Damaged Goods by slytherin_after_dark

Chapter 10

- NOT MY STORY!! ALL CREDITS TO @slytherin_after_dark ON A03!!
-

She kept staring at the purple lights from the diagnostics spell dancing over Hobson's body.

"What exactly happened to him?" She asked, still taking in the unfathomable damage his body had gone through.

Malfoy cracked his neck. "Technically that's above your pay grade—hang on, does that still apply even if you're not getting paid?" He grinned at her.

"You made me do all this and then you're not even telling me what's going on?"

"Since you took an Unbreakable Vow and can't tell anyone anyway, I'll make an exception for you." He took another sip from the firewhiskey handle. "Death Eaters have been turning up dead. Each time they die of something like a heart attack. A seizure. Aneurysm. But it seemed too coincidental. Too random. Death Eater death rates have gone up by 180 percent, did you know that?"

She shook her head.

"Of course not. Turns out, after the war, the ministry didn't really care about Death Eaters. We are permitted in society but it's not forgive-and-forget, is it?"

"If the ministry knows about this, they will surely help. Isn't this why we're here?"

He grinned. "Ah yes, you think we're at a ministry facility."

They weren't? Her eyes scanned the lab almost in disbelief. "Then where are we?"

"Malfoy Manor. Well, in the basement of the estate. My father had built this as a panic room."

"Does the ministry know about Hobson?"

He nodded. "He had a funeral and everything."

She stared back at the body on the table. "Do they know his grave is empty?"

Malfoy crossed a leg over the other elegantly. "What do you think, Granger?"

What had she gotten involved in? Suddenly using magic on a few students seemed harmless. Getting expelled from Hogwarts was a walk in the park compared to defying the Ministry. She swallowed hard.

"Here, looks like you need it," Malfoy passed her the bottle of firewhiskey.

She stared at him for a long time and wanted to say so many things. Arrogant bastard. No concern for others. Had it never occurred to him that she didn't want to get involved in criminal activity, disobeying the Ministry? She could end up in Azkaban.

He chuckled. "Anyone ever tell you that you look adorable when you're furious?"

There was just one problem with it all. Now that she had seen the scan, she was far too curious to see what caused these mysterious deaths. Judging by the triumphant look in his eyes, Malfoy knew she was too intrigued to say no. That was if she could say no. If Snape hadn't made her take an Unbreakable Vow.

She snatched the bottle from his hand angrily. "You're a fucking prick."

"So I've been told."

Her throat burnt from the liquor but she forced herself to take a bigger gulp before she handed the bottle back to him.

"Do you know what it is?" She asked, staring at the darkness seeping through Hobson's scan.

"Granger, if we knew, you wouldn't be here. Up until now, it was just a hunch."

"What happens if you do a muggle autopsy on them?"

"You mean when you cut the bodies open?"

She nodded.