Blood of Mud, Wing of Bat

Skeeter: Thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Anonymous: Quite all right... I apologize for the early hour.

Purple Prose Pen: It is a dark and stormy night.

Skeeter: I don't mind in the least. And it's not early for you at all, is it? You're used to working late hours.

Anonymous: Oh yes, I just got off of work actually. So this is a very convenient time for me.

Purple Prose Pen: We meet in a private booth at the back of the Bear's Hares Pub. It seems an odd locale for an interview with one of the "good guys".

Skeeter: Now as you may already know, I am working on a story about Rudeo Nesbitt.

Anonymous: Oh yes, and I've been following the rumors about it with great interest!

Purple Prose Pen: Our interviewee is deceptively normal-looking. A person could chat with him for an hour, then not recognize him on the street the next day. That is how Special Operations likes its employees, of course.

Skeeter: Splendid! Well, I've managed to collect a good deal of information about Mr. Nesbitt so far, but I've had trouble finding a truly reliable inside source.

Anonymous: I can imagine.

Purple Prose Pen: And yet, he is also identifiably Special Ops. They have a definite look about them, one both comforting and unnerving....

Skeeter: You are prepared to provide that sort of information?

Anonymous: Yes I am, Rita, if I can do so without breaking my oath as an Auror.

Anonymous: Er... excuse me, but were you going to actually use...?

Skeeter: ...this? My Purple Prose Pen? Why, is there a problem?

Anonymous: It just seems, ah, well I feel a bit silly admitting this, but it seems rather overly dramatic doesn't it?

Purple Prose Pen: The best informants are the ones who would rather lay down their lives than betray their department. The ones who burn with a fierce and terrible loyalty to company and commander that cannot, and will not, ever quite be reciprocated.

Skeeter: Oh, don't you worry about a thing, we'll get it edited right up before it goes to press. Now, you were once Rudeo Nesbitt's partner, am I right?

Anonymous: Oh... yes. Yes, I was.

Purple Prose Pen: A man like Nesbitt can't help but generate this type of follower. He compels his people's loyalty with one breath and strikes them down with the next. They love and hate him, and they have no recourse for either within the confining strictures of Special Ops.

Skeeter: And you aren't afraid that information, that fact that you were his partner at one time, will make it too easy to identify you?

Anonymous: [chuckles uneasily] It won't exactly narrow down the field, no.

Purple Prose Pen: He pretends to joke about the number of partners Nesbitt has had. But underneath that gentle barb, like a cancer or a bottled-up explosive, lurks the wounded faith of a zealot discarded.

Skeeter: I knew Nesbitt had gone through a number of partners recently but I hadn't realized it was quite that bad!

Anonymous: Put it this way. He's had five failed partners just since Operation First Strike began. Ten since the beginning of the year. If you go back more than a few years, well, I could be nearly anybody.

Anonymous: I say! That's positively giving me the willies. Make it stop!

Skeeter: Go slow, pet. [to the quill]

Anonymous: I don't see why it's even necessary to use --

Skeeter: Maurice Benkmann.

Anonymous: ...I beg your pardon?

Skeeter: There are rumors that Nesbitt's latest partner, Maurice Benkmann, isn't expected to last a week.

Anonymous: I hadn't heard, but it wouldn't surprise me. Benkmann's... an idealist.

Purple Prose Pen: Our interviewee hesitates as he attempts to describe Nesbitt's current partner. It is clear there is much to say that cannot be encompassed in a word, or two words, or in an entire book of whispers. Benkmann is a rival. But he is still Special Ops.

Skeeter: I take it Mr. Nesbitt doesn't care for idealists?

Anonymous: You have to understand the type of people we're up against. If a Death Eater steps out of line or fails at a mission, the penalty is death. These are not people who can afford to blanch at doing what has to be done, so we can't be either. The last thing Nesbitt needs or wants is a partner who'll put him in danger out of naivete.

Purple Prose Pen: He speaks as if he is Nesbitt's protector. If he cannot be the partner, he can at least judge those who step up to attempt that role. Even when they are his own brothers in the force.

Anonymous: [continues] Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where it's a mistake to put too much trust in humanity. I mean, if you look at the fact that some of these Death Eaters have no choice in what they do, for some people that translates into being kinder to them. In reality, though, you have to be ruthless just to survive against them.

Skeeter: In my radio interview with Nix Johnson, he said that most of the newer, younger Aurors are soft on criminals, that they don't have what it takes to contend with the likes of the Death Eaters effectively. Do you agree that Nesbitt has had trouble finding another long-term partner because the younger candidates are all too soft?

Anonymous: Well, that's probably an oversimplification. There are other factors too. Take Derringer for example: he was Nesbitt's partner right before Benkmann. Derringer is anything but soft. He knows what Death Eaters are, and he knows what has to be done. But he made the mistake of making Nesbitt look like a fool in public, and that was the kiss of death really.

Purple Prose Pen: Again the definite sense of us-against-the world from him. Derringer was in the wrong and he did it in view of the rest of the world. That made him alone in his failure.

Skeeter: Derringer was sacked from Auror Special Operations over an incident in Hogsmeade last Monday, am I correct?

Anonymous: Yes.

Purple Prose Pen: But it could so easily have happened to anyone. Nesbitt is capricious and vindictive. On any other day, Derringer's job might have been saved. What incident or shortcoming led to our interviewee's own failure as Nesbitt's partner?

Anonymous: [coughs]

Skeeter: According to news media, Derringer prevented Nesbitt from using excessive force against Draco Malfoy in front of dozens of witnesses.

Anonymous: To be honest, it was all just a misunderstanding.

Purple Prose Pen: To one who has studied Rudeo Nesbitt, there was almost certainly no misunderstanding where excessive force is concerned. Even so, one simply can't help but ask...

Skeeter: What happened?

Purple Prose Pen: Just to see how he will answer...

Anonymous: Nesbitt wasn't actually using excessive force. The suspect had gone down, you know, dove down on the ground and curled up with his arms over his head... witnesses often misunderstand that sort of thing. It's difficult to believe anybody can be dangerous from that position, so then when they see further violence done to the person they assume it's unnecessary-use-of-force.

Skeeter: It isn't?

Anonymous: The suspect was carrying a second wand, you see, he hadn't been completely disarmed. Nesbitt was only keeping the pressure on to prevent him from drawing the spare wand until he could be cuffed.

Skeeter: I see. And what of these reports that Malfoy has gotten romantically entangled with Arthur Weasley's daughter-in-law?

Anonymous: Er... what?

Purple Prose Pen: He looks much younger when he is confused.

Skeeter: Hermione Weasley... and Draco Malfoy.

Anoymous: Uh...

Purple Prose Pen: More threatened, less sure of himself.

Skeeter: Isn't it scandalous? Several newspapers have reported them holding hands, eating breakfast together, and so forth.

Anomymous: Guh! I mean, I wouldn't put too much store by that. Some tabloids will print anything.

Purple Prose Pen: He's definitely repelled by the idea. But why? Is it because of Weasley's bloodlines? Or is it the opposite, the fact that she is incontrovertibly good, and Malfoy incontrovertibly evil?

Skeeter: But you can't deny she's working with him.

Anonymous: Working for him - and only indirectly. What has this to do with Rudeo Nesbitt?

Skeeter: Wouldn't you say that Draco Malfoy is Nesbitt's nemesis?

Anonymous: Yes. Yes, I suppose most people would say that.

Skeeter: In fact, Nesbitt is obssessed with Draco Malfoy, isn't he?

Anonymous: Rather, yes.

Skeeter: So a piece about Nesbitt would hardly be complete without at least a mention of Malfoy, would it?

Anonymous: [no answer]

Skeeter: [rustling of papers] Now, Malfoy is a Death Eater -

Anonymous: Technically, he's innocent until proven guilty.

Skeeter: But everybody's known for years -

Anonymous: I won't speculate about suspects for the media.

Skeeter: [A pause.] Come, you needn't say anything about his being a suspected Death Eater to answer a couple of unrelated questions.

Anonymous: [no answer]

Skeeter: Nix Johnson called Malfoy slippery, and as dangerous as they come.

Anonymous: Johnson discussed many things he shouldn't have.

Skeeter: Do you think people underestimate Draco Malfoy?

Anonymous: [no answer]

Skeeter: Come on, is Malfoy generally underestimated? You can answer that at least, can't you?

Anonymous: [a pause, and then grudgingly] Yes, I think he is. He's a bit underestimated.

Skeeter: Why?

Anonymous: I think it's the way he presents himself, he's very unlucky and he tends to draw attention to that either consciously or unconsciously. A person gets the impression he's the type of fellow who can't get ahead, despite putting in a great deal of effort.

Skeeter: A very reassuring figure really. On some level we all want to believe that being born with all the advantages isn't enough, don't we?

Anonymous: I think many people do want to believe that, yes.

Skeeter: Do you believe it?

Anonymous: No. No I don't believe that at all, Rita.

Purple Prose Pen: And now it becomes clear. Our interviewee exalts those of pure blood, and that will shape his reactions to people and events.

Skeeter: Going back to Draco Malfoy and Hermione Weasley.

Anonymous: Oh, no!

Purple Prose Pen: A forbidden love, from opposite sides of the racial divide, of the political divide.

Anonymous: Please.

Purple Prose Pen: Working closely together ... very closely...

Anonymous: That's... ugh. Could you please put that thing away?

Skeeter: My Purple Prose Pen?

Anonymous: That drivel it's spewing is making me sick at my stomach.

Skeeter: Sorry. [insincerely]

Purple Prose Pen: [hesitates, then lays itself down demurely across the parchment, underscoring the words "Working closely together...very closely".]

Skeeter: Still, you have to admit, Weasley's in a position where a lot of people would be tempted to stray. Her husband has cheated on her, she's in trouble with the law, and she's working hand in hand with a wealthy bachelor... someone who could provide protection from some of her problems.

Anonymous: But the idea of the two of them... it's... preposterous!

Skeeter: Tell me what's preposterous about it.

Anonymous: You'd really have to know the personalities involved. Malfoy is very, you know, he's a rabid Separatist, he'd shun her simply because she's got four Muggles in her grandparents' generation. And Weasley -

Skeeter: Since her grandfather was technically a squib, she's technically a halfblood. It was proven ages ago.

Anonymous: She chooses to present herself as Muggle-born, and to align herself with pro-Muggle sentiments as a matter of policy. So even if she were to... ugh... well, he'd never consider it because of who she chooses to be.

Skeeter: Even if she were to what?

Anonymous: I can't believe I'm talking about this.

Skeeter: Go on, it's simply fascinating.

Anonymous: [sighs] Very well. You see... Hermione Weasley is all about principles. She'd never cheat on her husband. At the very worst she'd divorce Ron Weasley first before going on to date the next wizard, and I'm not even convinced she'd do that. But it wouldn't be Malfoy in any case. He's a -

Skeeter: He's a what?

Anonymous: Well, he's been accused of many things. The accusations alone would be enough to deter anyone who is reasonably prudent. Particularly someone with Hermione Weasley's politics.

Skeeter: You mean pro-Muggle politics.

Anonymous: Pro-Muggle and anti-Ministry.

Skeeter: Anti-Ministry? Her own father-in-law is Director of Auror Affairs.

Anonymous: Arthur Weasley's not exactly known for his pro-Ministry sentiments either. How do you think he managed that appointment to Auror Affairs in the first place? The people don't want someone who's pro-Auror in that position. He was the best that could be hoped for among those already high up in the Ministry's employ.

Skeeter: [A rustling of papers] All right then, let's talk about the Death Eaters for a bit instead.

Anonymous: Ah, thank God!

Skeeter: You said Draco Malfoy is pro-Ministry. Are many Death Eaters actually pro-Ministry, then?

Anonymous: Many suspected Death Eaters are, as well as some of those who have been convicted.

Skeeter: Is it meant to be protective coloration?

Anonymous: Oh no, I think they're quite sincere. In their day to day lives, their 'mild mannered alter egos' so to speak are often employed by the Ministry or active in political lobbying and other means of getting laws changed the usual way. It's just that they are also vigilantes... taking matters into their own hands in areas where the Ministry always seems to fall short.

Skeeter: In the areas of Muggle and Wizard separation.

Anonymous: Yes.

Skeeter: Who are their targets? Who are these Muggles you read about getting murdered in Death Eater raids?

Anonymous: Typically, the Death Eaters target Muggles who've been told about the Wizarding world in violation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. They're trying to send out a message that if you tell your Muggle friends the truth about yourself, your friends will pay for your imprudence with their lives. Of course it goes without saying, if the witches and wizards who told those Muggles happen to get in the way, they'll kill them too.

Skeeter: This wasn't always the Death Eater mission, was it?

Anonymous: No. When You-Know-Who was alive, they functioned mainly as a sop to his ego. They did what he asked, gave him a sense of power over others and the ability to play god. Once You-Know-Who was eliminated by Harry Potter, the Death Eaters were forced to concentrate upon simple survival. That continued until the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was broken up.

Skeeter: At which point they all began to lead normal lives again.

Anonymous: Not all of them. The ones who'd escaped from Azkaban were still hunted, of course. But yes, those who'd been cleared in the war crimes trials were able to go about their business, and Auror Affairs made sure our hands were tied to prevent us from pursuing those ones seriously.

Skeeter: And then then over the intervening years the surviving Death Eaters developed this Separatist agenda.

Anonymous: Yes.

Skeeter: About how many Muggles would you say have been killed by Death Eaters in the last year?

Anonymous: More than we'd like. The Death Eaters are a real problem, one that won't be solved through normal measures.

Skeeter: Is there any way to protect these Muggles, the ones who know about Wizarding kind?

Anonymous: Yes... on occasion. Sometimes we manage to get there first and the Death Eaters call off the attack. They can tell, you know, they scout out the area beforehand, so if there are Aurors present that's usually enough to prevent anything from happening. But it's actually very difficult to identify the targets or even a body of potential targets in advance. In the vast majority of the cases we never knew they existed until the Dark Mark appears in the sky over their houses. That makes it very difficult to employ pre-emptive measures.

Skeeter: Why are they so difficult to identify?

Anonymous: The sorts of sorts of witches and wizards who've revealed themselves to these Muggles aren't exactly stand up citizens. Often times they're people who've chosen to live among Muggles because they prefer the contact of Muggles to that of their own kind. They don't really want the Ministry of Magic poking into their personal business. So they don't register the location of their houses, don't apply for licenses for Apparition and such, and in many cases attended no formal wizarding schooling. There may be no paper record of their existence at all. So you can see why trying to track how many Muggles they have revealed themselves to would be nearly impossible, at least through legal means.

Skeeter: I see.

Anonymous: What's ironic is that most of these witches and wizards are breaking dozens of our laws. Not only are they hiding their own identities, but they're giving Muggles enchanted artifacts, using their magical powers to cheat or extract profits from Muggles, and using magic to break Muggle laws. So we, the Ministry, are essentially stepping in to protect lawbreakers.

Skeeter: But the Death Eaters you're protecting them from are themselves criminals.

Anonymous: They're vigilantes.

Skeeter: Is there a difference?

Anonymous: Vigilantes step outside of the law to bring lawbreakers to justice when they believe the proper authorities are not doing the job. So they're still breaking the law, but their motivations are different, and they're generally a different psychological type.

Skeeter: But some Death Eaters kill Muggles because they're psychopaths. Not because they're forced to, or for any principle or political reason.

Anonymous. Yes.

Skeeter: As I understand it, the Death Eater organization has become more and more impervious to Auror interference in recent years, to the point where intelligence about their upcoming operations is nearly impossible to obtain.

Anonymous: That is correct.

Skeeter: Which is where Operation First Strike comes in.

Anonymous: Yes, it is.

Skeeter: Tell me about First Strike.

Anonymous: Well, we were able to identify specific individuals who are critical to the Death Eater operations, and single them out for special attention outside of the context of their raids. The idea is to increase pressure on them until they are forced to make themselves unavailable to the Death Eaters on their own.

Skeeter: But isn't it suicide to disobey Death Eater directives?

Anonymous: Not necessarily, not if they've agreed to being under our protection.

Skeeter: Has anyone agreed to this so far?

Anonymous: I wouldn't be able to tell you if anybody had, for their safety.

Skeeter: Oh... of course.

Anonymous: But the operation has only been in place for ten weeks or so. That isn't a lot of time on the scale of these things.

Skeeter: What sort of 'pressure' do you put on these individual Death Eaters?

Anonymous: There are many laws out there that get broken on a daily basis, that there simply aren't enough resources to enforce on a large scale.

Skeeter: Like the London airspeed laws.

Anonymous: Yes, and a whole host of others from Apparition to animal protection to petty registrations and licensing.

Skeeter: Ah, I think I see. Operation First Strike uses enforcement of these by the various miscellaneous Auroring departments to put the pressure on without having to have any proof they're Death Eaters.

Anonymous: Yes.. and not only the actual Death Eaters, but also people who have been helping them out either knowingly or unwittingly. By concentrating on laws we have proof people have broken, we can start consuming their resources to the point where they have to decide whether they can continue to do what they're doing, or if they have to quit to get out from under the close scrutiny Operation First Strike brings.

Skeeter: Do I understand correctly that this techique allows you to get around the fact that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was disbanded?

Anonymous: Yes it does.

Skeeter: And the fact that the different departments all apparently investigate these people on their own initiative, to enforce laws that were actually broken, gets around the oversight process that would be required if the departments were officially working hand in hand?

Anonymous: Yes.

Skeeter: I see. Does that bother you at all? It violates the spirit of the disbandment of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, doesn't it?

Anonymous: It doesn't bother me.

Skeeter: Is Draco Malfoy a target of Operation First Strike?

Anonymous: [doesn't answer]

Skeeter: Is Hermione Weasley?

Anonymous: [doesn't answer]

Skeeter: Johnson called Draco Malfoy "slippery". What do you think he meant by that?

Anonymous: It's easy to forget that just because a person is a bigot, he isn't necessarily stupid. Malfoy is a good deal more clever than a lot of people realize, and he's also quite creative by nature. That creativity allows him to think his way out of, or playact his way out of, situations that look like they ought to be inescapable.

Skeeter: Is that what drives Nesbitt to pursue him? That ability to keep winning free and coming out with reputation more or less intact?

Anonymous: Originally it started with his father, with Lucius Malfoy. Nesbitt worked for many years to prove Lucius' Death Eater connection and get him jailed in Azkaban for life. He was furious when Lucius got off with only a 25 year sentence. Do you realize, by the way, that that sentence will be over in a very short time?

Skeeter: A matter of months, I believe.

Anonymous: Yes, it's worth keeping in mind.

Skeeter: So Lucius went to Azkaban, but Nesbitt was still dissatisfied - and then Draco took over the family business as it were. For a brief time at the beginning of the war, he was definitely a Death Eater - and took his father's place in Nesbitt's mind.

Anonymous: And it's ironic really because it's the last thing Lucius himself would have wanted. He'd made an effort to keep his son safe, and innocent of any Death Eater connection. It wasn't until Lucius was out of the way in Azkaban that the Death Eaters were able to move in on Draco. And then, of course, at that point Draco's ignorance made him the perfect recruit.

Skeeter: Because he wanted to join but had no clue what he'd be in for if he did.

Anonymous: Precisely.

Skeeter: Has Draco Malfoy done the same with his own son, then? Is Salazar as without solid information on the Death Eaters as Draco was himself at that age?

Anonymous: It does seem Draco has gone out of his way to protect his children from that sort of thing, yes. But what parent wouldn't?