Author's Note:
'This is a contest entry for the Dracolov challenge! If you would like to enter you must e-mail Dracolov, her e-mail is in her profile. The last day to enter is 12/1/04. Please R & R (read and review) and thank you for reading my story.
Disclaimer:
I don't own any of the orginial Harry Potter character because I am not that creative...but I wish i was...I only own the plot and my characters.
chapter 11: Painted Faces
As Hermione and Draco walked into the spacious office of the Headmaster, they ceased their arguing just long enough to notice that Tara was not with them. Hermione immediately started back down the stairs to see if she'd fallen behind, or worse, had maybe gotten lost while leaving the dungeons. At the bottom of stairs, she saw her standing there looking as if she was debating a problem in her mind.
"Are you coming up?" she asked the dazed girl.
"Ummm....yes, of course." Tara mumbled and began heading in her direction. Damn, she thought, I should have been quicker than that.
"What were thinking about?" Hermione inquired on the way up.
"Old times." she replied simply.
"I did the same thing just yesterday."
"Why?" the dark headed girl looked at her quizzically.
"Why what?"
"Why yesterday?" she clarified.
"Oh, because it was my first return to Hogwarts since graduating." Hermione explained.
"You were here yesterday?" This could be useful, she considered.
"To talk to Dumbledore."
"About this?"
"Sort of but other things came up as well." Draco, Hermione thought and instantly blushed.
"What other things?" Give it up, I know you want to.
"Nothing really. By the way, I'd been meaning to ask you, when did you last talk to Harry?" She didn't know why she felt the need to ask this but she knew that something was off right now.
"Ah...well...it was...a couple of days ago." she answered feebly and throughly unconvincingly.
"A couple of days? Where?" Bells and whistles were sounding everywhere now, something was definitely wrong.
"Diagon Alley."
"Funny, he didn't mention it. Is something wrong?" Hermione questioned as they neared the top of steps, close enough to hear Draco's voice exchanging pleasantries with Dumbledore.
"I wondered why you mentioned it but I'm glad you did..." Draco was running off at the mouth again, Hermione thought just before all went black.....
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After hanging for only Merlin knows how long, Harry's arms and chest were aching from the strain as he shifted from side to side trying to find a comfortable position. The sound of approaching footsteps snapped him from his reverie while he looked towards what he believed was the entrance to his prison. Subtle murmurs of shuffling feet gave away the clue that it was his school chum lumbering his way back towards him. Maybe if he could reason with him, Ron might be persuaded to release him or give him useful information. Despite the fact that Ron was one of his oldest and dearest friends, Harry knew all too well that he wasn't a mental giant by any standards.
"Ron, is that you?" He called out wistfully.
"Bloody hell, how'd you know?" the husky voice answered.
"Your shuffling your feet."
"But of course, can't get anything past you."
"Why are you really doing this? And don't tell me it just because of Hermione, I know that there has to be more to this."
"Why, just because you say so?" Ron was growing impatient with the small digs everyone took at him regularly.
"No, this just isn't like you. Why fight against Voldemort only to champion his cause now?" Harry pointed out.
"It's just like Ginny said, we lost so much and for nothing. What has helping muggles really gotten us, huh?" he asked in return.
"What have the muggles have done to you?"
"Broke my heart. She humilated me." Ron shot back heatedly.
"That was one person and it wasn't intended. She just wanted what she'd worked so hard for. Hurting muggles isn't going to make that hurt go away." Harry softened his voice to try to comfort his friend only to be surprised by the response.
"Going three thousand miles away didn't help so it's on to a new plan. My revenge will come soon."
"How will that help anything? Why not just find someone new instead of hurting her?" Harry's mind was racing trying to reach him.
"Hurt her? What made you think that I want to hurt her?" The look on Ron's face only compounded Harry's confusion at the moment.
"Then what revenge are you talking about?"
"She'll be mine, as a reward." Ron replied dripping with lust.
"You may not want her now if you knew the truth." Harry was moving the pieces into place in this dangerous game.
"What truth?" he turned around to see Harry's face.
"About her and Malfoy." Check.
"Malfoy? No, she wouldn't." Ron gasped looking down like at the ground completely lost.
"Why else would he save her?" Mate. As the truth of Harry's words sunk in, the tall and lanky man dropped to his knees and wept.
"No, it can't be....I'll see her dead first." Although the words were hushed, Harry still heard it and was dumbstruck by a single thought....Oops.
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"Mr. Malfoy what brings you here, so soon at least?" Dumbledore greeted him suspiciously.
Draco was looking around but Hermione and Tara were gone so, with a confused expression on his face, he replied, " Well..sir...we came here after being attacked."
"We?" Dumbledore questioned looking around himself.
"Yes, Hermione, Tara and I but they're gone."
"Where did they go?"
"I don't know. Hermione was here just a second ago and Tara should have been right behind us." Draco explained in earnest.
"Well, perhaps, you should start at the beginning and maybe we can figure out where they would have gone." the Headmaster suggested.
"There's not enough time sir, I believe that Arthur and the two youngest Weasley's are behind all of this and I need to make sure that Hermione and Tara are ok because they hold the proof. I have to find them quickly."
"Alright but you'll need help. Why don't you take Severus with you?" Dumbledore knew full well that this wasn't a good idea but this was the only way to get throught to Draco.
"Nope, not a good idea sir."
"Why not, he's always been loyal to the Order?" Think son, think.
"He's a willing participate in all this too. How and why, I do not know but I assure that he is." Draco replied quickly but not really thinking.
"Are you referring to his...dare I ?" the old man was trying his hardest to help him to connect the dots but, true to form, Draco wasn't listening as he should be.
"Did he tell you already?" Draco stammered for moment before remembering the Headmaster's knack for knowing everything that took place within the confines of Hogwarts. Within Hogwarts, he repeated mentally, of course the plan was originally put into action here.
"Do you know something else?" Dumbledore was now the one to smirk knowingly.
"You knew already and that's why you told me of the passage. Did you that Ginny and Ron were involved too?" Draco inquired infuriated.
"I knew of Mr. Weasley's involvement but I don't think you've taken all factors into consideration yet. You're right, you need to find Miss Granger right away because she's in greater danger than you but she also holds the answer that you seek about Professor Snape's love interest."
"What? How could she possibly know that, she wasn't even aware of his....preferences?" Draco scoffed.
"Because she is aware of someone else's though she kept the secret faithfully." he replied coyly and Draco's eye went wide with the revelation. Why didn't she say anything, he wondered, could she still not trust him after all that has happened.
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Hermione began to awaken with a headache like none other before. What the hell happened, she thought as she tried to focus her eyes in the darkness. She couldn't even see her hand in front of her face at this point yet, she didn't feel any panic either. The only concern coming from where Tara might be and who might have her.
"Tara, are you here?" she whispered and felt around on the floor for anything that might indicate where she was or, perhaps, how she might get out.
"Over here." Tara replied briskly.
"What happened? Did you see or hear anything or anyone?" she continued feeling around for her and finally came across what she assumed was her foot.
"I really can't say right now but I suspect that you'll know everything soon enough."
"What do you mean?" Now the panic was setting in with the change of tone in Tara's voice.
"Well, I think that a reunion may be in the works for you." she taunted her while a spark of blue-green turned to yellow and a candle was lit illuminating Tara's contorted features.
"You were behind this all along, weren't you?"
"So to speak but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve for you." Tara promised with a hint of evil that sent shivers up her spine.
"I knew Ron and Ginny wouldn't do this." Hermione felt a sliver of vindication with this confession.
"I wouldn't go that far but, by all means, speculate to your hearts' content. I find it quite amusing."
"Did you ever really feel anything for Harry or was it all just a part of the plan?" Hermione asked but didn't really expect an answer.
"Don't even know the man." she answered.
"But Sapphire said..."
"Tsk, Tsk...amazing how smart Draco and you are but you still can't figure it out. Pity, I was looking forward to the challenge but father did warn me that mudbloods would only disappoint me."
Oh no she didn't, Hermione smiled, yes she did and now she knew what was going on but now she needed to figure out where she is. "I wouldn't be so smug, Parisa."
The girl turned around immediately with a smile on her face....the game was back in business but had she said too much?
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Thoughts were swimming in his head as he left his former Headmaster's office. He had brought them here because he thought it would be the safest place but now he was alone with only bits and pieces of answers which he desperately needed. No longer did he have the brightest witch or the undercover one and, if it wasn't for his never wavering ego, he would give up at the latest development. But he is a Malfoy and refused to be beaten by anyone or anything so, the real question was where to start looking.
Armed with the new information about Snape, Draco deduced that he should start with him and the unnamed lover. Therefore, he took off for his main office and the newly expectant father. His mind kept wandering back to Dumbledore's words about Hermione keeping the secret but he was having a hard time understanding how this all could have happened. A gryffindor and a slytherin? Who would ever believe that?
When he was finally approaching the steps of his office building, Draco began to will his thoughts to the task before him but was once again ripped away from his thoughts as he heard his name being called.
"Malfoy, I can't believe that I found you." called out a woman's voice that he vaguely recognized.
"Sapphire? How did you find me?"
"I didn't think that I would actually find you here but I was hoping that someone could send you a message for me. I need to talk to you and Hermione right now." she panted from the exertion of running to catch him.
"What happened back at the apartment?" he asked suddenly realizing that she may be his only link to Ron and Ginny now.
"That's what I came to tell you about. Where's Hermione and the Tara girl?" she questioned.
"I don't know, that's why I'm here."
"What do you mean you don't know. Didn't you all leave together?" she gasped fearfully.
"Long story. We should go inside and find someplace to talk there." he suggested and grabbed her arm to lead her inside.
"Hermione wasn't with Tara, was she?"
"I don't know, why?" A unmistakeable feeling of dread was creeping through him as everything he'd thought he knew suddenly came into question.
"Because she's not who she says she is...."
"Inside now...." Draco commanded without another word.
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"You can't really mean that, Ron, she is a part of us. It's like cutting off an arm because it doesn't feel the same but it you have to remember that it still feels. We can help you, her and I both only want to help you." Harry replied softly to the shell of the man he'd known since puberty.
"None of it matters anymore, can't you see that or do you have to save everyone?"
"Everything matters and we've always protected the innocent."
"I always thought that I was the one for her but then..." Ron began sounding like the boy Harry had always remembered but stopped short suddenly.
"But what?"
"She always seemed cold and frigid when I touched her but I just assumed that she wasn't ready so..."
"We were young and she was always so busy." Harry injected.
"But I waited and waited and for what? For what?"
"You always knew that she was smart and ambitious. She never did anything to the contrary." Harry added a bit to harshly.
"She made me doubt myself, is that right? Is it?"
"It wasn't her intention, I warned you not to push but..."
"But what, I loved her and I needed to know. And so what if once I did I could take the answer. So what if I changed."
"Changed?"
"Yes, I found someone that could comfort me though I knew it was wrong but I needed it...I needed...no, I won't do it." Ron pulled himself up from the floor and icily stared at Harry. "I've given you enough and I will give you no more."
"Who did you need Ron?" Harry yelled at him knowing that he was holding the answer...the key to all of their downfall.
"Ask her when you see her again. She's the cause of this so I'll let her tell you." he stated and then walked away leaving Harry with more questions, as always.
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"Wrong again Mione but getting warmer...care to venture another stab at it?" the body of Tara replied.
"What happened back at the apartment then. I know Tara was there before Ron arrived so who else could you be?" Hermione asked defiantly.
"The person that you'd least expect as you assume that everyone was who they said they were in the hotel room." she hinted. Games of cat and mouse are so much fun, aren't they?
"But if you weren't Parisa to begin with then....did you call me Mione?" Hermione eyes shot wide.
"Did I? I hadn't noticed." An evil grin widden on the small face.
"But how could you?"
"No, how could you?"
"What did I do?"
"Ron"
"What about him?" careful, she thought, don't push too hard now.
"You know what you did to him. I know you saw and promised to never to tell but why would you do that?"
"Because he's my friend or at least was." she whispered.
"Are you sure that it wasn't a guilty heart?" the girl smirked again.
"NO!!!!!" Hermione fumed.
"Yeah right, you knew it was all your fault...you drove him to it." she accused.
"Stop it Ginny....you know that I..."
"Don't call me that."
"What? Don't like hearing the sound of your own name?" Now it was Hermione that was smirking...she was the smartest witch after all.
Author's notes:
This chapter is up quicker than the rest so I haven't received as many reviews from my loyal followers...well actually any right now but I know you're out there...so if you're reading this and didn't review chapter 10 yet, please go back and review that one and then come back to this one. Thanks.
Thanks to my new readers: MelMalfoy, sugar n spice 522, Red satin and black silk (great name by the way), Felicity2, Brandybuckbeak (love the Took and hippogriff combo) and Obbsessive.
MelMalfoy...Tara's side will be revealed more though you can see that she is not who we thought she was (relatively speaking)...she is actually the one beside Harry in Parisa's body....hope everyone caught that as you will understand more later why that happened. Draco and Hermione had to fight because Hermione's life and friends are all in turmoil right now and she took it out on the closest person she could find.
Sugar n spice 522...thank you so much for the compliments and I have started reading your fics for the contest as well...best wishes to you and please update soon.
Red satin and black silk....if anything doesn't seem to fit for you ask me and I will explain...but everything is starting to come together more now and the people are sorting themselves out...please don't get discouraged.
Felicity2...thank you very much...hope that you continue reading and reviewing.
Brandybuckbeak...thank you soooooo much for the compliment on my writing...I have put alot of work into this and I'm glad that it's appreciated. My friend is doing her best and hopefully we will find out something soon...God willing.
Obbessive...yes, I loved the idea of the Priory and it's all true to history so I only thought it fitting to try out the collation with magic since JK opened the door.
Remember, read and review and a special thanks to Dracolov for the contest.
