After dinner, Harry casually mentioned Sirius wanting to meet him and, in exchange for being rid of him, Vernon had given him a lift to Willowvein. It was all a lie and to be honest Harry should have contacted the order members, but he was tired of being treated like a baby. Every year he had faced evil head-on and come out alive and whenever people tried to protect him things went horribly wrong. Harry pulled on his invisibility cloak and watched as the restaurant's lights flickered off and the employees evacuated. They each had different goodbyes and some asked if anyone wanted to go do something. Yet, Nevina walked past them and returned only the basic of courtesies.

Harry did held his breath as she walked past him and pulled a long coat up around her shoulders. He was surprised to see how exhausted she looked, though the good news was that she did not seem to be very alert. Harry followed as quickly as he dared and kept his eyes on her the entire time. Gradually the neighborhoods began to look demarcated from normal society. There were bars on the windows, dogs chained in the yards and every eye that watched them pass looked paranoid. Nevina stopped in front of a small, pastel blue house with white trim and a patched-up roof. The fence surrounding it was spray painted white and there looked to be something of a garden inside; though not many people would have called it that. Nevina unlocked the gate and Harry rushed through as Nevina paused to yawn. She shut the gate and locked it again before turning towards the front door.

There were about three no trespassing signs that Harry saw on his way in, one on the gate, one posted in the yard, and one in the window. Nevina unlocked the door and paused she looked over her shoulder and was perfectly still for a few moments before she seemed satisfied and entered. Harry pulled off the cloak as she did, he wouldn't be needing it any longer. Nevina tossed her keys into a bowl on a cabinet in the hallway, one hand reaching back to shut the door.

"So, this is where you live? I was expecting something different," Harry stated, letting himself in before she could close the door.

Nevina was on-guard and snarling at him in an instant. Her eyes locked on to him, search missiles on an enemy target. She visibly forced herself to relax and eased into a casual pose, pretending he was a guest she had let in. "Oh look, young Harry Potter," she drawled as her hand stretched slowly towards the coat she had hung up on the wall. "Come to pay me a visit."

Harry pointed his wand at her, already having his out and ready. Her gaze turned sour, but again she tried to pass it of as a simple inconvenience. She retracted her arm as casually as she could and in an indignant voice she asked,

"To what do I owe this rather hour visit?"

Harry did not lower his wand, something Nevina seemed highly annoyed about. "I want a few questions answered."

"You still haven't given me a valid explanation of why you followed me," Nevina replied in a growl. There was silence; then, a thunderous wave of sound erupted through the room as both Harry and Nevina began shouting out questions and becoming louder and more intense with each word. They were both avoiding answering any of the questions by shouting louder than the other.

"What do you want?" Both Harry and Nevina snapped, out of breath from arguing so hard and for so long. When they had to catch their breath, they glared at each other, making up for the silence. Harry shook his head,

"We aren't solving anything this way," he decided.

Nevina crossed to the door. "Leave! That'll solve my problem," she snarled and swung the door open.

Harry's mind raced, though he knew using magic against her while she had not attacked was a good way to get expelled and Dumbledore probably would not come to the rescue a second time. Then another thought struck him. "Sure- I'll leave, send Dumbledore an owl and see you in a few hours," He offered with a shrug. Nevina twitched slightly. Harry noticed and snatched up the opportunity. "OR!" He stared her right in the eyes, waiting for any response. She stared right back at him, as if testing his dare.

When she did not respond Harry shrugged again and headed for the door.

Nevina sighed reluctantly and made a small noise like a hurt child. "I'm listening," she growled.

Harry smiled, turned and walked farther into the house. Making an effort to stay away from the door, lest she throw him out. However, she hadn't made him leave, so she obviously didn't want him to send Dumbledore an owl. 'Probably doesn't feel like moving to a new spot in the middle of the night,' he thought. Harry knew he should have asked Ron to come with him, for all he knew she was readying the knife to stab him while he had his back turned. Then a new thought entered his mind.

If she was working for someone and that person didn't want her to kill him... her next move would be to run! Harry wanted to kick himself. He looked around the room; it was bare except for a couch, a small T.V. and a table. She probably had expected someone finding her and had moved all her stuff. Harry whirled around, not expecting so see anyone there. However, there she stood, arms crossed, not cockily, but as if she was sad. Her head was tilted downward slightly and her eyes looked upward at him and she said nothing.

"Err, well... I have a lot of questions for you," Harry started. He was unnerved by her still being there when she could so easily have run.

"Why are you following me?" Nevina asked, her voice was emotionless, yet Harry sensed a tinny bit of concern in her eyes, covered well by the deep hatred in her voice.

"I think we should both take turns answering questions," stated Harry, linking his fingers in a way he had seen Dumbledore do so many times.

"Go on," Nevina nodded, agreeing.

"Right, well... one question at a time... umm, the answers MUST be TRUE and-"

"I think we should be able to pass some questions," Nevina interrupted, eyes flashing to show she wasn't going to loose control of this situation.

"Why?" Harry asked, not completely wanting to give her that.

Nevina sneered. "Name everyone in the Order, tell me the password to the meeting house-"

"Alright, alright!" Harry waved his hands out in front of him. "We can each veto three different questions."

"Thr-?" Nevina started.

"What is that thing on your arm anyway?" Harry asked swiftly, pointing to the constant arm warmer she always wore.

"Is that your question?" Nevina slid her hand behind her back, she was not going to answer that question and it was not an important one.

"No, who are you?" Harry glanced slowly around, looking for a family portrait or anything that could clue him in on what was going on with this girl.

"Nevina. Why do you care?" Nevina shot back.

Harry side-glanced her. "...That doesn't answer my question. I want to know your name."

"That's not an answer, you're breaking the rules of the game," Nevina stated angrily.

"Well I figured we might as well be civil and get introductions out of the way," Harry replied. "Apparently we can't… maybe I should send an owl to Dumbledore, he could act as mediator."

Nevina glared in a way that proved she was not going to let that little trick work a third time. "Fine, Nevina Shinko."

"Harry Potter," Harry sat down on the sofa. "This might take a while," he stated, gesturing for her to sit. When she didn't he gave her the 'lets be civil' look and started getting up. Nevina sat, as if she was a chained animal and he held her life in his hands.

"Whose turn is it?" Nevina asked lowly.

"Mine now. Where are your parents?"

"Pass," Nevina's voice was its usual emotionless tone, yet snapped out harshly.

"Okay, whose house is this?" Harry asked.

"Mine. Why are you following me?" Nevina shot out.

"To get information. Why won't you let us read that book?" Harry retorted.

"It..." Nevina didn't know how to answer this, so she just let the words come. "It's private. Why do you need information on me?"

"Because you keep your life such a mystery. Where were you born?" Harry questioned.

"Pass," Nevina hissed.

"WHO are your parents?"

Nevina had an answer for this, she had been prepared for this question, yet she opened her mouth and nothing came out. All the months of practice, and she couldn't answer, because she knew it was a lie. "You asked me my last name, that's the same question," Nevina answered.

"Alright, why are you always at the Death Eater meetings?" it was a shot in the dark, a hope that the figure in the picture really had been her and not an illusion.

"I like to know what they are up to. Same as with your little group. Why did you come here, alone?"

"I was acting on the spur of the moment. Are you saying that you spy on the Order as well?"

Nevina smirked and stood up. "Pass," she replied hauntingly. "Now again, why come here alone?"

"Because you've had plenty of opportunities to kill me and haven't. That and nothing else seems to be working. Now, who is the girl they let die all alone?"

"… Pa-"

"You can't! You already did that three times!" Harry bellowed, realizing he had a deeper motive for coming alone. If the order came they would never let him talk to her and he needed to know. "Who was she!"

Nevina stared at him for an agonizingly long time. "They wouldn't tell you?" she shook her head. "Her name was Kira. Why do you care?"

"You brought it up," Harry replied simply, though Nevina rolled her eyes to show that was not the answer she was looking for. She wanted a real answer, but he was not prepared to giver her one until he found out for himself. "What happened to her?"

"As she was, I am now, as she is many shall be," Nevina replied chillingly. "…Does the Ministry know that Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore are hiding Sirius Black?"

With a smile, Nevina turned around and sat down on the sofa. She had turned the tables on him that easily. A few moments ago he'd felt in charge, like she was a caged leopard and he held her leash. Now, however he felt like she was a leopard and he was in her cage. Harry stood now, he meant it as a defensive move but as she smiled and leaned back he felt like a performer.

"No," he growled lowly. "Are you going to tell?"

Nevina laughed in amusement. She was not yet ready to give up her leverage. "Possibly. Listen, you live with people who enjoy making you miserable. How does it feel?" She asked, her eyes meeting his for the first time in the conversation.

"Horrible." Harry answered truthfully. "Like I'm alone and my own family wants me dead."

"Well, how would you feel if they locked you in a cage, far away from light, and hope. How would you feel if you were locked there, isolated from the whole world, while they gawked at you and called you a demon, a monster, a creation? What would you do if you were tortured and experimented on because they didn't feel you should be alive, yet would keep you alive only so they could make you die a slow, miserable death? A death where you actually find yourself wishing to die," Nevina asked, looking at him threateningly.

"You hit what I'm going through dead on," Harry stated, trying to remain fearless.

"Mentally?" Nevina mused. "Oh, I have not yet begun to explain the mental torment you would endure while in this cage. This is real. They gawk and stare, point and laugh, scowl and tease! Then leave you, all alone, dying. They will lock you up until you cannot even remember what light was like," Nevina stared off on the last sentence, and her hands were shaking. Harry looked into her eyes, and felt... fear. He could feel it. "Well, that is what happens to me if I tell you what I am. I have already put myself in danger simply by telling you this."

"So why tell me it?" Harry asked, gripping his wand tightly as he was absolutely positive that she would attack.

"You keep my secret, I'll keep yours," she stated, looking him in the eyes. She still made him feel like prey. It was a compromise, simple as that.

"But-"

"How did you get here anyway? I thought you were at Sirius's house under tight security," Nevina asked, the annoyance not hidden from her voice.

"How'd you know that?" Harry eyed her suspiciously.

"I had a dream; from your reaction I'm guessing that I'm right," Nevina's eyes lit up dangerously.

"All that secrecy and you know simply because of a dream?" Harry muttered.

"You keep my secret, I keep yours," Nevina repeated, watching as Harry caught on that she meant both secrets.

"Now, I gotta figure out how to get back," Harry sighed. He knew Vernon would not swing by and pick him up, he did not have Hedwig to send out and his broom was at the school.

"You... you mean you aren't gonna send them an owl from here?" Nevina tested.

"No. I won't tell them anything about this place," Harry shook his head, slightly enjoying the thought of keeping information from THEM instead of vice versa.

"Why not? Your friends call me evil. I'm the villain, remember?" Nevina asked, confused.

"I know that!" Harry shot back, remembering all too well how she had stabbed him. "However, you're the only person who isn't treating me like a child!" He answered before he even thought about it, a truly honest answer.

"Why should I treat you like a child?" Nevina asked, lounging on the sofa and watching him carefully.

"Everyone else is. They hide documents and stop conversations whenever I enter a room, they won't tell me anything. Dumbledore has completely changed! He used to be someone I went to for help, he was a smiling face whenever I needed one. Now! Now he's just an over protective guard who is avoiding me! He's turned everyone into my body guards!" Harry fumed, pacing back and forth in full rant mode.

Nevina turned and looked out the window. "They don't know what a child can do if forced into something," She stated.

"Exactly! I faced him, I saw him come back, I saved the sorcerer's stone, I rescued Sirius, I lived, I fought, me! Without their help!"

"You shouldn't be treated like a child, it's your life, and you should control it. Right?" Nevina asked simply.

"Exactly," Harry nodded. "Are you planning on killing me, 'cause I was expecting a different reaction from you, instead you seem to share the same opinion as Sirius."

"You asked me who I was working for? Well, let's just play it this way. If whoever I was working for didn't want me to let you get hurt, then if I thought of you as a child I'd have watched your every step and kept you away from anything dangerous. If I thought you were strong enough to handle it, I'd let you get yourself into trouble, but be there if you got in over your head."

"...T-thanks?" Harry muttered, bewildered and not sure how to react. "Why, why are you being so nice to me. I forced my way into your house and you're being nice to me?"

"This is my home. I am not on the battle field, nor am I at school. You are a visitor in my home, and shall be treated as such," Nevina replied, though her eyes told him not to press his luck.

"...Who lives with you?" Harry asked, his mind suddenly asking the question of how this sixteen year old afforded a house.

"Nemo," Nevina answered without skipping a beat. She stood and began pacing around.

"I should get back before they send out a search party-" Harry stopped, how was he going to get back? They needed the tight security; he couldn't just waltz right up and into the front door. He groaned and heard a lock click. Nevina had continued her walking around and didn't even seem to notice that her hands checked the locks. 'She's the villain' Harry thought, yet every villain he had known or read about was in some fortress and welcomed the hero, luring the good guys to their death. Or so was the plan.

Nevina...well she had ten locks on her door, an extremely thick window and seemed to have formed an unconscious habit of checking the locks. She walked back and her eyes went again to the window. Nevina, like him, was a teenager and could handle herself. He'd come, faced his enemy, got a few questions answered, and was now standing two feet away from a threat.

"How do I get back? If I'm seen or followed then I've ruined everything." Harry groaned, not liking life at the moment.

"No one sees anything after midnight, no one looks out," Nevina shrugged. "Go then."

"Why not?"

"It gets a bit shady. These are all ex-rich people who used to think the world was perfect. They loose their money and come here, surprised and thinking this is a rough spot in their lives," Nevina shook her head and Harry found himself almost laughing. He thought about Dudley, who would have thought this to be a really bad neighbor hood and probably would have hid under his bed. Yet back at Private Drive, he was Big D: The fearless. Still, you throw one Dementor at him and he crumbles like a dried out leaf.

Harry paused and turned his back on Nevina. He had gotten a letter from the Order saying they wanted to get him but were not sure how. He sure enough could not walk all the way there. The only thing to do was to send a letter the moment Hedwig found him, and ask what to do. They'd ask him why he was where he was and… maybe he could explain things. Nevina eyed him cautiously, knowing what he was going to say before he even said it.

"Maybe if I sent them an owl we could work things out? I mean, you were nice to me and-"

The next thing he knew there was pain shooting up and down his legs and he fell to the floor. "Do not be so relaxed," She advised, kneeling so he could hear her. "I am the villain, remember?"

--

A few hours later Harry awoke from a dream where he had been locked in a cage and carried off, far underneath the ground. Then they put him in another cage, larger, yet this one had a bullet proof glass wall on one side and was steal on every other side. He felt something around his neck and looked down to reveal a chain and collar. Harry jumped and found himself feeling extremely weak, like he'd been through surgery and had just woken up. He looked to the window and saw Remus, he ran over and pressed his hands against the glass. Remus shook his head and started to walk away. Sirius was there. Harry had screamed his name and Sirius pounded on the glass, yet couldn't break it. He tried and tried and Harry pounded on his own side, yet nothing happened except they both ended up hurt and exhausted. Dumbledore was there suddenly and Sirius vanished. Dumbledore sighed deeply as if realizing the inevitable, and slowly vanished.

Harry screamed and cursed, yet no one came. He felt a jerk from the collar as the lights went out. Harry saw a small glint of something and then a piercing stab into his side, red flashed before his eyes and he awoke with a start. Breathing hard. He groped blindly for his glasses and found them on the floor, next to him. He glanced around and saw Nevina a few yards away. She was looking for something. Harry pulled himself to his feet. The area he found himself in now looked like a junk yard. In a flash he leapt forward to attack her, though she saw it coming and simply stepped into stance and pushed him past.

"Good idea, hot shot," she mocked. "Drugged and still fighting."

"I thought you were told not to hurt me?" Harry growled back, feeling tired.

"I said "let's assume"," Nevina reminded him. "And shut up I'm going to take you back to the meeting house."

"How and why?" Harry replied icily.

"I don't take human prisoners and I know a guy that wouldn't mind if I borrowed his car… once I find the keys."

Harry shook his head. "And you don't suppose you could have just told me this?"

Nevina shrugged and glanced back at him. "We're not friends."

"That's obvious," Harry muttered, spotting a silver key and tossing it to her. Nevina caught it and shoved it into a nearby storage locker. The door opened and she entered only to emerge later, driving a racing bike.

"You said car," Harry intoned, unimpressed.

"Would you like me to hit you?" Nevina hissed. "Just get on and shut up. I get you back and you leave me alone." She put on a black helmet, yet Harry could sense her piercing eyes on him.

"Deal," Harry sighed as she tossed him a helmet. He looked at it skeptically. It, like her own, was in bad condition. "...I think wearing a plastic bag might have the same safety as this helmet," He mumbled.

"It's not for safety, idiot, it's to hide your scar," Nevina shot back impatiently. "I'm not going to crash."

"Oh, that's right, you can predict the future," Harry retorted.

"We can use magic, stupid! If we start we start to fall I can stop us, but I'm not going to crash. Now get on!"

Harry got on behind her and they set out. Neither of them seemed in any way happy about the arrangement but Nevina had already stated that she, while evil, would treat him as a guest as they were not on the battlefield. Harry… well if he had not been so tired he would have cast one hell of jinx onto her. Nevina rode fast! She ripped past everything as if the bike was the night bus and didn't even need to accelerate the last block. They silently turned onto the neighborhood and stopped in front of the house.

"Umm... Thanks," Harry mumbled, stepping off the bike as she turned it off in order to quiet the engine

Nevina didn't answer. Harry took off the helmet and found Arthur Weasley suddenly beside him. Nevina couldn't have started the bike faster as Arthur reached out to grab her. She spun the bike, bracing her left foot on the ground, tilting the bike to the left and accelerating. Mad Eye was the next to show up. Nevina steadied the bike and shot off down the street. Mad Eye grabbed his wand, but she was already turning the corner.

"Who was that?" Arthur asked urgently.

"Girl, white hair, purple eyes," Moody stated, starring after Nevina.

"Umm," Harry started as he was pulled into the house. "I can explain."

Though the chance to explain never really came up for it seemed everyone who heard the news wanted their turn to yell at him. Mrs. Weasley was furious and Harry tried to do as Fred and George had instructed and cut her off before she got full steam. That, however, did not seem to be happening as she ignored his every sound and eventually her yelling actually made Remus feel sorry for him, though that was two hours later. Harry was then sent to bed, where Hermione was waiting to take up the yelling.

"Shut up!" Harry barked at her. "Like you really blame me! Everything is kept a damn secret from us and look, I'm alive! And I learned quite a bit, but you can go to Hell before I tell you any of it."

Hermione glowered fiercely at him. "I don't care what you learned, Harry! She is danger-"

"Really, that had slipped my mind!"

"Wow, Harry, you're back," Fred yawned as he apperated into the room with a loud pop. "Why didn't you tell us?"

With another pop, George appeared in the room, also looking deathly tired. "My, look whose here! I hadn't the slightest idea."

"Seriously you two, shut up," Ron yawned, sitting cross-legged on his bed.

Harry was more than prepared to do so and he crossed angrily to his bed and waved Hermione off with his hand. She let out a HUMPH! And stormed off with Fred closing the door behind her. They all turned to Harry.

"So," said George casually. "How have you been, hear anything interesting?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sure, you let me go though five hours of yelling-"

"Three and a half," Fred cut him off. "And by tomorrow mum will have realized that you nearly died and either brood, or baby you… though I think it'll be brooding."

"I dunno, with that rider around she's been Super Mum," George stated, leaning against the wall. "I mean, yesterday I set off a bomb and she was mid-rant when he walked by and she stopped and told me to "totter off and find the rest of your lot", it was kinda scary."

"What rider?" Harry asked.

George grinned. "You first.'

Harry let out a groan and noticed the black portrait on the wall now had someone in it, though he ignored that as it finally wasn't saying anything. "Fine," he gave in, but then he heard her voice in his head, a piece of the conversation playing back. 'What's an angel?' 'I told you to ask-' 'They won't tell me! I've tried everything but as far as that subject is concerned their lips are closed.' '…Ask them to tell you about Kira.' 'Who?' 'She was a little girl I knew once.' "Kira," he whispered.

"Who?" asked Ron, the only one close enough to hear him.

Harry shook his head and lied back on his bed and began relaying the conversation, leaving choice parts out and more trying to organize the facts in his head then tell them to the others. When he was finished he shook his head again. "It doesn't add up. She is terrified of Dumbledore, but she seems to be hiding from the Death Eaters as well."

"But they've seen her at Death Eater meetings," Fred reminded him, having flopped down onto Ron's bed. "She's always around them."

"Yeah, but she's always around us too it seems, though we hardly ever see her," George put in, kicking out at nothing. "She's evil, but that doesn't mean she's on His side…. Look at Snape."

"I'd rather not," Fred chuckled.

"She calls herself the villain, but she plays everything like it's on stage," Harry pondered, more to himself than to anyone else. "You interrupt the scenes and she acts differently."

Ron sat up from his very lazy position and let out an enormous yawn as he tried to formulate the question, "Buhwhydossheacduhwayshedudsivshedoteil."

"What?" George asked, totally lost.

"But why does she act the way she does if she's not evil," Fred translated, fanning the yawn away with a piece of parchment.

"Well she started out kinda evil, didn't she," George stated, playing with some kind of new prank.

"Well we already know she is crazy," Fred reminded them. "Remember, that Irving guy basically said she went over the deep end."

Harry nodded. It did seem that she wasn't exactly sane. "Psycho, yeah," he agreed. "But… I don't know if she is evil."

"'course she is!" Fred exclaimed. "Do I really need to recap what has happened so far?"

"Yeah, I mean," Ron nodded. "I'm terribly glad she didn't off you tonight, Harry, but ordinarily she would have."

"I guess you're right," Harry agreed exhaustedly. Nevina was a rude, cynical brat who had not really been nice to him so much as just dealt with him as someone had told her not to kill him. "So… the rider?"

"Right!" Fred slid of the bed and turned to look at Harry. "I don't know his name, but he's definitely a rider."

"He's scary-looking to me," Ron admitted. "With that patch over his eye and all."

"Not a patch, really… More like a bandage. Anyway I don't think they eye is blind… I get the feeling that it's always watching," shuddered Fred.

"Sleep!" Mrs. Weasley ordered, rapping on their door.

Fred and George poofed back upstairs and left Harry and Ron to turn out the lights and give in to exhaustion.

--

HAPPY NEW YEAR!