章節 46: Presumed missing
Hermione went down to a part of the Ministry archives she rarely visited. Harry's news about the Malfoy family history in Norway was troubling. It was always harder when personal feelings got in the way. She was furious at the double-standard present in this case. They refused to listen to her as the Minister, because her daughter was involved. Yet the main investigator there was not only personally involved, but had inherited a long-standing grudge against an entire family? She had to restrain herself from travelling to Norway and confront Lagasete directly. They had found a trump card. She needed to play it correctly. She hoped the solution could be found down here.
She went searching for the files containing events that happened in the year that Voldemort had taken over the Ministry and the aftermath. She had restricted access to most of these files. Not because the content should be secret, but because she feared that some would attempt to destroy them, either from misplaced anger or because they wanted to hide something. People could request access to the documents pertaining to themselves or their family, but only a few people could access the full contents.
She went for a file she had not looked at in years, not since the case was closed. Everything that had anything to do with any Malfoys during that time was collected there. She had already checked the immigration records, and there was no mention of any Malfoys coming in. But maybe something had been misunderstood and placed in this file instead?
She rifled through papers on the trial process and came back to the official documents from the year when the Ministry had been under Voldemort's control. The Malfoys were not often mentioned. They had not really been involved in the Ministry at the time.
Then she saw it. One seemingly inconsequential document about Malfoys missing at sea. They had been expected, but never showed. She felt relieved. At least something about this was recorded.
"Presumed missing" she mused to herself. "Where would that have been checked?"
She spent the rest of the day walking between different parts of the archives, but a general story was beginning to emerge. The question was, would it be enough to satisfy Lagasete? And would it even matter?
***
Albus and Scorpius were sneaking up to the holding cells in the Norwegian Ministry area. It was the courtyard of the old archbishop residence, though not the version the Muggles saw. It hadn't been hard to find out how to bypass the anti-Muggle protections, once they were there. A small gate between two buildings was only visible for wizards. It led to a whole other courtyard that was not visible for Muggles. They had even been able to get into the courtyard earlier in the day, by following some Ministry Workers. During the day, the general area was not restricted, but the security at the holding cells had been tighter. It was no different now, but it was harder to spot someone at night.
They were reasonably sure where Rose was held, but they needed to check a few different windows. Then all they could hope for was that the windows opened with a simple tap of a wand. If not, they would add property damage to the list of crimes they were committing.
Albus got down on his knees and Scorpius was able to look into the first window. He was quickly down again. "Lestrange," he said. "While it is satisfying to see him behind bars, the mere thought of what he has done to Rose and is still doing makes my blood boil. Let's try the next window."
"At least we are probably in the right area" Albus said as they moved silently towards the next window. That held another one of the Death Eaters. So did the next. And the next. In between all this, they had to remember to be on the lookout for any passing guards. Finally, at the last window on the bottom row, they found her. Scorpius gently tapped the window.
Rose had almost fallen asleep, but then she heard a strange noise. What had that been? She opened her eyes. No one was at the door. She looked around the room but saw nothing different.
Uncle Harry had been here earlier that day and told her what Draco had said. About Lagasete's grudge and how Scorpius had been released from hospital. More than ever, she regretted ever going to Azkaban, or getting entangled with the Death Eaters again. She just hoped that this new information would lead to a solution. She felt trapped and not just with the physical chain that they still insisted on. She was trapped between two stubborn people both refusing to back down. Lagasete had dug his heels in. He hadn't done any more interrogations with her, but Uncle Harry had given reports on their conversations. She felt more and more disheartened. What would happen if Lagasete refused to back down? She didn't want to think about it, but there wasn't much else for her to focus on.
The sound came again. It came from the window. She went over to it, or as close as she could get.
Scorpius was on the other side of the window, beaming at her. She gaped. Was she still dreaming?
Scorpius got out a wand and the window opened.
"Scorpius?" she whispered. "What are you doing here?"
"Good to see you too Rose," he said, still smiling. "I've come to get you out of here." He started to crawl in through the window. Rose hoped that there wasn't an alarm on those. She embraced Scorpius as soon as he was close enough for her to reach. She fought to hold back tears. It was so good to see him.
"What do you mean, get me out of here? How? Uncle Harry has been trying to do that for a week."
"And he'll keep trying. So will your mother. But I suspect it would actually be easier if you are not here. Listen, Lagasete has every right to be angry about the past, but you should not have to bear the punishment for what others have done. Come on. We need to go, before someone comes to check on you."
"They have just had their rounds. They won't be here for another two hours. I know the story, Uncle Harry told me. But still, I can't just run away. It would put my entire family in an awful position."
"The way I see it, it can't get much worse. We won't be going back to Britain, not for a while anyway. That will give your family plausible deniability. Listen, would you rather stay here? This situation is not going to change for quite a long time, Rose."
Rose hesitated. Scorpius did have a point. She understood why Lagasete behaved the way he did now, but it didn't help the situation. She was trapped between two conflicting parties here. Maybe it would be easier in the long run if she were not right here for Lagasete to punish. The fact that she was even considering this was a sign of how desperate she was. She sent a silent apology to her family as she said; "Fine. Get this chain off me. Let's go."
Scorpius grinned. He took out a wand and it was done in a moment. A huge sense of relief flooded through Rose. She had managed to pretend, even to herself, that the chain did not bother her, but it had. She never wanted to be restrained again.
"Come on. There is probably an alarm when chains are released," she said. Scorpius helped her out the window again and together with Albus they ran over the small courtyard and over the wall. The guards were not focused on anyone coming from the inside, they were watching the gate. Merely two minutes after they had gone out the window, the alarm was raised, and the gate closed automatically. They all gave a start and ran to the side, out of sight from the main gate. The guards ran back to where the alarm was coming from, but they didn't see them.
"That was close." Albus said, relieved, once the guards were gone.
"Too close," Scorpius said. But he had a huge grin on his face. And he had not let go of Rose's hand while they were running. Now they embraced and kissed for the first time in weeks. This occupied them for several minutes, until they heard a small cough behind them.
"If you don't want to be found once they start a proper search, I suggest we get out of here now," Draco said. But he too had a huge smile on his face.
"Draco! What are you doing here?" Rose exclaimed.
"Trying to keep my family together," Draco said. "Come on. The Portkey is right over here."
They ran over to a nearby cluster of oak trees. Draco pointed to an old comb that lay on the ground. They all held on to it. Rose then remembered the Tracker on her shoulder. She quickly removed it and threw it away in the direction of the front gate. It landed in plain view. That way, her mother would not have to lie if they asked if she knew where Rose was.
"Where are we going?" Rose asked while they waited for the Portkey to activate. They heard increased activity. Rose prayed that none would come running this way.
"North. The Saami people are not usually welcome to foreign wizards, but I have talked to one of their wandering groups and they are willing to accept us. They owe a debt to the Malfoy family and are happy that it can be repaid to those of us that are decent people."
He didn't have time to say anything more as the Portkey activated. Rose felt a small hook attach to her navel as she was dragged away. Her sense of freedom increased as the Norwegian Ministry buildings disappeared from view.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票