Disclaimer: Do not own other wise it would be longer than seven years. Sorry for the long, long wait for an update: reasons are Grandmother was in hospital, my mother had knee replacement surgery and I have been trying to get another job. I will try to get another out ASAP, I am about half way through the next chapter.

Chapter 7: Encounter

Harry and Hermione appeared at her home. It was nothing like Privet Drive. Which was the first thing that Harry noticed. None of the houses resembled the others. Every house was as different as a snowflake in a snowstorm. All the houses were different in shape, size and color. None of the houses were scrunched together. As they were taking the walk to the front door, Harry stopped in his tracks.

Hermione could feel the power starting to rise in her friend, "what's wrong?"

"It is quiet, way to quiet," Harry answered. He walked to the front door. Grabbing the doorknob. Slowly turning the knob. Opening the door he could see some spell damage on the doorframe. Taking his first step into the house he could smell the discharge of sulfur coming from a wand casting dark spells. As he walked into the foyer, he noticed that some pictures once hung on the wall where the fading had occurred around the empty spots of where they once hung. As he entered the next room which was a dining room and the dining table was flipped over and had spell damage across it.

"Potter," came the voice from another room. "I was hoping for the mud-blood to come in, so I could have some fun with her before she died." The intruder said nonchalantly.

Harry knew whom the voice belonged to and his anger raised to the breaking point. He was thinking that he should take this Death Eater in alive but he really wanted to make him suffer. "So you wanted to have your way with smartest and most brilliant person the magical world has ever known."

"NO MUD-BLOOD IS BETTER THAN THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE" Snape bellowed.

"Good he is angry and will be irrational in battle," Harry thought. He walked into the drawing room to find Snape standing in the doorway to the kitchen. As he looked around, he noticed that the couch and chairs were turned over and against the wall. Snape was standing a step out of the doorway. Harry chanced a look around to get an assessment of his surroundings, "neither of the Granger's are in close proximity."

Both men were at the ready for the coming duel. Neither seemed to want to take the first move. After a couple of seconds or so Snape broke the silence, "you should remember this spell, SECTUSEMPRA," he yelled.

Harry conjured a marble slab to take the attack.

"Well sometimes you even amaze me you dunderhead," Snape said.

"There are a lot of things that will surprise you coward," Harry said. As he said that he could feel the hatred flowing and building inside him. He kept seeing Albus dropping to the ground. Harry didn't say anything he just raise his hand towards Snape.

Snape, looking at Harry with his mouth clenched tight, sneered at him. He watched as Harry raised his hand in a flash to see a red beam that could only be the Cruciatus Curse. When it him it was the most pain he had ever felt. This curse is only supposed to be performed by wand and vocal only. Then the curse had stop. Snape looked over and saw that Harry was on the ground.

Harry had intended to hurt Snape. He wanted Snape to feel the pain that was coursing through his veins. He wanted him to feel every time he was beat by Vernon. He wanted him to feel the loss of his parents. When all of sudden he was doubled over in pain. Looking over his shoulder expecting to see a Death Eater but no it was… His world became black.

Hermione's PoV

Hermione rushed in to her home after hearing the screams that she knew wasn't Harry or her parents. As she entered into her home she could smell nothing but sulfur and she remembered from her reading that when someone was using an Unforgivable or any other powerful dark magic that you could smell a faint odor of sulfur. This was so strong that her eyes watered immediately. Running into the drawing room she saw Harry, his hand was stretched out in front of him with a deep red beam emitting from his hand. She thought, "NO, He can't be casting that spell, nor without a wand or saying the spell. I've got to stop him or he will do something permanent to...of Merlin, SNAPE!" "Stupefy!" Hermione yelled. Harry was hit in the head and he turned to see who had hit him with a spell. She could see the surprise on his face to see who hit him with the spell.

Snape was relieved for the torture curse to have finally stopped. "I have never felt that kind of pain. That was worse than even the Dark Lord. I would of course, never tell him that," Snape thought.

"MUD-BLOOD, little miss know it all," he said with disdain. "I am going to introduce you to pain." "CRUCIO," Snape yelled.

She dived out of the way, behind the couch she got ready to attack. "Bombarda," Hermione yelled with a smile on her face.

Snape saw her fire the spell, he thought to his head. He started to laugh, "You missed mud-blood."

"Did I," Hermione said looking confident. As she finished the statement they heard the crunch of wood. What Snape, didn't know was that just above him on the second floor was the lavatories. The bathtub started to fall through the ceiling.

Snape, seeing this happening, brought his wand up and yelled, "IMPEDIA." The tub slowed down a little but he still had to jump back into the kitchen to keep from getting smashed by the porcelain tub.

Hermione watched the tub miss its mark. The tub fell into the doorway of the kitchen, blocking to and from there. She watched, Snape, get up from the kitchen's white and black checkerboard pattern tile slowly. He took a glance towards her and started for the back door. Once he left her sight she heard the sound of apparation. She got up and walked to Harry, placed a hand on his chest and grabbed the pendent on her chain around her neck and said, "twelve Grimauld." They were port keyed out of there to The Very Ancient and Noble House of Black.

Number 12 Grimauld Place

Remus Lupin, friend to James and Lily Potter and to Sirius Black. He was the last surviving member of the Marauders. Was sitting at the kitchen table sipping some tea racking his mind for any possible location of where Harry could be. It had been a few days since the school had let everyone out for the events that happened at the end of year. At the end of Dumbledore's funeral they dismissed Hogwarts early this year. He was hoping to see Harry before he left for the Dursley's. He was going to tell him that Albus had told him that Harry only needed to stay with the Dursley's until the middle of July. Then he could leave for good but with him leaving so abruptly and with no warning, he did not know what would come from these events.

As Remus was fixing a sandwich to hold him over until the meeting the Order was having tonight. He heard a ruff landing of a port key. He ran to the drawing room and the sight that waited for him was quite amusing. Hermione intertwined with Harry, it was a human pretzel.

"Hermione, where have you been? We've sent several owls and Order members to find you; your parents used an emergency port key to Hogwarts a little while ago. Your home was attacked by Death Eaters," Remus said.

"We were going home to get some of my things for training at… a location that Harry knows, so you would need to ask him," Hermione told him.

"What happen to Harry?" Remus asked.

"Well when we got home, Harry felt something was wrong. He told me to wait outside why he checked it out. A few minutes passed and I heard a scream… well it was a scream of terrible pain and anguish. So I ran into the house to see…H-Harry, w-w-with his hand stretched out," she sighed with a sob, "Cr-Crucia, he was using the C-C-Cruciatus Curse on Snape. I had to st-stun Harry," Hermione finished with tears sliding down her face.

"Well let's get him up so he can answer a few questions, Ennervate," Remus said. Nothing happened. So Remus cast the reviving charm again, still nothing and he looked at Hermione, "maybe we should do it together, " ENNERVATE!" they said together.

Harry started to move a little. First he moved his fingers and then the rest of his extremities. Finally after a few seconds Harry opened his eyes in a flash of movement grabbed his wand and with his left hand he cast the Petrificus Totalus wandless and wordless, in his right hand he held his wand ready to cast more painful hexes that he had read about. "Oh no, how did I get here and… oh right Hermione came in and… what happened to Snape," he waved his hand and they were animate again, "sorry Moony, Mione, but the last thing I remember was Snape, then Mione… why did you stun me we could have taken his ass in."

"Harry, you were torturing Snape, with the Cruciatus. You could be in jail right now," Hermione said.

"Mione, this is war we are going to have to win or there will be a lot worse things happening to everyone. I am going to do what has to be done, by the way that was the strongest stunner I have ever experienced," Harry said.

"Where is my parents, professor?" Hermione asked.

"They were attacked, as you know, they activated their emergency Port Keys that sends them to Hogwarts heads office. They were found after a couple of minutes of arriving and then we sent Tonks and Shacklebolt to investigate being they are Aurors as well, so no questions will be asked," Remus said.

"When will I see them, sir?" Hermione asked but cut off.

"Hermione, I have told you before, please call me Remus or Moony. You are one of the closest friend of Harry's and you have the right too," he said to finalize it. "They should be here soon."

"After they get here we will visit for a bit and we need to go," Harry said then looked at Remus' expression and answered his unasked question, "we have some training that we are going to be doing at an undisclosed location, Professor McGonagall has talked to Mrs. Weasley already for Ron and Ginny to participate. We will be gone for a little under a week."

"Well, what are you hoping to acquire in a few days?" Moony asked.

"Time, time is a peculiar thing," Harry said.

In the few minutes of silence they had they were interrupted by the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Minerva McGonagall.

"Mum, Dad," Hermione squealed. "I was so worried when I saw the house."

They looked at her in awe, "why on God's green earth did you go there, we had left when those 'wirdy' things went off that Mr. Dumbledore put up at the end of last term," her dad told them.

"Well, I was coming to ask permission and to collect some things for training that Harry, Ron, Ginny and I were planning to do for the next couple of days. When we got there, Harry told me to stay outside and he would check it out." Hermione went on to tell the rest of the events that transpired at her home.

Harry noticed that she didn't bother to correct them on the 'wards' mispronunciation.

After the explanation of the nights events. Harry motioned for Hermione that they needed to leave. They said their goodbyes and with a soft whoosh, Hermione and Harry left Number Twelve Grimauld Place.

"How did Harry just do that, it should not be possible," Remus asked?

McGonagall spoke to answer, "Harry has awaken some of his dormant powers. He, as far as I can see is by far the most powerful wizard I have ever seen."

The Grangers missed the gaping mouth but McGonagall nodded her head in the affirmative to the unasked question, "he has surpassed Albus and Tom."

At Minerva McGonagall's Office

Ron and Ginny were getting restless after Professor McGonagall told them to stay and wait for Harry and Hermione to arrive and then go to the Burrow. She had rushed out of her office so fast they were not able to ask any questions. Then after an hour of waiting they finally had a visitor.

"Hey, what is going on, mate?" Ron asked. Then Ron looked to Hermione and saw Ginny rush over to her and enveloped her in a tight embrace. "Hermione, are you okay? We've been here for the last couple of hours McGonagall took off told us not to move, what has happened are you okay?" Ron said worriedly.

"Ron, there was an attack but everyone is alright except for Snape," he saw Ron's anticipated look, "He is alive just in a lot of pain, mostly because of Hermione." Harry was about to continue when he saw the look on Albus' face.

"Harry, what happened to him and why is Hermione so distraught?" Albus asked.

"Well, we were going to retrieve some of her things from her home for training and I felt the area saturated with a magic aura that was familiar to me, I thought it might be Wormtail but it was not until I entered the foyer that I felt that same feeling in potions for five years. I told Hermione to stay behind so I could check it out," Harry said. Then Harry finished telling them what happened with Hermione feeling in after he was stunned by her and her reasoning why.

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