A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews. /smacks head onto keyboard I can't believe I spelled the Uberdork's name wrong. Thank you everyone for clueing the blond one in.
A/N: Because I'm a dork – I managed to completely remove the story earlier and as such, the prior reviews poofed. But, I managed to get most of your names down before it did, so I will respond. If I missed you, trust me, it wasn't on purpose. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! Oh, BTW: slight twisting of the world – In my world, Harry never told Hermione or Ron the details of the third task, nor about the specifics of about his scar. For them, the first time they heard about it was via the articles. They knew the scar served as a barometer as to whether or not Voldemort was around – but not that Harry had true visions of him, etc. As to who exactly leaked the info – well, ya'll just have to wait and see!
Chapter 3: Painful TruthsHarry kept turning the conversation he'd had with Dra-Malfoy over and over in his head during the Sorting Feast. He didn't have much else to do – the whole table was basically ignoring him. Ron and Hermione sat at the other end of the table and had their heads together, whispering intently. It had been the same on the carriage rides over to the castle: there seemed to be this small circle of space around him that no one wanted to intrude into, and it was driving Harry batty. He kept his head down, though, concentrating on his plate and shoving food into his mouth. He was starving. He hadn't eaten on the train, and hadn't had much appetite at breakfast. Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye that many of his housemates were giving him odd looks when they thought he couldn't see them. He tried not to let his uneasiness show – and he seemed to be succeeding, until even his unconcern seemed to make them fidgety. Harry mentally threw up his hands then and there and thought, the hell with it. I'm off to bed. He rose, his appetite now gone completely, and made his way out of the Great Hall. As he left he let his eyes slide over the Slytherin table, and noticed that he'd been right on the train – Slytherin was missing almost a third of its students. He let his eyes linger on Malfoy for a moment, then pushed through the doors and made his way to the dorms.
The hallways were quiet – Harry had left the feast quite early. He enjoyed it, though, for soon enough the Gryffindor common room would explode into noise when the rest of his house returned. Harry loved Gryffindor, but sometimes it was just too noisy for him, too chaotic. Usually when he got into that type of mood he'd grab his broom and fly for a while. But it was late, and Harry had no wish to get into trouble the first day back – there was already too much drama on his plate as there was. Harry wrapped his robes around himself tighter – the storm that had hit the Leaky Cauldron seemed to have followed him to Hogwarts; he could hear the rain drumming on the windows. His footsteps fell quietly in the hallways, and he wrapped himself in the quietude. There was something peaceful in wandering the halls of Hogwarts – at least when there wasn't a herd of people charging by him, being loud and obnoxious. He dawdled in the hallways, taking the long way back to the dormitories, stopping every now and again to exchange a greeting with a portrait. Soon enough he found his way to the entrance of Gryffindor Tower and as he approached the Fat Lady he realized with a sinking stomach that he had forgotten to get the password from Katie Bell, who was Head Girl that year. Harry cursed softly and buried his hands into his pockets before approaching the portrait.
"Hullo," he said. The Fat Lady smiled brightly at him.
"Harry dear! How are you?" Her rich tone boomed out from the painting and Harry had to smile. The Fat Lady was one of his favorite portraits – even though she was the worst gossip of them all.
"I'm fine. I was wondering – I forgot to get the password. You wouldn't be able to let me in, would you?" Harry let himself sound plaintive and young, and turned large puppy dog eyes in her direction. It worked perfectly. I guess watching Dudley do this to Aunt Petunia all the time really did come in handy, he mused as the Fat Lady fussed with her dress, then nodded, caving in to Harry's adorable look.
"Alright, dear, but just this once! The password is valor, now remember that!" She admonished. Harry broke into a bright smile and beamed at her.
"Thank you!" he called as she let him in.
"You're welcome dear," came her muffled reply. When he was gone, the Fat Lady tapped her fan against her lips gently. The poor boy looked tired, she thought. I'll have to get Alicia to watch over him – make sure he eats enough, she decided. Her daughter's portrait was a couple halls away, but Alicia always loved helping her mother out.
*
Draco and Blaise sat and surveyed the remains of their House with no little irritation. All but two seventh years gone and only a handful of sixth years were left – Draco felt himself scowl and couldn't help it. Damn near the whole Quiddich team was gone! He tried to smooth out his features, but it wasn't working. As for the fifth years, Crabbe and Goyle were gone, and of the girls, Davis and Moon hadn't returned. Pansy's family had defected along with Draco's, much to her pleasure. She had no interest in taking the Dark Mark – it would have looked horrible on her arm – much less the fact that she wouldn't have been able to wear short sleeved outfits anymore if she's been marked. Further, Pansy had no intention to be a breed horse for the mad Dark Lord. She had her own ideas about her life and how she was going to live it, thank you very much. It had taken a lot of convincing on both Draco and Pansy's part to get their families to break their engagement. The two had always been friends, be neither wanted to marry the other. They just had nothing in common. Besides, Draco knew Pansy had her eye on a certain pureblood Ravenclaw who her parents would have little trouble finding fault with. Draco just loved teasing her about him. As for the rest of the House, the fourth years and down were most intact – with only one or two students missing from each year. Blaise surveyed the table and snorted inelegantly, causing raised eyebrows from Pansy and Millicent who were sitting across from them.
"We've not got a Quiddich team, you realize that?" Blaise said dourly. Draco sighed and put down his fork. He wished his manners would let him slouch over his plate and put his elbows on the table like the Gryffindors did, but then mentally smacked himself. He was a pureblood, and he would act like it, no matter if his back killed and he was exhausted.
"Yes, Blaise. I had," Draco said sourly. He took a drink of pumpkin juice and watched with interest as Potter got up from his table, paused for a second at the door and then left the Great Hall. For a moment Draco could have sworn the boy's eyes had rested on him, but he dismissed the thought. The Boy-Who-Lived's exit caused some stir at the Gryffindor table, and Draco narrowed his eyes, watching the Weasel and Granger nod at each other and turn to their house-mates, whispering intently. Draco had a bad feeling about it, but didn't know what he could do. He was still unsure as to how Potter felt about him – the conversation on the train was just too awkward and stilted to get a real feel of the boy's attitude towards him. Pansy picked at the food on her plate and sighed.
"Something wrong, Pansy?" Draco asked. She flashed him a look and shrugged.
"Just tired," she said, but Draco knew she was lying. He kicked her under the table and she yelped, then kicked him back even harder. Draco grunted and stuck his tongue out at her, while Blaise and Millicent rolled their eyes at their juvenile behavior.
"Spill it, Parkinson," Draco said. She rolled her eyes at him. He growled.
"It's nothing, Draco. Really." Draco gave her a look, then let it drop. She'd come clean with whatever was bothering her soon enough. If it had been truly pressing then she would have told them by now, Draco knew.
"The Gryffindors are up to something," Blaise's sharp voice caught their attention. The Slytherins casually glanced over at the other table and noted how quiet it was. The whole house seemed to be whispering to each other. Draco felt a chill go up his spine. This can't be good, he thought. A dinner with the Gryffindorks being quiet? The Apocalypse is surely approaching, he snorted to himself. Draco caught Pansy's eye.
"Is anyone here on any type of speaking terms with any of the Gryffindors?" Draco murmured. They all shook their heads. Draco frowned, eyes searching the Gryffindor table. He spotted Neville, who looked unhappy about whatever was being whispered. "Blaise, you sit near Neville in a couple classes, don't you?" Draco asked. Blaise nodded. "Good. He's not happy with whatever is being said over there. Try and get him to talk, would you?" Blaise raised an eyebrow at the blond, but nodded. "Good." Draco let his gaze wander up to the teacher's table and saw that Professor Snape was also watching the Gryffindor table with a carefully blank gaze. Ahh, he's seen it too. That can't be good. Draco sighed, resisting the urge to rub his neck, a nervous habit he had tried to break himself of. Nervous habits were a weakness – his father had drilled that into him since he was young. This is going to be a hell of a year, Draco thought tiredly, before turning back to his plate. A hell of year indeed.
*
Harry was confused. In fifth year, students were allowed to pick roommates and get to share a room with the person of their choice. Before the end of last term, Harry and Ron had signed up together to share a room, and Harry was actually looking forward to that – perhaps all it would have taken was for Ron to see that Harry hadn't changed over the summer and the red head would return to his senses. So it was with no little confusion that Harry surveyed the room. He saw his things, but when he checked the other bed and wardrobe, he found that they were empty. His trunk was at the foot of one of the beds, his scarf and gloves lay neatly on the side table – but there was no hint of Ron's things. Harry slowly opened his rucksack and set up his books on the desk that was provided for him, taking care to hide his more questionable purchases in a drawer. When he heard the rest of the House come into the common room, he slowly made his way down the stairs. When he entered, though, the noise level dropped significantly and he found himself the center of most everybody's attention. Harry could feel his face start to heat up and spotted Ron and Hermione over in the corner sitting with Ginny and Seamus. Harry gritted his teeth and tried to smile brightly as he made his way over to them.
"Hey guys," he said as he approached. "Ron – it's kinda funny. See, I thought we were gonna room together this year, but your stuff – it's not there." Harry kept his tone as light as possible. Ron looked down at his hands and wouldn't meet Harry's eyes.
"Well, I was but, uh – you see – Neville needed a roommate and – uh-" Ron stuttered out. He was never very good at lying. Harry just looked at Ron, knowing full well that Seamus and Dean were going to share with Neville that year. He'd overheard them arranging it at the end of term last year. Seamus's face turned a dark shade of red as he looked at Ron, then paled as he switched his gaze to Harry. Harry just kept his eyes on Ron, who trailed off and glanced up at the dark haired boy before turning quickly away. Harry could feel the weight of the House's gaze on him as the rest of the House listened in on their conversation. Harry shook his head slightly and forced a smile onto a face that felt frozen.
"Uh – ok then. Right." Harry said, then paused. "Is there anything you – wanted to talk to me about?" Harry attempted, giving them the opportunity to talk to him, to question him, to ask him what he thought about the articles and nonsense that had been printed during the summer. "Because, you know, if you wanted to – talk that is – about, well, anything, I'd be willing. To talk. And stuff." Harry almost pleaded with them, but Ron said nothing and Hermione just stared at him. "You wanna tell me what's wrong?" Harry attempted, finally, frustrated. That got a response. Ron's face flushed and he gave a short, bitter laugh.
"We're not your slaves Harry. You can't order us around," he said. Harry blinked at him. What in the – Harry thought.
"What?" Harry voiced his thoughts. "I never said-" Ron snorted.
"Right. You never order us around. You didn't just demand to know what was going on. You expect us to just jump when you say jump? Explain ourselves when you never do? Come on, Harry. You've been keeping secrets from us, so it shouldn't be an issue that we keep some things from you." Ron's face was flushed as he snapped at Harry, who just stared at the person that had been his best friend.
"But – I never meant – what are you on about? What secrets? – Hermione?" Harry turned hurt eyes onto her. She just regarded him coolly.
"I have nothing to say to you," she said to him. Harry felt his stomach clench. Suddenly he became aware of the silence in the room as the entirety of Gryffindor house watched the ugly falling out of the Golden Trio. Harry felt the blood drain from his face.
"I never thought that you'd see it like that," he whispered. "Why didn't you say something sooner? I never meant to shut you out." Harry tried, pleading, hoping that maybe they would give him a chance to explain. "It's just – the things that happened, they were so – bad – I just didn't want to burden you all with it. And there was nothing you could do about most of it anyway – and what happens in my dreams is really not something I would rather rehash in the mornings. But that doesn't mean I was shutting you out, that I was – that I thought I was better than you! I would never do that. I'm not like that, you know that. You seriously didn't believe what those articles said, did you? I mean – sure, I have dreams and visions, but that doesn't mean I'm like Vol-Him," Harry spat.
"Those articles were based on facts, you just admitted it. We trusted you, Harry, and you betrayed us." Hermione's voice was icy.
"I did not!" Harry exclaimed. "How, how did I betray you? How could you believe that Skeeter woman? You know she's full of shit, Hermione! Who verified those lies? Who?" Hermione shook her head shortly.
"That doesn't matter. What you've said here and now is proof enough," she said stubbornly. "You didn't trust us with the whole details of what happened in the third trial. You never told us about the connection between you and the Dark Lord. You admit to have been keeping things from us, potentially dangerous things. How could we not believe most of the articles?" Harry just gaped at her.
"It bloody well does matter who verified those lies! The articles make me seem as though I were mad – or evil or something! And that's just bloody ridiculous! I'm perfectly sane and am in no way, shape or form, evil!" Harry growled out. Ron shot up from his seat.
"Don't you talk to her like that!" Ron snarled. Harry bared his teeth at Ron.
"Don't get in my face, Ron. I thought you all had more faith in me than this," Harry said. Ron's face turned a dark shade of red and he pushed Harry roughly. Harry froze and then launched himself at the red head. The common room exploded into chaos as Ron and Harry tried to pummel each other into the ground. Harry was clearly loosing, being by far outweighed by the taller boy. It finally took Dean, Seamus, Fred and George to pull them apart. Seamus had a hold of Harry, while the twins tried to calm down their brother. The portrait hole door slammed open and McGonagall stormed into the common room.
"Just what is the meaning of this? Mr. Weasley? Mr. Potter? Would either of you care to explain to me just exactly why you two are fighting like some hooligans on the first day back? Well? I'm waiting," McGonagall was extremely angry at the two fifth year's behaviors.
"Professor McGonagall-" Harry began, but got cut off.
"Harry started it, ma'am. He said some things that he really shouldn't have. Ron got angry and pushed Harry, but Harry was the one that tackled Ron and started the fistfight," Hermione said primly. Harry stopped struggling and stared at her.
"Hermione!" Ginny cried, horrified. McGonagall frowned.
"It's true. That's how it started up. I was listening," Dean said, surprisingly. Harry turned wide eyes to the other boy, who glared at him. McGonagall sighed and fixed her glare on Harry.
"Mr. Potter, I am very disappointed in you. Since the term hasn't technically started, I will refrain from docking house points for such behavior. But you will serve detention with me, this Friday at seven. Now, if you please, return to your room and refrain from any such altercations. I am very disappointed in you. I thought you would have learned to settle your differences in a more proper, adult way instead of resorting to such juvenile antics. Go on," she motioned for him to leave. Harry shook himself free from the other boys and stared at McGonagall for a moment, before making his way to the stairs. The crowd of Gryffindors parted silently in front of him. Minerva watched him go, knowing that there was far more going on than some petty squabble. She'd try and get it out of him during his detention. She then turned her eyes to Ron. "Now, Mr. Weasley. I am ashamed of you as well. You handled this very poorly. Fist fighting like foolish second years will solve nothing. Your punishment shall be that you do not get to see Madam Pomfrey until tomorrow. Let your wounds be lesson enough for you. Perhaps you will think of a better solution for your problems in the future." McGonagall fixed them all with an icy stare before sweeping from the room. When she was gone, the common room exploded into noise.
"Did you see-"
"He was so angry!"
"Ohh, he looked so mean!"
"Maybe he has gone mad – I mean did you hear-"
"Do ya think that his link with You-Know-Who is turning him dark?"
"Ron, how could you! He was your best friend!" Ginny's voice rang out, and Seamus nodded in agreement with her. Ron frowned at them.
"And why did you lie to him, Ron? Neville was fine sharing with Dean and I. You forced Neville into rooming with you on the train! I heard you. And Hermione - why, in the name of all that's holy, did you lie to McGonagall?" Seamus added. Ron's flush returned.
"Ginny! Seamus! You just saw him! Just waltzing up, expecting me – us - to be at his beck and call. And did you see how standoffish he's been? And he admitted – admitted – that what some of the articles were saying was true! And I heard that he was sitting with Malfoy – Malfoy! - on the train! I don't care what the papers said about him turning his back on You-Know-Who: the Malfoys have always been evil gits, and will always be evil gits. It's the way they are!" Ron burst out, his voice loud in the room. People nodded their heads in agreement with him, shamelessly listening in. Ginny glared at Ron.
"Of course Harry was stand offish, with you acting like such as ass, I would too! And he did not try and order you around, Ronald Weasley – he was reminding you of the arrangements you two had made last year. Really, Ron." Ginny was disgusted.
"And those articles! My dog could write better articles than that! They're rubbish!" Seamus scoffed. Hermione frowned at him.
"No, Seamus. Ron and I thought it over very carefully this summer. I mean, Harry told us that You-Know-Who needed some of his blood, and if Harry was truly innocent – then how did the Dark Lord get what he needed so easily? Harry was portkeyed in – he wasn't unconscious. So how did You-Know-Who get the jump on him so quickly? And Cedric – if Harry was conscious, how did You-Know-Who kill Cedric so easily? It doesn't make sense, none of it, the way Harry tells it – which leads us to believe that Harry must have, in some way, helped You-Know-Who out." Hermione said calmly. Ginny and Seamus just stared at her in horror.
"You – that's – that's a bunch of hogwash! Harry would die before he helped You-Know-Who!" Ginny exclaimed. Hermione fixed her with a stare.
"But he's alive, isn't he? And You-Know-Who is reborn." That seemed to take the wind out of Ginny's sails.
"Better that he died than helping the Dark Lord return," Ron muttered. Ginny's eyes widened and her hand was a blur, slapping him sharply. The noise cut through the common room.
"Ronald Weasley, bite your tongue. You never deserved his friendship – never!" Ginny whispered before running up to the girl's dormitory with tears in her eyes and Seamus following her, with one last glare for good measure at Ron. Her brothers just watched them go, Ron rubbing his face absently. They'll come around, Ron thought. It'll just take some time. Secure in his own beliefs he let the twins and Hermione guide him back into their seats by the fire. Conversations in the common room slowly began to pick up again, and they sat there long into the night.
End Chapter 3
A/N: Well, was that some twisted logic or what?
Please review!! I love it! Keep it comin'! And I'll try to respond to all of you, but if I miss you, I'm really sorry and I'll get ya on the next chapter =).
SlytherinAtHeart: thank you, I'm getting 'em out as fast as I can type 'em.
Hippy Flower=Voldie's Kid: heheh more on the way
Potter88: thanks for the review!!
Iamawriter: will update probably every other day or so. Or sooner. I hope. =)
Jacquie: thank you for pointing out that mistake. I was so embarrassed! But hopefully it's all fixed.
Kimbra-fire: oh yes there's more Ginny (she'll be important later on)
Minerva-Severus-Dumbledore: Thanks for the review, and hopefully I got that embarrassing mistake fixed!
Bthatcher2002: thanks for the review!
Vici0usRebL: yeah, Lucius and Severus, heh, I like 'em together. Thanks for the review!
Blueberrie: will update as soon as I can!
Athenakitty: Very good questions! You'll just have to wait and find out =P Thank you for your review!!
Ronnie: Thank you for putting me on your favorites list! /boggle. Cool. Thanks!!!
Usagi Serenity Yui Cosmos: Thank you for the review, and hopefully I got all those misspellings fixed! Thanks again!
Blackdragon: Thanks for reviewing! Hopefully I'll be getting them out every day or every other day. Check back soon =)
Pseudonym: thank you so much for the review!!! I really appreciate your comments, and I'll definitely work on it. Fanfiction is a type of practice for me – I love to write, and getting feed back is the best way for me to know what I should – and shouldn't! – be doing. Thanks again!!
Hanako: hopefully this chapter cleared up some of your questions =)
Kimmy: I guess I'm just a Slytherin at heart – and I always love redeeming the bad guys. =) /shrug. Thanks for the review!
BlackRose1356: Thanks! Will update as soon as I can =).
Lady FoxFire: Here's some Ginny! I like Ginny, and she as a main role in this little tale. Hope you like this installment! More Ginny to come =).
Fallen Dragon: I definitely think that Harry has some skills in Divination – it's in the plan. Thanks for the review!
Fluff: thank you!!!!
Shocky: Goin' as fast as I can. The next installment should be Thursday night or Friday.
Hyperbole: Wow, thanks for the amazing review – and you hit it on the head with the idea behind Lily also being good at Divination. I hadn't meant for it to sound like Divination was her best topic, oops. And the whole idea of Lucius pulling his support from Voldemort – I mean, really, the man is an opportunist in my eyes – and with only one heir and increasing proof that the man he's following is as loopy as they come – of course the man's gonna bail. It's in his best interest. As for Ron, the boy freaks about something in almost every book. It's ridiculous. As for Hermione's reaction, as well as the rest of the Weasley family – well, more detail will be provided soon. Thanks for the review! I really appreciate it.