Love, Lies, and a Secret

Chapter 09: The Red Feather.

Harry didn't wait for Remus’ reply; he simply rushed to the guestroom, Remus and Susan trailing behind him.

*~*~*~*

“H-Hermione,” Terry mumbled. He was leaning against the headboard of the bed, his face pale.  “I-I need to get her-” He tried to get up, but Neville stopped him.

“Calm down, Terry! You’re too weak!”  Terry sighed heavily, but nodded.

“Where’s Hermione, Boot?” Harry asked, as soon as he entered the bedroom. “What happened to her?” His voice was low but clear, and even if he his demeanor was calm, his eyes told everyone in the room that he was in despair.

Terry Boot looked up at him in surprise. “H-Harry?” he inquired to no one in particular and then looked at Mad-Eye in confusion.

The former Auror only nodded his head. “Potter already knows about yours and Granger’s activity-”

“We are wasting time here!” Harry interrupted Moody. “You said that we needed to wait for Boot’s wake up! Okay…he is awake now! We have to know what happened! Hermione could be-” He stopped unable to complete his sentence. He couldn’t bear to think about it.

“Potter is right,” Moody agreed. “What happened, Boot? Where’s Granger?”

Terry looked around the room, glancing at the familiar faces. “I-I don’t know where she is,” he said almost in a whisper.

“WHAT?!” Harry yelled, and Remus grabbed his arm, keeping him from doing something to Terry.

“What do you mean you don’t know where’s she, Terry?” the werewolf asked carefully. “What happened?”

“I-I’m so confuse,” Terry replied, glancing nervously at Harry. “That place with t-the feather…” He stopped suddenly, like he had just remembered something.

“What? What is it?” someone asked him, but Terry wasn’t really paying attention. He was trying to take something from his back pocket; a painful task since his whole body was aching. The former Ravenclaw breathed in relief when he finally managed to take out a red feather. He then gave it to Mad-Eye.

Confused, to say the least, Mad-Eye took the feather, and then looked inquisitively at Terry.

“What the hell is that?” Harry asked, voicing everyone else’s thoughts.

“This is where Hermione is,” Terry said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“B-But this is a feather!”  Neville blurted out.

But before Terry could say anything, Remus seemed to have understood what Terry had meant.

“It’s a Portkey,” Remus stated. 

Terry took a deep breath, closing his eyes, only to open them again a moment later. He then began to tell his tale.

*~*~*~*

“What kind of a place is this?” Terry heard Hermione mutter as they walked through the door. They were in a very large saloon with random couches and tables everywhere. The light was dim to the point that they couldn’t see anybody’s face.

Yes, there were other people there too… couples, even trios… performing acts that Hermione wouldn’t have even imagined were possible.

People were having sex, and they didn’t even seem to be shy or ashamed of it…

Terry swallowed nervously, and then looked at Hermione. Even in the dark, it was obvious that she was blushing.

 “Her-” he began, when a tall wizard came towards them and interrupted him.

“Oh, you must be our new clients. Pierre informed me about you,” the wizard said, a strange smile playing on his thin lips. “I’m sure you prefer a more reserved room…”

“That would be good,” Terry said, wrapping his arms around Hermione’s waist. “I’m very possessive of my woman,” he added.

“Of course, of course…” the man replied absently, his eyes fixed on Hermione. “Have we met before?” he asked her.

“I don’t think so,” she replied.

“Very well. Now if you would please follow me,” he said as he walked towards a door at the end of the room. Hermione and Terry exchanged glances, but didn’t say anything. They simply followed the man. 

*~*~*~*

“Y-You and Hermione went to a Sex House!” Tonks exclaimed, after having heard Terry’s explanation. He had stopped to drink some water.

“Y-Yeah…” he murmured, not looking anyone in the eye. Especially Harry.

Harry felt an uneasy sensation in his stomach.

Hermione and Terry in a Sex House…

Oh Merlin, he wanted to throw up!

“Of course…” Lupin muttered, almost to himself. “The Red Feather…” The werewolf tapped his forearm. “How could I have forgotten?”

“Forgotten? Forgotten what?” Harry asked and to his despair, Lupin blushed.

“Er, about the Red Feather…” Lupin glanced nervously at Tonks, who returned his gaze with the arch of an eyebrow. “I know about the Red Feather.”

“You know of a SEX HOUSE, Remus?!” Tonks cried madly at him. Despite himself, Neville chuckled. Tonks and Remus looked at him.

“Er, sorry guys.”

Tonks turned to Remus and repeated, “So, Remus Lupin…do you know of a Sex House?”

“Yes…I mean…no!”

“Yes or No?”

“I know about The Red Feather, but I have never been there. I swear!” he quickly added, after seeing the incredulous looks on everyone’s face.

“So, how do you know about it?” Tonks insisted.

“Sirius and Peter. They told me about this place.”

Harry looked surprised at Remus. “Did-Did my dad-”

Remus shook his head. “Oh no! Lily would kill him if he did!”

Harry gave Remus a small smile, and was about to say something when Moody interrupted, “Well, this conversation is really interesting but we need to hear Boot here!”

Terry shifted on the bed and continued...

*~*~*~*

Terry and Hermione were taken to some kind of Master Suite. It was a big bedroom with a large bed in the middle and some floating candles decorating it.

They looked at each other nervously, both flushed.

 “Er,” Terry was the first to speak. “I didn’t think it would be like this…”

“Yeah…” Hermione replied, looking around. Truthfully, she had always been curious to know what these types of places were like, but she would never have thought that she would be here with Terry Boot, of all people.

“We need to find the main office,” Terry commented as he sat down on the edge of the bed. However, as soon as he touched the bed, it started to moan. He quickly stood up. “Bloody Hell!!”

Hermione couldn’t help but chuckled. “This is ridiculous!” she said, and then pointed her wand at the bed, crying, “Finite Incantatem!” The bed stopped.

“Er, thanks,” Terry said, as he glanced suspiciously at the bed. “Should we go now?”

Hermione shook her head. “No, let’s wait.”

*~*~*~*

They sat down on the bed and began to talk about random things, like family and work.

“Listen, Hermione, about Potter-”

“That’s okay, Terry,” she said, a sad smile on her lips.

“B-But he thinks…”

She sighed. “I know.”

Terry took her hands and said softly, “You’re a great girl-” He abruptly stopped as he heard a faint noise coming from outside the room. Without thinking twice, Terry simply grabbed her top, tearing it, and then kissed her intensely on the lips.

Before Hermione could reacted in any way, the door opened and the same strange wizard from earlier had stepped in.

“Oh!” he exclaimed in false surprise.

“What do you want?!” Terry cried in annoyance. He was holding Hermione against his chest.

“I’m sorry, sir. I just wanted to see if you needed something.”

“We need nothing!” Terry cried. “Now, leave!”

“Of course, sir. My apologies,” the man said before leaving.

As soon as the man left the bedroom, Terry let go of Hermione.

“What the hell was that!?!” she cried angrily, her arms crossing over her chest, trying to cover her breasts. “You destroyed my top!”

Red as a tomato, Terry tried to explain, “I-I’m sorry, but I heard something and-and- well…we had to pretend!”

“Yes, pretend! Not get me naked!” she said, a little calmer. “And you just destroyed it.” She looked hopeless at her top.

“B-But you can transfigure it, can’t you?”

“No, this top was made with a special type of fabric. It’s impossible to fix it.”

“Oh.” Terry bit his lip, trying to think of something. He looked at her, and realised what it was he had to do.

“Terry! What are you doing?” Hermione inquired, surprised, when he began to take off his own shirt.

“I’m taking off my shirt,” he replied simply. “You can wear it.” He gave the shirt to Hermione. “I’ll be fine without a shirt.”

She smiled at him, and took the shirt. “Thanks, Terry.”

*~*~*~*

“Y-You took off her shirt?!” Harry yelled, not quite believing what he had just heard. “Y-You kissed her?!”

“I didn’t have a choice, okay?” Terry replied, making an effort to justify his actions. “We had to pretend! That was our task!”

“Still!” Harry cried angrily.

“Potter,” Moody intervened, “he did the right thing.”

Harry huffed, but didn’t comment. He hated Terry Boot!

“So, Terry, did you and Hermione leave the room?” Remus asked, changing the subject.

“Yes,” he said, “we left the room.” He closed his eyes briefly. “It wasn’t hard to find the office.”

“And did you find something?” Kingsley asked.

Terry nodded. “Yes, we found a lot of compromising documents and…” He stopped mid-sentence.

“And what?!” Harry cried.

“And they saw us.”

*~*~*~*

 “I knew you two were up to something,” a voice spoke from behind them. Terry reached for his wand but the wizard spoke again, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He smirked at them. “Give me your wands!”

Hermione opened her mouth to say something but the man cut her off. “You better not speak, Hermione Granger.” He smirked as he took Hermione’s and Terry’s wands from them. “Oh, don’t look so surprised!”

“I’m not surprised,” she said defiantly. “I never intended to hide my name. Everybody knows who I am and where I work.”

“Oh yes, The Experimental Charms Department…Tst Tst Tst…what are you two? Uncover Aurors?”

“We are not Aurors!” Terry said.

“I supposed not,” the man said, “but we’ll find out the truth, won’t we?” He nodded towards the open door. “Let’s get going! I think I know someone who would love to see you, Miss Granger.”

With no other options left to them, Terry and Hermione did as they were told.

*~*~*~*

“Antonin, here they are,” the wizard said to a man, who had his back to them. The man turned around, and Hermione felt her heart beat increasing when she recognized the man as Antonin Dolohov.

Dolohov came nearer to her and brushed his fingers over her face. She felt her body trembling against his touch. “Oh, Mudblood… My sweet Mudblood… We finally meet again…”

Hermione didn’t speak; she simply continued to stare at him.

“Don’t touch her!” Terry cried.

Dolohov looked at the young man, and then back at Hermione. “Oh, you are wearing his shirt… Tst Tst Tst… What will Potter think of this?”

Hermione remained in silence.

“Oh, I know that Weasley is the boyfriend… But Potter is the lover, isn’t he?” Dolohov grinned before licking her cheek. Hermione thought she was going to throw up, as her body trembled in disgust. “You look good for a Mudblood…” He grabbed her waist, pulling her to him.

“You!” Dolohov cried to the other man. “Take him! I want to talk with Granger… alone.”

Hermione looked to Terry in horror, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

“No!” he cried in despair. “I’ll stay in her place!”

Dolohov smiled evilly at him and then whispered into his ear, “I’m sorry, but you are not my type.”

*~*~*~*

Harry was breathing heavily. “Y-You left her there?!”

“I-I didn’t have a choice, okay!” Terry cried desperately. “He said he was going to kill her! I didn’t have a choice!” He buried his head in his hands. “That-That man took me to another room…and…there were other people there…and…”

“And what?!” Harry shouted.

“And they tortured me! They used the Cruciatus and other Curses…I’m sorry!”

“What was the last thing you remember?” Kingsley asked.

“When they gave me the Potion…” he said. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“And where is this place?” Harry asked.

“I-I don’t know.”

Harry began to pace around the bedroom. “I don’t fucking believe it!”

“We used a Portkey, okay?! The Red Feather!”

Harry turned to Remus. “Remus, you said that Sirius and Wormtail… Did they tell you where …?”

Remus shook his head, sadly. “No. But I remember…they mentioned that the place was kind of like the Ministry, you know? It has a fake facade. They told me that, looking from outside, the place looked like an abandoned shed. How they knew that, I really don’t know. They never told me… just like they never told me where it was.” He shook his head. “They only told me that if I saw an abandoned shed with the picture, a drawing, of a red feather…”

“W-What did you say?” Harry had stopped pacing, and started to look at Remus strangely. “Did you say something about a picture?”

“Yes…they said it had a drawing on-”

“On the front door,” Harry completed for him. Everyone looked at Harry. He was smiling. “I know where it is! I know where it is!”

“What? How?” someone asked.

“It’s in Surrey! Carnation Drive! I remember this place when I was a kid! It’s near Privet Drive! Uncle Vernon always complained about that place!” He looked at Remus. “We can find her, Remus.”

*~*~*~*

The Red Feather
Carnation Drive, Surrey

Harry Potter would never be able to retell what had happened that day. It was like a blur in his mind. Only some scenes were clear… they were short and frightening things, simply floating in his mind. He remembered the Aurors… the Hit Wizards… Neville… a fight.

He remembered that they had entered the place…but truthfully, he wasn’t paying attention to what was happening around him. He didn’t care about who would die… or live. He just wanted to find Hermione.

Hermione…

He just wanted to find her.

Nothing else mattered.

He was looking for her when he heard Neville’s voice crying his name.

“Harry! Harry! I found her!”

Harry ran to where Neville was.

And what he saw made him want to die. Neville was on his knees, covering a naked Hermione with a sheet that he must have conjured.

“Oh god! Oh god!” Harry knelt beside them. With trembling hands, he touched Hermione’s bruised face. “Oh, Mione...” he sobbed, tears dropping from his eyes.

“She’s alive, Harry,” Neville said, “but we need to get her out of here. I-I need to check on her… She’s doing pretty badly…” he almost whispered the last part. “We can’t Apparate her. I will use the Portkey to my flat.” Neville took an old napkin out of his pocket. “Let me hold her…”

“No, I-I will hold her…” Harry said, taking Hermione in his arms. She was so small, so fragile. He couldn’t bear to think what might have happened to her ... Oh god…it was too terrible, even to think about.

Neville nodded and they touched the Portkey.

*~*~*~*

Neville’s Flat

“Oh Merlin!” Susan cried when she saw Neville, Harry and Hermione appearing. “How is she, Nev?”

“Not so good,” Neville replied hurriedly. He turned to Harry. “Harry, take her to my bedroom. Susan, I-I think I will need your help.”

“Sure! Sure!” she said, indicating the way to Harry. She had noticed that Hermione was only covered by a sheet, but didn’t comment.

When they entered Neville’s bedroom, Harry gently placed Hermione on the bed. It was obvious that his hands were trembling.

“Guys, now if you’ll excuse me-” Susan was saying but Harry cut her off.

“I’m not leaving her!”

“First off, Harry, you aren’t a Healer…Second, she isn’t wearing any clothes.” Susan took a deep breath as a single tear dropped from her eye. “I-I need to clean her up, and e-examine her. I-I need to see if she…if she was…was…”

Harry held up a hand, making her stop. He didn’t want… didn’t need to hear anything else. “I-I’ll be waiting outside.”

Susan just nodded, and then turned to Neville. “When I finish in here…I’ll call you.”

Neville nodded, and he and Harry left the bedroom.

*~*~*~*

“They don’t know you are here.” Neville spoke, breaking the silence.

Harry’s head snapped at him. “What? What are talking about?”

“Moody, Remus…They don’t know you are here. I mean, my part was to find her and bring her here but-”

“I don’t care!” Harry cried. “I don’t bloody care.  My life…” he whispered the last part, wiping away the tears that insisted to fall. “S-She’s supposed to be safe…s-she shouldn’t get hurt…ever…s-she…” He looked Neville in the eye. “Y-You saw her! You saw her, Nev! She was naked…s-she...”

“Harry, we don’t know what happened…We need to wait for Susan…”

“…and this Potion…this Potion you were talking about earlier… W-What if… What if they gave it to her?”

“Honestly, we can’t do anything about it but…if she took the Potion…and if the Potion worked…” Neville sighed. “Would you think less of her bec-”

“Of course not!” Harry cried indignantly. “I lo-” He suddenly stopped, as he noticed the word he was about to say. Love. No, he didn’t mean to say love …he had meant to say…like…

Yes, like…

Harry looked at Neville, and his former classmate gave him a half smile. “I know, Harry. I know.”

*~*~*~*

Harry was waiting… Neville had gone to see Terry…Remus and Tonks had arrived, saying that the Aurors and Hit Wizards had managed to arrest several suspects but, unfortunately, Dolohov and Pierre had managed to escape.

They also said that-

…but Harry wasn’t really listening to them. His mind was somewhere else…his mind was in Neville’s bedroom.

He couldn’t even describe what he was feeling; it was a mixture of panic, pain, despair…The images of a bleeding, beaten up, and naked Hermione simply refused to leave his mind. He just had to close his eyes…

“Oh god! NEVILLE!” Susan’s desperate voice broke his thoughts. Without thinking twice, he jumped up from the couch, and ran towards the bedroom. Tonks and Remus followed him.

*~*~*~*

When Harry entered the bedroom, Neville was already there. He and Susan were trying to stabilize Hermione, who was having a seizure.

“Oh Merlin! What happened?!” Harry heard Tonks exclaim. He just watched, hopelessly, as Neville and Susan tried to help Hermione. It seemed as though she suffocating.

“I don’t know what happened…” Susan was saying as she and Neville muttered Healing spells. “I-I had just examined her…” She looked briefly at Harry. “S-She wasn’t… abused.”

‘Thank Merlin.’

 “S-She took the Potion but-” There was an audible gasp. “But she didn’t lose her magical abilities…” Susan stopped, and muttered another Healing spell. “I was starting to heal her when-” But then, suddenly, Neville grabbed her arm, making her stop. “What did you say?”

“I said that she started to quiver when I cast a…” Susan’s eyes opened wide, she brought a hand to her mouth in horror. “Oh god!”

“What?! What’s going on?!” Harry yelled.

Neville and Susan exchanged a worried glance before he turned to Harry. “Hermione…s-she is…allergic…”

“Allergic? Allergic to what?”

“To Magic.”