The Impatient Man and His Suit

Red Ruby Earrings

Clark paused for a moment to think of how to begin. "I reckon I'll just have to delve right into it. Something dreadful has been brewing and to save his own ass, Cleverdeux discontinued the M.R.E Department during the first week of January. Even though it's not my department, I still tried to push for your knowledge on the matter, but they felt it was best to wait... (Y/n), this isn't just about a failed operation, this is more specifically about Malfoy. Even before you were exposed to your true nature, his sins had begun to reemerge in the press, but now even the Ministry has begun to reconsider the position he holds in their offices. Something permanent is soon to take place... something judicial."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I recalled my sporadic Holiday and Draco's word of caution: "One false move and your journey to becoming a witch will be cut prematurely..." Before my leave, something terrible had been brewing in the Ministry and he had been left alone to handle it all. I was hanging on to each word Clark spoke and every time she said his name my heart rate increased.

"Restoring him to a more official position amongst Ministry officials was already a greatly ridiculed and argued upon decision, not only in the press but in the judiciary system at the time. Cleverdeux's M.R.E operation has appeared to only further convince the public of Malfoy's inability to behave in an entirely citizen-service-based environment..."

Without shame, I stood erect from my seat and clenched my fists, "Draco's 'inability to behave'? Have any of them truly witnessed his behavior in their community at all? I would venture to say that this is exactly his defense! In consideration of how negative an effect his entire being has on the people around him, he has avoided every public situation possible, and when unable to, he has kept to himself unless provoked!"

"This is not what the people see, nor would they even be willing. I beg you to understand for your own sake, that while the rest of us see his remarkable success, the public eye can only see how all but one of his students applied for obliviation within just a few weeks under his supervision. With greedy eyes full of hatred, they hyper-focus on the irony that the one student he managed to successfully secure has, by their own deductions, fallen madly in love with him! (Y/n), he is a Death Eater and the Wizarding World cannot forget."

Falling to my seat, I hugged my sides in response to experiencing the equivalent of being stripped down to my skin for all to gaze at. Clark's indirect act at exposing the very core of my heart allowed me to finally ascertain how Draco's public image wasn't the only one being constantly scrutinized. I felt guilty and embarrassed. Clark stared regretfully at me but perhaps knew that only the most abrasive reality could bring me back down to earth. Besides the dissection on my perceived character which she carried out, Clark's straightforward admittance to Draco's official title as a "Death Eater" sent me into yet another chaotic whirlwind of thought.

"He's a Death Eater?" I muttered, "What does that mean? I thought Death Eater's were..."

"Killers?" Clark interrupted. She adjusted herself in her chair and sighed. "Malfoy is no killer... But he has done some terrible things. I don't know if you've discovered much about his past, but I believe you and I both, along with some of his very good friends in the Ministry, understand that he was never an evil man. He was just a kid blackmailed into being a pawn. But I must reiterate that there is a vast community in favor of his eventual exile. So, I must press that you remove yourself from—"

"Exile? What do you mean?"

Clark bit down on her lip and softened her eyes in sadness. I had interrupted her too many times, yet she remained sympathetic and kind to my overpowering emotion. "The public voice has won a petition which calls him to stand trial for past and more current events. Malfoy has already given up; he won't defend himself. The only verdict is to strip him of his position and send him off to some random plinth of land separated from any Wizarding communities. They still consider him a danger."