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Tweak says, "99 Red Ballons"

Lucius Malfoy (in_deep) wrote in wished,
@ 2009-09-08 22:05:00

Entry tags:

!1997: 09, !complete, lucius malfoy, percy weasley

Who: Lucius Malfoy and Percy Weasley
What: Lucius comes back to the Ministry to retrieve something improperly impounded during a raid
Where: Ministry of Magic
When: Today
Warnings: None

It had been some time since Lucius had left home. Coming into the city was a step he hadn't been looking forward to taking - not now, at least, when things were still so ... unsettled. And his dread had been well-placed, too: as though it hadn't been enough of an insult to his dignity to use the visitor's entrance, as if the nametag, of all things, hadn't made him want to turn around and go straight home - the stares in the Atrium had been positively agonizing. It seemed everyone had suddenly forgotten how to whisper as he walked through the crowd, nose firmly in the air, as always. He could hear the speculation surrounding him perfectly clearly as he stopped now to give his name to Security (you'd know damn well who I was even if it wasn't printed on my chest, you vile little peon). It was hard not to think longingly of times past, when he'd have swept by without so much as a second glance. - Someone would certainly have held the lift for him, then, too. Not so, today; he was left waiting for what must have been at least three minutes, possibly more. But it was almost better that way, he supposed. When it finally returned to the first level, it was empty, and he stepped in alone, save for one unaccompanied memo fluttering about his head. When he stepped out, the paper was twitching brokenly on the floor. He felt marginally better.

And he'd had no choice but to come, of course, he told himself. When he'd received the letter informing him that there had been a mistake, and that he was free to come recover what was rightfully his ... Well, it would be a cold day in hell before he'd let any of his family heirlooms rot in the Ministry's vaults if he could help it. This one he'd had from his grandmother - a pretty little jewelry box with the charming habit of inducing unauthorized openers to try and off themselves - and if they were giving it back, he was bloody well taking it. Even if it meant stopping here, in front of the small, relatively unassuming doorway he'd hardly ever noticed before on his way just down the hall to the Minister's offices. And even if it did mean taking it from a Weasley. How many of you are there? he wondered testily, as he rapped impatiently at the door.

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weatherby
2009-09-09 04:35 am UTC (link)

Percy had withstood the barbs and humiliations of his own family for the last few months - years - and he wasn't about to let Lucius Malfoy ruffle his feathers now.

He returned to his seat behind the desk, clearing his throat primly. Malfoy wanted to be snide and smug? Fine, Percy would fire back the way he did best - with the droning dullness of petty bureaucracy:

"It's a bit of a catch-22 I find myself in, Mr. Malfoy, to borrow a phrase from Muggle literature. You see, the aurors who...inspected your home weeks ago were instructed to look for very particular items, and to disturb nothing else. Your jewelry box was obviously not on the list of items. But before its presence was discovered, it had been inspected by several of our aurors and found to contain some elements of dark magic."

He slipped into the drone easily. Mindless, almost fun by now, really, being the perfect irritating peon everyone dismissed him as. Fun because Malfoy had no choice but to hear him out to the dull and dry end if he wanted to reclaim his possessions.

"Of course Ministry guidelines forbid the release of any items containing dark magic. And there's the catch - we should never have inspected the item, yet now we should not be releasing it. The compromise, then, lies in making sure you are fully informed of the item's dangers and have signed several forms absolving the Ministry of any liability for any accidents you may have involving said item."

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in_deep
2009-09-10 03:05 am UTC (link)

The little twitch that pulled Lucius's mouth up at the corner was born not of amusement, but of genuine irritation. It was one thing to have some washed up fool in a dead-end job going home to tinker with Muggle toys on his own time; it was quite another to have a young man in (or at least sitting next to) the highest levels of the Ministry choose to toss out one of their cultural references like it was the most natural thing in the world. He raised his eyebrows slightly in distaste as he fixed his signature to the second page, and the third.

... And the fourth, and - Merlin, how many were there? And the boy just kept going. He looked up at him, his pen poised stiffly over the paper, his expression flattening. You're enjoying this - aren't you? Brat. He took a little pleasure in imagining the awkwardness this particular Weasley must have faced in having such an absolute screw-up for a father, but the images were only so potent.

He cut in as soon as there seemed to be a lull. "How dreadfully tedious for you," he said, with a rather pointed lack of sympathy. "Let us say I consider myself fully informed. Shall we? I assure you, I have no desire to waste your time with formalities."

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weatherby
2009-09-10 03:19 am UTC (link)

"Tedious?" Percy regarded Malfoy with as innocent a look as he could manage - him being Percy and not one of the other Weasleys, he could manage a fairly convincing one. Who would ever believe the Ministry's pet prig could be anything less than innocent.

"I don't find it tedious at all, sir. I'm happy to do it. In fact, there are a few rather interesting stories I could tell you as well, about the importance of following this sort of procedure and the consequences of letting things slide." He folded his hands on the desk, as officious as anyone could ever want.

"Of course you're an important man with I'm sure a good deal on his schedule, so perhaps a deal: you'll not take up my time with mentions of my family, and I'll be as brief as possible in educating you about your own possession."

He peered steadily across at Malfoy - a trick picked up from his few years dealing with politicians. Protest nothing; imply displeasure without stating it outright, so he couldn't be called on anything. Percy wasn't Weasley enough to bluster or protest and feed into Malfoy's smug little pokes. But he was Weasley enough to want Malfoy to know that in his office, on his time, he wasn't a pushover who would take those pokes lying down.

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in_deep
2009-09-10 03:52 am UTC (link)

An important man. Lucius's face darkened. It was hard to keep the sneer out of his voice, but he had done his time with politicians, too - he knew about hedging, about holding one's distance and keeping clean hands. There was nothing he would have liked more than to take that look off Weasley's face, but instead he merely smiled. It was a bit toxic - he doubted if anyone had ever believed him innocent since he'd learned to talk - but a smile nonetheless.

"Certainly, certainly," he said lightly, capping his pen and tucking it away again. "I meant no offense." He never did, when it came down to it. Simple, bald denial had lifted him out of more tight spots than should ever have been possible. Incontrovertible fact was highly inconvenient (dangerous, even, in some forms), and he avoided attaching himself to it when he could. Opportunities to slither around the truth were dwindling these days, alas. He folded his hands on his side of the desk, leaning forward very slightly to signal his attention.

"By all means - educate away."

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weatherby
2009-09-10 04:00 am UTC (link)

"No offense taken, sir," Percy answered with equal sincerity. "I simply find it best to keep matters that don't pertain to the Ministry out of this office."

He sat back, rather relieved all in all. Malfoy, for whatever respect he had lost in the last few months, was still a dangerous and powerful man. Percy wasn't fool enough to think otherwise. Even if he had nothing else, he was still rich. And money was power.

But he didn't only have money. Even if his position was as tenuous as auror rumors and reports suggested, it would not due to underestimate him. Percy couldn't help if the man regarded him as an enemy: his last name insured that. But he wasn't foolish enough to paint a target on his own forehead.

"Very well then." He reached out to retrieve the forms, glancing them over as he talked to make sure they were properly executed. "I'm sure it will come as a shock for you to hear that an auror who attempted to open the jewelry box taken from your home had to be subdued to keep from performing the killing curse on herself." Since he knew it wouldn't be a shock at all he didn't bother looking up to catch Malfoy's reaction.

"No doubt an old family hex forgotten about generations ago, but it's my duty to warn you to protect yourself and anyone else who may come into contact with the box."

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in_deep
2009-09-10 04:30 am UTC (link)

"You don't say," Lucius replied, looking distinctly unsurprised. If anything, he was disappointed. The errant house-elf who'd taken it upon himself to organize everything on the ground floor had tried to open his veins with a kitchen knife - so much more amusing - but then, he hadn't had a wand. "I do hope she's alright. I must say, your people are very conscientious. It wasn't so long ago something so unimportant might have slipped through the cracks, never to be seen again." They had been better days, when a piece of gold would get him what half an hour in a grim office wouldn't get him now. He thought that finding an auror stretched out under a sheet in his drawing room might have been worth the insult of having them pouring through the front door in the first place. Well - perhaps next time. "I'll be sure to address it the moment I get home."

He'd set it right back in its proper place beside the lamp, at any rate. And then, back to business as usual ... And suddenly, he was tempted to stay out for as much of the afternoon as he could get away with. Home hardly seemed like much of a refuge. - He should pick up something for Narcissa while he was out, naturally.

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weatherby
2009-09-10 04:41 am UTC (link)

Percy was caught between worry and amusement as he realized that by 'something so unimportant' he wasn't sure if Malfoy meant the jewelry box or the auror.

He cleared his throat. "Yes, well. Like most old magic this particular hex runs the risk of being unpredictable. See that care is taken." He rose from his desk, satisfied that he had done the letter of his duty. He couldn't say more than that, since his words were wasted on Malfoy and the hex was no doubt simply an amusement to the man.

Percy didn't hesitate to recover the small jewelry box from a case on a rear bookshelf in the overcrowded office. He didn't hesitate to hold it out to Malfoy, offer the dark magic back to the Death Eater. He had already fought half the aurors in the building over whether such a thing could be returned to Lucius Malfoy, so the moral arguments both for and against it were hollow by then.

"I believe you'll find it in the same condition it left your manor in. If not," he smiled dryly, amusing himself if no one else, "there are forms you can fill out and file with our complaint department."

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in_deep
2009-09-11 01:36 am UTC (link)

Lucius looked up at him silently as he turned to sort through the ordered clutter behind him. When he saw it gleaming out at him, he felt absurdly gratified. Victories were coming scarce, and any sort of success - even if it had grown out of a disastrous home-invasion - lifted his spirits a little. He stood to accept the box from him when it was offered, flipped it over once, carefully, in his hand, and then slipped it into his robes.

"The complaint department, yes - I believe I know where that is," he said, without a trace of irony. Lucius had had a habit, not so long ago, of inundating various institutions with angry letters. It was a pastime he rather missed. Not enough to stop in for old times' sake, of course. Not today. "Good day to you, then." He turned to the door. "I'm sure one of your sticky-fingered aurors will have me back here before very long."

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weatherby
2009-09-11 01:43 am UTC (link)

Percy sat once Lucius turned away to leave. He lifted his quill, but hesitated to dive back into his work before Malfoy was officially gone.

A faint, bemused smile touched his face. "Our sticky-fingered aurors would be happy to never have you return, Mr. Malfoy, especially to reclaim your misbeggotten possessions. I'm afraid it's officious, dutiful clerks like me whom you'll have to deal with should something like this occur again."

With a wry smile he hid by bowing his head, Percy reached for the report he had been half-finished with when Malfoy arrived.

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