The Count of Azkaban

Chapter 17

Ginny was sitting, laid back, eyes closed on a comfort chair, basking under the warmth of sun. She had just taken a bath. Her hair was wet and uncombed. A small tray of breakfast had just been laid besides her and she had received the message from Draco. She so much wanted to try and think about why Draco wanted to see her but her heart was not in it. It wanted to embrace the warmth she had felt after meeting Harry after such a long time. She finally had a friend out there. They may have obstacles to surmount and secrets to share before coming anywhere near the closeness they had shared for some time, but she could be at least sure of one thing. He would never betray her. In the world of duplicity and shadows that she lived in now-a-days, it was a luxury nearly no-one had.

She was not aware of the beautiful sight that she was at the moment and so unaware of her surroundings she had become that she never heard Draco knock and enter her room. As he laid his eyes on her, he stopped. Ginevra was looking a vision of beauty; the beauty that he had been smitten by in the very beginning. The fact that she would not have him only made him do half the crazy things he had done in his life. Of course, at that time they were just one of the considerations.

He had thought that this beauty had been lost under the ravages of hardship and betrayals. Now, looking at her, he wondered what had happened yesterday which could have made such a change possible. He briefly wondered about a sexual interlude but brushed it aside. He had more important things to worry about. This was the gamble of his life and he had to seem very sincere about it.

He coughed a little artificial cough to bring Ginny out of which ever dream that she was enjoying.

Ginny on the other hand was in a place of her own, totally free from the predicaments of this plane when she heard a small cough. She opened her eyes and saw Draco standing impatiently near the door, looking at her very strangely. Despite being married for so long, they were rarely alone with each other much. It was uncomfortable for both of them for in each other's eyes, they saw how unfeeling they were towards each other. Had they even hated each other, it would have been better than the unfeeling cold attitude both of them had for each other.

In front of others, a facade was there. But the veil was swept aside during such solo encounters. So much so that both of them consciously tried to avoid them. She wondered what had prompted him to do such an act.

She looked at him squarely in the eye as if asking him to state his purpose for intruding into her privacy. Indeed, if there was one woman who was worthy of being a queen, it was she. Draco simmered under her gaze. Sometimes he wondered if he would have her spirit had the roles been reversed. In rare moments of self analysis, he had accepted that he was not up to the task. Even now, her one look was enough to convey what she wanted to say. The transition from a beautiful angel to a commanding lady was masterful and more than that, natural.

"I will see you in the library in ten minutes." The words were phrased as a command but both of them knew it was actually a request.

She nodded her acceptance and Draco walked out of her room. Ginny remained behind thinking of what was so important that Draco had left his bank in the middle of the day and come home to meet her. He had never ever done that.

Thinking no more about it, still feeling part of the euphoria, she started to get ready and change into Lady Ginevra Malfoy.

(((o)))

Hermione was now sitting in the middle of the meeting. She looked around and saw the expectant faces of many of her colleagues. They were the heads of various clandestine departments of the American wizarding council. They had been meeting to discuss only about her and her sudden disappearance from their magical sensors. Being the head of department of research, she was very important.

After seeing the annexation of Britain by Voldemort, all leading countries had made several clandestine cells to contain him. All of them believed that once he had completely taken over Britain, he would expand over to Europe and then the whole world. There had been several assassination attempts, but all had been thwarted. As he was the monarch, not much could be done overtly. More than that, he was virtually immortal and the most powerful. After all the attempts to find just one single wizard who could defeat Voldemort, they had just found one person who had stopped Voldemort, Harry Potter. Whether it was because of fate or whatever else, it was unclear. The only thing known was that he had been thwarted only by one wizard, Harry Potter.

Hence unlimited funds had been designated to the research departments all over to find him, and most of the hope was pinned on none-other-than the best friend of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger. In her own world of intelligence, Hermione was almost as important as Harry Potter. As such, there was a permanent enchantment on her which showed her location anywhere in the world as well as her vital statistics. However, she had just vanished from somewhere in India and just turned up after a day. She had been checked for spells several times but they had found nothing amiss. Now, she was to tell her side of the story.

Expectedly, Hermione could not speak about Harry at all. There was a kind of spell on her preventing her from doing it. Strange enough, they could not find it during her scans. She was in a jam. But she was sure that Harry would know about this. This new Harry that she had met was far more mature than the Harry she had left behind. There had to be a way. Then it struck her. She could speak of John Edward Smith and the rest was easy.

(((o)))

Ten minutes later, Ginny entered the library. Draco was sitting behind his desk, apparently reading some official looking file. Ginny was not fooled for a second. Her curiosity was being piqued up by the moment. She wondered what had Draco up in such stitches.

"You wished to see me?" Ginny said, sitting down on the sofa rather than on the opposite side of Draco's table. Over the years, she had learned much about control and she no longer wished to play it down.

Draco saw Ginny sit down at the sofa. It was placed in such a fashion that he could continue from where he sat but would loose all the integrity he wanted to put in his speech. He did the only thing he could and stood up from his chair and walked and sat besides Ginny.

"Yes. I wish to discuss something of grave importance with you."

Ginny knew he expected a reaction but she was damned if she would give him one. She looked coolly back at him as if expecting him to continue. Draco on the other hand felt as if a little use of legilimency was in order here. He had tried earlier in the morning but had been stopped by a wall of strength he had never seen before. At that moment, he had let it pass as one of the anomalies which were described in the legilimency manual regarding euphoria. But even now, he felt similar walls surrounding her. Not wanting to get off the topic, he continued.

"We both are aware that the marriage we share is of no great value to both of us. We never loved each other. I will confess today that I went after you only because you said 'no'. I know that the way I went about it was wrong. But that was what I wanted." Ginny was amazed at the candor Draco was showing. They both knew the score but it had never been verbalized before. She was now sure that whatever he wanted, it was big.

Draco looked at Ginny and saw that her cold aloof eyes had turned a bit curious. Thanking his stars and his strategy, he continued. "We both have grown up now and grown wiser. It is apparent to me that you are not happy. That is not the way to live the life that we have been given. So I have an offer to give you."

This was the litmus test for Draco. If at this moment, Ginny got up and started to yell about another woman or any rubbish like that, he knew he had failed. They both had had dalliances above and beyond each other. It was accepted by both of them. Neither of them loved each other. So it was not an issue. Thankfully, there was no outburst.

Fiddling with his chain watch, Draco pitched, "I will agree to an annulment if you could do me a favor." Draco was looking intently at Ginny. Annulment was the magic world. In the wizarding society with archaic rules and laws, the annulment was the only way a couple may legally separate. More than that, it was only the husband who may give an annulment. It was technical only as no annulment had been given in the past several centuries. As all the wizards had a right to polygamy, provided they could afford it, there was no reason for legal separation. More so when the wizarding annulment normally meant that the blame lied with the male spouse and he was doing as an act of atonement. During this annulment, a huge financial settlement was also made towards the female spouse as an act of repatriation.

This definitely had Ginny's interest. Normally she would have not let any notion or emotion leave her, but this was a shocker. She was now sure that whatever he wanted was colossal.

Still not saying a word and keeping Draco on defensive, she said nothing. Draco, not hearing a know took this as an act of acceptance and finally laid it down. He waited until Ginny gave an imperceptible nod.

"You have to convince the count of Azkaban to introduce me to the chairman of le-beau. I shall do the rest." There Draco had said it. Many people would have thought that such a request was not worthy of such an act of planning and desperation between the two spouses. But there were several hidden admissions and power-plays that had not been said.

Everybody knew that no-one and absolutely no-one met the chairman of le beau. It was adequately known that he had hardly met a handful of people since the tenure. As a matter of fact, nearly no-one knew his real identity. It was a known fact that all the people who had ever met the chairman were now the richest of all people in the world. As a matter of fact, they were number one to ten of the worlds richest. Draco wanted nothing more than to be in that elite list. He had felt a certain attraction between the count and his wife earlier. He had assumed the euphoric display Ginevra had displayed a few minutes earlier after being absent for the whole night was because she had been with him. If she accepted, she would accept the dalliance and a sway over the count's actions. The annulment would also render her free and blameless for any further action she may pursue. It was gain all for all of them. The only question was weather she would agree.

Ginny was aware of all this. She knew that she had the power over Draco now. But she also knew that there must be loophole somewhere. Draco must have left something, somewhere for him to control. She remained silent, contemplating.

Seeing that the offer was not out-rightly rejected, Draco went in for the kill.

"I have taken the liberty of making a wizarding contract notating the terms I have just spoken. It also has a verified report as to the nature and amount of settlement I would give you as part of annulment."

Ginny was very guarded at the moment. She took out her wand and checked the agreement for any mind influencing or mind altering charms. There were none. It seemed to be on the up and up. She took the scroll and stood up.

"I will let you know of my decision by tomorrow." That was all she said and she turned around and left the library.

Draco remained behind, tired and emotionally spent. He knew that his next twenty four hours would be the longest of his life.

(((o)))

Voldemort was rereading the counts files. He had asked for more facts on the count through his ambassadors in several other countries and the replies had reached him a while earlier. He now knew a lot about the count and nothing. There were many details about the assumed wealth and power of the count in the financial world, both wizarding and muggle. However, there was nothing which mentioned the strength of his magical acumen. There were no power-readings or even a medical scan report.

He was intrigued.

To have such power and wealth and still be anonymous was something he did not understand. He was the most powerful wizard in the history of wizarding world, the heir of slytherin, yet even he did not have all information about himself in such closed security. He had been informed that most of this information and been very hard to get.

He was looking forward to meeting the count.

(((o)))

At exactly quarter before seven, Harry stood in his impeccable clothes, with all the accessories. He looked not only extremely handsome, but powerful as well. The staff in his hand was a very old relic from his days at his real home. It wasn't his real staff, but it had its own purposes.

It was exactly like this that the portkey activated and he felt a pull at his navel. Had it been the Harry of old, he would have felt disoriented and more probably than not, would have fell down upon reaching the destination. However, he now knew the secret of portkeys. They created a tunnel between spaces. It was very much like a wormhole that the muggles have been theorizing. The trick was not to flay around when you are in the air. If you stay still, you reach your destination in the same position that you left it.

So it was at exactly at 6:45 pm, that the invitation portkey, which resided inside the inner pocket of his robe, that Harry potter appeared in the offices of the secretary to Voldemort.

On his way in, Harry had used his magical senses and felt the wards which had been negotiated by the special portkey. He was impressed by the utter amount and quality of wards which had been put up. More than that, there had been several layers of them. First he had felt the normal muggle repellant wards followed by several security charms which were normal for a ministry building to have. Then as soon as he had moved towards the upper floor which housed the offices and living quarters of Voldemort, there had been several other blood wards as well as a very obscure ward. He remembered it as one of the lost wards of the ancients. It scanned the intentions of the entrant. If they were of causing harm to the beneficiary of the wards, they would not let you through.

After passing through several more wards, he had been placed at the entrance of offices where a small, mousy man sat at the desk. Harry's blood nearly boiled and he very nearly lost control of his magic as he saw the betrayer of his parents and the reason for his suffering childhood. For here sat, with a changed name, Wormtail aka Peter Pettigrew.

Author's notes

The story is going to get faster from now on. I hope you like how it's shaping up. I know I have left the fate of several key figures untold, but all will be revealed very soon.

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