A/n: Thank you for understanding my predicament. I promise that I will get the updates in ASAP. Well, hope you like!

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Just messed with the plot.

Interactions between Hermione and Harry went downhill after the fight. It was so bad that Harry had to miss the rematch with Ravenclaw because Hermione had cursed him badly when he had tried to talk to her. Gryffindor barely scrapped a win, the score ending up being 160 – 150, Ginny catching the snitch at the last minute. Gryffindor was not pleased with Hermione about the slight victory and after that, Hermione ate her meals in the kitchens.

A week after the fight found Harry, Dean and Seamus in the Great Hall arguing over Quidditch. They all got up to leave, and as they headed down the crowded corridor towards Potions, Harry was rudely shoved into the wall. Spinning around, reaching for his wand, Harry came to face the business end of Hermione's wand.

"Don't think about it Potter," she growled. Ron stood beside her, looking rather bored. Harry's temper was boiling. He hated seeing Ron standing that close to her. Unbeknownst to anyone, the torches on the wall began to glow brightly. Harry took a deep breath, trying extremely hard to suppress the anger that he was feeling.

"What are you going to do, Hermione? Curse me?" he asked calmly. Too calmly.

"Well, I thought you had learned your lesson last time, but looks like baby needs another spanking," she said just as calmly. Harry's eyes blazed in rage. The torches on the wall flared dangerously and one of them actually exploded. Harry lunged at Hermione, knocking the wand from her hand. They tumbled down the stairs and out the Entrance Hall onto the school grounds. The two Gryffindors flew apart. Hermione's robes were shredded, her eye was changing colors, and both cheeks were pouring blood. Harry's robes had no arms, his shirt was torn, his neck had deep scratches on them, and the corner of his mouth was cut badly.

The two were about to go at it again when a scream interrupted them.

"The halls on fire!" Everyone's head snapped to where Padma was standing on the stairs of Hogwarts. From the windows, flames licked the outside of the castle as well as scorched the inside. Teachers ran towards the fire, shouting water spells to put out the fire. It was soon put out and Dumbledore stepped towards Harry and Hermione.

"I think that two weeks of detention and a hundred points from Gryffindor each will be sufficient punishments for the damage of the school and the harming of the students," he said. Hermione's jaw dropped.

"We didn't start the fire, Professor!" she cried.

"You did not," Dumbledore said, then turning around to head back into the castle, he called, "But Harry did."

Eight cloaked men entered the circular room. Standing against the wall, they stayed silent as a tall figure rose from the chair by the fire.

"Are they here?" Voldemort asked. One of the men stepped forward, bowing deeply.

"Lord, the beast you required are here," Lucius said. Voldemort began to pace.

"Potter has shown know signs that he is ready, or has been trained. We must cause him anger. Rage. Pain. Only through that will he finally comprehend what is going on. WORMTAIL!" he screeched. A short man scurried into the room. He tripped and the vial he had been carrying fell from his grasp. It hit the floor, but did not break.

"FOOL! CRUCIO!" Voldemort bellowed. Wormtail screamed, twitching violently on the floor. Lowering his wand, the curse was lifted as Voldemort reached down and picked up the vial full of blood red liquid.

"You are lucky, Wormtail. If the vial had broken, you would be in much more pain, indeed." Turning to Lucius, he handed him the vial. "You are to give this to the beast then take it to the area I designated. Be sure to put up a protection shield so that the thing cannot leave the perimeter. I want the job done tonight, Lucius. Then, in a week, if the results are not done to my liking, you are to carry out the plan I told you of before. Nothing is to go wrong, Lucius. Nothing." All the Death Eaters bowed and left. Voldemort glanced at Wormtail with obvious disgust.

"You are more fortunate then most, Wormtail. You brought me back, and that is the only reason you lie there alive instead of dead. Now leave or I will easily change the direction of your present health." Wormtail, whimpering piteously, crawled out of the room. Voldemort than turned to the fireplace.

"Salazar, ARISE!"

Professor McGonagall rushed up to Dumbledore's office, pulling on her nightgown as she headed up the stairs. Bursting in, she found that she was the last to arrive. Snape, Hagrid, Professor Sprout and Professor Trelawney were all present. Dumbledore sat at his desk, his face unreadable. He looked up and a faint smile flitted across his face.

"Thank you for coming Minerva," he said in a resigned voice. "The reason I called you is because I have found out by the Ministry some extremely terrible news. Several hours ago, a beast of some sort found it's way into Little Whinging. Hundreds of Muggles were slaughter, most eaten, by the beast." Sprout gasped, the horror written on her face mirrored those of her counterparts. "The reason this concerns all of you is that the Dursleys, Harry's only living relatives, were among those who were killed."

"But Albus, doesn't that mean…" Snape trailed off. Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, Severus. It means that Harry is no longer under the blood magic that his mother put over him. He is now in as much danger as he was before." Silence filled the room.

"We gotta tell 'im, Albus," Hagrid said. Dumbledore sighed.

Dawn found a certain raven-haired young man sitting on the same cliff Hermione had been pushed from.

Harry stared out at the horizon, his mind wandering from his dead relatives to Hermione. He sighed. Why did she tell him she loved him only to go and curse his arse off the next day? Harry didn't know how he felt anymore. Every time he was with Cho, his mind wandered to Hermione. Why did he keep thinking about her? He knew he didn't like her.

Liar, contradicted a voice in his head. Of course you like her!

I do not, replied a second voice, sounding agitated. I like Cho!

Fine, you like Cho, said the first voice smugly. But you love Hermione!

Love?

Did Harry love Cho or Hermione? He knew he didn't love Cho. He liked her a lot, but if he was planning on spending the rest of his life with someone, well, time would tell him what the right choice was.

An owl swooped down out of nowhere and dropped a letter in Harry's lap. It headed off to the Owlery as Harry tore open the letter addressed to him. He immediately recognized Lupin's scraggy handwriting.

Dear Harry,

Hope school's going ok. We heard about the Dursleys. I know you didn't like them much, but I still hope you are okay. They might not have been close, but they were family. Anyway, there's something I wanted to ask you. You know that Tonks and I have been dating for quite a while and, if it was all right with you, I'm going to ask her to marry me! I've already got the ring, I'm just waiting for your okay. Well, that's all for now. Keep safe!

Sincerely,

Remus Lupin

Harry's heart leapt with joy for Lupin. He turned over the letter and, conjuring a quill and ink, started to scribble out an answer.

Remus,

This is great! By all means, go ahead. Tonks is great, and I couldn't imagine anyone else to be with you! She'll say yes, don't worry about it! Write me as soon as you get an answer!

Harry

Harry stood and whistled. A few seconds later, Hedwig swooped down from the sky and landed on Harry's outstretched arm. Tying the letter to her leg, Harry murmured, "Get this to Remus as fast as you can, girl." Hedwig flew off, disappearing in the sun's golden rays.

Voldemort lowered his wand and the screaming stopped. Severus pulled himself to his knees, shaking uncontrollably.

"My Lord, I have done nothing but serve you faithfully!" he gasped.

"LIAR!" Voldemort screamed, pointing his wand at Snape. "Do you think you could continue lying to me, Severus? I knew as soon as you told me you could not assist Lucius in the plan. I KNEW! I do not tolerate spies, Severus. You know what happens to spies, Severus!"

The room lit up with the evil green light.

Remus paced the living room of Grimauld Place 12. It had been several days since he had gotten the letter back from Harry, but Remus had been too nervous to pop the question. But no more waiting. Today he would ask her. If she would get here before he chickened out.

The door opened and Tonks walked in. Her hair was long and dark brown, falling around her shoulders beautifully. She caught sight of Remus and rushed over. He pulled her into a passionate kiss, in which she returned whole-heartedly. They stayed like that for a full minute until Remus pulled away.

"So, Remus," she said, tilting her head back so she could gaze into his eyes. "What is it that you asked me here for?" Remus gulped as he led her over to the couch. Sitting her down in it, he kneeled beside her.

"Tonks," he said softly. "We've been dating for a long time. I love you just as much as I know you love me. Which is why I think we are ready for the next step." He took a deep breath, taking the small red velvet box from his pocket and opening it to reveal a sparkling diamond ring. "Nymphadora Tonks, will you marry me?" Tonks' jaw dropped as her gaze shifted from the ring to Remus and back. She smiled.

"Of course I will, Remus!" she cried. He smiled broadly, slipping the beautiful rig onto her finger and leaned up, kissing her deeply.

Suddenly, the door banged open and Arthur Weasley burst into the room. Catching sight of the two, he rushed over.

"We have to go right now!" he yelled. "Molly owled. Death Eaters in Diagon Ally. Mad-Eye, Kingsley, and Mundungus have all Apparated there. We're to join them IMMEDIATELY!" Tonks and Remus nodded, taking out their wands and Apparating to Diagon Ally, Arthur not far behind.

Diagon Ally was a scene of total chaos. People were screaming and yelling, running every which way. A Dark Mark hung over the Ally, and it was not hard to see why. Bodies lay everywhere. Tonks put a hand to her mouth in horror at the sight.

Remus pushed his way through the panicked crowd to where he saw Kingsley Shacklebolt dueling two of the Death Eaters. He shouted curses as Tonks and Arthur joined them. Mad-Eye shouted a disarming curse and one of the Death Eaters slammed into Molly Weasley, who was standing next two Mundungus. She hit her head on the cobblestones and went unconscious. The Death Eater scrambled up and began to say a killing curse when he fell to the ground, dead. Kingsley hurried over and muttered a traveling spell, sending Molly back to Grimauld Place 12. Tonks shot a stunning spell at one of the Death Eaters, but he got her first with a disabling hex to the legs. Tonks' legs crumbled beneath her. Remus cursed the Death Eater and stooped beside Tonks.

"You can't do anything else, Tonks," he said loudly, as the screaming innocents were still running helter skelter around them. "I'm sending you back!" Before she could say another word, he waved his wand, muttering, "Voltremus Grimauld Place 12!" and she found herself staring at the fireplace of the Master Bedroom.

Hermione sat on the couch by the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common room. The clock on the wall read seven in the morning on a cold Saturday in November. She shivered and again attempted to start a fire. The fireplace stayed just as cold as the Common room. She sighed and shivered again. A blanket fell around her shoulders. She turned around to see Harry standing there in long drawstring pants and a red T-shirt. She pushed the blanket off her shoulders, jumping to her feet.

"What do you want?" she asked nervously. He looked at her then walked around the couch to sit on it. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she noticed a fire reflecting in his green eyes, though there was no fire in the fireplace. But the fire was soon gone, replaced with a dead look.

"Something's happened," he muttered. "Something that's made him angry. Really angry." Hermione's anger towards Harry evaporated as she realized what he was talking about. She sat down next to him and put a hand on his arm.

"You had another dream again, didn't you, Harry?" she asked softly. He turned to her and gazed turned into her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. His eyes bored into hers, seeming to dig into her soul, reading her mind, opening her heart. Without realizing it, he began to move closer to her, his eyes flitting from her eyes to her lips and back. Their lips grew steadily closer and then touched. It lasted only a millisecond. But in that moment, Harry knew. The young woman who had been there for him since the very beginning now owned his love.

The common room door swung open and Hermione leapt from the couch, a hand over her mouth as her eyes grew wide. Harry stayed on the couch, staring at her for a second then over to the portrait hole to see who had entered. Professor McGonagall stood there, looking extremely grave.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, could you both please retrieve Ron and Ginny Weasley? There is something the Headmaster needs to tell you." Both students nodded, getting up and going up the stairs to wake up the two Weasleys.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny followed McGonagall up into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore sat at his desk, his face grave. The students sat in the chairs in the room.

"There is something you all need to know," Dumbledore said in a soft voice. "Last night, Diagon Ally was attacked by Death Eaters. Mad-Eye, Kingsley, Molly, Arthur, Remus, Mundungus, and Nymphadora all went there to fight. I received a letter from Tonks that a battle was taking place. I immediately Flued there. The battle was over then. Three Death Eaters were dead and one captured. Two of ours were horribly wounded." Before he could continue, Tonks and Molly burst into the room, tears flooding down their faces. Both rushed over to Dumbledore.

"Albus, tell us it's not true!" Tonks cried. "Tell us he's not dead!" Dumbledore sighed.

"I am sorry," he murmured. "He has died." Both women burst into uncontrollable sobs. Kingsley Shacklebolt came in and escorted the women out of the room. Ron's eyes were huge and both girls had tears in their eyes.

"What's happened, Dumbledore?" Ginny asked tearfully. "Who died?"

"Arthur Weasley is in St. Mungo's as we speak, being cared for. He was wounded badly, but he will live." Ginny began to cry. Dumbledore's eyes turned to Harry.

"Remus did not make it through the night, Harry." Harry's mind went blank. His face was emotionless. Hermione stared at him.

"Harry?"

WHOOOOSH!

Every fireplace in the school flared up dangerously. Letting out a large, vengeful roar, Harry flung his chair across the room. It never reached the wall in one piece. In mid flight, the chair blew up in flames. Harry's eyes were no longer green. His whole eye (including whites) was in flaming red and orange. There was only a small hint that it had been green in the middle. He lunged at the office door but it wasn't there. The door had burned down while Harry had thrown the chair.

Harry flew down the stairs and up the corridor. He ran up the stairs to the second floor bathroom. The door to that burned down as he ran at it. Hissing out the password in Parseltounge, the entrance to the Chamber opened, and he fled inside. The pile of rubble that blocked the way to the actual Chamber exploded as Harry stormed down the hall. Upon reaching the Chamber, he dropped to his knees and let out a scream. The Chamber flew up in roaring flames. Tears streamed down Harry's cheeks.

Remus wasn't dead! His mind screamed. The flames grew higher, and inside, unbeknownst to Harry, a creature prowled, its bottle green eyes watching Harry. It didn't approach Harry neither did it run away. A voice that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once boomed out,

"WITH TRAGEDY COMES POWER!"

A/n: Ooooookaaaaaay…. So I was wrong, this chappie wasn't short. I know, the end was kind of corny but I didn't know any other way to pre show what will happen later on. And since some of you have been faithful reviewers, I am going to post a passage from an upcoming chapter.

Hermione wandered the halls, not knowing what to do with the time. Harry had been her life, and now that he was gone, there was nothing left to live for. How could Cho get over him so easily?

Hermione suddenly found herself with a blindfold around her eyes and being rudely shoved into a wall. Someone's mouth smashed hers as hands searched her body. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. Her arms fought futilely against the attacker as he started to rip at her cloths.

Oh God, NO! her mind screamed. She was going to be raped!

Uh-oh! What will happen? Thanks again to SoMe wEirDo for reviewing and to Kkroonie, who I hereby dub my Advisor! I will be sticking to what I told you before, about Cho and Harry. However, that will be a while away, so don't start lookin'! I like your advice! It works great with the story!

And if any reviewer has advice to give, PLEASE do so! I love reviews, whether bad or good! Hope you liked it! I didn't think I would get this chappie in before next week, but I did! REVIEW!