Disclaimer: Alas, Harry Potter has never been mine. So don't sue me, or I'll be forced to sic Snape on you!

A/N: Yes, yes, it's really me! Almost a year and a half later, I'm finally updating! Boy, I feel sheepish. This chapter has been way too long in coming, but I took a reprieve to focus on some of my other fics. Writer's block didn't aid me any either, and now that my high school career is finally winding to a close... well, I saw fit to start up this story again. Sorry if many of you find yourselves having to re-read this story to become reacquainted with it; it's sad, but I too had to do some refreshing so I wouldn't put in paradoxical stuff either. Having my own laptop now helps quite a bit :-) Well, on another note, I've been editing the early chapters. "It Ends Now" is under major renovation; I began this fanfic about four years ago and obviously, my writing style and capability has evolved. I cringe when noticing some of my rudimentary mistakes, so each chapter is getting a new face! I'm adding on quite a bit and tweaking the grammar. So far I'm on chapter 7, and hope to make my way all the way to chapter 26. Thank you all for sticking with me this long; now on to part 27!

Thank you to all of my faithful reviewers! I was reading through my feedback randomly today, and got the urge to pump out more "It Ends Now". It's because of you that I become motivated to write! Cowabunga, jayley, crazyme03, TwilightsCalling, kittyrunner, Lo0pster, Scorpia710, Crazy Physco, ., Element's Sole Protector, SeaBreeze2Ga, munchnzoey, ms belle, maggiechat, Jitz14, and 10thWeasley.

It Ends Now

Part 27: "Danger"

Two days before the end of the Christmas holidays found Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny frolicking outside in the freshly fallen snow. The Burrow grounds had become very quiet the last week as one by one, the family parted its separate ways. Bill went back to Gringotts, and the company of Fleur Delacour (to Mrs. Weasley's distaste, her eldest's most recent love interest). Charlie, always the fidgety one, had flooed back to Romania for the beginning of January. He claimed the country treated his skin more favorably than Scotland, but everyone knew he just wanted to whet his appetite for all things dragon and dangerous. Plus, the weather there was more akin to that of summer and tanning. George and Fred, always the entrepreneurs, had skulked out around mid-afternoon yesterday, proclaiming loudly at how dull life had become at the Burrow. One could only lose to Ron in chess so many times, and their fingers itched to be creating again. The twins had told teary Mrs. Weasley that their shop was where they acquired most of their inspiration. Ron, of course, had to add in a whisper that Angelina had returned from Jamaica and was taking up her usual shifts in Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Fred had blushed at that, and warned his younger sibling that their newest product out on the market was one that shrunk a man's privates to the size of a cricket for two days straight. Ron had chosen to shut up at that point, preferring not to look his snickering comrades in the face.

So now, it was just Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, their two youngest, Harry and Hermione taking up habitation in the little house. Nobody minded except for poor Mrs. Weasley; it meant more space for all- breathing room, Ron liked to call it.

"Wow, what a pretty day it is," Ginny commented, bending over and cupping some of the snowflakes into her faded red mittens. She blew them teasingly at Harry, and the seeker responded with a hastily crafted snowball flung her way. The fifteen year old squealed, dodging his alabaster bullet and returning fire with a few of her own. It wasn't long before Ron and Hermione got involved in the altercation, and everyone ran breathlessly around packing snow into spheres.

"Truce! Truce!" Hermione called, ducking behind a tree. Ron mirrored her, stepping behind yet another.

"We surrender!" he shouted to wherever Harry and Ginny gambolled, brushing the cold substance out of his hair. Ron glanced back into the little forest that subsisted in the Weasley backyard, gnawing on his lower lip nervously. "Ah, Hermione, maybe we should find another place to hide. There are some strange creatures living back here."

"No way," Hermione countered from the opposite tree, throwing him a skeptical eye roll as she peeked out. "You're just saying that because you're frightened some big ol' spider's going to fall on you."

"If only. There are things far worse than spiders in here, Hermione. This is an enchanted forest, in the Wizarding World. Fred and George have told me horror stories about stuff they've encountered in here, ever since I was little!"

"That's Fred and George."

"Still..."

"Okay, okay. But if we get pummeled the moment we step out-"

"GOTCHA!" Harry and Ginny's voices exclaimed, accompanied by vicious snowballs being hurled their way.

"Too late!" Ron called to Hermione, covering his face as the makeshift ball exploded against his countenance. The opposing pair collapsed into giggles, and Hermione came out from behind her hiding place.

"Didn't you two hear us? We called 'truce'!" the pedantic said, almost affronted. A hint of humor lurked behind her features, however, as she watched Ron trying to untangle his maroon scarf and shake out more snowflakes. He grimaced.

"Yeah, what she said... then I would've been spared this cold dousing! Aw, jeez; now I can feel it melting on my chest. Thanks, Gin; Harry," Ron sighed sardonically.

"You're welcome," Ginny replied, clapping her mittens to also rid herself of the lingering flakes. Harry grinned.

"Should've yelled louder, mate."

"In that creepy forest? No way," Ron belied. "Who knows what would have woken up from hibernation?"

"Yes, Ron was just trying to scare me with similar stories," Hermione sniffed. "Personally, I don't think there's anything to worry about."

"Says you. Ever wondered where the gnomes come from? They don't just breed out of thin air! Mum thinks they have a home close by," Ron explained derisively, slightly annoyed at Hermione's lack of faith in him. "If you ever get dragged away by some night-stalking creature, don't say I didn't warn you."

A sudden loud crack ceased anymore bantering, and the quartet froze.

"W-what was that?" Ginny choked out, edging closer to the trio.

"Sounded like... apparition," Harry whispered, looking around intently for the source.

"No; couldn't be," Ron replied, eyes wide and frightened. "Dad told me Dumbledore set up anti-apparition wards around our property for the holidays. Said it was connected somehow to the temporary protection the Headmaster created. Man, oh man, you jinxed us Hermione! I bet you some raving, hairy, hungry-"

"Shut up, Ronald!" Hermione hissed. She and Harry seemed the lone two who weren't quivering, but then again, they also weren't the ones expecting Aragog himself to pop out of the forest. "Pull yourself together and keep your ears and eyes open."

Another reverberating crack, this time from out in the distance. It was muted; stifled almost. To Harry, the noise sounded like that of a tree being chopped down in one flawless swipe. "It's coming from the front yard. The Burrow is blocking me from seeing-"

"M-maybe we should go inside; tell Mum and Dad," Ginny suggested, clinging to Harry and Ron's sleeves. She was trembling from head to toe, and her brother was in no better condition.

"You're right," Harry concurred at last, when his perked ears picked up nothing else a minute later. It definitely wasn't their imagination, so perhaps there was some truth to what Ron was presaging. The forest did, after all, extend slightly into the front yard in a semi-circle around the house. No doubt some animal had been roused by the teenagers' fun, and in that case, safety lay inside the house. They all looked at each other and nodded, then began moving as one solid unit up to the back door of the Burrow.

Nobody got very far.

Another sound; this time like a rubber band being snapped back. The ground was rocked by a resonating tremor, and raw magic shimmered in the very air. The quartet felt their hair stick on end as the unknown power stung their skin like an electrical shock. Everyone collapsed when the ground continued shaking and swaying as if an earthquake was causing Ottery St. Catchpole to convulse. Harry recovered first, used to these situations and the "death or flight" intuition. Using skills he'd honed as a seeker, the sixteen year old staggered up and ran full speed up to the Burrow. He just knew the third crack had originated from the front yard again, and this time, he intended to discover what it was. That had been no friendly aura he'd sensed...

Harry reached the house's siding, and inched his way along stealthily. A glance backward informed him that his friends were all fine; just slightly shocked. Hermione was in the process of pulling up Ginny while Ron watched Harry in askance. The one with the scarred forehead just shook his head at the ginger. Act first; questions later. Something in the pit of Harry's stomach told him that danger was very near, and he didn't relish in poking around debating the next course of action.

Harry took a deep breath, then peered just far enough around the side of the Burrow that he could see but still be mostly secreted.

The bad feeling in the pit of his stomach intensified, to the point where his intenstines must surely be in knots.

Danger, indeed.

A/N: Yay for suspense and excitement! Are you all perched at the ends of your seats? More action to come, as you can probably tell! The more who review, the faster I'll attempt to update! I certainly don't want to leave everyone hanging again... I'll try and keep the necessary waits to a minimum :-) I post quicker the more reviews I get, though! It motivates an author SO much!

Until next chapter,

AngelMoon Girl