Bab 37: Moving on
"If you're up to it, Scorpius, I wish to have a word with you," Harry said as the others left. "We need to discuss how we are going to handle the issue of you being arrested in one identity but rescued as yourself. We cannot hide that it was you that was rescued from the island, as most of the women that were with you on the boat realised that. But to start with the obvious question first, do you even wish to continue your job as Lehrer? Or should we simply release a statement that he is sentenced to life in Azkaban and hope that no one ever notices that you are not actually there?"
"I have thought about that," Scorpius said. "There is really no good way to do this. We cannot keep it a secret. But maybe we don't have to mix Lehrer into it at all? People saw Lehrer get arrested, but they don't know where he was taken to. Let the story stand as is, that Vane kidnapped me, James, and Ginny. I didn't look at all like Lehrer by the time we came out of there."
"But how will you then explain Lehrer's reappearance?"
"You will issue a blanket statement that all of Vane's actions as Dawson will be annulled, or at least looked into. It was very obviously him that arrested Lehrer. Provide a photo, to make sure people know who it is. That may also give you clues to other things she was doing whilst pretending to be an Auror. The fact that a Death Eater would then be released is just luck on my part and will make it more unlikely that the Ministry will dare to try and arrest me again any time soon."
"You have given this a lot of thought." Rose said. "I think that sounds like a good idea. Lehrer was never on that island, even Sam only ever saw Scorpius Malfoy. We don't need to give specific dates."
"I had a lot of time to think. I had to pretend, even as I stopped believing it, that I would get out of there someday. Planning for the future was a good distraction." Rose squeezed his hand as he said this.
"That sounds like a great idea. I will work with Hermione and Ginny to control how we release this information to the press. We need to be careful in how we present this, and I hope we don't have to reveal all the details, but Hermione is all about open communication to the public. You may get a request for an interview again, Scorpius. It is up to you whether you want to accept."
"I will need to think up a story on how I was kidnapped, if I do accept. I probably should do it, if not a full interview, at least a statement, together with James. Ginny is the journalist, let her be the face of this for my part."
"Daily Prophet journalist kidnapped by deranged ex-lover. Quite the story," Rose said.
"She was never a lover. She was a person I interacted with maybe four or five times, if that. Her obsession with me is completely unfounded." Harry said, annoyed.
"I'm sorry. I'm sure Ginny can think of a better word," Rose said, quickly changing the subject. "I have to say, I am a little worried about Tom. I was looking for him even before Scorpius went missing, but no one has seen either of the brothers for months. If he isn't in Azkaban, and not on that island, where is he?"
"If Albus can't get anything out of her, I will send someone to Azkaban to do a manual check of all prisoners. He is not on the official list of prisoners we have here, but it may be that he was arrested under a different name, or just removed from the list here."
"What will happen to Sam?" Scorpius found himself asking, despite trying to tell himself that he didn't care.
"He is currently in detention, until this is all cleared up. I know he was very involved in this mess, but I don't think it was done maliciously. Vane as Dawson was quite persuasive and with the threat of further harm to his brother, Sam felt quite helpless. Plus, he was relieved Dawson found someone other than his brother to "test" the top-security cell, so he didn't want to ask too many questions. Marietta was there from the moment Sam learnt the truth, a constant reminder of the hopeless situation. He felt trapped. But I don't think he can just be released either."
"He could have done something. He said Marietta only sat and stared out into the sea. He could have tried communicating with us, but he did nothing."
"You're right and that is where he failed. But not all people are brave. He also had no way to get off the island without fighting Dawson for control of the boat. He is deathly scared of Dawson, or at least the impersonator version of him."
"He would have known we could beat him if he had tried to communicate."
"Yes. Like I said, it is complicated. Honestly, he seems to be relieved it is over, whether or not he goes to prison is not important to him at the moment. His only plea is that we find out what happened to his brother."
"Let's not talk more about that," Rose said. "Let's rather focus on our own problems. What do you want me to do, Harry?"
"We have a few more women that still haven't come in for their interviews, you could help your mother with that? If not, there is a whole lot of paperwork to go through."
"Paperwork. I never imagined there would be so much paperwork from working in Law Enforcement. I still wonder how Albus manages to always stay on top of it."
"That is mainly because he seems to have made it a mission to use as few words as possible on each report, often resulting in missing details. His arrest forms are only the bare minimum as is the witness statements. His crime scene reports are the only things he does properly."
"I knew it! I knew he must be cheating somehow."
"Please don't start doing that. I have half a mind to ask him to re-do some of his most sparse reports. Comparing the reports, I need your version to get the full picture."
"I'll get him back for this somehow. But no, I won't start leaving out details. I know how important those can be."
"Thank you. At least one of you listened to Dawson's lessons on the importance of paperwork. Either way, let's wait and hear what Albus can get out of Vane, if he can get her to talk at all."
"Rather him than me," Rose said. "That will be one report he will need to do properly."
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