Disclaimer: Alright, I don't own it so don't sue me, I have nothing to give anyone lol.
AN: Hello again! Thanks for the reviews keep them coming! Don't worry, this chapter will have more than the four fighting each other. So anyway, enjoy and now for chapter three!
Dragonthunder89
Love, Betrayal, and War
As Ron and Hermione entered the lounge room, Hermione noticed all of the books strewn around Harry's chair. Curiosity got the better of her, especially since she had not noticed them before.
"What are you doing Hermione?" Ron asked.
"I just now noticed that from the looks of these books, Harry is looking for something," Hermione replied.
"What do you suppose has him being studious enough to make you jealous?" Ron joked.
"Oh! I see, he's researching Voldemort's horcruxes!" Hermione exclaimed as realization hit her.
"But those books are about the founders of Hogwarts," Ron replied.
"Of course they are! Voldemort placed his horcruxes, or at least four of them in something significant from each founder," Hermione explained.
Ron moved closer to Hermione who, unlucky for Ron, noticed.
"What are you doing Ron?" Hermione asked.
"Me? Nothing," Ron replied.
"He's trying to get as close to you as possible," Harry's voice answered from behind them.
Both jumped apart and turned to see Harry leaning in the doorway watching them.
"Harry, I thought you went to bed," Hermione said.
"Well I almost got there, but I forgot I left my books out, seems you found them. Plus if I know you as well as I think I do, I'm guessing you have figured out what I am doing," Harry smirked.
Hermione blushed slightly and Ron looked annoyed.
'How come I can never make her blush like that?' Ron asked himself.
"Anyway, since we are on the subject, I discovered the locket Dumbledore and I recovered from that cave was a fake, I destroyed Riddle's diary in second year, Dumbledore destroyed that bloody ring that killed his hand, and now I have an idea of where the others are," Harry explained.
"You do?!" Hermione asked excitedly.
"Well, not their locations, but, I believe that there is an important artifact that belonged to Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw and whatever these objects are, they have a piece of Voldemort's soul in them," Harry replied.
"What about the other two?" Ron asked.
"They are easier to locate, but harder to destroy, I believe that Nagini has a horcrux and obviously, Voldemort has the last piece," Harry replied.
"Wow, Harry, you have been researching, but where can they be?" Hermione asked.
"That's exactly what I am trying to figure out," Harry replied.
"Well we can help you!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Good, but for now we need to sleep, it's late," Harry replied as he gathered all of his notes and books, with Hermione's help, and put them neatly in a pile on the center table.
They all bade each other goodnight and went to bed.
Lucius Malfoy had already traveled a great distance, lucky for him though, the Valley of the Restless was close to a designated apparition point for Death Eaters. Lucius had quickly passed through the village that lay before the valley.
"Idiot muggles, they have no idea of the horrors that lie beyond their pathetic village," Lucius laughed evilly.
Lucius made his way up to the night guard that guarded the south end of the village.
"Halt! Who are you? I have never seen your face around here before," the guard demanded.
"No, and it's the last face you will ever see, Avada Kedavra!" Lucius yelled drawing his wand and killing the guard.
Lucius started down the dirt trail that led to his destination. He could tell he was getting close as he came across an old wood sign that read: Turn back now or die! The sign was written in blood.
"Well, they sure know how to make visitors feel welcome," Lucius said to himself.
Lucius climbed a small hill and once at the top he gazed into a huge valley below him and saw hundreds, no thousands of vampires. But although vampires were strongest at night, they still had one weakness, and that was sunlight. Lucius noticed that instead of regular house dwellings, they lived in cave structures to keep the sunlight out. Lucius began to make his way into the valley and once he reached the bottom of the hill, two vampires approached him. They were a bit taller than him, and were clad in black armor. Lucius guessed that these vampires were guards that were part of the vampire army. The one on Lucius's left pointed a long spear at Lucius's chest while the other held his large pike at the ready should Lucius attack them.
"Who are you that dares enter the Valley of the Restless?" the vampire demanded.
"Speak quickly or die," the other added.
"My name is Lucius Malfoy, I come on behalf of Lord Voldemort to speak with your chief," Lucius replied.
"Ah the dark lord, very well, however you will be thoroughly searched and disarmed," the vampire warned.
"As you will," Lucius replied as he spread his arms out to his sides.
The vampires searched Lucius and removed his staff from him before they were satisfied and began to escort him to the chief. Once Lucius entered the chief's chamber, he was taken aback at all of the vampire guards there were. He lost count after twenty.
"Master, this is Lucius Malfoy, he has come to speak to you on behalf of the dark lord Voldemort," the first vampire explained.
The chief was even bigger than the other vampires, he stood at almost eight feet tall.
"I am the supreme ruler of the vampire nation, Marcus Alexander," Alexander introduced.
"It's an honor to meet you," Lucius replied bowing.
"What is your business here?" Alexander asked.
"My lord has sent me to propose an alliance between the vampires and the Death Eaters," Lucius replied.
"An alliance you say? Hm, interesting, and if I may ask, how will this alliance benefit my nation?" Alexander asked.
"Well, for starters, we are waging a war against the forces of light, and your warriors will have all of the fresh human blood they could ask for since many innocents will be slain. Also, any territory we conquer will be split in half, so you can expand and continue to breed, and claim revenge on the murderers who have driven you into this valley," Lucius replied.
"An interesting proposal, and very tempting at that, what will your lord want out of it all?" Alexander asked.
"He wants the death of the Order of the Phoenix and the young boy Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived," Lucius replied.
"I see, and if we join your cause, then we can rule separately and peacefully?" Alexander asked.
"Of course," Lucius replied.
"Hmm, very well, I accept your proposal, and suggest we seal the deal in blood," Alexander suggested.
"What do you require?" Lucius asked.
"You offer your arm to me and I drink a portion of your blood and the remaining blood that is left will be used to sign this contract," Alexander replied as he produced a contract with the conditions.
"Very well," Lucius agreed as he offered his arm.
Harry awoke the next morning and was surprised as he got up that the rest of the house was quiet and he guessed he was the first one up. So he decided to go get cleaned up. Harry showered quickly and wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way back to his bedroom. Unknown to Harry, Hermione had briefly seen Harry in nothing but the towel before he disappeared into his room.
'Oh my god! I wish I could have been that towel! Hermione Granger stop it! But he is just so gorgeous! Knock it off Hermione Jane! Oh shut up' Hermione thought as she argued with herself.
Hermione was snapped out of her trance when Harry appeared, fully clothed smiling.
'He has a nice smile' Hermione thought.
"Morning Hermione, the bathroom is all yours, but you better hurry, I am going to cook breakfast and as soon as Ron smells it he's going to come running," Harry chuckled.
"Thanks Harry, I won't be long," Hermione replied winking at him as she left for the bathroom.
'Wow, she is beautiful even when she first gets up in the morning, and she winked at me! No! Stop it Potter, you know she likes Ron! He doesn't deserve her. That's not the point!' Harry thought as he wrestled with his subconscious.
"Harry?" Hermione called.
Harry snapped out of his trance and walked up to the bathroom door.
"Yeah?" Harry asked.
"Oh good, you're still there, where are the towels?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, they are in the top cabinet above the sink," Harry replied.
"Thanks Harry," Hermione said.
"Sure, I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything," Harry offered.
Harry went down to the kitchen and began to brew the coffee and decided on bacon and omelets with cheese and ham. Harry heard movement and turned to see Hermione smiling at him.
" That was quick, sleep well?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I did," Hermione replied.
After about ten minutes, Harry had finished cooking and just as he guessed, Ron came trudging in yawning loudly.
"Morning guys, smells great!" Ron greeted.
"Honestly Ron," Hermione sighed.
"What?" Ron asked confused.
Before Hermione could reply, the fireplace flashed green and out stepped Ginny, beaming at them.
"Good morning everyone!" Ginny greeted.
"Morning Ginny!" Ron greeted.
"Just in time," Harry replied as he set his plate on the table for Ginny and made to leave the kitchen.
"What about you?" Ginny asked.
"I already ate," Harry replied as he disappeared.
Hermione ate quickly and left to find Harry only to find a note by the front door.
'In case anyone cares, I went out flying to clear my head, be back soon,'
It was from Harry, Hermione cursed herself for not being able to fly and chase Harry down, just like she always used to do. Hermione noticed Ginny had followed her and was reading the note over Hermione's shoulder.
"What's up with Harry? He's been acting strange since I arrived," Ginny asked.
Hermione said nothing and glared at Ginny before she returned to her room.
Harry was flying at top speed, trying to outrun his anger.
'How can she act as if nothing happened? What a bitch!' Harry thought as he began to near his destination, Diagon Alley.
Harry landed a safe distance from the Leaky Cauldron before going inside. Tom, the barman looked up as Harry entered.
"Just passing by Tom, sorry" Harry apologized as he opened the secret passage to Diagon Alley.
Harry stepped out into the alley and wasn't surprised to see that very few occupied the streets. Harry made his way to the twin's shop.
"Well! Look who it is Fred!" George called as Harry entered.
"Hi there Harry! Where's everyone else?" Fred asked.
"My place, the old headquarters," Harry replied.
"How come they didn't come?" Fred asked.
"Because I left before they found out where I was going," Harry replied.
"What's the matter Harry?" George asked.
"I probably shouldn't say but, it's Ginny," Harry replied.
"What? Why?" both asked in unison.
"She really pissed me off when Ron told me what she was doing this summer, and then I found out later that night from Ron that she was coming and she showed up a few minutes ago. So, in order to control my temper, I had to get out of there before I exploded on her," Harry replied.
"Well, we have just the thing that will cheer you up, we asked Charlie if we could get some dragon hide from him and he agreed. So we have a present for you," Fred said.
"A nice jacket, made of dragon hide and dragon scales that is tough and cannot be pierced easily by any weapon," George added.
Harry looked at the jacket and was impressed. It was blue, and the scales made it shine in the sunlight.
"This is great guys, how much is it?" Harry asked.
"Now Harry, you will not be paying for anything in this shop. None of this would have been possible had it not been for you," George replied.
"But..." Harry protested.
"No buts, it's a gift from us to you, sorry the family can't get together for your birthday yet, but we will celebrate it soon," Fred cut in.
"Well thanks guys, I better get going," Harry said.
"Happy birthday Harry, we'll see you at your party, even though it will be a late party," George replied.
Harry thanked them again and left, he walked down the alley and in one of the book stores, something caught his eye. Harry entered the shop and went straight for the book that caught his attention. It was titled: Ancient Magical Weapons and Legends. Harry didn't know why but he immediately bought it.
"Can't hurt," Harry said.
"So, you must be Harry Potter," a cold but calm voice said.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Harry demanded drawing his wand.
Harry saw a cloaked figure in the dark shadows between two buildings.
"Who are you?!" Harry demanded pointing his wand straight at the cloaked man.
"Well it seems you need to learn some manners, perhaps we can teach you some," the cloaked figure said and chuckled.
Suddenly Harry felt cold and the sky went dark as heavy clouds gathered over Diagon Alley.
"Dementors," Harry breathed as a chill ran down his spine.
"Oh it isn't them you should be worried about," the cloaked man said as he walked out of the shadows.
"I won't ask again, who are you?!" Harry demanded.
"Well, I suppose you ought to know especially since you don't seem afraid," the man said as he removed his hood.
"What the? Are you a...?" Harry asked.
"Why yes very good boy, I am a vampire and my name is Raphael," Raphael replied.
"So, what do you want with me?" Harry asked.
"Oh, I have no business with you, I was going to prey on the innocent victims around here, it's funny how we should meet like this," Raphael laughed.
"You mean unlucky, I won't allow you to hurt anyone!" Harry yelled.
"Well I am afraid boy that you have no choice, now I am going to kill you," Raphael replied as he brandished a long pike.
"Stupefy!" Harry yelled.
Raphael sprouted wings and flew up to dodge the spell. Harry fired a few more but the vampire was too evasive. Raphael swooped down and slashed at Harry who managed to roll out of the way.
"Not bad boy, but you cannot escape me!" Raphael yelled as he swooped in again.
"Raphael! Enough! The boy is to be left alone for now!" another vampire yelled emerging.
"Grr...very well Viktor, I will let you go today boy but mark my words, unless they stop me, I will kill you," Raphael growled as he and the vampire known as Viktor, flew off and disappeared into the distance.
Harry put his wand away and noticed the Dementors that were watching, were leaving as the weather returned to normal. Harry retraced his steps and was soon on his broom on his way home.
Severus Snape walked down the line of assembled Death Eaters. Some he knew, but most of them were new to the clan and still had the fresh burn of the Dark Mark.
"Now, I count thirty of you here which is more than I expected to get by now. So let me explain the mission, the dark lord has ordered me to lead you all in an assault on Azkaban, they still hold many loyal followers to our cause, the attack will be in two groups of fifteen and will attack the prison from two sides. Since the Dementors have joined us, we need only worry about the few guards that now reside there. We attack tomorrow at dusk, any questions?" Snape asked.
No one raised there hands and as Snape dismissed them Wormtail came running up to Snape.
"Severus, the ministry has tightened defenses around Azkaban, it seems that they are expecting us to attack them," Wormtail reported.
"Damn, does our lord know?" Snape asked.
"Yes, he told me to tell you to continue according to plan, and if you have to, just liberate the senior Death Eaters," Wormtail replied.
"Very well you can go now," Snape said.
"I wonder when Harry will get back, I really would like to talk to him," Ginny said.
Ron sat uncomfortably and looked fearfully at Hermione who was trying to control her own anger.
"I doubt he will want to talk to you to be honest Ginny," Hermione replied.
"What? Why not?" Ginny asked.
"Oh stop playing the innocent you little scheming bitch!" Hermione yelled.
"Hermione! What is the matter with you?!" Ginny demanded.
"Ron told us what you did this summer!" Hermione yelled.
"What?! Ron you bloody traitor!" Ginny screamed.
"I just can't believe you would do such a thing Ginny!" Hermione yelled.
"Enough!!" Harry yelled as he appeared in the lounge room to join them.
"Harry! I was just..." Ginny started.
"Shut up you filthy liar! It doesn't seem like what you did was such a big deal, but to me it was! Not to mention your intentions behind it!" Harry yelled.
"But Harry...I love you!" Ginny wailed.
"What is it going to take Ginny?! I broke it off for a reason!" Harry roared.
"You did it because you wouldn't be happy unless you were chasing You-Know-Who," Ginny replied.
"No!! You see, I don't love you because you don't love me!" Harry yelled.
"What?! I love you Harry! I do!" Ginny cried desperately.
"No Ginny you love The Boy Who Lived, not Harry, and I am Harry," Harry replied.
"But..." Ginny protested.
"No that's it, we are over, and if you try to do anything else, Merlin help me, I will kick you out of my house and band you from visiting. I want to be friends but if you don't let this go and find someone else, I am afraid we cannot be friends, that is my final word," Harry replied as he went to the kitchen.
Ginny started crying and Ron tried to comfort her. Hermione however, got up and went after Harry. He stood at the sink, gazing out the window, apparently deep in thought. Hermione came up and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Harry? Are you okay?" Hermione asked.
"I'm sick and tired of this fighting, I won't be able to love, or have someone love me, but I just wish the only problems I had were these bloody horcruxes. I have spent days looking for clues to what they might be and I haven't found even one shred of a clue," Harry sighed.
Hermione's hand found Harry's and interlaced with it, Harry did not seem to notice, or it didn't bother him. Unknown to Hermione, Harry's brain was emitting shockwaves.
'She probably has no idea, what she does to me' Harry thought.
"Maybe we will find something useful this year at Hogwarts, we only have a few weeks, our letters should be arriving this week," Hermione suggested hopefully.
"Hopefully," Harry replied doubtfully.
"Harry, something else is bothering you, don't lie to me I can tell," Hermione urged.
"I went to Diagon Alley to visit the twins and clear my head, when I was attacked," Harry explained.
"What?! Are you alright?" Hermione cried as she began to examine him for injuries.
"No, I'm okay but he wasn't a Death Eater," Harry replied.
"What?" Hermione asked confused.
"It was a vampire, he took off before the fight got really serious though," Harry replied.
"A vampire?!" Hermione shrieked.
"Yeah, I was going to owl the Order members and McGonagall about it when I got home but Ginny got in the way," Harry replied bitterly.
"Well you had better do that right now," Hermione said.
"Yeah, it seems the vampires have joined Voldemort as well, our list of allies grows thin as his grows large," Harry sighed.
"Don't worry Harry, you are a powerful wizard," Hermione assured.
"But I have a major problem in defeating Voldemort," Harry said.
"What? The horcruxes?" Hermione asked.
"No, even if I destroy all of them, I would surely lose the final showdown, because I haven't discovered my true love," Harry explained.
'Your true love is standing right here' Hermione thought.
"I'm running out of time, Voldemort is on the move," Harry continued.
"We can figure this out, we're in this together," Hermione replied.
Harry smiled warmly at her and then turned to start on his letters to the Order members and McGonagall.
AN: Well there you go! I am updating rapidly since I am going out of town for a few days and won't be able to update until next Tuesday. I am leaving Saturday, but I will try to have one more for you before I go. So until then Bye bye!
Dragonthunder89