Chapter Eighteen
It wasn't as though Lupin was avoiding where Harry and Ron lived. He just thought it would be better for everyone if he didn't show up there more than was necessary. If he was honest with himself, he couldn't bear to have Harry look at him the way most of wizarding society did – though for a completely different reason. Without a doubt he knew Severus was the one to tell Harry about what had happened between himself and Lily. Dumbledore was the only other person who knew, and he would carry that secret to his grave. He was angry with Severus, but even more so at himself. He had never wanted Harry to find out, let alone from the person who went out of his way to make his life miserable.
Now, as he stepped out of the fireplace at Harry's, Lupin put aside any of his current misgivings because he had something much more important to deal with. Ron and Hermione had not shown at St. Mungo's and no one seemed to know where they were. While Tonks had left to assemble what members of the Order she could to start a search, he had gone to see Harry.
At the sound of someone appearing in the fireplace, Harry had come to investigate, carefully masking his surprise when he saw who it was.
"Is Ron here?" Lupin asked.
"No."
He looked dreadful to Lupin, almost as bad as Ginny had that morning. He wondered if the two were connected.
"Do you know where he is?"
"I'm not his keeper," Harry snapped.
"Harry, this is important. I need to find him and Hermione."
He could hear the anxiety in the older man's voice. "Why? What happened?"
"They were supposed to report to St. Mungo's this morning to take off those charms. No one's seen them since last night."
"Did you ask Ginny?"
Lupin shook his head. "She has her O.W.L. exams at the Ministry this morning. I didn't want to worry her."
"But you're worried?" Harry said, his own trepidation creeping in.
"Those charms are affecting them both mentally and physically. I don't think either one of them is thinking too clearly right now, especially after Moody banned them from all Order activities until they got them removed."
It now hit Harry why they both had been so angry last night. He prayed being temporarily removed from the Order wasn't enough for them to go and do something stupid.
"I'm meeting Tonks in town in twenty minutes. Hopefully she'll have some leads. Molly, doesn't know yet either, Harry," Lupin told him.
"What do you need me to do?" Harry asked, fully intending to be a part of the search.
Ginny was sure she had failed her exams. In fact, she was positive she had done so poorly that Fred and George combined would have more O.W.L.s than her. Remus was going to be so disappointed. He was spending all this time teaching her and she couldn't retain a single piece of knowledge. It wasn't that she hadn't studied hard for them, she had just been completely distracted while she was writing them. She had wanted to scream out loud. She hated how Harry was able to affect her like this. If she had known when she was ten and saw Harry Potter on the train platform for the first time, that he would end up being the best and worst part of her life, she probably would have begged her mother to let her start Hogwarts that second. The hard truth was Harry was in her system and she didn't know if she would ever be rid of him. But she would never know if she didn't try. She could be just as cold and callous as he had been to her.
She had made this vow before but she planned on sticking to it this time – she was over the drama that was Harry Potter.
If only she had been over it before she had sat her exams she would have felt a lot better – and probably done a lot better too.
Now that they were out of the way, she was free to wonder what had been going on with Remus before she had left the house. She didn't have to be at the Ministry before ten, and when she had woken up and gone downstairs Remus looked like he had been up for hours. He had his cloak on as if he had just returned from somewhere or was on his way out. He had assured her everything was fine, even when it quite evident he was rattled about something. It was made even clearer when he said he would not come by to get her after her exams. He told her she was to go to her father and he would arrange a way for her to get home.
Ginny loved Remus, but she was sixteen and was not going to go running to her father because she couldn't handle taking the Knight Bus on her own.
Despite the cool October air, it felt good to be outside. She could go outside at Remus's all she wanted, but there was something to be said about being out in the open, knowing no one was watching her.
"Going for a stroll, Weasley? I'd be a bit more careful if I were you."
Hearing that arrogant drawl made her blood run cold. She pulled out her wand and spun around, but Malfoy already had his in his hand.
"Believe me, Weasley, you can't take me. You'd be dead before you hit the ground. You're dealing with an Auror after all."
"You mean traitor," she spat.
"I can see why your little brain would come to that conclusion," he said with a smirk.
"After what you did to my brother, I should kill you myself," she said, both startled and frightened by her bold words.
Malfoy stalked towards her. "Those are big words for a little girl, but they're misdirected. I'm not the one who tried to have your brother thrown into Azkaban."
"You tried to kill him! So are you coming after me now? Is this your way of getting back at him?"
"I always knew you Weasley's weren't that bright, but I didn't think even your lot could be this stupid. Believe me, if I wanted that Weasel dead he would be. They fucked up everything."
Ginny was growing more and more confused. Even if she did believe him, why would he be telling her this?
"Speaking of the Weasel, I heard he and Granger are missing," he said casually.
Ginny's eyes widened and fixed on his cool grey ones.
"So you didn't hear? No wonder you're so calm," he noted.
"You're lying," she said instantly.
"No, not about this or anything else I've said to you. My connections far exceed your own, so if you're looking to get them back I'm all you've got."
It was all falling into place now, why Lupin had been acting distracted. Her brother and Hermione really were missing. "Where are they?" She demanded.
"Sorry, but I need someone a little higher up. Someone who's voice actually carries some weight since I want something in return. I'll only tell, Potter."
For all his training as an Auror, Harry felt utterly and completely useless. He had searched everywhere for his friends and there was not so much as a sign of them.
The less than comforting thought that he carried with him was if they had refused to take off the necklaces, they were just as addicted to them as he had predicted.
Moody had taken a squad of Aurors to investigate the Death Eater camp that had been set up under the shadows of Azkaban. If there was one place they would go it would be there, even more so now that Moody had put a temporary ban on their Order status.
Moody had rejected Harry's appeal to go with them. Moody had told him they needed someone with a clear head. Harry had yelled and protested and in the end still got left behind.
Now he was alone in the pub, thinking about the last time he had spoken with Ron. There may not be a prophecy written about us, but we're not your sidekicks either. After all their years as friends, did they both think he regarded them as nothing more than that? Was he that horrible a friend? He most certainly wasn't the greatest friend. He had put their lives in danger more times then he could count. And when he wasn't plunging them head first into danger, he was pushing them away from himself. Ron had volunteered to wear the charm because he wanted to prove that he was stronger – that he was powerful. Harry wondered when their friendship had gotten to this point – that Ron felt inferior and would do anything to prove that he was the more powerful wizard.
Then there was Hermione. He couldn't help but feel these last few months she was changing into this completely different person. She was knee deep into magic all the time. He knew that was her job, but she seemed to be finding excuses to use it for everything. If he was honest with himself, his worry for her had started back when they had performed the sacrificial spell on Ron. It seemed that like she thought if she could handle powerful, ancient magic like that, she could handle anything.
"Is this the pity table or can anyone sit here?" A feminine voice asked.
Harry's head shot up, thinking the voice belonged to Ginny, remembering she had said almost the exact same phrase to him at the Ministry ball. But that was just wishful thinking. After the other night, he doubted she would want anything to do with him. It was better this way – better that she hate him now so she could move on and find someone who could commit to her the way she deserved. He couldn't be that person for her, he wasn't even sure he knew how.
"Can I join you?" The same feminine voice asked.
Harry indicated to the empty seat across from him.
Harry had had seen the brunette in there a few times and even talked to her on several occasions when Ron had been with him. He tried to avoid one-on-one interactions with the opposite sex, because most of them only seemed to be interested in one thing. She wasn't pathetic as many of them tended to be, but her intentions were easy to read.
"Where's your friend?" She asked interestedly.
He shrugged. "Don't know," he answered calmly.
"It's just that you don't normally come in here alone."
"Is there a reason you're here?" He asked bluntly. He wasn't in the mood for games. Frankly, he wasn't in the mood for much of anything.
She didn't look insulted, in fact she actually smiled.
"I have somewhere I need to be," he said and stood up.
"Right this minute?" She said suggestively.
Any thoughts Harry had of being elsewhere vanished at that moment.
When Harry walked out of the men's loo twenty minutes later, Julie was right in front of him adjusting her hair and skirt. He was proud of the fact he had at least managed to get her first name.
Harry was trying in vain to flatten his wild hair, when she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before walking away with a grin plastered on her face. Before his own grin could spread, his mind was attacked with raw and emotional pain. He grabbed his stomach, feeling so sick he thought he would throw up. He searched the pub around him, looking for the source when his gaze landed on Ginny. Her face was an impassive mask but he could feel the hurt and anguish recoiling off her as clearly as if it were his own.
"I've found a way to find Ron and Hermione," she told him, her voice devoid of emotion. Then she walked away.
He assumed she meant for him to follow, otherwise she wouldn't have shown up there. He didn't say a word to her as they exited the noisy pub, but when they were outside he couldn't remain quiet any longer. "What did you find out?" If Lupin hadn't told her Ron and Hermione were missing how had she did she even know what was going on?
"Not much really. I told her I would only talk to you."
Harry's wand was drawn the moment he heard the voice speak. His lips curled into a snarl as he took in the sight of Draco Malfoy leaning casually against the pub wall, wand nowhere in sight.
"You son of a bitch," Harry spat and charged towards him. He let the tip of his wand rest against Malfoy's chest.
"Harry, stop!" Ginny cried.
"Ginny, get out of here!" He shouted at her.
"If you want to help your friends you'd best calm that temper of yours," Malfoy said to him.
"Like I'm going to believe a single word – "
"Harry, hear him out," said Ginny.
"Maybe he's not interested in rescuing his friends. But I always thought Potter liked playing the hero," Malfoy sneered.
Harry held his temper in check – just barely. He lowered his wand and looked expectantly at the Slytherin to continue.
"You really do like playing the hero."
"Just tell us what you know," Harry growled.
"Granger and Weasley will be going to check out that Death Eater camp on the mainland near Azkaban."
"This is a waste of time," Harry snapped, his temper short. "We already figured that out. There's people going there now to get them."
"What you don't know, is it's just a front," Malfoy continued, undeterred. "There's nothing there. They're using those charms Granger and Weasley are wearing as a way of luring them there. They knew it would be next to impossible to get their hands on you, Potter, so they went for the next best thing."
"Why are you telling us this, especially after what you did to Ron?" Harry found it extremely unlikely that Malfoy would ever be this co-operative.
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Like little Weasley over there, you've got it all wrong. I never had anything to do with that."
"What the hell are you playing at? Ron saw you – "
"Christ, Potter, did you sleep through Snape's lessons on Polyjuice potion?" Malfoy was growing impatient with their narrow mindedness.
Harry knew a great deal about the Polyjuice potion, probably more than Malfoy did, but he would never reveal that to the Slytherin. "Someone was impersonating you? Why?"
"Uh-uh, I want something in return before I tell you anything else. I want full immunity."
Harry almost laughed at the ludicrous request. "You're out of your fucking mind. I'm not going to give you that – not even if I could."
"Hey, I risked my life coming to you. If any Death Eater's see me I'm as good as dead because I wouldn't play by their rules."
"What rules?"
"I want your word that you and that band of misfits of yours will protect me."
Harry waved a dismissive hand. "Fine. What else do you know?" He didn't care if he didn't have the authority to grant Malfoy's request, finding his friends was his top priority.
"Since you escaped from Death Eater custody, they decided to go about things a different way. If they couldn't get at you directly, they would destroy you and your friends in the next best way. The return of the Dementors at Azkaban was designed for you, Potter. It's common knowledge how badly you're affected by them. We knew if they returned once, the Aurors would keep people posted there. It was designed to keep you distracted. It worked for a while, until it got so bad they pulled you off Azkabban duty. While that was going on, there was already one of You-Know-Who's followers deep inside the Ministry. He made it into the Ministry through the planned murder of four Ministry officials last February. It was all over the Daily Prophet."
Harry remembered it vaguely, but how could a follower of Voldemort have penetrated the ministry so easily?
"How do you think Granger ended up with a job like that? No one at the Ministry would hire someone at her age with no experience. The operative overheard Weasley talking with his father that he wanted to get Granger a job there so she wouldn't join the Auror program. Later on, he approached Weasley's father and the interview was set up. See, Granger is too bloody smart for her own good and he used that. All this time she thinks she's been helping the Ministry, he's been leaking information back to his superiors about new magics and the like."
Harry felt his bloodrun cold as he realized who the traitor inside the Ministry was. "Jack Anderson is a Death Eater?"
Malfoy nodded. "He knew of our differences and was going to use that to send Weasley away to Azkaban. He gave another Death Eater the Polyjuice potion to look like me, but it looks like Weasley was a lot smarter than he gave him credit for. When they couldn't kill Weasley they tried to pin him for murder. They weren't counting on me dropping the charges, and I made sure Moore disappeared permanently. Look, I don't give a shit about Weasley but I don't want my life controlled by You-Know-Who or his followers. Now that my father's dead, I have no reason to continue with them.
There was still one more thing nagging at Harry. "Why did you join the Auror program?"
Malfoy sighed. "The Dark Lord wanted someone to keep an eye on you while you were at the Ministry. My mother still has a lot of power so she was able to persuade certain officials to let me into the program," Malfoy explained. "Look, I've cooperated, so you give me what I asked for."
"If we find Ron and Hermione in time, I'll consider it," Harry said, turning away. He walked out of the alley, taking Ginny with him.
Malfoy didn't follow, but that didn't make Harry feel any more at ease. He found it difficult if not impossible to believe that Mafloy suddenly had a complete change of heart. He was going to find out what he was really after.
Ginny couldn't apparate so they had to catch a port key back to Lupin's. Neither one of them talked the entire way there. They had barely made it onto the front step before the screen door swung open and Tonks appeared.
"They found Ron," she told them.
"What abut Hermione?" Ginny asked.
Tonks sadly shook her head.
That was when Harry stepped forward and told the Auror everything Malfoy had said.