Layers of deception

*This is the third volume of my fanfic series about the children of Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. I would highly recommend that you read the first two, called "The third Voldemort" and "Escape from Azkaban" first, or some of the things referred to in this book will be quite confusing.*

Scorpius took the now very familiar route down to Knockturn Alley. He had become way more familiar with that dark alley than he really wanted to. But despite attempts by the Ministry to clean the place out, it remained a place where the shadier characters of the Wizarding World gathered. In a way, it was a good idea to keep this place open. At least you knew where to look, if you wanted a crook. 

Scorpius had built somewhat of a persona down here. Or rather, he had several. In some cases, he could actually be himself, and ask favours as a Malfoy. But everyone knew what side he was on now. Only the people that were directly related to him or his family could be approached openly. That included the owner of Borgin & Burkes, and a few other shop keepers that owed their existence to Lucius Malfoy's generosity. Scorpius was occasionally able to use that fact to get information about a specific artefact, or if someone else had been asking about something. But try to get names, and everyone went mum. No one wanted to be a snitch. 

Thus, Scorpius used what knowledge he had, both from his father and by observing, to create a new persona. He became the very picture of a Dark Wizard, without falling into the category of those that tried too hard. He stayed in the shadows, but always seemed to know when a raid or a control would be. That wasn't hard to do, since he made sure Harry told him about any raids in the area. It had taken well over a year, but people now trusted him at least somewhat. He wasn't the only character in the Alley that no one knew the true identity of. His father had also taught him Occlumency, which had come in handy more than once. He didn't do anything bad, he pretended to be the sort of person that survived mostly by taking whatever opportunities he saw to get ahead, but he would do favours or not depending on what was in it for him.

About the only things that were known about him was that he had a temper, and that he had the Dark Mark. That alone had been a sure way to earn respect and he wished he had thought of it sooner. He had been afraid that most of them would wonder how someone as young as he would get that, but he had forgotten that there had been many other recruits in the few weeks the Death Eaters had been at Malfoy Manor. Some of those had gotten away at first but Harry had made it a priority to catch anyone with the Dark Mark. Scorpius pretended to be one of the few that got away. His existence at the bottom of society now was something that could explain his bad temper. 

Scorpius went over to one of the many pubs that existed in Knockturn Alley. This one was a particular favourite of his. Not because of the quality of the mead. By any measurable standard, it was awful. No flavour, no hygiene and he suspected it was barely alcoholic at all. That didn't really matter though. Some of the best stories could be heard here. It was a place people gathered to share stories, to brag about their latest conquests or lament the unfairness of the world. 

He went over to the bar and got his usual fill of poor mead. Ugh. How could anyone actually drink this stuff? He hoped it would prevent him from having alcohol in his breath tonight though. Rose hated it when he came home and smelled of booze, no matter how little he had actually consumed. 

"What's on your mind, Lehrer?" one of the other patrons asked. "You seem particularly annoyed today." Scorpius gave a glare to the man. He pretended to hate being called by that name, as that was what he was claiming to have been called as a Death Eater. No one still outside of Azkaban had known the names of all the new recruits anyway, so it was a safe enough claim.

"I am annoyed. The Ministry had yet another raid today, and some of my merchandise got lost. Now I have to go through all that work to find it again. It is so hard to find reliable help these days."

"Tough luck. Was it the one down by the Thames? I heard it was Muggles that found the stash first."

This was the sort of thing Scorpius liked to find out. He knew about the raid before he left the office, but he liked to find out how fast news of such things spread.

"Yeah, lucky for them they didn't trigger anything. They probably thought it was just drugs or whatever they call it. Anyway, at least I got a look at Potter and Potter. They both looked equally annoyed at being there."

"Wow, both of them at once? You know, I never thought it would end up that way. I always figured the youngest would be the one to break away from his father's shadow, but now he is destined to follow him around forever." 

Scorpius was glad Al didn't hear that. He hated being compared to his father. They rarely went on jobs together, but that morning there hadn't been anyone else available. 

Al and Rose both neared the end of their apprenticeship and were training hard to take their tests. Scorpius was sure they would pass. He had seen them practising duelling with each other, and Rose had even managed to sneak up on him one day when he was preparing to leave. Al was even better. He had even come close to arresting Scorpius once, since Scorpius hadn't seen him soon enough to duck away like most others did when an Auror came calling. They both had gotten so much better at what they were doing. He almost regretted not doing that training himself, but he liked his job. Aurors had to be constantly alert. He couldn't live like that. Besides, he had already been trusted to work alone for years. Al and Rose still had to have someone else with them, though it was mostly a technicality by this point. 

"Speaking of Potters, have you seen the third one?" Scorpius asked casually. It was James he had been hoping to find tonight. 

James was not doing well. He had been permanently damaged by whatever ritual the Death Eaters had done, and sometimes he was completely catatonic. Most of the time, he was his usual self and wondered why everyone fretted over him so much. Then there were times like this. When he got into a dark mood and almost became like a different person. He was hardly coherent, but he almost seemed to radiate darkness. After wandering around looking for someone to fight, he usually ended up in one of the pubs here, drinking himself into a stupor. The first time Scorpius had found him in one of these places, he had taken him to St. Mungo's. But after the third time, the Healers had explained that they couldn't do anything more for him, other than to keep him comfortable until the mood passed. Scorpius saw that Ginny Potter got more and more worried every time she was called to the hospital and saw James there again. She hated that her son got like this, and she couldn't help him. And James hated that his mother worried so much.

Instead, Scorpius had made use of one of his many guest rooms. He had made it into an almost inescapable room, with things meant to keep a werewolf in check. Every time James felt one of his moods come, he could go to their house and lock himself in that room until the fit passed. Rose had to remember to check the room every day when she came home from work, since she had to let him out when it was over. He didn't always tell them he was there, and at one point he had been locked in there for three days before they noticed. They made sure to always have some food in there, after that. 

Rose and Albus were worried, but they all agreed that there was not much else they could do. James was grateful, as he didn't want to worry his family unnecessarily either. Harry and Ginny knew some of what was happening, but this way, they didn't have to experience it first-hand. The Healers that worked with diseases of the mind saw him regularly, but it was a slow process. 

"Who, dear James? Why are you always so interested in him, eh? What are the Potters to you anyway?"

"I told you; I need to get my merchandise back. The Potters took it. James can get it back, when he is in the mood. When he is in the mood, he is usually here. Have you seen him or not?"

"You're using him to steal back stuff for you?"

"I wouldn't call it stealing exactly. Repatriation is a much better word. It's my stuff, I'm just getting it back".

The man shook his head. "It's your funeral. No one really wants to go up against the Potters, but it sounds like this isn't the first time you've done it. For a man claiming to be living in the shadows, you're getting awfully close to the light sometimes. Anyway, last I saw him, he's over there, drinking some muck. Don't know how you stand drinking that, but then, who am I to judge?" 

Scorpius looked in the direction the man was pointing. Sure enough, James was there, being pelted with bottle corks and jeered at by a crowd of patrons. They knew who he was. And they knew he was no match for them, when he was in one of his moods. They couldn't attack Harry Potter himself, not without being arrested, but his son was fair game, especially when he ventured down here. 

This was the part Scorpius had not told the family about. He knew that if Harry ever saw this, he would demand justice and arrest every single person here. Not that most of them didn't deserve it. But it wouldn't work in the long run. There would always be places like this. Places to gather if you didn't want to be seen. Besides, James had probably started this fight himself. He usually did. That was how the other people had become aware of him. But he always lost, because everyone ganged up on him. It was the only way to make him stop.

Scorpius went over there and looked at it for some time. He had to pretend to enjoy it. He hated the Potters, after all. Eventually though, he was able to break up the crowd and lift James up on his feet. 

"Okay, you've had enough fun for one day. Potter and I need to be somewhere, and you're making us late." The crowd just laughed. They'd had their fun, now Scorpius was here with a way to remove him from their sight and prevent him from starting another fight. He had to almost carry James out of the pub. 

"Can you walk?" he asked gently when they were out of there. "I can't carry you all the way home".

"Don't want to go home" James slurred. "Need to get some more drinks." 

"You've had enough for today. Come, let's get home. I'm sure Rose is waiting for us."

"No! I don't want Rose to see… see me like this." Well, at least he had some self-consciousness. 

"If we hurry, we might get home before her."

James didn't reply, but he was marginally more helpful as they walked down the Alley. As soon as they were far enough away from the pub, they Disapparated.