Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -

Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued. So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.

There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).

Note: US English has been used here.

Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please read it before moving on with this story.

HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN

Chapter 3 – All In The Family

"Sirius and Tonks" Ron replied before continuing. "I wonder what it is like in the afterlife". Harry looked at Ron for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders. Ron didn't say anything else for a long time. It was Harry who broke the silence.

"Wherever they are, hopefully they are happy" Harry said. Before Ron could say anything in reply, Harry got up and entered the trunk. He needed some time alone. Dumbledore had been right after all. It was very hard to let go of memories.

&&&&

"Hello Professor"

"Hi Soha" Fleur replied, looking up from the papers on her desk. "What brings you here?"

"With the classes suspended, I thought I could do some potions practice here if you didn't mind" Soha replied with an expectant look on her face. She was a Ravenclaw to the boot.

"Please help yourself" Fleur replied. "Just inform me which potion you are making so that I know whether you might end up blowing this place or not"

"Nothing of that sort Professor" Soha replied with a smile and walked off to the nearest table. She took a bunch of papers and started going through the various potions list which had been given there. Some of them were titled as "Super Fast Enervate Potion", "5 Minute Invisibility Potion" etc. which the D.A. had got from an unknown source.

Initially everyone had been suspicious about whether this was a trick of the Slytherins or not but after a thorough research by Hermione and a couple other Ravenclaws, the D.A. had decided that all of these potions were safe and were a huge advantage to have. The fact that many of these potions could be made from some commonly available ingredients made them even easier to prepare. Only thing was that they needed to make this in bulk and the process to make these potions was not a very easy one. Soha had got the job to make these potions after Hermione and another Ravenclaw girl had said they were too busy to brew these. Soha, one of the brightest in potions, got the position.

Fleur was herself very busy in an important potion recipe which Dumbledore had asked her to make. Even though she hated to admit it, making the potion would have been a lot easier if Snape had been around. She was so immersed in her work that she didn't notice the unfamiliar blue vapor rising from one of Soha's potions. Try as she might, Soha knew she wouldn't be able to hide the vapor's color from Fleur. And if Fleur asked her what she was brewing, then she would have to tell her the truth. This was already causing her to perspire a lot but her tension started to fade slowly when she saw Fleur completely lost in her work.

"Are you done?" Fleur asked without raising her head from the pile of parchments and books in front of her. Even though she was very busy, she knew that Soha had been there for at least a couple of hours now, if not more. After all, Fleur herself had managed to prepare about 25 of the recipe of a very complicated potion and that was really saying something.

"Almost" Soha replied instantly. She had finished a part of the potion she was brewing and knew she would have to come back for another couple of days to complete it. Fleur didn't say anything in reply and the continuous scratching of a quill against a parchment confirmed Soha's assumption that Fleur was simply continuing her work. Soha slowly put away the potion in one of the many vials she had and then continued to rearrange all the ingredients and the cauldrons in one of the many cupboards lining the dungeon. At last, after 5 more minutes, she was ready to go.

"I am done Professor" Soha said to Fleur and, not expecting a reply, proceeded towards the door.

"One minute Soha" Fleur said in a strange voice which caused Soha to freeze in mid-step. Slowly she turned around and saw Fleur still scribbling on the parchments in front of her. Not knowing what to do, she stood still in her place.

"So…" Fleur slowly put away her quill and looked at Soha. Soha could see that Fleur seemed to be upset about something and she braced herself for the worst. "What did you brew?" Fleur asked and raised her left eyebrow slightly. Soha didn't know that Fleur could do that and looked surprised for a moment before answering in a hurry "Nothing".

"Nothing?" Fleur didn't seem too impressed with the reply. The look on her face seemed to take a turn for the worse and Soha knew she could be in deep trouble if she didn't reply quickly enough.

"Polyjuice…" Soha replied, her mind racing against time. She knew that brewing Polyjuice Potion required permission but she just couldn't tell Fleur the real names of the potions. Brewing the Polyjuice Potion and getting caught was much better than what she had actually been doing.

"Polyjuice potion!" This time there was a distinct look of alarm on Fleur's face.

"…variant for…hmmm…animals" Soha added awkwardly.

"What?" Fleur looked confused.

"I was trying the Polyjuice variant for the animals" Soha felt a bit more comfortable now. "You know…turning one animal into another…"

"I don't remember any such potion" Fleur said, her face still showing her confusion. Had it been Snape in her position, then he would have seen through the blatant lie of Soha. However, Fleur was still learning to deal with the kinds of tales told by students and had a long way to go.

"I found one methodology in an old book…" Soha said a bit more boldly. "…in the library"

"I see" Fleur seemed slightly fazed by this new piece of information. It was a well known fact that no one exactly knew the extent of information present in the library and Fleur thought that she might have to do a little bit of research herself as well.

"Well…the next time you brew it, just call me once so that I can have a look too" Fleur said. Soha nodded lamely at this thinking of what a mess she had got herself into. She could have said the name of a hundred potions but no, the only name which had come to her mind at that instant had been polyjuice. And the next time she came here, she would have to ask Fleur to come and see her potion too. Oh god, she thought and mentally kicked herself.

"By the way…" the strain in Fleur's voice was back. "…from when did you start brewing potions without a partner?"

"Partner?". This time Soha was the one who looked confused.

"Yeah…" Fleur said but didn't look directly at Soha. She started arranging some of the parchments in front of her and continued "Why is Mr. Potter not with you?"

"Oh…" Soha said in realization. "Harry…hmmm…". Fleur saw a helpless look come over the teenager's face. It was as if she was caught unawares by the question and didn't have any clue as to what to answer.

"You are not on talking terms with him?" Fleur asked in a concerned voice. Soha took it to be the concerned voice of a teacher who didn't like any trouble between students whereas, in reality, Fleur was concerned that Harry might be staying away from everyone and getting himself into some kind of trouble.

"No…it's not that" Soha replied. "Actually…" Soha's voice trailed off at this.

"Have a seat" Fleur motioned to Soha. "Is there a problem with Mr. Potter?"

"Not really" Soha said as she sat down. It was kind of awkward talking to teachers about her friends but then again, Fleur wasn't too old and didn't seem that much of a teacher. "He's just so…quiet nowadays"

"Too quiet?" Fleur asked.

"Yeah…kinds of" Soha replied. "I asked him what his problem was but he said it was nothing"

"Maybe he needs someone to talk to" Fleur suggested. "Maybe youyou're your friends should get together and get him to break the ice"

"NO" Soha replied instantly, her eyes going wide.

"Why not?" Fleur asked at the look on Soha's face. She looked slightly frightened.

"He is so…" Soha looked lost for words before saying "…commanding. Even his house students don't have the courage to stand up to him"

"Really?" this was really disturbing news for Fleur. Harry had said to her family that he was much "better" now with Remus helping him with his "troubles" but it looked like he had not told them the whole truth.

"Yes" Soha said. "I suggested the same thing to Neville and he said he did not dare to talk to Harry about his private life. Harry would talk about it when the right time came, Neville said. The others also voiced similar sentiments"

"I see" Fleur said as she got up from her seat. She was deep in thought when Soha asked her something.

"Sorry…I didn't get you" Fleur said with an apologetic look on her face for not hearing what Soha had said.

"Can I ask you something?" Soha asked in a tentative voice.

"Go on" Fleur said in reply.

"Who was the person who died on that night?"

Fleur looked distinctively uncomfortable at this. She knew that it was up to Dumbledore and Harry to reveal the person's name if they wanted and she had to make sure it remained that way.

"It was a friend" Fleur replied as truthfully as she could. "A close one"

"Harry's friend?" Soha couldn't believe what she was hearing. So all those rumors that maybe Harry's girlfriend had died to save him were…

"Everyone's…including Harry's" Fleur replied in a tone which suggested that she didn't want to pursue the matter further. However, in her curiosity to know more, Soha failed to notice the tone.

"Was that person a girl?" Soha asked.

"I don't think that is a matter which concerns you Ms. Mentieva". This statement from Fleur snapped Soha back to reality which was that Fleur didn't want to continue on this topic. Soha knew that she had been lucky enough to get through the evening without getting caught with the potion she was brewing and didn't want to push her luck too much. Quickly gathering her books and bag, she stood up with an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry ma'am" Soha said. "I didn't meant to upset you"

"It's ok" Fleur replied. She didn't like to snap at her students but she wasn't in the mood to discuss anything more right now. As Soha left the room, a thoughtful Fleur went back to her seat and started looking blankly at the dungeon wall opposite to her.

&&&&

"Oh no…not again" Fudge was sitting in his office when he felt something warm in his pocket. The warm thing in his pocket was none other than the medallion which Simon Sinatras had given him. It was their, or rather his, way of saying that they needed to meet to discuss something.

Fudge gave a reluctant sigh and waved away the parchments on his desk. He knew that Simon didn't like to wait too much. Simon…the name itself had become a nightmare for Fudge even a couple of months back. He would sometimes get up screaming at night "No…I didn't take any money" only to find out that he had been having a bad dream about Simon turning him over to the public and saying he had taken money from Malfoy. On those occasions, he would see himself getting cursed and, somewhat strangely, getting stoned too. Maybe it was because he had seen a man getting stoned by muggles when he was a child but whatever may be the case, the name Simon was not good for his health.

The past couple of months had been much quieter for Fudge with Simon only calling once. He had checked in to see whether everything was going ok at the Wizard Council or not. After that meeting, Simon had not bothered to call again. Slowly but surely, Fudge had managed to convince himself that the boy was either dead or had moved away to another country. Recently he had started to exert his freedom on the aurors too. He had taken it upon himself to make some new recruitments who, much to his dismay later on, proved worthless. However, he had still been satisfied that the face of the teenager in muggle clothes had not appeared when all that had happened.

However, now that the medallion had once again heated up, Fudge knew that he had been wrong in thinking that Simon had gone away. It felt as if someone had just taken away his oxygen supply…as if the ground had been pulled away from under his feet. Try as he might, he couldn't do anything about this "kid". He knew he had to meet him and do whatever that kid told him to do. As the parchments settled down in a haphazard manner on a nearby desk, Fudge took out a bit of floo powder and flooed to the Leaky Cauldron.

"You are 2 minutes late" Simon, or rather Harry, said as soon as Fudge entered the room where they usually met.

"I had to finish some work" Fudge replied, his face showing traces of the disgust he held for the person in front of him. He was well practiced in hiding his emotions but he couldn't control himself after seeing this person after so long. However, he changed his expression to a neutral state as fast as he could.

"You mean the work which is done by a minister?" Harry asked mockingly. "And it was more important than doing the work required to remain as the minister?"

"I have to live up to people's expectations" Fudge said in a well-rehearsed manner. "I have to do what I had promised them and if…"

"Oh, shut up Fudge" Harry said casually. "I am not in a mood to hear all this rubbish from you". Fudge didn't say anything and took his seat opposite to Simon.

"What can I do for you this time?" Fudge asked after a long phase of silence had passed between them.

"Rather…" Harry said "…what can you do for yourself, right?". Fudge didn't reply to this knowing fully well that Simon was right. After all, Fudge was doing everything for himself and to keep his place as the minister safe.

"Ok…" Harry jerked into an upright position, shrugging off his self-induced laziness. "Let's come down to business". Fudge gave a small acknowledging nod.

"What do you propose to do about the situation at hand?" Harry asked in a keen manner.

"What situation?"

"Refugees" Harry replied.

"Where?" Fudge gave a shrug.

"You know where" Harry said coldly. The more he saw of Fudge, the more he was astonished by his stupidity. Why did this man always have to make Harry's task difficult when he knew very well that he didn't have any bargaining power?

"Are you talking about Hogwarts?" Fudge asked in concern, more due to the look on Harry's face.

"Yes minister" Harry's voice was filled with hatred.

"What about it?" Fudge said in an I-don't-care voice. "Dumbledore is taking care of matters I guess"

"You guess?" Harry asked slowly. "And when were you paid for guessing?". Not expecting a reply from Fudge, Harry went on. "Dumbledore is doing everything to take care of the situation now but the number of people going to Hogwarts is just too great. They need more protection"

"Hogwarts is filled with courageous wizards and witches" Fudge replied. "They can take care of the refugees. Anyone can take care of a few refugees"

"Then why don't I send some to your home and tell the death eaters that you are sheltering them?" Harry leaned forward and looked calmly into Fudge's eyes. Fudge shuddered as their eyes met – the eyes of Harry didn't have any emotion in them. This guy in front of him was saying all this in such a cold blooded manner that it made the hair on Fudge's neck rise.

"Wha…wha…" Fudge stuttered before recovering slightly. "You know death eaters too?"

"And what if I do?" Harry asked, the faces of Wormtail, Snape and Ginny coming to his mind.

"It's illegal" Fudge said in a none to convincing voice.

"To know that someone is a death eater?" Harry wondered aloud.

"To know and not to report them" Fudge said, his confidence growing. At last he had something which could land this lad in the jail.

"I remember one person named Malfoy" Harry replied in a monotonous voice. "And I know someone who has repeatedly taken money from him and…". Hearing this, Fudge started to cough loudly.

"So what about Hogwarts?" Fudge asked once he had recovered. "What do you want me to do there?"

"I want more aurors at Hogwarts" Harry said as he relaxed slightly in his chair.

"But we don't have enough of them" Fudge threw up his hands in frustration. "I can't even get more than four aurors to protect me and you…" Fudge stopped abruptly. He knew he had put his foot into his mouth and now he was going to pay for it.

"Four aurors to protect you when the people of England don't have enough protection?" Harry's eyes grew narrower as he said this. Fudge would have had to pay with his life if Harry had his way.

"That was last week…" Fudge added hastily. "…during the International Ministers meeting…"

"Hmmm…" Harry just kept looking at a fidgeting Fudge for a minute before adding in an even colder voice "I will deal with that later. But for now, I need more aurors at Hogwarts"

"But you don't understand…" Fudge said in true desperation. "…I just don't have that many aurors at my disposal"

"How many do you have on hand?" Harry asked.

"5" Fudge replied. Harry kept staring at him coldly.

"Ok…10" Fudge said after a few seconds. By now he was sweating heavily and Harry's staring wasn't helping matters for him.

"Fine…" Fudge said desperately once again. "I have 24 spare aurors". Harry's cold gaze shifted towards the floor as his mind started racing once again. Fudge's body language suggested that he had spelled out the correct number of aurors this time around. If he was correct, then Harry knew he would have make a strategy as to how many aurors are to be allocated to Hogwarts and how many should remain protecting the ministry.

"Wait" Harry thought to himself. "Fudge said that these were spare aurors. That means he has more aurors protecting the ministry". Harry felt slightly foolish at this logic because it was so obvious. However, his chain of thoughts continued. "So, say if 14 aurors are placed at Hogwarts, what can be done with the other 10? Fudge would most probably end up using them as his bodyguards unless…unless…" and then it stuck Harry.

Harry felt like kicking himself for being so blind. How could he have ignored the idea that there could be other places which can be targeted too and which would have a very devastating effect on the whole moral of the wizarding community! There was one more place which, according to many people, might be more important than Hogwarts at the moment. St. Mungo's!

It was not that St. Mungo's was just a hospital. It was the place where many previous victims of the death eaters were being treated. It was where Neville's parents were staying and hopefully getting better. It just wasn't a hospital…it was a place of memories of the past and hopes for a happier future. And, sooner or later, the death eaters would come for these people again and maybe they would torture them beyond words can describe.

"Hey!" Fudge's voice brought out Harry from his thoughts. He had been so overwhelmed by the fact that he had turned a blind eye at St. Mungo's that he had forgotten where he was for a moment.

"Hold on" Harry said irritably. "I am busy organizing things"

"I have things of mine to organize too" Fudge replied sarcastically.

"Like packing your bags and leaving the ministry allocated residential complex of yours?" Harry queried with a hint of taunt in his voice. "Like going to a wizard jail for assisting a death eater?". With this Harry turned his gaze away from Fudge once more. He knew he had said enough to keep Fudge quiet for the time being.

"I want…" Harry started off slowly after a minute had passed. "…hmmm…14 aurors for Hogwarts and the remaining 10 for St. Mungo's"

"St. Mungo's!" Fudge exclaimed. "Why on the earth…"

"You have any wish to go against what I want?" Harry asked coldly but didn't look at Fudge this time. He knew he had more important things to sort out than giving Fudge a cold glare.

"I didn't say that" Fudge replied hesitantly. He could see that the boy in front of him was thinking and he hated him with all his heart at that moment. The more this boy thought, the more trouble Fudge found himself in.

"St. Mungo's needs more protection" Harry said with a far-away look on his face. It seemed to him that he was trying to visualize something. "The patients there need more protection"

"It is protected enough" Fudge said grudgingly.

"However…" Harry's voice trailed off as his eyes seemed to move around frantically in their sockets. It seemed like he was trying to see something moving very fast in front of him…something invisible.

"However?" Fudge asked in a tentative voice. He didn't like the look on Harry's face. Slowly, the creases on Harry's forehead seemed to go away, only to be replaced by a smile. "How..ever…?" Fudge asked in a frightened voice as he saw the smile on Harry's face. More trouble for him, he thought.

"However…" Harry turned around to look at Fudge with the same smile plastered on his face. He guessed that this must be the first time that Fudge had seen him smiling genuinely. Without Fudge noticing, Harry cast a silencing charm all around them "…I want you to…"

Fudge listened quietly to the whole thing which Harry explained. Slowly but surely, Fudge's eyes grew wide in horror as he understood the enormity of Harry's words. This boy had to be totally insane, Fudge thought as he listened to Harry. As Harry finished, a worried look came upon his face. There was a very good chance that his plan might taste grand success and yet…

"YOU ARE INSANE" Fudge shouted as he jumped up from his chair. "You are SO insane". Harry gave himself a mental pat on his back for casting the silencing charm because Fudge's reaction was just what he had expected. However, he didn't show any emotion on the outside.

"That's the way it is going to happen" Harry said matter-of-factly.

"Over my dead body" Fudge said angrily.

"Then so be it" Harry replied. Fudge blinked for a couple of seconds before understanding what he had just said.

"I meant…" Fudge looked around frantically in a manner which was reminiscent of Wormtail looking around in the shrieking shack when Sirius and Remus had got to him. "I mean…this is suicide" Fudge said in a much calmer voice though it was clear that he was still in a very strained state of mind.

"It is not" Harry said. "And in any case, your life is not on the line, is it?"

"People will question me if something happens" Fudge almost made to bang the table in front of him but stopped at the last second.

"As if you really care what they want and what they don't" Harry replied sarcastically. "As if you value your prestige more than the pieces of galleons in your bank"

"I do" Fudge said in indignation.

"Shut up" Harry said angrily. He was getting fed up with Fudge's attitude and if Fudge had not been in a position to help Harry, then he would have gone to the authorities right now and handed over all the papers incriminating Fudge. "And I want all this done by tomorrow"

"Tommorow!" Fudge looked up in shock as Harry stood up to leave. "I can't arrange all this in such a short…" Fudge looked around as Harry walked out of the room, not even listening to him. "…time". Fudge finished the sentence with a sigh. He was in some really deep trouble right now and he knew he had nothing in his power to change it. With another deep sigh, he rose from his chair and left the room.

&&&&

"Have you heard about what has happened?"

"What?" Seamus asked one of his house mates.

"There have been hundreds of attacks last night" a guy named Michael replied.

"What!" Seamus seemed shocked and almost fell off his seat in the common room. It was early in the morning and, with the classes postponed, many of the students were yet to rise. The few who were there came to join in the discussion which seemed to be starting.

"Yes" Michael replied. "In Magical Yorkshire itself about 50 dementors were spotted by aurors"

"50 in a single attack or…"

"Single" Michael replied before the other boy had been able to finish his question. "They attacked the ministry office there and many people were kissed". Everyone drew in a sharp breath at this. Being kissed by a dementor was the worst thing which could happen to a living being. It was better to die rather than being kissed by a dementor.

"You must be joking" one of the guys said with a doubtful laugh. It seemed just so…impossible.

"Check the Prophet Joe" Michael said and tossed The Daily Prophet towards him. Going through it, the other boy saw that it was true.

"What does it say?" another boy in the group asked Joe.

"Just what Michael said…" Joe's voice was kind of fazed. "50 dementors…". Joe's voice trailed off at this.

"50 dementors what?" one of the boys asked after Joe seemed to be staring blankly at the wall opposite to him.

"50 odd dementors attacked the ministry office in Magical Yorkshire" Joe said after clearing his throat a bit more loudly than usual. "More than 20 people were kissed"

"What!" the same, if not greater, sound of disbelief could be heard in the boys voices again.

"What did the aurors do then?" one of the boys got up in disgust and kicked his chair. "Were they just sitting around the fire and playing exploding snap or something?"

"Do you understand what the impact of 50 plus dementors is like?" Michael asked. "They can drive you mad"

"Yeah" another boy said. "Remember how we were screaming when the dementors attacked Hogwarts?"

"Aurors are trained for this!" the other boy said in even more frustration. "Hell…they are paid for protecting us and if…"

"Money cannot buy everything mate" Joe said in a sullen voice. "They…"

"What the hell do you mean?" another boy spoke up angrily. "You mean so many aurors cannot cast a patronus?"

"Maybe they didn't have the time" Seamus said.

"The time required to save others?" Joe didn't know who was right or wrong. When someone spoke for the aurors then their logic seemed right but when someone gave an argument against them then they too seemed correct. "Man…I don't know who is right and who is wrong" Joe slumped into his chair and withdrew himself from the argument.

"Those aurors should have been kissed" another boy commented angrily. By this time the sun had already risen high and more students had started pouring in. Seeing a commotion in the middle, many climbed down the stairs rapidly to see what had happened.

"Some were" Michael said as he re-read the article.

"I hate all these so-called aurors" one of the girls said angrily. She had been amongst the first to come down and take a peek at the article over Michael's shoulders. Apparently she had read enough to come to her own conclusion.

"They must have tried" Michael said again. After all, his father was an auror who had died a few days ago trying to protect a family from death eaters and he just couldn't think of an auror running away from a battle scene where innocents might get killed.

"Maybe they should learn how to cast a patronus" the girl said again in a shrill voice. "I mean, Harry drove away the dementors here and so many aurors couldn't drive away these dementors"

"Harry is different" Michael said quietly. "Many people cannot match him"

"C'mon Michael…" the girl replied. "You don't think Harry alone can do such things"

"What's happening here?" the voice of Neville Longbottom stopped Michael before he could reply.

"This" the girl said angrily and thrust the newspaper into Neville's hands. Neville's hands were trembling with anger as he finished reading the article.

"Those death eaters and dementors…ARGH" Neville almost crushed the newspaper in his hand before throwing it away in disgust. It landed near the girl's staircase just as Katie Bell and Hermione were coming down. Hermione, seeing Neville in such an agitated state, quickly picked up the newspaper and read the portion under a moving picture of people running in all directions and screaming all along. After reading it, she passed it on to Katie and moved towards the seat which had been occupied by a very angry Neville.

"Hey"

"Hi" Neville said in a controlled manner but couldn't hide his anger.

"I know it is very upsetting" Hermione said with a sigh. "But…"

"But what Hermione…but what?" Neville's voice rose slightly causing a few people to turn and look at him. "How much longer do we have to take all this?"

"Neville…" Hermione said in a calm voice "…You know this is just the start of the war. We have to hold on much longer"

"But I don't want to hold on much longer" Neville said in a disgusted manner. "I don't know how many more people are getting killed daily…tortured…becoming like my parents…". Unable to keep his emotions under control, Neville turned his head away and blinked back his tears.

"I know it is very painful but we have to hold on, right?" Hermione was having trouble keeping her emotions in control. "We have to…"

"I know" Neville finally said in a slightly quavering voice. "I just hope someone ends this goddamned war"

"Dumbledore must be surely doing something about it" Hermione continued.

"But…" Neville stopped abruptly as he saw Ron climb down the boy's dormitory staircase. Ron glanced around at the angry faces of those present in the common room and seemed to be trying to make some sense of it. Initially he thought they were somehow angry with him because of Ginny…at least that's what he thought whenever he saw someone angry and shouting about death eaters or any dark creatures. But then he saw the article in Katie's hands and seemed to relax slightly. However, his eyebrows seemed to touch each other as he looked to be deep in thought.

"Want to seat with us?" Hermione called out to her boyfriend who had become very quiet nowadays. Ron gave an acknowledging nod and slowly walked up to a chair beside the other two.

"A dementor attack" Hermione said as Ron took his seat.

"Hmmm…" was the only sound which came from Ron's throat. Hermione could only wonder what Ron was thinking about. Maybe he was thinking about how to fight off dementors…maybe he was thinking about her…maybe he was thinking about Harry…

"My sister is behind all this" Ron said suddenly.

"Wha…" Hermione looked stunned for a second before continuing. "You shouldn't think like that"

"I should because I know it" Ron said defiantly. "Everything has gone wrong from the day she helped Snape"

"C'mon Ron…" Hermione said, placing a soothing hand on his shoulders. "It's just a coincidence"

"Dark magic doesn't have coincidences" Ron replied grimly. "Something happened that night which has led to all this and my sister…damn her"

"Ron…" Neville began in a low voice when, all of a sudden, the commotion in the common room came to a standstill. Everyone could hear a large amount of chattering coming nearer and nearer and…

"Owls…" Hermione pointed as the first owl swooped inside the Gryffindor common room through one of the many open windows. "…and they have newspapers with them"

"But I thought the prophet had been delivered" Neville looked astonished as one of the owls landed in front of him and held out one of it's legs. He could see the newspaper folded in a sheet of parchment specifying "Special Edition for 5 knuts". Curious as to what this special edition could be, Neville took the newspaper from the owl and paid the mandatory five knuts.

"What is it?" Ron asked in a nervous voice as Neville tried to open it. He had a bad feeling about this. As Neville finally got a view of the front page, Ron and Hermione heard him draw his breath in sharply.

"What is it?" this time it was Hermione who was the one to raise the question. In answer to her question, Neville laid down the paper in front of them.

Werewolves Follow Dementors

There were large scale werewolf attacks hours after the dementors went on a kissing spree yesterday night. It is not certain what led to the werewolves to attack in such large numbers but it seems yesterday's full moon witnessed the first such large attack since the last war when 48 werewolves reportedly attacked Diagon Alley in a single night. A much larger number was spotted this time around with rumors specifying the number of werewolves sighted at over hundred.

"Over 50 werewolves attacked our village tonight" said a devastated John who refused to divulge his last name. "One of my own children was bitten"

"What did we do to warrant such an attack?" a broken Rita McMillan asked as she held onto her only child who had severe werewolf scratches on her back.

"Where were the aurors?" asked a group of angry young men all of whom had werewolf claw marks on their bodies. Reportedly, this particular group of 15 young wizards had fought off 5 werewolves attacking their family. They were all having a party in their lawn when the attack started near their homes and rushed inside seconds before the werewolves had broken through their fences. With their homes getting ravaged and seeing their families in danger, these men set an example by fighting off the werewolves bravely. However, whether the scratches made by the werewolves will have any lasting effect or not remains to be seen.

The ministry aurors have been blamed for not being present when the werewolf attack took place. Reports were published earlier as to how the aurors had fled when dementors had attacked the ministry office of Magical Yorkshire. It seems that this time the aurors thought it best if they did not come out in the open at all.

"That is not true" a ministry official denied the allegations that none of the aurors present had gone to fight the werewolves. "The aurors went in groups of two each to all the locations possible and saved many a pour soul from getting bitten by these horrendous creatures". When queried as to why the werewolves had launched such an attack, the ministry official refused to comment on it.

It seems more and more attacks are on the cards now. Attacks by dementors and werewolves in a single night cannot be a mere coincidence. It seems He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is challenging the law and order of the English ministry. And the fact that there are no ministry personnel trying to stop him is even more disturbing.

Mr. Fudge, are you listening?

Page 2: How to fight dementors?

Page 3: Did Harry Potter really fight dementors during Halloween?

Page 4 & 5: Mad Eye Moody writes a special article on dark creatures

&&&&

"Hermione…what is the matter?". Hermione was sitting alone in the library when Soha had walked up to her and asked her this question. The fact that Hermione looked devastated was the reason why Soha had decided she couldn't wait for Hermione to leave the library before asking this.

"Nothing" Hermione said with a shrug.

"Would you mind coming with me for a walk?" Soha asked gently. She knew something was up but she didn't want to talk too much inside the library. After all, no one respected the sanctity of a library more than a Ravenclaw.

"Ok" Hermione said after a few quiet seconds and put away the books in front of her in their right places.

"So…" Soha asked finally once they were outside the library. "What is bothering you?"

"Nothing in particular" Hermione replied.

"It doesn't seem so at least" Soha said. "You look…disheveled"

"Forget it" Hermione said with great disdain. Who cared if she looked a mess or not…there were enough troubles already.

"I would like to help you if you want" Soha pushed on. "I mean…Harry's not always there now and Ron is…well…your boyfriend. Sometimes people need to talk to others too. It becomes easier"

"Maybe you are right" Hermione said after contemplating Soha's statement. After all, if Harry had been there then she would have instantly gone to him to discuss the issue on her mind but that was not possible now. Also, she just couldn't talk to Ron about these things at the moment. Soha was not the best of her friends but if Harry could trust her like he had done before then so could she.

"Well?" Soha asked gently once more. She desperately wanted to be of some help to Hermione and her friends. She knew how much they missed Harry and, ever since the Ginny thing, Ron was often very moody. So it was up to the others to help out Hermione or Neville or Seamus whenever they were in some trouble or the other unless they were helping out each other.

"It's Neville" Hermione said at long last.

"What about him?" Soha asked in a concerned manner. After all, if something happened to one of the leaders of the D.A. then…

"Well…hmmm…"

"Tell me Hermione" Soha said in a slightly emphatic manner which made Hermione relent.

"He is getting angrier by the day" Hermione said. "You know…every time he sees something related to death eaters and dementors and…"

"I understand what you are saying" Soha said sympathetically. "Even my blood boils when I see all those things in the paper"

"It's not just that!" Hermione said. "I have seen Neville for the past five and a half years and I have never known him to be like this. I mean, he gets angrier than normal"

"I see" Soha said. The expression on her face showed that she was thinking about something. "You think he is over-reacting?"

"Yeah" Hermione said with a very worried look as they climbed yet another staircase.

"Some people do over react to certain things" Soha applied her Ravenclaw logic. "Maybe it has something to do with his past…maybe something happened…". Hermione knew that Soha was tantalizingly close to the truth regarding Neville's family but also knew that Soha had no idea about it. She couldn't help but appreciate her logical reasoning. However, she also knew that she couldn't tell Soha the truth.

"I don't know…" Hermione said with a shrug. "But…"

"But what?" Soha asked as she saw Hermione's face fall.

"I just have a bad feeling about this" Hermione came to a stop and turned round to look at Soha. Soha was slightly surprised to see that tears were forming in Hermione's eyes.

"Why are you crying Hermione?" Soha asked as a single tear made its way down Hermione's cheek.

"I don't want to lose another friend" Hermione said with a sniff. "I don't want to lose Neville"

Soha couldn't help but feel sympathetic for the girl in front of her. However, she couldn't resist asking the question which had popped up in her mind.

"Who else have you lost?" Soha queried.

"Harry" came Hermione's short reply before she burst into tears. Even before Soha could know what was happening, Hermione had hugged her tightly and was crying almost uncontrollably.

"And…and I think I am losing Ron in this war too" were the only other decipherable words uttered by Hermione after she broke down completely.

&&&&

"Oh god…just look at that!" one tiny girl squeaked as she peeked out of the common room of the Gryffindor tower. Hearing her voice, everyone rushed to see what had happened. What they saw was absolutely mind blowing.

"How many people are coming here?" Neville asked in slight shock as he saw hundreds of people walking towards the castle. As far as Neville could estimate, over a few thousand people were in his view with more coming into view with every passing second. There was not enough room to even walk properly. The initial number of refugees who had taken shelter after the first phase of attacks seemed a fraction of the number of people in sight now.

"4…5 thousand…maybe more" Dean replied without taking his eyes off from the scene. Many of the people moving across the grounds were badly wounded and were being carried on stretchers. As a small group of people came into view, a few of the younger girls and boys screamed in horror – a couple of these people had their arms missing and from the way the shreds of flesh were hanging limply, it wasn't hard to tell what had happened. Werewolves must have torn out their arms in the fight of the previous night!

"How are they still walking?" one of the fifth year girls asked in a voice filled with fright. "They have lost a lot of blood and…"

"I have no idea at all" a seventh year student replied. "Even pain killing potions…anti-sleep potions…they wouldn't have been able to stop them from being unconscious for the loss of blood"

"Willpower" Neville said quietly. He could understand why these people were still walking around normally – they had decided they would have to come to Hogwarts and their sheer determination was driving them towards their current goal.

"Where will all these people stay?" Hermione asked. No one had noticed her joining the group from behind.

"Don't know" replied Dean. "Maybe they will expand the great hall even more"

"Every magic has a limit" Hermione said in a low voice. She didn't want to sound bossy or anything like that. "If the great hall is expanded infinitely, then it will burst"

"That can happen?" Dean turned around with a shocked look on his face. Seeing Hermione give an affirmative nod, his eyes went wide and he muttered something to himself before turning back towards the window. As far as he could see, the sea of people didn't end. It was more like an ocean of people out there.

"When the hell will all this end?" Neville almost asked himself in a hissing voice.

"Soon my dear friend" Ron Weasley said in a reassuring whisper in Neville's ears.

&&&&

"What do we do Albus?" Minerva McGonagall and several other senior teachers of Hogwarts had come for an emergency meeting to the Headmaster's room.

"I am afraid we don't have too many choices" Dumbledore replied calmly. "I would not have preferred for such a scenario so soon but it seems we must be ready for everything from now onwards"

"But how do we accommodate so many people in here?" little Professor Flitwick asked. "Even if they camp in the grounds, then also it will be too small"

"Hmmm" Dumbledore dwindled his fingers as he thought of the issue. They were right…accommodating six thousand four hundred eighty six people was no mean feat. Also, the numbers were growing by the minute. For some reason, it seemed that the whole of England had decided that Hogwarts was the safest place to be at.

"Maybe we can arrange something at Godric's Hollow" Fleur Delacour suggested. Even though she was a newcomer, she knew her comments would carry the same weight as that of the others.

"Excellent idea in my opinion" Dumbledore's eyes got back a bit of their lost twinkle at hearing this. "What do you all have to say about this?"

"Well…" McGonagall seemed a bit lost in her thoughts. "Godric's Hollow is big enough but at this rate it will soon be overflowing. These people will need houses"

"What about the existing people there?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "I mean, will they want new people to come and live amongst them?"

"A very good point Poppy" Dumbledore said before continuing with his explanation. "Everyone knows what it is like out there and from my own personal experience, I can guarantee that the people of Godric's Hollow would be the first to offer their help to other people without caring where they are from or other things"

"Yes" Flitwick said with a far-away look in his eyes. "I agree that Godric's Hollow has a large number of helpful people to say the least. After all their parents and grand parents had been such great people too". Everyone there could feel that Flitwick was really fond of the people he had taught in the past. "They have inherited the characteristics of their forefathers" Flitwick finished off in a slightly emotional voice.

"Any objections to allowing these people to build houses in Godric's Hollow and live there till the war is over?" Dumbledore seemed to be taking a vote on this. Seeing no negative responses, he decided that that was the way it would have to be done. He then instructed the different teachers as to what was expected of them in the coming 24 hours and soon everyone was on their way to carry out their duties except Minerva McGonagall.

"What's happening Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked in a concerned voice. "What can we do to stop all this from happening?"

"Someone else asked me the same question a few days ago and I will give you the same reply I had given then" Dumbledore said in his usual calm manner. "All we can do right now is to wait for Lord Voldemort to make a wrong move"

"But the losses are mounting hugely" McGonagall seemed stressed. "We have to do something to stem that"

"I have had a chat with everyone concerned" Dumbledore's voice sounded a bit more serious than before. "Some have to undertake a few dangerous missions and everyone has agreed to it"

"Who are those people?" McGonagall asked in curiosity. It was very unlike Dumbledore to not mention such a thing to her before.

"Our friends" was the reply. McGonagall took this as a sign that Dumbledore didn't want to tell anyone the names of the people involved. Maybe it was for the safety of the missions or maybe it was because Dumbledore didn't want other's to get too worried about it. Whatever it might be, McGonagall knew Dumbledore had his reasons and didn't pursue the matter further. When the right time came, Dumbledore would surely let her know.

"And how is Mr. Potter handling all this?" McGonagall continued in an even more concerned voice. She knew that all this must have had a telling effect on the young lad.

"He wants all this to stop" Dumbledore replied in a strange sort of voice. "But one doesn't always get what one wishes for"

"What do you mean by that?" McGonagall asked sharply.

"Oh…it was nothing" Dumbledore said with a small smile. "Just an old man's wild thoughts"

"You know that you can still confuse me but you surely know that you can't fool me, right?" McGonagall asked in a slightly angry tone.

"Of course" Dumbledore replied with a slight chuckle. "How foolish of me to try such a thing!"

"What is it that you are hiding Albus?" McGonagall asked, her eyes scanning every part of Dumbledore's features to detect the slightest of expressions.

"Nothing which can be of any benefit to anyone" Dumbledore replied with a sigh.

&&&&

"Thank god the day is finally over" Fleur said with a sigh of relief as she sat down with her family members in their home at Godric's Hollow.

"Are all these people refugees?" Mrs. Delacour asked as she peeked outside for the umpteenth time. The whole day they had seen people coming in by huge numbers and setting up tents and everything else. From being a sparsely populated area, Godric's Hollow had become one of the most densely populated areas in a matter of hours.

"Yes Ma" Fleur replied. "Plus they have only got started. From tomorrow onwards more work will take place"

"More work?" Gabriel queried.

"Yes dear" Mr. Delacour said. "These people have to build their new homes here"

"War is bad" Gabriel said with great dislike. "I hate those who have hurt so many people"

"So do we dear" Mr. Delacour shared the same feeling. "But now we should all go to bed and have a good night's sleep. Your sister is very tired"

"But she will go back to the castle" Gabriel's face fell at this. "She never stay's over"

"I have work to do" Fleur ruffled the hair of her kid-sister in a playful manner. "You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah yeah…" Gabriel said sarcastically and fell silent. Mr. and Mrs. Delacour thought it best to let the girls talk over this matter and left them alone. After all, Gabriel had grown enough to understand that there were lots of things which were more important than staying home with your family during this phase of their lives.

"Ok…I will stay today". This sudden statement from Fleur took Gabriel by complete surprise. For a minute she thought that she was hearing things but then saw that Fleur was serious. Her joy knew no bounds as she embraced her elder sister. After all, seldom did Fleur stay at home as she felt that Hogwarts needed her most at this moment. But just before she embraced her, Gabriel saw another expression on Fleur's face…one which she had seen many times in the past one month or so.

"Now I get it" Gabriel said as she pulled away from her sister. Even though she was very happy that her sister had relented to stay, still there was some sadness inside her because she knew her sister's decision had not been fully for her happiness. Even though she could understand her sister's point of view, still, something seemed missing.

"What?" Fleur asked in an astonished manner. The expression on Gabriel's face showed that she was sad about something. About what, Fleur had no answer to that.

"You are not staying back because I asked you too, are you?" Gabriel asked in return.

"Of course I am" Fleur said and guided her sister to the empty seat beside her. "Why do you think I am not doing this on your saying?"

"Flu…I have been your sister long enough now" Gabriel said in a manner which reminded Fleur of her mother. "I know what you are thinking when I see your face". She had not said anything in the past but she felt she should comment on a few things now.

"Really?" Fleur asked, feigning surprise. Surely Gabriel couldn't have guessed what was on Fleur's mind!

"It's him, isn't it?" Gabriel asked in a matter-of-factly voice. "You stayed back because you don't want to stay too close to him, right?"

"Him?" Fleur asked in a mocking but very nervous voice. Was it that apparent? Her pulse rate had started to quicken when Gabriel had given the first hint that she knew what was on Fleur's mind. How would she control herself if everyone noticed her feelings?

"Do I have to say his name as well?" Gabriel asked in a bored voice. "I am part veela too Flu and I can understand some of these things. Him is equal to Harr…"

"STOP!" Fleur cupped her sister's mouth before she could say anything more. Even though a small part of Gabriel wanted to burst out in laughter at Fleur's reaction, the major part felt very sad at the way Fleur's life was progressing.

"Is it that much apparent to everyone?" Fleur didn't remove her hands from over Gabriel's mouth as she asked her question. When she got no response from Gabriel, she finally noticed that her strong grip was preventing Gabriel from even moving her face.

"No" Gabriel said after taking in a long gasp of air. "It's just that I am your sister and I can detect these very easily. And don't do that again, ok?"

"Sorry about that" Fleur said a bit apologetically. "You were about to say his name and…"

"Because you were pretending as if I was just kidding you, you dumb old veela" Gabriel said with a raised eyebrow. Fleur couldn't help but smile at being called a "dumb old veela". Maybe that was how she would end up in her life.

"Sorry" Fleur said apologetically and got a lovely smile from her sister as the answer. This could only mean that her "sins" were forgiven.

"How long are you going to run away from him Flu?". All of a sudden, Gabriel seemed the older of the two.

"Easy for you to say" Fleur said in mock anger. "What would you have done if you were in my place?"

"Told him the truth" Gabriel replied honestly.

"It's not so easy 'elle" Fleur replied with a shake of her head. "Not after Tonks"

"Well…maybe" Gabriel replied. "I don't know how close they were"

"Emotionally they were a single person at the end"

"You mean they were ready to die for each other?" Gabriel asked in slight awe.

"Tonks died to save Harry, remember?" Fleur said. At this Gabriel frowned at her.

"That's what happened that night, didn't it?" Gabriel seemed very angry. "You all think I am too young for all this and you don't even say to me about 'why' Tonks died in the first place!"

"Oh" Fleur squirmed in her seat when she realized that they had decided not to tell Gabriel as to why Tonks had died. They had just decided that this information was too sensitive for anyone else to know. "I am very sorry 'elle…I just thought that Harry might not want everyone to know about this"

"But he would want me to know about it, wouldn't he?" Gabriel was very angry now. After all, Harry would never hide anything from her.

"Now that I think of it then I must agree that Harry would have told you the truth if this topic had come up" Fleur replied after a few seconds of thinking. "I am so sorry"

"It's ok" Gabriel said with a frown. Fleur didn't say anything more because she knew that Gabriel was thinking something.

"This changes everything then" Gabriel said at last. "You just…"

"…cannot go up to him and say it, can I?" Fleur completed the sentence before Gabrielle could even finish it.

"Yeah" Gabrielle said with a sigh. "But you do like him, don't you?". Fleur just nodded in reply.

"You love him?" Gabrielle asked after a few minutes of complete silence. Even though the word love was a small one, it had a much larger meaning than liking someone.

"Yes" Fleur replied in a barely audible whisper. She was looking towards the floor as she said this and Gabrielle noticed a small drop of tear fall to the ground.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Gabrielle was trying to understand the kind of feelings her elder sister was going through. "Being so near to him and yet…". Gabriel's voice trailed off at this and more tears fell to the ground in front of Fleur.

"But why don't you say it to him?" Gabriel asked defiantly. "I mean, he has to move on as well, isn't that so?"

"What if he doesn't want to move on?" Fleur replied. "What if the memory of Tonks is enough to last him for this life?"

"That can't be true" Gabriel said.

"Believe me, it can be true" Fleur said in a very slow voice. Gabriel tried to understand the meaning of Fleur's sentence and didn't say anything for a few minutes. Suddenly it stuck her as a bolt of lightning.

"NO!" Gabriel said in a shocked voice and turned to face her sister. "You don't mean to say…"

"'elle…there will be no one else in my life" Fleur said as she heard her sister's voice fade away. "I have already made that promise to myself"

"But Flu…you are only 20!" Gabrielle said in desperation. "How can you even think of something like that?"

"I think this is what they call love" Fleur said with a sad smile. "They say it is blind…it doesn't allow one to think logically…maybe this is what it is about"

"But isn't love supposed to be something which makes one happy?" Gabrielle asked with the innocence which could only come from a person of her age.

"I am happy the way I am 'elle" Fleur replied. "I am happy if he is happy"

"What if he isn't happy?" Gabrielle countered her elder sister. "What if he really needs someone in his life to give him the emotional support he needs now?"

"His godfather is there for him"

"What if he needs someone more than his godfather?" Gabrielle asked. Placing her hand on Fleur's chin, she slowly lifted her face so that Fleur had to look Gabrielle straight in her eyes. "What if he needs someone like you right now?"

"What if he doesn't?" Fleur asked as she looked into the big eyes of her beautiful sister. She could see the pain which Gabrielle was feeling for her and she was reminded once again why Gabrielle had been the "object she would have missed most" in the Tri-wizard tournament. Fleur reminded herself how lucky she was to have such a sister.

"Maybe he does…maybe he doesn't…" Gabrielle said without breaking eye contact with her sister. "But if he asks you then promise me you won't say no"

"'elle…" Fleur began but was cut short by her sister.

"Promise?" Gabrielle had a stubborn look on her face and it was clear she would let her sister off the hook without getting her promise.

"Ok…" Fleur relented at last.

"Till then you will stay on as his friend, right?" Gabrielle just wanted to be sure that her sister didn't push away Harry from her life altogether.

"I will try" was the reply which Gabrielle got.

&&&&

"Damn it" Neville threw away the book titled "Thinking the Light Way".

"What is the matter Neville?" a serious voice asked. Neville looked up to see his friend standing next to a trunk.

"Nothing Harry" Neville replied.

"Neville Longbottom doesn't throw away a book in anger unless it is something really important" Harry said as he sat down opposite to Neville.

"Who cares about what Neville Longbottom does?" Neville said in a disgusted voice.

"Maybe there are more people who care about you than you know Neville" Harry said.

"No Harry…I think you are wrong" Neville said stubbornly.

"Maybe…" Harry replied. "Only time will tell"

"Yeah" Neville said in a tone which still held some of the anger which had been building inside him just before Harry had climbed out of his trunk.

"Won't you talk about what is bothering you then?" Harry asked again. He knew Neville was very upset about something and he was keeping it to himself for the moment. Even though Harry didn't want anyone to poke their noses in his own life, he knew Neville was the sort of person who was better off sharing their own problems. Also, for that matter, Harry had Remus to talk to. Neville had no one except his grandmother, who was very far away at the moment, and his friends.

"Well…" Neville looked at Harry with a look of helplessness on his face. He didn't say anything more but the look on his face was enough to tell Harry that Neville was living in a nightmarish situation for the past few days or something.

"What is it Neville?" Harry asked in a concerned voice and leant forward. Neville saw Harry's concerned look and knew his friend was still there for him when the time came. Harry had never gone away from any of them to tell the truth. He may have distanced himself but he was there for them whenever they needed any kind of help.

"It's…hard to say" Neville said after what seemed like an eternity. It was clear that he was having a fight with his own self over whether he should tell Harry or not. Harry didn't mind that. However, he just wanted Neville to be more comfortable with his own self. After all, if one of the leaders of the D.A. is disturbed at this moment, then it won't take long for the others to feel uncomfortable either.

"Try me" Harry said slowly. "I have been in many situations which are hard to explain"

"Harry…" Neville's voice seemed more in control now and Harry could feel that something was building up inside him. "What happened that night?"

Harry didn't know how to react to this question. It was quite obvious as to which night Neville was referring to. The tone of Neville's voice was so different than that of the others that Harry knew he just had to tell Neville the truth. There was just something about Neville's voice…the eagerness combined with a great sadness…Harry knew he couldn't say no to Neville. With a huge sigh, Harry told Neville the details of what had happened from the time he knew Ginny was in the castle. He stopped his narration at the point of where Ginny, Snape and Wormtail had apparated away and told Neville that Tonks had died due to the curse meant for him. Harry stopped a couple of times in between when he got too emotional and, to his great relief, he found that Neville didn't push him for every tiny detail about his interaction with Tonks or their relationship. At last the room fell into complete silence.

"She did it then?" Neville spoke up at last. Harry, to his astonishment, felt a huge amount of hatred in Neville's voice.

"Who did what?" Harry asked in a slightly confused tone.

"Ginny…" Neville said looking at the floor. "…killed an auror, didn't she?"

"You can say that" Harry replied. "She wanted to kill me but Tonks…". Harry's voice got stuck at this point once again.

"I never thought Ginny could do something like this" Neville said in a very emotional voice. "Not after we had such long chats all the time"

"We?" Harry seemed even more confused.

"I…" Neville stopped slightly and started shaking his head. Harry saw a couple of tears fall to the ground. At this, he stood up and sat beside Neville.

"Neville?" Harry prompted Neville ever so slowly.

"I…I…" Neville looked up at Harry at that moment and Harry saw Neville's eyes were filled with tears. "I loved her Harry" Neville said in a helpless tone before repeating the same thing "I loved her".

Harry looked stunned for a moment. The very thought that Neville could love some girl, least of all Ginny, had never passed through Harry's mind ever. Everyone thought of Neville as a straightforward and honest boy but no one…maybe not all but many never even thought Neville could ever propose to a girl. Maybe it was because of the way Neville conducted himself…maybe because he was too straight a person…whatever be the cause, Harry couldn't fathom the level of sadness Neville was feeling right now.

"You…" Harry hesitated for a moment before continuing "…loved Ginny". Neville gave an affirmative nod of his head before breaking down into tears altogether.

"I…had thought I will…tell her after the holidays" Neville said in between his sniffs. "I guess it wasn't meant to be after all"

"I am sorry Neville" Harry said. Harry had also lost the person he had loved but at least he had the consolation that Tonks had died for an honorable death. Neville, on the other hand, didn't have that consolation. Ginny was as good as dead for him but he had to endure the extra pain of knowing that the person he had loved had joined the dark side.

"You don't have to be sorry about anything" Neville said very grimly. "It was my fault after all"

"It wasn't your fault" Harry reiterated.

"It was" Neville said stubbornly. "How could I have loved her if I didn't even know she was going to join…him?" Harry could only hear what Neville was saying. He didn't have anything to say which could lessen Neville's pain. "It can only mean that I didn't understand her at all. That I didn't love the real Ginny after all…that I didn't know the real Ginny at all"

"Neville…" Harry began but was stopped by the ongoing barrage of comments coming from Neville.

"She tried to kill you!" Neville said angrily. "She tried to kill the best friend of her own brother. That's unforgivable. She is not one of us anymore…she is dead for me at least". Tears flowed down Neville's face as he said this but at the same time there was a grim determination on his face. Harry knew Neville had hardened himself. Even though Harry knew that it was the only way Neville could deal with the current situation, Harry only hoped Neville didn't push himself as far as Harry had done.

"I cannot forgive her" Neville said, his fists balled in anger. "Not for what she did to you…not for what she has done to your auror friend". Harry only gulped at reference of Tonks thinking just how great a friend she was after all. "I promise you Harry that one day I will avenge your friend"

"What?" Harry suddenly gave a shake of his head as if he had come out of a stupor.

"One day I am going to kill Ginny Weasley myself" Neville looked Harry dead in the eyes as he said this and Harry could see that he meant every word he had just said. Harry looked at Neville unable to say a single word. He could only imagine what level of courage and determination Neville had to say that he would kill Ginny…the girl he loved. Harry felt like saying that Neville wasn't serious but he knew that Neville was more serious than he had ever been in his entire life. At that moment, the respect Harry had for Neville surpassed all limits which might have been there initially.

"NO" a voice broke the pin drop silence in the room. Looking around in surprise, Harry and Neville saw Ron standing in the doorway with Fred and George behind him. Harry suddenly realized that the door had been unlocked and Ron and the others could have entered mid-way during their conversation. After all, Harry and Neville had been so engrossed in their talk that they couldn't have noticed anyone silently entering the room.

"You – will – do – nothing – to – Ginny" Ron said very slowly as he moved towards Neville. Harry saw that Ron's face was red with anger.

"I don't care if she is your sister Ron" Neville replied angrily as he stood up from his seat. "She will not escape me"

"She is my sister Neville" Ron was having trouble keeping his voice down. "And I have the first claim to her"

"What?" Harry looked at Ron in a bewildered manner. He had just thought that Ron was angry because Neville wanted revenge but…

"She is my sister and she tried to kill Harry" Ron explained. "I will have my revenge" Ron's eyes were gleaming with anger and, Harry felt, a few tears were also forming. After all, taking revenge from one's own sister was no small thing to talk about. "I won't let anyone get in my way Neville" Ron continued. "I will be the one to kill Ginny"

"And we will be the ones to take care of Percy" the twins added without a touch of humor in their voices. They had been like this ever since the Ginny episode and everyone around knew that only time could heal their wounds. They would return to their normal selves one day but that day was still far away.

"It's all in the family" Ron said as he and his brothers walked out of the room leaving Harry and Neville in their wake.

&&&&

A/N: Third chapter here. It's been 2 months since I last updated. Sorry for the delay.

Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is very much appreciated. Please know that.

mary – No…Ginny was not under the Imperius in PoH. She did what she did on her own free will.

harrisonpotter – Hmmm…I can't really answer whether Harry and Fleur will get together in this story. You will have to wait and see.

PwnMaster Paladin – Yes…it takes a really loooong time to get over one person's death.

Junky – In the last chapter, Harry wasn't contemplating about meeting Tonks in the afterlife. Rather, it was Ron who was thinking about how it is in the afterlife.

ExsulRegina – Thanks for the review. You printed out all 600 pages of PoH? Whoa!

Everyone else – A BIG thanks for all your reviews. Just because I didn't mention your name doesn't mean your review is of any less importance to me. It is very much appreciated. Also, those who didn't review – thanks for taking the time to read my fic.

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