AN: Hey guys and welcome to the first chapter of "Wounds of the Heart."

This is the first time I write in a fandom that is entirely different from what I am normally used to, and I hope I'll be able to make a good job so you could enjoy the fic.

Now, here are some things that I want to clarify about this fics to avoid misconceptions.

1. This fic is set in Harry's sixth year and it will be a combination of the books, the movies, and AU so some things play out differently or not play out at all.

2. The AU of this story basically starts in the Fourth Year as you'll read in this chapter and the lack of details other than what this chapter show is done purposefully so do not worry about it as eventually everything will be fully explained.

3. Like I said before this story will have AU elements but also there will be some various degrees of OOC for the characters to be aware of that.

There will be more things that will be explained as the story progresses like the pairings and such so do not worry if some things are not clear yet.

I would also appreciate it if you guys review the story in a civilized manner regardless of whether or not it is a positive or negative review.

Now, without further ado here is the first chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

"Talk"

'Thoughts'

"Spells"

(Timeskips/Flashbacks)

It was night time on a stormy day when Harry Potter sighed sullenly as he plopped himself on his bed at the sixth year dorms in Gryffindor tower. The boy was flooded with thoughts about the events that transpired during the few weeks that have passed since the start of the year.

It seems that like every year since he started his education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when he was at the tender age of eleven his upcoming sixth year would not be uneventful as he hoped.

The raven-haired boy came to this conclusion when Professor Dumbledore himself came to visit him at the Dursleys' during the summer to take him to the Burrow. Not seeing the old Headmaster since the aftermath of his fierce one-on-one battle with Voldemort when he thrashed his office after the elderly man has told him about the content of the prophecy he finds himself wondering why the Headmaster would arrive at the Dursleys's of all places and why he came to visit him now instead of waiting for a few weeks until the new year started?

It was when he saw the Headmaster's blackened hand and the way he dismissed it as nothing as well as his request for Harry to help him convince an old Hogwarts professor, Horace Slughorn, to return to Hogwarts for reasons unknown that keyed Harry further into realizing that already this year started to become weird.

Another big and concerning occurrence happened when Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys went shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley like they did every year. While the trip went with no hitches it was when they spotted Draco Malfoy walking alone in Diagon Alley without his mother who was with him prior when they had their fight in Madam Malkins. They followed him to Knockturn Alley under the cover of Harry's Cloak of Invisibility and saw as he entered Borgin and Burkes, a shop that was known to sell dark artefacts. The trio waited outside, listening to Draco by Extendable Ears and watching him through a window as he talked with the owner Borgin, about repairing an object and keeping another object safe. Malfoy also shows Borgin something which Harry was certain was the Dark Mark meaning that Draco had become a Death Eater during the summer vacation. Draco's conversation with Borgin ended with the Malfoy heir threatening Borgin by referring to the werewolf Fenrir Greyback who was a known follower of Voldemort. It was after witnessing all of this that Harry came to the definitive conclusion that Draco became a Death Eater during the summer like he suspected and is up to no good. Unfortunately, his friends hastily dismissed this notion as ridiculous.

But the biggest thing that caused Harry's conclusion that this year being unusual maybe even more than the other years was his girlfriend of two years Daphne Greengrass and her alarming change in behaviour.

Harry and Daphne met each other during their fourth year after Harry's name came out of the goblet. While being ostracized by almost everyone in school it was surprisingly Daphne who attempted to get the know him. He was dubious and suspicious about her intentions and motives but decided to give the blonde Slytherin the benefit of the doubt and as time passed he found himself more and more happy with this decision.

Daphne was a very complex person so unlike everyone he knew back at Gryffindor. She was cunning and ambitious like a proud Slytherin would be, but she was also loyal and kind towards the few that has her implicit trust. He was rather put out to find that she was a part of Pansy Parkinson's girl gang, a gang that ridiculed him over the years and fully supported and believed Malfoy. The only comfort he found in those troubling news was that Daphne, while being a part of this gang, never ridiculed him like everyone else and did not blindly support or believe Malfoy like the rest. For the most part, she was keeping to herself and allowed no one to influence her thoughts even her friends' loyalty and allegiance to someone like Malfoy, something she did not share. While she did not loathe the blonde Ferrat she was also not a fan of him and disliked him and his childish attitude that came to surface with each time he threatened to involve his father when someone crossed him. But being the Slytherin she is allowed her to see the advantage of keeping certain doors open in case she needed them in the future and not being openly hostile to Malfoy made sure that some doors indeed remained open.

She was also a person of actions rather than words which is why she did not outright judge Harry based on the opinion of her fellow Slytherins and also her head of the house and instead chose to carefully observe the enigmatic Harry Potter which led to her approaching him when she did. However, that did not mean she was not interested in the rumours that circulated through the Hogwarts rumour mill every year and she was determined to find the truth behind them.

More and more time passed and by the time the Yule Ball has arrived Harry and Daphne already got very close to each other and knew much about one another to the point that the romantic feelings they developed for one another were unstoppable. Going to the Yule Ball with Daphne was among the best moments in Harry's not so bright life.

While their friendship and later their relationship was not a secret they also did not go out of their way to reveal it instead of choosing to mind their own business and if someone asked questions then to answer truthfully instead of using lies and deceit to cover something that would eventually come out anyway.

Luckily for them, because of Harry's now practically dead social life due to him being entered into the tournament those questions never arrived with the exception of Daphne's younger sister Astoria who was in her second year and Daphne's best friend Tracey Davis when they approached them during one of their many times when they lazed in their favorite spot by the Black Lake.

Each girl was beautiful on her own and each held a different kind of grace that awed Harry greatly.

Daphne with her blonde hair and blue eyes as well as her athletic build that complimented her curves greatly held a grace that could only be described by Harry as regal. She was beautiful and intimidating and she knew it.

Astoria with her black hair that was accompanied by a few strands of blonde and blue eyes as well as her petite build that came with very little curves held a grace that very few could achieve at her age. It was the kind of grace that showed her social standing but at the same time diffused any apprehension people could experience when thinking about approaching her.

Tracey with her auburn hair and hazel eyes that were covered by her glasses as well as her ordinary build with a few curves in places where it mattered held a grace that Harry could compare to the same kind he often heard associated with Rowena Ravenclaw. She was the perfect balance between intelligent and beautiful.

After Daphne was finished with the introductions they got to know one another and spoke about many things like life before and after receiving their Hogwarts letter. There were still quite a few things that Harry hid regarding his time prior to receiving the letter, things he even hid from Daphne, Ron, and Hermione, but he also shared what little he felt comfortable to share. He was also certain that both Daphne and Astoria hid things regarding their own personal life outside of school especially when it came to their parents as they were mentioned very little during their talks, but he shrugged it off knowing that prying would only spell disaster. By the time they went their separate ways after a few hours, Harry was confident that he made good friends today that he could trust.

As he returned to his dorms that night he thought about each girl and the way their qualities shone brightly during their time together and he was left highly impressed.

Astoria was intelligent, highly devoted to what she felt was right, hard-working, a bit of a bookworm like Hermione, noble, and self-sacrificing.

Meanwhile, Tracey was friendly, loyal to those she considered close, humorous, and honest.

And Daphne... His Daphne was mostly neutral towards everyone she did not fully trust, and Harry could not blame her. Being in Slytherin house meant that your aims were high, and you did not spare any means in achieving them and showing something as fragile as emotions or blind trust in a house full of snakes - who would spare nothing to promote their own goals - could spell your demise. Aside from her neutrality towards people Daphne was also devoted to her family and her beliefs, hard-working, noble, self-sacrificing, and intelligent.

Harry loved Daphne greatly and he considered Astoria and Tracey as his sisters in all but blood. They supported him through his challenging times during his fourth and fifth year without doubting him for a second. They were there to treat him when he returned from his detentions with Umbridge alongside Hermione and Ron who learned to accept the Slytherin's company since finding out about them in the summer vacation before his fifth year. But most importantly they were there to gather the pieces of his broken heart when he left the Headmaster's office with the death of Sirius and the knowledge of the prophecy weighing down even without knowing the content of said prophecy.

But something changed in Daphne and Tracey. The first signs showed themselves in the summer vacation before his sixth year when the number of letters they exchanged has begun to gradually reduce. At first, he paid it no heed as he thought that perhaps they were busy or perhaps had family guests and could not afford to write often but his letters exchange with Astoria remained unaffected, so he reached the conclusion that it was not the case.

The second change he noticed was in the content of the letters themselves. The warmth they emanated and the feelings they evoked in Harry every time he read how Daphne loved him and how Tracey wanted to hang out with her brother as well as them telling him about the recent occurrences in their life had faded and instead, the contents were stiff and rigid as if he was nothing more than a mere acquaintance.

It broke his already wounded heart as he slowly witnessed the changes and could do nothing about it but wait for the next letter that would hopefully be like before. But it was not to be. The only comfort Harry had was Astoria's letters which remained the same.

Astoria... She was the third clue. While the number of letters they exchanged, and their contents remained the same there were also things written within them that greatly distressed Harry. She spoke of how the atmosphere in her house became more and more sinister, how her parents who she and Daphne spoke very little about became colder and colder and how Daphne adopted the same attitude as her parents even when she was among family and friends. How they often confided in each other and how they quieted down when Astoria entered the room as if the content of the discussion was not to be heard by her. How people like the Malfoy's and the Nott's visited their house more often and how Tracey mimicked Daphne's behaviour when she visited as well.

He wrote to Astoria that he did not know what was happening and that he will help her find out when they returned to school but for the meantime, she should be careful as the Nott's and Malfoy's cannot be trusted, and she should remain in the safe confines of her room while they visited. He advised her to try and look for the small details and to attempt to eavesdrop when the opportunity presented itself, so she could find out more.

Harry told no one of what he learned about his girlfriend and the girl he considered his sister and talked only with Astoria about it.

Eventually, the school year has started, and Harry was appalled when he witnessed the changes in the two girls with his own eyes.

Daphne's captivating blue eyes were rigid and hard as if the soul they reflected was bare of any emotions much like Tracey's own.

Their eyes rarely drifted towards him and when he met their gazes Harry was astounded with what he saw in them. There was no warmth or love like before, their eyes were cold and calculating while a glint of something hidden was seen behind them; something Harry could not pinpoint.

Weeks passed and with it, Harry and Astoria often met to try and speculate what is wrong with Daphne and Tracey but to no luck. They were horrified when they saw how Daphne and Tracey were now close to Malfoy and his group that would occasionally consist of Theodore Nott as well as Blaise Zabini. They mostly spent their time together and were often seeming to be whispering with one another and sneaking off towards places unknown.

Overall something was very wrong with Daphne and Tracey and Harry and Astoria were determined to do everything to try and find out.

While his mind was deep in thoughts he did not notice Ron entered their dorm room before he was taken out of his reverie by Ron shaking him.

"Mate are you okay?" Ron asked with concern.

"What? Oh, Yeah I'm fine," Harry weakly told him.

"If you say so... You had a faraway look on your face as if you had gone completely mental," Ron informed him before stepping into his bed.

"Yeah sorry about that," Harry apologized.

Ron yawned. "What were you doing anyway?" He asked.

Harry sighed. "I was thinking about some things," Harry told him only to be met with silence.

He shifted his gaze towards Ron's bed and laughed when he saw the red-head already in deep sleep while his snores began to reverberate through the room.

With another sigh, Harry took off his glasses and went to sleep himself.

"Lucius report!" Harry heard the ominous voice of Lord Voldemort speak.

Once again, he found himself looking through the eyes of his enemy, something that did not happen since Voldemort possessed him in the ministry.

This time he found himself in a dark, dank cavern that seemed to be off the coast of Britain. It was a complete change of the usual setting of Malfoy Manor that Harry had witnessed many times in his dreams and it made the boy curious as to why the Dark Lord had changed the location of their base of operation.

He saw Lucius Malfoy kneeling before him with his head down. "Everything is going according to plan my lord," The blonde spoke.

"Good, good. I would be very displeased should the plan fail and I assure you, Lucius, that you will share my displeasure as well," Voldemort threatened with a sick smile as he saw how uncomfortable his servant was.

"Of course, my lord. I assure you that my son will fulfil his part as expected," Malfoy said.

"Crucio!" Voldemort bellowed as the red light of the torture curse hit Lucius causing him to cry painfully.

"Fool! I do not need you to reassure me of what your son is capable of. I want results! Empty words of a fearful father mean nothing to me and you should do well to remember that Lucius,"

With a shaking voice, Lucius answered his lord. "Yes, my lord. I apologize for my rudeness," He apologized before he excused himself upon seeing his lord's dismissal.

"Harry! Harry wake up mate!" The raven-haired boy groaned as he was abruptly woken up from his nightmare by his friend's yelling.

He looked around the room and sighed in relief upon seeing the familiar red and gold colours before his eyes landed on his dormmates who looked at him worryingly.

"Are you okay Harry?" It was Neville who asked the question with eyes wide in concern and a shaky voice.

"Yes, sorry about that guys," He apologized to his dormmates who shrugged it off before they returned to sleep leaving only Harry, Ron, and Neville awake.

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?" Harry nodded to Ron's question.

"Well, what did he do this time, mate?" Ron prodded further.

Harry replied. "I'll tell you tomorrow,"

Ron and Neville nodded and wished him a good night before they returned to sleep leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

'Just what Tom is planning? And what part the Malfoys play in his plans?' Harry thought to himself, struggling to come up with an answer.

His mind drifted towards Daphne and Tracey and their new friendship with the Malfoy heir causing him to scowl as ominous thoughts began to enter his mind regarding the girls' connection to Malfoy's plan.

'I have to tell Astoria about it tomorrow, so she could warn Daphne and Tracey about Malfoy and his plans,' With this thought, Harry finally succumbed to sleep.

It was early in the morning when Harry woke up from his slumber. A quick glance around the room after putting on his glasses told him that he was the only one awake.

Knowing that sleep has evaded him Harry got up silently as to not awake his dormmates again and went to take a shower and prepare for the upcoming day.

After he finished his preparations the raven-haired boy went ahead towards the Great Hall to get an early breakfast. Upon entering the hall, he was surprised to see that he wasn't the only one awake this early and that quite a few students - mostly the seventh year Ravenclaws who were studying vigorously for their N.E.W.T.S - were already up and about.

He took a seat at the Gryffindor table that was mostly deserted and began to dive into his breakfast with gusto.

It was halfway through his meal that his focus was interrupted by the sound of gentle footsteps approaching him. Looking up he smiled when he saw that it was Astoria but a quick look behind her made him frown when he saw that Daphne and Tracey had also entered the Great Hall and went ahead towards their table without so much as sparing a glance towards him.

"Good morning Harry!" Astoria's cheerfully greeted him as she took the seat next to him.

He returned the greeting and smiled. "How are you Astoria?" He inquired.

With a voice barely above a whisper, she answered. "I am fine," She glanced at his plate and saw that he was almost done with his breakfast. "How long have you been awake?" She asked curiously.

Harry sighed. "I woke up early because of a nightmare I had," Astoria looked at him in understanding, already knowing about the nightmares he experiences.

"I see. Do you wish to talk about it?" She asked as she placed her hand on his in a show of comfort and strength that made Harry smile.

"I do, but not here. Meet me in the Room of Requirements after you finish your classes for the day," He whispered to her making Astoria frown when she caught the urgency in his voice.

"I will," She replied with a serious demeanour knowing that whatever it was that Harry wanted to tell her would be serious.

They spent the rest of the meal in a comfortable silence only occasionally speaking of trivial things like their various classes with the occasional laugh about Harry's dismay with Snape now teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and his unchanged attitude towards Harry.

Harry and Astoria never noticed the hall filling up with students as time went by nor did they notice the fact that Astoria's hand was still lying on top of Harry's and the attention it garnered from Harry's friends who managed to remain unnoticed by the duo upon sitting down next to them.

Eventually, they were brought back by Hermione nudging Harry and telling him that they should go as class was about to start in a few minutes.

"What class do you have now Harry?" Astoria asked.

Harry sighed. "I have double potions with Slughorn now, you?"

"I have Defense with Professor Snape," She replied before standing up. "I have to go now. I'll see you later Harry," She told him before she did something that surprised Harry and the rest. She leaned down and gave him a lingering kiss on his cheek.

He blushed. "Y-Yeah... I'll see you later Tori," He stuttered as his eyes lingered on Astoria's retreating form before he spun around to face his friends.

"What?" He asked as he saw the looks his friends were giving him.

It was Hermione who replied. "Nothing. Now let's go, or we'll be late,"

With a sigh, Harry got up from his seat and left the Great Hall with his friends in tow not noticing the sets of eyes that held so many emotions as they followed his departure.

It was late afternoon when Astoria has finished her classes for the day and went on to meet Harry in the Room of Requirements.

As she made her way from Professor Slughorn's class towards the seventh floor Astoria was deep in thought as to what was in Harry's nightmare that he wanted to talk to her in private.

'Could it be that the Dark Lord is planning a large attack?' She thought to herself thinking that perhaps Harry did not want to cause mass panic or be seen crazier by his friends than he already is.

His friends. the thought of them caused a ripple of anger to pass through her.

The same friends who stood by him since his first year, through thick and thin, through fire and water. The same friends who shared Harry's adventures throughout his time at Hogwarts. The same friends who Harry had risked his life several times to help had now looked at him as if he was demented.

She thought of the reason behind their behaviour and scowled. 'Of course, that ferret would be the bane of their problems' she thought of the Malfoy heir in contempt knowing that he was the source of Harry's rift with his friends.

She, like Harry, has come to the conclusion that Draco Malfoy was now a part of Voldemort's Death Eaters. Harry's explanation of his sightings and conclusions as well as her own observation of the blonde in the Slytherin common room had made her reach that conclusion.

Reaching that conclusion had greatly unsettled Astoria as she saw her sister and Harry's girlfriend of two years become more and more involved with Malfoy.

Her sister was not dumb of that the Greengrass smallest child was sure and if she and Harry had reached that conclusion then Daphne could easily figure it out as well.

If that was the case, then why was she hanging out with Draco Malfoy?

It was this question that kept Astoria awake until the late hours of the night and caused her to carefully observe her sister and Tracey as a part of her struggle to come up with an answer.

It was with a complete certainty that Astoria could say that until now she learned absolutely nothing. Their group that consisted of Daphne, Tracey, Malfoy, Pansy, Crabb, and Goyle were always together running off towards places unknown and whispering furiously among themselves. Sometimes they were joined by Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott who behaved in the same way as the rest of the group which was unusual for the two boys since they were mostly reclusive, preferring to be alone.

Astoria was brought back from her reverie when she reached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

She paced back and forth trying to summon the room but to no avail. Confused, Astoria settled on waiting for Harry's arrival outside the room.

It was around ten minutes later that the doors of the room had appeared causing Astoria to stifle a shocked gasp as she saw who emerged out of the room.

Her sister, accompanied by Tracey and Draco emerged from the room with looks of frustration mixed with a meagre of satisfaction.

"I would've destroyed that bloody thing if we didn't have a need for it," She heard her sister mutter.

"At least we made some progress with fixing it. I'm sure we will be able to make it work very soon," Tracey replied.

Draco huffed. "We better or else he'll be pretty upset at us and we do not want that do we?" He inquired causing both Daphne and Tracey to gulp nervously as they shook their head.

Soon, their voices were nothing more than whispers as they darted further away from the room never noticing the petite figure of Astoria that stood hidden in a dark corner as she listened to their talk with a single thought circling in her head.

'Just what the bloody hell is going on?'