Tea and Damage Control

[emmy]

With the exception of its owner, Cross Manor was empty of all human occupants. The entire west wing of the manor had been closed off, its entrances concealed by house elves on their mistress' orders. The Deva members who sought refuge with the imposing stone castle had been temporarily banished for the day. Company was coming, and it would not bode well to have anyone, let alone a high-placed Ministry member, spot some of Emily's less-than-respectable guests.

The parlor was spotless. An endless parade of house elves scurried back and forth, making last minute adjustments and setting out ample portions of crackers and tea cakes, certainly more than was needed for only two people. Emily herself stood patiently by the grand staircase in the foyer, waiting for her guest to arrive.

[closed]

[codythorne]

Cody had received an invitation for tea from a Miss Emily Cross. The name was familier, but not clear. She had probably been a defense attorney that had gone up against the Court. So with al-due-respect, he sent an owl in return accepting her invitation.

He apparated promptly at two o'clock in the afternoon. She had included the address to what he assumed would be her house. He arrived standing infront of a Manor, a large castle. He shrugged and walked up to the front door. He knocked thrice on the door with his cane and stood back awaiting his hostess.

The old man was dressed in an elegant set of violet dress robes with canary hemming. He had been given this particular set of robes by the Minister of Magic himself, for Christmas three years back. That is if memory served right. The cane in his hand was of fine polished oak with a gold tip and a gold handle. He had purchased this, himself. It had the Thorne family coat-of-arms and his initials C.E.T. engraved most elegantly.

His hair, what he had left, was combed back, and held in place with Muggle gel. He had been introduced to the stuff when his usual hair-potion ran out and he was forced to buy some from a Muggle Chemist. There were also a pair of leather driving gloves on his hands. His shoes were custom-tailored. Some of the finest from Ireland. They were hand-crafted by the Leprechauns, themselves. He had paid a pretty penny for them, indeed. But they were worth it.

[emmy]

The magnificent oak doors began to open slowly, the noise echoing in the enormous front hall. The hall had been built hundreds of years before by Emily's ancestors, and the gargantuan room, lavishly decorated with pictures of these same ancestors, was meant to both intimidate and impress.

A house elf scuttled across the marble floor, sinking into a low bow upon spying Cody. "Master Thorne," the elf squeaked, not looking at the man, "My mistress will see you in the parlor. Please follow me." The house elf gave one last little bow and began leading the way through a set of ornate glass doors into the parlor.

Emily herself had long since left the entrance hall (after all, it would simply not do to have her standing around anxiously when her guest arrived), and was seated demurely on the settee in the parlor. She was dressed simply in emerald green (which just so happened to match the decor of the parlor), yet had carefully chosen enough jewels to accurately portray her sizeable wealth and influence. Idly she toyed with a bracelet that lay over her now concealed her Dark Mark, not missing the irony that the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot was about to have tea in the very headquarters of the Deva, and he had absolutely no idea.

[codythorne]

When the door opened and he was greeted by a house elf, the old wizard nodded his head. Over the years he had found a deep appreciation for the little buggers. They worked and worked and worked for little or no money. He refused to keep any in mandatory service. If they worked for him, he paid them. Rather nicely, one might say.

As soon as he was shown the parlor by the little elf, Cody flipped him a small silver coin. He then looked at his hostess for the afternoon, a Miss Emily Cross. As said, he couldn't quite recall where he had been acquainted with her, but she was familier looking, at least.

"Mistress Cross, I presume?" He said, bowing to the much younger woman, garbed in emerald and jewelry. "I thank you kindly for your invitation. I trust I find you in well health and a good mood?"

[emmy]

Emily rose when Cody was led into the room, inclining her head slightly in greeting. "Good day, Master Thorne. I am indeed in good health, thank you, and I hope the same can be said of yourself." She gestured to a chair opposite her own, and said, "Please, have a seat."

Emily herself sat down again, neatly crossing her ankles. "Dipsy will take your cloak and cane, if you wish," she added, indicating a second elf that had hurried over to the pair. The house elves that had been setting the table had all but disappeared.

"Would you care for some tea, Master Thorne?"

[codythorne]

When Emily offered the elf to take his cloak and cane, he smiled, removing his cloak from his back and handing it to the short little creature. "Thank you, my dear."

He then took a seat, still keeping his cane. He never went anywhere without his cane. He had his reasons. As the offer for tea was made, Cody nodded politely. "Please, thank you. Miss Cross, might I be blunt for a moment? What is the reason you have invited me to your most lovely abode? May I assist you in anyway?"

[emmy]

Emily snapped her fingers and a pair of house elves hurried in, bearing a steaming teapot on a tray between them. A pair of cups levitated in the air, turned themselves over, and settled back down on their plates. She took the teapot and poured a generous amount into both cups, setting one of them before Cody.

On the tray the teapot had arrived on was a newspaper, and Emily picked it up, folding it so that the front page was visible. A photo of the Dark Mark hovering in the sky dominated the page. Emily pursed her lips and held out the paper so that Cody could see it as well.

"Ministry worker murdered in her home. It is believed to be the work of a group, rather than an isolated incident," Emily quoted gravely. "I have to say I am quite concerned." She handed the paper over. "The paper mentioned that you were present at the scene, or near by it."

[codythorne]

"Thank you." He said when he was given the tea. As he started to take a sip, he noticed the paper that was also brought in. He had seen the front page of the Prophet. He was full aware that he was mentioned in the article as 'being a witness' to the crime.

"Ahh, I see. Well, it's true. I was near the scene. I was walking by the place with a friend and heard screaming. Then we saw a young woman running out of the house. He went into the building, I pursued the girl. I was unsure if she was the culprit or a witness. I was unable to find out."

[emmy]

Emily nodded, taking a sip of her tea. Hopefully that meant that Reina had gotten away, though Cody could quite easily not be telling her everything.

"I see." She fell silent for a moment, and took another sip of her tea. "Have there been any developments in the case?"

[codythorne]

Cody nodded and took another sip of his tea. Why was Miss Cross so interested in this case? Usually a person, who was with no Ministry affiliation, would not invite a fellow over for tea with the sole, so far, intent on asking about one murder. There had to be something else?

"Actually, we are in the investigation process right now. The young lady who was seen running from the crime scene was definatly under-age. The staff of Hogwarts School are well-aware of this case and will have their eyes open for, shall we say, suspicious happenings."

Cody nodded, once more, and took a sip of his tea before looking back to the younger woman. "Were you acquainted with the Secretary and his wife?"

[emmy]

"I had met them, at a Ministry function most likely," Emily answered simply. She had met them, though both the Secretary and his wife were rather dull people and did not leave much of an impression. "It is a sad occurrence, but I did not know either of them very well."

Emily gestured to the newspaper again. "What concerns me is the frequency of these attacks. The manner in which the attacks are carried out-- and the results-- lead me to believe that the perpetrators are more than just rebellious youth. Yet your only suspect, as you say, is underage. If you don't mind my asking, what does the Ministry think of this?"

[codythorne]

Cody nodded oncemore, taking a sip of his tea. He had nearly drained half of the cup. He only had one half left to find out what Emily Cross wanted from him. When she posed her question on the Ministry's thoughts, Cody's face became grave and most serious.

"Miss Cross, I am afraid that I will be unable to answer your question. That information, as any information involving open-and-running Ministry Investigations, is highly confidential. I'm very sorry, but you do understand, don't you?"

[emmy]

Emily steepled her fingers, and although her tone was still conversational, her expression matched Cody's. She said slowly, deliberately: "The thing is, I donate quite sizeable portions of gold to the Ministry rather frequently. It isn't something I like to advertise, naturally," she added. "I do like to keep abreast of what the Ministry is doing, moreso that the average witch or wizard, I daresay."

"This problem with the resurging dark arts movement is troubling to me, particularly because so little is being done. As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, surely you have some insight into what can be done, and what I can do to aid the Ministry, financially or otherwise."

[codythorne]

Cody listened to the woman speak, himself nodding all the way. Oh yes, she donated, but that did not entitle her to know all of the Ministry's secrets.

"I am very afraid, Miss Cross, that I cannot say anything other than 'thank you'. I'm sure that the Ministry appreciates your donations. I daresay that no matter how much is contributed, unless a person holds Ministry clearence, they are not to know anything that the common-folk don't know. I am afraid that if you have been told by other employees of the Ministry any classified information, they will be sought out and punished.

The last time the Ministry divulged secrets to a wealthy contributer was when Lucius Malfoy was in his glory. And those secrets nearly brought down the Ministry and all of society. I am afraid I cannot divulge anything to you."

[emmy]

Emily had always rather admired how Lucius Malfoy had bled information from the Ministry for years, though she'd thought his capture and imprisonment had been the result of sloppy work. The fact that the Ministry, the Head of the Wizengamot himself, was admitting their fault, was not very encouraging. By admitting it to someone such as herself, they were not only acknolwedging that it had happened, they were taking steps to prevent the same thing from occurring again.

"Of course," Emily responded simply, smiling politely. "I do understand. And while I am disappointed, I praise the Ministry for such excellent security measures."