Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I am merely borrowing them.
A/N: Half-Blood Prince… amazing! Totally excellent, I thought, and well worth the wait. Unfortunately due to an interview with Rowling posted on Mugglenet this story no longer fits into canon, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway.
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MUGGLE
Chapter Ten: The Betrayer Revealed
The treacherous are ever distrustful.
J. R. R. Tolkien
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The sisters talked for a long time—well, Lily talked, and Petunia listened. Though she already knew a good deal of what Lily was telling her, she could not say anything due to Dumbledore's spell. What she hadn't known was just how close the students of Hogwarts had been to the action. Several of Lily's friends had left, taken from school by their parents, and others had been killed during summer holiday, Christmas, and Easter break. Many had lost a friend or relative; Lily was by no means the first to lose a parent.
She was, however, the first to be completely orphaned. Petunia felt a hot wave of fury and then grief rise over her as Lily spoke, Voldemort's face clear in her mind. He needed to die—deserved to die—and she wished that she could be the one to kill him. As soon as the thought rose, Petunia knew how foolish it was; after all, she was no powerful wand-wielding wizard with a ready supply of curses and jinxes at his disposal.
When Dumbledore returned for her it was almost a relief. Her anger was fierce and fiery, twisting her insides with a fury that frightened her a little bit. It felt like she had been angry forever, instead of just for a few minutes, and she did not speak as the old wizard led her back to the guest room, afraid she would say something she would later regret. He did not speak until they reached the room; as Petunia made to close the door Dumbledore caught it and held it open.
"I believe the Ministry of Magic has made you an offer, Miss Evans," he said, gazing down with ice-blue eyes. "Will you accept it?"
Petunia swallowed, all her anger suddenly replaced by cold fear. She did not know what to do at all… but there was Lily to think of, and so she said, "Yes, I believe I will." She intended to say more, but the spell stopped any more specifics coming out of her mouth.
For a moment she saw a strange expression in Dumbledore's eyes, almost like sadness, and then it was gone. "I will send Professor Augur to see you as soon as he is available, then," he said, and pulled the door shut.
Petunia stared at the wood of the door for a long moment, completely unnerved by the old wizard. Obviously he thought she had made the wrong decision, but why? She did not understand him—she did not want to understand him any longer, she just wanted things back to normal.
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Only a short time later a knock sounded at her door. Surprised that the Professor had come so quickly, Petunia leapt up from the bed to answer it.
"Professor Augur?" she said eagerly, pulling the door open.
But the salt-and-pepper-haired wizard was not there; instead, the hulking shadow of the Scryer stood before her door. "Petunia," he said gravely. "There you are."
"Have you come to take me to see the Professor?" she asked, wondering at his presence.
The Scryer's shoulders jerked a tiny bit, almost as if he were startled. But he nodded slowly and finally said, "Yes, I have. Come with me."
"Where are we going, John?" Petunia asked, sliding out into the corridor behind him and trotting to keep up with his long strides.
He took a long time answering again, seeming very distant. "We are going to the Divination Tower here at Hogwarts. Augur will be there. His office is rather remote."
His tone was clipped, strident; Petunia shivered slightly and did not speak again. They descended a grand staircase and went past a wide-open set of doors, where Petunia saw hundreds of children sitting at four long tables, each dressed in a set of black robes like her own. They were talking animatedly, taking great bites of dinner in between laughs. Petunia spied her sister, sitting at the very end of the table farthest from the door, playing with her food and not speaking. She waved, but Lily did not see, and then they were past the doors and heading up another set of stairs.
A few students came clattering down the stair, late for supper. They rushed past Petunia and the Scryer without pausing to look, as if they hadn't even noticed their presence. Petunia had grown used to the Scryer's black cloak and hooded face but she doubted the students of Hogwarts saw much of him—he looked rather like a dementor at the moment. Augur had shown her a picture once to illustrate some level of meaning to a vision that she had not understood at the time, and the description matched John well.
The students would not ignore such a thing—a tiny suspicion began to grow in the back of Petunia's mind. Could they even see them? A fat little man with a walrus mustache—a teacher, most likely—swept by without noticing them, and Petunia's insides went cold. She stopped as they reached the top of the stairs. The Scryer spoke a few words and a trapdoor descended from the ceiling above.
"Augur's office is up here," he said quietly.
Petunia stayed where she was. "How did you know I was here?" she said quietly. "Dumbledore said no one would know."
The Scryer froze with one foot on the bottom step and turned around. "He told us, my dear. He told us the Dark Lord had threatened you in the crystal ball, that you had escaped from your school and come to him."
"Really…" said Petunia. "He told you that, did he?"
"Yes," said the Scryer, sounding impatient. "Do you want to talk to the Professor or not?"
Petunia turned tail and ran, but before she got very far at all she felt a sharp pain on her back and crashed to the floor, completely paralyzed. John was the traitor, how else would he know…? He had made a slip, had told her something that the Headmaster did not know, that no one except the Death Eaters would have known…
She had never told Dumbledore that Voldemort had been able to talk to her through the crystal ball.
She saw the walls whirl and realized she was being lifted into the air; the stairs whizzed by below her and Petunia hoped desperately that she would not be sick, as she could not open her mouth.
The spell loosened as the trapdoor banged shut behind them. Petunia lay for a moment on the floor as tingles radiated through her awakening arms and legs, trying not to cry and failing. "You betrayed me," she said. "You told—!" And here Dumbledore's infernal spell came back into play, and she could not speak Voldemort's name for coughing.
The Scryer did not seem to notice. "I did," he said. "It's a pity you've realized it. But it doesn't matter any longer."
"Why?" Petunia raged, lifting herself up on her elbows and glaring at him. "What did I ever do to you?"
He whirled around and planted a foot firmly on her chest, holding her down so that the breath was forced from her lungs. "You pitiful little Muggle," he hissed. "You would give up your one chance at something greater! You would go back to your quiet life in complete obscurity, just so you didn't have to feel as though you were alone.
"I had hoped with this impetus you would take the Ministry job, keep on working… keep on Seeing… keep you close to me until I discovered what I needed to know…"
His foot pressed harder. Petunia whimpered. "Do you know why Madame Devin and Bernard have been losing their ability to See? Because the Dark Lord uses Legilimency to cloud their vision. He would have done the same with you, too, except I have kept him from you. It is a curious side effect of this"—here he swept his hand up and down his shadowy form—"that I should be able to block some visions when I so choose, whether they are mine or someone else's. And so I stopped you when I knew you would be in danger, when the Dark Lord might see you. Did you not wonder why you were progressing so slowly when that first vision came so easily? I felt your power at once; I came to find you; I led you home that rainy night!"
His blue eyes sparked dangerously. "It grows more difficult the longer I do it, though, and at last I have run out of time. I had hoped the Ministry would protect you, so I leaked information to the Dark Lord.
"But I needn't have bothered," he went on, with a dry laugh. "I needn't have bothered at all. Do you remember what I told you about my one true Prophecy, Petunia?"
Petunia shivered, tears running down her cheeks. The pressure on her chest eased a tiny bit, and she nodded. "I can't say, though—Dumbledore—spell," she managed.
The smoke within him roiled. "The meddling old fool. I told you it was a matter for me and me alone, didn't I?" Again his foot came down harder; Petunia felt a crack and cried out in pain. "I Saw myself breaching the veil at last! What I lacked the strength for the first time, I can do now, with your… help… The Dark Lord told me what to do, how to complete it! He knows everything! It will be the end of my mortal life—but I will begin anew—I will See all!"
His voice went up and up in pitch as he spoke—Petunia whimpered and sobbed, her mind racing, trying to get out of this somehow and seeing absolutely no way.
"I thank you for your powers, my dear," said the Scryer, and pointed his wand at her. "Imperio!"
And suddenly Petunia's mind was awash with white fog; as if watching herself from somewhere far away she saw a crystal ball float into view…
What can you See? whispered the voice in her mind.
Petunia could not tear her eyes away—green light blinded her, and again she Saw the vision of Voldemort standing over her sister's dead body. Somewhere far away she heard the Scryer laugh, and then the vision vanished like a candle blown out in a sudden breath of wind. The white fog flew after it and she snapped back into her body with a gasp. John had lit up like a Christmas tree, his eyes sparking blue fire into the darkness of the room. Petunia could not see the walls, could not even move, could not make a sound—!
And as she had seen in her vision last summer, the Scryer's smoky form roiled and writhed like storm clouds; a brilliant blue light blazed forth from him, cracking him into pieces before her eyes. Petunia screamed silently as she realized that light was streaming from her body as well—
--and then, a sharp bang, a shout, and the Scryer's eyes widened. "You fool, no!" he cried, and then as quick as lightning, vanished into thin air, taking with him the darkness and the blue light.
Petunia felt her limbs loosen; she lay shuddering and gasping until Professor Augur's face drifted into view above her. "Good heavens, child, what happened?" he asked, looking shocked. Behind him Petunia could see Dumbledore searching the room, his old nose wrinkled in disgust.
She could not speak; Dumbledore said for her, "I believe John attempted to finish the spell he began so many long years ago." Petunia nodded and wiped her nose on her sleeve. She thought she might be sick, and retched forward as Augur leapt out of the way just in time.
"I cannot believe it," said Augur shakily. "How did he find her?"
"He must have scryed for her, and I did not expect anyone to come here looking for her," said Dumbledore solemnly. "And of course I did not expect it from John… Am I correct in supposing, Petunia, that he is—was—our traitor?"
She nodded and buried her head in her arms. Above her, softly, Dumbledore said, "I will want you to tell me everything, Petunia. I will release the spell on you."
Petunia looked up, a wild anger rushing through her veins. "Sonorus obscurum," added Dumbledore quietly. "What did he say to you, Miss Evans?"
"Voldemort told him what to do," said Petunia sharply, finally finding her voice. "He was going to do the same in any case, he just wanted me where he could keep an eye on me until he figured it out. That's all I know."
"Are you certain?" said Dumbledore.
Petunia laughed, leaping to her feet and backing away. "What else do you want, you old fool? You wizards, you're all alike! Voldemort kills people but you are just as bad! You manipulate me, you censor me—you took my sister from me! My parents would be alive if not for you!"
Dumbledore gazed at her with icy eyes; Augur looked shocked. "Petunia," said Augur hesitantly, "you don't mean that, of course!"
Petunia was beyond rage; she stormed to the door, feeling her gorge rise as she passed a charred spot on the floor that was all that remained of the Scryer. "I mean every word," she said. "As soon as you let me leave this hideous place I am done with the wizarding world. Freaks, all of you. The world would be better off without you!"
"Obscurum quietus," said Dumbledore softly, pointing his wand directly at her. Petunia shuddered and said viciously, "Exactly. Don't worry, I don't want to tell anyone about you."
And she slammed the door, leaving the two wizards stony-faced and resolute, kneeling on the floor amidst the charred remains of the dead traitor.
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Two more chapters to go, I think. I will attempt to have them up soon, at least before the year-mark of the first chapter!