Darkness Returns

Chapter Four: Betrayals Sent Your Way

Harry walked to an empty chair and sat on it. He looked at everyone's faces, noticing they were all tense. It's was rather funny, really; his old 'friends' were now scared of him. Hermione led Draco to a corner moments before and was still whispering hurriedly and anxiously to him, sneaking sly glances at Harry through the corners of her eyes ever so often. Harry tried to strain his ears, but still couldn't hear anything: secretly proving Ron and Fred's theory that Harry was deaf.

"Kids," Draco said quietly, "please go outside to the manor's backyard or garden and don't come back until we tell you so."

Every child listening carefully to their last conversation sighed in disappointment and followed command, shutting the door as they all left. Once the people of age could be sure the minors were out of ear's reach, everyone grabbed a hold of their chairs and dragged them toward Harry, gathering around him in a circle.

They all peered at Harry, and Harry peered back, lost for words this first time and clearly puzzled. Ron cleared his throat and spoke up first, looking at Harry all the meanwhile.

"Harry," Harry's eyes snapped onto Ron. "Well, we altogether comprehend what you have gone through. I apologize for anything I might have done to make you suffer in the past, at the least. Harry, both you and I haven't been communicating for around eleven years, therefore I am not certain what life has concerned with you since then.

"Okay, I know--I mean, we know--that after well, you--know--what, you moved out of your Aunt and Uncle's house and moved into a flat in London. We also know that you sold you old flat because you were planning to go back to Hogwarts for your Seventh year, which you in reality didn't have the chance to even start. You planned to take your NEWTs and apply for a job at the Ministry of Magic with them. That's as far as I gathered by communicating with you by writing," Ron finished nervously.

"I told Hermione and Draco what you had told me and since none of using had finished our Seventh year entirely, we decided to go back to Hogwarts with you and try to start our lives over now that everything was safe. Even Draco agreed to go back and try to be your friend! Only problem was that you never turned up at Hogwarts as you had planned...You did not even reach Platform nine-and-three-quarters. We didn't hear a word from you then on... Until today, until now.

"We were worried about you. We truly were, but we never found out why it was you had driven yourself out? Why did you not tell us where you headed? Harry, I know that Dayanne--"

"Do not mention her name," Harry spat, eerily calm. He was starting to feel angry again; Ron should not comment on this--on what had happened back then--because he had contributed to it. "Look," Harry persisted, "you have not even the slightest right to be talking about...about her. Or even about this, for the record. After all, you and the rest of the people in this room participated for it in some way or another! You abandoned her, and if ever you did abandon her then you might have as well forsaken me."

Some of the human beings had the responsibility to look at the least rather guilty, but not Ron. He was to caught up with the small shouting match that had sprouted between him and his ex-best mate. He sighed and turned around, talking to the others as he did so.

"We are not going to get anywhere if he keeps on like this. What do you reckon?"

"Calm him down, naturally," replied Hermione, shock covering her facial features.

"But how?" Draco asked, also clearly amazed at how Harry still had his temper intact after all these years past.

"Simple," said Tonks, "the Calming Charm. It's the easiest thing to do."

"Do it, Ron," voiced Bellatrix Marshall-Weasley, Dayanne's older sister, "if he doesn't relax he will never know the truth about what happened to us and we will never know what occurred to him."

"I'll need to get him high-strung and angrier, though. The British Ministry is very strict about the Calming Charm and prefers it being used it absolutely serious conditions," Ron spoke.

"Go ahead, Ron. Go ahead: We all approve," said Bellatrix's twin, Lily Marshall-Weasley, with something akin to hatred in her eyes towards Harry.

Ron stepped forward closer to Harry, who wanted to jump off his chair and start screaming his head off at everyone, but curiosity had gotten the better of him. Curiosity had always gotten the better of him. He stayed where he was at, looking somewhat apprehensively at Ron, who took out his wand from its place at his belt.

"Sorry, Harry," Ron whispered, barely audibly, "but you need to be tranquil and that won't be happening any time soon." He raised his wand and pointed it at Harry.

"What are you doing? What the in nine Hells do you think you're doing?" Harry asked. Ron remained quiet, with a guilty look on his face.

Harry repeated the questions, but it had been too late, for Ron had already screamed, "Iratus!" Suddenly as the curse had come, Harry felt an anger he hadn't felt since he had found out Dayanne was engaged to Draco. The anger was clearly unfounded, but it was still one of the strongest he had ever felt. Not even Lord Voldemort's rage had been strong as this.... He stood up abruptly and with a snarl walked towards Ron, his wand out, ready to strike at him. It was if the fervor had a mind of its own, very different from Harry's.

"Perfect," Ron muttered, seeing Harry about to strike. He raised his wand once more and said, "Nocitum!"

Now Harry felt such a pain, that it was indescribable... It might have been about one or two notches down from the own Cruciatus Curse, but it still proved to Harry that it was not meant to be taken lightly. Quite the opposite; it still felt like Cruciatus even though it was not... It felt as if hundreds of white-hot knives were piercing every inch of his veins...

Ron lowered his wand. Harry stopped screaming instantly and lied on the floor where he had been the past minute. He was in total shock. Sure, it had been only a minute--a horrible minute--but, he could stand it. After all he had been through, he could stand anything of this sort. What he couldn't believe was that Ron, his 'once' best friend, had been the one to curse him!

Somewhere up above Harry and his thoughts, Ron whispered, "Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand, which was laying on the floor next to him, flew toward Ron. He caught it effortlessly and with grace. For some reason Harry started to feel angry again, the twitch in his leg from the previous curse intensifying greatly.

"Sedatus!" he heard before feeling reasonably calmer, and a little happy as well. Harry certainty did not feel the need to shout out everything he said, and felt as if he had all the time and patience in the world to talk to everyone he wanted. Very weak and still feeling the twitch of pain in his left limb, he stood up as best he could.

Looking over at Ron, and with the patient air in all of the world, he said, "You're not the Ron that I used to know.... If you once were my best friend you wouldn't have done that!"

"Now we're understanding one another!" exclaimed Ron. "You did about the same thing to me when you destroyed our friendship- I felt the same thing you just felt a minute ago when you left all of us.... It's only fair that you now know what it really felt like for us! Anyway, now that you mention it, what kind of a friend do you think I was to you? What kind of friends were we in your opinion? Come on, Harry, answer me!"

Harry peered into Ron's eyes, and Ron retained the contact. He never once looked away. After years of practice against Voldemort and after Auror training and trials, Harry became an excellent Occlumens as well as Legilimens. He was able to extract some feelings out from the layers of Ron's mind. Suddenly Harry could not delve into Ron's mind and find out his feelings. It was as though Ron's mind had been closed up to him.

"Nice try, Harry," whispered Ron. He smiled slyly. "You need to be better than that. Yeah, I know--you have been practicing and you have become an excellent teacher where Occlumency and Legilimency are concerned, but, really, you're not the only one. Besides Harry, you have not answered my question. Go ahead and answer it right now!" Harry stayed quiet with a look of defiance on his face.

"Maybe this will help.... What do you think, Harry?" asked Ron. He reached into his robe's pocket and extracted a small flask filled with a clear liquid. "Okay then Harry, open your mouth. You know what this is, don't you? Oh, what am I thinking? Of course the Boy Who Lived, the Man Who Won, the Great Harry Potter knows what this is!"

"It's Veritaserum," Harry replied a little panicky. What if Ron used it on him? What truths that even he didn't remember about would come out of his mouth?

"What--excuse me, I didn't hear you. Could you repeat that?" Ron mocked. Harry continued with his features set into a defiant phase, but Ron knew he was calm because of the charm he had placed on him. Harry didn't repeat anything.

"I insist you repeat that," Ron muttered coldly. This was his only chance, his only opportunity, and he had to push Harry to his ultimate limits so he could fall for it....

"Okay, okay--it is Veritaserum! There, heard it?" said Harry exasperatedly. While harry was saying that, Ron in the meantime, took his only chance for Harry to fall for it and shoved a few drops of the potion in Harry's mouth. Ron closed and squeezed both Harry's mouth and nose shut. If Harry wanted to breathe he had to swallow what he had in his mouth. He had no other choice.

After a few seconds without air, harry finally swallowed the Veritaserum. Instantly he felt dazed and untraceable happiness penetrating his mind. It very much reminded him of the Imperius Curse.

"Now," said Ron, pacing up and down all the while. "Answer my question. What is your full name?"

"Harry James Potter."

"Your parents are...?"

"Lily Anne Potter nee Evans and James Harold Potter."

"When were you born, and where?

"I was born July thirty-first nineteen-eighty, in Godric's Hollow," Harry replied neutrally.

"Good, good," Ron said in approval and triumph. He continued. "What kind of friend was I to you?"

"You were my best friend. You were one of the best friends I have aver had and will ever have in my whole life. I trusted you beyond everyone else. If I had a problem, no matter what it was or could be, I knew I could come to you. I knew you'd always help me out. When we first met at the Hogwarts Express it was one of the best days of my life. You, Hermione, and the rest of my friends made me the honorable man I am today. In second year you always stood beside me even though everyone else thought I was the Heir of Slytherin. I'll be forever grateful for that.

"If you hadn't been dragged by that big black dog that was Sirius, I would have not uncovered the truth about my parents' murderer, nor would I have known Sirius Black was my guardian and Godfather. During the first half of our Fourth year, you had acted like such an...ass."

"What?" asked Ron, distracted.

"You heard me," ranted Harry. These answers were coming from the back of his mind. He definitely didn't want to tell anyone that he still thought Ron had been an ass back then.

Surprised he kept talking; it was as though another person was revealing Harry's secrets through Harry's mouth instead of using their own.

"Hermione was also one of my best friends. She was a good friend: trustful, independent, loyal, and very helpful. I remember when I was in the Triwizard Tournament and almost couldn't handle the pressure, the classes, and all the homework, but even so, she was always there for me. She was always helping me out. Thank you very much, Hermione."

"You are very welcomed Harry!" Hermione replied. She hugged him, and when she let Harry go, she was smiling and gloating with happiness.

Draco was starting to scowl.

///*///*///

Draco remembered how much Harry and Hermione had used to hang out together back at Hogwarts. He wondered if any of them both ever felt something more than friendship for one another....

Well, now that Harry was under the Veritaserum Potion, Draco could ask them anything, anything....

"Did you ever have any feelings other than 'friendly love' for each other?"

"Draco!" exclaimed Hermione. She gave her spouse a stern look, but nevertheless giving him the same somewhat playful punch she had given Harry earlier. She put a hand on her cheek as if saying, "Oh my god!" and smiled embarrassingly, blushing.

"Well, to tell you the truth...." Harry started.