Bab 6: Improvising
"I don't care who you are, you are not going to get away with treating my brother like that! Just you wait until I can find the rest of your little gang of misfits!" he shouted as Scorpius faceplanted on the floor. The other man looked horrified.
"Hey, wait, you don't understand…" Scorpius managed to say before Albus closed the door on him. Great. Just leave the whole problem to him. A little more warning would have been nice, he hated having to improvise. He glared over at the man sitting in the chair next to him. His hands were still tied behind him as well. Scorpius started working to release the bonds Albus had hastily tied on him. He had seen others managing that before, it would make sense for Lehrer to be able to do that.
"Who the heck are you?"
"I'm… I'm nobody."
"Clearly. What on earth have you been saying to them? That was Albus Potter. His brother… Wait, were you one of the idiots that hit the other Potter last night?" Scorpius said, as if that just dawned on him.
"Wait, how do you know that?"
"How do I know that? I was the one preventing you from hurting him even further! I took him away before you idiots hurt him so bad that the Potters would start hunting for us. Though apparently, I was too late. And I get no thanks for saving his brother's butt, only shouts and arrests."
"Look, it wasn't that bad! We only pestered him a bit, to make him stop challenging us! He does that sometimes, comes in all hyped up for a fight! We need to take him down a peg, to make him lose, or he would rough us all up! I swear, we didn't hurt him!"
"No? Tell that to them. I was lucky enough that I got what I needed and delivered him to his house as usual, but this time someone had already alerted them, and before I managed to slip away, I was faced with angry-face brother over there demanding to know who had hurt his brother like that. You need to be careful, if you want to avoid a long sentence for something you aren't responsible for." Scorpius finally managed to get his hands free, just in time for this man to make a fatal mistake.
"Wait, you're… You're Lehrer!"
Scorpius instantly leaped over to the man, pinning him against the wall, nearly choking him. "If you so much as breathe that name to anyone, I swear I will kill you. Do you understand?" The man nodded. "Good. Glad we understand one another." Scorpius let the man drop to the floor without looking at him. With his hands still tied, he didn't have a chance against Scorpius. But how much longer was Albus going to keep him in here? He hated having to make things up on the fly, he usually planned ahead what he wanted to say and knew what the goal was. What was even the goal with this conversation?
"Now, why don't you start by telling me everything you idiots did last night, starting with how you even know who James Potter is."
"Why… why would I tell you that?"
"Because then I might be able to help you explain what happened in a way that may make Potter jr. out there calm down just a fraction. Normally, I wouldn't bother, but seeing how I am sort of caught up in it too, I suppose I have to help you to help me."
"Well, we're a group that likes to meet at that pub. We don't have a schedule or anything, but we meet about once a week. Sometimes, James joins us. Usually he is just fine, but some days it's like he has this dark aura around him, you know? Like he just wants to kill someone."
Scorpius knew that all too well. He knew what caused it too, but he wasn't about to reveal that. He also hoped that Albus was able to listen to what was said. There was no way this man would reveal everything he was about to say in front of Albus as well.
"I know what you mean. But why do you have to keep hounding him? Why not have him thrown out of the pub or into the other room?"
"That would just get him into a fight on the street! We know not to take it too far, and we make sure to keep him down until the fight runs out of him. I thought you were part of that plan, you're the one that keeps picking him up when he is ready to go home!"
"I pick him up when I need a favour. I know that being the one bringing the lost Potter home to Mummy is the best way to keep my activities hidden and my face out of things. But clearly, that will no longer work."
"You… you just take him home to his family? I thought you…"
"Not. A. Word. About. That." Scorpius said. He did not need Albus hearing the things he had claimed to do with his brother. "They may not be able to hear us right now, but certain things are not spoken aloud ever. Do you understand?" The man nodded.
"Good. So, what did you do after I went away with James? Where did you go, what did you do to end up arrested? Clearly, it was not because of James only."
"I… I stole some things a few months back. I've been on the run ever since; they caught up to me today. I thought to hide in a crowd, but then I saw Albus Potter coming up the stairs and I panicked. I ran, and he was after me, and his buddy ran with him, and they caught up to me quickly."
"You really are an idiot. You shouldn't have run."
"I know! As I said, I panicked!"
Scorpius sighed. Time to see if he could get anything out of this conversation, other than doing Albus' job for him. "Well, for starters, don't say anything about how you do this often. That is only going to make him hate you more. As to what to say about the other things, I can't help you unless you get more specific. But just say that you left him in my hands, and that he was trying to fight you. If I get in trouble for this, you owe me big time! In fact, I say you already owe me!"
"Owe you? Why?"
"Why? Because of you, I have to spend time in here. Because of you, I am now on the Ministry's radar, whether I get out of this or not! Do you have any idea how much work you may have potentially undone with your stupidity?"
"I… I didn't mean to drag you into it! I haven't said anything about this to anyone I swear!"
"It doesn't matter! Because you went all over and did stupid things knowing the Ministry would be tailing you. Anyone from that pub last night could have been the one to snitch on you, because they know they might need a favour one day! Why do you think I keep myself on the good side of James Potter, eh? Idiot."
Status Power Mingguan
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-- Power
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