Disclaimer: If I had a Time-Turner...I'd own Harry Potter...but I don't...so I don't.
AN: it's a shorty, but hey, better than none at all. if you're really good i'll post another later. oh. who am i kidding? i'll post it anyway. *kisses*
Chapter 13
"Has anyone sent an owl in response?" Ginny was pacing nervously in the Owlry of Hogwarts.
"They'll come." Harry hoped they would come. He hadn't seen some of them for years and the owls they sent were completely devoid of details, but he maintained high hopes. Bill was busy with the Room of Requirement, making arrangements for sleeping accommodations, and scouring the library for more information in the Restricted Section.
"Let's just go into Hogsmeade. If uh, when they come, we'll be there to greet them." It really was the best he could do. It wouldn't ease Ginny's anxiety, but it was better than watching her pace.
"D'ya think she's alright, Harry?" Ginny let Harry lead her down from the Owlry, down moving staircases, through twisting and turning corridors until they were outside to the path leading to Hogsmeade.
"I…I don't think Malfoy's going to hurt her or anything, but I don't think she's been alright for a long time. I think we didn't notice. I think we've got to fix it, or at least try."
It was the middle of the night by this point, yet Hogsmeade was alight with witches and wizards engaged in various conversations. The Three Broomsticks had opened its doors raising a cheer among the crowd.
"You didn't owl Ron did you?" Ginny's frantic voice was barely heard among the chatting witches and wizards. Harry shook his head violently.
"Won't be able to keep it from him for long." Harry looked over the gathering, taking in every face, subtle surprise etched on his own.
"Harry! It's Harry!" The gentle hum of conversations died down; each witch and wizard present looking at him expectantly. He couldn't see who had shouted, but it didn't matter.
"Oi! Harry, what's this about?" Seamus Finnegan laughed, downing his amber glass of liquid. Ginny gave Harry a none too gentle shove forward.
"Well, uh, thanks for coming…short notice and all." He shuffled his feet, kicking up a small cloud of dirt.
"Yeah, yeah Potter! Get on with it then!" Another voice shouted from the back.
"I, well, I could use your help. It's a bit of a quandary really. Unusual circumstance, but I can't figure this out on my own and…"
"What's Granger good for then eh?" Cormac McLaggen found himself shoved over by Neville Longbottom of all people.
"Yea, see, that's the problem. She's in a bit of a fix along with uh, well with…" Harry paused, unsure how to tell these witches and wizards in front of him, who fought beside him in the Battle of Hogwarts; it was Draco Malfoy who required their aid.
"Draco Malfoy." Bill Weasley interjected, stepping forward beside Harry. There was a collective gasp, turning into grumbles of anger. The crowd lessened as some of them Disapparated on the spot. Harry and Bill stood silently, waiting for the last vestiges to make their decision.
"Neville Longbottom. Susan Bones. Hannah Abbott. Luna Lovegood. Seamus Finnegan. Dean Thomas. Cho Chang. Oliver Wood. Angelina Johnson. George Weasley. Gregory Goyle? Really? Bill Weasley. Ginny Potter. Harry Potter." Headmistress McGonagall read the list of names without malice.
"Goyle kept saying he owed Granger before falling into a drunken stupor." George snickered.
"Ron Weasley is not on this list." Headmistress McGonagall glared at them over the top of her spectacles, waiting.
"No, Professor, see, well uh, Ron has a bit of an issue where Hermione is concerned. 'Specially now, with Malfoy as well so we, well, we decided to leave him out of it, for now." Harry still managed to feel like a school boy in trouble with his Headmaster whenever Minerva glared at him.
"Granger and Malfoy, Dumbledore would be pleased." She dabbed the corner of her eyes with a lacy handkerchief.
The group of former Hogwarts students sat on thin mats on the floor of the Room of Requirement, looking to Harry expectantly.
"Alright well, it seems Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy have a sort of unexplainable connection. No, we don't understand it. No, we don't know much of anythin' really, other than they share night terrors and there's some sort of scar. No, I haven't seen the scar." Harry answered unasked questions when Neville or even Gregory Goyle would raise their hands.
"Harry, I can research Herbology. Perhaps it's some sort of poison, but a bezoar would fix that right quick…" Neville flushed.
"No, yeah Neville, it could be anything', better to cover everything." Harry patted Neville on the back kindly.
"It could be Nargals. They haven't been studied properly for years." Luna Lovegood's wispy timbre created silence.
"Uhm, yea sure, Luna. So you'll head that up then." Harry looked to Bill for encouragement, but Bill was busy stifling his laughter.
"Goyle. We'd like you to uhm well, first, why are you here?" Gregory Goyle wasn't the hulking oaf they remembered. He was still large, yet somehow less imposing.
"Fiendfyre." Harry nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose, remembering the incident which took place exactly where they were standing.
"Alright then, we'd like it if you contacted the Defence against the Dark Arts Professor and shared anythin' you can remember about your interactions with Bellatrix Lestrange." It really was the only common denominator for torture as far as Draco and Hermione were concerned. Goyle stared at the floor, neither confirming nor denying he had heard a word Harry had spoken.
"George, we'd appreciate it if you just…kept Ron at bay." Bill and Harry had decided to keep George as far as possible from any impending doom. He was still a bit fragile, considering.
"Wait, we don't get to hex the wanker?" Oliver Wood piped up looking quite angry.
"No, we'd rather prefer that didn't happen…" Harry looked to Bill.
"We want to help him, if you can't understand that, perhaps you're in the wrong place." Bill's half smile was petrifying.
"Bugger this!" Oliver Wood and Cho Chang stormed from the Room of Requirement and no one bothered to stop them.
"Hannah, please assist Neville. Angelina, same with George. Susan, if you could stick with Goyle, we'd appreciate having another set of ears about."
"Oi! What 'bout us, Potter?!" Seamus and Dean stood with their arms crossed, waiting for words of wisdom or even direction. Harry was at a complete loss. He didn't have a bloody clue what to do.
"Perhaps, you boys just keep your ears open and we'll owl you if necessary." Bill slumped onto an available mat, his eyes already closing.
"So, do what we already do. Awesome! We're fantastic at doing nothing!" Seamus and Dean slapped each other's hands, practically skipping from the room.
"I'm knackered." Harry spoke to the ceiling, while reclining on yet another incredibly thin mat.
"Shut up, I'm sleeping." Bill gave Harry a bit of a kick to the arm. Neville and Hannah were in deep discussion, Goyle was fast asleep while Angelina and George stood quietly snogging in the corner. Harry wished Ginny was present, but one of them had to be the responsible parent.
"Have you checked the family book of spells?" Luna's voice rung out in the darkness.
"The what?" Harry sat up, his hair pointing in various directions.
"The Malfoy Family Book of Spells. All of the old pureblood families have one you know."
"Luna, you're bloody brilliant."