Chapter 44: Feeding the Fishes

"Attention, class," MacGregor announced from her usual spot standing behind the teacher's table in her defence classroom, and all around the room the sounds and lights of spellcasting stopped almost immediately. She certainly had a certain aura that demanded attention. "Two things: firstly, homework will be a 500-word essay on the impact of your emotional state on the power and exact shape of your spells as explored during today's class, due next Tuesday. Secondly, every Gryffindor member will be attending a mandatory counselling session regarding future prospects and which and how many electives to take in the second week of June. A plan will be posted on the black board. Yes, Miss Brown?"

The last part had been directed at lavender who up until then had been mostly doodling around on spare parchment with one of 'Black's Signature, Neverending Inkers'. Now, though, the girl had raised her hand. "Professor, what about Professor McGonagall? And why do we have to attend these sessions? None of the other houses have to."

MacGregor's eyes seemed to glower a bit at the mostly nice, though sometimes somewhat lazy girl, before she moved to answer. "I honestly do not much care what the other houses do, to be honest; I for one find at least getting some advice for something that will profoundly affect your later life quite reasonable," she answered, her no-nonsense tone brooking no discussion on either the importance of or the fact that attendance was mandatory at, these meetings. "As for Professor McGonagall, I am currently unaware, when she will return to her duties. In any case, the meetings will be held with me, as they are happening on my initiative. Dismissed."

Within seconds the crowd of students swelled immensely as everyone started to almost jump to their feet, followed by immediately swelling as the mass of humanity pressed through the classroom door and into the corridor. The only people remaining were Harry, Hermione, Neville, Susan and Hannah, who measuredly tracked outside after giving their teacher a nod goodbye.

During the time between the beginning of the second term and the month of May, this being the next-to-last week before the Easter break, a few things had stood out. Firstly, the Scottish Highlands in spring were infinitely more pleasant an experience than the Scottish Highlands in Winter. Secondly, if a story was embarrassing to Lucius Malfoy, the Daily Prophet really did not print it, or so it seemed. Indeed, after around a week of reporting into the term, coverage of Daphne's disappearance had tapered off almost into nothing. All the while, the young woman in question had by all accounts been coping with her change in circumstances surprisingly well. Honestly, as far as Harry could see, Sirius had more difficulty adjusting than she did.

Last but not least, though, was one more important observation: School had become intensely boring. Even with everything else they tended to do during all their classes, Harry and to a lesser degree Hermione, had become increasingly bored in class. Sure, they had both been doing a number of side-projects after quickly finishing whatever task had been set for that particular lesson, but since their classes rarely allowed for anything other than reading to be done covertly, especially Harry was growing restless. Considering all that, the idea of soon being able to at least pick electives was a great relief.

To an expected bout of the giggles from the other two girls they had shared their class with, Harry and Hermione left behind their group of friends and started heading for a particular bathroom on the second floor they had recently seen a lot of. With the room being thankfully silent, meaning completely free of the Moaning Myrtle's admittedly annoying presence, they stepped in front of the old, dilapidated sink. With a silent hiss of "Open!" Harry made the appliance do exactly that. With an almost inordinate amount of glee, the young couple jumped into the slide that would be taking them down into what had once been Slytherin's chamber of secrets. As it had turned out, removing the guck and the danger of a basilisk at the end tended to make the whole thing more enjoyable. With magic lighting all over the halls that awaited, as well as the small animal bones removed, the whole thing had an almost secure feeling to it.

The doors to the inner chamber had been jacked open and freed up the view into the radically refurbished space. With the aid of some very helpful elves, they had placed a number of workbenches around the ugly statue of Slytherin, spaced some firepits around the room and even added some seating. All in all, it served as a capable retreat whenever one of their considerably sized group of friends was using the Room of Requirements; and whatever they could not do in the chamber proper, they could always do in the Box of Requirement that was placed next to one of the old sofas.

"Are we really sure we can't tell everyone over the Easter break?" Hermione asked after they had cuddled up together. "I hate lying to our friends. Especially Tracey…"

Harry groaned a little in agreement before he answered. "You said it yourself: just because the Prophet is not talking about it anymore, doesn't mean the Ministry isn't still looking for her. We agreed on the Summer, we should stick to it."

"And agonising over it again and again will only lead to the same conclusion being drawn," Hermione finished up what she had said herself before. "Honestly, when did our life become so complicated?"

He just chuckled darkly, before taking note of one other thing. "You said our life?" Harry observed, unable to keep the astonishment out of his voice. Judging by her expression, Hermione herself was surprised by what had clearly been intended to be only a passing remark.

"I guess I did," she responded. Obviously not willing to spend more time discussing what exactly she had meant with the remark, Hermione instead addressed something else they had been working on. "How are those mage-lights faring, by the way?"

This, in turn, elicited less of a dopey smile and more of an annoyed grumble on the part of Harry. "Underwhelming, to say the least," he responded. "When you were working on that secret project you did not want to tell me about, I tried it out. The enchantments just work a bit too well, and the damn thing keeps almost blinding me," the young inventor answered, studiously avoiding any reaction to Hermione's admonishment about his language. "It would make a great tool for incapacitating enemies, but other than that it's practically useless like this."

As he looked back up from his brief bout of self-pity, Harry saw nothing of what he had expected to see on his girlfriend's face. Instead of the light annoyance coupled with incredible zeal at getting to crack a problem, he only saw happy elation.

"I know what to do," Hermione declared self-assuredly. "Would you kindly get the enchantments for our Room duplicates? I am especially interested in the part where we limit the amount of power flowing directly into the enchantment."

OOOOOOOO

On a menacingly dark painted warship making quick passage through the waters of the North Atlantic, a house elf was leaning across the railing and 'feeding the fishes', as the skipper kept calling it. Had it not been for the little creature's piteous state, Jarpey would have already left of course. However, the nausea that went along with the seasickness his first high wind had brought on would not allow him to apparate in a safe manner. Therefore, the elf had been left with little choice but to remain on the ship, strapped to the railing with a strong rope to 'enjoy' the modest comfort the fresh, salty air was able to give him.

"Well, that one's a landlubber," Martin commented as he watched in amusement, while the small form bent over the side of the ship again. "Those waves are 15, maybe 16 feet at most. Real shame, I like that elf."

In response, Sirius snorted a little. "I think he'll be happy to return to Potter Castle," he observed. "That one is the builder and caretaker; he just wouldn't be happy to stay away from his home for too long."

The group of three humans, as well as a considerable contingent of very excited house elves were somewhere between the Faroe Islands and Iceland, taking the newly restored Gwyneth on her shakedown cruise. While the original plan had only entailed Sirius, Daphne and Martin, a few of the house elves had overheard, and when it came out that their itinerary included, more than a few had simply invited themselves. Unused to the usually servile creatures being so bold, Sirius had inquired as to why they were being assertive, all the while trying his best not to sound in anyway inconvenienced or even accusing. Running afoul of Hermione would not do at all.

"Iceland where elveses be coming from," had been the short, not all that informative answer. Still, a group of around fifteen of Potter castle's twenty elven residents had proceeded to set up bedding in some of the rooms left unfurnished, and were now still working away on the ongoing transformation of what had once been a mere part of a fleet into a viable base of operations.

As far as the other parts of the crew were concerned that was no big problem, as it turned out the rather large ship had a lot of space available for everyone. That was especially true, after all the muggle machinery had been moved out and replaced with much more space-effective magical counterparts. The only other human currently on the Gwyneth could be seen from the helm as well; Daphne was at her favourite spot on the empty foredeck, standing and bracing the wind calm as can be. Not even the rocking the vessel received from the strong waves seemed to affect her all that much. Obviously noticing where Sirius' attention had shifted, Martin harrumphed a little.

"She could make a fine sailor, one day," he commented, giving the young woman an appreciative glance. "Respects the sea, that one, but doesn't fear it."

Feeling any observation on his part was as superfluous as it was unqualified, Sirius simply let his mind wander over the weeks and months he had now spent with Daphne. This person, trapped in a weird place between child and adult due to her experience and her age, who had just swooped in and turned his life around. Sure, he was still out on many nights, and occasionally he would even have a delectable female of the human species with him right until breakfast, but there was something different now. Before, Sirius was honest enough at least with himself. to know that his life had been without a sort of focal point. Not pointless, or anything like that, yet Harry and Hermione simply did not need Sirius the way their younger friend did. Over the past months, the old Marauder had repeatedly surprised both himself and Daphne by actually taking the parental role that he really should have been filling for Harry. The role the events had taken from him.

Everything had not been without hitches, evidently; especially memorable had the instance been, in which Sirius had tried to send an already indignant Daphne to bed. Suffice it to say, it had not gone over well. However, were one to average it all out, things were going great, and the teenager seemed to immensely enjoy a few freedoms she had not had while living under the rather strict rules of a traditionally minded, pureblood family.

A happy smile plastered to his face, Sirius returned his attention to the yarn the old sea dog next to him had been spinning for a while now.

"…and there it was; at least a hundred feet, I tell you. Biggest rogue wave I've ever seen…"

OOOOOOOO

For Astoria Greengrass, her last year before she would be starting Hogwarts was going decidedly medium. Apart from the fact that her sister had gone missing, the reason for which little Tori even had an idea, even though she was unable to confirm it, her father had been giving her an unprecedented level of attention. Again, that was both good and bad, somehow. On one hand, which kid would dislike attention from their parents? Especially if that attention came paired with gifts and even more positive attention in case she succeeded in the tasks given to her. On the other hand, there were the tasks themselves. They came in many different forms, obviously, but to a smart and attentive childlike Astoria Greengrass, they all had a certain basic structure to them.

She would be taught by someone, sometimes her parents, sometimes some tutor, about some topic that someone would invariably comment upon by saying something like 'a proper lady'. She remembered Daphne getting some of these lessons as well, and even she herself had had a few of them over the years, but the frequency had certainly changed. Or at least, that had been the case up until around the second week of March. After almost two and a half months of being constantly pestered about stuff she really did not care about, it had suddenly stopped. And to Tori's great relief, that is, because contrary to her sister, she was a child that loved getting dirty, both figuratively and literally. She loved playing around in the stream that represented the back-border of the family's manor, or simply flying around on her broom, no matter the weather. Whirling around the house, making mischief or causing mayhem, also featured high on the list. But etiquette? Not that much.

Still, Tori was neither stupid not naïve; there had to be a reason her father was suddenly distracted from her, seemed almost manic, and she had the distinct impression that reason was Daphne. How she felt about that, she had really no idea.

OOOOOOOO

The second term of their second second year had gone by extremely quickly for Harry, Hermione and their circle of friends. Before anyone had really had the time to process what was happening, they were on the train back to King's Cross for their Easter break, chatting away about what they were planning for the week.

"I wish we could have spent some time at the castle again," Tracey complained, still rather shaken from suddenly being without her best friend. "Don't get me wrong, Iceland sounds great, but still…" Her voice petered out, and the conversation moved on.

"So, how are you getting around up there?" Neville asked, having been avidly interested in their travel plans from the moment he had heard of them. "Apparition is out, I guess, since Sirius doesn't know the place yet, and zapping around you and Hermione would be a bit much for him, anyway."

Not having expected the amount of interest in their travelling plans, Harry and Hermione had had to make up some last-minute excuses and explanations. Some of which Hermione was now beginning to relate. "We're taking a ship around the west coast. We won't get far in a week, of course, but we can always come back and explore more. The magical history of Iceland is supposed to be rather interesting, and we'll even be able to take a look at some of the artefacts from the era in which it was settled. They even have a Viking ship replica in a museum."

Against their, probably blue-eyed, belief, these explanations did not quell the interest of their friends in any way. Therefore, a good deal of the next hour was spent laying out their unfinished itinerary for their friends. Contrary to Harry and Hermione, and making it especially awkward to be talking about traveling arrangements, were the plans their friends had for the break; while the last Potter and his brilliant girlfriend (as he liked to think of her) were all caught up on homework and essays, or rather would be in a heartbeat, they had to work. With focus in Hogwarts shifting to the coming end-of-year exams, the various professors had started handing out coursework like Dumbledore did his sherbet lemons, meaning plenty and without much regard for whatever else was going on.

Looking at it all with a bit of hindsight, Harry could honestly say he had been complaining a little too much about school during his first stint; sure, there was a lot to do, but especially the lower years were afforded a good deal of free-time, too. As well they should be, Harry mused.

"Enough of our trip," Hermione finally declared after someone had asked yet another question about their upcoming vacation. Judging from the giggling and the source of the question being Hannah, it had been the kind of question that was likely to drive both Harry and Hermione's face red.

OOOOOOOO

In the early evening hours of Saturday, the Hogwarts Express slowly made its way along the last few meters of its journey to London, already showing the eagerly waiting faces of parents expecting their children home for what little time they had between terms. In the back of the crowd, and unusually held back compared to his usual mode of operation, Hermione could see Sirius Black waiting for her and her boyfriend with a small travel bag and an inviting smile he directed at her as soon as he spotted her watching him through the window. All of a sudden, and without a real explanation as to why, Hermione was feeling unaccountably nervous. There was something about Sirius that seemed… off. Even looking at him from the distance out of the moving train, he had been looking more his age than she ever remembered him in her current timeline. In the one she had left behind, however… she could remember him having that aura of maturity a few times, some of which had been the talks she had shared with the man. Still, during those, he had always carried a burden on his shoulders, a weighting pushing down on him; now, he seemed to be without that weight.

Over her musings, the train had finally reached the end of the platform and come to a halt. All over the cart the many small feet of dozens of children were audible as they stampeded out into the waiting embraces of their parents and siblings; with most students only taking light luggage back home during the Easter break, everything was a much less crowded feel to it. Within minutes, the group had first stepped outside the door closest to their compartment, said goodbye and then dispersed to meet their assorted relatives.

"Hiya pup, hello Hermione," they were greeted by a cheerily grinning Sirius, who was then promptly afforded one of Hermione Granger's more bone-crushing embraces. Sure, the man had the tendency to make her blow her top, and she was never easy on him either, but she did genuinely love that childish oaf. Not to mention that aura of seriousness he now had around him that she thought to be extremely well-fitting.

"Greetings," Harry began in a formal, almost deferential tone, before he jokingly added, "mutt."

Almost as if proving that seriousness would never be able to truly catch up to him, Sirius laughed uproariously, before grabbing both their hands and popping them away. The group reappeared in a dank alleyway Hermione thought she had seen before and assumed was rather close to the station.

"Couldn't we just have walked somewhere to use the portkeys?" Hermione questioned the still grinning man before her. "We do have legs, you know?"

Feigning hurt at her remark, Sirius grabbed his obviously thick and warm coat right over his heart before he answered. "We could have," he admitted, "but that would have meant you having to wait longer before you can see what I have to show you. Believe you me, this will be worth it; see you on the ship."

And with that, Sirius activated his one-person portkey, whisking him away.

"Here goes," Harry declared and made to follow him.

"Honestly," Hermione commented exasperatedly, even though she was now alone in the darkening back alley. "A little patience never hurts." Then, with a pull behind the navel, she was gone as well.

OOOOOOOO

Down below, in her home's entrance hall, Tori could hear the raised voices of two men. This was not an unusual occurrence, especially as of late. Over the years and as far back as she could remember, many a business associate had been less than thrilled with the way things had progressed between them and Greengrass Elixirs, and while most of these disputes would usually happen behind the closed doors of her father's private study (the anti-eavesdropping charms of which were ridiculously easy to bypass for a crafty child like her), sometimes they would start or end in the hall. It seemed this was one of these times. However, what was odd was that she had not been aware her father had someone over.

"…Astoria is too young…" she heard the raised voice of her father drift up the stair well. That decided it: She would have to go snooping a bit, especially if this discussion involved her. Carefully situating herself in her usual hiding-spot for these kinds of occasions, Tori was able to hear more of the discussion unfold.

"…have an idea what happened and how to find her now," her father said to the other mystery person who was with him. "I think she was somehow manipulated into this; my daughter knew of her duty to her family and would not have simply thrown her part in our future away."

"I do hope so," the sneering voice, which Tori now decided belonged to Lucius Malfoy answered. "You do not want to make an enemy of me, Greengrass, or run afoul of your contractual obligations. I know many people at the Ministry who would be very interested to find out everything about what your potion business deals with on the side."

Only seconds had passed after the last word had been said, before the large front door fell shut ominously, and a trail of heavy steps were starting to make their way up the stairs. With the agility and poise only a child that routinely started trouble could have, Tory dashed back to her rooms to process, what she had just witnessed.

What she did understand of it, and that was far from the whole thing, she did not like at all.

OOOOOOOO

The whirling vortex of colours and sounds that had been encompassing Harry since he had activated his portkey shortly after Sirius suddenly blinked out of existence ended, and with a dull thud, he landed on the metal floor of one of the old enlisted quarters of the Gwyneth. Barely able to steady himself on his protesting godfather, Harry had only seconds to wait for Hermione to appear, too; seeing her stumbling as well after the intense dizziness prolonged portkey travel obviously created, he launched to her side, grabbed her arm with a firm, yet soft hand and held her up.

After clearing her head with a small shake that for some reason reminded Harry of both a cat and Hedwig, she flashed him a grateful smile, followed by a distasteful look at the portkey-necklace still visible around Harry's neck

"I might not like brooms all that much, but they are certainly not worse than this," she complained, hitting the nail (mostly) in the head concerning Harry's feeling for this particular way of travelling, as well. "Thanks for catching me," she smiled at him, before pressing a light kiss onto his happily receiving cheek.

Waiting for them in the corner of the 'arrival room', as it had been dubbed, Sirius raised an eyebrow at the couple's coupley antics before waving them through the door and into the hall.

"We've made up most of the ship's quarters, ready to move in," he explained, pointing down a few of the doors they passed along the way. "Your choice, whether you want to have a room each, or bunk together in the old Captain's quarters…"

At the implied question, Harry looked to the young woman holding his hand and raised an eyebrow, not unlike Sirius had done earlier. Receiving the smile and nod he had been hoping for, he turned back to his godfather and answered, "We'll take the large room."

Their mood now considerably lifted by being distracted from the remaining dizziness with the prospect of having each other there to cuddle with for the coming week, they continued following Sirius on his guided tour of the ship.

"There's the mess; we completely replaced all the equipment." Was followed by, "That's the way to the hangar. We hung as many brooms on the walls as we could, and if the weather is calm, you can open the hangar door and use the helipad as a shooting range." Soon, Harry and Hermione had been given a complete overview of what had been changed around the ship during the months they had spent at school. To say they were at a loss for words would have been an understatement.

"Sometimes I forget what you can achieve with magic," Harry marvelled, as they let their gazes sweep over what had once been the officers' mess, but was now a small, functional library. Considering what they were looking at, Harry was not surprised as he felt Hermione's waist slip from his grasp and her arm vanishing from around his shoulder. Almost in an instant, she was all over the place, looking through the rows of books with the special 'library-smile' she only showed when given free reign over an intriguing assortment of printed parchment.

"Come on, you two," Sirius interrupted, just before Harry was about to join her; spending as much time with Hermione as he did, it was impossible to not pick some of her love for books. "Daphne is chafing to see both of you."

Hearing their friend was in need of seeing them would always be able to shake Hermione from her reverie, although Harry had the idea that she might not have been occupied for long anyway; catching the almost annoyed glance she gave the few bookshelves that lined the small room he guessed his lovely bookworm of a girlfriend had been unable to find any new material.

From the tiny library, they followed Sirius up a few ladders until they reached the Gwyneth's helm, or at least that was what Harry assumed. With little time to take in the space now unfolding in front of him, he was hit by a dark-haired projectile that proceeded to hug first him and then Hermione to within an inch of their lives. Considering he had been getting more and more used to his girlfriend's hugs, and that Hermione was the one actually doling them out, what Daphne had achieved was no mean feat.

"Hermione," the one young witch greeted the other, whom she still had in a death grip. "It's so good to see you. And you too, Harry." Before he could process what was happening, he had been pulled into another hug; less crushing this time, yet just as tight. Over Daphne's shoulder, he could see Sirius smiling at the scene before him in what Harry characterised as a mixture of amusement and fond indulgence. However, what really captivated Harry's gaze was the vista that showed behind his godfather.

A good distance away lay a green shore, both craggy and gentle in a way that to describe Harry would not be able to find the word. The low-hanging clouds gave everything a sombre mood, despite the sun still shining a bit weakly through holes in the grey blanket that was covering the entire sky. As far as he was able to see, the area seemed to be completely lacking any trees, yet the rough terrain did nothing to detract from the incredible beauty of nature laid out before him; a different kind of beauty, sure.

The kind of beauty that had the potential of making one feel insignificant and gigantic at the same time.

OOOOOOOO

AN: Greetings, dear readers,

Not much to say, honestly. Enjoy the chapter, leave a review, yadda yadda yadda…

Enjoy your day,

alexandertheII