Unlike a Sister (Harmione)

Chapter 6: Rapprochement

Harry woke later than usual. For a moment, he could not account for why his brain felt like it was lined in razor wire.

Then, yesterday flooded back.

He looked to his right and saw Ginny asleep on her stomach, sheets hugging her hips. Harry extricated himself and dressed quietly in the apricitic sunlight from the window.

Like lowering the needle of a record player, his mind picked up its fixation exactly where it left off. The events of the forest, their goodbye. A few fitful hours' sleep had done nothing to calm the swell of anxiety in his chest.

Treading out of the room, he glanced at Ginny. The sun was white on the flawless plane of her back. He turned away, disgusted with himself.

"Chief? Director Lakey for you."

Harry's brow furrowed. He didn't remember an appointment. "Send him in."

Gwen stepped aside and Lakey barged in like a snowplough, even teeth incongruous in his grizzly-bear face.

"Mornin'," he said brightly, gripping Harry's hand. "Wanted to catch you before lunch. Thought I'd give you an update on Callahan."

Harry nodded and gestured towards the couch.

"Annie Wilkes submitted her full report this morning. Can't beat her turnaround time," Lakey grinned. "No evidence of an Imperius Curse. No evidence of enchantments, a mind-altered state, or even mental distress. Of course, she only examined up to a few hours before the attack, so we'll have to take her conclusions for what they're worth. There's always the chance his actions were premeditated, but that seems unlikely given the circumstances. He was there on orders, after all."

Harry pressed his lips into a hard line. "What d'you make of it all?"

"Well, it certainly suggests Callahan is and has been an anti-Muggle bigot for some time," Lakey said smoothly. "Someone who was apparently very good at hiding it until a few days ago. We'll have to develop that at trial, of course."

Harry looked through the warped-glass of the windows surrounding his office. It always made him feel like he was in a fish bowl.

"They believe he was under the Imperius," Harry grunted. "The lot of them. When will the evaluation be made public?"

Lakey looked sympathetic. Magical evaluations were very rare in Britain these days, usually saved for the most heinous offenders. The subjection of Callahan to the procedure would not be well-received.

"Don't worry," said Lakey. "We'll add the evaluation as an amendment to the arraignment on Saturday. The press never looks past the charge sheet. They'll read the Ministry statement and be done with it. Your Aurors probably won't hear about it until the trial begins. At that point, we'll call in every favor we have at the Prophet to downplay the magical evaluation and emphasize the nastiness that is Theo Callahan."

Harry gave the Director a level look. He was not accustomed to such candor regarding press manipulation, but Lakey was one of the best there ever was. His ability to influence public opinion, especially after Voldemort's fall, was legend. Half of the Muggle and Muggle-born protection laws were on the books because of him.

Harry glanced out the window again. Several pairs of eyes flicked away. The Aurors were on edge, Callahan's absence a gaping hole. All Harry wanted was a few weeks of quiet so that everyone could forget about Callahan...and the woman who would prosecute him.

He looked at his hands and asked the question. "How's Hermione?"

"Hermione?" Lakey chuckled. "Fine, fine. She was in the office even earlier than me, marking up Annie's report for review. She'd written a summary before I could even read a word."