“Jeremiah Rufflesius, you murdered Kenny Lee.”
Albus narrowed his eyes and looked menacingly at the black-and-white photo of Rufflesius that Bill had provided them with. The gaunt man leered back at him from the picture.
Scorpius rolled his eyes at his partner. “Seriously, Potter? Now you’re talking to a photo?”
“What, don’t you think this guy did it? I mean, look at him,” Albus replied, motioning towards the sunken cheeks and menacing-looking, black eyes. “He could easily be our guy!”
“There’s practically no evidence he’s the murderer!” Scorpius said heatedly.
“What about Uncle Bill’s statement? Rufflesius threatened to kill Kenny, and a week later, the guy ends up dead. I hope you’re not planning to tell me it’s a coincidence. ”
Scorpius sighed. It had been two days since they had learned about Rufflesius from Bill, but the Aurors hadn’t been able to track him down. Albus and Scorpius were sitting in Albus’ office, poring through Rufflesius’ documents, trying to work out where he might have gone. So far, they had found nothing. It was as if the man had vanished from the face of the earth.
Scorpius ran a hand through his sleek, blond hair. He had to admit, Albus did have a point. If he hadn’t murdered Kenny, then why did Kenny ended up dead a few days after Rufflesius had threatened him to murder him the same way that he was found dead? And why had Rufflesius gone missing the very same day that Kenny had died?
“He hasn’t been to work,” Albus reeled off; he’d been chanting the same mantra all morning, “and his name isn’t on the St Mungo’s register, meaning he’s not ill. They’ve been sending him owls from work every day and he hasn’t replied to any of them. His house was found locked when the Aurors went to haul him out. If he didn’t do it, then why the hell did he scarper?”
Scorpius had no answer to that question, however. “Let’s go and ask his family,” he suggested, finding nothing else to say. “Who’s listed as his next of kin?”
“Sandra Finn, his sister,” Albus replied promptly. He had even the minute details memorised, having gone through the papers at least ten times. “Lives in Canterbury.”
“Didn’t he have a wife?”
“Deceased. She died in an accident in Egypt, but nothing else about the incident is mentioned. ”
Scorpius nodded. “Let’s go and check out the sister. If luck favours, we’ll finally find him.”
An hour later, they were sitting in the Finns’ living room. The room was rather cramped and small, and some of the white paint was peeling off the walls, revealing the grey plaster underneath. The wooden floorboards, though kept clean, squeaked whenever stepped on. The only furniture in the room was a shabby sofa set and a wooden coffee table. The house, though rather old and poorly furnished, seemed to be well cared for; Albus thought it rather felt like he was in The Burrow.
The owner of the house came in from the kitchen, carrying two cups of tea, which she set on the coffee table. Mrs Finn was a thin, red-headed young woman with kind, brown eyes. She wore threadbare robes, on top of which she had put on a tattered, flowery apron. smiling nervously, she sat down on the armchair, facing them.
Albus and Scorpius took their cups of tea. Albus took a sip and grimaced; the tea tasted rather watery.
“Sorry, my tea isn’t the best,” Mrs Finn admitted, noticing Albus’ expression. Albus, always the polite one, immediately put on a fake smile, insisting that the tea was actually rather good.
“Mrs Finn,” Scorpius said, once Albus had successfully convinced the woman, “do you know where your brother is?”
“Jeremiah?” she asked, sounding slightly worried. “Why? Isn’t he at his house?”
Scorpius shook his head. “He’s not answering our owls and his house is locked. He hasn’t come to work, either. We think he’s on the run after murdering one of his co-workers, Kenny Lee.”
“What?” she said, looking shocked. “Ken... no, Jerry wouldn’t do such a thing!”
“He threatened to split Mr Lee’s head open,” Albus put in. “And Mr Lee was found dead after a fatal blow to his head. I think it all adds up.”
“Just because my brother threatened someone doesn’t mean he’d actually go ahead and do it!”Mrs Finn replied, flaring up. Her eyes, which had been kind and warm a few seconds ago, suddenly seemed fierce. “He just... he had reasons!”
“Why would he threaten to kill someone?” Albus countered. “What good reason does he have?”
Mrs Finn took a deep breath and looked away, apparently pondering whether or not to tell them. Finally, she sighed and replied, “Jerry’s wife, Enid, died in a pyramid in Egypt when they went holidaying there last month. One of the curses on the tomb killed her the moment she accidentally touched the sarcophagus of the Pharaoh, though there was a sign forbade anyone to do it. Kenny Lee was the curse-breaker responsible for the tomb, and he had failed to remove that deadly curse. Jerry believed it was his fault.”
“Kenny was transferred here from Egypt three weeks ago,” Scorpius muttered to Albus.
“I’m telling you, Jerry was angry, but he wouldn’t murder the man!” Mrs Finn said in a pleading voice.
“I understand,” Scorpius said calmly. “If you want to prove him innocent, please tell us where he is.”
The woman sighed. “I don’t know,” she said dejectedly, looking close to tears. “Jerry didn’t tell me anything about where he was going. He just came in two nights ago, looking totally dishevelled, like he’d just gone through hell. I guess... now I know why. My husband wasn’t home at the time. All Jerry said was, ‘Sandra, I’m in trouble. I don’t know when this will be over. Just pray.’ And he Disapparated before I could say a word,” she finished with a sob.
“So you don’t know where he is?” Scorpius repeated.
Mrs Finn shook her head. “No,” she replied, sniffing.
“Did he have anywhere to go? A country house?”
“Auror Malfoy, we are poor people,” Mrs Finn said, suddenly looking at Scorpius with a stony gaze. Scorpius realised his mistake and averted his gaze. “We don’t have country houses or anything. All our money goes into just feeding ourselves, not useless spending that people like you can afford. ”
Scorpius mumbled an apology.
Suddenly, an idea hit Albus. “Mrs Finn,” he said, standing up. “Where exactly did he Disapparate?”
“There,” she replied, pointing at a spot near the sofa.
Albus went and stood in the spot she had mentioned. “Here?” he asked. The woman nodded.
Albus took out his wand and rotated it in a perfect circle around the position he was in, muttering incantations. A thin strand of silver light shot out of his wand and twisted around him, shimmering. Silver sparks shot out of his wand and formed a bright dome that hovered above his head.
Scorpius gaped at his partner. “What the hell are you doing?”
“ Rivelano portale... it’s something that reveals the last destination of Apparition,” Albus said between incantations. “ Portarmi Avanti... Monstrare Velit... Aunt Hermione invented this spell. Once it’s done, we’ll Apparate exactly to where Rufflesius went to.”
Mrs Finn looked at him, horrified that she had probably revealed to the Aurors, albeit unknowingly, her brother’s location.
“Wow,” Scorpius muttered. “Sometimes, I don’t even know what my mother-in-law is capable of.”
Once Albus was finished, the circular patch of wood beneath his feet vanished; he seemed to be standing on bright, white light only. It was an odd feeling, Albus thought, to be levitating in thin air.
“Are you coming, or what?” he said to Scorpius. Scorpius hurried over to the disc of light and stepped into it, realising that he had sunk about an inch into the floor.
“Please, my brother didn’t do anything. Don’t harm him,” Mrs Finn was pleading.
Scorpius nodded slightly. “Don’t worry, we won’t. Thank you.”
With a loud crack, the two Aurors Disapparated from the small room, leaving behind a stunned Mrs Finn.
A Touch of Ice by majestic_ginny
Chapter Notes: Gazillion thanks to Soraya (babewithbrains) for being a super-fast and amazing beta.
Rivelano portale: reveal the portal
Portarmi Avanti: bring forward
Monstrare velit: show the destination
I am not, and never will be, JKR.
Chapter Endnotes: Do you think Jerry did it? Review me your thoughts! --Nadia