Puzzled (Anora)

[Guest]

Jericho sat reading the Daily Prophet at a small pub in London. His Auror mind needed something to keep him distracted while he was suspended. Things just didn't make sense, and until Moody returned, there was nothing he could do but go over all the breadcrumbs he had on this case. As he sipped his cup of coffee, he thought to himself, I'm sorry, Joelle. But this isn't the end. I swear to you...

Jericho heaved a great sigh as he went back to his paper....

[Guest]

Anora entered the pub dressed in her own muggle clothes, she found it odd to meet  in such a place and she curious about what happened for Jericho to have to sneak around like this, and not come to work. With Moody away for a time the department needed him more than ever..

She spotted him at a table of the pub and walked over to him, he looked rather.. she wasn't sure how to describe how he looked. Wary if anything, Defeated with still a smidge of determination in there somewhere.

"Jericho? What's happened?" she asked bluntly yet quietly as she sat across from him. What else could she ask? That was the only question on her mind, What happened to make him just leave work and put him in such a mood.

[Guest]

Jericho looked up over cup he had to his lips as Anora spoke and sat across from him. He knew the chance he was taking by talking with her, but here in this pub, his worries were far less than any other place. He set the cup down and managed a small smile at her. "Too much..." he answered her. "How did you find me?" he asked in turn. Before he said anything, he needed to be sure that she wasn't followed.

[Guest]

Anora tilted her head and ordered a coffee as well, she nodded and took a breath, and kept her voice quiet. "Okay call me nosey if you want, but when you vanished form work. and I got landed a bunch of missing peoples cases I started getting a little paranoid... You were going to be one of them" she muttered as a type of confession. "I tracked you down here, I admit I was shocked to actually see you here" she paused looking around.

"I came here when I turned 17 and left my parents house" she mentioned with a shrug and sipped her Coffee. " Don't worry.. I came here plain old muggle style.. the transit hasn't gotten any better..I can't tell you that" she trying to tell him she made a effort to make sure she wasn't followed.

[Guest]

Jericho couldn't help but smile as she told of the means of travel for the Muggles. He agreed whole heartedly that things could be much better travel wise. "Good for you. Moody has trained you well, not that I had any doubts," he said with a wink. Seeing as it was unlikely that she was followed, Jericho relaxed slightly. "I haven't gone missing, Anora. Well, missing in that sense..." he answered her. He knew that the amount of missing witches and wizard cases was growing rapidly as of late, and no one seemed to know anything about why this was happening. "To be truthful," he began, leaning it to speak to her, "I was suspended."

[Guest]

Anora blinked, she hadn't expected that, " What? Why? By whom?" she asked, it sounded ridiculous, Jericho suspended. They needed him the most now with all that was going on. Something was happening in the wizarding world.. Something was coming and they wouldn't be prepared with the best of them not being allowed to work.

The younger auror sighed, "Moody is gonna be pissed" she said quietly she knew Moody would never have suspended Jericho or allowed it to happen if he could stop it.. there was no way. it had to have been someone else.. Whoever it was she already didn't trust them.

[Guest]

Jericho leaned back in his chair as Anora's coffee arrived. When the man was out of earshot, Jericho sighed slightly before telling her. "The Minister herself did the handy-work," he said. "I lost my temper with her the other day thanks to a case Moody and I are working. It, how should I say it... It's personal, thus making it effect me in more ways that cases normally do," he said raising his eyebrows in a shrugging fashion.

He placed a hand so the tips of his fingers touched the rim of his cup. "I think pissed, knowing Moody, is going to be quite the understatement," he said lightly with a smile.

[Guest]

Anora listened as Jericho explained what happened, the minster herself took him off and for a cause that kinda made sense.. But that didn't mean she would accept it. She had heard about the case Jericho and Moody were on.. The Malfoy case, he broke into the ministry intending to kill, she was willing to bet her right arm there was more to it than that.

"The minister?" She wondered what the formidable woman had to do with it, but then the woman likely had her hand in everything.. She wondered if she should dig further, she ministry obviously did something that pissed the older auror in front of her off like that.. But he said it was personal, she wondered if she should ask.

She took a sip of her coffee, trying to place her words right, "I know it doesn't involve me really Jericho... and you don't have to say..but i have been curious about the Malfoy Case ever since Crouch mentioned it. What happened? Perhaps I can assist if you need?" she asked both curious and a bit concerned.

She gave a knowing small looked when he spoke of Moody.. she couldn't help but picture a raging Bull when it came to Moody really angry. "I know.. pissed for him anyway" she said with a shrug.

[Guest]

Jericho wasn't surprised that Anora was curious about the case. There were whispers all over the Ministry as to what it was all about since it involved an attack at the Ministry itself. Jericho pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought about how to tell her the story. She could be trusted, and he knew that. But, there weren't many people who know what actually caused this case to be created...

"I don't know if anyone had mentioned my extended absence while you were in training, Moody would more than likely been the one to talk about it most," he mused as he started the story. "Anyways, I was taking bereavement over the death of my wife. I was working a late night filing paperwork after closing a case when I received word that Joelle had been killed," he said looking away, his blue eyes heavy with emotions. "Turns out, the very one who had killed her was the Malfoy that attacked the Ministry that day. Didn't even figure that out until our wands connected and released several past spells, thanks to our wands sharing a core," he paused to sip his coffee, "I heard her voice that day. That's when he said he had been sent for me, but as I wasn't home, he took her."

Jericho reached out and put his hand on Anora's, "He came to the Ministry to finish the job. Just as I was ready to take him down, he removed his mask and vanished into the Floo Network." He let her hand go and sat back. "Moody and I have been hunting him since," he finished.

[Guest]

Anora listened to his story and tried to keep pity for what happened under wraps that was the last thing he needed right now.. Anyone could give him pity about the situation he needed someone useful to the situation. But her heart went out to him nonetheless, it was every married auror's nightmare.. that their family would be hurt because of their job or because of them. She wondered if he blamed himself.. but for now she wasn't going to get into that.

She nodded to him, soaking in his words "I understand why this case would hit home closer to you than others would... I am sorry, for what it is worth" she offered. She looked thoughtful for a moment trying to put together the information she knew. The minister somehow made Jericho loose his temper with her, and since it was her that took him off the case, she could guess that was what he lost his temper about...

Anora leaned back and held her coffee mug with both hands,"The minister is some how involved in it I take it? She'd have to have done something to tick you off to loose your cool?"she inquired the concern still showed in her eyes.

She never did vote for their minister anyway...

[Guest]

Jericho half-smiled, "Thanks, Anora. I appreciate it. It's been hard. Just have to take every day as it comes..." He nodded as she mentioned that Minister had to be involved and done something to torque him so badly. It wasn't like Jericho to lose his temper, and many Aurors knew that. "You could say that she is. I believe that she knows more than she is letting on about the case. Guess she didn't like it so much that I called her on it..." he explained. "Her kicking me off the case had nothing to do with my losing my cool. That was actually what helped to snap me back," he added. In truth, what helped him calm back down was knowing that he needed to get out with his job and life still in tact so he can let Moody know what was going on.

[Guest]

Anora tilted her head in thought that the minister might be impeding an investigation and one that hit really close to home to.. The power the minister had and they used was one of the reasons she didn't much care for politics. People of that kind of power only followed laws when it was convenient for them. And twisted and bent them to make their own ends.

" Of course you were mad she might be sitting on information... Which I don't doubt.. she is a politician they love sitting on the truth... I would have gotten ticked to, I found that out" she quietly putting her cup back on the table...

"Anything I can do to assist you?" she asked wishing to help or be useful. New eyes to help in the investigation on his behalf, she could be discreet if need be... She also wondered if the Minister into something Dangerous...

Only time would tell...

[Guest]

Jericho ran a hand over his face and shook his head. "Honestly, Anora, I don't know that there is anything you can do. Now that I'm off the case, so to speak, and suspended, just talking to you could cost me any chance of getting to go back to work..." he said simply, dropping his hand. "But, you can talk to Moody. Let him know you are interested in possibly helping with the case. The more eyes on this one, I think the better," he added looking around. He then leaned in and looked at her, his blue eyes hard and focused, "Be that as it may, you can bet your ass I will be speaking to Moody when he returns about this." Jericho winked. Whether is was Jericho who went to Moody or the other way around, either way, his boss would certainly learn what he knew.

[Guest]

Oh she would definitely be going to Moody about this in private as soon as she could, ever since the incident with Umbridge she thought the ministry might be corrupted, it seemed to run further then even the pink poisonous woman.

" I will speak to him about it, if our government is so corrupt... to allow something like this go on, I won't stand in to dark and let it happen any further, now that we know this we can do something.." she promised taking another drink of her coffee. She smirked about talking to Moody, he had better talk to him he would be an idiot not to.

"I would call ya an idiot of you didn't Jericho, But more then likely when he catches news of your Suspension.. I don't think he will give you a choice" she said a shake of her head just picturing Moody unyielding stance on the issue..

She looked at Jericho for a second.. there was something still bothering her about the issue.. Why was he a target to be murdered by this Malfoy anyway?...

"Forgive the question Jericho.. but did you ever find out the motive behind the attack, why you specifically were targeted to be killed?" she asked, it was bugging her, was it an old score or what?

[Guest]

Jericho laughed lightly at her comment about Moody not giving him a chance to not speak to him. He was just as certain as Anora was that when he got word of it, Jericho would be seeing Moody one way or another. He took a long sip of his coffee as she asked her next set of questions.

Setting the cup down, he ran his fingers through his dirty-blonde hair. "That is a very good question, Anora. One I wish, for the life of me I knew the answer to...." he said with a heavy sigh. "Something like this, it could be as simple as I put a relative or close friend in Azkaban. It's hard to say. But, in the end, hopefully, we will have the answer," he said with a wink.

[Guest]

Anora tilted her head at there being no motive, and it got her thinking about more interested in the case she had previous no knowledge of, she was intrigued and wanted to help. This Malfoy didn't know of her if she was an Auror.. yes an idea started to form in her head of how she could help. One could almost see the gears turning.

"I will ask Moody if I can help look for this Elusive Malfoy, he has never seen my face before and wouldn't know that I am an Auror.." she said letting the sentence end going undercover might be there best bet on there to find him and get the loony by surprise. Being undercover had been her strong point in training she could play off a clueless civilian easily enough.

"We will get on this Jericho, don't worry" she said attempting to cheer him up even though she wasn't always a optimist.

[Guest]

Jericho listened to her idea and pondered it. It was likely that, with him missing from the Auror's Office, Moody may consider it. It was worth a shot. "I will leave it up to you if you wish to speak to Moody about that idea of yours, Anora. Being an Auror isn't always safe, and I admire your want to help in a case that could very well.... Well, you know," he said lightly. She did have the advantage over this Malfoy by him not knowing her, and if memory served him correctly, she did score very very high on the area of the test dealing with undercover work.

He smiled and nodded. "One way or another, we will find him...." he said.

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