Chapter Two:
"And I wonder where these dreams go,
When the world gets in your way.
What's the point in all this screaming?
No one's listening anyway."
Acoustic #3, The Goo Goo Dolls

She heard Mrs. Weasely's scream before she saw her. The pain that filled the corridor and echoed through the rest of the school filled most of the students with dread as they all stopped in their tracks and looked around for the source. Hermione gripped Harry's hand for a moment, just to reassure herself that he was actually there, alive and well, with her. Tears sprung to her eyes and she willed them back. Mrs. Weasely's sobs could be heard through out the castle and if you listened closely enough, you could hear Mr. Weasely trying to comfort her.

All of it made Hermione want to vomit. Harry kept his eyes to the floor and began to guide her to their next class, Potions. She could hear other students chattering and gossiping. Some whispered about how Ron died. Some whispered about how Harry and Hermione were now a couple. Others whispered about how they'd miss the loud red head who used to crack jokes and make spectacular saves at Quidditch.

"Yeah, well, the weasel got what he deserved! If he hadn't have run off, he would still be with us now, alive and well! But no, he got tired of Harry being the hero and had to go off and be one by himself!" The voice of Draco Malfoy echoed through the hall, shattering the stillness as all watched Harry withdraw his wand and point it at the blonde boy.

"You take that back Malfoy! You take that back right now!" Harry's voice boomed over the crowd, muffling Mrs. Weasely's sobs. Hermione pulled on Harry's robes, trying to calm him but Harry didn't listen. He shrugged her off and walked up to Malfoy with her in tow.

"No, I won't. Weasel was an idiot. And frankly, I'm happy the gits dead! One more less Weasel to worry about. If we're lucky, we might be able to exterminate them within the next year!" Draco growled, his wand also drawn as he glared at Harry who was a few inches taller. Ron would've been a foot taller. Ron who would have gotten red ears and shot off a curse at Malfoy right away.

"You fucking bastard! I'll kill you!" Harry dropped his wand, throwing a punch at Malfoy and sending him to the floor. Harry climbed on top of him and started raining punches of Malfoy's face. Hermione, along with the rest of the students, watched in horror as Harry broke in front of them. The boy that had always put on a brave face. The boy that many looked up too was falling apart before their very eyes. His punches were coming slower now, his knuckles showered in Malfoy's blood as tears fell from his eyes. "I hate you! You bastard! I hate you! I'll kill you!" he yelled. He kept yelling the same thing over and over as Hagrid pried him off of Malfoy. Harry kicked, struggled, and screamed, still trying to get at Malfoy who was being helped off the ground by Snape and Pansy. Harry hadn't even noticed the teachers screaming at him, hadn't noticed Hagrid coming up behind him. "Ron was a better man than you'll ever be, you pathetic piece of scum! He's worth more than ten million of you! You're nothing! Nothing!"

"'Arry, calm down! Calm down, dammit!" Hagrid growled, holding Harry to him as he kept struggling. Hermione watched, confused, and saddened at seeing her best friend behave in such a manner. He was so angry, so murderous. He could have killed Malfoy and that scared her. It scared almost everyone, even Malfoy who was staring at Harry as if he was someone he never knew.

"Ms. Parkinson, get Mr. Malfoy down to the hospital wing. Please, try not to intrude on the Weasely's. I know you don't like them but don't say a word. Especially you, Malfoy. If I hear you insulted them and their dead boy, that'll be one hundred points from Slytherin and two weeks detention. I don't care if you are in my house. Is that understood?" Severus growled to Malfoy. Malfoy nodded weakly and Pansy directed him to the hospital wing. Severus looked over at Harry who was now glaring at Malfoy's back as he stood still, panting heavily, angry tears still streaming down his eyes.

"You, Mr. Potter. Come here," Severus growled, pointing to the floor in front of him. Harry looked at him, still glaring but walked obediently to him. "What gives you the right to kill a man?"

"You didn't hear what he said! And even if you did, you wouldn't have done anything! You hated Ron! You hated him as much as me even though you had no reason to! You are a bastard just like him!" Harry yelled angrily.

"That's enough! I asked you what gives you the right to kill a man, not the top ten reasons as to why Severus Snape is a bastard!" Severus yelled back. "One hundred points from Gryffindor for mortally wounding another student. Another hundred for calling me a bastard. Plus two weeks worth of detention. I don't care what he said about Mr. Weasely, Potter. It's still no excuse to beat him!" Harry looked away, still breathing heavily as Severus sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Ms. Granger, get him cleaned up and out of my sight. No doubt the headmaster will want to see him."

Hermione rushed forward, taking Harry's bloody hand in hers and rushing him off down the next corridor to the prefects bathroom to clean him up before taking him down to see Dumbledore. She could hear Snape yelling at everyone else to get back to class and for someone to get Filch up there to clean the blood off the floor.

Harry entered Dumbledore's office alone, with Hermione making her way to Potions alone, no doubt to be yelled at for being late. Harry looked around the room, finding some of Dumbledore's rare objects gone. Then he remembered the previous year where he had smashed and shattered the objects in a childish rage. Sirius has died. And now, this time it was Ron. And this time, he had done more than smash a few rare artifacts that didn't mean anything. This time, he had beaten another man to a bloody pulp and had no one pried him off of Malfoy, Harry was now sure that he would have killed him.

He looked up at the paintings, all of witch the past Headmasters and Headmistresses were asleep. They always seemed to be asleep although in the past, Harry had always been in the office at night and not in the middle of the day. Harry's eyes landed upon Fawkes, Dumbledore's prized phoenix. The bird sat perched on its stand, looking at Harry with wondrous eyes as it cocked its head to the side. Harry walked up to the bird, petting its head so that it gave a soft coo. "We could have used you. I wish you had come."

"But you had not called for him." Harry's hand stilled on the bird as he gave a cruel, bitter chuckle. He turned around and looked at Dumbledore, who stood with his hands clasped. "Sit down, Harry. This is going to take a while." Harry nodded, taking a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk while the old man crossed the room and petted Fawkes's head. "This is a very serious offence you have committed here, Harry, and I am very disappointed to see you have acted out in such a disturbing manner. I'm afraid I have no choice but to take you off the Quidditch team."

"But Professor! I'm captain this year, they need me!" Harry yelled in outburst. Dumbledore held his hand up, silencing him.

"I know that you are captain, Harry but the fact is you assaulted another student. It won't be permanent, you'll still be captain but for the next four months, you will not be playing Quidditch. You'll also be serving the two weeks Severus has given you. You'll also be helping Malfoy if he is too injured to do things by himself." Harry crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Dumbledore.

"The only thing I hurt was his face. I would've done more if Hagrid hadn't pulled me off the scum," he growled. Dumbledore sighed, closing his eyes as he sat down at his desk.

"I know and that's what scares me, Harry. You cannot, you must not, let such trivial things get to you. I understand what he said about Ron was horrible and maybe even unforgivable but you cannot let that get to you. Too much is at stake. You cannot turn against your fellow students, Harry. Not when there is a war going on. You must form a bond with them, even Mr. Malfoy. We must stick together or all will be lost." Harry nodded, looking down at his clasped hands. "Besides, you will not have much time for Quidditch this year, I'm afraid. It is time that I teach you some things."

"Like what, Professor?" Harry asked, looking up at him, interested and thankful for the change in subject. A small smile curled the corners of Dumbledore's mouth as he stood up. He pulled out the pensive bowl which had been placed to the back of the cabinet. Harry remembered it from his fourth year when he had fallen in only to see the trail of the youngest Barty Crouch who had died later on in that year.

"Tom Marvalo Riddle's Past. Yes Harry, we must learn what he was like as a child to see how he became Lord Voldemort. We must learn all we can about Mr. Riddle if we ever plan to defeat him."

TBC