valentine’s eyes darted to malfoy as he said, “a few weeks ago, of ourse! you dropped your loak room tiket at club bezemkas the gossip olumns all reported that you stayed here anyway, my name is valentine de russo, i’m the hotel manager if you’re in edinburgh again, i would love to offer you a room for your trip on the house”
malfoy narrowed his eyes and faked a smile “yes, we had suh a lovely time,” he purred “we would reiate it if we ould have the same room on the fourteenth floor it had suh a beautiful view, didn’t it harry?”
“er—” harry had barely been paying attenn all he ould think about was stopping himself from takling valentine to the ground and arresting him for marwan zivantus’ murder and bertrie’s kidning a voie in his head that sounded suspusly like malfoy’s pointed out that marwan hadn’t even been murdered yet “yes,” harry agreed finally “it was a nie room”
“well, let me see if we an get you bak in that room,” valentine led them to the ounter he shuffled behind and sifted through some parhments “what room number was it?”
harry paled he’d never looked at the number he knew exatly where it was but he ouldn’t even think of what the number had been merlin, he really had made a terrible hotel porter
“1409,” malfoy said
valentine nodded “it’s avaible,” he furrowed his brow “we’ll just have to move a few things around and what olors would you like dispyed, mister potter? gryffindor red?”
“green,” harry said, just as malfoy answered, “blue” they turned and gred at eah other and then harry realized the room had been deorated in green and blue “both,” he finally said but kept his gaze trained on malfoy
“fantasti,” valentine sned his fingers and the spell key eared in his hand “here you go, mister potter the house elves should have it deorated by the time you get up there please, if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask”
harry turned bak to him and fshed a fake smile “thanks, vale,” harry said and walked away, his jaw lenhing so hard he thought it might break he and malfoy didn’t speak as they waited for the lift and went up to the room
herne sat outside ron’s offie in the dmle ign the vaus people who gawked at her still in the ridiulous christmas jumper, she found herself both too exhausted to move and too busy reliving the events of the day not only that, but she still hadn’t heard from ron and it was well after three in the m
after the edinburgh aurors took over the sene in haddington, herne made sure the others were alright they were olletively in shok, mostly that their pn had worked but also beause absolutely nothing had gone wrong bertrie was safe and sound and parkinson seemed to soften with every passing minute in the young girl’s presene pansy’s relief was almost ontaus until luna menned harry and drao
“whatever they did, it worked,” pansy said she winked at herne, “even if we did most of it” then igora and another offiial, auror phillips, arated with pansy and bertrie to the edinburgh main offie and herne was left with an addled a mlaggen, and luna, who eared to be settling her arra with one of the solstie fae the small winged man glittered bright in the darkness, and judging by luna’s inreasing frown, seemed to drive a very hard bargain
mlaggen ordered herne to ome bak to the ministry and to her own dismay, she did so without protest after all, she had promised iarus sableton she’d ome bak and work on pandora she thought maybe she’d have a moment to breathe, and maybe a moment to expin things to ron
““ne?”
she bolted up from the benh and took in the sight of the love of her life she ouldn’t help the rge sigh that esaped her and pulled ron into a firm embrae “where have you been? i’ve been so worried, ron”
“i told you—” he started and pulled bak to look at her “anyway, it’s alright now i’ve just got in from the edinburgh offie”
herne blinked “what were you doing there?”
ron titled his head, a proud smile on his fae “i rehended one of the kidners the one that got away, arently igora stramitz gave me a loose summary of what you did” ron’s gaze shined with awe “blimey, herne, i knew if anyone ould pull it off, it’d be you”
“but ron, how did you find the kidner? stramitz said the figure disarated before they ould even identify them”
“i hate to say it, “ne, but i owe most of it to malfoy” ron opened the door to his offie and led her inside taking off his rimson auror robes, he pointed to his hest and the chudley ons 1892 chamns t-shirt “and this luky thing,” he smiled
herne bit her tongue she was too tired to deal with his k of self-awareness ron was onvined his favorite shirt was the reason he’d finished so many ases suessfully he’d smile, “where would i be without it?” and herne would shove something in her mouth or hange the subjet in the past, when she’d point out that the shirt was worthless, that it was ron’s brilliant mind and his own abilities that were the reason for his suess, ron would get mad he’d blush, stammer, and end up belittling the ahievements he’d just been so thrilled about seonds before herne liked to think of it as golden t syndrome ron seemed to ompare every one of his vaus aomplishments to harry or herne’s greatest aomplishments
as painful as it was for her to let ron’s allous disregard for himself go unanswered, she had the vague suspn that soon he wouldn’t be able to ignore his own brilliane soon he’d be rewarded and the whole ministry, the whole of the wizarding world, would know what she’d always known to be true and she hoped maybe then this amazing man would finally believe it
“at first, i tried to run down some of
