Dinner With the Malfoys

Dinner With the Malfoys

"I must say, Lucius... er... I may call you Lucius, may I not?" Scrimgeour delicately dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. At Lucius' nod, he smiled unctuously. "This was a fine meal. I envy you living here."

"Why is that, Rufus?" Narcissa said, reaching for the crystal bell at her left hand.

"Fine meals and house-elves at your beck and call," he answered as she rang for a house-elf. He took a sip of his wine as Winky popped into the Malfoy quarters.

"You is ringing?" she asked. "How Winky help?"

"I believe we are ready for dessert now," Narcissa said, scanning the table. Winky nodded and popped out as Susan and Draco placed their napkins on the table and stood together.

"With all due respect, Mother," Draco said. "Susan and I will pass on dessert for now. I have a book of runes that she and I want to discuss with Hermione."

"Please excuse us, Mr Scrimgeour," Susan said, dipping a slight curtsey. "We did promise, after all."

He waved them away magnanimously. "Of course," he said. "Academia is calling. I quite understand." He looked on with interest as Winky popped back in with a large trifle in her hands. "That looks delicious."

Winky grimaced as she set the dish on the table in front of Narcissa and popped out.

"I'm sure it is," Lucius said as he left the table and wandered over to his drinks cabinet. "I believe I have just the thing to wash it down with as well." He turned around with a bottle, its label hidden in his hand. "There aren't many of these left."

Scrimgeour took a sip of wine as Lucius placed the bottle on the table between their plates. He glanced at the label and started to cough. "Please, tell me that isn't what I think it is?" he managed to choke out, eyeing the bottle almost reverently. "Ogden's Old Hundred Year Reserve Firewhisky?"

"Yes." Lucius smiled. "I came across this while looking over the cellars."

"Malfoy Manor? I thought we'd... er... that is..."

"You thought you'd emptied them?" Lucius said. "You and your Aurors may have emptied the public cellars, but none of you are Malfoys. There are secrets known only to those of the family, and not accessible to anyone else."

He held up the bottle and looked at Scrimgeour through it. "However, this came from the Hogwarts cellars. I believe Minerva said something about that particular section being Severus Snape's."

"He's dead!" Scrimgeour said easily, his voice already slurring from the glasses of wine he'd drunk with his dinner. Then he frowned. "Didn't he leave everything to that Granger girl? That belongs to her then, doesn't it?"

"Hermione was most gracious in allowing me to appropriate this particular bottle," Lucius purred. "She does not drink firewhisky so had no interest in what was there."

Scrimgeour stared greedily. "Is there more in the cellar?" he asked, licking his lips in anticipation.

"Alas, no." Lucius turned back to the cabinet and picked up two glasses. "Narcissa, my love, would you care for some?"

"No, thank you, dear." She dished up their dessert and handed a bowl to Scrimgeour. "I prefer tea with my dessert."

"More for us then." Lucius set the glasses down on the table just as someone knocked at their door. "Excuse me for a moment," he said. Scrimgeour nodded, his eyes never leaving the bottle on the table.

"Minerva. Filius," Lucius said with just the right amount of surprise in his voice as he opened the door and saw who was standing there. "What brings you down here to our humble abode?"

"Filius joined me for dinner this evening," Minerva said with a casual tone. "When we were finished, he asked if he might see what changes had been made since he taught here. This is our last stop."

"I wanted to see what changes you'd made to Severus' rooms," the little man piped up. He looked around from his spot in the doorway. "You've lightened it up considerably."

"Minerva?" Narcissa joined Lucius in front of the door. "Why, hello, Professor Flitwick. We were just about to have dessert. Would the two of you care to join us?"

"If we're not intruding," Minerva said. "Rather than eating another dessert, however, I could do with some tea. If it's not too much trouble, that is?"

"Nonsense," Narcissa said, stepping aside. "I'll have the house-elf bring another cup. What about you, Professor?"

"Please, my dear, call me Filius," he said. "I haven't been a teacher in seven years. However, I have to agree with Minerva. If it's not too much trouble, I would prefer some tea."

"Two cups, then. Lucius, we are ignoring our other guest."

"Apologies, Rufus," Lucius said, returning to the table. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all. Not at all," Scrimgeour said expansively. "More than welcome. After all, it's your house... er... so to speak."

Narcissa winked at Minerva as she returned to her seat and rang the crystal bell. "Two more cups, if you would, Winky," she ordered as the house-elf appeared. "The Headmistress and Professor Flitwick will be joining us for tea."

"I be bringing more tea, too," Winky said. She popped out, only to return almost immediately with two more teacups and another pot of tea. "Is everything?" she asked.

"For now," Narcissa said. "I'll ring if we need anything else." Winky curtsied and popped out.

"Well-trained little bugger," Scrimgeour commented as he watched Lucius pour two fingers of the firewhisky into a glass. "Thankee kindly," he said, accepting the glass and taking a sip.

Lucius poured the same amount into his own glass and held it up to the light. "Such a rich colour," he said. "Wouldn't you agree, Rufus?"

Scrimgeour held his glass up and peered through it, blinking drunkenly. "Yesh," he said. "Pretty colour. Ya know, Luscious... I mean... Lucius." He shook his head, trying to clear it. "I'm drunk."

"You certainly are," Lucius agreed, taking the glass away before Scrimgeour could drop it. "Perhaps some tea?"

"Don't want tea," he said pettishly. "Want some more of that firewhisker... firewhishky... you know what I mean." He reached for the bottle.

"I think you've had enough, Rufus." Lucius pulled the bottle away. "You're embarrassing yourself in front of my wife and our other guests."

"Op...apologies," Scrimgeour stammered, trying to stand up and bow. He succeeded in standing, only to have his legs go out from under him. "Oops!"

"Mobilicorpus!" Filius said, adding a flick with his wand. "Perhaps the couch, Lucius?"

"I think that would be the best place," Lucius said, confiscating Scrimgeour's wand as he bobbled past. "How do you feel, Rufus?"

"Quite good." Scrimgeour smiled drunkenly as Filius floated him over to the couch and released the spell. "How 'bout some more of that firewhishky, huh? Don't want it to go to waste." He swung his legs over and onto the floor and tried to sit up, only to fall back into a reclining position. "Thish ish quite comfortable," he said with a yawn.

Lucius flicked his wand. "Aperio Dark Mark!"

Scrimgeour screamed as a bright red light streamed out of his left sleeve. Suddenly sober, he struggled to get to his feet, only to be restrained by the Incarcerous cast by Lucius almost immediately after his last spell.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, struggling to get free. "Give me back my wand, do you hear me? I'll see you in Azkaban for this!"

"You'll be joining me, then," Lucius purred, pulling the sleeve of Scrimgeour's robe up off his left forearm. "I'd say this would get you a life sentence, wouldn't you, Minerva?"

Scrimgeour stared in horror at the Dark Mark displayed prominently on the inside of his arm. "No," he whispered. "He promised."

"Don't tell me you believed everything Riddle promised you," Minerva said angrily. "Why, Rufus?"

"He promised me power," Scrimgeour snarled. "Did you think I wanted to be an Auror the rest of my life? Money and power, that's what he promised me. He said the Mark would never be seen."

"He was wrong," Lucius said. "I knew about them. Why do you think I invited you to dinner this evening." He sneered at the helpless wizard. "I truly dislike your hypocritical ways. Pretending to hunt Death Eaters when you were one all the time!"

"I wasn't pretending!"

"That's even worse," Minerva said with a sigh as she sat down. "Suppose Riddle had won? What would you have done then?"

Scrimgeour paled. "He would have killed me," he squeaked. "Minerva, please? Have mercy on a fellow Gryffindor."

"Why, Rufus? Give me one good reason why I should."

He looked at Lucius and Narcissa, then back at Minerva. "Not here," he said, licking his lips nervously. "Not in front of Slytherins."

"We're all on the same side," Minerva said, sitting in the armchair she Transfigured from an side table. "Well, maybe you're not, but the rest of us are. Talk to me, Rufus."

"I..."

"Yes."

"I have books and papers that belonged to V... the Dark Lord."

"Why didn't you turn them in when you found them?" Filius asked. "Especially if you weren't pretending to hate Death Eaters."

"I was keeping them for him. Let me go and I'll turn them over to the Ministry right away."

"I don't know, Minerva," Lucius said, twirling Scrimgeour's wand between his fingers. "He could just as easily leave the country with them. They're probably worth a great deal."

"No! I wouldn't do that! Please, Minerva?"

"He could always bring them to us," Filius suggested. "We could make sure whatever is there was taken to the Ministry, couldn't we?"

"What do you say, Rufus?"

"Yes, yes. Release me, give me back my wand, and I'll get them and bring everything back to you."

"I don't know, Minerva," Lucius drawled. "I don't trust him. He's more likely to turn us in with some made-up story."

"No!"

"Why don't you tell us where you put these books and papers, Rufus?" Minerva asked. "We will send someone to fetch them. Once we make sure they really did belong to Riddle, we'll turn you loose. You can take your own chances with that." She nodded at his forearm, the Dark Mark still pulsing with light.

He looked around at the solemn group of witches and wizards who surrounded him and ceased his struggles, collapsing back against the couch. "Very well," he said. "They're in a box under my bed in the cottage at Cornwall. It's labeled 'beach towels'."

"Winky!" Minerva called.

"I hear, Headmistress," the little creature said, popping into the room. "You wishes me to go now?"

"Yes, dear. Oh, and Winky?"

"Yes, Headmistress?"

"Watch for any hidden traps."

Winky smirked. "Winky know what traps is there." Snapping her fingers, the house-elf disappeared.

"You tricked me!" Scrimgeour snarled. "Damn you!"

"Indeed," Lucius drawled. He pointed Scrimgeour's own wand at him. "Obliviate!"