A/N - This collection piece takes place at the beginning of sixth year. It's mainly from Harry's point of view, and aside from the obvious change where Hermione is dark, things have ran pretty much the same as the books up until this point. Like all my dark pieces, I've got notes and plans to turn this into a full story. But for now, enjoy The Train Ride.
The Train Ride.
As the students on Platform Nine and Three Quarters began to board the Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter's attention was focused on the blond figure of Draco Malfoy. Malfoy was with his mother, Narcissa, saying his goodbyes before yet another year at Hogwarts. However, that wasn't why Harry was interested in the blond. He was interested because he was convinced the young Slytherin had taken the Dark Mark and became a Death Eater over the holidays.
At the end of the previous school year, Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, had been involved in Death Eater activity at the Ministry of Magic. Then at the beginning of the summer holidays he'd been sentenced to several years in Azkaban. Harry had expected the loss of his father would subdue Draco, but when they'd spotted the blond in Diagon Alley a few days earlier he looked anything but subdued. In fact, Harry and his best friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, had followed Malfoy and his mother into Knockturn Alley, where they visited several shops and were just generally acting shifty.
In one shop, Malfoy had shown the shop owner something that had scared him, and made him jump to the young wizard's assistance, where before he'd been reluctant to help. Harry was convinced Malfoy had shown the shopkeeper the Dark Mark, but Hermione had been sceptical of a sixteen year old boy actually having the mark. There and then, Harry had vowed to discover the truth about his theory one way or the other. By the end of the year he was convinced he would know if Malfoy had the Dark Mark or not.
"Hurry up boys, or you'll miss the train," Molly Weasley called, and when Harry looked up he found Ron standing behind him, his attention also focused on Malfoy.
"Coming Mum," Ron called as the pair tore their attention away from their school rival and focused on Ron's mother.
"See you both at Christmas," Molly said, giving both boys a peck on the cheek. "Oh, and you too, Hermione," She added hastily as she spotted the brunette witch standing right behind Ron.
"Thanks, Mrs Weasley," Hermione said with a tight smile. The fact Molly had forgotten her wasn't unusual and she was getting used to being an afterthought for the Weasley matriarch.
As Harry darted onto the train behind Harry and Ron, he looked back over to where Malfoy had been standing and found the blond had gone. More than likely he'd boarded the train further down when Harry was saying goodbye to Mrs Weasley.
"Ginny's already found us a compartment," Hermione said, leading the way slightly down the corridor before entering a compartment where Ron's younger sister, Ginny Weasley, was already sitting.
"Hi Harry," Ginny greeted, throwing her brother's best friend a flirtatious smile as he and Ron deposited their school trunks and bags into the overhead luggage racks.
"Hey," Harry replied, idly wondering why Ginny was saying hello when he'd only just seen her on the platform. In fact they'd travelled to the station together as Harry had spent the last several weeks of the holidays with Ron and his family.
"Let's go and wave to Mum," Ron suggested to Harry.
Predictably neither Hermione nor Ginny opted to join the pair as they headed back into the corridor and found an unoccupied window to look out of. Harry and Ron had long since outgrown the tradition of waving to Ron's mother as the train departed, but it was a good excuse to talk away from the girls. Ginny didn't really know what was going on, and Hermione wasn't as willing to believe that someone their age could be heavily involved with Voldemort and his dark forces.
"Have you come up with a plan to expose Malfoy yet?" Ron asked as they watched the remaining students clambering onto the train before they missed it.
"No," Harry admitted with a frown. "Something tells me he won't be easy to expose. I may not like him, but I have to admit he's smart. He's certainly smart enough to keep his arm covered at all times."
"Although I don't suppose we have to expose him publically," Ron mused. "All we need to do is find out if we're right or not. If we see the mark for ourselves, people will believe us. At least the right people will."
"True," Harry agreed with a nod, thinking of the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He knew if he told Dumbledore he'd seen Malfoy's mark than the old wizard would believe him without question.
"So let's work out how we can see his arm," Ron concluded.
"You know, he might be more relaxed around his friends," Harry said thoughtfully. "He might not hide the mark from them."
"But we're not his friends, Harry," Ron pointed out. "He's not going to show us. And I don't know about you, but I don't fancy using polyjuice potion to pose as Crabbe and Goyle again. We barely got away with it last time."
"I wasn't thinking about polyjuice potion," Harry reassured his friend. "I was thinking more along the lines of using my cloak to spy on him."
"That's a brilliant idea," Ron said with a grin. "Why don't you try on the train? I bet he's happily ensconced in one of the compartment right now, bragging about his mark to all his low life friends."
"The cloak's in my bag, and I can't get it out without Hermione seeing," Harry said. "I don't want her to know about this, you know she won't approve."
"The trouble with Hermione is that she always sees the good in people," Ron remarked. "She's too nice for her own good."
"Yeah, well, nice or not she's made her feelings about my theory perfectly clear," Harry replied with a sigh. "She won't approve of me spying on Malfoy."
"Then we'll have to think of a way to get her out of the compartment for a few minutes," Ron said. "Don't worry Harry, we'll think of something. We've got hours before we arrive at Hogwarts."
With the beginnings of a plan beginning to form, Harry and Ron dutifully waved goodbye to Molly as the train began to pull out of the station. Once the train was underway they then returned to the compartment, where they found Ginny flipping through a fashion magazine and Hermione curled up with a book on her lap.
"Are you two just going to spend the entire journey reading?" Ron asked with a groan as he plonked himself down beside Hermione.
"It's a good way to pass the time, you should try it sometime," Hermione replied.
"Hey, I read," Ron protested.
"Yeah quidditch magazines and lame comics," Ginny snorted. "Very intellectual."
"And this from the queen of shallow," Ron retorted, reaching over and grabbing Ginny's magazine from her hands. "And what are you reading? Finding the right colour clothes for your personality. Such highbrow stuff, Gin."
"Git," Ginny snarled as she snatched her magazine back from her brother.
"Takes one to know one," Ron bit back.
"Enough," Hermione called, just as Harry raised his hands to silence the pair.
"Yeah, can you two please stop bickering," Harry said. "Ron, why don't we play a game of exploding snap," He suggested as he pulled his bag down from the luggage rack and produced a pack of cards.
With a nod, Ron slid down the seat to play cards with Harry until they had an opportunity to get rid of Hermione, and possibly Ginny. However, since neither of them had a plan as to how to get rid of the girls for a while, they just ended up playing cards for nearly an hour. Fortunately, just as they were finishing up yet another round, Ginny threw her magazine on the chair beside her and announced she was off to see some of her other friends for a while.
"I'll be back later," She said, aiming her comment at Harry. "Don't miss me too much."
"Don't worry, we won't," Ron called, practically slamming the door shut as his little sister departed the compartment. "Damn, she can be annoying fawning all over Harry."
"It's just a crush, she'll get over it," Hermione said with an unconcerned shrug.
"Let's hope it's sooner rather than later," Ron muttered.
"Another round?" Harry asked, interrupting the conversation about Ginny's crush on him. He had no idea what to do about the fact Ron's little sister so obviously liked him so he was ignoring the situation in the hopes it would solve itself.
"Yeah, why not," Ron replied. "Do you want in, Hermione?"
"No thank you," Hermione replied with a small smile as she slid a bookmark in her book and placed it on the seat beside her. "I have to go to the bathroom, and I need a drink. Do either of you want something from the refreshment trolley? Providing of course I can find it. I swear that witch pushing it gets more elusive every year. Did we even see her on the way home last year?"
"Don't think so," Harry replied. To be honest he'd been so caught up with dealing with events at the Ministry, and losing Sirius, that the last few weeks of school, including the train ride home, were a bit of a blur. "And no thanks, I don't need anything from the trolley."
"I'll take two chocolate frogs and a bag of Bertie Botts," Ron said as he began rotting around in his pocket for his money.
"Pay me when I get back, Ron," Hermione said as she slid out of the compartment. "Bye, boys."
"Bye, Hermione," Harry and Ron chorused together as they exchanged wicked smirks. Now they could get on with their plan, and they hadn't even had to worry about getting Hermione out of the way.
The second Hermione had gone, Harry yanked his cloak out of his bag and threw it over his shoulders. "If Hermione's back before I am, tell her I'm in the bathroom."
"And what if you get caught up and you're gone a while?" Ron asked.
"Tell her I've got a dodgy stomach," Harry answered with a shrug. "But hopefully it won't be an issue. You know what Hermione's like, she'll find someone to talk to. I bet I'm back before her."
"Good luck," Ron said as Harry pulled the cloak over his head and ensured nothing was showing before darting out into the corridor.
Once out in the corridor, Harry set off down the train in the direction he figured he would likely find Malfoy. The Slytherins tended to monopolize the compartments at the very end of the train, so Harry figured he would try down that end first. However, as he manoeuvred down the train, dodging the odd student who was walking about, Harry peeked in all the compartment just in case he passed by the Slytherins.
By the time he reached the last batch of compartment, he still hadn't come across the Slytherins. He had seen some Slytherins, just not the group he was looking for. However, as if someone was watching over him and wanted to make his job as easy as possible, Harry found Malfoy and his friends without even trying as the door at the very bottom of the train opened and Malfoy and his best friend, Blaise Zabini, emerged into the corridor. Carefully Harry crept forward so he could hear what the pair were saying.
"I'll not be long," Harry heard the blond Slytherin say as the pair slid the door shut behind them.
"Good, it's going to be murder keeping Pansy from following you," Blaise retorted.
"Well make sure you do," Draco snapped. "I don't want her all over me. I've got things to do."
"Yeah, yeah, we all know how important you are," Blaise replied, rolling his eyes.
Harry half expected Malfoy to snap at his friend again, but to his surprise, he just smirked.
"Just remember that, Zabini. I better get going."
Harry had to act fast as Malfoy suddenly turned in his direction, but he managed to flatten himself against the wall of the corridor as the blond swept past him. Not wanting to be left behind, he then trailed after the blond, being careful not to get too close. However, they weren't going far and Malfoy stopped outside a compartment with the blinds drawn. Glancing up and down the corridor, presumably to make sure no-one was watching him, Malfoy pulled the door open. By this point Harry was as close as he dared get to the blond and he darted inside behind him, only just getting in before Malfoy snapped the door closed.
It wasn't until the door shut behind him that Harry realised the compartment they'd entered was completely dark. Not only had someone drawn the blinds in the doorway, but they'd also drawn the thick red drapes that hung at the windows of the train. Even though Harry wished he could see more, he had to remain silent so he quietly shuffled himself into the corner and stood waiting to see what was going to happen. So far, Malfoy was just standing in the middle of the compartment, not moving or speaking.
"You're late," A low, sultry, feminine voice suddenly said, and Harry spotted the silhouette of someone sitting in the corner of the compartment.
Harry frowned at the sound of the voice, thinking it was a voice he should know. There was something so very familiar about it, but at the same time he felt there was something wrong with the voice. Almost as if whoever had spoken had done so while trying to disguise their voice.
"Forgive me, My Lady," Draco replied, and even though it was dark and Harry couldn't see the blond's face, he could hear the smirk in his voice.
"I'll think about it," The mysterious voice answered, and yet again Harry felt as though he should know who Malfoy was talking to.
"I'm sure I can earn forgiveness somehow," Draco said, his voice taking on a husky quality as he finally moved further into the compartment.
"I'm sure you can," The mysterious witch replied with a throaty cackle.
Suddenly Harry was regretting his desire to follow Malfoy. It would seem all he'd witnessed was some sort of secret tryst between the blond Slytherin and whatever tart he was shagging. Clearly the secrecy was to keep Pansy Parkinson out of the picture. For some reason, Malfoy didn't want the annoying raven haired girl to know he was involved with someone else. Whether it was because he was cheating on Pansy, or for some other reason, Harry didn't know, nor did he care. All he wanted was to escape the compartment before he heard something that would haunt him forever. However, he couldn't see any way of escaping without revealing that someone had been watching them, and if he did that Malfoy would be on guard for the rest of the year and he'd never prove that the blond boy was really a Death Eater.
"So," Draco said in a low purr as Harry was busy contemplating just how to escape the situation he'd put himself in. "How did you manage to slip away? I thought Potty and Weasel were your little shadows."
Harry froze the second Malfoy mentioned him and Ron. Clearly the witch he was meeting was someone they knew, and clearly someone they knew well.
"You know I can ditch Harry and Ron whenever I like," The witch responded. "That's the beauty of being the good girl, no-one expects you to be bad."
"You can be bad with me anytime you want, Granger," Draco replied with a dirty laugh.
Harry had to clap his hand over his mouth to keep himself from spluttering at the revelation that Hermione was the mystery witch Malfoy was meeting. Now he knew why the voice sounded so familiar, it was the voice of his best friend. Although Harry had never heard such a seductive quality to her voice before, nor had he heard her making suggestive remarks.
"I do love a bad boy," Hermione purred and Harry fought the urge to throw up. Obviously Hermione wasn't the innocent girl he thought she was, although he still didn't know what she was doing with a Death Eater like Malfoy.
"And I try my best to live up to your expectations," Draco replied.
"You more than do that," Hermione said, before Harry heard the sound of lips connecting.
Harry tried to block out the sound of Hermione kissing the boy he hated with a passion as he tried to figure out is he could sneak out of the compartment. Maybe he could slip out while the pair were distracted, and judging from the low moans Hermione was starting to make, Harry was guessing she was well and truly distracted. Carefully, Harry edged back over towards the door, but before he could even place his hand on the handle he heard Hermione stop Malfoy from ravishing her.
"Did you lock the door?" She asked.
"Not yet," Draco replied.
Much to Harry's horror the blond sent a locking spell to the door before he could move. Now he couldn't leave without first unlocking the door, and to do that he would have to use magic. Not only would Harry have to get to his wand, which was stupidly tucked in his back trouser pocket, but he would then have to quietly say the spell and get the lock to open. Harry had yet to learn silent and wand-less magic, so he needed both his wand and words to escape. However, he knew he couldn't manage to get his wand from his pocket, open the door and escape before he was caught. Even if by some miracle Hermione and her paramour didn't hear him saying the spell to open the door, they would notice the door opening and it wouldn't take Hermione long to work out their invisible visitor was Harry. Like it or not, it looked like Harry was stuck in the compartment with the amorous pair.
After locking the door, Malfoy had returned his attention to Hermione, and try as he might, Harry just couldn't block out the sounds they were making. He was just grateful the compartment was in darkness, so he didn't have to see his best friend messing about with the boy who'd done nothing but tease her since she started school. In an attempt to drown out the lustful moans he could hear, Harry tried to decide what Hermione was up to. Why on earth was his muggleborn best friend sneaking around with the most notorious pureblood in Hogwarts? It was no secret the Malfoys detested anyone who wasn't a pureblood, so why was their precious son and heir shagging a mudblood?
Ten minutes later, Harry still didn't know why his friend was messing around with Malfoy. However, what he did know was that Hermione was a very vocal lover, and had a slight penchant for talking dirty. Not that Malfoy was exactly quiet, and some of the things he'd said had made Harry blush. Harry was just pleased that a bit of groping was as far as they'd went, although they'd both seemed to have had some sort of fulfilment thanks to the others hands.
"Now to the reason for the meeting," Hermione said, sounding somewhat breathless after her encounter with the blond Slytherin.
"You mean you wanted me for something other than my talented fingers?" Draco quipped, as Harry frowned in bewilderment. He'd figured the pair had met up to fool around, and now he was curious as to what else would have the unlikely pair meeting up.
"As nice as your fingers are, we've got business to discuss," Hermione replied in a firm voice that Harry recognised as one that indicated she meant business. Funnily enough, she now sounded much more like the Hermione he knew now she'd dropped the sultry tone, although there was still something more crisp and authoritative about her tone.
"Do you mind if I open the curtains?" Draco asked.
Harry didn't hear Hermione answer, but all of a sudden the drapes were pushed back, and sunlight flooded the compartment. Harry blinked slightly at the sudden burst of light, but he quickly found his bearings. Hermione was sitting in the corner, looking her normal prim and proper self, and if Harry hadn't just heard otherwise he never would have believed that moment earlier she was panting and yelling as Malfoy drew an orgasm out of her. As for Malfoy, he was standing against the opposite chair, looking very smug with himself.
"Sit down, Draco," Hermione ordered, rolling her eyes at the blond.
"Of course, My Lady," Draco replied, and Harry was shocked to see the blond slightly incline his head in Hermione's direction as he sat down. If he didn't know any better, he would say the blond was showing deference to Hermione, rather than teasing her with the 'My Lady' stuff.
"I'll probably not have much time to speak to you when we first get back to school, so I want a status update," Hermione began, sounding very professional and showing no hint that she was talking to someone she was romantically involved with.
"Everything is running to plan," Draco replied.
Harry wished the pair would be more specific about what they were talking about, but he had a bad feeling about it. He was worried enough that Hermione was involved with Malfoy in a romantic sense, but it was now clear something much bigger was going on. The pair were doing more than shagging, any fool could see that. Harry just wanted to know what exactly they were doing.
"You got it then?" Hermione asked.
"Did you ever doubt me?" Draco retorted with a smirk. "Of course I got it. It was moved to the manor yesterday morning. It's all set on that end, we've just got Hogwarts to sort."
"Which won't be easy," Hermione cautioned. "Especially now Harry is on to you."
"Potter isn't a problem," Draco snorted, and Harry bristled at how easy the blond brushed him off.
"Yes he is," Hermione insisted firmly. "Don't underestimate him, Draco. He might not be the brightest spark, but he's tenacious. He's decided that you've got the mark, and he's determined to prove it. He'll be all over you this year, so be careful."
"I can handle Potter," Draco replied. When Hermione gave him a cold stare, Harry recoiled slightly and he wasn't at all surprised when Malfoy's smugness dropped from his face and he gulped slightly nervously. "I promise, I'll be careful."
"Make sure you are," Hermione cautioned. "We've worked too hard to fail now."
"I won't let you down," Draco vowed, and even Harry could see how sincere the blond was. He just wished he knew what Malfoy was up to, and where Hermione fit in all of this.
"I never thought you would," Hermione replied with a sweet, but deadly smile. "But you know the penalty if you fail. My father doesn't tolerate failures."
"I'm aware of that," Draco said with another nervous gulp, as Harry wondered why Malfoy was scared of Mr Granger, who'd seemed like a perfectly nice muggle to him. "Don't worry, Hermione, I will do this. There's no reason for you to worry. I won't let The Dark Lord down, and I especially won't let his beautiful daughter down."
This time the revelation took Harry too much by surprise, and he didn't have time to silence himself as he let out a sharp gasp of shock as Malfoy's words penetrated his mind and the implications of what he was saying sunk in. Hermione wasn't a muggleborn at all, she was the daughter of his greatest enemy.
"What was that?" Draco questioned, jumping up and pulling out his wand, immedielty on alert at the sound.
"Don't," Hermione cautioned, pulling out her own wand as she turned her attention to where the sound had came from. "Don't use your wand. We don't want anything traced back to you."
Even though he was under the invisibility cloak, Harry felt as though Hermione could see him. She was staring directly at him, and it was not a pleasant look. She looked downright dangerous, and suddenly Harry found himself slightly scared of the girl he'd known since they were eleven. Ron had always said Hermione could be scary, but he had no idea just how right he was. Hermione wasn't just scary, she was deadly and Harry knew he was in serious danger.
"Harry," Hermione called, still looking directly at Harry even though she couldn't see him. "Don't hide, we know you're there. It'll be easier for you if you just show yourself."
Even though he knew he was busted, Harry wasn't planning on going down without a fight. Slowly he reached round to his back pocket and drew his wand. However, before he had a chance to pull his wand back in front of his body and shoot off a spell while he still had a slight edge, Hermione spun into action and he found himself hit with a stunning curse that sent him toppling to the floor. As he fell the cloak rode up, exposing his shoe to Hermione and Malfoy.
"Got you," Draco announced happily as he yanked the cloak off Harry's prone body.
Unable to move or speak, all Harry could do was glare up at Malfoy. However, the blond merely smirked at him before stepping back and allowing Hermione to move into his line of sight. When Hermione knelt down beside him, Harry felt a trickle of fear run down his spine. Even though he'd known Hermione for years, he felt as though he was looking into the eyes of a stranger. Normally he would say Hermione had warm, smiling eyes, but now they looked cold and devoid of all emotion. Without her façade of being the good girl, her bad girl persona was evident to see, and it was terrifying.
"So brave," She cooed, running her fingers down his cheek. "Or should I stay stupid. You just couldn't resist, could you? You had to go round following people. What did you do, grab your cloak as soon as I left and set off to find Draco? What were you hoping, to prove he had the Dark Mark?"
"I can oblige you with that, Potter," Draco said, stepping back into Harry's line of sight and pulling up his left sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark on his pale forearm. "You were right, I am a Death Eater."
"He's Father's youngest ever recruit," Hermione said proudly. "If you don't count me, and I'm not sure I do count since I'm his little princess."
"Hermione, time's ticking," Draco warned and Harry felt his heart speed up as he wondered what the pair were going to do to him. "I need to get back, and so do you."
"You're right," Hermione said with a thoughtful nod. "But we have to do something about Harry."
"Such a shame we can't just kill the bugger," Draco said with a sigh, chuckling when he noticed Harry's green eyes widening in fear.
"I know, but Father wants the honour," Hermione replied. "First he wants to kill Dumbledore, then he wants to kill Harry. So I guess it's your lucky day, Harry, you get to live. But you don't get to remember."
Harry blinked as he took in Hermione's words, but since he was still under the stunning spell there was nothing he could do as she raised her wand and obliviated him. The second her memory spell had taken, Hermione then knocked Harry out cold and Draco threw the invisibility cloak over him. The pair then snuck out of the compartment, leaving Harry to whatever fate awaited him.
Maybe he would be found before the train headed back to London, or maybe he wouldn't, but one thing was for sure, he wouldn't be able to tell anyone anything about what had happened to him. Hermione had wiped his memory of the entire train journey, so the last thing Harry would remember was getting on the train at King's Cross Station. He would never remember that he'd almost caught Hermione out and exposed her as the daughter of The Dark Lord before she followed through with her father's latest plan that would destroy the light once and for all.