War Is Over: Chapter 15/17 - Allies
There had to be worse ways to show up on Malfoy's doorstep, but Harry couldn't think of any of them at the moment.
He had a hard time thinking, anyway. Sitting down and talking to Luna was a much needed rest, but his adrenaline levels, which had been abused throughout the entire day, had finally given up. He could barely get himself up from the armchair, let along walk down the stairs, out of the castle, and to a place he could Apparate from. And he didn't even want to think about Apparition.
Luna, of course, immediately volunteered to help him. He felt a bit uncomfortable at first, and a bit guilty - not only had he woken her up in the middle of the night, but he would also be dragging her out of the castle in the cold. But she only insisted that the cold air is a natural vaccine against giant Kaflifs. He didn't bother asking what Kaflifs were, just nodded and let her support him down the stairs. He covered the both of them with the invisibility cloak - the last thing they needed right now was to be found by a teacher or by Peeves; but if walking under the cloak had been hard for two people, being supported under the cloak was almost impossible. It seemed like forever before they went through the front doors. And by the time they had reached the Hogwarts gates, dawn was breaking, and the sky were no longer dark but a light purplish shade.
Luna took his hand gently before turning on the spot. He allowed himself to be guided by her in the Apparition. The last time he had side-along Apparated was with Dumbledore, he remembered, and his heart gave a little pinch. But it was better to allow Luna to do the hard work, as he doubted his low concentration would do anything other than get him splinched.
The compression feeling was extremely unpleasant, even more so because he was not the one controlling it. As soon as he had oxygen again, he doubled back, holding himself above the ground, not sure whether he was going to throw up or simply fall.
"Are you alright?" Luna asked.
"Yeah - I just need - just a moment..." the dizziness passed. He managed not to vomit and not to fall, and for a moment that seemed like quite the achievement. "Okay," he said finally. "Now we just need to find out where he lives."
"Don't you know?"
"I know he lives with Daphne Greengrass," Harry sighed. "And I know she lives in Diagon Alley. But not where."
"How do you know she lives here?" Luna asked in interest.
"Malfoy told me," he said, but at that moment, he stopped to think. Draco did tell him, but he had a feeling he had known it before. Had he talked to Daphne Greengrass? He didn't think he ever had the chance - or the misfortune, as it were - to talk to her. Definitely not at Hogwarts. And when he was working at Diagon Alley, only when - "when the goblins attacked that centaur!" he called and Luna jumped. "Come on, she lives in front of Gringotts."
Harry guided her towards the bank, into the building he remembered Daphne Greengrass disappeared to. It was a small shop for quills and parchments, and in the floors above, what seemed like several small flats. They climbed the stairs to the flat still covered in the invisibility cloak. Harry almost tripped on it a couple of times - he was glad Luna was still there to help him. He had a feeling his entire body was full of blue and yellow marks - probably hoof-shaped. And the cut in his leg made it harder and harder to use it.
After climbing two floors - that felt like two hundred - they found a small door with the inscription Daphne and Astoria Greengrass. Harry knocked.
No answer.
He knocked again. Was that noise someone stirring at the back? He knocked harder, and this time Luna joined him.
"Hold on," they could hear a voice from within the flat - Malfoy's voice. "I'm coming, I'm coming," they could hear him half-mumbling.
"He's not going to be happy," Luna said, and Harry shrugged. He needed Malfoy's help, yes - didn't mean he had to care about his happiness.
Finally, the door opened. Malfoy looked at the corridor, confused - and Harry realised they were still under the invisibility cloak. He took it off, and Malfoy's confused expression turned hard and unhappy.
"What do you want?" he half-asked, half-sneered, in that familiar Malfoy intonation.
Harry ignored him and walked into the flat. He was not going to explain in the corridor - if only because he felt his leg would not support him any longer. Besides - Malfoy owed him. He wasn't going to give him the chance to refuse.
"Any chance for a cup of tea?" he asked as he sat down on the sofa. Malfoy stared at him from his place near the door. "You may want to close that door," Harry added. "It's kinda cold outside."
"Potter, what are you doing here?" Malfoy, quite pointedly, failed to close the door.
"I need a favour. And I figured you owed me one. Well - several, actually. I could count them right now, but I'd rather do it over tea. And a biscuit," he added hopefully. His stomach grumbled in agreement.
"You're covered in mud. And blood," Malfoy observed.
And I couldn't stand up right now even if I wanted to, but I'll be damned if I'm going to tell you that, he thought to himself, but aloud he only said, "It's a hobby."
"Daphne is going to kill you," Malfoy said his last and went to take care of the kettle.
"You can go back to Hogwarts," he mumbled to Luna. "I'll be alright from here."
"Oh, but I'd like to stay - I love the adventure. Most of what happened in the last couple of years wasn't very fun, but the DA meetings were always the best part of the day, and I've quite missed that," she sad happily.
Harry wanted to say something, but no words had come out. He could imagine Hermione's words had he said something like that to her, suggested she went back - she would chide him for suggesting this when he himself wasn't in a very good condition; or Ginny, who would tell him off for trying to keep her out of it yet again. They'd be right, of course - they were always right on these matters, and he knew it, even if he did his best to pretend he didn't. And Luna would have been right to do the same now. But she didn't - just mentioned how she'd enjoy the adventure. He couldn't think of a way to thank her for saying that, so he just remained silent.
He needed to find something to occupy himself with, to avoid the silence, so he lifted the leg of his trousers to reveal the place he had hit the rock. There was a nasty cut there. It was not longer bleeding, but a large amount of dark blood had congealed around the wound.
"Eurgh," Malfoy said at the sight of the wound. He just came back from the kitchen carrying the kettle with three cups of tea floating behind him. Harry ignored him - and the wound - and took one cup, put copious amounts of sugar in his tea, and munched on a small chocolate biscuit while Malfoy stared at him in awe mixed with disgust.
"You need to take care of that leg, Potter," he commented.
"Yeah, I know. I just like those biscuits that much," Harry said as he wolfed down another three or four biscuits. He hadn't intended to be so sarcastic towards Malfoy - he certainly didn't open his mouth with the intention of dismissing everything he had to say. It was the force of habit, he guessed. The force of habit, combined with the knowledge that showing weakness next to Malfoy could only end one way - badly. But he couldn't afford alienating this unlikely ally - he could see in Malfoy's face the anger growing. A couple of years ago, they would have already been cursing each other. Hell, a couple of years ago, Malfoy wouldn't have let him walk into the room without cursing him. But now Malfoy was trying to contain his anger, if only because of the memory of Harry's testimony.
"Look, I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I don't mean to be an arse. It's just been a really long day."
"I gathered," Malfoy said dryly - but his face seemed to be less flushed now, slightly less angry.
Harry lifted his trouser leg again, wincing at the blood. "Tergeo," he said the incantation, aiming his wand, vanishing the blood that surrounded the cut. It didn't look any prettier now - in fact, it gave him a chance to see how deep the gush was.
"Hold on, I think Daphne's got something for that," Malfoy got up again, and returned a moment later with a bandage and some potion. He applied some of the potion to the bandage, then attached it to Harry's leg. The pain immediately dulled. Harry's head cleared a little.
"Thanks," he mumbled, not looking at Malfoy.
"So, was that the favour you wanted?" Malfoy asked, his voice reflecting Harry's sarcasm from a moment ago.
"Not quite."
"You know, I don't get you, Potter. You get all your friends pissed off with you, then disappear from the face of the earth, and now you're asking me for help, accompanied by Looney Lovegood! What, Weasley and Granger turned on you?"
Harry bit back the urge to say 'shut up, Malfoy'. Instead, he took a deep breath. Now or never. "Getting to Ron and Hermione would take too long. What we need to do, we need to do now, before it's too late."
"And what is it you need to do?"
"The goblins and the centaurs are about to attack the Ministry. I think - I think they're going to kill everyone in there."
"You're delusional." It wasn't Malfoy - Harry lifted his head in surprise, as did Malfoy. At the door of the living room, covered in a pink, fluffy robe, was Daphne Greengrass. "What are you all looking so surprised for?" she snapped. "I live here, you know."
"Right. Sorry," Harry mumbled.
"You're barking mad," she continued. "Why would the goblins want to attack the Ministry? And the centaurs! No one even know where they are."
"They're with the goblins."
"But why would they want to attack the Ministry? That would start a war!"
"That's what they want," Harry explained. "They're tired of the laws they have to live under. They think the only way they can change that is by war - it was the same with the goblin revolt of 1674," he explained, remembering the books he read at Andromeda's house.
Malfoy, who had no idea of Harry's whereabouts in the past several weeks, commented that he definitely spent too much time with Hermione.
"Thing is, they're not willing to wait any longer and they don't think it's going to be any good. They don't believe they can get equal rights under wizarding law anymore." And they kinda had a point, Harry thought to himself. "They're trying to take over now."
"So go to Shacklebolt. He's your pal, isn't he?"
"It's... complicated."
Daphne tutted at him, but to his surprise, Malfoy nodded. It looked like he had expected the reaction Harry faced, or at least understood it.
"So what do you think of doing?"
"Get into the Ministry. Stop them before they kill everyone."
Daphne gasped. Malfoy looked at him, revolted. Luna, on the other hand, hummed happily and started looking at Daphne's collection of stones on the fireplace.
"I owe Pansy an apology," Draco said at last. "You really have lost it. Do you know how hard it would be to break into the Ministry?"
"They said the same about Gringotts, and I managed that, didn't I?"
"Not on your own."
"Oh, I'm not going to be on my own." Harry looked straight into Malfoy's eyes. "You're going to help me."
Harry wasn't sure whether the sound Malfoy made was the result of choking, or just regular coughing. "And why would I do that?" Malfoy asked after he finished making incredulous noises.
"Because, like I said, I figure you owe me one. Or several."
"And you're collecting on that?"
"Yes. I am."
They glared at each other for a moment.
"I'm a convicted criminal, Potter," Malfoy said slowly. "A convicted Death Eater. Or have you forgotten?" he rolled up the sleeve of his left hand, revealing the ugly tattoo on it. It was barely visible. Had Harry not known it to be there, he would have though it was just a weirdly-shaped stain. But it was still there, and he could still make up the skull and the snake. "Yeah," Malfoy said again, interpreting correctly the expression of disgust on Harry's face. "Exactly, Wonder Boy. This isn't going to go away, this isn't going to fade away, not completely, not ever. If I get caught breaking into the Ministry of Magic, this is the first thing anyone's going to think about," he waved his arm again in front of Harry's eyes before rolling back down his sleeve and hiding the tattoo from sight. Then he shrugged. "I can't afford paying you back on this one, Potter. You'll have to find something else to collect on."
But there was the hint of reluctance in his eyes. Harry could see it, could hear it in his voice. The idea of breaking into the Ministry appealed to him - and undoubtedly, the idea of being the hero for once.
"What if we don't get caught, though?" Harry asked. "What if we save them all? Think about it - Draco Malfoy, the hero who saved the Ministry!"
"You mean Harry Potter and his sidekicks," Malfoy spat.
"I don't need the glory, Malfoy. I don't want it. That's not why I'm doing this."
"No, you're doing this because you can't help playing the hero, can you? This is your game. Saving the world. Being the hero. Adored by everyone. You really are insufferable, you know that?"
"Then let's change the game. You be the hero on this one, I'll be the sidekick. Draco Malfoy, ex-Death Eater, convicted criminal, saving the world. Stopping a war. Sounds pretty good to me."
Malfoy didn't answer. He was considering it! Harry didn't dare say a word, hardly dared breathing.
"You can't be serious, Draco?" Daphne understood the nature of the silence, too. "You two will get caught! And then where would all this rubbish about saving the world be? Potter will get to walk, 'cause he's Potter, and you'll be back in Azkaban and you'd be lucky if they let you out before they let your Dad out!"
What Harry's words couldn't do, Daphne's did. Malfoy perked up, an angry look on his face. "Then what?" he hissed at her. "Always lowering my head? Always letting other people get the glory? Hope I don't get noticed because I'm afraid of the reaction? To hell with them, and to hell with you, and to hell with you, too!" he said that last bit to Harry. "I'm a Malfoy. We're better than this, better than the lot of you. Yeah, I'm going to do it. To hell with it, I'm going to do it and I don't care if I end up in Azkaban because of it because I'm not going to cower here in your flat and be ashamed of being a Malfoy for the rest of my life!"
He stood there, his nostrils flaring, his cheeks flushed. Daphne looked too shocked to be offended, and Luna stared at him as if she didn't realise he was even in the room until this outburst. Harry just smirked. "That's the spirit," he said.
"And you, Potter, let me just tell you where to - "
"Later, will you?" Harry cut across him. "I'm dying for a nap."
"You - what?" Draco was too confused to be angry.
"Listen, I just had the worst day of my life since the war. I can't think straight. If we're going to do this without me trailing behind like a zombie, I need some sleep."
"But we need to plan! To prepare! What happens if the goblins decide to attack while you're sleeping?"
"Then that would be very sad indeed," Harry said, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "But I don't think so. They had a different plan until I escaped, and I don't think they've even realised I'm gone yet. It'll take them some time to figure out how to break into the Ministry." I hope.
"And what's a zombie, anyway?" Draco demanded, but Harry ignored him. He lay down on the sofa and closed his eyes.
-X-
Harry woke up to the smell of wonderful cooking. This time, his stomach contorted in anger.
"Argh," he announced to the world in general, and got up. Daphne's medicine worked like magic - he wasn't even limping as he walked to the small kitchen, and saw Luna, Malfoy and Daphne all eating a soup that smelled almost as good as Molly Weasley's cooking.
"Mind if I take some?" he asked. Daphne looked as if she did mind, but eventually she just shrugged. He took this as a hint that he would not have his soup Vanished from his plate and the plate broken on his head, so he took some soup and sat down with them at the table.
"I was thinking, Potter," Malfoy started immediately, not even waiting for Harry to start eating. "How are we going to even get inside the Ministry? They have security everywhere, especially since the Death Eaters started their attacks. You can't walk in there, you're wanted. And no one's going to let me walk in there without very long questioning."
He was right, of course. Harry had thought so much about the need to get there and do something, that he had given no thought to the how. "Well," he said slowly, "the goblins got in and out through a tunnel."
"Didn't you say that was how they captured you?" Luna asked, and Harry nodded.
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "That's not an option, then."
"We don't know that there was something in the tunnel," Harry objected. "They probably heard me, I banged my head pretty bad on the ceiling."
Malfoy muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "And I bet it wasn't the first time," but Harry chose to ignore it in the name of the new state of truce between them.
"I suppose we can go to the other entrance and check," Daphne pointed out. "Where is it?"
"Er," was the best reply Harry could think of.
"You don't know."
"How can you not know?"
"I was unconscious when they took me out! I never saw where it led!"
"Well," Malfoy said sarcastically, "that's one brilliant plan you've come up with here, Potter. I can see you were clearly the mastermind of the defeat of the Dark Lord."
"Shove it, Malfoy."
"No, you shove it. How are we supposed to get in there? We can't save everyone waiting on the outside - especially if the goblins have their own way in!"
"It's obvious," Luna said in her dreamy voice. "We just need a tunnel of our own."
"Yeah," Malfoy's voice had lost none of its sarcasm, even though it was now aimed at Luna, not at Harry. "Exactly. They're very easy to come by, too."
As much as it pained him, Harry had to agree with Malfoy. "Look, Luna, having one tunnel leading to the Ministry is unlikely enough, we'd need a miracle to have another tunnel. Or some self-digging - " he stopped mid-sentence, and touched his nose. "No..." he whispered, his faced breaking into a huge grin.
"What?" Three faces looked at him, confused.
"There is another tunnel leading to the Ministry of Magic," he said slowly.
"What are you on about?"
"Like I said - you're completely bonkers."
"Tunnels into the Ministry don't grow on trees, Potter."
"How do you know?" Luna asked.
"Because I smelled it!" he announced to the confused trio in front of him. "Luna, d'you mind getting Percy Weasley here? We're going to need him."
He waited until Percy Weasley had arrived, confused - and then completely bewildered, to see Harry there, next to Draco Malfoy - and then he explained. The self-digging shovels that Fred and George Weasley had accidentally freed the year before had dug a tunnel to Ollivander's shop, and from there, they continued straight to the Ministry. No one knew of the tunnel except for George and Harry, and no one, not even George, knew where it led to. But now Harry did, because only yesterday he had been to the Ministry and smelled that awful sweet, rotting smell, in the corridor where Albus Dumbledore's portrait was placed - inside the Atrium.
"Don't you see?" he asked, excited. "If we take the tunnel, it would lead us straight inside, past the security! All we need to do is get into Ollivander's!"
Percy looked as if he was about on the verge of a heart attack. "You can't just go sneaking into the Ministry! It's dangerous - I know you've done some dangerous things in the past, Harry - " Harry stared at him in disbelief - "but they may have all kinds of security measures there! And who knows what the conditions in the tunnel are! And it's illegal!" Percy rolled out his best argument.
Malfoy rolled his eyes.
For the second time in half an hour, Harry found himself siding with Malfoy against someone he cared about. Granted, this was Percy, his least favourite Weasley - but he was still a Weasley, and something was just wrong in a world where Harry found himself agreeing with Draco Malfoy over any Weasley, even Percy.
"Um, Perce? I've fought Voldemort. I've broken into Gringotts. Whatever it is they have in the Ministry, I doubt it's going to be as dangerous," he said weakly, doing his best not to start laughing. "And I don't think we're going to encounter there anything, no one knows about the tunnel. But you're welcome to come with us, if you think you know something that could help us," he added, as to not offend Percy.
"It's illegal," Percy tried again, clutching at his last straw.
"The alternative is to do nothing."
Percy looked from Harry's determined face, to Malfoy's somewhat mocking one, to Luna, who was busy staring at the vegetable in her soup and not pay attention to the discussion in the room. Finally, he let go of a pained sigh. "Alright," he said. "I'll join you - only to make sure you stay out of trouble!"
"Sure," Harry let the tiniest smile escape before resuming a serious expression.
"So that's it, then?" Malfoy asked, "the three of us?"
"The four of us," Harry said pointedly, pointing at Luna, who was now examining a broccoli stem with the utmost curiosity. "Luna's coming, too."
"It would be silly if I didn't," she said, giving the first indication that she was even listening to the discussion around her. "I've already missed Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies, so I imagine the teachers already noticed I'm gone. Professor McGonagall would be extremely angry if I don't have a good excuse."
"The five of us," Daphne surprised them all, before Malfoy could open his mouth to give another sarcastic comment, as Harry was certain he meant to do.
"You?" he asked surprised.
Malfoy, it seemed, shared the sentiment. "No way," he said.
"Oh?" she crossed her arms and pursed her lips. Harry was glad it was Malfoy who said those words. Personally, he found Daphne Greengrass very scary. "And why not, exactly?"
"Well, you're a girl," Malfoy said. Big mistake. If looks could kill, Draco Malfoy would have dropped dead the moment the words left his lips. Harry was feeling the pain in his leg coming back just from seeing the scathing look Daphne gave Malfoy.
"She's going," she snapped. "And I daresay I'm more reliable."
Harry wasn't quite sure of that, but he kept his mouth firmly shut.
"Why do you even want to go?" Malfoy demanded. "You were the one who said this was stupid from the second Potter showed up here!"
"I still think this is ridiculous," she said haughtily, "but as long as you're doing this for your pride, I figure the more Slytherins on this ridiculous mission, the better. Let them see what Slytherin house can do for them."
"If you get caught, they may expel your little sister from Hogwarts," Harry said quietly. This had nothing to do with Death Eaters and the Greengrass sisters had no personal connections with Voldemort's supporters, but he was quite sure that Will Jones would spin any Slytherin breaking into the Ministry as Death Eater activity.
"My little sister is stuck in Hufflepuff house, the only Slytherin of her year there, and none of the Hufflepuffs would say a single word to her, from morning until evening. She's thinking of quitting all by herself."
She looked at him, and he could see in her eyes she was blaming him. "I tried to stop them from doing that," he said quietly.
"Well, you failed. Maybe I'll be able to do a better job of it, don't you think?"
He nodded. "Maybe you will," he agreed.
"So, the five of us," Malfoy said, clearly unhappy with this result.
But an idea started forming in Harry's mind. "Actually," he said, "I think we may need one other person."
Convincing Andromeda Tonks to help them proved much more difficult than convincing Percy Weasley. She didn't care about the illegality of their actions, nor did she seem to care about the danger involved. No - what she cared about crawled on the floor in Daphne Greengrass's small living room, occasionally trying to pull himself up with the help of the small coffee table.
"I have a responsibility to my grandson," she said firmly. "And so do you, Harry. You're his godfather."
"I know," Harry said uncomfortably. "Look, Andromeda, we're not asking you to break into the Ministry with us."
"Good, because this I will most certainly not do," she said.
"But if we're going to get out through the tunnel, we're going to need a distraction at the security desk."
"They questioned me until noon yesterday, Harry," she said sternly. "I doubt that my showing up there is going to do much good - it will be hours before they let me into the Ministry, if they let me in at all."
"Yeah," Harry nodded. "I know."
"Oh," she said.
"That way, nothing you do can be traced back to us. Whatever happens, if they ask you later why you insisted on coming to the Ministry, you could tell them you came to warn Kingsley about the goblins. And you will - if you manage to get through."
"But seeing as I'm a Slytherin and was just questioned yesterday about matters concerning Ministry security, the chances that I will get to see the Minister are slim," she completed the sentence for him.
"Yeah. Exactly."
"Very well," she said finally.
"Brilliant," Harry said, satisfied He looked at his co-conspirators. In a million years, he would not have dreamed that these would be the people who would accompany him in saving the Ministry. The only one he really trusted was Luna - and she was Luna. The rest - Percy Weasley, who until May last year participated in all of the Ministry's attempts to sully his name; Andromeda Tonks, who still looked too much like her sister Bellatrix for Harry to be truly comfortable; Daphne Greengrass, an unpleasant Slytherin; and of course - Draco Malfoy.
"I must be going out of my mind," he said.
"Just realising that now, Potter?" Malfoy was quick to taunt him. "I could have told you that eight years ago."
"Actually, Malfoy, I think you did," Harry replied, but not with anger. Malfoy just snorted in response, and returned to stare at the ceiling, at Daphne - anywhere but at Andromeda and Teddy, Harry realised all of a sudden.
Of course - they were relatives, he remembered. How could he have forgotten? Andromeda Tonks was not only Bellatrix Lestrange's sister, but also Narcissa Malfoy's. He may be Teddy's godfather, but Malfoy was his cousin. But they had never met - when Andromeda Malfoy decided to marry a Muggle-born, she must have been ostracised by her family.
And now, she wasn't looking at Malfoy, and he wasn't looking at her. That was ridiculous.
"Anyway, now that we got all the saving-the-world-as-we-know-it stuff out of the way, I think some introductions are in order," he said in the most cheerful voice he could muster. "Andromeda, it's time you meet your nephew."
Malfoy jumped at these words. Andromeda pursed her lips some more. "I know very well who - and what - he is," she said coldly.
Harry stared at her. She couldn't possibly be saying what he thought she was saying, could she? After everything she was put through, for being a Slytherin, for being the sister of Bellatrix and Narcissa - she was going to turn her back on her nephew?
Malfoy just gave a short laughter. "You're wasting your breath, Potter. She doesn't want anything to do with me - and why do you think I want anything to do with her?"
"But you can't be serious!" he said, completely exasperated. "You can't possibly - she's your aunt! You can't possibly go on with that stupid prejudice about who she married! Not after everything you've been through! And you - " he turned accusingly at Andromeda - "you buried your sister, and she was a lot worse than him."
"Someone had to bury her," she said, even colder than before. "I wasn't going to let them throw her into some pit together with all the riff-raff they had in that room. She was a Black - she deserves better than that, no matter what she did. And besides, she is dead. There is no more harm she can cause. He is alive. There is no limit to the damage he can bring."
"But you're family," Harry said again. "And the war's over. If you can't get past that, can't forgive each other, who can?"
"Tell me, Potter, does anything ever get into that thick head of yours?" Malfoy sneered. "This is what everyone has been trying to tell you since last year."
Andromeda narrowed her eyes at Malfoy in anger, and all Harry could think of was how much she looked like Bellatrix when she did that.
"No," he said aloud, making sure they both heard him.
"No?" Malfoy repeated, and Andromeda lifted an eyebrow.
"No. Enough. This ends here."
"'This'?"
"This. This vendetta. This ridiculous fight. This war. It ends, right here, right now!" Harry didn't even realise he was shouting. Andromeda and Malfoy looked at him in shock. Even Luna stopped musing at the room and focused on him.
Harry didn't care. He picked up Teddy, and gave him to Malfoy to hold. At first, Malfoy flinched, unwilling to be this close to the baby, or perhaps to hold him. Harry didn't care. As soon as he was sure Malfoy was not going to drop the baby, he stepped back. Malfoy remained there holding Teddy awkwardly, with a mortified look on his face. If Harry was not so angry with both him and Andromeda, he would have burst with laughter at the image.
"Draco Malfoy, meet your cousin, Teddy Lupin," Harry said.
Teddy started laughing. Malfoy kept on standing there, holding Teddy at a small distance from his body, as if the baby was about to explode.
"Don't hold him like that," Andromeda snapped at him. "You're making him uncomfortable. Here - " she grabbed Malfoy's hands and moved them to the right position. "That's how you do it. Have you never held a baby before, boy?"
"No," Malfoy mumbled.
"Well, that's obvious," Andromeda said disapprovingly.
"You don't look very much alike," Luna felt the need to comment, and Daphne started laughing.
"Right." Malfoy's face flushed in anger and he returned Teddy to Andromeda. "Are we going to take him with us then? Or aren't we going anymore? Thought we had a bunch of politicians to rescue. Or have we decided the world would be a better place without them?"
"Rescue. Definitely rescue," Harry hurried to say, before Malfoy got any ideas.
"So find somewhere to leave the baby and let's get out of here."
They all left the small flat, Harry under the invisibility cloak, the rest walking as naturally as they could, not to arouse suspicion. Andromeda left them in front of Ollivander's shop. She was going to visit George Weasley and ask him to take care of Teddy; then, she would go to the Ministry. She was still reluctant to leave so soon - with no indication as to the length of the tunnel, there was no way of knowing how long she would have to distract the guard. Harry wasn't as worried. With the mindset the Ministry had shown lately, he was quite sure that Andromeda's appearance at the gates of the Ministry of Magic would not go uncommented. Well, he thought darkly as they made their way to the back of Ollivander's shop, there was no rule in the box that said he couldn't take advantage of the wizarding world's own stupidity.
They entered Ollivander's shop as quietly as possible. Ollivander looked at the group, confused, and his face showed fear when he recognised Malfoy, but Percy went to him to calm him down, and beckoned the others to continue to the back room. The smell there was unmistakable - it had the same sweetness, the same rotten tinge, as the smell of the small corridor next to the Atrium. There was no doubt now in Harry's mind - the tunnel did, indeed, lead to the Ministry.
"So, looks like I'm going to be checking that tunnel after all. George would be so disappointed he didn't get to come along," he said.
"Oi, Potter, if you're through feeling sentimental..." Malfoy called.
"Right." Harry flicked his wand and the boxes and boxes of wands moved aside, revealing the place where the wall used to be, and now only had a big gaping hole. "Lumos," he said, and the tip of his wand flickered into life. "Let's go."