Mistaken Love

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"Draco, come now."

Lucius stood in the doorway of young Malfoy's room. He looked grim and spoke in a deep, strict voice. The robe he wore was colored black with the lining of green. His blond, silvery long hair hung loosely over his stiff shoulders.

With the help of the Dementors, he was freed from Azkaban. After the night at the Ministry, Voldemort had the Dementors convert to his side, just as Dumbledore predicted. Along with Lucius, others escaped as well to join their master.

"Father," Draco spoke in a soft, weak voice. "I know I disappointed you. I am sorry."

He was locked in his room for weeks and was not allowed to leave. After the incident with Dumbledore, his father wasn't able to look him in the eyes without disgust.

Draco recalled what happened that night. He stood with his wand in front of a helpless old man. All he had to do was kill him with a simple curse, but something stopped him. Every word Dumbledore spoke convinced Draco that he was able to be protected with his mother. He wanted to be free from his father; serving the Dark Lord was something he did not desire. The choices were given to him: become a Death Eater, or side with Dumbledore. What made him hesitate was the knowledge that he would die either way.

"Apologizing for your stupidity, Draco? You are pathetic and idiotic. Allowing Severus to perform the task that was given directly to you is shameful." Lucius walked over to his son and grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Snape just wanted my glory. I was fine without him!" Draco shouted angrily as he was forced to follow along the side of his father.

"If it hadn't been for him, the Dark Lord would have killed you. In spite of the way everything turned out, you are going to be given another chance. Dumbledore is, in fact, dead; he was powerful, and now he is nothing." Lucius guided Draco toward the drawing room down the hall.

"I have been given another chance?" Draco asked. "I do not understand, father."

"You will soon see."

Lucius reached the door with his grip on Draco. With his free hand, he turned the serpent shaped door knob and pushed the door open.

The room was dark with little light from candles that were floating in midair. Live portraits of ancestors from many centuries ago were hung on along the walls. The flooring was made of a sleek marble that reflected a shadow of the whole room by the soft lighting. A circle was formed in the center of the room by masked figures.

"Lucius, the Dark Lord will be arriving shortly." A man's voice spoke from one of the Death Eaters in the circle.

"Thank you, Amycus," Lucius replied. "Where are Crabbe and Goyle?"

"They should be leaving the forest soon," Amycus answered.

"What are they doing in the forest?" Lucius asked in complete confusion.

"The Dark Lord sent them to retrieve someone to join our ceremony tonight."

"This someone; who is he?"

"Lucius, are you feeling threatened that someone may be replacing you?" Amycus grinned.

"Why would I, the Dark Lord's closest follower, be threatened by some fool he is bringing in?" Lucius commenced. "I will never be replaced. The Dark Lord reclaimed me from Azkaban. He knows that I am the one who brought in the most followers to him."

"Is that right?" A woman at the left of Amycus took a step forward. "You brought followers that fail the tasks given to them. May I recall your son, Draco?" The women's eyes narrowed as she stared in the direction of Draco.

"Alecto, my son has much to learn," Lucius agreed, gripping Draco's shoulder more tightly. "It was his first task and he hesitated. I am not proud of his actions, but he is still much use to the Dark Lord."

'Use to the Dark Lord? What the hell does that mean?' Draco stood quietly, lost in his own mind. He was half listening to the conversation his father was having with the other Death Eaters until his name was mentioned. Everything was happening too fast for him. All he remembered was his father in Azkaban and him being locked in his room. Draco didn't care if he had to live in his room for the rest of his life, at least he wouldn't have to face Voldemort.

"Ha! Your son is not of any use, and neither are you," Alecto laughed. "Why, Lucius? Why are you trying so hard to be the Dark Lord's favorite when it is too late? Your own son ruined your chances of staying in a high position in the circle of Death Eaters."

Lucius grew angry and irritated. He drew out his wand and directed it toward the woman.

"You have no idea what you're in for," he victimized.

Alecto unmasked herself. She had dark circle under her eyes and scars healed around her neck and cheeks. Besides the elements that she had received from becoming a Death Eater, she was very pretty.

"Oh, I'm so scared," she said sarcastically. Alecto didn't even bother to strike out her wand. "You wouldn't hurt me Lucius, with the history we had, you can't."

Draco's attention was now fully on his father and Alecto. He wasn't the only one watching, but all the Death Eaters had also turned their attention on the pair of them.

"Do not bring the past to the future, Alecto." Lucius' tone lost its anger and became nervous. His eyes shot from his son and to the other Death Eaters. "I remember nothing."

"I would never have thought to hear those words speak from your mouth." Alecto's face grew hurt and her eyes reflected pain.

Lucius turned away from her and placed his wand back inside his robe.

No one spoke, not even Draco. 'My father with Alecto?' This was no surprise to him. Draco always knew his father did not care for his mother; or him, for that matter. He was, however, curious to know when it happened.

The silence was broken by two loud cracks made from the arrival of Crabbe and Goyle Apparating into the room. They were out of breath and wore pale faces.

"The Dark Lord will not be present," Goyle said in agony and pain.

The Death Eaters stared at each other and slowly, one by one they Apparated out of the room. They had no reason in staying without the presence of Voldemort at the ceremony. Goyle, Crabbe, Lucius and Draco were left alone.

Lucius walked over to Crabbe and kicked him hard in the ribs. "Who were you ordered to retrieve?"

Crabbe howled in pain and curled up into a shrimp-like posture. He remained quiet.

"I asked, who!?" Lucius lifted his wand, "Crucio!"

The screams of pain echoed through Draco's ears. He stood, watching his father torture the answer from these two helpless men. It made him sick, but he continued his gaze without a word spoken.

"We have been tortured by the Dark Lord himself for failing. More pain won't make us tell you anything," Goyle said, gasping for air.

Lucius grew angry and pointed his wand upon Crabbe and Goyle, "Cru-"

"She was not there!" Crabbe cried, not able to withstand anymore pain.

"She? Who is she?" Lucius asked earnestly.

Crabbe ignored Lucius and darted his eyes toward Draco. "She was not there," he repeated.

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"HEY! Where are you going? Bethany!" Harry called, racing after her.

Harry came to his senses after Bethany walked away from him. He knew that she wouldn't be able to get out of the forest without him; he had a map plus a wand. Yet, deep down, he was the one who needed her help. The map only covered so much of the forest resulting that he was way out of bounds. Harry didn't know which path would lead him out of the forest and back to Hogwarts. His only chance of getting out was Bethany, and she didn't want anything to do with him.

"Can you wait just one second?" he asked, catching up to Bethany and following behind her.

Bethany turned around unexpectedly and Harry ran into her. "Just leave me alone! Is that so hard to understand?" She continued walking without an answer.

"I'm slow at figuring out things, I can't help it," said Harry. "Where are you going?"

"To the Netherlands," Bethany answered ironically. "Where do you think?"

"Well, I'm no genius, but didn't we come from that way?" Harry pointed at a path they just passed by.

"You're right." Bethany came to a halt and turned to Harry, "you are no genius."

"I'm not the one who came in here without a wand," Harry retorted.

"That's your fault. You're the one who knocked me over. That's when I lost it!" Bethany looked furious and began walking once again.

"Wait," Harry grabbed her hand arm and swung her around. "Why can't we just talk?"

"Talk about what, exactly? The weather? I think it's around 54 degrees, what about you?"

"Okay, I get it, Bethany. You don't like me, but you have to live with it."

"No, I don't!" Bethany cried. "I have a choice to not have you in my life, but for some reason you just keep butting in."

Harry was surprised by Bethany's yelling. He couldn't understand why she hated him so much. Besides accusing her of being a Death Eater, he didn't do anything wrong. 'Maybe I just got on her bad side,' he thought.

"I told you that I was sorry about the whole Death Eater thing. What more do you want?" Harry asked.

"I want you to stay the hell away from me. It's hard enough that I just lost someone I loved and now I have to get you off my back," Bethany shouted as her eyes began to water. She freed her arm from Harry's grip and covered her face with her hands.

"Bethany, I didn't know," Harry said gravely.

Harry didn't mean to make Bethany cry. He became nervous and had no idea what to do. As he stood there, he began to think of a way to make things better. 'I'll just walk away slowly and she'll just stop crying. Or, I can crack a joke and make her laugh. God, I'm stupid!' Harry decided it was best to stay and talk things out; it would let him get to know her better.

"Of course you didn't know, no one does." Bethany slowly brought herself to the ground and sat in a position with her knees to her chest. She rested her head on her arms, covering her face.

Harry seated himself next to her, "You shouldn't keep what you're feeling bottled up. The pain will just hurt more. I should know, I lost someone recently too. Actually, I've been having the worst day of my life." Harry tilted his head, getting a better look at Bethany.

"Why is that?" Bethany asked, appearing to be holding back her tears.

"Well, let's start from the top of the list. I witnessed the murder of Dumbledore, I broke up with my girlfriend, I'm lost in a forest and, oh yeah, someone's trying to kill me. I'll switch lives with you any day."

Bethany lifted her head and faced Harry. "No, you wouldn't. You don't know anything about me or my life. What makes you think your life sucks more than mine?"

"You're right, I don't know anything about you, and don't assume that you know anything about me either. Just because I'm Harry Potter doesn't mean everything written about me is true."

"So, you didn't really save the Sorcerer's Stone, or Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets? Or, you can't actually perform a Patronus and you didn't win the Triwizard Tournament? At the Ministry, you weren't one of the six students who fought against Death Eaters and you aren't the boy who is destined to kill Voldemort? You're saying these are all rumors?" Bethany finished.

"Alight, alight. You win. You know everything about me and I know nothing about you. Happy?"

"I never said that I know everything about you," Bethany replied. "I just know some things. My grandfather talks about you a lot."

"Your grandfather? Who's your grandfather?" Harry asked curiously.

Bethany's eyes wandered away from Harry and focused on the bright moon just over them. "Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore is my grandfather."

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"We are here tonight to say good-bye to those we have lost. Two nights ago, Professor Dumbledore was murdered. We all grieve for him as well as the Aurors who died, fighting along side with him. Ending this year would be incomplete without our beloved headmaster, but it would be more painful for him to have died in vain."

Professor McGonagall stood on the podium of the Great Hall. She faced the sorrow eyes of the students that glared back at her. With the last day at Hogwarts ending, she held the end of the year feast that mourned the loss of Dumbledore.

"The presence of Albus Dumbledore still lives in this school. Many of you are expecting to return for another year to learn and others are doubtful of the protection of Hogwarts. As the headmistress, I am sorry to say that we will not be returning. Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry will not be reopening next fall."

Noises of gasps and angered shouts were heard from the students. Some banged their fists onto the table and others fell into tears. The closing of Hogwarts meant the loss of friendships, relationships, close bonding and most of all the loss of learning.

Professor McGonagall continued her speech as the students listened.

Down one of the four long tables sat Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. They were upset with the news of Hogwarts not reopening and realized it was something that had to be done. Barely listening to the continued speech, they began to talk amongst themselves.

"It had to happen, Hogwarts is targeted by Voldemort. Without Dumbledore, the school has no chances of surviving," said Hermione glumly.

"I can't believe it. I still can't believe it; this isn't happening." Ginny collapsed her face into her hands.

"Don't worry, Ginny, it's not like Hogwarts is going to be closed forever." Ron hugged his sister, "when everything is back to normal, the school will reopen. Right, Hermione?"

"I hope so, Ron," she answered with a concerned look.

They began to get lost in their thoughts. Professor McGonagall ended her speech and everyone clapped. Food appeared on the table and all the students began eating. Hermione, Ron and Ginny weren't hungry and they decided to head back to the Common Room.

The three of them climbed the staircase that led them to the Gryffindor Common Room. Ron gave the password to the Fat Lady and entered as Hermione and Ginny followed behind him. Each of them sunk into a cozy chair, admiring the Common Room one last time in silence.

Ginny's eyes wandered over to the couch where she and Harry once fell asleep together on. She remembered that she waited for him to return from detentions with Snape and accidentally dozed off. When she awoke in the middle of the night Harry was beside her with his arms around her.

Tears were slowly forming in her eyes. She couldn't understand why Harry broke up with her. All the danger Harry could put her in didn't matter to her. The only thing she wanted was to be with Harry. Ginny awoke from her memories when she noticed something.

"Where's Harry?" she asked, breaking the silence between them.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and stared back at Ginny. They couldn't tell her that Harry never showed up after Dumbledore's funeral or that they think he's missing. Neither of them knew where he was and neither of them wanted to tell Ginny.

"Well, where is he?" Ginny asked again. She noticed something wasn't right from the faces Hermione and Ron wore.

"Ginny, you shouldn't worry. You know Harry, he always disappears and comes back," Ron responded, not really answering Ginny's question.

"What do you mean? Harry disappeared?" Ginny's voice increased slightly as she spoke.

"What Ron meant is that Harry went somewhere, and we don't know exactly where," Hermione said dubiously.

"So, you just didn't bother to find him?" cried Ginny. "What if he's in danger? What if he's hurt?"

"I told you, it's Harry," Ron answered. "He's-"

"Ronald Weasley, do not say that Harry is fine! You and Hermione don't even care. If you did, then you would be with him right now, wouldn't you?" Ginny jumped off the chair and onto her feet, "I'm going to go look for him."

Ron stood up from his seat and moved toward Ginny. He was furious with Ginny's stubbornness. She loved Harry, and Ron knew it every time Ginny talked about him, but it wasn't an excuse to go chasing after him when she could get herself into serious danger.

"Ginny, wait, you just can't go looking for him. You have no idea where to start," Hermione said as she pushed Ron away from Ginny.

"I'll carry her to her room and lock her until she's thirty! Hermione, let go of me!" Ron shouted, trying to make his way around Hermione.

"THAT IS IT!" Hermione shouted irritably. "You two are the most impossibly insane people I know and love. We're going-"

"But-" Ron began to complain, but was cut off by Hermione.

"I said, Ron, we're going to find Harry together. It's either we go together or we don't go at all, Ginny."

Ginny looked over at Ron, then to Hermione. She had no time to argue back, knowing they would never let her go on her own. Her main concern was to find Harry and make sure he's okay, but something in the back of her mind was telling her that it was a bad idea.

"Fine, whatever," said Ginny abruptly. "Can we just go?"

Hermione nodded and dragged Ron up to his and Harry's dormitory to retrieve Harry's Invisibility Cloak. They knew Harry hadn't taken it with him because he wasn't sensible enough to. Less then five minutes later, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were under the cloak making their way out of Hogwarts, having no clue of where to start looking. What they did know was that everyone will be on a train, leaving Hogwarts tomorrow afternoon and they wouldn't be on it.

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