The Twisted Path

by Xetarma

When Minerva McGonagall discovers that Harry Potter's relatives intend to keep him from attending Hogwarts, she takes matters into her own hands. But when Harry comes to Diagon Alley one day early, it sets events into motion that end with him and his friend, Hermione Granger, sorted into Slytherin. Now the two of them must somehow tame the House of the Snakes.

49. Answers

Content Warning: Character Death

Chapter 49: Answers

June 14th, 1997

Sirius Black watched as the train pulled into Platform 9 . Sometimes he didn't know why he put up with all of this. Oh sure, he supported Harry's independence, and he knew that if Harry had come back to live at Grimmauld Place it would have been open war between Harry and the Order. Not that most people in the Order were unreasonable in Sirius' opinion, but they would follow Dumbledore's instructions. Of course, Dumbledore had figured out that Sirius was more loyal to Harry than he was to the Order, but Sirius didn't think he knew about Harry's connection to the Triumvirate. Or at least he hadn't. Sirius idly wondered whether Voldemort had told Snape who the person who had nearly brought the Death Eaters to their knees really was. Or if Snape had told Dumbledore.

Of course, he was here today with a purpose. He looked at Dobby and Kreacher, who were there with him. They were here to bring Seamus and Blaise to Harry's home. Sirius didn't know why Harry himself didn't take them, but he supposed that might have something to do with his cryptic instructions - follow Molly Weasley and give her the note Harry had sent him after she talked to Justin. Sirius wasn't sure that Molly would talk to Justin, but Harry seemed to think it was a certainty. It was possible that Justin was in on this a little bit as well, but Sirius had to admit that he was in the dark here.

Students streamed off of the train. Daphne Greengrass was one of the first off the train. She had a very annoyed look on her face. Sirius waved to her, and she smiled and waved back. Blaise and Seamus followed shortly thereafter.

"Daphne looked upset," said Sirius as Blaise approached.

"Well, Tracey is dating Ron," said Blaise, "Which we all warned her would happen."

"Ah, teenage drama," said Sirius, "I don't miss it."

"If you is being ready to go, we will take you to the Potter residence," said Dobby to Blaise and Seamus.

The two boys said their goodbyes to Sirius and apparated away with the elves. Sirius looked around again. Daphne had found her parents. Sirius waved to Bryant, who, seeing this, walked over to Sirius.

"Slumming it with us Purebloods?" joked Bryant.

"Oh please, I'm not slumming it with anybody I meet," quipped Sirius, "Everyone else is slumming it with me."

"I'm surprised you're here," said Bryant.

"So am I," said Sirius, "But I have my instructions."

Bryant nodded. Sirius wasn't sure that he trusted the man. Oh, he wouldn't do anything to harm Harry deliberately. He knew that it would spell disaster for his daughter. But Sirius was fairly sure the pureblood hadn't been excised from this one, only repressed.

Sirius finally saw Molly Weasley. She was doing her best to ignore the far too nearby Harford and Gillian Finch-Fletchley. Neither Ron or Ginny had emerged yet.

After some time Ron and Tracey finally emerged from the train, holding hands. They walked up to Molly and began talking to her. Molly seemed quite delighted by whatever they told her. Probably that they were together, now that Sirius thought about it.

"What is that about?" asked Bryant.

"Your daughter hasn't told you?" asked Sirius.

"My daughters don't tell me very much these days," admitted Bryant.

"Blaise told me that apparently Ron and Tracey are an item," said Sirius.

Bryant winced. "That's… not going to go over well with Daphne. Though I daresay Ronald and Tracey are a much better match. Not that I had anything against Daphne dating Ronald, mind you. But…"

"Harry didn't think it would last either," said Sirius.

Justin had now emerged. And suddenly Molly was looking worried. Ginny hadn't come off the train yet. Reluctantly, Molly turned to Justin.

"Pardon me," said Sirius, "I have to hear this." he stepped forward so he could hear the conversation.

"Justin, do you know what is keeping Ginny?" asked Molly.

"Why would my son know such a thing," said Harford.

"Because Ginny and I are dating," said Justin amiably.

"What?" demanded Harford, "I forbid it!"

"I'm seventeen," said Justin, "you can't forbid anything. I'm of age."

Harford's mouth suddenly snapped shut.

"Anyway, I don't know where Ginny is," said Justin, "We were snogging on the train ride home, and she said she wouldn't be able to speak to me for a while. Then she left. I couldn't find her anywhere on the train."

Sirius nodded. It must have been Ginny who wrote the note, not Harry. Which made sense. Justin didn't seem too worried, so Ginny must have clued him in that there would be no danger. Molly, however, wasn't very happy with that.

"What do you mean?" demanded Molly, "She can't have gone anywhere."

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Sirius, "I think Ginny sent me this to give to you right now." Sirius handed Molly the note that had been mailed to him.

"Why did she send this to you?" demanded Molly.

"Probably because she knew I wouldn't open it if I was asked not to," said Sirius apologetically, "I think you would have immediately opened it regardless of what she wanted, and then would have taken action to stop… whatever she mentions in that note."

Molly opened the note. She read it, then shook her head angrily.

"Do you know where Ginny is?" asked Molly.

Sirius shook his head. "No idea," he admitted, "Harry knows I wouldn't keep Ginny's location from you." Okay, that was a small lie.

"I thought Harry had some sort of prank planned," lied Sirius again, "which I wasn't going to spoil for him. You know, I actually feel slightly used."

Molly's shoulders sagged. "Well Ginny wrote that she is safe, and that I won't find her for a few days. She also said that she lied to you to get you to deliver this, so I suppose it isn't your fault."

"How dare she!" shouted Sirius, trying to suppress a smile

"If it's any help, she's with Harry and Hermione," said Justin, "I'm pretty sure of that."

"Well at least there is some adult supervision then," said Sirius, "Hermione is pretty responsible."

"That may be," said Molly, "But I still should have been consulted."

"Easier to ask forgiveness than permission," suggested Tracey.

Everyone stared at her. "Hey, I'm just saying that's why Ginny did it. The three of them aren't telling me their secret plans yet," Tracey protested.

Sirius hoped the reason that the Triumvirate had done this was very important. This had all the makings of a huge mess.

XXXXX

June 15th, 1997

Harry handed over his wand as he entered the massive gates. Several German Aurors were watching them making sure they weren't acting suspiciously. Harry couldn't blame them, after all, the prisoners of Nurmengard were some of the most dangerous witches and wizards in the world.

Hermione and Ginny both turned in their wands and they were led to the top of a large tower. The guard said little, except that they were being taken to see the warden.

The warden sat in his office looking out a window at the valley below. Nurmengard was well hidden, and the view here was quite picturesque.

"So Harry Potter wants to meet with Gellert Grindlewald," said the warden, "Why?"

"I find myself in a difficult position," said Harry, "I don't know who around me to trust. I want to trust Dumbledore, but he hasn't made it easy. But someone has told us a nice little story. One which Grindelwald is in a position to confirm or deny."

"And you think he'll be honest with you?" asked the warden.

"He has no reason not to," said Hermione, "Grindelwald wasn't anti-muggleborn. He probably finds Voldemort just as distasteful as we do."

"Besides, if Grindelwald lies, we suspect we know how he will lie," said Ginny, "He'll try to make things worse in a way to get back at Dumbledore."

"I suspect that Grindelwald isn't interested in causing more chaos now, though," said Harry.

The Warden nodded. "I don't think he is either. I wouldn't trust releasing him, but I'd say he's reformed. For the most part."

"Releasing him would be a bad idea," said Harry.

"People would still rally to his name," said Ginny.

The Warden thought for a moment. Then he nodded. "Well, as you are fighting your own Dark Lord, I suppose we can indulge you on this. We'll have you brought to Grindelwald's suite."

The guard led them away again. This time they headed to another stairway. They went down, down, down, then up for a fair way. Finally they came to a stop outside a heavily reinforced door.

It took several minutes to undo all the spells on the door. But once they were removed there were three different locks; each one, Harry suspected, with a different type of enchantment on it.

Harry led the way into the room. Calling it a suite might be a bit on the generous side, but it wasn't exactly what Harry thought of when he thought about magical prisons either. It had a table and a few chairs, a bed that wasn't huge but looked more than comfortable enough. And it had a separate bathroom with a shower. And it had a window, though there was a haze over the window that showed that it was protected by powerful spells.

Grindelwald wasn't what Harry expected. He expected a wizened old man. And while Grindelwald was old, he was hardly wizened. He still held a certain vitality. It reminded him of Dumbledore.

"Visitors!" said Grindelwald, "This is a rare treat! Come in, come in! Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My name is Harry Potter," said Harry politely, "these are my friends, Hermione Granger, and Ginny Weasley."

"Harry Potter, that name rings a bell," said Grindelwald, "Ah yes, the boy who brought down the Dark Lord. Too bad it didn't take, am I right?"

"Quite," said Harry with a smile.

"Trying to figure out how to finish the job?" asked Grindelwald.

"The how isn't so difficult," replied Harry, "But knowing who to trust to help me do what I need to do, that is the interesting part."

"I'm sure," said Grindelwald.

"I have a message from an old woman, she said she used to be your seer," said Ginny suddenly.

"How is old Natalia?" asked Grindelwald.

"I haven't seen her in years, but the one time I did see her she told a prophecy about me," said Ginny.

Grindelwald laughed at that. "Ah, so I was wrong about her only prophesying for me," said the former Dark Lord, "I'm not unhappy to hear that. She was treated very poorly after my downfall, and it wasn't her fault."

"So what brings you here?" asked Grindelwald.

"How well do you know Albus Dumbledore?" asked Hermione.

Grindelwald's face suddenly grew wary. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because either Dumbledore or another person has been manipulating me for years, and I need to know if this other person is lying to me," said Harry, "They told a story, a story about Dumbledore using me as a Light Dark Lord in order to conquer magical Britain. I'd like to say this was insane, but I still have some concerns. Dumbledore hasn't exactly been open and forthright with me."

"Ah, Albus, still haven't learned to trust people, have you?" siad Grindelwald sadly, "It's my fault you know. I was the one who betrayed him."

Harry motioned to Grindelwald to continue. He was determined to hold judgement until the end.

"One summer, I was staying with my aunt Bathilda Bagshot, and she happened to live next door to the Dumbledores. Albus was taking care of his family, as his father was in prison for muggle-baiting, and his mother was dead. He was a good caretaker, but he resented being forced to do it. He was so brilliant, he could have done anything. And instead he had to take care of his close-minded brother and his… damaged sister. His sister had been injured by muggles, and her mind never recovered. Ariana was her name. Still, he did his duty."

Grindelwald paused and shook his head. "We became friends, and we plotted the summer away. Many of my best ideas about what I wanted to do when I came to power came from those days. Dumbledore seemed to agree with me, that muggles needed to be controlled. But in my heart, I know the truth. He was too soft to ever really go through with it. In the end, he always does the right thing," Grindelwald sighed, "If only I'd understood then… well, my life might have been very different."

Understanding hit Harry. "You were lovers, weren't you?" asked Harry.

"Very perceptive," said Grindelwald, "Yes, we were lovers. And then Aberforth found out. He didn't like my politics, and he definitely didn't approve of our relationship. Things got heated. It came to spells. And somehow, in the middle, poor Ariana tried to break it up. And she died doing so. One of us killed her. And that was when I fled."

"Oh man, that explains why Aberforth hates his brother," said Ginny.

"It wasn't your fault," said Hermione to Grindelwald.

The old man shook his head. "Kind of you to say, girl, but of course it was my fault. I should have not risen to Aberforth's bait. I should have left. I should have done anything but resort to my wand," Grindelwald shook his head, "I am far past that now though. I have done so much worse. Yet I will admit, that moment haunts me more than most of the rest."

"So what you are saying is…" said Harry.

"Listen," said Grindelwald, "I can't believe that you actually believe that story about a Dark Lord of Light. It's utterly ridiculous."

"I don't believe it," said Harry, "I haven't for some time."

"What?!" asked Hermione, "Why are we here then?"

"Snape is definitely trying to make Dumbledore look bad," replied Harry, "that's been obvious for a while. Ever since we caught Snape spying on Ginny at least. Probably since he insisted that he didn't demand that Dumbledore prevent you from contacting me when they wanted to move you to Grimmauld Place two years ago. What I'm trying to figure out is whether Dumbledore is being manipulated by Snape's lies, or just potioned into compliance. If it's the former, then Dumbledore doesn't trust me, and we'll have to do without him. If he's under the influence of a potion we still may be able to get his help."

"It would be very difficult to deceive Dumbledore like that," said Grindelwald, "He would have to have a strong distrust of you for it to work."

"But Snape hasn't had access to his potions store this year," said Hermione, "When Dumbledore didn't tell you about your scar…"

"Your scar?" asked Grindelwald.

Harry pointed to his scar. "It used to be a horcrux, created by Riddle the night he tried to kill me. I managed to get rid of it, but Dumbledore never told me what it really was."

Grindelwald sat in silence for a moment, his face serious. Then he nodded.

"That scar, it is the result of your mother sacrificing herself to save you, isn't it?" asked Grindelwald.

"Yes," replied Harry.

Grindelwald narrowed his eyes, "Tricky. Albus probably didn't know how to get rid of the Horcrux. That alone wouldn't justify not telling you. But I do know one thing that would be able to kill one. A killing curse! But simply letting Voldemort try to kill you would be very hazardous. It would be a 50/50 shot as to whether it would kill you or the horcrux. Wait. What if you sacrificed yourself to protect others from Voldemort?"

"You think that's what he wanted me to do?" asked Harry.

"Well it would create a powerful protection," admitted Grindelwald, "which wouldn't work on you unless you somehow survived the killing curse. But wait, aren't you of age boy?"

"Not quite yet," said Harry.

"Well that protection of your mothers will wear off then, so that wouldn't protect you after that…" mused Grindelwald, "Unless somehow your blood had been used in some sort of ritual that preserved it."

"Yeah, about that," said Harry cagily, "Riddle used my blood to resurrect himself."

"Wait… that's it!" said Grindelwald, "That explains everything! Voldemort didn't break the protection of your mother when he used your blood. He preserved it. Which means that if Voldemort used the killing curse on you, it would only be able to kill the Horcrux."

"So, wait, you are saying…" interjected Ginny.

"He knew that I wouldn't die if Riddle hit me with a killing curse, and that if I performed an act of self-sacrifice it would then protect me as well as whomever I was protecting," stated Harry.

And suddenly Harry understood. Dumbledore had trusted him. He had! He had trusted Harry to ultimately make a self-sacrifice. But that left one question.

"Why didn't he trust me with the knowledge that my scar was a horcrux?" asked Harry.

"Because for the magic of self-sacrifice to work, you have to actually think you are sacrificing yourself," said Hermione, "If you knew that his killing curse had a 50 or 100 percent chance of just killing the horcrux, you'd be taking a gamble, not laying down your life. The magic wouldn't work. You would get one free killing curse from Voldemort, and that would be it. He was trying to get you permanent immunity."

"Dumbledore kept you ignorant, to protect you," said Grindelwald.

"That's bullshit!" said Ginny, "What gives him the right to make that decision for Harry?"

"Just because he means well, does not mean his actions were correct," agreed Grindelwald, "Believe me, I know all about that. I meant well, but how many died because of me?"

"He still screwed up, and we'll have to address that," mused Harry, "but it wasn't because he didn't trust me. He does trust me. Which means…"

"Snape really must be using potions to manipulate him," said Hermione, "That's why it seems like sometimes he trusts you and sometimes he doesn't."

"The only type of mind control that would work on him," said Grindelwald sadly, "poor Albus."

"Thank you," said Harry, "that was very enlightening,"

"How is Albus, by the way?" asked Grindelwald suddenly.

"He's well, as far as his health goes," said Harry, "though he is no longer Headmaster of Hogwarts. I, uh, may have gotten him fired. In my defense, he did try to play me against the Defense teacher without asking me what I thought. He should have asked. Though I now have to wonder if any of that was a potion."

Grindelwald laughed. "Probably not," he said, "It sounds exactly like something Albus would do." But there was no accusation in his eyes. Just warmth as he remembered his old friend.

XXXXX

June 16th, 1997

Ginny apparated into the back garden of the Burrow as smoothly as she could. She didn't think she could sneak into the house, though it would be nice if she could. Sure enough, she could see her mother's silhouette in the window.

So she just decided to brave it out. She walked in the back door, right in front of her mother and said, "I'm home."

Molly's eyes flared.

"Where were you? How dare you run off like that! Do you know how worried I was? Running off with no adult supervision, how could you?" yelled Molly.

"I was with Hermione," said Ginny, "I was plenty supervised."

"Hermione is not your mother," insisted Molly, "She has no right to act as such, not that I'm blaming her for your actions."

"There wasn't any danger," said Ginny quietly. She really didn't need this. Not now.

"That wasn't for you to decide!" insisted Molly, "You're only fifteen years old! You're still a child!"

And that was when Ginny snapped.

"I am NOT a child!" she screamed, "I have not been a child since the day Riddle possessed me! And I am tired of you treating me as if I am about to break! I defeated Lord Voldemort as an eleven year old!"

"Ginny," said Molly, "I understand that it was very traumatic…"

"NO, you don't understand!" said Ginny, "But maybe you should. Apart from Charlie you're the only person in the family I haven't told. Harry and I lied about how we destroyed Riddle's diary. Because I destroyed it by sucking out all the magic from it. And in doing so… I absorbed his memories. I have all of seventeen year old Tom Riddle's memories. Including the girl he murdered to make his first horcrux."

Molly stared at Ginny in horror.

"I am not a child," said Ginny, "This war is my war. I have seen the inside of Voldemort's mind. And it is the most horrible thing I have ever seen. He has, has to be stopped. I'd rather die than live in a world ruled by him. Harry, and Hermione, and myself, we're all fighting that fight. And I won't stop. No matter what you say, I won't stop. I can't. Because when I close my eyes I see the face of the girl he murdered, the things he planned to do..." Ginny suddenly realised she was crying. She tried to stop, and ultimately managed it, but that was embarrassing, especially when she was trying to argue that she was grown up.

"Oh, Ginny," said Molly, "I didn't know. I'm so sorry! I…" Molly trailed off. She clearly didn't know what to say.

"Are you going to try to stop me?" asked Ginny, wiping away her tears.

Molly shook her head. "Where did you go?" she asked.

Ginny smiled. "Harry's going to come over on his birthday, and we'll explain everything then."

XXXXX

June 25th, 1997

There were far fewer Death Eaters gathered today than Narcissa remembered from last year. So many more people lost from the year before that, including Lucius. Nott was here, as well as Parkinson, Rookwood, Snape, and Clarise. The Carrows were now part of the inner circle for Merlin's sake! Draco was in attendance as well, but Narcissa didn't know why. But all the other people, the minor Death Eaters, they were gone.

"Dumbledore is going to be fired," said Snape, "Apparently McGonagall already wasn't happy that he hadn't taken stronger precautions to make sure any assassination attempts wouldn't harm the students. When he tried to defend me, that was the last straw."

Narcissa grimaced. She wasn't sure what to think of the accusations against Snape. Both Weasley and Lovegood were enemies of the Dark Lord, that much was true, but they were also both purebloods, and Narcissa wasn't exactly comfortable with the level of disrespect Snape's actions had shown them. Plus they were so young! The Dark Lord, of course, had found the whole thing hilarious. He'd been constantly ribbing Snape about the whole thing. And once Draco had made his report it had been clear that Snape's position at Hogwarts was unnecessary; Harry Potter controlled Hogwarts, and anyone who tried to wrest it from him was not going to have a good time of it. With Dumbledore gone, his reason for being there was completely unnecessary.

"Well, it seems Draco's efforts did bear some fruit then," said the Dark Lord, "as well as your own Severus. I must admit, that I didn't think a lecherous man spying on a fifteen year old girl would aid my plans, but here we are."

Snape simply nodded in response to the Dark Lord's taunts.

"Such a loyal servant!" said the Dark Lord, "What of the Ministry?"

"We still need an agent on the inside," said Parkinson.

"I have an idea, but the person I'm looking for is shockingly hard to find right now," said Nott.

"Even with an insider, Fudge is too stubborn for us to Imperius," said Narcissa, "We will have to assassinate him."

Everyone seemed shocked at that. Not because of the suggestion itself, but because it was Narcissa who made it. She never advocated killing people directly.

"What are you all looking at?" asked Narcissa, "I'm only stating the obvious. Fudge won't be gone for another three years. We can't wait three years. We can't wait one year. We have to kill him, and soon."

There were murmurs of agreement from everyone.

"Draco has a report," said Snape.

Everyone turned towards Draco. Please let this be good news, thought Narcissa.

"I decided to see if I could find where Potter was living," said Draco, "and while that was a failure, I did locate his muggle aunt, uncle and cousin. They are living completely unprotected in Surrey."

"There were protections on them, but Potter's absence has caused them to fail," said Snape, "By all accounts, he hates his relatives."

The Dark Lord smiled a thin smile. "I know the feeling," he said cryptically.

"Potter has a soft heart though," said Draco, "I figure, if we kill them, Potter will feel responsible. And he'll feel worse about it because he hated them, and he'll think he could have done more to save them."

"A good idea!" said the Dark Lord, "would you like to do the honours Draco?"

"It would be an honour," said Draco.

"I would like to join Draco," said Snape, "I never liked Petunia. I have some very inventive ideas of what I'd like to do to her."

The Dark Lord's eyes seemed to enjoy the implications of that. "By all means, Severus. The more inventive the better."

XXXXX

July 1st, 1997

It all started with a visit from Bill.

"Snape's officially gone," said Bill, "and McGonagall asked me if I could fill in for the Dark Arts position. Thing is, I think it's probably cursed."

"Have we not dealt with that?" asked Hermione.

"Can we deal with that?" asked Harry, "I mean, Riddle cast the spell, but he never actually researched how to undo it."

"Well, you could tell me what he did," said Bill, "I am a curse breaker after all."

So Hermione quickly explained how the curse worked. It was actually rather complex, a nasty bit of magic that Voldemort had found in India.

"Well the complexity works against it, now that we have identified it," said Bill, "I think I could deal with it. Hell, you could easily deal with it, once I explain the problem."

"Curse-breaking does seem like an interesting skill," said Harry.

Bill quickly explained the way that the curse would probably react in a school like Hogwarts. His explanation was surprisingly detailed.

"You know," said Hermione, "This seems to be awfully similar to a Blood curse, except it uses the magic flowing through the natural ley lines around Hogwarts instead of the magic in a person's blood."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Bill

"Well, how would you go about dealing with this?" asked Hermione.

Within minutes, Harry, Hermione and Bill were all involved in a long discussion about curse-breaking and curses and the way they interacted.

"You know I'm not really qualified to teach curse-breaking," said Bill after about half an hour.

"True," said Hermione, "But we aren't trying to apply for a job with Gringotts, or break into an ancient tomb. We're looking for specific applications for problems we have. There's nothing wrong with you helping us with that, is there?"

"I guess not," said Bill, "But if you want to take this up as a career, you'd need to get proper training."

"I'm more interested in the healing aspect of all this," said Harry, "Maybe there is some overlap between curse breaking and dark magic and healing."

"We know a lot about curses," said Hermione, "More than most healers do. You know, we might be on the cusp of an entire new field of magic."

"It isn't new," said Bill, "but it is really rare. It's called soul healing. And you're right. Only people who know lots about curses, curse-breaking and healing can attempt it. Only a handful of people in history have managed to use it."

"Is it that hard to learn?" asked Harry.

"Apparently no one who has learned it has tried to pass it on," said Bill, "mostly on account of the fact that they refused to teach people how to use the curses necessary to understand this magic."

"Because they felt guilty," said Harry, "Most people who followed the path were probably reformed Dark Wizards or Witches, weren't they?"

"Exactly," said BIll.

Harry looked at Hermione. He wondered if they were both thinking the same thing. With Voldemort's memories, they could learn this. And they could pass it on. Because their knowledge hadn't come from committing acts that made them feel guilty.

"Bill, could you teach us what you know about curse-breaking this summer?" asked Harry, "We'll do proper apprenticeships when the time comes, but we think we might be able to get started on this."

"If you're interested in soul healing I can teach you a few things, sure," said Bill, "But I don't know the healing side at all."

"That's all right," said Harry, "I know someone who does."

XXXXX

July 5th, 1997

"Absolutely out of the question," said Andromeda Tonks, "In order to learn healing you need to learn it properly! Half-measures won't cut it. If you want me to teach you advanced first aid or something, that I would be willing to do. But this is too reckless."

Harry grimaced. He'd hoped for a more receptive response. Andromeda was a fully trained healer, though she had stopped working at St. Mungo's years ago. Still she knew everything they needed to know.

"We aren't trying to learn how to be healers quite yet," said Hermione, "We're looking more into theory."

"Then read a book," said Andromeda.

"We're looking into soul healing," said Hermione.

"So you're saying that you only want to do the most complicated type of healing? Oh, that fills me with confidence," said Andromeda.

"We don't want to use it on people!" said Harry forcefully, "But if we aren't capable of even doing the basics we don't want to waste our time getting official training in both curse-breaking and healing! We think we are capable of doing soul healing. But until we know even a basic bit of healing we can't test it!"

Andromeda stopped for a moment. "So, you'll promise me you won't actually try to use this to heal other people?"

"We won't use any form of healing magic other than standard first aid, on any person," said Hermione.

Harry nodded his assent.

Andromeda sighed. "I suppose if all you want is firsthand knowledge on how the spells work… fine, I'll show you."

"That's fantastic, when can we…" started Harry, but then suddenly two figures fell into the room, clinging to each other. It was Petunia and Dudley, and they were both horribly injured. Petunia's clothes had been cut to ribbons and she was bleeding from all over her body. Dudley seemed to have a serious wound on the side of his head.

"Dudley! Help Dudley!" screamed Petunia, as she fell to the ground. Dudley fell as well. Andromeda immediately looked at Petunia.

"Slow her blood loss, her injuries are serious, but the boy's head injury is life-threatening!" said Andromeda sharply. Harry immediately began casting a blood slowing spell.

"Do you have any medical potions?" asked Andromeda.

"We have a first aid kit," said Hermione, "I'll get it!"

Andromeda cast spell after spell at Dudley. Harry couldn't see what effect it was having though.

Blaise and Seamus ran into the room. Both seemed taken aback at what they saw.

"What can we do?" asked Blasie

"I need water," said Andromeda, "And more healers."

"I'll get the Davises," said Blaise.

"I'll get the water," said Seamus.

Five minutes later both of Tracy's parents had arrived and were helping. Tracey's father was helping Andromeda with Dudley, while her mother was healing Petunia while Harry and Hermione took turns slowing her blood. After an hour of work. Andromeda finally stopped working.

"Dudley will make a full recovery," she said.

"Petunia will as well," said Tina, Tracey's mother.

"It was a close thing," said Peter Davis, Tracey's father, "The spell that hit Dudley only winged him. If it hadn't it would have killed him, hitting him in the head like that. He's lucky to be alive. I can't be sure, but I think he was hit by…"

"Sectumsempra," said Harry, "a variant on the cutting curse, with multiple cutters. It is extremely potent and difficult to control. Petunia was hit by the same thing, but the cutters weren't all concentrated on the same location. The spell was spread out to cause maximum pain and suffering, though it would also be less effective at killing her. The spell was designed by Severus Snape during the last war."

"What happened to Vernon?" asked Hermione.

Harry shook his head. He had an idea.

XXXXX

Petunia woke up in a strange bedroom. She had no idea where she was. What had happened? And then she remembered. They'd been attacked. And Vernon…

She stifled a cry at that moment. She had no idea where she was, or what had happened to Dudley. She had to find out. She tried to stand up, but her entire body was sore. She was surprised to find that she wasn't nearly as wrapped in bandages as she had thought she'd be.

Suddenly the door opened, and Harry entered, followed by his girlfriend. She was clearly his girlfriend, no matter what he had told them for years. Petunia realized rather awkwardly that she couldn't remember her name.

"Where's Dudley?" demanded Petunia.

"He's asleep," said Harry, "He was hurt far worse than you were."

"I saw him hit in the head," said Petunia.

"He was," said the girlfriend, "The healers managed to keep him alive. He'll have a nasty scar for the rest of his life, but he'll live."

Petunia nodded, and managed to calm herself a bit. Dudley was alive, that was all that mattered.

"Uncle Vernon?" asked Harry, his eyes showing he suspected the worst.

Petunia closed her eyes. It didn't help. What they did still ran through her head.

"They cut him open, and... pulled everything out," said Petunia. "It was the blond haired boy, Snape called him Draco. He's the one who attacked Dudley too."

"This was done by Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy," said Harry, his voice turning murderous. It wasn't a question, but Petunia nodded.

"I always knew Snape was up to no good," said Petunia, "Where am I?"

"You are in my home," said Harry, "you can stay here as long as you need to, so long as you remain civil. Once you want to leave, we can have arrangements made, but you should be safe enough here for the time being."

"We need to upgrade the defenses," said the girlfriend.

"Bill will be here in a couple of hours," said Harry, "We'll take care of it."

"Harry," said Petunia, "Thank you. You saved Dudley's life, and my own… I… Vernon should have let us move. You told us and we ignored you."

"Well, there's nothing to be done about it now," said Harry, "We can only move forward."

Petunia nodded. She couldn't do anything about it now. Suddenly she broke out into tears as her grief finally hit her. She was so consumed by her grief that she didn't see the long stare that Harry and his girlfriend gave each other. Finally, the girlfriend nodded and walked over and put an arm around Petunia, as she cried herself out.

XXXXX

July 10th, 1997

Petunia and Dudley stayed with Harry and Hermione for a few days, but it was clear that they weren't happy there. So Harry decided to set them up in an apartment in Edinburgh.

"There is nothing to link you here," said Harry as he led them into the apartment, "You'll be safe here."

The goodbye was awkward. Harry did leave them a phone number to contact him with. Just in case.

The rest of July was a bit of a blur to Harry, to be honest. Harry and Hermione spent a great deal of time with Blaise and Seamus. Blaise's anger at his father's death seemed to have passed, being replaced by grief. But Harry had noticed a change in Blaise. His tough guy exterior seemed to have disappeared, especially around Seamus. Seamus believed that Blaise was having some sort of epiphany, and Harry believed it. Though he wondered what it was. Time would tell, Harry guessed.

XXXXX

July 31st, 1997

On July 31st, Ginny Weasley was ready for action. She'd told her mother that Harry was going to come over in the morning, and she knew that Dumbledore would be there. The time had finally come to clear the air. But it was possible that Dumbledore wouldn't believe them. It was going to be a difficult morning.

Ron was downstairs early. Ron wasn't quite privy to all of the secrets Ginny was, but he knew today was going to be a mess. She knew he'd be on their side. Ron had a lot of faults, but he was a good brother. Most of the time.

Dumbledore also arrived early. Well, that was to be expected. Ginny wondered how he would explain himself. She wondered how her mother was going to explain herself.

When Harry and Hermione arrived, Dumbledore seemed to get more tense. Ginny wondered what he knew. Had Snape told him about the Triumvirate? Did Snape even know? Was Dumbledore still himself? It was all about to come to a head.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" said Molly as Harry walked up to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you," said Harry, "Hello Professor."

"Hello Harry," said Dumbledore, "Though I am no longer a Professor."

"It was an honorific," said Harry, "I hope you understand that I am not comfortable calling you by your given name."

"Of course, Harry," said Dumbledore.

"Listen, there is something we need to tell you Harry, as well as you, Ginny," said Molly.

"There are other things we need to discuss," said Dumbledore.

"And none are as important as this!" snapped Molly, "Hasn't hiding things from Harry managed to get you into enough trouble?"

Dumbledore nodded his assent to this.

"I am not proud of what we did," stumbled Molly, "But when you were still under Dumbledore's power, He and I, well, we made a decision for Ginny and you Harry. One I regret. We… oh this is so difficult. I don't even know why we did it."

"We signed a marriage contract between you and Ginevra here," said Dumbledore, cutting through the awkwardness.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Harry simply.

Both Molly and Dumbledore seemed to be bracing for more, and when it didn't come they both looked puzzled.

"I'm surprised at how well you are taking this Harry," said Dumbledore, "I was afraid you would be angry."

"Well, I am a bit angry," said Harry, "But as the contract can't possibly be valid, I don't feel that I need to be too upset."

"I assure you Harry, the contract is valid," said Molly, "I tested it myself."

"Have you done so recently?" asked Harry.

Both Molly and Dumbledore blinked. They obviously hadn't. Molly pulled out what seemed to be a copy of the contract, but Ginny guessed that it was the original. She cast a spell on it, and a red light came from her wand. Molly's shoulders sagged in relief.

"It's not valid!" said Molly, her voice on the verge of breaking down, she was so happy.

"I know that we checked it," objected Dumbledore.

"Oh, it probably was valid when you signed it back in my third year," said Harry, "But I spent the next two years trying to figure out how to get out of it. We finally managed it during the holidays of my fifth year."

"How?" asked Molly.

"I had sex with him," said Hermione nonchalantly.

"What?!" said both Molly and Dumbledore. Ron whistled. He hadn't known that.

"I had sex with him," repeated Hermione, "without him giving me explicit permission of course. There was just enough ambiguity in the language of the contract…"

"I see!" said Dumbledore, "Well, this is awkward."

"Real awkward," said Harry, "But it's done with. We have more important things to deal with."

"Have you even heard about the fates that befell your relatives Harry?" demanded Dumbledore suddenly, "Your uncle murdered, and your cousin and aunt taken?"

"Um, I know that my Uncle Vernon was killed, and I'm not exactly happy about that, but Petunia and Dudley are fine," said Harry, "They escaped using a Portkey I provided to them. They are currently safe in hiding."

Dumbledore's demeanour immediately grew less hostile. "I didn't know you gave them a Portkey...ah, it must have been blood activated. That's why you could save your aunt and cousin and not your uncle."

"Why do you keep jumping to all these conclusions about Harry," said Hermione.

"It's almost like someone is priming him to constantly think the worst of me," said Harry.

"Did your aunt identify her attackers?" asked Molly.

"It was Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape," said Harry, "Petunia, of course, is very familiar with Snape. He was trying to torture her to death when she broke loose."

"Harry…" started Dumbledore.

"Okay, let's say for a moment that Snape didn't mean it, he was just doing what he had to to allay the Dark Lord's fears," said Harry, "I don't think the ends justify the means here, but I can see the logic there. It makes sense. But that doesn't explain why he didn't tell you. Or why he kept lying to us about you, or lying to you about me. Did you know that he told me that you were trying to turn me into a Dark Lord? A Dark Lord for the muggleborns? All so you could control the magical world by your standards."

"That's preposterous," said Dumbledore.

"Yes it is," said Harry, "But given the lack of trust between us, I had to be sure. So I went and asked Grindelwald about it. And he convinced me that you were on our side. Given our recent discoveries about Snape, I realized that I needed to trust you."

"That's good to hear Harry," said Dumbledore, who seemed to be calming down a bit, "I have to admit, I'm glad to hear that Gellert thinks so highly of me after all this time. He meant well, I think, but somewhere along the way he became willing to do anything for his goals. But one thing I am not clear on, what recent discoveries about Snape are you thinking of?"

"The fact that he was spying on me and Luna?" said Ginny incredulously.

"I don't believe it," said Dumbledore, "I know Snape. He would never do something like that."

"He did," said Ginny, her voice able to freeze the Sun.

"Never is a big word, Albus," insisted Molly.

"Miss Weasley, Snape indicated to me that you have been framing him," said Dumbledore.

"I'm not," said Ginny, "he's lying."

"He's always been lying to you Professor," said Harry.

"I don't believe you," said Dumbledore, "You have hidden so much from me. Like your alliance with the Triumvirate. Snape says he has proof that you are involved with them."

And there it was. Dumbledore was not thinking critically. Now that Snape had access to his home potion supplies, Dumbledore was once again under his control.

"Is this true Ginny?" demanded Molly, "The Triumvirate are murderers!"

Ginny gave Harry a sad look. She felt awful. It was her fault that this was going to go so badly. If only she had come up with something else to do with those Death Eaters in the Ministry. But there was nothing for it.

"Mum," said Ginny, "We are the Triumvirate. Harry, Hermione and myself are the Triumvirate."

"Which we told Riddle when we faced him at the Gaunt shack," said Hermione, "If Snape says there is evidence that we were involved, that means Riddle told him that. Snape knew we were the Triumvirate and didn't tell you."

"You killed all those people?" asked Molly, her voice small.

"It was my idea," said Ginny, her eyes full of tears, "I was just so mad after Dad's death, I just couldn't see any other way to deal with it. Harry fought me all the way on this, but when Hermione decided to support me, well it was two to one. But after we did it..."

"It was wrong," said Ron, "But we haven't done that again."

"Harry, I thought..." stammered Dumbledore, "Severus is right. You are far more dangerous than I thought."

"Professor, maybe we should listen to them," said Molly, "they clearly feel badly over what has happened."

"No, I will not throw down one Dark Lord to let another raise up in his place," said Dumbledore, "I made that mistake once. Goodbye Harry, Hermione, Ginny."

And with that, he stormed out.

"Dammit, I didn't even think that Snape might be potioning him again," admitted Harry.

"Snape is using potions on Albus?" asked Molly. Harry nodded.

Molly immediately turned to Ginny. "You have to leave, all of you. Now. This place is only safe because it is under the protection of the Order. Once that protection is withdrawn, all of you will be in great danger."

"Mum…" said Ginny.

"I am not kicking you out Ginny," said Molly, "I believe you when you say you regret what you did, and I wish to speak more on this. But you all need to leave now. Ron, take Ginny to Bill and Fleur's new home. Hopefully she can stay with them."

"You know about that?" asked Ginny.

Molly smiled. "Of course. I also know that they wanted to get married this summer, but decided against it because they didn't want to invite people from France while the war is on, not after Arthur's death at least," said Molly, "Now go there, and stay safe! I couldn't bear to lose you Ginny."

"Right!" said Ginny.

Molly turned to Harry and Hermione, "I will see you at school. Though you may find things very interesting this year."

Ginny grabbed Ron by the arm. "Goodbye Mum," she said, tears in her eyes. There was so much she needed to say!

"Goodbye my dear," said Molly. And Ginny appareated away with her brother, into the unknown.

XXXXX

Harry and Hermione apparated back onto Harry's property.

"That went poorly," said Hermione.

"Yeah," said Harry. Somehow, Snape had managed to start potioning Dumbledore again, and Harry hadn't even considered it a possibility until it was too late.

"We should stock up the complex here," said Hermione, "If we need to gather large numbers of people, the order won't be able to help."

"Yeah," said Harry. What Hermione was talking about was important, but suddenly Harry wasn't interested in it anymore. He realized that for the first time since his third year, that damn contract wasn't being held over his head.

"So, I just had a thought," said Harry, "I… well now that the marriage contract business is done and disposed of for good, well, I feel free for once."

"That's good," said Hermione, "Though in reality we've been free for a year and a half."

"I want you to know that I love you," said Harry, "And I know that you will want your parents to be here when it happens, but when this war is over, when they can be here, will you marry me? I just... I want you to know that I intend to spend the rest of my life with you"

Hermione blinked as if she'd just been blindsided. "I… yes! I will marry you."

"I didn't get a ring," said Harry, "It was just a spur of the moment thing. But when we head to Diagon…"

"I don't care about a ring," said Hermione. And suddenly, she was kissing him as hard as she'd ever kissed him before.

And for a moment, Harry forgot all his troubles.

Author's Note: So I had a question as to why Harry didn't try to reduce Voldemort to his wraith form. Harry isn't sure that Voldemort is killable in that form, even with all the horcruxes destroyed. Plus, if Voldemort becomes a wraith instead of dying, it will be obvious that he has another horcrux, which Voldemort would then hide as deeply as he could.

Harry asking Hermione to marry him was a spontaneous writing decision. Originally Harry wasn't supposed to get married at all. But I realized that Harry and Hermione would want to eventually get married, and this was the first moment when Harry would feel that it was something he could actually promise her.

Originally I only intended Dudley to escape the massacre at Privet Drive, but originally it was Voldemort who attacked them. Once I realized I could use Petunia to identify Snape I switched to the Draco/Snape version. There's actually a little more to why these things are related, but telling that would be spoilers. Petunia will show up again though.

Next Time: Honestly, I'm not going to tease this next chapter. It's going to be rough.