Harry and Hermione walked out of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and started to walk back toward the Leaky Cauldron after they had finished shopping for the day. They had finished buying all of their books and other supplies that were necessary for the school year. It was now three thirty in the afternoon and Harry saw a store he had never seen before in Diagon Alley.
"Hermione, I want to go check out that store," Harry said.
"Which store? Is it the piercing place near the pet shop?" Hermione asked.
"Um, yeah," he replied.
"Ooh, what are you trying to do Harry?" she asked.
"Um, I was thinking of getting an earring," he replied.
"It's up to you," she said as they headed toward the store.
"May I help you?" an attendant asked when they got in.
"Yes, I was thinking of getting an earring," Harry said.
"Okay, go pick an earring from the display over there and come back to me when you have selected one," the attendant said.
Ten minutes later, Harry walked out of the store with a new lightning shaped earring in his left ear. When Harry left the store he realized that the air had gotten cooler. 'Damn it, they can't be here' he thought. His worst fears were confirmed when he heard the voices of his parents in his head and almost collapsed.
"Hermione, there's some dementors coming," Harry said.
"Well, we just have to fight them off won't we?" she asked.
Before Harry could answer, twelve dementors came gliding from the direction of Knockturn Alley. Another twelve came from the opposite direction, successfully trapping everybody in Diagon Alley. People started to scream as the dementors came closer to them, trapping a group of people outside Flourish and Blott's.
"Expecto patronum!" Harry cried; using the memory of the time Hermione had kissed him just a few days prior. Beside him, he heard Hermione use the same incantation and a patronus came out from each of their wands.
Harry's patronus went toward the dementors outside of Flourish and Blott's. He was able to drive them away, however he still had a feeling the dementors had not entirely left. He turned around to see that Hermione had also driven off several dementors but two had cornered three young children, each under seven years old.
"Prongs, over there!" Harry shouted, pointing at the children but he knew it was too late. His patronus made a valiant effort to get to the children but the dementors quickly applied their kiss and left in the direction they had came from. Harry walked over to the lifeless bodies of the children, which were reduced to nothing more than an empty shell. He then felt an all too familiar feeling in his scar.
"Potter, how fortunate that we meet again," Lord Voldemort said, accompanied by over three dozen Death Eaters.
"What the fuck do you want Tom?" Harry asked angrily.
"Potter, please calm down. I have an offer that you may be interested in. If you join my Death Eaters, you will become my second in command," Lord Voldemort said.
"What if I refuse your offer?" Harry asked.
"You will see everything that is dear to you die. Your friends will die and it will all be because of you Potter," Lord Voldemort replied with a sneer.
Harry felt Hermione's hand grip his tightly. He took a deep breath but before he could speak, Bellatrix Lestrange interrupted.
"Hermione, why are you with Potter? Didn't I tell you to marry Draco?" she asked.
Lord Voldemort looked stunned for a minute. "How do you know Potter's girlfriend?" he asked Bellatrix.
"My lord, I should have told you this earlier but Potter's girlfriend is actually my daughter," Bellatrix said.
"Enough chitchat," Harry cried, taking out his wand. "Stupefy!" Harry shouted, hitting a Death Eater near Bellatrix. Beside him, he heard Hermione do the same, and she also managed to hit a Death Eater.
"Stop it!" Lord Voldemort cried, taking out his wand. "Crucio!" he shouted.
The curse hit Harry perfectly and immediately felt pain. Though, no scream was heard, he didn't want to give Voldemort the pleasure of hearing him in pain. Instead, he tried to close his eyes and clench his teeth. He figured Voldemort would only use the curse for several seconds but Harry was wrong. Several minutes passed and Harry continued to feel an intense amount of pain. The pain then stopped. 'What the hell just happened?' he thought, rising up to his feet slowly and surprising a lot of people.
"Potter, you should be insane by now!" Voldemort screeched, looking as if he was on the verge of tears.
Harry felt Hermione put her arms around him and put her head on his back. "I will continue to defy the odds against you Tom Riddle," he replied.
Voldemort laughed evilly and glared at Harry. "So this is what you want isn't it Potter? Very well then," Voldemort said, as Death Eaters started to send killing spells all around.
"Fuck!" Harry cried out, taking out his wand and sending several spells at the Death Eaters. Beside him, Hermione was doing the same but they were fighting a losing battle. After fifteen minutes, Harry realized that he and Hermione were getting more and more exhausted. "Stupefy!" he yelled, aiming for a Death Eater near him. The spell hit his target right in the chest, stunning him to the ground. The remaining Death Eaters then stopped their spells.
"Potter, let's have a one against one fight, shall we?" Voldemort asked, grinning evilly.
Harry took several breaths, apparently drained from the fighting. He slowly raised his wand and aimed it at Voldemort. "Stupefy!" he shouted, sending a stunning spell that Voldemort easily ducked.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted, sending the killing spell, which Harry ducked.
"Reducto!" Harry shouted, sending the redactor curse at Voldemort who easily ducked.
Curses flew back and forth between Harry and Voldemort. None of them had really caused any harm to each other but for Harry, he was starting to tire. He did not know how much time had passed, but Harry saw bodies of dead civilians and several stunned Death Eaters.
"Tropegio!" Voldemort shouted, sending a spell that hit Harry on the shoulder, sending Harry falling to the ground. Voldemort laughed, "Until we meet again Potter," and with a pop, he and his Death Eaters apparated away.
Hermione ran up to Harry and held him in her arms. His shoulder was bleeding and his face, due to the pain, was in a grimace.
"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked.
"It hurts, it hurts so much," Harry whispered.
"Come on Harry, we'll get you out of here," she said, helping him get to his feet.
"Thank you so much Hermione," he whispered.
They eventually reached the Leaky Cauldron ten minutes later, where Tonks, Ron, Ginny and Moody held looks of concern on their faces when they saw Harry. By now, Harry's plain white shirt had become soaked with his blood.
"Harry went to get an earring and soon after, two dozen dementors attacked Diagon Alley. We were able to fight off the dementors but they still managed to kiss three young children. Voldemort then appeared with several Death Eaters and they started to kill people. Harry also had a one on one fight with Voldemort and as a result, this happened" Hermione said, pointing at Harry's blood stained shirt.
"Damn, we better get you back to headquarters," Moody said. He took out an old bowler hat from his pocket and gave it to Hermione. "This portkey will activate in three minutes and it will take you back to Grimmauld Place. Take Potter back and seek aid," Moody said, handing Hermione the portkey.
Three minutes later, Harry and Hermione landed in the living room at Grimmauld Place, where a concerned Mrs. Weasley immediately ran up to them. He immediately laid down on a couch as Remus Lupin came in to check on Harry.
"He has been hit by a curse that contains a poison that will slow down how fast he heals," Remus said to Hermione and Mrs. Weasley. "The good news is that the poison is mild but I will have to bandage him and give him several potions."
Harry was sitting on his bed for hours after he and Hermione had returned to Grimmauld Place from Diagon Alley. He had taken some potions and his left shoulder was wrapped in bandages. With a sigh, he leaned against the wall and hung his head in bitter frustration. Damn, the war had started already and immediately there were several casualties. In his mind, he remembered the images of the three children who were kissed by dementors. He also remembered seeing numerous bodies of older wizards who had been killed by Death Eaters. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice Hermione had came into the room and was sitting next to him.
"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked, putting her arm around his shoulder and gently rubbing it.
Harry looked down at the floor and felt tears come into his eyes. "Do you remember what happened at Diagon Alley today?" he asked.
"I was there Harry, so yeah I remember what happened," she replied.
"Did you see those three boys who got kissed by dementors and all the people who were killed by Death Eaters?" he asked.
Hermione responded by placing a hand on Harry's cheek. She looked into his eyes and saw all the horrors he had faced at his age. She could see the physical and mental toll it had taken on Harry and wondered how he could continue to live with all the obstacles he faced. He obviously would be bothered by seeing all those bodies; clearly he didn't even want to be part of this whole mess. She then felt tears running down the side of her face.
Harry gently wiped away the tears and held her in his arms. She didn't object and they sat there for a few minutes before Ginny came into their room with some news.
"There's an Order meeting downstairs and both of you are supposed to be there," she said.
Reluctantly, Harry let go of Hermione and went downstairs with her to the kitchen. Inside, he saw several members of the Order including Dumbledore, Tonks, Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Snape, Moody and others sitting around the kitchen table. He went to an empty seat and since there were no other seats available, Hermione sat on his lap.
"Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, it's so nice to have you join us," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Headmaster, I must say that bringing Potter into these meetings will merely cause his over-inflated ego to grow bigger," Snape said.
Dumbledore ignored Snape's comment, raised from his seat and began to speak. "Today, Lord Voldemort boldly attacked Diagon Alley in broad daylight. First Mr. Potter and Miss Granger can give us a first hand account, then Severus can tell us what Voldemort plans to do and Kingsley can tell us how Minister Fudge will react."
Harry stood up and started to speak. "I was going back to the Leaky Cauldron with Hermione after we were done shopping. I then felt that dementors were arriving and soon two dozen appeared. I casted a patronus charm to drive away a dozen dementors and Hermione casted a patronus charm to get rid of the other dozen dementors. Unfortunately, three little children were kissed and they got their soul sucked out of their bodies. After the dementors left, Voldemort arrived with around three dozen Death Eaters." Harry found he had trouble speaking so Hermione continued.
"At first Voldemort gave Harry an offer to join him and become his second in command, which Harry refused. Voldemort placed Harry under the Cruciatus curse for over fifteen minutes but Harry got up and he wasn't insane. The Death Eaters started to kill civilians all around but they suddenly stopped. Turns out Voldemort wanted to duel Harry. He was able to hold his own but Voldemort hit him with a curse and now his shoulder is in bandages."
After Harry and Hermione had finished speaking, there were some murmurings among the Order members. They seemed impressed with several things then Moody stood up to speak.
"You say both of you were able to fight off two dozen dementors plus the Dark Lord and his followers?" he asked.
"Yeah," Harry replied.
Moody sat down with a smile on his face. When Moody sat, Snape stood on his feet to deliver his report.
"The Dark Lord realizes that he made a mistake by sending the dementors first then going with his Death Eaters. As a result, Potter and Granger were able to fight off everyone despite the overwhelming odds. I do not know when the Dark Lord will launch another attack like this but many creatures will attack at the same time," he said.
Kingsley Shacklebolt got up to deliver his report. "Minister Fudge is still in disbelief that Voldemort attacked Diagon Alley today. He knows his popularity is slipping and there is a movement to kick him out of office. I have heard rumors that Minister Fudge would like to launch an all out attack on Voldemort soon to regain some popularity," he said.
Dumbledore stood up and looked grave. "First of all we must congratulate Mr. Potter and Miss Granger for the role they played in today's attack on Diagon Alley. As for Minister Fudge's idea, it will be suicide. I will try to speak with him and convince him not to do so, although it may be hopeless. This meeting is dismissed," he said.
One by one, the members of the Order left until Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore were left in the room. Harry was about to walk out the door when Dumbledore spoke.
"Mr. Potter, may I have a word with you and Miss Granger for a minute?" he asked.
"Of course sir," Harry replied, going back to where Dumbledore was sitting.
"First of all, I must say what you did today was pretty impressive. The Ministry realizes that it was a life or death situation so you were allowed to use magic," Dumbledore said, "Miss Granger, I ask you to please leave the room while I speak to Harry privately," he said.
Hermione looked anxiously at Harry who nodded to let her know that he would be safe. She kissed him quickly before going outside.
"Mr. Potter, I see you and Miss Granger are a couple?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Yes sir, that is true but I fear for her safety especially since Voldemort is trying to kill me," Harry replied.
"You must not worry about things like that Harry. I believe that it would be in your best interest to have lessons on Occulumency and defense as well as learn how to apparate," Dumbledore said.
"Who will be teaching me?" Harry asked.
"I believe that after the events of last year, Professor Snape is not an option. Therefore I will teach you Occulumency for the remainder of the summer and during the school year while Alastor and Remus will teach you more about defense."
"When will I start my training sir?"
"You shall start in three days Harry because Alastor, Remus and I will not be free until that day. Have a good day Harry," Dumbledore said apparating with a small pop.
Harry walked out of the kitchen where Hermione was waiting for him. She smiled nervously at him before jumping into his arms and sliding them behind his neck. She then kissed him and forced Harry to back up into a wall. After five minutes, she reluctantly let go then took his hand and led him upstairs into the room they shared with each other.
"Hermione, what was that all about?" Harry asked once they were inside their room.
"Harry, I couldn't resist. You are so gorgeous," she replied, kissing him again.
This time, Harry wasn't surprised and he kissed her back. Her hands went under his shirt then pulled it off. He responded by taking off her top and placing his hands on her waist. She pulled him down onto his bed and they continued kissing.
A/N: I didn't want to make this chapter so long but I just couldn't find a place to end it. I also didn't want to kill off any children because I have several younger cousins and I wouldn't like it if they died. I apologize for putting that scene in there but I do have to justify the restricted rating and curses won't cut it. Please send me any comments that you have, you're entitled to your own opinion and free speech is protected by the US Constitution. Thank you for your continued support.