Title: Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

Author: SerafinaMoon

Date: April 10-22, 2005

Summary: Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

Claimer: I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

A/N- Well, the chapter you've all been waiting for! The attack on Hogsmeade! Enjoy!

Chapter 9: Fight or Flight

I decide how I live
I decide who I love
Choice is mine and no one
Gets to make my mind up
I decide

I decide where I go
Where I sleep, who I know
I'm the one who's running my life
I decide

I decide how I live
I decide who I love
Choice is mine and no one
Gets to make my mind up
I decide

Don't think that
You can tell me what to think
I'm the one who knows
What's good for me
And I'm stating my independence
Gonna take the road I'm gonna take
And I'm gonna make my own mistakes
It's my life
I decide

I decide where I go
Where I sleep, who I know
I'm the one who's running my life
I decide

"I Decide" –Lindsey Lohan

Among the many great and ancient objects of our world, there is none more terrible and amazing than the Orb of Souls. Based on the creation of Dementors, this object can steal the soul of anyone with merely a single incantation. It was created by the infamous wizard Ember Oson who is most known for giving life to some of the most feared creatures of all time—Dementors.

Legend states that the Orb of Souls has the power to trap souls for all of eternity within its depths, but it has yet to be proven as it has never been found. It is said that Oson took the secrets of his creation with him to the grave to keep anyone from using this ancient artifact against him and trapping his soul in eternal torment.

More information on this object can be found in The Orb of Souls, which is the only other known source that records this mysterious artifact. It describes the relic in detail and supposedly contains the means to operate the Orb of Souls.

Naito closed the copy of Ancient Artifacts and set it to the side, sitting silently at his table in the library and pondering over what he read. That book had stored the only information he could find on the Orb of Souls and the mere three paragraphs it had cited did not provide enough information to tell him all he wanted to know.

It was pretty obvious why Voldemort would want such an object in his power. He would easily be able to overcome any opposition that stood in his way. With only an incantation, he would be able to trap Dumbledore and all of the members of the Order whenever he happened to come across them.

It was imperative now for Naito to find the Orb of Souls before Voldemort did. He knew that if the Dark Lord won the war, there was only one fate for him. He would be joining all of the other trapped souls within that Orb.

There had been two things in the passage that interested him. The first was the statement that Ember Oson had taken the secret of the Orb with him to the grave. Did that mean that wherever Oson was buried, there resided the Orb as well, or was it strictly figurative?

The second thing was the book that was mentioned to be entirely devoted to information on the Orb of Souls and even told how to use it.

So not only would Naito have to keep Voldemort from getting the Orb of Souls itself, he would also have to keep him from the book. There was no way he was going to get his soul sucked out by a crazed snake-maniac that wanted to play "ball."

It had taken Naito a little over a month to come unto the information he now held and the search had become a bit discouraging with the lack of information uncovered. There had not been even a hint of the Orb of Souls in any of the other books Naito had checked out so he had felt no remorse for turning them back in for Snape to give to Voldemort.

This one, however, was a completely different story and Naito had needed to come up with an intricate fabrication for the Potions Master to let him keep the book. In the end Naito had told him he was working on a special project for one of his classes and needed the book for research.

He did not know what Snape had told the Dark Lord about that, but he hoped he had not gotten the man into too much trouble.

That brought to mind something else that would soon be occurring—the attack on Hogsmeade. Naito had not yet told anyone about it and was not sure if he wanted to either. He had thought about not going and just telling Snape so he could inform Dumbledore of the danger, but he was not sure if he wanted to.

There had to be some way he could use the foreknowledge of the attack to his advantage. Draco had been pressuring him into coming with him and he thought he might go and help in the attack a bit, but that did not help him any, except to get into good graces with the Death Eaters.

He just was not sure what he wanted to do, but Naito knew he needed to decide quickly as he was running out of time.

Naito was interrupted from his musings by the sound of voices drifting over to him from the next table. Sitting together, huddled over something, looking nice and comfortable were Ron and Hermione.

They had certainly been a lot nicer to him ever since his talk with the Headmaster, but still did not seem to trust him. Surprisingly, Ron had gone out of his way to be civil to him as well and had even invited him to come to a DA meeting (despite the fact that Naito went to all of them anyway).

Ginny had, true to her promise on the train, never abandoned him and the two of them, sometimes in the company of Luna Lovegood, could often be seen studying together in the library. Usually Naito would quiz her over her assignments as he already knew everything the teachers had been instructing them on thanks to his training with the Death Eaters.

Naito turned back to the conversation taking place only a table away and listened intently to what was being said beside him, hoping to pick up on something that might be considered useful.

"Do you just want to go together or should we invite Ginny?"

"I think we should go with Ginny. I believe Fred and George will be stopping by sometime in the afternoon. It would be nice for all of us to get together and hang out."

"Well, there is that. Sounds good to me."

"First you've got to finish your homework. Students won't be leaving for an hour or so yet, you've got plenty of time to get it done. Besides, it will make the time go by faster."

Ron snorted and mumbled, "Funny, I always thought schoolwork made time go by slower."

"What was that, Ron?"

"Oh, nothing."

Hermione frowned at the red-haired boy but kept her silence and for the next hour she began advising him on how to transfigure a paperclip into a potted plant.

In next to no time the duo had finished what they were working on and were heading for the Entrance Hall to find Ginny and go visit Hogsmeade together.

Naito followed them, making sure to stay a far enough distance away that the group did not notice him. Knowing it would not be a good idea for Draco to follow him and run the risk of jeopardizing what he was doing, Naito was glad that he had not given the boy a definite answer as to whether he would attend the village with him.

Naito did not believe it would go over well if he were seen following this group around with Draco Malfoy. Besides, Naito had figured out how to manipulate the situation to suite him best. It would not due to have Draco start cursing the Gryffindors while Naito attempted to save them, and that was exactly what the young Malfoy heir would do once he found out what the Death Eaters were after.

"So where do you want to go first?" Ron asked the girls whenever they entered the wizarding town.

"Honeyduke's!"

"Bookstore."

Ginny and Hermione answered at the same time, causing Ron to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Well, seeing as you lovely ladies can't decide for yourselves, I'll just have to pick someplace...sooo...the Quidditch supply store it is!"

Both girls groaned, but nevertheless they followed their red-headed friend to the sports store, giggling and whispering to each other the whole way.

Naito watched the group out of the corner of his vision as he followed them, but the majority of his attention was focused elsewhere. He was 'keeping his eyes open' so to speak so that he would be able to act when the time came. After all, constant vigilance was an important aspect of being a good spy, which he was.

That was why, when he felt an icy coldness grip his chest, he immediately knew what it meant. The Death Eaters had sent Dementors as a diversion; the only problem? Naito did not know how to conjure a Patronus.

Fortunately, those around him had sensed what was coming as well and they did know how to protect themselves and others from the soul stealing creatures.

"Expecto Patronum!" their voices blended together in Naito's ears as the effects of the Dementors started in on him.

"No! Shrinket! NO! Leave him alone! He didn't do anything! Don't kill him, punish me instead, PLEASE! IT'S NOT HIS FAULT!"

"Indeed you will be punished as well, but because of your stupidity the elf will die and you can remember that it was your fault for becoming so attached to something so beneath you. You will learn respect, whelp, even if I have to get rid of a perfectly good servant to teach it to you.

"You will respect me, your Master, not some filthy little creature that does inane, everyday chores! These little monsters are not worthy of licking the dirt from your boots and you would do well to remember that in the future! Only true wizards and witches are to have your respect. Any unnatural creature such as this and Mudbloods are beneath you and should be treated as such! Avada Kedevra!"

The memory drifted away as the silvery Patronus's drove the Dementors back in the direction they came from. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sighed in relief, but Naito knew things would not be that simple—the fight was just beginning.

Naito was right, as halfway up the road from where they were standing the Three Broomsticks went up in flames with a loud explosion. People screamed and ran, not knowing what to do in the present situation.

Naito growled, the idiots!

Hermione gasped and her eyes widened as she saw what happened before fiercely whispering, "Ron! Ginny! That was the Three Broomsticks! Most of the teachers were in there!"

The two red-heads blanched and their eyes widened.

Naito growled again; shaking his head, Naito bound over to the group and hissed, "It's a distraction."

"Koori! What are you doing here!" Ron exploded, he knew there had been something fishy going on and the sight of that slimy Slytherin proved it to him.

"I'm here to help you. I overheard someone talking; they're planning on kidnapping the three of you. We have to get you out of here."

"Oh, like we're just going to trust YOU! You're probably the one they sent to get us!"

Naito rolled his eyes; they did not have time for this. He could see the Death Eaters approaching out of the corner of his eye.

"Get back," he yelled at the trio as the Death Eaters came into full view.

The others, thankfully, followed his instructions and ducked down out of sight behind the building beside them, hunkering down in the alley.

A jet of red light lanced toward them and Naito pressed them all up against the wall, shielding them with his body. It would be more believable that he was trying to help them if he risked himself. That was how Gryffindors worked after all.

Peeking around the corner, Naito brought his wand to bear on the approaching Death Eaters and shot off a quick barrage of stunning spells that the masked men were forced to shield themselves from.

They responded in turn and Naito put up a strong shielding spell while yelling at the trio behind him to run.

They looked hesitant, but reluctantly left.

Naito and the Death Eaters exchanged spells for a few minutes and Naito managed to knock out a few of them; unfortunately, he was losing ground and was going to have to retreat with the others.

He became even more alarmed as a cloaked figure advanced on him from the other side and ducked when the cloaked man shot off a spell. What surprised him was the fact that the spell seemed to have missed him and hit the group of Death Eaters instead.

Naito looked closer and noted that the cloaked man was Professor Austerus, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a former Ministry employee that was extremely strict and had a no-nonsense attitude.

Naito sighed in relief.

Without glancing back, Naito ran after Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, hoping he would be able to find them and prove his trustworthiness to them.

Hearing shouts coming from the direction he was heading, Naito ran full tilt toward the noise only to be sent careening out into the chaos of another battle.

While Naito had been dealing with the Death Eaters in front of them, some other ones had circled around to trap them, only to run into the trio as they tried to get away. Now the Gryffindors were surrounded by a dozen fully trained and dangerous wizards that would love for nothing more than to torture the children standing in front of them.

Naito almost groaned out loud in his frustration.

Why did the bloody Gryffindors always have to be so reckless!

Deciding to help them before they managed to get themselves killed, Naito jumped into the fray, planting himself right in front of Ron and Ginny, as Hermione had a better arsenal of spells at her disposal.

As soon as he appeared, many of the Death Eaters froze where they were standing.

"What do we do?" one of the trainees asked a tall, feminine figure Naito assumed was Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Forget him; he doesn't know what's going on. Knock him out and capture him with the others if you have to. The Master wants those two and nothing is going to stand in the way of that. Besides, if we capture them, there will be no need for him to be here anymore anyway."

Ha, that's what they think! I won't go down that easily! If this is the only way to get those two to trust me, I'll make sure I do this right!

Simultaneously, the Death Eaters and Naito began firing spells off at one another. Naito used all of his reflexes and martial arts training to keep out of the way of spells and the Death Eaters relying heavily on shields while Hermione, Ginny, and Ron stood back to back to back, trading curses for shields every few seconds.

It was a good thing that Naito had trained with the best of Voldemort's henchmen, as he knew most of their weaknesses, but on the other hand, they knew most of his.

Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to take it upon herself to distract Naito while the other Death Eaters converged on the duo in the middle of their circle.

This does not look good, Naito thought to himself as more Death Eaters came towards them from down the alley, Professor Austerus lying at the mouth of the alleyway.

Yeesh! We're in trouble! Was Naito's grim thought before he had to focus all of his attention on what he was doing, as several of the new arriving Death Eaters decided to help Bellatrix Lestrange take him down.

Naito stunned a couple of cloaked men that were running toward him before they could prepare to shield themselves, but quickly had to do a back flip out of the way of an oncoming spell as several more took their place.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Ginny had been hit with something and was no longer conscious, her fiery, red hair splayed around her head in a halo from where she lay on the ground. Ron and Hermione were putting up a good fight, but where quickly losing ground.

Naito frowned, he needed to take down his Death Eaters so he could go help them, but for every one he managed to take out, two more took their place. This was getting so frustrating. Deciding to chance a bit of wandless magic while Ron and Hermione were not watching, Naito called up a mist while he sent out a barrage of hexes at his attackers, knocking a few out and making the rest back up.

The misty fog surrounded them all, and most of the spells were being thrown blindly, Naito's included as he tried to back up a bit and get close to the Gryffindor students.

What he had not counted on was Bellatrix grabbing him from behind and spinning him to face her.

"What do you think you are doing, boy! Why are you helping those three when it's obvious we're trying to catch them!" she whispered at him fiercely.

Before he could answer her she shouted, "Crucio!"

Ugh! Not again! Why do they always have to use that one! Was the thought that flitted across his mind before everything became a haze of fog like the one around them as waves of agony crashed over him. He writhed on the ground, screaming louder than he had ever screamed before as Bellatrix held him under the curse for a lengthy amount of time.

Unnoticed by either of them, the fog was dissipating and the air was becoming clear again since Naito could not concentrate on his wandless magic. Once the magic fog was completely gone, everyone, Death Eaters and Gryffindors included, turned to watch in morbid curiosity at what was going on.

When Lestrange finally released him, Naito had no energy to even lift his head, let alone the energy to get up and fight again.

Everyone stared as he panted, trying to reclaim his breath, and Bellatrix circled him like a hawk going in for the kill.

Much to the surprise of all, Naito found the strength somewhere in him to pull his shaking limbs into action and push himself up on his arms and bring his glossy, pain-filled, blue orbs to meet those of his tormentor.

"Well, boy. Not quite so eager to jump foolishly into things that don't concern you anymore, now are you?"

Naito glared at the woman in response and managed to get up into a kneeling position.

The insane Azkaban escapee smirked at her victim.

"Don't worry, you'll not be resistant for very long. Crucio!"

Before the curse had even left her wand, Naito had rolled out of the way and shakily gotten to his feet, swaying once, but remained standing. He quickly said, "Glacialis" and encased her feet in ice so that she could not move.

She shrieked in rage and fired a cutting hex at him that he only avoided because he fell over one of the bodies on the ground. Before she could do anything else, Naito cried, "Expelliarmus!" and relieved her of her wand while blowing her off her feet—and out of the ice—and into the wall of the building behind her, soundly causing her to black out.

That was enough of a distraction for Hermione and Ron to grab Ginny and haul her between them back over to the alleyway from where they had come. Naito covered them, leaning against the wall for support and throwing out random curses, hexes, and charms, anything he could use to slow them down as they raced for, what appeared to be, Honeydukes.

Why are they going that way? Naito thought to himself, confused, Hogwarts is the other way...

Then he remembered. In his briefing for this mission, Wormtail had told him about several secret passages, one of them conveniently located in the basement of Honeydukes.

With renewed vigor, Natio began launching hexes in every direction as the Death Eaters converged on them from behind.

They were nearing the door to the sweet shop when one of the Dark Lord's lackeys shot a powerful cutting hex straight at Ron, who was taking on most of Ginny's dead weight.

Both Ron and Hermione saw it coming, but could do nothing to defend themselves with Ginny stuck between them, so Naito did the only thing he could think of.

Like a bloody Gryffindor, he jumped in front of them, taking the brunt of the blow on the right half of his face and torso.

Hermione screamed in fright and Ron gasped as blood splattered everywhere and Naito sunk to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Naito," Ron whispered in awe.

Looking up, the two saw the Death Eaters advancing and did the only thing their Gryffindor nobility would allow them to do. Ron put Ginny down and raced over to Naito, pulling the Slytherin's arm over his shoulders and helping him to stand before gathering Ginny back up and leading all of them into the cellar of Honeydukes and into the trapdoor beneath the store.

Once they were down there, they knew it would not be long before the Death Eaters followed them so Hermione added wards to the entrance to hold them off long enough for them to make it back to school.

Knowing that it would not take long for the boot-licking servants of the Dark Lord to break through those spells, Naito helped by adding some wards of his own taught to him by Lord Voldemort himself.

Bellatrix, Malfoy, and perhaps some other of the Inner Circle would be able to break through them with a bit of effort, but Naito knew that by the time they got them all down, he and the others would already be back in the safety of Hogwarts.

Naito winced as he thought about what he was in for when Voldemort next called him, but pushed it to the back of his mind when his vision started to blur and he began to sag in Ron's arms.

Need...to...concentrate...Got to...make it...to...hospital, Naito struggled to think clearly as his body began to shut down from his accumulated injuries.

Ron began whispering encouragement in his ear as he started to sag to the ground again, "Come on, mate! You can do it! We don't have that much farther to go. We're almost there; you got it!"

Despite knowing that they were nowhere near the Hospital Wing, the words seemed to bolster Naito up enough for him to make it to where they were going. Of course, it was made easier when Snape, who had stayed in the castle during the Hogsmeade visit, found them and levitated Ginny while Ron and Hermione both helped to support Naito.

As soon as she saw them, Madame Pomphrey had a fit; she was so beside herself with worry.

"What happened to you! The others all made it back a half hour ago!" the woman screeched as she bustled about, first checking Ginny over and muttering, "Ennervate!" to wake her up before moving on to Naito who was only half conscious by that time.

Ron answered saying, "They were after us; at least, that's what Koori said. A bunch of them had us surrounded and we had to fight them off. Ginny got hit with something, I couldn't tell what-"

"A Stunner," mumbled Madame Promphrey distractedly.

"Yeah, well, then Koori came and helped us fight them, but more started coming after that. It seemed like we were going to lose when this fog drifted in and covered everything. You couldn't see anything. We tried to grab Ginny and get away, but then we heard screaming and the fog faded and we saw one of the Death Eaters torturing Koori.

"He was shrieking and convulsing on the ground, but there was nothing we could do because with the fog gone, the Death Eaters started firing on us again. I didn't really see what happened after that, but somehow we managed to get away and were heading for school, me and Hermione-"

"Hermione and I."

"Whatever! We were dragging Ginny and Koori was behind us, helping us shoot at Death Eaters, but when we were by Honeyduke's someone aimed a Cutting Hex at me and Koori jumped in front of it."

Snape's eyes widened at that statement and they all looked over at the Slytherin.

He was sitting up without aid and the cut along his face and chest had disappeared.

"Here, Mr. Koori. Drink these," Madame Pomphrey stated with her usual assertive nature.

"Yes, ma'am," Naito replied dourly as he upended the goblet she handed him and chugging the contents, pulling a face as he tasted some of it.

"Ugh. I hate Blood Replenisher."

"Well, you're going to like the counter to the effects of the Cruciatus Curse even less," she said primly, handing him a bottle as she clicked her tongue in disapproval at his state of health.

"Was anyone else hurt, Professor? We saw the Three Broomsticks blow up."

"Yes, unfortunately. There were many casualties, but luckily no deaths. Most of them were burns, or injuries from the building collapsing, or spell damage."

Hermione sighed in relief at the answer to her question.

"I believe you should go visit the Headmaster and explain to him what occurred from your point of view."

"What about Koori?"

"He'll be along as soon as he is healthy enough to leave," answered Madame Pomphrey before she shooed the others (Ginny included) out the door.

Naito groaned aloud at her pronouncement.

"I'm never going to get out of here!" he complained with fervor to his Head of House.

Looking up at the man, Naito could almost swear he saw a ghost of a smile creep onto the man's face, but it was gone as soon as it came so Naito was not sure he did not just imagine it.

"Please show a miniscule amount of decorum while you are in the presence of others, Mr. Koori," stated Snape.

Immediately, the youthful seeming child that had been sitting in front of them transformed into the icy, cold exterior that the young spy projected around other people.

"Now, Madame, I must insist that Mr. Koori come with me up to the Headmaster's office to explain some of the extenuating circumstances that have occurred today."

"Yes, well, I'm sorry to say, Professor Snape, that I cannot on good conscious let that boy leave until he is healthy enough to do so. After having the Cruciatus Curse put on him for who-knows-how-long, I will not allow him to leave until he is good and ready."

Snape smirked at her, "Very well. Naito, are you 'good and ready' to leave?"

Naito smirked as well and replied in a completely innocent tone of voice, "Of course, Professor."

Madame Pomphrey glared at them.

"No. You will not be taking this boy from the Hospital Wing at this time. If the Headmaster has need of asking him questions then Albus can come down here himself and do it. This boy needs rest and he will get it!"

"Now, Poppy, I do believe we have had this exact same conversation before on multiple instances. Once he is in the Headmaster's office, he will be sitting down, resting, and after that he will go to his dormitory where he will go to sleep and rest some more. As I have so often told you on previous occasions, it is oft easier to rest in your own bed. Do you not agree?"

"Fine! But I don't want to hear anymore about it if he has a relapse! You can just take care of him yourself, Professor Snape!"

Snape smirked again as the woman leveled her ire at him, but ignored her beyond that by helping steady Naito as he got out of bed and waiting as the boy put back on his bloody and torn shirt and robes.

Together they walked up to the Headmaster's office and ascended into the barmy, old cooger's domain.

Hermione and Ron were just leaving as they entered and each shot Naito a worried glance as they passed by him.

Naito smiled back reassuringly, hoping they did not believe it to be as false as it actually was. The only thing he cared about now was how he could extract more information from them now that he had their trust and what he would say to Voldemort the next time he was called, which he assumed would be soon.

When he looked back at Dumbledore, he noticed the man's twinkling blue eyes directed at him in a fixated stare as he took in the soiled clothes and tousled appearance from the fight.

His eyes seemed to be boring into Naito's and the boy was once again reminded of the man's Legilimency skills. Giving his mental shields a check, Naito sat down in the offered seat and gazed back into the piercing sapphire orbs serenely.

"Hello, again, Naito," Dumbledore said quietly with a hint of, was that pride in his voice?

"Hello, Professor," Naito shifted uneasily in his seat; he did not like that penetrating blue stare directed at him. It was as if the older wizard knew everything about him, all his deepest and darkest secrets, the things he hid away from everyone—all his insecurities and fears. He must have that look perfected down to a science to get his more troublesome students to behave.

"I have already heard the accounts of Ron and Hermione and have deduced what happened."

"Then what did you need me to see you for, Professor?" Naito asked respectfully, if a bit haughtily.

"I was just curious as to why you jumped in front of Ron like that?" the old man inquired happily.

Naito's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion; what was going on with the Headmaster? Why was he acting as if he were a little kid that was taken into a candy store and offered to have whatever he wanted? The village next to the school had just been attacked, what was he so happy about?

"Because the Death Eaters would have taken him and Hermione, and probably Ginny too, if I hadn't. If I didn't jump in front of him they wouldn't have been able to get away. Besides, he was holding Ginny; he couldn't go anywhere so I had to do something."

Naito shrugged, but at his answer, Dumbledore's eyes lit up even more than before, which Naito had not even thought possible. He was beginning to get the impression that Dumbledore thought he had acted out of nobility to aid others...Gryffindor nobility.

He scowled and said, "Don't go reading too much into this, Professor. I'm a Slytherin, which means I have my own agenda."

Why did he just say that? What was wrong with him?

Dumbledore just chuckled, his eyes twinkling merrily.

Naito was starting to get annoyed with the eye-twinkling and scowled again.

"My dear boy, if you had really intended to harm them, then you would have done so. You've had ample opportunity to betray me and several others, yet you have not."

He paused for a moment, just staring at Naito with joy. When he finally spoke again, he surprised Naito by saying, "You amaze me. You knew that attack would happen at Hogsmeade, and while you did not inform any of the staff of it you still went and protected Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Why is that?"

Naito's eyes widened and he started to protest his foreknowledge of such an attack.

Dumbledore held up a wizened, wrinkled hand and said, "Do not even try to deny it. How else would you have known what the Death Eaters were after and told not only those three, but myself as well if you had no idea that was going to happen."

"So," Naito glared at the man, his voice dropping dangerously low, "you think you have me all figured out do you? Think you have me picked apart and can lead me around in circles with your little games? Well, guess what! I'm not who you think I am and never will be! WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT!"

Naito bellowed, rising to his feet angrily as Dumbledore started laughing at him.

"Nothing, my boy. You just remind me very strongly of someone I used to know and love very dearly."

Naito's anger turned to confusion once more as he tried to piece together the puzzle of the man before him.

Hm...So I remind him of someone he used to know? Is it because I act like this person or was it something I said? Or both? Maybe if I can get him to tell me then I can do some research. Perhaps before I lost my memory, I really was someone he used to know. Why else would I be having these flashbacks of Hogwarts and all these other people? Maybe...

"Who?"

Dumbledore managed to stop laughing and asked, "What?"

"Who is it that I remind you of?"

Dumbledore knew by the intense expression on his face that he was serious about this and said quietly, "It does not matter. He is dead."

Naito frowned. If this person died, then why was the old man laughing?

"What is so funny about him dying?"

"Nothing."

Naito nearly screamed in frustration, could he not just get ONE straight answer from this man without the loop-the-loop confusion conversation beforehand!

"So WHY were you laughing!"

"Because once again I have had to remind myself that he really is gone and he is never coming back; if I did not laugh I would break down from the agony of it all."

Naito stepped back and blinked; he had not expected to receive such a candid answer from the wizened wizard. The man sounded desperate, defeated, as if he had nothing left except for the war. And maybe he did not...maybe that really was all that was holding him together and as soon as it ended, he would give up.

Naito felt his heart clench painfully as emotions he had not felt in a long time came to the surface...Shrinket's screams and pleads raged in his mind as he saw once again as she was tortured to death. That was what this poor, worn-out, old man was feeling—cursed...cursed with life that had a touch of death.

Forcing the feeling down, Naito struggled to regain control of his emotions; he was in the presence of the enemy after all. But despite all that, Naito could not help but feel sorry for the man and all he must have lost—I can sympathize; I know exactly how you are feeling.

Hiding his emotions under a stoic mask, Naito gazed dispassionately at the Headmaster and said in slow, measured tones, "Life goes on, Professor. The end of the world is not here yet, so make the most of what you do have. Don't give up while there is still something to fight for, not when there is still something you can do to help."

With that, Naito walked stiffly out of the office and down the stairs, never noticing the way Dumbledore stared after him in awe.

What he did notice, was Ron and Hermione waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

He nodded as he approached them, intending to walk past them and collapse on his bed for a few hours after all the excitement.

Instead, the two of them came up to him and said, "Hey, Naito. Hermione and I decided to call the DA together today to practice because of the attack. We were wondering if you wanted to go; Ginny's already gone ahead to get everything ready and everyone will probably be there waiting on all of us to be there."

Naito noticed the way Ron stressed the word "all" and wondered what was going on with everyone. First the Headmaster now Ron and Hermione, but, Naito guessed, you could not save someone's life and not end up as friends.

Naito wondered at that statement for a moment as it seemed to call to mind something about these two standing in front of him and some incident with a troll...

Oh well, Naito shoved the thought away as he nodded once again at the two of them, amazed at the fact that he had actually gotten them to trust him because of what had happened.

The astonishment was not able to cover the fear he felt at what he knew was in store for him for undermining an attack that had been underway for a month. He could already tell it would not be pretty.

Thoughts of what was in store for him danced in his head even as he walked with Ron and Hermione to the DA, even as most of the others in the group finally accepted him with a cheer, even as they dueled pseudo battles against each other he could not stop thinking about how much trouble he was going to be in with Voldemort once he was finally called.

One thing was for certain...he did not want to go back, but knew he would because it could mean the difference between life and death...and who won the war.

Although he did not know if he would reveal himself to the light or not, he finally knew which side he was fighting on and would do everything within his power to see that it won.

(To Be Continued…)

A/N- I had to change several things in this chapter when I wrote it, but I think I'm satisfied with the results so far. How about you?

Coming Up: Naito has to pay for going against the Death Eaters; does Voldemort finally find out about Naito's wavering loyalty or will he be able to save his reputation as Voldemort's faithful spy? Find out next in Chapter 10: Halloween.

Review Responses:

Willow Evenstar: If you liked that chapter, I expect you liked this one as well, but I prefer not to make assumptions and to give my reviewers a chance to tell me how they like it for themselves! Thank you so much for your comments and reviewing! That's what keeps this story alive!

Hazel-Beka: Yeah, I have been trying to keep the chapters longer than usual lately! I know how most ppl like to read longer chaps better than shorter ones! No, he used his Metamorphmagus ability to change his appearance including his scar and somehow now thinks that the appearance he now has is his real 'self.' Actually I think he was furious that it happened in public, but the ferret incident itself? I think that would amuse even Snape! That's the logic I'm using to explain myself...I mean, we never see how he really treats the students in his own class except during Potion's class so I just drew conclusions from that. Talking about characters not working with you! Sheesh, I just wrote chap 11 and it's a doosy! I had it planned out, but what I originally planned completely disappeared! That chapter wrote itself!

MagicmanSmokegirl: In today's session of "How to Cook up Trouble" we will learn how to make Ron become bloated...first, you will need one Ron Weasley, make sure he has a ginger top! We wouldn't want anything not tempermental! Second, you will need one enraged teenager named Harry Potter, one aggravating Aunt Marge, mix them all together and BOOM! Or Walla! You have an instant bloated Ron! No I don't think someone can become accustomed to the pain of the Cruciatus Curse, of course, not everyone shares my opinion...As for the OOS, you found out a little in this chap!

bluefire-elemental: Actually, I did have something about the Patronus in my notes, but I don't know how I would fit it in...of course, something could always find its way into future chapters that I haven't written yet so...who knows?

LadayoftheWood: How's summer vacation going for you? I've got my license to drive by myself now and my parents gave me my mom's car to have. I'm still looking for a job, but well, that's it for me! Yeah, I noticed about the songs...oh well, I guess we'll just have to suffer our weirdness alone then...

logi: Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you like it and hope you will continue to like/read/review it!

I'd like to thank Jin Cheng for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job Jin Cheng! I love you Jin Cheng!