A Thousand Words

Chapter 32: Breathing Lies

'Good evening, Kay!'

'Hi, Evelyn,' said Kay with a hurried smile as she ran past her friend down the corridor towards Draco's office. 'Sorry, I can't talk today!'

'That man's got you working too hard!' Evelyn called down the hallway as she waved her friend off with a grin.

Kay laughed as she hastened along. It was true; Mr Malfoy did keep her constantly busy by sending her on small tasks; but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Despite all his curtness, she rather liked her supervisor, for he had helped her improve her abilities immensely over the course of the past month.

But he's going to be so angry when he finds out I forgot to send his mail this morning! she thought apprehensively as she turned the corner and dashed into the Hit Wizard Headquarters. Panting, she made her way to the back of the room where Draco's office stood. She threw open the door, ran in and grabbed the pile of letters he had wanted her to send, and hurried back out, glancing up as she did so. The clock on the wall read 6:03 pm.

'Drat,' she muttered to herself. She quickened up her pace and left headquarters, oblivious to the curious stares she had elicited from her fellow employees.

When Kay finally reached the Ministry's Owlery, the first thing she did was lean back against the door and take a few moments to catch her breath. She had run all the way from the Hit Wizard Headquarters, anxious to send the post as soon as possible.

Upon regaining her composure, she took to the task of finding suitable owls. There were at least eight or nine letters in the stack, so more than one owl was needed.

It took but a few minutes for Kay to choose owls and send them off with the letters. Once she was finished, she pressed a palm to her forehead and sighed in relief.

Hopefully he doesn't mind that I sent them a tad later than he wanted me to, she thought guiltily, as she turned and left the Owlery.

---

'Really, Ron, don't worry about it. She'll come around.'

Ron looked at Harry doubtfully. 'I dunno, mate...she seems pretty serious this time.'

Harry blinked thoughtfully. 'Well, you did call her a -'

'Harry!' Ron exclaimed, turning red. 'Okay, fine, I shouldn't have said that. But it's true, isn't it? Merlin knows what she's doing with Malfoy and...and that...that Shadow bloke...'

'You've got to trust her,' Harry explained patiently. 'You've been going spare trying to figure out what she isn't telling you, but maybe she's not telling you for a reason.'

'The only reason she'd have to not tell me something is if she knew that whatever she was doing was wrong!' Ron exclaimed crossly.

Harry shrugged. 'I s'pose girls have their own way of rationalising between what's wrong and what's right. But Hermione isn't stupid, Ron. She knows what she's doing.'

Ron sighed and kicked at a pile of frozen snow. 'I just...I just worry that she won't always be logical about everything. Even Hermione has feelings, you know.'

'I'm not saying she doesn't,' Harry replied, laughing. He clapped Ron on the shoulder. 'But I'm being honest when I say you shouldn't let it bother you this much. Remember all those times she swore she'd never talk to you again? I mean, I can't even count the number of instances where I had to sit between the two of you, trying to make conversation...and now look where you've both ended up. You're nearly married!'

'Not nearly,' said Ron sulkily. 'She broke it off, remember?'

Harry's expression sobered as he gazed at Ron. They were approaching the Burrow, and the dim light cast by the windows of the house illuminated the worry lining Ron's face.

'I guess it's pointless to keep telling you it'll all work out, isn't it?' said Harry softly as they stepped onto the porch.

Ron nodded sheepishly. 'You'd feel the same way if you were in my position and it was Ginny breaking up with you, wouldn't you?'

Harry grinned wickedly. 'Well...' he said, pretending to think on it.

'You'd better!' Ron threatened. 'Or I'll - I'll -'

'Glare at me?' Harry suggested. He laughed. 'Of course I would, Ron. You know I love her more than anything.'

'Yeah, yeah, just don't go into it with me,' Ron grumbled good-naturedly. He paused, his hand on the doorknob, and smiled at Harry. 'Thanks for the advice.'

'Anytime,' Harry replied, relieved that his friend was smiling again.

When they entered the house, the smell of Mrs Weasley's cooking was wafting in the air. Both of the boys inhaled deeply before removing their cloaks (Ron tossed his into the corner by the door, and Harry hung his up neatly next to Ginny's).

'We're home, Mum,' Ron said loudly. He plodded down the hallway and peered into the kitchen.

Mrs Weasley was busy stirring the contents of an enormous pot, but she looked up when her son entered the room. 'Where have you been?' she demanded, looking extremely vexed. 'You missed Fred and George. They just left with Angelina and Alicia.'

'Did they leave me a good-bye gift?' said Ron eagerly, perusing the room as if he expected to find a wrapped parcel waiting for him.

'No,' said Mrs Weasley exasperatedly, 'they told me to tell you that they know you stole that box of Memory-Enhancing Potion and are planning to hire extra security to make sure you don't try to nick something from their store again.'

Ron spluttered angrily. 'I'm their brother!'

'Well, don't complain to me about it!' Mrs Weasley replied snippily. 'And for heaven's sake, Ron, take off your trainers!'

'Hi, Mrs Weasley,' said Harry as he entered the kitchen as well. He started as he looked around. 'Where's Ginny?'

Mrs Weasley smiled wearily at Harry. 'Good evening, Harry dear. She had to meet with Robards, so she'll be a bit late for dinner.'

'Oh, okay,' said Harry as he sat down at his usual seat. He looked up at Ron inquisitively. 'Aren't you going to sit down?'

Ron's eyebrows were furrowed thoughtfully. 'Do you hear something?'

Harry blinked. 'No...'

Ron, however, ignored Harry's response and walked over to the window on the other side of the room. 'Aha!' he exclaimed, opening it. A small, rotund owl flew in, its wings dotted with snowflakes.

'Oh dear, I didn't notice it tapping at the window!' said Mrs Weasley, hurrying over to the owl, which had landed on the counter. 'It looks like it has a letter for you, Ron,' she added as she picked the owl up and examined it.

Ron took the letter from his mother. Unrolling it, he frowned. 'It's for Hermione.'

Mrs Weasley and Harry exchanged panicky looks at the mention of Hermione.

'Give it here, then,' said Mrs Weasley nervously, shuffling over to Ron and attempting to take the letter from him. 'I'll leave it in her bedroom...she's probably still out looking for werewolves, the poor girl...'

'No, wait,' said Ron sharply, veering away from his mother's outstretched hand. 'This handwriting looks familiar...'

Slowly, almost jerkily, he made his way over to the dining table and sat down across from Harry. Mrs Weasley followed, twisting her hands anxiously.

'That's Malfoy's handwriting,' said Harry without thinking. The moment the words left his lips, he clapped a hand over his mouth. 'Er, I mean -'

'Is that so?' said Ron angrily. Ignoring his mother's attempts to snatch the letter away, he unfolded it and began reading.

The seconds ticked by. Harry watched Ron's face carefully for any signs of emotion. For a moment, he considered pulling out his wand in case Ron needed to be subdued in any way after finishing the letter, but Mrs Weasley's presence stopped him.

Finally, Ron put the letter down. For a very long time he sat still, hunched over and unmoving. Then, at last, he stood up.

'Where does Malfoy live?' he said stiffly to Harry.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, somewhat alarmed. 'Er...'

'Never mind, I'll find out myself,' said Ron, cutting Harry off. His fists, Harry could see, were clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles had turned white.

'Ron...' Harry tried to say, very worried now. He made to get up, but Ron gestured for him to stay seated.

'Don't worry, Harry, I won't do anything illegal,' he said grimly.

'Ron!' exclaimed Mrs Weasley from across the table apprehensively. She glanced at the letter lying on the table. 'What did it say?'

Before Harry could reach over and grab it, however, Ron stalked out of the room.

'Uh oh,' said Harry warily. He looked from the letter to the doorway Ron had just walked through, torn between finding out what it was that had thrown Ron into such a curious mood and going after Ron to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. Finally, his curiosity won over, and he picked up the letter.

Harry skimmed the words in record time. When he dropped the sheet of parchment, his face was ashen.

'What is it?' Mrs Weasley asked anxiously. She seemed almost too afraid to ask.

Harry swallowed. He tried several times to get the words out, but they were stuck in his throat. Finally, he managed to squeak, 'Apparently Malfoy was Shadow all along.'