CHAPTER 10

'What's the matter?' Hermione asked. The solemnity in his eyes scared her a little.

'Do you remember what Lord Voldemort said, before we left?'

'About the traitor? Of course. He was getting worried because there was a traitor, and his loyal Death Eaters were dying one by one.'

Draco nodded.

'And about the attack?'

Hermione thought for a moment. 'He just said that it was incomprehensible.'

Draco stirred. 'Do you know why?'

She shrugged.

'Because the location of the Black Castle is secret. Nobody knows about it. Nobody, that is, except Death Eaters.'

Hermione frowned. 'So you're saying the work of this traitor, again?'

Draco said nothing.

There was silence for a few minutes. Then Hermione asked, 'Do you know about him?'

Draco nodded.

'He is a Death Eater, who joined the light side. Initially he was eager to please the Dark Lord. But when he joined the ranks, he found out about the true practices they carried out. Rape rituals, murders, sacrifices, killings… he admired the Dark Lord's mind as you do, but despised his morals. He knew that he was trusted and that the Dark Lord found him useful for many missions.

One night, he visited Hogsmeade, sure to find an order member there. Finally, he found one- Nymphadora Tonks, who was in the Three Broomsticks. He went to her, showed her his face, and told her he despised the Dark side, and wanted to join the light. She took him to the rest of the members of the order. Initially, they did not trust him, but later on, they began to. They decided that it would be best to let him remain as the Dark Lord's servant, but to service them instead. The birth of a traitor, of course. Everyone in the order was notified of who he was, so that they may not kill him during an attack.'

Hermione stared.

'You know so much,' she whispered. 'How?'

Draco looked at the floor.

'The traitor…' he began, 'It was me.'

XXXXXXXXXXX

The silence in the room was absolute and complete. Hermione stared at him.

'You?'

'Yes.'

'But-.' Hermione kept ogling him. 'You betrayed the Dark Lord for the light side? But you hate Dumbledore!'

'My ideals changed a lot after seeing what being a Death Eater was really like,' Draco said, soberly.

Hermione let out a small gasp. 'I never would have imagined…'

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes. A whole new world of possibilities had opened up for Hermione. Then suddenly, something struck her.

'Draco, you made a mistake.'

He looked up. 'what?'

'You said all the order members were notified. One wasn't…me.'

Draco chuckled. 'Hermione, do you take me for a fool? I knew that you were a Death Eater. I told them so.'

Hermione's eyes widened with horror. 'They knew?"

Draco nodded. 'Yes, they did. All except Potter, and the Weasley children. That's why Ron Weasley was in your room today. He suspected something was wrong with you. He wasn't sure what it was.'

'B-but,' Hermione stammered. 'They would have just killed me!'

Draco shook his head. 'Dumbledore knew just how you felt. He knew that it was the power rush that had made you join Voldemort. And he knew that you would tire and come back to the Light Side soon enough. So everyone was warned, but you weren't- disposed of.'

'But I killed Ron!' Hermione cried, panic overwhelming her. 'They'll know it was me! They should have been careful….isolated me.'

Draco chuckled again. 'Hermione, they came up with a much better solution. All of them were protected. Spells, enchantments, everything.'

'Bu t I managed to kill Ron!'

'No you didn't. He was protected. You just knocked him out. And when you vanished his body, it just turned invisible for some time. It reappeared soon after, and he was told the truth and hidden away from you.'

'So- so all the crying and the upset was faked? Mrs. Weasley was so upset that Ron wasn't there.'

'Wrong again. He was up in the attic the whole while and she knew it. It was a show, put on for your sake. Only the children's grief was real.'

Hermione felt like she had been punched in the gut.

'I laughed at them,' she whispered, 'Because they were weak, and stupid. Because they had silly ideals, and played right into my hands. Because they never found me out. I thought I had them wrapped around my little finger. But all the while it was them who were playing me.'

Draco sighed. 'Hermione, never mind that now. We need to figure out what to do.'

At that minute, somebody knocked the door. Hermione froze.

'Hermione…' a voice hissed. 'I am not used to waiting. If you do not open the door, I'm going to curse it open. You have five seconds.'

Hermione stared at Draco, and he stared back. The Dark Lord was outside.