Unfinished Business: Shattered Pieces
DISCLAIMER: Look at first chapter.
WARNING: Look at first chapter.
Trick and Treat
On Monday morning, after a very eventful Hogsmeade trip that weekend, everyone was treated to a very big surprise when they opened the door to the Great Hall for breakfast. Instead of the open space that usually laid bare between the large Great Hall doors and the four house tables, the students and staff alike were greeted to a forestry. The only difference was that instead of trees, there were hedges that zigzagged from the doors towards the house tables.
Normally on a Monday morning, students walked around in a sort of daze, still worn out from their activities from the days before. But laughter could be heard on this morning as students trudged through the maze.
The hedges were made up of different sizes. There were two large ones on either side of the Great Hall, reaching just below the enchanted ceiling. Then there were three that were about half that height, separating each house maze from the other. Finally, the smallest ones, though still taller than six feet, made up the actual maze for each of the houses. It was very simple to figure out which entrance was for which house since the mascots for each house were standing before one entrance.
Waiting at the entrance to the right of the doors, a large badger stood on its hind legs, rubbing its face as if grooming the distinguishable white stripe along its snout. In the entrance next to it, a large lion stood proudly, its golden mane shinning impressively around his head as his roar seemed to cause the very room to vibrate.
A large eagle stood in the next entrance, its head held high as the sound of its cawing echoed throughout the Great Hall. Finally, to the far left of the hall was a snake, hissing as it rocked back and forth, half of its body coiled together while the rest of it stood as tall as the smallest hedge.
"This has Potter written all over it," BJ said in awe as he, Thelma and Travis entered the Great Hall that morning.
"I guess we should head over to the snake," Thelma said as she walked over to the towering reptile.
As they neared their house mascot, the snake hissed at them, showing off its forked tongue. "Cunning Slytherins, follow me please," it suddenly hissed with a heavy lisp, shocking the three Slytherins for a moment.
They had not expected it to talk.
Hesitant for a moment, the three of them followed the snake. The moment they had disappeared around a corner, another snake suddenly appeared through the floor, replacing the one that was leading them through the maze.
"This is so awesome," James laughed, when he entered the Great Hall with Frank, Molly and Dominique next to him.
"Brave Gryffindors, come this way," the lion spoke in a booming voice as the four teens walked up to their mascot.
"I knew getting you to help was a good idea," James said to his cousin as they followed the lion with their friends.
"Please don't advertise my involvement in this. Unlike you, I rather enjoy attending school."
"You're no fun," James smirked.
When McLaggen showed up at the Great Hall with his friends, they immediately greeted their mascot. "Wise Ravenclaws, let us trek through this together," the eagle said in a mystical voice.
Before entering, he could hear the badger beckoning her Hufflepuffs through the maze. "Humble Hufflepuffs, if you please," she said in a wispy voice to a couple of cooing third years.
Since the Undetectable Extension Charm was used on the maze, it took longer to navigate through the maze than seemed naturally possible considering the distance from the Great Hall doors to the house tables. By the end of the maze, each of the four mascots disappeared in a puff of smoke. The smoke caused the once solid hedge to part, revealing the wondrous display of food that waited for them along the four house tables.
Suddenly, everyone in the Great Hall could hear rustling sounds coming from the maze. All heads turned to see what the commotion was about.
"But what happens when you go through a path that doesn't belong to your house?" Vicky asked in wonder.
"The maze closes in on you and carries you through its shrubs until you reach your own side," Frank said as he followed James to their table.
After a few moments of the rustling sounds, Albus and Scorpius were suddenly pushed out of the shrubs. Bits of twigs were caught in their hair and clothes, but they were otherwise unharmed. While Scorpius was busy picking the bits of twigs from his hair, Albus laughed at the unexpected ride. James could only shake his head at the two of them.
"It doesn't really matter though," Frank added before sitting down and pilling his plate with the bountiful breakfast in front of him. "Once you leave the maze you can sit wherever you want," he said as the two Slytherin boys headed for Gryffindor table before sitting down beside James.
Everyone marvelled at the delightful morning. Around the Great Hall, everyone was talking about the maze. Even the teachers were impressed by the creation, especially Professor Longbottom, who seemed particularly pleased as his eyes landed on his son with barely concealed pride.
"You've got to be kidding me," Ginny said as she saw Lily walking down the stairs that morning.
"You look perfect," Harry said as he spotted her.
Lily beamed up at him as she stood in her Halloween costume. It was a purple stripped top with long sleeves and a black frilled skirt that reached her knees. Over the top was an opened black vest, and a black belt with a squared golden buckle on it. She also wore a pair of dragon-hide fingerless gloves that covered her wrists and a matching pair of boots reaching just below her knees, over a pair of black tights.
A red bandana was tied around her head, with its end grazing one shoulder. In one hand, she held a captain's hat with a skull and crossed bones emblem on the front. In her other hand was a silver curved sword.
"A pirate, really?" Ginny asked with a pout as she crossed his arms in disappointment. "What about the fairy costume I got you? It actually lets you fly."
"I think what she's wearing is perfect," Harry beamed. "It reminds me of Tonks."
"You think?" Lily beamed, sheathing her play sword. "Teddy said that he might pop by the Burrow tonight. I could surprise him with this."
"I'm sure he'll love it, and I think I know of a way to make this costume even better. I'll give it to you when I finish work and then we can all go trick-or-treating together."
"I can't go. Nikola Vassileva was spotted in England last night. She's the only person from the Bulgarian Quidditch team that I haven't gotten an interview from. Seeing as how her team won the last World Cup, the Daily Prophet is pushing me to do an interview with her."
"Tonight?" Harry asked, looking shocked. "That's a shame."
"A right shame indeed. She wasn't even scheduled to come here for another month. No one knows why she suddenly decided to come to England so early."
Turning to his daughter while Ginny's back was turned, Harry gave his little girl a sly wink, to which Lily held back a giggle at her dad's trickery.
"I think this is a perfect opportunity to alleviate your views of Slytherin stereotypical behaviour," Molly said during their History of Magic class.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. But I'm pretty sure it involves research so I'm not going to do it," James said as he continued his work on an origami dragon.
"I'm talking about you spending the Christmas holiday with Scorpius and his family at Malfoy Manor," Molly reminded him. "When your brother mentioned it this morning, you seemed sort of down, but I think this is a perfect opportunity to-"
"Alleviate views … Slytherin stereotype behaviour… I was listening. But that's such a boring way to spend Christmas. I prefer to look for fun … or create it if none presents itself to me," he smiled as he charmed his paper dragon.
The dragon suddenly started moving, flapping its wings before taking flight. Then it started spurting fire as it joined other such dragons in a battle above the students' heads.
"But while you're there, are you going to ask your father what we talked about?"
"You mean why I have the mark of someone born from a Carrier. Molly, for the last time, my dad did not give birth to me. My mother did."
"Then how do you explain that mark? James, I'm telling you. I've researched the mark that you and your siblings have and it indicates that you were born from a male, not a female, a Carrier to be more specific."
"You're wrong, but to ease your pretty little head, I'll ask my dad when I see him."
"Are you sure he won't just lie to you?"
"My dad never lies to me," James said as he created another dragon and sent it up flying with the rest.
"It still remains a mystery that you can create such creatures with great ease but little effort while others study hard with little success."
"Well it's a mystery to me that you chose to sit next to me instead of Frank, seeing as how you two are such close study buddies now," he said nonchalantly.
James hid a smirk at the shocked silence that followed and continued creating his origami dragon warriors.
As Draco got off the lift at the Ministry, he walked between the cubicles until he spotted Harry's secretary furiously scribbling on notes of paper before sending them off in a flurry of origami birds.
"Excuse me," Draco called out, trying to get the girl's attention.
"Oh, hello there Mr. Malfoy," the lady smiled. "Harry said that you can go right in when you arrive," she said before she looked down to continue her note taking.
"Alright then. Have fun," the blonde said, though the lady was too busy with her bird notes to respond.
When Draco opened the door to Harry's office, he found his husband standing with his back turned to the door. He was bent over his desk. After closing the door behind him, Draco placed a privacy spell around the room.
"How are you feeling?" Draco asked with concern as he came up behind Harry and wrapped his arm around the Auror's waist, the palm of his hand resting against Harry's stomach.
"Not bad," Harry said reassuringly as he rested his hand over Draco's. "Keeping a box of crackers on hand helps."
Harry had been feeling queasy on and off for several weeks now. When it had begun, he had just found out about Ginny's pregnancy and assumed it was related to that. Now that he knew that his nausea was in fact due to the little bundle of joy growing inside of him, it was surprisingly more reassuring.
"This case still giving you trouble?" Draco asked as he spotted the papers that littered the top of Harry's desk.
"Which one?" Harry laughed. "The Lestrange case is mostly complete. We just need to set up a trial date. When he's convicted, he'll be sent off to Azkaban, in solitude, as far away from his father as possible."
"And the one you took from McLaggen?"
"That one is proving to be a little more complicated," Harry sighed as he turned around. Then he wrapped his arms around the blonde's neck before giving him a kiss on the lips. "You'd think it would be easy to figure out who's behind it since we only have two suspects. But with the memory alteration added on, it's proving more troublesome than I had expected."
"You'll figure it out, and you know that I'll help you in any way that I can."
"I know," Harry smiled. "But not everything is a mystery. I do have one piece of good news for you. I've found a way for you to spend Halloween with Lily, without Ginny being there."
"Please continue," Draco said, looking very intrigued.
"Well, after promising a signed picture of yours truly, I got Bulgaria's Chaser to come to England ahead of schedule. She'll be spending the entire night doing errands while Ginny tries to get an interview from her. Then I convinced Lily to wear a costume that would give you the perfect opportunity to be there without having to sneak around," he said with a cheeky grin. "So … how do you feel about transfiguration?"
"Okay. Everything's set," Scorpius said as he sat down at the Slytherin table that afternoon.
"So the whole Potter family will be spending Christmas at Malfoy Manor?" Blaise asked.
"Yep. My dad seemed very pleased with the idea," Albus said after sitting down next to Scorpius.
"And what about your brother? How did he take the news? Does he suspect that I'll be there as well?"
"James is James. He didn't seem to care so long as he gets presents. And no, he doesn't know that you'll be there."
BJ seemed very pleased with that answer as he looked over at the Gryffindor table. He was in such a good spirits that even the sight of McLaggen holding Potter's hand didn't dwindle his mood.
"Are you sure it's okay for me to join you for Christmas?" McLaggen asked as he sat next to James.
"Of course," James smiled. "My dad sent me a letter last night saying that it was okay for me to bring someone."
"Well I am flattered that you chose me. My own dad was pleasantly surprised that I was going to be spending the holidays over at Malfoy Manor of all places. I guess he's hoping that I'll find something of value there. He's a nut when it comes to mysterious objects. I guess it could be fun, as long as I don't fall prey to one of their traps," he shrugged. "I'll see you later," he said before pecking James on the lips.
"See you," he said as McLaggen left the Gryffindor table.
"You are playing a dangerous game James Sirius Potter," Molly said once McLaggen went back to his own table.
"Whatever are you on about? Is it really a crime to want to spend the holiday with my boyfriend?"
"It is when you're doing it to hurt someone else."
"I'm not doing anything to hurt anyone. I just want a little bit of reassurance that when I spend my time at Malfoy Manor, I won't have to deal with a certain Slytherin Prefect that is sure to be there as well. I mean, do they think I'm stupid enough not to figure out that the only reason I'm even going is so that Zabini can pester me. I'm insulted, really," he said in a huff. "I know for a fact that the Malfoy and Zabini families have been close since before the war. And even if this wasn't some ploy of his, I know the thought has crossed his mind."
"And what if it's not. What if it's just one big coincidence?"
"Molly, nothing is a coincidence when a Slytherin is concerned. They make sure of that."
"I just don't see how anything good can come out of this," Molly said with worry.
"Are you having fun, Lily?" Harry said, after having arrived at the Burrow after work.
"Loads," Lily beamed. "Teddy's here and he showed me a picture of his mom wearing something like my outfit. He added streaks in my hair so I look more like her," she said, showing Harry the dark purple strands in her hair.
"I noticed," Harry smiled. "Let's head up to one of the rooms so you can see what I got you to finish off your outfit."
"Okay," Lily said before leading the way upstairs.
When they reached Ron's old bedroom, Harry sealed the door and cast a privacy spell on the room. Then he reached into his jacket. A second later, something popped out, surprising the pirate girl. It was large, with white feathers along its body, a golden crown of feathers on its head, and a black beak.
"A bird," Lily smiled brightly as she clapped her hands.
"A parrot," Harry corrected. "A cockatoo to be more precise. But there's more to this bird than meets the eye."
After placing the bird on the ground, Harry pulled out his wand. With a flick of his wrist, the bird suddenly disappeared and in its place was a pale blonde man.
"I can't tell you how much I hate being transfigured," Draco said as he held his head.
"Papa," Lily squealed as she rushed up to her father and hugged him.
"How is my little girl doing?" Draco asked, kneeling down so he could wrap his arms around her.
"Better," she smiled brightly as she looked at him. "Does this mean that you'll be spending Halloween with us?"
"Indeed it does," Harry said. "He can be right next you the entire time, perched on your shoulder as your pet parrot."
Lily squealed in delight at the prospect of getting to have her father spend Halloween with her, a notion she had almost given up on. After her worries had been alleviated, her parents also explained that they would get to spend the Christmas holidays together as well. She knew that her parents would figure it out somehow, and would soon find a way to get their whole family back together.
End of Chapter: Trick and Treat
