::26::

Naruto's head bobbed out of the surface of the lake as he sputtered water out of his mouth. Hermione, Ron and Harry surfaced, acted similarly. "Ugh." Naruto groaned as he slowly heaved himself on top of the surface of the water.

Hermione pushed the water out of her eyes as Sai surfaced some feet away and did the same. "How…How are you doing that?" She sputtered.

Naruto shook his head, spraying water droplets all over the place. "Huh?"

Ron coughed the water out of his lungs. "You're walking on water!"

"It's a simple chakra gathering technique. All ninja can do it." Sai said. He looked out over the lake. There were remnants of ink still staining the surface, but otherwise, all was quiet. The wizards had turned back for good. Harry and others had already started swimming toward the shore line not that far away and Sai ran to catch up with them.

Naruto stepped onto the muddy shoreline and collapsed among the reeds. The wizards soon crawled ashore after them, breathing heavily and dripping wet. Harry could feel his clothes clinging to him as he pushed his hand through his wet hair. Hermione drew out her wet wand it whooshed it over them.

Naruto felt better as he felt all the moisture in his clothes disappear. Harry began to cast some protective spells around them as Hermione pulled the Dittany from her beaded bag and began to tend to the angry burn marks they had all received. Naruto's wounds were already half healed. They drank some pumpkin juice Hermione had taken from Shell Cottage and Naruto passed around the croissants he had taken although now they were slightly soggy.

They sat there for a while before Harry finally sighed. "So we got the Horcrux…"

"But no sword." Scowled Naruto.

Ron shook his head. "That back stabbing little scab…" He muttered.

"I think we have more…immediate problems." Sai said.

Harry and the others turned to him. "That wasn't exactly the subtle escape we had hoped for." Harry agreed.

"Do you think…do you think he knows?" Asked Hermione a bit fearful.

Ron shrugged. "Maybe they won't tell him…?"

Harry shook his head. He would have to find out…he would find out…pain clawed at Harry's head and the world faded away.

Sakura lounged against a column in the shadows of Gringotts bank. Against the wall closest to the door, Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange stood cowering in fear. Sakura, however, did not care what was happening at the moment. It had nothing to do with her.

"What did you say to me?" Voldermort murmured as he looked down at the small hobbled goblin who kneeled before him. "Say it again."

The goblin was shaking and refused to look Voldermort in the eye.

"Say it again!" Voldermort ordered. "Say it again!"

"M-My Lord," The goblin stammered. "We…We tried to s-stop them…but i-imposters…b-broke into the L-Les-Lestrange's vault."

"Impostors?" Voldermort said quietly, although they could hear the rage building in his voice. "What imposters? I thought Gringotts had a way to reveal impostors!"

"It was…it was…the Potter boy. We saw him escaping the vault and he h-had o-others with him…"

Sakura roused herself from boredom as she watched Voldermort contemplate the goblins words, a violent tremor running through him.

"And what did they take?" Voldermort demanded. "What did they take?!"

"A s-small c-cup, M-My Lord…"

Sakura jumped as Voldermort let out an inhuman yell, his wand slashing down toward the goblin and emitting a horrible green jet of light. The goblin fell to the floor dead, but Voldermort didn't stop there. Shrieks and yells filled the air and Bellatrix and Lucius made a run for it, but Sakura stood still, watching with careful reproach.

When everyone was dead and it had fallen silent within the halls of Gringotts, Sakura watched as Voldermort paced the room, muttering to himself and kicking aside bodies when they got in his way. Finally he turned to her, his gaze unreadable. Her heart skipped a beat as fear – no matter how irrational it was – ran through her veins.

"Sakura," He said quietly. "Can I trust you?"

Harry pulled himself to his feet and wondered how long he had been out. The others had turned to stare at him as he looked out across the lake and at the sun which was now in the middle of the sky. "He knows about the Horcruxes and he's going to check up on them…the last one is a Hogwarts. I knew it." Said Harry finally.

"Hogwarts?" Said Ron in disbelief.

"He could be there within hours…" Harry said. "He's going to check that one last…"

"Well where is it?" Naruto asked eagerly. "Maybe we can go in there and nab it before he even gets there! He won't even know…"

Harry shook his head. "I didn't see…"

"Wait!" Said Hermione jumping to her feet. "We can't really be considering going to Hogwarts now, without any sort of plan!"

"There's no time, Hermione!" Said Harry. "If we let Vol…You Know Who get there before us, he could re-hide the Horcrux and then who knows how long it will take us to find it! It's the last one, Hermione."

"But the snake…" Said Hermione uncertainly.

"Once it's down to the snake, we can take the fight to him." Said Naruto with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Hermione let out a sigh. "This is madness…" She said. "There are Death Eaters swarming all over Hogwarts. There's no way we can get in undetected…"

"We'll go to Hogsmeade." Said Harry. "When the sun sets. We can find one of the passageways and sneak back into Hogwarts from there."

"But…" Hermione began.

"If he knows we are after the Horcruxes, how long do you think it will be before he starts making new ones to replace the ones he lost?" Sai wondered out loud. "This might be our only chance to end this."

"Looks like it's now or never, Hermione." Said Ron with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders.

The ninja and wizards had both agreed that the wizards would Apparate under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak to Hogsmeade. Naruto and Sai had agreed that they were quick enough to flee the scene in case they were spotted.

They waited until the sun had dipped below the horizon, scoring the sky in orange, pink and purple. Harry hoped that under the cover of darkness, it would be easier to sneak into Hogwarts and that his plan wouldn't be complete madness. Harry readied the cloak as Hermione gave Naruto's hand a meaningful squeeze when she gripped his hand. Harry nodded to the ninja as he threw the cloak over them, rendering them invisible. The only thing Naruto could feel was Hermione's slightly sweaty hand as they disappeared into the darkness.

Hogsmeade looked eerie in the coming twilight. Buildings loomed ahead, their storefronts dark, empty and devoid of any of the merriment that Harry so fondly remembered. Like Diagon Alley, it was like the magic of the place had disappeared entirely. But he didn't have time to contemplate much further as his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud shrieking. Naruto and Sai shared a surprised look before Sai pushed the wizards into a corner of an alley just in time as two Death Eaters burst into view.

Harry stood as still as he ever remembered standing, suddenly afraid that the Deaths Eaters would somehow spot them and their whole plan would be blown from the beginning. He had expected to run into them, but not this soon. What was that wailing?

"Potter?" One of them shouted. "Where are you? We know it's you!" He waved his wand and the screaming suddenly ceased.

"No use hiding, Potter. There's nowhere you can run!" The other Death Eater spat. He held up his wand. "Accio Cloak!"

Harry grasped the cloak, but it made no attempt to move. Beside him, Ron let out a sigh of relief.

"Not under your wrapper then, ey Potter?" The first one sneered. He nudged the second one in the ribs as his eyes roamed the darkness of the alley. "Let's call those knife throwers over here. I know Potter is here, just like the Dark Lord said he would be."

Ron lifted his wand, as if he were ready to stun them, but Hermione quickly gripped his forearm. He turned to her, his face expressing confusion, but Hermione just shook her head. If he attempted a stunning, the Death Eaters could be alerted to their position.

But as it was, Ron didn't have to do anything. Naruto and Sai suddenly dropped down from above onto the Death Eaters. There was a sickening crunch and when they landed, both Death Eaters were dead.

"Bloody hell." Muttered Ron, looking equal parts horrified and amazed.

"Phew." Said Naruto wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "How did they know we were here? And what the hell was that screaming?"

Sai motioned for Naruto to be quiet before he grabbed one of the fallen Death Eater's by the armpits and dragged him toward what appeared to be a back alley door. With a well-aimed kick, the door opened and Sai quickly pulled the body inside with Naruto and the wizards following suit.

The building appeared to house a small tea shop that had long since been abandoned. Dust coated the furniture and the words 'Muggle-lover' had been written all over the walls using some sort of spell. Harry hoped the occupants had fled during the occupation of Hogsmeade and that something worse hadn't happened. The wizards lit their wands and after Naruto and Sai deemed it safe, Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak off of them.

"Was that really necessary?" Asked Hermione shrilly, as Naruto dragged one of the Death Eater's body through the dust before tossing him behind the counter. "You could have simply knocked them out…I could have performed an Obliviate spell…They would have never…"

"It's not like the world won't be better off without two less Death Eaters…" Said Harry quietly. He was still staring at the words 'Muggle-lover' on the walls.

"Dead men can't speak." Said Sai before Hermione could respond to Harry. "If Naruto and I impersonate them, at least we won't have to worry about the real ones turning up and blowing our cover."

"Wow, Sai," Said Naruto raising his eyebrows, "That's a great plan! Good thinking." He gave Sai a thumbs up which Sai ignored.

"Hermione, are you able to cast an invisibility spell?" Sai asked.

Hermione was staring toward the counter where Naruto and Sai had hidden the Death Eater's bodies, her eyes uncertain. But when she turned back to face Sai, her resolve seemed to have steeled. "Assuming the Death Eater's won't be looking too hard for us now, then yes I think there is something I can do."

Sai nodded his head. "Harry can keep the cloak, but we'll need to move quickly and we can't do that with all of you underneath there."

Naruto and Sai cautiously stepped out into the alley first, transformed into the Death Eaters they had just killed while the wizards trailed quietly behind them, cloaked in a Disillusionment Charm. As soon as Harry stepped out the door, the shrieking started again, startling the ninja who urged the wizards to follow them as they fled out of the alley and onto the street.

"It must be a Caterwauling Charm!" Hermione whispered fearfully. "They must have placed it on Hogwarts to enact a curfew!"

On the main street, they spotted a couple of Death Eaters running about and shouting, wands at the ready, but they did nothing to halt their progress. On the roofs, Oto ninja stood at the ready, kunai glinting dangerously in their hands as their eyes roamed the darkness. But Naruto and Sai knew that without the Sharingan or the Byakugan, they had no chance of spotting them.

"It's only another block or so to Honeydukes." Harry whispered in Naruto's ear as tried to run silently beside him. "We can get to Hogwarts from there."

"Anybody find Potter yet?" Someone called out, their voice cutting through the screams.

As they neared closer, Harry could see that unlike most of the other buildings, the lights in the Three Broomsticks looked warm and inviting. Unfortunately, several Death Eaters stood outside the door, their wands at the ready. They all looked irritated, as if they would rather be inside having a pint of butterbeer than hunting Harry down.

"I say we just turn the Dementors loose!" One Death Eater shouted as they approached. "Why waste our time?"

"The Dark Lord wants Potter for himself." Another Death Eater scowled. "He'll have our hides if we let the Dementors kill him."

"But that's the brilliant thing, isn't it?" Piped up another. "The Dementors won't kill Potter…he'll still be breathing after they perform the Kiss, won't he?"

A few of the Death Eaters started laughing and Harry felt a chill run through his spine as he heard them speaking about the Dementors Kiss.

"Knox!" Called the first Death Eater who mentioned using the Dementors. He was looking toward Naruto and Sai and with a start, Naruto realized he was speaking to them. "What the hell happened? You find Potter?"

"Yeah..." Said Naruto slowly. "But as soon as we turned up, he escaped."

"He didn't get far." Said one of the Death Eaters as he lounged against the wall to the Three Broomsticks. "You know there's no leaving Hogsmeade once you're inside. Potter made a big mistake in coming here."

Hermione made a small noise that was quickly caught in the wind. There would be no leaving, no Disapperating if things went south.

"Maybe we'll just head on over to Honeydukes then." Said Naruto shrugging, feigning a nonchalant attitude. "Maybe Potter will try to get into Hogwarts from there." If they could just make it the rest of the way there…

The Death Eater leaning against the wall of the Three Broomsticks laughed. "Honeydukes? That entrance was sealed a long time ago, there's no way Potter can get in from there!"

Harry felt as if the blood had drained from his veins and had been replaced by the cold. If the entrance to Honeydukes was blocked, then how would they get into Hogwarts? And if the Death Eaters had already sealed that entrance, then it was likely every other entrance was sealed, including the one between the Shrieking Shack and the Whomping Willow. Snape knew about that one personally after all.

Harry heard Naruto falter. "Oh, right. Completely forgot about that…"

The Death Eater cocked his head as he pushed off from the wall. "Really, Knox? Weren't you there when they did it?"

Naruto froze. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He needed to come up with an excuse and quickly, but it was already too late. The Death Eater had his wand drawn and pointed at Naruto, the others quickly following suit.

Sai did what he knew had to be done. He screamed. "RUN!"

Harry didn't wait to see what would happen, or stop to think of the consequences. When Sai screamed at them to run, he took off running down the street, the Invisibility Cloak flapping behind him like a cape and Ron and Hermione following suit.

Their cloaks of invisibility had worn off and they were exposed from all to see. Their feet slapped loudly against the pavement and behind them, they could hear shouts of anger and spells whizzing past.

Harry steered them toward a downtrodden street that looked even more abandoned than the rest of Hogsmeade did. He turned another corner sharply, turning to make sure Ron and Hermione were still following him. When he turned back to the street, a door in front of him suddenly opened, spilling light across the darkening street. An old man with a bedraggled beard appeared in the doorway.

"In here, Potter!" He hissed.

Harry didn't hesitate. He darted inside the door, slipping past the old man with Ron and Hermione following suit. He didn't even know where he was until the man returned, pointing them toward an old stairwell hidden in a corner that he realized that they were inside the Hog's Head and the old man was the barman he had first encountered years ago.

Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't stop until they reached the top of the stairs and burst into a small sitting room. Still wearing the Invisibility Cloak, Harry rushed to the window and peered out from the curtains, but all he could see was the empty streets of Hogsmeade.

"It was bloody dumb of you to come here."

The wizards turned around as the barman entered the room and closed the door behind him. He stalked over to the window, almost bumping into Harry and pulled the curtains shut.

Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak off. "Listen, we're grateful for your help, but we need to get back out there. Our friends…"

"You may as well forget about your ninja friends." The barman grunted. "We aren't any nicer to their kind than they are to us. Fights break out nearly every day between their lot and the Death Eaters down there." The barman set about lighting the lamps inside the small room, bathing it in a warm glow.

"And you'll be dead if you step another foot outside." The barman continued. "Mark my words. I said it once and I'll say it again. It was bloody foolish and stupid for you to come here."

"But sir, you don't understand." Said Hermione, her hands tightening into fists as she sank down onto one of the armchairs, as if her legs just wouldn't support her anymore. "Our friends will die out there if we don't do something!"

Harry glanced around the room, his eyes finally resting on a mirror shard sitting on the mantelpiece. He furrowed his eyebrows, studying the mirror before something clicked into place. He looked at the barman who was busy arguing with Hermione. He tried to see past the disheveled beard and dirty glasses…

"You're Aberforth, aren't you?" Said Harry, interrupting Hermione as she was about to retort something.

Hermione turned to the barman stunned and Ron squinted at him, as if trying to see the resemblance.

"You're Aberforth." Harry repeated.

"I am." The barman finally acknowledged. "But a fat lot of good that's going to do for you in your current situation."

The spell hit Naruto like a ton of bricks, seizing up his limbs as if the blood in his veins had been turned ice. Naruto collapsed to the ground face first, Sai falling in similar fashion as their disguises fell away. They were both kicked over, the boot catching Naruto in the rib as he was flipped over to see a small group of Death Eaters hovering over him.

"So, little ninja," Naruto was gripped by the hair and pulled upright to face one of the Death Eaters. His face hurt as his lips involuntarily tried to pull into a grimace. "Found yourself on the wrong side of the playing field tonight didn't you?" His question was punctuated by a grunt from Naruto as he slammed his foot down on Naruto's stomach.

The first Death Eater backed off as another, more imposing looking one stormed over. He flicked his wand and suddenly, Sai was hovering in the air, gasping for breath as if he were being choked by an imaginary hand.

"Where is Harry Potter?" The Death Eater demanded.

"Who?" Sai managed, struggling for breath.

The Death Eater dropped his wand, letting Sai fall to the ground in a heap. Naruto heard him gasping for air.

"Don't waste your time, Macnair." Said the first Death Eater. "They won't talk. We'll just flush Potter out. It's not like he can escape. We should just kill the ninja and be done with it."

The large Death Eater looked pleased with this suggestion and Naruto glared daggers at him from where he was still lying on the ground, unable to move due to the Body Binding Curse he had been hit with.

"Not this one though, Selwyn." Said a Death Eater, stepping out of the crowd. She wore black robes like the rest of them and her hair was windblown and untidy. "This one is wanted by the Dark Lord." She shoved Naruto with her foot.

Selwyn looked over Naruto as if he were studying a piece of meat. "Fair enough then, we will kill this one." He said, turning his attention to Sai.

"G-go screw yours-self!" Naruto managed through gritted teeth as he glared up at the Death Eaters.

The first Death Eater turned to the other. "What do you think Slewyn, wanna finish em now?"

The Death Eater named Slewyn looked thoughtful as he paced in front of them. "No Rookwood, I think I want to play with them a little bit."

"Crucio!"

The pain was like nothing that Naruto had ever felt before. It was like every particle, ever fiber that made Naruto who he was had been suddenly doused in oil and lit on fire. It was like a thousand knives twisted into every inch of his skin. The scream that Naruto let out tore through his throat, but even that was nothing compared to the pain that he felt.

And then all at once, the pain was gone. Naruto fell to the ground, gasping as the Death Eaters around him laughed. Naruto clawed at the cobbled bricks beneath him, but after the spell, it was like his body has been sapped of its strength. All he could feel was relief that the pain was gone. Naruto managed to lift his eyes to meet Sai's and they locked for a brief instant before Sai was hit with the same spell.

It was painful being hit with the spell, but it was just as painful watching Sai suffer through it. His jaw clenched through the first few seconds before the pain became too much and Sai let out a howl just as loud as Naruto's had been. Naruto had never seen Sai hurt or in agony before so it was a shock to his system to watch as tears leaked down Sai's cheeks.

"Alright, enough." Slewyn complained as Sai fell to the ground. "This gets boring after a while. There's only so many ways you can make them scream."

"I always wanted to try this out on one of them ninja." Said Rookwood with a grin. "It's nice to see that they scream the same as us."

"Which do you think is stronger?" Said the female Death Eater with a raise of her eyebrow. "The blondie, or this one here." She said, nudging Sai with her foot. Sai remained motionless on the ground.

"The blond one." Said Macnair with a wide grin. "He's got a bigger muscle mass. He can kick that one's ass for sure."

"I don't know." Said another Death Eater, stepping closer to Sai to look down at him. "This one's got a dark look about him. I says this one can cut a man's throat in his sleep and not even bat an eyelash."

"10 galleons on blondie!"

"No, I've got 15 galleons on the pale one!"

Naruto scowled as the bets continued to flow in. Sai was still unconscious. Looks like it would be up to him to save the day. Again.

"I really hope Naruto is ok." Hermione whispered as they walked down the dark tunnel.

Suddenly, the faint sound of an explosion went off behind them. Harry felt an odd feeling settle inside of him. He suddenly felt lighter. He motioned for everyone to keep moving. Soon, they hit what looked like the back of a large portrait.

"Here goes nothing..." Murmured Harry.

He pushed open the door as they squinted at the light from the other side after being in the dark tunnel.

"Oh my God...LOOK WHO IT IS!"

Suddenly, there was applauding and screaming as the group jumped down into the room. "It's Potter…IT'S POTTER!" They were screaming. Everyone looked around amazed at the room and all of its inhabitants.

Bingo Book

Undesirable #17

Arthur Weasley

Status: Pureblood, but with unacceptable pro-Muggle leanings. Known member of Order of the Phoenix

Family: Molly Weasley (wife) - Pureblood (see Undesirable #20), children: William Weasley (see Undesirable #18), Charles Weasley (see Undesirable #19), Percy Weasley (Accepted), Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ronald Weasley (see Undesirable #21), Ginerva Weasley

Security Status: TRACKED. All movements are being monitored. Strong likelihood that Undesirable #1 will contact.

MISSING – HAS ABANDONED JOB AND HAS FLED FROM OTTERY ST. CATCHPOLE. WORKING ON TRACKING IMMEDIATELY.