I would like to apologize for the long break between chapters. More specifically to Oceansong, gayskin, and my wife who all have been keeping up with this. No this story wasn't abandoned, my muse went up like a pheonix and took a while to be reborn. Deployment can be a harsh mistress. But here it is, Chapter 3! Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3

"Potter, get up Potter." A voice hissed as Harry felt himself being forcefully nudged.

Waking up with a start he rolled off the bench where he was sleeping pulling his wand out as he went. Through blurry vision he could make out bodies clothed in black. Where was he? This wasn't the tent he had fallen asleep in. Had the Death Eaters captured him and brought him to Voldemort? His heart beat a million times a minute and he could feel the blood rushing through his veins. Where were Ron and Hermione, were they safe or had they been captured too? He'd have to fight his way out and find his friends before he could go on finding the rest of Voldemort's horcruxes, he couldn't imagine himself doing it without them.

In the half a second it had taken him to roll off the bench and land in a low crouch all those thoughts had crossed his mind. Standing he threw a body bind at his nearest opponent and managed to disarm a second before he saw flashes of curses and hexes being thrown his way. Snatching the wand he had taken out of the air he put up a shield and they rebounded harmlessly away, one of them managing to strike someone in the crowd of black robes.

Now armed with two wands he fought back against the Death Eaters, they apparently hadn't been expecting such resistance from their prisoner as they were disorganized and dispatched easily. With a flick of the claimed wand he sent a bench flying into the group. Most of the bodies managed to dive out of the way but an unlucky individual caught it in their middle and was sent crashing into the wall.

Harry laughed out loud.

"Is this all Voldemort has to send against me? He's worse off than I thought."

Ron and Hermione were on their way to dinner having spent the entire afternoon out on the grounds enjoying the weather, calm, and each others company when they heard shouts and crashing sounds coming from the Great Hall. Pulling out their wands they sprinted to the large entry and came to a halt in the doorway. Neither of them quite knew what they were expecting to find at the source of the disturbance but they were sure it wasn't what they saw before them.

At the far end of the Ravenclaw table Harry was dueling, though it really couldn't be classified as dueling seeing as he was successfully taking on half of the Ravenclaw house and a handful of Hufflepuffs who were trying their hardest to stop him before he reached the first and second years that were too stunned to move. Even the teachers didn't seem capable of moving out of shock of the scene unfolding before them.

What snapped the two Gryffindors out of their own inability to make their bodies act was Harry's laugh. It sounded evil, more maniacal than anything either of them thought could escape even Voldemort's twisted mouth. Springing into action the pair tore through the retreating crowd not stopping till they were between their friend and the rest of the students. Barely throwing up their own shields in time for Harry's barrage they were once again unpleasantly surprised. Instead of being deflected away by the shields his spells came into contact with them and stayed, almost as if they were trying to bore their way through to the people on the other side.

Ron and Hermione's shields broke with a loud explosion sending a shock wave that nearly flipped the Ravenclaw table and sent benches flying across the room. Landing hard on their back they once again barely managed to throw their shields up in time.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET OUT OF HERE!" Ron shouted.

His voice managed to break what ever spell had everyone petrified in their seats. With crying and hushed whispers the student body who hadn't already fallen under Harry's spell work or was keeping him occupied made their way to the teachers that were beckoning them through the staff entrances to the Great Hall.

As suddenly as Harry's attack started it ended. The ceasing of spells crackling as they tried to force their way through shields and flying through the air brought the impromptu evacuation to a halt. All eyes turned to the raven haired boy who was standing completely still as if he had been hit unexpectedly by the killing curse. Slowly he leaned back against something they couldn't see; his hand that had been holding the wand he had claimed in the first moments of the fight came up and gripped the hands of someone who had wrapped their arms around him. Time itself seemed to come to a halt as no one moved, every second Harry relaxing in the embrace of the person behind him.

It seemed the entire hall was holding its collective breath as they waited for what was going to happen next. With the slightest twitch of his wand something small that resembled a streak of light flew to his face. Awkwardly he adjusted his glasses as he became aware of his surroundings.

Everything seemed to be coming into focus as he leaned into the arms of whom ever was behind him. He felt a sense of security that was replaced by the sudden feeling of having two left feet when his mind registered the feeling of breasts that were pressed against his heaving ribcage. They weren't Ginny's, they felt larger, softer and firmer at the same time, and a strange yet comforting scent made its way to his nostrils. Bringing his mind to the present he was horrified by his surroundings.

The Ravenclaw table was flipped up on its side precariously close to the benches where the Hufflepuffs were normally seated for their meals while Ravenclaw's own seats were scattered around the hall, one having pierced a high window was now dangerously teetering back and forth as it couldn't decide whether it wanted to fall back inside or outside. Food and plates were scattered everywhere and overturned goblets made random lakes and rivers of pumpkin juice and other drinks that flowed in the grooves of the stone floor.

His breath hitched in his chest and it felt like his heart had stopped when he noticed the bodies around him. Some people lay unmoving while some rolled back and forth on the ground, others attempted to stand. His knees threatened to give out as his mind was flooded with what had happened the past few minutes. Turning he noticed the lines of students who had stopped mid-evacuation and who were now staring at him with looks of fear. He spotted Ginny who was rooted to the spot where she had been eating, she was pale and her mouth hung open in a state of shock. Unable to stand the stares any longer Harry tore away from the person holding him and ran out of the Great Hall, the blond Slytherin that took off after him barely registered to the faculty and students who were still trying to make sense of the situation.

Harry ran through the halls registering none of his surroundings, sending Mr.Filch to the floor as he knocked him over without apology. He didn't know where he was going in the castle he just knew he had to get there and fast. His chest hurt with each breath, his still not completely healed rib protesting the strain, and tears ran down his face. He had attacked students just because they had woken him up. He didn't know how many or how badly he had hurt them, he didn't even know if he had killed anyone. His wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out; he didn't even know if he could stand anyone looking at him.

Feeling the open air on his face he noticed he was standing at the top of the Astronomy tower in the exact spot Charlie's mates had picked up Norbert and carried him to Romania six long years ago. He wished he could just be packed in a dark crate and taken away from this place. With some complicated wand movements he cast an illusion charm on the whole tower so it would appear that there was no one up here even if he was right in front of their faces. Hiding behind some boxes he brought his knees under his chin rocking back and forth, his tears leaving hot trails down his face. He wished Dumbledore was here to comfort him; Sirius was here to tell him things would be alright. He gave an odd laugh that sounded more like a drowned hiccup as he imagined his Godfather praising him for his skills in taking on so many opponents in a duel.

But that slight uplifting in his spirit didn't last as he remembered the look on Ginny's face. She was shocked and horrified at what the man she loved had done and was capable of. She wouldn't want to be with him anymore after tonight. He couldn't blame her, he wouldn't want to be with himself anymore either. He was too dangerous to be around, even more dangerous than Moony when he was in his werewolf form without his potion. A fresh wave of tears stung his eyes as he thought of all of his and his parent's friends that had died for him and because of him. Because of him, that thought echoed in his mind.

The soft touch of a hand on his cheek broke his furious gaze that he had trained on his knees; he brought his head up with the gentle coaxing of the hand. Kneeling before him was Daphne Greengrass, gone was the cold, impenetrable air that she always seemed to have the few times he had seen her. In its place was a comforting feeling, her touch was light and soft, devoid of any hint of force, and her glacier gaze had melted revealing a soft, compassionate core. Unable to keep his eyes on her longer than it took to recognize her Harry turned away. The odd sense of embarrassment he normally felt if anyone came close to seeing him cry never came and he stared at the wall, fixed on a spot where four stones met willfully refusing the comforting he suddenly felt himself wanting from her.

"It'll be okay." she said.

He felt her sit down next to him and he leaned against her still not taking his eyes off the barely illuminated wall. His mind reeled at the contact but a part of him didn't care. He wasn't aware of time as the seconds ticked away turning into minutes. In fact he was so busy running from what had happened in the Great Hall in his head he hadn't even noticed he had fallen asleep until Daphne shifted her weight waking him up.

"Well good morning there, or should I say good night? Though that sounds like I'm tucking you in or something." She said with a smile. He returned it with a wary smile of his own. While his nap had reset his emotional counter back to zero he couldn't bring himself to a genuine smile.

"Its beautiful up here." She said as Harry turned to face the same direction as her. Looking up he noticed it was indeed a beautiful picture the heavens had painted themselves into. The moon shone down brightly, it would be full in a couple of nights he noticed, and practically every star was visibly twinkling down at them.

Standing up to relieve his rear end of the discomfort of the stone floor he had been sitting on for unknown hours he stretched and gazed across the grounds of his first home. The lake took an appearance of molten silver, the breeze creating small waves that lapped at the grass around it. Silhouettes of the schools owls flew back and forth between the forbidden forest and the owlery and a steady stream of smoke billowed from Hagrid's fireplace. Daphne took up a place beside him as they stared across the grounds enjoying a few moments of companionable silence.

"So," Harry started pausing after realizing his voice sounded rough from his emotional roller coaster and a little too loud for their surroundings, he continued in a near whisper. "How did you find me up here? I cast a charm so no one would be able to see me."

"I was already on the stairs when you cast it on the tower, doesn't do much good if someone is already in the affected area."

They lapsed into silence again, the events from earlier in the evening replaying through his mind.

"Why did you follow me? Shouldn't you have checked on your sister or something?"

"Oh she's fine. I got to you before you made it to the Slytherin tables. Though I can't say the same for the Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs, you really did a number on them. Can't say I've ever seen anyone duel like that, must've been at least thirty against you at the climax." She said as if stating the news a little bit of awe creeping into her voice.

Harry sighed, shifting his weight he leaned forward and looked toward the base of the tower; it was too dark to see the grass making him feel like it went on forever. His mind wandered to the night he and Dumbledore had returned from the cave on the coast, that fateful day where his mentor and near grandfather was killed. He wondered what it would feel like to fall to your death. Then he remembered the curse that had ended the life of one of the greatest wizards since Merlin. That flash of green seemed to always haunt his memories.

"Did I…" he started, pausing because he didn't want to continue.

"No, you didn't kill anyone." the Slytherin girl answered knowing what he wanted to ask. "Though I'm sure quite a few of them ended up in the Hospital Wing. Part of you seemed to know that they were just students so you kept to simpler spells, less lethal ones anyways."

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was relieved he hadn't killed anyone, the student body would be terrified of him, he could live with that. After all it seemed every year he had been at Hogwarts there was some rumor going around that he was the next dark lord, or he was trying to kill someone for something or another. He wouldn't have been able to face himself the next day if had accidentally killed one of his fellow students.

Another few moments passed before either of them spoke.

"Was it bad?" Daphne had started playing with a rock to hide her nervousness for such a personal question.

"Was what bad?"

"You know, what ever it was you were doing to fight You-know-who when everyone thought you had abandoned them."

"Oh, that." Harry went quiet again. He supposed life on the run wasn't anywhere near as bad as living under the Voldemort controlled ministry and the horrors faced by most witches and wizards far eclipsed his own. But there was always this burden that he wasn't doing things fast enough or he wasn't good enough and every time he heard about another death his heart felt a little heavier. To think of him having it bad after hearing the stories of what had been happening while he had been out looking for horcruxes seemed a little selfish when he compared next to the people who had lived through it. He couldn't really find an answer to her question.

"You never answered my question as to why you followed me."

"Thought you might need the company." She smiled flicking the rock she had been playing with off the tower. "Was I wrong?"

Harry looked at her confused causing her to laugh. Unable to hold back his own laughter he joined her, though he couldn't figure out why, for the life of him, he was laughing. After they had both calmed down she continued.

"I can see that I wasn't, besides, now we're even you saved my sister from those gits and I saved you from yourself."

He sighed before turning away from the edge of the tower.

"We need to get to our houses before its too late, I really don't want to meet Filch since I plowed him over on my way up here."

"I saw that." She laughed. "He seemed to be too surprised to remember who did it anyways, don't think a student had ever handled him that way before."

With a wave of his wand he canceled the charm he had cast on the tower.

"Come on, lets go."

They traveled in silence, each lost in their own thoughts and just enjoying the dark and mostly empty corridors. Most of the inhabitants of the paintings they passed were sound asleep a few of them were talking about various things in whispers. Harry was pretty sure he could guess what the topic was. Pushing his hands into his pockets he sighed, Daphne cracked an eyebrow at him but he remained quiet so she wasn't going to push it.

"This is it." Daphne said as they reached the entrance hall startling Harry out of his reprieve.

"Everything is back to normal tomorrow?" He whispered, it wasn't after hours yet but he really didn't want to attract the attention of the eternally grumpy caretaker.

"As normal as it can be after you take on nearly half the school single handedly and hand their wands back to them." She said lightly smiling.

He smiled in return, well it was more of a smirk seeing as he couldn't get the muscles in his face to work properly but the feeling was conveyed.

"Good night." He said as she slipped away for the dungeons. Sighing he turned around and made his way to Gryffindor Tower. Ignoring the questions of the Fat Lady he mumbled the password and entered the commons.

Ron was draped over most of the couch in front of the fire place fast asleep, his snores alternating between barely audible to soft thunder. Hermione was at the other end of the couch her feet curled under her as she sleepily read a book. Her eyes seemed to be lazily scanning the same line over and over again as her tired mind tried to commit it to memory. In the cushy armchair facing the portrait hole was his favorite red head who had joined her brother in slumber. A quidditch magazine dangled from her hand showing an ad about some new seeker gloves that were designed to hang onto your broom better so you achieve higher speeds without worrying about losing your grip and flying off. It pictured a young wizard with brown hair catching a run away broom that was going so fast you could barely see it as it zoomed across the page.

Walking over he took the magazine and tapped it with his wand turning it into a blanket. Gently tucking it around Ginny he kissed her softly on the forehead. Stirring she mumbled 'I love you too Harry' before she pulled the blanket over her head. Smiling he turned to his two best friends. Ron was still snoring but Hermione had set down her book and was looking at him gently but expectantly. Pulling a chair next to the couch he sat down and stared into the fire awaiting his friends bombardment of questions.

"You feeling better Harry?" Hermione asked in a whisper even though they both knew any noise short of an explosion would not wake Ron. The sound of sizzling bacon had done it once much to their chagrin but voices, it seemed, were out of that range.

"Yeah, I am now anyways." He wasn't up to extended answers, his emotions would only let him talk in short bursts.

Hermione didn't say anything more, instead she was absentmindedly finger the cover of the book she was reading while she bit her lip. He wondered what was going through her head seeing as she only acted like this when she had two conflicting ideas and they were at war for who win her ingenious mind. A sparkle of victory and determination shone in her eyes, or it could have been the fire, he wasn't sure, and she set her book aside. Stretching as she stood up she beckoned Harry to follow her as she went back out the portrait hole.

"We need to go see Headmistress McGonagall." She said as the Fat Lady closed behind them with a huff.

Harry sighed but nodded in consent. He knew the Headmistress would want to talk to him about why he had attacked half the school for no reason, even he couldn't figure that out.

"Why didn't you wake Ron to come with us?" He asked as they reached the gargoyle that blocked the entrance to the Headmistress' office.

"You honestly think he'd be able to be awake enough to understand what was being said? We'd have to repeat it in the morning over breakfast anyways." She answered as if the idea was completely silly.

With the utterance of the new password, 'tabby cat', Harry's heart felt like it was beating at a million kilometers per hour. Wiping his hands on his pants he followed his bushy haired friend to the landing outside the Headmistress' office. A nervous feeling of butterflies and two left feet took over his senses as she knocked on the ancient wooden door.

"Its Hermione and Harry headmistress."

"Come in." said the old witch on the other side.

Harry could feel the blood pounding in his ears as Hermione reached for the handle.

There is was, the long awaited Chapter 3 of my story. I finally mulled over a purpose or 'goal' for this story, something I haven't heard done before so hopefully it'll be liked! (crosses fingers) I'll also try to get a writing schedule put together so I can churn these out at a regular rate, well as regular as circumstances will allow.

Doom West