Disclaimer: All characters are property of J.K. Rowling and are being used without permission. No attempt has been made to copyright this work. This novel is purely for the entertainment of the author and readers and is not being used for profit of any sort.

Author's note:

For those of you who haven't read it recently, I suggest a perusal of chapter 5 before you read this one. I'd also suggest reading the last paragraph of the last chapter as well.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

SECRETS AMONG ENEMIES


The trip back to Hogwarts was sobering. Neville, Harry, and Draco had decided to leave Bellatrix's body where it lay. Harry assured the others that the Muggle police would take care of it, and taking the body with them would only cause more trouble.

They did, however, take the unconscious crup that had attacked Harry. It wouldn't be a good idea to let the police find that. They took the witch's wand with them as well, and Neville shrunk his Devil's Snare back to a portable size.

There was no evidence to link them to the scene.

They used Draco's portkey to get back to the Hogwarts main gate. They marched back to the school in silence, avoiding eye contact. When they finally arrived back at the main doors, the sun was beginning to peek out over the horizon.

"What do we do now?" Neville asked, breaking the silence between them.

"What do you mean what do we do?" Draco said, his eyes wide with shock...or fear. "We go back to our dorms, go to sleep, and keep our mouths shut!"

"But...what happens when they find her?"

"That's a good question." Malfoy responded. "Potter, you know all about Muggles, what will their Aurors do?"

"They're called policemen." Harry replied dryly. "Well, she didn't have any form of Muggle ID on her, so they won't be able to identify her. They'll list her as a Jane Doe in the morgue. I suppose the Death Eaters will come looking for her when she comes up missing."

"That won't take long." Draco replied. "Once they hear Lupin is still alive, they'll want answers."

"And what happens when they find her?" Neville asked nervously.

"They'll assume that some of Potter's friends got to her," Draco said as his mood suddenly changed to something more calm, "and if you know what's good for you, you're not going to say anything to make them think otherwise."

"Are you threatening me, Malfoy?"

"No, Longbottom. I am just saying that if I go down, you and Potter go with me."

"Why should we look out for you?" Harry questioned, his temper increasing. "You were the one that killed her in cold blood."

"In cold-blood? I don't think so, Potter. I was just the executioner that carried out the sentence we all agreed on."

"I don't recall agreeing to that."

"Maybe not beforehand," Draco said slyly, "but you certainly didn't object after the deed was done. Those feelings will certainly come out when they use Veritaserum to question us...if they question us. How will your friends feel when they find out you condoned murder?"

Harry shook his head nervously. "It doesn't matter. She was a known Death Eater. Even if they found out Neville and I were involved, we'd just get a slap on the wrist. Hell, they might even give us medals. But you Draco...if Voldemort finds out you were involved...you're dead. I think you owe us."

Draco's pale face suddenly filled with color. "Owe you? OWE YOU?!? Let me remind you, Potter, that if I hadn't stepped in your other pet dog would be dead right about now!!"



"Let's just call it even guys." Neville said as he stepped between them. "I'm tired, and I want to put this all behind me. We did what we had to do, let's leave it at that. I won't say anything to anybody, Draco. I'm sure Harry won't either. You just keep that in mind next time you feel the urge to insult us."

"I'll make a note of it." Draco said as he motioned towards the still limp crup that Neville was carrying. "Give me that, I'll take it to Filch. He won't ask me too many questions about it. He can take it to the pound tomorrow."

"Sure you aren't going to kill it?" Harry accused as Neville handed it over.

"I think I've filled my quota for the day." Draco said as he walked away. Harry and Neville watched him leave, then they headed to the Gryffindor dorms.

"He won't trust us." Harry said when they got back to their room. "I wouldn't put it past him to try to keep us quiet...permanently."

"He won't try anything." Neville said as he flopped facedown onto his bed. "It would be too hard to get rid both of us at once, and if something happened to one of us, the other would turn him in. He's sleazy, but he's not stupid. Besides, he knows that he's right. I don't want anybody to ever know about this. Could you imagine the hell Snape would put us through if he found out we were involved?"

"Oh damn, thanks for reminding me that he's coming back. I'd better get my Foe-Glass working quick."

Neville laughed, but it was a nervous laugh, devoid of any happiness. "Maybe the time away did him some good."

"I very much doubt that, Neville."

Neville was quiet for a while after that, and Harry thought he had fallen asleep until he spoke up again.

"How do you feel about all this, Harry?"

Harry carefully considered his response. "I can live with it, Nev."

"Me too." Neville replied as he pulled his blanket over his head.

Harry left the room and headed to the owlery. He wrote two letters. The first he wrote to the Weasleys, telling them that he was ready to return to the Burrow. The second was to Lupin. He really wanted to use Dumbledore's fireplace again but if the Headmaster returned and found Harry's head in his fireplace, there would be a lot of explaining to do. His letter to Lupin was simple, "Hey, how are you feeling?".

Harry attached the letters to two of the Hogwarts owls and let them loose into the cold December morning. Afterwards, he took a short walk through the empty halls. The only sound in the stone halls were his footsteps. Harry found it oddly soothing.

He returned to his dorm, feeling ready for a bit of rest. He found an owl waiting for him patiently outside his window. Harry read the letter while the gruff owl rested a little in his warm room.

Hey Harry,

I'm doing okay. It was a rough night, but I'm feeling better after a little walk this morning. There was a lot of ruckus outside the house today, apparently someone found a dead body. This neighbourhood isn't what it used to be.

Anyways, I'm doing okay. Don't worry about me. I'll see you on New Year's Eve.

-Lupin

Lupin's response was short, but it brought an immense wave of relief to Harry. He was alive, and well.

Harry fell asleep then, feeling in his heart that it had all been worth it.

***


The twins returned to Hogwarts late in the afternoon to pick up Harry. Their festivities with the Scottish twins had been interrupted by the unexpected visit of a former boyfriend. The young men spent the trip back to the Burrow recounting the tale to Harry, who found it quite amusing.

The rest of Harry's time at the Burrow was full of excitement. The entire family had been stricken with a kind of giddiness as the January elections inched closer and closer. The New Year's party at the house was one of the best Harry could remember. Lupin showed up looking quite alert and happy, and Tonks attended as well. She sported a wild green and yellow hairstyle for the occasion. Hermione and her parents came too, but Harry didn't get to talk to her much as she and Ron were suspiciously absent for most of the night.

The good times ended all too soon for Harry. The next week Ron, Harry, and Ginny bid farewell to the other Weasleys and boarded the Hogwarts Express. They were all a little depressed about returning. Ron and Harry faced the wrath of the N.E.W.T level courses, and Ginny had to prepare for her O.W.L. exams.

On his way to breakfast on the first day of the new term, Harry ran into Filch.

"Oy, Potter." Filch said nastily. "Dumbledore wants to see yeh." The old caretaker eyed Harry suspiciously, as if he was expecting to find some contraband on him.

"Oh, thanks. Mr. Filch." Harry replied cheerfully.

"Don' mention it." Filch sneered.

Harry found the wise old Headmaster in his office. Fawkes was flying silently flying near the high ceiling, apparently in need of some exercise.

"Hello Harry!" Dumbledore beamed when Harry entered. "Your holidays were festive, I hope?"

"Er - yeah, I had fun."

"Ah, excellent." Dumbledore replied as he retrieved something from his desk.

"Merry Christmas Harry, though it is a bit belated."

Dumbledore handed him a rather heavy book with a plain white cover.

"It's a very new and very rare book on the topic." Dumbledore explained. "The author asked me to review it. It's actually quite a good read. There are some things in there that even I did not know. It should help you quite a bit with your Apparition studies."

"Oh, thanks."

"You are very welcome. Harry, Phineas tells me that you were looking for me while I was away."

"Ah, yyyyeah..." Harry said slowly as he shot a glare at the portrait of Phineas on the wall. "Don't worry about it. I took care of it."

"I see." Dumbledore said as he stroked his long grey beard. "Is there something you want to tell me, Harry?"

"No, Professor Dumbledore. Not at the moment."

The Headmaster smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Very well then, off you go. You've got a long day of classes today."

Harry left Dumbledore's office and headed to his first class of the day, the one that he had been dreading for weeks...

N.E.W.T Potions with Snape.

When Harry arrived at the dungeon classroom, he could see that he was not the only one that was depressed. Every where he looked he could see worrisome faces.

Professor Severus Snape was already in the classroom standing near the doorway, greeting every student with an emotionless expression. This was a bit out of the ordinary for Snape, but it was obvious to Harry what he was doing.

He was re-establishing his territory.

Once the class had filled the professor began handing out scrolls to each student.

"From your end-of-term exams I can see that Professor Grubbly-Plank provided an adequate lesson plan in my absence. It seems that a few of you may have actually even learned something. However, she was a bit more forgiving in grading than I would have been. I can assure you that you will all have to improve the quality of your work if you wish to remain in this class. I have not forgotten that some of you should not be here in the first place. Especially you, Mr. Longbottom."

"I will do my best, Professor." Neville replied icily.

Professor Snape rose an eyebrow, but did not reply. "We will begin this term with healing potions. They are some of the most advanced solutions, as repairing the human body can be a complicated process. Our first lesson will be the Wound-Cleaning Potion. It's a very useful, but very complex potion since it is designed to eliminate a variety of foreign substances from the body." The dark-haired professor reached behind his desk and produced a rather nasty looking spiny plant.

"Perhaps a demonstration will help you all appreciate the power of this potion. Mr. Potter, come up here. Now."

Harry reluctantly approached the instructor and the horrible plant.

"Touch it." Professor Snape commanded.

Neville rose his hand and spoke. "Uhm...Professor Snape, that's a Prickler Pla-"

The Potions Master shot a deadly stare at Neville that silenced him in mid-sentence. "I am fully aware of what it is, Mr. Longbottom."

"Well?" Snape challenged, his attention returning to Harry. "Surely the great Harry Potter isn't afraid of a little plant?"

Harry somehow managed to keep from responding to that. He stared directly into Snape's cold beady eyes as he tapped the plant with a finger. The plant promptly shot a number of small spines into it. It stung like hell, but Harry would not give his adversary the pleasure of seeing him show pain.

"The Prickler Plant's spines are very difficult to remove." the professor said, addressing the class once again. "They also contain a number of irritating toxins. Left unattended, this wound could lead to a rather nasty infection."

Professor Snape opened a small purple vial and poured its contents onto Harry's poor, reddening finger. The potion smoked as it made contact with his wounds, but the spines fell out immediately and the stinging pain went away.

"See? All better." Snape said with a crooked grin. "Thank you for volunteering, Mr. Potter. Return to your seat."

Harry lingered just long enough to give Professor Snape one last glare, then he returned to his desk.

"Now that you all have seen the usefulness of this potion, I trust that you will make at least a moderate effort to create your own. You will find instructions for the mixture on page seventy of your books. Get started."

For the rest of the class period the students worked on the very complex (and very messy) purple potion. Professor Snape assumed his usual role, lording over each student like a buzzard about to descend upon a carcass. Despite his best efforts though, he failed in intimidating Neville. By the end of the period he had made the most progress on his Wound-Cleaning potion. Still, when the bell rang nearly all the students scrambled as fast as they could out of the classroom.

"Good lord!!" Ron whispered violently when they were out of earshot. "He's even worse than he was before!! All that time hanging out with Voldemort must have pushed him over the edge."

"He was rather unpleasant." Hermione fumed. "I have half a mind to report his behaviour to Professor McGonagall. I bet she'd have a few things to say to him."

"Don't bother." Harry said dismissively. "He's not worth your time. Besides, I'm sure Professor McGonagall is too busy devising some new torture for us this term."

Harry, to his dismay, soon found out the truth in his statement. They spent the next period in McGonagall's Transfiguration class, learning the complexities of human transfiguration. The students found it surprisingly easy to transfigure their partners into ring-tailed monkeys, the hard part was changing them back.

The short day of regular classes ended with another round of verbal abuse from Hagrid's Jarveys. The students weren't too happy about dealing with them in the bitter weather that was so cold even Hagrid's magical fire didn't do much to warm them.

The sixth year students had all received notices that they were to report to the Quidditch Pitch for Apparition lessons at the end of the day. No one was too happy about spending more time outside in the bitter January weather, but their excitement far outweighed their displeasure.

The sun was descending into the horizon when Harry and his friends headed to the pitch. The suits of armor were still there, inspecting everyone before they were allowed in. After the inspection (which took a little longer for the Slytherins), the students headed to the center of the field.

Madam Hooch was there, her long black robes flowing freely in the icy wind. Madam Pomfrey was by her side, and standing a few feet behind them was Professor Dumbledore himself.

"Alright people, pay attention." Madam Hooch said in a no-nonsense tone. "This is a very dangerous type of magic and I need you all focused. For those of you that will move on to less demanding magical careers, this may be the most complicated magic that you ever learn."

"Now, hopefully many of you know by now that Apparition is not normally possible on the Hogwarts grounds. However, Professor Dumbledore has graciously provided us with a small Apparition Zone here on the Quidditch pitch. It should be all you will need for practice. Most of you won't be able to apparate more than a few feet yet, if at all. Nevertheless, Madam Pomfrey is on hand to help in case any...accidents...occur."

A few of the students started to look worried.

"Here are your Apparition Manuals." the yellow-eyed witch said with a deft wave of her wand. A small pamphlet appeared in all the students' hands. Harry noticed that it was a lot smaller than the book that Dumbleddore gave him.

"We'll start with some ground rules. First off, these lessons are the ONLY time you are allowed to practice apparating. I'd like you all to remember that you are still underaged wizards and the old rules still apply, so don't think you can try apparating around when you go home for weekends or holidays! Second, no one apparates during these lessons unless they are given express permission. The last thing we need is for one of you to accidentally apparate into Edinburgh without us noticing."

"There is a spoken incantation for the Apparition spell, though many of you have probably never heard it since it is strictly for beginners. Once you've gotten the hang of it, you won't need it anymore. The incantation is hoc est corpus portum. It literally means 'this is the portal of my body'."

"Wait a minute," Dean said, "hoc est..corpus...portum. That sounds a lot like-"

"Hocus pocus?" Madam Hooch interrupted. "Yes it does. The Apparition spell is the origin for the term the Muggles use. Someone most likely caught some kids practicing apparating illegally centuries ago and picked up the term as 'magic words'. Anyways, let's get started." Madam Hooch waved her hand and three targets appeared high in the air a few feet away.

Hermione's hand shot into the air.

"Yes, Miss Granger." Madam Hooch said impatiently.

"Aren't we going to go over the manual first?" Hermione asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"It's best to have a little experience with the actual process before you get into the theory." Madam Hooch replied. "It'll all make a bit more sense once you've done it. Any other questions?"

The only response was the sound of chattering teeth.

"The process is simple." Madam Hooch continued. "Each of you will first walk to the spot underneath the target, then return to your starting point. Once back at the starting point you will focus on the spot you just left. You will then cast the spell. If all goes well you should apparate to the targets."

"That's it?" Seamus snorted. "But that's only a few paces."

"You will need to get a feel for distances first, Mr. Finnigan. I assure you, you will soon be glad that we started small. Let's get started. You three, line up."

Madam Hooch pointed to Seamus, Dean, and Pansy Parkinson. When they had assumed their positions, she spoke again.

"Most of you will probably need to use your wands at first, some of you may not." Madam Hooch cast a quick glance at Harry. "Focus is the key here, people. You must focus on your target. Distractions are the number one cause of splinching, the separation of one's body parts as a result of a failed Apparition. Words cannot express how unpleasant a splinching is, but I advise you all to do your best to keep from learning first hand."

The three students took the short walk from their positions to the hovering targets. After standing there for a while they returned to their starting points and took out their wands.

"Focus on the target. Remember what it felt like to be there, feel the distance."

The three braced themselves, and then they each cast the spell in succession.

"Hoc est corpus portum!"

Seamus disappeared first with a thundering CRACK! When he reappeared, he was ten feet past the target and several feet in the air. He fell hard on the cold ground. Dean disappeared soon after him with an even louder boom. He reappeared several feet short of the target, but he seemed proud that he was at least able to stay on his feet.

Try as she might, Pansy couldn't manage to get anywhere at all.

"That was...loud." Ron remarked, wincing and holding his ears.

"Yes Mr. Weasley," Madam Hooch remarked, "it gets quieter the better you get at it. Don't worry Miss Parkinson, it's only your first attempt. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Granger are next. Line up now, chop chop"

While the three Gryffindors took their places, Draco slid next to Harry.

"I see Weasley is sporting a new piece of jewelry. From you, I assume." the slim Slytherin boy whispered.

"Yes." Harry replied simply as he watched his friends pace to the targets.

"It's very nice, Potter." Draco continued quietly. "It seems that you do have taste after all. Tell me though, does this mean you two are engaged now?"

"Don't push it, Malfoy."

"Kidding! Only kidding, Potter. Lighten up."

Harry couldn't help but notice the change in Draco's tactics. Usually he would've turned that joke into a public spectacle instead of telling it in quiet tones.

Harry was broken out of his thoughts by several simultaneous BOOMS. All three of his friends had managed to apparate, but only Ron was on target.

"Ha! I beat you Hermione." Ron shouted triumphantly.

"You distracted me, Ron!" Hermione protested.

"What, a little wink is enough to get you all perturbed?"

Harry chuckled a little as he watched his friends playfully argue. His mood quickly changed though when his scar started to prickle slightly.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, and Miss Chang. You're up next." Madam Hooch commanded.

"You ready for this Harry?" Cho asked with a challenge in her voice and a smile on her lips.

"Ready as ever." Harry replied, trying his best to ignore the sensations in his scar. He paced off the distance to the target slowly and returned to his starting point.

He was about to pull out his wand when he heard a distant "Ahem!". He turned and saw Dumbledore looking at him kindly, shaking his head.

He apparently didn't want him to use his wand.

Harry shrugged and put his wand back in his pocket. "It's worth a shot, I guess". Harry thought as he braced himself, focusing on the short distance between him and the hovering targets.

"Hoc est corpus portum!"

Harry suddenly found himself in a large dark room, standing behind a figure dressed in black. The room was very cold, and the place smelled like an old attic. There was a sound in the room that made Harry's skin crawl. It was a pitiful, moaning sound. It took only a second for Harry to realize the source of the sound...

Ghosts. Dozens of them. All of them horribly disfigured. Harry let out a small gasp, and the dark figured started to turn around...

Before he realized what happened, Harry found himself back on the Quidditch pitch. He landed flat on his backside, his scar burning brilliantly.

He looked around. No one seemed to be paying too much attention to him. There was a large crowd surrounding someone on the ground. Many of the students looked horrified.

"Alright, Potter?" Draco asked behind him, without a hint of real concern in his voice.

"Yeah." Harry respoded. "What happened?"

"The Chang girl got herself splinched." Draco replied as he put his hands in his pockets. "Didn't look too bad though, just a couple of fingers missing."

Harry was shocked to hear the news. He wondered if Cho was okay...and just exactly where her fingers went. He was still confused though. He was sure that, for just a second, he had ended up somewhere else...somewhere that he never wanted to go back to again.

*******************************************************

Author's notes:

Short chapter, I know. Sorry, been I've been busy. :-)

I'm a litle sketchy on the Latin, it's been quite some time since my latin courses. I think I screwed up the genitive case of portus. Well, no matter. :-)

Shouts out to my friends on fanfiction.net:

Quoth the Raven, for the great reviews
Butler, just 'cuz
athenakitty, will you ever a leave a review that's not in the form of a question?
Skimbleshanks!

Thanks to all my reviewers. It's all much appreciated.

P.S., yes, I know that Cho is a 7th year at this point. Patience, I explain things.