Title: Betrayed
Author/pseudonym: NemKess
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Draco Malfoy/ Harry Potter, Ron/ Hermione
Rating: R
Status: WIP
E-mail address for feedback:: nemsmusesmsn.com
=See previous chapter for disclaimers, summary, notes, and warnings
Previous chapters can be found either on ff.net, or in my LJ
"I don't believe you. Dumbledore would never let Harry suffer like that. He cared for Harry. More than anyone else. Like a grandson practically!"
The angry exclamation from Weasley pulled Draco back to the present. Caught up in the memories of so long ago, he'd almost forgotten he wasn't alone. He saw now, as he hadn't in those bygone days, the seething jealousy Ron held for the special treatment his 'friend' had always gotten.
He seemed intent on ignoring the price that the Boy Who Lived had paid for that treatment.
"Believe me or don't, it's the truth. Deny the truth and you only prove me correct when I tell Harry that you aren't worth his pain."
Granger had that superiorly smug look on her face she'd always gotten in their youth when she just knew she had the answer and you were spouting nonsense. "It's not wise to make claims that can be so easily disproved, Malfoy. Ron would never have kept such an important letter from me, nor would he have ever left Harry in such a situation. They were best friends, after all."
"Yes, you'd think that, wouldn't you? Well, what say you Weasel? Would you keep mail from the Mudblood?"
The redhead was turning a sickly green color and looking very much like he wanted to rip Draco's mouth from his face. Not that Hermione had noticed yet. No, she was too busy looking down her nose at the blonde.
"Tell him, Ron. Slytherins might do things like that, but no Gryffindor would."
"Of course not, 'Mione," It sounded rather strangled to Draco, who smirked.
"Worried there, Weasel? You should be. Dobby!"
The house elf appeared with a pop. "You's be calling on Dobby, sir?"
"Yes, Dobby. Would you please fetch the correspondence box from the Master's suite?" Dobby bowed and snapped his fingers, disappearing again in a flurry of sparkles. Showoff. When he glanced over at the pair, he was the one with the smug look. "Harry is a terrible packrat. He still has his very first letter from Hogwart's."
Another pop and Dobby was back, this time with a shrunken trunk. "Harry Potter says to please be careful with his letters, Draco Sir."
"Of course. Thank you, Dobby. Please stay for a moment so that you can take the trunk back." One thing that had been hard for him to learn over the years, but a valuable lesson nonetheless was that the nicer you were the house elves, the easier it was to get things done. Dobby, especially, responded positively to 'please' and 'thank you'. It was annoying, but couldn't be helped. The little bastard had been known to show rebellion in a thousand small ways, making a general nuisance of himself, if anyone but Harry was impolite to him. Not that Harry ever was.
A quick charm and the trunk grew back to its normal size. He doubted they even realized that it was Harry's very first school trunk, still covered in Chudley Cannon stickers and scrawled with various childish 'Keep Out's. A Gryffindor Lion had been drawn on one side in painstaking detail and snitches seemed to fill the rest of the outside.
Having organized the contents himself when Harry had shrugged off the mess but refused to throw any of it away, it took Draco only a few moments to find the letter he was looking for. Ron's letter from so long ago, Hermione's returned mail still tucked inside.
Weasley lunged at him only to be brought up short by an angry looking Dobby. "The Wheezy shall leave Draco Sir alone."
With a smirk at the helpless look on Ron's face, Draco handed the letters over to Hermione. "I'd have thought you'd have learned by now that Gryffindors are just as treacherous as Slytherins, Granger. They're just less honest about it."
Her hands shook as she opened both letters and smoothed them out carefully. The silence was as loud as any of the battles he'd participated in as the two men watched her pale face as she read.
"Ron?" She looked up at her husband with stricken eyes but he was too busy glaring at Draco.
"It wasn't serious. He was just making a play for sympathy. It's not as bad as they make it sound. He was perfectly fine when we saw him in Diagon Alley later that summer, you remember!" The Wanker was seething, practically foaming at the mouth even, but the menace in Dobby's presence was a convincing deterrent apparently.
Idiot. "You're right, Weasely. It wasn't that bad." He took great pleasure in crushing the triumphant expression that stole over his enemy's face. "It was a great deal worse. And he wasn't perfectly fine when you saw him, he was just a very good actor."
All Snape's potions expertise had been called upon just heal the surface and knit Harry back together well enough that he could actually go to Diagon Alley on his own to shop for his school things. It had taken a great deal longer for the rest of the damage to fade and some of the mental scars never had. They were just buried under the war wounds that had come later.
As carefully as she'd opened them, Granger refolded the letters and handed them back. He could tell that she'd been staggered by this revelation that the world as she'd always known it was based on erroneous assumptions. The outright disbelief on her face from earlier had faded, though it wasn't gone completely. At least she seemed more willing to listen.
Weasley had shut up finally and was sitting on the floor, back against a chair. From the tension that riddled his body to the mulish tilt of his chin, his entire body radiated lack of acceptance and disbelief. His eyes were still filled with blind hatred.
"He could have said something when school started again. He didn't... He didn't have to turn dark."
Bloody obstinate Gryffindors.
Rolling his eyes, Draco tucked the letters back into their proper place and re-shrunk the trunk. "Thank you, Dobby. That will be all." Dobby gave a half bow and vanished to take the trunk back to its owner. "Granger, obviously your memory is failing you. Harry spent the majority of sixth year barely able to speak at all and twitchy as hell whenever anyone came near him."
"So… Harry was hurt and Snape took him in. And Remus just left him there with a pair of Slytherins?"
The disgust and disbelief in her voice was more than Draco could stand, he finally exploded. "For Salazar's sake, Mudblood. This isn't about Slytherins or Gryffindors! Stop being so bloody blind!"
She flinched away from him.
Draco whirled around and only managed not to punch the window through sheer force of will. Even with the evidence staring her in the face she couldn't accept that they were the ones who'd made Harry what he'd become. His fists clenched spasmodically.
Gods but he hated the Gryffindor mindset of 'We are good and you are evil and nothing will ever change that'.
He'd been resistant when Harry had first suggested they abolish the house system at Hogwart's when they reopened the doors, but now he was coming to see the sense in it. It was probably the only way to accomplish one of the smaller wizard's most long-term and ambitious goals- to restore unity and balance to the Wizarding World.
"What..." The soft voice behind him recalled his attention. "What else? You said... it was worse... What else happened? Why did Harry stay with Professor Snape instead of asking to go somewhere else?"
Why indeed. Draco sighed and let the past sweep him away once more.
TBC
Author's Notes:
Okay, so it's a short update, but it's an update. I could wait until I'd finished a few more scenes, but that could take longer than any of you really want to wait. Due to popular demand, and because it just happened to work out that way, this scene breaks the memories. Those will start back up in the next part. Somehow I don't think I'm making it clear that Draco isn't giving them the full story. He's hitting the high notes. Most of his thoughts and feelings are just things that he's remembering. I'm not really sure how to do it any better. Oh well, maybe I'll figure it out eventually. I'd like to thank all the reviewers, your continued support and encouragement is greatly appreciated. Also, special thanks to Kari for beta'ing this for me!. It was so awesome of you. Thanks! NemKess
Notes to Reviewers:
There were a lot more, but here's the ones I thought I could respond to without sounding like a record with a scratch in it.
texasjeanette- Updating is a matter of inspiration and time to write
in-between everything else. I have not, and will not, abandon
this fic. As for Snape, yes... He is a little out of his
element, feeling sympathy for Potter and all. But he'll happily
turned the majority of the responsibility over to Draco once Harry's
past the worst of it.
futagoakuma-tenshi01- I'm trying to keep
their powers believable within the realm of the HP universe. I
may not always succeed, but I am trying.
MyGildedCage- I've already
got both Voldemorte's and Dumbledore's deaths planned out... hopefully
the whole scene will have some surprises for everyone.
The Chaotic Ones- I imagine I will leave it alluded to, but ignorable since it's been a pretty even vote.
wendy- well... Draco's opinion and p.o.v. are not completely shared by
Harry and there are actions and motivations that haven't been gotten to
yet. Although, rather than absolve Dumbledore, they may make the
readers dislike him (as portrayed in this fic) even more.
Dragenphly- Thank you so much. As for Draco, well.. I can't really see him ever growing out of that, can you? It's such a part of his character.
Insane Person : S- lol... my muses thank you for the cookie and
the praise. Harry and Draco are a long way from friends yet in
the flashbacks, but I like building it slowly.
Web
Walker- that is a great compliment. thank you! Anyways, I
figure, it's a given that he's never going to join Voldemort unless
we're talking 'Invasion of the Body snatchers' or something. But
no one can just keep taking it and taking it and taking it without some
kind of snapping right?
Phoenix 3:16- ;;; well, I certainly can't
say I'm not tempted. Ron is one of my least favorite characters
in the series, even though I do recognize his importance. I just
don't have to like it. ... ;
Dela Ria- Not that they
know of. Dumbledore has made it clear that he's monitoring
Harry's mail, but no one else's. I've already got a pretty good
chunk of the next flashback already written (with Harry waking up) so
hopefully the rest will be addressed soon, ne?
Wynjara- ;; I still haven't read OotP yet.
Iian Feuerfalke- lol.. who says Draco ever changes? I imagine
he'll be a little egomaniac right up until the day someone Avada
Kadavera's his butt. He just adjusts his boundaries and makes
allowances. For some people. Everyone else still gets 'The
Attitude'.
louise4- yes, well.. The entire deal with Dumbledore
has already been dealt with in my notes, but it's several chapters down
the road. I think the readers will understand but I doubt
many will like him for it. And I am working on the Holiday
Trilogy, but do you realize how hard it is to work on a winter holiday
fic in the middle of June??? ;;
