Chapter 96: Summer holidays

"You know you could've warned Hermione." said Tonks.

Sirius looked at her incredulously.

"Are you kidding? I told her not to go in there. She didn't listen." Sirius shook his head helplessly.

"You could've explained it a bit better." said Tonks, cringing slightly as more shouting and the sound of glass and furniture breaking could be heard throughout Grimmauld Place.

Sirius looked troubled for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and lying back down as he held a wet cloth against his broken nose.

"Where is Kreacher? I told him to bring me the…" Sirius was cut off by an abrupt popping sound near the couch he was lying down.

"Did the blood traitor master call Kreacher?"

Sirius was so startled by Kreacher's sudden appearance that he nearly fell off the couch.

"Kreacher brought the potion for blood traitor master." Kreacher drawled, holding out the small vial of green potion in his hand.

Sirius plucked the vial with a growl while Kreacher popped away after shooting him a nasty grin.

"One of these days, I'll wring his neck." Sirius grumbled as he poured the green sludge over his nose.

The Essence of Dittany worked its magic within a few seconds after he poured it over the bridge of his nose. The bleeding stopped altogether, and when Sirius looked himself in the mirror, he found the skin had knitted itself back together.

"Harry, no! Stop it! I meant…"

Sirius looked up as he heard Hermione's voice getting consistently high-pitched and closer as seconds trickled by. He found the curly-haired teen floating down the stairs and unceremoniously dumped on the wooden floor on her back with a distinct thud.

"Harry, he…"

"I know." Sirius abruptly cut in before Hermione could dig a bigger hole. "I warned you to give him space."

"But…but… he's so different now." Hermione said, her lips quivering as she looked up the stairs with a frightened look.

"Well, that's because Harry is different, Hermione. If we experienced three weeks without him, Harry spent three years wherever he went. Whatever happened there affected him deeply." Tonks explained as she helped Hermione to her feet.

"How… how do you know that?" Hermione asked with a gasp of surprise.

"That's because Harry shouted that before punching Sirius in the nose." Tonks snickered.

"I have so many questions." said Hermione, looking expectantly at Tonks.

"Yeah, you're not the only one. Dumbledore said Harry might've grown accustomed to life at the place he went, and his abrupt departure from the place might be causing him some misery." Sirius explained.

"Really! How does that even work?" Hermione asked with an inquisitive look that rubbed Sirius the wrong way.

"You'd have to ask Dumbledore." said Sirius with a shrug of his shoulder as he made himself comfortable on a plush chair.

"Did Harry say anything else?" Hermione asked, turning her sights on Tonks once she realised Sirius was not expanding on it further.

"Nothing. He has been moody and silent ever since he came back," said Tonks, hugging a cushion close to her chest.

"And he punched me in the face." Sirius added.

"We can't let him spend the whole summer cooped up in his room." said Hermione, staring at Sirius and Tonks earnestly.

"You're right, of course. But give him some time to come to terms with his situation, Hermione." said Sirius, patting the girl on her shoulder. "He'll speak to us when he's ready."

Despite Sirius' hope for Harry's return to normalcy, it didn't happen in July. The month ended unceremoniously, giving way to August, and still, Harry didn't change his attitude. Even Dumbledore tried his hand, and Sirius had never seen Dumbledore getting pushed out so violently with magic. If the Headmaster hadn't countered with his own magic, the man might've broken his back against one of the walls of the Black Manor.

"This is not healthy, Sirius. Something must be done." Andromeda said as she walked back and forth inside the drawing room of Grimmauld Place.

"Don't you think I know that?" Sirius asked in frustration while rubbing his temples. "He threw Hermione out of his room and had her levitated down the floor. He nearly blasted Dumbledore through the wall, and I got punched in the face."

"I got electrocuted for my efforts to get inside his room." Tonks raised her hand not to be left out.

"He only lets in Hedwig, Kreacher and Dobby, but that's mostly for food, cigarettes and firewhisky." Sirius said grimly. "To think that I thought I was moody and self-destructive after escaping Azkaban. I was nowhere near this level of depression."

"I think it's time that we asked Damien to send his daughter." said Andromeda after a brief moment of silent contemplation.

"Are you insane?" Sirius asked with an incredulous look. "In his current state, I don't know what he'll do to the girl."

"He won't harm her. They were involved, were they not?" Andromeda asked with a frown.

"They were, but not for the last three years from Harry's perspective. Do you really want to make this more complicated?"

"I see no harm in it to try." Andromeda shrugged.

"No." Sirius decided. "It's too dangerous. We don't know what happened to Harry when he was away, and I don't think it's a good idea to throw Daphne against Harry and hope for the best."

"We'll not be throwing her against Harry. We'll tell her and Damien the truth. Let them decide the rest." Andromeda suggested.

Sirius just shook his head. He was sure Harry could regain his bearings by himself, and he certainly didn't want Daphne to get hurt by seeing the state Harry was in. He also feared the girl would push Harry too much, and there was no way to predict how Harry would react. It was the only reason he kept denying Daphne's requests to see Harry all these days.

"Sirius, I'll keep an eye on her when she's with Harry." Tonks said earnestly.

"The girl is not a helpless maiden, Sirius. She went with him to the Ministry to confront the Death Eaters. She's brave and strong enough." said Andromeda, staring at him pointedly, daring him to disagree with her.

In the end, Sirius caved in to Andromeda's suggestion. Taking a handful of floo powder, he threw it into the fireplace.

"Greengrass manor."

****

Daphne had spent the entirety of July rife with worry after she learned what happened to Harry inside the Ministry. At first, her father had tried to hide what exactly transpired, but he eventually caved in after her persistent attempts. After that, each day was filled with worry and helplessness until finally, Harry was rescued from the space-time anomaly that took her boyfriend away from their reality.

Now, she learned Harry had closed himself off from the rest of the world for some reason. She did get the gist of it from her father, who informed her about the time disparity Harry endured. According to her father, Harry looked older than when they last saw him. The Unspeakables also shared the possibility of Harry's attachments to the people in the branch reality with her father.

So, Sirius' floo call about seeking her help to bring Harry out of his self-imposed incarceration inside his room was not surprising. She had been trying every day to get Sirius to let her speak with Harry. It was only when they had mucked up for a whole week that they allowed her into Grimmauld Place.

"You should've let me see him earlier." said Daphne, glaring at Sirius once she stepped out of the floo.

"It's not as simple as it sounds. Harry is different than you remember." Sirius just shook his head as he exhaled out to calm his nerves. "I suppose your father told you the gist of it."

"Yes." Daphne said impatiently. "Where is he?"

"Upstairs. Tonks will come along for your safety."

"No." Daphne put her foot down. "I don't need anyone's protection."

"Daphne, you don't understand…"

"I know how to take care of myself, and I don't need anyone protecting me from Harry, of all people." Daphne said firmly.

Sirius let out a tired sigh and led her upstairs.

"Just be on guard, Daphne." said Sirius before knocking on the door to Harry's room.

Sirius stood back, and Daphne moved towards the door.

"Harry. May I come in?" Daphne waited patiently outside for an answer.

"Whatever." came the muffled reply after a few minutes.

She opened the door and let it close behind her. The room was submerged in darkness from top to bottom. It was as if someone stole away all the light.

"Harry." she tentatively called as she made slow and careful steps inside the dark room.

The urge to light up her wand was there, but she held back, afraid it'd annoy Harry.

"Harry, I can't see anything." Daphne said as she tentatively made each step forward.

Suddenly, a small globe of light flickered into existence before her eyes.

"Wow! That's new." she muttered under her breath as she carefully moved forward.

Daphne could see Harry sitting up in his bed with his back to the wall. There was a strong stench of smoke in the room as she came closer to Harry's bed. She saw the ashtray on the bedside table filled to the brim with ash and the remains of muggle cigarettes. She never understood Harry's fascination with muggle cigarettes when wizarding smoke tubes were available.

The globe of light floated upwards until it hit the ceiling, where it stayed, lighting up the room.

"You seem to have picked up a few tricks." Daphne commented in an attempt to break the ice and regain her bearing upon seeing the physical changes in Harry.

Her comment didn't elicit any response from Harry. Instead, she took a closer look at her boyfriend.

Harry was far more rugged-looking than she remembered. He was also taller and even grew a beard. His hair was long, and she could see that his eyes had grown only brighter. Or maybe that was because Harry had forgone wearing his glasses. His arms looked well-defined, and his chest and abdomen were packed with muscles. Dark bangs covered his forehead, shielding the lightning bolt scar and half his right eye. There were dark bags underneath his eyes, signalling a lack of sleep.

In short, Harry looked older and tired in her eyes.

"You look different." Daphne commented as she untied the green robe from around her shoulders and hung it near the nightstand.

The yellow summer dress she had underneath allowed her more freedom of movement. She carefully sat on Harry's bed and kicked out her shoes from her legs.

"I wish I could say the same about you." Harry murmured.

"What makes you think so? I grew half an inch this summer. But Astoria had me beat with a solid one-and-a-half inches." Daphne said with a shake of her head as she crawled into the bed and joined Harry.

Daphne heard a distinct snort from Harry, which gave her more confidence. Harry positively responded to her presence, which was a win in her books.

She rested her back against the wall as she sat beside Harry. Daphne held back a smile when she saw a ghost of a grin tugging at the corner of Harry's mouth.

"So… care to share why you've imprisoned yourself in the darkness?" Daphne asked, arching her eyebrow while looking at Harry.

Instead of answering, Harry picked up another cigarette and began smoking it in her presence. It was a signal that he was not interested in having this conversation with her, but she did not come here to be so easily dismissed.

Daphne reached out, plucked the cigarette from Harry's mouth, and took a drag. A second later, she regretted doing that as she began coughing.

"I don't how you can stand this thing…" Daphne croaked out between coughs.

"No one told you to use it." said Harry, taking the cigarette out of her hands.

But she was not so easily cowed. She snatched the cigarette back after he took another puff, and this time, she managed to smoke without an issue.

"I really don't see the appeal in this." Daphne commented, blowing smoke out of her mouth.

"Then give it back." Harry tried to retrieve his cigarette, but Daphne held it out of his reach.

"I'll, but first answer me– what do you hope to gain by locking yourself in a dark room?" Daphne eyed him critically.

"You don't know what happened – what I lost…" Harry whispered.

"You're right, I don't. No one knows until you tell them, but I won't force you to speak of it. However, is hiding away inside this room going to change anything that happened?" Daphne asked rhetorically.

Daphne observed her boyfriend closely as he stared into the distance in thought.

"Have you given any thought to what the Dark Lord is planning at the moment? While you shut yourself from the outside world, your enemies gather strength, Harry. Your sudden disappearance from the Ministry also disturbed your plan with Bellatrix."

When she said that, Harry looked at her with a sudden realisation.

"Lestrange. You still hold her?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yes. Under the Drought of Living Death as we planned. It took all my father's political goodwill with Minister Bones to declare Bellatrix was captured by the Ministry. Minister Bones had been hounding my father for days to know why we were keeping Bellatrix as a prisoner. We can't answer that because only you know the true reason."

"She's healthy, right?" Harry asked.

"For now. If we're to make any moves, we must do it soon. Shutting yourself in this room won't solve any problems. You need to come out no matter what transpired while you were gone. Time waits for no man." said Daphne.

She watched Harry take a deep breath before letting go.

"You're right, of course." Harry rubbed his temples tiredly. "I need to sleep."

"I'll make sure you get your sleep." said Daphne.

"How do you expect to accomplish that task?" Harry arched an eyebrow.

Daphne pushed him off the wall, making his head hit the pillow. A moment later, she was by his side, drawing the covers up over their bodies. She pulled his head close against her neck and rubbed soothing circles on his back with her left hand. Her free hand paid attention to his head as her fingers glided through his long black hair.

"Sleep, Harry." Daphne softly whispered as she held him close.

****

No matter how much she insisted, Harry didn't sleep for more than five hours. But those five hours were nerve-wracking for her as he was thrashing and mumbling in sleep, suffering from a nightmare. The urge to use a potion was there in the back of her mind, but she held back as she felt it was better this way. She was confident Harry could pull himself out of the current situation. They skipped lunch as they were in bed, but when evening came, she suggested they go out for dinner.

At first, Harry was reluctant to follow through with her suggestion, but he eventually caved in before her perseverance.

She stepped out of the protective wards surrounding Grimmauld Place and stood beside Harry.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked once they were outside.

"Somewhere far away from here." Daphne said with a scowl as she noticed the ridiculously transparent attempt of Sirius and Tonks trying to follow them.

"You seem to be in a foul mood." Harry commented airily.

"That's because I'm being teased by your mean relatives. They've been making insinuations that I… we were doing something inappropriate in your room. Deal with them." Daphne said impetuously while glaring at the bush where Sirius and Tonks hid.

"Sirius, leave us be." Harry said with a sigh.

"Can't do that, Harry. You don't know how dangerous our islands have become as of last month."

"Don't worry too much, Sirius. The islands will know how dangerous I've become soon enough." said Harry, pointing his wand straight to the sky.

With a bang, the Knight Bus strolled into the driveway at breakneck speed. It halted abruptly once it neared Harry and Daphne.

"Oh, hey there, Harry. Ernie look! We've got Harry Potter with us." Stan Shunpike shouted in excitement. "You remember me, Harry? I'm…"

"Stan Shunpike. I haven't forgotten." said Harry.

"You hear that, Ernie. Harry Potter remembers me." Stan hollered excitedly.

Daphne could see they had become the centre of attention for the passengers of the Knight Bus.

"Perhaps this was not a smart idea." Daphne muttered as she took a few steps back, intimidated by all the stares.

"Come." Harry took her hand and walked inside the bus, forcing Daphne to follow.

"Where to Harry, ol' chap?" Stan asked in a wholly familiar manner as if they had been friends for a long time.

Daphne looked suspiciously between Harry and the conductor.

"Diagon Alley."

"It'll be eleven sickles each. And who's your lady friend?" Stan asked, grinning like an idiot while looking at Daphne.

"Stan, meet Daphne. Daphne, meet Stan." Harry proceeded with the shortest of introductions she had ever heard.

Harry gave a couple of extra sickles than necessary before asking for a more private setting on the bus. Stan was all the more happy to oblige.

Once they settled into a cabin that warded them off from the rest of the shady passengers of the Knight Bus, Daphne let out a relieved sigh. She sat across from Harry inside the cabin. Harry placed sticking charms on their body just when the Knight Bus sped away with a bang.

"We should've gone to muggle London. That'd have been far safer." Daphne muttered, shivering in fright as chaos ensued inside the Knight Bus.

Seats were moving freely, and she often saw a few wizards getting smashed into the glass cabin that separated them from the rest.

"No, it won't. Muggles are facing constant attacks from Dementors, Werewolves, Vampires and Death Eaters."

"How do you know that?" Daphne asked curiously.

"I might've sealed myself inside a room, but I read the wizarding and muggle papers. I've also been listening in on the conversations in the house."

"I suppose you know everything that happened then."

"Not everything." Harry leaned forward in his seat so that he was looking straight into Daphne's eyes. "What does your father say?"

"He says thank you for destroying the Giants. The Ministry is stretched thin responding to the Dark Lord's attacks. The priority of the Ministry is now to contain the war rather than fight the Dark Lord head-on. Most Ministry employees work around the clock to keep the Statute of Secrecy." Daphne explained.

"So, Minister Bones has been entirely useless." Harry frowned before dropping his shoulders in disappointment. "I don't know why I expected more from her."

"She managed to force the Death Eaters out of the Wizengamot using the wartime powers of her post. All previously convicted Death Eaters have been declared enemies of the Ministry. The Aurors are also empowered to use deadly force while confronting Death Eaters and other dark creatures aligned with the Dark Lord." Daphne suddenly came to the defence of Madam Bones.

She didn't particularly favour Madam Bones, but the woman was far better than Fudge. She also inherited a dismantled and incompetent ministry, and only one month had passed since her ascension to the post. Seeing the curious look Harry was directing at her, she rushed to explain.

"It has only been a month since she came to power. Also, my father talked about Minister Bones' attempts to involve the ICW in the war. It won't be long before other ministries offer assistance to combat the Dark Lord's forces."

"Hmm… Asking for military assistance from ICW member states is all fun and good, but how'll we know those that come to our shores are not sympathisers to the Dark Lord's ideology?" Harry asked.

"I suspect that's why the Ministry has so far not given any clearance to outside entities to operate inside our borders." Daphne mused aloud.

Harry let out a noncommittal grunt but otherwise remained silent.

Daphne knew he had some misgivings about Madam Bones because of her involvement in Sirius' case. Even she shared those same concerns, but if not Madam Bones, then who? Her replacement would not be any better. She suspected Harry also realised it on some level. Just thinking about the stuff she heard from her father about the internal state of the Ministry gave her nightmares. Nepotism, recommendations, and bribes were the real currency from top to bottom in the Ministry.

Honestly, she was surprised Minister Bones managed to keep Harry's disappearance a secret till now.

"Enough about politics. Now, tell me, why are you not wearing your glasses?" she asked.

Anything to keep Harry's mind off depressing subjects was her goal. In time, she was sure she could bring back the old Harry, who was confident and strong. The one that she truly loved.

AN:

To read ahead of the update schedule;pat(r) eon. C (O) M/Dragonspectre

For artworks: https://discord.gg/Nw2JH25fJf