Chapter 54
Failure
Author's Note: I just realized in my last chapter I repeated one of Ron's lines twice. Ugh. My apologies.
Also I will take this time to answer a question given to me in a review. I don't see how I can explain it in a chapter so I will explain it here.
Q: Could you,perhaps elaborate a bit more on this special Weasley power? And when did Harry and Ginny decide to put off their wedding?
A: The special bond the Weasleys have in their blood is a protective ward. The ward is more of a charm surrounding them, and where ever they live with protection. It keeps intruders out and makes their residences have like a magic security system. The ward, however, does not prevent them from most severe injuries or death. Also, because of the curse, if there are enough people in the vicinity to equal out those who have the ward around them (for example, Bill and Fleur's wedding, or Hermione living with Ron), the bond will temporarily break, and the chance of attack heightens quite a bit, be it bad luck or the power of the curse. The bond is passed on through blood or connection of love through other family members (the process of this will be shown towards the very end of the story). Harry has this same bond. It was created by his mother through her sacrifice.
Harry and Ginny are still engaged, of course, they just decided they didn't need to get married as fast as Hermione and Ron have decided. They can wait years to make it official (two or three or four), because they are focused more on their careers. I didn't really plan when they decided, only why... it was just some time during the last couple of months storyline wise. Sorry about not getting too specific with it. The idea came to me, and I didn't really put too much thought into it.
(Daphne's PoV)
Daphne was currently living with Blaise Zabini in his flat in London. Daphne and Blaise had been in a steady relationship for a little over a couple of months now, though few in their secret group was aware of it. Blaise's flat was an unregistered location, hidden from the Magical Zoning Department, and therefore was the perfect location to hide from the Ministry, if they decided to start searching for either of them. It had also been used for the new location of Daphne's meetings whenever she requested one. They had used the old one too much, and feared that Muggles around the neighborhood were getting suspicious of so many guests on a regular basis.
Daphne and Blaise were currently eating breakfast and waiting for Pansy's arrival. Daphne had ordered Pansy and Draco to come to their house to explain what had happened at the house where they were living in, while spying on Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Daphne had gone to the house the previous day to check up on how Pansy and Draco were doing with their mission, and had found that her presence there was rather unwelcome...
Flashback:
Daphne walked out of the restrooms she had used as an apparation point when she would need to visit Pansy and Draco. It was located in a small playground, just down the road from the house. She walked across the playground and what she saw, she did not expect. There were two London Police Cruisers blocking the very road she wanted to go down. Deciding it probably wasn't anything to worry about, she walked across the street. A man in a police uniform stepped out from behind the car.
"I'm sorry, Miss," the man said, "This road has been blocked off for a few hours while we work on a water main break in the area. The whole street is flooded."
"I see no water," Daphne said, "I just live down the road, and I wish to go home.".
"I must insist that you leave for a few hours, ma'am," the man said, "Go to a friend's house."
Daphne narrowed her eyes, then she noticed that a thin, narrow strip of wood was sticking out of the man's pocket. The man was not a Muggle Police Officer. He was a wizard. If he was guarding the street, it meant something was happening down there. She had to find out what was going on. She grinned and nodded.
"I'm sorry, sir," Daphne said, "I didn't mean to be a bother. Good day."
Daphne turned around and started to walk across the street. She then reached her hand toward her pocket, where her wand was. She inhaled and exhaled. She then whipped her wand out and turned around in one fluid motion.
"Stupefy!" Daphne whispered, with force.
Her movement was so quick, the wizard didn't even see it coming. The spell hit the wizard's chest and he smacked against the police car, then crumpled to the ground, stunned. Daphne smirked and walked back toward the police car.
"Obliviate!" she said, pointing her wand at the wizard.
The wizard's eyes went out of focus. He would not remember ever seeing her.
Daphne stowed her wand and crept along the road toward her destination. When she closed in on the house, she saw a group of wizards in Ministry suits walking in and out of the house. She immediately crept over behind a car and hid herself behind it.
What had happened in the house? Where was Pansy and Draco? What had happened to them? Had they been discovered and captured? She needed answers.
She moved around the car, and crept behind a very large hedge-bush that was formed a wall between Pansy's house and their neighbor.
"What do you got there, Sasha?" a man said.
"Polyjuice Potion glasses," Sasha said, "Goes along with that bottle the Potter guy found. I guess whoever these people were, were disguising themselves with Polyjuice Potion. Seems they ran out very recently. The scent of the potion is still in the bottle."
"Any idea if we'll be able to get any thing to use to find these guys?" the man said.
"Not the glasses," Sasha said. "These perps were smart. They used the Scourgify Charm, and a very good one at that. Only a magnificent Scouring Charm can remove all traces from an object. The bottle, however, might give us something. Not one-hundred percent sure, though."
Daphne growled lowly. These people had evidence that could lead them to Pansy or Draco. She knew there were too many of these people for her to take out. Could she try it, and maybe get lucky enough to take them out?
She shook her head. No, if she was caught, her plan would fail. She could not risk that. If the Ministry found anything on Draco and Pansy, they were on their own.
She smirked. Besides... her Secret Keeper Charm was way too powerful for them to give too much away.
"Found something, sir!" another man said, "More mirror shards. All in one condensed space."
"From the mirror used to spy on Auror Weasley?" the first man said.
"Most likely, sir," the second man said, "It seems the mirror was shattered. Like dropped to the floor with enough force to break it."
"An attempt at destroying evidence?" Sasha asked.
"They could have used a Reduction spell for that," the second man said.
"Not if they were refraining from using magic so the Ministry couldn't detect them," Sasha said, "They could have been hasty too. Needed enough time to destroy the evidence before they apparated away from the house. Perhaps they panicked and this was all they could think of."
Daphne sighed in relief. Where ever Pansy and Draco were, they were not in Ministry custody.
"Can we get any trace from it?" the first man said.
"No, sir," the second man said, "The pieces are too small."
"Well, keep searching," the first man said, "We're bound to find something."
Daphne had heard enough. Pansy nor Draco were there. They seemed to have apparated away in time . Somehow Harry Potter was in the area and had discovered them. How much of a bother was Potter going to be? She would have to deal with him personally. Adding him into her grand plans would make it all worth it.
Daphne crept away and headed back down the street.
Flashback ends
Daphne stared down at her food, as she thought about the previous day. Pansy was going to have to explain herself, or there was going to be hell to pay.
"Daphne?" Blaise asked.
Daphne shook her head and snapped out of her reverie.
"What?" she retorted.
"Nothing," Blaise said, "You seemed to be drifting off there."
"Was thinking about my plans," Daphne said.
"When are you going to tell me about your plans?" Blaise asked.
"When the time is right," Daphne said.
"You tell that to everyone," Blaise said, "I should be different."
"Why?" Daphne asked, "Because I'm in your bed every night? Well, I'm sorry, honey. I'm not going to risk it. You know how big this thing is to me – to us – to all of us. How important it is."
"Am I important to you?" Blaise asked.
"Of course," Daphne asked.
"Do you love me?" Blaise asked.
"I – yeah, of course, I do," Daphne said.
This was a lie, however. There was only one man she ever loved. It was most certainly not Blaise.
"So why do you treat me like everyone else?" Blaise asked.
"I most certainly do not," Daphne said. "I think I treat you a lot better than I treat everyone else. If you want me to treat you like everyone else, I could. Is that what you want?"
"Of course not," Blaise said.
Daphne was about to reply, when she heard a knock on the front door. She stood up and walked over to it. Pansy was standing there.
"Get in here," Daphne said, "Did anyone see you?"
"How thick do you think I am, Daph?" Pansy asked, as she walked through the doorway.
"That is exactly why I requested your presence," Daphne said, closing the door, "To find out just how thick you are. Where's Draco?"
"He – er – well, it's complicated, Daphne," Pansy said.
"I'm sure I could understand," Daphne said.
"I haven't seen him in forty-eight hours," Pansy said. "He went to Hogsmeade to visit your sister. Hogsmeade weekend, I guess."
"He went away from his mission to visit my sister?" Daphne asked.
"He said Astoria would ask unwanted questions if he didn't show up," Pansy said. "He promised her he would be there."
"Hogsmeade weekend usually only takes place on Saturday," Daphne said, "Where was he yesterday?"
"Like I said, he didn't show up," Pansy said.
"Fine," Daphne said, "We can deal with that later. I want you to tell me what happened to you yesterday."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Pansy asked.
Daphne rolled her eyes and took Pansy by the shoulders and put her up against the wall. The glass plates in the china cabinet nearby shook and threatened to fall.
"I mean why was there Aurors and Ministry workers at your house yesterday, Pansy?" Daphne demanded.
"Do you have to so forceful with her, Daph?" Blaise asked.
"Silence, Blaise," Daphne said.
"Have it your way," Blaise said. "I'd be careful though. You can't get questions from her if you knock her out. Oh, and try not to break the dishware. They're my Mum's."
"Answer the question, Pansy," Daphne said.
"Potter and Weasley almost caught me yesterday," Pansy said. "I didn't have any Polyjuice Potion, so I had to get out of there."
"Didn't you hear them coming?" Daphne asked.
"I saw them coming," Pansy said, "That is why I was able to get out of there."
"That isn't what I meant," Daphne said, "The mirror. Why didn't you hear them coming? Obviously they must have talked about going to your house."
"I didn't have the mirror," Pansy said, "I think Draco took it with him."
"Wrong again!" Daphne said. "The forensics team there found mirror shards on the floor, Pansy. The mirror had been shattered to pieces!"
Pansy's eyes widened.
"Draco must have done it then!" Pansy said, "Before he left!"
"Why would he do that?" Daphne asked.
"How am I supposed to know?" Pansy asked.
Daphne narrowed her eyes. She growled and opened the front door.
"Find him, Pansy," Daphne said, "I want answers."
Pansy nodded and walked out the door. Daphne shut it and turned around.
"I told you we couldn't trust Malfoy, Daph," Blaise said, "But no, you didn't listen."
"Blaise," Daphne said, in an I'm-warning-you voice.
"Just saying," Blaise said, and walked back into the kitchen.
Daphne closed her eyes.
"I won't fail you, My Lord," she whispered, "I promise. I will avenge you. Even if it is the last thing I do."
-
(Harry's PoV)
Harry and Ron walked into Kingsley's office at nine-o-clock that morning. Kingsley was sitting at his desk reading through a stack of parchment.
"Ah, gentlemen!" Kingsley said, looking up, "Come and sit down."
"We can come back, Minister," Harry said, "I can see you are quite busy?"
"This?" Kingsley asked, motioning to the parchment in front of him, "It is the forensics report. It arrived just a few minutes ago. Sit."
Harry and Ron nodded and did as they were told.
"How about we run through what happened yesterday?" Kingsley said, "From the start, please."
Harry looked at Ron, and Ron looked back at him. Ron sighed, and must have realized he would have to go first. He looked back at the Minister and started telling him about what had happened between Hermione and Draco.
"Are you sure Draco was being completely honest with Miss Granger?' Kingsley asked, after Ron finished.
"Draco was willing to let Hermione kill him if she didn't trust him," Ron said. "Hermione said that he kept wanting her to kill him, because if she didn't listen to him and trust him, he feared he would get killed anyway."
"So he is trying to use this Secret Keeper Charm he has on him to his advantage," Kingsley said.
"We believe so," Harry said, "What do you think? Should we trust him?"
"What do you think, Harry?" Kingsley asked.
"In my opinion," Harry said, "Draco's a changed man. He's a little foolish to put himself in this position. But he's also in love and will do anything for Astoria. If I was in his position, I'd probably do the same thing."
"We'll trust him for now then," Kingsley said. "Now... I know the details of what happened when you went to the house. I want to know how you found out members of the rogue group lived there."
Ron told Kingsley about the mirror, and how he realized he and Hermione were being spied on. He then explained how his father had found out about the mirror's charms.
"The eavesdropping charm could only be applied for close-distances," Ron said. "So we figured it had to be somewhere nearby my house. The tracking charm,7 that came with the eavesdropping charm, led us to the house where we found shards of the mirror. It had been destroyed. We don't know why it was destroyed."
"Before this conversation," Kingsley said, "I would have agreed with you. But now that we know of Draco's innocence. Maybe he was in that house with someone else in this rogue group, and he didn't want them to eavesdrop on you anymore after he left the house. So he destroyed the mirror."
"Why did he destroy it?" Harry asked. "He was trying to make himself look like he was a part of this group."
"Why indeed, Harry," Kingsley said, "We'll have to ask Draco that if we ever meet up with him again. Anything else?"
"No, sir," Harry said, shaking his head, "Did the forensics team find anything?"
"The only trace they have found this far was on the bottle you uncovered," Kingsley said, "It confirms Draco was in that house. It doesn't tell us, however, who he was with. But that is not the most interesting thing that happened while the forensics team was there."
"Oh?" Harry asked.
"It appears that one of the members of the rogue group," Kingsley said, "was in the vicinity."
"They saw somebody?" Ron asked.
"One of the Aurors in the area did," Kingsley said, "However, they cannot tell us who it is."
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"He was found Stunned," Kingsley said, "And when they woke him up, he had no idea how he had come to be that way. Whoever did this, had cleared his memory of the event which led him to be Stunned. The forensics team did not see whoever did this. Nobody else was injured, and none of the evidence was stolen. It is believed that if they did stay behind for a few minutes, they only did so to eavesdrop in on the Forensics team, though probably not for very long. I can tell you this though. Whoever Stunned that Auror was quick. The Auror's wand had never been removed from his pocket. He had no chance to defend himself."
"Why did they keep him alive?" Ron asked.
"Maybe they weren't ready to kill someone," Harry said.
Kingsley smiled encouragingly.
"Maybe," Kingsley said, "And that is something we might be able to use on them. That is all for now, gentleman. You may go. Thank you for your work when you were off duty."
"Thank you, sir," Harry and Ron said.
They walked out of the office, and headed for the lifts.
-
(Ginny's PoV)
The first Saturday of the month, Ginny and the rest of the Holyhead Harpies were in the locker room, getting prepared for their next match against the Ballycastle Bats. They had home-pitch advantage for the game, but this time that didn't matter. The Bats' fan-base was huge, and it was expected that the Bats fans in attendance could overpower the Harpies' fans.
"These fans are loud!" Roxy Waters said, looking up at the ceiling, "ICan't tell if it is our fans or the other guys!"
"If it is the other guys, we'll hush them up," Ginny said.
"Round up, Harpies!" Gwenog Jones said.
Ginny tightened her gloves, grabbed her broom and walked over to Gwenog, as the rest of the team huddled around them. Gwenog held up three fingers.
"Three," she said. "that is how many matches we have left before the playoffs start."
She put down two fingers.
"One," she said, "That is how many matches we need to win to get into the playoffs."
The girls grinned and cheered softly. Gwenog put another finger up.
"Two," Gwenog said. "That is how many matches we need to win to get home-pitch advantage for the playoffs."
She put one finger back down.
"But for now I only want you to focus on this," she said. "One win. We need one win to get into the playoffs. That is all that matters right now."
"We haven't lost a match yet, Gwen," Bertha said, "Why should we start today?"
"That is what I wanted to hear," Gwenog said, "Harpies, hands in!"
Ginny and the rest of the team put one hand in.
"One win," Gwenog said, "That is the only thing I want you thinking about today. Don't think about those playoffs just yet. We aren't there yet, so I don't want you thinking about it. First thing first. Let's get that one win! Go to the Pitch, Harpies!"
Ginny grinned and followed her team-mates out of the locker room. As she did, she heard a couple of them groan. The weather, which had been only cloudy when Ginny had arrived at the stadium, was now a downpour of rain and thunder and lightning filled the sky.
"I don't think it was the fans you heard making all that noise, Roxy," Chase Crowe said.
-
An hour into the game and the weather had not let down. Ginny was soaked to her skin, and her hands kept slipping off the broom before she had gotten her grip again. The Quaffle had also been quite wet, and she had dropped it at least three times in the past hour.
However, it didn't seem like the Ballycastle Bats played very well in the rain. Harpies were leading 140 to 70.
"Ginny, catch!" Gwenog's wind-muffled voice said somewhere close.
Ginny looked to her left just as the Quaffle headed her way. She caught the Quaffle and -
"Ginny, no, dive!" Gwenog said.
Ginny dived a split-second before a Bludger flew over where her head had been. She pulled back into the air, and she could hear broomsticks whirring behind her. The Bats' Chasers were in pursuit. She headed toward the rings and saw a Bats' Chaser's hand come up from her right, then disappear as the crowd around the stadium groaned, and others cheered. Ginny looked down for a second to see the Bats Chaser plummeting toward the ground, the back of their broomstick destroyed by the same Bludger that had almost taken Ginny out.
Ginny headed for the rings and threw the Quaffle toward the right. The Bats' Keeper headed for it... and barely missed it as it went through the rings. The crowd cheered...
… but it wasn't the Harpies fans. Ginny spun around. The Bats' Seeker was circling the field. Ginny could barely see the tiny golden Snitch's wings through the Seeker's fingers.
"The Bats' Seeker, Flores, has come up from out of nowhere and has caught the Snitch!" the announcer yelled, "Ballycastle Bats win!"
Ginny's eyes widened. The Harpies had lost. For the first time, she had lost a Professional Quidditch Match.
-
(Harry's PoV)
An hour-and-a-half after Ginny's Quidditch Game, Harry had finished making dinner. Ginny hadn't come down from her bedroom since they had come home, and had not given any indication she wanted to come down at all.
Harry served two plates of pork-chops and fried potatoes and, with his wand, made them float in the air. He brought them upstairs and walked over to Ginny's bedroom door.
"Can I come in?" Harry asked.
No sound came from Ginny's room. Harry sighed and reached for the doorknob, but the door opened before he could turn it. Ginny was sitting on the bed with her wand pointed at the door. She was sitting up, with her knees near her face. Her pillow was laying against her knees.
"Thanks," Harry said.
Ginny put her wand on the bedside table, and put her face back into the pillow. Harry knew she had been crying.
"I made dinner," Harry said.
"I'm not hungry," Ginny's muffled voice said.
Harry put the plate on the bedside table.
"Can I sit down?" Harry asked, "I don't like to eat alone. It is boring."
Ginny made a motion that looked like she was nodding. Harry sat on the end of the bed.
"Ginny," he said, "You were excellent out there on the Pitch."
"We lost, Harry," Ginny's muffled voice said.
"Only because the Bats' Seeker got lucky," Harry said. "I saw him. He was hanging out around the end of the rings where your Keeper Waters was. I think he must have some kind of fancy for her, because he was down there for most of the match. The Snitch was hanging out around the bottom of one of the poles, and Flores saw it."
Ginny looked up. Her eyes were red.
"Rotten luck," Harry said, "That is all. But you were brilliant out there."
"I kept dropping the Quaffle," Ginny said.
"Only three times," Harry said, "Anyone would have dropped that thing in the pouring rain. You can't win them all, Ginny. Heck, I bet there are quite a few Quidditch Players in the past who lost their very first game, and you went how many games before you lost one?"
"Five," Ginny said.
"How many people can say that?" Harry asked.
Ginny shrugged.
"We needed one win to get into the playoffs," she said.
"You have two more matches to go before then," Ginny said, "Do you honestly think you can't get another win?"
Ginny shrugged again. Harry shook his head and chuckled.
"Look at me," he said.
Ginny did so.
"You're one of the most amazing Quidditch players I've ever seen," Harry said.
"You're just saying that because I'm your fiancee," Ginny said.
"Maybe a little," Harry said, "But you're still brilliant, okay. You were bound to lose your first match sometime."
"I know," Ginny said, "But we were all so excited about this one. We needed one more win to get into the playoffs and two more wins to have home-pitch advantage. Now we have to win both "
"You'll get it," Harry said.
Ginny nodded. She then looked at her plate of food and picked it up.
"Thanks, Harry," Ginny said.
Harry smiled. He scooted over on the bed and sat next to Ginny. As he was eating, he looked around the room.
"You know," Harry said, "I've been thinking. Now that I am an Auror, I need a home office and stuff. You know, if there is ever anything I need to bring home with me."
"What are you saying?" Ginny asked.
"What I'm saying, Ginny," Harry said, "is this: we only need one bedroom. If you know- if you want that."
Ginny grinned and kissed Harry on the lips. Harry returned the kiss and backed up.
"I'm guessing that is a yes," he said.
"Yeah, Harry," Ginny said, "That's a yes. Thanks, Harry. You really know how to cheer me up."
"What else am I here for?" Harry asked.
Ginny grinned. Her mood was a lot better throughout the rest of the night.
-
I really liked this chapter. I hadn't really planned Daphne's part until I realized I needed it to lead up to another part of the story coming up.
Hope you liked this one too!
