Кассандра Клэр: Draco Sinister

"No," said Percy firmly, looking very cross. "I am NOT going to give you Viktor Krum's home address in Bulgaria. Do you know what kind of trouble I could get into with the Department of Magical Games and Sports?"

"We're not going to track him down and slaughter him, Perce," said Ron irritably. "We just want to send a letter to Hermione, see if she's all right."

Percy made an irritated noise. "Look, Ron, I'm sorry your girlfriend ran off with Viktor Krum, but he is very famous and rich and you really can't blame her. Just try to be a good sport about it, who don't you?"

"Hermione is not my girlfriend," said Ron, through gritted teeth.

"She is Harry's girlfriend."

"Well," said Percy, in a patronizing tone, "She's Viktor's girlfriend now, isn't she?"

"That's just it!" said Ron, pouncing on this statement like Pigwidgeon onto a tasty mouse. "I don't think she is, at least not voluntarily. I think," he said, dropping his voice, "that she was under some sort of Hex…or a love potion!"

"Ron!" Percy exclaimed, horrified. "Use of love potions is completely illegal, you know that! Viktor Krum would never do that, he's…he's…a famous international figure!"

"So is Voldemort," said Ginny crankily.

Percy and Ron turned on her. "Don't say the name!"

"Why not? Harry does."

"You're not Harry!" said Ron, unhelpfully, and turned back to Percy.

"Percy, just because he's a famous Quidditch player, that doesn't mean anything. He was just obsessed with Hermione two years ago, it was really disgusting, he's so much older than her-"

"Ron!" Percy interrupted. "Do you have any idea how busy I am right now? The Ministry is in an uproar! There's chaos in the streets!

This morning Minister Fudge got five hundred owls! Five hundred!

And guess who has to answer them all? Me!"

Ron and Ginny stared at each other, then back at Percy. "Five hundred owls?" said Ron in surprise. "Why? What's going on?"

Percy turned an apoplectic shade of purple. "Don't you even read the paper anymore?" he shouted.

"We were too worried about Hermione," said Ginny, looking startled.

"Well, go read it!" snapped Percy. "And don't bother me again until you have!"

And he vanished.

Ginny and Ron stared at each other, then got to their feet. Without speaking, Ginny went to the front door, collected the Daily Prophet, and brought it inside, where she spread it out on the kitchen table.

"Oh," she said faintly, catching sight of the headline, "Ron…"

Ron crossed the room to stand next to her and looked down at the front page of the paper, which read, in huge letters: DEMENTORS ABANDON AZKABAN.

The Ministry of Magic has confirmed at this time that the Dementors, longtime guards of wizard prison Azkaban, have abandoned their posts as the protectors of the over two hundred prisoners that Azkaban currently holds. There is no word as to where they might have gone, according to Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. "It appears that they simply vanished. We have no idea where they have gone; however, no prisoners have escaped and the Dementors have been replaced by fully trained and qualified wizards from the Agency for Magical Law Enforcement." Fudge stressed that the magical community should remain calm; all prisoners remain safely in Azkaban and there have been no reported escapes. "We've been discussing the matter of replacing the Dementors with qualified wizards for a long time now within the Ministry," adds Percy Weasley, Assistant to the Minister of Magic.

"Really, this is all for the best as it gives us an opportunity to implement our new program."

"Percy, you git," said Ron, under his breath. "How is this a good thing? Dementors running rampant over the countryside…"

"But they're not," said Ginny. "It says they've just vanished."

Ron was biting his knuckle thoughtfully. "Like Hermione," he said.

"You don't honestly think those two things are related, do you? Or do you think they all ran off with Viktor Krum?"

"Well, no obviously, but if there's one thing I've learned being friends with Harry all these years, it's that when weird things start happening all at the same time, they're usually connected. That, and a big spider is nobody's friend."

Ginny shook her head, staring anxiously out at the Pigwidgeon-free sky. "I just wish we would hear from Harry," she said fretfully. "I want to know what she told him."

Ron looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "If she did really break up with Harry," he said slowly, "would you be all that upset?"

Ginny didn't answer.

"If you keep pacing like that, Potter," said Draco, not opening his eyes, "I will nail your feet to the floor. And don't think I won't."

Harry whirled and glared at Draco, who was lying on his bed, fully-dressed, in the position in which he normally slept — on his back, with his arms crossed over his chest. "How can you sleep like that?"

Harry demanded, sounding aggrieved. "You sleep like a vampire bat.

It's…unnatural."

"My mum used to say I slept like a little baby angel," said Draco, unfazed.

Harry commenced pacing again. He had been pacing up and down the room since they had left Lupin's office, and it was now five o'clock in the afternoon. Draco sighed, sat up, and unfolded his arms. He hadn't really wanted to go to sleep anyway, he was frankly afraid that if he did, he would have another nightmare. "Potter…"

"I just can't believe I haven't heard from Ron yet. I mean, she was staying with them at the Burrow, if she's gone off somewhere then he must know about it…"

"Well, that was his owl he sent this morning, maybe he hasn't got another?"

Harry sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "It's possible, I guess." He looked up at Draco. "You know what? You're right. Pacing is stupid. I'm not gonna pace any more."

"Good," said Draco, in relief.

"I'm going to fly to the Burrow instead."

"What? That's the most ridiculous-" Draco broke off. "Actually," he said grudgingly, "that makes a lot of sense. We can't be more than what, four hours from there by broomstick? If we leave now, we can be there at nine, and back here for breakfast. It's a lot better than waiting around for some stupid owl."

Harry was looking at him with a half-smile. "We?"

"I'm going with you," said Draco, standing up, and pulling his black travelling cloak out of his trunk.

Harry reached for his own cloak. "Is this the part where you tell me that we're a team now?"

"No," said Draco, straightening up. "This is the part where I tell you that if you don't bring me with you I'll go right to Lupin and tell him you've flown to England, and when you get back, they'll expell you."

Harry reached for his broom. "You wouldn't tell on me, would you, Malfoy?"

"I have made a long and brilliant career out of telling on you, Potter.

Don't' think I'm going to stop now."

When she heard the knock on the door, Ginny ran to answer it, half-hoping it would be Hermione, having seen sense and returned to the Burrow.

But it wasn't Hermione.

She recognized the person at the door immediately. Hating someone as much as she hated him had branded a certain image of him into her mind. He looked different than he had a year ago — taller, much browner, and if possible, even blonder — but it was definitely Draco Malfoy, wearing a black travelling cloak and carrying a broomstick in one hand.

"Hallo," he said, looking at her as if he didn't quite remember who she was. "It's Ginny, right? Is your brother home?"

She shut the door in his face and stood there, glaring at it.

There was a moment of stunned silence from the other side of the door. Then another voice spoke, a very familiar voice, causing Ginny to jump.