Harry Potter- The New Prophecy

A Traitor

October 2009
"I believe that there is a traitor amongst us." Albus Dumbledore's words echoed throughout the previously silent room, sending chills down Harry's spine. "In fact, I know that there is a traitor amongst us."

Gasps could be heard throughout the room as everyone absorbed this new bit of information. It was everyone's worst fear—being betrayed. Harry watched as everyone looked around the room, as if trying to decide who the traitor was. Harry found himself doing the same.

Most of the room appeared to be in shock, while others appeared angry or fearful. There were, however, a few exceptions. Severus's face remained calm and unbothered. This wasn't unusual for the man and didn't concern Harry. Severus had proven himself to be trustworthy in the previous war, and Harry trusted him. But by the looks that James and Sirius were giving him, it was obvious that they didn't. Even Lily appeared suspicious of the former death eater.

Then there was Draco. While many in the room appeared to be shocked over Dumbledore's revelation, it was obvious that he was not. Because of this, some people in the room were eying him suspiciously. One glance at Ron told Harry that his friend was one of them. Many years ago, Harry would have been the first to suspect his former enemy, but experience now told him otherwise. Draco was the spy for the order. His lack of surprise likely came from his inside information from the death eaters. Harry never thought the day would come where he trusted Malfoy, but he did.

Harry knew in his heart that the traitor wasn't anyone in his family. He knew that the Weasley's would never betray them, nor would Sirius, Remus, or Tonks. Ron and Hermione would die before they turned themselves over to the dark side, and although Harry hadn't spent much time with his parents, he knew that they were the same. Andy was as good as family, and although she was formally a Black, she, like Sirius, had left that life behind. Harry wasn't as familiar with Ted Tonks, but he had no reason to believe that he was any different than his wife and daughter.

This left Alastor, Kingsley, Minerva, Hagrid, previous members of Dumbledore's army, Corinne, Cassiopeia, and Dobby. Harry knew that there was absolutely no chance that Alastor, Kingsley, Minerva, or Hagrid were the traitors. He couldn't see Dobby betraying them, nor could he see any of his old classmates turning over to the dark side. This left two people. Sirius's sister and Sirius's girlfriend.

Harry didn't have reason to trust either one of them, but if he had to pick one of them out as the traitor, he would bet all the money in his vault that it was Corinne. She sat next to Sirius, clutching pathetically to his arm with a look of fear on her face. Harry had to give it to her; she was a good actress. But he wasn't fooled for a minute. Years of being an auror taught him how to read people. Her body language was off, and he couldn't shake off the weird feeling he got every time he looked at her.

The room erupted into chaos as everyone started talking at once. What started out as whispers soon turned to shouts, which got louder and louder as everyone tried to talk over the others so that their own voice could be heard. Harry was begging to think that the shouting would never end, but then Dumbledore cleared his throat, and the room went silent.

"I am sure many of you are wondering how I know there is a traitor." Dumbledore said. "It is really quite simple. Draco came to me with news of a prophecy. A prophecy that I had already known about, one that concerns a family in the order. Very few people know of this prophecy, as we decided not to share it with everyone; however, it would appear that the news somehow got out."

Harry felt his blood run cold. It didn't make any sense. The only people to know of the prophecy besides him and Ginny were people he trusted with his life. There was no way any of them betrayed them. Arthur and Molly would never betray their daughter, just like his parents would never betray him. Sirius had once been the closest thing he had had to a father, and Remus and Tonks were practically family as well. Then there were Ron and Hermione, both of whom had been by his side from the beginning. They had several chances to back out, but they never did. And of course, there were Albus and Minerva, but it would be absurd to even consider either one of them a traitor.