The Count of Azkaban
Chapter 13
The woman we see now was a tall, brunette. By seeing her face, anybody could see that she was not the one too involved in beautifying herself. By no means, was she ugly or not-good looking. She just seemed unaffected by what she looked. Not very unlike several dedicated people we know of. She was wearing plain cargoes with a mélange top. It was her eyes that gave away. Her blue were strong and spoke of quiet power and intelligence. Although, one could see that she had suffered life and ghosts of sadness were never far away.
The woman needs no introduction. She was Hermione Granger.
Hermione was at the moment in India, more specifically in the ancient town of Varanasi or Banaras. It was a small town, not big by any standards and full of extremities. She saw people who were rich and who were poor, like any other country. But the poor seemed a lot more. But that is not the reason she was here. This was one of the oldest magical towns and it was rumored that in their archive of the ancients, or so they were called, was the mention of an artifact which can find anybody, anywhere. No charms or spells could stop it. If the person being sought was dead, sometimes, it could even help communicate with them. The artifact was supposedly created by the ancients; who were supposed to be the origins of magic on earth.
Ever since the downfall of the British wizarding world, she had been trying to find the one person she hoped could get them out of this depravity, her best friend, Harry potter. At that time, when she had heard of his incarceration, she had vowed to set him free. She had fallen back on the one thing she knew, books. She had been researching the modes and methods for so long that she was probably the best and most powerful witch specializing in the location spells.
But all her efforts had been of no avail. She had been unable to find Harry. But the strange thing was that several ancient spells had shown that he was alive, just not where. However, for the last several months, she had started to get a blip on her scrying spells. Although she could not get a fix, she was sure that he was present someplace in the European continent.
Buoyed by these facts, she had upped her research and had found an obscure entry in some ancient tomes. It described a place where one would find what one wanted. She had come here to find the details. As the tome was of Indian origin, she had started her search from here.
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Harry appeared in his castle with the two ladies. As usual, with his arrival, several elves and his assistants fell into immediate action, and several elves immediately took the cloaks they were wearing and they settled and soon, Blaise opened up to her sister about her times with john smith. Time flew away on wings and it was nearing the dusk that Harry remembered the promise he had made to Ginny. Still feeling ambivalent about the situation, he none the less decided to go to the place of many wonderful evening and a reminder of such a killing heart break.
It was to the place of such emotional upheaval, that he made way to.
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Ginny had not had a good day. Ever since the incident, she had been waiting for the dusk to come. Her cries had simmered down a long time back but the haunting had not left hr eyes. Now, she had un-adorned herself with all the glamour and trappings that was attached with her being the lady Malfoy. At the moment, she was wearing a simple dress, her hair pulled back in a pony tail. One could see a glimmer of what used to be Ginny Weasley; that is if one did not look in to her eyes. The eyes were not of either. They were neither the eyes of a happy Ginny or an elegant lady Malfoy. Perhaps, for the first time in many years, they truly reflected the person in the body.
Anyway, without looking at herself in the mirror, Ginny apparated to the special spot, on the lake shore and waited for Harry to come.
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Ron was not having a great time. After sweating like a pig and being jealous like a bee and loosing a lot of money, he too came to the place where his own path of destiny was to be decided once more. He apparated to Diagon alley and walked over to the Malfoy bank. As he approached the help-desk, he could Scattermigger standing there. In no time, he was ushered into the private cabin of a Draco Malfoy. Instead of being in his usual seat, Draco stood facing the fireplace. His back ram rod straight. One could almost taste the tension in the room.
Scattermigger hurried out of the room, leaving a very worried Ron behind. He had an odd feeling that the evening would not be a pleasant one for the young Mr. Weasley.
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Harry had already reached the lakeside when he heard the soft pop of Ginny arriving. However, as he was standing on the side of his favorite tree, both of them could not see each other. Taking a deep breath, Harry took a step forward and looked into the brown eyes of Ginny Weasley.
"Hello Ginny" his voice was ice cold and bellied the fuzzy feeling in his stomach. Ginny almost cringed at the tone of his voice. None-the-less, an instant later, he found himself enveloped in the crying form of Ginny Weasley. Just what was it with him and crying girls was a mystery he would never solve.
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Hermione had found herself looking at a waterfall. Although, she could not find magic there, it was a beautiful sight. After apparating from place to place all over the day, she was tired. She just wanted some shut eye, before she resumed her search. She took out a small pin from her bag and waved her wand at it. It was the latest thing from smith enterprises. A complete survival kit, built in a small belt; with food, shelter and all the other requirements. And in no time, a small sleeping bag was formed and Hermione went into the bag to get some sleep.
Some time later, she was assaulted with a huge flash of white light. Although she had had a lot of experience at sighting magic, and had become very good at it, she could see some serious magic enveloping the waterfall. It was so strong that her advanced sight was literally being overloaded. She was seeing pure white, the highest aura of magic she had ever seen.
Flashback
Hermione had met Bhargava Shastri, the contact she had been given by the people in the states. He was a young wizard with the ministry of magic in India. From there on, she had gone into the archives, trying to find the information on the artifact that she wanted to find. After several hours of research, she came across the mention of an artifact known as 'the path'. Simply put, it was supposed to be a place where one would find the way to what one seeks. The path was not always clear, but the destiny was. Hermione was going to find Harry.
After careful analysis of the life of the ancient sage, she had surmised several possible sites for the artifact. And since then, she had been apparating from place to place, trying to find the path. But it had been of no avail. Although, she had found several very interesting things, it was not what she wanted.
Nearing the dusk, she apparated to the coordinates listed and found herself looking at a waterfall, crystal clear water falling and a beautiful rainbow crowning the scene. Unlike all other places, she found no traces of magic there. But the fatigue seemed to catch up and she decided to rest a bit here.
Flashback ends
Hermione slowly opened up her eyes, squinting. It was her natural reaction to the heavy magic she was sensing. As she opened her eyes, she was totally flabbergasted.
The moon light was falling on the water and instead of the rainbow she had seen earlier, there was a golden arch in its place; and a path leading to it. Throwing all caution to the wind, she braced up and walked into the arch; betting her life on a millennia old lore.
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It was sometime before Ginny disengaged herself from Harry. She slowly realized that her Harry would have been comforting her, muttering sweet nothings in her ears. This man, however, was uneasy; a bit stiff, as if unable to decide how to react. She looked up and saw the similar green eyes of the old, but they were different.
They had grown up, just like she had; wrought with pain, heartbreak and sadness. She also saw ambivalence. She could feel the old Harry, her Harry, was in there somewhere; but the one in control was the new Harry. The one who had been introduced to her as the Count of Azkaban. She wondered once more as to what had happened. He was supposed to be long dead, lost in the island of Azkaban.
Harry could hear everything she thought. He could feel the pain she felt for him and the pain she had suppressed unto herself. This was a very big gamble for him. He had already planned that if there was an ounce of doubt in his mind, he would obliviate her. Using his powers, Harry began to look into her mind. Some would say that he was doing the same thing that Dumbledore had done or what Voldemort still does, but this is the curse of the powerful. The game being played was for very high stakes and a small mistake could cost many lives. Harry had vowed not to loose a single one on his side; and he was going to try his best to keep this between as few players as possible.
As he went through her life, he was amazed at the sadness and betrayal that she had seen and felt. He found several things which proved the resilience of Ginny. He at last was sure of one thing, Ginny had never betrayed him. Her other secrets were something he would allow her to reveal herself in her own time. But at last, he felt a part of his heart lighten, and a long lost feeling of warmth enter a very cold part of his soul. He was filled with an odd yet beautiful energy.
He looked straight in the chocolate brown eyes and without even thinking, kissed Ginny.
Ginny, on her part was feeling strange. Harry was looking straight at her and was not moving a muscle. Despondent, and heart broken, she was about to turn away. She had seen one of her wish coming true. Harry was alive and well. If he did not love her anymore, she could bear that. Too much water had passed under the bridge. But she was happy none-the-less.
Suddenly, she saw his lips curve upwards in a smile and in an instant later, she felt him kissing her. It felt as if the heaven had smiled at her. Both of them embraced and suddenly, for a moment, it felt as if they were their younger selves once more. They both fell asleep, under the stars, beneath their favorite tree. It was not until quite later on that Harry woke up. An instant later, he apparated both of them to his castle. He laid Ginny on his bed, and sat on the seat opposite it, gazing at her. He never knew when sleep took over him.
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Draco had been fuming earlier but at the moment, he was planning. His anger at his inability to mould the count's action had been a heavy blow to his ego. All his plans were based on getting close to the count; and it was just not happening his way. On top of that, his esteemed brother-in-law was a constant pain in the butt. He had been paying the poor excuse of a wizard for so long. It was time for him to pay the price once again. The price of Ginny had long been paid, and Ron was in deep hock.
He felt the room alerting him of the arrival of Scattermigger and Ron. He allowed the wards to let them enter. He could feel Ron enter and felt the gaze on his back. Scattermigger receded and even he could feel the tension that had descended upon both of them. Making his mind at how to deal with Ron, he turned around and looked coldly at him.
"What is the meaning of the fiasco you created in my bank this afternoon?" his voice was colder if not s cold as his glare. Ron squirmed under it. But then his arrogance raised his head again.
"If you know what happened, you also know that why it happened. Don't speak to me as if I am your lackey. You still owe me for Ginny. And I am demanding what is due." Ron said brusquely. Ever the forgetful and quick looser of his head, he forgot that he was in deep loan with the bank, or that if Draco wanted, he would be on the streets. He had always cashed in on Ginny, and felt no reason that the same currency could not be used once more.
"Listen to me, you idiot. I have paid what I promised long ago. And I have a wizard's agreement with you. Out of goodness of my heart, I have suffered from your idiosyncrasies, but no longer. You owe me ten million galleons and change. If you as much as become the reason for another fiasco at my bank, I will foreclose on you so fast, you wont even feel me reaching for my wand. Do I make myself clear?"
Ron was in panic now. To cool his nerves, he had gone to casino and his luck had held steady. He had lost one hundred thousand galleons. He was supposed to pay up. He had to find the money; somewhere; somehow. And the only way to deal with it was Draco. He had to play the last gamble.
"Fine! But I need some money now. My team is loosing money and I need to hire some talent. One last time", Ron pleaded.
Draco sighed, and said, "How much?"
"Two million galleons." Ron replied.
"I can give you half a million, take it or leave it." Draco replied, cursing the day he had made the deal with Ron.
"One million; I need at least that."
"Not a sickle more." Draco said, not budging an inch.
Defeated, Ron nodded and Draco signed a slip and waved his wand at it. The line of credit against Ron's account was extended by half a million galleons.
Ron turned and went out of the office, not even bothering to mutter thanks.
Draco on the other hand, returned to think about the nemesis; the count of Azkaban. A plan started to form in his evil brain. The count had all the money in the world, and leaving that, there was only one way to control a powerful man. A smiled drifted across his face as he sat back on his chair and started to clearly define his plan.
Author's Notes:
Another chapter up. I hope you like how the story is shaping up.
I know the update was very late this time, but this time I have a wonderful excuse. I had a son a week ago.
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