Chapter 8 - The Unholy Alliance (Part 2)
"Ouch! Wormtail, couldn't you have prepared a softer landing spot for us?" complained Draco as they fell on a heap on a marble flooring.
"Oops, sorry. But I was in a hurry." said Wormtail defensively.
"Aahhhh!!!" They heard Ginny yell in fright. They immediately brought their wands out.
"What's the problem?"
"N-nothing. Harry's body just fell on top of me. It was disgusting!" said Ginny tearfully as she scrambled away from the corpse, looking highly embarrassed and scared at the same time. No one noticed the slight twitching of Harry's lips.
"By the way, where the hell are we?" asked Draco after ensuring that Ginny's okay.
"Godric's Hollow - Potter's old house." replied Wormtail.
"WE ARE AT POTTER'S HOUSE!!!" exclaimed Ginny and Draco, clearly unnerved by the revelation.
"Don't overreact. I just thought that this is the last place they would expect to find us...and with certain circumstances...I guess it would be fitting to return Harry's body to where it really belonged." said Wormtail sadly in recollection of his own treachery.
As expected, no one bothered to look at Harry's reaction at the mention of his house but of course, what person in his right state of mind would check for a corpse's reaction? However, had they taken the time to give him even the merest of a glance, they would have noticed his partially covered eyes scanning the room with great interest.
"Harry's parents and he would probably haunt us here forever..." said Ginny nervously.
'Oh, what a brilliant idea! Thanks, Ginny.' thought Harry in amusement. Then trying not to move his hands too much, he caused the furnitures on the room rearrange itself...Afterwards, he levitated his parents' portrait and halted it directly in front of the three.
"Wormtail, I told you so...we had to get out of here fast before it's too late..." cried Ginny but Wormtail was not listening. He knelt on the ground and apologized profusely to his former best friends.
"I'm really sorry for betraying you....Lily..James...Heaven knows I've suffered enough...and your son... He gave me the chance but I let the opportunity slip on my fingers...I was a coward...take me if it could appease your anger...but let the children go... They're still young... They can still change their ways..." said Wormtail remorsefully then he began to punch himself hard for every crime he committed under Voldemort's power.
Draco and Ginny were hugging each other for support as they watched upon Wormtail's act of repentance. It would have been funny if the situation had not been that serious but right now, it looked so creepy.
"M-Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I'm sorry too for making your son's life miserable at Hogwarts.." said Draco in the same penitent tone.
"It's my fault, too. If I had not chosen to follow Voldemort, he would still be alive today... I have been foolish... but that reason is unacceptable... You can punish me...and if that punishment would be death...then so be it." said Ginny as she continued to cry in anguish.
Harry heard their confessions and attempts at an apology but he was not quite finished yet. With another wave of his hand, he moved the portraits out of the way and projected the scene of his parents' death on the wall. Then he levitated himself high up and called their attention.
"YOU, TRAITORS! WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO JOIN THE EVIL SIDE?" his booming voice echoed around the house and the three terrified creatures faced what they thought was a zombie Harry with exceedingly contrite expressions.
"H-harry?" whispered Ginny as her eyes widened in fear.
"No enough reason to justify our actions - it was just plain lust for power and blindness to the truth." stated Draco bravely and resigned himself to his fate.
"WHAT ABOUT YOU, PETER?" his escalated body glowed dangerously as he impatienly waited for his reply.
"I have been stupid....absolutely stupid...If you can find it in your heart to forgive me then I'd be willing to die peacefully in your hands." said Wormtail and he, too, resigned himself to what lay ahead.
"HOW CAN I BE SURE THAT YOU WON'T BETRAY THE LIGHT SIDE AGAIN?" demanded Harry. The three looked up expectantly. It seemed like they were not going to die today after all.
"You're ghost could watch our actions everyday, and if you see us straying again from the path of goodness, then it's your decision to make." replied Wormtail and the other two nodded in agreement.
"Very well, I'll hold on to your words for now." said Harry then feeling the effect of excessive use of power added to the pain he had to endure before, he closed his eyes and was unable to control himself from falling on top of Ginny once more.
"AHHHHH!!!!!!!" screamed Ginny and forced his body away from her. Harry weakly stood up and gave Ginny a mischievous smile.
"Hey, what's wrong? You didn't seem to mind that when we were at the common room." he drawled and gave Draco a half-smile.
Ginny immediately turned scarlet at the reference of her foolishness then as if something just occurred to her, she tentatively touched Harry's cheek. It was warm.
"Y-you're alive?" she asked as if she couldn't believe it was possible.
Draco and Wormtail reluctantly touched his cheek too.
"Y-you're alive!" They both exclaimed incredulously.
"Yeah - that would explain the breathing..." said Harry sarcastically.
"B-but how? We all saw it happen!" Their sighs of relief was unmistakeable.
"Let me show you what really transpired." said Harry then summoning what was left of his strength, he projected his own death scene on the wall in slow motion and the three watched the event carefully.
As Ginny was about to shoot the killing curse on Harry, a drop of tear fell upon the wand and instead of the expected green light, a white beam escaped from its tip instead. Then mere inches after it left the wand, Harry waved his imprisoned hand slightly and the white beam was transformed into a green one.
"That, my friends, is one of the wonders of magic. As what Bellatrix, your former ally, had told me, the words are not enough....you need to really mean it...you have to take intense pleasure in inflicting pain and in my case -- death. You were not meant to be a murderer, Ginny and I'm glad of that fact." said Harry as he halted the demonstration.
"You called us 'friends'?" croaked Wormtail in disbelief.
"Yes, why not? You did not leave my body to rot in that wretched place - that in itself was remarkable enough. Then I heard your apologies earlier and the promise to change. I am not a God but I'm willing to forgive you because I know that it is the right to do." explained Harry.
"Oh, I'm really sorry, Harry. Thank you for being so kind." said Ginny and she kissed him lightly on the cheek in gratitude. Draco did not look too pleased with it, though, but he did not say anything.
"Never mind that. After what I've just shown you, do you still believe that you could have taken me that easily?" said Harry sardonically.
"No, I suppose not. Actually, I wondered about that but I had assumed that the potion was very effective." admitted Ginny.
"It was not that potent for me. If you could remember correctly, I stayed conscious long enough to interrogate you then I allowed myself to 'pass out' so that you could bring me to wherever your master was. To be honest, Voldemort's eerie silence had been bugging me for months and I wanted to meet him soon to end my agony. I have to admit that your little charade was very timely..." said Harry then he gave another taunting grin at Draco. "...and besides, I enjoyed the show...immensely!" He laughed out loud at the sight of Draco's reddened face and tensed expression.
"You're sick, Potter." spat Draco angrily.
"Hey, chill out! I'm just joking! I have a very adorable girlfriend waiting for me you know." said Harry and smiled as he thought about Luna.'I wonder how she's doing now...Maybe I can visit her later...'
"Fine. We can drop that. Anyway, if you're so powerful how come you did not use the killing curse then? You had the perfect opportunity." said Draco.
"I wish I could. I have the ability but unfortunately, I don't have the intent. Not to mention the fact that if I had indeed finished him off, I would be forever wondering about your loyalties. No, I have other plans for Voldemort and I am not just after him ...I want ALL of his devoted supporters and slaves, too. " replied Harry and after a while he added. "Consider yourselves very fortunate that I have decided to spare you."
The three looked at one another and instantly made a resolution not to be swayed by evil temptation again. Harry did not need to elaborate. The heavy threat underlying his cool words was enough.
"I have to go somewhere." said Wormtail uneasily after a while.
"Where are you going?" asked Draco warily.
"I need to get help. We can't stay here forever...we need some place more secure and I know of only one person who could help us." replied Wormtail and waited for Harry's approval.
Harry held his arm where the dark mark was located. A few minutes of excruciating pain followed then Harry waved him off. "Go on but don't take too long."
Wormtail stared at his arm in amazement. The dark mark was gone. Forcing back the lump on his throat, he disapparated silently.
"You trust him?" asked Ginny in wonder after he left.
"I'm trying." replied Harry casually.
"How did you learn all those stuff?" asked Draco curiously, a little confident now that he was certain that Harry was not on a vengeful streak.
"That....is something that I do not wish to divulge as of this moment. Don't forget, you're still under probation. I may be forgiving...but I am definitely not stupid." declared Harry in a cold voice that implied a harsh end for them if they ever betray him once more.
With nothing better to do, Harry wandered around the house with Draco while Ginny prepared some food for them including whoever Wormtail was going to bring with him.
"Your house is not that bad, Potter." said Draco in admiration as they viewed the marvelous collection of books at the mini-library, the wide array of magical objects and all other details that depicted the Potter fortune so lavishly.
"For once, I agree with you." grinned Harry.
"Wanna play wizard chess?"
"No, thanks...It's outside my field of expertise. Ron's the best at that game." said Harry and smiled at Draco's look of disbelief.
"I didn't think Weasley was ever good at anything." said Draco then clamped one hand at his mouth, afraid that he had offended Harry.
"You'd be surprised. Ron's good at a lot of things...and he's very brave too. You know during our first year, Ron beat McGonagall's chess set and he urged us to go on even if he was already injured. Then on our second year, we had to go to the dark forest to follow the spiders. Ron has a phobia with those creatures but he still came with me...amazing!" said Harry, smiling as he recalled his adventures with his best friend.
"Why are you telling me these, Harry?" asked Draco in confusion, not realizing that he had just referred to his former school enemy by his first name. Harry raised one eyebrow before he replied.
"Because you're my friend now and I'm treating you as how I usually treat my friends."
"Oh, okay. Then, I suppose you're going to call me 'Draco' now." said Draco awkwardly. It was weird being friends with Potter but it was surely better than nothing.
"Of course, Draco. I think we better come down. I have a feeling that Wormtail would be back soon." said Harry.
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"Snape?" Harry and Draco stared incredulously at the Slytherin Head and at Wormtail who was twitching on his seat nervously.
"I see Peter was telling the truth when he told me that you were here, Potter." said Snape and gave everyone a smile.
Harry was dumbfounded. Snape? Smiled? And at him, too. This was weird but he decided to play it cool. "So, Peter, what help could he possibly give us?"
"Snape was one of the most cunning spies of Voldemort before his defection. He could provide us with informations on places where Voldemort would not be able to find us so easily and being free to interact with other wizards, he could also supply us with essential details regarding Voldemort's activities." said Wormtail nervously.
To everyone's amazement, Harry gave a soft chuckle at first, then a slight laugh until finally he couldn't control his hilarity anymore. He rolled with laughter as if someone was tickling his ribs and the onlookers were already suspecting that someone had sent a tickling charm on him.
"Sorry...I just found it rather comical for all of us to bond together like this. This is plainly --- " Harry struggled to find the appropriate description.
"Strange...?" said Ginny. Harry shook his head.
"Odd...?" said Draco but Harry did not find it fitting.
"I was thinking more along the lines of annoying...and disturbing.." said Harry.
"Unholy...." suggested Snape helpfully and Harry's smiled widened.
"Yeah, that's it! UNHOLY ALLIANCE --- I never imagined the time would come when all of us would fight on the same side. Really weird!" said Harry then he turned to Snape. "So, how's school? Is everyone still thinking I'm the next dark lord?"
"No, the DA and Order members believe someone was just impersonating you but we've been pretending that we believe in the stories. Also, Luna has made an amazing recovery." reported Snape.
"Oh, I'm so glad about that. Did she tell you about what happened?"
"No."
Harry's face fell.
"Luna did not TELL us....she SHOWED us."
"She did? That's even better!"
"Yes and it was very enlightening. Where did you learn to do that, Potter?" asked Snape curiously.
"What - the sarcasm? From you, of course." replied Harry dismissively. "So, if this place gets too hot, where else can we hide?"
"Well, you can either choose between Snape Mansion and Dumbledore Palace." replied Snape.
"Dumbledore has a palace?" asked Ginny with much interest.
"I'm rather partial to grandeur myself. I think I prefer Dumbledore's Palace." said Draco enthusiastically.
"Unfortunately for you, pal. I'm choosing Snape Mansion and that's where we are going next." replied Harry and was amused to see the disappointment on the faces of the other two teenagers. However, his decision was not mainly to annoy the them. He wanted to get to know Snape better and a hint of a smile showed that his previous professor was pleased by his choice.
"I would prepare the house and I'll inform you as soon as it is necessary for you to go there." said Snape cheerfully, ignoring the annoyed whispers of Draco and Ginny.
"Thank you, Professor." said Harry. Then adopting a serious tone, he beckoned to Snape and whispered a request. "Listen. Voldemort will soon declare that I'm dead so you better pretend to believe it too. And don't tell anyone that you have seen me. I'm planning a little surprise for everyone. When certain people begin to disappear, offer to look for them. You will act as if you're really exerting an effort into finding them but you're going to come up with nothing. Will you do that?"
"As long as you're on the light side." agreed Snape conditionally.
"Don't worry. I am and always will be." said Harry, appreciating his cautiousness.