A man dressed in black robes could be seen sitting in a comfortable armchair with a newspaper in his hands and a cup of hot steaming coffee on the table next to him. By the look of his graying hair, he seemed to be in his early forties. The room he was sitting in had lots of personal possessions displayed there, giving it a friendly and homey feeling. The fireplace had been lit to keep the room warm as it was snowing heavily outside.



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"Honey, could you clean the basement out to make some room? Alice is bringing in her extra stuff to put in there," my wife inquired from the kitchen.



"Sure darling," I replied cheerfully over the newspaper I was reading.



Putting the Quibbler down, I went down to the basement. It was dark and I could only make out hazy outlines, so I lit up my wand. Light flooded into the room, illuminating a large amount of old stuff that we scarcely use anymore. I started sorting through the boxes, and getting things into some kind of order, but stopped at the sight of a large, thick book. I recognized it immediately as the old photo album, which I kept from my years at Hogwarts. I had put it away in hopes of forgetting the unhappy things recorded in it. After some consideration I wiped the dust off the cover and slowly opened the album.



The memories came back to me like they had happened yesterday. I looked through the first few pages of the album. I guess you can't forget your past just by putting the reminders away. All the pictures of my friends at Hogwarts were spread out in front of me.



There were pictures of Dean, Seamus, Parvati, Lavender, Padma, and the Creevey brothers. I turned the pages absentmindedly and stopped at one in particular. I stared at the photos. They were the most painful ones in the entire album.



In the first photo, three teenagers were standing in front of a castle. Their arms were around each other. On the left side was a black-haired man with brilliant green eyes and a huge grin on his face. Next to him was a girl with brown bushy hair, and she too was smiling widely. On the right was a man with flaming red hair, who was laughing happily with his head thrown back. Both boys were wearing scarlet Quidditch robes and the girl was in her Hogwarts robes.



I remember that photo, which had been taken right after a Quidditch match. Harry Potter, the teen with black hair, Ron Weasley, the redhead, and Hermione Granger, the bushy-haired girl, were all happy in the picture. The boys were on their way to the changing room, while Hermione was accompanying them. Colin Creevey had run up excitedly and stopped them for a photograph.



As the memories flashed through my mind, my eyes drifted to the next photo. It contained the same three people with an addition of a red haired girl. They were sitting in front of an old house. The girl, Ginny, was leaning against Harry, while Hermione had her arms around Ron. They were all laughing. The picture was taken at The Burrow, the day before Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour’s wedding.



Another photo on the same page caught my eyes. It included the same four people, who were no longer teenagers, as well as me and my wife. We all had cake all over our faces and clothes. A sad smile came to my face when I remembered the moment that the photo had been taken. Harry and I were celebrating our birthdays together. Ginny had thrown a piece of chocolate cake at Harry, hitting him squarely on the forehead. At first, Harry had looked shocked, but then retaliated by rubbing cake on Ginny's face. An enthusiastic food fight had followed afterwards, with all of us taking full part. At the end we were all covered in the cake.



My eyes burned as tears slid down my face. No one could have guessed the tragic fate the future had in store for them while looking at these photos. In these photos they were all still so carefree and young.



My mind was caught, and I began thinking about them. Harry, an orphan whose parents were killed by Voldemort himself, had survived the Killing Curse and was sent to live with his horrible Muggle relatives. He hadn’t known of the wizarding world until the age of eleven. He was a true Gryffindor, a Quidditch star, and a natural leader. So much weight had been placed on his shoulders by fate, but he was still such a kind hearted person.



Hermione, the brightest witch of her age, always helped me in potions, no matter the consequences from Snape, and was a little bossy. Ron was a great strategist, but he had a lot to live up to with five older brothers. He was brilliant at chess, but had only “the emotional range of a teaspoon”, according to Hermione. He proved her wrong when he gave his life for her.



Ginny, a short-tempered little red-haired girl, was Ron’s only sister. She was stubborn, but that's natural when you grow up with six older brothers. She was a loving soul, and absolutely full of life.



Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been known as the "Golden Trio" in their years at Hogwarts. They were always together and hardly ever found alone. They didn’t leave each others sides even in death. I always called them ‘The Adventurous Trio’. They were always in search of some mystery and taking it upon themselves to solve it, even though it was not their problem to begin with. They had more knowledge and understanding of the events going around than any other student, sometimes even more than the Professors. With Harry as a leader, they broke thousands upon thousands of rules. Even Hermione broke the rules, and she was always strict rule follower. I think Harry and Ron had some effect on her.



I remember my years at Hogwarts. I was not a very brave person, and was quite shocked when the sorting hat placed me in Gryffindor. But they gave me confidence. I learned a lot in Harry's DA classes; it saved my life in my fifth and sixth year, as well as many years after that. When I saw the face of Bellatrix Lestrange in The Daily Prophet, I was enraged and wanted to take revenge for what she did to my parents. I think that's why I accompanied them to Department of Mysteries in hope to confront Bellatrix. But she got away.



Things got worse during the end of my sixth year. Hogwarts was attacked by Death Eaters, brought by one of the students, named Draco Malfoy. The six of us, along with The Order of the Phoenix members fought them and in the end succeeded to drive them away. Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts and most powerful wizard of all time, was killed during that attack. I had never seen Harry more miserable in all six years of Hogwarts than at Dumbledore's funeral. He was sitting quietly with Ginny. He was not crying at all, but his eyes were telling the whole story. Dumbledore was more than just a headmaster to Harry, he was a mentor. I saw him laugh on two or three occasions but they were short lived, probably reliving some memory.



After the funeral he talked to Ginny, before he started walking away. Ginny was composed through out the conversation, but once Harry turned away she let out her tears.



I later found out that he broke up with her, because he thought it was too dangerous for them to be together during a war. Ron was holding a sobbing Hermione. I guess they gave in to the feelings they quite obviously had for each other. Harry looked angry throughout the entire conversation he was having with the Minister, and after he finished, Ron and Hermione joined him. They were talking in low voices, and I couldn't quite catch what they were saying, but it seemed very important. We went to start packing after sometime, packing for the journey later that day. The train ride home was a dismal affair. We all got off the train and I started looking for my grandmother. I found her talking to the Weasley family. After saying goodbye to my friends, I walked with my Gran through the barrier.



My thoughts on the way home were that life couldn't get any worse, but I was disastrously wrong.



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Thanks to my betas Gryffinpuff and Malika Potter for making this story possible.

That summer, newspapers were full of Death Eaters’ attacks and the resulting deaths. Voldemort was displaying his power by attacking innocent and defenseless people. Muggle and magical communities were in total chaos. While the Muggles had no clue about any of the mysterious killings, for witches and wizards all over England each death was an indication of Voldemort gaining control. People were afraid to go outside.


I spent the first half of my holidays at my grandmother's house exchanging letters with Luna - we had become pretty close friends during my sixth year - and doing homework. During the latter part of the summer, I was invited to The Burrow for the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour.


The wedding was arranged in the backyard of what the Weasleys called The Burrow. Only family members and some close friends were invited. It was simple affair, as a large gathering would surely attract the Death Eaters’ attention.


I let out a yawn. “I’m tired. Let’s go and sit," I said to Luna. We had danced for about hour and a half after the bride and groom had opened the floor.


Spotting Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sitting in the corner, we went to join them.


“Hi, Neville! You two were looking great while dancing,” Harry said when we sat down.


“Thanks,” I answered blushingly.


“Oh, we were having lots of fun, but Neville got tired,” answered Luna.


“Why aren’t you all dancing?” I asked looking at four of them.


“Someone thinks we shouldn’t dance together as people will find out that we are still together while we are pretending we broke up,” answered Ginny glaring at Harry. She was clearly not happy with the arrangement.


“How were your holidays, Neville?” Harry asked quickly changing the subject.


“I spent my holidays pretty much at home, doing homework, reading the Prophet, and exchanging letters with Luna, except two or three trips to Diagon Alley with my grandmother. How about yours?"


Harry smirked. “Ron and Hermione stayed with me at my uncle's house. Uncle Vernon was pretty mad when I mentioned that they would be staying with me, but it only took one threat from Hermione to make him agree. We spent our time playing chess and doing some research. We also went to visit Hermione’s parents since she’ll be spending rest of her holidays with us," he answered.


"Did you guys get your Hogwarts letters yet? My Gran was surprised that Hogwarts is even opening. Do you think it’ll be any different?" I asked.


At this Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a worried look. At last, Hermione spoke.


"Neville…we’re not going to school this year. Dumbledore assigned a task to Harry, and Ron and I are helping him with it."


“Have you told your parents? They won’t be happy to hear this,” I inquired from Ron and Hermione.


“No….” answered Ron looking horrified at the thought of telling this to her mother. I could imagine Mrs. Weasley’s furious face after knowing that another son was dropping out of school, without finishing his studies.


At that second a thought came to my mind and I decided what I was going to do.


“I'm coming with you!" I declared loudly, causing some people to turn their heads toward us.


“What?" Harry, Ron and Hermione shouted at the same time, clearly surprised.


“I said I'm coming with you." I repeated in a final sort of tone.


“No, you're not…" Harry said.


"Look, Harry, I came with you to the Ministry of Magic and fought with you last year to save Hogwarts, and I am not going to leave you alone now,” I retorted.


“If Neville’s coming, I am, too,” stated Ginny


“Count me in too,” added Luna in a dreamy voice.


“Let’s not talk about this here,” said Harry, casting a worried glance around the room to make sure no one else was listening. “We’ll talk later. Let’s all meet in Ron’s room,” He added, resignedly.


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After the party I got permission from my grandmother to stay at the Weasley’s house. We all met, as planned, in Ron’s room.


Harry locked the door and cast a silencing charm on the door.


“Are you three absolutely sure that you want to do this?” Harry asked looking at me, Luna and Ginny.


“Definitely,” answered Ginny forcefully.


“Then you need to know some things, Hermione and Ron already know about this, which I trust you not to tell anyone,” declared Harry in a firm voice. Then he explained all about the Prophecy and the Horcruxes.


I was shocked to say the least. I could have been in Harry’s place, with his dangerous journey ahead of me. A total silence followed after Harry’s revelation. Each of us was contemplating the information that Harry had revealed. At last, Ginny broke the silence.


“So you're saying that you have to destroy all these seven pieces in order to defeat Voldemort?” she inquired in a tone less voice.


Harry nodded without looking at her. I think he was unsure how Ginny would react.


“Then we'll all do this together, and we'll succeed,” Ginny said in a determined voice, giving Harry a warm smile.


“Definitely”, every body agreed.


“Now, Ginny and Luna in no way you are leaving Hogwarts and coming with us. You are under aged and your parents will not agree to this…” started Harry.


“Harry we agreed that we are coming with you” Ginny interrupted fiercely.


“Listen, Ginny let me finish. First of all, I agreed that you can be part of the mission, but I didn’t say you could come with us. Secondly, I have some missions for both of you. You will keep an eye on all the happenings in Hogwarts, and gather all the support you can for the battle, I don’t think Voldemort will come alone. It’s time the DA was revived again, but on a larger scale,” Harry explained.


After some persuasion Ginny and Luna agreed to this.


“Okay, so that’s final. For the rest of us, I will plan our training programs. Ron, you will devise all the strategies. Hermione you will do the research for all the Horcruxes and there possible locations, and Neville, I want you to work with the twins and come up with different things that can help us in our search,” Harry finished


Voldemort doesn’t stand a chance, I thought looking at all the determined faces.

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Thanks again to my wonderful betas Gryffinpuff and Malika Potter.