*Story, lyric and chapter names are based on the title of Beatles' songs*
As always, anything other than the OC or otherwise cited, belongs to JK.
Stay tuned! And enjoy ( :
You don't look different, but you have changed
I'm looking through you, you're not the same
Harry's POV
I strode into Kingsley office without even stopping to knock and walked straight to Chloe. She was sitting in one the chairs facing the Minister, looking small and frightened. I dropped down on both knees and lifted her chin up with one of my hands, reaching for her hands with my other.
"Are you ok?" I asked.
She nodded affirmatively but her eyes betrayed her gesture.
"Tell me exactly what happened" I asked.
She did and by the time she was done, I was furious. It was one thing for whoever it was to threaten me, but not those I love.
"I'm going to oversee things at the antique shop" Kingsley said "Please take as long as you both need"
I watched him leave before turning my attention back to Chloe. She was still staring straight at me.
"They are bringing the man in for questioning, and I will personally question him. I'll get to the bottom of things Chloe, I promise. No one is going to hurt you, ok?"
"I'm not worried about them hurting me…. The man said they are going to kill you Harry"
"They won't, Voldemort himself couldn't. I will be fine"
"He said there is nothing I can do to keep you safe…. I don't want to lose you"
"Chloe, aren't you worried or scared for yourself?" I asked incredulous.
She blinked a few times as if my question had caught her off-guard.
"Of course I am, but I'm far more concerned about you"
"Please don't"
"Why not, you are concerned about me as well, aren't you?"
"Yes, but I have to. You wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me"
"What are you talking about?"
"They are coming for you to hurt me. I ended things with Ginny the first time to avoid exactly this. Neither of you deserve to be used like that"
"Are you saying you are going to end things between us then?" She asked, her voice rising as she pulled her hands from mine.
"I… I hadn't thought about it until now, I needed to be sure that you were fine…. But perhaps it would be the right thing to do… for the time being"
"The right thing for whom?" She asked standing up and crossing her arms, all traces of fear taken over by anger.
"For you Chloe. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me"
"Rubbish! The right thing for me is to be with you"
"And risk getting yourself killed? Don't you understand how serious this is? That man could have killed you today"
"Do not patronize me Harry Potter. I am well aware of what could have happened this morning"
"Then you must agree with me that staying away from me is the best thing for you. Be logical"
"You want me to be logical? Fine then, let me be logical. It does not matter if we are together or not, we love each other and they can still hurt you trough me. It makes no sense for us to be apart when the results can be the exact same as if we were together"
"Not if we can let go. You work for the Obliviation department; this could be easily taken care of. You know what Hermione did to keep her parents safe"
The moment those words left my mouth, I knew I had crossed a line. Chloe's expression grew somber and angry, the likes I had never seen before.
"Well then, looks like you will get what you want after all. Good bye Mr. Potter" She said, in an icy and controlled tone, before pushing past me and leaving.
The moment she slammed the door behind her, I slammed the desk, grabbed whatever was close by and threw it across the room. I calmed down soon enough and pulled out my wand to fix everything. It had been a long time since I had been this mad. I looked up at the door, contemplating whether or not to go after her, but decided against it. I needed time to think, and judging by the look on her face when she left, she needed time to wind down.
Chloe's POV
I ran out of Kingsley's office and all the way down to the atrium, occasionally running into people but I didn't bother to stop and apologize. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and I eventually did, apparating straight to my room once I was out of the Ministry. I threw myself in bed, not even bothering to take off my shoes, and let the tears fall freely. At one point, the sickle in my pocket grew warm and I pulled it out. Malfoy was asking if I was ok, he had just heard what happened. His gesture caught me off-guard, but I was not in the mood to talk so I wrote back yes and threw the sickle across the room. I skipped lunch and dinner, staying in bed the entire day.
Dad came to see me soon after I arrived home, and I hated the look on his face; the last time I had seen him like that was the day mum died. He made me tell him exactly what had happened this morning, even though he told me the Minister himself had stopped by to see him, and my besides my objections. I didn't tell him about my fight with Harry and I didn't talk very much beyond what I absolutely had to. He left me alone after a while, promising he would be coming to check on me later. And, eventually, I cried myself to sleep.
I woke up still feeling bad. The clock on my nightstand showed eight thirty in the morning and I jumped up in shock; I just couldn't believe I had slept for so long as the last time I remembered looking at the clock had been at seven last night. It took me a while to convince myself to get up and shower, but I did and when I stepped out of the tub, I was feeling slightly better. I left my room and walked to the living room, where one of my elves served me some tea; I ignored the bowl of cereal. They handed me a few letters, the first from Evelyn, one from Ava, one from Dan and Oliver, one from Kingsley, and the last one from Hermione. I opened Evelyn's only and it said for me to take a few days off, much to my delight.
I was about to reach for a book to try and occupy my mind when dad walked in.
"Morning Chloe, how are you?"
"I'm fine" I lied.
"Chloe, I've known you for nineteen years, I can tell when you are lying."
"Shouldn't you be at work?" I replied, eager to change the subject.
"I'm taking the day off, to say here with you"
"You don't have to do that dad, I'm fine, really" I said, even though I appreciated the gesture.
"Walk with me" he said, opening the French doors that led to our yard and stepping out.
I stared after him for a few seconds before finally getting up and following him. He walked to the end of the yard, where it boarded the woods, and after turning back to make sure I was following, continued to walk. We walked deeper and deeper into the woods, in silence, for a few minutes. The sun rays were peaking thought the trees, and I looked around in wonder, appreciating the beauty of it all. I wasn't sure how long we walked in silence, but eventually dad finally spoke.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"We already did"
"I'm not referring to what happened at the Antique shop"
"What are you referring to then?"
"The real reason why you are upset, Harry's absence"
"Oh" I said, looking down at the leaves covering the ground.
"It is very curious that he hasn't been around, don't you think?" Dad nudged.
"Not at all. We are no longer together; he has no reason to be here" I replied dully.
"And why is that?"
"He doesn't want to risk my life; he doesn't want me to get hurt because of him"
"You know I have to agree with him on this"
"Fantastic" I said, sarcastically, but having known from the start he would be like that.
"Let me finish Chloe. I agree with him, yes, I don't appreciate the danger you are in because of him. But I also think that both of you are making a mistake"
"Both of us? I wasn't the one who wanted to end things"
"But you were the one to walk away"
"How…?"
"You ran past a lot of people on your way out Chloe, it is hardly a secret something happened between the two of you"
"Bloody wonderful" I grumbled, looking down again.
"You should go talk to him"
"Not a chance. He should be the one coming to talk to me"
"And if he does?"
"Then we will work things out I guess…"
"Do you love him?" He asked bluntly.
"Yes" I replied, blushing slightly.
"Then fight for it darling"
Dad's words shocked me, I had not expected him to say that. I had expected him to say Harry had been right and that I should stay away from him until they caught whoever was behind all of this. Neither of us spoke again for a while, dad humming to himself while I thought about what he had said. It sounded like something mum would have told me. We had stopped walking now, dad a few steps ahead of me. We were at a clearing, and all around us forest animals went about their business. It felt as if we had entered another world, one in which we didn't quite belong. I looked up as the breeze picked up, and suddenly I felt like flying.
"Dad?"
"Yes Chloe"
"I went flying with Harry a few weeks ago"
"You did?" he said, turning around to face me with a look of genuine wonder "And how was it?"
"It was fine at first, it felt so good being in the air again… but then I saw mom the day she… and I began screaming and he took us down"
"I'm proud of you for trying; it wasn't ease on me either the first few times. You should give it another try"
"I know. I also dreamed of mum that night and she looked… peaceful. I really miss her"
"I miss her too darling" He said, wrapping me in his arms.
"Thanks for the talk dad"
"Anytime Chloe. Would you like to go in and have some breakfast now?"
"Yes, that sounds lovely"
I shouldn't have been surprised to find Malfoy in my room when I went back upstairs after breakfast with dad, but I was.
"Shouldn't you be at work?" I asked, wondering why no one seemed to be where they should today.
"You didn't answer my messages" He said, holding his sickle up and looking slightly annoyed.
"I did, I told you I was fine"
"And then you stopped replying"
"Why does it even matter?"
"How many times do I need to say this? There is no point in risking my life if Potter, and now you, get hurt. Would defeat the purpose"
"Fine, I get it"
"Where is your sickle?"
"Somewhere over there" I said, pointing at the area where I remembered throwing it "Accio sickle"
"You must have been very upset" He observed, as the sickle flew over to my hand.
"Absolutely"
"The news going around is that you and Potter had a big fight"
"I don't want to talk about it"
"Neither do I"
"Then why are you here?"
"I have already told you. I wanted to make sure you were fine and now that I have, I should really get going"
"Thanks for stopping by Malfoy, but you shouldn't worry about me"
"I know"
"I trust you don't know who that man was, or who sent him?"
"No, but I'm working on it. I will contact you if I have anything"
I watched the sunset from my favorite spot on the roof, although I hadn't been here in months. After spending most of my day with dad, I welcomed the silence and solitude this little hideaway presented. Soon enough, darkness had engulfed my surroundings and the stars winked at me from above, the crescent moon shining the brightest among them.
The distance sound of footsteps broke the peaceful silence around me and I wondered who was climbing up the stairs to meet me. I figured it would be dad, but it was Ava's brown hair that I saw peeking from the trapdoor. From the corner of my eye, I watched as she finished climbing up the stairs and sat down next to me on the roof.
"Your dad said he hasn't seen you in hours. And I hope you appreciate how hard it was for us to figure out you were up here, or how wearing it was for me to climb those stairs"
"Ava, you climbed two extra flights of stairs to get here, quit whining" I said, rolling my eyes.
"Why are you doing here anyways? I thought you were over this place"
"I don't think I will ever grow tired of this place. If you had seen the sunset I just did, you would understand"
"Perhaps… how are you doing? And I mean how you are really doing. Don't try lying to me, it won't work"
"I'm still shaken, I can't stop thinking about that man and his voice is constantly playing in my head. And I'm hurting"
"Because of Potter?" She said, adding an emphasis on his last name.
"Potter?"
"He doesn't deserve to be called by his first name. He hurt you and I don't take it lightly"
"Well then, yes, because of Potter"
"Tell me what happened"
After taking a deep breath, I told her what had happened after the Minister left and, against my better judgment, I laughed a couple of times as Ava huffed and puffed and made irritated faces.
"Your boyfriend is a twit"
"Ex-boyfriend"
"Don't be dim, you only had a fight" She said, with a wave of her hand.
"It wasn't just a fight and I pretty much walked away from him. It sounded very definite to me"
"You are a dimwit"
"Ava!"
"I'm your best friend Chloe, I will tell it as it is"
I shook my head from side to side, a small smile on my face. She was bonkers, but I loved her for it and she was unquestionably the best friend anyone could wish for.
"Can we talk about something else now?" I asked.
"Like what?"
"I don't know, anything new going on with you?"
"Well, yes actually. Do you remember how I used to talk about writing books on the history of the wizarding world?"
"Vaguely, you only mentioned it every day during our sixth year" I joked and she playfully hit me in the arm.
"Very funny Chloe, very funny. Well, I mentioned it to Jasper a few days ago and this morning he told me that he might have something for me. One of his best friends back in Wales, Henry Cromwell, is the son of a local publisher and owner of a bookstore. Henry asked his father to meet with me and he said yes. I'm going to Wales in a week to meet Mr. Cromwell"
"Ava that is brilliant!"
"Yes it is. Of course I still have to write an outline for the book"
"Any ideas?"
"Many. I want to write about Harry and his fight against You Know Who. I know there are plenty of books out there addressing this, but none with lots of inside information because Harry and his best friends have declined any interviews. Before Potter messed up, I was going to ask you to talk to him for me, maybe he would agree if you asked"
"I'm not going to do that Ava, even if we were still together. It wouldn't be fair to him and I'm not getting between the two of you. If you want it, ask him yourself"
"I'm not asking him anything until he apologies to you"
"Don't count on it. If what Hermione has told me about him is true, he is not going to risk my safety so we can be together. And he said so himself yesterday"
"As I said, a twit"
"What happens if Mr. Cromwell decides to publish your book, would you leave the café?"
"I don't know. Maybe I would have to but I would like to do both"
"What if he wants you to move to Wales?"
"He would have to pay me well enough that I could afford my own place. I'm not going back to my parents; you know I can barely handle them the few times I visit"
"They are not that bad Ava" I said with a chuckle.
"You say that because they are not constantly questioning you as to why you haven't chosen a career yet and saying you can't work as a waitress forever"
"My dad has no reason to question me about that, I so happen to have a career"
"Are you trying to make me feel worse?"
"No, but you know it's true. And you know your parents behave as such because they care about you. I think it would be far worse if they didn't care"
"Would be less stressful"
"Have you told them about meeting with Mr. Cromwell?"
"Yes, they are overjoyed about it, like I already have the job. They will be a nightmare if it doesn't work out"
"It will work out. He is going to be very impressed with you and your ideas"
"Well yes, who isn't?" She said and it was my turn to hit her "Hey, I have an idea"
"I can't wait to hear it" I said, in feign sarcasm.
"Let's go away this weekend, just you and I. We haven't done that in months!"
"That's actually not a bad idea… except I'm not sure my father will be happy about it. Let's not forget someone very clearly threatened my life yesterday"
"What if we could visit my uncle up north?"
"The one that lives in that huge castle?" I asked, excitedly.
"Yes, we would be safe there with him and his castle is big enough that we would have our privacy. C'mon Chloe, say yes!"
"Let me ask dad first, I don't want him worrying"
"I don't think that's a good idea" A male voice said, and both Ava and I jumped.
"Harry?" We said in unison.
"What are you doing here?" Ava inquired, rather menacingly.
"I came to see Chloe"
"What if she doesn't want to see you?" Ava asked, crossing her arms.
"Um Ava, I'm right here remember?" I joined in "I can answer for myself. What do you want Harry?"
"To talk. In private"
"How long have you been listening to our conversation Potter?" Ava asked, completely ignoring what I had just said.
"I just heard the last bit"
"And how dare you just show up like this, after hurting my best friend?" Ava said, reaching for her wand "I should jinx you"
"Ava, its ok" I said, before she could actually do just that "Do you mind?"
"Yes I do" She replied, but she stood up and headed for the stairs anyways "I will be waiting for you downstairs, call me if you need me to handle him, ok? I meant it; I will jinx him if I have to"
"I know that. Thanks"
With one last look at Harry, Ava disappeared down the trapdoor. As soon as she was gone, I pulled out my wand and placed a silencing charm around us.
"So…. The roof?" Harry asked as he sat down next to me.
"Unusual, I know…. I flew up here once, a long time ago, after mum and I had a fight. It was late at night and my parents ended up finding me here, asleep, in the morning. Father was furious at me for falling asleep on the roof, so he flattened this area and placed the necessary enchantments to keep me from slipping down, and to protect me from the weather. It's been my hideaway ever since"
"And the trapdoor?"
"Dad conjured it and the stairs for me after mum died… he knew I wanted to come here but wouldn't dare fly. I come here every time I'm upset or hurt, which was all the time for a while after what happened to mum, but I hadn't been here in months"
"Until I managed to both upset and hurt you" He said with a sad voice.
"That's correct" I replied with a flat tone.
"I'm really sorry Chloe; I shouldn't have suggested erasing our memories"
"Or breaking up with me"
"I just want what's best for you; I want you to be safe"
"I'm willing to take the risk Harry"
"If you get hurt…"
"I won't"
Inching closer to me, Harry put his hand on my face and gently turned it towards him. When our eyes met I heard the man's voice again, telling me Harry would die, and my heart began to beat violently.
"Does the Ministry have him? The man from the shop?" I asked.
"Yes, someone has tampered with his memory just as they did with the waitress. All we know so far is his name, Frank"
I involuntarily shivered at the man's name and edged closer to Harry.
"I have interrogated him, and so have Landon, Kingsley and Ron. Evelyn has also worked on him, but whoever enchanted his mind did a thorough job. The Auror's office has someone with him at all times as well; we are not taking any risks this time"
"I want to see him"
"No, you are not going anywhere near him"
"It is not up to you Harry Potter. I want to see him" I repeated.
"And how is that going to help?"
"I don't know, but I need to do this Harry"
"Are you sure?" He asked, looking down at me with his piercing green eyes.
"Yes"
"Fine… but I'm coming with you"
"Okay" I said with a nod "And I do suggest you and Ava have a talk, you saw how mad she is at you"
"Do I really have to?" he asked with a groan.
"Of course"
"Fine, but only because you are asking"
"Thank you"
"I'm really sorry I hurt you Chloe. I love you far too much not to worry"
"I love you too"
We smiled at each other briefly before Harry leaned in and kissed me. We stayed on the roof a while longer, simply enjoying each other's company, but our little moment was soon interrupted when an impatient Ava came back up. I laughed, perhaps too hard and earning an annoyed look from both, at their conversation. Ava bickered at Harry as the protective friend she was but Harry held his own surprisingly well. When all was well, the three of us headed down for dinner with father. After Harry and Ava left, the former having promised to come meet me in the morning so we could go to work together, I headed back to my room. I took a long bath before slipping into my nightwear and heading back to the room, wanting nothing more than to sit by the fireplace and read a book but as I reached for the book, I noticed the sickle had a message from Draco. He was coming to meet me in five minutes, if I was up to it. I quickly wrote him back and sat on the armchair to wait for him.
"You look better" He observed, sitting next to me.
"Harry came to see me"
"Finally came to his senses, I take?"
"Yes. But what brings you here Malfoy?"
"I have something for you. I was invited to attend another meeting earlier today. There were less people there tonight and none with masks, for I already knew all of them"
"The Goyels? Parkinsons? Crabbles?"
"Exactly… but there was one more person… my father"
"What?" I said, much louder than necessary.
"Honestly, why are you so surprised? It was only expected. Besides, I found out that whoever has infiltrated our side is the one responsible for poisoning Landon and the man who tried to attack you"
"But you still don't know who it is?"
"No, I haven't been told that. And there is one more thing; my father performed the memory spells on both the waitress and Frank. The other person assisted father, especially at the dinner. He or she was there that night"
"Are you sure?"
"Father said so himself"
"And you trust he isn't lying?"
"I know my father Chloe, he was saying the truth"
"Thanks for letting me know"
"What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know, but perhaps…. Tell me about your father"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Every time a person performs a memory charm, they leave behind certain footprints. If I can have a general idea of the person your father is, maybe I can find those footprints and break the enchantment"
"Is that really possible?"
"It has been done before. However, possible does not equal easy"
"I understand" He said.
He talked about his father then, telling me as much as he could and felt comfortable with. I took notes as he spoke and when he was done, placed a protective spell on them before putting them aside.
"Malfoy, if I succeed, will you be ready?"
"I believe I answered this question the moment I agreed to our arrangement"
"Yes, but we didn't know then that your father is involved"
"He made his choices Chloe, I have made mine" He said, standing up.
"Did I upset you?"
"No, I can't stay much longer. Keep me informed of your progress with Frank, and be careful. Trust very few"
I watched him go, and with him went any chance that I might sleep tonight. Thoughts of what he had said, how I could pass the information along, and how I would try to break the spell Lucius had put on Frank were floating in my head and I was anxious to get started. The next morning, when Harry and I arrived at the Auror's Department, by the room where Frank was being held, the Minister, my father, and Evelyn were already waiting for us.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kingsley asked.
"Yes, I need to see him. And I want to work on him"
"Chloe, this is advanced, even for you" Evelyn said with a sympathetic look.
"It doesn't matter, I want to do it"
"Let Ms. Evelyn go in with you" Father said "And Harry, of course"
"Only if I can get a few minutes alone with him first"
"That was not what we agreed on" Harry said.
"You are not going in there alone Chloe" Father agreed.
"Fine" I said, with a hint of irritation "Can we go in now?"
"I will warn you he hasn't said a word since we brought him in" Evelyn said and I nodded.
"Ready?" Harry asked, reaching for my hand with his left one, his right hand on the door knob.
"Ready"
We walked in. Frank was sitting in a small and uncomfortable looking bed, staring at the celling. He didn't bother looking at us directly, until he seemed to notice me. Slowly, he shifted his focus directly to me and his lips formed a smile, the same creepy smile he gave me the first time we saw each other.
"I wondered when you would come see me" He said, his voice just as full of malice as before and I squeezed Harry's hand "Tell me, would you like to know exactly how you are going to die?"