Title: The Sides of Fear (19/?)
Author: Azeroth
Author E-mail: mrlindberg3h@yahoo.com
Category: Mystery, Drama, Action/Adventure, Romance
Keywords: Harry, Ginny, Voldemort, Chalice
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For all four books
Summary: Harry begins his fifth year at Hogwarts with a female Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, feelings of guilt for Cedric Diggory's death, and looking for someone to share his emotions with. Voldemort has steadily begun to build his reign of terror as a sense of urgency and vigilance goes through Hogwarts and the rest of the wizarding world.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

The Sides of Fear

Chapter 19
Crystal Clear?

"Ron? Hermione?" choked Harry staring at the two of them in disbelief.

"H-Harry, I was just... I mean we were just..." sputtered Ron with Hermione standing up next to him both red in their faces.

"We were just owling our parents telling them to expect us at Kings Cross for the holidays," said Hermione trying to sound as normal as possible considering she was clenching Ron's hand. Seeing Harry focus on that specific gesture she quickly let go and lowered her head.

"What's going on?" he asked trying not to laugh at his two friends squirming uncomfortably. "You don't...like each other do you?" he said attempting to sound shocked and somewhat disgusted.

Ron continued clenching his hands and avoiding Harry's eyes. Hermione kept her head lowered and made no move to speak. Harry could not keep up the act anymore and started laughing loudly. Ron looked at Harry with narrowed eyes.

"You...two...are...I...you..." Harry tried to speak, but the few gasps of air he managed to take between his laughs did not allow him to continue with his sentence as he fell down on the floor rolling with laughter.

"What's so funny?" growled Ron angrily.

"Yes, what exactly are you laughing about?" huffed Hermione.

Harry wiped away a few tears and stood up bracing himself against the wall. "You two have been so obvious," laughed Harry. "I mean it's obvious to anyone and everyone you two liked each other." Ron and Hermione colored even more. "I just thought nothing was going to happen since you have been getting letters from Fleur and Viktor these past weeks."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other for a brief moment before they both looked down at the floor. That was when it hit Harry.

"Those letters. They weren't from Fleur and Viktor. You sent them to each other," he said with an air of triumph. He felt rather much like Hermione, and the look on his friends' faces told him he had guessed right. "That's why you've been acting so strange around each other. That's why you never wanted to be alone," he continued smiling.

"Harry, I don't know what you're talking about," tried Hermione but to no avail. The expression on her face giving away the truth.

"You're a horrible liar," chuckled Harry as he walked past them back to Gryffindor Tower.

After Harry's footsteps had faded away Ron turned to Hermione.

"Do you think he suspects anything?"

"Honestly," sighed Hermione as she took hold of Ron's hand dragging him back to the common room.

***

"Sssh! Watch out for the fourth board on the right."

"What?"

"Sssh! Lower your voice. I said the fourth board on the right."

"Right."

"Both of you, quiet. Before..."

"Before what, Arthur Weasley?" came a voice from the kitchen making Mr. Weasley jump.

"M-Molly...dearest...I..."

"What do you think you're doing? Not a word from the two of you...just flat disappeared...I'd never expect this from you Arthur Weasley," yelled Mrs. Weasley. "And you Bill. I always knew you liked to be a little different with your hair and earring, but to do this to your mother after all that's happened, why I was beside myself, crying," continued Mrs. Weasley as her anger was replaced by tears.

Mr. Weasley embraced his wife. "There now Molly. I'm sorry, but it was necessary for Bill's sake. We just made certain arrangements." Molly looked over her husbands shoulder at Bill and...

"Sirius Black," she shrieked. "What is...HE doing here?" she said backing away and almost tumbling over on a chair.

"Molly, you'd better sit down and let me explain."

"I will most certainly not! Tell me what he is doing in our house!"

"Mum," said Bill in a commanding voice. "Sit down."

The surprise was clear as her eyes turned the size of saucers, but she did what her son had told her to do and the three men settled down around the kitchen table with Arthur sitting next to Molly.

"Molly, remember when Bill came home from Egypt because he had been temporarily transferred to London?" started Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Well, it wasn't exactly because he had to be in London. In fact," he paused, "there never was a job for him here in London with Gringotts."

"Let me take it from here dad," said Bill. "Mum, I've been working for Dumbledore for some time now, and unfortunately my position was...compromised." Mrs. Weasley was swaying between rage and fear as she found out her son had been working against Him.

"What do you mean by compromised?" she said as calmly as possible.

"Well, it wasn't anything bad," tried Bill feeling himself squirm in his seat.

Mrs. Weasley had all of a sudden turned into her natural self, narrowing her eyes at Bill who felt like he was five years old again. "What do you mean by compromised?" she asked again.

"It was nothing really. I mean...It was more of a skirmish than anything."

"Bill," she hissed threateningly.

"Well," dragged Bill, "someone tried to kill me."

"WHAT?" screamed Mrs. Weasley turning to Mr. Weasley. "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ARTHUR? MY LITTLE BOY IS ASSASSINATED," Bill made an attempt to tell his mother that he was still alive, but there was no stopping her now, "AND YOU DECIDE NOT TO TELL ME ABOUT IT? OF ALL THE THINGS THIS IS THE MOST CRUEL THING YOU HAVE EVER DONE! TELL ME WHY YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!"

Arthur Weasley had expected something of the sort, but he had hoped he would have been able to talk to Molly in the morning over a nice cup of tea. Tea was the least of his worries at the moment.

"Now Molly dear. It was..."

"Don't you 'Molly dear' me, Arthur Weasley," she snapped.

"Mum,"

"And you," sobbed Mrs. Weasley, "you didn't even tell me, your mother. I never expected this from any of my children."

"Mum, please listen to dad," he begged, walking over to his mother and putting his arm around her.

After a minute or so her tears had dried up and her temper had simmered down as Arthur began to explain the situation with Bill and his work for Dumbledore. Several questions and explanations later she finally came to the subject of the guest in their house, Sirius Black.

"What exactly is he doing here?"

"He saved my life Mum, and that's all I think you need to know," replied Bill, looking over at Sirius who had remained quiet since arriving. "If it wasn't for him and Mr. Lupin I wouldn't be sitting here."

"Th-thank you," she stammered somewhat awkwardly.

"Molly, he is innocent. Dumbledore told me so, and if there is one person I trust beyond anything it is the Headmaster," said Mr. Weasley, sensing his wife's uneasiness. It seemed to settle her nerves a little as she stood up.

"Now, I think it's time for bed. Bill, you can take your old room, and Mr. Black you can sleep in Ron's room. Arthur, we need to have a talk...alone."

Bill knew what that meant as he tilted his head towards the staircase to let Sirius know it was time to retire. Sirius caught on and got up from his seat thanking Mrs. Weasley for her hospitality. Just then an owl made its appearance hooting loudly as it came zooming in through the open window and landing on Sirius' shoulder. There was a letter attached to the owl's leg and Sirius untied it and immediately recognized Harry's handwriting.

"It's just from Harry," smiled Sirius, seeing Arthur let out a deep breath as he had expected it to be from Dumbledore.

"Harry?" croaked Mrs. Weasley. "Why would Harry write to you?"

"Oh, well that's what a godson does, isn't it?"

"Godson?" she answered almost looking like she was going to faint.

"Yeah, Ha..."

"Sirius, why don't you and Bill go upstairs. I'll explain everything," said Mr. Weasley as he helped his wife close her wide-open mouth, much to Bill's and Sirius' amusement.

As the sound of their footsteps faded Molly turned to Arthur looking thoroughly confused.

"James and Lily didn't want anyone they didn't trust to know about it. Very few people knew about it, and I was one of them." Anticipating the question Mr. Weasley continued. "James, Lily, and Dumbledore had made it clear that the information was not to be passed to anyone...no matter what. It was for the safety of everyone involved. Although, it didn't help in the end," said Arthur sadly.

"What about the fact that he's a murderer?" whispered Mrs. Weasley.

"Dumbledore informed me that Sirius was not responsible for the death of the Potters, nor was he responsible for the Muggles that were killed. The real culprit was Peter Pettigrew."

"Peter? But he was killed by Sirius Black."

"No. Peter never died. He betrayed his friends and led Him to James and Lily. Sirius Black is innocent, but as long as Pettigrew remains 'dead' he will continue to be sought after by the Ministry."

"Sounds to me like Dumbledore had a little too much of his 'special' tea," huffed Mrs. Weasley as she got up and walked over to the sink.

"Molly, it's very important that we keep this to ourselves. Not even the children can know. Bill will keep up the appearance that he is working for Gringotts here in London, and it's imperative that we don't tell anyone what is truly going on. For Bill's safety," added Mr. Weasley quietly.

There was a moment's silence before Mrs. Weasley let her body relax, and started tidying up.

"What are you doing dear?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Well, I suppose we have to get ready for everyone to come home for Christmas, don't we?"

***

It was quite obvious that Ron Weasley was a Chudley Cannons supporter. That much Sirius Black had realized as soon as the door had opened, and he was greeted by the bright glow of shock orange. He liked it. Bill said goodnight and as the door closed behind him Sirius was eager to read the letter from Harry. He lit one of the nightlights and lay down on what was Ron's bed.

Dear old ladies man, (Why that little...)

I thought you might like that. You've probably read, or heard, what happened at the Quidditch game, but if not I guess I should tell you the whole story. I don't have anything better to do as we can't go outside today.

After that article about me I kind of let slip that I like Cho Chang. She's the Ravenclaw Seeker. I didn't even know I liked her anymore, but I was late for Potions and Snape "accidentally" slipped some Veritaserum in the potion I had to drink. (I'll kill Snape when I get my hands on him.) Draco Malfoy asked me who I liked and I couldn't to anything about it. I did have a crush on her last year, but she went with Cedric Diggory and well, I just didn't feel the same about her after that. Or so I thought. Anyway, every girl at Hogwarts made it their business to despise her, and what's worse, Dumbledore announced there would be a Spring Ball in February. Girls have been asking me left and right to go, and I don't even know if I'm going to go. Girls are strange.

Sirius laughed at this as he continued to read.

Then yesterday we had our game against Ravenclaw, and during the game Cho fell off her broom and I managed to come between her and the ground. (I'll bet he saved her that little flirt.) When I woke up in the Hospital Wing I was alone with her. She was still unconscious so I walked over to her bed, and (Hoh, he's worse than I was.) she was having a nightmare so I just tried to calm her down. I sat there holding her hand until I fell asleep. It's a good thing no one came in before I woke up.

I need some help. What do I do? I don't know if I have those kind of feelings for Cho anymore. I thought I didn't, but it's all very confusing. I wish you were here right now. I haven't really felt like that before, well, I have, but that was different. Help!

I'm not sure what's going on with Ron and Hermione. They keep getting letters from Fleur and Viktor and they don't want to be alone with each other. They're acting strange again. If I didn't know any better I would say they like each other or something. Whatever the case, Ron just made a fool out of himself again in front of Hermione. Maybe he needs your help more than I do. His brothers aren't all that helpful.

Hope to hear from you before Christmas,

Harry

The thing that made Sirius most happy about Harry's letter was that he had not mentioned anything concerning Voldemort. It was getting late and Sirius felt a bit drowsy so he decided to write a letter back to Harry the following morning. Now all he had to do was try to fall asleep in the glowing room. He was about to transform into his Animagus form when he realized it would be more comfortable sleeping in a bed rather than on the floor. The soft pillow greeted him with glee as he felt his eyelids drop and he drifted into the realm of dreams.

***

With the holidays coming up the students at Hogwarts were absently attending their classes paying more attention to the falling snow than their professors. Monday had begun with Snape, and things had only gone downhill from there. Harry had managed to make his potion boil for too long, and had lost ten points for Gryffindor. Poor Neville had done even worse as his cauldron melted much to the amusement of the Slytherins. All in all, a bad start to the final week.

Walking up to their next class Hermione left them to go to Arithmancy. Harry saw the two of them blush once again as they waved goodbye to each other. Ron stood there for a second looking after the disappearing Hermione before he turned around with a silly smile. It was quickly wiped off when he saw Harry biting his lip trying not to laugh.

"Sod off," Ron said, hitting Harry over the head.

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt anything," laughed Harry, avoiding another blow from Ron. "You looked so happy...Ronald," teased Harry. "Who would've thought you two would finally..."

"Shut up Harry," hissed Ron, but it was too late.

"You two would what?" said the unmistakable voice of Fred Weasley.

"Nothing," replied Ron, growing redder by the minute.

"Oh, something has to be going on to make our ickle Ronniekins turn into a beet," said the other half of the mischievous duo.

"What were you about to say Harry?" smiled Fred.

"Don't tell'em Harry!"

"Fred?" said George with a huge smile.

"George?" replied Fred with the same smile.

"All right then," both of them said, grabbing Ron and shoving him into the nearest broom closet and locking it.

"Now Harry, what were you going to say?"

"Yes, tell us now that we've gotten rid of the disturbing element."

"DON'T TELL THEM HARRY!" yelled Ron from inside his confined space.

"Ronald, don't be rude. We're trying to have a conversation with our captain and friend Harry," said George loud enough for Ron to hear.

"So tell us," said Fred, eyes glinting.

"I don't think..." started Harry.

"Just tell us," said the two of them in unison.

Harry looked from one face to the other and then his eyes widened with fear as he said, "Professor Snape."

Fred and George whirled around expecting to see professor Snape towering over them, but to their surprise the hallway was empty. When they turned around the backs of two fleeing fifth year Gryffindors were quickly disappearing down the corridor.

Harry and Ron ran all the way to the ladder leading up to Trelawney's classroom that was oozing from the scent of perfume. Gasping for air the two of them slumped down in their seats happy to have escaped from the twins. Unfortunately Sybil Trelawney made her dramatic entrance and she announced their assignment.

"It is most unusual for me to permit anything of the sort until my students have mastered their skills," said Trelawney in her usual misty voice, "but a few students in this class have the gift of the Sight, and it would be a terrible tragedy for me to hold them back," she said glancing at Parvati and Lavender. "Today, at the request of my students, you will handle crystal balls to," she paused, "to see your future."

"More death by decapitation," whispered Ron, making Harry choke on his laughter. Trelawney looked at them, but returned to her sermon.

"But beware of what you might see, because you will be looking for your future in...love."

The girls giggled and the boys were horrified.

"Take one crystal ball each and be careful. The Sight is powerful and what you see may disturb you, even scare you," she said, putting one hand to her forehead and taking in a deep breath before she leaned back in her chair.

"She's mental that one," said Ron shaking his head. Harry just chuckled softly as he grabbed his crystal ball.

Several minutes later Harry was still trying to see something in his crystal ball, but all he could see was the reflection of his eyes. He looked over at Ron who was apparently as lost as Harry. Dean was peering into his crystal ball with one eye closed only to open it up and close the other. The only people who were having any luck whatsoever were Parvati, Lavender, and Neville. Harry was surprised to see that Neville was once again doing well in a class he had always had trouble in. Perhaps Sirius was right after all about Neville.

Parvati and Lavender were busy whispering to each other and every now and then Harry would hear one of them giggle. He on the other hand spent a full half hour looking into his own eyes before Trelawney came up to him.

"You have the gift, but you need to let go," she said with a low voice so only Harry could hear. "Believe that you can see and you will." She drifted away over to Dean who was getting a headache from squinting.

Harry looked over at Ron who was now staring into his own crystal ball, but not absently as before, but rather with a look of concentration and awe. Harry tried to look, but he could not see anything. He turned back to his own and decided to give it another try before giving up. Let the cloudy mist fall away, he thought merrily to himself. All Harry saw were his own sparkling green eyes. All of a sudden he thought he saw something else in the crystal ball and as he looked closer he could see a small shining dot. Several more bright shining dots appeared and Harry saw something take shape.

"Do you see anything Harry?" asked Ron, trying to look into Harry's crystal ball.

"What? Uh no. Nothing. How about you?"

Ron's ears went pink. "No, nothing here either. Just blackness."

Harry did not believe him for one second, but decided to let it go. Professor Trelawney was making her way over to the two of them as she stopped in front of Harry once again.

"Did you let yourself believe?"

"Yes."

"What did you see?"

"I didn't see anything," lied Harry.

"Here, let me," she said putting her hands over the crystal ball, and going into one of her patented trances.

"I see someone. Someone you hold deep feelings for. She is all anyone could ask for yet," she paused, frowning slightly, "yet there is something else in your future. Death."

"Big surprise," grumbled Ron.

Trelawney ignored him and continued. "The mist is shrouding my Sight, but Death is present in your future my boy. Beware of the fang. Beware of the fang..." Trelawney trailed off as some of the girls were hanging on every word.

Trelawney blinked and she was back with them from the other realm, or as Ron liked to call it "dreamland."

"Class is over," she declared much to the disappointment of Parvati and Lavender.

"Don't worry about it Harry. She always does this you know. What's next? Death by ferocious fairies?"

Harry laughed. "Yeah you're right. Let's get to supper. Wouldn't want to miss Hermione, would you?" grinned Harry.

"Shut up."

***

Two days later the owl post was descending upon the tables and to Harry's surprise he received two letters. One was from Sirius, but he had no idea who could have sent him the other letter. He pocketed the letter from Sirius and opened the other.

Dear Harry,

Please meet me in the Owlery tonight after supper.

Cho

Harry read it over several times just to make sure he was not imagining things, and he looked up from the letter searching for Cho. She had obviously anticipated this and she was looking at him with questioning eyes. Harry was surprised to find his heart do a similar flip-flop as it had done last year as he quietly nodded for only Cho to see. It was a good thing Hermione or Ron was not paying any attention to Harry as they had been doing their best not to arouse any suspicions around their relationship. Especially around Fred and George who were still a bit hacked off for not finding out what they could tease their brother with. They had even tried to ask Ginny, but she had just laughed in their faces.

Harry looked over at Fred and George who were whispering and probably planning some devious plot to get the information they desired. Once in a while they would look up and glance over at Ron before they continued to confer. Harry just shook his head and felt sorry for Ron when the twins found out. They would eventually and he knew Ron would never live it down. Ron could only wish they would not figure it out until after Christmas as all of the Weasleys were going home for the holidays. Mrs. Weasley had invited him as well, but Dumbledore had informed Harry there would be too much of a security risk for him to stay with the Weasleys for Christmas. Perhaps they could do something about Christmas Day, but he would have to look into it.

The day passed quickly and Harry found himself zooming through Care of Magical Creatures astounded to find the Pogrebins had affected him less than before. Sitting down for supper he saw Cho leave her table and walk out the door. He quickly shoveled in some food and rose to leave.

"Hey, where wo you shink wo're goin'?" asked Ron with a mouthful of pudding.

"I need to get some books from the library. It's for my Divination homework," said Harry rushing off without waiting for a reply.

"What's with him?" said Ron turning to Hermione.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"If it's so obvious then why don't you tell me."

Hermione leaned in and whispered, "He's uncomfortable because we're...you know."

"We're what?"

"Hmph! Well perhaps we're not. I was mistaken. Goodbye Ron," snapped Hermione leaving Ron alone.

Meanwhile Harry had made it up to the Owlery and Cho was sitting down on the perch under the window. She looked up at him, gave him a tentative smile, then moved over to make room for Harry.

"This isn't easy for me Harry," she began. "I'm really sorry I was so...awful after those articles. It wasn't your fault really. None of it was. Not the articles, not the girls, not...Cedric. Oh Harry, can you forgive me?" she said with pleading eyes. "I understand if you don't want to talk to me, but I just wanted to say that I was sorry...for everything."

Harry did not know what to say so he remained silent.

"I really did hate you after those articles were published, and the fact that you had told everyone that you liked me only made it worse I suppose." Harry felt his heart sink a little. "Even though I was being horrid you still saved me when I fell off my broom. After I found out what had happened I couldn't bear to look at you. I was so ashamed. Are your ribs all right? I heard you looked pretty awful in the Hospital Wing," she stopped looking embarrassed. "Listen to me, babbling. I haven't even let you say one word so far. Sorry."

"I forgive you Cho. I mean, I thought your actions were fairly justified considering I made all this happen. Well, actually you can blame it on Snape and Malfoy."

"Harry, do you really mean it? You forgive me?"

"Yeah I me..."

Cho flung her arms around Harry and he could feel her body shaking from her tears. He was not sure what to do so he patted her gently on her back until her sobs subsided.

"Thank you Harry," she said wiping tears off her face. "Thank you so much."

Harry felt slightly uncomfortable. Every time he had talked to Cho this year she had cried at one time or another.

Great work, Potter.

Cho looked at him again. "Are your ribs all right?" she said letting her hand feel the side that had been injured. Harry felt like a lightning bolt had struck him as her hand touched his side. He felt her hand tremble as she rested her hand on his ribs, and he was sure he was shaking like a leaf. As suddenly as she had put her hand on him she withdrew it. Her face had a tint of pink to it and Harry felt like his face was on fire.

"I need to get back to my dormitory. Lot's of homework to finish before the holidays," said Cho with a quivering voice.

"Yeah, me too," replied Harry a bit flustered.

They both rose and walked down the spiraling stairs. When they came to the corridor leading to the Ravenclaw dormitories the two of them stopped and Cho walked up to Harry and hugged him. Harry felt her silky black hair against his cheek and he closed his eyes and hugged her back.

"Can I write to you?" she said still holding on to him. "I'd like to write to you during the holidays."

Harry was not sure if he would be able to respond, but miraculously he managed to get out a "Sure." He let go of her and she did the same. Before Harry knew what happened Cho had leaned in and given him a kiss on the cheek, then she hurried down the corridor. Harry stood there dumbfounded with his mouth open in surprise. Finally he let his hand touch the glowing cheek where Cho had kissed him and he felt a smile tug at his lips. In all actuality he was smiling from ear to ear. He stood there for a moment before shoving his hands into his pockets only to find Sirius' letter. He had forgotten all about it. Some godson he was. He floated back to Gryffindor Tower still feeling a tingle in his cheek. If he would have been paying more attention he would have seen a whirl of red hair disappearing down the corridors in the opposite direction of him.

~~~~~

A/N: I know some of you are upset that Harry is paying too much attention to Cho. Yes, this is a H/G oriented story, but that doesn't mean there won't be any problems along the way to what might eventually develop into a relationship. Now, I'll be going away for a little while, but I hope to finish another chapter before I leave on Friday morning. If not, then it'll be a little while before I get the next chapter up. On to thank yous and replies. Also a little special thanks to all of those who have given me some helpful hints along the way. Oh yeah, and thank you for all the encouragement after writing my first Quidditch commentary ^_^

Michaela: Yes there will be an answer to why Harry said Cho under the influence of Veritaserum. You are kind of on the right track...that's all I'll say. It's a pleasure to hear from a fellow European although I'm in the US right now. Hope you had a nice trip to France. I'll mail you back. You were right about "Hälsningar" That means Regards. All I can say is "Danke schön meine neue Freundin." I don't know if that's right. It's been a while since I used my German. "Ich hoffe du hast viel spass in Frankreich." Yeah, that probably was even more wrong. I guess I'll have to brush up on my German now :)

Ol' Blue Eyes: Don't let your mind wander from you driver's instruction book. Wouldn't want to run into you on the streets if you did :)

Cactuskitty: It was kind of rude of Harry the way he treated Parvati, but he was just a little fed up I suppose. Sorry I haven't returned your chapter yet *hangs head in shame* I will get to it. I promise. I'm just...well...you know...procrastinating as usual.

Brian: All in good time...Just like Voldemort said...there's more to Draco than anyone knows...If you think longer chapters are good you should be happy to know the chapters that follow will probably be a about the same length as the previous two. A lot of rumors say Harry will bite the bullet, so to speak, in the end...I can promise you that I won't do that...or will I??? Scratch that promise...

Mary: You'll be able to hear some of Ginny's thoughts on this whole thing during the next chapter. She'll have plenty of time to think at home for Christmas. I suppose Harry's just behaving like all men right? *wink* I hope you're buried with work *wishes hard and crosses his fingers hoping Mary will get lots of work*

hp4ashley: Well Ron and Hermione are...well...yeah...

Sizzle: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad to see you reading my story through recommendation.

Conlan: Thanks for spreading my story to your "peeps" I can honestly tell you that...actually, I won't say anything at all. Don't worry, I'm not changing the plot since I have most of it outlined in my small head.

oceansun: Thanks for the Quidditch comment. I was a bit weary writing it, but I guess it turned out all right after all.

Bucky: Patience. Like I said before. All in good time...

Ivan K: Did you mean to kill off a character in the story...or some of the people who reviewed? lol In any case it made me laugh. Thanks, I'll stick to my guns and write the story the way I planned it.

nanabery melon: *looks at himself in the mirror* Nope, not J.K. Rowling. Although I wish...I'd be rolling around in money right now.

mithy: Your comment really made me laugh. You almost had me in a trance there for a moment, but I broke out of it. Harry/Cho....Harry/Ginny....Harry/Parvati...Harry/McGonagall...NO! *traumatized*

Jazzy: I'm hurrying as fast as I can...since I procrastinate a lot.

alex: Don't worry about not being able to read the chapters and review them. There's no hurry as the Internet will never die...well...not for a long time anyway.

Master: I'll put you on my e-mail list if I didn't already do it.