7 Aftermath

It was only the briefest of time before Zach was rudely shoved aside. A tide of billowing robes separated the pair as wizards charged up the stairs to the gate. A sudden flash of pain corresponded with a thump as his head hit the smooth stone wall. He closed his eyes for a moment to will back the throbbing.

When he opened his eyes, he was alone; and she was no longer in sight.

"Miss Adelgrief!" Zach called out before pattering down the stairs as fast as he could go. At the bottom he stopped and looked. His father was there, holding onto the young woman, his face grave. The rest of the delegates were scattered around, clearly nonplussed. Some had their wands out, latent magic curling in silver tendrils from the tips.

"Zachary, are you alright?' At his nod, his father relaxed a bit. "Stay here for a moment." Zach leaned against a pillar and focused on slowing his breaths.

The elder Potter handed off the young woman to her grandfather and bowed.

"Sir, I apologize for the…" He was cut off with an imperious wave from the old man.

"Director Potter, what is the meaning of this? You assured us that these roundabout machinations would guarantee our safety. But what it is?" He glared around. "My granddaughter was put in danger with nothing to protect her but a child wizard and a useless squib." His eyes moved past Zach as if he wasn't there.

There was a slight noise from Hettie as she stared fully at him.

~~~

Hettie was taken aback. That boy was just a squib? No wonder he didn't wear wizarding robes, and yet, he seemed to be in charge when they arrived at the dock. She remembered how he appeared out of nowhere and pulled her to safety. She had never been that close to a dementor, and was frozen in fear. Yet this boy, without any magical way to stop that evil creature's effects, managed to reopen the gate. Just how was he able to do that?

Zach looked up from the floor in time to see the young woman take a step towards him, her eyes looking over his face as if to memorize it. His throat wet dry, and he gulped.

Suddenly, the elder wizard grabbed her hand and all but dragged her to his side, following the rest of the wizards as they left the room.

There was a soft sound to his left, and he looked up to see several wizards climbing down the stairs, including Fred and that strange young wizard. Fred hurried to his side as the other wizard walked to his father, exchanged a few words, bowed, and proceeded to catch up with the disappearing group.

"Zach, Zach, didja see them? Didja see those dementors??" Fred was almost stuttering, still keyed up from the incident. "I mean, it was much much worse than anything we were taught at Hogwarts." He shut up when he realized what his words implied.

Zach gave a sideways grin. In truth, he was happy when someone forgot his squib status and treated him like any other member of the magical community. He patted the young wizard on the shoulder to cover up the awkwardness.

"I saw you doing your part to keep the dementors away. It gave me a chance to move Ms. Adelgrief to the gate."

Fred gave a wide grin, his previous disposition restored. But before he could speak further, his father cleared his throat. Zach whispered, "We'll talk later. Why don't you go catch up with the group and see if there is anything that needs to be done." Fred bobbed his head and scooted out of the room.

Soon it was just father and son, face to face.