Chapter 5

Yeah, I've changed my pen name from; 'HaRRy-POttEr-OBseSseD-2011-O.o' to 'AyreO.o'
just informing you to save on confusion :0)

Well it's been a while but here's the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy :)
O.o

Deadly Betrayal

"It is quite something isn't it?" Dumbledore stated his chuckling subsiding and his pinked lips forming a slight smile; which was framed by his long, white, well groomed beard- though the twinkling of his warm blue eyes overshadowed the crinkled smile.

Lily blushed and smiled sheepishly as she realised that she had been staring, mouth agape, at the stunning setting. "we-well yes professor, it certainly is." She agreed, smiling more confidently now.

"Please, my dear – call me Albus," He told her, his hands clasped beneath his chin and his thin lips twitching, ever so slightly. It was clear by the way he spoke, that this was something Dumbledore had requested frequently from his previous students.

"Albus" Lily corrected herself with a quick nod to the floor, and a quirk of her lips.

"Errr, Albus?" James cut in from behind as he approached Lily, laying his hands gently upon her shoulders.

"Yes James, my boy?" Albus' twinkling gaze flickered to the slim, raven haired man.

"Well you see, I was just wondering why you actually called us here." James said genuinely "Surely it wasn't just to awe my wife with your upholstery?" His geniality was suddenly betrayed by his sarcasm.

"James!" Lily chastised, looking at her husband sharply.

With a brief sigh, Dumbledore dropped his gaze momentarily. "No Lily dear, James is of course right." His lips twitched once more as he spoke his next sentence. "I did not summon you here in order to- as James put it- 'awe you with my upholstery'."

"Still, there was no need to be so rude about it!" Lily huffed, crossing her arms and throwing small glares at James.

James huffed back "Look, I'm sorry. It's just you did say there was a spy in the order! And well, I thought there would be more people here…" he finished lamely, but with a point Lily thought, as she glanced around the room. There were four other occupants. Madeye, who was sat stiff and still, his paranoia evident as his magical eye swirled frantically in every direction. McGonagall was sat on the opposite side to Madeye, she looked grave and was placidly comforting the third person with soothing pats and rubs, it was Alice, her head was bowed and she was sobbing silently into her infants' hair, the shaking of her shoulders and her gentle rocking was the only sign.

"Alice!" Lily cried, she rushed to her friend and fell to her knees beside her. She hovered her hands over the prone form and her eyes roamed rapidly, searching for any signs of injury on either Alice, or her small son, Neville.

Alice slowly raised her head. She met Lily's worried surveying stare. Her nose was red and running, tear tracks marred her flushed cheeks, and her gentle blue eyes were sore and puffy, and despite the broken, sorrowful look they held, they were unusually bright; still burdened with unshed tears.

"Alice, what happened?" Lily queried softly, almost unable to handle the pure devastated look she was faced with. Alice's lip trembled and fresh tears seeped from the edges of her eyes, attempting to rid the tears she clenched her eyes shut and wiped them roughly with the back of her shaking hand, though she only succeeded in drenching her thick lashes and smearing the tears further across her face. "Alice, please?" Lily begged, possible scenario's running through her mind, each worse than the last…

Alice gave a shuddering breath and clutched Neville closer to her chest. "Th-they ca-me, found u-us, D-Death Ea-eaters, found u-s. A-and Frank, Franks g-g-gone!" She rasped as she broke down, once more dropping her head and sobbing-though this time vocally- into her sons thin, blonde hair. Her fragile frame shook and she rocked herself backwards and forwards.
Neville's large, round and innocent, brown eyes peaked nervously at his crying mother, he couldn't understand why his mummy was crying, and it upset him. And where was his daddy, the small boy couldn't help but notice his absence as his mummy's eyes leaked into his hair and her arms shook around him.

"No" Lily whimpered, almost inaudibly as she exhaled in angst, looking back at James she saw the same disconcerted expression. "So, it's true then, Dumbledore?" Lily asked suddenly with a fierce growl low in her throat. She stood and spun to face the elder wizard. "There is a spy? And whoever it is has betrayed the Longbottoms?" Her voice was strong and heavy with accusation, though she quivered at her last inquiry "An-And Franks D-" she took a calming breath, though she was shaking with entwined anger and dejection. "Dead?"

Dumbledore himself looked totally dismayed, and for a hint of a second Lily could swear he looked a great age older than what he really was, though she cast it from her mind, there were more important matters at hand.
The eccentric man sighed heavily and with a quick, remorseful glance at Alice, he nodded. "Yes, it would seem so. Like you, the Longbottoms were being protected by a secret Keeper. Though, it would seem that they regrettably put their faith in the wrong person." He sighed grievously. Alice hadn't heard Dumbledore's hard yet pragmatic words, either that or she was ignoring them, instead preserving her thoughts with something happier, less corporeal.

"Then why are we here, why isn't the bastard rotting in Azkaban? Or better yet, dead?" James spat nastily, his ornery words covering his internal anguish.

"That's the thing Mr Potter, no one knows who the Longbottoms secret keeper was, the only one who could have told us is… dead." Dumbledore conveyed, his eyes without twinkle and his voice lined with an abundant seriousness. James may have been callous, and Dumbledore may believe in giving a second chance to anyone, but Albus' thoughts were similar; 'why wasn't the culprit slowly losing their mind inside the confined walls of Azkaban?' or indeed 'why wasn't the 'bastard' dead?' yeah- he agreed with James… and that worried him.

"What do you mean?" James demanded exasperatedly, dragging his hand strenuously down his tired face. "Alice is sat right there, Dumbledore!" his formality jumping head first from the window, his patience right behind it.

"Yes James, I can see that." Dumbledore responded, his own patience showing no end.

James heaved a heavy breath, annoyance immersing. "Well, then why don't you just ask her!" His strident voice was slow and lethargic - as if talking to an ignorant, unruly toddler.

"Because James, I don't know." Alice's quiescence voice rendered, as she looked up to whom she was talking to, and assessed his confused face with her blurry eyes; she clarified. "I told Frank, that I didn't want to know. I-I don't know why, it was stupid. Bu-but I just didn't want to know, Merlin it was so stupid! But I dunno, I ju-just felt that if I knew, it would make the war- the possibility of de-death- too real…" She looked down ignominiously. "I just wanted to make the war go away."

Lily looked pitifully at her friend. "Alice, the war isn't just going to go away- no matter how much we want it to."

"You think I don't know that!" Alice spat nastily, looking sharply at Lily.

"Alice, no I-I didn't mean it like-"

"Oh Lily, I'm sorry…" Alice exhaled bitterly and hung her head. She hadn't meant to sound mean, but what Lily said was right, and it hurt. Alice had been hiding; she'd been denying the true fact of war, with the thought that if she was less aware, she'd be able to protect and shield her family from the horrors. But she had failed. She'd managed to do the exact opposite to what she intended. Frank was dead. She's lost her husband, her child had lost his father, and it was all her fault.

XxX

Petunia's efforts to alleviate her distressed nephew soon proved worthy as the small infant began to calm at her sedate words of meaningless mummers and the smattering of kisses she rained upon his small head. His aqueous gaze trapped her own and she smiled invigoratingly back at him. Harry whined grumpily as he wiggled himself deeper into Petunia's skeletal arms, wiping his face with a balled fist, his eyes began to droop.

Petunia regarded the small boy as her eyes trailed his face, observing the fresh cut his left cheek fashioned. The long cut disfigured and eclipsed his elfin face, and the stark contrast of blood red against his ashen skin looked pure evil. Relinquishing a pensive sigh Petunia thought of her shrieking son still sat in his nursery across the hall, though she skilfully tuned him out.

'Dudley is being punished!' she reminded herself harshly as another of his whimpers tore at her indelicate heart. 'He hit Harry' her mind informed. Once again she found herself sizing up Harry's marred face. The dainty objector was surrounded by smudges of violent red and swelling skin, her son did this she forcefully self-admonished, and all because Harry was playing with one of his hoard of toys.

Harry startled in his aunts arms and his weary eyes flew open at another of his cousin's strident screams for attention, Petunia shushed the silent baby in a show of comfort and trailed a knuckle tenderly down his uninjured check, murmuring sweet nothings once more- attempting to tune out her distressed son.

XxX

Voldemort ambled lazily down the symmetrical street, his lipless mouth curling in distaste at the muggle's sickening way of comparable living . Continuous rows of houses, like ant mounds, all infested with hundreds of scurrying insects. Muggle's, after all are like ants; nauseating, inferior, and pests that need to be terminated. He smiled at that thought, one day and one day soon, he - Lord Voldemort, would have them all grovelling in the dirt for their worthless, pathetic lives. Not that he would spare them of course.

Anger stemmed his notion as he looked upon his destination. That disgusting child was supposedly his destroyer! No, the boy was merely an obstruction in his path to greatness- an obstruction that caused little hindrance, just annoyance. Soon the child would be dead, and that old coot; Dumbledore, would see that it is not wise to go chasing empty prophecies.

Voldemort approached the overly maintained house, the sharpness of the pristine grass beneath his bare feet did not faze him as he continued on, drawing closer to the house with each passing step. He could hear the wails of an infant from inside, and with annoyance flaring he bitterly thought of the younger ones at the orphanage, always crying. 'Well that snivelling brat will be dealt with first', he decided as an idea came to mind and he disappeared in a whirl of black.

XxX

Petunia gently laid Harry in the travel cot she kept for him. The babe's sleeping features showed the blissfulness of the wondrous dreams he was caught in, and the deep oblivion to which he was cocooned. Safe and content. She huffed lightly as her own ears played witness to the continued raw screeches of her sobbing son- still sat alone in the nursery.

Extending her lengthy arm into the cradle, Petunia brushed a black lock of hair from the sleeping infants face, and softly trailed her pale knuckles over the heated checks, caressing the baby soft skin in a soothing manner, though the effects were wasted on the child, as he peacefully slumbered. Though in that moment Petunia's arm retreated to her chest, as if to grasp her spooked heart and she spun around to face the crèche door at a break neck speed as a sickening crack, not unlike a gunshot, sounded from the nursery across the hall.

Two attentive steps were all the riveted women took, worry plagued her prominent features as she listened, 'Dudley probably threw something' she tried to convince herself, as the child's screams increased, urgency almost painting the tone, "Dudley" she mumbled with a breath- 'Perhaps he's hurt?' this line of thinking sent her towards the door, purpose in her stride. However, as Petunia encompassed the cold mental handle she froze; dread pooling the pit of her clenching stomach as Dudley's howl was cut off- drowning the darkened house in to a vexing silence.

XxX

So, What'd ya think? I know I hardly ever update but from now on I'm gonna shorten the chapters, hopefully this way updates will be more frequent… thanks if you're still with me O.o