::12::

"Morning Andromeda." Said Kakashi bowing his head dutifully as Mrs. Tonks passed into the room.

She gave him a tired nod, acknowledging him. "Good morning, Kakashi. I believe Tonks is in the garden." She said, gesturing toward the backdoor with her head.

Kakashi nodded his head before moving into the kitchen and setting down a few paper bags brimming with food. "I got the groceries you asked for." He called out."These...'Muggles markets' as you call them are quite strange. Perhaps I should discuss with Arthur exactly how this 'conveyor belt' works..." Said Kakashi scratching his head.

"Thank you." Said Mrs. Tonks, her face a tad bit sad as she came into the kitchen and started to unpack the bags. "Normally I do the shopping myself, but Ted said before he left that I should stay away from as many wizarding communities as I can. There's no telling when my deranged sister might come looking for me..." Mrs. Tonks hands faltered and Kakashi waited patiently. "I don't know what Tonks would do if I was gone..."

Kakashi paused before awkwardly placing a hand over the older woman's. "I know that it must be hard for you, especially with Ted having to go into hiding."

Mrs. Tonks shook her head and smiled. "I'll be ok, Kakashi. I've been around for a long time. You should go to Tonks."

Kakashi simply nodded before moving toward the back door and leaving Mrs. Tonks to finish unpacking the rest of the groceries. In the garden, he found Tonks sitting on the stone bench, hands on her now protruding stomach. She was looking at the sky. When she turned to face Kakashi, her face was grim.

Kakashi picked up on it immediately. "What's happened?"

"Kingsley has just informed me that the Death Eaters just finished ransacking Grimmauld Place." Said Tonks.

Kakashi held his breath. "Did they find anything?"

Tonks' hands started to shake. "Kingsley didn't know much. Apparently they tried to get as much information as they could out of Kreacher, but he wouldn't tell them anything, which is rather surprising."

Kakashi shook his head. Tonks turned back to Kakashi and her eyes were suddenly brimming with tears. "Oh Kakashi! What if Remus was staying there when Yaxley found the place? What if they've..." She couldn't bring herself to continue and quickly buried her head in her hands.

"They couldn't have." Kakashi said quickly. "I'm sure Remus knew better than to stay there, especially if Harry, Naruto and the others weren't there."

"Do...do you think Remus is with them then?" Tonks asked, her voice muffled by her hands.

Kakashi paused. Harry and the others had seemed very adamant about not letting any of the other Order members know about their mission from Dumbledore. Kakashi doubted they would have let Lupin in, especially if they found out that Lupin would be leaving both Tonks and their unborn child. "I'm sure Remus is safe." Kakashi said instead.

Tonks heaved another sob, but then sat up and began to brush her tears away. "You believe the rumors are true then, that Harry and the others were the one to cause that mess at the Ministry."

"I believe that it would be strange if it weren't them." Said Kakashi.

Tonks puzzled over this for a moment. "Kingsley did say that Runcorn was the one who let the Muggle borns escape...Spearheaded it actually...I can't imagine Runcorn actually doing that, being as he has long claimed to hate Muggle borns, long before You Know Who came back to power..." Mused Tonks. "But what on earth would Harry and the others be doing at the Ministry? It's the most dangerous place for them to be right now!" Tonks exclaimed.

"I'm sure what for whatever reason they were there, Naruto and Sai were with them to protect them." Comforted Kakashi.

"You haven't been checking in with them?" Tonks asked.

Kakashi scratched his head. "I've tried...but for some reason I can't get through." And Kakashi had tried multiple times to get through, yet each time he felt himself getting somewhere, there also seemed to be something pushing him back. Kakashi had returned to Konoha and attempted to troubleshoot the situation with the Sealmaster, yet Sealmasters proved to be very elusive and Kakashi couldn't quite track the man down...

Tonks tapped her lip. "Kingsley did tell me one more thing. Apparently the Ministry is up in arms not only about the apparent infiltration, but also about some sort of stolen book. Of course the Death Eaters know better than to speak about it when any Order members are around, but word has slipped..."

"A book?" Kakashi questioned, his mind whirling. "What kind of book?"

"I have no idea. What type of threat a stolen book could be, I'll never know." Said Tonks. "But Kingsley heard that it was stolen from Dolorus Umbridge's office no less!"

Kakashi suppressed a shudder at thinking about the vile woman from his one time stay at Hogwarts. "I wonder..." Mused Kakashi as his hand reached into his back pocket and withdrew the red covered Bingo Book that he kept there.

Naruto looked around at the little clearing of trees that they had just moved camp to. They all agreed it was best not to stay in one place for too long and as long as there was a better prospect of food involved, Naruto would go anywhere. Harry worked on setting up the tent as Hermione conjured the usual securities around them.

Before moving, they had once again attempted to destroy the locket. Harry was already convinced that nothing they did would destroy it, considering Kreacher's story and Hermione was positive nothing less than a Basilisk fang would do the trick. Unfortunately, they had none of those. Nothing, however, would prove to Naruto otherwise so he and Sai attempted to destroy it despite Hermione telling them it wouldn't work.

Naruto had started by whipping some kunai and shuriken at it, but it was to no avail. They simply glanced off the locket, not even leaving a scratch. Sai threw out some exploding tags, but after the explosion and the dust cleared, the locket was pristine as ever. Frustrated by now, Naruto rammed the locket with an Odama Rasengan but it merely chucked the locket a few feet away. Convinced that this was the only thing that could do it, Naruto repeatedly hit it with rasengans long after Sai had left him outside. It wasn't until well past midnight that Naruto returned to the tent, exhausted and dumped the still unharmed locket in Hermione's hand. Naruto noticed her rather smug look and had snapped that he didn't want to hear 'I told you so'.

"I'll go look for food." Naruto suggested, not really trusting anyone else to do the job. Besides, he was feeling a bit useless at the moment.

Hermione was feeling better after she conjured everything as she plopped down in one of the old armchairs. "We have to think about what our next move is going to be." She said out loud.

"I agree." Said Sai leaning back on the floor. "We can't just stay hiding in the forest forever."

Hermione and Ron looked expectantly at Harry as if he had some master plan on how to find the remaining Horcruxes.

"I…" He stammered.

Truth was, Harry didn't. Dumbledore had left him with practically no information, which left him with a bad feeling inside.

"Well…what about finding Sakura?" Asked Hermione looking at Sai.

Sai sat up and thought to himself. Sakura hadn't been at the Ministry, so where else could Voldermort and Orochimaru possibly be keeping her?

"Does You Know Who have any other base of operations?" Sai asked. "It's possible they could be keeping Sakura there."

He was greeted with a blank stare from Ron as Hermione turned uncertainly to Harry, as if she expected him to have the answer. Harry looked equally uncertain for a moment until his expression subtly changed, as if he just remembered something.

"Little Hangleton." He said slowly. "It's where Pettigrew brought Volder...You Know Who after he escaped the Shrieking Shack. It's where...where the portkey took us after the Triwizard Tournament. It's where...it's where Cedric died." Harry said softly, green eyes downcast.

There was a heavy moment of silence in the tent before Naruto burst through the tent, disrupting the atmosphere as he sank to the floor.

"Damn ghost things." He panted.

"Dementors?" Asked Harry, raising an eyebrow.

"So you mean you didn't get any food?" Asked Ron, annoyance clear in his voice.

Naruto shot Ron a dirty look. "No."

Ron threw his hands up in exasperation as Naruto got back on his feet. "Then you go get the damn food yourself! I'm not a wizard, I can't chase those things away!" Naruto didn't tell them how scared he was of the Dementors, how helpless and cold they made him feel. How he barely had the strength to run from them because he knew that if he stopped or if they caught him, he would be dead.

"That just goes to show you how damn useless you ninja are then!" Ron shot back.

Naruto's expression deepened. "Shut up, Ron!" Hermione snapped, looking at him appalled.

Ron kicked the post of the bunk bed. "I'm starving! All I've had since I almost bled to death was a few stinking toadstools!"

"Then you go fight them!" Said Naruto gesturing towards the tent flap.

"I would, but my arm's in a sling in case you haven't noticed!"

"That's convenient." Naruto snorted.

"Stop!" Yelled Hermione. "Both of you!"

Naruto gave Ron a clear look of dislike as Ron did the same. Harry managed to eventually get out and scrounged some bread and eggs, in which both Ron and Naruto's mood considerably lightened.

Harry was outside, wand resting loosely in his lamp, his ears perked for any sort of sound in the distance. Suddenly, the tent flap was pushed back and Naruto stomped outside, obviously aggravated.

"Ugh!" Naruto yelled, collapsing onto the ground next to Harry. "I'm so tired of his bitching and moaning!"

Harry turned to look at Naruto. "Ron?" He asked, his voice almost sympathetic.

"I don't know how you can be friends with such a…" Naruto paused, glancing back at Harry. "Sorry," He muttered. "I shouldn't say things like that about him. He's your best friend."

"It's no problem." Sighed Harry. "Ron and I have had our fair share of rows as well."

"Uh…rows?" Asked Naruto, scrunching his forehead.

"It means, oh nevermind. I understand how you feel." Said Harry, clapping Naruto on the back.

"Kind of like a love hate relationship right?" Mused Naruto. "Being as annoying and hyperactive as I am, that's pretty much my relationship with everyone…except maybe Kakashi-sensei…but maybe him too. I used to pull pranks all the time as a kid, so most ninja hated me."

"Pranks? What kind of pranks?" Asked Harry intrigued. After all, he Ron and Hermione didn't exactly have a clean record at Hogwarts considering all the trouble they got into, or should have gotten into. And after all, he was friends with Fred and George.

"Oh, all kinds really, but my best prank…ah the memories." Naruto got a faraway look in his eye that really made Harry wonder.

"Well do tell, don't just leave me hanging." Said Harry, a bit bothered after Naruto continued to remain silent.

"Well ok." Said Naruto, quickly snapping out of his reverie. "It was at night and the Hokage was out, on some kind of mission or political thing, I don't really know." Said Naruto waving his hands. "Anyways, I snuck in his office and I was going to mess it up, maybe paint it different colors and then wait and see his reaction…I don't know, but he came back early and totally surprised me. So it was still dark, and the old man comes back in full battle gear, Enma in hand and all…"

"Enma?" Questioned Harry, not familiar with the term.

"It's this monkey that turns into a battle staff…" Naruto drifted off after seeing Harry's incredulous expression "Well it's his most prized weapon. So he sensed me in there, after all he is the Hokage and my chakra after all is more substantial than most children. He made a jab for me and by total reflex, I knocked his hand. He dropped Enma and I caught it! By then he turned the lights on and figured out it was me, but the deed was done. I, me Naruto Uzumaki just disarmed the Hokage! It was at that point that I realized I could be Hokage. I mean I dreamt of being Hokage, but now I realized I could be. Afterall, how many people disarm the Hokage?" Naruto exclaimed, his face shining in glory.

"Seems like we're both destined for greatness then." Joked Harry, smiling as he nudged Naruto.

The smile slowly drifted from Naruto's face. "Sometimes I'm not too sure…"

"What do you mean?" Asked Harry puzzled.

"Sometimes I wonder whether I'll be the leader of Konoha…or whether I'll destroy it." Said Naruto, looking down at the ground. He subconsciously put a hand to his stomach.

Harry quickly looked away. "I know how that feels."

"You do?" Said Naruto, surprised as he turned to face Harry.

"It's either me or him you know? Either I'll save the wizarding world…the world in fact, or I'll die. I'm the only one who can do it, the only one who can kill him. And if I die…then it might as well be the world."

It was soon enough that the five found that on full stomachs meant getting along reasonably well, but on empty stomachs...not so much. Harry had been used periods of starvation, so it didn't affect him as much as Hermione, who's temper became a little short. But everyone was better than Ron who was used to three well cooked meals everyday. On those days, constant bickering was heard between him and Naruto, whose short temper was inflamed by Ron's grouchiness. Sai was able to keep his starvation to himself, as did Naruto when Ron didn't push him off his limit. As the days drew on, they were no closer than they had been the day they arrived in the forest.

"So where to next?" Was Ron's constant refrain, as if he expected Hermione and Harry to produce answers for him.

"So there's the orphanage." Listed Hermione.

"Hogwarts." Yawned Ron.

"Borgin and Burkes as well as Albania." Finished Harry.

"We know the snake is one." Said Hermione.

"Too bad Vol…" Began Harry.

"Didn't I ask you to stop saying that?" Asked Ron irritated.

"You Know Who then." Hermione snapped.

"What about with a friend?" Asked Sai.

By then, Ron yawned in an exasperated way, and Naruto shoved a pillow in his face. Ron threw the pillow away, a sour expression on his face. Harry considered the suggestion. Voldermort didn't have friends, but what if he left one to a Death Eater, like he did the notebook? It was a possibility, but by a far shot.

"I still think there's one at Hogwarts." Said Harry.

"His school?" Scoffed Ron.

Harry ignored Ron. "It was the only place Vol…"

"OI!" Yelled Ron.

"YOU KNOW WHO!" Both Harry and Naruto yelled.

"But Dumbledore would have found it." Said Hermione. Harry shrugged, knowing they didn't believe him anyway.

"Then what about the place you mentioned before...Little Hangleton?" Said Sai suddenly.

The wizards gave pause, surprised by such a suggestion. An involuntary shiver ran up Harry's spine as he remembered the graveyard and the shack where Marvolo Gaunt had lived.

"You can't mean you want to go there?" Said Ron finally.

Naruto looked confused by what was going on, so Sai didn't bother consulting him. "You said it was a place where You Know Who stationed before. Maybe he's using it again. If he is...there's a good chance Sakura could be there."

Harry opened his mouth but didn't respond. He couldn't ignore the way that Naruto's eyes immediately brightened upon hearing Sai's theory and God only knew that he owed the shinobi so much already. He caught Hermione's gaze and while she seemed nervous, she seemed to be saying that perhaps they should go.

"Alright..." Began Harry.

"Have you gone mental?" Ron suddenly asked. "What if You Know Who really is hiding out there? We're still three Horcruxes down! We can't go head to head with him yet!"

"It's certainly a risk." Hermione allowed. "But we have no other options to go on right now. And if there is a chance we can find Sakura...I think we should take it."

"We'll go alone, if we have to." Said Naruto suddenly. "We can't expect you guys to risk everything."

"No!" Said Hermione, anxiously. She turned to Harry and Ron, pleading for one of them to agree with her.

"Hermione's right." Said Harry. "We have to stick together. We'll go to Little Hangleton first thing in the morning."

Bingo Book

Undesirable #3

Rufus Scrimgeour (X)

Status: Pureblood, Current Minister of Magic

Family: Unknown

Security Status: TRACKED. Movement with in the Ministry is being watched, ready to be replaced by Pius Thicknesse.
DECEASED - KILLED BY THE DARK LORD