A/N: Thank you one and all for reviewing: Teen Typist, nuwie, hp-lover-fifi, Carrie Liszka, and Versipellis! Now here's the next chapter! Yay!

Chapter Three

Harry was in a bad mood the next morning, he didn't feel like any breakfast, so he lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, the past years events playing over again in his mind. The Department of Mysteries, and everything that happened there tormented him. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna all had grown up after that night. He wasn't sure how Neville and Luna were holding up, but he was certain that Neville probably wasn't very happy about seeing the woman who tortured his parents into insanity. Ron and Hermione had been knocked out cold at certain points, so they did not see everything that went on, but the memories left them blank-faced sometimes. Of course Harry was supposed to just bear everything without complaint.

That is what he hated the most about his life. It was constantly dedicated to just surviving, and keeping Voldemort from killing him. Of course there had been many sacrifices to save his own ass: his parents, Cedric, Sirius. How many more will die because of me? He truly believed that he was to blame, no matter what anybody said to comfort him. One day he'll wake up to find all his friends and the people he now called family dead; the idea haunted him constantly. He knew that the only way this would end is if Voldemort killed him or he killed Voldemort. He didn't need a stupid damn prophecy to tell him that. Voldemort did though, but the prophecy had smashed in the Department of Mysteries. He would have to be a murderer, but it would of course rid the world of the Dark Lord. If he was lucky, Cornelius Fudge wouldn't charge him with murder, but he probably would, just to save his own ass.

The Order had now no choice but to allow them to enter it. Harry, Ron, and Hermione now all were apart of the Order, must to the disapproval of everyone else. They could no longer be all secretive around them, Harry hated that. They really weren't given much to do, no spying or anything; they were just teenagers. But I've faced more shit than most of the adults in the entire Order, he thought angrily. No matter. No one seemed to care about that.

The day passed uneventfully, there were no meetings to go to. Harry halfheartedly played wizards chess with Ron, worked on some homework, and tried to read a book Hermione had loaned him. Before he knew it, the sun had set and night had fallen. He gazed at the moon, feeling restless, unable to sleep. He crept out of his room, not bothering to heed Dumbledore's warnings.

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The werewolf once again took a place by the secret window, to stare at the full moon. His animal instincts were sharp; he wondered if the creature he saw last night would come again.

His ears perked as he heard a twig snap outside. Then, he heard an unmistakable howl; he frantically began clawing at the wall surrounding the window and the window itself, wanting to seek out the howl. He heard it again, his wolf instincts took over Remus Lupin as he clawed and chewed at the opening, whimpering. Then he heard movement outside of the window. The werewolf stopped and listened. It was scratching and scraping noise, and then he heard a snarl. Thud! The werewolf jumped back as he heard and felt the thudding vibrate from the other side. Then he heard shouts and yells. The creature ran away. Remus paced anxiously in circles around the basement. He heard more yelling and the sounds of people running and floorboards creaking.

Hermione came running down to find Harry already downstairs, a cut over his right eyebrow bleeding freely.

"Harry! What happened? What's going on? You're hurt!" But before Harry could answer, they were both shoved into the living room, where large crowds of people of the Order were grouped, talking rapidly, the room a feverish buzz of conversation. Ron came up behind Harry and Hermione, just as confused as they were. What were those noises outside?

"Quiet everyone! Quiet!" yelled Mr. Weasley, and everyone grew silent. Mad-Eye Moody came limping in and spoke to Dumbledore across the room.

"He's still there, he didn't get out." This left everyone slightly confused.

"I am sure all of you heard the howl and the noises. We first believed Remus had somehow broken out of the basement and was outside."

"Then we heard the thudding noise, as if someone was trying to break into the house," Molly Weasley said, talking quickly.

"There are scratch and scrape markings on the side of the house outside," Tonks supplied, having just entered the room after doing a scope of the outside of the house with a few others.

"Where were they?" Dumbledore asked.

"Right in the exact spot where the hidden basement window is." This brought the room in an uproar.

"QUIET!" roared Mr. Weasley. Everyone looked dumbfounded.

"Thank you, Arthur. Now, we do not know if a Death Eater or some other spy for Voldemort," the majority of the room cringed at the sound of his name, "had found our headquarters or not, we still cannot explain the howling, for it was not Remus Lupin we heard."

"Then who was it?" asked Ron, raising his voice so his question could be heard.

"That is what we are going to find out. Until then, no one leaves the Grimmauld Place unless under orders to do so, no one leave alone, and all the windows must be closed up, in case someone tries to come back, they will not be able to enter through the window," Dumbledore announced. Several people groaned, they were now all stuck in the house, at least Mrs. Black's portrait has finally been removed, the place was cleaner and more homely, so it wouldn't so bad.

"Now I suggest the rest of you, except the ones I mentioned to stay earlier, to go straight up to your rooms." Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione walked up together to their rooms, talking in hushed whispers.

"Harry, your cut is still bleeding," Hermione said. Harry touched his cut and stared at the blood that came off on his fingertips. Hermione took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped it up.

"Thanks."

"Who do you think it was out there?" Ginny said a little shakily.

"Probably Wormtail, the little rat," Ron said through clenched teeth.

"That might explain the scratches. But how would he know where Remus was?" Harry said, looking slightly worried that the attacker had gone for the hidden window that nobody else was supposed to know about.

"You guys, maybe Silencing Charms don't work on animals. Maybe Wormtail, in his Animagus form, was able to hear where Lupin was from outside, and then changed and tried to blast the side of the house with his wand?" Hermione said warily. They had to agree with her, it seemed like a plausible explanation. But how would he, or anyone else on the Dark Lord's side know where Grimmauld Place was in the first place? That was still unanswered.

"Well, we better just go to our rooms. They won't let us do anything anyway," Ron grumbled.

"At least you got to join! Mum and Dad won't let me!" argued Ginny.

"You're too young," Ron replied as he shut the door.

"Hey Ron?" Harry asked, sitting at the window seat.

"What?"

"Did you ever want to be an Animagus? Like my dad, or Sirius?"

"It would be cool, but it takes multiple years to learn how, and you have to register and all that stuff. My parents said its highly advanced magic."

"Yeah, it would, wouldn't it? What would you want to be?"

"I dunno. Maybe a hawk or something, then I could fly," Ron answered after a moment. "Would you want to be a stag, like your dad?"

"No. Probably something else," Harry said sadly as he climbed into bed. "G'night, Ron."

"Night, Harry."

A/N: Okay, slightly longer chappie, but there was lots of action. Now review!