You Were Wrong About Me
WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN'T COMPLETED THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, BE CAUTIOUS BECAUSE THERE WILL BE SPOILER-TYPE THINGS.
A/N: Okay: before I say anything, let me tell you that I would love a review of any kind—I really don't care if it's anonymous or not—and I also ask for advice on how to improve. However, flames are not appreciated unless you really have a good reason for doing so.
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE READING THE ACTUAL CHAPTER IF YOU HAVE READ "MISTAKEN": All right. This may be a little confusing, so I'll try to make it really simple. I had HP fic before this that I called "Mistaken" that I just recently changed to "A Mystery". The second chapter of that story is really the first chapter of this one, because I realized that it really didn't fit with "A Mystery", so this beginning is pretty much the same except for some tweaking here and there.
This story takes place after "Half-Blood Prince", which I'm sure that everyone's read already anyway. Try to remember that all the events of the sixth installment have occurred EXCEPT for anything Harry/Ginny related, because if anyone is to have a romance with Harry in this then it'll be Hermione. Yes, I miss ahem ahem too…I cried so much that my contact fell out, which was actually quite amusing. The contact part, I mean. Also remember that I am merely basing my story off of the genius J.K. Rowling's.
Rating: M just in case, because later in my chapters I may have some violence, language, or maybe the tiniest bit of some sexual type thing.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter, unless you count posters and a calendar or two. I DO own this plot and the Elantras.
Chapter 1: Questioning of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place
"But—oh, Harry, dear it would—"
"Mrs. Weasley," Harry interrupted gently but firmly. "I've got to. This is my chance to destroy Voldemort. Thanks to—thanks for Professor Dumbledore, I can go and…er…" It was at this point that Harry realized that Mrs. Weasley knew nothing of the Horcruxes, but she saved him by rounding on Ron instead.
"Ron, it's not safe—"
"Mum," Ron said exasperatedly. "This is You-Know-Who that we're talking about."
"Hermione—"
"Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said, giving a faint smile. "Thank you for looking out for us…but we've got to do this."
"Ginny, you can't be serious about—"
"I am, Mum," Ginny said, looking fiercely across the table at Mrs. Weasley.
There was a short knock and Lupin, Tonks, Professor McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt made their way across the cluttered kitchen of the Burrow. Lupin's robes looked as tattered as ever, but he seemed to be a bit more cheerful than usual, even after the news of Dumbledore. Tonk's hair was yet again a violent, spiky pink.
"Remus," Mrs. Weasley said, panicking and seizing his arm. "Ginny wants to—she—"
"I want to go after Malfoy," stated Ginny clearly. "It was one of the last things that Dumbledore talked about—bringing Malfoy and his mother back to our side. I think I could do it."
"Hogwarts is closing," Lupin said to Mrs. Weasley quietly. "Ginny is fifteen. We can send an Auror to accompany her who, of course, is also a member of the Order. One of them is already on the tail of Snape, Malfoy, and the others. They seem to be heading for Azkaban."
"One of them?" said Mrs. Weasley faintly.
"They are twins," Lupin said mildly. "I expect that Ron and Hermione—"
"We're going with Harry," said Hermione fiercely.
"Yes, I know," Lupin answered patiently. "We will accompany you."
"What?" said Harry. "Professor, you don't understand—this is something that I have to do alone."
"He means alone with us," Ron inserted.
Lupin shook his head.
"It's too dangerous," Tonks said earnestly, knocking over a chair and hastily setting it upright again. "There could be Death Eaters tracking you—we don't even know how many there are."
Ginny gave a sad, crooked smile.
"Wish Professor Dumbledore was here," she said.
"Don't we all," Harry answered, being the only one in the room who had witnessed his death.
It still sounded so strange. Dumbledore—gone. No matter how Harry attempted to phrase it—gone, dead, passed away, not with him, Avada Kedavra-ed by Snape (Harry gnashed his teeth)—it didn't seem real. Not even after the Burial. Even after the White Tomb and the funeral.
"It's settled then," Ginny continued. "Harry, Ron, and Hermione will stay for Bill and Fleur's wedding. Then it's off to the Dursley's, Godric's Hollow, and Vol-er-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
"Remus," Mrs. Weasley said, clutching his arm even tighter and completely ignoring what had just been said. "W-Who are these other members of the Order?"
A tall, slender figure stood in a dark alleyway, dressed in a cloak with a large hood which cast a shadow upon the figure's face, making it impossible to see.
"What happened?" came a panicky voice.
"Nothing," replied a second silky voice. "There must be some sort of—"
"Is somebody following us?" the first voice whispered, panting slightly.
A hook-nosed man with rather disgustingly greasy hair stepped into the very dim orange light filtering into the alleyway, surveying his surroundings. The hooded figure seemed to freeze, as if distressed, but so panicked that it would not move for fear of being seen.
"No," said the greasy haired man, stepping back into the shadows. "Come, Draco. It's time to see the Dark Lord."
"But where are we going?" the first voice persisted.
"To Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. It seems that the house elf is Bellatrix's and that he was commanded to lie to the Potter boy…" answered the other, and with a small pop they both Disapparated.
There came another small pop and the slender robed figure disappeared.
Harry woke up as suddenly as he would have if someone yelled in his ear and poured a bucket of ice-cold water on his head all at once. He glanced at the clock to his left. The red numbers were blobby and a bit distorted, so he quickly snatched his glasses off of the nightstand and shoved them on. The clock read 2:06 AM.
There were voices coming from the kitchen. Harry scrambled out of bed and went down the steps two at a time.
"N-Number Tw—" came a distressed voice with a light Irish accent.
"Summer, calm down, you'll—"
"No, Molly, you don't understand! Remus—Number Twelve Grimmauld Place—"
Harry almost tripped as he skidded into the kitchen, looking from one confused and distressed face to the next.
"Harry Potter," breathed the intruder. "Grimmauld Place—it is not yours. Dumbledore was mistaken, Kreacher was just putting on an act, and—"
"Sit down, you're about to—"
"No!" the witch (or at least, Harry presumed that she was a witch since she was brandishing around what appeared to be a wand in order to emphasize what she was saying) shouted. "Bellatrix—the cousin of Sirius—she is the rightful owner! Severus Snape and the Malfoy boy have just Apparated there!"
A silence struck the room, and Harry's legs suddenly felt as though they were made of jelly.
"Just Apparated?" said Harry faintly, dropping into a chair.
"Summer," said Lupin firmly, turning the woman to face him. "Have you thought this through? Have you thought, perhaps, that this might be a trap?"
"Wh—a trap?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, latching onto this idea as tightly as she had been to Lupin's arm only hours earlier. "Think, Summer! Maybe Severus knew you were tailing him and dropped this piece of information so that you would follow them there! Did you not report hours ago that they seemed to be heading for Azkaban?"
"But," Harry interrupted, and they all jumped as if they had just remembered that he was standing in the doorway, "If Number Twelve Grimmauld Place is Bellatrix's, then the members of the Order who are there right now—"
He was cut short by Ron, Ginny, and Hermione as they stumbled into the kitchen. It wasn't until he noticed that they were goggling at their visitor, Ron especially, that Harry got a good look at her.
She was stunningly beautiful, with curiously pale skin, thinly arched eyebrows, and a delicate, threadlike frame. Her long, fairy-tale blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves, and her eyes were a light, piercing blue. At that moment she was shaking and trembling, and beads of sweat were rapidly appearing on her face, but this did nothing to dim her beauty.
"Harry," Lupin said, addressing him directly. "This is Summer Elantra. She is a member of the Order—as is her twin sister—and she has been tracking Severus and Draco, who, it appears to be, are now headed straight for Number Twelve Grimmauld Place."
"Pleasure," said Summer, grasping Harry's hand briefly. Ron had not stopped goggling, and Hermione and Ginny were exchanging wary looks.
"Summer," pressed Professor McGonagall, who was dressed in a tartan robe. "Tell us exactly what happened."
Summer's face looked as if it was inching back to normal, basically turning a little less pale than it had been moments before. She took a shaky breath, pushed her hair behind her, and recounted everything that Snape and Malfoy had said. The two names alone made Harry's insides boil, let alone what they had been talking about. Harry was reminded faintly of himself in his second year at Hogwarts, just after he had defeated Voldemort and the basilisk, where he had talked himself hoarse.
"It's confirmed then," came Professor McGonagall's voice, bringing Harry back to the matter at hand. "It could be either a trap or perhaps Severus is telling the truth. Either way, we must be extremely careful when going to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. We also must alert the other members of the Order whom are currently residing there." Both Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt set off immediately. Harry noticed that Lupin's eyes followed them until he caught Harry watching him and forced his eyes back to Professor McGonagall.
"Wait," Harry said, staring directly at this Elantra woman. "I thought you were trailing a group of Death Eaters—why did you only see Snape and Malfoy?" He spat the last two names out, though they still left a rather bitter taste in his mouth.
"What's happening?" asked Ginny a confused expression crossed her features as she looked from Harry to Lupin and then back again.
A/N: Well, there it went! My first chapter to this all new HP fanfiction…I hope you all review!