Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor - 15. Chapter 15

Blackness, Cold, Pain

These sensations floated through his mind, coming in waves. The pain began to increase, and the cold soaked through him. It was all oddly familiar and he struggled to remember why, and who he was. Suddenly the memories rushed back to him…CEDRIC!

But Cedric was dead, as was Sirius. Then a scream flowed through his memory and he remembered seeing the face of Cho as she pointed her wand at him. Slowly, he opened his eyes only to see Cho's face yet again, this time inches from his own. He was cold, but he felt his body touching hers, and wherever they touched, he felt a fiery warmth creeping into him, a warmth that even managed to distract him from the pain in his head.

"Oh, Harry, you've come back to me." Cho whispered softly, touching her lips against his. He remembered those lips, remembered touching them with his own, and the pleasure they gave. His body reacted to the touch and he responded. Her warm hands made their way down his side until they touched his hardness and a groan escaped him. The coldness was giving way to a fire, and then a different fire began to burn on his left wrist.

His left wrist?

The wrist where he wore his bracelet?

His engagement bracelet!

Harry raised his arms until they rested just below Cho's soft bosom. The mere touch ignited more desire in him and for a moment thoughts of what he felt on his wrist flittered away, but he grasped onto them before they could escape and he pushed.

"Get away from me you bitch" Harry roared as he sent Cho flying into the wall not more than a few feet from where he lay. She stared at him for a moment in shock, then stood, her loose shirt hiding nothing, and the short skirt she wore hiding even less. Her eyes blazed for a moment before adopting a more sultry disposition.

"Harry, don't be so mean." She purred. "You know you want this, and I'm here for you."

Harry closed his eyes and pictured the blond body of his love moving under him, causing him to groan again. He felt movement near him and without opening his eyes, he grabbed the wrist that was trying to touch him. Cho squealed in pain as he gripped her wrist with all of his strength.

"If you ever touch me again, Cho Chang," Harry threatened in a voice that left no room for doubt that he meant what he said, "I will snap your neck in two and piss on your dead body."

He opened his eyes and saw Cho Chang's eyes open so wide, and expressing such fear that he knew she understood all too well that he meant every word he said. He released her hand and she staggered back against the far wall as if she meant to try to go through it. Her eyes never left his and all he saw there was fear. The fire on his wrist had changed now, and he saw the silver bracelet glow as it had when it was first put there. He smiled softly at the memory before his expression went flat at the sound of a new voice.

"Get back here, girl." Voldemort's voice rasped across Harry's raw nerves like acid, and the pain burning on Harry's forehead suddenly made sense. "Your idea didn't work this time. We'll just have to trust our other spells to block the bracelet's magic."

Cho practically ran from the wall and out of an entrance that Harry hadn't noticed until that point. Voldemort stood on the other side, and Harry realized that he didn't want to face his enemy lying down. His head swam in dizziness as he stood, and he realized he was completely nude, and still fully aroused. They must have given him a potion that would arouse him in order to make it easier for Cho to seduce him.

It hadn't worked. He had kept Draco's faith in him.

Harry stood tall and proud, as Draco had taught him, and when he looked into Voldemort's burning eyes he realized many things. He wasn't afraid of death. He would regret death, he would regret not being there to raise their children, but he was not afraid. As he stared into those evil red eyes, he remembered the man's confrontation with Dumbledore at the Ministry last year, and he laughed.

"I fail to see what would give you cause to laugh, Potter." Voldemort's voice rasped, clearly irritated.

"Why, Tom" Harry said in an insolent voice, smirking at this thing before him. "I thought after having you try to kill me for the past sixteen years we could at least call each other by our first names."

"How DARE you!" Voldemort hissed.

"Does that phrase come with age or what?" Harry mocked, cocking his head to the side and putting an inquisitive look on his face. "I seem to hear a bunch of old fogies saying that a lot lately when they talk to me."

Voldemort turned, and hissing wordlessly walked away. His footsteps echoed in what was obviously a dungeon and a door slammed shut. Cho stood outside the entrance of his cell, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. Harry stared at her for a moment and then sneered, putting as much contempt into his voice as he could.

"Run along, bitch. Your Master's not here anymore and you have no one to protect you."

"You can't do anything." Cho whimpered. "The shields on the entrance won't let you through."

"Let's find out." Harry sneered again, stepping forward. Cho squeaked and ran from the dungeon. Once more the sound of a door slamming was heard, but this time it was replaced by a low, rich chuckle that he recognized. He peered through the entrance to notice that his cell was one of around ten. The only other occupied cell though, was across the hallway, and a familiar blond figure reclined on the bed in that small chamber. The man was chuckling, but when he noticed Harry staring at him, he stopped, and appraised Harry from head to toe.

"That potion should wear off in a few hours, son." Lucius Malfoy said, his voice almost gentle. "Very well done. I don't think I've ever seen him so…off-balance."

"Dumbledore can do it better." Harry replied softly, reaching down onto the thin cot and pulling the sheet off of it. It only took him a moment to wrap it around him in such a way that it provided some decency, doing his best to ignore the waives of desire his movements caused.

"He'll have your clothes brought down now that the seduction attempt failed." Lucius said when Harry was done and looked back across the hallway.

"Good" Harry sat down; his head still hurt, and he began to notice bumps and bruises in several places. His whole body ached.

"Did you really kill twelve Dementors with the Sword of Gryffindor?" Lucius asked after the silence had continued for a while.

"Why are you in that cell?" Harry asked instead of answering.

"I refused to join the attack on the school and I tried to send a warning." Lucius said softly. "I managed to get to Goyle and warn him to get his son out. He must have warned others."

"He did." Harry admitted.

"Voldemort has anti disapparating wards around this place, and also has wards to prevent scrying spells, telepathic spells, or any other forms of communication from penetrating the cells. The only problem for Voldemort is that he can't listen to what we are saying." Lucius said, answering all the questions running through Harry's head.

"Why don't they have someone listening, watching us?"

"Because you angered the dark lord so much that he stormed out, and then you scared off his newest recruit. Right now she's probably telling stories that will make sure any Death Eater who does guard us sits right by the door."

"Why didn't he crucio me?" Harry asked.

"Because that would amplify your pain, and he would run the risk of Draco being able to use it trace you. The more pain you feel, the easier it is for Draco to use certain spells to find you, which if that boy is worth anything, he'll be doing right now."

"He is." Harry said, remembering how often Draco's failure to beat Harry had resulted in disappointment between the two. "I believe in him."

"You really do, don't you?" Lucius asked, really staring at him. "I must say, hearing you overcome that Lust potion and reject the whore amazed me. Wizards four times your age have fallen to that trick."

"None of them have Draco to love." Harry replied simply.

"I never expected such an…emotional statement from the boy who just threw Voldemort into such a rage that he's probably out there killing a couple of his followers to calm down" Lucius said, his voice warring between scorn and amazement.

"It's what your son does to me." Harry said softly.

"I never imagined my son as being the type of person to inspire such…passion in anyone."

"You never imagined your son as being capable of half the things he is." Harry countered forcefully.

"I think I am beginning to see that now." Lucius's voice was soft and seemed almost remorseful.

"When he gets here you can tell him that." Harry said, letting a little of his anger show.

"When he gets here, I will." Harry looked up to see an expression on Lucius Malfoy's face that he never expected to see. The man looked across at Harry with pride shining in his eyes. "When my son chose you he chose better than he knew, Harry Potter. I said at Christmas that you weren't the same foolish boy I met in the Department of Mysteries, but you aren't the same boy I met at Christmas either. You aren't a boy at all despite only being sixteen."

"Dumbledore gave me four years of being a relatively normal kid. It was the most time he could possibly have given me." Harry said honestly. "No one can afford for me to a kid any longer."

"Pansy Parkinson's father came to me two days ago." Lucius Malfoy said slowly. "His daughter had written to him in their family code about your Blood Oath plan."

"Family code?" Harry asked, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach at the plans being revealed.

"All the old pureblood families have codes they use to write letters to each other. We guard these codes jealously. None of us has ever revealed them to him. When we get out of here I will have to insist that Draco teach you the Malfoy family code."

"Thanks." Harry muttered.

"It's only fitting, after all you are a Malfoy now." Lucius said with pride.

"Draco and I aren't married yet." Harry said, pushing up his glasses that had started to fall down his nose. The frame seemed to be slightly bent. The movement awakened passion in him, and he lost track of what Lucius was saying while he fought the urge to touch himself. When it had passed, he let out a sigh.

"Don't move." Lucius said. "Let the potion run it's course before you try to move."

"Why didn't they use a love potion?" Harry asked.

"Two reasons." Lucius answered. "First is because a Love potion won't affect the magic of the bracelet. Whatever you do under the influence of a love potion won't affect the spell of the bracelet because you have no control over your actions. All it will do is make the bracelet act like a beacon for its mate, which is on Draco's wrist. The other reason is that Love potions work like the Imperius curse. You know how to resist that. The potion they gave you is different. It heightens the sensitivity of the body and awakens the portions of your mind that cause arousal and sexual desire. It leaves your will, your ability to choose, alone. You have to choose to give in to the temptation, despite the warning of the bracelet. You have to choose to break the trust that you swore to in order to negate the spell."

"So if I had given in to Cho…" Harry started to say, but didn't finish the thought.

"If you had given in, your bracelet would have fallen off and Draco would have known that you broke the bond. Then Voldemort would have probably stopped her, put you under Cruciatus until you went insane and then killed you."

"Why didn't he just kill me and get the prophesy over with?" Harry asked.

"Because he wants back the power you absorbed fifteen years ago." Lucius said as though explaining to a child. "He's power hungry and doesn't like to think that he's not as strong as he could be. It takes twenty-four hours to prepare for the ceremony. Once he calms down, he'll lock himself away and start preparing. Once he starts, he won't stop. It's a complex ritual requiring almost constant spell casting. His people will bring you up for the last hour. They'll put you on an altar and he'll begin cutting you so that you bleed into a bowl. It has to be done perfectly because at the end of the hour you have to have lost enough blood for your heart to be fluttering on the edge of death. Then he will drink your blood, and when he says the right spell as you die, your own powers as well as those he passed on to you will transfer to him. Before you ask, the subject has to already possess the powers of the person performing the ritual to some extent, so it's not something he can do with everyone to gain more power."

"Thanks for the graphic images." Harry said sarcastically.

"You can stand them, and you did want to know." Lucius replied just as sarcastically, so much like his son that Harry let out a moan of desire. It took him a moment to calm down.

"So why are you in a cell?" Harry asked, not sure if he'd ever gotten a full answer.

"I told you, I warned others about the attack and they pulled their kids out, effectively warning you. If what Parkinson told her father is true, you probably had several Slytherins pounding on your door warning you directly."

"They stayed and helped defend." Harry admitted.

"Thank Merlin." Lucius murmured, surprising Harry.

"You're glad?" Harry asked in his surprised state.

"As long as the story of this Blood Oath is true, yes." Lucius answered, surprising Harry even more.

"I'm confused." Harry admitted, getting another laugh from Lucius.

"Ah, so the new and improved Harry Potter still has some flaws."

"Some." Harry admitted sourly. "I managed to fall into Voldemort's hands again, didn't I?"

"Oh, my." Lucius said after laughing hard. "That was exquisite. I'm going to enjoy having you around the manor this summer."

"Assuming we get out of here and you're not in Azkaban?" Harry quipped, starting to feel a little less…sensitive. That set Lucius off on another round of laughter.

"Well, if we manage to get out of here, and if I manage to help you in some way, I assume that we can sell the Ministry on the story that the Great Harry Potter has managed to reform the father as well as the son!"

"It might work." Harry admitted, and for some strange reason he hoped it might. Draco really did love his father and he realized something. Just like Draco had a side to him that only Harry saw when they were alone, there was a side to Lucius Malfoy that only his family saw, and this was the side Harry was now seeing, which meant that Lucius considered him family.

"Voldemort made me choose between my oaths to him and my oaths to my family." Lucius said when Harry had been quiet for a while. "Even if I had not learned of the plans you and my son were creating to continue the original issues of this struggle after Voldemort's defeat, I still would have chosen to support you over him."

"Thank you." Harry said simply, barely stopping short of the word father, but nevertheless it hung unspoken in the air between them.

"How long do you think it will take Draco to get here?" Lucius asked.

"Not sure." Harry replied, stopping to let loose a yawn as he suddenly became tired. "Everyone who he'll probably use has been up all night. They'll need to sleep for a few hours before they set off."

"The potion is wearing off, Harry." Lucius said softly. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you in a few hours."

"Yes, sir.' Harry mumbled as another wave of exhaustion swept through him. He was asleep before he even lay down completely.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Neville's POV

Draco's words still hung in the air when the portrait door swung open and the last person Neville hoped to see swept into the room. Professor Snape had a bag slung around his shoulders and was dressed in simple black pants with a black coat that hung down to his knees. In one hand he held what looked like a cauldron lid. Neville jumped to his feet, hand on his wand, poised to attack when Snape speared him with a sharp look.

"Good reflexes, Longbottom. Ten points to Gryffindor." Snape said, then looked at Malfoy. "Are we ready, Draco?"

"Just let me get his sword." Malfoy said while Neville gaped. Snape had never given him points before, just taken them away.

"Sprout found five more bodies in that tunnel." Snape said, looking him right in the eyes. Neville just grinned. The fact that he'd killed seven people bothered him a little, but the he knew that they were trying to attack his fellow students and this prevented him from feeling any guilt. Malfoy returned bearing Harry's sword with the golden hilt, and Snape's next words shocked him.

"They must have been in a hurry to take Potter but leave the Sword of Gryffindor behind." Snape muttered. "Then again, we almost got them before they portkeyed from the entrance."

"The Sword of…" Fred began, astonishment showing in his voice.

"…Gryffindor? Harry had the bloody Sword of Gryffindor and didn't tell us!" George finished, just as astonished. Crabbe and Goyle looked at it like it was the Golden Fleece.

"Potter's finally started to use his brains and keep his mouth shut." Snape snapped at them. "Gather round everyone. This lid is a portkey. I know everyone's exhausted. I know I am. Once we get where we're going, we'll get some sleep for a few hours, but if we stayed here Dumbledore would keep us so busy that we wouldn't be able to do this."

Everyone including Neville gathered closely and touched the cauldron lid Snape was holding out. When he tapped it with his wand Neville felt the familiar sensation of a hook behind his navel.. Next thing he knew, they were in an elegantly decorated sitting room. A magnificently beautiful blond woman stood in the doorway and Neville recognized her vaguely as Malfoy's mother.

"Rooms are prepared as well as hot baths for those who want them." She said with a nod of her head. "We'll wake everyone as soon as the spell is ready to be worked. The house wards are up to full power and I've added a few surprises in case they've tortured the keys out of Lucius."

"Is father in danger?" Malfoy asked in a worried tone, and Neville wondered how much he still cared for his father. Her next words made him rethink everything he'd ever thought about Lucius Malfoy.

"My sources say that the Dark Lord threw him in a cell." Narcissa Malfoy frowned. "He managed to get a warning out about the attack to the Goyles and they spread it from there. The Goyles and a few other families are in hiding. The attack was supposed to be carried out without any warnings. He didn't let any of his people with children know that it was Hogwarts being attacked. Everyone though it was to be the Ministry."

"Lucius Malfoy betrayed the Dark Lord…"George began with wide eyes.

"…to save the school?" Fred finished.

"No." Narcissa Malfoy answered. "He did it to save his son's fiancé, Harry Potter."

"Blimey, that's…" Fred started.

"…almost harder to believe." George finished.

"Get some rest, boys." Snape said in the softest tone Neville had ever heard from the man. "In a few hours we're likely going to be entering Voldemort's headquarters in a vain attempt to once again save our dear Mr. Potter."

Neville followed a cowering house elf up the stairs and was shown to a spacious room that he soon discovered held an amazingly soft bed. Within moments he fell into an exhausted sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It hurt to open his eyes, but Ronald Weasley did it anyway. He was glad he did when he saw a face he had longed to see when he was drifting in the dark blackness of wherever he had been. He groaned as he tried to lift his head, then let it flop back down on the bed. He hurt all over.

"He's awake." Hermione said to someone outside his field of vision. Her tone was a little harsher than he was used to hearing from her, but he refused to take his eyes off of her even when heard a voice he knew very well.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said with only a hint of humor in his voice.

"Thanks." Ron managed to croak out. Then memories came flooding back of the last few weeks, and he felt a cursed blush rising, and then a strangling fear. "Harry! Is he…"

"Mr. Potter was taken in the attack last night." Dumbledore's words sapped what little strength he had and he heard another groan escape his lips. Harry was going to die, and Ron would never get the chance to apologize.

"Cho, she…" Ron gasped out. Madame Pomfrey appeared next to him and clucked at him until he drank some foul-tasting potion he held. He felt strength returning to him at the first sip, and eagerly drank the rest, no matter how bad it tasted.

"We know of Ms. Chang's treachery." Dumbledore said softly. Ron looked back to Hermione who was just giving him the look that meant 'you better cooperate.'

"She put me under…" Ron began to say, but just couldn't admit that he'd fallen for her tricks.

"We know she used the Unforgivables on you, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said softly, "But we need to know the full story."

"I was jealous" Ron admitted, feeling another blush burning on his face. "Ever since he showed up with that Malfoy git, I got jealous. Really, I mean who wouldn't get upset after someone like Malfoy tries to bribe you into forgetting five years of torture with a bunch of robes. But Harry didn't see it like that, oh no, all he saw was Malfoy trying to be nice to me. I can't believe he'd betray me like that!"

"Ron," Hermione tried to say, but he shushed her with a wave of his hand.

"No, 'Mione." Ron continued, his anger reigniting. "We know every insufferable thing that blond git has ever done to Harry. Then what does Harry do when that git tries to kill him? He goes and bloody well snogs the bastard. 'Mione, you know what my home is like. I mean I love my brothers, and Ginny, but I never really had any friends until I came here. I met Harry on the train that day, and he turned that Malfoy snob down in order to be friend. He picked me to be his friend, then you came along and we all were friends!"

"Many friendships are formed when students first come to this school." Dumbledore said, and Ron noticed he was now sitting at the foot of the bed. "Some last for the rest of the student's life, others fade once school is done, and others fade before that. It depends on the students themselves which will happen."

"Well, Harry and 'Mione were my friends." Ron spat, his temper flaring. "Malfoy and his two ogres made our lives living hell, and to top it all off, Malfoy threatened to kill Harry at the end of the year! Then he goes and tries to do it!"

"Ron," Hermione began, but he was in no mood to hear logic and reason.

"Listen, I know okay." Ron said furiously. "I know that he and Malfoy are in love and I may not like it but I know it makes Harry happy so I'll just have to live with it even if I can't stand that bastard. He's just hurt me too much. You don't understand, 'Mione, and neither does Harry. You both grew up in the muggle world. You didn't grow up like I did, part of a pureblood 'poor' family. People like Malfoy look down on us as being good for nothing but servants and maybe replenishing their supply of fresh blood when they inbreed too much. They look down their aristocratic noses at us and sneer. The only bit of respect we get from them is that at least we're pureblood which makes us not as disgusting as muggle-borns!"

"Ron, the twins don't react this way to…" Hermione began, but Ron cut her off again.

"You don't get it do you?" Ron snarled. "The twins can overcome that! They've got these brains and tricks and everything. They can make a name for themselves and not have to worry about aristocrats looking down their noses at them because those people will be coming in and buying things from them. They own a shop on Diagon Alley! Bill's got himself a job working with Gringott's! That's almost as good. Those same bloody snobs will be begging him to come and charm their family vaults and 'cause he knows their secrets they'll treat him good! Charlie's a dragon tamer and no one laughs at someone who can get a dragon to burn down your house! But what am I? The only thing I've got is Harry, and now he's all Malfoy's! He's as snobby as them now! He buys me clothes because he's ashamed to have me seen with him otherwise! You haven't heard the things those Slytherins have been saying about me!"

"So that's why you've been fighting with Harry?" Hermione asked quietly. "Ron you should know Harry doesn't look down on you. He buys you things because he wants to share what he has with you! He knows you'd do the exact same thing if the situation was reversed!"

"That still doesn't change the fact that he'd rather spend time with Malfoy than me." Ron pouted, wondering why Dumbledore wasn't pushing him to move on to another topic.

"Oh, puh-leaze!" Hermione muttered into the air. "Ronald Weasley! Did you forget all those times when we first started going out and you said you were glad that Harry wasn't around so you could spend all of your time with me? Do you remember all of those times after school started that you said you were happy Harry was involved with someone so we could get away more? Harry's in love. You didn't hear what he told me the other week when you two were fighting. He told me something he and Draco talked about. It was about that day in first year when he first met you. He and Draco had been wondering if things would have been different if he'd accepted Draco's offer of friendship. You want to know what Harry said?"

"Not really." Ron mumbled. "But you're going to tell me anyway."

"You're damn right I'm going to Ronald Weasley!" Hermione huffed, her face scrunched up in anger. "He said that if he had it all to do over again he still wouldn't take Draco's hand because he would have lost you for a friend, you worthless git!"

"He what?" Ron whispered, shocked to the core of his being.

"Harry said he would have missed having you for a friend because you were the best friend anyone could have ever hoped for!" Hermione spat at him, completely angry. "Then how do you repay that friendship? You get all jealous and throw temper tantrums! All Harry wanted was for you to get along with Draco, and Draco was really trying to make up for all the mean things he did to us and you wouldn't even forgive him! You let your damn temper blind you to the things that were really going on."

"You're right." Ron said, feeling low, really low. "I don't deserve a friend like Harry."

"That's wrong." Hermione said firmly. "You do deserve a friend like Harry, just like he deserves a friend like you. It wasn't Harry that figured out that chess game in first year, it was you. If you can ever get that temper of yours under control you will be a lot better off. If you don't, and if you don't stop letting people like those Slytherins get to you, you'll end up just like Percy.

Ron winced at the reference to his older brother whom no one in the family ever really spoke of anymore. Ron had heard from his father that Percy had been shipped off to some meaningless job in the Ministry now that Harry was the new darling there. His father had said that Percy had forgotten the things that the Weasley family stood for and would just have to pay the price for that. Ron had forgotten some of those things too, he just hoped it wasn't too late for him.

"I wonder if Harry will ever forgive me…" He muttered and was shocked when Hermione slapped his arm.

"Of course he will you bloody, bad-tempered git." Hermione said, a smile appearing on her face. "I will as well. Now, why don't you tell us about what happened to you?"

"It all started after Harry quit the team." Ron said. "Cho was looking for him and I went and complained to her. She just smiled and said she agreed with me that Malfoy wasn't good for him and that she just wished Harry'd realized that and come back to her."

"Interesting." Dumbledore said, leaning forward a little.

"Yes, um, well then we tried to talk some sense into him, and you know how that went, Hermione." Ron continued. "I couldn't believe it when Seamus changed his mind and went over to Harry's side. Then when most of the other Gryffindors followed I lost it completely. Cho came over to see me one night and…"

"It's okay Ron." Hermione said sadly. "I can take hearing it."

"Well, she was very…forward." Ron said softly, blushing once again. "I'm sorry 'Mione, but it was almost like every time she invited me for tea I would start to feel so cold, so lonely, and then she would touch me and it was like I was warm again."

"You had tea in her rooms." Dumbledore stated, no hint of a question in his words. "I assume she had the tea made before you arrived."

"Usually." Ron admitted, confused.

"Then I believe she was using a potion that is highly frowned upon." Dumbledore explained. "It is commonly used by couples as they get older to…fan the flames of their desires for each other when one partner experiences changes in his or her body that makes intimate relationships harder. The young often use it as an aphrodisiac."

"Oh." Ron said in surprise. "Well, anyway, then we broke up 'Mione, and I felt so bad and she was so comfortable. That was the first time she asked me about my friendship with you, and of course that led to talking about Harry. She was so pissed at him, but I think she still wanted him for some reason. I told her everything, 'Mione…everything we'd ever done."

"It seems to have become clear that Ms. Chang went over to our enemy sometime during the past summer, if not before." Dumbledore said.

"But how could she?" Hermione asked, bewildered. "We know she cared for Cedric and she said that she believed you-know-who killed him at the end of last year! Why would she turn on Harry?"

"There are many possible reasons, Ms. Granger." Dumbledore said. "Mayhap we will have an opportunity to discuss it with her in the future, but that is not possible now. Please continue, Mr. Weasley."

"Right, well, um, as time went by Cho kept on asking more and more questions, trying to get more details. She even asked me once if I could get close to Harry again to see if I could find out what he was doing now, but I blew up and yelled at her. She didn't ask me again after that. That's when I started to become suspicious of her, but I guess she kept on using that potion or whatever it was because I kept on taking her back to bed. Then a couple of weeks ago I found her crying and was worried. She said she'd had a nightmare of all of us dying in an attack and that she didn't think we were safe. Nothing I said could calm her down. She said she wouldn't feel safe until she knew exactly how we were being protected…so I found out for her."

"How did you do that, precisely?" Dumbledore's voice was guarded now.

"I…talked to my brothers, and Neville." Ron said, hanging his head in shame. "They still trusted me and I told them I was worried that Malfoy would sabotage the defenses. Every time they tried to tell me he couldn't, I kept on forcing them to prove it and prove it until they gave me all of the information that I needed. They didn't give a lot of specifics, but I was able to use what they gave me to read up some more."

"You…read up on spells?" Hermione asked in a shocked tone, and for some reason it irked Ron.

"I may not be as smart as you 'Mione, or as strong as Harry, but I'm not an idiot!" Ron spat back. "I grew up in the wizarding world unlike the two of you! I know about wards, I've seen my parents make them lots of times!"

"So it was Cho who took down the wards?" Dumbledore asked, and then Ron really did hang his head in shame.

"No, it was me…sort of." Ron said.

"Explain." Dumbledore ordered, his voice full of imminent threats.

"The night before the attack, Cho and I were doing it, when I thought I felt something hot on her arm." Ron said, remembering the feelings of the moment, and the pain. "I didn't say anything about it then, but later, when she was asleep, I'd remembered it and got curious. She'd gotten really insistent before going to sleep that I figure something out about the inner wards that was still mysterious to me, and I'd told her I'd work on it after classes. She told me to skip classes and finally got me to give in. But anyway, I remembered feeling that heat, and I remembered Harry telling us how you-know-who would summon his Death Eaters by making their mark burn, so I grabbed my wand and used a revealing charm."

"Cho is a full Death Eater?" Hermione gasped.

"The mark was there plain as day." Ron said, sighing, remembering the horror of the moment. "I was so shocked. All I could think about was that I'd given all those secrets to our enemy, that I was a traitor. I didn't even realize she'd been faking sleep. She was wide awake. She grabbed her wand put me under the Cruciatus curse. It hurt so bad. Then she did something worse, she put me under Imperius and made me act like nothing was wrong."

"So that was why we couldn't find you all day." Hermione said.

"Yes, she hid me away in my room and then cast an illusion charm on me so people couldn't see me. She made me stay there even when people were looking for me. I heard Professor Snape and Remus talking about me being grave danger but I didn't know how they would have known, unless it was on mom's clock."

"It wasn't you mother's clock alone." Dumbledore rumbled, standing up and taking something off of his wrist. "You are on more clocks than just hers, Mr. Weasley."

Ron gaped as Dumbledore handed him a wrist watch with 12 hands on it. He was shocked to see his own name along there. Hermione's was on another hand, both resting under "safe at school". He knew Harry's would be under "Grave Danger", but he was surprised to see Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom on two more hands, along with Severus Snape. All three were under "heading to danger". He recognized a few other names, including his father's before handing it back to Dumbledore.

"The twelve most important people in our fight against the enemy." Dumbledore said softly. "Your name is on there, Mr. Weasley, and has been under "heading to danger" for many weeks now. I wish events had allowed me to keep a better eye on you. As the youngest boy in a large family it is no wonder you often feel overlooked, and having Harry Potter as your best friend also must make it easy to feel second best. However, I chose you for Head Boy not because you were Mr. Potter's friend, but because I thought you were steadfast, strong, and loyal, all qualities I require in a Head Boy. We often see ourselves as being overlooked because that is what we expect to see. You are worthy in your own right, Mr. Weasley, never forget that. Were there no Harry Potter, I believe your name would still be on this watch."

"We have to help Harry." Ron said, trying to rise up in bed and feeling dizzy.

"Rest now, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said softly. "Think about recent events and how they might be affecting Mr. Potter. Think about your friendship with him. As much as he needs his love at his side, he needs his friends as well. You both can give him something that Draco cannot because of the love they share."

"I will." Ron said, blushing a little and hanging his head again as the Headmaster left. Hermione stayed behind, and she took his hand.

"Oh, Ron." She said at last. "I'm sorry you had to go through so much."

"It's okay, Hermione." Ron said after a few moments. He knew he needed to say this, but it took him a lot to gather the will necessary. "Hermione, about Cho, I'm sorry for breaking up with you. It just hurt so much when you accepted Harry's choices and it…well it hurt to be around you. I should never have let that woman touch me like that . Will you forgive me, 'Mione."

"Of course I will." She said with a smile that lifted a great weight from his shoulders.

"Hermione, I know I can't afford fancy bracelets much less a bonding ceremony." Ron began, and as he started to speak his words ran together faster and faster. "The bracelets are worth half of what my Dad makes in a year, and the ceremony costs twice as much as them. That's 'cause the wizard who performs them can only do them twice a year until the bonding period is completed. I know we can't do that but my parents didn't do it either and they are just as happy so I was wondering, Hermione Granger, will you marry me?"

"No." Hermione said, her voice full of so much pain that Ron wanted to comfort her more than feel the shock that echoed through him. They were destined to get married. Everyone knew that!

"Why…why not?" Ron asked, his voice choking.

"I'm in love with Neville." Hermione whispered softly.

"Longbottom!" Ron squeaked, then felt his chest heave for a moment before he started to get dizzy and sinking into blackness. His last though was I lost 'Mione to Longbottom?