Fickle Fate: Chapter 38

First off...I AM SO SORRY FOR BEING LATE! I have my list of excuses prepared: retook the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test), prepped to move to a new state, prepped to actually start the new job, actually moved to new state, spent 2 days trying to get landlord to turn my water on...but hey...the new chapter is up!

Friendly reminder: simply calling a story stupid is not constructive criticism. If you don't like it, don't read it and don't leave nasty comments. Those of you who send me nice comments, thank you for every word. They always make me smile. :)

**Also, it was a long time ago, so you might not remember but SEVERUS QUIT HOGWARTS. That is all.

...Also, I'm really tired and just spent 2 hours finishing this chapter. So I'm not gonna proof read it. Sorry in advance for any mistakes you come across.

Warnings: Angst.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter I wouldn't have to apply for so many scholarships to get through school.

Please enjoy!

We're Back!

Harry fiddled with the ring as he stared out the window of the train. His mind was running over Voldemort's words over and over again…

"All I can tell you is that the horcrux should be in the Room of Requirement." Harry's brows furrowed as he considered what the Dark Lord told him.

"Should be? Do you think Dumbledore will get there first?" Tom grimaced.

"It should not take him long to realize it is in the Room of Requirement. However, I cast a spell on it so it continually changes location within the Room of Requirement." Harry huffed but nodded his understanding.

"Ok. So any suggestions on how to actually get it?" Tom nodded, yet hesitated with his answer.

"I want your first resort to be to cancel the spell I placed on it. Since you likely won't be standing in front of the horcrux when you do it, point your wand at the ceiling and say Finite Finis. Then use Accio. If that doesn't work…I believe your…status as another horcrux could help you locate it. As the years have progressed my horcruxes grew in power and their…independence shall we say. Even if casting the cancellation charm works, there is no guarantee the horcrux will come to you. However, your link to it could lead you to it faster and perhaps…lull it into a false sense of security enough for you to grab it." Harry scrunched his face up in disbelief.

"Lull it into a false sense of security? You said this thing is like a tiara, right? You really think it's going to act like a wild animal?" Tom tilted his head in a "Perhaps" fashion and Harry suddenly grew a lot more concerned. "Tom…could this thing hurt us? I mean, that's probably a stupid question. Your diary was more than a little cruel. It literally tried to murder people." Tom opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to find the right words.

"I honestly can't say. I am hoping that since you are only going to find it and not destroy it, it won't lash out. However, for everyone's safety, the moment you find it and have it in hand, message me with this." Voldemort held out his family ring. Harry examined it closely before putting it on, admiring the strange symbol in the middle of the stone. "This will allow you to contact myself, any member of the inner circle and Sirius and Remus. I made it to work similarly to the fake galleons Ms. Granger created. I want you and your friends to continue to communicate with each other using those fake galleons. Only you will have this ring to communicate with those of us on this end. I don't want Dumbledore to think anything more of this ring than as an adornment. It is coated in protection spells which you will hopefully not need. Only use this in case of emergencies, Harry. Otherwise, give any reports to Lucius when he visits."

Harry was jolted from his thoughts by Ron and Hermione's entrance into the compartment. He smiled up at his friends and they gave him nervous ones back. They had arrived at the platform separately to give the slight appearance of normality. Fred and George had dropped Ron off. Rabastan had glamored himself to look like Hermione's dad to drop her off and Remus had dropped Harry off. Everyone had been on edge, waiting for Order members to suddenly jump out and attack. Luckily they hadn't, yet that somehow put Harry more on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

As Harry focussed back on the present, Ron and Hermione took their seats.

"Draco is currently with the Slytherins," Ron said. "He's got himself a small audience and is already starting to fill them in on the Dark Lord's new direction. I've got to say, the Ferret works fast." Harry hummed in agreement. "I…I saw Ginny…" That got Harry to pop his head up. No one had brought up Ginny for both Harry and Ron's sakes. Ron had lost a sister and Harry had lost a girl he liked.

"Yeah, Mate? Are you…okay," Harry asked. The Boy Who Lived watched as Ron grimaced and Hermione took his hand.

"I don't know. She saw me and she just…glared at me like I was a Death Eater." Harry frowned in sympathy for his best friend. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he could think of words to say.

"I…I'm sorry, Ron," was all Harry had to offer his friend. Ron shrugged and the room went quiet.

A few minutes later, Neville Longbottom suddenly barged into their compartment. He threw himself into the seat next to Harry and started talking at the stunned Trio.

"Guys, did you hear?! Umbridge was sacked and is getting twenty years in Azkaban!" Hermione was the first to recover her voice and speak.

"Really? But how!?" Neville smiled and seemed to puff his chest up in pride.

"My Gran. Before my parents…she was a vicious social justice fighter. Then she kind of dropped off and isolated herself in our home. But a couple weeks ago, Professor McGonagall reached out to her and told her to ask me about the Pink Toad and detentions I might have had with her." Neville looked down at his hands for a second, a sheepish expression on his face, before he brought his eyes back up. "I thought she'd be mad at me for either not telling her before or…you know…letting it happen and not fighting back." The Trio knew how demanding Neville's Gran could be, how she made Neville feel weak and inadequate. So they understood Neville's concerns. "But she didn't! Instead she stalked right out of the house through the floo and marched up to Fudge's office and almost bit the man's head off. When the Minister tried to give her the run around she immediately contacted the heads of other families and asked them about their child's detentions. She got so many furious replies within five minutes that Fudge had to believe her. Vials of memories were shipped straight to his office and piled up on his desk. Umbridge was arrested immediately, and her trial was set for the next day. Gran said it lasted no more than twenty minutes. It didn't get written about in the newspapers because it would have been a huge embarrassment to Fudge."

The Trio sat in silence for a few seconds, their mouths hanging open. Unsurprisingly, it was Ron who broke the silence.

"That's bloody brilliant!" He couldn't stop his lips from curling up in a smile and soon his friends were joining him. Harry clapped Neville on the back in his happiness. It felt like something was actually going right for once.

"Hey, Harry, that's a cool ring. I didn't know you wore jewelry," Neville commented. And just like that Harry was tense again. He sent Neville a tight smile.

"Yeah…I don't usually, but uh…this…"

"Sirius gave it to him this summer after he was officially declared innocent. Harry told us it was a sort of welcome home gift, right, Harry?" Harry mentally hugged Hermione for her quick thinking and sent her a real smile. It was stupid of them not to come up with an excuse for Harry's ring. However, with everything going on before they had to leave it somehow managed to slip all of their minds.

"Yeah. It was…well, I hate to admit it but we both cried a little when he was declared innocent and officially free. It meant I could finally stay with him and have a real family." Neville patted Harry's shoulder in congratulations and smiled softly. He knew how much having a family meant to Harry. "What about you, Neville," Harry asked to turn the conversation off of him. "I mean, has your Gran been okay this summer?"

The Trio were surprised when Neville sat up straight and beamed at them.

"She was great! I thought she'd be mad about the whole…Ministry thing, but she actually said she was proud of me! She's never said that before. Gran said I'm finally stepping up into the shoes my dad left behind." The rest of the train ride was spent talking about inane things, with the Trio talking about their cover stories given to them by Lucius and the Dark Lord. Ron was at the Burrow all summer but had a big row with Ginny right before they got on the train, hence why she won't talk to him (and why the Twins dropped him off in case anyone asked). Hermione was on a vacation with her family in Australia for most of the summer. Harry was with the Dursleys until his godfather was freed and allowed to take custody of him.

Before long it seemed the train was pulling into the station. The Trio shared looks of trepidation. They didn't see Neville looking at them curiously, the young man confused why his friends looked nervous about leaving the train. Harry picked up Hedwig's cage and carried his feathered friend along to the carriages drawn by the Thestrals. He pet one of the beasts briefly before climbing inside with his friends.

Looking across the way he saw Draco sitting with his Slytherin friends Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini in another carriage. Once he was sure others were looking, Harry caught Draco's eyes and they nodded politely to each other. Almost immediately Harry heard students around them start whispering and he saw a few of the more bold ones point directly at Draco and himself.

"Uh…Harry…what was that? With Draco, I mean? It almost looked like you two were not glaring at each other." While Neville certainly sounded confused there was a pinch of amusement in his voice.

"Oh, yeah…so…," Hermione opened her mouth to answer for Harry again, like she had with the ring, but Harry subtly shook his head at her. Harry leaned close to Neville and spoke quietly. "Draco reached out to me a few weeks ago. He indicated that…tides were turning on the other side of the war. Said he wanted to call a truce for this year as things tried to straighten themselves out on Voldemort's end." Neville's eyes bugged out of his head and his mouth dropped open.

"You…you think V-Voldemort is trying to…what…surrender?" Harry grimaced and made a so-so motion with his hand.

"I don't know much, there have been whispers that Voldemort has regained his sanity." For the next bit, Harry braced himself. This part he had covered with Tom. "Unfortunately, Dumbledore seems to be…losing his recently. He's…I don't know…reckless? I just have a bad feeling that even if Voldemort surrendered and called an end to the war, Dumbledore would still insist on fighting." Harry was a little worried he was laying it on too thick, given Neville's skeptical expression.

Neville looked over at Ron and Hermione.

"You two feel the same way? And are good with this supposed truce with Malfoy?" Ron and Hermione both nodded, grimacing to match Harry.

"Yeah, Dumbledore has been going off the deep end all summer. He almost forced Harry to stay with the Dursleys instead of letting him go with Sirius! Sirius had to threaten the Headmaster with legalities to get him to drop the issue," Ron explained in a hushed voice. Hermione nodded along with a stern expression on her face.

"That's right. Ron and Harry kept me as updated on the meetings as they could but from what I heard Professor Dumbledore keeps sending people on risky missions even though no Dark activity was ever confirmed or later found. As for Malfoy…we were very skeptical at first, but part of Malfoy's plan for a truce involved reaching out to each of us and offering an apology. We corresponded some after that initial contact and…well…we're not really friends but we certainly won't be antagonizing each other this year. Malfoy also said he'd talk to his house mates and try to get them to back off of us as well." Harry marveled at Hermione's ability to make their slight truths sound so convincing.

Neville, though still looking highly skeptical, slowly nodded.

"Alright. Well, don't blame me if I still keep my eyes peeled and wand ready in case Malfoy decides to change his mind. As for the Headmaster…that's hard to hear although a part of me isn't surprised. He didn't do anything to stop Umbridge from hurting us. I know Gran is more than fed up with him. I honestly think she lost faith in him the night our parents were attacked." Harry nodded, knowing Neville meant that fateful Halloween night so long ago. Though technically Neville's parents were still alive, they were as good as dead, living in comas at St. Mungo's.

The Trio encouraged Neville's train of thought and, like with the train ride, they were quickly delivered to their destinations. The Gryffindor's got changed and headed into the Great Hall. Their eyes immediately went to the Head Table and saw two things:

A new professor was present and Dumbledore was smiling directly at them. It was disconcerting to say the least. They turned their attention away from him and observed the other professors. They smiled at the incoming students but unlike usual, they completely ignored the Headmaster, even when he leaned over to speak to them. If they had to, they seemed to give clipped answers to the man. This sight was more encouraging than the first two.

The Trio dodged questions all through the wait and Neville helped divert people's curiosity. Finally, the First Years were sorted and Dumbledore stood to give his opening address. Once he passed through all of the usual warnings, he made some atypical announcements.

"Now, you may notice a new face at the table and the absence of a familiar one. Professor Snape decided that his life was headed in a different direction and he has left our school to pursue those goals. We wish him wisdom and guidance in his…endeavors." Though he didn't blatantly say it, it was clear to those who were observant that the Headmaster was insinuating that Snape had left due to a disagreement of views with Dumbledore, again implying he left the school to aid the Dark side in the war. The Headmaster held up his hands to stave off the cries of dismay from the Slytherin table and the cheers from the others. "As such, Professor Slughorn has graciously come out of retirement to fill in as Potions Professor and Slytherin's Head of House. And seeing as there is no additional new face, you may wonder who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." Here Albus paused for dramatic effect and Harry had to hold back and eye roll even as he awaited the announcement with trepidation. "Given the dark times we now face, I felt that as a mentor and leader at both this school and in the war efforts, I shall be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

As students around them cheered, Ron, Hermione and Harry shared frightened looks. It seemed Dumbledore was doing everything in his power to make it impossible for them to avoid him. They all thought the same thing in that moment: things just got a lot more complicated.

Just so you know: I did do a bit of Harry Potter research for this chapter. From all I could find, Voldemort was NOT AWARE that his ring horcrux was a Deathly Hallow. He did not know what it did, as such Harry has no clue. I'm also playing this as, the owner of the ring has to be aware of and consciously use the power of the ring to call forth the dead. This way Harry can fiddle with the ring without his parents showing up randomly.

Please review! (Remember: no nasty comment! If you hate it then don't read any further and let it be!)