Come the Maëlstrom

Chapter Twenty Nine

The dining room had been host to many strained silences. But nothing before could compare to the one that Lucius was now enduring with Draco seated at the table, eating the appetisers with a stiff expression on his face. Despite the good three hours that Lucius had to mull over the situation, he couldn't think of anything remotely appropriate to say; coming up with something on the spot didn't appeal, but it was what he would have to do. They continued eating in silence until the appetisers were finished. Once a light soup appeared before them, Draco finally spoke.

"I presume you didn't invite me here merely for company," his son said in a polite and distance voice. "What is it that you want Father?"

"To discuss something with you."

"And what would that be?" Draco asked in a sarcastic voice.

"The manner in which you behaved last night."

Draco's head turned slowly and Lucius found incredulity in Draco's eyes. That was the one thing that bothered him about Draco's reaction, but it was minor compared to the larger issue glaring down at them. Of course, Draco had always overcompensated for his overreacting with a ridiculous amount of politeness and decorum afterwards. One would think he would be shocked first and then angry. But, then again, his son always had a rather unique personality.

"Forgive me, I'm still wondering what the proper etiquette is for catching one's father in bed with an… acquaintance."

"Proper people do not resort to screaming wild accusations when seeing an 'acquaintance' in bed with a family member," Lucius replied primly. "Granger and Severus acted correctly."

Draco's lips tightened momentarily. "I am not most people. Nor Professor Snape and certainly not Granger."

"Indeed," Lucius said dryly.

They started eating in silence once more. The occasional clink of silverware against china echoed faintly in the living room. Lucius glanced at Draco every so often to find the boy staring pointedly at his soup as he ate it with a peculiar determination.

"So," Draco said suddenly as he paused for a moment. "Now that you've had your fill of Potter, I assume you're done with him."

Lucius coughed slightly and hastily swallowed a few spoonfuls of soup to combat the sudden dry tickle at the back of his throat. It wouldn't do for it to become full-blown laughter, particularly in this situation. Lucius spent the precious few moments chiding himself. He was supposed to be addressing this seriously, not snickering like a first year at some comment that he found unintentional lewd humour in.

"No," Lucius said slowly. "I am not 'done' with him, as you delicately put it."

"I see," Draco's face flushed slightly and Lucius supposed it was with anger. "And just when will you be done with him?"

"I don't think I will be." Lucius said bluntly.

Draco gave a derisive snort. "I'm not an idiot. It's always been simply sex with you. Potter must be very good."

"I want to make something very clear here," Lucius said after a moment. "It is not just sex between us."

"You don't mean to say that you're actually in a relationship with him."

Draco gave a harsh laugh but Lucius simply remained silent, regarding Draco. Draco's laugh died off as he took in Lucius' reaction and he spat out an expletive, throwing down his spoon.

"For Mordred's sake Father, he's my age! He's old enough to be your son!"

"I realise that." Lucius said calmly, before eating a bit more soup.

"Is that why he skipped out on the graduation ceremony? Because I wouldn't be here and…" Draco trailed off, obviously not wanting to complete that train of thought. "So… this has been occurring since he graduated?"

Lucius looked at Draco for a long moment and didn't say anything. An almost horrified light started to appear in Draco's eyes, his mouth opening. Lucius gave a heavy sigh; he at least owed Draco the complete truth, for once in his life. Draco had been startlingly frank in these past weeks with him, and the least he could do was extend the same courtesy.

"Before." Lucius said simply.

"So after the Dark Lord was defeated?"

"Before."

"A few months before the Dark Lord was killed?"

"Before."

Lucius took in the surprised expression on Draco's face that was followed by something that could only be defined as suspicion. Nothing was said for a moment as Draco watched Lucius for a moment and then spoke in a supremely commanding tone.

"Just how on Earth did you manage to sneak into the school then?"

Lucius simply looked at him. Draco made a frustrated sound, running a hand through his hair.

"Was it before that as well?"

Lucius nodded his head and confirmed it with a, "Before".

"There is no possible way you could have met Potter before." Draco declared finally with a hint of belligerence.

"Isn't there?" Lucius asked archly.

Draco looked taken aback before he fell into thought. It didn't take long as Draco studied Lucuis, not saying anything for a long moment.

"Spain." That was the only word that he said.

"Correct." Lucius said.

"Potter claimed that he was alone."

"A very wise move; he would have been facing an entirely new set of problems had he admitted to spending a prolonged amount of time with my 'undue' influence. And undoubtedly, there were many factors after that as well."

"Such as?" Draco demanded, as if he didn't believe it.

Lucius arched an eyebrow. "I'm quite sure you're capable of using your own brain."

"And I want to hear you say it." Draco retorted quickly.

Lucius didn't say anything for a moment. He would… humour Draco for a little while. "Obviously, it would be automatically assumed that he was being coerced by me in some manner; Dumbledore would more than likely feel that I had altered with his memory some how. He might have erased the entire episode from Harry's mind. But, providing that the senile fool did nothing about that, Harry would constantly be guarded against the Dark Lord in some manner and the other Death Eaters. Even later on at the trial, his efficacy as a witness might be called into question, as I would have undoubtedly 'tampered' with him and –"

"Very well, you made your point Father." Draco grumbled.

"I fail to see why you are so discontent," Lucius said mildly. "You neglected to mention your relationship with Blaise for a good while. I only found out about it when you revealed that you would be moving to Italy with him. I, if anything, had much more reason to throw a fit."

Draco's face went a bit pink at that statement. "Fine. We both had our reasons."

"Of course. Had I known you would react so adversely to this I would have gone to much greater efforts to keep this simply between Harry and I."

Draco tightened his lips and picked his spoon back up. Nothing was said for a few minutes as they ate.

"Greater efforts?" Draco repeated in a peculiar tone.

"I'm positive you can understand the context I was speaking of."

"Are you two only doing this to rile up the Wizarding world?" Draco asked, regarding Lucius intently.

"I imagine that might come later on. If we want a laugh." Lucius gave an amused smirk.

Draco's eyes widened for a second before they narrowed. "I'm failing to find the humour in this situation."

Lucius waved a hand in light dismissal of the subject. "That's because it's not for you to concern yourself with at the moment."

"At the moment?" Draco gripped his spoon tightly. "Implying that I will have to look after something later on. I'll tell you right now Father, I will not clean up after your sordid little…"

Draco trailed off at the end of the sentence as Lucius gave him a very icy look of displeasure. Lucius watched as his son swallowed slightly and immediately turned back to the soup, electing not to say anything else for the moment. All in all, Lucius thought that was a very good idea. Draco had just skirted the edge of some very dangerous territory. They finished their soup, leaving the empty bowls to vanish away. When the main course appeared before them, Draco picked at his brisket and roasted potatoes. Lucius had no doubt that he was carefully planning on how to best broach the subject once more. Of course, Draco was trying to convince himself that this was some sort of affair and would eventually end; that much was easy to see. And Lucius knew it would do no good if he tried to force the simple fact on Draco; the boy had to come around to it in his own time.

"The Dark Lord must have ordered you to seduce Potter, get into his bed."

"That would be plausible, barring one simple fact." Lucius conceded. "The Dark Lord is dead and has been for a few months now. If that were true, there would be nothing binding me to that… order."

"He died once. For all we know, he could be biding him time out there."

Now, honestly, Lucius felt a trifle offended at that. Was the belief that he was doing this under the deceased Dark Lord's orders that much preferable to the option of him and Harry being together?

"I somehow doubt that." Lucius said frostily.

Draco pursed his lips slightly and picked at his brisket. "Then I commend you on finding a clever way to secure your own skin. Since Potter's so attached to you, he won't want you to end up in Azkaban."

"I see," Lucius said after a moment of thought. "Should I believe that you subscribe to the garbage that the Quibbler published as well?"

"No," Draco said with a scowl. "But one never knows how those judicial wizards and witches operate. What could be more iron-clad than having the Boy-Who-Lived as your… lover? Any one trying to convict you would take one look at him, listen to his plea and you'd be a free wizard."

Lucius frowned in displeasure. "I do believe I was found innocent during my first trial. And I have no intention of sitting through that Weasley's accusations in court once more. We will discreetly settle this outside of court, whether she prefers it or not."

"And if Potter sides with the Weasleys?"

"Then that is Harry's choice."

Draco scowled once more and returned to picking the brisket with his fork. Lucius resisted the urge to smile; Draco seemed very determined to find some other plausible explanation to account for finding him and Harry in bed together. Now that he stopped to think about it, he could understand why Draco and Blaise were there, but it didn't account for everyone else's presence.

"Fath –"

"What were they all doing there?" Lucius asked abruptly.

Draco blinked in surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

"I can understand why you and Blaise were there. Why was everyone else?"

"Because of that wretched article; they were looking for you. Valerian suggested that we go looking for you in the house," Draco had a fairly displeased expression on his face to accompany a wrinkled nose. "And that woman –"

"Ravenna." Lucius supplied.

"Seconded that idea. Hence us finding you… cavorting," there was a nasty insinuation behind it. "In bed with Potter."

Lucius didn't reply for a moment. "I've had enough of that from you," he said quietly. "No more."

Draco didn't reply, turning his attention to the brisket and picking it to shreds. Lucius watched him for a moment before paying full attention to his own meal.

"Potter didn't give you anything to eat or drink that tasted funny, did he?"

Lucius arched an eyebrow at Draco's abrupt words. "No, he did not."

Draco subsided into a thoughtful silence, finally eating some of the meal on his plate. Lucius turned his attention back to his meal after a moment. Draco certainly wasn't done with his speculations, and Lucius had a feeling he was in for a very long, and fairly quiet, dinner.

Harry wished Ron hadn't stopped by his apartment that day; he could be at home, happily curled up on the couch, watching a movie or maybe doing some reading. Hell, he could have seen what Lucius was up to and possibly gone out on a date. But here he was sitting at the dinner table outside, surrounded by the swirl of conversation; he found it safer to only really look at either his dinner plate or at Hermione and Parvati. They seemed to be the only supportive ones.

Mrs. Weasley was busy chiding Fred and George for something while Mr. Weasley was deep in conversation with Remus, Percy and Bill. Charlie was trying his best, in his difficult position, to mediate between Ron, Octavia and Ginny. Each of the three was trying to get him on their side now, since Harry had pointedly ignored them and their earlier attempts. Ron assumed that Harry would side with him as had Ginny, while Octavia kept making what he could only call 'googly eyes' at him. That wasn't quite the right word, but it was the closest thing he could think of; Octavia had a very annoying habit of staring at him, and very intently too. And while he thought he could at least have Parvati and Hermione for company, they had been seated between Katie and Angelina, who Fred and George had respectively invited along. On either side of Katie and Angelina, sat Charlie and Bill's dates, which were chattering away happily in the cluster of females. And the most he got from either of them was a sympathetic look in his direction, since the other four girls were almost continually talking.

He was essentially shunted to the side. And that he didn't mind. Or rather he wouldn't have minded if he hadn't been stuck with Seamus. And Seamus was eating with only one hand. His other one was prone to roaming upwards on Harry's leg underneath the table. Harry kept swatting it away, but it returned insistently as always. Finally, in the end, to retain something of his own sanity, he firmly placed Seamus' hand on his knee, in the hope that would satisfy the other boy. Seamus tried to move it up once but Harry had surreptitiously slipped his fork beneath the table for a moment and jabbed Seamus with it hard. There had been a muffled yelp from Seamus and his fork clattered against the plate, but it was lost in the din of talking. Seamus' hand didn't wander after that and stayed in its spot. Not that Harry was thrilled with that, but better that than Seamus trying something later on.

Dinner seemed to drag on for an eternity and Harry didn't think it would have been over soon enough. Once everyone sagged back in their seats, patting their bellies in repletion, Mrs. Weasley stood up and surveyed the tables.

"So, who wants to help me clean up?"

A massive wall of protest rose almost immediately. Though at that point, Harry would have taken any job that got him away from Seamus' roaming hands and Octavia's unnerving stare. Mrs. Weasley gave everyone a hard look.

"Fine. Harry, Hermione, Parvati, Ron, Ginny, Octavia, Seamus, you can run along since you helped prepare dinner."

"Mum!" Fred sounded scandalised.

"You make it sound like we didn't help at all!" George sounded affronted.

"Oh, and how did you help?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a tone that dared them to try any line.

"Er, but we would be more than glad to help you out. Because –" George began.

"We'd do anything for dear old Mum." Fred finished.

"All right, come on you lot, kitchen." Mrs. Weasley said briskly.

There came some half-hearted moans from the table as most of the older adults rose and shuffled off to the kitchen. That was all except Remus however. He came over and stood behind Harry's chair, peered over and smiled.

"Do you have a few moments to spare?" Remus watched him.

"Yeah, no problem."

Remus stepped away from the back of the chair and Harry slipped out from it as quickly as possible. And before Seamus could say anything or possibly invite himself along, Harry was already hurrying along the worn garden path leading out the gravel driveway in the front of the house. Remus was behind him. Harry didn't stop walking until he reached the end of the path by the main road, where a rusty and obviously unused postbox sat.

"Are you all right?" Remus asked, the gravel crunching beneath his feet as he came to a stop. "You look a bit strained."

"I'm fine. I could have done without Seamus attempting to grope me underneath the dinner table though." Harry groused as he crossed his arms.

"I see," Remus coughed politely with a small smile of amusement. "Lucius sends his love."

Harry was still fuming so it took a few seconds for the words to sink in. He turned and looked at Remus a bit stupidly, unsure if he was hearing right.

"Come again?" Harry said slowly.

"I don't want to risk saying it again, but Lucius sends his love." Remus said with a smile.

"Oh… erm…" Harry went red. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"How have you been holding up?"

"Pretty good. I've been keeping myself busy in my flat."

"Good. But I hear you haven't been going out much; becoming a hermit isn't the answer you know."

"I know that Remus. It's just that this whole situation with Ginny may end up dragging me back into the spotlight. That's part of the reason why I didn't bother with the graduation ceremony."

"Well, your guess certainly was right. There was a very long ceremony with medals and awards handed out. You, Ron and Hermione received an award for forming the DA."

"Seriously?"

Remus nodded his head. "Dumbledore felt it was only fair to acknowledge the fact that you three started it in fifth year."

"Hermione did most of the work really, organising lesson plans and guiding us in the right direction; me and Ron just gave some input and taught the stuff," Harry said, scratching the back of his head. "Besides, I just want some time for myself. That's not asking for too much, is it?"

"I certainly don't think so; but you should keep other people's feelings in perspective." Remus said frankly. "Until we received that owl from you saying you were fine, we were very worried. I'd even go so far as to say frantic."

Harry nodded his head a bit absently and crossed his arms slightly. "I know; Hermione gave me a tongue lashing for that. And I really am sorry, but I didn't see any other way to make a clean break. Besides, it did give me some time to think without someone attempting to influence me in some manner."

"Ah," Remus rubbed the back of his head. "And did you find the answers you were looking for? Assuming that you decided to find answers on your own."

"I did," Harry affirmed as he shifted, dropping his arms and hooking his thumbs in the jean pockets. "I need a quieter life, with someone who won't pressure me for certain things."

"And you're sure that person is Lucius?" Remus asked after a moment.

Harry looked down as he scuffed his shoe against the gravel, kicking up dirt. "I know he's not perfect; he's done things that are reprehensible. And maybe that's part of my attraction to him; I know what he's capable of and he didn't shy away from it. He told me the truth himself, even if it was in summation. I know it's a difficult subject for him and I value the fact that he told me. He could have lied through his teeth and fed me something else."

"How do you know that he really did tell you the truth?"

Harry didn't say anything to that, simply looking at his dirtied shoes. He could still plainly see the slightly evasive and pained expression in Lucius' eyes as he recounted that night that sealed his fate as a Death Eater and the family and young boy who had died on the coast of Dover. No, Lucius would not lie to him about something like that, much less make it up.

"Try to understand where I am coming from Harry," Remus said a moment later. "I don't mean to offend you but surely you realise that this question would have been raised eventually."

Harry opened his mouth to speak but ended up shrugging helplessly. "I… It's… I just know."

"All right Harry. You should realise that you'll probably have to answer some harder questions than that if more people find out about you and him."

"I know, I know," Harry finally looked upwards, at the dusk and setting sun. "I need to get away from here, from England."

"Move away from England for good?" Remus asked after a moment.

Harry nodded his head slowly after a moment. "That was Lucius' suggestion. And I agree with it. I want to spend more time with him uninterrupted or without people snooping or condemning him or me for being together. I mean you and Hermione and everyone else have been great about it but the rest of the wizarding world… that's a different story."

"Harry, in this entire situation, that is one thing that I can truly understand." Remus replied with a grin.

Harry gave a grin of his own as he glanced at Remus. "I suppose my main concern now would be to try and see Lucius, and then the both of us coming up with a more concrete plan of how to handle things. We have a pretty good idea of what we're going to do after this entire mess. But navigating through the media circus that's bound to come and make sure that it doesn't impact us in a bad way… that will be a challenge"

Remus didn't say anything for a long moment. "You've been giving this some serious thought."

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "In between almost everything else that's been floating around in my head."

"Well, I still have some responsibilities to attend to at Loup Garou. But surely you wouldn't mind if Tonks or I stopped by with one other guest to keep you company for a bit."

Harry gave him a puzzled look for a moment before his eyes widened with comprehension. "You would do that?"

"I believe it's the least I can do to make you happy." Remus said with a seemingly nonchalant shrug. "Just make sure you fix your Floo; it would be terrible if Ron came over and saw something he probably couldn't handle."

"Thanks. I was starting to think that I would have to talk to Tonks to see if she could turn a blind eye for a bit."

"She's been awfully busy at the Ministry lately; she might miss something for a good four days or so. For all we know, it might just make her life that much easier."

"You're the best, you know that?" Harry finally pronounced with a wide grin.

Remus smiled. "I'm sorry I didn't get to visit you as much as I would have liked. With work and tying up –"

"That's all right," Harry waved a hand in dismissal. "I'll bet me disappearing from school and holing myself up for a while didn't help in that department, did it?"

"No, I can't say that it did," Remus laughed. "Maybe I could get a telephone installed so you can call. That might make it easier."

"That would be great actually. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. I'm pretty sure I've got 'Mione's number floating around somewhere. Might have to see about Ron though."

"Then that's settled. We worry when we can't get in contact with you. Especially since we don't know your exact address. If anything, this should get Dumbledore off my back for a bit. Just call once a week and all is well."

Remus clapped him on the shoulder and Harry grinned. They started back towards the house, still talking about this and that. When they stepped back into the warm house, they found everyone scattered in the living room in small clusters. Mrs. Weasley looked up as they entered.

"Well, I was wondering where you had disappeared to." She finally pronounced with a disapproving sniff.

"I had to talk to Harry," Remus said simply. "I felt it should be addressed sooner rather than later."

Mrs. Weasley's gaze swung to Harry now with a fervent curiosity. "Really?"

"Yeah. It was a bit… er… personal." Harry mumbled, feeling his face go red for some reason beyond him.

Mrs. Weasley's expression softened and she nodded her head. "Well, there's just enough room for you on the couch there between Octavia and Seamus. Remus, you can sit beside Arthur."

Harry nodded his head and sat down in the spot. Both Seamus and Octavia looked absolutely delighted with this arrangement. That was until they caught the expressions on the other's face. Harry sighed mentally as he noticed the dark looks being exchanged on either side of him. Call him crazy, but it seemed that Octavia's glare was a bit more malicious, like she could whip her wand out right that instant and hex him to goop. Seamus looked ready to make her vanish to some place far and uncomfortable, like the Sahara Desert. What made it even worse was that the conversation continued in full swing, and no body seemed to notice the small glaring contest going on.

He had sunk back against the seat, resigned to ignoring Octavia and Seamus when Ginny's sharp words caught his attention.

"And just what do you mean by that Charlie?"

An eerie silence suddenly descended over the living room as almost every set of eyes swivelled between Ginny and Charlie. Charlie looked distinctly uncomfortable for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck before he took a deep breath, as if steeling himself. Ginny's lips were pressed tightly together and there was a rapidly spreading flush on her cheeks. Ron, on the other hand, was looking sullenly at the carpet and picking at it as if he was attempting to restrain himself.

"I think you know precisely what I mean Ginny."

"So you think what I'm doing is stupid and useless," she asked tightly. "How nice to see that you care so much." Her voice was laced with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"Ginny, I do care. But, I think you made a claim," Charlie finally said carefully. "Without thinking of the repercussions it would have on every one else."

"Ah, so I'm selfish."

"I didn't say that –" Charlie began.

"Damned right you are!" Ron interjected. "You meet her," he pointed an accusing finger at Octavia. "Practically right after you leave Hogwarts for a break before starting seventh year and next thing I know you're acting all weird on us."

"That tired thing again?" Ginny gave a dismissive snort. "I keep telling you –"

"What you tell me and how you act are very different things Gin." Ron said harshly. "And I'll tell you one thing, I can't figure it out."

"You don't have to figure it out," Ginny spat coldly. "You just have to know that I am getting justice for Nev and Dean by making sure their murderer ends up in Azkaban."

Harry watched as Ron's eyes softened slightly. Then Ron rubbed his face briskly and when Harry could see his eyes again, they were snapping and resolute.

"And have you even stopped to consider the sort of justice that Malfoy will dish out as well?" Ron said quickly. "Didn't you read his rebuttal to those rumours about him and Snape? They were in every paper under the sun! He'll go after anyone who slanders him. You keep this up and –" he stopped abruptly.

"I'll what Ron?" Ginny said in a dangerous voice, rising to her feet. "Go on, say it!"

Harry shifted nervously in his seat, glancing at Seamus. Seamus was watching the unfolding events a bit anxiously. When he looked over at Octavia, her eyes seemed a bit too wide and the corners of her mouth were jumping a bit oddly. It looked like she was resisting the urge to smile in pleasure. Harry decided it was much less disconcerting to watch Ginny and Ron duke it out, not to mention much less confusing.

"You keep this up and you'll ruin us all! Malfoy won't quit until we don't have a Knut left!"

"And you'd rather that the thieving, filthy scum get off scot free!" Ginny bristled.

"No I don't!" Ron bellowed. "But I don't want to see us all ruined and even worse off than we are now! Things are finally starting to look up and now you've gone and jeopardised it all!"

"What would you know?" Ginny sneered in derision.

"I know that I'm working just as much as Bill and Charlie and Percy so life can be a bit easier; and I know Mum's glad to have the extra Galleons. Something like that should fit in perfectly with your new view on things."

"Hm, I didn't think the Quidditch pitch keeper for the Chudley Cannons would know about somewhat subtle implications."

Ron's face paled and his lips tightened as he crossed his arms. "Well, it's nice to know your true colours then Gin."

Ginny narrowed her eyes and walked closer to Ron. "And what would that be?"

"Green and silver. Don't know why you were a Gryffindor. A selfish, bigoted bitch like you would have fit in perfectly in Slytherin."

The next thing Harry knew, there was a flurry of motion, a slapping sound followed by a yowl as Ginny struck Ron and he reacted, making them both fall to the floor. Everyone was on their feet in an instant, scrabbling forward to separate the two. Octavia and Percy were pulling Ginny off of Ron and ending her attempt to throttle him. Ron sat up with Hermione and Charlie's help, his face bright red and haggard coughs coming from his throat. Ginny had a livid expression on her face. Harry looked around nervously before he slipped off the couch and made his way to the kitchen.

Even from there he could hear Ginny demanding to know where the others stood and if they supported her and her decision. Harry could hear plenty of neutral answers. And those same answers seemed to enrage Ginny more since her voice became louder and louder and more belligerent.

"Dodged a bullet there." Harry sighed in relief as he slipped out into the back; the more distance that was between him and Ginny's rage now, the better.

"Harry?"

He managed to stifle a curse as he heard Seamus' voice from the kitchen. He was looking frantically from side to side, trying to find somewhere to hide when Seamus' head popped out from the kitchen door. Harry sighed and looked back out at the night sky. The stars were just starting to come out and he focused on searching for constellations rather than looking at Seamus directly. The whole attempted groping incident was still very fresh in his mind.

"Don't blame you from ducking out of there." Seamus chuckled. "Ginny's going for blood in every quarter."

Harry simply grunted in reply. He could just make out Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper off to the northeast of the sky. So that meant he should be able to see Cassiopeia and Pegasus off to the southwest. So maybe in a month or so, he would be able to see Ursa Major and Minor in the southeast quadrant.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" Seamus asked quietly as he came leaned against the wall, standing beside Harry.

Harry nodded his head, still looking at the sky. He never thought he would resort to astronomy to avoid looking at someone.

"You know, you didn't answer my question."

"What?" Harry's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"In the attic," Seamus said, leaning forward slightly and looking at Harry. "I asked you if it was that bad when we were together."

"No, it wasn't. But that was then Seamus. We were both fifteen and curious. It wouldn't have lasted." Harry replied; was that hint a bit too subtle?

"But this is now. And I do still have feelings for you. Even when we broke up because of everyone blabbering about us, I still thought about you." Seamus paused for a moment. "Are you mad at me?"

"What possible reason would I have to be mad at you?" Harry demanded sarcastically.

"All right, maybe I had that coming. I shouldn't have acted like that at the dinner table… or that day in the hallway come to think of it. I just couldn't take it any more. I wanted you to see me like… that again, and not as a friend."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, pressing his index and middle fingers against his temples. If Seamus had been any other person, Harry could simply have said no and that would be the end of it. But Seamus was stubborn to a fault and unless Harry did something quick, he would find himself with a, yet another, unwanted admirer. Now the trouble was that his brain refused to yield any information or solution of any kind.

"I should go see how Ron's doing." Harry said abruptly, pushing off the wall.

Seamus wasn't having any of that apparently. He moved and stood directly in front of Harry, grasping Harry's arm. Harry fixed his gaze just past Seamus on a chipped brick of the house.

"Why the hell won't you look at me?" Seamus demanded. "You're avoiding me like I'm the worst thing to happen to you!"

"Merlin, you're not Seamus. And you are an awesome guy. But this won't work out."

"How can you even say that before we give it another try?" Seamus demanded.

Harry sighed closing his eyes. He knew perfectly well why. Lucius just might have a definite apoplexy and settle for nothing less than Seamus' blood if he found out. Seamus' brown eyes were boring into his and Harry squirmed a bit uncomfortably. Seamus was far too close for comfort.

"Look Seamus –" he began.

"Fine, be that way! I've had it with you! I hope you get dragon pox and burst into flame!"

The backdoor door banged open and Ron stormed out, a black expression on his face. Seamus looked up startled and Harry stepped to the side, slipping his arm from Seamus' hand. He hurried up to Ron.

"You all right?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Ron spat. "I have a bitch for a sister who managed to make everyone totally miserable! And she's still here for a few more bloody days! I can't stay in the same house as her! We'll kill each other first! Or maybe she'll send in," Ron took a deep breath before he bellowed at the open door. "Octavia, her little lap dog!"

A furious and muffled reply could be heard from inside as well as the sound of scuffling. Harry took a deep breath and stood between Ron and the door. He placed his hands on Ron's shoulders and looked him square in the eye.

"First of all, you need to calm down Ron." Harry began. Ron gave some vehement protest to that and Harry let him rant for a bit before continuing to speak. "Why don't we go somewhere that you can blow off steam?" Ron muttered darkly at that. "Look, you don't have to stay here."

"And just where am I going to go, huh?" Ron demanded in a snappish tone. "Parvati says her parents don't even know we're dating yet, so I can't ask to stay with her!"

"They don't?" Harry blinked in surprise; he would have thought Parvati would have at least mentioned Ron to her parents by now.

"No, they don't. She said something about them wanting her to marry a respectable wizard, meaning one with loads of Galleons."

"I'm sure Hermione will –"

"Are you nuts? She'll drive me nuts with some analysis about what I said and how bad it was and that I should stick my foot in my mouth and apologise to Ginny. I'm telling you right now that I won't! I meant every bloody word I said in there."

Ron started gesturing madly and Harry grabbed his hands; Ginny could probably hear what was being said and if she came charging out, he didn't want Ron to be able to reach his wand quickly.

"Then you can stay at my place for a few days. At least until you cool down."

Ron made some grumbling noises that Harry took to be agreement. He breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Ron's hands.

"Then we'll go somewhere so you can blow off some steam and then you can come back to my place. I'll firecall for some of your stuff, all right? Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ron said sullenly. "Look, I'm going to the Quidditch pitch."

"I don't know where that is." Harry said simply.

"Fine, we'll Floo there together." Ron said curtly as he started for the door.

"Ron," Harry called after him. "Don't let Ginny rile you up all right?"

Ron's lips tightened slightly but he didn't say anything. Harry shook his head and started after Ron. That was when he looked around the backyard once more and realised that Seamus was missing. Even as he walked inside behind Ron, making sure to avoid eye contact with Ginny and Octavia, he looked around quickly; Seamus wasn't there either. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he squeezed into the fireplace beside Ron. A moment and handful of Floo powder later, they were hurtling along.

When everything stopping being greenish and whirling, Harry found himself in a small sort of atrium with four hallways. One was marked off 'To Changerooms', while the other ones read 'To Pitch', 'Equipment Room' and 'Pitch Office: Manager, Team Bookings & Sign-In'. Harry looked around at all the closed doors.

"Er, are you sure we should be here at this time?"

"It's fine. It's a pitch for all to use, but since the Cannons use it, no other team comes near it. They have today off from training," Ron said, drawing his wand. "Besides, it's not the first time I've done this."

"Done what?" Harry asked, realising almost immediately as the equipment room door opened, revealing a gleaming row of broomsticks.

"Flown on the brooms," Ron said curtly as he walked in and grabbed two Firebolts. "The team captain said he didn't mind if I went for a small flight every so often," he stuck a broom in Harry's hands. "Now let's go."

Harry followed Ron apprehensively but once they mounted the brooms and kicked off into the sky, he felt it melt away, along with everything else that had been weighing a bit too heavily on his mind lately. Maybe a ride on a broomstick was just what he needed too.