Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ron and Astoria were sitting together on a couch facing the Headmistresses desk in her office. Professor McGonagall was at first too shocked to react to Ron and Astoria's confessions. That shock wore away and was replaced with hot anger and riotous indignation. Currently, she had raged at them for over an hour. Astoria had not stopped sobbing since Ron explained what the potion really did and she realized what she had done.

"Ronald Weasley, how could you do such a thing to a girl that has been your best friend for 8 years? Miss Granger saved your life many times during those same 8 years, and this is how you repay that debt? You choose to deny her something that is rightfully hers as a woman? I cannot believe your reprehensible actions!"

McGonagall then turned her formidable gaze over to Astoria. "And you, Miss Greengrass, you should be ashamed of yourself too. I don't care if you didn't know what the potion was really going to do; you had no right to interfere in Mister Malfoy and Miss Granger's relationship. If he wanted you, then he would have picked you, but as it stands, he didn't. He barely knows you. You have a schoolgirl's crush on him, and you thought that entitled you to what exactly? I cannot even begin to speculate your justifications."

"Diffius Amatoris does not have a known antidote and the only Potions Master that could have attempted to brew one, perished in the war." They both knew that she was speaking of Severus Snape, as he was one of the most celebrated Potions Masters of recent times. She continued, "You have condemned Miss Granger to an irreversible, childless life. Both of your parents will be informed of your actions and additional repercussions will be severe!"

As Astoria sobbed and McGonagall ranted, Ron had his head resting in his hands with his shoulders quietly shaking knowing that things were going to get worse. There was still more to tell. They still hadn't told their Headmistress the whole of the story, including the fact that Ginny had ingested the potion too. He had made his own sister barren as well as Hermione. This meant that Harry would never have the family he always had longed for. He took a deep breath and looked up at his professor. He was so scared to tell her the rest, but he knew that he had to come clean with everything. It was ripping him apart that this had happened to Hermione, but he had let it happen to his little sister too… Ginny was the one girl that he was supposed to protect no matter what.

"Umm… Professor, there is more…" he started cautiously.

Her lips thinned even more, which Ron hadn't thought possible. "What more could you have possible done Mister Weasley?" She asked the young man imperiously.

"Well, professor, you see, my sister also drank some of the potion," he finished in a quieter voice than before.

Again, Professor McGonagall was rendered speechless. She turned her chair to look away from Ron and at the portraits of Dumbledore and Snape. Her mouth was soundlessly opening and closing devoid of coherent words. During these confessions both former Headmasters had remained silent except for occasionally gasping during the tale told by the, now displaced, member of the Golden Trio.

"May offer a suggestion Minerva?" Dumbledore's likeness began, "Misters Potter and Malfoy, as well as, Miss Granger and Miss Weasley, need to be called here. They need to know what has been done to them. This will be devastating news for both young couples. It would be best if they are told as soon as possible."

"Of course, you are right, Albus. I will send a house-elf immediately to collect them." She snapped her fingers, and a house-elf immediately appeared and bowing low to her mistress. "Minnie, please find the Head Boy and Girl, as well as, Harry Potter, and Ginerva Weasley, and ask them to report to my office at once. They will most likely be in the Head's Quarters. Thank you."

The elf vanished at once, and once more, she fixed her imposing glare on the two guilty students in her office. She said, "You are both will stay here. I believe that the first part of your punishment should be facing them when they find out what you have done."

Instinctively, Ron and Astoria scooted closer together on the couch and Ron reached out and covered her trembling hand with his own.

This gesture of comfort was not lost on their Headmistress. She gave them both another stern look and turned back to Snape's portrait. "I am correct, am I not Severus? There is no antidote to Diffius Amatoris, is there?"

"No. Not to my knowledge, I will admit that after receiving my Master status, I did not continue researching that type of potion. It is a very dark potion, so I fear that there is no hope of reversing it. Salazar Slytherin was not known for having a softer side, so it would be likely that this potion's effects are irreversible."

As the former headmaster finished speaking, there was a knock at the door. With a heavy heart, McGonagall went to answer the door.

"Come in, all of you. Mister Weasley and Miss Greengrass have something to tell you." She swept her arm inside indicating the four chairs that materialized to accommodate the four students.

The foursome entered with trepidation, Draco giving Ron and (the still weeping) Astoria a glare as he held Hermione's chair out before seating himself. Hermione and Ginny clearly looked nervous; however, Harry was rather calm. He looked curiously at his professor, while Draco continued to glare at Ron out of the corner of his eye.

After seating herself behind her desk once more, McGonagall began speaking to them, "I am afraid that I have called you in here today because Mister Weasley and Miss Greengrass came to me with a rather disturbing story. It seems that they have done something that will most unfortunately impact all of your futures. I ask that you not ask any questions until they have finished with their tale. Is that understood?"

She swept the four with a direct gaze, receiving nods of assent from all. Hermione and Ginny both reached out and grabbed the hand of the wizard sitting next to them. Draco went one step further by putting his arm around Hermione's shoulders. He instinctively knew that they were going to be receiving something worse than just simple bad news.

Ron and Astoria began telling them what they had done. At the mention of Pansy's name Draco tensed and tightened his hold on the brown-haired girl next to him. When Astoria faltered Ron continued in a tremulous voice, finishing with the name of the potion.

When they heard the name of the potion that had been slipped to Hermione and Ginny, Hermione cried out and began sobbing. Draco lost the little color had been left in his face. Ginny sadly realized that she would not be able to give Harry the family he had always dreamed of and began crying as well.

Despite his friends' reactions, Harry still did not truly understand the potion's purpose. He knew that it could not be good, but he didn't understand their hysteria. So he looked at McGonagall and asked, "I'm sorry Professor McGonagall, what exactly does this potion do? I have never heard of it before."

"Harry, I am very sorry," she began kindly to soften the impending trauma of her explanation, "Diffius Amatoris, was a potion created by Salazar Slytherin--" Harry gasped and continued, "--he created it to make certain that his mistresses did not become pregnant."

Harry held the sobbing Ginny closer to him and said, "But surely there is an antidote to it. I mean what did he do when he broke it off with his mistresses?"

Snape's portrait explained further, "Potter, there is no known antidote to this particular potion. He considered his mistresses to be his property even after he became tired of them. He simply left the women to fend for themselves, alone. We have no record of any woman ever conceiving a child, after having taken the Diffius Amatoris Potion."

At these words, Harry jumped up and launched himself at his former best friend. He took Ron down to the floor and began pummeling him, trying desperately to beat him to a pulp. Ron did not even try to defend himself. He felt that he deserved every punch and kick. Harry was in such a blind rage that he did not notice that his actions were causing the witches he loved to cry harder.

Draco finally came over and separated the two wizards, knowing that no matter what Ron had done, Hermione would not want her two best friends to kill each other. When Harry tried to throw off the arms holding him back, Draco held on tighter, and said, "Look at them Potter. Ginny and Hermione need us now; they do not need to you beating on Weasley."

Professor McGonagall finally got over the shock of seeing the once best friends rolling around on the ground, one of them trying their best to kill the other, and raised her voice to be heard over the shouting and crying, "Enough! Mister Potter, Mister Weasley, kindly stop dueling like a pair of muggles, and act like the grown wizards that you are. Now, I know that what Mister Weasley and Miss Greengrass did is utterly reprehensible, but it will be up to me, how they will be punished."

She looked over at Draco and gave him a nod of gratitude for recognizing that Hermione and Ginny did not need to see Harry and Ron fighting. Harry shrugged off Draco's restraining grip and sat between Ginny and Hermione and put his arms around the sobbing girls. However, Hermione broke away and ran to Draco who immediately held her tight, trying his best to comfort her.

"I would like for the four of you to head back down to the Head's Dormitory, and get some sleep for now. I will make sure that the house elves put extra beds in the bedrooms and vials of Sleeping Draught. I will be down in the morning to discuss this further; I will send owls to several Potions Masters and see what they have to say. Now, please, I will count on you two," she directed her gaze to Harry and Draco, "to comfort your girlfriends. Good night."

"But Profess--"

"Not now, Mr. Potter, we will talk about this more in the morning. I called you here tonight, because the result of the potion will affect all of your futures, You deserved to know as soon as I did, but now it is time for you to go and retire for the night. I have many letters to write tonight, and the sooner I can get them sent out, the sooner we can try to find solutions to this disastrous problem."

As the two young wizards were helping their significant others out of the office the professor once more fixed her glare back on Ron and Astoria. She curtly instructed, "The two of you will sleep in a sequestered dorm tonight. Your parents will be here in the morning and we will discuss your punishments then. I will have a house elf show you the way. Your trunks will be in the dorm rooms by the time you get there. Good night."

She snapped her fingers; a house-elf appeared and was given his instructions. Beckoning to the two students, he led them from the office and down into the dungeons to the sequestered dormitory. They both knew that the "rooms" in the dorm were more like prison cells, and resigned themselves to a rough night.

Meanwhile, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Draco had reached the Head's Dormitory. The occupants of the portrait looked at the four, miserable students standing before them. Draco began to utter the password, when a founder, cut him off.

"Whatever is wrong my dears?" Helga Hufflepuff asked gently.

"Now Helga, you know that we are not supposed to interfere in the students' lives anymore, isn't that right Godric--" She was cut off by the deep voice of Salazar Slytherin, himself.

When Hermione and Ginny heard his voice, they began crying harder.

"Unity" Draco said the password hastily, wanting nothing more than to get his crying girlfriend inside.

"All right. We will let you in, for now, but I, for one, intend to find out what has happened to cause you all to look like your families were slaughtered." With these final words from Godric Gryffindor the four students flinched. When the portrait swung open they went inside.

"Oh Merlin, Harry, what are we going to do?" Ginny wailed as Harry gingerly settled her on one of the couches by the fire, before sitting down next to her to once more hold her tightly.

"I don't know Gin, we will have to see what McGonagall has to say in the morning. Just because Snape doesn't know of an antidote, doesn't mean that there isn't one," he said trying to comfort her.

Hermione looked over at her friends, pulled out of Draco's arms, and ran to her bedchamber. Draco stood where he was for a second before he looked at Harry and Ginny and saw the small nod Harry gave him. Knowing that the boy-who-lived was giving him a signal to follow her and try to comfort her, he took off behind her reaching her room just as she locked the door from inside. He tried a simple unlocking charm, but she had used a much more complex spell to keep him out. He pounded his fist on the door shouting to Hermione to let him in.

She was lying on her bed, sobbing, and didn't think to lock the door to the bathroom. It was through this door that Draco gained entry to her room. He walked over to her bed, and dropped to his knees next to her head.

"Why did you just run off like that?"

"Because I didn't want to see it in your eyes!" she wailed.

"What are you talking about? What didn't you want to see in my eyes?" he thundered back with a look of utter confusion on his face.

"I didn't want to see the rejection in your eyes," she miserably responded.

"Why did you think you would see rejection?" He moved up to the bed and took the struggling witch into his strong arms once more. "Hermione, I told you just today that I love you. Why would I reject you now?"

"Because you are a Malfoy! You need an heir someday, so what is the point of continuing with me now that you know I can never have children. I know that we just started dating, and it was too soon to think about getting married and having children. But now, you know that I can't ever give them to you. You might as well just cut your losses and break up with me now."

Hermione was hiccupping with her sobs now. She was trying to get herself under control, but knew it was no use. She pulled out of his arms and curled up on her bed, with her back to him.

Draco was sitting there completely stunned by her reasoning. "Why are you giving up hope so soon? Sure, Professor Snape doesn't think that there is an antidote, but that doesn't mean that there isn't one, or that one can't be invented! Besides, I hadn't even thought about having children yet."

He lay down on the bed next to her and curled himself around her shuddering form. "Let me hold you please, I need you right now, so that I don't find wherever McGonagall stashed that bastard, and kill him and that useless bitch that did this to us!"

She finally acquiesced and allowed him to hold her. She clutched his strong forearms with her hands. She felt his body jerking at her back and turned around in his arms and saw that they were crying together.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny were outside on the common room couch crying as well. They had already planned to marry, and were now trying to figure out what they were going to do since Ron and Astoria had killed their dream of a large family.

Through his own grief, Harry promised, "Don't worry Gin, we will still have our family. We have been through too much to give up now."