Chapter 25- Know Thyself

A short while later found the five friends and Professor Dumbledore, cross referencing the notes they had gathered with the information Percy had acquired from the Ministry, which he had obtained at great personal risk to himself.

On the table before them lay lists of known Death Eaters, maps detailing their whereabouts and the locations of all the battles that had taken place, as well as the various notes they had taken watching all the Muggle news coverage. Draco was familiar with most of the information, having taken many of the notes himself, and found that he and Ron worked well together coming up with possible connections and strategizing Voldemort's motives.

After their tireless efforts for nearly two hours, they had finally reached some conclusions. They were able to determine that twelve of the fifteen Muggle news stories that they had taken notes on could have involved Death Eaters. In fact, they were fairly certain that these events were actually smaller attacks that were planned to instill fear into the hearts of both Muggles and Wizards around Great Britain and various parts of Europe. After coordinating the date of each attack and pin pointing the location on the maps, they could clearly see that the attacks were being done in concentric circles around London, each attack getting closer and closer to the heart of Britain.

The Daily Prophet had speculated in sensational article this past spring that "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" had devised a plan of attack that involves total annihilation of the world. It seemed know that they weren't far from the truth. Voldemort and his followers had been regularly attacking smaller communities of wizards around the world. It was believed that once he controlled of most of the surrounding communities, that he would then focus his attack on Great Britain, which is commonly known to house the largest community of wizards in the world. It looked as though that prediction was now coming true.

Based on the information they were analyzing, they could only assume one of two things. Either Voldemort was planning to attack London next- most likely the only wizarding village in London, Diagon Alley- or he was looking for something or someone, suspecting it to be close to London. In either case, the news was grim.

The war was about to come to their own backyard. Thankfully, the Order's headquarters was well protected and unplottable. They were safe in their own little haven.

Confident with the success of his students' research, Dumbledore left headquarters to meet up with the rest of the Order to be apprised of the situation. Molly had disappeared somewhere else in the house, no doubt to worry about her husband's absence in seclusion. Leaving five weary friends with nothing left to do but to wait. Once again.

"I hate this," said Ginny, not having to elaborate on her abhorrence of the situation. They had already had this discussion many times before.

The "not knowing" was the absolute worse. Not knowing if a battle had even been waged. Not knowing if their loved ones were in danger. Not knowing just how many people had been injured or killed. Not knowing the fate of the wizarding world. Not knowing….

"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Harry?" asked Hermione, reaching across the table to grasp her friend's hand. "I hate to say it, but you look awful."

"I feel awful," he replied honestly, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

He wasn't as pale as he was before, Draco observed, but his eyes revealed that Harry still wasn't a hundred percent yet. His fever had broken and his sweat matted hair had dried, leaving him with a haggard appearance.

"Do you still have a headache?" Draco asked, remembering the pain Harry had been in during vision. "I'm sure Severus has left another headache potion for you around here somewhere."

"No thanks. I think I'd just like to shower and lay down for a while, if that's alright?" said Harry, his voice sounding tired. "I'm just feeling a bit off, if you know what I mean…"

They all nodded, feeling sympathetic. He had mentally battled the onslaught of a vision for more than a half an hour before Voldemort finally receded his hold over him.

"Is anyone else hungry? I'm absolutely famished!" said Ron, jumping up to poke his nose into kitchen cupboards.

"You're always hungry," Hermione admonished. Ron shrugged in response and went about his search.

"Aren't you hungry?" Draco asked Harry, gesturing to the small meal that Molly had prepare for him earlier. Harry had yet to take a bite of it, and Draco suspected that he was too worried about what was happening to even think about eating.

"No, just tired. If you all don't mind, I think I'm going to go take a nap," he said. "It's not like there's anything more for me to do right now anyway."

Hermione looked as though she wanted to say something in response, but held back instead. Harry excused himself from the others and began to make his way upstairs.

A sudden, horrifying thought occurred to Draco as he watched Harry's retreating form. His mother didn't know that Harry was here, or that he was even friends with him. He had no idea how his mother would respond to Harry's presence in the house, and he wasn't so sure he wanted to find out. He didn't know how he was going to hide the fact that Harry was here if Narcissa decided to leave the privacy of her room.

Draco quickly followed Harry upstairs, hoping to intercede if the pair happened to come upon one another. The likelihood of that happening was slim, considering his mother rarely left her guest room, but the possibility of such an event occurring worried him.

Draco felt his pulse quicken at the thought of his mother discovering his relationship with Harry. It was bad enough that she was could possibly discover that he was friends with Harry, he couldn't imagine how she would react if she knew they were dating. For that matter she didn't even know that her own son was gay.

It wasn't something he really felt like announcing to her just yet. Their relationship since her return had been tenuous at best. They could barely be in the same room with one another before one of them began arguing about something or another. The thought of declaring his sexuality to her was enough to send his stomach into somersaults. After all, he was the last Malfoy heir and he was sure that she would contest that it was his job to find a proper girl to settle down to carry on the family name.

Thinking about his mother and the attacks that occurred today, he couldn't help but wonder if there was a connection. For a fleeting moment he thought that his mother might some how be involved with what was happening. She had looked awfully suspicious talking to the portrait of Mrs. Black earlier, but Draco could not think of a way that his mother could be responsible for the attacks. She had never left the house, mainly because of the magical tether tying her here, and she had no way of contacting anyone. Her tether prevented her from using any of the floos to fire call someone and she didn't have access to an owl. Realizing this, Draco almost felt bad that he would think of her so poorly, but there was no denying that his mother was up to something.

"You didn't have to follow me…" Harry said, drawing Draco's attention back to him. Harry yawned tiredly as he climbed the next set of stairs that led to the second floor. "I'll be alright on my own."

Harry must have sensed what was worrying Draco, because he suddenly said, "Oh, right…I hadn't thought about running into her," he quietly replied, as they both paused at the top of the stairs.

Harry and Draco both glanced around the second floor hallway, looking for signs that his mother was near. Seeing that there was no one in sight, Harry made his way towards the bathroom. He stopped short near Draco's bedroom, yawning once more. Glancing back and forth between the bedroom and the bathroom, he seemed to come to a decision.

"Maybe I'll just wait to shower," said Harry lingering in the doorway of the bedroom. "I'm just so tired…Do you mind if I sleep in here? Or I can find another guest room if you want?"

Draco nodded towards the bedroom and then guided him towards his own bed so that he could lie down. As long as he closed the door as he left, he was fairly certain that Harry's presence here could remain hidden a little while longer. Draco lovingly removed Harry's shoes off and then held the covers up so that he could crawl under. He then closed the blinds in the room with a flick of his wand, before turning to leave.

Harry caught his hand as he retreated. Turning back to his boyfriend, Draco saw the worry in his eyes. He had yet to say a word since following Harry in here, fearing that if his mother heard his voice she might come see what he was up to. He certainly didn't want Harry to think that he was slighting him in some way so Draco leaned down to whisper a reassurance, but found himself melting into one of Harry's kisses instead. It was tender and urgent, wanting nothing more than to find comfort. Draco returned the kiss with equal fervor, forgetting for a moment that should have been more cautious.

"I love you…" said Harry breathlessly as they pulled apart.

It was when he heard a sharp gasp from the hallway that Draco noticed Narcissa standing in the doorway. She must have just left her room to go downstairs to find dinner or something. Draco felt his heart drop into his stomach and jumped away from Harry as fast as he could, dropping his hand as if something hot had burned him. He knew that Harry was probably hurt by the gesture, but he was looking properly alarmed as well, sitting up in bed now. Draco stared at his mother in disbelief, not really comprehending how he had let the very situation he was trying so hard to avoid come to pass.

"Mother, I can explain…" he began. His mouth had gone dry and he was having difficulty speaking.

Narcissa's eyes slid from her son over to Harry, practically boring holes into him with the murderous gleam in her eyes. Her lips were pursed tight and her hands were angrily clenched by her sides.

"There really isn't any explanation needed is there?" she spat.

And she was right. What really could Draco say? It was fairly obvious from their display both their sexual orientation and choice of partners. Did it really matter how they came to be together? Or that they were ever once enemies?

Draco stood there silently, desperately trying to think of a way to fix this situation, but his mind was completely numb with the shock of what had just occurred. Seeing that her son wasn't going to offer any other explanation, Narcissa turned briskly on her heal and fled from their sight.

Draco swore under his breath. "Shite."

"Draco, I'm so sorry…" Harry tried to apologize, backing up against the headboard, looking thoroughly horrified.

"Leave it," he said quickly, not really wanting to hear any apologies.

"Draco…"

"Leave it!"

Harry nodded and turned away from him, looking quite forlorn. It had certainly been quite a day. At any other time, Draco would have cared, but right now he didn't even want to be in the same room as Harry.

"Get some rest," he said curtly, before quickly leaving the room to find his mother. It was time to face the music.

Harry groggily woke up a little more than an hour later, feeling a little better than he had before. With Sirius returning home and everything that had happened to Harry over the summer it had been almost easy to forget that there was still a war going on. But the dull ache in his head was a fresh reminder to him of the events that had transpired today… the vision, the attacks on Muggle cities, and now Narcissa's discovery of his relationship with Draco. It had been quite a day already.

Three hours had passed since he had tumbled out of the fireplace and into Grimmauld Place, clutching his head in pain, and he wondered worriedly what became of the Order. Were they able to assist the Muggles in putting out the strange fires? Had they found themselves in the midst of battle? Was anyone hurt or injured? What about Sirius and Remus? What exactly was going on? He needed answers, and he wanted them now.

A quick glance around determined that he was still alone in Ron and Draco's room. He was apprehensive at first with leaving the room to find the others, but he figured the damage had already been done as far as Draco's mother was concerned. He felt just awful about the situation and a knot had formed in the pit of his stomach as he contemplated just how upset Draco was with him.

Harry wearily dragged himself out of bed knowing that he would have to face the inevitable. He listened at the door for the sound of voices, but found that there was only silence on the other side. Opening the door slightly he peeked into the hallway to make sure that the coast was clear. Finding no one in sight, he quietly made his way downstairs. He quickly found Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Draco sitting in front of the television, their eyes glued to the set, anxiously watching Muggle news coverage. They were sprawled across the couch, chairs, and floor with various papers scattered around them.

"What's happening?" Harry asked anxiously as he entered the living room.

All four heads snapped up in his direction, having not heard him enter. The grim looks on their faces did not put Harry at ease.

"We're still not sure. No one from the Order has returned to headquarters yet, and Muggles don't seem to know much of anything," replied Ginny, turning to look back at the massive column of black smoke, which had begun to dissipate, that was being featured on the screen.

"Looks like they got the fires put out," Harry commented, not seeing any flames coming out of any of the buildings. He sank down onto the couch next to Draco.

Hermione nodded, "We suspect that the Order had something to do with that. My guess is that they are all under disillusionment charms."

"Have the Muggles discovered the cause of the fires?"

"No, but we're fairly certain that Death Eaters are responsible," Ron replied.

Harry sighed deeply as he watched the emergency workers at each scene handling the situation, helping those who were injured, and removing bodies that were killed in the "blast."

Harry sighed at all the death and destruction, wishing that he had been able to prevent it somehow. "I had hoped that we would know more by now."

"So did we," said Hermione quietly.

Glancing beside him, Harry noticed the grim look on Draco's face. He was almost fearful to approach Draco about what had happened with is mother. He had yet to say a word since Harry had entered the room, and the tension that was coming from his boyfriend was radiating off in waves.

"So is everything alright?" Harry asked Draco quietly.

"It's fine now," he replied tersely, though Draco wouldn't look at him.

Harry wanted to know exactly what had happened when Draco went to talk to his mother, but the blonde wasn't very forthcoming. He had said everything was fine, so why was he being so aloof about it all?

"Draco…"

Without responding, Draco got up and left the room. Harry looked to his friends for an answer to what had happened, but only received shrugs of uncertainty in response. He followed Draco and found him entering the drawing room across the hallway. The blonde didn't stop until he reached the large windows on the other side of the room. With his arms crossed and his back facing him, Draco stared out at the Muggle neighborhood, ignoring the fact that Harry had followed him.

"Draco?"

"I wanted to be alone…"

Harry shoved his hands in his pockets feeling very uncomfortable. "I just thought… I wondered what- so you talked to your mum?"

"Something like that…"

"You said everything is fine now. It isn't though, is it?" Harry asked coming up behind Draco now. Draco grunted noncommittally in response. "I'm guessing then it didn't go well. What did she say?"

"Nothing…" he said quietly.

Harry felt bad for him, knowing that his reunion with his mother more than a week ago didn't go the way Draco would have wanted. And now his mother found out a secret that Draco wished to keep hidden from her.

Harry reached out and put his hand on Draco's shoulder, urging him to turn around. "Dray… talk to me…"

"No!" Draco shouted, shaking his hand off his shoulder. "I'd like you to just leave me alone!"

Harry was taken aback, having never been spoken to like that from Draco. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing."

Harry sighed. "Don't say that. I know something is wrong, now just say it."

"It's nothing," Draco replied crossly.

"Draco…"

There was a moment's pause while Harry waited for a reply. At first he didn't think that Draco was going to respond, but then he muttered something incomprehensible.

"What?"

"I'm just irritated with you, alright?" said Draco, finally turning around now. His pale blue eyes still refused to meet Harry's green ones.

"With me?" Harry asked incredulously, wondering what he had done wrong when Draco hadn't said anything in response. He was fairly certain that it had something to do with Narcissa finding out about them, but that hadn't really been his fault. Besides, Draco had made him feel as if everything was fine now.

"You're mad at me?" Harry asked, understanding what Draco hadn't voiced aloud.

"Yes! Why did you have to go and kiss me?" Draco asked angrily, his eyes blazing as he finally looked up at Harry.

"I knew that this was what it was about," said Harry, feeling quite offended. "I said I was sorry! I didn't think she would walk in on us. And the last time I checked, the kiss was mutual."

Draco crossed his arms over his chest and adopted the Malfoy sneer that he had once been so famous for. "I just find it interesting that I helped keep us a secret from Sirius for more than a month, but you are here not even five minutes and your declaring your love to me in front of my mother!"

"Draco, I'm sorry! I didn't know she was standing there. What else do you want me to say?" Harry shouted exasperatedly.

"I don't know, but you've just made my life a hell of a lot worse!" Draco shouted back.

Harry stared at him incredulously. How could he say something like that to him? "I've made you life worse? How can you say that? I thought I meant something to you!"

Draco groaned in frustration. "Of course you do. That's not what this is about!" he yelled.

"Then what the hell is going on?" asked Harry, feeling quite bewildered on off balanced.

Draco turned away from again, still hugging his chest protectively. "Things were hard enough with my mother before. She won't even look at me now!" His voice made him sound wounded and afraid.

"I'm sorry!" Harry tried again, looking desperate.

"Sorry can't fix this Harry," said Draco, turning slightly to look at him once more. "My mother and I were never close, but at least we still had each other. Even after all the arguments we've had over the last week, we both knew we still had each other. Now we don't even have that!"

"I'm so sorry, Dray…"

"I went after her…. tried to talk to her, but she completely ignored me. Finally said she wanted me out of her sight," he said. "You can't know what that feels like. To be in love with an amazing person your mother doesn't approve of. She hates me! She won't even look at me! Can you possibly understand what that feels like?"

"She doesn't hate you Draco. She's your mother!" Harry tried.

"Yes she does! She knows that I've changed."

Harry rolled his eyes in irritation. Everyone knew that Draco had changed. It's what made him tolerable now. "So, that's not a bad thing!"

"Oh, it's not?" he asked, sarcasm lacing his voice. "Well, let me enlighten you, Potter. My changing has completely shattered what was left of my life. Do you think that it was easy?"

Harry found that he couldn't respond.

"Huh? Do you think it was easy running away from my father and mother? Do you think it was easy putting aside all of the values I was raised with? To change the very core of my being? To be publicly ridiculed because of my family name? To defy the Dark Lord? To be shunned by my housemates? I used to be the most popular Slytherin, now I only have one friend left!" Draco shouted, obviously thinking of Blaise.

Draco could have turned his back and Harry and the Weasleys several times over the course of this last year, but his loyalty had never wavered. It hadn't when Pansy and he thugs had proposed that he spy on them for his father and the Dark Lord, and not when they tried to beat him into submission. He could have taken the easy way out, but he had chosen to stand beside those he had come to love. He had been shunned by his house as a result. It hurt Harry to think that Draco believed he only had one friend left in the world.

"No you don't! You have me! And Ron, Hermione, Ginny-"

"Those are your friends!"

"They're your friends now too! Why can't you see that? Why are you being such an arse?"

"I'm being an arse?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Yes, you are!"

"Just because I'm a little irritated? Aren't I allowed to be frustrated once in a while?"

"Of course, but I don't even know what this is all about!" Harry shouted exasperatedly.

"It's about me not knowing who I am anymore! I'm not really a Slytherin anymore- my whole house has practically shunned me- and I will never be a Gryffindor-"

"Trust me… you're a Slytherin to the core," Harry quickly replied, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at Draco unbelievingly.

"Whatever. That's not the point!"

"Then what is!"

"Just that…. this hasn't been the best year of my life," Draco mumbled, looking away now.

Harry couldn't help but retort," Well join the club…"

Draco looked up and met his eyes, knowing that no matter what had happened to him, nothing could compare what Harry had been through.

"I know…" he said quietly. "But things haven't been easy for me either…"

"I'm sure they haven't, but what exactly are we talking about here? I'm still confused," said Harry, feeling relieved that their shouting match seemed to be over.

Draco sighed irritably. "It's just been hard. I feel like I got dumped in a cauldron and my emotions were put on a mixing spell. I just feel confused…"

"What's been hard?" Harry asked softly, hoping to placate his boyfriend and fix the situation.

"Everything… running away, dealing with my house, listening to the comments everyone makes about us being together, confronting my father, facing Voldemort, dealing with my mother's reappearance, watching you go through everything…" Draco began. His voice trailed off to a whisper as he continued. "It's been hard learning what it was to be a real family…falling in love with you…"

Harry was really hurt now. "You say that like it's a bad thing!"

"Well, sometimes I don't know! I love you, Harry. I always will. But I've made a lot of sacrifices," Draco admitted.

Harry felt tears come to his eyes, wondering for the first if this was Draco's way of breaking up with him. "Why are you saying all of this?"

"So that maybe you'll understand what all this has cost me," Draco replied, gesturing towards Harry and the Order's Headquarters in general. "Hell, Potter, I don't even know who I am anymore!"

There was that word again, Potter. The way Draco had said his surname made him feel like everything that they had gone through together this year had never happened; like they were enemies once again. It made Harry feel immensely sad, feeling as though this might be the end for them.

"Listen, Malfoy, if you didn't like have changed who you are so badly then why the hell did you do it?"

"Because of you! The reason is you!" Draco shouted, walking away from him towards one of the chairs by the windows. He sat down on it, perching near the edge.

Harry was taken aback again, and found himself opening and closing his mouth, without any words leaving it, looking much like a fish. He really didn't know what to say in response.

Draco went on and added, "I changed everything about me because of you!"

"I get that, Draco. We've all seen the changes in you. I, for one, feel that they were all for the better. Do you regret all of that now?" he asked.

"No, never…" Draco said miserably, sinking back into his chair and looking as though the air had been let out of his sails.

"Then what's wrong?" Harry asked, taking pity on him and sitting down beside his boyfriend in the large squashy chair.

"I just never imagined it would be so hard still! When do we get a break? When do we get to be just a normal couple?"

"I don't know…"

Draco sighed, looking quite forlorn now that he had spent all of his pent up anger. After a long pause he finally said, "I'm sorry, Harry. I don't mean to be like this… None of this is really about us… it's just my mother-"

"I know… I'm sorry, too" said Harry, feeling the need apologize over and over again if necessary. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco, pulling him close.

"Why doesn't she love me? Am I so different than I was before?"

Harry didn't comment. There wasn't really anything he could say at this point to make the situation better. Instead, Harry buried his face in the crook of Draco's neck, breathing in his wonderful scent. He hoped this small bit of comfort would help the pain his boyfriend was obviously feeling from the rejection of his mother.

They sat there for a long while, holding onto one another, occasionally relishing the other with kisses. Neither of them wanted to leave the sanctuary of this room to face the inevitable. Not only were they dealing with the aftermath of Draco's mother, but also the attacks that had occurred today. They were still waiting to hear what had happened. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long.

Ron, Ginny, and Hermione couldn't help but overhear Draco and Harry's conversation in the other room. The couple really should have put up a silencing spell, but in the heat of the argument they had obviously forgotten it. The three friends could have turned out the sound on the television set to block out the shouting voices or even throw up a privacy spell themselves, but they were just too curious to know what was going on.

They knew something had happened upstairs when they saw the look on Draco's face when he had come back down, but he hadn't told them what had occurred. Hermione, of course, already suspected that it had something to do with Narcissa and as always, she had been right.

Eventually the voices died down, and they could no longer hear what was being said. They could only hope that the pair had reconciled their differences.

"I've never heard them fight like that before," commented Hermione after a while.

Ron looked at his girlfriend in disbelief. "What? Yes you have! Remember what happened on New Years?"

"Yes, but that was a bit different, I suppose," Hermione replied. "Draco had been given that awful potion and he didn't even realize what he was doing until it was over. It wasn't Draco's fault that he assaulted him, and Harry knew that. The fight was more between you and Draco, if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, well I still say that the git deserved a good ass kicking after what happened," Ron muttered, obviously still upset at what had happened after all of these months.

"Ron!" Ginny chided.

"What? I'm just saying he could have observed a little more self control…"

"That's just ridiculous Ron. You know he became what he hated most!"

"I know, I know…" he replied, not really wanting to rehash all of that again.

They listened again for another few moments, wondering what the couple was saying now that it had gone quiet.

"Do you think they're going to be okay?" Hermione asked softly.

"They're fighting, 'Mione, not battling Death Eaters. Why wouldn't they be okay?" asked Ron.

"Well sometimes relationships don't turn out how you'd expect them to be," she said looking quite forlorn.

"It sounded pretty serious," Ginny added, looking equally as upset. "You don't think they're breaking up, do you?"

"I hope not. Harry really loves Draco. I hate to imagine what breaking up would do to him," Hermione replied.

"He survived Limbo and his soul chose to live despite all that has happened in his crappy life," said Ron. "And he survived that encounter with his bastard uncle this summer. Somehow I think he will survive a breakup."

"Ron, don't be so insensitive!" Hermione scolded.

"I'm not. I just think-"

Ron was interrupted by the sight of his father walking through the doorway with Remus and Sirius. His mother followed them in looking both tearful and relieved.

"Dad!" Ron shouted, jumping out of his seat. Hermione and Ginny stood up beside him, looking equally anxious.

"Hey, kids," said his father, looking rather worn and tired. "We have some news."

Ron nearly fell over when he saw the nasty gash in his father's arm. Remus and Sirius were sporting some minor injuries as well. "I'm fine, Ronnie," said his father when he saw him eyeing the gash. "Your mother will patch me up in just a bit."

"Wouldn't let me until he came to see you all. He knew how worried you've all been," his mother added.

"Where's Harry?" asked Sirius, looking around the room.

"Right here," Harry replied, appearing behind them in the doorway with Draco in tow. "What's happened? Is everyone alright?"

Ron the saw the desperate look in Harry's eyes as they skimmed over Remus and Sirius, making sure they were still in one piece, noticing all of the bruises and scratches.

"We're fine, Harry," said Remus, giving the teen a rough one armed hug. "Don't look so worried."

Ron saw Harry tried to smile, but it was clear he was still shaken up by the whole ordeal. They all were. Waiting to hear any type of news, when there are battles being waged, is unbearable.

"Where is everyone else?" asked Ginny. "Is it all over?"

"Yes," said their father. "Tonks, Moody, and Shacklebolt are being debriefed at the Ministry. I imagine the Aurors that are not dealing with the captured Death Eaters are all being reprimanded for working along side the Order again after explicitly being told not to allow us to interfere… and the professors are tending to some of the wounded in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. St. Mungo's already had their hands full so some of the injured were directed to the school. The Muggles are dealing with their injured and casualties too, of course."

"Were there that many?" Ron asked.

"Yes, but most of the injuries sustained were minor. Many just had a bad case of smoke inhalation. We got there in the nick of time."

"How many Death Eaters were captured?" asked Draco.

Remus turned to him to reply. "Only nine. Most Apparated away as soon as we arrived on the scene."

"How do you know?" asked Hermione curiously. "Forgive me, but I can't imagine that they would be in those awful robes in front of Muggles, exposing magic like that."

"Oh, but hey are," Remus replied. "They're using Notice-Me-Not spells to do their dirty work out in the open now. The Muggles didn't even give them a second glance."

"And the fires?" asked Hermione again.

"You were right Hermione, those Muggle fires were caused by Death Eaters. The blazes were used as a distraction. The smoke screen allowed the Death Eaters to raid the nearby homes," his father explained.

"Muggle homes? Why would they do that?" Ginny asked. "What could they possibly gain?"

"Well, for one it causes mass hysteria… fear is a powerful tool in Voldemort's campaign to take over the wizarding world," Remus explained. "If enough people believe that resistance against him is futile, they may start joining his ranks out of fear for their loved ones. It happened before…"

"They were looking for something else as well…" Sirius added.

"What?" Harry asked curiously.

"Muggleborns and halfbloods. Many still live around the Muggles they grew up with. Death Eaters killed quite a few, as well as several Muggles, before Ministry and the Order arrived at each scene," he replied. "Thankfully, there weren't as many casualties as Dartmoor, from what I hear."

Hermione made a sharp gasp, and covered her mouth. "Why? Why them?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Voldemort is still trying to purify the race, I guess," said Sirius. "More pure blood propaganda. Just another strategy in his twisted drive for power."

"Anything else?" Harry asked, determined to find out all the details.

"Yes, actually… Dementors were used in Luton just like they did during the attack on Halloween in Hogsmeade," said Ron's father, looking perplexed.

"What is it, dad?" asked Ron.

"Well, it's just that the Dementors seemed out of place in this attack, less organized and rather random in their attacks," he replied. "Something tells me that Voldemort wasn't as successful as he thought he'd be in gaining their alliance. There seems to be some resistance… some wavering in their willingness to follow orders."

"What does that mean for us?" Ron asked.

"We're not sure. We're looking into ways of possibly coercing the Dementors against Voldemort, though were not sure how," said Remus. "You found one lone Dementor on your way to Donn Island and there may be more. If enough can be found that resist the collective mind the creatures seem to share when they are gathered, we might be able to somehow use them to weaken Voldemort enough to take him out once and for all."

"Well, we do know when thing for sure now… thanks to your research. Dumbledore says that the next attack will probably be in Diagon Alley. They are on alert now and many are being evacuated as we speak," said Sirius, grinning down at all of them broadly.

"At least some good has come of all of this," said Ron.

They were pensive for a few moments as they thought about all they had learned. The silence was broken by the sound of Harry clearing his throat.

"Does any one know if these attacks were somehow related to my vision… not the one from today, but from before… about the woman?" Harry asked.

"She may still have some usefulness," thought Ron, remembering the line from Harry's vision.

"No, we've thought about that too. We can't find a connection yet," Remus replied.

"So that probably means that whatever that vision meant has yet to take place…" he replied.

Remus nodded. "If we only knew what…"

"And when," added Ron's mother, still looking quite upset.

"Or where," said Draco, finishing everyone's thought.

Only time would tell.

A/N: Wow, these last two chapters were hard to write. I think my muse went on vacation for a while. I hope that you found it interesting. A lot of sub plots that have spanned the series are beginning to culminate together. Whew! I didn't think I'd ever finish writing it with what little spare time I have. I wrote everything so out of order that it's hard to imagine this came together in the end. Anyway, let me know what you all think in a review. I will posting the next two chapters very soon.