I Was Younger Then

Order of Merlin For Services Against Foreign Intervention

Penny sat in the bath for sometime. The hot water was a welcome distraction, lulling her into a stupor. She'd been thinking about Harry, wondering how the tournament was going. Smiling inwardly, she remembered laying in the warm sun with him just a few months prior. The grass soft beneath them, wispy clouds skirting across the sky above. The sun was so warm, Harry's hand clasped in hers. The moment was pure tranquility, nothing intruding on their discussion of favorite ice cream flavors. Harry was a mint chocolate chip kind of person, while Penny always preferred rocky road.

Penny would gladly never eat rocky road ice cream again if she could spend afternoons with her twin again. By Penny's calculations, a month had already passed since she arrived at the Department of Mysteries, making her total separation from Harry three months now. It was the most time she'd ever spent apart from him. He'd gone away for one month to the Weasley's one summer because Penny had opted to stay at the Dursley's and help care for Aunt Petunia, who'd fallen very ill that summer. But other than that, they had no experience apart. Inside the enchanted walls of the Ministry, Penny also couldn't feel Harry. There was too much noise between them, making it impossible to pinpoint him. The feeling was an uncomfortable one, Penny never realized how routine it was for her to search out the familiar and comforting feeling of Harry's magic, even when he lay asleep in his dormitory.

With a deep breath, Penny submerged herself beneath the surface of the water, and then formed a bubble around her head, allowing her to remain there for as long as she desired, without needing to come up for air. Releasing her mind of all conscious thought, Penny listened to the buzzing of magic. To the untrained senses it could be mistaken as one large sound, but Penny began meticulously isolating its parts, trying to identify them. Some were very easy to do so, like the ministry officials performing basic spells to complete their daily tasks. Then there were things like the floo network which webbed through everything else. Penny focused on the sounds closer to her, but avoided the cursed items that were located in the never-ending room. Instead, she searched for the sound she'd discovered just a couple of days earlier. Down empty winding halls, in the center of almost eternal silence was a whispering that beckoned her forward. There were many voices speaking, but Penny could not make out what any of them were saying.

Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to be beckoned toward the pleasant sound, but never moved beyond the veil that separated them. She lay like this for several nights in a row, her mind finding refuge outside the pains in her body. But after an hour of this, someone rapped on the door and forced her back to her to her senses. Leaving her solitude, Penny returned to her room, dressed and prepared herself for whatever the day had in store for her. Heaving a great sigh, she looked at her desk, willing there to be mail, but like every other day, there was nothing. Draco still had not responded to her previous letter which worried Penny. Perhaps her request was too great, or he was not interested in risking his neck for her, either way she would appreciate some form of response.

After she was dressed, several stern looking Ministry officials showed up at her door and without explanation escorted her to a room where a sleek blond man, dressed in expensive golden robes stood waiting for her. Penny stood dumbstruck as Lucius Malfoy turned to scrutinize her appearance and waved away the others.

"Miss. Potter," he said, looking as though the words on his lips caused him great pain.

"Mr. Malfoy," Penny nodded. "To what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

"You know perfectly well why I am here, Potter, so don't play coy with me,"

"Coy? I can assure you I have never been the type to be coy, I prefer getting to the point, so please do, illuminate me," said Penny, moving to an empty chair.

Lucius hesitated, but followed her, taking the seat as far from her as possible, and turned to observe her.

"Draco wrote to his mother asking for assistance getting you out of here," Lucius bean, looking around distastefully at their surroundings.