Blood of Mud, Wing of Bat

Chapter 28: Grilled Weasel On Toast

An excerpt from the transcript of Rudeo Nesbitt's interview of Hermione Weasley.

Rudeo Nesbitt: Hello, Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione Weasley: I knew you were behind this! [fuming]

Nesbitt: Have you met my new partner, Maurice Benkmann?

Maurice Benkmann: Hello.

Weasley: [indecipherable]

Nesbitt: Let's get right down to business, shall we? We have a lot of questioning to get through.

Weasley: They've set my bail at ten times my husband's and my yearly salaries combined. So don't bother to rush. I'll be lucky if I'm out of here by next week.

Nesbitt: How… inconvenient.

Weasley: For me, anyway.

Nesbitt: Hmm yes. I'm sure you know what we're here to talk to you about?

Weasley: Malfoy.

Nesbitt: About what happened at his office today, actually. The wand duel. You don't mind if we have a seat, do you?

Weasley: No. [sighs] Go ahead.

Nesbitt: [a shuffling of clothes and papers, a squeak of chair on floor] We've already spoken with the Aurors themselves, of course. We're mostly interested in your perspective on the same events.

Weasley: I see.

Nesbitt: Why don't you start from the beginning. What happened?

Weasley: Well… from when I first saw the Aurors?

Nesbitt: That seems as good a spot as any.

Weasley: [a pause] Fine, then. [another pause] May I have some water?

Nesbitt: Benkmann, pour her some water.

Benkmann: Yes, sir.

Weasley: Thank you.

Nesbitt: Go on.

Weasley: They were already there when I arrived. Waiting in the lobby. The entryway. There's a little yellow sitting room that fronts Malfoy's office.

Nesbitt: I'm familiar with it.

Weasley: When I first arrived they were arguing with Poopsie - she's a Freed elf who works there - trying to convince her to let them in, but she wouldn't. When Malfoy came out, he wanted to know who they were and they introduced themselves as Bendover and Bangor from the department of B.U.M.M.E.R.

Benkmann: [snickers]

Nesbitt: And how did he react to that?

Weasley: I'm not sure he was convinced they were really Aurors. A lot of people have never heard of B.U.M.M.E.R., you know.

Nesbitt: True. Go on.

Weasley: Anyway, he said he didn't have time to deal with them. He asked me to come with him into his office, and so I did. But before we'd sat down or anything, the Aurors came in after us and insisted upon speaking to Malfoy. They said they wanted to examine his owl.

Nesbitt: Good, good.

Weasley: Pardon me?

Nesbitt: Nothing. Go on.

Weasley: They asked him if he'd used the owl for fighting other owls, and he said no. They asked if he knew owl fighting was illegal, and he said yes. Then they stunned the owl… I think that's when things began to get ugly.

Nesbitt: What happened?

Weasley: I'm trying to remember. He asked them if they had a warrant.

Nesbitt: Did they?

Weasley: Yes, but when he read it he became extremely angry. They got nervous and the other Auror, Bangor, got her wand out too. Bendover had already had his out from casting the stunning spell.

Nesbitt: And that was when the duel began?

Weasley: Not yet. First he demanded to know who their informant had been, and when they refused to say he decided it had to have been you. He was so furious he threw a, it was a bowl of owl tips, at the Auror named Bendover.

Nesbitt: [laughing] He threw what??

Weasley: A bowl… it was this pottery bowl shaped like a mouse. It had Sickles in it. He used them to tip owls. I think he might have inherited it from Batwing's original owner.

Nesbitt: I see. Was his wand out at this point?

Weasley: No, not yet. He threw the bowl at Bendover, who dodged, and it shattered and coins rolled all over the place. Then Bendover told the other Auror, Bangor, to leave. So she did, with the owl. Via floo.

Nesbitt: Not one of the three mentioned how the bowl was broken. Ha!

Weasley: [says nothing]

Nesbitt: And then Malfoy attacked Bendover?

Weasley: Well, Bendover threw the first curse.

Nesbitt: Good god. These ickle-Aurors get worse every day. He threw the first curse, on an unarmed assailant? What curse was it?

Weasley: I wouldn't call Malfoy unarmed, exactly… he'd just thrown a heavy bowl at Bendover's head.

Nesbitt: I've been on the receiving end of Malfoy's throws. Trust me, he was unarmed.

Weasley: If you say so. Anyway, Bendover tried to Petrify him but Malfoy drew his own wand - well, I think it was his son's actually - and did an Erratus to disarm him.

Nesbitt: What happened next? After the Erratus.

Weasley: Bendover grabbed up his wand again and Malfoy began to chase him around the room trying to get him to say how the owl thing was arranged. Bendover tried to Stupefy him and another spell I didn't quite catch, but he threw them both off with defensive curses.

Nesbitt: Which ones?

Weasley: Deflecto was for Stupefy, and Exstinguate for the other one.

Nesbitt: [sound of quill scratching on paper]

Weasley: Finally Bendover realized he wasn't going to get Malfoy that way and was only making him more upset. Also he figured out it was only a student wand, so he wasn't really in that much danger himself. So he said something to that effect and Malfoy dropped his son's wand and pulled out this other wand. One that wasn't his. I think it belonged to Gina White, one of his employees - she was waiting out in the yellow room too, trying to get it back.

Nesbitt: I see. And was that when he cursed Bendover?

Weasley: No… he threatened to, but he didn't. Bendover managed to talk him down a bit.

Nesbitt: Really! Perhaps there's more to this Bendover fellow than meets the eye.

Weasley: He got him to come over to his desk and sit down, but didn't try to disarm him or anything. They started talking about the owl and how Malfoy could maybe get it back if he cleaned up his act, but Malfoy didn't sound like he believed him.

Nesbitt: Malfoy is a lot sharper than most people give him credit for.

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: How did Bendover end up on fire and wandless?

Weasley: Ah. Well just as Bendover was going to leave - via floo - Bangor came back. Via floo also. She didn't even stop to find out what was going on, she just… look, you must have heard all this in detail from them. Do I really have to go over it?

Nesbitt: As we saw, some details were left out. Go on.

Weasley: [sighs] Well. She tried to Stupefy Malfoy as he was sitting in his chair. But he threw himself on the floor and the curse missed. He came up with his wand aimed at Bendover and did an Expelliarmus and Bendover went flying backward into the floo. He'd already opened it, you see, to leave, and it was still active.

Nesbitt: I see. And the fire?

Weasley: I think it was a side effect from using a strange wand. I didn't see anything different about the way he cast it.

Nesbitt: [scratching quill noises]

Weasley: And he must have Disapparated right after casting the curse, because by the time I realized what had happened he was already gone. He didn't even stick around long enough to catch Bendover's wand. It just flew onto the floor.

Nesbitt: And what happened to Bangor?

Weasley: He Apparated behind her and grabbed her and she dropped her wand. He still had Gina White's wand but he didn't curse her. He said….

Nesbitt: Go on.

Weasley: I don't remember the exact wording. But he said for her to relay a message to you. And then he said he'd turn her and Bendover into amphibians and sell them as parts if he caught them around Batwing again.

Benkmann: [muffled laugh]

Weasley: I don't think he actually meant -

Nesbitt: You do know what happened to Brett Bannock in Batwing's Sales department, didn't you?

Weasley: Er… I'd heard something happened to him, but not exactly what.

Nesbitt: It's not pretty. You might want to find out, just so you're informed.

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: And then…?

Weasley: He shoved her into the Floo and sent her to a swamp somewhere.

Nesbitt: Old Mill Ruins, Haverford Swamp. A favored Death Eater jump point back in his father's day, now exposed.

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: What happened after that?

Weasley: We talked… just a little. We'd only got a few sentences in before you two showed up.

Nesbitt: And you grabbed his arm just as he Disapparated. Risky move on your part - to make a massive understatement.

Weasley: I thought he was going to curse you. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly. I certainly hadn't anticipated that he was going to Disapparate.

Nesbitt: Where did you reappear?

Weasley: I think it was Malfoy Manor. In a grand entry-hall of some sort.

Nesbitt: Did Malfoy try to curse you?

Weasley: [a pause] No, he never got that far. He was angry though. He said I had a lot to learn about being in a combat situation and if I ever grabbed his arm in the middle of a spell again he'd curse me to pieces.

Benkmann: [laughs]

Nesbitt: [seriously] You're lucky to be alive. He's killed for less.

Benkmann: [stops laughing]

Weasley: It was OK. He was just upset.

Nesbitt: And how did you get him to let you go?

Weasley: He kicked me out, actually. We were both pretty upset after we talked.

Nesbitt: And at that point you went home?

Weasley: Yes. He'd actually wanted me to go back to his office and explain to you that I wasn't kidnapped, but… I guess you've figured that out by now.

Nesbitt: Yes. [drily] Actually he came and explained that himself. We were able to verify his story by contacting the Floo Authority and having the records checked.

Weasley: …oh.

Nesbitt: You didn't know that, did you?

Weasley: No, I didn't.

Nesbitt: It was he who was kind enough to inform us that you were in the middle of a fight with your husband, making it possible for us to intervene before somebody got hurt.

Weasley: You mean before we calmed down, so you could haul me in for questioning.

Nesbitt: No matter. The point being, he provided the information.

Weasley: Unintentionally.

Nesbitt: I doubt it was unintentional at all. Malfoy knows exactly how the game is played.

Weasley: What game?

Nesbitt: He made a mistake in Apparating with someone else's wand where we could witness him doing it. Once he'd already done it, anything else we could prove him guilty of would only make matters worse for him. So it behooved him to clear up the matter of what had happened to you.

Weasley: Anything else you could...? There's no law against using someone else's … oh. You want to get an order for an Apparition restraint charm."

Nesbitt: Clever girl.

Weasley: Arthur told me all about it - how you people have managed to get ahold of his Apparition records and want to use his past violations to justify taking his license, then justify the restraining charm by proving he can Apparate using wands other than his own. Well I think it's despicable! Harrassment like this is why the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was dismantled in the first place!

Nesbitt: [chuckles] Dismantled by those who had something to fear from it - and something to hide.

Weasley: How is he going to be a productive member of society if he can't even think about going anywhere - by any form of transportation - without getting a nasty electric shock and having Aurors come down on him?

Nesbitt: A productive member of society? Are you serious?

Weasley: Of course I'm serious! A person has to be able to go to work every day.

Nesbitt: Surely Arthur's showed you the figures, all the Muggles and Muggle-borns Malfoy's slaughtered in cold blood. How could he possibly do anything for society that would balance out that?

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: [sound of rustling papers] This was removed from your home when you were brought in. I believe it was with materials given you by Sibyll Trelawney. I don't know how she got her hands on this, and it's not even complete, but I think it will help illustrate my point.

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: It's a list of dead Muggles. They're all people where were killed on raids Malfoy led, or whose execution orders he handed down, or who he executed personally.

Weasley: I skipped over it… I was looking for Batwing information.

Nesbitt: Is that so?

Weasley: That's my job.

Nesbitt: You didn't even read this? I find that difficult to believe.

Weasley: It's not really relevant to my work is it?

Nesbitt: [after a pause] Being willfully in denial about what Malfoy is isn't going to help you, you know.

Weasley: I'm not in denial. I'm just assuming he's innocent until proven guilty. You people obviously haven't been able to prove anything at all, or he'd be in Azkaban like his father.

Nesbitt: We may not be able to prove it to the Wizengamot, flush as its pockets are with his gold. However, we have plenty of evidence. Plenty of eyewitnesses. I've seen him commit murder myself.

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: His technique is difficult to mistake. He Apparates right behind the intended victim, you see, and….

Weasley: Look, I don't think you should be -

Nesbitt: Don't you think you ought to know? Your parents could be the next targets. They're Muggles who know about the Wizarding world - exactly the sort of folks the Death Eaters want to eliminate completely.

Weasley: It's just a business relationship.

Nesbitt: He can Apparate silently so the person doesn't even know he's there….

Weasley: He's not the only one who can do Soft Apparition. There's nothing ominous about it, it's just a parlour trick. Can we talk about something else?

Nesbitt: You saw him do it when he attacked Agent Bangor, didn't you.

Weasley: It was self-defense, and… and… I told you I don't want to talk about it.

Nesbitt: He could have killed her when he did that. If he had been using his own wand, he probably would have. He had her in that headlock, and he'd already disarmed her….

Weasley: Why are you saying this? [upset]

Nesbitt: It's just an example. That's how he does it. The Killing Curse at point-blank range, and always in the back. Nobody else does it exactly the same way. That's how they can tell he was responsible when they autopsy the bodies.

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: It's the Apparition skill, you see. Can you imagine trying to Apparate that near to someone when you're both moving? Anybody else would splinch themselves trying.

Weasley: [more silence]

Nesbitt: It only takes an instant. There's not enough time for them to react before it's done. This list -

Weasley: Please, I….

Nesbitt: Hundreds of Muggles, and that doesn't even include the Muggle-born witches and wizards he's done in. You-Know-Who sends him to execute other Death Eaters, too, when necessary. They don't stand a chance. It's hard to fight an enemy who can scout the area invisibly first and see exactly where to Apparate to get you.

Weasley: Invisibly…?

Nesbitt: He's taken Soft Apparition far beyond what anyone else has, far beyond simply appearing somewhere silently. He can Apparate partially - only far enough to spy, but not enough to manifest physically. He can nail his victim's position and movement in an instant, then reverse his first, partial Apparition and Apparate again in an eyeblink to murder them a moment later. Or he can partially Apparate to each room of a house in turn, making a note of who is where and return to report the details to the rest of a raiding party. Do you realize what an advantage this gives the Death Eaters during an attack?

Weasley: I can't even begin to im-

Nesbitt: It means they're never surprised when they Portkey into a Muggle home. They know exactly where all the victims are. It allows them to take on much larger groups… can you imagine trying to slaughter an entire birthday party full of rambunctious young children and their parents in a timely fashion without knowing exactly where everybody was?

Weasley: No. [sounding ill]

Nesbitt: It also makes them nearly impossible to ambush. There simply isn't any way to set it up, because not even the Death Eaters going on the raid are told where it will be in advance. On the rare occasions one of our spies has managed to get the information back to us in time, Malfoy has caught the Aurors setting up and aborted the mission before any of them Portkeyed in.

Weasley: I see. [subdued]

Nesbitt: [sound of shuffling cloth, then a click of wood-on-wood] Speaking of Apparition, he was using this wand when he Disapparated with you, wasn't he?

Weasley: Yes, that's Gina White's.

Nesbitt: You had it with you at the Burrow… how did you come by it, exactly?

Weasley: He wanted me to bring it back when I went to talk to you. Only I didn't go back to Batwing. So I still had it.

Nesbitt: He just handed it over to you? What is he using instead?

Weasley: Umm, well I asked him for it because he was really upset about the Apparition thing. I thought he was going to curse me. Then when I tried to give it back he told me to keep it. Bring it with.

Nesbitt: I think you were in more danger than you know.

Weasley: He was just upset because I almost got him killed. Anyone would have been upset over that.

Nesbitt: There were witnesses to your abduction, such as it was, and it wasn't his wand. That was probably all that saved you.

Weasley: I think it was a bit more than that!

Nesbitt: Oh? Do tell.

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: [after a pause] I can see you're trying to see the good in Malfoy, and that's an admirable enough trait in business but this isn't about business.

Weasley: Yes it is!

Nesbitt: Not really. You're going to get sucked into the other aspect of his life whether you want to or not, and I'll tell you why. It's because there is no Batwing. There is no business enterprise, there is no legitimate reason for Malfoy to do any of this. Only sinister reasons.

Weasley: There is most certainly a Batwing.

Nesbitt: There used to be. All that's left is a dying ruin. And your client, Draco Malfoy, is using that ruined vestige of a company as a front for something else, something unspeakably evil.

Weasley: How can you be so sure?

Nesbitt: It's in his nature. Are you aware of how near he came to holding a monopoly on -

Weasley: That's ridiculous. That entire Muggle monopoly charge was ridiculous. Malfoy doesn't even think Muggles are human - they're like animals to him. And he doesn't seem that well educated about them - how could you possibly believe he did that on purpose? It has to have been an accident.

Nesbitt: [after a pause] You underestimate him. That's not a very good idea, you know. He'll use that against you.

Weasley: I've seen how he thinks. He hasn't changed much since I knew him at Hogwarts.

Nesbitt: Oh, he's prejudiced against Muggles, I'll grant you that. And there's a lot he doesn't know about them - much he doesn't care about, or really doesn't want to know. However, there's very little Malfoy is incapable of when given a direct order by he-who-must-not-be-named. And trying to get his enemies to underestimate him is one of his most oft-used tricks. He'd be in Azkaban right now if he hadn't managed to cast sufficient doubt on his motives in creating that monopoly.

Weasley: Azkaban? For breaking Muggle law?

Nesbitt: Given the precise industry he'd chosen to dominate - yes.

Weasley: Which was?

Nesbitt: The United Kingdom's defense industry.

Weasley: The defense industry? But -

Nesbitt: Think of the havoc he could have wreaked. Can you imagine what You-Know-Who could do with weapons of mixed Muggle and Magical design?

Weasley: That's utterly insane. Malfoy isn't capable of that kind of - it's ridiculous.

Nesbitt: Isn't capable of what?

Weasley: The kind of intense, extended research into the Muggle economy and knowledge of that particular industry that would be required. The sort of coordinated effort and long term commitment needed to bring off such a feat. Malfoy just isn't that person. He wouldn't be even if he didn't have giant blind spots where Muggles are concerned. That monopoly was an accident - if it ever existed at all - and you know it.

Nesbitt: [a rustle of plastic evidence bag] Have you seen this?

Weasley: That? [a pause] I think it's Malfoy's Batwing Knowitall. He was supposed to give it to me at one of our meetings, but Arthur said you stole it when the tan-robes were searching him. He gave it back to me to return to Malfoy, but I never got a chance.

Nesbitt: Have you seen its contents?

Weasley: No. As I said, we never had a chance to-

Nesbitt: I have.

Weasley: [a pause] …and?

Nesbitt: I think when you do see it you'll have to revise your opinion on Malfoy's ability to analyze a deeply complicated situation and make incisive decisions in unfamiliar settings.

Weasley: People say he's only good for tackling problems that take ten minutes to solve, then resting on his laurels for a day or two.

Nesbitt: Ah, well, you've obviously been talking to people who believe in the lie he chooses to project.

Weasley: Well even from what I've seen with my own eyes. There's a definite… lack of self-discipline.

Nesbitt: Lack of discipline? You've seen him Apparate with someone else's wand, during a moment of extreme stress, with an unexpected passenger, and pull it off - and you can call him undisciplined?

Weasley: He has incredible reflexes. I'll say that for him.

Nesbitt: This is more than just reflex. Do you know how many years it takes to learn that kind of Apparition skill? To develop new techniques like the ones he uses on raids? Obsessive dedication doesn't even begin to cover it.

Weasley: There's a big difference between obsession and discipline. If a person is obsessed, and they're doing what they're obsessed with, they don't need any discipline. They can just give in to their urges.

Nesbitt: …true. However, going into combat on a daily basis requires a lot of discipline.

Weasley: Unless someone or something is forcing one to do it. In that case it only requires being more afraid of the punishment than the work.

Nesbitt: You don't think Malfoy is capable of discipline.

Weasley: His friends don't think he's capable of it, and they probably know him better than anyone.

Nesbitt: [thoughtfully] And how did you come to know what his friends think of him?

Weasley: Just overhearing what people have said.

Nesbitt: Are you sure you weren't meant to overhear?

Weasley: Very sure.

Nesbitt: Interesting. I don't think I agree, but it's interesting that they believe that. I'm going to show you a list. A different list. [sound of papers ruffling] Does this mean anything to you?

Weasley: [a pause] They're all charities and activist groups.

Nesbitt: Groups that Draco Malfoy either chairs, or takes an active role in beyond simply donating money.

Weasley: Oh.

Nesbitt: Or rather he did take an active role. Until tonight.

Weasley: …oh?

Nesbitt: He's been resigning from them en masse. We believe his goal is to leave every group mentioned on this list as soon as possible.

Weasley: [sounding amazed] Really!

Nesbitt: Do you know anything about this?

Weasley: No!

Nesbitt: Didn't you suggest he do just that, in order to spend more time at Batwing?

Weasley: I told him that if he wanted to take Mr. Batten's place at Batwing he'd have to put in more hours there. I suggested he might be able to make more time by not going to so many meetings in the evenings and perhaps not being active in so many organizations. But he didn't react well at all when I suggested that!

Nesbitt: What did he say?

Weasley: He said it would be sabotaging himself politically. Actually he didn't like many of my suggestions at all, and became rather upset with me. We had to stop talking about it.

Nesbitt: I see. So you didn't think he would follow your advice?

Weasley: No. At least not without a lot more convincing. This really is a surprise. You say he's resigned most of these? [sound of rustling papers]

Nesbitt: He's gone through the top twelve on the list in the last five hours. We think his intention is to get to them all as soon as possible. This is a copy of a list we found in his handwriting on his desk at Batwing, with the top five already crossed off. What we don't know is whether he was actually following your advice, or if he's doing it for some other reason. What do you think?

Weasley: I don't know what to say. I did suggest… but I don't really know him well enough to say for sure. I thought I was going to have to work on him a lot more.

Nesbitt: He could be using your advice as a coverup for something else he's working on… something more sinister than Batwing. What did he tell you regarding his quitting the Ministry?

Weasley: Didn't he get sacked?

Nesbitt: That's what it said in the media, but that isn't necessarily accurate.

Weasley: You think he quit?

Nesbitt: It seems more in character, doesn't it?

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: Had you talked to him about it?

Weasley: Not afterward. I was sort of afraid to bring it up, to be honest. I had suggested he take a leave of absence. I assumed he was sacked as a result of asking for it so I figured there would be hard feelings.

Nesbitt: He and Patterson go back for years and years. I doubt Patterson would fire him.

Weasley: You do think he quit on purpose, then.

Nesbitt: Most likely, and Patterson cooperated by pretending it was a firing.

Weasley: …I see.

Nesbitt: Now being as honest as possible, both with me and with yourself - do you think Draco Malfoy would listen to what you, Hermione Weasley the Muggle-born daughter-in-law of his enemies, has to say? Do you think he'd not only listen, but act on every one of your recommendations within hours of your making them?

Weasley: [a long silence, then finally:] Not really.

Nesbitt: I didn't think so.

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: And what of his reasons for taking up Batwing as a project in the first place? Has he said anything at all to you, either believable or not?

Weasley: [after a very long pause, and sounding rather subdued] I asked, but he wouldn't tell me.

Nesbitt: That's just it. He hasn't told anybody. Not you, Mr. Patterson, not his friends. The only other people who might possibly know what he's up to are all Death Eaters, and none of our moles have been able to get them to admit it.

Weasley: [silence]

Nesbitt: What do you have to say to that? Do you have any idea of why he might be doing it? Any guesses… hunches….

Weasley: Well….

Nesbitt: Well?

Weasley: First he said it was because he wanted to, and he didn't need any other reason.

Nesbitt: I see.

Weasley: Then when I asked again, he said I would learn to work around not knowing, if I knew what was good for me.

Nesbitt: To me that reeks of an upper-echelon Death Eater plot. Did Arthur tell you about the Memoralias Charm?

Weasley: Yes, he made it sound as if the Death Eaters gave it to Malfoy and use it to check up on him. I'm still not sure if I believe that though.

Nesbitt: That they check up on him? Or that the Memoralias Charm was given him by them?

Weasley: Either one.

Nesbitt: Well, but you do agree it is a Memoralias Charm?

Weasley: Oh, yes. I recognized it right away.

Nesbitt: Then I expect it doesn't really matter where he got it, does it? Simply the possibility of a Death Eater one day seeing the contents of that charm would prevent Malfoy from blabbing the wrong secrets to anybody who isn't supposed to know them. After all, not even a Malfoy can fail You-Know-Who and get away with it. His father proved that.

Weasley: [after a long pause] I see. [and an ever longer pause] Why do you think Malfoy is doing the Batwing project?

Nesbitt: Batwing is a sham. He's using it to cover up for something else. Something so important he's willing to work with you to accomplish it. Something only he and perhaps one or two select others know about.

Weasley: But what is that something?

Nesbitt: That's the Million Galleon question, isn't it?