A.N. Sorry it took us so long to update!!!! We had loads of h-work and haven't been able to conference all that much about this story. But, I hope that you enjoy this chapter!!!!!!!!! Thanks to everyone that reviewed!!!!!!!!
Quick AN from Tad: As this is my section, I'd like you all to understand a few things. I just got a new computer. I have to teach my word processor so many new words it's not even funny. So that's another reason this is taking so long to get out, on account of my Harry-Potter illiterate computer…. Grrrr
AN from SEEKER: Seeker-2000 would like to ask a big favor. Will you please read her best friends story, Harry Potter and the Century Sorceress. It may have the most mary-sue name in the world, but i assure u there are no evil tranfer students from America that fall in love with Harry and vice versa. Its main plot deals with Harry discovering that he has powers beyond the imagination. its a great story that no one reads and I cant figure out why. I wont update GONE until it has 5 more reviews! ha! How u like that?
Tadariada, SEEKER-2000 and Malena
P.S. In case you hadn't noticed, we all have an obsession with the name Bob.
Harry and Ron finally managed to get the tents set up without any help from any of the other Weasleys. They were still laughing about Bob, and making up interesting adventures that Bob had "gone on". Ron went in to the Burrow again and got their pajamas, while Harry set up their sleeping bags.
"Ron, are you two going to be okay out there alone?" Mrs. Weasley asked anxiously, wringing a towel with worry.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Ron said. "Besides, Herm and Gin are probably going to be happy that they won't have to listen to us snoring all night long. We are in the room above them."
"But I'm still worried. What if You-Know-Who comes!"
"I doubt that's going to happen," Ron said, although he got a bit nervous. "If it makes you feel a bit better we'll take our wands out with us."
"Oh, alright…"
Ron dashed upstairs and grabbed the things that they needed for bed.
"Bye mum!" Ron said, giving her another kiss on the cheek and dashing outside again.
Harry flopped down on his sleeping bag and stared at the ceiling. Ron came in and tossed Harry's pajama's to him.
"Mum's worried,' Ron snorted. "She thinks that You-Know-Who's going to come."
"Don't worry," Harry yawned. "I'll warn you if my scar hurts."
Ron laughed, "Okay, deal. I'm going to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."
Harry just yawned again and rolled over. He got dressed and crawled into his sleeping bag again. A few minutes later he was asleep.
~*~
Knock. Knock. Knock. The sound was so faint that Mrs. and Mr. Weasley could hardly hear the noise. Mrs. Weasley stood up and looked out the window.
"Arthur!" She hissed. "Come look at this!"
Arthur looked out the window and saw a tall person wearing a long, dark blue cloak.
"Do you recognize him?" Molly asked.
"No, do you?"
"No."
Arthur frowned and slowly walked over to the door.
"Who is it?" Arthur yelled.
"A friend," the voice said simply.
"But who?"
"I cannot divulge that information."
Arthur slowly unlocked the door and peeked out.
"What do you want?" Arthur asked.
"I wish to speak with Harry."
Molly's eyes widened and she quickly said, "He's asleep, come back tomorrow."
The man snorted slightly, turned, and walked away.
"I wonder who that was…"
Sirius Black walked down the path, glancing around the yard. A flickering light in the backyard caught his eye, and he journeyed over there. Someone had erected a tent, and there was a flashlight moving about inside.
Sirius lightly tapped on one of the poles.
"Who is it?" Came Ron's urgent voice from inside.
"Snuffles," Sirius said. There was a zipping sound and Ron's face poked out of the tent. He looked pale and frightened.
"Are you okay, Ron?" Sirius asked, lowering his hood.
"Er… yeah. You just startled me."
"Is Harry in there?"
"Yes, but he's sleeping."
"Can I come in?"
"Sure." Ron opened the tent's door even wider and Sirius climbed in. Harry was curled up in one of the sleeping bags, breathing softly. Some of his hair fluttered whenever he exhaled.
"So far this is one of the only nights he's slept peacefully," Ron said.
"Yeah, he told me he was having nightmares in one of his letters," Sirius said. "Do you know what they were about?"
Ron sighed deeply and started to explain what they had done. Sirius just listened in silence, staring at his godson. After Ron had gone silent Sirius said, "You're a good friend, you know that Ron?"
Ron shrugged and looked at the tent wall.
"Really, it takes a true friend to do that for a friend, even if he doesn't want him to."
Ron gave a soft smile and said, "Thanks."
"I'd better be going," Sirius said, looking at his watch. "Will you tell Harry I was here, and that I'll visit again soon."
"Sure."
Sirius smiled again and Disapparated out of the tent.
Ron sighed, climbed into his own sleeping bag, and turned off the flashlight.
~*~
It was a clear, cloudless day when the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione ventured into the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. The kids all donned their Wizard robes for the occasion, so not to attract quite so many stares.
It was a shorter list they shopped for this year, but the new DADA teacher hadn't assigned any new books, neither had Trelawney or Hagrid. So all they needed was a charms book, a potions book and of course a transfiguration book. Harry and Ron had to stop in Madame Malkin's robe shop to let down the hems on their school robes. (Boys grow around that age, so it was understandable) And Ron, grinning widely, showed Harry a pocket full of gold.
"Fred and George gave it to me." He said quietly. "To buy new robes." Harry had to hide his amusement.
When they had finished, they met the rest of the group in Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor for a bit of a rest. Harry, who was last to order, took his cone of Peanut Brittle Fudge ice cream and sat down. Hermione watched him vaguely as he ate it. Ron was going on about Quidditch, Fred and George were obviously plotting something by their tone and Ginny and Molly were chatting about something Hermione couldn't hear.
Harry opened his mouth slightly to say something, when a sudden shiver went through him and his brows furrowed.
"What's wrong Harry?" She asked.
"N- Nothing." Harry said, looking at her. "Just a brain freeze. Ow." With a free hand he massaged his temples. "Hate those things."
"Yeah." Hermione said. "Me too…"
Harry flinched again.
"You gonna survive Harry?" Ron joked. Harry forced a little smile and nodded.
"I'll - be fine." He wiped the corners of his mouth with a white paper napkin, and then crumpled it in his hand. "I'm just going to go throw this away. Be right back." He got up and stood there still for a while.
"Er…Harry?" Ron said. "Nap-kin?"
"We should go." Harry said quite suddenly.
Hermione laughed. "What?"
"We should really go."
"Harry, what are you on about?" Ron said. "We're not done shopping."
"Shopping can wait!" Harry snapped. "My scar hurts."
~*~
At once, everybody stood. They bundled up their purchases and walked out of the store very quickly. Dotted through the crowd were masked wizards, dressed in all black.
"Death Eaters!" Ron cried. The street went deathly quiet. A Death Eater took a step out of the shadows, laughed wickedly and then shouted an incantation. A green, glowing spark shot into the sky and exploded into the Dark Mark.
Screams and shouts ripped through the silence as people began to Apparate- and run- as fast as they could away from the spot. A large woman ran into Harry, knocking him to the ground. He stood up quickly and realized he had lost his glasses. He took a step forward, and of all the cliché things to happen, there was a crunch. He had found his glasses.
"Ron?" Harry said loudly. "Ron, where are you? Mrs. Weasley? Hermione? I stepped on my glasses- I can't see!"
Suddenly somebody braced his shoulder and dug a wand into his back. A dark, low voice hissed into his ear, "Move one inch and your eyes will be the least of your problems."
Harry froze, hardly daring to breath as the grip on his shoulder
got tighter. He shuddered, afraid. He dared not turn around to see who
the person was, and it wouldn't matter anyway sense he couldn't see. He tried
to think of something to do. He remembered the advice Aunt Petunia gave
Dudley when he was very little.
"If a stranger ever tries to take you, you just hit him, okay Dudders?"
Harry grimaced. He hated the thought of taking that woman's advice. In a
swift motion he turned very quickly and hit the Death Eater right in the gut.
The Death Eater moaned and doubled over in pain, and Harry darted.
He started running blindly through the crowd of people. Harry was unsure of whether or not the black cloaks in front of him were those of Death Eaters or of regular wizards, but he didn't care. He could make out a redheaded figure in the crowd far ahead of him, and he pushed through the people to get to it. People were fighting on both sides of him, going every which way. Several people were screaming, and explosions could be heard on both sides of the street.
He heard an Unforgivable curse shot forth from the other side of the street and he paled. He prayed it wasn't on someone he knew. The redheaded figure he could barely make out over the crowd was becoming farther away from him. "RON!" He cried out desperately, hoping that Ron would slow down.
On the other side of the street a Death Eater shot a spell over in Harry's direction. He aimed way to high, and it hit the building wall behind him. With a crackle, the building started to crumble on top of Harry and the crowd of people.
The last thing he remembered seeing was the stone falling down on him and the rest, before he was pitched into complete and utter darkness.
