13 The Grape Vine

…

The sun rose majestic over the vineyards casting its joyous rays down on the elves already hard at work. They were all seasoned and tested before the vine having toiled at their particular profession for decades under their former master before being passed along to their new master along with the vineyard itself.

Harry stood up on the balcony of the château overlooking his happy workforce as they meandered about the vines. He had worked those vines once, years before when the owner had offered to sell him the vineyard. At the time he hadn't felt he had the experience to run a business. Several years and a handful of experience later things had changed, and instead of buying the vineyard it was, with the owners passing, given to him.

Of course it couldn't happen without someone contesting it, his estranged children for example. Not that this had stopped him from coming out and examining his new property. The vineyard was given to him and Pansy would see that the dissenters were handled, she was very good at that. So was he to be fair but his method involved a lot of bodies and he really didn't need that for something so minor as this.

He was happily sipping his tea when Pansy arrived, fresh and pressed as she always was, except when just crawling out of bed.

"Good news?"

"I had to explain to them in very small words and angry tones but I got the message through" she said, laying down an official looking bit of paper.

He smiled, set down his tea and stood, "Pansy you're a peach" he said and kissed her on the cheek.

"And a very expensive peach let's not forget" she reminded him.

Harry laughed at this. Her self-worth had come a long way from the day he'd found her begging on the street, it was nice to see the new Pansy was such an improvement over the old one.

"So, how are things back in old Blighty watt?" he asked, returning to his seat and taking up his tea.

"I suppose you haven't heard, being out here for the past week."

"Oh, something interesting?"

"Someone or someone's have brought a forcible end to the rather undistinguished term of Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt" she proclaimed laying the newspaper down on the table.

"Do tell" he said absently setting aside his tea in exchange for the paper.

"Apparently three days ago an undetermined number of persons penetrated the minister's office, stabbed him in the back, and left without ever being seen. Happened the same day I was wrapping this up" she said gesturing to the first piece of paper she'd presented, "For all I know I might have even seen them."

"There was only one" he said as he stared at the crime scene photo on the inner pages.

"How can you tell?"

"If there'd been more than one there'd be more than one blade. Why just leave the one after all?"

"I suppose that makes sense" she acquiesced.

"Then there's the cloak."

"What cloak?" Pansy leaned over his shoulder to see where he was pointing and sure enough, hanging off the back of the chair was a simple black cloak.

"Okay, so he left his cloak hanging on the chair, why is that important?"

"It's important because it's not his" Harry stated, "I knew Shacklebolt well enough to know he'd never leave his cloak hanging on the back of his chair, he was far too meticulous. And if you look you'll see the cloak itself is much too small, Kingsley was a very tall man."

"So, why's it there?"

"To complete the set" said Harry.

Pansy merely looked at him befuddled.

"Pansy, you know what I used to do for the minister?"

"The sort of things polite people don't talk about" she offered.

Harry nodded, "Yes, the sort of work one might call 'cloak' and 'dagger'."

Harry saw as the light came on and his lawyers expressing went from confused to shock.

"You mean…"

"It seems possible that someone knew what was going on and this is their way of saying 'I know what you did', that is one possibility" said Harry striking a thoughtful pose, "it's also possible that after I left the Minister attempted to replace me and this is how it ultimately turned out, the cloak and dagger in this case being a private joke. Then there is of course the third possibility."

"What's the third possibility" she was almost afraid to ask.

"That I'm reading too much into something that I've no intention of looking any further into anyway."

Pansy had to resist the urge to face-palm at that, it was something she found more than a little aggravating about her employer, his ability to jump so quickly from dead serious to dead 'not' serious.

"And what if it is someone who knows what you did?"

"So what if it is?" he retorted.

"You're not the least bit concerned that there might be an assassin out there with your name on their hit list?" she demanded with her best scowl.

"Not in the least" he replied, impervious to the scowl.

Before she could retort he held up his hand to stop her then turned a single icy eye in her direction. She felt a shiver run down her spine and suddenly understood what it meant to be a mouse staring into the eye of the cat.

"Pansy, I am going to tell you something that you don't know" he said with an eerie calm.

"Okay" she said with only a slight 'gulp'.

"There are two reasons I do not fear this person and they are, attitude, and history."

He turned his gaze away from her and she took a deep breath of relief before considering what he'd just said and coming to the obvious conclusion, "what the hell is that supposed to mean."

Harry grinned, "by leaving such obvious hints they're clearly very confident in their abilities, not just confident but cocky, arrogant, stupidly sure of themselves. That sort is seldom even half as good as they think they are."

"Alright so that's attitude, and history?"

"Would it surprise you to know that I've fought off assassins before?" He asked though didn't wait for an answer, "The first one was a month after Voldemort and periodically since then they'll pop up and take a shot at me. In fact I deal with at least one assassin on the anniversary every year, usual more."

"You and your curse" she muttered, "so you don't think someone who could sneak into the Ministers office in the heart of the Ministry might be able to get the drop on you?"

"Despite what some may believe the Ministry is not that well-guarded and the Minister's office is far from impenetrable. If they do come after me I'll put them in the same place I've put all the others."

Pansy groaned and shook her head. It really wasn't a surprise to know her employer, the 'infamous' dark lord slayer had people after his head, though it was disconcerting that he could be so laissez faire about the whole thing.

"Merlin I need a drink."

"Well your certainly in the right place" he teased, "though isn't it a bit early in the day for that sort of thing?"

"Oh stuff it you" she said and walked off in a huff.

Harry chuckled quietly to himself as he watched her walk off. Hated to see her go but loved to watch her leave.

"Man that is one crackin arse."