A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but exchange students from Germany came over for a week and they only left today at a really early and crappy time, so I was really tired the whole day, but now it's night and I'm a bit more alive, so I thought I'd start writing, but I probably won't be able to finish it today… we'll see.

Chapter 17: Hermione's Dad

"What?" Hermione exclaimed in terror; she'd always been a bit protective of Neville, and her mind was beginning to race.

"I said: he'd been walking along the forest," Harry repeated while pointing to the Forbidden Forest behind Hagrid's hut.

"All right: Harry, Ron, you two go get Dumbledore and the rest of us will start looking for him," Hermione ordered and everyone took off at once. Harry and Ron had obviously sprinted to Dumbledore at break neck speed because only five minutes later he was running right behind them at an amazing speed for such an old man. They soon reached the rest of the group who hadn't found Neville yet and were picturing terrible things in their minds of what could be happening to him right this very moment.

"Anything?" the headmaster asked. They shook their heads. "We'll have to go deeper into the forest." And he was off, the others tagging along behind him, following his gray hair that seemed to have a 'glow-in-the-dark' effect.

Half an hour had passed and they still had not found Neville. The group was beginning to get desperate.

"You don't think Death Eaters got to him, do you?" Hermione whispered to Nora, who shook her head.

"No, I think he was attacked by Dementors too, like we were."

"But there were five of those things! Neville could never protect himself against them!" Hermione whispered frantically.

"Yes, I know. Let's just hope we're not too late."

After another hour of searching they all feared the worst. If they couldn't find Neville near the edge of the Forest, then there was no way that they could find him somewhere in the middle, where there was hardly any daylight and they could barely move without getting entangled in a plant of some sort.

They walked deeper in the Forest and the snow began to get thinner and thinner until soon nothing was covered in snow at all. Everyone was trying hard to keep up with Dumbledore, who was walking through the forest in a very quick pace. It was almost impossible to keep up with.

"This place gives me the creeps," Nora whispered, as she jerked her head to the left.

"Sorry, that was just me," Seamus said. "But it is spooky, isn't it?" Every one nodded.

"Stop," ordered Dumbledore and he came to an abrupt halt causing Dean to walk right into him with Harry. "Do not move," he whispered, while peering around a large think tree. Harry and Dean got up very quietly and looked around the tree trunk to see what their headmaster was looking at. There, in a small clearing was a silvery something floating around a lump on the floor.

"I am afraid that Mr. Longbottom may have been attacked, I can not see it precisely as we are too far away," Dumbledore whispered not taking his eyes off the clearing. "We will have to go over there as quietly as we can, lest there is still something lurking around."

The whole group moved forward as silently as they could and were almost near the clearing when Dumbledore heaved a sigh of relief. He walked forward more quickly, but his caution was still there, his eyes darting everywhere, scanning the area around them. The others followed, hoping Neville was all right.

"Oh, what's that?" Hermione said, pointing to the silvery flying thing, as she entered the clearing with Nora behind her. Flying circles around Neville was a beautiful elegant silver phoenix.

"It's… it's… a Patronus," Ron said, gaping. "It's Neville's Patronus."

Dumbledore knelt down beside Neville, smiling. "It looks like we have another very powerful student in our school. Not even some of the most powerful Sorcerer's can keep their Patronus protecting them after they have passed out. Perhaps Mr. Longbottom isn't such a squib after all." He gave a flick with his wand and Neville floated up in the air, with a wave he was sent moving forward towards the school. The others followed, very relieved.

"Oh, thank god he's all right!" came Lisa's voice as they saw her running towards them from the entrance to the school. Dumbledore had informed her of what he thought might have happened and had asked her to wait for them there.

"Yes, yes, he's quite all right, and very powerful, might I add." His famous twinkle, which had left for a while during the search, was back and he was smiling. Lisa kept glancing at Neville, as if to make sure he didn't leave again, and the Headmaster explained the events to her.

"Can I stay with him in the Hospital wing, sir?" Lisa asked Dumbledore. He nodded and she followed him into the castle with Neville floating in front of them. The others stayed behind.

The group that had helped search Neville was now surrounding him in the Infirmary.

"Really, I'm ok," Neville assured him, but they wouldn't listen and kept asking him if he wasn't hurt, or if he needed some more food, or perhaps a sleeping potion? Lisa was holding his hand.

"How'd you do it, Neville?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"How'd you keep your Patronus up so long? I never even knew you could make a real one, you said that all you could get out was the usual silvery mist. What happened in there?"

"Well, I thought so too," said Neville. "When I entered the Forest, it was because I had heard a rustling and I followed it. I don't remember why. Maybe I thought one of the students was in there. So I walked towards it and then I saw those dementors, and I tried really hard to conjure a patronus but it didn't work, so then I thought of something that made me very happy and after that all I remember was something silver shooting out of my wand and feeling happiness rush toward me, then I think I passed out."

"What was your happy thought?" Lisa asked, Neville blushed and then mumbled something, hoping no one heard it, but they did: "You". Lisa blushed a bit too and then gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Ahem…" Everyone turned around to see Dumbledore standing in the doorway. They couldn't read anything off his face, and there was only half a twinkle in his eyes. "Ms. Granger, Ms. Glassyd, if you please."

The two girls got up, confused, and followed their headmaster into his office. The others watched them leave, wondering what could be the matter. The portraits in Dumbledore's office were pretending to be asleep as usual, and Fawkes was sitting on his stand, at the side of the room. Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, and the Phoenix flew up and onto his knee.

"Please, sit." Nora and Hermione walked forward and sat in two brown leather chairs. They looked at Dumbledore, who was staring out the window, absent-mindedly stroking the beautifully colored bird.

"E-excuse me, sir?" Hermione asked and the headmaster turned his head to look at her. "W-why are we h-here?" She was a bit scared that she had disturbed him, but felt relieved when he gave a small smile.

"Yes, to the point. I have some information on your father." Hermione said nothing. Wasn't her father supposed to be in jail?

"He is in jail," Dumbledore began, as if he had read her mind. "But we were allowed to ask him a few question, while he was under the influence of Veritaserum, the truth potion." Hermione nodded, knowing what Veritaserum was. After all, they had been assigned to make a mild form of it in the beginning of their year during Potions class.

"Is it good or bad news?" was all she asked.

"I am not quite sure. I suppose it is both. You see, your father told us that he had not beaten you and your mother on his own accord."

"What does that mean?"

"We assume that perhaps he was under the influence of the Imperius curse. He described the effects quite precisely. There is no other possibility."

"But, isn't this good news, then?" Nora asked, while Hermione was thinking things over.

"Not exactly. It does mean that he will be released from prison, but it is also a sign that Voldemort is going to every measure to get information about Harry and maybe about the Order. He and Hermione will need more protection." Hermione looked up.

"What? Why do we need more protection? My father doesn't know anything about the order."

"Maybe not, but if he was able to put your father under the Imperius curse, Voldemort will be capable of finding confidential information one way or the other. He had to get rid of your mother first, otherwise she might have gotten suspicious, and you and your mother would be too afraid to say anything if he would hit her. It was the perfect plan. Then after your mother was gone Voldemort wouldn't have to worry about her and could focus on getting information from inside your house. Did you never wonder why your father would always leave after some inquiries? No? Voldemort made your father come to him and give a full report on everything, to see if the plan was working."

Just then they heard a knock on the door and a second later Snape walked in, looking as menacingly as ever.

"What is it, Severus?"

"Filch is in a very disgruntled mood and requested for you, sir. Apparently we have new Weasley twins in our midst," he turned around and left without a second glance at the two girls.

"It appears I shall have to calm Mr. Filch down. You two may leave." And Dumbledore left too. The two girls stayed for a few more minutes, though, looking at Fawkes, who was asleep on his stand.

Nora and Hermione were outside with Harry and Ron and were telling them all about what Dumbledore had said.

"So, Voldemort's planning something again?" Harry asked, looking at the lake gloomily. "Can't he just give it a rest for once? I really want to know what a peaceful year at Hogwarts is like."

"So, do I," Ron said, and the two girls nodded, following Harry's gaze. They sat and talked for a while. At dinnertime they made their way back inside very hungrily, because the search for Neville had caused them to skip lunch.

After dinner Dumbledore came over to the Heads and Prefects, an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm terribly sorry, but due to the Death Eaters and Dark Marks, I have not been able to repair your common room and bedrooms. I am afraid you will have to sleep in your house dormitories again." They nodded, not minding that much, and Dumbledore left the Great Hall with McGonagall, both whispering urgently.

"At least we get to hang out with Parvati and Lavender some more," Hermione said, Nora nodded again.

"Let's go find Harry and Ron." They found the two guys in the Entrance Hall with several others, laughing.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked Ron, looking around bewildered.

"Crabbe and Goyle got caught by McGonagall. Look how mad she is." Nora and Hermione saw McGonagall standing in the entrance of the corridor that led to the Hufflepuff common room and the Kitchen. Crabbe and Goyle were cowering in front of her.

"HOW DARE YOU SNEAK INTO THE KITCHENS? IT IS NOT ACCESABLE TO STUDENTS! AND RIGHT AFTER DINNER TOO! DON'T THE HOUSE ELVES SERVE ENOUGH FOOD AT THE SLYTHERIN TABLE?" McGonagall shouted. Hermione dragged her friends up the marble stairs and towards the Gryffindor common room. They could hear McGonagall's shouts for most of the journey to their common room.

Fifteen minutes later Seamus and Dean entered, both still laughing, and joined Harry, Nora, Hermione and Ron in front of the warm fire.

"Did you hear McGonagall? She shouted at them for a full twenty minutes! She was furious. It was funny to watch," Seamus said grinning as he sat down next to Harry.

"Yeah, it was like a volcano exploded," Dean added, putting his arm around Nora. A little while later Parvati and Lavender joined them and they talked for the rest of the evening.

At ten o'clock they made their way to their beds, hoping to get a good nights sleep since last night's events had kept them awake for the larger part of nighttime.

CRASH – CRASH – CRASH

The four sixth year Gryffindor girls all sat up straight at the familiar noise.

"What was that?" Lavender whispered scared.

"I hope it's not what I think it is," Nora whispered in reply.

"What else can it be?" Hermione told them, getting out of bed. The other girls did the same and together they slowly walked over to the window. Parvati stumbled and swore loudly.

"Ouch! Why do I always have to trip over the rocks they throw in," she muttered annoyed. They stopped in front of the window, which now had five broken windowpanes. Slowly they looked outside and gasped. Hovering over the castle was, again, the largest Dark Mark they had ever seen, and surrounding the castle were the smaller ones. Though it was the same sight as before, that did not make the sight of the emerald skull with it's snake-like tongue any more pleasant. The four girls quickly ran down the stairs into the common room, where a small group of people was already waiting, huddled together. They heard a few more crashes and seconds later a couple of screams, and not a minute later the whole Gryffindor house was in the common room waiting for Professor McGonagall.

She came in seconds later and instructed the Heads to take everyone to the Great Hall, like yesterday. Everyone immediately rushed out after the Heads and hurried through the castle, joined halfway down by the Ravenclaws, led by Terry. As they entered the Great Hall they saw that the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs were already there, sitting on the floor in sleeping bags, again looking slightly confused. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws grabbed a sleeping bag too and chose an empty spot to sit.

It wasn't until four in the morning that everyone in the Great Hall was asleep, the Heads standing guard, until they too could no longer stay upright on their feet out of fatigue. The teachers and Dumbledore were still searching the castle.

"Albus, maybe we should be checking the dormitories, what if someone is hidden there?" McGonagall said.

"Yes, Minerva, I have thought of it too. What bothers me most is: Why are those rocks thrown through the windows? Why do they need the students out of their beds? I do not know the answer and it makes no sense whatsoever," Dumbledore told her, looking very tired. He closed his eyes and a few seconds later the other teachers appeared. "I want the Head of Houses to check the common rooms and dormitories of their house. Report to me immediately if you notice anything odd. The other teachers each please choose one of them to accompany. I will go with Minerva." They all left at the same time.

Dumbledore had taught them a kind of telepathy, so that they would be able to communicate when at different places. When they wanted to say something to another teacher who was somewhere else, all they had to do was think it and the chosen person would hear. Then the person called could use a kind of apparation to go over to the other. That is how the other teachers had been able to come so quickly.

They stopped at the front of the portrait of the Fat Lady and Dumbledore said the password. She swung open for them and he and McGonagall entered. Nothing strange could be seen. They checked every corner of the common room, but still nothing.

"Minerva you go check the girls' dormitories, I will check the boys'." McGonagall nodded and they both went up separate staircases. Dumbledore went to the first door and opened it quietly. He could hear a strange noise, like the swishing of wings of many owls. As he looked into the room he could see nothing but the eerie green glow. But when scanning the room carefully he saw a lot of movement. He held his wand in front of him and muttered: 'Lumos.' Dumbledore frowned and right after he heard the voice of every teacher screaming in his head: "ALBUS!"

As he lit the room he saw that the noise was in fact the swishing of wings of many owls. In the dormitory there were about two dozen of them pecking at everything, tearing sheets, opening up drawers with their beaks, rummaging through it's contents. They were flapping their wings furiously and destroyed everything during their search. Dumbledore stood there and watched. What were those owls doing? This was not normal bird behavior. He continued to watch the owls, unnoticed, and after a while they flew out of the broken windows, with nothing. He walked out of the room and went further upstairs entering every room. In some rooms were still owls, in others he saw them just leave or they were already gone.

Dumbledore entered the Gryffindor common room where McGonagall was already waiting. He closed his eyes and told the others to wait in the Entrance Hall. Together they left to meet them.

"Albus, how did they get in? How on earth did those Nifflers get in?" Snape asked and professor Sprout nodded, waiting for an explanation.

"Nifflers? There were Nifflers?" Dumbledore asked, frowning more.

"Yes, they were rummaging through the students possessions, but eventually left with nothing. I tried to stop them but they were awfully quick," Snape said.

"I see, what about in the Ravenclaw dormitories, professor Flitwick?"

"Owls, Albus," The tiny teacher squeaked.

"I see, so there were owls searching the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor dormitories, and Nifflers the Slytherin and Hufflepuff dormitories. I daresay Nifflers were an excellent choice, as they are very good in searching shiny coins and items, but it seems he had them look for a specific item," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"But, Albus, how come owls were searching the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor dormitories?" McGonagall asked.

"That is because they are higher up in the castle. We would have noticed, during our search, if Nifflers were running about in the halls. The Slytherin and Hufflepuff common rooms are very near the Entrance Hall, so it was easy to get Nifflers into them. But they needed owls to get into the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw dormitories, no one would notice."

"What do we do now, Albus?"

"I do not know. I'm afraid there is nothing we can do." Dumbledore sighed. If only he knew how the Death Eaters were able to get into the castle!

Harry jerked awake and sat up straight, waking up Parvati in the process. Once more, a feeling of fury flowed through him.

"Harry? What's wrong?" she asked quietly, sitting up.

"I don't know, I feel… I feel livid… outrageous…"

"Do you think it has… something to do with… You-Know-Who?"

"Probably, though I don't know why," He looked away and rubbed his scar. It hurt very badly, but he wasn't going to tell her that; she was already worried enough. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom, all right?" he said. Parvati nodded and gave him a kiss before lying down again.

Harry got up and walked quietly over to the door that led to the Entrance Hall, stepping carefully over the still sleeping students. He needed to get some cold water on his face; it usually helped fairly well against the pain of his scar. Harry was nearly out of the Great Hall when a hand grabbed his ankles and he almost fell on top of a sleeping Slytherin, if his hands hadn't held him up. But now they were hurting as well, along with the stinging of his scar.

"Ouch! Who did that?" he asked irritably.

"Quiet Potter, it's just me." Harry turned his head in the direction of the voice. He didn't need to look at the person to see who it was.

"What on earth do you want, Malfoy?" He asked crossly.

"I just wanted to know where you were going at this time of night," came Draco's simple reply.

"That's none of your business."

"It is. It's not safe for you to go out there now. Those Death Eaters might still be lurking around and it'll be my head if the others found out that I let you put yourself in danger."

"I need to go to the bathroom, if that's all right with you? Now can you let go of my ankle?" Draco did as he was asked, but got up with Harry. "You don't need to come with me, I can take care of myself, you know."

"Yes, I know all about your heroic adventures, but the others would kill me if I didn't go with you. Now don't make me repeat it again." Harry said nothing and walked into the Entrance Hall, he immediately backed into the Great Hall again, causing Draco to bump into him. "What's wrong? Afraid of the dark?" he drawled, smirking. Harry glared at him before saying:

"No, look." He pointed towards the Marble Staircase where a group of people was huddled.

"Albus, how did they get in? How on earth did those Nifflers get in?" He heard a voice ask, recognizing it as Snape's.

"Nifflers? There were Nifflers?" It was Dumbledore.

"What are they doing here?" Draco whispered. Harry shrugged and they both listened to the conversation.

When the teachers had left, Harry and Draco turned to look at each other.

"So that's why Voldemort was so livid; the owls and Nifflers obviously hadn't found what he was looking for," Draco said thoughtfully, rubbing yet again a spot on his arm without knowing it.

"What? How did you know Voldemort was angry?" Harry asked, peering suspiciously at him through the dark.

"You're not the only one who has a connection with the bloody git now."

"What? How did you get a connection? And besides, I thought you were a heavy supporter of Voldemort." Draco looked him, expressionlessly, but there was an indistinct look in his eyes.

"This winter vacation my father brought him to me so he could give me the Dark Mark on my arm, but I didn't want to, because I don't want to be a Death Eater," he said somewhat lamely, "and it backfired and I guess something happened that allows me to know his mood, like it happened with you." He had not yet stopped rubbing his arm, while Harry in the meantime was feeling his scar, which was now prickling uncomfortably.

"Has he lost his body again?"

"No, his new body is too strong; nothing happened to him at all... he might've singed his finger," Draco said as an afterthought. "But that's probably all."

"How come you don't want to be a Death Eater? The whole school thinks you're Voldemort's heir."

"I am, but I'd rather be an auror."

"You're Voldemort's heir, but you'd rather be an auror? Since when did you become so… un-evil?" Harry asked, forgetting this was Draco Malfoy, his worst enemy since… ever.

"I never was evil, I just had to act that way because of my father. But I'm sick and tired of it and the bloody git can rot in hell," Draco snarled, a very strong hint of bitterness in his voice. "Oh wonderful, look who come now." Harry tuned around to see Ron, Hermione and Nora rushing over.

"Harry, where have you been? Parvati's getting worried. She said you'd left to go to the bathroom. What took you so long?" Hermione said. Harry looked at Draco and then told them the whole story.

"You know what I think?" Nora said. The others shook their heads. "I bet he's looking for that Amulet thing. Remember when Neville was attacked that night?"

"You're right, I bet that's what those owls and Nifflers were searching for. And why they left with nothing: nobody had it. But why would Voldemort think a student had the Amulet? It probably has a heavy guard in some far away country, like Egypt. By the way, Draco, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked him politely.

"He wouldn't let me go to the bathroom by myself," explained Harry.

"Be glad, for all we know, those Death Eaters are still lurking around," Nora told him sternly.

"We are."

A/N: Another cliffhanger, but you can obviously guess who it is though, so it's not that scary.