Hey ya'll it's me. Look I don't have much time so I'm just going to do a general thanks to ALL my WONDERFUL readers because I'm posting this and other chapters to my stories tonight because I'm going to be busy for a while and I thought I'd give everyone a Christmas treat.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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Chapter Fifteen

Getting Worse

The trio watched the rather annoyed brunette stalk from the room, leaving an air of anger and confusion behind her. For a moment all four members of the room were silent. Hermione was the first to speak, looking a bit frazzled. "Why would she be needed by the Order?" her eyes never moved from the door Kathleen Peters' had just exited from. She looked at Lupin confused. "Her job with Harry is over now that he is here. What would the Order need her for now? Is she on another job?" Lupin, who hadn't moved from staring after the spirited girl, looked at her after a moment before asking her to repeat her question. Patiently Hermione restated what she had asked.

Lupin sighed shaking his head. "She didn't waste time telling you everything did she?"

"No, not really." She said matter of factually. "Are you going to answer my question, sir?"

He stared at her for a moment before his face softened. "She has been given another job by the Order, one we need her for because no one else could pull it off." He glanced towards the door again. "And she knows it,"

Another wave of silence passed over them before Ron spoke. "Why did you call her Kate, I thought her name was Kathleen."

Hermione moaned as Harry snorted. "It's her nickname, Ron. Honestly," she said shaking her head.

"Then why did she get mad?" He shot back.

Lupin sighed summoning a cup of coffee. "She got mad because…because someone who died gave her that nickname." He brought the mug to his lips and sipped it.

"Richard," all three of them said together.

He nearly spit out the liquid. "She told you!" he looked at them sharply.

"Well…" Hermione glanced at Harry. "She didn't have much of a choice."

Harry studied Lupin as he sputtered for words. "What do you mean?"

There was a deep caring and worry in his golden brown eyes that was surprising to Harry. Hermione was reluctant speak so Ron blurted out callously, "Snape made her."

"Made her?" disbelief was in his voice.

Harry looked away. "He mentioned something about her killing someone." He said softly.

There was a crash and Harry looked up sharply and saw the mug in shattered bits on the floor. "If that's what…shit!" Lupin was running from the room, not even bothering to apologize for his language.

"What was that about?" asked Ron, dense as ever.

Hermione frowned before getting down to pick up the shards. "Something is off about their relationship," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

"What do you mean?" Ron questioned.

Harry moved to help her by getting a towel to mop up the liquid as she responded to Ron. "Didn't you notice it? He cares about her a lot, almost as if they had known each other before."

"They'd have to have," Harry said throwing the towel in the sink.

Ron stood. "Why's that?"

"He called her Kate." He said simply following Hermione from the room.

The trio was silent for a moment as they began up the stairs. "She's had a hard life," Hermione said with pity in her voice.

"I suppose," Ron said walking up the stairs behind his bushy-haired friend.

Harry remained silent. He knew what it was like and related with her all-too well. He had caused the death of Sirius just as she caused the death of this Richard person. He saw the blame in her eyes when she recounted the happenings with him and knew whom it was placed towards. He was pulled from his thoughts as he heard Ron go into hysteric laughter.

"What's so funny?" he asked curiously.

"Did you see the look on Snape's face when she kicked him in the face! My god, I'll never forget it."

Hermione quickened her pace as Harry and Ron shared a laugh. "What's with the speed 'Mione?" asked Harry after a moment. For a moment the two boys stared at their friend who had paused on the step, her hand to her face while her shoulders racked up and down. "Hermione?" Harry said skipping two steps to take a peek at her face. With one look he burst out laughing. Hermione was turning beat red, her hand pressed over her mouth, as she fought the laughter trying to escape her lips.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Ron questioned as Hermione sat down with a thump, her face hidden by her wild brown hair and hands. He was by her side, her shoulders shaking as if she was crying. "Hermione?"

She looked up, tears in her eyes, a smile breaking out across her face. "I shouldn't be laughing," she moaned, unable to keep the laughter contained. "He's our teacher."

"So? It was funny," Harry said laughing and shaking his head.

"What's funny?" asked a somewhat groggy voice behind him.

Harry glanced back and grinned at one of the Weasley twins wearing baggy sweats and one of the ever-so-famous Weasley sweaters with the letter 'F' on it. "My old protector kicking Snape in the face."

The twin's face widened, broad smile stretching across his lips. "You're kidding! I knew I should have gotten up earlier! Wait till George hears this,"

"He's already heard," this voice came from the bottom of the stairs where the other Weasley twin stood in a rather nice-looking button up dark blue collared shirt and jeans. "You might not want to go into the library for a while, it's a bit of a war zone in there,"

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, managing to subdue the giggles still trying to sprout from her mouth.

"Snape came blazing into the meeting, his lip was split, and he was cursing up a storm at Dumbledore. I've never seen him so mad before. We got bits of the story from him until they called Kathleen in and boy was she pissed off at Snape. She even some how showed the room her memory of what happened." George shook his head. "The greasy git insulted her by calling her a murderer," Harry glanced away at this. "She exploded. That girl has got some temper."

"What do you mean exploded?" asked Ron cautiously as Fred walked down the stairs yawning.

George grimaced. "Unfortunately exactly what I said. She started shouting at Snape calling him names I'm sure that even You-Know-Who would blush at, when Dumbledore tried to get her to calm down she went off on him, threatening to leave."

"We didn't hear a thing," Ron said rather stupidly.

"Silencing charm, Ron." Fred said, stifling another large yawn.

Hermione watched as Fred disappeared into the kitchen. "Why exactly do we need her that badly anyway? She's an underage witch, strong and smart one but she's just a witch."

"I wish that were the case." George said sighing. "You see, Kath—"

"GEORGE WEASLEY!" the loud screech of Molly Weasley reached their ears. The shouts of Mrs. Black came soon after as Hermione, Harry, and Ron all looked sharply at the fuming red haired woman. "They are not members of the Order and are too young. You will not inform them of anything! Now get back into the library."

The twin turned slightly red as he scurried back in through the door Mrs. Weasley had just come out of. Fred appeared immediately after and walked into the library after his twin, Molly Weasley's finger pointing at the door. The moment the door closed behind him she turned to the three left on the stairs and smiled brightly at them, as if nothing just happened. Hermione couldn't help but notice the door bounce open just slightly leaving a crack just wide enough for her to see into the library.

"Good morning dears, did you all have breakfast? I could go whip something up," Mrs. Weasley spoke quickly.

Harry noticed the bags under her eyes and the tired look on her face as she spoke. "No, Riv—Kathleen got us something to eat."

Mrs. Weasley's face twitched and turned into an unreadable expression. "I see," She forced a smile. "Harry, how are you? Feeling any better this morning?"

"Much better, thank you." Harry answered more on automatic than on what he was really feeling.

"Good. Good," she stopped glanced at the door as a loud crash issued from it and the four heard a set of shouts and insults. "I'd suggest that you three—" she didn't get to finish because the door flew open.

Kathleen immerged; her face held her ire and her hair was a bit frazzled and unkept. She slammed the door behind her and her death-glare landed on Mrs. Weasley. "If anyone asks for me tell them I've gone to hell." A devilish smile suddenly twisted on her face as she walked towards the door. She glanced back. "Or better yet, tell Albus that I've gone to contemplate joining Voldemort's—(Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ron collectively winced)—side because this Order seems to be hell bent of screwing itself." With that the door opened and slammed shut.

Hermione stared at the door, ignoring the shouting still issuing from Mrs. Black's portrait. "Can she do that?" Ron asked finally.

The door opened not two seconds later and Lupin appeared. "Where did she go?" Mrs. Weasley was staring in shock at the door that Kathleen just exited from, her jaw open and her eyes widened in both amazement and horror. Lupin hurried over to the shouting portrait and managed to shut it up. "Molly?"

"O, o, out." Stuttered the red haired woman.

Harry felt the sudden need to smirk as he looked at Lupin. "She said she's going to contemplate the idea of joining Voldemort's—(another collective wince with the exclusion of Lupin)—side because this Order seems hell bent on screwing itself." Harry said standing up. He watched as Lupin's face went white. "Honestly, I don't blame her." The words tumbled from his lips as he turned his back.

Four gasps issued behind him as he started up the stairs. "Harry?" Lupin said uneasily.

"What?" Harry spoke indigenously through clenched teeth. "It's true." He gripped the banister hard. "You people in the Order expect me to save the bloody wizarding world but you won't even tell me what's going on! That's hardly intelligent, logical, or even half-way sensible."

"We don't tell you because you are a child," the sneer reached his ears causing him to turn around.

Harry fought the urge to grab his wand when he saw the Potions professor. "I am not a child. If I was a child I wouldn't have the damn weight of the wizarding world on my shoulders!"

"Foolishness." Snape sneered. "You are a child."

"A child who saved your life,"

"Name one instance. If I remember it properly, you only rid the Dark Lord of his body, the price being your parents lives." Snape growled softly. One look into his cold black eyes, Harry knew that he had added in his mind 'Not that it was much of a loss,' but dare not say it out loud.

Before Harry even knew what he was doing his wand was out but a bushy head covered the hollow stick as Mrs. Weasley scolded Snape. "Harry, I'd suggest you to your room and begin on your summer homework." Mrs. Weasley said refusing to allow Snape to speak.

Hermione grabbed his arm as Ron did the other and both guided their dark-haired friend up the stairs and into his room. "Harry James Potter, can you think of a stupider thing to do! Pointing your wand at our teacher!" Hermione exploded the moment the door shut. Harry shrugged throwing himself on the bed that he claimed as his.

For a moment all of them were silent. "It was funny though," Ron commented.

"RON!" moaned Hermione as he sat down on the chair in front of the desk.

"What! The greasy git deserved to be cursed! We all know what else he wanted to add to the insult to Harry!"

Harry rolled his eyes ignoring the shouting match beginning to start between his two best friends. As their voices raised Harry felt a stinging pain from his scar. He winced and absentmindedly rubbed it. His scar had been hurting a lot more over that summer but it hadn't felt like this before. Intent on trying to figure out the reason his scar was tingling, Harry didn't even noticed when Ron and Hermione stopped shouting and were staring at him.

"Harry?" Ron was the next to speak. "You didn't mean that did you, Harry?" The emerald-eyed boy shot Ron a glare. His head was really beginning to hurt. "You know," The freckle-faced boy swallowed hard. "About joining You-Know-Who? You didn't mean it." The uncertainty was in his voice.

"Of course he didn't mean it," snapped Hermione quickly. Harry looked away abruptly. "Did you?" she asked, now as uncertain as Ron.

"Hermione, do you honestly think that I would join the person who killed my parents?"

"No,"

"Then why do you sound uncertain?"

"Because you're making it sound as if you would join with You-Know-Who!"

Harry looked at her, unexplainable anger was filling him when he looked at her. "Why shouldn't I? The only reason I don't is because he's a damn murderer and I disagree with most of everything he stands for! But at least if I was on his side and I joined that bloody circle they'd tell me what's going on! On this side everything is a secret or you're too young to know! HOW THE BLOODY HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO SAVE THE DMAN WIZARDING WORLD IF THEY NEVER TELL ME DAMN THING!"

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other and let out a sigh in unison. "Harry," Hermione said sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I won't join up with Voldemort, Hermione. You have should have no fear of that." Harry said, not looking at his bushy-haired friend.

"I know that you'd never join up with You-Know-Who." Hermione tried slowly. "But—"

Emerald eyes suddenly turned to face her, ablaze. "Call him by name, Hermione."

"What?"

"Call him by name."

"Harry," Ron interjected.

Hermione started to move but Harry grabbed her arm, his eyes tingeing red slightly. "Call him by name," He glanced at Ron. "Both of you."

"Let me go."

"Why are you so bloody scared of his name? VOLDEMORT! There I shouted it! It's just a bloody name!" Harry ranted, each sentence his eyes were turning into a swirling mass of dark green and flecks of red.

"You're hurting me, Harry." Hermione gasped as Harry's grip became tighter.

"You're like his damn followers, so scared of him that you won't use that damn name! LISTEN TO YOURSELF! YOU CALL HIM YOU-KNOW-WHO, HE-WHO-SHALL-NOT-BE-NAMED, AND THE DARK LORD!" Harry's voice escalated with each word, his grip becoming tighter on his friend's arm. "HE GAVE HIMSELF A BLOODY NAME TO BE USED NOT FOR THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD TO COWER IN FEAR BY ITS MEER MENTION! SAY IT!"

"Ow!"

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed, watching the emerald eyes flashed angrily.

"VOLDEMORT! SAY IT HERMIONE! YOU'RE DAMN STRONG WITCH AND YOU'RE SCARED OF A NAME!" Hermione tried to pull away but Harry's grip was like a vice. "SAY THE DAMN NAME!"

"HARRY POTTER, LET HER GO!" Ron shouted suddenly, jumping off the chair and grabbing Harry's hand, tearing it off of Hermione's arm. Harry's eyes shot to him and Ron nearly stumbled back in shock as Hermione moved away. "Harry, what is your problem?"

Harry blinked; to anyone who was looking hard enough they could see the red in his green eyes recede till they were an emerald green once again. "What?"

"What is your problem!"

The black-haired boy looked at Hermione, her arm now very pink. "Hermione, go get Dumbledore," he said quietly, his eyes not moving from Hermione's arm.

"Harry why did you—" Ron started to shout but Hermione grabbed him by the arm.

"Ron," she shook her head. "I'll go but why?"

His eyes connected with her for a moment. The unexplainable rage that had filled him only moments before had not been his own and she knew that. She let out a gasp as he massaged his searing scar. The connection was getting worse. Hermione dragged Ron out with her as she raced to find Dumbledore. The moment the door shut behind them, Harry slammed his fist into the wall, the pain taking away some of his anger. He had just hurt one of his best friends and, what was even worse, he couldn't even remember why he was so mad.