Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I'd never pair Hermione and Ron together, you know that.
A/N: My reply to the "You've corrupted your purpose" challenge by Detritus, you can find it here:
http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26319 . Hope you'll enjoy it and as usual if you read, review and let me know what you think of it. It is an HP/PoTC crossover.
Thanks to my beta Gingercat!
Corrupted
Chapter Three: Confrontation
Hermione Granger was determined. For forty years she had been searching for him, since he had disappeared from St. Mungo's in the middle of the night, and never she had been able to get a hold on him.
He was smart, she would give him that.
But she wasn't the smartest witch of her age for nothing. For years now she had internally debated if she should resort to that option, but now that she had heard another couple had been his victims, she knew she had to do it.
There was no other way to find him, and to tell the truth there wasn't even certainty that her plan would work. But, she was confident it would.
She knew what was at stake, and she hated herself for asking her two young helpers at the Ministry's Magical Law Enforcement, who had just come out of Hogwarts that year, to help her.
"I realize I'm asking you two much, but it seems this is the only available option. You're free to refuse me and it will have no effect whatsoever on your career" she told them. Then, she went along telling them her plan.
Both agreed, and the three of them Apparated to a wood some miles away from Hogsmeade. Hermione was hiding under an Invisibility cloak one of the Aurors had lent her, her heart beating madly in her chest. Would she be able to do it? Would the legends about his decayed appearance and personality be true? She didn't know, but guessed she was minutes away from finding out.
The two helpers quickly started playing their role. It wasn't hard to impersonate a couple of young lovers, as they were after all actually engaged. Both were scared. Both knew the risk of losing each other forever, if Hermione couldn't stop the monster quickly.
But something had to be done to stop this…thing from hurting young couples, and if the sacrifice of their love could help, then they were willing to do it.
Hermione looked at them warmly, in a few months she had become very fond of both of them.
"Frank, Phoebe, I'll do my best to protect you" she vowed inside her heart.
The two youngsters were now passionately kissing, a little moan here and there escaping them. Both were so involved in the display of affection that they never noticed a shadow approaching them, and pushing the girl roughly away.
There, in all his monstrosity, stood Harry Potter, glaring at the young man in front of him. Frank knew Hermione would appear any moment, and that would be his and Phoebe's cue to leave with the Portkeys they had around their necks.
"Nice to see you again, Harry" a voice was heard, and leaves were rustled by someone moving forward toward them.
Harry turned his anger-filled emerald orbs toward the intruder, and Frank quickly grabbed Phoebe's hand and activated the Portkey.
Harry growled.
"You made me lose my targets" he icily drawled.
"Feels good to be greeted so warmly, you know" she sarcastically said.
"What the hell do you want from me? Go back to your Weasel husband, and his "big happy family"" he sneered, turning his back to her. He wouldn't admit it, but seeing her after all this time had been painful. He had never forgotten his feelings for her. Nor that he would ever admit he was able to love.
"I never married Ron, Harry" she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Not that he hasn't tried, mind you. Six times he proposed, before he got the hint and married who was really right for him, Luna. I never even loved him" she said, a blush gracing her cheeks as she was still a bit ashamed at having strung the redhead along for years, hoping she could grow to love him. It never happened, as her heart had already been claimed by someone else.
"Then why did you kiss him, all those years ago, during the last battle?" he shouted, hastily turning to face her, a look of pure anger, almost hatred, on his face.
She looked away, ashamed. "I felt lonely" she admitted. "You had Cho, then Ginny. Ron had been with Lavender. I just went to the Ball with Viktor, and I knew Ron fancied me. I thought I could grow to love him, since you were happy with Ginny" she said. "The truth is that I've always loved you, not him" she stated then, looking him straight in the eyes, even if the glint in them scared her a bit. She wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing, after all.
And that was the reason why she uttered these words. "I realized, after your first appearances as a monster, what had really happened that night, and why you left the Hospital in the middle of the night. You loved me too…" but she never finished her sentence, because he suddenly lunged forward, with unbelievable speed, and grabbing her by the throat, he had her pinned against a tree trunk.
Sputtering, she glared at him. "Many things you were, Harry Potter, but you were never cruel. You have corrupted your purpose, and so yourself... and so you did hide away that which should have always have been mine!" she fiercely said, and outstretched her hand to place it on his chest, as to make her point even more clear.
He inhaled sharply, taking several long breaths, as under her touch, he transformed back to his human appearance, or how it would have been, given the many years gone by, had he stayed human.
"Hermione…" he whispered lovingly, staring up at her, but as soon as she removed her hand, he returned to his ghastly looks and irritable mood.
"Trust me, Harry. Once, you used to" she pleaded, and he growled.
"What do I have to gain?" he barked, eyeing her suspiciously. He wanted to trust her, but his current situation didn't let him do that blindly as he would have back in school.
"Freedom" she said. "And happiness" she added then, softly. She hated to show herself vulnerable, especially in front of him, and given his state it was dangerous, also.
But just like those who manage to tame a wild beast and reduce it to little more than a purring kitten, so he was in her hands, even then.
Wanting to fight her, hurt her with all his might, he knew he couldn't. He wouldn't be able to, as much as he wanted it.
"You can't grant me that" he spat, instead. She smirked. "Try me then. Lead me to your heart, and if I can't put it back to your chest and make you human again, then I'll leave you be and never try to contact you again" she said. She was confident she could do it, she had studied the matter and understood the basic concept of what he had unknowingly done, and how to reverse it.
Of course, being the first case to really happen, there was no certainty of the reverse method, so she might end losing him forever if she failed. Yet, she was willing to take the chance.
Finally, he nodded, and extended an hand toward her.
She took it, and fought the instinct to recoil at its slippery surface, the flesh of it mostly rotten.
He Apparated them both to a thick forest in the middle of the Amazon region, and silently guided her to a small clearing.
There, he started digging with his wand, until a dark chest was exposed. With Hermione's help, he lifted it up, and opened it, providing a key from a hidden pocket of his robes.
Hermione was amazed at seeing it still thump regularly, just like it had always been inside Harry's chest.
"Thank you very much, Miss Granger" a voice drawled. Hermione turned to see Draco Malfoy and some other purebloods emerge from the path they had just come from.
Her surprise must have been evident, because he gave a cold laugh and sneered at her. "It hasn't been difficult, Granger" he said. "All that it took was to put one of your two employees under Imperius and have him place a tracking charm on you. We knew if anyone would be able to find Potter and convince him to take his heart back, that would be you, and we weren't wrong, were we?" he said, almost bored, staring at his nails as he spoke with absolute nonchalance. "Then, we followed the two of you, and sorry to tell you that, Potter" he said, turning for the first time toward his old nemesis and controlling his reaction of disgust so it wouldn't show, "but your Apparition makes a ridiculously noisy crack, it wasn't hard to Apparate just after you and be unnoticed" he explained.
"Stupefy!" one of his cronies suddenly shouted, stunning Hermione, while the other summoned the chest with Harry's heart.
Harry's green eyes were aflame, but as he advanced toward Malfoy, the other wizard took the heart in his hand, and a silver dagger in the other.
Harry knew he had to stop or he would be killed, so he stilled himself.
Draco sneered, he loved having the upper hand on Potter. "Now, gentlemen, I think it's time to make a deal" he announced.
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