Hello there! So sorry for not updating for so long, I'm in the middle of my sems and I am completely swamped. Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter!
Whiskey and Murder
Chapter 15
Fact: Lives and Roller coasters are synonymous.
Hypothesis: Harry's life is the biggest, scariest, probably gonna end up failing halfway roller coaster in the world.
Proof: If his whole life wasn't proof enough, the last three years would have to suffice, with the ride not stopping anytime soon but continuing to climb steadily.
Example: The current Black-Potter-Lupin-Malfoy-Tonks dinner was just as uncomfortable as the previous ones. Sirius had taken great joy in blasting his mother's old table away and replacing that one with a pretty circular one. It was enchanted to change shape and add more chairs when more guests were expected.
Currently, Harry was beside Sirius, with Remus on his other side. On Harry's other side was Tonks, with Draco beside her, Narcissa beside Draco. Astrid was sitting on Remus's other side with Andromeda beside her sandwiched between her and the Malfoy matriarch.
No matter how many weekly dinners he attended with them, he would never get used to it. Oh, he did enjoy having family and being a part of it. He even enjoyed Mrs. Malfoy's company at times. Surprisingly, or rather not surprisingly it was Malfoy junior who was occupying his thoughts and causing him distress.
The majority of the time he was silent, just eating and observing. There had been only two emotions he had seen him display in all their recent interactions. His old distaste and sneer whenever they met the Weasleys. Of course, Harry couldn't exactly begrudge him for it, he had been silent, only retaliating when Ron pushed him. The second emotion was genuine amusement. He had heard him laugh at some of the anecdotes passed around the table. The first time he heard that his eyes nearly fell out of his head and he had realized that he had never ever heard the other boy laugh so freely. They had even had a few civil, albeit tense conversations.
Today's dinner was slow-moving and frankly at times boring. With the next wizengamot session coming near, all the adults were furiously engaged in what bills were going to be passed, how they were to present the house, and such. Harry knew these were crucial decisions and that they needed to proceed carefully. They had a few allies, specifically the Longbottoms' and the Bones'. They had also met with the Greengrasss', but they were yet to make progress with the more 'dark' families. His mind came back to the present as everyone stood up.
Instead of everyone moving to the floo room, only Tonks and Ted left, saying their goodbyes while the others moved to the living room. Huh looks like he had missed a crucial part of the conversation and will now be stuck here for longer. A resigned expression made its way onto both the teenagers' faces and they shared a look of morose understanding that they would have to spend more time listening to the adults.
"Why don't the both of you play some exploding snap or chess in the study while we sort this out?" Remus told the boys noticing their despair. Relived both boys nodded before scampering away.
They both entered the room and as Harry beelined to the shelf to pick out the games, Draco flopped onto the couch.
"So what do you want to play?" Harry asked holding up a pack of cards in one hand and a chess set in another.
"Personally, I would prefer exploding snap, I'm shit at chess. I also have a few muggle games if you want." Harry continued.
Just as the blonde opened his mouth to reply, his eyes fell onto a gleaming crystal decanter and an exciting spark entered his eyes.
"Exploding snap. But, with a twist." He spoke with a meaningful look towards the side table where the decanter was resting innocently.
Harry looked doubtfully at the firewhiskey, uncertainty clouding his eyes.
"Come on Potter. Where's your famous Gryffindor bravery?" Draco goaded challengingly.
Defiant and amused at the comment, Harry relented and bought the decanter and two glasses and sat opposite Draco.
"So how exactly do we play this?"
"Please tell me that we have covered everything." Astrid groaned as her head fell back against the sofa. Her forefinger and thumb massaged her temples as her eyes closed, trying to relieve the pressure behind it.
Sirius chuckled glancing at his cousin. "Yup. We're done for now."
Even Narcissa let out a relieved sigh as everyone relaxed against the couches.
"I suppose I should get going now." The blonde spoke up as conversation lapsed.
"Come on let's go get the boys." Andromeda said with a tentative smile.
Since these dinners had started, there had been a tension between the sisters, which was slightly going down. They were so far nowhere near as close as they used to be, but they were getting there. And both sisters were very glad about it. While they did have instances of awkward silences, they were getting fewer and fewer, they had even been going for tea together.
Both the sisters moved upstairs and opened the door to the study only to come to a standstill.
In front of them were two very drunk teenage boys. Harry was trying to dance some sort of Irish jig, his specs on his head and his outer robe tied around his waist. He kept stumbling around before finally falling to the floor. Draco who was watching intently burst into applause.
"Brav-brav-congratula-that was greatttttttt." He finally slurred out, his alcohol numbed mind unable to process more. On closer inspection, they noticed that Harry's eyes were scorched off and Draco's hair tips were standing in a very gravity-defying way.
Harry giggled from the floor, struggling to sit up before reaching for the now nearly empty decanter. Before his hands could close around the neck it floated out of his reach by an expert flick of Narcissa wand.
Draco gasped dramatically, looking at the now floating decanter in awe.
"Look! Look! Mageekkkkk." His words slurred.
"We're all magiiicccccc." Harry spoke up solemnly before both of them burst into giggles again.
The two sisters glanced at each other, wondering what to do now just as Narcissa caught the decanter in her hands. They closed the door of the study, stepping out before speaking
"I suppose we'll just have to leave them here now, apparating with them in this condition or even flooing would be hard." Narcissa spoke up.
"Yes, your right. Let's just go tell the other before putting the boys to bed." Andromeda replied before walking back down.
In the end, it was decided that Sirius Remus Astrid and Narcissa would stay there to keep an eye on the now drunk teens. Kreacher was called to make up rooms for all of them and in usual Kreacher manner, he fawned over Narcissa and Astrid, insulted Sirius, and ignored Remus. When the adults finally went up to take the boys to their rooms, they found them sprawled on the floor, Harry cuddling the empty bottle and Draco latched onto Harry's leg like a koala, stifling a smile at the awkward yet adorable pose in front of them they summoned a few mattresses and blankets before levitating the kids onto it in the same pose.
The next morning saw two annoyed, hungover teens stumbling into the kitchen, still in their old robes, hair sticking out everywhere. While this wasn't new for Harry, on the usually put-together Malfoy heir it looked comical.
"Good Morning!" Sirius greeted cheerily, his voice unnecessarily loud.
"How was your night?" Astrid asked, banging her glass a bit too loudly on the table.
"Please stop." Harry groaned, his head falling onto the table.
"Kill me now." Draco mumbled as he shoved his hands into his hair, gripping the roots.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have gotten completely drunk yesterday night then." Narcissa replied cuttingly. How much ever she loved her boy, he was still only 14.
Two small vials of disgusting green potion appeared in front of the boys. The tiny clink itself sounding larger than life.
"Bottoms up boys." Remus spoke teasingly. Mutely both the boys drank the vial. A shudder of revulsion going through the dark-haired boy while the platinum blonde mimed gagging.
"That is the single most disgusting potion I have ever tasted." Draco declared once his head cleared. Harry nodded in agreement from where he was stuffing his face with eggs.
"Good. Now how could you both get drunk without me?" Sirius demanded.
"Sirius!" Narcissa and Remus admonished.
"Fine. How could you both even get drunk?" Sirius amended petulantly.
The two teenagers looked at each other.
"Er...We were bored?" Harry questioned more than stated.
"Nevertheless, it was very improper of you both to do so." Narcissa said primly.
"For that alone, Draco you will not be flying or going to the potions lab for the next two weeks."
"Mother!" Draco cried out indignantly.
A withering glare silenced the incensed blonde.
"While you too are banned from flying Harry, you will be helping me in my work." Astrid spoke up.
"Can't we switch punishments or something? I'll be banned from potions while he can help you." Harry grumbled. Draco nodded in agreement, his eyes shinning with hope.
"Nope." Astrid stated cheerfully.
"For the record, I think that it is very unfair. For the first time, me and Harry are actually getting along. We should be commended not punished." Draco said with his nose in the air.
"And now you can get along better while being punished." Remus quipped dryly.
"You know you don't have to look like your walking to your death when your working with me." Astrid said amused as she watched Harry literally drag himself in.
"I don't even know why you want me here. I'm absolutely rubbish at potions." Harry grumbled.
"And why is that?"
"Snape. How am I supposed to learn anything when he keeps hovering over me, insulting everyone except Slytherins, and takes points for every single thing."
Astrid pursed her lips, angered at the way Hogwarts was operating.
"There's a board meeting in a few weeks. I'll look into it then. And also your defense class. The idea that it is cursed is ludicrous."
"I thought Padfoot was going to be there on the board?"
"He was, but then again he wanted to help hunt down the Horcruxes more."
"How is that going on?" Harry asked, relieved that for once he could sit on the sidelines.
"Honestly not that great. It would have been better if we knew who he was originally before he was 'Lord Voldermot' but we are having no progress on that end. We're gonna bring that up with Amelia and the others when we meet tomorrow." Astrid said rubbing at her eyes tiredly.
Harry observed her from where he was leaning against the table, a drop of guilt expanding. Astrid was a brilliant potioneer and researcher. And he was taking away her time with all of this. She could have been helping so many more people instead she was devoting her time to bringing down the dark idiot for him.
"Don't." Astrid spoke up.
"Don't what?"
"I can see the guilt on your face clearly, don't you dare feel guilty Harry."
Helplessness and guilt colored his face. No matter how many times they told him he shouldn't feel guilty, he couldn't help it. He wasn't used to adults actively taking charge and solving a situation. He kept feeling like he was going to have to intervene or the situation would worsen.
"I can't help it. I feel like I'm forcing you all to abandon your lives for helping me." He stated miserably.
"Harry James Potter! We are not abandoning our lives for you! If anything we got our lives back because of you! If it weren't for you Remus would be somewhere begging for jobs, I would be isolated from my family, Sirius would be wasting away in Azkaban, Andy and Cissy would still be estranged and Lucius would still be roaming around thinking he owns the world." She stated strongly. Her eyes softened before she continued.
"Harry, you have to understand that you are our life now. We all would do anything for you. Voldemort should never have been your problem, to begin with. You are not even 14 yet, you should be thinking about school and quidditch and dating. Not whether he will try to kill you again or not."
"Alright." Harry said sighing. A nagging feeling began in the back of his mind that he was forgetting something but couldn't figure out what. Shrugging he decided it would back to him later.
"Good. Now I need you to slice these marigold roots into exactly 16 equal pieces of a root and separate the ten roots into ten piles. Then in the steel cauldron add each pile, stir exactly 16 times from the indent in a clockwise direction alright?"
"16 pieces, 10 piles, 16 clockwise turns. Alright." He said smiling at her.
Astrid smiled back at him. "Good. I'm working on a Longbottom's potion. Ben has nearly mapped out the affected areas, we already started them on the pills, I just need to finish this potion, and then the actual treatment can begin."
"That's great. How are Neville and his grandmother doing? I haven't talked to him in a few days."
"Good. They are very happy. It makes me feel so happy looking at them. They deserve this." Astrid said beaming.
"You're an amazing person Astrid." Harry said smiling at her. She grinned back at him.
"Thanks. Now shush, I need to work on this. Tell me once you're done and the potion starts steaming."
Harry bopped his head in understanding before going back to the task at hand. After chopping up the pieces and separating them, he added each pile meticulously before stirring the potion carefully. As it progressed, the before red potion began turning darker and darker. After he stirred it for the last time, the potion turned black and began emitting spirals of black fumes. Harry's eyes widened at the sudden turn and how the potion made him feel. Nausea began in his stomach as that morning's breakfast churned in his stomach fighting to come out. Fearfully he stepped back from the cauldron.
"Astrid!" He called out desperately. The brunette looked up from her potion. Her eyes widened in horror. Cursing she cast a quick freezing charm on her own potion before creating a bubble around the foul potion to contain its fumes. She strode towards the cauldron, observing the potion. She magicked a bit into a vial before casting a few charms on it. A net of dark purple magic came into life and pulsed around the liquid in the vial. Anger filled her eyes, as her gem-like eyes stilled into icy coldness.
"Astrid?" Harry asked cautiously, noticing the young woman's change in demeanor. Harry's voice snapped her out of the red haze filling her mind. She summoned a piece of paper and a pen, writing down the information on it. She handed the vial and the paper to the hovering teen behind her with shaking hands.
"Take this...Take this to Sirius and Remus." She took a deep breath, trying her best to calm her raging anger. She began striding towards the fireplace ignoring Harry's calls asking what was wrong. Just before she flooed away, she turned to look at Harry.
Harry felt a chill go down his spine. Astrid's usually warm eyes were now cold, cold with repressed fury, her face set blankly. For the first time, Harry witnessed the famous Black family insanity in Astrid's eyes.
"Tell them I'll be back after I murder Lucius."
Too stunned he just watched as she called out Malfoy Manor and spun away.