Jealousy Games and Deadly Consequences

[Liz-Miia Parker]

Ülikeeruliseks tehtud see fic xD

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 45-A Talk with Dumbledore

Harry and Ron followed Dumbledore into his office.

"Will the two of you please have a seat?" the old wizard said as he gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk.

They nodded and sat down.

"Now..." Dumbledore began as he sat down slowly. He took a moment to study both Harry and Ron.

Ron was scowling at Harry who was frowning right back at him.

"I assumed that upon my first day returning to Hogwarts; I would be able to relax a bit before getting back into the old schedule. But, instead I must deal with a fight between two of my most helpful students. There's no rest for the weary, is there?" He cracked a slight smile at his last remark but neither Harry nor Ron smiled back.

So instead, Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Very well then, I take it that the two of you are at odds over some serious dispute. So, I'd like to hear about it." Then he looked to Ron. "Mr. Weasley, I would like to hear your side first."

"Well sir..." Ron began swallowing nervously. "Harry wasn't acting uh...normal today." he said slowly.

"Is that so?" Dumbledore asked with a rather surprised expression. "And why do you say that?"

"Well...he...he kissed me, sir." Ron choked out.

"Really?" Dumbledore replied calmly as he raised his eyebrows at Harry. Then he looked back to Ron with a slight chuckle.

"Mr. Weasley, I have no qualms about same sex couples here. At this school we do not have certain...restrictions on things of that nature. Perhaps Harry has taken a fancy to you?" Dumbledore replied still as calm as ever.

"What? Huh!" Ron gasped.

Harry was aching to speak but he knew he had to wait for his turn; as he did not want to be disrespectful to the old wizard. So he bit his tongue and sunk down in his seat as Dumbledore continued on.

“There is no reason to feel ashamed or angry. Often at times, close friendships can lead to more and with that, sometimes they can take things to another level.”

“Like that would ever happen.” Ron snorted as Harry grimaced.

“Oh it has. Believe me, Mr. Weasley, I know it has.” Dumbledore emphasized sharply. Then he cleared his throat and his voice softened once more.

"So, there is no reason to fight over something like that." He said warmly. "After all, you two have been friends for so many years; I am not surprised that Harry may have developed certain...feelings for you, Mr. Weasley."

Ron shuddered and shook his head quickly. "With all due respect sir, I'm not really fond of Harry in that way." He stated firmly.

"As I can respect your feelings on that, I cannot condone fighting for any reason, especially over receiving a simple kiss." Dumbledore chuckled.

"But sir...it wasn't just the kiss, it was...well the terrible insults that he said to me, but mostly to my sister. He and Ginny have been dating since last summer and for him to say things like that about her was wrong." Ron said with a sigh.

"Oh...and what sort of things did Harry say?" asked the old wizard.

"Things that...well I hate to repeat them but he...he called us 'filthy vermin' and...Every time Ginny complimented him, he would say things like the only reason he was with her was to get her into bed. I just couldn't stand that sir..." Ron broke off.

Dumbledore's brows furrowed as he looked to Harry.

"Harry, is this true?" He asked sternly looking to the dark haired young man.

"Well sir, the kiss...is true though I don't know why I did such a thing!" Harry said in disgust. "I don't see Ron in that way, sir."

Dumbledore nodded as Harry continued.

"And...I honestly don't remember insulting Ron or Ginny. I have no reason to degrade my friends and-"

"Well you and Malfoy sure seemed to team up there for a minute!" Ron interrupted bitterly. “Going on and on about how you admire him and think he is the best at Quidditch. I couldn’t believe my ears!”

Then Dumbledore's eyes narrowed at Ron, who sunk down in his chair. The old wizard looked as though he was about to scold Ron, but instead asked a simple question.

"Mr. Weasley, as long as I've known you two, Harry has never sided with Mr. Malfoy on anything, much less insult you in such a derogatory manner..." Dumbledore broke off thinking.

"Sir, I promise I'm telling you the truth." Ron stated firmly. "I'll even drink the Veritaserum potion to prove it!"

Dumbledore held up a hand. "Now...now Mr. Weasley, please calm down. It isn’t necessary to go to that sort of extreme. I never said that I didn't believe you...I simply stated an observation from my point of view." he said smoothly.

“Oh, sorry, sir.” Ron mumbled, now feeling a little embarrassed.

Dumbledore then looked to Harry. "Harry, you claim that you can't remember what you said, is that correct?"

"That's right sir." Harry replied nodding firmly. "I can't remember saying anything rude to Ron or Ginny and the only way that I knew I was kissing Ron was when I realized what was going on, and snapped out of it."

"Snapped out of what?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, I’m not sure how to explain it. I guess it felt like I was in some sort of...trance or something, sir. Like I'd just woke up and that is when I noticed I was kissing Ron." Harry said with a disgusted look.

Ron looked queasy now.

Dumbledore however had a suspicious frown on his face now and pushed a small bowl of colorful red candies to Harry. “Have one.” He said.

Harry nodded, took one and popped it into his mouth as the old wizard continued. Dumbledore remained silent for the moment and this made Harry and Ron shift uneasily in their seats. He seemed to be deep in thought until he finally spoke again.

"Harry, I fear that someone may have put a Dark Enchantment upon you." he said ever so slowly.

Ron gasped and Harry nearly choked on the candy.

"Dark Enchantment?" He asked. "What exactly is that?"

Dumbledore then slowly rose up from his chair and cleared his throat as he stood before them.

"A Dark Enchantment is a form of the Imperius Curse." he replied slowly.

"Imperius Curse?!" both Harry and Ron gasped together.

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Yes and as you both know, it is one of the most dangerous curses out there. Unspeakable crimes have been committed using it.”

The two nodded as he went on. “What you both probably don’t know is that over the years, this curse has evolved, and has been renamed time and time again. It was once used by the Ministry of Magic to interrogate criminals but sadly, it was abused and therefore, banned. Its strength and magical level depends on the caster and because of that, there are different levels of it. The weakest level is called the ‘Hypnosis Intervention’ and it is fairly weak, harmless and used as more of a parlor trick to entertain audiences." he cleared his throat then continued with both boys intently listening to his every word. "The more dangerous leveled names of this spell are Mind Enslavement, Dark Enchantment, and of course the full blown Imperius which you both know by now, Death Eaters are quite fond of."

“Wait, do you mean to say that there’s a Death Eater in the school?” Harry asked alarmed.

"What! But how did a Death Eater get in?" Ron gasped in a panic.

"Maybe he's been here the whole time." Harry growled as he thought of a certain Slytherin male.

"You mean Malfoy!" Ron snapped.

"Isn't it obvious?" Harry stated bitterly.

“Don’t go making accusations!” Dumbledore cut in “And, I will tell you what I suspect but first I must ask the both of you to calm down.” The old wizard said as he raised a hand.

“Sorry, sir.” Harry said now lowering his voice.

“Yeah, me too.” Ron mumbled as he calmed down.

“Now, I can understand that both of you are a little edgy with all the things that have been happening, but let’s not jump to conclusions out of panic and fear.” Dumbledore remained calm as he went on.

"I am afraid that you may be mistaken about Mr. Malfoy, Harry. Though Draco's father is a Death Eater; so far Draco himself has shown no sign of following him."

Harry and Ron looked to each other then back at the old wizard and a blanket of silence fell upon the room.



"I’ve heard that during my absence, a tragedy occurred; a student died here a couple of days ago." Dumbledore said, frowning grimly as he changed the subject.

The two young men nodded silently as they looked down.

“It was Pansy Parkinson, sir.” Harry mumbled.

Dumbledore nodded. "I also heard that Ms. Weasley accused Mr. Malfoy of being the murderer." He added.

"Well, Ginny has a very good story sir." Harry stated firmly. "And...most of it makes sense.”



"Well it did all make since until Hermione convinced Professor McGonagall that Malfoy was innocent." Ron grumbled.

"I see." the old wizard replied. "Professor McGonagall told me all about it, including the bit about your scar hurting and the rumor that Voldemort is nearby."

"Did you also hear about what Ginny saw the night that Pansy Parkinson was killed?" Harry asked quickly.

"You mean the green light of the Killing Curse? Yes I have heard all about that as well." Dumbledore mumbled with an uneasy sigh.

"We're still baffled as to who was with Malfoy that night." Ron said, as he scratched his head. "I mean I was so sure that it was Malfoy."

"Yes and I would like to believe that but certain things just don't add up." Harry replied. "We know that he's behind it all but we just can't prove it!"

"Don't be so quick to judge, Harry." Dumbledore said sternly. "Though you and Mr. Malfoy are rivals, you must not let your personal feelings get in the way of the facts. Then only thing that you know to be a fact is that he was there with Ms. Parkinson that night. What happened and who killed the girl is unknown, and I think I may know why..." He said as he walked over to his bookcase and began mumbling the titles. Then he pulled out a dust-covered, book.

"Do you two see this book?" Dumbledore asked as he held up the book that was black, and tattered from old age.

The two boys nodded.

Harry was the first to speak. "What kind of book is that sir?" He asked.

"This, Harry, is a very powerful book. It is a book that contains some of the most powerful spells around." Dumbledore explained.

"It looks so old." Ron mumbled as he tilted his head oddly.

"Indeed, Mr. Weasley. This book; which can so cleverly disguise its self, has been around for many, many years. It is only given to certain families." The two nodded as the old wizard continued on. "It is also forbidden here at Hogwarts." His tone became more serious.

"Forbidden?" Ron asked.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley." The old wizard replied. He then looked to them, sorrowfully. “And I believe that a student has a copy of this, somewhere here in this school." He added.

Harry nodded calmly, as he did not know exactly why Dumbledore was showing the book to him and Ron.

"Now, brace yourselves, I want to show you both something." He said warily as he opened the book.

The two watched attentively as the old wizard flipped through the pages. They watched as he turned towards the back of the book and then stopped on a blank page.

"Look." He said as he held it up.

Ron's nose crinkled a moment before speaking. "Uh, it's blank sir." he said slowly.

Harry blinked a moment then looked to the old wizard. "Sir, Ron's right. That's nothing but a blank page." He said with a shrug.

"Ah yes...it appears that way. But look again...more closely." Dumbledore replied with a suspicious tone.

Harry and Ron nodded and stood up, looking at the page more intently.

Slowly, a splotch of black ink appeared on the page.

Both boys blinked and watched as the splotch slowly began to twist and turn, and formed into the shape of a small black snake. Then slowly the snake opened a pair of eerie gleaming, red eyes and froze in place.

"Bloody hell." Ron mumbled as he swallowed nervously.

"Look..." Harry gasped as words began to appear below the serpent.

Slowly, two paragraphs faded in.

Ron gulped and ventured to read the first paragraph out loud.

"Your search for where you belong has ended. As so many other proud wizards before you have discovered; stories such as Cremella's Choice, Requid's Visions, and Vericlamp's Forbidden Love; prove that you too can discover where you belong. You can have the great powers, the forbidden love, and the pure happiness that you've always longed for. Your lonely days are now a thing of the past. You are home." He then stopped and quirked a brow at the page.

"This bloody thing sounds like a self-help book." He scoffed.

Harry nodded and then read the last paragraph.

"The darkness you've found is your calling. The sensation that you've been feeling is the sign. The sign you've been waiting for. Those close to you have abandoned you, betrayed you, hurt you, and ridiculed you for the last time. It's time you make them pay. It's time to get revenge on them. If you have reached this final chapter then you know where you belong. You know now what you are. You are one of us, a great witch or wizard with a strong desire for power. You're ready to receive our mark of honor. You're ready to answer your calling. You are our ally. You belong with us. You are one of us. You... are a.... Death Eater!"

"Death Eater!" Harry shouted.

"Death Eater?" Ron gasped.

Dumbledore nodded his head. "You are correct in stating that this book sounds like a self-help book, Mr. Weasley." He spoke more seriously. "That is because it is."

"I'm afraid I don't understand sir." Harry chimed in with confusion.

"Harry, in the Muggle world, you've been exposed to similar misleading books, have you not?" Dumbledore stated.

Harry quirked a brow.

The old wizard continued on. "I’m referring to books that promise you'll find happiness by getting on the right diet or saying that you'll make lots of money in just a couple of days."

"Oh yes!" Harry responded quickly catching on. "Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have quite a few of those. And personally, I think they're nothing but rubbish. They do nothing but manipulate people’s minds and make them believe lies." He replied bitterly.

"Exactly!" Dumbledore said more upbeat. "That is what this book does. It manipulates and coaxes self conscious wizards and witches and entices them. They read the first few pages and they find that it's hard to put down. They become engulfed to the point that they start to put a lot of trust into the book." He waved it in front of them slowly and then slammed it shut. "This book is a handbook for turning witches and wizards with low self esteem, into Death Eaters by manipulating them. There are spells in here that are very dangerous, and when used, manipulate the caster into feeling that they are more powerful than anyone. The witch or wizard gets something like an ego boost and they start carelessly flinging harmful spells about. Also, this book enhances the emotions of jealousy, hatred, and greedy desires."

"That's disturbing." Ron replied.

"I agree." Harry added. "A book like that should be destroyed."

"True...of course I'm sure that there are ways to use the spells in there in the right way." Ron stated matter-of-factly.

"That is where you are wrong, Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore cut in. "Many good wizards and witches have gone bad, just by reading it. It fills the caster with greed, jealousy, malice, and hatred. Even the smartest and wisest have fallen into the darkness written in its pages." Then the old wizard gave them both a stern look.

"Never, ever use the spells contained in here." He said as he held the book up once more. "No good can ever come out of this book. Do you two understand?"

"Yes sir." Harry replied.

"Yes sir." Ron echoed.

Dumbledore nodded then cleared his throat and continued on.

"As I mentioned earlier, I believe that a student here has a copy of this book here at the school. And if you have time, I'd like to request your help in finding it."

"I'll be happy to help look for it." Harry stated firmly.

"Me too." Ron added, though somewhat hesitant.

"I know that I can count on you two." Dumbledore replied with a slight twinkle in his eye.

"I bet Malfoy has it." Ron said quickly. "He is a Death Eater after all."

"Don't be so quick to judge." the old wizard cut in. "Though Draco Malfoy's father is among Voldemort's followers, he does not appear to be following in his footsteps as of yet. Therefore, we should be careful not to point accusing fingers, Mr. Weasley."

"Sorry sir." Ron muttered with a slight nod.

"However...there is something that you both should know." Dumbledore went on, as both boys paid close attention to him. He put the book down on his desk and then eyed the two. "The spells in this book leave a kind of residue."

"Residue?" Ron asked.

"Like what?" Harry asked curiously.

"Something like a mark, if you will. For example, if I were to cast a spell out of this book on a particular area of the school, it would leave a lingering residue."

"What kind of residue exactly?" Ron anxiously asked.

"Well something like a very thin mist, or perhaps a small ball of light. Sometimes the residue is invisible but a witch or wizard with a keen third-eye sense can see it. That is how one would identify the caster of the spell. Most wizards don't think about things such as that and tend to get careless with their magic." Dumbledore replied slowly.

Ron thought a moment then asked. "Do all spells leave a kind of... residue?"


"There…is no proof if all spells leave residue, but I strongly believe that any spell can. You see, my theory is that our magic leaves a residue similar to one leaving a footprint in the snow. Though, the spell its self will disappear within a few hours, its residue can last up to a few weeks before completely disappearing. And from my own studies, I’ve found that only spells that are performed by the use of a wand seem to leave a visible residue." The old wizard replied matter-of-factly.

Suddenly, Harry's eyes widened as a thought hit him. Then he took a deep breath as he carefully prepared his question. "Professor..." he began hesitantly.

"Yes, Harry?" Dumbledore replied, with a knowing look on his face.

"Can...Can the residue of...the...Killing Curse be seen?"

"Once again, in my theory, I would say yes, but only if the caster used a wand to perform it." Dumbledore answered with a slow nod.

“But if that’s true, then how come it’s hard for the Ministry to determine who is guilty or not of murder? If residue is left on the wand, couldn’t they find the wand and its owner faster or something?”

"Residue isn’t usually left on the wand, Harry. It’s left in the spot that the curse was performed and the Ministry finds this sort of theory ridiculous. It is my theory that contrary to popular belief; the Killing Curse does leave behind a residue. I would describe it as a green haze or lingering mist, though very faint and it wouldn’t last as long. One might wager it to last for at least two weeks before completely dissipating. Also with the magic level of this spell being very high, the residue from it would be very difficult to see. And only the most powerful of wizards would actually be able to detect it."

Harry nodded.

Dumbledore shot him a sympathetic look and then picked up the book and took it back to the shelf.

Harry sighed as he watched the old wizard for a moment. And then he blinked and slowly turned to Ron.

"Look Ron, I'm sorry for what I said, even though I can't remember saying those terrible things. But I would never want to lose you and Ginny; you're my best friends now." He said warmly.

Ron smiled and nodded. "You're our best friend too, Harry. And we don't want to lose you like we lost Hermione. I know that there's a dark spell or something on you now and I just want to say that I'm sorry for roughing you up." he replied. Then he extended his hand.

"Friends?" He asked hopefully.

"Friends." Harry replied firmly as he shook his hand.

Seeing this, made Dumbledore smile slightly. But then he frowned again as he asked, "What happened with Ms. Granger?"

"It's a long story..." Harry said; his face growing dark.

"Well, I'd like to hear it if you don't mind." Dumbledore replied.

"Okay well it all started..." Harry began, but just then the door swung open and in rushed Professor McGonagall.

"Excuse me for the interruption, Albus, but I must speak with you on an important matter." She said urgently.

Dumbledore nodded to her. "I will be right there, Minerva." he said to her.

She nodded then turned and left.

"I trust that it's safe to send you both to class now?" Dumbledore asked looking to Harry and Ron.

They both nodded.

"Very well, I shall be off." He said but just as he was about to leave he stopped and looked to the two.

"I would like you to keep this in mind though. I know that the two of you are going to be 'investigating' about that fateful night."

Both Harry and Ron looked down with uneasy expressions.

The old wizard continued on."However, I must warn you, that once you find out who killed Ms. Parkinson, a painful truth may be revealed to you." he said grimly.

The two blinked and then watched as he walked out.

"A painful truth will be revealed to us? What does he mean by that?" Harry muttered.

"I don't know." Ron replied. "But come on, we have to get to class!" he added tugging on his friend's sleeve.

Harry sighed then reluctantly followed Ron out the door.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 46-Potter's Pathetic Plan

In Potions class, Draco and Hermione were taking down notes that Snape had written on the board.

"This is so pointless." Draco grumbled as he dipped his quill into Hermione's ink bottle.

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked, as she looked to him. "And stop using all of my ink! You have your own!" she added sharply.

"Well because we're not going to be making this potion today, especially with Snape off meeting with the other teachers." He scoffed.

"I know but the meeting must have been something really important for him to just hurry out." she stated seriously.

He simply shrugged.

Just then the door to the classroom opened and in walked Harry and Ron.

Draco couldn't help himself and shouted, "Hey look, everyone! The two lovers are here!"

Hermione tried not to acknowledge them and simply forced herself to look as though she were busy writing; however, she did a poor job of that by letting a small giggle escape.

Harry and Ron scowled as the class roared with laughter.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry snapped.

"Oh...and why should I?" the blonde Slytherin sneered getting up from his seat threateningly.

"Because if you don't, then you'll be sorry." Ron chimed in.

Draco smirked then looked to Harry. "Hey Potter, why don't you tell this 'Weasel' what you really think of him?" he sneered.

Harry thought a moment, and then shrugged. "Ron's my dearest friend next to Ginny." He replied firmly.

Draco raised a brow. He'd just uttered a key word command yet Harry hadn't been fazed by it.

Hermione noticed and gave Draco a curious look.

"I bet you just love kissing each other, don't you?" The blonde Slytherin said, waiting for Harry to kiss Ron again. But, he didn't.

Instead Harry and Ron just shoved past him, glaring as they went to their seats.

Draco scowled as he sat down slowly.

"Draco, why aren't the key words not working?" Hermione whispered to him.

"I don't know." he whispered back. "I guess the spell must have worn off." He added bitterly.

"d**n." Hermione swore under her breath. If the spell wore off then does that mean that Harry remembers our fight? She thought.

Draco sighed then rolled his eyes and went back to doing his work.

"It looks like old Snape was called away to the meeting as well." Ron whispered to Harry as he started to take the notes that were on the board.

"Well, good riddance to him. He's such a foul teacher." Harry whispered back nastily.

"Look at her over there, back to being all friendly with that git!" Ron growled as he glared at Hermione sitting beside Draco.

"I know. It's disgusting." Harry retorted as his eyes narrowed. "If that idiot hadn't of messed up our plans, Hermione would be back with us."

"That bloody bastard knocked me out in the tower; I'm sure of it." Ron grumbled.

Harry nodded. "I'm sure he did." he agreed.

"You know what we need?" Ron snapped curling his free hand into a fist.

"What?" Harry asked raising a brow.

"A plan that will make Malfoy confess that he's the murderer, and then I bet Hermione will see his true colors." replied his red headed friend.

"Yeah." replied the dark haired young man. Then he thought. But I really don't think that Malfoy killed that girl.

"Argh!" Ron growled clenching his teeth as he watched Hermione and Draco chatting back and forth. "We really need a plan, Harry." he emphasized.

Harry nodded. And then suddenly an idea popped into his head. What if I pretended to form a truce with Malfoy? It seems that tricking him outright won't work. Hmm, so if I can convince him that I want to form a truce with him then maybe that will convince Hermione. If she sees that I've decided to put our fights behind us and if Malfoy and I are somewhat getting along, then maybe he'll somehow mess up and let something slip.

It was a crazy idea, almost unfathomable yet if it would work, Harry would find out the truth. But I can't just go up and be all nice to Malfoy, he will know that something's up. I need to do it in a subtle way to where neither he nor Hermione suspect a thing. Then he suddenly pictured Malfoy spilling the truth and pleading for mercy as he was shackled and taken off to Azkaban. And he couldn't help but smirk with a mischievous gleam in his green eyes. This plan will work. I'm sure of it! He thought confidently.



Hermione watched the two furiously as she twirled her quill around on her desk. "Do you think he remembers?" She mumbled nudging Draco.

The blonde Slytherin rolled his eyes at her. "Will you stop worrying? Just because the spell wore off doesn't mean anything. You blasted him before he had time to react. And anyway, so what if Potter gets his memory back? You didn't confess so he can't prove a thing. All he will know is that we played a harmless little prank on him." he said impatiently as he continued to write.

"Maybe...but..." She then decided to drop it and let out a loud sigh.



It was now ten minutes till class was over and Professor Snape had not returned.

The students didn't really seem to care as most of them had finished with the notes on the board and were chatting away with their classmates.

Hermione and Draco were the only ones sitting silently. Both were watching Harry and Ron intently.



"Harry, Hermione and Malfoy are watching us." Ron muttered noticing them out of the corner of his eye.

Harry thought a moment and then remembered his idea. "Hey, let's invite Hermione to go to the Quidditch Pitch with us after class." he said as he pulled out a piece of blank parchment and began writing.

"Huh?" Ron asked raising a confused brow.

"Regardless if she's with that git or not, we should at least try to make amends." Harry stated as he folded up the parchment and tossed it onto Hermione's desk.

"Uh...I'm confused Harry." Ron replied slowly. "Why do you want to go out there and invite Hermione?"

"Well, I think we all need to just make up and be friends again." Harry stated.

"But, you know that she'll probably bring Malfoy with her." snapped his red headed friend.

Oh I'm counting on that. Harry thought with a slow nod.



Hermione blinked as the parchment landed in front of her.

"What's wonder boy writing to you for?" Draco asked as he snatched up the note.

"Draco! Give that back." She snapped reaching for it.

"Fine, here." He mumbled as he finished opening it and pushed it back to her.

She grabbed it, and then looked at it.



Hermione,

Let's please put aside our differences for one day. Ron and I are going to the Quidditch Pitch, after this class. Please meet us there. We need your help.

Harry.

Hermione blinked as she looked at Harry with a raised brow.

"That git wants to meet at the Quidditch Pitch?" Draco scoffed bitterly as he read the note over her shoulder. "Why the bloody hell would he want you to meet him and Weasel there?" he asked with an annoyed frown.

Hermione sighed then folded the note and put it away. "I don't know." She replied curiously. "But I'm sure I'll find out." She added as she looked to Harry with a slow nod.

He nodded back.

-----



The bell rang and all the students jumped up, grabbing their books and bags.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later." Hermione said to Draco as she grabbed her things and hurried over towards Harry and Ron.

Draco scowled as he snatched his bag up and stomped after her.

"What's this all about, Harry?" Hermione asked bluntly as she approached the dark haired young man.

"You'll find out when we get there." Harry replied in a low tone reaching out to take her hand.



"Oh no you don't, Potter!" Draco snarled, shoving his way in through a couple students as he approached the trio. He stepped in front of Hermione; preventing Harry from touching her.

"Shove off, Malfoy!" Ron snapped coldly, as he stared hard at the blonde Slytherin. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Oh yes it does!" Draco sneered as he reached out and firmly grabbed Hermione by the hand.

Harry just stood there, with a calm look on his face.

"Draco, what are you doing?" Hermione asked, as she looked to the blonde Slytherin curiously.

"You're not going anywhere without me!" He sneered sharply at her. Then his grey eyes flashed dangerously at Harry. "Especially, with the likes of him!" He added clenching his teeth.



Harry smirked to himself. Malfoy inviting himself along was exactly what he'd expected.



"You are not going with us!" Ron snapped firmly.

Harry nudged his red headed friend with his elbow and gave him a stern look.

"What?" Ron mumbled with a confused shrug as he looked to him, but Harry just turned his attention back to the blonde Slytherin.

Draco glared at Harry and Ron. I am not leaving Hermione alone with these two. He thought to himself.

Hermione then shrugged and looked to him. "Don't worry, Draco, you can come too." She said sweetly as she intertwined her fingers with his.

Ron scowled. "Hermione, we don't want that git coming with us!" Ron snapped sharply.

"Well if he can't come then I'm not going!" She snapped back at the red head furiously.

"But, this is just a quick meeting," Ron retorted, and then he glared back to Draco. "It will just take a few minutes, Malfoy. Surely you can let her go for that."

But Draco refused to let go of Hermione's hand and surprisingly she didn't seem to mind.

"I don't care if it's a two hour meeting or a two second one, Weasel!" Draco snarled. "I'm not leaving her alone with you two." Then his cold grey eyes shifted to Harry and his expression grew darker. "Especially you, Potter!" The Slytherin snarled. "I haven't forgotten what you did to her before and you are lucky that I didn't follow through with my threat!"

"Oh yeah, and what threat was that?" Ron taunted but Harry frowned at his friend and shook his head sharply at him.

The red headed young man became quiet.

"Well, if you guys are finished bickering, let's get going to the Pitch; so that we can get this little meeting over with." Hermione broke in.

Draco continued to hold her hand tightly and nodded.

"Fine, but you'd better not start anything." Ron growled at the Slytherin as the four of them walked out.

------

They all walked down to the familiar grassy area by the Quidditch Pitch.

Draco and Hermione looked to each other and then at the ground as they passed the spot that Pansy had fallen dead.

Hermione swallowed uncomfortably. Draco read her expression and gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Harry and Ron; who were leading the way paid no attention to the uneasy couple; instead they were busy mumbling back and forth to each other.

"That stupid git has no right being here. He just invited himself along and I don’t like it!" Ron mumbled so that only Harry could hear him.

"I know, Ron, but Hermione wasn’t going to come without him." Harry replied sounding disappointed.

Then, after a few more steps, Harry and Ron both stopped and turned to the two.

"Alright Harry, now what do you want to talk about?" Hermione asked impatiently.



"First Hermione, I want to apologize to you. I'm sorry about hurting you, and about the way things ended up between us. We're supposed to be best friends and I haven't really been that, I know." Harry spoke slowly. "And I shouldn't have been so mean to you when you said you had feelings for me before...I should have been more understanding and talked about it instead of lashing out at you."

Ron looked a little uneasy at Harry and then sighed and shook his head.

"I'm truly sorry Hermione." Harry said gently.

Hermione gasped and her eyes widened at Harry's sudden out-of-the-blue apology.

Draco just stood there frowning, though he decided not to make a snide remark just yet.

"We've been through so much together through these years, and the real reason I brought you out here was to tell you this. This year we have been doing nothing but fighting with each other-"

"Yeah, and it's all because of him!" Ron broke in, bitterly glaring at Draco who glared right back.

Then tension between the two was very thick, and Harry knew that his red headed friend could snap at any moment.

So, quickly, he cleared his throat and continued on. "Look, this is our last year here. And I know that all of us have changed...even you, Malfoy...which is disturbing." He added glancing peculiarly at the way Draco was holding Hermione's hand. "And I'm honestly tired of fighting."

Hermione and Draco looked puzzled.

"What exactly are you getting at Harry?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"I'm saying that I think that we need to form a truce between the four of us. I think for once we need to just put aside our quarrels and deal with the real problems here at Hogwarts." Harry stated firmly, looking to the three of them.

Ron's face twisted into a sour frown, as Hermione's eyes widened in confused surprise. Draco however, chuckled lightly.

"Leave it to boy wonder to come up with something like this. What next, Potter? Do you want us to all sing and hold hands?" He sneered rolling his eyes. “You really think you can get us all to be friends, ha!”

"No!" Harry snapped in such a tone that even caught the blonde Slytherin off guard. "There is no way that I will ever consider being your friend, Malfoy!"

"The feeling is mutual, because I have no intention of being your friend, Potter!" Draco spat back just as sharply as he stood his ground.

The hatefulness in Harry and Draco's tones somewhat unnerved Hermione but she didn't bother to dwell on it.

Ron couldn't help but jump into the conversation as well. "Well I won't ever be your friend either!" He snapped, though his tone wasn't as menacing as Harry's; which made Draco smirk.

"I wouldn't want to be friends with a poor, filthy weasel like you, anyway. Just being this close I have to endure that disgusting stench that radiates off of you and your whole bloody family!"

Ron cracked his knuckles. "You're one to talk, Malfoy!" He snarled, smirking slightly. "At least my family didn't cower and hop on the Death Eater's bandwagon!"

That remark sent a strong surge of anger through Draco's body and Hermione felt his hand begin to shake violently. She knew at any moment he was going to explode.

Harry saw this too and put a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Calm down, Ron." He said, as his red headed friend was also shaking with anger.

"Okay enough!" Hermione said sharply, hoping to add a calming relief to the tense moment.

Then she turned to Harry with a dark frown."Harry, now tell me; what did you really drag me out here for? I know it was more than just to apologize! You mentioned you needed my help in the note." she said impatiently.

Harry nodded slowly. I need to calm down. I almost let my true hatred of that git take over. I'm supposed to be trying to form a truce with him. Okay Harry, focus on the plan. He then took a few deep breaths as he recomposed himself. Okay, now to see if she takes the bait. He thought to himself as he chose his next words carefully.

"Alright." Harry began slowly. "I do need your help with something that Ron and I are working on for Dumbledore."

Ron's eyes widened curiously then he scratched his head.

"Hermione, I know you're good with logics." Harry added.

"Yeah, so? Go on." She snapped.

Here goes. Harry thought as he spoke.

"Well, we need you to help us solve the murder of Pansy." He replied slowly.

Hermione cringed as she felt her heart beat increase rapidly. Her grip on Draco's hand tightened.

Draco's eyes widened at Harry's request and immediately he found that he'd lost all feeling in his right hand that Hermione was holding.

There was a brief silence.

The four looked to each other silently. In that moment alone, the tension seemed to have doubled between them all.

"Why are you asking me to help with that?" she gasped with a slight quiver in her voice.

"I thought you idiots were convinced that I was the one who did it." Draco scoffed.

Ron shot him a suspicious look but Harry just calmly shrugged. "Well, Malfoy, Hermione defended you so strongly that it was kind of hard to prove you were guilty. So...I guess that if she's willing to vouch for your innocence, then I am willing to as well." He stated firmly.

Draco was taken aback by this as was Hermione. Ron eyed the two suspiciously before glancing oddly to Harry, who nodded firmly at him as if to say that he wanted him to agree.

The red headed young man scowled then forced himself to speak. "I...I guess since Hermione convinced everyone that you're...innocent...I suppose it'd be pointless to say you're not." he grumbled as he glared at the ground.

Draco's grip loosened from Hermione's hand and he completely let go of her and crossed his arms across his chest frowning at the two young men in front of him.

"So, that's what you want me to help you with? Pansy's murder?" Hermione managed to choke out trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"Yeah that and..." Harry paused then stepped closer to her making her swallow nervously as his green emerald eyes looked into hers.

"And we need you to be on the lookout for a...book." He said lowering his voice.

"B-Book?" She stammered.

"Yeah, since you're good with books and junk, Dumbledore wants us to find a student here who has a...dangerous book." Ron cut in, also stepping closer to her.

Draco's eyes narrowed and he scowled to hide the nervous and almost uneasy look that had appeared on his face.

"D-Dangerous book...here? At Hogwarts?" Hermione blurted out, trying to sound curious but coming across with a hint of uneasiness in her tone.

"Yeah." Harry replied. "It's like a handbook for Death Eaters. It contains some dangerous spells and holds an evil power. Dumbledore has a copy of it in his office. He showed it to me and Ron earlier. He knows that one of the students here has it and he wants us to find it. So will you help us?"

Hermione swallowed and then gave a firm nod. "Sure, I'll help you." She said a little too quickly.

"Of course...I'm sure that if we look hard enough it may well be among one of the four of us." Ron sneered, eyeing Draco suspiciously.

"Nice try, Weasel, but I don't have any such book." Draco scoffed rolling his eyes. "My father never let me have anything that would make me more powerful than him. And besides, if I did have Death Eater books, I would have turned them in. As I told you idiots before, I want nothing to do with my father or the Dark Lord's followers; so you're wasting your time suspecting me."

Harry looked baffled and then sighed as he studied the bitter expression on Draco's face.

"He's right, Ron." He finally agreed reluctantly looking to his red headed friend. "Malfoy's father is power-hungry enough to keep things like that from his arrogant, spoiled son."

Draco shot him a bitter frown.

"Okay, well we'll keep our eyes out." Hermione spoke quickly.

"Yeah, well if that's all, we'll be going now." Draco added as the two of them turned to go.

"Wait..." Harry said stepping in front of them.

Draco's eyes narrowed with annoyance as Hermione turned rather pale.

Harry took a breath then softened his voice as he looked to the brunette.

"Hermione, I'm really trusting you to help us with this. I've always been able to count on you in the past and...I'm placing my full trust in you once again." He said with a warm smile.

Hermione felt a sickening feeling in her gut as she forced a smile on her face. "Don't worry, Harry. I...I won't let you down." She replied with a determined nod.

He nodded then his expression turned cold as his eyes met with those of the now fuming blonde, Slytherin. "And as for you Malfoy..." Harry began with a slight frown. "I just hope that for Hermione's sake, you really have turned your back on the Death Eaters."

Draco and Harry stared hard at each other until the bell rang, alerting them that it was time for their next class.

Draco quickly looked away from Harry and turned to Hermione. "Let's get to class, we're done here." he sneered, glancing one last time at Harry before stomping off. Hermione flashed Harry and Ron a faint smile before hurrying after Draco.

As Harry watched them walk away, a sly smile crept across his face. "That was easier than I thought it would be, Ron." he said with a confident nod.

Ron looked to him raising a confused brow. "Huh?" He asked.

"Remember when you said we needed a plan?" Harry asked turning his sly smile to Ron.

Ron scratched his head a moment. Then as he looked at his friend he suddenly caught on and smirked. "Ohhh I get it." He suddenly said now smiling the same as Harry. "You have one! You just set them up, didn't you?"

"Yep." Harry replied proudly. "And sooner or later, Malfoy will slip up and confess the truth."

"But Harry, I thought you believed that he wasn't the killer; especially after the way your scar was hurting." Ron mumbled.

"I don't believe that he was the one who killed Pansy." Harry replied then his tone darkened. "But I do believe that he knows who did." he added coldly.

"So you're pretending to have a truce with him in hopes of him letting something slip, right?" the red headed young man replied hopefully.

"Yeah or Hermione." Harry added lowering his voice.

"Harry, don't tell me you're still on a fix about Hermione knowing more than she's telling." Ron snapped.

"Well, we'll find out the truth to that soon enough." Harry replied confidently.

"You'll see, you know?" Ron said trying to sound convincing. "You'll see that you were wrong about Hermione. She'll come through for us, I know she will!"

Harry shot his friend a half smile. "I hope you're right Ron. I hope you're right." he replied as he stared at the ground a moment. Then he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Come on, let's go to class." He said.

The red head nodded and the two Gryffindors made their way back to the castle.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 47~Gryffindor Conscience

It was now time for dinner, and Hermione slowly made her way, down towards the Great Hall.

Harry's words had been ringing in her ears all day since the meeting at the Quidditch Pitch and the sickening feeling that she'd felt earlier in her gut, had intensified throughout the day.

"Hermione, I'm really trusting you to help us with this. I've always been able to count on you in the past and...I'm placing my full trust in you once again." He had said.

And it made her cringe each time she thought about the warm soft look he'd had in his emerald green eyes as he'd spoken those words.
He seemed like the old Harry. The one who needed me instead of Ginny. He wants my help...

She felt her eyes water as she replayed the way she'd killed Pansy in her mind. But how can I really help Harry find Pansy's killer when that killer is...me? she thought.
And suddenly, a whole rush of emotions came out of her in the form of tears. One right after another they filled her eyes until her vision was blurred.
She stopped in her tracks as several students pushed passed her. She sniffled and then turned on her heel and began walking in the opposite direction; away from the Great Hall.

I can't go down there. I can't stand to see Harry, not after that trusting look he gave me before. She thought as she picked up the pace, heading towards the Head's common room.
But just as she was halfway down the corridor, the Head's portrait door opened and Hermione saw Draco step out.

Quickly, she ducked into an alcove, hoping that he wouldn't see her. To her luck, he didn't. He was too busy trying to steady the books that were in his hands. He let out a light groan as one of them slipped out of his grasp and landed on his foot. "Argh! d**n it!" He snapped loudly as he snatched it back up. "McGonagall has to always give us so much work."

Then he slowly lifted his head, glancing down the corridor, with a suspicious yet pondering expression. With a slight smirk, he started down the corridor where Hermione was hiding.

She stayed very still and quiet as his robes came flowing past her.
Moments later, she heard his footsteps die away and slowly looked out to see his blonde hair disappear around the corner.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped out of her hiding place. But then her face twisted into a confused expression as she realized what she had just been doing. Hiding.

Wait a minute, just why am I hiding from Draco? she wondered.

Because deep down you really don't trust him. said a little voice in her head. You finally have come to grips with what you've done and you know that Draco was the one who lead you down this dark path. Finally, you realize now that you've done something that you can't spout out a simple apology for. You can't take back what you've done. And sooner or later someone will find out the truth. And Draco will end up deserting you in the end. Hermione gasped then shook those thoughts away.

No, I will not think like that. No one else knows that I killed Pansy and I know that Draco won't say anything. I can trust him. She mentally snapped.

Then why are you hiding from him? If you trust that Slytherin so much, why are you hiding from him? came that annoying voice again.

Hermione closed her eyes a moment then took a deep breath.

This is stupid. I shouldn't be hiding from Draco or be afraid of seeing Harry.
She then opened her eyes again. But how can I face Harry when I promised to help him find Pansy's killer...and then there's the bit about wanting to find that Death Eater's book, which I happen to have... She then blinked. Wait...that book! She thought a moment then her eyes widened. I can just get rid of the book, put it somewhere out on the school grounds and have Harry accidentally find it!
She then recalled how she'd used the spell from the book to control Harry and block out his memories of that night.
The spell wore off of him yet he doesn't seem to remember our fight or that I had the book with me. I told him it was just a diary though so maybe he didn't think about it. Now, if I get rid of the Death Eater's book, he won't suspect a thing. And with that she tore off to the Head's portrait.

----------------------------

"I don't see Hermione yet." Ron muttered as he grabbed a plate and started filling it up with food.
"She'll probably be here later." Harry replied.
"So, Hermione and Malfoy really fell for your new plan huh?" Ginny asked with a slight giggle.
"Yeah, and it's only a matter of time now until one of them lets the truth slip out." Harry said confidently.
"Well you know that could take all year and it's possible that it could take longer." replied the red headed girl.
Ron's face fell. "Ginny has a point. We may be doing this all for nothing." he added glumly.
Harry frowned as he thought about that. "Well, it was the only thing that I could think of." He retorted.

Then Ginny suddenly smirked. "You know what would be funny?" She began.
"What?" Ron mumbled as he and Harry looked to her.
"If somehow Pansy were to rise from the dead and make Malfoy confess the truth." She replied with a wicked grin.
Harry and Ron's eyes suddenly widened with disgust.
"Ginny, you didn't!" Ron grimaced.
"Oh yes, Ron, I did." She replied nodding proudly. "The hair has already been added to the potion." she added.
"But, how did you get it?" Harry asked uneasily.
"I accidentally pulled it out when I was trying to get Pansy's attention in the girl's bathroom. You know, the day I discovered that she was an animated corpse." Ginny replied.
"But that's disgusting...taking hair from a dead girl's head!" Ron spouted out. “And just when did you start practicing Necromancy? You do realize that it’s a form of the Dark Arts!”
"Shhh!" She snapped.
"Ginny, sometimes I wonder about you." Harry mumbled uneasily.
"Look I was just going to use it to turn into Pansy to scare the truth out of Malfoy." She said firmly.
"Well that's a stupid idea!" her brother snapped bitterly.
"No...it's not." Harry suddenly said. "In fact...it's a better idea than the one I had."
"So, when shall we do it?" Ginny asked excitedly.
"Well I suppose tonight would be okay." Harry replied.
"Hey look, Malfoy's leaving!" Ron suddenly said.
Harry and Ginny looked up to see the blonde Slytherin walking out of the hall.
"I'm going to do it now." Ginny said excitedly.
"Wait, shouldn't Hermione hear his confession too?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, that way she'll she see just what type of guy she's dating!" she sneered.
"And maybe Hermione will confess as well, if she was involved." Harry added as Ron shot him a dirty look.
"That's true." replied the red headed girl.
Ron rolled his eyes and then said, "Look, I think this whole plan is a great idea, except the part about Hermione. We should leave her out of this."
"Ron..." Ginny warned but then sighed. "Fine, this plan will focus only on Malfoy then." she mumbled.
"Good." Ron said contently.
"Well, I'll be off now." Ginny stated as she got up and strolled away.
Harry looked to Ron. "We need to make sure Ginny doesn't get hurt." He said firmly as he stood up and walked towards the door.
"I agree." Ron replied as he jumped up and followed him. "Let's give her a bit and then check up on her." He added. "In the mean time, I have to go get my Transfiguration book. I left it in class by accident."
"Okay, I'll meet up with you in a bit. I have to stop by our dorm first, anyway." Harry said as they left the Great Hall.
Ron nodded. "See you, then." he called out.
Then the two hurried off in opposite directions.
Ginny walked as quickly as she could to the Gryffindor common room and then went up the stairs that led to the boy’s dorm. She wasn’t sure if there was magic guarding the entry way like it was for the girls’ but she was sure to find out.
Surprisingly enough, there was nothing to prevent her from entering. This struck her as a little strange but she simply shrugged it off as she walked towards Harry’s bed. “I know that map is here somewhere.” She mumbled as she began searching through stacks of papers that were strewn over the floor. With a sigh of relief she picked up the blank parchment. She pulled out her wand and then whispered, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” In the blink of an eye, the marauder’s map revealed itself to her. Ginny wasted no time allowing her eyes to scan across the names of the students at Hogwarts.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 48-Hermione's Breakdown

Draco was walking by a large window in the corridor, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and took a step back and looked out.
There, running across the grounds, he saw Hermione.
“Hermione?” He muttered quirking a brow. Then he turned and rushed down the corridor.

-----------------------------

Ginny smirked as she looked down to see Hermione's name moving quickly across the Hogwarts grounds, as she held the Marauder's map in her hands.
It looks like Hermione is in a rush, I wonder why. I think maybe I should give her a good scare first before meeting up with Malfoy. She thought as she recalled the hostile way that she and Hermione had fought the past week. "It would serve her right after the way she's treated me! This will be my little revenge on her." She mumbled aloud. Then her eyes lowered as she smirked at the small vial that sat beside her.
She looked at the map again and this time she saw Draco's name not far away. "At this point, why don't I just scare both of them!" She said. And with that she downed the liquid contents of the vial. No sooner had she done this, then the door opened and Seamus Finnigan walked in. "Ginny?" he blinked curiously. "What are you doing here in the boy's dorm?"
"Oh um I was just waiting for Harry." She mumbled, as she folded the map and lay it down on Harry's bed.
"Well you know what McGonagall will do if she finds you here." He replied.
Ginny nodded. "I'll just go back down to the common room then. Bye Seamus." She said with a wave. And with that she hurried out the door, leaving the Gryffindor with a confused look on his face.

-------------------------------------

Hermione stopped to catch her breath, as she hugged the book tightly against her chest.
"Hermione!" Shouted a voice.
She slowly turned to see Draco rushing towards her.
"Hermione," He repeated, breathing rapidly a few times. "What are you doing out here and..." his eyes traveled to her hands and gestured to the book, "with that?" he asked.
"I...I'm getting rid of it." She replied sharply. "I...I have to get rid of it before Harry finds out that I'm the one who has it..."
"But he wouldn't know." he said with a cocky grin.
"Yes, he would know." She said bitterly. "And...I don't want it anymore..." she added.
"Well then just turn it in to Dumbledore and lie and say you found it somewhere."
"I can't, he'd know the truth." She replied.
It was then that Draco noticed she was shaking. "Hermione...you're shaking...what's wrong?" He asked in a concerned tone.
"N-Nothing." She replied as her eyes began to water.
His grey eyes narrowed. "Don't lie to me, I know something's wrong." he snapped in a low tone.
"I...I just...I just want things to be normal again." She mumbled.
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
"I...I want everything to go back to normal." She said in a more shaky tone.
Draco was confused and starting to get annoyed.
"What do you mean by you want everything to go back to normal?" He asked sharply.
She slowly sunk down to her knees hugging the book to her chest.
Draco shook his head with confusion but then he suddenly remembered their meeting with Harry and Ron at the Quidditch Pitch that morning.
And his expression grew cold."It's Potter!" he growled angrily. "He's gotten to you, hasn't he?"
"I promised to help him solve Pansy's murder...but how can I do that when I...I..." Hermione couldn't finish for she broke into tears.
"Argh! Don't do this!" Draco snarled at her but she cried even more.
"I have to tell Harry the truth." She sobbed. "I just have to."
"That's exactly what he wants you to do!" He snapped coldly. "He wants to guilt trip you into believing that you two are close friends again so that you'll break down just like this and tell him the truth."
"Well, maybe I should...maybe I-" she began but he cut her off.
"d**n it, Hermione! Don't be stupid! You know that you can't!"
"But, I should! I mean it would be the right thing to do and-" But he cut her off again.
"No! Don't you even think about telling him the truth!" he warned now raising his voice.
She stood back up and glared at him. "Well he's going to find out the truth sooner or later!" She shouted, still holding the book tightly.
"Not if you don't open your big mouth, he won't!" Draco shot back.
"But I'm sure he knows that something's up. He's smart, Draco! Harry knows things and...well...since we're friends again..." she stopped suddenly as she saw the angry look on his face.
"I knew it!" Draco shouted as drops of rain began to fall down on them. "I knew it!"
"What are you talking about, Malfoy!" She hissed.
His eyes narrowed as she called him by his last name.
"You still like him...You still have feelings for him!" He snarled as a clap of loud thunder rumbled loudly above them.
Both Draco and Hermione looked up to see dark clouds moving in.
"We'd better get inside, it looks like a nasty storm is on the way." She said as she turned to go.
"Oh no you don't!" He snapped grabbing her arm. "You're not going anywhere until I say so!"
"Draco we can discuss this in our dorm, I don't wish to catch a cold standing out here!" She snapped bitterly as she felt rain drops beginning to fall.
"Oh so it's back to calling me by my first name again." he scoffed, now ignoring the weather. "That's funny because you called me by my last not even a second ago!"
"So? What's your point?" She asked shrugging.
"My point is that you're flip-flopping with my name which makes me think that you're also flip-flopping with your feelings!" he sneered as the rain began to fall faster.
"I don't know what you're talking about! Just because I still care about Harry doesn't mean anything." She replied. "He's still my best friend!"
"Well you seemed rather distant after we met with him and Weasel this morning, and you even hid from me!" He snapped.
Her eyes widened at him.
"Yes, I saw you duck into that alcove to avoid me earlier and I knew that what Potter said had affected you." He added bitterly.
"Look Draco I...I'm sorry it's just that-" She began but he cut her off.
"I know! It's just that you care so much about him that you got confused." He said mockingly. "You two have been so close for so many years and you don't want to lose him."
She scowled at him. "Stop it! You don't even know what all we've been through!" She shouted as the wind began to howl and blow fiercely.
"Yeah well, have you forgotten what we have been through, Hermione?" He shouted angrily. "Have you forgotten everything that we have gone through together since school started?"
"No, but that's different than what Harry and I have gone through!" She retorted angrily.
"Oh yeah? How?" he demanded.
"Because I can trust him!" she screamed out. Then suddenly she gasped at what she'd said.


Draco's face fell and he took a step back from her.
Hermione bit her lip. Oh no, why did I say that? She thought seeing a hurt expression cross the face of the blonde Slytherin.
"Draco...I..." She began as she started to take a step towards him.
But he took another step back from her.
After a moment the hurt look on his face faded away and slowly his eyes narrowed and turned cold.
"Draco I'm sorry please I didn't meant to-" She began as she tried to move closer to him.
"Stay away from me, Granger!" He warned as his grey eyes flashed dangerously at her.
Hermione stopped in her tracks and stared at him.
He glared hatefully back at her.
Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed all around them as they stood there.
Finally, Draco shook his head and smirked. "So, Potter means more to you than I do, I see." he sneered coldly.
"No...that's not true..." She replied weakly.
"Then...do I mean more to you than Potter?" he demanded.
"Well...I didn't say that but..." She stopped as he stalked towards her.
She swallowed nervously as her soft brown eyes met his cold grey ones.
"You can't keep flip-flopping between me and Potter." he said in a low tone.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"You know what I mean. Sooner or later, it's going to come down to where you have to choose between me and Potter. And I'm starting to think now, that you've already made that decision." he sneered.
She cringed as she felt his hot breath on her cheek, and saw the anger in his eyes.
"Draco, please don't do this. I can't choose between you and Harry, I care about you both!" She replied in a shaky tone.
"Yeah, but you don't trust me!" he growled coldly.
"Look, I'm sorry I said that." She replied softly. "I...I do trust you." she added hesitantly.
"No, you don't." he snapped. "I can hear it in your voice that you don't."
"I'm really trying to though." she replied desperately.
He rolled his eyes.
"You know, you really are pathetic, Granger. You claim that you want to be with me yet you don't even trust me. You'd rather trust Potter than give me a chance!" he snapped.
She bit her lip and looked down.
"How can we even have a relationship if we don't trust each other!" he shouted. “Do you even know how hard it was for me to trust anyone? Do you?”
There was a brief silence.
"d**n it, you know what? Let's just break up and forget this whole thing. It never happened! We never happened! How about that?" He snapped, angrily throwing his hands up in the air.
Hermione gasped at this. "But why? Why are you making a big deal out of this?" She shouted at him. "Why do you just want to give up on everything every time that we get into a fight?"
"Because it's useless talking to you about things. And now since you and Potter are all close again, you've reverted back to that little pathetic girl who used to follow him around. And it makes me sick!" he retorted angrily.
"You're just jealous!" She shot back.
"Oh Please!" He scoffed. "I am not jealous!"
"Yes you are! You are so jealous of the closeness that Harry and I have that you can't deal with it!" she spouted.
"I can deal with you and Potter being close, but what I can't deal with, is you turning into his stupid little shadow again!" He growled.
"You have some nerve, Draco Malfoy!" She screamed at him.
"And you have lost your mind, Hermione Granger!" He screamed back at her.
Thunder rumbled overhead as the two stood glaring each other down. Lightning flashed in their angry eyes as the rain drops began to fall faster.

Just then a shrill laughter echoed from the darkness.
"Ahahahahaha!"
"Who's there?" Draco growled as he spun around drawing his wand.
Hermione gasped and did the same.
"What was that, Draco?" She asked nervously.
His eyes narrowed as he scanned the area around them. "I don't know." he replied through clenched teeth. "But I don't like it."

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 49- Dangerous Secrets Revealed

"You two are so hilarious!" came a female voice.
Both Draco and Hermione looked to each other and then out into the darkness.
"Who's there!" Draco shouted again, only louder this time.
"My goodness Drakie, must you be so loud?" the voice replied.
Draco's eyes widened in horror. "Wait a second...I know that voice and she called me that vile name...but it can't be..." he mumbled.
And then out of the darkness, appeared a familiar form.

"Pansy!" Draco gasped.
"No way!" Hermione shrieked.
"Hello Drakie, you're looking as cute as ever." Pansy giggled.
"But...how can this be?" Hermione asked shaking her head. "You're dead!"
"Well...I was dead...but thanks to the power of Necromancy, I'm back!" Pansy replied in her shrill tone.
Then she looked to Draco. "And I forgive you, Drakie for my death." She said with mock sadness as she looked at him.
Draco blinked at her. "But Pansy...you know that I didn't..." He began but Hermione's voice cut in.
"This can't be!" she shouted, now in an angry tone as she stomped towards Pansy. "You can't be alive. You just can't!"
"Oh but I am, and I have come to take my Drakie back. After all he belongs to me!" the pug-faced girl replied smirking.
Just then Hermione felt that dark, evil feeling rise up in her again as a familiar spoke to her.

“Beware the rival has returned. She threatens your relationship with Draco and there is only one way to handle such an intrusion, Hermione. Let my power help you both.”

Hermione’s faced paled and she nodded as though she were in a trance. Then suddenly she whipped her wand out, clutching the black book to her chest.
Pansy's eyes widened at Hermione's actions. Then quickly she returned to her arrogant tone.
"Oh my, Hermione you seem upset. Have I struck a nerve?" She taunted.
Hermione huffed and then her eyes flashed with hatred.
"You stay away from Draco! He's mine, Pansy!" She hissed. "And if you know what's good for you; you will leave him alone or else..."
"Or else what?" Pansy sneered.
"Or else I'll kill you...again!" Hermione sneered venomously.
Pansy's eyes widened in horror at what the brown-haired girl had just said. "What...what did you just say?" She gasped.
"I said, that Draco is mine! And I have no regrets about killing you before so I won't have any killing you this time either!" Hermione hissed even more menacingly.
Draco's eyes widened at the brunette's threat. He knew that she would follow through with it.
"I...I can't believe this. How...how could you, Hermione?" squeaked another voice- a tiny voice that wasn't Pansy's but that came from the same body.
Draco's eyes narrowed as he stared at Pansy. Her hair was beginning to turn red and on her pale face freckles began to appear.
Hermione blinked and lowered her wand as the pug faced girl slowly disappeared and in her place stood Ginny Weasley.

"Ginny!" Hermione gasped.
"Weaselette!" Draco growled as his eyes narrowed.
Ginny's face was filled with shock and disbelief.
"I can't believe this..." she began putting a hand over her chest briefly. "Hermione...you are the one who killed Pansy..."

Hermione felt afraid and she looked to Draco desperately for help.
Draco seemed to already be thinking of something for his grey eyes were menacingly fixed on the red headed girl.
After a moment of eerie silence he chuckled lightly and then a cruel smirk crept across his face.
"Well Weaselette, you know that I'm not the killer now, don't you?" he sneered as he began stalking towards her.
She took a step back as he approached her. "No, but you were hiding information just like Professor McGonagall suspected. You knew it was Hermione all along, didn't you?" She snapped.
He just shrugged arrogantly and chuckled darkly.
"I knew that you had something to do with this, Malfoy!" She added angrily. "You and Hermione are both responsible for Pansy's death! Oh, you just wait until Harry and the rest of the school finds out! You'll both be off to Azkaban faster than you can say Quidditch!"

Hermione's eyes narrowed at her and then she bit on her lip fiercely.
Draco looked over at the now worried brunette and hatred filled his eyes as he looked back to the red headed girl in front of him. "You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you, Weaselette?" He sneered as he slowly slid his wand out of his robe. "You couldn't keep your filthy little self out of other people's business!" He then lifted it slowly as he glared at her.
"What are you going to do me?" Ginny asked now in a nervous tone.
He just smiled maliciously at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He drawled as his eyes flashed dangerously.
The red headed girl couldn't help but shudder.
"You know the truth now." Hermione said as she slowly walked up beside Draco, glaring at the red headed girl with a dark frown. "And we can't have that."
Ginny's eyes widened as Hermione slowly lifted her wand.
"What should we do with her, Draco?" asked the brunette curiously.
Draco smirked as he put his wand away. Then forcefully, he grabbed the back of Ginny's hair making her whimper. "Let's teach her a lesson." He sneered menacingly. "Let's use a spell from the Death Eater's book on her."
Death Eater's book? Isn't that the same book that Harry was looking for? Ginny wondered.
Hermione opened the book and flipped through it.
"Here's an interesting one." She said as she stopped on a page.
Draco looked over at it.
"We can erase her memories so that she can't remember anything ever again..." Hermione hissed.
Ginny gulped.
"Oh like the control spell we put on Potter?" Draco asked.
Ginny gulped again. They put a spell on Harry? She gasped to herself.
"No, that one wore off too easily. " Hermione replied. "We should use one that can't be broken so easily."
"Well here's another one, it let's you take control of the victim's mind and make them do all sorts of things." Draco said pointing at another spell on the page.
Ginny's eyes narrowed and she suddenly felt Draco's grip loosen on her hair.
I've got to tell Harry and Ron about this. I have to tell them that Hermione is the one who killed Pansy! she thought.
"No Draco, it's better to use this one that I found." Hermione replied.
"But it'd be more fun!" He pouted.
"Yes but I'm in no mood for fun and games! This is serious!" She snapped.
"Okay fine." He grumbled. "Then, I say we use this one." he added as he pointed at the opposite page.
"Draco, that one requires us to brew a potion, we can't exactly do that right now." Hermione pointed out.
"Okay Miss know-it-all, we'll use your spell then." He snapped rolling his eyes.
This is it, I have to get away! Ginny thought.
Then with all her might she lunged forward and pushed Draco onto Hermione, causing them both to hit the ground with a hard thud.
"Argh!" Draco snarled as he got to his knees.
"She's getting away!" Hermione shouted as she watched the red headed girl running away.
"nuts!" Draco snarled as he tore off after her.
Hermione's eyes flashed with anger. "Oh no you don't, Ginny!" She hissed as she too raced after the girl.

Ginny rushed through the blinding rain. The storm had intensified to the point where it was hard to see where she was going. I have to find Harry and Ron! I just have to! She thought.
"Harry! Ron!" She cried out.
Just then something hard came crashing down on top of her. Then as she rolled onto her back, a hand slapped over her mouth hard.
"Shut up!" snarled a familiar voice.
As a streak of lightning flashed overhead, she saw Draco Malfoy glaring down at her.
She tried to push him away but he put a knee right on her chest to prevent her from moving.
Moments later Hermione's face appeared over the girl.
"Nice try, Ginny." She hissed as Draco forcefully pulled the now mud-covered, red headed, girl up to her feet. He kept his hand clasped tightly over her mouth as his other hand held her tightly by the wrist.
"It's risky trying to cast a spell on her with her fighting so hard." Draco snapped as he felt Ginny's teeth trying to sink into his hand.
"You're right." Hermione agreed. "I suppose then there is only one way to handle this." She added as she pulled her wand out slowly.
Muffled whimpers came out of Ginny's covered mouth as Hermione pointed her wand at her.
However, just then a strange feeling rushed through the brown haired girl and she felt lightheaded.
"Hermione?" Draco asked as the girl became wobbly.
"I...I feel..." Hermione began, but then suddenly her eyes rolled back and she fell to the ground.

"Hermione! Get up!" Draco shouted, still holding Ginny firmly as she wriggled desperately.
Seeing that Draco was distracted by Hermione's fainting spell, Ginny seized the opportunity to free herself.
"Argh! d**n you, Weaselette!" He snarled as she found a piece of his flesh and chomped down hard.
He pulled his hand back and shook it violently as she broke away from him and began to run again.
"Oh no you don't!" He snarled now pulling out his own wand.
"SERPENSORTIA!" he shouted.
An angry hissing snake came flying out of the tip of his wand and wrapped its self around the fleeing girl's body.
Ginny screamed and fell to the ground wrestling with the vicious reptile.
Draco smirked as he stalked over to her. "Poor little Weaselette, having trouble?" he taunted with a cocky grin.

"Hold it right there, Malfoy!" An angry voice snapped in the night.

[Liz-Miia Parker]

irwwww.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 50-Piecing Together A Deadly Puzzle

Draco turned to see that Ron had appeared, and he was standing there with his wand drawn.
"Well, if it isn't Potter's pet Weasel, trying to save the day?" Draco taunted.
"Get away from my sister, Malfoy!" Ron snarled stalking towards the blonde Slytherin.

"You Weasels certainly like sticking your noses where they don't belong, don't you?" Draco sneered.

"Put your wand down, Malfoy or else I'll blast you!" Ron warned.

"Go ahead and try it, Weasel. You know you're no good with magic. Your spell will backfire and fly back and hit you just like in second year. So, if you feel like puking up slugs again, then be my guest!"

"That's it!" Ron snapped and he shouted, "EXPELLIRAMUS!"
Draco's wand flew out of his hand and he went flying backwards a few yards.
He landed with a thud in the wet, grass.
"Take that you git!" Ron growled then he turned and rushed towards his sister.
She was still struggling with the snake.
"Ron! Help me!" Ginny cried.
"Don't worry sis, I will!" Her brother replied confidently. Then he pointed his wand at the snake. The serpent exploded in a puff of smoke.
"Ginny, are you alright?" Ron asked as he helped his sister to her feet.
"I'm fine Ron, but I have to tell you something..." Ginny began trying to catch her breath.
"Oh no!" Ron suddenly gasped as he saw Hermione lying on the ground. "Hermione!"
"Ron! Stop get away from her she's..." Ginny began as she started to run towards him but suddenly Draco tackled her to the ground.
She struggled with him for a bit before he finally overpowered her and pinned her down.
"Nice try, Weaselette but you're no match for me!" He sneered at her. "You know you really shouldn't interrupt your brother's moment with the girl of his dreams."
She then gasped as she looked over at her brother. No! Ron! She thought frantically. Get away from her!
But Ron wasn't paying attention to his sister. Instead, his attention was focused on the brunette that lay in the muddy grass.

"Hermione..." He mumbled as he knelt down beside her.
Draco simply smirked as he watched the red headed young man. "Pathetic, isn't he?" He scoffed.
Ginny wriggled and tried to escape but to no avail.
"You just wait till Harry gets here! He's going to be here any minute!"She snapped angrily.

"Oh, I'm counting on it, Weaselette." He sneered as he pointed his wand in her face. "Too bad you won't be able to watch the fun though."
She cringed as he mumbled one single word. "Stupefy." and Ginny fell into an unconscious state.
Draco smirked as he got up slowly.
Then he whirled around and chuckled to himself as he quietly stalked towards Ron, who had his back to him.

"Hermione...wake up..." Ron mumbled stroking the girl's cheek.
Just then she coughed and groggily opened her eyes to see the red head leaning over her.
"Ron?" she mumbled in a cold tone.
"Don't worry, I'm here to help you." He said gently.
It was then, that Hermione noticed a certain blonde Slytherin sneaking up behind the freckle-faced Gryffindor.
A sly smile crossed her face as Draco lifted his wand and winked at her.
"Hermione, are you okay?" came Ron's concerned voice.
"I don't know..." She suddenly mumbled as she closed her eyes and clutched her head. "I feel so dizzy."
"Here, let me help you." he said gently as he reached for her hand.
But then, something startled him.
On the ground beside her lay a black book.

A very familiar black book
.
His eyes widened as he snatched it up.

"Hey give that back!" She snapped.
"Hang on..." He mumbled as he quickly flipped through it.
Then he stopped on a familiar page and gasped.
There was that same black serpent with those same red eyes.
And below it were the very same words that he and Harry had read in Dumbledore's office.
"Bloody Hell, Hermione, where did you get this?" He asked with a look of panic on his face.
"None of your business, now give it back, it's mine!" She replied coldly as she reached for it.
He jumped to his feet eyeing her suspiciously. "What do you mean it's yours? Do you know what this is?" he asked.
Hermione smirked and slowly stood up. "Of course I do, Ron. I'm not an idiot, you know." she replied. "Now give it back!" She demanded.
"I can't. I have to turn it in to Dumbledore. He told me and Harry to find it and give it to him." He snapped.
"You'll do no such thing!" She hissed and tried to grab it but he held it up out of her reach.
He then frowned and shook his head. "Hermione...I know that you're a bookworm and you enjoy your 'light' reading, but this book is too dangerous, even for you to have!" He said firmly.
"Please Ron, I've been reading it all summer and it's not caused any harm to me." She bragged.
Ron's eyes then narrowed. "Wait a minute...you've had this book all summer?" He gasped.
He watched her reaction and then suddenly something dawned on him. "You...you lied to us this morning at the Quidditch Pitch! You knew that me and Harry were looking for this! We told you and Malfoy both! You even agreed to help us. And...now I find out that you've been hiding it from us this whole time!"

"So what if I have?" She asked bravely. "There are a lot of things that I've been hiding from you and Harry." She hissed bitterly.
His eyes grew wide. "Now," She said in a more angry dark tone. "Give me back my book!"
"Something's wrong here..." He muttered as he started to back away.
"Ron, I'm telling you for the last time. Give me back my book or else..." She warned in a more hateful tone.
Ron gulped nervously as the brunette glared at him.
Draco; who was now standing just behind Ron, smirked as he knew that Hermione would follow through with her threat.
"I'd listen to her Weasel, after all you don't want to die now, do you?" He drawled in a cold tone.
Ron spun around only to find Draco's wand aimed at his throat.
"Don't move." sneered the Slytherin.
The red headed young man whimpered slightly, as his nemesis grabbed the book and ripped it out of his hand.
Then he watched as the blonde Slytherin tossed it to Hermione who caught it and hugged it to her.
"I think you take your love for books a little too seriously, Hermione." Ron snapped as he glanced to the brunette.
She simply rolled her eyes and shrugged.
Draco smirked as he got right in the face of the red headed young man.
"You may as well face the cold hard truth, Weasel. You're no match for me. You never were. You're just a pathetic, dirty, poor, second handed idiot who pretends to be a wizard. You and your whole bloody family aren't fit to be call purebloods."

"Stop insulting my family, Malfoy!" Ron growled.
"And what are you going to do to stop me, huh? Are you going to try to make me eat slugs again or mess up another kind of spell?" Draco taunted.
"I knocked you off your feet a bit ago and I could do it again." Ron snapped bravely.
"You got lucky that it actually worked, Weasel. But if you want to have another go at it, then I'm game." replied the Slytherin as he stepped back opening his arms arrogantly. "Well come on then, let's see if you can back up that mouth of yours!"
"You're on!" Ron snarled as he pulled out his wand.
"RELISSIO!" He shouted, but suddenly the red head found himself thrown to the ground as sparks shot at him from his own wand.
Draco almost toppled over from laughter.
"Hahaha I knew you'd screw it up! You always do!" he taunted.

--------------------------------------------

Harry groaned as he opened his eyes.
He found himself lying in the middle of his bed.
"Huh? What?" he gasped as he quickly sat up. "What happened? What was I doing sleeping?"
Then suddenly several images began flying through his head and suddenly his thoughts and memories became so clear. It was as if something that had been clouding his mind had been lifted.
He found himself able to recall the night that he'd used his cloak to sneak into Hermione's bedroom. He recalled their struggle, their conversations, and even the spell that she'd cast on him. He could see her and Draco laughing and putting certain keywords into his head that would trigger the spell.
"They were the ones who put me under that spell and made me say those terrible things to Ginny and Ron." He mumbled then he grimaced as he remembered kissing Ron.
He quickly shook his head in hopes that he could actually forget about that.
Then he remembered the diary that Hermione had been holding. But there was something odd about it. As he thought back, he remembered that it was black and it looked quite old; too old to be a diary-unless of course you consider Tom Riddle's diary from second year.
He then sighed and rubbed his head. After a moment, he stood up and pulled out the Marauders’ map. "Best see how Ginny and Ron are doing." he mumbled as he opened it up and scanned it. For a moment he couldn't find them and then he saw four names. Ginny's and Hermione's were quite still but Draco's and Ron's were quickly moving around. Harry suddenly got an uneasy feeling in his gut.
"Oh no, I bet Ron and Malfoy are fighting!" He gasped. And with that he tore out of the dorm, leaving his Invisibility cloak behind.
----------------------------------------------------------


"You're so pathetic, Weasel!" Draco shouted as he blasted Ron with a properly pronounced "RELASHIO".
The red headed young man hit the ground hard. He furiously spat mud out of his mouth as he quickly got back to his feet.
Hermione laughed lightly as she watched the two.
"Ugh, that's it, I'm through with playing games!" Ron shouted enraged.
Draco gasped but was unable to react quick enough before the red head lunged and tackled him to the ground.
Draco's wand fell from his hand as he felt the weight of his rival on top of his chest.
Wasting no time, Ron balled his hand into a fist and began punching angrily at the Slytherin.
Draco growled as Ron was able to connect with the side of his jaw.
After several hits to the face, Draco was able to turn his body and throw the angry red head off of him.
Hermione gasped as she saw blood coming from the Slytherin's lip.
Ron was already back on his feet, and was moving forward to attack the Slytherin again, when he felt a hard fist fly into his gut.
He let out a groan and staggered back a step.
"Too scared to use magic, huh Weasel? You have to sink to the lowliness of fighting like a muggle!" Draco snarled advancing towards him. "Well fine then, I'll show you that I can beat you that way as well!"
Ron coughed and was about to say something but instead, caught the brunt of another relentless blow as the Slytherin attacked him.
Hermione stood there hugging the black book to her as she watched Draco pummel the red head mercilessly. She seemed rather relaxed and calm seeing the Slytherin's violent display.
In the past she would have been furious, and would have rushed to Ron's side.
But things were different now. She was different. And watching the fight before her caused her neither guilt or grief.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 51-"Malfoy Didn't Kill Pansy..."

Harry was greeted by an earth-shattering clap of thunder as he burst out of the castle. However, he was too focused on the map in his hand, to pay it much attention. He was used to being out in storms and this only proved to be a minor nuisance for him.
He hurried on his way, taking care to shield the helpful parchment from the needle-sharp rain. The howling wind blew louder as he sprinted across the Hogwarts grounds. Lightning flashed warningly above him, but he continued on his way.
Another loud clap of thunder sounded as he stopped momentarily to catch his breath. His clothes were soaking wet and mud blanketed his shoes and the bottom of his robe. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand and continued onward. After running for a little more, he suddenly stopped and squinted as he saw something off in the distance.
What's that? He wondered as he saw what looked like a figure moving around. As he moved in towards it, he scowled seeing that it was his nemesis; Draco Malfoy.
But then he noticed a second figure standing a couple of feet away. It was shorter and was standing almost deathly still as Draco walked towards it.
Harry wasted no time in hurrying towards them. But as he did so, he suddenly tripped over something hard. He let out a low groan as he tumbled face first in the mud.
He lay there a moment, then slowly lifted his head and discovered that his glasses had fallen off.
"d**n it!" he mumbled as he started feeling around for them.
Though his vision was now blurred and his face was covered with mud, he was not about to let these mere obstacles deter him. Quickly, he hoisted himself up on his hands and knees and began to crawl across the ground feeling for his glasses along the way.
But suddenly his hand came across something that was not the ground. What he was feeling was something smooth and felt like thin cloth.
With a silent gasp he moved his hand over it until he felt something else.

Skin! Cold skin.

He continued to move his hand along until he came to the end of it where he found fingers.
"A body!" He mumbled frantically as he made one last attempt to feel around for his glasses. But it was no use. So, instead, he turned back to the body, squinting, trying to see who it was. But with it being so dark and the rain blinding his every attempt, he was unable to do so.
What should I do? He wondered nervously, as he touched the hand again. And then he felt it.
A pulse.
Whoever it was; it was still alive!

Harry reached into his robe and pulled out his wand. "Innervate!" he said.
Just then, the hand moved.
"Hello, hello are you awake?" he asked the person quickly.
There was a low groan and then the person spoke. "H-Harry?"
It was a weak female voice but Harry recognized it right away.
"Ginny!" he gasped.
She sat up quickly and threw her arms around him. "Oh Harry!" she cried.
"It's okay, Ginny." he replied gently.
"No it's not!" she cried, now pushing away from him. "It is not okay, Harry! Nothing's okay anymore!"
He moved forward to embrace her again, when suddenly he heard a crack.
His knee had found his glasses and he reached down and picked them up, discovering that he'd cracked one of the lenses.
Not giving them a second thought, he put them on his face, not caring that they were damaged, as the only thing that mattered now was Ginny.
"What happened?" He asked looking at her with concern.
"Harry, they...they did it! I mean together they...I can't believe it!" She said hysterically.
"They who? You mean Malfoy?" Harry asked, getting all confused at her frantic babbling.
"No Harry it was not only Malfoy but..." suddenly she saw something lying on the ground, not too far away from them. "Ron!" She screamed.
"Malfoy and Ron?" Harry replied with confusion.
"No Harry, look it's Ron!" She cried out quickly scrambling over to her brother's battered body.
"Ron!" Harry gasped as he too rushed over to his friend.
"Harry, he's not moving! He's dead!" Ginny gasped in horror.
"nuts! Ron! Ron!" he shouted grabbing his friend, frantically shaking him.
"Ron!" Ginny cried as she too joined in, trying to wake up her brother.
"Ron...come on...Ron answer me!" Harry shouted, now feeling a pain in his chest. "Ron!"
However Ron didn't move.
"Oh Ron!" Ginny cried as she put her head on her brother's chest, sobbing.
Suddenly though she heard a faint thumping sound.
"Harry!" She shouted, her head snapping back up. "Harry, he's still alive, I heard his heart beating!"
Harry wasted no time in pulling out his wand. "Innervate!" he said firmly.
Slowly, the red headed young man opened his eyes, and sat up, coughing violently.
"Ron!" they both cried out at the same.
"H-Harry...Ginny." he struggled to speak. "Y-You were right...she..."
"Shhh, don't speak." Ginny replied softly as she hugged him.
Harry looked confused a moment then remembered he'd seen Draco and another figure not far away. But as he looked out at that direction again, he discovered that they were now gone.
"Harry..." Ron struggled to speak again.
Harry turned his attention back to his friend. "Yes, Ron?" He asked slowly.
"You were... right." his friend mumbled sadly.
"Right? Right about what?" the dark haired young man replied, raising a confused brow.
"He means about Hermione." Ginny said slowly as a cold frown spread across her face.
At the mention of Hermione's name, Ron quickly jumped to his feet, and paced slowly with the most painfully hurt look on his face that the two had ever seen.
"Ron..." Harry began hesitantly but stopped seeing the red head slap a hand to his forehead, grunting in frustration.
Ginny sighed then slowly glanced to the dark haired young man.
Harry glanced back to her with an expression of worry upon his face.
"Harry..." Ginny mumbled placing her hand on his knee. "I need to tell you something..."
"What?" Harry asked looking at her curiously.
"It's about...Hermione." She paused as Ron stopped pacing and spun around to look at them.
"What..."Harry paused. "about her?" he added suspiciously.
"She's...she's-" Ginny began but Ron suddenly cut her off.
"She's a bloody traitor that's what!" He snarled.

Harry jumped at the angry tone of his friend's voice.
Now scowling, Ron continued in a huff. "You know that Death Eater's book that Dumbledore asked us to find?"
"Yeah..." replied the dark-haired young man.
"Well all this time she's been the one who's had it!" Ron added through clenched teeth, hoping to hide the shakiness of his nearly hoarse voice.
Harry's eyes narrowed at this. "I should have known." He said coldly.

"I can't...I can't believe this..." Ron growled, pacing once more, this time more quickly. "She's...argh! Six years! Six bloody years we've known her! Six bloody years of nuts we went through! Six years I've...I've..." He paused and then shook his head the volume of his voice dropping instantly. "Six bloody years...I've loved her...Six bloody years." he added as a tear ran down his cheek.
"Oh Ron..." Ginny cried hugging her brother, but he pushed her away. It was clear that he was in no mood for sympathy.
"Ron, I'm...I'm sorry." Harry mumbled not knowing what to say.
Ron's hand curled into a fist then uncurled just as quickly and hung loosely at his side, as he began to speak. "There has to be a way to bring Hermione back to her senses." He said determinedly as he looked to Harry who slowly stood up.
"Yeah, but I don't know how." Harry exclaimed, looking down with an uneasy frown.
"Maybe...maybe we could talk to her. We could warn her that her life is in danger! We could tell her that Malfoy plans to kill her just like he killed Pansy." Ron stated hopefully.
"I'm afraid that won't work." Ginny said regretfully as she rose to her feet.

"Why not?" Harry asked her, noticing the hesitation in her voice.

"Well because Malfoy didn't kill Pansy...Hermione did." she replied even more hesitantly.

Expressions of horror and disbelief appeared on the faces of both Harry and Ron.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 52- Caught By The New Trio

"Draco, slow down!" Hermione snapped as she hurried after the blonde Slytherin who was almost marching towards the dark forest that lay just ahead.
"Geez Granger, you're so slow." he grumbled as he slowed down enough for her to catch up.
"Well sorry but I'm not exactly sure we should be doing this." She replied almost nervously.
"Well you're the one who wanted to get rid of this book." he snapped, clutching the book tightly in his hand. "So, by giving it to the Dark Lord, you won't have to worry anymore."
"Look, I still think this is a bad idea." She protested quickening her pace. "And besides, I thought that you said that if I get caught with it by Death Eaters, they'd kill me!"
He stopped and spun around. "That is why, I am not telling them that you are the one who had it." he snapped sharply.
"Well then what are you going to say? That you found it just lying around?" she spouted sarcastically.
"No, I will say that I found it in Snape's classroom while nosing around and spying." He drawled.
"Draco, I don't think that the Dark Lord will believe that!" She replied rolling her eyes.
"He will if you keep your mouth shut!" he sneered at her.
She shot him a dirty look. "Don't talk to me like that!" She hissed.
He snorted then turned and started walking again.
"Hang on..." She suddenly said, as she stood there thinking.
"What?" he grumbled half turning.
"Should we really be doing this?" She asked hesitantly.
He shot her a suspicious glare as she continued. "I mean, maybe...maybe we should go give this to Dumbledore instead. I'm sure he knows that we have it anyway."
Hesitation played upon her face.
"Potter's words are still echoing in that bushy-haired head of yours, aren't they?" he sneered as he started walking towards her.
She frowned and looked away. "No..." she lied.
"Yeah right!" he snapped rolling his eyes and shaking his head in disgust. "Don't lie to me. You haven't been the same since Potter filled your head with all of that rubbish." he added coldly.
She sighed then took a deep breath. "Look, it's not easy for me to fight what I feel!" she replied sharply.
"And just what do you feel?" he growled.
"I...I feel remorse...and regret..." she began but he quickly cut her off.
"Remorse for what? Freeing me from that pregnant dog Pansy? Regret? For what? Helping me?" he snarled now becoming agitated as he kicked a small rock lying in his path.
"No! That is not what I meant!" she hissed angrily as her own temper began to show.
"What happened to your anger...your hatred...your appetite for revenge?" He drawled as he stepped closer to her. "Where is the coldness, the bitterness that you had just days ago?"
She bit her lip nervously. "Look, I...I don't want to be that way anymore. I want to forgive Harry, and my other friends. I want everything to go back to normal."
"Oh not this again!" he groaned, as he slapped his hand to his forehead with an annoyed sigh.
"Draco...I want my old life back. I want to be happy again." She mumbled.
His frown darkened. "Just...what are you saying, that you're not happy now?" he asked now through tightly clenched teeth. "Are you telling me that I don't make you happy?"
A sad expression crept across her face. "No it's not that! It's just I...I'm saying that...I don't want to be a traitor to my friends...or Dumbledore anymore." she replied sharply.
"But you are a traitor to them!" He emphasized. "You became a traitor when you went to my father and made a deal with him and the Dark Lord. You became a traitor when you lied about not knowing what happened to Pansy. You became a traitor when you sided with...me."
She nodded slowly with a sad sigh. "I know..." she replied hesitantly.
"Besides," He quickly continued. "Weaselette knows the truth now and she's going to tell Potter and Weasel. And those two won't be so forgiving. They will turn you in and you'll be on your way to Azkaban!" he added sharply.
"I know but...but maybe I can go back and cast 'Obliviate'on Ginny; and wipe out her memory of this. I'm sure she's still knocked out. I mean I can make it so that she doesn't remember anything about what I did. And then after a little time passes, everything will go back to normal again. I can regain Harry and Ron's trust and we could all become close again. I can also go back to working hard and pursue my dreams of becoming an Auror." she stated firmly.
His eyes lowered. "Okay fine, suppose you are clever enough to pull it off. Say it does work and you are able to go back and be normal" He paused then frowned "...where will that leave us?" He added almost in a low whisper.

She frowned and then looked down.
"I...don't know." she mumbled.
"We'd end up being enemies again, Hermione." he stated coldly as the volume in his voice began to rise once more. "Is that what you want?" he added as his voice cracked this time.
"What? No, I don't want that!" She shouted. Then she added in a lower calmer tone. "But...I don't want to become a Death Eater either."
He smirked. "Well, then you're going to have to decide." he drawled. "It's either Potter or me."
She scowled and shook her head. "Draco, please don't start this again." she begged, blinking back tears.
"Well unless you can think of something better, you're going to have to make that choice." he said sharply as he folded his arms glaring at her.
She thought a moment, desperate for a way that she could have both her friends and Draco. And then...

"Draco, have you ever considered joining The Order?" she suddenly blurted out.
His eyes widened at this. She gave him a curious glance as a small smile played at the corner of her mouth.
"Ohhhh No! No...don't you even..." he began shaking his head quickly. "Huh Uh, don't you even dare ask me-"
"Draco, will you join The Order?" she cut in.
"No." he snapped firmly.
"Why not? The Order could use you!" She insisted.
"No, I will not join it." He refused.
"Why not? Harry and Ron are in it and it's for a good cause." she stressed.
"Well first of all, I do not want to work with Potter or Weasel. And second I don't give a d**n about the cause." he growled.
"Look, if we were on the same side, it would be easier for us. We could be together." she snapped.
"Easier for you, yeah! But me? Ha! I will be watched constantly, won't even be given a moment alone to breathe. Everyone will be suspicious of me and I will receive nothing but the coldest, most cruelest insults from Wonder Boy and Weasel King every time I turn around."
She looked disappointed.
"They will not welcome me with open arms, Hermione. I can tell you that." He added bitterly.
"Look, all we need to do is talk it out with them. Please...just promise me you will try to talk to Harry?" she begged.
He turned and glanced back at the Forbidden Forest and then slowly turned back to gaze into the pleading eyes of the brunette.
Finally after a moment of scowling and chewing his tongue he let out a defeated sigh. "Fine...I will talk to Potter..." he grumbled.
She smiled slightly.
"But," he added quickly. "I want you to make me a promise as well."
"What?" She asked.
"If Potter doesn't listen and agree to me joining The Order, then you will agree to become a Death Eater." he sneered.
"Wh-What?" She gasped in horror.
He moved forward, grabbing her shoulders firmly as he looked into her now frightened eyes.
"Hermione, now that we are together I don't want us to be broken apart!" He emphasized shaking her lightly, his voice cracking as he continued on. "I don't want to fight against you anymore. I've done that for too long! I want to fight along side of you, and I want you to fight along side of me. No matter what side we are on, it has to be the same!" he emphasized, almost in desperation.
She bit her lip and looked into his eyes. They were full of worry and concern for her. And so hesitantly she nodded.
"I...I want us to be on the same side too. So...so yes...if Harry will not accept you into The Order then...then I will become a...a....Death Eater." She struggled to get those last words out.
"Good." he replied in relief as he moved forward and kissed her firmly on the lips. She kissed him back with the same fiery passion she always had for him.
But unfortunately, their romantic moment wouldn't last long.

"So the Slytherin and his very *friendly* person are having a snogfest." hissed a cold voice.
Draco and Hermione quickly broke apart and spun around to see Ginny standing there with her arms crossed smirking at them.
"Just who I need to see anyway." Hermione hissed back as she slowly pushed away from Draco.
"Oh really?" replied the red headed girl.
"Yeah, now I can make you forget about my confession earlier!" replied the bushy haired brunette as she pulled out her wand.
Quickly, she raised it and pointed it at her.

"Expelliramus!" shouted a voice, blasting Hermione's wand out of her hand.
Hermione's eyes widened as Harry and Ron stepped up beside Ginny.
"Harry..." she mumbled looking to her left.
He scowled angrily at her.
"Ron?" she murmered uneasily glancing to the right.
The red headed young man's eyes narrowed at her coldly.

Draco's eyes flashed with hatred and he suddenly dove into his robe, pulling out his own wand.
"Expelliramus!" Harry quickly hissed, purposefully blasting Draco off his feet.
The blonde Slytherin was tossed back a few feet, painfully landing on his back, the black book slipped from his hand and landed beside him.
"Draco!" Hermione gasped. Then she reached down for her wand that lay on the ground in front of her.

However, Ginny stepped up and kicked it away. "Don't even think about it!" She warned sharply now pointing her own wand at Hermione.
The bushy-haired girl scowled at her, then cringed as Harry and Ron stalked toward her.

She could feel their angry eyes burning into her as they began to circle her slowly from opposite sides.
"So, the murderer that everyone's been searching for has been right under our noses the whole time." came Harry's bitter tone.
"Yeah, and the student harboring the Death Eater's book has been found as well." Ron added just as coldly.
"Look Harry, Ron...I can explain." Hermione began.
"Explain?" Ron was the first to reply. "Explain!" he repeated more sharply. "How do you explain this?" he snapped.
"I..." Hermione began but Harry jumped in,refusing to let her speak.
"I never thought that you would turn around and betray us." he growled. "I can't believe that you've sacrificed our friendship for this git!" he added pointing at the Slytherin who was struggling to stand.
Hermione's gaze shifted quickly to the dark haired young man who was glaring at her coldly.
"Harry, listen I-" she began but he cut her off again.
"Why should I listen to you Hermione? All that comes out of your mouth are lies!" he snarled.
Hermione shuddered and bit her lip as she looked down at the ground.
"You want to know something, Hermione. I defended you!" came a shaky, pained voice.
And then Ron walked around and stood in front of her. Harry backed off as his red-headed friend took his turn to speak."I defended you." Ron mumbled, shaking his head slowly, his voice was barely audible.
"Ron...I-" Hermione began but he cut her off.
"I defended you, Hermione!" he repeated, this time with frustration building behind his words.
Draco stood there glaring as Ron inched closer to Hermione. His grey eyes darkened with malice.
With a huff, he started towards Ron, forgetting about the book on the muddy ground.
However before he could do anything, Harry and Ginny stepped in his path, both pointing their wands at him. "You stay put, Malfoy!" Ginny warned.
Seeing his sister and best friend were holding Draco at bay, Ron turned back to the brunette in front of him.
"Hermione, do you have any idea how many times I have defended you? Even this year? Do you?" he snapped.
She shook her head slowly.
"And I bet you don't even care, do you?" he remarked harshly. "You didn't care that we were supposed to be best friends! You didn't care that I poured my heart out to you that very first day we started dating. I see that now. I didn't before though." he took a breath and continued. "Before, I was a blind, lovesick fool..." he mumbled.
"L-Lovesick?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"Yes Hermione. Lovesick! Do I have to spell it out for you? Do you want me to just come out and say it?" he shouted getting right up in her face. "Fine then, I will." he added.
She looked at him uneasily.
"Hermione, I love you!" Ron declared firmly as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
She let out a loud whimper as he did so.
Pure rage flashed in Draco's stormy eyes as he forcefully shoved both Harry and Ginny to the ground; as he stormed towards Ron.
Hermione pushed the red head away firmly and spat furiously on the ground. "What do you think you're doing, Ron!" She demanded angrily.
Ron looked baffled at her. But he didn't have time to reply.
Lunging forward, Draco's balled fist connected with the red head's nose, sending Ron crumbling to the ground.
"You keep your filthy, dirty hands off of her, Weasel!" Draco sneered as he kicked the red head hard in the stomach.
Ron grunted and coughed feeling the force of the kick. "I thought you learned your lesson when I kicked your arse a while ago!" added the angry Slytherin.

Harry scrambled back to his feet and pointed his wand at both Draco and Hermione.
"Stop!" he shouted.
Both Draco and Hermione looked to him.
"Don't either of you move!" he warned furiously, as he glanced down at his friend on the ground.
"Ron, are you okay?" Ginny asked softly.
Ron didn't answer. Instead, he jumped up from the ground, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the blonde Slytherin.
"I'm going to kill that bloody bastard!" He snarled.
"Ron, don't!" Ginny snapped as she grabbed his arm. "Put your wand away."
"Calm down, Ron." Harry snapped in a demanding tone.
"Calm down! Calm down? You expect me to calm down after that git just attacked me?" Ron roared as blood trickled down his nose.
"Look, they're going to be in enough trouble when we take them to Dumbledore." Harry exclaimed.
Then he shifted his glare to Hermione. "And he will send them both to Azkaban!" he added coldly.

Hermione gasped. This was it. It was over. She had been caught and now she was to face the consequences of being imprisoned in Azkaban.
"Let's go you two!" Ginny hissed, purposefully poking Hermione with her wand.
Slowly, Hermione began to walk, but oddly, Draco stayed put for the moment. His eyes were focused on something as he stared off into the dark forest.
"Get moving, Malfoy!" Harry growled impatiently.
Draco's eyes slowly shifted from the forest to the ground. A slight smirk played upon his lips as he followed Hermione and Ginny.
"You coming, Ron?" Harry called out to his red headed friend who still stood rooted to the same spot.
"You go on ahead, Harry. I need a moment alone!" Ron called back waving a hand before turning away.
Harry gave him a sympatietic look and then turned and followed the other three as they headed towards the castle.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 54 -The Silver Snake

Draco held Hermione's hand as they made their way through the thickness of the misty forest.
The shimmering moonlight that had emerged after the raging storm, now shone down upon them, guiding them on their way.

"I really don't think we should do this." Hermione whispered as she looked around.
"Don't tell me you're scared?" he whispered back, pushing a large, dead branch out of his way. "After all, you came in here by yourself to speak to my father and the Dark Lord before." he added.

"Yes but I was really angry and determined to help you back then." she replied softly.
He chuckled lightly and then stopped as they came to a fork in the path.
"So, which way did you go before?" he asked her looking from left to right.
"Uh...I don't remember." she mumbled also looking in both directions. "I think it was right..." she added hesitantly.

"Okay." he said as he started towards the right path.
"No, maybe it was left." she suddenly blurted out.
He stopped and half turned to her.

"You really don't remember, do you?" he scoffed.
"Look, I was so focused on finding your father, that I don't know which way I went." She admitted defensively.
"Okay. Okay. Don't get all huffy at me. I was simply asking." he retorted rolling his eyes.
"I'm sorry." she whispered.
He then sighed. "Look, since you said to take the right path first, we'll just do that, okay?" He said with a half smile.
"Okay." She answered.
Draco then looked around cautiously as he started down the path to the right. Hermione followed him, with an uneasy look on her face.
The wind blew through the trees causing them to creak eerily, as the two made their way down the path.
Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes just ahead of them.
Hermione gasped and stopped as Draco stepped in front of her, protectively.
"What is it?" She asked nervously.
Draco said nothing as he slowly pulled out his wand and moved slowly towards the noisy vegetation.
A small pair of reddish brown eyes stared out at him.
He swallowed and gripped his wand tightly.
Then suddenly, a small brown ball of fur hopped out.
Hermione gasped loudly.
Draco quirked a brow at it and then rolled his eyes and chuckled lightly.
His upper lip curled slightly and he spun around smirking at the bushy haired girl.
"Really Granger, you were scared of a measley, little rabbit?" he drawled putting his wand away.
She shot him a dirty look. "Hey you never know what kind of creatures you will run into in these woods!" She snapped defensively.

"Yeah you really need me to protect you from those evil rabbits, don't you?" He replied sarcastically as he cockily walked back towards her.
She let a small giggle escape her throat as she thought how silly it was to be afraid of a rabbit.
Draco then sighed. "Come on, let's keep moving." he said.
She nodded and followed slowly.


"Geez, how long did it take you to find my father before?" Draco muttered impatiently as he looked around for some sign of a Death Eater camp.
"It didn't take this long." She replied, looking rather uneasy now.
As they continued on, Hermione couldn't help but feel more and more nervous.
She and Draco had traveled much deeper into the forest than she had originally thought and it seemed to be getting darker and darker the further they went.
The light of the full moon that had been their guide, was starting to dim as thin grey clouds began to gather above.
Draco paused and looked up briefly. "I think there's another storm moving in." he commented, noticing the sky.
"Yeah." Hermione replied nodding with a nervous frown.
"We need to find my father and the Dark Lord." He said sharply as he started to walk again this time picking up his pace.
She hurried after him, hoping they too would make it there before the storm rolled in.
It's safer to be with a bunch of Death Eaters than being alone and becoming the prey of the creatures in the forest, isn't it?
She thought to herself, nervously biting on her lip.

"Hermione, look. I think I see something glowing!" Draco suddenly said as he rushed ahead, seeing a glimmer of something in the distance.
"Wait for me!" she shouted hurrying after him.
Draco hurried down the dark path, moving quickly towards the object that had appeared to be glowing.
"It's right here!" he shouted as he reached towards it.
"Argh!" he suddenly pulled his hand back and grimaced.
"What is it?" She asked, moving her hand towards it slowly.
And then her fingers brushed against the object that Draco had touched.
It was ice cold, and somewhat sharp.
"Be careful." He warned her.

Hermione slowly looked to the sky and then back down to the object in question.
"I can see why you thought it was glowing." She said simply. "The moonbeams were reflecting off of it."
He raised a brow then nodded slightly. "So, what is it?" He asked curiously.
"We're about to find out." She exclaimed as she pulled out her wand. "Lumos." She said, pointing it at the shimmering object.
A dim light appeared at the tip of it and she squinted slightly.
"Draco, it's ice." She said with a confused look upon her face.
"Ice?" he snapped leaning in to look at it. "That's odd...it won't be winter for another three months yet." He replied, scratching his head.
Hermione looked closer. "Wait, there's something inside it." She added.
"What?" he asked.
"It looks like a small tree...a sapling." She stated.
"A frozen tree?" He scoffed. "How the bloody hell can it be frozen like that? The rest of the trees are fine." He stated gesturing around them.
Hermione lifted her wand slowly and pointed it in the direction that they were walking.
Both she and Draco gasped as the light revealed something odd and quite disturbing.
"This small sapling isn't the only thing that's frozen." Hermione announced uneasily.
Looking down the pathway ahead, they saw more frozen trees.
The two slowly started down it, observing their surroundings as they went.
All around them was ice, even the water puddles were solid. Everything looked as though it had been touched by death itself.
And then Hermione noticed something.
She could now see her breath.
She turned her head slowly to look at the Slytherin and gasped silently seeing his breath as well.
Everything around them was quiet, and eerily still. And the temperature had drastically dropped.
Then a horrific thought came to her. Her eyes widened and she grabbed Draco's arm.
"Draco...I don't think we should continue down this path." She said, her voice now shaky.
He half turned to her and quirked a brow. "Oh come on, you're not afraid of a little ice are you?" He replied with a chuckle.
"No, I'm afraid of what made the ice." She said fearfully.
Draco's arrogant smile faded, and his eyes grew wide. "Wait...are you telling me that it was-" He stopped then looked around uneasily. "Them?" he whispered to her.
She nodded fearfully.
Draco felt his pulse increase drastically as he looked around warily.
"Come on, we'd better go back." Hermione said firmly.
"Yeah, good idea." He agreed, with a slow nod.
But then as the two turned around, they caught a glimpse of something up in the sky.
It was solid black. So black, that even the light of the moon could reveal nothing but it's tattered hooded cloak.
"Hurry, put the light out!" Draco whispered sharply.
"Nox!" She whispered and then shoved her wand into her pocket as they faded into the dark surroundings.
Looking to the sky again, a second dementor had appeared.
"Draco..." Hermione whispered, her shaky hand grabbing onto his.
He curled his fingers around hers and gripped her hand tightly. "Stay close to me, Hermione." He whispered, keeping his grey eyes fixed on the haunting phantoms above.
As the two began to walk back down the path, two more dementors appeared overhead.
"Draco, we can't let those things sense us. They feed on our happiness and other positive emotions and feelings." Hermione exclaimed as they continued on slowly.
"Yeah well isn't there a way to get rid of them? I mean I overheard someone say that Lupin had a spell to kill those things." He retorted in a low voice.
"The Patronus Charm." Hermione replied knowingly.
"I guess." Draco mumbled. "So anyway, how come he never taught it to any of us in third year?" he asked somewhat bitterly.
"First of all, it doesn't 'kill' the dementors, it wards them off. And secondly, with it being such highly advanced magic, Professor Lupin didn't know if we were all capable of handling it." Hermione exclaimed. "So that's why he only taught it to one student."
"Let me guess who." Draco replied irritably. "Potter." he added bitterly.
"Yes." She replied hesitantly.
"Ha, that figures." he scoffed.
Then suddenly he stopped, as he caught wind of a foul smell.
"Hermione, do you smell that?" he asked, wrinkling his nose in a disgusted manner.
Hermione sniffed then made the same face. "Ugh, what is that? It smells like rotting flesh." She replied covering her mouth slightly.

And then the two heard the most scariest sound that one could hear. Heavy breathing coming from above them.
The hair on the back of Hermione's neck stood up, as did Draco's. Both fearing the worst.
Slowly they turned to see a human-like cloaked figure hovering over their heads.
"nuts!" Draco shouted stumbling back.
"Oh no!" Hermione snapped nervously. "This is not good." She announced loudly as the dementor swooped towards her.
She was suddenly frozen in place and she felt the most sad and horrible thoughts enter her mind.


Draco's eyes widened as he saw what was happening. "Hermione!" he cried out.
Suddenly, the five dementors that had been floating up above came swiftly gliding down.
Draco was prepared to fight them off of himself, but they swooped over him and went straight for the bushy haired girl.
"Hermione!" He cried out.
"Draco!" she shouted. But all she could see were the scarred decayed faces of the haunting, cloaked creatures.
She tried to push her way through them, but several scabby skeletal hands reached out for her.

Just then she felt a warm hand that wasn't scabby clamp around her wrist.
"Come on!" Draco shouted, pulling her out of the middle of the creatures.
The two ran as fast as they could with the dementors right behind them.

Crushing dead leaves and branches as they fled, they didn't dare look back. They knew that they had to get away from the soul-sucking phantoms.
"Draco we can't lose them, they're right behind us!" Hermione cried out in panic.
"Keep running!" Draco shouted back. "If we can keep this up we might be able to make it out of the forest and back to the castle! The dementors can't touch us there."
"The castle? But Draco we can't go back to Hogwarts! We're criminals now! They will throw us into Azkaban the minute they see us!" She yelled.
"Well, do you have a better plan?" Draco shouted, as he stomped onto a pile of broken limbs.
Hermione ducked as one of the hooded creatures swooped down with and out-stretched, bony hand.
"Well, the only thing that I can think of is the Patronus Charm!" She shouted back, stumbling over a bush.
"Well..." Draco began, breathing rapidly. "Why don't you try it, then?" he suggested in a sharp tone.
"I will, but I'm not exactly sure how strong it will be. Harry practiced it several times before he was able to use it at it's full strength." she replied, panting heavily.
Then she screamed as the sleeve of one of the phantoms draped down, blocking her vision.
"We've got to run faster!" Draco urged, as he grabbed her hand and pulled her off the path.
"Draco, why did we leave the path?" She asked as he continued to drag her through the darkness of the trees.
"They were closing in on us! They had too much clearence on the path." he replied jumping over a stump. "This way, they have obstacles such as trees and other things that they have to manuver around."
"But we can't lose them like this! And if we go too far, we will be the ones who get lost!" She shouted in a panic, nearly falling over a large tree branch.


"Yeah but atleast this way, we will have a chance!" He yelled, "We might not be able to lose them, but atleast these trees will slow them down!"

However, even as the two zig zagged, this way and that, the dementors continued their pursuit. The phantom creatures were relentless and it was not in their nature to give up.
This suddenly dawned on Hermione and she knew that she couldn't keep up this pace for long.
Draco too had gotten the feeling that the dementors were not easily swayed.
"Well, aren't you going to try that Patronus whatever thing?" He snapped.
But before Hermione could answer, she tripped and stumbled over a gnarled tree root.
She let out a faint cry, as she clutched onto Draco; dragging him down with her as she fell face first into the dirt.
The blonde young man recovered quickly, and immediately scrambled back to his feet.
But Hermione barely had time to roll over before she felt a skeletal hand around her ankle.
"Agh!" She screamed.
"Hermione!" Draco shouted trying to pull her out of the creature's grasp.
But suddenly, he was swatted away by another dementor.
He hit the ground hard but jumped back to his feet quickly.
It was then that he noticed something. What the bloody hell? Those things aren't attacking me at all. They're treating me like I'm not even here. That one swatted me away like it had no interest in attacking me. He thought looking rather confused. Then his eyes narrowed as he watched the phantoms all moving towards the girl. It's like they are only focused on Granger! He said to himself.
Hermione kicked frantically as a second dementor grabbed onto her other leg.
Quickly, she dove into her robe pocket and pulled out her wand.

"Okay...Okay I have to think of something happy. A happy memory." She mumbled frantically trying to concentrate as she felt a sucking sensation above her head.
For a brief moment, she was overcome with despair, but shaking it off, she quickly tried to recall a fond memory.
Thinking that she had one, she pointed her wand upwards. "Expecto Patronum!" She cried out.
The creatures quickly let go of her and flew just out of reach. She then stood up, holding the light above her.
Sadly, however, the light she had produced wasn't that bright, nor was it in the shape of an animal.
No, infact it seemed to wither out almost as quickly as it had been conjured.
"Oh no..." She gasped watching the dementors gliding back down towards her.
Draco, who had seen what she'd done, came racing over and stood protectively in front of her.
The dementors slowly started to circle overhead.
"Granger...what was that you just did?" Draco asked, his grey eyes watching the phantoms above them.
"Well that was the Patronus Charm but...not a very strong one. It takes a good, strong, happy memory to have one as strong as Harry's." She said, then quickly shut up as Draco shot her a dirty look.
"Is that so?" He snorted. "Still on about him, are you?" he added bitterly.
"Sorry." She mumbled hearing the hostility in his tone.
"So, how do you do it?" He asked, his voice now low.
She gave him a confused look. "Do what?" She asked.

He rolled his eyes. "The spell, Granger!" He snapped sharply. "That Patronus thing...how do you do it?"
"Well, you think of a strong, happy memory then point your wand up at the dementors and say 'Expecto Patronum'. If you are strong enough you will summon a Patronus in the shape of an animal. Harry's is a stag." She stopped again, noticing his left eye twitch.
She realized that he was already annoyed with the mention of Harry and so she decided she would try not to mention him again.

Draco's eyes widened as he watched the dementors descending lower and lower around them.
And then suddenly, Hermione cried out.
Draco turned to look at her only to see that two more dementors had appeared behind the bushy-haired girl.
"Stop it!" She cried out, feeling her happiness being sucked away.

"nuts!" Draco snarled pulling out his wand, pointing it at them.

"Expecto Patronum!" he snapped.

Nothing happened.

"d**n it, I said Expecto Patronum!" he shouted now more angrily. "It's not working!" he growled.
"Draco, help me!" came Hermione's plea as two different dementors began to suck out her happiness.
"nuts! Expecto Patronum!" Draco tried again.
Still, nothing happened.


"What am I doing wrong?" he cried out.
And then he watched in horror as Hermione's fragile frame collapsed to the ground as the dementors surrounded her live a pack of wolves.
"Ok, what am I doing wrong?" He thought frantically. "Wait she said something about a happy memory. Okay, think Draco. Think!" He snapped at himself now lowering his wand.
He forced himself to close his eyes. A happy memory. A strong happy memory. He repeated over and over in his mind.
And then, his first memory suddenly came into view in his mind.
There he was, standing at the Quidditch Pitch, watching Hermione and Pansy facing off.
And then Hermione shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
Pansy's pug face twisted into sheer terror as an eerie green light crashed into her.
She fell to the ground. Dead.
He looked down at her, and then picked up a folded piece of parchment. The contract that Pansy had created to trap him into being hers.
Instantly, it turned to dust and blew out of his pale hand.
And then came Hermione's voice. "You're...free now, Draco." She said softly.
He looked at her in disbelief. She had risked her life to save him. To free him.

He was confused as to why this particular memory was the first to resurface, but he didn't have long to think about it because more and more memories of himself and Hermione from both the past and present began to flash through his mind.
The good things. The bad things. Their fights. Their talks. And their newly formed friendship.
After sifting through all of these memories, Draco suddenly gasped. He had found it. He had found his happy memory.

His grey eyes flew open and then narrowed at the soul-sucking phantoms.
"Get away from her!" He shouted raising his wand and pointing it at them.

Then focusing on his memory, he shouted out, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"


A huge silver blast of light shot out of his wand.
It was so bright that Draco had to partially shield his eyes.
Hermione's eyes opened and she found herself surrounded by the familiar light.
"Harry?" She immediately thought, but then she looked up to see that the creature above her was not a stag.
Instead, the light that had shot out of Draco's wand had shifted into the form of large silver snake.
It was twice the size of Harry's stag and its bright light covered a wider area.
Hermione gasped in disbelief, and her mouth dropped open as the silvery glowing reptile swooped towards the dementors.
The cloaked creatures that had been surrounding the bushy haired girl scattered immediately upon seeing the powerful reptile.
Hermione got to her feet and blinked as she saw Draco gripping his wand tightly,now with both hands, as if he were trying to keep it from escaping his grasp.


And then moments later, the silvery snake turned and flew back towards Draco and dove back into the caster's wand.
Hermione glanced up as she watched the last of the dementors vanish into the sky.
Then slowly, she looked to the blonde young man with wide eyes.
He slowly lifted his head, and looked back to see her shocked expression.
"Hermione?" He asked raising a curious brow at her.
"Draco, that was amazing!" She suddenly blurted out as her shocked expression shifted to one of awe.

He smiled slightly and put his wand back into his robes. "What? That I got the spell right?" He chuckled lightly.
"No, that you are powerful enough to conjure something that strong!" She gasped.
"Yeah? Well you shouldn't be so surprised. After all, Saint Potter can conjure a Patronus too. You said so yourself." He scoffed in a slightly bitter tone.
"Yes, but his is nothing like that!" She emphasized strongly. "Harry's stag is much smaller and not as bright. I mean I have seen him use the Patronus at its full strength and it wasn't nearly as powerful as what I saw just then!"
"Are you saying that I'm more powerful than Potter, now?" He asked, raising a curious brow.
She nodded slightly.
His eyes narrowed as his trademark smirk crept across his face. "So, I've finally surpassed the Boy-Who-Lived?" he mumbled. He cockily ran a hand through his blonde hair and then turned to Hermione. "Then this means that sooner or later, the time will come when Potter and I will come face to face in battle. And when we do, I will be known as the One-Who-Killed-Potter!" He sneered with an evil gleam in his eyes.
Hermione nodded slightly, though his chilling words made her shiver slightly.
"Come on," He said as he took her hand into his. "Let's go find my father and the Dark Lord." He added, now in a lower tone.
She nodded and once more the two set off into the dark forest.

[Liz-Miia Parker]

Sul jäi 53 vahele Liss

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Oih, vabandust

Chapter 53- Escape From Hogwarts

Ron stood there for a few minutes, shaking his head as the realization of everything began to sink in.
How could she do this? he thought, his chin quivering slightly as he finally began to pace slowly. "Why did Hermione become a traitor?" he asked outloud in frustration, now quickening his pacing. "Harry and I have been there for her all these years." he huffed loudly as he continued. "And at first I wasn't upset by Hermione's games. I mean she fancied Harry, and was mad that he chose Ginny over her." He took a deep breath. "And I wasn't really all that worried when she started trying to make Harry jealous and angry by flirting with Mayfloy. I knew it was just a game." He then stopped pacing and glared at the ground.
"But then Malfoy started taking an interest in her. And somehow they ended up as allies. I tried to make her happy. I tried to defend her and I tried to let her know what I felt towards her!" He then raised his voice. "But did she return those feelings? Ofcourse not! I thought maybe we had a relationship...like secret feelings for each other but no. That wasn't it at all. No, instead Hermione fell head over heels for that Slytherin git! And she betrayed us. She lied to us. Somehow Malfoy was able to either threaten her or talk her into killing Pansy!"
He let out a frustrated growl and started to pace again. "Argh! Why did this have to happen? Why did you betray us, Hermione!" He shouted out into the night.


And then a chilling laugh startled the red head and stopped in his tracks. He knew that laugh. And he cringed as he felt a wave of evil behind him.
Spinning around, Ron's eyes widened in horror and he swallowed nervously as he watched a person step out from the shadows.

"Well, if it isn't Arthur Weasley's youngest son." drawled the cold, bitter voice of Lucius Malfoy.
"Lucius..." Ron mumbled as a fearful look crossed his freckled face.
Lucius sneered. "Your dirty tongue does not prove worthy enough to address me in such a manner. You shall refer to me as Mr. Malfoy" He snapped dryly.
Ron swallowed as the man strode towards him slowly.
"Now," he said pulling out his wand with a menacing sneer. "I believe I have some business to take care of." He added with a cold chuckle as he pointed it at the red headed young man.
Ron whimpered.


"You might want to hurry up, Lucius." sneered an evil voice from behind him.
Lucius half turned to see Voldemort himself emerge from the dark forest.
Ron's eyes grew wide with horror seeing the most feared wizard of all time standing just inches from him.
"Shall I do it My Lord or will you?" Lucius asked curiously.
"You do it, Lucius. I have merely come to claim something that is mine." Voldemort replied in a hiss as he walked a few feet away and reached down towards the ground.
Ron raised a brow as he watched the evil wizard, pick something up.
As he straightened back up, Voldemort let out a sinister chuckle. "I wouldn't want this to fall into the wrong hands...again." He sneered gesturing to the mud-covered Death Eater's book that Draco had dropped earlier.
Lucius nodded slowly.
"You may want to talk to your son about this matter promptly." Voldemort added coldly, his voice filled with disappointment.

Ron looked to Lucius, seeing a flicker of fear in the man's eyes.
"I will do so the minute I see him, My Lord." came Lucius's's sharp voice.
"See that you do." Voldemort snapped and he turned and moved towards the red headed young man.
Ron stood frozen with fright as those evil, piercing, red eyes glared down at him from beneath the black hood.
"Well Lucius, don't just stand there. Hurry up and do it! There is no time to waste!" Voldemort hissed impatiently.
"Yes, My Lord." Lucius replied quickly then he turned and pointed his wand at Ron.
"Bloody...Hell!" whimpered the red head as Lucius closed in on him.

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Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny had almost made it to Dumbedore's office.
They were nearly to the final staircase when Harry was suddenly hit with an intense pain.
"Argh!" he cried out falling to his knees, slapping his right hand over his now burning scar.
Both Hermione and Draco jumped slightly, startled by Harry's sudden outburst.
Quickly, Ginny knelt down, coming to Harry's aid.
"Harry, Harry? Are you alright?" She gasped frantically.

"Argh! It...hurts..."Harry groaned as he put his left hand on top of the right, closing his eyes tightly.
"Hang on, Harry. I'll go get help!" Ginny shouted as she went rushing up towards Dumbledore's study, leaving the two 'prisoners' unguarded.

Draco looked around and then slowly a dark smile crept across his face, as he looked down at Harry writhing in pain.
He reached into the pocket of his robes but found his wand was not there. And then it dawned on him that he didn't have it.
Maybe Granger has her wand. He thought but suddenly frowned remembering that hers was outside on the ground along with his.

This will be our last night here. He thought to himself. He felt his heart racing as he stared down the dark, empty corridor. By this time tomorrow, Hermione and I will be locked away in Azkaban. His eyes lowered. And it will be the last time that we can be together. Sadness washed over his face for a moment but then suddenly, his trademark smirk crept across his face.

Wait, we don't have to go to Azkaban! Hermione and I can escape. He thought nodding to himself. We can go to the forest and meet up with my father and the Dark Lord. And since Potter refused to even talk about me joining The Order, Hermione has already agreed to become a Death Eater along with me. She and I will be together. And father and the Dark Lord already approve of us. Excitement began building within him as he thought this.
He turned to look to the bushy haired girl, but frowned as he saw her looking down at Harry sympathetically.


Should I comfort him? Should I help him? Oh what should I do? She thought mentally panicking as she watches him thrashing about.

"Argh!! he's nearby...I...know it!" Harry groaned loudly, propping himself against the wall.

Potter's in no position to stop us. Draco thought, glacing down at the dark haired young man.

Draco's head suddenly snapped up. Dumbledore. Ginny. He could hear their footsteps moving rapidly down the corridor.

"Hurry Professor Dumbledore, Harry's down here!" came Ginny's panicked voice echoing down the hallway.

Draco knew that the window of opportunity of escaping was fading fast.
He knew that if they were going to escape, now was the time to do it.
He spun back around quickly.

"Granger!" He snapped sharply as he grabbed her hand. "Come on, now's our chance to make a run for it!"

"Huh? Wh-What?" she gasped as he tried to pull her down the opposite corridor.
"Come on, let's go. " he shouted but she only took a few steps.

Dumbledore and Ginny's footsteps and voices were becoming louder now and Draco saw their shadows moving towards the corner of the corridor.
"Argh! Come on, d**n it! We have to get away before Weaselette brings that old coot to Potter's rescue!" Draco replied impatiently.

"What? But we can't just run away, Draco!" she shot back hesitantly now slowly following him. "For Merlin's sake, we've got no place to run to!" She added.
"Ha, oh yes we do!" Draco sneered as he started pulling her harder, trying to quicken his pace.
Hermione's eyes widened and she gasped. "Oh no, Draco! I am not going into that dark forest where the Death Eaters are!" she shouted sharply, stopping in her tracks.
"Hey, you made me a promise!" he sneered, stopping and rounding on her angrily. "You promised that if Potter refused to talk to me and let me join The Order; you would become a Death Eater!" he snapped.
Harry gasped at hearing this, but he couldn't fight the pain enough to even speak or stop them.
He glared coldly, watching as they fled down the corridor.

"Hurry up, Granger!" Draco urged as they burst through the double doors to the outside.
Hermione stopped to catch her breath, and Draco stopped quickly looking around.
Then he remembered that their wands were out there.
"Accio wand!" he called out into the night.
There was a whooshing sound as Draco's wand flew into his hand.
Hermione blinked and realized that hers was in need of fetching as well.
"Accio wand!" she called out.
Her wand immediately flew to her hand.
The two shoved their wands into their robes and made a mad dash towards the forest.
"Come on, the Dark Forest is just ahead!" he yelled, running faster.
"Oh no...why am I doing this?" she whined suddenly stopping in front of the entrance to the forest.
It looked so dark and forboding.

"Granger! What are you bloody waiting for?" Draco snapped, offering his hand to her. "Come on! Follow me!"
Hesitantly, she took his hand tightly and the two hurried off into the forest.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the time that Ginny had returned, Harry had fallen into an unconscious state and Dumbledore looked more worried than ever.


"Harry? Harry! I brought Dumbledore!" Ginny cried shaking him frantically, but the dark haired young man did not respond.
And suddenly something dawned on Ginny. She looked around quickly then gasped. "Oh no...Where are Malfoy and Hermione? I left them right here!" she said in a barely audible tone.

Dumbledore's frown seemed to darken slightly at this but he made no indication that he had heard her. Instead, he looked to the dark haired young man with concern.
"I am afraid that this is not good, Miss Weasley." he stated with a disappointed shake of his head. "We must get Harry to Madame Pomprey at once."

"Yes sir, but what about Hermione and Malfoy? Shouldn't someone go after them?" Ginny emphasized.

"I believe it is better to focus on Harry for now, Miss Weasley. We now know who the culprits are and it's only a matter of time before they are found." Dumbledore replied sounding somewhat sorrowful.

Ginny frowned and nodded slowly.

[Liz-Miia Parker]

Koomikud ;D

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 55-"Attempt Not To Fool an Old Wizard"


"Harry? Harry?"

Harry opened his eyes hearing a soft voice and feeling a warm hand on his cheek.

He squinted at the blur before him. "Ginny?" he asked slowly.
"Yes Harry, it's me." she replied.

It took a moment for him to focus his eyes, but when he did, he saw the red headed girl gazing down at him warmly.

And then as he sat up, he discovered that he was in the Hospital Wing. Looking around he found that Ginny wasn't the only one there.
A familiar old man sat on the bed across from his.
"Professor Dumbledore?" he managed to say weakly.
"How are you feeling, Harry?" He asked, with a note of concern in his voice.

Harry blinked a moment and then took in a deep breath. "I...I'm not sure sir. I'm feeling...numb." he replied almost hesitantly.

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "That is to be expected." he replied. "After all, you've got so many emotions running through you that you aren't sure what to feel."
Harry nodded and then frowned as he looked down, clutching his soft covers.

"They...got away didn't they?" he asked looking to Ginny and then to Dumbledore. "Malfoy and...Hermione." He added feeling a wave of sadness wash over him as he spoke the bushy-haired girl's name. It pained him to do so, especially since he had been so close to her for so long. He could feel tears welling up in his emerald green eyes.

"I am afraid so." came Dumbledore's low voice.

Harry stared down at his covers a moment and then looked to the old wizard. "Sir, is this what you meant when you said a painful truth would be revealed? Did you already know that Hermione was the traitor?" he asked, trying to steady the quiver in his voice.

"I had a hunch." Dumbledore admitted.

Harry lowered his head, pursing his lips before speaking again. "Why...why couldn't you tell me then? Why did you make me have to find it out on my own?" he asked, now a sharp tone of resentment in his tone.

However, Dumbledore remained calm, and he spoke slowly. "Harry, I know it is painful for you, but it would have been more painful had you heard it from me."

"More painful?" Harry's voice rose a bit. "How could it have been more painful!" he snapped.

"Harry, don't be rude to the Headmaster!" Ginny scolded sternly.

Dumbledore held up a hand. "It is alright, Miss Weasley. I do not hold Harry's emotional outbursts against him. He is affected by this more than you are. Therefore, I cannot blame him."

Ginny nodded slowly and then looked down.

"Now," Dumbledore continued looking back to the dark-haired young man. "the pain from your scar has been more excruciating as of late, hasn't it?"

"Yes sir. I mean, this the second time that I've passed out from it, since school started." Harry replied, now more calmly.

The old wizard nodded. "Then it is as I have feared. Lord Voldemort's power is growing and he has been trying to see your thoughts, because he knows that you have been seeing his."

Harry nodded. "In dreams, I have seen the destruction that he plans to cause, and not just to the Wizarding World, but the Muggle World as well."

Ginny gasped as she listened.

"He's going to kill those who do not follow him." the dark haired young man said grimly.

Just then he was interrupted by the sound of squeaky footsteps. They lasted about a moment and then stopped.

Lifting his head and turning slightly, Harry saw a familiar red headed young man standing there in the doorway.

He smiled faintly. "Hi Ron." he said with a wave.
"Hi Harry." came Ron's voice as he approached his friend's bed. "What happened to you?" He asked curiously.

"My scar started hurting." He replied.

Ron nodded then shrugged slightly. "Well that's nothing new. It always happens when Voldemort is around." he replied calmly.

Ginny and Harry quirked a brow as they looked at him oddly.

However, a slightly suspicious frown appeared on Dumbledore's face.

"That's true, Ron." Harry replied slowly, still surprised that the red headed young man had used the Dark Lord's name.

"So, what did you do with the 'prisoners'?" asked Ron, with a slight smirk now on his face.
"Well, they escaped." Ginny cut in looking disappointed. "It's my fault though, I left them unguarded." She added.

Ron simply shrugged. "Don't worry about that. We'll catch them." he replied.
Then he changed the subject. "So Harry, are you feeling well enough to go back to the dorm?" He asked more upbeat.

But before Harry could reply, Dumbledore stood up slowly. "Harry will be remaining here tonight, Mr. Weasley." He stated in a firm tone. "He is not well and must be kept watch on every waking hour."

Ron's face darkened slightly, but he nodded humbly without a word.

"Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said turning to the anxious girl. "I would like for you to remain here in the Hospital Wing with Harry tonight. He will need you to help look after him."
"Yes sir." She replied with a firm nod.

"I'll stay too." Ron announced.

"No." Dumbledore's deep voice suddenly cut in.

Harry raised a brow at the sharpness of the old wizard's tone towards Ron.

"No." repeated Dumbledore, now in a lower softer tone. "I believe that Miss Weasley would be better suited to care for Harry this time. Plus, do you not have a great amount of homework to do, Mr. Weasley?" he added.

"Well yeah...but I can do that later or you could even excuse me from it." Ron replied quickly.

Dumbledore frowned disappointedly at the red headed young man. "Mr. Weasley, while I realize that you are concerned for Harry, I must suggest that you not neglect your studies. And do not forget that this is your last year here. If you wish to become an auror, you must work hard and do all of your homework."

"Well, all I have is Potions homework." Ron said, trying one last attempt to 'weasel' out of it.

"Ah, then in that case, I would suggest that you go and do it now. Professor Snape is quite fond of finding a legitimate reason for failing Gryffindor students; so it would be best not to give him one."

Ron scowled.

"Attempt not to fool an old wizard, Mr. Weasley; for that old wizard may end up fooling you." Dumbledore added with a knowing look.

Ron swallowed and lowered his head. He glanced to Harry, nodded briefly and then turned around and walked out the door.

Harry quirked a brow then looked to Dumbledore who was now making his way to the door as well.

"Don't worry, Harry. I will be here with you for the rest of the night." Ginny said softly.

"Thanks." Harry replied.

Dumbledore glanced to the clock on the wall. It read 3:20am. He then slowly turned back to the two.

"As it is for teenagers to engage into explorative intimacy, I humbly ask that you not do it in here." He said causing both Harry and Ginny's faces to flush with embarrassment.

"Good night." added the old wizard as he promptly took his leave.
------------------------------------------------------------
Ron huffed as he stormed down the corridor. "Oh yeah, Ginny gets to stay, but I don't." he grumbled. "I can't believe Dumbledore told me to leave like that!"

Then suddenly he stopped in midstride.

"I have to get Harry alone somehow." He mumbled out loud.

And then suddenly a dark smile crossed his face. "If I succeed, she will be mine." he mumbled to himself.

With that final thought, he strode more confidently down the corridor towards the Gryffindor common room.
------------------------------------------------------------

"My Lord, what was that light? Why did the dementors flee?" came Lucius's panicked voice as he approached the Dark Wizard, who was already rallying the Death Eater's together.

"Stop wagging your tongue, Lucius! I am speaking!" Voldemort growled.

Immediately the panicked man became silent.

"Now, as I was saying. It seems that there are aurors in these woods, and we will need to dispose of them quickly. I will not tolerate failure!" Voldemort snarled.

"My Lord, why can't the dementors take care of them? Surely you realize by us wandering the forest, we are likely to get caught. Hogwarts is just on the other side!" Lucius stated.

Voldemort pulled out his wand and pointed it at the tall, pale man. "You dare to question me?" He hissed, causing his other followers the shudder.

"I humbly apologize for questioning you." Lucius replied quickly.
"Crucio!" Voldemort said, blasting Lucius.

After a moment of watching the man shudder in sheer agonizing pain, Voldemort sneered. "Apology accepted."

"Now, "he continued on turning back to the group. "Does anyone else want to question me?"

There was a series of murmurs of no's and so the Dark Lord smiled viciously.
"Good. Now, as I was saying, we will not be found so easily. It just so happens that I have cast a barrier around our camp. The only ones who can find us are the ones we allow to find us." he suddenly paused and spun around. "Someone is coming." he snapped.

"It must be the aurors." came a voice from the group.

Voldemort was about to blast the man for speaking out of turn, but then his eyes caught sight of a flash of blonde.

And then, Draco emerged from the darkness; and at his side was none other than his accomplice, Hermione Granger.