Chapter Twenty-One: Reading

I glared at Astoria's wand in my hand. "You are useless," I muttered.

For the past two hours, I'd been trying to get started on making our secret room, but Astoria's wand wouldn't hear of it. Every spell I tried to cast was feeble, not near strong enough to do what we needed. Laying on my stomach on the bed, I turned the pages of the book in front of me, looking for something else that might work. If I had my own wand, I'd probably be finished by now.

Ron barked and licked the hand that was hanging off the side of the bed. I smiled at him.

"I'm not giving up. Just—frustrated."

The doorknob turned. I didn't pay much attention—I assumed it would be Draco. Only when Ron barked did I look up, and I jumped slightly.

"Daph!" I shut the book and sat up on the bed. "How are you?"

"I'm all right." She looked curiously at Ron. "How was Italy?"

"Marvelous, of course," I said with a smile. "We should go together some time, just you and me."

Now her curious gaze was directed towards me. "What kind of game are you playing, Stori? You'd rather die than go on a trip with me."

"You have every reason to think that," I sighed, "but lately I've been taking a look at my priorities. I'm trying to change, Daph."

"I see that." She looked at Ron again. "Since when are you a dog person?"

"I'm not," I laughed. "Always a cat person. But this guy stole my heart."

I scratched behind his ear. He wagged his tail.

Daphne crossed the room and sat next to me on the bed. She looked like she was going to ask another question about Ron, but paused when she saw the book.

"What is this?" she said, grabbing it.

I tried to take it back, but my reflexes were too slow.

"Advanced Concealment and Cloaking Charms?" She snorted as she flipped through the pages. "What are you doing with a book with the word 'advanced' in the title?"

I put on a pout. "You know, I may still be your little sister, but I am twenty-three now."

She laughed. "Okay, what are you trying to do? Maybe I can help."

What am I trying to do? I glanced around the room. My eyes landed on Ron, and I found my answer.

"I'm trying to cover up his horrible scars," I said, gesturing to Ron. "So I thought, a concealment charm—"

Daphne shook her head and set the book down. "No, I know exactly the spell you want. Remember when I had all that horrible acne? Still do. I just cover it up."

"I don't know if that spell will work on a dog."

"It should." She pulled out her wand and pointed it at Ron. He backed up slightly. A white light shot out of it and hit him in the face. He whined and shook his head, but nothing had changed—the scars were still there.

She frowned. "That should have worked."

I didn't say anything. I knew exactly why it didn't work. That spell was meant to cover up scars, yes, but the marks on Ron's face as a dog weren't scars—they were the distinguishing markings of his animagus.

"Well, thanks for trying," I said with a half-smile.

She stood. "I'll go to the library and see if I find anything useful. I'll just take this back with me—"

I put my hand on the book. "Actually, I rented it from a bookshop," I blurted out, "so I'll just hold on to it for now."

She stared at me a minute, then laughed. "You went into a bookshop? Merlin, you really are trying to change."

I let out a sigh of relief as she walked out, but couldn't help but smile a little as well. Ron whined and pawed at his face. I laughed.

"You know I love you with or without your scars," I said sweetly. He stood on his hind legs, put his paws on the bed, and licked my face. I laughed again.

After a few more minutes of trying (and failing) to make headway with Astoria's wand, I set the book on my nightstand and left the room. As I came down the stairs, Draco came out of the study, followed by Blaise Zabini. He grinned at me. I smiled back, trying not to look annoyed.

"You're just in time for dinner," said Draco.

"Actually, I was going to take Billy for a quick walk around the gardens. I'll eat when I get back."

"Perfect, then you can walk me out," said Zabini. His grin sent a shiver down my spine.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," I said to Draco and kissed his cheek. Ron didn't look pleased, but he didn't growl this time.

Zabini and I walked out the front door together. I turned right to head toward the gardens, and was surprised (and a bit alarmed) when he turned right as well.

"I thought you were leaving," I said, trying not to sound too eager.

He smirked. "And skip the opportunity to be alone with you? Not a chance."

Suddenly, he pushed me up against the wall and began snogging me. Before I even had a chance to react, it ended—Ron growled and jumped on him, and he fell to the ground.

"What—?"

"He probably thought you were attacking me," I said, catching my breath. "He's very protective."

Zabini scowled at him and drew his wand. "I'll teach this dog to behave."

"No!" I knelt on the ground and put my arm around Ron. Slowly he started to calm down. "He's just a dog, he doesn't know any better. Besides, it's probably a good thing—what if someone had seen us?"

Zabini groaned as he stood. "I'm tired of waiting. I want you to ditch Draco already and come back to me."

"Believe me, I want that more than anything," I said, hoping I sounded convincing. "Is there any news? Anything I can use to dig up some dirt?"

He shrugged, obviously resisting the urge to curse Ron. "The Emperor finally took my advice and put spells around the Weasley's old excuse for a house. An alarm was triggered about a week ago, and we sent Carrow to patrol. The next day, another alarm was triggered and we found him with his memory wiped. We must have missed them by seconds."

I put on a frown. "How is Carrow?"

"He can't even remember his name! If I hadn't been at the funeral myself, I would've sworn it was Granger."

I looked genuinely surprised. I'd only meant to wipe a day from his memory, not his whole life. I guess I forgot how powerful that spell was—and what it was like to use a wand that obeyed me.

"Sounds like someone tipped them off about the patrol," I said, shaking it off. "How else would they have gotten out of there so quickly?"

Zabini shrugged. "Carrow can be careless."

"But he's a competent wizard." I stood. "I can't imagine they would have gotten to him unless he was taken off-guard, and I can't see that happening without the rebels knowing beforehand he was going to be there."

Or him seeing someone he didn't expect, I thought.

Zabini eyed me thoughtfully. "I'll look into it. You should look into Draco's alibi as well. Did you ever get separated in Italy?"

"Never for more than a couple minutes. I stuck to him like a permanent sticking charm."

"Well, look into it anyway. Maybe he sent some kind of note while you had your back turned."

I folded my arms. "I resent the implication."

Zabini smirked. "Oh, don't be that way, sweetheart. You know I think you're the most brilliant witch who ever lived."

I felt like I was going to barf.

He kissed me cheek, eyeing Ron as he did so, and left. I sighed and knelt down next to Ron again.

"Thanks for that," I whispered in his ear. He barked and wagged his tail.

We did a quick loop around the gardens before returning to the house. Draco, Daphne, and Lord and Lady Greengrass were all already sitting down for dinner. Draco stood as I entered.

"Darling, I love you, but your dog isn't allowed in the dining room."

Ron whined. I sighed.

"I'll take him upstairs and be right back," I muttered.

When we reached the bedroom, I folded my arms and looked at Ron. "Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone, understand?"

He barked and jumped on me, licking my face. I laughed as I stumbled backward. My hand hit the concealment charm book and it fell open on the ground. I gently pushed Ron aside and bent to retrieve it, pausing just before I closed it. I read the spell described on the page, my heart beating faster. It was perfect!

I opened the drawer in my nightstand and pulled out the other book Luna had given me, flipping through the pages till I found the one I'd marked. These two spells together—if I could just get Malfoy to let me use his wand—

I grabbed Ron's face and kissed his nose. "I love you," I whispered. He barked and licked me again, wagging his tail.

A/N: I'll get at least one more chapter up today :) As always, thanks for the wonderful support!