Chapter Thirty-Four: Shifting Currents
There was no announcement the next day. There was no need. The papers proclaimed it for them – every rag that dared to claim itself as a source of news had a lead story on Harry and the Vision Potion.
Even the Daily Prophet had run the story.
"We couldn't stop it," Draco had looked haggard the next morning when Harry saw him. "By the time we got to the press, everyone was there. Someone in Scrimgeour's staff must have sent owls to anyone with a press. The best thing we could hope for was a good light on the whole mess. Father and I were there until dawn."
The news had hit Hogwarts hard. People avoided Harry in the halls. Several Gryffindors made the ward of the evil eye as he passed. Harry would have held through it fine, if some of the Slytherin first years hadn't given him large, scared eyes as he entered the common room Saturday afternoon. Draco would later tell him that Pansy had sat them down to explain it all to them, but still. The sight of the fear in those young expressions had hurt Harry more than he cared to admit.
Things just got more complicated when Harry learned that Ginny had fallen down a flight of the moving stairs and that Sirius had been with her the entire time Professor Snape had come to rescue Harry from the Healers at St. Mungo's.
Draco had escorted him to the Infirmary door, but promised to stay out of Sirius' sight. They had both agreed that the less they provoked the man, the better it was for them.
The ward was empty, save for the youngest Black and the animagus. They were stationed in a bed near Madam Pomfrey's office. The large windows were open, letting in a cool breeze that cleared the air of the sterile smell that often lingered in the hall.
They didn't hear him approach. Ginny was laughing at something Sirius was saying, the fading bruises on the side of her face making Harry wince.
He stopped, about to creep away, when Ginny noticed him. "Harry!" Her expression lit. Harry was rooted in place.
"Hey, Gin." He kept his eyes on the girl. "I heard you had a tumble. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," the girl rolled her eyes at Sirius. "I was…well, you know about the Unspeakables…" She bit her lip as her smile died.
"Yes," Sirius cut in. "The Unspeakables that rounded everyone up. You -," muscles flexed in Sirius' jaw.
"Why were you on the stairs?" Harry asked her instead.
"This isn't her fault!" Sirius was hot to point out. Harry didn't need him to say it to hear where Sirius placed the full blame.
"They were moving you out," Ginny's hands were clasped tight in her lap. "I – I was trying to stop them. I'd forgotten my cane," she ducked her head, not looking at Sirius. "When the stairs moved, my leg gave out. That's all I remember."
"She fell an entire flight of stairs. One of the Minister's aides caught her before the flight dumped her another whole floor." Sirius' gaze was hot on Harry. "What were you thinking, Harry?"
"Me?" Harry said before he could think it over. "I wasn't the one who caused this. I was unconscious myself at the time."
"Oh yes, that."
Harry flinched.
"You just had to tell them all, didn't you?"
"Why are you so mad at me?" It wasn't what he'd meant to say.
"Mad, Harry? I'm bloody pissed."
"But why?" He could see Ginny was near tears. He was getting there himself.
"Harry – do you have any idea as to what you've done?" Sirius got to his feet. "You – you've admitted to taking the Vision Potion. Do you know what they can do to you know?"
"I had a taste of it last night," he couldn't help the bitter words.
"Good," the animagus retorted, much to Harry's surprise. "Then you'll know that is what Healer Fondorn was wanting to do to you all summer. He seems to think that the potion has affected your brain," Sirius' expression twisted. "No son of James Potter would be that weak. You have to prove them wrong, Harry. I thought we'd done it. I thought we were finally getting through to you."
"Getting through?" Harry swallowed back a handful of hurtful words. "Sirius, I can't change who I am."
"Apparently you can. You're not the boy I met three years ago, Harry. You were a Gryffindor, through and through then. What happened?" Sirius' shoulders slumped. "How did I fail? How – what did I do wrong, Harry?"
"Wrong?" Harry rocked back onto his heels. "You didn't do anything wrong, Sirius."
"I must have," Sirius sat with a tired slump. "You're slipping, every time I see you Harry. I keep thinking it'll pass but it never does."
Something hot and painful was lodged in Harry's throat. "It'll pass, Sirius." He didn't need Ginny's pleading gaze to spur on the words.
"I'm beginning to doubt it, Harry." He ran a hand over his face.
"Please," Harry's hands clenched and released at his sides. "I'll be better. I promise."
"We'll see, Harry." Sirius sighed again and turned away. "Perhaps you should go, Harry. Ginny's spending one more night here."
"But…"
"It's okay, Harry." Her bright eyes pleaded with him. "I'm fine, really. It'll be okay." She cut a look at the animagus. Harry shut his mouth with a hard swallow and nodded.
The walk out of the Infirmary was the longest of his life.
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Draco took one look at him and took Harry's elbow, guiding them away from the heavy Infirmary doors. "What happened?"
"Weren't you listening?"
The look Draco sent his way was sharp. "You asked me not to, remember?"
Harry choked back a bitter snort. It wasn't Draco he was angry at. "I'm sorry," he said instead.
Pale eyes studied his face. "Come on." Draco slid an arm around Harry's shoulders.
"Where are we going?"
"Elsewhere."
That made Harry blink and momentarily forget the unpleasantness he had just left behind. "Elsewhere?" He repeated.
"Yes."
"But…"
"I think," Draco led them around a distant corner. "You need to talk to someone and Auror Rayne won't be able to get to the castle for a week. Right?" He arched an eyebrow at Harry.
"Right."
"Well, then. Come on."
The silver bracelet around Draco's wrist slipped from his cuff. Harry blinked at the door to an old storage room that was outlined for a brief moment with brilliant white light. A second later, a Gate stood before them.
He turned to Draco. "You've been experimenting again, haven't you?"
"Tinkering, Harry. Just tinkering. Completely different from before. Come along."
They stepped through together.
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The village was just as Harry remembered it. Gwenn's cottage had a thin stream of smoke spiraling up from the chimney. Harry noted with some surprise that several of the other cottages seemed to have woken. A few had bright curtains in the windows, and several of the other chimneys showed signs of life.
"How…"
"It's the first Gate I built," Draco caught his hand and tugged him forward. Their feet kicked up puffs of dust as they approached. It was warmer in the small village than it had been at Hogwarts. The sweater Harry had on was more than enough to keep him comfortable.
He tipped his head back and let Draco take the lead. He'd missed coming here, he realized with a start. Something in his chest relaxed at being in the Otherworld. Some part of him felt at home in the god's realm. It made his throat want to tighten up and his eyes prickle. I wish Sirius could understand this, he blinked fast a few times.
Then Gwenn opened the rough cottage door with a wide smile. His walls crumbled to dust in seconds.
The warm hold of a mother's embrace was exactly what he had needed.
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The turbulence of the weekend was not enough to prepare them all for Monday morning.
Draco watched Harry with one wary eye. The smaller boy had seemed calmer after their visit with Gwenn. It had helped that Merle was not there to tower over them. Things in Gwenn's part of the Otherworld seemed to be perking up; her neighbors, she'd confided in them, were all small river and forest deities. All very shy and quiet, but lovely and kind, as she was quick to assure them. Not very trusting, either, but she would put in a good word about her visitors. They would come around in no time.
After their visit with the matronly goddess, Harry had seemed better, happier. Later that night, Harry had told him what had happened with Sirius in the Infirmary – Draco would have liked nothing better than to curse Black from one end of the world to the other – but Harry had needed him and Draco was damned if he was going to cause the other boy any more pain that weekend.
After all, he would need a plan first. And some allies. And a secure alibi. That would take time to procure.
The fear that had trailed in Harry's wake was also something that drove the blond mad. Harry hadn't thought every thing through, and still thought too much like a Gryffindor for Draco's liking – but he couldn't deny that Harry's heart had been in the right place. His grasp of the politics of the situation was getting better as well. Draco wished Harry's trust in them would get better – and soon. He never wanted to see Harry carried off by sneering Unspeakables ever again.
Still, there was something going on at the head table that had Draco's nerves on a fine edge. Umbridge looked far too happy for anyone's pleasure and Severus had a thunderous scowl set firmly on his face.
"Attention, your attention please," Dumbledore held up his hands for quiet. "By now, I am sure all of you have heard of the sacrifices our Mr. Potter has endured for our protection."
Nice, Draco ducked his head to hide his smirk. The stirrings and whispers that rose up in the wake of the headmaster's words were quite loud. Trust the headmaster to put it that way.
"Yes," the old wizard continued. "I am sure you have all read the many opinionated stories that have flooded our school this weekend. As a result of these highly opinionated pieces, the board of governors has had no choice but to give way to some of the concerns listed by the parents of the students of this school."
Draco found Harry's hand. It was chilly and damp with sweat. He made a face, but held on tight.
"As per their request, a monitor for the safety of the children has been appointed for Hogwarts," Dumbledore did not smile. "Professor Umbridge, in an act of magnanimity, has accepted the role."
Set and match, Draco felt the acid bite in his stomach. The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's smile was sharp enough to cut. Harry's hand tightened around his – Draco didn't like this development one bit.
Umbridge stood, her hands clasped tight under her plump chest. "Children, do not worry," she beamed a smile out over the tables – ignoring Slytherin pointedly. "I am sure you all have concerns. I am asking that you all come to me with whatever worries – and information – you may have. Do not fear. Everything will be just fine in no time." One last round of fake smiles and she sank down in her chair.
As Dumbledore continued with his announcements, Draco kept a wary watch on the beaming Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She did not look their way once, and he couldn't make up his mind if that was good or not.
Somehow, he just knew things were about to take a turn for the worst.
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Hermione blew a soft stream of air over the last line of wet ink on her parchment. It was late and Madam Pince would be making her last rounds. She wanted the letter dry by then. She would be late for curfew if not.
The day had been full of surprises. What Harry had done was no surprise to her – she'd known about the potion for months. The troubling turn of the papers worried her – there were people who needed to know the truth, but she could not risk it all in a letter. A meeting would be best – but the next Hogsmead weekend was just around the corner. She wasn't sure if they had the time to set everything up. There were some secrets she could not risk to pen and paper.
She slipped out as Madam Pince began her sweep of the Restricted Section. The Owlery was a bit of a hike from the library, but she had to risk it. Besides, no one would notice if a school owl went out late and came back by morning. Hermione received post all the time. People would not think twice about it.
She tried not to use the same bird twice in a row. The irritable creatures pecked at her hands, but she tapped her chosen messenger on the beak with a steady finger. Her message attached, she whispered the address and gave him a heave, flinging the startled owl into the air with a screech.
A quick check of the time had her using a word her mother was sure she would have never heard from her daughter's mouth. Hermione ran for the Gryffindor dorms, hoping to make it in time. The last thing she needed was Professor McGonagall to become involved in her late night wanderings.
She never saw Sasha step out from a dark corner. The seventh year Slytherin watched Hermione's retreat with shadowed eyes. A quick check of the owls in the Owlery gave her the name of the bird Hermione had chosen for the evening.
It would take a simple spell to tell her where the creature had gone that evening. If there was no fidelius charm attached to the place. But they were so rarely used, Sasha did not worry about it.
She tucked the owl's name away on a piece of paper, stored in her pocket for the next day's retrieval. There was nothing she could do about it now, nothing but to wait and see.
"What are you up to, Hermione Granger?" She murmured into the quiet dark.
There was no answer.
End Chapter Thirty-Four