When Grimmauld Place was built, the Mrs Black of that time, a young lady named Astoria, forced into a marriage with a man twice her age by her father, though nothing unusual at the time, had begged her husband for a tower. She came from the country, wishing for a place where she could at least see the stars.

He didn't grant her request, but his son, who while a cold murderer still loved his mother, followed her will after his father's death. She spent the final twenty years of her life in that tower, leaving only once or twice a year.

On top, it had a beautiful little landing, from where you could now see the sun rise over the houses of London. There, Hermione Granger was standing, admiring the view, while her thoughts were drifting a way, to things she didn't want to remember and yet couldn't forget. The war had started again.

In her hands lay a short article about two young Muggle women being killed after going through torture and rape. Peter Pettigrew was the main suspect. And that was probably not even wrong she decided, but the Daily Prophet didn't mention what the Order members knew- that he hadn't been alone.

For a moment, she thought about how much had happened in those last years. She had never expected this when she had arrived at Hogwarts, still shocked and not really able to believe what was happening.

She was innocent then, a small girl who was eager to find out more about this strange, new world and had believed in authorities, never daring to question teachers, professors or even the government itself. But reality had caught up with her all too fast.

Prejudices and dangers had met her in the house of Salazar, and the innocent little girl that had come to Hogwarts had died long ago, when she stood between two fires, figuring out which bottle would bring survival and which death.

And any believe she might have ever had in authorities had been gone forever when she learned that Sirius Black was in fact innocent. Now, she didn't even think that there were more than two dozen of able people in the Ministry she had once admired.

Or maybe she had already lost a good part of her innocence when Draco had cut open her arm, saving her from years of torture in the house of pure-bloods. Well, it had changed. Together with Harry and Draco, she had at least managed to keep prejudices quiet.

In time, things would really change, she was sure of that. No one really wanted to support a man who had killed so many, and not only those they considered beneath themselves, Muggles and Muggle-Borns, but his opponents as well. The Prewett brothers or Marlene McKinnon might have been members of the Order, but they were still pure-bloods. And even Riddle's supporters had disliked their deaths.

And now, the Slytherins had found someone who could lead them against a man most of them hated by now, without Albus Dumbeldore's "love is all we need to win, we're on the right side after all" philosophy. Slytherin House always stood around a leader and while those who had left Hogwarts from there still stood around the Dark Lord, their children had slowly begun to support Harry.

That had changed things for her, too. He trusted her, completely and together with her intelligence, that earned her the House's respect. No one could attack her heritage when it was so clear that her knowledge and magical powers topped that of most of her house mates by far.

But Slytherin House had changed her as well. She had really seen it when her mother looked at her strangely after she had returned from her second year, when she had told so little out of the year and what had happened.

She had long stopped talking to her parents about the wizarding world, they didn't understand and she had a feeling that they were better of not knowing that a basilisk had nearly killed, or that the most feared wizard alive was back. They wouldn't comprehend what it was like to be in Slytherin, either.

She smiled slightly at the thought. Her parents would have been Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs. They were clever, as well as loyal and good friends. Middle-class citizens with a well-going dentist practice, they had been shocked to hear their only daughter was a witch.

While they had tried to understand her world, and while she loved them dearly, it simply wasn't possible any more. At another time, it might have been. But how could she put her current situation?

"Oh, Mom, Dad, I think I need to tell you a bit more about Hogwarts. You see, an evil wizard just returned and my best friend is destined to kill him and all my other friends have to help him. Yeah, and when I spend the summers with my friends, did I mention that two of them were raised by a Death eater, the evil lord's followers, you know. By the way, I'm in Slytherin- just like Lord Voldermort- that's him. And yeah, Bella- the Death Eater- has been teaching us spells that are at least grey, if not dark magic. But don't worry; I'm fighting for the light side."

So, she had taken the easier way. With her friends, neighbours and acquaintances she pretended to visit a school for the gifted- well, that wasn't technically a lie anyway. From some point on, she did the same with her parents and they complied. It was easier for them as well, not to try to understand this world their daughter had been catapulted into.

She talked about her friends, told gossip and funny jokes, leaving out so much. Sometimes, she admitted to herself, it hurt. She had been close with her parents before, but slowly a boundary had appeared and with every day she became more apart of this world, she left them behind a bit more.

She was ripped out of her thoughts when Harry stepped up next to her, wrapping his arm around her. Hermione snuggled close to him. She turned her head slightly to smile at him. "I didn't hear you coming."

"No wonder, you seemed miles away." He noticed the Prophet in her hands. "Thinking about the war?"

She shook her head slightly. "Just a bit. I was remembering how much changed these last years. Everything is so different now."

"Didn't become easier, huh?"

"No, not really. Especially now. I'm just so worried." She bit her lip slightly before continuing. Slytherins didn't show emotions- apart from anger, they did that well- and Harry was the only one she could really confide in. Draco and Ginny were great, wonderful friends, but there was a difference.

Her voice was quiet as she began speaking. "It's not just the end I'm worried about. I do believe that you'll manage to kill him." He took her hand, squeezing it in a silent thank you for her confidence. "But till then, how much more will we loose? I'm afraid for my parents, that someone will target them because of me. And I'm afraid for all of you here, for you, Draco, Ginny, Tonks, Bella, Cissy, Andy, Ted and all the others."

He nodded in agreement. "You're right. And worse, there's nothing we can do. There were so damn many chances where I could have killed him, and now it's going to be much more difficult."

They stood there silently, watching far away in their thoughts and yet so close. Finally, she smiled. "We'll manage- together."

A moment alter, they were interrupted by a chameleon, Tonks' patrouns, coming up the stairs. "Wotcher you two, we're going shopping for your school stuff. Come on down!"

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Caractacus Burke prided himself in having seen nearly everything. He'd even had the Dark Lord himself in his shop, the young man had worked here for a while when he was still Tom Riddle. He'd been good at his job, pity he had left. Burke had spent the last seventy years selling dark objects to people who didn't want to be known, and they didn't scare him anymore.

Only a few people could waken any fear in him. The Dark Lord, not because of his power, but because he didn't seem connected to anything, even his own soul. He was coldness, hard and black. Minerva McGonogall was another person. She wasn't that scary, but she was so firmly on the light. Burke knew that Dumbeldore had strayed and probably still did, but she had always firmly followed her course and somehow that scared him. And he was afraid of Bellatrix Black, because she was unpredictable.

Burke wasn't technically dark; he was just a good business man. He felt honest pity when Madame Lestrange, as they called her then, became the Dark Lord's right hand. He was one of the few who knew if her secret, but he didn't dare use his knowledge. It might have had something to do with the unbreakable vow he'd sworn never to reveal her other identity to anyone.

Well, he'd seen her rise at the Dark Lord's side, lose her heart to a man who couldn't feel, but then she'd done something no one had ever thought possible. She'd left the Dark Lord's service. One day, she'd left not to return. Burke wasn't stupid, he knew she wouldn't have left just like that, but it was something never done before- and it probably wouldn't be done again.

When he watched her leave the Dark Lord's chambers, from outside the door where he was waiting to discuss business with a man he sometimes still called Mr Riddle in his mind, he'd feared her for the first time. Then, she'd gone and raised Harry Potter, and he decided she either didn't think her life was worth a penny or had gone insane.

And now, the same woman was walking into his shop accompanied by the most incredible mix of people he'd ever seen in Knockturn Alley. He prided himself in being well-informed, so he recognised them instantly. Lady Black, her sister, Lady Malfoy, with her son- he looked just like his father, that one, Harry Potter himself, a Weasley and a mudblood. He shook his head slightly. Where was this world coming to that the noblest families were accompanied by mudbloods and blood-traitors?

He noted that they moved like Slytherins. True Slytherins, even the mudblood and the Weasley girl. There were calm, coldness and a hint of arrogance in their steps, he saw.

When he met Potter's eyes, green in colour, they showed nearly no expression. But he saw focus there, and above all an inner strength. For the first time, there was at least a shimmer of doubt about how much longer Riddle would rule in his mind. This boy had accomplished so much against the Dark Lord, and maybe it was more than luck.

A moment later, he remembered his job and bowed deeply. "Lady Black. Lady Malfoy. What a pleasure to see you here. What can I do for you ladies this wonderful day?"

Bellatrix gave a cold smile, making shivers run down his spine. "Thank you Mr Burke. The pleasure is on our side. Perhaps we can move this somewhere else?"

She followed him to the back room, while the others stayed behind.

Hermione raised her eyebrows slightly as she watched Bella follow the store owner into the other room. She was pretty sure that something important was going on, something probably nearly no one knew about. Going here had been important to Bella; she'd arranged to split up with the other Weasleys, telling Molly that it would be much safer this way.

And what convinced her even more of the importance of what was happening was that it seemed to bind the Black sisters and Dumbeldore together? Bella thought that "the Order is a bunch of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors who believe that they will win because they are doing the right thing." When she put it nicely, that was.

And while Dumbeldore might play the role of the forgiving old man well, she suspected that he wouldn't be stupid enough to work so closely with people most Order members disapproved of for nothing. The house wasn't really that much of a deal. The attendance of Order meetings weren't either- the Black family had connections everywhere, they didn't need to real on Dumbeldore's spies. In truth, neither party really gained something from this arrangement and that was why she believed there was more to it.

She knew that spying on Bella and Mr Burke was unwise- until now, Bella had permitted them to listen to the Order meetings- coincidently always volunteering to cast Impertuable Charms and yet seemingly forgetting, without anyone noticing, of course. She knew that the other woman had taken a large risk in telling not only Harry and the others mentioned about the prophecies, but also Hermione herself.

And she knew that she would betray this trust put in her, but she felt it was important to find out. Besides, no one would notice at the moment. The others were looking around the shop. For a moment, she watched Draco look at an elegant black cane with a snake handle; Harry read the descriptions to several elegant swords which seemed to be quiet old, Ginny leafing through one of the ancient books and Narcissa looking at the jewellery cabinet.

She continued her observation of the store for a moment, slightly distracted. She had been here once before, after her second year. The shop was small, nearly hidden, and almost not visible to those who didn't know where it was. The first time, she had been shocked by the pure cruelty of so many of these objects. Vampire teeth and snake venoms were harmless in comparison to darkly enchanted objects, heavily cursed. With a shudder she remembered will potions –"As good as Imperius, for those who have trouble casting it" had stood on the sign.

She was getting distracted again. She concentrated her full magical power; this spell required a lot of it. It was difficult, nearly forgotten. She was strong, and she had been training for things like this for two years- though she doubted Bella had thought of this use. With a discrete wave of her wand, she cast audatum.

"So, Lady Black, what can I do for you?"

"Quite simple. I want you to keep your eyes open for three objects. The founder's. You'll recognise them, I'm sure."

"Why ever would you be interested in them, if I may ask?"

Her tone became hard as steel. "I think you may not. Maybe you should think about it."

There were several moments of quiet shock in the room before Burke began speaking, seemingly quoting something. "Far more evil than anything else known to mankind, darkest of dark, destroying yourself for eternity, they are. Horcruxes." His voice changed. "I could sense it you, you know. Not what he had done, but when he worked here, there was something about him, a touch of darkness. You notice something like that after so many years."

"Will you help me, us?"

"Do you want to convince me with asking nicely? You can do better than that, Bellatrix Black."

"Do I need to? You aren't stupid, and you know that I made my choice. Think about it, what you would rather want for this world." There was the clicking of high-heels on the stone floor, before they stopped again. "You're answer will be remembered."

"So do you think your precious Potter boy can win?"

"Don't make me sound like Dumbeldore, Burke. I'm not a chess master where everyone else is my pawn. But yes, he can and he will win."

"I don't know. You've always chosen the winning side, Lady Black, leaving the Dark Lord before he fell, so I will keep my eyes open. But don't expect more from me."

"For the time being, I don't need more. Goodbye."

"Bella!"

"Yes."

"You're more the Dark Lord than you'll ever admit to yourself."

"I wouldn't say that. I've come clear with both what I was and who I was a long time ago. And I know that some small differences might be enough. And now, goodbye."

As she heard steps again, Hermione cancelled the spell. Horcruxes. Despite years of reading nearly everything she could lay her hands on, she'd never heard this word. It seemed to be darkest evil, if someone like Mr Burke who didn't seem to have a dislike against the dark arts- to put it that way- spoke of it like this.

As she made her way towards some cabinet, staring at it, pretending interest while she was miles away, she wondered if she should tell Harry. He deserved to know, and she wouldn't betray his trust by not informing him of something like this. And maybe he would have an idea what Horcruxes were. While she had decidedly read more, Harry had grown up with a different background, and there was a chance he knew something she didn't about this.

She was quiet as they made their way back to Grimmauld Place, meeting the others at Gringotts. When they were back, she instantly made her way to the library. The library of Black was the only place where she could hope to find something. In four years of dangers, she had read most books in the Hogwarts library that might be able to help with this.

Harry found her there half an hour later, reading "Magic of the Dark". She shrank back when he entered; trying to cover the book, but relaxing when she noticed it was him. He looked at her teasingly. "Are you leaving us for Riddle?"

"Most definitely. The tattoo is so nice." Sometimes it helped, to talk of the things happening around them this way, as if it were all just one big joke. "No, I was looking for something. Harry, have you ever heard the word Horcruxes?"

"No. What is that?"

"I have no idea. In the theoretical case that I would have watched Bella leave with Mr Burke and then would have decided to cast Audatum on them, I might have heard Bella asking him to keep his eyes open for the founder's objects, because they seem to be Tom Riddle's Horcruxes, what ever that is. I would have heard Burke saying something about darkest of evil."

He grinned slightly. "Well, lucky you didn't listen in. Did you find anything?"

"Nothing. Not a single word and I haven't exactly been looking in the most harmless books."

"We'll have to keep our eyes and ears open them. It seems Bella doesn't want us to know, or she would have said so long ago. By the way, if you had listened in, how would you have gotten the idea that they were talking about something important?"

She grinned slightly at his way of putting the question, respecting the way she had formulated her explanation. "I might have wondered what has Bella working with Dumbeldore, though they, shall we say dislike each other?"

"You're right." He grinned at her. "You're far too clever, you know that?"

"I'll take that as a compliment." She gave back.

"Your choice. What I don't understand is why Bella wouldn't say something. I mean, it obviously has to do with Tom and she told me the prophecy years ago."

"It is strange. Normally, she puts so much trust in you. But there was something else. In the end, he commented something that she was similar to Riddle. She said she'd come clear with who and what she had been a long time ago. Do you know what that means?"

For a moment, a flicker of something she didn't recognise was in his eyes and she was sure he was hiding something. Before he could reply, they were disturbed by arguing voices drifting up the stairs.

"Crazy…Not enough evidence…endanger"

"We…something…no use…sitting...in this place"

Harry looked at her, and it was only because she knew him so well she could see the relief on his face. "Maybe we should go done. It sounds like something major." Hermione followed him downstairs, but vowed to find out more about this. Every time she found out, she was surprised just how many secrets this family had.

There were secrets like this in every family, in hers as well as others. Her aunt on her mother's side had been two months pregnant when she married, a scandal for her strictly catholic grandmother. Her father had a brother who had been divorced three times, in the end marrying his first wife again. But that was nothing like the secrets Harry's family had.

She well remembered the first time he had given her more information than that Draco's mother and her sisters had raised them. It had been after they had saved the Stone and looking back she decided, that Harry had probably decided to really trust her at this point.

That was when he told her that Bella had been a Death Eater. It had been the first shock of many. In time, there was so much more she had learned. That Narcissa was a half-Veela, and Tonks a Metamorphagus. That Bella's divorced husband was in Azkaban and that Andromeda had been blasted of the family tree, disgraced, when she had married a Muggle-born.

And yet, there were still so many more mysteries. Sometimes, these questions would waken Hermione's curiosity, but she was clever enough to know that she wouldn't find it out by prodding. But still…Why had a former Death taken the boy-who-lived in? What had she really been before? Draco's father…he was never mentioned, all she knew was that he had died before the Dark Lord's fall.

She shook her head. She was far too thoughtful today.

Downstairs, the door from the kitchen was swinging open, Bella storming out. Narcissa and Andromeda, Sirius, Remus and Tonks were behind her. Inside, Hermione could see the Weasleys, Kingsley Shacklebolt and the headmaster staring at the others, clearly shocked. Bella kicked the door shut with her foot before placing a hand on it. "You're locked in now. The house obeys me. It will open up in two hours."

She noticed Harry and Hermione standing there, and the others coming downstairs. "What's the matter?" Draco questioned.

His mother answered. "We're going out. It seems the Rosier Mansion is hosting some Death Eaters today. Sadly, the headmaster doesn't agree."

"Can we come?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. We'll manage well enough." Her face clearly said "no discussion". A moment later, all of them apparated away.

Harry Potter might have a certain coldness towards people, nothing unusual for a Slytherin, but there were a handful people who he respected, trusted and loved. And for them he would risk everything when he thought they were endangered. While he trusted the duelling skills of all those who had just left to fight, he still thought it dangerous.

His Slytherin mind took only seconds to go through the possible options. Staying here was something he dismissed without even thinking about it. He looked up a moment later. He had never been at the Rosier mansion, but he would probably still manage to make a portkey to go their. "I'm going to go after them."

The twins and Ron seemed surprised, the others weren't. Draco just questioned how they would get there. Harry pulled out his wand and reached for the old tea kettle on the table. "By portkey. But first, we'll cast disillusionment charms on us. If it isn't dangerous and they're okay, no one will notice us. If it isn't, we can still fight.

Hermione nodded her approval. "But let's make them partial disillusionment charms. If we can still see each other, we'll be a lot less noisy."

"You're really going after them?" Fred asked.

His sister nodded. "Yes, we are." She gave no further explanations.

The twins looked at each other. "Can we come?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Sorry, guys, but neither of you knows how to duel properly. It's far too dangerous."

Ron stared at them. "I forbid you to go, Ginevra."

"With whose authority? Mum and Dad are locked in there, as is Dumbeldore. I'm going."

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't even use your wand."

"Silencio. There are spells for a lot of things, Ronniekins. And now, if you'll excuse me." She reached for her wand, disillusioning herself before she grabbed the portkey. A moment later, all of them were gone.

Behind them, the others were still staring. "Bloody brilliant." Fred murmured.

"Never knew she had it in her." His twin commented.

Hundreds of miles away, near the Scottish coast, four teenagers appeared, only visible to each other. They stood in front of a large mansion and Hermione sighed in relief. They had reached their destination. She hated travelling by portkey, though she saw it was practical.

The manor was large and seemed to be quite old, going with the Gothic style. After a moment, they heard spells being called out from inside and hurried towards the house. The front door was open, so they could enter without problems. Though disillusioned, they still moved carefully, wands pulled out.

Windows with coloured glass gave the entrance hall a warm light, but at the moment, it didn't seem that way. Masked Death eaters, about fifteen of them were throwing spells frantically, one of them trying to put on his mask, the others fighting without. Clearly, they had been surprised by the attack.

The attackers were wearing masks as well as battle robes and against the inelegant and bad style of the definitely untrained Death Eaters, they looked more like fighting a duelling competition instead of a life-death battle.

Most noticeable was the woman in the middle. Her robes were black like those of the others, but there was a thin scarlet line framing them. As Harry and the others entered, another Death Eater dropped down under her killing curse.

AN: I feel a little mean for ending it here, but hey it's not even really a cliffie. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I tried to put in a bit more of Harry and Hermione. Once they get back to school, we'll have more of that, but for now, please bear with me. I need to get the "Bella-parts" done before they go back. Next chapter will focus on Harry and Bella, and after that we'll have more of the others.

Now, please review! It helps me so much to read what you guys think and how I can improve!!!

A gigantic thank you to BlackDemonAngel, StunningSpellRocks2345, HaLLoWeeNDoLL (I hope I got that right :)), SwishandFlick31, Midnight Little One, seraphinn, BenRG, freakysoccergirl, android181, Superfinger and oxtenshixo for reviewing! Thanks!!!

HaLLoWeeNDoLL: I'm glad you like the story. Good to know that someone sees Bellatrix the same way, you said exactly what I think about her!

SwishandFlick31: I'm not sure yet. There might be one HG scene, but I don't know. However, hurry and Hermione will be in love with each other practically during the whole fic, so there won't be any real HG. There will be more of the others characters once they're back at school. I can't promise DL, but it we either that or DracoSusan. Not DG- I dislike that four friends pairing up two and two concept.

Midnight Little One: Hermione will definitely get her due part of the story; she's one of my favourite characters. I'm sorry that you don't like Ginny, but somehow she fit in well for me.

BenRG: Thank you again for your review! It's wonderful to get so much constructive critic and it really helps me. Lily is not a seer, but there'll be more of that soon. The centre will move away from Bella (see AN), I promise. Ginny/Ron action is one of the parts I also look forwards to, and if all goes as planned there will be quite a lot of it.

Another thanks to all reviewers and now to all of you, please click the blue button and tell me what you think!!!