Sixth Year: The Steps Toward The End

by scaryisntit

After losing Sirius, Harry resolves to himself to become stronger, revive the DA and create his own 'army'. In one of the most trying year of his life, Harry will need everything he and his friends can offer to overcome the trails and tribulations before him.

6. This Is No Rehearsal

A/N: Thanks to chem. prof for his amazing beta work. This would be far less legible if it weren't for him.

Chapter 6: This Is No Rehearsal

Harry restlessly paced the width of the Room of Requirement. The other DA members were due in a few minutes for their first meeting.

However, the unusual interactions the previous night were on his mind. Why had Hermione and Ron brushed him off like that? Were they annoyed at him for interrupting? And what was with their attitude? Ron acted if he was angry at something, and Hermione was completely focused on their work together and barely paid Harry enough attention to give him an answer.

His two friends aside, there was also Ginny and Parvati. Since when had they ever spoken? And what was with Ginny constantly staring at him oddly? Unbelievably, a part of Harry enjoyed her attentions.

Harry tried to clear his thoughts and switched his focus back onto the DA.

The dominant emotion Harry felt was nervousness. While all ten, besides himself and Hermione, had agreed to join, they didn't truly understand what they were getting themselves into. They wouldn't for awhile yet, either. He didn't trust everyone, and barely even knew some. That would have to change first, before any thoughts of the prophecy.

What kind of reaction would that bombshell earn? Fear? Loyalty? Hatred? Friendship? There could be any number of reactions.

Again, Harry pushed those thoughts aside for another day for they were getting him nowhere. It would at least a couple months before he would speak the prophecy to the group. He could get worked up about it then.

The first to arrive was Fleur, whom had been invited the previous evening to meet the remainder of the group. There was something else he wanted her for, too.

"Fleur, I need a favor."

The French woman looked as beautiful as ever. A night away from home did nothing at all to diminish the living, breathing near-perfection she was. She smiled at him.

"Figured out somezing I could do for you, 'Arry?"

"Yes. I need a pensieve."

A perfect eyebrow rose. "A pensieve, 'Arry? Zey are rare and expensive." She folded her arms and contemplated. "You will need one made. 'Ave you access to zat kind of money?"

"The last time I visited my vault was over two years ago." Harry said, thinking back over his infrequent trips to Gringotts. "I don't have any idea how much money I have."

"I can 'elp you there."

It took Harry several moments to make the connection. "You work at Gringotts."

"Oui." Fleur paused, brushing several strands of hair out of her face as it scrunched up a little in concentration. "I remember you mentioning you grew up with your Muggle relatives, oui?" Harry nodded. "Bill 'as explained ze 'istory of many British families during my tenure at Gringotts. Ze Potter family was wealthy before zeir passing. You are not aware of zis, I assume?"

Harry faced away from her. "I know next to nothing about my family and nothing at all about anything money related. I have a vault that I've used for my education and nothing else."

"Zere would be a larger vault for the Potters." Fleur said confidently. "I can search ze records for yours with your permission. 'Ave you read your parents' will?"

"Their will?"

"A will is a legal document of a person's wishes to zere property after death," Fleur replied, after a moment's surprise that Harry didn't know the term. "Simply, it dictates what 'appens to one's property when zey pass on. Your parents must 'ave set up a vault just for your schooling so you would not accidentally spend it all."

"No, I haven't even heard of this before." Harry said slowly. "Shouldn't I have been told about all this when I came to Hogwarts?"

"I can arrange for you to visit Gringotts to go over everything with you." Fleur suggested with a shrug. "Eet will take half a day of your time."

"If Dumbledore let's me." Harry said, and then grimaced. Chances were slim on that, given how he wasn't allowed to Diagon Alley without a large entourage.

Furthermore, why hadn't Dumbledore mentioned anything about his parents will before? Given he was Muggle-raised, he or McGonagall should've told him about this.

The door to the room opened to admit the three Hufflepuffs and three Ravenclaws.

"Thanks, Fleur." Harry said quickly. "Arrange it. I'd like to know what was in my will and how much money I actually have."

Fleur smiled at him again, this time a little hesitantly – something on her mind. She then turned and secured herself a seat on one of the dozen chairs in the room had created.

A few minutes passed and the room filled as Hermione, Neville, Katie and Daphne arrived. Harry locked the door and cast an Imperturbable Charm to ensure their privacy. There wouldn't be a repeat of last year if he could help it.

All conversation ceased as Harry maneuvered himself to stand in front of them the group. There was the odd look in Fleur's direction, but aside from that everyone's attention was focused on Harry.

"For those of you who haven't met her personally, this is Fleur Delacour." Harry gestured towards said woman sitting cross-legged on her chair. Fleur smiled at each of them and they returned it, except for Daphne's, which failed to hide her aversion, perhaps intentionally so. Neville and Ernie found themselves staring all too easily.

"I've already spoken to you about some of the reasons I brought this group together." Harry began. Neville managed to wrench his attention make to Harry. Ernie received a not-so-light hit from Hannah when he continued to stare. Harry ignored them. "We're going to fight back. To do that we need to be better, stronger. In that respect, this won't be too different from last year – we'll learn magic. But we'll also learn to duel, duel as in real life battles – life or death – and not what Lockhart tried to teach us."

Harry searched the faces of the eleven people before him. "Let me make this perfectly clear: A real fight will have our opponents trying to kill us. We're going to need to take them out before they take us out, even if it means kill or be killed."

Several faces paled. A few people swallowed. Some even wore determined expressions.

"This changes nothing."

The entire groups' attention switched to Padma.

"To me, at least, this changes nothing." Padma said. She wore a pained expression. "We're essentially at war. If we want to help, want to do something worthwhile, our lives will be in peril. I got that from the start." She looked around at everyone – focusing longer on Daphne, Ernie and Katie in that order. "You'd be naïve to think otherwise."

An odd silence ensued. Harry had the distinct impression Padma was not-so-subtlety conveying the message to particular people.

"Right then," said Neville, bringing the attention of the group to him. "If anyone didn't understand what they were getting into, they're free to leave, as Harry said several times already. I think we all get that. So, err… continue, Harry?"

Harry nodded thanks to Neville and addressed the group again.

"There's more you all need to know before we can truly get started on making a difference. For now, we can simply practice and practice. However, for the future, we need to learn Occlumency. Once our minds are protected, I can tell you everything. And with time, I hope to trust you all so the oaths aren't needed – they feel like I'm forcing you to do something."

Harry turned and started pacing. "The six of us were lucky at the Department of Mysteries. We managed to improvise our way through the battle until backup arrived, though we were undoubtedly losing. We stunned or tied up the Death Eaters." Harry's expression hardened. "That isn't going to cut it anymore. Stunning and constricting them isn't enough. It takes one or two spells to bring them back into the fight. We need to render our opponents unable to fight, one way or another."

"This year, we're going to learn strategy as well. We're going to learn to fight properly, and to use our surroundings to help, fight like wizards and witches with decades of practice do." Harry faced the group again. "How about I demonstrate what I mean by using the surrounding environment to help?"

There were half a dozen yeses, and a few nods. Unsurprisingly, Daphne remained stoic. Harry ignored her.

"All right, Hermione, care to be my demonstrative partner?"

Hermione started a little at her name being called. She honestly looked worried for a moment, knowing that Harry had been practicing constantly since term started, inside and outside of class. Harry would've outclassed her in a duel last year through natural instincts. She'd felt some trepidation going up against Harry now. Still, she agreed.

"Everyone stand." Harry ordered. "I'm going to change the room to suit our purposes better."

He closed his eyes and thought. I need an outside environment to demonstrate using the environment to our advantage and a place to keep people safe from spell fire.

Several seconds passed and Harry opened his eyes. The Room of Requirement had morphed into a forest clearing, approximately one hundred meters long and fifty meters wide, the surroundings littered with dense vegetation strongly resembling the Forbidden Forest. There was short grass throughout most of the clearing. Branches, twigs, rocks and other debris littered the ground.

The most curious feature in the new surroundings was the presence of walls around the clearing. The Room of Requirement had its limitations – Expansion Charms could only expand so much, and it appeared the same applied here.

The group scattered slowly, walking around the authentic clearing with expressions ranging from amazement to mild interest. Harry was the first to notice a shimmer in the air as light – from an unknown source – struck it at the right angle.

"Everyone watch from in here." Harry called out and waved them over. "This'll keep you safe from spells gone astray."

A few minutes later Harry and Hermione were staring each other down across the clearing, separated by two dozen meters of grass and debris. The remaining ten occupants in the room stood within what was a 'room' of sorts, completely out of harms way.

Hermione wore a guarded expression, trying to calm and focus her mind. However, her thoughts were turbulent. The night before, she had brushed Harry off without even realizing her actions until a couple hours later, while she was struggling to sleep. What in the world had possessed her to do that?

Ron had asked her to help with the Aguamenti Charm. Naturally, she had complied. Two hours passed without her realizing it, and she only had vague recollections of what had transpired. The one thing that stood out was her inexplicable brush off of Harry.

"We begin when Susan blows her whistle." Harry called out, startling Hermione, and confusing Susan, for she had no whistle on her. No sooner than she had thought that, a whistle appeared in her hand.

Surprised, Susan examined the whistle for several seconds. Then, she brought the instrument to her lips and blew.

Distracted and unprepared, Hermione cast half a dozen spells at random. Harry, calmly, took a few steps to the side and dodged them completely. He then transfigured a shield out of twigs and blocked the following barrage of spells, the last one cracking it.

"Come on, Hermione!" Harry called out, dropping the remains of his shattered shield. "This isn't a rehearsal. Pretend it's real. I'm trying to hurt you. Use what's around you to your advantage."

Harry followed his mini-lecture with a wide-area Banishment Charm. An array of natural debris blew in Hermione's general direction. Harry used the attack as cover to move in.

Hermione raised a shield and Harry saw at least half a dozen impacts from his spell. She dissolved her shield and sent a blast of wind his way, partially blinding him.

Cursing, he rolled to the side, out of the line of fire, and cast a charm to clear his vision. His eyes stung as the spell took affect, just in time to erect a shield to block a barrage of stunning spells.

Harry noted Hermione had opened casting her spells aloud. She hadn't had the time to practice her wordless spellcasting like he'd had. Her spells were significantly weaker as a consequence. She'd never been a pushover in her previous years and Harry wasn't expecting her to be now. Then again, she didn't appear entirely focused on anything of late while he was. Still, holding back would get himself beaten. That would be embarrassing given he was supposed to be the leader here.

"Here we go, Hermione."

He saw Hermione pause, uncertain of his next move. Grinning, Harry performed the easiest incarnation McGonagall and Flitwick had taught him for utilizing transfiguration and charms in battle.

A flick of the wand brought a dozen sticks off the ground. A second flick made them heavier. The third sent them soaring in Hermione's general direction. Not giving her any room to maneuver, he cast a set of stunning spells either side of her.

A hastily erected shield managed to deflect all but one of the projectiles. The last flew past the shield, missing by inches. It smashed into a tree behind her with a crack, leaving a large indent.

"This is what I mean." Harry said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Everything around me can be used as a weapon. If you've got a table, you can use it as a shield, or sent it for your opponent to worry about. If you can, transfigure something into an animal or an object advantageous for you. Don't rely on the same old spells we used to rely on."

Harry and Hermione stood roughly fifteen meters apart. Both were panting slightly

"You ready to go again?" asked Harry. He was concerned. She wasn't acting herself lately.

"Fine." Hermione replied a little curtly. There was, in fact, plenty on her mind, but she wasn't about to admit defeat yet.

In addition to her about her actions the previous night, Hermione still wasn't sleeping properly. She'd dreamt the same dream again and again, raising the same questions, questions she didn't have the answers for, and even doubts about Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione had concluded that her dream was a memory, one that she'd forgotten. But something so recent implied that she hadn't simply forgotten. She'd been forced to.

What was most important right now was: what happened in that conversation? Once that was answered the secondary questions could follow. Was her memory erased? Did her and Mrs. Weasley's conversation about Ron be linked to her conflicting feelings towards him? Was Mrs. Weasley involved in her memory loss?

Memory Charms didn't completely erase a memory. Instead, they removed the links to the memory – the memory was still there, but the mind couldn't connect to it.

Did this mean that someone – Mrs. Weasley, maybe – cast a Memory Charm on her, done a poor job and now it was wearing off? Could she really do something that? Would she? Or was she completely off track?

Then there was Harry. Why was there this wall of sorts between them? Was it because of her relationship with Ron?

This situation had left Hermione pondering which of the two males in her life meant more to her. Was it Harry and his friendship or was it Ron and their relationship? Any other time she would have said Harry and his friendship without hesitation.

But now… her thoughts more often than not drifted to Ron when she wasn't focused on her work.

In the end, Hermione returned to the same conclusions as always. She didn't have enough pieces of the puzzle to honestly answer any of her questions.

"Then let's go."

Harry waved his wand several times and he had another set of projectiles to fire. Hermione transfigured herself her own shield out of rock, slouching forward and panting with the effort – wood to rock transfiguration wasn't an easy task, especially with inexperience against her.

Undeterred, Harry sent the projectiles into the rock shield. A loud crunch emanated within the room as what appeared to be extra dense ball bearings drove into the rock shield, nearly breaking it.

Hermione had jumped at the sound, and taken several steps backwards involuntarily. While her reflexes were nowhere near that of Harry's, he must've believed her shield strong enough to withstand such an assault.

Looking at her battered shield and back to Harry, she realized that Harry could've finished her off then and there had he wanted to. He wasn't playing around.

Whatever was going on between them was put on hold. Her pride, even though she knew she was outmatched, wouldn't allow her to go down so easily a second time.

Hermione surveyed her surroundings. Harry had closed the distance to roughly fifteen meters. There were a lot of twigs and branches scattered along the ground around her, mixed in with rocks here and there. Could she transfigure them like Harry had or charm them in some manner?

Then she noticed something that could work to her advantage. There was a large branch behind Harry.

"Accio!"

The branch lifted off from the ground, but Harry had already moved out of the way. He quickly cast a Reductor Curse that blew the branch to pieces. Most of them fell to the ground but there were many that Harry sent it flying at her, causing Hermione to drop to the ground again to avoid being cut by the remains.

Hermione cast a shield to block the first two stunning and disarming spells. She dodged a third spell and responded with by transfiguring a large branch into a ten meter long wall. It was flimsy, but it'd do. She sent away with a banishment spell, followed by her own onslaught of stunning and disarming spells. Harry blasted her flimsy wall of wood apart and sent his own disarming spell, before dropping to the ground, dodging Hermione's spells by millimeters.

On it went. Over the next ten minutes Harry showcased a range – limited, though it may be – of uses for debris around him. Given a mere fortnight of term had passed, he'd yet to practice transfiguration on a greater scale or work to develop his own strategies.

In the end, Hermione lost four times over in the fourteen minutes the battle lasted. The observers were aware and shared mixed feelings about that, ranging from awe at Harry's ability after a fortnights work, leading to the belief that Harry really could make a difference if this was what he was capable of already, to anger over their previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers for not teaching them properly.

"I could do that." Ernie scoffed quietly after witnessing Harry surround Hermione in a semi-circle of fire from the 'Incendio' spell with her back against a tree.

Simultaneously, Susan and Hannah whacked their fellow Hufflepuff over the head while keeping their eye on the duel. Hermione had just frozen the semi-circle of fire and was now firing a volley of offensive spells which Harry dodged or blocked with relative ease.

"Ouch." Ernie rubbed at his head. "What was that for? It's not like what he's doing is that difficult."

"Quit trying to show off." Hannah said dryly. "She's not going to be interested in you."

Ernie reddened slightly. He was interrupted from retaliating when Padma shook her head exasperatedly and spoke.

"Think about it, Ernie. What's the first spells that come to mind when you think about a duel? For almost all of us, the first spells we think of are stunning and disarming spells, the protego shield, Body-Binds and the Reductor Curse." Padma raised an eyebrow and looked away from the battle to Ernie. "Can you honestly say that your first impulse would be to perform magic like Harry is doing now?"

Harry continued to shield and dodge Hermione's rapid, desperate offence. It took several long seconds but he exploited a gap and pushed Hermione back on the defensive.

Ernie wisely didn't respond. Few were getting along with him presently. His occasional arrogance and pomposity were deterrents to the remainder of the group. Susan and Hannah only continued to put up with him because he was in their year.

"Has anyone any idea what's wrong with those two?" asked Katie. Fleur, who had remained silent and watched the duel in interest, switched her focus to the conversation around her.

"What do you mean?" asked Susan pointedly, facing her.

"Haven't you noticed?" Katie looked confused. "Harry and Hermione aren't… well, I'm not sure how to put it. They aren't as close as they were even a week ago."

The duel between Harry and Hermione suddenly became less interesting to several people. Daphne and Luna were the only two to not waver in their attentions on the duel.

"I haven't noticed anything about them," said Hannah thoughtfully. "But I have noticed someone missing. Where's Ron? He's been Harry's friend for five years, excluding that period in our fourth year. Why isn't he here?"

Neville shrugged as he became the centre of attention due to his living arrangements. "I don't know anymore than anyone else. Ron and Hermione are in a relationship, I think. That might be the reason for their… awkwardness."

Padma, who already knew that, remained quiet as a round of questions assaulted an increasingly flustered Neville. Harry took advantage of Hermione slipping on a patch of partially melted ice to gain victory for the third time in twelve minutes.

"I am surprised zat 'as gotten between zem," said Fleur. The group gave her their full attention, given this was the first time she'd spoken since she'd said hello. "'Ave you not watched zeir friendship grow for five years?" the French woman continued, unaffected by the increase in attention. "Zere is something more pulling zem apart. Zeir friendship, I 'ave seen it over ze summer and while I was 'ere, is profound. It will take more than Ronald and 'Ermione getting togezzer to destroy zat friendship."

Everyone absorbed that observation without comment, watching Harry and Hermione duel for the final time.

"You are right, Fleur,' said Luna in her serene voice. A deflected spell from Harry collided with a tree a few meters to the right of their protected 'room', startling a few. "Something more is bothering them. I don't believe they realize it yet." Then, completely seriously, she said, "It could be Wrackspurts."

Fleur stared at Luna. "I am not familiar wiz zis species."

Su, another who'd yet to speak, gave Fleur a small smile, a shake of the head and a pat on the shoulder. Her meaning managed to get through.

Padma kept an eye on Su as she interacted with the French woman. Su rarely spoke. In the five years they'd known each other, Su had relied on actions and facial expressions to get her message across.

When the two had first met in their first year, Padma had been as disturbed as anyone that the young Ravenclaw never spoke. It took until their second year before Su would even whisper to her.

"We should keep an eye on them." Padma said, returning her focus to the duel, now winding down, and the conversation at hand. "Anyone interfering with their friendship would be watching their progress. It would also be someone with something to gain from Harry and Hermione not being close."

"That doesn't reduce the list of suspects to a manageable amount." Ernie grumbled.

"There are dozens of girls willing to do anything to get Harry's attention." Susan added. Hannah nudged her with a knowing grin and Susan blushed. She glared at Hannah and sighed, adding, "Myself included."

"There are a dozen in Gryffindor alone." Katie said with certainty. At the curious expressions she received she added, "My Mother's a journalist. I learnt to observe these things. It's been a handy ability."

"A Gryffindor has the greatest opportunity," said Daphne in a tone expressing how little she cared. She brushed a stand of hair behind her ear, still watching the duel. She'd never say it but she was impressed with Harry's performance. "I'd look there first if I were you."

At that moment, Harry finished off Hermione for the fourth time and called the duel off. Hermione was sweating profusely after the unexpected work out. While Harry was sweating too, his breathing was evener.

Impressed, nine of the ten teenagers in the sealed off area left it immediately to congratulate Harry – well, most did. Only Ernie remained behind, grudgingly admitting to himself that Harry was a far superior duelist.

"That's essentially what I meant by using the environment to your advantage." Harry said after the praise dried up. "It's difficult, combining elements of Transfiguration, Charms and Defense at once. It'll take time to learn. Yet, can anyone honestly say it wouldn't be useful?"

Of course, nobody even considered denying it. Even Fleur, a Beauxbatons alumnus who'd also learnt through vastly different curricula than Hogwarts, was impressed with Harry's performance.

"Let's begin practicing then, shall we?"

Harry instructed the group to perform the same maneuver he had done repeatedly a week earlier. He would transfigure an object into something more destructive – whether sharper or denser – and then use it a shield or as a projectile. This was the style at its most basic and was a good starting point. It would take time, but once the basics were down, each wizard and witch would adapt to their own fighting style.

The eleven other members of the room spent the next two hours practicing. The transfiguration proved to be difficult for a few people – Neville had never been good at it, and he no longer took the class. However, everyone got it down within the two hours. For those that did finish, Harry had instructed them to incorporate their own ideas into making an attack damaging and quick.

Once two hours had passed, the group retired for a rest before dinner. All awkwardness between Padma, Hermione, Daphne and himself was forgotten in the thrill of the first successful meeting of the new DA. Harry couldn't withhold the proud feeling he had towards everyone.

There was plenty of work to do still. He knew it, they knew it, yet the future was beginning to truly look bright. They would accomplish this. That was something he was sure of.

One step at a time.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Fleur and Bill left straight after dinner. Fleur kissed him twice on the cheeks again, causing another potentially embarrassing scene, but he managed not to blush. Bill's farewell was curt at best.

Harry was bombarded with questions from all houses, curious about Fleur and why she was meeting with Harry. Some of the less desirables sent innumerable glares his way, some even making slanderous accusations about Harry and Fleur's personal lives. After an hour it was all Harry could do to prevent himself from cursing those people. Even the calmest people lost their tempers eventually.

The trio walked back from dinner together for the first time in days. Harry was about to open his mouth to mention the DA when he saw something that drove the thought from his mind.

Malfoy was walking ahead of them, in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Harry stopped almost instantly, eliciting a "Blimey," from Ron. Luckily, Malfoy hadn't heard him amidst the general hubbub in the corridors.

What's he up to? Harry wondered. What could Malfoy want up near Gryffindor Tower? The strangest part, perhaps, was that he was alone – Crabbe and Goyle weren't around.

Without saying anything to Ron and Hermione, Harry started following Malfoy at a discreet distance. Ron and Hermione caught up quickly.

"What's the matter, Harry?" asked Hermione concernedly.

"Quiet." Harry demanded. He pointed at the figure he was following.

"Bloody hell, Harry, is that Malfoy? What's he doing up here?"

"That's what I want to know, Ron." Harry replied testily. "So quiet down and we can follow."

The trio followed Malfoy for a solid minute before Harry realized where they were going.

"Oh… no…" Harry whispered to himself.

"What's wrong?" asked Hermione again.

"What room is near here?"

Hermione looked around for a moment. Her head paused at a familiar statue. "Oh, we're near the Room of Requirement."

The oaths prevented any of the ten members, aside from Hermione and himself, from informing anyone else about the DA. He'd made sure of that with Hermione. Their wording was perfect. So why was Malfoy up here if not to find out about the DA?

"What's wrong with the git using the Room of Requirement?" whispered Ron. Harry gave him an annoyed look.

"What good could possibly come from Malfoy and a room that responds to your desires?"

"Oh, right." Ron replied sheepishly after a moment.

"There he goes." Hermione remarked as Malfoy turned the final corner before the entrance to the Room of Requirement.

"Let's go." Harry ordered.

Quickly, Harry and Hermione cast Silencing Charms on their feet, and then Ron's when he didn't follow suit immediately. They ran the length of the corridor and turned the corner in time to see Malfoy stop in front of the tapestry in front of the room. He swiveled around; making sure nobody was in sight. Harry and Hermione had to quickly retract their heads to avoid being caught. Ron was left without a spot to see.

"How do you do this again?" Malfoy's voice carried down the corridor in the silence. Harry and Hermione moved back so they could see around the corner. Harry had one hand on the wall and one by his side. He was still for a minute. "That's right," he mumbled to himself. Harry clenched his right fist around his wand, waiting, watching for the right moment. Malfoy walked back and forth three times before turning back to the wall where a door materialized.

"Stupefy!" Harry thought with every ounce of his being. The familiar red light shot down the corridor. Malfoy didn't notice until it was too late. The spell connected right on the head, knocking Malfoy to the ground, sliding several meters from the impact. Harry goggled at the sight. He hadn't expected such a strong spell, especially a silent one.

"Bloody brilliant shot!" Ron slapped him on the back hard and unexpectedly, causing Harry to cough.

"Is he okay?" Hermione asked, slightly worried.

"It's Malfoy," Harry replied, glaring at Hermione. There was no need to explain further. The three of them quickly crossed the remaining distance between them and the Room of Requirement.

"Harry!" Hermione warned. He had seen it too. The door was disappearing.

Every time Harry had accessed the door, he'd entered without delay. The door had been present for only thirty seconds at most but nobody had entered. The door must close if nobody entered within that time.

Too late to get inside, Harry arrived at the door. He glanced through what was left of the doorway and saw a cabinet with no real distinguishing features from his distance before the door closed and left Harry staring at a wall.

Harry swore. So close.

He turned around and leaned back against the wall.

Just what are you up to, Malfoy? What's so important that you need the Room and oaths?

"Harry," Hermione spoke softly. He met her gaze. It wasn't her usual bossy "I want to know what's going on" stare but one of concern and a little regret. She had let herself drift from Harry's side and missed something important. The rumors about Harry and Padma only made that clearer. Padma probably knew more about what was going on than she did. Whatever reservations they each held for the sudden change in their friendship, whoever or whatever the cause, it wasn't worth it.

"Not here." Harry replied. The three of them looked at Malfoy's stunned body. "It'd be safer elsewhere." But before that, Harry went to check Malfoy's arm for the Dark Mark. He paused while standing above the body of Malfoy, examining his unconscious face, wondering what he was up to, why he listened to Voldemort of all people. After a moment, Harry bent down and was a moment away from moving the robe aside when footsteps reached his ears.

"Someone's coming." Harry said. Hermione had heard the sound too and already was dragging Ron behind her in the opposite direction. Cursing his luck, Harry followed.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Right then, what just happened?" asked Ron eloquently. The trio found an empty classroom, cast the usual secrecy charms and took spots in the room. There wasn't a piece of furniture in the room at all.

"Malfoy is up to something," Harry replied, staring at the ceiling from his position leaning against the wall across from the door. Hermione was on his right, facing Ron on Harry's left. "I want to know what."

"What makes you say that?" Ron countered, staring at Harry who proceeded to remain staring at the ceiling.

"Like I said already, how can anything good come from Malfoy and that room?"

"Quit being vague, Harry," Hermione admonished him, though it lacked any bite. Harry could feel it in her voice. She was being left out of his life and hated it. For a moment he felt sorry for her.

He quickly pushed those feelings aside. She'd brushed him off, not the other way around. Still, he didn't feel the same about Hermione that he did a week previous. It was only getting worse as time passed, and when Ron and Hermione started dating. Was there a coincidence behind that?

"He's a Death Eater," Harry said, but was interrupted. Hermione sighed; Ron muttered 'not again.' "And that is exactly the reason I'm not going to tell you." He closed his eyes and sighed. He then opened them again and caught the gaze of both Ron and Hermione before resuming his intensive examination of the ceiling.

There was a side of Harry that was begging him to tell them off for not believing him. The evidence, though not as conclusive as looking at the Slytherin's left forearm, was more than enough for Harry. A second side of Harry told him to let them persevere with their disbelief and that eventually they'd figure it out for themselves. The first side was winning.

"Harry, mate," Ron interrupted Harry's thoughts. "Are you still on about that?"

"On about what, Ron?" Harry snapped, losing patience about the whole Malfoy-Death Eater argument. "That the son of a Death Eater is one too? That the Slytherin that has insulted and bullied us for five years has taken the next step and gone pro? Yeah, I'm still on that."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, closing the gap between her and Harry, laying a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off and faced her.

"You're not any different, Hermione," Harry told her fiercely. "Any other year what we knew would be more than enough to, at minimum, suspect it. What about when we thought Malfoy the heir of Slytherin? All we had to go with was his boasting and knowledge that his family was Slytherin through and through."

"That was different-" Hermione started, taken aback by the harshness in Harry's tone.

"-How?" Harry asked, cutting across. "How is this different? We have people fearing Malfoy because of something on his left forearm, where Dark Marks are. We have Death Eaters hiding on the Express that somehow managed to stay hidden in a crowded train for at least an hour. We have his surprised reaction when I baited him before the Feast that night. What Hermione, what else do you need?"

"Oi, don't talk to her like that!" Ron bellowed from Harry's other side.

"I can fight my own battles, Ronald," Hermione responded sharply. A tinge of red appeared on his cheeks. A bad sign if Harry ever saw one.

"You seem to be doing a bang up job," Ron retorted quietly.

"Oh?" Hermione said in a falsely sweet voice. "What are you going to do? Tell Harry to 'leave off'," she used air quotes to emphasis Ron's phrasing. "So you and I can go off and snog?"

Ron flushed further and glanced at Harry, who was bored with the entire argument already.

"That's got nothing to do with this," Ron replied quietly. Hermione blushed.

"I didn't mean it that way…" she said equally quietly.

"Well that is your…" Ron began.

"Ronald …" Hermione said in a warning voice.

"…fault that we aren't…"

"Ronald …" Hermione said in a dangerous voice. Ron looked about to continue before Harry stepped in, not wanting to know what would happen if Ron finished his sentence.

"Enough!" he yelled out, the sound echoing in the empty room.

"Stay out this, Harry," Ron yelled back immediately. A flash of panic crossed his features as he realized what he had said and who to.

"You see why I can't tell you what's going on?" Harry said as slowly and calmly as he possibly could, eyes clenched shut, hands on his temples trying to will back the headache that was bound to come.

Ron looked about to persist with the argument but stopped at a look from Hermione.

Harry opened his eyes and looked between the two of them, sighing. "Until you sort out what's wrong in your relationship, get it out of your system or break up, you're not focused enough…you can't be a part of this."

It was an ultimatum and Harry felt terrible for it. He just couldn't stand it anymore. Arguments were all right if they were handled maturely, but Ron and Hermione were acting like immature school children and it was driving him insane. They couldn't afford to act like children anymore.

Ron seemed to have no idea what was going on lately. As far as Harry could tell, he was focused on Quidditch, Hermione and, to an extent, his school work. The rest of his time was spent procrastinating all else that needed to be done.

Hermione was either in denial about Malfoy or just plainly too distracted by Ron to care. It's easier to feel better about ignoring something when you pretend it isn't real.

Predictably, Harry's statement didn't go over well.

"What?!" Ron exclaimed.

"Harry," Hermione whispered, barely audible even in the empty, amplified room.

"I've always been a part of this, why not now?" Ron said in a voice that annoyed Harry. It was the same voice he used when he complained about his lack of wealth. Harry looked at Ron, surprised and sickened at the tone of voice.

"Well Ronald, you haven't always been there," Hermione intervened. "Nor have I." she added more to herself than anyone. Again, Harry felt the emotion in her voice, the sincerity in it.

Was he making the right choice, by distancing them until they sorted themselves out? Was he pushing them away for other reasons? Harry had no claim to being right. All he knew was that they couldn't continue like this. If they did, whatever plans Malfoy or Voldemort had would be upon them before they were prepared. Could they risk that? No. Not when Harry was aware of it.

Ron didn't have a reply to that, clearly remembering many of his screw ups over the years. Hermione didn't elaborate on her own proclamation, nor did Harry add anything further. The three of them sat in silence. They had a lot to think about.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Snape was the one to find Malfoy stunned near the Room of Requirement. Consequently, Monday's extra lesson with Snape was particularly horrible. Snape discarded any 'plan' and just went in an all out duel. Harry was certain that Snape was increasingly venomous towards him because he was a… no, the suspect. Although he was guilty, it was still irritating when the git had no evidence.

It was only the start of the third week of school, and therefore his training, and Harry was beginning to get fitter. Slowly, but surely, his stamina and overall fitness level were increasing. This, even only a slight increase in fitness, allowed Harry to dodge and shield most of Snape's attacks without too much problem, though it still left him exhausted by the end. He was hit twice when Snape went out of his way to play dirty, justifying himself by saying that the Death Eaters wouldn't fight cleanly, but Harry felt that he had improved since he'd started.

Harry took to examining the Marauder's Map every now and then, to check up on the movements of five of the six that made the oath in the dungeons. In the times he checked up on him for the next several days, Malfoy made no attempt to approach the Room of Requirement. Hopefully he had been scared off, at least for a while. If Harry couldn't find out what he was up to, stalling him was the second best result.

Ron and Hermione had kept their distance for the most part since Harry's ultimatum. When Harry did make contact, it was brief and even hostile coming from Ron.

On Monday night, Harry had run into Ron and Hermione on his way back from the library. He'd gone to search for a new book of Defense magic to read and was bringing back 'Duelists and their Dueling Specialties' for some reading. A number of these kinds of books were useless, telling one how to perform in official stage dueling, but this one had at least two chapters on real life dueling and appeared to be worth taking the time to read.

Ron had been patrolling with Hermione that night. Since he and Hermione had gotten together, Ron had shown far more enthusiasm towards the task than he ever had before.

More time for them to snog… Harry thought darkly.

The three of them managed to meet by chance on the fourth floor as Harry was making his way back. Ron and Hermione had been silent and that was why Harry was surprised to walk into them.

"Oh, Ron, Hermione," Harry said, surprise in his voice.

"What do you want?" Ron said angrily. Harry blanched. Sure, he was expecting a few bitter feelings for what he'd said, but there was a point where one overreacted.

"Ron!" Hermione said, and began chastising him as they walked off, leaving Harry alone with his book under his arm, utterly confused. When Harry awoke the next morning, several of Hermione's older books that he had borrowed from her were strewn across the room, a dozen or so pages ripped from each of them. Casting a silent 'Reparo', Harry fixed them as best he could and sat, wondering why someone, presumably Ron, taken their anger out on Hermione's book.

The next day Harry was early to return after dinner and consequently was alone in the sixth year doors when Ron came in and saw him there.

"Look, Ron," Harry began, attempting to make some sort of peace between them.

"Bugger off, Harry," Ron replied before about-facing and leaving. For a second time, Harry was left utterly confused and alone. Where was all this uncalled for hostility coming from? He knew he was missing something and something big between Ron and Hermione but he found himself not wanting to know.

The unusual part was that it wasn't that he didn't want to know because it was probably something relationship centric. Instead, Harry just plain didn't want to know what was going on between them full stop. Ron's attitude towards him was not endearing in the least and he was quite content to let a side of his brain egg him on to distance himself further.

Wednesday dawned to a similar scene.

Harry was the first awake this morning and was standing in front of the window between his and Ron's bed, staring outside at the increasing light. He suddenly had the urge to cough and, somehow, woke Ron.

"Bloody terrific," Ron muttered after opening his eyes and seeing Harry standing in front of the window. He then rolled over and went back to sleep, leaving an increasingly angry Harry alone in the waking world.

All this hostility came to a climax that night. Harry wouldn't have believed what happened unless he'd experienced it.

Harry was trudging his way back to Gryffindor Tower after another extra lesson with Slughorn. The combination of the cacophony of smells and Slughorns' personality had sapped his energy. Still, he'd learnt practical usage of a bunch of potions, like Pain Relieving and Water Purification potions.

"Stop, no…stop," a voice carried into Harry's hearing. Uncannily, Harry was just about to pass the same corridor he'd accidentally found Ginny and Dean together.

"Come on," a second voice joined the first, coming from the corridor. Harry was too tired to recognize the voices or take note of what they were saying.

However, it was the next line that caught his attention.

"Stop means stop, Ronald!" Hermione's voice hissed.

"Bloody hell, 'Mione, why?" Ron asked, frustrated.

"Don't call me that!" Hermione nearly growled. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"Dunno, don't count," Ron muttered.

"Why won't you listen? I said stop, I said no. Do I have to hex you to get the meaning of simple English?"

What the name of Merlin is happening between them? Was Ron trying to push himself onto Hermione?

The trail this thought went down didn't end well. Forcing oneself on another was unforgivable. If Ron was forcing himself on someone, on Hermione of all people, that was unforgivable.

The next question from Ron stunned Harry.

"Why won't you let me kiss you yet?"

His mind raced. They haven't kissed yet? What about when they were down in the Hogsmeade tunnel?

"I told you, I'm not ready yet," came Hermione's hesitant response.

"How can you not be?" Ron asked impatiently. "What else do you do in a relationship?"

There was no reply. Harry couldn't blame her. Ron came from a large family with two very alive parents. How could he possibly think that all there was to a relationship was snogging? Surely he didn't expect to have a girlfriend that would snog him anywhere and everywhere?

"I can't do this." Hermione whispered so quietly that Harry only just caught it. It was only then, due to having to strain to hear her, Harry suddenly realized what he doing.

This was a very private moment between the two of them and he was eavesdropping. He was lucky that it was already past nine-thirty, when most students had already returned to their common rooms.

"Huh?"

"I said I can't do this." Hermione repeated, a lot less patiently and a lot louder.

"Do what?"

"Us, Ron, us!" Hermione shouted. "You do nothing but make fun of my interest in books and reading. You do nothing but use my work. You do nothing but take advantage of my friendship with Harry." The instant his name came out, Harry wished she hadn't. Bringing him up in an argument with Ron wouldn't go over well, especially when it regarded their relationship. "You can't accept that just because we're in a relationship," she practically spat out that word. "That I am not ready to start snogging you around the school!"

There was a soft thud, which Harry thought must've been Hermione hitting the wall. "I never would have been friends with you if it wasn't for Harry." Hermione seethed.

A stunned silence followed. Harry didn't want to know what else there was going to be said and he didn't want to get caught either. He left as quietly as he could, though he suspected he could've called their names and they wouldn't have noticed.

As quickly and quietly as possible, Harry left and returned to the common room. Katie and Neville greeted him, which Harry ignored, favoring instead taking a seat in the corner and thinking furiously.

Have I caused them to break up? I didn't mean it like that when I told them off… I just wanted them to realize that they were in danger by being too absorbed in each other.

Noticing the lack of a reply and the look of intense concentration on Harry's face, Neville and Katie exchanged odd looks and returned to their work, keeping an eye on Harry every so often.

At least twenty minutes after Harry came in, a very irate looking Ron came through the portrait hole. Harry looked up, only to receive a glare filled with pure hatred from the angry red head. He quickly looked back down, wishing to avoid any impending argument or fight in favor of a less public place. Ron kept moving, yelling at two first years that walked in front of him to move out of the way and stormed up the steps to the male dorms, leaving a stunned common room.

Even without an argument in the common room itself, it seemed that the whole tower was bound to learn of each argument Ron and Hermione had one way or another.

Sitting quietly, Harry waited for Hermione to return. He was certain she would want someone to talk to, whether he had been a decent friend over the past two weeks or not.

Several times the portrait hole opened to allow entrance to others, and for one or two to leave, risking detention as the clock steadily ticked towards ten p.m.

Hermione still hadn't returned twenty minutes later, nor had Ron descended from the dorms. Worried, Harry climbed the stairs to his room, listened at the door for any noises and, not finding any, opened the door. He took a step inside before the sight percolated through his distracted mind. Taking in the room, he let out a gasp.

The room had been trashed. Harry didn't know how it could've been kept quiet judging by the state of the room. All five four-poster beds had been demolished by what looked like a mixture of magical and physical anger. Similarly, all five residents' trunks contents were scattered throughout the entire room, with the majority of the contents destroyed and ripped. Harry had had his own fits of rage before, lashing out at friends and unfortunate random students verbally, but none of that, except for when he had trashed Dumbledore's office after Sirius' death, could compare to the total destruction of personal and school property that lay before him.

Harry crossed the distance between the doorway and his bed. It was totaled.

All four posts were no longer attached to the bed. One was lying on the bed, another was on the floor to the side, another in front of the bathroom behind him and the final one looked to be in pieces at Harry's feet.

Several of his books and robes had been destroyed along with his trunk, the lid now laying outside the door to the bathrooms beside one of the posts and the bottom still beside his bed. Shocked, Harry reached down to pick up what he could salvage when he noticed something missing.

He wouldn't… Harry thought quickly, disbelievingly.

Frantically he searched the remains of his belongings in search of his most precious item.

It wasn't there.

Neither was Ron.

Had he taken the Cloak and gone out? Was he still in here? Harry stood still, closed his eyes. He reached out with his senses, trying to figure if there were any visible or invisible presences in the room. There was no breathing, no smells that he could discern and no sounds except for the dulled sound of chatter down in the common room.

Nothing.

The Map!

Harry frantically searched his pockets to find the item still present. Silently, he thanked God he'd decided to keep it with him at all times.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Harry muttered the password, tapping the parchment with his wand. The magical lines that outlined Hogwarts, its interior and exterior, spread across the parchment. Hurriedly, Harry scanned the map in search of Ron and Hermione.

Although he was only in search of two people, a third caught his eye first.

The symbol of Draco Malfoy was walking around the seventh floor corridor again. He cursed his luck. He'd been waiting for this moment and it couldn't have come at a worse time. Harry watched him for a few seconds before returning to the task at hand. Whatever Ron might do in his anger, invisible as well, took priority.

Rescanning the map, Harry found Hermione in a fourth floor classroom, unmoving. Ron was back at the corridor that the two of them had argued a floor below.

Was Ron looking for her? Judging from the destruction of his property and how scattered across the room it was, he might've looked for the Marauder's Map but not found it. Even Ron would realize that summoning it would alert Harry.

Harry glanced back at the seventh floor corridor before closing the map. Malfoy was gone. Harry searched the area for him but he was nowhere in sight.

Is the Room unplottable? Did the Marauders even know of its existence?

Harry filed those questions for later. He had no Cloak, it was now way after ten, and he had an angry Ron under his Cloak and a probably very upset Hermione completely unaware of either. Those questions could definitely wait.

Harry pocketed the map and made his way downstairs, intercepting Neville on the way up.

"Heya, Harry. Just heading off to bed…." Neville started, and then stopped noticing his grim expression.

"Get Seamus and Dean, go up to our room. Don't touch anything," Harry ordered him.

"Why? What's happened?" he asked, taken aback by the tone of voice his friend was using.

"Ron destroyed the room." Harry stated bluntly. "Professor McGonagall will want to see it. I'm going to get her after I found Ron."

"Merlin, Harry, he destroyed the room?" said Neville in shock. He trusted Harry but he couldn't immediately believe him. However, he swallowed his questions. "Okay, I'll tell them not to touch anything."

Without waiting for a response, Harry ran down the rest of the steps, dodged a few wanderers and exited the portrait hole, ignoring the Fat Lady's warnings of the time. He dashed the length of the seventh floor, down the stairs and then the next two sets before stopping to examine the map again. Hermione hadn't moved and Ron was now going in and out of rooms at the other end of the fourth floor.

Harry quickly cast the Disillusioned Charm on himself. He'd have to thank Moody for using that on him the summer before. It was not as good as invisibility but without his Invisibility Cloak, it would suffice. Hopefully Ron would be too distracted to realize Harry was after him. Harry didn't want to believe it, the same person he'd been friends with for five years, but who knew what Ron could do if he was capable of destroying most of his possessions.

As quietly as possible, Harry narrowed the distance between himself and Ron. Thankfully Ron was moving in the wrong direction so Hermione was now at the other end of the floor, out of any danger… if she was in any.

Just what was Ron thinking, taking my Cloak and going after Hermione? What more did they say to each other after I left?

A door closed ahead of Harry. It was quiet but he'd heard it. Harry double checked the map to make sure Ron was on the outside of the room. Seeing that he was, Harry looked in Ron's general direction. According to the Map, Ron was just about to enter an intersection. Harry looked up, saw the intersection at the end of his eyesight but could see nothing else. The Invisibility Cloak really worked well.

Harry grabbed his wand and raised it to face Ron's general direction. Of course Harry could have used the Summoning Charm from his common room if he had wanted to, though that would've revealed it to everyone. He then could have used it outside the common room where nobody would have been around to see it; however Harry wanted this confrontation over and done with now that he had the chance to do it without a large audience, and now that Ron had gone this far.

"Accio Invisibility Cloak!" Harry thought. The Cloak flew off Ron and straight towards the disillusioned Harry. Harry ducked into the Cloak, letting it drop onto him, wanting to see Ron's reaction.

He wasn't disappointed. Ron was absolutely livid.

Thankfully, he'd been facing the wrong way to see the shimmery outline of the disillusioned Harry before he had ducked under the Cloak. Silently, Harry removed the Disillusionment Charm, shivering at the feeling of an egg running down his back.

"Who's there?" Ron demanded, slowly turning around the t-intersection, fruitlessly trying to determine where the person who had divested him of his invisibility. "I said, who's there?" he demanded a second time after a moment's silence. "Who took the Cloak off of me?"

Harry watched his friends' face, watched as the redhead twisted and turned, trying to locate the person who had stolen his advantage. What was causing him to do this? Ron could lose his temper, Harry had been friends with Ron long enough to understand that, but this was another level entirely. Where was the anger coming from? He was missing something, something that explained everything, but it was something that he wasn't going to find out considering Ron's state.

"It's not nice to steal other people's things, let alone destroy them," Harry said, revealing himself finally. Harry pulled his Cloak off with his left hand, wand raised in his right.

"Harry!" Ron replied nervously. "I uh, just needed to borrow it." If it weren't for the situation, Harry would've laughed at the poor excuse.

"So instead of asking me politely, like friends do, you trash our dorm, destroy all five of our beds and a lot of our possessions, and steal it?" Harry countered false-calmly. Enough was enough. He wouldn't even admit it.

Ron cringed. "Yeah, I had a bad day and let it out on the room. Sorry, mate," he responded sheepishly.

"Right, mate," Harry replied darkly. This time Ron actually noticed the venom in his words.

"What's with the wand, Harry?" he asked sweetly, looking anywhere except at the teenager with the wand. Harry didn't respond for a moment.

"What were you going to do with my Invisibility Cloak?" Harry asked, dodging the question.

Ron stumbled over his words for a moment before getting a coherent response out. "Just wanted some time alone,"

"You're a prefect." Harry tore his reason to shreds in three words. "You're allowed out after curfew."

Ron cringed a second time. He was in big trouble and he knew it. "Of course," he forced a laugh. "How silly of me," That cinched it. Ron was going to do something very wrong if he still wouldn't admit to it.

"Quit lying, Ronald," Harry spoke threateningly. A month ago, intimidation from Harry would've been laughable against Ron, who was still much taller. The three weeks of extra training had already made the difference in ability between the two far, far more evident. Coupled with the changes in his personality, Harry was no longer a person to be taken lightly.

"Answer truthfully or I'll force it out of you," Harry continued, not going to let him playing games anymore.

Ron was shocked, to say the least, at Harry. There was nothing friendly about his demeanor, only contempt.

With no response seemingly coming, Harry grimaced and said "Sorry," before dropped the Cloak on the floor next to himself, took four steps forward, grabbed a hold of Ron's robes and, taking a leaf out of Daphne's book, pushed him up against a wall, hard.

"Any person who knows you and Hermione for a week will know you two argue," Harry explained coldly, maintaining his hold and wand on Ron. "Making it completely obvious to even the stupidest people that you and Hermione argued." Ron tensed, realizing that Harry was close to the truth, and unintentionally giving Harry the evidence to confirm his thoughts were correct. He then added harshly, "So, what were you going to do to Hermione? What did you do to her that caused her to make you this mad?"

"What makes you say she didn't do something?" Ron countered defensively, beginning to struggle against Harry's hold. He then winced a third time when he realized he'd effectively admitted to having an argument.

"I know Hermione," Harry replied simply. He studied Ron for a moment and loosened his hold slightly. "What's going on, Ron?" he said in a softer tone. "Why are you like this, what's happening here?"

"Mr. Potter!" a surprised voice called out, distracting the pair. "Mr. Weasley!" continued the stern, feminine voice. Harry turned and found Professor McGonagall approaching the two of them from the side corridor. "What are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be in your common room, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall reprimanded. "And release Mr. Weasley at once, Mr. Potter!"

"Certainly, Professor McGonagall," Harry agreed, pushing Ron into the wall again and letting go. "I would be in bed right now if Ronald here hadn't destroyed our dorm, beds and belongings and stolen something of mine."

"Destroyed your belongings?" McGonagall repeated in disbelief. "Is this true?" she asked, rounding on Ron.

Ron glowered at Harry, who merely glared back in response, willing Ron to get the message 'you had your chance'. Had there been an adequate explanation for all this… but it was too late now.

"Yes, Professor," Ron replied, ashamedly, seeing no way out now.

"Good gracious. Why would you do that?" McGonagall asked, shocked and exasperated. This was not the conduct she had expected from her students.

"I had a bad day," Ron offered lamely.

"Professor," Harry interrupted, seeing no resolution in sight. "Can I go see Professor Dumbledore?"

McGonagall surveyed Harry, trying to discern his reason for going over her head. Harry kept his face blank as best he could while maintaining his focus on Ron. Occlumency, now that he was able to do it reasonably well after learning it the proper way over the summer break, aided his cause. "You're welcome to visit the Headmaster any time Mr. Potter, however he isn't in the school at the moment."

Harry moved his gaze off Ron to McGonagall. Dumbledore wasn't in the school?

"Oh," he responded simply. "Then I'll return to the… remainder of my room." Harry dropped his wand arm and turned to go, picking up his Cloak as he went. "Professor," McGonagall stiffened. "I suggest you ask him what he was going to do with my Invisibility Cloak and make sure you get an honest answer."

The silence that followed was harsh to all concerned. Harry took the lack of response as a cue to leave and set off down the corridor, out of sight. He withdrew the map and found Hermione in the same room as before. Ron and McGonagall were already on the move downstairs, presumably to her office. Then it really hit him, what had just happened.

Ron trashed their room, their beds and belongings, stole his Invisibility Cloak, set off in search of Hermione. What would've happened in Harry didn't have the Marauder's Map? Would Ron have found her first? What would he have done?

Harry felt ill. Was this the same Ron Weasley he had been friends with since the first train ride to Hogwarts? Was that Ron really capable of forcing himself onto Hermione? It was something expected from a Death Eater… not a friend. He didn't act like he was under duress, none of the signs of the Imperius. That meant he did it all under free will.

Ron did let his jealously control him quite often. Ron did let his anger control him just as often.

Harry hadn't been the perfect example of calm the previous year, yet he never, ever would have done what he thought Ron was about to do.

He stood still, leaning his head against the cold, harsh stone of the walls of Hogwarts. What was going on? First suddenly having trouble connecting with Hermione and now Ron completely losing it for reasons he wasn't willing to share.

Frustrated and confused, Harry lashed out against the wall with his first. Unfortunately that did little to abate said frustration and confusion, only bothering him further with the pain in his fist.

Harry didn't understand. What was causing everyone to act so strangely?

It took Harry awhile to calm down. Anger and disgust boiled up inside him as he stood there, leaning against the wall, attempting to make sense of Ron's actions. What made the entire situation worse was that this wasn't a random Death Eater who had gone out to attack Hermione, but someone he thought he knew, trusted and liked as a close friend.

He forced himself to move and find Hermione. Maybe she would have some answers.

Harry knocked on the door to the room Hermione was in once he got there. There wasn't a response, not to Harry's surprise. He gave her a minute before knocking again, giving her the chance to compose herself, if she was even attentive enough to notice the knocking. Harry pocketed his wand and the Cloak, and opened the door.

Hermione was across the room, staring out one of the windows like he had been earlier in the week, but this was into the night. This abandoned room used to be a classroom judging by the layout. There was a chalkboard on the wall to Harry's left, a table in front of it and several overturned chairs on Harry's right. It was another room that had fallen into disrepair over the years.

Above Hermione were a dozen yellow canaries darting in and out of each others flight paths. Sixth year Transfiguration was to start Conjuration next term. Clearly Hermione had read ahead.

Her back was turned to Harry. She didn't make any reaction to Harry coming in or make any indication she knew of his presence, even after closing the door. Slowly, quietly, Harry crossed the room. He stopped in front of the canaries, wary of them. He had been told by McGonagall some of the uses of Conjured animals and wasn't really looking to being attacked by a dozen canaries.

Seeing no attack coming, for their creator still didn't notice his presence, Harry approached Hermione. The windowsill was large enough for two people. Hermione was situated in the middle, oblivious to anyone else in the room. He gently nudged her to the side, causing her to jump a mile. Harry leaned down onto the sill, staring out into the night sky. In the corner of Harry's restricted vision, Hermione was staring at him with wide eyes. She clearly hadn't expected him to come looking for her.

The sky was cloudless, the stars visible. There was a slight wind, causing Harry to shiver every now and then, the cold brushing against his exposed skin. Goosebumps slowly appeared up and down his arms and legs.

"Harry," Hermione whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," he replied, still staring out into the night. He could see how Hermione could get absorbed staring out there. It was beautiful, seeing the Hogwarts grounds in the night from their vantage point. It was so quiet and calm, the polar opposite of his life in the daytime. "Ron came back in a right state, trashed our room, and destroyed our beds and our belongings. All five of ours." Harry elaborated. Hermione gasped and looked away.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized softly. "I accidentally overheard some of your argument with him on my way back from class with Slughorn." Hermione, naturally, tensed. "It was a private moment. I left before the end of the conversation, though by the state Ron was in, I wish I had known the rest so I could've stopped him."

"How much did you hear?" she asked.

"From when you stated telling him off for forcing himself on you, till he said 'what else do you do in a relationship'," Harry let out a small, nearly humorless chuckle. "He has a family, a loving one at that, and he doesn't know that there's more to a relationship than snogging?"

Hermione let out a small laugh, which sounded more hysterical than natural. He noticed dried tears on her cheeks.

Harry winced, another girl that's crying in front of me…

Not being able to think of anything else to cheer her up, Harry put an arm on her shoulder. Hermione suddenly stepped forward hugged Harry. She let out a few muffled sobs. A minute later she removed her head from his robes. Harry, surprised at the hug, had awkwardly put his arms around her, the problems between them briefly dissipating, and their height difference more apparent than ever

Then Hermione spoke the words he thought he would never hear from her. "Harry, I don't know what to do," she whispered. Her hands clenched tightly on his robes, preventing him from moving anywhere.

"I need help, Harry," she pleaded. "I've been having dreams…"

"Dreams? What kind of dreams?" he interrupted. The word rang alarm bells in his mind. His mind raced to his own dreams. Was she having Voldemort induced dreams? How could that be?

"I'm watching a memory…" Hermione answered distractedly. "It's one of my own memories, Harry but I can't remember it when I'm conscious. I'm talking with Mrs. Weasley at the Burrow during summer before you arrived."

"And?"

Hermione dropped her gaze. "She-she-she asks me about my-my feelings for Ron," Hermione turned away, hiding her tears and embarrassment. "Then the memory is covered by this fog that I can't see through. There are voices that I can't make out, then flashes that look like spell fire and crashing and then silence."

"I've dreamt this almost every night since the night we returned to Hogwarts," said Hermione, releasing Harry and regaining his gaze from a distance. Her eyes were filled with the same vulnerability he saw in them on their first night back and when she had asked him what she should do about Ron asking her out.

"Harry, what if Mrs. Weasley is involved?"

"She wouldn't…" Harry said in disbelief. "No, Mrs. Weasley isn't that kind of person." Harry forced a laugh. "I must be insane to even think that. She's been nothing but nice to us. There's got to be something else."

"Do you remember her 'one big, happy Weasley family' dream?" Hermione asked, certain they had the same thought. "Did you hear that Mrs. Weasley originally used a Love Potion to get the attention of Mr. Weasley?"

Harry paled. "Are you saying that she would do the same to you and Ron? Just to get that silly dream?" he asked. His mind was having difficulties believing that the person that was as close to a replacement mother as anyone would most likely get would do such a thing.

"I don't know," Hermione replied uncertainly. She started pacing. "I don't know," she repeated. "Before I started dreaming, I would never have thought so. The last two and a half weeks, I have been replaying the summer over and over; trying to recall this memory but it's not there! It's as if… as if my memory has been modified."

Horrified, Harry was speechless for several moments. All barriers between them were long forgotten. "B-but…" was all he could get out. Was Mrs. Weasley truly capable of using Love Potions and Memory Charms to get what she wanted? She was an overbearing and overprotective mother, sure, but this was another step or two down a very wrong path.

"I don't want to believe it either, Harry." Hermione said solemnly. "You… you overheard the part about me not kissing him yet?" she asked, facing away from him.

Harry flushed. If there was absolutely one part he knew he shouldn't have overheard, it was that. "Yeah."

"I couldn't do it," Hermione continued, still pacing. "We were on patrol and passed that statue of the one-eyed witch. I wanted to check to see if it was still clear and asked Ron for the password. We went down into that tunnel and walked the length and back. Ron and I started talking and he tried to…" she trailed off. Harry already had played those images through his head once, so he adamantly ignored them the second time. "I wanted a quiet place, one where I knew we wouldn't get interrupted by chance, and Ron figured that that was the time. But I couldn't. I couldn't, not knowing whether what I feel is real, whether my feelings are forced because of this memory."

"The same happened over and over and Ron was angry about it… and today," Hermione looked downwards at her feet. "We were on patrol and I, this time, was seriously considering kissing him just once. I don't know why... to prove to Ron I was in the relationship? To prove it to myself that I could go through with it and wipe away any of my doubts? But, again, I couldn't." She shook her head, still facing the ground. "Ron finally lost his patience I guess. He must want an, excuse my lack of tact, easy woman."

Hermione stopped pacing and lifted her face to look at Harry. "You had every right to leave us out." She claimed, referring to Sunday night. "You're right; neither of us are focused enough on the task at hand. It was easier to ignore the clues and pretend the problem didn't exist so I could deal with my own."

"Hermione…" Harry responded, surprised.

"I vowed to myself, after you saved me from that troll," she started, head slightly cocked to the side, reminiscing. "That I would always been there for you. Do everything I could to help you. I would always put you first." She locked gazes with Harry again. "Sometimes that caused rifts between us." Harry immediately knew she was referring to the Firebolt. He grimaced. "No need to apologize, Harry. I know you're sorry. I believe you would have been angry at me for going behind your back but would have forgiven me quicker if it weren't for him."

Silently, Harry found himself agreeing. He'd been influenced by Ron into quite a few things he didn't advocate. But Ron was his first friend, if he'd stood up to him, he would've been friendless again. Harry couldn't have handled that at the time, not after finally managing to make a friend after ten years at the Dursley's.

"Anyway," Hermione discarded that line of thinking. "What worries me is that if Mrs. Weasley did do something to me, somebody else is in on it."

"What makes you…?" Harry paused. Thinking aloud, he said, "If it's a potion, then someone would have to continue administering it."

"Right," Hermione agreed.

"That means someone else has the same dream, or some part of that dream works in their favor." Hermione nodded in agreement.

"See why I've been distracted lately?"

"That means," Harry continued, ignoring the half question. "Somebody that knows the Weasley's… someone that we know is in on it."

Hermione approached the window and resumed her original position. "I don't want to think the worst of people straight off, but I think its Ginny."

This didn't surprise Harry. After her performance in front of Padma last week, she wasn't on Harry's trust list. He told Hermione about the confrontation.

"She brought me drinks and food all throughout the summer too, spent a lot of time talking boys with me." Hermione revealed. "I've been trying to think of anyone else who would have a reason to do this. Mrs. Weasley could have just told Ginny to bring the meals to me since I'm a guest, Ginny having no involvement whatsoever. That reason isn't valid when I'm here at Hogwarts. Who, besides Ginny, could be doing this?"

That was the sixty four galleon question. Who at Hogwarts was tainting Hermione's food and drink or casting spells on her?

"Wait," Harry said suddenly. He turned to look at Hermione. "You have your doubts about this right, then why are you still eating food without checking it? I would've noticed if you were casting spells over your food… unless you can do it wandlessly?"

Hermione grinned briefly. "I'm not that good a witch, Harry. I would've beaten you if I could do wandless magic."

"Then why?"

"If whoever it is knows I've caught on to them, that'll make them harder to find," Hermione explained. "If I continue to have such little reaction… to the potion or whatever, I'm resisting as much as I can, that'll also frustrate the person behind it all, making mistakes more likely. Now that this has happened, whoever it was may make mistakes for Ron and I will never be together, not after this, no matter what his excuse is."

Harry nodded in understanding. "There's one more thing," Hermione continued.

Harry shot her an inquisitive glance. What else could there be?

"Whoever wants me with Ron, doesn't want you and me close. Who would hate it the most if you and I grew apart?"

"Ginny." Harry said slowly. He was not blind. He had noticed that Ginny had a crush on him since they had met, if not earlier. That was part of the reason he would never even consider going out with her. She idolized him and hadn't made any attempts to get to know him. Could she really be any different than those other worshippers out there? "Why?"

Hermione sent him a wistful look. "I've been completely absorbed in all these problems on top of school work and the DA. After brushing you off Monday night, I realized what I'd done and also realized that it hadn't been the first time we've had problems since that talk the first night back."

"And this change in our friendship started after that night," Harry concluded. "So what can we do about it?"

"Very little without knowing exactly what's being used," Hermione replied weakly. "We can't go out and accuse people with any evidence. They'll just deny it and we'll get nowhere. Right now I can only think that we wait until whoever it is starts to make mistakes. I'll try and research ways of identifying enchantments. In the meantime, we need to be observant and not let this interfere with our friendship."

Harry nodded, not liking the idea at all but trusting her. Then, Hermione added one last thought that he later wished she hadn't.

"Magic is strong enough to tear friendships apart, Harry. No matter how hard one can try, magical influence can win out. The only power we have is how long we can resist."

There was a long, tense silence.

"Welcome to my problems," Hermione said humorlessly after awhile.

The two of them shared a few more minutes of silence before deciding it time to return to their dorms. Harry donned his Cloak, as he wasn't a prefect, forgetting that if Hermione escorted him it wouldn't matter unless they chanced upon Snape. Hermione walked slowly so Harry could keep up.

Before she opened the door, she turned to where she thought he was. "Thank you for coming after me, Harry."

"You're my best friend, Hermione," Harry responded. "Magical influence or not, I'm still your friend. If you're right, which I hope to God you're not, this won't be an easy term for us. If I'm affected too… I think I am because I…" Harry turned away, not that Hermione could see. "I keep finding myself not caring about what happens between us. It's like if we stay together I'm okay with it and if we part I'm okay with it."

Hermione didn't respond, but Harry didn't really want her too. The day had been long enough without another round of debate regarding what was happening between them. At last, Harry added, "If Ron hadn't stolen my Cloak to come after you I'd have been here earlier."

"To come after me?!" Hermione repeated, alarmed. Harry winced; he forgot that they hadn't gotten to that. He sighed and began explaining on their way back.

Professor McGonagall was waiting for the two of them in the common room, along with Neville and Ron. Briefly the two of them wondered where Dean and Seamus were.

"Ah, Miss Granger, thank you for finally joining us."

Hermione flushed slightly at keeping a teacher waiting. "Sorry, Professor, I had a lot on my mind."

"Undoubtedly, Miss Granger," McGonagall concurred. "Is Mr. Potter with you, perhaps under his Cloak?"

Harry revealed himself, knowing that sneaking around the school just got a lot harder now that McGonagall was aware of the Cloak.

"Thank you for joining us, Mr. Potter." McGonagall pursed her lips; clearly not liking the fact Harry did have an Invisibility Cloak. Privately, it did explain how he got around to where he did so easily.

"Now, let's get down to business. It is late and I wish to retire." McGonagall turned to the other two occupants in the room. Harry and Hermione took seats away from Ron.

"Mr. Weasley has been stripped of his prefect status." McGonagall announced. There were three gasps. Ron bowed his head and didn't say a thing, not making eye contact with anyone. "This is for his conduct. I am deeply ashamed to have one of my charges act in such a fashion. You should treat other people's property as if they were your own."

"In addition, Mr. Weasley, you have a month's detention. I will also be writing home to your parents. This is completely unacceptable behavior." McGonagall pursed her lips further, so they almost disappeared off of her face. "Personally, I would have suspended you if I was Headmistress; however, Professor Dumbledore doesn't wish to suspend or expel students except as a last resort."

"Now, Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom." McGonagall turned her attention to Harry and Neville. "Many of your belongings were salvaged. Your roommates are upstairs already, sorting through their remains."

Harry was surprised and relieved to hear that. He had precious few possessions to call his own. Some of them were priceless – his photo album was, as far as he knew, one of a kind. It could take him years to track down more photos of his parents.

"This weekend, I'm allowing the five of you to take a trip to Diagon Alley to buy replacement items. Since Mr. Weasley is the one who destroyed them, the money will come from his pocket." Ron looked up in shock. McGonagall saw the expression and sent him her own look, absent of any pity. "You must know that foolish actions have consequences. You are lucky you weren't suspended Mr. Weasley. Don't try and make it worse for yourself." Ron ducked his head again.

"Your beds have been repaired. It is late; you should all retire." Harry, Neville and Hermione got up. They bade each other goodnight and climbed the stairs.

"If anything like this happens again Mr. Weasley," McGonagall's voice floated up the stairwells. "You will be expelled, Headmaster's reservations or not."

Harry and Neville shared disgusted looks and entered their dorm. Sighing at the mess, Harry crossed the room, summoned the remains of his belongings and began making a list of items he would need.

It had been another long day.

Harry's sixth year had gone for two and a half weeks and so much had already happened. Two friendships were moving close to the edge, and one was already gone. Malfoy and whatever he was up to in the Room of Requirement was also worrying.

As Harry watched Dean, Seamus and Neville continue to pick up and find temporary homes for their belongings; he wondered what else was going to happen before karma was satisfied that the universe was equal again.