After the random conversation with Luna I took on a further inspection of the crates within the windmill for the purpose of storing food. Then I made my way back to the cottage. I shut my eyes at the front door, hoping pathetically that I would be able to avoid some of the more aggressive resistance members.
Inside Ron and Harry were clustered around a bunch of parchment at the living room coffee table, with a short boy I didn't recognize that was shouting in a Scottish accent and jabbing his stout finger into the paper below them. Ron was holding his very long red hair back with both hands on his forehead as they studied what looked like little footsteps moving across a building blue print. I leaned over Harry's shoulder curious about the magical artefact and all three stopped speaking to turn towards me.
"What you want then?" The Scottish boy barked angrily. I frowned slightly as Harry slowly folded the paper. The ink on the cover faded as he whispered an incantation with his wand, but all I could make out under his breath was something about being moody.
I cleared my throat, "I need to go into London for agricultural seeds. I 'ave money, plenty of et. I want to start planting today." I gave them a forced smile and twisted some of my hair in my finger. I wasn't used to being so despised by a group of peers.
Harry nodded in consideration, "That's really great. I'll go with you - we always leave in pairs. I have a vault at Gringott's that I need to collect from." He stood and patted Ron on the back who was now smoldering in the loveseat next to the rude Scottish boy. Harry tucked the parchment into the back pocket of his jeans after folding it many times and we went back outside.
I stood on the muddy porch, unsure of where to disapparate from. Harry began explaining to me that the pink tulips were a rough indication of the perimeter of the protective ward around the camp. Beyond where the flowers ended it was only about ten meters until the ward vanished, and once outside of it, magic could be traced.
It was highly important not to disapparate to and from any point outside of the ward circle, and for me especially not to wander over the line given the bequeathment mark on my neck. "Malfoy has obviously figured out by now that he can't trace you here. I imagine it's surprised him; he always underestimates us. Which we've used to our advantage. If we didn't have the ward hiding the camp he'd have been back in a heartbeat to grab you and break his end of the trade. Or worse, bring a flock of Death Eaters here." Harry's face permeated with irritation in the sunlight and I felt bad for him having to deal with a rivalry against Draco, who was a true bully and very resourceful.
I pressed my lips inwards in a line, knowing that Harry was only partially correct. Surely Draco was displeased about not knowing exactly where I'd been taken, but it wasn't as though he had been planning to steal me back - at least, not right away. The Order was completely in the dark regarding our arrangement to meet every week on Fridays when I was supposed to exchange their vulnerable information. My eyebrows were knitting together with the guilt welling up in my heart on the porch and I fiddled with my wedding ring to vent the discomfort.
Harry noticed my concern and rubbed my shoulder which sent shivers of embarrassment down my spine, "It's okay, really. Even if he follows us to London we'll just disapparate back here. Hermione did a stunning job with the ward." He held his hand out then and I took it. He gave me a moment to prepare and then we were twisting away, landing in an alleyway stocked with several barrels and a sleeping homeless man. I was surprised by the lack of nausea as we gained our balance and I flattened out my dress.
"Dat was much better den what I am used to," I mused as we merged into the crowded sidewalk. The day was sunny and warm and downtown London was packed with excited people enjoying the May sunshine. There were vendors cramped in the boulevards, cheery music, and bright colored coats. Even a clown was putting on some form of mime artistry in a nearby courtyard, drawing the attention of tourists with cameras. I clung to Harry's jacket so that I wouldn't be dragged away by the mob of muggles fighting for space on the sidewalks and a genuine smile grew on my face as I twisted my head in every direction, taking in the vibrant streets and culture.
"Have you been to Diagon Alley before?" Harry looked drunkenly amused as I stopped to accept a lollipop from a man giving them away in front of a candy shop. His eyes kept drifting to wear my fingers were twisted in his sleeve. He eventually got fed up from pulling the shoulder back up and looped his arm through mine and my face was burning from the closeness as we shoved through the crowd towards Leadenhall Market.
"Non, I 'ave not. My father always bought my school supplies in France," I replied as Harry wove his way expertly through the rush around us. "Why didn't we just disapparate into Diagon Alley?" I asked as a man with a large handlebar mustache caught my shoulder and exchanged an outraged expression with me.
It was electrifying to be amongst so many other people for the first time in months, and to be in a public realm with no other agenda than simply shopping. Before, at the Malfoy Manor, I had only had three other personalities to interact with besides the angry magical plants in the garden, and nothing better to do other than read, dance alone or garden in fear.
The walkway opened up to a large courtyard with a circular fountain in the middle. I yanked Harry towards it excitedly and he started to argue, saying that we were going in the wrong direction. I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the fountain, laughing hysterically as the water sprayed down onto our heads. Muggles around us took photos or shook their heads in distaste.
Harry was playful and receptive and pretty soon we were completely soaked. My robes were dragging in the fountain as I shoved him. My heart suddenly dropped as I slipped on a pile of coins below and right in his arms. It was then as he was steadying me that I caught a glimpse of bright blond hair on the other side of the statue in the middle.
"Wait!" I held myself away from Harry with one hand and used the other one to smear my soaked golden hair out of my eyes more clearly. I scanned the hundreds of faces in the vicinity with searing panic. Had it been him?
"Oi!" A policeman with a baton yelled at us, now approaching from across the unit paving. People were giggling in anticipation of our demise.
"Run!" Harry shouted, dragging me out of the fountain. We were both laughing loudly as we bolted with speed towards the market. Harry's glasses were fogging up as he pulled me forward by our barely laced fingers. We rounded several corners and flattened ourselves against the bricks of a depressed bakery entrance. The officer swept past at a steady pace in the wrong direction.
"Okay," Harry said, panting, as he wiped at his round glasses with his fingers, "Let's get serious. The Market is just this way, and then the Alley beyond. It's being monitored for apparition right now, so we have to go in the old fashioned way." He shook off his jacket and my eyes dragged over his tight t-shirt guiltily for a split second before I averted them, taking off my own drenched cloak. Thankfully I still had long sleeves on the green dress, but Harry looked mildly frozen as we walked along again.
We made our way through another few passageways and then into a very dark and dingy looking bar. Harry put his arm around my shoulder to hold me close to him as men with long, grisly beards and questionable attire glared at us. It was smoky and stank of liquor and body odor. He brought us to a stone wall and I raised my eyebrows in confusion. I turned my head to glance over my shoulder protectively as Harry started tapping his wand bizarrely on the bricks as though to mimic a delusional drummer. His fingers were digging into my neck as he held onto me.
I felt a shot to my heart as my eyes landed on Draco leaning against the farthest wall in Death Eater robes with his arms crossed. His eyes were burning into me in a way I had never seen before. He was covered by a huge pointy black hood over his head, barely showing his platinum hair. I could tell even by the temporary glimpses of his expression through the moving crowd between us that he was extremely pissed off, watching Harry clinging to me. I opened my mouth, unsure of what to do. His eyes looked pitch black and enraged in the lighting.
"There, look at that. It's one of my favorite memories, this wall," Harry was rambling next to me in a chipper tone. I turned back around and his face was inches from mine, taking in my surprise at the way the bricks rotated and swiveled, clinking gradually and strategically apart to reveal an entrance to an alley. A gargantuan stone dragon clung to a building at the end of the lane, and little sparks of magical fairies flitted through the air before us. Shops lined either side of the cobblestone with all wonders of unique offers. Once we'd stepped through the newly formed gap, the bricks re-assembled themselves back into a solid wall as though never having changed.
I eagerly brought my hands up to my face in excitement. Harry didn't really allow me much time to hang around in the shop fronts, "We need to be in and out of Gringotts. You're sure you have money there if you've never been here?" Harry inquired as he tugged me along gently but persistently.
"Yes," I murmured, staring into a broom shop with delight, "My father 'as a vault 'ere, in case of emergencies." I had my hands up on either side of my face, staring in the spinning objects in glass cases.
Harry sighed, eyeing me in the window. He seemed highly sympathetic to my interest in Quidditch, "You were good, you know, at Hogwarts. You were even scouted, before...everything fell apart." He coaxed me away from the glass with care and I chewed my lip in sadness. I had forgotten about what it was like to enjoy life with ease and freedom. Even something so simple as Quidditch had been stripped away.
Once inside of the Goblin bank the vivid sounds of the alley faded away. The entry hall was opulent and imposing, and I shrunk into myself at the sneers of the Goblins along either side. Harry spoke with the two Goblins at the end of hallway and once both of us had been verified the Goblins asked us to wait in the lobby.
"That's new," Harry complained, "Since when are we not allowed to see our vaults?" He was suspicious and I could see him gripping his wand in his pocket. I swallowed, staring around behind us as though we were about to be ambushed.
The Goblin that was hanging over the counter grinned, baring it's razor sharp, miniscule teeth, "No one, not even you Mister Potter, may enter into the bank at this time. Wait here, and we will bring out your requested withdrawals." His beady black eyes filled me with anxiety. He sat back sternly and returned to his paperwork, now ignoring us.
Harry was matching my energy as we both continued to scan all corners of the room. "Could something be wrong, 'arry?" I asked in a shaky voice.
"I don't know, I guess we'll find out," he replied impatiently. It was another agonizing fifteen minutes until a small Goblin wobbled around the counter and dropped velvety sacks into both of our hands. We hastily left the bank as though it was on fire, and I was grateful to be back outside.
"Alright, that was definitely weird," Harry commented as we made our way back to the brick wall where we'd entered. I counted the gold in the plush fabric they'd handed me. I had vainly asked for five-hundred galleons, not even sure if that much was in my father's vault. It should've been filled with much more than that and evidently there had been no issues.
"Merlin! How much did you take out Madeleine?" Harry exclaimed as we waited for the bricks to stop moving. He eyes went to the weighty bag with incredulity.
I smiled warmly at him, "Believe me, my family does not need et. Dis is but dust in de wind to dem." I dropped the bag into his hand, "For de Order. Take et."
He shook his head, "This will change so much. It's been so long - we were almost completely dry." He looked at me with emotional eyes and then his arms were locking me in tightly, "Thank you." I rubbed his back awkwardly, knowing that I was somewhere in the middle of the entire war and didn't deserve his affection. I also didn't want any further drama from Draco who could literally be anywhere glaring at us. My eyes wandered around the alley in fatigue, hoping desperately not to see anymore bright platinum hair.