Harry Potter and the Angel of Justice

Chapter Twenty-Three - A Dish Best Served Cold

Link to Chapter 23 illustration, copy and paste.

http://hpbook6.freewebpage.org/art/nomarks/Hermione_Harry_Ginny_Valentines.jpg

The rest of the holiday flew by for Harry, and before he knew it, he, Ginny and Ron were back with Hermione at Hogwarts, eating dinner after the first day of Winter term classes. Ron and Hermione had missed each other so much that they had forgotten to get into an argument for a full twenty-four hours. When Harry pointed this out, neither was amused, though Ginny and Neville were.

Tuesday, Mars awakened Ron and Harry in the middle of the night to begin their training on the Killing Curse. For the first time, Mars told Harry to bring his invisibility cloak with him. Harry woke Ron and grabbed his father's old cloak; they met Mars in the Common Room. Instead of leading them to his office, however, this time he took the boys out the front doors of the castle.

"Where are we going, Mars?" asked Harry.

"To the broomshed," he answered.

Ron and Harry glanced at each other in confusion and followed Mars across the snowy school grounds. About halfway to the shed, they heard giggling from near Hagrid's cabin.

"What's that about?" asked Ron, gesturing in the direction of the laughing.

"It's Heather and her two friends, Renee and Sarah, sneaking out to ride the hippogriffs," answered Mars without missing a step.

"What?"

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"They'll be okay. Renee's family keeps a small herd on their farm. She knows all about hippogriffs," grinned Mars.

When they reached the shed, Harry and Ron fetched their brooms and rejoined Mars outside. They heard more giggling, but it was now coming from above. Harry looked up and saw three hippogriffs fly overhead, each sporting a small rider. Mars smiled at Harry as the girls passed them. "As I said before, your students do seem to take after you."

Mars led Harry and Ron to the shore of the lake and pointed across it to the mountains. "See that rock outcropping that looks like Snape's hooked nose?" he asked them. "Bill and Charlie transfigured it to look that way in my sixth year."

"It does look like the great conch, doesn't it, Harry?" asked Ron. Harry nodded with a smile.

"It's a marking that helps you find a secret cave," Mars continued. "Fly your brooms to the lake shore in front of the outcropping. You should be able to see a crevice that you can enter. Once inside, follow the passage for about a hundred feet until you see a few massive stalactites; turn to your right and say 'Snape is the knobbiest knob in the whole of knobdom.' The entrance to the cave will be revealed and magically lit."

Ron laughed at the password; Harry looked up at Mars. "I thought you said passwords were a poor defense?" he asked.

"I did, and they are, but we were just kids, Harry. You have to start somewhere. The first bit of magical defense you learn isn't Glyphs, you know?" Mars winked. "I'll meet you in the cave." With a *crack*, he was gone.

"Why are we training in a cave instead of his office?" asked Ron as they flew over the lake on their broomsticks.

"I don't know. Each time I think I've figured out his methods, Mars comes up with something new," replied Harry, shivering from the cold as they landed on the far shore.

They found the crevice as Mars had described; they entered it, lit their wands, and followed the tunnel until they reached the stalactites. They turned to their right.

"Let me say it, Harry," begged Ron. Harry nodded, and Ron said enthusiastically, "Snape is the knobbiest knob in the whole of knobdom!"

A circular hole appeared in the wall of the passage; light could be seen coming from the cave beyond it. The boys saw Mars standing inside the cave. The wall reappeared behind them when they entered the room.

"Bill and I found this place in our second year, and started adding defenses to it each term," Mars told them. "Later on, Charlie found another suitable cave high in the mountains to the south of here, but it could only be reached by broomstick. He preferred that one, but he was also a better flier than us. In the end, we decided to make it a backup," said Mars.

"A backup what?" asked Ron.

"H.Q. A headquarters."

"Headquarters? For what?" asked Harry.

"For the war, what else? We didn't know how long the Ministry could hold out, but we knew once it fell Hogwarts was next. We had no intention of going out easily. We studied the school defenses intently, and added to them where we could.

"After Mom was murdered, it was the only thing that kept me at Hogwarts," added Mars sadly. "I-I arrived at our house just as Riddle finished her off. Did you two know that?"

Harry and Ron nodded silently.

"I attacked him immediately. He was caught off guard, and he was weary from fighting my mother. I wounded him, but I couldn't quite kill him. We fought for almost half an hour, destroying the buildings all around us. He knew he was losing and that the aurors were bound to show up soon, so he fled. He's been running from death ever since.

"I swore right then that I would be ready for him the next time our paths crossed. His power continued to grow, and the Ministry teetered on the edge of collapse. I knew his ultimate target would be his nemesis, Professor Dumbledore. In addition to eliminating the Headmaster, Riddle wants access to the Ancient Library, which is hidden here at Hogwarts. Charlie told me he mentioned it to you, right?"

The boys nodded again.

"Riddle surmised that the lore of that library would make him supremely powerful, but he still feared our Headmaster. As he built his strength for the siege of Hogwarts, Bill, Charlie and I prepared for his coming. In fact, I longed for it. Riddle didn't know how to apparate away from me here like he did at my house," explained Mars, staring into the white flickering flames which danced upon his sword. "Once he got here, I planned to finish our earlier battle."

"But how could you be so sure of his plans? You didn't have spies within the Death Eaters back then, did you?" asked Ron.

"Not among the Donnies, no, but we did have a source within the original Order of the Phoenix, and they had spies," answered Mars with a fond look on his face.

"Sirius!" said Harry at once. Mars nodded at Harry.

He led them deeper into the cave. The air was progressively warmer as they went, but still a bit chilly for Harry's tastes.

All sorts of magical and dangerous looking things were piled inside the cave complex. Books and shelves, odd tables, vials and potions were everywhere. They carefully avoided various magic circles and symbols drawn on the floors and walls as they traversed the rooms. Finally, they arrived at the mouth of the largest cave yet. On each wall before the entrance was a painting of a witch. Both paintings greeted Mars warmly and eyed Harry with interest as his group passed into the room.

The giant cavern was lit with magical torches and the floor here, unlike the rest of the complex, was smooth. The furniture in here was in much better repair and seemed to be arranged with care, rather than haphazardly. Several dangerous-looking magic circles were drawn on the floor in the back of the room, and many bookshelves lined the walls.

"I've actually cleaned this room up a bit. Haven't had time for the rest of the complex. It's here that you shall learn the Killing Curse. I would never defile dear Hogwarts by teaching such an evil spell inside of its walls," said Mars.

The boys nodded, and they got down to work.

"Murder!" shouted Mars. "Murder is the mindset of this spell. Even if you only use it in self-defense or in a rightful execution, it is still a spell for murder. You must thirst for blood - death must dominate your thoughts in order to cast this curse. You must truly hate the target, and no remorse can be in your heart, or you will fail! Mercy must be sacrificed for necessity when casting this."

"You mean it will make us evil?" asked Ron, aghast.

"No. However, you will feel evil afterward. Unclean and vile. It is then that you'll be at your weakest to temptation. Many a good wizard has been lost to the lure of Dark Magic after he killed with this spell for the first time. I will be there to help guide you, but there is no guarantee that you will not succumb to it."

Harry and Ron both shuddered as Mars left to fetch their targets. He brought back three evil-looking scorpions in a glass tank. The scorpions tried repeatedly to sting Mars through the glass. Mars explained that he had originally wanted to use spiders, as he knew how much Ron hated them, but that he didn't want to needlessly antagonize Aragog.

After four hours of lessons and failed attempts, the boys wearily walked though the caverns and mounted their brooms. Harry thought that Mars could have just as easily brought spiders for them to practice on. Aragog would have never had reason to be upset, because neither he nor Ron had managed to get any part of the spell cast.

"I doubt I could have made an amoeba snuff it tonight," admitted Harry.

"What's an amoeba?" asked Ron.

"Never mind, it'd take too long to explain," answered Harry, dejected.

They landed near the shed, put away their brooms, and slipped under the invisibility cloak. Ron was now so tall that Harry had to keep reminding him to stoop over so his feet and ankles weren't showing beneath the hem. When they finally reached their dormitory, the boys collapsed onto their beds. Even though Harry had not managed to cast the spell, the experience had still exhausted him. As he fell into sleep, he worried about the unclean feelings and the lure of Dark Magic that Mars had warned him about. Was learning this spell really worth its consequences?

The cold of January froze the lake and dumped many feet of snow onto Hogwarts. The frigid temperatures, however, did not stop Mars from dragging Harry and Ron out to the cave twice a week. They were making progress on the curse; on the fourth time out, Harry managed to badly wound one of the scorpions. Much to Harry's relief, no vile feelings manifested themselves.

By the the last week of January, Ron had manged to wound the scorpions and Harry could actually kill them half of the time. He had still never suffered the expected side effects, but he was not going to complain about their absence. Meanwhile, in Transfiguration, everyone had finished their Wizard Chess sets, and as Harry had expected, Hermione, Padma and Ron got the highest marks. Harry's other classes were still a lot of work, but going well despite the fact that Ron was now preparing the Gryffindor Quidditch team for its match with Hufflepuff.

As they walked to double Potions Thursday morning, Harry was deep in thought on their most recent (and boring) Astronomy assignment. He was jerked back to the present at Ron's sudden exclamation.

"Hermione! What are you doing?"

Harry was astonished to see Hermione forcing open the Potions classroom's door open with the Alohomora spell.

"Going to class," she said, entering the room.

"You just got your prefect badge back! You're still on probation, you know!" Ron sputtered, following her inside anxiously.

"Thank you, Admiral Obvious. Why don't you be useful and watch the hallway instead of nagging me?" answered Hermione as she knelt down behind Snape's desk.

Ron glared at her and shook his head. He walked back to the doorway and peered in either direction down the hallway. Harry joined Hermione at Snape's desk to see what she was up to.

"Do you think these are from Professor Snape's arms?" asked Hermione, holding up three black hairs.

"They could be from his nose," suggested Harry.

"Don't be gross, Harry. I just want to know if you think the hair on the floor and desk here belongs to Professor Snape," snapped Hermione as Harry helped her up.

"I would think so," answered Harry.

"Who else would want to go back there, anyway, Hermione?" Ron rejoined them from the doorway.

Hermione's only answer was a smile as she headed to their favorite tables in the back. Ron sighed.

"You know what that look means, don't you?" Ron asked Harry. Harry nodded. He and Ron had experienced her superior look too many times. She was clearly up to something, and had no intention of letting them in on it until she was good and ready. The boys walked back and sat down beside her in silence.

A few minutes later, they heard voices approaching in the hall and then Snape entered the classroom alongside Malfoy. Snape glared at Harry when he saw that he and his friends were already inside, but he didn't say anything. Snape went to his desk and waited for the rest of the students to file in.

Today's lesson was the gnome repellent elixir; its ingredients and brewing instructions appeared on the board when Snape pointed his wand at it. He notified the class that they had just over an hour to prepare their potions; then he walked over to his office door and examined it intently for a minute. He returned to his desk, avoiding looking in Harry's direction.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked quietly.

"Probably checking to see if we were in the classroom early to steal potion ingredients again," suggested Ron.

Harry nodded.

"Just why were we inside early anyway?" muttered Ron; he and Harry turned to look at Hermione.

Hermione paid the question no notice. She was staring intently at Sally-Anne Perkins and Blaise Zabini. Hermione raised her wand to her lips, quietly said "Oratio Clandestinus," and pointed it at the two Slytherin girls. A moment later Harry saw the hair on the girls' heads move slightly. They both looked back at Hermione in surprise, then smiled at her and nodded. A smug grin of satisfaction appeared upon Hermione's face; she began adding the makings of her elixir into her cauldron. Harry and Ron exchanged confused looks before starting work on their own potions.

When class was dismissed, Hermione got up quickly and sped out of the room. Harry and Ron gathered up their items and walked out after her. When they reached the hallway, Hermione was speaking with Sally-Anne and Blaise. The boys approached the girls quietly, listening carefully to their conversation.

"So when did she start only going to the baths alone?" asked Hermione.

"Mid-October I'd say," answered Blaise.

"Same time she got all weird about getting dressed too," added Sally-Anne.

"She wasn't the modest type before then, you'd say?" asked Hermione.

"Not at all," said the Slytherins in unison.

At that moment the Slytherin girls noticed Harry and Ron eavesdropping; they quickly said good-bye to Hermione and headed down the corridor. From the look on Hermione's face, Harry knew she was deep in thought about something.

"Who were you asking them about?" demanded Ron as they headed toward the library for break.

"What? Oh - it doesn't matter. C'mon, let's hurry. I need to look up a few things." Hermione quickened her pace.

Ron rolled his eyes as he and Harry hurried after her.

Hermione spent all of break finding books on runes to check out. She said a quick goodbye to Harry and Ron and left for her Ancient Runes class. The boys didn't have another class until Double Transfiguration, after lunch, so they continued to study in the library.

Hermione arrived very late for lunch that day, prompting Ginny to ask where she'd been.

"I had a few questions for Professor Stilus, so I stayed late in Ancient Runes," explained Hermione as she hastily ate her lunch.

Hermione apparently also had questions for Mars, because she stayed late Friday after class, chatting with him. She seemed determined to keep her inquires a secret, because she said little while Ron, Harry and Ginny were present, and it was obviously from the impatience on her face that she wished they would leave her to chat with Mars alone.

Over the next two weeks, Harry had little time to worry about what Hermione was up to. The entire Gryffindor Quidditch team was determined to make up for their loss to Slytherin by training often and training hard. Because no one felt worse about losing to a Malfoy-captained team than Harry, he quickly became as fanatical as Ron during their practice sessions. The whole team seemed to feed off of their fierce determination, and the intensity of the sessions easily rivaled that of an actual game - though their beaters still managed to hit the bludgers at their own chasers half of the time.

On the evening of Wednesday, February 12^th, Harry was studying in the library with his friends when Ron asked Harry to help him find a book on transfiguration. Ron appeared nervous; Harry looked at his friend in confusion. Ron was quite familiar with the library; why did he want Harry's help? Also, the Transfiguration section was clear across the library from where they were sitting. If Ron needed books from that part of the library, why had he chosen this table? And why in the world were Hermione and Ginny giggling? Harry shot both of them sharp looks, but that only increased the girls' mirth. He got up and followed Ron to the Transfiguration section.

When they arrived in the secluded corner, Harry spoke curtly. "What books were you looking for, then?"

"Don't be thick, I know how to find a book myself. I want your opinion on something," answered Ron as he dug for an item in his bag.

Harry was about to demand why it had been necessary to leave their table when Ron pulled out two red greeting cards covered in hearts.

"Which one do you think I should give Hermione on Friday?" asked Ron earnestly.

"Oh," mumbled Harry. "I didn't realize that Valentine's Day was so close."

"How could you have forgotten?" asked Ron. "The bulletin boards are covered with it! The ceremony is Friday morning! Plus, the girls have been hinting about it for two weeks now, Harry. Haven't you noticed?"

Harry shook his head weakly.

"Well, which one do you think I should give her?" asked Ron again.

"Let me think about it," said Harry. He wasn't really looking at the two cards, but instead wondering if he should get Ginny one. He was nervous about getting her the right kind of card; he remembered how irritated she had been at Bill and Fleur's wedding when he didn't ask her to dance. He didn't want to send Ginny the wrong signal, but the problem was he wasn't sure what signal he actually wanted to send. He wondered, how do you send a signal anyway? He felt very confused.

"Harry! Which one do you fancy?" asked Ron impatiently.

Harry apologized and randomly picked the one on the right. He was relieved when Ron agreed. They headed back to join the girls, but Harry's mind did not return to his studies. He could think only of Ginny and Valentine's Day. He ought to get her a card; but they weren't really going out, regardless of what Cho had said--were they? Maybe, he worried, she only wanted to be a friend to him like Hermione? He'd look like such an idiot in that case if he got her a mushy heart-filled card. On the other hand, if she really did fancy him and he ignored her like he had at Bill's wedding, she'd probably never speak to him again! Harry desperately needed advice, but he obviously couldn't ask Ginny, and Hermione was her best friend, so she was out. And then there was Ron. Harry smiled. He'd be better off asking Snape for romance advice than Ron. There was, however, a different professor that might be good to ask.

"Mars," said Harry aloud. The others looked up at him.

"I, er-need to see him. About- er- Friday," he stammered.

"Friday?" said Ginny brightly.

"What are you two doing Friday?" asked Hermione with interest.

Harry turned pink. "It's about the lesson for my class. I--I think I want to, er-change it a bit. Yeah, change it. Need to speak with him," said Harry as he hurriedly packed his bag and left the library.

He rushed to Mars' office and quickly explained his dilemma to the American. Harry thought he could see both sympathy and understanding in Mars' blue eyes when he had finished.

"I can see the delicate position you're in, Harry, but I think I have the solution for you. Get Ginny a card, a nice one, and some chocolates as well. But also get cards for your other female friends: Hermione, Mary, Heather, Luna and maybe Katie too. That way you look good to her as a sweetheart or just a close friend," advised Mars. "Go ahead and get Fleur and Molly something, too. It's expensive, but worth it."

"Brilliant!" said Harry. His parents had left him a small fortune, so the extra cost was not a deterrent to him.

Mars took an Ollie's Owl Order catalog out of his desk and handed it to Harry. He suggested that Harry pay for separate deliveries of the items. While it would cost more, Mars said that the girls would feel more special if their card or present was delivered to them individually by owl post, rather than having Harry hand it to them. Harry agreed, and quickly picked out the cards and Ginny's chocolates. He thanked Mars, and left for the owlery to send his order.

Friday morning, Harry and Ron met Hermione and Ginny in the Common Room before breakfast. In the past, Hogwarts students had generally exchanged Valentine's Day cards in the Great Hall during breakfast, but Hermione and Ron didn't wait. They exchanged cards, small presents, and some very atypical cutesy compliments with each other. To Harry's relief, before things got too mushy, Hermione suggested they head downstairs to eat.

Ginny smiled inquisitively at Harry as they walked through the painting of the Fat Lady. Harry wasn't sure if she was wondering why Harry hadn't given her a card while they were in the Common Room, or if she was just happy for Ron and Hermione. Harry smiled to himself as he bounded down the stairs. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face when the delivery owl dropped off her card and chocolates.

Once they arrived in the Great Hall, Hermione insisted that they sit at the front of the Gryffindor table, nearest the staff table. When her friends questioned the change in seating location, Hermione ignored them and placed herself next to the 7^th Year Gryffindor girl prefect, Sandra Hill. Ron sat next to Hermione, but when Harry and Ginny started to walk around the table to sit opposite them, Hermione called them back.

"No, sit on this side with us," she demanded.

"Why?" asked Harry and Ginny.

"You'll have a better view."

Harry rolled his eyes as he and Ginny sat down beside Ron. Harry had no idea why Hermione was being so insistent that they have a good view of the card-swapping ceremony. It was one of the most boring traditions at Hogwarts. The Head Boy and Girl presented a Valentine's Day card to their head of house, and then each give the Headmaster a basket of sweets. In the 300 years that Hogwarts had been doing this ceremony only one interesting thing had ever happened: an ambitious Head Boy in the 19^th century designed a animated magical card, and it went haywire when he gave it to his Professor. The card had fluttered around on the staff table, spilling goblets and throwing food, much to the delight of the student body, until the Headmaster got a clear shot at it and made it vanish. Harry smiled at the thought of Snape being covered in gravy and pumpkin juice.

Harry heard the fluttering wings of hundreds of owls overhead. The birds had flown in through the windows and were now circling the tables as they searched for the recipients of the posts they carried. Harry rubbed his hands together gleefully in anticipation.

The arrival of the mail signaled the start of the card swapping. The students milled around, handing out their cards and sweets. An owl flying over Harry and his friends dropped a package from near the ceiling. He was worried that the post would be flying very fast when it hit the table, but suddenly a red-and-white parachute opened up from the parcel, and it gently floated down in front of Hermione. This captured the attention of everyone in the Great Hall, and their eyes turned to Hermione.

Hermione ripped open the parcel and Harry instantly recognized the card he had picked out for her. It looked even nicer in person than it had in the catalog. When opened, the card played a cheery tune and flashed greetings of friendship.

"Oh, thank you, Harry!" squealed an excited Hermione. She leaned over behind Ron and hugged Harry.

Two more parachutes drifted down on the Gryffindor table, and soon after Harry received a hug and kiss on the cheek from Katie and Mary. Harry then saw parachutes floating down to the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables for Luna and Heather. He smiled, a bit nervously; Ginny's had not arrived yet. Harry had at first welcomed all the attention that his ostentatious cards had gathered, but now he realized that it drew even more attention to the fact that Ginny had not received anything from him.

Harry dared a look at Ginny and was startled to see she had many, over a dozen, Valentine's cards already in front of her. Boys from every house seemed to fancy her. He looked up at the few remaining owls in a slight panic.

"C'mon," he whispered. "What's keeping you?"

Harry then heard a collective "Oh" from the students, and noticed a few pointing to the staff table. Harry saw that Dumbledore and Mars were now standing with their wands out. Each wizard jabbed their wand forward, and hundreds of cards flew from the end of the wands. The cards from Mars' wand were red, and those from Dumbledore's white, and one of each landed in front of every student and teacher in the room. They looked quite simple, just flashing "Be my Valentine." and then the Hogwarts seal, but within seconds of landing, each card bowed to its counterpart and they began to twirl each other round as if dancing.

This amused the staff and students greatly. Harry knew if he hadn't been so worried about Ginny's present, he too would be having a great time. He saw an owl approaching him and looked up hopefully. It did drop something off, but it was just a letter, and it was for Harry, not Ginny.

Harry opened the letter and read it to himself:

Dear Mr. Potter,

I realize that you did not order your cards and chocolates with the special

parachute delivery option. This was added at my order at no charge to yourself in

order to thank you for all you have done for us.

Regards,

Linda Ollie-Whirlburl

Ollie's Owl Orders, President

Harry thought it was nice of them to include the parachute delivery for free, but he would have preferred Ginny's gifts to have been on time!

"Oh, look," said Hermione loudly. "The ceremony is starting."

She was pointing at the Head Boy, Jason Spears, who had stood up from the Hufflepuff table with chocolates and flowers in his arms. Further down the room, Harry could see Ester Spikes rising from the Slytherin table.

"Can't they wait a bit?" said Harry desperately.

"Shh!" replied Hermione.

Harry sighed and reflexively shot a glance at Ginny. She was staring at the dancing cards in front of her, but she did not look entertained. She was not frowning openly, but Harry could tell she was clearly disappointed. Harry saw her fail to suppress a sad sniff and quickly wipe her eyes. His heart sank.

"Where's that stupid owl?" he thought angrily.

"She's almost there!" whispered Hermione excitedly.

Harry looked up and saw Ester approaching Snape with a gift box in her hand. He was about to crossly demand of Hermione why he should care to see two Slytherins exchange pleasantries, when the most unexpected thing he could imagine happened: Ester's clothes, every single stitch of them, moved seven feet to the right, leaving her completely bare in front of the entire school.

For a few frozen seconds, both Ester and the onlookers were too stunned to do or say anything. Ester then screamed and tried hopelessly to cover herself with her hands. A few of the girls at the Slytherin table shrieked and rushed to cover the Head Girl with a robe; they then led her out of the Great Hall, sobbing in embarrassment.

A startled murmur of conversation filled the hall. Many were merrily replaying the look on Ester's face, while others muttered together in quiet outrage. The teacher's table was also ablaze with discussion, as the Professors rose and tried to restore order. The exceptions were Mars and Dumbledore, who were intently staring at each other, and Snape, who was looking right at Hermione.

Hermione avoided Snape's gaze and looked at her friends. "The mark was clearly visible, wasn't it?" she asked.

"Very clear," answered Ginny.

"Mark? What mark?" asked Harry.

"The Dark Mark that was on her arm. How could you've missed it?" asked Hermione.

"Her arm? What about it? Was she missing one or something?" asked a glassy-eyed Ron.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly! You can be so, so-oh, I give up," snapped Hermione. "Boys!"

"What?" demanded Ron.

As Hermione and Ron bickered, Ginny walked over to where Ester had been when her clothes departed. Several other students were already there, examining the floor. Ginny inspected the area for a few seconds and then returned to the Gryffindor table.

"Self-Effacing runes?" Ginny asked Hermione quietly.

Hermione nodded, but continued to stare at the teacher's table.

"Runes? Are you saying that you had something to do with - " asked Ron before Hermione interrupted him.

"Hush. Mars is leaving. We need to get to the front doors quickly."

"Why?" asked the boys, but Ginny and Hermione were already walking toward the doors. Harry and Ron quickly followed after them.

At the front doors Ron rounded on Hermione. "Are you ready to explain to us what's going on now?"

"Yes," she answered. "I've long suspected Ester was involved in my kidnapping, but I had no way of proving it to the authorities."

The others started to speak, but Hermione held up her hand so they let her finish.

"Therefore, to get even with her, I had to get her arrested for something else."

"Get even? You mean that it was you that made her clothes jump off back there?" asked Ron, astonished.

Hermione nodded. "I had to expose the Dark Mark on her arm so that others would know she was now a Death Eater, and arrest her."

"You exposed a lot more than just her arm," said Harry.

"And in front of the whole school," chuckled Ginny.

Hermione grinned evilly. "Well, I needed witnesses that would claim they saw the Mark. Even if some of you were looking at other things!" Hermione slapped Ron hard on his shoulder.

Ron cringed in pain and shame for a moment and then asked, "What made you think Ester was involved? I mean other than she hates you."

"I was first suspicious of her when Harry revealed that she'd been spying on us in the Great Hall. She heard me say that I was going to the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, and that's where I was attacked. Harry also told us that he had had the same feelings of being watched on the Hogwarts Express. Do you remember what we were discussing then?" said Hermione.

"Well, we discussed a lot of things, Hermione," answered Harry. Ron nodded in agreement, while Ginny looked thoughtful.

"But right before Harry started acting all odd the first time, we were talking about Rita Skeeter," said Hermione, and paused, "and how she might be planning to get even with me."

A look of comprehension ignited the faces of Ron, Harry and Ginny.

"I can see now why you thought it was Ester, but why would she use Snape?" asked Ginny.

"And how could she use him? Do you think she knows the Imperious Curse and cast it on Skeeter?" added Ron.

"I wouldn't put it past that cow to know Dark Magic," said Hermione viciously.

Harry did his best not to react. He certainly didn't want Hermione to know that he and Ron were learning two of the Unforgivable Curses from Mars.

"But it needn't had been her that controlled Rita. It could have been her father, or any of Dolohov's bunch," replied Hermione.

"But why?" asked Harry.

"Remember what Mars told us about the factions of Voldemort's followers? All the information that Malfoy's band had received from Snape gave them favored status with their master. That must have really annoyed Dolohov, so he wanted to stop it," said Hermione.

"But Snape's information was helping them, wasn't it?" asked Harry.

"Most likely it had, but Death Eaters put power above loyalty, Harry. I figure they'd do just about anything to knock Malfoy out of favor," replied Hermione. "Once they had control of Rita, they used her to frame Snape. Mars told us they never dare to fight each other openly, but this way they could get the Ministry to lock up Snape for them. Voldemort wouldn't know that his own people were behind it.

"I imagine they put the memory charm on her to make it look more convincing. Then they made sure an auror that was in CADS, that creepy Simpson character, was near her the day I was kidnapped."

"But Rita said it was Snape who cursed her. Are you saying she could fool Dumbledore?" asked Harry.

"No, she didn't lie," answered Hermione.

"But Mars said Snape was telling the truth too. One of them had to be wrong," insisted Harry.

"Yes Harry, one had to be wrong, but not actually lying. Rita really thought it was Snape that cursed her, but it wasn't. It was one of Dolohov's followers, using a polyjuice potion to look like Snape. Ester's spying provided them with Rita's motive, and Ester supplied Snape's hair for the potion," explained Hermione.

"She got the hair from behind Snape's desk!" said Harry.

"The day we caught her snooping around in his classroom?" exclaimed Ron. Hermione nodded. The others beamed at her.

"I found out that Ester had turned seventeen on October 17^th, and it made me think back to when Mars warned Malfoy and his apes about being Death Eaters. Remember?" said Hermione.

"Yeah! He said once they were seventeen, they would be full fledged members," answered Ron.

"Exactly," agreed Hermione. "It made me think, with Ester's father being a Death Eater, that she might have joined up when she was of age. She'd want to hide the Mark, of course, so I asked a few Slytherin girls if she had changed her dressing or bathing habits. When Sally-Anne and Blaise said she had become suddenly shy, I was sure she had the Mark.

"I wanted to have as many people as possible see the Mark, so the Valentine's day breakfast seemed perfect. Professors Stilus and Mars gave me tips on which runes would do the trick; of course, they had no idea what I was really going to use them for," explained Hermione, grinning broadly. "I then made them self-effacing, so they couldn't be traced."

"But why didn't anyone else set off the runes when they walked over them?" asked Ginny.

"When I created the runes late last night, I made sure to design them not to be active until I spoke the command words, 'The ceremony is starting'," answered Hermione proudly. "But I had to chase Mary off first; she was following me again as I left Gryffindor Tower. Sneaky little snot."

Ron patted her on the shoulders in congratulations. As his gaze drifted to the doors, he stopped patting Hermione and asked, "But why are we here by the main entrance?"

"Oh, I couldn't let the nasty wench leave without knowing who busted her," answered Hermione.

"Leave?"

Before Hermione could answer, a door opened behind them. Harry turned and saw Ester, hands bound behind her back. Mars was walking beside her, holding one of her elbows. Behind them was Snape. Mars beamed at the four students, but Harry could not decide which of the other two looked more upset with them, Ester or Snape.

The three new arrivals stopped at the front doors. Harry could feel the cold emanating from the icy glares between Hermione and Ester.

"Congratulations, Hermione," Mars said. "It was a bold and risky plan to show Ester's true colors, and it worked beautifully. She's already confessed to framing Severus for the bewitching of Rita Skeeter. I imagine, however, that you've already figured that out?"

Hermione nodded, but didn't stop glaring at Ester.

"I want hear all about it later. Right now I have to turn our little traitor over to an auror that I trust. I am very proud of you, darlin'."

Hermione looked up at Mars and said, "You've taught me more than anyone. I couldn't have done it without you."

Snape sighed and stepped forward. "Excuse me for interrupting this nauseating Mutual Admiration Society meeting, but I have something to say before I get ill." He looked down at Hermione, but the usual disgusted look on his face was missing. "Miss Granger. I want to thank you for clearing my name. Even though the Minister pardoned me, everyone knows he only did it out of fear." Snape glanced quickly at Mars. "Unlike Potter here, I show appreciation to those who help me. Thank you."

Snape then turned and walked down the hallway. Harry balled his fists. Snape never missed an opportunity to insult him.

"Same old Snape. Divisive left handed compliments. Just typical," said Mars, shaking his head. He then looked at Ester. "Any last words as Head Girl?"

"I'll make sure that Father lets you live, mudblood. I'll take care you myself once the servants of the Dark Lord free me!" spat Ester.

She seemed about to say something else, but screeched as Mars grabbed her by the hair and tilted her head back.

"Such a potty mouth she's got," he said. He opened the front doors and shoved her roughly into a snow bank. "See y'all later."

Just before Mars closed the doors behind him, an owl flew in nimbly from outside. The bird flew up to the ceiling, circling their group. Harry was about to ask what the owl was doing when a red and white parachute opened up beneath it and slowly drifted down to Ginny.

She watched its descent eagerly, and snatched the package out of the air as soon as it was within reach. Hermione stood next to her and the two admired Harry's card and the ultra-fancy chocolates that were in the parcel. After sharing a few giggles with Hermione, Ginny approached Harry shyly. She threw her arms around him and kissed him three times. The last one, Harry noticed, was very close to his lips.

Ginny held his hand tightly as they went back to the Great Hall to fetch their bags. Harry floated more than walked along the way. He spent the rest of the day in a happy daze, paying scant attention to his classes.

Chapter Twenty-Four - Point of View

Link to chapter illustration, copy and paste.

http://hpbook6.freewebpage.org/art/nomarks/Mars_Ginny_Steele-Hogsmeade.jpg

Ginny

Ginny Weasley awoke early Saturday morning to the lovely bird song from her alarm. She blinked a few times, leaned over to her bed table and turned off the alarm. Ginny got up, dressed, and headed for the girl's stairway that led to the Gryffindor Common Room. Ginny liked getting up early on Saturdays, because most students slept in, and this gave her a chance to move about the castle with less bother - specifically, less bother from boys.

Ginny had gathered plenty of attention from the boys at Hogwarts for the last two school years. At first she had welcomed it. Not only was it an ego boost, but it was also part of her plan - the plan to make Harry Potter notice her as something other than his best friend's little sister. It was Hermione who had suggested she hide her overt crush on Harry, and even start seeing other boys. This, Hermione said, would make Harry less nervous around her. Once Harry saw Ginny as another girl at Hogwarts, and not as a fan of his celebrity, she would have a chance to make an impression.

At first Ginny was dead set against the idea. It seemed dishonest. She had had a crush on Harry since she first met him at age ten. He had risked his life to save hers, and killed a basilisk in the process. How could she possibly even pretend to like other boys? Eventually, Hermione had persuaded her to try, but during her fourth year it hadn't seem to be working. While the other boys certainly paid her attention, Harry seemed fixated on that prissy Cho Chang. Ginny had to admit that Cho was pretty enough, but she just couldn't see a girl that cried at the drop of a hat being the heroine for the vanquisher of the Dark Lord. Ginny had struggled to be patient and let Cho wear out her welcome with Harry.

Over the summer, Hermione's plan finally struck paydirt. From the way Harry had hugged her when they first met upon his arrival at the Burrow, she knew his interest was growing. Since then, Ginny had brought him along slowly but mostly surely, and on Valentine's day Harry had come through for her. Now, two weeks later, the card and the empty box of chocolates he had given her still resided on her night stand: the first and last things she looked at each day.

A small noise from the stairwell she was walking down snapped Ginny out of her romantic thoughts. She looked at the stairs, but nothing was there.

"That was a sensor charm," said Ginny, tapping her foot. "A little faulty, but still pretty good for a nosy first year." She turned around and walked up the steps, past a door that had a sign saying "FIRST YEARS" hanging from it.

A few seconds later, the door opened and a blond head stuck out. The head, as Ginny suspected, belonged to Mary Sue Sladen. The first year girl slipped out into the stairway and started creeping down the steps. Ginny, standing completely unnoticed above, pointed her wand right at Mary's backside and cast a stinging charm.

"Ouch!" squealed Mary. She spun around and saw Ginny pointing her wand at her.

"Your sensor charm's faulty. I heard it go off," said Ginny smugly.

Mary looked up at Ginny while she rubbed her bottom and said defensively, "Professor Flitwick said it's very good for a first year student."

"Then you should stick to using it on first years. If I catch you trying to follow me again you'll get a lot worse than a sting on the bum," Ginny threatened.

Mary looked a bit hurt. She opened her dormitory door and went back inside.

After a short pause, Ginny continued down the stairs to the Common Room. She felt bad for being so harsh with Mary, but it was just too dangerous for a first year to be following her around. Hermione had caught Mary sneaking after her a few times as well. Hopefully the sting, and threats of worse, would curb Mary's spying ambitions for the present.

When she reached the Common Room, Ginny looked around to make sure she was alone. She tapped herself on the head with her wand and said, "Abscondo!" The Disillusionment charm that she had just cast caused her to slowly fade into the background. Ginny looked down at her hands and arms: they perfectly matched the floor that she was standing on. While she wasn't invisible, the spell had made her very difficult to see. She smiled with pride. It had taken a month of late-night training sessions with Mars to master the spell. She carefully opened the painting of the Fat Lady and stealthily headed outside.

"Who's that then?" asked the Fat Lady crossly after Ginny closed her. "Is that you, Potter? Skulking about in your cloak again, are we?"

Ginny ignored her, and a few minutes later, she was knocking on Mars' office door.

"Still getting up early on Saturdays, are you?" asked Mars as Ginny entered. Ginny smiled and nodded at him. "Planning to get an early start on today's Hogsmeade visit?"

"No," she answered. "I wanted to ask you some questions."

"About your classwork or your training?" asked Mars.

"Neither, actually; I wanted to ask you a few things about your English family. You don't mind, do you?" said Ginny nervously.

At first Mars had an odd look on his face, but it quickly turned to a grin. He sat down behind his desk and implored Ginny to sit in the chair opposite him. After she seated herself, he answered her. "Ginny, you're a Weasley. You are part of my English family. You can ask me anything you like."

Ginny relaxed a bit. She still wasn't sure if she had the nerve to ask him all the things she wanted to know, but at least she now felt confident enough to start with a few questions.

Late that afternoon Ginny walked into the town square of Hogsmeade. She had just concluded a successful shopping stint. Today was March 1^st, and the birthday of her favorite teacher, Mars, and of her brother Ron. She had found the perfect gift for both: a broomstick servicing kit for Ron--he had always looked envious of Harry's--and a friendship talisman for Mars.

It seemed all of the village's children were gathered at the center of the square. There, they surrounded a tall, red-robed wizard whom Ginny instantly recognized as Mars. He twirled his wand a bit, and hundreds of colorful butterflies shot out the end. The kids squealed in delight as they chased after the beautiful insects. Once caught, the butterflies turned into sweets. Ginny couldn't tell what the flavors were, but judging from the children's reactions, they obviously approved of the taste.

As Ginny slowly approached from behind Mars, she saw him speaking to a witch with long blond hair tied back into a very tight pony tail. The woman was quite tall, well over six feet, and very attractive in a harsh sort of way. Her clothes were similar to those Mars wore underneath his robes: Leather trousers and shirt, with many talismans and charms pinned to her chest. Even from this distance, Ginny could see the striking coldness of her gray eyes. The harshness of those orbs strongly dampened the beauty that surrounded them.

As Ginny drew within hearing distance, she heard the witch's accent, a drawl similar to Mars', but a tad softer. "Angel," the woman was saying kindly, "I know you're having fun, but we have to leave now if we're to meet Henri on time."

"I know, darlin', but these young'uns are just too cute. He won't mind if we're just a little late." One of the young boys started to tug on Mars' hand, begging him to conjure more butterflies. Mars smiled down at him and granted his request. The boy ran happily off after them. Ginny recognized the child as Jimmy Herbert, the young son of Mars' friends that lived in Hogsmeade, the family with whom she, Hermione, Tonks and Mars had lunch with back in November.

"Flora Herbert, how many of those are you going to eat?" asked Mars teasingly of a hazel-eyed girl of about nine who was biting into one of his candy butterflies. Flora smiled up at Mars and revealed three more of the captured insects in her other hand. She looked both guilty and proud.

"Don't let your mama know how many you caught. Judy'll have my blood," said Mars, smiling broadly.

Flora quickly hid the sweets in her robes and then chased after a few other girls that had just run by.

"My dear Angel," said the witch as she leaned up next to him and put her arms around his neck. "I love you more than anything in the world and seeing you enjoying yourself brings me great pleasure. But don't you think showing such a soft side in public will give your enemies some advantage over you?"

"I'm sure it will, but I refuse to go back to the way I was. I will never again trade my humanity for victory. I plan to have both this time, Sally."

Sally smiled up at him and pulled him close, kissing him tenderly on the cheek. "That's what I love about you, Angel. Confident in the extreme."

"Time to see Henri?" asked Mars.

Sally nodded; they unlocked from their embrace and disapparated with a *Crack*.

Ginny stood in the square, stunned. What was this blond tart doing hanging all over Mars like that? She knew for a fact that he was seeing Tonks.

In a haze Ginny started walking back to Hogwarts, her mind flooded with questions and anger. Tonks had written her at least once a week since November, and she was always going on about Mars. While they both had busy schedules, Tonks and Mars had managed to see each other quite a bit. Tonks had confided to Ginny that she totally fallen for the Texan. Ginny knew Mars had no problem with breaking rules, or even laws if he thought they were wrong, but he had always struck her as a strongly moral wizard. How could he be seeing this blond on the side? Ginny swore in anger.

"What's wrong, Ginny?"

Ginny glanced up and saw Ron, Hermione and Harry looking at her, very concerned. Quickly she came up with an excuse. "Nothing, really. I just remembered some homework that's due Monday." Ginny had always prided herself on being the queen of white lies. The boys nodded, but Hermione looked skeptical.

"Aren't you coming with us to the Three Broomsticks?" asked Harry hopefully.

"Sorry, I can't just now. I have to wrap these presents before the party tonight." Ginny hated the idea of giving up leisure time with Harry, but at the moment she was not feeling the least bit romantic. She bid them farewell and continued her trek and her brooding.

By the time Ginny arrived at Mars' office later that night for the birthday party, she had worked herself up something fierce. She had half a mind to storm into the party and bluntly demand an explanation from Mars in front of everyone. The only thing stopping her was that "everyone" would include Tonks. Ginny sighed loudly as Harry knocked on the office door.

Hermione looked back at her inquisitively, but Ginny just gave her a quick shake of the head. Hermione knew something was up, but Ginny didn't think she would be able to contain her temper for the evening if she started talking about Mars' blond on the side.

"Charlie!" exclaimed Harry and Ron loudly.

Ginny saw her second oldest brother, Charlie, greeting Harry and Ron as they entered the room. She smiled and approached him for a hug.

"You lot keeping your marks up this term?" asked Charlie.

They all nodded at him. Charlie then led them into the lab, which was was no longer filled with alchemy equipment. Instead, it had buffets filled with food along one wall, and a large elegant dining table in the middle of the room.

Once inside, the four teenagers were greeted by an array of guests. Among them were Bill, Fleur, Dumbledore, a handsome black wizard named Henri who said he was from Haiti, and Professors Flitwick and Trelawney. Quite a few students were also there, including Luna, Katie, Mary, Heather and her friends, Mark, Ernie McMillan and Hannah Abbot.

Ginny quickly struck up a conversation with Henri. He was dressed in leather with talismans like the blond woman she had seen with Mars in Hogsmeade. She hoped a conversation with him would gain her a bit of information about the blond. She had just learned that his outfit was standard among Spirit Defenders under Mars' command when she heard a familiar voice call out her name.

Tonks had arrived at the party. After greeting most of the guests, she led Ginny and Hermione away from the others. Tonks excitedly related the Valentines presents she and Mars had exchanged, and talked about some of their dates and a few adventures they had had battling the Death Eaters. She was almost glowing . Hermione seemed to be enjoying the girl talk, and even talked a bit about Ron.

Ginny, on the other hand, was very put out. Every time Tonks lovingly said Mars' name, Ginny had to fight the urge to scream. She found it hard to believe Mars would do such a thing, but Tonks' high praises were driving Ginny mad. Just as she thought she was at the point of losing her head completely Tonks pointed excitedly over her shoulder.

"Oh look, he's arrived!" she said joyfully. Tonks immediately made her way to the door where Mars was standing. Mars smiled and waved at the crowd until Tonks arrived and attached herself to him.

"Adorable, aren't they?" asked Hermione softly.

Ginny didn't think it would be a good idea to answer honestly. She was trying to think of an inoffensive response when she noticed the tall blond woman from Hogsmeade had entered the room and was also standing beside Mars.

"The nerve!" said Ginny, outraged.

Hermione looked at her in confusion and glanced back at the newly-arrived woman. "She must be a defender too. She has almost as many talismans as Mars."

Ginny said nothing. She was too busy staring at Tonks. When Tonks noticed the new arrival, she released Mars from her grasp and embraced the tall woman as if she were a sister.

Ginny was aghast. Tonks apparently was very fond of this woman, who was seeing her boyfriend behind her back! Somehow, this revelation made Mars' treachery twice as bad; Ginny was now speechless and shaking with rage.

"Ginny," said Hermione with concern, putting her hand on Ginny's shoulder. "What's the matter?"

Ginny could not answer; all she could do was stare hatefully at the blond woman. She wanted to challenge the tramp to a duel.

Tonks let go of the woman; the two chatted for a moment, and then started to approach the two girls. Ginny was still staring daggers at her.

"Steele, these are two of Mars' best students, and my closest friends," said Tonks, who was now looking at Ginny with worry on her face. "Ahem," she coughed. "Girls, this is Steele Saunders. She is Mars' cousin from Florida."

Ginny's malevolent look gave way to one of stunned realization. She continued to stare at Steele. Hermione quickly spoke up to end the uncomfortable silence. She held out her hand and said, in a friendly voice, "I'm Hermione Granger. It's very nice to meet a relative of Mars."

Steele returned Hermione's greeting and shook her hand. Ginny blinked, broke off her stare, and muttered, "Cousin?"

Steele shifted her cold eyes over to Ginny. "Yes, but I prefer to think of myself as his half-sister. Our fathers are twins, you know. Neither their wives nor their children have ever been able to tell them apart." Steele smiled, as did Tonks and Hermione.

Relief shot through Ginny's body and she slowly came out of her shock. Steele was no shameless strumpet, but an an adoring family member. Ginny was so happy that her fears were ungrounded that instead of introducing herself properly, as Hermione had, she stepped forward, threw her arms around Steele's mid-section, and hugged her tightly. Surprisingly, Steele did not seem shocked at Ginny's action, though Hermione looked confused. Steele simply smiled and gently patted her on the head.

Once Ginny let go, Steele spoke. "You must be Ginny Weasley." Ginny nodded.

"Well, knowing Bill and Charlie, and now meeting you, I can see why Angel is so fond of your family."

"Angel? I've never heard anyone call Mars that before," said Hermione.

Steele smiled warmly, but her eyes stayed cold. "You have been to the West, correct?"

"Yes, California," answered Hermione.

"Wait a minute. I thought we were in the West?" interrupted Ginny.

"It's just a regional difference, honey. In our hemisphere, witches and wizards call North America the West, and from Mexico on down is the South," answered Steele.

"What do you call Europe then?" asked Ginny.

"The Old Countries," said Hermione.

"That's right, hon," said Steele. "In the West, Mars is a hero. As the greatest of the Defenders, he's treated like a celebrity. In the South, though, he is much more: he is a guardian and a savior. We call him the Angel of Justice, or just Angel. Even muggle children know him in the South, though only as a myth."

"Tonks said you were from Florida?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, but I went to school at Escuela Wacah Chan de Conjuro y Canalización in the Yucatan, like all of our family, except Angel of course. Years ago, I adopted their customs," explained Steele.

"Oh, yes, I read about the Wacah Chan School of Casting and Channeling. It's supposed to be the oldest magical school in the world," said Hermione.

Mars came up to them just as Dumbledore called from across the room. "Sally," said Dumbledore, "could I have a bit of your time, please?"

Steele wrinkled her nose. "Of course, Professor, but please call me Steele," she said grumpily as she walked over to the Headmaster.

Ginny turned to Mars and asked, "Why did Steele look so annoyed? I've heard you call her Sally before." Ginny noticed that Mars' face looked fatigued: not drastically, but she had never seen him look less than vigorous before.

"She thinks Sally is too fluffy and friendly a name for a warrior like herself," answered Mars, smiling. "I, however, like it a lot. She generally only tolerates family members calling her that."

Ginny smiled up at Mars as Tonks came over to take his hand. Today was a good day, she thought.

Mars

Bright sunlight bombarded Mars from many directions - he had to blink his eyes many times to adjust to it. The air felt very dry on his skin and he detected the strong smell of automobile exhaust fumes. He was disoriented and uncertain when and where he was.

"The visions have returned." he said to himself. "Now is a very bad time."

When his eyes cleared, Mars saw a boy around four years old playing in the sand. As always, Mars knew the boy's name: Benji. Benji Taylor. Behind young Benji was what looked like a highway fence separating the Interstate from the surrounding area. There was a hole in it, possibly caused by a car crash, and Mars guessed Benji must have come through it. Behind him, Mars heard cars and trucks speeding down the road. He turned to see a divided highway of four lanes with commuters on it traveling at high speed. A sign labeled it Interstate 80, and another sign stated that Reno was sixty miles away.

Why was this boy near the Interstate? Where was his mother, Dot? Mars somehow knew his father, Jeffrey, had died in a fire two years ago.

He turned back and saw that Benji was still playing in the sand, but he seemed to be inching nearer the traffic. Beyond the fence Mars saw houses in the distance; two women near them seemed to be looking for something or someone.

"Benji, get away from the road! Your mama is back there searching for you. Benji. Can you hear me, son?" Mars asked anxiously.

If Benji could hear the tall wizard, he chose to ignore the questions. The boy continued to plow sand out of his way with his hands as he neared the roadside.

"Benji! Hear me now. Sometimes you people can hear me, please let this be one of those times. Benji, look up at me. This is Mars talking, stop!" he pleaded with the boy.

Benji pushed the sand up to the shoulder of the road and stopped. Cars whizzed by at eighty miles per hour, just eight feet from the youngster.

"Why don't any of you idiots stop?" Mars yelled at the drivers. "Is it normal for a four year old muggle to play so near a highway?"

The drivers paid the wizard no more attention than the boy.

Benji had quit his advance to the road, and even backed up a few feet onto the sand. He looked back over the fence in the direction where his mother was searching for him.

"Yes son. Go that way. Your mama's callin'. Please," said Mars desperately.

Across the four lanes of traffic movement caught Mars's eye. It was one of the large jack-rabbits of the Western USA, hopping around slowly in search of the sparse vegetation in the area.

"Oh, don't let him see -" whispered Mars.

"Bunny!" shouted Benji.

The four year old started across the Interstate as fast as his little feet could take him in the direction of the jack-rabbit.

"NO, NO!" screamed Mars, horrified and helpless.

Brakes squealed, horns honked, and people screamed out open windows, but Benji made it to the median. Several people on that side of the Interstate braked to a stop and sprinted for the boy as he climbed under the railing that divided the highway. A few of his would-be rescuers were within twenty feet of Benji when he stepped out onto the road and right in front of a speeding station wagon.

Mars collapsed to his knees in agony. His hands covered his tear-filled face. How many innocents had he seen die in his visions? He had lost count years ago, when he was still very young.

As he knew they would, visions of Benji's lost future now began to haunt Mars. Home runs that would never be hit in Little League, a dance at the prom that would never be taken, a scholarship to UNLV now given to someone else, and three brown-eyed daughters that would never be born.

After a moment Mars composed himself, but remained on his knees. Then he said, clearly and slowly, "Benji Taylor, you did not die alone. I was with you. I shall always remember you and the future of which you were robbed."

Mars felt the hot sand under his knees turn to cool and soft carpeting. From the smell, he knew he was in an air conditioned building. He raised his head and looked around the room. This vision was not quite in focus. He could see posters on the walls of the room: the closest one was labeled Ricky Martin; another was perhaps a map of Mexico, but the rest were too blurry to make out. To his right, Mars saw a bed, with a light red spread hanging down over its side. He stood up and saw that on top of the bed were a few hand sewn dolls, some large fluffy pillows, and a Latino girl in her mid-teens crying quietly.

"Your name is Maritza," said Mars as he gazed at the girl. She had dark, medium-length hair and large eyes magnified slightly by the glasses she wore. Her eyes would have been very pretty if they hadn't been so red and puffy from crying. Mars looked around her room.

"Nothing looks too dangerous. Why I am seeing you, my dear?" he said to himself.

Maritza let out a sob and flung a piece of paper onto her bed near where Mars stood. It was slightly crumpled, but he could still read the writing in Spanish:

Maritza,

I will no longer be seeing you. Maria just told me that she liked me and you know I've always wanted to date her. She's just prettier and more popular than you. I mean, who can blame me right?

Just try to remember the good times we had and try to get over me - I know it will be hard, but it's not like you have a choice.

Jorge

"What a jerk. You should be glad to be rid of him, Maritza," said Mars after he finished reading the note.

Maritza reached across her bed and picked up a picture frame from a night table. She brought it back to her chest and stared at it. Mars' gaze remained on the table. Behind the frame were a large glass of water and a pill bottle. The bottle was clearly marked: Extra Strength Sleeping Pills.

"Oh, I can't lose another one today. Maritza! Please try to hear me! My name is Angel, hear my voice!" said Mars in desperation.

Maritza's only reaction to his' pleadings was to throw the picture frame across the room as hard as she could. It hit the wall and then the floor, shattering and making quite a bit of noise.

"C'mon parents, if you're home you must've heard that!" said Mars hopefully. Nothing stirred outside the room; Mars returned his gaze to the girl.

Maritza now had the glass and the pill bottle in her hands. Her face looked f hopeless as she dumped a few of the sleeping pills into her mouth. The focus of the room was improving, Mars knew this future possibility was rapidly becoming more likely.

"MARITZA! I am the Angel of Justice, hear my pleas! Even muggle children know me here in the South. Do not throw your life away on this boy! You will meet many others.

"Your future is bright. You'll be an artist, your work will bring joy to people across the world. No boy is worth losing all that. Stop this now!" he demanded.

"Angel?" said Maritza, with her mouth full of pills.

"Yes!" said Mars in great relief. "Though you cannot see me, I am here."

"I th- th-" stuttered Maritza, and then she spit the pills out of her mouth. "I thought you were just a legend."

"To most I am, but for you, today, I am real."

"You - you came to save me?" asked the astonished girl.

"Yes," he answered.

Maritza's face glowed. She visibly relaxed and looked up at the ceiling as though she could see Mars floating above her.

"An artist." she said happily.

"And by you hearing me, dear Maritza, I too have been saved," thought Mars.

The room started to fade, Mars knew he was losing the vision.

"Remember me," he said softly before everything went black.

Seconds later the world around Mars was still black. He realized that wherever he was, it must be dark. He could tell he was no longer in a vision, but things still did not seem quite real. Mars was often disoriented after strong visions, so he didn't panic, but he knew he had to remember quickly what he had been doing before their onset. Right now all he could remember was that it had been very important. He looked at his glowing wizard watch; it read 2:00AM, Saturday, March 22^nd, 1997 but that stirred no memories for him.

Mars walked forward and even though he was not trying to be quiet, his feet made absolutely no sound. He had been walking for about ten seconds when he saw light coming around a corner, but it looked strange, almost ghostly. Now he could see the walls of buildings on either side; they also looked odd. They were almost translucent, and seemed to shimmer like a reflection in rippling water.

Everything in the alleyway was the same. The dumpster, the light pole, and even the stray cat wandering around seemed out of phase.

"Ethereal," he thought. "I must be in the realm of spirits; undetectable by those around me until I reemerge into the physical world."

He stopped and racked his brain for a minute. "Who am I waiting for? And did I plan to kill them? Whoever it is, they must be very dangerous for me to have taken such a precaution."

All of his questions were answered when he heard a voice from further down the alley. It was a female voice, shrill and evil sounding.

"Lestrange," whispered Mars murderously.

As he drew his wand and walked toward the voice, the disorientation from the visions faded completely. His best agent had sent him word that the three Lestranges - Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus and his brother Rabanstan - were meeting with several members of CADS in this secluded location tonight.

Mars had been hunting the Lestranges since mid-Summer, but they, like Peter Pettigrew and Voldemort himself, had managed to elude him. Because of this, he had taken no chances with this incredible piece of information - only Dumbledore knew what Mars was doing. The old man had wanted to help, but Mars had insisted that the Headmaster stay with Harry. Mars did not trust Snape or Professor Sinistra one single bit.

Mars arrived at the building where the meeting was to take place. He could hear them speaking, but his state prevented him from understanding the words. His intangible form, however, did allow him to simply walk though the wall and into the room with them.

Two CADS members, Jon Simpson and a wizard Mars did not know, were nervously eying the three Lestranges. Rodolphus, who was large and looked relaxed, was nearest Mars. Bellatrix, haughty as always, was next to her husband, and a bit further away was Rabastan. Bellatrix seemed to be lecturing the CADS people.

"Five on one?" thought Mars. "Four of them are top notch wizards, and the fifth a total unknown. Can't really afford to fight fair, especially if I have to leave the CADS people alive."

Sparks danced in his eyes and he seemed to grow taller. Electric pulses started swimming around his body as Mars prepared for battle. His wand transfigured into a sword, and soon after white flames began dancing along its blade.

He strode purposefully at the nearest Lestrange, drew his long knife into his left hand, and reentered the physical world just before his backslash decapitated the unsuspecting Rodolphus. Before anyone could react - in fact, before Rodolphus had even hit the floor - Mars took another step forward and hit Bellatrix in the face with a full roundhouse kick. She wilted to the ground, knocked unconscious before she could even grunt in pain.

The two CADS wizards stood frozen in shock, but Rabastan recovered quickly. He deftly pointed his wand at the scintillating form of Mars and made a slashing motion. A streak of purple flame jumped from the wand and flew at Mars' torso. Another lightning-quick backslash from Mars' fiery sword deflected the curse harmlessly to the side, and then in perfect motion Mars followed up the block by jabbing Rabastan in the chest with his offhand weapon.

Lestrange flinched violently from the pain of the mortal wound and dropped his wand. Mars stared down at the Death Eater, his hand still gripping the long knife. He had no time for last words; there were still two wizards behind him. Mars shoved the blade in fiercely, forcing the dying wizard back onto a work table.

Mars spun around quickly, just as the two CADS wizards recovered themselves and cried "Stupefy!" Red stunners streaked at him.

Mars managed to block the unknown wizard's spell with his sword, but Simpson's hit him dead in the chest. However, Mars was not knocked backwards or even stunned. The only damage the charm seemed to have done was to char one of the talismans on Mars' shirt. Mars smiled at the wizards.

"Expelliarmus!" said Mars forcefully. The two wizards were violently knocked back almost ten feet; their wands flew into the air and landed on the sill of a window near the ceiling above Mars' head.

Mars turned and walked over to Rabastan. He grabbed the wizard by his robes and lifted him into the air.

"Where's he hiding?" demanded Mars, staring into the dying man's eyes.

"I-I do not," wheezed Rabastan before he broke into a coughing fit. "I do not know where the Dark Lord resides."

"You speak truthfully," said Mars. "Did he put a memory charm on you?"

Lestrange remained silent.

"You are too weak for me to remove the block, but it is no matter. There's another to get my answer from. I do, however, have a different question for you, Rabastan. Does he fear me? Does your master cower from my name? Or would he fight me if given a chance?" asked Mars as he stared deeply into the eyes of his captive.

Lestrange shook his head weakly. "N-no fear. He dismisses you as a common mercenary. He fears only Dum-Dumbledore."

Mars' face lit up, and a broad, eerie smile formed on his lips.

"You lie. But thank you anyway, Rabastan. You have been very, very helpful."

Mars pulled the knife out of Lestrange's chest and dropped him onto the floor. He walked over to Simpson, who was helping the other wizard to his feet.

"Did you get to hear their full offer for your betrayal of Dolohov before I dropped in?" asked Mars.

"How did you know?" mumbled the unknown wizard.

Simpson said nothing; he merely glared back at Mars.

"I know a lot of things, Simpson. More than you and your sweetheart Jo Anne could begin to suspect," stated Mars.

Simpson snarled.

"However, I am not here to brag, but to warn. Dumbledore is giving you and Lennon one more chance to clean up your act. Throw the Death Eaters out of your group and join with us openly in the war against Voldemort. Your attempts to take over the Ministry will no longer be tolerated," said Mars.

He pointed his wand behind him and said "Accio wands!" The wands flew from the window above and landed in his left hand. He threw them to their owners. Both wizards disapparated immediately.

"Lily?" said Mars.

The small downy woodpecker flew over to his arm from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Fetch Buckbeak from the roof of that canning factory, would you, please? We don't want to leave our new guest, Bella here, laying on the floor any longer than needed."

Hermione

"Where's Ron?" demanded Hermione.

Ginny shrugged.

"If he doesn't get here soon we'll be late for the prefect meeting," said Hermione as she looked down the nearby halls.

"He knows where the meeting is, Hermione; we can just meet him there," suggested Ginny.

Hermione reluctantly agreed and the two girls headed down the corridor. As they approached the Entrance Hall, they spotted Ron speaking with a girl. His back was against the wall, and his body language suggested he wanted out of the conversation at the earliest opportunity.

"What does she think she's playing at?" asked Hermione harshly.

"Oh Hermione, Luna's harmless," said Ginny, smiling.

"I'm not as clueless as Ron, Ginny. I know what she's up to."

"She knows better. You'd hex her into next week. C'mon, let's rescue him," said Ginny, nodding her head at Ron and Luna.

"Oh, I'd hex her all right, but since when has Luna let reality stop her?" muttered Hermione.

Already irritable, the incident made Hermione almost unapproachable for the rest of the day. Ron's ignorance of the cause of her bad temper only made matters worse. Luckily, Ginny pulled him aside and suggested he just let Hermione simmer for a while.

After the prefect meeting, Hermione left her friends to meet Padma in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She was about half way there when she felt a breeze from behind her and heard Professor Snape whisper, "Granger, meet me in the usual place. This is urgent."

Hermione sighed. She was in no mood to deal with Snape this evening. Despite the warning that Snape had received from Dumbledore, he continued in absolute secret to try and convince Hermione that Mars was manipulating them. Hermione dismissed most of what Snape said as a product of his jealousy and hate, but every now and then something he said made sense. Snape made just enough sense to keep Hermione listening to him, and for her to eye Mars with slight suspicion.

Hermione changed directions and hurried to the statue of the Hufflepuff badger. When she reached it, she scratched the badger behind its left ear and said, "Show me the way."

A small secret door opened behind the statue. Hermione entered and closed the door behind her. She followed the tunnel down and then to the left for about forty feet, until she reached a dust-covered room that had odd bits of junk strewn about it.

"Well, show yourself, will you?" said Hermione crossly.

A trophy laying on the floor began to wobble and then it grew in size. Soon it was as big as a man, and then it transfigured into Snape.

"You should have been more careful when you opened the secret door. That first year, Mary Sue Sladen, likes to follow you around. She could have seen you enter the passageway. She's totally under the control of Mars, and would have ratted us out immediately," hissed Snape.

"I'm allowed to meet with my Professors," insisted Hermione. "I have nothing to fear from Mars finding out about our discussions."

"Nothing to fear?" spat Snape. "Just the loss of your free will? If no one stops him soon, we will defeat the Dark Lord just to anoint an even more powerful wizard as our overlord."

Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I thought you said it was urgent that I meet you? I don't consider hearing the same conspiracy theories for the eighth time urgent."

Snape curled his lip in disgust. "Sometimes, I don't know why I bother trying to help you, Granger. I'm often tempted to cast you off, but I've invested too much in you."

"I'm flattered. Could you please get to the point?" snapped Hermione.

"The point is that your beloved Texan has won his battle of wills with Professor Dumbledore. He has been allowed to take over the Ministry," replied Snape.

"You didn't mind it when they pardoned you. Besides, Professor Dumbledore himself told us ages ago that he and Mars were propping up the Ministry."

"I said taken over, not have influence over, you fool! Nothing happens at the Ministry without Mars' knowledge or blessing. I'm not sure how he's managed it, probably a combination of bribery and threats, but how he did it isn't important anymore. What is important is that we stop his next phase," said Snape.

"And what phase would that be?" asked Hermione with a hint of sarcasm.

"He's preparing a coup, to put himself or a puppet in charge. To do this, he'll need some help from powerful and ruthless wizards who are very loyal to him."

"Are you referring to the Spirit Defenders?" she asked.

"Yes, the bounty hunters of the West. He's already sneaking them into the country as we speak," answered Snape.

"Sneaking? Two of them were at Hogwarts a month ago," said Hermione.

"Oh, there are a few who are cultured enough to show in public, but you haven't met a rank-and-file Demon Fighter yet," offered Snape.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but these theories sound just like the old conspiracies you've been warning me of for months. What was the urgent thing that you had to tell me?"

Snape glared down at Hermione for a few seconds before he spoke. "Not only has Mars taken control of the Ministry, he has also been given free reign by Dumbledore. When the Headmaster first broached the subject of inviting Mars back to Britain, he assured us that Mars would be kept on a short leash and would help us with the battles only. This promise of a short leash, along with a wizard whose power would tip the scales in our favor, persuaded many of the Order to give the idea a chance.

"As I knew would happen, Mars reneged on the arrangement as soon as he arrived. What I didn't know, and neither did Dumbledore, was that Mars had grown in power several times over. He tore Potter away from the sanctuary that had protected him for fifteen years, he re-enchanted the Weasley family, formed his own military group - stealing many of our members and our secrets - and then he made his own deals with the Ministry. The wealth of information that Dumbledore said would come from Mars' aberrant powers was kept to himself and his henchmen. Mars has positioned himself to rule Britain. Killing off the Dark Lord is not his ultimate goal; it is but a step in his plan."

"How many times have we been through this? Harry's protection was failing at his aunt's house, Dumbledore admitted this. Mars formed his own group because your lot blackballed him! And you're the last wizard in England who should complain about intelligence sharing-" replied Hermione fiercely. She stopped short. She had been very close to naming Snape as Voldemort's unknowing spy.

Snape was staring right into her eyes; in fact, during their entire conversation, his gaze had not shifted once. Hermione quickly averted her eyes.

"Still valiantly keeping the secrets of your master, are you, loyal apprentice?" asked Snape sarcastically.

Hermione was furious and balled up her fists. Snape had brought her down here just to see what information on Mars he could gather by using Legilimens on her! Why hadn't Mars taught her Occlumency like he had Harry? She had tried learning it from a book, but as she had been warned, it just didn't work very well that way.

"I won't be an unwitting spy!" she spat venomously. The irony gave her some pleasure.

"A willing one would be much more valuable," suggested Snape.

"Even if I trusted you, which I don't, how long do you think it would take Mars to see through my act? A day, maybe two? I'd have to avoid him, and that would be VERY suspicious. You haven't given me any reason not to trust him. No one but Harry or Dumbledore has done more to stop Voldemort than Mars," said Hermione, still shading her eyes.

"And yet you still come to speak to me when I call," replied Snape.

"I guess I felt there must be something good about you. Some reason Dumbledore trusted you, but now I know I was wrong. You're just a hateful and jealous old man," she said as she turned to leave.

"STOP!" shouted Snape.

Hermione did, but she did not turn to face him.

"I will not have some naive muggleborn brat tell me off for what I have done to survive. Just pictures of the things that I've faced would make you die of fright, girl!" he hissed.

Hermione was enraged. How dare he taunt her after she called him on his ruse? Two could play that kind of game. She turned, but kept her eyes averted. "Fright's not what killed Mars' mum, tho, is it?"

"What do you mean?" asked Snape icily.

"I mean, Mars seems to blame you for his mum's death. I always thought that it was just because you were a Death Eater when it happened, but he never mentions her when he talks about the other Death Eaters. Why is that? Did you have any role in her assassination?" asked Hermione.

"This conversation is over, Miss Granger," said Snape stiffly. He stomped by her and down the secret passageway.

At first she was happy to have sent him off in a huff. He had tried to take advantage of her willingness to listen in order to gather information from her. He deserved her scorn.

Then Hermione remembered that she had sworn to try everything in her power to make all the enemies of Voldemort work together. She knew they were lost without unity. No matter how powerful Mars or his friends - well, more fans than friends - thought he was, he couldn't defeat Voldemort and all his allies alone. The Alliance, the Order, and the Ministry all had to work together, or they would lose everything. Egos and old vendettas had to be checked at the door.

"They're the most powerful wizards on the planet! Why can't they see that?" said Hermione aloud.

"Powerful wizards see what they want, and then try to change the world to reflect what they see," said Hermione's inner voice.

"I'll make them see the truth if I have to tattoo it on their faces!" she swore as she headed for the secret door.

She headed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She and Padma had planned to study from eight till eleven that night, but Hermione was already twenty minutes late.

"Hi, Padma. Sorry I'm late," said Hermione as she sat down next to the Ravenclaw prefect.

"It's no bother to me, Hermione, but you do seem bothered by something," replied Padma.

"It's just, well, it's, um ... " stammered Hermione as her guts twisted inside. She wanted to confide in Padma, but Snape had made her swear not to tell anyone that they were meeting. But Snape was such a jerk, she thought. He deserves it!

"Professor Snape was just having a go at Mars. That always upsets me," confessed Hermione.

"It would upset me too. I have to say that I'm surprised Snape's brave enough to do something like that," said Padma.

"He only does it when it's just the two of us," said Hermione.

Padma sighed. "Just like the git, isn't it? I just couldn't stand to hear anyone run down Mars, especially now, when he looks so tired. Have you noticed?"

"Yes, I have, actually. I guess those late-night training sessions are catching up to him," answered Hermione.

Padma nodded, and the two girls went back to their studying until well after midnight.

Ron

Ronald Weasley, keeper and captain, set himself up in front of the center ring. The opposing seeker, in her yellow robes, was tossing the quaffle into the air and catching it over and over. They stared fiercely at each other, each daring the other to blink. Finally, the referee flew up on her broom to signal the start of the penalty shot. Everything was riding on it. If Ron blocked it, they would win the Cup; if he didn't, they would lose, and spend a year wondering what could have been.

The referee blew her whistle and the chaser began her approach. Penalty shots were very difficult to defend. In fact, over 85% of them resulted in goals. Ron knew this, of course, but he didn't let it get his spirits down. The chaser leaned to the right, but Ron knew it was a fake - he had been watching this chaser's tactics closely. Ron pretended to fall for her fake, hoping to make her commit to going left. The chaser bit on his bluff and turned sharply left as if she were planning to shoot for the outside goal.

By making the chaser commit quickly to one side, he had doubled his chances of a successful defense. The chaser suddenly stopped and threw the quaffle back to the right, toward the center ring. Ron could not have contested a shot aimed for the right ring, but it would have been a very long throw for her.

Ron slowed his broom as fast as he could and loosened his grip. He slid backwards down the stick until only his left hand was still on the broom. His feet flashed out as quickly as they could and he tried desperately to make any kind of contact with the quaffle. Ron's right foot somehow managed to nick the quaffle on the side sending it wide of the center ring. To Ron's horror however, the quaffle was now sailing toward the dead center of the right ring. The crowd and players from both teams inhaled nervously as the quaffle approached and then fell short of the goal.

Cheers erupted all around him. He had done it, he had defended the penalty shot! They had won the match and the Cup!

His teammates flew over to congratulate him, but Ron was only interested in celebrating with one person: a bushy haired, brown eyed girl who was waiting for him on the ground. Ron spotted her on his team's sideline and immediately sped over and landed beside her.

"Hermione we did it! We won the Premiership, and in my first year as a pro!" he yelled as he approached her.

She looked very proud of him and opened her arms wide for a hug.

After Ron took two more steps her expression changed. Hermione's face now looked as if there was a forced frown upon it, a bit like a bad actor trying to look mad. A moment later her face again changed - she now looked bored. Her arms went from widespread friendly to crossed and hostile. She turned away from Ron and started pacing.

Ron look at her confused. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," she answered curtly as she continued to pace.

In Ron's opinion, there could not have been a worse answer to his question. Even if she had answered, "Yes, there is a problem," he would have at least been likely to hear what it was immediately. "Oh nothing," meant, "Of course there's a problem and you have to guess it Ronald Weasley. Quickly if you know what's good for you."

Ron sighed to himself. "Aren't you happy we won?" he asked nervously.

"What? At Quidditch? You know I've always told you to quit playing that," she said.

He felt as though he had been stabbed.

"When did you say that?" Ron demanded.

"I've always wanted to marry a healer, you know. I think you need to seriously reconsider your priorities before the next time we meet," said Hermione as she walked off into the crowd.

"Healer? Marry? What's going on?" asked a thunderstruck Ron.

"Ronald, I thought you were brilliant today," said a dreamy female voice from behind him.

Ron spun around and saw Luna Lovegood approaching him. She was wearing a dress of many clashing colors that looked to be made completely out of frilly scarves. She also wore a headband and earrings that matched the dress - well at least in poor taste they matched.

"I'm - er, um, thanks, Luna," muttered Ron as he gaped at her attire.

"I think you're a hero and that you should be treated that way," said Luna as she walked very near him.

Luna put both of her arms around the now paralyzed Ron. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips.

Ron was too shocked and scared to contest her affection. He couldn't move a muscle or sound even the smallest noise of protest. All he could do was stand there as she lavished his face with kisses.

"Luna Celeste Lovegood!" boomed a voice form the pitch.

Luna let go of him and took a nervous step back. Ron now could move and turned to see the source of the voice.

Mars was standing on the pitch. He looked a combination of mad, amused and impressed as he walked toward Ron and Luna.

"Are you using the skills I've taught you to sneak into Ron's dreams in order to trick him into liking you?" demanded Mars.

Luna looked up guiltily at Mars for a few seconds and then started giggling uncontrollably.

"Oh dear," said Mars and then he sighed.

"Dreams? What are you on about, Mars?" asked Ron.

"Luna has some of the same talents as I, Ron. One of them is being able to visit others in their dreams," explained Mars.

"Like you do with Harry and Hermione?" asked Ron.

"Like I do with lots of people."

"But not me? Why?" asked Ron.

"Well its nothing personal, Ron - " started Mars.

"You never remember them, Ronald," said Luna as she stepped closer to them.

"It's true. I've tried several times to get you to be the one to wake up Harry and come meet me. While I do manage to force you awake, you just roll over and go back to sleep," said Mars.

"So how long has she been kissing me without me knowing it?" demanded Ron.

"Oh you always know about it, Ronald, and you never object. You just don't remember," said Luna airily as she snuggled up to him.

"Luna, this is hardly responsible use of the knowledge I've given you," said Mars like he was scolding a four year old for spilling her juice.

Ron wasn't sure what confused him more: the hug that Luna was giving him now, the knowledge that she had been visiting him in his dreams for quite a while or seeing Mars going so soft on a student that was blatantly breaking his own rules.

Luna let go of Ron and then looked straight into the eyes of Mars. "Are you saying that you didn't visit the dreams of any girls that you liked when you were sixteen?" She grinned mischievously.

"There are plenty of other mistakes I made as I teenager that I doubt you would want to repeat. I will deal with your transgressions later, please leave us now," said Mars.

Luna didn't look the least bit worried about the implied punishments. She simply smiled up at Ron and said, "Remember I'll always be there for you Ron." She then disappeared.

Mars shook his head and said, "That's one unique girl."

"Unique? Loony's more like it," said Ron.

"Seers tend to be a loony bunch. Anyways. Ron, Harry will wake you in a couple of seconds. You won't remember any of this and I will make sure no one, especially Hermione, finds out."

Ron nodded at Mars. He was still a bit numb from everything he had experienced. Mars waved and then was gone.

"Ron!" said a voice. "Wake up will you? We have to hurry, Mars told me we're already behind schedule."

"Huh?"

"C'mon, get dressed we have to meet Mars," said Harry as he changed out of his pajamas.

"I was having a great dream, Harry, or was it a weird one?" asked Ron apprehensively.

"Was it about quidditch?" asked Harry.

"I think so," answered Ron, rubbing his eyes.

"Well that's all you've talked about since we killed Hufflepuff," said Harry.

"There was something else though, but what was it?" said Ron.

"You never remember them, Ron, don't worry about it. Just hurry up."

Ron sat in his four poster bed for a few moments trying to focus on the fleeting memories he had of his dreams, but it was for not; He remembered nothing as usual. Ron got out of his bed and joined Harry in getting dressed.

Mars was waiting for them inside the secret entrance to the cave. Once the door sealed itself he spoke very seriously.

"While I hope neither of you ever master the Killing Curse, we will find out tonight if you can cast it effectively. Follow me."

He continued to speak as they wound their way through the complex.

"Avada Kedavra, is usually a poor combat spell. Stunners and impediment jinxes are faster to cast and do not take as much out of you. One of the reasons Tom Riddle became such a formidable dueler was how fast and how often he could cast the Killing Curse."

Mars stopped before the entrance to the last cave. The paintings of the two witches both looked at Harry and Ron with sympathy in their eyes.

"Tonight there is a risk that one of you maybe lost to the Dark Side forever," said Mars.

"Never!" said Harry.

"That's rubbish," exclaimed Ron.

"I'm glad to see your confidence. While I cannot tell beforehand if either of you are vulnerable, we will know very soon afterward. You will leave here tonight knowing for sure," replied Mars.

"But why would tonight be any different than before? We've both used the curse many times now," asked Harry.

"Because tonight your victim will not be an insect or an arthropod," answered Mars.

"You mean ..."

"A human? You want us to kill a human being tonight?" asked a shocked Ron.

"I'll let you two decide if you think she qualifies," said Mars, heading into the room.

Harry looked questioningly at Ron, but Ron had no answers for his best friend. He merely shrugged and they both followed the Texan into the large cave. The three stopped about twelve feet from an armchair with its back toward them. Ron could tell someone was tied up in it, but he couldn't see any of their features.

Mars' wand jumped to his right hand and he twirled it in the direction of the armchair. The chair slowly spun around until the occupant was facing them. It was a woman with a skull like face that had been ravaged by the horrors of Azkaban for many years. She had thick eyelids and long dark hair. Ron recognized her instantly from the wanted posters he had seen of her after she had escaped from prison - it was Bellatrix Lestrange!

Harry swore loudly and leaped at Lestrange. Mars, however, seemed ready for such an action and snatched Harry off the ground with one hand and seized Harry's wand with the other. Harry hopelessly tried to escape.

"Harry! Do you think for a second that she shall live through the night? Stay your bloodlust until we can combine it with the thirst for justice! Bellatrix Lestrange is the perfect target for tonight's lesson," said Mars.

"I don't want to kill her with a spell. I want to use my bare hands!" snarled Harry as he tried to get away.

"This exactly how we lose wizards to the Dark Side, Harry. This spell must not be used in a rage your first time, you will too easily be seduced by its power. You must not enjoy the sensation or else you will seek its potency again and again," demanded Mars.

Harry however continued to try and reach Bellatrix.

Mars' face darkened slightly with anger and he then threw Harry roughly onto the stone floor. Mars then bellowed in a voice that was as loud as thunder:

"DO TRUST ME OR NOT?"

Ron took his hands from his ears and said quickly, "Yes, Mars, of course."

Harry looked up from the floor. "I-I'm sorry Mars. I trust you more than anyone. My anger just got the best of me, it-it won't happen again."

Mars smiled at Harry and gave him a hand up.

"I can understand losing your temper for a moment, Harry, but you must always be willing to listen to reason. Now let's get know Bellatrix a little better. Believe me it will be much easier to kill her then," said Mars grimly as he moved to the chair.

"Oh my love, you are back!" said Bellatrix in a loving and insane tone. "Why have you have brought Harry Potter and a Weasley child here?" Her tone turned considerably sour when she mentioned the boys.

"My love?" said Harry in disgust.

"Yes, Harry, she is more demented than we could have ever imagined. Even his closest followers are not trusted by Riddle. They're kept on a strict need to know basis. Even when they must know something, because say they participated in it, he will often put a memory block on them.

"For three weeks I have interrogated Bellatrix with Legilimens and she has little sanity left. I have learned a great deal from her, but unfortunately she is not known for her brains. She is a warrior in every sense of the word and cared little about the internal politics of the Death Eaters.

"She loves power you see, more than anything. That is what attracted her to Riddle in the first place and now it seems she has decided - "

"You are power my love. You are much like him, only greater, and not so boring. Together we would be magnificent!" said Bellatrix insanely before she broke off into cackling.

"She's bent!" said Ron.

Mars nodded and then lead the boys away from her. He gave them a few last minute tips and bade them to prepare themselves for the casting of the curse.

Ron closed his eyes and remembered Neville's parents. She had tortured them for days so that now they did not recognize their own son. He remembered her coldly suggesting that Ginny be tortured to death. Ron snarled. He knew that she had killed Sirius and laughed at Harry's pain. She had escaped imprisonment and killed again. He felt no pity for such a murderous monster as her. No one was safe while she lived. Justice demanded her death!

Ron opened his eyes and noticed he had instinctively moved his wand into the starting position for the curse. His mind raced with the thoughts of violence.

"Justice for Sirius!" he thought "She's a monster, she'll kill again. I must stop her!"

"Now!" commanded Mars.

"Avada Kedavra!" they cried and green flashes of light shot from their wands. The sound of rushing death sped after the light and Bellatrix Lestrange collapsed against her bonds, lifeless.

"She now joins the hundreds of innocents she sent to the grave. Her black soul no longer defiles our world."

Ron thought no eulogy could have topped Mars' words.

"Follow me quickly, boys."

He lead them to a table and bade the boys to sit in some chairs that had buckets beside each and a range of what looked like medicinal bottles in front of them on the table.

"What are the buckets for?" asked Harry.

"I'm afraid you'll find out soon enough," replied Mars sadly.

The three then chatted for a quarter of an hour. The subjects were light hearted and Ron began to cheer up a bit, but then his stomach lurched. He felt wretched and knew he was going to throw up.

A guttural and malignant voice croaked inside his head, "You killed a human being in cold blood!"

Ron slid out of the chair writhing in pain and guilt. He felt as if he were being lashed with a barbed whip of accusations. He moved himself over the bucket and became violently ill. He felt blood and bile mixed in with his dinner as it came up. After several minutes he weakly lifted his head and whispered, "But she was a killer, a monster."

"Joined her club now have you?" accused the vile voice.

"Filth!" Ron screamed. "I'm covered in it."

He then looked for his wand to cast the scouring charm on his skin in to cleanse himself. It was no where to be seen so he tried scraping the filth off himself with his nails. He fell onto the floor ripping off his own skin. Soon he was bleeding on his arms, neck and stomach. Mars seized him and poured a liquid on the scratches that stopped the pain and bleeding, but Ron still felt contaminated.

"Did you enjoy the power?" demanded the voice.

"No!" protested Ron.

"You lie poorly, but that's always been true hasn't it, ickle Ronniekins?"

"Shut up," Ron said weakly.

"You are free now. You have escaped the shadows of your brothers. Embrace your new path of liberation," said the voice. It was no longer monstrous but melodic and inviting.

Ron covered his ears, but it did not stop the voice.

"Free from laws, morals and commitments, you can realize your ambitions. Seize the spotlight for yourself, Ronald Weasley. It is your time."

Ron stopped struggling for a second. He had always wanted to be famous, to be known as something other than Harry Potter's friend or someone's little brother.

"But at what cost?" he asked himself.

A moment later he said then aloud, "I am not evil. I have morals."

"Tell that to Bellatrix over there. Gave her a real sporting chance didn't you?"

"Shut up! Shut up!" he yelled as he beat himself hard about the ears.

Mars grabbed Ron, sat him up on the floor and held his shoulders. The American stared into his eyes and soon Ron could hear Mars' voice inside his head.

"You've done what you must to stop evil, nothing more. You are not unclean Ronald Weasley. Reject them Ron, the voices offer nothing but lies."

Normal feelings slowly passed back into Ron. He looked over and saw Harry sitting as he was. Harry looked a little haggard and bewildered, but Ron was sure he himself looked as bad. He still felt a little ill from vomiting, a bit dirty from being on the floor and sore from the writhing around, but no longer felt unclean or hated himself.

"Has it passed?" asked Harry.

Mars nodded and then helped them to their feet.

"I have a boat to take us across the lake. I doubt either of you are up for flying," said Mars as they walked through the complex.

Ron nodded silently.

"Did you go through that your first time, Mars?" asked Harry.

"Yes. I was alone and it lasted for eight or so hours. I almost killed my self from guilt during the process. I was terrified you two would suffer as badly as I did."

"Why didn't we then?" asked Ron.

"I taught you in a way that would minimize the pain of the periculum that all must face when they first use the dark arts to kill. I also knew what to bring to help ease your suffering, though I could not prevent it," answered Mars.

Mars walked them to Gryffindor Tower. Before they opened the painting of the Fat Lady he told them:

"Your lessons were much too exhausting for you to attend classes tomorrow. I have sent word to all of your teachers notifying them and instructed them to also excuse you from any work that you miss. Goodnight, boys."

The last bit of news cheered them up a little as they made their weary ways to bed.