A Cord of Three Strands

A Cord of Three Strands

By Cindale

Chapter 7

"Secrets"

"Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Ecclesiastes 4:12

The first thing Harry saw when he opened his eyes was something shiny and blurry. He blinked a few times and realized there were actually two shiny things.

"Good morning, Harry." He jumped at the sudden voice and then slowly began to realize that he was looking into the face of Albus Dumbledore, whose glasses were glittering in the candlelight.

"Where am I?"

"You are in my office." Dumbledore gently positioned Harry's glasses over his eyes, enabling him to see the indecipherable expression on the Headmaster's face.

Harry suddenly sat up as the memories came flooding back. "I'm not dead! Malfoy - he tried to kill me - he's crazy..."

"Draco Malfoy has been dealt with," Dumbledore said, the authority in his voice causing Harry to fall silent. "He is no longer a danger to you." The old wizard retrieved a goblet from a small, three-legged table nearby. "Your body has taken quite a shock. I must insist you drink this potion, and then there are some things we need to discuss." He handed Harry the goblet and watched him intently as he drank it. Harry missed the normal twinkle in the headmaster's eyes.

When the goblet was empty, Harry handed it back to Dumbledore and looked around. He was sitting on a cot in the headmaster's office. The room was bathed in odd, flickering shadows made by the candlelight. It was dark outside, so Harry concluded it must be early in the morning. "How long have I been unconscious?"

Dumbledore summoned a chair and sat facing him. "Approximately twelve hours. Miss Brown, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger were worried last night, but I told them you and I had some things to discuss and would likely be talking late into the night. It is early enough that you should be able to sneak back into your dormitory and pretend to wake up in your own bed."

Harry stared at him, puzzled. "Why can't I just tell them what happened?"

The headmaster gave a heavy sigh. "Harry, I must ask you to tell no one what happened last night - not even Remus."

"W-what? Why?" Harry sputtered.

"Because it would put Mr. Malfoy in danger. I am certain your friends would be unable to resist retaliation."

It took Harry a moment to process this information, and when he finally did, he was certain he'd heard incorrectly. "He's not in Azkaban?"

Dumbledore looked penetratingly into Harry's eyes and said, "Mr. Malfoy will remain at Hogwarts."

"W-what?" Harry spat, anger rising in his chest. "You've got to be joking - he tried to kill me!" He shook his head and his face reddened. "I don't believe this - he tried to kill me, and you're asking me to protect him!"

"Mr. Malfoy and I had an extended conversation last night, and I am certain he is no longer a danger to you, Harry. You must trust me in this."

"But - why?"

The headmaster looked up at the portrait of Phineas Nigellus, as if asking for help. The man in the portrait was obviously listening intently but smirked and gave a small shrug when he met Dumbledore's gaze. Dumbledore turned back to Harry and spoke. "If Mr. Malfoy is sent to Azkaban, he will either go insane or escape and join the Death Eaters. If he is allowed to remain here, he will finish his education and possibly become a productive member of society. I see the latter option as the better alternative."

Incredulity replaced some of Harry's anger and he studied the Headmaster with wide eyes. "But he'll just join the Death Eaters when he leaves school," he protested.

Dumbledore sighed heavily again. "Possibly," he admitted. "But I think there is a strong possibility that he will not. I must give him the option to choose his own path."

"He gave up the right to choose anything when he tried to kill me!" Harry shouted. "I don't see how you can protect him like this! What's going on with you? Why do you care about him?"

"Harry, I know it's difficult for a student to see the headmaster's point of view, but I have to think of the welfare of every student in this school. If Mr. Malfoy was a danger to you, I would, of course, have him removed. He made a mistake. I believe he has learned from his mistake and will never try anything like that again. You must trust me in this."

The Gryffindor simply stared at the headmaster, dumbfounded. Malfoy was staying in school! What was the man thinking? He knew he was a little mad, but this seemed particularly crazy. He recovered enough to shake his head slowly at the old wizard. Maybe he could contact the ministry directly to press charges. Malfoy's wand would collaborate his story.

As the plan formulated in his mind, he failed to notice Dumbledore muttering something under his breath. After a moment, he spoke clearly, startling Harry out of his thoughts. "You believe I am wrong about this. You are planning to circumvent my directive."

"O-of course I'm not," Harry protested, blushing to the roots of his hair.

"Do you remember what Bellatrix Lestrange told you when you failed to cause her pain with the Cruciatus Curse?" Dumbledore asked, ignoring his denial.

"H-how did you - how d-did - ?" Harry was mortified that the headmaster knew about his attempt to curse the Death Eater in the Ministry of Magic.

Dumbledore waved an impatient hand and asked again, "Do you remember what she told you?"

Harry's eyes shut involuntarily as he struggled to focus on the one night he wanted to forget. Lestrange had told him ... "Yeah," he mused aloud, "she told me I didn't really enjoy inflicting..." His eyes flew open. "Are you trying to tell me that Malfoy couldn't kill me because he didn't really want to? Come on - he's hated me for years!"

The headmaster leaned forward in his chair and gazed intently into Harry's eyes. "How do you feel about Draco Malfoy?"

After a pause Harry looked away and admitted, "I guess I hate him."

"And have you ever wished him dead?"

Resentment was beginning to rise in Harry's chest; he felt like he was being manipulated into feeling compassion for the Slytherin. How dare the headmaster compare him with the evil git?

"Harry, I am not trying to manipulate you. I'm simply trying to help you see a different point of view."

The Gryffindor gave a snort of derision and lay back on the cot, crossing his arms over his chest. He stared up at the ceiling, willing the tears that were filling his eyes not to spill. Not only was he furious with the headmaster, he felt betrayed, as if Dumbledore were choosing Malfoy over him. But as soon as that thought crossed his mind, he heard the Slytherin's voice in his head calling him Dumbledore's pet. He realized he had been expecting to be the headmaster's favourite, and it hurt that the wizard seemed to be choosing Malfoy's welfare over his own.

"Harry, you know I care about you greatly. I feel our relationship has grown closer than simply headmaster and student. But it is not a betrayal to you if I care about my other students as well."

"Stop doing that!" Harry got up from the cot and stomped over to the window, hands fisting at his sides. "Get out of my head!" Then an idea occurred to him, and he calmed slightly. "You looked into his mind," he said, turning from the window to look Dumbledore in the eye. "You know he won't hurt me because you read his intentions in his mind."

Dumbledore gave Harry a long, unreadable look before saying, "You know I cannot tell you that."

Harry nodded, convinced he had solved the puzzle. His anger slowly melted away as he reflected on the headmaster's words regarding his feelings for him and how much he cared for the old wizard in return. As Harry's head began to clear, another thought occurred to him; he really deserved to go to Azkaban himself for casting the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange, even though it hadn't worked. Malfoy wasn't the only one who had made a mistake and escaped punishment.

"Another thing to consider while you are looking from a different point of view," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair as if feeling more at ease, "is what you were discussing with Mr. Malfoy that made him so angry. I think we all have a bit of a soft spot regarding our parents."

He thought about Dumbledore's words and remembered that Malfoy seemed genuinely surprised when Harry told him his father was a murderer. He considered the possibility that his words had crushed some of the adulation the Slytherin had for his father. Harry knew what that felt like, having experienced it the previous year.

"Okay." Harry walked over to stand in front of the headmaster's chair. "Okay," he repeated. "I won't tell anyone - as long as he doesn't threaten me again."

"I expect you to tell me immediately if he does."

Harry nodded once and turned to leave. As he reached the door, a voice behind him said, "Take care, Harry."

He turned and looked back at the headmaster, noting the twinkle had returned to his eyes. He gave a small smile and said, "You too."

****************************************************

Harry spent Sunday doing homework in the common room with Ron and Hermione. His friends finally stopped questioning him about his talk with Dumbledore when he threatened to go and study by himself in the library. Lavender was ignoring him again, presumably because of their broken date, but it was difficult for him to feel badly about it when she was shooting him nasty looks from across the room.

"What's her problem?" Harry finally asked out loud, not really expecting an answer.

"She's angry because she thinks you're telling us about last night," Hermione said without looking up from her book. "She's expecting you to approach her and apologize. You really should. I think she's getting tired of being the one to come to you all the time."

But Harry only shook his head. He was still angry about Malfoy, and he felt it was totally unjustified for him to have to grovel at his girlfriend's feet after he had almost been killed. He was beginning to feel that Lavender Brown just wasn't worth the trouble.

Ron draped his arm around Hermione and whined, "Oh guru of relationships - what am I supposed to do if I need advice about you?" At his words, Hermione turned to Ron with an adoring expression, and Harry retreated to the dormitory before he had to witness any snogging.

They didn't see Malfoy at all that day; he didn't show up at any of the meals. Harry was a little nervous about facing the Slytherin, although he would have never admitted it out loud. Despite everything Dumbledore had said, he wasn't totally convinced Malfoy wouldn't lose his temper and try to kill him again. It angered him that he now felt fear toward his enemy after five years of simple animosity.

The next morning, Harry sat down to breakfast in his usual seat across from Ron. He immediately noticed the red-head's eyes were narrowed and focused on his plate, though he was barely eating. Harry shot Hermione a questioning glance, and she mouthed, "Percy." Harry nodded slightly to show he understood. Ron still got angry whenever his dead brother was mentioned; at least this time he wasn't shouting. He cast around in his sleepy mind for a safe topic, but Hermione spoke first.

"Lavender's being stupid," she said, apparently catching a glare that Lavender shot at Harry. "I tried to tell her that you wouldn't even tell Ron and me about your late night with Dumbledore, but she wouldn't listen. I still think you should try to talk to her." Harry shrugged and focused on his eggs, not really caring.

As they left the Great Hall after breakfast, Hermione said, "Harry, Lavender was asking me about the battle in the Department of Mysteries last year. How much did you tell her?"

"I didn't tell her it was there," Harry said, irritation obvious in his voice.

"I didn't tell her that, either," Hermione reassured him. "It's just that she kept asking me about it."

"I only told her that we left the school and got attacked by Death Eaters. She knew something was up - you were in the hospital wing for a while."

"She seemed really..." Harry looked at Hermione to see why she had stopped talking. Ron was staring at her curiously, drawn out of his funk by her illusiveness. She was chewing her bottom lip, which Harry recognized as a sign of nervousness.

"What, Hermione?" urged Ron.

"Okay - well, she - er - seemed really interested in - what Neville did while we were there." Hermione deliberately looked straight ahead. "I told her I was unconscious for most of that," she said.

Harry shrugged. "Well, Neville was very brave," he said. "He stood up with me against ten Death Eaters, even though his nose was broken and he couldn't cast a hex. He also withstood Lestrange's Cruciatus Curse. He probably saved my life - he distracted the Death Eaters just long enough for the Order members to arrive." Harry couldn't help smiling a little at the thought of Neville's loyalty; the clumsy boy's bravery had really surprised him.

"Well," Hermione said, as they arrived at the classroom. "You don't have anything to worry about. Neville's going out with Ginny, after all." Harry again tried to muster up some emotion about Lavender, but he simply could not.

As Harry walked into the classroom, he nervously looked for Malfoy and saw him sitting at the table closest to the door. The Slytherin looked up as if feeling Harry's gaze. Malfoy attempted his trademark sneer, but it didn't reach his eyes; Harry was surprised to see fear reflected there. It hadn't occurred to the Gryffindor that the person who had attempted to kill him might now be afraid of him, and his own fear faded a little.

Malfoy looked away quickly. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, but they had walked in ahead of him and hadn't noticed anything. Harry carefully chose a seat facing away from Malfoy, and tried to put the other boy's expression out of his mind while he focused on the lecture.

Over the next several days, the Slytherin avoided Harry's eyes and always sat facing away from the Gryffindor table at meals, when he appeared at all. With a feeling of relief, Harry took his cue and pretended Malfoy didn't exist.

Classes went on fairly quietly until Ron accidentally caused a small explosion in Potions one morning. Snape made him stay after class and clean up as well as taking twenty House points and assigning detention with Filch. The Potions Master would not allow Ron's friends to stay and help so after promising to save him a seat, Harry and Hermione made their way up to lunch alone.

As they joined the queue at the entrance to the Great Hall, Harry caught sight of Lavender hanging onto Neville's arm and laughing up into his face. She glanced in his direction, raising an eyebrow, and then turned back to Neville, batting her eyelashes demurely. "I wish she would stop doing that," Harry said under his breath.

Hermione followed his eyes and frowned. "Yeah, she's starting to get frustrated that it's not bothering you, so she's doing it even more. She's just trying to make you jealous." Hermione studied Harry's face intently. "It's not working, is it?"

"No, I'm not jealous - I really don't care," Harry said honestly. "I'm just worried that Ginny might hear about it. I would feel bad if they broke up over this."

"If Ginny and Neville break up, it won't be over this," Hermione said cryptically. "Speaking of Ginny, she and I were talking about Ron the other day, and I've been looking for a chance to talk to you. He's not dealing with Percy's death well at all - you know - you've seen it. He's so angry."

Harry shrugged and looked away. He agreed, but felt he was no expert on the subject. After Sirius' death, he had felt anger as well, but it was directed at blaming himself and others. Ron's anger almost seemed to be directed at Percy.

"Do you think the Consolari Charm would help him?" Hermione asked.

"It helped me," he answered after a pause. "Think we should give it a go?"

They made some plans for the following Saturday and resolved to keep them from Ron until the last minute. Hermione gave Harry a quick hug before running off to find Ginny, leaving him feeling glad that the change in her relationship with Ron hadn't caused a change in their friendship.

*************************************

Harry, Hermione, and Ginny led Ron into the Room of Requirement. Harry arched an eyebrow at Hermione behind Ron's back, silently asking her what reason she had given him for going there. But Hermione only gave a slight shrug and smile, as if to say, "Leave it to me."

When they entered the room, Ron looked around, eyes narrowing as he took it in. The room was set up exactly like it had been for Sirius's memorial service, though with fewer candles. "What's all this?" Ron asked. Harry could see his entire body tensing, and he sincerely hoped they were doing the right thing.

"We're having our own little memorial service for Percy," Ginny answered.

"You haven't been dealing with his death well at all," Hermione said, moving to stand facing him and taking hold of his hand. "We're going to perform the Consolari Charm on you, like we did at the memorial service for Sirius. It won't be as powerful since there are only three of us, but hopefully it will still be effective enough to make the memories more vivid."

Ron jerked his hand out of hers, turned, and stormed to the farthest corner of the room, clenching and unclenching his fists. With his back to them he said, "I'm fine! I don't need this!"

Ginny's eyes narrowed in irritation. She glanced briefly at Harry and Hermione before walking over to her brother and laying a hand on his shoulder. "You do need it," she said in a quiet voice. "You've been angry and bitter ever since he died, and you refused to participate in the charm at his memorial service."

Ron shrugged off her hand and turned to face her with blazing eyes. "HOW DARE YOU TELL ME WHAT I NEED!" he screamed, seeming to tower over her in his fury. He glanced at Harry and Hermione. "And you two - STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY BUSINESS!"

"Ron, you're being an idiot!" Ginny said, her expression starting to match his.

Hermione approached him tentatively and tried to take him into her arms, but he shook her off and backed away. Harry saw tears spring to her eyes as she said, "Ron, we're only trying to help you. You need to grieve for your brother. Harry says the charm really helps."

"What I need," Ron seethed, "is to forget about him. If you want to help me, then LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" He started to storm toward the door, but Ginny grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face her.

"HOW DARE YOU!" she screamed into his face. "He was our brother!"

"HE WAS A BLOODY DEATH EATER!" he screamed, his nose almost touching Ginny's.

Ginny took a step back, balled up her fist, and hit Ron in the face with all her might. Ron staggered from the blow, almost falling, and his hand went automatically to his cheek.

"LIAR!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. She turned and fled from the room, slamming the door behind her.

The others stood frozen for a moment. Finally Hermione tentatively said, "Ron?"

Her voice seemed to wake him out of his shock. He backed up to the wall, slid down it to sit on the floor, and buried his face in his hands. "I didn't want her to know," he mumbled into his hands.

"It's true?" Hermione almost shouted. She knelt beside him and in a calmer voice asked, "How do you know?"

Harry was reeling from this news. Percy, a Death Eater? Sure, he had supported the Ministry instead of his family the previous year, but could ambition have really caused him to turn his back on everything he'd been brought up to believe? Harry had always thought of Percy's ambition as something of a joke that the twins had teased him about, but he was suddenly forced to realize how deadly ambition could be. He sank slowly to the ground as Ron began speaking in a flat, emotionless voice.

"He came to see me a couple of days before the fire. They must have been watching the house - I was the only one home." He raised his head, but avoided looking at his friends. "I don't think he had actually taken the Dark Mark, or everyone would have known when he ..." Ron swallowed and continued. "But he kept referring to his powerful friends and saying things like 'the way the wind is blowing' and 'a change in the current regime'."

"Did he hurt you?" Hermione asked softly. Ron turned his head to look at his girlfriend, but seemed to struggle to focus on her.

"No," he answered in the same dull voice. "He only tied me up and threatened me. I don't think he had the nerve to hurt me."

He looked at Harry, who was shocked at the mixture of anger, hatred, and grief he saw swirling in his friend's eyes. "He tried to feed me the same load of rubbish that he put in his letter last year. You remember - how hanging around with you could ruin my future, how misguided my parents were. Only this time, there was a bit of a threat behind his words. He made it clear that my life would be in danger if I didn't start feeding him information about you." Ron sniffed and looked away, but Harry saw the tears forming in his eyes. "He wanted me to betray my best friend."

Harry and Hermione sat silently for a long moment. Harry was still trying to wrap his mind around this stunning bit of information, but then another thought occurred to him that made him feel warm inside. Ron had refused to betray him, even when threatened; Ron had chosen loyalty to Harry over loyalty to a family member.

Hermione finally laid a hand on Ron's arm and said, "Ron, Percy did a terrible thing, and you have every right to be angry. But he was still your brother ..."

"NO! He was NOT my brother! I only have FOUR brothers!" Hermione snatched her hand away with fearful eyes, but Ron clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, as if to calm himself, and turned his tearstained face toward Harry. "No," he said in a calm voice. "I do have five brothers. Harry, you've been much more of a brother to me than Percy ever was."

Harry managed to stifle the choke that welled up in his throat in reaction to Ron's words, but a tear escaped one eye. He wiped at it impatiently, but refused to break eye contact with his friend. Love welled up in his heart and he couldn't help a tiny smile, despite the horrible situation. "Thanks Ron," he managed to whisper, swiping at another tear.

Ron nodded and started to shake, burying his head in his hands again. Hermione took him in her arms and murmured quiet words of comfort against his hair. After a few minutes of watching Hermione caress Ron's back while his misery poured out, Harry began to feel awkward, like an intruder into a private moment. It occurred to Harry that Ron might feel more comfortable expressing his grief with his girlfriend instead of another boy, even if it was his best friend.

As he rose to his feet, Hermione looked up. "I-I'll leave you two alone," he stammered almost inaudibly.

Harry was relieved at the complete understanding he saw in Hermione's face. "I'll take care of him," she whispered. Harry nodded once and slipped from the room.

He strode quickly along the seventh floor corridor toward Gryffindor Tower. He was so preoccupied with the thoughts and emotions swirling through his mind that he was startled by the figure huddled against the wall. Ginny was sitting on the floor, crying into her hands. He looked around wildly for help, but the corridor was deserted. Ginny hadn't seen him; it would be easy to continue to the common room, but somehow he couldn't just leave her there alone. She looked up, startled, when he sat on the floor next to her.

"Why would he say such a thing?" Ginny asked without preamble. Harry shrugged, trying to make his face impassive, remembering that Ron hadn't wanted her to know. She searched his face and said, "Oh, Merlin, it's true, isn't it?" She sighed and buried her face in her hands again.

"I'm sorry." It seemed like a stupid thing to say, but Harry couldn't do any better. He shifted uncomfortably and wondered for a moment why he hadn't kept walking.

She raised her head slightly and peeked through her fingers. "This will kill Mum and Dad."

"I don't think you should tell them," Harry said without hesitation. "Ron didn't mean for you to know - he didn't want anyone to know."

"I remember him reading to me when I was little," she said as though Harry hadn't spoken, putting her hands in her lap and turning her gaze to the wall. "They say he learned to read when he was four. And when the twins would hide my stuffed animals to tease me, he was always the one to bring them back to me. And that year..." Ginny made a choking noise and put one hand over her mouth. "My first year ... he was the only one who paid attention to me..." Her face went back into her hands, and her shoulders began to shake.

Harry had the crazy urge to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he was terrified of her reaction. So he did nothing, only sat there, physically close, but really miles away, until her shaking stopped and she lifted her tear-stained face to regard him.

"S-sorry," she stammered. "I know I sound really stupid."

"No you don't," Harry answered. A thought started to form in his head, and he wondered if he could communicate it to Ginny. "You know, I think - maybe - you should remember those - good things about Percy, and try to forget - what Ron told you." He paused and shrugged. "He was a good person for most of his life."

A shout from down the corridor made them both jump. Parvati was almost running to keep up with Seamus, shouting at him with all her might. From the little Harry could understand he surmised that she had caught him snogging a Hufflepuff fifth year. It looked as though Seamus was trying to get away from the irate girl; he kept glancing over his shoulder with a mixture of amusement and fear. They were so intent on each other that they didn't even see Harry and Ginny.

Harry shook his head and turned back to Ginny. He noticed that amusement had begun to replace the sadness in her eyes, and he breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn't be expected to comfort her further. Unfortunately, the subject she raised next wasn't any more comfortable to Harry than the previous topic.

"So, how's Lavender?" Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry blushed despite his best efforts not to. "Fine ... Not too good, actually," he confessed, carefully looking away from Ginny. "I-I think she's - interested in - someone else."

"Yeah," Ginny agreed. "I do, too. Unfortunately, I think it's my boyfriend. Sorry about that."

"Don't be - I'm the one who should apologize," Harry said. "It never worked very well between us, anyway. It's difficult having to constantly hide things from her."

Ginny waved aside his apology. "What do you mean 'hide things'?" she asked.

"You know - Occlumency lessons, defence lessons, the Order of the Phoenix, my connection with Voldemort..."

"I know what you mean," Ginny said, nodding.

"You do?" Harry asked, wondering what secrets Ginny had to hide.

"Yeah. Neville and I just started having some - problems." She looked toward the nearest window, as if avoiding his gaze.

"Problems?" prompted Harry, his curiosity piqued.

It seemed as if Ginny was ignoring him, and Harry began to feel embarrassed for prying. As he started to consider escaping to the common room, she began to speak, her eyes still focused on the window. "The other day Neville and I were studying in the library and I fell asleep. I had a nightmare about my - my first year, and apparently caused quite a ruckus. Neville was - er - pretty annoyed that I wouldn't talk to him about - about my dream." Her eyes filled with tears, and one began to leak. Harry had the odd urge to wipe the tear away and balled his hands at his sides. "He doesn't understand - I can't talk about that time to anyone - I did such horrible things..."

"It wasn't your fault," Harry reminded her, anger toward Voldemort rising in his chest.

She wiped her face impatiently and gave him a small smile. "I know that, Harry. At least my head knows it, even if my heart still hasn't accepted it." She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, blew her nose, and stood up. "Sorry - I'm being silly. I've got to go finish my homework. I'll see you later, okay?"

Harry nodded and watched her climb through the portrait hole. He had never considered that Ginny might still be having nightmares about the year she was forced to act as the Heir of Slytherin. He thought again of Percy and vowed to himself that Voldemort would not be allowed to hurt another Weasley.