Title: HP and TtoTW

Disc: see previous chapters!

A/n: Thank you to everyone who has been with me since the first chapter, and to the new reviewers, welcome! I have gotten much praise and support for this story and I thank you all humbly.

Chapter 5: The Horrible News

For Harry, the night seemed to vanish into morning way too quickly. Before he knew it, it was time for her to go. Fred and George were pounding on the door. Ron had fallen asleep on his bed, half hanging off of it, drooling onto his pillow. Hermione was dozing softly, her head on Harry's shoulder. He had his head rested against his head board. They had stayed up half the night, just talking and being together after Ron had fallen asleep. She had been really upset when he told her about the meeting with Dumbledore and Sirius. Harry managed to get out of bed without waking Hermione and opened the door for the Weasley twins.

            "Hey, Harry!" Fred bellowed.

            "Shhh!" Harry snapped, pointing to Ron and Hermione. (and he gestured that Seamus, Dean and Neville were there.)

Fred and George grinned at each other and tip toed over to Ron.

            "Our baby brother," George said.

            "Drooling on his pillow like a Neanderthal. Dad told us about them- he read it in a Muggle book." Fred replied.

            "Perhaps we should set off a dungbomb under his nose?" George asked.

            "Or bewitch another cow to fall asleep in front of him?" Harry asked with a grin.

            "Our pranks have traveled far!" Fred declared.

            "That was a beauty, that was." George said dreamily.

Fred checked his watch. "You better wake Sleeping Beauty over there, Harry. She'll miss the Doofus boat. I… I mean DURMSTRAG boat." He grinned.

Harry nodded glumly and walked over to his bed to wake Hermione. He shook her shoulder gently. "Herm,"

Hermione opened her eyes sleepily and smiled when Harry filled her vision. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Morning."

            "Sleep well?" he asked.

She nodded. Then, she looked over his shoulder at Fred and George, who were watching them and laughing silently. "It's not time already?"

Harry nodded. "Afraid so,"

Hermione frowned. "Al right," she said. She pulled away from Harry and walked over to Ron. She poked him in the shoulder.

He mumered something inaudible and turned over.

            "Oh well," she said. She walked back over to Harry and, knowing Fred and George were watching, decided to give them something, plus Harry to remember. She grinned, and kissed him until he could barely stand up. It was all she could do without bursting into tears. "I hate goodbyes," she said, frowning.

            "Like I said before, this isn't goodbye," Harry reassured.

            "Any time away from you feels like goodbye," she said.

            "Sorry to break up Jack and Rose here, but we really must hurry." Fred said. George wiped imaginary tears out of his eyes.

She picked up the Invisibility Cloak and covered herself with it.

            "Don't worry, I'll have you back soon," Harry promised.

Hermione blew a kiss to him.

Fred and George saluted to Harry, and held the door open for Hermione.

Harry sat alone in the common room late that night, staring into the fireplace. Ron had gone up to bed hours ago. The word Choices seemed to be written in the flames. They burned as brightly as Dumbledore's words.

            "Harry Potterrrrrrrrrrr…" a snakelike voice hissed behind him.

Harry wheeled around and came face to face with Lord Voldemort.

            "My wand!" Harry shouted blindly. "Where's my wand?" He scrambled up, searching frantically for it.

            "Looking for thisssssssss?" Voldemort rasped, waving Harry's wand above him. "Join me and you can have everything you want!"

            "Never!" Harry vowed. "NEVER!"

            "It is too late, boyyyyyy!"

            "HARRY!" Ron roughly shook him awake.

Harry woke up with a start and gazed around. He was still sitting in the common room, near the fire.

            "Blimey, were you here all night?" Ron asked.

Harry looked around. "It was a dream then."

            "Are you al right?" Ron asked. "Do we need a trip to the hospital wing?"

            "No," Harry said and quickly explained his dream.

            "That must have been something," Ron said.

Viktor Krum sat in his room, talking to the little beetle in his hand. "I vant Hermy-own," he told it.

The beetle, no other than Rita Skeeter wiggled her antennae appreciatively. She then morphed back into her snobby self. "Don't worry, I'll make extra sure that she sees this very special edition of the Daily Prophet."

            "You vure that Malfoy vis trustworthy?" Krum demanded.

            "He followed orders, did he not? He stole the jar from her, just like you told him. That little bitch kept me in a JAR all summer! A JAR! I want my revenge, and you're going to help me get it. In the meantime, you scratch my back, I scratch yours. You can have the little tramp. Burn her, for all I care."

            "I am vin love vith her!" Krum said. "I vant her vorever."

            "Then, this headline will more than likely make that happen, doll." She said and gently tapped his face. "Just as soon as her bushy little brains read it."

It was very different than Hogwarts. That sentence repeated in her mind as she sent her breakfast order down with the Breakfast Owl. They didn't have a Great Hall here, they ate in their dormitories, with their roommates, which was a bit depressing since both of her roommates hated her. She was the new girl, and Hermione, now wondering if it was against the rules to be new AND smart sighed heavily. She smiled when an owl brought her copy of the Daily Prophet and sat on her bed to read it. She glanced over the recipies and "Dear Tabitha" which was the Daily Prophet's version of "Dear Abby", but her heart caught in her throat at the front page story.

            HARRY POTTER KILLED!

Tears leaked out of her eyes. It couldn't be true, it couldn't!!!! She held in a breath and then read the article.

                        HARRY POTTER KILLED!

            Last evening at approximately 8:45pm, Harry Potter, famous for bringing Voldemort his demise fifteen years ago was found dead in the dungeons of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with his trusty sidekick, Ronald Weasley. It appears that the curse that didn't work fifteen years ago claimed his fragile and short life last night. Professor Dumbledore refused to comment. The bodies are being held at Hogwarts until proper arrangements can be made. Azkaban has no suspects in this tragedy.

The photograph was of Ron and Harry, waving frantically.

            "Oh my God!" Hermione cried, sending a trembling hand to her mouth. "NO!" Harry couldn't be dead! It was Harry! The love of her life, her sweet puppy! And Ron, her only other friend besides Harry. The two people she could trust her life with. Gone. Taken from her. She collapsed on her bed with sobs. "Give him back," she sobbed. "Give him back…"

Christmas had come and gone with no word from Hermione. Harry had sent a letter nearly everyday and it had been a month since she had come to visit. Ron was becoming frantic too.

"Maybe she's just really busy," he told Harry one afternoon in the common room.

"Maybe…" Harry bit his bottom lip. He didn't like the idea of Viktor being at Durmstrag, alone with Hermione. 'Get a grip,' his brain scolded. 'she loves you, remember?'

Mr. Weasley's head popped up in the fireplace a few minutes later, grinning. "I have great news."

            "Mr. Weasley!" Harry shouted. "We can't get in touch with Hermione."

            "Don't worry, I'll find a way with this great news--- she's been cleared of all charges and is free to return to Hogwarts!!"

Ron and Harry gave each other high-fives.

            "How?" Harry asked.

            "It's a real mystery," Mr. Weasley said. "Their eye witness vanished. Her broom breaking has been ruled an accident, and when we explained that they were getting you, Fudge totally understood. Good thing Dumbledore was present, also."

Viktor stuffed another letter addressed to Hermione in his desk drawer. He had been intercepting all of her mail from that Potter boy. He wanted Hermione to believe he was dead, so she could love HIM. Since she didn't have an owl of her own, this was quite easy to do. He hadn't seen her in a week, and figured she was in her room, grieving. But she had shed enough tears for the boy. Tonight, he would make his move.

Viktor walked up to her door and pounded on it. "Hermy-own? Hermy-own, vit is me, Viktor."

            "Go away," came a small voice. Viktor could tell it was her.

            "I'm coming vin," he said, took out his wand and unlocked the door.

Hermione was lying in bed, starring at the picture of Ron and Harry from the Daily Prophet. She couldn't believe that in five years, she hadn't took her own picture of them.

He walked over and sat down on her bed, and started stroking her hair. "You have grieved long enough," he said.

Her eyes turned cold as she stared at him. "You don't know what you're talking about."

            "You feel abandoned, no?" he asked.

Tears poured out of her eyes. "I loved him… how could he leave me like this?"

            "I would never leave you," he said, his hands slowly moving down from her hair and examining her body.

Hermione gasped and jumped to her feet. "Viktor…" His touch, compared to Harry's gentle warm one, was cold and fast. And it was making her sick.

            "Ves?"

            "It's… it's too soon. I'm… I'm not ready… for another relationship… I don't know if I ever will be."

This wasn't what he wanted to hear. Not at all. "Voolish girl," he snapped. "You cry… vor what? Vor him, who vis not voming back. I can make vour heart stop aching. I can dry vour tears."

Hermione stormed to the door and held it open. "Out!"

Viktor sighed and knitted his brows. "Vine. VINE." He stormed out of the door without a look back.

            "Vit is no use," Viktor told Rita later that night. "She vill not come to me."

            "Time, doll. Time." Rita said. "The little tramp is still upset about Potter. But once I send THIS headline in for another edition of a fake Daily Prophet, Potter will get angry and forget about her. I'll even make sure that Malfoy sees to it that it's delivered by that idiot Weasley's own owl. That's when you make your move." She handed him a piece of parchment.

He grinned. "But, she got a vetter from the Ministry, saying she could go back to Hogwarts."

            "Burn it," Rita said.

Harry and Ron sat side by side, eating their breakfast and watching the Enchanted Ceiling anxiously for the mail. Pig, the loudest of the bunch swooped down and dropped an edition of the Daily Prophet into Neville's oatmeal, spraying him all over with it.

            "Sorry!" Ron cried, retracting the paper. "He's still new at this." It was a bit soggy, but legible none the less. He opened it and spit his pumpkin juice across the table and onto Neville, who was still reeling from the oatmeal.

            "What is it?" Harry asked, helping Neville up, who kept sliding.

            "Uh, nothing."

Once Neville was safely on his way to the dormitory, Harry sat back down next to Ron. "It had to be something,"

            "No, nothing," Ron said.

            "Ron." Harry said sternly.

Ron blushed guiltily and handed him the paper.

Harry opened the paper and almost tore it to shreds. The headline, bigger than life read:

            VIKTOR KRUM TO MARRY HERMIONE GRANGER

Harry stared up at the ceiling and then back to the paper. Maybe he had read it wrong.

            VIKTOR KRUM TO MARRY HERMIONE GRANGER

            Love has blossomed for the international Quidditch sensation at Durmstrag. Newcomer Hermione Granger has caught his eye and the two declare that they are in love.

            "I haven't loved anyone as much as I love Viktor," Granger says. "He's my one and only."

If steam could bellow out of Harry's ears, it would have. How could… could she do that to him?! Be kissing him one day and have her tongue down Krum's throat the next!? Harry balled up the piece of paper and threw it square across the Great Hall. It bounced off of  a bewildered Hufflepuff. Then, without a glance at Ron, Harry stormed out of the hall.

Ron got up after him. "Sorry!" he called to the Hufflepuff.

He caught up with Harry in the dorms.

            "Harry," he started.

            "Ron, I need to be left alone." Harry said and drew the drapings on his bed shut. Hermione had broke his heart in half. And then rolled over it with a steam roller.

            "This could all be a big misunderstanding," Ron said.

            "It's in black and white,"

            "Yeah, but you know Hermione… she tends to misunderstand things."

Harry was silent.

            "I think you should go to her." Ron said.

            "NO."

            "Harry, remember the choices Dumbledore told you about? Well, I think this is one of them. You could either go to her and clear this up or lose her forever."

Harry stuck his head out of the drapes. "Why should I go there? So Krum can throw it in my face?"

            "Because you love her." Ron said.

Harry stuck his head back inside. "Not anymore."

            "That's a bloody lie and you know it." Ron replied. "You love her and she loves you."

            "Ron, I need to clear my head, please. Can I have some time to think?"

            "No." Ron said. "I refuse to leave until you at least agree to talk to her."

            "Why is it such a big deal to you?" Harry asked. "Why are you putting me on trial? Hermione's the one engaged."

            "Have you heard it from her?" Ron asked.

            "No," Harry said. "But…"

            "Remember Skeeter? All the crap she cooked up about you, Hagrid and Hermione? Why should you believe anything in the Daily Prophet?" Ron yelled.

            "But…." Harry started.

            "And Voldemort would just LOVE to see the love of your life marry someone else so you spend the remainder of your days in misery. Think about it, Harry! It makes perfect sense! It's all a plan! Voldemort wants you alone!"

Harry stuck his head out of the curtains. "As I told Dumbledore, I'm telling you. I'm in charge of my destiny, no one else. Not Voldemort, not Krum, me."

            "Then listen to yourself!" Ron cried. "Listen to your heart, I know you'll do the right thing." He sighed. "To get to Durmstrag, stay north until you reach The Moving Mountains. Straight East from there."

            "Ron…"

            "I'm going to the common room to study. When I come back, I hope you're gone." He turned to leave and then said, "Godspeed, Harry." And walked out the door.

Harry stared up at the ceiling. He wished the aching in his chest would go away.

End chapt 5! Review!!