Chapter two

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter, but its been rumored that if JKR dies I get the copyrights!

Harry turned around to see Voldemort grinning. The man now stood before him in torn robes, stained with blood here and there. His face was wrinkled, but Harry knew the senile looks were deceiving.

"Ahh I see you have figured out the last horcrux." Sighed Voldemort. "Yes, the very last place anyone would look don't you think? I hated my father, yet he always managed useful at times. You were there the last time he got me out of a tight spot weren't you Harry? This time you wont slip out. Yes, this will be the end for you Potter." Harry stared at him. He had expected that Voldemort would appear that night. The air that had once been warm steadily grew colder. Chills ran up and down Harry's spine.

" You're right Voldemort. This will be the end of me. The end of me having to deal with you. You've run out of time. After this horcrux is gone you'll be dead. All the pain you've caused the wizarding world will stop tonight." Harry's eyes were exactly as his mothers, lit aflame, determined and fierce. He was no longer scared, no longer sad, just angry.

"Lets test your little theory Potter," Said Voldemort. With this he shot the dark mark into the air, and over 50 followers appeared.

Ron and Hermione were on the train to Hogwarts. The steady rocking of the train calmed Ron down as he sat watching Hermione. She was curled up in a chair with a book, The Mysteries of Dark Magic. He continued to stare at her. This year it would only be the two of them. Harry would not be returning. Though this was a concept still lost to Ron's subconscious, he couldn't help feel that it might be nice to spend some time with just Hermione. She looked up from her book and broke the silence.

"What's on your mind?" She asked casually.

"Nothing." Ron replied. "Just trying to figure out I'm going to finish this war." Hermione and Ron had decided to go back to Hogwarts to train before they destroyed the last horcrux, then Voldemort himself. This was a good plan in theory, but in reality they had a lot of obstacles to overcome. No one else had read the letter from Harry, so not a soul (except Hermione) besides Ron knew of what he was about to attempt. There was also the major obstacle that they had no idea what the 7th horcrux was. Harry had left in such a rush, that he hadn't told either of them. A body had not been found, but Voldemort had proclaimed the defeat of Harry, revealing Harry's wand to all his followers.

"We're going to have to work hard Ron," sighed Hermione. " I don't know why Harry wanted you to finish the task, but he had a reason. Did he leave you anything else with the letter?" Ron gave a long exaggerated sigh.

"We've been over this! I was going through his things. I found a letter addressed on the front to me. All that was in the envelope was the letter." Ron took the letter out of his bag. "Look at it again if you like." Hermione stared at the paper, concentrating hard. She tried to think as Harry would. Why would he have written a goodbye letter plan to Ron so recently before he had died? Had he planned this?

" We'll keep working. We have to find the 7th horcrux." She announced. The train came to a stop. As the students got off the train they saw not Hagrid but Professor Slughorn there to greet them. He had been one of the few professors not caught up in work for the Order, so had replaced Hagrid. The few students who had chosen to return this year piled into the wagons. Ron did however see a few familiar faces. He spotted his sister Ginny talking to Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.

The sorting ceremony was rather short, no more than 15 for each house. Professor McGonagall had been appointed the new headmaster. She gave a short speech about the dark times they were to overcome and sent them off on their separate ways.

The next day classes began. Ron and Hermione spent their hours doing homework, and research on spells and potions. The weeks went by slowly, as if in a dream. Outside Hogwarts however, things were not so dream like.

The order had not suffered a major loss since the death of Dumbledore, in fact things had been relatively quiet. This could only be bad for the order as Voldemort usually let a calm before the storm take place.

A/N kinda choppy at the moment, but plenty more on the way. Lots of ideas so this is gonna be a long story… I like reviews!