READ THIS FIRST, AND DON'T COMPLAIN!!!!!!!

I've had about ten or so people telling me that they couldn't read chapter 24, I don't know what's wrong, and I tried re-uploading chapters a few times but it didn't seem to have worked. So for the benefit of those few people, I have put chapter 24 here again, but do not despair those who have already read that chapter. If you scroll down till you reach a (=-=-=) type of marking in 'bold', it will indicate the start of the new chapter.

Thank you and enjoy.

Chapter 24: Dance with me

'There is nothing better than intimidating a bunch of nervous kids!' thought Naruto as he hung upside down from the ceiling.

He was right though; all the students kept on watching nervously as they waited for their first lesson to start. It was way past curfew and most of them were worried about being found out, or maybe it was the sinister presence of the three guards that ruffled them. Naruto was sure that Harry hadn't told them that they would be supervised.

The meeting was held in the Room of Requirements; Naruto was astounded how the room always changed depending on the circumstances. Right now the room was empty except for a bunch of scattered cushions and a single cupboard near the front; the walls were also padded to add to safety. They would be put under a rigorous training and exercise, and beaten into submission-MUHAWHAWHAWHAW! –cough- sometimes he thought that Kyuubi was rubbing off on him.

Sure Naruto was having fun watching all the students squirm, but even he couldn't help but feel nervous with two reticent people as companions. They glared, scowled, and not to mention only talked to him in grunt language. Which was becoming tiresome to translate.

"Neh Sasuke, what do you think they'll learn about?"

"Hn..." was his reply. Naruto pouted and then turned to speak to Gaara.

"Do you think we'll learn some of those spells as well?"

"Mh..." was again the reply.

If Naruto was in his Kyuubi form he would have growled and snarled out in frustration (possibly also some maiming and killing), instead he resorted to pouting.

He should have asked Kiba to come along instead, at least then things would have been fun.

Just then Harry and his friends took the center stage attracting everyone's attention. The boy looked nervous; it was obvious that he didn't enjoy all the attention he was getting, but Hermione was quick to help him out. Her voice, unlike Harry's, was clear and strong, reassuring the other members of their safety, while giving them a breakdown of what would be learned.

"Is you-know -who really back?" one person asked.

Hermione went silent, and turned to look at Harry, who grimaced at the thought of the snake man's return. "Voldemort..." the students winced when they heard the name, but Harry paid them no mind and continued. "He has returned; the Ministry may be trying to hide it, but that attack on the school was no random coincidence."

"The reason that we are all here is to learn how to defend ourselves; if Umbridge is only willing enough to teach us theory how are we meant to do anything? I don't want anything like in that last raid to happen." His green eyes drifted momentarily towards Naruto before focusing on the group again.

But Sasuke wasn't listening anymore; he had seen the look that Harry shot Naruto, and seen he knew that he wouldn't let anything else happen to the blonde. He would protect him with his life.

~*~

The next day, the mood in the air was lighter; it seemed like the DADA lessons (or Dumbledore's Army as they nicknamed it) were slowly making people more confidant and reassured. Yet Naruto felt that something huge was going to happen. The headmaster had been all twinkles and smiles all the day (more so than usual). So whatever was going to be announced next would be fun!

At least Sasuke didn't seem too bothered; Naruto wouldn't be surprised that the Uchiha already knew what this was about, after all he was the one who went to the private meetings with Dumbledore, discussing reports and exchanging information. While Naruto found it all too tedious and boring, even when the Uchiha turned into a baby, Neji took on that role.

Breakfast was almost finished, so Naruto just waited in the corner enjoying his bacon and cheese pastry wrap. As always his relaxed posture only obscured how alert he was. Sasuke was the same; he would often see the older teen scanning the area with his sharingan before acting indifferent. Gaara and Neji were patrolling the rest of the building, while Kiba had taken a liking towards the Dark Forest. Naruto couldn't understand why he would.

Sai...well Sai was still around, stalking the place, popping up here and there like the ghosts do. Sakura just stayed in the infirmary, and Shikamaru either slept or played chess games with their guest (Sirius).

A light coughing sound attracted his attention, and he looked up to see that all the plates and leftover's had vanished. Everyone's attention was now on the Headmaster, who smiled merrily down at them.

"Now for an announcement," he started. "As you all know the 31st is moving ever closer, and with that our annual Hallow's eve celebration, which is limited to 5th years and above. Of course any lower years are allowed to attend through invitation!"

The students started murmuring to each other excitedly, but stopped when Dumbledore raised his hands. "So remember students, costumes must be worn; now off you go to lessons."

He clapped, and the whole room erupted in chatter. Naruto turned to look at his companion gleefully. "Does this mean a party?!" he asked, bouncing up and down on the spot.

Sasuke sighed; why did he feel like he was going to regret this? But that didn't stop him from hiding a smile.

~*~

Now Halloween, or Hallow's Eve as Dumbledore called it, wasn't something that was celebrated in Konoha. So none of the guard knew what to expect, but they sure as hell didn't expect any of this when they woke up that particular morning.

The halls were covered in cobwebs, bats came randomly flying at you from dark corners, when doors were opened a loud shrieking noise would startle them, and skeletons dancing through the halls (they almost attacked one of them thinking it was an intruder). Instead of the usual floating candles that lit up the great hall, they were replaced with glowing pumpkins with carved faces. Not to mention the ceiling, which usually reflected the weather outside, was now a permanent stormy gray.

"Wow..." Naruto gaped at the sight.

And that was the only word to describe it; even the food was themed, some seem to literally glow eerily, and this put the group off them. Yet everyone else didn't seem to mind the decor at all, but rather enjoyed them.

"Is Halloween just about scaring people?" Kiba asked, looking at a particularly large spider crawl up the wall.

"Halloween in traditional terms is actually a harvest festival, a celebration of nature, or at least that's what it means for the 'muggles'. For Wizards though it's more about a time that spirits are set free, the natural flow of magic is heightened, and they are meant to embrace it," Shikamaru said, staring quizzically at his 'glowing' toast. "It changes depending on the culture, but they all follow the same principle."

"How do you know all that?" Neji asked.

"Nothing else to do, so I read up on some of the books..."

"Hn..."

"So there aren't any lessons today?" Naruto asked.

"Nope, they all have been given the day off for celebration," Sakura responded.

"Just means more work for us; at least when the lessons were on we could keep track of the students," Neji grumbled.

"You know what I just realized..." Kiba said.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Everything seems to be something else..." he said picking up an apple, but when he turned it around there was an old man's wrinkly face grinning toothily at them.

"Ew!"

~*~

As night fell, the party really started up. The great hall was emptied to form a large dance floor in the centre, with smaller tables around for people to sit at. The area where usually the staff sat was replaced with a stage, and the floor formed a real eerie setting with crawling fog. And included with the glowing pumpkins there were also fire-like streamers gliding across the sky. Even the layout of the hall changed; while it usually was three plain walls, now they had glass doors leading to a spooky garden.

The students were dressed in bizarre outfits: fairies, goblins, werewolves, vampires, and some things that they weren't even sure what they were. This is most likely what Dumbledore meant with costumes. All of them were dancing in the middle, with a band called the 'Weird Sisters' playing music.

"This is going to make it even more difficult to keep track of them..." Neji grumbled from the sidelines. He kicked another skeleton who came too close to him, asking him, 'Would you like to dance, young lady?' in a creepy voice.

"Hn..." replied Sasuke as he scanned the room for a familiar tuff of blonde hair.

His eyes widened when he spotted him, and he walked towards him. Naruto was just watching, wide-eyed and in wonder, when he saw the giant singing pumpkin.

"Naruto," he said, catching the blonde's attention.

"Sasuke! You gotta see this, this pumpkin actually sings! It's amazing!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"It is. Hey Naruto, can you come with me for a sec?"

"Er... yeah, sure."

Sasuke took his hand into his own and started leading him through the crowd; some of the students watched them, wondering where they were going. Yet the two guards ignored them and kept on going 'til they reached two patio doors, and walked out into the garden. It was quieter out here, only a light thumping sound of music coming out from the great hall.

"Sasuke?" he asked, suddenly feeling very nervous.

"I think this is the first time in a long time that we've been alone." Sasuke reached for the blonde's other hand and intertwined their fingers together.

Naruto shuddered, his breath coming out like a white shawl and dispersing into the air. Their bodies slowly moved closer, only stopping barely a centimetre away from each other, and they started moving in a gentle rhythm. Sasuke moved his hands around Naruto's waist, pressing the smaller body closer to his, while the blonde put his own arms loosely over his shoulders.

"I really did mean it when I said you looked pretty in a dress," Sasuke commented.

Naruto pouted. "Well, don't think I'll do that again, teme."

The raven chuckled and tightened his grip; he took a deep breath and smelled that distinctive scent that smelled just like Naruto, and oddly enough it wasn't of ramen, but a light hint of peaches instead.

"Hey, I have something for you."

Naruto looked up, surprised. "What is that?"

"Well..." Sasuke used one hand to reach inside his vest to take out a tissue-wrapped bundle. "This is actually a late birthday gift, but with all the things that happened..." he trailed off.

Sasuke undid the wrapping, and Naruto gasped when he saw the necklace; it was glimmering, a shiny blue like the reflection of the ocean. He was lost for words; he couldn't form a coherent sentence, but just stood there gaping at the jewel.

"Sasuke, but-"

"It's okay; turn around, let me put it on you." Naruto complied, still too stunned to really understand what was going on. He felt the weight of the necklace around his neck, but he was surprised when he felt how comfortingly warm it was.

Naruto blushed when Sasuke's hands lingered on his shoulders longer than necessary; he turned around so they were both in the same position as before. They kept on dancing slowly with each other, not breaking pace or even taking note of their surroundings but instead just enjoying the company in each other's arms.

"Should we go somewhere quieter?" Sasuke asked, whispering into the blonde's ear.

Naruto nodded and they reluctantly separated; still holding hands they jumped onto the walls, and by concentrating chakra onto their feet did they run towards their room. Luckily enough the window was open, and they stumbled into the lounge, locked in a fevered kiss.

The restrictive clothes were quickly removed without a care of where they landed; they tumbled over the chairs and tables 'til they reached Sasuke's room, still locked in a heated embrace. The kiss wasn't broken; lips and teeth crashed messily with inexperience, but that didn't matter. All that held any worth was the fact that they were finally together, finally alone.

Sasuke lifted the blonde onto the bed none too gently. There seemed to be no time for such things; it was like a form of desperation, like the need for air. That's how much he needed Naruto right now, and he didn't think he could wait for much longer.

He bit, nipped, and suckled the tanned expansion of skin, taking time to marvel how pale he was against him, and how the blonde had no tan marks. He smirked and continued with his ministrations, taking the hardening pink bud into his mouth, and he was delighted to receive a gasp as reward. Sasuke's hands moved with ease, undoing the belt buckle of Naruto's trousers, only to stop when he noticed how rigid he went.

"Are you okay?" he asked breathlessly.

"I-I... I've never done this before..." he replied nervously

Sasuke gave a small smile. "Neither have I, this is all so very new... do you want me to stop?" he asked, caressing the blonde's scarred cheek.

"I do... but let me do something for you first."

Now Sasuke didn't expect that. Naruto pushed him off him, and then straddled his waist. He could feel Naruto's erection grinding against his own; he grabbed the blonde's hips and pulled them closer, so that they were literally dry-humping each other.

Naruto undid Sasuke's trousers; freeing the straining erection underneath, he bit his bottom lip uncertainly and reached towards the heated organ and took hold of the tip gently. He heard Sasuke hiss as he slowly rubbed up and down, and then took it into his mouth. Sasuke almost sprang off the bed when he felt Naruto's wet mouth closing around his cock. He dug his nails into the bedding to stop himself from bucking up.

Oh, that tongue!

"Naruto-" Sasuke gasped out. "You have to stop..."

Naruto released the stiff cock, a thin string of saliva trailing down his mouth; kami, he didn't think he could take anymore. Sasuke pushed Naruto down and ripped his trousers off, and leaned towards the bedside table to take out a small bottle of lube. Sasuke generously doused his fingers, and lifted Naruto's hips up to get a better view of his pucker.

He entered one finger in, pulling it in and out before entering another; he stopped when Naruto squirmed, and then continued with a scissoring motion to loosen and widen the tight ring of muscles before taking them out. Sasuke then doused more of the lube onto his member, slicking the organ before positioning it near the opening. But he hesitated.

Sasuke looked at Naruto's face and noticed that he had his eyes tightly shut as if expecting pain; not that this wasn't going to be painful, but that shouldn't be what Naruto was thinking about. So he leaned over and captured the blonde's lips, claiming them as his own. This was a good enough distraction for him to quickly enter the blonde.

Naruto groaned in pain against him, his hands moving to hold on tightly to Sasuke who waited for him to adjust to the intrusion. All through he whispered sweet nothings into his ear and kissed him, then only moved when Naruto pushed against him first. It was difficult for Sasuke to hold back; the tightness was unbearably good, and their inexperience made it even worse. He wanted nothing better than to release himself, but held back.

He took hold of Naruto's own member with his free hand and started pumping; soon they were both grunting and moaning while beating up a steady rhythm.

"Can't take it anymore," Sasuke moaned out.

Naruto dug his fingernails into Sasuke's back; he was close as well, the pressure welling inside of him, and with his strokes the dark haired teen kept on relighting the fire in his belly. With a few more thrusts he came with a loud moan, and then he felt something hot filling him up.

They didn't speak, or rather they couldn't; instead they kept on kissing before they fell into blissful oblivion.

(=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=)

Chapter 25: Rude awakening

Kiba was tired, that Halloween Party had been more than he expected: someone spiked the punch, and another kid decided that he was too hot for his costume and decided to take it off. Snog fests, the singing pumpkin attacked, and someone decided that the dancing skeletons looked better dismantled. It took him forever to collect those jiggling pieces together again.

To make matters worse, their so-called captains had 'disappeared'. Fuckers.

All he needed now was some rest; he said the password to the portrait and walked inside, Akamaru close to his heel. Then he noticed an odd scent, a mixture of sweat, and...

Brown eyes widened in realization, his senses told him to ignore the scent and simply walk straight to his bedroom, but his curiosity got the better of him. The open door was right beside him; he slowly walked towards it, and peeked inside.

"AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!! My eyes, my eyes, my goddamn eyes!" he screamed, clutching his head in pain, and stumbled out of the room still screaming.

Sirius, who had once again taken refuge on the couch, was startled out of his slumber only to see one of those crazy guards running rampant all over the place. He sighed and let it go; stranger things had happened.

Meanwhile in the bedroom, Sasuke glared towards the open door; that stupid mutt's shouting had woken him from his very pleasant sleep. He decided to ignore it and turned to meet the sleeping beauty beside him; Naruto had snuggled up beside him like a puppy. His cheeks were a rosy pink, and bruised lips puckered out, just ready to be kissed and ravished.

He licked his lips and slowly leaned down-

"OH KAMI, NANI YO (what the hell)?! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT?! YOU FUCKING HORNY FREAKS!!! WHY MY BEDROOM, WHY'D YA' HAVE TO DO IT IN MY BEDROOM?!?!?!" Kiba screamed.

Naruto frowned, opened his eyes. "Whaz'da nos..." he slurred, half-asleep.

Sasuke sighed, disappointed that he didn't get a chance to steal a kiss. "It seems that Kiba has found out that those stains on his bed weren't from food." Naruto's eyes widened, and he gave out a shudder.

The blonde then tried to sit up, only to yowl in pain and slam back down against the mattress; he hissed and turned to glare at the smirking raven beside him. "You bastard..." he growled.

"Careful there koi, maybe you should get some rest," he said with a smug smile and jumped off the bed. Then again there is a sight you don't see very often, a skipping Uchiha.

"TEME!" Naruto shouted out in frustration after the Uchiha.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=--=

"You disssappoint me sso..."

Harry shuddered, he was sweating profoundly, he could feel it; like a snake slithering into his mind. That man's voice...

"Foolisssh..."

He tossed and turned in his bed, one image after another invading his dreams and turning them into nightmares. People screaming in pain, flash after flash of curses being hit, torture was the only way to describe it. He gasped when he heard that malicious laughter; it froze his blood, he was afraid. All Harry wanted was to wake up, but he couldn't.

"Crucio!"

"AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!"

Suddenly it wasn't just a dream anymore, Harry was actually screaming; he could feel the pain, like fire under his skin, it hurt. The laughter in his head got louder, 'til blazing red eyes were poised to look at him.

~*~

"Harry wake up, WAKE UP MATE!"

Ron was wrestling with a struggling Harry, he was having a nightmare; the raven thrashed and screamed 'til his throat was raw, but he wouldn't wake up. Their other friends looked worried standing behind him in their PJ's, wondering what was happening to Harry.

"Seamus, get some water!" Ron ordered him. The Irish boy nodded and ran towards the bathroom, and soon returned with a cup full of water. Ron took it off him, and threw it at the struggling savior.

Harry spluttered and finally woke up bewildered; he looked around the room in fear, shaking and twitching. At first Harry didn't seem to recognize where he was, but he did as soon as his eyes met the worried blue eyes of Ron's.

"Mate you're alright, okay? It was just a nightmare," he said as calmly as possible.

But Harry shook his head. "No, no it wasn't," he rasped out.

"Harry calm down already, it was just a nightmare; it's still early, so how about you get some sleep?" Ron reassured.

Harry looked towards the window, the redhead was right; it was too early, the sun hadn't peaked over the horizon yet, not to mention that it was a weekend. He heard everyone else making their way back to their warm beds. Yet Harry couldn't bring himself to close his eyes, because all he saw then would be those menacing red eyes surrounded by darkness, and that malicious laughter whispering in his ear.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Alright then everyone," Sasuke said in their morning briefing. "Since we're going to be short a few people, it means we have to pick up the slack for them."

"Huh? Who are we missing?" Sakura asked.

"Well Kiba is officially traumatized for life," he said looking towards the corner at the other teen, who was rocking back and forth while muttering incoherent things to himself.

"And Naruto is..." he trailed off, and Sakura gasped seeing a leering grin form on the raven's handsome face.

She didn't need an answer, she could already guess what had happened, and her complexion tinted red at the thought; she coughed to break the discomfort. Gaara and Neji remained stoic; if Shikamaru was disturbed he didn't show it, then again he hadn't moved from his sleeping position. The only one who looked troubled was Sai; he glared at the Uchiha, but remained silent in his defeat.

Sasuke finally regained his composure and returned back to the briefing. "Either way, since they can't work today it will mean that we have to work double shifts, meaning that you Sakura can't go hiding in the infirmary, and you two," he said, pointing at Gaara and Neji.

"No more hiding in closets to make out, we already received some complaints from teachers about that." Neji blushed, and Gaara glared.

"Alright then, that's it for today," he finished, and the team got moving.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

For the rest of the day Harry was jumpy; he knew that what he had seen wasn't just a dream, it felt real, the things he had seen were real. Voldemort torturing his followers; their screams wouldn't leave his mind, and whenever he closed his eyes, it was just a like a movie reel. Repeating the events over and over again 'til he thought he was going mad.

Maybe he was, maybe this whole 'savior of the world' thing was finally getting to him, and he had lost his mind.

Draco!

Of course if anyone understood it would be him, after all with Lucius as his father, Draco might have had similar experiences.

He made up his mind and gathered up his books to leave the Library; Draco should now be ending his quidditch practice, so he waited outside their changing room. Soon Harry heard boisterous laughter coming from the room, and he hid behind a nearby suit of armor 'til they came out. Luckily enough Draco wasn't with the group of teenagers, meaning that he was still inside the changing room.

The grip on his book bag tightened and he stepped inside the changing room; he heard the sound of rushing water, indicating that someone was still in the shower, hopefully that someone was Draco or he would be in some trouble. The sound stopped, the sound of wet footsteps came towards him, and a naked, wet Draco was in front of him.

"Harry?!" the blonde teen exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here?" he asked, reaching for a nearby towel to hide his modesty.

Harry blushed; they hadn't seen each other naked, much less shirt-less, so this was something different. But now Harry wasn't sure what to do, his breathing grew shallow at the sight of Draco; it just wasn't something he expected.

Suddenly the door opened. Draco acted quickly: he grabbed Harry and dragged him inside the shower stall, which automatically goes on when someone stands under them.

"Draco you still in here?" the intruder shouted.

The blonde gritted his teeth together. "Yeah, I'll be out in a sec," he shouted back.

"Okay, see ya' in Potions then." The door then closed.

Draco sighed out in relief and loosed his grip on Harry; he looked down and his silver eyes widened. Harry was completely drenched; cold water dripped down his face, matting his black hair, which just made those blazing green eyes so alluring. The towel around his waist tightened, and Harry slowly looked up to meet his gaze. Draco found that the blush the raven wore suited him nicely.

"Harry...?" he whispered out. They kept on staring at each other, not being able to break the connection that was set up, 'til Harry broke it by blinking owlishly.

"Draco... I need to talk to you."

"Er, yeah sure, let me get dressed," he stuttered out foolishly, before letting go of Harry.

The raven staggered out of the stalls and used his wand to dry himself; he kept his back turned as the blonde got dressed, and almost jumped out of his skin when he felt Draco's hand on his shoulder.

"We still have some time, what do you need to talk about?" he asked, still blushing heavily.

Harry told him about his dream; Draco frowned, before his expression turned fearful. He tightened his hold on Harry's hand.

"Are you sure about what you saw?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was definitely Voldemort who I was seeing."

"You need to go to Dumbledore about this."

"What if they aren't real? What if-"

"Then you'll wait, see what will happen next... or..."

"Or what?" Harry asked unsurely.

Draco gave him a reassuring smile. "Talk to the guards."

"The guards?"

"They are here to help you and if you don't want to talk to Dumbeldore, talk to the guards."

Harry thought about it, the blonde was right of course, so far the guards had been the only ones to really help him. Not to mention that they were already keeping the secret of hiding his fugitive godfather. he nodded towards Draco and they both left the changing room together.

~*~

Another chapter down.

If that chapter problem still hasn't gotten fixed then well...does anyone here have livejournal? If you do add me, the link can be found on my profile page, search through the archive and you should be able to find a link leading to AFF. net where I also post my fic's...that's the only thing I can think of for now.

Now review I command theeeee!!!!