T W E N T Y

"What do you mean rejected?!" Draco asked stupefied.

"It means that we didn't get a warrant for questioning Burke." Yuko said irritably.

"But that's fucking absurd." The silver haired wizard muttered confused. "Why wont they—" Draco continued.

"Because Ronald is the one responsible for the case. Harry's off the continent for work so the authority rests with Ronald. We can't do anything till Harry returns." Yuko sighed rubbing his face.

"We can try convincing Hermione!" Eclaire chimed in, determined.

"I already tried. Ron's been guarding her like a damn watchdog." Yuko muttered irritably.

"We can't just sit and do nothing!" Eclaire grumbled as she swung her feet back and forth from her chair. Being short was a blessing, really. How else would you swing your feet from a chair otherwise?

"We have to wait for Harry to return, Vanilla. That's the only option we have." Yuko sighed.

Eclaire groaned out aloud. "There's lives at stake here! And the date of conviction is just around the corner!"

"It's not like we can barge into the bloke's house and kidnap him!" Yuko snapped back.

"Why can't we do that?" The silver haired wizard asked, tilting his head from where he sat on his chair in his study.

"You cannot be serious." Yuko deadpanned but the silver haired wizard didn't seem to be joking in the slightest. Draco shrugged.

"Because there's a million laws we would be breaking!" Yuko exclaimed, apalled at what the silver haired wizard was suggesting. He's lost it. Absolutely lost it. He thought to himself as he turned to the short-haired witch.

"Vanilla, please tell your man how stupid the idea is." Yuko sighed but the short haired witch remained quiet, her eyes concentrated. A look the dark haired wizard knew all too well. "Eclaire you cannot possibly be thinking—"

"Mattheas Burke lives alone except for a maid that leaves after making his dinner, which should be around seven. It's quarter past six so we have around forty-five minutes to plan our ambush. His maid returns at dawn so we have around a nine hour window to get the answers we want without—"

Yuko cut Eclaire off. "You cannot be serious. Eclaire, what you're suggesting is a crime! Breaking into private property, holding someone hostage and torturing them for information; Do you know how much of a sentence we're looking at here? We'd be in Azkaban for years!"

"Come now, Yuko. I didn't say anything about torturing." Eclaire said waving her hand as if Yuko had just recited a joke.

"Look at the glint in his eyes and tell me he doesn't have torture on his mind!" Yuko pointed at Draco who just shrugged non-committedly.

"I don't see anything in his eyes except beauty." Eclaire said crossing over to plant a quick kiss on Draco's cheek. "You won't torture him, will you?" Eclaire whispered to her silver haired wizard.

"Only if you want me to." He whispered back.

"Vanilla, please. Think. All of us are going to lose our jobs and most probably spend time in Azkaban for this." Yuko tried in a futile attempt.

"You can come work for me. I needed a new helper anyway." Draco deadpanned.

Yuko glared at him.

"Yuko, our only option is waiting it out before someone gets killed and an innocent person gets framed for it. Again. Harry isn't going to be back for another two weeks. Do you know how many potential murders we're looking at here?" Eclaire sighed exasperatedly.

"So your solution is to barge into someone's house—"

"What do you suggest we do then, big guy?" Draco snapped at the Asian wizard.

"How about starting with not committing a felony?" Yuko snapped back.

Draco huffed out. "If Harry and his minions had stuck to the laws, we'd be under Voldemort now."

"Boys, please. I don't need you fighting right now. We're losing time here." Eclaire exclaimed getting in between the duo who still held each other's gaze, both challenging the other. She looked towards the dark haired wizard.

"Yuko, I'm not going to ask you to do this if you don't want to. You can leave, you've been a great help till now and I can take it from here." Eclaire said as she smiled at him.

"Draco, you too." Eclaire said turning to the silver haired wizard. "You don't have to do this—"

"I go where you go, love. No questions." Draco said instantaneously.

"Mad. Absolutely barking mad! That's what this idea is. And I'm not going to be a part of this madness." Yuko muttered as he turned around to leave.

"Are you sure you won't change your mind?" Draco called out to the diasappearing silhouette.

"When hell freezes over!" He called out as he disapparated.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

"Midget, do you reckon Lucifer's got enough sweaters to keep him cozy?" The silver haired wizard snickered.

"Sod off." Yuko muttered as the trio squatted outside the Burke residence, hiding behind bushes.

"Shh." Eclaire hissed with her index finger on her lips as she saw a lanky woman exit through the front door.

"That has to be the maid." Yuko whispered as Eclaire nodded. They watched the woman diasappear into the streets.

"Now?" The silver haired wizard whispered.

"Now." Eclaire nodded as the three leapt into action.

Suddenly, another woman slammed the door to the house open.

"Oh no! Not now!" Eclaire exclaimed as she pulled both the men back behind the bushes where the trio landed in a heap.

"Who is that?!" Yuko whisper yelled.

"Fuck if I know!" Draco whispered back.

"Megan didn't say anything about someone else!" Eclaire whispered back.

"Megan?! Megan Callister? You're telling me you got information from her? She's as tight-lipped about her department as one goes! How in the world did you—" Yuko was cut off as Eclaire waved him off, her eyes trailing the beautiful woman who had just departed from Burke's house.

Thankfully, she seemed blissfully unaware of the three intruders as the young woman wiped her face furiously. Had she been crying? Eclaire couldn't make out from the distance but the small sniffs gave her away. The woman gave one final wistful look at the house and then flipped her hair over her shoulder, turning around and walking over to a motorcycle. She unclasped the helmet tied to it, donned it on and spurred the engine to life as she sat on it and rode off.

"Could that be his sister?" Draco asked.

The short haired witch shook her head. "His only living blood relative is his aunt and they've had negligible contact in the past years. He's even listed his emergency contact as his maid!"

"Megan told you all that?" Yuko asked, still dumbfounded. Eclaire nodded her head. "How did you even convince that woman?"

"I just fed her—"

"What? Poison?" Draco asked from her left.

Eclaire slapped his shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Ow." Draco exclaimed dramatically.

"Dark choco brownies." Eclaire replied.

"That's it?" Yuko asked.

"And I asked nicely." Eclaire said blinking her eyes innocently. "He switched off the living room lights, that's our cue. Come on!" Eclaire said ushering them on as she got up.

"You're here helping us committing a crime you swore you wouldn't commit without her even asking you." Draco shrugged when he noticed Yuko sporting a look of disbelief. "And you still doubt her?" Draco smirked.

"To be fair, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do if she asked me to." The silver haired wizard said patting Yuko's shoulder as he got up and followed Eclaire, wand in hand. Yuko shook his head as he followed suit.

The trio reached the door as they watched Eclaire mutter a simple incantation to unlock it. The door creaked open.

Eclaire looked around as she held out her hand to the two men to stay put. They weighed too much to be inconspicuous.

"Lumos." Eclaire chanted as the dark living room lit up. Clear. She thought as she made her way to the only room with light emanating off it. The short haired witch motioned for Yuko and Draco to follow her.

The cool metal of the door handle touched her fingers as she slowly slid the door open.

"Millie? Is that you?" Eclaire saw a young chestnut haired wizard stare up at her from his bed. Alarm filled his features on seeing the short haired witch.

"You're not my maid." His green eyes narrowed as he reached for his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Yuko exclaimed as the wand flew from under the pillow into Yuko's hand.

"And you've got company." Mattheas Burke's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Draco and Yuko who stood behind the short haired witch.

"We just need—"

"No matter how many times she asks, I'm not getting married to Rosalind. If you want to take me back, then you'll do it over my dead body." Mattheas said as the brown haired wizard pulled out a pocketknife from under his pillow.

"You know that we can just swat that shit off your hand with a twist of our wand, right?" Draco deadpanned.

"I know." Mattheas said looking up at Draco defiantly as he raised the knife to his own throat. "But she wants me alive, doesn't she?" Mattheas spat as a trickle of blood fell down his Adam's apple.

All the three eyes in the room widened.

"Wait!" Eclaire called out. "We're just here to talk!"

"Talk?!" Mattheas spat. "With all your wands out? I don't care for your games. I'll be damned if I ever follow what that wretched woman wants again." He said tightening the pressure on his neck making more blood gush out.

"Who are you talking abou—" Yuko was cut off as Eclaire exclaimed.

"We'll put our wands away!" Eclaire said putting her wand down on the ground. She elbowed her companions to do the same and they followed suit, albeit reluctantly. "See? Just here to talk. We're not taking you anywhere. We're from the Ministry."

Mattheas looked at them sceptically. "The Ministry?" Eclaire nodded. "You weren't sent by my aunt?"

"Your aunt? Why would your aunt send us?" Draco said incredulously.

"She wants me to get married." He sighed dropping the knife from his throat.

"And you'd prefer death over that?" Yuko asked folding his arms.

"You don't understand." Mattheas said shaking his head. "She wants me to get married to her daughter." He said visibly cringing.

"She wants you to get married to your...cousin?" Yuko asked slowly, still processing what Mattheas Burke had just said. "That's gross! Why would she do that?"

"Inbreeding to keep the bloodline pure." The silver haired wizard answered solemnly. "It used to be a common practice among the purebloods."

"But that's wrong on so many levels! No one should have to go through that. But why did you think we were here for that?" Eclaire asked quizzically.

"Because you know.." Mattheas spared a glance at the silver haired wizard.

"This little shit— Do I fucking look like I work for a stinky-ass—"

"Draco." Eclaire said reaching for his hand, instantly calming him.

"Can you believe it?" The silver haired wizard turned to Eclaire, disbelief on his features. "Just because I was a death-eater doesn't mean I'll become an errand-boy for an incest-loving old hag!" He huffed out.

"Well, you barged into my house with your wands out— what else was I supposed to think?!" Mattheas splurted out. "Wait a minute, why did you barge into my house?"

"We wanted to inquire about your father." Yuko said turning to face him.

"He's dead." Mattheas shrugged.

"What was he like? What was your relationship with him like?" Eclaire asked turning towards Mattheas.

"Relationship? I barely even knew the man in the first place." The green eyed wizard said shrugging. "I don't know if you know this but he was gay." Mattheas said with contempt.

All three eyes widened.

"And...how did you feel about that?" Eclaire asked slowly.

"I hated him for it." He said raking a hand through his hair. "Not because he was gay, perhaps but for the way he handled it. Married my mum and ran away as soon as an heir was born. Never looked back. I learnt that he'd been running a shop with his lover selling all kinds of questionable stuff." Mattheas said waving his hand. "I even heard he was dabbling in the dark arts. Got in way too deep, tried to make a run for it and got himself killed."

"What happened then?" Yuko prodded. "How did you feel about his death? Were you sad? Perhaps angry?" Angry enough to kill innocents and frame death-eaters is what Yuko means. Eclaire thought to herself but she already knew the answer.

"Sad? Why in Merlin's beard would I be sad? That coward got what he signed up for! He left mum and I without ever looking back. That man's not even qualified to be called my father, a sperm donor is all he was." Mattheas grumbled.

The trio shared a look among each other. Eclaire shook her head. He wasn't the culprit.

"He's the reason I'm shit-scared of marriages, much less to my cousin of all people!" Mattheas shivered in disgust.

"Is that why you rejected the lady with the motorcycle?" Eclaire asked cocking her head. She saw Mattheas' ears turn red.

"H-how did you know about her?" He asked.

"Don't let a few bad experiences ruin your shot at happiness." Eclaire smiled at him warmly.

Mattheas sighed. "I'm scared my aunt would do something crazy if I got ahead and married Maria. She's a muggle and she doesn't know a thing about magic. Not marrying Rosalind is one thing but going ahead and marrying a muggle— I don't know what my aunt would do and I can't exactly protect her." Mattheas said gesturing to his legs.

"What you can do is file a restraining order against your aunt. I can even help you place a few charms around your and Maria's place. Do you have any proof of your aunt forcing you to marry her daughter?" Eclaire asked.

"Well, I have a few letters..."

"Perfect! Make an appeal in front of the wizengamot. They can provide protection to you two under the Lawful Wizarding Marriage Act." Eclaire said, now sitting down on Mattheas' bed. She saw tears glistening in his eyes.

"Can I?" He whispered. "Can I really be with her?"

Eclaire nodded cheerfully. "You can. You deserve happiness." She said patting his shoulder.

"Thank you."

"Have a cookie." Eclaire said smiling as she took out a cookie from her enchanted pocket and handed it to him.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

"How can you be so sure that he's not lying?" The dark haired wizard asked as the trio exited the one storied Burke residence.

"Gut feeling." Eclaire shrugged. "As soon as I saw him, I knew he wasn't the one we were looking for."

"Then if he isn't the one then—"

Draco was cut off by the shrill ring of Yuko's cellphone.

"Yuko Kobayashi speaking." The dark haired wizard said answering the phone. His brows furrowed. "Got it. Reporting in ten." He said as he ended the call."There's been another—"

Eclaire finished Yuko's sentence solemnly, "Murder."