Disclaimer: Like always, I don't own Harry Potter and I'm pretty sure I never will.

I'm extremely annoyed and tired. Wow, you lucky dawg readers that I came and finished off this chapter. It's short, I know, but I hope you all are glad that I updated before I left for New Zealand on Sunday.

Be happy, someone needs to have a smile on their dial. DAMNIT! Stupid playschool!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel…' – Maya Angelou

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The town was barren. A dirt road ran up and the houses and shops that once stood along it were gone. The replacement was pile of black wood, bodies of those who had fallen, and dirt. There were no signs of life or colour along the main street. It was bare.

The Three Broomsticks was in ruins; it was a pile of black, scorched wood. Hermione could see the remains of the Shrieking Shack but all that was left were splinters of run down oak.

Death. The air was heavy with it. Hermione knew that smell all to well; tears sprang into her eyes. The once beautiful town was destroyed; left silent and cold. They did this without a backwards glance. They attacked Hogsmeade, killing everyone and everything in it.

Looking at the discarded bodies, Hermione felt anger bubble inside her. She could feel Sirius next to her but was unable to bring her eyes to meet hers. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the ghastly sight in front of her. It made her heart wrench in pain, made her want to kill each and every death eater with her bare hands.

She wanted them dead for all the horrible things they did. She wanted to make them suffer as she did. Most of all, she wanted them to pay.

"They're going to pay," Hermione murmured softly, her eyes traveling from the ground void of any life to the ruined houses. "They need to pay for what they have done!" She tried to move her feet but they were anchored to the ground and Hermione could feel the emotions raging inside her.

"Hermione?" Sirius' soft voice sliced though her rage.

Hermione swung to face him. "This is wrong Sirius! It is completely wrong!" Her voice was almost a shout. "They destroyed something that gave so many people joy."

Sirius grimaced. "They tend to do that."

She turned her eyes from his to her cold surroundings. "How could they do this?" She exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the now silent and ruined Hogsmeade. "How could they destroy something so beautiful? How could they?"

Closing the gap between them, Sirius pulled her into his arms. "They destroy anything that makes anyone happy."

Gripping his shirt tightly, Hermione sobbed softly. "I'm going to make them pay Sirius," she managed to say between sobs, speaking directly into his chest. The emotions inside her fought to escape. The rage, the pain, the sorrow and the feeling that another thing she loved had been taken away from her.

"And I'm going to be right beside you helping," Sirius replied. He pulled back from her and gripped her by the shoulders. "We are at war Hermione and it's getting worse." Sirius looked around the horrid sight and sighed sadly. "We need to get this done."

Pulling out of his grasp, Hermione wiped her cheeks and nodded. She kept her eyes on the bodies strewn across the ground. Heartache gripped her heart as she remembered her own parents slumped across the living room floor.

"Why are all the bodies still here Sirius?" Hermione asked him as they rounded the corner onto the path that led to Hogwarts. "If the order knew about this, why didn't they clean it up?"

Sirius sighed. "The order is focusing on other things Hermione," he told her calmly though his eyes showed his pain. "Remus and I didn't think that they needed to worry about this at the moment."

Coming to a halt, Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Doesn't Harry know?"

"No-"

"Why the hell not?" Hermione asked harshly, drawing herself up. "Harry is in charge of the order. Didn't you tell me he was running it?"

Sirius grimaced. "Yes, he is running the order but," he held up a hand to cut off her protest, "we weren't in the position to tell him what had happened. Remus and I weren't in any position to tell any of the order what had happened."

Hermione's eyes were blazing as she took a step towards Sirius and they were almost touching. "Sirius," she started through gritted teeth, "the order should have been told. They wouldn't have let the bodies of innocent victims rotting alongside somewhere that is completely destroyed."

"Hermione-"

"Why didn't you let Harry bury them?"

Sirius shook his head. "You have to-"

Hermione clenched her fists. "I don't have to do anything. Doesn't anyone care about these people that have died? Haven't their families been wondering where their loved ones are." Her voice raised an octave when she continued, "If Harry doesn't know this has happened, how are the people responsible for this going be caught?"

"Remus and I have done our best but if Harry found out about this, or any of the order for that matter, there will be no innocent people left to protect."

Sirius knew it wasn't the answer Hermione wanted to hear because the instant the words were out of his mouth Hermione's face set stony and one of her clenched fists smacked into the side of his face.

He stumbled backwards clutching his reddening cheek. When he saw Hermione moving towards him again with a fist in the air, he held up his hand to hold her back. "God please don't hit me again."

"Why not?" Hermione fumed with her fist still raised. "You deserve to be smacked Sirius and seeing as I'm the only one alive here to do it; it might as well be me."

"You don't understand what's been happening it the last couple of months Hermione," he told her quickly with a palm against his cheek; "if you did you wouldn't be trying to beat me to a pulp."

Hermione lowered her fist but her eyes continued to blaze. "You keep saying that I don't understand yet you have had a chance to tell me. Stop skirting around the point and just tell me."

"This isn't like the war we had before Dumbledore was murdered Hermione, it has become extreme," he paused and grimaced. "This isn't just Voldermort wanting to kill Harry before he goes along with his plan to kill muggleborns and turn everyone onto one side. He has lost what every little heart he had."

Hermione shook her head. "I know all this Sirius; Voldermort wants to kill everyone in his way and anyone who joins him will live-"

"He's not going to stop Hermione," Sirius said. "This isn't about telling people to join his side anymore, there is no 'You will live if you join me'…he isn't taking any chances anymore."

"What does he want then?"

"Take a look around," Sirius told her as he moved his head to look around the village, "all of these people died not because they didn't join him, they died because Voldermort wants everyone dead." He shook his head sadly. "Wouldn't you think that this place would be a good place to recruit an army? Considering that they are all magical folk. No. Every single person on this earth is now on Voldermort's death list."

"No." Hermione couldn't comprehend it. People who killed usually did it to have their demands met. "He would have to have a purpose."

"He doesn't and I don't think he will again. Something has snapped in his brain that there are too many people willing to fight against him," He grimaced. "This is the reason we can't tell Harry. If he found out that Voldermort destroyed Hogsmeade, he would personally hunt him down and all our effort would go down the drain."

Hermione's brain shut down as if too much information had passed into it. "Why would it be a bad thing for Harry to kill him?" She managed to ask, her mouth dry.

Sirius closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to meet hers. "If someone ultimate goal is to kill as many people as they can before they are killed themselves, why is there any point killing them? Knowing Voldermort, on the day that he is killed he will take as many people to hell with him."

"Shit," Hermione gasped. "There's no stopping him."

"That's exactly what I told Remus."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

IMPORTANT READ ME: This chapter sets the mood of the WHOLE story.