A/N: This one took a while for some reason. Hope it's turned out okay. DYING to hear everyone's thoughts of the story up until here! Please help me out here, you guys, write reviews, help me improve... :) Hope everyone likes this chap. Until next time :)

P.S. Have not read through this chap even once, so my apologies in advance for mistakes and errors. Shall have it corrected by tomorrow, so please bear with me until then!

Chapter 37: Hiss of Betrayal

DAY 1: DECEMBER 20, 1976
THE GREAT HALL, HOGWARTS
02:59PM

Harry's POV

Harry and Draco were seated in the empty Great Hall, lost in thought. They hadn't said a word to each other ever since they had left the dingy, old cottage and walked back to Hogwarts led by Dumbledore. Their headmaster had left them off at the Entrance Hall and headed straight to his study, wishing them luck on this mission.

Harry's robes, which were originally spotless, now looked brown and muddy. But nothing mattered at the moment, as he sat there, contemplating on his next move. But he had to admit: despite the morbid mission that he was carrying on his shoulders, he felt absolutely ecstatic to be here, at this time and age, along with his father and his bunch of amazing friends. 1976, TRULY, was one of the best years to have been alive in, he concluded, as a slight smile broke on his face in spite of himself.

"Did she ever…" started Malfoy, cutting into Harry's thoughts. "Hermione, I mean… Did she ever talk about me, Potter?" he asked, staring at his hands.

"What do you want me to say, Malfoy?" Harry said in a low voice. "Hermione, she's as complex as the theory of Wandlore itself. No one ever knew what ran in her mind," he said, and smirked to himself. "In fact, even I didn't know she fancied Ron until our fourth year, I reckon, despite being her closest friend ever. So, yeah, to answer your question, no, she did not mention you that much, in fact, not at all. But my question is," he said, turning to look at Draco's face this time, "how does that make you feel?"

Draco looked up. "Stings a bit, but I knew, so it doesn't matter all that much, I suppose… I'm just happy that she's happy," he said and darted his away from Harry. Suddenly, a slight smile broke on his face before he added, "You've no idea how much I've envied Weasley and for how long I resisted the urge to break his nose so she'd notice me instead of his freckled-face," he said, grinning a little. "It's always pained me to acknowledge how easy it was for all my friends to simply like someone and get to be with them too, like life owed them something…" he sighed.

"I know what you mean. Been there, done that," Harry said, grinning along with Draco at the thought of his own failed relationships.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps running towards the Great Hall. Harry and Draco immediately dived under the table just in time as the doors to the Great Hall flew open and two pairs of feet could be seen running in. Harry instantly recognized Ron's dirty shoes and jumped up from under the table and waved at them.

"There they are! Come on!" huffed Ron, and slowed down as he trudged past the long tables and chairs to reach Harry and Draco. "You," he started and drew in a whole bucket of air before speaking again, "are NOT going to believe what we just saw!" he panted and flocked down opposite to Harry and Draco. Hermione joined them as well.

Harry, quite spontaneously looked between Draco and Hermione, before turning his attention back to Ron and Hermione (he was never going to get used to the idea in a million years!). Ron mutely stared back at Harry, pausing dramatically to heighten the effect before opening his mouth to speak again: "Would you, Harry, believe me if I said Isabella has a secret that NO ONE knows? That, that's the exact reason why she was even able to write us that note on the day she died? That, it was also one of the reasons why she was the ONLY person who didn't really protest or even get involved in the discussion when Remus got ousted from the group and the Order that day?" he said, and waited for a reaction from Harry and Draco. Hermione, on the other hand, merely looked too exhausted to even be interested in what they thought at the moment.

Harry looked stumped as he simply gaped on at Ron. "What are you saying? What is she hiding, Ron? Tell me everything!"

"Well, that's the bad news. We don't know yet, but we're going to find out," he said, and quickly filled them in on everything they had witnessed about half an hour ago. A chill swept through Harry and Draco as the story was narrated… They've been pulled into the Dark Side? By the first Dark Lord HIMSELF? So THAT'S why everything turned out to be so bad?

"Also," added Ron, looking slightly apologetic. "Mate, we ought to figure out a way to turn over to the Light side again, man… It's the ONLY way we can right the wrongs! We were supposed to not let the switch happen, but we weren't even aware that that was the moment when we had to act and ended up missing our chance…" he said and paused for a bit. "Another meeting with Dumbledore, I suppose…" he said, looking up at Harry and Draco.

Harry sighed and looked up at Ron and Hermione through tired eyes. "Can I be honest?" he said, letting his hands fall tiredly to the table. "I am tired as hell. I know it's only all of three o'clock, but I don't think I can stand one more second of brainstorming or ANYTHING for the time being. Can we please find a place to stay, assuming we're going to be stuck in the past for some time?" he said, and immediately received appreciative grunts from the others.

"You are a godsend!" said Ron, nodding vehemently, while rubbing his tired eyes.

Hermione looked around the table and sported an 'are-you-all-for-real?' look before shaking her head and adding, "I vote that we stay somewhere HERE, in the castle," said Hermione. "That way, we would always be able to keep an eye on what everyone was doing," she said. Harry suddenly realized that this was the first time Hermione had spoken ever since the four of them caught up and it made him wonder why…

"I think Hermione is right," said Draco, making Harry immediately eye him disbelievingly. He was about to send out a 'seriously-back-the-hell-off-mate' look, but failed miserably. Draco caught his eye, but chose to ignore him in style and continued (What the hell?) "Which House, though? The dungeons or the tower?" Draco asked grinning a little, knowing fully well that he was treading DANGEROUS territory.

Ron raised a challenging eyebrow at him. "Whadoyathink?" he said, making Harry and Hermione laugh approvingly.

"Alright, alright, you win!" Draco said, putting his hands up in surrender. "Red and gold, it is!" he added, making Harry and Hermione laugh even more. And with that, the four of them stood up and started thinking of ways and means in which to snuggle into the Gryffindor tower without being seen. Ron suggested throwing the idea of 'not being seen' in the bin and walk right up to the Gryffindor common room and occupy one of the empty dorms for the time-being ("How bad can it be?!" he had said. "We're all dressed as students, it'll be a walk in the park!"). He stopped talking only when he caught Hermione's death glare from the side.

"I suggest we coop up in the library for a little while," she concluded most heartlessly. Ron's face fell; Harry pitied the bloke; he knew all too well how much Ron was looking forward to this little power nap before they got back to cracking down on the case… Holding back a laugh that was threatening to burst out, he turned over to Hermione again. "We have a LOT that we don't know and I think it would be utterly FOOLISH to waste our time resting!" she said and challenged anyone to oppose her point. Harry was in NO mood to argue so ended up shrugging his consent. "Alright, but YOU'RE going to do all the reading. I am going to get a little shut-eye," he said, not giving her any more leeway on the matter.

"What are you going to study on, anyway?" asked Draco. "Don't we have all the information we would need to do whatever it takes to change the past?" he asked, most curiously.

"Not really. I have a feeling we need to know something about The Veil, considering that was where Sirius, well… Actually, I am just basing it all on a hunch that I have that needs clarifying," she said, making all of their heads turn. Harry's jaw dropped open as several circuits started firing away in his brain making him forget all about resting. What is she on about?! "I doubt if even The Unspeakables know anything about what it is or does or HOW it acts as the barrier between the lands of the living and of the dead, despite years of research!" she continued, leading them swiftly towards the library. The others followed her as if in a state of trance. "But we are going to find out and I bet on my Time-Turner that the answer to THAT question is going to salvage us all!"

A whimper escaped Ron's mouth as he eyed the boys sceptically. "Darling… Is it utterly necessary for us to deal with the 'Whisper People'?" Ron whispered weakly, and mutely prayed to all the gods in heaven to pump in some sense into her.

"One hundred percent!" she replied icily as they turned around a corner into the aisle that led to the library.

"But, Hermione…" Harry said, almost jogging to keep up with Hermione's pace. "Why about The Veil all of a sudden?" he asked, with only one thing in mind that seemed to get his heart racing: Sirius! "I… Er… see no significance whatsoever as to how it would even…" he said, trying to mask the excitement in his voice.

"Like I said, Harry," she said, storming into the library with a sense of purpose. "It's purely based on a hunch. I'll tell you all about my theory once I am even a little bit close to finding out what The Veil's real purpose is… After what I saw in the abandoned classroom today, I have no reason to think that it is anything close to simply being an innocent gateway to the land of the dead. I am going to get to the bottom of this if it kills me in the process!" she said, sounding uncharacteristically upbeat. Truth be told, seeing her this way made Harry nervous. "In the meanwhile, one of us needs to constantly keep an eye on the key stakeholders of this case," she said, referring to all the kids from the 70's that are involved in this bizarre story, "you know, just so we don't miss out on anything important while we're busy researching.

"So, having said that, I am dividing us all up. Harry, you will be in-charge of retrieving and uniting the Deathly Hallows, since you are the Chosen One and that's your primary responsibility. You may break the rules a bit by stealing it from James, because that's just how it can be done!" she sighed almost hating the idea. "Also, make sure you visit Dumbledore and see if he's figured out how to fix that Stone!" she ranted on, as if she'd memorized the whole speech in her head at some point. "Also, figure out the real purpose of Gryffindor's sword, why it's travelled back in time and how can it 'help' us in this mission!

"Draco," she said, turning to look at him this time. "You will watch over Lucius AT ALL TIMES! I need timely reports about what he's doing, where he's going, what's he saying, EVERYTHING. If he encounters anyone from Gryffindor, even if it is just Peter, I need to know! I need to make sure you memorize his class schedules so that you may never lose sight of him. Also, if he ever meets up with Remus or Peter or Severus or Isabella, I NEED the details of their conversation and their behaviour! Can you remember all that?" she asked, crisply, to which Draco quickly nodded his head. ("Aaaaand, she's back!" Harry ruefully acknowledged as she shot out instructions after instructions at them.)

"Ron, you're in-charge of the Gryffindor wing! All of whatever I said to Draco applies to you too! I do not want you to miss a SINGLE thing about what goes on in that tower! The Gryffindors, especially this bunch, both boys and girls, generally move in a pack, so it shouldn't be that big a problem for you when it comes to eavesdropping on what they're saying or doing. If someone's missing or away from the group, I need you to give that person the highest priority! You need to find their whereabouts and report exactly what you heard or saw! If it's too much to remember, WRITE IT DOWN!" she said, slamming her hand on the table in which the four of them were seated.

"Yes, ma'am!" squeaked Ron, looking terrified at the humungous responsibility that he was thrown at.

"I, in the meanwhile, shall work on cracking the case of The Veil. Considering how ancient a magic this is and how, most of the books that might explain the phenomenon might not even be in the English language, so I have got a LOT of work to do, trying to decode the science behind it. I bet the scriptures would be in ancient Runes or even Sanskrit for all you know…" she said, talking more to herself now than to the others. Suddenly, she snapped her head up and looked curiously at them. "What are we waiting for?! Chop! Chop!" she said, making them all jump to their feet.

"Is this turning out to be the longest day of our lives or what?!" Ron muttered in Harry's ears making him smile apologetically at him before the boys ran out of the library and split into different directions.

DAY 1: DECEMBER 20, 1976
THE DUNGEONS, SLYTHERIN HOUSE, HOGWARTS
07:46 PM

Draco's POV

Draco was panting and sweating as he peered out of the large pillar that he was hiding behind. As he heard footsteps approaching, he ducked back behind the pillar, hoping no one spotted him. Draco's breathing finally steadied as his heart stopped pumping so fast, making him relax. He leaned his head back on the pillar and stared blankly at the ceiling.

What are you even doing here, Draco? he asked himself. Why are you really here? It's been YEARS since you passed out of Hogwarts, surely you're not still hung up on Granger?! he yelled at himself crossly and opened his eyes once again as revelation dawned on him. I just—want to be with her… spoke a small voice that seemed to come from a corner of his brain. One last time… Before everything goes back to what it was…

That's it. That was the truth. He had finally admitted to himself what he could never face bravely for ALL these years. He missed her—every now and then even now. And so, when he came face-to-face with her in his mirror, all of these emotions had come rushing back and there was no way of stopping them or resisting the urge to hang out with her: something he could NEVER do back when they were all in school. So this was him, trying to make the most of a small opportunity that life was throwing his way, perhaps.

You do realize you have to face your FATHER now, don't you? this stern voice echoed through his head. Good luck surviving that! he told himself and was surprised to find out how sarcastic and mean he sounded even to himself!

Suddenly, he was pulled out of his thoughts by a scurrying noise. In fact, the more he listened to it, the more he realized that the scurrying noise had been there for quite some time now… Hit by a major wave of curiosity, Draco waited and listened intently to locate the sound of the noise; some instinct told him not to react immediately and wait. The noise got louder and louder until he was sure it was right in front of the pillar behind which he was hiding. Without stopping, the scurrying continued, until it reached the large, brass door that sealed the entrance to the dungeons.

Odd, he thought to himself and risked a peak from behind the pillar and saw the rat standing obediently in front of the door, like it was waiting for someone.

Suddenly, Draco his heard his watch tick, indicating that it was five o' clock, and at the exact same moment, there was a deafening rumble of a large tunnel door being swung open. Draco started at the noise and ducked in time to realize the door to the dungeons was creeking open. What in the world? he thought to himself as he waited with bated breath to see what happens next. And to his utter shock, the door opened to reveal Bellatrix Black standing at the entrance looking down upon the rat like it was equivalent to the filth on her shoes.

"I hope it's good news, Peter," she muttered, looking at the rat, and to Draco's amazement, the rat actually nodded back at her. "Follow me…" she said coldly, before stalking away as quickly away from the door as possible, "we don't want Malfoy to spot us now, do we?" she said, and the rat instantly followed her like she was its mistress.

Overcome with curiosity, Draco silently followed the two of them, making sure to hide himself in the dark shadows of the tunnel. From the route that Bellatrix was taking, it was clear to him that she was leading the rat into the antechamber or tunnel-opening that overlooked the Great Black Lake. Draco realized she chose this location because, it is, practically, the ONLY place in the entire castle where one won't be overheard owing the echo of the water that thunders through the walls of the tunnel. Luckily for Draco, Bellatrix stayed close enough to the mouth of the tunnel where he was hiding, making it slightly easier to discern what she was saying.

However, just as he was settling down, he was thrown off guard once again when suddenly the little rat that had been following her started to transform into a very fat and ugly person that he thought he knew from somewhere, but couldn't place right away.

"Hello, Peter!" Bellatrix piped, looking at the fear-ridden, guilty face of Peter. "Now, we both know why we're here…" she hissed, looking dangerously at him. "Don't me ask you twice because that would only make me angry and you don't want to see me ANGRY!" she yelled haughtily.

"I… The…" he stammered, before eyeing her nervously. "I hope to not dis—disappoint you, Miss—Miss Black…" he stuttered, sounding downright guilty, like he regretted it.

"Speak up, rat-piss!" she ordered. "I have no time for your stupidity! TELL ME EVERYTHING! I know you've been paying my High Aunt a visit every now and then and I know something's brewing and I want to know EVERYTHING! " she bellowed, jabbing her wand under chin, making him squeal with fear.

"Don't hurt me, please don't hurt me!" he pleaded, as he whimpered under her deathly glare. "I shall tell you everything…" he said, quivering greatly.

Bellatrix twisted her wand even more menacingly making him blurt it all out in one breath: "I… The… It's about Sirius Black!" he spluttered. "She's unhappy—VERY unhappy. As you must already know, following Lord Orion Black's death, Her Ladyship has confirmed that, coming March, Sirius Black, your cousin, comes of age and is in line to assume title of "Lordship" to the House of Black as he is the rightful blood heir and she does not like it! He's a disgrace to the family… She wants someone worthy, someone who respects and upholds the reputation of the family forever—someone like me…" he said, as pride filled his eyes.

Bellatrix threw a delirious laugh when she heard that. "Let me see if I heard that right... You? As LORD BLACK?! You must daft out of your MIND, you must be!" she cackled. "Poor baby thinks Lady Walburga Black would actually even CONSIDER nincompoops such as yourself…?"

"She swore on her blood!" he interjected. "Her Ladyship is not one to go back on her word, you know?" he said, quivering more than ever.

"SHUT IT before I kill you right here, right now…" she said, driving her wand through his skin, making him bleed almost. Peter was whimpering in pain as he surrendered entirely to her wrath. "Tell me what she wanted and be off before I change my mind!" she said, through gritted teeth.

"Y-yes, a-a-a-alright... I... I shall tell you everything..." he was sweating profusely now. "L-Lady Black had presented Sirius with her ring, an heirloom of the House of Black, stating that only a girl w-worthy of her blood-status and eminence be presented with the same at the time of m-m-marriage. H-However, upon learning about Sirius's well… er," he stammered, searching for the right word, "closeness to Williams," he said, wiping the sweat off his brow, "Her Ladyship was deeply disturbed and disenchanted with Sirius's choosing and... and declared that before Sirius turned seventeen and became the next Lord Black, the ring be returned to her without his knowledge…"

Bellatrix's eyes widened in glee and mad satisfaction as the words hit her. Still smiling, she titled her head and said, "And…?" as if asking him to deliver her the good news.

"And—I... I..." he stammered, shaking uncontrollably from head to toe. Draco held his breath as Peter spewed out every tiny detail of his 'task.' With trembling fingers, Peter reached inside his robes and shakily pulled out something small in his palm. His eyes brimmed with pride and self-worth, he whispered a, "I have the fake," he held out a platinum ring with a large rock that sat on top. "And I am going to swap this with the original tonight..."

Bellatrix's eyes sparkled with malice and glee. "Good job, pet," she crooned and rubbed the top of his head like she was petting her dog. "So the rat is proving to be useful after all!" she hummed with joy as she (painfully) patted the side of his face, as if appreciating him for his efforts. "You have outdone yourself, honestly! The Dark Lord will be SO proud! So, Miss Pissy Williams is not invincible after all! This is good news, very good news!" she crooned more to herself than anyone else. Suddenly, she jerked her head back to notice Peter was still standing there, shaking with fear. "What are you looking at? There'll not be any gold coins for your services!" she said scornfully. "You may leave!" she shrieked, dismissing him with a wave of her hand and slouching back on the wall, as if basking in her glory.

In a flash, the boy that had stood crouching before her, disappeared and Draco was left staring after a rat scampering away at the speed of light.