- Rating:
- 15
- House:
- The Dark Arts
- Ships:
- Other Canon Witch/Neville Longbottom Draco Malfoy/Pansy Parkinson Ginny Weasley/Harry Potter Harry Potter/Original Female Muggle Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley Original Female Witch/Original Female Witch Original Female Witch/Original Male Wizard
- Characters:
- Harry Potter Original Female Witch Original Male Wizard
- Genres:
- Adventure Mystery
- Era:
- Children of Characters in the HP novels
- Spoilers:
- Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Half-Blood Prince
- Stats:
-
Published: 10/31/2006Updated: 10/01/2007Words: 47,349Chapters: 45Hits: 80,259
The Forging of the Bonds
LunaIsCool
- Story Summary:
- Arthur and Lucius, Ron and Draco... the enmity betweent the Weasleys and the Malfoys has not ended with the defeat of Voldemort. But as Michael Weasley and Elizabeth Malfoy are start their sixth year, they begin to learn more than they ever knew about the past and about themselves, with the aid of their new DADA teacher... a hero unseen in wizarding Britain since the war ended...
Chapter 44 - Settling the Dust
- Posted:
- 09/30/2007
- Hits:
- 1,034
Chapter 44. Settling the Dust.
Madam Pomfrey didn't let anyone inside while she worked on Mike's injuries, so Elizabeth stuck outside the door. It was there, after Potter headed off somewhere, that she encountered Mike's parents.
At first, they ignored her. When the assistant nurse told them Mike was resting and wasn't to be disturbed, they took their seats.
"He'll be okay, Ron," Hermione said. "Remember how many times you or Harry ended up there?" But she still paced the room. The whole scene reminded Elizabeth of one seventeen years before, with two of the participants being the same people.
I guess that puts me in the role of Potter, she thought. Does that mean that it's--
"Okay," she whispered to herself. I am in love with Michael Weasley. Perfect.
"Mrs. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey said. "Mr. Weasley. Your son will be fine. He's asleep now, but you can see him."
They went inside, and Elizabeth followed.
Mike was lying on the bed, still and pale. His breathing was intense, but regular. His parents sat down on the chairs provided, and Elizabeth, having no intentions to leave, pulled up another chair and took Mike's hand.
"What're you doing here?" Ron demanded.
"I want to be with Mike," she said, looking him in the eye.
"Why?"
"He's my--"
"He was your partner in the Triwizard Tournament, which is over. You--"
"Ron!" Hermione said. "You're being rude."
"No," Elizabeth said. "He's my boyfriend."
"What?!" Ron and Hermione shouted together.
"We've been dating since the second task. We've had an argument a month ago, but we settled it."
"Did your father put you up to this?"
That made Elizabeth angry. "My father doesn't know about this, and he's not going to like it. But I don't care, and when Mike wakes up, he'll say the same thing."
"Now wait just a minute--"
"Elizabeth!"
She turned. Her worst fear had come true. Her father stood in the doorway.
"What are you doing here? What are you doing with my daughter, Weasley?"
"Nothing. She claims to be dating my son! That's--"
"Elizabeth? What--"
"I am. Dating Mike, I mean."
"No, you're not. I'll--"
"You can't stop me, Dad. I'm an adult."
"I can stop it--" Mike's father said. Her father looked at him uncertainly.
Elizabeth looked at Mike's mother, and got a wink. Hermione, clearly, like her, found the men's antics entertaining.
"Mike's an adult, too," Elizabeth said. "So no, you can't."
"Stop speaking for him!"
"Elizabeth," Mike muttered from the bed.
"Mike!" Ron, Hermione, and Elizabeth shouted at once.
"Stay away from him!" Ron and her father shouted at her at the same time. Then they glared at each other, and drew their wands.
The situation was getting dangerous. Hermione was about to pull out her wand, Elizabeth reached for hers, and Mike, seeing what was happening, attempted to get his. But then, a loud, authoritative voice shouted out from the doorway.
"Stop it! All of you!"
It was Potter. He held his wand in one hand, and--Elizabeth had no idea how this happened--her and Mike's fathers' wands in the other.
"Ron, Draco, don't worry. You'll get them back," he said as he strode in.
"When?" Elizabeth's father demanded.
"When you act your age," he replied. "Hi, Hermione. It's been a long time."
"Harry, listen--" Ron said.
"Hermione," Potter said, ignoring him, "did you bring it?"
"Oh. Here." She took out something out of her bag, tapped it with her wand, and it grew into a tightly bound sheath of parchment, covered in writing.
"Thank you, Hermione."
"Now, will someone explain to me what was going on?" Ron demanded. "And why are you lying to my son, Harry?"
"Lying?" he asked, surprised.
"You told Mike I never forgave you for Ginny's death. That that's why we stopped talking."
"Sure seemed like that, the way you acted at the first task. Are you saying it wasn't?"
"I forgave that a long time ago. I never forgave you for becoming friends with him." He pointed at Malfoy. "When I saw him as your best man at your wedding--and you getting married to a Muggle, no less--"
"And what's wrong with getting married to a Muggle?"
"Nothing--except that that coupled with Malfoy as best man--"
"People change, Ron. You know that."
"So what do you expect from me? Become friends with--"
"Number one, I don't expect anything from my friends. Number two, we're all on the same side here."
"What side is that?" Ron asked. "And what should--"
"We're on the side that makes it as difficult as possible for the next Voldemort to use the power of Atlantis," Potter announced.
"Atlantis? But that's--"
"A myth?" Hermione looked at her husband. "Unfortunately for us, no."
"Indeed not," Harry said. "I found it."
"You did?"
"Parts of it, at least."
"And why did you, and Malfoy, and as it appears, Hermione, have to--"
"Because of a prophecy," Harry said, "made shortly before Elizabeth's birth, that concerned her, and the ability to open up Atlantis."
"What was the prophecy?"
He shook his head. "The prophecy was made to me and Draco, but once Elizabeth, as the subject of the prophecy, came of age and was told its contents, it wasn't ours to reveal any more. The contents now belong to Elizabeth. Right now, only four people know it. All four are present."
"I still don't understand why you had to give it in full--" her father began.
"Hermione's smart. She'd know how to put two and two together. I decided it was a more productive use of her time to tell her outright."
"So this is information about Atlantis?" Mike asked, pointing at the bound sheath.
"That's right. I'd say it's one of the two most comprehensive sources in the world."
"What's the other?"
"My notes," Potter said. "I've traveled extensively, gathering information."
"Harry..." Mike's father whispered. "I don't know if I can..."
"I'm not asking you and Draco to be instant friends," Potter said. "I'm not stupid."
"So what do you expect?" her father demanded.
Potter smiled. "For the moment," he said, "I'll settle for an open lack of hostility. You will shake hands."
Glaring at each other, Elizabeth and Mike's fathers shook hands and quickly let go.
"Now," he said, "you should at least make an effort to see beyond the family prejudice. Your children managed it quite nicely."
"They're too young--" Ron began.
"They're older than Ginny and I were. Now, here's what you are going to do. You're all going to leave this room and give our resident couple some time alone. They need that after all they've been through today."
"No way, Potter!" her father shouted. "I'm not--"
"You are. Save your concerns, Draco. You forgot who Elizabeth's mother was."
"What? How can you--"
"I think I know something about strong, assertive women, having married two of them. In fact, I think we all know something about that subject. Come on. Madam Pomfrey will not let anything untoward happen, anyway. And I need some time to spend with my best friends, so why don't we head to Hogsmeade for a few drinks?"
Her father sulked and moved away, looking bitter.
"And just where are you going, Draco?" Potter asked.
"You said you needed to spend time with your best friends--"
"That's right. So where are you going?" And with that, they left.
Elizabeth couldn't think of anything to say. So she simply walked up to Mike's bed, leaned down, and kissed him.