Chap. 21: Diagon Alley, the Weasleys, lunch, Snape, and Greenhill Manor.
It was now, Saturday, and it had been a week since the last paper, and five days since the last Wizengamot session, when Harry and Daphne were making their way to the Wands and Wizards Cafe for lunch. She, of course, had a copy of The Magic Eye with her, and today's paper had an exposé on Corban Yaxley.
Harry found his favorite table was empty, which was in front of the restaurant and pub's large and curved bow window. From there, he could watch the antics of everyone in the market square. Here, he pulled out Daphne's chair for her and sat himself down beside her so that he could see the paper as well if she had anything to point out. He also cast a privacy charm just after he took his seat.
However, she first wanted to speak about the Wizengamot, and obtain more details about what happened, which made Harry give out a long sigh.
"It was bloody well rough, to be honest," Harry said, "and we just scraped by with not being called out on a point of order, to be honest.
"We disrespected the Chief Warlock, mind you, by purposely not addressing him directly, and spoke as if we were speaking to the other politicians, which, we were. However, nobody raised the point, and I think they were allowing that slight to slide by because Cyrus and I were new. We'll not get by with that again."
Here, Daphne snorted and giggled. Harry noticed this and noticed how she had changed from the cold and stiff witch he first met to become his best friend and dare he say, one that he even loved in a romantic way.
"Also," Harry explained, "I'm afraid that Lucius' lot will try to change the parliamentary rules after last Monday, because we held everything up, and vaguely threatened to do so again. Gareth figures that they'll try to limit us from speaking seven times, to twice, like it is in the Muggle Parliament. That would shut us up after we ran out of steam after two occasions. However, that would take a 2/3 majority vote to change."
"Yes," Daphne said, "but it would also come back to bite them in the arse if they needed to do something similar in the future. What else did they try?"
"Oh, they tried to limit the debate, postpone it indefinitely, postpone it to the next session, and send the bill to committee to stall it, but we, luckily, harangued some help on that beforehand, and it was voted down. They tried using several tricks to stop our bill from passing, as after reading it, they knew exactly what we and the ministry had planned for You-Know-Who's inner circle if they broke prison."
"So," Daphne asked, "you, Da', and Uncle Gareth believe that You-Know-Who will eventually break them out?"
"Yes," Harry said, "and Rufus does as well.
"The Goblins are highly perturbed, too, we found out!"
"Really?" Daphne inquired.
"Yes," Harry replied with a huge grin, "we also changed a subsection of the banking law with that bill, where Gringotts can now be fined for helping a subversive organization engaged in insurrection or treasonous behavior, by transferring money to aid them. That's on top of the ministry seizing the assets of those within the group."
"But, what about your suit with the Lestranges?" Daphne asked.
"Oh," Harry said with a very shark-like smile, "we included a rider that says that any assets tied to any suit, before our courts, must be settled first before any remaining money, etc, can be seized by the ministry. That was tacked onto assets covered by liens, etcetera."
"My, my, Mr. Potter," Daphne said in a husky whisper after leaning over to his ear, "your slyness and cunning are making me all wet."
Harry's breath suddenly caught, where he had to swallow the knot that had just formed in his throat, and he now hoped that he didn't have another erection showing over her antics.
"You saucy little minx," Harry muttered, and then quickly stole a kiss.
Daphne, of course, smirked, and proudly sat back in her chair. She knew that she had Harry wrapped around her little finger, and even he didn't deny that. Oh, he was all hers, and she damn well knew it!
Molly and Arthur Weasley were escorting Ron, Ginny, and Hermione through Diagon Alley to collect their school supplies, and to obtain their robes. Ron was growing like a weed, Molly thought, but so was Ginny, and she was bursting out of her clothes in places, which, as a mother, she would rather her daughter didn't show off. Hermione was the same, she noticed, and she had been trying to keep an eye on how close she and Ron were becoming. Molly, after all, wanted grandchildren, but not this soon!
Molly wondered how the two had finally gotten together, and wondered if it was due to how Harry had changed; especially after he told them about being in a betrothal. She was just worried that one of the girls would get themselves into trouble before they left school. She also knew that she couldn't keep an eye on them twenty-four hours a day, and if out of eyesight, they could get up to anything, though she didn't think that Ginny or Hermione would do that. Harry's fiancée, though, she didn't know about, as the girl was awfully expressive with her feelings toward Harry.
Molly had also noticed that Hermione was sore when she sat down, but the young witch had said that she had strained herself by riding a broom. She hoped that was all that had happened, as they could lose their maidenhood that way, the same with riding a horse, it was said. Ron seemed really protective over her now and sat really close to the girl after it happened. Ron was such a good boy, she thought! However, she did wonder if they still made chastity belts.
Her cheerfulness was demolished, though, when they had passed Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, which was now boarded up, and worse, Ollivanders was now closed, with nobody knowing where either man was.
When they visited Gringotts, the Goblins were in a rare state of impoliteness, which Bill and Fleur had said was over Harry and the Greengrasses' new law. She had read about that in the Prophet, totally agreed with it, and was happy when she read about how Augusta had signed on as a sponsor. The paper had said that even though she had stood and introduced it, that Harry still had to stand to make the motion, and it was then seconded by Elphias Doge to be brought to the floor.
The paper also mentioned all the roadblocks that a few of the purebloods tried to place in its way, but Harry, Cyrus, and Gareth had majority support behind them, which had shut Malfoy's lot down.
Speaking of newspapers, there was that "Magic Eye" newspaper in a box on her left, which was, today, about Corban Yaxley, who Mad-Eye had caught with the Dark Mark, and the said newspaper's box was at the front of her sons' store! That paper was a little too revealing and scandalous for her taste, but she did hear about how the paper really stuck it to the Malfoy family and You-Know-Who in its last edition. That did cheer her up a bit, even though the stories were completely scandalous. It reminded her of the stories her Aunt Muriel bandied about, which would make any decent witch blush!
Oh, well, it was noon, and they needed to find somewhere to eat, so she looked around at her brood and asked, "Where shall we eat today?"
Hermione didn't really like the Leaky for meals, as they didn't have a wide assortment of food, so she replied: "How about we eat at the Wands and Wizards? I do like their sandwiches."
Molly pursed her lips at this, as that restaurant was a little more pricey than the Leaky, but she thought that they deserved a treat.
"Right, then," Molly said, "let's make our way there, shall we?"
"Well, let's read this over about Yaxley, shall we," Daphne said, "and you can tell me all about that photo."
Here, Daphne looked at the photo, which showed, supposedly, Yaxley standing outside a London brothel under an awning, and he had his arm around a young hooker's shoulder, who was dressed in a mini-skirt and quite an open blouse showing off her small cleavage. He had a huge smile on his face, and she guessed it was supposedly about the young prostitute's hand that was resting on his crotch, which was barely blacked out with a thirty-two-point star. The photo looked as if it had been taken catty-corner and from across the street. The brothel, itself, looked to be of muggle concrete and brick, ten stories tall, and it was known as the Chelsea Cloisters.
Another smaller photo of Mildred Knowes was underneath, and in the first column, it showed old Mildred looking up at the headline photo with a look of an old witch about to gag.
The headline, read: "Yaxley Bites The Dust And Yet Another Scandal!"
"Corban Yaxley, an Assistant Prosecutor at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was busted last Saturday after coming in to work a half-day to catch up on his paperwork. It was said that when they were in the ministry's cafeteria, several of the department's employees began showing their forearms to prove that they were not marked with You-Know-Who's Dark Mark. When it came Yaxley's turn, he refused, which gave the now recalled Auror Alastor Mad-Eye Moody plausible suspicion to detain Yaxley, and check him for the mark, which, he found on his left forearm. Yaxley was arrested before everyone sitting in the cafeteria, and then taken to the holding cells to be booked.
"We, at The Magic Eye, did some digging on Yaxley, where we found that he was another that spouted the pureblood propaganda of being superior to muggles and muggle-borns, but acted the opposite when in the muggle world.
"Here, again, we contacted the private security and investigative firm that we found stateside, and asked them if they knew anything about Yaxley. They did!
"Dear reader, we were sent the photo shown for this headline, which was taken on London's west side and at a building known as the Chelsea Cloisters. The locals call the building "ten floors of whores," and the prostitutes, some very young, came from Eastern Europe.
"It would seem that Mr. Yaxley has the same predilection as does Lucius Malfoy in admiring and abusing young and underage girls. The prostitute in the photo, who we will not name, was a Romanian girl that was only sixteen! The girl can be seen placing her hand on Mr. Yaxley's penis while wearing clothes that hide nothing. It was said that not long after this photo was taken, they entered the building and that Yaxley didn't leave until three hours later.
"The young prostitutes are allegedly, now, so comfortable with their living arrangements, that they go for lunch in groups while wearing their pajamas, and they stock up on sex supplies from the nearby shops that sell them.
"We, at The Magic Eye, dear reader, must ask: why are the Death Eaters so infatuated with debauchery and perversion, and especially in selecting very young muggle girls, or boys, to have their way with? You, the readers, should demand the answers to these questions.
"If we find out more details, we will be sure to let you, the reader, know as soon as possible."
Once Daphne had finished, she glared at Harry, causing him to clear his throat, and smirk. "Harry?"
"What would you like to know, dear?" Harry asked.
"Was Tonks' hand on your todger?"
"Well, you see..."
"HARRY!" Hermione shouted, cutting Harry off, just as soon as they walked through the door of the pub.
Hermione hugged Harry from behind, and then said, "Hello, Greengrass." However, for some reason, Daphne noticed, Hermione had a smirk on her face.
"Hello, Hermione," Daphne said, as she wouldn't stoop to using surnames, today.
Ron shook Harry's hand, said hello to Daphne, and he and Hermione took up the two chairs across from Harry and Daphne, inviting themselves.
"What's good for lunch, mate?" Ron asked after pulling his chair close to Hermione's and plopping himself down.
Harry and Daphne, though, watched Hermione wince and bite her lip as she sat down on the hard wooden dining chair.
"Something wrong, Hermione?" Harry asked with concern.
"Just made myself a little sore from riding a broom is all," Hermione quickly said, which made Ron blush to his roots. They also noticed Ginny give the two a look of incredulity as she sat down with her parents at the table behind them.
Uh-huh, Daphne thought, I bet you did ride a broom that made you sore, and it was one that was white with a plum end, and it probably had ginger freckles all over it. Pansy had been the same way after Blaise plumbed her depths, but Malfoy, though, didn't seem to have bothered her that much, which made her almost snort.
"Er, uh, mate, what's good?" Ron asked, again.
"Oh," Harry said, "try a couple of their Hog Roast Baps with brown sauce, an order of chips, ketchup, and a pint of stout. That'll put hair on your chest!"
Ron eyed Harry's half-drank mug at that and licked his lips. "I wish! Mum and Da' would have a fit of apoplexy if I tried to order a pint."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Harry said, chagrinned. "Butterbeer it is, then!"
Hermione looked scandalized at Harry's choice of drink, as well, but Daphne looked amused, making Hermione huff. If Hermione only knew about the champagne that they drank, Daphne thought!
"So, Hermione," Daphne inquired, "here for your school shopping?"
Headmaster Dumbledore met Severus Snape at the Hog's Head and led the man down into Aberforth's sitting room, where he gave a quick hello to his sister's portrait.
"Now, Severus," Dumbledore inquired after sitting down at his brother's small dining table, "what is so urgent?"
"Headmaster," Snape said as he began to pace, "the Dark Lord is very displeased, and not only about that blasted new paper, but also about the law that was passed yesterday.
"Narcissa is up in arms about that, and is thinking about withdrawing half their money from Gringotts."
"She's going to do a runner, then?" Albus asked.
"What, no, I don't think so," Snape replied.
"Are you sure, Severus," Dumbledore chuckled, "especially after that article came out about Lucius and Bellatrix?"
This left Snape gaping at the old headmaster for a moment.
"No, she couldn't be," Snape said, though he didn't sound too sure.
"Think about young Mr. Malfoy, Severus," Dumbledore said, "and the predicament that the young lad will be in when he returns to Hogwarts. I would almost bet that he and his mother are persona non grata, now, in every British wizarding establishment besides Gringotts. Lucius has brought great shame to the family.
"Also, my boy, what do you think about the Eye's article about Yaxley?"
Here, Snape gave out a loud harumph and began his pacing again.
"I think that paper is going to target everyone close to the Dark Lord, whether they tell the truth, or not!"
"Are you positive," Dumbledore asked, "that they are not telling the truth? After all, you, yourself, have told me of some of their escapades with the captured muggles."
Severus now looked like he had just swallowed an entire tin of pickled prunes.
"Are you afraid, Severus," Dumbledore inquired, "that the paper will dig into your past?"
Snape looked as if he would explode.
Harry was walking Daphne back up the drive at Greenhill, and they were holding hands.
"Harry, dear," Daphne said, "was Tonks holding your todger?"
Harry did a double-take at his fiancée over the question and remembered that she had already asked that before they were interrupted.
"No, dear," Harry quickly explained, "her hand was held about a half-inch away from it. She didn't touch it, but it had to be close enough for the photo to come out right."
"Good!" Daphne exclaimed with a satisfied sniff.
"We need to set a time for some more sexual relief," Daphne said as if talking about homework, "as I'm starting to become bothered again."
"Um, yes, dear," Harry stuttered out, "anytime you want. I'm becoming rather bothered, again, myself."
"Hmmmmm," Daphne hummed and continued their walk for a bit before she slyly glanced over at Harry. "Maybe, we can try some new things, you know, without going all the way?"
Here, Harry cleared his throat, and answered in a rather higher-pitched voice, "Anything you want, dear!"
"Oh, look," Daphne said, "there's Mum and Da'!"
Harry blushed to his roots.
A/N: The rest will go fast showing newspaper articles until just before November first, and Daphne catching the train to Hogwarts. Harry and Daphne will have a going-away supper, and then, he heads to New Orleans.