Unraveled
Chapter Twenty-Six: A Trip to Hogsmeade
Draco woke up early in the morning before anyone else. It was Sunday. He quietly crept out of the dorm. Last night didn't settle well with him as well. He remembered how Harry Potter held Fiona's hand. He didn't feel jealous, but he felt like Harry was taking his best friend away from him.
He had good reason not to be happy. He noticed that there was no one sitting at the Slytherin table. He looked and saw the Weasley twins sitting by themselves. They looked at him briefly before they stood up and left. He could hear them say something, but he couldn't hear anything.
Draco sat down and ate a stack of pastries that were on the table, thinking that the house elves left them. The moment he swallowed, he noticed immediately something is wrong. He attempted to cough, but his skin had turned into a greenish-gray color. It was scaly. "WHAT THE HELL?!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
He looked around and saw everyone at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables roaring with laughter. "POTTER!" he shouted as he slammed his hands on the table.
Meanwhile, Harry was enjoying some toast at Gryffindor Tower. Fred and George came in with broad, identical grins on their faces. "How did it go?" asked Harry as he took one last bite of his toast.
"Excellent. We saw the breakfast pastries worked," said Fred with a laugh.
"His skin turned green and then the scales came. He was pissed. He's a Slytherin. You'd think that he'd like what we did to him," said George with a shrug.
"Good. Go on to Phase Two," said Harry as he dusted off his hands and threw the napkin away.
"Um…Harry…not that we really care about Malfoy or anything, but why are you asking us to do this?" asked George.
"Malfoy's done a lot of things before, but you've never attacked him directly before," commented Fred thoughtfully.
Harry smiled enigmatically at them. "I have my reasons. Just move on to the next phase," he said as he walked off. He was feeling wonderful after last night. Fiona was part of Gryffindor, but she wasn't due to move in for another week. All he had to do was make sure that Draco Malfoy stayed away from her.
He walked off grinning to himself, making Fred and George very suspicious of his behavior. "He's getting weirder and weirder these days," observed Fred.
"He was holding that girl's hand last night. She was awfully pretty. I wonder how old she is," said George.
"She's younger than Ginny," said Ron from behind them. "I'd stop talking about her like that if I were you. Unless you want Harry or Malfoy to do anything to you."
"What are you two doing up so early?" asked Hermione.
"The early bird gets the worm," said George. "Let's go."
The twins left to get ready for the next phase of pranks they were going to pull on Malfoy. They had to test all their jokes because Harry had asked for it. He was their only investor, and they were more than happy to comply with his request.
"What's going on now?" asked Ron.
"I don't know. Where's Harry?" asked Hermione.
"I don't know," replied Ron. "Let's go look for him."
Harry was walking outside, deciding whether or not to go to the Shrieking Shack or to the owlery to send a note through Hedwig. Fiona still had his cloak because she had forgotten to return it to him, but he didn't mind at all.
"POTTER!" shouted Draco as he caught up with him.
Harry turned around and burst out laughing. "What happened to you, Malfoy? Don't tell me you've finally decided to show your true colors."
"I know you're behind this Potter!"
"I have no idea what you are implying. Who's going to believe you, Ferret? Or should I say, Lizard Boy?"
"You are asking for trouble, Potter. I swear. I'll get you," said Draco. He stopped. An idea came to him. "I'm going to see Fiona as soon as I get rid of this skin. I'm supposed to work with her closely."
Harry's hands rolled into fists as his temper rose. "Malfoy, you have no idea what you're dealing with."
"Somehow, I don't think you want to make this impression on her. Listen to me, Potter. It is only by her protection over you that forces me to not act. However, it will only extend my patience so far. You better watch yourself," whispered Draco as he stalked off.
Harry smiled. Fiona's protection was extended on him. He wanted to laugh out loud at Draco. He felt on top of the world. He decided to beat Draco to Shrieking Shack. "Harry!" called Ron as he ran up to him.
"Where were you?" asked Hermione, following closely behind Ron.
"I had breakfast at the common room and I'm going to visit Snuffles," he replied. "Want come with me?"
"Sure," said Ron and Hermione in unison.
"Where's your cloak?" asked Hermione.
"I don't have it, but it's not a problem," said Harry with a shrug. "Let's go before Malfoy gets back from Madame Pomfrey's."
"Why would Malfoy need to go to Madame Pomfrey?" asked Ron as he looked closely at Harry.
"No reason," answered Harry with a smile.
"What did you do?" demanded Hermione.
"Me? I didn't do anything. What makes you think I would do anything to Malfoy?" he asked.
"Because he spends all his free time and some of his school time with Fiona," said Ron.
"That doesn't bother me. Not one bit," lied Harry. It bothered him a lot. However, pranking Draco made him feel better. He felt rather possessive when it came to Fiona. "Let's go," he added.
Without another word, the trio left.
*
Fiona was feeling happy in the morning. She wasn't sure about moving to Gryffindor Tower because of her uncertain feelings towards Harry. It would have been easier to avoid him. When she was with him she had a mixture of feelings. It was of euphoria and clumsiness. She didn't want to spend her whole morning thinking about it, so she got ready for the day instead.
She came to breakfast table to find Sirius by himself. "Where's Aunt Nell?" she asked.
"She had to go to the village," replied Sirius. "She left breakfast because she said she didn't trust me to cook anything."
"Can you cook?" asked Fiona.
"Not really," replied Sirius. "I had either our house elf do it or your mother cooked for me."
"That's really pathetic, Dad."
"Lay off. It's too early in the morning for us to do this."
"Dad, it's nine."
"Still too early."
"You were spoiled as a child, weren't you?"
"No, I mean. I don't know. Eat your breakfast."
"Yes, you were. I can tell. You're used to getting your own way."
"Eat."
"Okay, okay. Don't get your tail in a knot."
Sirius went back to reading the Daily Prophet. He read the news carefully on Voldemort's activities. After the meeting last night with Dumbledore and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, it was clear that something was coming soon. Percy Weasley was keeping an eye out at the Minister's offices. Sirius could tell that the young man wanted to quit working there, but he had no choice. The Minister of Magic wanted to keep Percy nearby to have something to hold over Arthur Weasley's head. Percy could more than handle himself, if necessary.
The most unsettling thing of all was the mysterious order of Ryu Ran. What was this powerful order that offered to help against Voldemort? What did its leader have to gain by opposing him? Why was the crystal that Fiona wore so important to everyone?
"Dad, a penny for your thoughts?" asked Fiona.
"Nothing. Everything's fine, baby," he whispered as he smiled at her.
"No, not everything is fine. Everyone's planning things without saying anything. It feels cold like something awful is coming. Something out of a horror movie," whispered Fiona.
Silence fell over the room as the trio made their entrance, jolting Fiona. "Ah!" she exclaimed in surprise as Harry looked at her.
"Sorry," he mumbled, feeling shy again. He looked at Sirius who seemed rather calm.
"What's going on?" asked Hermione.
"Fiona's scaring herself for fun," replied Sirius with a laugh. He put his hand on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "Calm down, Fin."
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To check the wards," said Sirius with a grin.
"Don't leave," said Fiona.
He had apparated before she could stop him. "I've really got to learn how to do that," she muttered. "What brings you here today?"
"Nothing. It's Sunday, but you have a day off today, too," observed Hermione.
"Yeah, usually I have half a day of school with Sensei Ran, but he's gone so I've got part of the week off," said Fiona.
"Have you been the village?" asked Ron.
"No, I haven't been allowed outside this place without my father or anyone else. I'm starting to get cabin fever," answered Fiona gloomily.
"Say something," whispered Hermione to Harry. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't stop watching her. Hermione looked at him expectantly.
"Um…we could go to village. It is a Hogsmeade weekend," said Harry shakily.
"Let me go ask my dad first," said Fiona as she stood up. "I don't know where he went though."
"Then, you don't have to ask. Let's go," urged Ron.
"Ron, she can't leave without telling Sirius. He'll get mad at her, if she leaves without permission," said Hermione.
"Come on, she's with us. It's not like anything bad will happen. And there's all the stuff he did when he went to Hogwarts with Harry's dad. It would be hypocritical of him to get mad," said Ron.
"That's not the point. My dad's got a temper. He'll get really mad. I don't want to test it," said Fiona.
"He said he'd go check the wards. We may not be able to get outside with them up," said Harry quietly.
Fiona walked out of the room to go look for Sirius. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. "Why don't you with her, Hermione?" he asked.
"Why don't you, Harry?" suggested Ron. "We'll wait here."
Harry went to go follow her. It was the first time Harry had ever explored the Shrieking Shack. He walked quietly behind her, but he cleared his throat to avoid surprising her. "He's around here somewhere," she said as she turned around.
"I know," said Harry.
"I forgot about your cloak. Come, I'll return it to you," said Fiona as she guided him to her room. He followed her up to the doorway, but stopped. He was feeling very shy.
"Don't just stand there," she told him. Harry came inside and looked around. It was plainly decorated. Fiona went to her trunk and pulled out his cloak. "Thanks for letting me use it." She smiled at him.
"Um…I told you before, no problem," said Harry.
"Why don't we go look for my father now?" she asked as she cleared her throat. She'd realized that he was actually standing in her room. Her cheeks were light pink.
"Yeah," he said as he went through the doorway again. He suddenly stopped, causing Fiona to collide with his back. "H-hello Sirius," he stammered.
"What are you doing?" asked Sirius.
"Um…n-nothing," replied Harry. "She was just showing me around."
"I see," said Sirius in a neutral voice as he folded his arms over his chest. He was over six feet tall and at the moment very imposing. Harry wanted to back away from him, but he didn't want to run into Fiona.
"Dad, we were looking for you," said Fiona in a small voice.
"Well, you found me," said Sirius as he looked past Harry to Fiona. "What do you want?"
Fiona decided to get passed Harry. "Excuse me," she said as he let her through. "May I please go to the village, Dad? Please?"
Sirius stroked his chin for a moment, thinking about it. "I don't know. Who's going?"
"I'll be going with her. Ron and Hermione are waiting for us," said Harry. He really wanted her to come with them.
Sirius' eyes fell on Harry's cloak. "Were you going to use that if I didn't let you leave, Fiona?" he asked with his eyes twinkling.
"No," said Fiona hotly.
"I see," said Sirius thoughtfully as he looked at the pair. He thought that they looked cute together. He was laughing inside with deep amusement. They looked so guilty. He started laughing out loud. Fiona wore a look of annoyance.
"Dad. Stop. Dad."
Sirius stopped, but a wide grin remained on his face. Fiona gave him a strange look and shook her head. She couldn't believe that she came from him. Harry shifted uncomfortable. "So, can she come?" he asked.
"I have to think about it," said Sirius.
"Please?" she pleaded.
Sirius' features softened as he sighed. "Fine. You can go, but Harry I'm putting you in charge of her safety." He sounded extremely reluctantly.
"Thanks, Dad," said Fiona happily as she kissed him on the cheek.
"Don't worry, Sirius," assured Harry. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. Sirius walked with them as they went back to meet with Ron and Hermione. They were playing with the chess set. "Sorry, we didn't mean to play with it. It's just you were talking a while," said Ron.
"So, who plays chess?" asked Hermione.
"I do," replied Fiona. "I'm not that good. Draco keeps beating me." Harry clutched his jaw slightly, which no else seemed to notice.
"You can go, but come back in two hours," instructed Sirius.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry," said Fiona. "Um…I'm going to need some money." Sirius handed her some money. "Thanks!" she said as they left for the villiage by taking another exit, so that they wouldn't be seen.
They went all over Hogsmeade, starting with Honeydukes. Fiona spent some money restocking her candy supplies. Harry showed her around and helped her pick out some other candies that she hadn't tried yet. Ron and Hermione tactically stayed out of the way, knowing that Harry wanted to spend time with her. Harry kept asking them why they were moving too slowly.
Fiona loved visiting Zonko's Joke Shop, but couldn't decide what she wanted. She hadn't played a single, real prank in her life. They walked into the Three Broomsticks during the last hour to have a butterbeer.
"I still have some money left," said Fiona as she counted her change from the stores. "I have all my books and my wand. The only thing I don't have is a uniform for Hogwarts."
"What kind of wand do you have?" asked Hermione.
"Take a look," she replied as she pulled out her beautiful custom made wand. Hermione took a look at it. "Oh, it's so beautiful. I've never seen anything like. It's an Asian design," she said in awe.
"Wow, it's not as plain as Ollivanders' wands," commented Ron. "Does Sensei Ran have something like this?"
Fiona didn't know how to answer that question. The entire time he had instructed her, he had done so without his wand. He just instructed her on what kind of actions to do. The illusionary magic he taught without a wand. Remembering him telling her about how a wand was just a focusing tool, she finally replied, "No. He's so mentally disciplined that he doesn't need to. I've never seen him do a very complex spell before."
The trio wore looks of mild shock. They had never heard of a wizard doing magic that way before. "Anyway, it's made of rosewood with a tail feather of a phoenix," she continued.
"My wand also has a phoenix feather in it," said Harry, not wanting to discuss how his wand was related to Voldemort's.
"What about you, two?" asked Fiona.
"We have unicorn hairs in our wands," said Hermione. "But, Ron's got two more than I do."
"My parents also had unicorn hairs in their wands. Well, at least my mom's wand used to," said Fiona wistfully.
"My dad's wand had a dragon's heartstring and my mum's had unicorn hair," said Harry.
"How do you know?" asked Ron.
"Ollivander, Ron," replied Hermione for him.
"Oh yeah, he remembers every single wand he's sold," explained Harry to Fiona.
"Ah, Madame Ringsu comes from a long line of wand makers who originated from China to San Francisco. They've been making wands for a long time. She made my dad's new wand," said Fiona.
"He will need it. We don't know what's coming up," said Ron grimly. "I've never seen my parents so serious about anything before. Bill and Charlie, even Percy's been so busy lately."
"They're your older brothers, aren't they? What's it like to be part of a big family? I've always wondered what it would be like," said Fiona.
"It's not that bad. It feels really crowded sometimes, but at least you know there's someone to rely on. It's sort of hard to live up to everyone's expectations. Especially after my older brothers have done so well. I still haven't done much," admitted Ron. "I'm never lonely. Although, sometimes I would like a lot more privacy and some alone time, but it's okay."
"What about you, Hermione? What's it like to grow up with two parents?" asked Fiona.
"You have a lot of expectations heaped upon you. A lot more than people who have siblings. I'm their only child, so all their hopes are in me. I supposed I disappointed them a bit when I decided to go to Hogwarts. I think they wanted me to be a dentist like them," replied Hermione.
Harry shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to talk about his home life. It was terrible living with the Dursleys all those years. He was still living with them. The last summer wasn't as bad as most. The Dursleys had decided to go on a long vacation because Uncle Vernon had gotten a big contract, so they went on a two month vacation in the country. They had left him with Mrs. Figg, but that was fine because she was a witch. She had allowed him to do his summer assignments and go outside in the backyard. The Dursleys had thought leaving him with Mrs. Figg was a punishment, which he told them it was for appearances sake.
Sirius' letters arrived during the summer along with letters from Hermione and Ron. It was the best summer Harry had ever had. Little did anyone know that Professor Dumbledore had arranged the whole thing because he thought that Harry and the Dursleys would have been safer if he had stayed with Mrs. Figg. Later on, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had insisted on having him over, which the Dursleys allowed. Harry had only spent two hellish weeks with the Dursleys.
"Not everyone's life is perfect. Money doesn't get you much," said Fiona. "Not if you have to pay the price for it."
"Do you know what's up with Draco Malfoy?" asked Hermione.
Fiona looked up at her from her butterbeer. She nodded slowly. "But, I can't say anything. It's not that I promised I wouldn't. It's just I believe it's his own business if he wants people to know. However, I'll tell you something: there's something rotten in his house. I'm not just talking about um…my relative who's taken over, but his father."
"What about his mother? She didn't seem that nice when we saw her," remarked Ron.
"I don't know if I should say anything about that. But, let me put it to you this way: what if you were forced to marry someone you didn't want to marry. And you had to be seen in public with him, pretending that everything is all right. It's all a lie. Of course, I wouldn't know much better because I wasn't there," said Fiona. Draco had told her that his mother despised his father. They didn't love each other. In fact, they had separate wings in the manor. When he was younger, Draco was allowed to stay with his mother, but as he got older he was forced to spend more time with his father. He laughed harshly at the whole thing, but Fiona could tell that he was in great pain.
Harry suddenly thought about Draco's and Fiona's engagement. It was no wonder that he didn't want to marry her, especially if they were forced into. The truth was Draco never wanted to make Fiona hate him. Harry had never imagined Draco being so human.
"Why don't we head back? Your dad's waiting for you," said Harry as he stood up. He had a lot to think about.
The four of them walked back together talking about what would happen next week. Fiona wondered where Draco was. He hadn't arrived when they had returned.
They said their goodbyes, but Fiona was concerned about Draco. "Dad, did Draco send an owl?"
"No," replied Sirius.
"I have a bad feeling," whispered Fiona. "It feels cold like something terrible is coming."
Sirius took what she said quite seriously. "Do you think there's danger coming?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm not sure," whispered Fiona.
*
Voldemort paced again. Thalia wouldn't leave him alone. He thought he had gotten rid of her, but he was wrong. He wanted his granddaughter. There came a knock at the door.
"Enter!" he ordered.
Wormtail entered. "There was word sent from Hogwarts. One of the children of the other Death Eaters has reported the addition of a new student, Fiona Black. Draco Malfoy has known it the entire time. According to our source, they seem to know each other very well," said Wormtail slowly.
Voldemort looked at Lucius Malfoy who stood nearby. His head hung down. He couldn't believe that his own son knew all this time. "My son has switched to Dumbledore's side. Other sources have confirmed that he has been seen meeting with Dumbledore," he said in a hoarse voice, knowing what was to come.
Voldemort surveyed him. "This betrayal will not go unpunished."
"It is not my fault, Milord. It was his mother. She influenced him. I killed her, but it was too late. She had already turned him against us," muttered Lucius feeling the fear grip him.
"Enough. The boy was weak to begin with. Just as you are. However, you can still redeem yourself. Wormtail, you will assist him," whispered Voldemort.
Wormtail stumbled back in fear. Lucius bowed. "What ever I have to do to prove my loyalty I say do it, Milord."
"You will go to the school and retrieve my granddaughter. As for your son, punish him as you did his mother."
Without hesitation, Lucius Malfoy replied: "Yes, Milord."
"What about me?" asked Wormtail.
"You will go and assist. I want my granddaughter brought back unharmed," replied Voldemort. "Go now. Get out of my sight."
Both men nodded and left. They had to get out of Malfoy Manor's ground before they could apparate away. As soon as they were gone, Voldemort said: "You see, Thalia. I will win after all."
"It's not over until it's over, Father," she whispered.
AN: I decided to turn up the threat they are facing. Draco's about to have a reckoning of his own with dire consequences. His whole world will be ripped apart and rebuilt before this story is over. The test of Fiona's and Draco's friendship is coming.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but this story and the original characters for it. The original story belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.