Chapter 9: Midnight Visitor

It had been two days since Hermione left the burrow. Harry missed her terribly, but he knew that she needed some time to sort out her feelings.

He also hadn't slept more than an hour a night for the past few weeks. The last time he slept through the night had been when Hermione was in his room with him. It was beginning to take a toll on his personality. Even Ginny had told him he needed to get some sleep, though she was still angry with him for the whole Hermione situation.

Sitting on the couch in the living room in the burrow, he was waiting for Dumbledore to arrive with Lupin. They were scheduled to have another meeting regarding him moving to Grimmauld place before school started in two weeks, among other things that needed to be discussed.

"Harry, you really need to get some sleep, you look like shit mate." Ron told him.

"You never were the subtle type Ron. Yes I know I need to sleep more, I just can't fall asleep at night." Harry lied.

The truth was, if he shut his eyes right now, he would fall asleep in a half second. Unfortunately, that sleep would be plagued with nightmares of a dead Hermione. He refused to watch her limp body lay there on the ground.

Ron looked at him skeptically. Then he decided to change the subject.

"What do you reckon Dumbledore wants to talk to you about today?" Ron asked.

Harry had already told him about Sirius's will. He only mentioned the house belonging to him, he didn't mention the vaults. Harry knew Ron was never comfortable talking about money, so he saw fit not to mention it.

"I guess they want to talk about me and Remus living at Grimmauld place for the rest of the summer holiday. I think they also want to talk about the attack the other day, and I have a few things I wanted to ask them." Harry told him, while trying to stifle a yawn.

"Like, if I can come stay at Grimmauld place with you? You do want me to come and stay too, right?" Ron looked excited.

"Of course I want you to stay, but your mum said she doesn't want you there for the whole rest of vacation." Harry looked around the room with tired eyes for a clock. It was 11:30 in the morning.

"Dumbledore should be here any minute, you discuss it with you mum while I'm gone, and when I get back, you can tell me what she has to say." Just as Harry watched Ron leave the room, there were two loud cracks. Instinctively Harry grabbed his wand and spun around to where the noise came from.

He looked up into the face of the person his wand was pointed at.

"Professor Dumbledore, you nearly scared me to death. You should put a bell on or something when you are apparating!" Harry laughed, along with Lupin who was standing behind Dumbledore.

"Nice reflexes Mr. Potter. I dare say, I might have lost that battle had I been attacking you." Dumbledore smiled at him.

"Hello Harry, you ready?" Remus Lupin stepped out and handed Harry a hand full of Floo Powder.

"Yeah, I guess." Harry would never be ready to go back to that house, but he new it was time. Plus, it was the only private place they could discuss, all of the things that needed discussing.

They had all flooed right into the living room at 12 Grimmauld place. Harry took a look around.

It was different. Not as dark, or gloomy as the last time, the paint on the walls was new, and fresh. "Are we in the right place Professor?" Harry asked.

"Yes, we are. I made a few adjustments for you. I hope you don't mind." Dumbledore answered.

Harry began to wonder around. The house was drastically different. It no longer felt like a house of evil. As he walked down the hallway he noticed the place where Sirius's mother's portrait had hung, was empty.

"Where did the portrait go? I thought it wouldn't come off?" Harry asked.

"Well, I am assuming that when Sirius died, the last remaining Black ties to this house died with him. So I believe she removed her portrait herself. We are not sure where to though."

Harry laughed. This was great. He would be able to live here without that old hag yelling at every opportunity. "What about Kreacher?"

"Same for him, he was no longer tied to this house when the portrait of his mistress left, so he killed himself. Very sad indeed." Dumbledore said with a hidden smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

Dumbledore continued, "I suppose you're wondering about Buckbeak? Well, Hagrid now has him. He had to go on a bit of a journey for Grawp. I figured Buckbeak would enjoy the fresh air." Harry nodded and continued to look around.

All the house elf heads were gone from the wall, replaced with family portraits, and pictures of his friends. Any door handles that previously had snakes on them, now had Phoenixes on them. This house was definitely different from the last time he remembered.

"Professor this is amazing. You did all this, just so I could live here? Thank you!" Harry was almost speechless, but he new that this was above and beyond the call of duty.

It was obvious that Lupin was also surprised by all the changes in the house, He went to the upper floors to have a look around.

"You're very welcome Harry. Now let's go down to the kitchen, we need to discuss a few things. Dobby will be making us lunch today. He will be you're personal house elf. Though he offered to do it for free, I assume Miss Granger would prefer you pay him." Dumbledore said with another twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh yes, of course Dobby will be paid. I wouldn't have it any other way. Hermione might kill me if I didn't offer to pay him." Harry laughed at the thought of her face seeing him with a house elf. Then his smile turned serious as he remembered he needed to discuss her house protection with Dumbledore.

Just as if Dumbledore had been reading his mind, he spoke up. "Yes Harry, Hermione's house is just as well protected as the burrow is. We would not want to risk Hogwarts star student's life, now would we?"

"Thank Merlin, I was really getting worried. But, what about when she leaves her house? Does she have guards watching her when she goes out?"

"There is no need for that Harry, I doubt she is in any real danger."

Harry stopped and thought about it. His dream was when they were in school, they were not in school yet, so she should be fine. He made a mental note to not leave her side once they were in Hogwarts.

Lupin had just come back from exploring the upper floors of the house. "So are we ready for our discussion?" He sat down next to Dumbledore, across from Harry.

"Well, Harry, if you want to live here for the remainder of the holiday that is fine. It is your house, so you may invite whom ever you wish, to stay with you. There is only one rule. Remus must stay here as well, due to the fact that he is your guardian, and you are underage." Dumbledore looked at Harry.

"That sounds great to me!" Harry was excited to be living with Remus, he wanted to get to know him better.

"Also, next summer you will have to return to Privet Drive for a while. After your birthday you may return here." Harry's face fell when hearing this. He never wanted to go back to his aunt and uncle's house.

"We were lucky this year. Miss Granger agreed to go stay with you. She had a fit when we would not let you leave until your birthday. She said you would go mad in that house." Dumbledore laughed at the memory of the girl arguing with him through many letters. "We said that she could go stay with you until your birthday arrived. She agreed saying that it was better than you staying by yourself."

"So that's why she came to the house? She never told me why." He smiled thinking about Hermione having an argument with a professor. The Headmaster no less!

"Also, we figured you might have some questions regarding the attack the other day. We can't tell you everything, but we will try our best."

Harry sighed at this. But he figured that some answers are better than no answers at all.

"Well, why was Moody attacked in the first place?"

"He has been assigned to protect some one, and he was doing his duty while he was attacked. Thankfully another member of the order was around to keep him alive and take over his duty when he was sent to St. Mungos."

"Who was he protecting?" Harry knew he wouldn't get an answer, but he had to try. He hoped it wasn't himself that they were protecting.

"We can't answer that at the moment, it is not our place to tell you. You will find out soon enough." Dumbledore looked serious, very serious.

"Have you found out who it was that attacked? Was in Voldemort? Why would he want to attack in the first place?" So many questions popped into his head at once, he had to get them all out before he forgot them.

"We have not figured out who it was that attacked, though we have an idea. I don't believe it was Voldemort personally, though, I do believe it be on his orders. We can not tell you why he would attack in the first place, we can only tell you that he wants the person we have been protecting, and we can not allow him to have that person." Dumbledore looked over at Remus.

"I believe that is enough questions about the attack for today. When we know more, you will know more." Harry thought this conversation felt very familiar. Like last years fiasco. Only this time, he felt a little more informed.

"I also wanted to ask you about this." Harry pulled out his necklace from under his shirt. The Phoenix medallion shimmered under the light.

"I was wondering when you would ask about that." Lupin laughed, then looked at Dumbledore.

"It was your father's, he would have wanted you to have it."

"You told me that already in the letter, I was just wondering about the phoenix symbol. I figured it had something to do with the order."

"Well you're not entirely wrong. The phoenix symbol is a bit of a coincidence. While your father was a member of the order, he had this necklace long before he joined. It was given to him by your grandfather who got it from your great-grandfather."

"Oh, but that still doesn't explain why there is a phoenix on it."

"All of the members of the original Order of the Phoenix had one Harry. I have a necklace myself, though I have no need for it now."

"Original order? You mean the order goes back as far as my great-grandfather?"

"Yes, maybe even further. My father was in it, though it was under a different name back then. I changed it to the Order of the Phoenix when I re-established it. My father left his necklace to me, just as your father left his for you. They were the only two members of the original order to save the necklaces. Everyone else destroyed there own when the threat of evil at that time was gone." Dumbledore just looked at the medallion in Harry's hand.

"What did you mean before when you said you no longer have a need for it?" Dumbledore smiled at Harry's question.

"Well I am sure you noticed that I can apparate, even on Hogwarts ground. No one else can, it is sort of an 'unknown' Headmasters privilege." Dumbledore winked.

Harry nodded his head to show he understood. He always wondered how Dumbledore just 'showed up' at classrooms so quickly.

"Well this necklace allows you to apparate silently, no cracking noises, and the ministry can not track it, and it works on Hogwarts grounds as well." Harry's face lit up, he was going to be able to apparate!

"How does it work?" he asked excitedly.

"Well, you must be wearing around your neck first of all." Harry put the necklace back around his neck as soon as Dumbledore said that.

"Harry, before we show you how it works, I need to make sure that this necklace never leaves your sight. In the wrong hands, it can be a very deadly weapon. That is why all the other necklaces were destroyed. They feared that someone would try to use them for evil."

Harry let this sink in. It hadn't occurred to him that something as simple as a necklace could cause so much trouble. But thinking about it, this necklace could get past all the protection spells at Hogwarts, and it was untraceable to the ministry. That could be really bad.

"I won't take it off sir. No one will know what it does, except for Ron and Hermione. I can tell them right?" he asked hopefully, Ron would be so jealous!

"While I suppose no harm can come of them knowing, I would prefer you didn't say anything yet. It would be a rather tricky situation if they were to let it slip that they knew."

Harry's smile fell. He wanted to tell them so badly. Now he had another secret to keep from them.

"They know everything else I am assuming?" Dumbledore looked at Harry with meaningful eyes.

"You mean the prophesy? No, I have not told them. I don't intend to either. They don't need to worry themselves about it." Harry looked at Lupin, who suddenly got a worried/sick look on his face. He assumed that Lupin knew already, he was obviously correct.

"I can't tell you what to do Harry, it is not my prophesy to tell. But I believe that they should know. It could benefit you greatly to be honest with them, not only about the prophesy, but with ALL secrets you have been keeping from them until this point."

Harry was startled by Dumbledore's forwardness.

'Was he talking about the dream I had about Hermione? Or was he talking about the fact that I was keeping my feelings for her from Ron. And for that matter, how does he always know?' he thought.

Harry looked over at Lupin to see if he knew what Dumbledore had been talking about. Remus looked as confused as ever, and just shrugged at Harry's questioning glance.

"I'll have to think about that." Harry spoke carefully. "So how does it work!" His green eyes widened with excitement.

"Well you need to close your eyes and concentrate on the place where you intend to go. Picture as much of the place as you can. Let the name of it echo in your mind. Then, when you have that level of concentration, place your thumb over the medallion. You will be transported to the place you wished to be." Dumbledore explained.

"Can I try it now?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I suppose. But I think you should only try to go to another room in the house for starters." Lupin answered him this time. He sounded nervous. Harry smiled at his worried expression. 'Already trying to keep me safe!' He thought.

Harry decided to try to go into the room he shared with Ron last time they stayed here. He closed his eyes and began to clear his mind of all other things, then he pictured the room as clearly as possible. He saw the high ceilings and the placement of the twin beds. Then when he couldn't picture it any clearer, he placed his thumb over the phoenix medallion and held his breath.

He waited a moment before opening his eyes.

When he heard the sounds of feet rushing up the stairs he finally opened his eyes.

"IT WORKED!" He shouted. "I'm in my old room guys, over here!" He had heard the professor and Lupin shouting from the stairs. They were looking for what room he was in.

As they were about to enter the room Harry closed his eyes and imagined the kitchen table, and the chair he was just in, and then touched the medallion. He heard the bedroom door open, but when he opened his eyes he was back in his chair in the kitchen, with a grin on his face.

"Harry James Potter, where did you go now?" Lupin yelled from above with a tone of worry.

"I am down here in the kitchen." Just as soon as he finished his sentence he heard two loud cracks. Dumbledore and Lupin materialized right in front of him, both with there own smirks of satisfaction.

"Looks like you're a natural Harry!" Dumbledore smiled at him, that twinkle in his eye shown even brighter than usual.

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Harry had decided to spend that evening in his new home. Lupin had agreed to stay the night as well. Unfortunately Ron was unable to come until the next night.

They spent the bulk of the evening talking about their favorite memories of Sirius; his laugh, his loyalty, and especially his motorbike.

As it had been late already, Harry had bid Remus goodnight, and went into his new room.

He was now staying in Sirius's old bedroom. They had kept all of Sirius's personal things in the room, and made few changes to it. It still had the tall bookshelves filled with books, and all of Sirius's old school pictures in it.

The room was also made brighter, and more livable.

The king sized bed was now covered in a deep blood red plush comforter, and had gold satin sheets. The walls were changed to wood paneling with gold trimming, which gave it that log cabin feeling. It also had a 'fake' fireplace added in it.

It was the perfect room to relax in.

Harry had felt so at peace talking so openly about Sirius. Finally talking about him in a good, happy way had lifted a great weight off his shoulders. For the first time in a while, Harry actually wanted to try and sleep. He thought that maybe he wouldn't have any nightmares.

He stripped down to his snitch boxer-shorts, and lay his head on the fluffy pillow, pulling the covers over his body. This bed felt as good as it looked.

Closing his eyes and sighing, he tried to get his mind to relax. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. After 15 minutes of trying, the only thing he couldn't make leave his mind was Hermione's smile.

She was constantly on his mind, her perfect skin, those soft pink lips, and the way her face lit up every time she saw him. It was enough to drive him mad.

As his mind was focusing on Hermione, Harry felt an itch around his neck, and subconsciously ran his hand up to scratch it. As he scratched the area right by his medallion, his thumb accidentally brushed against the phoenix.

It wasn't as if he planned it, not that he minded what had happened. But when he opened his eyes, he was no longer in his room at Grimmauld place. He was in a room he had never seen before, laying in a bed that was not his own.

And this bed, was currently being occupied by one other body.

"Where the hell am I?" Harry whispered. He sat up in the bed, and looked around the dark room.

It had lots of shelves. They were filled with awards and books, though he could not see what awards or books in particular due to the darkness. There was a large dresser with some perfumes and make-up products on it. So this was defiantly a girl's room.

Then he saw a wand peeking out from under the pillow the girl was sleeping on. Not only was it a girl, but she was a wizard.

Harry crept slowly out of the bed, and walked around to the side that she was sleeping on. He had to see who it was, though he had a pretty good idea. He pulled the top of the covers down only a little. It revealed a mess of wild curly golden-brown locks. He brushed the hair out of her face, and saw that familiar smile he had been picturing only minutes ago.

It was Hermione, and she was asleep. It was as if she had become more beautiful since she had left two days before. Harry had to hold his breath, afraid he might wake her up by his unsteady breathing.

Suddenly that smile on her elegant face turned to a frown. Then Harry noticed tears start coming out of the corner of her closed eyes, streaking those perfect pink cheeks. Her body began to shiver, and she started tossing around in her bed.

"I won't let you hurt him, not again." She cried softly into her pillow. Harry watched her for a moment, wishing he could wake her up. But he knew better. If he woke her up, she would ask how he got there. He couldn't tell her about the medallion yet.

Crookshank's had jumped on the bed and nestled into Hermione's side as she continued to sob. He meowed at Harry, as if asking for help.

Harry sat down next to her on the bed, and laced his fingers with hers.

This seemed to be an immediate calming affect on her whole body, like the night he went into her room at the burrow and saw her screaming in bed. She just relaxed with his touch.

He wondered if she had nightmares like those every night, and if she did, how she allowed herself to sleep at all.

After a few minutes it was almost as if she had never had a nightmare in the first place. The only sign being the tear stains on her face. Harry decided to stay for a just a few more minutes. He rested his head against the wall, and pulled her hand into his lap, her fingers still intertwined with his.

He would only stay for a minute more, really just a minute.

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Three hours later, a pull in his hand had jolted him out of a perfectly peaceful (nightmare free) slumber.

Hermione had rolled over, and pulled her hand from his own, causing him to wake up. She was still asleep. He looked over at the clock on her bedside table. 3:45 a.m. He had gone up to bed at Grimmauld Place around 12:30ish.

'I should really get back before Lupin realizes I'm gone.' He thought to himself.

Harry looked down at Hermione's sleeping form. She looked perfect, laying there next to him. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. 'What a way to wake up in the morning!' He thought.

Then he began to picture his room at Grimmauld place. He saw his bed, and his sheets, and the wooden walls around him. When he touched the medallion, he apparated silently back to his room with a large grin on his face.

Harry opened his eyes, and noticed that his bedroom door was wide open.

"I thought I closed that" He said out loud to himself. Getting out of his bed to shut the door, he heard a noise from the other side of the room.

"AHEM!"

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. Lupin was in his room, looking more angry than he had ever seen him look before.

"Remus you scared me half to death." Harry laughed. The angry look never left Lupin's face.

"I scared you? Harry you have been gone for over 3 hours, there was no note, nothing. I thought you might have been kidnapped. I was so worried that I sent a letter to Dumbledore with Hedwig." Lupin had gotten out of the chair he had been sitting in and walked towards Harry.

"Harry where were you?" He asked, sounding a little more worried, and a little less angry.

"I was at Hermione's house." Harry said sounding like it was a normal thing to do at nearly 4 in the morning.

"Wha…. Uh… Oh." Remus blushed a little.

"I errr, wah-umm... I wasn't aware you t-two were, ahhh, seeing each other. How long have you been together?" Lupin stuttered a little bit, and blushed even more. He looked very uncomfortable.

"Together? She's not my girlfriend if that's what you're thinking." Harry answered. He didn't understand why Remus was acting so strangely. It was just Hermione's house.

"OH BLOODY HELL. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Lupin began pacing the room like a maniac. He was biting his nails, and looked like he was going to throw up.

"Remus, are you alright?" Harry looked at him quizzically.

"No I am not alright. I knew I let you hang out with Sirius to much. I was afraid his promiscuous ways would rub off on you. And now they have. He was a wild one at your age. Oh my…." He covered his head in his hands, and continued to mumble while he paced.

Harry looked bewildered for a moment, and then it occurred to him what Remus was thinking. He began to laugh.

"Remus, she was asleep the whole time I was there." He said, thinking that would clarify the situation enough.

"Oh, that's even worse. She didn't even know you were…. y-you were…..oh my!" He rolled his eyes, and covered his redden face with his hands again.

"Remus, Ewww! I would never take advantage of her like that. How could you even think that?" Harry was astonished at what Lupin had insinuated.

"You mean, you and Hermione… you didn't… you're not…" Lupin's hands were still covering his face, though he was peaking through a whole between his fingers with one hopeful eye.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the scene in front of him. Lupin looked too funny for words.

"No, were not… shagging. Remus, what would make you think that?" It was Harry's turn to blush now.

Lupin uncovered his face and looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Well, you were gone for over 3 hours, to a girl's house in the middle of the night, and you come home with a stupid grin on your face, wearing only THAT!" He pointed at Harry's snitch boxer-shorts.

"Well, alright I can see how that would make you think…. But, I honestly wasn't planning on going to her house. It was an accident." Harry continued to tell him how he just thought about her and ended up in her room. Then he told him how she was having a nightmare, so he stayed to make sure she was alright and fell asleep.

"Oh, well, next time can you please leave me a note telling me where you are?" Lupin asked. Harry nodded.

"Sorry I jumped to conclusions." Lupin mumbled.

"It's alright, I can see why you did. Can I ask you one thing though?" Harry asked raising his eyebrow. Lupin nodded.

"What did you mean when you said Sirius was 'wild' at my age?" Harry smirked. 'Let's see you stumble your way out of this one Remus, he thought.

Lupin's face burned a bright red again.

"Oh, that. Well…. Harry you better sit down. This may take a while." Lupin looked even more nervous. He began to tell Harry tales from the day's when Sirius had every girl in the palm of his hand. Then he tried, unsuccessfully, to give Harry 'The Talk'.

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It was the night before Hermione was to arrive at Grimmauld place. Harry was a nervous wreck. Even Ron noticed Harry's current state and asked if he was alright.

Both Ron and Ginny had been staying with Harry and Lupin all week. Ginny, while still angry with Harry, needed a break from Mrs. Weasley, so she agreed to stay with them. Though that didn't change the fact that she would make comments to Harry every now and then, just to make him feel even more guilty about the Hermione situation.

Unbeknownst to Ron and Ginny, Harry had 'snuck out' every night to check up on Hermione, leaving a note just incase Lupin decided to check up on him again. Every night when he arrived, she would be having a nightmare, and he would calm her down without waking her, and then leave with out a word.

He only fell asleep in her bed one other time. He woke up and apparated home, just as Hermione's mother was coming into the bedroom to wake her. He had spent the whole night there. He managed to get a full 7 hours sleep that night. It was wonderful!

Without his lack of sleep plaguing him, Harry could only think of one other thing.

How he would win her back.

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A/N: Hey guys, sorry to leave it like that. I'll update soon, just leave me reviews. I need the motivation.

Nect chapter: Hermione returns, and Mackenzie makes another appearance...