Scorpius managed to wait to ask all the questions he wanted to ask until after they went home. None of the Aurors had asked them any questions either. Maybe they had been through similar situations before. It couldn't be the first time an Auror made a mistake like that. But why did everyone assume that Albus was the one at fault here?
"Why did you tell him to run away?" he asked as soon as they were inside and had closed the door.
"I told you. I didn't want Uncle Harry or my mother to have to detain him."
"But that just made him look more guilty! He said it himself; it was an accident. You are all treating this as if it is a given that it was murder. It was self-defence, why aren't we investigating what Piers was doing there in the first place?"
"It's not our place to investigate that. Like Mum said, we cannot be part of this investigation. We will probably be asked to go over this again with Dawson, or whoever ends up in charge of the investigation, otherwise we have to stay out of it. This is exactly the sort of scenario that Al was worried about when he first thought about working as an Auror."
Scorpius could hardly believe what he was hearing.
"So, you're just giving up? You're not going to help Albus at all?"
"I am helping!" Rose snapped. "I gave him a solution if he felt he needed to get away. Would you rather I made him come back with us? Where do you think he would be now?"
Scorpius didn't understand. Rose sighed.
"Scorpius, Albus just killed another Auror. Accident or not, that is cause for dismissal. No matter what he said, Harry would probably have to at least suspend him, most likely also detain him. And both of them would hate it. I told him to go north to avoid that, then, when the investigation is over, I can go and get him."
Scorpius reluctantly let it go. He still didn't quite understand, but it was possible that there were things at work here that were beyond him. He hadn't known about the rules for dismissal.
"Well, since we're banned from most other work, I figure I might as well head down to Knockturn Alley. Want to come with me?"
"No. Soon, news about this will spread, if it hasn't already, and there shouldn't be any Aurors out seemingly doing nothing right after such a thing. You go ahead. If you can, find out if Albus made it out okay."
"How would I figure that out in the Alley?"
"Because if he didn't make it in time on the official Portkey station, he will try to use one of the underground stations you've mentioned."
Scorpius stopped halfway through putting on his Lehrer getup.
"I told Harry about all of those a week ago. He shut them all down."
Rose gaped. "Oh. Well, let's hope he made it to the official one first then. Or is there a chance that new underground ones have been created already?"
"Not this quickly. I mean, I'm sure some will come again sooner or later, they usually do, but not right now. What will they do, if they catch him trying to get a Portkey despite being banned?"
"Most likely just send him away, since he doesn't have an arrest warrant. Though if he tries to insist, they may detain him. I doubt he will try to force his way through though."
Scorpius didn't like this. Who knew what Albus might get caught in, if he tried to go into hiding here in Britain?
"He's going to be fine Scorpius. He's a skilled Auror, he can handle whatever happens."
Scorpius just nodded as he finished getting dressed and headed towards Knockturn Alley. He barely heard Rose behind him reminding him to put on the fake beard.
***
As soon as Lehrer entered one of the taverns in Knockturn Alley, someone called his name.
"Hey, Fawley, you're out and about early. Come, you'll like this story."
Scorpius scowled but made his way over to the table.
"It better be some story. I need a drink. I hate being up so early in the day." This was earlier than he normally came here, he usually waited until after any raids or similar for the day had already happened.
"It's way past noon."
"So?"
The man didn't reply to that. He knew not to push too hard. One of the others wasn't so wise.
"Why are you up so early in the day then?"
Scorpius gave the man a fierce glare, and it was clear that the man regretted speaking. But he answered the question anyway.
"Not that it's any of your business, but I was woken up by a pack of Aurors prowling about. Don't know who they were looking for, and I don't care. I'm just happy they didn't see me."
"Aurors eh. Was Potter jr. among them?"
"As far as I could tell, yes. Along with Mrs Malfoy and possibly the Chameleon as well."
The Chameleon was the nickname these people had given Scorpius, after he had revealed the nature of his work a few years ago. He chuckled every time he heard it. Albus wasn't quite as fond of his own nickname. He always hated being seen as nothing but his father's son. Scorpius made sure to refer to Rose as "Mrs. Malfoy" to remind these people of whom she was associated with. That prevented her from being assaulted every time she tried to come down here, like she had before. Scorpius took the drink the barman came over with as the man started telling his story.
"You'll like this story then. Apparently, something went terribly wrong on that assignment, and someone got killed. And only an hour later, Potter jr. almost got caught trying to flee the country via the Portkey station." The man laughed like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. "And that's not even the best part! Rumour has it, he tried THREE times to flee using unofficial stations. Three! And failed each time!" The whole table erupted with laughter this time. Scorpius forced himself to smile. Lehrer rarely laughed. THREE stations? That meant Albus probably hadn't made it out of the country. Scorpius doubted he would try a fourth one. But where would he go now then?
"That is quite the story. What could go so wrong that Potter ejects his own son from his Department? I would pay several Galleons to be privy to that conversation. That explains the complete silence from the entire Magical Law Enforcement department though. None of my usual informants were able to tell me anything. I half suspected it was the Chameleon at work again."
"I suspect he's the one behind the closing of the unofficial Portkeys. So many at once reeks of his handiwork."
Scorpius' smile turned to a grimace. The timing of this had been terrible. Only a week ago, Albus wouldn't have been in this position. And it was because of what he did!
"I wonder what Potter's going to do now," one of the others said. "If he was that desperate to get away, where will he hide? And what will the Aurors do if they find him?"
"I doubt the Aurors will do much," Scorpius said. "Potter probably doesn't want to start a manhunt for his own son, no matter what he did. The question is rather what others might do, if they encounter him. He's on the run, desperate for a hiding place. What favours could you get, for providing one?"
"You really think you can get involved in this? Didn't you learn your lesson about messing with the Potters the last time?"
Scorpius glared again. "I did learn. But just think about it. Whatever this mess is, chances are, the Minister, or Potter himself will make sure it's sorted out and Potter jr. is reunited with his family. Whether or not he keeps his job is another matter. I was able to get away with things for quite some time because I kept dear older brother out of trouble. What would they give for keeping the younger one safe while the Ministry has frozen him out?"
Scorpius wanted to spread this thought, that helping Albus would be more beneficial than trying to hurt him. Or return him to the Ministry for a potential reward.
"You're forgetting who you're talking about. On the run or not, he's a bloody Auror! He's more than capable of taking care of himself, and anyone that tries to mess with him is doomed."
"And wherever he is, he's not likely to venture down here. He knows as well as us that the Ministry always finds the ones that try to hide here, sooner or later." Most of the others nodded at this. That was true. If you really wanted to hide from the Ministry, it probably wasn't a good idea to skulk around in the one location known for attracting Dark wizards.
Scorpius kept talking, but he tried to get the conversations over with as quickly as possible. He needed to discuss what he had just learnt with Rose.
***
When he came home, Rose didn't seem to be as anxious as he felt. She had become annoyingly good at hiding her emotions, but he was usually able to tell how she felt anyway, when they were at home and there was no one else around. Why wasn't she worried about this situation? Scorpius dreaded telling her what he had learnt.
"You're back early," Rose pointed out.
"It didn't take long for me to learn the latest news," Scorpius replied. "The whole Alley is buzzing about the latest upheaval. Sadly, the news is not good."
Rose's smile faltered a little. "What did you learn?"
Scorpius told her what he had heard.
"He tried three times to leave illegally?" Rose asked when he had finished.
"Three that I heard. It may be more that wasn't out in the open. The point is, Albus most likely didn't manage to flee north."
Rose cursed under her breath. She finally seemed to be a little worried as well.
"What do you want to do now?" he asked after several long minutes of silence.
"There's not much we can do," Rose said with a sigh. "Not unless Al gives us a hint of his whereabouts. I honestly have no idea where he would go into hiding here that the Ministry won't find him. Not without help anyway. It might be that he goes to your father or some other family member, but he knows that places them in an awkward position, so he might try something else first."
Scorpius thought about that as well. Al didn't have the extensive network of underground contacts that he had. But maybe he would contact him in one of his disguises? If so, he needed to make sure he was available to receive the message.
Rose gave him a look, as if she knew what he was thinking. She seemed to almost be able to read his mind at times.
"Listen, whatever you are planning on doing, I probably don't want to know. Just, please, don't take any risks for Al's sake. He is more than capable of handling things on his own."
"You expect me to just do nothing, while my best friend is in trouble?"
Rose sighed. "No. I know that you probably won't be able to do that. But please, don't risk exposure or endanger yourself to get to him."
"Don't worry, I know how to be discreet. For now, all I can do is to place rumours that helping Al is better than trying to hurt him or turn him in to the Ministry. And that Scorpius Malfoy would pay a hefty sum to anyone who can give him information about where his friend is."
"Let's hope that is enough."