He'd been up half the night, strung out in his office, pushing through paperwork and working on any new leads he could find. The news of Dennis Creevey had hit Harry hard. He remembered just how bloody annoying he was while they were in school but he'd always been fond of him. Both the Creevey brothers. Now, he had to ring Colin up and explain to
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It was late.
Dark.
Candles lit the organic shape of his private baths as burning frankincense wafted through the dim candlelight, creating a subtle musk.
Draco had been taking some time to unwind, gently kicking his feet below the hot, bubbling water.
With his dry hand, he flicked his wand to turn the page of the floating book, reading from the olive tome he had been discussing with Mandy.
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"Punishment is for those who have committed a crime. And it is not your decision as to whether or not I have committed one, you are no rank of the Wizengamot, must I remind you Auror Potter? That you are only an extension of the law, a Super Citizen, and as that you are expected to uphold the rights of everyone under its jurisdiction, yes myself included, have you forgotten, innocent until proven guilty?"
He was incensed now, a pink blush coming to the surface of his skin as he'd rattled on.
"Have you found my kitchens to your liking?" He bit out.
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But then, here they were and Harry couldn't help but enjoy the blush creeping into Malfoy's skin.
"My, my, you're getting awfully worked up over a crime you didn't commit," he said. "I didn't realize one could blush around the-" he gestured to his chest before glancing around the kitchens once more.
"I do admit, it's not to my taste but I could see the appeal.."
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He turned on his heel and directed Harry out of the kitchens and into a hallway reaching his dining hall.
This incredible room contained all of the splendor that encompassed the Malfoy/Black fortune.
"Is this more what you were looking for?" Draco put a hand on the towel at his hips, standing aside to let Harry observe all that before him.
The room, obviously.
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Harry was, in fact, impressed. While he'd had a small fortune himself, his taste was never so grand. He was more of a minimalist, he supposed. But this - this was very nice. He turned toward Malfoy, his eyes flicking slightly to the towel and wondering how on Earth it was still hanging there.
It wasn't as if there was much to keep it up.
"This is probably your mother's handiwork, no?"
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Instead, given the circumstances, his lip twitched once.
"There was a time, once, when no event was safe from being outshown by the sunshine of my Mother's fine tastes."
He did not feel as if this was a particularly private admission. He felt as though any person that had attended even one of her many holiday events would agree with this same sentiment.
He glanced slowly around the room, his grey eyes filling with storm clouds.
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"It's a shame, then," he said, shaking his head with a deep sigh. "To have heard where she is-"
Locked up in the loony bin - he'd heard. Lucius apparently dead and Narcissa all but, it seemed.
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"But it does not arrest me to entertain any words with you of my Mother. I will not see you barge into my home in the wee night hours, personally disrespect me on my own property, only to follow up with mocking what is left of my family. I will be filing a report with the DMLE about our encounter tonight, so I would suggest that you continue to choose your words carefully."
The Slytherin coloured combination of their gazes crashed between them dangerously.
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And there it was.
"Mocking? Merlin's beard, Malfoy - that was certainly not my intention. Why, the respect I hold for your family-" he held his hand to his chest briefly before letting it drop to his side. "-Just knowing the hand they had in my parents' murder- well, how could I ever think of disrespecting them?"
He coughed out a harsh laugh.
"You can file a million reports Malfoy," he said. "But you'll have to know they won't do me any trouble or you any good. Like you said - I'm just an Auror. Do you think this my decision? To come here? And talk with you when I could be out? Or in, of course, with this fantastic woman who works at the pub right around the corner- bloody crazy in bed-"
He grinned.
"No, no- I'm just doing what I'm told, of course."
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He rounded in the spot and led Harry back through the foyer to the great staircase.
"You're advised to choose your words carefully and yet that is what you chose? How can you function in society? Is it quite hard?" He spoke as though he genuinely would like to know.
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But something was biting through at the man and Harry was intrigued.
"Oh, now you're just being sensitive," he said with a wave of his hand. "I came here tonight to do this the easy way-"
He cut himself off, pursing his lips in a straight line and showing Malfoy a hard stare.
"But if you refuse to give me an alibi here and now, you'll be hearing from the Wizengamot. They'll extract one from you by order of the court."
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"I know enough that i'll end up saying it, either here or in court, so let us get on with it. Get your quill ready,"
He stopped at the foot of his staircase, his arm reached out to the side as his balled fist landed for support on the newel post. He squared up his chest with a deep breath, his other arm resting on his hip,
"Mandy Brocklehurst and I were here, together."
He stated simply.
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"That's it?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. "You two were just here all day? And she'll attest to that?"
He wasn't aware that Malfoy and Mandy knew each other. Not like he knew Mandy all that well, himself- aside from biblical sense, of course. But he tried to push that from his head as he regarded the man across from him.
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He didn't move, just holding Harry's stare with his own.
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He nodded, making the note on the parchment.
"And before then?" he asked.
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"I had tea that morning over the paper, followed by tending to the business of the Malfoy Estate. I was in communication with Gringotts for a good portion of that morning," and hating to add, "discussing a discrepancy in one of my accounts. But I had not left my study until Mandy arrived that afternoon."
He cocked his head to one side,
"I work with Ragnok, the Head of Gringotts, only. We do business often. Perhaps now that i've spoken his name, he can receive a midnight visit? I'm positive he'd fancy that quite a bit."
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