Harry Potter and the Time of Shadows

- Chapter Twenty-Three-

Betrayal

Harry felt the all-consuming pain course throughout his body. His skin was on fire, and he could barely see through the pain. He fell to his knees, and raised his arms, silently begging Hagrid to stop the torture.

He could faintly see Hagrid's bearded face screwed up in concentration while he aimed Harry's own wand at him. He looked ruthless, and savage, the first time Harry would ever describe him that way.

Suddenly, the pain stopped, and Harry slowly got to his feet, breathing heavily.

"Hagrid?" he said weakly.

"Weren' expectin' that were ya Harry?" Hagrid said coldly. "Didn' think someone'd just turn on ya like that? But I've changed Harry. I was away fer a long time, an' I met people -- people 'oo 'elped me get more powerful. D'ya really think I'd be strong enough ter do the Cruciatus Curse jus' from what Dumbledore taught me?"

"Death Eaters?" Harry asked, backing away from Hagrid. There was no way that he could overpower Hagrid, he was twice his size. And without his wand, he was almost defenceless.

Hagrid smiled cruelly. "Yeah, Death Eaters. They taught me a lot, things Dumbledore'd never do. They showed me wha' I could be like if I joined them, an' I liked it."

"How could you do this Hagrid?" Harry pleaded, still not daring to believe what had happened. "You hate the Dark Arts!"

"Do I Harry?" Hagrid replied, becoming more vicious. "Or was tha' jus' from what Dumbledore told me. He controlled me all my life! He always though' he knew wha' was best fer me! He never let me do anythin' fer meself!"

"He -- he cares about you!" Harry reasoned. He continued to back away, and hit his back against a tree.

"Cares abou' me? If he cared so much he woulda come lookin' fer me when I went! He wouldn'ta let Fudge sack me in the first place!" Hagrid bellowed.

"He tried Hagrid," Harry said, his back still against the tree trunk, his legs not taking him any further. "But Fudge wouldn't let him, we were all so worried about you."

"Shu' up!" Hagrid snapped. He raised the wand again. "CRUCIO!"

Harry felt the terrible pain all through his body again. He sank down the tree to the ground, and laid there on the grass, until the pain stopped.

"Get on yer feet!" Hagrid commanded. "DO IT!"

Harry slowly got to his feet again, and looked around for the best way out. There were few small gaps in the trees, but nothing big enough for him to escape through before Hagrid caught him. He was definitely not going to try and escape down the ravine.

Hagrid raised the wand a third time.

"Petrificus Totalus!" he said, and before Harry could think of blocking it, he felt his arms pin by his sides and his legs lock together. He overbalanced, and fell face first into the dry, hard ground, while Hagrid laughed spitefully.

"Come on Harry," he taunted. " I though' you'd be a little 'arder to curse than that!"

Harry felt himself leaving the grass, and rise higher slowly, until he was almost upright again, but still could not move. Hagrid was levitating him, upwards, and he was hovering barely two inches off the ground.

Suddenly, he was thrown against a different tree, one on the edge of the ravine. His back made rough contact with the coarse bark of the tree, hurting with the aches he got from the Cruciatus Curses.

With another wave of the wand, a thin green light issued towards the tree, and a vine snaked around his neck, holding him in place. Harry tried yelling something at Hagrid, but he could not speak through the Body-Bind, and the vine was starting to choke him.

Hagrid laughed again. He pointed the wand under Harry's chin, and pressed it closer until it started to dig into his skin. Harry tried crying out again, even though he knew it was useless. All that escaped his mouth was a quiet gagging sound.

"Dumbledore always said ter me, tha' the Dark Side'd never win. He said that good always wins over evil. Well ... he was wron', and I'm gonna prove it now."

He's going to try and kill me, Harry thought, Why? What happened to him while he was away? What did the Death Eaters do to him?

"O' course I can' kill ya Harry," he continued. "Ya know by now 'bout You-Know-'Oo's plan. He'll make ya into a Death Eater, one o' his servants. I know 'e can' control ya with magic, but there's more 'n one way ter get wha' you want."

What is he talking about? What was he going to do to force him to serve Voldemort?

"I got somethin' 'ere Harry," Hagrid said darkly. "Somethin' tha' migh' change yer mind about the Dark Side."

Harry tried to yell out again, but could not. What has he got?

"If good people 'ave a weakness," Hagrid continued. "It's tha' they're too loyal. They care 'bout other people when they should be carin' about themselves. The Dark Lord, he gave me a li'le job ter do. You know where Ron and Hermione are?"

No, Harry thought. Not Ron and Hermione. He hasn't got them, he can't have.

Hagrid smiled again under his beard. He was so different, that warmth had gone, that trustworthy quality that he loved about Hagrid.

He clapped his hands, and a group of trees to his left started to sway. Then, the Stunned forms of Ron and Hermione floated across the ground into the clearing. They dropped softly onto the bed of leaves covering the forest floor.

"'Ow much are they worth to you Harry?" Hagrid asked. "Would you serve the Dark Lord to save them?"

Harry tried another vain attempt at speaking. The vine around his neck was choking him more than ever, until he thought he might pass out.

"Yer know what Harry?" Hagrid said, a twisted smile appearing on his face. "It's no fun doin' this with you jus' standin' there without talkin'."

He raised Harry's wand again, and the thin green light sped toward the tree, and splintered four ways before making contact with the wood. Harry felt disgusting, moss covered vines snake their way around his arms and legs, so that if he was not under the Body-Bind, he would still not be able to move.

Hagrid took another step closer to Harry, and pointed the wand at Harry's chest, muttering the counter-curse.

Harry felt all of his rigid joints loosen, until the vines were the only things holding him in place. His jaws sprang apart, and he was able to take a deep breath.

"Well Harry?" Hagrid asked. "Wha's it gonna be? Either you say you'll serve the Dark Lord, or I'll kill 'em."

Harry bit down on his bottom lip, what could he do? If he wanted to save the lives of his two best friends, he would have to become a Death Eater. But what if -- what if he just told Hagrid that he would become a Death Eater to get him to let Ron and Hermione go, and then later he would try to escape without actually going through with it? Would that work? It was his only hope.

"Fine," Harry said firmly. "I'll do it."

A cold smile formed under Hagrid's heavy beard. "Good, you made the righ' choice Harry."

"Yes, the right choice," said another voice beyond the trees.

Harry turned his head as far as he could in his tight restraints to see who had spoken, but he could see no one. Or could he? It seemed that a shadow was moving stealthily out of the trees and across the forest floor. But then it seemed a cloud had moved from in front of the moon, bathing the scene in an eerie light. It was obvious then that it was not a shadow that had joined them in the clearing, it was a man wearing a dark cloud, his face obscured by a hood.

The figure stood between Harry and the Stunned Ron and Hermione. As he did Harry saw a silver flash under the cloak, reflected moonlight. A silver hand was flexing on the end of the arm and the man lowered his hood to reveal the face of Peter Pettigrew, Wormtail.

Wormtail had changed in appearance since their last meeting in the graveyard. He was no longer thin and starved, but beginning to fatten up into the kind of well-nourished man that Harry could only assume he would have looked like when he lived with Ron as the plump rat Scabbers.

On seeing Wormtail, Harry's eyes were immediately drawn to the silver hand. He remembered the dream he had had when Voldemort had turned that hand into a magical core, and then he had used the Cruciatus Curse on Hedwig. He could now do magic just as well as anybody else.

But the thing that was the most different about Wormtail was his expression. He did not look scared or inferior in any way. He was wearing a look just as cold and sharp as the cruellest Death Eater. The fiendish sneer gradually shifted into a satisfied smile.

"My old friends," he said smoothly. "How long has it been since we last met? Why, it seems like just yesterday we were all together in the Shrieking Shack."

He bent down low to the ground, overlooking Ron.

"Ron," he hissed, raking his red hair with those metallic fingers. "You were a good master to me Ron. I'm sorry it had to come to this."

He moved over to Hermione, running his silver digits over her face.

"Sweet girl," he said quietly. "You have grown in the last two years, and become a fine young woman."

He ran his hand down her neck and paused by her breast. "A very fine young woman."

"Don't touch her!" Harry yelled.

Wormtail stood up slowly and turned to face Harry.

"Not forgetting Harry Potter of course," he said. "The Boy Who Lived. The newest servant of the Dark Lord."

Harry bared his teeth to Wormtail, feeling a raw, animal hatred towards him.

"Where is he?" Harry asked, suppressing everything else he wanted to say to that man.

"You mean our master? He's regaining his strength," Wormtail replied. "We will be taking you to him shortly."

"So in other words he doesn't have the nerve to come and get me himself, so he sends you," Harry said.

Wormtail smiled again. "I wouldn't question the Dark Lord's nerve Harry. After all, he had enough nerves to kill your parents."

Harry spat in Wormtail's face. Wormtail simply laughed, and wiped it off with his flesh hand.

"You have strength Harry," he said. "You are your father's son."

"So Voldemort is still too weak to face me like a man then?" Harry asked, wanting to kill Wormtail for just mentioning his dad.

"It is just the nature of our business," Wormtail said casually. "We capture you and bring you to him, then he does what he wants with you."

"Wormtail," Hagrid interrupted. "Have yer done everythin' yer need ter?"

"I have done my jobs Rubeus," Wormtail replied. "Excellent work on bringing Harry here, by the way."

"Thank you," Hagrid said, bowing. "I felt fer sure he weren' comin'. I was in this Forest tryin' to get his attention fer hours. I was just abou' ter bust inter Gryffindor Tower to get him meself."

"Couldn't have done a better job myself," Wormtail said.

"How'd yer get these two 'ere?" Hagrid asked, jerking his head toward Ron and Hermione.

"Easily," Wormtail answered. "As a rat I slipped into Gryffindor Tower, remembering the way from all the years I lived here of course, placed them under Imperius, and told them to walk down here. I was going to get Harry as well, but was surprised to see he had already to find you. You're a true Death Eater, Rubeus," he added with some satisfaction.

Hagrid bowed again, and smiled that cold, sharp smile again. "When will Lucius be getting here?" he asked.

"Soon my friend," Wormtail replied. "Soon."

Lucius Malfoy was coming as well. Lucius Malfoy! That was who it was! It suddenly clicked in Harry's mind, as though it had been in the back of his head since the beginning of the summer holidays. It was Lucius Malfoy that had come to Voldemort, saying that he had a plan to get to Harry.

Harry rested his back on the tree, scanning his mind for every detail of the dream he had had over the summer. Lucius Malfoy had said to Dumbledore that there was a way to get to Harry and get through the protections on him. This must have been the plan. Voldemort had told his snake that it would have a much larger feast before long. Hagrid! They were going to kill Hagrid after his job was done.

"Hagrid!" Harry yelled, forgetting that Hagrid was torturing him and keeping him prisoner. "Don't help them! They're going to kill you when I've been initiated!"

"Crucio!" Wormtail raised his silver hand and Harry felt the burning pain course through his body for the third time that night.

"Yes, that was the original plan," Wormtail said when he finally lifted the pain. "But Rubeus has proved himself to be an excellent servant for the Dark Lord. He will be initiated as a full Death Eater with you Harry."

"Do ya hear tha' Harry?" Hagrid said coldly. "Botha us servin' the Dark Lord."

"I'll never be loyal to him!" Harry yelled.

"Change of heart Harry?" a terribly familiar voice drawled.

Lucius Malfoy parted some low branches in the clearing and entered the space, his long black robes billowing behind him with the hood pulled down by his shoulders and no mask.

"You!" Harry thundered, wanting more than ever to break through the thick vines and attack someone.

"Of course," Lucius said, keeping his gaze fixed on Harry. "Who else did you expect to be behind a plan such as this?"

"The same man who destroyed the barrier at King's Cross!" Harry challenged.

Lucius Malfoy laughed. "Yes, I daresay that was fun. And it isn't like I had to worry much about hiding my identity, since we knew that Fudge was covering up any Death Eater activity. By September second, no one even cared who had appeared on the platform the previous day."

Harry stared into those unfeeling grey eyes, trying to think of anything that could help them.

"You are a good wizard Harry," Lucius Malfoy said abruptly. "A very good wizard. But you could be better. Don't you want to be better Harry?"

"Not if it means serving Voldemort," Harry retorted.

"What a pity," Lucius continued. "You could be great. You could be the best. You must understand the difference between being good, and being the best. Do you know how I first became a Death Eater Harry?"

"I would have thought you asked around on street corners trying to find Voldemort and become his slave," Harry replied, his words sounding much braver than he felt.

Lucius Malfoy laughed. "No Harry, believe it or not I was once hesitant at the thought of serving the Dark Lord. Even though I was a Slytherin, I was young and naïve. My father attempted to recruit me, but at first I refused. He said everything to me that I am saying to you now. He offered me power and glory, but I still did not aree.

"I admired my father, in my mind there was no greater wizard in the world, certainly not even the Dark Lord. Then one day, my father went out on a mission, Death Eater business as far as I know. I never saw him again. I thought that he had been killed on the mission, but I was wrong. Other Death Eaters, people who worked with my father came to see me, less than a week after he died. They told me that my father had failed his assignment, and caused a lot of trouble for the Dark Lord. So my master had given orders for my father to be killed. They then offered me a chance to, as they put it, finish his work. They said that if I served in his place, his death would not be in vain. And from that day forward I have been the Dark Lord's faithful servant."

There was a long silence after Mr Malfoy told his story.

"What does this have to do with me?" Harry asked after some time.

Lucius Malfoy smiled. "I always admired my master after that day. I said that you must understand the difference between being good, and being the best. My father was good."

"You admire the man who killed your father?" Harry summarised, not expecting this even from him.

"I admire the best."

"So you have told Wormtail here that you will serve the Dark Lord, but then after barely minutes you change your mind? Decisiveness is something we must teach you as a Death Eater," Lucius continued.

"I won't be a Death Eater!" Harry screamed, abandoning all pretence. Clearly they were not going to let him go now just because he said he would co-operate with them.

"Pity," said Lucius calmly. "Because it would really not be an inconvenience to hurt the Mudblood here, or the Weasley for that matter, Potter."

"Don't you dare!" Harry bellowed.

"Oh am I being threatened by you Potter? How intimidating you are, wandless and bound to a tree."

"Don't touch either of them, I'm warning you!"

"Hmm," Lucius said thoughtfully, beginning to pace the clearing. "Maybe your first job as a Death Eater would be to kill one of them."

"Never! They're my friends!"

"Your friends?" Lucius repeated. "What a terrible impediment friendships are. Let's see what they have to say about this." He pointed his wand down to the ground at both Ron and Hermione.

"Enervate," he said.

They both opened their eyes, and rose from the ground looking quite dazed. Ron reached into his back pocket and took out his wand, gripping it tightly, looking at Lucius Malfoy and Wormtail.

"Crucio!" he roared.

It hit Harry completely by surprise. His best friend had in fact cursed him. Harry felt the horrible feeling once again, made a hundred times worse by the fact that it was Ron who was causing the pain.

When Harry regained his senses he saw that Hermione had found her wand as well, and was pointing it at Harry's throat.

"Don't move Harry," she whispered.

"Ron? Hermione?" Harry said, not believing what had just happened.

"Not the same when your friends turn against you is it Harry?" Wormtail taunted. "Suddenly it doesn't seem as worth while to fight for them, does it?"

"No, this isn't real. They're under Imperius!" Harry said, realising the expression in their eyes was not right.

"Very good Potter, yes," said Lucius. "Just a little something to prove my point. Serve our master, or they will serve him in your place. As you can see, they have much more trouble dealing with the curse than you do."

"Hermione!" Harry said urgently, though she was still standing with her wand facing him. "You have to fight this, I know you can do it! This isn't you! You don't curse the people you care about!"

"Do you really think that will work Harry?" Lucius asked. "They are under our control, and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

"Crucio!" she screamed.

The Cruciatus Curse had hit Harry so many times that his body started to shake. Even after it had been lifted, he was still trembling slightly in his restraints.

"Now one way or another, you will be coming with us Potter," Wormtail hissed. "So why don't you make it easier on yourself and give in, it will save so much time and bother."

"Never!"

Hermione raised her wand to him again, and Harry braced himself. She hesitated, and begun to shake herself.

"What are you doing?" Lucius Malfoy raged. "Curse him!"

"Cr -- Cr -- Cru --" she stuttered. She was starting to fight it! Harry thought.

Lucius Malfoy strode up to her and raised his arm.

"I said Curse him you filthy little Mudblood!" He raised his hand and smacked her hard in the face, causing her to fall to he ground on her knees. Ron's face changed. No longer was it slack and emotionless, instead a look of murderous rage began to form behind his eyes.

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

A jet of red light shot at Lucius, and he was thrown backwards into a tree. His wand sailed through the air and landed firmly in Ron's hand.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER, YOU EVIL BASTARD!" Ron shrieked malevolently.

Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him as he realized that Ron had thrown off the Imperius Curse.

"Weasley!" said Lucius, getting back to his feet.

Wormtail raised his silver hand, signalling to Lucius Malfoy that he was the one who would be speaking to Ron.

"Hello there Ron," he said with mock pleasantness. "It's been too long. I see you were strong enough to fight the Imperius Curse. It appears Lucius has underestimated you. But I know you have massive potential Ron. How would you feel about serving the Dark Lord with me?"

"You must be crazy," Ron said venomously. "I know the difference between good and evil."

"Fine, have it your way," Wormtail said, dropping his calmness, and raising his silver hand again. "Crucio!"

The air was suddenly full of Ron's screams. He fell to his knees and let both his and Lucius's wands fall to the ground.

The tall Death Eater clicked his fingers and the wands flew into his hand. After Ron had recovered, he stood up again, facing Lucius Malfoy's wand. Ron backed away, and his eyes quickly darted to Harry, before flying back to his attacker.

"You care about this Mudblood do you Weasley?" Lucius asked. "Well, perhaps she should be the one to punish you for Disarming me."

Instantly, Hermione took a step forward, and pointed her wand at Ron.

"Hermione no!" Ron said. "You can't do this, I know you can't. You're not evil! Because I love you Hermione! I love you."

He put one arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. He kissed her passionately on the lips. She did not retaliate or push him away. She closed her eyes, and it was as if her entire body had seized up. She took a deep breath and put her wand arm around Ron. When she opened her eyes again, she seemed to be a completely different person.

"Oh Ron," she said, staring deeply into his eyes and then smiling, "I love you too."

The magic is in your heart, not your mind.

The words of Professor Fudge in their first lesson after Christmas came into Harry's head. He realized that it was their hearts that had freed them, their feelings of love for each other.

"Ah, how -- sweet," said Lucius Malfoy, repressed anger now in his every movement. "How adorable young love is."

"So come on then Malfoy," Ron spat, the thought that Hermione had just returned his love seemingly giving him strength. "What're you gonna do to us then?"

"Oh how scared I am Weasley," Lucius mocked. "Facing three fifteen year olds, one of which has no wand, and another is tied to a tree! Against three fully armed wizards. Don't make me laugh."

"Don't underestimate me," Hermione said, holding her wand up to Lucius Malfoy, her hand firm.

"Cru--" he started.

Suddenly, he was thrown back into Hagrid, and they both stumbled, but remained on their feet.

Hermione lowered her wand slightly, a puzzled expression on her face. Nobody had said anything, and somehow Lucius Malfoy had been knocked aside. She looked quickly at Ron, who merely shrugged, before looking back to the Death Eater.

Harry knew it had been him who had done that. He had not meant to, but his anger had taken over. He tried to do it again with Wormtail, but could not. Just like with Ron and Hermione, it had been his emotions that had done the magic, and no amount of concentration could duplicate it.

Wormtail and Malfoy both quickly advanced on Ron and Hermione. Lucius held his wand to Hermione's throat, while Wormtail extended his index finger to Ron's heart.

"Which of you did that?" Lucius Malfoy demanded.

Neither of them spoke. The Death Eaters remained silent, waiting for an answer.

"Fine," Lucius said. "If you won't tell me, I'll just have to torture you both until --"

"It was me!" Ron said quickly. "I did it!"

"You?" Lucius muttered. "I wouldn't think someone like you would have the brains or the power to do that without a wand. Better you than the Mudblood though. Very well, I shall have to punish you of course."

"No!" Harry yelled. "It was me! I was the one who knocked you back."

Lucius's lip curled into a smile. "Nice try Potter," he said. "You think you can save your friends by taking responsibility for what they do?"

"It was me!" Harry repeated. "I'll show you."

Harry focussed harder than ever before, letting the rage of everything that was happening boil throughout his body. Very slowly, Lucius Malfoy was lifted off the ground.

It occurred to Harry that Malfoy was in his power now. He eyed the ravine next to the tree he was tied to. There was no way that anybody could survive falling down it. Harry hesitated. Could he just kill a man? Even if it was an evil man, it would still be murder.

Harry paid for his doubts. He left Lucius Malfoy hovering in the air for too long, and he had pointed his wand down at Harry on the ground. A shining ball of light erupted from the end of his wand and hit Harry in the chest. Harry felt a burning pain through his body. He cried out from the agony.

Lucius was lowered back to the ground, and managed to land without stumbling.

Harry regained himself, trying to block out the pain, wondering what kind of damage the curse had done to him. Ron and Hermione were both looking at him with ghostly pale faces.

He looked down, letting the vine around his neck cut into his skin, and let out a gasp. His robes had been badly burned, and the flesh underneath it looked a raw red, and seriously injured.

"Expelliarmus!" a new voice cried.

Lucius Malfoy's eyes went wide as his and Ron's wands flew out of his hand, and was caught by the man who had Disarmed him.

"Percy!" Harry and Ron both cried out together.

Percy Weasley stood at the edge of the clearing, his dark cloak draped around his shoulders, his red hair standing out in the moonlight. He held Lucius's wand in his hand, and there was a mad glint in his eye that Harry had never seen before. In all the years that Percy had been a Prefect and Head Boy to him, Harry had never seen Percy look so intimidating.

"Another Weasley," Lucius said, not looking at all worried that he was now unarmed.

"Malfoy!" Percy raged. "I always knew you were an evil piece of work! How dare you take Harry Potter hostage? And what are Ron and Hermione doing here?"

"They are here to perform a small demonstration for Potter here," Lucius replied. "I am trying to show what friendships can do to a person. It makes them weak."

"Well they're coming back with me, and you're going to Azkaban," Percy said, sneering at the man in front of him.

"Is that right?" Lucius Malfoy said. "Well let's see what they think of that." He clicked his fingers, and Wormtail and Hagrid emerged from the shadows, both with their weapons trained on Percy.

"Hagrid!" Percy said. "I thought you were dead!"

"Na, just takin' a li'le break," Hagrid said menacingly.

"And who's this?" Percy asked, jerking his head at Wormtail.

"Don't you recognise me Percy?" Wormtail replied, a crooked smile appearing on his face. "You looked after me for nine years Percy. It's me. Scabbers."

"Scabbers? My rat?" Percy repeated. Comprehension dawned on his face, and he turned pale. "Pettigrew?"

Wormtail nodded, not lowering his silver hand.

"So it's true, what Black said in his trial," Percy muttered. "He's innocent, and you framed him! Well that's one more thing to tell the Ministry when we get back to the castle."

"And who says that you're going to make it back to the castle?" Wormtail asked. "Especially when you wander so stupidly into the middle of our operation."

"Why did you come here Percy?" Hermione asked.

"Charlie and I were bringing the centaur back to the Forest about an hour ago, I just realised I'd left my cloak here, so I went to get it and I heard a scream. So I came running and saw Lucius Malfoy here with Harry tied to a tree."

"You see what I mean Weasley?" Lucius asked. "You have come in here and risked your life for your brother and his friends. Nevertheless, you have shown good nerves here. Would you be interested in joining us?"

"Becoming a Death Eater?" Percy spat. "I'd rather die. I'll never join with you!"

"Really? I thought you wanted to be someone important. As Standing Officer at the Ministry, I would be happy to get you a position as high ranking as you like. All I ask is for something in return."

Percy hesitated. He briefly turned to Harry, bound to the tree. Then he looked at his brother, then Wormtail.

"No," he breathed. He raised his wand at Lucius Malfoy, and so did Hermione.

"Very well," Wormtail said. "Have it your way. STUPEFY!"

"DURUS!" screamed Percy, and the Stunning Spell was deflected. A strong wind blasted through the clearing. Percy's hair flew around his face and his cloak rippled behind his back. He held his wand steady and breathed hard.

"Conjunctivitis!" Hagrid yelled. Again, Percy blocked it.

It was as Hagrid tried to curse Percy, Harry noticed something. Lucius Malfoy, who had not been duelling as he had no wand, was staring fixedly at Hagrid, giving a look of concentration.

"Hagrid!" Harry yelled. "You're under Imperius too!"

Lucius smiled. "You finally realised Potter," he drawled. "I thought you would keep thinking this oaf had turned evil forever. Still, he can be initiated as Death Eater anyway."

"You can fight it Hagrid! Just like Ron and Hermione!" Harry screamed, hoping Hagrid would listen to reason. Unfortunately, he did not even look at Harry; he continued to curse Percy. It seemed he had succeeded, because Percy was looking dazed as though he had been hit roughly in the head.

Hermione raised her wand, aiming it squarely at Hagrid's chest. She hesitated, and Harry knew exactly what was going through her mind. Even though Hagrid was under Imperius and had cursed them all, she was still conflicted about retaliating against someone who had been their friend for five years.

"Stupefy," she said as a blinding flash of red light shot out of her wand towards Hagrid. The Stunning Spell hit him in the heart, but merely crackled and fell to the ground in pieces. Harry realised that it was exactly what had happened when Voldemort attempted to use Avada Kedavra on Dumbledore, but he was protected by the Order of the Phoenix. He wondered what kind of magic was protecting Hagrid.

Lucius Malfoy chuckled. "I think you'll find it's not so easy to curse someone with giant blood in them. Look's like his dirty half-breed routes have come in handy."

Meanwhile, Hagrid has his wand trained on Percy, oblivious to Hermione's spell. Percy no longer looked dazed, and had his wand drawn again.

"You know, this is starting to get a bit boring," Wormtail said lightly. "I think it's time to finish it for good."

Percy immediately rounded on Wormtail, just as he lifted his silver hand.

"AVADA KED--"

"Noo!" Ron yelled as he dived at Wormtail, knocking him to the ground. Ron pushed his arm over his head as he finished pronouncing the Killing Curse. Bright green light erupted from his index finger, hitting a nearby tree that instantly withered and died before their eyes.

Wormtail and Ron rolled around on the floor, each shoving the other roughly into the ground when they managed to get on top, all magic forgotten. Percy and Hagrid were engaged in an arduous duel. Percy's skill with a Shield Charm prevented most of Hagrid's attacks from harming him, and the giant blood in Hagrid meant that nothing could hurt him. Hermione had apparently just been Disarmed by Lucius Malfoy, which meant that Malfoy was now holding his wand, as well as Ron's and Hermione's.

Harry watched the struggle, powerless to do anything to help. He tried to focus enough to do some wandless magic, but the burning pain in his stomach was now getting much worse, breaking his concentration.

A yellow light flickered in the corner of Harry's eye. He looked over at the brawling forms of Ron and Wormtail. There were sparks shooting out of Wormtail's hand, which were narrowly missing Ron's face. Wormtail could not use any incantations because Ron was choking him by pinning him to the ground by his throat with one arm, and using his other to point the silver hand away from him. Ron was clearly better suited to fighting without a wand than Wormtail; Ron was obviously much stronger and his body was in far better shape.

Lucius Malfoy reached out and grabbed Hermione by the collar and pulled her towards him. With his other hand he held his wand to her throat, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Goodbye Mudblood," he said.

Ron turned his head. He jumped off of Wormtail, raced past the frantically duelling Percy and Hagrid, and lunged at Malfoy. He took Malfoy by surprise, and he toppled to the floor. The three wands fell out of his hand and rolled along the ground. Ron immediately picked them up, picking out his own and throwing Hermione hers back. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

Ron turned back to Malfoy on the ground, no trace of a smile on his face now. A cold fury filled Ron's face that Harry had never seen before.

"You tried to kill her," he said through gritted teeth. "Now I'm going to kill you!"

Lucius Malfoy looked completely unafraid. "Do it then Weasley. See if you can take a man's life. See if it changes you," he said calmly. "Then you'll be perfect for a Death Eater."

Ron kept his wand trained on Malfoy, but his gaze relaxed slightly. Hermione laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't do it Ron," she said. "Then you're no better than him. I know you're a good person Ron, I love you."

For a moment Ron barely moved, clutching his wand so tightly his knuckles started to turn white. But then he spoke to Malfoy, speaking slowly so he would not miss a word.

"If it wasn't for her I would have killed you. She saved your life. You owe her now," he said menacingly.

"Of course," Malfoy said curtly. "I owe you my life Mudblood, and I in turn shall spare yours, for now."

"I on other hand do not owe you my life," said Wormtail, who had gotten to his feet. "I could very easily kill you."

"No you can't," said Harry.

Both Lucius Malfoy and Wormtail turned to look at Harry. "I had almost forgotten you were there Potter, you just seemed to blend in with the scenery," Wormtail said. "Suddenly you don't seem so powerful when you're tied to a tree and letting your friends do all the fighting. So tell me, why can't I kill the Mudblood here?"

"Because whether he likes it or not, Malfoy owes her his life," Harry replied. "Which means he won't let Hermione die; he'll stop you from killing her. And face it Wormtail, you're no match for Malfoy."

Wormtail stared defiantly at Harry. He raised his silver hand and pointed it at Harry.

"You can't kill me either Wormtail, you know that," said Harry with some satisfaction.

"I know Harry," Wormtail retorted, tracing his finger across Harry's neck, and Harry felt its coldness against his skin. "But I could Stun you. That would shut you up, you're becoming quite annoying."

Harry smiled ruefully. "But there'd be no fun in that."

Wormtail removed the finger and turned back to Lucius Malfoy. A wayward curse from Hagrid that hit Hermione's face, making her looked dazed and confused, brought Harry's attention to the duel between Hagrid and Percy. They were both getting tired, aiming curses quite half-heartedly at each other, but they were both still resolute in their struggle.

Suddenly Ron lunged at Lucius Malfoy, attempting to knock the wand out of his hand, but Malfoy was ready this time, and kept hold of his weapon.

"Dear me Weasley," he said coldly. "What a pathetic effort. We can't let that go unpunished. Crucio!"

The air was once again full of agonised cries. Ron sank to his knees, but his hand was still tightly clutching his wand. Percy immediately turned to watch his brother. In his momentary break of concentration, a curse from Hagrid knocked him back.

Wasting no time, Lucius Malfoy lifted his wand from Ron and aimed it at Percy.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" he bellowed.

The Disarming spell hit Percy with such force that he was thrown backwards, straight at the deep ravine at the edge of the clearing. Percy just managed to grab onto a tree root, his wand had fallen down the dark pit and they had not heard it hit the ground.

Ron quickly clambered to his feet and grabbed Percy's hand just as the root snapped. Hermione recovered from the curse and looked in the direction of Percy and Ron, distraught.

"Hold on Perce," Ron grunted through the effort of trying to pull him up. Sweat was shining from Ron's face and his breathing was harsh and exhausted but he held onto Percy's hand.

"Help - me --" Percy groaned as he struggled to climb up the ravine. Harry could hear a scraping as Percy tried to put his feet up on the wall of dirt, but the earth simply gave way and fell. His red hair was covered in soil and his glasses were hanging from his face.

Both brothers moaned from the effort, but Percy started to slip from Ron's grasp. His face sank out of view to all but Ron, and his cries were becoming more urgent. Finally, Percy slipped completely from Ron's clutch.

"No!" Ron yelled, as he desperately reached down to take hold of him again.

"RRROOOONNNN!!" They could hear Percy scream, which quickly became a blood-curdling shriek getting gradually quieter and more distant.

A soft thud on impact brought silence to the clearing.