"You have proven yourself to be a valuable servant to me, Lucius." The dark lord silently commented when he returned form the dungeon of the manor and saw the patriarch waiting for his master at the end of the stairs.

"Thank you, my lord.", The man bowed, "I take it that you were able to obtain information about Potter's prophecy, then?"

"A servant does not ask questions unless he is told to do so.", Voldemort's red eyes narrowed on Lucius green ones, "And yes, I have found out the exact position of Potter's prophecy."

The dark lord walked past Malfoy without another look as he headed towards the exit of the manor, determined to start on a task so important that couldn't be shared with his followers.

"My lord!" Lucius exclaimed "What should we do with the corpse of the unspeakable?"

Voldemort turned around and faced his servant, annoyed by the constant questions of his servant.

"Let Nagini feast on his flesh, she'll enjoy a good dinner." He commanded before an evil grin spread on his face.

"Don't you find it ironic that not even a few hours ago, Edward Cunningham was dining with you only to end up being the dinner for somebody else now?" Voldemort asked the Malfoy who shuddered slightly in response, much to the dark lord's rejoice.

"Make sure that the ministry believes Edward Cunningham died because of some accident, Lucius.", He instructed before taking his leave, "If you fail, you'll become the next part of the food chain."

Once outside the manor, the dark lord disapparated with a clear destination in mind: Salisbury…


"I'm taking a ride with my best friend!" The lead singer's voice spoke to us through the speaker of the living room as Hermione and I recorded possibilities for Dumbledore to deem himself trustworthy on a piece of parchment.

"He just has to tell you everything about yourself that he knows. That's priority number one." The brunette stated with an adamant tone and underlined the idea with a fat line of ink.

"I hope he never lets me down again!" Depeche Mode's frontman exclaimed and I couldn't help but snort lightly with a small smirk.

"Yeah, I hope never lets me down again as well." I stated dryly and Hermione hummed in agreement.

"Now, priority number two:" She continued "He has to make sure that Sirius is freed from the accusations as quickly as possible. You two need to spend more time. And don't deny it! I know exactly how much he means to you."

Hermione gave me a don't-you-dare-Potter look and I raised my hands in defence.

"Hey, I didn't even deny it. It's useless lying to you anyway.." I admitted and Hermione giggled.

"That's good to hear, Mr Potter." She told me and the little devilish smile on her face made it all worth.

"Dammit brain, you don't always have to make my stomach churn this way when she does that.." I mentally told myself.

"What are you laughing at, eh? Aren't you the worst liar in history yourself?" I countered and I already saw her lips moving when a sudden sound distracted the two of us.

The sound of a ringing doorbell.

We looked at each other for a second, the same question etched into our faces: Who could it be?

The question was soon answered when Hermione and I got up and opened the door, revealing a rather amused Professor Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon, you two." He greeted us with a friendly smile and we both returned the kind gesture.

"Is that what I think it is?" Hermione gasped when her eyes narrowed on the little powdery pouch in Dumbledore's hand and the headmaster chuckled.

"Since I don't know what you're thinking I'm not sure. Though if I had to guess, then yes, it's exactly what you think it is." He responded and invited himself into the house, as usual.

"Well, if he didn't, then I'd know he's not the real Dumbledore." I told myself with a chuckle as Hermione and I followed him into the living room.

"Professor, what's in that pouch?" I asked when he stopped in the middle of the room and turned around, his long grey beard swirling through the air.

"That Harry, is floo powder. I think you're quite familiar with it's usage." He explained with a wink and I felt a bit embarrassed when I got reminded of my little detour in Knockturn Alley almost three years ago.

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder." I told the professor and he chuckled.

"Now, as I'm quite certain that you don't know why I'm here, let me.. illuminate your minds." Dumbledore said and his eyes sparkled dramatically.

"As you two know, we are facing dark times in the wizarding world. Everybody is a potential target of Voldemort, though their biggest threat is you, Harry." The headmaster gave me a firm nod.

"Lord Voldemort knows no mercy, he knows no empathy. He'll do everything in his power to weaken you, to get to you. That means you have to know how to defend yourself." He continued his explanation before looking at a confused Hermione.

"Yes, with you I meant the two of you, Miss Granger." Dumbledore smiled at my best friend, whose knitted brows didn't dissolve.

"But it's illegal to perform magic under the age of seventeen, except in school." My brilliant friend countered and Dumbledore's smile only grew.

"That is if the ministry can detect from where the underage magic comes from." His blue eyes twinkled mysteriously before he opened the pouch of floo powder.

"I have found just the perfect place where you can and will learn everything you need to know in order to face Voldemort and his death eaters. But I don't want to spoil the surprise more than I necessarily have to." Dumbledore again winked at us before he stepped into the fireplace.

"Oh, how foolish." He chuckled when he passed me the pouch of floo powder and I chuckled when I realized that he had almost left us without our means of transport.

"Now, listen carefully: Grimmauld Place, Number 12!" Dumbledore clearly pronounced every syllable before dropping the powder in the fireplace, an emerald flame soon enveloping the elderly wizard.

"You go first." I told my best friend who nodded before she took a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace. Within the next seconds, she was gone as well.

"Everything counts in large amounts!" I noticed that the stereo was still turned on, so I quickly hurried over to the sound system and turned it off. No need to waste electricity, even though I would really love to piss my relatives off with a high electricity bill…

I appeared in the fireplace of a large dining room and coughed when all the dust swirled around me and I took of my glasses to get rid of the soot that had settled there upon my arrival.

When I could see properly again I stepped out of the fireplace and noticed my godfather sitting at the huge dining table, feet on the table of course, smiling at me brightly. I realized that Grimmauld Place Number 12 must be his home.

"Sirius!", I happily exclaimed as he got up and gave me a firm hug, "It's so great to see you again."

I smiled brightly at the only person that felt like a parent of mine and he grinned right back at me.

"Harry Potter." He chuckled, eyes sparkling with a mixture of joy and excitement.

"How are you feeling now? Certainly better since the old man allows people around you again." He asked and looked at me in a way that made me feel like he understood exactly what I have been through the last week or so.

"It's been worse. Especially now that I have Hermione back this summer could turn out to be quite good after all." I told him in all honesty and Sirius smiled warmly at me.

"Nothing in the world is more valuable than to have a companion as wonderful as Hermione, believe me Harry." He remarked and I couldn't agree more with him.

"Speaking of her.. She and Dumbledore are probably waiting for us already." My godfather then gestured me to follow him and so I did, out of the dining room into what I assumed was the entrance hall.

"I know, it's not the merriest places of places.", He dryly commented when he saw my eyes widening because of all the beheaded house-elf skulls "decorating" the staircase to the higher levels of the house, "Though we're working on it right now."

"We?" I asked when Sirius lead me downstairs into the cellar of the house and he chuckled mysteriously.

"You'll know soon enough."

Sirius opened a door to the left and suddenly I was blinded by bright sunlight, a gigantic and bright hall with large fronts of windows on both sides making my jaw drop.

"I love magic." I thought to myself with a smile when I entered and saw Hermione, Dumbledore and a few other people already waiting for us.

"Couldn't resist having a small emotional talk with Harry, eh?" Remus smirked at my godfather who only rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Moony." He retorted, much to the werewolf's amusement.

"Good to see you, Potter." Mad Eye Moody greeted and gave me a pat on the back.

"Good to see you too, Professor Moody." I politely returned and the ex-auror only groaned in response.

"I'm not your god damn teacher any more."

"Harry Potter, we meet at last.",A tall and black man extended his hand for me to shake, his voice deep and calm, "My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Nice to meet you, sir." I politely replied as I shook his hand.

"The honour is all mine."

The last person that hadn't introduced itself to me so far was a young woman maybe in her early twenties with bubblegum pink hair and violet eyes.

"Wotcha, Harry.", She winked at me with a small grin, "The name is Tonks."

And then her hair suddenly turned bright orange and judging by her hearty laughter I knew that my facial expression must have been priceless.

"Thank you for the impressive demonstration, Nymphadora.", Dumbledore chuckled lightly, "Now, before we get off-topic, let us come to the reason why we are here."

"This is the hall of survival, as I like to call it. I've designed it just yesterday so that you might have a place where you can learn how to defend yourselves without the ministry getting any wind about it." The headmaster explained and I looked around the hall again.

"I knew that you could make tents bigger with magic, but that's.. just an entirely different level." I admitted and Dumbledore smiled at me.

"Our magical experiences are only limited by skill or imagination." He said with the typical mysteriousness in his voice that he used every time when coming up with a clever saying.

"Now, all the adults I've gathered here have agreed to teach you during the remainder of the holidays. They are your new professors, if you want to say so." His eyes twinkled before he revealed two rolls of parchment from one of his pockets.

"I've already taken myself the liberty to create a schedule so you know exactly what you'll learn on which day." Dumbledore handed Hermione and me our timetables and the second the brunette had hers in her hand, she already skimmed the tables in curiosity.

"As all of us are quite busy with fighting Voldemort at the moment, I figured out it would be best if you had two mentors for one module, so no lessons have to be cancelled if one of your mentors has to do it's duty. Sirius and Remus will teach you useful charms and curses for a fight, Kingsley and Tonks will teach you fighting stances and how to duel, Alastor will make sure that you'll be physically prepared and I.. well, I'll teach you a bit of everything." Dumbledore winked at us and I couldn't help but grin like an idiot.

"Brilliant!" I exclaimed happily and looked at all the people that had agreed to teach me and my best friend how to survive in the future.

"You guys are all members of this organization sworn to fight you-know-who, aren't you?" Hermione asked with curiosity in her brown eyes and this time it was Moody who spoke.

"Well spotted, Granger. Though I think we should retreat to the conference room if we want to discuss order matters." He gruffed and already limped towards the exit of the illuminated hall, the rest of our group following the battle-scarred auror.

"And the ministry can't detect underage magic in this hall?" I asked Sirius silently, my amazement about this place still as high as the second I entered it. I would finally have some proper training.

"The ministry can't detect any magic in the entirety of my house, Harry." He told me with a wink and I grinned at my godfather.

"How is that possible?", Hermione asked with a surprised gasp before her eyes narrowed on Sirius, "But it's illegal, isn't it?"

"It's also illegal to break out of Azkaban." He countered and my best friend blushed brightly a few seconds later.

"No, that's not what I wanted to say.." She mumbled and it couldn't have been clearer what was going on inside her head right now.

"Hermione.. You gotta loosen up a bit." My rakish godfather clapped her back before Remus shot him a scolding glance.

"If I were you then I wouldn't make my godson's future wife my enemy, Snuffles." He remarked and now both Hermione and I blushed furiously because of his statement. My eyes met hers in our helplessness and she looked just as desperate to get out of this situation as I probably did.

"Oi, you two are together? How cute!" Tonks now joined the group teasing and laid an arm around both my and Hermione's shoulder.

"WE ARE NOT TOGETHER!" The two of us exclaimed loudly and Tonks face fell a bit.

"Aw, that's a pity." She said with disappointment in her voice and Sirius snickered because of her statement.

"Yeah, it really is. James must be banging his head against a wall in heaven right now." My godfather told his best friend who nodded in agreement before whispering something into Sirius ear.

"50 galleons? Oh, you've got yourself a deal, mate!" He shook his head with a smirk before shaking hands with Moony.

"What the hell are they betting about? Though whatever it is, I want Sirius to lose the bet, that's out of question." I mentally swore to myself as I exited the hall of survival and glanced at Hermione, whose face was still as red as a cherry.

"What do you think he whispered into his ear?" I asked my best friend who just narrowed her eyes on the two marauders in a way that promised nothing good.

"Whatever they're betting about, I want to see them both losing their money." She literally growled and my eyes widened a bit, not having expected her to possess such a threatening voice.

"If they should tease you two like that again, I'll put a stop to it.", Tonks promised with a wink, "I really didn't know how close you were to each other."

"No harm done, Tonks. Though I have to say that we're still closer to each other than many couples are." Hermione stated with a puffed chest and I couldn't help the surge of pride I felt inside my chest at her words.

"Yeah, she got that absolutely right." I thought to myself but then Moody cleared his throat.

"Oh, right, maybe we should listen to whatever he wants to talk about with us." I instructed myself when we were at the huge dining table again and I felt embarrassed as I realized we had just continued talking about THAT when everybody stopped moving.

"Now Albus, I think you have their attention." He remarked and I had to resist rolling my eyes, knowing the ex-auror would probably see it either with his normal or his magical eye. Lose-lose situation, if you ask me.

"Introducing you to Grimmauld Place 12 was not solely to show you a place where you could learn to defend yourselves. No, there is an even more exciting purpose behind my decision. Any guesses what that might be?" Dumbledore asked me and Hermione and I didn't have to think a second about an answer.

"This is where you meet to fight Voldemort, isn't it?" I asked.

"It's the headquarter for your organization to fight the dark, right sir?" Hermione asked simultaneously and the headmaster chuckled.

"Exactly. As you're already aware of one of it's truly outstanding qualities, I'm sure it doesn't need further elaboration when I say that this is a place of great importance for us.. and for Voldemort as well. Though he won't be able to find this house whilst we can." He explained and his eyes gleamed merrily.

"Sirius house is under the protection of the Fidelius charm. Means that the only people that will be able to enter the house have been permitted to do so by the secret keeper. Which can make the charm useless if the secret keeper spills the beans." Mad-Eye said and fixated both his eyes on mine and I knew he was referring to Wormtail betraying my parents.

"Thanks for the reminder. I bet Harry is really happy about getting reminded how his parents died." Sirius growled and uttered what I thought in my head, which made the battle-scarred man turn his attention to him.

"Stop the whinging Sirius, he has to handle.."

"Are you the secret keeper, Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione asked both to change the topic and because she wanted to know the answer anyway.

"That is correct, Miss Granger." He nodded lightly before having a look at the gathered people as to see if he could continue.

"The organization I have founded to fight Voldemort is called "The Order of the Phoenix" and it runs way back to the first time when the dark lord tried to rule over magical Britain.", He told us, "And it is my wish to make you two members of this order. If you so wish."

My and Hermione's eyes lit up in excitement, the knowledge that Professor Dumbledore deemed us trustworthy enough to be a part of the real deal simply thrilling. I couldn't wait to start helping them with everything I had and I knew Hermione thought the same.

"But be warned.", Kingsley raised a finger as he spoke to us in a deadly serious voice, "This is not to be taken lightly. The order is an organization for adults. Which means that if you join, you'll be treated the same way as everybody else here. I think it is obvious how much of a change this decision will have on your young lives. So choose wisely."

All the older people in the room had their eyes either fixated on me or Hermione and for a second I really considered turning down the offer.

"You already have enough problems in your life.", A voice inside myself whispered, "What's the point in adding even more, mh?"

"But if you join then you can help. Don't you want to see Voldemort defeated as soon as possible?" Another voice countered.

"Perhaps the things you'll be told or see will make you lose your mind." The first voice supplied in a dramatic whisper.

"You're a lion of house Gryffindor. And the world shall hear you roar!"

"And if it's too much for you?"

"A lion does not concern himself with the opinion of a sheep." Was my conclusion and I literally felt the impact of my decision the next second, how I had the feeling that the road of my life suddenly took me into an entirely new direction.

"Caesura time.." I thought to myself before I took a deep breath and announced my decision…

Hermione of course chose to join the order as well. She was by far the most responsible, mature and smartest fifteen-year-old I knew and no matter what, she would follow me into hell if I chose to do so. And I admired her for that so, so much..

Me and her still had two hours until our first conference as members of the "Order of the Phoenix" so we explored the entirety of the house and met Sirius house-elf called Kreacher.

My godfather explained to us how he had been in his family's service ever since he was a boy and how the pureblood agenda of his family had made him the heartless creature he was now.

Being the person I was, I treated Kreacher with respect during our brief exchange but when he had called Hermione a mudblood I completely lost it and my best friend had to restrain me from doing god knows what to the house-elf. The fear in her eyes because of my apparent hatred immediately made me come back to my senses.

Sirius then was positively astounded how easily Hermione could make me see reason before telling us that Lily had the same effect on James back in their years, which made us flee from my godfather in a haste, his gale laughter following us right through the house.

Me and my best friend literally hid in one of the guest rooms we had seen during our tour through the house and Hermione thought it was a good time to continue practicing my occlumency skills, so I complied. Despite knowing I would be exhausted afterwards.

After my intense exercise we chatted for quite some time about our upcoming defence lessons and speculated what we might learn in particular.

I was eager to start training for the seriousness of the world, my drive once again supplying all the energy it needed to motivate me. Hermione again smiled at me when she addressed my ambitious nature when I saw a reason to work hard and I chuckled in response.

"Well, I see it as a possibility to increase my chances of becoming an auror as well." I told her when we headed down the stairs ten minutes before the conference, the excitement already coursing through my veins. I was still keeping the idea of becoming an auror in mind.

My excitement died down when I saw a certain black-haired man at the end of the staircase making his way to the dining room.

"Potter, Granger, what a.. surprise." Snape remarked with a venomous voice, black eyes boring into mine and Hermione's for a second until he abruptly diverted his gaze and walked past us without another word, much to my liking.

"Alright, now I might regret my decision.." I mumbled under my breath and Hermione giggled before she gently nudged my side with her elbow, an amused glimmer in her doe-brown eyes.

"Does the great Harry Potter back down because of one greasy professor being in the same boat with him?" She teased and I groaned with a roll of my eyes.

"C'mon, let's get a seat as far away from Snape as possible before I have to sit next to him." I declared and entered the conference room with Hermione at my side. And the second we entered all eyes were on us.

It truly must have been an odd sight, two stranded teenagers in a room of adults, and I didn't blame anybody who looked at me or her in a peculiar way.

A lot of the faces belonged to people I have never met, but as I steered towards my godfather and Remus I caught a glimpse of Professor McGonagall giving me and my best friend a small but proud smile.

"Ah, I see you've smelled Snape's stench and retreated to the farthest corner possible. Good decision, Harry." Sirius patted my back before he gave the potions master a nasty glare, which he luckily didn't notice.

"Why is Snape in the order?" I asked when I settled down beside my godfather and saw Hermione sitting down next to Remus, who immediately engaged her in a conversation.

"He's a double agent. Voldemort thinks he works for him while he truly works for Dumbledore. As much as I hate him, I gotta admit he's damn important for the order.. Though never tell him I said that!" Sirius silently explained and suddenly I understood why Karkaroff had consulted with him over the course of the last year and suddenly I knew what Dumbledore had meant back in the hospital wing when he told Snape to "Go after the more exciting part of his job".

"I'd never betray a family member." I honestly told him before I felt a gigantic hand pushing down my shoulder.

"Harry! It's great to see yer.", Hagrid gave me one of his broad and warm smiles, "Hey Sirius, how's Buckbeak doin' ?"

"He's fine, I guess. Though he hates to stay inside the house all the time, just like I do." My godfather said and the gamekeeper sighed sadly.

"I wish Beaky could see the skies again. Can yer remember how happy he was at Hogwarts?" Hagrid asked me and I nodded.

"Yeah, I remember flying with him during your first lesson with us. Buckbeak was so happy back then." I tried to cheer up the half-giant who then decided to give his hippogriff a brief visit before the conference.

"Third year.. What a great year it had been." I said to myself and couldn't help but smile brightly until my godfather elbowed me with a broad grin.

"Can you remember the night you learned about my innocence? It's the happiest moment in my years after Azkaban." He told me and if there weren't so many people around I would have probably hugged him right now. It was one of my happiest moments as well.

"How you and Hermione travelled back in time to rescue me and Buckbeak.. I'll never forget the risk you took to free a man that was barely more than a stranger to you at that moment. You have every right to sit here, both of you." Sirius eyes gleamed with affection and pride, my stomach churning because of the power of his words.

"Is that how family feels like?" I asked myself as I smiled back at him and swore myself to ask Dumbledore as soon as possible about a way to restore Sirius name.

"Besides.. do you know what they say about a man and a woman flying together on top of a hippogriff?" My godfather's eyes suddenly sparkled with rakishness and I shook my head. But then I put the pieces together.

"Sirius, please, stop with this nonsense. That's psychological manipulation, by the way." I said and my godfather only shrugged his shoulders.

"One day, Harry, you'll thank me for my wise words." My godfather smirked at me and I returned his look with an annoyed expression on my face.

"Maybe I should tell Snape what you said about him." I concluded and not a dozen seconds later, Professor Dumbledore got to his feet to begin the conference…

It was a bit intimidating, sitting at a table surrounded by people that had seen so much more of the evil in this world and were so much more experienced than me or Hermione, but it was also highly interesting listening to the topics that were addressed. Though our introduction to the entirety of the order was as embarrassing as I expected it to be.

I tried my best ignoring the voices inside my head that told me things like "They must be thinking Dumbledore is joking." or "I don't wanna know how ridiculous this might seem to them.", all the stares directed at me for once making me feel uncomfortable. I knew I had to prove my worth if I wanted others to respect me in this hall.

A lot of the topics that were addressed were of organizational nature like schedules and when the next meeting would be, but it got more interesting the longer I was into the meeting.

"What does the ministry's propaganda machine say today?" Mad-Eye asked at one point, his magical eye darting across the room in search for somebody that would answer his question.

"Read it for yourself." Remus then pulled a daily prophet copy out of his pocket and made it float towards the ex-auror, who grabbed the paper with a firm grip.

"Ha! You should give it to Potter as well, maybe he can give us a few details about his necromantic abilities." Moody laughed or more barked as he scanned the front page. And I raised my brows in confusion.

I wanted to retort somehow but felt it would be inappropriate to just throw in a retort, so I raised my hand like I was in school. An action that amused my godfather.

"We're not in school here, Harry. Just say what's on your mind." Sirius whispered with a soft chuckle and I took his advice to heart.

"Is that what the daily prophet is writing about these days?", I stated the obvious before looking at Moody, "Me being a mental necromancer?"

"I told you the ministry tries it's best to put you in the worst light, Harry." Remus gave me a compassionate smile before the newspaper magically floated towards me.

"Who believes this rubbish?" Hermione asked, her head craned so that she had a good view on the front page, an expression of disdain etched into her face.

"Unfortunately a lot of people believe this established newspaper." Dumbledore answered her with a weak smile and I saw the fury building up in her eyes, the smouldering heat of her wrath an expression of the fire that burned inside of her.

"But isn't any kind of censorship illegal in Britain?" Hermione countered and Moody chuckled.

"And now tell me the person that would be capable of winning a legal battle against the minister himself by extension.", His eyes fixated on Hermione, "The ministry is run by cowards and egocentric people. They don't give a fuc.."

"Alastor!", Professor McGonagall exclaimed with a gasp, "They are still students!"

I heard Moody muttering something like "Reality's the same for everybody." but I got his point. The ministry was corrupted from deep within.

"Isn't there anything you can do to stop this corruption?" I asked and Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"As much as I hate to say it, despite our best efforts to let the truth shine through this dark clouds of ignorance, our success almost equals zero at the moment." He told me and I saw Hermione raising a brow from the corner of my eye.

"Almost? What's the small success you've achieved so far?" The brunette asked and the headmaster gestured towards Snape.

"I think Severus has some.. interesting news for us." He announced and I couldn't help the curiosity I felt at Dumbledore's words.

"The dark lord now knows the exact position of the prophecy." Snape said with his usual emotionless voice and bemusement rose in me as I realized that I didn't have a clue what a prophecy was.

"Oh, what great news that is Snape." My godfather rolled his eyes with a groan and the potions master narrowed his eyes on Sirius.

"If it has escaped your empty brain, we now can precisely protect the prophecy. Though maybe you have something more interesting to tell, I'm sure wasting away in this house has brightened your dull mind." Snape riled against Sirius and I dug my fingers into the wood of the chair, my blood set ablaze by the greasy man's insult.

"At least I don't have to wipe Voldemort's ar.."

"Do prophecies actually work?" My best friend asked loudly to interrupt the bickering and judging by the looks of many people in the room, they were happy for Hermione's question.

"Yes Miss Granger, the art of divination is not entirely a mere lie. A true seer is able to predict the future, the most important of these epiphanies known as prophecies." Dumbledore explained and now I could follow this conversation fully: Voldemort knows where this prediction about the future can be located, but so does the order.

"And how does he know where to find the prophecy you're talking about?" Hermione directed her question at Snape who intentionally avoided eye contact.

"The dark lord was able to acquire a new informant yesterday evening. After torturing the victim for a good hour he had extracted all the information he needed." He informed and Professor McGonagall turned her head towards her colleague.

"Who was this informant, Severus?" She asked and Snape made a small yet dramatic pause.

"Edward Cunningham of the unspeakable." His black eyes seemed to linger on all the people that worked at the ministry and various gasps of shock could be heard across the room.

"Lucius Malfoy more or less lured him into his home, inviting him over for dinner, but the dark lord awaited him and easily overpowered the clueless man. An easy yet convincing move from Lucius side, though I doubt it was his idea." Snape answered when silence returned to the room but now I shot up from my seat, seething rage taking control over my body.

"How is that man still allowed inside the ministry?! I told the minister last year that Malfoy was a death eater and now he invites some ministry employee over for dinner that will never return? How stupid is that?!" I exclaimed and looked at the head of house Slytherin who sneered at me.

"Not nearly as stupid as the naivety of a fourteen-year-old Potter boy." He countered and Sirius sprang to his feet.

"One more insult at Harry and you can suck somebody else's.."

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore bellowed from the head of the table and everybody went DEAD silent. This man was authority in person.

"As everybody beside Harry and Miss Granger here is quite informed about the precious prophecy that Lord Voldemort desires, I'd like to speak with them in private now if there aren't any other topics that need to be discussed. I do not intend wasting the precious time of anybody in this room.", The professor announced, "No suggestions? Well then, everybody back to their post."

Chairs were moved and cloaks were put on as the dining room emptied gradually, a few people saying goodbye to me and especially Hagrid had a mysterious gleam in his eyes when he told me that he had to return to his task, which made me really curious. What was the gamekeeper up to? Gambling on a new dragon egg?

"I can literally see the question marks in both your eyes." Dumbledore stated when the room had emptied completely and Hermione and me were pondering about the prophecy's content.

"The prophecy is about Harry, isn't it?" My best friend asked and cast me a shy glance, her cheeks slightly pinker than normal.

"Yes, everything these days seems to be connected to him, doesn't it?" The headmaster admitted with a weak smile before continuing.

"The prophecy we are referring to all the time is a prophecy made in the early months of the year 1980, made by no one other than Sybill Trelawney." He explained and nodded knowingly at Hermione, which made me smirk at her, knowing exactly what she thought about that woman.

"Oh shut up, Harry." She whispered to me and my smirk only grew.

"Who would have thought that the day might come where Hermione Granger is wrong about something?" I thought to myself and literally heard the celebrations that currently took place inside my brain.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches.. born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies.. and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not.. and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. That is what the prophecy says." Dumbledore cited and my mouth fell agape.

"I will have to kill Voldemort." I thought to myself and realized that I had never thought about his.. defeat in such a direct way before

Subconsciously I always knew that it was going to be who ended him, but I never imagined him dead, body and soul destroyed because of me. Maybe Snape wasn't that wrong about my naivety as I never even thought about what Voldemort's defeat really meant.

"But why does he want the prophecy so much? And how is he aware about this particular one?" Hermione already started asking questions as I dealt with the emotional heavyweight, her words dull in my head.

"You're gonna kill another human being, Harry." I told myself and mentally snorted, finding it abnormally hard to accept that reality. I would see him die in front of me. I would see his corpse lying at my feet.

"Ah, these two questions have a fascinating connection. You see, Voldemort knows only about the first part about the prophecy because I stopped his informant that overheard the first part from hearing the second part. So he craves to know the entirety of what can be called his fate or doom as well." Dumbledore explained but my brilliant friend wasn't satisfied with that explanation.

"And who was that informant if I might ask?" Her eyes were narrowed in suspicion and the headmaster chuckled lightly.

"That, my dear, is a truly thrilling story for another time." He told her with a wink. That man and his mysteriousness.

"Sir?", I asked when something inside myself just clicked, "You know that I have these.. weird dreams, right?"

"Yes Harry, that's why I gave Miss Granger the task to teach you occlumency." Dumbledore calmly replied and I nodded briefly.

"I know they're connected to Voldemort, but why am I connected to him? Is it because of the prophecy?" I asked hesitantly and for a second the room was silent.

"Yes, and no. The prophecy spoke about Voldemort marking you as his equal, but that doesn't explain the mental connection you two share involuntarily. To be honest with you, there is no crystal-clear answer to this question. Though I have my assumptions, of course." He smiled softly and when he saw my interest for his assumptions he took a deep breath before continuing.

"The moment when Voldemort's own killing curse backfired was the moment his body got destroyed, his mind and soul however survived. The curse hit both you and the dark lord, which means that the second his curse got reflected by you, you have impacted his spell with your own magical abilities. But the impact is far greater than on the "Avada Kedavra"." Dumbledore paused for a few seconds so that we had a chance to process his information.

"The second his own, by your magical abilities impacted curse hit him was the moment a part of yourself was engraved into his being, just as he had left a part of himself with you in form of the scar you bear. There can't be no light without shadow and no darkness without light. This is the reason you can talk to snakes, why you have these dreams, why you feel his emotions from time to time. A part of him is overwritten onto you, just as a part of you is overwritten onto him." The headmaster concluded and my mouth suddenly felt drier than it ever did.

"A part of him is inside me." I thought and my stomach cramped painfully as the realization hit harder than anything I had ever heard until this very moment.

"Harry." I heard Hermione whispering as her arms were suddenly draped around my shoulders, her head resting on my shoulder and I didn't care that the headmaster was watching, her touch eased my pain, the knowledge that she was there for me eased my pain, her affection eased my pain. My heart bled and she was there to mend the wound.

"Don't you dare thinking that you are HIM." My best friend was sobbing and I felt my shirt dampening where her tears touched the fabric but that was the least of my concerns right now.

"Could you please give us a moment alone, sir? I think that was enough revelation for one day." I asked the headmaster as I fought with my own feelings and when I looked at Albus Dumbledore I felt like he was emotionally touched as well.

"Of course. We already have a lesson tomorrow, we can continue there if you want." The professor agreed before he exited the room and closed the door to guarantee us a moment of privacy. Only then did I allow my own tears to roll down my cheeks.

"The burden.. it's so heavy." I croaked as I almost forcefully pulled her closer against me, her presence the only thing that gave me any sort of grounding.

"I've lost Ron, the world is against me, I have to kill Voldemort and a part of himself is me. Tell me Hermione, tell me: How am I supposed to handle all of this?" I asked, my tears a mixture of despair, anger and frustration at the same time.

"Stay with me.", She breathed against my ear with a shaky voice, "Stay with me and I'll do everything I can to make you feel better."

I cried, ugly and countless tears, her words moving me so much that my heart ached.

"You're the most important person in my life.", I sobbed as I nuzzled the side of my head against her scalp in search for comfort, "If you'd leave me then I would kill myself."

I had never thought about the truth of my last words, had never imagined life without her in such a horrific way before, now that I was at a new low. There was no reason for me to exist in such a world of hatred and cruelty without somebody that could build me up and protect me from myself.

Hermione didn't respond with words. Her crying just intensified even more and it felt like she cried not because of what I would do without her, but rather because she knew exactly how true my words were. My need for her in my life was as scary as her need for me in her life.

"I hate him.", My best friend growled at some point, "I want to see him suffer before he dies. I want to see him tortured and maimed, burnt and skinned for what he has done to you and countless other people."

I didn't fear her proclamation. Now that I knew that I had a part of Voldemort inside of me because of him I felt nothing but hatred for the dark lord.

This was a moment of vulnerability for both of us, and it made our emotions overcook, we both knew that.

But for the time being we relished in the feeling of having one another and being able to discharge all the negative energy that had accumulated ever since the end of term…


Author's note:

Well, it took exactly a week to accomplish everything I wanted to do in 7 days, so I'm pretty confident that the next chapter will be published in a week as well.

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I was especially thrilled to insert a few allusions on the way. "A lion does not concern himself with the opinion of a sheep." is probably my favourite line from George RR Martins "A song of Ice and Fire"/ "Game of Thrones" and the temptation was too big to resist for me. Tywin Lannister is one of the most interesting characters ficitonal characters ever, if you ask me.

Also as House Lannister is all about lions and pride and bravery I can't help but use it as a moral inspiration for House Gryffindor and it's students in this universe! It's so damn fitting. Though don't expect me to include a "Red Wedding" in this story, I'd never dare killing half of the protagonists in one scene.

Songs used in this chapter are Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again" and "Everything Counts". I imagined Hermione showing Harry her dad's music in the beginning of the chapter and I think everybody who knows the lyrics of "Never Let Me Down Again" understands my decision to make it the chapter title. It sums up the ending scene with Harry and Hermione seeking comfort in each other almost perfectly. The chapter title of course also referrs to Dumbledore, as he really shouldn't let Harry down again...

Now, if you want to share your thoughts on chapter 10 please write a review, especially now where things diverge from canon quite a bit. 'Til the next time!

NewOrderFan05

P.S: Can we get 10k views on this story until the the next upload? Currently I'm at 8k and I'm super excited to reach that magical line. It's incredible what all of YOU guys have achieved in not even a month of time, your support is what makes me work to the best of my abilities.

P.P.S: The script says the next chapter will be the one chapter I've been dying to write, so.. stay tuned.