With All My Heart and Soul


AN: I'm really sorry that I haven't posted on this story for a while, but I'm not sure where I want to take it. I have two different versions going on right now: one that is pretty much AU and the other that is a "they are mad at each other, but also madly in love" story. This is where you guys come in! I really want to continue this story, but I need your help! You get to decide which way I should take this! To help with your decisions, I'll post a little bit of each version. The first will be the AU approach [which is actually longer because that was my initial idea], followed by the "they are mad at each other . . ." version [which isn't nearly as long, but I'm beginning to think it might make a better story]. I'm not good at weighing pros and cons, so just tell me outright which you like better please! Thank you!


[AU Version]

Harry Potter searched the streets for any sign of red hair or bushy brown locks. His best friends were supposed to meet him at noon, but it was already one o'clock and they had yet to appear. He had run into some of his old school friends, however. Neville Longbottom and his girlfriend, Susan Bones, had greeted him outside of Gringotts. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil had stopped to chat with him on their way to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, but he had yet to see Hermione Granger or Ron Weasley, his best friends for thirteen years.

Harry's face suddenly brightened as he thought of Hermione. He had known for almost seven years that he had feelings for her, but for the past six years, he had dismissed them as merely friendly thoughts. Recently, he had wised up and come to realize that he was in love with her. He was a fairly good actor, and he didn't think she had noticed…yet.

"Harry!" Repetitive shouts of his name broke him out of his reverie. His smile left his face for only a moment before he noticed that the object of his affection was the one calling his name.

He turned towards her voice, but a pair of arms was already clasped around his neck. He gave her an awkward hug in return. She didn't notice his flushed cheeks or his lopsided grin as she released him and began to speak rapidly. "Oh Harry, it's been far too long! With all your Auror training, Ron and I hardly get to see you anymore. I wish you would have taken the teaching job at Hogwarts. You would have made a wonderful Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Of course, you would probably get far too many questions about Voldemort or the final battle by all the students. Harry, aren't you going to talk to me?" She finished her speech, and just as he was about to answer, she began again. "Ooh, look; there's Ron! Ron, Ron, over here!" Hermione waved her hand and brought Ron over toward them. "Ron, Harry and I were just talking about how we never get to see each other anymore. It's really such a shame. I miss you both dreadfully during the school year. All the other teachers are either old enough to be my parents or terribly annoying." Harry and Ron smiled at this. They both knew that she was referring to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Viktor Krum. "Anyway, how have you two been?"

Ron puffed out his chest a bit and said proudly, "You are looking at the Chudley Cannon's newest Keeper." He smiled sheepishly and added, "Of course, I'm only back-up, but the starter may be out for awhile…family problems or something."

Harry saw his friends turn to him, awaiting to hear about all of the Dark wizards he had captured. He didn't want to tell them the truth about his job, but their expectant faces were hard to refuse. Harry sighed heavily and said, "Let's go inside, and I'll tell you guys everything."

Ron and Hermione exchanged worried looks, but they followed him into the Leaky Cauldron without complaint. Harry led them to a private room near the back of the pub. A table was set up for four, even though only the three friends were present. Harry motioned for them to sit down, whilst choosing to stand himself.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before he launched into a full explanation of his job. "I don't know what the two of you have inferred from what I've told you about my job, but I'm not an Auror. I work for…" He paused as if contemplating whether or not to reveal an important secret. "I work for the Order of the Phoenix." Silence followed this statement. "I know what you are both thinking: that the Order disbanded at the downfall of Voldemort. You are wrong on two counts: one, the Order is still working hard against Voldemort, and two, Voldemort is not dead. Only I can kill him, and I wasn't even there the night he supposedly was defeated. I was still training to be an Auror. I really was going to be an Auror for a while, but then Dumbledore contacted me and asked me to help the Order. In a sense, I am an Auror for the Order." He paused again and shook his head. "No, that's not right. I'm an Auror for my parents and Dumbledore. I'm kind of a bodyguard, only I'm never around them. I track down Dark wizards and witches that have threatened them and take them into custody. I also interrogate the people that I capture to try to get information about Voldemort and his whereabouts. In my 'off-time', I train with Dumbledore, my parents, and Remus in preparation for the real final battle against Voldemort." Harry finished his story and waited for his best friends to bombard him with questions. The only one he got, however, wasn't what he expected.

"Who's the fourth chair for?"

Harry's jaw dropped. He didn't know why, but he was slightly upset with his friends for not having any outbursts or shouts about not telling them beforehand. "That's all you can say? 'Who's the fourth chair for?' How about 'How could you keep something like that from us, Harry?'" Hermione and Ron burst out laughing. "What is so funny?" He demanded with a glare.

Hermione managed to reduce her laughter enough to say, "You…haha…really didn't…haha…think…haha…we knew?"

Harry's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "What?!?! How could you know? I've never told anyone before this!"

It was Ron's turn to answer, and by now, both Hermione and he had calmed down. "Harry, we work for the Order, too. We've known what you do since the beginning. We were the ones who told Dumbledore that you weren't enjoying Auror training as much as you thought you were going to. Hermione actually does work at Hogwarts, but only so she can monitor the students."

"Do you realize how many Death Eaters actually reproduced?" Hermione said in mock horror.

Harry snorted at the look of disgust on her face, but suddenly said, "So, Ron, you spy on Quidditch players that may be 'evil'?"

"I don't play Quidditch professional, Harry. Don't you remember my first game in fifth year? If I had turned professional, I would have been kicked out of the country for embarrassment to the sport! I have the same job you do, only I 'guard' Remus, his wife, and their daughters, Rebecca and Olivia. We weren't supposed to tell you that we are in the Order too because Dumbledore thought you would try to make us quit, and the only people in the Order better than us are you and Draco." Ron told him.

Harry finally sat down. Everything he had just been told was running through his head at alarming speeds. "Draco." Harry stated absently.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Draco. That's who the fourth chair was for. He was going to have lunch with us, but he got called into work unexpectedly. We have a lead about a meeting of Death Eaters in Liverpool. He was told to go check it out. He sends his regards." Harry said. He was still thinking about the things his friends had told him. He was amazed that they could keep it a secret for so long; it seemed terrible for him to not tell them for five years, even if they had known the entire time.

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Four hundred miles away, a man and his pet snake were sitting in front of a fireplace. The man was watching the flames flicker, and the giant snake was hissing at a man approaching his master's armchair.

"Wormtail, what news do you have for me on Distinctus Mundus*?" His voice was cold like ice as he spoke to the man bowing at his feet.

"My Lord, I have discovered the last element in the spell. The caster must have a distinct picture of the place and time the victim will be sent to in their head when they say the spell. Also a potion must be in the victim's blood for at least twenty-four hours before the spell can be cast, or else both caster and victim will be lost forever. A group of at least ten men is already at work on the potion, my Lord." Wormtail spoke proudly, but quietly at the same time.

"Excellent, Wormtail. Now, I want you to watch the Potter boy carefully for the next few days. You will be the one to administer the potion, so I suggest you make yourself as small as possible. Do you understand?" The man still did not look directly at Wormtail.

"Of course, my Lord." With another bow, Wormtail left the room.

"In a few short days, Nagini," the man whispered to his snake, "I will be rid of Potter forever, and I'll finally win the war."

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Harry Potter checked for any Muggles on his street before he took out his wand and muttered "Alohomora" and unlocked the front door to his apartment. If only he had shut the door sooner, he would have kept a mysterious rat from entering his home with a suspicious-looking bottle the size of its head in its mouth. Unfortunately, Harry didn't shut the door swiftly enough, and the rat was on its way to complete a mission that would endanger Harry's life.

He threw his cloak onto a chair by the front door and walked into the comfortable kitchen, perfect for a twenty-three-year-old bachelor. He glanced at the clock over his refrigerator and groaned. Four-thirty already! He thought dismally. That only gives me half an hour to eat before I have to go to the Order Headquarters.

Harry's thoughts turned back to the conversation he had had with his two best friends at lunch the day before. Harry, we work for the Order, too. They had been so calm and unfazed by the fact that their lives were in danger every single day because they were in the Order, and a Death Eater or Voldemort was bound to find out. A statement Ron had made echoed through his head: We weren't supposed to tell you that we are in the Order too because Dumbledore thought you would try to make us quit… He was right; Harry hated having his friends in any kind of peril. Sometimes he even tried to be rude to them, just so they would stop being his friends and lower their risk of getting hurt or killed. Harry had been worried about their safety from the moment he met them up until the current second. They knew the possibilities of getting harmed by Dark wizards and witches because they were his friends, but they had always remained loyal to him. Harry knew that's what true friendship was all about, but he still felt the need to worry about them. Actually, he worried about them more than he worried about himself.

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

A low, deep voice whispered the words that could spell doom for the wizarding world. A young man heard a low rumbling in his apartment, but he thought nothing of it…

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* Distinctus Mundus means "different universe" in Latin


["They are mad at each other . . ." Version]

The impact of her stupidity hit me fast and hard in a matter of days. Everyone stopped talking to her, and our classmates snubbed her like the plague. Even our teachers seemed to find a sudden loathing towards her. She kept to herself and only left her room for classes, meals, and the occasional visit to the owlery to send a letter of apology. I never sent a response, but a death glare or two was always sent to her during breakfast.

She sat at the end of the table and twirled her food around on her plate, but didn't eat. She had grown pale and frail, and she wasn't even a shell of her former self.

Only one person in the entire school feel sorry for her, but I'd never admit it. It was mostly my fault that she was the way she was. I should have just talked to her about it at the beginning of our relationship instead of letting her get . . . carried away. I wanted everything to work out, but I didn't attempt to make it successful. I can't stand seeing her miserable; maybe if people think we are on good terms, she won't be so depressed.


***

I found myself face to face with the only person in the school who had a right to be mad at me.

"Hermione, why are you sitting down here by yourself?" He almost sounds innocent. The jerk.

"Maybe because I feel like it." Oh yeah, Hermione, that will get your friends back fast.

He glanced at me, but their was a hint of a smile in his eyes. Why is he not angry? He's supposed to huff and puff and yell at me, and somehow we end up in my dorm in my bed . . . Or not.

"Well, is it okay if I sit here then?"Why are you doing this to me? Don't you know that it's hard to breathe when I'm around you?

"That's perfectly fine with me." I grabbed my books and left the hall before he could stop me.


***

I sighed as she walked away. Now people were going to think that she was even madder at me.





A/N: Thank you again for helping me! The reviews for the first chapter meant a lot to me, and I hope everyone will be happy with however this story turns out. You guys are the reason I'm trying to make this story work! Thank you!


MC7: I agree, most of my stories come out angsty too . . . sometimes even when I'm going for comedy! [But those will probably never make it to fanfiction! ^_^] Yeah, you figured out the couple! Okay, it wasn't that hard, but you did! I'm a major H/Hr shipper! No matter how this story turns out, it WILL be Harry/Hermione! You can count on it! Ü Thanks for reviewing! You're so sweet!


Taylor: That's a relief! I was afraid I was the only one who loves that song! Ü I've found that if you try hard enough, ANY song fits with Harry Potter! ^_^ Thanks for reviewing! It means a lot to me!


mia: Another "Tuesday Morning" fan! Yeah! I don't really like the song "Hotel Paper" either. It's too slow. I guess you get to help decide where it goes! Thanks for letting me know what you thought! I need as much encouragement as I can get! Ü


spikesbitch: Hey Lea! That's one of the best compliments I've ever gotten! ^_^ Tainted Psyche is such an awesome site! Thanks for inviting me! I hope you'll help me decide how to continue this story, but I doubt it will ever be as good as your stories! You are such a doll! Ü Thank you for your support!


Leah6: Promising is good! ^_^ I'm going to continue, but I need as much help as I can get! You're really sweet, and your stories rock! I just read "Invisible Hero" . . . tears, girl! Ü Thank you for reviewing! I'm really . . . insecure when it comes to my writing, and so any compliments brighten my week! ^_^


Thanks again, everybody! You all roxor! ^_^


Love ya'll!

Brittany