Canary Creams and New Yellow Paint - (DRARRY)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Over the next two days, the tension in the house is drawn taut as a bowstring. No one's sure if they made the right choice now that they're here.

Draco and Harry are perhaps the worst. Scorpius asks if Draco's done anything that deserves Mr Potter's stilted silence whenever Draco enters the room.

Draco tells Scorpius he has nothing to apologise for.

Scorpius says, "Right. I'll take that as a yes, then."

On the third day, Shacklebolt tells them he's still negotiating a reduced sentence, or at least keeping them out of Azkaban.

"I won't pretend you don't constitute a special case, Harry," he says. "If you weren't involved ... well. The Ministry's going easier on all this because they fear the public's reaction to disciplining you too harshly. We can use that."

"Do we have to?" Potter asks.

"Yes," says Granger shortly, and that is that.

"You'll all need personal references to vouch for you if this goes to trial," Shacklebolt says. "And it'd be easier arguing your case if you took the ward down. I could probably have you out of here in just a couple of weeks."

That, they do not agree to.

On the fourth day, they begin to workshop ideas. A storm is raging outside, rain lashing violently against the windows, and most of them have bundled up in the warmest, most comfortable clothing Potter could offer.

"We've forced the Ministry into a tight spot," Granger says. "They can't just ignore the Wallygaggler problem, but they're not willing to make a real change either. I looked into the other moors nearby, just to see what they're like. Did you know more than half of them have been turned into Quidditch pitches?"

"I could have told you that," Weasley says.

"Could you have also told me that the reason Hexhampshire hasn't been turned is because it's a Site of Special Scientific Interest? They have breeding populations of birds there that are listed in the European Commission's Birds Directive as requiring special protection!"

"Which species?" Luna asks absently.

"Eurasian golden plover, short-eared owl, and merlin."

"And what's that got to do with anything?" Parvati asks. She and Lavender are huddled beneath the same large, tartan blanket on one of the sofas, both pretending they aren't embarrassed by this.

"The place is under constant observation. The amount of charmwork that would be required to keep Muggles from noticing the Wallygagglers would be comparable to hiding Hogwarts, maybe more. Not only that, but it's surrounded on basically all sides by other protected areas. We can't just transport a new species there without issue!"

"What other sites?" Rolf asks.

"Is that really important?" says Harry,

"We need to know what other species are in the area. What's it next to?"

"The southern side shares a boundary with Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor," says Granger, "and Devil's Water river is to the east. Those are the only places rich in magical flora and fauna."

"Luna," says Rolf, "you think you can help me compile a list of all the creatures living there? Proven and unproven."

"Oooh, yes, I'd love to."

Granger smiles. "Brilliant, you two work on that, and Lavender and I will dig into the legislation, try to find anything that says this isn't legal. Sound good?"

Lavender looks surprised, but she nods.

"What about the rest of us?" Teddy asks.

"You and Parvati will keep working on a potion to protect the Wallygagglers."

"We aren't getting anywhere with it," Parvati says dejectedly. "I don't think continuing will do all that much good."

"Then look at other options. Spells, wards, divination — I don't care. Just something. Blaise, you ... what are you good at?"

"What am I not good at?" he returns.

"Right. Well, you and Ron can ... Ron, what are you good at?"

"Oi! You married me, didn't you?"

"Romancing hardly counts as an applicable skill, here."

"She thinks I'm good at romancing," Weasley says smugly.

"Oh, for God's sake. All right. You and Blaise figure out what will get us out of here. Legally."

"That's our job? We're fucked."

"Agreed," Blaise says. "But somebody has to do it, or I have a feeling the Ministry will keep us here till the New Year."

"Ron, you're the only one with a working knowledge of laws regarding Auror arrests," Granger points out. "And Blaise thinks he can do anything, so you'll be a perfect team. Now, Scorpius?"

"Mm?"

"For the time being, your campaign is the least of our worries. But we do need to get the public on our side in all this. The more outraged people are, the better our chances of emerging with no more than a slap on the wrist."

"What do you want me to do? We can't use the Floo, and we can't send any owls the Aurors don't approve. You aren't suggesting some sort of coded message?" He sounds intrigued.

"No, no. I'm not. We daren't do anything that could get us into more trouble. All I'm saying is that — when we get out — we've got to be ready to sensationalise this story. Really pull on their heartstrings. You can start drafting a statement."

"That's it?"

"When you're done, you can ... help Luna and Rolf look into, erm ... some sort of alternative way to force the magic back underground. Or a storage container of some kind. The species list won't take all day, right?"

Rolf doesn't look like he knows how to answer that. "It will depend on how many species Luna names that I don't know anything about. That could take an awful while."

"Right. Well, we'll figure something out as needed. Harry, you and Draco are going to read up on Wallygagglers, all right? There must be some children's books in the library on them."

Draco stares at her blankly. "Our job is reading fairy tales?"

"They're our best resource right now."

"But surely — I mean, you've got everyone else doing important work. Why are we the ones who have to go digging for books for toddlers?"

"It's an important job. You'll need to be very thorough. We haven't explored the Black family library yet and there's bound to be something useful inside."

"You think Walburga read her boys sweet bedtime stories?" Potter asks.

"Just look."

"It doesn't sound like a two-person job."

"Harry—"

"I'm just saying. Surely Malfoy or I could handle it on our own and the other could—"

"Library. Now. We don't have time for whatever this," — she gestures briskly between them — "is."

"I don't remember us putting you in charge."

Granger's eyes light with fiery defiance. "You didn't need to."