Harry potter and the Time of Retirement
Everything related to Harry Potter belongs to JKR
Chapter 42 – Year 2
"Flash" said Harry, and a red light shined at the opposite side of the room.
"Here" added Harry, and the light – no, a snitch flew all the way to his open hand. Harry examined it briefly until, satisfied, he nodded and placed it on the table in front of him.
'And Draco is done, too' he thought, considering the item in front of him. While less heartfelt than Ginny's, his present required a whole lot more of work: creating a snitch was beyond Harry's skills, at least with such time constraints. Thankfully the room of requirements – exactly where he was at the moment - had kindly provided one lost who knows when by who knows who, so he only had to modify it to accept commands.
'Hopefully it will last at least a couple years' considered Harry, not completely confident in his work: he was good enough in charms and transfigurations, and this was nothing more than a rehashed item he created for his own kids so long ago, but that didn't mean it was something easy to do. Also, at the time, he created most of his presents together with his wife, Ron and more importantly Hermione. This time, he barely had for help a couple of "hypotethical questions" made to professor Flitwick during lunch time.
'Whatever. I was nice enough already, even too much' thought Harry, placing the snitch inside a close by cardboard box. As always, thinking of his kids dampened his mood: beside, there was quite the difference between preparing presents for your grandchildren or for a Malfoy. 'Quite the big difference' thought Harry, shrugging mentally. After a couple swishes with his wand, the box itself got transfigured into a proper paper-wrapped present.
Sitting down on a nearby couch, Harry looked at the other wrapped box on the table and smiled openly: that, he cared about. While giving Draco something related to quidditch was an obvious choice, just like the previous year, finding something appropriate for Ginny had been much harder. He had relatively little idea what she liked as a little girl, nor could he get out of it with jewellery or chocolate this time around. Going for some cliché choice like dolls or toys could offend her new pride of being a "grown up student".
'Who said diaries have to be evil?' thought Harry, with a smug grin. Inside the box there were two notebooks, charmed with the same modified Proteus charm he learned back in school so long ago. Anything written on one notebook, would appear on the other.
"Not the same as the two-way mirrors, but…" murmured Harry. With a little more time he might have recreated that, too. Might. Beside, a notebook where her messages to her parents would remain there, waiting, could be considered better in its own way.
'I did enough' thought Harry, picking up the two boxes and getting out of the room. Unsurprisingly, no one was in sight. There were always students remaining at Hogwarts for the holidays, but they were few and the castle was large.
Walking all the way to the owlery, Harry finally saw someone else in there: students that, like him, seemed to be shipping cards and boxes with their own owls. Giving them a quick glance, and receiving the same in return, Harry sent a quick stare of disgust at the floor, as messy and droppings-covered as always, looked up and waved at a big white shape that immediately landed on his shoulder.
"Here, Hedwig" said Harry, petting his owl and feeling the usual, unwelcome, pang of guilt at how little time he was dedicating her. Hedwig herself didn't seem to mind though, as she received his petting with clear happiness.
"Merry Christmas to you too, by the way" he added, giving her a couple treats he fished out of his pockets. Harry left her eat them in peace, until – satisfied – she started looking at the packages in his hands.
"One package to deliver, and a chance for you to spread your wings. Nope" he continued, when Hedwig pecked at the package for Draco "this one stays with me. I am meeting the boy tomorrow."
"The larger one" he said, showing off the present for Ginny "should arrive at least by tomorrow night. If it is earlier she can place it under the tree so see if you can deliver it today, ok?"
At this, Hedwig hooted almost indignantly and half-picked at his fingers. "Sorry, sorry. Of course you can. After that, come back at your own pace. Last one?" added Harry, offering one more treat from his pockets that Hedwig ate immediately, with gusto. Soon after, she picked up the package and, hooting all the way, she flew out of the castle.
"Good girl" said Harry, smiling and walking out of the owlery. He then walked to Hufflepuff's common room, finding it almost as empty as the rest of the classes. There were a couple of older students, sure, but they were quite busy studying. '7th year, maybe' thought Harry. 'That or some bookworms'.
He didn't remain there for long, just the time needed to leave Draco's present in his chest and take out some heavier clothes. Walking out, of the common room and the castle, he headed for Hagrid's.
"And here I am, selling 8 more hours to the minister" murmured Harry, with a smirk. There had been a period when that became quite a common phrase among his fellow ministry workers. According to the older aurors, they were quite lucky too – 8 hours a day was, apparently, some muggle gimmick that had been introduced not long before their time.
"Welcome Harry. Ready for today's work?" said Hagrid, smiling widely at his arrival.
"As ready and happy as I can be" said Harry evenly, and following him towards the courtyard.
"That's the spirit!" said Hagrid initially, only to stop after looking at his face. "Oh, yeh don't mean it. Cheer up, boy. Christmas is in two days after all."
"Yeah, yeah" said Harry. "When were you going to Bulgaria, again?"
"Tomorrow, actually. You know, a present must be delivered in time" said Hagrid.
"True enough" answered Harry, thinking back to Hedwig. "I hope you are not missing the big Christmas lunch, here at the castle."
"No, don't worry. I'll be back for that. But I will depart for Romania the day after, I already got my leave from the headmaster" said Hagrid, full of enthusiasm. In the meantime, they arrived.
"Say hi to Norbert from me when you meet him" said Harry, looking around the place. With all the snow and ice, the withered plants didn't really need any grooming so they were mostly busy making sure the pathway were not frozen or slippery.
"Of course i will. Let's start, Harry!" said Hagrid and, with that, they began their afternoon work.
It was almost lunch time of Christmas eve and Harry, wearing his best clothes – which unfortunately were not that different from his worst clothes – had shown up to professor Sprout's personal room. Knocking on the door with one hand, the other one busy with his present, he was welcomed inside with a smile and a greeting.
Curious, Harry glanced around the well-lit space but everything was pretty much what could be expected: parchments, books, personal items or animated photos and, most importantly, shelves and shelved covered with plants. 'I wonder why none of the professors are married. Don't they feel lonely?' thought Harry, puzzled.
They quickly exchanged a couple more greetings and some small talk but it was obvious professor Sprout was politely waiting for him to leave, so Harry approached the fireplace.
"I am not sure you deserve to participate in a Christmas party, Mr. Potter" said professor Sprout, while handing him the jar containing the floo powder. While her words were bitter, her persisting smile made it clear she didn't mean it. Or, at least, she didn't mean it completely.
"I can't imagine why, professor" said Harry, picking up the jar. "I am the very model of a Hogwarts student."
This actually managed to remove her smile, turning it into a small frown.
"This week was the first one in months that I received no complaints about you" she said, drily. "You have a long way to go to become a praiseworthy Hufflepuff."
"It's a start" commented Harry, smiling.
"But there were no classes this week!" countered professor Sprout, exasperated.
"Still a start. See you later, professor. Malfoy's manor!" said Harry, throwing the powder and stepping inside the fireplace.
As usual, travelling by floo was particularly unpleasant. The rush through, the air, the sounds. Along the years Harry had learned how to remain upright no matter what, but he still vastly preferred apparition or portkeys over it.
Be as it may, he soon found himself being pushed out of a gigantic fireplace. His own image could be seen reflected on the shiny marble floor of the vast room he found himself in, while a couple house elves were already approaching him from his sides.
'Money' thought Harry, looking around himself. That was by far the first impression one could get from Malfoy manor. Eventually, his eyes went to one of the house elves that were politely waiting for him.
"I am Harry Potter. Mrs. Malfoy should be expecting me."
"Yes, mister Potter, and welcome to Malfoy manor. Do you want to leave your coat here?" it asked and, when Harry simply shook his head, continued with a simple "Please follow me" after which it turned, walking towards the center of the house. Harry quietly followed.
A certain noise could be heard coming from ahead, and there was already a perfume of food in the air. Several portraits could be seen on the walls, but most of them while animated didn't show any people. Harry nodded, approvingly; Hogwarts was a clear sign how those just created chaos and reduced privacy. He expected the portraits of older, deceased family members to be in private rooms or a study.
After opening a set of heavy double doors the house elf led Harry to a vast hall full of people, all adults or at least older teens. Not even Draco was in sight. There was a long table, U shaped, already furnished with dishes and cutlery, in the middle of the hall but no one was sitting at it yet. Some background music was also in the air, but it was impossible to tell where exactly it was coming from. Some spell, certainly.
"Mister Harry Potter here for the mistress" said the house elf, stopping in front of a small gathering of people talking. Some of them turned, and Harry could recognize Mr. and Mrs Malfoy among them. On their side, hair noticeably less shruggy than he remembered, was Sirius Black – but Harry showed no reaction to him. Sirius instead immediately started staring at Harry, almost fascinated, but remained silent.
"Oh, mister Potter, welcome. I hope we can still call you Harry" said Mr. Malfoy, politely, while his wife smiled down at him.
"Absolutely, sir, and thank you for inviting me once again to your home. Merry Christmas, by the way" said Harry. A man he did not recognize murmured "Yuletide" before turning, but everyone else kept their smile on, genuine or not. Only a woman, next to the guy, seemed to frown – but her focus was on the man.
"Merry Christmas, Harry" said Mrs. Malfoy, apparently not noticing the comment. "I see you have something with you. I don't want to assume, but….?"
"Oh, yes, this is for Draco" said Harry, before frowning. "In hindsight I should have brought something for you too. I am sorry."
At this, Mr. Malfoy snorted condescendingly. "Worry not. Your presence today is all we hoped for."
"Indeed" added Mrs. Malfoy. "Harry, later on I want to introduce you to our guest of honor but for now, we adults are talking. Would you like to join Draco and the other children in his quarters, until we settle down for lunch?"
"Yes, of course. We'll come once you call for us" concluded Harry, nodding respectfully. Everyone else smiled and turned back towards their group, chatting already, except Sirius and Mr. Malfoy, which snapped his fingers at the house elf still standing nearby. The elf gestured at Harry to follow and left, Harry chasing him, feeling the eyes of Sirius on his back but making a point not to cross his stare.
'Later. Later' thought Harry, while following the elf. Passing through several, luxuriously furnished, hallways the elf eventually reached a door that Harry recognized from his previous visit, opening it and waiting on the side. Harry walked in without hesitation.
Inside there were a couple dozen of kids of various ages, from very young to slightly older than Draco, busy talking or being, apparently, quite bored inside the vast study room of their host. Unlike his last visit, Harry could also see several female faces, a couple of them from 2nd year Slytherin.
"Oh, Potter. Finally! Come in" said Draco, waving at him from one end of the room. Harry received a couple stares going in, but nothing excessive. He nodded at some faces he could recognize from Hogwarts, and received greetings or other nods in return.
"I hope you were not stuck working with that oaf in the gardens" said Draco, surrounded by his house mates; some of them showed an half smirk at those words, soon suppressed. As usual, the reception Harry received from slytherins was polite, but not exactly warm.
"No, he has left already for some kind of trip. Hello, everyone. Draco, I brought this for you" said Harry, offering his present. Draco showed a big smile in return, and picked it up.
"Oh, thank you. Merry Christmas, I assume?" he added, raising his brows almost in doubt.
"The reason for a celebration is less important than celebrating itself" said Pansy Parkinson, with an half smile. Her and Greengrass were the only girls present from 2nd year, Davis and Bulstrode were missing. Surprisingly, Malfoy's usual sidekicks were absent too.
"So long as I get more presents, sure" added casually Zabini, who was sitting down on a nearby chair.
"Classy" commented Greengrass, one eyebrow elegantly raised in sarcasm. Her dress was by far the fanciest of them all, except maybe Draco's own robes.
"My family prepared a small present for everyone invited today, Potter, but I also have something picked up for you specifically. Make sure not to leave them behind" said Draco, while placing Harry's present next to a pile of other, similar, wrapped boxes.
"I won't. So, what have I missed?" asked Harry, to no one in particular. The conversation that followed was sedated: while everyone hid it well – "It is always a pleasure to visit you, Draco" said Parkinson – it was clear that this was regarded as a social gathering for their parents, and they were tagging along because Hogwarts was close for the holidays.
"I don't care if I have my good robes on. I expect to play some quidditch, later" said Nott, shrugging. Greengrass whispered something to Parkinson that made her giggle, but otherwise everyone else seemed in agreement.
"You could be the goal keeper, Harry. I haven't forgotten how many throws of mine you stopped, last time we played" said Zabini.
"True, you are pretty good at it" said Draco. "Why don't you join your team, anyway? It can't get worse than how it is" he added, making a couple of the other boys laugh.
"You sure know how to make a guest feel welcome, Draco" said Harry, shrugging – and making the two girls smile. "I am not interested in the school teams, but I am willing to wipe the floor with all of you, later."
"Oh, it's on" said Zabini with a wide grin while Nott and Malfoy frowned.
Soon after, an house elf came to warn them that the lunch was about to start and their presence was desired in the main hall.
"My dear friends, I thank you all for coming to our celebration for the end of the year" said Mr. Malfoy, him alone standing up at the table while everyone else was sitting down, quietly listening. On the seat at his left was Draco, at his right was Mrs. Malfoy and next to her was Sirius black.
"Most of us consider this Yuletide, one of our oldest traditions. Some of us call this Christmas, and they are welcome too at this table. Nothing like that could divide us" he continued, smiling amiably. The smile soon disappeared.
"Too many, in the ministry, pretend to lecture us on how being polite and welcoming on these differences is not enough. Accepting among us children of muggle origins is not enough. Letting half human spawns live on our lands is not enough. What they really mean is that being a wizard or a witch is not good enough. Only copying the muggles is good" he continued, a sneer now on his face.
"Oh, was it only a matter of opinions we would happily live and let live. I would be overjoyed of having you for company, caring not if the likes of Weasley host half giants, werewolves and muggles at their tables. Alas, even that does not satisfy them. Nothing ever do" said Mr. Malfoy, his voice dripping with smooth poison, while Sirius seemed to be getting embarrasse. His expression got even more strained once attention was called to him.
"As you all know, we are also here to celebrate the return of my wife's cousin to us. As this is a celebration, i will avoid recriminations on how he was separated from his family and from his peers. But I wish for us to remember something" he went on, as Sirius got gradually more red in the face. Only when his cousin, Narcissa, stroked his arm and whispered him something he recomposed somehow.
"If those that dare to lecture us are so quick to turn on someone they once called friend merely on false accusations, none of us should lay any hope in their empty words of tolerance, or in the justice vaunted by the ministry. No, my friends. We should trust in us, in our respected families, in our long standing community of honest wizards and witches" he concluded, spreading his arms in a welcoming gesture. Around the table, whispers could be heard and nods of agreement were aimed at him.
"Let us now enjoy our meal, safe in the strength of our bonds. The ties of blood of friendships that binds us, as it was yesteryear, as it will be in the future. Thank you" he said, sitting down. The noise of voices instantly rose around the table, while plenty of smiles were aimed everywhere.
By magic, some basic foods like bread appeared on the table but most people seemed to rely on the house elves to fill up their glasses, or to serve them full dishes of entrees. Harry, too, ordered an half dish of hams and cheese.
No section for kids had been prepared at the table, but Harry noticed how people's seats had been planned so that the younger guests were at least sitting next to each other, in pairs – except Draco, who had some rich looking old guy next to him, already busy talking with his dad. Draco himself seemed bored already, but was making an effort at behaving properly.
Harry, instead, had Nott next to him but when they crossed glances the boy had shrugged and went on to eating, as to imply there was little that could be said in their situation. Harry, although for different reasons, had to agree: he had almost no connections there, and the other adults around him were obviously disregarding him as a potential side of their conversations. Shrugging, Harry kept eating and let time pass.
Formality non withstanding, the lunch itself progressed pleasantly enough. The food was not necessarily tastier than Hogwarts', but the dishes themselves were clearly more particular and elaborate – or pretentious, depending on the point of view. The guests around Harry, except for some well intentioned but prosaic questions, continued to ignore him yet he could still hear some interesting anecdotes here and there about people's troubles, experiences and new connections. At one point Nott, too, pushed by boredom tried to involve him in a conversation about classes and professors the only highlight of which had been the revelation that Snape enjoyed trash talking about him inside Slytherin's common room.
"Don't think too much of that, though" assured Nott to Harry. "By this point, everyone knows professor Snape has issues with your dad. And there is that rumor from last year, too…." he added hesitantly.
"About his love life, yes. Or lack of. Has anyone discovered who spread around that obviously false gossip, anyway?" asked Harry, a disdainful grin on his face. The giggle and wide smile that Nott sent him in return more than made it clear how that particular was common knowledge, too.
'Serves him right. Behave like an idiot, and you are considered one' though Harry with disdain.
After a couple hours, it was over. Half of the guests were still sitting down, coffee in hand and busy with conversations, but small groups here and there had formed around the hall and people were mingling and gossiping. Once Draco got permission from his parents to leave most of the other kids had followed too and only the older teens remained, gathered in a couple of separate grops.
Harry would not have minded some quidditch either, but there were things to do first. So, he waited patiently for the moment the Malfoys and Sirius split, the latter obviously being done with interactions and taking a break near one of the windows; once he noticed that, he approached him.
"Mr. Black, hello. May I disturb you?" said Harry, to the back of the man. Sirius turned around, a tired expression on his face that turned to confusion once he noticed who was addressing him.
"….hello. Yes, yes you can. I mean, you are not disturbing me, don't worry" he said, showing an awkward smile. Harry smiled in return, but his eyes remained focused.
"Good. I am Harry Potter, and i really wanted to meet you, Mr. Black. I have been told you were one of my father's dearest friend. My own godfather too, I heard?" asked Harry.
"Why, yes" said Sirius, now looking a little happier. "Me and your dad were best friends, you know? We had our own group at school, before… before…"
"Before. I have been told some of what happened, yes. I am sorry for what you had to go through" said Harry, a grimace on his face.
"You are sorry? Potter, i… no. No, it's ok" said Sirius, sadly. "Thank you Harry. I am sorry too for what happened, more than I can say."
They remained silent for a moment, then. Sirius was still looking down on Harry, but his eyes seemed unfocused. Who knows what he was thinking? Eventually, he seemed to recover.
"Anyway… I am surprised to see you here. Are you and Draco friends?" he asked.
"Sort of. Make it good acquaintances. Neither of us really likes formal lunches, I think, but I had my reasons to come" said Harry, half smiling.
"Oh, yes, the poor boy. I saw him being quite bored, next to his father. What reasons, anyway?"
"I am grounded at Hogwarts, so even this party is an improvement. And we are planning on playing quidditch later, anyway" said Harry, almost casually.
"You play quidditch! Do you know that your father was quite the player? And we were pranksters, too" said Sirius, with clear enthusiasm. "So, grounded? For what?" His eyes were almost shining now, and Harry started to feel guilty. He did not show it, though.
"Oh, I might have gone to Hogsmeade during the week. Or abandoned one detention from Snape. Honestly, the headmaster made such a fuss about that."
"Ahahah" laughed Sirius, openly; on one side, Harry noticed some people looking at them, including a smiling Mrs. Malfoy. "Sucks to be Snape! And, you said Hogsmeade? Back in my time, 2nd years could not go there even during the weekend."
"Oh, that hasn't changed" said Harry, a smile on his face. The reaction from Black did not disappoint him; Sirius slapped him on his shoulder. "You really take after your dad, kiddo. You must be as good as us… well, old Minnie would say as bad as us."
"I have been told something about you and my dad, back in the day. I would love to know more, but so long as I am grounded I am stuck at school. Unless you can put a good word with the headmaster?" asked Harry, innocently.
"Of course I can, Harry!" said Sirius, with enthusiasm. "He will say yes, the man owes me." By this point Sirius's face darkened, and his tone of voice got lower. "He owes me a lot. Really a lot."
Another moment of silence passed, Black's eyes once again unfocused. Harry waited, a bit worried. Soon, he recovered once again.
"Let me take you out for ice cream, Harry. I could use some too anyway. Let's go to Diagon Alley, and trade war stories" he said, smiling.
"It would be great!" said Harry. "We should also do some window shopping. I wish I could buy some trick items, but Dumbledore keep refusing to give me my key. I really wonder why he doesn't trust me" added Harry, slyly, and waving his hand dramatically.
At this, Sirius laughed again and ruffled his hair. "It's a mystery, truly! Let me take care of that too, Harry. I'll borrow your key and tell him I'll double check you don't buy anything against the rules."
"The rules of Hogwarts, or those of the pranksters?" asked Harry, with a grin. Sirius merely laughed some more.
After that they talked a bit about when to meet and finally Harry left, saying he would be playing quidditch with Draco and the others. Sirius wished him good luck and went back to his cousin and her husband, his own mood clearly high.
Harry, walking away, felt his was as low as it could be. Going through the conversation in his mind, every smile of his godfather felt like an accusation towards him. His moments of stress and silence underlined how weak Black was at the moment, how influenceable.
'It's just to get what is mine' thought Harry, but it didn't help: these words felt hollow to him. Eventually, he sighed and shook his head. Slowly, he walked towards Draco's room.