Betrayal of the Best Kind
Plan
By Draco664
Plan
Arthur Weasley arrived home in a burst of green flame. The Burrow was, as usual, quiet and cluttered but immaculate. Well, it was only like this when the younger children were at Hogwarts, but it was normal for at least ten months of the year. Even the ghoul in the attic didn't seem as loud now as when the children were home, probably because it didn't have to compete with the constant explosions coming from the twin's room.
Arthur sighed. The twins had moved out a couple of months ago. He kept forgetting. Even Molly seemed to think there was something missing from the home, though she said she didn't miss their pranks. He grinned at the memory of his wife sobbing over a photo album full of the results of jokes the twins had pulled over the years. He didn't believe her for a minute.
Things had been hectic at work for the past day, the ministry had found out about an assault planned on the offices by Voldemort, and had fought off the Dark Lord just over twenty-four hours ago.
The interim Minister of Magic heard voices from the sitting room. One voice he would recognise anywhere was that of his beloved wife. Another was vaguely familiar, tickling some distant memory. Finally, the ever calm and gentle voice of Albus Dumbledore reached his ears. He frowned; it was past three in the morning, what were Albus and his companion doing here?
"Good morning, Molly. I'm sorry I'm so late, but work was jus-" he said entering the room. His voice failed him as he saw, sitting next to the headmaster, Sirius Black. All three turned to face him in the doorway, and stood up.
Arthur looked to both his wife and former Professor, now advisor. Though many had dismissed Arthur as a bit slow for his obsession with muggle artefacts, he was anything but stupid. "Mr. Black. From the company you are in, it would appear my wife has been keeping secrets from me. I trust you are aware that I am required to place you under arrest." Looking at Dumbledore's amused expression he continued, "But I've had a really busy day at work, would you mind if I didn't bother with that for now? I just want to put my feet up for a while."
With a brilliant smile, the first person ever to escape from Azkaban replied, "Not at all. I'd be delighted to be arrested by such a civilised person. Please, make yourself comfortable, and I shall place myself at your disposal when you are fully rested."
"Arthur, I'm sorry I have kept this from you," his wife said.
"How long have you known his whereabouts?"
"Molly didn't know anything of Sirius' location, Arthur. Remember I told you of an operative of mine with a special gift for infiltration and espionage?" Dumbledore asked.
"Of course, you were always so insistent that I not know the man's identity. I think it is safe to assume that Mr. Black here is your mystery agent."
"Indeed. Sirius has been working with me since the end of Mr. Potter's fourth year and the events of the Triwizard Tournament. Molly was in the hospital ward with Mr. Potter's friends and my Potions master when he revealed himself. They were the only people who knew he was working for me."
"What of his crimes? No disrespect to your decisions Albus, but recruiting criminals will not make our job easier if this information is released."
"If I may, Albus?" Sirius interrupted. Dumbledore nodded. "Mr. Weasley, I was sent to Azkaban without benefit of a trial. Even a simple chance to tell my story would have exonerated me."
Arthur nodded. "Very well. I'd like to know the facts."
Sirius and Albus spent the next half hour explaining to the Weasleys the true events of the Potter's last days, of Pettigrew's escape and framing Sirius for the murders, and of his escape and activities since. "I asked Molly to keep this from you because I need you to be able to deny all knowledge should Sirius be seen in our presence or captured."
Arthur waved away the explanation. "I understand the reasons, Albus. It was not necessary for me to know at the time. Since you have rather spectacularly made the rest of my day seem dull and uninteresting in comparision to the last half hour, I assume that something has changed that requires Mr. Black's presence to be know to me."
Dumbledore nodded, and passed a sheet of parchment to him. Arthur looked at the list of names. Some were known Death Eaters, others suspected of involvement with Voldemort. A couple were operatives of the Department of Mysteries. About half were unknown to him. He looked at Dumbledore, eyes questioning.
"That is a complete list of Death Eaters, and other willing participants to the Dark Lord's plans."
That simple statement made Arthur's heart race. "If this is true, have you any idea how long we have been searching for this information?"
"It is true, Arthur. A recent recruit of Voldemort's has been able to pass us this information. Along with another big bonus. The Dark Lord's location. His London residence."
"His what?"
"His headquarters. Nothing short of his Headquarters."
"Where?" Arthur whispered in shock.
"The north wing of Buckingham Palace."
Arthur blinked. "Out of respect for the crown, no ministry, magic or otherwise, interferes with the Royal family." he said softly, realisation dawning. "They have a perfect base of operations."
"Indeed. Quite ingenious."
Arthur nodded. "Can you tell me the name of this recent recruit? Can we trust this person?"
"I believe so, as do Sirius and Molly for that matter."
"Molly knows who it is?"
"Yes, we informed her this evening."
Arthur sat back in his chair. "I have a feeling I know who it is too, and I'm not happy about it."
Dumbledore nodded. "Mr. Potter."
"And I'm not happy. Albus, he willingly joined the Dark Lord, he stood between the pair of you and made his choice. You yourself told me that you thought he'd sold out."
"It appears I was premature in my assessment of the situation. Mr. Potter used a phrase at the scene I neglected to tell Sirius here about. When it came up in conversation, it became apparent that Mr. Potter did indeed mean to infiltrate and spy for us."
"Not only that, Harry managed to warn me away from one of my stakeouts, before I was captured." Sirius said. "He also managed to organise a split in Voldemort's forces on the night of the Ministry assault, tricking him into sending six of his minions to go to Hogsmeade. If Voldemort had six extra wands at his disposal that night, the result would have been different."
Arthur reluctantly nodded. "True. I'd really like to believe you. I'd like nothing more than for Harry to be really on our side. But after how we treated him, and how he reacted to the mission to capture him, I just don't know if his information can be trusted. I don't blame the boy if he has in fact left us."
"He can be trusted, Arthur." Dumbledore said. "Last night a student was captured by Pettigrew and taken back to London."
Arthur's eyes widened. "No!"
Dumbledore held up his hand. "She is fine, and has returned. One of Sirius' recent inventions is a portkey that transports the user twelve hours after activation. You swallow the portkey, and your body's aura masks the magic. It cannot be detected, and as such, will always bring you back home."
Arthur nodded his head in Sirius's direction. "Keep this up, and I may wait a few decades before arresting you."
"I appreciate it." Sirius replied with a grin. "But the intelligence that student brought back reinforces the evidence that Harry is in fact working for us. He did everything in his power to keep her safe until the portkey brought her home."
"Very well. Did Harry give you any other details of the Dark Lord's plans? Does Harry himself have any sabotage planned?" Arthur asked.
"No to both. Harry is being trained by Voldemort. He is being taught dark and combat magic. Harry told us that he still had things to learn. That he was going to leave on his own terms, on his own timetable." Dumbledore gave a great sigh. "I fear I know what he is planning, and I am very worried about him."
Sirius gave the headmaster a surprised look. "You think you know what he is planning? He didn't tell us that!"
Dumbledore nodded gravely. Arthur interrupted.
"Excuse me? Harry told you? You have spoken to him?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "Harry managed to slip the captured student a piece of parchment he had enchanted. Harry retained its twin. Using both at a specified time, we were able to converse, writing messages to each other. More proof that the boy is learning fast."
"Did he have anything else to say?"
"Not much. He gave us the list of names, asked for a list of objects to be acquired and left at a certain location, and then enquired into the wellbeing of his friends. After that, the time ran out, and the parchment burst into flames."
Arthur stood up. "I will contact the head of the Department of Mysteries. Get him to organise wards set up to cover Buckingham palace. If the Dark Lord is there, then we need more intelligence on his capabilities."
Molly stood too. "Contact him if you want, but after that you are going to bed! You need your rest Arthur, you haven't slept in nearly two days."
"I'd do as she says." said Sirius. "If her daughter is anything like her, you'd know not to argue with her."
Both Weasleys turned to face Sirius with eyebrows raised. "You've met Ginny?" Arthur asked.
Sirius nodded. "Gave me a black eye after I politely introduced myself. She's not too ladylike when she gets angry."
Arthur grinned. "That's my girl. Only Ginny would thump a fugitive. You know that everyone of her brothers is wary of her temper."
"I'm not surprised. Once you have the wards in place, and you confirm that it is in fact Voldemort's HQ, what will you do?"
Arthur's grin vanished. "We will need to conduct the raid very carefully, preferably under the cover of night. Some aversion charms should keep the muggles away, though that in itself may be suspicious."
Dumbledore nodded and stood. "We should leave you to it, Arthur. Good luck, and let me know if there is anything I can do for you."
Molly spoke up. "Albus, are you sure you wouldn't like something to eat before leaving?"
"Molly my dear, as much as I'd love to indulge your instinct to feed everything, man or beast, that enters your home, I'm afraid I must decline. Your husband has people to speak to, and will probably need some gentle encouragement to get some rest."
"Thank you, Albus. Do come again soon."
"I will. Thank you Arthur for your time."
Arthur waved the comment away. "I'd be delighted for people to give me news this good at any time of day."
Later that night, as Arthur was just finally drifting off to sleep, he realised that he never asked Dumbledore exactly what he thought Harry was planning.
Harry gently mixed two potions together. He had experimented with various different mixtures, something inherently dangerous in itself, hoping that this final combination would work to his satisfaction.
For once, the mixture did not bubble up and spread a thick, corrosive goo over his workbench. The elves had been getting irritated with him, so much so that he actually heard one sigh when he asked it to clean up the mess for the fiftieth time.
Carefully, Harry picked up the cauldron and slowly carried it over to where he had placed some carefully created containers. Harry spent the next hour siphoning off small amounts of the potion mixture and filling the tiny containers.
Once finished, he again summoned the elves and got them to clean up. A quick shower later and Harry collapsed into his bed, exhausted and mentally drained. Only a few more days to go, and he would be gone from this place.
As usual, Harry was soon caught up in a nightmare from which he could not awake.
Lucius watched as the boy climbed into his bed. Once more, Harry had waited until after midnight before working on a project in secret. Lucius had documented Harry's nocturnal activities for the last week, watching him from the scrying crystal ball.
Harry had risen in the Dark Lord's favour quickly. Voldemort had decided that the boy should be inducted into the inner circle of Death Eaters soon. That hadn't sat well with most of the other Death Eaters, especially Malfoy and Wormtail.
The Dark Lord had initially wanted to use Potter, teach him flawed ideas, and then turn him loose. With the ministry after him, wanting to return him to Azkaban, he would have fought with everything he had, weakening the ministry's forces.
Now, Voldemort had decided that with his performance and apparent loyalty, Potter should be given the mark.
Lucius had voiced his opinion to the idea, but had been unable to produce any evidence to support his claim. Every one of Potter's actions could be interpretted as loyal service, or a very desperate spy. Watching him torture that girl had been an experience. It had almost convinced him that Potter was indeed loyal, until he saw the compassion in the boy's green eyes.
Voldemort had been most displeased with Lucius at that bitch's escape. Lucius himself had checked her for magic, and had found none. His leg still twitched constantly, a vivid reminder of the pain he had been subjected to. Potter was to blame, he was sure.
The problem was that Potter was right; there was no way he could have learned to make a portkey. All forms of magical travel charms and information had been removed from Potter's library. Besides, Voldemort himself had seen the fact that Lucius had been holding her just before her disappearance. Not a good impression by any means.
Now, Lucius simply watched, and made notes. Soon he would have enough to bring before the Dark Lord, showing him that Potter may not be what he seems. Just a few more days, and he'd be able to show that Potter was a traitor.
The two Harrys watched Cho's struggling form. One tried to comfort her, calm her, hold and love her. The other took glee in burning the poor girl, marking her forever.
Cho thrashed as one of the Harrys wand etched her skin, the sizzling and popping of burnt flesh echoing in the small room.
The other Harry watched in dismay, and did what he could to comfort her. But he didn't stop the torture from taking place. He couldn't. No matter what he did, the other Harry was able to continue to hurt Cho.
Cho looked at the Harry causing her pain. "I love you." she whispered.
That Harry grinned, and burned his initials into her chest.
Cho turned to look at the other Harry. "I hate you." she said, in the same voice he heard on the cliff top.
Harry desperately wanted to wake from this nightmare, but something inside him wanted to keep watching, becoming aroused, excited. Nothing could keep him from watching the sight of that beautiful girl contorted in pain.
He had to do something. Something that would fix things for everyone. For good.
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