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 14: A Lie and a Whisper

While Dumbldore was talking to Madame Maxine about the mysterious piece of paper, Draco walked over to Hermione and intended to pull her off the the so that Harry and Tara could have a moment alone. He didn't know exactly how he knew it but somehow he understood that they needed to talk about the circumstances that surrounded her involvement with the Priory. Contrary to his natural inclinations, Draco didn't want to get involved with this drama since he had enough of his own to work though. Namely, what was his interest in the Gryffindor know-it-all.

"Come and talk to me for sec, I think they need some time alone." Draco suggested while pointing towards Harry and Tara.

"Umm...sure, I guess." she replied knowing that something was up but no fully understanding what that might be.

"I'm sure that you've figured out by now that Sapphire and I were both in the room when everything happened with Ginny and Ron and I was wanting to ask you about some things." he began braisenly.

"Like what?"

"Well for starters, what exactly happened between Ron and you? It seems that that may help to understand a bit more about why this is all happening."

"This is all happening because of the Priory and what happened between Ron and I is not up for discussion." she answered firmly.

"This isn't for personal knowledge, something made him want revenge and I think it's connected to Snape as well."

"What would make you think that?"

"Dumbledore if you must know."

"What...but...why would he believe that they're connected?" she stammered momentarily.

"From Ron's new preferences following your infamous breakup."

"How could you....why would he tell you that?" her anger now growing rapidly.

"Bugger Granger, do I have to spell it out for you?"

"I...I....shouldn't be having this conversation with you of all people." Now she was stalling but she felt obligated to in light of Ron's apparent change of heart.

"Yes me...my entire future hangs in the balance of this as well. We made the agreement to trust one another but, low and behold, it's you that's been keeping secrets. Isn't that right? Bloody hell, that's why you wanted in one the Snape ordeal, you knew all along didn't you?" The old Draco was itching to come out now with that revelations seeping into his mind.

"No...I...it's just that..."

"To hell with this. I trusted you for nothing." he seethed but as he turned to walk away from her, she called out the undeniable truth before her sensibilities got the best of her....

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"Dad? Mum?" Ginny gasped in horror.

"What is going on here? You sound like my daughter but you sure in the hell don't look like her." Molly shot back scathingly.

"She was going to kill me, that's what she was going to do." Ron screamed in horror. "She's been lying to us the entire time just to try and get with..."

"No!" Ginny held up her hand in front of Ron's face to stop the revelation from being said.

"Ronald, Ginerva...stop this bickering and someone explain the meaning of this." Arthur demanded.

"Silencio." Ron directed and then stepped to his parents to begin the explanation. "We need to get to Dumbledore and get this all out in the open before someone gets killed."

"Killed? What has been going on here?" Molly asked in utter confusion.

"Where is her body?" Arthur inquired and that prompted a disbelieving look from his wife, now understanding that she alone was clueless here.

"Arthur?"

"Not now Molly."

"But..."

"Mum, I'll explain everything as soon as we find Dumbledore." Ron whispered to her as he grabbed both parents and began to drag them from the room.

"But what about Ginny?" Molly cried after looking behind her and discovering that her disembodied daughter was gone.

"We'll see her soon enough...or so I fear." Ron shook his head as the weight of everything settled upon his heart.

"For Merlin's sake, will someone please tell me what my family has gotten themselves into?" her pleas falling upon deaf ears.

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"How did this happen?" Harry asked the familiar stranger kneeling before him.

"Long story."

"Try me."

"After our last meeting, I was sent to meet with Jacq's for my next assignment but I got caught up in something...unexpected." Tara spoke softly so that only they could hear.

"Unexpected?"

"Yes, I found Hermione being threatened by Marcus Flint and I saved her but I had no idea about Ginny's connection to the Priory or her relationship with Flint so, I was completely caught off guard by the blow to my cover. I don't know when Ginny and Parisa changed bodies but after trying to tell Malfoy and Hermione what I'd found out, Ron switched the me and who I thought was Parisa before Malfoy could apparate us to safety." Harry gave her a quizical look and she realized that this was far to much information at one time for him to process.

"So let me get this straight....Ginny and Parisa switched places at some point, you saved Hermione from Flint and that blew your cover to Ginny which caused the Priory to try to hunt you down. You then went on the run, found Malfoy to tell him what was going on and after Ron found you all together, he switched you and Parisa who was actually Ginny?" Harry ticked off each aspect one by one on his fingers.

"Yeah pretty much."

"So, Ginny's in your body, you're in this Parisa's girl's body and Parisa's in Ginny's?" Harry deduced.

"So far as we know." Tara replied.

"Alright but something's missing."

"No..."

"No?" Harry gasped.

"Alot's missing." she clarified.

"That's an understatement." Harry's mind was reeling like never before. "Well at least we know who everyone is."

"Do we?" Tara exclaimed. "Someone set this all up. Ginny's only a minion...not the mastermind."

"The Priory's behind all this."

"I don't think so, I mean not entirely. Have you ever heard of a red herring?" Tara proposed.

"Red Herring?"

"A convenient front. I think that someone is hiding behind the Priory's influence because the they don't really gain anything from this. Well, at least nothing that would be worth this much attention. They've always thrived by their secrecy...this has become far too...public." Tara explained.

"So who then?" Harry questioned.

"That's what we need Hermione and Malfoy to find out. I think they may hold the key to this puzzle since they we're the what derailed the entire plan. Somewhere along the way, they stumbled on the truth though I don't think they've realized it yet."

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After Ron so rudely silenced her with his spell, Ginny tried in vain to apparate away but couldn't without the use of her voice so she sneaked off into the dark cover of the room until she could leave undetected. She would have to find someone to release her from the binds of the spell and leave her to resolve the turmoil that has ensued. Damn meddling mudblood, she thought sourly, I should have just killed her when I had the chance. But no, she truly believed that if she could just show Harry and Ron how low Hermione had stooped, then she could have everything her heart desired without changing bodies. She watched feverishly while Ron dragged their parents away to their ultimate doom. I won't them or anyone else stand in my way, she vowed.

She made her out of the temple and down the road until she reached a local hotel. Hastily she wrote a note to the clerk to call a designated number and ask the woman to meet her there by stating that it was an emergency. Then she proceeded upstairs to her newly acquired room to wait. Hours seemed to pass as her patience was reaching its brink until at the long awaited knock rapped at her door. She flung the door open and gazed upon her own reflection and a very unhappy Parisa.

"What the bloody hell is going on?"

Ginny wrote her a note asking her to remove the silencing spell and then before the girl for freedom.

"Innervate....now what is going on?"

"The entire plan is a wash...time to resort to plan B." Ginny exhaled.

"How did it get this far? It's too late for Plan B, too many people to get rid of." Parisa scolded.

"Then we might as well go to the heads and tell them what we've done."

"That would be suicide."

"They we have to get rid of the witnesses." Ginny balked.

"That would getting rid of Dumbledore, the Golden Trio and all the countless others that they have told. The trail would lead back to us anyway."

"Not we have a scapegoat."

"Like who? Flint maybe." Parisa was pacing now trying to calculate their next move.

"No one would by that. We need someone that everyone wouldn't even question why about."

"You can't be serious. He's the only reason I even began this, I can't let them have him." Parisa refused.

"It's us or him, what's it going to be?" Ginny replied quickly.

"Anyone but him....I need him to complete the prophecy."

"No, you need a man. Any man will do and you know it." Ginny corrected.

"True but I want him....I want Draco and no one else." she reinterrated defiantly.

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Ron apparated his parents and him back to the Ministry offices to break the news of Ginny's deception and the chaos that has followed hoping that they would be able to find Dumbledore and get him there fast. If they didn't act soon, he knew that the killings would start until one by one the threat was terminated but where to start.

"Why take us back here?" Molly asked her son.

"Because we're going to need all the help we can get. She's dangerous and desperate, not a good combination."

"Look, we can't find Harry or Hermione, Draco's off the radar, Tara's missing from the WIB and my secretary's disappeared too. What is going on?" Arthur insisted.

"Harry and Hermione are together along with Tara. Sapphire was dragged into this by Hermione but could be anywhere by now. I don't know about Draco but I'm sure that Hermione's looking for him and Sapphire, then she'll go to Dumbledore with everything that they have and that's why we need to get to him first." Ron was trying to stay calm but, seeing as this was not his strong suit, his resolve was hanging by a thread.

"That's a problem then." Molly interjected and both men turned to face her.

"What do you mean?" Ron gasped.

"Dumbledore left the school a few hours ago without a word to anyone and no one can seem to find him, that's why I came to get you Arthur. Once I heard about the disappearences of Harry and Hermione, I demanded we find you." she explained to Ron.

"Where would he go?" Ron began to wring his hand feebly while his calm exterior cracked a little more.

"What the hell is going on? Why would Ginny want to kill you, Ron?" Molly pressed further trying to understand.

"Later, Molly. I'm going to send word to everyone that we are needing to get in touch with Albus as soon as possible. I'll list it as a possible kidnapping and see where it leads us." Despite his mile long list of questions, Arthur could tell that he was going to have to take control as his son was close to a breakdown. One step at a time, he reassured himself, one step at a time.

Author's Notes:

I hope that this chapter has cleared up some of the confusion. Please keep this in mind...Tara is in Parisa's body...Parisa's in Ginny's...and Ginny's in Tara's....more will come out in the next chapter about why this took place and what the original plan of Ginny and Parisa's was. The role of the Priory will become more clear as well. If anyone has questions still...please ask and I will answer them to help you.

Thanks to our new readers: Katherine and wounded-angel. Big thanks to returning readers: sugar n spice522, slyswn28, Mr.Big Bad, Kim and darktwistedpoet.

katherine...Dan Brown is a genius and has inspired me to learn more about the Mary Magadlene connection to the holy grail.

wounded angel...thank you so much for the compliments as it is a wonderful reward for all my efforts...I love my OC people b/c I think they provide new angles to the story...JK is awesome but I needed a new group of female characters since she doesn't focus as much on them as the males.

sugar n spice522...I hope this clears things up a bit but if doesn't just let me know and thanks for the heads up on the other awards link...let's see if this can win anything...how exciting. Also, I am on pins and needles waiting to see if you get your chappie's in in time...even if you don't for the contest...keep writing for our amusement b/c I like the ideas.

slyswn28...thank you so much...you're are an awesome reader and faithful to the end.

Mr. Big Bad...hope you continue to enjoy...I have went to shorter chapter to update twice a week instead of just once a week.

Kim....you know it...Ron's a very important character as it relates to Ginny and someone else....just wait til you see who that is....

darktwistedpoet....thanks for reviewing the individual chappies...I appreciate that and I hope you continue to enjoy the mystery that unfolds.

Special thanks as always to Dracolov for sponsoring the contest and remember to review, review, review.