* * *

            "SO SNAPE WAS OFFERING TO HELP HIM? he was definitely offering to help him?" 

            "if you ask that once more," said elara, "i'm going to stick this sprout —" 

            "i'm only checking!" said ron. 

            they were standing at the burrow's kitchen sink, peeling a mountain of sprouts for mrs. weasley. snow was drifting past the window in front of them. elara made a face. there was nothing more she wanted to do then engage in a snowball fight with ginny and aurora.

            "yes, snape was offering to help him!" said harry. "he said he'd promised malfoy's mother to protect him, that he'd made an unbreakable oath or something —" 

            "an unbreakable vow?" said ron, looking stunned. "nah, he can't have. . . . are you sure?" 

            "yes, i'm sure," said harry. "why, what does it mean?" 

            "well, you can't break an unbreakable vow. . . ." 

            "i'd worked that much out for myself, funnily enough. what happens if you break it, then?" 

            "you die," said elara simply. 

            "fred and george tried to get me to make one when i was about five. i nearly did too, i was holding hands with fred and everything when dad found us. he went mental," said ron, with a reminiscent gleam in his eyes. "only time i've ever seen dad as angry as mum. fred reckons his left buttock has never been the same since." 

            "yeah, well, passing over fred's left buttock —" 

            "i beg your pardon?" said fred's voice as the twins and aurora entered the kitchen. "aaah, george, look at this. they're using knives and everything. bless them." 

            "congratulations on the engagement, by the way," said harry, and aurora wiggled the hand the ring was on.

            "i'll be seventeen in two and a bit months' time," said ron grumpily, "and then i'll be able to do it by magic!" 

            "but meanwhile," said george, sitting down at the kitchen table and putting his feet up on it, "we can enjoy watching you demonstrate the correct use of a — whoops-a-daisy!" 

            "you made me do that!" said ron angrily, sucking his cut thumb. "you wait, when i'm seventeen —" 

            "i'm sure you'll dazzle us all with hitherto unsuspected magicalskills," yawned fred. 

            "and speaking of hitherto unsuspected skills, ronald," said george, "what is this we hear from ginny about you and a young lady called — unless our information is faulty — lavender brown?"

            ron turned a little pink, but did not look displeased as he turned back to the sprouts.

            "mind your own business." 

            "what a snappy retort," said fred. "i really don't know how you think of them. no, what we wanted to know was . . . how did it happen?"

            "what d'you mean?"

            "did she have an accident or something?" 

            "what?" 

            "well, how did she sustain such extensive brain damage? careful, now!" 

            mrs. weasley entered the room just in time to see ron throw the sprout knife at fred, who had turned it into a paper airplane with one lazy flick of his wand. 

            "ron!" she said furiously. "don't you ever let me see you throwing knives again!" 

            "i won't," said ron, "let you see," he added under his breath, as he turned back to the sprout mountain. 

            "fred, george, i'm sorry, dears, but remus is arriving tonight, so bill will have to squeeze in with you two." 

            "no problem," said george. 

            "then, as charlie isn't coming home, that just leaves harry and ron in the attic, and if fleur shares with ginny and lara —" 

            "— that'll make ginny's christmas —" muttered fred. 

            "— everyone should be comfortable. well, they'll have a bed, anyway," said mrs. weasley, sounding slightly harassed. 

            "percy definitely not showing his ugly face, then?" asked fred.

            mrs. weasley turned away before she answered. 

            "no, he's busy, i expect, at the ministry." 

            "or he's the world's biggest prat," said aurora, as mrs. weasley left the kitchen. "one of the two. well, let's get going, then, george."

            "what are you two up to?" asked ron. "can't you help us with these sprouts? you could just use your wand and then we'll be free too!"

            "no, i don't think we can do that," said george seriously. "it's very character-building stuff, learning to peel sprouts without magic, makes you appreciate how difficult it is for muggles and squibs —" 

            "— and if you want people to help you, ron," added fred, throwing the paper airplane at him, "i wouldn't chuck knives at them. just a little hint. we're off to the village, there's a very pretty girl working in the paper shop who thinks my card tricks are something marvelous . . . almost like real magic. . . ." 

            "gits, the two of them," said ron darkly, watching fred, george, and aurora setting off across the snowy yard. "would've only taken them ten seconds and then we could've gone too."

            "lara and i couldn't," said harry. "we promised dumbledore we wouldn't wander off while i'm staying here."

            "oh yeah," said ron. he peeled a few more sprouts and thensaid, "are you going to tell dumbledore what you heard snape and malfoy saying to each other?" 

            "yep," said harry. "i'm going to tell anyone who can put a stop to it, and dumbledore's top of the list. i might have another word with your dad too." 

            "pity you didn't hear what malfoy's actually doing, though." 

            "i couldn't have done, could i? that was the whole point, he was refusing to tell snape." 

            elara hadn't told anyone of her interaction with draco. she was doing what dumbledore said, keeping it a secret and being there for draco.

            there was silence for a moment or two, then ron said, " 'course, you know what they'll all say? dad and dumbledore and all of them? they'll say snape isn't really trying to help malfoy, he was just trying to find out what malfoy's up to." 

            "they didn't hear him," said harry flatly. "no one's that good an actor, not even snape." 

            "yeah . . . i'm just saying, though," said ron. 

            harry turned to face him, frowning.

            "you two think i'm right, though?" 

            "yeah," said elara simply.

            "yeah, i do!" said ron hastily. "seriously, i do! but they're all convinced snape's in the order, aren't they?" 

            as she, harry, and ron had left for the burrow early the next day, elara had barely had time to wish hermione a happy christmas. she was not entirely sure that hermione had heard her and harry, though; ron and lavender had been saying a thoroughly nonverbal good-bye just behind them at the time. 

            the weasleys, the tonks, and their guests were sitting in the living room, which elara and ginny had decorated so lavishly that it was rather like sitting in a paper-chain explosion. fred, george, aurora, elara, harry, and ron were the only ones who knew that the angel on top of the tree was actually a garden gnome that had bitten fred on the ankle as he pulled up carrots for christmas dinner. stupefied, painted gold, stuffed into a miniature tutu and with small wings glued to its back, it glowered down at them all, the ugliest angel elara had ever seen, with a large bald head like a potato and rather hairy feet. 

            they were all supposed to be listening to a christmas broadcast by mrs. weasley's favorite singer, celestina warbeck, whose voice was warbling out of the large wooden wireless set. fleur, who seemed to find celestina very dull, was talking so loudly in the corner that a scowling mrs. weasley kept pointing her wand at the volume control, so that celestina grew louder and louder. under cover of a particularly jazzy number called "a cauldron full of hot, strong love," fred, george, and aurora started a game of exploding snap with ginny. ron kept shooting bill and fleur covert looks, as though hoping to pick up tips. 

            meanwhile, remus lupin, who was thinner and more ragged-looking than ever, was sitting beside the fire, staring into its depths as though he could not hear celestina's voice. elara felt slightly resentful towards lupin at this time, seeing as nymphie was in love with him, but "he didn't want to make her an outcast".

oh, come and stir my cauldron, 
and if you do it right, 
i'll boil you up some hot strong love 
to keep you warm tonight. 

            "we danced to this when we were eighteen!" said mrs. weasley, wiping her eyes on her knitting. "do you remember, arthur?" 

            "mphf?" said mr. weasley, whose head had been nodding over the satsuma he was peeling. 

            "oh yes . . . marvelous tune . . ." 

            elara tried not to laugh. celestina warbeck was terrible, or maybe it was the fact she hated this type of music, she didn't know. harry didn't seem to like it much either, as he was trying discreetly to cover his ears.

            she looked over at ted and andromeda, who were cuddling and whispering something seemingly humorous to each other. elara smiled and looked down at her lap, where a plethora of string bracelets were sitting. it's been her main focus for several days, trying to make everyone bracelets. she now knew everyone's favorite colors by heart. 

            elara had intentionally used the same pattern for nymphie and lupin with the hope that they will get together soon. ginny's was the most intricate by far, seeing as elara was making a bracelet with a broom and quaffle. ron's said 'weasley is our king', aurora's was an enchanted forest, george's was a rough picture of the store, fred's was the words 'mischief managed', and she had only a few more to go.

 . . . and now you've torn it quite apart
i'll thank you to give back my heart!

            celestina ended her song on a very long, high-pitched note and loud applause issued out of the wireless, which mrs. weasley joined in with enthusiastically. 

            "eez eet over?" said fleur loudly. "thank goodness, what an 'orrible —" 

            elara snorted loudly. she quite liked fleur, no matter how much ginny talked about her.

            "shall we have a nightcap, then?" asked mr. weasley loudly, leaping to his feet. "who wants eggnog?" 

            a very familiar song started. andromeda's head whipped over to elara, who was already on her feet.

            "may i have this dance, mum?" said elara, extending a hand.

            "but of course!" said andromeda, jumping up.

            "oh no," whisper-yelled ted, "everyone clear out, they're doing the jitterbug!"

            fred was able to snatch up exploding snap as elara and andromeda broke out into a wild and intricate dance, swinging and kicking. the entire time, the mother-daughter pair were laughing loudly as they messed up occasionally. 

            as the song progressed, andromeda snatched up ted, and they were able to do the dance more precisely than andromeda and elara. elara grabbed a rather reluctant harry and tangled him up into a random dance. george and aurora joined, trying their best to copy andromeda and ted's movements.

            elara almost forgot the looming threat of total and inevitable war.

            shortly after this, fleur decided to imitate celestina singing "a cauldron full of hot, strong love," which was taken by everyone, once they had glimpsed mrs. weasley's expression, to be the cue to go to bed. she climbed up the stairs with ginny, who was mumbling vehemently about what she'd rather do than share a room with fleur.

            when they reached ginny's bedroom, harry pulled elara off to the side.

            "i want to give you your present now."

            "oh?"

            he pulled out a tiny box from his back pocket. elara's eyes widened.

            "i — "

            "oh!" said harry, realizing what it looked like, "no, i'm not proposing!"

            relief flooded elara. she began laughing as harry opened the box sheepishly. there was a gorgeous golden ring inside that had the most intricate carvings on the band. harry took it out of the box and much to elara's surprise, it folded out into an astronomical sphere.

            her mouth dropped open.

            "do you like it?" said harry nervously.

            "i — i love it!" said elara happily, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tight. 

            she pulled away and kissed him in thanks.

            "i have something for you too," murmured elara, who also reached into her back pocket.

            out slid a cassette tape to which she pressed into harry's hand.

            "i'm terrible at saying things out loud," she said quietly, as harry examined the index of songs written in elara's semi-sloppy handwriting on the back, "so i thought i'd give you this. i saw an old cassette player in a shop and bought it on impulse. it's already wrapped and sitting in your room."

            harry smiled and looked back up at elara, who was still rambling and shifting her weight nervously.

            "i mean, it's no sixteenth century german astronomical ring, but i thought it would be kind of cool, since i suck at words and this way, whenever i'm not near, you have this. it's okay if you don't like it. i've never really heard you mention music, so — "

            her repertoire of words was interrupted by harry leaning down and kissing her abruptly to either end her incessant rambling or to show gratitude. either way, she was not complaining. normally she'd hate being shut up, but she was talking herself in anxious circles. harry kissing her just confirmed the fact she was worrying for absolutely no reason.

            "i love you," they both said, resting their foreheads together.

            elara woke with a start to find a bulging stocking lying over the end of her bed. she rubbed her eyes and looked around; the tiny window was almost completely obscured with snow and, in front of it, ginny was sitting bolt upright in bed and examining her next present. fleur's cot was empty.

            "happy christmas, gin."

            "happy christmas, lara. you might want to open that present first," she pointed at a rectangular box, "i think it's new combat boots."

            that got elara to fully wake up within seconds. the box was indeed new combat boots from nymphie. anya, surprisingly, had gotten elara something. it was a dainty pendant with a note attached that read, 'this grants you extra energy as well as control when you feel like you've lost it.' elara slipped the pendant on over her head. mrs. weasley knitted her a forest green sweater with a vincent van gogh quote stitched in silver. ginny had gifted her socks with kreacher's face on them, which made elara laugh until she cried. andromeda and ted gave her a beautiful sundress, and while elara normally hates dresses with everything holy, she fell in love with this one. ron finally gave elara something she liked, and not just a gift he hoped to receive back. ron's present was a box full of just chocolate.

            elara and ginny entered the room to find a horrendous gold chain lying on ron's bed and maggots all over harry's.

            "so, ron's a pimp now? and why the hell are there maggots on your bed, harry?" said ginny, sitting on ron's bed, farthest away from the maggot infestation.

            "kreacher," said harry and ron simultaneously, as harry worked to sweep the disgusting insects onto the floor.

            but ginny wasn't listening. she had picked up the thick gold chain and found there was an even larger gold heart attached to it that bore the words, 'my sweetheart'. ginny tossed the chain to elara and begun roaring with laughter. ron looked thoroughly annoyed when elara began clutching her sides as she doubled over.

            "good luck getting out of that relationship," said elara, wiping a tear from her eye, "she won't let you go."

            ron looked as if he didn't know how to feel.

            everybody was wearing new sweaters when they all sat down for christmas lunch, everyone except fleur (on whom, it appeared, mrs. weasley had not wanted to waste one). elara felt badly and decided to make fleur a bracelet. fleur requested a silvery blue color and a snowy forest design. mrs. weasley was sporting a brand-new midnight blue witch's hat glittering with what looked like tiny starlike diamonds, and a spectacular golden necklace. 

            "fred and george gave them to me! aren't they beautiful?" 

            "well, we find we appreciate you more and more, mum, now we're washing our own socks," said george, waving an airy hand. 

            "molly, i cannot tell you enough how difficult it was shopping with these two," said aurora exasperatedly, "especially since it was for you. seriously, it took hours."

            mrs. weasley laughed heartily.

            "harry, you've got a maggot in your hair," said elara cheerfully, leaning across the table to pick it out.

            " 'ow 'orrible," said fleur, with an affected little shudder. 

            "yes, isn't it?" said ron. "gravy, fleur?" 

            in his eagerness to help her, he knocked the gravy boat flying; bill waved his wand and the gravy soared up in the air and returned meekly to the boat. 

            "you are as bad as zat tonks," said fleur to ron, when she had finished kissing bill in thanks. "she is always knocking —" 

            "we invited nymphandora to come," said andromeda, looking glum. "but she wouldn't. have you spoken to her lately, remus?" 

            "no, i haven't been in contact with anybody very much," said lupin. "but tonks has got a lot going on, hasn't she?" 

            "hmmm," said mrs. weasley. "maybe. i got the impression she was planning to spend christmas alone, actually." 

            she gave lupin an annoyed look, since it was all his fault she was getting fleur for a daughter-in-law instead of nymphie, but elara, glancing across at fleur, who was now feeding Bill bits of turkey off her own fork, thought that mrs. weasley was fighting along-lost battle.

            "tonks's patronus has changed its form," harry told lupin. "snape said so anyway. i didn't know that could happen. why would your patronus change?" 

            lupin took his time chewing his turkey and swallowing before saying slowly, "sometimes . . . a great shock . . . an emotional upheaval . . ." 

            elara leaned on her elbows and stared lupin down.

            "it looked big, and it had four legs," said harry, "hey . . . it couldn't be — ?"

            "arthur!" said mrs. weasley suddenly. she had risen from her chair; her hand was pressed over her heart and she was staring out of the kitchen window. "arthur — it's percy!" 

            "what?" mr. weasley looked around. 

            everybody looked quickly at the window; elara stood up for a better look. there, sure enough, was percy weasley, striding across the snowy yard, his horn-rimmed glasses glinting in the sunlight. he was not, however, alone.

            "arthur, he's — he's with the minister!" 

            and sure enough, the man elara had seen in the daily prophet was following along in percy's wake, limping slightly, his mane of graying hair and his black cloak flecked with snow. before any of them could say anything, before mr. and mrs. weasley could do more than exchange stunned looks, the back door opened and there stood percy. there was a moment's painful silence. 

            then percy said rather stiffly, "merry christmas, mother." 

            he refused to look at elara, especially since of their last meeting in dumbledore's office after she and harry were caught hosting the d.a.

            "oh, percy!" said mrs. weasley, and she threw herself into his arms. rufus scrimgeour paused in the doorway, leaning on his walking stick and smiling as he observed this affecting scene. 

            "if you set percy on fire, you'll be maid of honor at my wedding," whispered aurora to elara, who struggled with herself before pointing a finger at the edge of percy's robe, which began smoking.

            "you must forgive this intrusion," said scrimgeour, when mrs. weasley looked around at him, beaming and wiping her eyes. "percy and i were in the vicinity — working, you know — and he couldn't resist dropping in and seeing you all." 

            but percy showed no sign of wanting to greet any of the rest of the family. he stood, poker-straight and awkward-looking, and stared over everybody else's heads. mr. weasley, bill, charlie, fred, george, ron, and ginny were all observing him, stony-faced. 

            "please, come in, sit down, minister!" fluttered mrs. weasley, straightening her hat. "have a little purkey, or some tooding. . . . i mean —" 

            "no, no, my dear molly," said scrimgeour. elara guessed that he had checked her name with percy before they entered the house. "i don't want to intrude, wouldn't be here at all if percy hadn't wanted to see you all so badly. . . ." 

            "oh, perce!" said mrs. weasley tearfully, reaching up to kiss him. 

            ". . . we've only looked in for five minutes, so i'll have a stroll around the yard while you catch up with percy. no, no, i assure you i don't want to butt in! well, if anybody cared to show me your charming garden . . . ah, those two are finished, why don't they take a stroll with me?" 

            the atmosphere around the table changed perceptibly. everybody looked from scrimgeour to elara and harry. nobody seemed to find scrimgeour's pretense that he did not know either of their names convincing, or find it natural that they should be chosen to accompany the minister around the garden when ginny, fleur, and george also had clean plates. 

            "yeah, all right," said elara into the silence.

            "why not?" said harry.

            neither of them were fooled; for all scrimgeour's talk that they had just been in the area, that percy wanted to look up his family, this must be the real reason that they had come, so that scrimgeour could speak to elara and harry alone.

            "it's fine," elara said quietly, as they passed andromeda, who had half risen from his chair. 

            "fine," harry added, as mr. weasley opened his mouth to speak. 

            "wonderful!" said scrimgeour, standing back to let elara and harry pass through the door ahead of him. "we'll just take a turn around the garden, and percy and i'll be off. carry on, everyone!" 

            elara and harry walked across the yard toward the weasleys' overgrown, snow-covered garden, scrimgeour limping slightly at their side. he had, elara knew, been head of the auror office; he looked tough and battle-scarred, very different from portly fudge in his bowler hat. 

            "charming," said scrimgeour, stopping at the garden fence and looking out over the snowy lawn and the indistinguishable plants. "charming." 

            neither elara or harry said anything.

            "i've wanted to meet you two for a very long time," said scrimgeour, after a few moments. "did you know that?" 

            "no," said harry truthfully. elara nodded in agreement.

            "oh yes, for a very long time. but dumbledore has been very protective of you both," said scrimgeour. "natural, of course, natural, after all you two've been through. . . . especially what happened at the ministry . . ." 

            he waited for either of them to say something, but they did not oblige, so he went on, "i have been hoping for an occasion to talk to you two ever since i gained office, but dumbledore has — most understandably, as i say — prevented this." 

            still, they said nothing, waiting. 

            "the rumors that have flown around!" said scrimgeour. "well, of course, we both know how these stories get distorted . . . all these whispers of a prophecy . . . of you being 'the chosen one' and 'the savior'. . ." 

            they were getting near it now, elara thought, the reason scrimgeour was here.

            ". . . i assume that dumbledore has discussed these matters with you two?"

            elara deliberated, wondering whether she ought to lie or not. harry looked like he was thinking the same.

            she looked at the little gnome prints all around the flower beds, and the scuffed-up patch that marked the spot where fred had caught the gnome now wearing the tutu at the top of the christmas tree. finally, she decided on the truth . . . or a bit of it. 

            "yeah, we've discussed it." 

            "have you, have you . . ." said scrimgeour. 

            elara could see, out of the corner of her eye, scrimgeour squinting at her, so she pretended to be very interested in a gnome that had just poked its head out from underneath a frozen rhododendron. 

            "and what has dumbledore told you, elara?" 

            "sorry, but that's between us," said elara. 

            she kept her voice as pleasant as she could, and scrimgeour's tone, too, was light and friendly as he said, "oh, of course, if it's a question of confidences, i wouldn't want you to divulge . . . no, no . . . and in any case, does it really matter whether you are 'the chosen one' and 'the savior' or not?" 

            elara had to mull that one over for a few seconds. 

            "i don't really know what you mean, minister," said harry.

            "well, of course, to you two it will matter enormously," said scrimgeour with a laugh. "but to the wizarding community at large . . .it's all perception, isn't it? it's what people believe that's important." 

            elara said nothing. she thought she saw, dimly, where they were heading, but she was not going to help scrimgeour get there. the gnome under the rhododendron was now digging for worms at its roots, and elara kept her eyes fixed upon it. 

            "people believe you two are 'the chosen one' and 'the savior', you see," said scrimgeour. "they think you are quite the heroes — which, of course, you are, prophecy or not! how many times have you faced he-who-must-not-be-named now? well, anyway," he pressed on, without waiting for a reply, "the point is, you two are symbols of hope for many. the idea that there is somebody out there who might be able, who might even be destined, to destroy he-who-must-not-be-named — well, naturally, it gives people a lift. and o can't help but feel that, once you realize this, you might consider it, well, almost a duty, to stand alongside the ministry, and give everyone a boost." 

            elara fought so hard to hold back a laugh. the gnome had just managed to get hold of a worm. it was now tugging very hard on it, trying to get it out of the frozen ground. 

            they were silent so long that scrimgeour said, looking from elara and harry to the gnome, "funny little chaps, aren't they? but what say you?" 

            "i don't exactly understand what you want," said elara slowly. " 'stand alongside the ministry' . . . what does that mean?" 

            "oh, well, nothing at all onerous, i assure you," said scrimgeour. "if you were to be seen popping in and out of the ministry from time to time, for instance, that would give the right impression. and of course, while you were there, you would have ample opportunity to speak to gawain robards, my successor as head of the auror office. dolores umbridge has told me that you two cherish an ambition to become an auror. well, that could be arranged very easily. . . ."

            elara felt anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach: so umbitch was still at the ministry, was she? 

            "so basically," she said, as though she just wanted to clarify a few points, "you'd like to give the impression that harry and i are working for the ministry?"

            "it would give everyone a lift to think you two were more involved, elara," said scrimgeour, sounding relieved that elara had cottoned on so quickly. " 'the savior' and 'the chosen one,' you know . . . it's all about giving people hope, the feeling that exciting things are happening. . . ." 

            "but if we keep running in and out of the ministry," said harry, endeavoring to keep his voice friendly, "won't that seem as though we approve of what the ministry's up to?" 

            "well," said scrimgeour, frowning slightly, "well, yes, that's partly why we'd like —" 

            "no, that won't work," said harry pleasantly. "you see, lara and i don't like some of the things the ministry's doing. locking up stan Shunpike, for instance." 

            scrimgeour did not speak for a moment but his expression hardened instantly. 

            "i would not expect either of you to understand," he said, and he was not as successful at keeping anger out of his voice as elara and harry had been. "these are dangerous times, and certain measures need to be taken. you two are sixteen years old —" 

            "dumbledore's a lot older than sixteen, and he doesn't think stan should be in azkaban either," said elara, dropping her friendly tone, "you're making stan a scapegoat, just like you want to make us mascots." 

            elara and harry stared at the minister, long and hard. finally Scrimgeour said, with no pretense at warmth, "i see. you two prefer — like your hero, dumbledore — to disassociate yourselves from the ministry?" 

            "i don't like being used," said harry. 

            "some would say it's your duty to be used by the ministry!" 

            "yeah, and others might say it's your duty to check that people really are death eaters before you chuck them in prison," sid elara, her infamous temper rising now. "you're doing what barty crouch did. you never get it right, you people, do you? either we've got fudge, pretending everything's lovely while people get murdered right under his nose, or we've got you, chucking the wrong people into jail and trying to pretend you've got 'the savior' and 'the chosen one' working for you!" 

            "so you're not them?" said scrimgeour. 

            "i thought you said it didn't matter either way?" said harry, with a bitter laugh. "not to you anyway." 

            "i shouldn't have said that," said scrimgeour quickly. "it was tactless —" 

            "no, it was honest," said elara. "one of the only honest things you've said to me. you don't care whether we live or die, but you do care that we help you convince everyone you're winning the war against voldemort. we haven't forgotten, minister. . . ." she raised her right fist, harry following suit. there, shining white on the back of their cold hands, were the scars which dolores umbridge had forced them to carve into their own flesh: i must not disrespect and i must not tell lies. "i don't remember you rushing to harry's defense when he was trying to tell everyone voldemort was back. the ministry wasn't so keen to be pals last year. all the horrible things you've said about me in the past, making me a scapegoat whenever you mess up. . ." 

            they stood in silence as icy as the ground beneath their feet. the gnome had finally managed to extricate his worm and was nowsucking on it happily, leaning against the bottommost branches of the rhododendron bush. 

            "what is dumbledore up to?" said scrimgeour brusquely. "where does he go when he is absent from hogwarts?" 

            "no idea," said harry as elara shrugged.

            "and you wouldn't tell me if you knew," said scrimgeour, "would you?"

            "no, i wouldn't," said harry. 

            "well, then, i shall have to see whether i can't find out by other means." 

            "you can try," said elara indifferently. "but you seem cleverer than fudge, so i'd have thought you'd have learned from his mistakes. he tried interfering at hogwarts. you might have noticed he's not minister anymore, but dumbledore's still headmaster. i'd leave dumbledore alone, if i were you." 

            there was a long pause. 

            "well, it is clear to me that he has done a very good job on you two," said scrimgeour, his eyes cold and hard behind his wire-rimmed glasses. "dumbledore's kids through and through, aren't you?" 

            "yeah, we are," said elara. "glad we straightened that out." 

            she grabbed harry's arm and turning her back on the minister of magic, she and harry strode back toward the house. 

us vol. 1

the cave . mumford and sons
beige . yoke lore
supercut . lorde
it's not living (if it's not with you) . the 1975
rivers and roads . the head and the heart
butterfly's repose . zabawa
broken - acoustic . lovelytheband
yellow . coldplay
sixteen - acoustic . ellie goulding
can't help falling in love . elvis presley
fly me to the moon . frank sinatra
baby in blue . madisenxoxo
slacks . st south
three rounds and a sound . blind pilot
heartbeats . jose gonzalez
the woods . hollow coves
goodpain . yoke lore

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE

— i had the weirdest dream last night
and my former best friend was in it
and we were all like buddy buddy again
it was so freaking weird cause we were
in target at night when it was closed and
my spanish teacher was there???? like hUh

written: june 27, 2020
published: june 29, 2020