Putting the Cat Away

Morris, Payne, and Draco Disapparated to the Ministry with Esther the Animagus in Morris's arms. In the Atrium almost all of the wizards and witches were staring at them, which wasn't a surprise since Morris was holding a bleeding cat, and he also had blood on his shirt.

"Come on, let's go before people start asking questions," he told the other two, gesturing for them to follow him over to the lift.

Until about halfway up to their headquarters, there was an elderly wizard accompanying them who was balding on top but had white long hair on the sides. His mouth opened and closed, like he wanted to ask them something about the cat currently in Morris's arms, but thought better of it when he saw the way Payne looked at him. The wizard stared at the ground until he got off on the fourth floor.

"That Jenkins," Payne said aloud, shaking his head, "such an odd man." Morris and Draco didn't respond, only watched the doors in front of them until they opened.

Instead of going straight ahead which would have taken Draco to his office, the three of them took a left and carried the limp cat to an office that had the name Diana Matthews stamped on the door. Payne strode up and rapped on the door three times.

"Come in!" A woman's voice yelled through the door, though the wood muffled it. The door opened to a spacious room that was about the size of Draco, Hermione, Ron, and Harry's stations put together. This woman was important, although Draco never met her before.

"Oh my!" The woman named Diana exclaimed, standing up from her desk that was smack dab in the middle of the room. She had shoulder-length brown, permed hair and hazel eyes. It went along with a grey pantsuit that accented her figure. Stepping out from behind her desk, she briskly walked over to the three men and cat.

"This cat is injured! Is this....did you capture....Zabini's wife?" She whispered, excitement lighting up her face. She was hovering her fingers over the cat which Draco didn't think was a wise idea, especially because it was hurt and vulnerable.

Morris and Payne believed Diana was an odd duck as well, though they were used to it. "Yes, this is Esther," Morris answered, shifting his weight to hold the animal better. "We found her in-"

"--the sewer?" Diana finished for him, her nose scrunched up. "Yes, I can definitely smell it on you three." She turned around and walked back to her desk. Draco glanced at the two men, raising his eyebrows.

"Do we follow her?" He mouthed to them. Payne shrugged.

"So," Draco started, strolling over to the desk as Diana sat down again, "are we going to turn her back now?"

"Oh, yes," Diana confirmed with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "I believe that is the best course of action." She waved for Morris and Payne to come over, as they hadn't followed Draco. "Come on," she told them, "let's get this over with. She's injured, and we need to see the damage. It'll look different when she's in her human form."

Morris put Esther the cat on the woman's desk and blood splattered on her papers. The cat looked up at them but didn't try to move. Draco couldn't see how Esther would look much better as a human since it looked like her leg was broken. He and Payne backed away a few steps so there would be room, and Morris took out his wand. When he waved it a whooshing sound filled the room, and where the injured cat had been a moment before, a woman now sat, dressed in ragged clothing. Draco was amazed when he saw her left leg. There were bite marks all over it with blood, but it was clearly not broken. In fact, she looked just fine.

"Well, well, well," Payne folded his arms and smirked at Esther, whose eyes were scanning the room, visibly befuddled. "Esther Zabini. Don't you try to run, now."

She finally acknowledged the three of them and jumped when she turned around and saw Diana behind her.

"I know, I know," she sighed and hopped off the desk, "I'm not to run, and I should just surrender. I get it." Her eyes were glued to Draco, but she stayed quiet.

Diana came out from behind her desk again to stand in front of Esther. "You are surrendering then?" She asked and folded her arms. "No running? Because I assure you that is the wisest decision you can make now. If you do, the Wizengamot will go far easier on you, though I can't tell you what your punishment will be."

"Yes, just take me in," Esther repeated, leaning against the desk, "I'm done with this." The way she was acting showed them it was all a game to her and she was calling it quits.

Diana looked at Morris, Payne, and Draco. "Okay, take her," she pointed at Esther. As Payne and Morris walked to the door, Esther between them, she turned her head around to Draco, who was behind.

"I'm sorry, Draco, about everything. I know he was one of your best friends. I honestly didn't mean to, I swear." She turned forward again, leaving Draco to think about her lies.

Once outside the office, the other Aurors' and workers' attention flashed in their direction. It was hard not to since Esther's clothes were in rags, and she was covered in filth.

"Malfoy, will you go get Toby from Law Enforcement?" Morris asked, successfully ignoring the stares. "His office is just down the hall there." He pointed to their right. Draco looked in that direction and nodded. "We'll wait here," Morris added.

Draco walked down the hall. He knew Toby Williams and worked with him before, even though Toby wasn't an Auror. At the end of the hall on the left-hand side was his office, and Draco knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" Came Toby's voice. "Who is it?"

Draco focused on the ground. "It's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He heard footsteps coming closer, and the door opened. A man with dirty blond hair in a low ponytail scanned Draco, and once he realised who it was, grinned.

"Hey, Malfoy! How's it going? What can I do for you?" Williams asked. "How's the wife?"

Draco wasn't in the mood to discuss Astoria and never would be.

"Oh, I think she's okay. Listen, I need you to come with me. Morris, Payne, and I caught Esther Zabini and brought her in. We need your help to-"

Toby put out a hand. "Say no more! Let's go. Where did you find her? Where is she now?" He asked, grabbing his jacket and following Draco out the door.

"We found her in the sewer, and she's down the hall now," Draco responded and looked over at Williams.

"You're kidding," the man laughed, "the sewer? That is one determined lady." He looked ahead of them. "And there they are! Oh, Merlin! She's filthy!"

"Williams! There you are!" Payne called over. "We're off to take this young lady to see the Minister. I'm sure Shacklebolt will be happy to finally see her." He smirked at Esther, who was glaring at him.

"Right you are, right you are," Toby agreed. "Shall we?" He gestured to the lift, and the others followed. They stepped inside and took it up to level one.

The lady's voice connected to the lift gave her usual greeting when they reached the floor above. The few workers that were closest, gaped at them, never averting their eyes as soon as they caught sight of the mess that was Esther. The four men were headed towards the Minister's office but instead saw the man talking to a witch in a cubicle. The Minister and the witch were laughing, but as soon as the men and Esther got closer, he looked at them, his smile vanishing.

"By Merlin, look who it is!" He exclaimed. The witch looked over from her seat, and a couple of wizards craned their heads over their stations when they heard Kingsley Shacklebolt's words.

"Well, now. I see you have apprehended Esther Zabini." He locked eyes with Esther. "I assume you have agreed to come quietly, without fuss?" He asked, his eyebrows raising. It was incredible how quickly the Minister could go from cheerful to serious.

"Yes, she has," Draco told the man when Esther simply glared ahead, silent.

The Minister looked to Draco as if he just realised he was there.

"Oh, Malfoy! I hear you've contributed greatly to this case!" He said jovially. A moment later his demeanour grew serious again and he looked up at Draco from under his bushy eyebrows. "I'm sorry it was under these circumstances. I understand you were friends with Blaise Zabini?"

At the Minister's words, Esther looked up, evidently wanting to see how Draco reacted. Draco thought about it and concluded that he was in fact upset about his former friend's death. Blaise may have betrayed him by having an affair with Astoria, but Blaise had also been one of Draco's best friends for years.

"Yes, I was friends with him going back to my Hogwarts days," he answered. "It's been difficult working this case, but it's good knowing we are putting this to rest."

Shacklebolt smiled sadly. "Mrs Zabini, let's head down to level ten." He turned back to the witch he had been talking to and waved. "Nice chatting with you, Clara!"

Arriving on level ten, they took a left and another left, then came to the holding cells where two wizards were standing guard next to the entrance.

"Minister," the first wizard bowed. The wizard across from him bowed, also. "What can we do for you?" He glanced at Morris, Payne, Toby, Draco, and lastly, Esther.

"We have an Esther Zabini here who we need you to hold until her trial is to begin," Shacklebolt told the two men, smiling. Draco thought it bizarre for the Minister to smile during a situation like this, but the man had always been a mystery.

"Of course," the second wizard said. "Follow me." He used his wand to unlock the gate behind him and led them all inside to the main hallway that ran between the cells. The man unlocked the first one on the left side. "Here we are," he announced.

"Esther," the Minister turned to her, "it is high time for you to think about what you did. And, while you do so, I strongly suggest you think about your defence, for the Wizengamot will be joining us in deciding your fate."

For the first time since she was turned back into her human form, she looked nervous, paler than usual, and the brown filth wasn't helping that, either.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Shacklebolt grabbed his wand from the inside of his robes and pointed it at Esther. Immediately, the bite marks on her leg, the blood as well as the grime, disappeared.

"I'm not great at healing spells, but the marks were small enough," he shrugged. "Well, let's head out."

At the door, Draco looked back at Esther who was now being pushed into the cell. He didn't feel bad for her. She told him she didn't mean to murder Blaise, but she also told him she wanted Blaise dead. She made the decision to hit Blaise, and in doing so, caused his death. Now she had to be punished for that. Draco turned back around and headed out the door, following the others.

"I'm going to head home," Payne announced as they walked back to the lift. "That was a long day."

Draco noticed that Payne did in fact look exhausted as if he hadn't slept well for a few days. Draco also felt weary himself. However, he didn't want to go home. Every time he thought about it, he was reminded of what happened the day before; how Hermione just left him, with no explanation as to what he did wrong.

"Why am I thinking about her again?" He mentally slapped himself.

The others were chatting while he was brooding, and when he came back to the real world, they were at the lift, stepping inside.

"Well, what about you, Malfoy?" Toby Williams asked. "You have more work to do or are you heading home?" He was watching Draco while leaning against the wall.

Draco made the split decision to leave and go to the Atrium to Disapparate. Where to? He didn't know.

"Um, I actually have somewhere I need to go," he told his co-workers, then ran out as the doors were closing, never knowing if they responded.

He sped over to the other side of the floor, glad he had his briefcase with him so he didn't have to go back to the office. Where was he going to go, though? The workday was almost over so everyone would be filing out and heading home, either by Apparation or Floo Network. He decided on one of his favourite hideaways where nobody ever found him, and that was Claridge's Hotel. He would often go there because there was a lovely bar, and the bartender was considerate. Plus, it was a pricey hotel and the workers there were normally polite.