Chapter 4: Facing Realities And Madness
Ron
When Dobby appeared after naming Hogwarts as his choice, Ron hoped to be back in the old castle, because the magic of the elves worked differently from the wizards, but to his surprise the place that Dobby took him, was not Hogwarts in absolute. The place was poor lit with a dying fire that was doing very little to ward off the freezing cold from outside, but he was almost certain that Dooby had taken him directly inside the Hog's Head, where they had their first meeting when they asked Harry to teach them a more adequate defense against the dark arts.
He was sure it was the Hog's Head, because the place was still as somber as he remembered and not too surprising, equally deserted, or so he thought at first. A little after he had arrived, when he turned to ask Dobby why he had brought him there, he heard voices coming from a closed door near him and before he could do anything but stay there half frozen, someone opened The door and came out, looking at him without any sign of surprise.
"Oh, you bring him here. Well done, Dobby, you can go back to the kitchen now, dinner had already started at Hogwarts and I do not want a few house elves, cursing me for asking you to pick up Ron Weasley for me." Aberforth Dumbledore told the little elf with a loving tone of voice. He was fond of the little one and had always enjoyed his visits, Dobby simply shook his head, as if discarding his last comment.
"Dobby is a free elf, he can go out when he should and even more so when it's to help Harry Potter. Call me back if you need me." Dobby said and turned to look at Ron, giving him a timid smile. "Tell Harry Potter that I'll help you. You tell him I'll always help him." Dobby told Ron before returning to the kitchen.
Ron was not sure why Dobby had brought him there, but once he saw Ginny come out of the door where the owner of Hog's Head had been before, all the questions in his mind faded. On impulse, he almost ran to his sister and took her in his arms in a tight embrace. Despite the cold, she was lukewarm and he was relieved to see her well and unharmed. He already knew she was out of danger and that she wasn't hurt in any way, as Bill had assured him before, but it was not the same to hear it, as to see it with your own eyes.
"Ron ... Ron ... Ron you idiot, I can't breathe, are you planning to kill me?" Ginny asked as she tried to untangle herself from her brother's embrace.
"Oh, Ginny, are you okay?" Ron asked, releasing the girl to look at her better.
"Of course I am, why wouldn't I? What about you? Why are you here? Where are Harry and Hermione?" She asked, but before Ron could answer any of her questions, Neville also left the room and looked at Ron in disbelief.
"Ron! Bloody hell, Ron, it's really you, it's so good to see you." Neville said giving him a big hug, lightly tapping his back.
"It's good to see you too, Neville, I'm glad you're okay, we hear that you've been punished and sent to the Forbidden Forest ... I was worried that something bad could happen to you there, that damn forest is full of dangers and ..."
"Where's Harry, Ron?" Ginny asked, looking impatiently behind Ron, but she only saw Aberforth watching them in silence, probably waiting for their greetings to end. Ron tensed again with the question and really hoped his sister would have mercy and not kill him instantly, when he told her what happened a few hours ago between them. The fight between them was still fresh in his mind as well as his remorse.
He knew the question would come up as soon as Ginny or anyone else saw him alone, but he didn't expect it to be so soon. For Merlin's sake, she was definitely going to kill him once she finds out about everything. Good Lord, it will all be over before it begins. Ron thought with a sigh and tried to find the least dangerous way to tell her, that he had left her boyfriend and his best friend alone after having a strong argument.
"He was sent here on his own with a mission from my brother Albus, Ginny. You two were also called here for the same reason, so I asked you to come. Where is Luna? She was supposed to come with you, too." Aberforth asked, noting that the blond girl was nowhere to be seen.
"She got a letter from her father in the morning and said she was going to write him back, I haven't seen her since, right Ginny?" Neville asked the red-haired girl beside him.
"I didn't see her either, because she wasn't at Ravenclaw's table when I last checked it." Ginny responded trying to remember when she last saw her, and then a frightening thought came to her mind. "Wait, you don't think the Carrows took her, right?"
"Carrows?" Ron asked.
"I do not think so". Neville said.
"I see ..." Aberforth added sadly.
"Wait, what's going on here guys? I want you to tell me about these Carrows you mention." Ron pressed his friend. The name only, gave him a bad taste in his mouth and what happened to Luna? What happened to Hogwarts in his absence for that matter?
"The Carrows are in charge of the discipline now, but in reality they only punish students from left to right as they please. Well, some of us fight them back, but ..."
"Is that why you look like that?" Ron asked, noticing Neville's cuts on his face.
"Well, others have it worse than this ... what about you? You do not look very well, what have you been doing all this ..."
"We must go back to the castle and check on Luna. I swear if they dared to curse her ..." Ginny interrupted, worried about what might happen to Luna, but was stopped by Aberforth before she could step forward .
"It seems like her destiny is in the hands of someone else, Ginny and I think now is the time for you all to know yours. It's time for you to know what my brother hid from you." Ron gave his former savior a better look and wondered if he really was Dumbledore's brother, as he suggested and after a few seconds of looking at him, concluded that he actually resembles Dumbledore in some way. He certainly seemed to have the same piercing eyes, though his own were ... sadder.
"But Ab, Dumbledore is…" Neville begins.
"Dead, I know. Still, my brother visits me before his death and told me about things you don't know about, not even Harry Potter. In order to correct that mistake, he left behind some things for all of you and make some preparations in order to prevent more tragedies in the near future. Here…" Aberforth said while taking out an envelope that seems to have better days long ago. "This is for you Ron Weasley, but before you read it I will tell you what happened to Albus before his death." Ron unconsciously swallows, not to sure he wanted to hear everything all at once.
"Albus Dumbledore was dying before he was killed, or more like before he begged Severus Snape to free him from his agonizing pain." Say what? Ron thought in surprise, not really sure he had heard him right. Did he just said that Dumbledore was dying before he was killed? That couldn't be right. Why would he hide something like that from them? And he just couldn't imagine Dumbledore begging Snape to actually kill him. Just what nonsense was that guy saying? Was he mental or something?
"That's a lie! Dumbledore would never ask for Snape to kill him! Are you mental?!" Ron burst in anger.
"Ron! Don't said that to him!" Ginny yelled, but he didn't care.
"Oh, I assure you boy that I'm perfectly sane, even if I wish I wasn't. There are too many things that you don't know about my brother. Why would you? Did you know I existed? Did you know he had a sister that was killed for his hunger for power? Did he even tell you where you could find the Horcruxes you were supposed to destroy? Did he give you the means to destroy them in the first place?" Aberforth ask him and although he open his mouth to reply, not a word escape from his lips.
He wanted to deny what this Ab -as Neville called him- said, but he was actually right. The reason he had walked away from Harry and Hermione was precisely because of that. They never had a plan from the start, just a task to complete but no clues as to how to complete it. There was also the matter about not having the means to destroy the Horcruxes as common magic was useless against the thing. It was true that Dumbledore had 'given' the sword to Harry on his will, but the sword wasn't his to give it away in the first place and as much as it hurts to admit it, Dumbledore should have known that the Ministry will never give Harry the sword, especially after Voldemort's rise.
"Well boy, can't find the answers? Well let me give some, so you can see more clearly was taken away from you. I assure you that there is a Horcrux hidden at Hogwarts, although its location is still unknown and the Horcruxes can also be destroy with the venom from a basilisk. If you had recalled what happens at the chamber of secrets, you would have known that Harry Potter destroyed the first Horcrux or Tom Riddle diary, with a fang from the basilisk when he saved your sister. Which leads to one conveniently dead basilisk at your disposal on a hidden chamber below the castle. Just having the fang with you would make your journey easier, right? Still, you didn't return to Hogwarts in where half of your journey would have been completed and the war could have stricken somewhere else far away from Hogwarts." Ginny gasped somewhere between surprise and horror. Neville simply looked lost in thoughts. Ron, however give a few steps back and sat on a nearby chair, no longer sure of anything anymore.
"There is more, but I guess it will be better if you watch it all instead of hearing it from me. While in life, Albus and I were not in good terms. I resented him for what he did to my sister Ariana, so my explanations could be harsher than necessary." Aberforth said taking a small bottle of glass with a shining content. "Have a look all of you, you deserve the truth." Hell, I wasn't expecting this. Oh God, not this of all things. Ron thought while looking at what he knew it was a memory, a Dumbledore's memory.
"Wait Ab, I think this is far…"
"This is something you all should know, Neville. Your future depends on how much you can know from it. Only that way it can be changed. Albus himself admitted that he involved children in this war, but at the end he let them face danger on their own. You know about what happened to Ariana, Neville and you also know the resentment I carry against Albus while he lived, but I agree with him that mistakes should be rectified and lives should be saved. Now, come and witness for yourself what the future could hold for you if not change."
Malfoy
"Don't worry about him Granger, he will snap out of it soon enough once everything he just discover sink in." Malfoy said to the girl sat next to him outside the tent and while he looked up at the clear night sky, he thought she wasn't taking things any better than the one inside the tent. They had moved from the woods to a safer place with no rain falling over all and to give the distraught Potter a chance to get a hold of himself. After he had read aloud most of what Dumbledore write on his diary, both Potter and Granger had been shaken with the many revelations, beginning with Dumbledore's change of heart when he got poison by something unexpected, an Horcrux.
Apparently, Dumbledore had search for Voldemort's Horcruxes himself before he give the trio the task. He found a ring that belonged to the Malvoro's and temped to use its powers to correct his wrong doings, he put it on his finger almost getting himself killed a second after. The ring who Dumbledore explained on his diary, hold the Resurrection Stone which was the reason for momentary losing his mind putting it on his finger while fully knowing that it was cursed. Although with his prodigious skills he manage to contain it from further spreading on his hand and arm, he was unable to stop it completely and shortly after he went to Snape, which was equally skillful in the dark arts, help him to delay the effects of the curse even farther. However, such curse was exactly like poison and it had the tendency to strengthen as the time passes, only giving Dumbledore a short time to live. A short time he used to his fullest to find and understand the many possibilities of their future.
In a way, it was actually ironic that the Dark Lord had unintentionally triggered a change of fates turning the Resurrection Stone into an Horcrux, as Dumbledore bared the pain and agony as if nothing happened and it sent him in a quest to know as much as possible about the near future he will no longer share with others. He read and visit seers he trusted and after having a good glimpse of what could happen in the future, he makes new plans. He learned the hard way that keeping secrets from Harry and his friends had been a big mistake that will take many precious lives away and although the battle of Hogwarts was perhaps inevitable, many things could be changed, many lives could be saved.
He wrote Potter about Snape past first, to give his friend the credit he deserved for risking everything to save the child of the woman he had loved over all. He retold the story of Snape, James and Lilly Potter and how Severus had begged Dumbledore to save them and how he was willing to do whatever it takes in exchange. He wrote everything about how Snape had actually tried to save Potter for years and how he became a double agent for the boys sake after they had failed to save his parents. That alone was hard to take, as Potter had never liked Snape from the start and Granger was too shocked to react at anything at that point. Then it follows the revelations of what he found in his search and that was even worse. Dumbledore knew about Ron leaving them with doubts about their task, about Hermione's possible torture after getting caught and brought to the Malfoy manor in where his aunt most likely end up killing her, he told the two of them about many others possible deaths from students to members of the Order, including that of Fred Weasley which shake the pair the most. The last thing Potter was able to read was about the changes he made in an attempt to change as much as possible.
Very unexpectedly Dumbledore had written in the diary part of his own story, about how he was torture one time after another for days after he couldn't kill Dumbledore, until he was about to break, both physically and mentally and about how Snape had saved and give him a new purpose in life and a way to redeem himself for the many wrongs he did in the past. Then he had told them about the many wrongs he did when younger while embarrassing power and how such path had end in tragedy when his sister Ariana was killed because of his own ambitions. He had said that he couldn't judge others when he had done unforgiving things himself.
Then he wrote some more about the new task he gave to Ron Weasley, if he had decided to follow. Ron was to go back to Hogwarts and find the Horcrux hidden there somewhere, while he told the pair about Voldemort's search for the deadly hallows and where to find the next Horcrux and finally, he had confessed that he pleaded Snape to end his life when the time comes. Snape has refuse his request, even when knowing that Dumbledore was already dying but he had agreed at the end, when he saw no other choice but to do so. He didn't know what the both of them thought about that part, but deep inside him, Malfoy believed that Snape was forced to kill Dumbledore in order to save him in more than one way.
With a sigh, Malfoy looked at Granger, who seems as lost as Potter inside the tent and he wished he could do something to help her. Snape had guided him when he was lost, but could he do the same for her or Potter? Probably not, but he could still try, right?
"I'm sorry Granger, for everything I did to you in the past." He said to her and to his surprise she has snap out of her inner troubled world to look at him. "Believed it or not I truly mean it." Malfoy added holding her gaze.
"Did they truly tortured you?" Granger asked.
"Yes, for two long days I paid the price for been at the wrong side very dearly. I lost count of how many times I pass out under the Crucio curse and it felt a hundred times worse than the Sectumsempra that Potter cast on me at the bathroom. I know how bad it is, so I assure you Granger I will do whatever I can to prevent you from going through such fate as well." That was a promise he intended to fulfill.
"So that means you are a traitor now? Are the Death Eaters looking for you as well?" Granger ask him taking a little more interest in his side of the story.
"Just by being here, giving you Dumbledore's diary and trying to help you on your quest I'm betraying the Dark Lord, but they still think that I'm desperately trying to gain his trust back. I'm not been hunt just yet." Malfoy reply to her, although the possibility of him been branded as a traitor was great indeed. Still, he rather dies as a traitor than as a killer and he was glad that maybe just one day, someone could trust him and he could find true friends.
"What do you mean by that? What were you suppose to do to gain back his trust?" She asked giving him a deeper look under the shine of the moon light.
"I was given the tasks to hunt you down, Granger and summon him once I capture the three of you." How Snape had managed to convince Voldemort to give him the task was beyond him, but he was glad for it. Even if thing didn't end well for him at the end, at least he has tried to move forward to something better than to keep going against his ill as he did before, when he had no other choice but to follow Voldemort's plan.
"And what will happen if you fail to complete your task again?" She asked, although the answer was more than obvious.
"I will be kill, my parents as well." The night air was chilling, but his sudden shiver didn't have anything to do with that.
"And are you fine with risking so much to help us? I don't honestly like your family, but it should matter to you, right? Why taking the chance to get them killed too?" It was a fair question, but it makes his heart sink. He had been having mixed feelings about that particular problem before, but he had made plans for if such thing happens.
"I no longer see my family the same way I did before. Back then, when the Dark Lord ask me to restore the Vanishing Cabinet and kill Dumbledore, I did it all in desperation. The Dark Lord said if I fail he was going to kill us all and it drives me to corners I didn't know existed inside of me. I didn't want to become a murder, but I didn't want to be killed as well and so I go along with the plan, telling myself that I didn't have any other choice if I wanted to keep my parents safe and save myself, but at the end while talking to the Headmaster, my doubts raised again and I failed. Then the torture begins and while under such torment I begin to ask myself why my parents didn't even tried to help me. Worse of all Bellatrix, my own aunt took great pleasure on cursing me herself and it almost broke me. I thought of Potter's family and remember how they die trying to save their son, while mine simply stood there watching me suffer and do nothing to stop it. When Snape offer me a way out, I didn't hesitate to take it. All I wanted was to leave all that madness behind and start anew..." Malfoy said opening a bit of his heart to her.
"But...? There must be something else, right?" Despise his low chances of making the girl by his side trust him, he dared to hope. At the very least, she was showing interest, a thing she would have never done before.
"Yes. Even though I no longer see them the same way, they are still my parents. When I decided to go along with Dumbledore's plan, I also make my owns. I know they will not like it, but at least they will survive, even if got myself killed in the process." When her hand reach him, he almost jumped with surprise.
"I honestly still have doubts, but I think that you have gained this back." She said giving him, his wand.
"Are you sure? I could be laying, Granger." He said gazing at her in search for hesitation, but he finds none.
"I know, but I don't think you are laying now. Let's get inside and see how Harry is doing now. We have been out for three hours already. Come..." She said offering her hand to help him to get up, which he took it as a first step of trust. Just then, while holding her offered hand, something small appeared at Granger's back and he acted pulling the girl back down toward him and rising his wand in a fast move against the newcomer, ready to defend both of them if needed.
"It's me sir, Kragkor." The small thing said and Malfoy sighed in relief while Granger tensed on his lap where she had fall after he had pulled her down.
"Malfoy what's going..."
"Kragkor, why did you came? Did something wrong happen at home?" Malfoy asked ignoring her and giving the house elf his full attention, his heart already going faster inside his chest.
"Yes, sir. A girl had been taken to the dungeon below the manor and she is been interrogate as we speak." Well, it seems that his task had just begun.
"Which girl?" He asked while letting Granger stand up again and following her example right after her.
"I think it's a Lovegood's sir. Luna Lovegoods, if I hear it right." Yeah, it had begun indeed.
"And who is interrogating her, Kragkor?" Malfoy asked, already fearing the answer.
"Her sir. Bellatrix Lestrange." The house elf answer and anger raised inside of him like vile venom. Of course, it would be her.
"I'm sorry Granger but I must go now. Get back to the tent and make sure Potter is keep safe."
"Wait Malfoy! What are you planning to do? If you go now..."
"Damn it Granger, just don't argue! That woman is mad and it will not hesitate to kill the girl if she doesn't give her what she needs. I wasn't planning to expose myself this soon, just in case something really goes wrong and you got capture, but I know her cruelty better than anyone else. That girl will not hold the pain from her curse, I need to act now."
"Then let us help you, she is our friend..."
"No. I will not make matter worse and give her exactly what she had been looking for. Go back to Potter and stay safe. Take this with you..." He took out a coin from his pocket and give to her. "This coin is similar to the ones you guys made for your army. If you get in troubles, tell me and I will do what I can to help you out. Now go back..."
"No."
"Granger!"
"I said no! If Luna is in danger because of us, we will help you to get her out. That's how we do things Malfoy, we help each other."
"I'm not part of your group just yet, I could be leading you to a trap for all you know."
"You are not."
"Just a few hours ago you said you didn't trust me!"
"It's different now."
"How so?!"
"Because you are scare! I can see it in your eyes Draco Malfoy, you are scare of coming back! You are scare to fail again!" She yelled and Malfoy was taken aback for a moment. Was his inner fears really that easy to see?
"She is right Malfoy, we need to do this together if we want this... truce to work." A new voice said, from behind a big tree and both Malfoy and Hermione turned to look at Harry.
"Harry? Since when..."
"Explanations can wait Hermione, we need to go now. Luna is in danger."
"Seriously, I think you both have gone mad after reading that diary..."
"Maybe, come here Hermione, this will give us and advantage." Harry said, while most of his body disappear from their sight.
"The cloak! You are brilliant Harry. Any arguments now Malfoy?" She asked while letting Harry cover her with the invisibility cloak.
"You idiots have a death wish." Malfoy sighed.
"Well, welcome to the club. Can we go now?" Harry asked and Malfoy extended his hand, feeling someone else taking it.
"As you wish, Potter, as you wish." And with that Malfoy picture his room back at his home and they were gone.
AN: See? I told you it was pure madness. Thanks for reading, hope to see you back on the next.
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