Chapter 1

Night had fallen at Hogwarts, and all was quiet. At the Gryffindor Boys Dorm, the fifth-year boys were all sleeping soundly, save for one. Harry Potter.

Try as he might, he just couldn't lull himself to sleep. It had only been a few hours since the big showdown at the Department of Mysteries, and it unfortunately ended in the death of Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. Although it was brief, the bond that existed between the two were, in Harry's opinion, easily one of the most important. Sirius Black understood Harry on a level that Harry didn't think possible. The loneliness and despair that Harry had felt, the negative feelings that festered inside Harry, were something he could only tell Sirius. Sirius were, in many ways, almost like an uncle to Harry. Now… he's gone.

Harry ran a hand through his messy locks, as he sighed.

He'd felt so different ever since he arrived back at Hogwarts. Mundane tasks seemed to take forever to complete, and he kept feeling a sort of overbearing numbness that seemed to constantly follow him. Harry didn't understand why he felt this way. This constant barrage of hurt. The night hours were filled with memories that just wouldn't stop coming.

If he was feeling this bad, Harry wondered, how were the others getting along?

Having split up after arriving at Hogwarts, Harry hadn't checked up on them yet. He'd been too exhausted emotionally…

Suddenly, an idea was forming inside Harry's head. 'I should check up on the others.' Although he knew they might've been asleep, he felt like he had to see at least one of them.

Neville. Luna. Ginny. Hermione…anybody.

As Harry wandered the impressive halls of Hogwarts, wearing his invisibility cape with a silence-charm cast on his being, he had trouble adjusting to the darkness. It was nighttime after all, but Harry knew that if he used the wand-lighting charm, he'd be caught in no time.

At the corner of his eye, Harry spotted something. A faint glow, disappearing and reappearing…

Harry tried to dismiss the light as a figment of his imagination, but soon afterwards, his curiosity got the better of him. Gathering his wits, he marched onwards, trying to follow the mysterious light. The light, as if feeling his presence, began to slowly float away. Harry didn't like that one bit, so he hastened his pace, intent on catching the light. As the light rounded a corner, so did Harry. Only…as his eyes roamed the empty hallway, he realized… he'd lost it!

Harry couldn't believe his luck. The creature he'd been chasing had managed to escape! Truth to be told, Harry didn't necessarily know what he'd do if he caught it. With that thought in mind, Harry silently chuckled. Suppose it was his natural instinct to investigate things, since he was the Boy Who Lived…

But something inside of Harry felt…wrong. As if this made no sense at all. As Harry started to contemplate this complicated feeling, he heard a knock. Turning around, he couldn't decipher where the sound was coming from. Only that the longer he waited, the louder it got.

Suddenly a hatch opened, and light poured down. Up from the beautiful Hogwarts ceiling, a short figure was visible. Harry quickly escaped the area of light, and hid behind a wall.

"Hurry up! Do you want to get caught?!" a bossy womanly voice commanded. As Harry spent his time wondering who this person was, another figure walked just past him, and into the light. A boy his age wore a lazy smile as he approached his accomplice.

As the figures both arrived at the middle of the light, he was able to see their faces. It couldn't be…Ron and Ginny?!

"Is he finally asleep?" Ginny asked Ron, brows furrowed with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, yeah, of course he is. He's asleep, I wish I was asleep, now let's just get this over with. Quit your nagging, will you?" Ron shot back, already in a bad mood.

"If I have to nag you to get the work done, then I will! Besides, we've got everything riding on this, so you better not screw it up!" Ginny began to screech at her brother, who clutched his ears in agony.

Harry didn't understand what they were talking about, but he had a bad feeling about it. Whatever it was, it was something big.

"You think? If we do this right, we'll be set for life! I'd have more Galleons than I could ever spend! Wow, I can see it already - 'Ronald Weasley, wealthy handsome bachelor, talented wizard and Genius Quidditch Captain!" Ron exclaimed loudly, breathing heavily as he was lost in his imagination.

Ginny slapped his head. "Oh, snap out of it! We need to go over tomorrow's plan."

Harry furrowed his brows, dumbfounded. Tomorrow's plan?

"Everyone has to leave Hogwarts for Summer Holiday. But! Before Harry arrives at the train, you've got to convince him to stay at the Burrow. Just as the contract states, I have to make Harry fall in love with me before sixth year starts!"

Harry's eyes widened.

But Ginny, oblivious to Harry's shocked state, went on. Wearing a satisfied smile, she said: "Oh, I can't wait! Soon, I'll finally have The Harry Potter as my boyfriend! Ron, can you believe it?"

Ron shook his head in disbelief, and proceeded to pat Ginny's head in a condescending manner, as if he was talking to a small child.

"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny. Are you that daft? Although he may be the Boy Who Lived, he's more like the Boy Who's Boring. Seriously, he's so popular and yet all he does is hang out with me and Brainzilla. Isn't it obvious? Of course you'll marry him Ginny, you're one of the only girls he talks to!"

Ginny's eyes sparkled with hope. "Oh, Ron, will I really? This is my life's biggest dream, how wonderful it'd be if it came true!"

"Come on now, Ginny. He's yours already, you know that. Who's going to be your competition? Hermione? Luna?" Ron erupted into laughter.

"Don't make me laugh, those two could never land themselves a husband! Freaking weirdos, the lot of them!" Ginny exclaimed happily, her face looking like a laughing monkey.

Harry couldn't believe it. Trapped in a stupor, his mind couldn't comprehend what he'd just heard.

Ron and Ginny... really said that? Truth to be told, Harry didn't want to believe a word they'd said. It just seemed so...wrong.

But it was the truth. They had betrayed him. They had actually gone behind his back...and for what? Harry still didn't know.

Remembering their words, he knew that they're working for someone. A powerful person, who wants Harry to be distracted next year. Why that is, he still didn't know.

Harry was suddenly filled with a strange, but all-encompassing sense of dread. He was dreading the day he would have to begin Sixth Year at Hogwarts, because that would be the day that this hidden mastermind would move.

That would be the day that Harry's newfound enemy would begin his plan. By throwing Ginny into Harry's path, this enemy wants to confuse and distract Harry's attention away from his plans...!

But, even as he began to wonder about this new enemy, Harry couldn't disguise the pain and hurt that flashed in his eyes.

Harry felt more confused than he'd ever been. He was hurt, and even worse, hurt by his best friend. Although Ron and Harry had some ups and downs, Ron always came right back.

Ron had done this. Ron, who'd always been by his side.

Harry sighed.