Dedicated to my awesome source of inspiration: SerpentineHeart, AllieOfGreenGables, Alpha Rynn, someonenotlogged, Jessica, Eagalon, Fuliminate, penville lly, Hazel Snowflake, allisondasher, Kyuubi's Death and of course one of my faithful readers The Other World, thank you so much for your frequent interest and support! :)

I'm honestly amazed at the support I've received from you all, it's been a month since I've been able to write and your encouragement kept me writing. Thank you so, so, so much to all of you! I hope you enjoy the extra long chappie and have just as much fun as I have writing it!

DISCLAIMER: I disclaim!

Chapter 14: Wizarding Problems

The next few days passed in a haze of pain for Harry. His wound wasn't deep and Darren had managed to get the bullet out without much trouble but he had suffered from much blood loss before the Canines arrived. It was only by magic and adrenaline that he had been able to keep on going. Another factor was that the Canines might have known how to treat wounds, but that didn't mean they were particularly good at it. As a result it took Harry twice as long as he normally would to recover even with his magic.

As luck would have it, Harry developed a fever on the second day, and he spent the rest of the week in a feverish trance. On the few occasions he was awake he noted that his surroundings were unfamiliar, which led him to the conclusion that they were not at the Canines' bar. Harry deduced that they were taking temporary refuge at Red Circle's or something until he got better; after all Rob could have easily revealed the Canines' bar location to Anarchy beforehand.

He wanted to know what happened to Dudley or Cain, but he rarely ever saw familiar faces around and he dared not ask about his cousin's condition just yet, not when Cain had decided to move Dudley on his own. As for the ringleader, the others remained tight-lipped whenever Cain was mentioned, and all they told him was to rest and recover quickly. Harry suspected there was going to be another battle soon, waged by either Anarchy or the Canines themselves. He could sense high tension in the air even if Rab was determined to insist that everything was fine. Still, no one brought up Cain's name, and when he asked Darren or Rab both of them only responded by saying that he was recovering.

As for himself, Harry could feel his strength returning after days of rest. However he had lost count of how many days he'd spent on the run; much less how long he'd spent recovering from the bullet wound. Rab had told him it had been four days when he last visited, but otherwise he was left clueless as to whether day or night passed him by. Reeves didn't drop by at all, not that Harry expected him to.

Even if a part of him felt unwilling to admit it, Harry found himself wondering about the Canines' ringleader more often than he should. In his mind's eye he saw Cain unconscious and bleeding back at Anarchy's Den. He had been barely alive, and Harry wondered if Cain would have been able to wake at all without Harry's subtle healing magic.

Without Cain, Harry had no chance of finding back his cousin.

On the fifth day, Harry woke up abruptly to the familiar low ceiling hanging over him. He'd had a twisted dream with Voldemort and Anarchy weaving in and out of it, and disturbingly he found that he couldn't distinguish them between dreams, visions or reality. There was a niggling feeling at the back of his mind that he'd seen something important – of Snape standing before the Dark Lord, Nagini hissing something at her master's feet – but as soon as he woke up he found the memory slipping out of his grasps until there was virtually nothing left. It was like trying to contain water in cupped hands.

Deciding to leave it for further thoughts later, Harry got up a little painstakingly and glanced around the small room. No one was in sight; there was a large hunk of bread and oatmeal left beside where he lay. Harry nibbled off a bit and discarded the rest back on the plate. He wasn't hungry; if anything, days of rest had made him feel restless as much as he was tired.

The room Harry had been kept in for the last few days had been built underground, which explained the lack of windows or doors. The only way out was through a short ladder propped up against a square flap in the ceiling. Feeling decidedly restless, Harry walked unsteadily over and rested a hand over one of the rungs. It didn't look that difficult a feat.

Without further thought Harry reached up to climb up the ladder. His side gave a slight twinge of protest at the activity but Harry ignored it. Somehow he managed to pull himself through. He wasn't given a chance to congratulate himself though, for even if it was a relatively short distance, his side flared up in pain once more and Harry was left panting slightly in a sorry heap beside the trapdoor.

Feeling rather annoyed at the entire situation, Harry forced himself to stand while gritting his teeth.

There was the sound of many voices coming from the next room. When Harry rounded the corner, he was met with the sight of a group of Red Circle members eating at a large round table. Harry quickly spotted Rab among them, but Darren and Reeves were nowhere in sight. At the same time Harry appeared, Rab happened to look up and his face registered surprise when Harry's eyes met his.

"Harry! Are you good now?" he said with a smile, rising from his seat. Almost instantly the other members stopped talking and turned around to look at him.

Harry felt himself edge back into the shadows at all of their stares.

"Yeah, still breathing" Harry managed.

"Come join us," one of them called, but Harry shook his head. "I'm not hungry. You guys go on, I just need some air."

"The backdoor's on your right," the same voice said, and Harry nodded his thanks and left. He found the exit pretty quickly and very soon he was standing out in the evening breeze, with gushing water running beneath the high bank in which he stood. The view was similar to the one looking out from the Canines' bar backdoor, but the current at the Canines' seemed much swifter, and there wasn't a large vertical drop from where he stood to the water flowing below. In fact it seemed as if the water had potential to flood right up to the backdoor if a storm occurred. Take for example, the storm that had flooded the alleys and had forced Harry to take shelter under the Canines in the first place.

Harry simply stood there, musing over his thoughts when he felt someone join him. At first he thought it was Cain, but when he turned around he was met with the sight of Rab who flashed him a small grin.

Harry didn't bother to return it.

"Let me guess, you wanted to have a talk," Harry started before the other could speak.

"Of course, in any case you don't look like you're in any condition for sparring," Rab quipped back, coming to stand directly beside Harry as they faced the river. There was a brief moment's contemplative silence before he spoke again, "I know you only went after Cain just so you could get your cousin's location from him," he said. "But still, thanks for that anyway."

Harry didn't respond. He couldn't think of anything to say to that. There was no need for Rab to thank him. Yes, he'd initially went after him because of Dudley, but now Harry felt as if he owed as much to the ringleader. Cain had tried his best to live up to his word; it was him who had discovered Rob drugging Dudley and had sent Dudley off to another smaller gang – for better or for worse though, Harry was yet to find out. At least Dudley was out of Anarchy's grasp at the moment. And Cain had fallen into Anarchy's trap because of him.

Harry turned around and looked at Rab in the eye. He decided that he needn't bother beating around the bush either.

"If Rob turned, why didn't you?" he asked the other curiously.

Even if he hadn't been around too long, Harry could tell that the twins had been close. Rab as the eldest was more easy and outgoing, Rob had been quiet and reserved; but they always stuck around each other, and the only times Harry saw Rob loosen up he was more often than not somewhere beside his elder brother.

Rab simply shrugged in response. "I might have been able to guess sooner, but maybe I just didn't want to," he said by way of answer. "After all Rob only switched over to follow me. I didn't really give a thought as to which place he'd rather belong." He paused, a slight smile colouring his voice. "Even if I was only older by a minute, I thought he was too young to understand at that time. I made the decision for both of us. He came with me in the end, but I suppose his heart has always been with them for all these years."

"Anarchy?" Harry asked, confused.

"It's not the Anarchy you see now," Rab said, "Back when we first joined, Anarchy was one of the only few gangs ruling the district. Almost everyone in the area was a part of us to some extent, and those that weren't learnt quickly not to trifle with our members. The leader then was a man named Kurst – another six foot tall giant," he added. "Kerr, which you may know as Cain's brother, joined their ranks a little earlier than the three of us."

"By the three of us, you mean Cain" Harry said for confirmation.

"Kerr was the one who brought us all in actually," Rab admitted. "And boy did he regret that. Not long after, he began to lose favour in the leader's eyes, to be replaced by none other but Cain himself." Rab gave Harry a sidelong glance. "The irony, eh?"

Harry shifted a little uncomfortably at the revelation. Somehow the entire situation seemed rather personal to him. The feud between both gangs started so long ago, he had virtually no part in it save his recent involvement with the Canines. He didn't feel as though he fit in any part of it, but yet he was caught in the middle regardless. And now Rab was volunteering him information that Harry knew Cain would never speak of. Harry could tell what would happen if he ever tried to ask Cain. They'd probably end up sparring, and the end result would be Harry sprawled over the floor and the idea literally knocked out of his head.

"I don't think Rob chose the wrong path," Rab said into the silence. "He simply chose one that I didn't believe in. We sided with whichever side with more power, and to him strength overruled loyalty. Just like that." Rab turned to face Harry for the first time since they stepped outside. Harry couldn't remember he'd ever had a proper conversation with the man for all the time he'd been with them; it had always just been Cain.

"I know you haven't been around us very long, neither do you particularly care about our fight with Anarchy," Rab continued, looking at him straight in the eye. "You could choose to walk away now and we're in no state to stop you. All I ask of you is that at least give us a heads-up before you choose your path."

Rab's dark eyes searched Harry's for understanding. He seemed to have found whatever he was looking for, because he nodded once and left after that. Harry stood there alone, letting the words wash over him even as he searched through them for more clues or deeper implications. Abruptly he realized why Rab had bothered to single him out to talk.

It was apprehension, maybe even fear. Matt and Rob had been killed in the span of a few hours. Rab himself was favoring his left leg, which meant one of them was injured. Harry hadn't seen Reeves around, which meant he might be out of commission as well. He didn't know what happened to Cain after he'd collapsed. Darren seemed fine though.

An icy feeling churned in Harry's gut. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what was going on, but at this point the Canines were at their weakest, and he knew Anarchy would choose that moment to strike. He remembered what Rab had said the first time he'd met him. The Canines ruled the district, he'd said – and just yesterday night they had been forced to call on back-up from Red Circle. Harry guessed that Red Circle would gladly help them to return the Canines' previous favors, but he knew it was only a matter of time before insecurity stirred. Who was to say that the other smaller gangs under the Canines' protection wouldn't seek out Anarchy as their own allies themselves?

So lost in his thoughts was he, Harry almost didn't notice when a soft 'pop' rang in the still night.

At first he was ready to pass it off as just the sound of the front door closing, but when it happened a second time, Harry reared back instinctively from the door. It was the sound of someone Apparating, there was no mistaking it. The night was cool and quiet; he thought he could almost make out the low murmur of voices.

Harry mentally cursed himself for letting down his guard. He'd been so involved in the Canines that he'd momentarily forgotten about his own war with Voldemort!

Harry didn't dare to slip out to the main street just yet, not when he couldn't be sure if the wizards were from the Order or Death-Eaters. He tried to listen closer, but the gush of water was proving it to be a quite difficult feat. He glanced down at the gushing river then at the low fence separating him from the backyard of the next house.

'Well here goes' he thought to himself. He gingerly placed a hand over his bullet wound before sighing. There was no other way out anyway.

Quick as an eel, Harry darted over and scraped his shoe against the fence to find some sort of foothold. In a fluid motion he managed to fling himself up and over the fence, but his landing didn't go as smoothly as he'd have liked. His side gave a painful twinge, and the split second Harry's concentration faltered he toppled right over to the other side before his left leg found any sort of foothold. At least he landed on soft earth which meant no one heard his fall and he wasn't hurt in a way that would take more than minutes to recover. His foot felt a little twisted though.

Wincing, Harry crept on all fours round to the edge of the house which faced the main road, trusting the shadows to keep him well covered. With a jolt Harry noticed two cloaked figures standing almost right in front of where Rab and the other Red Circle members were.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Harry heard a disdainful voice say. "This has got to be the hundredth alley we've explored in this week."

"I'd rather explore stinky alleys all week than face him," a second voice said.

Harry felt his insides turn cold. He half-wished he was still inside the underground basement unconscious, then he wouldn't have to deal with all this. Who exactly was the 'him' they were referring to? The Minister? Or the Dark Lord? In any case it didn't sound like any of the Order members, and Harry wasn't about to take the risk of revealing himself. Then suddenly a horrible thought occurred to him.

If any of them decided to perform the 'Point Me' spell that instant, he was going to be doomed.

It was a rather slim chance seeing as they would have to be certain he was in the relative vicinity for the spell to work, but a risk nevertheless. Harry rapidly decided he had to get out of there, fast. Perhaps he could navigate his way back to the Canines' bar and barricade himself in or something; wandering around in the streets presented a greater chance of being caught. The two wizards couldn't be the only ones in the area searching for Harry.

Just as he came to that decision, Harry saw the backdoor on the other side open, and Rab walked out.

"Harry?" he called.

Oh crumbs.

The night was silent, and as it was Rab's voice rang clearly down the road. Out of the corner of his eye Harry felt more than saw the men stiffen.

Harry cringed and fought the urge to bash his head against the wall.

Of all times for that to happen!

Rab himself seemed to look around at the empty backyard before returning to the house, frowning. Harry switched his gaze to the two cloaked figures who were standing stock still with the backs pressed against the wall.

"Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?" one of the wizards grumbled, but the second figure quickly approached the house. Harry noted that their hands were hidden beneath their cloaks, which meant they were ready to draw their wands at the slightest notice. Harry's eyes darted up and down the empty street. His only chance of escape left was the backdoor leading down to the river, or he could take the chance of fleeing down the road and trying to lose his pursuers in the alleys. But the street facing him was near the outskirts of Clemenceau Ave, it was brighter for one and it was a lot less winding or narrow as Harry would have liked. He wasn't familiar with this area either, which meant he might end up lost or stuck at a dead-end as well.

Harry moved towards them slowly, his eyes focused on the first wizard. If he could somehow disarm the man first, he could Stun them and Apparate away. But that meant that his location would be confirmed, and he would need to leave Clemenceau Ave behind. Strangely something tightened around his heart at the thought. He didn't think he had anywhere else to go in the Muggle world. And he had yet to find where Dudley was. The second option was to escape right now, but Harry needed to know if his identity were really exposed before he did.

Throwing caution to the wind, Harry darted forwards to step out of the shadows into the main road, but as he passed the corner of the house someone grabbed him in a headlock and pulled him back roughly, almost throwing him back against the wall. Harry made to swerve round with a punch of his own, but he paused in mid-air when he saw his supposed attacker.

"Why are you here?!" Harry said in disbelief.

"Barely a day into the world of living and you've found yourself more trouble," Cain commented instead, his eyes fixed on the wizards standing at the front road. His eyes darted over to Harry and looked him up and down before he spoke again. "I was actually on my way to meet Red Circle's leader. They're after you aren't they?"

Harry set his mouth into a grim line. There was no point denying it anyway. "Great guess."

"It's your fight, so you choose," Cain continued, completely calm. Harry didn't know whether to be infuriated or reassured. "Attack or run?"

"No fighting if possible," Harry said at once. They were going to be wiped out quickly if those wizards were any good at dueling. His eyes closed in despair as he tried to shed some light on the complicated situation. How was Cain supposed to understand how all of this worked? "They can't know where I am, and they can… uh, sense it when I'm in the vicinity," Harry attempted to explain.

"So I'll distract while you run," Cain said simply.

"No no no it's not so simple!" Harry hissed, grabbing the other's arm to prevent Cain from moving out. "They have – they can, that is – " Harry faltered. They have magic. He couldn't say that aloud. Harry face-palmed in frustration. Cain was still watching him intently, cutting blue eyes searching him for answers, but Harry couldn't provide any. Then Harry's eyes darted over to the wizards who were still standing frozen in front of the house, and with a plunge of a frigid cold knife into his gut, all of a sudden Harry knew that he had been found.

He couldn't make out the words, but the first wizard was standing facing Harry, and his wand was spinning in his hands. It was the Point Me spell, there was no doubt about it now.

Time seemed to slow as his wand turned a full circle and finally froze, pointing right at where he was.

Cain came to the same conclusion by a split second's difference. Without another word he grabbed Harry roughly and steered him in a full-out sprint round to the back of the house.

Behind him there were cries of shock and a voice shouted, "Call for back-up, call for back-up!" Harry didn't dare look back. They raced round the corner and reached the backyard quickly. At first Harry thought Cain's idea was to jump, but then the other grabbed Harry's jacket roughly and tugged it off, almost ripping it in the process. He then tossed it into the river without second thought.

"Wha – " Harry began, but the ringleader shoved him through the open backdoor and slammed it shut behind them. Cain made to barricade it, but Harry shook his head. "Don't bother with locks," he said.

Cain looked at him almost questioningly, but mercifully said nothing. Instead he led Harry into a dark room and kicked over a loose floorboard at the corner with practiced ease. Harry expected to see a trapdoor leading downwards, but what came to view was a digital keypad.

"It's not a deposit box is it," Harry said. Cain as usual ignored him, his fingers flying over the keypad in a complicated pattern. Harry squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to sense where the wizards were headed. He thought he could make out more than a pair of footsteps, which led him to the conclusion that the back-up wizards really had arrived. Outside there was more confused voices joining in, and Harry imagined Rab and the other Red Circle members rushing out to see what was going on.

Then Harry saw his pursuers' shadows flitting past the window and he ducked down low with a muttered swear.

"Not that I'm ungrateful or anything" Harry began, "But please tell me this is a great plan, because we don't have time for another" he said. The jacket would only distract the wizards for a few minutes; if they thought to perform the Point Me spell instead of going mindlessly down the river they would be upon them by seconds.

"It will be if I get the code right" Cain returned, still fixed on whatever he was doing.

"You set a code you can't even remember?" Harry said in disbelief, but Cain used his free arm to yank Harry down, an action that was getting rather repetitive.

"Stay low," he ordered. "It's not mine, this is Red Circle's territory."

The wizards had arrived at the house next to where the rest of Red Circle's members were. There was a loud bang, and Harry thought he could hear a voice ring over the din. "We are from the Ministry! You have nothing to fear!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "That's convincing," Cain commented.

At the same time, Cain finished whatever he was doing and the floor emanated a pneumatic hiss, and Harry looked down to realize that it had parted to reveal a gaping hole leading into inundating darkness. A rush of cool air reached out to greet him. Harry had to wonder how many underground tunnels there were around Clemenceau Ave.

"In," Cain hissed, and Harry obeyed without hesitation. He jumped in quickly, rolling as soon as he touched ground to absorb the impact. His body protested fervently but he shoved the pain aside. He then moved aside as fast as he could to make space for Cain. The ringleader followed suit just as quickly, and when both of them were in, Cain's hand slapped a button at the side and the trapdoor automatically resealed itself. The little chink of light filtering down through the open trapdoor snuffed out, and Harry found themselves thrown once more into complete darkness. And abrupt silence.

There was a moment's pause as Harry tried to catch his breath, his hand clamped over his aching side. Harry couldn't see Cain, but he imagined him to be in a similar state as he was. Just how far had Cain recovered? Still, it was reassuring to see that there wasn't any lasting damage on the ringleader. At least, none of which that seemed obvious for the time being. For a moment back then, Harry had half-expected Anarchy to have crippled Cain or something given their nature.

"Think they can get through this lock?" Cain asked finally in a low voice. Every single noise they made seemed to be amplified and echoed by the tunnels.

"No, but they can easily blast it open," Harry replied, thankful that Cain wasn't pressing him for any answers about his pursuers just yet.

The other didn't say anything, but Harry imagined a smile on the ringleader's face when he spoke again. "Blast it open, you say? Very well then."

There was a rustling movement in the darkness, then Cain found Harry's shoulder and grabbed him back towards where they had first descended. Too tired and surprised to argue, Harry allowed himself to be dragged forwards.

"Bend down," Cain instructed. "On all fours."

Deciding that it would be wiser to remain silent and watch Cain's plan unfurl, Harry reluctantly complied.

"Right. Here goes," the ringleader said lightly, and he placed a foot right on Harry's back.

Harry realized just exactly what was going on when Cain stepped directly onto him, and Harry's bones shuddered and creaked at the strain.

"Owwww," Harry moaned. Cain ignored him and stood. Harry wobbled precariously, but the ringleader paid him no heed and began fiddling with something installed on the tunnel ceiling. Harry couldn't see what Cain was doing, but above him a small red light began to pulse. He tried to shift a little to a more comfortable position, but this time Cain gave him a sharp prod with his foot.

"Stop shaking like a leaf," he snapped. "It's hard enough to code it right."

"Darren – said - no strenuous exercises," Harry retorted through pants despite himself. Cain gave a snort in response.

Harry gritted his teeth. "If you're not done in the next 30 seconds, forgive me when you fall," he said.

"I'm almost tempted to stay here longer," Cain retorted dryly. The red light winked, and there was a silent beep. Cain jumped off Harry's back, and the moment the crushing weight left his shoulders, Harry collapsed to the ground with a groan.

"Tell me that was worth it" Harry said through his teeth. The familiar pain was flaring up again on top of his sore body. "What was that?"

"Let's just say you'll be rather lucky if they decide to blast it open," Cain returned. "Providing we aren't standing beneath the trapdoor when they do. Now come on."

"Where to?" Harry said, allowing Cain to pull him to his feet.

"Where do you want to go?" In a rare moment of surprising leniency, Cain asked instead.

Harry was silent for a while, but very soon found the answer more easily than he'd thought.

"Just anywhere but here" he returned.

A/N: I promised you updates after my finals, so here's chapter 14! Truthfully I was trying hard to find back my flow as well as inspiration when writing the front part, but I went back and read through my previous chapters and your amazing reviews, then got excited about continuing this story again :). Thank you so much guys, you've really inspired me a lot. I'm amazed so many people enjoy this story. Hope you had as much fun as I did!

Rating system:

'=D' for amazing

O for okay

X for terrible.

Or if you're kind enough, drop me a review would you? :p Thanks people!