Wow…. Two updates in one day. Enjoy! FYI: The entire story is in Hermione's PoV unless specified.

Dumbledore sighed and nodded. He took off his spectacles and polished them. He sat there for a while and stared at the wall. Finally, he turned to me.

"Very well Ms. Granger," he pronounced, "You are dismissed to your next class."

I stood up and turned to leave. I walked through the office towards the exit, passing Dumbledore's Pensieve. I stopped at the oak door and turned to look at Dumbledore. He was scribbling furiously in a book. I sighed and turned back to the door and walked out of his office. The gargoyle receded and I strutted out towards Transfiguration.

It's not that I was too scared to go, just what would happen if I did go. Would I cease to exist in this world? Or would I be stuck in the past and never be able to return to the future? And what if Voldemort discovers my plans? He would certainly kill me.

I walked into the classroom and sat down at my chair, unaware of all the staring. Professor McGonagall nodded and continued with the class.

"As I was saying, today there will be no need for your wands. We are just reading the theory of how to transform an element such as fire or water into anything that we need." We all stowed our wands away and got out parchment, ink, and quills. Professor McGonagall proceeded on with the lesson, occasionally using demonstrations, but my mind was far away from transforming water into crystal statues.

I felt sort of guilty and ashamed for refusing Dumbledore's offer. I had the opportunity to bring Sirius and Harry's parents back to life, but at what price? I might never see my family or friends again. Was it selfish to think of my happiness first?

I felt something poke me and I looked around. An enchanted note in the form of a paper airplane was nudging my shoulder. I grabbed it before Professor McGonagall could notice and unfolded it underneath my desk.

Are you okay? You seem a bit tense. –H

I looked at Harry, sitting two rows behind me, and forced a smile to show everything was alright. He didn't look convinced but he didn't pry. Professor McGonagall droned on and on but I couldn't force myself to concentrate; my mind was too preoccupied with the current dilemma. Eventually class ended and we were dismissed to the Great Hall for lunch.

I walked out quickly, but it didn't take too long for Ron and Harry to catch up to me.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked. I shook my head. I had a feeling that Dumbledore wanted me to keep that conversation a secret, even from Harry and Ron.

"Listen," Harry whispered pulling us closer, "Dumbledore says that once he locates one of the other horcruxes that he would take me along to destroy it." My eyes widened.

"Harry, you mustn't. It's too dangerous." I whispered.

"I know. I think it's because Dumbledore wants to show me how to destroy a horcrux. Speaking of Dumbledore, I saw you heading towards his office earlier, and you were late to Transfiguration which is not like you." He said accusingly, "Did Dumbledore give us any additional information on the horcruxes?" My palms started to sweat and I wiped them down my cloak.

"No. And I checked the library, even the Restricted Section, and there was nothing on horcruxes. Dumbledore must have removed them after he became headmaster." We neared the Great Hall and walked through the entrance, sitting down next to Ginny, Lavendar, and the others.

All thoughts of horcruxes and Voldemort vanished as steaming plates of steak, mashed potatoes, rolls, and pies appeared in front of us. My stomach growled loudly, the little blueberry muffin in the morning amounting to next to nothing. The nerves and guilt weren't doing any favors either. I was absolutely famished. I loaded my plate with food and sat down to enjoy it. We made small talk until lunch was over and then proceeded to Potions.

I walked into the dungeons and sat down at my usual spot. Professor Slughorn stood over a steaming vat of golden liquid. His face bubbled with excitement as we all settled down.

"Now then," he started, "Does anyone know what this is?" He gestured to the cauldron and looked around the room. No hands greeted him. His smile started to falter.

"Ms. Granger?" He squeaked hopefully. I just shook my head, not able to think clearly with all that has happened today. His moustache quivered, but he regained his composure.

"No, then," He confirms, "I will tell you what this is. This is Felix Felicis. It allows the drinker twenty four hours of pure luck in whatever they wish." Everyone sat up in anticipation. Professor Slughorn retrieved a flask from the folds of his robe and scooped some of the golden liquid into it. He sealed the flask and waved it in the air as our eyes followed the flask.

"Your challenge today is to brew Felix Felicis. Whomever gets the closest will receive one lucky day."He grinned and announced, "Begin."

I immediately started to collect the ingredients with Harry close at my heels. Ever since he received the old potion book from Professor Slughorn, he has been faster at brewing potions thanks to the Half-Blood Prince. Ron was still trying to figure out what page of the potion book the recipe for Felix Felicis was on. I scooped up all the ingredients and proceeded to follow the instruction as carefully and quickly as possible. At one point, I looked over to Harry's potion.

"That's impossible," I stated, "You can't have gotten that far into the potion with such little time. You would have had to skip a step or two but your potion looks perfect." Harry just grinned while he stirred his potion. His potion swirled a clear lilac while mine's remained a murky brown.

"Harry, you mustn't use the Half-Blood Prince's instructions. He was probably a Dark wizard for having such dangerous spells." I referred to the incident a couple of days back when Harry accidentally sent Ron hanging by one leg with an imaginary rope using a spell in the book.

"You're just saying that because you're not smarter than me for once." Harry retorted.

"You know I'm right. Besides, without the Half-Blood Prince's help you wouldn't have gotten so good at Potions. "I pointed out.

"Will you stop it?" Ron grumbled, "At least you both don't have a potion that just oozed its way out of the cauldron." He took his wand out and cleaned up the potion and started again.

"Hush now, there are only a couple minutes left in class and you need to make those count," the Professor said sneaking up on us, "Very nice, Ms. Granger, I see your potion is brewing into a nice teal color." Slughorn said appraisingly looking into my cauldron. I beamed and continued stirring. He peered into Harry's cauldron and exclaimed at the contents.

"Well class, we have a winner. Mr. Potter has managed to complete the potion in such a short period of time." My jaw dropped as I glanced at Harry's potion, an exact replica of the steaming vat in the front of the classroom. Harry grinned as he received the flask from Slughorn and slipped it into his bag.

"Congratulations m'boy , you are the lucky owner of Felix Felicis. I swear you have your mother's potion talent." He clapped Harry on the back while the entire class groaned. I was positively seething as I gathered my books.

"Now remember class, you have an essay on the Essence of Dittany due on Friday so you should be working on that. You are dismissed." We all got up and left the classroom, streaming out in twos and threes. We went our separate ways from there on.

I worried my way through Arithmancy and Charms, taking all my willpower to concentrate and pay attention to the lesson. Herbology didn't require as much effort for it was only review and I let my mind wander off. I remembered last Christmas when I was at home with Mum and Dad.

We made biscuits and sang carols as we prepared for the celebration. We got our tree and decorated it with various lights and ornaments. We stayed up all night watching Christmas marathons and went to sleep with our tummies full and our minds happy. In the morning, we exchanged gifts in which I received a locket. One side had a picture of Mum and Dad and me during our last skiing trip and the other side had a picture of Harry, Ron, and I which I took last summer. Mum and Dad said no matter where I am and what I do, they will always be watching with pride.

I fingered the locket, rubbing it along the groove on the end. Was I ready to give up that life? Mum always said that if I do the right thing that I would always be happy. Does this mean I'm not doing the right thing? I clicked the clasp and it sprang open. Mum's, Dad's, Harry's, and Ron's smiling faces looked back at me. I moaned. What am I supposed to do?

Ancient Runes and History of Magic sped by and soon I found myself back in the Great Hall for dinner. I picked at my spaghetti and meatballs, occasionally spooning some into my mouth. Harry and Ron were discussing the upcoming Quidditch match with great detail. Lavendar and Parvati were gossiping about the other students which I took no pleasure in. Ginny was furiously poring over her textbooks memorizing and studying for the OWLS she would have to take next semester. Neville was researching some magical weed for Herbology. After my spaghetti long since cooled, I got up along with Harry and Ron and went back to the Gryffindor common room.

The next couple of hours were spent furiously scribbling on pieces of parchment and flicking through textbooks. On more than one occasion, did Harry or Ron beg me to do their homework for them blaming Quidditch for them being busy and heaping praises on me. I resisted the urge to just snatch the quill from Ron who was rewriting his Potions essay for the umpteenth time, mine's long since finished and already drying.

I was about to start on the translation key we were supposed to be making for Ancient Runes, when I looked around and noticed we three were the only ones in the common room. I packed my books and rolled up my essay placing both in my bag. Harry looked up from his Herbology textbook and tapped Ron on the shoulder. We gathered in the center of the room.

"So," Harry started, "Dumbledore's given me an assignment. I'm supposed to get a specific memory from Slughorn."

"Slughorn?" Ron asked incredulously, "What's he got to do with Voldemort."

"When Dumbledore took me with him into the Pensieve, we saw a memory in where Tom Riddle was asking Slughorn about horcruxes. After all, Slughorn was his Potions teacher. But it was all blurry and unclear because…"

"That memory has been tampered with," I finished, "I have read a little about Pensieves and to my knowledge a tampered memory does not give you the entire truth." Ron looked back and forth between Harry and me.

"Exactly. And I'm supposed to get the real memory from Slughorn." Harry explained.

"If Slughorn hasn't given the memory to Dumbledore, what makes you think he will give it to you?" Ron pointed out. "Well other than the fact that you're his star pupil."Harry shrugged helplessly.

"I'm just going to have to hope for the best. I'll try to ask him tomorrow after Potions. Hopefully, he will be in a good mood." We all nodded grimly and exchanged good nights. I walked up the stairs and entered the dorm. Parvati and Lavendar had already gone to sleep, so I fumbled in the darkness for my pajamas. I slipped them on and crawled under the covers, after setting a glass of water on my night stand. My mind, exhausted from the long day, went blank and I fell asleep just a minute after. I hoped I wouldn't get any nightmares tonight.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

My family appeared a few feet away. I rushed towards them but an invisible wall stopped me in my tracks. I pounded against the wall and tried to call out to them. They just stood there, smiling like wax dolls. A loud crack sounded a little to the left of me. I turned to see Voldemort walking towards me, baring his teeth in a wolfish grin. I braced myself but he walked past me and through the barrier as if it were nothing. He strode over to my parents who were still beaming at me. He raised his wand and pointed it at my mother. He turned towards me and grinned, the wand still pointing at Mum.

"Crucio," he yelled. I watched in horror as Mum, poor Mum, convulsed on the floor, twitching and jumping in the air like a fish. A high-pitched wail echoed in my ears and I realized it was coming from my own mouth. My father just smiled at the gruesome sight. I pounded against the wall in a constant frenzy but nobody seemed to hear me. My eyes constantly flowed with tears. I yelled for Harry, Ron, Dumbledore, anyone to help me. My mother's spasms were becoming less frequent and eventually they stopped altogether. Voldemort chuckled at my mother's limp body and turned to my dad, who hadn't moved at all.

"Crucio," he shrieked with pleasure. My father went down in a series of jerks and jolts. I pulled out my wand and casted all the spells I could think of, but nothing worked. Voldemort smiled as he watched my dad being tortured. I could do nothing but watch as he too fell limp besides my mom. Voldemort evaluated his victims and gave a quick nod before disappearing along with the wall. I rushed over to my parents' sides. I flipped them face up and sucked in a breath as I witnessed the ghastly sight.

They died with their eyes open and their mouths molded in a smiles of pleasure.

I woke with a start, my eyes wide with horror. My stomach churned and I threw off the covers and stumbled into the bathroom, leaning towards the toilet. I threw up my cold spaghetti and watched it swirl down and get replaced with fresh water. My hands grasped the sink's cold water and wrenched it open. I rinsed the awful aftertaste out of my mouth and took long gulps of the cool water. My mind was on overdrive, working furiously. I stumbled out of the bathroom and sat down on my bed, trying to catch my breath and make sense out of things.

I knew what I had to do. It was selfish to put everyone I care for in danger just because I couldn't do the right thing. Mum, Dad, all these people depend on me. I couldn't, just couldn't, fail them. No matter what the cost.

My legs were walking down the stairs and out of the dormitories before I even knew it. I let them walk through the corridors to a familiar office.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans," I whisper as the gargoyle rises. I walk up the stairs and walk straight through the large oak doors not even bothering to knock.

"Ms. Granger," said Dumbledore not even looking up from his book, "What brings you to my office at this time of night." He glanced up at me through his half-moon spectacles, not even bothered by the fact that I am wearing pajamas.

"I'll do it." I said alertly, "I'll stop Voldemort."

Two votes…. One Comment? A proper, HELPING suggestion, please?

NEXT UPDATE: December 11…. Unless….