Chapter Thirty Eight (short, but good chapter)
Padma stepped out of the shower and reached blindly for her towel. When she had wrapped it around herself, she opened the bathroom door and ran face-first into Harry. She blinked in surprise, and then frowned.
"Harry, what are you doing here? We didn't have a date tonight, did we?" His cold eyes sent shivers through her as he stared at her.
"No, we didn't. And I don't think we'll be seeing much of each other in the future, either." She rolled her eyes and pushed past him.
"In that case, I think it would be in your best interests to leave my flat." She began rummaging through a dresser drawer. He grabbed her arm and yanked on it, turning her around to face him. She winced at the contact; he was gripping her so tightly that he was going to leave a bruise.
"What in the hell possessed you to give statements to Draco Malfoy, of all people?" he hissed angrily.
"I only told the truth," she said defensively, sticking her chin out. "And besides, I was mad at you."
"You were mad at me," he snorted. She nodded. "So you gave damaging statements to an enemy out of spite to what, teach me a lesson?"
"I only told the truth," she repeated. "I didn't make anything up. He came to me and asked me, and I told him."
"How much did he pay you?" he asked, his grip on her arm tightening. She winced in pain.
"He didn't pay me anything, Harry."
"Liar! How much did he give you?"
"Nothing!" she screamed, tears stinging her eyes. "He didn't give me anything. He didn't have to!" Harry let go of her and turned away, heading towards her door. When he reached it, he stopped and looked at her.
"You're going to regret doing that, for more reasons than one. It would be in your best interests to stay away from me and everyone I'm friends with." She shivered at his words, and he disappeared through the door. When he had gone, she collapsed into a heap on her bed and sobbed uncontrollably.
"She did it to get back at me," Harry said calmly. He was seated in the Minister of Magic's own office, his fingers curled around a Styrofoam cup filled with coffee. He watched as the steam swirled up in tiny wisps, and then lifted his eyes to meet the Minister's.
"Well, Harry, this is a sorry day, indeed," Amelia Bones said, shaking her head. "It's sad to think that your girlfriend gave damning statements to people that allowed them to get orders of protection against you. It's even sadder that it's turned out the way it has. I can't tell you how sorry I am that your friend was attacked. Hermione was such an asset to the Ministry's operations – such a clever witch." She clucked her tongue softly, and Harry nodded.
"Yes, Ma'am, it is sad. But the fact remains that if Padma hadn't given those false statements, I could have protected Hermione." Amelia looked up at him, eyeing him thoughtfully across her desk.
"You're telling me that one or more of the people that had the order against you attacked Miss Granger?"
"I am."
"That's a serious accusation, Harry. Can you offer me any concrete proof of your allegation?"
"Not yet."
"Then I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do at the present time."
"Can't you get the orders reversed? After all, they were filed with false statements as their basis."
"I'm sure I can do that for you, at least. Just let me send a memo down to Annette's desk, and we'll have it cleared up in a jiffy." Harry smiled at her.
"Thank you, Minister."
"It's not a problem, Harry. Any time that there's something I can do for you, you just let me know." Harry nodded and watched as she bent over a piece of parchment.
"Trust me, I will."
"He's here," Narcissa said anxiously. Lucius nodded and patted her hand reassuringly as the house elves scurried to announce Snape's presence. Snape ignored them and swept into Ginny's room in a flurry of his black robes. He froze when his eyes fell on the figure that was motionless on the bed. After a moment, his eyes flickered up and landed on Ron, who was still holding Pansy. He glanced at Draco, who was sitting by the bed, holding Ginny's hand, and then his eyes settled on Lucius and Narcissa. If he was surprised at the scene before him, he didn't show it.
"What seems to be the trouble here?" he asked calmly. Lucius rose from his seat and stepped forward.
"The girl has ingested a potion that seems to have put her to sleep. We've tried everything, and we can't get her to wake." Snape nodded curtly and stepped forward, moving to the side of the bed. He bent over Ginny and sniffed gently. Draco watched his former potions master with a heavy heart; would he be able to wake Ginny? Snape picked up Ginny's hands and examined her fingernails, then examined a lock of hair. He turned back to Lucius.
"It's not a sleeping draught," he said matter-of-factly. "All sleeping draughts use ginger root, which gives off a strong odor."
"Can you tell what it is?" Ron asked.
"Can you wake her up?" Draco asked, trying to hide his trembling hands. Snape arched an eyebrow at him.
"Of course I can wake her up," he snapped. Draco looked relieved.
"What do you need?" Lucius asked.
"A frozen Runespoor egg, boomslang skin, an erumpent tail, spine of lionfish, and powdered moonstone." Ron gaped at him.
"A frozen Runespoor egg?" he asked disbelievingly. "Runespoors are illegal, Snape! Where in the bloody hell are they going to get a-"
"It's fine, Ron," Pansy said softly, shaking her head. Ron shut his mouth and stared at Pansy. Snape eyed them intently.
"I'll get your ingredients," Lucius said, heading towards the door. "Everyone stay in here with Ginny." Snape peered around at the room's inhabitants.
"What an interesting gathering you have here," he murmured. Draco's eyes narrowed.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Snape met his eyes for a moment, then sighed quietly.
"I wasn't trying to offend your affianced," he said evenly. Draco's eyes widened slightly.
"So it's true, then."
"It would seem so." He turned to glance at Ron, who quickly averted his eyes. He was in very real danger here. Snape felt a quick stab of fear; Ron had told the Malfoys his secret, which meant that Lucius would no doubt tell Voldemort. They waited in silence until Lucius returned with the ingredients and a medium-sized cauldron. "I need a bigger cauldron."
"I don't have anything bigger right now," Lucius began. Narcissa shook her head and stood. All eyes were on her as she opened Ginny's closet and pulled her silver bowl from the topmost shelf. She shoved it at Snape.
"Use this."
"Cissa, that's your good-"She held her hand up to silence her husband.
"It can be replaced. Ginevra is what's important right now." Draco's heart swelled as his father embraced his mother tightly. Snape pretended to ignore the scene and began preparing the ingredients. Draco watched with growing interest as Snape began a small fire of blue flames beneath the bowl, and then combined the items in a calculated manner. After he had stirred it sixteen times counter-clockwise, he looked up.
"It has to simmer for four hours before it will be ready for her to ingest." A collective release of held breaths went up, and Pansy buried her face in the front of Ron's shirt. Draco turned back to Ginny and raised the back of her hand to his lips. Narcissa excused herself and headed towards the kitchens to instruct the house elves to ready tea and some sort of food for everyone present. Lucius inclined his head towards Snape.
"We have some things to discuss, old friend. Why don't we go to my study?" Snape nodded almost imperceptibly, and followed Lucius out of the room without a glance behind him.