Curling up tighter, he made his best attempt at blocking out the sounds of the next compartment over and instead concentrated on the new import CD filtering from his knew they had to be almost there, if his numb ass was any indicator atleast. Shifting again, he groaned as his stiff muscles objected and gave him a god awful charlie horse.
He scowled, furiously rubbing out the pain. He'd have to kill the Minister for this, he just had to. That blasted old coot was going to be the end of him. How lazy was the guy to not do this himself? Jimmy sat up in his seat, looking round the compartment.
Another stupid assignment the Minister was just too good to see to himself. Like he couldn't find the time to do the train inspection himself. Like he was just THE busiest man in the world. Ha! Unlikely.
Jimmy had already done a walk through of the Hogwarts Express with two of this new year's Prefects, both of whom had actually volunteered to waste a full day of their summer vacation just to escort him around. Apparently the engineer found the locomotive to be more than temperamental when it came to running and unfortunately the representatives from the Magical Transportation agency thought so as well. So, here he was, doing the Minister's job in giving the train a once over to either confirm or annul the report.
All in all , it seemed in alright condition, aside from the last cab being a bit too rickety for his liking. Trains had always made him uneasy. Just the thought of being flung at 200 MPH on a mass of metal and bolts was just not his ideal way of travel. At any moment, the train could stop over a bridge, or besides a cliff, the rails could shift, bolts would loosen, and bye-bye birdie.
No, broomsticks and Disapparation were far safer than any train ride.
"I think he's in this one."
Oh good god, not already.
Jimmy sighed as the two Prefects clambered into his room, which he had somehow claimed for himself earlier on. He disregarded them and curled back up against the window, propping his feet up on the opposite seat.
The students apparently didn't take a hint and piled in, staring at him as if he were some wild, exotic panther that had pounced into the cabin. Ugh, they are just begging to be hexed, he grumbled to himself.
Yes, the Minister would pay dearly for this.
Not soon enough, the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station and everyone climbed out, Jimmy at the tail-end of things. He ignored the two Prefects, and their extensive knowledge of Hogsmeade, and instead pulled the hood of his cloak up to block out anymore piercing stares already aimed his way. He honestly didn't know if they thought he was Harry or not, and he honestly didn't care. So, he allowed the two students to lead him up to Hogwarts, taking the long walking route that he insisted upon. He'd be damned if he had to go in one of those horrible carriages. His ass was suffering enough.
"There it is. Hasn't changed much, has it?"
Jimmy had to grin," No, it hasn't."
Hogwarts was just as he remembered it. Perched high up on the bluff, looking like a regal, ancient bird beyond the earthly need for movement. The only difference was the lack of students coming and going from their classes. The castle just stood there, anxiously anticipating its new occupants. Jimmy took the lead now, a broad grin cracking his face in two as he saw his old professors standing in the Entrance Hall.
" Professor McGonagal."
The old woman considered him before allowing a warm smile to loosen her mouth," Mr. Potter."
Jimmy shifted his glance, unable to repress a smirk at the forced sour look he received," Professor Snape."
"Potter," The Potions Master muttered curtly.
"I take it you've seen the train?" McGonagal inquired, ushering the new arrivals into the castle.
"Yes, and I think it'd be a good idea to go with a full body maintenance and a new rear cab like M.T. suggested."
"Splendid, I'm sure Albus will be pleased," The Head of House replied as she led them to a side-chamber of the Great Hall.
While she busied herself collecting the proper papers he needed to sign and take back with him, Jimmy wandered back into the Great Hall. The ceiling of the dining hall seemed very odd reflecting, well, a ceiling. Obviously they took down the charm that displayed the corresponding weather outside over the summer. The effect made the room look very small and dreary despite the warm rays streaming through the tall windows.
"I take it office life is treating you well," Snape said as he walked up behind him.
Jimmy crossed his arms and turned slightly," I guess."
"Surely, its not as exciting as your brother's training the past weekend."
Jimmy held back a scowl," Of course not Sevy, but then again, Fudge's daily mail is always an adventure."
" Honestly, Potter, is the money really worth putting up with a mediocre job well below what you're capable of?"
Taking a moment to really roll that over in his mind, Jimmy found Severus was right. He hated his job, every boring minute of it. Oh sure, it took him all over the country and into some pretty bizarre situations, but still. He hated writing reports, he hated conferences, he hated errands, he hated fancy dinners to impress Ministers and the like from other countries.
" If it means Harry can go through the Auror Academy without worrying about our finances, then yes."
Severus shook his head, his coal eyes softening as he looked at the boy," Denial does not become you."
"Alright, here are the documents, Mr. Potter. Please do get this one to the governors as soon as possible, they need to sign it before its passed along to Magical Transportation." McGonagal said as she walked out from the room, the two Prefects tailing behind her with a look of pure importance.
Jimmy took the rolls of parchment and tucked them into his bag, ," I'll get right on it, Professor. Well, I should get going if I want to even touch the pile of papers I know that are swelling on my desk. It was great to see you again."
He bid farewell to the old woman and the Head of Slytherin before turning on his heel and exiting the castle. The students would catch a ride home on the train while he attended to other pressing matters.
Quickly hustling through the dark din of the Three Broomsticks, Jimmy picked out an empty booth in the very back and ordered a few Fire Whiskeys to keep him company. Sighing as the scorching liquid trickled down his throat like velvety lava, Jimmy leaned back in his seat licking the taste from his lips.
The day was developing into a disaster, and he just couldn't seem to let go of what Snape had just said to him.'Denial does not become you'. It had been only a choice few who really knew what Jimmy had gone through the past year. Just after christmas, Jimmy had gone into a mental breakdown of the worst sort. The product of a war he wasn't prepared for and the blood that was on his hands because of it. Not willing to reveal his disturbed mental status to Harry, or anyone else for that matter, Jimmy hastened himself away to a hotel in the bowels of bad London. Naturally, the only ones capable of finding him were Remus and Severus. So, in complete secrecy, the two men battled hard to restore Jimmy's sanity, of which it still wasn't the most stable. Jimmy liked to pretend it never happened, and Remus was usually compliant with this. Severus, however, would never hear of it. The prior encounter evidence of that. It was puzzling, now, that he'd ever doubted Severus lacked a great sense of compassion. Almost every night the Potions master would send him a letter, asking if he was ok, if he needed anything, if he wanted to talk. Of course, the man would never admit to it publicly, but Jimmy felt a strong alliance in Snape nonetheless. And he would reply to each and every letter if it meant he could keep his secret just that, a secret. He knew Severus was keeping a close eye on him through Remus, just incase signs of another breakdown were to occur.
Jimmy sighed heavily, taking another good swig of Fire Whiskey. Nothing eased his body, or mind, like a good round of alcohol. Of course, if Harry ever found out, it'd be his hide. AGAIN.
His saintly brother didn't condone alcohol as a way to escape. Waking up once with an awful hangover, Jimmy found himself in the middle of what heard and felt like the Revolutionary War. It turned out to be Harry banging pots and pans above his head and screaming at the top of his lungs. It had been to prove a point, or so he says. Jimmy to this day believed he was just being an ass.
" Hey now, save some for the rest of us."
Jimmy blinked back to reality and almost leapt out of his seat with joy. In an instant, he was wrapped in a gruesome bear hug, hands thumping happily on his back.
"God, its great to see you."
"Likewise."
Jimmy was pulled back and examined by familiar slate eyes.
" Merlin's beard, you've changed."
Jimmy rose a brow," Have I?"
"Well, not to anyone who doesn't know you. But I could tell soon as I walked in and spotted you..."
The brunette shifted, unsure whether to take this as a compliment or not," Er, well, sit down.I'm sure you haven't eaten lunch yet."
His companion slid into the booth as was told," Course. Not when you said you would be paying."
Jimmy chuckled as his partner removed an elegant midnight-black cloak and set it gracefully over the seat," Moocher."
"Oh yes, and you better open that wallet up pretty wide cause I haven't eaten since yesterday morning."
The Gryffindor simply smiled, staring with open appreciation across the table," I've missed you."
Sigh." Same here."
" Ah! Jimmy Potter! I wondered when you'd be gracing me with your pretty face again."
Jimmy blinked and looked up to see Madame Rosmerta, rosy grin spread across her full face." Yeah, I can't deprive my best fan of her monthly dose of me, now can I?"
The woman giggled inspite of herself and turned to the person sitting opposite the brunette. Pure joy and surprise flashed across her features," Now this is a delightful treat. My two most handsome patrons."
"Flattery will get you everywhere," Jimmy said with a smirk.
"What can I get for you boys?" Madame Rosmerta asked, looking as if she had strayed into a wonderful dream of glory and large tips." Mr. Malfoy?"
Jimmy watched as the boy flicked a lock of white-blond from gray eyes with lofty grace and turned his attention to the menu placed in his hand.
" How about a plate of your best salmon sandwiches, a side of chips and a Greek salad," Draco answered.
" Mr. Potter?"
"Uhhhh...I think I'm in the mood for a fresh chicken salad. But don't put in those nasty lima beans this time, ok?"
The owner nodded with smile and took their menus," Anything else?"
"Two cold butterbeers please," Jimmy replied digging in his pockets for his coin bag.
"And another round of Fire Whiskey," Draco added.
The woman retreated to fill their orders, leaving Jimmy to turn his attention back to the boy across from him." Another round, huh. How many rounds do you plan to weasel out of me exactly?"
"As many as our stomachs can handle, of course," Draco responded with a coy smile.
Jimmy shook his head and leaned back against his seat," You know I can't go back into the office smashed."
"Then don't go back in."
The second Potter rolled his eyes laughing," Oh yeah. I can see the look on ol' Fudgie's face now."
"Let him handle his hate mail on his own for a day, Merlin knows you need a bloody break. He works you too damn hard."
"Oh? And how would YOU know that?" Jimmy said, eyebrow cocked with interest.
"I know many things," The youngest Malfoy replied with an ominous tone.
The two stared at one another, each trying to decipher the meaning behind those words. The next moment found both boys doubling over with laughter.
" God you're such a ham! "
Draco wiped a tear from his eye," Hey now, you try saying that with a straight face. Its harder than it looks."
"Oh, how low the Malfoys have fallen that the last heir is reduced to corny one-liners."
The blond scowled , gifting Jimmy with a whack on the back of the head." You're one to talk, Potter."
Jimmy rubbed the injury," Whats that supposed to mean?"
"Means you're in the same boat as I. We're both fallen heroes."
Jimmy sighed heavily, allowing his posture to slump," Thanks for reminding me."
Draco tilted his head a bit, looking upon his friend with sympathy," I'm sorry. My tongue tends to be a bit sharper than it once was."
"Obviously," Jimmy muttered, forcing down an urge to retaliate. The fact that Draco was,well, Draco, and that he hadn't seen the Slytherin in over a year was the only thing saving him from a harsh retort.
"Look Jim, I've been keeping an eye on you and Harry ever since I left. And I haven't exactly liked what I've read in the papers."
Jimmy moistened his lips crossing his arms, hoping against all hopes that Draco had missed the small article about his disappearance that Severus had failed to catch on time, " What didn't you like?"
"The fact that you accepted the job as Fudge's assistant. I thought you had your heart set on playing for the Arrows?"
Jimmy's silence and downcast eyes told the blond all he needed to know.
" You great sodding idiot!" Draco exclaimed, slamming his fist onto the table.
Jimmy jumped, quickly catching the empty shot glasses before they rolled onto the stone floor," Whats the matter with you!"
"Lets turn that question on YOU, you blooming ignoramus. What in Mad Mim's world possessed you to do such a stupid thing?"
"What?"
"Jimmy, I spent an entire year with you at school, remember? And within that year I had to hear speech after ranting speech about how you'd rather flay the flesh off your bones, douse yourself in troll urine and roll around in bristles if it meant never having to step foot in an office building. What happened?" Draco finished with a frown.
"Life, I suppose."
Draco scoffed.
"What? How the hell was I supposed to run round all of England if it meant leaving Harry alone half the time."
"Harry's a big boy, he can take care of himself."
Jimmy chewed on his lip as Madame Rosmerta deposited their lunch infront of them and scurried off with a smile on her face.
"Did you honestly take that job JUST for Harry's sake?" The blonde asked, picking up a sandwich and taking huge bite.
"Yes...I worry about him." Jimmy pressed on seeing the look of clear skepticism on his friend's face." You don't see him at night, Draco. He's a mess, but he won't let anyone see, not even me. Hell, if I didn't walk in on him late at night, I wouldn't believe it myself."
At this, Draco frowned," Why? Whats wrong?"
The brunette poked a cucumber with his fork absently. Should he lie or tell the truth? A few white lies amongst friends never hurt no one. And it was his reputation at stake here...Harry would never find out." He's miserable. During the summer and the weekends he comes home, I hear him crying himself silly during the night. He wakes up from nightmares. He thinks I don't see the vials of Dreamless Sleep he takes when it gets to be too much where he can't pass off the bags under his eyes as studying too hard. Just the other day, I saw him sitting on the veranda. His eyes just stared out into space..I've never seen him look so...so empty...And its because of those brief glimpses that I stick with my job at the Ministry."
"But why?"
"It allows me to be there for Harry, whenever he needs me. I'm there whenever he feels the need to get away from training and spend the night at home. I'm there with homecooked meals and a constant source of support. I can tell he's grateful, each time I hurry over to the fireplace to see him tumbling out of it, I can see he's grateful. Just because I'm there for him. He needs that. He's always needed it, and I'm only too happy to provide it for him." Ok, so, not TOTAL lies, there was truth behind it all. All those things WERE happening in the Potter household, just not to Harry.
"But at the price of your happiness?"
Jimmy looked up with furrowed brows," I AM happy. Maybe not the way I'd always dreamed, but I am happy. I love that I can give my brother what he'd been deprived of all his life, and me as well."
"And what's that?"
Jimmy found himself smiling faintly," A family."
The rest of lunch involved talk of the rest of their day and updates on various people. Draco found it more than amusing that Ron had been true to his word and joined his brothers' joke shop business as a Marketing Specialist. Apparently, Ron knew more about effective pranks and the genre they'd target than Severus Snape knew about potions. Draco was, however, unsurprised when he heard that Hermione Granger had taken a position on the Daily Prophet staff for the Consumer Goods column. In her spare time, Jimmy divulged, she was feverishly working on a biography of Harry and himself. The brunette had to wait a full ten minutes before Draco was fit to speak again.
Neville Longbottom worked at 's as a Plant-Related Incident specialist. Dean Thomas was a photographer for Beautiful Bounty, a magazine for up and coming wizarding artists while Seamus Finnigan worked on the Magical Reversal Squad. And little Ginny Weasley was a secretary to Fudge.
"Bet Harry doesn't like that," Draco commented.
Jimmy frowned, chewing on a piece of meat," Why wouldn't he?"
" His younger brother spends most of his day in the company of the lovely female Weasley, while he's stuck in a classroom. Bet he doesn't like that at all." Draco smirked as he spread more butter on his sandwich..
Jimmy never got around to responding since they were running late. Leaving a very generous tip for Madame Rosmerta, they soon enough found themselves hurrying through the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley.
"There has got to be a faster way to the Ministry," Draco complained, tailing closely behind Jimmy.
"There is, but you're not yet authorized to arrive by Floo," Jimmy replied as they approached the front steps of the Ministry building.
Both boys scurried up the stoop and practically tumbled through the security immediately spotted the pair of elder Unspeakables he was meant to meet with, then turned to his friend," Well, thanks for lunch, I hope we can do it sometime soon."
"Sure, soon as you get through with the 'constant vigilance' they put you through, I'll treat you to some Italian," Jimmy replied.
The blonde grinned and gave the boy one last hug before retreating to the company of the two older men. Jimmy turned and rode the elevator to his floor and walked through the only door in the small hallway.
Ginny greeted him with a warm smile as she straightened out a pile of invoices," Well well, look who decided to grace us with his presence."
Jimmy stuck out his tongue for lack of a better retort and sunk down behind his desk, which incidentally was directly across from hers.
"Have a nice morning?" She asked sweetly.
"Oh, bite me off a big one," Jimmy grumbled and reached forward to drag his inbox mail over to the center of his desk.
Ginny giggled," Feisty today , aren't we?"
"Yeah, so you better watch it or I'll turn it all on you."
"Promises promises."
Is this what Draco meant? Honestly, if this would make Harry jealous, I'd hate for him to see us on a good day, Jimmy thought." Whats Fudge-cake up to?"
"Oh, he hustled out of here about twenty minutes ago for a meeting with the Head of the Department of Mysteries," Ginny answered as she searched her drawers for a fresh ink bottle.
Jimmy rose an intrigued brow and reached into the top drawer of his desk , tossing her a spare ink bottle." Is he meeting the new Unspeakable?"
"Seems like it. So, are the rumours true? Is it Malfoy? Is he even back from wherever it was he vanished to?"
Jimmy chuckled at the look of pure interest lighting her freckled face," I'm not at liberty to say."
"Bollocks your liberty. I know you had to of talked to him within the past year, now tell me. Come on. PLEASE?"
He sighed and rolled his eyes with a smile.
"Jiiiiiiiiiiiim-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"I have to go to the bathroom."
"Oh you sodding git!"
Jimmy laughed all the way to the restroom.
The remainder of his day was uneventful to say the least. He trudged through Fudge's mail, discovering one had a rather bad hex attached a moment too late and wound up with pink hair. By the time he arrived home, Jimmy was rather grumpy, tired and a decidedly hungover.
"Welcome home pumpkin."
Jimmy dumped his messenger bag and cloak on the ground before collapsing back onto the couch," Whats for dinner?"
"Whatever you make, I suppose."
"Thats so cold," He replied before sitting up and looking over at the staircase.
Perched on the bottom step, adorned in boy's corduroys, black shirt and raven locks was Cienna, in all her transparent glory. The shock of seeing her pop up all over the vicinity had worn off, and Jimmy found himself getting to like expecting her whenever it was he got home. It still wasn't enough to completely rid him of the disturbing fact that she was Harry's dead girlfriend, who now lived with them. Sometimes he even wondered if the two picked up where they left off." I seem to do that rather well."
Jimmy pushed himself from the couch with a grunt and forced his legs to walk to the kitchen," Don't we still have some leftover pizza?"
Cienna floated behind him, hands tucked behind her bottom," Nope, you ate the last slice for breakfast."
"Ugh. Great. Now I'll surely STARVE."
"Oh please, you got frozen burritos practically overflowing the freezer," She replied.
Jimmy scowled and pulled out said burrito," Thats not the point."
Cienna rolled her honey eyes and flanked the boy," So, is Harry coming home tonight?"
Jimmy hesitated, choosing his words carefully, "I'm not sure. He said he would, but then again, he spent the entire day at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes."
Cienna scrunched her mouth to the side looking astray.
"Guess its just me and you tonight," Jimmy said as he shoved his frozen entrée into the microwave. Close one. Harry would have your hide if Cienna found out, via YOU, that he went to go try to see Hermione again.
"Yeah, just me and you," The girl replied with a smile, settling into a night of Jimmy's always entertaining reports he recited to a Quick Quotes Quill in every language known to man, secretly wishing Harry could accompany them, for once.