~ Chapter 1 ~

Curse Words

The morning sun slowly made its ascent over the hillside, causing a warm light to wash over the Burrow, which stood, towering, over the nearby trees. To the untrained Muggle eye, the Burrow looked as though it could topple over on itself with the smallest breeze, but in reality, the charms and magic placed upon the tiny house and its many add-ons, kept the Burrow sturdy.

The inhabitants within the Burrow slowly began to stir and soon began preparing for the long day ahead of them.

Harry Potter made his way down the many flights of stairs from the attic toward the small kitchen area where Mrs. Weasley was serving breakfast. Hermione Granger had arrived at the Burrow early that morning and was already sitting at the kitchen table across from Ginny eating breakfast. Harry sat next to Hermione and scooped a spoonful of scrambled eggs onto his plate.

"Where's Ron?" He asked once he'd swallowed his first mouthful.

"He's in the garden, collecting some vegetables for dinner," replied Mrs. Weasley. "I must say, I'm going to miss having help around the house while you're all gone."

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door as it swung open and hit the wall. Ron emerged with an arm full of vegetables, mumbling profanities under his breath.

"Bloody garden gnomes," he grumbled as he placed the vegetables on the counter next to the kitchen sink. "Nearly bit my finger off." He curled his finger and put his knuckle in his mouth, sucking on the wound inflicted by an angry garden gnome.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear," said Mrs. Weasley. "They do get a bit violent during their mating season." She immediately enchanted the vegetables with her wand and watched as they began washing and peeling themselves.

Ron sat next to Ginny and piled his plate full of eggs, bacon, and biscuits. He shoveled the food into his mouth, ignoring the looks of disgust from Hermione and Ginny.

"You really must learn to eat like a human being, Ron," Hermione grumbled. Ron rolled his eyes and proceeded to shovel more food into his face.

---

Following breakfast, Ron, Harry, and Hermione helped Mrs. Weasley clear the table and wash the dishes before heading outside for some fresh air. They walked past Mr. Weasley's shed, which he kept full of his Muggle treasures, and around the perimeter of the cornfield, stopping to sit just out of sight of the Burrow.

"I wonder who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be this year," said Hermione as she pulled her knees to her chest and pulled a blade of grass from it root. "Whoever it is, they can't possibly be as bad as some of the teachers we've had already."

"I really don't care who it is," replied Harry. "I'm just glad Umbridge is gone." He sat across from Hermione and leaned back on his hands. The four of them sat in a circle on the dirt next to the cornfield and relaxed after their large breakfast.

"That makes two of us," replied Ron. He took a bite out of an apple that he had grabbed from the kitchen before they'd gone outside.

As the quartet rested in the yard, Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Grayback crept a few feet away from them, hidden within the tall stalks of corn. Bellatrix stepped quietly towards the group, trying not to make any noise that would alert them to her presence. She stopped once she was close enough to see them and motioned for Fenrir to remain still.

Voldemort's Death Eaters had been sent out to monitor a number of wizarding families since the attack at the Ministry. The Weasley's were one of the main targets, as blood traitors were considered to be just as bad as Muggle-born witches and wizards. The fact that the Weasleys were Harry Potter's closest allies did not help either.

"It's going to be interesting to see how Hogwarts will change now that You-Know-Who is back," said Ginny. "Dean told me that Seamus might not be allowed to come back this year. I reckon the student population will be quite a bit smaller than last year."

"You-Know-Who?" Ron questioned with a grimace. "What happened to calling him Lord… Voldemort from now on?" Hermione smiled. Bellatrix stepped back in disbelief as she heard the blood traitor use the Dark Lord's name.

"Look at you," Hermione laughed. "You can almost say his name without making yourself sick." Ron grimaced and shot her a dirty look.

"What's this about?" Harry asked, looking from Ron to Hermione.

"We decided that being able to call him by his name would make us stronger opponents," Hermione replied. "I mean, if you're too afraid to call your enemy by his name, how are you supposed to take him on in a battle?"

"Good point," replied Harry. He frowned as he heard a soft rustling within the cornfield beside them. He stopped suddenly and stared through the stalks of corn, trying to see what had made the noise. "Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Probably just a garden gnome," replied Ron, with little interest. He'd already fought with the garden gnomes that morning. He had no intention of doing it again.

"We should probably get our things ready," Hermione suggested. "I reckon we'll be leaving soon. We have to catch the train at 11am." She, Ginny, and Ron began walking back to the Burrow. Harry continued to stare into the cornfield. He knew he'd heard something rustling around in there. With one last look, he turned and ran to catch up to Ginny, Ron and Hermione.

Bellatrix moved swiftly through the cornfield, keeping her gaze on Ron. "You dare speak the Dark Lord's name?" she hissed with disgust. She emerged from the cornfield, followed by Fenrir, and ran toward the Burrow. She peered through the kitchen window, ensuring that no one could see her, and watched as Harry and Ron ascended the narrow staircase.

"Quickly now," Mrs. Weasley shouted after the trio as they headed up the stairs. "We'll be leaving straight away. Don't give me time to change my mind!" Mrs. Weasley was not happy about sending Ron and Ginny back to Hogwarts with Voldemort on the loose. However, Mr. Weasley had convinced her that no harm would come to their children while Dumbledore was still in charge of the school.

Hermione and Ginny were the first to descend from their bedroom with their trunks. They set them down outside the door and waited in the kitchen for the boys. Bellatrix crept around the house and hid around the corner as Ron and Harry tossed their trunks outside along with the girls'.

Once the door was closed, Bellatrix moved swiftly over to Ron's trunk and pulled it open. All of Ron's things had been thrown into his trunk, nothing had been folded. In amongst his clothes and books were a few chocolate frogs and some Drooble's. Bellatrix lifted one of the chocolate frogs from the trunk and quickly whispered something under her breath and tapped it with her wand. The box was immersed momentarily in a green light before returning to normal.

"That'll teach you to disrespect the Dark Lord," she cackled as she dropped the candy back into the trunk and apparated out of sight. Fenrir looked down at the old trunk thoughtfully before apparating after Bellatrix.

---

"This is wicked," Ron exclaimed as he looked over his timetable. "I have three spare periods in a row." He looked longingly at his time table for a moment before mumbling softly. "I did have four until you made me take Potions."

He and Harry were sitting in the sixth year's bedroom within Gryffindor tower. Everything in the room, from the carpets to the curtains, was a crimson red with gold trim to represent the house of Gryffindor. The rest of the sixth year boys had already claimed their beds and had begun to unpack their things.

"It might be nice to learn Potions from someone besides Snape for once," said Harry as he looked over his timetable. "I can't say I'm looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts though. Snape's going to ruin my favorite class."

"Maybe I'll drop out of Defense Against the Dark Arts this year," Ron suggested. "You could start up the DA again and I'll take that instead."

"Could do, I suppose," said Harry, humorously. "I'd love to see Snape's face when only the Slytherins showed up for his class." He and Ron looked at each other for a moment, then, shook their heads simultaneously. "Maybe that's not such a good idea."

Ron set his timetable on his bed and opened his trunk to start unpacking his things. As he threw his clothes into his dresser drawers, he stumbled upon the sweets he'd packed for himself.

"I completely forgot about these," said Ron. "I packed them for the ride here." He tossed a box of Drooble's to Harry and tore into the Chocolate Frog. He waited for the animation charm to wear off before eating the chocolate.

"I suppose we ought to be getting to bed," Harry suggested as he looked around the room to find the other Gryffindor boys had either already headed to bed or gone to the bathroom to clean up. "Hermione will be horrified if we're late for our first classes." Ron nodded and slipped beneath his blankets.

---

Harry rolled over and squinted as the light from one of the windows hit his face. He reached blindly for his glasses and tucked the arms behind his ears. He sat up in bed and looked around the room. Most of the boys were already out of bed.

Ron was in the bed next to his, snoring loudly. His right arm was resting over his head so that the crook of his elbow covered one eye. The other hand hung limply over the edge of his bed and his fingers twitching occasionally. Harry grabbed his pillow and tossed it at Ron, who groaned and rubbed his eyes as he sat up.

"It's about time you two got up," said Neville as he entered the room. "They're going to be serving breakfast in ten minutes."

Harry stepped out of bed and grabbed his robes. Ron pushed his legs off the side of the bed, cringing as his bare feet connected with the cold stone floor, and slowly made his way over to his dresser to retrieve his own robes.

They met up with Hermione in the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table. Hermione was already sitting next to Ginny near the centre of the table. Harry and Ron sat across from the two girls and piled food onto their plates.

"The Dark Mark was seen in a town near Hogsmeade," Hermione stated as she read through the Daily Prophet. "There are rumors that Lord Voldemort himself was there at the time of the attack."

"He's getting more powerful by the day, it seems," Harry stated. "It's only a matter of time until he's at full strength again."

Ron felt a sudden pain in the pit of his stomach. He swallowed his mouthful of food and set his fork down, then, sat still for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside.

"Oh, does that mean the DA will continue this year?" Luna asked excitedly as she turned in her seat to face them. She'd been listening in on their conversation from her own House table. "I do hope so. I've missed it over the summer. I've done some practicing at home, but I don't find it's quite the same."

Ron sat quietly in his seat, staring blankly at his plate. He had been holding his breath since the pain started; afraid that breathing might intensify the pain. He slowly blew the air out of his lungs and grimaced.

"Excuse me," he gasped as he climbed off of the bench and ran for the nearest boys' bathroom.

"Is he ok?" Luna asked.

"You'd better go and check on him, Harry," Hermione instructed. "He really shouldn't be late for the first class of the term. He'll miss something important."

Harry looked down at his full plate of food then up at Hermione. "But I…" he started. He examined Hermione's expression for a moment before heaving a sigh and leaving the Great Hall.

"Ron? Are you all right?" Harry asked as he walked into the boys' bathroom. He found Ron gripping one of the sinks and breathing heavily; his knuckles turning white from the strain of his grip.

"Must have eaten too fast or something," Ron groaned. He cupped his hand under the faucet and sucked the water into his mouth before spitting into the sink to get rid of the taste of vomit.

"That's never bothered you before," Harry humored. Ron gave a Harry a sarcastic smile before cutting off the flow of water from the faucet. "Would you like to have another go at it?"

"Nah," replied Ron. "I suppose I'd better wait until lunch." He released his grip on the bathroom sink and followed Harry out to the hallway, meeting a fast moving crowd of students on their way to their various classes.

They forced their way through the crowd and headed towards the dungeons for their first Potions class with Professor Slughorn.