Love and Manipulation

by Azrabell

Sixth Year. Voldemort has, of all people, a mudblood in his service. Her unlikely ally is the son of Voldemorts trusted right hand man. A shadow is moving through the halls of the school. The students will discover the truth, but who then will they trust?

1. Chapter 1

Love and Manipulation

Chapter1 The Way of Things

A/N:
My chapter one? I suppose. This started from a pragraph that I will feature in chapter 2. Set in sixth year. Dumbledore is alive, currently. AndDraco and Hermione are Head Boy and Girl.
Rated M for Mature. I think you'll enjoy it. Please R&R. I love questions!

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, nor is this her story, Harry potter. This is my own invention which I dearly love. I have barely enough money for college as it is, so please don't sue.

One week. One week since the sorting commenced, one week since she had been named Head Girl. One week. One week later Hermione found herself partolling the halls alone. The Head Boy's whereabouts remained unknown. Still, Hermione felt glad for the solitary watch in the dark Hogwarts corridors. She didn't have to pretend anymore, and could safely drown in her thoughts about the war, her, family, her friends, her future. Hermione laughed to herself, but rather quietely, as not to disturb the slumbering portraits that lined the walls. She found it ironic that although she rather disliked the Head Boy, she would rather share a common room with him than her best friends. Around him she didn't need to pretend to be perfect or happy. And the solitude was somethng she craved, but could never have in the Griffindor common room. A small frown appeared on her face. She was looking for students, any students, that were out of bed. And yet, there didn't seem to be any at all. Her frown eased into a look of thoughtful sadness.

The war.

This was her sixth year at Hogwarts and the drafty stone castle felt like home. The first and second year students were probably terrified of the shadows, wishing to go back home even though they were safer at Hogwarts. The war took place that summer, between Death Eaters and those of the Order. Between Voldemort and Dumbledore. It tore the wizarding world apart and everyone was diffrent because of it, everyone was changed. Nothing would ever be as it was before the war. Hermione bit her lip, thinking of her closness with Harry and Ron. That too had changed, but prehaps for the best? With a small sigh of resignation Hermione turned a corner, and froze. It took her only a second to register the sight of a red-headed student stradling an unconscious boy on the floor. With malicious intent and frevrent cursing, the attacker slammed his fist into the already bloody face of the boy beneath him.

"Ronald! Get off him right now!" Ron Wealey pulled back his fist aiming for the bloody mess that was once the perfect face of his enemy Draco Malfoy. He shot a look at Hermione it was darkened by the hate he felt for the boy he was pummeling. "Shut up Hermione!" He hissed, bent on ignoring her. But before he could attack the defensless Malfoy he was struk by a full body bind. "Thats it!" Hemione screamed." Thirty points from Griffindor, out of bed after hours, attacking an disarmed student, magic in the corridors and direct refusal to obey the Head Girl!" Ron was glaring at her, obviously wishing he was still pounding Draco's face and bloody mad that Hermion dare to stop him and take away points from their house. Any objections he might have had went unheard as he could not speak, a welcome side affect of the Petrificus Totalis curse. "Professor!" Hermione called out to a teacher in a billous black cape. He turned around and the frozen Ron's eyes widened in shock. The man that turned and walked towards them was none other than the head of the Slytherin house, Prof. Snape. "Miss. Granger, what is going on here?" Snape asked, his black eyes glittering with a sinister eagerness. "Professor, would you please see that Mr. Weasley gets dettention for the attack on Draco Malfoy?"Hermione asked and before Snape could interupt she quickly spoke again. "I've already deducted Thirty points from his house. Would you please see that another twenty be deducted if he refuses to comply with your decission?" Snape nodded and surveyed Ron with distaste. Despite not being able to move, Ron's mind was fully functional. As the conversation progressed he felt the heat of anger and disbelief grow in his face. "I'll esscort Draco to the hospital wing immediately." She said bowing her head briefly in the potions master's direction. Snape spoke to her, his voice cool and careless. "And what do you intend of Mr. Weasly here?" Hermione paused a moment before answering him. "Would you care to take care of it, Sir?" Snape narrowed his eyes in the direction of the prone Ronald Weasly. "It would be my pleasure." He said.

Hermione looked up to see some of Draco's friends still hovering nearby. "Crabbe, Nott, Zambini, I suggest you get to class. Now." She said it low voice that was deceptively calm. The three boys glanced at each other mutely deciding that class seemed to be good idea, and they were rather glad they thought of it. Yes. They thought of returning to class, because no one, especially not a mudblood, could tell them what to do.

Hermione turned her attention back to the bloody boy on the floor. She muttered a quick charm that would open a door to her destination, the hospital wing. It was a useful charm, only told to the Head Boy and Girl, and it was likely the only reason for Draco's recovery. The nurse, Madame Pomfery, was bustling around the bed of one of her patients. It happened that she did not immediately notice the presence of the Head girl and rather unfortunate Head boy. "Madame Pomfery, come quick! Malfoy needs help! The nurse came over quickly he manner becoming serious and her round face rather grim. "What happened here?" She asked shooting Hermione a peircing glance. "Never mind, I don't need to know. She pulled the unconcious Draco from Hermione's arms and eased him down onto the closest bed. Immediately she administered a smell, it seemed to ease his breathing a little, but she had a lot more work to do. "Dear," She said looking up at Hermione "You might want to go on to class, this will take a long time." Hermione shook her head no. Madame Pomfery nodded in understanding and motioned for her to sit down on a chair near by. To her suprise Miss Granger's eyes harbored worry and the begining of tears. It touched the nurses heart, that their head girl was so concerned for the young pureblood that had never been anything but rotten to her. Pomfery rolled up her sleaves... It was going to take a lot of work to get him back to rights again. There was the magic to contend with too... the first spell was easy enough to undue. The other two curses were more complex, they had done some signifficant damage to the Malfoy child. Not to mention the horrible beating he had undergone... It took her the rest of the day and well into the night to make the potions that would heal him.

Harry listened to Ron's tale of the attack in the hallway with bemusement at first, but it soon gave way to confusion. "Why would Hermione have done that? What exactly did you do to Malfoy?" He wondered. He watched Ron's ears go slightly red in embaressment. "I attacked the git when he started talking about Bill..." He said, letting the sadness surface for a moment. Harry watched the face of his friend darken at the mention of his brother. Bill had given his life in the war, and his familly was still stuggling with the grief. "You mentioned that before Ron. But, what exactly did you do to him?" Harry was worried for his friend. Ron must have done something awful to get Hermione so upest at him like that... Hermione had been distant from them ever since the war. It had long since past the time when they could understand and confide in eachother. Harry was concerned for Hermione too, but his attention was brought back to Ron who began shiffting rather uncomfortably in on the four poster bed next to Harry's. "Well..." he mumbled. "I kinda...beat ...face... didn't ... thinking... and ... he ..blood.. I might have... curse... slug... and.. backfired ...that spell... I wasn't... I didn't plan too Harry!" He finished, the mumbling had stoped and he looked straight at Harry. "I hexed him... twice. I used and I-I, I used Avada Kedavera. But Harry you have to believe me, I didn't plan for that to happen!" Ron looked at Harry calmly waiting for his best friend to forgive him, even commend him for what he had done. Instead of cheering on his mate Harry sat stunned. "You used an unforgivable curse?" He managed to ask. "Yeah Harry, I did!" Ron said, mistaking Harry's stunned expression for one of awe. "You know? None of the spells worked, I kinda wish the last one had so..." Harry felt his anger explode inside of him. What had gotten into his best friend? Did Ron think killing was funny? Some laugh that was. Harry was slowly losing all the people he cared about, the only people who ever cared for him. "So ,what Ron?" He growled at his friend. "So you can go to Azkaban!" Harry shouted, fighting back a shudder at the memory of Cedric Diggory who had been killed in fourth year. Ron stared at him, confusion and anger on his face. "I thought you hated Malfoy as much as I did! I thought that you everyone, that you would be the one to understand Harry! I guess I was wrong." When Harry tried to interupt him Ron shot him a look of disgust. "Don't talk to me Harry. Some best mate you are." Silently, his body stiff with anger, Ron crawled off his bed and went downstairs to the happy Griffindors below. Word had just reached them that Malfoy had been sent to the Hospital wing by Ron Weasly. The joyous Griffindors were calling for Ron, eager to thank the boy that had finally put Malfoy in his place. Upstairs, Harry listened to their cheers with a growing sense of unease. The war had changed them all, but in Ron he suspected something darker. Harry grit his teeth in frustration, he felt powerless to help his friends. He obsessed himself with hatred, because from hatred came strength and with that strength he hoped to rescue his friends. He sat alone, hating Voldemort, hating the war, hating Ron and Hermione for abandoning him, but the person he hated most was himself. That night Harry tossed and turned before he fell asleep. His dreams were dark and foreboding. He had no way of knowing that in the bed next to him Ron dreamed too. He drempt of attaking Draco Malfoy again. In his dream he pulled out his wand and shouted "Avada Kedavera!" This time he was rewarded with a peircing green light. In his sleep, Ron smiled. After all, he was having such a pleasent dream...

A/N continued:

I plan to have some wonderful things in my story. Just look at the evolution of Ron. I had nothing to do with it. It just happened! And you'll never guess what I have in store for Harry! And what of Draco, and Hermione! licks lips Well, you'll just have to wait and see!

Also this is my first and last disclaimer.I mean it's ridiculous that we need to have one as these are posted on Fan Come one! The sites name explalins it all. Fictional stories written by fans of incredible authors! So that's the last disclaimer I'm putting up... And think of this, what are we disclaiming? I never claimed to be J. K. Rowling (I'm not suffering from an identity crisis). And as proud of this story as I am I highly doubt anyone will call me the great J. K. Rowling. And Hey! Hey! wait a minute! Don't you think that her lawyers have better things to do than read fanfictions? Oh. I didn't mean to hurt any feelings. Lets see... I'll rephrase that. "Do you really think her lawyers are cool enough to read our fanfics?" Oh shit. I went off on a tangent didn't I?... Heh? heh?Ha?... Forget it! Just reveiw.