Bab 51: Harry's Verdict
"That means from this moment on, you will never again betray me in thought, word or deed. You'll find you can no longer raise a hand against me be it physically, emotionally or spiritually. And since a lot of your crimes against me involved slandering me or talking me into doing things not in my best interest, such as lobbing a firecracker you had stolen from others into the cauldron of yet another, you will no longer be able to use your voices to bring me harm either. Because I despise liars and those who use their words with malicious intentions. You three are and have done both."
"You will no longer be able to lie in thought, word, or deed to or about me ever again. Nor will you find it easy to lie by omission about or to me. Well, at least as long as you wear those marks upon your face."
Harry's hand twitched and Severus correctly interpreted the movement. He hit Harry with another Soothing Throat charm as his voice was getting hoarse again making it hard to understand what he was saying. This was the fourth, maybe fifth, time he'd had to hit him with the charm since this confrontation began and he was beginning to wonder if the boy would be able to finish it without losing his voice completely. Severus knew it was very important everyone know and understand exactly what the boy was doing here today because it'd be the people witnessing the event that would keep the boy out of whatever scheme Dumbledore and his cronies cooked up from the fallout.
Harry smirked at the triad. "Since I know you really aren't that intelligent, I'll explain exactly what that means. It means you will never again falsely represent yourselves as acting in my best interests or on my behalf without my knowledge and permission. It means you will never again call yourselves my friends because you are not and never have been my friends in any manner or by anyone's definition. Except maybe old two-face in his ivory tower who doesn't actually know what friends are any more than he understands the issue of forgiveness and when it is warranted from when it isn't." He frowned over that thought for a moment before continuing.
"It means you will never again take credit for things I've done, said or thought. Or tell others I've said or done things I haven't. It means from this point onwards, if I tell you not to tell someone or anyone something I said or done, you will not do so as soon as my back is turned. Regardless of who asks you. And you will find trying to do so will only bring you pain and misery for your efforts. In other words, from this moment on, you will become trustworthy people."
"From this moment on, any false word against me you try to utter, you will pay dearly for. Every lie you try to tell you will choke on. Every action you undertake to bring me harm, will cost you according to the severity of your action. Magic will decide the price you pay for any future acts of betrayal against me. From this moment on, my secrets are truly my secrets and you three will not be spreading them around like confetti at a ticker tape parade. From this moment on, my deeds and secrets are not a currency you have in abundance any more than you do galleons in Gringott's. Which by the way I took back. Since I never gave permission for the three of you to be paid for your betrayal of me, I saw no reason why you should keep your ill-gotten gains. That is why you no longer have those vault keys."
Ron's confusion was showing through his angry glare so Harry sighed and tried again to explain things to the dense redhead. "In other words, Ronald, because I do know just exactly how dense you truly are, you will no longer be able to walk the halls defaming my character to everyone while demanding that I go sacrifice myself for your family or Dumbledore's Greater Good game. Just because the Old Candyman is engaged in a turf war with ole Tommy Boy doesn't mean I should be the turf they're fighting over. And from now on, you won't be helping them in their fight by dragging me to their agreed upon detentes."
"I understand you're only trying to rebuild your family and make it so that in the future your family will be the leading family of Magical British society. But you'll no longer do it at my expense. And for the record, even in antiquity your family was never the equal of my family. We were always your betters because we had honor and integrity while few of your ancestors did. There's a reason your family name is Weasely."
Now everyone looked confused. Harry rolled his eyes and muttered, "And you purebloods study genealogy. Sheesh." Snape smirked. A little louder Harry explained, "You see, people in antiquity took names that somehow defined them. Or in the case of your ancestor, were named by others for the trait that defined them most. A weasel is not, and never has been, a nice or noble creature. But it has been around for a very long time and it has always liked to make it's home around human habitation where prey is easy to find." He dropped the topic because he really didn't care if they got his point about it or not.
"But in this time, until the day those marks are removed from your faces, you'll never again say or do anything against me or mine to try and bring harm, shame or even ridicule upon me or my name. Any action, word or deed you do engage in will be punished by the mark you now bear. And if you persist in trying to bring me harm, the punishments of the rune will grow stronger. Ronald, you will forevermore wear the mark of the Betrayer for all the world to see because that is exactly what you are as determined by the guilt of your own soul. Nothing you do will ever remove that rune from your countenance and no method will ever succeed in disguising it because by your own hand you tried to kill me, your patron. In full knowledge that I was your patron."
"Remember this. You were the ones who stood here and said I was paying you for services rendered. Well, as the person paying you for your services, I decided to change the payment to something you truly deserve. You Weaselys were raised in this world and are fully aware actions have consequences. Not all of them pleasant. You know damn well what it means to take coin from someone and then betray their trust by engaging in actions by which they could be seriously harmed or killed. You know when you agree to take someone's coin from them for a service, you are required by magic to fulfill that service to them."
"You agreed to take my coin to be my friend," He said pointing at Ron. Turning his finger to Hermione he said, "You agreed to take my coin to be my study buddy and aide me with my learning." Pointing to Ginny he said, "And you took my coin and agreed to hold yourself in waiting for me should I decide at some date in the future I had a need of your company no matter what form that company might take."
"All three of you failed to live up to your obligations to me. The one who's coin you were taking." He let the collective absorb that before continuing. "Just as you know, or should know, what it means when you owe a debt on your magic to another. Such as a life debt. This is the service I demand. Obedience, Truthfulness and Loyalty. From all three of you. Go learn what it means."
As one, the trio walked out of the library. Not one of them could say why they were obeying him because they certainly didn't wish to. But they were. As soon as they were gone, Harry sank back down in the chair he had been sitting in when they accosted him. He was pale and shaking now that it was over and his throat hurt. Badly. Yet he knew better than to show a weakness in front of the Slytherins. They'd eat him alive for it.
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