Chapter 10

The Cost of War

Potter,

Since we are still in the middle of a war I believe it is safe to assume that you have been sitting around, waiting for others to do the hard work for you. With your latest excursion to London, it has become difficult to distract the Dark Lord from looking into your activities. Whatever you're planning, I suggest you get moving. Whenever you finally finish your task, write a time and place to meet on the back of this parchment and tap it with your wand.

It's so simple I doubt even you can mess that up.

Snape

Harry read the letter slowly even though he had it memorized already. There was no denying that it was Severus Snape who had written the letter. The question was: what did he want? Sirius was certain it was a trap, ranting about 'greasy gits' for hours after everyone read through the letter repeatedly. Remus had simply shared a knowing look with Harry before saying that they would discuss everything later. In other words, Remus was going to release some anger in private so they could discuss everything rationally.

Ron and Hermione's reactions had also been rather extreme. Both of them believed that Snape was nothing more than a traitor that wanted something which was surprising. Ron and Hermione actually agreed on something although the amazement suddenly turned to frustration when Ron and Hermione started arguing about the reasons why Snape was a traitor. Harry didn't even try to get in the middle of that one.

Harry had to admit that he was suspicious. Why now of all times? What was Snape hoping to gain? Harry sincerely doubted that Snape wanted to help out of the goodness of his own heart. Snape didn't have a heart. He was nothing more than a bitter man who looked out for no one but himself, regardless of anything Professor Dumbledore may have said. Any trust Harry may have given Snape vanished when he found out Snape's role in his parents' deaths.

With the information given by Malfoy, Order of the Phoenix members were given the task to monitor Diagon Alley for any Death Eater activity. Fred and George Weasley made their shop a base of operations in Diagon Alley to transfer information between Diagon Alley and Hogwarts as well as to transport people back and forth, if necessary. Bill and Fleur were also available at Gringott's if an emergency ever arose.

With the passing of Christmas, Kingsley and Tonks had to separate their time between planning the next move for the next Horcrux and preparing for the upcoming term. All teachers and Aurors were re-enforcing the wards only to return to the castle a few hours later completely exhausted. Sirius and Remus took over training Ron and Hermione for 'field duty' while Harry had the honor of gathering data on items held at Borgin & Burkes from Malfoy.

From the Order members on undercover duty, they had gained nearly a full layout of Borgin & Burkes to be studied for any possible hiding place of a Horcrux. Harry had wanted to personally investigate but he was just too recognizable, even if he was disguised. It would look too suspicious to see someone with protective guard walking down Knockturn Alley. Of course there was also the fact that Borgin & Burkes contained a large amount 'dark' items that would most likely overwhelm Harry but that was a just a small problem that was currently being researched.

Malfoy had actually been a surprise for everyone. It wasn't that Malfoy was extremely eager to help; he was just bored and afraid to be left alone with Mad-Eye Moody for a long period of time. He had actually admitted that spending time with a few 'Gryffindorks' wasn't so bad when compared to Moody's 'surprise' inspections throughout the day and night.

Another surprise was how well Malfoy tolerated Hermione's demanding manner concerning schoolwork. Hermione had given Malfoy a strict lesson plan to follow to ensure that he could possibly take his N.E.W.T.s with the rest of the seventh year students. In all honesty, Harry didn't know how Hermione managed to so much and still maintain her sanity. She was training with Sirius and Remus, helping with research, helping Malfoy, and even finding time to nag Harry and Ron about their own schoolwork.

It was just wrong.

The arrival of the New Year brought about many added pressures. Some parents and guardians sent notices that their children wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts while others wanted assurance that their children would be completely safe. They wanted information that Professor McGonagall couldn't divulge which didn't settle well with some parents. Voldemort's latest group of attacks had everyone at the breaking point. Wizarding families were being targeted forcing many to abandon their homes and possessions. The Weasleys had relocated to Grimmauld Place over Christmas along with several other families of Order members.

Tonks' parents had been pulled out of the muggle world after Death Eaters were spotted near their neighborhood. Tonks' mother, Andromeda, was left in charge since she knew the house better than anyone. Arabella Figg had also moved in from her house on Privet Drive to help with documenting information members brought while Mundungus Fletcher, on the other hand, was banned from Grimmauld Place unless he was supervised after trying to steal several Black family relics.

Luckily for everyone, there were no small children to worry about wandering in the 'forbidden areas' such as the basement that was still set up for Horcrux destruction. The important Black family artifacts that Sirius hadn't already moved to Gringotts were placed in warded rooms that were spelled to sound an alarm while confining anyone who attempted to enter. Sirius didn't want to take any chances with anyone's curiosity getting the better of them.

When the returning students arrived, Harry could easily see several differences in the students. The atmosphere was certainly more subdued. There wasn't one student unaffected by the drop in attendance. Harry also noticed that Ginny was sitting farther away than normal and refused to look at him. It was odd but Harry figured Ginny just wanted a little space and he was just fine with that. There was just a little too much tension between them at the moment.

With the distraction of classes, no one noticed the increased traffic in the wing containing the Marauder Quarters and Malfoy's Quarters. They were in the final stages of planning the mission to Diagon Alley. Sunday night was the least busy night at Diagon Alley since all of the stores closed earlier than their already short hours providing them enough time to sneak in, find the Horcrux and leave without anyone noticing.

Of course, no one expected it to go that smoothly but there was always hope, right?

By the time the sun was falling below the horizon on Sunday, everyone in the Marauder Quarters ready to leave. With their destination in mind, they would be taking portkeys in small groups that would appear in hidden corners all over Diagon Alley to avoid attention as long as possible. Harry, Sirius and Tonks would be appearing first on the corner of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. Hermione and Kingsley would be appearing shortly after them outside Flourish & Blott's. Ron and Remus were the final group and would arrive in Weasley Wizarding Wheezes where Fred, George and the other Order members would be waiting to help if they were needed.

The final act of defense was the team of Aurors that Scrimgeour had arranged. It had been difficult to convince Scrimgeour that such an act was necessary without disclosing all of the details but he relented in the end because 'the wizarding community couldn't afford to lose Diagon Alley'. At least, that was the line that Remus used to end Scrimgeour's arguments. That had also been the line that had granted the group Ministry approved portkeys.

With a tug behind the navel, the three groups vanished from Hogwarts and reached their destinations a moment later. Harry, Sirius and Tonks immediately stepped into the shadows and cautiously made their way to Borgin & Burkes. The Alley was thankfully empty of any sort of being that would normally lurk for hours even after the stores had closed. Harry shook the stray thought of his head and tried to remain focused while also trying to ignore the darkness that seemed to be soaked in every stone and every brick. He nervously fingered the charmed ring that rested on the middle finger of his left hand, reassuring himself that the means to keep him sane were indeed present. The ring had been created and charmed to create a powerful ward around him that would partially block his empathy.

Harry would be entering Borgin & Burkes just as blind as everyone else.

Borgin & Burkes was clearly the largest store on Knockturn Alley and certainly the one with the shadiest of reputations. The store specialized in nothing but dark and cursed items or items that would fetch an extremely good price. Many of the 'priceless' items were known to be stolen but the original owners refused to claim their items. Nearly every family in the wizarding world owned at least one dark item, no matter how small. Those who claimed they didn't just had more valuable objects. It seemed the common motto in the wizarding world was 'do what you want, just don't get caught'.

Hermione and Kingsley caught up just as Harry, Sirius and Tonks reached Borgin & Burkes while Remus and Ron made it to their destination of the corner of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. With everyone in place, Sirius motioned for those around him to remain silent as he pulled out his wand and cast several unlocking charms before a loud click was heard. No one said a word as Sirius slowly opened the door enough to cast a few detection spells. After hesitating a moment, Sirius nodded to Kingsley who reached in his pocket and pulled out what looked like a large green glass-like stone about the size of Kingsley's palm.

"Just toss it in and close the door, Sirius," Kingsley said quietly as he handed the stone over. "It should disable all protections, light and dark."

"Eyes closed everyone," Sirius said before tossing the stone into the store. Everyone obeyed without question and understood why when an intense light poured out of the windows, filling the entire alley with light for a split second. Once darkness retuned, everyone slowly opened their eyes and waited for the bright flashes in their eyes to fade. "All right," Sirius said at last. "Let's get moving. Glasses and gloves on everyone."

With his wand at the ready and charmed sunglasses on, Harry followed Sirius into the store as he pulled his protective gloves on, stumbling slightly as waves of darkness struck him from every direction for a long moment before fading entirely. He let out a soft sigh of relief. The charmed ring had obviously activated. Glancing around the dark wizard's shop, Harry quickly pinpointed many of the items that Order members had reported while Sirius silently cast Silencing Charm after Silencing Charm.

With the sunglasses providing the necessary lighting for each person, Harry could see the evil-looking masks staring down from the walls that didn't contain shelves of small boxes and knickknacks. Shining and glittering objects rested in locked glass cases. Spiked instruments hung from the ceiling, swaying slightly in their 'line-of-sight' light.

"What about Mr. Borgin?" Hermione asked in a hushed voice. "Surely he'll know someone's breaking into his store."

Sirius grinned. "Bill and Fleur took care of it," he said smugly. "With a little charm, Borgin never noticed Bill slipping a time released sleeping potion into his drink. We don't have to worry about him until morning."

As quietly as possible, everyone broke off into different directions. Harry moved to the farthest corner, waving his wand over every possible item and open space while silently casting detection spells. From all of the information collected, Harry knew that the Horcrux was either hidden or transfigured…most likely hidden to prevent anyone from selling or stealing it.

Finding nothing out of the ordinary, Harry moved to the right and started the process all over again. He quickly realized how much he had relied on his abilities, especially being able to sense dark magic. Trusting yourself was certainly easier than trusting a general reading that spells provided. It also required less patience which was something Harry was running out of. This wasn't like the orphanage. The longer they searched, the more likely a chance they had of being discovered by the wrong people who had connections to the sort that Harry wanted to avoid until they were ready.

Harry moved to the right again only to stop when he felt an indentation in the wall. With curiosity getting the better of him, Harry pressed a finger against the indentation and heard a quiet click before the wall started to move towards him. The items on the wall shook, adding to the scraping and creaking that sounded deafening when compared to the overwhelming silence that had filled the room only moments before. Luckily, Sirius had cast so many Silencing Charms.

Everyone quickly moved to Harry's side but no one said a word until the wall stopped moving and a small, circular room was revealed. Glass cases holding various shaped items stacked the walls, each one of them locked with a different shaped key hole. Harry took a curious step forward only to stop when he felt Sirius' hand grasp his shoulder.

"We need to check for spells, Harry," Sirius whispered. "This room was hidden for a reason."

Mentally scolding himself, Harry nodded and stepped aside to allow Sirius to take the lead. The last thing they needed was to make a stupid mistake. Harry followed Sirius cautiously, knowing that Tonks was only a step behind him. Stepping up to the threshold, Harry slowly scanned each glass case until he saw what they were searching for. In the highest glass case on the wall to the left, a crystal ball rested on an exquisite raven carved out of bronze. A thick layer of dust and cobwebs covered the crystal ball and the two strangely shaped gems that had been placed on either side of it.

Glancing down at his gloved left hand, Harry knew he had a difficult choice to make. There were bound to be dark spells on every case along with every spot of flooring. They needed every advantage they could get and Harry's ability to sense dark magic was certainly an advantage. Before anyone could discourage him, Harry pulled off his glove and removed the charmed ring and closed his eyes as waves of darkness surrounded him once again.

There was a loud clink as the ring slipped from Harry's fingers and hit the floor but Harry was too focused on sorting the different waves of darkness to notice. The darkness in the room ahead of him was all that mattered. There were definitely several waves of darkness colliding against each other. Ghostly waves ran up the walls, surrounding each glass case.

This wasn't going to be easy.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed. "What are you doing!?!"

"Helping," Harry hissed back as he tried to ignore the headache that was starting to pound against his temples. He needed to concentrate on 'feeling' the spells placed in the room to know what needed to be countered or avoided. "There are three—possibly four spells on the floor alone and all of them are intertwined in some way."

"If that's true then attempting to counter one will set the others off," Kingsley said thoughtfully. "The object will have to be retrieved without stepping on the floor."

Tonks and Sirius stared at Kingsley incredulously. "Well that just makes everything so much easier," Sirius muttered sarcastically.

"It just means that we have to be creative," Hermione countered thoughtfully. "We could try levitation. Sirius could levitate Harry and Professor Shacklebolt could levitate me—"

"—now wait just a minute there!" Sirius protested. "If you think for one minute—"

"—we're the obvious choices, Sirius," Hermione insisted. "I know all the spells and Harry can point out if I miss something. We're also lighter than the two of you."

"What about me?" Tonks protested. Everyone stared at Tonks with the same skeptical look on their face causing Tonks to wince. Even though Tonks had made an obvious effort to be careful, she still had her moments of clumsiness that kept everyone on their toes. "Right," Tonks said uncomfortably. "Forget I said anything. Carry on."

"Hermione has a point, Sirius," Harry added with a shrug as he put his glove back on. "Besides, do we really have time to argue about this?"

Sirius let out a resigned sigh and shook his head before moving aside so Harry and Hermione could stand side by side at the threshold. "Here goes nothing," Sirius muttered.

Without warning, Harry felt himself being lifted effortlessly in the air until he was eye-level with the highest glass cases. He tried to keep his nerves under control as he slowly turned in the air and moved towards the case holding the dust covered crystal ball. Hermione already had her wand raised, ready to begin casting. Motioning for her to wait, Harry raised his own wand and started to carefully conjure mirrors to divert the ghostly waves running up the wall.

Hermione quickly caught on to what Harry was trying to do and started casting Sticking Charms around the case. Carefully, Harry positioned the mirrors to deflect the waves, leaving one less problem to worry about, as long as they didn't slip or fall. Once all of the mirrors were in place, Harry nodded confirmation to Hermione who immediately started on casting every diagnosis spell she could think of.

"Please tell me you are almost done," Remus said quietly through everyone's earpieces.

Everyone shared a concerned look. There was no denying the hint of nervousness in Remus's voice. "What's wrong, Remus?" Kingsley asked quickly.

There was a slight hesitation before Remus answered. "Several groups of black cloaked individuals just Apparated all over Diagon Alley and they're coming towards us. There's no way we'll be able to hold them off for long, even with help from the Order."

Harry urgently started waving his wand over the glass case to try and 'unlock' the protective spells placed on it. He could sense at least three different spells and two were dark. Removing the light spell would be easy except for the fact that it was the glue holding the spells together.

"Wait until they are close enough to send the signal," Kingsley ordered. "Hopefully surrounding them will give us enough time to finish here."

Sirius' wand wavered slightly as he cast an incredulous glance at Kingsley which was enough for the spell on Harry to falter. Harry knew the moment dipped slightly that he was in trouble. That was really the only warning he had before he fell. His mind froze as he fell face first with Hermione's scream the only thing filling his ears. Seeing the floor rushed up to meet him, Harry reflexively slammed his eyes shut only to feel all of the air rush out of his lungs as he suddenly halted.

"What happened?" Ron demanded through everyone's earpieces. "What's going on?"

Harry cautiously opened his eyes to realize that the floor was only inches below him. Waves of darkness rose up, trying to wrap around him but couldn't reach. Harry didn't attempt to move, he didn't even breathe. How could he when he was only a split second away from being consumed by dark magic?

"Nothing, Ron," Sirius growled, his wand shaking slightly under his fierce grip. "Focus on your job so we can do ours."

Harry finally let out a breath when he felt himself slowly begin to rise in the air. As soon as he was high enough, Harry slowly shifted his body to look upward. He immediately noticed Hermione's nervous face before nodding his head towards the case. Hermione nodded shakily and returned to trying to open the case. As Harry rose past Sirius, he couldn't miss the frazzled look on his godfather's face. He tried to cast Sirius a reassuring look but knew it wouldn't do much until they were back at Hogwarts.

"Tonks, take the door," Kingsley ordered before glancing over at Sirius. "You all right or do you need Tonks to take over?"

"I'm fine," Sirius answered through his teeth. "Sorry about that, Harry."

"Just don't do it again, Sirius," Harry said softly as he reached Hermione. "I think I just aged ten years."

"I think I've almost got it," Hermione muttered, her brow scrunched in concentration as she continued to wave her wand over the case in an intricate pattern.

Harry cautiously reached out with his senses and was surprised as he felt the final dark spell waver for a moment before vanishing from existence. Hermione quickly cast Harry an unsure glance only to beam with pride the moment Harry nodded in confirmation. Harry had to admit that he was amazed at Hermione's spell casting especially since this was her first time actually dealing with dark spells.

With a simply unlocking charm, the case sprang open allowing Harry to carefully reach in and wrap one hand around the filthy crystal ball while the other grabbed the base. At a closer look, Harry noticed that it wasn't only dust and cobwebs that gave the crystal ball the 'dirty look'. It was something inside the actual crystal ball and that something could only be the piece of Voldemort's dark soul.

"We got it," Harry said loud enough for Ron and Remus to hear as he felt himself slowly lower towards the ground. Darkness seemed to pulse around the crystal ball, forcing Harry to be extra cautious. The last thing they needed was him dropping an artifact containing one of the darkest of magiks and causing a chain reaction.

"Great," Remus said in a strained voice. "Get out of there so we can alert the Ministry and call a retreat."

Harry and Hermione shared a concerned look. Suddenly, the pace they were going wasn't fast enough. As soon as they were low enough, Harry was pulled towards the door and could only silently plead that they would hurry up. Ron and Remus were most likely all that stood between them and the Death Eaters, a thought that only made Harry worry. Ron knew enough to stand his ground against nearly anyone but he also had a tendency to panic when he became too overwhelmed.

As soon as Harry's feet touched the floor, he was on his way out of Borgin & Burkes, trying to ignore the overpowering waves of darkness that struck him with every step. "How bad is it, Ron?" he asked quickly.

"They're starting to break through the defensive shields Fred and George set up," Ron answered distractedly. "We're trying to reinforce the shield but there's just too many of them."

It's almost like they knew we would be here. Of course is that was true then they would have most likely walked into a trap. No. Harry figured there must have been some sort of ward that they missed, causing Voldemort to send the Death Eaters to investigate. And kill whoever they came across. "Ron, the moment that shield breaks, Apparate," Harry ordered.

"I've contacted the Ministry," Kingsley said as he stepped out of the store, holding up his Auror badge. "They should be here soon."

"How soon?" asked Remus in a tense tone. "The shields are cracking…They're down! Ron! Just fire at anything moving!"

Sirius hurried out of the store followed by Hermione and Tonks. "We're on our way, Moony," Sirius said quickly before turning to Harry and Hermione. "We don't have time to take the Horcrux to Black Manor and destroy it. Take it to Hogwarts. We'll meet you there as soon as we can."

Harry handed the Horcrux over to Hermione. "Hide it in the Marauder Quarters," he added. "I'll go relieve Ron." Before anyone could protest, Harry ran to the Alley's entrance to see flashes of light flying back and forth, illuminating Diagon Alley. He quickly pinpointed Remus and Ron who were being pushed back by a handful of Death Eaters. Harry instantly started firing spells at anything in a Death Eater cloak that he could see.

One of the spells just missed Ron's head, causing him to duck and turn with his wand ready to fire. "Harry!" he exclaimed in relief. "Don't scare me like that!"

Harry didn't have time to answer before tackling Ron and watching as a flash of green flew past where they had just stood. Ron stared at Harry in alarm before both of them scurried to their feet. Standing at the mouth of the alley, Harry could finally take in the entire situation. The Death Eaters were indeed surrounded by Order members but the number of Death Eaters clearly outnumbered those in the Order. If the Aurors didn't arrive soon, Harry knew that Diagon Alley would be destroyed.

Remus hurried to their side. "Are you two all right?" he asked and received quick nods in return. He nodded in relief before firing off a spell over Ron's shoulder. "Sirius, we could really use the help over here."

"Harry and Ron, get back here," Sirius ordered through the ear pieces. "We have to get you back to Hogwarts."

Harry dropped to one knee and fired low as Ron fired high. There was no way they would be able to leave without putting Remus in danger. Fortunately, Remus spoke up for them. "They're helping, Sirius! Just like you should be!"

"I'm on my way, Remus," Kingsley interjected. "Borgin & Burkes is locked up completely."

Harry jumped to his feet and moved to the right as three Death Eaters moved in. Without a second thought, Harry pulled a sai off his belt and spun around as it quickly enlarged in his hand. He quickly fell into the habit of casting spells with his right while blocking with his with the sai in his left. When the opportunity presented itself, he jabbed his sai into a leg or arm, nothing fatal but enough to slow someone down. They couldn't rely on stunners. There were just too many of them.

"Hermione took the portkey back to Hogwarts," Sirius announced. "Tonks and I are on our way."

The entire alley rumbled as everyone fought to maintain their footing. Glancing over his shoulder, Harry could only gasp as two of the large white pillars at Gringotts crumbled to the ground. Shouts and screams filled the air as everyone tried to avoid being hit. A large gust of wind carrying dirt and smaller debris washed over the alley, making it impossible to see anything. Harry immediately reached out with his senses, trying to decipher friend from enemy.

"The left flank needs help!" Remus shouted. "Bill and Fleur are down!"

"I'm on my way," Tonks answered. There was only a moment of silence. "Bill's all right, just knocked out. Fleur has at least one leg broken. We need to—"

Tonks' scream caused everyone to flinch in shock and fear. Harry didn't hesitate, turning on the spot and Apparating over to Gringotts. He appeared at the top of the stairs and immediately had to cover his mouth and close his eyes. The dust and dirt was so thick that it was nearly impossible to see and breathe, even with his charmed sunglasses on but he wasn't about to let that stop him.

Tonks' scream may have died but her fear certainly hadn't.

Harry grabbed on to that feeling and hurried towards it. It didn't take long for the denseness of the dust cloud to lessen slightly, allowing Harry to see a tall and thin figure in a hooded black robe holding Tonks in an awkward position. If Harry didn't know better, he would swear that the figure was biting her neck.

Panic set in as Harry charged the figure. He had only run a few steps before the figure let go of Tonks and turned to face Harry. Tonks sank to the ground and remained still, her eyes closed and her breath extremely shallow. Harry couldn't help noticed two distinct marks on her neck.

"Potter," the figure growled in a deep, obviously male voice as he pulled his wand out and pointed it at Harry.

A flash of purple light erupted out of the wand forcing Harry to pivot out of its path and return fire. The figure moved faster than Harry thought possible, forcing him to act on the defensive side of fighting. Spells, fists and kicks came his way but Harry dodged, blocked and countered every one by relying completely on all of his senses. When the figure when high, Harry went low, trying to kick the figure's legs out from underneath him. When the figure went low, Harry flipped out of range and cast a rainbow of spells to try and gain a little ground. He was moving without thinking, ignoring everything that was said in his earpiece. It was the only way Harry was still on his feet.

As a claw-like hand came towards Harry's face, he jumped up, twisting in the air as he brought his foot around in an arch and coming into contact with the side of the figure's face. As the figure stumbled, Harry intensified his attack. Spells shot out of his wand as he brought his sai around and struck across the figure's chest, causing him to stumble further.

"Do you honestly think you can defeat me, Potter?" the figure hissed. "You will lose and those of the dark will rule—"

Harry ended the figure's rant with a swift kick in the face followed by a combination of hexes that would probably earn a reprimand from Hermione. Spinning around to regain his footing, Harry brought up his sai to make the final strike only to see the figure vanish. Harry gritted his teeth in frustration before hurrying to Tonks' side. He could see spells flying in the distance and quickly noticed the abundance of Auror cloaks.

Better late than never, I suppose.

Kneeling down beside Tonks, Harry couldn't help noticing the abundance of blood that had pooled around her head, soaking her purple colored hair. She didn't look anything like the Tonks that Harry loved as an Aunt over the past few years. She was extremely pale, her breathing was even shallower and her body was shaking slightly. Harry quickly attached his sai to his belt and cast a few diagnosis charms, cringing at the feedback.

"Sirius? Remus?" Harry asked as he self consciously touched the earpiece in his ear.

"We're here, Harry," Sirius answered. "They're finally fleeing. How bad is it over there?"

"Tonks is hurt bad," he said as he glanced around and saw Bill trying to pry Fleur out from underneath the debris. "A vampire got to her. She's alive but I need a portkey to either the hospital wing or St. Mungo's now."

"Touch her Auror badge on her cloak and say Hogwarts, Harry," Kingsley said calmly. "We'll join you as soon as we can."

Harry bit his lower lip as he carefully repositioned Tonks in order to find her Auror badge. "Is anyone else hurt?" he asked. Is Ron okay?

"Nothing a few healing charms won't cure, Harry," Remus answered. "Don't worry about us. Just take care of Tonks."

That was all it took for Harry to touch Tonks' Auror badge, mutter 'Hogwarts' and wait as he felt a sharp tug behind his navel as the portkey whisked them away to safety.

A/N: Yeah me! This chapter took forever to write. Hopefully you all like it. FYI, for those of you who aren't a member of my yahoo group, I just got a puppy (Kenobi) so chapters may come out a little slower than normal. Hopefully it's only temporary. Once the holidays are over, I'll have one less distraction.