "Granted, it could have been turned off for that." No one would know, not really.
Not until someone started talking to Malfoy and hoped he wasn't currently being controlled or tipped his hand too far in one direction or the other.
"When you're under the Imperious Curse, how's your memory? Do you remember what was going on or is it a blackout? Or hard to even notice it's happened?" While Ron had heard the tales and knew the logistics, Cecilia was more likely to know if there had been little twists with the Curse, if they had semi-retired Death Eaters walking around controlling people they'd considered their own.
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And then she was waking up in St. Mungo's, only remembering a blank face with blond hair.
She blinked, realizing then, that Ron was talking to her.
"What?" she asked, before his words registered. "Oh- well, you know everything. You're just stuck in your head, watching and doing but never being able to control anything. And then you've got this voice in the back of your head-"
She exhaled, her head suddenly throbbing.
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