Author's Note: I do not own anything.
"About ready?" Hermione asked Ron and Harry as she entered their room. They nodded, gesturing towards their trunks.
"Are you going to be ok?" Harry asked, pulling onto her arm so she could sit next to him.
"I'll be fine. I'm going to try to not think about it."
"We're here if you need us," Ron said, sitting next to her. He then wrapped his arm around her and allowed her to lay her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you," she replied, kissing his cheek. She felt Harry slip his hand into hers.
"I wonder if this term will be as interesting as last term," Harry joked. Ron and Hermione smiled.
"It's you, mate. It's always interesting."
"Yeah, yeah," he replied.
"Mum wants to know if you all are ready to go," Ginny said, peeking her head into the door. They nodded, grabbed their trunks and followed her downstairs where the entire order was waiting for them.
"We're going to do this the same way we did last time," Sirius said. They nodded. "Harry, you're with me."`
Harry nodded and followed Sirius and Moody out of the door. As they came closer to the station, he was beginning to feel anxious, and he hoped that the station was as protected as the Minister promised it would be.
They quickly passed through the barrier, and he let out a sigh of relief as he saw the scarlet train. A few moments later Ron, Hermione and Ginny passed through.
"How are you doing?" Harry asked, walking up to Hermione. She nodded, remaining quiet as she did so.
He looked around the rest of the station and noticed that most of the students also felt apprehensive. He felt Hermione slip her hand into his and the feeling he had a few moments ago completely disappeared.
"I'll be riding the train with you," Sirius said, walking back up to them. "As will Tonks and Kingsley and several Auror members. It should be safe to get you all back to Hogwarts."
"Should be," Harry replied. Sirius squeezed his shoulder.
"I'll make sure it is. It's time for you all to board."
They nodded and quickly boarded the train. As soon as they found an empty compartment, Ron and Hermione put their trunks away and walked off to the Prefects meeting. Ginny sat down across from Harry and stared out the window.
"How are you, Ginny?" he asked, watching her expression. She shrugged.
"I'm good. I'm just thinking about a lot of things."
"Like what?"
"Nothing."
"Tell me," he said softly. She looked up at him.
"Really, it's nothing."
"Well, if you need to talk, I'm here."
"Thank you."
He nodded. Neville and Luna entered the compartment.
"Hi!" he said, sitting next to Harry. Ginny nodded and looked away, something that Harry caught.
"How was your summer?" Harry asked.
"Really good. I received pretty good marks on my O.W.L.S. How about the three of you?"
"We all did well, too. Hermione received all outstandings."
"No surprise," Neville grinned. Harry smiled softly.
"They'll be back soon."
"What happened at the station, Harry? I heard that you were involved," Luna replied.
Harry closed his eyes and sighed. "Voldemort attack the station. He sealed the barrier so no one could get across. He took Hermione, and he had her parents killed."
Neville's mouth opened in shock. Luna stared back at him sadly.
"I'm so sorry."
"Please don't bring it up."
"We won't," they said together.
"Why did he attack the station?" he asked. Harry shrugged again.
"No idea."
'I do know why, but they can't.'
The compartment door swung open, and they looked over at it. Harry glared at the person standing there.
"What do you want, Malfoy?"
"Your mudblood girlfriend put my father in Azkaban!" he hissed, shoving Harry when he stood up.
"Your filthy father killed Hermione's parents and kidnapped Hermione. He deserves whatever he gets!"
"How dare you!" he replied, flicking his wand. Harry put a shield up and blocked the spell.
"I suggest you leave!"
"I'm not going anywhere until I speak with Granger!"
"You will have to go through me and Ron to speak to her."
"And me," Neville said, standing next to Harry.
"Like I'm scared of you, Longbottom."
"Get out, Malfoy!" Harry said, pressing his wand into Malfoy's chest.
Sneering, Malfoy turned and walked out the door. Harry let out an angered breath before returning to his seat.
"Don't let him get to you," Neville said, clapping his back.
Harry remained quiet for most of the trip, choosing to look outside instead. Every once in a while he would respond, but, for the most part, he didn't talk.
That is, until Ron and Hermione returned.
"Hi," she said, sitting next to him. He smiled at her.
"Hey there."
"Is everything ok?"
He shook his head, unsure of whether or not he should tell her. "Malfoy paid us a visit."
"What's new?"
"It was about you."
"Me?"
"He's threatening you."
Hermione looked at Ron and shook her head when he opened his mouth. Harry looked between them, raising his eyebrows in wonder.
"What?"
"Nothing, Harry."
"No, he needs to know," Ron said. Hermione glared at him.
"It's in the past, let it go!"
"What's going on?" Harry asked, clearly annoyed of being left out. Hermione sighed.
"Malfoy threatened me last term, Harry."
"When?" he nearly yelled, standing up to face her. She shook her head.
"It was right after Sirius gained custody of you."
"Why did you not tell me this?"
"I didn't want you doing something that you would regret!" she replied, standing up to face him.
"You should have told me!"
"I'm sorry," she said, sitting back down in the seat. Harry reached up to his trunk and grabbed his robes.
"I'm going to get changed," he said, opening the compartment door. Hermione let out a sigh as she buried her head in her hands.
"What am I going to do?"
"Talk to him," Luna said. Ginny and Neville nodded in agreement. Hermione then looked at Ron, who hadn't said anything.
"What do you think?"
He shrugged. "I told you to tell him when it happened."
"Don't do that," she groaned.
Harry returned shortly, but didn't talk much, no matter how much Hermione tried to get him to. When the train arrived at Hogsmeade station, he quickly got off and found a carriage. She followed behind him, hoping that he would talk to her soon. Ron remained silent, unsure of what to say to his friends.
He still hadn't said anything to her through the whole carriage ride. Hermione stuck close to Ron, finding comfort in her other best friend.
"He'll come around, Hermione," Ron whispered as they entered the Great Hall. She nodded, taking a seat next to him at the table.
Professor McGonagall walked in with the first years following her. She took the stool out and sat the Sorting Hat on it. Everyone watched as it came alive.
The dark times have risen
You were all warned
Now, there is only one who can stop it
It will take everyone
To help end it
We must all stand together
Unless you stand with him
We must never lose hope
We must stand strong
As long as we do that
We shall forever win
Everyone remained quiet as the sorting hat finished it's song. Despite it being a short song, it was packed full of meaning, and one that hit especially close to the trio. Professor Dumbledore stood up, smiling amongst the students as he did so.
"Welcome to another year of Hogwarts," he said. "As always, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students. Mr. Flich has a list of all banned items in the school on his door.
"This term, your Potions course will be taught by two professors. Years one through four will continue to have Professor Snape. I would like to introduce Horace Slughorn, a former Hogwarts professor who has returned and will be teaching years five through seven."
Several cheers echoed throughout the hall. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione before glancing at Snape, who was glaring at the cheering students.
"With that, let's eat."
After her rounds, Hermione found Harry sitting in the common room, staring into the fire. She closed her eyes and sat next to him.
"Harry," she said, taking his hand in hers. He closed his eyes, "please talk to me. I'm sorry-I should have told you. I didn't want you to do something that would get you into trouble."
"You should have told me."
"I know. I'm sorry. It was a long time ago can we just let it go?"
"No!" he said, turning to face her. "Look at what he and his father have already done to you."
Hermione closed her eyes again, understanding why he was so mad now. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder.
"I'm fine, Harry."
"He hurt you," he whispered into her hair.
"I know," she said softly.
"I can't let that happen to you again."
She dropped her eyes as she pulled back. Placing her hand on his cheek, she used the other one to grab his hand on place it on her heart.
"Nothing is going to happen to me, Harry."
"You've already been hurt, Hermione. You didn't see yourself on that floor."
She put both of her hands on both sides of his face and pressed her lips against his. It was for a brief second, but Harry pressed his head against hers.
"I guess I overreacted. I'm sorry."
"I should have told you. I just didn't want you to worry."
He smiled softly before he leaned to capture her lips with his again. After a few minutes she pulled back and grinned at him.
"Go get your cloak," she whispered seductively. His eyes grew dark and he looked around the common room-thankful that it was mostly empty-before he ran upstairs. He grabbed his cloak and quickly put it on, meeting her outside of the portrait hole. She quickly ducked under his cloak and they walked to the Room of Requirement together.
Once inside, he removed the cloak and pressed his lips against hers. He smiled against her mouth as she let out a moan. Her hands went to the hem of his shirt before pulling away to take it off. A moment later he picked her up and carried her to the bed.
"Morning, mate," Ron said, as he and Harry left for the common room.
"Sorry about yesterday," he replied, turning to face Ron.
"Everything ok?"
"Yeah. Hermione and I talked last night."
"So, she set you straight then?"
'She definitely did,' he thought, smiling to himself.
"Good morning," Hermione said, smiling at the two of them as they walked down the stairs.
"Morning, Hermione."
"Good morning," Harry said, giving her a quick kiss.
"Ready to go eat?"
"Of course!" Ron said, pulling out in front of them. Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled.
They walked down to the Great Hall and filled their plates with food. Soon enough, Professor McGonagall walked over and gave everyone their timetables, stopping at each student as she did so.
"Very nicely well done, Miss. Granger. All outstanding's on your O.W.L.S. I am impressed."
"Thank you, professor."
"Let's put you into Ancient Runes, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Arithmancy, Potions, Herbology and Transfiguration."
She gave Hermione her timetable and moved to Ron, who dropped his eyes when she walked towards him.
"You received excellent marks, Weasley. Six exceeds expectations. You qualify for all your required courses to become an Auror."
Ron looked up, staring at her in shock. "But, I didn't receive an outstanding in Potions on my O.W.L.S."
"Since Professor Slughorn will be teaching sixth year potions, he accepts students who have received exceeds expectations into his N.E.W.T. level classes. Congratulations, Mr. Weasley, you are still eligible to become an Auror."
"Yes!" Ron said, taking his timetable from her.
"Great job, mate!" Harry said, looking over Ron's timetable with him.
"So proud of you, Ron," Hermione said, smiling at him.
"Potter," McGonagall said, looking over her notes, "I must say that I am very impressed! You received five outstandings-including Transfiguration-and four exceeds expectations. You can make it into all of your required classes. Let's put you into Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and Potions."
Harry nodded as he took the timetable from her. He looked through it, feeling very proud of himself that he was able to make it into his courses without any problems.
"Look at that, Harry," Ron said, pointing to his table, "look at all these free periods we have now! And Sirius is our first class!"
"Well, I do not have a free period now," Hermione sighed, packing up her bag. "I need to go Ancient Runes. See you later."
"Bye," Harry said, giving her a quick kiss. She waved goodbye to Ron and took off.
Harry and Ron stood up and took off towards the common room. Ron ran upstairs and grabbed his chess set before returning to the common room.
"Want to play a few games?"
"Sure," Harry replied, helping Ron set it up. They played for a little while until they left for Defense Against the Dark Arts, which Hermione had been waiting by.
"How'd class go?" Harry asked. She sighed.
"We already have a lot of homework."
"Don't tell me that," Ron groaned.
The door to the classroom swung open and everyone entered. Harry kept a close eye on Malfoy, who had been watching Hermione, as they all took their seats.
A few moments later, Sirius walked through the door, carrying his briefcase with him. He set it on the desk and pulled some parchment out before glancing over his class.
"Welcome to N.E.W.T. level Defense Against the Dark Arts. By you being here, you have stated in your O.W.L.S. you are have exceeded expectations for the course, and were eligible to continue on. You and Professors Snape and McGonagall should have worked on your timetables this morning. If there are any questions, feel free to speak to them or me.
"Now that you are N.E.W.T. level students, expect this and all of your courses to become tougher. You have two years of Hogwarts left before you enter out into the world and begin your careers. These next two years are to prepare you for your N.E.W.T. examinations, and your overall career choice."
He then turned and started to write on the chalkboard. Everyone in the class pulled out pieces of parchment and started to copy down what he was writing.
"I want to shift gears a little and talk about the First War. As you all know, it was officially announced that Voldemort has returned."
Several people shivered in the class. Sirius ignored it and continued on.
"With this being Defense Agaianst the Dark Arts, I want you all to be prepared for anything. Voldemort used many dangerous creatures in the First War, and I would not be shocked if he did again."
Sirius continued on. Harry listened closely, wanting more information about what Voldemort could throw at him. Hermione's eyes drifted up from her notes to watch Harry quickly take his own, and she smiled sadly, knowing why he was so determined.
After Sirius had the class practice dueling with each other, he assigned a foot of parchment about the First War before dismissing the class. The trio stayed behind to talk to Sirius for a moment.
"Something on your mind?" he asked, packing up his briefcase before looking at Harry.
"Just trying to process all of this."
Sirius nodded, sitting on his desk as he did so. "Dumbledore wanted me to give you this."
"What is it?" he asked, unwrapping the parchment. Sirius shrugged.
"What's it say?" Hermione asked, looking over his shoulder.
"He wants to see me tonight."
"Why?" Ron asked.
"No idea."
"He probably just wants to talk about the war," Sirius said, looking over the parchment, but feeling quite concerned.
After lunch, the trio made their way down to the dungeon. While they were happy that they did not have Snape this term, they were a little apprehensive about Slughorn.
When the door opened, they made their way around to one of the tables and waited for the class to begin.
"Welcome to Potions!" Slughorn said, entering the classroom. "I am Professor Slughorn, and I will be taking over for Professor Snape as your Potions professor. Now, you all are N.E.W.T. level students…."
Harry found himself tuning out as Slughorn droned on. His mind was still focused on Sirius' lecture, and he found that he couldn't get it out of his head.
"Harry!"
He shook his head and turned it back to Hermione, who was looking at him with concern.
"Is everything ok?"
"Yeah, I guess I just got distracted."
"We're making the Draught of Living Death," she whispered, flipping to the page in his book. He nodded, and quickly gathered everything he needed for the potion. He read from his book and attempted to get to the potion to work.
When his potion was in the cauldron, he looked over to Hermione and let out a sigh of relief when it looked identical to hers. Ron looked at his before letting out a groan.
"Time is up!" Slughorn said sometime later. He walked around to each of the students and looked in their cauldrons, nodding his head and offering words of encouragement. He then moved to Harry's and took a long look.
"Amazing work, Harry!"
"Thank you, sir," Harry said softly. Slughorn smiled at him for a moment longer before moving on to Hermione.
"Excellent potion, my dear!"
Later that night, Harry walked up to Dumbledore's office, his mind focused on what Dumbledore could be wanting to talk to him about. He said the password and walked up the staircase to Dumbledore's office. Knocking on the door, he waited for him to say come in before entering.
"Hello, Harry," he said, standing up and greet him. "How are you?"
"Good."
"How are your classes so far?"
"They're going to be tougher but they're pretty good."
"Have you had Professor Slughorn yet?"
"I just had him today, actually."
"Did you enjoy the class?"
'Better than Snape, yes,' Harry thought. "I enjoyed the class very much."
"I'm glad to hear that. I haven't called you in here just to talk, Harry. Please, have a seat."
Harry sat down at one of the two seats in front of the desk. Dumbledore returned to his seat, smiling softly at Harry.
"There's a reason I wanted Horance to teach here again, and that same reason is why I wanted you to help me convince him to come back. I believe that Voldemort may be hiding something-something that could end this war."
"What is it?"
"That's just what you and I are going to figure out. I have several memories of Tom Riddle and his days at Hogwarts. Over the course of this term, you and I are going are going to unlock whatever secret he may be hiding."
Harry's eyes drifted down and he noticed Dumbledore's blackened hand. Not wanting to question it, he nodded, wondering what Dumbledore figured out about Voldemort.
"Shall we begin?"
Hermione read through a chapter of her Potions book, tapping her fingers against the side of it. Ron sat in the chair beside her, half-working on his defense assignment while rubbing at his tired eyes.
"How are you doing?" she asked, looking over at his parchment. He shrugged.
"I'm too tired for this right now."
"Oh, Ron," she sighed, rubbing her head.
"What? I have plenty of time to work on this."
She shook her head, returning to her book. A few moments later the portrait hole opened and Harry stepped through. He walked over and sat next to Hermione.
"You didn't have to wait up for me."
"What did Professor Dumbledore want?" she asked, closing her book.
"He thinks that Voldemort may be hiding something. He's having me view old memories of Tom Riddle to see if we can figure it out."
"What do you think it is?"
"I don't know," he sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Why do I have the feeling that I'm not going to like the outcome?"
"Because it's you," Hermione replied, smiling softly. Harry glared playfully at her.
"Whatever it is, it's serious. I saw that Professor Dumbledore's hand was blackened."
"I wonder why."
"Surely it doesn't have to do with what he's teaching you," Ron said. Harry shrugged.
"I think it does."