Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Author's Note: This chapter is base on 'Free' by Corrine May. I like this chapter because this is where I hope will excalate the story to a more interesting level. Please read on and leave me reviews.

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It was about ten at night. I wasn't sleepy. I was so anxious and my heart was probably beating so fast, pumping so much blood all around my body that it kept me awake. The guys were asleep outside in the small living room, so was Mr Weasley. Mrs Weasley was upstairs with Fleur and Micah. I went down the stairs to get some water and saw that Pansy was keeping alert, sitting by herself in the kitchen. She was holding a dagger in one hand, doing some complicated tricks with it and I got quite fascinated, watching her from the base of the stairs. I walked on and when she saw me, she quickly places the dagger back into her pocket.

"Ron told me that you are good with the bow and arrows." I suddenly said to break the silence.

"He did?" She asked and I heard a tinge of excitement in her voice.

"Yes he did. But what confuses me though is why you guys are using all these muggle weapons to fight."

Pansy chuckled lightly at my remark.

"Well, what confuses me now is why you are confused about this arrangement. I mean, you are a muggle born right? I'm sure you know that there are some things in this magical world of ours that lacks certain element that muggles have. Supernus always tell us that we should never dismiss creations from muggles. Wands can be powerful but our enemies…those Dark Wizards; they are too egoistic to even think that muggle creation could be helpful. That is why we use the advantage of learning to use all these muggle weapons. It gives a certain surprise element to them and they won't be able to react fast enough."

I nodded my head in understanding what she had just said. I poured myself a glass of water and offered her one. She took it and we sat in silence, sipping our water.

"You know, I'm sorry for all the hurtful things I said to you when we were in school." Pansy said and I was surprised.

"Apology accepted." I said after about ten seconds and she immediately breathed a sigh of relief. We smiled at each other and I thought maybe both of us had broken the barrier that had been preventing us from talking to each other.

"Do you think Harry is going to be ok?" I asked and she raised her eyebrow, which I hope to be because of surprise and not sceptical.

"Harry is going to be fine. He's a great wizard. Everyone knows that. He's Invictus."

"Well, he does have this 'heroic' behaviour which I find really dangerous. He thinks he can save everyone. That is his weakness."

"You care about him a lot." Pansy remarked and it wasn't the reaction I was hoping for.

"He's my best-friend." I replied lamely.

Pansy looked at me in the eye, challenging me to tell the truth but I was determined not to say anything. "You love him."

"Of course I love him. He's my best-friend." I said hoping that she didn't hear my voice quavering slightly.

Pansy chuckled and I got frustrated. Does she think this was funny? "Hermione, you don't have to hide anything from me." She moved closer to me. "Harry is going to kill me if he founds out what I'm about to do."

"What?" My eyebrows creased in question and confusion.

"Hermione, Harry loves you! He has loved you since that night he left you to fight Voldemort."

I stared at her face while she looked at mine. Harry loves me? It was all such a surprise and I did not want to believe it. I was about to ask Pansy to repeat what she had just said but her face suddenly turned serious.

'Shh." She said and walked up to the kitchen window and peered out the curtain. She quickly, but swiftly moved away from the window and motioned me to follow her. She made her way to the guys and woke them up. They stirred and she quickly told them to keep their voice down.

"They are outside. I saw three of them. Be on the alert. I will try my best to keep you safe and please keep your wands handy." She said but as soon as she finished her sentence, a loud blast threw Fred and George off the couch.

"Hermione go upstairs now!" Charlie shouted.

"No!"

"I will not let you get into this." He said.

"I can do whatever I want Charlie. Let this be my battle too." I shouted back at him and ignored the shadow of hurt behind his eyes. I took out my wand and battled with the Dark Wizards that were attacking the Burrow. Pansy was battling with about three of them and her skills were of such dynamic that I was impressed. I looked around and saw that we were outnumbered. My mind started to whir. Why is there so many of them? What happened to Harry and Draco? Why were they not able to stop all these wizards from attacking us? All these questions were running through my mind.

"Expelliarmus!" I shouted and my opponent's wand repel from his hands. I did whatever I can to chase away those who attacked me. It seemed like hours but I had prepared myself for a long battle. What I had done four years ago wasn't satisfying. I was brought to the ground so early, not managing to avenge my parent's death. I managed to get cuts on my forehead and arms and I felt some sort of satisfaction from it. Suddenly, I was grabbed by someone around my waist and when I turned to see who it was, my heart started to beat double the current speed.

"I thought I told Charlie to stop you from doing this." Harry said as his green eyes looked into mine through his mask. Our faces were only a few inches apart and I could feel his heart beat.

"I…I" I stuttered.

He looked behind him and cast a shield to protect us from a curse. The shield was so strong that it forced the attacker to the opposite wall. He slumped and suffered another bad luck. What appears to be a shattered leg from a broken chair stabbed through his chest and he died immediately.

"Hermione you're not used to this. Things can get way out of hand." Harry tried to explain.

I just looked at him questioningly. But what I did next gave him and myself a surprise. I pulled his face towards mine and kissed his lips gently and when he kissed me back, I thought that I could just melt right there. When we pulled apart, his eyes bore into mine and we smiled a little.

"Please go Hermione. If you want to be part of this, I suggest you go upstairs and help protect Mrs Weasley, Fleur and her son." He said. I immediately looked behind at the stairs and saw two Dark Wizards making their way up. "Now Hermione!"

I placed my hand on his cheek and caressed it lightly. "Please take care of yourself Harry."

I turned around and hurried up the stairs. "Stupefy!" My opponent dropped to the floor. I ran towards the room where I knew Mrs Weasley and Fleur had locked themselves in but the other wizards caught me and pulled me by my hair.

"Where are you going witch?" He asked, his stinky breath making me nausea. He pulled my hair with so much force and I was in pain but I never want him to get the satisfaction of knowing that he had caused me pain.

"Let go of me!" I screamed trying to yank his filthy hands off my hair.

"Not so easy."

"Stupefy!" I looked up and saw Fleur pointing her wand on my attacker. He immediately let go of me and fell to the floor. "Come 'Ermione!"

I ran towards the room and shut the door behind me. I cast a protection spell around the door and the room. A few seconds later, someone was banging on the door and we heard their muffled voices.

"Open up witch! Let me kill you!"

Without warning, a small tear rolled down my left cheek. I didn't realise how overwhelming this could be. I looked at Fleur who was holding Micah dearly and Mrs Weasley was holding tightly to her daughter-in-law's right hand.

"Everything is going to be fine." I whispered to myself.

"I said open up! Now!" I heard them trying the Alohomora spell but it didn't work. No one could break the protection that I had cast.

Suddenly, a bright orange light entered the room, blinding all of us. I tried to see who had cast it but the light was too strong I had to close my eyes. The next thing I remember was falling to the floor and faling into a deep sleep.

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Harry looked around at the destruction of The Burrow. It doesn't look like a home anymore. The cosy sofa was torn into pieces; chairs and dining table were broken into pieces. Framed pictures of the Weasleys and broken mirrors and glasses littered the floor. Fred, George and Charlie were attended by the Academy's Healers. Bill and Mr Weasley were immediately bought to the Academy's hospital wing. The Dark Wizards were brought to higher authorities to be questioned by the Ministry and most probably be put into Azkaban.

"Thanks Kyle, I'll be fine." Harry heard Pansy said after Kyle wrapped a bandage around her head. Her wound could not stop bleeding and Kyle had to treat her the muggle way after casting some spell on the wound and letting her drink a small vial of potion to lessen the bleeding. Draco and Harry sat side by side with only cuts on their faces.

Harry turned around and saw the person he had been waiting for. "Where are they?" He asked his superior.

"They are all in a deep sleep and have been brought into one of the chambers in the Academy. I'm sorry I have to this Invictus. I cannot afford to let them get into this deeper."

"You can trust the Weasleys and Hermione. They will keep it a secret." Harry pleaded.

"It's not about that Invictus. This should have never happened in the first place. We were supposed to be 'invisible'. People can know about us but they should have never seen who we really are. I know I told you that you had made some right decisions but at the same time I had hope that you will see this coming."

Harry tried to control his emotions and the anger that was slowly burning inside of him. His respect towards Supernus was too big to overcome his emotions that he backed away immediately.

"Imperiosus will be doing what she is supposed to once all the Weasleys are in the chamber. They will be put into a deep sleep and we will be modifying their memories. Meanwhile, I have arranged for a clean up to this house and Miss Granger's apartment. Everything will be back to the way it was in two days time." Supernus said. He squeezed Harry's shoulder and walked out the door.

It was still dark outside but Harry knew that in an hour time, dawn would be breaking and certain things had to be done and he would not be happy about it.

Draco looked over at his partner and knew that he should probably just keep his mouth shut and let Harry come to him whenever he was ready to talk. He never wanted this to happen. He was unhappy that the Weasleys found out about them but he had never wished that things would turn out this way.

Harry got up without a word. He went outside and felt the cool breeze in the air. In a far distance, he saw a tiny house and one of the rooms had just had its lights turn on. It seemed unfair that here he was standing in front of a destructed home; feeling a deep hollow in the pit of his stomach but everyone else around him was living a life without a heavy burden on their shoulders. It seemed unrealistic to see that everyone else around him might be waking up right now, getting ready for work, and getting ready for another routine day and were reading the Daily Prophet on the dining table having breakfast with their family.

In the plane, on the way back Draco let Harry sit at the back by himself. Pansy and Draco sat side by side and none of them were talking. When they reach the Academy, Pansy and Draco made their way to the hospital wing and as usual Harry rejected treatment, preferring to lock himself in his room.

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Pansy and Draco went ahead to the hospital wing and to get some minor treatments on their cuts. On their way, they saw Bill and Mr Weasley being attended to. They avoided being seen and headed straight to the left wing where they usually get their treatment. Kyle was not there yet so they sat down on chair each in silence.

"It's really unfair of Supernus. This shouldn't be happening." Pansy said. Draco didn't know what to say so he kept quiet. "Why are you so quiet?" Pansy asked. "I'm sure you're happy now that Ginny will lose her family all over again."

Draco got up from his chair and walked to Pansy. "Enough Pansy! I am not going to hear you say those kinds of things to me again! I love Ginny and what hurt her hurts me too."

Pansy was used to Draco's temperamental swings and she wasn't affected by his outburst.

"Well at least, I'm honest in my relationship with Ginny unlike you. You can't keep hiding it from Ron. Tell him!" Draco raised his voice.

"Tell me what?"

Draco and Pansy both turned around and saw Ron standing just outside the door. His tall lean frame almost covered the view of the hallway. Pansy groaned angrily at Draco.

"Happy now?" She asked Draco. Draco took it as a hint that he should leave the room and let Pansy talk to Ron. He knew it was about time. Pansy watched Draco leave and when he reached the door; she felt like calling out his name and asked him to sit with her through this. Draco left the room, his footsteps echoing through the hallway. Ron came into the room and sat on a chair opposite Pansy.

"I'm ready for whatever you're going to tell me." Ron said calmly.

Pansy looked into his blue eyes and felt a hard tugged in her heart. I cannot do this. But she knew that it was sooner or later and since Ron knew that she was supposed to tell him something, she couldn't keep him waiting.

"Four years ago, during the war…Draco and I were in the Malfoy's mansion arguing with each of our fathers. Draco had actually gone back to the mansion to retrieve some of his possessions and I followed him. I was his only friend. Crabbe and Goyle abandoned him as soon as he decided to go to the good side and I was his only alliance. I go wherever he goes, I do whatever he does." Pansy paused when she felt a big lump in her throat and she took in a deep breath to stop the tears that were about to roll down her cheeks.

"That night, when we were about to leave, Lucius Malfoy locked the door and prevented us from leaving. Draco started to shout at him. My dad was behind Lucius all the way and at that moment I felt so sad. He wouldn't look at me and I knew he was ashamed of me. It got me angry and I wanted to be defiant. So I took Draco's arm and pulled him towards the door, telling him that we should ignore them and leave. Then that's when he hit me."

"Who hit you?" Ron asked.

"My dad…he hit me with the deadly Morbus curse." Pansy said and she started crying.

Flashback

"If you leave now, I'll disregard you as my son! You heard that Draco?" Lucius Malfoy threatened.

"I don't care father. I'm ashamed to be your son anyway. You have been nothing else but unfair throughout my whole life in this stupid mansion of yours."

"How dare you say that Draco." Lucius Malfoy said with anger in his voice.

"Come on Draco, let's leave. We shouldn't be wasting time arguing with them." Pansy said. He took Draco's arms and pulled him towards the door.

"Morbus Mactabilis!"

Pansy gasped and fell to the floor immediately, the curse causing a huge impact. She felt a cold rush running through her veins and she screamed in pain. Draco dropped to her side and held her. "Pansy! What's happening? What did you do to her?"

Paul Parkinson sneered at his fallen daughter and her friend. "She deserved it. She has brought shame to the Parkinson name. She should die!"

End of Flashback

Pansy sobbed uncontrollably not able to hide her emotions. Ron made matters worse by keeping quiet. But Ron himself had his face buried in his hands. He looked up and saw that Pansy was shaking uncontrollably and he couldn't bear to see her so hurt. He stood up and walked over to her side, placing his arms slowly around her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.

"I don't want to die Ron. I don't want to die."

"You're not going to die Pansy."

Pansy pushed him aside gently and looked at him. Her eyes were already red from crying. "No you don't get it! The Morbus curse is meant to kill you in the end."

Ron kept quiet again knowing that what Pansy has just said was true.

"I don't know when is my time Ron. I have been taking potions after potions for years but Kyle said that my life is deteriorating slowly. The potions are only meant to keep me alive and healthy a little longer but I know I'm going to die in the end. I could feel it coming. My insides feel so hollow. I feel like I'm almost to nothing."

Pansy looked at him in anger. He had his eyes cast down on the floor. She turned her heels towards the floor and slowly walked away. She was hoping that Ron would call out her name but as she neared the doorway, her heart began to sink slowly. She broke into a run and still did not hear him calld her name. She ran with all her might and when she turned a corner, she bumped into someone. She looked up and saw Draco.

One look at Pansy and he knew that the conversation did not go well. She was trying to push him away from her but he held her tight. "Shh. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." He whispered in her ear.

Pansy began to loosen her grip on Draco's arms and sank into his embrace. She sobbed loudly on his shoulders hoping that all the tears will carry the sadness away from her heart.

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Two days later, Harry sat in his room, brooding over what was going to happen in one hour time. He couldn't let this happen yet he didn't have any ideas on how to stop it. For the first time in his life, he was sitting back and letting something that he was against happened right in front of him.

Meanwhile, Ginny was alone in the chamber where the bodies of her family members including Fleur, Micah and Hermione lay. They were in such a peaceful and deep sleep that she did not want to do it. Supernus had assigned her to modify their memories. It was a difficult job because she would be doing it to her own family members. Not only does she have to make them forget the events that had been happening for the past two weeks but she also have to input memories that did not happen. Supernus had trusted her with this job and she was going to make sure that it would happen. But she wasn't going to let it happened without her own fight. Like Harry, she didn't want this to happen.

She walked over to Hermione and placed the tip of her wand just a few inches away from Hermione's right temple. She closed her eyes and moved her wand across Hermione's forehead down to her left temple. A few seconds later, she heard someone walking towards the chambers and in shock, her wand fell on to the floor with a light thud and landed below Charlie's makeshift bed.

"Are you ready Imperiosus?" Supernus asked as he walked into the chamber.

Ginny breathed in deeply, thanking Merlin that Supernus did not see what she had just did. She nodded her head and started to modify all their memories.

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