Jason Yaxley

Barty had been contemplating the same thing that Jay asked. “I dunno. Maybe. It seems like a lot for one person, without a wand to make it more powerful. But there was a lot she did tonight that I don’t fully understand what I saw. I certainly think it was the same magic, maybe just more wizards involved.” A frightening thought. But also intriguing. Barty had been curious about the attack since it happened, even checking out the scene himself. A lot of unspeakables were curious. Whispers about what might have done it, but nothing that seemed to indicate anyone knew.  Of course Voldemort had acted as thought it were them, but without the Dark Lord sharing any information he had no way of knowing if that was just lying or actual truth. It was hard not to continue thinking about the magic he’d witnessed and how it might tie into an event he was already curious about but he switched and tried to remember that odd encounter. “I remember there being something about her that made me think I knew her but also being certain I didn’t. But I can’t remember any sort of features about her. Just that she approached me in the shop before I left. Claimed I looked like someone she was friends with before getting a little weird. I left when she mentioned I might have a twin but she followed me. Told me she was a friend of Bea’s then. I thought she was trying to blackmail dad. I told her to go for it. What did I care. When she said I’d see Bea again I thought she was a sear and knew I was gonna die. I didn’t want to have that conversation, as you can imagine. I told her to go sell the story to the tabloids, they’d pay. I thought that’s what she was going to do because the last thing she said was to promise that he was going to get what’s coming to him.” Barty thought about that encounter again, wondering why he couldn’t remember much about what the woman looked like. Just that odd feeling he’d known her. “I forgot all about it. Too much other shit going on. And then Bea showed up. If this woman was just after revenge against dad why did she bother coming over tonight? She’d already gotten what she wanted. Hell if I was gonna tell anyone my not-dead secret twin helped me kill our parents before disappearing again.” Aside from Jay but that went without saying. Not that Barty was complaining too much about her coming over. It had gotten rid of Wynne. Well not entirely but enough. “It’s gotta be her though.”  That was a given now it seemed. Barty curled his lip at the mention of one of the Minister’s trash sons, Jay talked about them enough that Barty knew he wouldn’t care for the oldest for certain. Doubtful the youngest either. “Since Knockturn was where I first ran into that woman seems reasonable to assume that even if they’re not running a French potion shop there, they might be somewhere around Knockturn.  Asking around sounds like a good idea to me,” Barty agreed. They had to start somewhere and most nefarious things did seem to originate around Knockturn.

The same magic with more wizards. Jay nodded slightly as he thought that over. It was equal parts terrifying and relieving to know that one person probably hadn’t done all that lone, and yet there were likely more people out there with the same kind of magic, and apparently working together to make coordinated attacks. Assuming it had been them and not the Dark Lord; it was so hard to tell these days, what with the Dark Lord taking credit for just about everything that suited his purposes. Figuring out that magic was going to take some time, but figuring out the people who were using it felt like a good place to start answering both that question and the question of who had this information on Barty and what their game was. Barty’s encounter in Knockturn was all kinds of weird and suspicious, especially that bit about Barty feeling like he knew her and the fact she somehow knew about the twin. He nodded along as Barty voiced his own thoughts. It was easy to imagine someone wanting the elder Crouches dead; what didn’t make sense was why she’d come back at all after the deed was done. “Maybe she was worried you’d come looking for Bea if she didn’t come back?” He mused, though he wasn’t convinced by that idea and his voice showed it. There was something more at play here. “Or maybe you’re right and you did know her. I mean, she was most likely on polyjuice. Maybe it’s someone you’ve met and her voice or her mannerisms weren’t disguised well enough, that’s why you picked up on something. Of course that still doesn’t answer what they were after, unless….if they’ve got a grudge against you and your parents maybe she came back to try to pin it on you?” That didn’t really explain them using extra magic on the blaze, or maybe it did. Barty was an unspeakable, after all, he had access to magic many didn’t. He was glad when Barty agreed they start at Knockturn. It seemed as good a plan as any. “Great. We’ll bring their own game to them, go poke around with some polyjuice, see what we can find out.

If Barty hadn’t known, and he definitely knew, how bad this was Jay going from polished Ministry rising star to disheveled would have been a huge red flag. Barty had long realized that there was nothing he could have done differently the night Wynne showed up at his door, going along with it and trying to enjoy it were his only options. She wasn’t the sort of person you could just pull your wand out and kill. If only. But that night had been the beginning of Barty’s life turning upside down. All his carefully crafted plans askew thanks to one night out of his hands. This current mess had direct ties with that, not just because it was Wynne who’d brought all of tonight on. Barty had been so distracted and nervous that he’d failed to fully vet Bea. He should have been more cautious. Barty was just relieved to hear that Jay was still in this with him, for now. It’d be a lot more likely for any of the things he was saying they should do being accomplished if they worked together then on his own. He paced a little, going back over things for anything that might be of use. “He’s French, or he claims to be. Heavy accent when he speaks but maybe that’s why he doesn’t speak much, accents are always hard to keep consistent.  Certainly isn’t because he doesn’t understand enough English. Born wealthy. Indulgent wealthy, like Malfoy but with actual taste. He was ridiculously handsome.  Very well made clothes. But neither of them were showy about the wealth.” These were the sort of things Barty noticed, the sort of distinctions Jay would understand.  “Knew how to handle Wynne throwing herself at him like a bloody tart. I thought he might actually be flirting with her at first.” That had been a shock. “Oh wait, the accent, I don’t think it was as thick when he spoke while Wynne was attacking. Still there so he was playing up the whole doesn’t speak English thing well but possibly still French.” He’d stopped and looked over at Jay when he remembered that tidbit. “She never dropped the Bea act. According to them they met through mutual friends. Which has to mean muggle because Bea was sent to a muggle school. If it’s true.” He mulled over other details. “Oh wait! There was a woman who came up to me in Knockturn claiming to know Bea. That happened a few days or a week before Bea turned up. I forgot all about her. I was on one of those ridiculous errands we haven’t figured out the meaning of at Borgin and Burkes before the attack.” And the thing that had been nagging at him finally came into focus. “Jay, remember the supposed Death Eater attack in Knockturn, the one that took out Borgin and Burkes? Only that shop was damaged, nothing else.” Barty looked over at Wynne’s pile of ashes again. Who the fuck had he invited over for dinner?

It wasn’t a surprise to see Barty up and pacing. How many nights had they spent like this, back in their dorm at Hogwarts and then later in one of their flats, Barty pacing while Jay sat with his elbows on his knees, hands folded in front of him as both their minds buzzed with various problems and ideas. These days it wasn’t even odd how troubling those problems were, though this one was certainly up there for the strangest. “Hm.” He listened intently to Barty’s recollections about the bloke. Born wealthy; perhaps the family money came from more nefarious means than potions. With people that wealthy, that was often more likely than not. It might also explain how he apparently managed to deal with Wynne; perhaps he was used to psychos. The accent part was puzzling.  Also interesting that woman never dropped the Bea act. Whoever she was, she was good then. And she’d done her homework, which suggested she really did have Barty’s sister tied up somewhere, assuming she hadn’t killed her yet. Even more troubling was the fact that someone had actually mentioned Bea to Barty in Knockturn. That had to be her. Only before Jay could say so, the next thing Barty said pulled his attention. “Shit.” Jay looked over at Wynne’s tidy remains at the same time Barty did. That sort of power and control sure seemed to fit the bill for what happened at Borgin and Burkes, granted on a larger scale. But who was to say what the limit was on that sort of power? Especially since that was sort of what happened at the Crouch house, wasn’t it? Barty had to be right about that. “You think from what you saw tonight she could have done that?” It was equal parts fascinating and horrifying. “The woman you met in Knockturn. Was there anything that stood out about her?... Of course even if there was she was probably using polyjuice, for all we know. I’d bet it’s the same person pretending to be Bea. No way that was just a coincidence.” Of course Barty would know that, but it was helpful to think out loud. “There’s a bunch of French people who live near Knockturn, can’t remember what the place is called but one of the Minister’s trash son’s equally trashy mates lives there. Could be worth asking around about a potions shop. Even if it’s all made up maybe we’ll pick up something useful.” 

Barty had too many things running around his head. It was maddening. Too many unanswered questions that only led to more questions. He wasn’t even sure where he wanted to focus. Bea? If she was an impostor or actually Bea. Or her magic, which he’d never seen anything like even in the Unspeakable’s department. There was something nagging him about her magic, he hadn’t worked out what, too much noise around everything. Barty looked over at Jay as the other spoke, his mind supplying the finished sentence. He hadn’t even gotten there yet but with magic that powerful there surely was more to be done than burn things. Or maybe they could burn off the marks, like Bea had burned Wynne’s wand. Jay speaking up again, changing course this time, had him focusing on something else. There was no question of not telling Jay the truth. Anyone else Barty might have lied or stumbled over excuses. Or even tried to minimize the damage this was. But Barty didn’t do that with Jay. And if anyone could worm their way out of being implicated if Barty ended up being it was Jay. But being prepared would make it a lot easier for him to avoid being caught up with Barty. Without hesitation he nodded, grim faced once again. “She knows.” Barty sighed, running a hand through his hair again. “It’s all a bloody mess.” An understatement to be certain. He didn’t even have anything on her, the magic thing was something but without an explanation there was nothing really. Barty waited to see what Jay’s reaction would be. This felt like added reason to find a way to rid themselves of the mark. Shame Bea had washed her hands of him, might have been able to get her to do it for them. Now that he knew she had the magic to do it that was.

“Fuck,” Jay breathed out the curse, running a hand through perfectly-style hair, mussing it up. There was no point in asking how or why she found out. Barty knew how bad this was already. She knew and he’d let her leave with that information. Granted with the sort of magic she could do, letting her leave was probably Barty’s only option. But calling this a bloody mess felt like an understatement. How careful had they been for years to keep their affiliation under wraps, to maintain their personas as good little Ministry workers, unassuming Ravenclaws? Now there was someone out there -- or two someones, counting the husband -- who knew Barty was a Death Eater, and they didn’t even know who those people were or what their motive was. The only good news here was that Jay hadn’t met either the squib or the husband, but that would only get him so far. If Barty was exposed, there would surely be eyes on Jay. But Jay could work with that. Distance himself from Barty if he had to. That would be a loss, but it beat both of them ending up in Azkaban. “We’ve got to figure out who they are,” he finally said. “If we can figure out who they are and what they’re after, we’ll know how worried we have to be about what they know.” But even if they didn’t care they were Death Eaters -- which it sounded like they did care -- this was something they could use on Barty now. Leverage for whatever it was they did want. Or maybe they’d already gotten it, since they’d left. “Or at least maybe we can find a way to neutralize them. Maybe we can dig up some dirt of our own. Or find a way to harness some of that magic...” Because if they could just get rid of the marks, a big part of this mess also went away. Either way, digging up more dirt on Barty’s fake family felt like a good place to focus. “What do you know about her or her husband, other than they work in potions?” 

Jay was right, it had to be an imposter. There really was no other explanation. “No, I’ve spent most of my life trying to figure that problem out and so far I can’t even find a reason some end up squibs let alone how to change it.” It wasn’t cocky to think he’d know, it was just fact. Barty knew his intelligence and how many hours of study and experimentation he’d devoted to the problem. If there was a solution he’d have come across it by now. The problem was though that he couldn’t pin a purpose to why someone would pretend to be Bea. It was also a bit grim to think she was tied up in someone’s basement or dungeons. “The husband is in potions so polyjuice isn’t far fetched.” He had discovered his own talent for mimicry with the help of polyjuice, others might be similarly talented. “But it still doesn’t make sense in terms of why? They’re not getting any money, claimed they didn’t want any. Certainly not happening now.” He could imagine someone might want his father dead bad enough to go through a plan like this but why participate in said murder? It just didn’t add up to Barty. “No explanation. No running. In fact when she left it was the most Crouch like Bea’s ever looked. Imposter or not she didn’t take too well to almost being killed by the Death Eater girlfriend of her Death Eater twin.” He looked more grim than sad about this. Barty had thought it was for the best but if this person had Bea tied up somewhere maybe it wasn’t. “Or rather Death Eater stalker, which I suppose Bea, or whoever she is, was right about that part.” Wynne was more stalker than anything, other than unhinged, she was completely unhinged. “I don’t know what the reason to pretend to be Bea was but she’s determined that this was all too much trouble, apparently. That or she couldn’t come up with a lie to cover what I’d seen. It was bloody terrific. Terrifying but terrific. She toyed with Wynne, sort of the way Wynne toyed with her kills but better. Burnt her wand up first, right in Wynne’s hand. Hell of a way to kill someone, nothing to trace to even tell this is Wynne.” Barty just realized something as soon as he thought again about the fire that killed Wynne. “Bloody hell, she must have done her magic on the fire at my parents’s. No wonder nothing was left.” He looked back over at the pile of ash that had been Wynne again. It was absolutely maddening not knowing what the truth was about Bea. Barty hoped that if she was tied up somewhere that they either still had her, grim as that was, or they’d let her go. He really didn’t want to think of Bea as a pile of ash somewhere.

Jay just nodded when Barty confirmed that there was no way for a squib to get magic. That sounded about right, and he trusted that if there was a way, Barty would have figured it out. Which meant, as he’d suspected from the beginning, that this was an imposter working an angle. It made even more sense when Barty pointed out the husband was in potions. That would be the type to know how to brew a good Polyjuice potion. Or maybe the potions thing had been the same kind of veiled, inside joke that Jay often liked to make when he was leading someone on. Say you’re in potions when really you’re on potions. Either way they apparently had some good stuff. The question was, as Barty pointed out, what was the motive? He listened thoughtfully as Barty spoke, brows pulling together at something Barty said but Jay let the other speak without interrupting, flagging that concerning bit for later. For now he just listening with growing curiosity as Barty explained the magic he’d witnessed. It wasn’t like anything Jay had ever heard of -- except in rumors throughout the Ministry, every once in a while, only when he was in places that required a high security clearance. This sounded like even more than that, though. Burning up Wynne’s wand before turning her into that tidy pile of ash. Whoever was pretending to be Barty’s sister apparently had style. Jay let out a breath when Barty was finished and tugged at his tie, loosening it from the perfect knot it had been in all day at the Ministry. “This is huge,” he finally said. “With that kind of magic…” With that kind of magic they could get away from the Dark Lord, surely. Maybe even get the kind of power they’d joined up hoping for in the first place. Only whoever was pretending to be Barty’s twin had apparently left with no plans of returning, if Barty’s impression was correct. And there was that other, nagging worry Jay had put on hold. Now he fixed Barty with a serious look. “Her Death Eater twin,” he said quietly, repeating back to Barty the words he’d flagged earlier. “You called yourself her Death Eater twin.” Jay paused, almost afraid to ask, but he needed to know what they were dealing with. “Does she know?” 

Barty chuckled despite everything when Jay echoed his thoughts on Wynne being muted. “Unsurprisingly she wasn’t that much more pleasant muted.” The quiet had been nice but Wynne had still managed to be completely unpleasant. Proof that anything remotely pleasant about her had been lies. Which made Jay’s comment about it being the best possible outcome even more accurate. Though Barty would have liked a lot less mayhem getting to that outcome. Barty doubted anyone was going to mourn Wynne. No one in this room was going to mourn her any. He appreciated the way Jay looked less pleased about Wynne probably attacking Bea. While he and Jay hadn’t shared the hatred of muggles or squibs the rest of the Death Eaters had, squibs were hardly treasured members of wizard society. Barty sighed at Jay’s question, running a hand through his hair as he tried to make sense of what he’d seen. “I can’t take any credit for any of this,” he confessed. He might have sank onto the sofa if his living room wasn’t in even worse condition than normal. Had he killed her it would have been neater, he’d like to think. Which maybe was part of the problem. Barty had spent so long plotting and planning how to kill her, and his parents, without leaving a trace to connect him to the deaths, that Wynne had just ran wild. It was probably inevitable that it would have ended up a mess. Still he’d have liked the mess to have been somewhere not his flat, shitty as it was he was still living here. Barty had decided before he owled Jay that he’d tell the other about what had happened, partially because he needed to tell someone before it drove him mad. “It was Bea. Now I know how impossible that sounds, believe me,” he added quickly least Jay think he was insane. “I know I dismissed the possibility she was someone else when she first appeared but that was before this.” Barty had been suspicious at first and discussed at length with Jay about if Bea could be an imposter. It had seemed more far-fetched then his dad messing with his memories when he was eleven. “I still don’t know what gain someone would have pretending to be Bea. But she was either an imposter or my squib twin is now frighteningly proficient in wandless magic and capable of this.” Again he motioned to the pile of ash that was now Wynne. “All the other damage was from Wynne firing off spells because Bea blinded her somehow. Look at the area where Wynne’s ashes are, it was a very contained fire. I have no explanation for what I saw, Jay.” Barty hated not knowing an answer and this was a very complex puzzle that he was lacking far too many pieces to hope to find an answer. It was maddening. “But I know without a doubt that Bea, or whoever was playing at being Bea, was responsible.” And that fact ruined any enjoyment he could get out of Wynne being disposed of, or nearly disposed of. He still needed to dump her ashes.

Jay smirked when Barty said Wynne was no more pleasant muted than unmuted; that sounded about right for her. It was about time Barty offed her, really, though Jay also couldn’t entirely blame the other for taking so long to get to it. Wynne was a mental case, but she was the sort of mental case that was dangerous and good at curses. It was a surprise to hear Barty say he couldn’t take credit for Wynne’s death, though Jay’s mind immediately jumped to the likely conclusion there. Wynne had gone mental, attacked Barty’s sister, and the husband intervened. Or...it was Bea? Jay opened his mouth to respond but closed it when Barty acknowledge right away how mental that sounded. Instead he just listened with raised eyebrows. The imposter thing was sounding more likely now. But...wandless magic had done this? Wandless magic had blinded Wynne and killed her in a contained fire. Jay looked from Barty to the pile of ash, stepping closer to examine the scorch marks. Contained was right, especially since apparently the rest of the damage had been done by Wynne. “It’s got to be an imposter,” he said, looking back at Barty. “I mean, squibs don’t just get magic, do they?” Barty would know better, he’d always been trying experiments with the weird caretaker, not that Jay had realized what all that was about until he’d found out about Bea just about a week ago. But Jay was quite certain squibs didn’t just wake up with magic. Least of all wandless magic that could do what Barty was claiming he saw.  “Polyjuice, you think? Maybe whoever it is has got the real Bea tied up somewhere and that’s how their story makes sense.” An idea Jay had already pitched, but now that Barty was actually doubting the girl more instead of jumping for joy over some twin Jay hadn’t known existed, it felt worth repeating. “She didn’t explain herself?” He added. “Did she run?” That felt more damning than anything that it wasn’t actually Barty’s squib twin; she’d used magic to defend herself, realized her mistake, and fled, maybe. 

Barty had to admit that Jay was correct in that assessment. The truth didn’t sting because Barty had always known it was a pathetic flat. It was only supposed to be temporary, something to make his dad think he was living the way the elder Crouch wanted him to. Temporary had taken a lot longer than Barty had cared for. But it’d be over soon, thankfully. As there was no retort to the quip Barty let it pass without a response. He chuckled humorlessly at Jay’s assessment. “Surprisingly I don’t think Wynne enjoyed much of the evening. She was repeatedly bested by—“ Barty stopped himself before he said squib, was Bea a squib any longer, that seemed to be a no. “Bea,” he finished. “Failed to attract her husband despite Wynne trying desperately.” It had been really shameless. “Found out she wasn’t getting all of my money like she had decided. I’m not sure what her plan was with all of this, by that time I’d muted her.” He smiled at that because he’d enjoyed it. “But as you can see, whatever the plan, I don’t think it succeeded.” Barty nodded to what was left of Wynne. “All of that before anyone even finished a glass of champagne. As far as dinner parties go I’d say this one was a mixed success. Turned out better than I thought it would, actually.” Bea abandoning him stung but he had gotten rid of Wynne. It wasn’t all terrible.

Jay smirked and quirked an eyebrow when Barty said Wynne was repeatedly bested by the squip. He wasn’t sure in what way, though he could certainly see how the night had ended in a body to be disposed of if a squib was showing Wynne up in any way. Apparently by Bea’s husband not going for her and Barty letting her know about the inheritance. Jay’s surprise was clear on his face, as was his amusement when Barty said he muted her. “Muted her, eh? About time someone did,” he remarked, though he was hoping there’d been a more permanent silencing of that one by the end of what sounded like a very eventful dinner party. He looked in the direction Barty nodded at the pile of ash among scorch marks. Had there been furniture there before? No -- Wynne’s plan hadn’t succeeded. Jay understood in an instant and let out a laugh. “Mixed success? I’d say this was the best possible outcome.” They’d decided ages ago that killing Wynne was going to be Barty’s only way to get rid of her, and it wasn’t like her death was any sort of loss to world. If anything Barty had done society a favor. At least the muggles and squibs of the world. Speaking of which. Jay glanced over at Barty, his smile falling a touch. “She attacked your sister.” That felt less like a question than a given. “Was Bea still here when you killed her?” That would explain why Barty didn’t look like he’d been celebrating when Jay showed up. 

Barty wasn’t sure how long he’d sat on his kitchen floor feeling sorry for himself but at some point he’d done what he’d been doing since the night he’d been branded, he found something else to focus on. Tonight that was the perplexing fact that Bea now had magic. Barty had spent his entire life trying to determine what caused a squib. Even after Bea’s supposed death. At Hogwarts he’d been surprised to find the caretaker was a squib. Filch was completely unlikable, but then Barty had his own problems with making friends. What was ultimately forged was not a friendship but a partnership in some ways. Filch let Barty experiment with different supposed squib cures on him, including giving him access to potion ingredients he hadn’t been able to get a hold of when he was younger. Filch even provided access to the restricted section. Nothing worked, disappointingly. Once Barty became an unspeakable he continued working on the subject. Occasionally using Filch for experiments still. But so far nothing. It was frustrating. And yet Bea had magic now. Powerful, dangerous magic that required no wand and which she wielded with terrifying accuracy. How? There was a little nagging in the back of his mind that maybe Bea wasn’t Bea. But that held just as many questions as how she got magic.

Eventually Barty picked himself up off the kitchen floor and was dismayed to remember the mess his flat was now in. There wasn’t much left of Wynne, mostly ash. Good riddance. Only now he had to dispose of it all. Clean up the flat. Figure out how he was going to get around this mess. Possibly could have done most, if not all, alone but he didn’t have to. Bea may have abandoned him, again, if she was even Bea. Wynne dead, thankfully. But he still had Jay. Jay had always been better than family, at least his mum and dad. He proved it again by his response to Barty’s coded owl. In fact it actually cheered him up some. Maybe they’d celebrate Wynne being gone after. He still had some champagne and a whole lot of untouched Italian food. Bea still weighed on him but for the moment he let himself enjoy the fact that he was now single. When he heard Jay’s distinctive knock he placed a quick charm on the flat to disguise the mess in case anyone else was passed by while he had the door open.

“Heya mate, thanks for coming over,” Barty greeted the other ushering him inside. After locking and securing the door he turned to Jay. “It’s a bit of a mess.” With that he dropped the charm and showed just how much of an understatement a bit was. “Not exactly the ideal bachelor pad is it,” he quipped dryly.

Jay was quick to head to Barty’s, knocking lightly at the door so as not to draw any attention from neighbors, though he wasn’t surprised when his mate opened the door to see he’d taken precautions. That or there wasn’t a mess. Barty certainly looked a bit of a mess. Not at all as happy as Jay would expect if it were Wynne’s body they were to dispose of, which was disappointing for more than one reason. The squib and her fancy husband were supposed to be around for dinner, if Jay wasn’t mistaken. A bad idea to associate with a squib at all, let alone to let Wynne near one. But Jay was hoping it wasn’t the squib or her husband who’d died. Just because it was a bad idea to hang around one didn’t mean Jay wanted Barty’s twin sister dead again. He’d always been less concerned about who the Death Eaters were killing as he was about not being on the side that had the power. And it was becoming more and more clear they’d chosen wrong. Or at least that whatever power there was to be had, the Dark Lord did not intend on sharing any of it, even with his most faithful followers. And Jay was only interested in being faithful so long as it suited him. 

“Sure, mate,” he said as he quickly stepped inside, waiting for Barty to secure the door behind them, curious as to what the mess was. It turned out mess was an understatement. Jay let out a low whistle as he took in the wreckage, though his response was kneejerk. “Was it ever?” He quipped as he stepped a bit further into Barty’s flat to take in how much of it was burned and blasted. “I take it Wynne enjoyed herself?” He asked, though there was another question implied: how much did she enjoy herself? And who got the last laugh?

Jay,

You busy? Bit of a thing tonight. Need some help getting rid of a body.

Barty

Barty,

Please tell me the body is Wynne’s. 

(But don’t actually tell me -- I’ll be there 10 and see for myself.)

The surprise she saw on his features was probably because he’d been expecting a coy answer. Dorcas had been a little coy with him, even if she hadn’t meant to. At least she assumed her indecision could be taken as coy. But now she’d made her choice. As if there had been one to make. Jay was everything she wanted. Everything. It was easy to tell herself that. To smile at how eager he seemed to be for that date. Tomorrow. Still mild surprise flickered over her face at how quickly he wanted that date. Maybe he had thought about this a while before deciding now was the time to make his move. “I’m glad.” She was! “You’re not wasting any time,” she told him with a slight laugh. Probably not enough to talk herself out of it, not that she would because she wanted this. “I like it. Tomorrow at 7 sounds perfect.” Dorcas did like a bloke who knew what he wanted and went for it. She’d given him the opening and he’d stepped fully in. This was great. Maybe the start of something even greater. Right.

Jay bit back a smirk at the surprise that passed over her when he suggested going out tomorrow. But why waste time, when he finally had her right where he wanted her? In more ways than she could possible know. “What can I say? I don’t like wasting time. And something tells me you don’t either,” he answered her with a grin, unabashed by her surprise. Even less so when she agreed to the date. Perfect. “Brilliant!” He answered with a wider smile. “I’m looking forward to it,” he added for good measure. “Now, as much as I’d love to keep you all to myself, I should probably let you get back to your friends.” Jay had accomplished all he needed for tonight. He didn’t want to come off as more eager than he already had. But that didn’t stop him from leaning in closer to give her a soft peck on the cheek. He didn’t want to be so easily forgotten, either. “Have a great night, Dorcas,” he murmured while his lips were still close to her ear, dropping his arm so that his fingers could brush ever so lightly across her knee. A silent promise that with any lucky, tomorrow night would be even better than this one was. 

It was flattering that Jay hadn’t given up yet. She had to admit she liked the way he was going about things too. Not too pushy, still hopeful. And why shouldn’t he be, maybe he hadn’t had a lot of experience with birds but he had to know he was a catch. Possibly even saw how good they could be together like she did. Good enough to possibly change the face of the wizarding world and wasn’t that an intoxicating thought. Dorcas wanted real changes to happen, huge changes. She wanted to be a part of that too. Didn’t have to be the person making the changes but that wouldn’t hurt. Nor would she mind being part of the pair that did that. Dorcas didn’t know if she should shut him down right now or keep the possibility open. Except a possibility wasn’t what Jay was looking for. He seemed to want something more concrete. Something Dorcas should have been able to give him if she wasn’t so confused as to what she wanted. Dorcas laughed softly, despite her inner confusion. She could have played coy here, given him a line about how that would be telling but Dorcas wasn’t coy. Which meant she needed to give him a real answer, to make a choice. “A date would be a good start,” she told him, making the decision to move forward. The confusion was probably just because she wasn’t completely recovered. Plus Penny getting engaged had made her feel as if she were missing something. Maybe it was time for Dorcas to be the sort of bird people thought she was, the sort who wasn’t afraid to have it all. Maybe it was fear and not anything else that had held her back from a relationship. Maybe it was time to find out if she could actually have it all. To stop thinking about shagging and start thinking about her future and a relationship.

Jay was preparing himself for Dorcas to give him some coy answer, another test, another puzzle to solve. Already thinking ahead to how he would answer it, though truthfully he wasn’t sure how many more games he felt like playing. As much as he liked the idea of toying with her some before she got what was coming to her, it would only be fun if she thought she was getting something good out of it, too. Jay wasn’t about to spend his time chasing after a bird who’d sadly turned out to be a bloody fool. But then -- oh? A date. Now there was something he could work with. Looked like she wasn’t entirely a fool. Jay smiled, letting his mild surprise flicker over his features. “A date? I think I can manage that. How about tomorrow night? 7 o’clock?” Straight to business, because that seemed to be the way Dorcas liked it. And all the better for Jay; the less time he had to invest into getting to play with her the better. For him. If Dorcas was smart she’d stay far away, but if she was smart then Jay wouldn’t be a threat to her at all, because they’d be on the same side. Maybe then they really would have been able to change the world together. Such a waste.

Jay was sending enough signals to suggest he was testing the waters, finding out if he had a chance. Given how closely they worked together and the fact that given some surprise their career paths would continue to cross it was a smart move. It would be awkward for everyone if he’d made a move and been shot down. Undeniably there was also something very sweet about how he was approaching things. Dorcas liked strong, confident blokes but sweet was usually a trait they lacked. Despite his cautious approach Dorcas didn’t doubt Jay was confident, he had to be to have gotten where he was. There were no obvious family ties to suggest anything else, and he didn’t act like someone whose family were pulling the strings. While he might not have been her type at school he’d certainly become the exact sort of bloke Dorcas always thought she’d end up with. He was far more successful then the bloke her oldest sister was dating currently. Together they’d likely be a very powerful couple. Ambitious, determined, smart, capable of achieving anything they wanted to. It was an undeniably intoxicating idea. One he seemed to be pushing with the whole ‘girl who isn’t afraid to have it all’ line. Or not a line, it was hard to tell with Jay. So what was holding her back? Wasn’t Jay everything she wanted? For the first time Dorcas found herself not so sure what it was she wanted. A flicker of uncertainty clouded her eyes for a moment before she shelved that thought for later. Her smile returned, there was no harm in enjoying a drink and a little flirting. “No, I’m not afraid to try and have it all for the right bloke.”

Huh. She wasn’t biting. At least not the way Jay was hoping she would, though she clearly wasn’t turned off by anything he’d said or done so far. But he didn’t miss that flicker of uncertainty in her eyes, clouding her expression. Something was giving her pause. Something about him? A wave of uncertainty washed over Jay. He’d gone this long without getting got, without even a sliver of suspicious, and he couldn’t imagine anything he’d said tonight giving her reason to doubt him. No -- it had nothing to do with that, he decided. Maybe with him personally -- maybe he wasn’t her type after all, no matter how careful he’d been to say all the right things up to this point -- but she didn’t know his secret and that was the most important thing in the end. If he did think she knew, she’d have to be dealt with immediately. Not the worst thing, but Jay wanted to avoid getting his hands dirty for as long as he could help it. There were too many witnesses here. A table full of girls who would remember seeing their friend with Jay Yaxley tonight. It was something he didn’t want to have to deal with tonight, and he was pleased to see he wouldn’t have to when her smile returned, almost as quickly as it had faltered. “Oh? And what’s a bloke have to do for you to decide he’s the right one?” Jay asked, as if he had any interest in doing anything more to win her over. She would likely believe it, too, as highly as he thought of herself. Bloody hell it was going to be a disappointment if he didn’t manage to get her in bed before he killed her, to see that look of shock on her face as she finally realized -- too late -- how stupid she’d been all along. 

Had she known who she was cozying up to Dorcas would have felt ill. Angry. Disgusted. But as far as she knew Jay Yaxley was just an ambitious Ministry worker. A smart bloke who’d managed to get himself into a position to achieve his dreams. Putting in his time in a better position then most but putting in his time regardless. The Ministry was big on that. One of dozens of Ministry workers who were confident enough in the Ministry to put their faith in the auror department to solve the Death Eater problem. Because that’s how they saw it, a problem not a war. Her own family included. Didn’t meant they were terrible people, they were just not aware enough. Dorcas didn’t hold it against them. Could even understand it a bit. Just because Jay wasn’t doing more didn’t mean he wouldn’t if he was able. Didn’t mean he was a bad bloke. She leaned in closer as he lowered his voice, her smile widening a touch at the feel of his knee brush against hers. His words making her laugh softly, clearly taking them as a compliment. “You’d be surprised at the number of blokes who find an ambitious woman intimidating,” Dorcas rolled her eyes lightly. “I’m not interested in a bloke looking for a bird to make him look good at Ministry gatherings. I want a real partner. Someone who will support me and my goals while I in turn support theirs. An equal.” Dorcas wanted what Penny had. Mike McKinnon couldn’t possibly be the only bloke in the world who wouldn’t be intimidated by his girlfriend being intelligent, strong, and just as ambitious. She didn’t see any need in dancing around it either. Dorcas had always known what she wanted in life, in her career, and in love. Someone like Jay, with obvious ambitions of his own could use a bird who was his equal. But most blokes, even the ones who seemed smart, didn’t want to risk being overshadowed by their bird. Never mind that even if Jay was looking for an equal dating would never work, not now. “But I’m still at a point in my career that finding a bloke isn’t a priority. I’m more focused on career right now.” Mostly true. She was. And the outcome of the war would have a big impact on her career. It wasn’t as if she’d be the head of anything stuck in a cell in Azkaban or dead.

His grin widened as she leaned closer, just as he’d hoped she would do. And then she was smiling at the way he touched his knee against hers, a good sign if there ever was one. The temptation was there to let a hand drop to her knee, to see just how far his boundaries went, but Jay was nothing if not a master of self-control. Now was not quite the time for that, he decided. He was toeing a very delicate line right now, letting her think him shy and sweet -- but not so shy he was afraid to go after what he wanted. Afraid to make bold choices when necessary, both in work and in wine. Ha. But now was the time for listening, and he was genuinely -- if not slightly morbidly -- interested in what she had to say. “No, I don’t think I would be,” he answered her remark honestly, though the grin curling at his lips was anything but. Dorcas Meadowes was not intimidating; she’d stopped being so after it became clear how foolish she was. Of course she would still think she was, though. Jay kept his mouth shut and listened quietly, keeping his amusement to himself when she expressed what she wanted. If that was what she was after, she’d better get moving quick. Any man who shared the same goals as she did was going to be just as dead as she was, too, in a matter of time. That didn’t mean he couldn’t let her think the man she described was out there. That maybe it was him. Ha. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he answered softly when she insisted she wasn’t looking for a man. Her fingers on his arm suggested otherwise. “Though I can’t say it surprises me. And I can certainly respect it,” he added, as if he actually mean it. But he wasn’t here to just tell her she was doing it right and be on his way. There was no fun in that. “But then,” he added, giving her a small smile yet again, “You’ve always struck me as the type of girl who isn’t afraid to try to have it all.” He could have made a move, then. Gone for a hand on her leg, or moved just a little closer to her. Instead he waited. If anything did happen here, it would be so much more amusing if it was her idea. 

It was a surprise when Jay sat down beside her instead of across from her. This wasn’t just a friendly drink with a little light flirting it seemed. That was fine. Wasn’t like Dorcas had any reason not to be doing any of this. It was sort of sweet too the way he still looked a little flustered like he was new at this. But not too flustered, thankfully. Just the right amount of flustered and confident. Enough to make Dorcas wonder if this was something Jay had wanted to do before. Maybe spurred into action by recent events if his toast was a hint. Dorcas raised her own glass, “Cheers.” She took a second sip of her wine, this was turning out to be more of an interesting evening then she’d originally thought it would be. Oh. That was sweet. She was positive she’d looked better. But she had looked worse very recently. It was funny, the difference between how Jay told her she looked beautiful and how Davey had. Fucking hell. Focus on the bloke beside you, Dorcas. “Not at all. It’s very sweet of you.” Dorcas gave him another smile. “I’m glad we ran into each other tonight,” her fingertips brushed against his sleeve softly as she spoke.

The truth was, this was something Jay had thought about before. Not exactly like this, of course. But him and Dorcas. Back at school, she’d seemed like the perfect bird. Intelligent. Put-together. From an very respectable family, but also the youngest just like him. Surely she felt it, too, that overwhelming drive to prove he was the best of them all even though he was the youngest, always a step behind. But where Jay had kept his eyes and ears open for the smartest path to achieve greatness, Dorcas Meadowes had instead let herself get suckered into the losing side of the war. Unable to ignore whatever morals made her feel better about herself. Such a waste. Obviously she was not nearly as intelligent as she thought herself. As Jay had thought she was, before he and Barty had discovered the truth. Case in point; she should be terrified of where she was right now. Instead she was smiling at him, her fingers brushing against his sleeve. A thrill ran down Jay’s spine at the light touch. That’s right, Dorcas. His smile widened at her words. “So am I,” he answered in a slightly lower voice, intended to make it so she would have to lean just a little closer to hear him. As he spoke he moved his leg slightly, letting his knee brush against hers. “Though I must admit, I can’t for the life of me figure out why a girl like you doesn’t have a very jealous boyfriend waiting on her right now,” he kept his voice soft, small, shy smile in place as if he was still very aware of how he was putting himself out there, and very invested in what she had to say. As if he cared why there was no boyfriend, as if he was actually interested in dating her. 

“Thanks,” she told him before he headed to the bar. Dorcas wondered if he realized it was a test. Hopefully he didn’t think she was the sort of bird that would just drink anything because it was free. Of course if he did it would reflect in his drink choice. Dorcas would take a few polite sips, pretend to see her friends waving her over and excuse herself. And if not, well that was getting ahead of herself. Jay wasn’t the sort of bloke she wanted to have a one night stand with, she saw him at work too often. Sort of like someone else, though that was a different job and didn’t count. Or something. Whatever, Doe wasn’t thinking about that tonight. Instead she was going to think about how good that confident smile looked on Jay. As if on cue he was looking back at her from the bar and Dorcas smiled back curious to see what he’d come back with. A red, good choice, she’d have to taste it to be sure but so far it was looking good. He’d taken the bolder choice instead of the safe bet of a rose. Interesting, she wouldn’t have pegged him for bold, at least not when a bird was involved. A bloke didn’t make it as far up as quickly as he had by making safe choices. It was much easier to keep her mind on her current company now. “Looks lovely. Yes, let’s.” Dorcas let him lead the way and found herself hoping the wine was a good one. So far Jay seemed to be doing everything perfectly, even the hand on the small of her back. Strong, but not pushy. Dorcas sat and took a drink of her wine, her smile growing as she recognized it. A good one, not so good it looked like he was showing off but one she’d have bought for herself. “You have excellent taste in wine, Jay,” Dorcas let her voice give away that she wasn’t surprised, that she’d expected him to. A bloke like him, it would have been a disappointment if he hadn’t.

“Brilliant,” Jay answered, pleased when she let him lead her over to a table. His ever action, his every word deliberate and calculated. Dorcas Meadowes thought she was so smart, but bloody hell was she easy to figure out. Jay knew what she wanted, and he knew how to make himself into that. Or at least how to make her think that he was, and that was all that really mattered. Rather than sitting across from her, he slid into the booth next to her. He didn’t want to give her any room to doubt what he was after, but he was also careful to keep a respectful space between them so he wouldn’t come across as too aggressive -- that had never been an image he’d projected, nor had he ever been particularly aggressive up until he and Barty started to figure out their best path to take in life. It was too easy, to give her a slightly flustered smile as he sat next to her, to make her think this was something new for him, trying it just for her. He had no doubt she would believe it; Dorcas Meadowes thought much too highly of herself. And it seemed she was beginning to think more and more highly of him, too. Jay noted the lack of surprise in her voice and smiled wider. He’d passed her test, then. “I’m flattered you think so,” he answered, lifting his own glass and angling it towards her. “Cheers. To your good health.” Jay couldn’t resist that one, far too amused at his own private joke. Quickly he took a sip of his wine and added, “If it’s not too forward of me, may I say you look beautiful tonight?” She’d looked better. Loads better. But she didn’t need to know Jay thought that; birds loved to be called beautiful, and Dorcas seemed like the type who would believe it when he said so. Who wouldn’t, when he was giving her his sweetest smile, ducking his head just the slightest bit as if he’d just embarrassed himself -- then quickly daring to meet her eyes again, because of course he’d meant it. 

It was funny how such a skinny, quiet bloke had turned out to be the catch of the Ministry. Almost a shame Dorcas hadn’t paid more attention to him in school, she could have locked that down early if she were the type. But while he was less odd then his mate Barty, he hadn’t seemed Doe’s type in school. Those robes definitely hadn’t done him any favors. And marrying your Hogwarts’ boyfriend was not the sort of bird Dorcas was anyway. At least she had been nice to him back in school. Certainly made things nicer now that he was hot and successful. Not to mention that earnest sweetness he had that probably came with being less popular with the birds back at school. Her own smile widened at his words. “Looks like it,” she answered him, the sweetness of her tone softening the fact that she’d just agreed having a drink with her was lucky thing for him. Dorcas knew she was a catch, even for the junior secretary, pretending otherwise seemed absurd. “Wine would be lovely.” Some blokes Dorcas specified the type, not wanting to get some gross, cheap wine made in someone’s bathtub. But blokes like Jay, Dorcas liked to leave that open, to see what sort of label they’d choose. A good way to find out if a bloke really had good taste not to mention how cheap he was. Life was far too short to drink cheap liquor or abide by blokes who thought they could go cheap when picking up a bird. Davey probably didn’t even know the difference between wines. A thought that she did not want to have right then while she was trying to be flirty with a bloke who likely did know. Bloody hell. Doe gave Jay another flirty smile as if she hadn’t just been thinking about another bloke. Nope, not at all.

Good Merlin, of course she was agreeing with him. Nearly killed in her foolish attempts to teach a hoard of imbeciles some silly, useless defensive charms but Jay was still lucky to claim a few moments of her time. He let his smile widen slightly, as if he agreed with her, as if he was flustered. As if he wasn’t thinking how lucky he was going to be if things did indeed go well this evening. And now -- wine? How nonspecific. A game, surely, and Jay just nodded politely. “Of course. I’ll be right back.” He flashed her a confident smile and then pushed through the crowd to the front of the bar to order. She was testing him, and while Jay was already quite confident of his superiority -- he wanted to get this right. Watching her die wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable if he didn’t get the chance to play with her beforehand. Fortunately Jay knew his wine; he’d been out of school enough years, between events for work and events for his real work he liked to think he knew what he was doing. He considered a rose; it seemed like a safe choice, right between a white and a red. But she’d left it up to him for a reason. This was a challenge, and so Jay was going to treat it as such. He ordered a bold red wine. A nice one, certainly, though not too fancy either. This was just a drink at a bar, after all, not their bloody wedding anniversary. He looked back over at her as their drinks were being poured, finding her in the crowd and giving her another smile. As if he really did think himself lucky. And he did. Just not in the way Dorcas was thinking. Two glasses of wine in hand he made his way back over to her, offering her one and placing a hand gently on the small of her back. “I hope this will do. I spotted a nice table over this way, shall we?” He asked, waiting for her approval before leading the way over to it. It was tucked away nicely; offering privacy, but not enough to suggest he was hoping for any funny business. Not tonight, at least. 

Doe had decided to wait till after the new year before starting her classes back up. She still had to find a place, the building wouldn’t likely be rebuilt by January. Besides she had Davey’s training to finish up and things for the wedding on top of holiday stuff, the Order, and work. It’d be enough to keep her busy. There was also Cene, it just didn’t seem right starting back up without him and he was still injured so Doe hadn’t brought up the classes starting back when she’d seen him. It would also be nice to get some Ministry support this time around, real support. Doe wasn’t holding her breath on that one though. For now her head was full of plans and more plans. Ideas to keep everyone safer this time around and things to focus on. Her flat full of spell books trying to find new protective spells for buildings and people both. All made more difficult by her family’s lack of support for her continuing.

Then there was the Davey problem. She’d embarrassed herself that one day in the hospital. Something she still felt awkward about. Yet Davey had come to visit her. Brought her flowers and a crossword book. Had not cowered at her father’s rudeness or returned that rudeness. Once Doe had been able to think on it clearly she’d been impressed actually by how he’d acted. It also made him more attractive, which was a problem. She needed him to be less so not more. Of course he wasn’t cooperating with that, it was just like him. So frustrating. Doe just had to make it till the end of January. Then she’d shag him and move on. If it wasn’t such a horrible thing in her mind she’d just shag him now and be done with it. But that felt like taking advantage even if Dave would be perfectly happy being taken advantage of.

Bloody hell, not what she needed to be thinking about tonight. Tonight she was having a drink with work mates, letting her hair down a little. Relaxing. Not thinking of a certain bloke who was keeping her from paying attention to other blokes. Nope. Dorcas felt the touch and turned expecting to see one of her mates and instead it was Jay Yaxley. The type of bloke she should be thinking about. “Jay! Hello. Oh, thank you,” she told him softly with a smile. That seemed to be the statement of the week, though she supposed that was the proper greeting for someone who had a building fall in on her. In the past Dorcas had always enjoyed flirting with Jay. He was the catch at the Ministry. The young, handsome junior secretary to the Minister whose career was only going to go up. He was successful, knew how to dress, had impeccable taste as far as Doe could tell. How could she resist that hopefulness in his voice. The stroke to a slightly bruised ego from the attack having a drink with him would be. She couldn’t. “I’m here with friends,” Doe gestured towards a table she doubted he was interested in, “but I’m sure they won’t be upset at me for accepting a drink from you.”

Vaguely Jay wondered how many people before him had told Dorcas she was looking well. It wasn’t a lie, though personally Jay thought she’d looked better smashed up under a building. One day soon. For now he just quietly enjoyed the fact that she had no idea what he was thinking. No one did, and that was why he was such an asset to the Dark Lord. That was why Jay was going to be so important after He finally came to power. He was already more important than he’d been at school. Not only in ways he couldn’t tell most about, but also in the simplest of terms. He had a very impressive job, and he looked a hell of a lot better in a suit than he ever had in those bloody Hogwarts robes. Birds like Dorcas Meadowes who hadn’t noticed him at school were suddenly very much in his league. It felt good. Shame Dorcas had turned out to be so foolish, but Jay could still have his fun. “Oh? My lucky day,” he answered her, allowing his smile to widen slightly. Friends. That made things much easier for him, didn’t it? A bunch of chatty birds who wouldn’t at all question Jay taking up some of her time. After all, he was such a nice bloke. “What can I get for you?”

So Jay turned into a nice pub near the Ministry, a hand going up to loosen his tie before he stopped mid-step on his way to the bar. Well, well, well. Dorcas Meadowes was out and about again. Quickly Jay straightened out his tie, his lips curling into a smile. He’d have preferred her dead in the attack on her stupid classes, but Jay couldn’t say he minded running into her here. Maybe he’d get to have a little fun with her before they took care of her for good, now. My, my. This day just kept getting better and better, didn’t it?

Widening his grin into something much more pleasant, Jay made his way toward her. He doubted she was actually here on her own. That would be foolish, even for her. But that didn’t mean Jay couldn’t get her own her own for a bit all the same. With any luck she was just here with some friends from work who certainly wouldn’t mind her spending some time with one of the Minister’s junior secretaries. With that thought in mind he touched her gently on the elbow. “Dorcas, what a pleasant surprise,” Jay greeted her with a friendly smile. “You look well,” he commented with a smile that said he knew what had happened, that he’d worried about her when in fact he’d been far more upset by the fact she wasn’t dead. It certainly gave him something more fun to think about now, though. “I’m quite sure you’re not here on your own, but all the same I would be remiss if I didn’t ask If I could buy you a drink,” he continued, letting his smile soften, a small amount of hopefulness creeping into his voice. The only genuine part of their interaction so far, though what he was hoping for was something far more sinister than just a drink. Not that Dorcas would ever suspect that from Jay Jaxley.