Changing Tide

Changing Tide

Chapter One- Unsettling News

"Mom, Hermione invited me to come and see what her house looks like! Could I please go?" A tall, red-haired boy asked.

"What? I thought she always came over here?" his mother, Mrs. Weasley replied.

"Yea, but for some reason her bloody parents won't let her come over this summer. Something to do with something called a camping trip..." the young man exclaimed.

"First of all, Ronald Weasley, watch your mouth!" Ron rolled his eyes. "Now, if they're going on this 'cramping trip'.." Mrs. Weasley started.

"Camping, Mom. A camping trip!" Ron corrected her.

"Yea, well, camping trip, how on Merlin's green Earth will you be able to visit Hermione?" she asked.

"She said I could come with her, obviously, Mom! I would stay at her house," At the look on Mrs. Weasley's face, he quickly added, "While sleeping on the couch! I would stay with her during the week and then we leave for the woods, like where she described to me the camping actually takes place."

"I don't know, Ron..What about Harry? Will he be joining you?" Mrs. Weasley seemed to really be thinking of a way for him not to go.

"You know very well that Dumbledore, before he was..killed..told Harry to stay with the muggles until his seventeenth birthday this summer! Blimey, Mom, why are you giving such a fuss about visiting Hermione?!" Ron was starting to get a little upset with his mother.

"Well, OBVIOUSLY, Ron..." Mrs. Weasley began to shove some reason into her son but a knock at the door momentarily closes their ensuing argument. Mrs. Weasley gave her son a stern look as she opens the front door. To her surprise, her husband, Arthur Weasley, stood pale-faced at the door.

"Arthur! What's the matter?! You look as if you've faced You-Know-Who one on one!" Mrs. Weasley was practically glued to her husband as he slowly made his way to the living room couch. He sat in complete silence, with his visibly shaking hands continually rubbing his eyes. "Arthur, you're scaring me! Please tell us what has happened! Why are you home so early? It's only three in the afternoon!"

"I...I'm sorry, dear! I'm just trying to think of a way...to tell you guys what I have to tell you...You two better sit down, especially you, Ron..." Arthur warned.

Fear began to set in Ron's eyes. What could have possibly happened to make my Dad act this way?! His heart began racing as a thought came to his mind.

"Now, I want you to try your best to take this like a man, you understand? I know it's going to be hard but try, son..I..It's Hermione, Ron! They found both of her parents dead in their house and Hermione's missing...The Order's doing the best they can to find her whereabouts.." Mr. Weasley sat staring at Ron, waiting for his inevitable horrible reaction. However, Ron just sunk back deeply into the couch, with an inscrutable blank expression on his face. Mrs. Weasley had her hands over her mouth while taking a few steps back. The ensuing silence seemed to last an eternity before the news seemed to really sink into Ron.

"How could you?!" Mr. Weasley seemed taken aback by this question. "How dare you?! It was you and the Order's job to protect her! We could protect ourselves better than she could because she was with muggles! Bloody muggles, Dad! Why do they have to be so bloody weak?!" Ron screamed at the the top of his lungs at his father.

"Ron..We did everything we could! We applied every protective measure we could think of to their house and we kept watch...." Mr. Weasley tried to explain.

"NO! Don't give me that! She would be safe right now if you did everything you could have done!" With that, and without giving his father a chance to say another word, Ron ran as fast as he could up to his room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley remained, stunned at Ron's accusations toward his father and the Order.

_ _ _ _

Why do I feel so...I feel as if there's something terribly wrong about this eerie calm. A dark-haired boy thought to himself.

In fact, outside, not a soul was stirring. The trees stood stock still, as if they never moved any time before. Even the shrill chirping from the crickets that usually filled the night was noticeably absent. The eerieness effect was magnified by the fact that he was home alone for only the second time since his occupation of Number Four, Privet Drive. Every few minutes, he would think he heard some popping noise in his room but when he turned to look, his walls were the only visible objects he could see.

Ugh! Calm down, Harry! I'm just worrying about the others too much right now! Harry tried to calm himself down but to no avail. There was good reason to be so paranoid during these troubled times, however. Ever since the beloved Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchery headmaster, Dumbledore, met his unfortunate demise at the hands of the mistaken for good Severus Snape, the number of deaths and kidnappings had skyrocketed. The most well-known death was that of Ernie MacMillan and his parents. The day he read this bit of news in the wizarding newspapers Hedwig brought him was indeed a hard one. Harry remembered how he had accidentally ordered the snake to attack MacMillan back during his second year and how Ernie was trying to make friends with him. Despite his snotty ways, Harry had started to see him as a friend. Now he's a part of the collage of the fallen that Harry will soon be fighting for against the evil Lord Voldemort.

Pop.

"What..." Harry quickly turned away from the window to see where the noise had come from.

"Well, well, well! So, this is the 'Chosen One's' preferred state of residence? I must say, Potter, your tastes are as bad as your dear friend Dumbledore's! Oops, maybe I should have said 'were'..." the intruder provoked Harry.

"You! Ho..how dare you you show your putrid face here?! After all that you have done to me, you dare come up to me as if nothing happened?! You never had me fooled from the very beginning, Snape!" Harry screamed.

Indeed, Severus Snape had apparated inside the dwelling of the Dursely's. An evil smirk spread across his lips.

"Is that so, Potter? You're too clever to ever be taken in by someone like me, eh? Well, the same cannot be said for that gullible old fool. Dumbledore did always seem to have a certain weakness in choosing people he could...trust!" Snape exclaimed in his drawling voice that he always uses.

Harry ran to under his bed and reached to pull out his wand.

"Looking for this? You should really be careful where you lay your wand, Potter! You should've at least learned that much from your classes..." Harry gave Snape the most hatred glare he could muster. "Now, sit down and pay close attention! Don't do anything foolish and you can live until the Dark Lord has his way with you! I was brought here to hand out a message from your Greatest Nemesis himself. Hermione Granger is in our company and if you wish to ever see her again, meet him at the place you first met his former alias! I must warn you, Potter! The unfortunate fools who receives these kinds of messages from the Dark Lord are know as the walking dead!" For the first time in Harry's memory of Snape, a wide smile spread on his face as he began to laugh. Snape tossed Harry back his wand with force and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

Harry sat still on his bed, the shocked expression still plastered on his face. This can't be happening! Everybody had always been in danger because of me but now, one of my best friends will most likely be killed. I have to put an end to this once and for all!

"I'll kill you, Voldemort!" He pointed at his scar, pretending it was Voldemort himself. "I don't care if I have to go through all your Death Eaters in the process! I'll get to you and I...will...KILL...YOU!" Harry yelled into thin air.