Tom and Harry

by old-crow

HBP left us with a half played chess match. Riddle's goal is to finish off Harry. Harry needs to find the Horcruxes and train to destroy Riddle. CH 28. Surprises and chills await as the story comes to a conclusion.

20. The longest chapter

Chapter 20

Harry received the visit from Minister Abraxan about 7PM. She handed him a length of rope that had been spelled to create a wand-activated portkey.

Abraxan looked tired but upbeat. The information had taken nine days of tirelessly going from likely house to house and lives had been lost in the search. An unknown wizard fitting Snape's description had used the killing curse on two policemen who had come across him in a residential neighborhood in Cobham. Snape, who now fancied himself as a muggle expert, had killed the pair who had come to the house claiming to be checking on a reported gas leak.

Harry's question brought Abraxan's attention back to the meeting at hand. She replied, "If our plan is successful, you will get a call about 9AM to go. Activate the portkey, get in and get out as quickly as you can. We can only promise that he'll be gone a minimum of five minutes. It might be longer, but you'll want to be gone by the time he gets back. What we can't promise is that the house will be empty."

Harry asked, "Do you have any idea of how many Death Eaters might be there?"

She gave the best answer that she could. "If he's running the dark side anywhere near the way we believe, there probably are less than five people who live there. What there would be is a steady stream of people coming and going to report on different activities or plans. The snake might be inside or it might be outside, we don't know and the observer who is watching the house doesn't specifically know what to look for in case she is captured. She simply is calling in to report what she sees and is watching for magical signatures."

Harry nodded hoping that she would say more. After a moment, she continued, "I have other people continuing to look around so that there is no indication that we have found what we're looking for. We're not absolutely certain that this is the house, but have a high confidence that it is. Lucius Malfoy, Antonin Dolohov and Severus Snape have been seen apparating from the back garden."

Harry nodded.

She continued. "The portkey will take you to the side of the house. I recommend blasting your way through the back door and having at least ten people with you as well as medical backup available. You'll want emergency medical assistance ready. Healer Pomfrey can arrange that. While the house itself would be extremely tempting to search, I recommend that you either leave it intact or torch it as you leave. I hope that you're successful Mr. Potter. I don't think you'll have a better opportunity."

Harry was extremely grateful for the information. He finally responded, "I'll call you by ten."

She said, "It would be better for both of us if you didn't ask any other questions, Mr. Potter. Good luck." She opened the door and quickly walked up to the floo in McGonagall's office.

… --- …

An hour later, Remus, Arthur, Minerva, Bill, Justin, Susan, Hermione, Poppy, Flitwick, Kingsley, Neville, Lee, Fred, and George, along with Alyx, Gunner, Chambers, Bradley, Tonks, and Moody were assembled in the defense classroom.

Harry felt good about the people who he had called on for the raid. He said, "I have information that Riddle will be away from his hideout at 9:00 tomorrow morning. A spotter is in place to give us the word. It is a house with a large garden so there is every possibility that the snake will be outside hunting. The snake can communicate with Riddle, though I don't know of the distance or circumstances."

"How big is it?" asked Justin with no trace of arrogance on his voice.

"Bigger than a boa. I'd reckon about twelve feet long. I've shown the photo that I had of the snake to Hagrid. He thought it might be a diamondback that had been given several engorgement charms."

"At least that," replied Arthur, who had much more experience with that particular snake than he wanted.

"Since it's some type of venomous snake, you'll need to be extra careful. I'll make some sacks that you could carry it in. I'd guess that it would weigh almost a hundred pounds," said Minerva.

"Harry, what's your plan for the grab?" asked Kingsley.

"I'd like to have six people searching outside and nine inside. I'd like to stun the snake and bring it back. We can deal with it here." Harry realized that his idea added complexity to the plan, but he wanted to pick his time to destroy the horcruxes.

He continued, "Moody you'll need to look the house over as quickly as you can and give us an idea of how many Death Eaters are in there. I was told to expect up to a handful of Death Eaters on the premises. Hopefully they'll be inside."

Justin was going to ask where Harry got his information but noticed a scathing look from Professor McGonagall and thought better of it.

Harry continued. "It's critical that we don't linger there. We want to eventually fight Riddle on our terms, not in his house. Avoid touching anything that you don't have to. Wear your armor and stay alert. We'll meet at the Hogsmeade station shelter at 8:30."

"Why not go earlier?" asked Bill.

"I don't know how she plans to get him out of the house," replied Harry, not sure that he really wanted to know.

Hermione took a breath and said, "Harry, Susan and I would like to go with. If two more people searching gets everyone away from there even ten seconds earlier it will be worth it."

Harry was about to refuse when Moody spoke up and said, "They volunteered the same as everyone."

Harry considered his words for a moment and replied, "OK. Eleven inside, six outside." He looked at Healer Pomfrey and asked, "How many healers would you like on standby?"

Poppy replied, "Two healers and four aides."

Minerva replied, "I'll notify Arabella. Arthur, can you talk with Molly?"

Poppy glanced at Arthur and replied, "Hooch is available." Molly needed some time off and she didn't feel the need to announce it. Fortunately, Minerva let it go, and the matter was dropped.

Harry concluded the meeting, saying, "We'll meet at Hogsmeade station by 8:30 ready to go. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Thank you and good luck."

… --- …

They got back to their room before Harry spoke to Hermione. He closed the door, sealed it then turned to her. Before he could say a word, she cut him off and said, "I know that wasn't what you wanted, but thank you for respecting our wishes. Let's let it go at that and get a good night's sleep." She opened her bedroom door, drew down the covers and asked, "Are you coming?"

Harry took a quick shower and returned to her room. She lifted the covers inviting him in and said, "I'm chilled. Will you hold me and keep me warm?"

"A gentleman would never refuse a request from a beautiful lady." Harry was mad that Hermione hadn't asked him in private but he didn't want to start a fight with her, not now.

… --- …

They awoke about five, showered and went over their plans again. Hermione would stand just inside the back door with Susan calling out the time in thirty-second intervals while Susan had the phone connection with the healers at Hogsmeade. There would be no backup team.

Alyx, Gunner, Chambers, Bradley and Arthur would search outside and Moody would be on the lookout for Death Eaters apparating onto the grounds.

Remus, Bill, Justin, Kingsley, Neville, Fred, George, Lee and Harry would search the house. Lee, Fred and George would search the cellar. Kingsley, Neville and Harry would search the main level while Remus, Bill and Justin searched the upper level. Whoever found the snake would stun it twice and the other two would bag it up.

Harry and Hermione held hands as they went to the Great Hall a few minutes before it opened. Harry had expected his relationship to be the subject of constant gossip within the school, but had been pleasantly surprised. Perhaps it was the deaths of those that they counted as friends, or perhaps it was the nearness of the war. With the exception of a few jealous individuals like Turpin, the overall maturity level within the school had risen noticeably since the previous year.

The Order members who resided at the school soon joined them. At meals they had been taking turns moving from table to table, no longer just Gryffindors or Ravenclaws, rather members of a light side brought together by the unprecedented participation in the DA group. Minerva may have been headmistress, but it for all intents and purposes Hogwarts had become the home of Potter's army.

At 7:45 they rose as one and went to their rooms to get the rest of their equipment. The rest of the school noticed their departure, but most had the decency to wait until they had left to begin their chatter.

… --- …

As Harry and Hermione were having breakfast, Dan slipped out the back door of the brownstone rowhouse mansion and walked to his BMW to drive to the store in order to collect the morning newspapers and at least pretend that he had some control of his life. It was a small routine that he liked doing each morning. He was quite surprised and somewhat frightened to walk out of the little newsstand and see a very serious looking man and a woman standing by his car. The woman said, "Dr. Granger, please step into your car."

… --- …

Harry and the others arrived at the Hogsmeade station a few minutes after eight. Within ten minutes everyone had arrived. The looked like a bunch of witches and wizards that were waiting for the train under the shelters trying to stay out of the chilling rain. They sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts trying to minimize their own stress. Harry had said his words about staying alert, focused and getting out quickly and safely.

There were two groups - the strike force and the healers. The healers were quietly waiting for the others to leave before they set up for the possibility that one or more of the strike force would return badly wounded or worse.

… --- …

Three hundred miles to the south a man apparated to the country estate, passed the guards who were at the front, hurried to the upstairs library, knocked at the door, said something to the man in the room and knelt down. The other man walked into the next room and said, "Master, Gorgan has found him."

Riddle's snakelike eyes flashed with a gleam that Malfoy couldn't recall seeing before. He simply asked, "Where?"

"At their Surgery in Crawley. Gorgan saw their car and is there."

"Outstanding Lucius. Let us go and greet them." Malfoy was almost as anxious to avenge their defeats as Riddle was and hurried to catch up to the Dark Lord.

They walked down the stairs and Riddle said, "It's time to avenge Bella. Come."

… --- …

Four hundred yards from Riddle's house, a young witch pressed the talk button on her cellular telephone. "Minister, I just measured six disapparations… Yes, I'm positive… I don't know… Yes Minister."

Abraxan wasn't proud of her actions, but knew that victory would only come at a price. She pressed the numbers on the keypad, pressed the talk button, and said, "Good luck. Go now."

… --- …

They all held their hand on the length of rope. Harry tapped his wand on the rope and said the activation word, Frisbee. A moment later they all were standing on the side of the manor home in Cardiff. They took a quick look around and saw no one on the grounds. Moody began examining the house through the walls and saw the unclear images of at least three people within the home. They decided to rush the house from both the front and the back door at the same time.

"Thirty seconds," hissed Hermione in a low voice.

Kingsley, Neville, Harry, Remus, Bill and Justin would rush the front door while Lee Fred and George would rush through the back.

"Go!"

… --- …

Voldemort, Snape, Lucius, Draco, Dolohov and Dansk didn't even try to conceal their movements. Rather they apparated directly into the lobby of the medical building only to find that Gorgan had murdered the lobby receptionist. As they were walking to the elevators two old women had the unfortunate luck to come in through the side doors.

Snape murdered them both without a moment's thought. Looking at the lobby directory he said, "They are on the fifth floor. Suite 530."

"Snape, stay down here with Dansk. Seal the doors and see to it that we're not disturbed."

… --- …

Abraxan sat in her office hoping that she hadn't just sent the light side to their deaths. As calmly as she could she waited for the reports and hoped that the lives lost were overwhelmingly those of the Death Eaters.

Her cellular telephone rang and she heard the whispered voice of the spotter saying, "Sixteen witches and wizards just arrived together. I don't think they're Death Eaters."

Abraxan's reply was, "They're on our side." Put more precisely, most of the British wizarding world was on their side.

… --- …

Riddle opened the door and saw the two at the front desk looking at the odd looking box that was giving off light. The name badges on their white uniforms read Dan Granger DDS and Emma Granger DDS. Before they could look up, he'd pointed his wand at the man and said "Crucio. Crucio."

The man and woman were on the floor screaming. Within moments they'd stained their white uniforms first with urine, then feces, finally with blood.

Riddle let up his wand for a moment, and said, "Dr. Granger, how would you like to see your lovely wife raped then tortured, then disemboweled before your eyes?" Even the other Death Eaters were chilled by his words.

The man tried to scream but the silencing charm that Lucius had placed on him prevented more than a muffled sound to escape.

Riddle nodded and Dolohov carefully cast a purple flame emasculating the man but leaving him very much alive.

Riddle was ecstatic and gave a hideous smile. He reached down and said, "Here's something for your lovely wife to remember you by. He walked over to the woman and said, "Now open wide, this won't hurt me a bit."

The terror in her muted scream made him laugh loudly. The sound chilled everyone in the room.

He watched her silently beg him and the power he felt increased. Her life was in his hands. It would be ending very soon, but not without a lot of pain first.

He grabbed her jaw.

… --- …

Fred tossed a modified package through the back door after Lee and George had banished the door. The putrid smell of the modified WWW trick wafted around the room making every live thing in the room unconscious. Three plants by the windows wilted into brown fragile leaves in an instant. A bubblehead charm each and they ran into the room. They found the stairway to the cellar. Being the most worldly of the trio in the matters of muggle technology, Lee flipped the switch and the stairway light went on. As they were going down the stairs they heard the unmistakable sound of a firefight going on over on the other side of the house.

… --- …

Hermione and Susan took their places by the banished doors. Susan banished the nasty smelling gas and kept an eye on the door at the other end of the room. In one hand she held a cell phone with an open line to the healers, in the other she held her wand. Her wand never faltered.

Hermione crouched in the doorway with her wand drawn and her eyes on her watch.

She shouted, "One minute."

… --- …

Bill and Remus blew the front door off of its hinges with one Reducto each. Bill was through the door before the debris had settled. There was one Death Eater near the other end of the entranceway.

Bill fired a stunner at the Death Eater just as he'd cast a cutting hex that narrowly missed Remus. Harry dropped him with a Reducto blast that painted the man's intestines across the wall. Justin flinched at the brutality of the move until he was jarred back to the moment by Bill pointing him to the stairs saying, "Check the rooms on the right side of the hall. Remus will check the ones on the left, and I'll watch the hallway. Stay alert.

… --- …

Outside Alyx and Arthur were running up and down the grounds searching for the snake on the cold day. The grass was longer than the Dursleys would have allowed and it would certainly be possible for the snake to go into hiding anywhere in the large back garden.

Arthur's heart was pounding so hard that he could hear blood rushing in his ears. He remembered very clearly his last run-in with the snake. He could not keep up with Alyx, so he started searching in a cross pattern.

Something moved in the taller grass near where Alyx was jogging. Arthur saw that she was looking the other way and shouted a warning. Arthur raised his wand aimed at the moving grass. Alyx turned just as something jumped from the brush.

…---…

Chambers and Bradley were standing by the side of the house when a Death Eater apparated inches away from Chambers. By a miraculous bit of luck Bradley pushed him over and Chambers stunned him. Moody walked over and hit him with a Reducto blast to the face.

Chambers took the wounded man's wand and snapped it. They left the Death Eater there, his life bleeding into the grass.

Then they heard Arthur shout Alyx's name.

…---…

Riddle watched Draco work. The boy's technique was sloppy. He would kill the filthy muggle man if he didn't calm down. Maybe he was upset that he couldn't rape the wife too.

Another chunk of flesh tore from Dan's back. Riddle stopped Draco for a moment and gave him a bit of advice. Draco's next try left a fine line on the small area of the back that still had skin. The line split open slowly and Riddle nodded to Draco in approval.

… --- …

Neville raced from room to room on the main floor finding nothing in the kitchen, dining room, bathroom, closets or the family room. Harry was having no better luck on his side of the first floor.

Harry rushed from the library and raised his wand at the figure that burst from the bathroom.

"Red…," he shouted stopping himself just in time. Neville looked relieved as he was also lowering his wand. They both took off running again after a few seconds.

… --- …

Fred, George and Lee finished their search of the cellar. Based on the torn clothing and blood it was obvious that Riddle or the Death Eaters had been torturing and killing people down there. Fred opened a large cabinet carefully keeping his wand ready. The tools he found in the cabinet were caked in blood. One of them had a long leathery ribbon of material hanging from it. He vomited when he realized that it was not material.

The three men rushed back to the bottom of the stairs. They blew the tool cabinet up from there.

They had not found any bodies or the snake.

… --- …

"Ninety seconds," Hermione barked.

Susan shouted a stunning hex into the room and Hermione looked up from her watch. The girl who had become her sister in so many ways was still looking into the room with a wary eye.

"I saw something," Susan told her. Hermione's eyes returned to her watch trusting Susan completely.

… --- …

Arthur shouted a blasting hex as Alyx ducked and rolled away from the creature that had jumped from the grass. Bradley and Chambers came running around the house with Moody in pursuit. The hex missed the rabbit as it hopped away.

Alyx stood up and immediately continued her search. She found four more rabbits. It told her that the snake was probably not in the back garden. She didn't become any less careful.

… --- …

Draco held the muggle on his knees with his wand. He had struggled against the sticking charm that held his knees to the floor at first. After the skin around his kneecaps had given way, Draco reapplied the charm. This time the Death Eaters could see his muscles pulling as he tried to get up and run.

The woman was in a full body bind, face first on the floor. Her clothing was long gone except for her name pin which Dolohov had affixed though the skin on her back. Dolohov was carefully carving a greeting for Potter and his mudblood into the woman's back. She was conscious, but unable to make a sound or move.

When he finished the greeting, Dolohov released her from the binding curse. He immediately gabbed her by the throat. He laughed, his face inches from hers and said, "My turn again."

The Dark Lord watched as Lucius finished removing the man's front teeth with the muggle tools that Dolohov had found in one of the other rooms. Blood rushed from the man's mouth. Lucius hadn't bothered to administer Novocain.

Voldemort laughed as Lucius began to remove his lower robes again.

… --- …

"Got em," cried Remus. "Bill help me."

"Avada Kedavra." A jet of light flew out and hit Justin.

Bill raced into the room and blew the closet door of Voldemort's bedroom open. A second Reducto blast finished off the dieing Death Eater.

…---…

"Two minutes," Hermione shouted. She watched nervously as Alyx and her group searched the tall grass and then her eyes returned to her watch. She and Susan both jumped when the door to the basement burst open.

Fred, George and Lee shook their heads at them as they recovered from almost being blasted into the next big adventure. They started towards the stairs.

… --- …

Harry raced up the stairs only to run into Bill carrying the limp form of Justin Finch-Fletchley. Bill said, "Remus needs some help."

Harry found Lupin who had finished stuffing the giant snake into the sack. Remus asked, "Justin?'

"Dead."

Lupin thought for a moment and said, "As much as this place might tell us…"

Harry finished his sentence, saying, "We need to go." In a much louder voice he shouted, "Everybody out."

Remus levitated the heavy bag in front of them as they pounded down the stairs.

… --- …

"Two and a half minutes." She heard Harry's order and repeated it knowing that everyone was supposed to be listening for her voice. She faltered as Bill came out carrying Justin's body.

…---…

Harry reached the front of the door with everyone outside. Moody did the headcount and said "Everyone's here."

Pop, pop.

"Reducto." Hermione marveled at Harry. He had cast a spell before it even connected in her mind that there were suddenly two Death Eaters in the yard.

"Avada Kedavra." The second one fired.

"Duck, Thomas." Harry pushed the overly stiff cadet out of the way and onto the ground.

"Stupefy." Alyx hit the Death Eater.

Harry wasn't taking chances and cast "Reducto." The Death Eater's head exploded. "Let's get… wait. Wait. Flame the house."

They went to different points around the house while Fred and George raced inside for a moment and cast, "Inflambre."

Hermione looked at her watch and shouted, "Three minutes."

Giving the scene one last look, Harry shouted, "Let's go."

Seconds later, they had all disappeared.

… --- …

The witch who had been observing through a pair of omniocculars spoke into her cellular telephone. "They're carrying something out in a canvas sack and one of the raiding party was killed or wounded. There are several Death Eaters outside. It looks like they were killed. They just finished torching the house… Yes Minister. Right away."

She apparated back to the Ministry and handed the pair of omniocculars to Abraxan. The Minister of Magic knew what she had to do and said, "Thank you, Randi. Thank you very much. Director Thomas is going to escort you over to St. Mungo's then bring you back here tomorrow morning. We'll talk some more then."

"Thank you Minister. Just so you know, they did well."

Thomas took her over to St Mungo's where Professor Steve Light obliviated the memory of the last week from her mind.

… --- …

Headmistress McGonagall asked, "What happened?"

Bill answered before Harry. "He was snooping around in Voldemort's bedroom. Some Death Eater had been hiding in one of the closets and hit him with the killing curse."

They were all standing in the Hogsmeade shelter. Poppy went to her box of supplies and pulled out a black body bag. Bill and Gunner carefully put Justin down. The Master Healer examined him for a moment, smoothed his hair once and closed the bag around him. She called St. Mungo's and released the two Mediwitches who had been on standby. Kingsley signed as the witness on the death certificate.

Minerva conjured a stretcher then Susan and Hooch floated the body back up to the castle.

Harry thanked everyone and they drifted off. Remus carried the canvas bag into the castle and put it in a locked container in the room where Harry did his training.

He was delighted at the results, but sickened at the cost.

… --- …

Forty minutes later in a medical building in Crawley, Riddle was just beginning to have fun. He had personally raped the woman in front of the man's bulging eyes. She hadn't given him the proper respect and for that he'd allowed his followers to each have their way with her. Dolohov had finished his third go only seconds before, saying that he'd had to take Draco's turn.

Draco, unable to rape her, had violently beaten both of the muggles promising that he would do worse to their daughter when he was given the chance.

Lucius had taken great pleasure in cutting off the man's fingers while Draco had watched in some state of perverse ecstasy. Both of the Malfoy men had been practicing with knives for just this occasion. It showed in the wounds on both of the doctors.

Draco examined the muggles and their injuries with glee. He hoped that he would be able to pull the memory of finding their bodies from the mudblood's mind. He wanted to feel the younger Granger's terror and horror.

The mudblood's mother was bruised from head to toe, or she would have been had her toes still been attached. She had been raped five times and blood was pooling around her body as she was dying slowly from her wounds. The man next to her on the floor had more broken bones that seemed possible. All of the skin on his back was missing and Draco's use of a knife had left him flayed open in many places.

Their blood pooled together mixing under her sobbing body. The dying man tried to cry but lacked the energy.

It happened as Riddle and his Death Eaters were taking a break before finishing them off. Emma Granger's battered face thickened and her bloodied brown hair shrank and turned into a blond crewcut.

A moment later the features of the two newest recruited foreign-born Death Eaters came into view. Their careers as Death Eaters had lasted less than a month.

The glass in every window within the building shattered. Riddle, spat out the words, "Potter did this." They apparated to the lobby, collected Snape and Dansk, then apparated back to Riddle's house.

… --- …

Voldemort, Snape, Lucius, Draco, Dolohov, Dansk and Gorky apparated back to Riddle's house to find a fire that had nearly burned itself out. Before he could exhale, Gorky was on the ground writhing under the effect of the Cruciatus. In reality, Riddle couldn't hold the spell for long, but his anger was as intense as could be. After a minute he let it up and said, "I will let you live. You had no way of knowing that those two weren't the mudblood's parents. Do not fail me again. You will never speak of this to anyone."

Gorky took a few steadying breaths and in a weak voice replied, "Thank you Master." All in all, he wished that he could be Obliviated.

Riddle didn't want to remain here any longer than he needed to and ordered, "Lucius, collect the gold from the ruins of the house. The rest of you look around to see what might be salvaged. Where is Nagini?" Riddle tried the link that he had with the excessively large diamondback but couldn't easily make a connection.

Dansk and the others looked around for a moment and he came back a moment later, saying "Master, there is a note that was left over there." He pointed to a small rock some fifty feet away from the house. The Dark Lord reached down and picked it up. The envelope read Tom Riddle.

Lucius and Dolohov knew enough to stay away from the hurricane that was developing. Draco was walking over to see, but Dolohov pulled the teen back. The rock exploded, ripping through Dansk like a shotgun at close range.

The note that Regulus Black had left in the locket fluttered to the ground in ashes.

… --- …

An hour later the two dentists and Minister Abraxan finished their conversation. "Thank you for your co-operation Doctor and Doctor Granger. I'm certain that your daughter and Mr. Potter have tried to impress on you the need to stay concealed and safe in the recent past." She looked at Dan and said, "Dr. Granger, if we could find you, the Death Eaters could too. Two people whom the Death Eaters believed were you and your wife were tortured and killed by Voldemort and his killers this morning. Your daughter needs you both to be alive, healthy, and happy, and Mr. Potter needs your daughter feeling the same way. Please don't fail them."

Dan looked as embarrassed as he felt and simply said, "We're sorry."

Abraxan replied, "Doctor Granger, your automobile is known to the Death Eaters. Please accept this one to use. She handed him the keys to a white Audi that was parked behind his car. It was completely indistinct, and Dan hated it, but understood the reasoning behind the choice. She cast her wand over Dan's BMW, picked up the shrunken car and said, "Your daughter or Mr. Potter will know how to set this back for you once it is safe. Enjoy your day, Doctor and Doctor Granger. Please go back to the place where Mr. Potter asked you to stay."

They started to walk to the car when she said, "Please wait a moment. I have something for you."

An hour later, Dan and Remus entered the Royal Armory. Dan presented his paperwork that John Thomas had given him to the clerk and came out twenty minutes later with three boxes. One contained a new Colt model 1991 .45 automatic pistol. It was similar to the one that Harry had loaned him – the original style .45 with the straight grip. The only thing unusual about the pistol is that it had no serial number on the frame.

The second box contained five spare magazines and a shoulder holster. The magazines had been hand fitted for the pistol with special attention that the feeder lips worked perfectly with that specific pistol minimizing the chance of a stovepipe jam.

The last box was wooden and heavy. It was marked 45ACP Hardball. The only thing unusual about the little crate of ammunition was that the individual cases had no head stamp. Dan had never owned a pistol of his own before, and wasn't certain that he was happy that he did, given the circumstances that led to his receiving a license to own and carry the pistol.

Somehow he kept the faith that this was a very temporary situation and sooner or later, he would get his life back.

… --- …

Fear and rage swept through Riddle. How did he know? How did he find out, or did he? What has he found?

Riddle mentally cataloged the Horcruxes - His first had been the diary. He had told Lucius to keep it safe and the man had stupidly given it to that little girl. Her parents might still have it. The putter was foolishly left in the chamber of secrets while he was a student. He couldn't access it, but had no reason to believe that it had been found. Salazar's ring had been hidden in Gaunt's house. He would check on it later. The locket was on the island hidden by the wall and the lake. The cup had been kept in Malfoy manor and he didn't know the whereabouts of it. Nagini was missing. Had she slithered away to escape the fire or had she been the reason that they'd been drawn away?

He put those thoughts away for a moment and said, "We will meet at Dolohov's cottage tonight at nine.

… --- …

Within the span of an hour Riddle came to the conclusion that his years of developing the protection that would provide him immortality had come close to failing him due to several miscalculations on his part. Salazar Slytherin's ring was not under the rock outside the ruin of his Grandfather's home. He had hidden it so carefully. The gold Hufflepuff cup had gone missing when the Malfoy manor had been torched. At the time he hadn't thought to collect it before the ministry began picking through the house. No living person knew that he'd embedded a sixteenth of his soul into the cup. He would collect the putter in a few days when the castle lay in ruins. If Black had found the locket and substituted a copy that Potter, no Dumbledore had found … Suddenly the puzzle came into focus. Snape would know what the old man had been up to in the months preceding his death. He would find the two largest pieces and relink them to his body. Later on, he could resplit them again.

He would concern himself with that problem later. It was nearly time to meet his army.

… --- …

Tuesday evening Harry asked Emily Folgard to stay after the DA class. The girl reminded him of Ginny. She had a lot of spunk, tried hard at each move that he showed her and had a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

When the others had left Harry said, "I met with your dad and sisters a few days ago."

Emily misinterpreted his words thinking that she'd been caught sneaking her broom into the castle said, "I'll send it back."

Surprised, Harry asked, "What?"

"My broom. I know I'm not supposed to have it here. I'll send it back."

Smiling, Harry replied, "Hermione and I will be happy to keep it for you if you want. I just wanted to tell you that Kris and Mary said to say hi. You're not in any trouble."

Comprehension dawned on the little witch. "I'm… Forget I said anything about a broom, OK?" She turned and left with Harry smirking as she walked out the door.

… --- …

There were six girls gathered in the potions classroom when Professor Slughorn crept in. He stood silently in the back of the room, hidden in the shadows, as he watched the Head Girl tutor four of her housemates and Miss Bones. This was not the first time he had observed the brilliant young lady teaching. He had mentioned to the Headmistress that after he retired she should seriously consider Miss Granger as his replacement.

The kids were finishing up a discussion on the basic principles of ingredient preparation. Miss Granger was explaining why certain ingredients had to be processed in certain ways. It was all material that Snape should have covered in the first term of their first year.

He waited until they were gathering their books until he presented himself.

"Miss Granger, may I have a moment of your time?" He had asked her politely. He didn't want to offend the girl. He wasn't sure why she was so different from the previous year. She no longer came to Slug Club meetings. She also no longer participated in class the way she used to. When he asked the other professors about their experiences with her he found that his class was the only one that she was no longer active in.

Slughorn was no fool. If Miss Granger survived the war she could very well become the first muggleborn Minister of Magic. It unnerved him that he had thought the same thing about Lily Potter. Of all the students that Horace had taught, Lily had been one of his favorites. She and Snape had been study partners for the first six years of their education. How Snape and Lily had ended up on opposite sides of the light and enemies was beyond him.

He watched Wendy Williams, Erin Erickson, Allie and Katlyn Greystone and Susan Bones all leave the room. He gave them a small smile.

"How may I help you Professor?" Miss Granger asked in a polite but distant tone of voice.

"I have been watching you tutor some other students Miss Granger. I'm quite impressed. Are you aware that Greystone's grades have gone up two letters in the past month?" he asked.

"She mentioned that potions has gotten easier," Hermione admitted. In reality, she was quite proud of them all.

"Yes, I suppose knowing the basics does help. Why didn't she learn them first year?" Slughorn asked.

"Snape never bothered to teach the fundamentals or theory. He just threw the ingredients on the board and demanded that we complete the potion," Hermione said with a shrug. "His favorite students had all been tutored on the basics before they even started school, and he wouldn't help the others." She glanced at her watch. She had about ten minutes to get across the castle to her meeting.

"We've missed you at Slug Club meetings. Will you be joining us Saturday afternoon?" he asked.

"I doubt it Professor. I'm having trouble keeping up with my classes and all the head girl responsibilities, but thank you for the invitation," she said. She again glanced at her watch.

"I apologize for keeping you Miss Granger. If you find the time please join us," he said stepping aside to let her pass.

Hermione left the dungeon quickly. She threw a quick charm on her bag so that she could lift it easily. Then she placed a ward around her shoes. She started walking very quickly. She knew he was following her after he tripped the ward charm the third time. She headed for her room instead of the room of requirements. She had a house elf take a note to the group that was waiting on her.

Harry's cloak helped her get there only ten minutes late. The room was set up like the dining room in Crawly again. She noticed that her mum was not sitting in the seat that she had claimed as her own in their house.

When she entered the room she still had that cloak on. Everyone had noticed the door open. Four of the group had their wands out. She smiled knowing that Moody would be proud.

"Sorry I'm late," she said taking the cloak off. She hugged Emma who smiled brightly but fake as could be. Hermione understood the feeling.

"What did Slughorn want?" Susan asked.

"To know why I gave up my membership in the Slug Club," Hermione answered with a shrug. She would tell Harry later about him following her.

"We are here tonight to discuss Inferi. Padma what do you have for us?" Hermione asked pulling a muggle notebook and pen out of her bag.

"The Inferi. Most people think that they are mythological ramblings of people who were terrified in the last war. There were very few sightings of them. Only one by a credible source," Padma began.

"Can we question the source?" Susan asked. Padma shook her head and gave Susan a sympathetic smile.

"Amelia Bones was the only credible source. Her story was indistinct at best. She saw them from a distance and had been hurt badly in battle at the time."

"That was September 1981," Padma said.

"The battle at Ottery St. Catchpole," Molly said with a frown.

"Yes. You-Know-Who only used them twice that we know of. Ottery St. Catchpole and an unconfirmed attack on a muggle orphanage near London in August of that year. It was unconfirmed because no one was left alive. Inferi were suspected because the victims in Ottery St. Catchpole were killed in the same manner," Padma said. Emma cleared her throat.

"Bludgeoning and stabbing?" She asked. Everyone looked at her in surprise. She shrugged and spoke again, "It was reported as a terrorist attack in the muggle world

"That's how they died. At the orphanage there were fifty-seven children killed and ten adults. One of the adults was hurt worse than any of the others. She was killed magically with small cutting curses. She bled to death before her body was beaten," Padma said in a small voice.

"It's an odd target," Diggle commented.

"That occurred to me too. After looking over the reports that Director Thomas sent me I am positive it was an attack by the Inferi. There are just too many similarities to the victims of Ottery St. Catchpole," Padma concluded.

"Riddle grew up in an orphanage. Maybe it was that one?" Luna asked.

"I suppose it is possible but is it important?" Molly asked.

"Every little bit helps," Sprout told her.

"How can an attack on a town the size of Ottery St. Catchpole have no witnesses?" Hermione asked. She had been to the town once and it wasn't that small.

"Ministry cover up," Molly told her. Now everyone turned to her. She gave them a weak smile, "They obliviated everyone who was in the town. Well, everyone they knew about. My brothers were there but got out when the fighting started."

"Gideon and Fabian left in the middle of a fight?" Arabella asked in disbelief. She had known the Prewett brothers very well. They had been absolute Gryffindors.

"They had four of my boys with them. By the time they got back to town, it was almost over. They saw fifteen of them," Molly told them.

"Any idea how the Inferi fought?" Hermione asked. Molly shook her head.

"From the wounds on the victims I would say that they have crude weapons. Clubs and swords maybe," Padma informed them.

"That would make sense. Even if they were magical when alive, they would have lost that when they died," Flitwick said. His usual chipperness was gone.

"I found some information in the library at… at…" Emma frowned as she tried to speak.

"The Fidelius Charm," Hermione reminded her gently. Emma smiled at her daughter.

"I found some information in the library at the place I am living."

"Information on Inferi?" Flitwick asked. He continued, "Just where are you living?" he asked. Since transferring the charm to Harry, he had forgotten that the house existed. Hermione smiled at the small man and motioned for her mum to continue.

Emma slid her notebook across the table to her daughter.

"Inferi can be created by recently deceased bodies or prepared bodies. There were many examples of people in the past that killed their enemies and then made their bodies into Inferi. It allowed them to control their enemies for a short time. No one who knew the dead person would be fooled for long. It was an easy way to get through wards, many of which allow people not on the wards to be accompanied by those that are."

She took a deep breath and continued, "There are legends of several armies that were cursed to become Inferi. No one has ever found them though. It takes a thirty six hour ritual required to awaken them."

"That much magic would have been noticed by the Ministry," Tom said. Everyone in the room seemed to agree except for Flitwick and Emma.

"In truth, it's not a lot of magic. It's more of a long stretch of magic," Flitwick said. Emma nodded and then he continued, "I found the Ritual of Awakening in Albus' library. I don't think that the ministry would notice it."

"So what exactly is an Inferi?" Luna asked.

"It's just a body. No free will, easy to control under the Imperius curse. If that is even needed. There is a theory that the person who animates them can command them. They feel no pain; any would continue to fight until they had no limbs left," Flitwick told her.

How do you kill them if they're already dead?

The body needs to be destroyed, said Emma. There was an example referenced from 1387 where…" It was obvious where Hermione got her research skills from. The truth was, they had very few hard facts to work from, and the eyewitness accounts weren't specific.

"Harry said that they didn't seem to like light or fire," Hermione told them.

"Fire is easy," Molly said holding up her wand. Emma flinched, thinking of her home that had been torched.

"Sure it is, but do you want to be that close to one?" Arabella asked. Molly agreed.

"We need a way to create an intensely burning fire from a distance," Padma mused.

"What about an accelerant?" Hermione asked. She received a table of blank looks.

"Muggles don't have ever-burning candles and can not sustain a fire without fuel. Diesel fuel or kerosene should do it. How much would it take to protect the castle? How big is the castle?" Hermione muttered.

"We can't set the castle on fire!" Molly objected, not understanding.

"No, but we could create a ring of fire around the castle. If it were far enough away from the castle the Inferi would burn up before they reached the doors," Arabella said.

"How?" Poppy asked thinking of all of the burns she had seen from potions class.

"If we saturate the ground in a circle around the castle say… a ten feet wide, the Inferi would have to cross though it to get to us," Hermione said.

"Yes but how would you light it. Anyone close to it would be killed by the heat wave," Emma pointed out.

"I'll ask Fred and George to work on it. If all else fails we could throw a Molotov cocktail at it," Hermione said making a note.

"A what?" Tom asked thinking of his bar.

As Emma explained the muggle reference Hermione was flipping through her mother's notebook and came across a note on about werewolves. She asked about it.

"It was mentioned at the last meeting that they are a potential threat. I have been looking into what would stop a werewolf attack," Emma told them.

"That's not a bad idea. I have a list of things that are potentially harmful because of Bill," Molly told them.

"Why don't you two work on that together? Molly do you know where Mum is living?" Hermione asked. Molly nodded. Harry had invited her and Arthur to Hermione's birthday party. They had not been able to make it.

The meeting broke up but Emma and Hermione didn't move. Emma would need to head back to number twelve by portkey. Molly agreed to accompany her but she knew that Emma wanted some time with Hermione. Molly would give almost anything for the opportunity to talk to her daughter one more time.

Emma and Hermione invited Molly back to Hermione's room. She was about to beg off when she changed her mind. She would love to visit with Hermione and Harry.

She told them an amusing story about when she was in school. Both of the Granger women laughed at Arthur's attempt to woo her. Emma told them that she and Dan had been friends for years before they dated. He had actually dated her best friend first.

"Dad and Aunt Diane?" Hermione asked in amusement as she unlocked the door to the suite.

"Yes. They dated for almost a year before Diane decided she needed someone more serious," Emma said with a smile. Her husband's sense of humor was one of the things she loved most about him.

"Well, Uncle Jack is a bit of a stick in the mud," Hermione commented. Emma laughed at the understatement.

Harry was not in their suite. Molly noted that the room was not to the standard of Hogwarts spotless. Hermione revealed that she wouldn't let any of the Hogwarts elves clean up after them. Dobby and Winky were busy taking care of number twelve and she didn't want to tax them either.

The room wasn't a mess, it just looked lived in. Both desks were covered in parchment and muggle notebooks. Hermione added her mother's notebook to the messier of the two desks.

Their visit was short but nice. Harry was happy to see each of them when he returned from his rounds about the castle.

"You're patrolling by yourself?" Molly asked, frowning.

"No. I got a turn with Turpin tonight," Harry said.

"Oh fun," Hermione said sarcastically. The detention she had served with McGonagall had been worth the duel.

"She's… better? I don't know. I think she finally realized that there is more to life than being head girl. You wouldn't have acted like that if Lisa was head girl," Harry commented. Hermione bit her lower lip and he felt warmth stirring. He wanted to be the one biting her lip. He pushed the thought out of his mind with the reminder that her mother was sitting next to him.

"I would have been upset but I wouldn't have called her nasty names or tried to undermine her authority," Hermione finally answered.

"Upset? Yeah, I can see that. I was really jealous when Ron was named prefect and I wasn't. But I only held it against him for a few minutes," Harry told them. Molly laughed.

"You were jealous? I was shocked. Bill, Charlie and Percy I could understand, but the youngest four? Not a chance," Molly said with a chuckle. She was still smiling when she said, "They just weren't prefect material. Especially the twins. Ron never applied himself. I know it irritated you as much as it did me," she said to Hermione who smiled.

She continued, "And Ginny was just as mischievous as they were. I swear half the stuff they got blamed for she actually did."

"That worked both ways. Remember the Valentine you got second year?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Remember? Even pulling a Lockheart wouldn't remove that memory," Harry said. He explained to Emma who looked puzzled.

"George actually sent that to you to embarrass Ginny," Hermione said with a laugh.

The older women left soon after that.

Hermione almost forgot to tell Harry about Slughorn. They agreed that it was probably nothing. They knew the man should have told someone about Riddle asking about Horcruxes. They knew that he would make an effort to become close to anyone who seemed to have a bright future. Neither of them liked that he had followed Hermione.

"I don't want to scratch his back and he ain't getting near yours," Harry told her. She smiled and gave him a deep kiss as they snuggled into bed. All thoughts of the potions professor left her mind as she and Harry held onto each other.

… --- …

Professor McGonagall stood up and said, "There is an old muggle saying, 'The brain can not absorb that which the bottom cannot withstand.' Old Crow has gone on for 23 pages so far and appears to be no more than halfway through the chapter. If you haven't done so already, you should revise your chapter notes for the chapter review that will be due before you leave. Six inches should be sufficient. Please return as soon as you can if you need to use the washroom."

A few minutes later the stern professor looked up from her reading. Seeing that everyone was back in their seats she said, "Let us continue with the story."

… --- …

Saturday morning found Hermione getting out of bed a lot earlier than she wanted. She snuggled against Harry for warmth one last time before making the effort to get out of bed. Before she could get far, Harry grabbed her and pulled her back next to him.

After a couple of good morning kisses that left them both a little flustered they managed to get up. She noticed that Harry had a slight problem down below. He could join the club as far as she was concerned. Sleeping next to him and not doing much more than snog was driving her mad in a slow, sweet way.

She showered fairly quickly knowing that she barely had time for breakfast. As she left the bathroom she passed Harry in the doorway and her robe fell open. She went to grab it but Harry stopped her. She couldn't identify what it was in his eyes as he pushed her robe open and examined her body. She liked it though.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her again. His hands roamed for a few seconds and then he pulled back.

"We shouldn't…" she said, dejection thick in her voice.

"I know. I can't help myself sometimes though. But since we are leaving for a while this morning…" he said with a wicked grin.

"We are?" She asked, pulling away slightly. She didn't trust herself.

"Yeah. Dan mentioned needing a computer. I thought we would go out this morning and then have lunch with your parents," he told her, disappointed when she tied the belt to her robe.

"But I can't. I have a potions tutoring session this morning."

"So reschedule it," he said easily.

"I can't. This morning was the only time we were all free," she told him. She didn't like the way he just assumed that she could rearrange her tight schedule.

"Oh come on. Its just potions. They'll understand," he told her. Didn't she want to go with him?

"No, Harry, they won't. I can't just cancel at the last minute. Allie has an exam on Monday and she needs the help. How about this afternoon?" She asked, thinking maybe they could get away for the night.

"I have training with Moody and Alyx," he said frowning. She should have known that.

"I'm sorry, Harry. If you had said something earlier I may have been able to find another time for them," Hermione said. She wondered if moving his schedule around had occurred to him and it showed in her voice.

"I didn't know I needed an appointment to have a date with my girlfriend," he snapped not liking her tone.

"What?"

"If you don't want to go, just say so," he told her.

"I told you I already have plans, Harry. I can't just abandon them. That doesn't mean I don't want to go," she answered hotly.

"You could cancel if you really wanted to. I guess they are more important," he said angrily.

She scowled at him. How could he think that?

Then he continued, "Ginny wouldn't have ditched me to tutor someone."

She flinched, unbelievably hurt. Then she just got mad.

"Well, I'm not Ginny. I never will be, Harry. If you want someone who will drop everything for you any time you decide that you have time for them, then go find her. You have plenty of fan club members to pick from."

Hermione stormed away from him disgusted with him and with herself. She wondered how she could have deluded herself so thoroughly. Of course he would compare her to Ginny.

Harry slammed the door to the bathroom that they shared. He couldn't believe her. Why in the world would she want to tutor a bunch of snot nose younger year students instead of being with him? He wondered why she didn't want to go. They never spent any time together and what was that rubbish about him wanting someone else?

Hermione was gone when he finished his shower. He put on muggle clothes and decided to get breakfast before leaving.

The Head Girl stood up and left the table as he sat down. She didn't say a word and he could see the anger in her eyes. He scowled into his scrambled eggs and snatched a piece of toast. A couple of their classmates raised an eyebrow but wisely refrained from commenting.

"I can't, Jacob. Hermione went to a lot of trouble to fit me in her schedule. You know how bad I am at potions," a girl three seats down was saying. Harry glanced down the table at her. Allie Greystone was finishing her breakfast quickly.

"Yeah, she's almost as bad as I was," Neville said with a smirk. Jacob Wellington laughed. Neville's abysmal potion making skills were well known in the tower.

"All right. I guess tomorrow will be okay. After herbology?" The fifth year boy asked his girlfriend. She smiled brilliantly at him and Harry turned away.

Harry left the table still scowling. He decided that his heart wasn't into computer shopping. Besides, he had no idea what to buy. He made his way to the third floor corridor to get some practice in before Moody arrived. He was surprised to find Alyx and Moody shooting spells at each other.

He fired at Moody, joining the fray without a second thought.

"Potter! You weren't supposed to be here until this afternoon," Moody growled, as Alyx handed him his eye back. Harry repaired the older man's leg quickly.

"I thought I would practice for a bit," Harry told him. He stretched a little, letting his back and leg muscles warm up.

They worked on firing while evading. It would be a useful skill to have. Harry and Alyx were both pretty decent at it. The practice dummies started to predict their moves after a while. They adjusted well and tried to be unpredictable. Moody was impressed enough to stop after two hours and give them half a seal of approval. They waited for him to leave before they both collapsed to the floor in exhaustion.

"So what's going on?" Alyx asked as she attempted to stretch her legs. She was bruised all over from jumping and falling for two hours.

"Huh?" Harry asked and she smiled at him.

"You seem distracted and angry. You okay?" She asked. She liked the younger man. He was a decent bloke.

"Yeah. Hermione and I…" he trailed off not really knowing what to say.

"Ah, lovers quarrel. Got it," she answered him.

"We're not lovers," he said frowning.

"Right."

"We're not. We've never made love," he told her not sure why he was having the discussion with her.

"Well you certainly act like you are. Anyone looking at you can see that you love her and that she loves you," Alyx told him. He frowned.

"Yeah, she loves me so much she would rather spend her free time with a bunch of girls teaching them potions," he said angrily.

"Really?"

"I told her this morning that we were going shopping for a computer for her Dad and she completely blew me off," he said indignantly.

"You told her or you asked if she wanted to go?" Alyx inquired. He scowled.

"What does it matter? She didn't want to go," he snapped.

"It matters a lot, Harry. Tell me what happened," she said. So he did. He didn't leave anything out except for the bathrobe being open and Hermione being naked.

"Wow. You're lucky Harry. I would have hexed you," Alyx told him when he finished.

"What?" he demanded.

"Look at it from her point of view. You expected her to just drop everything for you."

"I thought she would like to spend some time with me," he said icily.

"I'm sure she would. Or would have until you started treating her like an underling and compared her to Ginny," Alyx said just as coldly. Harry, I like you, respect you and owe you a half dozen life debts, but sometimes you unknowingly act like an ass."

"I didn't…I'm not."

"Yes, you did," she interrupted. "You told her that you were going. You got mad when she wouldn't drop everything for you and then you shoved it in her face that the girl you loved, who is dead, would have done it."

"We never spend any time together. I just wanted to be able to be with her for a while," he said miserably.

"And that's all her fault, is it?"

"She wouldn't change the tutoring time," he said scowling.

"And you wouldn't change your practice time," Alyx countered. Harry didn't like the way this argument was going but didn't reply, just sitting there continuing to scowl. Alyx considered him for a moment, then she realized something.

"You have no idea, do you?" Alyx asked in amazement.

"Huh?" he answered. She rolled her eyes.

"Hermione gets a lot of pleasure out of teaching, Harry. It makes her feel better about herself and she needs that sometimes. You do know how insecure she is, right?" Alyx saw the look on his face and knew that he had no clue. She sighed, "Imagine her childhood and you can see why. Yeah, she had her parents telling her that she was loved and perfect but look at the way her peers treated her. You know what it's like to be muggleborn.

Harry frowned as he thought. He had always figured that he would have had a somewhat normal childhood if not for the Dursley's. He knew that Hermione had not had an easy time in primary school. He vaguely recalled Colin saying something about being picked on a lot.

"Kids can sense when another kid is different. No one wants to be different. Every muggleborn I know has stories about primary school that would make you want to cry. Even I had trouble, Harry." She smiled at his surprise and then continued, "Oh yes. Even if I didn't look different from my whole family everyone knew I was."

"I'm not saying it's all your fault either. She should talk to you and explain what she's feeling. You two need to talk to each other and you need to forget that you are the leader of the Order when you do it. I would dump any bloke who thought he could demand what I do with my time," she told him.

She left him sitting there thinking about it. He knew she was right but he still couldn't understand why Hermione wouldn't change her schedule for him.

He wandered down to the potions dungeons with a disillusionment charm covering him. He crept into the classroom to watch Hermione for a few moments. He needed to know why.

Hermione was watching as Katlyn Greystone slowly stirred her potion. She didn't stand over her in an intimidating manner the way Snape had. Instead Hermione was gently guiding her through the process of making the burn healing salve.

Then she moved on to where Allie Greystone and Erin Erickson were reading their texts. She answered a couple of questions, explaining in detail what they wanted to know. A light seemed to come on for Erin and Hermione was almost as excited as the younger girl.

Wendy Williams was reading a muggle notebook that Harry recognized. It was Hermione's potions notebook. She had offered to let Ron and Harry both use it in the past. They had both declined, not wanting to read anymore than required. He moved so that he could watch over Katlyn's shoulder.

"Harry, if you startle Katlyn into ruining that you'll have bogie bats beating you for a month," Hermione threatened. Harry moved away from the cauldron, sighed and canceled the charm. Wendy jumped as he appeared near her.

"Sorry. I didn't want to disturb you," he said picking a seat close to Wendy but not right next to her.

Hermione continued to teach for a few minutes. Allie and Wendy decided that they had enough and left shortly after Harry arrived. Katlyn and Erin both continued to work. Hermione sat down next to Harry and watched Katlyn continue to chop, slice and mince her potions ingredients.

"How'd you know I was there?" He asked.

"Ward on the door."

They were silent for a few minutes and then they both spoke at the same time.

"Harry, I…"

"Hermione, I…"

They both stopped and then she hesitantly spoke.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you this morning," she said sincerely. To her surprise he choked back a laugh.

"No, Hermione. I'm sorry. I should act like your boyfriend, not your boss," he said. He was still smiling. She cocked her head and looked at him inquiringly.

"Alyx. She said I was lucky you didn't hex me," he told her. She slowly smiled.

"I didn't think of it," she admitted. He moved closer and took her hand.

"When you finish here will you come back to our rooms? I would like to talk with you," he said. She nodded and watched him leave.

Katlyn finished her potion a few minutes later. It was perfect. Hermione gave her an O for her efforts and Erin gave her a high five. The younger girls shooed Hermione away, both of them smirking.

Hermione found Harry in the shower. She was tempted to join him. After a few naughty thoughts she decided that decorum was the better course. It took her a while to reach the decision.

They left the castle just before lunch. Once again, as a courtesy, they let McGonagall know where they were going.

Hermione bought lunch at a fast food restaurant and they marveled at the greasy food. True, the elves at Hogwarts were not exactly health conscious, but a double whopper with cheese and king sized fries was pushing it.

Harry made a joke about having an advantage of being starved as a kid. Hermione didn't think it was that funny but she gave him a weak smile.

It didn't take them long to make their computer purchase and have it shipped to the mail drop. They decided to stay in London for the afternoon and then stop by number twelve for dinner.

They walked around for a while side by side. Harry didn't know what to say. He knew that he'd hurt her feelings and that apologizing was probably not enough. Hermione couldn't find the words either. The silence was a little uncomfortable.

After a while she took his hand.

Hermione bit her lower lip while she thought about what she wanted to say. She had been thinking about it all morning.

"Harry, I'm sorry I walked away from you this morning. I shouldn't have left before we could talk either."

Harry stopped and turned to face her. "Hermione, I'm an idiot. I wasn't thinking of your feelings at all… And I should never have brought up Ginny… It wasn't …"

"Don't, Harry," Hermione interrupted, looking down, unable to meet his eyes. "I know I'll never be able to replace Ginny in your …"

"Hermione, no!" Harry grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Don't ever say that. You're much more important to me than Ginny ever was."

Hermione's eyes glistened. "How can you say that, Harry? She was prettier than me, more fun than me. Everybody liked her. Nobody ever liked me that way."

"Ginny was my girlfriend for a few weeks. It hurt like Hell when she died, but Hermione, for years you've been the most important person in my life. I was just too blind to see it. Well, I'm not blind now. You're beautiful, you're the smartest person I know, you're the most thoughtful person I know and you care about me more anyone else. But the most important thing is that I love you. You and no one else."

She buried her head in his chest, her tears turning to tears of joy, her heart pounding as she heard those words she had so longed to hear as he wrapped her in his arms.

After a while she said softly, "Oh Harry, I don't ever want to fight like that again. I felt so awful all morning."

Their lips found each other and they forgot about everything for a while. Then they pulled back again, smiled, and took each other's hand and continued their walk. They wandered around the theater district for a while. Hermione pointed out a marquee for Shakespeare's Winter Tale.

"Mum's favorite play," she said rolling her eyes. He smiled knowing that her name was from the story but never having read it for himself.

"Think she and your Dad would like to see it? We can get tickets," he said. She smiled, knowing her parents were going crazy locked in number twelve. Harry purchased tickets for the following week.

They walked a bit more and then Hermione stopped to tie one of her trainers. She removed her wand and set up the same ward she had used when she caught Slughorn following her.

It wasn't long before the ward was tripped. She stopped walking and grabbed Harry and snogged him so hard he thought that he would have to find his socks. She continued the kiss and slid her hand along his wrist holder, tapped it, then she pulled him into a tight hug.

"You're gonna need that. We are being followed," she whispered. It took barely a second for him to switch modes. They walked slowly keeping an eye out for anyone. Harry led her into a small park and she sat down on a bench.

To anyone out for a stroll they looked like a young married couple canoodling. In reality they were plotting. Hermione set a couple more wards around the park while snogging Harry. She was careful to keep her wand out of sight even though there was no one in sight.

Then they sat facing each other talking in low tones. Hermione watched over Harry's shoulder as she felt the ward being tripped. There was no one there. She frowned.

"What?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I must have set the wards wrong. The one leading left by the swing set just went off but no one…" She carefully used her wand to create a wind.

"There is a wizard under an invisibility cloak by the swing set," she said softly reaching for his hand. It was beginning to get dark out and Harry considered apparition, but he didn't want to run. He wanted to know who was following them. He leaned closer.

"Just one?" he asked. He kissed her and she nodded. He kissed her again and then said, "Summon the cloak, I'll stun them."

Focusing not on the kiss, Hermione silently summoned the invisibility cloak. To her surprise two of them flew at her. Harry was faced left so she shot a stunner at the figure on the right. Both of them hit their mark.

They summoned both of the stunned figures and tossed the cloaks back over them without taking a good look at them. Hermione quickly canceled the tracking charms that she found on them. Then, as planned, they each grabbed an invisible person and apparated to the front door of number twelve.

… --- …

Dan, Emma and Diane were playing cards in the living room when they entered the room moving quickly. Hermione looked strange pointing her wand at thin air. The three adults were shocked when a loud thump accompanied her withdrawal of her wand.

Harry held up his hand to silence them when the questions started. He nodded at Hermione who summoned the cloaks again.

Auror Cadet Chambers and Auror Bob Sunset were unconscious on the floor. Harry scowled at them. Hermione searched them carefully for weapons and portkeys. Each had two wands, a portkey and an emergency pack. As she took all of their equipment into the bathroom Harry checked both of them for the Dark Mark. They were clean.

Harry pointed his wand and they were quickly bound in tight coils of steel wires. He woke Chambers first. He groaned but his eyes flew open when Harry placed his dragon hide boot in the middle of his chest. Hermione stood off to the side with her wand at the ready.

Dan, Emma and Diane watched, not sure what was happening but afraid.

"You have five seconds to start explaining just what in the Hell you two were doing," he said pointing his wand between the man's eyes. Richard gasped.

"It's a stealth training mission. Apparently I failed," he said his eyes wide.

"Bullocks! No one knew where we were, Richard. Tell me the truth," he growled.

"That's what I was told! I swear!" he said still gasping. Hermione pulled Harry away from him.

"He can't answer if he can't breathe," Hermione said.

"Wake him up. He assigned me to this mission. I swear. We were supposed to keep an eye on you two," Chambers told them. Hermione considered it then stunned him again. She woke up Sunset.

"Oh shit," the Auror groaned. Harry made the same demands of the Auror that he had of the Cadet.

"Moody. He thought that he would test your vigilance and Chambers' stealth skills at the same time," Sunset explained.

"Who told Moody where we were?" Hermione demanded.

"McGonagall. You two are high priority targets," he explained squirming and the coils tightened.

Harry stood there for a few seconds attempting to get his temper to cool off. Several things in the room shattered. He realized after a few seconds that he was not the one doing it. Hermione was furious.

"How long have you been following us?" she demanded. Sunset shook his head trying to clear it.

"We picked you up at the store. McGonagall knew where you were going," he explained.

Hermione shook with rage. How dare they, she thought. She pointed her wand at Sunset. His eyes widened at the look on her face.

"Make sure you tell Moody that you're the one we spotted. Stupefy," she snarled. Harry wrapped his arms around her tightly. He was just as upset as she was.

"Do we believe them?" Harry asked finally.

"No way to tell until we talk to Moody or McGonagall," Hermione answered as she moved towards their captives.

"What's going on?" Dan asked looking at the men on the floor. His daughter was running her wand over Chambers looking concerned. She also worked Sunset over but she kicked him in the ass when she stood up.

"Dobby!" Hermione called looking at her father.

"Miss Hermione! Yous is home. I gets…"

But Hermione interrupted him. "Dobby, please go to Hogwarts. We need Madame Pomfrey to come and make sure Richard is okay. Tell her he was stunned twice within five minutes and his heart rate is very slow. Oh, and find Alastor Moody for me. I want to talk to him," Hermione told the elf. Dobby's huge eyes got even bigger. He squeaked and popped away.

Harry explained what had happened as Hermione attempted to get her anger under control. She felt sick. She was almost in control when Moody showed up and her composure was lost.

"Did you tell them to follow us?" Harry demanded. Moody nodded, looking pleased.

"So you spotted them. I told Sunset that Chambers was lacking in the stealth department. I was right," Moody said smugly.

"You bloody idiot," Hermione roared. Moody stepped back from the young woman. He kept his hand on his wand, not sure what she was going to do.

"Why?" she snarled. Harry looked over at her thinking that maybe he should stop her, but he didn't. He wanted answers too.

"Why? Because he needed the training and you two needed a reminder that this is war, not play time," Moody snapped at her.

"What the Hell are you going on about?" Hermione demanded loudly as Poppy showed up. She immediately went to work on Chambers.

"You two… Trips to London to shop? A night out whenever you feel like it? You needed to be reminded that there is a war happening, and like it or not you are part of it. You are targets. You're both leaders. You can't just take off when ever you want," Moody told her.

"A reminder? You think I need to be reminded what's at stake?" Harry asked in shock.

"Of course you do. You're losing your focus. You think I didn't notice how off you were this morning? I heard your little talk with Alyx. Disgusting. Letting yourself be distracted by a little action in the sack and your sad childhood. As for you Granger, he has the right to order you anywhere he wants to. He says shit and you should be asking what color, not picking a fight because he didn't ask you first," Moody told them.

"You listened…" Harry's mouth dropped open. He was too stunned to move, but Hermione wasn't.

"I don't need a reminder that the two men that I love most in this world are at the top of that wanker's list of people to kill. I think about it all the damn time! I'm reminded every time I walk into Gryffindor tower and automatically look to see if Ron and Harry are playing chess, every time I walk into the hospital wing for my medi-lessons, every meal when I think of checking the salt shaker for a Weeze, and when I look at the pictures Colin took and think of all of them that he will never take. I am reminded every time I need a girl to talk to and I remember that my best friend is dead. I am reminded every damn time I see Dean and Seamus, and at least one of them is in every last one of my classes."

If we want to have dinner away from school so that we can forget that everyone we know is either dead or in mortal peril, it's only to keep our sanity. Our personal life is none of your business. If we want to make love on the head table during the Halloween feast it is not your place to question our decision. Harry didn't talk to you about our argument and you shouldn't have listened to him talk to Alyx. You have no right to send people to follow us. Do you have any idea what almost happened? Do you?" Hermione shouted at the old Auror.

Emma put her hands on Hermione's shoulders and tried to get her to calm down. Harry thought that it was brave of Emma to get close to hurricane Hermione. She shook her mum's hands off and took a couple steps towards Moody.

"Chambers almost died because of your idiocy," Hermione snapped.

"Your elf told Poppy that he was stunned," Moody said looking at the master mediwitch at work.

"I almost used the Reducto on him. I was five feet from him. He would have been dead before he hit the ground. I almost killed him," Hermione bellowed as she started to shake physically.

"Well at least you learned something from Weasley's mistake," Moody mused. Hermione and Harry both drew on him before thinking about it.

"You won't be happy until Harry is as paranoid as you are will you?" Hermione demanded.

"Get out of here before I lose my temper," Harry told him in a voice made of ice.

"Being paranoid has saved me more than once. It's nice to see Potter being vigilant," Moody answered as he backed his way out of the room.

Poppy took Chambers and Sunset back to Hogwarts hospital wing for observation. They both would be okay. Before she left she told Harry that they would not be expected back tonight. She nodded at Hermione and said softly, "Take care of her."

Hermione was standing at the fireplace with her hands on the mantel. Even the muggles could feel the rage pouring off the girl. As Harry was arranging to have Dobby help with transport Diane approached Hermione slowly. She was shocked to see the edge of the fireplace crumbling as Hermione's magic got more and more out of control.

Convinced Hermione was about to have a complete mental breakdown she spoke softly, "It's all right Hermione. He's gone. You didn't kill anyone. It's OK."

She watched her Goddaughter carefully. She saw the tension in Hermione's back change slightly and she wrapped her arms around the girl. Hermione began to sob loudly. Emma joined her holding Hermione. They heard Harry releasing his tension by throwing up in the bathroom that was close by. Dan went to him.

It took a while before all five of them were gathered in the living room again. Harry sat on floor next to the love seat where Emma was holding a silently crying Hermione. Dan took a seat next to Diane on the sofa.

After a long moment Hermione sat up. She had a horrible case of the hiccups from crying so hard. Harry looked at her concerned. She reached down and ran her hand through the back of his hair. He took her hand and gave her a weak smile.

"Today sucked," he commented. Hermione hiccupped again and gave a short bitter laugh.

"Yeah. But no one died. I guess it only kinda sucked," she answered.

Dan cleared his throat and started to speak but then stopped.

"What is it Dan?" Harry asked as Hermione rolled off the love seat next to him. She leaned against his shoulder and he slipped an arm around her.

"I was going to make a joke. I think I'll pass," the older man answered.

"Oh, go on. If it's bad at least we can make fun of you," Diane told him. Emma smiled a little at Hermione and moved to sit next to her husband.

"Make love on the head table during the Halloween feast? I hope you're planning on using the invisibility cloak," Dan said after a little more hesitation. Hermione hiccupped again and buried her face in the side of Harry's arm. Harry turned bright red and looked at the man's only daughter.

"Well, I guess that's one way to avoid our usual luck on Halloween," Harry said.

"No (hic) trolls this year, Harry?"

"Yes, my love. No trolls. No petrified cats. No mass murderers. No death day parties. No flaming goblets. I think we should just stay in our rooms and read," Harry told her.

"If we did it on the head table on Halloween we would probably end up with triplets. No reading either, our books would probably attack us," Hermione said between hiccups her face still buried in his arm.

Harry looked at her for a brief moment and then threw his head back and laughed loudly. She joined him after a moment. Diane watched them slip in to hysterics knowing that it was more stress relief. It took them a while before they stopped.

"Are you two…" Dan's question was muffled by his wife's hand. He shot her a look questioning.

"Don't ask a question you don't want an answer to," she whispered. He frowned and looked at the teens. Harry was already red faced from laughing so hard. He gently wiped Hermione's tears away.

"Daddy, you have nothing to worry about. Harry is a complete and total gentleman," Hermione told him as she took Harry's hand. She looked at her father and said, "He would never do anything I didn't want him to."

Dan nodded and then frowned. Why didn't that make him feel any better?

Hermione sunk into Harry's arms listening to him speak to her parents. The bout of crying had left her completely raw emotionally. She couldn't believe how close she had come to killing Chambers. She noticed that Diane was watching her and she forced a small smile.

Diane left her seat and came over to sit next to Hermione on the floor. She didn't say anything at first, instead taking the time for Hermione to get comfortable.

"Hey kiddo, you know I've got two ears, right?" Diane finally asked. Hermione stared at her for a few moments then smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I know you can listen."

"Well don't forget it. That goes for you too Harry. Any time you need to talk, just ring me."

Diane saw Harry frown and hurried to explain, "I can't be your therapist. I'm way to close to the Grangers. But I can explain what you are feeling. Or just listen. Sometimes you need an outside perspective of what is happening."

Dan and Emma watched as Diane expertly defused the teen's angst at the thought of needing a therapist. Talking to someone didn't mean you were mad. It meant that you knew you needed help. Diane explained a little about emotions and what happens when you ignore them. She pointed out to them that the enormous stress that they were under could kill them just as Voldemort could.

The five of them went to bed that night exhausted.

Dan and Emma went to sleep thinking that they should be doing more but knowing they couldn't. They were both worried about the teens. Neither considered the stress that they themselves were under.

Hermione thought about her Godmother, knowing what Diane said was true. She didn't want to admit it but a few sessions probably wouldn't hurt. Hermione had never told anyone but she had taken a few sessions with a school counselor while in primary school. She had stopped after another kid found out and started making fun of her. Making more fun of her.

Harry was afraid of what the wizarding public would think. He had been called crazy so often that he didn't want to give them more ammunition. He wished he had met Diane after the Tri-wizarding tournament or even after Sirius had been murdered. He thought of Hermione and how she had helped him through the rough spots. He pulled her closer and kissed her temple as she slept not knowing what he would do without her.

Diane fell asleep in the strange room in a strange house thinking about how she could help the other four.

… --- …

Dan was up early waiting for Harry to wake up. If it were confession time, he might as well get it over with. As it turned out, Hermione woke up first. He could tell that his daughter was suffering from an emotional hangover. Her eyes were swollen and she was moving slower than normal. Dan knew that she would be better eventually but it broke his heart seeing her like this.

After taking the cup that he handed her, he began, "Your friend Moody…"

"He's not my friend, Dad. He's Harry's assassination instructor."

Dan took a breath before continuing. He didn't want to get bogged down over an irrelevant detail with an angry teenager. He replied, "I'm certain that he would use a different choice of words, but I need to show you something. He handed her the London Times from a few days ago. It had a photo of several bodies lined up in a row outside a medical building. Hermione recognized the building. "I was caught sneaking out of the house that same day by two Aurors who reminded me that if they could find me, those lunatics could too. There are people who are trying pretty hard to keep us all alive. I just needed a reminder. Maybe that's what that Harry's mentor Moody was trying to point out. You're a smart young woman Hermione. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, just give you a different point of view."

Suddenly Hermione envied Harry for all of the time that her dad had been spending with Harry. Envied wasn't the right word, she was grateful. She hugged him and said, "Thanks Daddy. You're the best."

… --- …

Riddle blew down the front door of the Burrow. Molly and Arthur didn't look to see who had come to murder them. They took the emergency portkey that Abraxan had issued to all of the ministry managers. Seconds later, they found themselves in the Ministry MLE holding room.

"What happened?" asked the attendant.

"Someone blew up our front door. We didn't wait to find out what they wanted."

"I'll dispatch a team of hit wizards, Mr. Weasley."

"No Jeffrey. Give them a few minutes. There's nothing in there worth having any of the Ministry wizards die over."

Moments later John Thomas came over. "What happened Arthur?"

"The Burrow was attacked. We left immediately."

… --- …

Perhaps it was no surprise that Voldemort spent twenty minutes at the house searching for and attempting to summon his old diary. When he was satisfied that it wasn't there, he torched the old house.

He returned to Dolohov's cottage and found Lucius. Using Legillimancy he saw the image from June of 93 showing an angry Lucius Malfoy with the diary, his diary that contained half of his essence. A moment later he saw the image that Malfoy would have never volunteered to tell – An angry Lucius throwing the diary into the burning fireplace.

In the coldest voice that Lucius ever remembered hearing, the man who had once been Tom Riddle asked, "Did I not tell you to keep the diary safe no matter what happened?"

Lucuis truly believed at that moment that he'd seen his last sunrise. He simply replied, "Yes Master."

"Crucio." Riddle put everything that he had into the curse, but let up after five seconds. Malfoy didn't bother to get up. He was waiting for the end that he knew was near. Riddle would have liked to torture Malfoy until the stars came out, but he possessed neither the stamina nor had reason to believe that doing so would help him. Instead he said, "Get up. You need to find the gold cup that I left you."

Malfoy left the room, amazed by his own luck. Based on his knowledge of Ministry workings, he knew that all of the items that had survived the fire would have been impounded and placed into storage. He would need some inside help to get the cup that could help to keep him alive.

Riddle sensed the change in the spell that he had cast and immediately departed.

… --- …

The division commander opened his eyes for the first time in 2100 years. Commander Tutui had been trained by the Roman military genius Marius himself. The division that he had commanded had won every battle that it had fought. The soldiers were wealthy by the standards of the day and all had owned their own armor made either of small rings or strips of brass.

They were the Triarii division, the division of veterans. Tutui had commanded almost 1200 men. They had been placed in reserve at the battle of Chutney in what would become northeastern Scotland. Tutui's commander had sent a squad of runners to call the reserve division out of its holding position and flank the enemy. However the squad of runners had been ambushed on the way and Tutui had never received the word.

The Legion Commander was outraged that his main force had suffered a major defeat and had called on the great wizard of the day, an ancestor of Slytherin, to curse Commander Tutui and the Triarii division in eternity until they were called upon and fulfilled their debt.

Within hours of each other the Centurions, archers, engineers and foot soldiers had awoken. The foot soldiers wore armor of metal strips sewn onto a leather jerkin. They carried short swords known as a gladius, wore bronze helmets and carried painted rectangular shields made of laminated birch that were approximately two feet wide and four feet in height.

Tutui watched him come closer and knew that the man with the strange eyes was the one who had called them out of their long slumber. Despite the differences of time and origin, the two men found that they could communicate with each other. The castle to be taken was 120 miles to the west and about 20 miles south through hilly terrain that could only be traveled at night due to the Inferi's need to remain hidden. They did not want to be subjected to long exposure to the hot sun and would find a place to camp each morning at sunrise. Riddle planned to attack the castle at sundown on October 31st.

… --- …

McGonagall stood up and said, "Pass in your reviews now." She looked at them for a moment and said, "Mr. Crow, your last chapter was long, even by Miss Granger's standards. She looked carefully and said, "Forty feet of parchment. Very impressive."

The Old Crow replied, "It may have been long Professor, but I kept the death and mayhem to a minimum. I did my research."

McGonagall smiled and replied, "Five points, Mr. Crow."