Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [6]

⚡️ Chapter 31 ⚡️

"Wonderful!" said Scrimgeour, standing back to let Vega and Harry pass through the door ahead of him. "We'll just take a turn around the garden, and Percy and I'll be off. Carry on, everyone!"

Both Vega and Harry walked across the yard toward the Weasleys' overgrown, snow-covered garden, Scrimgeour limping slightly at their side. He had, Vega knew, been Head of the Auror office; he looked tough and battle-scarred, very different from portly Fudge in his bowler hat. She wasn't very comfortable to where this would go from here.

"Charming," Scrimgeour said, stopping at the garden fence and looking out over the snowy lawn and the indistinguishable plants. "Charming,"

Neither of the teenagers said anything, and Vega could feel his eyes on them.

"I've wanted to meet you for a very long time – both of you," Scrimgeour spoke, after a few moments. "Did you know that?"

"No, we did not," Vega replied, and it was the truth.

"Oh yes, for a very long time," Scrimgeour told them. "But Dumbledore has been very protective of you. Natural, of course, natural, after what you've been through...Especially what happened at the Ministry..."

Scrimgeour waited for either of them to say something, but they did not oblige, so he went on, "I have been hoping for an occasion to talk to you ever since I gained office, but Dumbledore has – most understandably, as I say – prevented this,"

There was no response, although Vega and Harry briefly caught each other's eyes – they waited for the true motive behind this meeting with the Minister.

"The rumours that have flown around!" Scrimgeour said. "Well, of course, we both know how these stories get distorted... all these whispers of a prophecy... of you being 'the Chosen Ones'... I assume that Dumbledore has discussed these matters with you?"

Harry's hand jerked and Vega knew that she was supposed to take the charge here – as they always did in formal settings... because Harry could be an idiot.

Vega's eyes were stuck on the snowy ground where she could see the little gnome prints all around the flowerbeds, and the scuffed-up patch that marked the spot where Fred had caught the gnome now wearing the tutu at the top of the Christmas tree.

"Yes," Vega replied calmly, keeping her face hidden behind her curtain of hair. "We've discussed it,"

"Have you, have you..." Scrimgeour said.

From the corner of her eyes, through her dark hair, Vega could see Scrimgeour squinting at her and Harry, so she pretended to be very interested in a gnome that had just poked its head out from underneath a frozen rhododendron, one of her favourite flowers.

"And what has Dumbledore told you?" Scrimgeour inquired.

"Sorry, but that's between us," Harry interjected. He kept his voice as pleasant as he could. "Between Vega, Dumbledore and myself,"

Similarly, Scrimgeour's tone, too, was light and friendly as he said, "Oh, of course, if it's a question of confidences, I wouldn't want you to divulge... no, no... and in any case, does it really matter whether you are 'the Chosen Ones' or not?"

"I don't quite understand what you mean by that," Vega said, her shoulders tensing up.

"Well, of course, to you two it will matter enormously," Scrimgeour said with a laugh, most likely wondering if she was being defensive. "But to the Wizarding community at large... it's all perception, isn't it? It's what people believe that's important,"

The gnome under the rhododendron was now digging for worms at its roots, and Vega continued to watch it in silence – she was, sort of, aware where this was going but she felt like she shouldn't jump the gun and help him there first or on her own.