–Well, well, well,†Albus said scornfully, stepping into the extended room, his wand pointed at the gaunt man. Scorpius followed him in, his own wand raised.–Jeremiah Rufflesius... what a pleasure.â€
Rufflesius looked up, his eyes fixed on Albus in terror. His dark brown hair was far more dishevelled than in the picture the Aurors had of him, not to mention the fact that he was thinner and looked extremely pale. His cheek bones were jutting out, and his limbs looked no thicker than sticks. He looked as though he hadn’t eaten anything for the past two days.
–What - who - who are you?†he said, his voice gravelly, looking from Albus to Scorpius apprehensively.
–Aurors,†Albus replied carelessly. –Put your hands up where I can see them. Do not reach for your wand.â€
Wide-eyed, Rufflesius raised his hands. His beady, black eyes darted from Albus to Scorpius to the door, searching for any way to escape. There weren’t any chances of that, however; even if he managed to dodge the first Auror, the second one would get to him.
Scorpius silently summoned Rufflesius’ wand, catching it gracefully with his Keeper’s skills as it flew towards him in an arc, and pocketed it. Stepping forwards, his wand raised, he said, –Jeremiah Rufflesius, you are under arrest for the murder of Kenny Lee.â€
Rufflesius’ eyes widened. ––What? I didn’t murder -â€
–You have the right to -â€
–No, really! I thought you got me for -â€
But before he could speak any further, ropes flew out of Albus’ wand and wrapped themselves tightly around Rufflesius. Unable to keep a balance, he toppled over and fell sideways with a dull thud, his head hitting the floor hard. Rufflesius yelled in pain and writhed on the ground like a helpless caterpillar.
Albus lowered his wand. –Make another sound and I’ll gag you too,†he said through gritted teeth.
Unarmed and outnumbered, Rufflesius realized that there was no use struggling. He stopped moving and lay limp.
–That’s better,†Scorpius said. –Come on now, you’re going with us to the Ministry for questioning. Locomotor Mortis.†Scorpius lifted his wand and Rufflesius’ tied up body started to hover a few feet over the ground. With his wand, he directed the prisoner towards the door. Albus went first and Rufflesius drifted along behind him, while Scorpius brought up the rear.
–So that’s another case solved,†Albus said cheerfully as he strutted down the flight of stairs. The termite-infested wooden steps creaked loudly beneath their feet.
–We still have to question him, don’t forget that,†Scorpius reminded him. –There are chances we might end up with a new lead.â€
Even though Rufflesius didn’t speak, he nodded fervently.
–I don’t think so,†Albus replied, completely ignoring the bound man. –There’s enough evidence against him to send him off to Azkaban for a long time. Add in the drugs and he might be looking at a life sentence.â€
Scorpius still had a nagging feeling in his stomach that it wasn’t over. He was sure they were overlooking something very big... he just couldn’t put his finger on it. There was a huge flaw in the case somewhere. He started to have doubts that Rufflesius was their real man.
As they neared the door, they could again hear the faint buzzing noise coming from the curtains. Knowing that it was probably full of Doxies, Scorpius veered away from it. But he hadn’t noticed the mischievous glint in Rufflesius’ eyes. In one fluid motion, Rufflesius struck Albus with a massive head-butt and knocked him hard into the curtains. Albus let out a muffled yell as he fell backwards, his eyes wide in surprise. In an instant, an angry swarm of the dark, pixie-like creatures shot out of the curtain; spotting Albus, they darted towards him and enveloped him. Albus’ wand clattered uselessly to the floor. –Aaaarrrghh!†he yelled as the Doxies clawed at every inch of his body they could find. –Malfoy!â€
Instinctively, Scorpius raised his wand towards the Doxies, unaware that in doing so he had broken the spell on Rufflesius. Free from both spells, Rufflesius let out a lunatic cackle, and looking victorious, he made a run for the door.
Scorpius, however, was too preoccupied with the Doxies to notice. –Stupefy!†he yelled. A red jet shot out of his wand and hit a few of the Doxies, which dropped to the floor like a rock. –Impedimenta! Immobilus!†Scorpius kept on shouting the various spells that flew through his mind, though only a few Doxies were hit at once. Albus continued to shriek in agony as he shielded his face with one arm and tried to knock the Doxies off with the others. Stopping the attack, Scorpius bent down to pick up Albus’ wand, which was lying uselessly at his feet. Whipping out Rufflesius’ wand, the one they had Disarmed off him, Scorpius pointed all three wands at the Doxies. If one didn’t work, maybe the combined effort of all three would.
–STUPEFY! â€
The whole room was filled with blinding light as a wave of red sparks shot out of the wands and enveloped the Doxies. In a split second, all the creatures fell to the floor with loud thumps, exposing a bloody and bruised Albus.
The Auror slumped to the floor, panting heavily. –Th-thanks,†he gasped.
Scorpius, however, threw Albus’ wand at him and sprinted out of the door, yelling, –Pick your arse up and come on!â€
Cursing, Albus pulled himself up and dashed after Scorpius.
Running into the fields outside, Scorpius scanned the valleys below. There was no sign of Rufflesius anywhere; the man had just disappeared. –Fuck!†Scorpius yelled.
Panting, Albus arrived by his side. –He... he Disapparated?â€
–Yeah,†Scorpius said, kicking the ground. –He’s gone and we have no bloody way to trace him!â€
–Aunt Hermione’s spell won’t work; we don’t know exactly where he Disapparated,†Albus said, slumping down on the ground.
–Way to state the obvious,†Scorpius said roughly. –It’s your fault he’s escaped, Potter. If you knew how to defend yourself from those bloody Doxies, he wouldn’t have got the chance! What a Deputy Head you are... whose brilliant idea was it, anyway?â€
Albus, however, had a strange glint in his eye. –Dad didn’t hand me the post for nothing, though.â€
–You let the git escape, Potter.â€
–That’s what you think, Malfoy,†Albus said smugly. He pulled out his wand and muttered, –Umbrius.â€. In a second, a smoky, map-like object appeared, and it had a bright red dot right in the centre. –There he is.â€
–But - how?†Scorpius stared at the red dot, which was blinking. Around it, the scenery changed constantly.
–Right when we caught him, I placed a tracking charm on him just in case he managed to scarper.â€
Scorpius was impressed at Albus’ handiwork. –Really?â€
–Yeah. And just for the record, the panel gave a unanimous vote. They thought they might be able to get inyo Dad’s good books if they voted for his son. Come on now,†he added, beckoning for Scorpius to come closer. –We’d better follow him before he goes any further. Grab my arm.â€
Scorpius did as he was told. Albus touched the tiny red dot and closed his eyes. In a split second, the valley and the ivy-covered house vanished.
Unlike the sensation of being sucked through a rubber tube like that of Apparition, they felt as if they were being scrambled into a million pieces as they were transported through space at a speed faster than light. The Aurors couldn’t feel their arms or legs; they couldn’t feel anything. After a few seconds, the queer sensation came to an end as Albus and Scorpius felt themselves reassemble, and they landed in a heap on a cobbled walkway.
Albus got up and brushed the dust off his robes, looking around. They were in a small village of some sort. Dingy, mismatched buildings lined the street they were standing in, some of them boarded up while others had their curtains drawn firmly over the windows. There was an eerie silence. The sky overhead was murky and cloudy, making the whole place look like something out of a classic Muggle horror movie.
–So Rufflesius came here,†Scorpius stated, looking around.
–Looks like the place a criminal would go to,†Albus said, scrunching up his nose.
Ignoring Albus, Scorpius began to walk, looking closely at the buildings. Albus followed suit.
–Maybe we should begin asking around?†Albus suggested.
–If we could only find some people to ask,†Scorpius said. –Where is everyone? It’s still broad daylight and there’s not a soul in sight!â€
–We can try out there,†Albus said, pointing at a dingy pub. The Witch’s Brew, read a small sign in front. Albus could sense magical traces on and around it; it was most probably hidden from any Muggles around.
Scorpius nodded. The two Aurors made their way towards the termite-eaten, wooden front door. The door handles were rusty and the paint was peeling off the walls of the pub. A low rumbling noise was coming through the door; there seemed to be a small crowd congregated inside.
Albus pushed the door open. The moment the two Aurors stepped in, a hush fell over the crowd as they all looked around to stare at them. There were around twenty men inside, ranging from scruffy teenagers to men in their fifties. The only noise was emanating from a radio on the counter: a commentary from the latest Quidditch match - Appleby Arrows versus Puddlemere United.
–Who are yeh?†the barman, a gruff looking man with a wheezy voice, demanded. –You ain’t from around ’ere.â€
–No, we’re not,†Scorpius said authoritatively, walking over to the counter. He flashed his badge and said, –We’re Aurors. We want to know if you’ve seen this man.†He took out the picture of Rufflesius from his robes and showed it to the barman, who scrutinised it closely.
–I ain’t seen ’im around,†he grunted. –None of us ’ave.â€
–How are you sure?†Albus pressed on. –Someone must have -â€
–I told yeh!†The barman bellowed, looking mad. Albus’s eyed widened. –Everyone knows each other ’ere! If there’s any new bloke aroun’, I woulda know it!â€
Scorpius seemed to have a hard time controlling his temper, his hand twitching inside his robes as if he was about to reach for his wand. –Very well,†he said through gritted teeth. –Did anyone come into the village today, except us?â€
The man scratched his unshaved chin for a while before grunting in affirmation.
–Who?†Albus pressed urgently. If it was Rufflesius -
CRASH.
Instinctively, Albus turned around and drew his wand, followed immediately by Scorpius. What happened next was a blur. One moment, a man had upturned the table he had been sitting in, trapping a fellow customer underneath, who yelped in surprise. The next moment, Scorpius had been whacked to the ground, his attacker sprinting out of the door.
–What the -â€
Without pausing, Albus dashed outside, running as fast as he could. The dark figure was only a few feet away, looking over his shoulders as he ran. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, Albus pointed his wand at the figure and yelled, –Stupefy!†at the top of his voice.
The spell hit the man squarely in the small of his back as he crumpled to the floor, sending up a puff of sand and dust. Albus skidded to a halt beside him and fell to his knees, panting heavily.
Just underneath the wig of golden blond hair was the face of Jeremiah Rufflesius.
–So we meet again,†Albus said, pointing his wand at the bridge of his nose.
–I’m telling you, I didn’t kill anyone!†Rufflesius gasped, going cross-eyed as he tried to look at the tip of Albus’ wand.
–Why did you run away then, eh?†Albus said venomously. Scorpius had come up beside him, his wand pointed at Rufflesius too.
–Come on, you,†he said, pulling Rufflesius up by the collar. Scorpius brought his arms behind him, and with his wand he conjured a thin band of yellow light that clasped around Rufflesius’ wrists like handcuffs. –You’re coming with us to the Ministry of Magic.â€
A Touch of Ice by majestic_ginny
Chapter Notes: Firstly I'd like to apologise profusely for the long wait. My exams are over (finally!) and now I"m back to writing. I've got this story sorted out and the remaining stuff is almost written, so you can expect updates much quicker. There are just two or three more chapters left now. In the meantime, I'll go edit some parts of the previous chapters, adding in some more details.
I'm not JKR. Period.
Chapter Endnotes: Reviews please! --Nadia