Author's note: Hey people! You know, I feel so unloved. Dragonfirechick has been the only one who reviews. WHERE ARE MY OTHER BUDDIES? (cries) Oh well...someone once said that you should write because you want to, not because someone else reads it.

Anyway...This is the sequel to "Secrets in the Shadows." DO NOT, I repeat...DO NOT READ THIS UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE OTHER STORY. One more thing; some things that were on the trailer may be different.

Summary: Haylie, Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts for the last time. Yes, it's their last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But long before school begins, Voldemort launches attack after attack. Strange things are going on. The Slytherin table is almost empty, odd deaths appear all over the country, and a new enemy has appeared. Not only a new enemy, but it seems Harry has a little competition with Haylie's new friend...

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Out of the Shadows

Chapter 1: Disturbances in the Night

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Question fifteen: Who led the Anti-Centaur Movement in 1695? What was his/her reason?

Harry scratched his chin with the end of his quill as he flipped through his History of Magic book. He paused at the chapter "Movements Against Werewolves, Centaurs, and other Part-Humans." After about ten pages, he reached what he was looking for and wrote it down.

"Roger Daggleworf led the Movement in 1695. This assault was not pointless, however. When he was young, he was attacked by a seriously provoked centaur. Some suspected it was he who provoked it, though."

Satisfied, Harry rolled up the parchment and tucked it into his bag. Stretching, he looked at his clock. Vibrant, green digits told him it was ten after twelve in the morning. Seeing these numbers, he suddenly felt extremely tired. Putting away his textbooks, quill, and inkbottle, he threw himself down onto his bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Little did he know that he would get very little sleep from then on.

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"Harry! Wake up!"

"Wha-? Who'zere?" Harry mumbled as he sat up, putting on his glasses. A familiar freckled face was sitting on his bed, shaking him.

"It's Ron, you idiot! Wake up!" Harry's best friend urged him, evidently annoyed.

"Am I going already?" Harry said sleepily, getting out of bed. "I was only asleep for..." He glanced at his clock. "...an hour!"

"Maybe you should do your homework in the day, then, dear," Mrs. Weasley said from the doorway of Harry's room. Harry shrugged and started to throw his textbooks into his suitcase.

Most of his things were already packed, due to Mr. Weasley's recent letter, telling him that they were going to pick him up soon. The letter was sent about six weeks before Harry would go back to Hogwarts for the last time. Arthur Weasley couldn't give any more information, because he didn't want the owls to be intercepted. Voldemort's spies were everywhere, it seemed.

"Hurry, dear. Arthur is waiting downstairs with Ginny," Mrs. Weasley told him.

"I just need to get Hedwig," Harry said, closing his suitcase and standing up.

"I'll get her!" Ron said, walking over to the snowy owl's cage. Harry shrugged and carried his suitcase out the door, followed by Mrs. Weasley. Hedwig hooted softly as Ron carefully lifted the cage. But as he carried it out the door, he heard two faint 'CRACK's down on the street. Hedwig suddenly became restless.

"What is it, Hedwig?" Ron murmured to her. He headed toward the window. Ron looked down onto the street. Two dark figures were walking hastily toward Number Four. Startled, Ron walked quickly out of Harry's room.

Too preoccupied about wondering who those two people were, Ron forgot about the creaky, and painfully noisy, bottom step.

"POTTER!" a loud, angry voice bellowed from above him. Harry ran to the steps.

"Ron!" he hissed, taking Ron's arm and dragging him to the kitchen.

"Sorry 'bout that," Ron squeaked as thunderous footsteps pounded the second floor. When the two reached the kitchen, they found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny staring at the both of them curiously. Just as the group heard Vernon Dursley advancing to the kitchen, there was a knock at the door.

"Potter, you tell me what..." Uncle Vernon cut off when he took notice of the Weasleys. "What...in...bloody...hell are they doing here?" he hissed.

"Hello Mr. Dursley," Mr. Weasley said cheerfully. "I believe there is someone at you door. Do you care for me to open it?"

Red in the face and fuming, Uncle Vernon muttered, "No, I'll get it," and opened the door. The two strangers that Ron saw just a minute before stood on the doorstep. They revealed themselves as Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore.

"Hello, Mr. Dursley," Dumbledore said politely. "I hope I find you and your family well?"

"We would be much better off if your kind didn't bother us," Vernon said, gritting his teeth. "Come in. Don't let the neighbors see you."

"That won't be necessary," Dumbledore replied. "We just came to escort Harry and the Weasleys to...another spot."

"Fine. Harry can stay wherever you take him," Vernon scoffed. "This is his last year at that school, am I right?"

"Yes, it is. However, I'm not certain if he will come back next summer or not. I will send a letter to inform you when decisions are made. Right now, we must go. Good night, Vernon." With that, Dumbledore turned and walked down the street, the Weasleys following.

But Harry stayed behind for a minute. A strange feeling came over him as it hit him that he may be leaving the Dursleys forever.

"What are you still doing here, boy?" Vernon growled.

"Nothing," Harry muttered. "G'bye." He jogged after the group. The feeling washed over him even more when his Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. He shook it off, though.

I shouldn't get my hopes up, Harry thought. Remember what Dumbledore said about I am only safe when I'm with Aunt Petunia?

He almost ran into Ron when the group suddenly stopped.

"I think it's safe now," Dumbledore murmured.

"Why did you come? What's happening?" Arthur asked.

"There's been an attack at the Ministry," Dumbledore replied. "We came as quickly as we could. We need your help, Arthur."

"Of course," Mr. Weasley replied, although looked extremely disturbed. He turned to Mrs. Weasley. "Molly, take the Ginny, Ron, and Harry to the Headquarters. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Wait a second," Harry said. "I'm coming too, then."

"No, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said immediately and sternly. "You are not going to fight."

"Mrs. Weasley, with all due respect, I think I'm old enough to fight," Harry said, bringing himself to full height, which was pretty tall. He had grown a good three or four inches over the summer he had spent with the Dursleys. He was now about six foot four.

"No," she repeated firmly. "I will not allow it."

"Mrs. Weasley..."

"No."

"Harry, you need to stay with the Weasleys," Lupin said in a low voice.

"Why? So I can stay cooped up, not being able to do anything except wait for hours without any news of what's going on?" Harry said, his anger growing. "Headmaster, you know that I'm capable of dueling." He looked at Dumbledore, waiting for his answer. Dumbledore was silent for a few seconds.

"I don't think it's time, Harry," he finally replied, in a barely audible voice. Harry felt a recognizable white-hot rush of anger in his veins. But he clenched his hands into tight face, closed his eyes, and made himself calm down. He opened his eyes, the anger ebbing away a little.

"Fine. Go on without me," he said in monotone.

"Alright," Lupin said. "Now that we've worked that out, we need to go. Now." He turned to Harry. "Good-bye, Harry. I'll see you later."

"Bye," Harry said, nodding. After brief hugs with his wife and two youngest children, Arthur said good-bye to Harry and Dissapperated along with Dumbledore and Lupin. After they did, Mrs. Weasley sighed.

"Well, we better get going," she said. "Let me get the Portkey..." She rummaged through her large purse, and pulled out a dented tin plate. She checked her watch. "Just in time. Touch the Portkey, you three. Hurry!"

As the four of them laid a hand on the plate, they immediately felt the familiar feeling of hooks behind their navel lifting them up. About a minute later, they landed on the pavement in front of the houses 11 and 13 of Grimmauld Place.

The four brushed themselves off and walked to the space between 11 and 13. Mrs. Weasley was silent for a minute. Almost instantly, the two houses moved to make way of another appearing between them.

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"Go to bed, boys. It's three o' clock!" Mrs. Weasley said, walking into their room for the second time.

"We can't sleep, Mum," Ron said irritably. "Not with Dad..."

"Your father will be fine," Mrs. Weasley said firmly. "No get to bed! I don't care if you are up all night, but I want you two to at least lie down. Tomorrow is your first day of your Apparition lessons."

"If there's anything to have lessons at," Ron grumbled. "The Ministry might have blown up, for all we know..." But he cut off when his mother gave him a death glare.

"Bed," she said resolutely, walking out of the room.

A few second after she left, Ron sighed and turned to Harry.

"I guess we should try to get to sleep, before Mum straps us to our beds," he said wearily.

"You're probably right," Harry replied. The two climbed into their beds. Ron fell asleep almost immediately. Harry, however, lay and stared at the ceiling.

Why did Dumbledore still act like he could handle things? He had faced mortal danger every year that he was at Hogwarts. This year wouldn't be any different, most likely.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of these thoughts. After long minutes, he fell into a fitful sleep.

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The next morning, Harry woke up wondering where he was. Then he remembered the night before. He rolled over onto his side and got out of bed.

He found Ron sitting on an armchair in the room adjoined to the bedroom.

"'Morning. I was waiting for you so we can find out what...happened," he said in an odd voice, getting out of the chair and walking out of the room. Harry, a little bit put off by this behavior, followed him.

The two walked downstairs to the kitchen. There they found Mrs. Weasley sitting at one of the tables, one hand holding a letter and the other supporting her head. The hand holding the letter was shaking.

"Mum? What's wrong?" Ron asked slowly. Mrs. Weasley lifted her head slowly from her hand and turned to face them. Her face was pale, as if she was in shock.

"Boys..." she said, her voice shaking as much as the hand holding the letter. "T-there has been a..."

"A what, Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked. She was silent for a few more seconds. She looked into Harry's eyes.

"There has been a casualty."

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Author's note: HAH HAH. Cliffhanger! I am SOOOO evil!