Welcome! Please check my profile to see my TUMBLR (Usako3000) filled with tidbits, images and spoilery tidbits on this story.

I apologize for the delay (eight months!) for this chapter – I wanted to wait to release it until I knew I'd be back in for regular updates. This is the first of the last five chapters I love having you guys along for the ride! It's a longer one, so hopefully that makes up for the wait!

Harry Potter and the Wish of Life

Chapter 38

Temper, Temperature

A chill ran through Harry's body at the ominous words, and he was on his feet immediately. "What are you talking about?!"

"A few of us went to get a snack in the Great Hall," Theodore began, a sullen, harsh faced boy looking scared, "Your dad was there as well, Harry and suddenly this patronus came through the wall - like a little foal or something - and it said that Fudge is dead and the Ministry is done."

Immediately the room burst into horrified murmurs with Harry's name being dropped in every sentence. The boy turned to Tonks who had been in the corner helping some of the students with their hexes. The out of commission auror looked grim. Her hair was it's natural shade of black and the lack of color in it seemed to Harry a very bad omen indeed.

"Everyone stay calm," He announced, and although the blood that coursed through his veins felt icy cold, his palms were sweaty, "I'll try and find out if –"

The glowing voice bead in the corner of the room suddenly blared to life. Harry's great-great grandfather's voice came trumpeting down: "Students of Hogwarts please proceed immediately toward your common rooms. Curfew is in immediate effect."

"It must be true," Hermione murmured, defeated.

That night, Gryffindor tower was filled with much speculation and fear. Professor McGonagall refused to answer any questions, but when Harry caught her eye, gave a small, sad nod.

She told them that an announcement would be made the next day and sent them all to bed.

Unfortunately, Harry wasn't able to rest.

Instead, his mind was whirring with terrible thoughts. The Ministry had fallen and they still had two horcruxes left. It had been months since their last find and they couldn't afford it to be months still.

Furthur, what was happening to all the witches and wizards of wizarding England? Were some being rounded up? Were some being tortured? What would happen in the days to follow?

Hot with stress, Harry threw the covers off his bed and blindly stumbled around for a pajama top to pull over his torso. Bumping into the adjacent canopied bed, he found it empty. Surprised, he wondered where Ron was, and went to find his brother.

Rousing Ethan took only a few moments and they were just walking into the common room when the portrait hole opened and McGonagall stepped in with Ginny, Ron and the twins.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, completely forgetting to be guilty over being out of bed.

"I should being asking you that, Mr. Potter," McGonagall sighed, "You needn't worry. Arthur and Molly arrived and wanted to see their children."

"So, it is true. The Ministry is gone, and we're all that's left-"

"I'm afraid so." McGonagall confirmed, "Now please, all up to bed."

"Grandmama," Harry frowned, "I have questions – I need to –"

"I'm sorry," The Gryffindor head sighed, "We will be working on the wards all night, I cannot stay. I promise tomorrow we will all meet. Now, BED."

The twins didn't need to be told twice. Blearily they pushed past Harry and Ethan, while the Potter brothers took tentative steps furthur down the staircase.

"Actually," Harry beseeched, "I … I can't really sleep. We … we, uh … wanted to discuss things. Would it be okay to stay down here?"

McGonagall regarded him a moment before nodding, "Cast your silencing spells well. I assume you would like me to wake Ms. Granger and Ms. Patil?"

Harry grinned broadly, "You're the best!"

She harrumphed and disappeared up the staircase.

Ron nodded toward Harry and took a seat beside him, "I was thinking about it too, to be honest. We should try and brainstorm, feels better than doing nothing. And before you ask, we don't know much more than you – literally got pulled out just to see them alive and well."

The three boys suddenly realised the presence of someone else in the room and turned to find Ginny still standing in the center of the common room, frowning.

"So," She uttered, "Am I invited to this, or …?"

Harry and Ron shared a look while Ethan lifted his eyes to the ceiling, clearly unwilling to take part in the conversation with his ex.

"Ginny," Ron began, looking embarrassed, "We have things to discuss-"

"Yes, I've noticed. I'm asking why I can't be apart of it?" She crossed her arms.

Harry was hesitant to disappoint her. "I'm sorry Ginny, but you can't. We have things to discuss about Voldemort."

"Well, that's a bit stupid of you isn't it?" Ginny stormed angrily, "Seeing as I'm the only one out of the lot of you to be possessed by him. You'd think that you would value my opinion."

Harry blinked, surprised, "I forgot-"

"Lucky you," She returned coolly.

It was then Hermione's voice lashed like a whip, "Ginny! With everything that Harry and Ethan and the rest of us have been through – I'd watch your tone!" She stood with Parvati at the base of the staircase to the girl's dorms, her arms crossed, and brown eyes blazing.

Ginny's jaw dropped.

"You have no idea the extent of what is going on right now and your presumptuous behaviour is frankly, ridiculous. I know the ordeal you went through was terrible, but it was an ordeal that stopped because your brother and Harry saved you. I'd think fighting Voldemort numerous times would make them more the expert."

Ron looked at Hermione with a type of awed respect as she scolded the younger girl, "And what we think of your opinion isn't really the issue here. We're at war and certain things are classified to certain people -"

"I'm sorry, you're right, but that's exactly it – why not me?" Ginny's cheeks were as red as her hair, "I feel left out, and you boys are always –"

Ron gave a big exasperated sigh, "This isn't a bloody hide and seek game!"

Ginny glared fiercely at her brother, "Ron, you are being such a –"

"Oh, boo hoo, are you going to run off and write about in another possessed diary? Grow up, Ginny."

Ginny's eyes welled with tears and Harry felt a surge of sympathy for her. He was touched with how fast his friends defended him and for once, the calm head in the room, he decided to make peace.

"Ginny, everyone's on edge right now. I get it, maybe you just want to help, but things cannot be openly shared, I'm sorry. Not with you and not with many others either."

Under his stare, Ginny looked much like the shy first year who would run at the sight of him, "I'm sorry, Harry."

"You made a good point though, you do know things about him … at least his teenage self, maybe we should go see Dumbledore tommorrow, he might have questions-"

Ginny coloured more, "I … To be honest, the conversation had always been really one sided. I… I don't really know much about him, at all … I was just being a bitch when I said that earlier. Dumbledore looked through my memories after it happened – and I don't think it helped him any. Really, the only thing I knew about him was that he was totally obsessed with this school."

Harry caught his brother's eye.

Only when Ginny had headed to bed and they had cast an array of silencing spells was Harry able to howl in anticipation.

"I knew it! I knew it! He was obsessed with this school, how could we be so blind?!"

"It makes sense, I mean, we did know he was here at Hogwarts during his interview, right?" Hermione paged through some of the notes she had made on Voldemort's life.

"With all the Order and others coming for refuge this place is going to be madness," Ron postulated, "How are we going to try and find a horcrux once all the spare wings and rooms get filled?"

"I thought the school was already checked before, though?"

"No," Ethan shook his head, "Papa Padfoot and Aunt Arulbella checked out the Chamber of Secrets only. We couldn't think of another place specific to here."

"Slytherin dorms?" Hermione offered.

"To hide it?" Harry hummed in disagreement, "No way, too public, it would be way too easy to find."

"A place to hide things …" Parvati looked a bit thoughtful, "…you know, I might have an idea. We should get Draco."

An hour later, they had gathered both the invisibility cloak and Draco and done two trips beneath the cloak in order to get everyone up to the seventh floor corridor.

A year prior Draco had stumbled across the most interesting room after a meeting with Dumbledore that had left him needing to replace glamour spells that the Headmaster had taken from him. Later, he and Parvati had used the room to snog in.

As such, the children found themselves in a vast room with towers upon towers of… things. Furniture in all forms of disarray were piled higher than one would think possible, books were in every nook and cranny, and the strangest items littered the floors and cases.

Hermione tried a summoning spell but found that it didn't work. As the others despaired over the seemingly impossible task set upon them, Harry found himself thoughtful. He had been able to find himself in the mind of the Snake, he wondered if he could possibly do the same for the diadem. Relaxing himself, he opened his mind and reached out, searching…searching….

His scar flared to life with a sudden shock of pain that seemed to reverberate around the room.

His emerald eyes flashed open, and somewhere, from beneath the piles of things, he could feel it. Something was waiting for him, calling for him. It was distant but present. He felt a compulsion consume him to find it. He needed it. It was his.

"It's here," He said in an unearthly tone, moving forward into the room, "Let's look."

"How'd you know?" Ron asked curiously.

"I just do."

Despite the distant call of something dark, it still took them hours to find. They sorted through books, weapons, broken wands and so much more. Ethan stumbled across a five legged skeleton that scared everyone. While Hermione found a bloody axe that scared them even more.

It was nearing dawn when Harry heard a chattering, and turned to face it. There in front of him was a discoloured old tiara, barely remarkable, but highly distinguishable. "I've found it!" He bellowed victoriously. Nearby, Ethan looked up from the set of drawers he was going through. His red hair was dusty and his eyes were tired but he lit up when he gazed upon it.

The others were beside them in moments and they all smiled rather deliriously at one another.

"We should get my parents," Harry said reluctantly, "It might be cursed." He thought of the ring that Dumbledore had almost worn if it hadn't been for his father.

"What if objects move around when we leave?" Hermione bit her lip.

"I feel weird about leaving it here," Draco agreed.

"Maybe one of us can go get them while the others wait here?" Ethan offered.

Somehow, the longer Harry stared at the diadem, the more sure he felt it wasn't cursed. In fact, if he thought very hard, he could almost imagine Voldemort leaving it here in a hurry, no time to ward it appropriately. Yes, it felt so accurate, more like a memory than a hunch.

"Isn't that right?" He hissed without realising it and the diadem shook in recognition of him, purring as if it was a cat.

Blinking, Harry became aware of his friends staring at him, "What?"

"Did you just…talk…to it?" Ron asked, looking a little green.

"Sort of-" A pit of discomfort grew in Harry's belly, and he wanted the object destroyed immediately, "At least, I'm sure it's not cursed. Let's just wrap it up in robes and take it-"

The words caught in his mouth as he was hit in the back with a familiar, creeping spell. The amplified confundus. He stumbled forward and his brother caught him, staggering backward as the other children whipped around and threw up shields.

Bellows of "Expelliramus!" filled the air, but at the end, everyone remained armed. In front of them, shoulder to shoulder, stood Crabbe and Goyle.

"Whatd'you want?" Draco demanded coldly.

Crabbe smiled slowly, "I knew waiting behind would be a good idea. Sneaking out of the dorms at night, Draco? To look for a die-dum? Potter's gone and talked to it in snake … that's pretty interesting, dontcha think, Goyle? The Dark Lord'll find it pretty interesting too, I'd bet."

Goyle nodded, "Yeah, so hand it o'er."

"It's six to two," Ron began slowly, "You won't win this."

"I play dirty, Weasley. Potter might be able to live through a killin' curse, but the rest of you won't. And Potter's all knocked out anyway, he ain't be able to cast anythin'."

"Crabbe, Goyle, both of you need to just take a step back-"

"Shaddup, Malfoy! I don't take orders from you, anymore!" Crabbe spat, a wild look on his face, "I have a higher callin' now!"

He pulled his sleeve up, revealing the black stain of a dark mark. "This is my world now!"

Draco cursed loudly, "You idiot! Listen, this doesn't need to be the way it is. Is this really what you want? We're friends. I know you feel like you didn't have a choice. I know what our Fathers are like – it was the dark magic that's made them that way – that's not us, do you get that? We can have better lives. Do you want to do the bidding of a man who wouldn't hesitate to torture or kill you if you wrong him?"

"The ministry is done," Crabbe spat.

"There is no other choice," Goyle said.

"There is," Draco championed, "You can join us. It's so much better… blood doesn't make a family. You can actually be happy and free. Wouldn't you want that?"

It was then Harry noticed the difference in Goyle and Crabbe. While Crabbe's eyes gleamed with darkness, Goyle's eyes were hooded, thick bags beneath them.

Goyle's wand dropped just the slightest and Hermione took the chance, "Expelliarmus!" It went flying into her hands.

"No!" Crabbe howled in anger, "You stupid Mudblood! Avada Kedavra!"

Rage filled Harry's muddled consciousness as Hermione dived quickly to the ground, the spell hitting a creaky cabinet behind her, raining splinters on all of them. Crabbe had truly aimed to kill. Their situation had turned more deadly by the second.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Draco roared, "Don't kill!"

"You bloody bastard!" Ron yelled at the same time, charging straight into the larger boy and knocking him backward.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Parvati yelled, at the same time that Draco called a load of books down onto Crabbe and Goyle.

Unfortunately, Ron too got buried in the skirmish and Hermione jumped to her feet in shock, running toward the pile of books.

"Shit," Draco cursed before he grabbed Parvati by the arm and pushed her toward Ethan and Harry, "Go! All of you, we'll take care of this-"

"Draco-" Parvati made to argue, but was stopped short by a stern glare from him. She nodded firmly and turned toward Harry.

Ethan was already wrapping the diadem up in his robes, and although they both tried separately to break the curse on Harry, neither had the ability that the adults did and couldn't seem to manage it.

A rumble of shouts came from beside them and Parvati threw up a smoke screen. Ethan grabbed Harry's arm firmly and motioned to Parvati to do the same, "Hold on tight! Conturbabimo!"

It was a spell Sirius had taught them a few weeks ago. A diversion tactic that rearranged anything nonliving and non anchored to a person or magical base. Ethan's use of it was clever, as the towers of contraband in the Room of Hidden Things rearranged themselves with a great creak. When everything stopped spinning, they were separated from the others by a wall of bird cages, bookcases and armchairs of many types.

"There!" Ethan yelled, spying two brooms lying sideways against a coathanger. They were clunky and ancient looking, one slightly longer than the other. Grabbing them both he handed the other one to Parvati. "We'll both get on this and hold Harry between us, okay? Then we'll find the others and-"

Suddenly a distant roar sounded and the unmistakable smell of burning filled the room. Ethan and Parvati shared a scared look and within seconds they had taken to the air, Harry's lolling body held tight between them.

From above they witnessed the horror, flames of tremendous size were overtaking everything. Nearest to them was Draco who was throwing water spells at the fire with no luck.

"Draco!" Ethan yelled, and threw the second broom down at him.

The blonde caught it deftly and flew up to join them as they scanned the room for the other children.

"It's Fiendfyre!" Draco yelled over the noise, "It's the darkest of magic, I can't even -"

"Like it hot, scum?" Crabbe jeered from his place on top a tower of tables.

"Is Harry still out?" Draco glanced at the dark-haired boy.

Harry managed to make a groaning noise, fighting with every inch of his body to try and overcome the spell.

"There!" Parvati yelled.

Down on the floor, his two friends were running for their lives. Draco flew down to them and as they both piled onto the broom they found they could not take off. Gray eyes flashed up to the Potter brothers and Parvati with horror.

"It won't take three!" He yelled up in terror, "It won't carry three!"

Muddled as he may be, Harry knew what was about to happen before it did. Ron's face grew hard and with a firm nod he got off the broom.

"No!" Parvati gasped.

But Harry knew his best friend too well. Ron was a knight. He would sacrifice anything to protect his Queen.

"Ron!" Hermione howled, reaching for him.

"No, go. Now!" Without another word and before anyone could stop him, he took off running, vanishing into the corridors of junk.

Speechless, as Hermione crumbled into his back in deep sobs, Draco kicked off the ground hard and reached the air. "To the door," He said quietly, "To the door! We'll come back for him!"

Parvati was sobbing and Harry could feel the cold wetness of her tears in his hair. The children flew blindly toward the entrance as the flames began to mutate. Creatures of fire roared at them, serpents, chimeras, dragons …. They licked them with flames.

And suddenly, just as they could make their exit, their broom reared back and the wrapped up horcrux fell from their hands as a rope wound around it, taking it closer and closer to Crabbe.

"Wait!" Ethan yelled and Draco paused, glancing back.

Parvati was fast and shot out a lasso of her own. It caught the diadem, and as Crabbe and she fought for possession, a devastated Hermione managed to call out her own spell. Together, they tore it from Crabbe's rope, but the sudden loss of pull from that end caused the ropes to go lax and the diadem dipped into the flames below.

A shriek pierced their ears. Hermione broke her spell, and Parvati quickly pulled it up toward them as they raced toward the exit, the heat burning their skin. The screech from the horcrux sent a piercing sensation through Harry as well, almost as if he was shocked, and suddenly he found himself capable once more just as they burst through the exit and slammed into the opposing wall.

The flames followed them but Ethan turned and shut the doors, a sealing charm falling from his lips.

"What are you DOING?!" Harry grabbed at his brother's wand, "Ron's still in there! We have to go back!"

"We can't, Harry!" Ethan cried, "Didn't you see, it consumed everything-"

"My magic, I can fight it, I swear I can-"

"No you can't!" Draco shouted, angry with grief, "You can't!"

"You don't need to-" A weak voice said, and they all turned. There, standing at the turn in the corridor was Ron and an unconscious, highly burned, Goyle.

"Ron-" Harry felt tears spring into his eyes. The redhead's hair was singed and mostly black, and he looked in pain from his leg, but he was very much alive.

"Goyle saved me-" Ron explained, "He'd found a broom too – we came careening out a few minutes before you - he passed out though - his arm got licked by one of those flame creatures, it was-"

He was cut off midsentence by Hermione. She marched straight up to him and planting one hand on each of his cheeks, kissed him hard. Injured or not, Ron's arms dangled at his sides for only a second before they wrapped around the girl's body and clutched her to him as he deepened the kiss.

"FINALLY!" Harry roared, adrenaline pumping through his veins at the near loss. He looked over at the burned diadem hanging loosely from Parvati's wand. Thick black liquid oozed from the gem in the center. It looked like Gaunt's ring after the horcrux in it had been destroyed. Parts of the diadem were turning to dust as he watched it, and softly he hissed at it.

"Are you there?"

The gem stared lifelessly back at him.

They'd done it.

Finally, indeed.

Dumbledore was called immediately. Crabbe didn't turn up and it seemed he had perished at the hands of his own fire. While Harry knew he should feel bad, he found it hard to find sympathy for the boy who had tried to kill them all.

Goyle had suffered severe burns while Ron had some milder ones, and so after checking over everyone and subduing the still flaming room, Dumbledore had taken both boys to the hospital wing and left the other children to face the wrath of three very worried marauders.

"You should have called us," Remus began sternly, arms crossed about his chest, "You're all in so much trouble-"

"But, we destroyed it-" Ethan piped up, incredulous that they hadn't been heaped with praise, "We figured it out and destroyed it-"

"AT THE RISK OF YOUR LIVES!" James roared and everyone jumped. The head of the Potter family was furious and Harry found himself avoiding his father's accusatory gaze. "How could you be so stupid? Harry, look at me right now! Taking on something so dark? You could have all died ..."

"We were going to get you," Hermione said timidly in defense of her friend. The smell of burning hair was still strong in the corridor and she smoothed her singed locks down a little, "But then we got stopped by them-"

Even Sirius had no inch of mercy in his face, "This is the type of thing that happens in war. The fact that you were wholly unprepared is proof that you should NEVER have began on such an undertaking. Did you really think searching for such a dark artifact would be any safer? Irresponsible, all of you."

Draco was the only one of the boys to readily accept the blame, "I'm sorry." He beseeched his guardian, "Remus, we thought that you'd be busy with wards - the Ministry just fell, I know now that that was stupid-"

"Exactly!" Harry's temper rose, "The Ministry just fell! Did you expect me to wait on finding it? War is here and we fought because we didn't have a choice-"

"You had a choice," James began, a silky tone to his voice, "And that choice was to call us instead of acting like a hot-headed child and running in on your own!"

Harry's cheeks flushed with color at being told off infront of his friends, and the unfairness of the situation struck him hard. He could still feel the connection with the diadem swirling about in him, a little dark voice hissing to him that he was entitled and right in what he chose to do. "I just got us one step closer to saving everyone, okay?! It's MY prophecy, I'm the one who has to destroy him, I'm the hero - so don't bloody shout at me over doing something heroic!"

Ethan gave a gasp of shock and Harry was well aware of his friends' wide eyes and dropped mouths.

James' dark eyes blazed and right away, behind Harry's belly button, a flower of dread blossomed. What had he been thinking? If the Fiendfyre hadn't killed him, his father was surely about to.

"Sirius," James began, his voice deadly, "Can you please see the girls back to the tower?"

Sirius nodded and ushered the girls away as Remus reached for Draco, "Let's go too, Draco. We have a lot of things to discuss-"

Harry kept his eyes on the ground, fully aware of his Father's direct gaze at him. As soon as the others had vanished and they were alone in the deserted corridor, James strode toward him with a purpose.

Certain he was about to get whacked and whacked hard, Harry fought the urge to back away. He had destroyed a horcrux and now he was going to be punished – it was just so wrong, and so embarrassing and-

Instead of a hiding, James gripped him hard by the chin and forced him to meet his eyes, "You might be the hero, Harry, but you're my son first - and you will NEVER do something heroic that could cost you your life, do you understand?"

James shook him when a reply was not forthcoming and Harry yelped out loud. "I said, do you UNDERSTAND?!"

Tears blurred Harry's vision and he stared up at his father, feeling very misunderstood and underappreciated, "Dad-"

"Do you remember the night at Spinner's End?" James demanded, "Do you remember what you felt like?"

How could he not remember the terror at seeing his father sacrifice himself? Of being so close to losing one he loved so much?

The raw emotion flashed across his face and noticing that, James nodded grimly, "Your mother and I feel like that constantly, Harry. And let me tell you, speaking from experience, losing parents is nothing compared to what we would suffer in losing you or your brother."

"You've been forced into dangerous situation after dangerous situation, I know that. And I also know how capable you are, Harry. But that doesn't mean it's okay to BE in dangerous situations on your own choice, do you understand? Promise me, promise me this is the last time-"

Harry gulped, seeing the terrified agony on his Father's face, a repercussion of his rash actions. He was so, so loved and for the first time he saw just how much he worried his parents. His father's grip was painfully tight on him and Harry nodded tearily, "Yes, Dad, I'm sorry –" He choked on his own words, "I promise, I'm sorry-"

James searched his son's face for the truth and finding Harry's honest resolution, nodded. He gruffly kissed the crown of Harry's head before reaching out and pulling Ethan in close with them. Their father placed a hand on each of their shoulders and praised them, "I'm glad. As angry as I am, I know that you both did so well. Harry, Ethan - as always I am so proud to be your father. That said, your actions have shown me that I can't trust either of you to stay safe, so as punishment you won't be staying at Gryffindor tower anymore. I expect you at our suite, starting tonight. Let's go-"

Ethan and Harry shared relieved glances. That was it? How lucky they got off so lightly –

"Ah!"

"Oww! Dad!"

And so, both boys found a respective ear held captive in their father's practiced hands as he marched them down the seven floors and numerous long corridors to the Potters' suite.

Woefully rubbing their ears, the boys had to sit and bear witness to their father telling their mother the whole sordid story. Instead of scolding them she had simply looked exhausted. So much so that Harry had been filled with deep regret and both boys had hugged her from each side, apologizing profusely.

By the time they climbed into bed it was already morning. In the spare bedroom of the Potters' suite, Harry turned so he could see his brother in the adjacent bed, "You know, I don't think I ever fully thought of their perspective. Merlin, they must be terrified – how do they ever sleep with sons like us?"

"I doubt they do," Ethan agreed, "In fact, probably the lack of sleep is what weakened Dad tonight – and after the way you talked to him! I thought I was about to witness your death!"

"You and me both!" Harry shook his head with a laugh, "He let me off easy, it's not like him. We shouldn't have gone off on our own like that – I was rash – maybe that was a bit of me from my old timeline-"

Ethan yawned, "We survived, anyway. Good night, Harry. We killed a horcrux tonight and when we wake up the whole world will have changed."

"Not for the better."

"No. But we're so much closer now."

They were.

Just one more to go.

To be Continued….

Diadem: Originally the entire Diadem destruction took place without Harry, instead it was told to him as a story by the other, flushed and excited children. On reviewing it didn't seem right that they would go without Harry or the adults so this chapter had to be completely rewritten! I hope you enjoyed the twist on the scene from the books – I loved writing Ron's brave sacrifice.

Ginny: I always hated Ginny's comment re:possession by Voldemort in the novels. It bothered me that she seemed to think that made her equal with Harry's experiences. This was a mini dialogue I wrote when I first returned to the story, and I found it hard to place. This Ginny feels a bit iced out after her breakup with Ethan.

Directive 32: The last remnants of the Order and free wizarding society will be moving into Hogwarts. Any familiar faces you hope to see?

Horcruxes: …Is there just one left?

Please remember to leave a review! It's our last stretch and I could really use your comments, thoughts and support I always reply to every signed review – I love reading your feedback! Finally, since this is one of our last five chapters, I will take the name of one reviewer of this chapter and work it into the next