Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they are property of JK Rowling.
A/N: Thanks to those who have read and reviewed, please, if you read leave me a short comment, just to let me know what you think of it. Now, I know some of you could be thinking that Dumbledore was OOC in last chapter. Well, he will be through the whole story, as well as other characters. Thanks to GeoTube for betaing my story.
Chapter Five
"It's all his Fault"
Next day, the school term started with the worst lesson to cheer up Harry: Potions. And since Snape was an Order member, he gave Harry the worst treatment that is possible to imagine, criticizing him every few moments, and finally giving a "D" to his potion.
"I am still surprised how you managed to get your "Outstanding" in the O.W.L.s, Potter. In this class you are always one of the worse elements"
"Probably because you are one of the worse teachers, and I can concentrate only without you near me" Harry snapped, and gained a detention.
Ron smirked. "How can one person think that he is innocent? He is always searching troubles, and it has come the time he pays for that. He is not different from us, even if he has that scar on his face" he thought.
Hermione, instead, was really sorry for him, but she was ordered by Dumbledore to leave him alone all the time this was possible. She did not want to do so, but decided for the moment it was better to follow the Headmaster's advice. Dumbledore thought Harry should lose his self confidence, convincing himself to let the others, and more experienced, take care of the situation, and the best thing to obtain this was to take away his friends. He knew he was being hard on the boy, but Harry could not continue risking to put people who cared for him in danger.
Days passed, and Harry was always more depressed.
"Nobody wants to speak to me, now, not even Hermione, the only person who has always trusted me. Probably they are right, though. I'm only a stupid prat, who deserves to remain alone, isolated from the others. This way I cannot put them in danger" he thought, so he closed himself in the library, and started studying, so hard that even Hermione would have been proud of him.
The Quidditch practices started, and he went to the pitch, but the new Gryffindor Captain, Ron Weasley, who one time was his friend, seeing him, did not let him.
"Hey, Potter, you are not allowed to stay here. You are banned from Quidditch, you remember that, don't you?"
Harry was shocked, but he didn't know if it hurt more being still banned from Quidditch, or being called Potter by Ron, one of his former best friends. So he turned, and went back to the castle, seriously thinking about leaving. Only one thing stopped him from mounting his broom and flying away. It was one hand, who grabbed his shoulder just before he was to kick the land and fly away. Hermione's hand.
"Where do you think you're going, Harry?" she said sternly to him. Harry looked at her.
"I'm leaving. Nobody wants me here, so I'm going away" he said.
She softened and hugged him. "Oh, Harry, that's not true. I want you here. And even if nobody wanted you here, you cannot let them win. You've to prepare for your life, whether they like it or not."
They talked a little more, then she had to go, for not risking to be discovered by Ron. However, their conversation cheered Harry up a little, at least he did not want to leave anymore, as he knew someone cared for him.
The first Hogsmeade weekend arrived, and Harry went to the village alone, trying to distract himself a little, even if he knew that the others wouldn't have liked his company. So, he walked alone, visited the shops alone, had lunch alone in the "Three Broomsticks", and then he returned alone to the castle. That trip was totally useless to cheer him up, on the other hand it had him depressed, but the worst was still to arrive.
When he was near the lake, he looked toward Ron and Hermione, and he saw something he did not expect at all. His two best friends were kissing.
In that moment, he felt totally alone.
If Hermione was to be Ron's girlfriend, she would have no time for him, and she was the only one who still cared about him.
That was too much for him, so he ran to the castle and hid himself in a room he found few days before, on the fourth floor. A room nobody knew about except for Dobby. He remained there all the night, thinking and letting some tears fall. He thought about his cursed life. Then, next morning, he decided to face his destiny, and went down in the Great Hall. Seeing Hermione and Ron entering hand in hand made him upset all again, but he succeeded in control himself.
In the meanwhile, the owl mail arrived, and he received a free copy of the "Daily Prophet". The first page shocked him.
"Ministry is doing inquiries on the so-called Order of the Phoenix, founded by Albus Dumbledore, for the events of the famous night in the Ministry, when Minister Fudge had to admit the return of Voldemort. They are accused of having forced the Ministry security, and so now they will have a trial, and they risk to be sent in Azkaban. Dumbledore, who had once the right to enter the Ministry every time he wanted but lost it last year, has not yet been charged, even if the Minister wanted to do so, thanks to the loyalty of many Ministry workers he still has."
He looked up from the paper, and saw Ron looking threateningly at him, while Hermione was trying to avoid his eyes. He did not look to the staff table, knowing very well he would not get better looks than Ron's.
Harry was so shocked, that he stood up, and exited the room, almost running away. He started to wonder if remaining in the "Fortress of Shadows" would have been a better choice for him…but now he was there, at Hogwarts…
In the meanwhile, Ron and Hermione reached him.
"Good, Potter. As you had seen, your bloody saving people mania led all the Order in troubles, very good. We're all really proud of the famous `Boy-Who-Lived'" Ron said, then they passed over, still hand in hand. Hermione gave him a sympathetic smile, not seen by Ron.
"Ron, please…tell me that you didn't mean what you said to Harry. I know you didn't…" she said when they were far from Harry.
"Of course I meant it, Hermione. Is it possible that you still are blind to the truth? You have to accept this: he is guilty, and all what is happening and what is happened, is all his fault…" he said, while pulling her closer for a kiss, hoping it would help to make her see the truth.
Hermione was confused; she knew that Dumbledore was almost always right, but she also knew that this time he was quite surely wrong, so she didn't knew what to do. She wanted to do what she was ordered, but she also knew that she had to support Harry. Then there was Ron…well, she loved him…but his stubborn behaviour toward Harry always made her doubt him.
Some days later, Harry received another free copy of the "Daily Prophet" and this time he almost fainted.
"Voldemort attacked the building thought to be the whereabouts of the Order of the Phoenix. Fortunately, nobody was in the building, but surely someone had betrayed them, revealing where the Headquarters were. Now, the members have also to escape from Voldemort, who is searching them, and not only from the Ministry, trying to interrogate them"
With the paper, this time, there was an anonymous letter.
"It is all your fault, Potter. Remind that!"
He suddenly felt weak, unable to stay on his feet, so he remained sat also when all the others exited. He overheard Ron talking with Hermione.
"Do you see it now? It's all his fault! Inquiring and persecution, this is what he brought to the Order! He is the disgrace of our war against You-Know-Who!"
"Shh! Don't shout! He could hear you!"
"Oh, but this is exactly what I hope! He has to hear me, to hear that he is guilty!"
Then they exited from the Great Hall. Some minutes later, he entered, in delay, the Transfiguration Class, without looking to his former best friends, and Professor McGonagall, another member of the Order, snapped at him.
"Were you organising something again, Potter?"
Harry chose not to reply and took his seat.
Weeks passed, and the most painful thing for Harry was seeing Hermione with Ron. Since she could not be with him so much time as before, he realized he could not be without her. He realized he loved her, and so he was angry at her, thinking she should know he needed her, but she had preferred going with the Order, betraying his trust.
He was really far from the truth, though.
One night near Christmas there was a secret meeting of the Order, in which Dumbledore underlined the gravity of the situation, and another time reminded the dangerousness of Harry. He knew the members had all loved the boy, everyone in his way, and so he thought necessary to keep them alert about the boy, till the process of making him lose faith in himself would be completed.
He had noticed great progression till that moment, but there was still work to do.
"Now, I see our plan is slowly working. But we are still far from the goal. We have to be always attentive about Potter. We have to make him unoffensive for us. Then we can concentrate on finding Voldemort and bringing him out in the open."
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