Date: Friday 25th July Time: Lunctime Location: St Petersburg Character: Lucius Malfoy Rating: G
Many of the contacts Lucius had held were now beyond his contact, either through death, capture or else they had gone into hiding. In Britain those who had been undeniably affiliated with the Dark Lord had been forced into one or the other, but many of those on the continent had been able to deny any interaction with the events in England. Lucius had begun to gain an understanding of the political situation here. At home, despite the recent trouble due to integration, the movement of dissatisfaction was quieter. In Russia there were quite public protests; their pureblood families were still prominent, did not suffer under the same suspicion and financial restraint that tamed those in England. There was a stronger voice of the magical right here. Even so, interactions were not wholly open and public. The market for Dark Objects operated within legal boundaries openly, but there was a black market for illegal items. Wizards could express their belief in their own autonomy publicly, but the brand of aggressive idealism the Death Eaters had represented was most certainly underground.
One of the first facts he discovered was the death of Karkaroff - and the events that followed anything Lucius could remember - which had been little of a surprise. Though somewhat influential, Karakoff had always been a little unpredictable. The diplomatic mess that Lucius had occasionally been forced to cover on his behalf still caused him to wince. Part of Lucius wished he had asked Narcissa what had become of this circle before he'd set to discovering it for himself. Fortunately he had decided to cover his appearance whilst he tentatively reached out into this world. It had been more difficult without his name to carry him through, but he'd been wary of offering his newly-found life as public knowledge. It was a card of security that Lucius wanted to hold to his chest for as long as possible.
The few contacts he had managed to create, acting under the persona of a Death Eater from England, escaped to England and hoping to fnd sanctuary within the boarder of Russia, had directed him toward an area of St Petersburg that reminded him of Knockturn Alley as a child. The close presence of Father - and in this case, experience and knowledge - had not been quite enough to quell his apprehension of what lay behind these doors. Not the items themselves, but their purveyours (most of whom wished to keep their clientele, but some of whom were inclined to dangerous mis-representation, or gave to Ministry pressure and set-up their most loyal customers). Borgin had been scared of him, and of Father, and therefore had rarely protested any requested item. Here Lucius didn't carry the same clout, it would be more difficult to find the objects they needed.
Nazarova owned a small white shop in the west of St Petersburg. Its dark innards carried a smell that reminded Lucius of wet, heavy material and damp. Quite simply, it smelled like a night's camping with Fenrir. Boxes and items were crammed into every available space. There were no items of particular interest on display, none of the cases that surrounded Borgin & Burkes. It seemed customers were required to paw through boxes of potentially cursed and marked items to seek a purchase. Lucius had touched nothing, but spoken to Nazarova immediately, confiding and building his image of the wealthy, hiding Englishman who was desperate to acquire a new and valid identity. This wasn't far from the truth, though now that they had left the Manor he and Bellatrix hardly had gold to spare for luxury.
"Fifty-thousand galleons," Lucius had repeated in English, allowing his eyebrows to rise in faint surprise. He didn't intend to pay for his acquisition, but Nazarova didn't need to know that. "That seems a little steep, my friend. Rest assured, these objects will not drive me into obscurity - you will receive much more custom..." Clearly it didn't matter about the price, but the look of the thing demanded negotiation. Thirty-three thousand galleons was eventually settled upon, an amount Lucius would never have paid.
Nazarova had arranged for the delivery Thursday evening, despite Lucius' irritation that it should come sooner, and arranged for the transaction to take place early Saturday morning. Friday had been excluded by Lucius' request, 'If you can't have it here earlier, then I will take it when it's conveniant to me.'
Lucius sat eating vegetable Okroshka, chopped dill and sour cream. Bellatrix had not been at the hotel when he'd returned after the morning, and he was too hungry to discover whether or not she'd appear. He pulled his journal close to him and wrote a note to Narcissa.