Hello all. I'm sure you all enjoyed the end of the last chapter... or maybe no according to some reviews. It certainly was ... well, something.
Of course, there will be consequences from that event; when isn't there?
I don't usually update so soon but as I knew they next few chapters are linked quite closely together due to one major event I'm going to try to post them as closely together as I can so they details stay fresh for the readers.
Also, I'm going away on a cruise to the Canary Islands for the next two weeks and planning to switch off from the internet completely, but I'm hoping to come back to lots of reviews and return with inspiration after all that time in the sun to continue with this the way I've been planning for it to go.
Please enjoy this chapter :)
Chapter 32 – Shifting Sands
Thankfully, it's still early enough in the morning that no one else is up as he apparates outside the gates of the school and makes his slow way up to the castle. As he walks, the memories of last night come filtering back in, clearer than he's ready for.
Given his father's penchant for living in the bottle, drinking to oblivion isn't something Severus ever indulged in. Additionally, also unlike his father, Severus's tolerance for alcohol is a lot lower than he leads people to believe. He usually doesn't indulge in more than a glass or two of whatever he is drinking, depending on the alcohol in question. Last night, he simply hadn't been in the mindset to come back to his empty chambers. He hadn't been looking forward to knowing that Holly wouldn't be there for at least a week or two.
On one hand, it would have meant she'd be away from Potter. Severus is planning to visit Grimmauld Place daily while Holly is away, at Headquarters, far from the influence of Potter. Yet, it also meant he'd be returning to his private quarters alone every night she was away. He's unable to believe how quickly he got used to her presence.
Overindulging as he had done last and sleeping with Tonks to compound the issue? Severus is mortified at himself. It's wrong on so many levels.
He lists all the reasons the whole thing, in no particular order, is all one massive mistake as he walks to the dungeons;
She used to be his student
She's Narcissa's niece
She's Regulus's cousin
She's too hyper, happy and never able to sit still
Too colourful with her awful pink hair
Her closeness to Black and his werewolf companion
Her chumminess with Potter and his posse
She's an Auror
Her mentor is Moody
The Weasleys
He has Holly to think about
He simply has too much going on in his life right now to be thinking about a dalliance with Nymphadora Tonks. He can just see it now. She'll be clingy and needy, wanting to be with him all the time. He's had enough of that with Jasmine. He couldn't put up with that type of behaviour again.
He freezes mid-step as a thought occurs to him. He hadn't cast any Protection spells last night. He groans. He can barely get his first child to acknowledge his presence; he doesn't know what he's going to do if he ends up with another.
He puts a swift end to those runaway thoughts. He almost debates going back to the safe House to speak to Tonks before he remembers Moody's Patronus. She's probably long gone from there. He'll need to speak to her at the first opportunity about how to handle the whole situation. And nip the whole thing in the bud before she gets any ideas that they might be in a relationship just because they've had one drunken tryst.
Decision made, he employs an old Occlumency trick to hide it all away behind his shields before making his way to the dungeons once; thankfully not running into another soul.
Still, as he's showering, he can't help the images of her body pressed against his, her curves under his hands, sinking into her…
He groans as he turns the temperature down. He quaffs down a Hangover potion after he's out and lies down, intending to close his eyes only for a second. He falls asleep in seconds, towel loosely wrapped around his waist.
ooOoo
Meanwhile, in the dungeons, Draco sullenly joins the rest of the Slytherins in the gym. He wonders why they can't take the morning off today. There's no Duelling club scheduled today, most likely due to the Hogsmeade trip.
Draco can't help but needle Potter that Holly is entrusted to his care (out of Holly's and his father's earshot) but frustratingly, Scarhead just ignores him, making Draco glower at him all the more.
Draco always thought he was in peak physical condition from all his Quidditch training, but even after several weeks of exercising with his father and the others, he's still struggling. He knows he's improved, but he's wanting nothing more than to be on Potter's level. He pushes himself hard, against the advice of Potter and Thomas but he ignores them as he tries to follow their exercises, which admittedly are more advanced than the ones Theo and Daphne are told to follow.
It's only due to McGonagall's continued presence that he doesn't try to use the more advanced equipment. Draco doesn't know why the old hag is there as often as she is, according to his father, her presence is a new development, but as he doesn't want lose face in front of his father and his friends and Holly, and especially Potter, he doesn't go against the stupid rules; like a good little boy.
The Gryffindor Quidditch team (minus Ron Weasley), Longbottom and Hopkins have also become regulars almost every Saturday morning. For Merlin's sake, even Longbottom performs better than Draco!
It's as Draco and the Slytherins take a break from their exercises that Johnson whistles for the Gryffindors to gather around them.
"Are you doing it now? Are you doing it now?" Holly shrieks excitedly.
"Doing what?" Lucius asks, curiously with a smile for Holly.
"Quidditch practice," Holly explains in a bubbly voice. "Using Parkour. I want to see it. Harry's been practising."
"You're okay with having Quidditch practice with us here?" Blaise questions.
"We're missing our Keeper," Johnson shrugs, "but this isn't a scheduled practice. This is an impromptu training."
"What are you going to do?" Lucius questions with interest.
"Parkour," Holly bursts out impatiently.
"We'll show you," Potter says a little more tamely, giving Holly a small smile.
"How to fly without a broom," Johnson says wickedly as if she's finishing Potter's sentence.
Draco scoffs, "You're delusional."
The Quidditch team exchanges conspirational looks between them.
"Wanna join in, Neville?" one of the Weasleys asks with a roguish wink.
"Definitely not," Longbottom shudders. "I'm not at that level."
"Dean?" Bell questions.
"Oh, I'm in," Thomas replies eagerly.
"If you will, Professor," the other Weasley twin bows exaggeratedly.
McGonagall goes over to the box labelled Games, waves her wand over it, and brings out a smaller box labelled Arena.
The Gryffindors remove themselves from the side of the room that is furthest from the entrance to allow for space, while also emptying the space of any other equipment. McGonagall enlarges the Arena box, which is placed against the back wall. It's almost like a large room in itself, full of random boxes, hanging bars, ladders that are placed horizontally and vertically. All in all it looks like an obstacle course of some sort.
Draco and the others look at it with expressions varying from confusion to intrigue. McGonagall takes her self-assigned seat at her "breakfast table", conjuring up extra padded chairs for everyone to join. Longbottom heads over without hesitation, followed by Lucius. Draco has to be pushed along by Theo. Pansy seats herself next to Draco without prompting and everyone else arranges themselves around the expanded table. McGonagall calls for a House-Elf to provide tea and other refreshments.
The Gryffindors group together to have a quick discussion of some sort.
Bell breaks off to grab the Quaffle, while Johnson activates something brings out the Quidditch hoops for scoring. One of the Weasleys bring out the Beaters bats and also two belts that each Weasley puts on. He recognises the tennis balls he's seen Holly play with, stuck on the belt. Each Weasley has six tennis balls on their belts and the bat also is secured at the waist.
"Safety first, ladies and gents," McGonagall calls out.
"Yes, professor," the Gryffindors chorus.
Thomas and Holly, sporting huge grins, fetch another box, bringing out helmets and various other safety equipment McGonagall insists they wear.
Within minutes, the Gryffindors and Holly are decked out in headgear, elbow and kneepads. Holly jumps up and down excitedly.
"What's the objective?" Draco's father asks.
Draco simply feels bewildered, wondering what the point is. How are they going to fly without brooms?
A timer is set, counting down for three minutes.
A whistle goes off.
Holly, Potter and Thomas run off immediately, all in different directions. Fifteen seconds later they are joined by the Chasers. He had assumed that the girls would be taking the Quaffle with them but looking around it seems have disappeared. Where is it?
Another fifteen seconds later, the Weasleys enter the arena. Draco feels like he needs three pairs of eyes to take everything in. When he was seven, Draco remembers his parents taking him to a Zoo. The way the Gryffindors and Holly swing and jump and backflip from obstacle to obstacle reminds him of the Chimpanzees moving from branch to branch.
Despite her smaller stature, Holly is easily able to keep ahead of the tennis balls aimed her way from one Beaters, who has to stop and get his bearings before he can aim. However, the tennis balls continue their trajectory, so the Beaters are forced to jump to find one to aim towards everyone else. When the timer is a minute down, the Quaffle comes into play, coming out of nowhere.
One of the Chasers begins making her way towards it, gracefully moving from one obstacle to the next. Draco wishes he could have brought his Omnioculars so he could have recorded this to watch again.
The young blond thinks he's watching them all, but truthfully, his eyes stray towards Potter the most. He swallows as he watches Potter. Potter is wearing shorts again, so Draco can see the muscles in the other boy's thighs tense when ready for a jump. Where Thomas's top rides up to expose his toned mid-riff, Potter's stays frustrating stuck in place.
Most of all, he is struck by the sheer joy on Potter's face. Potter looks like he's enjoying this Parkour thing so much. His reflexes are flawless.
Unfortunately for Draco, someone else notices his pre-occupation with Potter. Pansy gives him the most betrayed look he's ever had aimed at him, but he's too busy watching the Boy Who Lived to notice. Even his father notices Draco's eyes on Potter and Pansy's eyes on Draco.
The timer reaches zero, a loud whistle sounds and the Gryffindors stop where they are.
"Well done," McGonagall beams at them. "Madam Hooch will be sorry she missed such a performance. It's not often she gets to see her arena being used."
"That was amazing," Blaise calls out enthusiastically. "I want to learn how to do that. When can we?"
"It all comes from a good core," Longbottom explains. "Dean is trying to show me how to develop my core better but I don't know if I want to quite learn how to do all that."
"Me neither," Theo agrees. "But it is impressive. What is it called again?"
"Parkour," Longbottom tells him.
"It wasn't that impressive," Draco shrugs.
He doesn't see the others exchange eye rolls behind his back.
"Drink some water," Lucius says, floating over a glass for each of them.
They each chug down their respective glass with no argument. Thomas pauses only long enough to lift the hem of his top to wipe the sweat from his brow, exposing his abs once more. Draco expectantly looks to Potter, awaiting the same movement, but Lucius hands Potter (and the girls) a towel instead to clean up with.
Not that Draco is wanting to look at how toned Potter's abs might be. At least Scarhead is more civilised than Mudblood Thomas. Who cleans themselves with their sweaty clothes anyway?
He does find himself glaring resentfully at how familiar his father is with the Orphan Who Lived. How dare his father get so close to Potter? It's a betrayal.
And letting Potter touch him to adjust his grip when Lucius tries to swing from the Rings? Potter tries to explain something about his core, pointing his own mid-riff at first, and then begins touching his father's abdomen, something about breathing techniques.
Draco tries to get closer, but Pansy keeps interfering until he's forced to snap at her.
She stomps off in a huff, snapping something he doesn't hear because his eyes are still glued to Potter. Stupid Potter. What's so good about him anyway?
He's about to go over and interfere when Theo calls him over. Draco can't concentrate at all on his own exercises.
ooOoo
A couple of hours later, Draco is showered and in fresh clothes; he and his friends have already had their breakfast.
He and his dormmates are ready to collect Holly from his father's office, so he eagerly discusses plans on where to take her first.
"We should go straight to the Three Broomsticks before it gets busy," Draco rambles as they walk. "Get a drink or two in then maybe we could go to Honeydukes."
"You know Holly's been to Hogsmeade with your father and Professor Snape at the beginning of the year, remember?" Blaise points out.
Undeterred, Draco continues, "Yes, but it's different with adults. They probably never took her anywhere fun and let her explore the village. She can do that with us today."
He doesn't notice how quiet Pansy is or how the girls exchange looks with each other.
"There won't be much time," Daphne tells him. "Your mother will be coming to pick her up before you know it."
Draco ignores her words and carries on speaking, "We can still hit quite a few places. We don't have to spend long in each shop."
He pulls out a parchment of all the places he wants to take Holly. He knows she's already been to the Three Broomsticks, Honeydukes and the Shrieking Shack. He can take Holly to all those places again and the other places that his father and godfather never took her to.
He ignores Theo's eye roll and happily thinks of all the places he could show off to Holly. He thinks smugly of how he's getting to show Holly around the village instead of Potter. This is his chance to show Holly he's better than Potter.
He can buy Holly anything she wants. His father hadn't increased his pocket money this year. In fact, after his mudblood comment in the summer, his pocket money had been reduced to a paltry seven galleons a week.
Usually, he would buy stuff through owl order throughout the year, banking on the considerable supplement he usually gets to buy Christmas gifts. However, with his limited funds this year, he's had no choice but to ensure he saves up. After his stunt in Potions class, when he broke Potter's sample, his father threatened to withdraw his Christmas money. All of this meant he had to be careful about how he spent his money.
However, he's also realised how much money he was spending on snacks. Vince and Greg, though they bought their own snacks every time Draco used to send his own owl order to Honeydukes, still liked to plough through Draco's stash.
This year, he'd ordered as much as he's always done, out of habit. However, without Vince and Greg to deplete his hoard, he realised how much he still had left over, which at least meant he didn't have to replenish asa often as he used to have to. That was galleons saved.
This means he does have enough to spoil Holly with, though he's planning on asking his father for some extra galleons before they leave for Hogsmeade.
Upon reaching his father's office, he knocks more enthusiastically on the door than he intends to. The door opens straight away by Lucius, who greets them all and invites them in.
"Draco's here, Holly darling," Lucius says as he steps back to allow them to enter.
Holly doesn't look enthusiastic at seeing Draco, which he tries not to allow to spoil his mood. He knows she's still not forgiven him for breaking Potter's sample, but he can redeem himself today. He can show her he's a good big brother. Better than Potter, even. He just needs the same chance Potter got.
"You're bringing my bag later?" she asks, barely acknowledging Draco.
"Yes, my darling," his father says in the vein of someone who has repeated the same statement several times. "Have you got your money?"
"Oh, I left it on the table," she says and darts off before Draco can stop her.
"I've got enough money to pay for whatever she wants," Draco tells his father.
"Severus has been providing Holly with her pocket money since the beginning of the school year. She's eager to spend it," Lucius reveals.
Stepping away from his friends, he approaches his father for a private word.
Clearing his throat, he asks, "Could I have some extra galleons?"
Lucius looks at him with a smirk, "You just said you had enough money to pay for whatever Holly wants? Why do you then require extra money?"
Draco hides his scowl and quickly says, "What if I see something I like for Christmas?"
Unmoved, Lucius says, "Make a note of the item in question and request an owl order catalogue. There will be another Hogsmeade weekend closer to Christmas break. If you've been on your best behaviour until then, we can revisit your allowance at that point."
"Yes, Father," he sighs, feeling discouraged. It seems his father will continue to punish him for this. He's already apologised to everyone. He should have kept his mouth shut about saving enough money to pay for Holly; perhaps he could have used wanting to get something for her as an excuse for increasing his allowance.
Shifting his attention to the others, who had discreetly moved away to give father and son some privacy, Lucius calls for their attention.
"Remember to stick in groups. Be vigilant. Yaxley and his friends might be hiding right now, but that doesn't mean you can relax your guard. Until Narcissa and Regulus collect Holly together, she is your responsibility. All of you. Keep her safe. No one walks alone. No one leaves Holly alone."
He gives them a look laden with threat and though he says all of them, by the weight of his eyes on Draco, the young Malfoy knows that he will be held accountable more than anyone should anything happen to Holly.
"Severus is trusting you," Lucius finishes quietly.
"Yes, Father," Draco says at the same time as the others say, "Yes, sir."
ooOoo
Dudley arrives at Grimmalud Place, with Andromeda, a little later than he intended due to delays on the train. It's at times like that that he wishes for Wizard powers so he can apparate to his destination. The money he could save on public transport alone would be worth it. Though he wouldn't mind forking over the pounds for a ride on the Knight Bus Harry told him about. From the way his cousin described it, it's enough to rival any ride at Thorpe Park.
"After you, Dudley," Andromeda gestures for him to enter.
He thanks her and enters the dark house. Regulus told him that he'd spent a lot of time and money on renovations, but the Black family are dark by nature, and unfortunately, some things just seeped into wards over the centuries.
Dudley doesn't think it's so bad, though occasionally, there is a creepy vibe to the place. Made creepier with Kreacher lurking in the shadows.
He and Andromeda go into the kitchen as per usual. He expects everyone to be waiting there in their workout gear like normal. However, he's surprised to see Regulus and Narcissa dressed to go out.
"Hi, Mrs Malfoy. Welcome back, Regulus. How was your trip?" he greets, but then, without waiting for an answer, he asks, "Are you not joining us today?"
"My trip was fine," Regulus answers. "And no, we're not joining today. In fact, we decided to have a break this weekend. No one's coming today."
"Oh," Dudley says, disappointed. Assuming they didn't have time to tell him before he got on the train, he asks, "Is someone taking me back to Surrey. Or I can take the train back home."
"Well, we were hoping you might want to join us," Narcissa says with a smile.
"Unless you want to go back to your parents' house," Regulus says mildly.
"Where are you going? More shopping?" he cautiously queries. Shopping trips with Narcissa can be more exhausting than a workout.
"Sit down, Dudley, and we'll tell you everything," Regulus gestures to a chair beside him. "Have you had a proper breakfast?"
"Just porridge," he answers. It's enough to fuel him for a workout without making him feel bloated.
Narcissa summons Kreacher as Regulus explains, "Lucius sent a letter this week. Holly's been wanting to visit."
"Holly's coming today?" he asks excitedly, immediately perking up.
"Yes, she is," Regulus answers with a wide smile. "We're going to Hogsmeade to pick her up in a while."
Narcissa explains Holly's request to visit as Dudley serves himself sausages and toast. A warm glow settles over him as he's told that Holly wants to visit him and Mrs Figg, too. He knows he can never take Harry's place in Holly's life, but he still looks at the little girl as a younger sister.
Holly couldn't comprehend how much she and Iris had changed not only Harry's life, but his also.
"She's really staying for two weeks?" he asks eagerly. "Is Mrs Figg coming over here?"
Dudley's glad he'll be able to see Holly before the Christmas holidays. Though they exchange letters, it's not the same as seeing each other in person.
"We were wondering if you wanted to come with us?" Narcissa asks.
"Seriously!" he asks, beaming a wide smile. "Go to Hogsmeade? Would I be allowed in?"
"Why wouldn't you be?" Regulus says with a frown. "It's a village like any other. You're entitled to be there as much as anyone. You won't be able to go into Hogwarts, but you'll be able to see the castle from the gates, which we'll take you to."
Regulus explains that Narcissa's son, Draco, will be taking Holly around the village, and they agreed to take Holly from him and his friends outside the Three Broomsticks. However, they were planning to stay in the pub for an hour so that they could spend time with Harry as well before coming back.
Dudley knows Harry doesn't get along with Holly's dad. He's not entirely sure of the whole story. Sirius told him Snape hurt Harry really badly on the first day of classes after finding out Harry and Holly were so close. Regulus explained further that it was all a misunderstanding, and Snape had been punished for it. That didn't mean Dudley was keen on meeting Holly's dad. Harry used to complain about the man but then abruptly stopped around his third year at some point.
A thought occurs to Dudley. Was it because Harry knew Snape was Holly's dad? It could be possible. He tries to follow the thought but is interrupted by Regulus.
"Why don't you get changed after you've eaten? Sirius is still doing a workout, but he'll be up to see you before we go."
Dudley nods agreeably, feeling eager to get going. He can't believe he'll get to go to Hogsmeade. He's never been to Diagon Alley; it's supposed to be amazing. However, Hogsmeade is supposed to be an all-magical community. Where Diagon Alley has more shops than a residential area, though some shops might include flats above their premises, Hogsmeade is supposed to be a fully magical area with magical people living there constantly.
The history of Hogsmeade is so fascinating from the books Harry's provided. And he'll finally get to meet Harry's friends as well. He's heard so much about Hermione, Ron and Neville. And he'll also get to meet Luna, Harry's girlfriend. And all of Harry's other gym friends. He's looking forward to it all.
ooOoo
Delores wrinkles her nose at the dirty table she seats herself at. Her stark pink robes stand out like a dragon among bowtruckles. Why her contact chose the Hogs Head to meet is beyond her.
She knows she's being watched, but she expected that. She's certainly different from their typical clientele. A… creature wrapped in mummy-style bandages walks out ten minutes later while Delores waits for her contact.
This place is full of filth, and that's just the customers. Hags, werewolves, filthy half-breeds. Delores would much instead prefer to meet in Three Broomsticks, which is much cleaner. Or better yet, Eden's in Diagon Alley. A much classier place, rather than a Hogsmeade village teeming with school children. The horrid little beasts shouldn't be let out of school.
She doesn't know the name of the wizard coming to meet her, but she expects to be paid handsomely for the Guardian Medallions she's got in her purse. She's sold the two she had for fifty galleons each. She has ten more in her bag, but she's not settling for a knut under seventy-five galleons per medallion. Not with the effort it's taken her to get them. Despite her lower position, she still has plenty of connections thanks to all the blackmail she's gathered over the past few decades.
A shadow looms over her, and a figure dressed in black takes a seat across from her.
"You could have dressed more discreetly," the wizard mutters, gesturing for a glass of fire whiskey from the bartender. "Leave the bottle," the dark wizard says as the old man slams a shot glass and bottle in front of them.
"Anything for the lady?" the grimy man sneers at Delores.
"No. As you were," she wrinkles her nose at him, making shooing motions with her hand.
He snorts at her as if amused but lumbers off without another word, taking the fistful of coins the dark wizard thrust into his hands while serving the new person who just stumbles in, clearly already having had too much. Shady people, indeed. It's barely noon!
Delores looks at the man expectantly. She can't see his face, given that it is covered up completely, but she can imagine the imbecilic eye roll the man gives from under the hood. He brings out his wand to erect a Privacy Ward before pouring himself a shot.
"Do you have the Medallions?" the other asks.
"Yes," she replies tersely.
"How many?"
"Ten."
The wizard brings out a bag of galleons.
"Five hundred galleons as agreed," the man tells her. "Now, hand over the Medallions."
"The price has gone up."
Instead of being indignant as Deleores expects, the wizard laughs at her.
"To what?" he asks derisively, throwing back his firewhiskey.
His attitude rankles her like nothing else.
"A hundred and fifty galleons each," she says through gritted teeth.
He hoots in laughter as he pours another shot.
Delores is determined to teach this imbecile some respect. How dare he laugh at her?
ooOoo
Draco won't stop talking to Holly. It's not that he's not paying any attention to Pansy, or that he's paying more attention to Holly than he is to her – though that bothers her too. It's that he won't shut up about absolutely useless information that even Holly doesn't care about.
If Draco actually paid attention to what's actually in front of him rather than what he thinks he sees, then he'd realise that Holly is bored out of her mind.
Pansy has no particular feelings for Holly. She's just Snape's kid. But she means a lot to Draco, which Pansy doesn't even understand. So what if Draco is Snape's godson? That doesn't actually make Holly anything to Draco. There's no actual relationship there. Draco is only possessive about Holly because of Potter.
Pansy's been trying to ignore Draco's inattention for so long. If it's not Holly this or Holly that, it's Potter this and Potter that. And now he also won't stop talking about Looney Lovegood, just because she's Potter's girlfriend.
She slants a resentful glance towards Draco, who, as usual, doesn't notice.
"I need to talk to you, Draco," she announces abruptly, interrupting his useless spiel of the Shrieking Shack to everyone's gratitude.
"I'm in the middle of-"
"It's okay," Holly says quickly. "You should talk to Pansy."
"I'm not supposed to leave Holly alone."
"Blaise and Theo are with her," Pansy says uncaringly. "Besides, we're not going far."
Draco follows her reluctantly, sliding looks over his shoulder to keep an eye on Holly.
"Is this really the time to snog, Pansy?" Draco asks with a scowl as he crosses his arms over his chest.
"I'm breaking up with you," she says snappily.
"What?" he says, startled.
"You heard," she says curtly.
"You can't break up with me!" he tells her.
Pansy always thought Draco was commanding but only recently has begun to see him as a petulant brat. Even before Hogwarts, Draco had been obsessed with Harry Potter. When Potter refused to shake his hand on the train in his first year, Draco became even more obsessed. Pansy supported his crusade against Potter and his group in the past, but lately, it's been ridiculous.
Pansy deserves to be acknowledged as her own person. Not someone to snog whenever Draco gets jealous at seeing Potter and Lovegood together. Pansy's ashamed she's let Draco use her like that. He's probably not even thinking of Pansy when they're kissing.
ooOoo
Lucius completes the last of the marking with a satisfied sigh. There. All done. Now, he doesn't have to worry about this unmarked homework at all this weekend.
Marking homework is, hands down, the worst part of being a teacher.
He's got to admit that after listening to Seveus complain about teaching for the past fourteen years, Lucius had been apprehensive about taking on the DADA position. However, he's enjoying himself immensely. Perhaps once he begins his own version of the Slug Club, he could scout for ambitious students to whom he could delegate the marking.
Anything up to third and fourth years could be considered revision for NEWT-level students. And would garner a good reference from him. It worked for Slughorn. Lucius can make it work for himself.
Seriously, Severus has lost so many opportunities this past decade. The network he could have built.
Speaking of Severus…
He realises in bemusement that Severus hasn't contacted him at all. He looks at the time. It's almost eleven. Severus's patrol doesn't start until noon, and though they'd made no plans to meet beforehand, Lucius did expect Severus to pop by his office or send a message. They were going to walk down to the village together.
He packs away his marked homework in a secure drawer. He heads back into this private room to pick up his cloak and Holly's shrunken bag that she wants to take with her to Grimmauld Place, then heads towards the dungeons.
He knocks on Severus's door and waits for it to be answered.
He frowns when he's kept waiting. Is Severus not in?
He knocks again and waits, but there's still no answer. As he's keyed into the wards, he decides to walk straight in to check.
"Severus?" he calls as he enters the sitting area.
There's no reply, but Severus's door is slightly ajar, which Lucius finds unusual as Severus keeps his door closed no matter whether he's in his room or not.
He moves towards Severus's room, though he doesn't believe Severus would be in there. Severus isn't the kind of wizard to sleep in. He's most likely to be in his Potions Lab or office. Lucius should have just gone there instead.
To his everlasting surprise, Severus is there in bed. Concerned, he steps forward to check on his brother, unfortunately seeing more of the pale wizard than he's ever wanted to. With a slight grimace, he covers Severus with his loose towel and then lays the back of his hand to check the man's temperature. Relief floods when he feels Severus isn't warmer than usual.
He shakes his brother awake with a soft, "Severus, wake up."
Groggily, Severus opens his eyes, wincing slightly.
Lucius steps back to give his brother some room.
"You've been drinking," the blond states, taking in Severus's condition.
"I may have had too much last night," Severus admits and, forgetting his naked state, moves to stand up.
"Cover yourself," Lucius warns as the towel slips.
Blushing slightly, Severus grabs the towel and fastens the towel securely around his waist.
"What time is it?" Severus asks, stepping towards his wardrobe.
Lucius answers absently as he stares narrow-eyed at the hungover wizard in front of him.
"You had sex last night," Lucius announces.
He knows he's hit the target when Severus stubs his toes and curses.
"Get out!" Severus snarls.
Amused, Lucius leaves the bedroom and waits for Severus in the kitchen area, summoning a tea tray and a light breakfast via a House Elf.
Severus has some explaining to do.
ooOoo
Draco doesn't expect Pansy to dump him.
How dare she? Why would she just chuck him away? It makes no sense. Pansy didn't even explain why. He's done nothing wrong.
He buys her favourite chocolates, like always. He's even been planning to buy her the gold bracelet she'd been talking about for Christmas. He's been a good, attentive boyfriend. He just doesn't understand.
Still within a reasonable distance from Draco, Blaise breaks away from Theo and Holly to approach the blond.
"What's happened? Where did Pansy go? By herself?"
Later, he will realise that Blaise doesn't really look surprised but in that moment, Draco's still too much in shock.
"Pansy broke up with me," Draco says faintly.
"That's sudden," Blaise says woodenly. "Did she say why?"
"No," Draco replies faintly. "She didn't."
"You feeling okay?" Blaise tentatively asks.
"I don't know."
Before either of them can say anything further, they're approached by Theo and Holly.
"Why did Pansy leave?" Holly asks, sounding like she doesn't really care about the answer.
"Pansy broke up with me," Draco repeats as Blaise looks to the blond for direction.
"You weren't a very good boyfriend to her," Holly tells him with shocking frankness.
Theo and Blaise exchange glances and look away from each other.
"Yes, I was," Draco denies hotly.
"If you say so," Holly shrugs uncaringly.
"I didn't-"
"Can we go to the Three Broomsticks now? I really need to use the loo," she interrupts before Draco can defend himself further.
"I want to go to Honeydukes first," Draco says petulantly. "I'll be quick," he adds at seeing the mulish look on the girl's face.
However, he ends up taking close to an hour prevaricating over various different chocolates. He picks out several of what he thinks are Pansy's favourites.
"Can we go now?" Holly asks impatiently. "I really need to go."
"Let me quickly pop into Gladrags," Draco says. He's decided that Pansy is just in a snit for no reason. All he needs to do is buy her a few gifts, and she'll be okay. "It's really close. It won't take me long."
Holly reluctantly agrees. However, as they approach Gladrags, she stops and says, "Look. The Hogs Head. Is that a pub? They'll have a loo I can use, right?"
"The Hogs Head?" Draco says, horrified. "Our fathers will have my head if I let you step foot in there. Look, here's Gladrags. I'll be really quick, and then we'll head straight to the Three Broomsticks. Mother and Uncle Regulus will pick you up from there anyway."
Holly looks antsy but nods with a pinched face.
However, as she enters Gladrags, she makes a beeline for the counter, asking the saleswitch about using the facilities. Which she is unfortunately denied as they're for staff only.
"I'm sorry, my love," the witch says sympathetically.
Holly nods understandingly, if a little miserably.
"Be quick, Draco," Theo says, looking at Holly's pinched face.
Draco nods and takes a look at the various shelves for the perfect scarf for Pansy. He summons over the saleswitch for assistance, pulling in his reluctant friends for their opinions also.
Blaise and Theo, at least in the beginning, keep an eye on Holly until a snappy Draco demands more and more of their attention.
None of them notice for several minutes that Holly leaves the shop, heading straight for the Hogs Head.
ooOoo
Holly doesn't even spare a guilty at Draco and his friends. She decides to go to the Hogs Head as it's closer.
Draco's just being an idiot because Pansy chucked him. Which Draco deserves. Holly doesn't like Pansy but Draco doesn't treat her like Harry treats Luna.
Holly just can't hold it any longer. She's been asking to use the toilet for an hour, and Draco's been annoying about it.
"Holly! What are you doing? Why are you alone?"
Holly turns to see Pansy coming over with Daphne, Tracey and Astoria.
"I really need to go to the toilet," Holly answers, quickly resuming her pace to the dark-looking pub.
"In there?" Daphne snaps.
"It's too far to the Broomsticks," Holly says without looking back.
"Where's Draco?"
Holly points vaguely in the direction of the shop she's come out of without saying anything. She doesn't realise the pub is further than it looks as she's practically run towards it in the misery of a full bladder.
"Should one of us find Draco?" Tracey asks as they all follow her.
"Stick together," Daphne says firmly. "Pansy's lucky she found us as quickly as she did. No one separates. I'll talk to Draco about letting Holly wander off by herself. The Professors are going to kill him. How can Blaise and Theo not keep an eye on her either?"
Just as Holly's about to push the door open to the pub, they're stopped by another voice, to Holly's frustration.
"What on earth are you girls doing!"
Holly turns to see Aunt Cissa approaching with Uncle Regulus. As happy as she is to see them, Holly's too desperate to stop and greet them.
With a scream of vexation and desperate tears in her eyes, Holly whines, "I really need to goooooo."
Pushing the door, she darts inside, heading straight for the bartender. Uncaring that all eyes are on her, she asks, "Loo, please?"
The bartender silently points in the direction of the ladies' toilets, and Holly runs off with a quick "Thank you."
By the time she comes out of the cubicle, Aunt Cissa is waiting for her at the sink, watching her wash her hands and offering her a conjured handkerchief to dry her hands with before vanishing it silently. It's only then that Holly realises the shabby state of the toilets.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Cissa," Holly says, in an infinitely better mood due to a relieved bladder.
Aunt Cissa gives her a quick reassuring hug, and they head back into the pub itself. It's only now that Holly sees why no one was pleased to let her come in here to use the toilets. It's a dark and dingy place with unfriendly eyes. Uncle Regulus is standing with the Slytherin girls, but once he sees Holly leave the toilets with Aunt Cissa, he begins to usher them all out.
Once they're clear from the pub, Uncle Regulus smiles and kneels in front of Holly for his own hug. Which she has no hesitation in returning.
"Do I get one of those too?" a familiar voice teases.
"Dudley!" Holly cries, happy to see him. Like Uncle Regulus, he kneels down, and she throws her arms around him, too. "I can't believe you're here."
"Me, too," he laughs. "Regulus and Mrs Malfoy invited me to see Hogsmeade with them."
"Great," she says with a smile. "We're about to go the Three Broomsticks now. Harry said he'd wait for us there. Have you been there yet?"
"No, not yet," Dudley replies, still smiling widely. "We've been to Honeydukes and some of the other shops in that area. I've even managed to get a few books to take back with me. And a few wizard comics. Regulus said I can keep them at his house since I can't take them home or school with me."
Before Holly can reply to that, both adults pointedly clear their throats, looking between Holly and the Slytherin girls.
"Now, can one of you tell me why you took Holly to the Hogs Head of all places?" Narcissa asks, looking strict.
"Don't blame them," Holly defends. "They saw me walking alone and made sure I wasn't. I really needed to go. Really bad."
"And why were you walking alone?" Narcissa turns her gaze on Holly.
Holly scowls, "I was with Draco, Blaise and Theo. They were looking at clothes. I asked Draco hours ago, and told him I needed to use the loo, but he kept saying he wanted to check out the chocolates and sweets and something about a scarf. He was trying to buy stuff so he could impress Pansy."
Aunt Cissa looks at Pansy in confusion.
Pansy doesn't look the older woman in the eye and mumbles, "Draco and I broke up."
Aunt Cissa gives the young girl a look of sympathy.
"Draco deserved it," Holly says with a snort. "He didn't treat you like a proper boyfriend. He doesn't even treat you like a friend. You should have chucked him sooner."
Pansy looks surprised at Holly's defence.
"Holly," Aunt Cissa admonishes, but Holly can tell she doesn't mean it.
Holly shrugs. "Just telling the truth."
Uncle Regulus clears his throat. "She probably means Gladrags if Draco was looking at clothes and robes. Let's head to Gladrags to tell the others we've officially collected Holly," he suggests.
"I'll be having words with that boy," Aunt Cissa says with a sigh.
She holds her hand out for Holly to hold, which she does without argument.
"I missed you," Holly says with a smile. "All of you. I can't wait to see your house, Uncle Regulus."
"We missed you too," Aunt Cissa replies, her smile equally pleased.
"We've picked out a few rooms for you to decorate. They're all near Harry's bedroom," Uncle Regulus tells her.
"Bedroom?" Holly questions.
"Of course," Uncle Regulus says with a serious nod. "You and Harry get a bedroom in my house. Along with our Dudley."
Dudley stops in his tracks, surprised. "What?"
Uncle Regulus gives Dudley a shrug and says, "You have a home with me and Harry. If you ever want to get away from your parents."
"Thanks," Dudley stutters, looking overwhelmed.
The Slytherin girls look in hidden confusion but don't ask questions. They reach Gladrags and walk inside.
The nice saleswitch from earlier approaches them straight away.
"You've had those boys in a tizzy," the witch says. "They saw you were missing and rushed out of here. The blond one was hyperventilating when he couldn't find you."
Holly hopes Draco got in so much trouble with everyone that she will never have to hang out with him again.
ooOoo
Earlier…
"Where's Holly?" Theo asks, finally able to get in a word when Draco takes a breath.
"She'll be around here," Draco says dismissively, still looking at the selection of scarves and glove sets. He'll also have to brave the monstrosity that is Madam Puddifoot's to placate Pansy.
Theo walks around the store and comes back within minutes.
"She's not here," he announces.
"She's probably hiding," Draco says tetchily, believing the girl is being annoying on purpose. He told her he'd be quick. She's just being impatient. He's not been that long in picking out his stuff for Pansy. She can hold it for longer.
They split up around the shop and are unable to see Holly anywhere. Calling for her yields no reply either.
They ask the saleswitch at the counter, who only shrugs, and Blaise has to drag Draco away before he snaps at her.
"She said she needed the loo," Blaise reminds Draco pointedly. "Maybe we should head towards the Hogs Head? She might have gone in there."
"Don't be ridiculous," Draco snaps. "We told her not to go there. She wouldn't have disobeyed."
Blaise opens his mouth to argue, but Draco ploughs over him. "She wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks. Let's just head straight there."
"One of us stay here," Theo suggests. "In case she comes back."
Draco's already shaking his head. "No. We should all stick together."
Blaise and Theo give him matching looks of frustration.
"Look, Draco-" Blaise begins.
"We're sticking together," Draco says roughly. His father and godfather will kill him if they don't find Holly. His mother will kill him. Regulus will kill him. He's so dead.
Merlin, why couldn't Holly just obey him for once?
He's not taking the blame for this. Holly shouldn't have run off. She could have held it in for a little longer.
Together, they take off towards the Three Broomsticks, keeping an eye out for Holly on the streets, but don't see her anywhere.
They see Weasley and Granger coming out of the bookshop, but he ignores them, focusing on finding Holly.
They're not far from the popular student hangout, and Draco stops in his tracks as he sees Potter through the door.
Potters leans forward, laughing at something hidden.
It could only be Holly. She'd be too short to see through the window.
Draco sees red. Potter must have taken Holly. It would just be like the prat to disobey orders to get him in trouble. Potter is his father's favourite right now. Well, Draco is going to make Scarhead regret trying to get Draco into trouble.
Speeding up, leaving Blaise and Theo behind, he rushes to the door to the pub, throwing it open with a harshness that almost knocks the Orphan Who Lived over.
"Where is she, Potter?" he asks lividly.
ooOoo
Earlier that morning…
Harry smiles as he takes Luna's hand. They trail behind the group as they head towards Hogsmeade. He'd seen Holly leave in a carriage with Draco and the other Slytherins, but he and his friends decided to walk instead. It's a beautiful day, cloudy, yet no rain. There's a breeze that has the trees swaying gently but not enough to create a chill. Despite this, they're still dressed warmly.
They head to Honeydukes first as a group, where everyone stocks up on sweets and chocolates. Harry's got more than enough books from Oma to last a life time, so he doesn't follow Hermione to Tomes and Scrolls. Though he would have gone if Luna wanted to go.
Ron reluctantly follows Hermione to the bookshop, but only because it's close to Scrivenshafts, and he needs to buy more stationery. Also, he wanted to head to Zonko's to check out their products for Fred and George's research.
Neville, Harry and Luna skip past Zonko's and decide to walk around the village a little more before heading to the Three Broomsticks. Regulus is going to meet them there for a while before they take off with Holly later.
He wishes he could have shown Holly the village himself but knows Snape, despite their unofficial agreement, would never allow Harry and Holly to spend time outside the castle. Having Draco look after Holly during the Hogsmeade trip is a way to keep Harry and Holly away from each other, and apparently also a way to have Holly and Draco get along again.
That doesn't stop Harry from looking around to see if he can spot either of them. He tells himself that Draco is protective over Holly and would suffer the wrath of Snape and Lucius should anything ever happen to the girl. Lucius is supposed to come to Hogsmeade later to meet his wife and Snape is also supposed to be on patrol soon. That doesn't mean Harry can stop worrying about his little sister.
He makes an effort to listen to Luna, who notices his distraction but doesn't call him out on it other than squeezing his hand and giving him a reassuring smile.
"Daddy and I wanted to visit the merpeople in the Mediterranean. Muggles have scooby diving equipment," Luna tells him but is cut off when Harry gently corrects her.
"It's scuba diving."
Luna takes it with good grace and continues, "and they can go down quite far. Wizards with a combination of Gillyweed and a Bubblehead Charm, wixen can go almost as far but can't withstand the water pressure at the depths that merpeople like to hide. They've had to go further and further into hiding because of the advancements in muggle technology."
Luna and her father, despite their outward tendency to believe in things that no other witch or wizard would believe in, also have a refreshing ability to not take muggle technology at face value. It's the Lovegood's curiosity, much like Arthur Weasley's, with the muggle world that has them open to exploring more than the wizarding world.
Though Luna has a fascination with magical animals that no one else has heard of, much like her father, she is still open to exploring non-magical areas. And even though her knowledge of the muggle world isn't comprehensive, she is willing to learn without the eye rolls, exasperation and false fascination that even Ron exhibits sometimes.
A lot of Luna's most recent knowledge has come from her conversations with members of the UMPA club.
Harry doesn't know much about scuba diving but suggests that perhaps they can ask Dudley to find them some books on the topic.
"We can see how it works and perhaps make a magical version of the equipment," he speculates. Of course, enchanting muggle equipment is forbidden, at least according to the British Ministry. However, even at the age of fourteen, Luna is better travelled than Harry and has seen better magical advancements in places like Sweden, Austria and New Zealand.
There are plenty of other countries that Luna would like to visit that could offer other advancements. Harry would like to see them too someday, as long as Luna is there with him.
Neville leaves them to head into Dervish and Banges to get new gloves and socks.
"You should have got Hermione to knit you some," Harry jokes.
Neville snorts with laughter but then guiltily looks around to see if Hermione has heard them before skulking off.
"Hermione's knitting has improved," Luna defends.
"It has," Harry agrees, but for some reason Harry hasn't seen as many around for the last few weeks. In fact, Hermione has been down about something for most of the month. He still needs to have a conversation with Ron and Hermione about what they said in Holly's hearing. He's not happy about it, but he's decided to wait until Holly has gone before approaching them.
He simply doesn't understand why they have a problem with his sister. Admittedly, he's keeping a huge secret from them still, but it's not like he's suddenly sprung a sister on them from nowhere. He's always talked about her from the beginning.
If not for Holly and Oma, Harry would have no one to write to. Harry had undoubtedly been more meticulous in writing to people he considered family than either Hermione or Ron had.
Holly's more important to him than anyone else. Even Hermione and Ron. Why couldn't they understand that?
Luna's voice nudges him back on her.
"Hagrid said he wished he could have visited Romania this summer," Luna tells him.
Harry smiles fondly. Hagrid's love of dragons is so well known. He recalls his first year when he, Ron and Hermione helped sneak a dragon out of school. He'd been silly enough to forget his Invisibility Cloak in the tower and had been caught by Flich. The school had turned on him for losing his House so many points. It hadn't been the first or last time the school turned on him.
Even this year, due to the Daily Prophet articles, people have been questioning his sanity. Fudge has his head firmly buried in the sand. Harry didn't bother explaining himself, but he'd been surprised how the members of the UMPA club had his back. They all believed him. Even Sprout, who'd been cold towards him last year when his name came out of the Triwizard Tournament, overshadowing Diggory.
Harry wonders how long their support would last. They were willing to support him or vilify him at the drop of a hat.
Giving himself a mental shake, he comes back to Luna's comment.
"Maybe Hagrid should request some leave from Dumbledore," he suggests. "They can hire another Gamekeeper for the time Hagrid spends at the Romanian reserve, and he could visit Norbert."
Hagrid lives a simple life. He'd worked at Hogwarts ever since he'd been expelled in his third year and had only left the school if he was doing tasks for Dumbledore, as he had in the summer.
From Harry's sparse conversations with his half-giant friend, Hagrid easily has a nest egg that he could take a break for a year or two and travel around the world to visit the various Dragon reserves. Due to his size and stature, it would take him longer, but it's doable. Apart from the dragons, he could also visit Fluffy in Greece.
Harry believes that Hagrid is too used to the safety of the school to want to leave. Hogwarts had been his dream for so long. After being expelled, he'd probably been too afraid of leaving the school for fear of not being allowed back.
"I'd like to visit Fluffy," Luna says idly as if reading Harry's thoughts.
"Good thing you can carry a tune," Harry teases.
Luna's humming could definitely soothe the beast.
After another thirty minutes of casual walking, they head towards the Three Broomsticks. He opens the door to allow Luna to enter first, but as he enters, he accidentally knocks over Colin Creevey, who seems to have been bent over picking something up.
"Oops," Harry laughs. "Sorry, Colin."
"My fault, Harry," Colin says breathlessly as he takes the hand Harry offers to help him up. "I dropped my sickles."
Harry helps Colin pick up his money quickly. They're still blocking the door, and Harry doesn't want to get knocked over like he's done to Colin or have someone knock Colin over again.
Unfortunately, that doesn't happen, as whoever opens the door behind Harry does so violently that he's shoved forward harshly.
"Where is she, Potter?"
He turns around to see an angry Draco looking at him furiously.
Harry's mind races. Draco's supposed to look after Holly. If he's here accusing Harry, then that means –
"You lost her? You lost Holly?" he says, his own temper rising quickly and his heart racing.
"Don't be stupid, Potter," Draco snarls. "You took her!"
Harry grabs Draco by the lapels and pushes him backwards. If Zabini hadn't opened the door at that moment, Harry would have slammed Draco into it.
"I don't have her, Malfoy. You were supposed to be looking after her," he accuses.
Draco clearly doesn't believe as he continues to push back at Harry.
"Draco," Nott tries to intervene.
"Get out of my way, Malfoy," Harry says bitingly. "I'll look for Holly myself."
"You're the one who took her," Draco shouts, scrabbling with Harry.
Harry pushes Draco away in disgust.
"What's happening?" Neville asks as he rushes forward at seeing the scuffle.
"Holly's gone missing somewhere," Harry says in a rush. Looking at Draco and his friends, he demands, "Where was the last place you saw her?"
Whatever Draco is about to spew is cut off by Zabini, who says, "She was with us in Gladrags. She needed to lose the loo."
Harry nods. Wracking his brain, he asks, "What else is near there?"
"The Hogs Head pub. That'll have toilets," Zabini adds quickly.
"I'll start there," Harry says decisively.
"Stop pretending, Potter," Draco spits at him. "You're the one who took her."
Harry shakes his head in revulsion, giving the boy a look of such loathing that the blond takes a fearful step back.
"If something happens to Holly," Harry says menacingly, his threat unsaid.
"Regulus should be here soon with Mrs Malfoy," Harry says in a calmer voice to Zabini and Nott. They nod in acknowledgement. "Stay here and tell them what's happened."
They agree without hesitation.
"Luna," he begins.
"I'll come with you," she says instantly.
"Me, too," Neville volunteers.
"I can help, too," Colin pipes up.
"All right," Harry agrees. "We can split up when we get there. Check out Gladrags as well, in case she's gone back there."
The boys nod in unison and take off instantly.
Before he and Luna follow them, he turns back to the Slytherins and says, "If you see any professors, let them know too. And the Weasley twins."
Harry doesn't stick around to see their agreement. He turns his back on them, grabs Luna's hand and is about to walk away when he's hit from behind by a Tripping Jinx.
"Don't turn your back on me, Potter!"
ooOoo
Who the hell does Potter thinks he is by ordering Draco and his friends?
And when he turns his back on Draco, taking Lovegood's hand, Draco loses all his senses. He brings out a wand, sending a spell at Potter's back before he can even think about it.
"Don't turn your back on me, Potter!"
Although Draco's realised Potter's not taken Holly, however, he's too far gone to back down. He's got to find her before Potter and his gang do. He can't believe Blaise and Theo are conceding to Potter. Have they no self-respect?
"I don't have time to deal with you," Potter snarls once he's straightened up.
He knows he should stand down. Look for Holly instead of fighting Potter, but Draco refuses to back down, despising the feeling of being dismissed. He's not unimportant. Never has been. And he will show Potter that he's not going to be easy to take down. Last time he'd got cocky and underestimated Potter. But now he knows Potter's been taking duelling lessons with his father.
Well, so has Draco. He knows just the spell to take down Potter. He'd seen it in Uncle Sev's old book. It was titled For Enemies. Right now, Potter is his biggest enemy.
"Draco, what are you doing?" Blaise shouts at him.
If only Draco could wake up to the fact that he is his own biggest enemy.
ooOoo
Delores is not pleased by the turn of events.
Her negotiations for the Medallions had not gone well. The dark wizard she had been dealing with had been ruthless. He'd refused to increase the price whatsoever. To get away from the spying eyes that were on them, the wizard insisted they leave the pub.
They bump into a drunk hag who leaves at the same time as them.
Delores had been confident until she'd been led to an empty, abandoned ally. She clutches her bag in front of her, afraid for her virtue, especially after the wizard disarms her before she can even think about taking her wand out.
Her handbag is summoned before she can even process the loss of her wand.
He threatens her to keep quiet, knowing she couldn't report the theft to the Aurors. She yelps in pain at the Stinging hex he sent her way. With her own wand!
"I'll be generous," the man sneered and threw a bag of galleons at her. It isn't the same bag she'd recognised in the pub. "Even though you've been a greedy, backstabbing bitch."
He sends one last spell her way, "Crucio!" which has her shrieking in agony, and while she's breathless and panting on the cold, relentless ground, he disapparates away, taking her handbag but leaving her wand, dropping it with a clatter that makes her flinch.
ooOoo
Narcissa smiles as she listens to Holly chatter away, updating her on her lessons, the time she's spending with Lucius in the gym and all the new things Lucius has been learning. And how Harry had been getting her lessons in Kickboxing with a boy named Wayne. Holly's been learning boxing with Dudley during the previous summers until her grandmother passed away. She's happy to pick it up again during the school year.
"Holly!"
Narcissa tenses at the sound of Holly's name being shouted and gets ready to bring out her wand when she sees two boys running up to them.
The girls had gone their own way, so it was just Narcissa and Holly. Regulus and Dudley stayed behind in Gladrags to pickout some wizarding winter wear for Dudley and were only a few minutes behind.
"Hiya Neville. Hiya Colin," Holly beams at them.
They look at her in relief.
"Harry's worried about you," the boy she recognises as a Longbottom huffs out.
"Malfoy thought Harry took you," the younger of the two boys says urgently. "They should be behind us."
Looking over their heads, there's no sign of Draco or Harry.
"Draco's being an idiot," Holly sighs.
Narcissa suppresses a sigh of her own.
"Come on, Aunt Cissa," Holly pulls her along, so Narcissa is forced to pick up her stride as Holly begins a light jog.
As they get closer to the Three Broomsticks, they see there's a massive disturbance outside the pub, with Draco and Harry at the centre of it.
"Holly!" Narcissa calls as Holly lets go of her hand to run straight towards the boys. Narcissa runs after her, hoping the boys don't hurt her while fighting.
ooOoo
Having counted the money in the bag the dak wizard left behind, Delores counted a measly ten galleons.
Ten!
Such a paltry amount!
Delores is not best pleased.
She planned to slink past everyone without being as she passes the Three Broomsticks so she could go home and regroup. However, she stops like almost everyone else to see a scuffle.
Inching closer, she sees, to her combined delight and distaste, that it's Lucius's son, Draco, fighting with Harry Potter.
Other students try to pry the two apart but are pushed away or shoved away from each other.
Vexed with the way the day has gone so far, Delores is more than happy with the opportunity to turn it around with the chance for anonymous revenge. Bringing out her stubby wand, she raises it with a spell ready on her lips.
She doesn't care which boy she hits. However, given how close they perhaps she can hit both with one spell.
"Inflictus!"
Delores doesn't see her spell land, having been hit with a Stunning Spell from behind, not realising she'd been followed from the Hogs Head.
ooOoo
"Harry!"
He recognises Holly's voice instantly, and relief floods him. She's safe. Unlike Draco, Harry didn't bother taking his wand out. He'd already decked Draco more than once. He'd trained with Dudley many times during previous summers, and he'd also continued with lessons with Wayne and Holly. Draco has a tight grip on his wand, but Harry's been able to keep the ponce off balance by fighting the non-magical way.
He gives Draco another harder shove.
Holly darts forward, trying to step between, weaving between all the people trying to stop her.
"Holly, stay back," Harry warns, not wanting her to get hurt. Draco's not thinking straight, and Harry's never trusted him.
However, Holly makes it to Harry's side.
"Move," Draco snarls, pushing Holly forcefully out of the way, who only moves further forward.
"Don't touch her," Harry growls, ready to throw another punch at the blond.
However, just over Draco's shoulder, he sees a witch dressed in pink robes aiming her wand in their direction. Harry doesn't know who she is or whether she is aiming at Harry or Draco, but with Holly in close proximity, Harry can't risk her getting hit.
"Sectumsempra!"
Punch already in motion, he simultaneously shouts out, "Protego!" even though he doesn't have his wand out. A shield forms over Holly; Draco's spell leaves his wand a split second before Harry's punch lands, shifting his centre of balance. Consequently, Draco's spell and the spell of the witch in pink hits Harry at the same time.
Harry doesn't even have time to register the pain. Darkness descends on him before he can even realise how badly he's injured. Or the blood spraying Holly and any others who are unfortunate enough to be in close proximity.
Or hear Holly shriek his name.