Disclaimer: See bio.

Timeline: Post OotP, pre-HBP

Author's Note: I would just like to say that despite the current date of posting, this story has been in development for quite some time before the release of HBP. I began brainstorming last November and had finished outlining the entire story three months ago but due to unforeseen personal issues was not able to get this up prior to the HBP release date. I just wanted to say this before you read this fic because I do NOT want thirteen thousand e-mails screaming rip-off. Thank you and enjoy.

Shadow of War

Advent

Peace has fallen across Privet Drive although no one save the Dursley's and their estranged nephew knew why. Rumors spread that the boy was being held under lock and key in a newly constructed basement to keep him away from the populous. Others theorized that maybe the boy from St. Brutus' Center for the Incurably Insane actually murdered the Dursley's and left their bodies to rot in said basement, but that rumor was soon debunked when the Dursley's left for a few days unscathed. The boy never did anything in the house, much less leave it. The neighbors wouldn't have even been able to know he was there if they didn't see him enter the house two weeks ago.

But the boy was still there. The boy, Harry Potter, was currently residing in his room at Number Four, Privet Drive and had done so for the past two weeks. He spent most of his time lying on his bed, some spare time scribbling a few words onto small pieces of parchment usually consisting of; "I'm fine," or "Nothing new," or even the occasional "Pretty dull over here," that were then sent by owl to Lupin so the Order didn't get too worried about him. He'd sneak out every once and a while at night to grab some food from the fridge, but that never consisted of much.

But on this particular day, at around five thirty in the afternoon, Harry Potter was just lying on his bed. Thinking. About what was a good question because he wasn't too sure of it himself. Sometimes it was about school, Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, other times it was about his friends Ron and Hermione. But still others, and the one that took up the most of his thought, were his godfather Sirius and an archway in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic. He remembered it. He remembered it vividly. He remembered it every night, reliving the few moments between when Sirius' cocky expression suddenly lost its cool and he fell through the shroud covering the archway. He remembered how Lupin grabbed him before he could run to the veil, thinking that Sirius was just on the other side…but no, he wasn't there. He was gone, just like everything else in his life. His parents, the closest thing he ever had to a father, and most likely his future as well.

The prophecy haunted his time as well; the knowledge passed to him from Dumbledore of the reasons behind his cursed destiny. Something that meant absolutely nothing to him before and yet seemed to mean everything now. Why did this have to happen? Why am I cursed to live this life? But he also knew that he could not answer those questions either. He also knew that he was to remain with the Dursley's for at least part of the year until either he or Voldemort was dead. It was not because he liked where he was, he really had no choice in the matter. It had all been explained to him and worse yet, it all made sense. He had to go to Privet Drive to live with his relatives. He had to live with the Dursleys for his own protection. What did it matter that there was a war going on? It doesn't matter that I'm the only one that can stop Voldemort and I have no clue what's happening. It's just like last year all over ag-

Something landed on his stomach. Startled, he looked down to see a small owl jumping and hooting wildly. Pig, and there's a letter. Harry reached out and grabbed the bouncing ball of fluff and removed the letter. Ripping open the letter Harry recognized Hermione's writing immediately.

Harry,

Sorry this has taken so long but I do have good news. We're getting you out of there on Monday. Moody and a few of the Order will be there at noon to get you.

Also, just in case you were wondering, nothing has happened. Voldemort's been lying low, it's almost like it was before he came back. The Ministry has been sending out information about protecting against Death Eaters and Dark Magic but Voldemort hasn't made any moves…

Harry scanned down farther…

I'm at Snuffle's House with Lupin and the Weasley's. We've been trying to clean it up for the last week or so, but we haven't gotten much headway. Now before you get angry, we've been trying to get Dumbledore to let you out since school ended but he said this is the earliest you can leave. Believe me, we tried to get you out last week but Dumbledore said that you needed to stay there for at least two weeks but we couldn't figure out why (I never told them about the blood).

I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get this to you sooner, there's been a lot of Order traffic through the house and they've been somewhat cautious about letting owls out of the house in case we were being watched. They finally me send this to you after making me promise to ask you not to reply in case you were being watched. If there is some reason that you don't want to come on Monday, just tell Tonks or Moody when they get there

We'll see you soon…hopefully.

Love,

Hermione

Why did they think that I wouldn't want to go to Grimmauld Place? They all know I hate being here! Then it dawned on him; they all know that I'm afraid for their wellbeing after…Sirius. They know that I don't want anything to happen to them…she's giving me an out…she's saying that I don't have to come…I have a choice…I'm not staying here and waiting on the sidelines.

At that he pulled himself from his indentation on the bed and began to pile books, robes, potion supplies, and other assorted magical items into the large chest that spent much of its time lying at the foot of his bed. If he wasn't going to back at Privet Drive for nearly a year, he didn't want Dudley going through anything that could get him in trouble.

- - - - - - -

Harry awoke Monday morning, the weariness of the last few sleepless weeks finally sinking in. As the Dursley's no longer forced him to make breakfast, he often missed the most important meal of the day and slept in till ten o'clock in the morning. Today however, was different, as he had spent most of the night forcing things inside his trunk, he didn't wake up until after eleven thirty. This by no means meant that he was well rested, but it left him scrambling to get ready before the group of Order members arrived.

After taking the shortest shower in recorded history, getting dressed and deciding not to bother with his hair for the umpteenth time, Harry heard the tell-tale pop! of a person apparating, then that sound was repeated what must have been five or six times. But the sound that followed was what he was worried about.

"Who the hell are you people and why are you in my house!" he could hear his Uncle Vernon yelling from up the stairs, down the hallway, and through his door and he knew exactly what was going to follow. "Boy! Get down here!" then in a much less stern voice, "Please."

Please? Uncle Vernon never said please for anything in his life before that point. But he soon found out why. As he descended the stairs to the living room, he saw a sight that he would cherish forever. Inside the room stood Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad Eye Moody all accompanied by a man he didn't recognize; but what stood out was his Uncle Vernon's look of horror, disgust, and feigned sincerity. A wide range of emotions to be sure considering they all came about due to the wand pointed at him by Arthur Weasley. "…can understand that you may not like us because we're different from you, but that doesn't mean that you can disrespect your own flesh and blood. Oh, hi Harry," Mr. Weasley called out as Harry entered the room.

"Wotcher Harry, where's your stuff?" Tonks called out, her hair now undecided on a hue and was slowly fading from color to color, it was currently lime green.

"It's up in my room, give me a minute." Neon yellow.

"Don't worry, Kingsley and I will get it." Fire engine red. The two left the room and Harry saw Aunt Petunia's look of sheer disgust as Tonks' red hair faded to a flaming orange before she slipped out of sight.

"So how have you been Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked lowering his wand from Vernon Dursley's neck allowing the color to return to his Uncle's face. The remainder of the group turned to Harry waiting for a response.

"I'm…okay," he hesitated slightly when he saw Moody's eye flick towards the Dursleys before finishing the statement. The Dursleys obviously noticed this as they seemingly shrank back into the one corner of the room that didn't have anyone connected to magic. Harry's view shifted to the man he had never seen before. He stood roughly six feet tall, clad in a deep midnight blue robe that covered his broad build. Looking at the man's face he noticed two things; a scar that went from his left temple to the corner of his jaw and a pair of glasses that were currently slipping down his nose. He reached up and pushed them back in place and then Harry noticed his gloves. He was wearing pure white gloves, but stitched into the back was a series of circles and triangles. When the man noticed Harry's stare he offered him an outstretched hand.

"Harry Potter, pleasure to meet you. Seran Cleir," he said in a deep gravely voice as Harry shook the man's hand.

"Are you a member of the Order?" Harry ventured carefully. The man nodded slowly. "For how long?"

"Since the first war."

"Did you meet Sirius?"

He nodded again.

"What group was Sirius in and what was his name?"

He looked to Lupin briefly and the werewolf nodded. "He was in the Marauders and his name was Padfoot. He couldn't stand the fleas, if I might add." Harry grinned slightly remembering the mention Sirius had made when they were leaving the Shrieking Shack during his third year. That thought quickly brought a small pang through his chest and his grin faded.

"Constant vigilance Potter, nice of you use it," Moody's grating voice filled the room, "but you don't need to worry about Seran here, he has Dumbledore's full confidence. He's going to be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

At this Harry regarded him a bit more carefully. After last year he knew Dumbledore wouldn't merely hire anyone to fill the position and the man standing before him is the one that he chose. Considering the fact that the Wizarding world was growing closer and closer to a time of war there had to be something about this quiet man to make him stand out in Dumbledore's eyes. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a slight sniffle from the corner.

"Don't worry Dursley, we don't want to be here any longer than necessary," Moody's hoarse voice filled the silent room. "We'll be gone as soon as the other two are back – and here they are."

Harry turned to see his chest floating down the stairs before Kingsley followed closely by Tonks holding Hedwig's cage. The Dursleys seemed to be mortally afraid that there was a hovering charm being used in their house and Petunia once again made noises of disgust when she saw Tonks' now florescent blue hair."Well, you've gotten what you want, now leave my house," Vernon Dursley said, a bit less forceful than he had hoped.

Mr. Weasley shook his head sadly, "Right, everyone lets get out of here." He quickly produced a pouch of floo powder and all six took a handful. Kingsley walked towards the fire place, climbed in, and shouted, "The Burrow!" and was quickly engulfed in flames.

"The Burrow…I thought we were going to Gri-"

"Don't say it," Moody's voice interrupted Harry's question. Harry turned to see his brilliant blue eye spinning in all directions. "There are dark wizards and Death Eaters everywhere, don't give them any help in finding us."

Harry looked towards the scarred Auror and hoped against hope that after all the times he's been right about dark wizards that he was wrong this time. Of course he had suspected that the number of dark wizards had increased since Voldemort's return but to hear it come from someone that most likely knew more about the dark arts than everyone in this room combined somehow made it feel more real. Harry felt his throat dry as he watched Tonks disappear in the flames.

"You're up Harry," Arthur Weasley said softly. Harry nodded, grabbed a handful of floo and stepped into the fireplace.

"The Burrow!"

Flames surrounded him and that familiar yet unpleasant sensation of being shoved in a whirlpool once again filled his stomach. Pulling his arms in tightly and squinting his eyes, he waited for the vortex to cease. He wasn't sure if he could hold on much longer…

He staggered forward and suddenly felt a hand wrap around his upper left arm. He reacted so quickly he lost his balance and by the time his vision returned he was lying on the floor, wand aimed at a now bleached-blonde Tonks. "You okay, Harry?" her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah…just, yeah I'm fine," he stood up and looked back at her hair, "Can you change that, you're reminding me of a Malfoy." She made a retching noise and her hair quickly changed to a midnight blue. "Much better."

"Sure thing, umm…you might want to move to the side though," Harry turned to see himself standing directly in the path of anyone who came through the fireplace and quickly moved away, just in time for Lupin to come barreling through with Harry's luggage.

"Sorry Harry," Lupin said in an extremely soft and hoarse voice.

"Are you okay?" Harry quickly asked, worry in his voice for the sole remainder of his father's friends.

"Yeah, I'm okay its just…full moon last night, not feeling too well."

"Sorry."

"Don't be, wouldn't have missed it…for the world."

It was at that point that Harry realized a newfound respect for the werewolf. If they were attacked, Lupin would, for the most part, be harmless and unable to cast spells. But he still chose to come get him. He saw the dedication that Sirius had spoken about before and now understood. "Thanks."

"Its okay," he replied hoarsely, floating the chest out of the way seconds before Arthur and Moody came through the fireplace followed closely by Seran.

"Such odd muggles," Seran commented to himself.

"Right, we'll be here 'til nightfall, then we'll be flying to Grimmauld Place," Mr. Weasley stated, glancing towards Moody. Whatever the look meant, Moody understood it and headed for the stairway. Two steps upward and the aged Auror stopped.

"Arthur, we might not have that long," Moody turned and glared out the kitchen windows.

Harry whipped around to see about twenty black cloaks emerging from the trees fifty feet away from the house; they were all wearing white masks.

"They already know we're here, wands out, any suggestions?" Moody grumbled coming back down the stairs.

"We can't fly out now, they'll shoot us down," Tonks' voice sounded from behind Harry.

"Apparate?" Kingsley suggested stepping between Harry and the oncoming Death Eaters…forty feet…

"We can't apparate to Grimmauld Place," Mr. Weasley said, desperation showing in his voice. Odds were against them making it out of this fight unscathed. "Unless – apparate to The Leaky Cauldron! Tonks, you take Harry! Kingsley and Lupin grab his things!"

Harry watched Kingsley step to the side near his trunk giving him a full view of the Death Eaters before him. Thirty feet…why aren't they shooting?

The door to his left disintegrated, blowing inward and showering the group with splinters. Harry swung his wand towards the first Death Eater to enter. "Petrificus Totalus!" The Death Eater's arms and legs snapped together, his own momentum causing him to loose balance and fall forward to the floor. Harry heard two pops in quick succession before the windows in the kitchen shattered spraying glass across the group. He heard a gasp from behind and turned to see Tonks gripping her right shoulder, a shard protruding from between her fingers. Blood soaked through her robe and dripped down her right arm. "Tonks!"

A red bolt flew from the doorway and struck her right leg, it buckled under the force and Harry heard it snap; she fell to the floor dazed but still conscious. Harry moved between her and the Death Eaters, another stunner heading towards them, "Protego!" The shield appeared before him, the stunner ricocheting off and towards another Death Eater. With Tonks injured behind him, Harry grabbed her hand and tried to pull her to her feet. She stumbled upwards, her right leg incapable of supporting any weight. She leaned against him for support as he fired off another series of spells against the advancing Death Eaters

"I don't know if I can apparate both of us," she said softly, pain seeping through her voice. "You should-"

"Tonks, Harry! Come on!" Mr. Weasley yelled across what had once been his kitchen. Harry quickly followed the voice towards Mr. Weasley and helped a half-stumbling, half-carried Tonks across the room. He aimed his wand over his shoulder, blind firing curses towards the Death Eaters when he heard the most dreaded words.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry immediately dropped to the floor bringing Tonks with him in hopes of dodging the curse. He expected to hear air rushing overhead accompanied by a green flash. What he didn't expect was a brilliant blue flash from his right and the sound of an explosion. His curiosity quickly bested his better judgment and turned to see what had happened. There was now a wall stretching across the kitchen, completely cutting off the Death Eaters from them. This makes no sense…where did that come from…he felt something tighten on his shoulder and briefly realized that it was a hand before feeling himself ripped through the fabric of space and time. He unconsciously tightened his grip on Tonks as the world blurred around him.

Something was pressed against his face, hard and cold though aside from that he couldn't tell what it was. There were sounds around him, excited voices speaking rapidly, using words he couldn't understand. He felt as if he was hearing it all through water, muffled and incomprehensible. There was a throbbing in his forehead, not a deep coursing pain he associated with Voldemort's attacks but a dull constant ache that seemed to throb with his every heartbeat. But the throbbing began to recede along with the water muffling his hearing. He could hear voices near him speaking quickly but couldn't make out who they were. Then he felt something move next to him, it was a body…Tonks.

"Harry! Tonks! Are you okay?" Seran's voice broke through and rung in the air with clarity.

Harry pushed himself to sit upright and tried to clear his head. The fog lifted and he was able to make out the dimly lit interior of the Leaky Cauldron. He wasn't sure why there was a feeling of unease that had settled in his stomach until he remembered he had just apparated to London with two other people and last time he checked apparating was a one person transport with a two person max; at least that's what Hermione said. Suddenly that feeling of unease multiplied tenfold and he felt the need to vomit.

"Harry lie back down, you're not going to be feeling well for a few minutes," Mr. Weasley said from his left. Mr. Weasley then turned back to Tonks.

Harry eased back to the floor, his previous feeling of unease lessened and he turned to see Moody, Lupin, and Seran crouched over Tonks who appeared to be unconscious. "Enervate," said Seran and her eyes fluttered open. She moved to sit up but immediately winced in pain.

"Don't move Tonks," Moody growled completely aware that they were drawing a crowd within the confines of the building.

"We should take her to St. Mungo's," Lupin said softly kneeling next to the injured Auror.

"No, not going to Mungo's. Lupin I'll rip out every hair you have one by one next full moon if you do," Tonks managed to finish her threat towards the werewolf before a fresh wave of pain swept across her face.

"Then I'm going to have to remove this before we can do anything," Lupin answered ignoring the threat.

"Do it."

Lupin reached towards the shard, hesitating just slightly before grabbing hold. He released it instantly, shaking his hand as if burned. Lupin turned to Moody with a look of bewilderment on his face.

"I've seen this before," Seran mumbles turning to Moody. "remember when you dodged that Killing Curse by jumping behind a desk and when you got hit by the shrapnel?"

A contemplative look fell over Moody's face as he recalled the incident but it was followed by a wave of realization. "Yeah," he replied unconsciously gripping his forearm. "Can't cauterize it can you?"

"Too many vital organs."

"We're going to St. Mungo's now!" Moody and Lupin reached towards Tonks, Lupin grabbing her right arm and Moody gripping her left, they immediately vanished. The room was silent save for the heavy breathing of all those in the room. Harry was beyond confused, why did the spell matter when it was a shard of glass? The spell obviously didn't hit her as she would have been dead…

"Wait a minute, what's going on?" Harry blurted out but his question remained unanswered as Seran stood silently. He turned to Mr. Weasley for answers but he was already speaking to Kingsley.

"-need to get out of here," Mr. Weasley began, cutting off the Auror. "Seran, I need you to inform Dumbledore what happened. Kingsley, I need you to head to the Ministry and explain what happened and deal with any matters that arise. Harry and I will head to St. Mungo's than we'll head back to base." Kingsley nodded before apparating away. "Harry, come with me, grab your stuff."

Harry nodded before grabbing one end of his trunk and gripping the top of Hedwig's cage. "I apologize for all this excitement," Tom merely nodded behind the countertop and gave them a dismissive wave. "You ready?" He only nodded.

Mr. Weasley grabbed his shoulder and for what was third time in one day, Harry felt himself being ripped through the fabric of space and time. It was comparable to traveling by floo, but without the uncomfortable dizzying sensation that filled his stomach when moving from hearth to hearth. He definitely liked this method more. It stopped just as abruptly as the floo network though he didn't have enough momentum to lose his balance.

They touched down in a large open field…there was nothing for miles except the endless grassy knolls that stretched as far as he could see. This was definitely not St. Mungo's. "Alright you ready?" Mr. Weasley's voice sounded from next to him, calm as ever.

Once again he grabbed Harry's shoulder and making it a fourth time they blinked out of existence and appeared elsewhere on the planet. When Harry realized where they were, he was instantly smothered by a hug from Mrs. Weasley and catching only snippets of what she was actually saying, "So worried about you…could've been killed…house is okay, but…rotten Death Eaters…can't believe this-"

She was finally cut off when Mr. Weasley pulled her away (literally) and informed her that Tonks was injured and had been taken to St. Mungo's by Moody and Remus and asked her if she could take Harry's things to the house because they were on their way to St. Mungo's to check on her condition. She agreed hesitantly and cast a feather-light charm on the trunk and carried both over to the empty lot between Numbers 11 and 13 Grimmauld Place. He could see the two buildings being pushed out of the way by something massive, but he once again felt pressure on his shoulder and the world disappeared for what seemed to be the fifth time that day.

Commotion was the first thing he noticed. There was movement everywhere; people in green robes rushing in every direction, people in robes of every other color moved around the lobby of the Wizarding world's hospital: St. Mungo's. The two approached a desk manned by a rather plump witch. "A friend of ours was brought in today, we wanted to check on her."

"Patient's name?" the woman asked in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Nymphadora Tonks."

"Hmm…she's out of critical condition and is recuperating. I must ask that you do not disturb her too much as she's still very ill, she's in Ward 43 on the fourth floor," Mr. Weasley thanked her and they walked towards one of the elevators. The doors closed and the elevator began traveling upward. After the second floor, Harry needed to ask the question.

"Why was she in critical condition? It was just a piece of glass?"

Mr. Weasley sighed, "Harry, have you heard of magical transference?" Harry shook his head. "Well, when there is an overly emotional spell, like all the Unforgivable Curses, things such as magical transference can occur. I'm sure you know what spell that was that hit the glass."

"Avada Kedavra."

"Exactly, now when any normal spell strikes an object, it dissipates and releases energy. When you have a spell that requires that much emotion to cast, when the spell dissipates, some of the spell is actually left on the object that it strikes and the object may contain certain aspects of that spell."

"So that's why Lupin couldn't touch it."

"Yes, hopefully that piece of glass didn't absorb too much of the curse though." Mr. Weasley said solemnly. The elevator chimed and the two doors slid open. Harry and Mr. Weasley stepped onto the fourth floor, an ominous sign on the wall displaying "Spell Damage" which gave Harry a curious feeling before Mr. Weasley led him away and they began searching for the room number specified by the receptionist.

As they turned a corner in what seemed to be the never ending hallway, they noticed a familiar face: Moody. As they stepped closer Moody's eye snapped towards their direction and in a gruff voice, "Password."

Harry skidded to a stop…Password? I don't know a password…

"S'more."

Moody merely nodded and they continued. Mr. Weasley leaned closer to Harry, "Dumbledore picked it out, you can always identify yourself by his office password though." Harry nodded. "How's she doing?"

"Remus I'm going to kill you! You think I was joking? Next full moon, I swear, every hair!"

The door Moody had posted himself next to burst open and shut in under a second. Lupin stood panting against the opposite wall looking very pale. "D'you think she'd do it?"

"It is Tonks," Moody replied, grinning as the werewolf gulped loudly. "You had her best intentions in mind so I think she'll let you live."

"I take it she's okay?" Mr. Weasley asked moving the topic away from Lupin's impending scalping.

"She's fine, the medi-wizards removed the shard in no time and patched her up in under five minutes, the thing is, it left a rather nasty scar," Lupin informed the latecomers while gingerly rubbing a now bandaged right hand.

"But won't she just be able to change it? She is a metamorphmagus," Harry wondered aloud.

"Some things just can't be changed boy," Moody answered still not having moved from his spot. "When it comes to transference with that curse, you never really know…"

"When can she leave?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"The medi-wizards want to keep her overnight then she's free to go. We already talked to Dumbledore and he said that he'll probably have her stay at Grimmauld Place for a week or two before she returns to duty-"

"But I'm fine!" a muffled female voice came through the door cutting off Moody's monologue.

"You're lucky you're not dead now get back in bed," Moody growled to the door. "Why don't you two head inside, see if you can calm her down."

Yeah, right…

The door swung open and Harry, followed by Mr. Weasley filed through the door way. The room looked remarkably like the one they had visited Mr. Weasley in the year before and if Harry hadn't remembered it was on a different floor he would have sworn it was the same room. Harry noticed that this room didn't have any other patients however, only Tonks in the far bed wearing a hospital gown with a rather noticeable bulge on her right shoulder.

"Wotcher Harry, Arthur," she yelled with her usual exuberance.

"I take it you were listening through the door?" Mr. Weasley questioned in a semi-serious tone.

"Well…sort of," replied Tonks grinning. Harry wasn't quite sure what she meant until he saw something flesh colored dangling from the side of the bed…Extendable Ears…She winked as he saw her pull the remaining portion underneath the covers. Mr. Weasley didn't notice.

"Well it doesn't matter anyway, how are you feeling?"

"Fine, but I don't feel like spending two week cooped up at Grimmauld Place…no offence Harry," she added.

"None taken."

"I understand your feelings Tonks, but after what you went through it's the responsible thing to do. We don't want you out in the field if this could compromise your ability to do your job safely," Mr. Weasley insisted.

"But-"

The door opened and Seran walked briskly into the room. Harry's hand released his wand but hovered nearby, something he didn't even remember doing but was also unsure of why he didn't feel right. There's something odd about this guy…

"Dumbledore's called a meeting of the Order in three days at...Snuffles' House. Aside from that we are to sit tight," his voice never grew beyond a whisper yet was heard by everyone in the room. Mr. Weasley nodded and left the room. "He also said that you are off Order duties for-"

"Two weeks, yeah I know," Tonks pouted.

"It's for your own good you know," Seran tried to save face.

"Well maybe what's best for me isn't up to him."

That sounds familiar…thought Harry staying to the sidelines as the two went at it. It continued for nearly ten minutes before one of them (Seran) got fed up and left the room leaving only Harry and Tonks. He heard a soft sigh before a timid voice.

"Harry…can I talk to you for a minute…over here?"

"Uhh, sure," he stood walking towards her bedside.

"I wanted to…I needed to ask you why…why didn't you just save yourself?" her voice faltered slightly and he could see the question repeating itself in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Why wouldn't I try to help her?

She fidgeted slightly, "There had to be thirty Death Eaters there, you could have left but you protected me…"

There was a hidden pain within her voice, like what she was saying was what should have happened…She expected me to leave. She thinks it's her fault I risked my neck. "You're my friend; I'd do that for any of my friends."

He saw something flicker through her eyes…understanding?…before she pulled him into a hug. "Thank you," she whispered to his ear before releasing him and gingerly lying back onto the bed. She slipped into a deep sleep nearly as soon as she touched the pillow.

Harry stood dumbfounded for a moment before turning to see Lupin standing near the doorway. With a simple gesture, Harry followed the werewolf to the door and noticed that Moody and Seran were still guarding the room. He chanced a look back to Tonks, now sleeping silently. When Harry had cleared the door, Seran stepped past him and entered the room, the door clicking softly behind him.

Harry followed Lupin down the deserted hallways of St. Mungo's before he finally let his thoughts be heard.

"What do you know about Cleir?"

Lupin stopped walking, now staring at Harry with a curious expression on his face, "What do you mean?"

"Can we trust him?"

"Dumbledore trusts him."

"Dumbledore trusted Moody and we found out he was Crouch."

Lupin sighed, "Seran was in the Order during the first war when he was an Auror. Harry, what's this all about?"

"I don't know…something about him is weird…"

"Maybe you're just worried about Tonks," Harry turned towards Lupin out of curiosity, but immediately knew where he was going when he saw that grin. "I saw the way you two were looking at each other."

"Shut up Lupin," Harry's voice low, "You don't know what it was."

"Oh? Then what was it then?"

"She…thanked me for staying with her, you know, in the Burrow," Harry turned to Lupin to make sure he understood this. "I think she thought I was going to leave her."

Lupin's brow furrowed slightly at the spoken words, "Harry, there's something you should about Tonks…I just don't think I should be the one to tell you." He paused for a moment looking directly into Harry's eyes before continuing, "Something happened when she first became an Auror, someone she…well, like I said, it isn't my place."

Lupin turned and continued down the hallway with Harry in tow, effectively ending the conversation. Harry glanced over his shoulder down the hallway; he could tell that the only person he could hear this from was Tonks herself.

They left the building, making a quick turn down a nearby alley. Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and once again watched as the world blurred around him before he and Lupin winked out of existence and appeared somewhere else.

I guess that makes six.