Surviving Disgrace

Chapter Summary: All of our questions are answered. We find out Harry’s true colours, why the heck Malfoy is in America and two of our favourite characters appear.



Chapter 2: Well, That Explains Everything

“Malfoy!”

“Potter!”

The two archenemies stared at one another from across the room, neither one believing that the other was there. Harry had recognised Draco Malfoy the moment he had come through the kitchen door. Draco still had the same white-blond and steely grey eyes but his bony, pointed face had filled out.

He had grown a lot since Harry had last seen him at Hogwarts, both in height and breadth. His skin had darkened slightly and he no longer had the sickly pallor that had always made him looked washed out. Another difference was the absence of Malfoy’s famous smirk. Malfoy’s face wasn’t twisted into a vile statement of hate or loathing now. Before he had recognised Harry, he had actually been smiling. Not one of his smarmy smiles either, but a genuine smile with feeling. It was slightly eerie to see Malfoy smiling like that.

He was dressed in Muggle clothes, which was something that Harry had never expected to see. Especially since these clothes were less than perfect. He wore a dark blue shirt that had more than it’s fair share of paint stains, as did the pair of ripped and faded jeans he wore. His boots were also caked with paint stains, along with grass, grease and other various colours that he couldn’t identify.

“You are…” Harry began.

“…A Death Eater,” Draco finished.

Before anyone knew what was happening, both men pulled their wands out of their pockets and hurled hexes at each other. Draco was thrown back by a whirlwind hex and crashed into the wall, knocking pictures to the floor. Harry cried out as he fell under a Jelly Legs Hex and lost his balance. Despite the hex, Harry was able to take aim at Malfoy again and cast another hex before he rose from the floor. “Locomotor Mortis!”

Malfoy’s kneecaps stuck together and he couldn’t move them. He struggled for a moment and cast the counter-curse to free himself. He sneered and raised his wand again, ready to cast another hex when the awe-struck Ron, Hermione and Ginny finally reacted. They reached into their pockets to remove their wands and help Harry subdue Malfoy.

“Stupefy!” Ron bellowed.

“Draco, watch out!”

Hermione turned to see that the girl Ria was reaching under the desk to grab something. It also registered in her mind that Ria had also called Malfoy by his real name, not Drake. Ria stood straight and Hermione recognised what she had pulled out from under the desk. Ria held a wand. Ria was a witch!

“Ron, look out!” Hermione warned him and took aim at Ria.

“Leviosa!” Ria said, finishing her spell before Hermione could get a chance. Ron was instantly lifted into the air by Ria’s wand and she smashed him up against the ceiling with great force, knocking the wind out of him and cracking his head against the thick plaster. Ron’s head lulled forward, the impact having knocked him unconscious. Hermione took the chance of Ria’s momentary distraction as she continued to pummel Ron against the ceiling.

“Mobilicorpus!” Ria was thrown back into the wall behind her, cracking the plaster of the walls with the force of her landing. With Ria’s concentration broken, Ron fell from the ceiling but Hermione cast a Cushioning charm on the floor, preventing the incapacitated Ron from further damage. She turned to see the duel going on between Harry and Malfoy.

Ginny had begun to slowly move against the wall, trying to slowly position herself behind Malfoy to get a clear shot. The two men seemed so wrapped up in fighting each other that they had completely forgotten that others were there. Time to make out presence known, she thought, as Malfoy nearly hit Harry with an arrow shot from his wand.

Harry dodged an Anti-Gravity charm and Hermione cried out, “Relashio!” A jet of sparks flew at Malfoy from her wand and singed his sleeve as he tried to avoid it. Hermione watched as a glint came into Malfoy’s eyes and she was just about to call out to Harry to be careful when Malfoy fell to the floor and grabbed the end of the area rug that covered the hardwood floor. Before either could even realise what Malfoy was up to, he yanked on the rug, causing both Harry and Hermione, who were both standing on the rug, to slip and fall.

“Expelliarmus!” Draco said and both Harry and Hermione’s wands flew into his hands. He waved his wand and ropes flowed out of the end and began to tie up the defenceless Hermione and Harry. He pointed his wand at them, locking his eyes with Harry’s. Despite his heavy breathing, he began to chuckle. “So much for the great Harry Potter.”

Without hesitation, he drew back his foot and kicked Harry hard in the ribs. Harry let out a whoosh of air but did not cry out in pain. Harry readied himself for another blow as Malfoy drew back his foot again.

“I wouldn’t do that Malfoy.” Draco turned around to see that Ginny had sneaked up behind him. He had forgotten the Weasleys were even there. All of his attention had been on Potter and it was only when Granger attacked him that he noticed her. His eyes flicked to the prone body lying beside Ginny. The shock of red hair had to be her brother, knocked unconscious by Ria, he guessed. Where was she anyway, he thought.

“Why not weasel? What can you possibly do about it?” he sneered back at her.

“Plenty,” she said and raised her wand, “Petrificus-“

“Not the smartest thing to do,” said a cool voice from behind Ginny as she felt something pointed prod her in the back, “Now drop the wand.”

Ginny did as she was told and her wand clattered to the floor. Draco summoned it to him as well and cast ropes to tie both the Weasley’s together. The owner of the voice walked around Ginny and towards Draco. It was Ria.

“Draco, what was this all about?” Ria asked, wiping at the blood that was trickling down her forehead in a thin line. Hermione had managed to bruise her up quite nicely with her charm and she could feel an ache in her ribs that meant one of them was probably cracked.

“Old schoolmates. They must have missed my charm and wit,” Draco smiled, dabbing at his bloody lip. Ria rolled her eyes; “It’s Harry Potter and his other fugitive friends. Sent here to kill us, I assume.”

“You were sent here to kill us!” cried Harry from his spot on the floor.

“Yes, that’s right Potter. We bought this place and waited two years in the hope that one day you might see our brochure and decide to take a vacation here and then we could kill you. It’s all part of our master plan. We are planning on buying a Howard Johnson to lure Dumbledore with next,” Draco snarled, his voice iced with sarcasm. Ria choked down laughter as she tried to keep a serious face.

“I’ll make a deal with you Malfoy,” Harry said coldly, “You can have me but let the other three go.”

“Harry, no,” Hermione and Ginny said in unison. Ron, unconscious, was oblivious to the deal being offered but would have agreed with the women, had he been in the proper mind.

“Always the hero, it makes me sick, Potter,” Draco said as he squatted down so as to be eye to eye with Harry, “Tell me, what happened that night at Hogwarts? Being the hero getting too boring or were you just rebelling against mummy and daddy?”

Harry struggled against the ropes in an attempt to ring Malfoy’s neck. He had never wanted to kill anyone more in his life. To think that scum like Malfoy was accusing him of being a traitor; it made him sick with rage. “What about you Malfoy?” Harry spat, “You’ve been gone for two years. Why aren’t you at the side of your father in the inner circle? Are you a coward just like your father? He had a chance to kill me and ascend to the right side of Voldemort, but he couldn’t do it. He ran, scared as a little girl. Cowardice must run in the family.”

Malfoy hauled off and backhanded Harry hard. Harry’s head spun to the side with a crack and blood trickled from his mouth. “Don’t you ever speak of my father that way! You are just jealous because you weren’t able to take my father’s place in the inner circle. You know that the Dark Lord trusted my father more than you.”

“You are talking nonsense, Malfoy,” Hermione spoke up.

“No he’s not,” Ria said and Hermione looked up at her. Hermione noticed that Ria’s shirtsleeve had been torn in the fighting and the seam down the centre of the sleeve had split. Blood and plaster caked the fabric but something stood out on her forearm. A skull with a snake coming out of its mouth was burnt into her skin. The Dark Mark.

“So, you’re a Death Eater as well,” Hermione said, nodding to Ria’s arm.

Ria smiled coldly. “Demetria Macnair. It’s a pleasure to meet a fellow fugitive Death Eater, Hermione Granger. I’d offer you a handshake but you seemed tied up at the moment.” “

“We aren’t Death Eaters,” Ginny piped up.

“Neither are we, but that doesn’t change anything,” Draco said flippantly. He turned away from the captives pointedly and motioned for Demetria to follow him towards a corner.

“We better tell Remy about this. He’ll know what to do with them. I’ll take them to cottage number nine and you get Remy and bring him over,” Draco whispered. Demetria nodded and Apparated away with a pop.

“Well, let’s go,” Draco said and they levitated with a swish of his wand. He cast a spell that robbed all four of them of the use of their voices so that they couldn’t call for help. A simple Unremarkable charm promised that none of the Muggle guests would take notice of the odd pack. He tugged them out of the main house and towards the forest.

They walked down a path that led into a secluded part of the forest. The cottage that sat within the trees was white with blue shutters and was bigger than the others that had been closer to the lake. The door had a heavy pad lock on the front along with a sign declaring the cottage “DO NOT ENTER. CLOSED FOR REPAIRS. DANGER.” The windows were also boarded shut, with the blue shutters padlocked shut over top. Clearly they did not want anyone to enter this cottage.

“Alohamora!” Draco touched the lock with his wand and the door opened. Inside, the cottage was neatly furnished and very clean. There were no repairs going on to speak off.

A small kitchenette held a few cupboards and a stove and refrigerator. A living room had a small sofa and two armchairs that looked old and faded. A table and two chairs sat in the far corner in front of a small fireplace as a sort of pseudo-dining room. A narrow hallway had four doors that they assumed opened to bedrooms and a bathroom.

Draco directed them towards the sofa and chairs and they sat to wait for Demetria and this Remy person. Hermione gazed around at her surroundings, taking a closer. A small bookshelf was nestled in the corner by the table and with her sharp eyesight, she could see that the spines held titles you wouldn’t find in a Muggle library.

The entire Standard Book of Spells series, Potente Potions, Medi-Magic! and One Thousand Herbs and Plants were just a few of the titles she recognised right away. Some books on Quidditch, astronomy and history were scattered among the others. The one thing missing were any Dark Arts books; not a single one in the lot, though there were a lot of books about vampires, hags and werewolves.

A cauldron stood on the hearth of the fireplace, as well as a small cupboard, which Hermione assumed was probably filled with potion ingredients. Two brooms leaned against the wall near the door, but they were not ordinary sweeping brooms, but in fact old Firebolts. This was where Malfoy and Macnair lived, she thought, noticing more and more signs that two wizards lived here. Two faint pops could be heard outside and two angry voices followed. Draco jumped to his feet and listened tensely but relaxed quickly, obviously recognising the voices and not scared of any danger.

“Demetria, how could you?” came a man’s voice.

“How was I suppose to know? It wasn’t like anyone informed Draco or myself about this,” came Demetria’s voice through the walls.

“I just can’t believe you two. You act like children most of the time,” the male voice chastised. The only reply that came sounded distinctly like a raspberry being blown in someone’s face.

A muffled “Alohamora!” sounded and the door opened. Demetria walked through first, her arm wrapped around her rib cage, obviously aching from her meeting with the wall. Hermione smiled smugly and attempted to laugh but couldn’t make a sound.

A tall man with dark hair and a thin build followed her in. He wore as worn weary clothes as Malfoy, his jeans having fewer tears in them. His skin was a dark shade that signalled him to be a man who spent most of his time outdoors. His eyes were deeply lined but that made him more attractive in the way only men can pull off. He was a face that they hadn’t seen in over a year, but a welcomed face none the less.

“Hello Harry. Hermione. Ginny. Ron. Well, I’ll greet you later Ron; you seem to be a bit indisposed at the moment. It is wonderful to see you all. I’m sorry for what happened with Draco and Demetria, they didn’t know better.” Remus Lupin smiled pleasantly at the gaping mouths of the three Gryffindors who remembered him as their Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Harry’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as he attempted to speak to Lupin.

“I dare say Harry, what’s the matter?” Lupin asked, startled by Harry’s attempts to speak. Draco snickered quietly in the background. Lupin glared at him.

“I see,” he said and pulled out his own wand, “Finite Incantatium!”

“Remus! What are you doing here?” Harry cried out, his voice functional again. The last person in the world he had expected to be Remy was his parent’s best friend. He felt relieved to see Remus but he couldn’t help a small bit of apprehension tug at him. Why was Lupin with Malfoy?

“Well Harry, let’s get you comfortable and healed up before we begin that story. It’s a very long one,” Remus waved his wand again and their bonds disappeared. Ron slumped onto the floor in a heap and Draco and Demetria began to snicker once more.

“Sorry about that Ron,” Lupin said and levitated Ron to a sitting position on the sofa again. “Enverate!”

Ron’s eyes fluttered open and he moaned in pain. His eyes came to rest on Malfoy and he jumped up and brandished his wand. “DEATH EATER!” he screamed.

“Yes Weasley,” Malfoy drawled flippantly, “We’ve already established that.”

Ron looked to Hermione, who nodded for him to sit back down. He sat next to her and looked at her with eyes full of confusion. She nodded in the direction of Lupin and Ron finally saw him, his eyes widening. He looked back to Hermione, who shrugged her shoulders. The two of them had a habit of communicating without words and it was something that drove both Harry and Ginny to distraction.

“Okay, we’ll get you all fixed up. Demetria, will you help me,” Lupin asked the brunette. She nodded and helped him to magically heal their four captives, filling the room with a yellow glow. She worked on Draco, while he in turn, worked on her.

“Now that everyone is back to normal, I suggest we have a little tea and talk about things. I’m sure you are all confused about what is going on but there is a reasonable explanation for everything,” Lupin told them, taking a seat on one of the chairs.

“I don’t think there is any explanation for that,” Ron said, gesturing towards Draco, who was leaning against the living room wall with his arms folded across his chest. He sneered in response and began a quiet conversation with Demetria, who stood beside him.

“Now Ron, you don’t know the whole story. I guess the best place to start is to explain what has happened to the wizarding world since you left it. This is going to take some time,” he waved his wand absently over the table and a complete tea set was conjured up. He passed out tea and biscuits to everyone, with only Demetria and Draco refusing. Holding dainty teacups at a time like this must ruin their Death Eater image, Harry thought nastily.

“Now, as you all know, Voldemort was returned to power in 1994 after the Triwizard Tournament. Now, he began to gather forces during that summer and as we all know, there were attempts on Harry’s life over the next two years. Everyone here, but Ginny and Demetria, left Hogwarts in 1997 and went your separate ways. At this time, Voldemort knew that now he would have to face a full frontal assault by you Harry. While you were at school, you were prevented from pursuing him outright, but now you were free to do as you wish.”

“Voldemort had learned from the mistakes of the past and he had a new plan. He realised that there were many ways to control people and he soon had his Death Eaters infiltrate the entire Ministry of Magic. You father,” he nodded at the Weasley’s, “Was about the only loyal person in the entire MoM. No one suspected anything was afoot in the Ministry because these spies were everywhere. Voldemort was able to control the entire British Isles with his plants in the Ministry. With your father’s resignation last year, the last loyal person left the Ministry. It is completely in the hands of Voldemort now.”

“The Light Side tried everything to stop the ascension of Death Eaters to the Ministry but we failed. When Albert Avery took the position of Minister of Magic, we knew we had lost that battle. The public does not even suspect a thing. They think that the Ministry is fighting along side the Light Side but it is them that we are fighting.”

“In the past two years though, we have been able to put a considerable dent in the numbers of Voldemort’s armies. It was blessing your father listened to us and pushed for the Dark creatures to be brought to the Light Side. At least we aren’t contending with Giants, Dementors and werewolves,” he smiled cheekily at this, “The reason that we have been able to capture several of the Death Eaters within the inner circle is because of inside information. We were able to aid two Death Eaters in escaping the clutches of Voldemort’s army and they have helped us. They have given us names, locations, artefacts and much more, in exchange for our help in hiding them. I’m sure you’ve guessed that those two people are Draco and Demetria.” They looked up and both Draco and Demetria stared back at them with no emotions playing across their faces. They acted as if it should be common knowledge that they would be reformed Death Eaters.

“If neither of them mind, I’ll give you a short history of their lives so that you may understand why they did what they did,” Lupin looked at the two who just shrugged their shoulders casually, “Very well. I’m sure you know much of Draco’s heritage but I will inform you of Demetria. She was born into an old and prominent wizarding family like Draco. The Macnair’s and the Malfoy’s were friends and Death Eaters, so Draco and Demetria grew up together and were very close friends. Their parents had bred them to be Death Eaters since they were born and soon it came time for their initiation after they had both finished school. They were both initiated as Death Eaters and joined the ranks of Voldemort’s inner circle.”

“So, you murdered and tortured people and you think that you can absolve that by joining the Light Side now?” Harry said, looking at Draco and Demetria.

“You don’t know what you are talking about Potter,” Demetria spat out, a look of hatred showing on her face, “And you’re not innocent either. Apparently, that Hagrid was one of your best friends. How did it feel to have his blood on your hands?” Harry threw himself at Demetria in a rage but Lupin caught him just in time, his werewolf strength no match for a thin man like Harry.

“You don’t know what you are talking about either,” Ginny told Demetria as she pulled Harry back down on the sofa.

“Ginny, you will have your chance to explain. Demetria, don’t antagonise,” Lupin said calmly. He was surprised how well this was all going. He had expected that there would have been plenty of bloodshed by now, not to mention at least two dozen hexes exchanging wands. “Demetria, Draco, why don’t you tell them exactly what happened.”

Draco stood up straight and stuffed his hands in his pocket. “We worked solely as informants for the first few years. We spied on our former classmates who were suspected to be following Harry Potter. We even watched you three for a time,” he gestured towards Ron, Hermione and Ginny, “We were never able to get close to you, Potter. Dumbledore had too many protective wards for you.”

“We soon found out who was working for you, who was against you and who was double crossing both you and us. You probably never knew this, but Justin Finch-Fletchley was informing on you. Then we found out that someone was informing on us. Pansy Parkinson, my old girlfriend and fellow Slytherin, had turned on us and was working as a spy for the Light Side. We informed Voldemort of her betrayal and awaited our reward.”

Draco took a lengthy pause and lowered his head. Demetria made a small gesture that Hermione wasn’t sure that the others noticed. Demetria placed her hand on the small of Draco’s back and rubbed it softly. A very affectionate gesture that she had never seen expressed towards Draco Malfoy. She continued telling the story for Draco.

“My father had always told me that serving Voldemort was the only thing that would truly make my life worthwhile. He said that Voldemort’s powers could give me anything I wanted, as long as I was in his good graces. That is the only reason I agreed to be initiated. I wanted to do something so that he would owe me. I had one request of him and that was the reason I was loyal to him. When we were able to inform on Parkinson, I thought I was finally getting what I wanted. Draco thought he could finally make his father proud. Then Lucius came and told us that we would have to go and kill the Parkinson family for their betrayal.”

“We couldn’t believe what he was asking. Not even a week earlier, the Parkinson elders had gone and levelled an entire theatre full of Muggles. How could Voldemort not trust their loyalty? It was their daughter, not the parents. Voldemort did not care; he wanted all of them dead. I couldn’t understand how Voldemort could kill those disloyal to him, yet be so disloyal himself. Draco and I went to the Parkinson’s house one night and we went in, ready to kill, but what happened that night was what turned us away from the Dark Lord.”

“Mr. Parkinson had suspected that Pansy was disloyal but he never thought that she had gone to the Light Side. He had just assumed she wanted no part in the war at all. When we told him what Pansy had done, he realised what his fate was.” Demetria’s eyes had glazed over and it appeared that the scene that night was playing back again in her mind. “Mr. Parkinson turned to his daughter and said ‘You are dead to me’ and with that, he pulled out his wand and killed her. He turned to us and said ‘You can go back and tell the Dark Lord what I did. He will forgive my wife and I. I have taken care of the scum that I once called a daughter. We will be forgiven.’ I couldn’t believe it. I suddenly wondered if my own father was capable of that.”

“Despite what you may think of me, I did care about Pansy, she was a friend,” Draco spoke up, “I know that I sold her out when I went to Voldemort with our information, but I had my reasons for doing it. After Pansy was killed, we both Apparated away. We didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t bring ourselves to kill the Parkinson’s and for that, we would be killed ourselves. We found out later that other Death Eaters came along and finished the job. Voldemort knew that we had run away from him and he sent others to finish our job. We made our decision then that we would leave the Death Eaters. We both believe that loyalty is the most important thing to a person. Voldemort does not believe in loyalty. How could we believe that we would ever be repaid for the things we did for him? We had no guarantee that our lives would not be ended whenever he felt like it. That night we abandoned his followers.”

“I knew that there was only one place I could go to get help. We Apparated to Hogsmeade and walked to Hogwarts. It was during Christmas holidays and so it was quite a surprise for Professor McGonagall to find us standing in the Great Hall soaking wet. I asked if we could see Professor Dumbledore and she took us to him. We explained what had happened and, thankfully, he believed us. He informed us that while there was the public Light Side that fought against Voldemort, there was also an underground group, who were unknown to all but a few of his most loyal friends. He said that he could hide us away and we could tell him everything we knew of the workings of Voldemort’s inner circle.”

“We agreed and met the other operatives of the Underground. Remus is one of them, along with the professors of Hogwarts, Hagrid, Madman Maxime from Beauxbatons, Arabella Figg, Cho Chang, Fleur Delacour, Angelina Johnson, most of the Weasley’s-“

“What do you mean?” Ron interrupted.

“All your older brothers are part of the Underground,” Draco explained.

“You’re lying,” Ron said but Lupin shook his head.

“No he’s not. Your brothers kept it a secret from you because you were helping lead the public fight. You all would have made perfect candidates for Underground operatives but for your public image. Every witch and wizard knows the four of you. We needed you to wage a battle in public to pull more support to our side. You were too important to the wizarding community to risk having you killed or captured in a botched sting,” Lupin explained, “Also Harry, you should know, Sirius is also an operative.”

“Wait a minute, Sirius has been in contact with us the entire year we’ve been in hiding. I don’t get what is going on,” Hermione said, her brain trying to process all the information at top speed. “I don’t understand why we are informing these traitors of our secrets. I know you said that Dumbledore said that we should but-“ Demetria was interrupted by an incensed Harry.

“Dumbledore! What does Dumbledore have to do with all this? I am not the traitor, he is!” Harry shouted at Remus. His cheeks were bright red and a vein throbbed along side the scar on his forehead. His heart was beating wildly at the thought that Dumbledore had something to do with all of the pain of the past year.

“Harry, I think it’s about time we get to your part of the story. Now, after seventh year, you formed a following that helped you wage a war against Voldemort,” Remus prompted. Harry sighed and settled back. He had never repeated this story to anyone; he had never had to. No one wanted to hear the truth anyway.

“I formed the group at Dumbledore’s request. It was filled mostly with the students in my class, but some from the older years joined as well. As each class finished Hogwarts, some people from those classes joined me as well. We fought the war publicly; we were almost like our own organisation of Aurors. We captured several dark wizards, protected Hogwarts, that sort of thing. One night we were called to Hogwarts to guard there, as Dumbledore and McGonagall were leaving to London to meet with Arthur Weasley.”

“Only those who I trusted were there that night. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, Neville Longbottom, the Creevey brothers and the professors were there to guard the castle. We didn’t need too many people there, as it was summer holidays but Dumbledore was afraid that Voldemort might take it in his absence as some sort of strong hold. We had no forewarning of the attack like we had in the past. No one even knew it was coming.”

“The Death Eaters infiltrated the castle before anyone even knew that they were even on the grounds. It was Peeves who alerted us to their presence, which was a cruel twist of irony in retrospect. We split up to search the castle and find them. I went down to the Great Hall and I found Snape standing there, talking to someone. It took me a second to realise that that someone was me. A replica of myself was standing there, talking to Snape as if nothing was amiss. I called to Snape to warn him but as soon as he turned towards my voice, the replica had pulled out his wand and cast a curse to kill him. The next thing I knew, the replica was pointing the wand at me and cast a type of whirlwind charm that sent me flying out of the castle and to the Forbidden Forest.”

“Three more doppelgangers were there that night in the place of Ron, Hermione and Ginny. All of the replicas, obviously created through Polyjuice Potion, proceeded to kill the teachers and our friends. They blasted each of us away with the whirlwind charm and the others ended up with me in the Forbidden Forest. We all ran back to the castle but by the time we had got there, almost everyone was dead. Something snapped and I began to use any curse I could think of on every Death Eater I saw.”

“We followed his lead,” Hermione said, taking up for Harry to give their perspective, “I remember falling over Seamus’ body in the Entrance Hall. I lost it then.” She lowered her head into her hands and began to weep. Ron wrapped his arms around her and she curled against his chest.

“We didn’t use any of the Unforgivable curses, but there are other ways to kill someone than Avada Kedavra. By the time we were done, everyone was dead. Well, at least we thought everyone. Snape must have still been alive but we couldn’t tell. We did the only thing we could think of. We went to London to find Dumbledore. He had just finished his meeting and Dad had gone home. We told him what had happened and he did the one thing I never thought Dumbledore would do,” Ginny said, staring off into space, seeing her hero sitting at the old Ministry desk as he listened to their story.

“He didn’t believe us,” Harry whispered, staring at his hands in his lap.

“He told us that he was horrified that we could come to him and make up such tall tales and expect him to believe them. He thought we had really betrayed him and gone over to Voldemort. He told us that he would never harbour fugitives but that since he had a soft place for us in his heart, he would let us go,” Ron said, still cradling Hermione who had stopped sobbing but still had tears streaming down her cheeks. “We did the only thing we could think of. We went back to the Burrow. Mum and Dad were there and we told them what had happened. They believed us without a doubt and they promised to help us escape Ministry prosecution. It was like you said Professor Lupin; by that time Dad had lost whatever power he had and couldn’t do anything for us. Harry contacted Sirius and explained everything. Dad and Sirius agreed that we needed to go into hiding, preferably out of the country. Sirius knew of a safe house that he had stayed at and thought that we could use. We said goodbye to Mum and Dad and we Apparated there. We stayed there for a while and we heard when the story broke in the Daily Prophet. We knew that we would have to spend the rest of our lives running.”

“With the re-release of the most wanted wizards, we had to leave our home again. Sirius told us to come here and we would stay here for the rest of the summer. We had no idea you were even in contact with him anymore Remus,” Harry said, looking for Remus to explain things.

“Well Harry, I’ve known where you’ve been the entire time you were in hiding. Every one of the top operatives of the Underground has known. Despite what you may believe, Albus Dumbledore still and always will have the utmost faith and belief in you. He knows what truly happened that night,” Lupin told the stunned group.

“Then why did he turn us away? Why did he help those two,” Harry tossed his head in the direction of Demetria and Draco, “Death Eaters at that, but not help us?”

“Because, the night you came to see him, he was being watched by Ministry officials who were also Death Eaters. Voldemort knows that Dumbledore is against him both publicly and secretly. He wants nothing more than to see Dumbledore slip up so that the Minister of Magic can throw him in Azkaban. With Dumbledore in prison, the entire resistance against Voldemort would crumble. He had to tell you he would not help you. It was the only way to keep things going.” “I can’t believe that Dumbledore forsake us the way that Voldemort turns on his followers as well. He left us on our own when we came to him for help,” Harry argued, still not being able to trust Dumbledore again. He had built up such disappointment and hurt over the past year, that it was hard to let it go.

“Haven’t you put it together yet Harry?” Hermione said. Harry, Ron and Ginny looked at her with puzzlement but Lupin had the beginnings of a smile spreading across his face. “Sirius and the Weasley’s have been helping us this entire year. They have found us safe places to hide and have kept us one step ahead of the Ministry and Voldemort. Now they’ve sent us to a bed and breakfast that just happens to be run by Lupin, Malfoy and Macnair. All of these people work as operatives for Dumbledore. Dumbledore has been secretly leading us along the entire time!”

“You are a smart witch,” Lupin said, chuckling at the astonished faces of the others, “Dumbledore got in contact with Arthur before you arrived at the Burrow. It was Dumbledore’s network that gave you those safe houses. It was always he in the background, making sure you were safe. He felt it was time now that you reconvene with Draco and Demetria and that the truth be revealed to all of you.”

“Draco and Demetria have been working here with me at the WolfMoon since they left Britain. We live in this cottage and use this as a kind of meeting area for Underground wizards. I think everyone of your brothers has been here at one time or another,” he told Ron and Ginny, “We have been able keep our real identities secret from the public. I stay here in this cottage during my transformations while Draco and Demetria stay up at the main house. Draco has become quite good at the Wolfsbane potion and even managed to make it taste reasonably good.” Draco grinned smugly at the others. “Now it is time for you four to join us. Dumbledore has requested that you be sent to stay here, rather than another safe house. He says that he has some sort of job for the six of you to do together.”

“Wait a minute,” Draco said, obviously not being privy to this information, “You expect us to help out these four?”

“There is no way I am working with a Death Eater. Reformed or not, they are still the same,” Ron spat out, glaring at Draco and Demetria.

“Ah, this brings back memories. I am reminded of the hallways of Hogwarts just before a Gryffindor versus Slytherin Quidditch match. Such passion and animosity between the two houses. I must remember to tell Minerva that she should work on inter-house relations next term.” Everyone turned in unison to look at the speaker who was standing in the doorway. He was the type of man who would look out of place almost anywhere but a castle in Scotland.

“Good to see you all again. I best explain why I have brought you all together. I am glad Remus has brought you up to speed. Thank you Remus. Now it is time I explain a little better what I need you to do. This may sound like a large and difficult task but I must stress that it is imperative that you do as I tell you. The fate of the world lies within your hands.”

“What are you talking about, Professor?” Hermione whispered.

“Why, my dear Ms. Granger, I am talking about your destinies,” said Albus Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

End Note: Well, I hope this answers some of your questions, the most prominent being “Did Harry really turn evil?” But I’m sure it has opened up a whole new can of “Huh?”s and “Whas?” Of course, more answers and questions will come in chapter 3, entitled “Just Because Luke Skywalker Had a Destiny, Doesn’t Mean Everyone Wants One.” Oh, and if you want to see what my thought process is like while I am writing, go to my live journal where I beat the snot out of my muse for new and wonderful ideas.