Note. This is the first posting of this chapter, the first new part I've written for this story in along time. Just a quick note on the plot, When I first started this story it was before Order of the Phoenix was released, When I picked this back up I decided to ignore the events and new information in the last three books, this is why there is no prophecy and no mention of Occlumency. The only part I did left from OoTP was grimmauld place, I think it is much better setting for this part than my original intention of having it at the burrow. Since I have now caught up with myself and need to write the parts there will be slow down in updates but hopefully it wont be too long. I hope veryone enjoys this part and a thank you to those who left a review Mike , Looney Warner Mouse. , Pittielynn, Grumpy-Numero-Uno
The hailstones beat an unending tattoo on the car roof, reducing the other cars to vaguely shaped blobs of colour. The journey through the streets of London had been turned into a slow crawl, by both weather and traffic. Harry was still getting used to seeing the city in winter, since he had only visited it during the summer.
"So, where are we going?" Harry asked.
"We're going to Sirius' house," Remus answered.
"If Sirius has a house, won't the Ministry be watching it?"
"They were, but arrangements have been made and it's safe now," Remus replied.
It was only a few minutes later that they stopped at a street that looked about as magical as a brick.
"You'll need this," Tonks said, handing him a piece of paper.
'Sirius lives at Twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.' As he read, a house expanded from no-where to appear on the street.
"Can you see it now?" Tonks asked. Harry nodded and she took the paper from his hands. She twisted the paper up before pulling out a Muggle lighter and setting fire to the paper.
"When you go in, try to be quiet," Remus said, who had retrieved Harry's things from the car. Harry walked up to the house and opened the door. Inside, he saw a house that seemed to wear its age like a hated and badly-made cloak. He saw evidence of a recent and intensive clean-up operation, but it seemed that the battle was only being won very slowly. Remus whispered the directions to the kitchen and they arrived there without setting off whatever that didn't like noise.
The only occupant of the room was Sirius, who looked much healthier than the last time Harry had seen him. Harry had barely registered Sirius' presence before he was pulled in to a massive hug.
"It's good to see you again, Harry!" Sirius exclaimed.
"We have a few things to do first, but we'll be back in a few hours," Remus said, unable to suppress the grin on his face.
"Okay. Come on, Harry, I'll show you your room, and with a bit of luck I won't introduce you to my mother."
~ ~ ~
Harry had been at Sirius' house for a week and had been having one of his best holidays ever. He had learned a lot about his parents and their friends. Harry and Sirius were painting the hall, after finally getting rid of Sirius' mother, and talking about things.
"So, when did my parents start going out?" Harry asked to take his mind off the painting and so he could learn more about what they were like together.
"Sometime in October during their seventh year."
"So why did it take them so long to get together? I'd always thought they had been together for a while, but it wasn't until seventh year?" Harry asked; Sirius took his time to answer which was unusual for him.
"The truth is that while James thought your mum was one of the best looking women in our year, Lily thought that he was a complete bastard and wanted nothing to do with him. The problem was that she was right. James and I were arrogant, egotistical, very smart, and worst of all we knew it. We were worse than the Slytherins you have to put up with. We did things-cruel things-simply for our own amusement. I think she may have been the only one to truly see us for what we were.
"Something happened during sixth year, neither of them would talk about it. The rumor at the time was that there had been a huge argument, but all I know is that he began to change. During seventh year, they began going out and I think you know the rest. Whatever happened really shook him up; I heard a few years later that he had tried to apologize to Snape."
"He must have loved that," Harry said. Before Sirius could answer, the front door swung open and Tonks walked in with an armful of Chinese take-away.
"Time to eat," Tonks said. She'd returned her hair to her favored purple color.
"Are you sure you bought enough?" Sirius asked, eyeing up the amount of food, a grin on his face.
"Yeah, Remus and Kingsley are going to be stopping by." They had barely started eating when the two aforementioned wizards joined them.
"Harry, this is Kingsley, the Auror in charge of tracking me down. Kingsley, this is Harry," Sirius said, by way of introduction. They talked for a few minutes about Ministry happenings, but the conversation quickly turn to more joyful things and Harry lost his chance to find any more information about what Voldemort was up to.
~ ~ ~
Harry was feeling guilty. He was enjoying his first real chance to get to know his godfather, but the days passed and while Grimmauld Place slowly became a place where joy flourished, Harry had became increasingly listless and quiet as his separation from his friends continued. Even Christmas Day had brought little excitement to Harry, he found himself looking forward to returning to Hogwarts and his friends. He was in the living room doing some of his homework, but his mind was steadily drifting towards the party tonight. Sirius had told him they would be having a New Year's Eve party and Harry assumed that the same crowd from Christmas would be there. Mostly people involved in the fight against Voldemort, the old crowd, but during his stay Harry had heard the name 'The Order' being used.
Harry looked down at the parchment and saw that, between his wondering thoughts and guilt, his Charms essay was only four lines longer than it had been two hours ago. The knock from the door rolled through the house shaking all thoughts of Charms from his mind.
"Could you get that for me, Harry?" Sirius's shout from the kitchen reached Harry through the walls robbed of the smile that it contained.
Harry trudged to the door and hauled it open, expecting to see Remus or Tonks with some of the party things.
"Hello, Harry," Mr. Granger said, a huge smile on his face. Hermione and Mrs. Granger were standing behind him.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked his confusion plain on his face and in his voice. He moved back a little to let the family into the house.
"Well, that's charming. No wonder you swept Hermione off her feet with lines like that," Mr. Granger said, his smile not faltering a bit.
"Sorry to be rude, I'm just a little surprised. Somebody didn't tell me you were coming," Harry replied, raising his voice and sending a dark look towards the kitchen.
"It's no problem, Harry," Mrs. Granger said, smiling sweetly at the young man. Noticing that Harry had only taken his eyes off Hermione to glare at the kitchen, she spoke again. "Chris, we should go to the kitchen and introduce ourselves to Sirius and maybe get a cup of tea."
"But I wanted to see if Harry had his darts and…" Mr. Granger's words were cut short as his wife swiftly elbowed him in the ribs.
"Christopher!" she hissed.
"Yes! Sirius and some tea, long journey, very thirsty." The two adults made their exit quickly, leaving Harry and Hermione alone in the relative privacy of the empty hallway.
"Sorry about my dad, he's just a…" Harry cut her off before she could finish.
"Don't worry about it; just be glad Sirius' mum is gone." Seeing the confusion on Hermione's face, Harry quickly explained about the picture of Sirius' mother.
"If she was stuck to the wall how did you move her? They're not called Permanent Sticking Charms for nothing, Harry."
"Guess. You're the genius, how would you do it?" Harry asked, a smug grin affixed on his face. He watched, his smile growing as she worked on the problem, her eyes losing a little of their focus. "I'll give you a hint. She was only stuck to the wall, not the hallway." It took a few more seconds, but then Hermione's eyes light up and Harry was convinced that he'd heard the penny drop.
"You didn't. You ripped the wall apart."
"Only some of it. We just knocked out the part she was on and then carried it to the shed." Harry was almost bouncing as Hermione mock glared at him. Then her expression changed as a sly grin swept across her face and she moved a little closer to Harry.
"You know we haven't seen each other in awhile," Hermione said, as she took a tiny step towards Harry. "And now we are in the same room." Another tiny step. "You spend the time talking to my dad." Tiny step. "And annoying me." Another tiny step and she slid her arms around Harry's waist. "Keep this up, and I'll think you don't like me anymore."
Harry stood entranced as Hermione inched her way towards him, with mischief dancing in her eyes. "And we can't have that." Harry closed the distance and when their lips meet it was like a bomb going off in his mind. He felt soaked in passion, his body burning with desire as he strove to get as close as possible to Hermione. The kiss held no softness, only raw need as he was pushed into the wall by Hermione, his heart beating too fast, his lungs burning with lack of air, but the only thing he wanted was to taste her lips and feel her body.
"Granger, put him down; you'll get finger marks all over him," Sirius shouted, killing the mood. Harry didn't know how much time had passed, only that Hermione looked about as bad as him, taking deep breaths as they slowly untangled themselves.
"Don't worry Sirius, I'll clean him up when I'm done," Hermione said, with a wicked grin.
"You'll do nothing of the sort, young lady."
If Hermione's face wasn't so flushed, it would have turned red instantly as her father's words sailed into the hallway.
"Tell me I didn't just say that in front of my parents," Hermione pleaded as she hid her face in Harry's shoulder.
"Well, it was more to the side really." Harry glanced up to see Sirius at the kitchen doorway, doubled up and struggling to breathe as he laughed.
"Come on you two, have a cup of tea then we'll sort out your rooms and then have something to eat before the party starts," Sirius said when he finally regained his composure.
~ ~ ~
Harry could feel the floor shaking from the music below, the soft thumps giving the party a heartbeat of its own. Harry sat on the bed, his back against the wall, Hermione at his side.
"What do you want to talk about?" Ron asked as he dropped heavily onto the other end of the bed. "You know there's a party going on downstairs, with food and people having fun."
Hermione shifted slightly and sat up straighter. "I think I know what's going on with Harry."
"Can you stop it?" Ron asked before Harry could even think to ask the question.
"No, but if I'm right, it will stop on its own eventually. About three hundred years ago, a wizard was doing research on communicating with the mind. He found a way, but it didn't work very well, it only had a range of few miles, except when both parties were asleep. He also found that if the two people already shared a connection, like twins, then the distance increased dramatically. You said that the last time you spoke to Voldemort your scar hurt," said Hermione pointing at Harry. "I think that was him talking to you directly. It seems that the mind doesn't like to be invaded, and you will naturally build up a defense to the spells. So I think that Voldemort hijacked the connection between you and Wormtail to talk to you. He owed you a life debt that is a powerful bond and you both gave body parts to the potion, but now you're defended against Wormtail, he has to talk to you directly."
"So, I just have to wait and it will stop? Do you have any idea how long it lasts?"
"From what I found out, it depends on the person. You already have a lot of practice with shielding your mind from the Imperius curse and since the 'dream talk' spells have a lot in common with it, my guess is about six months or so."
"Six months isn't too bad," Ron said, trying to keep Harry's spirits up.
"I suppose. At least I know it will end at some point," Harry replied unconvincingly. "No point dwelling on this now, let's go back to the party."
~ ~ ~
Sirius watched the subdued group make its way down the stairs. He sipped his drink and wished he could do more to ease Harry's burden. It was hard enough knowing you would be in the front lines of a war, but it was probable that Harry wouldn't just be in the front lines, he would be the front line. He watched as the twins attacked the group, almost mystically drawn to the serious expressions, only leaving them alone ten minutes later, all three in hysterics. He drifted over to a quiet corner and watched as Hermione persuaded Harry to dance. He watched as she achieved in seconds what he had failed to do since the beginning of the holiday-turn Harry into a normal teenager, even if only for a few minutes.
"They look so happy together. Harry actually looks like a fifteen-year-old."
Sirius looked over to see Chris standing next to him.
"Yeah, it's good to see. He's been through so much and he keeps blaming himself for everything, trying to fix it," Sirius said, another smile blossoming on his face as Tonks talked Remus into dancing with her.
"You can see it in his eyes. I used to be a doctor in the Army and we would be patching these kids up and you could always tell the ones who'd just watched their mate die. Harry has that same look." Both men stood in silence and watched as the room exploded with sound as the twins took to dancing. "Sirius, can you give me the truth? Just how much danger will she be in?"
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, his agitation clearly showing.
"The world is about to be plunged into a war that I will never know about, and Harry will be at the center of it. I'm scared for my daughter; will she be more of a target now?"
"I don't know, but I can promise you this, if Hermione's hurt then Harry and Ron are both dead along with half dozen other people."
"I know the boys mean well, but ..."
"Meet me in the back garden in twenty minutes and I'll explain everything that's happened over the last few years."
"Okay." Chris watched Sirius wander about the room talking to people.
~ ~ ~
"I wonder where dad's going?" Hermione asked, as she watched her dad leave the room.
"Probably just getting some air. Now not to sound selfish, but we were talking about me," Ron said.
"Well, I suppose it depends on what you think her reaction will be? I assume you're just going ask her about Christmas and New Year?"
"Yeah and maybe about Valentines' Day," Ron said the last part quickly trying to sneak it past Hermione.
"You-Will-Not-Ask-Lavender-To-Dinner-In-A-Letter. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Hermione."
"So, what's the decision?" Harry asked as he handed out drinks.
"You were right mate," Ron said, turning to look at Harry. "She thought it was a bad idea too. Hey, maybe Tonks will agree with me. Be back soon."
"I don't think he'll give up until he's asked everyone here their opinion." Harry couldn't help smiling at his friend's antics.
"There's an upside to his obsession with Lavender."
Hermione grinned and blushed a little, leaving him in no doubt about where the conversation was heading.
"And what upside could there possibly be?" Harry put his hands on her hips and unknowingly began to sway with the music, never breaking eye contact with her.
"It means we can grab a few minutes to ourselves." Hermione licked her lips, enjoying the feelings that Harry's gaze stirred up inside of her.
"But what could we do to pass the time?"
They stumbled through the hallway door, never once breaking eye contact. They bumped into the wall and their lips met. The kiss was slow and languid, soft and gentle, but he could feel himself becoming lost in her touch. The feelings inside of him transcending mere lust, a moan escaped her lips as his hand slid across her stomach. He shivered as the cold hit his chest as her nails lightly scrapped across his back.
They were cruelly ripped from their private paradise, as the living room door loudly crashed open. The twins stood in the doorway. Their words dying, unspoken.
"This better be, fucking important," Harry growled as he slowly untangled himself from Hermione's shirt. Hermione was doing her best to disappear into the shadows.
"We got the last of the stuff you wanted and just be glad it us and not say, our mum," Fred said, quickly recovering his aplomb.
"It will just be for a second, Sirius," Dumbledore said as he strode into the hallway with the party guests following in his wake. His eyes twinkled as he threw a wink at Harry and Hermione. "I couldn't help noticing how bare this hallway is without your mother here, Sirius. So I've, as a belated Christmas gift, shall brighten it a little." Dumbledore smiled and whipped his wand through the air and a portrait settled on the wall as if it'd sat there for centuries.
The picture showed a man in medieval armor; the man reminded Harry of Ron. The hair and face were different, but there was something about his expression and build that echoed that of his best friend.
"Who is it?" Hermione asked, her embarrassment gone in the face of new knowledge.
"This is the very last portrait of Godric Gryffindor. He was killed two weeks after it was completed."
"Looks better than that hag don't you think so, Harry?" Sirius asked.
"Definitely."
"Come on, let's get on with the party," said Sirius as people moved back into the living room. Hermione smiled at Harry, wanting to stay with him, but knowing that their absence would be spotted.
"So where did you disappear to?" Harry asked as he and Sirius stood in the hall admiring the new painting. Harry had noticed Sirius following Mr. Granger out of the house.
"Nowhere important," Sirius said innocently.
"Did Mr. Granger want anything I could help with?"
"Me and Chris didn't talk about anything much."
Harry gave up asking because he knew that tone of voice; it meant: 'I'm lying, and I know you know it, but I'm still not going to talk about it'.
Harry walked off leaving Sirius alone; the guilt at lying to his godson briefly exposed on his face.
~ ~ ~
Harry took a final walk around the house that had briefly become his home. He had enjoyed his time with Sirius, but he could not disguise his joy to be going back to Hogwarts. He would get to see her again and he couldn't wait. He never realised how much he would miss Hermione, it wasn't just not being able to see her, or kiss her, or feel the softness of her hair. It was more than all of those things. He felt an indefinable part of himself missing. Saying it was part of his soul sounded so melodramatic, but it was the best description he could think of.
"Come have a sit down mate, you were looking very lost just now." Sirius voice shook Harry from his thoughts. He sat at the table and picked up the mug of tea.
"Thanks. Sorry, I've not been very good company in the past few days."
"It's okay, Harry. I understand how you feel. I didn't spend my entire life in jail and on the run."
Harry noticed that Sirius was pushing a ring around on the table with a finger as he spoke.
"I know what it's like to be a young man in love. I know how badly you must miss her, so I'm not taking it personally that you want to be back at Hogwarts."
"Who was she?" asked Harry flicking his eyes to the ring, a single gem was set into the band with a flame dancing in its heart.
"Helen. When I was sent to Azkaban, I would dream of being able to speak with her or see her. In the end, I would have given my life just to be in same room as her. Just having her close would have been worth any price."
"After you got out, did you ever try to see her?"
"I don't think finding a convicted murderer on her doorstep would have been a good impression to make. I had Remus ask some questions; turned out she's married now. Guess it's just as well, I would have driven her away and made us both miserable."
Harry could hear the pain in his godfather's voice and how he had to tell himself that lie to keep his mind intact.
"You should go to bed, Harry, busy day tomorrow."
~ ~ ~
The pain was the first thing he felt, a stinging at the back of his mind. Then light flooded his vision and voices in the middle of an argument joined the light. The figures slowly came into focus as the words began to make sense.
"My Lord, I don't mean to question your judgment..."
"But you're about to, Lucius." Voldemort's voice was instantly recognizable by Harry.
"Yes, my Lord. The other groups you had me contact are undecided about what to do. They fear Dumbledore and feel your lack of action toward Potter is a weakness."
"They are right to be cautious of him; his mind twists and turns, and he never comes at you from the direction you expect. As for Potter, I have plans for him."
"Yes, but you appear to fear him. We're starting to move our people and we'll infiltrate..." Lucius voice tailed off as Voldemort raised a single pale finger.
"Speak no more of that, Lucius. Our words are no longer are own. If Potter has to die, I will do it in my own way. Until then, if I were to kill him now, he would become a martyr and a hundred more would rise where he falls. Now summon my guard, I have a trip to make."
Lucius bowed and walked from the room as half a dozen armoured forms encircled Voldemort's throne. They didn't move quite right and Harry suspected that they were not human. A low chanting came from Voldemort and then he stood up and everything around Harry went black.
Harry ignored the pain as he waited for Voldemort to talk to him. The scene had become far too familiar over the last few months.
"Evening, Harry. I find myself becoming rather sensitive to your little visits. It seems we have a lot in common, Harry."
"I'm nothing like you." Disgust dripped off Harry's voice.
"Really! you truly think that? We both have a certain ruthlessness and passion to our causes. Both of us are willing to break the law to do what we feel is right."
"That isn't me!"
"Then let's ask Quirrell how ruthless you can be or how your desire to win at Quidditch made you use a broom you knew nothing about. Visiting the Restricted Section to solve a mystery, and I don't think the Ministry would like to hear about your use of a Time-Turner. You think all I've done this last year is give you bad dreams? We are closer than brothers Harry. I know it all."
Harry stood silently trying not to think of all his actions in the light Voldemort had onto cast them.
"We could do great things together, Harry."
"Never!" Harry began to laugh as he spoke. "I could never consort with you. You killed my parents and just minutes ago, you were planning my death. Why would I want to help you kill and torture innocent people for fun?"
"You think I enjoy what I have done? I did what was necessary for the greater good. You know nothing of my cause, nothing of my purpose, but then I should expect nothing more from Dumbledore's brainwashed puppet. He would never have told you the truth."
"He wouldn't lie to me about something this important," exclaimed Harry, anger creeping into his voice.
"You have no idea why I do what I do. I fight to protect our people. The Muggles grow and spread like vermin. They would kill us all if they got the chance. They can barely stand each other. What they do to use us and our magic-people who can recreate reality at their whims."
"We can hide; we don't have to drench the world in blood like what you're doing."
"We can't hide forever, Harry. Did you know the Obliviators have a special team set up to modify aerial and satellite photos of Wizarding sites like Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley? We have to take control and put them under our power; it's the only way for us to survive."
"I would never help you. It doesn't matter what you tell yourself, you just like to kill."
"Very well Hary, I see we can't agree on this yet. But you do care for Hermione."
"Don't you dare hurt her!"
"Death and pain are least of what I can do to her, Harry; I thought you would know that by now. Would you do anything to protect her?"
"Yes."
"Would you kill for her?"
"Yes!"
"Would you die for her?"
"YES!" Harry snarled his answer into the void, his urge to attack this phantom before him barely kept in check.
"Then what I ask should be easy. Just be quiet." A smirk passed across Voldemort's face before he spoke again. "In a few days, a story will be published in the Prophet and if you stay quiet, Hermione will be safe. We can discuss your employment in our cause again later."
Harry was alone in the void until it slowly became Hogwarts. Harry could guess what would happen now; more violence to chip away at his sanity.
The Great Hall formed around him, the familiarity making the events all the worse to witness. The sounds of battle and screams filled the air and once again it was the black-robed form that stood at Voldemort's side directing the carnage.
Harry watched as the inevitable happened. The teachers were overwhelmed and the students herded into the Great Hall over the bodies of their friends and teachers.
A masked Death Eater walks to the robed figure, dragging Dean Thomas behind him, and bows deeply. "What should we do with them, should we kill them?"
"Please spare the young ones; they are no threat to y-"
The figure backhanded Dean to the floor, blood spilling from his mouth. A hand with a wand emerges from the mass of shadow, "Crucio," the world is spoken gently almost a whisper. Dean screams until there is no breath left for him to make a sound.
Fear and crying spreads through the hall like wildfire. The shadow that holds the attention of the room ripples, and its hood is pulled down, a face revealed.
Hermione.
A starburst of scar tissue covers her left cheek and her eyes are cold and dead. A grin plays along her lips.
She looks down at Dean on the floor, "Don't speak to me as if we are equals." A feral grin spreads across her face as she continues to torture him. Finally, she looks up at the masked Death Eater.
"Kill them all and then scour the castle, kill everyone you find, and get me Potter! I want him alive. I get to kill him!"
The scene freezes, a snarl of hate on Hermione's face. Voldemort stands next to her now, his bloody red eyes boring into Harry.
"Remember what I said Harry, and know that I can do worse than death."