A/N: Harry is back for this one. Everyone thing is back to normal for a chapter. ^_^. I'm liking this story a lot actually, I've even made Wallpapers for my computer for it. I like playing in paint shop pro though so it's not too weird... is it? Also, a soundtrack is starting to build in my head. I'm listening to certain songs that fit to get in the right state of mind. Weird, I know.

Well, enough with my rambling, on with the story!

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Chapter 5: It's times like these... (Harry)

Since the attack on the girl only nights before, it seemed everyone on campus was a bit more jumpy. The school was having an assembly about it later that night, but honestly Harry wasn't looking forward to it. It wasn't something he wanted to relive again, he was hoping that those days were behind him. Apparently, some people didn't want to let go of the fact that Voldemort was finally defeated. Ron and Hermione had given him all of the details about what happened, but honestly he didn't want to hear about it. It would just be easier for him to live in ignorance and he would have too, if it weren't for one thing. Hermione.

Hermione was always picked on for being muggle born in Hogwart's, mostly by Malfoy and all of his cronies. Still, she never seemed to let it get to her, even when she knew her own life was in danger. It was because of that, the fact she didn't seem to care, that Harry took on the role of protector. If she was going to pretend that she was above it all, he was always going to be there to make sure she didn't get hurt. He had to make sure she was going to be okay in the end, after all, she was more than just a friend, she was family. That's how he felt about it anyway, she might as well be his sister, she was closer to him then any sister could ever be. It was that reason alone he was going to the assembly later that night.

He didn't think it would take very long for them to figure out who the culprit was, after all, Malfoy was going to their school. It all seemed so convenient, like it had all been planned. Malfoy was supposed to take over the Dark Lord's work and kill all of the "mudbloods" he had hated so bad. He probably wanted to start with Hermione, he seemed to hate her the most and, even though they were all adults, he still picked on her just as he had when they were younger. He hadn't changed at all, there was no reason for Harry to believe that he was innocent. Of course, Harry hadn't seen him on campus as of it, which was good, but he was sure it was only a matter of time before the two met face to face. What he would do when that happened he didn't know, he could only hope he didn't end up punching the guy in the face.

"Mr. Potter," A voice snapped him out of his daze. He looked up to see his Magical Mysteries teacher, Professor Hawking, staring at him with an evil eye, "Could you please snap out of your daze and pay attention to my class?"

Harry jolted up in his seat and students around him began to giggle, "Yes, sir." Honestly, Harry held no interest in Magical Mysteries, however it was one of the required classes to take for a 1st year who wanted to become an Auror. Once all of the required classes were out of the way, he could take the test and hopefully begin his training as quickly as the end of 2nd year. Professor McGonagall had helped get him into the right school that had all of the mandatory classes, so he at least had to try and pass them. Though, it was times like these he wished that Hermione wanted to become an Auror as well. He tried his hardest to pay attention from them until the end of class, which proved very hard to do indeed. He just kept reminding himself it was his last class of the day, which helped him focus a little better.

Finally, the class ended and Harry was free to go to the dormitory. It was the only day out of the week he got out of classes earlier than the rest of his friends, so he had a lot of time to kill before he could meet up with any of them. So he walked the long path back to the Pheowin Dormitories, which was rather far away from where he was. He then reminded himself to bring his broom next time he had that class so that he wouldn't have to walk as far. He enjoyed it though, it wasn't to cold outside that day, which was nice, and people had stopped starting at him ever since the attack on the girl. It gave him some time to just enjoy being alone, which was rare, so he decided to stop walking all together and sit on the stone bench that was only a few yards from him. It was nice, just sitting there watching the people go by. He noticed there were a lot of couples, everyone seemed to be holding hands or kissing. That made him a bit uncomfortable, considering he was never one to keep a girlfriend. Every relationship he had been in, or almost been in, seemed inevitably doomed to either end abruptly or never start in the first place. It kind of made him a little lonely. He had his friends, but he kind of always wished for something more.

"Harry Potter?" A female voice called to him from a crowd of people. He turned and saw a pretty blonde looking at him with a slight smile.

"Yeah?"

"Hi, I'm sorry for bothering you." The girl sat down on the bench next to Harry, "but you left your book in class today," She began to dig in her bag, "I know I put it in here somewhere."

"Oh..." He sighed out of relief, he had thought she wanted an autograph or something, "Who're you?"

She smiled and looked up at him, "Oh, I'm sorry. Silly me, you probably haven't noticed me since I sit in the back. I'm Aimee Todd, I'm a Mr. Hawking's P.A."

"A what?"

"A P.A. When you want to be a Professor part of the program is studying under a teacher." She explained, "It's means Professor's Assistant."

"They let you do that your first year here?" He asked her in confusion.

She laughed and continued to dig in here bag, "I'm a third year actually." She then pulled out the book he had forgotten and handed it back to him, "I figured you would want it back... you would be lost in Professor Hawking's class without it. He doesn't like to deter from the reading much."

"Yeah, he's kind of dull." Harry smiled and looked over to her, inadvertently looking into her pretty green eyes. He blushed a bit and looked down at his feet.

"Kind of dull?" She laughed, "I didn't want him, but all of the other P.A.'s took all of the... more entertaining... Professors. So I get to hear him read from the book about 3 times a day."

Harry laughed, "Sounds... fun..."

"It's okay. The good thing is he's very understanding. He's working with me so I can be on the Quidditch team and be his assistant."

"You're on the Quidditch team?" He asked her with interest.

"I will be, I transferred here from Afinia University, I was on the team there so they asked me to be on the School Team here." She smiled, "You play?"

"I was on the team at Hogwart's." He told her proudly.

"Really? Famous Harry Potter on a Quidditch team." she shrugged, "You should try out for your Dorm team. If your good enough you can get drafted into the School team.. Though you could always try out for it if you wanted."

"Nah, I don't think I'm that good." He smiled, "I'll probably try out for my dorm team though."

"That's cool. I can give you some pointers sometime... if you want me too." She batted her eyelashes a bit, making him wonder if she was hitting on him.

"I...uh... sure, I suppose." He looked away from her, making her laugh.

"You're blushing. That's cute." She stood up and threw her bag behind her shoulder, "I should go, I was supposed to meet my friend ten minutes ago. I'll see you in class, okay?"

As she walked away he resisted te urge not to stare at her. That was a bit uncomfortable, he had never known girl's to be that forward before. Still, it was nice and he couldn't help but smile. In fact, as he walked back to the dormitory, he had much more bounce in his step then usual.


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"We are looking into the strange attack on the second year now." Headmaster Pomple told the students who decided to attend the meeting, "It seems it was most likely a practical joker who thought it was funny to scare some of us into thinking He-who-must-not-be-named has returned. We are looking for the culprits and are confident that we will find them. Until then I advise all of you just take this with a grain of salt. However, do to the seriousness of this prank, I suggest all of you be careful and keep an eye out for strange behavior."

"Think that's all it was?" Hermione leaned over and whispered to Harry, "A prank?"

"It has to be, what else would it be?" Harry whispered back, "Avada Kedavra would have killed the girl if it wasn't."

"It could have missed her." Ayumi whispered from the other side of him, making Ron look over at the three of them.

"I think Harry's right." He said, joining in on the conversation, "No one would go around saying they are continuing You-Know-Who's work seriously. Especially not so soon after he was defeated."

"Is that what you believe Ron," Hermione shot a glance to him, "or are you just hoping that's the case?"

"I'm hoping that's the case..." Ron whined a little and sat back with a worried look on his face.

"I think we need to just be a little more cautious and maybe have a look around a bit," Hermione mumbled, "See what Malfoy is really doing here."

"Maybe he's really going to school." Harry shrugged. Even though he suspected Malfoy of being the culprit, he couldn't rule out the fact that maybe he was actually innocent. As awful as that was for him to admit.

"It just seems to convenient."Hermione told him, "Think about it. We all know that he was a Death Eater... and now all this is happening."

"We can't prove anything." Harry pointed out. He thought that would shut Hermione up about it, but instead she just smiled and looked at Ayumi.

"Maybe someone," She shook her head in Ayumi's direction, "Could get him to confess... someone" - she did it again - "Who we know Malfoy is attracted too."

Harry looked over to her, "I thought you didn't want her anywhere near him?"

"Well, this is an emergency." Hermione looked over at Harry. She knew that he was going to protest. The words were leaving a taste in his mouth when she gave him a slight smile, "AND if he doesn't say anything, it could also prove him innocent and I'll stop bothering you about it. Does that make you feel better Harry?"

He swallowed, she knew exactly what he was going to say, "Uhhh..." He looked over at Ayumi, who looked a bit confused about the whole conversation, "What about Ayumi? Does she want to do it?"

"Do I want to do what?" She asked, "Talk to Malfoy? I already do that..."

"No, go on a date with him and see what you can find out." Hermione told her. Harry noticed Ron jump out of his seat a little bit. It seemed his friend didn't like this little plan.

"What?" Ron said a little loudly, making some people look over to them, "I don't like that idea at all."

"Well, it's not up to you Ron." Hermione glared at him, then looked right back to Ayumi, "Do you think you can do it?"

Ayumi sighed, "I will have to think about it."

Hermione seemed to take that as a yes because she squealed a little and sat back in her chair. Harry knew that little plan of Hermione's could be dangerous is Malfoy really was the person behind it. Especially if he found out Ayumi was spying on him for Hermione. Malfoy may not be the one behind all this, but he was still Malfoy... and he wasn't someone who anyone should take lightly.

The meeting finally ended after all the Professors claimed that they would back sure the school remained safe and that classes would continue without disruption. Everyone filed out of the auditorium and back outside, where the loud chatter of people talking about the meeting echoed off the walls of the old buildings. Harry looked around, but it seemed that he had lost his friends on the way out, so he waited by the door until he saw them again.

"Hey, it's you..." A friendly voice said behind him, making him turn around. The girl from that afternoon was standing there with a smile on her pretty face.

"And it's you." Harry said, "Aimee, isn't it?"

"You remembered my name," She giggled a bit, "That must means I'm pretty special."

"Uh...." He didn't know what to say to that. He just froze and looked at her dumbfounded. Luckily, she wasn't completely turned off by that, in fact, she began to laugh.

"You're funny." She told him and put her hand on his shoulder, "Umm... you know, I was wondering if maybe you would like to--"

"Harry!" Hermione's voice cut through the echoing voice like a knife and Harry cringed a bit. He was about to be asked out by a girl and Hermione had to come at the absolute worst time. He forced a smile and turned to look at her.

"Hermione..." He replied through gritted teeth.

"We must have lost you on our way... who's this?" Hermione gave a small glance to the blonde girl to her right.

"This is Aimee." Harry said a little embarrassed and a whole lot uncomfortable. Hermione always had a "Protect Harry from getting hurt" Complex ever since their fifth year at Hogwart's and it annoyed Harry to no end. She had the best intentions, but most of the time he wanted to throttle her.

"Aimee, huh?" Hermione sighed a little and smiled, "I'm Hermione. Harry's best friend."

"I thought I was your best friend Harry?" Ron came up from behind with Ayumi. He then looked over at Aimee and realized what Hermione was doing, "Hello." he said to Aimee politely, then gave a quick glance to Hermione.

"Hi." She smiled at Ron, "So these are your friends Harry? I'm Aimee, I'm in a class with him."

"Aren't you a little old to be in a class with him?" Hermione questioned in a flat tone.

Aimee looked at her, a little taken aback, and laughed, "Oh! I'm a P.A., I'm working with Professor Hawking until I get my degree in Teaching. Harry's in Harking's class."

That answer seemed to satisfy Hermione's curiosity because she just pursed her lips together and didn't respond.

"It's nice to meet you Aimee." Ron said, "I'm Ron and this over here is Ayumi." Ayumi bowed a little. That whole bowing thing was a little hard to get used to, she did it a lot unintentionally and Harry had a hard time trying not to laugh.

"Well, I should probably go, my friends are waiting for me..." Aimee sighed a little and began to back away from the group, "I'll... talk to you later Harry, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Harry watched her as she walked away with a bit of disappointment on his face. She was going to ask him out and Hermione had to butt her way in. He didn't get mad at her though, it was fruitless to get mad at her, she always used some kind of logic that got her out of it. Instead he just looked at her and put on a fake smile.

"Well," She sighed, "We should go back to the dorm. It's getting late and it's probably not a good idea to be out in the dark right now."

"Afraid of the dark, eh Granger?" Malfoy was walking up to them with a smirk on his face. It was almost surreal seeing him there, like Harry was back at Hogwarts or something. He also noticed Malfoy had picked up more cronies, he had about four people walking right behind him.

Hermione crossed her arms, "Go away, Malfoy."

"I can be wherever I want to." He told her sternly.

"Could you not be here?" Harry asked, making Malfoy look over to him angrily.

"Potter. I've been wondering where you were. I was thinking you ran away once you heard I was here." Malfoy and his cronies laughed.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Yeah, because I'm really afraid of you. Why don't you just leave me and my friends alone?"

"I have to get my quality time." Malfoy smiled and looked at Hermione, "It's not as if Granger's going to be around that long anyway."

Ron took a step toward Malfoy, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I thought you were at the meeting Weasely," Malfoy sneered, "They said it was a prank, but we all know differently. People like her," he glanced over to her, then looked back to Ron, "aren't going to be here much longer if they don't wise up."

"Are you threatening me Malfoy?" Hermione glared, "I'm not afraid of the likes of you."


"Who said it was me you had to be afraid of?" Malfoy stared right into her eyes for a second with an anger that Harry wasn't really used to seeing, even from him. It made him believe that maybe Malfoy really did have something to do with the attack.

"It's getting late, perhaps we should leave now?" Ayumi broke through the tension with her question, making Malfoy turn to look at her. His face got considerably happier as he seemed to just notice she was there.

"Ayumi, you still haven't answered me you know." He told her, pushing his way past Hermione to get closer to her.

"I am sorry Malfoy, but um... in my country it is customary to think about your answer rather than answer right away." She bowed, "Of course I will go out with you, how about the day after tomorrow?"

"Great." Malfoy smirked and eyed both Harry and Ron, like he was bragging about being able to go out with Ayumi, "I'll see you then, maybe talk to you about reconsidering your choice of friends..."

"Go away before I curse you." Harry said flatly.

Draco looked at him, "Will you Potter? I'd like to see you try."

"Stop it." Hermione looked over to Harry with a serious face, "I a m not going to let you reduce yourself to the like's of him. We're leaving." With that, Hermione took off down the path. She sure was quick to get away from Malfoy now that she was older, when they were at Hogwarts she seemed to love throwing insults back and forth with him.

Ron followed her quickly and Ayumi wasn't far behind him. Harry shot one last glare to Malfoy before turning on his heels and following Hermione. He supposed she was right, they were adults now, there was no need to act like the children they were before. Still, the urge to tackle to Malfoy to the ground and give him a few good punches in the face was there.

"You're really going to go out with him Ayumi?" Ron asked once they were a good distance away.

Ayumi nodded, "I'm going to help Hermione. He was scaring me."

"So that whole bit about your culture was a lie?" Ron smiled.

"Yes, I had to say something as to why I had not answered him yet," Ayumi shrugged a bit, "I was never going to answer him honestly."

"I'm glad you want to help me Ayumi," Hermione told her, "The way he was acting today wasn't exactly... the mannerisms of an innocent person."

Harry sighed, "I'm going to have to agree. He seemed like he at least knew something. Still, putting Ayumi in that position is dangerous."

"I will be fine." Ayumi told them.

"I'll be watching her the entire time." Hermione told them a matter-of-factly, "I'll just be a safe distance away so he doesn't see me. If anything goes wrong, I'll help her."

Harry still didn't like the idea, but Hermione was defiant, "Okay, just be careful when you two go."

"Of course we will, we aren't... That's strange, where did all this fog come from?" Hermione stopped walking and turned around toward them. Harry slowed down and began to look around, but it was getting harder and harder to see anything at all. In about five minutes the couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face.

"Hermione? Ron? Ayumi?" He called, "Where did you guys go?"

"I'm here." Ron said.

"Me too." He heard Ayumi say. He waited for Hermione, but she never answered.

"Where's Hermione?" He asked his two other friends.

"You don't think....?" Ron yelped a bit.

"We need to find her before it's too late." Harry told them and began to walk. What if Malfoy had gotten to her already?

"Stop panicking Harry, I'm right here." Hermione suddenly spoke up, her voice sounding a distance away.

"Why didn't you answer me!?" Harry yelled to her. He could feel her rolling her eyes at him.

"I was looking at something, I saw something flash before I couldn't see anymore so I began to follow it." She sighed, "I lost it though... what do you think is going on?"

"The weather changed?" Ron squeaked out.

"Yeah, like it's ever that simple." Harry told him, chuckling a little, "Hermione, I'm coming to you, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be wandering around by yourself right now."

"I'm fine, it's too foggy for anyone too - OW!" Hermione screeched, "What the...?"

"What!?" Ron yelled over to her in a panicked voice.

"Nothing, something bit me... I think..." Hermione grumbled. Seconds after Hermione said that, the fog began to clear up and Harry quickly ran over to where she was.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Harry asked her and began to examine her.

"I'm fine, something bit me in my arm, that's all." She rubbed her right arm a bit.

"Hermione!" Ron ran up to her with Ayumi right behind him.

"I'm fine, Ron." Hermione sighed and pulled up her sleeve, See, nothing more than a..."

Everyone gasped, on her arm was a branded "M", small but big enough to see.

"What is that?" Harry asked her, she shrugged.

"I don't know..."

"Um... everyone..." Ayumi suddenly pipped in, "Look over there."

Harry turned in the direction that Ayumi was pointing and looked up to the sky. Among the stars were glowing green words, sinister and evil, that said, "The Mudblood's are marked."

"I don't think this is a prank anymore." Ron squeaked out.

Harry sighed and looked at Hermione, "No, who ever is doing this is very serious."

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A/N: First of all thanks to everyone who took the time to review my little story. That was nice and you didn't have to do that ^_^ I would also like to thank those who have actually read it and enjoyed it.