Title: Betrayed
Author/pseudonym: NemKess
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Draco Malfoy/ Harry Potter, Ron/ Hermione
Rating: PG
Status: WIP

=see previous parts for warnings, disclaimers, summary, etc.

True to Sev's prediction, Remus Lupin showed up the very next morning looking half out of his mind with worry.

The younger Slytherin didn't have a chance to make any suitably snide remarks though because the werewolf had barely gotten in the doorway before Snape had whisked him up the stairs to the bedroom that Potter was occupying.

Draco was quite put out that he hadn't been invited to their little soiree but in true aristocratic fashion decided that he hadn't wanted to join them anyways. Instead, he occupied himself with bullying the house elves into preparing him a breakfast of his favorites and amusing him.

One of the little buggers- he didn't know which, they all looked the same to him- was actually quite good at juggling though it didn't look at all happy to be doing so. Draco had insisted that the thing add more and more items and it was trying desperately to keep them all up in the air while glaring at him when Severus interrupted.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, boy. What are you doing to my house elves?"

His smirk was contemptuous. "Entertaining myself as you've decided to sequester yourself in with a bunch of Gryffindorks."

"Dippy, stop that, I need to speak with you." Snape snapped. Then he turned his glare on his favorite student. "You as well. Both of you go upstairs to Potter's room."

Being ordered about as if he were a lowly house elf was not improving Draco's mood but he followed anyways.

Leery of being tossed around again, no matter what assurances the potions master gave him, Draco was slow to edge into the room and stayed as far back as he was able. Not that he was afraid, mind you. Malfoy's, after all, weren't afraid of anything. But it had never been proven that commonness and stupidity weren't contagious. And Lupin was a werewolf after all.

Werewolves were dangerous and insane, as everyone knew.

The DADA professor barely spared him a glance before nodding to Severus. "I can't stay long, Severus. I'm supposed to be in transit right now. Even if I say I nearly ran into a few Death Eaters and had to go to ground for a while, it'll only buy me a few hours. Albus expected me to meet Hagrid in Diagon Alley yesterday."

"Keeps you on a tight leash does he, Werewolf?" Severus glared at him in warning, but Lupin just gave him a mild glance.

"Tighter than I'd realized, apparently. His owl arrived right after yours did, Severus. He was quite insistent that if I was much later, he'd send aurors to 'help' me." His eyes were hard as he turned back to the still figure on the bed. They remained that way for a long moment before softening and going sad. "I can't help but think that he's afraid that Harry managed to get another message to me after all. I should've gone straight to him after the first owl. I should have realized he would have already tried to talk to Albus."

Snape sighed. "Potter is not your responsibility, Lupin. And this situation is not your fault. Did you even know the location of his muggle relative's home?"

"Well... no... But I promised Siri! If anything happened to him..."

"This failing rests solely on Albus."

"You're right I suppose."

"You trusted him, as we have all trusted him."

As the pair went back and forth in lowered voices, Draco allowed his gaze to shift to the small figure in the bed. Though he no longer resembled a rotting corpse and the most glaringly obvious bruising and swelling was nearly gone, Potter lay still as death. His face was so pale that, without the remaining discoloration, he would have been indiscernible from the snowy pillow case.

The blonde Slytherin decided then and there any tiny delusions he may have had about following in Sev's footsteps and turning to the 'Light' were insane. If this was what they allowed happen to their hero, who knows what they did to former 'Dark' wizards with questionable loyalties. At least Voldemorte was honest about his cruelty. He didn't hide it under a coating of sugar.

His attention was snagged by the adults again as Snape called the house elf over to the side of the bed. "Dippy," The potions master was sitting in the chair beside the bed while the werewolf was perched up on the bed itself, one hand stroking Potter's messy black hair. "Dippy, I have a very important task for you."

"Dippy is honored to do whatever it is that Master Snape requests."

"That's all well and good, but should you accept this task, I will no longer be your master."

"But Sir!" The house elf's eyes widened painfully and began to tear. "Dippy has displeased Master? Dippy begs forgiveness!"

Draco rolled his eyes as the little bugger started hitting itself over the head. Stupid house elves. Although, he had to admit that it was funny watching them beat themselves up for the stupidest things imaginable.

"No, no, Dippy. Stop that. You've been a fine house elf. That's why I'm entrusting you with this." There was a moment of hesitation before the small creature lowered its hands and stared up at Snape. It's eyes were even wider than before, but with awe this time instead of distress. It remained quiet and allowed it's Master to finish uninterrupted. "Mr. Potter here is going to have some special needs for quite a while. He's going to need a servant that can help him see to those needs," he paused to glare at Draco again as the boy started snickering at the unintentional double entendre. Draco put his hands over his mouth to muffle the sound and Snape turned back to the elf. "More than that, that servant must be above reproach. Completely trustworthy. A servant who can't be swayed by either the Headmaster or the Dark Lord. A servant who won't gossip around other house elves and will be loyal only to Mr. Potter.. and, to a lesser extent, myself."

Dippy nodded carefully before hesitantly moving over to look at the unconscious boy. He stared for a long moment before turning back to Professor Snape. "Dippy's cousin Dobby calls Harry Potter the greatest wizard that ever lived because Harry Potter freed Dobby. What if young master does not want Dippy, Sir?"

The werewolf smiled down at the elf. "Harry understands that not all elves wish to be free, Dippy. And I'm sure he will be grateful for the help."

"Then.. " Dippy nodded and looked resolute. "Dippy thinks Harry Potter will make a fine new master, Sir."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Draco exclaimed. Even the rich and pureblooded Slytherins weren't allowed to have their own house elves while at Hogwart's.

With a sneer, Snape rolled his eyes. "Life isn't fair, Draco. Get used to it."

Glowering, the blonde crossed his arms and made sure that the older men could see how annoyed he was. Really. Harry Potter with his own house elf. It was enough to make Draco see red- and he truly hated that color.

Lupin pinned him with a calm look before turning his attention back to the professor. "I admit that I don't understand how you're going to get Dippy into Hogwart's and have him attend Harry without causing a stir, especially among the Slytherins." Draco caught the amused glance that was cast in his direction but just huffed and ignored it. " The fact that you've been helping him over the summer won't stay a secret for long that way. From Dumbledore or Voldemorte."

Snape smirked. "Leave that to me. You worry about coming up with a way to deal with the speech problem. Even though he's shown some ability to do wandless magic, it's better that he keeps that hidden for as long as possible. And magic with a wand requires the ability to speak."

"I have an idea about that. We'll probably have to talk to Poppy though, once school starts, to-"

Unsure why he had to be there in the first place, Draco sighed and tuned them out. He didn't care to listen to them try to bend the rules for the Golden Boy. Instead, he did what Draco Malfoy did best. He schemed on how best to benefit Draco Malfoy with the current situation. Snape owed him. Snape was going to owe him for a very long time to come.

His own house elf was the least of what he deserved for keeping such juicy gossip to himself. Perhaps if it caused too much speculation and such, he would settle for the use of Dippy. He wrinkled his nose delicately. Sharing anything with Potter wasn't exactly something he looked forward to, but Draco supposed he could be generous. Just this once.

".... Don't you agree, Draco?"

The blonde hummed in an absent-minded yes at the sound of his name. It was Lupin's soft chuckles that brought him far enough out of his reverie to notice Severus's smug look. "What?"

"Thank you so kindly for volunteering. I'm sure Potter will be equally grateful once he's awake to appreciate it."

"What?!" His voice hit a high note that it hadn't since he'd crossed the threshold of puberty. "I didn't volunteer to anything!"

"On the contrary. You just agreed to assist in Potter's recovery this summer. You also agreed to partner with him all the subjects you share during the next school year to help him adjust." The professor directed Draco's gaze the the shimmering gold of a magical contract that he'd unwittingly given his vocal acceptance of. He recognized it as a tactic his father frequently used and knew it was as binding as anything else the wizarding world had to offer.

Lupin seemed to get control over himself and nodded as if in thanks. "That is very kind of you, Mr. Malfoy." Amusement still very much evident on his face, the werewolf turned back to Snape. "Do you mind if I sit with him until I have to leave?"

With a nod, Snape murmured an agreement before nodding to Dippy. "Please fetch Mr. Lupin some tea and another blanket. You might as well get some rest while you're at it."

"It's not necessary, Severus. I'm fine, really."

"The full moon is only a few days away, Lupin. Rest while you can."

Draco rolled his eyes and glared at the figure in the bed before taking his leave of the group. He couldn't believe that Severus had tricked him like that. Bloody spy.

It wasn't his fault that Potter had gone and gotten himself beaten up by Muggles. He didn't see where it was his responsibility to help the other boy. He was already going above and beyond, in his own opinion, by staying silent about the Gryffindors whereabouts.

He'd even been willing to agree to Snape's insistent demand that he not bother Potter during his recovery. To ignore him or be moderately civil instead of insult and demean as their rivalry demanded.

Draco had been nice to Potter on two separate occasions and both times had been rebuffed. It went against every instinct he had to do so again. Even civility was difficult.

It was going to be a long summer.

TBC

~*~*~

Author's Notes:
First off, I just want to apologize to all of you who've been waiting so patiently (and in some cases, not so patiently) for me to get back to this fic. HP just wasn't grabbing my interest like it used to. Luckily, the muse seems to have returned. This part was a little disjointed and I doubt it flowed well with the rest but honestly, it's hard to get flow back when it's been so long. I am trying and I hope that you all can bear with me through what will probably be a rough couple of parts until I can settle back into a groove. Thanks to pages and pages of saved notes, at least I don't have to worry about losing the direction of the fic. I still know everything that needs to happen and where I wanted to go with things. 'Betrayed' won't end up like some of my past fics since I've learned my lesson about that. Notes and outlines are our friends! ^_^
Snape was a little too friendly in this part I think, but it couldn't be helped. He just didn't want to stay in character. Sorry about that. What else? The magical contract. I'm almost positive that I read something similar in another fic and that's where the idea came from, but damned if I can remember what fic and what author so that I can give proper credit. Oh well, if someone recognizes it, please let me know, okay?
And just so everyone knows, this fic was never abandoned. I just spent six months unable to get more than a sentence out here and there on it. I did try though. It just didn't work well. To be kept up to date on these things, I strongly suggest checking out my LJ. That's where I rant about how my muse has abandoned me and plead for divine intervention. ^_~ It's also going to be the first place to find out if I ever did abandon a fic.
Thank you, NemKess

Notes to Reviewers:
*_*
There were a lot of reviewers. Most seem to consist of "Loved it, update!"... and I think the new chapter itself answers that. But, I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to review. Here are a few responses to those who asked other questions or made comments that I felt the need to respond to.

sons- I will show Hermione's thoughts on the matter at some point. I'm just not sure if it will end up fitting into the middle very well. More than likely, I'll end up putting it at the end of Draco's story.
darkangelfrmhell- I borrowed the term from somewhere, so obviously, I have no problem with you using. ^_^;
bostonian- The thing is that he's not explaining all of this to Hermione and Ron. He's remembering it all, but only sharing the highlights. That'll be made clear once he's all done.
Nini- see above. ^_^
dark vampire- ^_^;; Thanks for the.. lick. I also find it very hard to believe that Draco would just suddenly be overcome with the need to befriend Harry. Too many years of rivalry. It will definately be a gradual thing here.
athenakitty- I'm still undecided on whether or not Ron and Hermione will ever actually see the letters. I imagine it will depend on my mood when I get to that part of the fic. They will find out about Dumbledore's betrayal, even if they have a hard time accepting it. The Orphenage will come up again and yes there will be another confrontation between Harry and Ron.
Redmeadow- Hermione is Hermione. She doesn't tip my scales either way. Ron, obviously, annoys the hell out of me.

Everyone- Thanks for the continued support and reviews despite how long it's been. Thanks for the compliments and the encouragement. It means a lot to me that you guys have stuck with it despite how long it's been. Hugs all around!