A/N This is an Alternate Universe fic, this is not what I think will happen, but merely an exploration of
what could... It is very dark, and involves betrayal of the darkest sort for the most mundane of reasons. So there, you
were warned. As usual, thanks to Lady Starlight for her work on this ficlet...and with that, on to the
show.
The Cost of Betrayal
Rating: R (at least)
Harry Potter sat motionless. His haggard eyes were staring unseeing at the damp and stained stones across from him in the small, cold cell, somewhere under a manor that he distantly remembered was in Southern Scotland. His glasses, their frames broken and the lenses cracked, sat disregarded next to him, on the stone floor. A rat scurried in the corner, stealing a bit of a tasteless gruel that his captors had deigned to let him have after four days of not feeding him, them.
A once-dark blue shirt hung off him in tatters, stained in blood and other things, his trainers and socks long gone, perhaps weeks ago, he could not remember, not any longer. Only a fleeting sense of magic remained to him, his wand the souvenir of some Death Eater, or worse the new plaything of his betrayers, a pair that he had never thought would do so, not like this, not in his darkest dreams. His greater abilities, and those of the one who was sharing the cell with him, except when his tormentors pulled one of them away for their fun, had been stripped away.
A rusted iron door ground open on un-oiled hinges and a small, battered body was flung at him. He automatically caught her, easing her down into his lap, and slowly started to pull her shaking form to him as he ran fingers slowly through tangled hair, matted with blood, both hers and his. She slowly looked up at him, and his heart fell further, as he took in her face. One eye was swollen shut; her lips were broken and bleeding. She shivered, holding the remnants of a white uniform shirt closed with one hand as she burrowed into his chest. She slowly tucked her feet under her bare bum; the skirt that would have gone with the shirt was gone days ago.
A dark laugh came from the door, and a light came back to Harry's eyes as he slowly looked up to glare at the pair standing in the open doorway. The taller of the pair, a looming 6'5" man, smirked darkly and crossed his arms, "Enjoy her, Potter, I sure did," he sneered. A petite girl next to him sniggered as he closed the door with a loud thump. Harry did not bother to respond as their laughter echoed down the corridors; his priorities were different. He was without a wand. His great powers were bound with geas that he had submitted as they held a wand to her throat, with blood dripping down and her shirt already half ripped away; he really had had no choice. Her choice was the same, as she had surrendered to it a moment later, sobbing, as the one they thought would never betray them, did.
"Fuck you," she whispered after them, her voice raw and broken as she sobbed softly.
Harry sat and rocked her in his lap for a long moment, muttering in her ear, "I'm so sorry, love, I never thought..."
"It's alright, Harry, I would have never thought he'd be this jealous; to see everything fall apart because he couldn't get his prize," she hissed. She winced slightly as he tightened his arms. He slowly sat her unresistingly against the cold stone wall and slipped her shirt from her shoulders. He fought sudden, fresh tears at the sight of the body that had haunted his dreams for years, until he had admitted the truth to her during a long, stormy night alone on the trail of a Cup lost to the ages. He still remembered the way her eyes lit up that night, and closed his eyes at the closed, dark expression he saw there now.
He opened them as a small hand pressed against his chest, and she leaned her head forward to rest against his. "How would you like to do something about it, Harry?" Slowly, a small, lethal smile came to her lips, "Are you ready to show those bastards...that little bitch, just why they should be jealous of you, of us?"
"We can't, Mione," he muttered, "I want to kill that fucker for what he did to you, but how exactly? No one's coming for us. They're all dead because of him, of them, unless you think that Dumbledore and Sirius are going to magically come back to life to save us?"
She lowered her head, shivering again against him as a pair of Death Eaters paused at the door, "We'll be back, Mudblood, I'd never have thought a little bitch like you had it in you...I bet you didn't know you had such a screamer on your hands, did you, Potter?" They laughed and moved on, snorting.
Hermione looked up after another minute, and turned her head to spit a wad of blood from her mouth onto the floor. "I don't know about that, baby," she whispered and slowly reached a hand up to brush matted hair out of his eyes. Her hand went back into the tangled mess of her hair, which was now worse than anything it had ever been first year, instead of the loose curls it had fallen in only weeks ago. Before a trusted pair, jealous beyond reason, had betrayed the Order to death, and the pair here to a more tortuous existence. Voldemort had only participated the first few days, soon, even he had grown tired and left their entertainment to his minions. Hermione cocked her head slightly; "I think I'm going to kill that bitch today."
"How, Hermione," Harry whispered, "unless you can break the geas on our powers wandlessly...oh wait, even Dumbledore couldn't break a geas without a wand."
"I know," she replied softly and slowly pulled her hands down into his line of sight. Harry's eyes widened as he saw the small, stubby wand in her fingers. "Little bitch was a bit careless with her new wand, she didn't pay attention when she turned away to get another toy. I guess this little thing is all she could get after I broke her last one." She leaned forward, and softly pressed broken lips to his. The coppery taste of blood met his tongue and she sighed, "Let's go, Harry." She slowly stood, not bothering to hold the rag of a shirt she had left closed as she muttered a long, complex series of sentences under her breath in Latin, while the stubby wand snapped through painfully precise flicks and jabs.
Harry felt his breath hitch as he felt a tiny crack appear in the thick wall between him and the majority of his powers. Another breath and the wall shattered and a familiar, almost terrible sensation filled his bones as his powers flooded back in. Eyes glowed as Hermione repeated the wand movements over herself and beat later, identical glowing eyes met his. Small bits of refuse, scraps of cloth and bits of straw, started to flutter about in an invisible wind, as sounds of disbelief and...fear came from the hall. Hermione held out her hand and a CRACK sounded as two wands ripped though the wall, exploding a three-foot hole in the thick stone. She smirked as she handed him an old, familiar holly friend, "Your, wand, M' Lord."
"Thank you, M' Lady," he whispered in return, and waved his hand over her. Coruscating light spiraled down her, leaving her face whole as it passed, and replacing the uniform she had lost. Hermione casually waved her wand at the iron door and it vanished with a crack, the gaping hole left behind smoking slightly.
She turned back to Harry, and stepped aside in a blur as a Death Eater appeared at the door behind her. A blue bolt roared past her ear, exploding the Death Eater and causing a fine red mist to slide off her shields, "Thank you, Harry," she said and he just shrugged, and stepped into the hall with Hermione on his heels. Two more Death Eaters started at their appearance, Hermione stepped sideways around Harry and flicked her wand to the left. A silver beam ripped out, neatly slicing the heads from the Death Eaters.
Harry took her hand as they stepped over the bodies and continued on. Another steel door barred their way, only to fly down the hall at a gesture, crushing another three Death Eaters behind it. Hermione turned around, walking backwards for a moment and felled three more with a gesture as she transfigured the arteries to their brains solid.
She spun right, her skirt flaring as Harry rolled around her, and exploded another Death Eater with a slightly overdone Reductor. Distantly, he felt someone try to draw magic to Apparate away and he snorted, waving his wand in a casual gesture to block off anyone from escaping. "You are always so messy, Harry," she mentioned softly, tiredly.
"I thought you liked it," he muttered softly as he pulled her aside into a side corridor, just as a half-dozen Death Eaters charged past, not seeing them. They stepped back into the main hall, and sliced sideways as one. Twin fans of purple shot down the corridor, cutting the Death Eaters down and continuing on to shatter the far wall. She caught his eyes and nodded, reaching out to squeeze his hand before she closed her eyes and leaned back against him, trusting him to keep her safe.
A blue-green pulse of magic snapped out from her in a wave, knocking down two more Death Eaters, as they entered the hall, before continuing on throughout the hidden mansion they were under. Harry flicked his wand and watched with cold eyes as the two acquired neat holes in their foreheads from his twin Piercing Curses. "There are only four more Death Eaters here, Harry...except those two, that is. They seem to be hiding behind them about a floor up." She smiled darkly, "They are in their recreation room."
"Let's go then, Hermione, it would be impolite to not see them before we take our leave," Harry replied, his eyes hard behind the glow of power lighting them.
"Yes, I would hate to be seen as improper," Hermione said in a deceptively light tone. She took his hand and they vanished, leaving behind only the smoking ruins of a dungeon below an ancient mansion.
**********************12 Grimmauld Place****************************
Two weeks prior
"Here you go, mate," Ron said gaily as he tossed Harry a butterbeer and took a sip of his own. Ron looked around the Library as Harry leaned back against the large center table, and took a sip of his beer. Harry didn't notice as he looked down that Ron's eyes never left the bottle the entire time he raised it to his lips and took a deep swallow.
"That's odd;" Harry muttered, "taste's a touch off, where did you get this, Ron?"
"It was in the coldbox, I suppose Remus brought it with the supplies," Ron said easily, and carefully didn't show any emotion as Harry shrugged and set the drink down on the table next to him. Ron looked around the room quickly, "Where's Hermione, I thought she was leaving Hogwarts with you?"
Harry sighed slightly, "You know how she is, Ron, when she wants to research something; she said she would be along in a bit." Ron grinned and nodded, he watched as Harry shook his head, wavering a touch on his feet. "Bloody hell, that stuff is a touch off." Harry blinked rapidly, and shakily pushed off from the table, he took a step and collapsed.
Ron bent down next to him, his face suddenly hard and set, "Looks like the 'Chosen One' can't take his booze." He reached down and slipped Harry's wand into his pocket, smirking all the while. Harry tried to open his mouth to speak and everything went black.
An interminable moment later, Harry slowly woke to the crash of spellfire. The entire house shook, causing ancient plaster to rain down on him from the ceiling. He looked up to find Hermione kneeling next to him, shaking his shoulder, "Wake up, Harry," she whispered, shaking him as hard as she could. "Come on, we have to go, they found us somehow." Harry's eyes widened as he saw a small shadowed form approach Hermione from behind, her steps disguised by the sound of battle raging around them. Harry tried to speak, only to freeze as a small hand twisted in Hermione's hair and a wand was thrust against her throat.
"GET UP, MUDBLOOD," Ginny hissed, yanking on Hermione's hair. Hermione slowly rocked back to her feet, staggering back as the smaller girl yanked. Hermione's eyes met Harry's and her hand flashed to her wand, only to watch it tumble away as another stepped out of the shadows and a blue bolt knocked it from her fingers.
Ginny laughed lowly as she watched Harry get unsteadily to his feet. Her smile started to fall as watched his eyes light, and he suddenly stood straight, the poison flushed by a rush of magic. He stretched his hand towards Ginny, a ball of blue fire appeared in it and Ginny stepped fully behind Hermione. "Do and she dies, Harry." A thin trickle of blood came from Hermione's neck where the tip touched the skin, and Harry took a deep breath.
"WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK ARE YOU TWO PLAYING AT," Hermione yelled, fighting to free herself from Ginny's hold. She took a breath and started to call her own magic when Ginny kicked her in the back of the knee, driving her to the ground but keeping her hold. Hermione gasped as Ron moved across the room and placed his wand about an inch from her eyes.
"They betrayed us, Hermione," Harry said sadly, "isn't it obvious," he turned to Ron, "Please, just leave, we won't follow..."
"Not good enough, Harry," Ron replied and shook his head as he detected a faint glow start to gather in Hermione's eyes, "Neither of you is that fast, you move, she dies, Harry. And poor Harry just won't have anything to live for if you die, Hermione." He stepped forward and backhanded her, "That's what you get for betraying me, betraying us."
"Betraying YOU?" Hermione replied disbelievingly as another explosion rocked the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, her eyes widened suddenly as she realized, "We were never together, Ron, and Harry had broken up with you, Ginny..."
"He was mine," Ginny snarled, "I deserved him." She handed Hermione off to Ron, who immediately placed his wand at the same point that Ginny had had hers at, and threw an iron bar of an arm around her neck, almost, but not quite cutting off her air. "I mean look at you, I bet he has to beg to get in your pants...you've probably never even gone down on him, have you... You don't even have anything in common, you spend all your time reading, he's on a broom...He had me, you were supposed to be with RON!" she howled and slapped Hermione. Hermione glared at her, saving her oxygen as Ginny slowly sauntered over to Harry and ran one finger along his jaw before rising on her toes to kiss him. She pressed her lips to his, running her tongue along his lips, they opened automatically..."BLOODY HELL," she spat, stepping back and spitting blood.
"STEP AWAY, RON, CRUCIO..." Ginny spun and fired the Unforgiveable just as Ron let Hermione go. She collapsed to the floor, screaming and shuddering as the pain of a thousand knives flayed her nerves. Ginny flicked her wand again and the curse vanished to leave Hermione panting on the floor, a faint tickle of blood pooling down under her white uniform shirt. Ginny stepped to her, and ripped it open, to expose the blood trailing down further between two uncovered breasts. "I guess you two were going to have a little fun, later, Mudblood...I think that you'll entertain my brother now."
"Surrender, Harry," Ron snarled holding up an odd talisman, "Or she dies."
"No...Harry..." Hermione moaned, and grunted as Ginny kicked her in the ribs. Harry closed his eyes and nodded slowly. He held Hermione's eyes the entire time as Ron slowly approached and tossed the talisman at his feet. Harry collapsed as he felt his magic being ripped from him, locking it behind a wall, and leaving him at the level of a normal wizard. A flash of red and he fell backwards, unconscious.
"You're next, Granger..." Ginny said lovingly.
"No Granger here, Weasel," Hermione said sweetly. "It's Potter, bitch," she reminded her, and Ginny kicked her again, stepped back and tossed a second talisman at her.
Hermione passed out as her powers were stripped, barely hearing Ginny's whispered words in her ear, "If I can't have him...no one will, slag."
'*************************************************************************
Present
The last four Death Eaters died almost without a struggle, certainly not one of note as Harry strode into the hall and gestured. They slid to the floor; their eyes forever blank as Hermione followed him, her incongruously bare feet striding in his wake heedless of what was on the ground. Harry snapped his fingers and the door barring their way vanished.
He moved through the door into a huge, open room, a visible presence surrounding him. Harry growled as he took in the bloody chains hanging from the wall, the racks of sharpened knives and coiled whips. A large steel table, much like an exam table, caused a shiver in his mind as he felt Hermione's recognition of it. Blue flames shone from his eyes as he slowly panned his gaze around the room, and stopped as he found Ron and Ginny standing behind a hasty barricade. Ron had his wand pointed towards Harry, while Ginny held another wand that was obviously not hers, from the magic conflicting with her own in Harry's enhanced vision. She stood abruptly, "REDUCTO!" she screamed, firing a shimmering blue bolt towards Hermione as she stepped into the room.
Hermione caught the spell in an open palm, letting it coalesce into a ball before she adsorbed it, shaking her head mournfully. Hermione flicked her wand and the barricade shielding Ron and Ginny from them vanished as if it were never there. Ginny and Ron began to unload every spell they had ever learned, most learned from the pair that had come to discuss their misdeeds. Every single spell, save a Kedavra from Ginny, stopped a meter from them, vanishing as if never cast, while the Death Curse just...missed, despite neither that Harry nor Hermione seemingly moved to avoid it.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Ron screamed and Harry blurred to the left, watching as the beam slowly slipped past him to shatter the wall behind. Harry slowly turned back to the man he once considered closer than a brother and gradually crooked an eyebrow. Harry bent two fingers and both Ron's and Ginny's wands flew to his hand. He caught them lightly and tossed them in the air, before setting them down on a small shelf next to him.
"Was it worth it, Ron?" Harry asked conversationally, as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He waited as Hermione picked her way around the shattered room to stand next to him. She leaned against him slightly, sighing softly. She carefully kept the flicker of pain from her face as Harry lightly wrapped his arm around her belly, even though she knew he had felt it from her.
Hermione's eyes snapped left as Ginny dove for a large knife laying on a table and charged them. She flicked her hand and Ginny shot back across the room to hang against the wall, spread-eagled, held there by an invisible, irresistible force. Another wave and her shouts of frustration were silenced as she struggled uselessly. Her eyes slowly left Ginny and looked to Ron as well, "I did love you, Ron," she announced sadly, "and some small part of me, probably always will."
Harry felt her fighting back tears, and intertwined the fingers of his left hand with those of hers, where they rested on her belly together, "Was it worth it?" he went on softly, "Was your revenge worth it? Because we are going to kill you tonight, you do know that, don't you."
"Yes," Ron snarled pacing sideways a step.
"Shut up, Ron," Hermione commanded quietly, his vocal cords froze and his eyes widened. "Yes, you managed to hold us against each other long enough to bind us, and you took our wands...but you never were very smart, were you?"
"You should have killed us, Ron," Harry's voice was sad, as he shook his head, "Just like you killed everyone else. Just like you killed your family, and Remus and Tonks, and everyone else there, just because like a spoiled little boy, you didn't get what you wanted."
Hermione pushed her way out of Harry's arms and slowly walked across the room to where Ron was standing. She gestured and he too flew against the wall to hang next to Ginny. She reached up and slowly traced the line of his jaw with her fingers, much as Ginny had done to Harry the day she and Ron betrayed Harry and Hermione. "You made a mistake, Ron, during all that time, you took your time playing with me...You gave me time to think. Shocks you, doesn't it, Ronald?" she whispered, though Harry could hear every word, "That while you were having your way...that my mind was far away. While you and your...sister, were..." she paused and took a breath, before giving him a wan smile. To the side, Ginny shook violently against her restraints, trying to yell at her. Hermione held up her hand and Ginny froze utterly, like a large block of ice. Only her eyes moved as she went on.
"I realized something else, Ron...you killed my parents too, or at least let them die..." She laughed darkly and Ron swallowed heavily, "We believed you...brother, when you said that you were distracted by a Death Eater for that one minute for my parents to be killed...But it wasn't like that was it...you stood aside and let them die, didn't you?" She gestured with her wand and a thin trickle of blood started to flow down his neck. "I owed that to you." She flicked her wand at Ginny and watched as the redhead's top was ripped open, "I owed that to you too...and Harry wants you to know, that you were an absolutely terrible lay."
He shrugged, "It's true."
Hermione gave him a tight, drawn smile that never touched her eyes, she spun back to Ron, "Remember what happened when we caught Pettigrew, Ron?" she prompted, chucking him lightly under the chin. "I fed him to my Familiar, Ron...and before you say that you 'killed that damn cat', you didn't, I can feel him. Pettigrew never transgressed against me, Ron. I really had nothing against him; except he was evil...and he betrayed Harry's parents. What exactly do you think I should do to you? Harry, my love, any suggestions?"
Harry walked over to her side slowly, pausing on his way to briefly examine the various implements spread about the room. He stepped around the cold steel table in the center of the room and stopped next to her. "I would have given either of you anything you asked for," he looked down at Hermione, "except one thing, and she was never mine to give." He took a breath and finally, with a terribly belated realization, the pair of Weasleys realized just how utterly untenable their position had become. The rampant jealously had of course provided the initial impetus for their split from the light, but their belief that their new Lord would prevail, or rather their disbelief in their former captain to emerge victorious, had ultimately help convince them of their path. As they felt the power radiating off Harry, off Hermione, as only an act of pure, sorely tested wills kept it in check, they knew that they were in error. "I could torture or kill both of you a hundred ways...Dumbledore taught me much, much more than where Tom went to school and cried about his poor life. And Hermione could, I'm sure, come up with a hundred more, would you like to see one?"
Harry moved one finger and Ron flew across the room, smashing through several pieces of furniture to hang inverted on the opposite wall. Hermione looked back and watched, her eyes glittering as a thin stream of blood dripped down Ron's scalp to pool on the floor. She turned her back on him to regard Ginny for a long moment; a flick of her fingers and Ginny's voice was freed. "Let me down, bitch," Ginny growled.
Hermione laughed, and closed her fist. Ginny coughed and sputtered, her eyes crossing as suddenly all air vanished from her lungs. Her face began to pale as Hermione watched and cocked her head, as if she were examining a particularly interesting book, "I really would watch your tone, Ginevra...it could determine just how you die." She waved and Ginny took in a shuddering, wheezing breath. Hermione smiled and flicked her wand. Ginny shot across the room, weaving back and forth as she went to crash through several tables before stopping next to Ron. She hung limply from the ten-foot-high ceiling in front of him and dripped blood from several cuts onto the floor.
Harry shrugged and Ginny fell, crashing to the floor. He knelt next to her, and whispered in her ear, "She has you outclassed in every way; it's not even fair really." He stood and slowly walked to a rack holding a large assortment of blades. Harry slowly examined a long thin dagger. He balanced it by the tip on an extended finger as he glanced to Ron. The dagger arrowed across the room to sink deep into Ron's shoulder and he grunted loudly.
Harry slowly walked back over to where Ginny moved listlessly on the floor, stepped over her and knelt down next to Ron's head where it hung at waist height with his feet almost touching the ceiling. Harry reached up and slowly twisted the dagger, blood spurted out of the wound and Ron screamed. He stopped, panting as Harry let go. "Not terribly Gryffindor of you, was that, mate?" Harry's face darkened, "Of course, you gave up that title as soon as you took the Mark." Harry waved his fingers and both Ron and Ginny's shirts vanished, leaving their upper bodies bare and showing clearly the grinning, black skull on their left forearms.
"How would you like to die?" Hermione whispered, dropping to her knees next to Ginny. She leaned down and kissed the redhead softly. "Much nicer when I do it, isn't it, luv?" Hermione breathed. "I can stop your heart with a thought, turn your blood to acid or cause your own shiny hair to choke the life from your pretty little neck." Hermione slowly patted her head. "Or shall I do something really, inventive?" she asked a touch louder as she rocked back on her feet and flowed to her feet. A tiny wince crossed Hermione's face and Ginny smirked. "Smile, Ginny, but when you die, keep this thought in mind," she knelt back down and leaned close to Ginny.
Hermione smiled slowly, "I want you to think of this while you're burning in Hell, on that level reserved for traitors, Ginny." The tip of Hermione's wand traced lightly up Ginny's thigh, up her stomach, across the slope of a breast to stop in the exact center of her chest. "While I'm slipping up and down on Harry's rather substantial cock, writhing in the throes of ecstasy tonight, you'll be dead. When I'm bearing his..." she smiled wider, "half-blood sons and daughters, you'll be dead..." she said lovingly and stood, holding Ginny's eyes the entire time. Hermione flicked her fingers and Ginny watched, speechless as the world started to go dark, as her carotid became a solid piece of lead.
Ginny died quietly and almost unremarked as Hermione turned her back on her once...sister and walked slowly to Harry, holding Ron's eyes the entire time. She wrapped her arms around Harry from behind, pressing close as she rested her head on his right shoulder. "Now it's only you, my dear friend," Harry said evenly, he waved and Ron fell to the ground, shaking the scarred wooden floor. "I'll see that you're buried next to the rest of your family, my friend."
Harry pointed his wand and a snap of silver light shot from his wand, drilling a perfect hole in Ron's chest, just barely left of center. Harry slowly bent down and closed Ron's eyes with two fingers and turned around, pulling Hermione to his chest as she began to cry silently, burying her head in his neck and crushing his ribs with her arms. Harry pressed his lips to her hair. "Let's go, love," he muttered, and she nodded, not looking up. Harry glanced up and Ron and Ginny's bodies vanished, to the ruins of the Burrow. He tightened his arms around Hermione gingerly and vanished.
Behind them, a softly pulsing blue orb appeared in their place. The orb began to pulse faster and faster. The glow increased exponentially....
The room vanished in a sheet of white, an explosion propagating from room to room in the dark building until an outside observer would have seen the building contract slightly, then explode with an eruption more similar to a small nuclear explosion than anything.
There it is, and yeah that was dark....evil plot bunnies, possibly Bun Bun, I dunno... Now back to the normal universes of Shadows and Circle, where Ron is a brother...