Confused Paths
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just the plot (is there a plot here?) and the OCs. Don't sue me, JKR; I'm poor and I don't have any money.
Chapter 11 - Black Diamond
"Dolohov?", Harry repeated, not entirely believing it. "You mean… You're the son of the guy who knocked Hermione unconscious last June?", he asked again. Harry felt his body burn in anger. There were some Death Eaters that Harry despised more than the others, and Dolohov was third on that list, because of the happenings at the Department of Mysteries.
"I don't know about anything he may have done", Johan said. He talked so carelessly that Harry was feeling an urge to hex him. "But I must warn you that I'm not proud of having him as a father", the dark-skinned boy stated. He then turned to Hermione and knelt. "I'm sorry, Hermione", he said, and waited for a response.
Harry saw Hermione had unshed tears in her eyes. He squeezed her hand once more. He understood that Johan wasn't guilty of his father's actions; but he was angered that Dumbledore had allowed a Death Eater child to be among them.
"Don't worry, it's not your fault", Hermione said. Harry noticed her voice struggled a bit, as if she had the same conflicting emotions he was experiencing right now. Johan got to his feet and continued.
"I have never met my father personally. I was raised with my mother. She was a muggle that Dolohov had met little before he joined the Death Eater ranks. Of course, he wouldn't admit a relationship with a muggle, when muggles are what Voldemort most despises. So, I was raised by my mother, who knew nothing about magic, and was given my father's surname".
"In the year I became a ten-year old, I received the letter from Hogwarts. My mother didn't want to believe it. I was very young at that time, so I can't remember properly, but I think she refused the visit from Professor McGonagall, who is supposed to deal with the muggles' disbeliefs. I never made it to Hogwarts".
"I'm sure all of you know that every wizard does some accidental magic when he's very young. I had done some of them while I was child, but my mother had always shrugged it off somehow. When I reached puberty, accidental magic began to happen almost every day. I thought of myself as being a freak, until a new family moved next door. Among them, there was a girl was called Rafaelle Garnier".
At that point, Johan turned to Rafaelle, who had been silent since the beginning. Rafaelle nodded briefly and continued the story. "My mother was a French witch, and had moved to England before I was born. My father died when I was three, and he was a muggle. After my father died, my mother decided she would quit the Wizarding World forever, and decided to live completely as a muggle. I have two older brothers, and none of them showed any sign of magical powers; my mother was very relieved by that. But, when I became a ten-year old, I received my letter".
"As you may have guessed already", she continued, and Harry noticed she looked straight at Hermione. The brown-haired girl had an understanding look on her face, as if she had guessed the end of the story by now. "My mother refused to let me join Hogwarts. She said she was perfectly happy out of the Wizarding World, and wanted all of her children to live like that".
"When I reached puberty, I experienced the same effects Johan did; accidental magic was happening all the time. One day, I moved and became friends with the neighbor kid. His name was Ernest Dolohov".
"We were very close, since there were no other kids of our age on the neighborhood. After one year of friendship, Ernest confided his greatest secret to me. He could do things no one could do. I was shocked at first. I had finally found someone who did the same things I did. Then, I gave the whole thing some thought and realized we couldn't possibly be the only ones. I told Ernest I had the same abilities as him. It was his time to be shocked now".
"We spent half a year trying to gain some control over our strange powers. We had no success. One day, Ernest's mother died, and he became an orphan. My mother offered herself to adopt him. He became my brother, and we gained more time together to practice our research".
"One day, Ernest finally gained control over them. He made a pencil fly to his hand, by his own will. My mother saw that. She was shocked. She was a witch, and she knew what that meant, but she didn't expect us to know about that. Then, Ministry officers apparated inside our home. They had detected magic usage on a muggle area. My mother had to explain everything. They asked Ernest if his mother had received some kind of letter when he was ten-years old. He couldn't tell, but they found the letter among his mother's belongings. It was all the proof they needed".
"The officers took us to the Ministry. It seems that we weren't so unusual, after all. They told my mother it was very common that wizards without proper training had several displays of accidental magic. They just had never heard of anyone who actually managed to control it. The Ministry decided we were supposed to receive proper training, since we had developed control of our powers. My mother accepted reluctantly".
"As we had a drawback of almost three years in our studies, we were given lessons at the Ministry. We had to study very hard, and have lessons during weekends, in order to reach our classmates-to-be. Last June we finally finished the fifth year program, and took our O.W.L. exams during July".
"During our training time, everyone always suspected of Ernest's surname. We learned about Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and everyone always mentioned the one called Antonin Dolohov. Ernest knew that was his father's name. No one could prove it, since he was a Death Eater and had been in Azkaban, until his escape. To avoid any questions about him, Ernest adopted a fake name when he joined Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore made our cover. He was to be my brother, and we would pretend to be siblings that came from a school in France".
She sighed when she was finished. Harry was still, as if "processing" all the information he was given. Hermione broke his train of thought with a question.
"So", she began, "you aren't sure that Johan is Dolohov's son? It's just a presumption?", she asked. Rafaelle had opened her mouth to answer, when Dumbledore spoke first. "One of Voldemort's spies at the Ministry related him the story of a Dolohov boy", he said. "Our spy informed us when Dolohov escaped from Azkaban, he was confronted over the boy and reported everything about his relationship with the muggle woman. Voldemort punished him for it, of course, but found amusing to send a Death Eater invitation to the boy".
Hermione nodded her comprehension. Harry was still musing over the story he heard. It explained lots of things about them, but it wasn't enough to make Harry trust the child of a Death Eater. And, of course, there was the plan Dumbledore had mentioned earlier.
"Professor", Harry began, "What does this story has to do with the plan you've talked before?", he asked bluntly. Dumbledore turned to him and gave a half-smile at the young man's boldness. "As a child of a Death Eater, Johan, or should I say, Ernest, received the invitation letter. But, knowing the meaning of that letter, he came directly to me, as he didn't want to be involved in Death Eater activity. I asked him if he could tell of anyone else who had received the letter. From his report, it seems the children of all the Death Eaters from last June had received it".
"How can you be sure he's speaking the truth?", Harry asked, viciously. There were enough proof to say Johan wasn't like his father, but Harry wanted be completely sure. He was afraid for Hermione. Dolohov almost killed her once. Having his son walking the school grounds wasn't very pleasant.
"The first meeting to the initiates was held during the Christmas holiday", Dumbledore answered, calmly, "And I believe you know Ernest was among us at that time".
Harry looked inside Dumbledore's eyes, and he saw an expression he couldn't understand. He sighed in defeat, but still felt a little uneasy towards Johan. He looked at the boy with long hair, and received an apologetic look in return. Harry could see Johan felt really bad for what happened to Hermione. The brown-haired witch herself had given him a pleading look, as if asking him to forgive the young boy.
After those exchanges, Dumbledore continued. "Last night, after the return of the students, Ernest heard a conversation between some of the students who received the letters. They aren't Death Eaters yet; but it seems their initiation depends on the success of a plan, which they will be executing inside Hogwarts". The old wizard's voice was very grave. He turned to Professor Snape then. "Severus, could you please repeat what you had told me about this plan?"
Snape looked around the four teenagers, as if he was deeming them able to see, and said, "It seems the plan is being ruled by Lestrange and Pettigrew, Professor. I have no clue about their goal, as Pettigrew spoke nothing about it".
Dumbledore nodded, and then turned to Harry. "Well Harry, the plan has a target, and it is inside Hogwarts. It is most likely you, as the Dark Lord cannot attack you through your mind anymore. I wanted you to be as informed as you could, as I have learned that keeping information from you doesn't achieve good results. Miss Granger was called because she can become the target, if Voldemort hears about your relationship. We expect to be able to find more information about their plan, so we can protect ourselves properly. You four are dismissed by now. Harry, Hermione, I trust you not to reveal Ernest and Rafaelle's secret".
Harry stayed in silence for a while, looking intently into the Headmaster's eyes. He was thinking about all the misery that crushes his life, all the time. First, Sirius had died. He got over that, when Remus accepted him as godson; he had someone to call family again. Then, he thought he had lost Hermione. He got over that too. He thought it was over, and he could be happy alongside her by now. He was wrong. He was the bloody Boy-Who-Lived, and Voldemort wouldn't leave him alone. He was in danger once again, and now he was dragging Hermione along. He was afraid for her safety. He didn't want her to die, like everyone else he loved. It couldn't happen to Hermione.
He felt Hermione dragging him out of the Headmaster's office, along with Rafaelle. Johan stayed behind; he said he had something else to talk with the Headmaster.
"It's okay, Harry", Hermione said, soothingly. "He can't hurt you inside Hogwarts, and can't hurt me either", she added, as if reading his mind. He nodded to her, but couldn't wipe the thoughts from his mind.
"Look", Hermione said, trying to change the subject, "Maybe we should focus on making amends with Ron. He can be a target too, I suppose".
"You're right", Harry said. 'She's always right', he thought. "But I suppose he needs some more time. It's been just one night since I've talked to him", he added. Hermione nodded, and then frowned, as if thinking of another solution. She was snapped out of her thought when Rafaelle spoke from behind them.
"You're talking about Ronald Weasley, right?", she asked, carelessly. "Sorry if I'm eavesdropping", she added quickly. "It's that I happen to know someone that could help him".
Harry raised an eyebrow at her, and he was sure Hermione did the same. The girl giggled at their reactions and continued. "Well, it's just that I happen to know a girl in Ravenclaw that's completely smitten by him. He's been quite lonely later, so maybe he could use the company of a girl who's actually very interested on him".
Hermione looked at Harry meaningfully, as if asking him to accept or not. "Well, it's isn't a bad idea", he said sheepishly to Hermione. "Maybe a girl can make a little more understanding", he finished, and grinned at Hermione. She grinned back at him, and then turned to Rafaelle. "Okay, we're in".