Seeds of Seduction

Chapter 17: Death Part 1

Next to Percy was a tall lanky girl with short brown hair. Ron's jaw fell, as did everyone else's in the room. Ron shook his head a few times and hit himself a few times. Leaning down, he grasped the TV and shook it.

"Lavender," he breathed, "She's with…"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other with shock. They had no idea what to say. What could you say to someone who's been betrayed by a brother and a girlfriend in the space of a few minutes?

"Why is no one here?" asked Lavender snootily placing her hands on her hips.

"I don't know," snapped Percy back, "Potter told me that there was going to be a meeting here."

"Well I guess that there's not going to be one," yelled Lavender back at him, "We have to go back soon otherwise the Dark Lord will be extremely angry."

"Wait for a few minutes will you? How you became a Death Eater, I'll never guess?" snarled Percy.

"You sure are blind aren't you? Couldn't you see that I was hanging around your youngest brother and getting information out of him? How do you think that werewolf died? I got everything out of Ron and then Draco tracked him and killed him," sneered Lavender taking off her cloak and throwing it on the floor.

Harry gawked at the screen, as did Ron. His face deathly pale, Ron shook his head with every word that left Lavender's mouth. He had to be dreaming. Lavender couldn't have just used him for information. She must have been under the Imperious spell! She had to be! She wouldn't do this? But even as Ron's mind furiously churned out scapegoats, he knew that it was false.

Tears leaked out his eyes as he hunched on the floor. Burying his hands in his face, tears began to leak once more out of his auburn eyes. Hermione, who was on the verge of tears, ran over and knelt beside him. She encircled her arms around his quivering body and held his close. That was all she could do; what could she say that would possibly make him feel better?

The rest of the Weasleys walked over to Ron and lifted him gently up. Hermione backed away to Harry as Ginny rushed forward to her family. Harry encircled Hermione with his muscular arms.

"I feel horrible when I think of all those days that I wanted Lavender to be out of the picture," whispered Hermione huskily looking up at Harry with her red eyes.

Harry shook his head and just kissed her on the forehead. So much heartbreak was taking place in that room. In just a few minutes, hearts had been shattered.

"What can we do?" asked Hermione, "Are we going to kill Percy or send him to Azkaban?"

"We have to kill him Hermione," said Harry sorrowfully.

"What!" said Hermione her eyes wide with horror. "What if he offers to be a spy for the Order?"

"No Hermione," said Harry his eyes full of pain, "I looked at every option. Believe me. But there's not a 100 guarantee Hermione. I made that mistake in my third year when I let Pettigrew go. If I let Percy go, there's no way I can make sure that he's loyal. This entire mission can be ruined by this one error. Your cover can be blown and Malfoy will kill you at the next pretend meeting. It's too much of a risk Hermione. I know it will break their hearts but it's our only option."

"And Lavender," whispered Hermione.

"Her too," said Harry softly closing his eyes painfully, "It'll be so hard for Ron. He's lost 2 people he loved in a span of a few minutes."

At that moment Ron emerged from the huddle of his family and walked over to Harry, who reached out and gave his best friend a manly hug.

"You've consoled me all these years when my loved ones died," whispered Harry, "Now, it's my turn to repay you for everything you've done."

"Thanks mate," said Ron his voice barely audible.

Hermione was staring at Ron with an unfathomable expression on her face. She had never seen Ron as broken as she did now. For many years, he was her inspiration of fun, love, and loyalty. No one could replace the friendship that she shared with Ron and Harry. They had been through so much. Every tear that fell, every smile that broke across their faces, everything was shared between the trio and it further deepened their friendship. She had never seen him cry once in her 7 years of friendship. And now before her very eyes, he was breaking down. As she stared at his red eyes and quivering body, she narrowed her eyes and promised that she would murder this girl if it were the last thing that she did.

"Harry," said Mrs. Weasley her voice scratchy and quavering, "What's going to happen to P-Percy and that girl."

"They have to be killed," said Harry regretfully bowing his head.

The Weasleys gasped and Mrs. Weasley's eyes grew wide and she clapped a hand over her heart.

"Isn't their another option?" she implored walking over to Harry.

"No, I'm sorry," said Harry softly as he looked at the floor, "I have to kill him."

Mrs. Weasley collapsed into fresh tears and Mr. Weasley took her and left the room to console her.

"When are we going to do that?" asked Fred his voice full of anger.

"Now," said Harry as the screen went blank, "Percy's come back. He'll be here in a few minutes. Let's get out of here. We can't let him know that we suspect him. When he comes, I'll lead him in here and you come in a few minutes later OK?"

Hastily wiping their tears and wet faces, the Weasley's trailed out one by one. Harry left with Ginny and approached the front door of the order. Harry patted Ginny's hand as the minutes passed. Every second bolstered Harry's desire to administer justice to the Weasley's increased. His heart was beating fast and his nerves were going out of control. Any minute, he felt that he could have a heart attack. But on the outside, he was his usual calm and collected teenager.

Every time Harry heard footsteps approaching the door, he would sit up and slip his hand into his pocket and wrap his long fingers around his wand. But every single time, he would be disappointed. Kingsley walked in, followed by Tonks, and then Fletcher. And every time he would slump back into his seat disappointed. But number four was his lucky number.

Finally, after what was only 4 minutes but seemed like an eternity, the door opened and a lanky man covered in snow and wearing glasses stepped through the door.

"Whew," said Percy, "That was a hard walk to get through. Hello there Ginny, Harry."

"Hello Percy," said Harry amicably as he stood up and walked with Ginny towards his former friend.

"I think you told me the wrong date Harry," said Percy sternly as he took off his coat and shook it on the stone floor, spraying snow all over in the process, "There was no one there."

"Maybe I did," lied Harry, "I'll go check once more. Do you wish to come?"

"Sure," said Percy innocently on the front but inside he was excited.

He had been trying hard every since he had joined Voldemort, to please his master. Unfortunately, Malfoy had been outshining him at every opportunity whether it was torturing, murder, or seduction for information. What better opportunity come simply fall at his feet? He would gain access to all the Order meetings. He would definitely outshine Malfoy who was seducing that Mudblood for the meetings. He would definitely rise high within the ranks of his master.

Harry raised his eyebrows at Ginny who nodded almost imperceptibly and headed inconspicuously in the other direction to alert the other members of her family. Harry swept down the corridors until he stopped outside the room. Opening the door, he motioned for Percy to come in and then followed suit.

Once inside the dark, stone room, Harry motioned for Percy to sit at the long wooden table in the middle of the room. There were no windows or any means of escape except for the door. The TV was behind Percy on a dusty wooden stand next to a wilted plant. The only light was coming from a small and dusty chandelier strung precariously above the table.

"I'll find them," said Harry stalling for time.

Walking over to the chest of drawers, he pulled out a folder of fake meeting places and times. Turning so he could see in the cracked mirror across from him, he could see the hunger and excitement buried in Percy's eyes. Feeling anger rise up within him, Harry buried his hands in his pockets. He didn't need his anger to build up which would cause him to perform wand-less magic.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Motioning for Percy to remain seated, Harry walked over to meet Hermione and the rest of the Weasleys save Mr. And Mrs. Weasley. Fred whispered that his mum couldn't bear to see her son being murdered; to pacify her, her husband had accompanied her in her decision.

Percy looked up in surprise as he saw his brothers and sister walk in. Bill and Charlie were looking downright sad. On the contrary, Fred and George's faces were brimming with anger and Harry had to place a reassuring hand on their arm to stop them from leaping on him, the moment they entered. Ron's face was red with fury. Ginny was on the verge of tears and Harry pulled her to the back of the room.

"Ginny, please," said Harry softly, "Be strong. If seeing him die is not OK for you, I'll do something else."

"No Harry," whispered Ginny drawing in a ragged breath, "You know what needs to be done. Hermione has gotten this far in her investigation. We can't ruin it when we're so close at destroying them once and for all. We need to make it easy on you Harry, when you fight Voldemort and the only way to do that is to weaken his army."

"I won't be able to stand it if you look at me differently," whispered Harry.

"I won't," smiled Ginny kissing him.

Harry smiled and kissed her once more before coming to stand in front of the Weasleys. Hermione went back to Ginny for moral support as Harry shot her a pleading glance. Percy who was still sitting at the head of table was starting to look a little worried. Something was amiss. Surely they couldn't have figured out that it was him who had betrayed them all? His nerves were starting to get the better of him. His heart beating fast, he smiled weakly in hopes of pacifying his family. But it was no avail. The Weasleys stared at him with anger and sadness.

"You are wondering why we're all here aren't you?" asked Harry coldly, his eyes staring at Percy with loathing.

Percy swallowed hard.

"You may wish to see this," said Harry picking up the Muggle TV and clicking a button. Percy flinched expecting a curse by Harry. Throwing the remote on the floor next to him, Harry crossed his arms and stared as the TV turned on behind Percy. Percy turned around slowly. It took a few moments for what had happened to sink in. Harry observed his face as the seconds passed by. His mouth had fallen open and his face was pale. How did they find out?

Percy placed his hand into his pocket and swallowed hard. His heart was beating at the speed of light in his chest. It was all over for him. He had been cornered. There was no way out. As the TV shut after the crack of their departure, Percy turned around and licked his lips.

"WHY?" roared Fred breaking the silence.

"I..I" stammered Percy.

"I what?" yelled George, "I knew that we shouldn't have let you back in. Mum kept on insisting that we allow you back in our family."

"Listen," said Percy standing up his right hand in his pocket, "I can explain. Allow me. I can convince you why I did this. I was forced."

"Shut up," roared Ron, "You and Lavender fucking were using me the whole time. Don't give us that rubbish that you were used!"

"It's over," said Hermione stepping up her eyes slabs of ice, "You've hurt your family Percy. I don't know why you did this or what possessed you to betray us like this. Your mother and father invested so much trust into you after you betrayed them once more. There's nothing that you can do to redeem yourself. There's nothing that we can do to bring you back to the Light side. You've sunk too deep into the dark Arts.

I should have realized it when I first met you. You were the third oldest which meant that you lacked the power that Bill was born with. But there was one way you could get power: that was by joining Voldemort. In the summer of my 4th year, I could see that you were willing to go to any lengths to please your boss Mr. Crouch."

"There's no way out," said Harry drawing his wand.

"Oh really," sneered Percy.

Before Harry could react, he grabbed Hermione and placed her in front of him. Brandishing his wand, he transfigured it into a knife and placed it at the back of her throat.

"If you stop me I swear I will cut her throat," snarled Percy, "Don't try expelliarmus-ing it otherwise it'll slice through her beautiful throat."

Ron's face turned a shade of purple as he saw Hermione turn pale. Harry swallowed hard as he watched Percy push Hermione towards the door. Opening the door, he pushed Hermione out and across the hall.

Hermione shivered as his left hand went around her waist and then under her shirt. She remembered when Draco did it but Percy's touch was nothing like his. Hermione's heart raced as they neared the door. She couldn't let him leave the building; everything she had worked so hard for would be foiled. Feeling his fingers tear her shirt, her mind formulated a plan as they slowly neared the door.

Meanwhile, Harry and the Weasleys had left the room and had snuck up behind him. Moving stealthily, Harry tiptoed behind Percy prepared to strike, when suddenly Percy was pitched head first down to the floor.

Hermione had kicked him in the crotch causing him to curse and bend down. Seizing that moment, with a well-aimed kick, she kicked the knife out of his hands followed by a kick in his chest. Yelling, Fred and George joined the fray. Ron rushed over to Hermione and pulled her into the shadows.

"Are you OK?" he asked in horror when he saw her torn shirt and nail marks.

"Yes," said Hermione breathlessly. "I'm fine."

After 10 minutes, Fred and George stood back panting. Harry approached Percy where he lay bloody and battered. His glasses were shattered and his clothes were ripped. Drawing his wand, Harry pointed it at the body underneath him.

He didn't want to do this. Killing Pettigrew had already marred him. He felt dirty and horrible when he remembered administering the Killing Curse. But he couldn't give anyone else the task; he was bound to become a murderer by killing Voldemort. The only comfort that Harry got was that he was saving lives in the process.

"I'm sorry," whispered Harry his eyes full of sorrow and despair.

"Avada Kedavra"

A/N: Hey! Sorry for taking so long. I fell sick on Friday ad unable to get any time to write except for Monday! And then I had Chemistry AP. Sorry for the wait. Thanks to all those who took time to review and give suggestions. Feel free to express any thoughts in your reviews, as did superstar! These reviews are the best gifts a writer can get and those who actually take the time are so beautiful! Thank you!