Chapter 15

Author's note:
Once more with feeling: 'I don't own anything, just the plot, don't sue.'

Voldemort called Harry aside before they entered the room where the Weasleys and a few others were already waiting for them.

"Harry, before we go in, there is something you need to know"

"Keeping things from me already, Tom?" Harry asked ironically

"Well, we talked exactly twice without trying to kill each other… there are things I haven't told you yet, but look at out time table" said Voldemort with a small smirks on his lips.

"Of course. I'm sorry. Do go on"

"Well, first you should know the reason I'm not trying to kill you…"

"I am your only descendent…" Harry interrupted only to be interrupted in return

"Which would mean absolutely nothing to me if it wasn't for the fact that if you die, I die. Not exactly an idea I cherish, you see"

"I do" said Harry beginning to understand the reasons behind the truce.

"Therefore you have no reason to fear an attack from me, it's in my best interest that you remain alive and well, enjoying a long and fruitful life"

"and as soon as I have a child you'll dispose of me, of course" Harry said in a as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

"Merlin forbid, no. I want you with as many children as you possibly can. I don't want to risk it… and by then you will no longer be a threat because you will always think of your family first so, no, I have no intention to kill you anymore"

"How nice of you" Harry couldn't help but be ironic.

"You said you wanted the truth. I'm giving it to you. Why? Can't you handle it? Do you prefer me to tell you some sugar coated lie?" Voldemort purred.

"No" Harry sighed "I can handle. Is there anything else?"

"You grandmother was… not welcoming my attentions when your mother was conceived"

"not welcoming you atten… you are not my grandfather?"

"Oh! You're my grandchild alright, but there were some violence involved, if you know what I mean"

Harry looked at him in doubt. Not fully understanding what was been said.

"I raped her, Harry" said Voldemort shaking his head in disbelieve.

"You what? Why are you telling me this?" it made no sense to Harry, wasn't this man suppose to try to gain his thrust? Why was he telling him these horrible things?

"I won't pretend to be nice, Harry, and I won't hide anything from you. Now you know how we ended up in the same family. Now you know all the facts. It was a long time ago and, if it makes any difference for you, I'll even apologize for it, but it means nothing to me"

"Then why tell me?"

"Because things will only get uglier from the moment we cross that door and I need to know now if you will be able to handle what is going to be said and not lose it like you did at the Leaky Cauldron. I promised you the truth but it doesn't mean I intend to sacrifice all my ambitions so you get what you want. If I feel you are behaving like the child Dumbledore wants you to be I will lie to you in order to keep you at my side. It's a question of knowing what you want. What do you want, Harry?"

Harry looked at Voldemort strait in the eyes, he could tell the Dark Lord was telling the truth and that he was being treated like a grown up like he always wanted since he never had the privilege of being a child.

"What you said was true?" he finally asked in a much calmer tone.

"Yes. Do you want me to apologize? Hold information until I think you are ready?"

"No. I don't like the idea of rape and we will get back on that, but it was over thirty years ago, no use in getting upset now. I can handle it and I can handle whatever they say inside"

"Good, Let's go in" and they walked in the room together. Ready to face whatever came their way.

In the large dinning room Arthur Weasley held his wife as she cried and told everyone of the attack, not noticing Harry and another man standing behind her. Harry wondered if he would ever see a stranger reunion. Sitting around the table he could see Arthur, Molly, Ginny, Fred and a very pale George with his still sore leg resting on another chair, next to them sat Lucius, Trelaway, Avery, Snape and two other Death Eaters he recognized from his visions but had no idea of their names. Harry sat at his side near the head of the table where Voldemort sat himself. Molly went quiet when she finally realized who was in front of her.

Snape was the one who broke the silence after receiving a nod from Voldemort.

"Well, I believe we all know what pressing matters brought this meeting on" said Snape "well, perhaps you, Arthur, could use some explaining"

"I…" Arthur Weasley started but he was at lost of words. He had come down to this place, wherever it was, to meet his wife that for some reason did not go home as planned, only to find two of his sons laying in hospital beds, his wife half drugged with calming draughts (always a good choice when taking the boys to the hospital), his daughter acting very strangely and Harry… Harry was sitting at you-know-who's side! And on top of all he had been there for almost one hour and Lucius Malfoy was being polite, no Death Eaters had tried to attack him or his family and everybody was talking like they were in some serious but friendly meeting, he was feeling completely lost "Yes, I believe I could".

Snape began to explain to Arthur everything that had happened. The shocking discoveries of Dumbledore secret agenda, Hermione's betrayal, Pettigrew's true master, Snape and Lily's relationship, their child and who Lily's father really was (carefully not mentioning the rape 'detail').

"No, I can't believe it. Dumbledore would never do such a thing, Severus, you know it" said Arthur getting to his feet, not caring about the room being half full with armed Death Eaters "They did it, they put a spell on you and Harry to make you believe this things. You know it's not true"

"We have witnesses. I'll give them veritaserum and you can ask whatever you want of them"

"Who?..."

"Pettigrew, Alastor and Mundungus." Answered Snape before he could finish the question

"What about Kingsley?" asked Molly before she could control herself.

"Well, apparently Shadow, Harry's pet, was a bit too protective of Mr. Ronald Weasley" answered the Dark Lord, making Molly shiver "Oh, please. Don't be alarmed. Harry here has told me you are like family to him and so you have my word no harm will be done to any of you"

"Why?..." Molly started only to be interrupted by Fred.

"Not now, mom. We are safe and I want to know what is going on as soon as possible" she looked at him ready to start arguing when she looked at George. Fred was right, they had been well treated so far and there were things they needed to know. She did something she never thought she would do as long as she lived; she looked at the Dark and nodded to him, allowing the meeting to go on.

"Very well" said Snape getting up "why don't we start with Pettigrew?" everybody in the room seemed to nod and Snape signalled the masked Death Eater at the door to bring the prisoner.

Wormtail was brought in the room with his hands tied, he looked tired and afraid but not too bruised for someone who was experiencing the hospitality of Voldemort's cells, even if for less than a day. The Death Eater who brought him in untied his hands and sat him in a chair facing the group at the table.

"Less than a day" though Harry "Merlin, it was only this morning I met them in the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Hello, Peter" greeted Voldemort.

"Master, please, let me explain" the rat begged.

"Oh, you will explain, you will explain everything. This conversation is long overdue, Peter, and to make sure I don't forget to ask anything my friends here will be assisting me tonight. I'm sure you remember the Weasleys, whose hospitality you enjoyed for so long, my associates, the ones you conspire to kill, Harry…you do remember the Potters, right? And you know Severus and his astonishing abilities, of course"

Pettigrew looked worriedly around the table to the people the Dark Lord was introducing before focussing his eyes on the potion master, who was carefully counting the drops of a potion as they fell in a goblet with water. Snape walked over to the shivering rat man and handed him the goblet without saying a word. Pettigrew looked around the room again hoping to find a friendly face to beg for help but the Death Eater side of the room was showing no emotions and the others were looking at him as if they were ready to snap his neck with their bare hands.

Seeing no way out and feeling the Dark Lord's gaze upon him, he drank the potion.

"Now tell me, Peter, what did you have to tell Dumbledore so badly that made you go to the Order's HQ?" asked Voldemort.

"I had to tell him that the seer had escaped and found her way here"

"Why is that so important?"

"She could escape the influence of the drugs and tell that the prophesy Harry heard was false."

"If the prophesy is false, why am I so important to Dumbledore?" asked Harry before he could stop himself. Voldemort gesture him to calm down and Harry nodded agreeing.

"Because the real prophesy said that you are the key to kill the Dark Lord. You are the one who has the power to kill him and if he kills you, he also dies. We win either way."

"Does he know why that is?" asked Voldemort.

"Yes" Harry, Voldemort and Snape held their breath, if Dumbledore knew Harry was in grave danger.

"Why?"

"The two of you are connected because of Lily's sacrifice" They sighed, Dumbledore had the wrong reason.

"What would happen to Harry if he did kill me?"

"Send him to Azkaban for murder, too powerful, make sure he dies in prison"

Harry noticed that after that answer Arthur snapped his head up looking at the rat man with wide eyes and Molly narrowed her eyes dangerously. If looks could kill Pettigrew would be a pile of dust right about now. Harry felt better, at least for now their feelings for him were still the same, he was still part of the family.

"Who are Harry's parents?"

"Lily Evans Potter and Severus Snape"

"What?"

"How?"

Several voices could be heard at once. Even Lucius and Avery who knew about Voldemort connection to Harry didn't know about Snape's and the news took almost all of the ones in the room by surprise.

"Why did Dumbledore decide to split Lily and Severus up?"

"Dumbledore needed a spy amongst the Death Eaters and we couldn't find a way in, my family was not important, nor powerful enough to call your attention. Severus came for Dumbledore's help. His family wanted him to join and he had already been invited but he was in love with a muggle born. She was pregnant and they wanted to get married, but he couldn't simple refuse to take the mark. Dumbledore decided that the chance was to good to go to waste, so he married Lily to James because of the baby and convinced Severus to became a spy"

"How did he do it?"

"Spell and potions, they wouldn't forget each other and we couldn't use the same drug we used on the seer because Lily was pregnant and Severus could not be drugged and still function normally"

"Why did you betray the Potters?"

"You wanted the child, you knew about part of the prophesy and knew enough to want the child dead. Dumbledore knew the child could probablysurvive an attack or you would both die and it was my chance to became a spy too, we needed more information."

"What about Hermione?" Harry whispered at Voldemort's ear.

"What role does Miss Granger plays on Dumbledore's plan?"

"Dumbledore wants her to be the next Minister of Magic. He is training her. She will bring wizards and muggles together and Dumbledore will rule over them all"

"How does he plan on making her the new minister?"

"She will be Harry's widow, the public opinion will support her as the surviving hero after Harry's death"

"What about Harry's relationship to Ron Weasley?"

"Kill the red head. Harry will be sad and open to her advances" Pettigrew started to blink as the potion lost its effect. His breath increased and he turned his teary eyes to Voldemort.

"My lord, please, have mercy. The old man had me under powerful spells, I swear I would never betray you. My lord…" he was dragged out of the room by the same death eaters who had brought him in. His pleading voice disappearing in the distance.

The room was silent. Everyone was considering what they had just heard. Dumbledore's manipulation and plans went far beyond what they had previously believed. Arthur was the first one to speak.

"Merlin. What is going on? How could we not see it?" his voice was shocked.

"That, Mr. Weasley, is what we are going to find out." Answered the Dark Lord and for the first time, Arthur Weasley looked up to him and did not shiver at the sight.

Chapter 16

"I can't believe it" said Molly.

"Believe it, Molly, It's true." Said Severus in a defeated tone, "the man I always regarded as a mentor took everything that mattered from me"

"Oh, Severus… I can't even imagine what is like for you, but it's so…" Molly was out of words. The things that had been said… the Albus Dumbledore she knew would never do those things.

"You will." Trelaway spoke for the first time.

"What?"

"You will understand how he feels, Molly Weasley, for you will feel the same"

Severus could feel the hair on the back of his neck standing up, Trelaway was looking strange… well, stranger, again. She was seeing something. The whole room had gone quiet, even the Dark Lord had his attention on the seer now.

"What do you mean, my dear?" he asked.

"She already lost one son for him. He took her son to work as spy because a third force is playing in this charade"

"What does she means? What son did I lose?" asked Molly panicking.

"Percy" Fred was the first to speak, he understood, he could see it, clear as water. "He is not in Dumblerore's side and he did not become a Death Eater. He works for the ministry"

"Yes, the third son. The power driven one. He turned his back on his own blood in order to serve his master. His new set of eyes" Trelaway was now playing with her necklace, a long silver chain with a miniature crystal ball attached to it. The little ball started to move on its own and emanate a soft bluish glow, tiny specks of yellow and red glow could be seeing dancing inside as Trelaway continued.

"He had the board all set, a prime position to choose his future players, a spy in his enemies house and a puppet doing what he was told in the main sit at the wizarding world, but the puppet cut out his strings" she laughed as if someone had told her a joke "Three sides once balanced and now the scale was tipping… "

Trelaway got up and stood besides Molly, running her hand absently minded on her head. When she spoke again everyone in the room held their breath, it was Dumbledore's voice they heard.

"The Weasley have enough children on their family, they won't take a big hit by the loss of one. The other families only have one or two children, if I pick one of them I lose the whole family in time, the Weasleys will remain faithful even after the loss of one or two of them. It our safest bet"

Trelaway suddenly turned around looking at the door, her voice went back to been her own.

"Oh, we just lost the second one"

Harry felt his heart stop, he refused to understand what she had just said. He forced the knowledge out of his mind, ignored with all his might. Trelaway did not say the last sentence, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley did not just ran out the door, the twins were not following them, Ginny was not following them. He was not moving, he was standing still, he was not running, he was not catching up with the twins who were moving slower because of the leg injure, he was not bypassing Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who were running with tears in their eyes, he was not bursting through the infirmary door … Ron was not lying there pale and still with his eyes closed. IT WAS NOT HAPPENING.

"Ron, wake up, Ron... RON, WAKE UP" someone was grabbing his shoulders, pulling him back, no, no. He was suppose to help Ron wake up, Ron was hurt and weak and would not wake up with strangers, they didn't know how to wake him up, but Ron would respond to him. They were all wrong, they were mistaken.

He could still feel hands trying to prevent him to get close to Ron. He had to get back. He had to get free and help Ron. The hands were NOT helping and he had to push them away to get back.

He was almost unaware of some voices sounding on his ear, someone was shouting. Molly was kneeling at Ron's bed crying, no, she was mistaken, she was giving up, someone had to shake Ron and he would wake up, sometimes doctors made mistake, Ron was not gone, Ron was there, Ron was laying right there.

Snape was standing in front of him, blood running down his face from his nose. He raised his wand and pointed at Harry. A brief flash of light and Harry felt the world falling in to the most blessed, silence and painless darkness he never knew.

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Harry woke up feeling sore all over and feeling his mouth dry. He tried to get up but a gentle hand held him down and he felt a vial pressed to his lips.

"Drink this, son" he recognized his father's voice and gulped down the potion. He began to feel a little better and looked around the room. He was laying in one of the beds in the infirmary, the lights were low but he could still see that all the other beds were empty.

He could hear muffled voices. He turned his head to the end of the room, Mrs. Weasley was sitting with one of the med-witches, they had tea cups in their hands and he could see that they both crying while they talked. Other voices could be heard from the other side of the open doors. He looked at his father, who was still holding his hand.

"What happened?"

"You lost control when we found out about Ron. You started to yell and wouldn't let us get near him, we try to hold you but you put up a hell of a fight… broke my nose, for one thing. We… I had to stupefy you to keep you from hurting yourself or anybody else"

"I'm sorry… but, Ron. Is he…?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. The curse he was hit with was very powerful, we simply did not have the cure"

Harry started to cry softly. He felt like someone was slowly ripping his heart out of his chest. It didn't physically hurt, but at the same time he had never felt so much pain in his life. Strong, protective arms wrapped around him and he felt himself been rocked back and forward. He heard Molly specking from a long distance saying it would be ok. He curled in her embrace, inhaling her scent, the scent of Ron, of the Burrows, of home, and he never felt more alone in his life.

Snape watched his son cry in to the red headed woman's embrace for a moment before letting her know that he was going in to the other room. She nodded and continued to rock Harry in her arms.

"They need each other right now more than anything, I wish I could find comfort so easily"

He left the infirmary and joined the twins who standing just outside the door, watching their father and sister talk to the Dark Lord and Lucius Malfoy.

"What is going on?"

"They are apologizing to Ginny for the trouble in her first year, you know with the diary and the chamber of secrets" said a very serious looking twin, Snape looked at them, he had never seen them so serious or so quiet.

"Why are they doing it now?" asked Snape.

"Ginny was not well, she was… in shock, I guess" said George… or Fred "They wanted to make her get over it"

"Lucius even apologized to dad, in front of everyone. Shook his hand and everything" added the other one "I guess they are really trying to patch up the way between them"

"Yes, it will be vital that we stay together now" said Snape.

"Why? What happens now?" asked one of the twins, the answer came from the door.

"We find more about Dumbledore's plan and why they did this to Ron" Harry was standing by the door holding Molly in his arms. They both had tears in their eyes, but Harry also had anger.

He took Molly to the other side of the room where the men stood up when they approached.

"Mrs. Weasley, I would like to formally introduce you to my grandfather. Tom Riddler. Tom, this is Molly Weasley, she was like a mother to me for the last six years and is the mother of my boyfriend"

Voldemort notice the use of his old name and the fact that Harry had said "is" instead of "was" when he talked about his boyfriend. One exchanged look with his grandson and he understood he was doing it for the woman's sake, there was a hardness in Harry's eyes that wasn't there before and at that moment he knew.

His grandson was finally home.

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Narcisa Malfoy was sitting in her privet office in her manor. As Lady Malfoy, she had a number of social duties that demanded her constant attention. Right now she was answering several R.V.S. P. invitations and going over next weeks menu as well as dealing with several small matters that needed her attention around the house. She liked to do everything at once, leaving the rest of her week free for other activities and the occasional emergency that could pop up unannounced.

Her emergencies were usually a last minute necessities around the house, something getting broken, someone arriving unexpectedly and the last minute party/reception/basket of flowers needed because of that.

She, every now and then, had a different kind of emergency. The Dark Lord had, on occasion, call upon her to do something and she happily obliged. Therefore, when the dark owl came to her window, she was not overly surprised and, with a sense of self importance, she took the letter from the owl and began to read. Now, that was unexpected!

She putted away a few papers in secret compartments in her desk and send a house-elf to find her son, they were been expected in the Riddler Mansion right way.

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Harry made sure Molly and Ginny were feeling comfortable enough with Voldemort, who was proving to be an exceptional host, letting his guest feel at easy with him, before indicating the group standing by the infirmary door to Lucius with his head. Arthur Weasley notice the exchange and followed them when they left.

"Mr. Weasley, maybe you would like to stay out of this one" said Harry.

"Why?" snapped Arthur.

"Because we are going downstairs and we are going to do whatever it takes to find out everything we can about Dumbledore's plan" answered one of the twins.

Lucius looked at Severus for confirmation and the potion master nodded. They were really going and right now the youngsters were looking for more than just answers, they also wanted to exact a little revenge. Arthur Weasley shook his head.

"No, not alone you are not. Ron was my son… my little one" he started to cry and to everybody's surprise it was Lucius who put his arms around the man. "I'm not going to just sit up here and be informed of why was my son murdered latter. I'm coming with you"

Harry wanted to protest, but one look from his father made him shut up. He could see the looks the three older wizards were exchanging between them, they spoke volumes. The six of them silently left the room as Trelaway walked in, making her way to where Voldemort was sitting with Ginny and Molly, a house elf was following her with a tray of tea. The young Miss Weasley had not eaten anything since she had got here, it was time to chance that.

Trelaway smiled at the women sitting at the fancy couch as the tea was served. She helped Mrs. Weasley convince her daughter to eat something and smile again, half because Ginny was finally relaxing enough to eat and half because at that moment, the men had reach the cell were the Death Eaters impersonators were, her gift was tingling with the knowledge of the amount of pain was in store for Dumbledore's men.

In a moment she would have excuse herself, Narcisa Malfoy and her son would be there and she would take the blond boy to join the men downstairs. An important meeting was about to happen and she was just in the right position to watch a new chapter in history to happen.

The four young men would change the face of the world, if everything went the way she planned, and she wanted to make sure everything was in place for that to happen. Everything in the right place for the down fall of Dumbledore.