Chapter 13 Best Deceptions.

  Harry stared at the mangled corpse on the ground before him. It still didn't explain where Draco was and he had been missing for several days....who's body was this? He knelt down and lifted the dark cloak that was covering the body's face...the wide-open, shocked eyes of Ruby gazed up at him. Harry made a strangeled noise in the back of his throat and fell backwards onto the wet grass. He quickly scrambled to his feet and raced back to the house, leaving Ruby's ruined body on the lawn behind him, bathed in silvery moonlight

   They buried Ruby's body in the woods as soon as the sun was up. Although Sirius wished they had been able to discover more about who had killed her, they all agreed that it was the Avada Kedavra that had killed her.

   "Same look Mum and Dad had, after Voldemort was done with them," Ron said bitterly as they lowered Ruby's coffin into the magically dug grave. Sirius stood by silently, watching as Harry, Ron and Troy began shoveling dirt over the coffin. Although they could've used magic, Harry felt like he needed to cover Ruby with his own hands, as a final reassurance that she really was dead.

     The sun was high in the sky before they finished filling in the grave. Hermione gently put her arm around Sirius and led him up to the house, murmuring something about a cup of tea. Ron stared after Hermione, with a look of sad wistfullness. Harry turned to Troy who had sat in the grass under the shade of the nearest tree.

      "That body we just buried wasn't Ruby." he finally said. Ron turned his head so sharply Harry heard his friend's neck crack.

       "What?" he hissed. Troy smiled ambigously. Harry stepped forward, clenching his shovel tightly in both hands. Troy was beginning to give him the same feeling Ruby had; a sneaking feeling of distrust.

        "Why don't you ask Hermione who's buried in that grave?" Troy asked, gracefully rising to his feet and brushing dirt off his dragonhide pants. "She's been in cahoots with Ruby and Voldemort this whole time. She's been passing information to him." Harry saw Ron's face go white and then his ears turned red. He put his arm in front of Ron to restrain him.

     "Wait! Wait!" he hissed through clenched teeth. Troy smiled at them again.

      "Why do you think she moved out and took her own flat? She's not only his inside informant, she's his mistress also." Harry was propelled to his knees as Ron pushed by him in his effort to reach Troy. Tackeling him, Ron brought Troy to the ground. He pushed the taller man onto his stomach and twisted Troy's arm behind his back.

      "You're lying! Hermione wouldn't do that!" Ron said, giving Troy's arm a vicious twist. Troy let out a small groan and Harry stood up, readying himself to intervene before Ron seriously hurt Troy.

       "Ron! Don't hurt him! Haven't you hurt enough people?" Hermione's voice came from behind them. Harry turned and saw Hermione standing in the clearing near Ruby's grave.

        "Let him go, Ron." Hermione said in a voice unlike Harry had ever heard before. Instantly Ron had let go of Troy and gotten to his feet. Troy stood up, seemingly unhurt. Harry turned to Hermione, eyeing her suspiciously. Was this the best friend he'd know since his first year? The body was Hermione, the look in the eyes was someone else's...

 

to be continued....