Hi!

ooOoo…

Harry Potter and the Eleventh Commandment

Chapter 11 – Talks

The next morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves looking up at a new sign on the common-room poster board.

GALLONS OF GALLEONS.

Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings? Like to earn a little extra gold? Contact Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor common room, for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs. (We regret that all work is undertaken at applicant's own risk.)

"They are the limit," said Hermione grimly, taking down the sign, which Fred and George had pinned up over a poster giving the date of the first Hogsmeade weekend in October. "We'll have to talk to them, Ron."

Ron looked positively alarmed.

"Why?"

"Because we're prefects!" said Hermione, as they climbed out through the portrait hole. "It's up to us to stop this kind of thing!"

"Wouldn't that be my uncle's job now?" asked Harry. "Dumbledore said he was in charge of Disciplinary Action-"

Tony's voice came from behind the three, making them jump in surprise. "That, my dear nephew," he said, "just means that I'm charge of the punishment itself, not the reason for the punishment. That being said, what's this all about, Miss…?" He gave Harry a significant glance.

"Sorry," he said, "Uncle, these are my friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley," said Harry.

"Nice to meet you kids," said Tony. "Now, what's the problem?"

After a moment of surprise and indecision, she handed over the sign. "Fred and George Weasley, sir," she said. "They're testing new products, and they want to hire people to test them on."

"So I heard," he said, looking down at the sign. "Well, I can't do much without them having done anything – technically the crime hasn't been committed yet. Yet," he emphasized upon seeing Hermione about to speak. "The moment the first Galleon leaves their fingers, they end up in my office. Speaking of which, Harry would you come with me please?"

"Er, I was going to have breakfast…"

"My treat," came the answer. "I'm told I make a killer omelet."

Harry glanced at his friends.

"Go on, mate," said Ron. Next to him, Hermione gave him an encouraging smile, and Harry returned it.

"Alright then," said his uncle, inferring that a decision had been made. "Follow me. Ronald, Hermione, a pleasure to meet you."

The two groups went on their own way, Ron and Hermione heading towards the Great Hall and Harry following his uncle to the north side of the castle. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"My office is in the Clock Tower," said Tony. "Tonks and Daphne are joining us. You two need to be briefed… there's so much we have to do and even less time to do it."

Harry couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment flash through him – he'd been hoping that he could learn more about the man who was his mother's brother. "Work is the word?" he asked.

"No, the Bird is the Word," said Tony. At Harry's confused look, he laughed. "Sorry, it's an old joke. Anyways, yes and no. See, the thing is Harry, I've got a bit of a… let's call it a conundrum. A problem. A riddle." He frowned, looking down at the stones they were walking on. "I'm… confused as to how to approach this, and I guess I was hoping you'd have some advice for me."

"You're asking me for advice?" Harry asked, slightly incredulous.

"You're repeating me, Harry, and yes, I am, considering that the problem involves you." Tony looked at his nephew. "Did you know that as your uncle, genetically I'm as close to you as your dad was?"

"No, I didn't. I don't know much about genetics though…"

"I know enough to get by. Anyways, this leaves me feeling more than a little responsible for you, and for my actions over the past few years." Tony paused. "Well, more like lack of action. I mean, take the Triwizard Tournament for example. You weren't allowed to be helped by any teachers from your school, but the rules didn't say anything about outside help. Then again, you were pretty amazing on your own."

"How did you…?"

"Albus showed me some of his memories. You really had that dragon beat, that shit was awesome- um, if you'll excuse my French."

Harry laughed. "You're excused," he said.

"Thank you, I feel so relieved," said Tony with a smile. "Anyways, my point is that I'm honestly not sure how to go about this thing. Like, do I try to be something I'm not, do I stay as a friend, or a teacher? Do I stay away, keeping you 'at arms' length,' or should I stick around to the point that you get seriously annoyed by me?" Tony shrugged. "I mean, I have no idea what to do."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. In a way, his uncle's problem was exactly like the one Sirius had gone through with him and was going through right now with Daphne – how to approach them and what kind of role to take in their lives.

"Honestly, uncle, I don't think it matters," he said after a few moments. "I don't really think that anything you do could make you worse than Aunt Petunia."

He could see Tony shiver. "Great, now you had to bring her up," he muttered. "Alright, I get your point. Play it by ear kind of thing, right?"

Harry nodded. "Kind of," he said. "You are going to teach me about… well, everything."

"Teacher, uncle, boss, all rolled in one," said Tony. "Dammit, I need a drink." The man shook his head. "Alright, I guess we'll figure it out as we go. We're here."

Harry looked around at his surroundings. 'Here' was on the third floor of the Clock Tower, in front of aniron-wrought door that looked exactly like the rest of the doors in Hogwarts except for a small little plate that said "Security Office– Knock before Entering."

"How long have you been here?" asked Harry.

"About a week," said Tony as he opened the door and beckoned Harry inside. "Settling in was easy – thank Morgana for House Elves."

Harry looked around the office in curiosity. Unlike some of the offices he'd been in throughout his tenure at Hogwarts, his uncle's office was significantly larger, about the size of two classrooms put together, with large open windows letting in natural light at the back. Most of the area was dominated by a large tatami mat in the center, with a large punching bag hanging from the ceiling close to one of the edges. To the left of the tatami were some exercise machines – a bench press, a rack for squats, and a bunch of weights that looked like they'd seen some serious use over the years. Those, and the rest of the machines made the entire office look like a gymnasium rather than a security office.

On the right of the tatami, in the corner closest to the door was a large desk, with two comfortable-looking chairs placed in front of it and one behind it. Already it was littered with both papers and pieces of parchment, with the wall behind it dominated by what looked like a complete map of Hogwarts.

Harry was surprised to see labeled dots on the map as well.

"A gift from Remus Lupin," said Tony upon seeing his nephew look at the map. "Albus personally enchanted this one. It works in the exact same manner that the Marauder's Map does, just on a larger scale. On top of that, since it's not portable it has a bunch of other features… but that's for another time. Through here."

Harry followed his uncle up a stairwell he hadn't noticed in one of the corners, climbing up into his uncle's living quarters. His uncle pushed up a trapdoor in order to climb through to the next floor, and they emerged in the corner of what seemed like a small apartment. The area they were standing in was both a sitting room and a kitchen big enough to have its own breakfast bar. From his position, Harry could see a small hallway that no doubt led to the room where his uncle slept in.

All in all, Harry couldn't help but feel slightly awed; he doubted that any other teacher except for Dumbledore had an office that lead to an area large enough to house a library, a kitchen (complete with breakfast bar), a living room big enough to house a grand piano and a matching set of couches and coffee table, and a fully furnished bedroom.

"So… Security and Disciplinary Action?" said Harry. He looked around his uncle's new quarters. "It certainly has its benefits."

Harry was surprised to see his uncle blush. "Honestly, I'm not used to it," the man confessed. "My whole life I've always taken care to hoard nothing and to basically live out of a carry-on bag at most. All this…" Tony waved a hand at the rooms in indication, I" don't know. It's not me. Still, I'm not complaining." Suddenly, Tony clapped his hands once and smiled at him. "But, moving on; I promised you breakfast, so what'll it be? I'll get a head-start on your food while the ladies join us."

"You're going to cook?" Harry asked as his uncle moved into the kitchen.

"Sure!" Tony kneeled, opening some cabinets and pulling out pans, cooking spoons, and plates, some of the items floating out as if by their own accord. "I mean, it drives the House Elves nuts since I'm not eating their cooking, but I figured that this would be like a bonding time of sorts for the four of us since we're going to wend up working as a team." Tony gave him a significant glance. "Though today's going to be a pseudo-teamwork exercise, I just want to make sure that you know you're welcome here anytime you want, alright?"

Harry nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Good! So, what'll it be?" Behind Tony, a match was struck, and the stove was lit.

About ten minutes later, Tonks and Daphne climbed through the trapdoor and into the apartment. "Wotcher!" said Tonks, grinning at Harry, the boy having approached as soon as he heard the trapdoor open to help Daphne climb out. "Wow, such a gentleman!" she praised when he helped her as well. "And by Merlin, it smells heavenly in here!"

"I'm almost done with the food," said Tony in answer from his position in front of the stove. Idly, the sausages in one pan rolled themselves so that they'd be perfectly cooked all-around while in another eggs were being scrambled. A third pan held a strange mix of rice and beans – a meal that Tony had promised Harry he would enjoy. "Take a seat ladies, and welcome to my humble abode."

"Thank you for having us," said Daphne, sitting at the end of the breakfast bar next to Harry, already dressed in her school robes. The Potter smiled at her in welcome as he placed an empty plate plus utensils in front of her, Daphne returning his smile.

"No need to thank me," said Tony. "Like I told Harry earlier, we're going to end up working as a team later on, so I figured this was a good way to get to know each other. You know, like bonding time."

"Well, if your food tastes as good as it smells, I'll tell you right now that we'll have no problems getting to know each other!" said Tonks with a grin. The woman was dressed in blue jeans, a black t-shirt with a pink logo, and a brown trench coat covering her from shoulders to boot-clad feet.

"Challenge accepted!" grinned Tony. As if to emphasize his words, the pans on the stove lifted themselves up, their meals prepared. "Alright, pass your plates, let's fill 'em up- oy, Tonks, chill, there's enough for everyone!"

For the next few minutes, the sounds of happy eating and talking filled the kitchen, the four talking amongst themselves without a care in the world.

"So what's your post mean?" Harry asked his uncle.

"It's exactly what it sounds like," said Tony in-between bites. "I oversee detentions and punishments, while at the same time I keep the castle safe from anything that may seek to harm the students inside."

Harry nodded. "So if Snape were to give me a detention…"

"Then the notice passes through my office, and I can revoke or affirm the punishment however I feel is adequate depending on the circumstances." His uncle finished his meal and pushed the empty plate away, placing it with its companions. "I can remove or give House Points, but you won't see me doing that. I don't like the House System; too much division between the students."

"I'm guessing that that's going to make our training easier, Mister Evans?" Daphne asked.

"Please, call me Tony," came the answer. "Anyways, yeah, it would, considering that every time I want to give you a lesson I'd just assign a detention to you and Harry, for example. We'll think of more elaborate excuses throughout the year, but sometimes simplicity is best. We'll just have to make sure nobody catches on."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense," he said. "So how'd you get the job?" he asked.

"This lovely witch over here came through," said Tony, smiling, nodding at a blushing Tonks. "She brought up the topic of the security here at Hogwartsat one of the Order's meetings, that it should be improved since Voldemort was around. I just volunteered for the post once Dumbledore agreed; I moved in last week." He grinned at Tonks. "Best idea ever."

"Well it helps that with Umbridge here, I've been assigned as her escort," Tonks said. "That was Anthony's idea as an excuse for me to be here along with my 'transfer'; Madam Bones was a bit surprised, but receptive when I brought it up, especially since she has a niece here at Hogwarts. I don't think she trusts Umbridge to actually keep an eye on the students like she's supposed to."

Tony gave her a look. "What Nymphadora just said is actually something we need to talk about," he said, ignoring the glare she sent him, "and that's Ministry presence here at Hogwarts. How much do you kids know about the Ministry-Hogwarts relations?"

Harry shook his head, but Daphne spoke up, "I do know that Hogwarts is completely funded by the Ministry of Magic, and that the school is represented at the Wizengamot by the Board of Governors, but that's about it." She frowned. "In retrospect, those two reasons alone are enough to explain why Umbridge is here…"

"Hogwarts is funded by the Ministry?" Harry asked. "I thought the students paid for themselves, I mean I have a trust fund…"

"What you're thinking about is the Hogwarts Charter," said Tonks. "The name of every child born in the United Kingdom who has the potential to wield magic is recorded in the Charter at their tenth year of age. In some cases though, a child's name can be recorded at birth, like in the cases of most Pureblood Families where the child is guaranteed to wield magic."

"Huh," said Tony, the man's eyebrows raised in his impression. "I didn't know that… every magical child?"

"Every single one," Tonks confirmed. "Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin's greatest accomplishment, other than Ravenclaw's lost diadem."

"…aren't we getting a little off-topic?" asked Daphne.

"Right, thank you," said Tony. "So, the Ministry. With Dumbledore and Harry's announcement last June, the Ministry's got their eye on the castle. I'm going to be frank with you – I don't doubt for a second that Dolores Umbridge was sent here to spy on Albus Dumbledore more than anything. Any other things she might want to do while she's here might include psychoanalyzing Harry's behavior in particular, so we're going to have to be extremely careful whenever we train."

"That being said, we can move on to the next topic," Tonks picked up the conversation, "which is you kiddie's training. Over the next five months, Anthony and I," Tonks ignored the look she was sent, "are going to be giving you a crash-course in combat-oriented lessons and Unspeakable stuff. He'll handle most of that though."

"At the same time, we're also going to be going out on small-scale missions every now and then," said Tony. "Kind of like field trips, stuff to get your hands wet, nothing too dangerous. Most of the time, Nymphadora over here," Tony dodged the errant fist headed for his head, "is going to handle those while teaching you how to act in the field."

"But you kiddies can relax," Tonks reassured Harry and Daphne when she saw their expressions, "most of this is going to be done when you're ready. For today, we have something different in mind."

Tonks pulled out her wand and waved it once, their empty plates lifting off of the bar and floating over to the kitchen sink while Tony stood from his chair. With a muttered "be right back," he disappeared into one of the inner rooms Harry saw earlier. Meanwhile, Tonks cleared the rest of the dishes and utensils from the bar with a flick of her wand, and once she was done she stored it away and pulled out a leather-bound notebook from inside her coat, opening it to a specific page.

"What's going on?" asked Harry. Daphne was inspecting the open notebook with curiosity over Tonks' shoulder.

"Just hold on a sec, we'll explain in a bit…"

"Those are Arithmantic calculations," said Daphne. "What're you planning?"

"Oh, you'll see…" Tonks' eyes flickered down the page, going over the numbers and equations quickly. Harry wasn't surprised to see the numbers changing even as he watched – he'd seen Hermione work on Arithmancy enough times to know that the numbers changed like that all the time.

"Okay," said Tonks, looking away from the pages and at the two teens. "What're your dominant arms?"

"Er, I'm right-handed," said Harry.

"Same," said Daphne.

"Okay, so I want you to grab each other's non-dominant hand with your non-dominant hand," said Tonks. "Like a left-handed handshake."

Harry glanced at Daphne, and at her confused shrug, he held out his left hand. Daphne took it, their fingers wrapped around the other's hand in a handshake. Tonks drew her wand again, warning them to not let go before prodding their hands with her wand and muttering under her breath. Curious, Harry watched the ongoing proceedings.

"…one centimeter from the wrist…" Tonks muttered, and with a flick, a little black mark appeared on the back of both Harry and Daphne's hands, just above their wrists. "…one-and-a-half from the knuckles…" Another mark appeared just as Tony returned to the kitchen, holding a black case in one hand and what looked like an inkwell in the other.

"How are we doing?" asked Tony.

"Just about done," said Tonks. "A couple more measurements and you'll be all set to start."

"What's going on?" Harry asked again.

Tony placed the items he was carrying on the bar. "We're building a Toledo Bridge between the two of you," he said.

Daphne gasped. "Oh, you mentioned it before! Isn't that like a magical connection formed between two people?" she asked, her eyes bright. "Like a bond of sorts? I heard those were rare!"

"Well they are, but not for the reasons you're thinking," said Tony. "Very few people know how the Toledo Bridge works, much less how to build one. We're just lucky we have the tools to make one right now."

"What exactly is a Toledo Bridge?" asked Harry, feeling lost. "I know you explained it before, but I didn't really understand how it works…"

Daphne was the one who answered him. "A Toledo Bridge is a connection," she said, "that can be formed between two wizards through a combination of Runic Arrays and Arithmancy. It allows the two individuals to remain connected to the other, providing loads of benefits to them, like the ability to communicate to the other telepathically!"

Harry was impressed. "Sounds useful," he said.

"Well, what Daphne said only scratches the surface," said Tony as Tonks waved her wand one last time and moved away from the teens. Harry's uncle meanwhile opened the black case, pulling out some cotton balls and a bottle of what looked like rubbing alcohol. "A Toledo Bridge, in its most basic form, allows the communication of feelings and impressions. As the bond between the wizards – or in this case, wizard and witch – becomes stronger, then other things can start going from one end to the other. Thoughts, memories, even actual power can be sent through the link."

"What makes the bond stronger?" asked Harry as Tony poured alcohol onto the cotton and began to wipe the backs of the teens' still-held hands.

"Stay still," said Tony instead, concentrating on their hands. He waved his hand, and the inkwell opened, red ink floating out and accumulating in two little balls, one floating over the back of Harry's hand and the other over Daphne's. "Tonks?"

"Trust," Tonks spoke up. "The more that the individuals trust in each other, the stronger the bond becomes. At its most strongest, the Bridge can actually allow for the conscience of one person control the body of the other, or even for the minds to actually become a single entity in two bodies, both individuals acting as one."

Daphne's eyes widened. "I didn't even know that the bond could become so strong," she said. "I've never heard of such a thing…"

"That's because of how our minds work," said Tonks. "As humans, we instinctively shield our thoughts and memories, hiding them behind barriers of emotions and magical constructs our subconscious builds in order to protect them. The level of intimacy and trust that the bond requires in order to reach that level though is not something just any pair of wizards can achieve though."

Harry spoke, "Sounds pretty cool- ouch!"

"Sorry," said Tony, though he didn't sound sorry at all. "Ah ahah, don't let go!" Harry scowled at his uncle, the man having begun inking the back of Harry and Daphne's hands in a strange design using his powers to place the ink on their skin.

Harry scowled at his uncle. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Giving you and your girlfriend tattoos."

"Wha-!?" Flustered, Harry couldn't get the words out of his mouth fast enough. "She's not my-! A bloody tattoo!? Are you mad!?"

"All that, and he focuses on the tattoo," said Tony with a mutter, ignoring Daphne's embarrassed blush.

"He need to learn to prioritize," Tonks agreed.

"That, and to get out of his shell," said Tony, eyes on the ink. "Maybe date a couple of girls. Who knows, he might even reach first base."

"He's the Boy-Who-Lived, any bird'll drop her undies for him if he asked."

"Boy, Tonks, Boy-Who-Lived."

"Point taken."

"I'm right here!" Harry protested weakly.

"They do have a point, Harry," said Daphne.

"Oooh, staking her claim already!" Tonks grinned. "She's already thinking about how to make him her Man-Who-Conquered!"

This time it was Harry who blushed, though neither teen was able to even look at each other while Tonks laughed. Daphne's hand in his suddenly became that much warmer to hold.

"…and done," said Tony. He straightened up from his position. "Don't let go yet. We still need to channel some energy into the runes and make sure that the ink sinks into the skin as well."

Harry's curiosity motivated him to look at the runes in question. On the back of his hand, Tony had painted a red eye with four wavy lines coming out from all sides, each one going from the "center" of the eye to one of his knuckles. On closer inspection, however, Harry realized that the wavy lines were actually tiny little runes onto themselves, the script made in such a way that at first glance they looked like a single line. It was rather beautiful. A glance at Daphne's hand revealed the same symbol, spanning from the marks that Tonks had made beforehand.

"What are they?" asked Daphne, her eyes on the runes.

"A variation of the All-Seeing Eye," said Tony. He placed one hand on each side of theirs, his palms hovering over the runes. "This'll help the two of you establish a connection. Now, this'll hurt."

"What'd you- OUCH!"

"Now you can let go," said Tony unnecessarily, as the teens had already taken back their appendages. Harry hissed at the sharp pain – his skin felt like it was on fire, as if a thousand needles had stabbed themselves onto the back of his hand at the same time. Already the skin around the mark was beginning to get closer to the red of the ink.

"Congratulations," said Tony, "your first tattoos. And you weren't even drunk for them."

"These are going to be hard to hide," said Daphne. "Tell me you at least thought about that. They're not exactly subtle."

"Oh we thought about it," saidTony, "but consider this a lesson. It'll be up to you to hide the Eyes. Just keep in mind that any witch or wizard worth their wand will know that those tattoos aren't exactly normal – so do try your best in hiding them, yeah?

"Now, moving on," he said, reaching into a back pocket and pulling out two pieces of parchment, handing one to each teen, "your schedules. I've taken the liberty of modifying them a little bit to include our future sessions, which will take place here in my office. How you get here is up to you, but a word of warning: for every second you're late, you're doing ten times the amount in crutches, push-ups, pull-ups, and-slash-or whatever I want you to do at that moment. Got it? Oh yeah," he added upon seeing Daphne blanch, "we're going physical here. And you're not going to like it."

As he took in the evil looks his uncle and Tonks were sharing, Harry suddenly found himself regretting having signed that contract almost a month previous.

ooOoo…

"Merlin," groaned Harry. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination and double Defense Against the Dark Arts in a single day. Bloody hell, what a start…"

Daphne tch-ed, peering down at her own schedule as they walked back to the Grand Staircase. "If you think that's bad, look at what comes after," she said, pointing out the blocks that had been added at the end of each day. "Two bloody hours allotted to just our training with Tony. Two hours! How are we supposed to get anything done? This is our . year!"

Harry winced at the reminder. "Something tells me we're going to need Fred and George's Skiving Snackboxes at some point," he said.

"Skiving Snackboxes?"

"Snacks that make you temporarily sick," Harry clarified. "Supposedly the effects are just enough to get someone out of class. They're testing the products now."

"…I never liked it when the twins would play jokes on me or my friends," said Daphne, "but I have to admit, they're nothing short of geniuses."

"No doubt about that," agreed Harry.

"This is my stop," said Daphne a couple of minutes later when they reached the Grand Staircase. "At what time do you have D.A.D.A.?"

"Last two classes of the day," said Harry.

"Then I'll see you there," she said. "Oh, and in Potions too most likely. I'm late for Charms and I left the book in my dorm, save me a seat for Potions!"

"I will," Harry promised, but the girl had already headed down into the dungeons. Harry checked his bag, and finding the appropriate books for History of Magic and Potions inside, he began to walk to Binns' classroom, already beginning to dread to mind-numbingly boring lecture to come.

What actually happened was a lot more preferable.

"Well?" asked Hermione as soon as Harry took the seat she and Ron had saved him. "How'd it go?"

"It was nice," Harry admitted. Taking care to not show the back of his left hand, he pulled out some parchment, ink and quills to take notes. "We talked, got to know each other a bit."

"Well," said Hermione when he didn't elaborate, "that's nice. At least he's trying to have a good relationship with you."

"What about the whole Disciplinary Action thing?" asked Ron curiously. "Everyone at breakfast was talking about it. Did he say anything about that?"

Harry grinned. Typical Ron, asking about the things that could get him in trouble. Hermione leaned in as he began to speak, "So his job goes like this…"

As Binns began his lecture (Goblin wars, again), Harry gave a quick summary in hushed tones to Ron and Hermione, the latter taking notes on the class while paying close attention to Harry's words.

"So no more detentions with Filch?" grinned Ron.

"I don't think so," said Harry. "Though he did say that he'd set the punishment as well depending on what was done. And if you don't like detentions with Filch…"

"He'll most likely send you with the man," finished Hermione. "That's quite fair, actually. He's impartial enough to be fair to all four Houses, but close enough to know all of us to some extent. It's brilliant, really."

"I know, right? Oh, and get this, Tonks was there too," said Harry. "Apparently she's working for Umbridge. She's her bodyguard or something along those lines."

Hermione's surprise couldn't be masked. "What?" she exclaimed, her voice slightly higher-pitched even as it remained at a whisper. "But that makes no sense, she's a teacher-!"

"Who also happens to be the Minister's Undersecretary," Ron interrupted her. "She's a royal pain according to my dad, that one. Who's to say that she hasn't heard about Hogwarts' luck with Defense Against the Dark Arts professors?"

"Come off it, even Crouch Junior didn't have a bodyguard, and he wasn't half as paranoid as the real Mad-Eye," said Harry.

"…I don't like this," said Hermione. "First her little speech last night, and now this? If what Ronald says is true then we're going to have a problem, especially us Fifth Years and the Seventh Years."

"O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. years," said Harry. "Why those in particular?"

"Because those are the ones that are going to suffer the most from curriculum changes," said Hermione. "Think about it – the Ministry's decided to interfere completely at Hogwarts, and no doubt she's going to be pushing the Ministry's agenda. That means changes."

It was a few moments before Harry could give an answer. "This year is going to suck," he said. His friends' expressions let him know of their agreement, and their conversation dwindled amidst Binns' droning voice.

Well, at least until Harry and Ron began to challenge each other at a series of high-stakes hangman games on the corner of one of Ron's parchments, Hermione giving them nasty looks out of the corner of her eye.

"How would it be," she asked them coldly, as they left the classroom for break (Binns drifting away through the blackboard), "if I refused to lend you my notes this year?"

"We'd fail our OWL," said Ron. "If you want that on your conscience, Hermione…"

"Well, you'd deserve it," she snapped. "You don't even try to listen to him, do you?"

"We do try," said Ron. "We just haven't got your brains or your memory or your concentration - you're just cleverer than we are - is it nice to rub it in?" he added, making Harry grin.

"Oh, don't give me that rubbish," said Hermione, but she looked slightly mollified as she led the way out into the damp courtyard.

As they huddled beneath one of the castle balconies hanging from the courtyard, shielding themselves from the rain, they turned up the collars of their robes against the chilly September air and talked about what Snape was likely to set them in the first lesson of the year. They had gotten as far as agreeing that it was likely to be something extremely difficult, just to catch them off guard after a two-month holiday, when someone walked around the corner towards them.

"Hello, Harry!"

It was Cho Chang and, what was more, she was on her own again. This was most unusual: Cho was almost always surrounded by a gang of giggling girls; Harry remembered the agony of trying to get her by herself to ask her to the Yule Ball the previous year.

"Hi," said Harry, feeling his face grow warm. At least you're not covered in Stinksap this time, he told himself. Cho seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"You got that stuff off, then?"

"Yeah," said Harry, trying to grin as though the memory of their last meeting was funny as opposed to mortifying. "So, did you… er… have a good summer?"

The moment he had said this he wished he hadn't - Cedric Diggory had been Cho's boyfriend and the memory of his death must have affected her holiday almost as badly as it had affected Harry's. Something seemed to tauten in her face, but she said, "Oh, it was all right, you know…"

Next to him, Ron looked like he was about to speak up, but Hermione elbowed him before he could do so. Harry was glad – Merlin knew what his friend was about to say. Best friend or not, even he had to admit that Ron needed a little bit of a wake-up call in terms of his tact.

Somewhere in the back of his head he heard a voice say something along the lines of, He has a pretty girl in front of him, and he's thinking about his best friend. This one's got his priorities straight.

"Er," said Harry, "so… you're a Tornadoes fan?" He pointed to the front of Cho's robes, where a sky-blue badge emblazoned with a double gold 'T' was pinned.

When in doubt, talk about Quidditch.

"Oh, yes!" she answered, "I am, I've been a fan since I was six."

"I heard that they're beginning to dominate this season," said Harry.

"They are actually," she smiled prettily. "It's been a great season for them so far." She looked like she was going to say more, but the bell rang just then, signaling the end of their break. "Well… I'll see you later, Harry."

"Bye Cho," he said, and with a final wave she walked away.

Hermione waited until she was halfway across the courtyard before rounding on him with a teasing smile. "Way to go, Casanova!" she grinned. "You actually managed to have a conversation with her!"

"Now all he has to do is have a conversation with her while maintaining eye contact," Ron quipped.

"Oh, sod off, both of you," said Harry, an embarrassed blush on his face. Walking back inside the castle, he was surprised to see Daphne waiting for them, leaning on the entrance to the dungeons with an impish smile on her face. Standing next to her was Tracey, the blonde Slytherin they'd met on the train yesterday.

"Well, well," said Daphne, "was that a happy Cho Chang I saw walking away from you, Harry?"

Harry groaned. "Not you too," he said, making Ron and Hermione laugh.

"Wait, what'd I miss?" asked Tracey, her expression confused.

As they descended into the dungeons, amidst his friends' teasing Harry reflected on Cho's actions over the past two days. After all, he thought as they joined the queue lining up outside Snape's classroom door, she had chosen to come and talk to him, hadn't she? She had been Cedric's girlfriend; she could easily have hated Harry for coming out of the Triwizard maze alive when Cedric had died, yet she was talking to him in a perfectly friendly way, not as though she thought him mad, or a liar, or in some horrible way responsible for Cedric's death… yes, she had definitely chosen to come and talk to him, and that made the second time in two days… and at this thought, Harry's spirits rose even higher. Even the ominous sound of Snape's dungeon door creaking open did not puncture the small, hopeful bubble that seemed to have swelled in his chest.

Filing in behind Ron and Hermione, he and their Slytherin companions followed them to their usual table in the back, where he sat in between Daphne and Hermione, Tracey taking a seat next to Daphne and Ron next to Hermione. A glance towards the Slytherins seated at the front revealed nothing in terms of their opinion on Daphne and Tracey's seating decision, though Malfoy's expression seemed slightly more pinched than usual.

"Settle down," said Snape coldly, shutting the door behind him.

There was no real need for the call to order; the moment the class had heard the door close, quiet had fallen and all fidgeting stopped. Snape's mere presence was usually enough to ensure a class's silence.

"Before we begin today's lesson," said Snape, sweeping over to his desk and staring around at them all, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your OWL, or suffer my… displeasure."

His gaze lingered this time on Neville, who gulped.

"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me," Snape went on. "I take only the very best into my NEWT Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye."

His eyes rested on Harry and his lip curled. Harry glared back, feeling a grim pleasure at the idea that he would be able to give up Potions after fifth year.

"But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell," said Snape softly, "so, whether or not you are intending to attempt NEWT, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high pass level I have come to expect from my OWL students.

"Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing." On Harry's left, Hermione sat up a little straighter, her expression one of utmost attention. "The ingredients and method -" Snape flicked his wand "- are on the blackboard -" (they appeared there) "- you will find everything you need —" he flicked his wand again "- in the store cupboard —" (the door of the said cupboard sprang open) "- you have an hour and a half… start."

As they began to work, Harry reflected that Snape couldn't have chosen a more difficult potion to assign them. It was to the point that the ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities; the mixture had to be stirred exactly the right number of times, firstly in clockwise, then in anti-clockwise directions; the heat of the flames on which it was simmering had to be lowered to exactly the right level for a specific number of minutes before the final ingredient was added.

However, it was in the middle of one of the steps that something odd had happened. One of the steps involved letting his potion simmer for a certain period of time after adding powdered moonstone and stirring counter-clockwise three times. He'd waited the appropriate amount of time and began to move on to the next step when a sudden feeling of alarm flashed through him.

What the-?

Confused, Harry shook his head. He frowned at his potion – everything seemed fine, so why was he feeling worried all of a sudden? Shaking his head one last time, he began to move on again, but the feeling of alarm flashed again, making him hesitate once more.

The feeling was odd in itself, he thought. It wasn't just the unexplained factor of the feeling, but rather how it felt as a whole. If he had to describe it in a single word, he would call it foreign, like it wasn't his-

Like it wasn't his to begin with.

Harry's eyes were drawn to the back of his left hand, where the tattoo was hidden by his sleeve. Now that he was thinking about it, he realized that the tattooed rune was itching slightly. He looked up, glancing at his companion, and his eyes met a worried Daphne, who upon seeing his attention move to her began to mouth something at him.

Syrup, she mouthed, step three.

Harry glanced back at the blackboard and gulped. He knew what his mistake almost was – after letting the potion simmer for seven minutes, he was supposed to add two drops of Syrup of Hellebore. Thankfully the Toledo Bridge had decided to work at that precise moment, and Daphne had been able to warn him in time, consciously or not.

He added the two drops and moved onto the next step. "Thanks," he muttered to her under his breath. Daphne winked at him in response.

With ten minutes left to go, Snape called out, "A light silver vapour should now be rising from your potion."

Harry, who was sweating profusely, looked curiously around the dungeon. His own cauldron had a surface of shimmering mist the color of dark silver, almost grey, but Ron's was spitting green sparks. Seamus Finnigan was feverishly prodding the flames at the base of his cauldron with the tip of his wand, as they seemed to be going out. The surface of Hermione's potion, however, was a shimmering mist of silver vapour, and as Snape swept by he looked down his hooked nose at it without comment, which meant he could find nothing to criticize.

When Snape stopped in front of Harry's, the teen held his breath.

"Appropriate," said Snape. "However, not full marks. Next time Potter, clean your cauldron and utensils before using them in my classroom."

"Er, yes sir," he said, awed that he hadn't earned a scathing remark of some kind-

"Surprise surprise," said Snape, "apparently you can use that thick skull of yours to listen."

Ah, there it was. As Snape moved on, Harry counted himself lucky enough to earn a passing grade on this particular potion. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Snape give Daphne a vial with a potion of some kind inside after congratulating her on her perfect potion.

"Those of you who have managed to read the instructions, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name and bring it up to my desk for testing," said Snape. "Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion making, to be handed in on Thursday."

Packing up his supplies and putting away his wand, Harry grabbed a flagon and filled it with a sample of his potion after labeling it with his name. He joined the cue to Snape's desk behind Daphne, and he took advantage of the moment to tap her on the shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks," he said. At her confused glance, he clarified, "If you hadn't told me, I'd have ruined my potion."

"Oh!" Daphne smiled at him. "That. It was no problem. Besides, you're the one that looked at me; I didn't exactly tell you that you were doing something wrong, did I?"

Now Harry was the one that was confused. "You didn't?" he asked.

"No, of course not," she said. "You know Professor Snape's no talking policy…"

"I meant- you didn't use… you know…" Harry twitched his left arm, and Daphne's eyes widened.

"You- wait, the Bridge works?"

"I guess." Harry grinned. "That was rather quick. Did Tony say when…?"

"No, he didn't," said Daphne. She glanced at the shortening cue before returning her gaze to him. "Let's talk about this later. After Defense."

Harry nodded in agreement, and a few minutes later, they'd exited Snape's dungeon as soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Together, the group of five headed to the Great Hall for lunch, parting ways at the entrance and garnering surprised looks from some of the staff members at the Head Table, like McGonagall and Snape (how he'd arrived before them was a mystery, considering he was still inside the dungeon when they left).

Gryffindors and Slytherins interacting without violence ensuing? It was unheard of.

However, Harry didn't notice any of this as he took his seat, quickly eating his lunch before heading up to Divination with Ron. And even if he hadn't been eating, he was still too distracted by what happened in Potions to notice anything. In a way, the Bridge working had been startling – he hadn't expected for it to work, having been placed that very same day.

What would come up next, he wondered. Would they end up sharing thoughts soon enough? Today was an emotion, would tomorrow be a memory? A dream? An actual though? Harry didn't know, but the sheer awesomeness of the Bridge that Daphne had expressed was beginning to be shared with Harry – and it wasn't a foreign feeling either.

Still, the only drawback he could see in regards to the Bridge was the surprise of it working at random moments. What if they'd been in a completely different situation, one in which the surprise of the Bridge's activation caused them to fib whatever they were doing at the time? What if they ended up hurting themselves or someone else for that matter? Harry frowned at the thought, shaking his head as he climbed the trapdoor ladder that led into Trewalney's classroom and prepared himself for the class. He and Daphne had been surprised today, but fortunately they were able to make the best of it and work it out.

Hopefully, the surprises would end there.

ooOoo…

"What did you say was in the castle!?"

Tony raised an eyebrow at Umbridge's shout. "Your cardigan must be messing with your hearing, Umbridge," he said. "Let me repeat myself: There is an Incubus Spirit roaming the castle."

"We heard you the first time," Professor Filius Flitwick piped up, the short Charms Master giving him a frown, "but it does not make hearing the news any easier. Why were we not told of this sooner?"

"Because we weren't sure if it was actually an Incubus or something else," confessed Tony. He looked over Umbridge's shoulder at Tonks, the Auror standing behind her with her arms crossed behind her back. "Auror Tonks, could you share your observations please?"

"Sure," said Tonks. As she stepped forwards, Tony marveled at her acting skills, though he supposed that her Metamorphmagus abilities had something to do with that. They'd agreed to act as coworkers for now, not letting anyone know of their friendship until they actually "met" outside of work.

Tonks cleared her throat. "Before the students arrived, I was approached by Mister Evans," she said. "He expressed his belief of the Incubus's occupation of the castle, but that he and Headmaster Dumbledore had not been able to confirm with absolute certainty that the Incubus was actually in the castle. He asked for my help, and I agreed. We were able to confirm his suspicions – the Incubus is very much real."

"Good heavens," said Professor Sprout, her face pale. "What does that mean for the students?"

"To be honest, nothing much," said Tony. "As Headmaster Dumbledore and I were able to confirm, the Incubus is actually little less than a Spirit, as I mentioned earlier. It's weak, recently formed, and I have no doubt that if it hadn't been spawned here at Hogwarts, it would've definitely starved itself to death."

Professor Sprout leaned back into her chair, her face a little more relieved. Tony took advantage of the moment to glance around the staffroom and take in the reactions of the rest of the occupants. Dumbledore and McGonagall looked grave, the former because he already knew and the latter having been told as soon as Tonks had "confirmed" the Incubus presence. Flitwick was worried, Pomona Sprout looked like she'd had better days, Severus had no expression, and Umbridge… well, her face was twisted enough, no need to keep looking deeper there…

"You said, 'if it hadn't spawned at Hogwarts.'" Tony looked over at Aurora Sinistra, Hogwarts' Astronomy teacher and resident (surprise) Spiritologist. The dark-skinned woman had her eyes narrowed at him, her arms crossed under her generous bust. "Care to elaborate?"

Tony grimaced. "Well… how many of you know what an Incubus actually is?" he asked.

"What is there to know," snapped Umbridge. "It's a type of Vampire, or are you so daft to not know that!? When the Minister hears about this-!"

"He'll laugh in your face and tell you to get out of his office for wasting his time," Tony interrupted her. "Why? Because to start off you're wrong: An Incubus, is most definitely, not a Vampire. At least, that's not what we're dealing with here. Yes, there is a kind of Vampire that is known as such, mythologically, because of its 'unique' ability to reproduce itself through sexual intercourse. However, anyone who has actually studied Defense Against the Dark Arts will tell you that every vampire in the world can actually have kids through sex! Like the rest of the creatures on this planet, barring you-!"

"Mister Evans!" Tony froze, his eyes landing on an incensed Minerva McGonagall. "Control yourself!"

It took a moment, but Tony sat back down in his chair, his eyes closed as he tried to calm himself down. He really did not like Umbridge. "Sorry," he said. "Anyways, as I was saying… the Incubus we're dealing with is just a Spirit, like I said, so its sphere of influence is actually almost nonexistent. Almost.

"If left unchecked, the Incubus will slowly take over a person's mind, driving them into a more… sexually oriented type of personality, feeding off of its host's sexual drive. When it reaches full maturity, it leaves the host, and the Spirit becomes a Specter, with the ability to manipulate more and more people at the same time. That's when we truly have a problem – if the Incubus becomes a Specter, then eradicating it becomes harder since it's feeding off of multiple beings at the same time. Clean one person, and as soon as you look away to clean another, the individual is infected again."

"Who has it possessed?" asked Sinistra.

"A Slytherin by the name of Theodore Nott," said Anthony.

"Well, then what are we waiting for?" Umbridge spoke up again. "The Ministry must be contacted if such a prestigious heir has been possessed-!"

"I'm afraid it's not so simple," said Professor Sinistra. The woman uncrossed her arms as she moved from her position at the door. "Because of its Spirit status, the Incubus is too weak to be extracted from the host as of now. To put it simply, any ritual or exorcism would only end up traumatizing or hurting the host without affecting the Spirit itself. It would remain inside the host until it is ready."

"Ready for what, exactly?" asked McGonagall.

"Ready to evolve." This time, it was Tonks who spoke up. "When it has fed enough to evolve into its Specter form, it will leave the host. That is when it will be at its weakest."

"Then, we know what we must do," said Flitwick. The goblin-descended wizard stood up on his stack of books (which was already placed on top of a chair) in order to reach a height were everyone could see him comfortably. "We will keep a sharp eye on Mister Nott's behavior, making sure that the Incubus will not evolve without us knowing. When the time is ripe, we will strike, and cast that Spirit back to its realm, once and for all."

"Hear, hear," said Sprout.

"While that is all fine and dandy, what about Mister Nott?" Severus stood up from his chair. "What will we do about him?"

"Mister Nott has nothing to worry about while the Incubus is possessing him," said Sinistra. "His mental state, and his body, will not suffer any drastic changes during the possession, and once the Spirit has left him then whatever changes he went through will be reverted. The only thing he will suffer – and some might actually disagree on the 'suffering' part of this – is a higher libido." Sinistra paused, then smiled. "To be quite frank, Severus, he will be horny. All the time."

He couldn't help it – Tony laughed. He wasn't the only one; a lot of the teachers had amused expressions, though McGonagall looked like she'd sucked on a particularly sour lemon.

"I suppose that is one way of putting it. Thank you, Aurora," said Dumbledore. He too sported an amused smile on his face. "Is there anything else anyone would like to mention regarding this matter?"

"I have a question," spoke up Sprout.

"Ask away, Pomona, ask away!"

"Well, my question is this: when will we know when the Incubus is ready to leave its host?"

Tony answered. "Actually, that's pretty easy," he said. "Normally, it would take less than a week, but since most of the people Nott will be in contact with are teenagers that haven't reached full maturity of their core, then the process will take a lot longer. We've actually made the calculations, and the Spirit will become fully mature on October 30th. Halloween."

There was a moment of silence. "Well that's not ominous at all," said Tonks, though her words were contrasted by her grin.

"Amen to that," agreed Tony. "Still, there's no danger. We can set up the exorcism in no time, and the Incubus will be extracted from him before the Feast. Nott won't even have to know about his little hitchhiker." At the confused looks, he elaborated. "A passenger he didn't know he had."

Then, he turned to Severus. "Your student will be fine, Severus. That, I can promise you." Tony looked at his old friend in the eye, and after a few moments, Severus nodded.

Satisfied, Tony turned to Pomona. "Does that answer your question, Professor Sprout?" he asked.

"It does," she said.

Dumbledore spoke up. "Then if that is all…"

"No, it isn't," Umbridge interrupted. Tony suppressed a groan – already the first day, and he had paperwork to sort through that this… thing wasn't letting him work on. "I believe that the Ministry should be contacted at once and that experts on the subject be brought in so that Mister Nott can be relieved of this Spirit post haste."

Dumbledore smiled, though Tony was able to see the tensing in the area around the corner of his eyes. "By all means, do so if you wish," he said, "but you will find that their conclusions will mirror ours. Aurora Sinistra is the premier leader in her field – finding another expert of her caliber will be difficult."

"Also, Madam Umbridge," said Tonks, "I am an Auror. I've judged the situation, Mister Nott is in no danger-"

"You are a Junior Auror, barely fit to be on active assignments on your own," snapped Umbridge. The woman didn't even glance back at Tonks when she said this, so she was unaware when Tonks' brown hair flashed a violent red. "Professor Dumbledore, I will not budge on this matter. I will personally contact the Ministry, along with Theodore Nott's father. Thomas Nott is an esteemed member of our society, and I refuse to leave his son's plight in the dark!"

Her piece said, Umbridge nodded once and left the staffroom, slamming the door with a bang.

Tony scoffed. "All she was missing were the castanets," he said. "I know teenagers with more manners than her…"

"You are not one to criticize, Mister Evans," said McGonagall. "Not with the way you lost control."

"…point taken." Tony sighed, standing up. "Alright, the period's almost over. Again, thank you all for coming on such short notice."

"It was of no consequence," said Flitwick. "Our Simulacrums will last for another hour or so before expiring. They are made for this kind of situation."

"You know, those Simulacrums explain so much about you," said Tonks, looking from teacher to teacher. "I always wondered why none of you seemed tired, especially after patrolling at night…"

"They do help for taking a nap every now and then," said Sprout, winking at her.

Simulacrums. Mannequins that were glamoured to look like someone, only they were made of wood imbued with magic instead of flesh and bone. They also had the advantage that they could record everything they saw and heard while they were active, storing the information away so that it could be extracted later as a memory. Kind of like reverse Pensieves.

Thank goodness Umbridge didn't have one.

Tonks shook her head. "Amazing," she said. "Those things would've saved me time for exams… oh well. I better go; Umbridge'll be at her classroom by now."

"Allow me to escort you," said Tony, smiling at her and moving towards the staffroom door himself.

"Oh, thank you!" Tonks smiled widely as she took his proffered arm. "Such a gentleman!"

Tony laughed as they left the staffroom. "I'm only a wolf in sheep's clothing, love." Closing the door behind him, they set off to the Defense classroom.

Tonks sighed, dropping the pretense of not knowing him. "Another boring few hours of watching that bitch 'teach'," she said with a scowl. "It's bad enough that she's not teaching them anything, but she makes it worse because she's filling the first years heads with that pacifist crap! My god, why didn't Dumbledore ask me to teach if he was so desperate!?"

"Because you don't have the patience for teaching?" said Tony, smiling at her.

"Oh, sod off. You know it'd be a better alternative."

"For the kids, sure. For the Order, not so much. For us… well, it'd work out either way," he said. He looked speculatively at her. "Come on, something else is bothering you."

Tonks didn't answer immediately. They'd crossed a flight of stairs and a corridor before she finally spoke. "The Incubus," she said at last. "Where did you get it?"

"I opened a Portal two days before the students came into the castle," he said. "Dumbledore helped. So did you as a matter of fact – that's what all the stuff I had you hunting down was for."

Tonks frowned. "I don't like it," she said. "I mean, bringing your sister back… I get it, and I agree wholeheartedly, but I just feel that having an Incubus possessing a kid is just wrong. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I get where you're coming from, trust me. But like I said, the kid'll be fine."

"But why an Incubus?" asked Tonks. "I still don't get that."

"The ritual that Morgana gave me, the one that'll wake Lily up requires an exchange. There's three Subjects involved when it comes to the elements used in the ritual as well." He held up a finger. "First subject – Undeath. The Spirit is neither Living nor Dead, and Lily's current state falls under the same category." Another finger joined the first. "Second, is Life Renewal and Creation; we're bringing Lily to a living state, and the Incubus is a sort-of representation of Creating Life, since it's a Spirit that motivates its hosts into reproduction of life." The third and final finger was raised. "And finally, the Spirit – Lily's soul is tethered to this world through Harry, but a large part of it crossed over to the Other Side. The Incubus is in a Spirit state, and we're going to sacrifice it for Lily's Spirit so that she can be brought back to life."

Tonks nodded. "That… makes sense," she admitted. "But it seems to me like you're stretching it."

Tony shrugged. "Morgana gave me the ritual, but she hasn't said I'm wrong so far; I'd like to think that she'd stop us if we were fucking up," he said. "The way I see it, she gave me the tools – how I use them is up to me."

"The ends justify the means?" Tonks gave him a look. "Come on, Anthony, there's limits as to what we should do! Possessing kids really crosses a line!"

Tony winced. "If I'd seen another approach that would let us end with the same result without us getting compromised," he said, looking away from her, "I'd have taken it in a heartbeat. I promise you that, Nymphadora."

"Don't call me that!"

"Don't call me Anthony," refuted Tony. He smiled, winking at her.

"I won't as long as you don't make decisions like the one we were just talking about without at least talking it over with me," said Tonks, pulling him to a stop. Her eyes were serious, and her frown pronounced. He didn't like it, Tony decided – not that it made her unattractive, but in his opinion she was so much prettier when she smiled. Tonks continued, "I won't push for you to talk to involve Harry and Daphne, but at least talk it over with me. Promise?"

Tony didn't answer immediately. Their eyes remained on each other's, neither one breaking eye contact. Eventually, Tony sighed. "Alright," he said. "I promise."

Tonks smiled. He was right – she was a lot prettier when she smiled. "Thank you," she said.

Tony returned her smile. "Come on," he said, nodding down at the corridor, "let's get you to Umbridge. Keep an eye on Harry for me – I won't doubt that she'll provoke him into doing something stupid."

"Oh, have faith in him."

"He's a fifteen-year-old hormonal kid in the presence of an ugly-ass pink toad that's going to call him a liar while treating him like he's five. He's going to do something stupid."

"Focus on the negatives, why don't you?"

ooOoo…

Filler. Some action (hopefully) in the next chapter.