The Lewis House 71 страница

Harry glanced at her. "I just want to make sure Malfoy doesn't skew the story."

"Then go. I'm going too, but it'll take me longer. I have to go back to Stornoway and then travel by Floo powder."

"Want me to go with you?"

It was obvious that he hoped she would say no. Ginny finished putting her things away and shut her locker. "No. Go ahead."

Harry exhaled. "All right." He looked at her, and his green eyes studied hers. "I should've taken you up," he said.

Ginny hesitated. She hadn't had a chance yet to get irritated with Harry for everything that had just happened, and she was pretty sure that she wanted to. But he did sound sorry.

"But you saw how Norbert is with me," Harry went on. "He couldn't care less about spells. I…" Harry gave a frustrated laugh and looked away from her. "I don't know how Malfoy does it."

"Everyone has strengths." Ginny shrugged. "This must be his. Some people are just natural with dragons."

"Well I'm not." Harry looked defeated. He grabbed the bottom of his sweat-soaked T-shirt, glanced sideways at Ginny, and then yanked the T-shirt off so fast that he nearly lost his glasses. He fumbled to put on a clean one.

Ginny couldn't make herself look away. "True," she said soberly, watching him dress. "You're a real disappointment." Harry shot a frown at her before pulling on a jumper. "Oh, you're excellent with Defense Against the Dark Arts of course," Ginny continued, patting his arm when he got it into the sleeve, "and you're a brilliant Quidditch player. If only you were clever about dragons too, then perhaps everyone wouldn't think you were so useless." She feigned a sigh. "Such a pity you haven't got any talents."

He stared at her for a minute, and then a shy grin sneaked across his face. "Shut up."

Ginny grinned back. Harry had just leaned in and kissed her cheek, when a drawling voice made both their heads snap towards the door.

"Good Lord." Malfoy stood in the flap of the tent, unconcealed repulsion on his face. "Another breach of work ethics I'm sure the Secretary Privy will be thrilled to hear about." Malfoy went to his locker and tossed in his gear, and then swirled a heavy cloak around his shoulders. He clasped it shut. "I do hope that my report doesn't get you both sacked." With a twist of his wand, he was gone.

Ginny and Harry turned back to each other.

"There really isn't supposed to be dating, you know," said Harry, sounding a bit worried. "I think I signed something about that."

"Oh for heaven's sake, Harry," Ginny said with a snort. "We're not going to be sacked. Just go on and make sure Charlie doesn't act like an idiot, and I'll be there in a minute."

He went.

Alone in the tent, Ginny sat on a bench and looked around the place again. The dragon-riding world did not seem so impressive now as it had an hour ago; Ginny narrowed her eyes at a locker that bore the initials C.W. Charlie was being horrible. If he didn't want her getting help from Malfoy, then he should have helped her - she'd expected him to help her. Short of that, it would have been nice to have Harry's support, although, after last night, she hadn't been expecting it.

Ginny fought down a pang of real anger at Harry. He only wanted her to be safe. She shut her eyes and reminded herself that there had been a time when she had wished and dreamed that Harry Potter would care about her, and now he did. That was a good thing. But he was being selfish - he wanted her safe, but she wanted to work. He wasn't even trying to see what she wanted. And did he really expect her to stay home, when she had this opportunity to help? And she could help, she knew it. At least she could connect with the dragons. A few minutes with Norbert's energy had told her that.

She picked up her broom and hoped she'd remember the way back to Stornaway. Rain fell hard on the roof of the tent, but Ginny didn't care how wet she was going to get; she had to get to Diagon Alley. There were a few facts of which she wanted to make the Minister aware.

~*~

By the time Harry got to the top floor of the Ministry, shouting voices carried clearly out of Mr. Weasley's office and filled the stone corridor.

"And then he grabbed Ginny and wouldn't let her down -"

"This isn't a personal argument, Weasley. She acted of her own free will -"

Harry hurried to the office door and Lawrence let him in without a word. Mr. Weasley sat well back from his desk, looking from Charlie to Malfoy with obvious confusion on his face. When he saw Harry, he looked relieved. "Harry, come in. Will you explain what -"

"I'm telling you, Dad, it's not going to work! And I don't care what the hell Rose Brown says, and I'll tell her when she gets here that she's crazy if she thinks she and her Privy Council are going to convince me to risk the personal safety of -"

Malfoy fell into a chair and drummed his fingers in a bored fashion. He glanced at Harry. "Going to be an impartial witness, Potter, or are you here to do the innocent act?" he sneered softly behind Charlie's back, as Charlie continued to shout.

Harry gritted his teeth and looked away. He could still see the perverse smile Malfoy had flashed when he'd grabbed Ginny's waist and yanked her back into him. Sick bastard.

"Charlie - CHARLIE!" Mr. Weasley stood.

Panting, Charlie backed up and flopped into the chair beside Malfoy's. "Fine," he snapped. "Don't listen to me."

"I'm listening," Mr. Weasley said gravely, "but I need the story straight. Just details. Harry?" He sat down again.

"One minute -" The Secretary Privy swept in, pushing her glasses up with a prim finger and slapping down her clipboard. "I need to hear this." She stood at the edge of the Minister's desk and crossed her arms. "Harry?"

Harry looked from Malfoy's expectant sneer to Charlie's flushed and angry face, and tried to remember how it had started. "Ginny got there," he said, "and told us she'd have to get really close to the dragons in order to help them. She asked Charlie to stun -"

"Which we can't," Charlie interrupted, "or they'd be -"

"Charlie." Mr. Weasley gave him an exasperated look and glanced back at Harry. "Go on."

"She asked Charlie to stun the dragons so she could work on them, and Charlie said he couldn't."

"Why not?" Rose Brown demanded.

Charlie made a noise of pure frustration. "I just tried to TELL YOU -"

"Because they have to eat," Harry interrupted. "They have to hydrate, and then they have to get a proper night's rest or they'll be no good to us by morning. They can't do any of those things if they're Stunned."

Mr. Weasley nodded. "So then?"

"So then Ginny said she wanted one of us to take her closer." Harry felt Malfoy's eyes on him and made himself continue. "But Charlie and I didn't think that was a good idea."

"Why not?" Rose demanded once more.

"Because dragons BREATHE FIRE, for a start, Rose," Charlie shouted.

"You fly on them all day, don't you?" Rose snapped, sounding very like Ginny.

Harry sighed. "That's different," he told Mr. Weasley, hoping that at least one person would see the difference as he did. "We're on them all day, yes - on their backs. We're armed with spells that make it possible to deflect fire. We're in harnesses, which makes it much more difficult to get thrown than if we were on brooms -"

"I was thrown," said Malfoy.

"Mick was thrown," said Rose at the same time. "That is, Mr. O'Malley. And Mr. Malfoy - and Mr. Krum."

"I know that." Harry kept his eyes on Mr. Weasley's; this was his chance to make him see that sending Ginny up to Azkaban to fly near those dragons was ludicrous. "So think about how much easier it is to be thrown off a broom if you don't have a harness. She wanted to be flown right up to their heads, but no one can do that, those dragons…"

"They're mad, Dad," Charlie put in. "Bonkers, the lot. Viking nearly took Mick's head off today with his tail -"

Rose gasped. "Have you brought in the replacement dragons?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes, but there're only two. They go in for Viktor Krum's ride. And Cho Chang's." Charlie looked at her stubbornly. "Mick can handle Viking, he's been riding him for two years."

"And I," said Malfoy coolly, rising from his chair and coming to stand beside Harry, "have had Mordor since childhood. Ability with the animals is not the issue - I have a gift." He tossed his pale hair and Harry felt a stab of annoyance. "Yet my dragon suffers. These conditions are unheard of, Weasley," he leveled his glare across the Minister's desk. "If you're going to play Minister, then at least attempt to stay impartial. If the Healer has no business being near the dragons, then you must find another solution. "

Malfoy sounded uncannily like his father, and Harry got a chill.

"The Healer," said Mr. Weasley very quietly, "is my daughter."

"A fact that bears little importance here." Malfoy looked at Rose. "Privy Brown?"

She glanced at Arthur. "That's true," she said, and looked back at Harry. "Did anything else happen?"

"Why yes it did," Malfoy began, before Harry could answer. "My part in the affair has been rather conveniently left out. After these two refused to take the Healer up to do her job, and seeing that she was incapable of going on her own, I took her myself."

Arthur Weasley worked his jaw and his fingers gripped the edge of his desk. Harry knew just how he felt. "Yourself?" Mr. Weasley repeated. "On your broom?"

"That's right."

"Charlie?" Mr. Weasley pinned his son with his eyes. "This is what happened?"

"She got on of her own free will," Malfoy said for the second time. "And she might have got some work done if the hero here-" he jabbed a thumb at Harry, "- hadn't interrupted our flight. Apparently I'm not to touch the Healer." Malfoy smirked. "Apparently it's Potter's job to molest her in the equipment tents, after hours."

Harry's face burned. "Shut your mouth, Malfoy. Mr. Weasley -"

"Calm down, Harry. Is that the end of the story, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Nearly. Potter took the Healer off of my broom and down to the ground -"

"She was fighting to get down! She told you to land!"

"And nothing was accomplished," Malfoy finished. "It was a waste of time, effort, and money. Mine."

No one had time to answer. The office door opened and Ginny stumbled through it, soaking wet and clutching her broom. "It's really chucking it down out there - what'd I miss?"

"Ginny, are you all right?" Mr. Weasley shot out of his chair and nearly pushed past Rose.

Ginny took a step back. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" she snapped. "It's only rain."

"But with the dragons - with what happened -"

Malfoy gave a martyred sigh.

"We're discussing your usefulness at Azkaban, Miss Weasley," said Rose, picking up her clipboard and scribbling something. "Tell me, did you have a chance to do any work at all?"

"Not really." Ginny shoved her wet hair out of her face, pulled her wand and pointed it at her robes. "Sicco." She did the same thing to her hair. "Bloody rain. Anyway, no - I worked with Norbert for a few minutes, but I have no idea what's going on. I didn't get to stay in the air."

She looked really irritated. Harry watched her and tried to work out what was wrong. Perhaps the flight in the rain had put her in a bad mood; she hadn't been so angry when they'd been at Azkaban.

"Did you want to stay in the air, Ginny?" Mr. Weasley asked, adjusting his glasses and peering at her.

"Well -" Ginny glanced at Harry, then past him, at Malfoy. "Well, yes, actually, I did."

Harry's eyebrows shot up.

Malfoy laughed softly and sank back into his chair.

"I thought you wanted to get down," Harry said, turning to the door. Ginny stood against it with her arms crossed.

"Once you came up there I had to get down," she said, and looked at her father. "Norbert tried to kill Harry every time he flew close. It's terrible."

"Just Mr. Potter?" asked Rose. "What about Mr. Malfoy - did the dragon threaten him as well?"

Harry gave Ginny a warning look but she ignored him and answered Rose. "The dragon was not as aggressive towards Mr. Malfoy."

"It didn't attack him?"

"Not… until Harry came up."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Miss Weasley." Rose tapped the nib of her quill on her clipboard. "If you were in the air with Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter's presence disturbed your process, then why didn't Mr. Potter simply land?"

Ginny looked dead at Harry, and he knew it was his answer to give. But he couldn't.

"Oh well, he's terribly valiant, you see," said Malfoy, sounding delighted. "He couldn't leave the girlfriend in the air with me, could he? Had to rescue her from my clutches." Malfoy laughed. "He refused to land until I had put her on the ground."

"Mr. Potter, is this true?" Rose asked incredulously. "Work is neither the time nor place -"

"To be fair," Ginny cut in, "Malfoy wouldn't put me on the ground when I asked. Harry thought I was in danger."

"But up until that point?" Rose insisted. "You said you did work for about a minute?"

"Yes. I did." Ginny refused to look at Harry now. "If I had a proper escort, I could really be of service."

"And how is Mr. Malfoy not a proper escort?"

Harry wanted to throw something heavy at Rose Brown. Was she being intentionally thick? She had to know that Draco Malfoy was a useless liar who couldn't be trusted.

"He…" Ginny looked extremely uncomfortable. "I suppose he…" She shot another glance over Harry's shoulder that deeply unsettled him - she was looking at Malfoy for answers? Harry had to look away. "He already has a job, doesn't he?" Ginny finished lamely. "He can hardly do two. But he did seem… at ease with the dragons, so if there's someone else like that in Romania, Charlie? Or someone that you know of who can get close to the dragons with me and -"

"There's no budget for it," Rose interrupted. "The Privy Council won't move another Galleon to this operation as long as it continues to malfunction; that's been made clear. Riders falling right and left - what's the point of sinking more money into it? It seems a waste to them. They're far more interested in devising another method of keeping the Dementors on the island than in continuing this --"

"Then EXPLAIN it to them better," Charlie snarled. "And no, Ginny, there isn't anyone I'd trust on a broom with you next to a dragon's head, not even me - and NOT -" Charlie pointed at Malfoy. "HIM."

"Mr. Weasley, kindly lower your voice," Rose hissed. "First of all, there will be no new escort, and there will be no more money. Secondly, I suggest you maintain a level of respect for your peers in this Ministry, and leave your personal feelings at home."

Charlie seethed.

"Thirdly, you would be fortunate to have Mr. Malfoy's help in this matter. Miss Weasley is quite right; he had no obligation to assist her today, and I certainly wouldn't expect him to continue, especially since it seems that the investment he has made to bring Miss Weasley here has been a fruitless one."

The smug noise that followed Rose's comments was enough to turn Harry's stomach. That anyone could consider, even for a second, putting Ginny on a broom with Malfoy, seemed to Harry a terrible crime.

Ginny, however, didn't seem to think it was. She was regarding Rose Brown with respect, and wouldn't return Harry's attempts to catch her eye.

Mr. Weasley returned to his desk and sagged into his chair. He looked up at Harry and shook his head. "This leaves us nowhere. We can't stun the dragons, we can't replace the dragons, and now we have a Healer, but no escort."

"No one's asked me."

Harry's stomach dropped into his feet. He looked at Malfoy, whose face had twisted with some sick pleasure.

"I won't make another donation to this department until my dragon's condition is remedied," Malfoy said, curling and uncurling his fingers on the arms of the chair and keeping his eyes on Harry's. "But I'll escort the Healer." He smiled widely. "It's the least I can do."

Harry had heard about seeing red, but this was the first time it had ever happened to him. He wanted to hex Malfoy or, better yet, punch him right in the face.

"Charlie – Harry!" A voice in the door distracted Harry; Mick O'Malley had run into the Minister's office, panting and beaming. He looked around and grinned. "Minister Weasley, Privy Brown– " He turned to Ginny. "What did you do up there? I didn't think you had the time to get your work done."

Ginny looked surprised. "I didn't. Why?"

"Because I've just come from checking up on Norbert and he's eating like a – well, like a dragon. It's the first time in a month I've seen him finish a meal."

"He's looking better?" Charlie said eagerly.

"No," Mick admitted. "But at least he's eating."

"And that's your doing, Ginny?" Rose Brown asked, raising her eyebrows and picking up her clipboard.

Ginny's eyes flickered to Harry, and away again. "I suppose it might be. I only had a minute, but I did get into his aura, so…"

"It must've been you, Ginny," said Mick. "Will you keep working – will you have a look at Viking?"

"I… Dad, I really want to." Ginny looked at her father, obviously torn, but Harry couldn't feel sorry for her. "Please."

Mr. Weasley looked very tired. "And you'd… be willing to escort her, Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy stood. "Oh yes." He sounded amused. "I'll have to cut down my flights, of course. I don't plan to be at Azkaban for more than ten hours a day."

"Wait – what?" Mick looked from Mr. Weasley to Malfoy. "He's going to escort –"

"Yes, Mr. O'Malley, you missed that bit." Rose scribbled on her clipboard and pointed to Charlie with her quill. "Can the reserve schedules be adjusted to make up for Mr. Malfoy's flights?"

Charlie nodded, looking as tired as his father, and as angry as Harry felt.

"Well then, it's settled!" But Rose was alone in her enthusiasm. Everyone else in the office was silent.

"Yes." Mr. Weasley said eventually. "It seems it is. If you would all excuse me – I'd like a moment with Ginny to discuss her schoolwork."

Everyone filed out but Harry, who didn't want to leave. He felt he deserved a moment alone with Ginny too. Right now. But he couldn't say anything in front of Mr. Weasley and he wasn't sure what he had to say to Ginny anyway. She wasn't even looking at him.

"Go and get some sleep, Harry," Mr. Weasley said. "You'll see each other tomorrow."

Glad for the direction, Harry left the Ministry and Apparated directly to his bedroom, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be unconscious.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Black and Potter

~*~

A/N: Much thanks to the beta readers: Cap'n Kathy, Caroline, CoKerry, Firelocks, and Joe.

Special thanks to the Snow Margaritas.

~*~

Harry was ready. He'd been thinking about it for months, trying to decide what he really wanted to do with the opportunity, but he had thrown away idea after idea. He wanted to do something fun. Something funny. Something not too cruel, and not too illegal. He wanted to do something that he knew Sirius would appreciate, and it had to be something that they could do together. But most of all, he wanted to do something that he could imagine his father doing, and had dismissed most of his ideas as unworthy of Prongs. He hadn't known his dad, but the pictures, the Kinolia, the story about the Dursleys, and the Marauder's Map - not to mention the fact that he'd been an unregistered Animagus - had given Harry a very clear idea of what he had to live up to.

Harry landed Norbert, relieved that his shift was over. Sirius had said he'd go with Harry whenever he was ready, and so tonight was the night. It was a Friday, and Harry felt strangely energized - perhaps because his preoccupation with the evening's activities had kept him from sinking too far into the echoes of the past.

It wasn't until he saw Ginny, dismounting from Draco Malfoy's broom, that he felt a pang of real nausea. It just wasn't right that they had to ride the same broom, but, as Ginny had patiently explained to him at least ten times now, when she tried to fly her own broom, the dragons sensed her as a separate entity and tried to attack. When she was right beside Draco, on the other hand, she claimed that she was much safer. Harry almost hated that more, but he knew two things: the dragons really were getting better, and Ginny really didn't want to be on that broom with Draco Malfoy. As long as those things were true, Harry supposed he couldn't rightfully get as angry as he wanted to get - and he wanted to get furious.

Secretly, he was furious. But it wouldn't do to say as much to Ginny. The terse conversation they'd had after the last Ministry meeting had been enough to shut Harry's mouth for a while. He could still hear the hurt in Ginny's voice.

"After everything you've seen me do, can't you trust me just a little? I know you don't want me hurt, but Harry, come on. Think of all the dangerous things you've done - that you had to do - can't you see I have to do this? Not just for you, but for Charlie, and Dad, and - well, everyone. What if another Dementor gets off that island because the dragons aren't performing? What if I can make sure that doesn't happen? Don't you think I ought to try? I know Malfoy's a prat, but can you honestly tell me I should let him stop me from doing what's right?"

That had stumped him. She was right. Still, every day for the last four weeks, Malfoy had left his shift two hours early, to be replaced by Lisa. Every day, Harry had been forced to watch Malfoy leer at him before flying to work with Ginny. There was nothing to be done about it, and being around the Dementors only made Harry's imagination worse - he couldn't stop dwelling, and the sick visions that came into his head were relentless.

Quickly he unstrapped his harness, grabbed the Firebolt and flew to the ground. He strode over to Ginny and took her elbow. "Hey." He kissed her cheek, ignoring Malfoy's smirk.

"Possessive Potter. Well, that's always been the dream, hasn't it, Weasley?" Malfoy laughed.

Harry fought the urge to answer, and steered Ginny away, toward the equipment tent. She looked worn out. "How're you feeling?"

She shrugged, then cringed as Malfoy called after them: "Weasley, we'll be working on my dragon, on Monday, so mind you get a proper rest this weekend. Do try not to shag yourself sick."

"Right, that's it -" Harry turned on Malfoy.

"Don't." Ginny caught his arm. "Please. It's bad enough."

Harry let her drag him, still muttering, into the tent. "How can you stand it?" he demanded. "Is he like that all day? How can you keep on doing this?"

Ginny sighed and put her things into her locker. "I don’t know," she said. She shut the locker and leaned her forehead against it. "He's horrible."

"What did he do to you?" Harry threw his things into his locker and slammed it.

"Nothing… not like that. Just… horrible." She straightened up. "I can feel his energy," she said dully. "I open up to the dragons and I can feel him too, because he's right there. And he's the worst thing I've ever felt."

Harry stared at her. It hadn't occurred to him that Ginny would be able to feel Malfoy in the same way that she could feel everyone else. Perhaps because he didn't seem human enough. "Worse than Sirius?" was all he could think of to say.

"Well, I don't open up around Sirius." Ginny laughed. "I'm not suicidal. Never mind, Harry, don't think about it. I'll find a way to sort it out. Let's just go home - can you come over tonight?"

"Only for a minute. I've got plans with Sirius."

Ginny looked surprised, but pleased. "Oh, have you? What?"

Harry opened his mouth to tell her, and then remembered that he couldn't. He wondered if his mum had ever caught his dad off guard like that. He closed his mouth and tugged on the bottom of Ginny's jumper.

"Harry?" She looked perplexed. "Can't you tell me?"

He laughed softly through his nose. Sirius had said to say nothing. Harry stepped closer and gave Ginny a quick kiss. "See you later, all right?" he mumbled, and stepped back.

"Harry -"

But he Disapparated. "Get my owl?" he asked, when he found himself in the front room of Lupin Lodge, looking at a grinning Sirius, who was dressed in jeans and a Muggle coat, and had his hair combed. Harry had never seen him look so regular. It was bizarre.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04