DISCLAIMER: I own nothing and no one. Want a cookie?
Special thanks to my beta, Joy (aka Gwendolyn James). You're the bestest!
Betrayal
Chapter 1 – Dudley
BANG!
The door of Number 4, Privet Drive was shot open by a 'diffindo' spell from Draco Potter's wand. Petunia Dursley stood in the living room staring at the intruders. She recognized only one of them. A redhead, whom she had seen a few years ago.
"Where is he?" Draco asked.
Aunt Petunia didn't answer. She kept staring at them with her mouth hanging opened.
"Mrs. Dursley, we need you to tell us where Harry is," Ron said calmly.
"I know you!" Aunt Petunia said in a whisper.
"This is not a time for introductions!" Draco yelled, "tell us where he is."
The sound of breaking glass caught their attention.
"Upstairs!" Hermione said and they all ran to the source of the noise.
"I SAID, LEAVE HIM ALONE!" The voice of Uncle Vernon reached their ears.
"This way!" Ron said, and the three entered the room at the end of the corridor.
"STAY AWAY OR I SWEAR I'LL KILL HIM!"
The sight in front of them caught them by surprise. Harry was holding his cousin, Dudley, by the throat and was pressing him against the wall.
"YOU'LL KILL HIM! HE'S CHOKING! HE CAN'T BREATHE!" Uncle Vernon yelled.
"I DON'T CARE!" Harry yelled back.
"Bloody hell, this is not good," Ron said.
"Harry! Let him go!" Hermione said.
Harry turned to see his two best friends and his lover standing at the door, staring at him with shocked faces.
"Let him go, Harry," Draco said calmly.
"NO!" Harry replied, "You stay out of this!"
Draco didn't reply. He stared at his lover, not knowing what to say. It was the first time that he had seen Harry so angry and he didn't know the reason behind it.
Hermione, on the other hand, started looking around the room trying to find something that might explain Harry's actions.
Ron took Uncle Vernon, who was screaming like mad, out of the room, so Draco and Hermione would be able to pacify Harry without interruptions.
"Draco, look at this," Hermione whispered as she picked up a shattered picture frame.
Draco took the picture and looked at it. It was an old photo of Harry's parents.
"Do you think this is the reason behind all this mess?" Hermione asked.
"I'm pretty sure it is," Draco replied.
Hermione sighed. "Give it to me. I'll fix it," she said. "You go and pull Harry away from that pig."
Draco nodded and went to Harry's side. Dudley was letting out muffled whimpers as Harry started stuffing papers in his mouth. Draco put his hand on Harry's shoulder and he felt how tense his lover was. He could feel the anger that was emanating from Harry's shaking body.
"Harry," Draco whispered.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked angrily.
For a moment, Draco was offended by being called 'Malfoy'. Since the day they graduated from Hogwarts, he had moved away from his family and lost contact with them. He had even changed his last name to Potter soon after they were together. Harry had never called him 'Malfoy' since then. Draco decided to ignore his hurt feelings at this moment and concentrated on pulling Harry away from Dudley.
"Let him go and tell me what happened," Draco said calmly.
"He insulted my parents," Harry said with gritted teeth. "No one insults my parents!"
Dudley made more muffled voices as Harry tightened his grip on his throat.
"And he threw their photo at the wall," Harry added.
"There are other ways to punish him," Draco said, "but killing him won't do you any good."
"Reparo," Hermione said as she pointed her wand at the shattered frame, which repaired itself instantly. "There, good as new," she added with a smile.
"Come on Harry. Let him go," Draco said.
Harry stared at Dudley's eyes for a moment and saw tears forming in them. Finally he loosened his grip and backed away.
Dudley fell to the ground, taking the papers out of his mouth and breathing hard. He looked at Harry and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could say something, Harry took out his wand and with a flick he pointed it at Dudley's throat.
"Silencio!" Harry yelled.
Dudley tried to scream, but no voice came out. He stared at Harry, his eyes wide with shock and his hands on his throat.
"I will not remove that spell," Harry said. "You will not be able to talk to the rest of your life and no one will be able to help you. Not even your Muggle doctors who removed your tail fifteen years ago." He leaned closer to Dudley's face. "You have lost your voice forever!" he added in a whisper.
"We'd better leave this place," Draco said.
"Yes, you're right," Hermione replied. "I'll call Ron. You two Apparate to The Leaky Cauldron and we'll meet you there."
"All right," Draco said.
Hermione went downstairs to the living room, where she saw Ron hopelessly trying to calm a terrified Aunt Petunia and an angry, but scared Uncle Vernon.
"Ron, we have to go now," Hermione said.
"What about my son?" Uncle Vernon asked.
"Oh, he'll live," Hermione replied.
"Is Harry okay?" Ron asked in a whisper.
"Yes," Hermione replied, "Draco will take him to The Leaky Cauldron and they'll wait for us there. We must go now."
"All right," Ron said.
Without saying goodbye, Ron and Hermione walked out of the house and Apparated to The Leaky Cauldron.