Secret Ploys

[East Wing Care Center, Miles from Azkaban]

{Nymphadora Tonks}

Agh, that hurts… that hurts real bad. The pain on my neck, on my back, around my abdominal and worse of all, the pounding pain over my head. My eyes could barely open and when it did open slightly, the sudden burst of light had me groaning.

"Are you alright?" It was a soft voice, a woman's voice but I didn't know who it was.

"You were lucky that you lost consciousness before they could cause much harm to your mind."

They? Who is she talking about?

Where am I?

Oh.

We were baited and ambushed. 

"Where am I?" I asked, somehow opening my eyes and looking around to see myself in a bed, white and clean. 

"You are safe." She assured, "I am a nurse and a healer for the guards that get hurt in Azkaban."

Does that mean I am still in Azkaban? But the room looked far too serene to be a part of Azkaban.

"Where is this place?" 

"Far from Azkaban." She showed a smile, "Don't be afraid. The dementors won't reach here."

I was still being healed. I felt the warmth from her healing magic, slowly getting rid of the pain.

"How did you save me?" I cannot recall what happened after I was attacked. Those bastards planned on killing Minister West. Whether they killed him there or not, they had ways to get to him.

"Where are they?" My heart was heavy, but I had hope.

"They…"

But with her falling expression, fell my heart.

"They are alive."

She said, somewhat giving me a form of relief.

"But they are worse off than you."

"What happened?" We were all attacked by dementors, but I refuse to believe that three people together failed to ward off some evil spirits —even if I fainted before the face off.

"The two of them managed to push back quite a few of them, but in Azkaban there is no end to dementors and their spells drew more of them, resulting in not just psychological damage but physical damage as well."

That made me nervous.

"Can I see them?" I had to ask. Not just for Minister West but… for Darius as well.

"Minister West still hasn't regained his consciousness."

"And Darius?"

She sighed, "He suffered quite the physical blow but despite that and despite my requests, he is being questioned by the ministry now as he was the only one to regain consciousness the earliest."

He should not be questioned right now, he needs rest. But it is a matter of security as well, that also of one of the most significant political figureheads.

"I can only ask you to take care and be prepared." She showed a sad smile, "Because they will be here to question you too."

I did not care about any of that. I just hope… that Darius is doing okay.

He is strong, I know he won't be overwhelmed.

But… a feeling of worry still remains when the person you care about goes through tough times, you know?

…

…

"I would have expected you to open your eyes not before a week, given how much we were told about your injuries."

Old men, powerful men. 

Those who were in front of me.

"I am more glad that I didn't die." I laid on the corner of the medical bed, trying to adjust my posture to not bleed out. "That is one nasty scar that I would have to keep."

I gave them a little peek at my left abdomen, the nasty gnash that took off quite a bit of flesh from me. And if not for whatever magical bandaging and herbs were covering it, I would have died from either blood loss or infection.

"How did you sustain for so long?" The man with glasses asked, they did give me their names —Jonathan and Baird— but I doubt I can remember them. 

"Mind Arts is something that I am decent at so they could not crumble me that easily. As for physical and magical powers, I did not win. I delayed till I couldn't." 

Dementors are scary, they can outright kill you if you are stupid enough and if not, they can at least make you faint. As for the situation at Azkaban, a wizard can handle a dementor or two but not an entire army.

"Minister West is still unconscious but once he wakes up, we will be able to move this case forward faster." The one named Baird spoke, "But if you have any recollection of things that could help us, we would be grateful."

"From what I know and what Minister West said, these three that we took were part of the underground mercenary groups and nothing more than machines with no will and mind of their own. So, anything can be the reason for people hunting him. Maybe people he previously put behind bars, henchmen that want revenge for their bosses or…" A frown formed on my face.

"Or?" Which the two caught onto quite quickly.

"Or people who find it dangerous to have him around, afraid of him finding something out." I looked at them as they also caught onto it.

"He is the trade minister." Jonathan understood, "Someone might have been trying to get rid of him to save their trades, their illegal biddings."

"I am just someone that is here to teach students." A sigh left me, pain and tiredness getting to me. "This is something that I cannot help you with, sirs. All I can do is provide you with what I know."

The two, however, seemed very understanding.

"It is all in good cause." Baird assured, "You have done great holding on and doing your best to protect others, Mr. Safar. You can leave the rest to us, we will be cracking down on whoever tried to get to Minister West and you before the end of this week."

"The department is already looking deeper into these mercenaries, and thanks to you, we might have a possible clue as to where we have to look." The spectacled one was determined, "Once again, we thank you for holding on, Mr. Safar."

This made me smile a little, "I just did my best to not die."

The two gave me quite a bit of stuff, from contact details to a promise of coming to help me if I was in a troublesome situation.

All because I made sure that I didn't let a minister die.

"We will see you sometime soon." The two said, walking back. "We wish you a speedy recovery."

They were officials with little to no time to waste and I know for a fact that they would go and dig deeper into the matter the moment they got out of this place.

Once they were out, my hands moved onto the newspaper kept to the side of my bed, right on top of the table. 

Magical papers were fascinating, they had pictures that could talk. It was pretty much a short video recording surrounded by letters.

And the highlight of it was a certain woman.

Strike of Dementors: An Accident or a Ploy?

That's one fascinating title, but she knew exactly what to do. She was famous, or well, infamous for her skills as a journalist.

As for who it is? It's the most hated journalist in all of Britain.

Rita Seeker.

"It's me."

But as I went through the paper, I heard the familiar voice of Tonks.

"Come in." I went through the other highlights as I asked her to come. "It's open."

She wasn't hurt that badly, at least no visible wounds. But that didn't mean she didn't go through any pain. The limping and the bandaged arm was proof that she felt the event as well.

"How are you doing?" I asked as I saw her walk towards me.

"Certainly better than you." She smiled, "I don't have a gaping wound on my abdomen."

"That's quite the mean thing to say." I could only laugh, "I could have died."

"But you didn't, and neither did I." She stood just a few inches away from the bed. "And I am glad about it."

"I just had a questionnaire with two officials, they didn't seem too bad."

She nodded, "I met them on my walk here, asked me to report at the Aurors post in two days since my injuries are not that heavy."

"I take it back." They are workaholics.

"It's fine, that's what it means to be an Auror." She somewhat shrugged it off. "Anyhow, did you get any message from your workplace?"

"Got a letter, said I should rest as much as I can. Professor Dumbledore would visit soon from what he wrote."

It was fine, the kids were smart enough and I had already covered quite a bit of the material.

"Anyhow, there is a lot written about us on the newspaper today.'' I passed her the paper with Rita blabbedring endlessly about the dementors and how it was the government's fault for the event.

"She talks too much." Tonks definitely didn't like Rita but she wasn't the only one to feel that way. Rita in my opinion was universally hated, even the ones that paid her disliked her. 

But they still hired her, why? Because she was possibly the best journalist you can find. 

"The Ministry's mismanagements got two innocents killed," She looked at me as she read. "Nearly."

Yeah, the last word was written in the tiniest font.

"Facing Dementors and still surviving, a miracle or true genius?" She frowned, "The hell is this?"

I gave her a shrug, "I wonder the same. But in a way it increases your popularity in a positive way and who knows, you might get a pay increase as well."

She shook her head, "I doubt it. It takes a bit too much to get bonuses."

Their pay was already high so it was understandable.

"But what's this?" She frowned as she continued reading and reached another article. "Major trade holders and management organizations to slow down their businesses expansion? Slow down but for what?"

"Possibly Minister West being in the hospital had them in a tight spot. Most are unsafe due to the underworld's open involvement now since Minister West is still unconscious. And the others are probably worried because if they gain too much in this short time, people might suspect that they had something to do with this case." The statement that all types of publicity is good is a false statement, especially for business owners. 

"Do you think some business tycoon was involved in this?" She was curious, reading and sitting besides me. 

"Possibly, there are multiple people, wizards with powerful backgrounds that have created empires through trades. So, it is not an impossible scenario."

The businesses were slowing down for the time being, but I am certain that it is only on the surface. Behind the scenes, and underground they are possibly expanding at a ridiculous rate. As the ministry is currently in chaos it is their turn to benefit majorly from it.

"Did you have something to eat?" She asked, dismissing the worry about the political world. 

"Can't eat anything other than juices for the moment." It definitely felt not so good.

"I can ask the nurses for something good, I guess?" 

And well, her suggestion was good. I did want something to have, even if it was just juice.

"I would appreciate that."

This made her smile, "I will be back in a moment. And after that, I will check on Minister West too."

"Do tell me when he wakes up." I asked, "I should check on him too."

"I will, but for now you should rest. Your abdomen is still not healed enough that you can walk."

Sadly, it was true. 

For the time being, I had to be in bed. No matter how much I disliked it.

…

…

[Malfoy Manor]

{Lucius Malfoy}

"Master, Dobby thinks master should have warm coffee." This darn elf… "It is best during rains."

Thunder cackled, rain poured, the weather was terrifying and yet none mattered. Even the fact that I sat on the porch, the rain flickered to my face. 

"Leave, Dobby." My voice was grim, and the elf knew it. There was no point in shouting at him, it was far too worthless to waste a breath on a being like a house elf.

"Dobby will be back with warm coffee, master!"

The darned elf ran inside, tripping and slipping because of his tiny feet. He was a stupid being, ones that could be purchased as long as you have money —a being without rights.

Money, something I have in abundance.

But for how long?

My hand shook as I went through the letter once again.

"Analysis of trades and internal inspection being carried out, be careful, Malfoy."

They were an old friend, but now this was possibly the last letter I will ever receive from them.

"You will be questioned, so this is the last you will ever hear from me and I will hear from you."

This was a ploy by someone.

The attack on Minister West, the inspection of the trades and the pinning of me. 

Someone was behind it all. For no reason would someone target me without a good motive.

But who? For what?

Money cannot be the only reason. Pinning me means destroying their routes too. 

I have to do something about it, I have to inform master. He will be able to help, yes him!

He has people, followers that would be able to help in this case!

He is unwell, possibly going to stay in seclusion for a while.

No, I still have to go.

He will understand. I have been following him since the start, I deserve to be helped!

"Dobby!"

I need the damned elf!

"DOBBY! WHERE ARE YOU RAT!"

"Y-Yes master?"

The little rat came squirming as I called for him, slipping once again on his way.

"Tell Narcissa that I will be gone for a day or two." I could not delay any further. "Tell her to not answer anyone anything and to not entertain any guest while I am gone."

"B-But master, what will I tell her?" The gremlin of an elf questioned. "What reason should I give her?"

"None." The answer was simple.

"M-Master?"

"She will receive a letter from me and she will know, but for now… begone. And tell her everything that I told you."

Only he can help now!

"Ma—"

"Go!"

Only he can help, and he has to help.

Otherwise…

 No.

There is no otherwise!

He will help.

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