damocles belby thinks that hell is other people. (lexparsimoniae) wrote in find_horcruxes, @ 2010-05-05 01:21:00 |
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The experimental protocol that he was revising for the nth time was blasted far from Damocles' mind first by the bombshell that Al had dropped and then by his own decision to make a confidante of his brother. With a frustrated sigh Damocles took his glasses off, pushed his chair away from his desk, and stood up. He lit up a cigarette and took a long drag, blowing the smoke out of the open window of his study; this, in and of itself, was telling: he smoked for a moment of indulgence and relaxation, or because he felt that he needed the nicotine to clear his head. This was obviously not a case of the former. Damocles reached into an inner pocket to retrieve the folded-up sheet of parchment tucked into one fold of his wallet. The creases, when smoothed out, showed signs of worn, and the blue ink had already begun fading from behind handled so often. The rather illegible scrawl was all his own, as were the words that he had gone back and forth so many times on. The general gist of things was clear, almost deceptively simple and straightforward: Marcus Yaxley is a Death Eater against whom I will testify. This he would choose to say, against the guarantee of his professional integrity, against all oaths of physician-healer confidentiality. He had thought about this far too much, and the fact remained that Damocles was not sure he could live with himself for much longer if he kept sitting on the information that he had. Since September, dear heavens above, it did not bear thinking about; and then it had been a month and then some since he told Malcolm as well. Al had reacted so instinctively, had made the decision sound so easy. And really, in a way it was the fact that Marcus dared to try and go through Al that pushed him over the edge. He would not play god. Above almost all else – first do no harm aside – Damocles had held this to be a tenet close to his own heart: a patient was a patient was a patient, and his obligation to his patients is to heal them. The ability to heal and to save lives was not the right to be judge and executioner. On the other hand, he would stake his life on the horrifying truth that Marcus had inadvertently confirmed: he had killed people. As a Death Eater, Marcus had killed. Did he not deserve to face justice and be stopped, before he took yet another life as his misguided ideals would push him to do? And if Damocles could have stopped his cousin by breaching the impregnable oath of confidentiality, was he not in some way responsible for these future deaths? Really he had no choice left. Really, it would be a good thing, to put a stop to even one of the Death Eaters. But in all honesty Damocles did not think that he would be able to trust himself as a Healer after he crossed this line, and he certainly was not damn well going to have Marcus involve more of his family in this. It was, for better or for worse, only between them – for the longest, longest time. If there was another option aside from speak or keep silent, then surely that option would have arisen already. With a deep sigh, Damocles left the following words – as they were on the well-worn piece of parchment – for the anonymous tip line at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement: Marcus Yaxley, an Obliviator in the employment of the Ministry's Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, is a Death Eater who was present at the King's Cross battle on September first of last year. He sustained extensive injuries in the battle, for which he was treated – off the record – by Healer Damocles Belby. If subpoenaed, Healer Belby will testify against Yaxley. It was not as if he needed the parchment to read off of. The words were as good as etched in his mind. |