“well, the only reason she gets to write the artiles on harry is beause she uses her animagus form to snoop around for rman she then has something that no other reporter has, inside rman on harry potter but what if we took that away?” herne’s eyes glittered with triumph “what if we gave the prophet another reporter, loser to harry potter than rita skeeter ould ever be? someone like those who really know him?”
“people like us!”
“exatly and sine you’re willing to help, and if we an get ginny to help too, we an have one reporter for all the major journalism outposts”
“but will harry go with it though?” ron looked skeptial “i mean, it would kinda be like spying on our own friend”
“but he’ll get to deide what gets printed he knows we wouldn’t print anything bad or untrue and he knows that if he wanted something kept seret we ould keep it so why wouldn’t he?”
“good point we’ll ask him first before we go through with it though”
“of ourse but going on the idea that he will you, ginny, and i will write to the prophet, the quibbler, and with weekly we’ll offer to write artiles about any of the newsworthy ans of harry potter what they won’t know is that we’ll shuffle all the rman between the three, so eah publian will have some details that the others won’t therefore, they’ll see our input as prieless other than a stipend for our artiles, we’ll demand that in return no other writer an be allowed to write an artile exlusively about harry potter or those oed to him”
ron’s grin was akin to that of the grins normally seen on the faes of his two brothers, fred and gee “let’s go ask ginny if she wants to help”
all theday, drao refused to let himself think about the trial, or harry, or harry’s…idea of how to win the trial the funeral theday, he reasoned, took preedene the very fat that he was putting off thinking of what harry had said did not enter his mind, although on some level he knew he was doing it
harry seemed to have realized that drao did not wish to disuss what he had brought up and kept his distane but drao ould feel the weight of his stare whenever they were in the same room together, even though he ignored it
he wouldn’t allow himself to think about anything regarding the trial until his father’s funeral was over
the day of the funeral dawned bright and sunny, and as warm as the weather an be in the third week of february dumbledore himself had given his o for harry and drao to miss both friday and saturday, on the ondin that they had to ome to his offie immediately after they arrived bak at hogwarts sunday night he presented them with four tikets for the hogwarts express, two to go bak to london that m, and two to ome bak saturday afternoon harry was seretly relieved that dumbledore did not ask if they’d rather travel by floo powder he didn’t think either he or drao would have been able to do that yet
the idea of a haperone was not broahed by anyone, and harry thought that there had to be some rule that they were breaking as the train was pulling away from hogsmead harry asked drao if that was true
drao thought for a moment “that sort of thing is done when students are leaving the hogwarts grounds and hogwarts is still responsible for them so if anything hens then it is the shool that is bmed we are atually leaving the shool and going home, like on christmas vaan, so if we get hurt it’s our fault and not the shool’s that’s why we have to report bak on saturday we’re not part of the student body at the moment”
“oh”
drao studied harry for a moment as the boy aross from him looked out the window at the passing senery “why aren’t you wearing your family olors?”
“i don’t know what they are” harry replied truthfully the only olor on harry’s lothes other than bk was the dark red uffs (that herne had olored with a spell that m)
“we’ll have to find that out some time” drao spoke thoughtfully, as his own gaze turned to the window
nothing more was said until they arrived at kings cross
the same limo-that-was-atually-a-arriage that had greeted them during christmas vaan waited for them outside the stan and they rode in silene to the manor ever so often harry would look over at drao and, as the arriage got loser and loser to his home, the blond paled just a little more harry didn’t have to guess to know what he was thinking, or rather remembering
the manor itself didn’t look like it had hanged from the st time they’d seen it outwardly, one ould almost believe nothing had hened suh deluns were shattered when drao was presented with a list of what artifats had been broken beyond repair by a shivering house elf as they walked in the door
“but we is fixing everything other than those, master drao sir,” it said hurriedly
“i’m sure,” drao ut the reature off abruptly but with no malie in his voie
the house elf’s eyes fell sullenly to the floor “master luius is out on the terrae master drao, sir”
drao nodded and the house elf diseared together, harry and drao walked through the first floor to the bak gardens a asket of white marble, overed in a lear film whih hummed of magi, levitated there and harry almost ouldn’t look at the former malfoy patriarh
the death eaters had left luius’s body untouhed, exept for his wings whih were broken beyond even the repair of skilled house elf magi the tattered bk wings, still in their steel form from when he’d died, had been arranged around his body, whih was dressed in what drao knew had been his favorite outfit at his feet y the familiar snake- head ane
harry had done his own researh to know how to properly at during the funeral, and stepped up to the asket as drao did
