AnnaLeigh Malfoy
"This might not be the place to discuss such things, Mrs Malfoy" Mt Trotter spoke hesitantly, drawing his hand up to lightly scratch the back of his neck.
"So where do you propose we go?" Draco asked.
"Here" he held out his arm for us to take. Draco was the first one to latch on without hesitation but I stepped back slightly, looking down at what was supposed to be a stress reliever, a picnic that would relax me.
"What about your wife?" I asked.
"She will find her way" he answered. I nodded and slowly placed my hand up and as soon my fingers came into contact with his jacket, the whole world went black.
When I was able to see again, we were in the one place I've been trying to avoid as much as possible these days.
The Ministry.
"This way" he said before turning around and stalking ahead of Draco and I.
"We can go home, Anna" he said as he slipped his hand through mine "We don't have to be here right now"
"If we go home now then we are just delaying the inevitable" I responded and looked up at him "I really don't want to be here but at the same time, I just really want to get this over and done with so my life can go back to normal"
I didn't let him petition any longer before practically dragging him to follow Mr Trotter down the hall. Dodging people as we moved and avoiding looking them in the eye. I wasn't really in so much of a mood to greet them with friendly smiles and share good day wishes right now.
When we reached Mr Trotters office entrance, I felt the put in the bottom of my stomach enlarge and rise so far up my body and into my throat.
Mr Trotter walked in before Draco and I and took a seat down on his chair, looking up and waiting patiently for us to walk in after him.
"This could be it, AnnaLeigh" Draco whispered, grasping my hand comfortingly "This could be the end of everything wrong"
"You're right" I whispered, releasing a deep breath "Yeah—Yeah, you're right"
"Good" he smiled and wrapped his arm around my waist "Come"
I let him walk us both into the office, closing the door behind him and taking a seat. Now it was just us three and the muffled sound of others crossing the hall just outside. I folded my arms in my lap and subtly picked on the side of my thumbnail.
Mr Trotter let out a deep sigh and pushed back in his seat slightly before pulling out a draw and reaching for an yellow folder that he placed on the table in front of us a moment later.
"There has been some advances in your case since we last spoke, Mrs Malfoy" he started, clearing his throat lightly and gesturing to the folder.
"Like?" I questioned, refusing to open the folder in front of me. Instead, I moved it toward Draco and gave him permission to open it.
"We at the Ministry had the intention that Malice and Alden had done this as a way to make up for the money Scorpius owed and although that may be true, it's not the full extent" He explained, intertwining his fingers on the desk.
"There's more?" My eyes widened.
"This may be difficult to hear Mr Malfoy but your son, Scorpius, was involved in Malice's drug cartel at the time all this began to happen to your wife. We've discovered that when unable to pay for the supplements he bought, he held an outstanding debt..."
"And I was the payment plan" I said as I slowly began to realise what this all meant.
My whole life leading from Scorpius has been a series of up and down events. I was a firm believer of everything happened for a reason and to this day, I would still trust to be so but to sit here and remember what had happened, what all my family and I have been through.
And all for some drugs?
I just didn't believe it.
"No" I shook my head with a small laugh "I've been tortured, almost raped, manipulated and sexually assaulted. There is simply no fucking way I went through all that over a little amount of drugs"
"It's not just drugs, Mrs Malfoy" he sighed heavily "This whole thing would be way too easy to put to rest if simple drugs were the equation. Malice and Mikael ran more than a drug cartel. They sold and traded illegal weapons, potions, magic... humans"
"Trafficking?" I asked "That explains the—in that club they held me in, when I managed to escape, I stumbled across that room of women and that's where I found Crystal"
"Yes, Kehlani took here down to the Ministy and that's when she discovered that Crystal had been there for almost a year. She's lucky to be alive and it's because of you that she is" Draco said.
"Yes, they don't tend to keep women there for that long" Mr Trotter said "You're lucky to have escaped when you did, Mrs Malfoy. Any longer and I'm afraid you wouldn't be here with us right now"
"So let me get this straight" Draco said, shuffling forward in his seat "Everything my wife had been through, all this torture and suffering... was because my son owed money to a bunch of pathetic criminals?"
"That's... all we are led to believe so far, Mr Malfoy, but—"
"I'm gonna fucking kill him" Draco grumbled as he quickly stood from his seat and began to bolt towards the door before I could even process the fact that he had moved.
"Draco!" I shouted in an attempt to stop him as we both fled the office, leaving Mr Trotter alone.
"I cannot believe I thought for a second that he—"
"Draco" I said more sternly and grabbed his arm. He didn't stop walking but looking at me as he did "What are you doing?"
"Scorpius—"
"Do you even know where he is?" I rose an eyebrow "Do you even know if this is true? Mr Trotter said himself that drugs wasn't even the full extent"
"So, what am I supposed to do?" He asked and tore his arm from my grip. I decided to ignore his aggressiveness and sigh heavily.
"Just be patient... please" I said and swiped my hand over my mouth "Let's go back and here everything Mr Trotter has to say, yeah?"
He slowly nodded and together we made it back to Mr Trotters office where he sat with his arms folded almost expecting that we would be back.
"I apologise" I said as Draco and I sat back down "My husband has a temper and for good reason"
"It's understandable, Mrs Malfoy" he nodded and leant forward "But what I was meaning to say before your Husband stormed out was, Scorpius wasn't the only one who owed money and he wasn't the only one who signed to use you as bait"
"What?" I frowned and looked to Draco who held the same look of confusion "Who... who else would use me as leverage? I know no one but Draco and my-my friends. Surely, none of them are into drugs and even if they were, they wouldn't put me in any danger"
"She's right" Draco said "Who else could she of made so mad?"
"We have an idea" He said hesitantly and looked across the both of us "It's not certain—"
"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" I groaned "Who is it?"
"It's not certain, Mrs Malfoy" he repeated "We're still yet to identify the culprit but we have him in custody and we were hoping you might be of some help"
"Me?" I chuckled and leant back, crossing my arms over my chest "I'm getting a bit sick of identifying people if I'm being honest"
Draco chuckled and tore his head down, trying to hide the smug smile on his face. The sight made me laugh some more until it was just the two of us sat across from Mr Trotter, unable to hold back the laughter spawned from absolutely nothing.
...maybe a little madness.
"Oh, fuck me" he sighed and tossed his head back.
"I'm trying" I mumbled, hoping he didn't hear but the way his eye immediately found mine had told me otherwise "You won't let me touch you"
"I had a broke arm, Anna—"
"I think we're getting a little off topic here" Mr Trotter cleared his throat uncomfortably and for a moment, I'd forgotten he was here and where we were.
"Oh!" I gasped and sat up right "I'm so sorry—uh—you wanted me to identify someone?"
"Indeed" he nodded and stood up, stepping around his desk and behind us.
"If you'll follow me"
The person to guess who it is in the comments, gets a cookie.
Word count 1502.