Author's Note: Dedicated to SquirrelGal for supporting me even though I don't ship Harry/Hermione anymore and for liking the fact that I am finishing it for my readers. Thanks sweetie!
Corrupted One
Redux
Chapter Seven
"Harry, please let me talk to you!" Ginny wailed, grabbing onto his hand and tugging him desperately towards a compartment on the Express. "I want to explain! Please! I love you!" Harry wrenched his arm away from the girl, spinning around to glare hatefully down at the redhead.
"I already told you that there is nothing to explain! Why do you keep trying to redeem yourself, Ginny?! I saw what I saw and there is nothing that you can do to change that! Now leave me alone!"
"Harry, please! Just give me another chance!"
"Why should I give you another chance, Ginny? Just so you can go behind my back and do it again? Do you like hurting people?"
"Of course I don't like hurting people! I never meant to hurt you!"
"You never meant to hurt me," Harry scoffed. "You have an interesting way of showing that, Ginny. Please leave me alone." He turned to head back to where Hermione and Neville were sitting but Ginny grabbed on him again. He tensed, clenching his teeth and his hands into fists.
"Do not touch me," he whispered and the girl took a few steps back, stunned by the rage in his voice. "There is nothing more that you have to say to me, alright? You would rather be with Malfoy, I understand that, and if we're both honest with ourselves than we will realize that our relationship was never really a relationship and that the only reason that we were together was because your mother and Ron wanted us to be."
"That's not true! I love you!" Ginny simpered. Harry laughed bitterly, shaking his head.
"No Ginny, you love the boy that you've heard about from your parents, the boy that you've been told stories about since you were little. You don't love me."
"What's the difference?!" she shouted, ignoring the curious faces peering at them from the compartments surrounding them. "You are the boy that I've been hearing about all my life! You're not making any sense!" Harry sighed, shaking his head and walking away.
"I'll see you later."
"Harry! HARRY! Don't walk away from me!" Ginny screamed, watching in shock as he ignored her and entered a room a few doors down on his right, closing the sliding door without looking back at her once.
"Hey Harry, what took so long?" Ron asked, shoving handfuls of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans into his mouth. Harry sighed, settling down next to Hermione and leaning his head back on the seat as the brunette looked at the food rolling around in Ron's mouth in disgust.
"Your sister tried to talk to me about what happened again," he muttered and Neville frowned, looking up from his Herbology book.
"I thought you told her not to come near you again," he asked, brows furrowed in confusion. Harry lifted his head slightly and gave the slightly chubby boy a small smile before letting his head fall back again.
"I did, but she just keeps trying to tell me that I didn't see what I saw." Ron snorted, accidentally sniffing a bean which caused him to choke, Neville pounding on his back worriedly as he coughed wildly and his eyes watered. Hermione rolled her eyes, her upper lip curling in loathing before she quickly hid her look of revulsion behind the book that she was clutching in her hands.
"Did you tell her to bugger off?" Ron asked in between pants as he finally got his coughing under control, breathing uneasily for a few moments before his heart finally calmed down and he began to shove more candy into his mouth.
"Not in so many words," Harry responded, folding his hands on his stomach. Ron finished his box of candy on moved on to a sting of licorice rope, smacking loudly and causing Hermione to white-knuckle her book, eyes narrowed on one word in her book, not seeing anything else.
"If she comes near you again I'll be sure to tell her that you don't want anything to do with her anymore," Ron said, still munching away.
"You don't have to do that Ron, she is your sister."
"Not when she was making out with Malfoy," the redhead spat, anger and nausea clear on his freckled face. "I can't believe she went anywhere near that ferret, let alone snogged him." He shuddered.
"Don't worry about it anymore, Ron," Neville said, turning the page in his book. "If you think about it, its better that Harry caught them because who knows how long it had been going on, or if that was the first time who knows how long it would have gone on until Harry found out. I think it's better in the long run."
"You're right Neville," Hermione agreed, lowering her book and placing her hand on Harry's thigh, giving him a gentle smile. "I think that Harry's better off without her because what if they had gotten married and she had gone off with someone else? Everything probably worked out for the best; you know her true colors now." Harry looked over at her, giving her a shy look before turning his eyes back to the ceiling, a bright blush spreading across his face.
They were quiet for a few minutes, Ron's loud chewing echoing throughout the compartment, the sounds of the train swirling around them, scenery flashing past the window as they made their way back to Platform 9 ¾.
"Hermione, what did you think of your first year at Hogwarts?" Neville asked, placing a bookmark in his page and closing his tome, resting it on his lap. Hermione gave him a genuine smile, closing her own book and placing it next to her on the seat.
"I liked it a lot more than I thought I would," she admitted honestly. "I was pretty worried about what everything would be like."
"Well if you were worried about classes you shouldn't have been!" Ron interjected, ripping open a chocolate frog. "All the professors love you since you're such a bookworm!" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, brown eyes glinting and Neville frowned at his dorm mate.
"Erm . . . Ron," he said quietly. "I don't think that's a compliment." Ron shrugged, not paying much attention as he looked at the new card clutched in his hand.
Hermione rolled her eyes picking up her book once more, thinking about the year she had just experienced.
It was most assuredly not what she had been expecting. What she had thought that she was going to experience was coldness when she was sorted into Gryffindor, as she tried to get close enough to Harry to seduce him. She hadn't thought that she would be readily welcomed into his life, had thought that he would have been surrounded by quivering fans and anyone who tried to get into that group would be shoved away and threatened. But he had practically taken her under his wing, not because he was the boy-who-lived, but because he was a nice person that wanted to help her. She smiled, her heart fluttering as she looked at the ebony haired boy who was snoozing next to her.
Yes, she was pleasantly surprised.
"Have a good summer, Hermione," Harry said with a smile, rubbing the back of his head as he stood in front of the girl. Around them friends were hugging and promising to send each other owls before trudging off to meet with their parents or guardians.
Hermione smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a tight squeeze, relishing the feeling of his arms wrapped around her waist as he gave her a hug in return. Pulling back she patted his cheek affectionately, loving the way his cheeks flushed in what she guessed was amusement, embarrassment and maybe even a bit of contentment. "Feel free to owl me, Harry. Have a good holiday." With one last smile she turned, pushing her trolley over to the two Death Eaters that were posing as her parents.
"It seems like you are getting quite cozy with Potter," her "aunt" said, looking over at the green-eyed boy who was still gazing after her with an almost longing expression on his face. "The Master will be pleased."
"Let us go," Hermione said simply, waiting for the two minions to walks ahead of her. When their backs were turned she looked over her shoulder, sending Harry another smile when she caught his eyes, before making her through the barrier.
"Hermione, Bella has told me that she saw you have become quite close to Potter," Voldemort said, staring at the girl who was standing in front of him. "How much longer until you complete your assignment?"
"Hopefully soon, My Lord," Hermione said, bowing slightly. Voldemort nodded, waving a hand to dismiss her. She left the room quickly, heading to her own quarters where she locked the door and sat on the bed, sighing heavily.
What was she going to do? She knew that her feelings for Harry, what she had thought that first was just a crush on a "hero" and would fade away soon were, if anything, increasing by the day. She knew that she couldn't fail her mission, if she did she would be killed and then someone else would be sent in her place, and they would not fall for Harry like she had, which meant that they would complete the assignment and destroy Harry.
"Why me?" she whispered, buying her face in the pillow and trying to hold back tears.
A few weeks later Hermione got a surprise as she came back to her room from training, her clothing singed and her hair even more out of control than its usual bush. Sitting on the back on her chair was a beautiful white owl that she recognized as Harry's bird Hedwig, with a letter tied to her leg.
"Hedwig," Hermione said with a smile, closing and locking her door as she made her way over to the bird. Hedwig cooed, lifting her leg and letting the girl remove the note that was attached to her. Hermione removed it, unrolling it and looking at the crooked chicken scratch that Harry called writing.
Dear Hermione,
I hope that you are having a good summer so far. Things with my godfather and his
best friend have been a lot of fun, especially because Sirius (my godfather) loves
to play tricks on Remus all the time. Of course, Remus does not find this nearly
as amusing as we do, but he has a good sense of humor so he gets Sirius back with
his own pranks.
I was telling Sirius and Remus about you and they said that I could have you over
for a few weeks before I go over to the Burrow (Ron's house) and you are also
invited over there if you want to come too. Please owl me after you ask your aunt
and uncle; I really hope that you will come.
-Harry
Hermione smiled brightly, clutching the letter to her chest as a flush spread across her cheeks. She knew that she would be allowed to go but he smile dropped when she realized that this would push her task even farther ahead. Voldemort would make her go to keep up appearances of them being friends and to get ever closer to his desired goal, but she knew that the more time she spent with him the more intense her feelings became.
She knew that she wouldn't be able to complete her mission. She knew that she had to save Harry.
"Hermione!" Harry smiled, opening the door to the nice house that he shared with his godfather, Sirius Black. Behind Harry she could see a black-haired man rushing from one room to another, a tawny-haired man barreling after him who was shouting and covered in a strange thick, dripping and sticky looking liquid. "Come in."
Hermione smiled, stepping into the house and leaving her trunk outside on the doorstep. Harry left the door open and walked into the room where the two men had disappeared, Hermione trailing after him like a little puppy, and when she made it next to him in the doorway she saw the dark-haired man trying to appease the slightly shorter one, his hands up in a placating motion as the other growled and brandished his wand, a thick purple goop sliding down over his clothes.
"Calm down, Remus, it's alright." Grey eyes twinkled in amusement, even though he had a contrite expression on his handsome face.
"Alright!" the husky voice of the man called Remus barked, stamping his foot like a little kid having a temper tantrum. "Sirius, you've ruined my favorite jumper!"
"Don't worry, it will wash out!" Sirius assured, nodding his head.
"What is this . . . substance . . . supposed to do?" Remus asked, twirling his wand in his fingers threateningly. She watched Sirius eye the piece of wood in apprehension.
"Well, hopefully it will just turn your skin blue." Remus' hand clenched on his wand and his knuckles turned white, a low growl echoing throughout the room. Harry shivered.
"What do you mean hopefully?" he whispered. Sirius looked sheepish.
"Well, I don't think I added enough bilirubin, which is a very important part of the potion, so instead of coming out in liquid form where I could have just slipped it into your drink it became the goo which I just threw on you." He chuckled. "I don't know what its going to do."
"Sirius," Remus started, raising his wand to do who-knows-what, when Harry took the opportunity to clear his throat. The two older men turned to look at him, taking in the bushy-haired girl standing next to him.
"Hello Harry!" Sirius said brightly, shoving past Remus but careful not to touch the substance on his skin. "This must be Hermione! How do you do? I'm Harry's godfather, Sirius Black." He held out his hand, which Hermione took and had it shook enthusiastically.
"It's nice to meet you," she said with a true smile, glancing over at Harry when he left her side and made his way over to Remus, who had his arms crossed over his chest, smears of goop across his cheeks.
"The sourpuss over there is Remus Lupin," Sirius said, sliding a friendly arm around Hermione's shoulders. "He's my best mate and has been for years, so he'll get over this little mishap soon."
"Sirius?" Remus said, giving Harry a soft smile before turning back to his friend. "Run." Sirius' eyes went wide and he turned and bolted, Remus hurrying after him. Harry laughed, making his way to stand next to her.
"I thought you were kidding about the pranks," Hermione said, turning wide eyes to the boy at her side. Harry grinned, arms behind his back and his eyes sparkling brightly.
"Nope." From upstairs there was a loud thud, a not-so-manly shriek, loud raucous laughter and then Sirius' shout echoed throughout the house,
"REMUS!"
Author's Note: Ok, so here's the next chapter. It sucks, I'm sorry, but I'm having alot of trouble writing them in character because . . . I dunno. (Also, sorry for spelling mistakes, I have no beta). Thanks for the few of you that reviewed, especially SquirrelGal, and thanks to those that put this story on their favorites. Erm . . . I dunno if I'm just going to finish this story in the next chapter or keep doing chapters, so if anyone has an opinion tell me.
Thanks for reading. Please review, I appreciate it, cause I don't know if you like it and if I should keep writing it if I don't get feedback. Thanks again.
A and W Rootbeer (aka BewitchedOne)
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