Chapter 5: Draco's Detour
I do not own Harry Potter and I am not making any money from writing this whatsoever. The Harry Potter franchise is the property of Warner Brother's and J.K Rowling.
"I will be free once again, I promise you that!"
- Zerathos, spirit of vengeance, locked away in Mephisto's realm, unknown year.
┈ ┈ ┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈ ┈ ┈
To Mrs. Weasley's displeasure, Harry's sixteenth birthday celebrations were marred by grisly tidings brought to the party by Remus Lupin, who was looking gaunt and grim, his brown hair streaked liberally with gray, his clothes more ragged and patched than ever. "There have been another couple of dementor attacks," he announced, as Mrs. Weasley passed him a large slice of birthday cake.
"Did you hear about Florean Fortescue, Remus?" Bill asked, who was being plied with wine by Fleur. "The man who ran -"
"- the ice-cream place in Diagon Alley?" Harry interrupted, with an unpleasant, hollow sensation in the pit of his stomach. "He used to give me free ice creams. What's happened to him?"
"Dragged off, by the look of his place."
"Ollivander too," Mr. Weasley added. "His shop was burned down."
Everyone was shocked.
"But what'll people do for wands?" Ginny asked, Harry was wondering this too.
Mr. Weasley shrugged and took a sip of his tea. "They'll have to make do with other makers I suppose, but if the other side has Ollivander, it's not so good for us."
The day after his gloomy birthday tea, their booklist from Hogwarts arrived. It was early in the morning, only he, Ron, Mrs. Weasley, Hermione and Johnny were up and downstairs. His owl did not just deliver a booklist though, it also included a shiny gold badge with the Gryffindor crest and the letter 'C' on it. He had been made Quidditch Captain.
"That gives you equal status with prefects!" Hermione cried happily. "You can use our special bathroom now and everything!"
"Wow, I remember when Charlie wore one of these," Ron said, examining the badge with glee. "Harry, this is so cool, you're my Captain - if you let me back on the team, I suppose, haha..."
Johnny went a little white, his eyes widening. Only Harry saw it, but a moment later the expression was gone.
"Well, I don't suppose we can put off a trip to Diagon Alley much longer now you've got these," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "We'll go on Saturday as long as your father doesn't have to go into work again. I'm not going there without him."
"Mum, d'you honestly think You-Know-Who's going to be hiding behind a bookshelf in Flourish and Blotts?" Ron sniggered.
"Fortescue and Ollivander went on holiday, did they?" Mrs. Weasley said, firing up at once. "If you think security's a laughing matter you can stay behind and I'll get your things myself-"
"No, I wanna come, I want to see Fred and George's shop!" Ron said hastily.
"Then you just buck up your ideas, young man, before I decide you're too immature to come with us!" Mrs. Weasley said angrily, snatching up her clock, all nine hands of which were still pointing at 'mortal peril,' and balancing it on top of a pile of just laundered towels. "And that goes for returning to Hogwarts as well!"
Ron turned to stare incredulously at Harry as his mother hoisted the laundry basket and the teetering clock into her arms and stormed out of the room.
"Blimey, you can't even make a joke round here anymore..."
Johnny fidgeted back and forth, the night before they were set to go shopping at 'Diagon Alley' (what the hell even was a diagon?).
He was nervous, to say the least. Not because of the shopping, no, there were a lot of them coming along, they'd be fine, but because of the fact that he hadn't told anyone else about how he was being sent to Hogwarts with them.
And by anyone, he mainly meant Hermione.
God, he didn't even know why he was so fucking nervous in the first place. It wasn't a big deal.
That's not what his annoyingly sweaty palms were telling him though.
What the fuck was wrong with him? He'd faced frost trolls, the son of the devil, multiple other mythological creatures, demons, and he even killed the Goddess of Death! This shouldn't be bothering him this much.
"Hey Hermione," he started, and she looked up at him from her seat on his bed, legs stretched out as she read a book.
"Yeah?" She responded.
He faltered for a moment, his heart beating uncomfortably fast.
"Oh, I just wanted to tell you," he went on, "at the recent Order meeting, Dumbledore's assigned me to come along to Hogwarts for the school year as a sort of extra protection."
Nothing happened at first, they just stayed in their positions for a few seconds. But then, all at once, Hermione snapped her book shut, not even bothering to put in a bookmark to keep her place, and shot off the bed excitedly, a flurry of words escaping from her mouth.
"Are you serious?! Oh my God, I have so much more to show you that I couldn't in Hogsmeade! There's such a rich history there, the ghosts, the paintings, the architecture, everything has its own story! You'll be the first muggle to ever step foot in Hogwarts! Don't you realize the history you'd be making?"
But just as suddenly as it came, it was gone in a moment.
Hermione frowned and regarded Johnny almost sadly. "But you don't have your powers, I-I don't mean to sound rude but, what protection would you be providing?"
He barely held back a wince. It was exactly what Johnny, and also likely what every other Order member was thinking too.
"Mostly that's a front," he said, "not a very good one though, but yeah." Johnny didn't even hesitate to tell her about Dumbledore's plan for him. "I'm actually there to meet with Dumbledore privately. We started something together in the Spring, and he wants to continue it."
Hermione's eyes widened a bit. He could tell she wanted to know.
Given the fact that Dumbledore never spoke at meetings about the Horcrux's, and Snape's confusion from the day of the meeting when Dumbledore mentioned their Horcrux hunt was telling. The old man may have not have said it, but Johnny knew this was meant to be kept quiet.
"I don't know if he wants anything said about it," Johnny admitted, "I want to tell you though..."
Hermione was such an inquisitive person, which is why it surprised him when she nodded. "That's okay - I mean, I do want to know - but, I also don't want you to be in trouble with Professor Dumbledore."
He smiled softly at her. "Thanks."
She returned it. "Of course."
Johnny frowned as an inconspicuous black SUV pulled up to the Burrow's front yard.
It felt so out of place to see something from the human world be at the home of a family so magical.
"How are we all meant to fit in there?" He asked.
Arthur smiled slyly at him. "Magic."
He snorted. Really, Johnny should just stop asking at this point. He saw Arthur and Molly slip into the passenger seat as it obligingly stretched to fit two people. The outside of the car was unaffected. Shrugging, he got in the backseat. Hermione slid in next to him, and so on for Ron, Ginny, and Harry. As each teen got in the back, the seats stretched out and out.
"You don't have any more do you?" The driver asked, glancing at them in the rearview mirror. He was a rather nondescript man. "Another passenger would be pushing it, I'm afraid."
Arthur shook his head. "That's all."
The driver nodded and with that, they were off. It felt smoother than a normal car ride, it was the strangest experience. It felt like they were gliding over the road rather than actually driving on it. The sensation unsettled him.
"It's good dad can get us these again," Ron said appreciatively, stretching luxuriously as the car moved smoothly away from the Burrow, Bill and Fleur waving from the kitchen window.
"Don't get used to it, it's only because of Harry," Arthur said over his shoulder. "He's been given top-grade security status. And we'll be joining up with additional security at the Leaky Cauldron too."
Johnny looked over at Harry and noticed that he was frowning. Hell, he was too, trying to figure out how one decided on 'leaky cauldron' as a name for a place.
The Ministry was being extremely cautious, though Johnny supposed this was better than how they were acting last year.
He gazed out of the window as the scenery whipped by. He didn't even care anymore about how fast they were going. He noticed Hermione was doing the same, and when he had turned his head to look at her, their eyes met. He quickly averted his gaze, feeling like an idiot.
"Here you are, then," the driver said, a surprisingly short while later as he slowed in some street and stopped outside the Leaky Cauldron. "I'm to wait for you, any idea how long you'll be?"
"A couple of hours, I expect," Arthur said. "Ah, good, he's here."
Johnny could not see exactly who was here, as all of the other teens had moved around and craned their necks to see whom Arthur was referring to.
But as the doors opened, and Harry got out first, Johnny figured it out pretty fast.
"Harry!" A booming voice said. One he recognized to be Hagrid's.
Hagrid continued to say something to Harry not-so-discreetly about Buckbeak. Johnny merely looked around the street instead as Arthur told the driver they'd be shopping for a few hours. The driver was apparently meant to wait for them here.
"We didn't know 'security' meant you!" Harry said, grinning.
"I know, jus' like old times, innit? See, the Ministry wanted ter send a bunch o' Aurors, but Dumbledore said I'd do," Hagrid said proudly, throwing out his chest and tucking his thumbs into his pockets. "Let's get goin' then - after yeh, Molly, Arthur-"
When they entered the 'Leaky Cauldron', it was empty. Only the bartender was there, cleaning some glasses out with a rag from behind the counter. He looked up hopefully as the group entered, but Hagrid raised a hand.
"Jus' passin' through today, Tom, sure yeh understand, Hogwarts business, yeh know."
'Tom' nodded sadly, returning to his work, but he looked decidedly downcast.
It was depressing, but nothing compared to how the street beyond the other door looked. When they exited on the other side of the Leaky Cauldron, the streets of Diagon Alley greeted them. They were almost as barren as the place before, only a few people went about their shopping, as well as some shady-looking street vendors littering the area. Many shops were wrecked or boarded up, large Ministry pamphlets and wanted posters posted over the closed shops.
One of the vendors called out to them from behind a shabby-looking stall, motioning at an array of ugly and ancient-looking necklaces and amulets that proclaimed they could protect wearers against werewolves, dementors and inferi. He was seedy-looking and leered at Hermione and Ginny.
"One for the girls, madam?" He asked Molly. "Protect their pretty little necks?"
Johnny subtly stepped in front of Hermione and glared at the man, but otherwise, they kept on.
"If I were on duty..." Arthur grumbled.
"Yes, but don't go arresting anyone now, dear, we're in a hurry," Molly responded, nervously consulting a list. "I think we'd better do Madam Malkin's first, Hermione wants new dress robes and Ron's showing much too much ankle in his school robes, and you must need new ones too, Harry, you've grown so much - come on, everyone-"
"Molly, it doesn't make sense for all of us to go to Madam Malkin's," Arthur said. "Why don't those three go with Hagrid and Johnny, and we can go to Flourish and Blotts and get everyone's schoolbooks?"
"I don't know," Molly said anxiously, clearly torn between a desire to finish the shopping quickly and the wish to stick together in a pack. "Hagrid, do you think - ?"
"They'll be fine with me an' Johnny, Molly," Hagrid assured her, waving one of his giant hands airily at her. Johnny nodded in agreement.
Molly did not seem entirely convinced, but allowed the separation anyway, scurrying off to Flourish and Blots with Arthur and Ginny while he, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid started walking towards Madam Malkin's.
A lot of the people they passed on the way to their destination had the same anxious look as Molly. Johnny found it hard to blame them as they frantically did their shopping.
"Migh' be a bit of a squeeze in there with all of us," Hagrid said, stopping outside Madam Malkin's and bending down to peer through the window. "I'll stand guard outside, all right?"
So Johnny, Harry, Ron and Hermione all entered the shop by themselves. He had initially thought by tight squeeze that Hagrid meant there were some others in there, but no, the place was just tiny as hell. It was empty on the inside, but as soon as they shut the door behind them, he heard a voice he vaguely recognized coming from behind a rack of clothing.
"-not a child, in case you haven't noticed, Mother. I am perfectly capable of doing my shopping alone."
A woman's voice clucked at the other. "Now, dear, your mother's quite right, none of us is supposed to go wandering around on our own anymore, it's nothing to do with being a child -"
"Watch where you're sticking that pin, will you!"
A teenage boy with a pale, pointed face and white-blond hair appeared from behind the rack, wearing a handsome set of dark green robes that glittered with pins around the hem and the edges of the sleeves. He strode to the mirror and examined himself; it was a few moments before he noticed all of them standing behind him in the reflection, his light grey eyes narrowed.
"If you're wondering what that smell is, mother, a mudblood just walked in."
"There's no need for language like that!" A tall woman said, coming from around the clothing rack as well, holding a measuring tape and a wand. "And I don't want wands drawn in my shop either!"
Johnny looked at Harry and Ron, who both had their wands pointed at the blonde boy. Johnny remembered him now, he was the one insulting Hermione when they went to Hogsmeade together. His fists clenched as he also remembered what mudblood meant.
But Hermione gripped his arm and spoke pleadingly to the three of them. "No, please, honestly, it's not worth it..."
"Yeah, like you'd dare do magic outside of school." The boy sneered. "Who gave you that scratch, Granger? I want to send them flowers."
"Like you don't know," Ron snarled.
The boy smirked but said nothing. Johnny noticed something in his eyes though, something about them seemed familiar. There were dark bags under them, and they looked hollow. Emotionless.
"That's quite enough!" The owner said loudly, before looking over her shoulder for support. "Madam - please -"
A third person walked from around a rack, she had a platinum streak of color in her otherwise black hair. She was tall and looked down at them disdainfully. "Put those away," she demanded coolly, "if you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do."
"Really?" Harry asked challengingly, stepping forward a bit, and Johnny blinked in surprise. "Going to get a few Death Eater pals to do us in, are you?"
The owner squealed and clutched at her heart. "Really, you shouldn't accuse - dangerous thing to say - wands away, please!"
But Harry did not lower his wand, and neither did Ron. The woman smiled unpleasantly.
"I see that being Dumbledore's favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you."
Harry looked around mockingly. "Wow... look at that... he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!"
The blonde teen made to step towards them angrily, but he stumbled over the robe that was too long for him. Ron laughed loudly.
"Don't you dare talk to my mother like that, Potter!" He snarled.
"It's all right Draco," his mother said, placing a calming hand on her son's shoulder. "I expect Potter will be reunited with his dear parents long before I am reunited with Lucius."
Johnny watched as Harry raised his wand higher. He moved up to place his own hand on Harry's shoulder as Hermione begged Harry to put his wand away.
"Don't start a scene," he warned him.
"You mustn't," Hermione agreed, "you'll be in such trouble."
But the older woman's eyes flickered towards Johnny. "I see you've brought... it, with you too, how nice of you to take your pet out on a walk."
Even with Johnny squeezing hard on Harry's shoulder, the teen did not lower his wand, and now Ron seemed ready to fire off a spell at any moment. Even Hermione, who was just five seconds before trying to help him stop the two boys from starting a fight, was angered by the comment.
"Of all the - !" She let go of Harry's arm and was glaring daggers at the woman too. Johnny put a hand on her shoulder as well.
"Can you all please calm down?" He whispered harshly. "Ron I swear to god, if you raise your wand any higher I'm going to kick your leg out from under you!"
The woman smirked even as her son bellowed in pain. The owner had tried to go back to her work as if nothing was happening. He yanked his left arm away from her in anger.
"Watch where you're putting your pins, woman! Mother, I don't think I want these anymore." He pulled the robes over his head and threw them on the floor at the owner's feet.
"You're right, Draco," the woman said with a contemptuous glance at Hermione and Johnny, "now I know the kind of scum that shops here... We'll do better at Twilfitt and Tatting's." And with that, the pair of them strode out of the shop, the blonde teen taking care to bang as hard as he could into Ron on the way out.
"Well, really!" the owner said, snatching up the fallen robes and moving the tip of her wand over them like a vacuum cleaner, so that it removed all the dust.
She was distracted throughout their fitting, but Johnny paid it no mind. His thoughts were still on the blonde teen's eyes, they were so damn familiar.
He didn't get much time to think on it though, as the fitting was done with rather quickly. No doubt, the owner wanted them out of there as fast as possible after what had just happened.
"Got ev'rything?" Hagrid asked brightly when they reappeared at his side.
"Just about," Harry answered. "Did you see the Malfoys?"
"Yeah," Hagrid said, unconcerned. "Bu' they wouldn' dare make trouble in the middle o' Diagon Alley, Harry. Don' worry abou' them."
The four of them exchanged looks, and Johnny noticed that they were all still looking a bit sour after the confrontation. Especially Hermione.
He frowned, but did not say anything as Molly, Arthur and Ginny returned, all holding heavy-looking bags filled with books.
"Everyone alright?" Molly asked. "Got your robes? Right then, we can pop in at the Apothecary and Eeylops on the way to Fred and George's. Stick close, now."
At the Apothecary, only Hermione and Ginny needed to go in to shop. Molly went with Ginny, and Johnny went in with Hermione.
The place stunk a little, but he'd smelled worse before. Hermione was reading the letter she'd received from Hogwarts, muttering the names of items from her list under her breath. She still seemed upset, or maybe just focused.
"I'm still surprised you lost your cool in there," he said quietly as she grabbed a handful of asphodel flowers from a shelf.
Hermione did not speak immediately, but after getting something called 'Boomslang', she sighed. "The comments towards me, I can handle, but - I mean, how dare she refer to you as a pet? How do they know that you're a muggle?"
"I don't think they do, per se. Just the I am - was the Ghost Rider. That's probably what they were referring to." He felt inexplicably warm at her words though. "Still," he continued, "bad enough Ron and Harry can't keep their tempers in check, now you too? You're supposed to be the logical and smarter one."
Hermione scowled. "Well, why is it that I have to be some paragon of restraint and responsibility all the time? But the two boys can go off and act like it, and it's expected of them?"
"Don't try and flip this," he said as they moved along the aisles, "you're right, it's an unreasonable expectation of you, but what if I didn't stop you? Or if I wasn't there and she said something about me anyway? Would you have rather had the fight that was seconds away from happening?"
She did not respond to this.
"I've had to hear that kind of talk from people towards my parents and brother for years, and if I did react, I got an earful and a lecture back at home for it from the people actually being discriminated against. The least you could do is take it for five minutes."
Johnny felt bad immediately. She was discriminated against in this world too, he shouldn't have spoken like that to her.
After she had paid for all her stuff, he squeezed her hand briefly as they were walking to the door.
"Thank you, though." He said softly.
Her lips quirked up a bit, nearly a smile. She nodded.
As he looked around at the shop, he had to admit, the twins were geniuses. Business-wise, and creatively. The sheer amount of stuff he saw really shouldn't have surprised him, considering they could use magic, but little candies that made you throw up, shoes that let you climb walls and ceilings, hairbrush's that could change the user's hairstyle... and there were plenty more. Ginny and Hermione were looking at daydream potions, Ron was examining the weather in a bottle, and even Molly and Arthur were looking around at some of the fireworks on display.
Harry wasn't though, he was near the entrance, staring at something outside the shop.
Johnny frowned. What was he looking at?
"Well, well, well," a familiar mischievous voice said, from behind him.
"Look at what we have here," another identical one continued.
He turned around to face Fred and George, a smile on his face.
"Our favourite leather-clad tosser," they said together.
"Hello boys," Johnny greeted them, "business is good, I take it?"
"Booming," Fred confirmed with a nod. He was able to tell the difference thanks to the sewn-on 'F' that was on his right breast pocket. George had a similar 'G' one on his suit as well. "Came as a surprise to us, what with all the gloom and doom around lately."
"Yeah," his brother agreed, "we were really upset about the timing, to be honest, but somehow it's - Oi!" George suddenly said loudly at a boy who was reaching his hand into a bowl labelled edible dark marks. "That's the second time! What did I say before?" He walked off towards the boy, but the kid was fast and was able to sprint out of the shop before George could get to him.
"Does that happen a lot?" Johnny asked.
Fred shrugged. "A bit, yeah, but just yelling at them usually works."
George returned, shaking his head. "Little brat," he grumbled.
"We've actually got to thank you," Fred said suddenly as if he was just remembering something. "That shock gum you gave us at Christmas last year? Well, we thought it was pretty funny, so we've developed our own spin on it."
The twins led him over to a shelf that was filled with a product called 'Electric Shock Shake'.
"It basically works as a fake hand," George explained, "simply pop it in your sleeve, go to shake someone's hand, and watch as they get shocked."
Johnny nodded appreciatively, it wasn't much like the shock gum at all really then. "Kinda like a joy buzzer, right?"
Both Fred and George were now looking at him as if he had some grotesque deformity.
"A what buzzer?" They asked in unison.
Johnny rolled his eyes. "A joy buzzer, how have you never heard of it? You've got a whole section of things for muggles!"
"You mean to tell us," Fred said.
"That we've made a product that muggles have already come up with before?" George finished, looking aghast.
Johnny shrugged apologetically. "Kinda? It's not the entire hand they have, just a metal thing with a strap you wrap around your hand, but... yeah."
The twins sighed, and with a wave of George's wand, the contents of the shelf vanished into thin air.
"Back to the drawing board on that one," Fred muttered sadly.
"I can't believe we got beaten to it," George added.
"Sorry to break it to you guys," Johnny said truthfully, but he the smile on his face might have ruined the effect.
They shook their heads. "No big deal," Fred said.
"We'll come up with something else, we always do," George assured him.
Johnny nodded, and as the twins were called away to do other things around the store, he glanced to where Harry was standing before, only to find him gone. And it wasn't just him either, both Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be seen.
"You know how to fix it?"
Harry held his breath under the invisibility cloak as he, Hermione and Ron listened in on Malfoy speak to Borgin in his shop in Knockturn Alley.
"Possibly," Borgin said, in a tone that suggested he was unwilling to commit himself. "I'll need to see it, though. Why don't you bring it into the shop?"
"I can't," Malfoy said. "It's got to stay put. I just need you to tell me how to do it."
Harry saw Borgin lick his lips nervously through the window.
"Well, without seeing it, I must say it will be a very difficult job, perhaps impossible. I couldn't guarantee anything."
"No?" Malfoy said, and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering. "Perhaps this will make you more confident." He moved toward Borgin and was blocked from view by the cabinet. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shuffled sideways to try and keep him in sight, but all they could see was Borgin, looking very frightened.
"Tell anyone," Malfoy said, "and there will be retribution. You know Fenrir Greyback? He's a family friend. He'll be dropping in from time to time to make sure you're giving the problem your full attention."
"I don't think that's necessary-"
"I'll decide that," Malfoy said. "Well, I'd better be off. And don't forget to keep that one safe, I'll need it."
"Perhaps you'd like to take it now?"
"No, of course I wouldn't, you stupid little man, how would I look carrying that down the street? Just don't sell it."
"Of course not... sir."
"Not a word to anyone, Borgin, and that includes my mother, understand? I've got real power now, the kind that could rip you limb from limb. Don't test me."
"Of course," Borgin murmured, bowing, but there was fear in his expression as he did so.
The next moment, the bell over the door tinkled loudly as Malfoy stalked out of the shop looking very pleased with himself.
The trio looked at each other from under the cloak, their minds racing.