Who: Marius, Rabastan and Patil What: Marius wants to be seen. When: Monday Night Where: The Manor his father left him.
Status: Finished
It was a sad day when one needed an alibi not only for the benefit of the enemy, but for the benefit of protecting yourself from your deranged step-mother. Since the night of the trial Marius and Rabastan had managed to get Aurors to Marius's new home, under the guise of wards being set off and death threats from those who were angry he had been released when their family had been sentenced. Every night since the trial he had spent with Aurors combing over these grounds (he was certain they were looking at everything so carefully not because they cared for his safety but because they were looking for traces of the Dark Arts) and the house.
Tonight was no different. He set off his own wards, and then owled the Ministry for help.
It was one of the rare nights where Patil had stayed at work a bit later than usual, and of course it was a night where he was actually needed. His evening plans had consisted of sitting at his desk, doing the stray bit of paperwork and perhaps eating a late-night bagel. But now he had to go out and check Marius Lestrange's wards. While he wasn't one for vehement dislike (other people were very vocal and very angry that he wasn't in prison), he didn't care for being at the home of a widely suspected Death Eater. Particularly when there was an uneaten dinner at his desk.
Finally, he Apparated out to the location of the house, feeling distinctly irritated. It could be a squirrel setting off the wards for all they knew, it didn't seem necessary to get Ministry help so often.
Marius greeted the Auror politely at his door.
"Thank you for coming so quickly," he said. "When I left this afternoon the wards were up, but when I returned they were down and seemed to have been tampered with. I fear someone may have gotten into the Manor while I was gone, and will be waiting until I fall to sleep to murder me. Would you mind accompanying me to check inside before checking outside?" he asked.
It was an effort to put forth this much effort to ensure he had an alibi the Ministry would not doubt, and he didn't enjoy pretending that he was incapable of protecting himself, but sometimes pride had to be sacrificed for the greater good.
"It's nothing to thank me for, it's what they pay me to do," Patil said, a bit humourlessly. "How sensitive are your wards? If you don't mind my asking." Marius seemed genuine enough to him, at the very least, and it wouldn't surprise him at all if Marius's fears were entirely based in reality. Murder may be hard for the ordinary person, but the past months had proved it very possible. He sighed quietly, allowing Marius to lead him inside. "And how long were you gone this afternoon, exactly?"
"Only long enough to have lunch with my family," he said. "My grandparents have no sent me the house elves yet, though they will arrive in a few days. Until then I have no choice but to eat elsewhere," he said. Marius pretended it had not occured to him that he might be able to make his own food. That was believable no doubt, considering the prejudices faced by being a Purist.
Marius began guiding him down a long hallway.
"Would you like to hold onto my wand?" he asked, offering Patil the one he had in his hand. Of course it was not actually his wand, but if he seemed incredibly cooperative, his alibi would stand all the more firmly. "I realize that you will not be able to make your best effort if you are concerned I might attack you from behind," he added.
"Have you heard anything that would possibly indicate someone has been watching your home?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked thoughtfully around the house as they walked. It was a rather nice place.
Patil shook his head. "Are you going to attack me?" he asked with a laugh. "I don't need your wand," he continued after a pause. "I'm not quite so paranoid that I fear attack at every turn, yet." This was true, and honestly if he had simply lured an Auror here for the purpose of attack them, it probably would have happened by this point. He wasn't particularly concerned, and he didn't think Marius was so stupid to attack when the Ministry knew he was here, and it would be easily traced back to him.
Marius laughed.
"No, I have no intention of attacking you. There are not many who are willing to help me anymore. The Ministry has done an effective job of alerting my enemies to my supposed involvement in the Dark Arts, and alerting those that used to be my friends to the fact that I have been given special treatment. Do you know what they believe?" he asked, sounding terribly affronted. "They believe that while I was being held, I gave information that would convict my father and that is why I was released. Everyone hates me," he said, with a small smirk.
"It's like France, all over again."
"Admittedly, you aren't very popular within the Ministry." He pondered for a second, it was true that the surname Lestrange seemed to carry negative implications, no matter who you asked about it.
"I wouldn't call it special treatment, personally, but I suppose some could interpret it that way." Patil found himself incapable of believing everything Marius was saying, though he made note of everything in case it should come up at the Ministry. "That's a shame, I'd assume it rather difficult to be hated by former friends."
"It is not much fun, no," Marius said, leading Patil room to room. This home wasn't as big as his father's, but when you added in the winding halls of the basement, and the rooms on the second floor, it took a long time to cover the place. "I am trying to get permission to return to France, actually," he said. "Though it is a long process. I was not sent away for official reasons, and so it is not easy to plead my case. I assure you, I want to be in England even less than your Ministry wants me here," he said.
Patil could appreciate the logic behind wishing to return to a home country, his mother had pondered returning to India for the duration of the war herself. With Rodolphus Lestrange in prison for life, there wasn't much reason for Marius to stay, if he was as innocent as he was trying to seem. "It only makes sense to want to return to the country where you've spent most of your life," he said finally, following Marius and looking from room to room carefully.
Three hours had passed since Patil had arrived before the house had been thoroughly searched, and of course nothing out of the ordinary had been found.
"Now if you would help me inspect the wards outside, I would appreciate it," Marius said. "If you missed your dinner, we do have food here, though I have no idea how to prepare it. I think there's bread and jam at least."
Marius had no real desire to stay in this man's company for much longer, but he needed an alibi that would stretch quite late into the night, and this was his best chance. No one could fault him for wishing to preserve his own life, afterall.
When Marius had invited Rabastan to the new manor, no extensive thought had been wasted on the matter. He found it peculiar that Aurors had so often visited his nephew in the past few days, and he supposed that either something was afoot, or the Ministry was keeping an excessively close eye on them. No such visit had been paid to his own home (nor to Norfolk, to his knowledge), but the fact that Marius had recently been released from his sentencing to Azkaban seemed reasonable enough reason for their monitoring. When his Apparation settled him just outside the wards boundaries of the manor, Rabastan passed through safely and crossed the lawn to reach the door. With a solid but relaxed series of announcement knocks, he waited.
Marius opened the door for his Uncle and greeted him warmly.
"Auror Patil, this is my uncle Rabastan. Rabastan, this is Auror Patil. We were just going to check the outside wards," he said, guiding them both back out the door. "It would only take an hour or two I think," he said, sounding happier about it than anyone should. Leading them both outside, Marius took a deep breath of the night air, pleased with the fact that he'd managed an alibi for himself and Rabastan, and they would be safe.