Only Ash Remains

Chapter 6

Harry opened his eyes to shafts of early morning sunlight lancing through his dark green shutters, striping the floor with stark bars of light and dark. He sat up immediately, grabbing his glasses off the bedside table and shoving them onto his face before pulling open the shutters to let the morning light in. He opened the window and took a breath of clear morning air, feeling his lungs expand with it, feeling himself fill with resolve.

Today, he was going to the Ministry to get the Malfoys' wands back.

He was too impatient for a shower and instead rifled through his wardrobe, making a mental note to thank Kreacher for cleaning everything. He settled on his favourite red t-shirt and a pair of worn blue jeans that didn't have any holes in them.

He thought grudgingly that Hermione was right: he really ought to get some new clothes. Later, though. Today he had more important things to do.

He dressed quickly, jumping awkwardly up and down as he put on his socks. Socked feet would make the stairs difficult, but not as difficult as an extra trip up and down them would be when he inevitably forgot to grab the socks on his way down.

As he turned to leave the room, he snatched his and Malfoy's wands from the bedside table and stuffed them into his back pocket. Then he hurried down the stairs, skating his hand over the railing to keep himself from tumbling down, and made his way to the kitchen to help Narcissa with breakfast.

Narcissa was standing at the stove, as she had been every morning she'd stayed at Harry's house, already at work. She didn't make a variety of fancy foods, as Harry had at first worried she might. Instead, she focused on a handful of hearty breakfasts and dinners that tasted as good as they looked. She left lunch and tea to Kreacher, who seemed more than happy to prepare sandwiches (with perfect competency, Harry discovered with relief).

Lucius was up, too, sitting at the table with that morning's Prophet spread open before him, a cup of tea shoved aside to make room for the pages. He looked less than enthused about their approaching visit to the Ministry.

Harry, noting that today was a pancake day, set about preparing the toppings. As he grabbed the plate of strawberries sitting off to the side of the stove and set to slicing them, he startled himself by hoping Malfoy would venture down to breakfast that morning.

After he and Lucius had left for the Ministry, he amended quickly. Narcissa's pancakes were, in Harry's mind, not to be missed, but he was afraid that seeing Malfoy's surly expression too early in the morning might ruin his appetite. And that would be a shame. Especially on a pancake day.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," Lucius said, looking up from his paper.

"Good morning," Harry replied, as he set the platter of sliced strawberries and bananas on the table, next to the small pot of chilled whipped cream. Then he sighed. "You may as well call me Harry," he said. "One person calling me 'Potter' is quite enough."

The corner of Lucius' mouth twitched upward. "Indeed. And you should call me Lucius, as one 'Malfoy' is also sufficient."

Harry was just turning away to grab the pitcher of warmed maple syrup from its hot water bath when Lucius lifted the paper again and a headline on the back of the page caught his eye. He paused, taking it in, feeling his appetite wither away.

War Hero Ginevra Weasley Harbouring Death Eater Fugitive? the headline screamed. Beneath it was a photo of a livid Ginny standing in front of a cowering Pansy Parkinson, a crowd of jeering witches and wizards surrounding them.

Harry didn't immediately recognise the place they were standing, but it vaguely reminded him of Hogsmeade and he wondered what on earth they were doing there. It wasn't a place that had ever had much to tempt either Ginny or Pansy, as far as he knew.