Even now, he wasn't one hundred percent certain that the person he had been writing to was Adon Eleor. Zel didn't exactly trust letters anymore. Now, the auror had tried his best to put in detailed information, but the doubt was still there. All Ira had to do was find enough information to seem plausible. He wasn't going to fall for it this time. Even if it started out as Adon, what if the letters were intercepted? He couldn't take a risk.

Seeing Auror Eleor in person was the only way to do this.

Zel's lean face was accented with a new, neatly groomed mustache and beard-- cropped close. It made him look older, though not as old as he felt.

He sat in the counselor's office, a familiar space lately. It felt strange, being here without her present.  He had been coming here often enough that it wouldn't draw attention to the fact that he was missing class to be here. Zel didn't want anybody to know that he was talking to an auror-- after the mirror in the ministry, and his name being all over the papers, he couldn't handle any more eyes staring at him, boring into his skull. Most of the staff knew he was being interviewed, but that couldn't be helped. Not after Hogwarts increased security.

Raine was the only student who knew, of course, that he was meeting Adon. He was a shit liar, and she would've seen right through it. It also didn't feel right to lie to her.... And on the off chance that something was wrong, someone needed to know the whole story. Not only was it an exchange of trust, but an extra security measure.

At the sound of the door opening, Zel stood up to greet Adon with a handshake-- though his wand was easily accessible, tucked in the sleeve of his robes.

Adon's face flashed into a bright smile the moment he set eyes on Zel.  Pantomiming his own beard and mustache, he gave an impressed nod of approval. "They wouldn't even let us have facial hair at Gaddol."  From what Adon knew of the separate wizarding cultures in Israel and here in Scotland, Beit Gaddol was, on the whole, more progressive.  Still. Don't keep a were from his beard.

"Good to see you, Zel," he said warmly, thoroughly meaning it.  He gave a two-handed shake; a gesture of goodwill, giving up any immediate access to a wand as he did so.  "Thanks for meeting me."  He looked about the room, grabbing a chair and dragging it closer to where Zel had been seated.  "I apologize if my letters seemed..." he tried to give a vague gesture of his hand before shaking his head.  No, he needed to be specific.  "If I seemed to apply any pressure on you.  I can only imagine how you feel about this--I want to know, and I promise I won't ask anything of you without giving you the reason why I'm asking it."  He paused a beat.  "And you are fully in your rights to decline anything."  That was important. Adon had not worked formally enough with Zel to know his views and feelings about Aurors, specifically.  He had always been Adon the Neighbor, checking in on them, slipping in sweets (and one failed attempt at smuggling in a kitten).  Adon couldn't be the Neighbor now.  Maybe he'd written to Zel about that first, but they'd crossed the line to professional, and any show of neighborly attention would probably be totally overlooked by Zel--clearly nervous out of his mind, and nearly green.  Best to set his mind at ease.

Adon got the distinct impression that it was precisely because he had not been the Auror assigned to the case that he was able to make so much progress. Almost entirely off the record.  That was not such a good sign.  Especially with now-confirmed suspicions of Ministry corruption.

He leaned forward in his seat, elbows on his knees now as he rubbed his chin.  Informal.  Relaxed.  Consciously so.  "I suppose you'd like to know the progress on your case? Can I count on your discretion?" The room was already soundproofed and guarded by Maiko--the nature of her work, probably--and Adon felt instinctively that this was a safe place.  But Adon needed to be sure that Zel would be quiet about this after he left the room.  It was for his own good; surely he could see that.

The handshake he gave Adon was firmer than he intended-- from the nerves more than anything else. Zel waited first for Adon to sit down before he took a seat. All he could manage was a small, terse smile at the compliment. He was just a little bit proud of his ability to grow facial hair-- though staying completely clean shaven was a pain. He was all stubbley and scratchy by 4:00 in the afternoon.

Zel took a seat across from the auror. He looked the same-- he couldn't see any discrepancies in the appearance. The burn on Adon's face looked the way it usually did. More importantly, his scent hung about him. The thing that settled Zel, just a bit-- was that he smelled faintly of coffee.

Ira was a tea drinker.

"I'll be discreet." He replied, keeping his face steady. Raine would know, he'd tell her. She could be trusted not to tell anybody.

"Good," Adon said with a bit of a smile.  "And I'm sorry to ask this Zel, but... before we go any further, who else knows what you know?"  Zel knew something.  He wouldn't have responded as he had in that letter if he didn't.  Adon didn't know, but he sure as hell wasn't proceeding further if this network was too broad for his liking. And he wanted to ask this first, before Zel shared anything specific, as well.  Zel could easily say who he trusted at this point without giving away what they might know because, frankly, Adon didn't know what Zel knew.  He didn't know what Raine Almasy knew; when he first met with her, it didn't seem she knew much of anything.  She was close to Zel, yes.  But word had gotten out that she'd returned to Hogwarts, away from her aunt.  That could mean almost anything. 

He did not know who, or what, or how far with any of this information.   "I am certain you've got people who have your confidence." He hoped Zel had someone to support him in all this.  Even if it was just Maiko.  It didn't seem as though he'd been overly candid with Em.  He was holding back.  "I need to know who they are first, before I can decide if it is safe to say what I have to say." 

He frowned as he considered how best to drive this home.  But he could see it on Zel's own face.  He was doing the same thing.

"I am trying to be very careful, Zel, about this.  I need to be; and you do, too."  His smile was a bit pinched, but it was here, as he added, "I trust that you know that, though."

Who else knew what he knew?

It depended. He was the only one who knew everything. Different people knew pieces, but not the entire story.  Could he trust Adon with the entire thing?

No. Not yet. He hoped it'd be sooner rather than later.

"I know I need to be careful." That was the only way to approach it. The situation was delicate, no-- it was fragile. He let silence fall between them, a moment to gather his thoughts. "Raine knows the most of what I know." Zel finally replied. "We, we're... Together now."

Adon swallowed, jaw tight.  "Raine Almasy," he elaborated.  As though there were another one.  He tried to lighten it up a little, nodding thoughtfully.  "When I spoke with her last month--" no, two months ago now... so much had happened since then, but yet barely anything in the ways that mattered, "it seemed as though she cared for you a great deal; that you were close."  And of course there were the letters. Even without meeting the boy, Adon had been certain of how Zel had felt, even if Raine Almasy was something of an unknown entity--even after meeting him.

Raine continued to be an unknown entity.  And Zel most likely, well perhaps, did not know the extent of Ira Almasy's involvement.  Even Adon wasn't entirely certain of the extent.  But Raine Almasy could.  It was beyond possible that she was back to get close to Zel.  To find out what he knew.  To keep him in check.  If Ira had wanted to, there was no better way.  It was plausible.

He remembered what Balfour Spectre had said: "I've always assumed she was grooming her or something of the sort... I think maybe Ira sees some of herself in Raine."

This could be deeply, deeply dangerous. Particularly for Zel.

"Zel," Adon said, voice grave.  He did not mean to, he did not want to betray the extent of his misgivings about this, but the emotion had come on so strongly, it was impossible to mask utterly.  "I know you care for her, too."  So he'd need to be careful about what he said, or he'd alienate Zel altogether and lose this connection.  As far as loyalties went, Zel was clearly more on the side of Raine Almasy than he'd ever be for Adon Eleor. 

"Tell me this."  And this was dangerous, too--even speaking the name meant that word could get to Ira about just how far Adon was willing to go with this investigation.  Word could get to Ira fast if and maybe only if Raine was working with her.  "How close is Raine to her aunt."  He'd asked the same question to Balfour, and while he was inclined to believe the man, generally, it could help to have corroboration. Both to confirm Raine's own position, and verify the Spectre's trustworthiness as well.

The seriousness of Adon's tone and his tense body language only made Zel feel defensive. He didn't like the way Adon had said Raine's name, though technically the auror hadn't said anything to insult her honor. Yet. Zel'd always known that his pale eyes were difficult to read-- but the tendency for his skin to blush scarlet at the barest hint of emotion did it for him.

Although his temper flared easily as of late, he wasn't an inherently violent person. In fact, Zel actively worked towards nonviolence and patience, even if the wolf challenged that. That control was a way for him to hold on to his humanity. A reassurance. As much as the Donovans and Emeline tried to encourage him to embrace his lycanthrophy, he couldn't. Not yet. Not after-- "One sec."

Zel's stomach lurched-- he rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head in his hands to gather himself. The guilt came to him in waves. Sometimes he couldn't get that metallic taste out of his mouth or the smell of death out of his mind. Werewolves were vicious killers, but they weren't always quick with it-- like cats playing with mice. Prey wasn't as fun when they couldn't move anymore, was it.

Raine couldn't be close to Ira after that.

The nausea subsided. He straightened his posture and rolled his shoulders. Zel wasn't sure how long he had lost focus. He barely felt present. 

"They're not close at all." He looked, not quite at Adon but past him. "Not anymore. They're nothing alike." Zel said this with a finality that indicated that he wouldn't say more on the matter. Eleor had been told what he could hear.

One sec.

The boy was going to be sick.  Adon felt a pang of sympathy; he wanted to do something. A reassuring hand on a shoulder or loking about for a bin for him to use, if need be.  What was more, Adon wanted to yield--to tell Zel that he believed him, that it was going to be alright, and that he wasn't wrong about Raine.  He just couldn't, though.  As he'd suspected, any wheedling about Raine was going to turn Zel against him.  He was already defensive, and Adon had tried to stay as neutral as possible in his queries.  Zel Trumble  was in love. It was understandable.

Love made you stupid and blind sometimes, too, though.  Adon couldn't discount that.  This kid was 17, after all. 

Whether it was true or not, Zel was convinced Raine was different.  "Good," Adon said, though he was considerably more reserved. He could not proceed with any of his rather lengthy agenda today without this critical piece in place.   "I would like to be sure of that myself; for your sake as much as for this investigation." And his own neck.   Zel had somehow never asked Adon why it was he and not Radley--or another of the investigation's leads--having this meeting.  He hoped that, no matter how this meeting turned,or Zel's opinion of him, Zel would be good enough to keep that question from anyone else on Level Two. 

"Is there a way you could arrange for us to meet? All three of us?”  After a pause, he took in a breath, as though the thought had just occurred to him.  "Perhaps there is a way she's available now...?"

Zel almost told Adon everything right then and there-- about how he knew who did it. How Raine found her aunt's trophy room, full of wands. About how his wand was among them. Ira had let her go with that knowledge. Was it a test of Raine's loyalty? Did she want Zel to know exactly who had done it? He couldn't help but feel like she was in danger-- they were in danger.

But Ira was Raine's aunt. That complicated things. As much as Zel wanted vengeance justice, he needed to consider her feelings as well. She was processing everything, still figuring things out. He had wanted to tell Adon as soon as he had found out... But she wanted to wait. He could wait, for now. But not for much longer. The fear was eating him up inside.

He and Raine, being interviewed together was necessary. He wasn't ready yet for it-- but more importantly, he needed to talk to her about it first. They had to proceed with caution. It was exhausting.

"I think I can..." Zel gave him a curt nod, "But not today. Later." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Soon." He exhaled through his teeth. "There's more, I can't tell you yet." For a brief moment, he made eye contact with Adon. "Being careful, y'know." 

Adon gave a tight-lipped smile in response to Zel.  They'd meet, perhaps. Soon.  "Good--I know you'll be careful."  He gave a light sigh. "It's good," he reiterated, because there was little more he could say than that. Careful was good, but... it barricaded their progress. 

They sat for a moment in an uncomfortable silence.  Finally, Adon broke.  "Zel," he cut in, his tone concerned.  "I know we don't really know each other all that well, but I've made a promise to your sister to look out for you and make sure you're alright.  Your captor's still on the loose, and I'm not considering you out of the woods until we've apprehended her."  Her. Adon had given away enough by now that Zel would have to be an absolute dolt not to understand what they both knew about Ira Almasy.  Adon had said he wanted Raine to be far from her aunt.  Zel had had the good sense (and therefore knowledge about Ira) to say they were nothing alike.

Well, there was no reason to drag this out longer.  They didn't know each other all that well, and he didn't anticipate the gawky youth opening up volumes today.  "I guess what I'm saying," Adon said with a grunt as he rose to his feet, "is congratulations." He laid a hand on the kid's shoulder giving it a bit of a shake.  "You're stuck with me."  He began to move towards the door, his smile growing.  "At least until we meet next.  I can leave it to you to set up a time with Raine? The sooner the better."

God, this was awkward. So awkward. Zel couldn't tell Adon what he needed to hear, and Adon knew that he couldn't push Zel any further. All they could do was convince the other that they would be cautious. All they could do was sit in silence and wait for the other person to end this thing. They wouldn't make any more progress today. It was too risky, too dangerous. It wasn't just his own well being he was concerned about. He had close friends, family, Raine. They were all precious to him, and Zel would protect them no matter the cost.

Even if it  potentially meant letting Ira go free. The realization made his stomach churn.

At the mention of a 'her', Zel's icy eyes met Adon's. He knew enough to be at risk.

As the auror rose to his feet, Zel stood up as well. Stuck with him? He gave Adon a puzzled look. What the hell did that mean? Now he was going to have Auror Eleor as well as the Donovans trying to keep an eye on him? What was with the pack mentality of the people in his life lately? Zel wasn't opposed, but he was, just a little, confused and apprehensive.

"I, uh." He gave Adon an awkward wave farewell, "I will. You'll get an owl, soon. I promise."

End