Footprints in the Sand
Harry Potter and the Philadelphia Raven
Prologue
Part Three:
Fidelius and the Ring
Harry sat with Dudley under a grand oak tree, relishing the coolness from the shade, and pulling blades of grass and watching them float away on the wind. Their backs were to the tree, and if they wanted to see each other as they were speaking there was a lot of strained turning involved, so mostly Harry looked at the gleaming manor that was a little way off and Dudley looked at whatever.
"So," said Dudley. "This Voldemort fellow, who everybody's afraid of, is trying to kill you? And this bloke up there is the son of one of his prominent, now incapacitated, followers? And we're staying in his house?"
"Exactly," said Harry in a glum sort of voice. He pulled a little more viciously at the next handful of grass.
"That's complete idiocy!" said Dudley. "I don't care if this Snape fellow does know my mum from somewhere, it'll get us killed. And Dad agreed to it!"
"Absolutely preposterous, isn't it?" said a crackling voice from above them. Harry jolted and stared up, but found only vibrant greenery.
"Who said that?" he demanded, rising and grabbing at his wand. Dudley followed his lead, and Harry wondered why he actually insisted on reaching for a wand that he couldn't even use. It's not like he could ever bluff a Dark wizard.
"I did," said the same voice and the leaves shook. "Me. I'm Greenleaf."
Harry blinked, and Dudley said, confusion written all over his plump face, "Are you the tree?"
"Of course," said that voice again. "Did you expect a squirrel to answer you back?"
Dudley yelped. "But," he said, stuck in the land of reasoning, "you're a tree! You can't talk!"
"I must admit, even I've never heard of a talking tree, and we're bound to have one at Hogwarts," said Harry, not knowing where to look— at the branches or the trunk or the leaves. "A fighting one, yes, but never one that talked back."
"Tosh," said the tree. "All the trees and flowers at Malfoy Manor are animated. Quite the effective defense mechanism, but when Malfoy started using it for evil, we stopped talking to him. We only talk to the squirt anymore, but he's not come out all summer. Have you seen him?"
"Actually we make it a point to avoid him."
"Been annoying, has he?" said the tree. Harry grinned inwardly to think that even the trees thought Draco Malfoy was a bother. "When he was a child he used to scratch up my bark. I've got terrible scars that spell out his name in unmentionable places…. Of course, he's rather grown out of that. Prevented his father from cutting us down and getting new saplings planted, he has. Rather good of him."
Dudley scrunched up his face. "Why would his father cut you down to get new ones?"
"Oh, so that he could manipulate them," said the tree. "Terrible man, his father…. Encouraged Draco to practice archery with poor Maple instead of the targets when she stopped talking to him…. We'd hear her moaning about her wounds all night."
"Curious," said Harry.
"But don't talk to that bunch of trees closest to the pitch. And you'd best not say anything at all when coming or leaving through the front. They're the new ones Lucius planted. Right mean, they are." The tree paused. "There are a few saplings that Draco tended, though, just last year. They're out by the lake."
"The lake?" asked Dudley curiously. "There's a lake on the grounds?"
"Yes," said the tree guardedly. "But if you're planning to go swimming, it's not wise. That's for boating only. Swim in the pool inside. Much, much safer."
Harry wanted to ask why it was so dangerous to go into the lake, but on an afterthought decided that he didn't really want to know. They thanked the tree, and talked to it a bit more, but soon wandered back up to the house to have some lunch.
"I never thought I'd be able to tolerate spending so much time with you," said Harry. Dudley grinned. "No, seriously. You're rather annoying. I could never stomach it before."
"Be still my beating heart," said Dudley, rolling his eyes. "You know, I'd really like to pound that little brat."
"You're one to talk about being a brat," said Harry. "You're almost as big a brat as he is."
"But not quite. And I'm a boxer. I could take him."
Harry rolled his eyes. "What do you want to do this afternoon, then? I'm rather reluctant to go back outside now that I know the trees speak English. Maybe if they spoke German or something…."
"German?" snorted Dudley. "Why German?" Harry shrugged and continued eating. "We could go find that pool Greenleaf talked about."
"Pool, did you say?" asked a plump woman with a warm smile. She looked over at them with twinkling eyes. "Are you finished, young masters? Or is there something else that I could get for you?"
"No," said Harry. "No, thank you."
She shooed their hands away as they tried to help clean up their small mess, saying that it was her job to do the cleaning. "About that pool," she said. "It's down three flights and past the archives on the right. You'll make a left turn, and there it'll be, waiting for you."
Dudley grinned. "Thank you," he said and darted off. Harry followed, throwing his thanks over his shoulder. They followed the woman's instructions and threw the door open in victory, but stopped suddenly. Draco Malfoy was already there, sitting on the edge at the middle of the pool. Harry inwardly snorted, thinking that Malfoy would be the only person to wear jewelry while swimming.
"Are you planning to stand there and gawk all day?" demanded Malfoy, looking up at them. "It's rather rude, you know."
"Sorry," said Harry as Dudley growled beside him. "We didn't know you were down here."
"Obviously," said Draco. "Or I daresay you wouldn't have come."
"Are you bitter about that?" asked Harry, eyebrow arched in challenge.
"Hardly," said Draco. He paused, his head cocked with silver hair falling into his eyes. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to turn tail and run like Snape said?"
"I don't like Snape," said Harry, "so I don't listen to what he has to say…. And it's hot, and I'm not going to let you ruin a perfectly good swim in an amazing pool." Harry purposefully strode over to the door that led into the changing rooms. He could hear Dudley's thundering footsteps behind him. "Fucking git," swore Harry under his breath as he changed.
"Are you sure Snape would be really angry if I pounded him?" asked Dudley. "I won't kill him or anything, just teach him a really good lesson."
"I'd help you," swore Harry fervently. "By Merlin, something's definitely wrong with this universe anytime I'm on your side." Dudley snorted. "Come on."
By the time they'd made it back to the pool, Draco was lying at the edge, swirling his hand in the water and staring at it almost listlessly.
"What's the matter, Draco?" said Harry. "Can't swim?"
Draco turned to look at him with an angry gaze, and he said, in cool tones, "My cousin drowned in this pool." Harry blanched, suddenly not willing to set foot into the water, and staring at Draco strangely. "What's the matter, Potter? Afraid?"
"You'd better not be fucking with me Malfoy," said Harry, watching as Draco rolled to his feet and walked over to the diving board. "That's not funny."
"Oh, no, it was quite horrifying to see, actually," said Draco before he dove in. Harry swallowed heavily, feeling bile rising up in his throat. Next to him, Dudley was still with disbelief. Draco came up in the middle of the pool and tread water. "It was a punishment for failing Him." Harry hadn't needed to ask who He was. "In fact, it was a punishment for my only uncle; he used to live here, but he's dead now; he wasted away after what happened to Theodosius…." Draco swam over to the edge and bobbed before Harry and Dudley, his silver eyes narrowing. "I was supposed to be tortured to death, did you know? My parents' punishment for failing Him as well…." He pushed away from the side. "There's a Fidelius, now. The Portkey was from Dumbledore, but I suppose you didn't know that. You don't know anything; you just assume you do." He paused. "This house tells me everything." Harry and Dudley still stood there, staring at him. "You can get in, you know. Theodosius drowned years ago. We've had it done over three times since then. It hardly looks the same to me anymore."
Dudley was the first to move. He jumped into the pool, and upon hearing his splash, Harry did so as well. Draco had taken to avoiding them by doing laps, but that didn't matter so much to Harry. He and Dudley splashed around and dove and swam some, but with no form or care.
"What should we do after this?" asked Dudley, sounding a bit bored already as he turned onto his back and floated. Harry watched Draco hop out of the pool, dripping water all over, and shrugged.
"Dunno," he said. "I don't likely know anything there is to do, do I?" he asked, pointedly glaring in Draco's direction. Malfoy looked at him and walked over to the changing rooms. "You're a prat, you know that, Malfoy!"
Draco emerged moments later, his hair dripping water down his bare back; he was only wearing a pair of trousers. Tossing his towel on the floor thoughtlessly, he shrugged. "Is that supposed to make me want to give you something to do? Is that supposed to make me realize the error of my ways and be your friend?"
"I wouldn't accept your friendship," said Harry. "I just want to know how I can get out of your hair and keep you out of mine."
"Oh," said Draco. "Then why don't you die?" he suggested and turned to leave, still barefoot.
"You're not even going to clean up your mess, are you?" asked Harry. "You're a selfish bastard."
"Yes, but I'm a selfish bastard with house-elves and maids," said Draco. "I pay my servants to clean up after me. What part of that don't you understand?"
"The part where you get to be rude."
"Tosh," said Draco, and turned away.
"Hey, that's the same thing that the tree said!" Dudley observed. Draco turned slowly back around and glared at them. Harry wondered what it was about those trees that had Draco all in a huff. "It got it from you, didn't it?"
"Or he picked it up from them," said Harry. "Your only friends, were they?"
"My pets," said Draco tightly. "Stay away from them, and stay away from me. Snape didn't tell you, did he? He didn't say why you should turn tail and run from me."
"Because you're an annoying bastard," supplied Dudley, grinding his fists. "I'd love to beat you."
"Hit me?" said Draco with a scoff. "Nobody can get near me!"
"We were just in the pool with you, if you failed to notice," said Harry slowly. "I think that constitutes being near you, Malfoy."
Draco shook his head. "That's different."
"I don't bloody well see how," said Dudley. "You're bluffing so that I don't trounce you."
"Don't you see it?" asked Draco in an irritatingly annoyed voice. "It's the first thing that anybody looks for anymore. They want to know if I'm wearing it."
"Wearing what, Malfoy?" asked Harry impatiently, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes, and shifting, quite tired of Malfoy's games. Draco lifted his hand and showed them the ring that Harry had noticed while Malfoy sat on the edge. Looking at it closer, though, Harry could see that it looked exactly like one of those coins he and Dudley found in his mother's trunk. "What is that? Where did you get it?" demanded Harry.
"Dumbledore gave it to me," said Draco with a shrug.
"Why?" asked Dudley curiously, eyeing it suspiciously. Harry wondered for a brief moment what he was thinking. "What's it do?"
"Merlin," said Draco. "You're both daft." He turned on his heel and headed straight for the door.
"Where are you going?" asked Harry.
"Away," said Malfoy. Harry and Dudley exchanged glances and ran into the changing room to put on their clothes. When they came out, Malfoy was gone, but they did manage to catch up with him on the stairs without much trouble.
"What's going on?" asked Harry. "What happened? Why did Dumbledore give you that ring?"
"Why?" sneered Draco. "Look familiar, you little idiot? Turned them over to the goblins, I hear. It's like showing up on the Dark Lord's doorstep and saying, 'Gee, sir, I'd rather like you to kill me now.' You're a moron, Potter, do you know that? And if you haven't figured out by now—"
"Draco, that's enough," said a familiar voice ahead of them. Harry looked up and saw Tonks and Moody in the corridor. "Leave Harry alone, would you?" Tonks continued sharply.
"You've got the wrong one, cousin; he's bothering me," spat Draco at the green-haired Tonks. He looked her over and glared at her muddy boots. "What were you doing? Rolling around in that Weasley sty again?"
"Shut up about the Weasleys, Draco," growled Moody, his magical eye gleaming at the ringed hand in Draco's trouser pocket. Next to him, Harry heard Dudley gasp with recognition and step back. "Swimming, were you?" Moody asked Draco, ignoring Harry's plump cousin for the moment.
"Yes."
"It's good for you," said Moody. "But you didn't let those two in with you, did you?" Draco shrugged.
"Merlin, Draco, what were you thinking?" demanded Tonks in an outraged voice Harry had never heard her use before. "Don't be an idiot! You know how dangerous—"
"I was wearing my ring," said Draco, "and if they suddenly dropped dead, then… I'd have the pool to myself, relatively speaking."
Tonks raised her hand as if to slap him, but Moody grabbed her by the wrist. She glowered at Moody in a way that said thanks, and yanked her hand free. "You deserved everything you got, Draco," said Tonks in menacing voice. "You're incorrigible, and you deserved every minute."
"Tosh," said Draco and she narrowed her eyes at him. "It's good to hear you've only got my best interest at heart, cousin." He paused. "Nothing would've happened to them. It's bad form to have guests dropping dead at every turn. Although, it would keep the riffraff away…. If only I were so lucky."
"Thank your lucky stars for the ones you so callously term the riffraff, Draco," said Moody. "You'd have missed them if they didn't turn up when they did."
"Dear me, a lengthy visit with Grandmother Black and Uncle Theodosius," said Draco. "How I fear it."
"Draco," said the smoothly menacing voice of Professor Snape from behind them. Harry turned to see Snape and Uncle Vernon standing there, Uncle Vernon quite purple-faced, and Snape sneering. "Aren't you supposed to be swimming now?"
"The water's cold," said Draco, which surprised Harry because he found the water to be nicely warm.
"Still," said Snape. "I'd like to know that you do swim when I tell you to. Go, now. And stay there for another two hours."
"I'll freeze," said Draco.
Snape's lips twitched. "How terribly tragic. Run along before I do something rather unpleasant instead."
"Fucking tell me what to do," said Draco darkly as he turned around towards the pool.
"Severus, we need to speak with him regarding his, ah, inheritance."
"Go on, then. Use the deck if you please. Make sure he actually gets in the water, would you?"
"Certainly," said Tonks, taking some sort of sadistic pleasure in that. "What say you, Moody?" Mad-Eye nodded, and they both followed after Draco.
"As for you two," said Snape in the same menacing tones he used with Draco. "I do recall telling you to stay away from the boy."
"Yes, but we hadn't expected him to be down at the pool," said Harry. "The tree told us—"
"The tree told you?" interrupted Uncle Vernon, his mustache twitching. Harry grimaced and looked at his Uncle, who looked rather irate. "Dudley. Is what he says true, about talking trees?"
"Of course it is," said Snape smoothly. "You forget where you are, Muggle." Uncle Vernon glowered at Snape's greasy head. "So, you were talking to Draco's trees. More stupidity," sneered Snape. "Next you'll be conversing with the statues and the suits of armor."
Harry's gaze darted to the serpents carved into the railings of all the staircases in the house and grimaced. He should have known, of course, once he'd seen the serpents in the mantle. There was nothing pleasant about this house, nothing private. Harry wondered how anyone could live here comfortably. Already Harry felt he'd rather take his chances with the goblins.
"They talk?" Dudley gasped.
"Mm. Very well, actually," said Snape. "But only to Draco. They listen to everyone else."
"How do you get any privacy around here, then?"
"You find the right places, or the right people," said Snape. "I don't suppose I'll have to tell you again to stay away from Draco. Doing so will put me in rather a bad mood, Mr. Potter. And we both know how those turn out." Snape loomed overhead for a moment and Harry gulped. "Vernon," said Snape sharply. "Come along."
Harry and Dudley waited until Snape and Uncle Vernon were out of earshot. "What's going on with Draco, I wonder?" said Dudley. "That water wasn't anywhere near cold!"
"I know," said Harry. "And I didn't like the way that Snape acted about it, loathe as I am to say. It was a bit harsh, and really, everything Draco said was in jest, for him, at least. I think."
"Psychotic humor," said Dudley. "Another reason why we shouldn't be here in the first place. This place is crawling with homicidal maniacs… and here, I'm missing my programs."
Harry ignored that last comment. "Are you willing to find out what's up with Draco, then? We could go visit him tonight, in his bedroom, and ask."
"How are we going to get there with no one finding out, though?" asked Dudley. "You heard what Snape said. Everything here that's supposed to be inanimate is animate. I bet he'll find us out before we even figure out where Draco's room actually is!"
"I have an Invisibility Cloak," said Harry. "That should keep them from seeing us, and if they can't hear us speaking…. It's worth a shot, don't you think?"
Dudley grinned. "I'm game," he said. "Damien would just die. Covert operations, and such as they are. He always wanted to be a spy, but…. didn't really have the grades for, well, anything decent really. Especially not Chemistry. The Career Counselor at school said he'd make a very capable hoodlum or janitor…. I think he's going for the hoodlum."
"Why does he hang out with you? Doesn't he have any friends his own age?"
Dudley started and looked at Harry oddly; he looked away quickly, and blushed to the tips of his ears. "Actually I'm the one who sort of hangs out with him. —In a way.— Maybe…." Dudley started down the corridor and Harry hurried to catch up with him. "I don't want to talk about it…. What do you say we raid the kitchen? Swimming makes me hungry."
Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. "Breathing makes you hungry, Dudley. You glutton."
Dudley glowered at him. "At least I have some meat on my bones!" he defended hotly. "Unlike you, I might add, with your knobbly knees."
