Once everyone was seated comfortably, Dumbledore began to speak.
"Glad to see that Hermione and Harry were able to persuade you to come and stay at Hogwarts. This will only be a temporary measure for a term. At Christmas a few changes will be made, yourselves, along with Harry and Hermione, will be living at Grimmauld Place."
Harry and Hermione let out a gasp, they were shocked. Why were they leaving Hogwarts? It was, after all, the safest place for them.
As if he had read their minds Dumbledore spoke again. "You will stay there because I feel it would be the best place for you -- you would still attend Hogwarts during the day, but in the evenings return to your new home. There are many reasons for this, but the main is that it will make training you a lot easier, and also with your help we can tighten the security."
Hermione, even though she was surprised, could see the logic; it would not be easy to hide the training they were going through at Hogwarts when everyone was there.
"Now, I think it is time for you all to go to bed and I will discuss some things with you Mr. and Mrs. Granger in the morning while Harry and Hermione are on a training exercise. Now, Harry, Hermione, be ready for 3 a.m., that's when your session will begin."
It was two o'clock in the morning, and Harry and Hermione were sleeping soundly in each other's arms; that is until a screeching noise was heard in the room. It was almost deafening. When Hermione awoke, she waved her hand and the noise stopped. She looked at Harry who was lying with his head on the pillow and had his arms wrapped tightly around her.
She could tell that he was only pretending to be asleep, so she slowly moved her lips down to cover his. Once their lips touched his arms came to her head and held it there, preventing her from pulling away from the kiss.
What was supposed to be a quick kiss good morning had turned into a lot more in a very short space of time. This seemed to be happening quite a lot now -- she would plan on giving him a quick peck on the lips, but it would turn into lots more.
After the pair were dressed in their training clothes, which consisted of tracksuit bottoms, trainers and a T-shirt, they went to their common room and ate breakfast. Hermione was determined to make sure that they started to eat healthly. "After all," as she had said to Harry, "it is important that we eat a balanced diet -- especially if we are expected to do school work and the training exercises. "
Harry knew there was also another reason for this. Hermione did not want to become fat -- she had noticed that she had put on some weight while time was stopped and to say that she was determined to lose it was an understatement. As if over night she had turned into a health food fanatic, she was desperate to loose weight and Harry could not help but wonder if this was to do with what she had told him that time they were in bed.
She did not take kindly to his suggestion that more pleasurable activities would help her lose weight just as well as going on a diet, saying that Harry should get his head out of the gutter and be pleased that she was tying to look her best for him.
But Hermione interrupted Harry's thoughts, "Are you going to eat that? Or just sit and stare at it?"
Slightly blushing, Harry began to eat his cereal, which contained, according to Hermione two of the five portions of fruit and vegetables they were advised to eat each day.
"What are you trying to hide from me Harry?" Harry was startled by this question. In fact he was not trying to hide anything from her, was he? Hermione saw the confused look on his face and knew he did not know what she was going on about.
"When you were staring at your breakfast, in a world of your own, you were blocking me out of you mind. I thought we had no secrets! What are you keeping from me?"
Harry had suddenly realised what she was going on about -- he obviously didn't want her to know that he was not too enthusiastic on the prospect of being on a diet, as he knew how much it meant to her.
"I was just thinking." Harry could tell by the look on Hermione's face that she did not deem this answer satisfactory and that he would have to say more. "About this diet...could we at least eat some foods which may not be healthy but taste better?"
Harry was hoping that he had not just upset her by saying that. They were due to start their training session in fifteen minutes and he did want to be late.
Hermione was stunned for a moment, was that what he was keeping from her -- that he wants to eat something which was not in keeping with her very well-planned-out diet?
"So you would rather eat rubbish and be all fat and--" Hermione did not get the chance to finish her sentence because Harry interrupted her.
"No! That's not what I meant. I only meant that we could have chips or something every now and then -- not all the time just once a week, and eat healthy stuff the rest of the time. And, besides, you are not fat."
Hermione could see Harry's point of view, she had been pushing it a bit, but she did not want them to become unhealthy and when she realised she had put on some weight it made her realise that what they had been eating was unhealthy.
Hermione smiled and nodded her head. Harry moved towards her and hugged her. They both smiled at each other. At that moment Tonks and Lupin entered the common room.
Harry and Hermione just continued to smile at each other and then greeted their mentors.
"Hi," Harry and Hermione said at the same time.
Both Remus and Tonks replied and told them what they would be doing for their training session before the hearing. "We will be doing some exercise outside. It is important that you are both physically and mentally fit for what is to come. So this morning we will be doing some cross country through the forbidden forest," said Remus
"However," said Tonks, with a smile on her face, "there will be members of the Order there who will try to stop you reaching the end of the course. You must do everything in your power to work together and reach the end. You can use any spell which does not cause any long lasting damage the victim."
Remus smiled as though he had just thought of something. "You may find that a certain professor is in the forest as well. Keep in mind he will be wanting revenge."
Both Harry and Hermione knew he was talking of Snape because of what they had done to his potion. The look on his face when he walked into the room still brought a smile to both their faces.
Once they were out in the founds of Hogwarts, they were given the route they were to follow and told that they would have to run all of the way and that they should expect people to be waiting for them.
Walking past Hagrid's hut towards the Forbidden Forest. They would start and end here following red marks, which were placed throughout the forest and which would show them the direction they, should head in.
"On the count of three, you will go and remember we will be timing you."
"One."
Harry and Hermione were both becoming nervous. This was the first time they had done something like this. And they knew it would not be easy.
"Two."
They both got ready to run when they heard 'three' and they did not have long to wait as they heard the voice of Remus Lupin shout, "Three".
Once Harry and Hermione heard this they both sprinted towards the red mark they could see on the outskirts of the forest, which showed them where to enter.
Once they reached it, they could see the trail of red marks in front of them. Both Harry and Hermione were running through the dense woodland dusking at certain points where a branch would be too low to pass, or jumping over a tree trunk that had fallen over.
Hermione was having trouble with her hair after about half an hour, as it was going into her face. Muttering a spell under her breath it was suddenly tied up behind her head. She could hear Harry's voice inside her head "Where is everyone?"
"Not sure," replied Hermione. "Maybe they want to wait until we are tired. Which I am." Harry could tell Hermione was not used to much physical exercise. She was sweating profusely and it looked like she was beginning to become tired.
"You can't talk," Harry heard in his head, "look at how much sweat there is on you!" Harry began to smile. Even when they were running through a forest not sure when an attack was to come she was still able to get him back.
Ahead of them was a sharp bend and when they turned they came face to face with a very angry looking Snape. They both stopped abruptly. They knew that they would come to someone very soon but the look on Snape's face did not look very promising.
"Taking your time aren't you?" sneered Snape
Harry and Hermione were too out of breath to say anything in return; they were trying to conserve their energy for what was to come. They had no doubt in their minds that they would be able to defeat Snape very easily, but they wanted him to make the first move.
"When he makes his move you shield us and I will attack," Harry was speaking to Hermione through their shared link which did come in handy at times like this.
"Got it."
When it was clear that neither Harry nor Hermione was going to make the first move Snape bellowed "sublevatio acus" and a dark blue light erupted at the end of Snape's wand and was hurtling towards Hermione.
But Hermione was prepared and she silently said "agito tholus" and water erupted at her feat and engulfed Harry and herself. As the water spiralled around them it began to freeze, locking Harry and Hermione in a dome of ice, which Hermione had created.
The look on Snape's face was of horror, as the curse which he had sent towards Hermione hit the dome and came hurtling back towards him, He had to dive out of the way and landed on the moss covered ground.
Harry could barely stop himself from laughing at the sight of Snape lying on the ground and knew what he would do; he said "adorior ab accendo" and Snape was engulfed in flames. His face became even more frightened as he began to lift off the ground with the flames around him. He was completely paralysed and there was nothing he could do. He knew he was at the mercy of Harry and Hermione, and did not like the idea one bit.
Hermione muttered "confervefacio agito," and the ice dome began to melt and the water drained into the ground. Hermione knew what she wanted to do to Snape next, it would not cause any lasting injury but would take a while to sort out.
After she had discussed it with Harry and he had agreed she said "adoleo callum" and it had the effect of making Snape believe that his skin was on fire. From his point of view he could see the fire engulf his body, could feel the pain it was causing.
But to Harry and Hermione he was just floating in mid air crying out for no apparent reason as it was all in his mind, and had his mind been stronger he would have been able to block it out. Both Harry and Hermione were in no doubt that if they done it to Dumbledore he would not feel a thing.
After a few moments Hermione said the counter spell and Snape was lowered to the ground still slightly whimpering with the pain.
The training course did not get much harder, but then again it did not become easier. As they went along Harry and Hermione were becoming more and more tired. They had already passed Arthur and Molly, all the Hogwarts professors except Dumbledore, whom they thought might be the last one. They were hoping that it was nearly over as they could barely keep up a pace, which was jogging, let alone running. They were truly tired out, and they knew they would have to improve their physical fitness if they were to stand any chance.
Harry was proud of Hermione, she had managed to keep up with him and did not complain; although he knew that she was exhausted and that she was in pain because of it. But instead of giving up she just carried on.
They were nearing the end of the forest and there was no sign of Dumbledore - maybe he was not going to participate after all thought Hermione. She truly hoped so, she had never felt like this before, she was exhausted.
But out of nowhere Dumbledore appeared. Both Harry and Hermione were startled at his closeness, but this did not stop Harry creating a shield for them out of fire. The fire engulfed the pair and surrounded them. They could see Dumbledore planning his next move. They did not know what he was going to do next - what could he do. No one else had been able to penetrate their shields, even when they tried to Apparate inside them, it was to no avail, as Flatwick had proved when he was sent hurtling back with considerable force for trying.
Harry and Hermione were becoming even more nervous as Dumbledore slowly walked towards the dome of fire, which had engulfed Harry and Hermione. When he was as close as he could get he starched out his hand, as though he was going to touch the fire. Hermione was worried about what could happen. After all, if they touched it nothing would happen, but what about someone else. Someone who did not have the power of Season Magic.
They were very close to finding out - Dumbledore's finger was so close to touching it that Harry and Hermione could hardly breath. As his finger touched it, the dome of fire stopped being calm. Before it was slowly circling the pair, but now it was truly raging. Dumbledore was crying out in pain.
No matter how hard he tried he could not move his hand away from the fiery dome, it was stuck. The fire was moving from his finger up his arm, causing unbelievable amounts of pain. He could do nothing - he was helpless. It was not only physical pain he was suffering but also mental pain. All the mistakes he had made were playing through his mind, showing many people's deaths, and also people dying in the future because of him, he could do nothing but surrender to the immense pain he was feeling.
Harry and Hermione were both shocked by what was happening, so shocked that it took some time for them to come to their senses. Once they had done Harry immediately stopped the shield, and Dumbledore fell to the ground. They had no idea what they had done; members of the Order were running to them.
When they arrived they were going to take him to the hospital wing when Hermione said, "We'll do it, it's out fault and we can get him there quicker."
So Harry and Hermione held Dumbledore's hand and in a rush of flames they were in the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey came rushing.
Hermione and Harry explained what had happened, and Madam Pomfrey, she began bustling around getting potions. She admitted that she did not know exactly what had happened, but thought something to help his burned arm would be a start, then some Pepper-Up Potion to try and get his strength back up.
It was a nerve wracking forty minutes with members of the Order coming and going, and them telling Harry and Hermione that it was not their fault. But soon enough Dumbledore did awake and asked to speak to Harry and Hermione alone.
"You two have certainly become more and more powerful." He said this with a small smile.
"We are truly sorry sir, we did not know this would happen." Hermione said apologetically.
"No need, Hermione. I knew the possibilities of what could happen if I did what I did. But we needed to know. Now I feel it's time we had a chat with your parents Hermione. Be in my office in twenty minutes, if you will. I need to speak to the Order first."
Twenty minutes later, Harry, Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were seated in Albus Dumbledore's office with him sitting behind his desk. Hermione hoped her parents would be able to just sit and listen to what they were going to be told, because she was getting tired of them not listening to anything Dumbledore had told them.
"Good morning." Said Dumbledore.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger did not say a word. They just sat there, as though wanting to get it finished.
"Right, you already know some of what I am about to tell you, but I feel it necessary to start at the beginning. You see, some new information has come to light, which I have not yet told Harry and Hermione, but it is vital that they know. But you will have to wait a few more minutes; there is one more person I am expecting. Hopefully he should not keep us much longer."
"Who are we waiting for, Sir?" Hermione asked.
"We are waiting for Ronald Weasly, you remember I told you he was important too? Well I thought it best to say this once, so I invited him."
Hermione did not know what she felt about this, she did knew that Dumbledore thought it important that they made up because he would play his own part but she did not know if she was ready to do that just yet.
After a few minutes of silence there was a knock on the door, Dumbledore said "Enter", and Ron entered the room. Harry and Hermione could tell that he was a bit uncomfortable, but he sat down on Hermione's right hand side where a spare chair was. Hermione had wondered why there would be one too many chairs and now she knew why.
"Now that everyone is here I will begin. I would appreciate it if you would just listen. I may ask you questions, but please do not interrupt me." Everyone in the room nodded their head.
"Now you must promise that what I tell you will not leave the room. Mr. and Mrs. Granger there will become a point at which I will ask you to leave the room, as what I have to say does not concern you. Before I begin would Ron, Mr. and Mrs. Granger please stand."
They stood and Dumbledore led them away from the chairs and made them swear that they would not tell anyone what they were about to hear. Once they did he waved his wand and they were told that they had made a wizard's oath. Ron at this point gulped and did not look too happy, for he knew what this meant, but the Grangers being muggles did not.
When they had sat down again Dumbledore began to tell them everything from the Eros charm to Season Magic and how it had strengthened them and had given them extra powers, which many witches and wizards did not have. Ron was stunned and was heard muttering "bloody hell" on a few occasions.
"Now I must ask you to leave." He was looking towards the Grangers "What I have to say only concerns Harry, Hermione and Ron."
"But what concerns Hermione concerns us." Mr. Granger pointed out
"Well this does not. It is safer that you do not know what I am about to say. The only person alive that knows what I am about to say is me, not even the Order know."
Harry, Hermione and Ron were shocked to hear this, and could not wait. They were going to find out something, which the members of the Order did not.
Even though is was very clear that they were not happy about it, due to mutterings such as "Think they can boss me around " from Mr. Granger, they left. Harry, Hermione and Ron did not know what to do so they just sat in silence.
"What I am about to tell you will change everything. Ron, if you wish to leave do so now, or you will have no choice but stay once I have started. I am afraid you two, " he was looking at Harry and Hermione, "have no choice in the matter."
Ron did not move from his seat. He knew that if he left the room there would be no chance of re-building his relationship with Harry and Hermione.
"Excellent. I can begin. First off, do you know anything about Voldemort?" Ron flinched at the sound of his name. "Oh come on," Hermione said to Ron sounding exasperated, "it's just a name for heaven's sake." Ron went red when Hermione said this.
"We know that he hates just about everything," answered Harry.
Dumbledore shook his head. "I should have phrased the question better. Do you know anything about his life? Not about what he has been doing." Harry, Hermione and Ron shook their heads. They did not see why it was important that they know what his life had been like.
"Well I will tell you. After a long search I have been able to piece together a lot about him and thus how you three will be able to defeat him in the end."
"It all began with his mother who was living with her family in a cottage not far from a muggle village. It seems that she fell in love with a muggle. Now there was some goings on should we say, we don't have time to go into it fully. You have to be at the trial in an hour and a half, and it would not be good if you were late."
"Any way events took place and she was left there on her own. It would seem she was able to use a love potion, the one you saw Snape brewing, on this unsuspecting muggle. She became pregnant but stopped giving him the potion."
Ron interrupted, "That was a bit stupid wasn't it?"
Dumbledore merely nodded and continued "Anyway it turns out he rejected her and went back to his village, leaving her alone and pregnant. Now his (that is Lord Voldemort's) mother's family were related to Slytherin and they had an artifact, a necklace, which once belonged to him. She took this and fled. It was sold. She later died after giving birth to Tom."
"He spent his early life in an orphanage, he was not a should we say 'nice' person when he was young. He bullied and stole from those who were also in care. When I went and told him he was a wizard, he seemed to know that there was something about him, which was different."
"Moving on, he came to Hogwarts, became very good at everything he did and at which time he was also trying to make his self incapable of dying. Now this is where out tale becomes somewhat woolly. You see there is no concrete evidence that this is true, that is to say there is none at the moment, but hopefully I will be able to procure something to prove this shortly."
Harry, Hermione and Ron were now listening intently to what Dumbledore had to say.
"There are things called Horcruxes, now normally they are not in the plural, but in Tom's case they are. I am not expecting you to have heard of them. It is very dark magic, but I will explain the principle involved. A Horcrux is a part of a person's soul, which is stored in an object. This would mean that even if his body was killed, he would still be alive. Now to make a Horcrux is hard enough, but Tom wanted to make seven."
Hermione was shocked "You mean split his soul into seven?"
"Yes and no. You see you can't just split your soul, he ripped it apart. You cannot just divide your sole into little pieces. To do it you have to kill someone, as this caused damage to the soul and then you can rip a part of it out."
"You see what is happening, he is killing people and then using this to rip his sole into pieces making him nearly invincible."
"Nearly?" Said Harry.
"Yes Harry, nearly. You see there is something else. To store the soul you need an object, something I left out while telling you about Tom's childhood in the orphanage was that he kept the belongings of his victims. Now I believe that he would use objects, which symbolised something. You remember the necklace I told you about?" They nodded.
"Well the person who bought it turned up dead a few days after a visit from Tom, the necklace was taken along with another object. I believe these were turned into Horcruxes. But that only gives us three."
"Three? You only said two." Said Ron sounding baffled.
"Really Ron" Hermione said sounding exasperated again "You can't survive without a soul, part of it must be inside him still."
Dumbledore smiled, "That is correct Hermione. There will be six Horcruxes and then the last piece of his soul, which remains in his body. Now I believe I know where one of the Horcruxes is located and it is a one, which I have not mentioned. That would take us to four pieces of his soul. I speak of a ring, which I am close to retrieving."
"What about the other three?" Harry asked.
"The other two, I say this because I believe that one has already been destroyed. Remember the diary?"
Hermione was starting to put the pieces together "You mean to say that is how it was able to communicate to Ginny?"
"Correct Hermione, so that is one already destroyed and we only have five to go. That is where you three come in, I will need help retrieving the objects, and I am not sure how long I will be around. So it is vital that you know everything. I have told you just about everything, but there are details you need to know but we do not have time now. You have to be at the Ministry in fifteen minutes for your trial."
"Before you go, if anything does happen to me, all the information I have is stored in here." Dumbledore walked over to a draw at the back of the room and opened it. "If I die, it will only open to you three and no one else. You cannot tell anyone about this, not even an Order member. Do you understand?"
"So you could die then?" Harry asked shocked. He did not believe that Dumbledore could die.
"If it is a choice between dying and living through a time when Voldemort will reign, I will gladly die. You three must promise that no matter what happens, you will carry on my work. You have no idea how important it is you do so. If I do die, my office will seal itself until you have been able to retrieve the information you need."
Harry, Hermione were stunned. They were being told that if Dumbledore dies that they would have to carry on what he had started, and there was more they did not know.
"Promise me." Dumbledore said urgently
"I promise." Hermione, Harry and Ron said in unison.
This is it thought Hermione, it is really happening.
Author's note:
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Please continue to review. Also thanks to Melissa for BETA reading the chapter for me.