Voldemort's Strongest Weakness

Viopathartic

Disclaimer: I'm a Harry/Hermione fan. Obviously I'm not J.K Rowling.

asdfs : youre story is gay like you always have to make it about ron and hermoine like you're weird. and you have no life. why must you write about harry potter all the time do you have no time in your life? that's just freaky

Yeah. Love you too, sis

Yes, this is the eighth installment of Voldemort's Strongest Weakness! And guess what? It is 17 pages long; my longest chapter yet! hehehehe I'm sooooo glad I finished it…but I still have maybe a dozen chapters to write…

I would like to thank QuidditchGirl30 for editing and revising this chapter.

Okay, so just read and review please!


Previous Chapter:

Harry approached it, despite Hermione's protests, until he was right above it. The sword didn't look as dangerous…he grabbed it quickly. Again he was knocked off his feet, figuratively speaking, when the sword healed itself. The blade grew to its original length and the ash dispersed, leaving a blade of shine. This time there was no blood.

Sensing that it was safe once more, Hermione and Headmistress McGonagall went to Harry's side, peering at the sword.

"Harry? What the bloody hell happened?"

Harry regained his grip on the handle and turned to her.

"The destruction of the third horcrux."


Chapter Eight: Errands

"Are you serious? Harry was that really a horcrux?" asked Hermione timidly.

"Didn't you see it? It was a horcrux, I'm sure of it."

"Then why are you holding it, it could still be dangerous!"

Harry shook his head, 'I think it's done. It's just a sword now." For some reason, he just knew it was no longer a threat. The magic vibe he was receiving wasn't as harmful as before.

"Very good job, Harry," congratulated the muffled voice of Albus Dumbledore. McGonagall rushed over to handle his portrait and brought it over. "You've destroyed the third horcrux and managed to come out with just a few bruises."

"Yeah…"

"Harry, what spell did you use?" Hermione questioned, curiously.

"Uhhh," Harry racked his brain to remember. "It was the…Stunning Charm?"

"The spell you sent out was green. Did you use the K-Killing Curse?"

"No. In fact, I'm not sure what spell I used…." Harry side stepped from all the questioning and sat down. His head was spinning from all the excitement and his arms felt feeble.

"I feel so hung-over…"he groaned.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at this comment. Hermione just shook her head and pulled out her wand to repair the damage. In an instant all the portraits flew back to their respective positions; glasses and thingamajigs were immediately fixed up, the desk and its chairs stood upright.

"Miss Granger, I must say you are quite talented at nonverbal incantations," commented Dumbledore, nonchalantly. Hermione's cheeks slowly turned pink and she gave a modest smile. "Will you be able to teach Harry this summer?"

"I'll do whatever I can to help Harry this year."

"What she really means is that she'll boss me around to do my homework, scold me when I do something wrong and well, basically be on my back all year. She's a stubborn little witch." Harry grinned weakly.

"I see you know me very well." said Hermione. She approached Harry and offered him her hand. Harry grabbed it and he was helped back on his feet.

"Unfortunately I do. Professors, we'll talk again soon. Right now we have to do some errands." Hermione pulled him towards the exit and gave a last wave.

"I hope you enjoy it," bade Dumbledore.


"'I hope you enjoy it'? What does that mean?" asked Harry as he and Hermione arrived at another floo power landing point. "Enjoy what?" He shrunk his sword and placed it into his pocket.

"Oh Harry, Professor Dumbledore was just being sarcastic because he knows you despise going shopping with me because I'm extremely boring and only talk about books," Hermione stated bluntly. Harry looked over at her in confusion. She pretended to examine her fingernails with interest as they continued walking out of the store.

The sun's rays immediately cast upon the two, making them start to sweat.

"Is that what you think I think of you?"

Hermione slowed her pace, sighing exasperatedly. "Oh come on, Harry, you know me. Hermione Granger, smartest witch of our year, neurotic bookworm, the ugly duckling, the outcast among girl society! Remember me in first year? I was so stuck up that even I was ashamed of it. If you and Ron hadn't saved me…face it Harry, you and I wouldn't be talking. We never really spent time alone with each other, never really talked, and I don't really blame you about why you think of me as…" Hermione tore her gaze away from her friend and made a gesture to keep walking. However, Harry wasn't giving up that easily.

Harry stepped in front of Hermione and held her by the shoulders, looking deep into her hazel eyes. Her eyes stared back, asking what he was doing. Slowly, his face inched closer to hers, his hands moving down to catch hers in his. He could hear Hermione's breaths shortening and sensed her body stiffening but she made no move. She shut her eyes and leaned forward as well. Then it happened.

He kissed her on the cheek.

And a flash. He wasn't sure if it was when he kissed her or just his imagination.

Harry moved back a second after he kissed her, watching Hermione's reaction. The feeling of relief was felt by both, even though a kiss on the cheek between two best friends was supposed to be nothing. Hermione stared at Harry but he wasn't sure exactly at him since her eyes were glazed over.

"Never think that I wouldn't want to go anywhere with you. If I could, I would spend the rest of my life with you," when he heard himself say the last bit, he rushed, "as a friend of course. You're not boring…you just love books too much."

Hermione managed a smile.

"You're a great best friend and if you think it's your fault about what happened last term...don't. You were right about the book. I shouldn't have used it to cheat in Potion classes. I've realized you were only trying to protect me. Except, I didn't listen. Now I just wish that I could've have been a good friend like you have been."

"No, Harry! You've been a great friend! Y-You-"

"Can't say anything? Face it Hermione, I wasn't a good friend to you, a good best friend. You said it before. I ignored all of your advices, leaving my homework to the day before, going off and getting myself nearly killed. I never talked to you. I mean really talk to you. About my feelings, your feelings, just everyday stuff. Hell, I don't think I even know your favorite color. That's just it after six years of 'friendship,'" Harry said bitterly, not to Hermione but more like to himself. He did feel guilty about the miniscule amount of attention he paid to her.

"Harry, it's not like you had time to think about silly things like that. You had a destiny to fulfill."

"Yes, but even so, I could have dedicated a day to you, to just relax with you-talk to you-. You deserved that much after all the years we've been through together." Harry glanced up at Hermione to find her with her head tilted to the side and examining him closely.

"What?"

Hermione shook her head and allowed herself to smile.

"Nothing," she answered and continued walking to Gringotts. Harry stared at her for a bit, lost in thought until he realized she was no longer by his side. He jogged up to her side and repeated the question, "What?"

Hermione chuckled.

God, why won't the woman just answer such a simple one-worded question?


A tall, average figural woman with brown curly hair leaned against one of the tall post that was currently supporting the structure of Gringotts Wizardry Bank. Her eyes lazily scanned the crowd of wizards and witches, hurrying to deposit/withdraw their money. Oh come on people, what's the rush here? Her boyfriend told her to keep her eyes out for the two teenagers, disguised or not. Her eyes landed on an old couple. Honestly, that's not them.

"Uh…Miss Nymphadora?"

Nymphadora Tonks jumped in surprise, twisted around, and faced a goblin. She narrowed her eyes him. She always had a strong dislike for goblins. This one reminded her why. His face was old, cheeks drooping, his wrinkles so noticeable it looked like water tides. She had to resist from staring at the goblins long pointed nose but couldn't resist a thought. If his nose was to grow any larger would it be able to poke me? That wasn't the only thing that made her uncomfortable. The goblin's ears could have given Dumbo a run for his money. Yeah, this guy needs plastic surgery.

The goblin narrowed his eyes in return, creating the illusion that he was closing his eyes instead. "May I assist you in any way?" His voice was harsh. He's having a bad day.

"Ah…nope, thanks for asking," Tonks answered quickly. "But…hey! How'd you know my name, even though I despise it," she muttered.

"Last year your department dealt with a small situation here at Gringotts. You were assigned to my assembly."

She didn't remember a damn thing about that.

"Uh…yeah."

"Otherwise, if you don't mind, you are holding up everyone in line," the goblin continued in his sour voice. Tonks looked around, realizing that she was the target of everyone's annoyed gaze. Oops.

A few distances away, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger entered the safest bank in the wizardry world and blended in with the bustling crowd.
Remus Lupin adjusted his grip on the Daily Prophet, switching his eyes back and forth from the crowd to the paper. He sat in the corner of the lobby between a seasoned woman, looking very rushed and a man that reminded him greatly of a girl named Luna Lovegood. He supposed that might be Mr. Lovegood. Alas, he spotted them.

Early in the morning, he and Tonks decided to check up on Hermione and Harry since they were informed that the rest of the Weasley's were gone. Once they had arrived at the Burrow, the two were nowhere in sight. Remus panicked, mumbling on about how he was an irresponsible guardian which Tonks would then point out that Hermione, being the sensible girl, would never go off in any dangerous situations. Naturally Harry could be with Hermione. Tonks suggested they take a look at Diagon Alley. After all, Hogwarts was about to open once more for another year.

So here they are, with the assistance of his Auror friends and some Order members, stationed in various places to look out for Harry and Hermione. Remus thought that Harry couldn't possibly buy any of his school supplies without money.

Lupin jumped up from his seat and immediately rushed over to the young wizard and witch. Harry glanced at him in surprised and then narrowed his eyes. Hermione stood nervously.

"Following me now?" Harry asked coldly.

Completely ignoring his inquiry, Lupin lectured, "Harry! Why didn't you inform me that you were to head off like this? If I wasn't available, you could have at least told Tonks or the Order members that you were going to Diagon alley! You're alone! Do you know how dangerous it is for you to go out like this! Don't you understand that Voldemort is-,"

"Going to kill me? Yeah, I think I'm quite aware of that after, hmmm, six years of encountering him!" Harry said sarcastically. Lupin's expression softened and Harry realized how old he had gotten over a few days. He rearranged his voice and apologized.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going out but-,"

"Professor, I was the one who suggested we go out. We have a lot of things that need to be accomplished and I thought it'd be good to not waste time. We just had to do it and it'd be easier to be away from all the hassle. You know how Harry doesn't like to be treated like a child." Harry looked at Hermione with surprise. So did Lupin.

Harry was instantly reminded of the time in first year. An action that Hermione had made changed his life forever; when Hermione became his friend. He smiled at the memory of McGonagall's look of astonishment when her goody-two-shoes student had confessed to the troll incident. Harry and Ron had the same reaction; they hadn't expected Hermione to get in trouble for them.

"Well, I am slightly disappointed in you, Hermione," said Lupin. "You of all people should know how dangerous-,"

"Professor, we know but we didn't want to do all this while Mrs. Weasley was preparing for her eldest son's wedding. She may have gone mad of stress," explained Hermione. But Lupin just shook his head.

Tonks practically ran over to the three. "Geez…people definitely have some issues. I was on the bloody mission and they disrupted me saying they needed to withdraw some money. Money is not everything in the world. I ought to-,"

Lupin smiled at her. Harry and Hermione smirked at their friend's rambling.

"So… I guess we've found Harry and Hermione. Want me to call off the rest of the Aurors?"

"The rest of the Aurors? There's more? Merlin, Professor!" growled Harry. Hermione placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Remus supposed he shouldn't mention the five Order members that were also there.

"Could you please just call them off? We are not in danger!" reasoned Hermione before Harry could say something else. Lupin glared at Hermione then sighed in defeat. Tonks gave him a small smile and waved her wand.

"There? Happy? Now just hurry on and get your money," said Tonks.

"What? You're coming with us?" asked Harry, surprised.

Tonks rolled her eyes in such a way like Hermione and answered, "Oh, so you want a dozen Aurors instead of one and your teacher?"

Hermione grabbed Harry's arm and steered him to the head goblin.


"Excuse me, sir, but we would like to withdraw some money."

"What is the title of the account in which you want to extract money from?" asked a stern goblin. He looked similar to the goblin Tonks had encountered before except for the age.

"Harry Potter, sir." The goblin gave a nod and went through the pile of files he had next to him. After a few moments, the creature held up four withering parchments in which he began to read to himself. Then he lowered them, glancing at Harry.

"You must come with me." ordered the goblin gravely. Harry gave a confused look to Hermione but followed the teller. The other three began to follow as well but were stopped by the goblin.

"This is a private matter that is to be discussed. Only Mr. Potter can bear witness."

So Harry and the goblin entered through a steel door similar to the many vaults that Gringotts had except for this door served a different purpose. The room reminded Harry of the interrogation rooms he would see on T.V. The criminal and a detective, face to face. The criminal would give in to the officer's constant questions with his intimidating glare. But what's gonna happen to me, thought Harry. He wasn't a criminal. The goblin noticed Harry's confusion and quickly explained.

"Don't worry Mr. Potter. You are no in trouble whatsoever. We are only here to discuss a few documents."

Once the word "documents" were mentioned, disappointment and some other feelings took over Harry's body. He knew this time would come and he'd have to face it. Dumbledore's will. And possibly more since he was seventeen.

"My name is Ragnok."

"Yes, I remember you from my very first trip here." The goblin nodded back.

"As you are aware, your headmaster of Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry has left behind quite a lot of his belongings."

"Yes," said Harry, briskly. The goblin glanced at him while unrolling a very large withering parchment.

"Under the name of your deceased headmaster, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, birth date 1845, death June 12, 1997, he has left you the following possessions: Fawkes, his loyal phoenix-,"

"But Fawkes can't be found. He flew off on the night-" interrupted Harry.

"The bird will return to its rightful master which is you, Mr. Potter. Though, it might take a few days for him to come back from its journey."

"Journey?"

"Once a phoenix's master has passed away, the phoenix is known to set off on an unbeknownst journey. We are not sure why it does such a thing. Perhaps it has to complete a mission its owner had assigned before his or her death. But if the phoenix was to be passed over to another in a will, the phoenix has no choice but to abide by the commandment. I understand you have encountered Fawkes before?"

"Yes, Fawkes saved my life once. I'll be glad to take care of it."

"Very well, but I should ask for you not to interrupt for awhile as I read off the list," asked the goblin in a polite tone that few goblins are known to do. Harry nodded his agreement.

"Your headmaster had left a total of 50, 000 galleons, 200,000 Knuts, and 4000 sickles. He also leaves you a lifetime supply of Bertie Botts' Every Flavored Beans. A few weapons he had, inherited from a well know friend of his. All of this was automatically transferred from his account to yours."

Harry let out long breath. That's a lot of stuff.

"He also leaves the Gryffindor sword to your possession. Minerva McGonagall will give you this."

Harry was a bit confused at this discovery. Did Dumbledore already know that the sword was a horcrux? If so why didn't he mention it before his death? The sword was an item of Godric Gryffindor himself, leaving only an article of Helga Hufflepuff, the Slytherin locket, and Nagini to destroy. Good.

"Now onto your parent's will," said Ragnok.

"What? But I thought-,"

"Your parents did not just leave only the money. They have left you quite a lot of their possessions. I'll give you the list and let you see for yourself what those things are. They are in your account." The goblin got up, signifying the end of their secret discussion. Harry stood up and shook the goblin's hand.

"But Mr. Ragnok," the goblin looked up in surprise at being address in such a way, "why did you give it to me now? Why not when I had first came here?"
"You are of age now. Back then you were too young to handle all of this. Now you can."

Ragnok gave a little bow and turned, exiting through the same door they had entered through.


"That ride is sure to give you a headache that could last for a few days," Tonks commented as she grabbed Lupin's offered hand. Harry did the same to Hermione. The goblin who escorted them asked for the key; Harry gave it to him.

"Ragnok said that some of Dumbledore's money was transferred to mine. Also that my mum and dad gave me some of their stuff."

"Well, Harry since you have a lot of money already then you should have-Merlin!" Hermione began but was interrupted when the vault was opened. All four of them stood with their mouths open, speechless from the sight before them.

If Harry was rich before he was of age, then if possible, he was probably the richest wizard of his age. Gold coins were stacked up to the ceiling with Knuts and Sickles in the same manner. Magical items of Dumbledore had its own section in Harry's vault which was probably 2/3 of the vault. The whole room itself was approximately the size of the Gryffindor Common Room. Remus was the first to recover, and he stepped into the "vault".

"I think they had to enhance the size of your vault in order to fit everything into it." He turned to his late best friend's son only to find him pale and still with his mouth opened. His hands which held the documents shook slightly. Hermione moved over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up, his eyes slightly glazed over. He blinked twice, looked back down, and then glanced one again at the vault. Tonks went ton the other side of Harry and slapped him on the back. He almost collapsed at the sudden force but was supported by Hermione.

"Speak!" commanded Tonks. Harry shook his head and thrust the parchments into Tonks' hands. Once she looked at it, her reaction was the same as the boy.

"Holy mother of-"

"Tonks!" chastised Hermione.

"Well, Hermione, that would be your reaction if you just read that Harry Potter has 2, 456,888 galleons, 900,000 Knuts, and 566, 238Sickles in his current account!" Tonks shrieked, smiling at Harry who smiled back weakly.

"I-Is that true, Harry?" Hermione snatched the document from Tonks, read it and smiled widely.

"Harry, you won't have to work your life!" said Tonks. Hermione snapped back into attention and launched into full Hermione Granger mood.

"No way, Harry Potter, should you ever give up the concept of working to earn even though you have all this money. You will defeat Voldemort, graduate Hogwarts, and apply for Auror training! Besides-"

"Hermione," Harry grabbed her by her shoulders. "Don't worry, I will work my ass off even though I have-,"

"2, 456,888 galleons, 900,000 Knuts, and 566, 238Sickles in your account," finished Tonks. Harry gave her a look.

"Thanks Tonks," he steered Hermione into the vault. "Now all we have to do is get the money and then head out."

"Isn't that-no, it can't be-wait, yes it is!" exclaimed Lupin as he clutched a mirror. When Harry got closer, he realized it was a mirror similar to the one that Sirius had given to him in fifth year. Lupin smiled broadly at Harry. "Your father, Sirius and I used to use these mirrors all the time. It's a-,"

"Two-way or perhaps three-way mirror you guys used to use in detention to communicate with each other."

Lupin looked shocked that he knew so he explained. "Sirius gave me this during fifth year but…I broke after he died." Harry felt a bit embarrassed to say this but Lupin just smiled sympathetically.
"Don't worry; it can be repaired with a simple Reparo charm."

"Ooh! I know; we can use these mirrors in order to communicate while we're on missions. For example, Remus can handle one, The Weasleys the other, and Harry, Ron, and I the broken one! It'd be really helpful with such efficient communication," Hermione suggested. Harry marveled at Hermione thinking. She was right; if they used owls, it would take forever for a reply to come back.

"Perfect…I wonder if there's some more useful stuff…" His eyes surveyed the room with a new perspective.

"What's this?" asked Tonks, holding up an item. When Harry looked closer, he was stricken with horror. What she, a clumsy witch, had in her hands was a gun. Little did they know that it was a .38 caliber, a very powerful handgun. Which might be loaded. Hermione let out a small scream and snatched the weapon out of Tonks' hand.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Tonks but…you shouldn't handle a gun…or a weapon of any sort," she handed the caliber to Harry who inspected it.

"Mum, being a muggle, probably bought this for protection. Remus, do guns have any affect on wizards?"

Remus pondered for a moment but shook his head. "I don't know…there were never reports of them…" Harry gazed at the gun in his hand and felt for an opening. The gun was not loaded.

"I should check this out." He attached it to the side of his hip in the holster that lay next to where the gun was found.


After Harry refilled his sack with loads of money, he shrunk the bag so it would fit into his pocket. They headed out to Diagon Alley.

"Books! First thing we need to do is go into Flourish & Blotts!" Hermione claimed, picking up her pace to the bookshop. Harry watched her eagerly scanning the windows of the infamous bookstore, knowing that if she had a chance, Hermione would spend all day surrounded by books. The young witch has always been addicted to knowledge; library used to be her favorite hideout. Harry hid a smile and walked after her. Remus Lupin and Tonks followed, also trying not to smirk.

Flourish & Blotts was relatively crowded. Wizards and witches lingered here and there, scanning the bookshelves just as Hermione was doing. Harry made way over to here and whispered, "What are you looking for? We haven't gotten our school booklists yet."

"I know that," Hermione retorted indignantly. "I'm looking for books regarding the Horcruxes." Harry could only stare at her.

"Mione, trust me, I don't think a local bookshop could have topics on stuff such as soul ripping."

The bushy haired young woman shook her head and cast a look that plainly says "Can you be any dumber."

"Harry, it doesn't hurt to look. Have you even tried to look through all the shelves?"

"No," Harry admitted grudgingly. Hermione smirked and continued on with her search. Harry just shook his head once more. He decided about ten minutes later that Hermione would not stop until she really searched all the bookshelves; therefore, he decided to make himself useful. He made way over to the other side of the room where his friend hasn't check yet, ignoring Tonks's noisy complaints. God, how old is she?

Healer's Guide

Forty five ways to tame a hippogriff. Interesting

Beasts are dangerous. No, really!

Harry continued to look at the binds of other books, thinking how ridiculous some titles were and was about to just give up when his hand accidentally brushed against a random book. Right then and there, he could've dismissed the feeling of sudden coldness he felt as a breeze…but the door wasn't open. He could've ignored the feeling in his stomach like an anvil being swallowed and landing in there for the absence of breakfast. But no…it was different. For some reason, Harry needed to check out this book.

With a shaking arm, he reached out and pulled the mysterious book from its resting place. He almost dropped the book when the title was revealed. The Darks Arts and Its World.

"Her…Hermione," Harry whispered at first, "Hermione! HERMIONE! Come here…it's…"

"What Harry?" Hermione rushed over to him and jerked the book from him.

"What…oh Merlin! This might actually help! Yes I think so…" She walked away, muttering to herself.

"What else do you have there?" Harry called after her. Hermione turned around, interrupted from her train of thought.

"Oh! Sorry, here…" Harry just smiled as she handed over the books she had found; Hermione was always somewhere else when around books. Magical Objects and its Purposes…Your Own Creation…she may be on to something.

Five minutes after, Harry brought the books to the counter but before he paid for them he looked over his right shoulder to Hermione. "Positive we're done?" She gave him a nod. The cashier in front of him was about in his mid age, but the look he had masterly placed on his face gave Harry a reason to think he was older. The guy punched in the costs of the first two books, dismissing them as school books, but when he got to Harry's book, the person backed up slightly. He gazed up at his customer, to Harry's scar and then quickly shoved the book back to Harry.

"Y-you can have t-this for free, young man!" stuttered a frightful cashier. Harry grabbed the book, explaining, "No…it's not what you-,"

"Great customers, you are. Have a nice day!" And the man practically shoved the four of them out of his shop.

"Honestly, just because a person decides to purchase a Dark Arts book doesn't mean it's sinister!" shrieked Hermione, throwing her hands in the air to enunciate her anger.

"Well, Hermione…a person is a expected to react like that when Harry Potter, the boy who once defeated You-Know-Who, charges into a book shop and buys a Dark Arts book!"

Hermione merely gave him a death glare and continued to drag him towards a shop. When they got closer, Harry dug his heels to the ground and pulled back.

"What?" asked Hermione with an annoyed air in her voice. Harry shook his head profusely.

"Nuh-uh, no way am I going into…"

"Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions? Why is it so--oh come on Harry!"

"Hermione. I'm a guy. It's a guy's natural intention to refuse to go shopping for any sort of clothing, especially a wedding. A guy doesn't want to wear a tuxedo. Guys hate shopping! Only like homosexual guys like to shop!"

"You make homosexuality sound horrible! Come on, its Bill's wedding!" Hermione grabbed Harry's arm, pulling him towards the shop while Remus and Tonks tried to hide their fits of laughter in coughs.

"Well, at least you know I'm not gay…"muttered Harry.

"Do you really want me to slam you again?"

"W-What!" asked an incredulous Tonks. She hastily turned her head from Harry to Hermione.

Harry, realizing what she meant answered back, stonily, "No…Ma'am." Hermione continued to drag him, relentlessly.


Harry just didn't get it. He had picked out his outfit in a matter of twenty minutes. Remus and Tonks sat beside him, talking amongst each other. They were all waiting for Hermione to finish trying on bloody dresses. She hadn't come out yet from the dressing room, having brought about half a dozen dresses with her. He supposed she trusted her opinion more than a guys'.

That's just fine with him. He wasn't that good at fashion sense anyhow. Hermione turned out great at the Yule Ball and he suspected it was all her own doing. The hair, the dress, and the makeup looked magnificent on her. Harry wondered why he hadn't noticed before. She looked beautiful even without all the help of products. He liked Hermione for who she, he realized.

"Okay, I'm finished." stated Hermione, coming out of the room with her regular clothes on.

"What? Don't you want my opinion? Our opinion?" asked Tonks, attaching her hand to Remus's.

"Sorry, Tonks, but my attire will be a total surprise. Just like the Ball." Hermione looked at Harry at the last of her sentence. She gave him a smile that made him want to kiss her. But instead he grinned in return.

Later they all paid for their dresses and tuxes and headed out of the store. Hermione stated that they needed to go to the Ministry for Harry's apparition test. He almost forgot; he still had to get his license. Suddenly, Harry was eager.

"I think we still have to attend to you. The Ministry will think very badly if Harry Potter was to walk in alone without any protection." offered Lupin.

"They're the ones who need the protection…"grumbled Harry.

"Okay. Now to the center of London we go!" Tonks grabbed Hermione's arm as she whispered, "You never actually been there, so I'll take you." Hermione's last look of fear and apprehension before they apparated made Harry laugh. Remus put an arm around his waist and soon the familiar effect of squeezing through a narrow tube took over.


Next thing Harry knew, he was in front of an old-fashioned telephone booth. But it's not an ordinary booth as muggles would see if they were to pass by. Having experiencing the trip to Ministry before, Harry knew that the telephone booth was actually an elevator that transports you to the Ministry of Magic which is underground London. Remus ushered everyone in, closing the door behind them. Once he said the coast was clear, Harry pressed

6-2-4-4-2 (Magic) and then the box containing all four of them ricocheted down to what he thought as a perpetual abyss. Tonks was the only one screaming, which Harry thought was weird since she worked here everyday.

As they got off, curiosity got to Harry so he asked with a joyful nature, "Tonks, why are you so scared of rides?"

"Harry. It all started when I was five, my muggle dad took me to a fair. We went on something called the Ferris wheel. It went high. It went low. Scarred me for life it did," Tonks explained with a shudder. Hermione giggled; while Harry just shook his head.

"Where are we?" asked Hermione.

"The Atrium. The main lift automatically transports us to Basement level 8. There are a total of 10 levels in the Ministry. Here we'll check in at the reception Area for your test, Harry."

The Four of them went through security check and received their name tags. A young witch around Tonks' age sat at the reception desk, lazily reading Witch Weekly. She blew a great bubble and popped it, repeating the pattern and looking very insipid.

"Uh, hey Cherrie! I'm here with Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, and Harry Potter. He needs to take his Apparition Test."

The girl immediate jerked to full attention, her eyes concentrating on Harry Potter. She threw him a flirtatious smile in which he returned uncertainly.

"Really? Well, Harry Potter, this may be a very lucky day for you," she giggled, twirling a strand of her blonde hair and incessantly blinking. "You'll want to got to Level 6, the Department of Magical Transport."

"I'm sure it will be. Thank you for your gracious help, Cherrie!" said Hermione with false sweetness. She latched her hand on Harry's arm, pulling him away from the desk. Harry grinned wickedly behind Hermione. Is someone jealous?

"Hermione, you acted a bit odd over there! What's happening?" asked Tonks, nudging Hermione suggestively.

"Honestly, that woman should be fired…bloody flirting…air-headed—," she continued to mumble until they got to a lift. Harry smirked.

"She's not really my type of woman," he said casually. Hermione stopped her rambling, and blushed. "I prefer them with actual brains."

"Come on, you must take the test!" Hermione told him, acting normally.

Floor 6 was a quick downward ride. The layout seemed similar to the Atrium. No windows and bland wall coloring. The only thing different was there was no furniture, desks of any sort. It was an empty room with red X's placed in random order on the floor. A skinny man sporting a goatee smiled broadly and walked with a gliding stroke towards Harry.

"Harry Potter! Come to take the test, I assume! Why else would you be here for?" the man let out a high-pitched laughter which definitely unnerved Harry. He grabbed him by the shoulder, steering him to an X near the right corner.

"Now I want you to picture the telephone booth at ground level. Picture it well, and apply everything you learned during your lessons in your sixth year. The three D's, you know them, and go!"

He was hoping for more instruction but he realized there was none to come. Harry closed his eyes, pictured the red telephone box, and took a deep breath. He gave a great spin and…


Hermione gripped Tonks' arm very hard, awaiting the noise of Harry apparating. Her eyes were closed shut…waiting and waiting… Why didn't he go yet? Is he having trouble? Harry…oh, come on!

"Congratulations, Mr. Potter! You passed the test with flying colors!" beamed the tester.

Hermione's eyes opened, darting to the man and then Harry who stood with a wide smile plastered on his face.

"What? But I didn't-,"

"Wow! Harry! You didn't make a sound while apparating. Not many wizards or witches can do that!" exclaimed Tonks, running towards him and embracing him.

Remus patted his back in a fatherly way, his eyes filled with tears. Hermione shrieked happily and also joined the hug. Harry had his arms around her, holding her tightly while exclaiming, "I did it! I did it!" You would have thought he defeated Voldemort by the sound of his voice.

The man with the goatee gave a wave of his wand and a card appeared out of thin air. Harry snatched the card and read it.

APPARATION LICENSE

Harry James Potter

Birthdate: July 31 1980

Sex: Male

Age: 17

Hermione read it as well and hugged him once more. They left the Apparition Room in high spirits, Harry whispering to his friend excitedly about how this could be very useful during their quest for the Horcruxes and Hermione whispering how she was so proud of Harry. Tonks gave a kiss to Remus and said to Harry, "You know, I think you deserve a brief tour of your future department: The Auror Headquarters."

"Really? Tonks, that's awesome!" Harry was positively elated. This day was going good.


For an hour or two, Tonks enthusiastically showed them the barracks of Aurors in training, along with introductions to her fellow Auror friends. They all reminded Harry of Tonks except without the clumsiness. Some Aurors, however, just took a look at him and walked away. Tonks stuck her tongue out at them every time like a childish teenager.

The training room was what really caught Harry's attention. They stood behind a magically enforced glass screen, like the ones in detective series, but were larger. The room was programmed to change to whatever the wizard asks for. Hermione stated it was just like the Room of Requirement but was used instead for training in defense and war. The room was currently programmed to adapt a mountain scene.

Four wizards stood in the middle, surrounded by four large giants. The giants looked like they were about to attack. The wizards had their wands out but one coward and attempted to run to safety. Another gaunt looking wizard approached the field and brought the coward wizard to a less dangerous area. The fourth giant disappeared. Apparently the giants were merely holograms.

"So all of the beasts that the Aurors are supposed to fight are just holograms?" asked Harry.

"Maybe and maybe not. The instructors like to alternate so that their comrades can fight to their best ability every time. Hologram or not, their opponents can afflict damage. It's not like a science fiction type of hologram. Mind you, it's made by magic. The holograms can also take the damage caused by wizards. Either way, they're bloody scary."

"What other things do the Auror train with?" asked Hermione.

"Hmmm…let's see…giants, trolls, hippogriffs, mermaids, centaurs, griffin, Manticore, Nundu, Werewolves, unicorns, dragons, other magical beasts, and sometimes death eaters that are known. See, magical beasts are classified by numbers 1-5. One being harmless to 5 being wizard killers. The beasts I just named are classified from 4 to 5. The death eaters, of course, are holograms, but it helps the wizards to adapt in fighting with dark wizards."

For awhile, they watched as the Aurors in training got beatened and bludgeoned to almost to death by the giants. Harry was amazed at how brutal it looked.

"Did anyone ever die in training?"

"Uh…yeah…but those people were just troublemakers. If they follow the rules that their instructors had said then everything would turn out…pretty clean," stated Tonks, now gesturing them to move on.

"Tonks, do you have to be out of school in order to apply for Auror training?"

The eccentric witch looked at Harry with a confused expression.

"Not that I know of, but it is suggested…Harry, Auror training is something very dangerous for a mere teenage wizard or witch to withstand. It's three long gruesome years of training, and is very exhausting."

"Who said I was planning to?" said Harry defensively.

"The war is for Aurors and the Ministry to fight, Harry," Tonks said.

"Yeah right…" Harry mumbled angrily. Who went up against Voldemort in first year? Who splayed the basilisk in second, who survived through three gruesome tasks in the TriWizard Tournament and saw Voldemort come back to life, who went up face to face against the most notorious Dark Lord in fifth year? I am not a child. I never was one…

Hermione, sensing Harry's anger, turned to their two "chaperones".

"Tonks, Professor-,"

"Remus, Hermione."

"I mean Remus, we appreciated your supervision, but now we have our own thing to deal with called the Dursleys," stated Hermione matter-of-factly.

"Unless they moved already," commented Harry. He was hoping they moved.

"They're too dumb to listen to your command. I believe they are still at Number Four Privet Drive, lounging on their sofas with their big fat asses in place. We need to teach them a lesson," Hermione said with a determined glare.

"Um…Hermione…if you are going to do anything out of order—," Remus began uncertainly.

"She means we need to ask for the Godric Hollow's location,"

Harry hurriedly explained. "We're not sure where it is."

"Well, Harry, I could easily tell you-,"

"We rather deal with them," finished Hermione. Tonks and Remus shared a look before sighing in defeat.

They escorted the young wizard and witch out of the Ministry. One pair waved goodbye, the other apparated on the spot.


"Ahem, here we are at the hell house!" announced Harry in an exaggerated tone. They stood in front of Number Four Privet Drive, intending to deal with Harry's nightmare. Hermione turned the knob, not even bothering to knock, finding the door locked.

"Just knock," suggested Harry.

"They won't let us in. I'm sure of it. Well, I guess we'll just have to go through," said Hermione. She glanced at Harry who gaped at her.

"Mione, that's breaking and entering!"

"Harry! I'm not breaking in! I'm simply entering," then she apparated. Harry decided he rather stay outside. After a minute or two, he heard screaming and a high shriek. Then Vernon Dursley yelling, "What the hell are you doing in my house for, you freak! GET OUT, GET-,"

Silence.

Harry tapped his foot, impatient.

More silence.

Then he heard Hermione muttering a few words to either his aunt or uncle. The door suddenly opened; Harry looked in. Hermione walked out with a satisfied smirk while Harry just through a questioning glare. Aunt Petunia followed, her arms crossed like a stubborn girl.

'Mrs. Dursley, thank you for your short hospitality. We might see each other in the future!" she said very merrily. Aunt Petunia continued to glare at the girl and then she slammed the door.

Once out of earshot, Harry hissed, "What the bloody hell did you do?"

"Language, Harry! I just had a few word exchanges with your Aunt and Uncle. When he didn't cooperate, I decided to use a Silencing Charm. At least I found out where Godric's Hollow is. It's a village in Wales. The address is 45 Brave Street," Hermione finished breathlessly.

Harry stood there, pondering in silence. The day past by very quickly and in the end, everything turned out great. Now Harry knew where his parents' graves were. All they need is Ron and then…

"Harry? We should get home. The Weasleys' are probably worrying or more like Mrs. Weasley."

"Yeah, but could we just walk for a bit?" Hermione just nodded at Harry's weird request.

They passed the local convenience store, a movie rental store and a dojo. Harry stopped for a bit to look at the dojo. Hmmm…I thought they were only in Japan. He just shrugged and walked on. Later, after Harry was satisfied, they apparated back to the Burrow.


When they arrived, Harry felt a bit odd, like something was terribly wrong. All the rooms in the house were dark except for the kitchen and living room. He saw the silhouettes of various people but no exact identifications.

"Hermione…do you think the Weasleys' are back right now?"

"I…think so. Harry, what's wrong?" answered Hermione. She made a move to go in front of him but he halted her with his right arm.

"Mione…stay behind me, okay?" commanded Harry, crouching low and approaching the Burrow. Hermione nodded mutely. He withdrew his wand, pointing it ahead.

The chickens clucked at them as they past, the trees swayed from the breeze. Harry heard voices, muffled from the outside.

Should I?

He reached for the door handle and pulled open. Harry looked back at Hermione who gave him a small nod. He grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly as he quickly rounded the corner. What Harry saw nearly made him fall over.


A/N: Like it? If not then just tell me please! Okayyyy could you guys guess what Harry saw, not that it's very big or anything...

A/N 2: I might change my penname b/c my brother is out to get me. I'll keep you updated.