In Darkness Secrets Lie

Chapter 4 - Revealed

"Do you need help, miss?"

Hermione peered at the mediwizard and nodded. "I'm here to see Harry. I'm Hermione Granger."

"Granger?" He gestured for her to follow him. "We've been expecting you. Right this way."

She was led into a spacious white room with a window enchanted to show the streets of Muggle London outside. Fake sunlight provided more than enough illumination and cast a golden tinge on the sheets and the walls. Everything seemed quite ordinary until she caught a glimpse of the person lying in the bed....

Hermione gasped when she saw Harry - even though he was awake and aware, she hadn't expected to see him looking so battered and bruised.

"Hello, Hermione," he said. Then he turned his gaze to the mediwizard and gave him a pointed stare until he finally left them alone.

"Harry," she breathed, trying not to stare at all of the cuts and scrapes on his face. She shivered when she imagined the wounds he probably had all over the rest of his body. "How...what happened?"

"I was ambushed." He fixed his eyes intently on hers, but when he spoke, his voice came out sounding bored. "There were Death Eaters waiting here in London when I returned. I don't know how they found me, but they did. I tried to fight them...it was me against a dozen of them, Hermione."

"Are you all right?" she asked at length, already knowing the answer.

"Of course I'm all right," he replied derisively. He sighed and leaned his head back on the pillows. "I can't wait until I can get out of here and continue what we were doing."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Harry -"

"Do they know?"

"No, no, they don't." Hermione bit her lip and then she added, "They shouldn't."

"Either they do or they don't, Hermione."

"They don't," she answered, looking him dead in the eye.

"Good." He looked down at his palms. "We need to move quickly if we're going to do this right. I think Professor Dumbledore is suspicious. Hermione, I need you to act for me because I don't think I'll be allowed to leave anytime soon."

She reached out and held his hand, ready to take on whatever challenge he was about to give her. "What should I do?"

oOoOo

Ginny looked up and saw Hermione approaching. She was very curious to hear what Harry had said to her. "What did he say?"

Hermione pursed her lips and whispered, "I'll tell you later, okay?"

Just then, George glanced over at them, wearing a mischievous grin. "Sharing secrets we ought to hear about, Hermione?"

"Of course not," she replied, smiling back at him. "I was just telling Ginny some girl stuff."

"Girl stuff?" Fred had now entered the conversation and he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, leave us alone, you two," Ginny chimed in, shoving at them playfully. "It's nothing you would find interesting."

"If you say so," quipped Fred as he walked away with his brother.

Ginny eyed Hermione curiously; the other girl sat right next to her, appearing as if absolutely nothing was out of place. She wondered, what could Harry have possibly said to her? Now she wasn't so concerned about Harry anymore since she knew that he'd returned safely...but what if he had told Hermione something about Ron? She had to know. Anxiously, she peered over at her mum, wanting to ask her if they could leave. After all, the sooner they got back to the Burrow, the sooner Hermione could tell her whatever she had to tell her....

"Mum -" she tried to say, but she was interrupted by Hermione tapping on her shoulder.

"Ginny." From the way Hermione was looking at her, Ginny could tell that she knew how impatient she was to return home. She gave her a smile and said, "Hang in there, Ginny. We should stay here until Harry can see more visitors. It shouldn't be long."

Now Ginny felt guilty. Just a moment ago she'd wanted to leave St. Mungo's as soon as possible - but now she'd been reminded of the fact that they were here to offer Harry support, and it wouldn't help him any if they weren't there when he woke up.

Hermione patted her on the shoulder. "I'll be back, I want to send an owl to my parents."

"See you."

"Don't worry," she added with a wink. "You'll hear everything by tonight. Trust me."

Ginny nodded at her as she stood up and left the room. She sighed and sank down in her seat - it was actually going to be fairly boring now without Hermione to keep her company....

"Ginny?"

She was startled by Remus, who had caught her unaware. "Professor Lupin, I, er -"

"Remus," he insisted, shaking his head slightly. "I had a question for Hermione, but I can't find her. Do you know where she went?"

"She wanted to send an owl...."

"Remus!" Mad-eye Moody clomped up to him and muttered, "You have a moment?"

"I -"

"Mondieu! Where is your eye?" Out of nowhere, Gérard had appeared and he was staring at Moody with a shocked look on his face.

"It's been itchy," came Moody's gruff reply. True enough, the socket where his magical eye rested was occupied by a regular glass eye. Ginny thought he looked almost normal now.

"Prof- Remus. I can go find Hermione for you," she offered, anxious for a way to get out of the stuffy waiting room and the company of Moody and Gérard.

"That would be wonderful," he replied, patting her on the shoulder before turning his attention to Moody.

Ginny slipped out of the room unnoticed - the adults seemed to have been greatly interested by the arrival of Moody, and the younger ones like Fred and George were enough of a distraction in and of themselves for the rest of the people assembled. She wandered down the sterile white hallways, occasionally passing a mediwitch or mediwizard on their way to some important event. Nobody paid her any attention, and she continued to follow signs on the walls towards the owlery.

After only a few minutes of meandering through the building, she saw Hermione a little ways ahead of her, and she quickened her pace to catch up to her. However, she frowned when she saw her stride right past the owlery and continue down along the corridor.

"Where are you going?" she whispered to herself as she struggled to keep up with her friend. By now, Hermione was walking very quickly; if Ginny were to move any faster she would have to start jogging. She felt even more confused when she saw Hermione creep into a room, spin on her heel, and Disapparate.

Millions of questions were now racing through her mind, but the one question that she desperately wanted an answer to was, "Why did Hermione lie to me?"

oOoOo

She landed with an oooph on the stone floor - for some reason Apparating into World's End always made her dizzy. Hermione rose to her feet and brushed herself off, tsking in disapproval. There wasn't any time for her to waste - Harry had given her explicit orders and she was to carry them out as quickly as possible.

Ron wasn't developing as quickly as they would have liked him to be...so Harry had sent her here to World's End to speed up the process. If all went well, she and Harry wouldn't have to operate by themselves anymore - they would be able to rely on Ron to support them.

There was only one problem - Ginny had seen her Disapparate. She'd realized that the girl had been following her, but there hadn't been an easy way to shake her. Besides, once she'd walked past the Owlery, Ginny would have known something was up anyway.

Oh, how that complicated things so unnecessarily. Now something would have to be done about poor Ginevra....

However, that was something that would have to be dealt with in the future. Now her focus was on Ron.

"Where could he be?" Hermione wondered quietly to herself.

World's End was a sizable castle, but it didn't even begin to compare to Hogwarts, and so Hermione began to prowl along the dark hallways in search of her red-haired friend.

oOoOo

Ron opened his eyes.

Someone was in the castle with him. He could sense it, he could feel it, and he just knew that he was not alone. Spending weeks and weeks by himself, wandering the same paths over and over again, he'd established an extra sense for the castle. Maybe it was just a subtle change in the air, or maybe the faintest of sounds had reached his ears. Whatever it was didn't matter. There was someone else, an intruder, in the castle with him.

And to Ron, that meant one thing:

If someone was in the castle, that meant they knew the way out.

He swung his legs out of bed and stealthily crept out of his bed chambers, keeping alert for any out of place noises.

Nothing.

Yet just because he couldn't hear anything didn't mean that there wasn't anyone lurking around World's End....

'I wish I had my wand with me....'

Damn Harry for going mental and snapping his wand! His only means of attack and defense was gone, and he felt very uncomfortable searching for someone who would be armed with their wand. He paused, listening to the crawling silence around him.

Nothing, nothing, there. Wait...yes. There it was again.

Ron waited a moment longer before he allowed a smile to show on his face. He could hear someone breathing. Quietly, he snuck along as the sound grew louder. Closer and closer he came to the source, until finally he could make out a vague silhouette creeping past him.

The figure was shorter than he, with slender shoulders and a mane of long, wild hair. From the way the intruder was creeping by him, he could tell it was a woman. There was a certain lightness to her movement, a subtlety that most men lacked. He felt a little more confident now, because if he managed to get the wand away from her, he knew he'd be able to beat her in a match of muscle against muscle.

Then something made his breath catch in his throat, as he heard a familiar voice whisper, "Where could he be?"

Hermione? What was she doing here at World's End? Surely she'd come to rescue him!

He halted in his tracks. "Hermione?" he called out, feeling immensely relieved that she was here. "Hermione, that is you! I'm over here!"

She slowly turned around to face him, staring at him with an inscrutable expression on her face. He didn't care how she looked at him, though - it was just enough that a friendly face was at World's End. Since Hermione was here, that meant he was saved.

"Hermione, Hermione," he breathed, grinning happily. "I'm so glad you're here. We have to get out of here! Listen - Harry's gone barmy -"

"Has he, now?"

"Yes, please listen to me, Hermione!" he pushed on, throwing his arms around her. "Harry, Harry - he attacked me and then -"

"Harry attacked you, you say?"

"Yes, yes, and -"

"I don't think I really care."

"Hermione, I - what?" Ron froze and his arms went stiff. "What did you just say?"

She smirked at him. "Ron, I'm sure you know where you are."

"This is World's End," he answered slowly, giving Hermione a suspicious look.

"You're right. But do you know what happens here, Ron?"

He narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"That's right," she said softly, looking into his eyes. "You wouldn't know. Harry said you weren't changing."

Ron backed away from Hermione. There was a funny sensation in his stomach and he felt his legs tensing up by themselves, getting him ready to run away from her. "I wouldn't...what? Changing? Hermione, are you all right?"

"Of course I am, Ron. You're the one who's not all right."

They stared at each other a moment longer; Hermione wore a plain smile on her lips, but a dark glimmer in her eyes suggested something was amiss, and Ron looked back at her with a very serious expression.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Hermione reached for her wand, but Ron was ready. He grabbed her wand arm and forced it away from her body. With a fierce cry, she tried to wrench her arm out of his grasp but he held on tight, refusing to let her get the wand.

"Let go of me, Ron!" she demanded, still struggling against him.

"No!"

Without warning, Hermione raised a knee up into Ron's groin and he shouted out in surprise and discomfort before he toppled over onto the floor. Panting, Hermione drew her wand and aimed it at him, scowling slightly.

"You hurt my arm, Ron."

"Y-you kicked me! That really, really hurt!"

"Hm. That's too bad. We're even, then," Hermione remarked in a tone of voice that plainly stated she didn't care at all. She prodded him in the side with her toe. "Come on, get up."

"What? Why?" he moaned. "Just do whatever you're going to do to me here and get it over with."

"Well, that's the thing, Ronald," she replied curtly, using a spell to levitate him horizontally. "I've got to bring you to a special room first."

"What special room? They're all the bloody same, Hermione! I've been here forever. I know this castle like the back of my hand!"

She chuckled and condescendingly patted his head. "It's a secret room. Don't worry. You'll see."

He glared at her as she purposefully let his head bump into the wall as they went around a corner. "Ow! Why are you acting so strange? What's gotten into you, Hermione?"

"What's gotten into me?" A bemused smile appeared on her face. "That's exactly it, isn't it?" Then before Ron could say anything else, Hermione rolled her eyes and announced, "We're here."

oOoOo

Ginny returned to the waiting room to discover that only her mother and the twins were still there. Empty seats were scattered all about, slightly askew, and there were drink bottles and other such things lying around that the St. Mungo's house elves hadn't gotten to yet.

"Where is everyone?" she asked, surveying the vacant room.

"Important Order business," Mrs. Weasley said. She stood up and walked up to her daughter. "We would have left too, but we didn't want to leave you behind."

"What about Harry?" Ginny wondered.

"The meeting had to happen right away. There was no time to wait for him to wake up."

She frowned. Something wasn't quite right and there was a nagging feeling at the back of her mind, like she was missing something important. "So we're leaving now?"

"Oy, where's Hermione?" inquired George.

"She...she...didn't she come back here?" Her mind raced furiously - it wouldn't do to tell them that she'd just seen Hermione Disapparate off to who-knew-where. "I think she said she wanted to talk to Remus," Ginny lied, crossing her toes together. "She probably left with him."

"Oh, did she?" There was no trace of suspicion at all in her mother's voice and Ginny relaxed a little. "Then we'd best be off right away."

oOoOo

"Oy, stop! Put me down!" He fidgeted uselessly as he hovered three feet above the floor. "Come on, stop, Hermione!"

"Shut up, Ron," Hermione snapped. They were standing in front of the portrait of the dodgy-looking wizard, but at the moment he was nowhere to be seen. She squinted at the painting and tapped on the frame with her wand. "LeMay, where are you? LeMay!"

A sinister chuckling came from the painting yet it remained empty; the only thing either Ron or Hermione could see was the gray canvas background.

"LeMay? That's his name?" queried Ron.

Hermione ignored him. "LeMay, if you don't come out, I'll be sure to let him know about your insolence."

"You wouldn't!" came the voice, sounding shocked.

"Oh, believe me, I would. And you know as well as I do that you don't want to upset him."

The wizard poked his head around the edge of the frame, giving her a wary glance. "What do you want, witch?"

"Open up," she said.

"Password?" he asked, grinning slyly.

Hermione glared at him, and Ron had to suppress a smile - the exchange between the two so far had been the high point of his stay at World's End. He was about to say something when he was cut off by a short series of hisses. Parseltongue! Alarmed, he looked around to see who had made the noise when he realized that it had been Hermione. But since when did she speak Parseltongue...?

"Aye, that's it," LeMay grumbled. His picture swung open almost reluctantly and Hermione climbed inside, bringing Ron along with her.

oOoOo

"I'm what?"

"Go up to your room," ordered Mrs. Weasley, giving her daughter a stern look before shutting the door and magically sealing it shut.

'I'm too young?' she mouthed, staring at the door. The silence taunted her, especially since she knew that there must have been a heated discussion going on in that room...and it was all happening without her.

With no other choice, she turned to climb up the stairs to go to her room.

She wasn't allowed to go see Harry, she wasn't allowed into the Order meeting, and Hermione was still missing....

What was going on? It seemed like everything was all connected, but she was missing that one all-important clue that would tie it all together so it would finally make sense.

Ginny paused outside her room, frowning and feeling uneasy. Wasn't there something she could do? Couldn't she help the Order in any way? They always underestimated her! She had been to the Ministry last year with Harry and Ron and Hermione, which was more than half of the Order could boast, anyway.

"Ginny?"

She tilted her head to side, wondering if she'd imagined hearing the voice.

"Ginny?" There it was again. "Ginny, are you up there?"

"What is it?" she called down the stairs.

A slight hesitation, and then, "Could you come down for a moment?"

She narrowed her eyes, trying to attach the voice to a face. It wasn't accented, so it couldn't have been Moody or the Frenchman...and it was deeper than Remus' polite voice.

Slowly she set foot down one rickety step after another, feeling strangely apprehensive. Finally, at the bottom of the stairs, she came face to face with a solemn-faced Kingsley Shacklebolt. Standing by his side were Moody, Remus, and Gérard.

"Y-yes?" she squeaked out, embarrassed to hear a tremor in her voice.

"We have some questions for you," said Moody, his magic eye fixed on her.

"Please, it won't take long," added Remus not unkindly, though he avoided eye contact with her.

"Sure," Ginny was all she could say as they led her into the kitchen.

oOoOo

They were in a pitch-black chamber, not unlike the room Harry had brought him to the first day of his imprisonment at World's End. He could feel Hermione by his side, a possessive hand resting on his forehead. Even though she was standing so close to him, he couldn't see her, since he was locked in a reclining position, floating a few feet off the ground - the only thing he had a decent view of was the ceiling, which looked black in the lightless room. Despite the fact that there wasn't any light to see by, he felt Hermione drift away from his side.

"Hermione?" he called out. "Hermione?"

"Relax, Ron. I'm right here." It sounded like she was standing in a corner, facing away from him.

A silence, thick and oppressive. Goosebumps began to rise on his arms and on his neck....

"Is there someone else here?" he asked.

Yes, I am here.

The Speaker spoke without making a single sound - his words entered Ron's mind and his thoughts, authoritative and compelling. There was a certain quality to the Speaker that made it difficult to focus on anything else.

You've been a tricky one.

Ron didn't know how to respond. Smart-mouthed comments just seemed too weak a weapon, so he kept quiet instead.

I have the girl and the Boy-Who-Lived...but not you. Why you? Why have you managed to stay free?

"I...I don't know," he replied truthfully. Ron had no idea what the Speaker was talking about.

Interesting, indeed. I can see that you are not lying.

The Speaker was able to read his mind? Ron cringed; he suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable.

It is of no consequence. Your luck has run out. You are now mine.

"What are you talking about?" He nervously licked his lips. "Hello?"

He became aware of an emptiness in the chamber. Without realizing it, he'd shut his eyes while talking to the Speaker; now that he opened them, he was startled to discover that he was no longer in that room. Ron was further confused to notice that he was now standing on his own feet again - when had that happened? He took a cautious step forward, holding his arms out in front of him to check for obstacles.

Scratching his chin, he quickly took stock of his surroundings. While the secret room had been completely devoid of light, where he was standing now was filled with an overwhelming brightness; everywhere he looked there was blinding white light that wrapped around him in tendrils and tickled him from head to toe. Ron strained his eyes to see past the light, but it was no use - the whiteness was all he could see and all he could feel.

Ronald....

A voice, a word, a thought flitted into his head the same way the Speaker talked to him, yet this time it came to him gently, compassionately. There was no edge of coldness or trace of condescension he could discern. Then Ron became aware of not just the words, but the presence itself brushing up against his conscious, soft and seductive.

Ronald....

"What are you?" he murmured.

Listen to me, Ronald. I am trying to make the world a better place. Would you like to help me?

"Yes...." The presence in his mind was so soothing and reassuring...why had he been afraid of it before? He felt like he could just relax and trust it....

Good. In order to help me, you might be asked to do things that you disagree with, but you have to obey me if you want the world to be a better place.

"A better place," Ron echoed.

A better place, indeed. First, you must let your guard down and let me in....

"No...can't."

Ronald, I won't be able to help you if you keep resisting. You can trust me, I won't hurt you. Trust me.

"Trust...." He was suddenly aware of exactly where in his head the presence was. It was drifting in and through his mind, but it wasn't able to penetrate through to the center, and like an angry insect it kept zipping about, creating an irritating buzz in his ear. Ron didn't know why, but he knew that it absolutely wouldn't do to let the bug inside, so he scrounged up what remained of his will and concentrated on keeping it out.

What are you doing? Ronald, stop this right now.

He smiled when he sensed the annoyance in the Speaker's voice and he focused harder on strengthening his mental barriers.

You are being insolent, Ronald. Don't you want to make the world a better place?

The pressure around his head increased and his smile turned to a frown. The buzzing sound was becoming louder and he felt a migraine beginning to form.... Still, he held fast and refused to give in.

Stop, Ronald! Why are you resisting?

An invisible chill swept through his body, and he shivered involuntarily. The Speaker was getting angry...and Ron could feel it. He was now gritting his teeth together and his hands were clenched into fists. A stray droplet of sweat trickled down his temple.

"I won't...let...you...in," he managed to spit out.

Why won't you give up?! LET ME IN!

Without warning, the Speaker loosed an anguished cry that ripped through Ron's entire being, demolishing his mental wall and shattering the thoughts trying to form in his mind. He screamed out in pain; the sensation was overwhelming and he lost his footing. The discomfiting feeling of falling over backwards was the last thing he felt before he passed out.

oOoOo

"Do you know where Hermione went?" demanded Gérard, not bothering to be as polite as the others.

"No! I-I don't have any idea where she went!"

"You're lying!"

"That's enough, Gérard," snapped Shacklebolt, giving him an annoyed look. "This isn't an interrogation."

"Ginny," said Remus in a gentle voice. "Hermione didn't tell you where she was going?"

"No," she answered, still feeling the blood pumping through her veins. "She told me she was going to the owlery to send a letter to her parents about Harry."

"But that's not where she went," pointed out Moody.

"I- wait." Ginny glanced at them, confusion on her face. "How did you know that?"

"Um." Remus touched her shoulder and she looked up to see he was wearing a guilty expression.

"What...?"

She saw that he was holding something in his hand. He took his wand out and murmured, "Engorgio."

Ginny watched in amazement as Moody's magical eye grew in his palm until it was back to its usual size.

"I'll take that," said Moody, swiftly replacing his glass eye for the magical one.

"That was on my shoulder?" she asked, shocked.

"Simple sticking charm," replied Remus, looking at his feet.

"Alastor saw Granger Disapparate in a room off to the side." In a dry voice, Shacklebolt added, "I don't think she simply wanted to Apparate to the owlery here."

"No, I don't suppose she did," Ginny returned softly.

"So you have no clue where she could be?" prodded Moody.

Ginny shook her head.

The four men exchanged brief glances. Remus sighed and shook his head while Shacklebolt tilted his chin up and announced, "Well, now...it appears that Miss Granger is the spy we've been looking for."

Author's Note:

Haha, um...yeah. Sorry about the excessive lateness in getting this posted. I can't believe it's almost been a month! And I can't believe that when I started writing this story I was working full time...and now I'm a jobless student once more, fretting over tests, papers, and the imminent final exams for this semester.

So...gasp! Shock! Hermione Granger? A spy? Who'd've thunk it?

I'm not quite sure when I'll get the next chapter out. As soon as classes are over, it's back to working for me (though hopefully not full time over my summer break...but...grrrrrr) and from now until the end of classes, I will be very busy with aforementioned tests, papers, and finals.

I've also discovered this disgusting time waster called "the internet" in which you can check your email, play games, watch videos, and do all sorts of interesting things, so....

On a more serious note, whatever my summer holds for me, I promise that I will finish writing this story. I hate to see abandoned fics out there, so I'm definitely going to see this through to the end.

VacantSkies

Ryan

4/19/07