Draco had hated to leave Ginny and Lindsay, but Gin had needed to do that work thing, and Linds had wanted to wander around Diagon Alley. They were meeting at the Leaky for lunch after this. Plus, he'd been putting this off as long as possible. Might as well start the new year on the right foot with the Ministry.

He was funny. Not that she could say that aloud. Ever. Natalie was to escort Draco Malfoy from the Ministry.

"I can find my own way out, you know."

"Auror Shacklebolt said-"

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

Natalie ignored him and stopped off at her cubicle really fast. When she turned around after depositing her paperwork on her desk, he was leaning in the cubicle. Natalie nearly walked into him.

"Stay here, little bit. I'll show myself out. Best behavior. Swear."

Natalie glared. "And I should trust you... why?"

"Because after what you just witnessed, you know I'll knock a bloke around, but I'm not a killer. That has to count for something."

Natalie kept glaring. "Don't make me regret this. I know lots of hexes."

Draco chuckled and headed out. They had not asked him to, but Malfoy had offered to take Veritaserum. He did not know this, but the only reason Natalie trusted him to leave was because he was likely still under its effects.

"Natalie, have you seen this case? I can't seem to-" Harry stopped abruptly. He'd looked up, hoping to see Natalie, and had come face to face with Draco Malfoy. Who was heading out of Natalie's cubby. With a smirk on his face. Ignoring the way the paper was cutting into his hand, he glared at Malfoy. "Natalie!"

Natalie stuck her head out of the cubby. "Harry? What's wrong?"

He threw Natalie a face, which slowly turned to look back at Malfoy. Keeping his eyes glued on Malfoy, he continued to speak to Natalie. "Is there a reason a known criminal is walking through the Auror offices unaccompanied?"

"I told her I could let myself out," Draco answered.

"Don't talk," Natalie snapped. "He doesn't like you. You make him all upset." Natalie looked at Harry and shifted from foot to foot. "He can't lie, so I believed him."

"I don't like him either. He makes Ginny upset." Draco made a face... like he sure had not planned to say that.

Harry could feel his jaw tighten. "Yes, well, she wasn't really upset when she spent Christmas night with me." He looked past Draco and back at Natalie with raised eyebrows. "I don't think it's wise to let someone waltz through the Auror offices unattended, whether under veritaserum or not."

Natalie resisted the urge to snap that Harry was only acting like this because it was Draco Malfoy. "Yes, sir."

"You wouldn't even be acting like this if it wasn't me. Poor little bit. And if I didn't think I'd get back into trouble after just having been cleared in the Hopkins thing, I'd hit you in your scarred face for suggesting Ginny would see you and I at the same time that way. Luna told me she would never do that. I believe the bird. Also, I know she told her family she and I are a bit of an item, so piss off."

Natalie grabbed Draco's arm and tried dragging him away. This was bad. This was so bad. She sure did not want to break up a fight between the two of them. Malfoy had described exactly what he had done to Hopkins. She knew Harry could handle himself, but it would not be pretty on either side.

Knowing it was not a good idea to raise his voice in the Auror offices, as most of the trainees liked to spy on your conversations and talk about them later, Harry took a step towards Natalie and Draco, lowering his voice. He took a deep breath before staring at Draco, ignoring the hand Natalie had wrapped around the blonde's upper arm.

"If I have any reason to suspect that you've hurt Ginny in any way, I will end you in the most painful and excruciating way possible," he hissed.

Natalie could not believe this was happening. It wasn't even a cool pissing contest.

"I would never hurt Gin," Draco said between his clenched teeth. "That's your department. You're the one that hurts her."

"And we're going. NOW." Natalie started pulling Draco along.

"Me?" Harry stalked after them, blocking their exit. "I believe it was you and your family that's hurt her the most. Let's not forget where you really come from. People may think you've changed, or so they keep telling me, but no one changes that much. I don't care if you get elected the bloody Minister of Magic, you can't erase what you've done," Harry snarled, wanting nothing more than to draw his wand and end this.

He slowly took a step back when he realized how close he had been to drawing his wand. "I think you need to escort this man out of the Ministry."

Draco stalked back towards Potter dragging the little trainee with him. "I... am NOT my family. Where you come from does not define you. You don't know anything about me anymore... if you ever did. You only think you know."

"Let's GO, Malfoy," Natalie snapped. She was not breaking up a duel in the Auror offices.

She escorted Malfoy away quickly and quietly. He was flooing to... Zabini Manor? Now that was a puzzle. A even bigger puzzle was that he apologized for causing her any trouble with "Scarhead". He had to have meant it too. It left Natalie feeling odd. She was scowling as she made her way back to her cubicle, deep in thought. She walked right past Harry without a word and sat in her chair.

He'd cooled considerably once Natalie had gotten him out of his sights. Harry sighed as Natalie passed him, standing in her doorway. She was staring at her desk, presumably thinking hard about something. "How did his questioning go?"

"Slightly disturbing. He was very informative. Kingsley will likely have Abbott in for follow-up, but there will be no charges, as Hopkins is deceased. I'd never want to be a person Malfoy thought had harmed someone he cares about. I'd also never want to be someone he cared about. I don't think I could handle the drama."

"Unfortunately people who he seems to care about are always turning up dead or hurt." Harry scowled, shaking his head. "If you find out, could you let me know when Kingsley will be questioning Hannah? I'd like to be there."

Natalie nodded. She would have liked to tell Harry that while she might not personally like Draco Malfoy, she did not think he was a bad guy. That would have been a waste of breath. There was an aura around the office anyhow. It had been a bad week.

"Have... have they made any headway in Dawlish's case?"

She'd never liked the man, but the scene images, and they had all seen them, haunted her. Orla Quirke had left crying that day. Natalie had stared at them for a long time, letting them seep in. She was sure there had been talk about it, but it was not her first dead body. She felt a burning to find who had done that to that man and Madam Hopkirk... because she did not believe for two seconds that they'd been lovers. Who would?

Harry grimaced. His office seemed a bit empty without Dawlish, but just imagining those snaps made his stomach roll. There were a few things he had never wanted to see, and Hugh Dawlish's mess of a body was one of them. "Not that I know of. Everyone has sort of accepted the notion that they were having an affair. But I can tell you, it was not Mafalda Hopkirk he was shagging on the side." He frowned, realizing that he did know someone who Hugh Dawlish had been shagging at one point.

He looked up at Natalie with a raised eyebrow, almost asking her about it, but stopped. She didn't know he suspected Megan, and he didn't have anything to go on. If he continued this conversation and told Natalie about his suspicions, it would get around, and the last thing he needed was gossip flying about.

"Well, if there's any connection between the girl on the side and Hopkirk, that's who they should be looking at, yeah?"

He kept forgetting how quick she was, and felt guilty immediately. He looked up and to both sides of the cubicle before coming inside and casting several times, masking their conversation. It was hard, but if anyone listened, they'd be hearing them talk about the weather. If he was better at it, they'd talk about interesting things, but he'd never given it too much thought.

Moving into the cubicle and sitting on the edge of her desk, he leaned forward conspiratorially. "I'm beginning to think a lot of these things are connected. Dawlish. Hestia. Hopkirk. Too many coincidences."

Natalie blinked. "Connected? Connected how? Have you shared this with anyone?"

"Hestia. She was the one who made me see it." He shook his head. Hestia was too smart to be in the holding cells downstairs. She needed to be up here... working on this. It made him angry, that someone who actually had the type of power and ability to help, and she was out of the game at the hands of a much less practiced witch.

"Hestia is a high up Auror. Hugh Dawlish is an Auror. Hopkirk and Hestia have one person in common. Closely related." He looked at her, willing her to make the connection herself.

Natalie felt a chill go down her spine. Hestia had but one living relative... who worked for Madam Hopkirk.

Natalie swallowed nervously. "Harry... Megan Jones knew Wayne Hopkins. She was listed as an attendee of his funeral service. You don't think..."

Harry blinked. He hadn't made that connection. She had known Wayne. But... she'd been so distraught over the fact that he'd been beating Hannah. She'd been crying, for Merlin's sake. "Why would she kill Wayne?" Harry was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Draco hadn't killed Wayne, so it made it hard for him to even consider who else it could have been.

"I don't know," Natalie said. "Why would she mess with her own aunt's mind, Harry? None of it makes any sense to me." Suddenly something else he'd said finally sunk in with Natalie. "She was sleeping with Dawlish? Eww."

"Talk about lying back and thinking of the queen." He grimaced. It really wasn't right, talking ill of the dead. He stood, trying once more for seriousness. "I don't know what to do about all of it. So far I haven't been able to find any links, other than circumstantial evidence. I need something concrete."

"Maybe you should talk to Hestia again... or someone who knows her? Or her? In a safe, public area, of course."

"If she's been able to kill three people and alter the mind of a fourth, she's smart enough to realize that I really wouldn't just happen to invite her to tea." He shook his head. "No. I'll talk to Hestia. Maybe she'll have some insight." He smiled at her, proud that she'd made the connections he'd made, and then some. "Thanks for your help."

Natalie quirked the corner of her mouth up at him and resisted the urge to comment on the Malfoy thing. It was none of her business after all.


{SUMMARY} After Draco is questioned by the Ministry in regards to Wayne, Natalie escorts him out, but not before they run into Harry. Harry and Natalie discuss the murders and who they think is behind them.