The Pride

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Summary

As a particularly licentious story about Harry breaks in the Daily Prophet he discovers that a truer story about unsung heroes has been pulled from the Quibbler. Apparently to right this wrong, Luna sends him to stay with some old friends who have just found good fortune. Once there, he discovers an empathy with an unlikely creature and begins at long last to believe Hermione may be ready to reach out and restore their strained friendship. Post Hogwarts.

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AN: You’ll need to piece together what happened between Harry and Hermione as the story progresses. The idea with this piece is for the back-story and circumstances to come out relatively slowly.

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Prologue - Promises, Promises

Harry Potter just lay helplessly on his back on the cold hard pavement and watched as an assortment of bright spells crisscrossed over him. Harry blinked up into the night sky. After a few moments, the firing stopped and he heard pops and cracks as the various defeated antagonists Disapparated away into the night.

After a few seconds of complete silence, Harry heard footsteps approach from behind.

He looked up to see the silhouette of a figure looked down at him and shaking her head slowly. He couldn’t see her face but he knew she was smiling.

“Perhaps the Chosen One should have been more alert this evening?” she asked lightly.

“Um, perhaps,” thought Harry, squinting a little against the bright neon street lamp shining down from behind her.

“Good job the Dark Force Defence League knows what an idiot he can be.”

She pointed her wand down and Harry felt a tingling sensation as the jinx was partly lifted, giving him limited movement of his head and neck.

Harry almost managed a smile but said, “If you release me from this body-bind properly, I’ll thank you properly, Susan.”

“Promises, promises.”

*

“So, what were you doing around there? Most people have the sense to be at home in bed this time of night.”

“That’s my business, Susan,” Harry replied evenly, lowering his mug of tea. He didn’t want to sound unfriendly, but he had no intention of explaining himself. They both had secrets that neither would ever tell the other.

They were sat facing each other at a small table in a Muggle night café and most of the other customers appeared to be half-asleep mini-cab drivers. Harry had selected a window table but the windows were so misted up it made it almost impossible to see out.

It was not the first time that Harry and Susan Bones had sat together, victorious after a minor skirmish. The discovery that Susan had decided to take direction action to avenge the wrongs done to her family had come as a bit of a shock at first.

Not only had she become a skilled duellist in the short time since she had left school, but she had also decided to mould the Dark Force Defence League, an organisation which drew sniggers and derisive comments at the very mention of its name, into an effective fighting force.

In truth, privately Harry still had serious doubts about the effectiveness of the Defence League. Most members were either rather old or infirm and those that weren’t he regarded as a serious risk to themselves and others.

What he didn’t doubt was the zeal and commitment of its new unofficial leader.

“You walked right into an ambush. You really ought to know better.”

Fortunately Susan’s tone was light and this told Harry that he hadn’t interrupted anything too critical.

“Actually, I don’t think the ambush was meant for me. The house I was going to is two streets away.”

“That’s hardly the point,” she reminded him. “Besides, I rather assumed the Order of the Phoenix was still looking after you. Where are they this evening? Probably clearing up after Ms Granger. I saw the dirty great hole she left in Diagon Alley the other day.”

“That time we were in a hurry to leave,” explained Harry. “Unfortunately we both had the same idea and the combined spells were a bit more powerful than we anticipated.”

“She is earning herself something of a reputation amongst the Death Eaters, from what we hear. You’re usually together when there’s trouble too.”

“I like to do some things on my own,” Harry replied with a smile to himself.

“Well, you certainly showed how little you need any help,” she replied sarcastically.

“I thought I was doing okay, actually. Well, okay until I was hit from behind. Do you know which one of you got me?”

Harry looked around at the other customers as he spoke. He knew that at least two were her own men, although he had no idea which ones they were.

“The Dark Force Defence League prides itself on the accuracy of its member’s spell-work,” replied Susan, her smile widening mischievously.

“And to think I always regarded you lot as a joke,” commented Harry dryly.

“Well, that is the idea. You-Know-Who mustn’t regard us as a threat. If the Death Eaters target us we’ll have serious problems. You’ll remember to keep your promise, won’t you, Harry?”

“Of course I will.”

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Chapter 1 – The Party’s Over

-

Some time later. It is now several months since the fall of Voldemort …

-

Harry Potter opened the garden gate and walked across the gravel paving towards the Burrow. In the darkness the small flickering lights from dozens of ornate paper lanterns lit his way as he made his way around the house and out into the rear garden.

Before him almost the entire garden was covered with the debris from the celebration that had apparently ended a short while ago. Soiled plates were piled high on the once white linen covered tables and there was an odd assortment of empty glasses and bottles scattered everywhere, including amongst several of the flower beds.

Only one person remained outside and she sat on the garden bench with her eyes closed. Next to her bare feet were a discarded pair of uncomfortable looking glittering black shoes.

Harry sat down on the bench as discretely as he could but Mrs Weasley still woke with a start.

“Sorry,” said Harry apologetically. “I should have been quieter.”

“Oh, it’s you, Harry dear,” she said sleepily. “I must have dozed off for a moment.”

“Well, you’re entitled. It must have been a long day.”

“Oh, goodness yes. Still, I think most people enjoyed themselves.”

“Yes, I’m sure. I suppose everyone else went to see them off?” he asked a little guiltily. He hadn’t intended to be absent for quite so long having promised faithfully to wave the happy couple off as well.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Why didn’t you go too?” asked Harry.

“Oh, I thought I’d make a start clearing up. Besides, I’d only start crying again.”

Harry smiled warmly at her. Mrs Weasley had begun dabbing her eyes the moment the wedding service had begun and was in floods of happy tears before the end. Worse, her tears seemed to be infectious. Even Harry had found himself blinking back tears at one point.

“Why don’t you turn in?” suggested Harry. “We can leave this lot until the morning.”

“People will want their things back. Everyone was terribly kind to lend us all these glasses and things. Those tables were a real boon too.”

Harry smiled to himself, wondering if she had any idea of the complexity of the conspiracy that had been conducted around her in the weeks before. Just about any item that would have required expenditure was, by the merest coincidence, volunteered to them by friends near and far.

“I can’t see anyone turning up to demand anything as early as tomorrow,” Harry assured her.

“Even so, dear. Besides, Arthur won’t want to wake up to this mess.”

“Um. How is he?”

“From the volume of snoring coming from upstairs, I’d say he was fine. Honestly, I didn’t think it was possible for him to consume any more alcohol than he did at Bill’s wedding. Honestly!”

Harry snorted with amusement.

“Harry dear?”

“Yes, Mrs Weasley?”

“I was looking for you earlier. Where did you get to? We missed you.”

“I just went for a walk,” he answered evasively.

“You’ve been gone hours. I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised after what it said in the Prophet,” she began hesitantly.

“I didn’t think you took that rag any more.”

“It is rather hard to avoid, especially as they keep sending me complimentary copies whenever you get a mention.”

“Mm,” was the only noise Harry trusted himself to utter.

“Is it true?”

Harry knew at once what it was. It was yet another front page headline.

“It was sort of half true,” Harry admitted. “Ginny and I were an item for a few short weeks while we were at Hogwarts. I broke it off just after Dumbledore’s funeral. Wasn’t it nice of them to publish a reminder on her wedding day?”

“But, after You-Know-Who was defeated?”

“Well, we’d pretty much grown apart by then. We’ve remained good friends, but it was never the same.”

“Then you took up with that Susan?”

“No. That part was a complete fabrication. We were never more than good friends, although we did spend quite a lot of time together. The strange this is they got the dates about right, but hardly anyone knew we were in regular contact at the time.”

“Why would they make up a story like that?”

“It must have sold a few papers,” said Harry with a heavy sigh.

“She’s married now, of course. It’s none of my business, Harry, but are you?”

“No, of course not. Besides, Justin’s a friend. I would never do anything to come between them like that.”

“Harry, people in love sometimes find it hard to control themselves. I mean, I’d try to understand.”

“Do you really think me capable of something like that? I promise you, there is absolutely nothing between Susan and me. As a matter of fact I think she’s grown to loath me.”

“I didn’t,” Mrs Weasley began, but then stopped abruptly. “Why ever does she dislike you?”

“It came out of what happened with Voldemort,” said Harry, ignoring the small jolt he felt through the bench. “She and her group helped me out on a couple of occasions. Actually, I owe her my life.”

“That hardly seems grounds to dislike you, dear.”

“At the time she made me promise never to mention the part she and her comrades played in the fight against Voldemort to anyone. I kept my word, and I suppose that was the problem. You see, after Voldemort had gone it seems she felt she should have had recognition for the work they did.”

“But you kept silent?”

“She has never asked me to break my silence. I only found out recently, through a mutual friend, that she resented my continued silence. I suppose she thought I was trying to take all the credit.”

“Don’t you deserve that? I mean, it was you who rid us of him!”

“That’s not entirely fair. Like I said, I would never have lived to face him without help from her and her friends. They did some incredibly brave things.”

“So, what’s stopping you from telling all now?”

“Well, I have tried,” admitted Harry. “The problem is that no-one is that interested. I did an interview with the Quibbler, which is possibly why the Prophet ran that spoiler piece today. Worse, the Quibbler has delayed publishing my interview.”

“Oh,” said Mrs Weasley. “Still, perhaps they will publish soon.”

“Mr Lovegood didn’t sound too keen actually. He was quite annoyed that I hadn’t given him the exclusive story about our non-existent affair. He seemed to think it was the better angle.”

“Yes, let’s get back to that,” pressed Mrs Weasley. “As I was saying, I’d like to think that I wouldn’t judge you too harshly. I know I’m a little old fashioned when it comes to these things.”

“Mrs Weasley, I promise you. Nothing’s going on between us. Nothing at all.”

Mrs Weasley paused a moment before replying.

“I believe you, Harry.”

“Thanks,” said Harry quietly, at once feeling a little easier in himself.

“But, Harry,” continued Mrs Weasley. “I wasn’t referring to anything between you and Susan Bones.”

“Um,” was all Harry managed to say at first. “What were you referring to then?”

“Harry, you know that I couldn’t love you any more than if you were a son of mine?”

Harry felt his face flush and he looked down, deeply touched by her sentiment.

“I couldn’t be more proud of what you’ve achieved, but I’m also concerned that you haven’t really done a great deal since. Don’t get me wrong, Harry. I love having you around to help us out and fix up the house, but isn’t it time you started to think what would be in your best interest for the future?

“Arthur said you’d need time and I see now that he was right; but it has been some time, hasn’t it?

“There was plenty of speculation today about what you might do and Arthur told me the Minister himself promised you a job whenever you wanted it.”

Harry just shrugged.

It was true. He had rather stagnated since Voldemort had gone, but he didn’t particularly want to discuss the reasons why with Mrs Weasley.

“I’ve grown to know you too, Harry; perhaps better than you realise,” she continued kindly. “I know, for instance, that you’d stand aside if a friend’s well-being stood in the way of your own happiness.

“We’ve all come through a terrible experience. Your experiences were much worse than most; yet you seem intent on continuing that suffering.”

Harry felt he ought to make some kind of denial, but he had lost his voice.

“Talk to her?” she asked in a whisper. “I know she puts on a brave face but it’s all an act, I’m sure of it. Look at how weak her magic is these days and she always looks so tired.”

Harry just shook his head.

Unfortunately for Harry, Mrs Weasley had for some time attributed the tension between them as his unrequited affection for her. He hadn’t actually realised this until Ginny spelt it out for him, but by that time the damage was done and it was rather too late for denials on this score.

He had told Ginny it was all nonsense but she had no intention of dissuading her mother.

Mrs Weasley, though, did not know how his and Hermione’s friendship had deteriorated over the last few months, something that Harry deeply regretted. This, more than anything, was the source of his unhappiness.

Mrs Weasley rested her hand lightly over his and gave a reassuring squeeze.

“I could make you promise,” she said. “You’d talk to her about it if you gave me your word.”

“I can’t.”

“So, instead you’ll go for a long walk whenever you see her with anyone else?”

“Maybe. Besides, she isn’t with just anyone, is she?”

“I don’t know what you mean, dear,” she teased.

“Ron’s my best friend. As a matter of fact he was the first true friend I ever had. I’m not going to interfere or do anything that might jeopardise their happiness.”

“Most noble.”

“Don’t you want Ron to be happy?”

“As his mother, I’d like nothing better for him.”

“So, his route to happiness depends upon him being stabbed in the back by me?”

“No, Harry. You couldn’t do that if you tried.”

He blamed himself.

Hermione alone seemed to appreciate the poor state he was in after Voldemort’s defeat. He grew to rely more and more upon her friendship to the point when he became just too much of a burden.

He knew it was happening yet seemed powerless to prevent it.

Hermione never said a word, of course. It was Ron who had suggested he should become less of a fixture on her couch of a night and let her move on with her life, even if he was content with doing nothing.

Even before that moment, Ron’s and his friendship had really only been maintained for Hermione’s sake. These weren’t the words of a friend, but Harry couldn’t argue with their truth.

Harry hadn’t been back to her flat since. He’d even tried sleeping a few nights in his own flat, but generally allowed himself to be invited to stay over at the Burrow.

Since there was no chance of speaking to her properly with Ron present, there had become fewer and fewer opportunities to speak with Hermione.

Unfortunately, those opportunities were reduced even further by Hermione herself a while ago.

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Chapter 2 – An Experiment

Harry was about to knock on the front door of the white painted cottage but it opened before he had the chance.

“Ah, there you are Harry. I was wondering where you’d got to!”

“Hi, Luna,” said Harry before checking himself. “Um, Luna? I didn’t realise you were expecting me.”

“Of course I was expecting you,” she said, leaving Harry to close the front door and wandering off towards the kitchen at the back of the house.

Harry followed, asking, “Luna, is your Dad around?”

“Daddy’s out. Well, what do you think?” she asked expectantly. “Isn’t it wonderful!”

Harry looked at the contraption that filled the entire kitchen table and wondered what on earth it was. A complicated maze of glass tubes and bottles with boiling liquids were making low gurgling noises.

“I’ve just finished putting it all together!”

“Um, Luna? After what happened the last time, aren’t you supposed to get Ministry approval before any more experimenting.”

“Well, I would hardly call this experimenting.”

“Yes, but would the Ministry agree? If you blow the back of the house off again they are bound to notice.”

“Let’s start it up!”

“Luna!”

Before he could stop her, Luna lightly tapped something deep inside the heart of the maze with the tip of her wand.

Flames erupted from the centre and Harry grabbed her, pulling her down to the safety of the floor and waiting for the explosion.

“Um, Harry?” said Luna after a long moment during which were was quite a lot of loud gurgling but no actual explosion from the table above them.

“Yes, Luna?” he replied, dreading her inevitable observation that not every experimental potion she tried to make resulted in an explosion.

“Do you think Ginny will be happy?”

“Sorry?” said Harry, completely thrown as to why Luna would want to discuss their mutual friend while they lay under the kitchen table. “Of course she’ll be happy. Both of them will.”

Harry shifted slightly so he could see her face a little better.

“They seem such different personalities, though. What if it doesn’t work?”

“Maybe it won’t, and if it doesn’t they’ll both still have friends in us.”

“Oh, yes. You’re not holding a candle for her, though? I always thought I’d see you and Ginny exchange vows, you know?”

Harry smiled and said, “No. Ginny and I were over a long time ago.”

“Oh, good. That sort of thing isn’t healthy.”

Harry didn’t reply.

“I do hope they’re happy together. They deserve it.”

Harry nodded as he looked up at the underside of the table. He could see the faintest flashes of light in the shadows.

“I wish I could find that kind of happiness.”

“I’m sure you will, Luna. Somewhere out there is the ideal guy for you. You just see, he’ll see the mushroom cloud from one of your potions on the horizon and just have to come and investigate.”

Luna laughed softly and said, “As a matter of fact the Ministry official who turned up to complain the last time was quite attractive.”

“Well, there you go then!” said Harry, laughing.

“He was altogether too nervous, though.”

“Well, never mind. Unfortunately it looks like your search for a Ministry official will have to wait another day; I don’t think your experiment isn’t going to blow up after all.”

“Hm? Oh, is that why we’re lying on the floor?”

“Yes, Luna. I’m sorry if I startled you. It looks like I’m joining the ranks of your more nervous visitors.”

“Well, I hope you’re not too nervous. I was talking to Mrs Weasley about you at the Reception, actually. She said you were looking out of sorts and I had to agree with her. We were watching you when you went off, you see.”

“Were you?”

“Yes.”

“Did anyone else pass comment on me?”

“I didn’t really get a chance to make further enquiries. Ron thought you were your usual moody self but Hermione seemed concerned.”

“Luna, when did you stop calling Ron, Ronald?”

“Well, he sort of changed and it didn’t suit him anymore.”

“He changed?”

Luna sat up and peered over the table top but didn’t attempt to get to her feet. She relaxed back against one of the kitchen cupboards.

“Are you very unhappy, Harry?”

“Me?” he replied in surprise. “You don’t want to listen too closely to Mrs Weasley, you know?”

“If you want, but you know she’s probably right. She was saying what a shame it was, what with Ginny and Neville getting married and Ron and Hermione being together.”

“Why’s that a shame?”

“Well, if we were going out it would give us all a sort of symmetry.”

Harry snorted but was a little taken aback to see Luna’s unreadable expression.

“Luna?”

“All I’m saying is,” began Luna slowly but perfectly seriously. “I mean, if you wanted. After all, according to the Daily Prophet you’ve got quite a bit of, um, pent-up energy.”

Harry looked at her blankly for a long moment before his face cracked into a grin.

“Luna, you are the most outrageous person I know!”

Luna smiled and said, “Thank you, Harry. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He reached out and touched her shoulder.

“You’re also the most selfless friend a person could have, and as attractive as you are I don’t think we should complicate things just now.”

“As you like, Harry.”

Just then the sound of the front door opening reached them. A moment later, Mr Lovegood appeared at the door.

“Hi, Dad!”

“Hello, dear. Who’s that down there with you?”

Harry scrambled to his feet, embarrassed to be caught on the floor with his daughter; particularly given what she had just proposed.

“Oh, hello, Harry. Don’t let me disturb you.”

“Hello, Mr Lovegood. I came to ask about the interview I did.”

“Interview? Oh, that thing about the Dark Force Defence League.”

Harry nodded.

“I’ve decided not to run it after all.”

“Why?”

“It seems so absurd.”

This statement, coming from the editor of the Quibbler of all people, stunned Harry. Broomstick races around the moon with no independent witnesses was a printable story and yet his interview was too absurd.

“It needs something more. To be honest, if it wasn’t you making those claims I’d have said the whole think was a figment of a deranged mind. I mean, whoever heard of a single member of the Dark Force Defence League who actually stood up to the Dark Forces? You know to join you just have to put a down payment on the membership fee!”

“I was going to suggest that you re-write the piece from your perspective, Harry,” interrupted Luna. “If you had corroborative quotes from the people involved at the time it would be so much better.”

“Oh, what a good idea,” agreed Mr Lovegood.

“Well,” began Harry rather less than enthusiastically.

“Harry, I’ll give Justin a call,” said Luna at once. “I know he’ll want to help.”

Harry didn’t bother trying to correct her but he thought it rather unlikely given that Harry had just been publicly accused of having an affair with Justin’s new wife.

“Darling, what is it you are trying to make?” asked Luna’s father interestedly, peering down at the table.

“I’m distilling Barble-Roots. If I could find a way of extracting the sap as a powder, we wouldn’t need to go to so much trouble. Harry gave me the idea ages ago.”

Harry struggled to remember when that might have been but soon gave up.

“Ah, I see. Well, that would certainly be a commercial success. It’s always a pain brewing with Barble-Roots since they go off within an hour of them being picked.”

“I wonder what went wrong?” mused Luna. “Perhaps the roots I used were too old.”

“Um, Luna?” said Harry, looking under the table. “It’s snowing.”

“Good grief,” cried Mr Lovegood, as a fine red powder appeared from thin air underneath the table and floated gently down onto the tiled floor.

Luna stopped tinkering and looked under the table.

Seeing her concerned expression, Harry asked, “Luna, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t apply to the Ludicrous Patents Office unless I can explain what is happening here. Right now I’ve no idea.”

“Luna, dear,” said her father patiently. “Half the patent applicants are insane and the other half are judged insane purely on the basis of their submissions. The Patent Office has yet not received an adequate or remotely rational explanation of any invention in living memory. Write it up and get your application in as soon as possible. This could actually be worth a lot of money.”

“I couldn’t allow this to be used commercially,” said Luna.

“Why not?” asked Harry.

“Well, what about all the poor root pickers? I couldn’t bear it if they were all put out of a job!”

“But, surely your invention just means they can pick for processing rather than fresh for market,” reasoned Harry. “They will still need the roots picking. In fact, won’t demand actually increase?”

*

Harry opened his eyes as soon as he heard a familiar soft cough.

“I wasn’t asleep,” he assured her truthfully. Harry had actually been repeating a mantra-like chant in his head.

He had been rather surprised when, after so long, the receptionist had said he was allowed to come up to her office. Lately he had been turned away with an excuse that she was too busy to see him.

Hermione smiled at his reflection in the mirror as she washed her hands at the small basin in the corner of the room and then sat down behind her consulting desk. Harry drew himself up and turned to face her, determined in his resolve not to upset her.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” said Hermione, rubbing her eyes. “I’ve got a couple of hypochondriacs on the ward at the moment and neither likes to think they haven’t got the worst symptoms in the hospital. The latest is acute Insomnia, which at least managed to keep the night staff awake thanks to all the loud snoring.”

Harry smiled at her but was concerned to see how tired she looked. She never did look quite her best while at work, in his view, since she wore her hair tied back in a very bushy ponytail.

“I think you’re the one who could do with some sleep, Hermione. How long have you been on duty?”

“Just the usual,” she replied dismissively, just as she did every time he suggested she was working a little too hard. “What can I do for you?”

“Um, I need a small favour, actually,” said Harry, leaning forward. “Justin Finch-Fletchley has invited me and a guest to his place for the weekend.”

Hermione struggled to maintain a straight face for a moment before she burst out laughing. Harry tried to look indignant for a moment but one look at Hermione and then he too was chuckling.

“Oh, Harry,” she managed to say, wiping tears from her eyes with a white tissue. “You really are a tonic. I haven’t laughed so hard for ages.”

Harry smiled warmly at her.

“I see you’re keeping up with my press clippings,” he said dryly. “Anyway, I could use some moral support and I was hoping I could persuade you to come along as well.”

He was pleased that he’d managed to keep his voice as even as he could.

“Why not take Luna?”

“She said she would be too busy.”

“But, you did ask her properly?”

“Um, no.”

Hermione just gave him a knowing smile and Harry assumed she had already spoken with Luna.

“Please, Hermione. Susan’s probably brewing up a poison just for me as we speak.”

“Susan? I rather assumed it would be Justin who would worry you more, given your recent headlines. Hasn’t he got all those wild animals now?”

“I did wonder why he was so keen for me to come,” admitted Harry. “Perhaps he really is planning on feeding me to his tigers.”

“Lions, Harry.”

“Oh. Well, the pair of them wouldn’t hurt you, would they. Justin always liked you best.”

“Not Susan, though,” Hermione reminded him. “Remember we have had words in the past.”

Harry’s shoulders sagged a little. He never had discovered why it was that Susan and Hermione came to clash. He hadn’t really known anything about it, in fact. When he’d turned in that night they were all friends, but the next morning all he noticed was that they had become very formal with each other.

He’d almost dismissed this from his mind until Luna mentioned the night she and Ginny had needed to break up a duel between the two of them, yet Harry couldn’t think of two people less likely to fight each other.

All he got out of Hermione was, “Don’t talk nonsense, Harry,” when he’d asked and Justin had intervened to stop him even asking Susan what had happened.

“I wonder if Rita’s free?” asked Hermione a little too innocently, making Harry snort.

“At least think about it?” he pleaded.

“Okay, I’ll think about it. Maybe I could join you there for a couple of hours or something.”

“Thanks,” said Harry, getting to his feet. “I thought you’d be the best one to talk things through with Susan if she won’t listen to me. Neither of them really knew how it was at the time and you were in the thick of it.”

“I wasn’t the only one,” Hermione reminded him modestly.

“Well, your medical skills and quick spell-work might come in handy as well.”

Hermione tutted softly and stood up.

“I’ll walk you out,” said Hermione. “I’m heading in your direction.”

They walked slowly along the ward towards the exit doors and the lift lobby, and this gave Hermione a chance to give Harry a few hints as to how he might placate Susan. He didn’t really think he needed this advice but didn’t mind at all; any opportunity to converse with her properly was too rare to be squandered.

“I got a postcard from Ginny this morning,” said Hermione. “I’m not sure the warm climate entirely suits them, but she sounds happy enough. She asked after Trevor too.”

“Pity he couldn’t go with them,” said Harry. “Still, they’ll be back before he knows it.”

They arrived at the lift lobby still chatting.

“You got time for a tea?” Harry asked hopefully.

“I’d like to Harry, but no. I’ve a rather delicate procedure to perform in a few minutes.”

Harry held up his hands and said, “Don’t tell me any more!”

They laughed and Harry heard the lift car approaching.

“Oh, by the way,” he began as the bell sounded announcing the arrival of the lift.

“Harry!”

Harry felt his face falling as Ron practically jumped out of the lift.

“How are you, mate?”

“Fine thanks. I was just going,” he said reaching out to catch the lift gates before they closed. He quickly stepped inside and punched the floor selector.

“Bye, Harry,” said Hermione in a rather small voice.

He couldn’t help but look up at the sight that had for so long filled him with anguish. Ron was standing close to Hermione with his arm draped oppressively over her shoulder. The way he was leaning and the way she seemed to look so uncomfortable made it look like Ron was bearing down on her.

He was two flights down before he uttered, “Bye.”

*

Harry exited through the St. Mungos shop-front entrance and made his way along the busy street before deciding on impulse to make his way to one of the London parks. Perhaps a touch of green would cheer his spirits.

This had been the first time in ages that he’d been allowed to visit her at work. Apart from Ron’s arrival, it had gone well. Hermione half-promised to look in on them; although he knew she wouldn’t. He had been friendly and she had been receptive.

It wasn’t much, he knew; but it was better than it might have been.

It was only as he passed through the great iron gates that he remembered. It had happened in this very park.

Harry wondered along the gravel topped footpath before stepping out onto the sea of green grass. He headed over to the shade of some trees where he knew there would probably be a free bench to sit on.

Presently he sat down. The benches here were generally the last to be filled because the view of the field sports was obstructed. Still, he had a decent view of a group playing softball in the distance.

Harry let out a low sigh.

It was in this park that Hermione had finally put him in his place regarding Ron’s treatment of her.

He had gone over their conversation so many times he could no longer be sure who said what. He was also beginning to lose track of what he actually said and what he’d wished he had thought of to say at the time.

“Hermione, why do you put up with him like that?”

“Harry, it’s really none of your business.”

“He treats you with contempt.”

“Ron just needs time to adjust, that’s all. You know he had a problem when he was cut off from us.”

“No, Hermione. He had a problem with you being alone with me.”

“Same difference. He came away feeling insecure and helpless. He needed patient understanding and compassion; not threats.”

“Well, he was asking for it,” muttered Harry. “We barely got out of there with our lives after nearly a week being trapped and he needed the understanding and compassion.”

“He was worried.”

“So he should be after leaving us in there.”

“You know it wasn’t his fault, Harry. Ron couldn’t get through the wards; No-one in the Order could either.”

“The Order didn’t forget the counter-charm, though, did they?”

“He was under pressure, that’s all.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Listen, Harry,” Hermione said firmly. “This is all ancient history. We’ll never agree on this, so please can we drop it?”

“We were talking about his treatment of you,” Harry reminded her, still not sensing just how angry she was.

“I’ve had enough, Harry.”

“Good.”

“No. I’ve had enough of you, Harry. If I can find it in my heart to forgive Ron and give him time to work things through, then so should you.”

Harry scowled at her.

“I want you to make things up with Ron, Harry. When you make it up with him, you’ll make things up with me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I need to get back to the ward. If you’re going to the Burrow on Sunday, I’ll see you then.”

Hermione then got up and crossed the park without looking back once, leaving Harry to stew. Right then he had absolutely no intention of making things up with Ron, of course. He even tried to decline Sunday lunch except Mrs Weasley wouldn’t hear of it.

To Harry’s particular annoyance, Ron clearly knew of Hermione’s ultimatum when he turned up for that Sunday lunch.

He also must have had a shrewd idea that Harry was very tempted to settle matters once and for all with his wand since Ron made quite sure his mother was right there as a witness.

“Harry, mate. I know how difficult things have been, and I know that I probably haven’t helped much. I’m sorry,” he added in what seemed to Harry as a wholly insincere manner. “What do you say? Shake on it?”

Ron held out his hand and Harry could almost feel Mrs Weasley’s face redden. Harry knew her absolute dread of another Percy-like split in the family.

Harry knew he had no choice but to take Ron’s hand. He couldn’t disappoint Mrs Weasley, and in the back of his mind he also knew Hermione would not be pleased either.

Their hands had barely touched before Mrs Weasley was hugging them both and crying with relief.

The smirk on Ron’s face was barely perceptible, but Harry caught it well enough. A glass lantern exploded across the room, showering tiny glass fragments over the floor. Unfortunately, Neville was far too accident prone to avoid suspicion.

Harry had pulled his hand apart from Ron’s firm grip knowing he would need to deal with him at some date in the future.

Across the room, Hermione had been watching the exchange very carefully.

Remembering her features, Harry relaxed back against the park bench. After what happened at the Burrow, neither of them spoke of Ron that much. Harry watched on helplessly as Ron’s behaviour towards her seemed to get worse to the point where it was now easier for him to just make his excuses and leave the moment Ron put in an appearance.

Harry had a vague idea that Ron was trying to provoke him into doing something stupid but no-one else seemed to notice anything. Perhaps it was just his imagination.

However, most people appeared to notice his growing animosity towards Ron.

Even Hermione had crossed town a few weeks ago to accuse him of cursing Ron. Fortunately, Ginny had by then proudly announced that she had hit him with a rare form of stinging curse but Harry had wondered why Ron had allowed Hermione to think it had been him.

As pleased as Harry privately was for Ginny, the reason she felt he’d deserved it was less pleasing. Ron had earned, or had been given, yet another promotion. More boasts of a bigger office and a bigger desk. At least it was a few days before he could enjoy his bigger chair thanks to Ginny’s good aim.

Harry had sworn to himself that although he knew it was inevitable that one day he and Ron would have things out, he would do his utmost not to be provoked while Hermione’s friendship depended on the semblance of peace between them.

Even so, this did not stop Harry weighing up the pros and cons of putting Ron in his place. From his perspective, though, he knew it would become more and more difficult. Ron was a fully qualified Auror now, whereas he was a Ministry outsider.

Even Harry had to admit that Ron was doing well for himself.

Harry never regretted not pursuing the only career he’d ever considered. He too had been offered a post with Ron but had declined knowing that he would never be allowed to earn his own advancement.

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Chapter 3 – The Tower Fireplace

Harry stepped out of the fireplace and found himself inside a small sunlit octagonal room. The floorboards were bare timber and the walls were rough brick. The tiny green fire went out almost at once and a pleasant breeze wafted over his face.

He walked over to the open window and realised he was at the top of a tower. It sounded like there was a dovecote above in the roof too.

Harry turned and descended the spiral staircase until he emerged into bright sunlight from the base of the tower.

A small boy ran past him and into the tower. Concerned that he might fall from the low window openings above, Harry turned and discovered that the spiral staircase was gone. The child ran around inside the base of the tower and emerged looking a little disappointed but just in time to join his mother emerging from some bushes further along.

As he half-listened to the child being told off for running too far ahead, Harry found the tower was actually the corner of a much larger structure.

Justin had told him to come and find him in the Estate offices, but he realised he had no idea where that was. Since all he could now see were trees in three directions, he decided to follow the path around to the front of the building.

Harry passed through a narrow arched opening and was a little surprised to see dozens of tourists scattered in front of him and at least six large coaches parked up.

To his relief there was also a signpost pointing in several directions. Paths, openings and doorways led off the two sides courtyard but the most popular destination seemed to be a small café.

He quickly read through the signs. The House, Greenhouses, Stables, North Walk, Visitor Centre, Daycare, Cycle Trails.

None seemed to be the one he wanted, so Harry decided to go and ask someone in the café.

“Excuse me, young man?”

“Um, yes?” he asked, turning to see a diminutive old lady smiling up at him. He smiled back uncertainly.

“Would you mind taking our picture?” she asked, holding up a small camera. “You just need to press the button.”

Harry obliged and did his best not to shake nor take the photograph too lopsided. He was just handing back the camera when he heard his name being called.

“Harry!”

Harry smiled seeing Justin Finch-Fletchley stride confidently across towards him. Harry held out his hand which Justin took and gave him a vigorous handshake.

“Welcome, Harry! Welcome!”

“Well, thanks for inviting me,” Harry managed to say as Justin gave him a hug for good measure.

It seemed that Justin wasn’t going to punch him after all.

“Come on, I want to show you everything!” Justin cried, but then noticed the two elderly ladies watching them interestedly. Harry saw that one was carrying a coloured leaflet that had Justin’s photograph on the back.

“I do beg your pardon, ladies,” he said, breaking away from Harry to give a slight bow. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting.”

“Not at all, um, Lord, um,” began one, glancing down at the leaflet for a hint at how Justin should be correctly addressed.

“Your friend was just kind enough to take our picture for us,” said the other.

“Well, that’s Harry. Always ready to help.”

“I don’t suppose we could have a photograph of the three of us,” she asked hopefully.

“I’d be delighted!” cried Justin warmly. “No trouble at all. Step lively, Harry, and I’ll take your snap.”

Harry couldn’t help but chuckle seeing her face fall a little.

“I’ll take the photo, Justin. Why don’t you stand with your guests?”

“Oh, just as you like.”

Harry took the second photograph and once Justin had hoped the ladies would enjoy the rest of their visit they moved off.

Justin quickly ushered Harry through an exhibit of rusting farm implements in a side enclosure and then finally out through a door at the back marked “Private.”

They emerged into a wide open corridor and it was nice to be away from prying eyes.

“How’s Susan?” Harry asked as soon as he had the chance.

“Just wonderful, thanks. She’s very well,” replied Justin with a smile. “She’ll join us a little later.”

“This is some place you have here, Justin,” said Harry, and then with a sideways glance added, “or should that be Lord Um? I’d tug my forelocks to you except Hermione advised waiting until I found out where my forelocks actually are; she seemed to think I might cause offence with what I was doing.”

Justin laughed and said, “I’m not entirely comfortable with the title just yet. As a matter of fact I’m not entirely sure I’m allowed to use it yet; not that the Estate publicity department has concerned itself with that small matter.”

“You inherited the title?”

“Yes. It was rather unexpected, actually, but thanks to a Muggle helicopter crash it came to me.”

“I’m sorry,” said Harry. “Were you close to them?”

“I never even met them, Harry. They were a rather wild lot, actually. I don’t know if Muggle transport interests you, but I believe the collection here includes a number of insanely fast cars and motorbikes; most of them have been crashed into trees, of course. I believe a one-of-a-kind Rolls Royse has been at the bottom of the lake since the Christmas party two years ago.”

“How many were in the helicopter?”

“Too many, by the sounds of it. Regrettably, three generations of the family in-line to inherit did not survive the accident. However, it’s something of a family tradition for people to vanish in suspicious circumstances. Usually it involves some financial scandal and with their absence everything fell to me.”

“Well, I hope the Estate knows how lucky it is to have you.”

Justin continued to show Harry around the extensive grounds and it was some time later that they walked through the walled garden where tall stone walls kept the wind out and trapped the heat of the sun for growing vegetables.

Unfortunately most of the greenhouses had seen better days and few had all their glass remaining intact. Harry read with interest some of the plaques that marked when and by whom each greenhouse had been originally built.

Justin made a point of saying to the Gardeners how well the fruit trees were looking under their care and appeared not to notice the weeds that were clearly winning the battle of the flower beds.

It was then that for the first time Harry caught sight of the main house.

“Good grief,” said Harry, looking up over the fifteen foot high wall.

“Oh, wait until you see it properly,” Justin promised with a smile. “We’ll go the longer way around to you can see the front of the house first.”

They came out of the walled garden and followed a group of tourists along the path from the main car park until they emerged in front of a wide gravel expanse. Beyond that was simply the biggest house Harry had ever seen.

He counted five storeys of windows including the roof dormers but it was the width of the building that staggered him. Dozens of chimneys stood behind life-sized statues standing all along the parapets. The massive front doors were shaded by a large square portico supported on columns and Harry guessed that at one time horse-drawn carriages would have taken guests right to the door.

“Are you sure it’s big enough for the two of you?” asked Harry in wonder. “This place is amazing.”

“Amazingly expensive, certainly,” Justin commented dryly.

“Oh, right. I suppose there’s a lot to decorate.”

“It isn’t just that,” said Justin as they approached the entrance. “This place is a Grade I Listed Building so we have to hire experts to tell us what fits historically. Naturally, they don’t choose cheap materials. All the wallpaper has to be hand-printed, for instance.”

“You’re not tempted to sell-up?” asked Harry, making sure they were not overheard.

“No-one would buy it in the current state, Harry. The restoration fund is short by several million Pounds, which is why we are open to the public. We get funding for various restorations, but the price is that we have to open at certain times.”

“I’m not sure I’d like people traipsing through my home,” commented Harry.

“I tend to regard this as a place of work, actually. Susan and I have a small private apartment upstairs which feels a little more like home.”

Justin gave Harry and a small group of tourists who had gathered in the entrance a complete if impromptu tour of the house. He was surprisingly knowledgeable about the history of the people in most of the portraits, and wasn’t shy about where the money came from to build such a magnificent house.

It sounded like pirating and slavery had gradually been abandoned for much more profitable trading enterprises such as sugar and coffee.

It was a little after two o’clock before the two of them walked upstairs to the private apartments.

As soon as he went inside, Harry knew he much preferred these rooms. Although no wizard photographs and portraits adorned the walls, it was the look of a “lived-in” place that made it more homely. Elsewhere, everything was arranged for show or to keep mischievous fingers from touching things.

Harry was about to compliment Justin on the rooms when they heard voices.

“Ah, we have company,” said Justin, leading the way through into a drawing room.

Susan was sitting at one end of a Regency couch and to Harry’s delight, Hermione was sitting opposite her.

“Hi,” said Harry.

Susan stood and Harry went over to greet her.

“Welcome, Harry,” she said a little stiffly, giving him a peck on his cheek.

Harry smiled down at her and said, “Thanks for inviting me, er, us. If you want to just get it over with and hex me I’d quite understand.”

Susan raised her eyebrows and said, “I think I can manage to resist the urge until after lunch.”

She seemed to be a little slimmer than he remembered now and wore an expensive looking dress that suited her. The pearl necklace that had once belonged to her Aunt was still being worn proudly.

Harry sat down next to Hermione on the other wide couch and Justin sat down close to Susan. They had immediately clasped each other’s hand and Harry could see that they were very much in love. He glanced at Hermione who returned his smile.

“I’m really sorry about that newspaper article,” said Harry. “I suppose I’m a fair target but it’s a bit much when they drag other people into their fabrications.”

“Don’t worry about it, Harry,” said Justin. “Anyone who knows us couldn’t possibly believe that rubbish. They did print a retraction.”

“Did they?”

“Here,” said Hermione, handing him a stamp-sized clipping. “It was on page nine of today’s edition.”

The printing was so small Harry could barely make out the words as they moved around the ink border.

“This is barely a square inch! The original piece took up the entire front page and two entire sides inside,” he said indignantly.

“I know it seems unfair, Harry,” said Justin hesitantly. “It’s just that we thought it would be best to let the whole thing die down.”

Harry nodded and handed the clipping back to Hermione.

“I was tempted to have a go at the Editor again,” he admitted. “It’s never worked in my favour in the past so I suppose there’s little chance it working now. They usually just reprint the whole thing.”

Harry looked up to see them looking at him a little apprehensively.

“Don’t worry,” he said reassuringly. “If you can accept that retraction then I won’t make waves. Consider the matter dropped.”

“Thank you, Harry,” said Justin.

*

Harry decided to wait until after lunch before making any mention of the article Mr Lovegood wanted him to write.

Justin continued to talk happily about their new circumstances and while Susan was fairly quiet she didn’t seem at all unfriendly towards them. Hermione, though, was much more quiet and reserved than usual.

Then, as Justin handed out cups of tea, Susan spoke.

“Hermione was telling me earlier about the article you are writing on the League.”

Harry smiled at Hermione to thank her and said, “Well, I’d like to try. Mr Lovegood did an interview with me about the Defence League but it got delayed and then he wasn’t too keen on publishing. Luna thought it would be better if we could re-write it as an article and include things from your perspective.”

Justin cleared his throat softly.

“I think it’s time we came clean.”

Harry frowned slightly as Susan said, “Yes.”

“The truth is, Harry, we asked Luna to spike the story,” said Justin. “Mr Lovegood didn’t particularly like the piece much anyway, but anything with your name on still sells so he was going to run it regardless.”

“Have you changed your mind?” said Harry. “I only did the interview because I thought you wanted the Defence League’s contribution publicised.”

Susan smiled and said, “We appreciate that, Harry. As a matter of fact I would very much like certain events clarified, but the truth is I allowed you to believe we wanted the article. I’m sorry about that.”

“Why, though?” asked Hermione before Harry had the chance.

“We knew the Prophet would run a spoiler piece, although to be honest we were a little taken aback by the allegations they made about us,” said Susan.

“I’m sorry,” said Harry. “I still don’t quite understand.”

“Someone wanted the Defence League discredited.”

“Why bother?” asked Harry before he could stop himself.

Susan hesitated before answering with, “Well, quite.”

“I’m sorry, Susan,” said Harry. “That was uncalled for. If anyone knows the help you were in fighting Voldemort it should be me.”

Susan smiled sadly and said, “You’re right, though. The public perception is that the League is a joke.”

“So,” said Hermione slowly. “What does this mean?”

“It means someone is onto us,” said Justin. “We’d like to bring both of you into our confidence. It’s one reason why we were so keen for you to come here.”

“Luna,” said Harry. “She’s never been a member of the Order. Is she with your group?”

“Yes, of course,” said Susan. “Luna tried to make sure both of you would come here today. Right now she is following another line of enquiry for us.”

“Why go to so much trouble?”

“For some time now, we’ve been receiving activity reports. Up to now there’s been no concrete evidence of actual wrong-doing, but we are beginning to become concerned.

“There have been a couple of disappearances and we suspect at least three people were coerced into taking early retirement. Mostly, though, a number of individuals have become very wealthy with no obviously legitimate explanation. As these are all Ministry people, we felt in independent investigation was warranted.”

“I wonder what the Ministry will say to that?” said Harry.

“I’d expect they’d say their Aurors can be trusted to investigate without any bias.”

“I take your point, but you should have at least told the Minister. He wouldn’t want corruption in the Ministry any more than we would. Unless he’s under suspicion as well.”

“No, he isn’t,” said Susan. “We understand that a file is being prepared for him, but the League isn’t entirely satisfied he won’t try to brush everything under the carpet. He is a politician, after all.”

Harry just shrugged.

“Harry, you’ve known for some time now that we operated as a group within the Dark Force Defence League. Up until now, few people have known about us and fewer still know of Justin’s true level of involvement or mine. However, we believe we are now compromised.”

“Susan, I didn’t tell anyone,” Harry assured her earnestly. “Well, not until-”

“Until we wanted you to,” said Susan cutting across him. “Once you began to talk to a few trusted individuals, it was only a matter of time before someone linked us to the unknown agents who had been spying on them.”

“Oh,” said Harry.

“In fact, Harry, you knew very little that could damage the League today,” Susan assured him. “Neither of us has been actively involved since You-Know-Who was defeated.”

“We, um, had a visit from an old friend a short while ago,” continued Justin hesitantly. “They claimed the Ministry wanted an assurance that we wouldn’t use magic to cut a few corners on the restoration works.”

“Is that usual?” asked Hermione.

“We’ve never heard of it happening before, but then all they really wanted was an excuse to poke around here for a few days.”

“Did they find anything?” asked Harry.

“Yes. We’d left a few clues of our involvement, such as a list of members killed on duty. The true membership is somewhat larger than the League’s public listing, of course.”

“So these people are bracing themselves for when you make a public accusation?” asked Hermione.

“No decisions have been made yet, Hermione,” Justin assured her and she and Harry exchanged a quizzical look.

“However, because of a discovery made very recently it seems something will need to be done soon,” continued Susan. “You’ll appreciate that Justin inheriting his title and this Estate, as well as numerous properties scattered around the counties, has meant a great deal of legal paperwork. The paperwork for the title deeds alone practically fills an entire room.”

“Um,” said Harry, “what has that to do with what the League discovered?”

“Quite a lot. You see, we have discovered that a number of amendments have been made to the legal paperwork. These are Muggle documents that go back hundreds of years that have been magically altered.”

“Altered?”

“Yes. We’ve had them tested using Muggle laboratories and the changes can’t be distinguished. That means that if challenged in a Muggle court, we’ll probably lose the Estate. We’re not too concerned for ourselves, but we employ over a hundred Muggle workers here.”

“Someone wants this place?” Harry said. “A group of wizards?”

Justin smiled and said, “I appreciate that perhaps you might not want a place like this, Harry, but we’ve grown attached to it.”

“It isn’t a group of wizards, actually,” said Susan. “Only one wizard wants this place that we know of.”

“Why would they want it?”

“Well, although my family is all Muggle now,” said Justin, “this branch of the family was originally magical. A good number of the paintings around here show witches and wizards and at its peak this house was an entirely magical home.”

“So the documents name a different beneficiary?” said Harry. “Who is it?”

“They don’t name any one individual because the documents are so old. The title usually follows ownership of the land and property and although this Estate is the most valuable property right now, it isn’t the oldest. The original ancestral home is some miles away and has long been abandoned.

“It is the site of that original ancestral home that is of particular importance here and surprisingly it is rather modest. Although only a few sheep might live there now, that land was the source of the family’s wealth many, many years ago.

“Thus, our legal people think it will come down to whoever is the current owner of a patch of scrub land on the other side of the country.”

“Who owns that land now?”

“A very old and very respectable Muggle Doctor owned the land until very recently. We’re sure he had no involvement in any wrongdoing and may not even know he ever owned the land. However, the Land Registry has recently been advised of a new freeholder.”

“So should this Doctor have inherited everything instead of you?”

“We don’t think so, no. We think Justin’s family retained the land so he should have inherited. It’s complicated because the key deeds have been altered, or that’s what we suspect.”

“But, won’t the Ministry be able to tell if the documents were altered?”

“The Doctor’s family has owned land all around there for generations and even without the forgeries he may have had a claim. Several parcels of land around there have been disputed over the years.”

“Who is the new Freeholder?”

“The Doctor’s name is Worrell, but we don’t have a name for the new freeholder yet. The paperwork won’t become publicly available just yet, but we could hear at any time,” said Susan as a large carriage clock behind her chimed the hour.

“Worrell,” repeated Harry quietly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Justin, we have a meeting in five minutes with the farm manager. It would be rude to put him off.”

“Of course,” agreed Justin standing up. “Would you both excuse us for a couple of hours? Please make yourselves at home. Perhaps you’d enjoy one of the walks around the grounds?”

*

Almost as soon as they were left alone Hermione said, “Harry, would you mind terribly if I went?”

He’d been expecting this and tried not to show just how much disappointment he felt.

“Why not stay?” he asked gently. “Okay, Justin doesn’t look inclined to feed me to his tigers, but I’m bound to put my foot in it sometime.”

Hermione smiled and said, “Lions, Harry. You can hear them roaring in the distance from outside.”

“Well, you can certainly smell them then the wind direction changes.”

“Actually, I suspect that was the farm animals.”

“Is that what they call the inner-city tourists?” he asked, earning himself a roll of her eyes.

“Please, stay. We could count the number of people in the portraits that have Justin’s nose,” he suggested.

“As fun as you make that sound,” said Hermione, taking out a small leather pouch. “Are they connected to the Floo Network here, or should I use the tower again?”

“I don’t think they have. Why not just Apparate?”

“I’d prefer to use the Floo. Do you remember the way to the tower? This place is so big it’s confusing.”

“I’m sure we’ll find it.”

Twenty minutes later he bid her goodbye at the top of the tower and then spent a few more minutes looking out of the open windows. He listened hard but couldn’t honestly say he heard any roars, although the smell of fresh manure reached him a few times.

Harry spent some time up there mulling over what Justin and Susan had told them. In the back of his mind the name Worrell seemed to stir something, but he couldn’t remember why the name should have any meaning for him at all.

He’d heard the stories about shadowy Ministry officials before. Some serious bribe money had been rumoured to have changed hands just before the trials of Voldemort’s remaining henchmen but nothing had ever been proved. That had been ages ago, too.

Harry had been surprised that the League was conducting their own investigation and regretted the fact that this might cause Justin and Susan to lose their new home. He was curious to know what else the serious side of the League was up to these days too. A long time after one of their night-time meetings, Susan had admitted that the majority of the Council whom she reported to had actually surrounded them, pretending to be other customers. Apparently the then Chairperson had even been the Waitress who brought their teas.

He smiled remembering. As terrible as those times had been, he had enjoyed so many moments and now felt a little guilty remembering them. His smile faded as his mind returned to the present.

He wondered why they hadn’t approached the Minister directly, but then perhaps he had become used to a degree of access not open to most people. For himself, he actually trusted the new Minister on the whole; although he might not admit it if asked.

“Worrell,” Harry said again to himself. “Who are you? Why does your name mean something to me? Have we ever met?”

The harder he thought, the less likely it seemed it would come to him, so Harry went back down the stairs and out into the warm afternoon sun.

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Chapter 4 - Not Very Stripy But Quite Bitey

More to take his mind off missing Hermione than anything else, Harry decided to go and see Justin’s collection of exotic animals. He made his way down from the tower and headed for a large painted wall map he remembered seeing next to the café.

He studied the map for a few minutes before he was interrupted by Susan.

“Lost again, Harry?” she asked in an amused tone.

He turned and smiled. Susan had often liked to accuse him of wandering about lost when they had encountered each other outside the hiding places of suspected Death Eaters.

She had changed out of her smart dress and wore green Wellington boots, jeans and a frayed jacket which seemed to suit her much better.

“I wondered where the tigers were.”

“I’m sorry but I don’t think we have any tigers at the moment. Don’t tell Justin, though, or he’ll think we need some.”

Harry snorted.

“We do have a few lions, though. Not very stripy but quite bitey.”

“Where are they?”

“The park isn’t actually on this map, although there is a petting zoo on the edge of the farm. Come on, I’ll drive you over there. I take it Hermione needed to go? She warned me she wouldn’t be able to stay long.”

“Yes. She sends her apologies.”

The journey across the fields in Susan’s mud-encrusted Land Rover was terrifying but mercifully short. Susan seemed to have got only the general idea of what the steering wheel for was for, but the brake pedal didn’t get much use at all.

Susan hammered on the horn as tourists and stray sheep scattered from their path until they finally skidded to a halt. It was a moment before Harry prised his fingers from the door handle.

“Here we are.”

Harry practically fell out of the vehicle and staggered around to the front. He half expected to see a couple of sheep jammed in the radiator grille, but the front of the battered Land Rover had just mud and grass sticking to it.

He looked around at the many signs warning of dangerous animals and explaining in graphic terms the consequences of anyone not observing the rules.

“I hope this isn’t the petting zoo,” he muttered under his breath.

“Come on up to the observation platform,” said Susan, opening a sprung metal gate and ushering him through. They climbed a steep flight of metal steps and emerged on a high open decking. They went over and stood by the railings.

“This observation platform isn’t open to visitors because it hasn’t got a cage,” said Susan.

“Oh,” said Harry, peering over the edge and wondering just how high lions could jump.

“It also failed a safety inspection because they found some of the supports had almost rusted through. We’ll be fine so long as you don’t jump up and down too much.”

“Right,” said Harry, noticing for the first time that he was standing on some form of rusty grillage. He could see right down to the ground several feet below and what looked like an old steel support that had apparently fallen off the structure.

“How’s the Observation Platform Restoration Fund looking?” he asked.

“You need to ask?” said Susan with a grin.

“Not really,” replied Harry with a chuckle. “I suppose the money is better spent making sure the fencing is secure enough to keep the lions in.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”

Harry snorted.

“See over there?” she said pointing down to the right where a caged bus was entering slowly through a double lock. “Those buses tour through the various enclosures so people can see the animals up close.”

“What is that truck doing?” asked Harry as another vehicle came from another direction.

“Feeding time,” she answered as wardens threw great chunks of raw meat carcasses out the back. A pride of cats was stalking the truck and most of the female lions pounced upon the meat as soon as it landed on the ground. One even looked tempted to jump up into the back of the truck.

The tourist bus had stopped a few feet away with an excellent view of the feeding pride.

The male lion of the group, however, ignored the meal and the bus.

“What’s up with him?” asked Harry.

“That’s Caesar. He’s very old in lion terms and actually sees us for what we are, Harry. Some cats can tell those people who have magical blood in them by sight.”

The lion roared up at them.

“That is why I didn’t think a trip in the tourist bus would be a very good idea,” said Susan. “I suggest we go before he gets too excited.”

Harry was happy to comply. Caesar was looking up at him with a particularly hungry eye as they headed back down the steps.

“Why do you keep these animals, Susan?”

“I’m not that keen, but they are growing on Justin. However, we’re stuck with them for the present. Exotic pets were all the rage a few years ago, and since the then owners of the place were rich, idle and stupid they just had to get some big cats. Unfortunately, although they can never be tamed, they are no longer truly wild. Most of our cats were bred in captivity and wouldn’t last five minutes back in the wild.”

They walked over to a brick-built building that was partly sunk into the ground and only had a few tiny square windows. As they approached the air became heavy with a sickly smell.

“You just have cats?”

“Well, we also have a small herd of gazelles and quite a few reptiles.”

“That seems a strange combination,” Harry observed, following Susan into the building through another door marked Private.

“There were more at one time, but as they cost a small fortune and the cash was needed to legal expenses they were often sold or donated to other keepers.”

Susan’s voice echoed off the glazed tile walls.

“Legal expenses?”

“Quite a few of Justin’s distant relatives fell foul of the law at one time or another. Usually they were financial scams but some had more imagination.”

“Why on earth would they break the law?”

“The usual human frailties. They just wanted more money, fame or whatever. They also deluded themselves into thinking that because they were rich they were smarter than anyone else and of course would never get caught.”

“So, will you and Justin following in the family tradition?”

Susan laughed and said, “We’ve joked about it, but that’s all.”

They got to the end of the corridor and Susan turned to face him before opening the door.

“Do you ever think about when we broke the law? I mean, all of us.”

Harry smiled and nodded in understanding.

“It was different, Susan. When we broke into people’s homes we were at war. The injuries and property damage were all consequences of that.”

“Do you ever miss those times?” she asked, adding guiltily, “I know I do.”

“Part of me does,” Harry admitted.

“Sometimes the slightest thing can bring back memories. I find that it’s the small things I remember most. I mean, some of the things were amazing, like the trials or you fighting you way out to freedom but I tend to remember things like our night-time conversations about nothing.”

“Me too,” agreed Harry. “Anyway, they weren’t about nothing; we were just careful about what we revealed to each other.”

“Actually, I lied. Watching as you escaped is something I’ll never forget. We were stuck up on the hillside but we had prisoners. I remember arguing with Justin that we should go and help but he pointed out that everyone else had already gone and us two were the only ones left. So much for discipline!”

“It did get a bit hectic that day,” agreed Harry.

“You were out on your feet that night,” Susan remembered fondly.

Harry nodded and said, “Wasn’t that the night you and Hermione argued?”

Susan ignored his question completely.

“You know? I remember later on when word came through that you’d finally won. That was just after we’d captured a load of Death Eaters as well, except they were fleeing the country rather than hurrying to join him. One of them offered me a bribe to let him and his family escape. I’d never seen so much gold.”

Harry smiled at her and asked, “What did Justin say?” He knew Justin too well not to already know the answer.

“He was simply outraged, of course, so I never really had a chance to accept it. I was sorely tempted, though.”

“You wouldn’t have taken the gold,” Harry promised her.

“I was tempted, Harry,” she said in a low voice. “I remember the moment when the message was shouted out. He was dead but there was no news at all of you.

“Everyone around me started jumping about and shouting with joy. All I remember of the moment is being so angry with you. I wanted to kill him. I felt it should have been me to face him.”

“No, it was always going to be me, Susan.”

“I looked around in a daze and there was Justin,” she continued in a far-away voice. “He put his arms around me and whispered, It’s over. No more thoughts of revenge. He proposed to me that night but I refused him saying that the fighting might not be over; he might not be gone for good. But the true reason was that I thought I should have suffered more. That was when we all assumed you three were dead too.”

“Don’t worry, if he comes back again then he’s all yours.”

This seemed to snap Susan out of her reminiscences.

“Liar,” she said with a smile, turning back and pulling the heavy door open towards her.

The coldness of the air inside hit Harry at once although it took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

The brightly lit glass display cages told him at once they were in the reptile house.

“Now, you will behave yourself in here, won’t you Harry?” she asked mischievously.

Susan left Harry in the care of Brian the Reptile Keeper and explained that Harry had delusions of being able to talk to the animals but assured him that he was an old friend who was mostly harmless, if a little eccentric.

Harry actually rather enjoyed himself chatting with the snakes for much of the afternoon.

The keeper hadn’t been at all keen to allow Harry anywhere near his prized animals at first, but relented a little after Harry was able to help a sick python. The vet had apparently been baffled by the symptoms, but then he hadn’t the advantage of actually asking his patient to explain the problem.

The Python, whose name was Barry, blamed his feeling unwell on his last meal of a dodgy rat and really just wanted to be left alone for a few days to recover. Being left out on display wasn’t really helping much.

Brian and Harry were the last to leave and locked the Reptile House up for the evening. As soon as they stepped outside the lions in the enclosure starting roaring. They sounded like they had gathered beside the fence closest to where Harry was.

“Blimey,” said Brian. “Listen to that lot.”

“Are they usually this unsettled?” asked Harry.

“Strangest thing. Before his Lordship and his missus arrived they were generally asleep on their feet. Now they actually act like they might make a meal of you. Fortunately, the lions seem to be the only ones on the estate who weren’t pleased so see a new Lordship arrive.”

“I hear the previous owners were a bit wild,” said Harry.

“That’s an understatement,” said Brian with an undertone. “Salaries were never paid on time and every time one got nicked some of us would be laid off. I’d better drive you back to the house.”

“Thanks,” said Harry, who had intended to find a quiet spot to Disapparate back from.

“You known them long? Only, you don’t sound like a toff.”

Harry smiled and said, “I was at school with Justin and Susan.”

“Oh, right.”

*

They stopped just before stable buildings to allow the last of the day’s tourist coaches to depart before driving up to the side of main house. Brian walked with Harry around to the front entrance and they arrived just as most of the staff were making their way home for the evening.

Harry thanked Brian and promised to try and look in on Barry the python before he left the next day. He then made his way under the portico to the entrance doors but found them locked.

Fortunately, the ticket collector recognised him and called back, “You’ll need to go around to the family entrance. Just follow the building around to your right. The door will be open. Go straight up the stairs and you’ll be at the private apartments.”

Harry thanked her and walked around the path. When he got there he recognised it was the way Justin has shown him before. He was about to enter when he caught sight of Justin and Susan on the rear terrace.

He walked over to join them. It was a wonderful view before them as the sun set over the distant woods. Immediately in front of the terrace was a formal garden which led down to a wide, calm lake.

“Ah, Harry,” said Justin. “We’ll be eating at eight. Is that alright?”

“Fine,” said Harry at once. “This is quite a view.”

“Yes, it’s our favourite,” agreed Susan, handing him a tall glass of iced lemonade. “Everything is man-made, you know? That small hill on the horizon was actually moved so you can have an unobstructed view of the folly on the estate boundary.”

Harry shaded his eyes and just about made out a tower in the distance.

“Did you put Harry in the Blue Room?” asked Susan as she stirred her drink.

“Actually, I didn’t have time to show Harry his room,” admitted Justin apologetically.

“Well, why not put him in the Queen’s Room since Hermione won’t have need of it.”

“Good idea,” said Justin, turning to Harry. “I’m afraid the selection of guest rooms is rather limited at the moment. The wing has ten bedrooms, but only two are fit for staying in. They were the first to be restored, although the Blue Room needs more attention again. The Queen’s Room is much the finer of the two, but we didn’t think you’d mind if Hermione had that one.”

“Of course not,” said Harry with a smile. “Why is it called the Queen’s Room?”

“It was originally redecorated and furnished in anticipation of a visit from Queen Victoria. Unfortunately, she never did stay here.”

“The Blue Room is named after the colour,” added Susan, “although Justin did find some rather racy etchings behind one of the wall panels.”

“Yes, but unfortunately Susan made me donate them to a local museum. Come on, I’ll show you up there and you can change for dinner.”

*

Harry was quite lost for words as Justin showed him into the Queen’s Room. The centrepiece of the room was a magnificent four-poster bed with draping that went almost to the high ceiling. A large coat of arms hung above the bed-head and repeated in white marble above the fireplace.

Every piece of furniture was embroidered with fine white silk or gilded in gold. The ceiling was intricately patterned in fibrous plaster and the walls were decorated with a fine intricate pattern.

Remembering what Justin had told him of the cost to refurbish the house, he realised that a good proportion was probably spent in this one room alone.

“Justin, this is fantastic, but I really can’t stay here.”

“Why ever not? I know it’s supposed to be haunted, but we’ve never actually met a ghost here.”

“No, it isn’t that. I won’t be able to move for fear of damaging something. I’d really be much happier in one of the rooms we just came through. I’d feel terrible if anything happened.”

“Harry, those rooms are practically building sites. Actually, four of them are building sites.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Well, how about looking at the Blue Room before you finally decide.”

He walked over to the far door and opened it. Feeling curious, Harry followed.

The Blue Room was just as luxurious, but definitely had a lived-in feel to it. The blue theme extended from the faded wallpaper to the furnishings, but the carpet clashed magnificently.

“This was redecorated about twenty years ago. As you can see it is rather in need of a refresh. This is a replacement carpet, obviously. We suspect the original was sold to pay for a fine or something.”

Seeing the torn patches of wallpaper and frayed armrests on the chair, Harry said, “This is much better.”

“Good.”

“Um, Justin, where’s the bathroom?”

“I’m afraid these old houses weren’t designed with modern things like bathrooms in mind,” said Justin, walking him back through the Queens Room and the next until they came to a small door disguised as a bookcase.

Inside was a modern bathroom suite complete with a large bath up on a raised marble-tiled platform. Harry guessed the bather would have a seriously good view of the lake through the large window.

“Strange to think that even Queen Victoria would have needed to walk to the loo of a night,” commented Harry.

“Harry,” said Justin in mock seriousness. “Even suggesting that Her Majesty had need of a loo like the rest of us mere humans is a treasonable offence.”

“I stand corrected,” said Harry with a grin.

*

“That bath upstairs is amazing,” commented Harry over dinner. “The sun had set too far to see much of the view across the lake, though.”

Although Harry had enjoyed his luxurious bath, he had found himself contemplating again the name that had been nagging at the back of his mind all afternoon and refused to go away. For some reason the name Worrell meant something to him, but he couldn’t remember where he could have heard it before.

Still, as he thought as he finally got out of the tub, it made a change from worrying about Hermione the whole time.

“You managed to get enough hot water?” asked Susan.

“Um no,” Harry admitted. “It was a bit rusty coloured so I conjured my own water.”

“Oh, good. The plumbing is just one of our many problems around here.”

“I can’t wait to be out of here,” said Susan.

“You’re leaving?” asked Harry in surprise.

“Oh, no,” Justin assured him. “We’re planning to build a smaller house on the far side of the estate to actually live in. It will be a little more private and have running hot water, but the main thing is that we’ll be able to have a more magical lifestyle. We have to be careful around here because all the staff are Muggle and they often visit.”

“That sounds nice,” said Harry, “so long as you don’t go mad with the decorations in the guest rooms.”

“Ah, but then you’ll be able to do repairs with magic,” Susan reminded him.

Harry nodded, remembering what Justin had told him about the repairs having to be all Muggle in the house.

Harry made sure he passed on the kind comments he’d heard their staff making towards them during his afternoon, but inevitably the conversation came around to discussing their absent friend.

“I was glad to see that she didn’t look quite as bad as we’d feared,” said Susan. “From what Luna has told us, Hermione seems to be rather miserable lately.”

“Well, she works long hours at St Mungos,” said Harry.

“She seemed bright enough to me,” said Justin pleasantly. “I’m sure Luna was exaggerating.”

“She’s having problems performing magic too, I hear?”

“Well, they wouldn’t let her work as a Healer if she couldn’t perform magic,” Harry said loyally, although he privately thought that there must be some truth in the rumours. “She doesn’t like to show off much these days, that’s all.”

“We had hoped she would come and stay a few days,” said Justin. “You know, try and relax; get away from it all.”

“Luna said she never accepts invitations these days,” said Susan. “Frankly, I was amazed she turned up at all today.”

“Other invitations?” asked Justin. Harry had wondered the same thing but wouldn’t have said anything aloud. He knew Luna could be famously indiscrete sometimes.

“Oh, yes. It sounds like many of her close friends have been growing concerned for her.”

*

After dinner, Justin begged Susan for permission to show Harry something as a special treat. She wasn’t at all keen at first, but agreed in the end and even joined them.

Justin seemed surprised but quite pleased that she was coming with them, and the three of them stepped out onto the rear terrace.

It was fully dark now.

“Wands out,” whispered Justin.

“No sudden noises,” warned Susan, “and we must Disapparate away as soon as we are seen. They are much faster than you’d think.”

“Ready? We’ll Apparate to the centre enclosure first.”

Susan grabbed Harry’s arm tightly and they Disapparated together.

*

The clouds parted and the moonlight flooded the open ground before them. Harry scanned the horizon and recognised the outline of the Reptile House and the high viewing platform. He realised at once that he was now standing on the wrong side of the high compound fence.

Susan tapped him on the shoulder and the three of them walked silently deeper into the long grass towards the centre of the compound with Justin leading the way and Susan making up the rear.

It struck Harry that the last time the three of them had walked through the night like this it was Susan in the lead with Justin following up behind as they took him the safe route into one of their camps.

Harry listened intently as they went but could only make out distant indistinct noises.

Soon they were climbing a low hillock. Justin stopped at the top and pointed down.

Only a few feet away, the pride lay together in a large group. Harry could see movement, but the overall impression he had was that most were sleeping.

“They can’t see us as wizards in the dark, even with good moonlight,” whispered Justin. “If the wind direction changes, we’ll have to leave at once. Their sense of smell is a good as ever. They are not generally that active during the night, but they wouldn’t refuse a meal that walked up to them.”

Harry looked for the dominant male of the group and saw Caesar was stretched out asleep towards the rear. Harry guessed he was almost eight feet long and much bigger than he had originally thought.

They stayed watching in silent fascination for a few minutes, but unfortunately a restless juvenile decided to investigate and there was a risk the others might be roused.

Justin grabbed Harry’s shoulder and they retreated before Disapparating to an inner compound.

“We were probably okay,” said Justin. “I didn’t want to take a chance though.”

“What’s this compound for?” asked Harry, looking around them.

“Well, lions have strict social rules,” explained Justin. “Males are rejected from the group when they get too old, so sometimes we have to separate a few individuals for their own good. In the wild their territory can stretch to miles around. Obviously we don’t have the same degree of space, but decent fencing keeps them in check. We haven’t had any rejected males yet, but in the past they have been sent to other parks and zoos.”

“We also use this area for any injured animals that need to convalesce,” added Susan.

“It seems a shame to keep them penned in like this,” said Harry.

“Yes, but what choice do we have right now?” said Susan. “At least this is better than a zoo, in my view. They have a reasonable amount of space here.”

They walked over to the far side of the smaller compound and peered through the fence at a herd of Thomson's Gazelles. Justin was describing their behaviour but Harry’s mind kept wandering back to Caesar when he roared at him earlier in the day.

He couldn’t help but feel sorry for that lion. He was trapped with no hope of escape, gawped at constantly by onlookers and prevented from dominating the territory, as he would have in the wild.

Hearing that Justin had stopped talking, Harry turned and saw Susan looking at him thoughtfully.

“Let’s go back,” said Susan.

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Chapter 5 – Taking A Running Jump

Harry eventually found his way back to his bedroom and changed into the one-size-fits-all night-things that had been left out for him. It was only then that he discovered that the mattress height of the four-poster bed in the Blue Room made it almost impossible to climb up. He supposed it was the fashion years ago to sleep several feet of the ground.

He kept slipping on the silk sheets and the bed-post creaked ominously when he tried to climb it.

In the end he did a running jump from right across the room, aiming to land right in the middle of the bed. It occurred to him that jumping onto an antique might not be the wisest thing to do while he was mid-air.

In the same instant he wondered what damage he would do when he bounced off again under his own momentum.

Harry landed spread-eagled and didn’t bounce.

Instead he immediately sunk down into the ancient unsprung mattress. He fought against the engulfing bedclothes for a moment but eventually just gave up and tried to get some sleep.

He woke a few hours later and was annoyed to find he needed to go and find the bathroom. He struggled and flayed about until finally he grabbed hold of one of the bedposts and hauled himself off the bed, landing with a soft thump on the floor.

Cursing softly, he grabbed his glasses and wand from the side table and headed for the door.

The bright decorations in the Queens Room made it quite easy to pass through in the soft moonlight, but the unfurnished next room was more of a challenge. Harry couldn’t walk straight across because there was a scaffold in the centre of the room and great dust sheets covered the windows. He picked his way around the perimeter of the room more by memory than sight until he heard an unexpected noise.

Harry ducked down at once.

“Who’s there?” he demanded loudly, his voice echoing slightly around the bare room.

He heard a soft sniff from towards the corner of the room where he was heading.

“Lumos!”

Harry stood up at once.

“Hermione? What are you doing alone in the dark? What’s wrong?”

Hermione was sitting in a gap in the dust sheeting with her hands covering her face. Harry went over to the window seat at once and squatted down next to her.

“A- Are you okay?” he asked hesitantly, but she just tried to turn away.

Harry reached out and touched her shoulder, only then noticing the tears that had fallen down her front. He immediately pushed himself up to perch next to her, put his arm around her and drew her close.

Hermione lowered her hands to reveal her face. She was very red and her eyes were puffy from crying.

“Oh, Harry,” she managed to say before more tears came. “I feel so embarrassed.”

“There’s no need,” said Harry gently, wishing he had a handkerchief to hand for her.

“I’ll have to tell the Ministry,” she said between sobs.

“Er, why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Um, no, not really.”

“Harry! I’ve gone and splinched myself! Oh, I’ll never live this down.”

“Hang on,” said Harry, suddenly concerned. “Which bit did you leave behind?”

He leaned forward and tugged away the dust sheeting to see.

“Is it just your leg?” he asked. “Where did to Disapparate from?”

Hermione just cried harder.

“Hermione! Get a grip, will you? Tell me where you came from!”

Hermione started at the tone of Harry’s voice.

“Listen,” he said more gently. “If I can go and collect your leg, the Ministry nor anyone else need know nothing about this. Please, tell me?”

“The t- tower,” she said between gasps. “I Disapparated as soon as I arrived. I didn’t fancy walking over here in the dark.”

“Good,” he said getting up and finding that Hermione was grasping the sleeve of his nightshirt. “Will you be alright on your own for just a moment?”

He waited for her to release him. It tore him up inside to leave her like this, but he knew she wouldn’t calm down properly until she was whole again.

“I won’t be long, I promise.”

Hermione nodded and Harry Disapparated at once. He arrived an instant later at the top of the stable tower but found he wasn’t alone.

Justin and Susan were standing in their bedclothes, examining a solitary lower leg standing in the middle of the room.

“Are you sure it’s her shoe?” Justin was asking in a whisper.

“Of course it is,” replied Susan. “I don’t know why you’re whispering. It’s not like she can hear us!”

Harry coughed gently to announce his presence since is Apparitions tended to be quieter than most. Justin looked around with a start but Susan didn’t react at all.

“The alarm went off,” Susan explained without looking around. “We knew we had an unexpected visitor and came to investigate.”

“Does anyone else know?” asked Harry urgently.

“No,” said Justin. “We were about to notify the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, though.”

“Please don’t,” asked Harry. “Hermione’s back at the house and she’s in a bit of a state. I’m not sure splinching herself is the only thing that’s upset her either.”

“Goodness,” said Justin. “What can we do? I don’t know anyone who can perform the charm.”

“Yes, you do,” said Susan with a small grin.

“Just leave her to me,” said Harry, stooping down and carefully lifting Hermione’s leg off the floorboards. “I’ll call you if I need you, but perhaps it would be best if she thought you didn’t know.”

“Yes, of course,” said Susan at once. “Hermione would be devastated if news got out. She always prided herself on her magic.”

Harry nodded sadly, looking down at the leg in his arms.

“Why did she come back at this time of night?” asked Justin. “Not that she isn’t welcome at any time, of course.”

None of them seemed to want to voice an answer.

“Well, I’d better be going,” said Harry after a few moments.

*

Harry stepped back, the loud crack of the limb attaching spell still ringing in his ears.

“Are you okay?” he asked, although he was confident the attachment had been completed successfully.

Hermione flexed her ankle a few times and then stood before answering.

“Thanks, Harry. I’ll be fine now.”

“Good,” he said with some relief.

“Oh, there is one thing,” she said lightly.

“What?”

Hermione gave him a gentle shove and said, “You certainly took your time, and what was it with all the touching?”

“Sorry?”

“Harry, my calf may have been absent but I could still feel it!”

“Um,” he said, realising that if he had remembered that particular phenomenon of splinching he might not have held her quite so tenderly.

“I was afraid I’d drop you,” he said after failing to think up a plausible excuse.

“Hm.”

“What are you doing here so late?” he asked, hoping to change the subject. There was a strong smell of smoke about her although her clothes looked clean if a little ruffled.

Hermione’s face seemed to flinch as she apparently remembered why, so Harry said quickly, “Come through into the Blue Room. You’ll be more comfortable there.”

He took her hand and led her carefully around the scaffold, through the Queens Room and into his bedroom.

Then he remembered why he had got up in the first place.

Excusing himself, Harry dashed back with some urgency to find the bathroom. When he returned at a much slower pace, Hermione was sitting on the bed wearing one of his shirts. Her clothes were folded neatly and placed upon a chair in stark contrast to his own clothes which he had somehow scattered around the room.

To his annoyance, Hermione seemed to have discovered a cabinet which had neatly unfolded into a small set of steps to make climbing up much easier than his own running and jumping approach.

“Throw me down a pillow, will you?” he asked, pulling out a padded chair.

“Don’t be silly, Harry.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere near that furniture next door,” he said resolutely. “That stuff is priceless and I’m bound to have an accident. Justin told me that magical repairs can’t be used either.”

“Harry, I’m sure the furniture would be fine. Besides, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t leave me alone tonight.”

“So, throw me a pillow, then.”

“Harry, you’ll get cramp in that chair and the floor is cold, hard and has the filth of centuries; whereas this bed is massive. Look, there’s plenty of room if I shift up.”

Harry looked at her doubtfully as she shifted to the other edge. The bed might be big but he still didn’t think it at all appropriate. Unfortunately he didn’t know how to say it without upsetting her further.

“I really don’t want to be alone tonight, Harry.”

He sighed inaudibly and reminded himself that doing whatever Hermione wanted usually worked out in the end.

Harry nodded and Hermione said quietly, “I’m sure Luna won’t mind.”

“What has Luna got to do with this?”

“Nothing,” Hermione said quickly, smoothing down the covers. Harry made a mental note to find out why she would have mentioned Luna just then; but he wouldn’t ask her tonight.

Harry climbed up the steps and wondered how it was that Hermione hadn’t just sunk beneath the covers like he had before. He hoisted himself onto the bed and lay for a moment right on the edge so that the gap between them was the maximum possible distance. Almost immediately after that he felt himself tipped into his old hole in the centre of the mattress.

Hermione stifled a cry as she too was tipped into the centre, but gave an embarrassed giggle as they found themselves pinned together and facing each other.

“I see what you mean about there being plenty of room,” he said with a smile, but immediately realised he would have a problem sleeping with Hermione pressed so close.

He managed to turn over onto his other side and Hermione snuggled up to his back.

“Just like old times,” she said, her breath gently brushing the back of his neck.

“Just like old times,” he agreed, remembering those nights they had spent evading the Death Eaters. He hadn’t got much sleep then either.

“Harry?”

“Yes, Hermione?”

“What was it you were going to say to me at the hospital?”

“Sorry?”

“You began to say something when the lift was arriving. I’ve been wondering what it was.”

Harry’s spirits fell a little at the reminder of how Ron had interrupted them again.

“I was just,” he began, but found he had to stop. It took a moment for him to banish the unwelcome memory of Ron bounding out of the lift, and by the time he’d done so Hermione was fast asleep with her arm curled over his side. His hand was resting against hers.

“Just like old times,” he mouthed to himself.

*

Harry woke in bright morning sunshine with Hermione sprawled out over him but beginning to stir.

“How’s my leg?”

“My leg, Harry.”

“Nope. It’s my leg now. Finders keepers. It’s the law.”

“I see. Can I at least use it until I get myself a decent peg-leg? I want a nice one, not like Mad-Eye’s old thing.”

“I’m sure Justin’s maintenance people can knock you up something, after all they’re used to working with antiques.”

“Hey!”

“Well, I suppose you can keep it for a while. Make sure you look after it though,” he answered with a laugh as she attempted to kick him with it.

Hermione then relaxed and pulled herself back towards him.

“Thanks, Harry,” she said quietly. “I don’t just mean taking care of the splinching, nor not pushing me to talk about it yet.”

Harry was wondering what he could say to her when she stretched up and kissed him on his cheek before rolling off sideways and jumping down off the bed. He supposed the best he could do was to just be there for her.

*

Harry hesitated before knocking on the bathroom door. It had been over an hour since Hermione had left the room and he was growing a little concerned for her.

He knocked and called gently, “Hermione?”

Harry listened intently for a moment but heard nothing.

He knocked louder and then called again. There was still no reply. Figuring that a stern reprimand would be preferable to leaving her alone and possibly hurt, he made to open the door, except it was locked.

“Alohomora!” he whispered as he pointed his wand at the lock. There was a click and the door swung open.

Hermione was sitting hunched up at the window.

“Hermione, what’s wrong?” he asked, entering into the room. The bath was two-thirds full of cold and horrible looking brown coloured water.

He kneeled down right in front of her and waited for her look up. She had been crying again.

“What is it?” he asked.

“The water,” she croaked helplessly.

Harry got up and turned the hot water tap on. It spluttered a moment and the same deep red water emerged stone cold. Harry turned the tap off and reached down to pull out the plug except it was already out but the drain pipe didn’t want to take the water away.

Harry gave up and vanished the water with a wave of his wand leaving an unpleasant looking tide mark. He didn’t think it was dangerous, but as this was Hermione’s bath he performed a quick scourgify spell and was pleased to see several years worth of limescale deposits had been shifted too. Thanking Mrs Weasley’s home care tuition, he then re-filled the bath with hot soapy water direct from his wand.

“I feel so helpless,” complained Hermione.

“Hermione, I’d have thought you’d have figured out by now that I like nothing better than to be able to help you,” he said, pulling a stack of warm towels from a cupboard.

He noticed that a complete range of toiletries had been placed on the shelves since he had used the bathroom the previous evening. He realised that Justin and Susan must have taken the rumours of Hermione’s difficulties with magic seriously since otherwise they would have expected her to conjure anything she needed.

It was perhaps only a small thing but it showed a degree of thoughtfulness that touched him greatly and made his resolve to help them even stronger.

“Now, hurry up and get in before the water gets cold. I’m going to find a stool so I can sit at the door. I want to be comfortable while you tell me what’s up with you.”

Harry didn’t wait for an answer, but closed the door after him while he went in search of something to sit on. He recalled seeing a saw-horse that might do, but he quickly decided upon an ancient looking spindly chair that had definitely seen better days.

He carried it back and made sure he heard splashing before pushing the bathroom door open.

Harry smiled seeing the small mountain of bubbles heaped over the steaming bath. There was no sight of Hermione at all.

“You do like your bubbles, don’t you, Harry?” said Hermione from somewhere inside the massive bath.

He sat down at the doorway. At first he faced away from the door to respect her modesty, but then reasoned that as all anyone could see was the high bath sides, he might as well face her. The spindly chair creaked ominously as he turned.

“Right, now I’m comfortable,” he began, “why don’t you begin?”

Hermione didn’t answer.

“Have you seen a Healer?” he prompted.

“No, of course not. I’d be suspended at once.”

“Hermione, how long has this been coming on?”

“Well, I’ve avoided Apparition for some time now. I just didn’t feel confident in myself anymore.”

“Transfiguration?”

“No, that’s quite recent. This morning was the first time I failed completely but my charm work has been getting progressively weaker for some time.”

“How long?”

“I don’t really remember. I think it started a few months ago, maybe three. I had a bad head cold and I blamed that at first.”

Harry frowned. Three months?

“How have you been getting by at work?” he asked.

“My memory isn’t affected,” she replied a little tersely. “I still know how to diagnose people; what potions to prescribe and such. Most wand work is just for simple burns and the like, so I’ve been able to muddle through.”

“You’ve been feeling much more tired than usual, lately?”

“I suppose, although I suspect the stress and worry of all this is why I’ve not been able to sleep properly.”

“Wow,” Harry muttered sarcastically. “No wonder you’re such a great Healer with diagnostic powers like those.”

“I heard that, Harry. Think you could do better?”

“Yes,” he answered simply, making Hermione stop splashing at once. “I think you’ve caught something from one of your patients.”

“Oh,” said Hermione dismissively, resuming splashing at once. “No. I’ve been tested for all the possible contagious diseases that could affect my magical abilities.”

“I thought you said you hadn’t seen a Healer?” said Harry.

“I tested myself, obviously.”

“Hermione, what would you say if you heard another trainee Healer doing exactly that rather than seeing a qualified Healer?”

“Well, perhaps I would be a little sceptical that they could see the bigger picture. However, I’m nothing if not thorough, Harry.”

Harry let out a low groan of frustration.

“Who is your Head of Department?”

“Harry! You wouldn’t!” cried Hermione, as a wave of water was thrown over the bath lip in her agitation.

“Are you going to see sense and consult a private Healer?” he asked seriously.

“It won’t do any good, Harry. Besides, I think I might know what it is.”

“Well, why not tell a Healer and get a second opinion?”

“If I’m right, there isn’t a simple cure,” she said miserably.

“What is it?”

“It’s just something a little personal, that’s all.”

Harry felt Hermione’s acute discomfort and wished at once that he’d been a little more tactful.

“I’m sorry, Hermione. I shouldn’t have asked,” he said earnestly. “I want you to be well again, but to be honest I couldn’t care less if you never did magic again. I just want you to be happy again.”

“That’s easier said than done,” she replied, the despondency heavy in her voice.

“You said there wasn’t a simple cure,” Harry reminded her. “Does that mean there is a not-so-simple cure?”

“It’s been known, but it isn’t a potion kind of fix. The solution may never present itself.”

“I think you should let your Healer decide that,” said Harry, but as he spoke he thought he heard Hermione mutter something further. He was about to ask her to repeat herself when she spoke again.

“Shut up, Harry,” she replied in the tone of the normal mild rebuke she reserved for him. “My water’s getting cold.”

“Hermione?”

“Yes, Harry?”

“When will you be missed?”

There was a clang as a bar of soap slipped from her fingers and hit the side of the bath.

Deciding not to wait for an answer, Harry got up and said, “I’m going to wash. Call if you need anything.”

*

Harry washed and shaved using the china hand-wash bowl he found in his room before dressing and then freshening Hermione’s clothes to remove the smell of smoke which still lingered. He folded them back onto the chair as best he could but somehow the folds were not as neat as before. He hoped she wouldn’t notice.

He reasoned that she must have been close to a fire or something burning but not so close that she got burned. It hadn’t been a chemical burning either; definitely wood. He wondered if it could have been a cauldron fire started to brew some potion. Cauldrons were usually heated with smokeless flames, but perhaps she couldn’t start a magical fire.

The idea of this made him very uneasy since home-brewed potion cures could be very dangerous if improperly made.

As soon as she came back from the bathroom Hermione, wrapped head-to-toe in white toweling, threw Harry out of the bedroom. He felt she was putting on a show of being more exuberant than she actually felt, but it was nice to see her a little brighter. Harry then went along to Justin and Susan’s rooms to join them for breakfast.

It was probably as well that he met them first because they were dying to know how Hermione was. He had to remind them that Hermione’s arrival ought to still be a surprise.

They quizzed him thoroughly but Harry resisted telling them any specifics, although he did vaguely say she was having problems performing magic.

He was reluctant to mention anything about her refusal to see a Healer but of course this was the first thing they thought of for her.

“Perhaps Luna’s right, after all,” said Justin, earning himself a dark look from Susan. Justin suddenly found the bottom of his tea-cup needed all his attention.

“What did Luna say?” Harry asked slowly, but just then Hermione arrived at the open door.

Susan put down the cup she was about to fill and walked straight over to her and embraced her. Harry knew they hadn’t been exactly the best of friends but the caring concern shown was entirely honest.

“I suppose you know I arrived last night?”

Susan released her and said, “Well, yes. We’ve been beside ourselves with worry. If you’d thrown Harry out we’d have been there for you at once.”

Harry blanched. He had told them she had slept in the Blue Room. If asked he had intended to lie and pretend he’d slept in the Queen’s Room, except they hadn’t asked.

“If only I’d known!” joked Hermione. “I’m fine, really. I’m just feeling a little run-down, that’s all.”

“Then you really must stay,” said Justin at once. “A few days at the very least.”

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Chapter 6 – Inspired Idiot or Idiotic Inspiration?

The Estate would be open to visitors again that day, although the House would only open late morning and for a shorter period as it was a Sunday. Harry asked if there was anything he could do to help out, thinking mainly of the Reptile House, but Justin wouldn’t hear of it.

“Your only duty today will be to look after Hermione until we can join you for a late lunch. I suggest you take in one of the walks.”

“Not too far, mind,” said Susan warningly as a tiny post owl flew in through an open window. The owl sped around the room and dropped a small scroll onto Justin’s head before zooming out of the window again.

Justin looked briefly at the scroll and then passed it to Susan who opened it at once.

She read the note very carefully before handing it to Justin.

“They’ve completed the Land Registry documentation search,” she said once she was satisfied Justin had read the note.

“Does that mean we finally have a name?” asked Harry.

“Yes, although further enquires are continuing,” said Susan.

Harry looked between Justin and Susan, but neither would venture a name. He was about to prompt them when he felt Hermione’s foot lightly tap his, and he knew at once why Hermione was getting him to pay attention.

Justin was visibly shaken although clearly trying to make light of the news. Harry had the impression that until that moment he wasn’t seriously worried about actually losing the Estate.

Susan, meanwhile, wore an expression of cold steel that Harry hadn’t seen for some time. Susan was the kind of person who could be pushed so far, but when their limit was reached the consequences could be serious. To that day, Harry had no idea just how many had died the last time that had happened.

They looked each other a moment and seemed to reach an instant agreement before they seemed finally ready to talk.

“The name,” said Justin. “It’s Ron. Ron Weasley.”

“No,” said Harry at once. “You’ve got to be wrong. Ron wouldn’t want a place like this!”

“You wouldn’t want a place like this,” Hermione corrected him quietly.

“Did Ron actually buy the land or was that transfer forged as well?” asked Harry.

“That may be a mute point,” Susan said darkly. “He’ll know that we know by now, but it will be a few days before he can use the Ministry to evict us. I think he’ll use that time to persuade us to go quietly. He may even offer a small inducement.”

“You’re not giving up?” said Harry forcefully.

“We no longer have the Defence Force at our command whatever Ron may believe,” explained Susan. “Even if we did, I’m not sure we would want to ask our friends to fight the Ministry. If we resist, they will have the full force of the law on their side.”

Harry knew this to be true but his resolve to help was stronger then ever.

*

Harry looked around and judged that they were about halfway along the wide mile-long path that led in a straight line from the house to a tall Egyptian obelisk. They could see dots of people close to the obelisk but no-one seemed to be following them along the long path that was wide enough to accommodate a carriage.

Justin had said that Sundays tended to be quieter around the Estate with families coming to enjoy the grounds rather than the other attractions.

“Barry said to say, Hi,” said Harry as they stepped off the path to continue along the wide mown grass verge.

“Barry?” asked Hermione.

“Barry the Python. He was a bit under the weather yesterday. Maybe we could pop by later and see how he’s doing?”

“Yes, of course. Um, he said Hi?”

“Well, we got chatting, you know? I think you’d like him.”

“This is a big Python?” asked Hermione tentatively.

“No, but he’s still growing. He’s off his food right now but a visit from you might cheer him up. Normally he’s quite playful apparently; likes to pretend to strangle people.”

“How nice,” said Hermione with a weak smile. “I suppose I’ll have to resist the urge to just scream and run.”

Harry snorted and they both turned hearing running footsteps approaching from behind.

A boy and a girl thundered past them, neck and neck in a race. They continued further on up the path for a few yards before they both pulled up, panting hard. Both instantly claimed to have been first over an invisible finish line.

Harry and Hermione walked on slowly but after only a few feet the boy and girl were off running again.

“I think he shaved it,” said Harry with a smile.

“No way,” said Hermione at once. “She won easily.”

Soon the two children were too distant to see clearly and everything was quiet again.

It was a long moment before Harry spoke.

“I think they’d be sorry to lose this place.”

“Yes,” agreed Hermione. “They certainly seem settled. It must have been quite a shock for Susan discovering she suddenly had this lot to care for as well as Justin.”

“Well, she always did take things in her stride. I’m sure that’s why she got involved with the Defence League. Someone probably told her she couldn’t do anything to help.”

“Was Madam Bones a member?”

“I’ve no idea,” admitted Harry. “Susan never really liked to talk about her family before her Aunt was killed, so I never asked.”

“How did you know how to reattach a splinched limb? I had no idea you could do that.”

Harry smiled and said, “Lupin taught me. He said it might come in handy one day, but mainly it was because I wanted more of Susan’s new recruits to Dissapparate away without injuring themselves. Most of them were unlicensed, of course.”

“You and Susan spent a lot of time together? I’ve always assumed you were alone when you went off.”

“No, hardly more than when you were there with us. Susan gave me a means to track them; although it looked like we’d encountered each other by coincidence, it wasn’t. I generally made sure we joined up when were out overnight. Actually, they were tracking us a lot of the time.

“There was safety in numbers and she had enough people to post rested guards all night long if needed. It was just one of the ways they helped us and it was all done in secret.”

“I wish I’d been more supportive at the time,” Hermione said. “I thought they were adding to your risk, not protecting you.”

“Is that what you argued about?”

“That was part of it,” she admitted. “I was completely in the wrong. I accept that now, but at the time I was furious with Ginny and Luna for siding with her.”

“And I managed to sleep through the whole thing,” Harry said chuckling.

“That was rather remarkable, although I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that Justin stunned you as a precaution.”

“He never said!”

“Well, how would it have looked if you had woken up to see your entire allied force fighting each other. Actually, that’s pretty much what Justin said when he broke up the fighting.”

“Fighting? You actually duelled?”

“A few stray hexes may have been exchanged,” Hermione said with a smile.

Harry shook his head.

“It seems strange to hear that even now,” he said. “My force?”

“It’s true, Harry. We were only there because of you. No-one else would have inspired such a show of resistance. I wish you could have heard some of the things that were talked about at the Reception. It was the first time I’d really heard people talk freely about what happened to them. I suppose enough time has passed for them to feel more comfortable.”

“I’m not sure I need any more reminders about what happened.”

“Maybe, but what about how people felt? Seamus was there that Saturday, but I’ve never known him want to speak about what happened before. He said how you found him.”

“Oh, then. Seamus was fine. He just needed a little encouragement, that’s all.”

“Yes, he said, except he was more honest about it. He said he was shaking so much he couldn’t even hold his wand properly but you’d just made a joke out of it before telling him you were going to pick a fight.”

“He asked me if I was going alone,” said Harry remembering.

“And you said If you want to stretch your legs, I won’t complain.”

“I could be such a prat sometimes,” said Harry.

“Harry, have you really forgotten?” asked Hermione with a touch of annoyance in her voice. “You just gave people enough encouragement to realise they could make a difference; that they could be brave and stand up for themselves.”

“No, that was never me.”

“Harry, when we were trapped everyone was convinced we were finished, weren’t they? It seemed impossible that we could get out of there with the Death Eaters swarming over the place and trying to track us down.”

“So?”

“Harry, literally hundreds of people were waiting for us outside. When we appeared streams of them poured down the hillside to join in the fight. It was like you were their last hope.”

“Well, we were, weren’t we?”

“They didn’t know that! They weren’t there to just cheer you on your Horcrux hunt, Harry. They came because just like Seamus, they needed to feel a little of your inspiration or hear your words.”

“Well, it sounds like you may have been as drunk as Seamus.”

Hermione snorted softly.

“You know? Ginny told me all this when I objected to everyone abandoning their posts to keep a vigil over you. I honestly couldn’t understand what good could come of it all. Do you know what Ginny said?”

“No.”

“She said I never felt the fear like the others because I was always near to you. I never truly knew the fear of losing you because you never admitted your fear. I didn’t take her too seriously at the time, but now I think she was right. It was that fear that drove me to chase after you that time.”

“That was idiotic,” he agreed with a smile. “So, does that make me an inspired idiot or an idiotic inspiration?”

Hermione shook her head with annoyance.

“No-one understands why you just dropped out of everything after Voldemort was finally gone. Even the Ministry couldn’t do anything without consulting you first. Everyone up to the Minister of Magic himself expected you to just carry on in charge. The trials only happened because you ordered them.”

“I only told them that to get rid of them for a while. Anyway, wasn’t that the first time we met Take-Charge Ron?”

“That’s a little cruel, Harry. Especially considering you encouraged him and even made the others stop just laughing at him.”

“Oh, come on. Ron had a great time ordering everyone around. It practically guaranteed him a good place at the Ministry.”

“I know perfectly well that you guaranteed him that place, Harry.”

Hermione grabbed his arm to emphasise her point as she said, “Harry, you just seemed to stop and retreat to the safety of the Burrow.”

“Well, I’d had enough. I knew it wouldn’t be long before people realised there’s nothing special about me. I was just marked as a Dark Lord’s equal, nothing more. I’ve no more right to power than Voldemort had.”

“I’ve never really believed that,” Hermione said and seemed to be waiting for a response that never came.

They walked on in silence for a while.

“I, um, thought it was a little ironic that you should have defended Ron earlier,” said Hermione hesitantly.

It was the first time either of them had spoken of Ron’s possible involvement. Indeed, today was the first time in months that either of them had really discussed the touchy subject of Ron at all.

“Well, it can’t be him, can it? Not Ron. Okay, he’s been driving me nuts lately but he wouldn’t knowingly do anything this bad. I reckon someone is trying to frame him.”

“Why would he come here and not mention it to me, though?” asked Hermione. “He usually talks about old friends that he sees.”

“You don’t try to steal a home from a friend,” Harry observed.

“You know what I meant.”

“You know it was Ron who came here before?”

“Yes, I asked him as soon as I returned yesterday. He didn’t deny it.”

Harry frowned thinking it strange that if Ron knew she’d visited the Estate then he wouldn’t have known where to look for her last night.

“I didn’t mention you at all, Harry,” she added, as if reading his mind. “I just said Susan mentioned seeing him a while ago. Given your recent Press coverage this must be the last place anyone expects you to be.”

He nodded in agreement.

“Remember they spoke about money yesterday?” continued Harry. “I expect with his recent promotions, Ron must be on a decent wage now. Do you know if he’s investing in property? If he is, it could explain why he bought that Doctor's land."

“I doubt he’s doing that well, although I have noticed,” she began but trailed off in thought for a moment and they came to a complete halt.

“Harry, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for some time now. Ron and I are on a break. We have been for some time now.”

“Really?”

“Well, Ron hasn’t quite got the message yet. It was my suggestion and I’m not at all inclined to continue together, but Ron insisted it should be a temporary break until we were both sure. He thought my problems with magic were clouding my judgement. It seemed reasonable at the time, but now I’m not so sure.”

Hermione was talking down at her feet and Harry had to touch her elbow to get her attention. When she looked up her cheeks were flushed.

“I’m sorry, Hermione,” Harry said as gently as he could.

“You have nothing to apologise for.”

“I feel like I do. I can hardly claim to have been supportive just lately, either.”

Hermione fell silent for a moment.

“You’re probably wondering why I allowed Ron to act as if nothing had changed,” she continued.

Harry shrugged and said, “I would assume he didn’t want his Mum and Dad to know just yet, especially if he hoped things weren’t finally over.”

“Yes, that’s what Ron did say,” she said, turning away and wiping away a solitary tear.

Hermione took a great breath and stepped forward along the path again.

“That wasn’t the only reason I put up with the charade, though,” she said before turning a smiling at him. “You know? You wouldn’t believe the number of people who told me I shouldn’t put up with the way he treated me.”

“I can’t believe anyone would be that interfering,” said Harry with a small smile, reminding her of his own efforts. Then he added seriously, “We care about you, Hermione.”

“I think a few had words with Ron too,” she added carefully. “I know his Dad pulled him aside to have another word during the Reception. The trouble is, it just seemed to make him much worse. At first I thought it was just pressure of work, but lately I’ve come to realise it’s the old problem.”

“How do you mean?” asked Harry.

“He’s always been a little jealous of you, Harry. But since Voldemort he’s got so much worse. Ever since we got trapped together, he hasn’t been able to get it out of his head that I’ll use any excuse to dump him for you.”

“Well, that seems fair,” joked Harry, as feelings of relief after so much torment began to take their effect. “After all, I’ve been jealous of him ever since then too.”

Harry blushed furiously but Hermione was looking away from him into the distance and he couldn’t see her face. All he had done was repeat something both Luna and Ginny had teased him about before, but he wished he had been a little more tight-lipped.

“You haven’t explained why you stayed with Ron for longer,” he continued in a more even voice.

“Well, he seemed to want to blame you for everything.”

Harry felt there was probably a better explanation, but let it drop for now.

“I’m sorry if I was the cause of any problems.”

“Harry, there is nothing you could have done. I think he found out something recently that did annoy him, though. He found out you turned down that Auror post.”

“I told him about that ages ago,” Harry reminded her.

“Yes, but you never said what the position was. He must have seen your file because he was simply livid.”

“So?”

“Harry, you turned down the position he has been aiming for all this time. It’s still vacant and Ron thinks they’re holding it open for you!”

Harry laughed and said, “That’s stupid!”

“Could it true, though?”

“I turned down that job partly because I felt they had no intention of allowing me to do any real Auror work. It was just my name that impressed them. They expected me to use it as a stepping stone into a political career.”

They walked on quietly, while Harry wrestled with a question he was burning to ask her.

“Is it me or is that obelisk not getting any closer?”

“Well, we are dawdling,” said Harry. “We could wander back to the house if you wanted?”

Hermione nodded and they turned about face.

“We can’t avoid talking about what Ron’s been up to,” said Hermione. “I know it’s hard to believe, but what Justin said yesterday rang true. I don’t think Ron worked particularly hard to get his recent promotions.

“No, Ron can work hard when he wants to. Okay, I know he’s desperate to accumulate money and he’s always wanted to live a newer house than the Burrow.”

“He hardly realises he can’t stop talking about it sometimes. He wants enough money to match your wealth, Harry.”

“Why a big house, though? And, why this one?”

“It has to be big because you could afford a big house. Justin and Susan live in a house that even you couldn’t afford.”

“I can’t believe he would take their home away, though.”

“Actually, it wouldn’t really be taking away anything they had before,” she reminded him. “Justin never expected to inherit anything so grand, did he?”

Harry grimaced but shook his head again.

“No, not Ron,” he said finally. “What did you mean by him not working hard?”

“Just that the promotions came because other candidates suddenly withdrew. There seemed to be a rash of retirements to create the vacancies too.”

“Could be coincidence,” said Harry, although not with much conviction. “Has his Dad said anything?”

“No, not in front of me. I think things have got a little strained between them, though.”

“Anyway,” Harry continued after a moment of thought. “The thing we really need to sort out are these Muggle title deeds. If they were altered magically, then there should be traces. Perhaps the changes could even be reversed.”

“That’s an idea, but we really don’t know the full extent of the changes. For all we know there are more altered documents hidden in some Muggle bank. Besides, couldn’t the changes be applied all over again in the future?”

Harry kicked the dirt and said smiling, “Well, I thought it was a good idea.”

“What about that Doctor? Do you think he knew anything at all?”

“Susan doesn’t think so.”

“I saw you mouth his name yesterday. Does his name mean anything to you, Harry? Wirrell wasn’t it?”

“No, that’s the name they couldn’t use.”

“What?” asked Hermione as Harry snapped his fingers.

“Yes!” cried Harry and laughing triumphantly. “I remember now! Hermione, you’re a genius!”

“Harry? I don’t understand.”

Harry’s mind was racing as he thought back, trying to work it out.

“They must have it wrong,” he said finally. “Worrell isn’t the name of the Muggle Doctor, or at least I’m guessing it isn’t. Surely it would be too much of a coincidence?” he added to himself. “How can we be sure, though?”

“Harry, are you going to explain? Because this is really annoying,” said Hermione.

Harry looked at her and chuckled.

“Well, now you know how Ron and I felt sometimes.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

“More to the point, how is Ron going to explain suddenly having a title to all this lot?”

“Why should he explain at all? If he has done nothing illegal then he won’t need to. What is it, Harry?”

Harry had just stopped again. An idea had suddenly crossed his mind and he didn’t want to lose it.

“Nothing illegal,” he said softly to himself. “Okay, that’s good.”

“What’s good?”

“Well, I’d guess that Ron is only into it up to here,” he said, holding his hand up to her neck. “I was worried he would be a lot deeper.” Harry raised his hand above his own head.

Hermione frowned but said nothing as he dropped his arm.

“Um, Hermione, why did you come back here last night?”

“I suppose I wanted to feel safe. If you’d been at home I probably would have stayed there.”

Harry turned to face her, a frown growing on his face. She had rehearsed that answer, he was sure.

“What happened? Did Ron do anything?”

“No. Nothing like that,” she said quickly. “No, he’s never done anything.”

Harry waited for her to explain.

“Um, well. Sometimes he’s just fine, Harry; just his usual good-natured self.”

“Go on.”

“He does get a little frustrated sometimes. He’s known for ages the problems I’ve been having but he puts up with me. It’s just that he doesn’t think anyone else needs to know. I mean, it should be a private matter and he gets so annoyed when people pass comment.

“As I’ve gradually got worse,” she continued, her voice becoming a little tremulous, “Ron has wanted me to spend less time in company. He much prefers it if I stay at home.”

“Where is home these days?” Harry asked pointedly.

“I’m still living in my flat, thank you. It’s handy for work.”

“Ginny told me that Ron had rented a new place?”

“Yes. It was nice but far too big. I think he liked the idea of all the other tenants being wizards, so he wouldn’t have to worry about fitting in with Muggle neighbours.”

“I meant,” he began.

“I know what you meant, but it isn’t true. Ron and I haven’t really been close that way for some time now.”

“Hermione, that isn’t what I meant and you don’t need to pretend anything for my sake.”

Hermione’s expression flickered in the face of his rebuke but she gathered herself quickly.

“Harry, can you honestly remember Ron and I behaving like any other couple?”

“Well, so what? I just assumed you preferred to keep displays of your affection private.”

“That’s true, I suppose. The trouble is there wasn’t much private affection at the best of times.”

“You both gave us the impression you have practically moved in with Ron. I assumed that meant you were happy together, that’s all.”

“Oh. Well, perhaps you shouldn’t get all your news about me from Mrs Weasley.”

“Where else was I supposed to get my news from them?” spat Harry, feeling his anger rise up again. “You practically forbade me from calling around, remember?”

“I was worried about what might happen, Harry. Ron never had a problem breaking through my wards and I was afraid you would end up fighting each other.”

“What wards? You’ve never had any wards on your flat.”

“Well, obviously I never wanted to exclude you, Harry, but I did try to put some security wards up.”

Harry shook his head.

“Look. There’s no way I would have fought with Ron,” said Harry. “Well, not while there was a risk you’d find out about it.”

“Well, Ron didn’t think it was appropriate for you to stay over so often. He became rather insistent, and I didn’t want to risk him cursing you while sleeping on my couch.”

“He told me,” began Harry. “Well, he said you were too polite to throw me out. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about that. I didn’t mean to become such a burden.”

“No, Harry,” she said, reaching out and touching his arm. “I’ve never had a problem with you staying over. In fact, I was much happier knowing you were okay. Mrs Weasley often mentions the nightmares you still have, although you always seemed settled on my couch.”

“They’re not as bad as they were,” mumbled Harry, feeling embarrassed.

“Did Ron say anything else to you?”

“Um,” said Harry, playing for time.

“I’ve often wondered, you see. So often lately, the few times I’ve seen you together, I’ve had the impression that you were about to snap.”

“I couldn’t, though, could I? That would risk losing your friendship.”

Harry sighed softly and decided to change the subject.

“Why didn’t Ron make you go and see a Healer? He can’t have believed all that rubbish you told me last night.”

He glanced across at her and saw a reluctant smile before she turned away.

“So,” he continued, “why would Ron not want you to take the cure?”

“I told you, Harry. There isn’t a cure to take as such. Besides, I’ve never really told him my theory either.”

“Maybe he wants you to become dependent upon him,” reasoned Harry, ignoring Hermione.

“I’m not, though,” Hermione pointed out.

“No,” Harry agreed. “He just wants to control you.”

“Well, he hasn’t managed so far!” said Hermione indignantly.

“Oh, I don’t know. He dictates what people think about you and how you behave in public. He limits the contact you have with your friends.”

“Why would he want to control me at all?”

“Well, that way he does have a degree of control over me,” said Harry softly. “So far he’s kept me at bay for fear of upsetting you. He’s even restricted what I speak to you about.”

“Harry, that’s ridiculous. You make it sound like you’re under my control!”

Harry nodded slowly and Hermione’s smile faltered.

“I thought I’d ruined our friendship, Hermione,” Harry said, a little quaver of emotion in his voice. “I can’t begin to tell you how terrible that made me feel.”

“Oh, Harry.”

“I was afraid, Hermione. I allowed fear to stop me from dealing with him.”

“Harry, please. This is Ron.”

“No, Hermione. I’m not going to stand by and watch anyone take Justin and Susan’s home away from them.”

Hermione seemed to be searching for some response.

“You know,” he said softly. “One day you’re going to have to explain why you couldn’t have come to me. Why am I practically the last person to know?”

Tears welled up in her eyes as he spoke. He reached out and pulled her close to him while she sobbed quietly.

“Come on,” he said gently after a moment. “I think some visitors are making their way back this way.”

Hermione wiped her eyes and they continued to walk slowly towards the house. They didn’t speak, each being lost in their own thoughts. Harry thought the grass didn’t look quite so vibrant as it had then they set out earlier.

“Um, Harry?”

Harry immediately heard the warning tone in her voice and looked up. The house was only a few yards away now, and waiting for them between two lion statues was Ron.

*

“There’s a bit of a stink around here, Hermione,” said Harry, not troubling himself to lower his voice as he walked towards Ron.

“Harry,” warned Hermione as Harry continued to quicken his pace and leaving her further behind.

Harry took in the dark, expensive looking robes that Ron wore. He looked a little strange wearing tailored clothes rather than second hand robes, but there was no doubt he was comfortable with his new affluence.

“I thought it must be some of Justin’s animals, but I’m not so sure now.”

Ron shifted his travelling cloak to reveal his hand hovering above a pocket showing the top of his wand. Harry too moved his hand ready to draw and fire.

“Careful, Harry,” said Ron evenly. “I wouldn’t want to take you in for a breach of the International Statute of Secrecy.”

“Well, we ought to find somewhere a little more private then,” said Harry. “You’ve got some explaining to do and I wouldn’t want to restrict your responses.”

“Are you threatening me, Harry?”

“Run if you want, Ron.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Oh, yes you are,” said Harry, quickly reaching out to grab Ron’s arm. Ron tried to pull back but his reactions were too slow and they Disapparated together.

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Chapter 7 - One Honest Reason

A very red faced Ron shrugged himself away as soon as they Apparated and stumbled slightly. Ron’s immaculate robes seemed to attract the dry light-brown dirt to them at once.

A moment later they had both drawn wands and distanced themselves.

Harry drew a little encouragement from the fact that a strong-willed wizard could never have been forced into a side-along Apparition, and they both knew this.

Ron looked around and sneered.

“What’s the matter? Didn’t you want Hermione to hear?”

Harry didn’t answer but instead allowed Ron a moment to look around at his surroundings. He took a few steps to the side and climbed to the top of a low wide mound that raised them up only a couple of feet but it was enough to see over the long glass.

Ron followed, keeping his distance.

“Where is this place?”

“We’re in one of the lion enclosures,” replied Harry. “If you look carefully you can see the Reptile House over there behind the fencing. They grow the tall reeds over there to give the lions some privacy, so we shouldn’t be disturbed too quickly. So, are you ready to answer some questions?”

Ron didn’t answer.

“Was it you who gave that story about me and Susan to the Daily Prophet?”

Ron smiled and shrugged.

“That was cheap, Ron. Really cheap. I can’t believe you thought it would keep me away from here. I assume you thought something happened between us in the past?”

“Hermione always thought so.”

“So you decided to reinforce that notion. Very few people knew some of those dates, though. You should have known you’d be one of the first people I suspected. Why drag Ginny into it too?”

“That wasn’t me, actually,” said Ron. “The Prophet has a massive file of gossip about you they’ve been dying to use for ages.”

Harry breathed out slowly, determined not to lose his temper.

“How did you know I’d done an interview with the Quibbler, anyway?”

“Easy. I found a note from Luna telling Susan all about it that last time I came here. She wrote how the Defence League would have to be taken seriously but I also knew they were poking around the Ministry. The last thing I needed was an expose on my activities.”

“Well, I’m glad they didn’t have to go to too much trouble. You do know that without your intervention those investigations would have come to nothing? They didn’t have a shred of evidence.”

Ron said nothing but his ears went slightly pink.

“Why are you even bothering to try and steal this place from Justin and Susan, Ron?”

“Look around you, Harry. They have no idea of its potential. This place is wasted on them.”

“Hardly. They seem keen to really make a go of things.”

“Harry, they live in a house that can repair itself and yet they are desperate to collect enough Muggle money to do repairs. I mean, all they’d need to do is perform the right restorative charm to get the place going again and that heap of a house would be as good as new!”

“I think Justin and Susan are more concerned about all the Muggle workers they employ around here. They can’t use magic or the Muggles would realise something was up.”

“Who needs them? A few house elves would be much cheaper.”

“Well, you’ve certainly thought things through. I understand that the Muggle paperwork is all in order too.”

Ron just smiled.

“How will you explain all this, though? I don’t think you appreciate how popular those two have become. They are practically the poster couple for the Muggle Relations office. Won’t people think it unjust that Justin suddenly loses his inheritance to you?”

“Me? Oh, no, Harry. That’s not quite right.”

“We know about the Muggle Doctor.”

“I’m impressed,” said Ron, but not sounding at all bothered. “However, it isn’t the good Doctor who almost took this place. No, the records clearly show that one Harry James Potter was intended to get the deeds. It will be shown to have been a clumsy and obvious forgery, of course. The good Doctor will only then be expected to inherit. Then, due an ancient legal quirk, the poor old quack will discover that the inheritance passes on only with a small parcel of land. I only bought it for sentimental reasons, naturally,” he added with mock sincerity.

Ron was grinning widely when he’d finished.

“I suppose the good Doctor will have to have an accident before all this is over?”

“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic, Harry. No, a strong memory charm will do nicely.”

“Which you already administered?”

“One can never be too careful, can one?”

“Is there any point in asking why?” asked Harry.

“Why? WHY?!!” shouted Ron, his voice provoking distant roars from the lions.

Ron fought to control himself, breathing deeply.

“It’s always you, isn’t it?” spat Ron. “Everything I do is compared to you, and I always come up short. I get promoted in record time and all I hear is Harry Potter turned down an even better job before I even started. I finally scrape together enough gold to rent a half-decent flat and then it’s Harry’s place is so much nicer. Even when I try to propose a toast at my own sister’s wedding party! Oh, no. Harry’s not here and we can’t start without him and then there’s the eternal favourite Why can’t you be more like Harry? No, I’ll never get tired of hearing that old one!”

Ron wiped his face with his sleeve.

Harry lowered his wand, an act of sheer contempt that showed in Ron’s eyes at once.

“I’m not sure what’s more laughable; your ramblings or the fact that I believe you. There’s one thing I’ve never understood, Ron.”

“What?”

“Hermione thinks all this started after the pair of us got trapped. I’m really not so sure about that, but I can’t understand why you’ve never actually come out and asked me what happened. I’ll bet you’ve never asked Hermione either, have you?”

“No, of course not.”

“You’ve been punishing Hermione all this time and yet you’ve still no idea what she’s supposed to have done.”

“I know well enough,” Ron answered in a low snarl.

“No, you’ve only supposed what happened. No-one but Hermione and I knew what really happened in there. I’ve never told anyone and I doubt she would, somehow. So, here I am and you’re still afraid to ask me?”

Ron swore at him.

“Well, maybe you were right. Still, I’m going to tell you what happened anyway. That way you can have at least one honest reason to hate me. Certainly, it was the last time I remember being truly happy. You can hate me for that too, if you want.”

“Happy? I thought you were surrounded by Death Eaters, or was that a lie as well?”

“You know we were. You must have watched them come and go the entire time. You remember, Hogwarts had been occupied for months before we found we had to get back in there again. I got through the forest okay, and I was about to cross the grounds to the castle when Hermione caught me up.”

Harry smiled, remembering how angry he had been with her.

“We agreed to wait for you,” said Ron with a touch of annoyance. “She just tore off as soon as she realised how many Death Eaters would be waiting for you in there. The hole in the wall just threw me back again. By the time I realised I’d forgotten the charm that could open the hole again she’d gone.”

“Well, we made it into the castle,” continued Harry, “but then things started to get a bit tricky. Somehow they knew we were hiding and they started to tear the place apart looking for us. Even Voldemort had a go, sending all manner of things down the secret passageways. We had the Marauder’s Map and my Dad’s invisibility cloak to help us while we searched, though.

“I remember wondering if Peeves would appear and give us away, but he seemed to have gone along with all the students.

“We eventually found what we were looking for in the Great Hall. It was nailed to one of the rafters above the sky illusion. That was a great place to hide anything and I think we stayed up there for two nights listening to the comings and goings in the hall below us.

“It always amazes me to think that we must have been sitting almost directly below one of the most powerful magical objects ever created the whole time we were at school.”

“What did you do with the Talisman, Harry? I mean, after you used it to destroy the Horcuxes.”

“Dumbledore didn’t trust the Ministry to know where it was hidden, so if you don’t mind I’d prefer to keep its new location a secret.”

“Why didn’t you use it against You-Know-Who? I saw when it turned Dolohov to dust.”

“Yes, I remember being concerned for you at the time. The Talisman works by redirecting any spell against the castor, but you’re not invincible. Killing curses can’t be deflected and it kills indiscriminately.”

“Why were you concerned for me?” asked Ron indignantly.

“You seemed to become a little obsessed after you saw the effect it could have. Sometimes you seemed to talk of little else.”

“But a wizard with that Talisman could achieve anything. I’m sure that’s why the Ministry expected you to assume power.”

“No. I promised Hermione I’d never use it again and the Ministry had no idea I even had it. I’m not letting you have the Talisman, Ron. It’s far more dangerous to the wearer than any attacker.”

“I could handle it,” said Ron defiantly. “Tell me where it is and I’ll let Lord Justin keep his pile.”

“No. I’ve got a feeling Justin and Susan wouldn’t be too impressed if the price for them keeping their home is more death.”

“More death? The Talisman is a defensive object.”

“No, the name given to it is just a little ironic. There’s really no point in discussing the finer points of the Talisman since I hope you never see it again. Where was I? Oh, yes. I was telling you about Hermione and me.”

Ron looked around nervously.

“Where are the lions?”

“They were in the main compound over there,” said Harry, pointing off to his right. “This area was empty yesterday, but they use it to separate the cats when they have to.”

“Oh.”

“So,” said Harry, getting back to his reminiscences. “There we were up there hiding up in the rafters in the Great Hall and spending quite a lot of time wondering how we were going to escape since all the entrances were guarded. They’d collapsed all the tunnels too. I must admit I wanted to use the Talisman to get us out of there, but Hermione thought that would be a bad idea, because then Voldemort would know we had it.

“It’s probably wrong to admit it, but really enjoyed myself those few days. I suppose the months of collecting the Horcruxes with no concrete idea how to destroy them was beginning to get me down.

“I was tired and stressed, and it was only a matter of time before I did something stupid. Part of me realised that was why she came after me. I didn’t admit it at the time, but I was very glad she did.

“It took a long time to explore all the hiding spaces up there in the roofs. I’ve never seen such massive timbers, although it did take Hermione a little time to get used to the height.

“She used the time we had up there to calm me down and get me to re-focus on what really mattered. That had been impossible outside, what with all those constant interruptions. In the end I was almost reluctant to leave.”

Ron had been pretending to be uninterested up to that point, but couldn’t hide his curiosity.

“I’d come to realise that killing Voldemort wasn’t the most important thing to me. That came as a bit of a shock, actually. I tried to explain it to Hermione, but then she became impatient for us to find a way out of there.

“She refused to wear the Talisman herself, of course, so we climbed up and made a hole through the roof. Once outside, we found our way along the parapets towards the towers where we found an old school broom wedged into one of the rainwater chutes.

“We managed to fly down to the ground safety, but it wouldn’t carry us higher than a few feet and you could walk faster. Unfortunately we lost the cloak on the descent.

“I’m not sure when they discovered us, but we were out in the open when they attacked. We barely made it to the concealed opening in the boundary wall, but fortunately the Order was waiting to help once we got outside the school grounds. The Defence League charged in moments later too.”

“I was there too,” snarled Ron.

“Yes, but I didn’t see you fighting. In fact, I didn’t see you at all until it was all over.”

“I attacked Dolohov,” Ron reminded him.

“If you say so, but he didn’t appear to be particularly impeded when he attacked me. A stray curse was reflected back against him by the Talisman, of course.”

“Are you saying I was a coward?”

“You were afraid, Ron; but so were many people, including me. Fortunately, many people overcame that fear. In fact, you actually went one better.”

“How do you make that out?”

“You managed to use my fear to your own ends. It was only shortly after that Ginny asked me what had happened. I didn’t tell her, of course. She said the three of us were different after that, but none of us would talk about it.

“I know I felt differently and I could tell you knew that. I couldn’t really tell about Hermione, though, so I backed off. You see, I-”

“No you didn’t!” Ron practically shouted. “You two were inseparable after that. People may have been careful not to say anything around you, but it was all I heard. She was supposed to be going out with me.”

“Well, quite a few relationships were put on hold, weren’t they? I don’t think anyone could have expected to find romance during those times,” said Harry before adding with a smile, “Well, anyone except Ginny. I suppose she’s the exception that proves the rule.”

“You know? That’s when I really got worried,” admitted Ron. “You weren’t bothered at all that she and Neville were together, were you?”

“Of course not. I’m glad we’ve remained friends, though.”

“Well, you had to, didn’t you?” said Ron nastily. “You needed to turn her against me!”

“No, Ron. You did that all by yourself with the way you treated Hermione. That, and the fact you could out-boast Percy. Anyway, you’ve skipped forward a little too far. We came through the fight with Voldemort somehow.

“That time, you didn’t run, Ron. You saved me and you saved Hermione. I can’t tell you how proud I was of you that day, Ron. No-one overcame more.”

Ron scowled uneasily as Harry continued.

“That whole experience affected me far more than I cared to admit, of course. I felt so guilty about surviving when so many didn’t.

“I couldn’t settle to anything for ages and proper sleep was a long forgotten luxury. In the end there were only two places I felt comfortable: the Burrow and on Hermione’s couch. Actually, that’s not quite true. Those were the only places I managed to sleep.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” breathed Ron. “I really couldn’t believe it when I caught the pair of you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When I arrived at Hermione’s place. I’d been on duty all night but I’d just had notice of my promotion so I went around to tell her straight away. There you were, sleeping on that damn couch. And where was my dear Hermione? Curled right up there beside you!”

“No, Ron. I always slept alone on the couch, although once or twice Hermione did fall asleep in that reading chair of hers.”

“I went ballistic!” said Ron, a savage look etched into his face.

Harry looked at him in complete confusion. If he didn’t know better he could have sworn Ron was telling the truth.

“I’d have woken, surely?”

“Yes, you did eventually. Mind you, you must be a very deep sleeper. Hermione was dancing around, begging me to keep quiet. You hadn’t even opened your eyes before she stunned you. You know? I think that was the last decent bit of magic she’s been able to perform.”

Harry frowned. Could this actually be true?

“She stunned me?”

“Something like that, yes. Anyway, she became a lot more compliant after that.”

“Compliant,” Harry repeated, rotating his wand in his fingers. “I suppose your friendly advice about me becoming a burden to her came shortly after that?”

“The very next day, Harry,” said Ron with a wide satisfied smile on his face.

Harry nodded slowly.

“Well, I’ve only myself to blame as far as Hermione is concerned,” he said coolly. Ron tensed and raised his wand again, recognising the signs that Harry was close to striking.

“Now,” said Harry. “You know I can’t let you take Justin’s inheritance away from him.”

“He had no expectations of coming into this place.”

“No, but everyone around here seems to be pleased with them and the efforts they are making to keep the place going.”

“So what?” said Ron with a derisory laugh. “They’re only Muggles.”

Harry watched the smile on Ron’s face for a long moment before asking his next question.

“Do you remember Twynford, Ron?”

Ron’s smile vanished at once.

“Who?”

“Twynford. He and his family were caught a few days before the end.”

“Oh, them,” said Ron carefully.

“You told me at the time you let them go.”

“Yes. He had two small children and we had nothing concrete on them. His wife was terrified about what would happen to the kids in the Ministry pens. There were all kinds of rumours going around about entire families being sent to Azkaban.”

“At the trials he was identified as one of Voldemort’s main informants at the Ministry,” Harry reminded him.

“Nobody knew that at the time, though. Even you agreed I’d been right to release them and he hasn’t been seen since, has he?”

“That’s right,” agreed Harry. “Kingsley thought it was the right thing to do, although he said at the time he would have kept hold of Twynford himself a little longer.”

“I didn’t know that,” said Ron. “So, what about Twynford?”

“Susan said something to me yesterday that’s been playing on my mind,” said Harry. “She was offered a bribe to release someone.”

“So?”

“Twynford offered you a bribe, didn’t he?”

“He offered me a small gift, that’s all. He said he was grateful for his childrens’ sake.”

“How much did you take?”

“Nothing! Not a single Knut, Harry!”

“I’m not referring to when he was released,” Harry said. “They were all searched and anything of value was confiscated. I meant much later, when you tracked him down. You must have finished your Auror training.”

“You’ve been in the sun too long, Harry.”

“Twynford and his family probably never expected to come out of hiding, especially since he was convicted of collaborating in his absence. Having you track him down and blackmail him must have been quite a treat.”

“That’s a pretty serious allegation, Harry. If you repeat it without evidence then I’ll be forced to sue.”

“Okay, how about coerced? That sounds better, doesn’t it? Kind of thing an Auror might do.”

“Not really. Have you any actual evidence?”

“The problem was that Twynford misled you about the amount of gold he’d actually hidden away. It was considerably less than the amount he’d tried to bribe you with, so you resorted to threats.”

“Rubbish.”

“Twynford was genuinely scared for his family and he could see no future for any of them. What did you think he would do in those circumstances?”

“How should I know?” asked Ron.

“Well, he probably contacted the Ministry and brokered a deal. I know he is going to serve out his sentence and in return his family will be protected. His children will be reinstated on the Hogwarts register too.”

Ron swallowed and appeared to be doing some quick thinking.

“I’d have known about any deal,” he said finally.

“Well, actually Twynford used an intermediary. I brokered the deal with the Ministry on his behalf, but that was before I knew anything about your involvement with this place. I may have to alter the terms of that deal now.”

“So, you’ve been busier than we’re led to believe?”

“I couldn’t very well turn them down. Twynford’s family are blameless in all this and, after all, you were right about him.”

“He was an informant!”

“He was too scared for his family not to provide Voldemort with whatever he demanded. Twynford even tried to get himself caught a long time before the end, you know? He signed and dated every document he copied and passed on. Anyway, he’s agreed to spend a little time in Azkaban.”

“Two years, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, but he won’t spend that long on the island,” said Harry. “He was to be in hiding until your trial.”

“My what?”

“Your trial, Ron. Twynford has agreed to give evidence against you.”

“The Wizengamot won’t convict me based upon the word of a convicted supporter of You-Know-Who!”

“We won’t need to rely on just his evidence now. Twynford was obviously smart enough to realise that too. It was his idea, wasn’t it? He probably said that although he couldn’t give you cash, he could find a way for you to come into a great once-magical estate provided you weren’t averse to a little forgery.”

Ron didn’t answer.

“I’d like to think you got cold feet at that point. I bet Twynford let you suggest making it look like I had forged the documents. Did you even ask if Twynford knew anyone who could do the actual forgery work?”

“Yes,” Ron admitted. “But you’re not entirely right. The documents will show you forged only one document, preventing me from inheriting.”

Harry just laughed.

“Ron, you idiot. Twynford stitched you up nicely. The documents all point right to you not me. It was your name that came back from the Muggle Land Registry!”

“What? How did you know about Twynford anyway?”

“Well, I told you I brokered the deal but the link with this place was pure luck. In fact, if it wasn’t for Hermione mis-remembering the name I’d have forgotten all about it.

“You see, I happened to visit the cottage they were hiding out in, and when I arrived the children were just ending their piano lesson. It was nice, sitting there listening as they finished up. The Twynfords were very proud of their children.

“Anyway, while they were showing the teacher out, the eldest child began quizzing me about Hogwarts as she would be going there with the new intake. She made a point of showing me the letter that had arrived a few days earlier.

“I only saw the envelope briefly, but it struck me at the time that it hadn’t been addressed to Twynford.

“I asked Mrs Twynford about that a little later. She explained that they had been using his mother’s maiden name for quite a while in the Muggle world. Do you remember what that name was?”

“I wouldn’t know, would I?”

“No? You see, his mother was actually Muggle-born and their family came from Norfolk. The family name is Wirrell you see? The good Doctor Worrell probably never had anything to do with the land. He only had a similar surname. I’m guessing Twynford chose him at random so that eventually they would be the ones to make a claim on the Estate. From what Justin said earlier, they might even have a genuine claim on this place.

“So, d’you get it? You go to jail and they take the Estate. Nicely done, Ron!”

Ron swore.

“I was a bit slow putting it all together,” admitted Harry. “I’d completely forgotten them telling me about the name they were using. Besides, Twynford isn’t the only one to have come forward and seek a deal. Quite candidly, I’d have to agree that there is virtually no chance of you being convicted on Twynford’s evidence alone.”

Ron didn’t look like he took that much comfort from this.

“Using Twynford to try and swindle Justin and Susan out of this place was a huge mistake, Ron. Monumentally stupid.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“I feel obligated,” Harry said truthfully. “Your parents’ support has meant more to me than I can ever repay and I think they have suffered quite enough. If you go now and stay away I can delay your trial indefinitely. Well, a public trial, anyway and that’s only if I can get Twynford to drop any future claim on this place.”

“Maybe that won’t suit my plans,” Ron said defiantly.

“Well, that’s something else we need to have a chat about, isn’t it? You have enjoyed a pretty rapid series of promotions.”

“So?”

“So,” Harry said carefully. “I think someone is waiting to collect on all the assistance rendered to you. Right now, I must admit I don’t know who that could be.”

“I owe nothing,” said Ron. “If I did, I wouldn’t tell you anything.”

“As I said, we’ll talk about that presently,” Harry said calmly. “Now, I was going to tell you-”

“You think I’ve no choice but to co-operate,” interrupted Ron, now looking a little agitated.

“I think you need time to see just how limited your choices are, Ron. For now I’ll just say do as you like,” said Harry. “I’ll give you until midnight tonight. That will give you time to say goodbye to your parents, but after that if I ever hear of you making a reappearance in the magical world I’ll hunt you down and arrest you. That’s a promise.

“I’ll give you one alternative. You can report to the Ministry voluntarily and then take your chances with the Wizengamot. Being as your job means you’re supposed to be acting on the right side of the law, you can expect fairly harsh treatment. I’ll make sure you have enough gold for your defence, but this has to be something you want to do. It won’t be easy, but you’ll eventually clear your debt.”

“Have you forgotten which one of us is the Auror?” demanded Ron.

Harry just raised his eyebrows and Ron swore again.

“That’s why that damn post wasn’t available,” Ron managed to say through gritted teeth. “You were working for the Ministry the whole time!”

“No, not all the time, and actually I’m not-” Harry began to say but stopped abruptly. “Ron! Don’t move. Don’t move a muscle.”

“Why?” Ron began to demand, but froze the moment the lion walked out of the long grass.

Harry couldn’t quite believe just how big the cat was when this close. It was the male too, and Harry expected him to be particularly territorial.

The lion looked back and forth between Harry and Ron as if deciding which one to fell first. Harry noticed a small shaved area on one leg and a fresh surgical wound. He guessed the male had been separated for a while to receive treatment.

“Disapparate away, Ron. Go now!”

“No,” said Ron with a tremulous voice. “I’m not going to be responsible for killing you, despite everything.”

“Ron,” said Harry very quietly. “Talk more softly. He’s getting agitated. Just go, will you?”

The lion turned and stared at Harry for a long moment with keen intelligent yellow eyes. His face was marked with several old battle scars. Harry looked right back at him and then took a single deliberate step forward.

The lion lurched forward towards Harry, but started at the loud Crack! made by Ron as he Disapparated away. Harry heard a distant scream die away.

“Alright, Caesar,” said Harry in what he hoped was a non-threatening tone. “You’re still the king around here. No contest.”

Harry stepped backwards down off the low mound. Caesar moved towards him but stopped the moment the lion was standing on the top of the low mound of compacted ground.

The roar that followed was so loud it almost made Harry splinch himself as he Disapparated away.

-

AN: Ah, it looks like Ron won’t find out what the one honest reason was, after all. Got it yet?

Almost done now. Next: Luna returns!

The Pride

by Jardyn39

Chapter 8 - I’ll Get It, Shall I?

Harry Apparated to the top of the metal observation platform just as he heard the metallic thumps of someone running up the steps three at a time. An instant later the sprung gate clanged and almost swung off its hinges as Hermione shoved it open and ran right for him, gasping for breath.

He half-turned and had to grab hold of the railing to stop himself toppling over after Hermione had launched herself at him. The whole unstable observation platform seemed to wobble uncertainly for a moment and it felt like the railing was becoming lose at one end.

“Harry! What were you thinking of?”

Meanwhile, Caesar was roaring louder than ever over in the far compound.

Trusting that Hermione wouldn’t actually push him off the viewing platform, Harry let go and put both his arms around her. Her heart was thundering against his chest.

“Hermione, you’re shaking!”

It took a moment for her to control her breathing, but finally Hermione grabbed hold of his shirt and dabbed her eyes before burying her face again.

“When I get my magic back I am so going to jinx you,” she threatened, making Harry smile down at her.

“Did you run all the way?”

“No, Susan almost ran me down. She gave me a lift. I assumed you would attempt to feed Ron to that Python of yours.”

“Barry? Well, I was considering that but I remembered the inner compound at the last moment.”

“Justin is going to be very disappointed in you for disturbing his lions.”

“By the sound of all that roaring, I’d say he was fine. I’ll go and apologise later.”

“You’re not going back in there!”

“Um, I meant I’ll apologise to Justin, not the lion.”

“Oh.”

Caesar stopped roaring for a moment making Harry glance behind him. Caesar was still standing at the top of the low mound, looking right at Harry through the dividing fencing. A moment later he was roaring again and Harry smiled.

Maybe he would try and persuade Justin to let him go back in and apologise after all.

“What did you do with Ron?” she asked.

Harry’s face fell.

“I let him go, Hermione. I’ve given him until midnight to say goodbye to his parents. I can take you to the Burrow if you want.”

“What?”

“If you want to go with him. He’ll be on the run, though, at least at first.”

“Do you want me to go?”

“No, Hermione. That’s honestly the very last thing I’d want, but I’m not going to try and stop you.”

“Ron is going on the run? He admitted it, then?”

“He’s a pretty useless criminal, actually. He didn’t hurt anyone and I don’t think he got much money either. I’m pretty sure the Minister will agree to a short sentence, and then he’ll be able to return.”

“But you’re making him run now? Does Ron know he’ll get a lenient sentence?”

“No, we were interrupted. Tell me what you want me to do, Hermione,” said Harry.

“I don’t want Ron falling into even more trouble just because he thinks he has no alternative.”

Harry sighed and said, “Okay. He did offer to let me Apparate away from Caesar first, I suppose.”

“Caesar?”

“The chap who’s doing all that roaring down there.”

“Oh. How about if we ask Mr Weasley to have a word with Ron? Perhaps he can keep in contact with Ron and check up on him until he gets himself sorted out. Then he can go to Azkaban for a few days.”

“Months, Hermione.”

“Weeks,” she countered.

Harry just rolled his eyes and realised she was still hugging him very tightly.

“You’re really not tempted to go with him?”

“No, Harry. He deserves a chance to redeem himself, though.”

“What about me?”

“Yes, Harry, even you.”

“So, um,” he began, wondering if he dare go on. “What’s this about you stunning me?”

Hermione’s eyes snapped up and she went rigid. Harry smiled down at her.

“I was terrified. Ron was angry enough to do anything and you might have really hurt him.”

Harry put on a sceptical look.

“Alright! I didn’t want you to know; get the idea that,” she said before trailing off. Hermione bit her lip and her eyes moistened.

“It’s okay,” he assured her gently. “No wonder I slept well on your couch, mind!”

“I only did it the once! I was just mortified at what you’d say.”

“Hermione, you know what I’d have said; well, what I’d have said after Ron had gone, maybe.”

Hermione shook her head slightly.

“Um,” began Harry before swallowing hard. “I think it’s about time I admitted that Mrs Weasley may have been right all along. Actually, I seem to recall you were almost pushing me off a great height the last time I tried to tell you that.”

“Oh, Ginny will be pleased.”

“Ginny?”

“Who do you think gave Mrs Weasley the idea in the first place?”

Harry groaned remembering how Ginny had refused to listen to his protests and felt Hermione chuckle against his chest.

“How long do you think they have been conspiring?”

“Harry, please. You didn’t think you were the only one she was dropping hints to, did you?”

“Well yes, apart from Luna and Ginny, obviously. Let’s talk about you for a moment, can we? I think you shouldn’t be alone until you’re completely well again. Either stay with your parents or with the Weasleys.”

“Or with you?”

“Sure, absolutely, if you’d like. But you’re going to consult a Healer and get some time off work. Ron said stunning me was the last decent magic you did. Did anything happen?”

“No.”

“Hermione, what if I’d been carrying the Talisman? You could have been killed.”

“You promised me you would never use that thing again!”

“I’ve been moving it around trying to find a suitable hiding place. I could have had it in a pocket, or something,” he said, suddenly feeling rather scared at what might have happened.

“Is it somewhere safe now?”

“For now, but I need to find a permanent hiding place.”

“Why not give it to Caesar?” suggested Hermione. “Susan said he can recognise Wizards.”

Harry frowned.

“That’s an idea. It would have to be hidden, though. We’d need to be sure there were always lions to guard it.”

“I’m sure Gringotts would exchange your gold for Muggle money. You could make a donation to the park. How does the Humbled Harry compound sound?”

Harry snorted and said, “Hey, I heard your scream a mile away! I’m definitely calling it the Howling Hermione compound!”

Hermione laughed and continued with, “Petrified Potter?”

Harry was laughing too much to think of another so quickly.

“Are you sure you want to stay at my place?” he asked, still chuckling. “The cooking’s much better at the Burrow.”

“It’s the company that counts most,” she said quietly.

“No more night-time stunning, though?”

“I’m not promising anything. Anyway, you’ll need to fix your place up first. It was quite a mess when I left.”

“It was?”

“I went back to my own flat at first. Ron was there waiting for me and demanded to know where I’d been. I’d hoped to get back before he missed me at all. Anyway, I said I was going to pop out and get us both something to eat. He followed me but I cut through the underpass. Those tunnels always confuse him and I managed to board a tube train.

“I thought I’d lost him but I’d barely closed your door when he was opening it again. All the furniture went a bit crazy and attacked him. I managed to Floo here in all the confusion.”

“Well, I think I gave both of you keys but I’ve no idea why the furniture would attack. Why did you go there?”

“I had nowhere to go. Ron was bound to find me anywhere else and I could hardly come back here so soon. I felt awkward about leaving so abruptly yesterday as it was. It was so rude of me, but I felt so uncomfortable. I was scared I’d be called upon to do some magic.”

“So, Ron forced you to come back?”

“I came for much same reason I went to your flat in the first place, Harry. I went there hoping for some reminder of you but I’d forgotten how little time you spend there these days. I wanted to be brave and feel safe like I always do around you.”

“I don’t like it there much either,” he admitted sadly. “No reminders of you.”

“In all the confusion of the furniture flying around, I just ran and tried to hide in one of the bedrooms. All you seem to have is empty rooms, though.”

“Well, I’ve only just moved in. There hasn’t been time to furnish the place.”

“You’ve had that place a year now! Anyway, there was a distraction when Luna showed herself. I think she was doing the thing with the furniture.”

“Luna? What was Luna doing there?”

“She seemed to be expecting you, Harry. Is that the sort of thing you like her to wear?”

“Luna knew I was spending the weekend here, Hermione. She was the one who got me invited to stay here, remember?”

Hermione frowned.

“Then she must have been there for another reason. Does she have a key?”

“No, but she would have no problem getting in if she needed to. There’s no special security.”

“You and she really aren’t?”

“No, Hermione. I expect it was thanks to Luna’s distractions that Ron didn’t come looking for you until this morning.”

Hermione looked up at him and said, “We’re a fine pair, aren’t we?”

He nodded again.

“Hermione, how did you get the fire going for the Floo?”

“Did I not mention the fire?” she said innocently. “It sort of spread to the hearth and I threw Floo Powder at it.”

“There was a fire?”

*

Harry really wasn’t happy as he descended the stairs. Susan had just thrown him out of the private apartments at wand point and threatened to hex him if he prevented her from tending to Hermione properly.

He knew better than to argue after that. Susan never made idle threats and he’d seen first hand just what she was capable of.

Harry still thought, however, that he was the best qualified to look after Hermione and rather resented his exclusion. After all, she was much calmer now than she had been.

In any event, Susan made it very clear that she wasn’t impressed and was torn between hexing him and tending to Hermione.

Susan had eventually sent him off in search of Justin, probably to be told off like a three-year-old, but he knew this was just an excuse to get him out of the way while she interrogated Hermione further.

He arrived at the bottom of the stairs and had entered one of the airy display rooms before he knew where he was going. A party of bored looking Scouts stood around and a few clusters of them seemed to be conspiring to slip away from their Guide.

Harry saw one youth elbow his friend hard in the ribs to get his attention and he turned to see what had caught the boys’ attention.

The figure-hugging outfit Luna was wearing seemed to draw disapproving stares from the portraits all around the room. The stares were on the whole rather more approving from the live occupants. He’d never seen her with her hair done up like that before, revealing discrete gold earrings. The high heels she wore too made her look tall and slender.

She paused a moment and then headed straight for Harry.

“Hi, Harry,” she said, apparently unaware of all the eyes now upon her. “Are you here for the meeting too?”

“Meeting?” asked Harry, moving to block the view the admiring boys had of the long slit in her skirt. Luna however stepped over to admire one of the table displays.

“Luna,” whispered Harry. “Is that outfit entirely appropriate?”

“I know! These earrings are all wrong, aren’t they? Well, I didn’t get a chance to change. I only came here because I’d lost track of Ron. He skipped off while I was saying good morning to Mrs Brown.”

“She lives downstairs, I think.”

“Yes. She seemed quite nice but wasn’t too impressed with the hole burned through her ceiling. I was pointing out how much friendlier it was. I mean, you can say hello without going outside now.”

“Yes, Luna. I should have thought of that.”

“Do you know where Ron is?”

“I expect he’s gone to the Burrow. Where do you keep your wand in that outfit, anyway?”

“I’ve sewn some quick-release buttons so I can get to it in a hurry, but I can still just about reach it,” she said, but Harry caught her arm in time.

“I don’t need to see,” he assured her, although several other young visitors in the room probably would have disagreed with him on that point.

“Ah, I think they’re ready for us. This way, Harry.”

Harry followed her into the door that had just opened.

Luna closed the door behind them and indicated that Harry should sit at the end of the long dining table. Luna then took a seat at the side, joining around a dozen people who were obviously witches and wizards.

She immediately picked up a pencil and began sketching a neat little picture of the scene outside the window on one of the pads provided. Everyone else’s pencil and pad remained untouched. Harry decided just to leave her to it.

“Welcome, Mr Potter,” said the wizard at the opposite end of the table. “We represent the leadership of the Dark Force Defence League. We won’t introduce ourselves by name, if you don’t mind.”

Harry scanned everyone present. Each wore an obscuring charm which made their faces look blurred. It was an illusion but had been performed well. He’d seen it before where the blurring effect didn’t move in time with the head making identification possible.

“Where are Susan and Justin?” Harry asked.

“They are no longer active in the organisation, but they do help us out occasionally.”

“So, what do you want with me?”

“Oh, we just thought you’d appreciate a little reminder, that’s all. We wouldn’t want you to forget we are here.”

Harry folded his arms.

“I’ll tell you what I won’t forget,” he said firmly. “I won’t forget the fact that you placed one of my best friends at great personal risk.”

“Weasley was hardly that much of a threat and besides, Miss Lovegood has been monitored constantly.”

“I did volunteer to help, Harry,” Luna said quietly, not looking up.

“None of you knew the true level of risk. Okay, it looks like Twynford was the brains behind some of this, but there has to be more. Someone has been guiding Ron and right now I’ve no idea who that could be.”

“Guiding him?”

“Easing his way through those rapid promotions,” explained Harry. “I thought that’s what you were investigating? Is that right, Luna?”

“Oh, no. That wasn’t me. The League say they have better people placed inside the Ministry for that.”

“Good,” said Harry.

“Good?” asked the wizard at the end of the table.

“I trust Luna, but not you lot. Whoever was investigating the Ministry end was either helping Ron or concealing the truth about what happened. Either way, I’m putting this whole matter under an official investigation.”

“We aren’t the enemy here.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“You can’t make our involvement public. Our work needs secrecy.”

“Voldemort has gone now. Your excuse to remain unaccountable died with him.”

“You’d prefer to trust the Minister’s Aurors? The very people in question?”

“Well, perhaps we can find some people who are trustworthy enough. How about it Luna? Will you come and work with us?”

“Okay, Harry,” Luna answered without hesitation, although she looked like she wasn’t paying them any attention at all now.

“I think you’ll find we won’t be so easy to dismiss,” threatened the wizard.

Harry smiled back at him.

“The Minister already knows my views. I told him a long time ago the terms under which I was prepared to allow him to remain in office.”

“And yet you will let Weasley go because he was your friend. Those are some flexible terms you have!”

“Yes, Ron is my friend. That’s why I’m going to send him to jail. He’ll pay his price to society and hopefully get over his problems. His old job, the one he actually earned, will be there for him just like the Minister promised.”

Luna looked up briefly and smiled at him.

“Perhaps we’ll just lose all the evidence that might allow Justin and Susan to keep this place, then?”

“No, you won’t,” said Harry, standing up. “I don’t need it anyway. Twynford can rot in Azkaban until he relinquishes any claim on this Estate and the Title, as far as I’m concerned. The deal was for the benefit of his family, not him. He got no time off at all.

“I appreciate you taking the time to try and intimidate me, I really do,” added Harry. “We might have had a common enemy in Voldemort that didn’t make us allies. I dealt with him with the help of my friends.

“Susan and Justin and all their recruits are the people I owe my loyalty to, not you. Not the League leadership. You never did anything that might have placed yourselves in danger while the rest of us fought Voldemort. All you ever did was to occasionally join us after the fighting when you were sure it was safe.

“You even deluded yourselves that all those League members died in your service. They didn’t. They died fighting for a cause and its high time their sacrifices were properly recognised.

“I promised myself a long time ago that I’d expose you cowards for what you are. Now, at long last, I might be able to fulfil that promise.”

“Don’t you threaten us, Potter! We are more powerful than you could imagine.”

“You can all expect to be interviewed by our investigators in due course. We already have all your contact details, thanks. Those that co-operate will be treated fairly but don’t expect any deals for clemency.”

Luna got up then but seemed to hesitate.

“Come on, Luna,” said Harry. “We’re done with these people.”

Luna followed him to the door and then out into the larger display room.

“Harry, I ought to return these things,” she said, removing an earring.

“Luna, don’t worry about it. The Minister will cover any cost of your outfits, I’m sure.”

“What, even-?”

“Yes, even down to your underwear,” added Harry, afraid she might decide to remove more than her earrings right in front of the Scouts who appeared to have waited for her return.

“Oh, this was a bit too tight for underwear as well. See?”

*

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” Hermione said for the umpteenth time. “You were working for the Ministry the whole time.”

“I didn’t think you’d be that interested. Besides, it hasn’t been that long.”

“Admit it! You didn’t trust me.”

Harry smiled reluctantly but didn’t answer.

“Summon the soap for me, Harry?”

“You get it,” he said with a laugh that echoed slightly off the marble tiles. “You threw it over there.”

“I didn’t mean to. It slipped out of my hands for some reason.”

“Yes, that was some slip. It must have landed ten feet away. If you want to use soap-on-a-rope again, you’ll need something a lot longer.”

Hermione splashed the water in frustration.

“Get it for me and I’ll let you have the scenic end next time? The view of the lake is rather good.”

“The view’s just fine from this end, thanks.”

“Fine! I’ll get it, shall I? Cover your eyes.”

Hermione pulled a wet towel off the side of the bath and covered herself carefully as she emerged from the sea of dense white bubbles. Muttering the whole time she climbed out of the bath and hurried to retrieve the soap.

“Close your eyes, Harry Potter!”

Harry smiled and obeyed this time, placing a wet hand towel over his face. They had been staying with Justin and Susan for the past few days while Harry’s flat was redecorated. The fire damage had been minimal because Luna had insisted Ron take the trouble to put it out before he left. He hadn’t asked what other distractions there might have been to delay Ron’s leaving, either.

A moment later, he heard Hermione clamber back into the bath.

Harry waited for permission to remove his mask. It still seemed strange that Hermione should move the boundaries of their new relationship so freely but he wasn’t about to argue. They would proceed at whatever pace, forward or backward, Hermione felt comfortable with.

“Okay, you can look now.”

“No, no,” said Harry politely, reaching forward blindly. “Where’s that soap gone now?”

A moment later Hermione squealed and wave of foamy water escaped over the side. At the same time the bath made a deep clanging noise as the soap bar hit the side and went flying again. This time it landed in the far corner of the room.

“Oh, not again,” breathed a very red Hermione between giggles. “What are you doing now?”

“Will you stop kicking, Hermione? I suspect you’ll have Justin’s ceiling down judging from the amount of water you’ve managed to spill. I mean, you already wrecked their antique bed, after all.”

“Me? I thought you admitted how you took a running jump to get up there.”

“Yes, I did tell them that but for some reason they didn’t believe me. Apparently poor Caesar was quite disturbed by all the noise as well.”

Hermione frowned slightly before blushing furiously again.

“Maybe we’ve outstayed our welcome, Harry. The repairs to your flat should be finished soon, shouldn’t they?”

“Hm. I wonder if Luna will leave any of the outfits you mentioned?”

“Why? I don’t suppose they’d fit you.”

Harry snorted.

“Have you heard from Mr Weasley yet?”

“No. Luna managed to catch Ron before he left and persuaded him to go into hiding with her for a while. I just hope they can resist setting the place on fire again.”

“They’re staying at your place?”

“Yes, I assume so. I hardly ever go there, so why not?”

“Ron knows about the deal?”

“No, not yet. He needs time to feel what its like to live life on the run.”

“Poor Ron. Azkaban will seem so much worse if he and Luna really hit it off. She’s not with him, on orders, is she?”

“No! Luna was the League’s fem fatale, not mine. I promise you, she’s done with all that nonsense.”

“Oh. You will try to make things up with Ron?”

She had asked him this question over and over.

“Yes, of course,” he said yet again. “I thought I’d wait until he’s actually in custody, though. Anyway, it was as much my fault than his.”

“Just so long as you try, Harry.”

Harry leaned forward and asked gently, “How about we start those exercises after breakfast?”

“I’m not sure I’m ready, Harry.”

“Hermione, the Healer explained what the problem was and how we are going to fix you up. You’ve no reason to feel guilty now and there are no more secrets to keep between us. It’ll be slow, but you’re already on the mend. You can’t expect everything to come back all at once, can you?”

Hermione shrugged and toyed with the thick foam. The specialist Healer they had consulted had almost more to say to Harry than Hermione about her condition.

Harry had encouraged her to be as open and honest as possible, but had been surprised at just how much Hermione had opened up in the short time they had been together.

“She needs confidence,” she had said after several hours of consultation. “She needs to truly feel loved and to know the love she feels for you won’t be spurned. It’s as simple as that. She lost her magic because she felt she had betrayed those she loved the most.

“Hermione hid her feelings from you out of an obligation to your friend, Ron. You made it seem you no longer cared for her; like you wanted to forget what had almost happened between you.

“Her magic hasn’t gone by any means. It will return and she will be as powerful as ever but only so long as she feels like she is being true to herself.”

“I should keep telling her how much I love her?” he had asked.

“No, it isn’t that simple. The words alone will never be enough. In the beginning she’ll want to share a level of intimacy you won’t expect and a moment later she’ll push you away. She just needs to know you’ll come back no matter what and that there are no conditions to your love.”

“Confidence?”

“Confidence,” the Healer had agreed.

“You know?” said Harry. “I can’t remember feeling this happy and relaxed since-”

“Since the last time I was this happy and relaxed,” Hermione finished.

Harry smiled and nodded.

“You know that’s when I fell for you?”

Hermione snorted and blinked as her eyes moistened.

“Great timing, wasn’t it?” said Hermione. “Alone, surrounded by dozens of people who wanted to kill us and you had to choose that moment to get randy.”

“Not so long ago I’d have given anything to be back there again, with you.”

Hermione nodded.

“I wouldn’t let you shrug me off so easily this time, though,” he promised. “One minute you were all over me, and the next-”

“Harry, what did you expect? I suddenly realised that we were perched on a purlin at least fifty feet off the ground!”

“Well personally, I was just too lost in the moment to care. To be honest, I thought you were too at first. Besides, that roof timber was perfectly safe. It was well over two feet wide where we were.”

“I still shudder just thinking about it!”

“I only wanted another kiss!” Harry said indignantly. “After all, the first one was over rather too quickly.”

“You wanted a little more than that, Harry,” she reminded him gently. “Still, I’m sorry for the way I reacted. I was uneasy about the height up there anyway, but I knew I was betraying Ron. Well that and imagining what Voldemort would have said if we’d slipped off and landed on his dinner table.”

“Yes, that would have been embarrassing,” agreed Harry. “Still, I’m sure Professor McGonagall would appreciate another visit and you’ve got time off from work. Maybe we could give her a call?”

“Shut up, Harry,” said Hermione in the tone she reserved just for him but still going very red.

Harry grinned at her.

“I almost suggested we move up to the battlements but you seemed to be in a bit of a mood after that,” teased Hermione. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just checking how well you’re treating my leg.”

“I think you’ll find it was my other leg, Harry.”

END

-

AN: Well, that’s it for another. Thank you for reading and especially for your kind comments.

I’m currently trying hard to finish one last story before DH that I’ve just started. This one will be much lighter exploration as a sober Harry tries to keep his inebriated friends out of too much trouble before they collide with Hermione’s hen party ...