Chapter Eleven
Determined not to do anything to harm Victoria, Harry concentrated extra hard on his Apparition, while holding onto her tightly. Opening his eyes, he was grateful to see the Weasley's backyard, and that they had both arrived safely with no body parts missing.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked once before entering the Weasley's kitchen.
"Harry! We've been so worried," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed upon seeing him. She went to squeeze him in a hug until she registered the baby he was holding. She paused and stared in disbelief. It gave Harry that extra moment to realize they were the only ones in the kitchen so far.
"Harry," Mrs. Weasley said slowly. "Where did you get a baby?" she asked.
"Mrs. Weasley, this is Victoria," Harry said cheerfully.
Just then, the door to the hallway flew open and Hermione came rushing in. "Harry! I thought I heard Mrs. Weasley call your name." She screeched to a halt in front of him, much like Mrs. Weasley had.
"That's a baby," Hermione said, blinking in amazement at Victoria.
"Very observant," Harry said, sniggering at his friend.
She glared at him. "Where'd you get a baby?" she demanded.
"That's what I'd like to know," Mrs. Weasley said sternly.
"Her name is Victoria," Harry said again for Hermione's benefit. "And I'm watching her for the time being. You know how my aunt feels about babies being dumped on her doorstep," he said with a grimace.
"She was dumped at the Dursley's house?" Hermione asked, outraged. Mrs. Weasley looked like she would explode at any moment.
Harry shrugged helplessly. "Her family are victims of the war," he said quietly. Which, he reckoned, was true enough. Her mother and maternal grandparents had been killed, and her father and paternal grandparents were Death Eaters. That qualified as making them all victims of Voldemort in Harry's book.
"Victoria was brought to my aunt's house for now, until there is somewhere safe for her to go," he added.
Harry was quite pleased with himself. So far, he technically hadn't lied at all. He'd been seriously misleading, but he hadn't outright lied.
"Oh, the poor thing," Mrs. Weasley said, reaching for the baby now. Victoria didn't want to go, though, and started crying.
Harry shushed her. "Shhh, its okay, Victoria. This is Mrs. Weasley and she knows all about babies," he said reassuringly. He hoped his tone helped, because he knew she didn't understand the words. She quieted down, but still clung tightly to Harry.
Mrs. Weasley backed off, but gave Harry an odd look. "How long have you been taking care of her, Harry?" she asked.
"Um, about a month," Harry admitted.
"A month?!" Hermione shrieked in astonishment. "Why didn't you tell us before?!"
Victoria started crying again and Harry glared at Hermione as he bounced Victoria, trying to calm her again. "Could that be a reason?" he asked sarcastically.
Hermione looked chagrined at causing the baby to cry. "I didn't mean to upset her," she said quietly. Then she glared at Harry. "But you should have told us," she snapped. "No wonder you've wanted to stay at the Dursleys longer."
"I didn't know how long this was going to last," Harry said, still bouncing. "I still don't know how long, but while she needs care, I don't intend to just abandon her with the Dursleys."
"She's quite attached to you already," Mrs. Weasley said. "It's common when they're this age to be a little more fearful of strangers."
"Lovely," Harry muttered. "And I thought this would be a nice outing for her."
"She's been cooped up with the Dursleys?" Mrs. Weasley verified.
"Yeah," Harry mumbled.
"Then this will be a good thing for her," Mrs. Weasley said firmly. "She needs to get out and meet people and be exposed to lots of different things. Are you hungry?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, I'm starved actually," Harry answered. "I've been up since about four, but I'd been asleep since yesterday morning." He looked at Hermione. "My aunt left me a note saying you'd stopped by," he said. "Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you, but was too tired to think to send you a note telling you everything was fine."
He paused, glancing at the baby for effect. "I just had to hurry to get back to the Dursleys, and I hadn't known exactly what was wrong at the time."
"Was Victoria okay?" Hermione asked worriedly, making the assumption Harry wanted her to.
"Yeah, but I didn't get to sleep until after seven o'clock," he admitted, still trying to stick with the truth as much as he could. He was feeling guilty enough as it was.
"Is she teething?" Mrs. Weasley asked, back in her position in front of the stove.
"Yes," Harry said with a grimace. "I don't reckon you know how I could help her with that, do you? The Muggle methods just aren't cutting it." Harry and Mrs. Weasley both winced at his choice of words.
"Cutting teeth is no fun," Mrs. Weasley said in sympathy. "After breakfast, I'll see if I can't dig up my old books about baby care for you," she said.
"Thanks," Harry said. "I'd appreciate it."
Harry sat down with Victoria, while Hermione started setting the table. He found it amazingly easy to deflect questions, for the most part saying he didn't know. They were surprisingly easy to convince, but then, they knew about Harry's history with the Dursleys. Of course the Dursleys wouldn't fill Harry in on anything important.
It also helped that Harry could easily talk about how he didn't want Victoria growing up without her family or someone who cared for her. Mrs. Weasley and Hermione had just looked at Harry sympathetically.
Harry was pleased that he was pulling this off, but he could feel the guilt stirring in his gut. What would the Weasleys and Hermione say if they knew Victoria was actually a Malfoy? What would they say if they knew that he'd left Draco Malfoy in his room? That he'd slept with Draco?
Harry himself shied away from that little topic. He was thankful when more Weasleys trooped into the room for breakfast, and even more grateful when Mrs. Weasley and Hermione helped field the barrage of questions.
Mr. Weasley managed to pull out a baby's feeding chair from somewhere, and Harry managed to coax Victoria into it. She was happy enough as long as she was remained next to Harry, although she kept watching everything going on around her. Harry concentrated on trying to stuff his own mouth while feeding Victoria. He fed her bites of porridge and gave her a piece of toast to mangle and gnaw on.
"You're quite good at that," Hermione said in amazement.
"Good at what?" Harry asked in confusion, feeling like he'd missed something.
"Well, taking care of a baby," Hermione said, frowning a little. "I mean, you just seem so natural feeding her without even thinking about it."
Harry started laughing. "You should have seen me before," he said. "I'm definitely not a natural at this. I just had to learn fast so she didn't suffer."
"What are you going to do when you leave the Dursleys?" Ron asked. "It's not like you can take the baby with you."
Harry frowned. He didn't have a clue as to what he was really doing, but he knew he was taking Victoria with him to Grimmauld Place. He'd told them Aunt Petunia had watched her while he'd been involved with all the battle stuff and Order meetings. He wasn't about to tell them he had Winky's help. In fact, the Weasleys still thought Harry was coming to move in with them on his birthday.
"I don't know," Harry said quietly. "I might just stay at the Dursleys a little longer."
"You can't do that!" Ron exclaimed, outraged on Harry's behalf.
"We can't even get in to see you when you're there," Hermione muttered, sounding frustrated and seemingly in agreement with Ron.
"It's not been so bad this summer," Harry said.
"Not so bad! They treat you something awful!" Ron shouted.
"Ronald! Quiet down!" Mrs. Weasley commanded, but it was too late and Victoria was crying again.
Harry glared at Ron before he turned to pick up Victoria.
"Sorry, mate," Ron mumbled apologetically.
"She's just not used to this," Harry said. "I have no idea what it was like for her before, but it's actually been pretty quiet at the Dursleys."
It had been real quiet, considering the Silencing Charms on Harry's room and often around Victoria's cot or Harry's bed. It got interesting with so many of them essentially living in that one small room.
Harry grabbed some more toast, handing half a piece to Victoria before taking a bite out of the other half himself.
"You know she's getting that mushy toast all over you, don't you?" Ron asked, grimacing in disgust.
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, she tends to drool on me a lot, too," he said. "We both wash."
He noticed Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both smiling. "Let me go find you those books, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, standing up from the table. "I believe you'll also find the cleaning charms quite helpful."
Harry nodded gratefully. Anything would be helpful at this point.
They ended up migrating from the kitchen to the backyard with a large blanket that Mrs. Weasley gave Harry. The girls spread it out for him, and he plopped Victoria down on it. Harry thought it was funny when Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all sat down on different edges of the blanket. Victoria wouldn't get too far without someone there to stop her.
He watched her crawl around happily in the sunshine. She tended to stay close to Harry, and he let her check out the grass on the side, but she didn't seem to trust the prickly stuff.
"With that hair, she looks almost like she could be yours," Ginny said, grinning at Harry.
"I know," Harry said ruefully. "I'm hoping when the poor girl's hair grows out that it'll lie flat for her."
"She definitely doesn't have your eyes, though," Hermione pointed out.
Harry sighed, knowing whose eyes she did have. He didn't think even Hermione could have made the connection to Draco, but he knew how to deflect this one, just in case. "She's got the same colour eyes as Sirius did," he said quietly.
"Oh," Hermione said, wide-eyed. "I'm sorry, Harry. I forgot."
"It's okay," Harry said, shaking his head.
"I didn't think grey eyes were that common, but it's an especially interesting combination with her dark hair and then such light coloured eyes," Hermione said, resorting to rattling off pointless knowledge. Harry wouldn't be surprised if Hermione was soon looking up eye colours, simply because she didn't seem to have all the answers about it.
"How come she's so pale?" Ron asked.
"She's been stuck inside, Ron," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes.
Harry had to wonder if that's all it was, considering how pale Draco always was. Surely Draco got out into the sun once in a while, but he still always seemed awfully pale.
"Anyway, now that you're here, Harry, I can fill you in about Fawkes," Hermione said briskly.
Harry startled. "I don't even know where Fawkes is," he said. He'd been so busy and then he'd been asleep for so long. He was ashamed to realize Fawkes had been out of sight, out of mind. A low trilling above them had them all turning their gazes skyward. Moments later, Fawkes landed heavily on Harry's shoulder.
Harry petted the brilliant plumage. "I'm sorry, Fawkes," he said. "I've been a little busy."
Fawkes trilled a couple of notes, and Harry wondered if that meant he was forgiven. He suddenly had a lap full of Victoria as she tried to get closer to the colourful bird that had captured her attention along with everyone else's.
"No, Victoria," Harry said. "I can't let you grab hold of Fawkes, but I'll help you pet him." He carefully lifted Victoria in his arms and held her wrist and hand so that he could guide her hand gently across Fawkes' feathers. "Soft," he said, watching her smile in delight.
He set her back down on his knee, opposite from the shoulder Fawkes was currently resting on. Harry then looked to Hermione who'd been quietly watching. "So, what do I need to know?" he asked.
Hermione shook her head, still looking a little awed by the interaction between Harry, phoenix and baby. "For one thing, it would seem that Fawkes is attuned to you now," she said. "He came when you needed him at the meeting, and he came when you mentioned him now."
"I think he came to the Order meeting because of what I had said regarding Dumbledore," Harry said.
Hermione was shaking her head, though. "That might have been part of it, but I'd be willing to bet you were thinking about Fawkes at the time," she said.
Harry frowned as he thought about it. He didn't remember thinking about Fawkes, but he had to admit that was the type of thing he'd said in the Chamber of Secrets when Fawkes appeared. "Not really, but I suppose so," he said doubtfully.
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh at Harry's waffling answer. "Just trust me on this, Harry," she said. "Fawkes will now come to you when you call for him. He's his own creature, but for all intents and purposes, he's yours now."
"Why? How?" Harry asked bemusedly.
"Phoenixes choose their owners and he's chosen you as his new owner," Hermione said. "He's likely gone through a mourning period, and now he's yours. Provide him with a space of his own wherever you are at, and he will likely stay there close by."
Harry listened as she went on describing more about phoenixes in general. Most of it wasn't really stuff he actually needed to know, and Harry was again amazed at how much sheer knowledge Hermione could rattle off.
He wondered if it was a little immature of him that he was most fascinated with the fact that he could get Fawkes to deliver messages at a moment's notice, provide warnings, and carry several people with his tail feathers—all things he'd seen Fawkes do in the past. He could care less about the history of phoenixes. The burning information would likely prove useful, but it wasn't like that happened often.
Really, it sounded like all he had to do was provide a home, as such, and attention. Harry received all the benefits. He did feel a bit awed that Fawkes had chosen him, but he wasn't likely to dwell on it much. He gave a mental shrug. He was kind of used to bizarre things happening to him. He was pretty sure Hermione was much more fascinated with all of it than he was.
He understood the important part—home and attention. He could do that. Harry continued to absently stroke Fawkes' feathers, while Hermione droned on. Victoria had given up on trying to reach the bird and had ventured out again. Harry grinned, watching Ginny scoop the little girl up.
"Harry! Are you even listening to me?" Hermione asked suddenly.
Harry, and Ron, startled at the tone in Hermione's voice, causing Ginny to laugh and Hermione to glare. "This is important, Harry," Hermione said.
"It's unique and intriguing," Harry said, nodding at her.
"You haven't heard anything beyond those words, have you?" Hermione asked wearily.
Harry wasn't about to say that those words out of Hermione's mouth usually meant she was likely the only one to be fascinated by whatever it was she was talking about. Certainly, Harry and Ron weren't usually as fascinated. "Home and attention," he said, in a hopeful tone.
"Yes, I reckon that's what you need to know," Hermione said, giving up.
"I'm sorry, Hermione," Harry said, actually feeling a bit bad. "It's just that I've got so much going on in my mind lately, and there just doesn't seem to be room for more."
"No room for useless facts," Ron muttered. Obviously he hadn't meant it to be overheard because he appeared startled when Hermione transferred her attention to him.
"Ron! They're not useless facts," Hermione said sharply. "You never know when we might need the information."
Harry grinned, happy she was yelling at Ron now instead of him. He could almost pretend they were on the Hogwarts grounds arguing over assignments. Of course, he had a phoenix still resting on his shoulder and a baby in his care that somewhat ruined the effect.
His grin dropped into a sigh. He really didn't have time to daydream. If they would ever have a chance to just be students at Hogwarts again, he had a war to win first. Checking his watch, he realized he'd better be leaving. He had to drop Victoria, and maybe Fawkes, off at the Dursleys before running to Hogwarts to talk with Madam Pomfrey about potions. Then he still had to meet Snape at Grimmauld Place and sort out more potions.
That didn't even take into account his Draco problems or anything remotely to do with the Horcruxes. Harry was taking on tasks as fast as he delegated. He knew he surely must have been accomplishing something so far this summer, but right at the moment he was having trouble figuring out exactly what that was.
He wasn't exactly joking when he told Hermione he didn't have room in his head for anything else at the moment.
"You all right, Harry?" Hermione asked quietly.
Harry looked up and realized all three of his friends were watching him worriedly. He gave them a small smile. "I'm fine. Just have a lot on my mind."
"Have you made any progress?" Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head. "No, not really," he said. Which wasn't exactly true. He had had some quiet time at the beginning of the summer and thought of a few possibilities, but he certainly hadn't had a chance to check anything out. It wasn't like they could really talk about it in front of Ginny anyway.
"We haven't been able to come up with much, either," Hermione admitted. "We didn't quite have the same access to information as you did."
Harry was grateful she didn't sound accusing. He'd told them absolutely everything he knew regarding the Horcruxes, but she was right. They hadn't had the actual conversations with Dumbledore or seen the memories themselves. He wasn't sure it really made much difference, though. The problem seemed to lie in being able to think like Voldemort. Or rather, think like Tom Riddle.
"We'll talk more later," Harry said. "I've got to be getting Victoria back."
Hermione's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You still need to make a trip to Hogwarts as well, don't you?"
"Yes," Harry said evenly, moving to stand up, an interesting thing to do while trying not to dislodge a phoenix. He wasn't about to mention that he'd already retrieved the book. But he needed to keep up appearances, and he needed to talk to Madam Pomfrey anyway.
Hermione pursed her lips in disapproval, but didn't comment. She wouldn't override McGonagall's decision. Harry fleetingly thought he was going to have to get McGonagall on his side more often.
Harry left the Weasleys with the shrunken perch for Fawkes that McGonagall had conjured and a set of child care books. He wasn't at the Dursleys long. He got Fawkes settled, who appeared after Harry got the perch set up for him. Harry stared in wonder at the sight of the large phoenix in his room for a couple of minutes. Finally, though, he settled Victoria in with Winky, then left again.
A quick trip to Hogwarts where he got a list of needed potions from Madam Pomfrey and he was headed for Grimmauld Place, not quite knowing what to expect once he got there. He dragged his heels down to the kitchen, expecting, and finding, Snape rifling through boxes once he got there.
Snape looked up and sneered at him as he stepped into the room. Harry groaned inwardly. He had the feeling he was the one who was going to be punished for Draco's disappearance.
"We need to set up a lab here, Potter," Snape said curtly.
Harry nodded, actually grateful. "I just don't know where would be the best place, otherwise I would've had Winky cleaning up an area this morning," he said.
Snape paused and gave Harry an odd look. "Your house elf has taken whatever instructions you apparently gave her and decided to scrub down the entire basement floor of this house," he said.
Harry frowned at him in confusion.
"This kitchen is large, but surely you did not think it was the only room in the basement?" Snape questioned.
"This is one place I explored as little as possible," Harry said with a grimace.
Snape led him to a door off to the side of the pantry that Harry had never paid attention to before. "Why don't I remember this door?" Harry asked.
"There was a cabinet in front of it previously," Snape said curtly.
They stepped through into a short hallway with one door on the left and one at the end. Snape opened the first door and Harry was faced with one huge mess of junk. Piles of stuff everywhere, broken furniture, and many things Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was. He looked to Snape for an explanation.
"This was probably a storage room to start with, but it also appears to be where your house-elf has chosen to place anything questionable at the moment," Snape explained. "This room has not been cleaned, merely added to recently."
Harry quickly shut the door. He didn't remotely want to have to deal with anything in that room. He followed Snape to the last door. Snape opened it and stood to the side while Harry walked in.
Harry stared in amazement. "What is this room?" he asked.
"Often in the past, potions were questionable when bought. Over time, the Ministry enforced stricter guidelines on potions that could be sold to the general public," Snape said, clearly the professor at the moment. "Many of the rich, pureblood families would hire someone to brew potions for them, someone they could trust not to poison them. The room being used for storage would be their living quarters and this room, their potions lab."
Snape gazed at Harry. "It would appear that you mentioned to your house-elf that you needed a place to brew potions. She is far more knowledgeable of the old customs than you are," he said disdainfully.
Harry scowled. "Then it's a good thing I've got her helping me," he snapped.
"Indeed," Snape said evenly. "I believe she took anything that was being stored in this room and added it to the other."
Harry ignored the glare he was receiving and looked around the room again. Half the room looked ready for a potions lab to be set up. There were several storage cupboards for ingredients and supplies and shelves with glass doors ready for finished potions. Two long workbenches were in place.
On the opposite side of the room, it looked similar to a sitting room. It probably had been in the past, Harry realized. Their new storage room had most likely just been a bedroom. Here, there was a large fireplace and some comfortable seating. Off to the side was a large desk. There were many bookshelves around the room and Harry had to wonder if Winky had arranged all this throughout the morning, particularly after seeing everything Harry and Snape had left in the kitchen. When he'd decided to take Victoria with him, he'd sent Winky back to work on "whatever" she felt was necessary.
Harry glanced warily at Snape. "So, are you okay with setting up your things here?" he asked.
"Do I have any choice, Potter?" Snape asked coldly.
"Yes, you have a choice," Harry snapped. "I asked you for the help with the potions because you are the best, but I do have other resources to help me with them. We both know that this is my house now, whether I wanted it or not, and I'm sure you absolutely hate the fact that you are here at all," he said, trying to stay calm. "But you belong here as much as I do. That's why Dumbledore set it up that way."
He gestured around the room. "This looks like it was designed practically with you in mind, but if you truly wish not to be here, then by all means, make that choice."
Harry took a deep breath, trying to ignore the glare he was receiving. "You're not a servant here. Voldemort may treat you as such, and unfortunately, I know Dumbledore likely often made you feel that way," he said bitterly. "Always doing what he wanted because he gave you little choice."
"But you're not a servant here," he said firmly. "I'm not ordering you to help me with the potions. As if I even could order you to do anything," he said, snorting at the ridiculousness of that idea. "I'm just looking for a sort of . . . partnership?" he said, unsure of what to call it.
Snape stared at him for so long that Harry had to force himself to stand still instead of squirming nervously.
"Does Pomfrey need potions immediately?" Snape asked suddenly.
Harry started after the long silence and quickly fumbled in his pocket for the parchment with the list she'd given him. He handed it over to Snape once he'd found it. "I told her it would probably be a few days before I could get any to her and she said that she'd be fine until then," Harry said quietly.
"Very well, then," Snape said. "Let's get everything in here," he ordered.
Harry breathed a soft sigh of relief as he went to start bringing all the boxes into the room. He quietly followed the orders Snape snapped at him. Mostly he worked on putting books onto shelves where Snape directed him to, while Snape worked on putting away the potions ingredients and supplies.
Harry was only half finished when Winky popped in beside him.
"Master Harry," she said, glancing nervously at Snape who was glaring at her for interrupting.
"What is it, Winky?" Harry demanded.
"A message for you, Master Harry," she said anxiously, handing him a small slip of parchment.
Harry took the note from her, grateful that Snape didn't know that there was only one possible person it could be from. He read the note quickly, paling as he did so. "I'm going to kill him," he muttered. He glanced up at Winky. "Bring me my cloak," he ordered. "Then tell him I'll be there shortly."
Winky nodded as she popped out.
"What is the problem, Potter?" Snape demanded, as Harry took out his wand and burned the note.
"I've got to go," Harry said shortly, ignoring the question. "I'm sorry I'm not finished, but if you put the boxes in front of the shelves where you want them, I'll come back and finish later."
Winky popped back with his Invisibility Cloak before disappearing yet again.
"Potter!" Snape commanded, halting Harry in his progress to the door.
"What?" Harry snapped angrily, whirling to face Snape. "I don't have time for you to interrogate me right now."
"What kind of trouble are you into now, Potter?" Snape asked coldly.
Harry laughed harshly. "You mean other than the trouble of working with a man the entire Light side wants to find and capture, if not kill?" he asked. "You mean other than the trouble of trying to take care of a baby while trying to fight a war? Yes, I've got lots of troubles and Merlin knows how many secrets, one of which I need to deal with right now."
He turned and ran out, ignoring Snape's shouting. Harry Apparated a little further away from the house than he would normally, threw on his Invisibility Cloak and snuck around to the spot him and Draco usually used as an Apparition point. It was more convenient as they could sneak around to the back of the house without being quite as visible to outsiders.
"Mum, he'll be here," Draco whispered.
"Draco, how can you be sure he won't be bringing the Aurors with him?" Narcissa asked.
"He just won't," Draco snapped irritably. "I've told you, I trust him."
"I've told you to trust no one," Narcissa said coldly.
"And I don't," Draco said. "Except him," he added.
"Draco, I've never known you to be so foolish," Narcissa said, her tone turning anxious.
"I'm not being foolish," Draco said angrily. "I feel like I'm making the smartest decision I've ever made."
"Where is he?" Narcissa asked, sounding like it wasn't the first time she'd asked.
Harry drew back his cloak, glaring at Draco. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed angrily.
Draco instantly looked relieved. "I brought my mum to see Victoria," he said.
"You brought your mum for a bloody social call?" Harry asked incredulously.
"You told me to talk to her and so I did," Draco retorted.
"You weren't supposed to bring her here," Harry said furiously.
"She insisted on it," Draco said defensively. "What was I supposed to do?"
Harry knew Narcissa was watching them both with ever-rising interest, but he continued to ignore her.
"Amongst what I would have thought all the obvious reasons for not bringing her here," Harry said, glaring dangerously, "this was a really bad time for a fucking social call."
Draco's eyes narrowed. "Do you need to leave again?" he asked, and Harry detected the hint of worry.
"No," Harry admitted. "It's too late now, and already I've got to make up another story when I go back," he said resentfully.
"Then bring us inside," Draco said. "You know how dangerous it is to be out here."
Harry finally turned to actually look at Narcissa. It was due to this woman and her sister that Sirius was dead. It didn't encourage fond feelings for her, but he'd known that he'd likely meet up with her at some point if Draco could convince her to switch sides.
"I mean no harm to one who has protected both my son and my granddaughter," Narcissa said softly. "I only wish to see her."
"And then what?" Harry asked coldly.
"Then, I do believe we will need to talk," Narcissa said.
Harry groaned and smacked Draco's arm when the other boy began sniggering. Narcissa looked at them in confusion.
"This day started out so good," Harry grumbled.
"Your day started out with me in your bed," Draco smirked.
Harry flushed and glared at Draco. "That's not what I meant and you know it," he said.
Draco shrugged, unrepentant.
"Fine," Harry said huffily, handing his cloak to Narcissa. He stalked out of the small alley and to the edge of the Dursley's property.