It was his first time having anything to do with Remembering Day.  Jonas couldn't shake the feeling that the holiday was completely foreign, that it belonged to some other group of people that he'd never know.  After the events of the previous year, the 2009 celebration was apparently muted.  A few tours had been arranged for dignitaries, and an expanded guard had been posted.  With Macduff and Tawse still on the loose, the Ministry was being very careful.

If nothing else, the expanded security guard gave them the opportunity to wander Hogwarts without drawing attention.  Adon was at the school, but he was waiting nearby; they'd both decided that this was a discussion that Jonas would be better off having alone.  While one Auror could have a conversation, two automatically became a threat, especially if the man they were waiting to talk to was already nervous about trusting them.

Trishna kept private rooms at the school, but Jonas tried the Astronomy Tower first.  He'd abandoned his scarlet Auror robes for street clothes again.  Security detail or not, he still didn't feel comfortable in the bloody things.  If the goal of this conversation was to remain relaxed and convince the Astronomy professor that he could trust them, then he'd do it dressed like himself.

The door to the Astronomy tower was unlocked when he tried it.  Jonas glanced over his shoulder down the spiral staircase, and then eased it open, admitting himself into the classroom.

"Surprised you're working on a Saturday, Professor," he remarked easily, first glancing at the tall, barefooted figure that was fumbling with some giant, golden spherical device near the center of the classroom, and then casting a look around the empty desks.  As far as he could see, no one else was present.  "I thought this was the holiday where you lot all made plans to go out for a pint.  You mind if I interrupt?" he asked, frowning as he returned his attention to Trishna.  "Had a bit of a break in the day, and I reckon we're due for a talk."

Outfit //

It had been a decent day, so far. The Remembering Day dignitaries had been escorted around; he'd gone down in his nicer robes, smiled, acted very Head of House...ey, and then retreated up into his tower and sincerely hoped they wouldn't bother him. He didn't think Snark would bring them up here, anyway - he'd just have to hope they wouldn't ask to get brought here to see the battle sites.

It was so odd, in a way; it had never clicked for him that Dumbledore's death had taken place only feet from where he now sat. He'd known it, yes, but it had never really registered...

Of course, his somewhat dark thoughts had plenty to do with the small armillary sphere that sat in pieces in front of him. They weren't even useful! Why did the OWL require the kids know about them? Maybe he could accidentally drop it off the tower. A homage, he'd say.

The tower was bright and sunny, the door-arches with their sheets pulled aside and the rest set to show the actual sky outside. It made the room much more cheerful than Tapendra felt.

Jonas's voice was a complete surprise, and he nearly dropped his wand, looking up at the Auror and freezing where he sat. He'd known this was coming, of course, but as the days had worn on and the OWLs and NEWTs got closer, it had started to seem like maybe it wouldn't happen at all. Naive, really.

"Mister Trevelyan," he said, starting to stand and dropping some of the delicate parts at he did so. He glared darkly at them before managing a smile. "You, ah, didn't say you were coming-" His sweatshirt was not appropriate, and he automatically started to unzip it - then he remembered what his shirt said.

Of course, neither was appropriate for meeting an Auror in, and changing was out of the question. His seeing Jonas and instantly taking his clothes off would just...color this whole conversation badly.

Great, he'd been spending far too much time around Darian. Now he really hoped Jonas wasn't a Occulmens. Remembering Ignan's words, Tapendra did his best to relax, let his mind shield itself.

"I'm not exactly working-working," he admittedly, tone all friendliness. "Off-duty until the feast tonight...Can I get you anything?" he asked, brushing his jeans off. "There's coffee, and, ah..." He looked over at his desk, at the set of plates that had been brought up for his lunch. They were all empty, save a few remaining crumbs. "Just coffee, actually. Possibly tea."

"Cheers, but I'm alright."  That was enough of an invitation that he didn't need to remain standing.  Jonas immediately limped to the nearest desk, boosting himself to sit on top of it.  The steep staircases of Hogwarts were unforgiving on a bad knee.

Trishna was, as usual, fidgeting.  The only time he hadn't seen the other man look outwardly nervous was when the Professor had interrupted his argument with Aileen Reid.  Even then, Jonas imagined, it could have been just because he wasn't paying very much attention.  The astronomer let the outside world affect him far more than it should, but he'd seen hints of a steel inside the man, especially when Prideaux was brought up.  Obviously, he was his mother's son.

"Yeah, they've got half the Corps helping with security today," he said, giving a shrug as he answered the previous question.  "I reckoned it was as good an excuse as any to stop in."

For once, his purpose here wasn't to beat around the bush.  The Astronomy professor had had plenty of time to ruminate and think matters over.  If he wasn't willing to help them, no last minute pitch was going to make him change his mind.  Jonas had been mulling over the best way to approach this conversation.  Talking in circles clearly wouldn't help; Trishna was already expecting him to intentionally obfuscate.  It was far better to get down to it, to lay out what he could, to ask instead of pressure.  It was up to the other man to make a decision.

"We've almost got things locked up for your mother's trial," he began, glancing to meet the professor's eyes.  "The Italians have been howling for her, but that's out of our hands.  Most we can do is push the counsel to try and limit the sentencing." 

He paused, breaking off, and then shrugged at Trishna once more.  There wasn't any way to soften either the words or the implication.  "I'm sorry," he said honestly at last.  "Reckon this isn't easy."

The casual chit chat was valuable for one thing; it let him focus and relax.  He'd learned to meditate somewhat in the last few weeks, taught himself to relax and slow his thoughts. It helped now, with his heart wanting to hammer and that deep-seated fear wanting to rise.

Quietly taking a few deep breaths, Tapendra relaxed, his hands slipping into the kangaroo pockets of his sweatshirt. He leaned against the large white globe in the classroom's center, currently shut off, and let his head lay back against it. Kepler sat on top of it, asleep; the cat's warmth was reassuring.

"I see," he said, simply. His tone was neutral, his posture relaxed. But it was clear it was an act - something he had trained himself to do.

"Yes," he said, not seeing the necessity for lying in this manner. "It is. She'll go to Azkaban, then - for life." It wasn't a question; just a restatement of fact. He didn't move except to draw a leg back, putting a barefoot against the globe too.

"She deserves it," he said finally. "But thank you, for making the arrangements to let us see her. You monitored the whole thing, I know. So." His blue eyes opened, and he looked sidelong at Jonas. "What now?"

Jonas raised his eyebrows, studying the other man thoughtfully.  The relationship between mother and son was obviously a complicated one.  It was obvious that the two still cared for each other, and he didn't doubt for a moment that even if Trishna thought she did deserve, it wasn't what he wanted. 

But that wasn't the 'now' they were talking about.  He and Adon had done their research -- Trishna and Ignan Storm were rumored to be close, recognized as friends amongst the Hogwarts faculty.  Storm had been involved -- in love -- with Trishna's mother.  Despite the fact that the opportunity to visit her was obviously a set up, Trishna had brought the older man along despite the risks.  The German's future obviously meant something to the Astronomy professor.  And now, based on what they knew, the Aurors held the cards.

"Reckon it depends."  Jonas kept his voice level, even, as he let his gaze drift past the other man.  "I haven't seen anything to convince me that your mother was involved in the Runespoor trade."  He let the 'Even if her family was' go unspoken; that was one connection they were still slowly pursuing, but Trishna didn't need to know that.  "If she got pulled in at all beyond this, it was as a contractor.  I don't think she was the one importing them."

The red-haired Auror took a deep breath.  "But we both have a pretty good idea who was," he said quietly.  "And likely who still is.  I want to get Prideaux off the streets, Professor."  He found Trishna's gaze, held it.  Unabashed.  Unrelenting.  "And I've got to admit, that'll be a bloody hell of a lot easier to accomplish if we can get your help."

Tapendra let his breath out, not moving from his position against the globe. "Doesn't do her much good, either way," he said, with a hint of dark humor. His mother being innocent of one crime was vastly outweighed by her guilt in countless others - many that, frankly, were worse.

Trevelyan continued talking, and Tapendra let his gaze drift away, listening calmly as the man spoke. He wanted to take down Prideaux? Fine. Tapendra did, too. But...that would be just the thing an agent would say, wouldn't it?

He rubbed his nose as Jonas finished. "You know how much I have on the line," he said. "Hah, technically speaking, it's everything on the line." His gaze shot to Jonas suddenly, his jaw set. "And if you're serious about taking him down, it'll be the same for you. He'll hit you anywhere he can and given what you do for a living, it wouldn't be hard to make it look like someone else did it..."

His trailed off, then stood, pushing off from the globe. He walked up to Jonas; tall as he was, he towered over the sitting man, expression serious and his wand drawn.

"I want to help you," Tapendra said, looking at Jonas carefully. "I can, I think. But beyond the visit, you haven't done much to prove you're not in his pocket. And if you know him well enough to truly suspect his criminal ties, then you know why I worry."

There was one way to see. He didn't know if it would work, didn't know if it'd damage the man; his own control was so limited, so new, that even if they both came out fine he might know nothing. And if Trevelyan knew how to guard it...

He raised a hand, palm open. "Let me look into your mind," he said. "If you have nothing to hide, then show me that's truly the case - show me, without doubt, that you're genuine. I can't help you if I'm not sure."

He'd stayed still as the giant of a man approached; didn't flinch, didn't react.  That was one of the risks that he and Adon had decided was worth taking with this -- if Trishna suddenly turned violent or drew his wand, there was little that Jonas could do to stop him.  The red-haired man stayed perfectly relaxed, his expression tranquil, as Trishna stopped just short of him.  He'd come half expecting the professor to request an Unbreakable Oath.

This was something different.

Jonas stared up at the much taller man, momentary disquiet flickering over his expression.  His throat caught, and he tightened his grip on the edge of the desk, his posture unconsciously straightening.  He knew what Trishna was asking; knew, even though this was something that he'd much rather forget.  Every Auror trainee had been put through their paces on mental defenses.  Jonas, though never the best, had once been fairly good at them.  But one thing had been drilled into them: physical attacks might be deadly, but they were nothing compared to invasions of the mind.

The idea of letting someone mess around in his mind made him want to give in to a sudden panic.  That was what had happened to Akiva, to Aberdeen Spencer.  And they'd only had their memories modified; he'd seen people who had lost their entire sense of self.  The thought of one day succumbing to that, of someone breaking into his head and taking away who he was, terrified him.  He relied so much on memory.  The risk was real that sooner or later, someone would try to strip them away.  Even though he could take notes, record details and thoughts and relationships, Jonas had no idea if the effort would even help; if he could rebuild himself after he'd been lost.

"I..."  His throat was dry.  Jonas swallowed, forced himself to let out the breath he'd been holding.  Panicking wasn't helping.  He'd come into this conversation prepared to give up some of the cards, to let Trishna take the upper hand if that was what was needed, but he hadn't expected the other man to do it so deftly.  He set his hands flat on the desk behind him and forced himself to levelly met Trishna's gaze. 

"Look," he said quietly, reasonably, as though it wasn't the most completely unreasonable thing that he had ever heard.  "I've got some things that have nothing to do with you or this that I don't want anyone knowing. And I don't --"  He had to stop again, will his voice to stay even.  Jonas gritted his teeth.  He wasn't going to be bloody well sent to pieces by one stupid request.

"No," he said.  His eyes found Trishna's again.  "I can't."  Aside from the fact that even the thought of exposing himself like that made him feel sick, letting anyone mess around in his mind was a risk that he couldn't take.  He'd only been back working as an Auror for a few months, but everything he'd touched was sensitive information.  Jonas had poked around beyond his case assignments -- he'd read things he probably shouldn't have, and he didn't dare expose that knowledge to a man who was so obviously entangled with two different murderers.

"There's more at stake than just the Runespoor investigation."  His voice sounded quiet and resigned even to his own ears.  "I can't let someone just go poking around me head.  It's got nothing to do with being genuine, Professor.  I'm sorry, but I can't."

Tapendra stepped back a bit, lips pressed into a line again, hand gripping his wand so tightly the knuckles whitened. He could understand the refusal, on a rational level. Even with Ignan, who he...mostly trusted, the process had been incredibly invasive. It was the mental equivalent of having all your clothing ripped off in a crowded room.

Still, he couldn't help the boiling rise of suspicion, the instant reaction that made him assume that Jonas had something important to hide. He tried to swallow it down, and spoke calmly, doing his utmost to keep it from his tone.

"I understand," he said, lifting his wand so he was holding it in both hands, one hand on the grip and the tip resting on the open palm of his other hand, the way a teacher might hold a pointer. "It's - I'm not very good at it." He swallowed. "I can only get...feelings, vague flashes. But...alright. That leaves us at square one."

He stepped back a bit, giving Trevelyan space - wishing,not for the first time, that he wasn't so bad at Legilimency, that he could cast it wordlessly. He needed to know, and Trevelyan seemed vulnerable enough at the moment...

What a horrible thought. His stomach twisted; it had arisen with the same instinct that was telling him to Obliviate the man so that Jonas wouldn't be able to walk off and say Tapendra was learning Legilimency.

"Well," he said, quickly, running a hand along the long shaft of his wand in an effort to distract himself. "Your turn to suggest something, then."

Trishna immediately, thankfully subsided.  Jonas would never have admitted to holding his breath, but his shoulders visibly dropped as the taller wizard took a step back.  Whatever Trishna thought about his own skills at Legilimancy, Jonas had no way of knowing that his claims were true.  The idea of letting someone muck about in his head, especially a bloke who was, by his own words, not very good at it still left a shiver running down his spine.

The refusal had apparently returned them to square one.  It was clear that Trishna didn't want to trust; he wanted to know, to be certain.  Jonas could understand a bit where the astronomer was coming from.  Certainty was comforting and reassuring; it took away all risk, all chance that something bad might result from one's actions.  But it wasn't the way the world worked.  Trishna wouldn't get very far with certainty.  If he wasn't willing to trust now, to deal in good faith, then as soon as something fractured his certainty, they'd be lost.  Nothing lasted forever.  Motivations changed; foundations crumbled.  Jonas didn't want to give in to an alliance that only dealt in sureties.

He took a deep breath, his forehead creasing, as he tried to force these thoughts into words.  It was impossible to even address the subject without feeling like he was quoting a movie.  If he let himself dissolve into truisms, that was what they'd end up with.  It was far better to try a different approach.

"Look, Professor," he said at last.  "I've got an idea of what these fifteen-odd years must've been like for you."  He shrugged, met Trishna's eyes with a cautious gaze; the point of this wasn't to compete with what the other man had gone to, but to elaborate.  To put it in context.  "I quit the Ministry during the last war -- had to leave everything I had behind and vanish once they started questioning Muggleborns.  Turned out to be better at it'n I would've guessed, all things considered," he added, managing a crooked smile.  "Swore off me wand, settled in, got married, had a couple of kids.  It wasn't until me wife wanted to move back to London that I even gave a second thought to how the war ended."

It sometimes felt impossible to ever really shake the shadow of living in fear.  It wasn't a subject that Jonas liked to spend a lot of time dwelling on; even Adon and Tamis had only gotten an abbreviated version of the story.  But it mattered.  He knew what it felt like to be powerless.  He'd craved certainty too. 

"The hardest bloody thing I've ever done was walk into an old friend's house to find out if she was going to kill me," Jonas said evenly, leaning back on his hands.  "I hadn't even seen a Prophet since I'd left; I still reckoned the war was on.  When I knocked on her door, I was mostly expecting that to be the end of it.  But I had to do it," he added quietly.  "Even if it had gone the other way, it was better to take the chance than spend the rest of me life jumping at every shadow."

He paused, and then let out a sigh, looking sheepish.  Sometimes truisms were unavoidable.

"Only in a leap from the lion's head," he quipped ruefully.  The other wizard might not get the reference, but at least it served his point.  Making a face, he shrugged at the astronomer.  "Look, you want to go on living like you have been, knowing Prideaux's out there somewhere, then I can't stop you, Professor Trishna.  But I wouldn't want to spend the rest of me life in a cave because I couldn't decide which grail to drink from," he offered with finality.  "Sometimes, you've got to make a leap of faith."

Tapendra looked away as Jonas spoke, wand still gripped tightly in his hand, his lips pressed together. At the reference, though, his lips gave a tell-tale twist of amusement; the barest hint of a repressed laugh filled the room, and he blinked and got serious again.

"Look, Trevelyan, I get where you're coming from. I want to help, if you're genuine, but if you're not the very fact I just admitted that could be enough to kill me, understand?" He leaned against the globe again, the hand that was holding his wand subtly shaking, giving away the rising jitters he was trying so hard to repress.

"He bought my silence," he said, after a moment. "Fifteen years ago, I - I didn't have much to loose. Now, I have a lot. If it took that bastard down and I and my family and friends lived, it's worth it. But if I'm just walking into a trap, then I've thrown away the futures of my daughter, my sister, my friends and their kids on some personal vendetta. I have to know, Trevelyan." His blue eyes were narrowed and finally closed, his head down.

"I'm sorry," he said, his shoulders slumping. "I can't make a leap of faith with out having faith. If you want me to trust you, then you need to trust me in return."

The red-haired man coughed, clearing his throat in an attempt to hide a smile.  "There's a bit of a difference between 'trust' and 'risking national security,'" he said dryly.  "Sorry, Trishna.  I wouldn't let Eleor mess around in me head.  There's no way in hell that you're going to do it."

He let out a long breath, studying the other man with a considering look.  Trishna was seemingly unable to take a risk and offer trust.  Fear had the astronomer paralyzed.  It was enough to make Jonas wonder why exactly Prideaux had sent him to Trishna in the first place.  Obviously they would have found the man on their own, but a month had already gone by and the professor still wasn't ready to talk.  A trail could be buried six feet deep in a month's time.

"Well, I reckon we could try assuming the opposite," he said slowly, thoughtfully.  "Say I really am in Prideaux's pocket.  Your mum -- whom I reckon he knew was still alive -- has just been carted off, so she's got no way of retaliating against him.  He takes advantage of that and kills you, and even assuming all those unable-to-be-reproduced-or-copied papers of yours actually go public, he's got the two Aurors who'd end up with 'em already in his court.  Why the bloody hell do you think he'd waste time sending one of his men to nag at you?" he asked with a frown.  "There's no better time for him to set off his nuclear option."

He stared at Jonas, openly shocked, his mouth slightly open. "Well-" he started, stopped, and crossed his arms defensively. Glaring away at one of the open arches, he rubbed his lips together.

Any reply he could think of, that rose to mind - they were all stupid. Completely stupid, and boiled down to 'Because!'. Because it was the sort of thing he'd always imagined Vedir would do. Because he always assumed Prideaux was after him. It was easier that way - both to stay safe, and to nurture his hate, keep that flame burning deep in his heart.

"I don't know," he admittedly, finally, looking at the floor. "I - he - I've seen him as he is, deep down. There's always been a personal connection, as...odd and stupid as that might sound. Maybe I just imagine it because of what he -" His voice faltered, and his hands uncrossed rising it hide his face. "I don't - I don't know." His semi-steel defenses crumbling, he began to visibly shake, biting a lip. "I don't know."

He fell silent, hands rubbing his face and nicely hiding his pained expression.

Jonas took a deep breath, bit his tongue, let the thought hang in the air.  The least he could do was give the other man a moment to compose himself.

"It doesn't sound stupid, Professor," he said, quietly and genuinely.  "A bloke like that, he --"  He paused, pressing his tongue against the back of his teeth, and then let out a quick, decisive breath.  "When I went to see him, he rattled me," he offered with a shrug.  "He'd worked out how to get at me, and he threw it at me to try and get me off balance.  That's what men like that do.  They shake you.  So you're convinced you have to play by their rules, even when there aren't any rules at all."

That was the danger in Prideaux -- keeping people so off balanced, knowing so much about them, that they never had a chance to evaluate the situation.  He'd given in to billiards because that was the game that Prideaux had proposed.  Set the rules quickly enough, choose the tools and the playing field, and your opponent would never even realize that they'd had a chance to ask for chess.

He looked back at Trishna, pressing his mouth shut sympathetically, and then gave a sigh.

"You said you wanted to help," he said simply.  "So help us.  Give me what you can -- hold some of it back, if you're still worried about it.  And I swear it, Adon and I'll do everything we can to protect the folks close to you," he added with strong feeling.  "We'll bury everything we dug up on Storm, we'll make sure your kids and your mates at Cambridge are safe.  We'll get that in place before we even think of moving on him."

"We want to do this right, Professor," he said quietly.  "We want to help you lot, too.  But if you keep us stumbling around in the dark, I can't promise that we'll be able to."

Tapendra lowered his hands, revealing a cautious expression. "You went to see him?" he asked, though the words didn't carry the accusatory tone they might have otherwise had.

"Yes. That's what he does," he said. "And plays games. He'll throw a red flag that points in the wrong direction, just to sit back and watch all the little toys run around..." He looked at Jonas again, steel behind his eyes as he spoke. "He has no empathy, Trevelyan. None. He cares for no one but himself. If you get too close, I have no issue believing he'll kill anyone he needs to, even his own mother. It'll be dangerous, Trevelyan."

He smiled, suddenly. "I'm sure you've already considered that, of course." He ran a hand through his hair, looked at the ceiling - and sighed hugely, as if he'd lifted a weight from his shoulders. It would soon be replaced, but...

"Alright." He didn't sound as sure as he'd wanted to, and a slight waver gave him away. "If I help, you'll - you'll have to be secret about it. If I help you, publicly help you, he'll kill me. So..."

He fidgeted a moment, then looked back to Jonas, drawing himself up, suddenly confident and sure. "If you promise to let Storm's connections stay secret, and if you can protect my family and me..." He hesitated, one more time, then bit his lip. He extended his hand to Jonas.

"You've got a deal."

The analysis of the threat that Prideaux posed rang too true, but speaking the words out loud seemed to take some of the weight off of the astronomer's shoulders.  Trishna straightened, looked to be mulling it over, and then suddenly, finally seemed to reach his decision.

It was impossible not to smile.  Jonas met the other man's gaze evenly, restraining himself to a crooked grin as he reached out to return the handshake.

"Deal," he repeated, gripping the professor's hand firmly before releasing it.  "I'll dump the file on Storm meself.  And we'll turn Auror Eleor loose on establishing security for you lot -- reckon he's the best at that in the Corps right now."

As much as the agreement had seemingly lifted the burden from Trishna's shoulders, Jonas felt as if he'd been freed from one as well.  He let out a slow breath, forehead creasing as he shifted from negotiations to practicalities.  Finally, finally, they could forget about appeasement and get on to the real business. 

"I'll give you me house address," he said, digging into his pocket for a pen.  Though not ideal, it was the best location for private communications -- he'd likely never trust everyone at the Ministry, and his old office was now left empty most of the week.  The Trevelyan home was both frequently occupied and well-protected.  "You need to get word to us, send it there for now unless it's an emergency.  Your first order of business is putting together a list of the lot that you think ought to have protection," he added matter-of-factly.  "We'll get that in place before we move on anything else."

He passed the scribbled address over to the other wizard.  For now, that would be enough.  They'd waited this long; it was much better to take another two weeks to get the foundations of security in place than to rush into this and lose their newfound ally.

"Use the time to pull together what you can for me," he instructed Trishna, thinking out loud as he levered himself carefully back to his feet.  "For now, as long as I'm not playing the card too frequently, I don't think it'll draw much attention if I'm at the school on occasion.  We can sit down before the end of the term, go over what you've got.  And you'll let me know if you think there's anything that we ought to act on, yeah?" he asked the astronomer with a frown.  "You even get a bad feeling on something, pass on word.  I'd rather be too cautious than let something slip through."