Author's Note:: YAY! More reviews. I love it, I love it, I love it! Ya'll got questions, I got answers! I hope to finish this story soon! Chappy 20! Milestone!

Mesja: Thanks! I'm really, really, REALLY glad you like my story. I didn't know if it was good enough for people to like. Anyway, thanks! It's hard writing when you're at school. Oh well, spring break, yay! Hi-ho ballpoint AWAAAAAAAAAY!

Julianne-Petals: Thanks again. I wouldn't have even bothered trying to finish this if it wasn't for your reviews. You're my saving grace. Well, not really… anyway… About the romances… Harry is going with Ginny, and I'm trying to get that in as best I can, and Mione and Ron are a couple. This is mostly about Aidan and Harry though, so don't forget.

AngelxD14: Thanks! You were my first review today! YAY!

And I can't remember who said it, but you can Apparate in Hogsmeade. Kopnik had to go to Hogsmeade to Apparate, so I didn't break the rules. Unless Hogsmeade is on Hogwarts grounds… but the Marauders' Map breaks off once you get to Honeydukes', soooo.. yeah.

~*~*~*~*~*~

[A/N:: Speaking of Harry and Ginny…]

Dear Ginny,

   It's me Harry. I can't tell you a lot right now, because mostly everything is secret. God! It sounds like I'm heading off to bloody war or something, which they'll probably make me do anyway. I don't want to scare you, I'll be alright. Just keep an eye on Ron, God knows he'll need it.

   This is hard stuff they're teaching me. I wish you were here to make it a little easier.

    How are Percy and your dad? Holding up alright at the Ministry? Keep them in your prayers. They're in mine.

     I hope your keeping well. Write back, I want to know how you're doing. You're letters could save me, you know, so write everyday.

I love you, Gin.

Love Your Incredibly Cheesy Boyfriend,

Harry

            Harry sighed. He felt so alone in the empty castle. Dumbledore and McGonagall were his only company. He pined for Ginny, Ron, Hermione, everyone he was close to. He worked harder at his lessons so that he could end it all and be with his friends again.

            Harry could feel that he was getting closer to his goal, too. He mastered each new spell with ease. It was only a matter of time before Dumbledore taught him the curse that would destroy Voldemort.

            One particularly stormy day in April was that day. Dumbledore came to the lesson looking extremely happy. "Harry, everything I have taught you has led up to this point, are you ready?"

            "I've never been more ready for anything in my life, sir," Harry answered eagerly. Dumbledore smiled his knowing smile.

            "This is the most difficult thing you will ever learn, Harry, and I'm sure that you won't master it the first time you perform it."

            "I understand, sir. Just as long as we can destroy Voldemort before it's too late."

            "I've told you this before, Harry, but now it is clearer than ever. You are a true Gryffindor," and his eyes twinkled for the first time in ages.

            "Tha—thank you, sir."

            "Now let's get to work, we don't have your whole life, now, do we?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

            Aidan never got a response from Leigh. It had been a good two weeks before he got anything, in fact. Ginny had written to everyone to see if they were okay, but Aidan wasn't okay. He wouldn't be okay until he found out if Leigh was dead or alive.

            Sam was hardly ever home. He was always at work, trying to get this bill passed or that paper signed. He hadn't given up on Rosier, and he even got a few Aurors to come out and help him with his plan for the Hogwarts students. They cast a sophisticated Shield Spell on all of the homes of the students who were known to be on the Light Side and the Muggle-born's houses.

            Rosier just about blew up when he heard about it. He said it was a waste of valuable time and that the Aurors that went out could have been tracking down Death Eaters. Sam about almost got fired, except for the fact that he did his research.

            Marc Rosier was not the only child in his family growing up. In fact, he was one of two, he had a twin. Evan Rosier was the disowned child, for he was a Death Eater, as in Rosier and Wilkes. Sam realized this and when he had proof, he brought it to Marc's attention. Sam, after all, didn't want to have a reason to believe that his boss was holding back because of his twin. He had to make sure Marc was the best person to be Head Auror.

            "Preposterous! Me, holding back because of that misguided brother of mine? How do you think I got this job, O'Reilly?"

            "I wonder, really, why they did give you this job, Marc. Twins have a very strong magical connection, do they not?"

            "That's beside the point…"

            "No I think that it's very much the point, Marc. You have not been doing your job the right way because of this connection. Does the Ministry know about this?"

            "Of course, they thought I was the best man for the job, didn't they?"

            "I'm not so sure."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Dear Harry,

   Don't worry, we're all doing fine. Dad is suffering from a bit of overwork, but that's only since he switched departments. Department of Homeland Defense, isn't that great?

    Don't worry, also, about Ron. I keep my eye on him anyway. I think he misses you and Hermione. You should write to him, take his mind off his snog withdrawal ::hehehehe::.

     Percy's still as pompous as ever, but he's overworked too. He doesn't seem to realize that there are much higher people at the Ministry than him, even Cornelius Fudge!

      Everyone else is doing fine, including me. Don't worry, I won't get into trouble… ::hehe::. Love you, too.

Love,

Ginny

P.S. You're not cheesy!

            Harry smiled when he received the return letter from Ginny. It was so good to hear from someone other than Dumbledore. He just wished that he could see her again.

            April turned into May and no sign of Voldemort came. In fact, most of the fighting had stopped, which was extremely odd. Dumbledore said that it was a sign that something big was going to happen. It was taking Harry weeks to master the Killing spell. Dumbledore was right—it was by far more difficult than anything he had ever learned.

            He had so far succeeded in blowing both arms off of the practice dummy (number 87), but he had to make all of the limbs fall off, which meant both arms, the head, and the legs. On a real person, none of this would happen, but their brain would fry and eventually they'd collapse from trying to think. Harry thought this was a bit ingenious, but he didn't say so. He had no way of knowing if it would work on Voldemort when the time came.

            "Sir, I was, er, just wondering… if this doesn't work, what's the back-up?" Harry asked one extremely frustrating day. He had only managed to get one arm off today.

            Dumbledore looked at Harry and considered him for a second. "Harry, what do you think would be the hardest thing to do, ever?"

            Puzzled by his elder's question, he looked up at the bearded man with a quizzical look on his face. "Spell-wise, sir?"

            "No, it doesn't have to be. Just what do you think would be the biggest challenge?"

            "Finishing this spell, but I don't see—"

            "Harry, think about this for a second. What is Voldemort most afraid of?"

            "You."

            "I said what, Harry, not who." Harry's brain was beginning to hurt. He had no idea.

            "I don't know, sir," he admitted with his head down.

            "I'll let you think about it for tomorrow. I think that this is enough for today."

            Harry thought about this all the way up to his room. Voldemort wasn't afraid of anything, was he? Except love, but that couldn't be what Dumbledore meant.

            Exhausted by the days events, Harry took his glasses off when he reached the Gryffindor common room, he knew the tower by heart, after all. He was about to collapse on his bed, but when he plopped down he was surprised to find that it was already occupied. Occupied by none other than Draco Malfoy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Marc Rosier had been fired, and Sam O'Reilly found himself, surprisingly, as his replacement. Cornelius Fudge had met with him the day of Rosier's departure and appointed him the job. "We felt you had the most initiative, O'Reilly. Do the Light side proud."

            It was harder than it looked, but Sam really seemed to be making progress in tracking down Death Eaters. In his one month in the head position, he snagged 32 Death Eaters, a record in one month. There were no reported attacks on Hogwarts students or their families thanks to the Shield Spells, and those families were urged to educate their children while they were away from school. Needless to say, Sam became extremely well-liked and respected after he took over.

            Aidan, however, was not doing so well. His recurring nightmares were just a by-product of his emotional pain of not being able to know if Leigh was dead or alive. It had been two months since he had scribbled his note asking if she was okay. He was also dreaming of his Muggle home, because for the way he felt, he would rather be beaten by his Muggle father than stress every day over his girlfriend, which was not a good sentiment. But he kept reminding himself that his Muggle life never happened, according to his adoption papers.

            He was getting regular letters from Hermione, Harry, and occasionally Ron or Ginny.  Most of the letters were depressing; each one of them scared of what might happen to them or one of their friends. Hermione in particular felt the need to express in each letter that she didn't know what she would do without one of them. Aidan didn't know whether he was despairing, or simply going insane.

            Jennifer was a great comfort to Aidan. She was truly meant to be a mother, and she knew just what he needed. She informed him on what the Daily Prophet reported, and kept him in check when he would lose his temper on what he deemed was an outrage in the reports. ("What! You don't seriously believe that Mundungus Fletcher did this!?" "Dedalus Diggle would never!" "Percy Weasley!?") Aidan was glad to know that someone was there to help him out.

            Harry's letters were comforting too, in a strange, twisted sort of way. His new training was coming in handy, but the Killing Spell just wouldn't come. He felt somewhat protected in knowing that Harry was there to ward off Voldemort, but he couldn't help but think What if he doesn't learn in time? Or at all?

~*~*~*~~*~*~

            "Bit tetchy, aren't we, Potter?" Draco Malfoy peered up at Harry from his bed. He looked relatively calm, and he held a small piece of parchment in his hand. Harry grabbed his glasses and replaced them on his nose and stared at his former blonde enemy, who seemed quite at home in the scarlet Gryffindor dormitory. "Don't stare, Potter. It's not polite. Flattering, but not polite."

            "What the fuck are you doing here, Malfoy? Come to kill me and doom the world?"

            "Now aren't you a being a bit smug? I'm sure there are other ways of killing the Dark Lord."

            "What are you doing here?" Harry asked again, his anger mounting.

            "I just wanted to know if you missed me yet." Harry glared at him. "Tough crowd. Well, er, yes. I've come to remind me why you hate me. I've even made a list: Reasons Why You Hate Me, Potter. Number One: I'm gorgeous. Number Two: Girls like me. Number Three: They don't like you Except Ginny Weasley, but that's not right anyway. Number Four: I'm rich. Number Five: I have power. Number Six—"

            "Stop! Stop. That is the most untrue thing I've ever heard. And I hate you because you're a smug git, that's why. And why is this relevant?"

            Draco considered Harry for a second before answering, and it was in the most serious tone that he did so. "Because you have to get over it, Potter. Because I can help you."

~*~*~*~*~*~

            A letter came in the middle of May. To be more precise, a hurriedly scribbled note with what horribly looked like blood stains arrived. Aidan noticed the owl immediately. It was Aphrodite, Leigh's owl, or at least what remained of her. Great, he thought, now they've taken to owl torture. Fantastic. It wasn't Leigh's handwriting though. The script was curvy and articulate, but spooky. And the message made the pit of his stomach drop and his heart leap at the same time.

She's alive, but not for long. Do what's good for you.

            He knew she was alive, but he didn't know for how long. They were trying to lure him to them, he was sure, but he didn't have enough significant magical training to take on a fully grown Death Eater, or even perhaps Voldemort himself.

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Author's Note: This is the worst chapter I've ever written. Sorry for all of you! School gets out in a week and maybe I'll have time to come up with something better. Pleas Read and Review!