Tarot Cards and Minister Lestrange

Knockturn Alley was busy, busier than it usually was which meant there was business in the tavern that housed the all of the Knockturn Alley whores. As Jenifer walked past she noticed them fawning over many of the men that turned her dance floor into a mass orgy. Jen rolled her eyes and continued on her way down to Borgin and Burke’s. She noticed a few stalls up selling liquid Cruciatus Curses as well as a few things that could eat you inside out. Jen bought a few, just to be on the safe side. Besides, she wanted to test them. If they worked then it wouldn’t take her long to work out what was in them. A bargaining tool to use, of course. She doubted they worked though but one had to try these things.

The door of Borgin and Burke’s was closed but unlocked, signalling it was open. The shop had suffered so much over the years that Jen was beginning to wonder that whether the windows were even windows anymore and were actually charred pieces of wood like Burke said they were. Jen stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She walked towards the counter, distracted and picked up a pack of magical tarot cards. Borgin was nowhere to be seen so Jen began to put the cards out. She hadn’t checked them prior but she suspected they had something to do with the divine art of Divination. She could read the tarots but never anything else which was probably why she failed.

She turned over one card and noted it was the hanged man. Well, in the magical pack it was a Quidditch player that had lost control of their broom so they were stuck upside down. It wasn’t as creative as it could have been but Jen wasn’t in any position to argue. Dabbling in things like that was dark; her Divination teacher even said so. Perhaps the tarots were trying to tell her something once more. Or perhaps they weren’t. She always got the Grim. Maybe her fortunes were changing. She doubted it. But the Dark Arts wasn’t anything exactly terrifying; just a bit of a taboo. Jen was in Borgin and Burke’s for the same reason she never went to Gringotts anymore. Well, she didn’t go to Gringotts because the goblins would probably try and kill her. She was at Borgin and Burke’s because she’d finally gotten it back. A rare, goblin-made sword that she’d stolen from them a few years prior. It was something that she shouldn’t have done but at the time it was hard not to steal it. She was just glad Mr. Borgin took it from her while she was away and didn’t fuss about it.

Matt walked down the dark alleys of Knocturn Alley, he didn't know why he was doing this but he might as well enjoy it. He was dressed in his roughest Death Eater robes, he never used them anymore. Another thing he didn't know about, he should've burned them. He sighed and wished there was some sunlight, he bumped into someone and he tried to steal his wallet. He turned to face him and bared his fangs while his eyes turned black, the man dropped his wallet and ran of screaming. Matt chuckled to himself and turned away, he missed doing stuff like that. He continued down the alleys until he came across Borgin and Burkes, he remembered when he had worked here for about a year of his life. Well, now was the time to raid the place. He hadn't told anyone about what he was doing and figured they'd all be against it if he did. He looked through the window and saw a girl standing at the counter looking at cards.

He smirked to himself, while he was here he might as well scare a few people. He opened the door silently and began to creep over to the counter. It was then that he noticed it was Jennifer at the counter. His smirk widened and he bared his fangs and moved behind her. He placed his mouth closer to her neck and whispered, "Hello Ms.Dent," in a seductive kind of way. He wasn't sure if what Rob said about Jennifer was true, but he was the Minister. Then again, nobody who hung out down here knew anything that was going on in the real world. And being around all these people and in this place made him realized he made the right choice in leaving the Death Eaters. He still had his mark of course, which was a nice advantage over them. The Order has been good to him, and it will always be. And now he had the Ministry to help him as well.

"What would you be doing down here?" he asked in his seductive whisper once more. It sounded nothing like himself so he knew she wouldn't know it was him. He smiled and moved closer to her neck, "Such a pretty neck..." he played. He sniffed her, she did smell good but he had already eaten so he could control himself. "You wouldn't mind if I take a bite would you?" he asked in the same hushed seductive tone. He knew this was a harsh joke, but Rob and Khaat would've been proud!

Borgin was never not around and only when Jen actually needed something was when he was missing. She’d spent her sixth year in the bloody place yet he still wouldn’t let her have a key. It was probably better that she didn’t anyway. Most of the magical weapons there would be gone in a day if she could get her hands on them. Then again where would she use them? Being an Auror was awfully boring and it wasn’t as if she could drop the job like all of the others. Far too suspicious. She wanted to be free again, free to charm money out of people and get the job done with as much class as possible. Well, a few of the Knockturn Alley whores were in the same profession as her to some degree. They just had much more fun finish things off.

Jen turned over another card and found the Grim. She let out a sigh of relief, knowing that her luck hadn’t changed. She put the card down and let her hand fall back down by her side. It was only then did she feel the extra presence in the room. Her hand strayed to where her gun would have been and cursed herself mentally for not remembering that despite having a lot of influence in Knockturn Alley, she still wasn’t safe. She had one wand. She felt stripped, naked and breakable. What was worse was that she couldn’t quite identify who it was that was patronizing her in the way they were. Male, Vampire, taller than her – everyone was taller than her – and quite possibly trying to get lucky. She doubted it highly though. There was no way she was putting out for some mangy half-breed.

She’d always stuck by a life motto that was akin to ‘Look but don’t touch without permission’. Of course it was directed at the opposite sex and yes that rule had effectively been forgotten in her latter years at Hogwarts. Then she’d reinstalled it, making it more iron clad than ever. She didn’t put out like she did in the past and she definitely had a problem with vampires and werewolves. After the brush she had with Romanian werewolves that thought they were vampires, she decided that the half-breeds were more trouble than they were worth. They were fun to hunt down, sure. After chasing the confused werewolves across Europe s, keeping herself entertained the entire time, she learned that it was more fun to scare them shitless than to actually converse with them.

“Yes actually.” Jen hissed, managing to keep her cool. She couldn’t flip out, not while she was virtually unarmed, that was just pointless and suicidal. Sure, she lived for the suicidal moments in life but only because she knew she could get out of most of them. This was a little more difficult. “I do mind. Try a blood bank, instead.” She turned over another card and got the Grim again. Jen frowned, the pack was uneven. Either that or it was charmed in some way. She wasn’t sure but for once she was actually agreeing with the cards. She was not happy. Where was Borgin and that sword?

Matt chuckled in a low voice that still wasn't his. He would keep this going, it was fun for him. He could feel her losing her cool, he could see it. He smiled to himself, he hadn't been this evil since....well isn't that funny? It takes Matt to drop out of the Death Eaters to finally find an evil streak. And he can't even use it for being evil! ONLY FOR MAKING JOKES!! He looked at her and smiled, "Blood banks are alright..." he said still in the seductive tone. "But I like to hear my pray shriek and squeal before they die." he finished. He licked her neck, damn she tasted good. But he must control himself, he's top if need be. He pulled out his wand and hid it behind his back. "You taste delicious from the outside," he said truthfully. He was just barely containing his vampire mind from breaking free. His eyes flashed a black then a red then a cool light blue.

"Are you feeling okay? Not sick...or anything?" he asked her moving to the other side of her. "Cause I can't go drinking blood that's been contaminated," he added. He licked his lips, mainly to make the noise just to frighten her. She was unarmed, wow and he had someone training people like this? He'd have to have a talk with Gabrielle, and there was Matt. Two wands on hand, plus a set of fangs and muscle. People too one look at him and though "Look away. Don't mess with him," well down here at least. Upstairs he was just Minister Lestrange, nobody knew he was a vampire. Hell nobody even knew he was an ex Death Eater. He only trusted a few people within his ranks to let them all know this. Jennifer was one.

He smacked his lips and moved close to her ear again, "You could always run. Makes my dinner much more fun and exciting." he added in his seductive tone. He wanted to see how well his Aurors could withstand Vampires. And he wanted to joke one of the Dents, if only Rob and Khaat could see him now. He had her on her edge, she was either going to scream and run or stand and fight. Otherwise known as the "Fight or Flight" response. He grinned, licked the other side of her neck and let his fang brush up against her neck. His eyes flashed red and he moved away quickly before he could do any damage. As quickly as he moved back and his eyes turned red, the turned back to their original pale blue colour.

Only Jen could manage to be irritated by a vampire who clearly had the upper hand. She was busy running through all of the training she’d been put through. She’d also had Rob do it but he wasn’t as sadistic as he had been in the past. Women had softened him. There again was yet another reason why Jen stayed celibate and only used her womanly wiles if there was something she wanted. She had a few pieces of flimsy paper in a drawer at home telling the reader that she’d passed this, this and this with flying colours. It didn’t matter though, her mind was like paper towels that had been dropped in water and then scrunched together. All she could remember was how to beat someone to death with a rusty bit of pipe. However, there were no pipes in Borgin and Burkes. Plus, Vampires were annoyingly difficult to take out once they decided on their prey.

Her eyes flicked down to the glass case under the board of the desk and she put her hands on top of the desk. She appeared to just be getting a feel of the cards, some sort of Dark Divination mumbo jumbo. Instead, she was loosening the locks on the case and making the glass weak. She didn’t want to ruin Borgin’s shop. If she did then there was really no chance of getting a key but there was a priceless old dagger with her name on it in there and she needed it. If it fell to pieces in her hands then she’d have to probably try and buy herself some time to find the sword she’d wanted. Then, she’d Apparate home and put a gun in every holster she owned before stringing them all up near the door so she’d remember to take one before leaving.

Jen stiffened and closed her eyes. She only just managed to keep the shiver of disgust away. Was it disgust, though? Yes, she assured herself, of course it was. What else could it be? She felt the glass weaken to the point where she could smash it without cutting herself and turned over a card to cover up what she had done. The Grim, again. She really doubted the cards worked. Or was she trying to reassure herself that she wouldn’t die this time? Next time, sure. She was up for the whole dying fiasco. Surely she could make it a little more creative though. Launching herself off of a cliff or a duel to the death – something good not being killed by a bloody vampire. Not the way she wanted to go. No way. Plus, she wanted to live long enough to corrupt her niece. At least that way Rob would have one wayward child that could successfully do Jen’s job for her.

“I don’t squeal.” Jen bit out. That was undignified and a pathetic way of spending your last moments. She’d much rather actually feel the blood leave her system. Jen swallowed and closed her eyes again. She turned over another card and cracked an eye open. The Joker. That wasn’t so bad, not good but not bad. Jen exhaled a little and tried to gather herself. She needed to put some distance between herself and the vampire. He was far too close for comfort and it wasn’t her worrying about liking what he was doing either, she just wanted to get away before her mind completely liquefied and she turned into a fang banger like a few of her acquaintances had done in the past. “I hope the perfume poisons you.” She spat, knowing she sprayed some of the stuff that her mother had gotten her, on her neck that morning. It was strong but she couldn’t smell it at all anymore. The air had dried it out and completely erased it from her skin with the help of the rain.

Thinking about it, she did want to be sick but she wasn’t particularly sure why. Maybe because she’d never actually been in danger unarmed before. She’d made a huge mistake and she really didn’t like it. There it was, the first mistake she’d made in a while and as per usual it was a whopper. Mentally, Jen was going over the floor plan of Borgin and Burke’s while doing some damage control on her fear which was sky-rocketing. Her arrogance looked as if it wanted to curl up and die somewhere which wasn’t a pretty sight She hated what the goddamn half-breed was doing and vowed to herself and her inner-child, that was feeling especially vicious and sadistic, that she’d kick the vamp from there to Hogwarts if it came down to it. The dagger was in the case ready for her and the sword was kicking around the shop somewhere also ready for the taking.

“I don’t believe I was offering my blood to you.” Jen struggled to get the words out. Her wit was failing her because she was really running out of ideas. There were only a handful of places that Borgin would have kept her sword and they were all upstairs. He would never have left it in the shop for someone to get at. No way José. She would have stabbed him with it herself when she got it back. “So I don’t think whether or not it is contaminated matters.” One more card. Jen turned it over and bit her lip. A Grim. So what was that? At least four Grims, a joker and whatever the other one was. Luck was out the window, then. Did Borgin grow four leaf clovers?

She narrowed her eyes at the wall she was looking at and clenched her fists. She was not a goddamn puppet. If he wanted entertainment then he could go to her club. Actually, scratch that. She’d have the doormen ban all half-breeds from entering. She’d put them at the second set of doors and charm the arch to identify the race of the person walking under it. Yes, that would work. Then, she’d never go outside again and surround herself with her weapons, wine and books until she finally went nuts and killed herself. Good plan. She was never letting herself get into a mess like this again. “I’m not here for your entertainment.” Jen said finally. “I’m sure there are plenty of women willing to let you chase them.” Jen murmured, thinking of the women in the tavern that were probably still fawning over the same men while she was trapped between a glass case and a vampire. Not the way she wanted to spend her day.

"Very well then," he said in his seductive tone still. He smiled at her neck and moved away, "I know a good Auror when I see one," he was back to his normal voice. "Ms.Dent! I have no idea why you aren't head of the Aurors department!" he said chuckling. He closed his mouth and felt his fangs slide back, hidden. "Jennifer! How are you?" he asked moving beside her so he could see her. She noticed their were some cards on the counter and Matt eyed them. "Hey I know those!" he said remembering. He laughed out loud, "I put around...15 Grim's in that deck when I worked here!" he choked out through his laughing. "You looked freaked out in the reflection of that mirror!" he added smiling.

Jen managed to sober long enough. She put her hand back on the glass case and locked it. She turned around and pushed Matt playfully. “That is not fair! Not nice, Minister.” She laughed. “I hope you don’t pick on little old ladies as well.” She’d get him back. She was already coming up with an idea. Something subtle but she’d still go for chasing him around the Ministry with a plank of wood in her hand. “I’m not Head of the Aurors department because if I had my way, the cells of Azkaban would be empty but the graveyards would be filled. Besides,” she smirked. “I don’t think Gabrielle would want to give up her post.” Jen slipped away from where she was stood and walked behind the counter. She opened a few of the drawers, deciding that it was time she looked for her sword. “Uh-huh. Maybe my luck is changing then.” She shrugged.

Jen opened the last drawer in the ornate counter and grinned. She picked up the Goblin made sword and attached it to her belt, deciding that she wasn’t going to leave it in the shop for someone to find. Borgin was clearly terrible at hiding things. “Why are you here then?” she asked, gathering up the tarot cards. She put the elastic band back around them and picked up another deck. She took the band off and began to shuffle the cards. “Apart from trying to scare the living daylights out of me.”

"Pffft, I'd prefer if Azkaban was empty. I hate that place!" he said shivering. "Why do you think I banned the Dementors from leaving Azkaban!" he said nodding his head as she pushed him. "Well, I need to test my workers! I need to know if you can hold your own against a Vampire!" He looked at her as she moved over to a case and pulled out a sword. "I'm here looking for dark objects!" he said seriously. "So pretty much everything in the store!" he said chuckling. "Have you seen Borgin anywhere? Nevermind, it's best he didn't know I was here." He looked around the shelves. "Seen anything especially dark here? Rumour says they have a knife that can kill a Vampire on the spot..." he said.

“It’s not particularly scary.” Jen shrugged. “Nurmengard is worse. It’s empty more or less. All you can hear is the screams of prisoners long dead. You could go crazy in there.” She was pretty freaked out by the place and Rob passed out so that didn’t really say a lot for either one of them on the bravery side. Jen wasn’t brave, she was just stubborn, sadistic and hated not having the upper hand. “I don’t make a point of letting hungry vampires that close to me.” She rooted through a few more drawers, stuffing bits of cursed jewellery into the deep pockets of her Military styled coat. “Borgin has disappeared which was why I was playing with the tarots. If there is anything worse, it’s when Borgin disappears with your stuff.”

She looked up at Matt over the top of the glass case and waved her hand at it, opening it from the front. “It’s one of the ones in there. Not entirely sure which. I was going to pick a random one and hope for the best. The Amethyst-encrusted one is pretty, though.”

"Good thing your here," he said when she opened up the case. "I can't even touch those!" he said to her moving forward to look at them. "Borgin's probably asleep upstairs clutching some curse hat or something," he said eyeing the blades. "I'd also advice you stop stuffing your pockets, I'm going to be confiscating those anyway!" he said grinning at her. "I remember when I worked here, I stole so much I didn't know where to put it. So I sold it for twice what it was worth! That combined with the Lestrange fortune I used to be one of the richest wizards in Britain!" he said. 'Well Hungry Vampire's wouldn't have stuck around to talk. They would've smelled you and jumped right in for a bite!"