Kaleidoscope
"Jet lag, Harry, is the worst," Hermione's voice came loud and clear over her cell phone. She had left it with Harry before she flew to the States. Since her vacation was entirely Muggle, she wouldn't be able to floo or owl him during her two weeks abroad.
"I'm sorry. It's been three days and it isn't any better for you?"
"Not really. Once I get used to it, it'll be time to come home," Hermione laughed softly over the long distance and Harry smiled, his heart feeling a bit lighter since he was talking to her for the first time that day.
"What have you done today?" Harry asked, laying back in his bed listening to Hermione describe her tour through New York City.
Five days had passed since Harry managed to open the first part of the mysterious "Wall Number One". Five days passed since he and Hermione had amazing sex; something they hadn't done again, not for lack of trying but for commitments to their job and an impromptu babysitting night as Fleur and Bill went to visit her mother in the hospital. He and Hermione had managed to put the house back together before Bill had shown up, as the note said he would.
He had done test after test, calling upon his years of education and experience. After spending an hour in the basement, he told Harry that the magic which was keeping the cylinder solidly anchored to the ground was not dark magic, but indeed held traces of Potter magic. The item was definitely from the Potter family and Bill had quickly interpreted the symbols around the gold cylinder as "Potter" and "1820". Bill had also said he saw another letter "P" on the front but the word wrapped around to the back and he couldn't get the cylinder to move, or even get a mirror behind it to see what the rest said.
"This cylinder is definitely NOT dark magic, Harry. It's something that was given to an ancestor of yours, and apparently, stolen and hidden here. I agree with Hermione, go talk to Phinneas and see what he says. Fred and George are out on a business trip for the next few days so Grimmauld is free. I bet you'll find your long lost ancestor, there, in the quiet," Bill had told him. They had shook hands and walked outside together, chatting at the end of Harry's property. Bill had turned to leave, then quickly spun around calling out to Harry before he disappeared down the walkway to his house.
"I saw something interesting when I was at the bank. Narcissa Malfoy came in with that Parkinson girl. The one that Ron always made fun of, I believe?"
"Pansy. Yeah, I remember her," Harry explained, wondering where this story was going. Hermione nodded, indicating Bill should continue.
"Well, I can't really tell you what they did transaction wise, but Pansy is pregnant. Now, why would she be with Narcissa, and not her own mother, if she was pregnant."
"How far do you think she was?"
"Further than Fleur. She was showing…maybe three, four months?" Bill shrugged, then grinned.
"Just from what I saw, I think Draco's going to be a dad."
Harry shuddered, Hermione sighed and Bill shook his head saying something about how hard it is with two parents raising a child. He bid them farewell and headed down into town for some supplies Fleur had asked him to get.
The next three days had Harry and Hermione chasing down Nigellus, who would only admit that the cylinder was something from the Potter family and it was he that hid it in the house he built.
"For the safety of the Black family", was his reasoning, "at least when I was younger I thought it was a good reason to hide it. Now, that I'm more intelligent and worldly, I realize what I did really had no bearing on the future. That's all I will say about it." He refused to talk anymore about what was inside, or how to get it out of the wall and instead just turned and left, going to his other portrait at Hogwarts.
Now, Monday morning brought a wake up call from Hermione on his first day of walking the grounds with Hagrid and McGonagall, doing some trials on renewing the wards.
"So, tomorrow, er… later today, we'll travel to Washington and then I finally get to go to the Library of Congress," Hermione finished saying.
"Let me know how it goes," Harry told her, stretching to his full length in his bed then relaxing hearing Hermione yawn in the background.
"You should get some sleep. It's only what…one in the morning there?"
"Yes. We're five hours behind England. Still not used to this though. I wish I apparated here, then I could've brought my Pepper-Up Potion."
"Do you want me to send it via Owl to you? There has to be a central magical post there somewhere."
"There is, but it's in Salem, Massachusetts. Thank you though. I'll manage. Really though, Harry…thanks for offering."
"You're welcome."
Harry paused for a moment, hearing her breathing on the other end. Raising himself up onto his elbow, he gripped the phone tighter, trying to summon up the courage to say what he really wanted to…but failed.
"I miss you, Hermione," he said quietly, feeling her absence more and more every day.
"I miss you," she responded simply and they both seemed to hold their breaths; the unsaid hanging between them. Hermione was the first to break the silence as she yawned once more.
"I better go. Big day tomorrow, well, today for you. Good luck with the renewing and I'll call you later."
"Okay. Have fun and get some sleep," Harry said then hung up, and flipped her phone shut. For a moment he stared at it, then placed it gently on his nightstand.
"I almost told her I loved her. Get a grip, Harry," he said to himself, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. "You can't do that over the phone."
Sighing heavily, he walked to the bathroom and took a long hot shower, dreading changing into the protective uniform issued to him. He turned his thoughts to the last few days with Hermione. After Bill had left they talked a bit about Draco and Pansy and the possibility of more Malfoys coming into the world. That line of conversation led to a discussion on children and for the first time in his life, he seriously thought about what it would be like as a father. He loved Will, and had a great time playing and visiting his godson, but he never thought seriously about what kind of father he would be. As Hermione chatted on about babies, describing her ideal family (if she had the choice, she would like one boy and one girl born about three years apart) he wondered what kind of father he would be. Strict? No, he couldn't see him being that strict, probably a bit too laid back because he really was clueless when it came to disciplining the correct, humane way. His Uncle hadn't been any help and all he had to fall back on was tales from Remus about his parents and observing Arthur Weasley. Sirius had helped in the sense that Harry got a taste of what it was like for someone to look out and protect you. `Over protective,' Harry thought while rinsing off his hair. `That would probably be me with my kids.'
The thought of his parents came back to him as he toweled off from his shower, wiped clear a spot on his mirror and looked at himself. He could see the resemblance to his father, more than his mother (not counting his inherited green eyes that stared silently back at him). He wondered if his children would get his color eyes; wondered if that was a blessing or an annoyance. Merlin knows how many times people commented on his eyes looking like his mother's. Reaching for his toothbrush, he pushed the thought of children out of his mind for a bit and concentrated on getting ready and slipping into the mindset of a hard day renewing the wards around Hogwarts.
As he got dressed, he paused by his calendar of the Chudley Canons and counted 11 days until Hermione came back. July 23 was circled in red. July 31st had a smiley face that Luna had drawn in there when she rearranged her room. He couldn't wait for Hermione to get home. The silence and the way Crookshanks just looked so lonely sleeping in the middle of her large bed, made Harry realize all the more how much he valued having Hermione in his life. He also could feel twinges of uncertainty with what was happening with her. He wasn't used to having her gone so long; him not knowing what she was doing. At least during the summers, when they were in school, she was with her parents or at The Weasley's and owled him weekly. Just living the past three days without her clued him into the fact of how protective he was of her. Voldemort wasn't so easily dismissed. The Death Eaters had seen to it that Harry lost, yet, two more people he loved and he was scared that something else would happen that he couldn't foresee. And having Hermione so far away unnerved him because he couldn't protect her that far away.
He just kept having to remind himself that she was a very smart, very able witch and that nothing bad was going to happen. The past year had been the most peaceful in decades, in the magical world anyway.
----
Ron watched as Harry walked the perimeter of the Herbology Greenhouses with Hagrid and McGonagall, intently listening on how to secure those wards even better than before.
Ron learned, just by observing, that every time someone tried to apparate to, or from the school, or some shady person tried to break through the wards, the wards diminished ever so slightly. Professor McGonagall explained that the length of the security of the wards depended on the power of the wizard performing the renewing. He or she held a lot of credence in how long the wards lasted. She told Harry that when Dumbledore first became headmaster of the school that the wards had just been renewed by the previous headmaster. However, because of his age and some weakness the wards needed to be renewed five years later; weekly routine tests had found weaknesses around the Quidditch Pitch.
"And they have held up until the last year. I tested them myself and found a few areas that needed to be strengthened, then thought that we should renew all of them while we were on summer break."
"An' have a powerful wizard among us," Hagrid had chimed in, clasping Harry roughly on the shoulder. He mumbled embarrassed thanks and turned to his McGonagall who asked if he understood everything that needed to be done.
"I understand. I don't have any questions right now," Harry said, gazing up at the sky watching a few birds come in for a landing on the lake. After a few more minutes of being observed, as he strengthened a ward near Greenhouse 3, Harry said he was comfortable to try working on the Herbology area himself. He secured his protective glasses, looking like Muggle sunglasses to him, and began taking readings with his wand as his two former professors headed back to the castle.
As Ron settled into a passive, observer mode he wondered when he'd feel ready to reveal himself to Harry. He still had hesitancy and had learned to listen to his instincts, therefore he kept himself hidden.
After flitting about the castle, seeing where other ghosts had "staked out their territories" he had made his resting place in a nook by Gryffindor Tower, but found it was more fun to move about the dining hall. He couldn't wait until school began when he could go up behind a first year and just say "boo". The thought made him smile and made him realize that he had made the right decision. He was talking to the other ghosts, hearing numerous stories about how they each died. He was able to pretty much go wherever he wanted and was still able to get updates on his sister through Nearly Headless Nick. He had heard that Draco was going to be a father and Ron realized that he would be able to see Draco's children go through Hogwarts; something Draco wouldn't be able to do if he chose to go to Echo.
Ron stayed behind a tree watching in amazement as Harry raised his hands, as if warding off an attacker, closed his eyes and concentrated on the ward in front of him. His wand was in a special holster on the side of his black pants. Ron never knew Harry could do such intense wandless magic. If the flicker of light coming off his hands was any indication of how powerful he was, then Dumbledore might be a tad less powerful than Harry---once Harry got older and learned more about the art of magic.
He didn't want to interrupt his friend's concentration and understood that now wasn't the right time to reveal himself.
Hermione was someone else he would like to see and the thought of what her first expression, or words would be, when he revealed himself to her, made him laugh quietly to himself. He could just hear "RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY, YOU SCARED ME TO DEATH!" While slapping a hand across her heart, her brown eyes narrowed angrily at him. Maybe he would wait until they were both together. Surprise both of them at once. `Now, that would be fun,' Ron thought as he floated behind a thicket of bushes near Greenhouse 4.
After watching Harry for an hour, and being duly impressed, he turned and headed back towards the castle. He was on a mission to see if he could locate anymore secret passages that his older brothers may have missed.
Harry was amazed to feel how easily the magic he learned seem to roll out of him and into the wards. He could feel it drain him, just a bit, each time and knew that at the end of the day he was going to be one tired wizard. `Probably a good thing Hermione isn't around. I wouldn't have enough energy to even kiss her properly,' he thought to himself as he took a break for lunch. He never noticed two invisible figures standing near the steps where Harry was eating his packed lunch, and he never heard them as they appraised him.
"So, you think he and Granger…you know…," Draco asked Ginny as they watched Harry lean back against the wall, eating some pretzels.
"Probably. Hell, if she saw him in that get-up she'd be crazy not to jump him right here," Ginny said admiring the black uniform that Harry seemed to fill out quite nicely. Draco had found her watching Harry renew the wards, never knowing that Ron was nearby hiding behind a tree. She couldn't see him anyway. Even if that had been possible, she had been so engrossed in the wandless magic, and the black fitted top and pants Harry was wearing, that she had visibly jumped when Draco floated up next to her.
"Uniforms do that to you females?"
"If it's the right one on the right male, sure we stand back and admire," Ginny told him glancing sideways at the form next to her.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"You can't change clothes, Draco. That wouldn't work here," Ginny reminded him, watching Harry appreciatively as he downed the last of his bottled water, then flipped his protective sunglasses down back onto his face.
"In Echo we sure can. It's just like this world…only…not," he answered lightly, smirking as she spun around and stared at him.
"So," she struggled to make her voice sound even, not filled with the relief and surprise/excitement that seemed to bubble up from somewhere inside her, "you made the decision to go?"
"I think I promised your brother I'd watch over you, or something to that affect. I can't really do that from here, or, anywhere else can I?" Draco floated back a bit as Harry finished his lunch and headed down the steps towards the outer boundary by the lake. Ginny didn't follow Harry, instead she just looked at Draco trying to figure him out.
"Do you feel that you are ready to move on then, now that you have made your decision and seen that your blood lines will live on?" she finally asked, after a moment of just staring at each other. Draco seemed to give her question some thought, then finally shook his head.
"I think, after I know those babies are okay and what sex they will be, I'll be ready. I'd like to see them, but I really just don't want to hang around here until December. They won't know me any better if I stay or go."
"But, then you'd have the satisfaction of seeing them born…," Ginny began absently reaching out and touching his hand. Her eyes widened as he intertwined his fingers with hers and looked right at her.
"Which might influence my decision to leave here," he interrupted smoothly. "I want to stop being here in limbo. If you knew me, you know I can't just sit around waiting for things to happen. When I was bored at school I went out and caused trouble or found something to do, just to be entertained. I fear if I stay Light and saw them being born, I would want to hover and watch them. That's not fair to me when I have a chance to move out of here, to another kind of world…," he took a step closer and lowered his voice as if people were listening. Ginny's eyes flicked around but they were alone, so she wasn't sure why he was so close and talking quietly. He continued his thought, "…like Echo where I can at least experience a different way of life. But, as I told your brother I need to watch out for you. I know my decision. And if I know Pansy she'll find out the sex of those babies in another month or so, then I have the feeling my job is done here. But, when will yours be?"
Ginny stared at him, not being able to comprehend that Draco just had a serious conversation about his future with her. Part of her was a bit angry that he knew when he was ready to leave, while she now was in limbo about when she felt she could leave. Draco's hand was squeezing hers. He was so close now, Ginny had to tilt her head up to look at him. His question swirled around in her head as she absorbed the warmth he was emanating towards her.
"When they tell each other "I love you"," Ginny blurted out slightly jerking her head back, in surprise, at her sudden answer.
"Really? That's all?"
"I-I guess so," Ginny stuttered and stunned she seemed to speak without thinking. "I have no idea where that answer came from. But, it seems to make sense."
"How will you know if they have said it? Maybe they already have?"
"I don't know. Harry is a long time thinker on those feelings since he never experienced love as a child," Ginny murmured, trying to ignore the feeling that she wanted Draco to kiss her again. He was standing so close, a very personal type of close that she hadn't experienced in over a year. She never tried feeling for another being, never wanted to as a person of Light, but Draco seemed to be breaking all the rules that she began to trust and believe in when she died last June.
"He'll say it, probably after she gets back from the States…what is that Muggle saying?" Draco mused looking over her head and Ginny answered quickly, glad to have something distract her from his nearness and the fact his hand was still attached to hers.
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder?"
"Yes, that one," he looked down at her, openly watching her.
"What? Why do you keep staring at me?" she asked quietly.
"Why not?"
"Is it possible to ever get a straight answer out of you?" Ginny asked, her voice a bit stronger this time. She tried to tug her hand away, but he held fast and even pulled it towards him, effectively pulling her up against him. His legs pressed against hers and Ginny relished in the feeling of warmth and solidity against her.
"Maybe, maybe not."
"Maybe it'll be easier for me to go to Echo myself. You can stay here and drive everyone crazy."
"I don't think you'd want to go there without me," he responded cockily, but so quietly Ginny could barely hear him.
"Maybe, maybe not," she whispered back, wondering when their faces got so close. She stared up at him, their noses almost touching and vowed she wouldn't be the one to kiss him first. She was a Weasley, he was a Malfoy. They were supposed to hate each other.
A moment later, his lips were on hers reproducing the same humming feeling she felt the previous week. She felt almost as if she was being sucked into him, his warmth was overpowering and the more she felt, the more she wanted, like some kind of drug. His lips pressed harder against hers, daring her to respond. Thoughts of doing this with Harry and other previous boyfriends rushed through her head, helping her remember what it was like to be kissed. Although, being Light it was a totally different feeling…like she was almost solid, that he was almost flesh and almost solid bone beneath her hands but not quite there yet. Somewhere, something in her mind clicked and she parted her lips, introducing her tongue to his. At the moment she felt the inside of his mouth she heard voices behind her and they jumped away, guiltily as if they were sixth years being caught in a broom closet.
It was just Hagrid talking to McGonagall about checking up on Harry and they brushed by the pair as if they weren't there.
"I…I have to go," Ginny whispered, turned and headed towards the castle, while Draco stared after her for a moment. Then he too turned and headed towards Hogsmeade…in the opposite direction of Ginny.
----
As Harry walked into his house, a bit slower and a bit more tired than usual he could hear Hermione's cell phone ringing; an odd sound in a magical house. Even though Harry was brought up amongst Muggle's for ten years, he hadn't been around telephones that much in the past four years. He accio'd the phone, forgetting where he left it and flipped it open.
"Hey, Hermione," he said a bit breathlessly. He had just finished picking up groceries at the store in Hogsmeade and had been hurrying up the walk; later than usual to feed Crookshanks and Hedwig.
"Were you running to the phone?" Hermione laughed softly at the other end. Harry tucked the phone between his shoulder and chin and set down the bag he had been carrying.
"No, just got in actually. I had my first day at renewing the wards then went to the store. How was your day?" Harry glanced at the clock and saw it was almost seven; that meant it was early afternoon where Hermione was.
"Tell me about yours first!"
Harry launched into detail about how it felt (draining) to renew the wards, how physically exhausting it was but how it was nice to be able to learn something new.
"I actually took Hagrid's advice and began working out. I went to some Muggle gym with Charlie, who's still visiting, on Sunday…and let me tell you how hard that was."
"Harry James, you lifted weights?" Hermione broke into a fit of laughter, causing Harry to join her.
"Yeah, and let me tell you I'll probably need it by the time I get away from the smaller areas, like the greenhouses. Once it's time to work around the castle…can't even imagine how tired I'll be then."
Harry poured some food in to the cat's bowl and Crookshanks stopped his twisting around Harry's ankles and set to work on his dinner.
"When do you think you will be done?"
"Well, if I don't run into any problems, like spells I've never heard of or don't understand, I should be done next Thursday or so. You'll be back next Friday?"
"Or Thursday. I'm thinking of just apparating home. That flight was just way to long."
"Well, if you do apparate home, come by and see me at Hogwarts," Harry flipped the phone to his other ear and began making himself some soup.
"I will, maybe when you're eating lunch. I don't want to interrupt you."
"You never interrupt me, Hermione. It will be a most pleasant diversion," Harry said, grinning to himself as he said that.
"Pleasant? Hmmm…I could think of a very pleasant way to divert your attention," Hermione told him with a teasing edge in her voice.
"Hermione Jane…just what are you suggesting? You're supposed to be the pure one!" Harry stirred his soup, not being able to help the grin that spread across his face.
"I'm full of surprises," she responded and the laughter they shared made Harry miss her all the more, but cemented the fact that he was truly falling in love with her.
"You're in Washington now?"
"Yes. Took a swim at the hotel pool, going to see a show tonight then off to the Library of Congress tomorrow. We'll be here til next Sunday then dad wants to go to Baltimore. Something about some ship there he wants to see. Then, maybe down to Florida…I'm just along for the ride. They are crazy travelers. I can't believe I promised them I would go to the States with them if they ever went!"
"Well, only about 10 more days then you'll be home." Harry said, and as he glanced at his calendar a light bulb went off in his head.
"Hey, will you be at the same hotel on Friday night or Saturday, in Washington?"
"Yes," Hermione answered, the typical note of caution creeping into her voice. She told him the name then questioned why he asked.
"Well, I have something here to send you. I was going to wait until you got back, but I want to make sure you're there when it arrives."
"By regular air mail? I'll be here Friday night and probably until ten or so, our time here, on Saturday."
"Okay…I'll see if I can get it delivered between those hours."
"What is it?" she asked curiously.
"I'm not telling, Hermione. You'll have to deal with the suspense of the surprise."
"Is it a set of books?"
"I'm not telling you ANYTHING. Just, call me if you plan on going anywhere else." Harry confirmed the name of the hotel and the address.
"Well, give me a hint then."
"No. I like the fact that I know something and you don't," Harry teased while stirring his soup as he cast a warming charm upon it.
"Now that doesn't happen very often," Hermione teased right back.
"Just for that, I think I'll go eat my dinner now and hang up on you!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she apologized half heartedly. "But, I…I really do miss you Harry. And if I knew it would be this much, I don't think I would've gone with my parents on vacation," she finished in a rush. Harry could hear something akin to her taking a deep breath and holding it; like she couldn't believe she said those thoughts aloud.
He took a second to think of his reply as he stared down at his nice warm bowl of soup.
"You know what Hermione…if I knew how lonely it was going to be here without you, I would've suggested the same thing; that you stay here with me."
"Well," Hermione sighed, apparently relieved that Harry validated and understood her feelings. "Now we know."
"Yeah," Harry agreed quietly, fully aware of the undertones of the last bit of their conversation. "Now we know."
A moment later they said their goodbye's and hung up the phone, only to hear the telltale sign of someone flooing him. Charlie's voice resonated throughout the lower level.
"Hey Charlie," Harry walked over the fireplace and knelt down.
"I ran into a girl today who says she knows you and would like to ask you a few questions, if you have time later tonight or tomorrow."
"Really? Who is it and where did you meet her?" Harry asked racking his brain for someone that would be able to put him and Charlie Weasley together. Who hadn't he talked to from the female population from school in awhile?
"I met her at The Three Broomsticks during lunch today and her name is Pansy Parkinson."
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