Disclaimer: Not mine. I wish it were so we would have had HHr, but alas it's JK Rowling's.
A/N: My reply to the challenge issued by PJ, you can find it here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26635 . This story will start right after fifth year, and it will involve sex, some blood, and such, so this is why it is rated NC17. I hope you'll enjoy it, I think this is the most complex challenge I've ever dared to reply to, so I sincerely hope I'll be able to pull it off well.
Thanks to my beta Gingercat!
Harry Potter and His True Sixth Year
Chapter Twenty-five: Exposing the Traitors
The next morning, Harry walked down to the Great Hall with a purpose. Hermione could feel his anger, and his determination, and squeezed his hand. He had told her about spotting the three suspected Death Eaters scurrying off to the Forbidden forest in the middle of the night.
He also told her he would risk making a fool of himself, but he just needed to know.
So, when they entered the Great Hall, Harry scanned Gryffindor table searching for the two redheads, and found them at the far end, as usual.
He walked toward them, never looking away, taking deep breaths considering what he was about to do. The risk of having the whole school laugh at him was real, but he didn't care. He would be glad to endure it if that meant Ron and Ginny weren't Death Eaters.
However, before he could even talk, an expression of pain passed on Ginny's face, but it was gone in a flash. Not so good at acting was Ron, whose right hand immediately clutched his left arm.
Another clue, Harry thought sadly, and finally spoke.
"Show me your arm, Weasley" he said coldly.
Ron glared at him, and sneered. "Why should I?" the redhead said.
"Because if you won't, I'll expose it myself" Harry said, his wand out in a flash. Before Ron could even think about taking his out, Harry had disarmed him.
"Now, let's see why you don't want to show me your arm" Harry said, and pointed his wand at Ron's left arm.
"Perseco sleeve" he cried, and the piece of garment fell on the floor, a small rushing sound as it collided with the cold marble, leaving the redhead exposed.
Harry had hoped he was wrong, but there it was, the skull with the snake leaving its mouth. The Dark Mark.
Hermione immediately did the same to Ginny, and sure enough, she too was Marked.
Both teens were too shocked think about checking Malfoy, but Neville did, exposing the Slytherin's left arm too, and revealing another Dark Mark. Whispers were running furiously through the Hall, mostly at Neville's daring and at Ron and Ginny's betrayal. That Malfoy would join the Death Eaters was pretty much expected.
"You two are worse than Pettigrew" Harry finally spat, his eyes flaming, and if looks could kill, the Weasleys would be dead by now. "It seems I was right, after all, to think history was repeating itself. Too many things didn't add up, first of all you telling your mother you'd be here for Easter, and instead you leave with him" Harry said, referring to Malfoy.
"Did you think this up, Harry, or is it the whore's doing?" Ginny spat icily, and in a moment she found herself pinned to the wall as Harry turned his gaze on her.
"Whore? Who is the whore here, Ginevra? Hermione, who sticks by who she loves, or you, who goes to the enemy just to have a dick between your legs at night?" Harry retorted, and Ginny would have gasped if the magical shockwave from Harry, which was keeping her against the wall, hadn't made it difficult for her to breathe.
Finally, Harry turned his wand on Ron to bind him while Hermione did the same to Ginny and Neville to Draco, but their spells met thin air, as the three activated emergency Portkeys and vanished, Ron flashing a smug grin at Harry for having avoided capture.
Dumbledore entered the Great Hall in a rush, followed by McGonagall, but it was too late.
--
Harry, and Hermione missed their first lesson, Potions, as they were called by the Headmaster into his office. Neville was there too, but he had a free period so it wasn't a problem for him.
After a brief story of what had transpired at breakfast, Dumbledore sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes, which had lost their usual twinkle at the moment.
"It seems that Tom's offers of vengeance, power and wealth still appeal to some, even amongst the Gryffindors" he finally commented. "Minerva is surely so ashamed that she couldn't see it coming" he added then, as an afterthought.
Harry explained how his suspicions had started, and that the coincidence with what Snape had reported was too hard to ignore, so he started watching them, and sure enough he noticed they were very protective of their left arm, wearing long sleeves and such.
"The pain they suffered this morning must have been a relapse of the pain from the Marking, or Voldemort summoning them" Hermione reasoned. Harry looked at her, and she shrugged.
"Magical tattoos are no less painful than Muggle ones and I doubt Voldemort would go soft on his followers" she reasoned.
Harry had to agree with her logic.
The raven haired boy sighed. "I guess we will have to inform Molly and Arthur about this" he voiced his concern, and Dumbledore nodded. "I will look to that, Harry" the Headmaster said, but the young man shook his head.
"It's something I need to do, sir" he explained. "Mrs. Weasley wrote to me, and I feel the need to be the one telling her. I will write to her immediately, if you allow me" he said, and Dumbledore nodded.
"Feel free to use Fawkes for the delivery" the older man suggested, and Harry was torn. Fawkes would be faster, but maybe Hedwig would be angry at him if he used the phoenix. Hermione seemed to sense his indecision, because she placed a hand on his arm, and spoke.
"Don't worry about Hedwig, she and Apollo seemed very comfy in the Owlery few days ago, and both hooted angrily at me as I asked him to take my parents a letter. Once he had flown away, Hedwig practically glared at me" she said, and everyone in the room laughed heartily.
Harry then set to write the most difficult letter of his life. How do you tell a mother that her two youngest had defied everything their family stood for, and risked lives for, to join their enemy?
It took him an hour to word it in a way that conveyed the message, but not too bluntly.
Dear Mrs. Weasley,
I'm writing you to deliver bad news.
I didn't reply to your letter before,
because I didn't know about Ron and
Ginny's whereabouts. They had, in fact,
left the school with the other students, going
to board the Express.
I've found today what they were up to, and
I can't find the words to tell you, because I'm
sure the truth will shock you and hurt you beyond belief.
Sadly, both Ron and Ginny have changed sides. I'm sure
with the info the Order has on what Voldemort has been
up to in those days, you can figure out what I mean.
Dumbledore has filed the forms for their expulsions, along
with that of Draco Malfoy, but they escaped before we could
snap their wands.
Love,
Harry
Hermione checked it for him, and she nodded her approval. It was clear enough what he meant, but he didn't say it carelessly.
Harry hoped Arthur would get the letter first, but he knew the oldest Weasley would probably be at work when Fawkes arrived. Giving the bird the folded parchment, they watched him vanish in a burst of flame.
Hermione then enveloped him in a bear hug, knowing how emotionally tiring the day must have been, even if they were still only halfway thru the morning. Dumbledore must have guessed that too, because he suggested the two of them take a day for themselves and rest.
"I will excuse you with your teachers" he said, with a grandfatherly smile, and both teens gladly accepted the offer. Harry didn't feel like concentrating on anything else than his former best mate's betrayal, and how a similar occurrence had cost his parents their lives.
Hermione knew he would need all her emotional support, and so she was set to give him that, even if it meant for a day she wouldn't attend classes. There were more important things than hearing a lecture and taking notes, at the moment.
Neville instead went to his classes, and except for Potions he had their same schedule (not Herbology though, Harry didn't take the course, while Neville and Hermione did), he offered to give them his notes at the end of the day.
Both thanked him for his thoughtfulness, while they made their way to Gryffindor Tower.
--
The pair sat in front of the empty fireplace in the common room, on the couch. Harry stared ahead, blankly, while Hermione curled herself around him, her arms around his neck, her face buried in the crook of his throat, her whole body squeezed against him as she tried to soothe away the terrible hurt he was feeling.
After a minute or two, he finally spoke, his voice cracked.
"I never really thought they would do this. I mean, I had my suspicions, yes, and adding everything together it makes sense, but I kept hoping I was wrong" he confessed. "But when I saw the Mark on their arms…I swear, I wanted to kill them. Is it not enough that Pettigrew betrayed my parents? Is the Potter name always going to attract traitors?" he asked, and Hermione's heart wrenched in her chest at his defeated tone.
"Harry, you still have me, Neville, Luna, and the Order" she reminded him softly. "We would never betray you. Especially me" she added as an afterthought.
His features softened, as he looked down at her, green orbs meeting chocolate ones.
"I know" he whispered, kissing her and in that kiss he poured all his need to know she would never leave his side, no matter what. He also needed to let her know she meant the world to him.
Hermione must have understood his feelings, because when they finally parted, she softly whispered, "you're my everything too, Harry", making his heart swell with joy for the first time since he woke up that morning.
--
That night, Harry was inspired by new determination as they worked on finding a cure for Lycanthropy.
Snape had offered his comprehension if the boy didn't want to research that night, but Harry had only one thing in his mind. Defeating Voldemort, and getting revenge on Pettigrew and the two redheaded scum.
He would show no mercy for the four of them, and he would come out victorious, so that he could have his future with Hermione. He could feel it in his veins, pulsing madly through his whole body, a new power had awakened inside him and was only waiting to be unleashed at the right moment.
-->