𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐝 {𝐇. 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫}

41

Johnny and Harry didn't have a very clear idea of how they had managed to get back into the Honeydukes cellar, through the tunnel, and into the castle once more. All they knew was that the return trip seemed to take no time at all, and that they hardly noticed what they were doing, especially Johnny because his head was still pounding with the conversation he had just heard.

Blaise, Pansy, Ron and Hermione watched Harry and Johnny nervously all through dinner, Blaise and Pansy didn't really know what was going and didn't care about Harry. When they went downstairs to the crowded Slytherin common room, Johnny sneaked quietly up to the empty dormitory and headed straight for his bedside cabinet. He pushed his books aside and quickly found what he was looking for -- the leather-bound photo album his mother had given him two years ago, which was full of wizard pictures of his mother, father, aunt, uncle, Harry and himself. He sat down on his bed, drew the hangings around him, and started turning the pages, searching, until ...

He stopped on a picture of his aunt Lily and uncle James's wedding day. There was his uncle waving up at him, beaming, the untidy black hair Harry had inherited standing up in all directions. There was his aunt, alight with happiness, arm in arm with his dad. And there... that must be him. Their best man... Johnny had never given him a thought before.

If he hadn't known it was the same person, he would never have guessed it was his father in this old photograph. His face wasn't sunken and waxy, but handsome, full of laughter. Had he already been working for Voldemort when this picture had been taken? Was he already planning the deaths of the two people next to him? Did he realise he was facing twelve years in Azkaban, twelve years that would make him unrecognisable?

But the Dementors don't affect him, Johnny thought, staring into the handsome, laughing face. He doesn't have to hear uncle James screaming if they get too close --

Johnny slammed the album shut, reached over and stuffed it back into his cabinet, took off his robe and got into bed, making sure the hangings were hiding him from view.

The dormitory door opened.

"Johnny?" said Draco's voice uncertainly.

But Johnny lay still, pretending to be asleep. He heard Draco leave again, and rolled over on his back, his eyes wide open.

A hatred such as he had never known before was coursing through Johnny like poison. He could see his father laughing at him through the darkness, as though somebody had pasted the picture from the album over his eyes. He watched, as though somebody was playing him a piece of film, Jakob Grindelwald blasting Peter Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom) into a thousand pieces. He could hear a low, excited mutter. "It has happened, My Lord... my stupid brother-in-law have made me their Secret-Keeper" and then came another voice, laughing shrilly...

Johnny hadn't gotten to sleep until daybreak. He had awoken to find the dormitory deserted, dressed, and gone down the spiral staircase to a common room. Johnny dressed himself in his black boots, skinny blue jeans, a white shirt and a blue denim jacket with a fur collar, before wrapping his Slytherin scarf around his neck and leaving for the Gryffindor tower.

"Johnny, you -- you look terrible."

"Where is everyone?" said Johnny.

"Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember?" said Ron, watching Johnny closely. "It's nearly lunchtime; I was going to come and find you up in a minute."

Johnny slumped into a chair next to the fire. Snow was still falling outside the windows. Crookshanks was spread out in front of the fire like a large, ginger rug. Harry was sat in front of him, looking far better than Johnny was.