Title: Deceived by Betrayal
Author: Reyn
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter.
Warnings: Angst, cliffie, and possible character death, depending on where your imagination leads you.
Author’s Note: This is a oneshot, written for the Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations challenge posted at AFF about a year ago. I selected lucky number 36: Loss of loved ones – a kinsman slain; a kinsman spectator; an executioner. I have a feeling I sort of missed the mark (as I tend to do in a lot of cases), but after reading the situation, the following is what came to me almost immediately, so I wrote it up on the spot.

DECEIVED BY BETRAYAL

Death. Anger. Betrayal.

So this is what it had all boiled down to.

“I love you…”

The secret confession. The words that once shone through silver eyes.

Harry was no longer fooled.

He had trusted Draco. Trusted him with his life…with his friend’s lives…and what did it amount to? Their deaths.

But Harry was not without guilt. Draco’s trust in him had been betrayed as well in retaliation, and now all that was left on this battlefield was himself, his once-upon-a-time lover, and the Dark Lord Voldemort who seemed to find it entertaining that such a passionate bond was ripped apart before his very eyes.

Now, both boys stood before each other, nothing but hatred that ran deeper than ever believed possible emanating between them.

Why? Why did it have to come to this?

If only Draco had forsaken his family and joined the Light…

If only Harry had abandoned his friends and ran away with his love…

Then maybe Harry’s friends would still be around to forgive him. To understand that Harry only wanted a shot at happiness and love, to live life his own way, with no destiny to worry about. Maybe then Harry wouldn’t have had to go through the pain of having his heart shatter as the Death Eaters burst in, Draco following lifelessly with Voldemort standing triumphantly at his side as all his friends and family were murdered around him.

Then maybe…maybe Draco’s family would still be alive. Maybe Draco wouldn’t have had to go through the pain of finding their dead bodies in tattered clothing, caked in dirt and blood after being tortured and humiliated when they refused to divulge any information about their fellow comrades and leader. Maybe his screams of despair would never have been sounded in the first place, echoing as he mourned the loss of the only two people that had been left to keep his sanity in tact after his mind had been raped for information from the Dark Lord.

Gone were the nights of yearning passion. Of entangled limbs and hushed moans. Gone was the thrill of secret meetings. The constant worry for loved ones.

Gone. But not forgotten or missed.

Now, all that was left of the both of them were twisted shells. An emptiness caused by the mind games the war had put them through.

They had once been in love! Why hadn’t that been enough?

Harry could only hope that Draco held some semblance of regret for selling out his trusted secrets. If not, then torture should be more than enough…

“Crucio!”

Tormented cries sounded across the moor, the Dark Lord watching in amusement as his last remaining follower writhed about on the ground, nothing but abhorrence being poured into the curse from what was once true love.

He couldn’t help but wonder, would his young minion try to fight back? Would he fight back in honor of his dead parents, whose deaths proved that even the Light had a darker, twisted side that few knew of? Or would Draco simply remain compliant as Harry used his body to transform himself into the next Dark Lord?

But if he did, would his old lover not realize that something was amiss?

If Draco had truly betrayed him, then why would he not be gloating now? Surely now was his chance. No one was left but the two of them, so why not degrade Harry and break him like those who truly loathed one another did?

Voldemort watched as the last Malfoy struggled to stand, stumbling forward, only to collapse at Harry’s feet as he was hit with another crucio.

It was almost insulting how the supposed savior had forgotten he was there, opting instead to take the perverse pleasure in destroying the toy that had been used to carry out the deeds.

Even Voldemort was shocked at how fragile the bond had been. Was love truly such a frail thing? No, it couldn’t be. Just watching Draco now as he tried to tell Harry…tried to explain between the gasps of pain and impending death that he had never truly betrayed anyone in the first place…

Stupid boy. Why would you give yourself so completely over to love? Potter obviously has far more of a dark side within him than any of us ever thought capable.

“…love…love you…”

The light was dimming in dull grey eyes.

“LIAR! If you loved me then why?!”

Green eyes nearly glowed with tears.

“…didn’t…Dark…”

“Shut UP! Just shut up! Crucio! You killed them! You killed them all! I HATE you!”

“You…killed…my parents…Still love…you.”

The fight was leaving the Golden Boy as he fell to his knees.

“Why?” he asked.

A small, trembling smile appeared.

“Because you…tried to save me…”

Ah, the irony of it all. Draco’s salvation turned into his destruction. Voldemort couldn’t help but wonder what Harry would say if he knew that his lover had been seriously considering the idea of abandoning all and joining the Light. Perhaps it would be better if he never found out. After all, not even the Dark Lord considered himself to be that cruel…

Not really. He would mock the Gryffindor in a heart’s beat if he didn’t believe he would die for it immediately after. But then again…with his guard down like it was now…

Voldemort stepped forward. He only hoped Draco would remain alive long enough to confirm the truth.

Because while the hate of betrayal was still strong, the love of the past was still there to weaken it.

The End.

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End Note: Welcome to the Caribbean! (coughs) So...yeah, I wrote this about a year ago...maybe more than a year ago. I hated it. I still hate it. I want a happy ending, but that would sort of destroy the mood this piece goes for. Please don't ask for a sequel. I'm still trying to work out the best way to bump out HPCoF's sequel. (I've hit some complications in the early part of my outline(like...chapter 3 early), which is why I haven't posted the story yet, sorry!)

To those of you who follow me, does this mean I've returned to the fandom? Well, I'm trying my darnedest! I've hit something of a writing slump ever since summer...I think my creative genius died. I'm going back to taking baby steps and trying not to look at the big picture as I hack my through the list of stories that have backlogged on me. I still have a lot of fics in other fandoms that are at the top of my list right now, but I promise you'll being seeing more of me in the future! Thank you to everyone who's been patient this far!

PS - To those of you who have emailed me, PM'ed me, left me reviews asking questions, I still have them!! They're just buried in my inbox...But I promise to get around to replying when I have the chance!

...Sorry for making this such a long end note...