Desperate Measures

Chapter 19 - March & Rookwood

The Quibbler, Special Addition to March Edition, Monday, March 17, 1997

Current Count of Suitors: 214

Excerpt from An Introduction to Veela, Chapter 11 - Myths, Legends, & Spiritual Belief Systems

--March 11--

Harry waited patiently with his grandfather in the common room of his suite for the arrival of Augustus Rookwood. "A.R." had only just revealed his name the week prior with a letter begging very prettily for the meeting to go forward. And beg he should as Harry was quite sure the man was nearly seventy years old and shouldn't have passed this far into the courtships in the first place. Harry, not to mention his grandfather and the guards, were quite interested in finding out just how Rookwood had bypassed the anti-perjury quill.

Augustus had claimed that he was revealing his identity so as to let Harry have some warning before they met and Harry appreciated the thought. He'd spoken with his grandfather about what to do – should he eliminate the man or not for lying about his age? – but they had decided together that any man so clever as to somehow bypass the quills deserved a fair hearing regardless of his age and had sent a postcard re-confirming the meeting. Besides, the man had begged very prettily and had sent a nice present as well.

The fact that Augustus was a Death Eater was not that important to him. He'd met a few Death Eaters for dates already – Lucius Malfoy had failed five minutes in for magic incompatibility, thank Merlin – but Augustus was the first convicted Death Eater he was meeting privately. He'd given only brief thought to turning in the man but held off for two reasons. One, he wanted to know how the man had bypassed the test. And, two, as he'd told Neville months ago in regards to the married men, he didn't want to eliminate anybody who might simply be trapped in a bond they didn't want. That the bond was to Voldemort instead of a spouse was really immaterial.

Nevertheless, he was a bit bemused by the fact that he was meeting with a convict for a private dinner. Still, if his age was discounted, Augustus Rookwood had passed all the tests so far... A knock sounded on the door to the sitting room and a moment later one of his guards opened the door and entered the room.

"Mr. Rookwood has passed inspection conditionally," the guard reported. "He is not glamoured, spelled, or coated in any potions. He carries no weapons other than his wand. The only other magical items he brought are a portkey – the destination of which is confirmed as the receiving area of the restaurant Cheltenham's – and a smallish sphere. He has declined to tell us the sphere's purpose, claiming that he will speak of it only once meeting you, but my inspection revealed that it is not dangerous in any known way. He claims that the sphere is harmless and has offered to swear a magical vow or sign a magical contract to that effect, if you so desire."

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked to his grandfather for advice.

Robert frowned in thought for a moment. "If he has offered, it is likely he is willing to comply with any choice we make," he said. "Therefore, the sphere is likely harmless as he claims."

"He could be bluffing," Harry suggested, although he actually agreed with his grandfather's assessment.

"True," Robert acknowledged easily. "But if he is telling the truth, a contract will not harm him."

"Will you please oversee a contract, Antoine?" Harry asked the guard.

The guard nodded his head respectfully and disappeared back out the connecting door. Harry spent the next several minutes contemplating what he'd been told. Rookwood had worked in the Department of Mysteries before his arrest in 1981. Had he pilfered a prophecy sphere? If so, why? And why bring it now? His musings were interrupted when the guard returned and nodded his head.