A/N) I'm still having a bit of trouble writing the end of Chapter 67. I seem to have a habit of having something difficult to write in each chapter. It is getting slightly frustrating that it is taking longer to complete chapters. We are coming into Deathly Hallows territory soon, though I still don't know whether to include the Deathly Hallows themselves in it or not... that is something I've still got to consider and work out. I may have to go down to weekly updates, I am trying to avoid that but I am running out of chapters to post... if I can stay a little way ahead I may just be able to keep up with twice-weekly updates. :)

Also, I just want to point out that Harry, Ron and Hermione are in their fifth year at Hogwarts, not sixth. Yes, I am using elements of book 6 but in this story they are in their fifth year. So, Harry is 15, Hermione 16, Ron 15/16. Things have accelerated by one year in this AU.

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Cursed Necklace

Sunday 14th February 1996

Despite the attack on Hogsmeade the previous October, Dumbledore had decided to allow a second visit to go ahead, providing, of course, that the Aurors patrolled the village. Voldemort was still remaining quiet and the Headmaster had judged no risk in allowing the students to visit Hogsmeade, though he had warned them all to be on their toes and if they saw anything suspicious they had to report it immediately.

Harry had asked Ginny to Hogsmeade as Ron and Hermione were going together. Harry thought that was very reasonable; they barely got enough time to spend together without him around and besides, he liked Ginny anyway, so they all won in the end. He and Ginny were sitting at a table in The Three Broomsticks, discussing Quidditch, when a shadow fell over them. Expecting Ron and Hermione to be standing there, the last person he had thought would be was Sirius, smiling broadly down at his godson.

"What are you doing here?" asked Harry. He hadn't known his godfather was coming today.

"I got lucky and got assigned the Hogsmeade shift," replied Sirius. "I figured you'd be here since you weren't with Ron and Hermione when I ran into them in the street outside."

"Are they okay?" Harry had seen how happy Hermione had been lately. He had always known that Ron and Hermione had had feelings for one another but neither had acted upon them. Hermione's imprisonment and then recovery had slowly brought them together. It had been on Harry's urging that Ron go and see Hermione in that bathroom without him.

"They looked fine," said Sirius. "And what about you two?" he indicated Ginny, "Anything going on here?"

"What? No!" Harry answered too quickly, his face going completely red, even as Ginny shook her head, her cheeks turning the colour of her hair.

Sirius laughed. "You say that now..." he trailed off.

Harry frowned, trying not to feel angry at his godfather. I do like Ginny, he admitted. If this was to lead to something more then I wouldn't mind. He glanced quickly at her sitting beside him. Her hair had fallen about her shoulders and she was leaning forwards on one hand. She was beautiful. He had only asked her to Hogsmeade because neither of them had anyone else to go with and it had seemed right. Still, in the hours they had spent wandering the shops Harry had found himself enjoying her company more and more. Oh, he liked her alright; there was no doubt about that. "Why are you here anyway? Aren't you meant to be on patrol?"

"Ah, yes, there is that..." responded Sirius, "however I also need to talk to you, and I don't know how to put this without hurting your pride."

"You need to speak to Harry alone," stated Ginny, catching Sirius' gaze.

Sirius bit his lip. "That's about right, yes."

Ginny sighed. "I'll go and get some more drinks." She picked up her and Harry's empty glasses and walked to the counter leaving Harry alone at the table with his godfather.

"Ok, so what do you need to tell me that is important enough that Ginny can't hear it?"

"It's about Malfoy," said Sirius quietly, leaning in close. "Last year you told me of your suspicions regarding Draco Malfoy. You believe he is part of the plot to kill Dumbledore, correct?"

Harry nodded, choosing to remain silent. Where was this going?

"I said that I couldn't tell you as you were not a member of the Order and that Dumbledore had told me not to either... however I have chosen, as your legal guardian to overrule him now. I think you need to be prepared for what may happen in the coming months. Dumbledore is already dying... the injury on his hand will eventually kill him, however a plan has been made that Dumbledore dies the way he wants to. I don't know who else is involved in this – I am not privy to that information. I do know that Snape is helping Malfoy, keeping a look out on him, we have to trust Snape that Draco won't succeed and that Dumbledore's own plans go ahead. The Order is trying to preserve Draco Malfoy's soul. We also know that his father's recent failures which led him to be incarcerated in Azkaban are one of the main reasons as to why Draco was chosen with this task. It is revenge on Lucius Malfoy. Voldemort intends for Draco to fail."

"What?"

Sirius nodded in confirmation. "Yes, he does. If someone fails him, Voldemort does tend to punish the younger generation. Lucius Malfoy failed him too many times in recent months for Draco to not be a target of his wrath. I am telling you this because I think you deserve to know that Draco has been threatened and understands that he will die if he fails. He is getting desperate because he doesn't want to die and the Order, and especially Snape, is doing everything we possibly can to save him."

"There must be a reason why you are telling me this now," said Harry slowly.

Sirius sighed, pulling a hand through his hair. "It's because Draco might target you to get to Dumbledore. It's not known why you see Dumbledore every so often but anyone can see you are close to him. I am telling you this because I want to warn you that you may be in danger. Draco is desperate; he will try anything he can to not lose his life. Anyone in his shoes would."

"Just like Wormtail wanted to do... he tried to save his own life by betraying my parents," whispered Harry.

Sirius blanched. "I hadn't thought of it that way."

"When it happens to someone close to you, I don't think you would."

Sirius didn't reply to Harry's statement, his mind clearly working through what Harry had just said. He looked down at the table, unsure of what to say.

"Thanks for the warning," said Harry. "I appreciate it."

Sirius glanced up catching his gaze. "Just let it play out how it is supposed to. Whether we like it or not, Dumbledore will die. There is nothing we can do to change that, no matter how much we hate it."

"I know," said Harry mournfully, but he looked up and plastered a smile on his face as Ginny approached the table.

"Are you two done yet?" she asked kindly.

"Yeah, we are," said Sirius, standing up from Ginny's chair that he had sat in when she had vacated it. "I'll see you later, Harry."

"Yeah, sure," replied Harry watching his godfather leave The Three Broomsticks.

"Am I allowed to know what that was about?" inquired Ginny, folding her arms and leaning on the table, staring at Harry with one eyebrow raised. "Or is it Order stuff that Sirius trusts you with when you shouldn't really know about it?"

Harry blushed. "It's the second one."

"Ah. Well, I guess when you can tell us you will, right?" she prodded gently.

"Of course," he answered immediately.

"Good," she whispered, a smile forming on her face.

They were walking along the lane that ran through Hogsmeade, heading back to Hogwarts when it happened. A terrible scream echoed through the air; exchanging a glance with Ginny, Harry broke into a run, wand clasped in his right fist. They rounded a corner in the lane and stopped abruptly as the sight that befell them was something Harry had not been expected.

Floating in the air, her arms outstretched, her hair whipping out behind her, her eyes wide open, was Katie Bell, her mouth open in a horrible, screeching scream. Her friend, Leanne, leapt up trying to seize Katie's ankles trying to tug her back to the ground, but then she fell with a thud to the ground, her body writhing, her arms and legs thrashing, still screaming that horrible sound.

"What's happened?" asked Ginny, grasping Harry by the arm.

"I don't know," he replied, even as he ran forward towards Katie's body and her sobbing friend.

"STAY BACK!" yelled a voice that Harry recognised.

It was Sirius. He skidded to a halt and knelt down on the concrete beside Katie's body, pushing away her friend.

"Something's happened to her!" sobbed Leanne. "I don't know what –"

"I do," said Sirius. He whipped his head around, searching. "TONKS!"

The purple-haired witch was running towards them, her wand clutched in her hand. "You called?" she tried to sound nonchalant.

"Tonks, take Katie back to the castle! Alert Dumbledore and get Snape! Hurry!"

Tonks obeyed and quickly levitated Katie's body into the air before rushing off, the body of the screaming student floating behind her.

"It's Leanne, isn't it?" asked Sirius gently, approaching the other girl. "Did it just happen all of a sudden, or -?"

Leanne sobbed, pointing towards a brown-paper package on the ground, which had split open to reveal a greenish glitter. "It was when that package tore."

Sirius' eyes fell upon it. "Don't touch it, any of you."

"I wasn't going to," said Harry. He watched as Sirius approached the package, ripped a part of his robes from the bottom and picked up the ornate opal necklace that was poking out of the paper. "Hey, I've seen that before!"

"You have?" Sirius looked at Harry in shock. "What were you doing in Borgin and Burkes?"

"You know where it is from?"

"'Course I do," shrugged Sirius. "It was one of my frequent haunts when I was out on trips with my parents to Knockturn Alley. It was always on display there. There was a label that said it was cursed." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Since when did you visit Borgin and Burkes?"

Harry shuffled on his feet. "When I used Floo powder for the first time, I mispronounced Diagon Alley and ended up coming out of the grate in Borgin and Burkes. I saw the necklace then."

"At least you didn't go to that shop willingly," said Sirius. He glanced towards Leanne. "How did Katie get hold of this?"

"That's why we were arguing. She came back from the bathroom in the Three Broomsticks holding it, said it was a surprise for somebody at Hogwarts and she had to deliver it. She looked all funny when she said it..."

"She was Imperiused," said Sirius darkly. It was obvious conclusion to make. "She didn't say who'd given it to her, did she, Leanne?"

Leanne shook her head, her sobs wracking her body. "No she wouldn't tell me... and I said she was being stupid and not to take it up to school, but she just wouldn't listen and... and then I tried to grab it from her... and – and –" She let out a wail of despair.

Sirius nodded. "Ok. Ginny, I hate to ask you of this, but can you take Leanne back to the school?"

Ginny nodded, not arguing and immediately went to Leanne's side and coaxed her to stand and began to lead her back to the school. Harry and Sirius followed behind them, keeping their distance.

"This is what you warned me about, isn't it? You thought something like this might happen."

"I did but I didn't think something would happen right away..." Sirius mused. "What else aren't you saying about your little trip to Borgin and Burkes?"

Swallowing, Harry met his godfather's gaze. "Malfoy knows about this necklace," he indicated it with his right hand. "I hid in a cupboard when he and his father came into the shop. He was having a good look at it. Malfoy must have remembered it and went back for it!"

"I think you are right," said Sirius. "We had a report that young Malfoy visited the shop during the Christmas Holidays. He went home for the duration of the holiday."

"He must have bought it then!" jumped Harry. "But... Leanne said that Katie got it in the girls' bathroom." And then it clicked. "Malfoy was there! He used the Imperius Curse on her and told her to give it to Dumbledore!"

"You can't tell Dumbledore about your suspicions, you know that, right?" said Sirius urgently. "He thinks this matter with Malfoy and you is closed. He doesn't know that I've told you all this and he'll probably be livid if he did find out."

"You can trust me and I won't tell Ron or Hermione either, if that makes you feel any better. I won't compromise you, Sirius," said Harry.

A slight smile tugged at his godfather's lips. "Thanks kid."

True to his word, Harry did not mention anything to Ron or Hermione about his guesses relating to Malfoy. He knew he was right, but he did inform them that he had witnessed at least part of Katie's accident. The news had quickly spread that a student had been cursed and by the next day she had been moved to St Mungo's. All future Hogsmeade visits had been cancelled; the only thing that linked Malfoy to Katie's accident was his bizarre behaviour for a few days after the accident. He was twitchy and distant in his lessons, not seeming to take a care in the world at what he was learning. He had also taken to disappearing after the Marauder's Map and ditching his bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle.

No one could guess when Katie would return from hospital however it became a necessity to select a new Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They couldn't play with just two Chasers. The position went to Ginny Weasley who performed exceedingly well at the trials. Harry figured that once Angelina left Hogwarts at the end of the year, Ginny could take her place permanently, providing that Katie Bell returned, of course.

The days passed and Katie did not return.

Harry, Ron and Hermione continued with their lessons with Sirius and Remus; all three of them succeeding in Apparating completely in late February and by the end of the month, Dumbledore had deemed them capable of full Apparition, meaning that they no longer required those lessons however their Defence ones were still ongoing. They were now onto advanced Auror curses, the darker aspects of the training that Aurors were required to learn. Most of the magic learnt at that level of training was near impossible for students to learn at the age of fifteen, but Harry, Ron and Hermione had a good teacher in Sirius. He knew their strengths and weaknesses and he understood what they could and could not do.

And so they grew in strength, preparing for the tasks that would be set before them in the coming months, not knowing that their whole world would be thrown upside down.

March came rushing towards them with a fierce wind and cloudy nights. It was on the 1st March that another incident occurred to a student of Hogwarts, though more worryingly, it happened inside the castle itself. And that student just happened to be Ronald Weasley.

Monday 1st March 1996

It just so happened that today of all days was Ron's sixteenth birthday. Two things occurred that made it a birthday that Ron would rather forget. First he was put under a love potion and secondly he was poisoned. The love potion had been intended for Harry, but Ron had eaten the cakes that contained it instead. Harry had found himself a hero among the student body since Voldemort had returned, especially since he had fought him during the Triwizard Tournament. He was a magnet for girls everywhere. He had always ignored them though as he wasn't interested – and far too busy – to start courting girls. The majority of the girls that had tried to charm him had quickly realised that he was not interested and wouldn't fall for a simple trick, so had left him alone.

Save one.

Romilda Vane – she simply had not got that message.

On Valentine's Day she had sent him a box of Chocolate Cauldrons loaded with love potion, which Harry had stuffed into his trunk and promptly forgotten about. He had been retrieving Ron's present from his trunk when he threw the box onto the floor beside him. Ron had assumed they were for him, picked the box up, opened it and eaten nearly half before he succumbed to the love potion secreted inside them.

Not knowing what to do, Harry took Ron to the Potions Classroom where Slughorn was preparing for his first lesson of that day. Since he had asked Slughorn about Horcruxes, Harry had been avoiding him and the Potions Professor was more than happy about that arrangement. Their classes together had been slightly awkward, especially since Slughorn, though impressed with Harry's work, was trying his best to not entice him to ask that same question again. Thankfully, Professor Slughorn had not been awkward at all when Harry had arrived outside his classroom with an influenced Ron and had whipped up a remedy for the Love Potion.

To celebrate Ron's birthday, Slughorn pulled out of his bag a bottle of oak-matured mead and offered it to Ron and Harry. Considering it was a school day, he shouldn't have really done that, and neither should they be drinking it, especially when they were not of age to do so. However, Ron had gratefully taken a gulp of the liquid before Harry could stop him and within seconds Ron had fallen to the floor, foam spilling out the corner of his mouth, his eyes bulging from their sockets and his body convulsing.

If Harry had waited a bit longer, Ron wouldn't have survived.

Something Snape had said in their very first Potions class snapped back into his memory: a bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. It was the most unlikely thing for him to remember but the knowledge flowed back to him and he rushed into action, opened the Potions store door and rummaged around inside until his hand grabbed the kidney-shaped bean. Running back to Ron and the stuttering Slughorn, he shoved the bezoar into Ron's mouth.

That action had saved his life.

Now Ron lay in the hospital wing with Harry and Hermione sitting at his side. Hermione clutched Ron's pale hand in hers; their relationship had blossomed since their kiss in the bathroom. They had kept it low-key, only Harry and Ginny really knew about their true relationship. Fred and George, on the other hand, were oblivious to it, but that was only because they were too busy with something secret to pay any attention to what their younger brother was up to with Hermione Granger.

"But who was that poisoned mead for?" asked Hermione, her eyes still red from crying when she had learned what had happened to Ron. Too much had happened to her in recent months for her to lose Ron to poison. "I can't understand why anyone would try to kill Professor Slughorn."

"He wasn't the target," said Harry. He had been thinking about this. The timing of the attacks only proved to Harry that it was another attempt by Malfoy to get to Dumbledore. Since Malfoy had visited Borgin and Burkes, was it so unreasonable that he acquired mead and poisoned it, in the hope that Slughorn would give it to Dumbledore? Ron had, unfortunately, been the receiver of that mead, all because of Malfoy's carelessness in attempting to complete his task. But how is he intending to kill Dumbledore? That was a question that he wanted answering, but knew he would not get.

"You think the target was Dumbledore, don't you? And you also believe that it's Malfoy behind the attacks on Katie and Ron, right?" Hermione pointed out reasonably. "Ginny mentioned that Sirius came to talk to you in Hogsmeade. He told you the truth, didn't he?"

Harry bit his lip. "I promised I wouldn't say." He shrugged his shoulders. "Besides we already know that someone was tasked to kill Dumbledore. That meeting we overheard during the summer told us as much."

"Hmph," Hermione narrowed her gaze.

"He trusts me not to. I shouldn't really know anyway, he only told me because he thinks that I may be a target myself."

"Is that because people believe you are close to Dumbledore?" whispered Hermione, her eyes wide.

"Maybe," Harry shuffled his feet, feeling uncomfortable. "I think that Katie and Ron were accidents that went wrong."

"And they are all connected to this plot that we know about."

Harry nodded. "It makes sense for it all to slip together. But I can't say because I am simply guessing." I know its Malfoy anyway without needing to resort to guessing. But I know Hermione doesn't believe that a fifteen year old could become a Death Eater.

"Well," said Hermione, stroking the back of Ron's hand, "I guess you might be right. I just hate to think about that I nearly lost Ron too."

"You didn't though," replied Harry.

Hermione smiled slightly. "And for that, Harry, I am truly grateful for you for saving his life."

Sirius was leaning by the Gryffindor Common Room entrance when Harry arrived back, having left Hermione in the hospital wing with Ron.

"I'm guessing you're here for a reason," stated Harry, eyeing his godfather wearily.

Sirius grinned. "Quite possibly. I heard what happened to Ron, I thought I'd drop by and see how he was."

"He's fine, just resting at the moment."

"Good." Sirius pulled his hands out of his pockets and folded them across his chest instead.

"You weren't really here to check up on Ron were you?"

"You got me!" Sirius held his hands up in mock surrender. "I am enquiring as to whether you have made any progress on acquiring that memory for Dumbledore yet?"

Harry went red. "I did ask..."

"You directly asked him when I advised you not to," asked Sirius, his right eyebrow rose towards his hairline.

"Yes..." Harry was embarrassed.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Of course you'd try that despite what I said. I would have done the same thing. I'm assuming you haven't tried since?"

Harry shook his head. "No... He didn't seem happy that I asked him about Horcruxes. I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to try for a while."

"When did you ask him this?" enquired Sirius, head cocking to the side.

"Err, January..." Harry was now going redder and redder.

"Oh, Harry," Sirius slapped himself on the forehead. "You've left it that long to try again? He's not trying to collect you or anything?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I don't think he's held any parties like the one on the train since he started here."

"That's not normal," observed Sirius. "He used to have one at least every month and bi-weekly meetings with his special club when I was here. You've scared him, Harry, by asking him outright."

"You really think that talking about my mother would work?" asked Harry.

"Yes." The answer was instant. "Slughorn adored your mother. Everyone could see it. Her memory and her death will help you, no matter how much you may hate talking about it, it has to be done. It is the only way you'll be able to get that memory. And it is important. Without it, I doubt Dumbledore can continue to educate in the mysterious ways of Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Harry couldn't help laughing. It was a serious matter what they were learning about, but the way Sirius had worded what he had said, had sounded funny to his ears. "I'll get the memory," he said. "I don't know how I can get him to talk about my mother, but if you say I can do it, then I can."

"Good," said Sirius softly, smiling at his godson. "Oh, and by the way, Dumbledore wishes me to tell you that he'd like to see you in his office next Monday. I'm guessing he's got more to show us, but it might be helpful if you could acquire that memory before then."

Harry swallowed, knowing that he didn't have much time left to accomplish the task that Dumbledore had asked of him. But when is the right time to talk about my mother to Professor Slughorn? That was something he did not yet know the answer to. He was hoping that the answer to that question would reveal itself in the next week before his next lesson with Dumbledore. He hated the thought that he was disappointing him. I won't fail. I won't.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think!

Apologies for the rehash of canon... I felt it was important to show, though I understand that some of my readers may not be pleased with that. In a few chapters time the story will be diverging more so from the novels.

Next chapter: Lord Voldemort's Request - in which Sirius and Harry view two more memories and Sirius comes to a startling conclusion about a Horcrux!

No preview for this chapter, unfortunately. I couldn't pin-point anything suitable to use. Will be posted on Thursday.

the-writer1988