Fallen Angel
The three weeks went by in a flash, and pretty soon it was time for the meeting. Draco had gone to fetch his friends, while the rest of the old DA were making their own way to the Room of Requirement. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were already there, except the former three were hiding in the shadows with their hoods up. Neville was waiting to greet those who arrived. Eventually, the door opened and the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff members, as well as the ones that had already left the school, walked in.
"Hello Neville." Luna greeted him as they walked (well, Luna floated) in. "Where's Harry, Ron and Hermione?"
"They've gone to do something. They'll be back shortly. They said to make yourselves comfortable. Also, I'm sorry Dennis, but Harry says that you're a bit too young for this one this time. You have to go back to the common room." He gestured to the beanbags scattered across the room, repeating word for word what he had been told to say. They all nodded and sat, starting to make pointless chatter, except for Dennis.
"I'm not too young! I was in the DA last year!"
"Den, if Harry says you can't be here, you can't be here. Go." Colin ordered his younger brother. Dennis gave him a long stare before leaving.
Not long after, the door opened again. They all turned their heads, expecting to see the not-so-Golden trio, when Pansy walked in, followed by Blaise, Astoria and Daphne, Theodore, Millicent, Crabbe, Goyle and finally Draco.
"What the hell? What are you doing here?" Justin Finch-Fletchley demanded.
"We were asked to come here Finch-Fletchley. Why? Do you have a problem with that?" Draco said calmly, but gripping his wand slightly in his robes, just in case.
"Yeah, actually. Harry might have made friends with you, but that doesn't mean the rest of us have too."
Draco turned to his friends. "Crabbe, Goyle stand in front of the door so this idiot can't run away. Pansy, Blaise, Tor, Daph, Theo and Millie, sit down please. This isn't your fight." He told them all, not taking his eyes off the Hufflepuff.
"Nor is it yours. Draco, back down. The Hufflypuffly isn't worth it." Pansy said, placing her hand on his arm as a form of restraint while the others did as they were told.
"Pansy. Sit." He turns his head slightly towards her, but his eyes never left the boy across the room from him. She huffed and did as she was told, sitting down with the other girls. Draco meanwhile stepped forward so he was a few feet away from Justin, who had pulled his wand out. "If you have a problem with me and my friends being here, Finch-Fletchley, I suggest you take up with Harry, as he was the one who made friends with us first."
"Oh don't worry, I will." Justin raised his wand, preparing for a battle. "But I'll deal with you first."
"Enough." A stern, but quiet voice sounded from the shadows. All heads turned that way. From the shadows stepped three hooded, masked figures, standing in formation. All went quiet, and Justin sat back down in fright. Draco, however, remained standing.
"Torva. Crimson Killer. Mastermind." He nodded to each of them and went to stand with them, taking his place at Torva's left as Crimson Killer fell to the back. With a wave of his wand, he pulled up his hood and own mask, becoming Argentum Lingua once more.
The congregation was in shock. "Draco, you're a Dead Assassin?" Luna asked timidly.
"Yes. Rather this than a Death Eater." He looked to his friends. Despite knowing who he was, they still looked mildly shocked, as if this was their first confirmation.
Ginny stood up and held her wand firm. "Who are you and how the hell did you get in here?"
"Gin, please, put your wand down. We've been here all the time." Torva replied quietly.
Recognition dawned on her face. "The only person who calls me Gin is…Harry?" she asked, lowering her wand.
With one wave, Harry dropped the masks and hoods, revealing his, Draco's Hermione's and Ron's identities once again. "Yes. It's me. Us in fact."
"What the hell Harry? Ron, Hermione? What the hell are you playing at?" Seamus piped up.
"It isn't just those four." Neville said, standing up and taking his place next to Ron.
"Neville! Not you too mate?" Fred questioned.
"Yeah mate, not you as well?" George added.
"Actually yes. Now if you all shut up, Harry will give you the answers you clearly want."
"Thank you Neville. Right," he sat on one of the beanbags by his feet, Ron and Hermione dropping beside him, Neville going back to his original seat next to Seamus and Dean, and Draco went and sat by Blaise, waving Crabbe and Goyle over as he went. Harry continued, "I'll tell you the same as what I told Neville. But first, let me show you." He lifted his right sleeve to show them all his Mark. On cue, Ron, Hermione and Draco showed their also.
"That's not the Dark Mark. I know what that looks like, my Daddy told me and showed me pictures of it." Hannah Abbott stated, proud of herself so much she was cocky.
"No it isn't. It's a form of it. And lose the cockiness Hannah. If, in the end, you decide to join us, an attitude like that will not be well received." She had the decency to blush and bow her head. "Now then, over the past years, I have come to the realisation that Dumbledore is a manipulative bastard who uses people as pawns, especially me, to get what he wants. It is because of him that Sirius died just before the summer. No more will I serve him, no more will I be his pet. My aim, our aim, is to bring him down. If that means siding with Tom for the time being, then so be it. However, when the time comes, I will turn against Tom, and I will kill him also. Then, I shall rise to the top, and make the changes that need to be made. I am gathering recruits. My question to you is this: will you join me also?"
"We'll join you Harry!" Fred agreed.
"Yeah, we're always on your side, aren't we Gred?"
"We certainly are Forge. Lee, you with us?"
The dark-haired boy nodded. "Course. I'm with you Harry."
"And with our three brains combined…"
"…we can make you all sorts of weapons."
"We can modify the Skiving Snackboxes…
"…or the fireworks…"
"Boys, calm down." Harry laughed, stopping the twins in the middle of their excitement. "Thank you. Anybody else?"
Cho put her hand up. "I will Harry. I'm always on your side." She said flirtingly, to the irritation of both Ginny and Draco.
"Thank you Cho. Seamus, Dean? You in?"
"I'm in." Dean agreed.
"I think ya mental Harry, but I'm in. I've learnt my lesson from last time and not believing you." Seamus added.
"Thanks mate. Ladies? Padma, Pavarti, Lavender?"
"Always Harry." Pavarti said on behalf of the three of them.
"We'll join as well Harry!" Colin shouted, indicating him, Ginny and Luna.
"No. Not you three. You're too young."
"If we're too young, then why did you tell us?" Luna asked, in her dreamy voice.
"Because I trust you three not to say anything."
"Then clearly we're old enough."
"No Gin. There is every chance you might die…"
"The same as there's every chance you might die! Besides, there's a possibility every day that we're going to die. You saw us last year, shut up Ron, I'm talking! And don't you two try to interrupt either!" She pointed at her three brothers, who were about to dissuade her. "I'm fed up, as I'm sure Luna and Colin are as well, of being told we're too young to do anything. Alright, I don't agree with you siding with Voldemort. But we're on your side Harry. We're bloody good fighters, you saw us last year, as I was going to say before I was rudely interrupted by my dear brother. If it's a case of we're too young, then the only people technically old enough are Fred, George, Lee, Angelina, Alicia, Marietta and Katie, as they are the only ones in this room of age. Harry, who cares how old we are? Three extra fighters isn't going to hurt."
"Yes, but if something does happen to you, it will be my fault for allowing you in. It's not that I don't think you aren't competent, it isn't that at all, I have every faith in the three of you. It's the fact that you have your whole lives ahead of you. I don't want to rip that away."
"As do we. We have our whole lives ahead of us, yet you're letting us join." Dean stated. "Come on Harry, where's the harm?"
The Gryffindor heaved a big sigh. "Fine. You three can join. But it is at your own risk." Ron, Fred and George started to protest, but were silenced by a look from their leader. "They're right. If they're old enough to join the DA last year, and if they're old enough for me to trust them, then they're old enough to join up properly. But I won't take responsibility for them. I know you're just looking out for your little sister, but it's time you let her grow up."
Ron sat dumbfounded for a moment before nodding in agreement. Harry in turn turned to Colin.
"However, Colin, you cannot tell Dennis about this. He is a child, too young to join. He's an innocent in this. Do not tell him." The younger Gryffindor nodded. "Anybody else?"
"We'll do it. We're not too happy, but we'll do it. We're always on your side Harry." Angelina piped up, voicing hers, Katie's and Alicia's opinions.
"Thank you." At that moment, Marietta put up her hand. "Yes Marietta?"
"Can I join?" She asked, unsure.
"No. You betrayed us to Umbridge last year with a childish group. I can't trust you this year, but because you've followed Cho here, and heard everything, we cannot just let you go either. Hermione…"
The bushy haired girl stood up and made her way over to the auburn-haired girl. "Sorry Marietta, but we can't have you going blabbing again now, can we?" She pointed her wand at the centre of the girl's forehead. Silently, she began a charm. Seconds later, she lowered her wand.
"Did you just cast a Fidelius on me?" Marietta asked, shocked.
"Yes. Better than the boils from last year." With that, Hermione sat back down.
"I wouldn't get comfortable yet though Granger, if I was you." Terry Boot told her. "I still have some questions. Just what does joining you entail? What do we have to do?"
Harry had expected at least one person to ask this, so prepared himself to give the answer he had planned. "All you will have to do is stay on my side and remain loyal. If I, or the Dark Lord, ask something specific of you, you will have to do it without question. I have asked that the Death Eaters treat you as one of their own, so please treat them as such. Do not reveal yourselves to them. Also, once you take this Mark, there will be no turning back. If, once you take it, you decide to defect, and you go against me, you will make an enemy out of me. However, if you pull out now, before you take it, I will do everything in my power to protect you. You will be an innocent."
"So you're basically saying we'll be enslaved to you for the rest of our lives?" Michael Corner asked, with Anthony Goldstein, Ernie MacMillan, Susan and Hannah all nodding in agreement.
"No. You'll still have your free will. If we directly ask you to do something, you cannot refuse. However, unless stated otherwise, you'll have free reign on the task we give you." At the word 'task', Harry slid his eyes over to Draco briefly, who narrowed his slightly in return. "If we give a task to you all generally, you may pull out if you wish."
"So you're saying we have to obey You-Know-Who as well?" Justin Finch-Fletchley asked, distaste clear in his voice.
"Yes. You obey him, but you answer to me. You will treat him with the same amount of respect you will me. Any punishments, however, will be given out by me."
"Will we have to work with His Death eaters?"
"Yes."
"Is Malfoy a Death Eater?" Justin asked outright. Harry visibly became angry, but never got his chance to speak.
"No. But I know how to fight like one. Want proof?" Draco challenged him.
"Is that a threat Malfoy?"
"Enough." Harry ordered. Draco immediately backed down, his eyes still shining rage as they bore straight into the back of the Hufflepuff's head, which had turned back to the leader. "That is another things I will not accept. How are we to fight the others if we fight amongst ourselves? Grow up." Harry barked at him. "Draco, lift up your sleeve. Show him. And don't provoke him into a fight."
Draco obeyed. Smirking, he lifted his left sleeve to show his bear forearm. Once everyone had had a good look at it, he rolled his sleeve back down and turned his eyes back to the Ravenclaw boys and Hufflepuff girls. "Well, do you have any more questions for Harry? Or has your thirst for knowledge been appeased?"
Hannah briefly looked at him, then looked at Susan. "We know enough." She turned to Harry. "We're in."
"Thank you girls. Michael, Anthony, Terry, Ernie? You in?" They nodded. "Good. Justin? Zach?"
"I most certainly am not! You can put that Fidelius Charm on me as well Granger. No way in Hell am I participating in this." Zacharis disagreed.
"Fine. Hermione." The girl cast the spell again, binding the Hufflepuff in an invisible, legal, silencing contract. Once she had sat back down, Harry spoke again. "Justin?"
"I don't know Harry. I believe you, but I don't think I will be able to work with Him, nor His Death Eaters. I certainly don't believe I'll be able to work with Slytherins."
"Justin, we'll be working with Him for as long as we have to, to be able to get to our goal. However, we won't be working for Him. Technically, you'll have no ties to him. And by being on my side, our side, you'll be safe from any attacks, which, no offense, would surely be beneficial to you and the rest of the Muggleborns in here simply because of your blood status. If you choose not to, I will do my best to protect you, but there will be no guarantees that you won't be targeted."
"Can I think about it?"
"Of course, but you can't take long." He then turned to the Slytherins. "Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Astoria, Daphne, Theodore and Millicent. I shall leave this one to Draco."
The blond nodded his thanks to the Gryffindor before turning to his friends. "The decision you're about to make is the same I had to make. Let me tell you how I thought of it. There are three evils, in my eyes. One, we side with the Dark Lord, and become enslaved to him for life, with no guarantee of being safe. Two, we get 'taken in' by Dumbledore, and get brainwashed into believing a pack of lies, again, with no promise of safety. Three, there's Harry. We side with Harry, we'll be safe. The Dark Lord has promised not to harm any of us who side with him, and Dumbledore would not hurt any friends of his because he wouldn't want to lose his puppet. We will always be on the winning side, and Harry has promised me that when he wins, he will bring us all to the top with him. I chose the lesser of the three evils, because at the time, Harry was an enemy. Now, he is an ally."
"But Draco, this goes against everything we have ever been brought up to know." Pansy reminded him.
"Pansy, the time for listening to our mother's and father's is gone. We have to make our own way in the world now. We're all sixteen, nearly seventeen. We're old enough to make our own decisions now."
"We'll go with you Draco. We're in Potter." Goyle said, jerking a thumb between himself and Crabbe.
Astoria, meanwhile, was having an argument with her sister. "No Daphne, I will not have you put yourself in harm's way!"
"Tor, I'm in the same year as Ginny, Luna and Colin. The same year as my friends! (It was true. Daphne was the only Slytherin friend that Ginny, Luna and Colin had.) If they can enter, why can't I? Besides, I turn sixteen next month anyway, so I'll be the same age as Harry! I'm not leaving your side Sis. We've already lost Mother and Father to the Dark Lord. I do not want to lose you as well. I'm staying by your side. I'm in Harry." She told him before her sister could interrupt. He in turn nodded.
"Daphne! Fine. I'll join as well Harry, but only to keep an eye on my sister." He, again, nodded in response.
Now Theodore Nott, who'd always had a crush on Astoria, would do anything for her, so joined up as well. Millicent Bulstrode, because she had a crush on Goyle, did the same.
That left Pansy and Blaise. Blaise immediately said yes, but Pansy was still unsure, biting her lip in worry. Draco questioned her on this. "Pansy, what is there to be worried about?"
"My parents Draco. I'm worried what will become of them."
Harry took the opportunity to speak. "Your parents, what are their names?"
"Rose and Cassius."
"I don't think they're Death Eaters." Ron said, thinking back to all the Death Eaters who had been present the first time they were introduced.
"They aren't. That's why I'm worried what will become of them."
"Pansy, I'll do the best I can to keep them safe. OK?" Harry reassured her. She nodded. "So, are you in?"
She sighed. "I'm in. But you better keep good on your promise Potter. Or so help me, I'll make your fury look tame."
"Trust me, she would." Draco cheekily agreed, earning himself a slap on the arm and a laugh from his best friend.
Harry chuckled also. "Excellent. Justin, that leaves you. I need an answer now."
The boy looked troubled for a moment, before seemingly coming to a conclusion. "Fine. But I'm not very happy about it."
Harry nodded, before turning once again to Hermione. "Can you do a spell that will combine the auras of everyone who needs to be marked?"
"I can, but I can't do it for long."
"I know, but I don't need long."
"OK. I need everyone who is being marked to stand in a line. Before I do, shouldn't everybody pledge their allegiance to you?"
"Yes of course." Harry moved to the start of the line, Fred. "You need to pledge allegiance to me. You all have to do it, obviously putting your own name in place. Fred, repeat after me. I, Frederick Gideon Weasley…"
"I, Frederick Gideon Weasley…"
"…do solemnly pledge my allegiance to you, Harry James Potter…"
"…do solemnly pledge my allegiance to you, Harry James Potter…"
"…and I do promise that my loyalties shall lie, from now until I die, to you."
"Hey, that rhymes. Sorry. …and I do promise that my loyalties shall lie, from now until I die, to you."
"I will not lie to you, nor shall I deceive you, or any of my associates."
"I will not lie to you, nor shall I deceive you, or any of my associates."
"Cor meum tibi offero domine prompte et sincere."
"Er, sorry Harry, but what does that mean?"
"It means, 'my heart I offer to you Lord promptly and sincerely'. It's another way of pledging your allegiance. Now please, just say it."
"Sorry. Cor meum tibi offero domine prompte et sincere."
"This I do solemnly swear.
"This I do solemnly swear."
"Good. Hermione, the spell."
The girl pointed her wand directly at the twin's heart. "Aura Adiungunt." Adjoin Aura. A bright white light shone from Fred's heart, as if coming directly from his soul, and seemed to seep straight into Hermione's wand. Harry moved down the line, getting each and every member to pledge their allegiance to him. Each time they did, Hermione moved her wand to the heart of every new member and the white light joined with the aura of the next person, each time changing colour to the aura of that person.
Once he reached the end, Harry turned to the last person, Neville, and asked him to roll up his right sleeve. "Now, none of you will feel any pain, it doesn't hurt. All you will feel is the sensation of a snake crawling up your arm." He placed his wand on Neville's right bicep and whispered the spell. "Morsmordre." Simultaneously, thirty-one snakes slithered their way up and around the right biceps of the new recruits, before settling into position. Quickly, Hermione ended the charm on their auras as Harry asked them to all stand in a half circle around him. "Do you all have your fake Galleons on you?" They all nodded in response. "Good. Not only will they feel warm when you have a message, but they are now portkeys. Pressing them slightly in the middle will take to you to the destination you need to go. They have been designed to resist the enchantments around the school, and Dumbledore doesn't know that we leave. They are only to be used for your jobs as Dead Assassins. They only activate when needed, and will take you to the location you need, and then back to the exact same spot you leave. After that, they deactivate as portkeys until the next time. Do not abuse them. In two days' time, as the clock strikes one on Thursday morning, we will all meet here, and I will take you all to see the Dark Lord, where you shall also be introduced to the other Death Eaters. Now go, back to the common rooms, before people start to look for you. Colin, remember, don't tell your brother." He sent them away, and shortly after, only Harry, Ron and Hermione were left.
"I'm not happy about you letting my sister join Harry."
"I know Ron. But at least you can keep an eye on her."
"I suppose. Hermione, did you put the spells on all their wands, for their masks and cloaks?"
She turned to him, a surprised look on her face. "Of course I have. I'm surprised you even needed to ask…"
Harry laughed as his two best friends started to bicker. They really were like an old married couple. Harry hoped they would get together soon. The sexual tension was almost suffocating…
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