Betrayal of the Best Kind
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By Draco664
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Over the next couple of weeks, Harry became used to his new routine. In the morning, he would be visited by Narcissa, and would study various poisons, dangerous, offensive potions and draughts. Once a week, Draco's mother would allow Harry to choose the potion they would work on, and answered any questions he had. Harry found himself enjoying learning about potions, and was now even able to offer suggestions that could in some cases improve the potency, or duration of a particular formula. Much to his surprise, he found himself looking forward to the early morning lessons.
His routine for late morning, and early afternoon could only be described as chaotic. Some days, his nameless weapons instructor would attempt to cut him to ribbons, other days he was made to learn combinations of moves by performing them over and over, while using a practice sword at least three times heavier that the one he used to fight with. Some days Harry would be taught unarmed combat; sometimes the pair would don boxing gloves.
All the exercise and plentiful food agreed with Harry, and he found himself filling out. While not as tanned as he was the summer he and Cho got together, he was now more muscular and toned than ever before.
Harry often looked at himself critically in the mirror in the evenings. The starved, wild looking boy had definitely been banished.
Late afternoons and early evenings were filled with danger and tension for Harry. Charms, curses, hexes and jinxes were hurled at him from various people. Sometimes he would be attacked by one person, sometimes by several people, sometimes he would be part of a team, attacking one person, other times two teams would attack each other.
These practical combat sessions did not have any formal instruction. Harry had to observe and remember the incantations others used. He found that the dodging and prediction he learned here, aided him in his physical combat training.
After a late meal, Harry would have the evenings to himself. While he missed the outdoors, he knew better than to suggest a friendly Quiddich match.
Generally, Harry would curl up in front of the fire, and read. His research into the charms used to create magical parchments had progressed to a point where he had created several simple objects.
The first object he made was a notebook. Though not exactly original, he had created a book where anything written on the page was stored and disappeared at the tap of a wand. The book had only one page, bound between dragonhide covers, and had the ability to recall anything written previously. Harry had used it extensively in his potions lessons, allowing him to take copious notes, without the bother of having to sort through a stack of parchment to find the required data. Narcissa had been pleasantly surprised as his ingenuity, and had requested he make a second notepad for her.
It was this request that allowed Harry to design and test another item. Harry created a separate sheet that reacted to Narcissa's entries. Anything she wrote in her notebook, appeared on the other sheet, until she tapped her wand to store her entry. As the spysheet had no memory, he couldn't read what she had written previously, or even if she recalled it to her own page, but Harry had been able to sometimes discover what potions they would be working on in future, as well as her own personal feelings towards her husband. It had been a struggle to maintain a straight face after that.
Satisfied that he had mastered the basic skills in enchanting objects, Harry began to delve deeper into the more complex spells, allowing him to create more powerful and useful items. There was one he really needed to create.
In the pitch black of a cloudy night, a large black dog moved slowly through damp grass, its body held so low that its belly almost dragged on the ground. The wards around Malfoy Mannor sounded if anyone came within a kilometre of the main building, but a stray dog didn't so much as make them twinge.
Sirius kept his ears pricked though. He wasn't sure that Harry or Wormtail had informed Voldemort and his Death Eaters of Sirius' illegal ability, so extreme caution was called for. In his heart, Sirius knew that Harry wouldn't have done so, if he had the choice. Being in Voldemort's clutches for the last month or so, Harry may have been broken, and forced to reveal everything he knew.
Sirius shook his head to clear it, driving the depressing thought to the back of his mind. He needed to focus. If Harry had divulged his godfather's ability, Malfoy may have added some subtle wards to detect animals. He wouldn't put it past the bastard to have set them up to allow entry a couple of times, and then set off another time, once complacency had set in.
There was no way Sirius would be considered complacent.
His canine ears managed to pick up several voices, at different locations around the ground. All the people here were low-level minions of Voldemort, though some of them were dull enough not to be aware of that fact.
A shrill giggle reached his sensitive ears. Had he been human, he would have sighed and shaken his head in resignation. The wife of one of the Department heads was again being entertained at the Mannor. The woman was as giddy as they came; Sirius had personally overheard the stupid bint discuss sensitive ministry business with Narcissa Malfoy over tea and scones. He supposed that the idea of discussing things of importance with a member of the cultural elite made her feel like she belonged to the ruling class.
Careless talk costs lives, he thought. Sirius looked around and noted which guards were where. He crept around the edge of one of the outer buildings, peering into the distant manor, desperately trying to differentiate by scent the number of people who had come this way recently.
In his dog form, Sirius had real trouble linking events and extrapolating conclusions from what intelligence he gathered. A canine mind wasn't incapable of forming conclusions, but it was not something a dog did frequently or well. At a genetic level, a dog was simply a wolf with a thin layer of manners.
Several loud (to Sirius' ears) displacments of air signaled the arrival of more guests. Slinking further back into the shadows, he watched as a half dozen Death Eaters in robes and masks escort a young man from the outer building to the main manor.
Sniffing cautiously, he let out a small yelp of surprise. The person being escorted to the manor was Harry! He looked so different!
His godson's head spun round and looked straight at the shadows where Sirius hid. His escort stopped and looked at him, their masks covering their expressions. Two of them took out their wands, and turned to look where Harry's attention had been drawn.
"Thought I heard something, came from over there," Sirius heard Harry say, gesturing several metres to Sirius' right. A half dozen beams of light lit the area, completely missing the dark canine. Sirius' heart beat wildly, loud enough that he was sure the Death Eaters could hear it.
After fifteen tense seconds, the Death Eaters put out the lights from their wands. The small group continued to the manor. Sirius heard Harry tell one of his escorts to bring the regular search of the entire grounds earlier than usual. One of the robed men nodded, and started jogging towards the manor.
"Make sure you start from where we heard the noise!" Harry said loudly to the man's retreating form. Under his breath he said, "We don't want anyone who shouldn't be there in the Three Broomsticks tonight, do we?"
Harry's murmur was soft enough not to be heard by his companions. Sirius sat dumbfounded. His ears had only just managed to pick up Harry's comment.
Without regard for secrecy, Sirius bounded back towards the perimeter of the Malfoy estate. He was less than halfway there before wizards emerged from the manor and started casting tracking spells. Desperately, his claws throwing up grass and dirt as he ran, Sirius made for the exit portal in the wards he had made earlier.
"Are you positive he said the Three Broomsticks?"
Sirius rolled his eyes at the question, since it has already been asked four times in the last ten minutes. "Yes, Albus. I'm positive."
Dumbledore shook his head. "All our other intelligence points to an attack on the Ministry offices. With Arthur putting such an enormous amount of financial and social pressure on him, Voldemort's influence and strength of numbers is not increasing. None of your other activities had pointed towards Hogsmeade."
Sirius sat down heavily. "He warned me, Albus; Harry is not working for Voldemort. He told one of the Death Eaters to bring forward the scheduled sweep of the grounds. He could not have made it clearer if he had shouted for me to get out of there."
Professor Snape regarded Sirius cautiously. "You could also make the case that he was doing his best to ensure you were caught."
"How so? I could hear everything he said, the warning was as much for me as it was an order to the Death Eater."
"You said he heard you when you recognised him. That he directed his companions to search nearby."
"Yes! But he directed them to look in the wrong place."
"Or he was simply mistaken." The headmaster pointed out.
Sirius shook his head. "Harry was trying to tell us where the next attack was to take place."
Dumbledore sighed, and leaned back in his chair. "We simply do not have the resources to set up defenses both in Hogsmeade and in London. All the research you both have completed up to now indicates an attack in London. It is only one overheard mumble that indicates anything different."
Sirius stood and paced the room in irritation. Dumbledore looked at him intently.
"Your interpretation of events is clouded by your bias that Harry is working against Voldemort."
Sirius spun to face Dumbledore. "Yes, I kno-"
Dumbledore held up a hand to interrupt him. "I'd like you to consider another interpretation of his actions tonight, also assuming he is working against Voldemort."
"And that is?"
"He is worried that his godfather may be hurt in the upcoming attack, and has done his best to ensure his godfather is as far away from the danger as possible."
Sirius sighed in defeat. "So either way, we set up defense in London."
"Yes. We cannot afford for the ministry to be crippled by an attack. Not when it is finally working effectively against the Death Eaters. It probably wouldn't have been a problem if Cornelius was still Minister, since it would convince everyone that Voldemort had in fact returned. But with Arthur in charge, we need the Ministry functioning normally."
Sirius looked up wearily. "What ever happened to Fudge?"
"I..." Dumbledore stopped and frowned in thought. "Do you know, I have no idea."
Snape and Sirius shared a look, and both chuckled.
"Is there anything else?"
"Actually, yes, Albus. Will you need me at the ministry? Would you miss me in any defense?" Sirius asked.
Dumbledore looked at him, a small smile playing across his lips. "Not to my knowledge. You have always demanded to be included up til now, and it always annoyed you that you had to stay in canine form. You have a desire to be somewhere else tonight?"
Sirius simply nodded.
"I suspect that I shall find you patrolling Hogsmeade in the morning then."
Sirius nodded again. He stood up to leave.
"One last thing, Sirius." the headmaster said.
Sirius looked at him questioningly.
"How was he?"
Sirius smiled. "He looked good, Albus. He has grown. Not in height perhaps, but he has filled out. They are not treating him badly."
As Sirius left, Snape and Dumbledore gave each other a look that needed no translation. If Harry was being treated well, then he had probably been lost to Voldemort.
A strong hand covered Ron's snoring mouth, waking him in a panic. "Quiet down and stay still, sleeping beauty, don't wake anyone," a voice whispered in his ear.
Ron nodded. Sirius removed his hand from Ron's mouth, and stood up.
"Where are we going?" Ron whispered.
"Into the sixth year's girls dorm," Sirius replied softly.
Even in the little light that came in from the moon, Sirius could see Ron's blush. "You mean you haven't been in there before?" he whispered to the younger wizard, mock surprise in his voice.
"Shut it you. Why are we going in there?"
But Sirius just beckoned him to follow. The pair made it out to the Gryffindor common room before Sirius answered. "I think I know where Harry will be tonight, and I thought you'd want to try and convince him to come back with us."
Ron's eyes widened enough that white could be seen all around the iris. "Does Dumbledore know about this?"
"I've told him," Sirius replied evasively. "Now, go get your girlfriend and meet me in the corridor. Oh, bugger. Do you have the Marauder's Map?"
"No, why?"
"Cho will probably want to go too, but I don't know the password to her common room."
"The Map shows the passwords for the common rooms?"
"Of course. It wouldn't be much of a map if it didn't."
"I wish we had it in our second year then," Ron muttered. Sirius looked at him, clearly waiting for an explanation. Ron shook his head.
"Never mind that. I think 'Mione knows what it is. They have become friends, and Cho told her to come and get her if she ever heard anything about Harry."
Sirius nodded. "Good, now scoot. Grab what you need, and meet me at the Shrieking Shack." He turned and walked through the portrait opening.
Ron steeled himself, and crept as silently as he could up the stairs, and into previously forbidden territory.
Sirius had just finished activating four portkeys of his own design, when angry voices could be heard from the passageway going to Hogwarts. Frowning, he turned and tried to make out the voices.
Ron's deep baritone was easy to spot, raised as it was in anger. Ah, there was Hermione's also angry. What had Cho done?
Sirius stiffened, that was Cho's voice, and it was angry too. But it was the forth voice, with its defensive tone that shocked him.
Moments later, a quartet of students reached the end of the passageway. Hermione was the first to exit, and spotted Sirius lying in the corner, his long tail thumping on the dusty floor. She visibly sagged with relief.
"It's OK, Ron," she said.
At that, Ron's voice changed from yelling to muttering, as he too entered the shack.
Sirius watched as a girl he hadn't seen before stepped into the room, Cho right behind her. Colour-blind as he was in this form, Sirius couldn't see the flaming red hair on the girl, but he could see the similarities in complexion between brother and sister.
"Ginny followed us out onto the lawn and down to the Whomping Willow. Apparently, she heard her git of a brother enter the girls dorm and wake me," Hermione said, apparently to thin air. Ginny looked around to see who she was talking to.
"It wasn't my fault!" hissed Ron.
"Shut up, the pair of you!" came Cho's authoritive voice. "She wants to help Harry too, and though it's not exactly the best time for certain secrets to come to light, we may only have a small window of opportunity to help Harry."
Ginny turned to Cho. "Thank you for sticking up for me."
Cho gave Ginny a sour look. "Don't thank me. I agree with them, you shouldn't be here. Your actions have endangered someone very dear to Harry."
Ginny looked as if she wasn't sure whether to explode with anger or tears.
Cho turned to the grim. "Snuffles, go get your master for us."
Sirius looked at Cho with relief, wagged his tail and trotted out the door. Once outside, Sirius transformed. A sly grin appeared on his handsome features. He apparated into the shack, behind Ginny.
With a swift movement, he covered her mouth with one hand, and wrapped his other arm around her slim waist, pinning her arms to her sides. The others watched in amusement as she struggled.
Sirius kept his nose carefully out of range of Ginny's thrashing head, and lifted her off the ground. He wanted no repeat of Harry's actions at their first meeting after his escape.
With a wink the others, Sirius pulled Ginny's head to him and he whispered in her ear, "Good evening, my name is Black. Sirius Black."
Ginny's eyes almost popped out of her head. She looked at her brother pleadingly, and then in shock as he just stood there, doing nothing but smiling.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sirius! Don't give the poor girl a heart attack. Let her go."
He grinned at her. "But it was just so much fun!" he said.
Unable to move her head, Ginny's eyes betrayed her confusion, fear, and not a little anger. Sirius again put his mouth near her ear. "Well, my little bunny, are you going to be a good girl and be quiet, or am I going to have to eat you?"
Cho walked forward and slapped him on the back of the head. "Enough, we don't have time to clean her clothes."
Sirius immediately looked ashamed. "Sorry," he mumbled and let the youngest Weasley go.
Ginny collapsed to the floor, skidding and slipping in the dust and dirt, desperately crawling away from her tormentor. She reached the far wall, climbed to her feet and spun around, her trembling wand aimed at Sirius.
She looked in disbelief at her brother and his friends. They were just standing round, arms crossed, looking at her in amusement, right next to Sirius Black!
Cho broke the silence. "Enough, Ginny. He won't hurt you."
Sirius strode forward, walking right up to the petrified girl. He held out his hand. "Sorry for the fright. Harry has told me your twin brothers take after me. I'm Sirius Black, Harry's godfather."
Unthinking, Ginny shook his hand.
Cho spoke up again. "Like I said Ginny, by following us, you endangered someone Harry cares for a great deal. Sirius here has been trying to clear Harry's name, and get him out of Voldemort's clutches."
Ginny's eyes hadn't left Sirius' face. "Y-y-you h-h-have?"
"Y-y-yes." Sirius mocked Ginny's stutter.
As he expected, the infamous Weasley temper flared, driving away fear to be replaced with indignation.
"Right, here you are. I only prepared four of them, so each of you will have one. I'll make sure I'm not caught."
"What are they?" asked Hermione, taking one of the small glass globes.
Sirius looked at her, one eye closed, puffy and turning black. "A portkey. My own design."
"Where do they go?" "What do you mean your design?" Cho and Hermione asked curiously.
"They take you here, to the shack, twelve hours after you activate them."
"So we just carry them?" asked Ron.
"In a manner of speaking," Sirius replied with a grin.
Ron gave him a long look. "Meaning?" he said eventually.
"You swallow them."
Ginny spoke up, still looking sullen, and still rubbing her stinging knuckles. "Why swallow them?"
"If you are captured, you will be searched for any charmed object, they'll take everything magical away from you. Your own aura masks these."
"Fine." said Cho, taking one and putting it in her mouth. Sirius passed her a flask, from which she took a swig, and swallowed the portkey. Handing the flask to Ron, she said, "Come on, let's get Harry."
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