Unexpected Death Eaters

Dumbledore had just broken the news to the Order. Most of them had already heard of Harry's capture from Molly and Remus, so the news wasn't as startling when Dumbledore announced it at the meeting. But before Dumbledore had a chance to say another word on the matter, a familiar snowy owl flew into the room and dropped the rolled up parchment trapped in her talons in front of the headmaster.

No one said a word as Dumbledore calmly picked up and unrolled the parchment. "Curious, very curious," he said aloud to no one in particular as he read the letter. The usual child-like smile appeared on his face as he rolled up the parchment and quickly stowed it in his robe pocket. He looked up to find a room full of questioning faces staring at him. "Looks like we're going to Godric's Hollow."

"Dumbledore, do you think it wise to trust a letter delivered to you by an owl whose owner, a the present time, is incapable of writing to you?" Snape asked doubtfully.

"Ah, Severus, you of all people should know that not everything - or everyone as in this case - is what it seems."

Draco was engulfed in darkness as the world around him went black. He didn't have much time to think of what had happened because somewhere in the distance, a faint voice calling him broke through the deafening silence. The voice gradually grew closer and the louder it became, the more it seemed to echo against the walls of his brain. He wanted to scream for it to stop, but nothing came out. Then all of a sudden, the darkness around him began to shake, taking him along with it.

"Draco - Draco - DRACO!" Hermione shouted as she began to shake Draco's unconscious body.

The boy behind bars was doubtful that any of this was going to have any satisfying results. "Are you sure he isn't dead, Hermione?"

Hermione turned around to look at the prisoner. "I'm positive because he is still breathing. He just didn't get enough air to his brain so he passed out." One tear rolled down her cheek. "If I wouldn't of stopped Lucius when I had, then he would be. But I shouldn't of let this happen either."

When Hermione turned back to Draco, she noticed his eyes were slightly open. "Draco?"

The first sign of light that Draco saw in the blackness was blinding. It didn't take him long to realize he was looking directly at one of the flickering torches in the dungeon. He kept his eyes barley open while they adjusted from the drastic change of darkness to light. Draco had heard Hermione say his name, but he couldn't find his voice to respond. His throat still held the memory of Lucius' forearm.

Hermione could see that Draco was going to be okay, but with the little amount of time they had before Voldemort arrived she didn't have any patience. "Draco, wake up!" she shouted before giving him a swift slap across the face. The contact of Hermione's hand and Draco's cheek had the result she was looking for.

Draco bolted upright and glared down at Hermione, who stayed kneeling on the ground. "That was absolutely uncalled for," he said in a hoarse voice. His brought his hand to his throat and massaged it while he spoke. "As if my throat wasn't already sore enough, you had to give me a stinging cheek as well?"

"Sorry, but we haven't much time. Voldemort could show up at any moment now. I'm sure he wouldn't like to arrive and find you unconscious and your father stupefied on the floor." Hermione waved her hand in the direction of Harry's cell.

Sure enough, there was his father lying motionless in front of the cell bars. "Why did you?" Draco cut himself off. He didn't know why Hermione had stopped Lucius from killing him and frankly, he didn't care. Now, she too, knew about whom he really worked for. He couldn't risk her turning on him at any moment. Draco looked over at Potter who was silently watching the two of them. He then looked back at Hermione who was now standing, looking at him with curious eyes. He was Harry's only hope of escaping.

Draco took a step away from Hermione as he pulled his wand out on her. She was quick to do the same, but Draco yelled, "Expelliarmus!" before she could do anything else. Hermione's wand flew out of her hand and skidded across the floor on the other side of the room. Her eyes widened as she stared at the tip of Draco's wand.

"Lower your wand, Malfoy!" Harry demanded from his cell.

"Lower my wand? Potter, are you mental?" Draco asked, not taking his eyes off of Hermione.

"Malfoy, lower your wand or I will be forced to lower it for you."

"Honestly, Potter, if you weren't behind bars and unarmed, that could have been an actual threat; but seeing as that isn't the case-" but Draco was cut off by the most unexpected sound: laughter.

To his surprise Harry started laughing. "You're right about me being behind bars." Harry's laughter ceased abruptly and his tone turned threatening. "But that could easily be changed."

Draco tore his eyes away from Hermione and looked at Harry in his cell. He was standing, his wand sticking out between the bars, pointed directly at Draco. Draco, however, did not lower his wand. "Is this some kind of joke?" he asked looking between the two former friends.

"Is what Lucius said true? Have you been working for Dumbledore?" asked Harry, ignoring Draco's question.

"No, my father just enjoys making up stories and then using them as reason to kill me. He gets some kind of sick, twisted kick out of it."

Harry glared at Draco. "Stop being a smart ass and just answer the question, Malfoy."

Draco didn't say a word. He looked over at Hermione. He locked his icy, blue eyes with her curious, brown ones. "Yes, its true."

Hermione stood at the other end of Draco's wand shocked. "WHAT? How long has this been going on?"

Draco kept his wand pointed at Hermione. He couldn't tell if she was angry, happy, or still trying to process this new information. He glanced over at Harry, whose wand was still at the ready. "Potter, now that you know we're on the same side, you can lower your wand."

Harry shook his head. "Not until you lower yours."

"I'm not even pointing it at you!" Draco was not only getting mad, but he was totally and utterly confused. "Its her you should be pointing your wand at. She is the reason you're here in the first place!" Draco paused and then realized the obvious question he should be asking. "How do you even have a wand anyways? What the hell is going on?"

While Draco was playing twenty questions, Hermione had retrieved her wand. "Expelliarmus!" Draco's wand flew out of his hand and in the direction of Harry's cell.

"Draco," Hermione said as she walked over to retrieve his wand, "Before we tell you anything, you need to calm down." Draco was surprised to see Hermione walk over to him and hold out his wand. He snatched it up quickly, but kept it at the ready.

"Well, now I know who Dumbledore's confidential, but reliable source is." Harry muttered as he stowed his wand back into the pocket of his robe. He looked back up at Draco glaring. "You know, you almost blew the whole plan for us?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Us?"

"Yes, Draco, us: Harry, Ron, and myself. We don't have much time to explain the plan in depth, but you need to believe us." Hermione's eyes were now teary eyed and pleading.

Draco didn't know what to think. Hermione had: become a Death Eater; killed thousands of Muggles; gave Harry to Voldemort; and now is telling him it was all some plan the trio had cooked up. He looked over at Harry. He seemed tired, but otherwise unharmed. Then again he did still have his wand on him and it would have been odd for him to defend her after she had turned him in. Plus, knowing now that Hermione had stopped Lucius from killing him after knowledge of him working for the Order had slipped was another reason to consider their story. At the present moment, he found no reason not to believe them.

"Fine. Just tell me what on earth is going on here."

Hermione's body relaxed at bit. "Before we do, I need you to promise me one thing."

Draco rolled his eyes, this was ridiculous; but he had to know their "big plan". "Fine, what is it?" he sighed.

"I want you to promise that you will leave and take Lucius with you."

"Like hell I will."

"Oh, God, Malfoy," sighed Harry. "Don't be so stupid. I think passing out might have given you brain damage."

"Shut it, Potter."

"Think about it. Lucius said that Voldemort was the one informed him about you and Dumbledore. If he shows up to kill me with you still here and Lucius lying on the floor, he is going to suspect something is up. The two of you are going to have to leave before he gets here either way!"

"Okay, whatever," Draco said, gritting his teeth. He promised to leave, but he never promised he wouldn't come back.

It had only been a few minutes after Draco's departure when the mark on Hermione's arm began to burn. She had just stood up to disapparate when the pain ceased and two popping sounds echoed through the room. She looked over to find Voldemort and Wormtail.

Voldemort glanced over at Harry in the cell. He face twisted into a smirk when he noticed he was awake. "Granger, I must commend you on your excellent work. You will be greatly rewarded for your services." Hermione responded with a slight bow as she smiled.

He turned to Harry who glaring at him, clutching the bars of his cell. Voldemort walked over to the cell, clicking his tongue. "Looks like you've got yourself into quiet the pickle, haven't you, Potter?"

Harry didn't respond. His hands gripped the bars tighter, causing his knuckles to turn white.

Voldemort's blood red eyes narrowed. "You have been nothing but a thorn in my side since that fateful night. A thorn so deep, it caused more pain than I could have ever imagined. I recovered from the wound you - the thorn - had created; but countless attempts to remove you have been futile. Tonight I'm going to remove that thorn - permanently." He took a step closer to the cell; a ruby gleam growing in his narrow eyes. His tone became more threatening than before. "You've escaped me through sheer luck in the past, Potter, but tonight, your luck has run out."

Voldemort pulled out his wand and held it into the air. He swished the wand in the air and the room around them dissolved into tiny specs of color. When the specs reunited, they were standing on top of a hill. With a satisfied smile, Voldemort kept his wand at the ready. He watched as Harry looked around at his surroundings.

"I believe you know where we are?"

Once again there was no response from the raven-haired boy. Harry's body was stiff, but alert. His narrowed emerald eyes, speckled with bits of sapphire, locked on Voldemort's ruby ones.

The sound of popping noises filled the air as Death Eaters started to arrive; enclosing Voldemort and Harry in the center of a black ring. All of them bowed as one to their Lord when everyone seemed to be present.

"I thought this particular location would be a fitting place for you to die. You were, in fact, supposed to have died here twenty years ago." A smile grew across his distorted face; the dark red gleam in his eyes seemed to glow like fire. "But mommy isn't here to save you now." A sea of laughter erupted from the Death Eaters that encircled them. Voldemort's own, maniacal chuckle could be heard.

"Now," Voldemort said, addressing his Death Eaters. "Most of you are wondering why I have summoned you here tonight. There were very few of you that responded to my call the night I returned to power. For the majority of you believe I had met my downfall, here, at this very location." Voldemort's hand gestured to the area around him. "Why would you believe such a thing? You all knew the steps I took to become immortal. What I met here, that night, was not my downfall, but a set back.

"Those few, loyal, Death Eaters that were present, witnessed the duel between Potter and me. Once again, while attacking Potter, a strange, unforeseen, occurrence happened. Normally when two wizards are dueling and two spells that are cast at the same time collide, nothing happens." Unconsciously, Voldemort began to tinker with the wand between his two scaly hands. "But when this occurred during the duel with Potter, our wands became connected by - what appeared to be - a golden thread. The connection of the two wands caused both wands to shake in our hands. Why this was happening, at the time, I did not know.

"Potter and I were then lifted into the air; and carried to another part of the cemetery. This one thread connecting our wands began to split; multiplying itself, which eventually formed a golden dome around us. A glowing bead appeared on the thread connecting the wands. When the bead came in contact with my wand, shadows of my past victims appeared. The dome disappeared when Potter broke the thread that linked our wands together, but the shadows did not. They closed on me, blocking Potter from view; which allowed him to escape.

"Now, I am informing you all about the events of that night for a reason. I am aware that some of you are questioning my abilities - my power. After all, how could a full-grown wizard be incapable of killing a one-year-old and then that same baby thirteen years later? By now, I believe everyone knows of the ancient magic that had protected Harry Potter when he was a baby. The question still remains how I failed to kill a fourteen-year-old boy.

"It seems that the core of our wands are both made from a phoenix's feather. In fact, the feathers that our wands possess are from the same phoenix. The reason the golden thread and the shadows of victims appeared during our duel was because of Priori Incantatem - the Reverse Spell Effect. It happens when two brother feathers are forced to fight against each other. Tonight, I have made sure the events that occurred during the night at the graveyard will not be repeated.

Voldemort whipped around to face Harry, his robes swooshing in the air at the sudden movement. "I have brought you all here to prove to you that I am fully capable of disposing of Harry Potter."

He lifted his wand in the air and pointed it at Harry, who did nothing but shut his eyes. "Avada - "

Voldemort was cut off by the sound of a screeching bird. Everyone's eyes, including Harry, looked toward the sky. A black falcon was swooped from the air, scratching Voldemort's right eye with its sharp talons. He screamed, more from shock than pain, as blood began to run down his cheek.

The falcon landed on the ground next to Harry's feet. The Death Eaters were just about to interfere when Harry threw something on the ground, covering him in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, everyone was shocked to find two Harry Potters standing where one once stood. Voldemort's good eye widened; even through the blood on his disfigured face, one could see how dumbfounded he really was.

Both Harry's smirked at the Dark Lord, their wands at the ready. "Now which Harry Potter were you referring to?" the Harry on the left asked.

"I think he was talking about you," said the Harry on the right.

"Maybe," he laughed, "but who knows!"

Voldemort yelled out in frustration. "I'll just have to kill you both!" He whipped out his wand and fired a green spark in the direction of the two Harrys. Because he only had one good eye, he missed, hitting one of the Death Eaters behind them; who hit the ground with a thud.

As the Dark Lord fired more curses, missing both Harrys each time, the Death Eaters had started firing curses amongst themselves. Voldemort, seeing this out of one eye, turned to look at what had caused the uproar in the circle; which started to disperse as the black figures began to fall. Confused, he turned back to his goal. He turned, so his right eye was focused on the Harry on the right. He aimed his wand and as he fired a green spark, Harry fired a red one.

The gold thread that appeared in the graveyard appeared again, connecting the two wands. Voldemort's eyes gleamed with joy; now he knew which was the real Harry Potter.

The other Harry watched intently as the two wizards were slowly lifted into the air. After they rose about a foot he yelled, "NOW!"

Harry pulled his wand up with all his might, breaking the thread that bonded his wand with Voldemort's. As they fell to the ground the other Harry aimed his wand at the Dark Lord and yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"

When Voldemort and Harry hit the ground, Harry sat up, but Voldemort did not. "Do you think he's dead?" he asked the other as he helped him off the ground.

He shrugged and then shot a red spark, which whizzed right by his twin's ear, knocking out an approaching Death Eater. Then pointed his wand at the Voldemort. "Incendio." The Dark Lord's body caught fire and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. "He is now," he said gravely.

Both Harry's looked around them. Most of the Death Eaters were gone, but the few left lowered their hoods. The people left standing were no Death Eaters at all - they were all members of the Order; including Hermione and Draco.

Draco followed Hermione as she ran up to the two Harrys and took them both into a tight embrace. "I can't believe we pulled this off!" she said with a sigh of relief. She stepped back to get a good look at them. "Good thing that Polyjuice Potion is starting to wear off, Ron. You know I love you Harry, but seeing two of you side by side is a bit freaky."

Harry smiled looking over at Ron. "Oh, so that's what I'd look like with red hair?"

"I'd say you would look absolutely preposterous and that scar would look more hideous than it does now." Draco decided to throw in his two cents whether or not the trio wanted to hear it. Harry glared over at the blonde-haired boy as Ron's body stiffened and his ears turned pink.

Harry stuck out the wand in his hand. "Give my wand back, Ron" Ron took his wand from Harry's hand and replaced it with Harry's wand.

"A-hem." The four of them turned to see Dumbledore and the rest of the order staring at them.

"Harry," Dumbledore's face looked anything but amused, "I don't know what you think you were doing. Do you know the danger you put your friends in? Having Ron pose as you being captured by Voldemort? And especially Miss Granger; imagine what could have happened to her if they found out this was all part of a plan to bring down Voldemort." Harry's head sunk to the ground.

"Please, sir, it wasn't - "

"Miss Granger, allow me to finish." He took a deep breath. "The next time the three of you cook up a plan like this, it would be greatly appreciated if you would fill me in on the details." A smile broke out on his face. "I must congratulate you all on a job well done. It takes true Gryffindors to do what the three of you have done!"

The trio looked up at Dumbledore, their faces beaming.

"Sorry for going behind your back, sir," said Harry. "We thought it was such a good idea and knew you wouldn't let us go through with it because how dangerous it was."

Dumbledore's smile never faltered. "Very true, Harry. But it was a risk you and your friends were willing to take together. Granted, we all believed Hermione to be an actual Death Eater."

Hermione's face fell and her head dropped. "Probably because of all of those muggles in the earthquake." Tears began to fall from her cheeks. "I didn't even do that many spells and look what happened!"

"Believe it or not, Hermione," Dumbledore put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I checked into it. A natural earthquake occurred around the times you and Mr. Malfoy were casting the spells. It wouldn't matter if the two of you cast one each, the result of the earthquake would have been just the same. It was a disaster all on its own."

Hermione's puffy eyes looked up at the headmaster, her face glowing. Her body relaxed, as if an invisible weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Good, I could barely take it thinking I caused that many deaths. Who knows how long I cried thinking about it."

"I knew you weren't crying over some dead cat!"

"Yeah, sure ya did, Draco," Hermione said rolling her eyes. "What did you do with Lucius?"

"I brought his ass back to Azkaban. I'm sure the dementors were glad to have him back." Draco let tried not to smile as they though of the dementors taunting his father with a kiss (not that he would ever want them to actually perform it on him). "Did you really find out that you were half-blood? Or was that all just part of "the plan"?"

"Does it matter?" she snapped.

"No, just curious, that's all."

"I'm Muggle-born, Draco, that's never going to change." He nodded his head in response. He could really care less what she was at this point.

Everyone took one last look at the smoking ashes that were once Voldemort before returning home. The Dark Lord was gone, Hermione wasn't a Death Eater, and Dumbledore was still alive; unfortunately Snape was too. THE END!