Nearly two months into the new school year, and Dumbledore found himself hip deep in paperwork, when all he truly wanted was to find and destroy all of Lord Voldemort's horcruxes once and for all. It had been almost four months since he had found the ring and the locket which were now secured in a safe hidden within his office, along with the remains of the diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle. But he was still no closer to finding the others. Dumbledore was beginning to think it might be a good idea to destroy those in his possession. At least then some progress would have been made.

Dumbledore sighed wearily as he began thinking about horcruxes. The subject weighed heavily on his mind because there was one Horcrux he knew that he could not destroy. To destroy it would be to kill an innocent, and Harry deserved a chance at a full life. But he had a theory regarding Harry's Horcrux. A theory that involved the power prophesized to destroy Lord Voldemort. Love.

He still held out hope that Harry and his betrothed, Susan Bones could find true love, and it would kill the Horcrux. That hope was kept alive when Harry had admitted feeling strange sensations in his scar, that normally caused him nothing but pain. Dumbledore hoped that as Harry's feelings for Susan grew stronger, the Horcrux would get weaker. The most important thing was to keep the fact that Harry was a Horcrux a secret. If Voldemort found out the truth…

Dumbledore was thankfully shaken from these disturbing thoughts by a knock on his door. Checking the time, Dumbledore realized it must be Professor Snape. The new Defense teacher had requested a meeting with the headmaster. He had seemed rather insistent about it.

"Enter." Dumbledore said and Snape came inside. But instead of sitting down, the Defense teacher went to the cabinet where Dumbledore kept his pensieve.

"May I ask what has you so aggravated this evening?" Dumbledore asked as he watched Snape retrieve the pensieve and bring it to the headmaster's desk.

"It will be much easier if I just show you." Snape said as he drew silvery memories from his temple and placed them into the pensive. When he finished, and motioned for Dumbledore to enter, and followed the headmaster, placing his face into the stone basin.

The memories swirled and formed around them until the two men were standing on one side of the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom.

"What is it that I should be looking for?" Dumbledore asked, sounding irritated. Snape just shook his head.

"Just watch." Snape said.

The two men stood on the side of the memory Defense Against the Dark Arts class room as the sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins lined up facing against each other in preparation to practice advanced shield charms. As they students held their wands at the ready, the memory Snape was pacing around them explaining what they were to be doing, making sure they understood how displeased he would be if they deviated from his lesson.

Memory Snape set the students to task and continued his slow methodical pacing. Real Snape led Dumbledore to where Draco Malfoy was standing, facing against Lavender Brown, who looked quite put out at having to be paired with him.

Dumbledore glanced up the line to see Harry Potter paired with Daphne Greengrass. The young blonde woman was smirking at Harry, but Dumbledore noted that it wasn't a malicious smirk at all. In fact, it almost seemed friendly. Then the smirk became something mischievous as the Slytherin girl fired the first of a volley of hexes that Harry managed to avoid with his shield charm. The advanced shield got stronger with each casting, and Dumbledore beamed at Memory Harry.

"Mr. Zabini is one of my best students in silent casting." Snape offered, motioning towards the Dark skinned boy who was keeping Seamus Finnegan at bay, so to speak.

"Other than Miss Granger." Dumbledore smiled as Hermione sent a jelly legs hex at Tracey Davis, who fell to the floor when her legs went wobbly.

"Pay attention." Snape said, redirecting the Headmaster's focus back to Draco and Lavender. "They were instructed to use nothing stronger than a stinging hex. The Gryffindors were using mostly mundane hexes." Snape explained as the two men watched Lavender try to damage Draco's shield, which Dumbledore could see was quite well done.

Draco was taking the measure of the Gryffindor girl before taking took his turn. The first curse was cast and hit Lavender in the belly. Lavender stood still for a second before suddenly doubling over and shrieking in pain, though she appear to the untrained eye to be physically alright. And then Dumbledore noticed the girl was holding her hands between her legs in her nether area.

"Where did he learn such a curse?" Dumbledore turned in shock. The memory swirled around them and the two men were back in the headmaster's office once again. Dumbledore sat heavily in his chair, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

"She was sent to the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey was able to reverse the effects. The curse wasn't strong enough to cause permanent damage. It's clear now that the boy has received special tutelage from his Aunt. I warned you. I warned you that the boy was going to be dangerous."

"Yes, you did warn me, but I stick by my original statement. He has yet to do anything to condemn him. We need to reach out to him."

"Are you completely out of your mind?" Snape roared. "You just saw with your very own eyes that he tried to sterilize that girl. If he is able to perfect that spell, or any others his dear Aunt Bellatrix has taught him…"

"I am well aware of what could happen." Dumbledore said, his voice beginning to raise in frustration. "I am also aware that he is at a crucial crossroads, and that it is our responsibility to help him make the right choice. If we fail Mr. Malfoy, we fail ourselves. Tell me, have you made any progress in reaching out to him?"

"I've told you he has become evasive, and short tempered. He has also become quite the capable Occlumens. I am telling you, Draco does not wish to be saved. His mind is made up, and he is going to continue on the road of his choosing. His father has done irreversible damage, and Draco wishes to serve the Dark Lord."

Dumbledore sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Severus, The boy has yet to take a life. Nor has he made any attempt to do so. He most certainly has not tried to kill me as he has been ordered to. He is still within reach however slim the chance may appear to be. He has not given himself over to Voldemort yet."

"Why do I even bother? You wish to ignore what is right in front of you, be it on your own head. What about Potter? You told me I would be seeing some very noticeable increases in the boy's power. He's just as pathetic as he has been these past five years. I will admit that his shield was strong, but not as strong as it should be according to what you've told me." Snape asked, turning the topic.

"I am curious about that myself." Dumbledore admitted. "Perhaps things between Harry and Miss Bones are not going as well as I believed."

"What does the whelp's relationship have to do with his magical output?" Snape scoffed.

"It is not important as of this moment. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will think on it, and notify you of what we will do. In the meantime, please keep monitoring Mister Malfoy's progress. "

Snape looked disgusted at being dismissed like that, but he was also very angry for the Headmaster's complete ambivalence toward how dangerous the younger Malfoy was becoming. Snape didn't care much for any student's well being, but he did not wish to see any of his charges actually injured or killed. Not even Harry Potter, and he could not tolerate that boy in the least.

Snape slammed the door behind him, leaving the Headmaster alone with a heavy heart. Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix trilled a sad note, and Dumbledore sighed. He knew of Draco's mission, but had hitherto had no reason to actually fear his ability to carry it out. But after the display he'd just witnessed, he now felt differently. And worse, Harry had not yet begun to show signs of improvement.

Dumbledore knew that his theory was right, in that Harry needed to love, and be loved in return to rid himself of the Horcrux within him. Dumbledore also knew that when the Horcrux died, Harry would then have full access to his magical core, without the abomination feeding off of it like a parasite.

Dumbledore wondered for the fifteenth time if he should not give Harry and Miss Bones private quarters to perhaps speed things along. Their world was in serious danger, and everything relied on Harry being able to defeat the Dark Lord. And the ability to do that lie in the hope that Harry could feel real love from someone, and return that love.

Dumbledore rose from his chair and went to the window to stare out on the grounds. The leaves were turning color as October wore on. From his vantage point he could see students making the most of the good weather while it lasted. The Headmaster looked towards the Black Lake and sighed. He knew that his time in this world was nearly done, and he felt he had so much left to do. He had found three Horcruxes, but three still remained unknown to him. Well, two were unknown, one was just unreachable. But it would be dealt with, even if it took his very last breath.

A dark thought entered his mind, and Dumbledore shuddered. What if he failed? He'd made so many mistakes in regards to Voldemort, and young Harry. Would Harry be able to finish what Dumbledore had started?

Dumbledore felt his heart begin to break as he imagined having to explain to Harry everything that needed to be done BEFORE Voldemort could be defeated. The poor boy already had so much weighing upon him, this would be cruel to place on him as well. Dumbledore was once again filled to bursting with motivation to see this task finished before his time in this world ended.

He only hoped that he was right about Draco Malfoy.

Hey Susan." Zach said as he sat next to Susan in the Hufflepuff Common room. Susan looked up, rather surprised. She hardly ever saw Zach, unless Hermione was with him. He was almost never in the common room any more.

"Hey Zach, what's going on?" She said looking at her former crush. Zach shrugged, and looked interestedly at the book in her hands.

"A Witch's Heart?" He asked.

"I know it's cheesy, but I really like it.." Susan groaned.

"1 wouldn't think you'd need to be reading something so trashy when you're in your own whirlwind romance with Harry." Zach said. There was something in his tone that struck Susan as strange. She didn't know exactly what it was, and she felt intrigued by it.

"I guess." Susan said. "We haven't seen that much of each other this past month. I mean outside of classes and what not. With homework and Quidditch and the DA and everything, he's been pretty busy."

"But things are still good between you both, right?" Zach asked.

Susan made a face at Zach as she was caught off guard by his question. In truth Susan was feeling increasingly upset that she and Harry had not been alone together in a month. Other than quick kisses exchanged in passing, they hadn't been physical at all. They got to talk a lot during meals which was always nice, but Harry was stretched pretty thin right now. Susan knew it wouldn't last, and she also knew that she would have his undivided attention the rest of her life. She simply had to persevere through this trial. Still, she really wanted a bit of time alone with her boyfriend. She was sixteen and her hormones were screaming for attention, and Susan wasn't sure how much more she could stand listening to Hannah about how far she and Neville were progressing. She expected any day now to hear that Hannah and Neville had finally shagged. If that happened, Susan wondered if she would hug her best friend, or kill her for bragging.

"Things are alright." Susan shrugged, finally getting around to answering his question.

"I just wondered. I hardly ever see you two together." Zach said, avoiding Susan's eyes.

"Why are you asking me all of this?" Susan asked. She had enough of trying to figure out why Zach was suddenly so curious about her relationship when he hadn't really seemed to care before now.

"Because I'm your friend, and I'm concerned." Zach said defensively. Susan stared at him for a few moments, but he didn't comment further.

"How are things with you and Hermione?" Susan countered. Zach shrugged.

"Ok."

"Just ok? You guys always look so happy together." Susan probed.

We are." Zach said, but once again, Susan noted how his tone didn't seem to match what he was saying. He also seemed incapable of looking at her, which was unusual for him. Susan noted that he also seemed rather fidgety.

"But, she's so busy studying, sometimes I think she forgets about me." Zach sighed. "I really am attracted to her intelligence, I just didn't realized how consumed she is by her thirst for knowledge."

"I can understand. I knew that Harry had a lot going on when he and I agreed to start seeing each other, but I just didn't realize that I would take a back seat sometimes to his other obligations. I know he tries, but sometimes…"

"Yeah." Zach smiled.

They fell into a comfortable silence and Susan thought how strange it was that a year ago, she would have given anything for Zach to be sitting as close to her as he was.

Wait a minute, Susan thought. When did he get so close to me?

Susan turned to Zach, who was now looking at her strangely. She felt an odd twisting in her stomach and before she could even begin to wonder where it had come from, Zach was drawing nearer to her, his eyes locked onto her lips.

"Whoa!" Susan said quickly, putting up a hand to Zach's chest before his lips reached their target. "What's wrong with you? I have a boyfriend, and you have a girlfriend! You can't just go around snogging people when you're with someone else!"

She wanted to scream, but she was thankful that she had kept her voice down. She didn't want everyone in the common room to turn and watch the unfolding drama. She could already feel her cheeks heating with embarrassment.

"I thought you liked me?" Zach asked confused.

"I do. You're my friend, but..."

"No, I thought you really liked me. I thought you had a crush on me. I mean, All last year you were trying to…" Zach said, looking pleadingly at her.

"Ok, I don't know what's going on with you right now," Susan said getting to her feet and clutching her book to her chest almost as if it were a shield. "But whether I liked you in that way or not, I have a boyfriend right now, and I'm not going to dump him just because you finally got your head out of your arse, or got it stuffed up there even further."

Susan all but ran up the stairs to her dorm where she fell on to her bed more confused than she had ever been in her life. A year ago she would have been in seventh heaven had Zach attempted anything close to what had just happened, and she never would have even considered stopping him. But she was with Harry now, and she had feelings for Harry. Strong feelings. Not to mention the marriage contract that meant she would be spending her life with Harry, which she no longer felt was a curse... .more of an issue.

Still, Susan could not deny that she still felt things for Zach. Her feelings had never vanished, they had simply been repressed. But everything was complicated. She had become friends with Hermione, and she didn't want to cause problems for her. Not to mention all the trouble it would create between herself and Harry. And Susan and Harry already had a lot to deal with without Zach's clear case of idiocy.

Susan grabbed her pillow and screamed violently into it, cursing Zacharias Smith for his stupidity.

"Hey, I've been looking for you." Hannah said with that same bright grin that had been on her face since Susan's sixteenth birthday party. "Are you alright?" Hannah asked when she got a good look at Susan's face.

Susan immediately launched into a detailed explanation as to what had just taken place. Hannah listened to everything, her face contorting from confusion to irritation to bewilderment.

"That's really odd." Hannah said. "I thought he and Hermione were happy."

"So did I." Susan agreed. "And now I'm all confused."

"Because you still like him?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, but it's not nearly as strong as it was last year, you know?" Susan asked pleadingly.

Hannah smiled. "Of course not."

Susan looked confused and Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Well it's obvious. Ok, so you and Harry didn't have an ideal start, but you've come a long way in a short amount of time. You finally seem to have this understanding between you two, and because of that, you've both been able to allow yourselves to feel things for each other. Now, I'm not saying you're in love, but there's a definite spark there. Megan said she wished she could get a guy to look at her the way Harry looks at you." Hannah said smugly.

"And just how does he look at me?" Susan asked. She hadn't noticed Harry giving her any particular looks lately.

"Like you're some mythical being that he's discovered to be real, and he can't believe it. I'm surprised you haven't seen it. He looks at you like that all the time. And you can not sit there and tell me that you don't have strong feelings for him. You guys talk all the time, and he really listens to everything you say. Not just to humor you, but because he's really interested. Not to mention that funny look you get after a long night of snogging him. And let's not forget you showed him your boobs, and I don't think you'd do that for just any guy!."

"That was a bet!" Susan protested but Hannah waved it away.

"A bet that you did not have to own up to." Hannah pointed out. "You chose to use it as an excuse. You wanted to get closer to him physically, and there's nothing wrong with it. I know you two haven't been able to spend any real time together over the last month, but I've still seen how you light up when he sits next to you at breakfast, or that goofy smile on your face when you guys say goodbye, and he kisses you and strokes your cheek like it's the softest thing he's ever felt in his life. Do you have any idea how many girls want to kill you because of that alone?" Hannah smirked.

Susan's hand went to her cheek as she thought about how Harry always said good-bye to her. He always took hold of her left cheek as he kissed her. Then he would gaze into her eyes for just a second, and caress her cheek so gently. It always left her with butterflies in her stomach. She dreamed about those moments that she got to experience everyday. It was so strange, but so amazing.

"So what am I supposed to do about Zach?" Susan asked exasperatedly.

"I wish I had an answer. This is like really not a good thing because, if we say something to Hermione…" Hannah shrugged.

"It'll break her heart." Susan sighed. "But if we don't… I mean, I'm not saying that he'll do it with someone else but it'll be worse if that happens and she finds out that way."

"I don't really know Suz, I kind of think we should just stay out of it."

Susan sighed heavily again and flung herself back onto her bed. "No one ever told me that relationships would be this difficult!"

"Mine is easy." Hannah laughed as she went to her trunk to get her pajamas.

"I know." Susan grunted. "You remind me at every opportunity."

Harry shut his locker and sat down on the bench. He was exhausted. It had been a pretty brutal practice, and Harry and his quidditch team had worked really hard that night. All Harry wanted to do was go right up to Gryffindor Tower and crawl into bed and sleep. Unfortunately he still had three essays to complete, and he had to plan this week's lesson for the DA.

"Are you coming?"

Harry sat up slowly, not even remembering lying down to find Ron in the door way looking just as tired as Harry felt.

"Yeah." Harry sighed. He heaved himself up and began to head back to the castle with his best friend.

"Harry, Look, I got to say something here." Ron began and Harry turned to look at his redheaded friend who looked pretty determined at the moment. "I think you're taking on too much, and if you don't ease up, you're going to crack."

"I appreciate the concern but…" Harry began but Ron cut him off quickly.

"Harry, I know what you're going to say. You're going to try and convince me that everything is under control and that you've got a lot of responsibility and Voldemort and blah, blah, blah. Mate, there's only one other person who knows all of that better than me, and I'd bet every galleon I am destined to make, she's in the library right now studying for NEWT exams. The thing is, both Hermione and I miss you, and we want to spend time with our friend. I also happen to think that Susan would really like a bit more attention from you."

"Did she say something to you?" Harry asked, his brow furrowing.

"No. But you can just tell if you know what to look for." Ron shrugged. Harry's face took on a skeptical look and Ron broke under scrutiny.

"Alright fine! Lavender pointed it out to me. The point is that you're spreading yourself way too thin and it's going to kill you before Voldemort has a chance."

"That's twice you've said his name now. Are you ok? Do you want to lie down?" Harry asked, trying to keep his face from breaking into a grin.

"Stuff it." Ron glared. "Do you understand what I'm saying here?"

"Yeah, I think so. What did Lavender say about me and Susan?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well, she thinks that you guys are going to break up soon if you don't start spending more time with her. She says that Susan looks sad a lot now. Lav also thinks Susan won't say anything because she doesn't want to get in a fight with you over it."

"I guess I have kind of neglected her a bit. It's just…"

"You don't have to explain, Harry. Like I said, I know what's going on. And just because Hermione and I aren't getting special training like you are, doesn't mean we're slouching. Hermione's got loads of lesson plans for the DA that she wants to run by you, and she's found a lot of spells that she and I have been trying out. Lavender's been helping a bit because she knows that you're going to have to fight Voldemort. She doesn't know about the prophecy, but she's not stupid. Anyone with half a brain can tell that great bastard's got it in for you."

The two boys had reached the Entrance Hall and began making their way up the stairs to their House. Harry was contemplating everything he'd been told, while Ron remained silent.

Harry didn't know when it happened, but he liked the change in Ron. As they walked, Harry thought about all the little changes he'd noticed in Ron since they'd got back to school. The first and most shocking was Ron's work ethic had become more diligent. Harry thought he'd heard Neville remark that since Lavender liked to get all her homework done before she had fun, that perhaps Ron had taken on the same philosophy. Harry wondered how Hermione felt since she had hound both boys about their homework for five years and they'd all but ignored her attempts to help better them.

Then there was the fact that Ron didn't look like a starving pig at meals. Well, not as much. He still ate like it was his last meal, but he now managed to keep his mouth closed while chewing, and waited until he swallowed his food before speaking.

And all this profound insight Ron had been sharing. Not to mention the hugeness of Ron being able to say Voldemort's name. It was official. Ron Weasley had hit the jackpot when he started Lavender Brown.

"Can I ask you something?" Harry asked, looking to Ron who shrugged.

"What's changed that you can say Voldemort's name without dying of heart failure?"

"A few nights ago, while you were training with Mad Eye, a bunch of us got to talking about things. Anyway, Hermione pointed out that the name is completely stupid. She wrote it out for us, and showed everyone that it was an allegory or whatever she called it."

"Anagram?"

"Whatever. The point is that she and a few others all kind of made fun of it and really made it seems exactly like a Boggart. The best weapon to use against it was laughter really. We had a really good time making up new name's for him. Seamus wanted to write them down and have him choose something more terrifying. Moldywarts was really popular, but I really liked Ginny calling him Lord High Baron of all impotency Limpy-Shorts."

"WHAT?" Harry asked, grabbing the banister to prevent himself from falling over with laughter.

"My sister." Ron said proudly.

"Limpy-Shorts?" Harry asked again, wiping at his eyes.

"Even Hermione laughed at that one. I thought for sure she was going to pee herself. And you know how uptight she can be. She had a few choice ones herself. Speaking of Hermione, have you noticed… actually you probably haven't. Lavender thinks there might trouble on the horizon for her and Zach. I just want to give you a heads up."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, worry over Hermione wiping out his earlier mirth.

Same reason she's worried for you and Susan. Though, Lav doesn't think Hermione and Zach are right for each other in the first place."

"Can we just back up here. What's going on with Hermione and Zach?" Harry asked.

"Apparently nothing, according to Lav. She says because Hermione's all about studying, it's affecting her relationship. She's convinced Zach is going to start cheating on her any day now. I've been kind of watching him, but he's always with Hermione, so I don't know if she's seeing something that's not there, or nothing's happened yet or what."

"Well, Lavender's a lot smarter about dating than either of us. But I think we need to trust that Hermione knows what's going on. We need to respect her and not stick our noses in until she asks us to." Harry said irritably. Hearing that Zach might break Hermione's heart made him want to go right to the Hufflepuff Common Room and beat Zach to within an inch of his life.

"Lavender said the same thing." Ron smiled. "Like you said, smarter than us."

"Doesn't mean I like it." Harry sighed.

"Welcome to my world." Ron snickered. "He's an alright guy, but now it's so hard to hang out with him because I just want to grab him and just tell him to not mess around with Hermione."

"Oh, he knows." Harry smiled.

Ron saw the humorous malevolence in his best friend's eyes and began laughing.

"I guess I should have figured you had words with him over the summer."

Harry began laughing along with Ron

Ron stopped Harry as they finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Seriously Harry. Think about what I said. I know you and Susan are going to be together regardless, but if you don't spend time with her, she's going to end up resenting you. You'll be stuck with her, and she'll hate you. I wouldn't even wish that life on Malfoy. Well… maybe Malfoy."

"Alright. I get your point. I will try and ease up on things so I can spend more time with my girlfriend."

Ron nodded with a smile and turned and gave the password.

"Ron." Harry said causing his friend to turn around. "Thanks."

"That's why I'm here." Ron smiled, and the two began to chuckle again.