A/N Hello everyone. I apologize for this huge gap in updating but in my defense...I was lazy. Not to mention studying for entrances, which by the way have been postponed again, and procrastinating heavily.
I think it was also that I have grown a little bored of my writing style maybe? Like having written nearly 50000 words and I feel it's not just that...good? I try, though. Do give me your feedback on this. Not just the plotlines but the writing too.
Also, this is a huge chapter too. I think it would be more preferable if I post shorter 3000-3500 word chapters regularly. Right?
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 11: Snuffles and the Marauder
It was akin to torture when Ron realized that he had to attend the DADA class when Harry woke him up ten minutes before it' start . He had a weird dream and he was sure that he had seen Hermione in his dream. While normally, it would make him blush, the Hermione in his dream was older. She said some things and there was a room or something...Weird, Ron thought.
Harry was cheerful. The horcrux helped a lot in maintaining his sobriety and curing his hangover. Though he was not completely sober, he could afford to go to class without cursing his head off. Seamus and Dean couldn't. They ignored everyone and groaned the whole way to class.
Hermione shot a smug smile at Harry when they came down but mellowed a bit at seeing Ron like that. She gave him some pepper-up potion which she had left and Harry was shocked at this.
"Hey! Why didn't you give it to me too?"
"Because you don't need it. Look at the poor dear here" She shot Ron a tender look while Harry mimed puking. Ron grimaced the whole way, not cognizant of his changing surroundings at all.
"Ron, what steps would you take if the building you are in is being attacked by an Acromantula ?" Professor Lupin asked as they neared the end of the period.
"Soddin' large ones away from it" Ron drawled as nearly the whole class started laughing, even Hermione giggled. Only the third-year gryffindor boys remained silent as they were still hungover.
"Detention, Mr. Weasley and 10 points off Gryffindor. Stay back after the class is over," Lupin said, even though he was trying to control his laughter. He was sure that Ron had not even realized that he had spoken out loud.
Harry leapt to his best mate's defense. "But sir, points are given for correct answers, not taken."
"Perhaps, Mr. Potter will join you in your detention Mr. Weasley." Lupin said strictly.
"Perhaps" Harry cheeked as he shot a grin at Lupin.
"So, a rowdy night?" Lupin asked when the whole class had cleared.
"Umm, how about you maintain plausible deniability." Harry supplied helpfully as Lupin shook his head.
"Looking at Ron here, I don't think that he will be much of a participant in this conversation"
"He had a...rough night. Well, Professor, we have the marauder's map now, so we will simply wait for Sirius to reappear. He resurfaced near Christmas last time, so I guess that's the point at which we will meet him. Just make sure your office is properly charmed to maintain its privacy"
Lupin nodded. He did exclaim some shock that the map still existed but it was lost in the general shock of Harry talking about 'last time'.
"Also, to explain how we can conjure patroni, if we are caught, explain that you have been giving us Anti-dementor lessons"
"Alright."
"Well, you did teach me last time and I taught Ron, so technically, not a lie."
Lupin smiled. " So, now for the next thirty minutes, you can explain to me why you thought it was a good idea for all of you to get drunk"
"Bugger" Harry muttered under his breath.
With the first match replay scheduled at the end of the season, Wood became repossessed of his manic energy, and worked his team as hard as ever in the chilly haze of rain that persisted into December. His explanation was that their next match should be treated as the 'first match of their season' since their last one got cancelled midway.
Harry saw no hint of a dementor within the grounds. Dumbledore's anger seemed to be keeping them at their stations at the entrances. That definitely improved his mood, and Ron's too.
Two weeks before the end of the term, the sky lightened suddenly to a dazzling, opaline white and the muddy grounds were revealed one morning covered in glittering frost. Harry frequently checked the Marauder's map but Sirius seemed to had hidden himself out of the Hogwarts grounds. He seemed determined to keep low until the next holiday. He wondered how comfortable it would be to stay out in such weather, even in his Animagus form.
The snow, however, did not stop the both of them from continuing their physical fitness training. Ron moaned every time they ran a lap. It seemed much easier to maintain count after that. The training did help though. It had reduced the flab around Ron's stomach while helping Harry in building muscles, something which he sorely lacked at that point. It also attracted a lot of femme attention which was awkward for them.
It was more awkward for Ron. The poor guy had no idea how to respond to their 'flirting'. It didn't help that he was with Hermione most of the time during it. She hovered between amused, exasperated and irritated.
Inside the castle, there was a buzz of Christmas in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies.
The students were all happily discussing their plans for the holidays. Both Ron and Hermione had decided to remain at Hogwarts while Harry thought if all went well, he could spend Christmas with Sirius.
"You need to be out of the castle. We can't retrieve the diadem with you in tow."
"Why not?"
" Because I have no idea how it can affect you. You didn't really come into contact with any active horcruxes till our last year."
Retrieving the diadem was a necessity. They could argue that no one even knew of its location, so it was safe where it was but Ron had argued that things were already changing this time, what if someone got hold of the diadem? After all, the last time Voldemort's horcrux got into the hands of a student, bad things happened.
"I was near the diary, though."
"For how much time anyway? You wrote in it a little and, then, Ginny stole it. Plus, wasn't Voldemort recovering from his failed philosopher's stone grab anyway at that point?"
"I don't think anyone knows. But aren't you overreacting a bit? Nothing will happen-"
"We are not risking it. You haven't interacted with Horcruxes when he wasn't back in his physical form. The risk is too high that the diadem, in close proximity to you, may somehow interact with your scar and all that will alert him. It's a hypothesis but the risk is there."
Harry was still being stubborn.
"Mate, listen" Ron said. "It's just the diadem. When we start hunting for more Horcruxes, which may well be after we sort out the whole Sirius-Lupin-Dumbledore-Scabbers situation, it will be the next year and our chief dark wizard would be in a small body by then. Just one, that's all. I am going to retrieve this without you, don't oppose it anymore."
Harry didn't like the idea of Ron getting close to a horcrux. They had, finally, agreed to store it into a locked and charmed box inside the trunk. Hermione had ordered it and it would reach them around Christmas, so all things wrapped up nicely.
Ron had joked, "Well, I won't wear a tiara anyway, so no problemo" Harry did not find the joke funny. Ron and horcruxes were not a good mix, he had repeatedly told Hermione, but what could he say? He couldn't suggest Hermione to be close to it, Ron would kill him for even thinking it.
To everyone's delight including Harry's, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term. He had decided that he would 'honor' the original timeline and come to Hogsmeade this time around.
"We can do all our Christmas shopping there!" said Hermione. "Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!"
"I get how you got the 'obsession over your work' trait from." Ron chimed at that. "How much do they really love teeth, anyway?"
"Well, I prefer lips over teeth any day but I really want your teeth over my lips." It would have been cute but Ron chucked a cushion at her. A second-year student had used this line after one of his 'morning-runs'.
There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizbees, the levitating sherbet balls made an appearance too.
Harry squeezed himself through a crowd of sixth years and saw a sign hanging in the farthest corner of the shop (UNUSUAL TASTES). It was quite difficult moving under an invisibility cloak while being in a crowded store.
Ron and Hermione were standing underneath it and Harry resisted the urge to refer to their unusual tastes as each other. He handed Ron a bunch of galleons and told him to load up everything. Ron happily acquiesced as Hermione tutted.
He bid them goodbye, stating he would take a look around and go back. He wanted to investigate and, partly, wanted not to intervene in their alone time. Ron had revealed after their marriage that their Hogsmeade visits alone were one of the highlights of Hogwarts. Charlie had gasped at that, saying they rode a freaking dragon during that time and that Ron needed to sort out his priorities. He had grinned at that last remark, but remembering Charlie was painful. It reminded him of his death along with a lot of deaths…
Death. Such a dramatic word. Such a despairing sentiment. A common occurrence in his life. Everything reminded him of someone or the other and that reminded him of someone's death. It was pitiful but it was what it was.
He had grown bored of Hogsmeade now, particularly under the invisibility cloak. He couldn't visit any shops and the idea of roaming around under snowfall was stupid. He thought of returning but his legs carried him to the shrieking shack, the first place where he had met Sirius. How wrong he was then about him. How ignorant he was, He thought wryly.
"-at are you talking about, Theodore?"
"-starting what should have already been there."
He was not alone there, he realized. Theodore Nott and Draco Malfoy, of all people, were talking. What coincidence that he would be one walking on their conversation. It looked like Malfoys always had the worst luck ever.
"Things aren't exactly perfect here, Draco"
"What do you mean? You desecrated that hump of a family and he couldn't do anything about it. How much more do you want to eviscerate those redheads?"
"It is more than that. Don't you see how things are outside our house? How people don't even value blood?"
"But they do. Malfoys and Notts are respected and revered for their pure blood. Father can get away with everything, simply because of his heritage. What more do you want?"
"More power. Mudbloods and Blood traitors where they belong, not with us, but beneath, the dregs of our society."
"Why?"
"So, that scum like Weasley and Potter understand their place. He dared to curse me! He did. I may have been quiet these past few years but not now. "
"Is this another bid to regain our legacy?" Malfoy's voice was laced with sarcasm.
"Well, it is certainly better than you just taunting them, Draco...unless that is your guilty pleasure?
"Shut your hole, Nott!"
Theodore laughed as Draco smoothed his hair. "Don't you think how the dark lord started his empire? He must have started it here. At Hogwarts. His comrades and supporters were here. He started here. We must start here."
"You want to become another him?" Malfoy's voice was a low whisper, a mixed voice of apprehension, fear and awe rolled in one.
"Maybe. Or maybe if he comes back, I want to be besides him, at the top, right where I belong"
"He's dead"
"Is he? Are you trying to convince me or yourself? Do you think Potter killed him while he was an infant! The Dark Lord is the greatest wizard of our time, and maybe, since Merlin himself. I won't underestimate him. You would be a fool to do so. "
"What's your plan, then?"
"Find more like-minded people like us. We will take it slow. For now, we just gather resources"
Malfoy snorted at this. "You don't know what to do, do you?" Nott bristled but Draco continued. "You have no idea. All talk and no plan, Theodore-"
"What are you doing here?" A voice came from behind Harry and he froze. Fuck, they discovered me as he turned around to look at the source. A girl, dressed in Slytherin green, with brown bangs and black eyes was looking at him. Or rather through him he thought as he was wearing the cloak. His heart relaxed as he moved out of her eyesight. She looked angry and irritated, that sophisticated irritation he had seen on Greengrass many times.
"Eleanor" Draco said as a way of greeting. Theodore nodded, "We were just talking"
Eleanor Selwyn. Harry recalled her. She was the one who hung out with Parkinson and really hated Hermione. And she was on a first name basis with Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott. That was three strikes and out for her, already.
"Talking in front of-" She looked around them, "-the shrieking shack?"
"Well, we didn't exactly-" Draco started but Nott interrupted him, "Let's just go to the three broomsticks, why don't we?"
"Yes" Eleanor still looked a bit confused. "Pansy, Vince and Greg are there already"
As they all walked to the pub, Harry trailed behind them but their conversation was unusually bland as they talked about Eleanor's new owl and Pansy's comments about her. Draco and Nott just nodded, their mind clearly elsewhere.
Harry looked around. Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees.
He couldn't follow them and listen behind them in a crowded bar, so he went looking out for Ron and Hermione.
He met them near the owl office, leaning against each other. They weren't getting too intimate but they weren't doing much of anything. They were talking, or rather, Hermione was prattling and Ron was listening with amusement.
"-and I told Padma that just because she thinks that her Arithmancy equation was right that one time, it wouldn't be right every time. I mean, she didn't write the general equation at all but she said that I was wrong and she was sure that she was right-"
"She's an idiot" Ron interrupted with a smile. Hermione tutted an indignant 'Ron' but smiled at him.
"BOO!" Harry flailed his arms in front of them, getting out from the invisibility cloak. While Hermione screeched and stepped back, Ron wrapped an arm around her and pointed his already out wand at Harry. Aside from slight stiffening of his shoulders, he looked the same as before.
"Harry!" Hermione said as she glared at him while Ron slightly loosened his hold on her.
"How come you didn't get scared?"
"You do realize that the cloak masks you from sight, not sound ? You were making enough noise to wake up a horde of hippogriffs" Ron smirked.
"Well, in my defense, you are excessively observant. Nott and Malfoy, however, are not."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked nervously. He didn't like the idea of them splitting up when facing any of them death-eaters-in-making. They definitely didn't need more people with grudges against them and targets on their backs, but... Nott and Malfoy were already there, weren't they?
"I was just walking around, you know" Harry began defensively, having caught on to Ron's thoughts. "I reached the shrieking shack and they both were talking. Nott is obsessed. Like really obsessed with being on the top. And with blood purity and everything. I don't think-"
"We didn't notice it. It's impossible that just in seven months, we would have changed his psyche so much." Ron said confidently as Hermione nodded in agreement.
There was a faint shimmer around the hedges though it looked like faint sunlight reflected off the snow.
"You are right. He looked like...like how Bellatrix Lestrange must have been at Hogwarts"
Ron's face hardened and his grip on his wand tightened a bit. Harry nodded, himself shocked that anyone could be so...crazy like her. Nott wasn't on that level of blind delusion and bitter loyalty but he was certainly on the path to becoming that.
Hermione said, "It's hard to imagine that anyone can be so brutal, I don't know…", she trailed off.
"What we need to do is to find all about the death eaters of the first war-"
"I'm sure there is a book in the library" Hermione piped up.
"I'm sure there is," Ron said with a grin. Harry, however, was distracted as Malfoy and Nott, along with the rest of their group, were exiting the pub. Seeing that they were splitting, he looked at Ron, who shook his head.
Muttering a quick 'see you later' and an apologetic glance at an horrified Ron, he rushed after Nott and Malfoy. They were going back to the shrieking shack, to maybe discuss more about Nott's plans? Harry hoped for that at least.
They had been quite ahead of him when he had started following them and he couldn't run in the cloak, so, at first, Harry thought he had lost them ,and feeling hot from their climb, was just considering taking off the Cloak for a few minutes when he heard voices nearby.
He moved towards them but was startled when some light momentarily blinded him. He jumped to the side before realizing that it was probably the reflected sunlight. His movement, however, had alerted Nott and Malfoy, and they moved towards him, they couldn't see him but the cloak didn't make him immune to touch.
He moved backwards and- SPLAT. .
He let out a surprised 'Ahhh' as he tumbled down the hill, the snow getting everywhere in and around him. He collided with a snowman, someone had made, and was plush in snow. The cloak had slipped off a bit and a bit of his jet-black fringe was out
Two figures were looking from the top of the hill.
He was visible, the snow was coating him like a jacket.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck" Harry cursed as he dusted himself off and ran back towards the secret passage. How on earth had this happened? A tree branch had nearly ruined everything and his black hair would stand out like a thumb in snow
Would they be able to identify him? What if they complained to Snape? Would anyone believe Malfoy and Nott?
Harry's stomach turned over — Dumbledore would know exactly what had happened, if they said anything —So much for remaining below the radar.
Back into Honeydukes, back down the cellar steps, across the stone floor, through the trapdoor — Harry pulled off the Cloak, tucked it under his arm, and ran, flat out, along the passage. He needed to be in the common room or the library. He needed to have an alibi.
Panting, a sharp pain in his side, Harry didn't slow down until he reached the stone slide. He would have to clean himself up before going anywhere. The snow on his clothes was a dead giveaway. He dusted off his pants and shoes and shed his jacket — he hid it in a shadowy corner, then started to climb, fast as he could, his sweaty hands slipping on the sides of the chute.
He reached the inside of the witch's hump, tapped it with his wand, stuck his head through, and hoisted himself out; draping the cloak over him, he ran and collided with Ginny Weasley.
"Who is there?" Her timid voice wavered as she brandished her wand.
"It's me, Harry" he removed the cloak and grinned at her, and she shyly smiled back. It wasn't exactly the smile he was used to but it was close.
"What are you doing here? Under the cloak?" Her nose twitched and she resembled her brother when he was questioning him, not more than 20 minutes ago.
"Walking around" Ginny raised her eyebrows at that and Harry groaned. He never really could lie to her for some reason, she always knew when he was doing so.
So, he told her what had happened. She giggled when he told her he fell down a hill but frowned when he told her about his plan.
"The library? Come to the great hall. You will be very visible and that would confuse them. If you were really doing something else, your impulse, clearly, would be to hide somewhere like the library" Ginny smiled sweetly as Harry nodded. Now, this he recognized!
They met a worried Ron and an exasperated Hermione on the way, though Ron started laughing when he told him about his fall. What was it about Weasleys laughing at his pain? He thought wryly. Even Hermione snorted though she adopted a solemn expression at his glare.
When they reached the great hall, Ron, suddenly, murmured something about talking to someone and walked away without even giving them a chance to say anything.
Ginny was showing signs of irritation at her hunger and making her wait for Ron was a stupid thing to do. He suggested he would wait for him while they both go ahead and start.
Hermione whispered with mock-seriousness, "such a gentleman" as Ginny flushed to the color of her hair. Harry ignored them and searched the hall for Nott and Malfoy but he couldn't see them.
His gaze returned to the Gryffindor table as they both talked amongst themselves and sat down near the other Weasleys.
He sighed. This was another relation that had broken beyond repair. Hermione and Ginny had always got along well but beneath the surface there had been many problems. The first crack had appeared after the whole Lavender fiasco and before Dumbledore's death, when Hermione had finally gotten out of Ron, what exactly happened. He had tried to downplay the whole thing, torn between embarrassment and not lying to her. Ron later told him that he took it as a good sign that she hadn't gone completely off the rails at that but he was wrong. As soon as Ron had recused himself to go to Snape's detention, she had approached him and Ginny in a 'secluded' spot. One look at her and he had barely casted a Muffialto before it began.
"I trusted you, Ginny! How dare you? How could you be so cruel?"
"Wh-Hermione, what-what are you-"
"I'M TALKING ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU TOLD HIM ABOUT ME AND VIKTOR KISSING"
"Oh that. Well, he was acting like a pr-"
"DON'T YOU DARE! He didn't know and he wasn't supposed to know, not before...BUT YOU TOLD HIM AND HE THOUGHT I HAD BEEN LYING TO HIM."
"It was just a kiss, a peck, goddamn it-"
"YOU...BITCH"
Hermione never cursed.
"Hermione, calm-"
"SHUT UP, POTTER"
She never called him Potter, either.
"I TOLD YOU IN CONFIDENCE. WHEN HE GOT TO KNOW FROM HER BABY SISTER, HE, OBVIOUSLY, THOUGHT THAT I DIDN'T TRUST HIM-"
"OH FOR MERLIN'S SAKE-" Great now, even Ginny was screaming "-HE COULD HAVE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT IT"
"DO YOU EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR BROTHER? HE WAS HEARTBROKEN AND THEN YOU JIBE AT HIM NOT HAVING SNOGGED"
"HE WAS-"
"IN A PUBLIC CORRIDOR! NO..NO GINNY...YOU KNEW THAT I LIKED HIM"
Ginny had finally gotten silent, though she still had a stubborn look on her face, uncharacteristically reminding him of Ron.
"YOU KNEW THAT I WANTED TO BE WITH HIM. YET, YOU TOLD HIM AND THAT DROVE US APART FOR NEARLY 6 FUCKING MONTHS"
Wow, Hermione dropping F-bombs, things were heating up.
"HE NEARLY DIED"
That was grim and he had naively thought that this common pain would stop them from shouting and deal with their problems.
"HE SNOGGED THAT BIMBO BECAUSE YOU OBLITERATED HIS SELF-CONFIDENCE,. LIKE A SELFISH BRAT-"
"HE INSINUATED THAT I KISSED EVERY BOY-"
"HE FUCKING CARED ABOUT YOUR IMAGE. HE DIDN'T WANT YOU TO BE PAINTED AS A HARLOT, AND YOU KISSING IN EVERY FUCKING CORRIDOR IN THIS GODFORSAKEN SCHOOL WAS NOT HELPING"
"Hermione, please, calm down"
"No...I WON'T HARRY...NO. SHE DOESN'T EVEN FEEL AS IF SHE HAS DONE SOMETHING WRONG. AND EVEN YOU KNEW BUT DIDN'T TELL ME. GO TO HELL"
"FINE, MISS PERFECT, I AM SORRY!"
She hadn't meant the apology and Hermione had known. She had walked away and Harry had tried to talk to Ginny about it.
It had been of no use and he had to go to a meeting with Dumbledore after that, anyway. He didn't know how they had resolved things but they were civil to each other from there on. It was an unspoken demand that they not discuss what happened. He had apologized to Hermione, though. She had just waved it off.
The problem was Ginny was wrong here and her not apologizing had been a big strike in Hermione's book. On the other hand, Hermione had certainly overreacted a little. She was blaming Ginny for a lot of things which was unfair to her: Hermione could have talked to him any point, but what could he say to the both of them?
It still could have been saved but, then, the other shoe had dropped and fractured everything. It had happened after the war and the tensions were running high as it were . Most of the Weasleys were at shell cottage. Only he, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were at the Burrow, before Ron had left to look for George who was on one of his 'alcoholic escapades'.
He had told Harry to look out for the other two and flooed to the shop. Ginny and Hermione were in a serious conversation in their rooms and had not noticed.
15 minutes later and he had been lounging in Ron's room when the first sign of conflict had reached his ears. Ginny's loud cursing was audible around the house and it seemed to be getting nearer.
The door slammed open as a furious Ginny and a crying Hermione entered the room. He perked up on seeing them both like this. Both of their eyes were swollen and faces red, one from anger, the other from crying.
"Where is he? Where is that bloody idiot?"
"Who?"
"Ron, of course, Potter. Don't hide him!"
"He is out, Ginny, what happened?"
"I tol-ld her..her about R-Ron…"
"She told me that my prat of a brother left you in the middle of the war"
"Ginny, you don't know-"
"Of course, I don't know, you lot left me here, didn't you? You took that coward-"
"Don't call him that"
Her voice had gone icy and she had stopped sniffling. She was glaring daggers at Ginny and he had had an oddest sense of deja vu. He should have listened to that impulse and stopped them. He didn't. He had thought this topic would be better covered without anyone else near them and it had seemed a perfect opportunity. He was very wrong.
"He is a coward-"
"I said DON'T CALL HIM THAT"
Ginny had a short fuse these days, with all the funerals going on. It didn't take much for her to erupt, but even she was surprised to silence at Hermione screaming. Hermione had been really quiet, and had not really raised her voice, since shell cottage. She hardly talked to anyone except Ron and cried most of the time. Only Ron could get her to stop. Her being angry was almost a welcome change.
"HE IS NOT A COWARD. YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HOW BRAVE HE IS. YOU WEREN'T THERE. YES...BECAUSE YOU HAD THE BLOODY TRACE ON-"
Great, she had started cursing. The deja vu feeling was hitting him again but interrupting them was something that he desperately didn't want to do.
"-AND EVEN IF YOU HADN'T, WHAT COULD YOU HAVE DONE? DO YOU THINK WE JUST NEEDED A WEASLEY AND YOU COULD REPLACE HIM? LIKE ALWAYS-"
"What do you mean?"
"BABY GINNY HAS TO HAVE EVERYTHING, DOESN'T SHE? JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE A BLOODY GIRL, YOU WERE THE STAR-"
"Shut up!"
"WHY? TOO HARD TO HEAR FOR YOUR DELICATE EARS? THAT YOUR BROTHER HAD HAND-ME-DOWNS, WHILE YOU GOT NEW DRESSES-"
They were venturing into unknown waters. The Weasleys poor fiscal history was something that they never addressed, and for good bloody reason! And targeting Ginny for this was wrong, how was it her fault?
"HE DIDN'T EVEN GET HIS OWN WAND WHEN HE CAME TO HOGWARTS BUT YOU DID? EVER WONDERED WHY? ALWAYS TAKING THINGS MEANT FOR HIM, DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD TAKE HIS BEST FRIENDS AWAY FROM HIM?
Ginny had started to cry but her face was reddening as well but Hermione showed no signs of stopping. Her remarks were hitting too close to home and he was in half a mind to cast a protego between them. Damn, his wand was on his table and any movement would have their ire directed at him. He should have done that, but he didn't. Idiot.
"ALWAYS MOANING ABOUT NO ONE EVER TOLD YOU ANYTHING. PATHETIC! AND YOU CALL RON A COWARD?"
"SHUT UP, GRANGER, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT-"
"DO YOU? HE SAVED BOTH OF OUR LIVES AND WITHOUT HIM, THE WHOLE WIZARDING WORLD WOULD BE UNDER VOLDEMORT'S RULE BUT NOO, ALL GINERVA HAS TO SAY IS YOU LEFT ME HERE, BOO HOO"
"I FOUGHT AT HOGWARTS TOO. IT WASN'T AN EASY YEAR EITHER WITH THE CARROWS-"
"STILL DOESN'T JUSTIFY YOU SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT RONALD . JUST DON'T MINIMISE OUR PROBLEMS WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN FACE A TENTH OF THEM. DON'T LIVE IN ANY DELUSIONS, RON IS EVERYTHING TO ME AND HARRY'S BEST MATE, NOT JUST SOME WEASLEY WE CAN DISCARD WHENEVER WE WANT TO. YOU WITH YOUR PRINCESS LIFE AND PAMPERED CHILDHOOD WOULDN'T HAVE LASTED TWO DAYS...SHUT UP, I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO YOU BLABBER. FUCK OFF, GINNY!"
Ginny had punched Hermione then and had, consequently, punched any chance at reconciliation away. Hermione hadn't even seemed fazed by the dark red bruise forming on her right cheek.
"Is that all you can do? Punch your way through? Do you even care about him?-"
"Yes, I do. He is my brother!-"
Hermione wasn't even listening right now. She looked like when she found out about the deathly hallows symbol. She looked like she was having an epiphany, but it looked like it wasn't going to be a nice one, Harry thought.
"That's what we do all the time, don't we?" She pointed her index finger at Ginny, " A sister who always mocks him and puts him down". Towards Harry, "A best friend who is the next big thing and overshadows everything" And she pointed towards herself, "A know it all and nagging girlfriend/ best friend...oh know! How is he even doing it? I can't...can't even blame him for…" she was really getting hysterical.
Even Ginny was tearing up but Harry was confused whether it was with Hermione or due to her.
"Why...can't...I just sho-w...him how much I-" Here it was, a full blown panic attack. He should have contacted Ron 15 minutes ago.
"You!" Her voice wavered but she was really trying to keep it steady. Ginny tried to glare back at her finger but it was difficult gauging any emotion in this tense atmosphere. He took the distraction to send a quick Patronus to Ron.
"You could have-" Hermione began but instead started bawling even more loudly. She sat on Ron's bed and brought her knees to her chest, hiding her face. Ginny looked murderous and moved-
He had had to stun her or else she would have pummeled Hermione's barely healed body.
When Ron had come back, he had to calm Hermione down who was moaning and crying deliriously. She had been 5 minutes away from fainting due to lack of oxygen. Ron had glared at Ginny when Harry had filled him in on the punching and the fight but didn't do much more than that. They both knew the obvious: getting between them would be the most idiotic thing to do. It didn't get solved. Ginny had calmed down and understood when Harry had told her the similarity between the locket and the diary but Hermione didn't care. She ignored Ginny and walked away from her every time the two of them were alone. Eventually, Ginny stopped attempting.
Case in point: he and Ron became godfathers to each other's children's but there were no godmothers. They couldn't get their wives to agree to letting their feud go.
Harry shook his head as he returned to the present...or the past? Nothing like that would happen this time. He would make sure of it. Ron won't be making stupid mistakes anyway and if they would fight, he was going to lock them in a room until they solved things. No hysterical Hermione or glaring Ginny. He preferred peace, one dark lord after his life was enough for generations.
Ron had had an interesting day. Or rather, a complicated one. With all that was going on, Nott and Malfoy were just the ruddy icing on the buggering cake. He was also having dreams that were hazy and unclear. Weird dreams. He felt guilty, guilty because they had forgotten Hermione, the Hermione who made this whole time travel thing possible and they had completely forgotten her. What was happening to her? He was sure he had seen her in his dreams but it was like holding sand. It was gone before it even registered in his brain.
There were just so many things to do. When he had first learned that they were going back, he thought it would be a piece of cake but it was far from it. Even more so, it was equally difficult as the last time because fires kept sprouting up before they could even extinguish one. That, along with the guilt factor that Harry brought to the table was enough to make him crazy. 'Ron, what if something happened to them and we didn't do anything?' Buggering bastard Potter, we can't do everything. They were stretched thin as it is.
He was sure Harry was completely ignoring thinking about how difficult it would be to make sure Voldemort was defeated in the graveyard. They were, literally, going to dance with the devil and with a devil whose part of the soul was inside Harry. It was one of those loony riddles with no solution and a lot of head-scratching that Hermione loved.
Talking about Loony, here was another case of Harry messing up his priorities for the 'greater good': they had not talked to Luna till yet. He liked Luna as she was. She was crazy but she was nice and meant well, which was hell of a lot more than what most people had as their 'attributes'. And he didn't really like how she was, for the lack of better term, bullied.
How to start?
And the answer presented itself. He saw Luna along with two other Ravenclaw girls near the hall. He murmured something to the rest of them and walked towards her. They weren't talking amicably as he thought they were doing at first glance, but were saying something to Luna. By the look on her face, it wasn't something nice. Her dirty-blond hair was in a ponytail which kept swaying as she shook her head at whatever they were saying.
The girls looked to be about the twin's age which was all the worse because Luna was just a kid. What would you gain by saying bad things to her?
He slowed down as he reached them but they didn't notice him.
"Don't sit with us. Our project is done and Flitwick only said for two weeks anyway."
"Yeah, we are not friends, 'Loony'" she had a weird rasping laugh that made Ron want to tear his ears off. Or better yet, her vocal cords.
"Who's going to sit with her, anyway? Friendless Loony"
'Merlin, even their snarky comments were dumb. These were Ravenclaws?' Ron thought grimly.
Out loud he said, "Oi, I was looking for you, Luna." All three of them stared at him. "I thought we were going to sit at lunch together?" The two girls gaped as Luna mutely nodded, still confused. "Let's go then" He turned around and walked, not before glaring at the other two.
A short distance away, he stopped and turned towards Luna, who had followed him with a pleasant expression on her face, an expression similar to him finding a chocolate frog inside his trunk.
"My name is Ron Weasley"
"I know" Luna was blunt as usual." Why did you lie to them?"
"I didn't lie. I mean, not completely." He wavered under her gaze as she raised her pale eyebrows. "I still want you to join me and my friends for lunch"
"Why?"
"Because I want to be friends with you"
"Why?"
"You seem nice." Ron smiled." Aside from the relentless monosyllabic questions, that is"
Luna snorted, her protuberant eyes gazing at him with undisguised merriment. It struck Ron that how lonely she would have been her first three years at Hogwarts with next to no friends and being alone all the time. This precisely was the reason he sought her out, he understood the loneliness and he was good at identifying it. Wasn't that the reason that he nearly never left Harry alone?
"So?" She nodded, undoubtedly trying to contain her joy. 'Perhaps because she had been fooled before, some sort of cruel prank?' he thought with a mental grimace. The twins would have corrected him, saying that pranks were supposed to be fun and taken in good faith, not cruel.
He maintained eye contact with her while he gently placed a hand around her shoulders, in a brotherly hug. She was tense under it, but when he started speaking, she started to relax a little. "See, Luna, I'm not deceiving you or anything. I swear. Trust me please. My friends may be surprised a little initially but they are good people who will definitely like you"
She still seemed a bit surprised but nodded nonetheless. She was comfortable in the position though, so he nudged her towards the Gryffindor table. He could see Hermione looking at him and then raising her eyebrows dramatically. 'This was going to be fun' He grinned as Harry caught on and returned his smirk.
"That was interesting," Ron smirked. Luna had been wary for the first two minutes, but then had started talking about nargles and heliopaths. Ginny had been torn between amusement and shock but Hermione had looked like she was going to get a brain aneurysm. Only Ron's subtle shaking of head had kept her in check.
It actually felt refreshing to see them both converse. It was a conversation that was fun to watch but didn't really hurt either of the parties.
Except Hermione looked as if someone had told her McGonagall was an alcoholic. He wondered what that would have been. 'She must like scotch' He chuckled quietly. After all, he was in the library.
"I know you all must be shocked. Seeing Ron Weasley in the library?!" Harry had proclaimed dramatically to a group of Ravenclaws sitting in the library when they had entered. "Is this a prank?" a ravenclaw had asked with fear filling her eyes as Harry sniggered and Ron rolled his eyes, both of them walking to a quiet and deserted corner.
"You know it was funny the first three times. Not the next fifteen" And from there they had inevitably led to the most predictable thing: 'Harry Potter guilt and apologies'
"I am sorry, Ron, I should have not forgotten Luna."
"I messed up, I am so sorry that I didn't even remember her"
"I am really sorry that I ate your fizzing whizbees"
The last one was Ron. "What? I thought we were apologizing for stupid things"
Harry looked mutinous but Ron was not in the mood for it. Fun fact: He was never in mood for one of Harry's legendary 'Let's-feel-guilty-for-every-bad-thing-that-happened-ever' discussions. They were real mood-killers.
The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. It was also the best place to hang out because people rarely used it. Ever since Harry had heard about Nott and Malfoy talking, he wanted to find out more about all the people involved in the first wizarding war. Hermione had suggested the library when he had told them in Hogsmeade which seemed like a good idea but...Hermione was running late.
Since she was arguing with Luna about the existence of Billywig butterflies. There was no proof for its existence and that was precisely the reason why it was a lost cause debating about it with Luna but who could stop Hermione? 'I mean Ron could' Harry thought, glancing at his ginger best mate who was searching the racks of books,' but why would he? He enjoys it way too much'
A group of the Ravenclaws who should have been studying for their O. were giggling but Harry ignored them. The sweltering heat in the library didn't help, Merlin curse Pinch for lighting all the lamps in the entire world!, and Harry couldn't find any book that helped. Most of them were propaganda from the Ministry and written after all the trials had happened, thus containing next to no information.
Hermione joined them ten minutes later but was way too red for either of them to be brave enough to ask how did her 'debate' go.
Harry was distracted by seeing Ginny and Demelza Robbins. Between the long lines of high bookshelves, Harry could see that their heads were close together and they were having what looked like an absorbing conversation and giggling furiously. 'Probably over some boy' Harry thought bitterly.
Another reason for him to be miserable. It was so easy for Ron and Hermione, Harry thought as he turned towards them, Ron sliding off the books Hermione asked for. They could be together effortlessly.
But him? His Ginny won't be his, at least until fifth year. Before that, he was her ridiculous fancy hero-crush.
The books were a dud as Ron groaned every time Hermione slammed shut one. She seemed to have taken a personal offence at not finding what they were looking for. Harry drifted off and his attention fell on a book.
A book which was definitely not there before. He was sure, he had checked that particular shelf twice himself.
It was a black leather bound book with gold trim and silver edges. It was beautiful to look at, the elegant design something which he would have preferred himself, over Hermione's elaborate binders and clipping styles.
Harry turned his head to call the other two but when looked back, it was gone.
And Harry saw it again in the restricted section. It was weird. The book couldn't be sentient. And it couldn't just move itself. He shook his head and pointed to the restricted section. Hermione shook her head, no doubt thinking of some excuse to get a permission slip but Ron just smirked.
"Of course, I know how to get a book from the restricted section without permission".
The moment Harry held the book in his hands, he knew it was the one. It was titled, in cursive slanting handwriting in blood-red ink, 'The Rise of the Dark Lord and the Wizarding War'. There was no author's name on it, yet Harry was sure he had seen that handwriting somewhere.
He opened to the introduction and started reading, Ron and Hermione behind him and looking over his shoulders.
The rise of the Dark Lord was not a sudden event nor was it just a shift in the blood purity landscape; It was a long well-thought out plan, a journey from nothing to everything that Voldemort wanted.
He was not a pureblood but rather a half-blood, an orphan named Tom Riddle.
Yet, it is not his historic transformation that this book focuses on but, rather, on how Voldemort caused the catalytic shift in our world.
His supporters have played a great role in that. They are a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty.
If we go deeper in our endeavors, we arrive at the top: Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. His inner circle is a who's who of the most ferocious and ruthless wizards and witches of our age. Still, they are his lieutenants to do his bidding, not his companions or friends. Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one.
These branded few, having taken the dark mark, form the different arms of his operation, the way he controls his side and, through them, the war.
These are just a few pieces on his side of the chessboard along with giants, werewolves and dementors to name a few of them.
The purpose of this book has been, and always will be, to show how our world entered this predicament.
Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. Yet, it is not greatness what he has been doing nor are these lies which will be written.
This is the true, and to my knowledge, the only proper account of the events and participants of the Wizarding War.
Harry grinned at Ron while Hermione exclaimed, "Voila!", with a flourish. Ron seemed amused at her excitement. It looked as if she really had taken to heart that her 'beloved' library hadn't been able to get them the information they wanted.
"It's a thin volume, though," Harry said. He was feeling apprehensive about this book. It was almost as if it wanted him to read it. Which was crazy. Books were not sentient. They weren't...right?
Ron flipped the pages randomly, as there was no index, and found the chapter titled, "The Death Eaters" and sat down beside Harry. He almost imperceptibly casted the privacy charm (he had been practicing it a lot) but Harry caught on to his thinking. He softly muttered 'Muffialto' while Hermione took out a scroll of parchment, along with a quill and inkpot, looking ready to write down everything that was useful.
"The pen is mightier than the wand, eh?" Ron whispered with a grin as Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry started reading.
The Death Eaters was the name given to the most ardent followers of Lord Voldemort. The group primarily consisted of wizards and witches who were radical pure-blood supremacists who practised the Dark Arts with reckless abandon, malevolence and without regard to or fear of wizarding law.
Employed as his elite force, they often wore black hoods and masks with snake-like eye slits to cover their faces. The Death Eaters were considered Lord Voldemort's inner circle and had the Dark Mark burned into their left forearms.
Regardless of the judgements pronounced by our justice system, the Dark Mark is the most appropriate way of identifying Death Eaters. The Dark Mark appears as a glittering green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth.
It also served as a 'servant bell' of sorts. When Voldemort touched one of them, each of the Death Eaters felt it, signaling for them to Apparate to their leader's side.
Adding the rest of the dark army that Lord Voldemort had formed, or rather, collected, their ranks were huge, outnumbering the Order of the Phoenix by approximately twenty to one.
Death Eater activity during the Wizarding War consisted, primarily, of stealth attacks, espionage, torture and mass killings of wizards, witches, and large numbers of Muggles. These were initiated by the Death Eaters, often, but not always, on the orders of Voldemort. Part of the Death Eaters modus operandi was to cast the Dark Mark over every house where they committed murder. This inspired much terror in the wizarding community.
Their ideology is spawned from abject hate of non-magicals. Ever since the International Statute of Secrecy was settled upon in the 1600s, it has remained a controversial choice.
There are many in the magical world to whom it occurred that, united, the wizarding community had enough power to openly take control of governments worldwide. For some this was just a means of power, wealth, or fame; but to others, such as Dumbledore, who flirted with the idea of a wizard-led society with Grindelwald in his youth, this was an opportunity to improve the world, to use power responsibly and prevent tragedies based on xenophobia and secrecy like the one that had torn apart his own family.
As for the treatment of Muggle-born witches and wizards, it seems that prejudice and belief in the superiority and supremacy of a long-suffering aristocratic class persisted in many corners of the magical community, to the point of it being centered in England around Hogwarts' Slytherin house, just as Slytherin himself had intended. Yet, it wouldn't be entirely correct to associate prejudice with the Slytherin house, and vice versa too.
In many ways, this form of racism was delusional comparable to Nazi white supremacism, relying on a romanticized, imaginary history of wizarding genealogy, and conveniently ignoring realities such as the partial or total Muggle origins of most witches and wizards, the existence of Squibs, and the lack of real differences in talent between pure-bloods and others. And like Germany in the time of the Nazis, while most people were not openly prejudiced, only a few were really courageous enough to stand up to it as well.
"Skip the boring history, man, come one" Ron groaned as even Hermione, albeit reluctantly, nodded. Harry traced his fingers and flipped the pages, till he finally reached the end of the 'history' portion and continued.
As a sign of distrust-based precaution, the Death Eaters did not have knowledge of all their colleagues' identities: Voldemort alone knew who they all were. This was done in order to prevent any traitors from turning all the others in. Becoming a Death Eater meant a lifetime service to Lord Voldemort.
Voldemort's most senior Death Eaters, most of whom were old classmates from Slytherin house or younger Slytherin alumni, mostly pure-bloods, and people highly useful to Voldemort for their wealth, skill, or ruthlessness, were bestowed with the Dark Mark on the inside of their lower left arm. These were his inner circle. (For more details, check the next section)
The next level down were allowed to wear Death Eater garments in order to command the respect they engendered, but were not Marked. These seem to include those that Voldemort found useful but did not prefer to associate with. Genuine Death Eaters also regard these faux members with disrespect, as they did not hesitate to speak down on them, nor outright attack them. The most notable example was the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, notorious for his savagery and cannibalism.
On the lowest rung was a mass of supportive rabble, loyal to Voldemort but not useful enough to him to deal with him directly. They were given orders and opportunities to commit crimes or advance themselves through the senior Death Eaters. On the same tier were witches and wizards under the Imperius Curse and non-humans of different degrees of sentience such as Werewolves, Giants, Dementors and the Inferi. These were pressed into service by the Death Eaters, and sentient groups that would have ordinarily remained neutral like the Dementors, Giants, and Werewolves were brought into the fold with false promises that their grievances would be avenged upon victory in battle.
"Wow", Hermione sighed as Harry finished the section. Ron nodded along gravely. "Well, at least no Vampires, eh?" He grinned as Harry joined in, though Hermione looked a bit scared. It was to be expected. The both of them had dealt with the whole of Voldemort's hierarchy over the years, but to Hermione, it was a sudden shock. Maybe, that explained the horrors that the future contained. Maybe.
Harry flipped to the next section, the most important one and the one they had been looking for. His inner circle. His lackeys. Harry read on.
Voldemort's operations-
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed and pointed it on a piece of parchment. Harry groaned. Was Ron not listening to what he was saying?
And then he realized. It was not just a piece of parchment.
It was the Marauder's Map. And Sirius Black was running across the grounds.
"What the…" Harry muttered, jumping up, adrenaline rushing through his body.
"He looks to be heading to the shrieking shack" Ron mentioned, taking out his wand.
"Okay...Hermione!" Hermione jumped. "Sorry, just make notes of this. We can't take it out and I have got a feeling that we won't find this again. Make notes and we will discuss it in the common room." She nodded. Harry ran out.
"Git" Ron smirked. He held up the cloak. "Forgot the cloak".
"Hey" He whispered to a concerned Hermione as he walked out. "Don't worry. We will be fine. He is not actually a mass murderer"
They covered the distance to the whomping willow in minutes, but before they had reached the gap in the roots, padfoot had slid into the hole. Harry went next; he crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Seconds later, Ron slithered down beside him.
"One of these days, we should start cleaning these passages, you know, since we seem to visit them almost every other week" He muttered furiously as Harry shushed him. He didn't want Sirius to hear them. Not yet. A calm exchange. Sirius had spent a lot of time in Azkaban , of course; so spooking him would be a very bad idea.
After what seemed like an eternity, the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Harry could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.
It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.
Snape had died there. He remembered it clearly. He had given his memories to Harry. He didn't mention it to Ron, though he agreed that Snape was a bastard. A pain in the ass.
They pulled themselves out of the hole, staring around. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. There was no sign of Sirius.
At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs. Sirius?
'It would be Sirius. There were no ghosts in the shack, after all" Harry thought as they crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor which had pawprints leading upstairs.
Definitely Sirius.
They reached the dark landing. . Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it. Wand held tightly before him, Harry pushed the door wide open as Ron flanked him.
A man, who was looking out of the window, turned towards the door . A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin.
"Sirius" Harry grinned as both he and Ron lowered their wands.
A/N So whadya think? I hope you liked this chapter. I may not upload for a week or two, since I have my 18th coming up this week. Also, the history part of the book was somewhat taken from
Reviews
destroyerofxx: Man, a part of me is overjoyed that you think so and the other is excited because I haven't even reached the best parts yet. Thanks!
Elstan: My reasoning behind using Draco is two-fold: first, is that I think he would have improved slightly post war and due to this, Harry thinks that he can be 'good'? (I can't comment whether Harry is correct or not). Second is, that I hope to address certain myths that float around him, partially due to Tom Felton's characterization of him. If I can write his side, maybe I can squash the fanon theories of him being near perfect. But thank you for your review, I would certainly try to incorporate what you are suggesting.
Also, a question: you agree with all those shippers?
espressowho: Ditto. Verbatim, ditto.
evan17w: and I hope they are on target xD
weirdhead: to each their own. But I don't think so. Snape bullied students for years and, particularly, Hermione. I don't think Ron would forgive him. Snape was a dick. A dick who risked his life and was a hero at the end. But still a dick.
Arissan: I had hoped that I wouldn't need to use a translator, but my middles school couldn't carry me all the way through xD. Thanks a lot, mon ami, that was exactly what I was going for and yup, Weasley is our King.
Regarding the idea of the trio in different houses as I mentioned in last chapter's AN, the problem is that barring major plotlines, most of it's minor plots are easily transmutable to the golden trio series. I think it would be much more sensible and better for the story, to finish this one, first. I appreciated that you liked the idea. Maybe, in some time?
Tilly: You are brilliant and thank you. Thank you for reviewing multiple chapters as you read them. I loved it. I hope that you follow this story to the end. Not to be biased, but it's going to be awesome.
Please follow, favorite, and review.
Some lines are taken from Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban.
