Chapter 5
Hermione paced in her office for several minutes before she worked up the courage to text Malfoy.
Hermione: Have there been any updates on the case?
There. That was simple enough. Clear, direct, to the point, and it didn’t bring up the awkward encounter from after lunch.
Malfoy: Nothing that needs your attention at this time.
Hermione: What does that mean? I thought we called a truce.
Malfoy: It means that while the case has had some recent developments, I do not currently need you as an advocate.
Hermione: I think I should be aware of any developments in the case. It isn’t in your authority to determine whether or not I’m needed.
Malfoy: No? If it isn’t in the Lead Auror’s authority, whose would it be?
Hermione: Mine. As a representative for the centaurs, I am the only one who can deem what is necessary information for me to have.
Malfoy: That hardly says checks and balances.
Hermione: Malfoy, just tell me what developments there have been.
Malfoy: Come to my office. I’d rather hash this out in person than continue to endure the looks I’m getting for having a lion roaring in my office repeatedly.
Hermione: You didn’t actually put that sound as my personal notification tone, did you?
Malfoy: If you want updates on the case, you’ll have to come up here.
Feeling slightly like a dog being summoned, Hermione made her way to the DMLE offices. Her arrival was much more dignified than her last visit, and she even waved hello to several Aurors she knew. She knocked on Malfoy’s door and waited for his cool invitation to enter.
“Granger.” Malfoy greeted her.
“What updates?” Hermione jumped straight to the chase.
Sighing, Malfoy stood and walked to the tea kettle in the corner. “Would you prefer tea or coffee?”
“Malfoy. The updates.” Hermione tacked on a belated, “Please.”
“When I ran into you, Theo, and Pansy earlier I was just getting back from a second crime scene.”
“And you didn’t think that needed my attention? Malfoy, I’ll need to contact the herd! This is the exact situation that I’m needed for!” Hermione crossed her arms.
“Actually, you won’t need to speak to the herd seeing as there isn’t one.” Malfoy was still working on the tea with his back to her.
“What do you mean there isn’t one?”
Malfoy brought the tray back to his desk and sank smoothly into his chair. “The second body was found in Ashdown Forest. There is no herd documented in that area. Potter and I both checked.”
“Then how was there a centaur body found in that location?” Hermione puzzled over that. “And why didn’t you call me out to set up the perimeter wards?”
Malfoy poured tea into two cups. “Potter was already there and set up the wards himself. We have the situation handled.”
Hermione accepted the second cup from him, and took a sip. It had been sugared exactly the way she liked it. “Were there any differences to the first murder?”
“The location, obviously. Wounds inflicted seemed to be similar besides the placement of the runes.”
“What was different about the runes?”
Malfoy looked at Hermione over his tea before setting the cup down and pointing his wand at the wall behind her. Hermione turned to look at the photographic evidence that had just appeared, all pinned to the wall neatly. She studied the left hand side of the wall, which contained the information from the first body before moving on to the right side and the second body.
“Oh, I see. The runes went from random placement to a single row and a circle. That rune there is for ‘release,’ and the one next to it is ‘remove.’” She pointed at the circle.
“Yes, I’d deciphered those already. The entire circle all contains elements of removal or extracting something.” Malfoy stood and joined her in front of the wall.
“What about the ones in a row?” Hermione’s mind was spinning with possibilities.
“Those ones are trickier. I’m actually waiting on Pot—” Malfoy cut off his sentence as his office door opened. “Speak of the devil.”
Harry entered with his head down looking at several sheets of paper. “Malfoy, I’ve got those requests approved. Some of these texts are fucked up. The Ancient Arts of Blood Magic. Runes for Mastering Control. Sacred Dark Magic to Conquer. Seriously, who the hell–’Mione.” Harry had finally looked up and noticed her standing in Malfoy’s office.
“Hello, Harry.” Hermione didn’t know what to do with her hands besides wrap them around her teacup.
“Are you here because of the case?” Harry’s eyebrows rose.
“No, I’m here to talk to Malfoy about wand core lore.” She said sarcastically. “Of course I’m here for the case. Malfoy was just showing me the runes on the bodies and how they’re placed differently the second time.”
“Right. Of course. I’ll just leave these papers with you then, Malfoy. I’m sure you two have things handled.” Harry cleared his throat. “Mione, you’ll be at the Quidditch match tomorrow, yeah?”
“Yes, Harry. I’m always there.” Hermione set down her cup and prepared to make her exit as well.
Once Harry had gone, she turned back to Malfoy. They both started speaking at the same time.
“Those books aren’t—” he said.
“I’m sure you’re very–” Hermione gestured towards his desk.
“I only need them for the case.” Malfoy explained.
“Understood. I’ll just be going though. I have plenty of my own research to get done. See you around.” Hermione turned to walk towards the door.
“Here, allow me.” Malfoy’s long stride made it to the door before her, and he opened it for her.
Slightly taken aback, as this was the second time Malfoy had done this, Hermione offered a quiet, “Thank you.” And went back to her office.
Hermione sometimes thought that when you have already looked into a subject multiple times it was best to start over with the basics. So she sat down with her personal copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She didn’t want to dismiss any details as insignificant this time.
“Centaurs are a species of Magical Beast, with a Ministry classification of XXXX.” She read aloud. She found the practice helpful when she needed to not gloss over anything. “They appear to have the head, torso, and arms of a human, which is then joined to the lower body of a horse. Despite being classified as having near-human intelligence,” Hermione rolled her eyes, “They possess a deep understanding of magical healing, archery, Divination, and Astronomy.”
“Never try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur.”
“He is peddling our knowledge and secrets among humans. There can be no return from such disgrace.”
“Our intelligence far outstrips your own!”
Hermione’s memory could be both a blessing and a curse. She could recall most things she read, and the traumatic experiences in her life had left deep imprints. She often wished for a Pensieve so she could store her memories like Dumbledore once had.
“Magical healing, archery, Divination, and Astronomy.” She repeated the phrase to herself again as she tapped a sugar quill against some parchment. The quill was one small indulgence she allowed for herself. “Are any of those things so unique to centaurs that it could be the motive for murder? What are the runes being used to remove?”
She didn’t think Astronomy could be the motive, nor archery. That left Divination and healing. But there were so many other avenues of obtaining those two things, they were unlikely as well. Was there a link between healing and Divination? She didn’t know. And she hated not knowing. Tucking the sugar end of the quill into her mouth, she went back to reading.
Draco didn’t know why he’d needed to justify the books to Granger. The subject was runes, his murder victims were covered in runes, it was self-explanatory. But he’d seen the look on her face when Potter said the titles, and it seemed to remind her of his sordid past. She couldn’t have gotten away from him quickly enough.
He was already on his way down to the Archives. The sooner this case was closed, the sooner he wouldn’t have to deal with Granger anymore. Her opinion of him didn’t matter anyway.
“Draco? Twice in one day. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Theo had, of course, spotted him the moment Draco stepped into the Archives.
“Unfortunately, I can’t have you help me on this one. I’ll need the Head Archivist on duty.” Draco was familiar enough with the process of reviewing Dark texts that he knew Theo wouldn’t be allowed to touch them without approval either.
“Oh. One of those types of requests then.” Theo shook his head. “One of the many stipulations placed on the reformed criminals. ‘No two accused persons may view restricted materials at the same time.’” He quoted.
“Ten years of good behavior still isn’t enough proof, apparently. I’ll head over to the section I need, if you could find someone to help me.” Draco clapped Theo on the shoulder and strode to the back of the room where the books he needed were kept under wards and enchantments.
“Mr Malfoy, how can I help you today?” A stern voice said from behind him.
Draco turned around to see a balding man with large square glasses perched on the end of his nose. “Walter, pleasure to see you again. I have a list of books that I’ll need to review.” Draco handed the older man the approved paperwork.
“As is required of me, I will now recite the rules regarding restricted Dark Arts texts. First, the texts are not to leave this room. Second, the texts may not be copied or replicated in any way. Third, no photographs may be taken of the texts. Fourth, you assume personal responsibility for the risks the books may pose to your person. Fifth, the texts will not be permitted to be viewed by anyone other than the name marked on these approval forms. Sixth, and finally, any illegal use of the information gleaned in these texts will have swift, immediate, and irrevocable consequences. Do you understand these rules and agree to abide by them?” Walter looked winded after reciting all of that, but he and Draco had been through this process enough times that the older wizard knew what the answer would be. He was also impressed to see that the young man, given his past, had never once broken any of the rules regarding the restricted texts.
Draco verbally confirmed, “I understand and agree.” This was all standard procedure for any restricted materials, but he knew that the ‘swift, immediate, and irrevocable consequences’ would be much harsher for a former Death Eater.
“I’ll leave you to it then. Let me know when you’re done, or if you need any help.” Walter walked away.
Draco had brought his own notes with him on which runes he was looking for. He’d been able to decipher all seven runes in the circle, but the five in the row were proving more difficult. He was sure none of them had been covered in their Hogwarts Ancient Runes curriculum, as they all seemed to be Dark in nature.
Pulling Ancient Arts of Blood Magic off the shelf, Draco begins to flip through the pages. The beginning of the book contains blood rituals he’s already familiar with, like property wards and marriage binding ceremonies. There are rituals using blood and runes for house Elf ownership (all his Elves were free now), cursing objects so certain bloodlines cannot touch them (which reminded him to double check that he’d removed all of those curses from the contents of his library at the Manor), and even to ensure that a male heir is born to ensure the family name continues on (which most definitely had occurred in the Malfoy line.) As he progresses though, the contents turn decidedly more sinister.
Draco is repulsed when he finds a ritual to bind another human to perpetual service of the caster, even ensuring the ghost remained on in service. He finds runes that aid in the dampening of another witch’s or wizard’s magical strength. And he finds curses that will send a shock through the body if one attempts to use a wand. Disgust fills him when he considers the implications of that particular curse making it into the hands of people like his father and Voldemort.
As he scans through the pages, he comes across one of the runes he hadn’t been able to readily identify. The symbol meant ‘lasting’ or ‘sustain,’ which was at odds with the removal runes. It was typically used in wards to keep the magic fueled without draining the original caster.
The second symbol he came across was for ‘transferring,’ typically used in passing the property and protection from the head of the family to the heir. So if both of these symbols were typically used for family properties and inheritance, why in the fuck would they be carved onto Centaur carcasses?
Rubbing a hand across his jaw, Draco wrote down the rune meanings and pulled out the next book.