Sam was waiting in a normally empty classroom for a student to arrive. Now, you might expect that he wanted to talk to his two sons. This, however, was not entirely the case. While he hoped he would run into them, his visit was strictly professional. He had received an owl from a student, requesting to meet about a case thought closed. Emeline Trumble had been arrested for transforming without taking wolfsbane, and attacking her brother. Normally, Sam would have refused to meet about a closed case, however, since it was the victim requesting a meeting... it caught his curiosity, especially since the request indicated Trumble wanted the meeting as soon as possible.

He looked at his partner, his wife Laura[1], silently asking her for her opinion. They had worked together for so many years now that talking out loud was somewhat unnessecary most of the time. She shrugged, indicating she didn't know why the kid had requested a meeting either.

1.	she's long been his official partner, but I've never actually NPCed her working on a case with Sam. Thought it'd be a good chance to. It'll still be Sam asking most of the questions though.

He took a few long, shaky breaths before gathering himself. Finally, something was going to get done about his situation. Zel was both glad that he had managed to arrange a meeting with an auror, but at the same time he was completely nervous and anxious. There was a chance that they wouldn’t believe him, though Zel knew that he had absolutely no reason to not be believed. After all, he was the victim. Didn’t victims usually want the perpetrator to pay for their crimes?

Granted, Zel did want the perpetrator to pay.

To him, the perpetrator was not his sister.

Zel ran his fingers through his hair anxiously and took one more breath for good measure. He opened the door to the classroom where they were supposed to meet.

“H-hello.” He said softly, closing the door behind him and making sure it was latched.  “I’m Zel Trumble. Are you Mr. Harcroft?” Although tall, Zel was far from threatening. He was extremely skinny, soft-spoken, shy, and almost… Frail looking. 

Sam watched as Zelig arrived. he looked nervous, which immediately aroused Sam's interest. Victims were rarely nervous about talking to the Aurors after the suspect had been arrested. That left only one thing. Zelig was nervous about what he had to say.

"Yes, I am Mr. Harcroft. My partner here is Mrs Harcroft." Sam said, gesturing to Laura. "You said you had information on your sister's case?" Sam said, his voice formal but reassuring. he could tell the kid was shy, so he didn't want to make things harder than it had to be.

Zel let out a shaky breath and nodded politely at the couple, greeting them silently. “I-I do have information… Just, you know. After the attack I couldn’t… I couldn’t talk about it.” He had been in no position to talk about anything. Zel had been sleeping and healing in St. Mungos after the attack, and no one had really considered asking the victim. After all, he had other siblings as witnesses to the whole situation. Sadly, they were siblings that did not quite understand the dynamics between his mother and Emeline.

“M-my mom is a potioneer.” Zel explained, “Sh-she never really trusted others to make potions, and she’s a bit paranoid. Not always right in the head, you know?” The young werewolf paused for a few moments to compose himself. The Harcrofts just looked so professional. It was intimidating.  “Mom never forgave Emeline after dad died during the attack that caused her to become a werewolf. Over the years she started… “

He shook his head, “Well, she…. She started threatening to withhold wolfsbane. I think she withheld it from Emeline that night, and that’s why—I don’t think it’s the first time my mom has done it, either.” Zel had suspicions that his mother had been doing it during the school year last year, especially from comments he had heard from his little siblings. They had warned him not to go near the shed when mom was angry, because when mom was angry, Emeline was dangerous too. 

“I want my mom to be incarcerated.” Zel bit his bottom lip, “I don’t think it’s my sister’s fault at all. I-I know she’s a legal adult, but she has no control over her situation. She’s financially dependent on my mom, she couldn’t find a job, so she’s been living at home.”

Sam gasped when Zelig said he thought his mother had withheld wolfsbane. Unfortunately, suspicions were not enough to abandon the case, let alone imprison the mother. To say the least, there was testimony incriminating Emeline, unless that evidence could be discredited, any attempt to halt the case would likely be overruled, and possibly cost Sam his job.

"Do you think your mother withheld Wolfsbane, or know?  Why was she not in a Safehouse?"[1] Sam asked, trying not to intimidate Zelig, but he had to know. If there was anything more definate than a suspicion, then he could act, etiher directly, or alerting Rosier to the situation, since this would involve challenging the WCU.

1.	I'm asusming that it is in whatever casenotes were made before that Emeline transformed in the shed)

Zel paused, and bit his bottom lip.

“No. I know she did. Emeline hates not being in control of her body. I know my sister, and I know my mother. I know my mom did this.” Despite being nervous and shy, this was the one thing he was absolutely sure about. There was no doubt in his mind that she did this. “If you get my stepdad alone, I’m sure he’ll tell you. Rhys is… If he’s around my mom, he’ll lie for her. It might be hard to get him alone, but… I know he would tell you. I also have younger siblings who have said some things.”

He put his thumbs in his pockets nervously, “I have four younger siblings. The ones who can actually talk about it have said some things that have led me to believe that my mom did this. Emeric told me that when mom gets angry around the full moon, he has to keep Zena and Lettie away from the shed. That’s where she’s kept during the full moon—mom locks her up in there. It was built for Emeline when we moved to Cardiff.”

"OK, that i can do something with. I'll see what can be done about getting your father an individual interview, and see about getting Emeric interviewed." Sam said, seeing Laura had been taking a transcript. Smart Woman. that meant they would have a record of the meeting, something that Sam had forgotten. With that record, they would have an easier time doing what needed to be done.

" OK. tell me everything you know about this. Even if you think a detail is unimportant. What you've told me is likely enough to get your sister released, to get your mother in Azkaban... Child Endangerment would work, but could implicate your father, who appears blameless in this. I want to be able to get your mother incarcerated for the attack on you. That requires me to be able to prove that she withheld the wolfsbane deliberately, knowing there was a high chance that someone would be attacked. That would make her liable due to conspiracy, which would result in her incarceration. Also, any detail that would help portray your sister in a  good light would be good. For instance, did she want to become an Auror? a Healer?" Sam said, his expression fierce. he wanted to throw the book (literally, as it happened.) at this devil of a woman. He would see justice done. He would see the girl who had been unfairly incarcerated free no matter what it took.

“I-I’d actually like Rhys to have custody. He’s a good father, really. He’s a squib though—it’s sad to say, but he can’t actually do anything about it.” Zel was disgusted that his mother would take advantage of the poor man that way. He was proud that his stepfather was able to become financially successful by integrating with the muggle world and becoming a lawyer.  “But if… If for some reason that doesn’t work, we have an older brother named Garrett. He wouldn’t like it, but he’d take them in at least until I’m out of school and can take care of them.” That wasn’t exactly Zel’s dream situation either, but what options did he have? He needed to imagine every possible outcome.

Emeline. What did Emeline want to do with her life?

“No, she didn’t want to be a healer or an auror.” Zel said, “But… She had this idea of opening up some sort of orphanage or shelter for kids who have nowhere to go. If their parents die, or if their parents aren’t capable of being parents, or if the kids would be in a bad situation otherwise..” Zel paused, and his heart ached as he realized exactly why Emeline wanted to work in that field. She wanted to help children in undesirable situations, because her situation with her mom was not exactly the best one. It hadn’t be the best for years.

Everything?

“B-by everything, do you want to hear her life story, or about the attack, or..?” The question had confused him, and he felt like he needed a little bit more clarification. “I-I could do both?”

"Emeline can live wherever she wants, so I assume she would live with your father unless and until she can live on her own. As for you and your underage siblings, your father wouldn't lose custody just because your mother was incarcerated. That is one thing you will not have to worry about. As for what your sister wants to do, that's good. Probably wouldn't affect my boss, but others would be more inclined to be sympathetic knowing she wanted to do good in the world." Sam said, he would have to keep an eye on that, since an orphanage like that would be useful, although if it was dedicated to the Magical world, likely small. Sam laughed at Zelig's next question though, he could see how the confusion occurred. "Mostly the attack, although if there is anything else that could be useful, then tell me. Abnormal injures not around the full moon, is she treated worse than the rest of you normally, or just when your mother is angry? What prompted your suspicion that she had withheld Wiolfsbane in the past? that sort of thing." Sam explained.

Zel paused, and then nodded to show his understanding of Samuel’s question.  He was also relieved that he didn’t have to worry about Rhys losing custody—the man was the closest thing to a father his younger siblings had.  Although his step-father wasn’t a father figure to Zel, he still cared for the man. He was more like a kind uncle who lived in the house. His father figure was his own brother, Garrett. Garrett was by far the most like their father in looks and demeanor.

He tried to think of abnormal injuries that Emeline may have had that weren’t around the full moon, and his heart skipped a beat.

“Actually…” He paused, “During Christmas vacation last year, I went home. Emeline had bruises, but she refused to tell me where they were from… She told me that they were nothing.” Zel started chewing on the inside of his cheek. In no time at all, he was tasting blood. “Emeric and Lucas kept looking at her with such pity, but it was never brought up again.”

Zel shook his head.

“Anyway… The attack that made Emeline a werewolf killed my father. It also injured Garrett—my older brother. According to Garrett, dad sacrificed himself for her. My mom seems to resent Emeline for that. She always treated her more harshly than she did my other siblings. Stricter punishments for small things, like forgetting to take care of the trash or forgetting to wash the dishes.”

Zel took a deep breath and stopped chewing on the inside of his cheek, “When I was little, I would always check on Emeline during the full moon, since she always had wolfsbane. It was a little peek. She usually slept through the transformation so it wasn’t a problem.” He shook his head, “I was.. Unaware that mom was withholding wolfsbane. The twins told me to stay away because mom had been mad at her, but they didn’t give me details. They seemed… Scared to give me details.”

His words, though strong and clear, were beginning to sound shaky. “I went to the shed, opened the door to check on her, and the next thing I know…” Zel’s voice trailed off, “I… She went for my shoulder, and when I tried to move away, she got my side and… I just remember being in pain, and I remember my siblings freaking out, and I think Rhys yelled at my mom and…. The next thing I knew, I was at St. Mungos.”

Sam looked furious when he heard what Zelig said. that sounded suspiciousy like someone had hit Emeline, and her reaction was classic of abuse victims. But Bmeline would have been of age when she was hit this time, and unfortunately, nothing could be done now since the evidence had disappeared. however, they would need too check about things earlier than that. Sam wrote a quick note to get Emeline checked for signs of abuse and to ask Zelig's siblings if anything else had gone on.

Harsher punishments... that could be something too. "can you give me an example of a punishment that your siblings would get, and what Emeline would get for the same thing?" Sam said, then his blood ran cold when Zelig said his siblings had seemed scared to give him details of why Emeline was dangerous. That could mean so many things, none of them good. "Your siblings seemed scared? do you know what of?" Sam asked, that sounded suspiciously like their mother had threatened to punish them of they told anyone, which was important to know.

Zel tried to think of an instance where Emeline had been served with a harsher punishment than the other siblings had gotten. “Well…” He hesitated, “Once, she forgot that she was supposed to be babysitting, and came home late. If I did that—and I have done that— my mom would just lecture me and tell me to go to my room. When-when she did that, she didn’t let Emeline eat the next day—Garrett and I had to sneak her food, and mom didn’t let her leave the house for a month.” He wasn’t sure if that was the kind of thing that Samuel was looking for, but he did hope it helped give an example of the kind of treatment that his mother gave Emeline.

“I—I think the little ones are either.. I think they’re either scared that Emeline will get hurt if they tell, or that mom will be mad at them.” Zelig made no effort to hide the sad, pained expression on his face—it was how he felt about the situation. He wanted it to be dealt with. Mr. Harcroft was the first person that he actually talked about the situation in detail with. “Do you think we have a case? Be honest, please. I can handle it.”

"she didn't let Emeline eat for a day following simply coming in late?" Sam said sharply, withholding food was pretty damning. Alone, probably not, especially for a single day, but in combination with being grounded for a month... "How often was food withheld from her?" Sam asked, if food was frequently withheld, then that would create a strong case itself.

"Honestly? I can't yet say. But if I can verify what you have said to me, then yes. The treatment you describe is deplorable. Sadly, it is far from unique. Although it's usually squibs that are treated that badly" Sam said, and it was clear he thought that just as bad.

“Um.” He started to chew on the inside of his cheek, “It’s happened a few times,” Zel admitted, and he felt a large wave of guilt and shame come over him. Zel felt like he should have told somebody before. It was his fault he was a werewolf, and he should have been able to tell an auror about Emeline’s situation before it had gone too far. “It’s not an uncommon punishment for her.”  He laughed uncomfortably when it was brought up that squibs usually faced that sort of treatment.

“My older brother’s a squib, he was never treated that way.” Zel said simply, “My steppdad’s a squib. He doesn’t get treated too badly, but my mom has pretty strong control over him because of it.” He explained. “Do you think you could arrange to talk to him alone?”

" It's a fairly common punishment? how often? roughly once a month? week?" Sam asked sharply. No child should be regularly starved. He could see Zel looked guilty. "Zelig, this situation is not your fault. Yes, we'd have preferred someone reported it earlier, but the only person at fault is your mother. Anyone who says different is lying. It takes great courage to speak up about an abusive parent." Sam said, trying to reassure the kid. " Yeah, most squibs are treated well these days, but the purists that are still around-" Sam shuddered, he didn't need to go on. " And it's standard procedure to talk with everyone alone, so we'll be talking to your parents and siblings alone." Sam said. "If I can avoid it, I'll try to stop your mother even knowing we're talking to them." Sam added, knowing what Zelig's next concern would likely be.