Unofficial Portkey Archive

Confused Paths

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just the plot (is there a plot here?) and the OCs. Don't sue me, JKR; I'm poor and I don't have any money.

Chapter 15 - Second Morning (Part I)

Harry, Hermione, and Ron, along with the Garnier siblings, started their special lessons few days after they gave Dumbledore their confirmation. DA members would always ask Harry why the club was cancelled, and Harry would say it was Dumbledore's request, because the students had to study for their final exams.

Easter Break came, and the kids were prepared to be attacked anytime soon. Harry, Hermione and Ron seldom were apart from each other, and the Garnier siblings did the same. According to Snape's information, the strike was due to happen soon, and they were sure they were able to foil Voldemort's plans.

Easter Break passed, and nothing happened. Lupin had presented the idea that Voldemort was just using this as a disguise to something bigger. Dumbledore pondered over it, but Snape was sure this wasn't the case. Voldemort wasn't involved directly with this, and, according to Snape, neither Bellatrix nor Wormtail had enough wits to devise such a trap.

After the holiday passed, and May approached, Ron's attention diverted to the Quidditch Cup finals, and Hermione's was diverted to the final exams. Harry was torn between the two, so the kids had no time to worry about the attack anymore. Dumbledore had stopped their special lessons; he and Lupin were satisfied enough with the results.

At the beginning of May, Hufflepuff played against Slytherin, and under Malfoy's command, Slytherin lost the match. Three weeks later, Gryffindor was playing against Ravenclaw, and if they lost, Ravenclaw would win the Quidditch Cup, for the first time in decades.

"Listen, people," Ron said, before the team entered the pitch. "We have got to win this one. Yeah, I know we can lose by forty points, but it is better if we set our target into victory. Ravenclaw does not gain the Cup in decades; they will be playing hard against us. Fortunately, they are without Cho Chang this year; unfortunately, their new seeker had lessons from our seeker himself," he continued, and threw Harry a meaningful look. The rest of the team turned to Harry. "Hey, I could not guess one lesson would make so much difference," Harry said defensively.

"As I was saying… Harry, you can not catch the snitch if they are two hundred points ahead of us," Ron continued. Harry interrupted. "That is up to you to make sure they will not be that ahead of us," he said jokingly. Ron's cheeks turned bright red. "I can do it, of course, I am just reminding you," he said, before turning to Ginny and her friends. "You three can keep the same strategy. You are doing very well and if you can repeat the moves you did while we were training, I am sure their keeper will not stand a chance. And you," Ron added, turning to the beaters, "just try to hit their seeker. Or anyone else, as long it is on their team. Okay people, move on!" That said, the team left for the pitch.

As soon he got in the pitch, Harry scanned the crowd for Hermione. He saw Ron was doing the same thing, probably looking for Luna. The two of them had a small fight last night (after all, Luna was a Ravenclaw) and Harry knew Ron was just waiting the end of the game to go apologize at his girlfriend.

Hermione was there, near the Gryffindor stands, and she was talking to someone. Moving closer, Harry saw the person was no one but Cho Chang. Harry wondered what did the two of them were talking about. He felt a small heat of anger when he imagined Cho could be insulting Hermione, or something like that. The two girls quickly separated, each going to their own house stands. At the same time, Harry heard Ron's voice calling him. Madam Hooch was going to start the game.

As usual, Harry was flying higher than the rest of the team, looking for the snitch, and dodging the occasional bludger that was sent his way. Rafaelle was close on his tail, also looking for the snitch. Her broom, a Cleansweep Seven, wasn't fast as Harry's Firebolt, and sometimes Harry would threw her a wink, then fly away fast, pretending to have seen the snitch. This was tiring Rafaelle, and the girl would retort with a grimace. Harry couldn't help but laugh.

Thirty minutes later, there was no sight of the snitch yet. Gryffindor was twenty points ahead, and Harry could see Ron was doing an excellent job. Ginny and her friends were almost matching Angelina, Alicia and Kate in skill. Even the two beaters, that hit their allies as often as they hit their enemies, were amazing today.

Then, suddenly, Harry saw it. Near the Gryffindor goal posts, there was the golden shine of the snitch. Rafaelle saw it too, and she had an advantage, because she was flying lower than Harry. The two seekers flew together, in the same direction, while Dean Thomas' voice could be heard saying, "And the snitch was finally spotted! The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's seekers are heading directly to it… The Ravenclaw seeker is near… She is going to crash with the Gryffindor keeper!"

Rafaelle was heading directly to Ron, in a desperate attempt to reach the snitch that was flying near the goal posts, and they were going to crash. Before they could crash, both Rafaelle and Ron flew away from each other, and left the way open to Harry, who caught the snitch after an amazing dive. The cheers erupted in the Gryffindor stands when the Dean's voice screamed once more, "And Harry Potter catches the snitch, after an amazing one hundred and fifty feet dive! Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup again, for the third consecutive time!"

Harry's first impulse was to look for Hermione, to hear her congratulations and receive his "reward kisses", but he was carried away by his housemates, always eager to start a party. He saw Ron was being carried too, and mouthed to him, "Do not worry Ron, we will look for the girls when people let us down." He saw his friend smile back, as if saying, "We have no other choice, do we?"

About fifteen minutes later, Harry, Ron, and the other team members had been carried to the Gryffindor Tower, where a party was about to be started. Harry looked at Ron pointedly and announced, "We need a shower people, so if you do not mind, we will be off. We will be back soon." The few people who noticed (those who weren't occupied with their butterbeers) nodded to them in concordance. Ron realized Ginny wasn't there. He asked one of their chasers for his sister. "I do not know, captain," the girl answered, "I suppose she left with Neville… To do… You know," she added, and broke into a fit of giggles. Ron sighed. When they left the room, Ron turned to Harry.

"Should not Hermione be here in the Common Room with everyone else? Where do you think she is?" Ron asked, and Harry saw he was a bit concerned. Harry smiled. "I am sure she must be waiting for us in the Great Hall, or outside the quidditch locker rooms," he answered. "You know she is not so keen with these parties, and she will not touch me if I am not showered," he added. He suddenly remembered Hermione was talking to Cho before the match. 'Maybe Cho said something nasty to her, and she ran off somewhere,' he thought, and his face contorted in worry. "I need to find her Ron, I just remembered something," he said, and was almost running off when he heard a cold voice calling him from behind.

"Do not get your knickers in a twist, Potter," said the voice. Harry and Ron turned. "Malfoy," Harry said viciously, "You know something. Spit." Harry was trying to control his ever-growing worry for Hermione. He had forgotten all about the damned plan, and now he was sure the Death-Eaters-to-be had his girlfriend captive somewhere.

"The fools from Slytherin have taken her to the forest," Malfoy said, calmly. "I can take you to her. And you too, Weasley. They have taken that pathetic girlfriend of yours too. Lovegood, is it not?" The blonde continued.

Harry saw Ron's face reddening. Before his friend could say anything, Harry asked, "And why would you be telling us that, Malfoy, if that is true?" Malfoy's face suddenly darkened, and lost his arrogance. "That does not concern you, Potter. I have my reasons to do that, but if you do not want my help, then it is fine for me," the blonde finally said, and was about to turn away, when the Garniers appeared behind him.

"I do not know why he is helping you," Johan said, before anyone could say anything, "but he is telling the truth. Rafaelle saw them take Hermione, and memorized the way. Let's go Harry, they have taken Ginny and Neville too," he added, and Rafaelle nodded in concordance.

Harry took some seconds to register everything that was happening. First, Cho Chang was talking to Hermione in the Quidditch Pitch; then, after they win the match, Malfoy shows up out of nowhere, telling the Slytherins took Hermione and Luna, and that he will help to get them; now, Johan says Rafaelle knows where they are, and Ginny and Neville were taken too. "Why would they take Ginny and Neville? They are not that close to me. And how did you follow them, without getting caught?" Harry finally asked, looking at Rafaelle.

"I can not answer the first question, and I can not answer the second too, not now," she said, and looked pointedly at Malfoy. The blonde snarled. "I can answer the first one, Potter. They are interested in the fools who were with you in London, last year. You always think it is all about you, is it not, Boy Wonder? That is why you can not even see what is in front of your eyes," he said, scornfully. Harry's anger rose quickly. It was Dumbledore's fault if they couldn't see the obvious. Voldemort doesn't know the whole prophecy; he had no reason to target only Harry. But he had all the reasons in the world to attack those who were at the Department of Mysteries. He still wants to hear the prophecy, and only those who were there could have heard it. It was so obvious, and yet Dumbledore didn't see.

"Lead the way, Ferret-Boy," Harry finally said, angrily. "Rafaelle will keep an eye on you, to see if you are heading the right way. If you try anything, expect your corpse to be sent to your mother soon," he continued, and made a gesture for Malfoy to move. The blond boy's eyes shone with malice when his mother was mentioned, but he started to walk towards the castle's entrance, Rafaelle and Harry at his heels, Johan and Ron behind them.

Before they reached the entrance, Malfoy stopped suddenly. Harry was about to ask why he stopped, but Malfoy did just pointed to a group of Hufflepuffs passing by. "It would be very suspicious if anyone saw me, you, Weasel and the "French" walking together, would it not? You should use your brains a little more, Potter," he said, and continued walking as soon as the Hufflepuffs were gone. When they got outside, the five of them separated, and met again at the borders of the forest. Malfoy led the way, and Rafaelle was silent all the time, which meant he wasn't lying. Somewhere along the way, they saw six shadows in front of them. Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, and three older Slytherins were standing there.

"So, you have turned back on us, is it not, Malfoy?" Said one of the older students. "I think he was afraid to receive the Mark," the student continued, sarcastically, "and decided to join Potter and the mudbloods. But the Dark Lord does not like traitors, you know, Malfoy? You will not be leaving this place alive." The student drew his wand, and everyone else did the same. Soon, curses were flying blindly through the forest.

"Your friends are not here," Malfoy said, when the five of them were hiding behind some trees. "These fools are here for distraction while Lestrange and Pettigrew are torturing your friends. We should not lose time here," he continued. Harry dodged a curse that was thrown at him, and heard Johan's voice. "We are sure he is not lying, Harry. Go with Malfoy and let us take care of these guys. They have no chance against us," the black boy said. Rafaelle nodded her concordance. Harry looked at Ron. His face was glowing with confidence. "We can do it, Harry," Ron said. "I can do it. You go and save them. Bring Luna back to me," he added with a smile. That was all Harry needed to hear.

The five of them nodded (Malfoy seemed a bit reluctant), and left their hiding places, firing stunners at their enemies. Malfoy and Harry took the chance to run away, to find Hermione and the others.

"Who is there with the prisoners, Malfoy?" Harry asked, somewhere along the way. "Just Lestrange and Pettigrew," the blonde answered. "Pettigrew holds no danger, but I suppose you know Lestrange is a worthy opponent," he added, with small sarcasm. Just then Harry was hit with the realization that this was Malfoy helping him. He stopped.

"Why are you helping me, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "I suppose you would not tell it back there, but you will need to explain that someday. I suppose it is better if you do it now," he continued. Malfoy looked in Harry's eyes. "I am amazed to say you are right this time, Potter," he said, and smirked. "It was for my mother. She knew the Dark Lord was recruiting new members to his army, and that I was a good candidate. She did not want me to have the same fate as my father, so she asked me to back away. I just decided to grant her wish."

Harry was surprised to see Malfoy cared so much for his mother. 'He just likes to play bad boy,' Harry thought and smirked. Malfoy glared at him. "You can smile all you want Potter, I suppose you do not know how it feels to be the son of a Death Eater," he said, in the most serious tone Harry ever saw him using. Harry's smirk dropped. "Let's go, Malfoy," Harry said, and they proceeded to the clearing ahead of him.

Harry's first sight was Hermione, tied to a tree; then he saw his other friends, also tied up, and in the middle of the clearing, stood Bellatrix Lestrange, the murderer of his godfather, and Peter Pettigrew, the murderer of his parents. Both of them wore amused smiles of their faces. Lestrange spoke first.

"Here, little Potty finally came to rescue," she said. "And Lucius' son, too," she added, and smiled even wider. "I suppose the Dark Lord was right, he knew the boy was not up to it," she continued. Harry felt Malfoy growing tense by his side. "Well, we hoped the other kids could wipe some of you out. I think our hopes were a little too high," the death eater continued, drawing her wand, "but I think this just means I'll be having a little more fun."

A/N: Sorry for the delay!!! I had a terribly busy week. I also edited chapters 1-4 of this story (there weren't any major changes, but you can read them again if you want) so that's why it took me so long. I'll be editing the others and posting them during this week. Next chapter (the last one) will be out at Friday, or Saturday.

Last chapter had even less response than chapter 9. I expected that, I admit. It was a filler chapter, and also, I realized that people are reviewing less lately. I suppose this has something to do with the Portkey Awards, and the huge number of stories being posted.

Vote in the Awards people (I'm not telling you to vote for me, I'm telling you to vote. I've visited the nomination forum and there are just a few nominations there)! I didn't vote because I don't have a forum account, and I think it's not cool if I open one just to vote and abandon it. I don't really like forums…

Muirnin (pardon… Queen Muirnin): * bows in reverence * I write this is English to start. But my mind still process words in Portuguese, that's the problem. My English teacher at college always told me I was terrible with prepositions. * sighs *

Thanks to my two other reviewers. The sequel is still under development… But I have another story ready to post, when this is over. R/R. ^_^