Chapter 52
Butterfly
Author's Note: For those wondering about the Snape confronting Quirrel scene, that was after the Quidditch match. I decided to skip that. Harry remembered that happening so he decided not to risk being seen.
Malfoy's lawyer will be discussed this chapter, and I realized a while back I made a mistake in his name... different last name in two different chapters. His last name is Beauford, not Beaumont. Just clearing it up.
Disclaimer: Recognizable sections of this chapter come directly from Chapter 14 of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling. I do not
take claim for these, only my own additions.
(Sirius' PoV)
February 14th, 1992
Sirius walked down the corridor on the second floor of the Ministry of Magic, muttering to himself, wondering why Amelia had to work today... on a Saturday, and Valentine's Day to boot! He had planned all week to spend the whole day with her. The two of them had been very busy over the past month: Sirius had almost non-stop Auror duties, which was usually just minor missions and paperwork, and he had also been working on plans to restore the Potter house at Godric's Hollow. Out of the past four weeks, he and Amelia had two weekends with each other, and a handful of lunch dates during the week.
That morning, she had sent him a letter stating she had to be in the courtroom that morning for an unexpected hearing. So he decided to surprise her with lunch, and hoped she was available. There were things he wanted to talk about with her anyway. In one hand, he had a large paper sack with lunch from the Leaky Cauldron. In the other, he had his black briefcase.
He walked into the front office of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, where Amelia's secretary, Samantha, was reading one of her trashy romance novels.
"May I help you?" she asked, not looking up from the book.
"Haven't you found someone to take your mind of those books?" Sirius asked, "It is Valentine's Day."
Samantha smiled as she looked up at Sirius.
"Romantic dinner planned tonight with an old classmate from Hogwarts," she said.
"Should I be jealous?" Sirius asked.
"You're not my type," Samantha said.
"Too old?" Sirius asked.
"Wrong gender," Samantha said, with a wink.
Sirius blinked; that was unexpected. "Well-played. Is Amy in?"
"Depends," Samantha said, "Is she expecting you?"
"It wouldn't be a surprise visit if she was," Sirius said.
"She's in," Samantha said.
Sirius smiled. He walked across the room to the door, which was unusually vacant of security Aurors. Sirius knocked on the door.
"I'm busy, Sammy," Amelia's voice said inside the room.
Sirius smiled and opened the door, then peered inside. "Even for the love of your life?"
Amelia looked up from something she was working on and grinned. She motioned for him to come inside, and he obliged and shut the door behind him. She stood up, crossed the room, and put her arms around his neck in a hug, before kissing him.
"Surprise?" Sirius said, when Amelia backed away.
Amelia grinned. "I should have known. I'm sorry... I know you planned a day for the two of us. But, I got a post this morning and had to come in today. There was an arrest last night, and I have to work on the case file before the trial on Monday."
"Anything you can talk about?" Sirius asked.
"Depends," she said, "Is that lunch?"
"BLTs and chips, Butterbeer, and a heart-shaped cherry pie," Sirius said, "Tom's Valentine's special."
"We can talk about it," Amelia said.
"Brilliant," Sirius said, as he followed Amelia over to the desk, "Because I also have things to talk about."
She raised her eyebrows and he indicated the briefcase.
"You first, though," Sirius said.
He sat down, and took out two Styrofoam trays and Butterbeer and handed one of each to Amelia.
"Remember Sam Beauford?" Amelia said, before starting on her sandwich.
"Lucius Malfoy's pet lawyer?" Sirius asked.
"Exactly," Amelia said, "My department has been investigating him. And he was finally him last night. A list of bribery charges as long as my wand. Could get five years in Azkaban. I've been working on it all day, and earlier this morning, I received an owl from one Greyson Uley. Ring any bells."
"That dwarf lawyer?" Sirius asked.
"Mmhmm," Amelia said, "Beauford never paid him for his stunt appearance in Harry's guardianship, so he's volunteered to be a witness at the case. We could get stuff on Lucius Malfoy too."
Sirius felt his throat tighten. He remembered Harry mentioning he needed Lucius to be a free man in order to get one of the Horcruxes. He took a swig from his bottle of butterbeer to calm himself down.
"Amelia, please do not bring up Lucius on Monday," he finally said.
"Why?" Amelia asked, raising her eyebrows.
"He's... he's a target for our internal investigations," Sirius said, "I am working on him myself. I hope to have him by the end of this summer."
"Is that what you wanted to talk about today?" Amelia asked.
"No... but a similar topic," Sirius said, picking up his briefcase.
Amelia frowned and took another bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. She then wrote down something in her notes.
"Okay," she said, when she finished, "Because Beauford is Lucius' lawyer, Lucius will have emotional leverage in this hearing. He is now barred from the courtroom. That should do it. I hope you know what you're doing with this. I'm only doing this because it is you, and because of our investigation. I don't like it, though."
"I promise his part of this investigation will lead to more arrests," Sirius said.
Amelia nodded. "What's in the briefcase?"
"Do you remember when I told you how I visited James and Lily's house in Godric's Hollow?" Sirius asked.
"Sure," Amelia said, "But you've been very quiet about some of the things you found there."
"James was spending the last few months of his life very wisely," Sirius said, before tapping the case with his wand.
He took out a few peach-colored folders and spread them out over a vacant portion of the desk.
"He was investigating possible Death Eaters and Dark allies who could have been in the Ministry," he said, "There are a lot of names here of people who are not in Azkaban. Some still have very good roles here in the Ministry."
"Which departments?" Amelia asked, frowning.
"Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, International Magical Cooperation," Sirius said, tapping his wand from one folder to the next, "Department of Mysteries..."
"Magical Law Enforcement?" Amelia asked, her eyes wide in fright.
Sirius nodded, "And the Ministerial Offices and Wizengamot."
"James Potter, may Merlin rest your good soul," Amelia said.
"This is what we need, Amelia," Sirius said.
"I'll take the my Department and the Wizengamot's folders," Amelia said, "So I know who to be wary of. But we still won't be able to do anything until this summer."
"I agree," Sirius said, "A number of these people could finger Lucius Malfoy..."
"... and you need him," Amelia finished, nodding.
Sirius pushed the two requested folders across the table and put the rest in his briefcase.
"I'll put these in my safe," Amelia said, as she stood, "Do you need a drink? I need a drink."
"I thought of bringing something, but I'll save it for tonight," Sirius said.
"Mmm," Amelia said, "Can't wait."
She kissed Sirius lightly before she crossed the room to her safe.
(Harry's PoV)
After the victorious Quidditch match, things at Hogwarts seemed to speed up. The end of Harry's first year the second go-round was quickly coming to a close. He strengthened his resolve to keep an eye on Quirrel, but to not make it so obvious. He and his four friends still took turns checking on Fluffy to make sure the dog was okay. Everything seemed to be okay, and Harry hoped that the timeline stayed solid for this part of it.
He and Ginny continued to train Ron, Hermione and Neville in dueling, though they never taught too many spells that would be difficult for first years to learn. They knew if anyone had discovered that five first years could do good offensive and defensive spells, they could be discovered and unwanted questions would come their way.
On March first, Ron's 12th birthday, Harry and Ginny hadn't said much to Ron about his birthday for most of the day. That evening he was fairly upset about it, but he cheered up quickly when he walked into the Gryffindor Common Room after dinner to find a surprise party put together by the Gryffindor First Years and Quidditch team. Ron's grin didn't leave his face until he fell asleep.
Because the last match, against Ravenclaw would not come until June, Quidditch practices had dropped down to once a week, mainly on the weekends. However, the team knew this wouldn't last. Slytherin was due to play Hufflepuff in April and if they won the match with a high score, Gryffindor would have to win their last match to win the Cup, even though they had beat Slytherin their first match.
Percy was still unresponsive and unfair toward Harry and Ginny, even when Ron and the twins would try to talk to him about it. Soon, Mr. Weasley was not only writing to just Ginny in replace of her mother, but he was writing to Fred, George and Ron as well. It seemed Mrs. Weasley was still not happy about the Soul-Bond, and like Percy, was waiting for Ginny to change her mind. Charlie, meanwhile had not written at all. Ginny was still torn between wanting to live at Potter Manor and the desire to rekindle the relationships with her family, and didn't speak on the topic much at all.
Spring came in like a lamb during the first week of April, and this was very welcome for Harry and Ginny. This meant that they could, once again, spend free time at their spot under the large oak tree during the afternoons. Unfortunately, this did not last...
When Easter holidays came around, the homework seemed to rise in preparation for the end-of-term exams in the coming months, so free time was very hard to find.
On the last day of Easter holidays, in which the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Neville had all opted to stay at Hogwarts for, the five friends were sitting in the library working on their Potions essays.
Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back.
He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.
"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"
"No," Hermione said, "We know Fluffy is guarding the Philosopher's -"
"Shh!" Hagrid interrupted her, and accidentally dropped what he was holding.
Ron ducked down and picked up a book.
"Dragons?" he asked.
"Shh!" Hagrid hushed Ron this time, as he grabbed the book from Ron.
The five friends looked up at Hagrid with raised eyebrows. His large cheeks grew red.
"How 'bout yeh five come 'round me hut this evenin'," he said, "Seven or so. I got a treat for ya."
Hagrid smiled and walked away before anyone could answer.
"Er..." Neville said, "He isn't inviting us for tea, is he?"
Harry shook his head.
"Could it get us in trouble?" Hermione asked.
"Will it get us in trouble?" Ron asked, "Or did you forget about this too?"
"I know what it is," Harry said, "It could possibly get us in trouble. Though I could avoid all the risks this go-round."
"Well," Ron said, "I'm in. I need a break from homework anyway. I know this stuff anyway"
"Oh, really?" Hermione asked, "What is the key ingredient for a Forgetfulness Potion then?"
Ron blushed. "I forgot."
Harry, Ginny and Neville snickered as Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes.
That evening, Harry and his friends walked down to Hagrid's hut and he knocked on the door. Fang barked at the sound.
"Back, Fang," Hagrid said, as he opened the door, "Get down, yeh mutt, an' leave that cauldron alone! Ah, hullo, come on in, it is almost ready... you're gonna like this."
Harry followed his friends inside the stifling hot hut and they sat around the table. The large boarhound walked over to Ginny and started licking her in the face. She giggled and patted his head.
"Whew," Ron said, "boiling in here, can we open a window?"
"Nope," Hagrid grunted, "Supposed to be like this."
Ron raised an eyebrow.
"Er... we having tea, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, as she eyed the cauldron.
"Sorry, 'Mione," Hagrid said, "Fire was quite occupied tonight. Has been for a few days now. But I think it is ready."
"What is ready?" Hermione asked, in a high voice, as she looked at Harry.
Hagrid turned to the fire and put mittens the size of dinner plates on his hands. He lifted something out of the cauldron and walked over to the table, where he put a very large egg on the table. Harry raised his eyebrows... had the egg looked this close to hatching this time last timeline?
"Er... you do know Easter was last week, Hagrid," Neville said.
"This isn't an Easter egg, Neville," Ron said, "That... is a dragon egg."
"Dragon?" Hermione echoed, as Neville sputtered.
"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the table to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."
"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."
Harry frowned. He was going to have to explain this to his friends later.
"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.
"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library — Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit — it's a bit outta date, o' course, but
it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here — how ter recognize diff 'rent eggs — what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them. And –"
Suddenly there was a loud clicking sound. It was coming from the egg.
"Ah, yes," Hagrid purred, "Excellent."
Harry then saw something moving inside the egg, and the clicks turned to cracks.
"Err... Hagrid?" Hermione said, "I think... um, I think it is..."
All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table.
"Hatching," Hermione said, wide-eyed.
It was exactly how Harry remembered it; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.
It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.
"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.
The dragon growled.
"Er... Hagrid," Harry said, "I think it is a she."
"Er... how do you know?" Hagrid said.
Everyone, but Hagrid, looked at him amused. He wondered exactly how to answer that.
"Well... look at her," Harry said, "She has..."
The dragon cried out, growled and snapped its mouth, before falling over.
"... a temper?" Harry suggested.
Ginny and Hermione glared at Harry for some reason. Harry looked at Ginny questioningly as she crossed her arms against her robes.
"Look!" Ron said, pointing at the window, before Harry could ask Ginny what was wrong.
Harry turned around, stood up and headed over to the window. He could see a bright blonde head of hair, running toward the castle.
"Malfoy," he growled.
"Oh dear," Hagrid said.
Ten minutes later, the five friends were on their way back up to the castle.
"Malfoy's going to tell someone, isn't he?" Neville asked.
"He'll wait until he can get more proof," Harry said, "Until he can get us all in trouble. We have to do something. Last time, Charlie..."
Harry's throat tightened. Charlie... he wasn't exactly speaking to them.
"I'll write to him," Ron said, "He won't ignore something like this."
"Good," Harry said, "Think it'll work Ginny?"
Ginny shrugged and kept her eyesight on the ground as they reached the castle's front doors.
"Something wrong?" Harry asked, as they headed into the entrance hall, "You're awfully quiet."
"I thought you'd appreciate that," Ginny said, "Especially if you think I have a temper!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry asked.
"The dragon's a girl, because she has a temper?" Ginny asked.
Harry's eyes bulged. Oops... he realized what was wrong. He looked at Ron and Neville who were grinning at him. Hermione seemed interested in what Harry had to say next.
"Oh come on!" Harry said to Ginny, "I was referring to the dragon, not girls in general. I was trying to convince Hagrid!"
"So why did you blame her temper on being a girl?" Ginny asked, "And not on being a newborn dragon!"
"So this isn't a temper-tantrum?" Harry retorted, with a grin.
Ginny ignored him for the rest of the evening. She wouldn't even have one of their nightly telepathic discussions in bed before they fell asleep.
It took a good telepathic apology the following morning for Ginny to begin to talk to him again. Things then went back to normal between the couple, but Harry was very careful with what he said to Ginny over the following week.
Three days after the dragon hatched, Ron told Harry about Charlie's letter, and that Charlie requested them to bring the dragon to the top of the Astronomy tower, the following Saturday at midnight. Harry was surprised to find that Charlie had specifically asked for him and Ginny to be there. Ginny wasn't sure about accepting this. If Charlie was still against the Bond, she didn't fancy an argument with him.
Harry was adamant about only him and Ginny going. He told his friends about what had happened last time, and that he didn't want them to get in trouble for this. They reluctantly agreed to stay in the Common Room that night.
Hagrid, too was reluctant, and this lasted all the way through until late Saturday evening when Harry and Ginny came to pick up the dragon.
"We have to hurry, Hagrid," Harry said, "I swear I heard someone trying to follow us in the corridors."
Hagrid had the dragon packed and ready in a large crate.
"She's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed her teddy bear in case she gets lonely."
From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though the teddy was having his head torn off.
"Bye-bye, Norberta!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and Ginny covered the crate with the Invisibility Cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"
How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norberta up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors.
Up another staircase, then another — even one of Harry's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.
"Nearly there!" Harry said as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.
Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared. Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.
"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you —"
"You don't understand, Professor," Draco said, "Harry Potter's coming — he's got a dragon!"
"What utter rubbish!" McGonagall said, "How dare you tell such lies! Come on — I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"
The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again.
"I knew it was Malfoy," Harry said, with a sigh, "How he found out about this this time, I don't know. I burned the note."
As they waited, Harry checked the Marauder's Map and made sure he had the cloak with him. McGonagall and Malfoy were on their way toward the dungeons. Filch and Mrs. Norris were on the fourth floor.
"There!" Ginny said, about ten minutes later, as four broomsticks came swooping
down out of the darkness.
Charlie was one of the four on the broomsticks.
"Prepare the dragon," Charlie said, "I have to talk to my sister and her... friend."
Ginny narrowed her eyes, as Charlie walked over to them.
"We have to go, Charlie," Ginny said, "It is very late."
"I just want to talk," Charlie said.
"I don't want to hear a message from Mum," Ginny said, "She can write to me on her own."
"She isn't writing to me either, sis," Charlie said, "For two weeks now... ever since I told her this: I changed my mind. I thought about it, and I'm sorry. I was... angry. I didn't understand. You're my baby sister, and this is a boy I've just met. It... it shocked me to hear you say those things about him... especially at your age. But... Bill and Dad were right. You're going to need your family."
Harry looked at Ginny, whose eyes were watering. She frowned, and suddenly leaped toward Charlie and hugged him.
"I'll see if I can write to Mum," Charlie said, as Ginny backed up. "And Percy... and I'll tell them that although I want you home in June, they should not keep you from spending time with Harry during the summer. I don't want to risk our relationship over this, or your lives because I'm keeping you from each other... which would probably be impossible anyway."
"Thanks, Charlie," Ginny said, tearfully, "You don't know how much this means to me."
"Oi, Chaz!" one of the dragon trainers said, "We're ready!"
"Coming!" Charlie said, "One minute."
He turned back to Ginny and Charlie.
"I'll see you this summer, either way, I expect," he said.
"You're coming home again?" Ginny asked, grinning.
"Might have some plans," Charlie said, "Been writing letters back and forth with a girl. Hope we can start something again..."
"Ooh, do I know her?" Ginny asked.
"Course," Charlie said, "It is Nymphadora."
He winked and walked over to the brooms. Harry noticed that Ginny looked sad, as they watched Charlie and the other dragon trainers fly away through the sky with Norberta.
"I really hate foreknowledge," Ginny said, as they headed off toward the Common Room under the Invisibility Cloak.
"Pardon?" Harry asked.
"If Charlie and Dora get back together," Ginny said, "We could very well not have a certain godson in a few years."
Harry's throat tightened. Teddy...
Ginny nodded. "I don't really want to break my brother's heart again. But I might have to."
"Charlie never came home for Christmas last time," Harry said, "We didn't know Dora this soon because Sirius was still in Azkaban. Those three changes created the Christmas party, where Charlie asked Dora to dance."
Ginny nodded.
"Ginny," Harry said, "I think we unknowingly stepped on a butterfly."
Whew, I love inspiration! That whole part with Dora and Charlie didn't come to my mind until I wrote it!
As you can see, no detention in the Forbidden Forest this time!
Next... the beginning of the end... of first year! (whoops and raises fists in victory.)
