(Untitled)

[dmalfoy_purbld]

Characters: Draco Malfoy and Jewllian Mayfair
Date/Time: Friday, early afternoon
Location: Mayfair Manor
Rating: PG

Comments

[bleedtotouch]

It would take a few moments before any movement could be heard within the house. Had Giada been there, it would have taken a matter of moments. She was gone, however. Jewllian had sent her from the small house hours ago, annoyed by her constant tries at conversation that day. Until Draco’s knock on the door, the house had been blissfully silent, giving Jewllian ample time and the ability to concentrate on the paperwork the elder Mr. Mayfair had bestowed upon him.

The heavy wooden door was pulled open, the hinges creaking just a little. Jewlllian had made a mental note to fix that dozens of times, but never found the interest. There was always something more important, or more entertaining.

If he hadn’t been expecting Lucius’ son, he would have suspected the man of taking a reverse aging potion. It caused him to pause, blinking at the boy on his stoop. The moment passed quickly, however, and he opened the door widely, inviting him in.

“Draco Malfoy, I presume.”

[dmalfoy_purbld]

Draco nodded, "Yes." It was a simple statement, though he wasn't sure how much it meant anymore.

He entered the house, the papers held close to him. "Thank you for seeing me, Mr Mayfair."

THough the gratitude was a formality. After all, he was paying dearly for this consultation. Still, the bloody device had to go. And the fact he'd gotten it because of curfew just might be enough to get him off it quickly. Well, perhaps he was being overly optimistic.

[bleedtotouch]

A small noise of acknowledgement was given at his thanks. He waited until the boy was inside before shutting the door behind him. “This way,” he murmured, stepping around Draco to lead him to the office at their left. That door, too, was held open and closed behind him. If Giada came home, he didn’t want to know.

Tea had already been laid out at the edge of his desk on a small tray. His cup had already been poured and set near his chair. He would say that he’d done it for Draco, to be a polite host, but it would be a lie. It was merely last a last moment thing that he had remembered to grab a second cup. If it was for his guest, he’d have likely brewed something other than oolong.

“Tell me,” Jewllian started, taking a seat in his chair behind the desk, “Why was it you were put on the registry?” The papers he’d been working on for Lucius were shuffled off into organized piles to the side so he’d have a clean workspace for the ones Draco held.

[dmalfoy_purbld]

Draco followed his host to the office quietly. Once there, he stood as Jewllian took a seat. He set the papers on the desk.

"I was placed on the Registry due to suspicion of Death Eater activity and my father's Death Eater status."

He poured himself a tea and sat down in the chair opposite. He had to trust in Mayfair's abilities. Others had gotten off the Registry. Certainly, he could turn his little insanity regarding Potter over a year ago to his benefit. Yes?

[bleedtotouch]

Jewllian’s eyebrow rose slowly. Pardoned but still guilty. He would have liked to believe that was the reason for the other’s stiff demeanor, but Jewllian was quite sure he was born that way. Still, he filed that away in his mind. Though it would definitely need to be expanded upon, it might have use for a later defense.

He leaned back in his chair, his hands folding across his lap as he studied the boy for a long few moments. He considered asking if he was a Death Eater. He didn’t, though, even if his expression begged the question. If the answer was yes, he wouldn’t have ever been able to speak for his own defense if they planned to say otherwise. No need to give the ministry a head start.

“What evidence do you have contrary to ‘like father, like son’?” Jewllian asked finally.

[dmalfoy_purbld]

Draco took a sip of his tea in silence while Jewllian stared at him. Not skilled in Legilimency, Draco satisfied himself with his own fancies as to what the other man might be thinking. Here he was, twenty-one, Registered for offenses not his own, and now granted a tracking device for being slightly slack on his curfew.

He sighed at the question. So was he to incriminate his father worse to gain his own freedom? Perhaps there were ways to use simple facts to his advantage.

In response, he set his tea down on the desk and pulled up his left sleeve. "Shall we start with this?" he asked blandly, his eyes indicating his bare arm. He could pull out the other slices as necessary.

[bleedtotouch]

Jewllian’s eyes fell to the bared forearm. He didn’t lean forward to closely inspect it, but regarded it with a general disinterest. He wasn’t particularly knowledgeable in the ways of the Death Eaters. He could have pretended to inspect his arm for signs of the Dark Mark, but he wouldn’t know what it was he should be looking for.

“It could be argued that you simply hadn’t received your mark yet.” He spoke finally. “The absence of something is subjective.”

When he did lean forward, it was to pull a cigarette from the small tin near the inkwell in his desk. It was a little longer than most cigarettes and looked a bit like a skinny cigar, the brown paper easily spotted as hand-wrapped. “Do you mind?” Jewllian asked, though he was already picking up the nearby matches.

[dmalfoy_purbld]

Draco wanted to take the man by the throat and shake him for his indifference. He was paying this peon far too much to expect indifference. Still, he simply lowered his sleeve.

"The absence though does indicate I never performed acts worthy of it." He shuddered involuntarily at the results of his failure as they swam in his mind briefly.

"No, not at all. Please." he motioned with his hand then picked up his tea again.

"I have been fully cooperative, including voluntarily Registering. I was with the Order when the war ended."

[bleedtotouch]

The matchbox was cast aside as he took a deep inhale from the cigarette. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth, seeing the shudder from the boy. “Like father, like son” was always an argument that had more weight than people were inclined to believe. Any man who knew his father knew what a shiver like that meant.

Jewllian exhaled the smoke that had been held in his lungs. Member of the Order. There was something he could use. He leaned forward, waving the cloud of sweet smelling smoke from the air between them.

“Is there any proof of that in here?” Jewllian asked, gesturing to the pile of papers on his desk, the various bands and bracelets shifting about his wrists as he did so.

[dmalfoy_purbld]

Proof of the Order? He was mad.

"Among the visitors I received while at St Mungo's are Remus Lupin, Harry Potter, Ginevra Weasley." He offered. "The medical records should show that."

Of course, they also showed that he was released into the care of Severus Snape, which was both blessing and curse under such circumstances. Still, a spy for the Order was still an Order member.

"I am certain I can get verbal testimony from them if necessary." Please don't let this be necessary. Please?

[bleedtotouch]

The cigarette was placed back between his lips as he began to look through the papers, searching out those medical records. They weren’t hard to find. He didn’t bother reading them. Instead he searched out the list of visitors, if any.

Plain enough, they were there. A list and the number of visits recorded while he was admitted. Jewllian smiled to himself, removing the cigarette from his mouth after taking another drag. Strategy for his defense was already beginning to build in his defense. It would be an easy enough case to win, if arranged properly.

“It will go a long way in clearing your name.” Jewllian mentioned, flipping through a few other papers.

[dmalfoy_purbld]

Draco watched him filter through the papers; his breath barely enough to exchange oxygen for him. Finally, with the commentary, he exhaled. Something he could hope for.

Perhaps this man would be worth the galleons after all.

And now for the fun part.

"You will note that I have recently been granted a Ministerial tracking device. Despite all of my cooperation, I missed curfew twice, and each time by less than half an hour. I have committed no other infractions."

He sat back waiting for the response.

[bleedtotouch]

Draco’s statement didn’t bother Jewllian in the least. Not a flinch, not even a look up at him. Instead he brought his cigarette to his lips once more before setting it in a nearby ash tray.

“What were you doing?”

[dmalfoy_purbld]

Draco knew the was coming. He had steeled himself for the disclosure.

"The first time I was spending an evening with Evie Moon at her shop on Diagon Alley. That was in November. Most recently I was running an errand for Severus Snape regarding Healer Weasley."

He finished his tea and set it down on the desk, leaning back and lacing his fingers together.

"Evie is reachable by owl. She has moved to France, and Healer Weasley will testify to the nature of our encounter."

He hated that his freedom might be dependent upon Weasley and Potter. What cruel irony in the world.

Still another testimony that the world was upside down.

[bleedtotouch]

“Healer Weasley?” Jewllian asked, finally looking up to him with a raised eyebrow. He’d never paid much attention to the Weasley family. It was, however, rather common knowledge that there were more than a fair handful of them. “Healer Weasley” wasn’t a helpful term.

“Miss Moon doesn’t have any affiliation with Death Eaters, does she?” The question had to be asked.

The papers, for now, were left alone in favor of his quill. He wrote a few notes to himself on a nearby pad. Names mostly, though Draco wouldn’t likely be able to see what he was writing anyways.

[dmalfoy_purbld]

Draco took a deep breath. "Healer Weasley is Miss Ginevra Weasley." He was inordinately proud of himself that he hadn't faltered in stating her name.

"No, Evie has no affiliation. She is not on the Registry, nor was her family ever considered for it."

He hadn't thought about that being helpful for him at the time. Only that she was beautiful, witty, adaptive, ambitious-- he stopped that line of thought.

Watching Jewllian, he became very aware of how much effort this was truly going to take.

"I can testify that I have not been involved in nor aware of any potential Death Eater plots or resurgence conversations."

He needed to make it so that his entire case did not rest on the generosity of Lupin, Potter and Weasley. Merlin have mercy.