Author's Note: I'll kill somebody if that's what I want. Please don't tell me what to write about because it's MY story and the point of it is that I can use my imagination and write about what I feel like writing about. If you're after a friggin happy ending story then read my others- all of them end out happy don't they? Note: This doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to kill anyone.

Chapter Eight...

Word usually spreads fast at Hogwarts. But rumours and theories were spreading so quickly this time that really, it was ridiculous. Basically, you couldn't believe what anyone told you because chances were, someone cruel or stupid (or both) had made up the story in their thick head.

I'm not sure what anybody else was expecting but when I thought about You-Know-Who being back I pictured everyone sitting in their house towers all day and night, praying and feeling angry, upset and depressed. It never really occured to me that perhaps life was going to go on like it did any other day. That's pretty much what happened.

Sure, there wasn't as much noise in the classrooms any more and people weren't laughing and joking as often but it wasn't like we were being held prisoner. As a matter of fact, it was almost the opposite. Professor Dumbledore was doing his best to make sure nobody felt scared or threatened, he just wanted normality. I did too. But with the thought of You-Know-Who constantly lingering in the back of my mind, I just couldn't concentrate on one particular thing for very long.

Death is a strange topic. It's not something that I had ever really considered to be honest, only when Dad had... passed away. I wondered if we were all going to die, maybe then I'd be with my father again. No. I couldn't be negative though the thought was tempting. I had to be strong, because some people weren't taking the news too well. Including Hermione.

"Oliver, I don't know what to do!" she cried one afternoon as we were sitting in the library, trying to study. Incase you hadn't noticed, it wasn't working too well. She had been trying to teach me a spell that could freeze anything, even a flame, however I wasn't paying attention. I just couldn't. All day it had been 'Oliver, it's 'Brijikingly Ice'! not 'Brijiiikingly Ice'!" My response had been somewhat negative. Now, she'd given up completely.

"What do you mean?" I asked, even though I knew perfectly well.

"It's Harry," she replied. "He's been getting so stressed with this whole You-Know-Who thing. I mean, I'm scared. Everyone is. But Harry's not. Well he probably is, but he won't show it. He's determined to get rid of You-Know-Who for eternity."

"Good luck to him," I muttered. Harry was a friend of mine, being on the Quidditch team and all, but he was a REALLY good friend of Hermione's. I knew she'd be absolutely shattered if anything ever happened to him.

"Ahh...." she sighed and rested her head on the table. I stared absent mindedly as her hair cascaded down onto the wood and sat there in a mass of tresses. I wanted to reach out and touch her hair but then after taking a glance around the room, I realised that there were so many people around. What would they think? It was bad enough that Hermione was tutoring me. Sometimes not even love is powerful enough to stop you from feeling self conscious.

"It's going to be ok," I said suddenly.

"I hope so," she forced a small smile.

"I promise we will be fine."

"You can't promise something like that Oliver," she said.

"I can and I have," was my response.

"Okay," she mumbled before drifting off to sleep right there and then at the library table.

I looked around to make sure no one was looking and placed my thick Gryffindor jacket over her back so she wouldn't catch a chill. Hopefully no one would catch me either.

I picked up my books and left the library as quietly as I could.

* * * * *

The next few weeks passed slowly and dreadfully. Once a day, Professor Dumbledore would make a speech updating us on all of the You-Know-Who information. Being in a position of such superiority, he always heard things first which made it quite convenient for us.

The one thought that he enforced on us all was that You-Know-Who was afraid of him and that as long as we were in Hogwarts, that we were safe.

Boy, was he wrong.

One Saturday afternoon, I was sitting opposite from Percy at a Gryffindor table, half way through a game of Wizards Chess.

SMASH! He'd just wiped another pawn off my side.

"Great," I muttered, trying to think of a way around my predicament. "LOOK!" I suddenly cried, pointing out the window. While Percy was busy staring frantically at the Quidditch pitch going 'what? where? huh?' I quickly moved one of his pieces so I was right in line with his King.

"Check mate," I said.

Though Percy was sometimes a little slow on the up take, he wasn't stupid and he immediately knew I'd done something but he wasn't sure whereabouts.

"Oliver!" he cried, throwing his pieces down. "You're such a cheater!"

"Me?" I asked innocently. "No way."

He started laughing but was almost instantly cut off my Professor McGonagall who burst into the room and for the first time in her life, didn't look in control. Her normally strictly held back hair bun was loose and ragged and her face was red and flushed.

"Students!" she boomed. "Two lines! NOW!"

She didn't need to ask twice. Within five seconds, everyone was assembled in lines resembling a pair. I pushed in to be closer to Hermione who I had spotted reading a book in the corner earlier that afternoon.

"Students," she repeated, trying to gain her composure back. "There has been an accident. Somehow, a very dangerous dark wizard has managed to get into the building."

A hush fell over us all and we immediately began whispering in fear.

"It's Lord Voldemort."

That very name sent shivers down my spine. Without even thinking, I grabbed onto Hermione's hand, tightly. She didn't pull away.

"I need you all to follow me into the Great Hall. Do not wander off. Do not lose concentration. Do not panic and do not lose track of your friends. Make sure you stay tight as a group, could the seventh year student please stay at the back and have your wands at the ready. And please," she paused. "Be careful."

I looked down at Hermione and knew I had to leave her. I let go of her hand and smiled. "Hey, it's going to be all right, remember?"

She nodded weakly. "A promise is a promise."

I grinned and headed towards the back where Noel was already standing, his arm draped over Charlotte.

"Look, it's Romeo," he smirked. At least he had been paying attention in Muggle Studies. "Where's Juliet?"

"Shut up Noel," I said flatly. How could he be so insensitive at a time like this? I wouldn't even have referred to him as a friend any longer.

We made our way through the Hogwarts corridors quietly and quickly. Everyone kept jumping at the slightest sound or movement or shadow. Even I had my hand in my pocket as I felt my wand, going over spells in my head as we went along. Percy looked frightened beyond belief. He was at the VERY back, his wand out and he kept spinning around and waving the wand around every two seconds, sort of like daring someone to attack.

Finally we reached the Great Hall and felt relieved to see the whole school assembled there. I thought about where someone like You-Know-Who would hide and why.

I pulled up a chair at the end of the table, next to Harry Potter and gave Professor Dumbledore my full attention.

This was going to be a very long night.