Love, Lies, and a Secret.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Thanks to Anne Pendragon !
Chapter 07: Half Truths
Hermione and Terry stared at him.
"What?" Harry asked in a sarcastic voice. "Don't you know what to say?"
"Harry, let's go." Tonks grabbed his arm. She looked at Hermione and their eyes found each other. She could see despair on them. The young Auror shook her head, lightly.
Harry shoved Tonks' grip. "No, I want to hear about this…spell."
Terry took a deep breath, put his arm around Hermione's waist, and said firmly, "We don't need a scene here, Harry." He knew that the bartender was watching the exchange attentively.
Harry snorted, "And to think that I felt sorry for you, Hermione." He laughed dryly. "What an idiot! Did you know that I was angry with Ron? And here you are-" He looked depreciatively at Terry. "…with him." His eyes began to wander over her body. She was wearing a strapless top; very tighten pants and high hells. He knew she was dangerously sexy. His heart pouted in his chest between angry, disbelieve and desire. Harry didn't know if he wanted to slap her or snog her senseless. He shook his head. "You're looking like a-"
"Don't say anything you might regret later, Harry," Tonks warned him.
Harry looked at Terry, and then at Hermione. "Let's go, Tonks. We have some work to do after all."
"Harry," Hermione said tentatively, "I-" He held up a hand, making her stop. "Don't say anything. Right now, you're just making me sick," he said, before walked away.
The young witch just wanted to cry. He had never spoken to her like that- with so much anger, hate. If she could only scream the truth at him! Merlin, she still could feel the weight of his stare; his piercing eyes wandering over her body. She felt naked…dirty. Hermione took a deep breath, and then looked at Terry. He wrapped his arms around her, and whispered into her ear, "I'm really sorry Hermione, but you know that we can't say anything." He nuzzled against her hair. " Pierre is watching. We must be careful."
Hermione let go a loud moan, and whispered back, "So let's finish this as fast as we can."
"You're so sexy today, my girl," Terry said, loud enough to Pierre, the bartender, to hear. "You make me think and want dirty things."
"Are you hungry?" she purred, grabbing his bum.
"If we aren't in public place, I would do you right now," he said slyly.
She looked at him, liking her lips.
"Er, excuse me," Pierre interrupted them, "but I couldn't not to notice that you two need a more private place to …talk"
Hermione and Terry looked at each other, and then at Pierre. "Yeah, that would be nice."
"Well, we have a place where you can talk more privately." The man fixed his gaze on Terry. "But there will be some costs, of course."
"Money won't be a problem."
Pierre nodded. "Very well, if you could follow me to my office," he said, indicating a door behind him.
"Sure," Terry said. He and Hermione knew that Pierre was everything but an ordinary bartender.
Pierre's office
"Well, let's talk about business," Pierre said, without ceremony. His previously friendly voice was gone. He looked serious and, somehow, dangerous. "I have been noticing that you two have been frequenting my house for a while. You two seem very –um- open to…new things. I like it. It's good for the business." He paused a second and then continued, "I have to confess that I was- how can I say- a little worried when those two Aurors talked to you."
Hermione and Terry remained in silence.
"But," he continued, "I was glad to see how well you deal with the situation." He smirked. "Not everyone can understand ours needs." He laughed loudly, showing his yellow rotten teeth. Hermione felt an urge to vomit. "Okay, okay. Back to the business…you said money wouldn't be a problem-"
"That's right," Terry confirmed.
"It's twenty galleons." Terry did his best to not look shocked. Twenty galleons! Bloody Hell! "And with more ten, you two can make use of ours products." He paused for a minute before continued, "Are we alright or the price is too high?"
"No, the price is fine," said Terry, as he took the money from his pocket and gave it to Pierre.
After verify if the amount of gold was correct, Pierre looked back at them. "Very well." He then went to his desk, and took something from a drawer. It was a feather. A red feather.
"Here it is," he said giving the feather to Terry. The former Ravenclaw looked at the man like he had two heads.
"A-A Portkey?" Hermione blurted out. It was the first time she had spoken since they had entered Pierre's office.
"Of course, my sweetheart." Pierre's gaze boring on her. "Is there a problem?"
"No, of course not," Terry spoke quickly for Hermione, grabbing her waist, "my honey was just surprised. And to tell the truth, I was surprised myself. I thought you would give us the address and we would Apparate there."
Pierre shook his head.
"Oh no, there's no way to Apparate or Disapparate." Hermione felt Terry tightening his grip. "And we wouldn't like that the Ministry knew about where we are, right? Tst Tst tst...the Ministry is so...mmn...antiquated, don't you think?" He clasped his hands together. "But why are we here talking about this? I'm sure you two are eager to have fun already. Go, take the Portkey!" He looked at them. "I'm sure it will be a night you won't forget."
Trying hard to not show their nervousness, Terry and Hermione took the feather, and almost instantly, they felt the familiar tug in their stomachs.
Few seconds later, they found each other in a dark room.
"Where-" Hermione was asking when a strange voice interrupted her.
"Show the feather," the voice said and Terry raised the feather into the air. Then, a door magically appeared. "Do we open it?" Hermione whispered. She didn't like that.
"What options do we have?" Terry mumbled, as he opened the door.
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December 1979
St. Mungo's
The waiting room
"James," Sirius spoke after some time. He and James were waiting for news about Lily. James had insisted to stay with his wife, while she was being exanimate but the Healer simply said that he should wait outside the room.
"Yes, Sirius?" James asked, absently. The only thing he wanted was to know what was wrong with lily. He couldn't bear with the thought of losing her.
"I know it isn't my place to ask. And I don't want to interfere in your private life but-" Sirius shifted uncomfortable in the chair. "Are you cheating on Lily, James?"
James stared at Sirius, shocked. "W-What?"
"Are you cheating on Lily?"
"Of course not!" James hissed, outrageously.
"James, you have been missing work for a while, and for what I saw today, you aren't spending this time at home." Sirius bit his bottom lip. "Lily is a wonderful person. Be sure about what you are doing."
"I'm not cheating on her, Sirius!" James took a deep breath. "You know how much I love her…you know what I did to be with her. I changed myself to be with her…" He closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them again. "I'm not cheating Lily. It's just….I have some issues to solve and-"
"Mr. Potter," a voice interrupted him. James looked up and saw Lily's Healer. "Your wife woke up."
James and Sirius stood up immediately. "How is she? What's wrong with her? What happened?" James asked, hurriedly. "I want to see her!"
"Calm down, Mr. Potter," the Healer said. "Your wife is fine, nothing to worry about. However I would like to speak with you in particular, if you don't mind."
"Of course," James promptly replied, and then looked at Sirius. "Mate-"
"James, I'm going home," Sirius said, "if you need anything, just Floo. Give Lily a hug." He paused a moment, and then continued, "We can finish our talk later."
James nodded. "Thanks, Sirius."
"See you, James," Sirius said, and left.
oooooooooooo
"Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong with my wife?" James inquired.
"Like I said there's nothing wrong with Mrs. Potter," the Healer calmly said. "However, her stress levels are a little too high. The same can be said about her blood pressure. And with her condition"
"Whoa, whoa!" James made her stop. "What condition?"
"Your wife is pregnant, Mr. Potter."
James simply stared at her. "W-What did you say?"
"Your wife is pregnant," the Healer replied, but then suddenly realized something. "Oh, you didn't know. I'm really sorry for spoiling the surprise."
James nodded absently, a goofy smile forming on his face. "How long?"
"Almost seven weeks, Mr. Potter."
"Mmnn, it must have happened on Halloween Eve," James muttered to himself. "I knew I liked Halloween for a reason."
The Healer cleared her throat. "I would like to speak with you about your wife's health."
"Of course," James sobered, shaking his head. "There's something wrong with the pregnancy? You said something about stress."
"Yes, you see, Mr. Potter, you wife seemed a little too tense and this isn't good for her and the baby. Her stress levels are really high and it may cause problems like the faint today."
"And what can I do to help?"
"You must help her to control her stress. Muggleborn's pregnancies are never easy. Your wife is a witch but her body is still Muggle. The baby's magic can bring her a little discomfort. Nothing serious, but would be wise to have attention."
"I understand," he said, "and I am asking again, what can do for her?"
"Be supportive, don't let her suffer strong emotions or some shocking surprises, let's say. The most important is, your wife must be calm and relaxed…then, everything gonna be alright."
"I will do my best, Ma'am," James said. "Now, can I see her?"
Lily's room
When Lily saw James entering the room, she looked away. He pretended to not notice that and walked towards her bed.
"Lily, luv," he said as he sat by her side, taking her hand, "why didn't you tell me?"
Still looking away, Lily let go a sob.
"Please, luv, look at me," James pleaded, gently. "Look at me, sweetheart." She looked at him, teary eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked again.
"I was…I am so angry with you James," she sobbed quietly.
"Lily-"
"You are always late…always tired a-and distant and I know you aren't going to work." The tears began to fall, uncontrollably. "P-Please, James-"
"Lily," he whispered, as he wiped her tears with the thumb of his fingers, "I am not cheating on you. I swear to everything…I'm not cheating. I would never…I love you so much…."
"So, what's wrong, James? Please, tell me what's wrong."
James stood up from the bed and walked towards the window, his hands on his pockets, his back to Lily. He took a deep breath before facing her again.
"It's Mary."
"I don't understand."
"I'm seeing Mary Adams…but not in the way you're thinking!" he added quickly.
Lily did not reply; she really didn't know what to say.
"After Jane's death…. After Jane's death things haven't being easy for Mary. She was afraid and-"
"Something happened to her?" Lily finally spoke her voice between worry and shock.
"No," he lied. "However, she moved from London. I helped her with the new house and-" James sighed deeply. "I feel I have a debt with her, you know…it was me who bring Jane to the Order and-"
"Jane's death wasn't your fault, James," Lily said firmly, "but why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell-"
"You can't tell him, Lil"
"But James-"
"Promise me, Lily. She doesn't want him to know. It's her will."
"Okay, James. I won't tell anything. However, I think he should know. They love each other."
"No, Lily," James said decisively, and Lily knew it was the end of the subject.
Lily's heart was not so heavy anymore; the pain in her chest had gone away. She knew that James was telling the truth. James had never being able to lie to her. He used to say that it was the same with his mum and dad. Maybe the Potter men didn't know how to lie to the women they loved. However, if Lily knew that James hadn't lie to her, she also knew he hadn't told her the whole truth. There was something else and she would find out what.
"But tell me about this little one," James said, touching her belly, his eyes shining. "I'm gonna be a daddy!"
She smiled at him. "Yes, Mr. Potter, you're going to be a dad." She put a hand on his face. "I'm so happy."
"Me too, sweetheart. You just make me the happiest man alive," he replied, "but Lil…the Healer also talked to me about your health, and that you need to control your stress."
"Yes, I know." Lily sighed. "I'll take care of myself and this little one, luv."
"And you know what this means, don't you?" James looked straightly into her eyes. "No more Order business."
"James-"
"No, Lily. We managed to fight against Voldemort three times and didn't get killed. I don't want to risk one more time. You and our baby are more important than any war."
Lily nodded, laughing lightly. "I love you, Mr. Potter."
"I love you, Mrs. Potter."
Yes, things were finally well on Potter family
ooooooooooooooooooo
September 2000
The Leaky Cauldron, London
"Harry, don't you think you drink a little too much?" Tonks said slowly, trying to make Harry stop to drink. "I think it would be better if you stop for now."
"No!" Harry slammed the table with his fist, making Tonks starlet. "We already got the bad guy. Now I want to driiink. Another bottle, Tom!"
"Mr. Potter, I don't think-"
"I'm the bloody Harry Potter! I saved your ass; I saved everybody asses in the fucking war! I want another drink!" Harry cried groggily. "And don't worry, I have money!" He took an amount of gold, and spread them on the table.
Tom shook his head, sadly, before placing another bottle of Firewhisky on the table.
"Harry-" Tonks tried again.
"D-Did you see her clothes?" Harry's eyes were filled with sadness. "S-She never wore anything like that-" he stared at his drink. "She's gorgeous."
"Harry, what you saw-"
Harry looked up at Tonks. "She's having an affair with Boot!" He shook his head. "She's having an affair with Boot," his voice was a painful whisper. "Do you think she sleeps with him?"
"Harry, sometimes, things aren't what we think they are…"
The young wizard seemed to not have listed to her. "But she would have told me if she does." He drank a little. "She tells me anything, you know? And I tell anything to her. We're best friends." He closed his eyes briefly. "Friends…but she didn't tell me about Boot. D-Do you think she loves him?"
"I think it's time to stop!" Tonks said firmly. "You are too old for been babysitting." She took the drink from Harry's hands.
"Hey!" he cried, indignantly.
"Harry, I really sorry about this but it's for your own good." Tonks raised her wand and cried, "Stupefy!" And Harry fell on the table.
"What did you do?!" Tom exclaimed in shock.
"I have to, Tom," Tonks replied. "I think this gold pays what he consummated…" she said looking at the Galleons on the table. "I'll Side-along with him." Tom nodded in understand. "Thanks, Tom, and sorry for anything."
"You're welcome, Miss Tonks." The bartender looked sadly at Harry.
"Give my best to Mr. Potter when he wakes up."
Grimmauld Place
"Remus, wake up!" Remus Lupin felt someone shaking him. "I need your help!" Dizzily, he opened his eyes and saw Tonks.
"Tonks?" he mumbled, sleepy.
"Get up, Remus!" she insisted again. "It's Harry!"
Harry. That was the magical word.
"Harry?" Remus promptly stood up. "Something happened to him?"
"Well, nothing serious...let's say-" Remus raised an eyebrow at her.
"He's in his old bedroom. Come on, I need your help with something!"
Still confused, Remus followed Tonks.
Harry's old bedroom
"He's Stupefied," Remus said, as soon as he saw Harry spread in the bed. "...and smelly-"
"I know. It was me." Remus looked shocked at her. "As you may have noticed...or smell...he had been drinking...a lot. I really have to Stupefy him. Otherwise, I couldn't even manage to side-along here."
Remus nodded, understandably. "But why did he drink? The mission didn't go well?"
"No, the mission did go fine." Tonks sighed. "He saw Hermione and Terry Boot."
"Oh, I see..." Remus said. "But how was it?" he asked and Tonks told him what had happened.
"And I'm guessing that Kingsley didn't tell you anything about they been there," Remus spoke after sometime.
"No, he didn't. You know he never does. It's part of their work."
"Yeah." Remus nodded, and looked at Harry. "And what about Harry? He now thinks that Hermione and Boot are lovers."
"I don't know. I am not authorized to say anything. I can lose my job if I do. I will talk with Hermione, Boot and Moody tomorrow and see what they think. Until then, I think it would be better if Harry stays here. This way he won't get the chance to meet Ron and spill out something."
"You're right. But why didn't you Enervate him yet? You don't need help with this, do you?"
"Of course not! I need you to change his clothes before Enervate him." Remus looked at her in question. "He can't sleep with these Auror robes and I know he will be very embarrassed if he finds out that I changed him." The werewolf seemed to have not understood her point. "Merlin, Remus! I'm a woman! He'll feel embarrassed if he knows that I saw him naked!"
"Oh Right!" Remus finally understood. "So let me change him. I know he left some old clothes here..." He went to the wardrobe and opened it.
Tonks smiled, shaking her head before leaving, closing the door behind her.
A few minutes later...
"Calm down, Harry!" Tonks heard Remus cried through the door. "Expelliarmus! Accio Harry's wand!"
Tonks quickly opened the door, and saw Remus holding two wands. Harry, visible still drunk, was looking surprised and angry at him.
"I Enervate him," Remus simply said to Tonks, and then turned to Harry. "Sorry, Harry, but I don't think you you'll need your wand right now!"
But Harry wasn't paying attention to Remus; his eyes were now focused on Tonks.
"You attacked me!" He pointed a finger at her. "You attacked me!" He began to look around. "Why I'm here? Where's my drink?" he demanded.
Before Tonks could say anything, Remus shouted angrily, "Stop right there, Harry James!" Harry looked surprised at Remus; even Tonks seemed a little shocked. She had never saw Remus yelling at Harry before. "You aren't a little boy anymore to have such childish behavior!" Remus turned to Tonks. "Luv, there's still a bottle with Sleep Potion downstairs. Could you please take it?"
Tonks nodded, and left.
"You know nothing, Remus!" Harry yelled at his former teacher.
"What do you want, Harry? Do you want to throw away two years of training and hard work because of one night?!"
"I did my job! We got the suspect!"
"That's not the point! You were still on duty! Nothing justifies getting drunk!"
"She's having an affair with Terry Boot!!"
"Is she?"
"I saw them! I saw the way they were! There's no way to deny!"
Remus shook his head. "And what if they are having an affair? It's their lives not yours."
"But Hermione-"
"Hermione is an adult, a grown woman. This is her life, not yours!"
"But!"
"Ron is her boyfriend, Harry! Not you!"
Those words hit Harry very hard; he let himself fell on the bed. "I know," he whispered, looking down at his hands. At that moment, Tonks returned to the room carrying a vial of the sleep potion.
"Here it is," she said giving the vial to Harry. "Drink it, Harry."
"What's it?"
"Sleeping Potion."
"I don't want-"
Tonks took a deep breath. "I'm really tired, Harry. Drink it."
Like an annoyed little boy, Harry took the vial and drank the potion. Seconds later, he was sleeping.
"Thank Merlin," muttered Tonks, as she and Remus took off Harry's glasses and adjusted him in the bed. "What did he say, Remus?"
"Nothing important. Just ramblings about Hermione and Terry. Tomorrow I will have a real talk with him. But right now, why don't we go to bed?"
"Wonderful idea, Remus." Tonks smiled, and they left the bedroom.
The next day
Harry Potter woke up feeling terrible. His head seemed that was about to explode, and the bad taste on his mouth was making him wanting to throw up.
He took a few moments to realize where he was. Slowly, the memories from the night before began to appear...
Hermione...
How could she? He still couldn't understand- he couldn't accept that. Sighing heavily, he took his glasses from the bedside, stood up from the bed and went to the wardrobe.
'Thanks Merlin, I have some clothes here,' he thought, opening it. Harry took a pair of Muggle jeans, an old T-shirt and a pair of short boxers. "My, I need to take a shower!"
Even after the long shower, Harry's head was still spinning. He wasn't sure if it was only because of the hangover or because of the thought of Hermione and Terry having an affair. The images of Hermione wearing those clothes...Terry's arms around her tiny waist ...were almost haunting him. Harry really didn't know what to do- or to think. Should he tellRon about what he saw? Hermione would never speak with him again if he did and the thought of Hermione not talking with him made his heart sank even more.
Shaking slightly his head, Harry left the bathroom and went downstairs, thinking that, maybe, a strong coffee and some Hangover potion could solve his problems. His physical problems, at least.
Harry was walking towards the kitchen when he heardsome voices coming from it. It sounded like Remus, Tonks and...Kingsley. Kingsley? Why Kingsley was there- on a Sunday Morning? Did he have heard about Harry's behavior the night before? Shit! Trying to not make a noise, the young wizard came closer to the kitchen's door, trying overheard the conversation.
"I already told you...Harry and I only saw them last night in that club," Tonks was saying. "I realized they might have been in a mission."
A mission? What the hell Tonks was talking about?
"What happened, Kingsley?" Harry heard Remus' voice.
"We have a situation."
Silence.
"What happened?" Remus asked again.
"Longbottom contacted Alastor early this morning." Longbotton? What Neville talked to Mad-Eye? "Granger and Boot were supposed to contact him last night but they never showed up."
"And Susan?"
"They didn't contact her either. Longbottom also went to Boot's place to see if they were there but there was no one in the apartment."
Silence
"But-" Tonks was saying when Harry heard a familiar sound coming from the fireplace.
"Tonks! Lupin! Shacklebolt!" It was Moody. "We found Boot!"
"Good-"
"He's bad, Tonks," Moody's voice interrupted her. "He's in a really bad shape." His voice was serious and tense.
"And Hermione, Alastor?" Remus asked.
"She's still missing." A wave of despair invaded Harry's body. Hermione's missing? And what mission they were talking about? What Neville and Susan had to do with everything? Hell, what everybody had been hiding from him?
"What happened to Hermione?" Harry asked out aloud, entering the kitchen.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
AN: Well, that was chapter 07. I hope you liked it. Tell me what you think!
Kisses,
Sweet-Lemmon