Not a sound could be heard as two figures stealthily made their way into the Slytherin Common Room. One wore the familiar green emblem on his robe, but the other wore a robe with a red and yellow patch - a Gryffindor.
"Are you sure this place is secure?" the Gryffindor asked. Her companion smirked and ran a hand back through his bright, blond hair.
"Trust me, no one will know what we're doing."
"I don't trust anyone, Malfoy!"
"Then tell me, Cassandra, what are you doing here then?"
"I said that I needed your family's contacts, and in return, I guaranteed that you would be able to see Harry Potter defeated. Now, cast the spell."
Malfoy picked up a small amount of Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. Green flames roared out of the stone hearth, and Lucius Malfoy's face appeared in the center of the flames.
"Ah, I see you brought her, Draco. She is quite stunning, I must say!"
"Can it, old man, I'm not here for pleasantries," Cassandra hissed.
"Watch your tongue, girl, or I'll cut it out for you."
"Have you considered my offer? After that humiliating defeat that Harry Potter gave you last year, the only way you'll save face is if he is defeated."
"The boy was merely lucky; he merely surprised me," Lucius growled, and Cassandra just laughed.
"Oh please, he could probably take both of you blindfolded."
"What makes you think that you can take him?" Draco said with a cold glare.
"Don't worry, after I'm through with him, he won't be in any shape to fight. Plus, I'm sure that Draco wouldn't mind putting that irritating Mudblood of his in her place, am I right?"
"Hmm, it is a most appealing offer; I agree to your terms," Lucius stated.
"Now, Cassandra, just how are planning to defeat Harry Potter?"
The young woman explained her plan to the two men, and they grinned evilly after hearing it. Cassandra gave her own sadistic grin and clicked her heels.
"All right, we each know our parts; now, let's finish Potter once and for all."
"Agreed," both Malfoys said at the same time.
Meanwhile, inside Sirius' classroom, he and Remus were helping Harry to try and learn one final piece of magic. It was the only part that he couldn't seem to master.
"Come on, you can do this. Just look within yourself and see it."
"I'm trying, Sirius, but I just can't seem to get it."
"It's all right, Harry, becoming an Animagus is not an easy task. However, in order to make it, you must first understand yourself. When you look inside yourself, what do you feel in your spirit? What would that feeling look like if it was to just jump out of your body?" Remus asked.
Harry calmed his mind and tried to follow the older man's instructions, but he just couldn't seem to sense the type of Animagus he could become.
"I'm sorry, I just can't do it," he sighed. Sirius put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, it's all right. You don't have to be perfect in everything; you've already done more than anyone ever expected of you."
"Thanks, but I still feel like I let you guys down."
"Not at all, Harry, we know how hard this technique is," Remus agreed.
"I'll keep trying; I promise that I'll figure it out."
"Don't worry about it, Harry, not everyone is meant to become an Animagus."
Springtime returned to Hogwarts, and with it, the NEWT's were on the horizon for the seventh years. In the library sat Ron, Lavender, Hermione, and Harry. Manuscripts and books of all sorts were strewn out around the table in front of them.
"Come on, Hermione, it's Saturday for Merlin's sake!" Ron groaned.
"So what, that doesn't mean that you can slack off; we all have to be ready for the NEWT's, or we won't be able to graduate."
"But Herm, isn't this a little overzealous; we still have two months before the tests," Lavender stated.
"Hmmph, well Harry agrees with me, don't you?" she asked and spun around to look directly at her fiancé.
He may have defeated the Dark Lord, but Harry Potter cringed under Hermione's accusing eyes.
"I'm not getting involved in this conversation; I'm exempt because of certain emotional attachment."
"Meaning you're chickening out," Ron stated.
"It's called strategic abstention; I cannot honestly answer the question."
"Harry, that's a pretty cheap trick; you just don't want to get Hermione mad at you," Lavender accused.
"True…very true," he grinned and went back to his book.
"You're hopeless, Harry," Hermione sighed.
"It's best if we get started now because then you won't have to spend all your time cramming the last few weeks," she explained.
"Fine, but I'm not staying in here all day. One more hour, and then I'm gone!" Ron stated.
True to his words, Ron left the library an hour later with Lavender in tow. Harry and Hermione stayed for another few hours before their stomachs began to growl noisily.
"I'm sorry, Herm, but if I look at one more potions list, I think that I'll go blind," Harry groaned.
"All right, we've done enough for today. Besides, it's just about dinnertime, and I'm famished."
The pair gathered up their books and headed out of the library.
After dropping off their things in their rooms, Harry and Hermione headed for the Great Hall. Taking their seats, they quickly helped themselves to the delicious food lying before them.
Halfway through the meal, a screech was heard from the rafters overhead. From one of the open windows, an owl swooped down over the students and headed for the Gryffindor table. The owl made a graceful dive and dropped something into Hermione's hands.
"Isn't it a tad late for mail?" Ron asked and scratched his head.
"I don't know," Hermione replied and looked at the letter. It was bright red, and her eyes widened as she realized what it was - a howler.
"Hey, that's a howler, isn't it Hermione?" Lavender asked.
"Yes, but I don't see why it's for me; my parents barely know how to send me mail as it is; they wouldn't know how to send me a howler."
Harry felt the hair on the back of his neck twinge as he stared at the red envelope; he felt something ominous about this.
"Go on and open it," Ron prodded.
Before Harry could object, Hermione popped open the seal. The envelope shot out of her hands and floated in front of her face. It opened up and formed into a pair of sharp, looking jaws.
"Listen to me well…" it began, and the entire Great Hall froze. Hermione's eyes shot open in horror, and her heart nearly stopped.
Harry's fists clenched as he recognized the voice - Voldemort.
"…you shall lose all that is dear to you; nothing and no one can save you."
The icy words wrapped around Hermione's hearts, and she began to tremble. The letter turned into an almost cruel smile then turned towards Harry.
"Not even you can save her! I will look forward to seeing you both suffer."
The letter began laughing, and Harry, with lightning fast reflexes, snatched it out of the air.
"The hell you will!" he growled and crushed the letter in his hand. He was boiling mad, but he attention quickly turned towards a shivering Hermione next to him.
After shredding the letter, Harry wrapped her in his arms, and she buried her face in his chest. The Great Hall remained silent in utter shock of hearing the Dark Lord's voice once more.
"Everyone, please, remain calm," Dumbledore stated as he rose from his seat.
"Calm…how can we be calm…" a fifth year Ravenclaw blurted out.
"I thought You Know Who was dead?" a sixth year Hufflepuff answered.
"Enough!" Harry shouted, and everyone immediately clammed up.
"Listen to me, everyone, Voldemort is dead, and I do mean 'dead'. All this is...is some wizard's pathetic attempt at using his voice as a way to frighten people into believing that Voldemort is still alive."
"Mr. Potter is quite right," Dumbledore agreed, "Someone is just trying to frighten everyone hear by preying on their old fears of Lord Voldemort."
After this explanation, the students began to calm down, but they were still muttering to themselves.
Meanwhile, Harry consoled a distraught Hermione, who was still shaking in his arms.
"Harry, it was him…he…he wants me dead in order to hurt you," she cried.
"Shh, Voldemort is gone, Hermione," he whispered and stroked her hair.
"I promise you, love, he won't ever hurt us again. Someone was just mimicking his voice to make you afraid."
"Are you sure?" she asked and raised her head. He cupped her face in his hands and smiled.
"I'm sure. I would never allow anything to happen to you, Hermione, and I won't let anyone you care about to be hurt either," Harry said with conviction.
"Thank you," she replied and wiped her eyes.
Harry's mind was running at a thousand miles an hour, and his eyes were blazing around the room looking for a specific blond. He found her at the far end of the Gryffindor table; there was no visible sign that she had even flinched at hearing Voldemort's voice. Harry glared at Cassandra, and she caught his eyes. The side of her mouth turned up, but what made him angry was her eyes. They were almost laughing as she watched Hermione tremble in his arms, and they twinkled with hidden mirth. It was as if she was taunting him to mouth his opinion.
'I warned you, Harry; she is going to suffer,' her eyes stated.
'I swear, Cassandra, you will never cause her pain; I'll bet my life on it!' his eyes said right back.
Harry watched as her eyes clouded over with anger, and he swore he saw a flash of crimson in her eyes. It was then that he felt his scar begin to burn, and his brain began to formulate was going on.
With barely an eye twitch, Harry's power roared to the surface, and his eyes blazed with a roaring fire.
'All right, Cassandra, you want to play games with people's lives, then you'll have to go through me first.'
Dumbledore sat at the head of the teacher's table with a trouble expression on his face.
"Albus, that couldn't have 'him', could it? I mean, Harry destroyed him last year," Professor McGonagall said worriedly.
"No, that was not Voldemort; he was indeed killed last year. Harry is correct in saying that someone is merely impersonating him to gain an advantage. What troubles me is that I can feel an immense power coming from within Harry? It's almost as if he's struggling to control himself from acting on his emotions. Perhaps he knows something about this that he has not spoken about."
"Yes, I can sense his power as well, but I don't see who could masquerade as the Dark Lord," Minerva replied.
"Indeed, neither do I, but I wonder, if perhaps, Harry…just might."
Author's Notes: All right, everybody, gear up cause it's gonna get ugly. So stay tuned cause the action's gonna start next time!