A/N - I'm a thief, none of the characters are mine. I would be very greatful if you could give me some constructive criticism regarding anything from grammar and spelling to plot development. Don't worry about upsetting me, this is my first attempt at writing english fiction in years.
Harry Potter – Salazar's Legacy
Chapter four
"As of lately the Boy has been beyond my reach," a high-pitched, malevolent voice declared, "Dumbledore has formed a very astute device that keeps me from sensing his whereabouts." He paused for a moment, "it's as if the boy suddenly vanished from the face of the earth the moment he reached Kings Cross station," he had almost whispered that last part. "However," the voice seemed to lighten up a bit, "Now, I sense that he has returned to the magical world." A murmur of awe crept through his audience as he had said this. "Silence!", the voice yelled. "We must not be reckless, this is a very delicate situation." It continued in an adamant tone. "We shall not disappoint you master," answered a callous harsh female voice. Voldemort's face twisted itself into a doubtful expression, "Our previous attempts at confronting him have all failed," the cold voice continued with great difficulty. "If it's mere luck, or if the prophecies are true is hard to say," he paused, "but we will take no chances this time." The Dark lord stood up from his throne and ambled around the great hall for a while, inspecting his kneeling followers. "It is time for me, us, to accept that the boy is in fact very dangerous," his voice conveyed both fear and intense dislike when he said this. "If a direct confrontation is predestined to fail, we might need to form a different strategy." His voice began to lighten up, "What about his friends Malfoy?" Luscious Malfoy raised himself to speak, "The second task in the Triwizard Tournament last year indicated that one Ronald Weasley is his best friend. My son informs me that the two of them, and a Hermione Granger, have been virtually inseparable ever since their first year at Hogwarts." Voldemort's annoyed expression changed slowly into a sly grin, " It seems we might be able to twist our little foes reality a bit to reach our goals. Betrayal can be such a beautiful thing at times," he said in a more intense, but still very cold, manner.
***
The group of friends left the serenity of the green Floo and entered the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. Harry had felt a headache that had spread itself from his scar during the time in the Floo. He had become quite used to them at this point. It didn't paralyse him in the same way as it used to do. In his minds eye he had seen fragments of an audience that Voldemort had held with his supporters. He couldn't make much sense of it. Voldemort had seemed scared at first but confident at the end.
"Are you alright Harry?" said Hermione with a concerned look on her face. "Yes, it's nothing," he lied. He decided he would rather keep it to himself for the time being.
The Leaky Cauldron was almost empty except for a small group of witches that had gathered themselves in a smaller compartment in the back of the pub. The heavy cloud of smoke that lingered over their table made it impossible for Harry to make out any of their faces. He did, however, notice that they were very exited about how young witches behaved these days.
Tom, the old bartender, was as excited to see Harry as ever before. "Harry! Congratulations on winning the Triwizard Tournament! The moment I heard you had entered the competition, I just knew you where going to win," he shouted happily so that everyone in the bar could hear him. As his eyes fell on Hermione and Ginny, his face distorted itself a bit, and he leaned over towards Harry and whispered, "I can't believe you're still seeing those two. They're just playing you for a fool." A mixed expression of confusion and anger came across Harry's face as he heard this, "How many times do I have to tell everybody that I didn't ENTER that contest." the bar went absolutely quiet, "What's wrong with Ginny and Hermione by the way?" he continued. Tom looked as if he would rather be off somewhere kissing a Blast-Ended Skrewt than being yelled at by Harry. "It was in the paper today, the yearly Harry Potter feature of Witch Weekly" he whimpered. "Oh…well…you shouldn't read that garbage Tom, none of it's true, these here are my best friends," said Harry in a considerably calmer voice. As he had said this the bar slowly began to breath again.
As they left the Leaky Cauldron Hermione told Harry and Ron all about the article in this weeks Witch Weekly. Harry and Ron both laughed at the whole thing and agreed that people who read Witch Weekly should consider spending at least a week or two at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Ginny and Hermione both went oddly quiet for a while.
After a quick stop at Gringotts bank, Ron and Hermione suggested that they should go by themselves for a couple of hours so that they could find presents for Harry and Ginny's birthdays.
Harry hadn't had a chance to decide which places he wished to visit. This was fortunate for Ginny who took advantage of this and immediately dragged him along to visit Witch Wear and Wizard Wear, which were newly opened stores that lay immediately together on Studio Alley. Ginny found an awesome Chinese cloak that was entirely made out of green dragon hide and was decorated with red Chinese signs on the back. She was absolutely crushed when she found out that it was way too expensive for her to afford.
After Harry had been dragged in and out through nearly all the boutiques, studios, and parlours on Studio Alley he managed to convince Ginny that they should stop by a Coffey shop to relax for a while. A moment later they found themselves in a rather trendish butter-beer garden chatting about Quidditch. To Harry's surprise Ginny seemed to know almost as much about Quidditch as he did. He already knew that she was quite a talented flyer from the previous summers he had visited the Burrow. When Harry asked her if she had thought about joining the house team she blushed and told him that she wouldn't stand a chance against the other applicants. Harry didn't agree with that and told her not to put herself down so much. After a while they started to discuss Ron and Hermione again. Ginny thought that unless something or someone gave either of them a push nothing would ever happen. Then they would probably be behaving like the teacher and her naughty student for the rest of their lives. Harry thought that they would probably be more likely to kill each other before they admitted their true feelings.
It was nearly three in the afternoon and it was time for Harry and Ginny to go back to the Leaky Cauldron to meet up with Ron and Hermione. Now it was filled with heaps of older wizards and witches. Harry and Ginny had to look for several minutes before they found Ron and Hermione sitting tightly together, holding their hands, at a table that lay hidden in a similar compartment as the older witches had used. Harry felt a little uncanny looking at his friends drowning in each other's eyes. Ginny seemed to have similar feelings judging by her expression.
"Er...Hi! What has happened with you two?" Harry inquired. Hermione giggled and replied cheerfully, "Oh, little Ron here decided to tell me about how he has had special feelings towards me for quite some time" Ginny instantly hugged her brother, "That's so great Ron! I never thought you'd do it," she said beaming. Harry felt he had to say something as well, "Yes, great that you finally came to your senses Ron," he said. "Well I don't know why I've been acting so childish in front of this incredibly beautiful, and may I add awfully intelligent, woman all this time." He replied in a silk voice. Hermione blushed and Harry wanted to vomit. "Did you find us any interesting gifts then?" Ginny asked with a smirk on her face. "Yep, but we're not telling, dear sister." Ron replied. "Ron, I never knew that you could be so sweet." Hermione laughed. "Neither did I. Can we go home now please? I can't take any more of this," Harry finally cried. And with that the mostly cheerful group of friends left the Leaky Cauldron for the Burrow.