The Casting Stone 9
This all should have been in the last chapter, but I wanted to switch viewpoints. Seems a good idea, too, since I'm noticing people starting to ask "what's up with Harry?". We're on Harry's POV for this bit. He's been quiet until now, but there's a reason for it (always!). Time to cheer him up a bit, I think. This is a 'bonus' to this week's chapter, really, more than anything else.
Callum teaches the group the basics of sailing, while continuing to get on people's nerves. Harry talks to Katie about what's been bothering him, and Draco and Harry finally find a common cause – disliking Callum. That leads to their doing something a little rash, but harmless. Really. (Lucky for them the only adult who would get truly cross with them has been temporarily incapacitated by the lunar cycle).
***
Harry hadn't expected to find the experience of sailing so thrilling and exhilarating. Prior to this trip his only experience of having been in a boat was that first night he arrived at Hogwarts when he was 11, and that was hardly anything to compare to this. For the first time in a long while, Harry found himself relaxing and smiling for no reason as they moved up and down the coastline of the island, occasionally waving at other boats as they sailed past. This is brilliant. No matter why we're here. It was especially nice being out all day in the warm summer sun. Harry, like Liz, tanned, and he started to get a nice glow to him quickly, in contrast to his pale companions. The sun felt so good, and Harry felt himself start to really, truly thaw and relax. He'd been so tense and so cold for months, only travelling at night, living out of doors and spending days in the rain of the north, that it was with undisguised relief that he stripped off his shirt and lay out on the top of the front deck while Callum gave them all a break.
He ignored Sirius calling out to him to at least put a hat on, pretending to be asleep. He was left undisturbed, but he heard Sirius grumbling a bit at Liz before he heard their footsteps retreating to the other end of the boat. Don't coddle me, Sirius. Harry and Sirius had been on edge with each other for months, ever since Harry had refused, after Voldemort's downfall, to quit his position as an Auror. Harry felt that there was just too much left to do, and he couldn't possibly not finish what he had started. Sirius felt that Harry had done enough, and that he should just stay out of it while others cleaned up the last of the Death Eaters, and finally make some plans as to what he wanted to do with his life, now that he could be anything he wanted to be. Harry knew that Sirius meant well, and that he was exhausted from constantly worrying about Harry and the pressures that his life had brought him, but Harry just lost his temper and yelled at Sirius that his life was not going to be dictated by Sirius' selfish needs. It was a hurtful and unfortunate thing to say, and Harry still wasn't sure what had brought on the outburst. The end result was a screaming match that even Remus judged 'totally out of control' and 'utterly unlike them'. Both Harry and Sirius had said something rude to Remus and left.
Harry had gone to The Burrow, where he enjoyed doing nothing except being spoiled by Mrs. Weasley for a week. And Ginny was there. Harry had been surprised to find her at home, as he thought she had moved out to live with friends from school, but he didn't bring it up and quietly enjoyed having her about. Ginny, as usual, said little unless he spoke to her directly, and just got on with everything in her very no-nonsense way. And when Harry finally confessed to her why he had come to The Burrow in the first place, she disappeared almost immediately and returned with Sirius.
"Work it out. Right now."
Sirius and Harry had sat on the back wall of the Weasley's garden and talked well into the night. Harry apologized for what he said. Sirius told him he knew Harry didn't mean it, but that he was very concerned as to what really was bothering him. Harry honestly had no idea. He was restless, and still very on edge from the final confrontation with Voldemort. I guess almost dying can put a damper on things. Or I should say, almost dying again. He told Sirius that he was having difficulty believing it really was all over, and kept expecting to hear some terrible news, or open the door one day to find Voldemort standing there. And Harry was still bitterly sad that Sirius wasn't free, and was terrified that now they would never possibly find Pettigrew, and that was the end of it. I feel helpless; I can't stand it.
They had worked out their differences, but Harry's mood didn't improve much in general, as he still had no answers for the problems that were really bothering him, and in fact couldn't even really seem to put a finger on exactly what those were. It was exasperating, and Harry felt bad for causing Sirius to worry about him. But Harry had been very angry when he wasn't told immediately that they might have a very real lead on Peter. Sirius was being overprotective. And unfair; I had every right to know; this is just as important to me as it is to him, but he was stubbornly doing what he 'thought was best', not what he knew he should do. Still, despite the current strain in their relationship, Harry never for an instant doubted or questioned how much Sirius loved him, and why he did and said the things he did. And Harry had truly grown to love Sirius as the father he had never known, although it would have been more accurate to say Remus was his father-figure, while Sirius was an equal of sorts. Sometimes I feel like Remus is fathering both of us. Maybe Sirius will change if he and Liz ever have their own children.
Harry felt sad at that thought, and tried
to push it out of his mind, deciding to just focus on enjoying the beautiful
Mediterranean sunshine and thinking good thoughts about finally getting the
family he had always dreamed of, once Sirius was free, and then he and Liz were
married. He really did feel much more like his old self than he had in months. I
love you Sirius, you big idiot. Just
give me the room I need to work this out. I'll get it sorted. And just wait until we get our hands on
Pettigrew. Nobody will stop us then, I
promise.
It was oddly quiet at the moment, and he could hear only the sound of the wind, the water slapping against the boat, the occasional snap from the sails as they caught the wind, and the sporadic chattering of the griffins. Harry smiled at that. Malfoy had brought the griffins with them, initially against Liz and Remus' wishes, and they had proven to be rather entertaining little mascots for the group. They instinctively knew when to keep out of the way and would disappear while ropes and sails were flying. But once the sails were set, they would come back out and run up and down the deck in an endless game of tag. Callum had told Malfoy that maybe bringing puppies on board wasn't a good idea, as they were small and might slip overboard. Malfoy had just given him a condescending smile Harry knew well and said that it was no concern of Callum's what Malfoy chose to do with his pets. What Callum didn't know was that Katie had already cast a spell on the boat that would prevent anything from falling off of it. This had the effect of making Callum himself bounce back slightly whenever he leaned to far over the sides to look at something, but Callum hadn't seemed to notice, thankfully.
"Potter. You awake?"
Harry shielded his eyes with one hand and squinted at Malfoy who had come to stand near him on the top deck.
"What is it, Malfoy?"
"I've grown very tired of listening to Mr. Macreedy's rather boorish tales of booze and near-death experiences with Muggle sports. The man has no idea….I'm stunned your Godfather's rather steadfast and calm intended is friends with such an oaf. Even Professor Lupin looks strained."
"That's just the moon, I think. But what did you want?"
Draco looked at Harry for a moment, then sat down across from him and leaned up against the railing.
"Potter, I'm well aware that you are most unhappy with my being here. But I think that you and I can agree that we both want the same outcome from this little excursion. Yes?"
"If you are referring to catching that rat and setting Sirius free, then yes."
"That is exactly what I am referring to. As this is the case, and considering that we have enough to worry about, I just wanted to … hell Potter, I don't know. Call a truce sounds so second-year."
"I know what you're getting at. We're adults now. I think we can manage to behave like them."
Draco gave a small laugh. "An amazingly adult statement from a young man with such an un-adult mentor. Forgive me, I couldn't help myself; it had to be said."
Harry sighed. He still didn't know what to make of the man Malfoy had turned into. Hermione trusted him implicitly, and often chastised Harry and Ron for making 'unfair' remarks. And Remus, who never trusted anyone without a very good reason, both trusted and liked Draco. Malfoy and Sirius had never got on, but that was proving to be more of a personality conflict than anything else. Harry had to admit that Draco would not be here if Sirius didn't allow it, no matter what Remus had to say on the subject. Harry suddenly felt that it was just too tiring to be mad at Malfoy without a good reason on top of everything else he had to deal with.
"Malfoy, I haven't said thank you for what you're doing for Sirius. What you did; finding that note in your father's papers and everything."
Draco didn't say anything.
"Thank you, Malfoy."
Draco just nodded, and then looked out to sea. Good enough to be going forward, as Dumbledore would say.
"Malfoy, aren't you hot in that long-sleeved shirt?
"Not particularly."
"Not going to try for a tan? Those are some nice freckles you're getting on your face. You can match with Ron."
"Very funny, Potter." Draco looked at his hands a moment, then back at Harry with a sad and still dark faint smile. "You know why I'm here, really?"
"For Remus."
"Partially. But I've my own more personal reason for wanting to see that man suffer."
Harry sat up now and looked more closely at Draco. "You've never said this before, Malfoy."
Draco shook his head. "It's not like what you might think. Here." Draco rolled up his left sleeve and showed Harry the Dark Mark there. Harry shivered a bit; he'd always expected Draco to have one of these, but the reality of sitting there looking at it was frightening. He finally glanced back at Draco and raised an eyebrow.
"Pettigrew," said Draco, quickly rolling his sleeve back down. "Your rat did that to me, at Voldemort's request. The night we left Hogwarts. How did you spend your graduation night, Potter?" Harry didn't miss the snarl in Draco's voice, but understood that Draco was just angry in general, not at him in particular.
"Remus and Katie threw a party at their house."
"How nice." Draco stood up now and jumped from the upper deck down onto the main deck, whistling for the griffins. "Potter, we're good enough to be going forward, are we?"
Harry was surprised by Draco's choice of words for a moment. But it seemed appropriate that Draco use Dumbledore's phrasing, and in deference to Dumbledore Harry nodded and even managed a smile.
"Looks like it, Malfoy."
Draco didn't smile back, but his face did relax and his eyes seemed a little less dark.
"At least you and I should be able to agree on one thing."
"What's that, Potter?"
"Callum Maccreedy is one of the biggest idiots we've ever met other than Gilderoy Lockheart."
Draco did laugh at this and nod, quickly shutting up though as they suddenly say Liz and the offending Callum coming up the starboard side towards them.
"Gods, he is at that."
***
After three days they had started to get the hang of everything and were able to get most of their tasks done without Callum taking them through everything step-by-step. Katie suggested at breakfast on the fourth day that maybe they could leave Callum behind and give it try themselves. That got a cheer from Sirius, a sigh from Liz, and a talking-to from Remus. It was full moon that night, and Remus was strained and tired and in no mood for 'silly suggestions that could result in our all getting killed'. Katie managed to shut him up before the entire lecture came out and just as Callum, who slept in, strode into the kitchen and asked Liz to make him some eggs.
Harry and Draco gave each other knowing looks as they watched Sirius turn a shade of red they both knew from experience was not a good omen. That got them both a glare from Remus that was equally unwelcome. Katie in fact got Callum some breakfast and Harry nearly died laughing as he overheard Katie swearing to Remus, before they all set out for the dock again, that she had not put anything in his meal that would have any adverse effects on the poor Muggle.
"Remus is convinced I'm going to lose my temper and slip him a really nasty hex or something."
"Such as?"
"Well, maybe a little hair-loss tonic or silencing potion."
"Wow, good idea. That was one of the few potions I ever managed. Do you have what we need?"
Katie laughed and shook her head. "Mr. Potter, do behave."
"Katie, Callum is just so unlike Liz."
"He was her husband's friend, Harry not one she chose. He sort of came with the territory. Rather like I inherited Sirius with Remus."
"You're ahead then. This idiot…."
"Shhhh. Look, he's a reasonably harmless idiot. Callum can't win here anyway, because he makes Sirius so very unhappy, and that's really bothering Liz. It hasn't escaped her attention that you and Draco are less than enamoured with him, too."
"Are you saying you like him?"
"No, not in the least. I find him exhausting and painfully naïve. But right now I've other things that matter more to me to think about." Katie stopped walking for a moment and looked closely at Harry. "Speaking of which. I've noticed that your mood has improved drastically in the past few days, but there's still something bothering you, isn't there?"
"Katie, it's nothing really."
"Is it Sirius being so upset by Callum? You shouldn't fret about that, Harry. Callum will be out of our lives quickly enough and Sirius…."
Harry cut her off and started down the stairs to the dock.
"I appreciate it, Katie. But really, I am fine."
Katie rolled her eyes and started down herself. "Where in my life did I end up getting assigned to play Wendy to the Lost Boys?" Harry heard her mutter under her breath.
They spent the morning sailing between Paros and one of the smaller islands to the south. It was the first time they had been out of sight of land, and Harry felt a little nervous about that, but Callum, for all his boorish tendencies, was a very good sailor and steered them exactly to the compass point he said they were going to in exactly the amount of time he said it would take. Malfoy seemed to particularly dread going out on the open waters at first, and Harry found out from Sirius that Draco had been seasick coming to the island. But Katie gave Draco something to settle his nerves and he got used to the open ocean relatively quickly. Remus had the familiar pale and strained look he tended to get before the full moon, but Callum assumed that was seasickness as well, thankfully, and happily gave Remus some Muggle pills all day which Remus carefully tossed overboard when Callum wasn't looking.
Sailing was actually a lot simpler than it looked, once they got all the ropes figured out. Sirius had made a bit of a fuss about why they had a sailboat to start with, but Remus shushed him by saying that trusting themselves to a Muggle powerboat would not be the smartest move, as they didn't have time to enchant it properly. Harry noticed that once again Remus did not say the obvious out loud; that only Sirius had any real experience in enchanting Muggle engines, but that he was very out of practice. But, as usual, Harry could see that Sirius heard that message loud and clear, and sat on the rail staring out at the ocean and looking sad for a while, until Callum yelled at him to do something. Harry saw Sirius grit his teeth, but silently move to do what he'd been told.
Harry laughed as he saw, moments later, Callum bend over for the umpteenth time that day to tie his shoelaces. Harry knew that it must be Sirius who kept untying them when nobody was paying attention, but nobody had caught him doing it. It was petty and childish and Harry and Draco both sniggered again at the sight of it.
Draco leaned towards Harry and said quietly, so Remus wouldn't overhear him, "Well, Potter, I'd hate to see what Black would get up to with Callum if Liz weren't standing right there."
"So would Callum, I suspect."
"He doesn't seem her type at all. He's a ninny, and Liz is one of the most sensible people I've ever met."
"Katie pointed out that Callum came as part of a package deal with Liz's former husband, she didn't choose him herself."
"She need not have continued the acquaintance after her husband's death, certainly, if that were the simple fact of the matter."
"Well, lucky for us she did."
Draco's next comment was cut off as he caught sight of Callum making his way over and suddenly Draco thought of something he absolutely had to do on the other side of the boat. Harry glared but stood his ground. He knew what was coming next; Callum, discovering that Sirius only spoke to him in monosyllables and only if directly questioned, was trying to now befriend Harry as a way of getting to Sirius.
Callum was very curious about Sirius, something that actually made Sirius a little nervous, considering his situation. Harry had figured out that Sirius' worst fears were true when it came to Callum, although he said nothing to anyone. Sirius might just snap. Callum did fancy 'good old Lizzy' and was trying to decide just how 'engaged' she really was. Harry had come to that conclusion when Callum had commented to him that Liz didn't actually have an engagement ring. She wore her promise ring, and Harry couldn't exactly get into a great discussion with Callum about wizard customs vs. Muggle ones. Callum couldn't know that a promise ring was a wizard 'engagement' ring, and to all intents and purposes, once a witch or wizard put on a promise ring, they were completely 'off limits'. Not something to be taken lightly. Callum seemed to either ignore or fail to realize the fact that Sirius also wore a promise ring. If he thinks he's going to bust up that pair, he is a bigger idiot than Lockheart. He has no idea what dangerous waters he's in. Rather like that poor Auror from Belgium who got a little too fresh with Hermione. Ron just about killed him.
Callum walked over and leaned against the railing, smiling at Harry. Like Liz, he was also deeply tan from spending so much time out of doors. He had redish-blonde hair that was turning almost the same white-blonde as Draco's on top as he spent more time in the sun. Harry thought it vaguely amusing that his eyes were almost as dark as Sirius', but lacked the glint of dangerous intelligence that Sirius had. And Callum had an annoying habit of never wearing his shirt when they sailed. Harry, and on occasion Sirius, might take off their shirt to lie in the sun a bit, but that was it. Remus and Draco never removed the long-sleeved soft cotton shirts they always wore, of course. Callum had come one step closer to Katie being the first to smack him when he teased Remus about needing some colour and to at least unbutton more than just the collar of his shirt.
"So, Harry. You're Sirius' nephew, right?"
"Godson."
"Godson, godson, I keep forgetting that. Wow; it's nice that you're close like this. I think I know who my godfather is, but we're hardly close."
"My parents are dead. Sirius is, for all intents and purposes, my family."
"Oh. Why did I think you were all related? Are Sirius and Remus cousins or something? They're very close, it seems."
"No. Remus was my father's other best friend when they were growing up. They've known each other for 30 years. That tends to make you close, I suspect."
"Wow, yeah. 30 years? When did they meet?"
"At school when they were 11."
"So Sirius is what, 41? 42?"
Harry could rarely remember having such a pointless conversation that was now obviously leading to a jab at Sirius. "41, if it's that important."
"Of course not," laughed Callum, a little to forced. "I'll be the big four-0 myself in 5 years. Nothing to be scared of. So, what does Sirius do, if you don't mind my asking?"
Harry thought about this. Up until now Callum's conversations had been limited to neutral topics. For some reason, he was now looking to up the stakes and started asking these pointed questions. Harry wasn't going to bite.
"Ask him yourself."
That stopped Callum, as it was obvious that that would get absolutely nowhere. He tried a different tactic. "Does he teach like Remus?"
"Why do you think Remus is a teacher?"
"Uh, well, Draco refers to him as 'Professor'."
"That's just something between Remus and Draco."
"Oh, a nickname, I get it."
Thankfully, Callum was stopped at this point by Katie coming over and saying that they needed to be getting back immediately. Harry knew that the reason they needed to get back was that Remus would transform in about 5 hours, judging by the light. All Callum knew was that Katie and Remus had secured tickets for a local event and needed to get back in time to get dressed and attend. Actually, they had gotten tickets to something, but they had given them to Sirius and Liz. Katie outright lied to Callum, with her most innocent expression and most charming smile, telling him they were very sorry, but they had the tickets before they knew he was coming, so he would be at home with Harry and Draco. Katie, Sirius and finally Liz each promised to make it up to them somehow later.
***
Harry lay on his bed staring at the ceiling that evening, resting before he went down to dinner. He had thought of leaving Callum to Draco, but decided he really couldn't do that even to Draco. Sirius and Liz had left a while ago, both looking very happy to have an entire night to themselves. Harry looked up as there was a knock on his door.
"Come in?"
Katie came in quietly and went to sit on the foot of his bed.
"Harry, I have managed to convince a very, very, reluctant werewolf to at least stay indoors. I've put silencing charms on our room and you shouldn't even know we're here. Thank you again for accepting the ungrateful task of babysitting Callum. I doubt very much that Callum will get 'the creeps' as Muggles call them from sensing the presence of a dark creature so close. And also keep an eye on Draco, in case he gets nervous as that might set off Callum. Draco's never been around when Remus is transformed, so he might get a small case of 'the creeps' himself, as he's not used to it. I suspect that because of Draco's background he might be more sensitive."
Harry nodded, understanding what she meant. The first time he had been in the Lupins when Remus was transformed he was very surprised to discover that the hair on the back of his neck stood up and he felt cold. Sirius and Katie had to explain to him, after apologising for failing to realize that this might happen, that he was feeling the proximity of the werewolf. Natural warning system, I think Sirius called it. Said it took a little getting used to. "Not a problem. How's Remus?"
"He shouldn't have pushed it by going out with us today, but what can I do? He's very ill at the moment and will probably transform in about 30 minutes."
"You've really got this down to a science, Katie," said Harry quietly. "Remus is a very lucky man."
Katie smiled sadly at him. "I'm pretty lucky too. Harry, please, what is bothering you? You know I'm always the neutral party in this, and that I never share your confidences with Remus or Sirius. I'm concerned. Is this still fallout from that horrific fight you had with Sirius just after Christmas?"
Harry took a long time before responding.
"I honestly don't know. I'm not trying to be difficult; I'd really like to tell you what it is. But…"
"But what?"
Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Katie, I'm tired and I'm scared and I don't have the faintest idea what is going to happen with my life. Until now all I had was the small job of staying alive and trying to defeat Voldemort. Well, we've done that. I don't know. Maybe I sort of expected….what, the sky to open up and answers to come? To suddenly make a realization? Maybe I'm still hoping that will happen when we finally get Wormtail and set Sirius free. But I'm not that stupid."
"I feel like I'm going nowhere! I've absolutely no direction and I'm just sort of sitting here waiting for something to happen! My friends have moved on, and I just sit here. Ron and Hermione got married; Hermione's at the Ministry, Ron's with the Cannons….what am I doing? I'm still running through the dark trying not to get killed and suddenly I really don't see the point!"
"Are you lonely, Harry? Is that it? Because it hasn't escaped me that you've chosen to do something that keeps you away from home a lot."
"Maybe. Yes, no; it's not that. It's that they got on with their lives. I'm really happy for them, always! I'm the one who talked Ron into proposing in the first place! But…but I still feel like I'm 13 years old, and everyone else has moved on. I keep expecting to wake up locked in the Dursleys' closet, and find out all of this was a fantasy brought on by hunger or something."
"Harry, that's not going to happen. It's all been very real; the bad and the good parts. Ron, Hermione, Sirius….even Malfoy."
"Bloody Malfoy."
"Draco has given you a wide berth, Harry."
"I know. I know he's got his own problems. I know that….Gods, Katie. Even Draco has moved on! He's not the boy we went to school with, I know that. And I know he's been through his own hell these past years. Remus…." Harry stopped, not sure he should talk about this with Katie.
Katie wasn't letting it go, however. "Does it bother you that Remus trusts Draco?"
"No. It used to, very much, but not anymore. Malfoy has, he has, earned that trust. Remus and Hermione are the two most levelheaded people I know, and they both trust Malfoy. It would be ridiculace of me not to share that trust."
"Not necessarily. But let me ask another question. Does it bother you that Remus likes Draco?"
Katie, as usual, managed to hit the problem with startling accuracy. And I really don't have a good answer for this. "Will my saying yes sound really petty?"
"No. I asked him myself about that a few years ago, as I didn't actually meet Draco for a long time, and the only real accounts I had of him were from you, Ron, and Hermione, and he did not cut a very trustworthy or likeable figure from those descriptions."
"I can imagine."
"I think you have a right to understand why Remus thinks that way, Harry. He sees a lot of himself in Draco. Don't look like that, think about it. Remus has been an outcast all his life because he is supposed to be a 'dark and dangerous' man. You know that isn't true, but you are one of the few who have bothered to get to know him, not made assumptions about him. And he struggles, Harry, every single day with that in some way. Not just with the injustice of people's attitudes, but with the very real issues of the curse. The werewolf is what he is; you only see it, physically, once in a while. But he is very different than you; the curse has changed him profoundly from who he might have been without it."
"Draco has the same issues. People make assumptions that are unjust about him, and he too struggles against the darkness in him. The bitter reality is, Harry, that generations of carefully arraigned marriages have created Draco. He is powerful in darkness, and I know that you feel that. But that doesn't make him a dark person, unless he chooses to be, anymore than Remus' curse makes him a dark person unless he wants to be. Remus chose not to be; he chose not to surrender like so many other lycanthropes have. They are distrusted for a reason. Draco has a lot of anger to work through before he comes to peace with himself. Maybe he never will, but I hope he does. Remus was just like that, Harry. You may find that hard to imagine, but you have to understand what happened to Remus when your parents died."
"I know it hurt him."
"It did far more than hurt him, it changed him. I met Remus a few years before he went to teach you at Hogwarts, you know. He had a lot of anger in him, along with his sadness."
"You took that away, Katie."
"No, I didn't. I might have helped Remus come to grips with it, but I didn't take it away. This is part of growing up. And right now, you, like Draco, are at that point in your lives. You need to choose who you want to be."
"I just don't know what people expect of me!"
"Ah, the curse of the young. Harry, nobody expects anything of you except you making your own choices."
"Katie, for the past 10 years, everyone has expected that I kill Voldemort."
Katie gave a small laugh and stood up. "Let me amend my statement; nobody who loves you and cares about you. The only way you will ever upset or disappoint any one of us is to run away. Like I did. I hid, Harry. I just ran away, and trust me, it solves nothing. At some point, you have to face it."
"It lead you to Remus…."
"Ah, teasing. Glad to see your spirits are getting back to normal. Just be exactly who you want to be, and try to take the advice of someone who fiddled away a lot of time figuring all that out. I don't play around with 'what ifs', anymore, Harry. You can make that a full time job and successfully prevent yourself from ever doing anything at all." Katie went to the door.
"Harry, it's getting late. I'm going to go and be with Remus, okay?"
"Oh of course, Katie."
"I'm not sure we're done with this conversation."
Harry laughed and stood himself. "I do feel better, thank you. And we'll hardly solve my life mysteries in a night."
"No, no; good point. I'm terribly impressed that a 20 year old can see that, let alone admit it!"
"And only just 20 at that!" laughed Harry, as he turned to walk downstairs, but Katie stopped him while she quickly checked to make sure Callum wasn't about.
"Harry," she whispered in a very conspiratorial tone, "it hasn't escaped my notice that you and Draco have found common ground in disliking Callum. Why not gang up on him a bit? Just don't actually hurt him. I was worried that the shoelace thing Sirius was up to today was going to result in Callum breaking his neck. Now, while I could have taken care of that relatively easily, it would have been a bit rude, even if I was secretly hoping it might happen."
"Katie!"
Katie grinned rather wickedly. "He thinks he's going to lure Liz away from Sirius, doesn't he? What a joke. Why not show him it's not a good idea to mess with wizards?"
"You're horrid!"
"God, don't I know it. Good night."
Harry stood on the landing a moment to regain his composure before adopting a very innocent look and going downstairs to see where Draco was. Thankfully, Draco was alone on the back steps reading yet another Egyptian spell book and nursing a drink. Callum was nowhere to be seen.
"Malfoy, what are you up to?"
"Not much. Maccreedy's down at the boat but will return shortly. Can you believe his cheek? He's double-checking our work in tying the craft down. I hope the servant of the Lord of the Northern Sky gets a go at him when we find that wretched island."
Harry laughed and sat down next to Draco, careful not to kick Elvira who lay sprawled on her back on the very last step. "Interesting you say that. Katie made the suggestion that you and I should entertain ourselves by having a bit of a go at Callum. What do you say?"
Draco took a sip of his drink and his eyes narrowed a bit. "I love the way that woman thinks."
Harry pointed at Charles who was now trotting up to them from the garden. "Think we can force him to see the 'puppies' for what they are?"
Draco grinned rather maliciously. "Indeed. Potter, I'm impressed. Think we'll get it for doing it?"
"Well, not from Katie, certainly not from Sirius, and I doubt very much unless we actually hurt him Remus will get that upset. Liz might, but I'm willing to take the chance if you are."
"Have a plan?"
Harry and Draco sketched out a quick plan while keeping an eye out for Callum. Callum had unsuccessfully tried to start a poker match the night before. Harry and Draco would engage him in the poker game, and keep a very strong pitcher of vodka martinis, Callum's preferred drink, flowing. Once they got enough alcohol into the Muggle, they would reveal the griffins, and explain everything away to Callum as a hallucination, but not before giving him a good fright.
"We're going to get it for this one."
"What, Malfoy, think we'll be sent on detention for this?"
Draco sniggered as he enchanted a pitcher of martinis. "Lucky we're well out of Arthur Weasley's jurisdiction, as I think this is going to break any number of anti-muggle baiting laws. How many house points do you think this is all worth?"
"100 from Slytherin."
"Oh, just Slytherin?"
"You enchanted the pitcher, Malfoy."
"Well you get to reveal the griffins, so that's 100 from Gryffindor. Let's go."
Callum was thrilled when Harry and Draco suggested a serious poker game and copious drinks, now that all the stuffy old people were out of the house. They set up on the veranda, opening the French doors onto the back garden and tying the curtains back so they got a nice breeze going through the room. Harry was surprised to learn that there were any number of variations to poker, and he and Draco dutifully sat through the rather tedious process of Callum teaching them the complex rules to 'seven card draw'. Callum obviously thought he was getting away with something, but Draco enchanted the cards to remember the rules and he clobbered Callum hand after hand. Harry finally told him to knock it off or Callum, who was obviously cross at this, might quit before the fun started. Draco dutifully started loosing, but Harry was amused to see that it piqued Draco's Slytherin instincts to win at any cost. Luckily it seemed Draco decided winning the end game of scaring Callum out of his wits and delivering him a horrific hangover was more important.
The enchanted pitcher remained half full and perfectly chilled all night. Callum certainly didn't notice that it never seemed to be empty, and kept justifying having another drink by saying that the pitcher was only half empty. Harry had only two drinks the entire evening himself. Every time Callum poured more into his glass he would mutter a vanishing spell and make half the liquid vanish. He wasn't sure what Draco was doing, but Draco looked the same as ever, sitting there coldly with a faintly malicious smile and the slightest hint of pink on his cheeks.
Finally, after about three hours, Callum was obviously completely inebriated and starting to tell some really wild and fabulously inappropriate stories. He seemed not to notice that Draco and Harry had stopped speaking altogether. Draco turned his head in the direction of the garden and let out a soft whistle. Callum was talking away when the griffins reappeared. Harry looked at Draco who lowered his eyelids slightly and smiled darkly.
"Charles, Elvira, be so good as to come up here on the table won't you?"
The griffins were delighted to be allowed up onto the table again, as Liz had made it very clear over the past several days that this was not allowed. They flew up eagerly and started sniffing at the dinner remains there. Harry pretended to get something to drink and moved to stand behind Callum. He look out his wand, making sure that Callum was paying attention to Draco as Draco asked him to clarify some poker rule, and whispered a spell.
"Aperio!"
Harry and Draco, of course, noticed nothing different. Neither did Callum, at first. He kept yapping away, until Charles came over and started drinking out of his glass.
"Hey there! Draco, your puppies aren't supposed…."
Callum froze. Harry was glad he'd made it back to his seat next to Draco in time to get a good look at Callum's face. He was staring at the griffin, which had obligingly chosen that moment to stretch his wings, with a look of total horror.
Callum jumped up, which jarred the table. This had the effect of completely startling Charles and Elvira who let out a series of very loud and disturbed gurgles and squeaks.
"What the hell is that!?"
"I'm sorry?" asked Draco in his coldest and most overly polite tones.
"What are those? Jesus!" Callum, much to Harry's delight, opted for flicking his napkin at Elvira who had come over to stand next to Charles as they glared at the offending Callum. She lashed out with her little paw and instantly shredded the napkin with her talons and shook her neck feathers at him menacingly.
All hell broke loose.
Callum, better than they could have dared to dream, lost it. He actually screamed, then grabbed his salad plate and hurled it at the griffins. They flew up in a rage and dove at him, Charles managing to actually bite him on the ear. Harry and Draco stepped outside of the room where they stood on the lawn weeping with laughter. It's a damn good thing Katie and Remus can't hear any of this! Callum came racing out of the house a few moments later, still shrieking about something, and shot off into the dark around the corner of the house towards the front, not taking any notice of Harry and Draco. Harry and Draco walked back up the steps and looked around at the damage wrought by one terrified Muggle and two furious little griffins, who now sat on one of the chairs that hadn't been upturned, their feathers sticking straight out in all directions and panting. They started chattering at Draco when he walked over to try and soothe them.
"Elvira, Charles, sorry for the fright, but it was in an excellent cause. Potter, do we have a camera? I want to persevere this moment."
Harry decided maybe he had had too much to drink as he obligingly went to collect Liz's camera from where she kept it in the kitchen.
"I think Sirius will just love this, " he managed to say between giggles, taking a few shots of the room and one of Draco standing proudly with the still highly agitated griffins. They started to laugh again in earnest when suddenly they heard Callum call out Liz' name. Hoping that maybe he was just screaming again, they listened, and then very faintly suddenly heard Liz answer him.
Draco and Harry instantly started clearing up the mess. They had seconds before Liz reached the house. They had just finished repairing the shredded curtains and sat back down hastily with the pack of cards looking for all the world like they were playing an innocent game of poker when Liz came running into the room.
"Liz? Is something wrong?" asked Draco and Harry in unison. Liz looked at them, then lowered her eyelids and gave them a rather harsh stare.
"Callum is outside screaming about winged monsters trying to eat him. Why is that?"
"Had to much to drink at dinner? You should have seen him throwing those things back."
"It would appear that you two have had your own share of drinks, Harry. What did you two do?"
"Liz, we're just…."
"You're not just anything! Did you reveal those griffins to him? What on earth…." But she had to stop, and suddenly started to giggle.
"That was awful. Both of you. Don't do it again. Please."
"Forgive me, Liz, but your Muggle friend is a moron. Just tell him he's seeing things."
"Uh huh. I'm furious," said Liz, grinning from ear to ear.
"Yes, ma'm."
"Really. Very immature."
"Yes."
"Don't do it again."
"No."
"How am I supposed to convince him the griffins won't be after him again?"
"Tell him the werewolf upstairs will eat them if they come back in the house?"
"Draco!"
Liz finally had to cast a sleeping spell on Callum to get him back into the house. As Harry and Sirius floated him upstairs to his room, Harry was sure he hadn't seen Sirius smiling this widely in years.
"Harry, I want details."
"Sirius, we've got pictures."
"Remus is going to be very unhappy with you two," said Sirius, still grinning madly.
"He'll get over it."
Sirius nodded, then gave Harry a hug. "Nice to have you back."
"Nice to be back."