Surviving Disgrace

Chapter Summary: Prophetic!Dumbledore and Bitter!Harry make appearances, along with Draco and Demetria´s personalities and the Weasley clan and Sirius.

Chapter 3: Prophecies, Destinies and Weasleys, Oh My!

"Ours not to reason why Ours but to do and die." -Alfred Lord Tennyson

"That is rather Obi Wan Kenobi-ish of you."

The others glared at Draco as Albus Dumbledore sat in the chair next to Lupin and helped himself to a biscuit. "Well, I want to thank Remus for bringing all of you up to speed. I am sorry that I could not do it myself, but I felt that Remus would be the best candidate for the job. Now, I would like to offer my apologies to all of you."

He looked fondly upon the four Gryffindors, "I can only offer my deepest and sincerest apologies and hope that it might make up for the smallest bit of the pain you have gone through this last year. I did what I thought was best for everyone, and I hope that you will be able to understand. I know that my motives are not always clear but I want you to know that I have never given up on you four and I never will. Harry, I need you to please forgive me. I know that you felt betrayed by what I said that night. I never wanted to do such a thing to you, and I wouldn´t have if I didn´t think it was the right thing to do."

Harry looked Dumbledore in the eye as he said this. He had always trusted him and always believed that as long as Dumbledore walked this earth, nothing could harm him. Harry had never expected that the man himself could hurt him as badly as he did. Deep down inside, he understood why Dumbledore had sent them away, but the feeling of hate he had for Dumbledore had become such a familiar presence, it was hard to let go of it.

"Professor, I understand why you thought you had to do this, but why not tell us later what had happened? Why wait all this time?" Harry asked. Dumbledore smiled wistfully and nodded.

"That is a good question Harry. The reason is because of you. I was aware of the problems you had soon after your escape. How would you have reacted to me if I had shown up on your doorstep?" he countered. Harry thought for a moment about what he would have done.

He didn´t remember what had gone on those first few weeks; everything was a blur. The pain inside him had taken over during that time. After his tiny breakdown at the end of fourth year in the hospital wing, he had never let his emotions run free again. That was until after the attack on Hogwart´s. He lost it then, grieving for the loss of his friends and family. He had lost control of his magical abilities, and the others had to lock him in a padded room so that he wouldn´t hurt himself or anyone else. He had already destroyed half of the house through accidental magic by the time they were able to imprison him.

It was in that room that the hatred had started to grow. He let it fill him; hatred for Dumbledore and his betrayal grew in him and by the time they had let him out, he was ready to destroy Albus Dumbledore. He never mentioned any of this to the others. They would never understand. While they were disappointed in Dumbledore, they could never hate him. They were better than that.

Harry knew now that had Dumbledore come near him during that time, Harry would have tried to harm him before he could even speak. He knew that Dumbledore was right in trying to stay away and work behind a curtain.

"You see Harry, that is why I stayed away," Dumbledore said, not needing a verbal answer from Harry, "I felt that the time was right to have everyone come together now and reveal their true identities and intentions to one another. Now I can talk freely with you without the fear of any of you or myself being taken by the Ministry. I´ve come to see you all because I have a request of you."

"This is where the destiny stuff comes in," Ron said and Dumbledore nodded.

"I have been informed that Voldemort has begun to concentrate his forces as of late. He is preparing for something and I have just recently found out what it is. Some of you may be familiar with the Zodiac Prophecy," Dumbledore looked around at blank faces, all except Hermione who seemed to be thinking hard.

"It seems familiar to me Professor, but I don´t know where I´ve heard it before," she said, looking frustrated with herself.

"You might have come across it in your last year of Defence Against the Dark Arts. It is written about in only the ancient texts and is thought to be nothing but rubbish. I believe that what is written is true, as does Voldemort and he is trying to fulfil the prophecy for himself. As the legend goes, there is a large jewel that exists in what is called Limbo. A place where time stands still and what exists there exists forever. The jewel is called the Jewel of Hesand and is a very powerful talisman. It holds the power to change the very fabric of our universe."

"The texts say that anyone who possesses and uses the jewel will be able to destroy and rebuild the universe to his own preference. We believe that Voldemort wants this jewel to reconstruct the universe. Not just anyone can open up Limbo; it can only be done by it guardians. These people are known as the Children of the Magical Zodiac. I´m sure you are familiar with the Magical Zodiac," Dumbledore paused.

"Of course, there´s the Gryphon, the Sphinx, Hippogryph...umm..."Ginny began.

"The Centaur, Pegasus, Cerberus," Ron added.

"Siren, Queen Mab...uh..." Harry had started ticking off the creatures on his fingers.

"Don´t forget the Dragon," Draco said proudly.

"The Minotaur, the Phoenix and the...oh what is it?" Hermione thought out loud, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"The Satyr," Demetria said. She was holding an open book and tossed it down on the table. The pages showed a large circle split into twelve even pieces of a pie. At the outer edge of the circle were ancient drawings of each creature, with their names below in Greek and Latin.

"I see you are familiar with the zodiac, Demetria. Now, the legend says that there are people who walk the earth who possess the spirits of these guardian creatures. These people are the only ones that can open Limbo. They are the only ones who know where the opening to Limbo is as well. Without all twelve of these Children, Limbo is inaccessible," Dumbledore explained, "Now, we´ve been researching this legend and we´ve been able to determine who these people are that possess the spirits. I am also aware that Voldemort is searching as well. As far as I know, he has yet to identify them, but it is only a matter of time."

"What I need for all of you, is to help us with contacting these people. We want to explain to them what is going on and that we can help them avoid capture by Voldemort. I want all of you to go out and contact these people and convince them to come back here. This is a safe area; Voldemort cannot touch them here. It is imperative that we keep him away from them," Dumbledore finished and sat back.

"You are asking a lot of us, sir," Hermione said as the others sat silent.

"I realise that and I want you all to think long and hard about what I am asking you to do. You will be risking your lives if you take on this mission. I have not come here expecting that you will all agree immediately," Dumbledore clarified.

"You want us to work together and risk our lives for people we have never even met?" Draco exclaimed, his face twisted into a sneer.

"What´s the matter Malfoy? You can whisper information behind his back but you can´t come face to face with You-Know-Who? Too scared?" Ron said, disgust in his voice.

Draco crossed his arms across his chest. "Hardly weasel. I just think that it is stupid to court death. You all may be holy-than-thou heroes, who would die for The Cause, but I´m not. I´m here for only one reason: self-preservation. I refuse to gamble that away for the lives of people who mean nothing to me."

"Did you not hear him? This isn´t only about the lives of those twelve people, but the lives of the entire human race. If Voldemort gets the jewel, then our entire world will cease to exist and despite the fact that you think so highly of yourself, that includes you too," Hermione told him.

"That´s a big if. How do we know that this jewel even exists? It´s written about in ancient texts but so was the Apocalypse that Nostrudamus predicted. Well, we´re all here still, so not everything written in books is true, sorry to say Granger," Draco countered, moving towards the door as he spoke, "You can go and do this by yourselves. You all know that my presence on this mission wouldn´t be welcome even if I was all for getting our skulls crushed." With that he slammed that door behind him, causing the widows to shudder under their boards.

"Well, that is his decision to make. Mr. Malfoy is right. I am asking all of you to risk your lives for people you have no connection to. You will most likely run into Death Eaters who will be after not only these people, but also your own blood. You must know all the risks that are involved here. I will not fault you if you refuse to do this as Mr. Malfoy has. I will not say I will not be disappointed, but it is your life to do with what you want. I will give you time to think things through. I will come back tomorrow to hear your answers. Good luck," Dumbledore said and Apparated away with a small pop.

"Demetria, will you go find Draco and get him to come back so you can all discuss this?" Remus asked politely. Demetria was still standing next to the wall, unmoved by Malfoy´s exit.

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I´m sick of him acting like this. Just let him sulk. He can do whatever he wants, I don´t care. I´m up for this. If the rest of you don´t want to do it, that´s fine, but I will. I owe Dumbledore."

This was not what anyone expected to hear. Harry had assumed that she would feel the same way Malfoy did. He realised that all he knew about her was what Remus had told them. It was a very small piece of her puzzle, in retrospect. He had considered her to be cut from the same cloth as Malfoy but it was possible that he was mistaken.

"How about I take you to your cottage and you can talk there?" Demetria suggested, moving to the door. The others nodded and followed Demetria out.

"I´ll go talk to Draco then," Remus sighed deeply. Talking to an irate Malfoy was not on his list of things he was fond of. He had done it several times when Draco had pushed Demetria past her point and she no longer wanted anything to do with him. It seemed to be happening more often as of late and he was always the mediator.

"Damn you Sirius. `You should live with them. It´ll be fun, like a vacation. They´re old enough to take care of themselves, they won´t be a bother.´ Won´t be a bother, my arse," he mumbled as he walked towards the lake.

***

Lupin found Draco talking to a young woman near the lakeshore. He recalled that the girl had come with her parents and younger siblings earlier in the week to stay in one of the cottages for a month. She was quite pretty, with strawberry blonde hair and tan skin. They seemed to be having an animate conversation filled with laughter. It was obvious to Lupin even at a distance that the two were flirting.

"So you could teach me?" Lupin heard her ask as he got closer.

"Of course. I´m an old pro at water skiing. It´s really easy if you have the right teacher," he said, smiling crookedly at her.

She smiled back warmly. "Well, I´m sure you are a great teacher." Her voice was filled with the innuendo that she was sure that he was great at a lot more things than just water skiing, "How about I meet you for a lesson tomorrow?"

"Sure," he said, "I work at the main house until noon. How about we meet at one o´clock?"

"Great," she said enthusiastically, "Well, I better go, my parents will be wondering where I am. See you tomorrow Drake." She tucked his hair behind his ear in an intimate gesture and walked back towards the cottages. Draco´s eyes followed her until they came to rest on Lupin. He rolled his eyes and turned back to look out over the lake. The sun was beginning to dip low in the sky, signalling that evening was fast approaching.

Lupin wandered over to Draco´s side and stood there quietly, just looking at the water. The lake was a darker blue now, with the rays of sun making the surface of the water appear to have gold dust floating on it. It was a breathtaking sight that Lupin loved. A few children were still out in a canoe, probably thinking of ways to get their parents to let them skip dinner so they could stay out longer. Trees framed the edged of the lake and an island that was deserted except for flora and fauna sat in the middle of the lake at a distance. The animal part of him always longed to break out during the full moon and explore the area. The smells and sounds drew him but he could never take the risk that he might happen upon some unsuspecting victim.

He looked at Draco and wondered what he was thinking. When he had first taken the assignment of protecting the two reformed Death Eaters, he had worried that he would have the most trouble with Draco. He remembered him from the short time he had taught at Hogwart´s and had Draco as a student. He was a horrible child then, full of hate and jealousy. Lupin had worried that he had not changed, despite his flight from the clutches of Voldemort.

He was surprised to find that while Draco could still be quite a pain, he wasn´t all that bad. He had grown up and matured and had opened his horizons. It had been difficult getting him acclimated to serving Muggles but a few choice words from Demetria had quieted him. Lupin soon learned that Draco´s feelings went much deeper than he had imagined. Draco was intelligent and had learned much over his two years here. He now enjoyed Muggle television, books and films and had also learned to drive a car, though Lupin was sure that he hadn´t learned how to water ski and he wondered how Draco planned to pull that off.

Draco had shown that he appreciated the simplicity of nature as well. All in all, he was quite a complicated person with many levels. He also had a vicious temper that Lupin had learned to deal with as well. The easiest way to get Draco to talk was to sit with him in silence until he cracked and that was just what Lupin was waiting for.

"So, are you going to say anything?" Draco drawled, still staring at the water.

"Beautiful day," Remus commented, leaning back on his heels with his hands in his pockets.

"That´s not why you are here."

"Do you want to tell me what that was all about?"

Draco was silent for a moment and then dropped to the sand in a huff. Remus followed suit and began to run the rough sand through his fingers.

"It´s just not me, that´s all," Draco started to explain.

"What isn´t you?"

"I´m not a hero. I´m not Potter or Weasley or Granger. I wasn´t meant to do the things they do. I am not self-less and kind. I don´t wander around the forest singing and having all the forest animals follow my every step. Leave that to Potter and his friends. If Dumbledore wants heroes, he should have just left me and Ria out of it."

Remus nodded in understanding. "I see what you are saying, but you should know that Demetria agreed to do it. The others are still thinking about it, but she agreed to help Albus no matter what."

"She did?" Remus nodded and then Draco shrugged his shoulders, "Well, that´s her decision to make."

"And it doesn´t bother you at all that she´s going to do it?" Remus prodded.

"I don´t care. If she wants to cosy up with Potter and his friends, by all means, let her. I don´t think she realises what will happen once Voldemort is gone. She adores her father and once Voldemort is destroyed, her father will end up in Azkaban. I´m not saying that I want Voldemort to remain in power, I don´t, but I know that she is doing this because she wants to go home. She doesn´t understand that her and I have nothing to go home to. Her father will be in prison; my mother is dead and my father mad. She´s doing this for all the wrong reasons. She wants to go to a home that doesn´t exist and be accepted by people who never will because of what she once was. She is so stupid sometimes."

"And you don´t feel like she´s betrayed you by saying she´ll do it?" Remus kept pushing at Draco, who would not look at him, but kept his eyes directed at the water. Remus´ animal sense allowed him to feel people´s emotions and he could feel anger rolling off of Draco in waves.

"Of course not. It´s not like we are best friends or anything. Oh wait, we are. She can go off on adventures and missions, all she wants and be heralded the hero and leave me behind, that´s fine," Draco said bitterly, picking up and snapping in half a piece of driftwood.

"But I thought you said you didn´t care?"

"I don´t care," Draco said and surged to his feet. Remus stayed sitting and watched Draco paced a small section of the beach, "And it´s obvious that she doesn´t care either. The Ria I know wouldn´t go off without me. She´s almost never done anything alone. She was devastated when our parents sent us to separate schools. She hated being somewhere without me. Now she goes up and volunteers for this thing while knowing that I won´t do that. She doesn´t realise that she can´t cut it without me right by her side. She´s so naïve sometimes."

Remus was quiet as he let Draco continue to rant, talking himself into this far better than anyone else could. It was easy this time, but Remus could remember other times where he had to listen to Draco rant about everything under the sun for hours before he finally conceded defeat. It was a very exhausting process.

"If I´m not there with her, she´ll be killed. I can´t have her blood on my hands. She can´t go," Draco told him with an air of determination.

"She was very adamant that she would be a part of this mission, I don´t think you can convince her otherwise," Remus said quietly.

"Great, that means I will have to do it. Bloody well great. I want you to remember that I am only doing this for Demetria, I can´t lose her. She´s all I have left of family and I´m all the family she has. Malfoy´s protect their family," Draco said finality.

"I´m glad you feel this way Draco, I´m sure Dumbledore will be happy to hear about it, and Ria as well," Lupin said.

"Why wasn´t she the one to come and talk to me?" Draco asked suddenly. He had not realised at first how odd it was that his supervisor had come to talk to him instead of his best friend.

"Well," Lupin said, averting his eyes, he hated these kinds of things. James and Sirius were like this in their youth, "She didn´t want to come. I believe she is angry with you."

"Shit," Draco muttered under his breath as he raked his hand through his hair.

"May I ask why she would be angry?" Remus had always wondered about the relationship between Draco and Ria. All he knew was that they had grown up together and were best friends. Sometimes it seemed that there was more between them than just friendship but then at other times he was confused. Times like earlier when Draco was chatting up one of their guests. As much as he hated getting into the middle of things and being a mediator, figuring more out about Draco and Demetria interested him far more greatly, and so he attempted to involve himself to a certain extent. He had tried on many occasions during their squabbles under the guise of a friendly ear but every time he did, he was politely and not so politely told to mind his own business.

"No you may not," Draco said curtly, "I better go find her." He headed off towards the main house before Lupin called out to him that she had shown the others to their cottage. Draco quickly changed direction towards the stands of trees, swiping branches out of his way.

"I´m too old for this," Remus sighed and headed towards the cottage as well.

***

"Have any of you made a decision?" Hermione asked as she unpacked their food.

"It doesn´t look like we have any other choice, does it?" Ginny said. She was currently placing things around the living room to make it more cosy.

"What do you mean?" Harry questioned her, as he came out of his bedroom carrying Hedwig´s cage. He placed it on the windowsill for her to come to when she returned from delivering their letter to the Weasley´s.

"We can´t tell Dumbledore no," Ginny said.

"And why not?" Harry replied with an edge of anger in his voice.

"Oh come on Harry, you´re not telling me you are still mad at him. He explained himself and it makes perfect sense why he had to turn us away," Hermione said, exasperated.

"Look, I just don´t trust him. In school, I had to do what he said, even when he didn´t explain himself or he left things out of what he told me. I still continued to do that after school because I looked up to him, I idolised him. This past year has taught me that Dumbledore isn´t as great as everyone makes him out to be. He doesn´t always know what is best. He´s still human and he makes mistakes and he lies. There is something he is not telling us, and I don´t like the feeling it gives me," he held up his hand to stop Hermione from speaking, "I know you are just going to say that it is past feelings blurring my judgement, but it´s not. Remember this is the man who sent me to face Voldemort when I was eleven years old. He knows things, and while he did prepare me as best he could, he can´t see into the future. He could not be completely certain that I wasn´t going to die getting the Philosopher´s Stone. I feel that he is directing us again to do something that we might be harmed doing. I know that he says there is risk in contacting these people, but there´s something more. Something much more serious that he doesn´t want us to know about."

"You are being paranoid. We have to do it. Think what will happen if Voldemort does get these people to open Limbo. It would be the end of the world, as we know it. Harry, I thought the one thing in life you wanted most was to defeat Voldemort," Ginny said.

"The one thing I want most in my life is to have my parents back, maybe then I´d have a normal life," Harry said bitterly. Ginny rolled her eyes, angst Harry was back.

"Look at least ask Ron what he thinks," Hermione suggested and called for Ron to come into the living room, "Darling, what do you think we should do?"

"I say Dumbledore can piss off," Ron said.

"Pardon me?" Hermione asked, thinking that she must have heard Ron wrong.

"I´m not working with Malfoy and Dumbledore is totally off his rocker if he is going to trust someone like him," Ron said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But Malfoy said he wasn´t going to do it, you heard him earlier," Ginny pointed out.

"He said that then, but Malfoy has always been a glory hog. Once he realises that he could get accolades for this, he´ll be chomping at the bit to do it," Ron told her.

"I can´t believe you two!" Ginny said, throwing her arms up, "Are Hermione and I the only decent people here? This isn´t about some old house rivalry or whether or not Dumbledore is your favourite person in the world, this is about those people who have powers that they don´t even know about and are going to be kidnapped and tortured for information to the location of an object that may or may not exist. This isn´t about your petty grudges, but about innocent people´s lives. Do you two not understand that if that jewel is real and Voldemort gets his hands on it what will happen? The jewel transforms the universe into whatever the holder wishes. What do you think Voldemort will change in our universe? Well?"

"He will be the ruler of the world," Ron muttered.

"Yes and what´s the one thing he hates most in the world?" she prompted.

"Muggles and Muggle-borns," Hermione whispered, understanding where Ginny was going with this.

"Exactly. Harry, once he changes the universe, you and Hermione will no longer exist. Hermione is Muggle-born and your mother is Muggle-born as well. If you won´t do this for those innocent people out there, at least do it for yourself and your best friend," Ginny pleaded with him.

"She´s right Harry," Hermione said, her face showing a deep sadness. Harry had always been ready to be the hero whether he liked it or not. To see him this hesitant was more heartbreaking than the depression he had been through this past year.

"Ginny, you don´t understand," Harry said, shaking his head. She didn´t understand the feeling that was growing inside him every time he thought of what Dumbledore was asking of them. It was sense of dread because this small decision would effect more lives than they could imagine and turn all of their lives upside down. He couldn´t explain how he knew this, he just did.

"I understand plenty, Harry Potter, you are a coward. And you Ron, are an idiot. I can´t be around you right now," Ginny said and stalked out the door, knocking over Draco Malfoy as she clambered down the front steps.

"I hardly think I deserved that," Ron said, looking to Hermione for confirmation.

"Yes you did, you great idiot! And you too!" she said, looking to Harry, "I can´t believe I am living with such cowards! It´s pathetic really, to see two woman, one your girlfriend, the other your little sister, ready to fight to the death but you are too hung up on the past. That goes for both of you. Bloody cowards you are!"

With that she went out the door too and shoved Malfoy out of her way, causing him to fall down again.

"Watch what you´re doing Granger, you too Weasley," he called after them, "Oi, is Demetria here?"

"Fuck off Malfoy," both Ron and Harry yelled.

"Back at you, wankers," Draco said, "What´s the matter, those two find out about you boy´s love affair?"

Harry pulled out his wand. "I mean Malfoy, get the hell out of here."

"Oh, I´ve offended the sensitive Boy Who Lived, whatever shall I do?"

With that Harry´s wand let out a loud bang and the room filled with smoke.

***

Ginny walked through the forest with large steps, shoving branches out of her way. With her flame red hair, she could almost picture steam billowing off of her as she tried to cool her temper down.

"Bloody arses," she muttered to herself. Sometimes Harry and Ron could be so stubborn and it drove her crazy. Now was not the time for them to be stubborn but they still insisted on it. No matter what, they wouldn´t listen to her and see the side of coin she was showing them. She hated being the youngest, it meant that everyone thought they knew what was right and she knew nothing.

The trees started to thin out and the grass turned to sand. Ginny realised that she hadn´t been paying attention to where she was going and had just let her anger direct her. She seemed to have gone into the forest and somehow lead herself to the lakeshore. She could tell that she had headed in the opposite directions of the main house and had walked around the edge of the lake for a while.

Ginny came upon a small deserted cove that had a small strip of sand and calm waters. It was beautiful and quiet here, the sides of the cove held large stands of trees that kept the small cove insulated from the noise on the busy lake. The sun had finally begun it´s descent into the lake and had turned the sky pink and red.

Ginny all of a sudden realised that she was not alone on the beach. A girl sat on the sand staring out at the lake, the sun turning her brown hair copper. "Hallo Demetria."

Demetria turned around but did not seem startled by Ginny´s presence. Apparently Ginny had been making plenty of noise in the bush and she had heard her coming for a while. "Hey."

"Do you want me to leave?" Ginny said, feeling like she was intruding on something.

"No, it´s okay," she replied, "I was expecting company anyway."

"Who?" Ginny asked as she sat on the sand beside Demetria.

"Draco. He knows I come to this place when I´m upset with him and he usually comes out here to apologise," Demetria explained.

"Malfoy apologises?" Ginny said astonished.

Demetria laughed. "Of course he does. As much as all of you hate him, he´s still human."

"I always thought he was sub-human," Ginny muttered under her breath but Demetria heard her and laughed again.

"So did I for a long time. He´s not exactly the easiest person to get along with, as you can see. I´m his best friend and I´ve known him all my life and he still bothers me sometimes. Kind of like a brother, do you know what I mean?"

"Oh boy, do I. I have six older brothers and they irritate the hell out of me sometimes. Well, at least they used to. I haven´t seen any of them but Ron in over a year. I do miss them," Ginny said wistfully, "Though Ron does make up for all of them once and a while."

"I take it that now is not a time that he is making up for the missing Weasleys," Demetria said, "I don´t think anyone else knows about this place except for Draco and I. I think this cove must be enchanted because we can only seem to find it when we are mad. We´ve gone looking for it before when we were in the best of moods and can never find it. Obviously you must have been angry to have stumbled upon this place." Ginny sighed deeply. She wasn´t sure if she wanted to share this information with someone she had only a few hours before thought was a Death Eater but she had to get it out. Besides, she thought she would go crazy soon if she couldn´t talk to someone other than Harry, Ron or Hermione. She had not had a real conversation with any other people in over a year and it might feel good to talk to Demetria.

"Don´t worry," Demetria reassured her, "We are both angry at men and as women, we are allowed to talk about that sort of stuff with even our worse enemy and it´s not breaking any rules."

Ginny laughed at this. "I suppose not. I just got into an argument with Harry and Ron. They are being impossible right now. It´s very frustrating."

"Let me guess, they don´t want to help?"

Ginny nodded. "And it´s ridiculous. Harry says he won´t because he has a `feeling´ which I know is rubbish. He´s just scared now. He´s scared that what happened before will happen again. I´m sure he thinks that it´s really this anxiety that is holding him back but I know that deep down it´s fear."

"What about Ron?" Demetria asked.

"He doesn´t want to work with Malfoy. He says that we shouldn´t trust Death Eaters. Oh!" Ginny clapped her hand over her mouth, "I´m so sorry."

"Quite all right," Demetria said with a wave of her hand, "I´m not sure whether or not to trust all of you either. All of us are in the same place. We´ve all been betrayed and been propagated for and against, we don´t know who or what to trust anymore."

"I know what you mean. You believe something for so long, it´s hard to let that go and trust again," Ginny sighed and began to draw circles in the sand.

"Yes that´s true. I´ve been told since I was a child that I should hate Harry Potter. He almost killed the Dark Lord and for that he must die. From where I´m sitting right now, he doesn´t seem like such a bad bloke. Not exactly the life of the party but other than that he seems tolerable," Demetria told her.

"You don´t seem so bad either. Except for trying to kill us earlier," Ginny said smiling.

"Yes, sorry about that. Though, I won´t apologise too much since Hermione cracked three of my ribs," Demetria rubbed her ribs that still ached slightly, despite the magic charm Draco had put on them.

"Well, you did crack her boyfriend´s head into a ceiling, more than once, I might add."

"I thought it might knock some sense into him." The two laughed together and then sat for a few moments in silence.

"Can I ask you something?" Ginny said.

"Sure."

"Why did you do it?"

"Become a Death Eater?" Ginny nodded. Demetria sighed and looked out to the horizon for a few moments, "I guess because I was groomed to be a Death Eater from even before my birth. I did and thought what I was told by my father, by my Uncle Lucius and by the Dark Lord himself. They planned my entire life out. They decided that it was better I attend Duremstrang instead of Hogwart´s. I hated it there, by the way, don´t ever send your children there. They even decided on my future husband. I didn´t even find out about that until I was initiated as a Death Eater."

"You´re engaged?" Ginny questioned.

"Yes, he was chosen for me at my birth. It seems old fashioned, I know, but the idea for the next generation of Death Eaters was that they would be a blend of the best and brightest that the inner circle had to offer. Therefore, as a future member of the inner circle, I was betrothed to another future member. It was written under a magical contract and is unbreakable. I have to either marry this man or never marry at all. He is in the same position as I am as well," Demetria explained to her.

"And your parents thought this was okay?" Ginny asked. She couldn´t imagine her parents making her marry any man she didn´t choose herself. The thought of being told who to love and who not too seemed so medieval.

"My father was fine with it. He felt that the family I was marrying into was the best family in the wizarding world, next to ours of course."

"What family?"

"Malfoy," she said, smiling.

"You are engaged to DRACO MALFOY?" Ginny cried out, her eyes goggling.

"He´s not that bad," Demetria said, laughing.

"But he´s Malfoy!"

"I know he´s a pain but he is my best friend."

"Doesn´t your mother see something wrong with marrying a man like him?" Ginny asked. The smile fell from Demetria´s face and Ginny knew she had said something wrong.

"My mother never met Draco. She died giving birth to me," Demetria said softly.

"I´m sorry," Ginny said.

"Don´t be, you didn´t kill her."

Ginny sat and thought on this a moment. This poor girl had grown up without a mother and was bullied by her father into doing everything he and Voldemort and her Uncle Lucius wanted, including marrying Malfoy. Wait, she thought, Malfoy...Uncle Lucius...it can´t be. "Did you say Uncle Lucius? As in Lucius Malfoy?"

"Lucius isn´t too common of a name, is it?"

"You and Draco are cousins?" Ginny asked, confused and slightly disgusted by the possibility of incest.

"No, I´ve just always called his parents Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa since I was a child. The Malfoys and Macnairs have always been close families," Demetria explained, "That´s why Draco and I were chosen to be married to each other rather than to other members of the circle."

"My, what a horrible childhood you must have had with all those awful people around," Ginny said with sympathy. Demetria began to laugh and Ginny was puzzled.

"I´m sorry to laugh at you," Demetria said, "It´s just that so many people think the way that you do and I always find it funny. Despite popular belief, not all Death Eaters come from bad parents and rotten childhood. I, in fact, had a wonderful childhood, full of all the comforts and everything I ever wanted. I was spoiled rotten, so was Draco. My father adored me and showered me with the best of everything, including love. So did Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa. Aunt Narcissa was the mother I never had and taught me all the girlie things I needed to know and Uncle Lucius treated me as he would his own daughter. Draco and I never wanted for love."

"I guess I never thought of it like that. If you had such a wonderful household, then why follow someone so evil as Voldemort?" Ginny asked. The home that Demetria had described seemed much like her own but Ginny could never see anyone in her family become a Death Eater. Well, except for maybe Percy, but Percy was a quirky kind of bloke.

"The Malfoys and Macnairs are old wealthy and powerful families. We control many businesses and industries that make us much profit. Though, we weren´t always that way. Draco´s ancestors and mine farmed together a long time ago but both men dreamed of something more. This was during the time of Hogwart´s founding and Slytherin´s defection from them. Slytherin promised to anyone who would follow him in his hatred of Muggles and Muggle-borns great power and wealth. Our ancestors agreed and were bound to follow him forever. This magical contract has existed through all this time and when Voldemort rose for the first time over fifty years ago, he had taken so many ideas and examples from Slytherin, that this old bond between the servants and Slytherin was fused between them and the Dark Lord. Many of his most loyal followers are bound to him because of what was done over a thousand years ago."

"I never knew any of that," Ginny said in amazement.

"I´m not saying that my father and Draco´s parents haven´t done bad things but you must understand that they never treated their children badly. I have seen some of the things they can do and they are ruthless people. I know about what Uncle Lucius did to you," Demetria told her.

Ginny stiffened. Not too many people mentioned what had happened in her first year at Hogwart´s and it was a surprise to hear someone mention it so nonchalantly. "I´ll never get over what happened then but I can´t dwell on it the rest of my life."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Uncle Lucius won´t be doing anything like that to anyone else again."

"How do you know? Despite what you may think of him, he´s capable of anything," Ginny said bitterly.

"He´s barely capable of feeding himself anymore," Demetria said, "He´s been locked up in St. Mungo´s. His mind has gone completely to mush. He went crazy after Aunt Narcissa´s murder."

"She´s dead?"

Demetria nodded. "She was killed one night by a bunch of wizards. Doing the work of the light side they said. That´s bullshit. She was sent on a recognisance mission and they caught her off guard and stole her wand. There were about five wizards who did it. Then they proceeded to rape her. They thought she wasn´t anyone important until one of them tore her shirtsleeve and saw the Dark Mark. They realised that they would all be killed should word ever get out that they raped a Death Eater and so they killed her so that she couldn´t identify them. Stupid wizards they were, they didn´t realise all the noise they were making. Ministry officials came upon them as well as a group from a nearby tavern. They said that Aunt Narcissa attacked them and they defended themselves. The wizards and witches from the tavern cheered and heralded them heroes. The Ministry officials on the other hand, were Death Eaters and could surmise what had happened. They knew that Narcissa would never try and take on five wizards unless it was unavoidable. She wasn´t there to kill, only to gather information. There was nothing the Ministry officials could do now that the public knew the story. They couldn´t charge them with anything."

"When they told Lucius, he just lost his mind. He became a raving lunatic and we were forced to institutionalise him. Draco and I were given the names of the men who did this. In case you are wondering if either of us ever killed anyone during our time in the inner circle, the answer is yes. We killed all five of those men but not before we tortured them. It may make me an evil person but I do not regret what I did. I think you can understand why we did what we did."

Ginny reached up to tuck a piece of her hair that the wind was blowing behind her ear and realised that her cheeks were wet with tears. She did understand Demetria´s anger and reasons for doing what she did. They had all done it that night at Hogwart´s to avenge their friends and Demetria and Draco did it to avenge the death of their beloved mother. Ginny knew that any of her brothers and herself would do it if anyone had harmed a hair on Molly Weasley´s head.

"I do," Ginny whispered.

"I think that´s where a lot of Draco´s reluctance comes from about this whole mission. If Draco does this and we help defeat Voldemort, all of our names are cleared. Every single one of us can go back home, but the only thing is that Draco has no home to go to. He considers my father to be a second father to him, but I know that he fears, just as much as I do, that even with Voldemort´s final death, he may not welcome us back or worse be imprisoned. Draco is scared of the unknown and right now, his future is unknown and he hates that. If he stays here in hiding, he doesn´t have to face anything. He will be at a standstill but if he does help Dumbledore and does end Voldemort´s chance at more power, then he has to face things," Demetria explained.

"Harry is going through the same sort of thing. He knows that the only chance we have to clear our names is if we defeat Voldemort. We will be the heroes again and we can go home, but what if that doesn´t happen? What if the public still thinks we are murderers despite destroying Voldemort? What does he do then? It´s that fear of the unknown that is stopping him right now. He was never like that before. When we were in school, he couldn´t even begin to understand the term `Look before you leap´ and now he is running like a scared chicken. It´s so frustrating," Ginny told her. Demetria nodded in understanding and the two sat in a comfortable silence, staring at a mother duck swim across the cove with her babies following in a line behind her.

"Well, isn´t this a pretty picture?" The two girls turned around to see Draco emerging from the forest, "What are you doing here, Weasley?"

"Just talking with Demetria," she said politely.

"Shouldn´t you be fawning all over Potter, he looked a little upset when I was there. He probably misses his devoted admirer," Draco drawled, standing with his hands on his hips. His hair was mussed up and he had dark streaks across his face, arms and clothing. He looked as if he had got into a brawl with a chimney sweep.

"Just ignore him," Demetria whispered close to Ginny´s ear, making Ginny giggle softly, "He´s like a dog protecting his territory." Ginny giggled softly.

Draco stared open mouthed at this exchange. He had never even dreamed of seeing Demetria Macnair exchanging secrets with a Weasley.

"I better head back," Ginny said, standing up and brushing the sand off her jeans, "And this has nothing to do with what you said Draco. See you two later."

Draco watched as Ginny disappeared into the forest. She had never called him Draco in his entire life. As a matter of fact, he hadn´t heard any Gryffindor call him Draco.

"What was that all about?" Draco said taking Ginny´s place in the sand.

"Nothing. She´s just a nice person, unlike some people I know," she said pointedly.

"I told you that Potter was a git."

"Not him, you."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Draco asked incensed.

"You. Are. Not. A. Nice. Person," she said slowly, drawing out the sentence.

"Why do you have to be like this?" he asked her, resting his forehead on his bent knee and closing his eyes.

"Be like what?" It was her turn to sound incensed.

"Mad at me. I don´t like it when you are," he explained to her, not looking up.

"Then maybe you should stop doing things that make me mad," she said simply.

"That´s not what I set out to do," he looked up at her. He was looking at her with his patented puppy dog eyes that she could never stay mad at. He had learned how to manipulate her easily over their years of friendship and he loved doing it. What he didn´t see was that Demetria was able to give as good as she took from him.

"I know that, but sometimes I just want to throttle you within an inch of your life," she sighed and stretched out on the sand, using Draco´s thigh as a pillow. It was a position that the two of them were most comfortable with. They had been sitting like that since they were children, Draco having been infatuated with the dark colouring of her hair. It was so different than the colour possessed by himself and his parents that he had loved to play with it as a child. Now it had just become a habit for them and it brought both of them comfort, "Are you still not going to help Dumbledore?"

"I will help. I found out that Potter and Weasley aren´t going to do it and I can never pass up the chance to look better than they do," he grinned cheekily and tugged at a lock of her hair, "Besides, you and I are a team. We do everything together."

"I´m glad you´ve changed your mind. We owe Dumbledore. So how did you know that Harry and Ron-"

"Potter and Weasley," he corrected her.

She rolled her eyes. "I´m not a part of your childhood grudge. Anyway, how did you know that they aren´t going to help?"

"Well, after I talked to Remus, I came looking for you. I thought you might still be at the cottage with the others. I got there just in time to get knocked down by Weasley Junior and as I was getting up, I was plowed over by Granger. They were a wee bit testy at the time. I was able to figure things out despite the fact that Potter and Weasley were not too forth coming with the details of their skirmish, in fact they were downright rude."

"Hence the less than perfect appearance," she said and cleaned off a spot of soot on the arm that lay across her middle.

"But of course. Was Weasley Junior as rude as her brother?"

"No, Ginny was quite pleasant. I like her. She´s very easy to talk to," she explained.

"What did you two talk about?" he asked as he twisted a piece of her hair around his finger.

"You."

"Always a stimulating subject. Were you two rating my good looks or my prowess in bed?" he teased.

"Both, though I don´t think Ginny is exactly ready to join your fan club, though she may be interested in going to a meeting. Are the girls holding it in the gazebo tonight?" she asked flippantly.

"You´re just jealous that they won´t let you join," he joked with her.

"I don´t have to join, I´m going to marry you," she said and soon regretted it. She felt him stiffen under her at the mention of their engagement. Draco didn´t like to be reminded of the bond that kept them tied to one another no matter how they felt.

"I´m sorry about that," he whispered as he stroked her cheek. Whenever it was brought up, he always apologised for it. Demetria wasn´t sure why he did it. She knew he was too smart to believe that what their parents decided before they were born could be changed by him. Every time she questioned him about the feeling of guilt, he refused to answer.

"Don´t apologise," she said and patted him on the knee, "It´s not your fault."

They sat in silence for a while, Draco running his fingers through Demetria´s hair, she stroking her fingers along his forearm. It was a comfortable position for them and one that always brought into question their feelings for one another and their relationship. No one understood the depth of their friendship and care for one another. They had grown up as close as any two people could be; they were never apart for more than a day until their eleventh year. When they were informed that they would go to separate schools, it nearly tore them apart.

They would now have to spend months without seeing each other when they had expected to go to Hogwart´s together and both carry on the family name in Slytherin. Demetria´s father informed her that she was to attend Duremstrang instead. They did not find out until after they had been initiated that those in the inner circle who knew how close she and Draco were feared that their deep friendship for each other could be exploited. They were to care and respect one another as husband and wife and as fellow Death Eaters but the extent of their caring for each other went well beyond anything they had expected when they had arranged for their marriage. They were weak because of their connection to each other and that was a risk. The seven-year separation at different schools was to deter their bond but it didn´t work.

They spent every holiday together and had even managed to sneak off and visit each other during the school year. Illegal Apparition was at the bottom of the list of Death Eater evils and the two had learned that useful tool. The letters that they sent each other everyday caused quite a few rifts in the relationships they tried to have with other people. No boyfriend or girlfriend could understand why they would be ignored until a letter was read and another written in response. They did not understand that should they visit on the hols that they would take a backseat to their significant other´s best friend. It made their teenage love lives very difficult and then the arranged marriage was thrown into the works and gummed everything up worse than it had been.

"What else did you talk about with Weasley?" Draco broke the silence first.

"Her brothers, Harry, you, me," she told him.

"What exactly did you tell her about you and me?"

"Everything," she said.

"Everything?" he said, sitting up straighter.

"Well not everything. I did tell her about how we met, our parents, our arrangement and our past. I also defended your honour against unkindly remarks."

"My honour thanks you," he said, "So that´s why Weasley was nice to me when she left."

"Yes, she realises you aren´t a totally evil person with a shrivelled up black heart. She sees that you are a partly evil person with a semi-shrivelled greyish-white heart."

"Well that´s nice to hear."

"Always good to know that people see your positive qualities. We better head back. I have to get things ready for tomorrow´s breakfast and you still have to fix that pipe," she said and began to dust the sand off of her jeans.

"Can´t I use magic, please?" he asked, hating the manual duties of running the bed and breakfast.

"The last time you used magic to fix something, the old Victrola tried to decapitate people with it´s records."

"That was fun to watch, wasn´t it?" he said and they both laughed.

They walked back to the main house and began to finish up their chores. When they had first came here, neither of them had known how difficult this would be. They had grown up with people to do everything for them and had no experience with cooking or cleaning. They were expected to keep everything in running order, cook and serve breakfast for all the guests every morning and have tea in the afternoon.

In the beginning they had used magic for everything, but they soon realised that while magic was superior in some ways, it sometimes backfired very badly. They had become experts in memory charms during the first few months and they had soon resorted to reading Muggle books so they could grasp the concepts of cooking and fixing things. Now they were adept in the running of a bed and breakfast.

Biscuit dough and muffin batter was ready to be baked tomorrow morning, along with eggs and bacon. Demetria found that if she prepared as much as she could the night before, breakfast always went much smoother. Draco had finished fixing the pipe and they made the rounds of the guestrooms in the house. They gave guests extra towels and pillows and whatever else they needed. They said goodnight to those who were still seated in the parlour, talking amongst themselves or reading the evening paper.

"Are you going to go and see Potter and company?" Draco asked as they left the main house. Remus was taking the night shift at the reception desk and would come back to the house around eleven o´clock.

"I was going to stop by to see if they needed anything, yes," she said as they took the path to the cottage.

"I´m sure Remus can handle it," Draco said, reluctant to have another altercation with his former classmates. He was still dirty from the smoke bomb that Harry had hit him with earlier.

"That is no reason to be rude. Remember we will be working with these people for the next little while. Please try and make an effort to be civil," she pleaded with him.

"Fine. I will be civil. I will not be their friend, nor will I ignore them if they make some sort of remark about me or to me," he conceded as they reached the cottage. They knocked on the door and were greeted by Ginny who let them in.

"We were wondering if there is anything you need?" Demetria asked Ginny.

"I think we are fine," said Ginny, looking around the cottage. On her return she had silently unpacked everything without looking at Ron or Harry. Lupin had been there, trying to talk some sense into Harry and Ron, but they refused to listen and soon Lupin had started helping Ginny and ignoring the other two. They had both got tired of the silent treatment and Ron had gone off to find Hermione and Harry had locked himself up in his room. Ron was still not back and Harry was still locked away in his room brooding.

"Well all right, then I guess we´ll head back to our cottage. You know where it is if you need us and Remus, you are working at the house tonight, right?" Demetria asked.

"Yes I am. I´ll be a little late to my post. Ginny and I have come up with a plan that might get our wayward companions to co-operate with us. The Weasleys and Sirius are going to come here tonight. It will be a reunion and also a chance for the other operatives to push Harry and Ron to do this. Ginny came up with the idea and I think it might work," Remus told them grinning.

"Would you two like to stay?" Ginny asked, "Remus has told me that you are friends with my brothers and with Sirius."

"Friends is a bit of a stretch. Acquaintances, yes but I´d rather not anyway. Family reunions are not my style," Draco said curtly and turned to leave, "What about you?"

"No thanks, I have to get up early in the morning," she smiled and said goodnight. The last thing she needed to see was a family get-together when she was separated from her own. The two walked the short distance to their cabin and entered it.

"I´m famished, do we have anything to eat?" Draco said when they got inside and began to root through the refrigerator.

"I think there are sandwich fixings," she said as she plopped down on the sofa. Draco waved his wand over the food and soon two perfectly made sandwiches were sitting on two plates. He passed one to Demetria as he sat beside her on the sofa.

"Do you think Ginny and Remus´ plan will work?" Demetria asked Draco.

"Probably. The Weasley´s are the perfect family unit and Harry is considered to be an adopted son. If they can't convince them, than we are out of luck," Draco told her, "Not that we can´t do it on our own."

"If we could do it on our own, then Dumbledore would have sent us to do it on our own, Mr. Ego," she said, elbowing him in the ribs, "There is a reason why he brought them into it, and you know it."

"I admit nothing. I love myself too much to do that," he told her. She ignored him and instead took their plates to the sink.

"I´m knackered," she said, stretching her arms over her head and yawning, "I´m going to bed. You staying up?"

"No, I´m tired too," he said and they both walked down the hall to their bedrooms. Their doors faced each other and they paused outside of them to say goodnight.

"I hope you don´t mind that I told Ginny about us," she said as she leaned against her door jab.

He shook his head. "It´s your history too. If you want to broadcast it at the Quidditch World Cup, you´re free to do it."

"Thanks," she said and reached out to hug him. She turned her head to give him a goodnight kiss on the cheek but at the last moment Draco turned his head so that she ended up meeting his lips. She felt an instant tingle of heat in her stomach, one that always came when she kissed Draco.

This was not the first time that he had surprised her with a kiss, after all, he was the first boy she had ever kissed. Though their first kiss had been much more innocent than this one.

He increased the pressure on her lips and his hands glided down her sides to cup her bottom, causing her to moan. Draco took advantage of her open mouth and let his tongue enter her mouth. She felt liquid heat fill her veins and her stomach dropped to her ankles. It had been so long since she had been touched like this and it was all she could do not to scream. Instead she met Draco´s tongue with her own in an erotic dance.

Her hands reached into his hair and he pushed his body against her, forcing her against the wall. His hands reached up under her shirt to touch the bare skin of her back and she felt goosebumps spread all over her body. Her legs became weak and she was afraid she wouldn´t be able to stand much longer when Draco grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, never breaking their kiss.

"My room," he muttered against her lips and started to pull her in the direction of his open door. This woke Demetria from her passion-induced stupor and she pulled her mouth away from his and let her legs drop.

"Not again Draco," she whispered. She could feel her cheeks were flooded with heat and her lips ached from the pressure of the kiss. She moved out of the circle of his arms, trying not to look into his eyes.

"Why not?" he said, running his hand through his hair and taking deep breaths. He was also flushed, probably more so than she was. She could tell how intense it was for him when he shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from embarrassing himself too much.

"You know why Draco. It was a mistake then and it´s still a mistake now," she said, "Besides, you are just upset right now because of everything that happened today. This is not about us; this is about you needing comfort."

"You´ve done it before, why not now?" he said bitterly, his eyes turning a dark slate colour.

"That was only one time. It was different and you know it," she threw back at him with the same bitter tone, "I´m going to bed. If `comfort´ is what you need, I´m sure several of our female guests will be more than willing to provide it. I´m not your tart, Draco. Goodnight."

With that she shut the door in his face. He felt like he wanted to punch something, but he held his temper in check. He was mad at himself for what just happened. He knew that they would regret it later but common sense seemed to have left him the moment she had embraced him. He sighed deeply and rested his forehead against the door. "I´m sorry."

Later in the night, Demetria was woken by a light knock on her bedroom door. The door opened and Draco stood silhouetted in the moonlight. He just stood there not moving and Demetria met his eyes. They were coloured with fear and she could see the sheen of sweat on his body. She knew that it would be cold and his body would be wracked with tremors.

She lifted up her bed sheets and Draco came forward and crawled beneath them. She wrapped her arms around him and he rested his head on her shoulder. "I dreamt about her in Hell again," he whispered in the darkness.

"Shh," she murmured and stroked his hair, "You know she´s not there."

"Then where else could she be?" he said and she felt his tears soak her shoulder. She just held him and let him cry. No one knew how deeply his mother´s death had effected him and only Demetria knew of the night terrors he had from time to time. The two stayed in each other´s arms and slept until morning.

***

Ginny stood restlessly in the living room, moving from one place to the next needlessly tidying things. She was impatient to see her family and needed something to occupy her time so she didn´t go crazy from the wait. All the Weasleys would be coming to see them, Apparating in from all around the world. Dumbledore had given the okay upon Remus´ request. Sirius was coming as well, having not seen Harry in person for over a year.

Ron and Hermione had come back just after Draco and Demetria had left. They were the sweet lovebirds again and Ginny had to stifle laughter as she saw the pine needles and twigs stuck in Hermione´s hair and back. Ron also announced when he arrived that Hermione had made him see the light and that he agreed to help Dumbledore as long as he didn´t have to spend a long amount of time alone with Draco. Hermione explained to Ginny later that she had threatened to never sleep with him again if he didn´t help and she had never seen Ron back-pedal so fast in her life. Now the only one left to convince was Harry. They were hoping that the plan would still work, with everyone pushing Harry only.

"What time are they suppose to be here Gin?" Ron asked, looking out the window of the cottage.

Ginny looked at her watch. "Anytime now."

All of a sudden, a great thud was heard from one of the bedrooms and the sounds of many voices were heard from behind the door.

"Sorry about that Percy, had no idea that´s where you would be Apparating to."

"Neither did I. Frightfully sorry."

"Both of you get off of me right this instant!"

"Boys, now, quit fighting, this is a happy occasion."

"Arthur, I thought you said we would be Apparating outside the place."

"Well, that´s what I thought Molly dear but maybe something got crossed in the transfer."

"Dad maybe we aren´t able to Apparate to the outside and we ended up inside?"

"What if this isn´t the place? How will we explain ourselves?"

Ginny and Ron looked at each other and both took off down the hall. They nearly pulled the door off its hinges in their excitement to see their family. Inside the small room stood all seven of the Weasleys, well, Fred, George and Percy were lying on the floor in a small pile.

"MUM!" Ginny yelled and threw herself into her mother´s arms. The two women burst into a flood of tears as they held each other. A jumble of watery words came out of the two women as they told each other how much they had missed on another.

Ron was enveloped in a Weasley brother pile up, with even Percy leaving his prissiness behind to embrace his brother. Arthur was nearly knocked down as Ginny launched herself at him. Hermione entered the room after what she thought was a long enough time for the Weasley´s to be alone and a new round of hugging and crying started all over again, with Molly wailing the loudest of all.

"Please come into the living room, I think we might bust this room at the seams if we don´t," Hermione said and led the way.

Ron paused in the hallway to bang on Harry´s door. "Oi! Get out here Potter!"

Their only reply was silence. Fred and George, not ones to be ignored, simply opened the door and waltzed in. Harry was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn´t even look up to see who had come into his room.

"Is he dead?" Fred whispered to Ron.

"I don´t think so," Ron whispered back.

"If he is, can I have his broomstick?" George asked.

Harry seemed to break out of his revere and looked up at the three brothers. "What are you doing here?"

"Good to see you too Harry," Fred said, "We are here to get your sorry arse out of bed and back into the world of the living. C´mon, everyone is here."

Without further ado, the twins grabbed Harry by each arm and dragged him off of the bed and out of the room with Ron trailing behind. "My legs aren´t broken," Harry cried out and yanked his arms away from the twins and got to his feet under his own power.

Every seat was taken in the living room as everyone sat around and caught up on everything that had happened that they hadn´t been able to write in letters. Lupin had joined the group along with Sirius who had Apparated while they were getting Harry. He waved to Harry and Harry smiled back.

He started to walk over in the direction of Sirius when a red-haired wailing banshee engulfed him. Molly Weasley began another crying fit as she embraced Harry, who she considered another son. She kissed him and checked him over to make sure that all his limbs were intact, a move that mothers all over the world knew well.

Harry laughed as she muttered incoherent words to him while Arthur tried to pull her off of him. Harry hugged her and told her he was fine since the last time they had owled. He in turn received a hug from all the other Weasleys before he could make it over to Sirius. His godfather embraced him.

"Good to see you without a fire ring," he said, smiling.

"Good to see you too."

"I think you and I need to talk," Sirius said gravely, "Do you mind if we slip out for a moment?"

Harry sighed. He knew that he would not be able to avoid talking to several people before the night was over. He nodded and the two went out the door.

"This seems to be a wonderful place," Molly commented as she took in her surroundings, "And with Remus here you will be under better protection."

"Mum, we can take care of ourselves. We´ve done it for a whole year," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, yes, I suppose that is true," she said as tears shimmered in her eyes. Her babies were old enough now to take care of themselves, that was true, but she looked around to where that had taken them and she couldn´t help but be upset by it. This was not how her children´s lives were supposed to turn out. They were not suppose to be running from the law and from You-Know-Who.

"I heard that Dumbledore has some sort of special mission he wants you involved in," Bill said quietly to Ron as he sat on the arm of Ron´s chair.

"That´s why he brought us here apparently. So when were you planning on telling me you were working for him?" Ron asked his oldest brother.

"I was asked to keep it a secret and I did," Bill said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I can´t believe that the twins work for him," Ron said, shaking his head. The aforementioned twins were partaking in their favourite pastime: Pick on Percy. Fred was distracting Percy while George put slugs into his teacup.

"They can be responsible when they need to be," Bill defended them, wincing as Percy took a long drink of slug-infested tea.

"I´m sure they can," Ron rolled his eyes as Percy spit out the slugs and started cursing at Fred and George.

***

"Nice night, isn´t it?"

Harry looked up at the stars that filled the sky. Astronomy had never been his best subject and over the years he had forgotten most of the names of the constellations. It didn´t seem to matter though, as the diamonds in the sky still took his breath away.

"It is," Harry said, "But I don´t think that is the reason we came out here."

"True. Care to tell me why you are reluctant to help Dumbledore?"

Harry groaned inwardly. "News travels fast. How did you hear about it already?"

"Remus."

"And where did he hear it from?"

"Ginny."

"Our very own whispering grapevine," Harry sighed, "I just think that something bad is going to happen if we go through with this."

"That´s fair, but you do understand that something bad will happen if you don´t go through with it?" Sirius pointed out. Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

"You forgot to add a big `if´ to the question. If the jewel really exists; if these people will side with us; if Voldemort has even figured out who these people are," Harry put forward.

"That is true, but can you take that chance?"

"I´m willing to. I´m done with this Sirius. I don´t want to keep doing this. I don´t want to see more of my friends killed, I don´t want to see any more destruction and I don´t want to fight evil anymore," Harry told him. He rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses to try and relieve some of the pressure from the headache he was developing.

"Do you think that it will all end if you give up Harry?" Harry was silent, "You know it won´t. Voldemort will still go on killing and destroying. If you give up, all that means is one less person to oppose Voldemort and more ground he can gain. You have a responsibility Harry. I know you don´t want to hear it and I know it´s not fair, but you do. Just as much as Dumbledore does. Don´t you think that Dumbledore would rather spend his time on some deserted beach with a cocktail and naked women than coming up with strategy plans and burying his friends and students? He could up and leave anytime he wants to, but he doesn´t. Do you know why?"

"Because he´s a hero?"

"No, because that is what he knows is right. Just like you know that when you decided to face Voldemort the first time alone, you didn´t do it because you were a hero, but because it was the right thing to do. Being a hero has nothing to do with it, it´s doing what you know is right. You know that doing this for Dumbledore is right," he told him grimly.

"But Sirius, I´m scared. How can I guarantee that no one else will be harmed?"

"You can´t Harry. That is part of life. There are no guarantees. You can´t guarantee that a bus won´t hit you tomorrow. You can´t guarantee that you will ever be able to return to a normal life in the wizarding world," Sirius said, hitting upon what Harry was most afraid of.

"I just don´t want to fight in vain. I can´t lead my friends into another battle that we can´t win," Harry told him, raking his hand through his hair.

"We will never win, Harry. You have to understand that. We may destroy Voldemort, but there will always be someone to take his place. If there is good in the world, there will always be evil. That is how the universe stays in balance. That doesn´t mean that we should give up entirely. You have to take each battle as it comes and understand that some you will lose and some you will win. You´ve been lucky up until a certain point and you had won every battle you´ve fought in. Then you lost one; you lost greatly in that battle. You didn´t lose ground or weapons, but you lost friends. That is a tragic loss that you can never fix but how do you think Hagrid and the others would feel if you just gave up? Are you going to let their deaths be in vain? Were they stupid to follow you and believe in you?" Sirius asked him, putting his large hands on his shoulders.

"No," Harry whispered.

"Don´t let their deaths be worthless. I struggled with that every second of every day I was in Azkaban. I felt that by getting myself locked up in there, I had let your parents die for no reason. I wasn´t there to assure that you would have a good life and that you would know about your heritage. I felt that I had let them down by not being there to take care of their only son, the one thing left in the world that was a part of them. It turned me into a bitter man for a long time Harry. Don´t let that happen to you."

Harry stared at his trainers for a long time. He understood what Sirius was saying but he wasn´t sure if he would be able to let go of his fear and apprehension. He knew what he had to do, what the right thing to do was, but he wasn´t sure if he was going to be able to do it. What if Hermione, Ron or Ginny get hurt? What would I do then? How would I go on? You would go on because you had to, a little voice whispered inside his head, because they wouldn´t let you give up. They understand the risks and they are still here. They are ready to go on without you, to help these people; you can´t let them go alone.

"I´ll do it," Harry whispered.

"Good boy, I knew you would do the right thing," Sirius said and clapped Harry on the back, "Now, let´s go back in and see what your extended family has to say about it?"

***

The next morning everyone gathered in Draco and Demetria´s cottage to await Dumbledore. They had all had breakfast at the main house together with the other guests, causing a bit of commotion among the younger set of guests.

The girls who had only had eyes for Draco in the past were met with the fine male specimens of Ron and Harry. The younger girls stole glances and giggled at the men, while the braver ones came up and tried to start conversations with them.

Harry, having never been very comfortable with flirting, seemed overwhelmed by the attention, while Ron appeared to be enjoying himself until Hermione gave him a withering stare that would have put him more than six feet under if Hermione had been blessed with the evil eye. Draco lapped up the attention as well and Demetria just rolled her eyes. Ginny gave her an inquiring look across the table but Demetria waved it away. Apparently she didn´t mind watching flirtations occur between her betrothed and other women.

They had returned to the cottage after helping with the breakfast dishes and Remus had soon joined them after he had woken up from his nap after the night shift. A pop sounded outside, heralding Dumbledore´s arrival.

The great man walked into the room smiling as he saw that everyone of them was there. He pulled out several pieces of parchment from his robes and took a seat.

"I am glad to see that you have all decided to aid me in this quest. Now, it is time that I explain things in more detail to all of you. As you know, there are twelve people that need to be found. I am sending all of you to find only six of them. The other operatives will find the remaining six. I have here all the information we were able to obtain on each individual. Now, they are spread out all over the world in five different countries. You will be travelling by Port Key, Apparition and broomstick when necessary. We can´t risk you being recognised. You will all be given enough Polyjuice Potion for the entire trip. Becareful to not go over the hour before taking another dose. Now, on to the Children." Dumbledore passed out a piece of parchment to each person and kept one for himself.

"First we have Tatiana Nowonowski. Born in St. Petersburg, she emigrated to America when she was a young child. She attended Salem Academy and now works at the Bronx Wizarding Zoo. Rain Mullgaren was raised in New York City and attended Salem Academy as well. My sources tell me that he and Tatiana share a flat in the city and that Rain performs in wizarding theatre. Harry and Ginny, you two will contact Rain and Tatiana." The two nodded and Dumbledore continued.

"Next is Lorelei Kennedy from Canada. She attended Ogie´s Wizarding School and is now working for the Pagan Pages in Toronto. William Pitt lives in London and attended Hogwart´s a year below Ginny. He was in Ravenclaw and now works at Flourish and Blotts. Demetria and Draco, you will contact these two. Ron and Hermione, you will contact Abeni St. Marie and Bryan O´Malley. Bryan, I am sure you are all familiar with, he plays reserve Seeker on the Irish Quidditch team. He attended Hogwart´s and was in Fred and George´s year in Hufflepuff. Abeni Brunet is from South Africa. Her origin is unknown, as she is cared for by her adoptive mother. As far as I know, she was found by her adoptive mother Sophie Brunet and raised by her. She attended Beauxbatons and then returned to South Africa once more to care for her mother."

"Now, you all will be Port Keying to a safe place within each city. You will be going to New York, Toronto and Brussels. I have taken set up a way of contact for each of you. These people are under the impression that I want them to join our operatives. You are all meeting them as an interview and to bring them to our headquaters if they are chosen. I've written down the time and place of all these meetings," Dumbledore nodded towards the parchments in each person´s lap.

"Now, I want you to explain as much as you can about the Zodiac, but don't tell them their part in it. The Jewel of Hesand and everything else that is involved with it is okay, but not their positions in it. After you have informed them and they are aware of all the risks that stand in joining our operatives, bring them back to WolfMoon. Remember, it is imperative that they return here so that we may be able to protect them from Voldemort. I am not sure exactly how close to the truth he is, so have caution that there may be Death Eaters around you. There will be a post owl waiting for you at your Port Key destination. Send him back to assure me of your safe arrival and send him every three hours with an update on your progress," Dumbledore explained, "That is all the information I have for you. Remus has your Port Keys, identification and Muggle and Wizard money for all of you to use. I wish you all good luck and Godspeed in this mission. I would also like to say how proud I am of all of you for doing this. Thank you. I must leave now to inform the other operatives of their information. I will see you again in a few days."

Dumbledore left and Remus passed out their items. "The Port Keys will be activated in a few minutes. Do you have any questions?"

They all shook their heads `no´ and stood there waiting. Harry was the first to break the silence.

"Okay, it´s clear that there is a divide here. The four of us and the two of you. We are all working together on this and I think maybe it´s time that we call a truce on the past and everything that has happened between all of us. Agreed?" Harry put his hand out in the middle and the girls followed suit.

The others looked at the two men left and both Hermione and Demetria elbowed them in the ribs. They both put their hands in reluctantly. "All right, I guess we could do some sort of team cheer."

"I will not be doing any cheering of any sort, Potter," Draco spat out with disgust.

"Not even a `whoa team´?" Harry joked and was rewarded with a withering glare, "All right, how about that we all promise to watch out for each other and should anyone need any help, we will come to their rescue?"

"Agreed," they all said, with Ron and Draco hesitating a moment before saying anything.

"Time to go," Remus said and each pair pulled out their Port Keys. They were all used soda cans that could easily be tossed away upon arrival at their destination. Each person put a hand on their Port Key and disappeared in an instant.

"Good luck," Remus whispered and walked out of the cottage.