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Message in a Bottle	By : sarcastrow Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 1303 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Message in a Bottle

Prelude

He’d not actually been in this particular room in the manor before. It always had been occupied by its former master, but now it had a new master. The day had been rainy, cold and dreary, reflecting the mood of the people who had attended the funeral. His mother had spoken with a passion she rarely showed these days, with humor about their shared loathing for each other at school and with fondness for their shared missions of peace after. As minister, she had given her old enemy a kind of honor in death that the man had not sought in his later years. He was stunned when he saw a tear streak down her face as she muttered, “I’ll miss him,” at the end of her eulogy.

As a wizarding private investigator, Hugo had solved more than a few murders in his life; now it was time to solve one for himself and his partner. The list of possible suspects included most of Draco Malfoy’s business associates, several prominent ministry officials, and the few remaining family members.

“So this is your Dad’s private study?” Hugo asked as he lit his cigarette.

Scorpius nodded. “Was… suppose it’s mine, now.”

“Appears so.” Hugo put his hand on Scorpius’ shoulder. “You still planning on moving us in here, then?”

“Yeah. It’s the family home, and as I am the last living Malfoy…”

Hugo chuckled. “Except your mum.”

Hugo observed for the thousandth time that his lover’s smirk was a genetic duplicate of his father’s. “Yes, well, she always loathed this place, and after she found out about Dad and ‘Aunt Pansy’…”.

Hugo smiled. “Madam Parkinson staying on as well?”

Scorpius nodded. “Oh, yes. I promised Dad. I sort of like her better than Mum, anyway.” He walked to the bar. “Whiskey?”

“Sure.”

“How do you want it?”

“In a glass would be nice.”

Scorpius chuckled, and Hugo was cheered that he could get a smile out of his love, particularly on this day. “And how do you feel about Madam Parkinson’s daughter?” Hugo asked, knowing the answer, but wanting Scorpius to say it out loud.

“She is my half sister.”

“And my cousin in law, and a Weasley now.”

“And about to make your uncle George a grandfather,” Scorpius said with another laugh. “I like… no, I love Delphinia. She’s… She got the best of the both of them. I’m pleased Dad acknowledged her. I’ll have to thank your mum again for that.” Scorpius looked at his best friend and lover. “You don’t suspect her, do you?”

“Mum?”

Scorpius coughed. “No. Delphinia.”

“Delphinia’s too smart for that. There’s nothing she could gain from it, and she grew to love your dad anyway.” Hugo shook his head. “No, I eliminated her, you, Madam Parkinson, my mum and dad, and several others already.”

“You suspected me and your mum?”

“Not really, but I have to be thorough.” Hugo looked at him seriously. “The both of you had motives.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“I’m glad she came today. It sort of completed their story.” Hugo shook his head. “They hated each other so much when they were in school. I’m happy they found a friendship after the war.”

Scorpius wrapped his arm around Hugo’s shoulders. “Because of you.”

“Because of us,” Hugo corrected. “They were on speaking terms, more or less, before we came out, but when they had to accept ‘us,’ well, they both had to put some effort into being cordial. Mum says that’s when she finally understood him.”

“And he her.”

“I think he harbored a secret crush on her anyway,” Hugo said smugly.

“Possibly, he always told me to keep his compliments about her to myself.”

Hugo turned in surprise. “What compliments?”

“Oh, when she was made director of MLE, and when she got that writing award.” Scorpius smiled. “When she was made Minister, too.” He chuckled. “He was quite effusive that night, said your dad was one of the luckiest men he’d ever known.” The blonde man sat in his father’s chair and smiled. “Really had to keep that one to myself. Mum and Pansy… don’t care for your mum.”

“Come on, Scor, they hate her. We both know that, but they’re women, they can be polite in company. That’s what counts.”

“Well, with Aunt Pansy, I’m not so sure about the hate part. She sometimes, in an unguarded moment, gives your mum an honest compliment, but yeah, my Mum does hate her. You know that’s only because of everything that happened just after the war. Mum hung on to all that pureblood bullshit way too long, and it hurt her. Hurt her prospects, hurt her situation, and hurt her family. Dad kind of rescued her by marrying her. He should have married Pansy though.”

“Why didn’t he?” Hugo asked. He didn’t like the idea of interrogating Scorpius, so he’d been doing it stealthily in small conversations over the last few days.

“Grandmum made Dad marry Mum, she was trying to redeem the family name and his marrying into the Greengrass family did, in a way. Aunt Pansy was so fucked up by the end of the war. Her parents were dead, she was as much a prisoner here as Dad and Madam Lovegood were, and then… and then there was Aunt Bellatrix.”

“Mum’s told me very little, Scor. She… When I ask her about that night she changes right in front of me, and then Dad gets mad and says not to ask again. I think Rose knows more, but Rose knows fucking everything.”.

“Hey, you are just as brilliant as your sister, Mr. Weasley. Don’t you forget it.”

“Thanks. I love you, you know.”

“I’m well aware, Hugo.” Scorpius laughed. “After twenty years together…” He was stopped with a kiss. When they parted Scorpius looked into his lover’s eyes. “Do you really want to know what happened that night?”

“Yeah, I really do,” Hugo said as he flopped down in a large leather chair.

“All right, I can actually show it to you,” Scorpius said.

Hugo was surprised. “Really?”

Scorpius nodded and walked across the room to a large cabinet. “Draconis Pecus Pectorus!” he said commandingly. The cabinet opened to reveal a pensieve on a finely carved pedestal. Behind it, on shelves within the cabinet, were rows and rows of small vials with initials and dates on them. Scorpius bent and opened another, smaller cabinet under the pensieve. From it he pulled a small box about ten inches on a side. He set it on a shelf next to the pensieve.

“These are Dad’s worst memories,” Scorpius said, “He called it his ‘Hell box.’ Whenever he was feeling particularly obnoxious or superior he would lock himself in here and revisit these. He told me I was never to look, and I never have, but I do know what’s in here.” He carefully rummaged in the box for a moment. “Ah, here we are.” He handed a vial to Hugo. In Draco Malfoy’s flowing script was written B.L. H.G. 03/23/98.

“That’s his memory of that night.” He took the vial back and put it in its place in the box. “I’d like to show you a few others first, they’ll educate you some about Aunt Bellatrix and her methods.” Scorpius looked up on the highest shelf where the earliest memories sat. “Ah,” he said with smirk, “This one, yes.” B.L. L.L. 02/13/98 shown in gold etched in the glass.

“Yeah… okay,” Hugo said. I’ll be looking in some of these without you, Scor, he thought. The answer is here. I’d bet real money on it.

Scorpius lifted the large, silver cover from the pensieve and poured the memory into the shallow basin.
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Message in a Bottle