Okay, first, a couple of things that need to be said ahead of this chapter: -
1. I’m sure most of my American readers don’t need to be told this, but British jelly = your jello. What you call jelly we call jam. This is very important to remember bearing in mind what happens to Eva.
2. If any of my readers choose to type the word ‘Agadoo’ into YouTube (by the musical halfwits known as Black Lace) they do so expressly at their own risk. The author will not be held responsible for smashed computers, people knocking themselves out in a hurry to block their ears, or profuse vomiting. You have been warned.
Right, with that out of the way, please enjoy the next chapter.
Huge thanks to Arnel for her usual wonderful beta work.
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The Thorny Rose 3: A Spring Clean for the May Queen | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Action/Adventure, Romance Warnings: Intimate Sexual Situations, Sexual Situations, Violence Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 127 Summary: The third and final part of the Thorny Rose trilogy. Voldemort is again without a body, Ron has vanished and our favourite couple now know the contents of the prophecy. More importantly, Sirius is getting married. What will Harry and Ginny do now to finally put the Wizarding World to rights. Hitcount: Story Total: 49788; Chapter Total: 4744 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: |
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Smiling indulgently to herself, Ginny licked the fresh whipped-cream that had been liberally inserted into the centre of the swan-shaped pastry she had in her hand. Thank Merlin that she did enough exercise that she didn’t really have to watch what she ate. “How many of those have you had now?” Harry snorted in amusement beside her. “Six? Seven?” “Bloody cheek! This is my third, I’ll have you know,” Ginny shot back before frowning. “Oh, actually it might be my fourth, now I think about it.” Harry sniggered and took a slip of the glass of white wine he was holding. It was somehow fitting that this being the wedding of Sirius Black, no one had seen fit to stop the youngsters drinking alcohol. “And how many glasses of wine have you had?” Ginny challenged jokily. “At least these pastries won’t get me rat-arsed in the middle of the afternoon.” “No, but they will make your arse bigger,” Harry smirked before grimacing as Ginny gave him a dead arm. “Beating him up again, Ginny? What’s he done this time?” asked an amused voice from behind her. Ginny turned to see Hermione and her Ravenclaw boyfriend, Eddie Carmichael, approaching. “Oh, the usual, Hermione,” Ginny grinned. “I have to hit him occasionally just to keep him in line.” “Great, we’re not even married and yet I’m already a battered husband,” Harry moaned. “I’m keeping out of this,” Eddie laughed. “I don’t want Hermione to start getting the same idea.” “Speaking of which, when are you going to official announce the you-know-what between the two of you?” Hermione asked quietly. “In a few weeks, probably,” Ginny confirmed. “We didn’t want to steal Sirius and Eva’s thunder, if you know what I mean.” “Announce what?” Eddie asked with interest. “Never mind, Eddie,” Harry told the older boy. “We wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.” “Huh, ever since I started going out with Hermione my life has been a constant surprise,” Eddie smirked. “Take this wedding, for instance. If you told me six months ago that I would be attending the lavish wedding of a wrongly convicted criminal and an Occlumency teacher with a beautiful, incredibly intelligent girl on my arm, I’d have thought you mad.” Hermione blushed and looked up at her tall boyfriend affectionately. Ginny grinned happily at her friend. Hermione deserved a considerate male in her life and Carmichael certainly seemed to fit the bill. They had double-dated recently and it was clear that Hermione and Eddie worked very well together. He and Harry seemed to get on well together, too, which was a big help. “It was a really great wedding though, wasn’t it?” Harry ventured. “Eva looked absolutely great, didn’t she?” “Oh, yes! That dress she was wearing was just divine, and when they said their vows I just burst into tears! It was beautiful,” Hermione gushed in a very un-Hermione like way. “I’m just glad the Bridesmaid dress she picked was half-decent,” Ginny noted, looking down at the elegant pale-gold dress she wore. She had been worried that it would clash with her hair, but the circlet of white roses she wore seemed to make the whole thing work. “More than half-decent,” Harry noted. “You look fabulous, Ginny. I was having trouble following the ceremony because I couldn’t keep my eyes off you.” Ginny turned to Hermione with a wink. “We’re definitely getting them well trained, aren’t we?” “We are,” Hermione laughed. “We might just have to reward them for their excellent behaviour, too.” Eddie slipped his arm around Hermione’s shoulders and began to guide her away. “Excuse us, you two, but I think that’s our cue to find a nice, quiet spot in the trees over there,” he announced, indicating a small wooded area just beyond the marquee. Hermione looked shocked for a second, but made no effort to stop her boyfriend dragging her away. “Damn, I was going to suggest we nab that spot,” Harry joked. Ginny turned to look at him. Although Remus had been Sirius’s best man, they had agreed the three of them should dress in an identical manner. This meant Harry was wearing stylish black robes, over a crisp white shirt and tight, white linen trousers, with a gold coloured waistcoat. He was, in Ginny’s entirely bias opinion, looking scrumptious. “Well, this wedding is being held in the grounds of a hotel, and we do have rooms here, and I doubt anyone would miss us for an hour or so…” she teased, letting her fingers brush against his cheek. His eyes lit up and he hurried put his glass of wine down on the nearest table. “That, my love, sounds like a bloody wonderful…” Harry began but was interrupted by a loud, heavily accented voice. “Ah, so here is ze young voman who is taking my place as Bridesmaid,” declared a tall, immaculately dressed woman as she marched up to them. Ginny looked at the woman in confusion. She had no idea who this person was or why she seemed to think she should have been Eva’s Bridesmaid. “Are you not knowing who I am?” the woman asked indignantly. “My name is Doro Hagen and I am Eva’s sister.” “Oh. OH,” Ginny gasped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even know Eva had a sister.” “Not many are knowing,” Doro snapped in far poorer English then her sister spoke. “It seems Eva is trying to deny I am even existing!” “Err… well, it’s a delight to meet you, Miss Hagen,” Harry said nervously, offering his hand. “My name is Harry Potter and I’m Sirius’s godson. This here is my girlfriend, Ginny Weasley, who…” “Who has stolen my rightful place at my sister’s side,” Doro snapped. “Look at you! A mere slip of a girl! How did you vorm your way into her affections? No doubt as you were paying for her teaching services, Eva felt obliged to ask you. Typical! Some rich, papered little girl wants to play dress-up, so Eva’s actual family have to suffer.” “Now wait a minute!” Ginny began hotly. Pampered little rich girl, indeed! “Vat is the matter, little princess? Not use to someone telling you ze truth?” Doro taunted. Ginny’s hand began to reach for her wand which was tucked in the sleeve of her dress. Before she could act, however, Harry leapt in. “How dare you!” Harry protested angrily, gaining the attention of most of the people in the marquee. “Eva asked Ginny to be her Bridesmaid because they care so much for each other. I bet she didn’t ask you because you’re such a rude cow!” “Gah! You English men are all alike: disgusting pigs!” Doro screeched and pushed Harry hard in the chest. While Doro didn’t have the muscular athleticism of her sister, she was still a tall, imposing woman and her shove was enough to send Harry staggering backwards into a table, which promptly collapsed under his weight. “You bloody bitch!” Ginny yelled and threw the cream-filled pastry still in her hand as hard as she could at the German woman. Being the skilled Quidditch player that she was, her aim was true, and the pastry hit Doro squarely in the face and seemed to explode. The whole tent went deathly silent as the tall woman reached up with a trembling hand and scraped the cream from her face. She was literally shaking with anger and, for a second, Ginny felt a wave of trepidation hit her as she nervously wondered what Eva’s sister was going to do. Further events, however, were taken out of the German woman’s control as Sirius, who had been sitting a few tables away with his blushing new bride, choose that moment to leap to his feet and at the top of his voice yell ‘food fight!’ From out of nowhere (but probably from somewhere in Sirius’s general direction) what appeared to be a strawberry tart sailed through the air and hit Doro in the side of the head with enough force to send her staggering. A second later, all manner of foods were flying in different directions as the wedding guests decided to get in on the action. Ginny gaped in surprise as most of the wedding brunch was turned into weapons and hurled at whoever happened to be in the line of sight. She stared in amazement as her mother grabbed a quiche and threw it as hard as she could in Fleur’s direction. It hit the French girl on the shoulder and she immediately retaliated with what looked to be a plate of Scotch Eggs. Ginny felt a gentle tug on her dress and she looked down to see Harry, who had crawled under a nearby table, beckoning to her. Grinning, she dropped to her knees and crawled under the table with him. “Are you okay?” she asked him quickly. “That horrid bitch didn’t hurt you, did she?” “Nah, I’m fine,” he assured her. “I just thought this might be the safest place to be for a while.” “You’re right,” she giggled before sliding her arms around him. “Out of sight, too. We did say we wanted a nice quiet place, didn’t we?” “We did at that,” Harry replied before pulling her into a searing kiss. They stayed under the table, blissfully snogging, while carnage reigned above them. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPH P It was half-an-hour later before things began to settle down again, mostly through the efforts of the hotel staff who had been valiantly trying to stop their guests lobbing food at each other. Once the mayhem had died down, Harry and Ginny reluctantly crawled from out of their hiding place, and hastily adjusted their clothing. Looking around, Ginny was amazed at the sheer level of anarchy that seemed to have been descended onto the marquee, although everyone appeared to be remarkably happy. Not surprisingly, Fred and George appeared to have had the time of their lives, although their cake-covered dates, Alicia and Angelina, appeared less happy. Quite the strangest scene, to Ginny’s eyes, was the sight of her mother and Fleur, both covered in head-to-foot in food, hugging each other while laughing uproariously, while Bill looked on in bemusement. “Ah, there you two are… why are you so clean?” a voice called out. Harry and Ginny turned to see what at first appeared to be some sort of trifle-covered monster, but on closer inspection turned out to be Sirius. Beside him was his bride who, while much cleaner, appeared to be in some distress. “We sensibly hid under the table,” Harry informed his godfather. “Blimey, what happened to you? You look like you’ve bathed in that stuff!” “You hid? Oh, the shame! Here was me, valiantly wading into the heat of battle to defend my fair maiden, and my own godson hid like a coward. Oh, I may never recover from this indignity!” Sirius wailed unconvincingly. “We didn’t say what we were doing under the table, did we?” Ginny pointed out in amusement. “Oh, well, that’s different, then,” Sirius beamed. “Bonus points for getting frisky with your mother only a few feet away, my brave girl.” “It seemed like a good idea,” Ginny smirked. “Eva, what’s the matter? You’re hopping about like you’ve got ants in your pants.” “Someone threw a jelly at me and most of it managed to work its way down the front of my dress,” Eva moaned, clutching at the front of her modestly low-cut wedding dress. “It’s cold and wriggly!” “I’ll retrieve it!” Sirius declared enthusiastically reaching out an eager hand, which was instantly slapped away by Eva. “Oh, no you don’t,” Eva declared. “You know the rules: no privileges until tonight! I know you, Sirius Black, if you get any nookie now, you won’t feel the need to stay sober for the rest of the evening! I refuse to spend my wedding night frustrated while you slip into a drunken coma!” “I was only trying to help,” Sirius protested. “Besides, I strongly object to the idea that young Harry here is indulging in rumpy-pumpy while I am forced to abstain!” “Perhaps you should have spent more time with your lovely bride and less throwing cake about then, shouldn’t you?” Harry grinned evilly. “It was all in a good cause,” Sirius winked. “Oh, Ginny, I am so sorry my horrid sister said those things to you,” Eva apologised. “I really shouldn’t have invited her, but she’s the only close family I have left.” “Don’t worry about it,” Ginny replied with a shrug. “Merlin, I know better than anyone that you can’t choose your family. But can I ask, why didn’t you pick your sister to be Bridesmaid?” “Doro and I have never got on,” Eva sighed. “We lost our parents when we were very young and were taken into care. You would have thought that such an experience would bring us closer together, but Doro always felt the need to be in control, even though she is only a year older than me. She’s insufferable when she doesn’t get her own way and we haven’t really spoken in about four years. Part of the reason I moved to England was to get away from her.” “Where did she go, anyway?” Harry asked looking around warily. “Oh, she left shortly after I hit her square on with a strawberry tart,” Sirius sniggered. “For which, my love, you will be especially rewarded tonight,” Eva laughed, stroking his cheek fondly. “But for now, I rather think we’d better get you cleaned up.” Magic can be a very convenient thing to have at your disposal and, after numerous cleaning and repairing spells, the marquee was soon returned to its former glory, as were most of the guests. After everyone had returned to their seats, it was time for the speeches. As Eva’s father had died many years before, they moved straight onto Sirius who raised a toast to Ginny in her role as Bridesmaid. She blushed as one of the hotel staff presented her with a huge bouquet of roses as the rest of the guests enthusiastically applauded her. Next, it was the best man’s speech, something Remus had been relishing for some time. The werewolf stood with an evil smirk on his face while Sirius looked apprehensive. “Ladies and gentlemen, witches and wizards, honoured guests, it is traditional at this point for the best man to recount a few stories for the express purpose of embarrassing the groom. Having known Sirius since we were both eleven years old, I can say that I have a few juicy tales to tell,” Remus grinned. “In fact, I have so many embarrassing stories about him that I had to write them all down.” There was laughter as Remus produced a roll of parchment from his robes. With a dramatic flourish, he let the parchment unroll. It unfurled until it hit the table, rolled off the end and continued to unwind until it hit the floor where it rolled along until it was revealed to be around four yards long. “This is volume one,” Remus declared as the guests howled with laughter. The next forty minutes proved to be a very long one for Sirius, as Remus described dozens of incidents and disasters that occurred to him over the years. From pranks that backfired to well-deserved punishments handed out by irate teachers, Sirius wasn’t spared in the slightest. Ginny decided her favourite story was the one relating to Sirius’s first ever serious date which had been with a fellow Gryffindor named Samantha Feathershaw. The date had apparently lasted twenty-three minutes before the angry girl, who had taken offense at a rather blue comment made by Sirius, had kneed him in the groin and stomped off. Remus had expressed his hope that this was a method of chastising Sirius that Eva would use in future. To be fair to Sirius, the man could take it as well as dish it out, and at the end of Remus’s speech he had stood and hugged his friend warmly. “Just wait until your wedding, mate,” he had declared loudly as they all sat down again. Remus did look a little worried by that idea, Ginny noted. Lastly, Eva stood and looked a little nervously around the room. “When I came to this country ten years ago,” she began, “I was simply trying to build a new life for myself. I had little family and I was struggling to find work in my native land, so, as I spoke English reasonably well, I thought I’d try my luck here. It has not always been easy, but I managed to carve out a decent living for myself. I was, however, very lonely.” There was a murmur of sympathy around the marquee. “Then, last summer, I got a letter asking me to teach two children my craft. There was nothing unusual in that, it is my job, after all, but when I discovered who I would be teaching I was shocked, but rather pleased. I must confess that I thought that teaching the famous Boy Who Lived would be a lucrative pay-day for me, and nothing else. That thought changed, however, when I met my employer, a rather handsome fellow by the name of Sirius Black.” There were quite a few catcalls at this point and several suggestions that Eva might need glasses. “Sirius was everything that I dreamt of in a man,” she continued, just smirking at the heckling. “He was tall, handsome, funny and I suppose I should mention quite rich, too! There was only one problem; he seemed to be terrified of me.” “I still am,” Sirius yelled. “I was devastated,” Eva said, pausing only to cuff her new husband lightly round the head. “Here was my ideal man, and he could barely speak a coherent sentence to me without stuttering and apparently wanting to run out of the room.” “I know that feeling,” Ginny whispered to Harry. He just smiled and squeezed her hand. “In my desperation, I did something foolish, which I won’t go into now. Unfortunately, by that point I knew I was head over heels in love with Sirius and I was terrified my actions would result in him rejecting me forever. After talking to two wonderful people, I decided to confess my crimes to him and throw myself on his mercy,” she said sadly. The room was completely quite now, eager to know what happened next. “I must say, Sirius took my confession better than I expected, but told me he needed time to think things over. I was, of course, biting my nails to the quick waiting for him to come to a decision. Let me tell you, it took this complete git a whole week to put me out of my misery! That must have been the most depressing seven days I have ever had to go through, but in the end he came to me and said he wanted to give a relationship with me a try,” Eva told them. Everyone broke out in to spontaneous applause and Eva beamed with happiness. “It goes without saying that we discovered very quickly that we very much enjoy each other’s company and we quickly became inseparable. Even so, I was shocked to my very core when Sirius proposed to me just before Christmas. It is not often that I am at a loss for words, but I was so surprised that I nearly forgot to say yes!” “And nearly gave me a heart attack in the process!” Sirius injected loudly. “Oh, my poor love,” Eva teased. “Nevertheless, I eventually managed to recover the power of speech and was able to confirm that marrying him was the thing I wanted more than anything else in the world. Now, I am fully aware that I am not the most attractive woman in the world…” A storm of protest met Eva’s words, the loudest coming from Sirius and Harry. Eva blushed deeply and looked to be on the verge of tears, but she just managed to get herself under control. “You’re all too kind,” she told them in a wavering voice, “but I know I am no skinny beauty that would grace the cover of some glossy magazine. I do, however, swear to love this wonderful man beside me until the day I die and promise to be the best wife I can for him.” A warm round of applause greeted her words and this time Eva did burst into tears. Sirius stood and tenderly embraced her, a look of wonder on his face. Ginny looked at them affectionately and felt tears forming in her own eyes. After a minute or two, Eva managed to get control of herself and kissed her new husband deeply, accompanied by the cheers of the guests. She then turned and addressed them all again. “I’ve nearly said all I have to say, other than to thank you all for coming today. You’re all wonderful! But before I sit down, there are two people I wish to thank especially. They are, of course, Harry and Ginny. Without these two, I doubt I would have had the courage to tell Sirius what I truly felt and we wouldn’t all be here today. They might only be young, but they are the kindest, warmest-hearted people I know and I love them both. Thank you.” Ginny glanced over at her boyfriend as Eva sat back down to another round of loud applause. He had the happiest smile on his face that she had ever seen, and it really hit home to her how much this all meant to him. For the first time in his life, Harry had a proper, loving family and nothing was more important to him. Gently, she reached over and squeezed his hand. He looked back at her with his eyes shining. Without warning, he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “I love you, too,” she told him, tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks. “Right, that’s the speeches out the way,” Sirius’s voice loudly intruded, “so, gentleman: to the bar. Ladies: the dance floor awaits!” Ginny grinned at Harry. He’d said he wanted to dance with her again last Christmas and now it was time to collect. She grabbed him by the hand and virtually dragged him towards the dance floor. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP The night flew by incredibly quickly, most of it spent on the dance floor, although the two teenagers did manage to sneak quite a few drinks in, too. Their efforts in this regard were greatly helped by the fact that Molly Weasley had discovered that elven wine was being served and had indulged herself. In fact, she had indulged herself into a state of near unconsciousness. The fact that Sirius had had a hand in picking some of the music was painfully obvious as some of the selections were frankly odd. Ginny had never encountered a song that came with their own set body movements, but Sirius had assured her that ‘Agadoo’ was an established Muggle party classic. Strange lot those Muggles, she decided. Much more to her taste was the slow song currently playing. Her head was comfortably resting on Harry’s shoulder as they shuffled about the floor. The lights were turned low and the music was soft. She was content. Abruptly, the music stopped and the lights suddenly flared. Ginny blinked at the unexpected brightness and wondered what was going on. “Attention, please, everyone,” Remus’s voice called out. “The happy couple are about to depart for their honeymoon, and their Portkey is due to leave for Mauritius shortly. If you would all kindly make you way to the front of the marquee to see them off, please. Oh, and, ladies, I do believe Eva is ready to throw her bouquet.” “That bouquet is mine!” Ginny announced fiercely, causing Harry to laugh. They made their way to the front of the large tent where Eva and Sirius were waiting. They had already changed into Muggle clothing and each of them had a small suitcase with them. In Eva’s hand was her bouquet. As a small crowd had already gathered around the couple, Ginny hung back slightly. She could see a number of women, Tonks and Audrey included, had pushed their way to the front, but she felt that was a mistake. Eva was a strong woman and Ginny fully expected her to launch the bouquet some distance. She remained at the rear of the crowd and hitched her dress up slightly to enable her to move quickly. She happened to glance to her left and saw Angelina Johnson squatting down slightly as if preparing herself to launch herself forward. Angelina turned her head slightly and saw Ginny looking at her. A determined grin came onto the older girl’s face which Ginny returned. Both girls knew it was going to be a straight battle between the two of them and they were well up for it. “Okay, get ready everyone,” Eva yelled, turning her back to the crowd. She threw the bouquet over her head with both hands and, as Ginny had expected, it sailed over the heads of most of the jostling women. As soon as the flowers left Eva’s hand, Ginny began to move. She kept her eyes firmly on the bouquet and ignored everything around her. Judging its flight path, Ginny realised it was going over even her head, so, she bent her knees and jumped with as much force as she could. Elation filled her as her fingertips brushed the flowers and she grabbed them as hard as she could. A second later, something impacted hard against her and she fell to the floor with the wind knocked out of her. It took a few seconds for her head to clear. She looked at her hand and was surprised to find a ripped and torn bunch of flowers. Looking up, she saw Angelina sprawled on the floor a few feet away from her, the other half of the bouquet in her hand. There were cries of dismay and laughter all round her as she felt a pair of hands gently lift her off the ground. “Great jump, love,” Harry grinned as he kissed her warmly. “I said I was going to get it, didn’t I?” she laughed, waiving the mutilated bouquet in the air. “Bloody hell, Ginny,” Angelina called as she struggled to stand. “I’m glad we’re on the same Quidditch team. I would hate to have to play against you!” “You, too!” Ginny laughed. “Nothing gets in the way of us Gryffindor girls when we have our mind set on something, does it?” “Damn right!” Angelina agreed, coming over and giving Ginny a hug before looking over at Harry. “Looks like you’ll be getting hitched young, Harry!” Angelina joked. “Won’t that be a tragedy,” Harry smirked. “Doesn’t look like George is too happy with the idea, though.” They all turned and looked at George who was regarding them with a slightly sick expression on his face. Angelina waved her half of the bouquet while cocking her finger at him. “Oh, lover-boy! I hope you’ve already bought that engagement ring?” she called out. George looked ready to run screaming, while Fred and Alicia both cracked up laughing. “Right, we’re off, everyone!” Sirius called out, causing everyone to divert their attention back to him and Eva. Cheers and shouts came from the crowd. Harry and Ginny pushed their way to the front and hurriedly embraced the couple seconds before they were to leave. A moment later, Sirius and Eva vanished from sight, as the Portkey whisked them away. Harry slipped his arm around Ginny’s shoulders and took a deep breath, a contented smile on his lips. “Up for a bit more dancing?” Ginny asked. “Definitely, and hopefully they’ll play a few more slow songs,” Harry said. “Yeah, just as long as they don’t play that bloody song about pineapples again, I’ll be happy,” Ginny agreed. Laughing, they headed back into the marquee. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP “Right, well, I guess as Sirius isn’t here I’d better call this meeting to order,” Harry declared in a non-nonsense way. Teaching the H.D.A. had really brought him out of his shell, Ginny thought happily. “What are we called this week?” Tonks asked cheekily. “For this week only, we shall be called the ‘Shut up and listen to Harry group’,” he told her in a stern voice. “Now, shut up and listen to me.” “Ooh, don’t you just love it when he’s all dominant like that?” Tonks said to Ginny. “It makes me come out in a hot flush, it does!” “I know! He’s just so masculine, I’m all of a flutter,” Ginny smirked, fanning herself with her hand. “I bet Voldemort doesn’t have to put up with all this abuse,” Harry muttered, shaking his head. “You love it,” Fleur noted with a smile. “All zeze lovely women flirting with you. Admit you love it!” “Can we please get on?” Harry asked in a pained voice. “We have a lot to cover today.” “Perhaps I should kick things off,” Percy suggested, although even he had a slight smirk on his face. “As you all know, Cornelius Fudge was stripped of his position as Minister for Magic last week and is currently being held in the Ministry holding cells pending formal charges. I understand the case against him is looking pretty damning, and due to the amount of the funds he misappropriated he’s looking at a ten to fifteen year stretch in Azkaban.” “His former allies are deserting him in droves,” Audrey noted, “and without Lucius Malfoy about to throw Galleons at the problem, Fudge looks like a dead duck. The Ministry has already frozen all his private accounts and are going through his books with a fine tooth comb. I’m helping with that, by the way.” “It looks like we don’t have to worry about that prat anymore,” Harry noted with a satisfied grin. “Speaking of Malfoy, do we know when he is being sentenced?” “Early next week,” Tonks supplied. “Due to his crimes in the first war against Voldemort, it looks almost certain he’ll receive the Dementor’s Kiss.” “Won’t that be a shame,” Ginny exclaimed. “Ginny!” Hermione complained. “No matter what he’s done, the Dementor’s Kiss is an inhuman way to deal with prisoners. Executing him in that manner makes us no better than Voldemort. A life sentence would be ample punishment.” “I’m not sure locking him up in Azkaban would be any more humane,” Harry pondered. “I do agree with you about the Dementor’s Kiss, though. While I think Malfoy is just too much of a danger to be kept alive, I think there are a lot better ways of doing it. Personally, I think pushing him through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries is a more compassionate way of executing him.” “I don’t think ‘compassionate’ and ‘execution’ are two words that belong in the same sentence,” Hermione said coldly. “Hermione, we’re at war. We’ve already seen that Azkaban isn’t as secure as we’d hoped and even if he’s been stripped of his wealth, Lucius is an incredibly dangerous foe,” Remus pointed out. “How would you feel if he managed to escape and killed Harry, for instance? He’s just too dangerous to leave alive.” “It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it, either,” Tonks agreed. “From what I understand, Malfoy has killed dozens of people, Muggle and Magical, alike. He’s never going to change his views that the only decent people are pure-bloods and everyone else is scum; it’s too deeply ingrained in him. That means he can never be trusted again.” “I understand the arguments,” Hermione protested, “but just killing him in cold-blood seems barbaric! Surely if he’s confined and no longer a threat to anyone, we don’t have to lower ourselves to murder.” “It’s not murder, it’s justice,” Luna said in a surprisingly hard voice. “Killing him won’t bring back the people he murdered, but it will prevent him doing it again. There’s no way you can guarantee Malfoy can be kept under lock and key, especially with Voldemort still out there. As long as he’s alive he will be a threat and, personally, I think he gave up the right to life once he started killing people under the supposed justification of blood status.” Hermione stated at her friend in shock. “Death is something we will all face, sooner or later,” Luna continued in a softer tone. “Malfoy will be better off leaving this plane of existence and starting again somewhere else. He’s made too much of a mess of his life here.” “Is that really how you see it?” Audrey asked the blond girl interestedly. “Yes, it’s just his body that will die if he’s executed,” Luna noted. “The soul is immortal and will carry on. Hopefully, next time Malfoy will find somewhere that brings him peace.” “I sort of like that idea,” Harry said wistfully, “It makes me think that my parents are in a better place.” “I’m sure your mum and dad are still watching over you, Harry,” Luna smiled. “Although hopefully not when you’re alone with Ginny.” “Oh, trust me, James would want to watch that,” Remus smirked. “Our campaign to install Madam Bones as Minister is going well,” Percy interrupted in a desperate effort to get the meeting back on track. “As we suspected, Rufus Scrimgeour is starting to campaign hard, but we’ve been pretty successful in limiting his support.” “Our campaign has been based on three elements: bribery, blackmail and defamation,” Audrey explained. “Nice combination,” Bill laughed. “Thank you, future brother-in-law, we thought so, too,” Audrey smirked. “The bribery part has been pretty straightforward and, thanks to Sirius’s generous support, we’ve been able to outbid Scrimgeour for the purchasable votes pretty consistently.” “The blackmailing side has been trickier,” Percy said, taking over. “Audrey has kept some fairly extensive files on financial irregularities over the years and Tonks has managed to provide some interesting information that the Aurors were never able to follow up on due to lack of evidence. Even so, we’ve had to be fairly selective on who we apply pressure to. By far, our greatest success has been in getting Cecil Greengrass to throw his support behind Amelia.” “Greengrass?” Harry pondered. “There are two girls at Hogwarts called that name, both in Slytherin. Are they any relation?” “They are his daughters and word has it that he was trying to arrange a Betrothal Agreement with Lucius Malfoy before his arrest for one of the girls to marry Draco, which probably says more about Greengrass’s politics than I ever could,” Percy confirmed. “Needless to say, that arrangement is now dead in the water.” “Lucky girls,” Ginny noted. “Quite,” Percy agreed. “Anyway, Greengrass has always been a despicable sort and has had his fingers in dozens of shady deals. While the family has never actively supported Voldemort, there certainly have been rumours of financial contributions and definite political support for the pure-blood cause. Fortunately, my lovely fiancé here managed to find some pretty damning holes in his tax returns, certainly serious enough to convince him that a vote for Bones would be in his best interest.” “It helps that the pure-bloods don’t have a strong contender at present. Scrimgeour has been trying to sell himself in that role, but our final tactic, defamation, has helped limit his appeal,” Audrey smirked. “Somehow, a paper detailing Scrimgeour’s proposed tax reforms has been leaked to certain members of the Wizengamot. As there seems to be a rather large hole in funding, Scrimgeour has apparently decided that tax increases among the higher earning families will be required. This, needless to say, has significantly reduced his appeal amongst the older, pure-blood houses,” Percy explained. “Wow, that paper being leaked is a sure-fire vote loser for Rufus,” Ginny exclaimed. “I certainly hope so, it took me long enough to write the paper,” Percy grinned. “See why I love him?” Audrey laughed. “Definitely!” Harry laughed. “I think I love him a bit after that brilliant idea, too.” “I’m sorry, Harry, but I’m immensely fond of my sister and I could never steal her boyfriend from her,” Percy deadpanned. “Blimey, he’s developed a sense of humour, too!” Bill exclaimed. “Percy, you’ve just become my favourite brother.” “So, is Amelia a shoe-in for the post of Minister?” Tonks asked. “I’d say at present we definitely have about fifty per cent of the votes with Scrimgeour controlling about thirty per cent. The remaining twenty per cent is undecided, but a significant proportion of them are swaying towards Bones,” Audrey explained. “It’s not totally in the bag, but I’m pretty confident.” “Superb,” Harry exclaimed. “With a decent Minister in place we can hopefully round up the last remaining Death Eaters and cut Voldemort off at the knees.” “Speaking of old snake face, how much progress are you making with those spell books you liberated from Malfoy Manor?” Tonks asked. “We’ve pretty much found what we’re looking for,” Ginny confirmed. “As we suspected, the spell needs a shed-load of power to work, and Harry’s been practicing it for the last few days. Eva’s said she wants to probe the soul splinter in Harry’s mind a bit before we attempt anything, but we should be pretty much ready to go as soon as the love-birds return from their honeymoon.” “Mauritius,” Tonks said dreamily, “I’d love to be able to afford to go there.” “Ah, well, maybe it’s time for me to say my piece,” Bill piped up. “Fleur and I have taken those pieces of jewellery we took from the raid and had them valued by the goblins. It turns out that there were several rare pieces in that collection.” “Oui,” Fleur agreed. “One piece in particular was very valuable. It was called ze ‘Eye of Nairobi’ and it ‘ad be missing for some time.” “How much was it worth?” Audrey asked with interest. “The goblins valued it at a little over two million Galleons,” Bill told them. Complete and utter silence greeted his words. “Are you telling us that we could potentially have two million Galleons to split between us?” Ginny gasped eventually. “Oh, no, it was just that one piece that was worth that much,” Bill grinned. “The other eight pieces you brought back will double that amount.” Ginny felt her jaw drop. At that moment she didn’t know whether to faint or dance a jig. It looked like everyone else was in that same boat. “Of course, we have to find buyers for all the jewellery, but the goblins think they have a buyer for the ‘Eye of Nairobi’ in Abu Dhabi. They’ll want a commission, of course, but it would mean we could sell it without any hassle and it would be virtually impossible to trace it back to us,” Bill informed them all. “Oh, they also think they have buyers for three of the other pieces in the Far East.” “Oh… my… god,” Hermione muttered. “Four million galleons split twelve ways…” “Ten ways,” Bill interrupted. “I talked to Sirius about this a few days ago as I knew he wouldn’t be at this meeting. He believes he already has more money than he could ever spend and doesn’t want a share for Eva or himself.” Hermione whimpered. “Are you okay with this, Hermione?” Ginny asked curiously. “I mean, this money is essentially from ill-gotten gains.” “Well… it does make me a bit uncomfortable, but I could do so much good with this money!” Hermione declared. “There are loads of great charities I could help. I could give some money to my parents so they could expand their dental surgery. Oh, I could afford to go to Muggle university. That would be brilliant!” “Yes, and we do have to make sure the Malfoys don’t have access to that wealth,” Luna pointed out. “Maybe hanging around with you, Ginny, has loosened my morals a bit,” Hermione smirked. “Bloody cheek!” Ginny exclaimed. “Now if you’d said Sirius…” “Oh, that goes without saying,” Hermione said with a wave of her hand. “So, everyone is happy with this?” Harry asked the group. “We get Bill to arrange the sale of the jewellery with the Goblins, and then we split the proceeds evenly?” Everyone nodded enthusiastically. “I think that’s the first time everyone has agreed on something without any arguments,” Harry laughed. “While we’re loosely talking about the Malfoys, have we heard anything more about what happened at Malfoy Manor?” Hermione asked. “Nope, not a sausage,” Tonks replied. “Either Narcissa didn’t realise that the fire was a result of a break-in, or she doesn’t want to report it because she doesn’t want to admit what’s gone missing.” “Do we know how much damage was done to the house?” Harry asked. “No, but I might try and dig up an excuse to visit in a few days. It’s long been suspected that Malfoy Manor was one of Voldemort’s main headquarters during the last war, so if we’ve taken it out completely that will be a big victory for us,” Tonks grinned evilly. “Thank Harry and his pyromaniacal tendencies,” Ginny laughed. “I resent that, I haven’t burnt anything down all week,” Harry joked, “but seriously, do we have anything else we need to cover?” Nobody had any suggestions. “Then I suggest we declare this meeting closed and we then raid Sirius’s booze supply to celebrate becoming filthy, stinking rich!” he yelled happily. Sirius would return from his honeymoon the following week to find his drinks cabinet severely depleted. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP Several days later, Ginny awoke in the bed she and Harry had been sharing to find him gone. As it was already past ten in the morning, she wasn’t exactly surprised to find he’d already gotten up. He was a habitual early-riser and had never really shared her extreme love of lie-ins. Blearily, she rose and quickly used the bathroom. Throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, she made her way downstairs in search of breakfast. In the kitchen, she found not only her missing boyfriend but also Remus and Tonks who were both staying at Grimmauld Place while Sirius and Eva were away. “Morning, guys,” she yawned as she took a seat next to Harry. “Any breakfast left?” “Morning, sleeping beauty,” Harry smirked. “Dobby has been keeping a plate warm for you.” “Great, I’m starving,” Ginny announced as she took a seat next to Harry. “I’m not surprised, it is nearly lunchtime, after all,” Tonks teased. “Are you sure you and Sirius aren’t related?” “Oh, ha, ha,” Ginny snorted, before picking up her knife and fork and tucking into the large breakfast that Dobby had set before her. “You might want to read this morning Daily Prophet while you eat,” Harry suggested, placing the newspaper in front of her. The headline immediately caught her eye.
Ginny carefully placed her cutlery on her plate and sat back in her chair. Lucius Malfoy, the man responsible for planting Riddle’s accursed diary on her, was dead. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. “Are you alright, love?” Harry asked in a concerned voice. “Yeah, I’m okay,” Ginny replied, but even she could hear her voice tremble. Harry leapt from his seat and enveloped her in a fierce hug. “He’s gone, Ginny, the bastard is gone,” he told her. “He can’t hurt anyone ever again.” “I know, I just… damn it! That man took my childhood from me, Harry. He used me as a tool to hurt my dad and he nearly unleased Voldemort back onto the world again. You read how many people he killed. He was evil, pure evil. The Dementor’s Kiss was too good for him,” she sobbed. “It’s alright, love,” Harry said soothingly while rubbing her back. “He’s gone, and that’s the important thing.” “Yeah, I guess,” she replied shakily. “Bloody hell! Why am I even crying? I should be dancing a jig about now!” “It’s never that simple, Ginny,” Tonks told her kindly. “Malfoy hurt you deeply and he tried to hurt people you love, too. It’s not just about getting justice for what he did to you. All this has brought back all the pain you suffered, and that’s got to have an effect you. Don’t be afraid to cry, babe, it’s best to just let it out.” “No,” Ginny said firmly, pulling away from Harry slightly and wiping her eyes. “I’ll never be a victim again and I’m damned if I’m going to allow Lucius bloody Malfoy to make me cry. I’m glad he’s dead and, you know what? I’m going to bloody enjoy today!” She looked her boyfriend straight in the eye. “Harry, I’m going to go upstairs to wash and dress. While I’m doing that, I want you and Dobby to put together a picnic basket because you and I are going to have a day out somewhere nice. I’ll let you surprise me where, exactly,” she told him in a no-nonsense tone. “Later, when we get back, all four of us are going to put on our best clothes and find the poshest restaurant we can find and have a slap-up meal. What do you all say?” Harry smiled broadly. “I think that’s a great idea, Ginny,” he said. “Oh, hell, yes!” Tonks agreed. “I haven’t had a chance to wear my posh frock for ages. I’m up for a celebration.” “In view of our forthcoming windfall, courtesy of the Malfoy’s extensive jewellery collection, I think we can afford to push the boat out,” Remus agreed. “Besides, Sirius left me some ‘emergency funds’ in case of need, and I think we desperately need a few bottles of the finest champagne with our dinner tonight, don’t you?” “Damn right,” Harry laughed. “But before you go and wash, Ginny, have a look at page seventeen of the Prophet. I think we’ll have cause for a double celebration tonight.” Puzzled, Ginny picked up the discarded paper and turned to the page he indicated. Most of the page was taken up with a section marked ‘Notices’. Harry leaned over and indicated one specific item with his finger. Arthur and Molly Weasley are delighted to announce the betrothal of their daughter, Ginevra Molly Weasley, of Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, to Harry James Potter, of London. That was all the notice said, but Ginny’s heart leapt at the sight of it. She looked up at Harry in shock. “It seems that Sirius and your parents signed the agreement just before the wedding,” he explained. “Looks like you’re stuck with me now.” Ginny leapt at him and pulled him into a passionate kiss, ignoring the chortling that was coming from Remus and Tonks. She pulled away with a huge grin on her face and a song in her heart. “Make sure that basket is well stocked, Harry. You and I are going to have a wonderful day out!” she told him, before she turned and hurried out the room. She hurried up to her bedroom and began to pull clothes hurriedly from a drawer, desperate to find something suitable to wear for a romantic outing with her boyfriend. In the end, she virtually emptied the drawer onto her bed in her excitement, before she turned and hurried to get washed. As she entered the en-suite bathroom, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. For a second, she was shocked at how old she looked. She would be fifteen in just a few weeks, but the girl who looked back at her looked like a grown woman. Slowly, she edged closer to the mirror and looked into her own brown eyes. There was no way that those were the eyes of a child, she realised. Both she and Harry had experienced too much to be ever thought of as children again. “You might have taken my childhood, Malfoy, but the rest of my life is mine, and I’m going to live it to the full!” she declared. Her reflection seemed to approve of her words. With a triumphant smile on her lips, Ginny shrugged off her clothes and started the shower. |
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