DISCLAIMER: I am not profiting from this story in any way, and only the plot is mine in the first place.

POST DATE: October 2, 2007

CHAPTER 1: Tough Meetings and Gruesome Decisions

"See Potter, I don't need to kill you to take over the world."

At the conclusion of this horrifying statement, Harry woke suddenly, grasping at his scar, the echoing laughter of his maniacal arch enemy still ringing in his ears. Slowly, the pain began to subside, and Harry attempted to make sense of what had just happened to him.

This was the first connection Harry had had with Voldemort since directly before he and his friends were tricked into traveling to the Department of Mysteries before the end of the term. Thinking of that fiasco inevitably led Harry to thinking of his feelings of loss for his Godfather, feelings which, thus far, he had gone to great lengths to suppress.

Deciding that he still did not wish to deal with such feelings, he quickly shoved all thoughts of Sirius out of his mind, focusing on what had just happened to him. He had laid down for a nap, something he had become accustomed to over the past couple days with the Dursleys, seeing as how he really did not have much other option for activities. All was going well, as well as an afternoon snooze could be expected anyways, until the abrupt and extremely painful vision took him over. What seemed most odd, and potentially most important, about this particular vision was that in the end, Voldemort not only made it clear that he was aware that Harry was watching, but he also seemed happy that he was doing so.

As Harry concentrated, desperate to try to remember any potentially important details, he could feel the memories of his encounter slipping through his fingers like water. By the time he had become fully awake, all he could remember was the final sentence Voldemort had directed at him, and a strange vision of a figure wearing worn jeans and dusty American-style cowboy boots, and possessing a pair of the most frightening eyes he had ever seen.

Ignoring his initial impulse to act immediately, for he could remember only too well what happened when he acted on impulse alone, Harry rose from his small, lumpy bed and walked across his room to take up a seat at his desk. 'This time, I'll do the right thing and tell somebody. Obviously, counting on other people's decisions,' he thought, 'is a better option than counting on my own.' With this thought in mind, he addressed his letter to Professor Dumbledore and began to write.

Just as he was sealing his letter and preparing to tie it to Hedwig's leg, Harry heard a knock at the downstairs door. He found it odd that whoever it was had knocked rather than simply used the bell; however, he shrugged it off and continued with his endeavor. Not five seconds after releasing Hedwig from his bedroom window, though, he heard a slightly muffled stumbling noise down the hall, followed by a less muffled "Damn it!" from a very recognizable, if not exasperated, female voice.

Wondering what Tonks could be doing her and why she was knocking on the front door of all things when she could simply apparate to his bedroom avoiding the Dursleys all together, an option Harry had long wished he could partake in, Harry decided to surprise the overly-cheerful aurer. Rushing to the door, he quickly opened to witness a severely shocked Tonks with her hand raised pre-knock.

Quickly regaining her composure, a smile found its way to her face as she greeted Harry in her standard way. "Wotcher, Harry! Boy do I have some great news for you. In fact, I think there's a distinct possibility that I may just be about to make your summer, if not your year!"

Surprised at her massive amount of exuberance, as well as intrigued by her words, he poked his head out the door, looked both ways, and then replied, "Hey, Tonks! Well, then, come in, come in, and let's hear this great news."

As Tonks entered his room, Harry watched her eyes as they traveled the small expanse, taking in his few, somewhat shabby looking possessions. As he watched, he saw her eyes come to rest on a framed picture of Sirius that he kept on his bedside table, right next to his picture of his parents. Unexplained anger began to rise in him as he witnessed all the happiness and exuberance that had seemed to be in surplus only seconds ago instantly drain from her face. Slowly, she turned her head to face him.

"Harry, how've you been feel-"

Seeing where she was going, he quickly interrupted, "Sorry, Tonks, but I don't want to talk about that right now."

"But, Harry, it's not healthy to keep all this bottled-"

"Please, Tonks, I DON'T want to talk about it," he said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, it's just that-"

Seeing that she simply was not getting the point, he finally shouted at her, "WE.WILL.NOT.TALK.ABOUT.THIS.NOW!!" Lowering his voice, he continued with a stony expression, "Now, unless you have something else to discuss, I'll kindly ask you to leave."

Holding up her hands in mock surrender, she finally sputtered out, "OK, a-alright. Message received loud and clear." After taking a moment to compose herself, Harry could see that her initial message for him must have come back to mind, for her previous smile almost instantaneously reappeared. "Like I said before, I have incredibly happy news for you anyways. Pack your bags, baby, cause we're blowin' this Popsicle stand!"

Feeling incredibly hopeful, Harry still held himself in check until he could confirm what he thought he had just heard. "I'm already leaving for the summer? But I've only been here for a couple days. How can this be?" he asked the aurer, who currently seemed much more excited about his good news than he was.

"To be honest, I have no idea, but, really, does it matter? All I know is Dumbledore contacted me at Mrs. Figg's ten minutes ago and gave me a portkey to Grimmauld place, telling me that I have half an hour to get you and your possessions to headquarters! Ah, but it gets better! Not only are you to come to headquarters, I have been instructed to inform you to make your final goodbyes, 'cause you ain't comin' back!" With that, she raised what appeared to be a Plexiglas paperweight with an insect-looking creature he had never seen before in its center.

"You're serious? I mean, you really…I…no…Dursleys?" No longer able to speak and shaking with growing excitement, Harry lost control of himself as he raced forward and folded the surprised young woman into a bone-crushing embrace, lifting her feet from the floor and swinging her around in circles while firmly planting his lips to hers in a very intimate kiss.

Finally coming to his senses, and seeing that he was currently snogging his bodyguard, Harry set her down so fast she almost fell to the ground before stepping back a couple steps, tripping over the corner of his bed in the process. Attempting to apologize for his forwardness, he managed to sputter, "Er, um, sorry. I-I d-didn't mean-"

Panting heavily, Tonks cut him off, saying, "It's alright, Harry, it was very exciting news, after all." Her face suddenly taking on a mischievous smile, she smirked, "Wow, Harry, I had no idea you were such a great kisser! I used to think you were a little too young for me, but, a couple more of those an' you an' I might just be sharing your toothbrush tomorrow morning!"

His face now blushing deep burgundy, Harry's eyes dove straight for the floor before he responded, "Oh, stop it. You're just trying to embarrass me, now."

Reaching up and patting him on the shoulder, she said warmly, "Sorry, Harry, I just couldn't resist. You understand, I'm sure. Anyways, we really can't afford to waste any more time, the portkey fires off in fifteen minutes. I'll go downstairs and wait with your ever so charming relatives while you pack. When you're done, come down, say your final piece, then we'll use the portkey from here in your room." Finished, she turned to leave. At the door, she turned back and smiled warmly before saying, "Oh, and Harry? I wasn't kidding about the 'great kisser' part. Excellent stuff, really!!" and with a wink, she disappeared from his room down the hall.

The surprise of the moment finally draining from him, Harry quickly set about the task of packing, which really wasn't much of a task at all, as he had only been here a couple days and therefore had little of his belongings outside of his trunk to begin with. "Merlin, I can't believe my luck! Not only do I get to leave, but I don't even have to go back next year!" Harry said to the empty room, paying no regard to the small part of his brain that was asking why exactly such good graces should be bestowed upon him right now.

Five minutes later, his packing done, Harry placed his trunk and Hedwig's cage in the center of the room so that they would be ready for his and Tonks return, then he made his way downstairs.

The scene before him was comical to the point that Harry found it difficult to keep his laughter at bay. Entering the living room, he saw all three Dursleys pinned to the side opposite then entrance, attempting with a great lack of success to merge themselves into the wall. Looking to his right, he saw a heavily smirking Tonks standing a couple meters away with her arms crossed, smirking heavily. At first unable to understand the situation, Harry almost fell down laughing when he saw first Tonks change the color of her hair, then the Dursleys flinch dramatically. "Having fun?" he asked. Her smirk only deepened.

Finally noticing that his good-for-nothing nephew had entered the room, Vernon attempted to regain some of his composure as he shouted, "BOY!! What is the meaning of this…this…FREAK coming to my house? It hasn't even been three days yet! Now you'd better tell this thing that we've done nothing to you and get it out at once!"

Feeling his blood boil, Harry stepped in front of his uncle, taking on a menacing look before muttering in a tone that even brought a little fear to Tonks, "Vernon, I want you to listen to me, and listen to me good. DO.NOT.INSULT.MY.FRIENDS. It is a mistake I'm liable not to let you make again, are we clear?" Shaking slightly, Vernon only nodded. "Good. Anyways, her temper is much worse than mine, and she knows about two million better ways to make you pay for your close-minded ignorance," he said, placing extra emphasis on the terms her and she. "Now, moving on, it is my great pleasure to announce to the three of you that I will no longer be a tenant of this hell-whole you call a home. Indeed, that is actually why Tonks is here, to take me away from you terrible people. Now, before I say my…goodbyes, is there anything any of you would wish to say to me?"

After a few moments of silence, thinking that none of them had the guts to say anything, Harry almost continued, but noticed Dudley step forward a little with slight trepidation before muttering, "Er, Harry, I never got the chance to say this to you last year, and I've been tryin' to figure out how to this year, but it looks like it's now or never, so here goes. As far as I can see, you saved my life last year from those demented thingies, and I just wanted to tell you thanks," and stuck out his hand.

Caught slightly off guard by this rare display of humanity from the boy who had tortured him for so many years, Harry slowly reached out his own hand, lightly shaking Dudley's. After the exchange, Dudley quickly stepped back and resumed his attempts at not drawing attention.

Shaking off his startled expression, Harry turned back to the two adults. "Alright, Aunt Petunia, I'll start with you. You'll never know quite how much I wished for you to show me even an ounce of warmth while I was growing up. I was desperate for it. After I learned more about my parents, I was amazed that you could possibly be related, let alone be sisters with, my mother, of whom you seem to be the complete opposite in every way. For years, I felt incredible anger for you, and yet, this last year, I have come to see your actions towards me for what they really are. Envy. You envied my mother to such an extent, that you have let it eat away at your soul, until all that was left was this bitter, empty husk of a woman standing before me today. Knowing this, I want you to know that it is no longer anger I feel towards you, but pity. I pity you, and I probably always will to some extent. That's all I have to say to you." As he concluded, Petunia seemed slightly affronted by his words; yet, Harry thought he could detect a small trace of knowing embarrassment as well.

Turning his attention to the rather walrus-like man to her left, Harry continued, "And now I come to you. There is no part of me that will ever pity you, Vernon. You have tortured me, both mentally and physically, for the better part of sixteen years, all the while seeming to take some sort of sadistic pleasure in doing so. Sometimes I talk to people, and the discussion of Voldemort comes up, and they say something like, 'I just can't believe that anyone so heartless and cruel could possibly exist!' All I can do when I hear this is shake my head, because I know that they can. I've lived with one of the most cruel and heartless people ever imaginable all my life. You know, I've imagined this day for almost as long as I can remember, and I always thought that I would be able to take the high road when it comes to saying my piece. But fuck that. I hate you Vernon, more than you could possibly imagine. Sometimes, I'm afraid of exactly how much I do hate you, like it will consume me whole or something. If not for the fact that I know myself to be a better human being than you could ever be, I would have killed you already, consequences be damned. Understand, Vernon, that my hatred of you will never die, and I cannot guarantee that I won't someday come looking for retribution for all the things you've done to me." At this, a very evident look of fear crossed Vernon's face. Harry smiled, continuing, "The only thing about you that gives me any comfort is that someday when you die, either at my hands or for some other reason," once again, Vernon's look of fear increased, "you will finally get the justice you so richly deserve in the fiery pit of hell. My only hope is that, if there is any fate for your soul worse than burning for an eternity, that you will face it."

From behind him, Harry heard Tonks interrupt, "Harry, we've got to get going, the portkey is time activated and we've only got a couple minutes left."

Releasing Vernon from his deathly gaze, Harry finally turned to Dudley. "Well, I guess I don't have the time to fully express all I feel about you, Big-D. All I can think of to tell you is this: after your display earlier, I believe that there may just be hope for you yet, no matter how small that hope might be. Understand, of course, that I personally never wish to be associated with you again, no matter how much you might change in the future. However, I will offer you this bit of advice. If you really do want to become a respectable human being, and live a life that's not filled with petty hatred, the best thing you can do for yourself is get as far away from the two people to your right as you can, as soon as you can. They're like acid, Duds, acid that will eat your soul alive if you let it. So, there you go, that's all I can say, all I can hope is that it sunk in somewhere in that thick skull of yours." Dudley nodded slightly, but spoke no words.

Seeing his work finished, Harry walked from the room, turning his back on the only family he had ever known for the last time. Amazingly, he felt not one drop of remorse or loss.

Following Harry up the stairs, once they were in his room and out of ear shot, Tonks retrieved the portkey from her pocket and held it up in her right hand, grabbing Hedwig's cage with her left before saying, "Wow, Harry, I gotta say, that was maybe the most impressive tellin' off I've ever seen in my life! I mean, honestly, I may just have to save that memory for later viewing in a pensieve or something. Really, it was quite the work of art, my man!" she said, patting him strongly on the shoulder.

Blushing slightly, Harry retorted, "Yeah, well, 16 years of frustration, thinking of that exact moment, will lead to a pretty grand finale. I'm just glad I was able to get every part of it out."

"Yeah, I especially liked that last part you said to the walrus. I hope that asshole is looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life!"

"Yeah, well, don't count on it. He's so thick minded, he's probably erupting with anger right now. While I don't honestly think I'll ever search him out purposefully, he just better hope we don't ever run into each other accidentally, and if we do, I hope to Merlin he's got the presence of mind to walk the other way quickly." As if on cue, Vernon's screaming could be heard from downstairs, "Move out of my way Petunia! How dare that FREAK speak to us in that way! I'm going to teach him some manners, one way or the other."

"OK, Harry, grab your trunk and touch the portkey, 'cause we're leavin' in 5…4…3…2…1," and with the ever so familiar tug behind his navel, Harry was taken from Privet drive, never to return.

Landing with a soft thump in the sitting room of what used to be his Godfather's family home, Harry barely managed to retain his balance without falling down. Releasing the handle of his trunk, he quickly had to rebalance himself once again as the bushy, brown-haired form of his surrogate sister slammed into him, gripping him in a tight hug.

"Harry!! It's so good to see you! Isn't this the best of surprises? We were just told a couple of minutes ago that you'll never have to go back to those awful people again!" She said all this without taking one breath, almost making Harry laugh. She seemed almost more excited than he was.

Receiving a somewhat manly pat on the back from his other best friend, Harry turned to face a brightly smiling Ron. "Hey, mate, long time no see, eh? Great to be seeing you after all this time!!" Ron joked.

Laughing while receiving a second hug from Ginny, Harry finally had a chance to speak. "Hey guys, it's great to see you, too. Although, I must say I'm surprised to see you, Hermione, I thought you and your parents were going on holiday?"

"Oh, well, we are, it's but we're not leaving Britain until next week. We're going to be spending a week at the French Riviera! I'm so excited! Anyway, Professor McGonagall just showed up at my house this afternoon, telling my parents that I was needed here for tonight, and that she would take me back tomorrow. Apparently, there's some sort of big Order meeting happening tonight, although I don't know why I have to be here. Mrs. Weasley already told all of us that there was no chance of us being a part of the meeting." As she finished, Harry could see the look of bitterness spread across her face. She may not fight against the rules as much a he and Ron, but she hated being treated like a child just as much as they did.

Piping in his own two bits, Ron said, "I don't know why you need to go on holiday outside the country, Hermione! You could spend a perfectly nice Holiday at the borrow with me…and Ginny, of course!" He blushed deeply at his almost-admission.

With an exasperated sigh, Hermione shook her head and turned to the tall redhead. "Oh please, Ron! This is spending time with my parents! Not to mention, the beach will be a perfect way to relax and wind down after having such a stressful finish to the year." Harry noticed her expression change to one of worry as she completed this last sentence.

Not noticing this herself, with a wink to Harry, Ginny coyly remarked, "Besides, Hermione, I bet there'll be all kinds of boys there. Why, I bet you'll have them all taking numbers!!"

Ron looked livid and was about to say something when Hermione spoke up, looking solemnly at Harry. "Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot how simply awful you must be feeling right now. Do you need to-"

Getting ready to interrupt himself, Harry was beat to the punch. "Hermione, trust me when I tell you, you do not want to finish that sentence. Now, this little reunion is touching and all, but since you three aren't going to be in the meeting, do you think you could take Harry's things to his room? And Harry, we need to get going to the kitchen, the meeting should be starting any second."

Feeling both grateful to Tonks for averting the sure pity party that was about to take place, as well as surprised that he would be taking part in the meeting. "Sure, Tonks, lets go," he said, as he watched his three friends disappear upstairs.

Following the young aurer down the hall, Harry was amazed at the sheer number of people crammed into the kitchen of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. He saw many people he recognized, and just as many people he did not. Several conversations were taking place simultaneously, making it near impossible to pick up on what any one person was saying. The only reoccurring theme he seemed to be picking up was the everybody else was just as perplexed as to why this emergency meeting had been called as he was. Shortly after finding a seat at the table next to Tonks and Mrs. Weasley, who patted his hand and gave him a motherly smile, he saw Dumbledore enter the room.

Taking control of the meeting, Dumbledore raised his voice slightly and said, "If I can have your attention please! As soon as everyone calms down and arranges themselves around the table, we can begin." After a few minutes, everyone quieted down, and Dumbledore was able to survey the room. Sighing slightly before rubbing his hands over his eyes, he finally said in a somewhat tired tone, "Molly, I thought I had explained that I wanted everyone made available for the meeting? I of course meant for Ronald, Ginevra and Hermione to be included as well."

"Surely you cannot be serious, Albus," she stated in a somewhat incredulous tone. "They are just children, and I have already explained to you that I will not allow my two youngest to take part in any order business until after they complete school. The only reason I'm allowing Harry to be here is because you were so adamant about it, and frankly, it's not my decision to hold him back." With that, she crossed her arms, obviously preparing to do battle if necessary.

Sighing again, Dumbledore finally said, "Molly, friend, trust me when I tell you that what I am about to share with you all does not just affect we adults, but directly affects the children, as well. I dare say that Miss Granger especially needs to be here."

As she was about to argue back, a hand suddenly fell firmly on her shoulder, effectively silencing her rebuttal. Looking for the source of this touch, she looked directly into the eyes of the man whom she had been married to for more than thirty years. "Molly, dear, I'm sure Albus would not include the children in any Order business unless it was especially important. Why don't we just let them sit in, and if we decide that the business is not for them to hear, we can send them away?" Not waiting for her approval, Mr. Weasley turned to face one of his twin sons and motioned for him to retrieve the three missing persons. Mrs. Weasley remained silent, although Harry could tell that she did not agree with the present circumstances one bit.

After a few minutes, Fred re-entered the room, closely followed by Ron, Ginny and Hermione, all three of whom instantly grew extremely shy at have all eyes on them.

Seeing the remaining members of his meeting arrive, Dumbledore cleared his throat, took a deep breath and began. "First, I would like to thank you all for coming on such short notice; I know some of you had to sacrifice important time to be here tonight." He saw a few nods of assent at this declaration, and continued. "This afternoon, while in my office discussing school matters with Minerva, I had a slight episode, and, to simplify things, I…appeared became unconscious for a brief period." Seeing the combination of surprise and concern instantly plastered across the faces of everyone in the room, he quickly raised his hands and continued in a reassuring voice, "Not to worry, I am in no worse health than anyone my age deserves to be."

Noticing his play on words, Harry asked, "Excuse me, Professor, but what exactly do you mean 'appeared to become unconscious?'"

Smiling at the boy sitting before him, Dumbledore answered, "Ah, my boy, thank you, for that definitely leads to the question of the hour. For, I believe, that while I may have appeared to become unconscious, my consciousness was actually transported to another location. Rather than attempt to explain this to you all and lose something in the translation, however, I feel it will save time if I simply show you all a memory that may clarify things for you." With that, he turned and, reaching into one of the kitchen cabinets, retrieved an item that few in the room other than Harry and Snape, were personally acquainted with. "For those who do not know, this is a pensieve, and, put simply, will allow all of you to share in my memories. Now, if you would all simply join hands, I have already placed the memory in question within the basin, ready for viewing."

After everyone had linked hands, Dumbledore lowered his own face into the basin, and everyone in the room was transported to a vast corn field.

Upon conclusion of the memory, Dumbledore withdrew himself from the pensieve, effectively bringing everyone else back as well. After taking a moment to situate himself, Harry began looking around the room. Most everyone seemed to have a stunned expression on their faces; Ron, he noticed, had a look of confusion written upon his face, while Hermione looked like she may become sick. For his own part, Harry could feel a sense of dread slowly building within him.

Finally, after what felt like hours of dead silence, Amos Diggory spoke up. "Albus, how do we know that that was not simply just a dream, or some sort of…I don't know, I guess I want to know, how do we know if it was real?"

"My good man, alas, I had hoped that this was indeed just a false vision of some sort, some kind of apparition brought on by a poorly cooked lunch, or some such. However, I have come to be sure that it was very real."

Speaking up for the first time, albeit with a rather weak voice, Hermione said, "It has to be real." Feeling all eyes turn to her, she began to elaborate, "Well, what I mean to say is that, from what I've read about pensieves, only conscious memories can be viewed on them, it is simply impossible to view items of the subconscious, such as dreams."

Smiling weakly at the girl, Dumbledore said, "Ahh, my dear, your brilliance once again shows itself to be evident. I'm afraid that Ms. Granger is quite correct. Since we were able to view this memory in the pensieve, wherever I was, I was quite conscious."

His confusion finally getting the better of him, Ron finally asked, "But what does it all mean? I mean, 'there's a storm on the brew,' what's she on about?"

"Essentially, Mr. Weasley, I do not know. All that I can tell for sure is that, whoever or whatever this woman was, she was warning me of a coming danger from America. It can be deduced from the memory that what she speaks of is meant to wipe out all muggles while leaving all magical persons unaffected. Whether that extends to squibs or not is, for now, undetermined. Also, I feel it is important to point out that the woman said that what is about to occur cannot be stopped, which is why I have called this meeting."

Speaking up for the first time, Snape said, "Sir, I was confused about this earlier, however now I feel I understand something I witnessed while in the presence of the Dark Lord earlier." Seeing Dumbledore give the signal for his continuance, Snape said, "While with the Dark Lord, he held a meeting with someone I believe to be one of his servants abroad. I could not hear what was being said in this meeting; however at its conclusion, the Dark Lord addressed all his servants and told us to prepare for a journey to America in two days time, and to be ready to live in a world 'free of muggles'. I believe this may be directly linked to what you just showed us."

Suddenly remembering his afternoon, Harry quickly contributed, "Yeah, and before Tonks came to get me this afternoon, I had another vision from Voldemort, one where he was intentionally contacting me, and he concluded the vision by telling me 'see, Potter, I don't need to kill you to take over the world.' He was very, very happy."

Lowering his head dejectedly, Dumbledore said gravely, "Then it is as I feared, Voldemort has indeed found some form of weapon to use against muggles. Currently, I have sent Remus Lupin to America to consult with the American Wizarding Officials and to keep an eye on what is going on over there. At the first sign of information, he is to report back to me at once to let me know what the trouble is, in hopes that we can fight it. However, the reason I have called you all here tonight is that we must begin planning for the worst case scenario."

Suddenly, Hermione shot up from her chair. "You mean, we have to prepare for all the muggles in the world to die, don't you? DON'T YOU!?!? THAT'S MY PARENTS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!!! Letting this happen is simply not an option! WE.HAVE.TO.DO.SOMETHING!!!" At the conclusion of this outburst, she suddenly let out what looked to be a half sob, half dry heave before quickly exiting the room. Not two seconds later, Ron stood up and quickly excused himself to follow her.

Once again sighing in a defeated manner, Dumbledore pushed on. "As Miss Granger has pointed out, the possibilities here are horrifying. This is why I feel it extremely important to plan for the future now." Not seeing any other potential outbursts, he continued, "I have decided that, at the first sign of trouble, we are to move as many members of the magical community within the protective walls of Hogwarts as will allow it. My fear is simply that people could get hurt in the chaos of whatever is to come." Pausing and taking on a slightly guilty look, Harry could tell that what he was about to say was going to be difficult for everyone to swallow. "I have considered this at length, and believe me when I tell you that if there were any other option, I would be the first to take it. However, as difficult as it is to think of such things, I feel it is in our best interest to disallow the parents of any muggle-born students to come under our protection."

At this, the quiet in the room became an uproar. "Albus, you cannot be serious! What are we supposed to do, let them die?" asked an incredulous looking McGonagall.

"Minerva, as much as it pains me to say it, I cannot see any other option. The vision I had made it plainly obvious that no muggles would be spared the wrath of what's to come. My fear is that whatever atrocities may occur would spread to the castle, and while we all may remain untouched, having to watch several muggles die will be too much for everyone to handle. Now, of course, all muggle-born witches and wizards will have the option to come to the castle if they so choose to."

The arguments in the room began to die down at this statement. As much as Harry hated to admit it, he knew that the Headmaster was probably correct. The thought of this still turned his stomach, however.

"For now, that is all that I have to put out. Until we know what we are dealing with, we really cannot do anything more. Hagrid, I want you assemble a crew to begin preparing the castle for a mass increase in inhabitants. Also, Minerva, I need you to converse with the house elves and make preparations to stock up heavily on dry and non-perishable goods. Kingsley, Arthur, I need you both as well as any other ministry employees to keep your eyes and ears open to what is going on around you, for any potential information filtered through the government. Now, as we have all been through a great deal today and have taken in even more information, I feel the best thing any of us can do right now is to go home, and get a good nights sleep. If your worst fears come to pass, there may not be many more opportunities for such luxuries. I will contact all of you as soon as I have any information. Good night."

At his conclusion, everyone in the room once again broke up into their smaller groups of conversation, although this time, Harry could tell very clearly that all groups were on the same topic of discussion. Feeling rather useless, Harry finally grasped a rather shaken looking Ginny by the upper arms, helping her from her seat. She seemed to be in somewhat of a trance-like state, and followed his direction easily enough.

Wrapping one arm around her shoulders, Harry muttered in her ear, "It's OK, everything will be alright," hoping himself these words to be true. He then led her from the kitchen, intent on taking her to her bedroom for some rest.

As they passed the sitting room, however, Harry came to a stop as a heated conversation between his two best friends drew his attention.

"Step out of my way, Ronald. I'm quite serious about this," said a very determined, although rather ashen looking Hermione.

Crossing his arms and keeping his place in front of the fireplace, Ron shot back, "I'm bloody serious too! Look, 'Mione, we don't know what's going on out there, or what's going to be going on. Mum's already told me that Ginny and I aren't leaving Headquarters, and if I'm not going to be there to protect you, you're not going anywhere."

Huffing in frustration, Hermione shouted back, "Ronald!! This is not your decision to make! I am not simply going to sit by and let my parents die! Ugh, I've had enough of this." As she finished, she suddenly reared back her foot and whacked Ron hard in the shin, making him hop out of her way and finally fall to his knees to her right. Kneeling down and tenderly taking his face in her hands, she said, "I should have told you years ago, but, in case I don't have another opportunity, I love you, Ronald, with every piece of my heart." As she finished, she drew him into an extremely passionate kiss. Harry suddenly felt like an intruder on this private moment.

Finally pulling back, she turned to Harry and said, "I would appreciate if you could send Hedwig to me every few days, so that I can keep contact with you all. I'm sorry to leave you like this, but I'm sure you understand." With that, she turned, threw a handful of floo powder into the fire, and muttered her address, whooshing away. Coming to his senses, Ron stood and ran to the fireplace, half sobbing and half yelling, "Hermione please come back!! I love you too! DAMNIT, I LOVE YOU TOO!!" The scene was so heart wrenching that Harry could feel a tear trickling down his cheek. Looking down at Ginny, he saw that he was not alone in his grief. He hugged her tighter to his chest.

Finally turning back to face his sister and his best mate, the stricken look on Ron's face was enough to send a fresh wave of grief over Harry, one he was not entirely sure he was going to be able to withstand. "I'm tired. I think I'm just going to go turn in early," he muttered as he shuffled across the room and up the stairs.

Shortly after, Harry led the still shocked Ginny up to her room, ensuring that she would be alright for the night, and then guided himself to Ron's room, which the two had shared the previous year. Even though he knew he would be expected to take over the master bedroom in Sirius' absence, he had absolutely no desire to spend this night alone, and was fairly sure that Ron wouldn't object to his presence. Even if they said nothing, at least if the two were together, they would not be alone. As he shuffled down the hall, Harry couldn't help but wonder how a day could go from being so wonderful to so horrible so quickly.

A/N: So concludes the first chapter of what I hope will be a very great story. The potential is there, I just have to try to keep my horrible writing from mucking it up too badly. Dear God, but this was a very emotionally charged chapter! Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I feel very pleased with how it turned out. The tension, she is 'a rising, and it'll only go up from here! Sorry for the incredible length of the scene at the Dursleys, I had not originally intended it to be that long; however, I also wanted very much for Harry to be able to say exactly what he thought of his relatives, even if he may regret his harshness later. As always, review, review, REVIEW!! I wanna hear what you all are thinking out there!!

Cheers!!