Chapter 3 - The Struggle Within...

"To the dungeon, Potter. One false move and you're dead." said Snape menacingly at Harry, with his wand poised to attack at any sign of suspicious movement on his part. He half-expected the young man to retaliate but amazingly, he obliged. He just casted one warning glare at the youngest Weasley and he was off.

Hermione watched the retreating figure of the bespectacled young man with narrowed eyes as he made his way to the dungeon with casual indifference -- very un-Harry like. She had known Harry for six years now. In her eyes, he had always been kind, brave and loyal to his friends. Never in those six years had she noticed even a tiny hint that he had a tendency to go over the dark side...he loathed anything and anyone evil. She desperately wanted to believe that the foul creature who just left was just impersonating her best friend...but what about the Veritaserum?

She looked around to see if anyone else was thinking along those lines and she saw a very enraged Ron whose hands were bloodied after attacking the wall of the common room but there were tears in his eyes as well -- hurt and disappointment clearly written on his face. Neville was staring questioningly at Ginny as if silently willing her to suddenly stand up and yell, "Hey, everyone! It's just a joke!" but nothing came. She, herself, felt numb with disbelief.

Was Harry really a bomb waiting to explode? Was he just bidding his time as what he claimed a while ago? They were his closest friends --- why didn't they notice? But he was always alone this past few months, always finding excuses not to spend time with them....and they, too absorbed with their own life, let him deal with his dilemma ON HIS OWN. Merlin! Maybe they were not such good friends after all...

"Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault." said Ginny quietly, startling the wits out of Hermione.

"H-how did you know?" Hermione looked curiously at Ginny's unfathomable expression as she gathered herself and prepared to leave the room.

"Your face is very easy to read." said the younger girl, her fear suddenly replaced with regret and guilt but nobody noticed.

"I can't help it!" cried Hermione. "Harry was so kind, brave...always willing to help his friends....thinking of others' safety more than -----"

"That was before he killed Voldemort!" said Ron furiously but his tone was noticeably lower now. The shock had worn off and he was having some serious doubts of his own. A few minutes of tensed silence surrounded the group. Finally, Ginny excused herself, claiming that she needed to go to the hospital wing.

"I'll go with you." said Hermione distractedly.

"No, I'm fine. I would like to be alone for now if you don't mind." said Ginny and she ran out of the room before any of them could argue.

"Err, Hermione, d-do you think it is possible that the potion malfunctioned?" asked Neville, breaking the silence that followed.

"I hope so..." she replied weakly then a sudden thought came to her mind. "Ron, do you still remember the time when Harry told us about the death-eater trial he saw at Dumbledore's pensieve?"

"Yeah and your point?"

"Well, I don't recall him saying the ministry officials made them drink the potion first before the inquisition, do you?" said Hermione, her mind spinning as if she was trying to figure out a very complex puzzle.

Ron shook his head slightly and now that he thought about it, he wondered why. According to Harry, many well-known death-eaters were cleared of charges then including Malfoy and some stupid fools who were now serving the ministry. They would have been convicted if the ministry simply administered the potion to them. Maybe the truth serum was not really one hundred percent reliable...

"I don't know about you but as for me, I did not notice Harry doing anything aside from his usual routine. He did not even have a fight with anyone this year. He had just been....well ---silent." said Neville.

Ron sighed. "Not to mention alone. I know what you mean -- nobody could change that fast and even if we had been busy, we would have noticed if something strange was going on with him."

"Exactly!" said Hermione then she eyed Ron cautiously before she continued. "That's why I thought we should do now what we should have done several months ago."

"What's that?" asked Ron suspiciously. He could sense from Hermione's furtive glances that he was not going to like the answer.

"I think we should talk to Ginny....I mean really talk --- about what happened when she was captured. She managed to answer some of our questions when she was at the hospital wing but after that...we kind of umm-just pretended that everything was back to normal." replied Hermione nervously as she waited for his reaction.

"Are you insinuating something?" inquired Ron, his temper rising dangerously again.

"No, I'm not. I'm merely stating a fact." said Hermione defiantly. "We have to admit we had been lax with her. We should have verified her statements!"

"Please don't be mad, Ron. Hermione has a point. What if Ginny's lying?" said a little voice that was Neville's.

Ron stared incredulously at the two of them but to their surprise, he just sank to one of the chairs and cried, grasping his head violently. "I'm so confused! I don't know what to think anymore. Merlin, we were just so happy yesterday! We're even planning for a trip to Hogsmeade today..."

"Hey, Ron, if it's any consolation to you, I'm sure all of us are confused right now. I mean, no one wants Harry or Ginny to turn bad...." said Hermione as she hugged the distraught Ron. She knew that it was doubly hard for him for it concerns not only his bestfriend but also his beloved youngest sister.

Neville stared at the roaring fire and at the sofa that was still soaking with butterbeer. Frowning slightly at the two glasses, he tried to picture in his mind what had probably happened earlier. Judging from the position of the glasses, he assumed that the two were sitting rather closely. One glass was half empty and was sitting securedly on the center table while the other glass obviously fell, dark liquid dripping all over the sofa. There was a purple stain as well but he deemed it irrelevant to the case. Was the fallen glass Ginny's or Harry's? If Ron said that they left Harry alone here last night, then sometime afterwards, Ginny must have arrived with the butterbeers. But why would she go down so late at night, bringing beverages as if she expected Harry to be there? 'This is really confusing.'

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"THIS IS SIMPLY OUTRAGEOUS!!! WHY WOULD HARRY DO SUCH A THING? HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE HIM OF SUCH ATROCITY!" The hysterical feminine voice ranted on and on.

Ron, Neville and Hermione hurried outside to see who had arrived. It was Harry's aunt and cousin followed by a weary looking minister and a perplexed headmistress. The former were livid with rage as they all went to Snape's dungeon.

The three surreptitiously followed the group to find out what was going to happen next.

"--- HARRY SAVED THE WIZARDING WORLD AND YOU PAY HIM WITH THIS --- NONSENSE?!?"

"HARRY WOULD NEVER DREAM OF DOING THAT!" said a very angry Dudley too though he looked less menacing now that he had lost some weight.

"Please stop! Your screaming is hurting my ears." pleaded McGonagall as she glared at the two.

"I WILL SAY WHATEVER I WANT IF IT CONCERNS MY NEPHEW!" said Petunia furiously as she glared back at the headmistress.

The three rolled their eyes at that. Years before, Petunia also maltreated Harry but now she was singing an entirely different tune. The whole group stopped in front of Snape's office.

"Severus, kindly open the door now. The minister and the boy's guardian are here." said Professor McGonagall while silently pleading the others to be calm. They waited for a while but the door did not open. The headmistress knocked some more.

"Uh-oh! I have a bad feeling about this." whispered Ron to Hermione and Neville as they watched the headmistress anxiously eyeing the doorknob. It was locked.

"Um-can't you use 'alohamora' to open that door, professor?" said Hermione.

"I'm afraid I can't, Miss Granger. After someone broke into his office and stole some of his ingredients years ago, Severus charmed this door so that only him can open it." Fortunately, the Headmistress was too troubled to notice the peculiar look that passed between Ron and Hermione. "But I guess, I could do something. Stand back everyone." said the Headmistress then she blasted the door of Snape's office.

The group stared in shock at the wreckage that greeted their sight. Aside from the remnants of the shattered door, there was a pool of fallen potion on the floor. Cauldrons looked as if somebody smashed them to wall and from the looks of it, it has probably been. The once pristine cabinet of ingredients were now hanging open and covered with some slimy substance that they did not wish to identify. Papers were scattered everywhere and one arm was dangling limply from the ----

"DAD, IT'S SNAPE!" exclaimed Ron in shock as he pointed one shaking finger to the unconscious figure of a man on top of a shelf.

Professor McGonagall quickly levitated the man's body as the others looked for Harry.

"Professor, he's not here!" said Hermione in panic as her eyes scanned the room.

"P-Potter escaped..." They all turned to look at the Potions Master who was slowly coming around but his eyes were still unfocused.

"What happened, Severus?" asked the Minister through gritted teeth. He was very upset about what happened to his only daughter but he was willing to keep an open mind. After all, Harry was like a son to him.

"I have some doubts about his statements earlier so when we arrived here, I started to interrogate him again --"

"You mean there's a way to counteract the veritaserum?" asked Hermione eagerly, cutting Snape off.

"Yes, of course, Miss Know-it-all Granger, that is why it was never used during Ministry trials." replied Snape haughtily. Hermione only managed a soft 'Oh!' as Snape glared at her for interrupting. "As I was saying, I tried to use Occlumency to find out the truth but before I could do that, Potter attacked me."

"H-Harry attacked you?" asked Petunia with eyes narrowed in skepticism. Dudley's mouth was also hanging open in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, yes. He sent very strong curses at me until I passed out." Finished Snape and shot dagger looks at them all, threatening them not to ask further questions because he was clearly not in the mood to elaborate on the gruesome details of his humiliating defeat.

"B-but how could he? You saw me break his wand a while ago." said Professor McGonagall in amazement.

"Apparently, he had another one tucked inside his cloak." said Snape, a little miffed that Harry had caught him off guard. The minister and the headmistress looked at one another meaningfully then came to a decision.

"Where's Ginny? Maybe she's in a right state to enlighten us now." declared Professor McGonagall.

"She's in the hospital wing, Professor." replied Neville.

The group marched to the hospital wing at once. All uncharacteristically silent and secretly afraid of what they might find out. To their surprise, they found Madam Pompfrey singing quite contentedly as she concocted some healing potions --- without a trace of distress or anxiety.

"Good day, Headmistress. Why are you all here? Came to visit Luna? She's doing better now. I dare say she'll be ready for the next term." she chattered happily but her expression rapidly changed to worry as she noticed the somber expressions of the visitors, the cuts and bruises in Professor Snape's face and the untimely visit of the Minister of Magic who was supposed to be at a wizard conference abroad.

"We came here for Miss Weasley, Poppy." stated McGonagall, her lips pursed in a straight line.

"But Miss Weasley did not come here, Professor." said Madam Pomfrey, apparently confused.

"What about Harry? Did he visit Luna earlier?" The school nurse shook her head.

"Luna was quite disappointed cause he always used to come here in the morning and share breakfast with her but he did not. I wondered about it too but I assumed he went on vacation." said Madam Pomfrey then upon seeing their unease she went on. "Is there something wrong, Minerva?"

"Yes, Poppy. Harry allegedly tried to molest Miss Weasley and he attacked Severus. Now, both of them are gone. I have no idea yet on what's going on but for the mean time, please ensure Luna's safety. I have a feeling that this will concern her somehow." said the headmistress grimly. Then she turned to Arthur who was too numb for words and Snape.

"I really have a bad feeling about this. Can you inform the rest of the Order Members that I wish to discuss this latest development as soon as possible? Shall we say tonight - if they're available." she said with her usual no-nonsense attitude and Arthur and Snape immediately went on their way bringing the still stunned Petunia and Dudley with them.

"Is there something that we can do to help?" asked Hermione.

Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment before she replied. "Yes, there is. Please find out if Miss Weasley is still within the school grounds and inform me immediately." Then she added as an afterthought, "The three of you can join the meeting tonight."

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"Where are we going, Hermione?" asked Ron as Hermione dragged him and Neville out of the Gryffindor common room.

They just finished checking the Marauders Map that they 'borrowed' from Harry's trunk and a thorough scrutiny confirmed their fear that Ginny left the castle. They had conflicting emotions about that but after a few minutes of heated discussion, they all agreed that maybe Ginny just needed time to sort out her feelings on her own. A day or two won't hurt and they could talk to her as soon as she got back.

"To the kitchen, of course. You want to eat, don't you?" Ron and Neville smiled slightly at that. "And I want to ask the elves something." said Hermione, her face set with determination.

As expected, the house-elves were elated to see three of their favorite people at Hogwarts. They eagerly served them with a scrumptious selection of pudding, pancakes, pastries, juices, milk and fruits.

"I wonder why Harry Potter do not come down here." said Dobby as he refilled their plates with more goodies.

The three immediately stiffened at hearing their friend's name.

"Um-Dobby, were you by any chance, cleaning the common room last night?" asked Hermione tentatively.

"Yes, missy, I was." replied the house-elf, beaming proudly at everyone. "In fact, I saw master Harry Potter there. He was staring at the fire and smiling to himself. He was so happy so Dobby did not disturb his peace."

"And?" prompted Ron. Dobby looked confused at his question.

"Er, he was asking if you saw anything else." supplied Neville helpfully.

"Dobby?" said Hermione, a little irritated at his delayed response.

"Oh, sorry, missy. Dobby was just so happy at seeing the great Harry Potter smile again." said the house-elf, almost dancing in glee.

"Did you see anything else?" pressed Hermione.

"None, missy. Dobby left right after cleaning the common room."

"Oh!" Hermione's face fell in disappointment. No witnesses to the incident. Great...just great and judging from the boys' glum expressions, they already reached the same conclusion. Seeing that they would not get more information, the three quietly finished their meal and thanked the house-elves for their help.

"Dobby, we're having some problems right now and we need your help. Can you please tell the others to be more vigilant and report any suspicious activities to us?" said Ron reluctantly before they left.

"Yes, Mister Wheezy, the house-elves are always willing to help the friends of the great Harry Potter!"

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"Where to now?" inquired Ron, who was slightly getting impatient at not learning anything relevant. "No, don't tell. I'm guessing you're going to drag us next to the library." he said sullenly.

"Well, that's the next logical thing to do, sweetie." replied Hermione in a mockingly sweet voice.

"Maybe we could find some thing about wizards that went bad...like Peter Pettigrew. He was also from Gryffindor, right? And he was friends with Harry's parents and he still switched to the dark side." said Neville. Ron instantly looked pissed at his comment.

"I sincerely hope there's a logical explanation for this or history might repeat itself." he said venomously, the tone of his voice left little doubt as to what he meant.

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"NOTHING!" screamed Hermione in frustration, banging the precious books on the table without a care to the torn covers and slightly oxidized pages. Luckily, Madam Pince was on vacation, too or she would find herself in big trouble for attempted destruction of school property.

The boys said nothing...they just stared blankly at the nearby wall. They had spent a very exhausting afternoon browsing through voluminous books --- including Hogwarts, A History and the latest edition of the Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts --- but much to their dismay and annoyance, they did not find anything remotely useful to their current predicament.

"DAMN THIS BOOKS!" Both boys raised their eyebrows at hearing her curse the books that was so much a part of her life. Her usually unpolluted vocabulary was now severely tainted in their opinion. They would have teased her mercilessly at any other occasion but not this time...definitely not this time. Then, before their very eyes, the cool and collected almighty goddess of Gryffindor (that's what they lovingly call her because she has both beauty and brains but of course they don't say it in her face...she might get strange ideas) broke down completely and gripped the table for support as if she was too weak to stand on her own.

"Why can't we find something, Ron...Neville?" she wailed, desperately leafing through another book but her tears had temporarily blurred her vision. Finally, she gave up and sank to one of the chairs. "I refuse to believe that Harry would do such a thing! I cannot accept it!" she flung her arms around Ron and sobbed helplessly.

Ron did not know what to say but he wrapped his arms around her, sharing her grief and intensely struggling within himself to believe that Harry was innocent. They already went through too much.....he just had to be. Neville could not bear to look at them any more. He, too, had his own doubts and was only hanging on to a vague instinct that they were just missing one little clue. As he recalled all that Harry had done for him and for everybody else he barely knew, he hesitantly stood up and carefully returned the books to their shelves with the words 'Harry, what happened to you?' echoing over and over in his head.