Disclaimer: Own nothing.

A/N: You must be troubled if you are reading this… but don't worry, I'm the one writing this so imagine what I'm like! Anywayz, for anybody that is reading this, I'm sorry for getting the chapter out so late. I was suffering a bad case of writer's block to my answer to writer's block, so I went back to my other stories. Now I'm writer's blocked from them so I'm back on this one. It works well, my method to writer's block. Start with a fresh new piece of paper and start writing whatever comes to mind. You should try it. It's fun!

Oh, yes. Thank you to all of my reviewers. I think I was even sent a curse one time… hmm… yes, thank you for that too!

Chapter Three: Waltzing with the Devil

Hermione's death was deeply grieved, turning Harry into practically a new person. He never smiled. He never laughed. And he stopped eating. Ron was taking it hard too. The loss of a brother and his best friend was just too much for him to bare. He never even left his dormitory. His condition was getting so bad, that Dumbledore had Mr. and Mrs. Weasley come and take their children out of school for a while, until they could better cope with the situation.

Harry was alone.

Lethe became quite cheerful after Hermione's death, and Harry began to hate her. He believed now Lethe had some doing in the deaths, and Hermione's was the last straw. He wanted to avenge his best friend's death, and get rid of Lethe once and for all…

There was no one left on Lethe's list, so most people began to relax. Only some students still kept a close watch on her, for she hadn't killed anybody beginning with an L yet… However, Harry believed she was done. Lethe also became a different person. She was talking more, and smiling, though hardly anyone smiled back. Dumbledore seemed to be Lethe's only friend, for she was in his office chatting away with him all the time. Harry didn't know why the Headmaster didn't suspect her. Or maybe he did, and he was just trying to get a confession out of her, but either way, Harry didn't like all the time the Headmaster was spending with the killer.

Three days after Ron and the Weasley's were taking out of school, a meeting was held in Gryffindor Tower. It was time to avenge the lives that were lost, and rid the school of Lethe's evil.

Lee Jordan ran this meeting. He had lost two best friends; one to death, and one to depression.

"It's finally time to put an end to these killings!" Lee said to the group. Everybody in Gryffindor house had shown up for the meeting. It was midnight, so they all had huddled around the fireplace's bright light, casting an eerie shadow over Lee. "We all know who's doing them, don't we?"

"Lethe!" Most everybody growled.

"Exactly!" Lee hissed fiercely. "I won't stand around doing nothing while Lethe whatever her last name is plots out the next murder to another one of our friends!"

"But Jordan," Patty Patil interrupted with a shaky voice. "Terry Boot said she was only attacking those with the same letter as those of her siblings. She all ready went through the list!"

"What a loud of cock and bull!" Lee shouted. "Lethe! She still has one left… an L… and all we know is that it could be me! I won't allow another death, so we have to stop it any way necessary." They all shouted in agreement, except Harry. He kept silent in a chair a bit off from the group. He was mainly hidden in the shadows, and was listening intently on what Lee was saying, but he kept his opinions to himself. He was thinking of his own way of getting rid of Lethe.

"Any ideas on how to get the stupid ministry to open their eyes and make them finally realize Lethe is killing people?" Lee asked.

Everyone went into a deep thought. After a few minutes, a first year was the first to speak. "How about one of us befriends her?"

Every eye was turned to him in utter distaste. "Excuse me?" Lee spat. "Why would any of us want to befriend that crazy freak?"

The boy shifted nervously. "Well, she's begun talking, hasn't she? Then it will be easier to get to know how she thinks… and just maybe she'll admit to the killings."

The group stared hard at the boy, but each mind was dissecting the idea carefully. It sounded crazy… but was it crazy enough to actually work? Lee slit his eyes at the boy.

"You're a first year, aren't you?" He said. "What is your name?"

"Larry," the boy said. "Larry Fellows."

Lee nodded. "Well, Larry, I think we might just try that idea of yours. It sounds insane… but so is that girl. Now who's insane enough to befriend her?"

Nobody raised their hand. Everybody kept silent. They didn't want to be put near the killing insane girl and not strangle her neck. But Harry was angry. He wanted revenge, and he was going to get it at any cost. He raised his hand.

"I'll do it," he said.

Lee looked at him. "Are you sure? Didn't she try to kill you once?"

Harry shook his head. "It was an accident. She was meaning to drop it on Hermione, if Draco hadn't have knocked it the wrong way. Besides… she likes me." The spite and utter disgust dripping from Harry's voice was enough for Lee to see how perfect it would be.

"All right then," Lee said. "Then it's agreed upon. Harry Potter will befriend the murderer, and make sure you get everything on her, Potter. And find out her last name, will you? Not knowing gets on my nerves."

Harry nodded silently then stood. "Fine then. Let's go to bed before she wakes up. I'll talk to her tomorrow at breakfast." He turned back to the stairwell leading to the dormitories.

He heard Lee call out to him. "And be careful, Harry."

"Hello, Lethe," Harry said, stopping the girl from leaving the common room the next morning.

Lethe halted and turned around, a huge grin on her face. Harry noted how much the girl did change. Her hair had definitely grown, reaching just below her shoulders, still as white-blond as ever. Her face looked very strained and forced as she smiled. Lethe had never smiled so often before Hermione's death. Harry wondered why he didn't feel uneasy while he stood alone with the crazy murderer. He didn't, however. All he felt was anger and an insane feeling of revenge. He swallowed that anger for the time-being; at the moment he had a job to do. He plastered a fake and painful smile on his face.

"Good morning," he said.

Lethe continued to smile. "Hello, Harry Potter," she greeted happily. "How are you?"

Harry shrugged. "All right." Lethe's smile wavered. "Can I walk with you to breakfast?"

The grin quickly returned to Lethe's face. "Sure," she said.

Harry led them out of the common room. "How have you been doing?" You bloody murderous freak…

Lethe sighed. "I'm all right. I had a cold for a while, but I healed."

"Really," Harry muttered. What a crime… "Did you go to Madam Pomfrey?"

"No," Lethe simply said. "It wasn't anything serious. Just a little out of it, that's all."

Harry frowned, making sure Lethe didn't see him doing so. "What do you mean by that?"

"What?" Lethe said, distracted.

"How were you out of it?" Harry asked.

"Out of what?" Lethe said, puzzled.

"You just said that cold left you out of it!" Harry fumed, a little more angrily then he should have.

"Oh, that," Lethe said, with an air of lightness. "I just never felt like doing anything but sleep." Then she frowned. "I had the strangest nightmares."

"What about?"

Lethe shrugged. "Never could remember them. That's what made them strange, you know? Have you ever had dreams like that?"

"No," Harry muttered.

"Why are you following me?" Lethe asked abruptly. She stared suddenly suspicious at Harry.

"W- what?" Harry blinked. "I'm not following you. I'm walking with you to breakfast."

"Why?" Lethe asked.

"Because! Because I thought you might like the company."

"You never used to walk with me," Lethe spat. "Nobody ever wanted me around. I was always left to eat alone."

"Well - well, I ate with you that one time remember?" Harry shot back.

"That time when that pot fell on you?" Lethe said, stopping suddenly. "That time right? You weren't going to eat with me, if I hadn't have asked you to. You just wanted to steal my salt! What do you really want, Harry Potter?"

Man, this girl was crazy! Harry new it before, but he now understood a better place for her then Azkaban was St. Mungo's! Harry racked his brain for some sort of response. He was losing her trust - he didn't know how he did it, but Lethe was now staring at him with the same insane look he had given Ben when he had tried to be polite to her. He swallowed.

"I don't want anything, Lethe," Harry said gently. "Except to eat with you at breakfast. I believe you didn't kill those people - I mean, how could you? Ben- he drowned… and the others… listen, I believe you all right? I just want to eat breakfast."

Harry took a deep breath as he watched Lethe's face contort into a thoughtful, confused look. She swept her eyes up and down Harry, trying to determine if he was lying or not. Harry made sure he kept perfectly still and didn't blink.

Finally, after what seemed to be eternity, the grin returned to Lethe's face and she nodded. "All right, Harry Potter," she said, linking her arm with his. "Let's go eat breakfast then!"

Harry tried to return her grin, but his stomach was churning so badly and his heart pounding so furiously, that he knew it looked more of a cringe. Lethe wasn't looking anyway. She had her head kneeled over to Harry's shoulder and humming a strange tune to herself.

Great, Harry thought. Now I'm waltzing with the devil… but when the music stops, she's dead…