DISCLAIMER: See
A/N: Okay, the following A/N is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!! I advise that you all read it.
Originally, Dragongirl16 said I could model the following 10-chapter arc of this story after her own story "Faith," which I did a good job of. In fact, she even reviewed once or twice saying how damn good my take on her story and my pranks were! I even still have email from her in which she says how great my work was! (If I WAS plagiarizing, she wouldn't have said that, now WOULD she?) And if you want me to forward you those emails which I still have, I'll happily do so!
HOWEVER, I must admit that that kind of mini-plot was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, something I wanted to write because I didn't want my ideas of it to die somewhere in the outer recesses of my mind. Work-wise, I did an excellent job with writing it; plot-wise, it didn't fit in AT ALL. The whole "Faith"-like arc was turning my "novel" into a literary experimental lab, you could say. Besides, it was starting to cut too closely to hers. If you want to read a story where Harry reams out his "friends," I advise that you read "Faith," by Dragongirl16 (obviously), or my new story, "The Grief I Suffered," since a good chunk of my original ideas for the "betrayal" stuff in HoG and AoG are now being funneled into that instead.
THEREFORE, Chapter 33 and onwards of this story will have to be completely revamped, and my ideas for AoG are currently undergoing MAJOR plot changes. HOWEVER, seeing how much you all liked the pranks and such in the original version of HoG, I've salvaged as many of them as I could (although lots of them have been tweaked for the better) and have found good excuses for them to be used here; if you were laughing before, you'll probably be laughing even harder this time around. ;)
IN CONCLUSION, if anyone wants to read the
other
version, just email SnowyBlackOwl from www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net
and
she’ll send it to you. I'm sorry if this disappointed anyone in
anyway.
Perhaps the greatest difference between my story and "Faith" would
have been that Harry eventually forgives them in mine (as I can't see
Harry
ever forgiving them in that other story). And if anyone has
reviewed
the original story, I advise they read and review this again.
Finally, let me put this in simpler terms: This will be QUITE different from the original thing I posted. IN OTHER WORDS, NO BETRAYAL ELEMENT BETWEEN HARRY AND HIS FRIENDS.
That said, onwards with the story!
CHAPTER 33: A QUESTION OF FAITH
Equo ne credite, Teucri. Trojans, do not trust the horse! -Vergil, Aeneid (2.48)
"Did I.Q.s just drop sharply while I was away?" –Ellen Ripley, Aliens
"I find your lack of faith disturbing." -Darth Vader, Star Wars
Snape was dumbstruck, to say the least.
The Weasley family,
which Harry had helped time
and time again in countless ways, hate their hero? What was the
world
coming to?
"What are you talking about?" Snape asked,
confused.
Ginny shook her head. "Ever since Percy stole that Dark 'research,' he
says he has proof that Harry is evil. But I've met evil, in my first
year, and
I know Harry's not it. They don't know that. Supposedly, the Dark
research
claims that Harry will go Dark in a year or two, and stuff like that.
Maybe
he's been a little secretive lately, self- reserved, my entire family-
even
Hermione now- think that Harry is another Dark Lord in the making!"
Snape took all of this in, unable to
believe it. He
thought it was bad enough when people simply fought each other based on
different beliefs, but in his mind, betrayal was even worse; it was
like
fattening a cow up for slaughter.
"Did you tell them that maybe it's a trick of the Dark Lord's? Maybe he
wrote false information on parchment, and waited for Percy to steal it,
and
thus turn your family against Potter?" Snape
suggested.
Ginny shook her head, frustrated. "Ever since Bill and Charlie got
tortured, they won't listen to a word of anything! Now Ron hates him,
Mum and
Dad hate him, the twins hate him, and without Bill and Charlie to talk
some
common sense into them, Percy has token over as the 'Big Brother.' They
even
threatened to disown me if I didn't stay away from Harry!"
"It all fits," Snape said, patiently
waiting through Ginny's grievances. "Your parents are upset, so they
want
someone to blame. The question it, how can we convince them otherwise?"
"Actually, Professor," Ginny said, "I know Harry has helped you
with some things, but why do you seem so concerned for him? This is so
unlike
you?"
"Apart from the fact he's our only hope to kill the Dark Lord?" Snape asked. "Because I'm his first cousin and
now I'm
his guardian since I adopted him."
Ginny gaped at Snape. "That's enough faces
I've
seen do that, Miss Weasley," Snape
pointed out. "If I wanted a fish to do that to me, I'd get one out of
the
pond in your garden."
"Sorry," Ginny stammered. "Anyway, I-"
Suddenly, Mrs. Weasley's voice boomed,
"Ginny,
did you find it yet?"
"Coming, Mum, I nearly got the letter back from that owl!" she lied.
Turning back to Snape and putting the
small package
in her pocket, she said, "Thanks again, Professor. I should get
going."
"You're welcome, Miss Weasley. Actually,
go back
in; I'll be able to garner more information that way." Ginny nodded and
dashed back. After letting Aurigo fly off
back to Snape Manor, Snape
took out his
own Invisibility Cloak and followed right behind Harry's girlfriend,
quickly
and quietly. (1) Once back at the
house, Ginny went outside while Snape
listened.
"Hi Mum, I found the owl. Unfortunately, it ripped it up. Anyway, what
were you saying?"
'She could have been a good Slytherin,' Snape mused, impressed by her acting abilities.
"Now that everyone's here," Mrs. Weasley
said imperiously, "We can discuss how to avoid that terrible Potter
boy.
Percy, what did the research say?"
"That Potter would be moody, get violent every now and then... all in
all,
very violent behaviors, all due to his curse scar. I'll try and get
special
permission from the Ministry so you and Father can see them for
yourselves,
Mother."
"That's perfectly fine, Percy, we don't need them, because you've never
lied to us," Mrs. Weasley reassured him.
"Your heart may have been in the wrong place from time to time, but
you've
never lied to us."
"Ahem," Ginny cleared her throat, "Speaking of the Ministry,
they tried downplaying Harry last year, look where that got them. If
Dumbledore
hadn't pulled Fudge's fat out of the fire, he would have been kicked
out in a
heartbeat. Besides, getting moody every now and then? All teenagers are
like
that. You're taking a major gamble here."
"Last year, Ginny, it was based on all that Rita Skeeter
rubbish," Hermione told her righteously. "There was never any proof.
This year, we actually have proof. Potter has always kept secrets from
us, and
we can't trust him. We haven't even heard from him in a week."
Snape wanted to just appear and point out
how wrong
they all were being, except that would have blown his cover.
"Fred, George, I want both you to stop contact with him," Molly
decreed.
"We can't," Fred said. "We don't like this new development
either, but if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have raised so much
money."
"Odds are," George added smugly, "He'll do a Lucius
Malfoy and we simply freeze his accounts
after he
gets caught in the act."
'Now that was unexpected,' Snape thought.
'The two
sons who have always defied their mother the most, and now they follow
her
based on nothing more than this insanity?'
"Besides," Percy mentioned, "This information will be hitting
the Daily Prophet tomorrow. Then everyone will know."
Snape inwardly swore. The Ministry may have
relaxed
its grip on what the press prints, but now it will become a no holds
bars free
for all.
"Oh, and Percy," Ron said, "I took your advice, and I wrote to
all our classmates about this, so now they'll tell everyone else.
Potter may
have had me acting as his little toy all these years, but his Slytherin tactics won't last long. His parents
are probably
spinning in their graves, knowing that Potter has become like this; his
family
have been Gryffindors for generations!"
'So now rumors are spreading around and it sounds like a totalitarian
regime of
Gryffindors is in the making,' Snape
thought. 'Great. Just great. How in all the
nine hells
did this come to happen?'
Deep down, Snape knew it was based on how
they all
acted: loyalty to their family and to their House. Molly Weasley
let her favoritism of her son overrule her common sense and ruled the
rest of
her family with an iron fist. Ron hated everything remotely
un-Gryffindor.
Percy wanted power to use against his enemies. Hermione blindly
believed every
written word bound in a book or pamphlet or roll of parchment.
'Dumbledore needs to know about this,' Snape
thought
urgently.
Just then, he heard more dialogue. "If Dumbledore had any common
decency,
he'd chuck the boy into new Azkaban," Mrs. Weasley
said stridently. "Even then, maybe we should just let Potter face
You-Know-Who as soon as possible. Better to have one Dark Lord instead
of
two."
"If anything, Potter might be a second You-Know-Who at this rate,"
Percy said with a definite tone. "Chances are, after Potter was briefly
possessed last year, part of You-Know-Who was left in his mind, and now
he's
working from there.'
'You blabbering idiot,' Snape thought
poisonously.
'After this is all over, I will laugh in your face and personally make
sure you
never get a high power job for the rest of your life.'
"Are you absolutely certain about all this?" Ginny asked. "The
documents could be fake. Hypothetical
situation:
You-Know-Who writes this malarkey, leaves it for Percy to steal and
sits back
while we all turn on Harry. Try that one."
There was silence, while Ginny went on. "I had to deal with that
demonic
diary of his for a year, remember? He knows how you'll all act, and
he's as
manipulative as they come. A little rumor here, an unexplained accident
there,
and two lifelong friends can be driven to kill each other."
"Don't you act like you know everything, young lady!"
Mrs. Weasley retorted. "When you go back
to
Hogwarts, I'll have Ron and Hermione watch you, missy, and make sure
you don't
get drawn in by that little monster!"
'So she won't even be able to eat or breathe without your permission?' Snape thought sarcastically.
"This coming from the woman who was dancing all over the Burrow after
Harry and I got together," Ginny muttered. "The one mother bear who
was so protective of him, and now you're giving him up for lost without
a
fight. The one who threatened Dumbledore with
keeping Harry
out his reach. The one who makes those Christmas sweaters which
Harry
values more than the gold in his vault. The one
who acted as
a mother figure for him when he needed it. And this is what he
means to
you?"
"Watch your mouth! That was before I knew that Potter was a disaster
waiting to happen!" Molly argued. "And besides, young lady, you
should learn to respect your betters! Do it for Bill and Charlie,
who've
suffered for the cause."
'Definitely totalitarians in the making,' Snape
thought.
Ginny silently stood up, glared at everyone in the room, and said,
"Mark
my words, you traitors, mark them well: When Harry kills Voldemort
and has his big 'I told you so,' I will be laughing in your faces, and
I will
not accept any of your sniveling little apologies." With flair, she
stalked up the stairs and slammed the door, finishing her dramatic exit.
"She'll come around," Percy sighed. "She's gotten over her crush
on Potter before, and she can do it again. I know she'll make the right
decision."
'You utter hypocritical fools,' Snape
thought
snidely. 'You're certainly helping the Dark Lord now; why not just
brand the
Dark Mark onto your arms and start wearing all that Death Eater
paraphernalia
while you're at it?'
"We are true Gryffindors," Ron declared. "Tried and true. Potter will show his true colors
eventually, and they won't be the red and gold we proudly wear."
'If I had to label these totalitarians,' Snape
mused,
'I'd have to say Communists, what with the choice of colors. What's
next?
Replacing the Communist hammer and sickle with a wand and quill? Start
making
special salutes whenever a fellow Gryffindor passes by? Hang banners
with the
face of Godric Gryffindor as a parallel of
Lenin and
Stalin? They would have killed their Founder with their behavior if he
wasn't
dead already.'
With that, Snape swiftly left the Burrow
and Disapparated for Hogwarts.
~*~*~*~
Technically, Snape couldn't Apparate
straight
into Hogwarts, so instead he Apparated
into Hogsmeade, and then went to Hogwarts
from there.
Dumbledore was in his office, reading a book, when Snape
came in. "Ah, Severus, so nice to see you.
What
brings you here at this hour?"
"I fear, Albus," he said, "That the Weasleys have started to hate Harry."
Dumbledore frowned, a feeling of dread settling in his chest. Snape got out the Pensieve
and
deposited the memory. Using another special function of the Pensieve,
the memory floated in midair above them, from giving Ginny the potion
to
hearing the self-assured Weasleys. Fawkes hissed with every nasty comment the Weasleys spat out, and by the end of it, he was
literally
steaming. The portraits also watched, not bothering to feign sleep, and
they
made several disapproving looks and sounds.
As Snape took the memory back, Dumbledore
said,
"This could be disastrous indeed. You'll have to tell Harry, of
course."
Snape sighed. "I know, Albus,
I know." Pacing around, he said, "On one hand, I agree that what
happened to their two eldest sons was terrible and they're in a lot of
pain; on
the other hand, that doesn't excuse their behavior. I mean, do you see
Neville Longbottom acting like that, with
his parents still
incapacitated?"
"I have an idea, Severus," Dumbledore
said,
now a little emboldened by Snape's
righteous
attitude. "Tomorrow, Order meeting at 6:00. We invite everyone other
than
the Weasleys ten minutes early, to show
them the
memory and discuss how best to have the Weasleys
see
where they're wrong. However, you must remember, Severus,
show them some leniency. They're not evil; simply misguided."
"Unfortunately, Albus," Snape
said, stopping in his tracks and looking him straight in the eye,
"Hardly
any of us have the sort of patience you do."
"Which is why it helps to have so much of it," Dumbledore evenly
said, his eyes now twinkling a little with inner light and wisdom.
"Anyway, here's my plan..."
~*~*~*~
Later that night, at 9:55, Snape
called for Harry to meet him in the workroom from earlier in the week.
"What is it, Severus?" Harry asked.
Snape had a lamenting expression on his
face. It was
very rare, seeing Snape so sad. "I am
about to
communicate a memory to you. Focused? Good."
Harry's stomach plummeted as he watched the scene, complete with Snape's point of view and the sarcastic thoughts
going
through Snape's head. By the time it
ended, Harry
looked about ready to break down.
"How could they!?" he screamed. "After all I do for them-"
"Harry-"
"All I've done to protect them-"
"Harry-"
"They'd probably all be dead by now if it wasn't for me-"
"Harry!" Snape said sharply.
"As sickening as it is, you cannot let your emotions control you so
freely
like that. When you return to school on Monday, tell them Professor
Dumbledore
had you under special protection. It is vital that you do not lose your
temper.
As difficult as it may seem, you must keep yourself in control. If you
allow
yourself to become angry with them and yell at them, they win.
Remember,
they're under stress, and so it's easy for them to be manipulated by
the Dark
Lord. You must bide your time and prove to them, once and for all, you
are not
in league with them."
"This is like last year all over again! Except last year, my friends
were
on my side and it was all a bunch of hurtful rumors about my well
being. Now my
own friends have turned against me and think I'm evil."
"Harry," Snape said, putting a hand on his
shoulder and looking him straight in the eye, "you are possibly the
strongest person that Dumbledore and the rest of the Order has
ever known. You've done several things even Aurors
can't even think about doing. You have lasted against Riddle countless
times.
Hardly anyone else in the global wizarding
world can
claim all that. All you need to do is build up your power and keep up
the good
work."
Unsure how to respond to this, Harry said, "Thank you, Severus,
and yes, I will. By the way, your train of thought was very creative;
I'll
definitely have to write those comments down."
"Why thank you. Anyway, Potter, I think Mister Longbottom
and Miss Lovegood should also be
informed." Dormiel was sent for them, and
both of them came out in
their nightrobes, wondering what the
problem was.
Together, Harry and Snape outlined the
problem.
Neville just stared, open-mouthed, at his fellow Gryffindors'
stupidity. Luna closed her eyes and shook her head, disgusted.
"You-Know-Who's playing them for fools," Luna said simply.
"Obviously," Snape replied.
"Of course Hermione would believe anything being written," Luna
added. "Hogwarts, A History could
say that
the castle was built out of toothpaste and marshmallows with the help
of pegnuins and flobberworms,
and
she'd believe that too."
Harry laughed, while Snape shook his head.
'Can't
deny that Ravenclaw has style,' the
Potions Master
thought.
"Furthermore," Snape went on,
"Dumbledore has now put the prophecy under the Fidelius
Charm, should any unthinking Weasleys
open their mouths... We also went with your idea, Miss Lovegood,
to Obliviate anyone untrustworthy about
the Room of
Requirement, and that is no longer a problem.
"There are also other issues for when we get back to school. Students
supportive of the Dark Lord are leaving; their parents are withdrawing
them
from the school. Of the sixth-year Slytherins,
those
remaining are Blaise Zabini,
Nora Moon, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass,
and Pansy
Parkinson."
"Parkinson?" Harry asked.
"She's a very convincing actress, isn't she?" Snape
supplied, which caused Harry to simply stare at him; Harry always
thought that
Pansy Parkinson supported Voldemort.
Seeing the look
on his face, Snape elaborated, "She, like Draco Malfoy, kept
putting up
convincing acts to fool the Dark Lord into thinking that she supports
him. This
is completely untrue; she lost her father to Riddle." Before any of the
three students present could respond, Snape
continued.
"Furthermore, we will be returning by Portkey
two hours before dinner, which is an hour before everyone else arrives.
Dumbledore will discuss the new security measures involved with all of
you."
They all nodded, and at Snape's
suggestion, they all
gratefully went to bed. Harry, however, was not able to fall asleep
until past
midnight. Part of this had to do with drinking his own dose of the Telamoric Potion, and part of it was because of
the anxiety
he felt because of his friends deserting him like that. How could they?
Part of
him reasoned it was because of the chaos and despair they were in, and
part of
him reasoned that they should have been more loyal to him than that.
It was 1:00 morning when his head finally hit the pillows, a solitary
tear
rolling out of his eye.
~*~*~*~
He lay in bed the next morning, feeling drained
and unable
to cope with his new problem, ignoring the beautiful light from the
sunny
Saturday. It was when Dormiel came running
in that he
was forced to get up.
"Mr. Potter should not be lazing like this when his breakfast is
getting
cold!" he squeaked indignantly.
Realizing that he simply couldn't access Snape's
kitchens
like he could at Hogwarts, he hastily got dressed and dashed into the
dining
room.
"And you join us at last," Snape said
neutrally, "Not that I'm oblivious to any circumstances which could
have
detracted from your sleep last night..."
Harry shrugged with a "Good morning, Professor," and helped himself
to some scrambled eggs.
The rest of the day passed as Luna, Neville and Harry continued to do
some last
minute research, since they would be returning the next day. They had
gotten an
awful lot done, and Snape was grateful for
their
help.
Harry was absolutely incensed when he saw the Daily Prophet. The
bastards had
the nerve to do it again! Wizarding
Well, if the Daily Prophet was stupid enough to make the same mistake
twice,
they would simply have to suffer the consequences twice, wouldn't they?
The next day, Harry would be returning to Hogwarts, where God-
knew-how-much of
the student body would once again suspect him of being anything other
than good
and heroic.
But tonight, he would be watching an Order meeting as a fly on the
wall, or
rather, a kid under his Invisibility Cloak.
~*~*~*~
Harry and Snape went
to
"HOW DARE THEY!" Hagrid
boomed.
"This is unthinkable," muttered McGonagall.
"Sirius would do who-knows-what if he knew about this," Lupin growled.
"He probably does know in the afterlife, Professor," Harry pointed
out.
"And so," Dumbledore said, "Since all of us are in full
agreement that the Weasley family is
making a mistake
regarding Harry, we must try and talk some sense into them. That means no
magic, physical violence, or anything that will start a vicious cycle
of
fighting."
The doorbell rang, and Harry darted into a corner and slipped on his
Invisibility Cloak. From under it, he could communicate via Legilimency
with Snape and/or Dumbledore. Moody would
also keep
his magical eye on them, and Harry didn't know whether to laugh or be
incensed
when the ex-Auror said he was running a
book, because
the Order members were betting which gestures Harry would make under
the cloak.
To the surprise of everyone else, it was Narcissa
Malfoy, fully recovered. A moment later,
the doorbell rang
again.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked in this time,
and Harry
could tell, using Legilimency, that Mr. Weasley would be at least willing to give Harry
a chance if
his wife was not such a tyrant.
"Good evening," Dumbledore said. "I would like to discuss that
'research' that Percy Weasley brought
back."
Mrs. Weasley leapt as though Dumbledore
had said
something outrageous. While shaking her fist and having a fanatical
gleam in
her eye, she said, "Percy's a hard worker, the best! He would never
lie!
He's not making the same mistake as last year!"
A collective thought bubble hovers over the heads of everyone else: "You're
sure about that?" (2)
"Er, right," Dumbledore continued. "My
point is, I see either two possibilities: Either Percy forged the
documents-" and Mrs. Weasley glowered at
Dumbledore, but kept her calm (for now, at least) "-or Voldemort
forged them, left them for Percy to steal, thus causing discord among
us."
"Percy got out of there and risked his life for it!" Mrs. Weasley scoffed. "You should be thanking him on
bended
knee!"
At which point, Mr. Weasley groaned.
"Potter
said he saw Percy's memories using Legilimency.
He
got away with a scratch, but after battling a dozen Death Eaters all at
once.
Not to downplay my son or anything, but the Death Eaters can't be that
weak.
There is something definitely fishy with that. Maybe Dumbledore and
Potter are
right."
Harry silently thanked Mr. Weasley, but
then the
matriarch cut off his train of thought. "Now you're taking Potter's
word
over your son's!? No wonder Percy left us to begin with! It's all
Potter's
fault!"
This promptly brought on several disapproving looks from everyone else
in the
room and caused Harry to mentally swear.
"What would make you think this research from Voldemort's
base is true, Molly?" Dumbledore asked politely, although Harry caught
the
anger radiating in his eyes. "Voldemort is
a
master of manipulations."
Once again, Molly's love for her son overruled her common sense.
"Percy's
been borrowing books from the Ministry's private library, where they've
been
researching curse scars for longer than you've been teaching,"
she
said, the tone in her voice almost challenging Dumbledore. McGonagall
had an
angry look on her face that could have stopped a clock.
"To my knowledge," Dumbledore said slowly, "The Ministry has severely
limited knowledge on curse scars, due to how few exist, and the fact
the books
on them are only a century or so old. Besides, from what I've seen
Percy reveal
in this morning's newspaper, it is abselutely
contradictory to my own private library, where I have books on the
matter that
have been around for centuries."
There was silence after Dumbledore's subtle jab, which translated into "Quit while you're still ahead."
Molly tossed her hair impatiently, like a horse anxious to escape from
its
stable. "And will you be saying the same thing when that Potter boy
murders everyone in their sleep!? The nightmares he's been having
lately, Ron
told me!"
"That's enough, Molly. Harry-" and he laid a delicate
stress on the word as though he should be referred to as nothing but
that
"-has risked life and limb for your family countless times. You should
have more faith in him that this. If it wasn't for him, your family
would have
never gotten all the benefits it now has."
"He should be locked up in Azkaban, if only for his own safety, which I
doubt now that the dementors are gone,"
Molly
argued, a fanatical light blooming in her eyes and ignoring the gasps
from
everyone else in the room. Lupin, who
taught Harry to
conjure a Patronus, raised his wand to put
a
Silencing Charm on her, but a warning look from Dumbledore told him it
wasn't
the best thing to do.
"You're practically helping the Dark Lord by turning on Potter like
this,
you know," Snape spoke up. "Why don't you
just brand the Dark Mark onto your arms while you're at it? Then you'd
be all
set."
Molly was about to say something crushing about people with Dark Marks
when a
buzzing sound came from Arthur's robes. Looking at it, he said,
"Dumbledore, they're transmitting a message to me, which they want me
to
tell you in private." With that, he and Dumbledore left the room.
Molly snorted. She got up and walked around, glaring at everyone.
"Potter
is no different than Riddle; just some twisted, evil, teenage boy who's
trying
to get hooks on my daughter. I will not stand for it, you hear me?"
"Exactly how would Sirius react if he knew what you were doing?" Lupin spoke up, getting angry. "Remember that
night
when Harry first came here to
Mrs. Malfoy smirked at the stab about
their wealth,
and Molly grew redder and redder with anger, and possibly
embarrassment.
"Not my problem he didn't know about his godson's evil inclinations,"
she countered haughtily.
Harry was getting angry himself. Damn it, they were acting worse than Malfoys during the years in between the two wars
against Voldemort! And how dare she insult
Sirius like that, the
hypocrite! Molly, with her back to Harry, continued to rant as Harry
took off
the Invisibility Cloak and glared at her with his hands on his hips.
Everyone
stepped back as Molly continued to rant.
"-and at least my family upholds Gryffindor pride, which Potter has
failed
to take into account," she finished with a zeal.
"And if you were one-hundredth as brave as you claim you are,
you
should have no problem saying it to my face," Harry said from behind
her.
Molly froze. How did he manage to get in here?
"See! He's using Dark magic already!" she said triumphantly.
"It's called an invisibility cloak."
Even though there was little physical semblance between them, she
looked
remarkably like Umbridge with that
shocked, clueless
look on her face.
"First of all, I'd like to say how horrible it is that you're
brainwashing
your children, my friends. If what I've heard was true, you even
threatened to
disown Ginny. Do you consider all your children to be that expendable?"
Molly was about to yell at him when Snape
came to his
aid. "Actually, he's got a point. You really have your grip too tight
on
your own offspring sometimes. No wonder Bill moved to
'Good one, Severus,' Harry thought as
Molly went even
redder, if that was possible.
"At least I point them in the right direction!" Molly yelled in Snape's face.
"By force-feeding them nonsense and threatening your own daughter, who
you
love so dearly?" enquired McGonagall. "How many times have you and
your family swore to protect Potter? I can imagine what Bill
and Charlie
would say if they saw you right now, oath breaker. And you have
the
nerve to pull an Umbridge on the same
person who exposed
her for what she was?"
'Thank you, Professor McGonagall,' Harry mentally commented. Molly
sniffed,
"At least she had the right idea; too bad that lovely quill of hers was
confiscated." (3)
There were several cries as Harry, Snape, Lupin, Hagrid and
others made to
yell at her, but McGonagall beat them all to it. Her absence during Umbridge's power trip the previous year was
still a
sensitive issue for her. Last year, she may have said nothing for the
sake of
her job. Unfortunately for Molly, however, no such conditions applied
to this
particular situation.
SMACK!
With an audible sound that carried across the entire room, McGonagall
actually
launched herself out of her seat and slapped Mrs. Weasley
across the face. Everyone gasped, and then no one could be heard
breathing as
Molly slowly turned back to face the stern professor.
'Holy shit!' Harry thought with
extreme
disbelief. This was as unbelievable coming from McGonagall as the
infamous
chandelier incident the previous year.
"You ungrateful fool," she breathed in a deadly whisper, her facial
expression so angry it added to her powerful and terrifying image. "How
dare you praise that whore after what she did to everyone, not
to
mention what she nearly did to your own children. And after
what
happened last year, I am not going to be intimidated by a woman
pushing
her weight around, especially not when she's half my own weight,
not to mention height."
The temperature in the room seemed to dip below the freezing point as
McGonagall put emphasis on those words which were touchy topics for
women. The
closest anyone had ever gotten to talking like this to Molly Weasley was when Sirius had been brave enough to
backchat
her. The physical force and the threatening were simply unthinkable.
Molly quickly regained her composure and launched a verbal
counterattack.
"At least I'm not some ugly old bat like you who can go stick
her
Transfiguring wand where the sun doesn't shine!"
More gasps. McGonagall's eyebrows shot up in shock, but she went for
her wand.
Sensing the danger that could follow, Lupin
and Mundungus quickly turned the table on
its side and ducked
behind it. A few other people did the same, and when there wasn't
enough room
behind the table, they ducked behind cabinets or under other spaces. A
few even
fled the room, but waited outside, wanting to see the battle commence.
"At least I try to protect my children!"
"Brainwashing them isn't protecting them, and I've watched out
for countless
more children than you, and given the size of your family, that's
saying
something!"
Words eventually came to blows, and objects started flying around the
room.
Pots and pans zoomed at each other, spells blasted wholes in walls and
melted
other metal objects, and flashes of light in different colors danced
around the
room as people ducked and avoided anything coming their way. And all
the time,
the fighting women were throwing insults at each other that they would
have never
said under normal circumstances.
"Four-eyed promiscuous Cat-woman!"
"Red-haired rabbit who's never heard of
birth
control!"
In one part of the room, Snape and Lupin somehow managed to be caught against a
wall after the
smaller table they were hiding behind melted into mud.
"You know," Lupin panted, breathing hard
after scrambling out of harm's way, "In hindsight, it's a good thing we
never ticked her off like this when we were students."
"I couldn't agree m- Incoming!" Snape
shouted as they both dived off of to either side. With a THUNK,
a battle
axe came flying out of nowhere and embedded itself in the spot there
they had
previously been.
Harry, in the meantime, had become a phoenix in case anything dangerous
came
his way, and was doing a crazy sort of dance in the air to avoid being
hit by
something. Eventually, he was forced to cross the room and rescue Tonks from being hit on the head by bricks which
had come
loose out of the ceiling overhead.
"Bagpipe-blowing barfbag!"
Molly yelled at McGonagall, causing the professor's bun to come undone
and turn
a green and beige plaid design.
"Fiery-haired floozy!" McGonagall called at
Molly, causing a bunch of green pustules to spring up on the
matriarch's face
to arrange the word TYRANT, which clashed horribly with the rest of her
face.
Thinking fast, McGonagall conjured a rapier while Molly enlarged a
frying pan
and enchanted it to reduce its weight. With loud war cries, the two
friends-turned-enemies ran at each other, and everyone else braced for
impact.
"That's enough, I think," said a voice from the doorway when they
were a foot away, their weapons an even smaller distance apart from
making
contact with their targets. Professor Dumbledore stood on the threshold
of the
now-ruined kitchen, his face stern but his eyes twinkling with
amusement.
Arthur stood right behind him, simply unable to believe the mess. "Dare
I
ask what caused this entire calamity? Never mind."
Both women spluttered, trying to explain what happened, but Dumbledore
put up
his hand to stop them. With waves of his wand, he restored everything
back to
normal. As Harry resumed his normal form, Dumbledore said, "Just like
your
beloved protégés, Harry and Percy, you let Voldemort's
gift of discord and enmity blind you. If only Voldemort
could see this, he'd be absolutely delighted."
There was silence as people came out of their hiding spots. Harry
sighed and
shook his head. "I thought you would have more faith in me than this. I
haven't done anything to deserve this. This is the last thing I need. That any of us need."
Harry went up to Mrs. Weasley, taking it
slowly, step
by step. Mrs. Weasley backed up a little,
watching
him as though he was something vile. "I am looking you straight in the
eye, and telling you I have no ties to him. I have no desire to work
with Voldemort, or go Dark, or do anything
of the sort. That is
absolute nonsense spun off to get you against me. I am nothing like Voldemort, in any way, shape or form. You should
know
that."
Was it Molly's imagination, or was there something in those eerie green
eyes of
his she didn't trust? He took another step forward, his hand raising
to do something. With that, she panicked.
With a flick of her wand, a nearby stool jumped up at Harry and nearly
hit him
right in the forehead. Fortunately, he ducked just in time, although it
was a
very near miss. (4)
With that, any remaining sympathy that the Weasleys
might have had in the Order quickly deteriorated. With a vicious snarl,
Lupin went at Mrs. Weasley,
screaming several very unflattering observations at the top of his
lungs. He
was dragged aside by Hagrid (who also
threw in his
two Knuts' worth about Mrs. Weasley),
only to clear the way for McGonagall, who towered over Mrs. Weasley,
telling her off and criticizing her as though she were one of the
Professor's
students again.
But none of the exploding tempers in the room even came close to that
of
Dumbledore's, who let out a rather frightening scream of anger, which
promptly
stopped what everyone else was doing. Harry would never forget
the
furious expression on his Headmaster's face. It made Lupin's
savage side look tame. It made Hagrid's
massive
strength look feeble. It made McGonagall's strict air look amateurish.
Angry spots of color appeared on Dumbledore's face, and when compared
to his
white hair and blue eyes, he resembled a badly painted Union Jack. His
teeth
were gnashing against each other. His silvery hair looked like steel
melted or
in the process of melting. His blue eyes, normally cheerful and happy,
were
radiating with inner fire two blue suns, the kind of star that came
before a
yellow star and was hotter. His veins stood out like thick vines on a
tree.
This was precisely why Mrs. Weasley stood
rooted to
the floor, petrified with fear.
Harry shuddered at what he saw in Dumbledore's eyes. He saw
disappointment,
outrage, anger, and... he couldn't believe
it.
Dumbledore had hatred. For if Dumbledore was considered to be
something
like a god, then one of the more important
commandments had just been broken: Thou shalt not harm Harry Potter.
Before anything got worse, Harry became a phoenix and fluttered near to
Dumbledore, singing soothing notes to calm his rare but deadly anger.
The
Headmaster's angry visage instantly melted away, and he seemed to calm
down.
After everything was peaceful and quiet again, Harry leapt off Dumbledore’s shoulder, transformed back and faced Mrs. Weasley. "You still haven't answered my question," he said calmly as though nothing out of the ordinary just happened.
Mrs. Weasley's face started to flush again. "I'm only looking out for the best interests of my family," she said firmly.
"Like I'm not?" Harry questioned indignantly. "I've never done anything to harm your family! You make it sound as though I have harmed them before, and now history is repeating itself!"
The red-haired woman opened her mouth to respond to that, but no sound came out. Instead, tears started to spring from her eyes, which was not the reaction that anyone had been expected.
For a few seconds, Harry used Legilimency,
and
scenes started to flash through his mind. A house with the Dark
Mark
hovering over it in the night sky... a younger Mrs. Weasley
tearing through ruined hallways... finding dead bodies of a couple of
men... (5)
Those two men looked familiar to Harry somehow, then he recalled
Moody's old
photograph of the original Order of the
The Legilimency connection was then severed as Mrs. Weasley collected herself, blubbering something that no one could make out. Trying to calm herself, she repeated, "I'm sorry... I'll talk to my family... convince them otherwise..."
She walked to the door and left, with her husband hurrying behind her.
After they left, everyone looked at each other. "What was that all about?" Harry asked.
"I believe, Harry, that what happened to Bill and Charlie played on her memories," Dumbledore said calmly.
"That didn't mean they just had to jump to conclusions," Harry said, frowning.
"People make mistakes," Dumbledore said with a little of something
like lament. "If you can show me one person who has never let their
emotions interfere with their logic, I can show you a nonexistent
person."
(6)
Harry took this in, and could somehow tell that Dumbledore was alluding to the attempted Cruciatus Curse that he cast on Bellatrix Lestrange.
McGonagall then said, "I should go talk to Molly and apologize." She was at the door when she stopped, turned around and said, "One other thing: the... fight here never happened."
Everyone nodded solemnly, and with that, the Transfiguration professor left.
Suddenly, no longer caring about an explanation for Mrs. Weasley's actions and opinions, Harry told Dumbledore, "I'm going back to the manor." In two flashes, he became a phoenix, and then left in a burst of flames.
~*~*~*~
Some time later, Harry lay face down on his bed, dwelling on what happened. How could they possibly suspect him of that!?
He was disgusted with the wizarding world in general. They thought everything was one or the other, good or evil, black or white; never a concept of either one. In seeing either side of the coin, they forgot about the metal in between.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Harry asked.
"The Father Christmas of Lemon Drops," said the old voice from the other side of the door jokingly.
"Come in, Professor," Harry said, getting up and straightening himself out as Dumbledore walked in.
"Well, Harry, this night wasn't exactly a good one, although it definitely could have been worse."
He nodded. "I know."
"First of all, I can offer a solution to your problem if any of your
roommates would be unwilling to share a room with you. You can use one
of the
unused rooms in
"Unused rooms?"
"The reason there are relatively few students in your year was
because
you were born during the First War," Dumbledore clarified. (7)
"That's a good idea," Harry answered. "I'll consider it."
"Also, maybe we should let Miss Lovegood and Mister Longbottom know about this situation."
Harry nodded, and after inviting Neville and Luna in, they explained the situation. After Harry and Dumbledore were done, Luna shook her head and tsked while Neville looked positively shocked.
"I'll room with you, Harry, just in case," Neville said in a friendly and noble way.
"Thanks, Neville," Harry said quietly, smiling a little for the first time that night.
"One other thing before I depart," Dumbledore added. "Plenty of other people have been fooled by Voldemort before, Harry. It's nothing to be ashamed of to be in a situation like this."
Harry acknowledged his Headmaster's wisdom as the latter got up and left.
After Neville and Luna went back to their own things before dinner, Harry tried to get himself together. It would be exactly what Voldemort wanted if he wasn't as brave and noble as the Gryffindor he truly was.
Well, Harry couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let that happen. Not in this lifetime.
(End of Chapter 33.)
A/N: Sorry if it looked too much alike up to the bitter end, but I put a lot of time and effort into the cat fight and the description of Dumbledore's anger!
(1) Could this be the reason why Snape seemingly pops out of nowhere in the books? Because he has his own Invisibility Cloak?
(2) I know this sentence here is out of my usual style, but I couldn't resist putting it in, LOL...
(3) Hang onto your hats, folks! Hahaha...
I know this undergoing major plot changes, but there was no way in hell that I was going to get rid of this scene!
(4) Please note this was an impulsive accident on Mrs. Weasley’s part... I won't have them do anything deliberate and harmful to Harry...
(5) Obviously, this explains (or at least somewhat) the Weasleys' dislike of Slytherins and Mrs. Weasley's secret, personal reasons for what she thinks is the right thing to do regarding Harry. More will be explained about this later...
(6) I came up with that last quote myself; personally, I like it. How about you guys?
(7) Here's another reason why:
Rowling accidentally goofed up with the math, which is why there are so
few
students in Harry's hear, compared to the rest of the school.