Anger is one letter short of danger. Author Unknown
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Ginny sighed as she performed the last charm to keep her hair shiny and perfectly in place.
Ginny was well aware of the rage her actions would produce. The last thing she needed was for Harry to see her right away... The Sorting hat would have considered her for Slytherin as she had grown older if only for her self preservation. So she planned to lay as low as possible as the consequences of her actions spread like wildfire. And when the world turned against her prince, Ginny would be there to pick up the pieces. He would see how much better a normal life would be. She knew he would.
And so, quietly, Ginny slipped out from the dorm. She would have breakfast in the kitchens to avoid the first wave, and hope she could lie low enough to keep out of Harry's ire.
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Theodore Nott limped down the stairs to the dungeons, every step causing him to be less steady on his feet. He refused to show weakness in a public place, however, so he still walked straight with a blank expression, belying little of the excruciating pain from having been too long under the Cruciatus. He had been little more than target practice for his lord, who had actually begun rewriting the papers Theodore had managed to ruin as he held him under the curse.
The entrance to the common room was in sight now, and had Theodore been a weaker person he might have sobbed in relief; as it was he felt the vague urge to collapse just inside the door and let oblivion rescue him from the pain he was feeling. As he choked out the password and made his way over the threshold, he could no longer fight the need for his knees to buckle, sending him crashing to the floor.
He had long been underestimating Potter, it seemed. How long had the 'Golden Boy' managed to fool them? How long had he been working for the Dark Lord right under all their noses? Did any of the sycophantic fools on the light side have even an inkling as to their Savior's true nature? A chill ran heavily down Theodore's spine, and he was unable to say whether it was in fear or an after-effect of his torture session.
And then there was Voldemort… Theodore had seen the feral, possessive glint in the Dark Lord's eyes as the two had spoken; he had never seen his lord react in anything other than anger, and he hoped to never see it again. The mere idea of the darkest Dark Lord in centuries managing to love was more frightening than anything Theodore could imagine. Because it did not make his lord weak. No... it made him dangerous.
Theodore heaved himself up onto his elbows, intent on pulling himself into his dorm room and downing half of his potions supply. He managed to get one knee under himself when he noticed movement down the hall from the boys' dorms. The pale visage immediately identified the person as the last one he wanted to see, and a spike of fear lanced through his heart.
Malfoy's strides were measured and more sure than Nott had seen in weeks from the blond. There was a confidence and arrogance to his demeanor that he had been missing; Theodore didn't blame him. If he had someone as obviously powerful as Potter on his side, he would feel rather smug as well. Nott scrambled back out of the path to the common room entrance, his fear of his year-mate escalating as cold grey eyes fell on him. Would he seek retribution for all that Nott had done to him in the last weeks? How would he take it?
Malfoy froze as he noticed Theodore, and the brunet felt all the muscles in his body tense in anticipation.
But Malfoy just stared at him, face blank but eyes flashing before spinning on his heel and storming from the common room in snapping robes that rivaled Snape's. Theodore let out a sigh of relief and once again attempted to make it to his room. Telling the other Slytherins of their lord's mandate could wait. Right now, Nott wanted nothing more than to let unconsciousness take him.
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Draco wasn't sure why, but he felt today would be a good day. Of course, the events of last night still haunted him. Potter had almost terrified him with his changes. His sudden ferocity, his attitude, and his power that any wizard worth his wand could sense surging from him…
It had scared Draco, and he would admit it. This was the person who protection he was under; and yet somehow he felt safer. Because he was under the protection of the terrifying being from last night.
Then Draco spotted Nott and he froze as if rooted to the spot. His eyes widened as he took in the other boy's form as Nott tried to hide himself in behind a pillar. This was who he'd been so afraid of? Draco's enemy looked ragged and tired, as evidenced when he swayed where he crouched. On closer inspection, Draco saw the light tremors that wracked the boy's body - no clearer evidence of the Cruciatus curse.
Nott made no move to draw his wand and Draco caught the glint of fear in his eyes. The boy would not be trying to hurt him anytime soon. Draco whirled around, practically running from the scene. The thought of breakfast completely escaped his mind in favor of getting answers.
What the hell had Potter done to Nott? Everything was becoming so confusing. He'd get answers out of Potter, and today would be his best chance.
Draco would completely miss the delivery of his subscription to the Daily Prophet.
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Ron had lost track completely of where he was. He just knew that he had to get as far away from everyone as possible. He ran blindly, stumbling into statues and bits of armor, ignoring the paintings that called after him in concern, until finally he was in a blissfully empty hallway.
'Kill them! Everyone! Do it first, before they kill y-!'
'Eradicate Potter. He made your sister cry, you know-'
'Stupid boy, to trust anyone. They'll backstab you the first chance-'
'KILLMURDERSLAUGHTERTHEMALL!
But he couldn't take it anymore; Ron sank to his knees that cracked on the floor, clutching his head in agony as the screams filled his brain and the scars on his arm burned.
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Harry awoke to an unexplainably bad feeling, as if a cloud of despair hung over him. It was only a week before Halloween, and something bad always happened on All Hallows Eve.
Harry grappled with the sheets for a moment before getting unsteadily to his feet. Though he'd gone to bed early last night, it wasn't enough to make up for the deep exhaustion weeks of scant slumber had left him in. This, Harry knew, was entirely his own fault.
Yawning, Harry scanned the room. Letalis was nowhere to be seen, and Ron's ajar curtains indicated his friend was not there. Neither were Neville, Seamus, or Dean in the room. He'd slept in.
'Bugger, that means I'm late for breakfast!' He also wouldn't have time to work out this morning.
Harry hurriedly threw on his robes. Missing breakfast was no big deal because he didn't need to eat, but he'd never gotten the chance to explain to Ron what had happened with Ginny. He didn't want his friend to get mad at him for treating his little sister so harshly, despite the fact that her actions had been so…he couldn't think of a word to describe it.
With a quick pace Harry managed to get down to the Great Hall in ten minutes and walked right in. This immediately turned out to be a bad idea, as every eye in the room turned toward him and the Hall's normal buzz of conversation grew louder. Wondering what was going on, Harry did his best to ignore them. He moved to take a seat on an empty stretch of bench at the Gryffindor table; everyone's eyes followed him as discussions grew louder. The moment he sat down, Neville appeared in from of him.
"I guess you don't know what's going on?" the plump boy questioned. Harry shook his head and smiled slightly, glad that whatever seemed to be afflicting the rest of the school didn't seem to be reaching Neville.
"I have absolutely no idea," Harry said truthfully. He wished Ron was at the table with him, but the other was nowhere to be seen. Neville blushed lightly in embarrassment and handed over what he recognized as today's copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Er, I figured if that was the case, you should read this before anyone asks you about it," Neville's gaze darted to the rest of the table, all of whom were staring at them.
"Uh, thanks, Neville," Harry said, unused to this sort of forethought from the boy. Then again, he hadn't had much contact with him since the Department of Mysteries incident. Perhaps he should make an effort to get to know him better. Neville nodded and walked away, back to his original seat.
Harry turned his attention to the paper, curious as to what was causing everyone to act stranger than usual. He unfolded it calmly, but felt his heart quite literally stop at the glaring headline.
POTTER IS A POOF!
By Rita Skeeter
In one of the most shocking moments of this reporter's career, she was contacted by a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with one of the most explosive pieces of information on our Boy-Who-Lived to date. Our very own Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived is gay,
"She was so hurt," the anonymous source said of the poor, rejected girl, "She just sobbed into my shoulder for ages bemoaning whomever had taken away the love of her life... he was horrible to her!"
After his stormy breakup with muggleborn friend Hermione Granger, the reporter theorizes he found comfort where it was offered. (see page 8 for a reminder of the details on the shocking betrayal)
A source from within Potter's dormitory says that Potter has been absent often in the past weeks. Is there a secret lover out there? Has some lucky wizard caught his eye?
This reporter wonders who might have been the one to turn our beloved Savior to the other side of the pitch. Sources within Hogwarts claim he has a very public and volatile relationship with his schoolyard rival Draco Malfoy, son of imprisoned Death Eater Lucius Malfoy. "Oh, I can see it," the friend of the rejected girl said definitively, "It would take a Slytherin, after all, to corrupt the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Ya know" said a fellow Gryffindor student, "He always kind of struck me as a poof. He's always been smaller than the rest of his year, and even some of the years below him... and he's got kinda a femme look, don't you think?"
Our young savior has apparently been paying more attention to his looks as of late, as evidenced by his newly grown and tamed hair, along with the addition of an silver earring! Could this be related to his sudden discovery of his feminine side?
This reporter isn't sure of all that, but surely there is more to this story. Could this be another attention-seeking attempt? With He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named quiet, is the Boy-Who-Lived attempting to pull the limelight back to him? This reporter will not give up until the sordid details have all been revealed and the truth is known.
For the public's reactions to this shocking revelation, see page 6
Harry felt as though the hands now clutching the paper were made of stone, the rest of his body made of lead. One hot breath rushed out of him, for he hadn't taken in air since beginning the article. This was a consequence of his big mouth! But… Harry growled. Ginny should have kept it secret. It was easy to see she'd gone crying and telling everything to at least one of her dorm mates, who then quickly passed it on to Skeeter. His first rational thought was to wonder why he hadn't let Tom go ahead and kill her.
His second was wondering how he was going to explain all this to Tom, especially the stuff with…Malfoy.
Harry looked up to meet the gazes of the Hall. Everyone was still staring at him, wondering if the article was true or not. Quickly Harry stood up. If he didn't leave right away, he just knew someone would be under some painful curses. He thanked Merlin that Ginny wasn't present, because he didn't doubt for a moment he wouldn't hold back if she were.
He nearly ran from the room, dropping the paper back by Neville's plate as he passed. He had to escape quickly, find a place to take out his frustration… Harry headed for the Room of Requirement.
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Of course, actually walking into the room presented quite a shock when there was someone already present. With one look at the person, Harry leaned against the door and groaned, covering his eyes.
"Took you long enough, Potter," Draco spat from the couch where he sat on the edge of the room. Instantly Harry straightened, striding past Draco's spot and drawing his yew wand in one hand while leaving the other empty. If he even tried to talk to Malfoy, there was no speaking of what he was going to do. He mentally asked Hogwarts for something to blow up, and was infinitely thankful when several faceless training dummies melted out of the wall. He raised an arm, indicating for them to start.
Draco gave a cry as they lunged toward him, but Harry was ready. With a surge of anger and one clenched fist one dummy's torso exploded. He made an upward slashing motion with his wand, "Tergum Tersum," and the cloth flesh ripped away from another dummy's frame, spilling inky blood all over the floor. He repeated this process in several different ways, until all the dummies were down and he was ready for another batch.
It was during this interval that he finally heard Draco's shouting.
"Stop ignoring me, Potter! I want answers!" Harry whirled, cutting down another figure wandlessly before he faced Draco.
"If you don't want to meet the same end as that dummy, Malfoy, you'll shut the hell up," Harry growled. Draco paled, sinking back into his couch. Harry was bound by an oath to protect him, which included not harming him, but right now it didn't seem worth it to tempt him.
All the while Harry snarled to himself about the idiocy of making that stupid vow.
At last, after half an hour of blasting away, Harry pocketed his wand, letting Hogwarts vanish the remains, including the spatters on his robes. His frustration spent, Harry felt substantially better. He turned back to the blond, who was simply staring at him.
"Now, Draco, what is it that you want to know?" Harry smirked.
Draco sputtered for a moment, stunned by his sudden change in attitude, "I-I want to know what that was about, I want to know what in the hell you did to Nott to turn him into a quivering fool this morning, and I want to know just what you're into, Potter!" he finished with a pompous uplifting of the nose.
"Not you, no matter what the Prophet says," Harry grumbled.
Malfoy didn't seem to hear him, instead continuing his tirade, "I want to know why you even made that vow, I want to know how you got strong enough to pin a brute like Nott, I want to know why you're so-so Dark! Why are you so different, Potter?!" he ended with a gasp, having not taken a single breath.
Harry stared at the boy incredulously for a moment, wondering how to respond. Even if he told Draco the truth, he supposed it wouldn't really matter. Draco wouldn't go to Dumbledore, or anyone, for fear of losing Harry's protection. If the Malfoy felt betrayed, well…it was no great loss to Harry. He sighed.
"Well, Potter?" Draco spat, much more the haughty brat Harry had been used to for years, "I'm waiting for my explanation."
"Fine, you want to know? Really, Draco? I am allied with Voldemort and I negotiated with him to leave you alone. Does that explain it?"
Malfoy stared at him dumbly. Harry knew it was because the Slytherin thought he'd just cracked some sort of sick joke and was about to laugh. Harry stayed silent and serious.
"W-what?"
"You don't believe me?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"T-that can't be true! You're Dumbledore's Golden Boy…The Dark Lord would sooner kill you than ally with you, especially for protecting me!"
Harry couldn't help the incredulous laugh that escaped him, "Kill me? As if he could!…But that's the last thing he'd do anyway," he leaned closer to look directly into Draco's eyes, willing him to know that Harry was not lying, "I made a vow to protect your family, and that's exactly what I'm doing. Voldemort has agreed to leave you and your mum alone."
Tom's chosen name felt strange on his tongue after so long of simply referring to him as Tom. Draco's disbelief shone in his eyes, and Harry could see the betrayal he'd been holding back on a fragile hope was finally welling up.
"It's the Dark Lord, Potter! He would sooner break the promises he makes than keep them, especially to you!" Irritation at the boy rose and Harry was hard-pressed to keep from blurting out his secrets simply to shut Draco up.
"Don't pretend to know anything! Do you really think it's that much loss to him if he kills you or not?! He sent your classmates after you because the real Death Eaters were better used elsewhere. The only reason he even cares anymore is because I'm involved!" By this point Harry was jerking his hands to emphasize his speech and he was sure his eyes were flashing.
Harry stopped him when Draco open his mouth to argue, "I'm sick of talking about this! Go, put up your strongest shield charm, walk out the door and down the halls... I've fulfilled my oath to you, and nothing will happen!" In one swift movement Harry stood and strode to the door, "Don't bother me again until you have something of substance to argue!" and he was gone.
It took Draco several moments to realize just how many things hadn't been answered.
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Harry walked down the corridors fuming. He subconsciously avoided the crowded halls with the rush of students going to classes. Really, Harry didn't feel like going to class today, after all that had happened. It all going to catch up to him eventually in the forms of detentions and evil homework, Harry knew, but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to give a damn.
Deeper and deeper he moved into the bowels of Hogwarts, not really paying any attention to the tittering of the paintings even as they gradually disappeared. He thought about going back to Gryffindor tower to find Ron, but quickly vetoed the idea. There would be too many staring students with free periods there. In addition, Harry doubted that his friend was skipping classes, even though he wasn't at breakfast.
Harry sighed as his pace slowed and his fists slowly unclenched. He hadn't felt his heart beat this morning, even in his fits of anger, and the feeling was disconcerting. Plus he was getting cold. As if on cue, he finally felt a gentle thump in his chest.
All this stress…it was definitely not good for his heart.
Just as the thought came and went, Harry turned a corner to be startled by the prone figure of a familiar redhead and a terrible scream as he cried out in pain.
"Ron!"
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A/N: Harry never can get a break, can he? Another chapter out, and in what, less than two weeks? EmpyrealFantasy is once again responsible. All blame lies with her.
I'm finally getting to one of my favorite parts of the plot, so chapters may or may not come out faster. I want to thank everyone for their meaningful reviews last chapter! They really encouraged me to write. Please review.