Author's Notes: I've been suffering from Writer's Block lately. It was diagnosed by my beta (for other fics). LOL I don't know why I've gotten so depressed, but it will pass. Most of my fics have been affected except for my two adventure ones. My crazy adventure fic is alright, but I'm being slower in its writing. This one won't be affected as much I hope as it is a rewriting and not completely from scratch. Dunno what's wrong with me... Anyway, enough of that! On to the fic!

I was able to post two chapters today after all...

Song: 'Northern Lights' by Megumi Hayashibara (From Shaman King)

7: The Little Cottage

Ron, Hermione and Severus were panting when they Apparated in the mill close to Spinner's End, but immediately noticed they had to leave. They could feel the Aurors coming, so once again started to run for it. Snape was glad that the teen slumped over his shoulder wasn't too heavy. They introduced themselves in the middle of an abandoned field full of wild plants and dropped themselves to the ground, trying to hide from anyone looking for someone standing. It was already 10:00 PM so everything was quite dark except for the bit of light provided by a full moon and a starry night.

The small gathering didn't last long. Soon there were Aurors exploring the field and Severus swore audibly. There was only one place they could go and he didn't want to go there.

Ron was looking at Snape looking for some sort of answer: "So? What are we going to do now? How is it that they are able to track us like this?"

Severus was amazed. Ronald Weasley had drank quite a lot, and 'tequila' to make matters worse, but managed to stay quite sober and conscious. "We'll have to Disapparate yet again, which is a risk as they are obviously tracing our Apparation magic for some reason. That must be how they found us. We did Apparate into that Muggle area."

Hermione had her eyes wide open looking at the men with her and at the one that was a lost cause not even knowing what they were going through. "If we Disapparate, where are we going to Apparate, sir?"

Snape had no choice but to do what he didn't want to do. "Granger! Weasley! Grab on to me. Tight! I'm going to transport the four of us." The two friends didn't need to be told twice and they immediately held themselves to the older wizard. Severus looked odd wearing shades still at nighttime, but that was the least of their worries. In seconds, they had disappeared with a loud 'crack'.

XxXxX

The four Apparated in a dark and gloomy area. It was obvious that they were close to a forest. Ron immediately shook his head: "Oh no, oh no no no no no! We are not going to enter that forest, are we?" Severus nodded with pursed lips. "Please God! Between that forest and the Aurors I prefer the latter!" Weasley exclaimed looking terrified.

"Then stay here and wait for them if you want, but I won't get myself captured, Weasley!" Just then, Snape lowered the figure he was carrying. "Potter! You will have to react!" Severus looked for a vial in the jeans' right front pocket, opened Harry's mouth, and poured the liquid down the boy's throat. He was glad that he always carried some potions with him. He had been saving that one in particular for if he got carried away drinking in taverns while being a fugitive. He knew he had to be alert at all times and Potter had been quite drunk when he knocked him earlier.

It took mere seconds for Harry to wake up coughing. "What happened? Where are we?" Severus didn't bother to help Potter stand, but Ron quickly lent a hand to his friend.

"We are going to enter that forest. In the middle of it, I have a small cottage that the Ministry ignores. The forest is enchanted and it's dangerous. Many dark creatures lurk in it so we have to be fast. Nighttime is our worst enemy right now, but we have no choice. As we Apparated here the Aurors will be here in a while if they already tracked us. They would never think us capable of entering that forest or so I hope. I will make a distraction just in case." With a flick of his wand, Severus created lots of tracks that went on the opposite way to the village instead of toward the forest. "Now, come on and try not to make any unnecessary noises!"

The three friends and the ex-teacher entered the enchanted forest with a quick pace. It was impossible not to make any noise when they were trampling so many twigs and dry branches. Hermione asked in a tiny whisper: "Can we at least use 'Lumos'?" Severus shook his head in the darkness. The light would attract creatures to them and he wanted to avoid that. The teens had no idea of where they were going, but Severus seemed to know his way and they just followed.

They had walked for a little while when a voice made them jump: "You idiots! Stupid people! Yeah, you! The four brainless humans in this forest! What are you doing in a dangerous place like this on such a night? Complete idiots--" The voice changed to foul language and kept throwing insults at them. Snape used a quick Lumos and they all stared at what looked like a giant brown ferret.

"It's just a Jarvey!" Ron laughed nervously as he spoke.

"Just a Jarvey, huh, ugly carrot top? You wouldn't be laughing if you took a look at what's behind you, stupid human!" They heard some grunting and growling behind them and turned to check what was producing the noise. Hermione screamed. There in front of them were two extremely tall Forest Trolls.

The trolls lunged at them and Harry reacted by sending a stupefying spell in vain. They retreated at a fast pace sending spells against the trolls that simply rebound on them. Harry tried to think fast and pointed his wand at the biggest branch above one of the trolls that he could see. "Concido!" he exclaimed. The enormous thick branch was severed and fell on the troll's head, crashing its skull. It was dead in seconds, but they still had another troll.

Snape spoke to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "We'll use the same spell at the same time! Repeat with me 'Discerpo!' They obeyed and chanted the spell at the count of three, and even though they could barely see what they had caused upon the troll they were beyond horrified at the howls the troll emitted as it was dismembered. "Don't look and let's get out of here!" Snape ordered.

They jogged for a little while, no one speaking about what had happened, then they started to walk. After what seemed like thirty minutes of walking in darkness they started to hear howls, but unlike those that came from the troll as it was being ripped to pieces. Snape looked at the big rounded moon and swore nastily.

"What's wrong, professor?" Hermione asked.

Severus stopped, scanning the area. He removed his shades as with them he could obviously see less and they really weren't necessary, as no one was going to look for them in that forest. He looked at the teens and all of a sudden yelled: "RUN!"

Not thinking twice, they started to run for their lives. They could hear something following them, but they didn't know what it was and there was no way they would look back to find out. They just kept running and running. Ron then tripped and Harry stopped in his tracks to help him stand. The wolf like creature jumped on Harry, while the Ron straightened himself, and Harry screamed. He kicked at the wolf and just as the creature was about to bite him on the left arm green light hit it. A strong arm helped the trembling Harry stand and in seconds, they were running again. There were more wolves behind them and one of them jumped falling just beside Hermione. This time Snape spoke the spell aloud with great accuracy: "Avada Kedavra!" Just like with the previous wolf, green light hit the creature that was to attack Hermione and it died. They had to keep running. Harry could feel pain forming on his side, but ignored it. There was no pain that was going to make him stop and be devoured by werewolves, plus he knew that his friends were probably going through the same. He even wondered how Snape, at his age, could run so much. Miraculously leaving the creatures of the full moon nights behind soon the cottage appeared in front of them. Snape sent a spell against the door and it flung open. They ran into the house and Ron slammed the door behind him as he was the last one to penetrate the small house's safety. Severus then chanted and let himself fall to the floor in relief, his breathing coming in difficult gasps. They could hear the wolves howling outside, but the magical wards prevented the dark creatures from breaking into the house.

XxXxX

Morning came and they all woke up on the floor in front of the door. They had been so tired that they had fallen asleep then and there. Hermione was thinking that never in her life had she ran such a marathon and hoped that had been the first and last time. They were all silent for a long time.

Harry looked terribly embarrassed. He remembered some of what he had done while drunk and had no idea how they had ended having to enter that forest. "When exactly did the running start last night?" He had imagined that the running had started way before they were in the forest. There hadn't been any time to explain anything, but it was obvious they had Apparated to some other place that he didn't know of and Severus creating fake tracks for distraction had obviously told Harry something.

Snape snapped at him: "Right after you acted stupidly and I had to knock you out, after ridiculously putting yourself on stage singing, Potter! It seems that the Ministry has become efficient and evidently detected our apparitions in that Muggle area. They were probably wondering why a foursome would Apparate in a Muggle area. Sounds like wizards that are hiding, don't you think? They were obviously exploring all the places in the perimeter and you revealed yourself to them by singing on stage in a very... drunken... state." Snape's face was red with fury.

In other circumstances, Harry being drunk and singing would have been hilarious, but in their situation, it wasn't funny at all. The teens were all silent again, but Harry broke it with a mumble.

"Didn't hear you, Potter. What was that again?" Snape asked harshly.

"I'm sorry," Harry spat.

"Apology accepted, but it is not your fault entirely." He glared at the redhead and Ron also mumbled a 'sorry'.

Harry felt terrible. They had fled from Aurors and he had been completely 'out'. He felt disgust and embarrassment at the thought of Snape having to carry him. "Was it far?" Snape raised an eyebrow in confusion. "The distance you had to run carrying me... Was it long?" Snape looked like he wanted to murder Harry then.

"Look Harry, Professor Snape had to punch you and get you from the stage. We ran outside and then all the way through a sidewalk until we entered a building and Disapparated. We were at the mill then, but then we had to run to a field, then we Disapparated again and Professor Snape brought you to your senses. All through that we were being pursued by Aurors." Hermione decided to explain before Snape and Harry could end up possibly quarreling.

"You don't have to call me professor, Granger. Not anymore," Severus stated and after another moment of silence he spoke to Harry: "Potter, do you know what any of the other Horcruxes look like? I only know about Nagini, but there must be two more. Albus told me about the diary and the ring. The locket is not a Horcrux anymore either. That means that three are down and four remain. One is in the Dark Lord himself and the other in the serpent. That leaves two unknown Horcruxes."

Harry's eyes fell on Snape's: "Only one remains unknown. Dumbledore and I concluded that Hufflepuff's golden cup had to be a Horcrux, but I don't know where it is. I was thinking of visiting Hogwarts to speak with Dumbledore's portrait and..."

"A small golden cup that has two wrought handles?" Harry raised an eyebrow at the question and Snape continued. "The cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff that has her badger symbol on it?" Harry was surprised that Snape knew and nodded. "I know where it is," the wizard said in a bored voice.

The three teens couldn't help asking: "WHAT?"

"I know where that is. I saw it about ten years ago. That of course means I saw it after the Dark Lord was temporarily vanquished. It should still be where I saw it. I wonder how he obtained it if it is a Horcrux..." The last sentence was a thought spoken out loud. "I will need to send a message." With that, Severus left the cottage, leaving the three friends in total confusion.

XxXxX

After a while, Severus returned with some fruits and a black owl. Harry, Ron, and Hermione started to attack the fruits hungrily while Snape prepared a letter. He strapped the letter to the owl's leg and it happily flew away.

"Who did you write to?" Harry was extremely curious, but Severus replied with another question.

"Since when did you stop using glasses?"

"I still have glasses for when my eyes tire... Aunt Petunia paid for my eye surgery. Who did you write to?"

"An old friend... Eye surgery? I don't even want to know what that is..." Snape retorted.

"Does he have the cup?" asked Harry.

"That's what I want to find out." Snape answered before standing and leaving Harry, ending the conversation.

For three days, they waited for the owl's reply and it arrived. Severus looked extremely pleased when the owl came. He quickly took the note and smirked, while reading. "We have been invited to a Ball. It will be in three weeks time. In the meantime we'll stay here as so far we seem to be safe in this cottage. The magic in this forest probably prevents the Ministry from tracing us."

Ron asked incredulously: "A Ball? What kind of friend is that? Is he a wizard?"

Snape glanced at Weasley with a bored expression: "You'll see."

XxXxX

Two days after the four fugitives had taken refuge in Severus' cottage the Weasleys were together having breakfast. The only ones missing were Charlie, who was in Romania taking care of dragons, Ronald, who had disappeared saying that he would be vacationing with Hermione, and Bill who was still on his honeymoon with Fleur.

The Daily Prophet arrived at that moment and Mr. Weasley, who had started to read it, stood up suddenly: "By Merlin's Beard! Good Lord! RON!"

Mrs. Weasley almost jumped and everyone in the table surrounded the almost bald man wanting to see the newspaper. He showed it to them. The frontal page read: 'Harry Potter Runs From the Ministry', but what had alarmed Arthur had been the information and pictures inside the paper. He opened it and everyone gasped as they saw the different pictures. One had Harry singing on an obviously Muggle stage with three other boys, the other moving picture had Harry being punched and falling into a man's arms whose hair was knotted in a ponytail, another picture had Ron and Hermione making signals to someone, and the last picture had Ron and Hermione running behind the man in shades who was carrying Harry in his arms. The picture had been taken from a side angle at the moment they had reached the bar's main doors.

Fred and George started lo laugh and talked alternating between them. "He didn't lie mum! He is with Hermione alright! And he is obviously having fun! He should have told us he was going to be with Harry!" They kept talking:

"You know, Fred, I think they might need some of our stuff!"

"Yeah, George! At least that way it would be easier for them to run from the Ministry!"

"They shouldn't be running from the Ministry at all in the first place!" Molly was getting angry. "What trouble are those kids getting into! The Ministry people obviously want to help them!"

Ginny snapped at her mother: "No mum! The Ministry wants Harry to be their poster boy and they are only interfering with his life and what he needs to do!"

"And what is that, Ginevra Weasley, if I may ask?" the chubby mother was now angry at her 'baby'.

"I... I don't know." It was true that Ginny didn't know much about Harry's quest. He had only spoken about that with Ron and Hermione. A tinge of envy crept through the her heart, but then she shook her head. It would have been dangerous for too many people to know and Harry had only wanted to protect her, even if it hurt to be somewhat left out.

Arthur suddenly interrupted: "Says here that Harry got wasted in a Muggle karaoke bar, sang in a very drunken state, and was knocked out by a Muggle. It says that the Muggle man escaped carrying Harry Potter and that the young witch Hermione Granger, and the young wizard Ronald Weasley, son of Arthur Weasley, escaped too. They have been identified, dear... It also says that they Disapparated along with the Muggle man at the moment the Ministry Aurors were about to capture them with the purpose of taking them into heavy protection."

"Oh Arthur! The Ministry might come here asking questions!" Molly exclaimed.

"I know, Molly. You know, dear? There is something very familiar about that Muggle man. I think I've seen him somewhere." Arthur kept studying the pictures with a frown.

"Could he be one of Harry's relatives?" Molly asked.

"No... I don't think so!" Arthur still kept gazing at the moving man in the pictures, but was unable to identify him. The Muggle clothing, the ponytail, and the shades had made Severus Snape almost unrecognizable.

Ginny then voiced something, but immediately figured she had made a terrible mistake: "That Muggle man is wearing Ron's clothes! I've seen Ron with that shirt and jeans lots of times! It's not like we have lots of clothes to spare--"

"Yeah, that's true!" the twins agreed with interest. The crude reality was that the family didn't have much money so they couldn't afford for their children to have many clothes. Molly had to wash the same clothes over and over so it was easy for the Weasleys to identify Ron's clothing.

Molly immediately looked at the pictures and grew very serious: "But if those clothes belong to Ronnie, then--"

Arthur looked worried as he finished Molly's thoughts: "Then that man is no Muggle!"

Ginny looked at her parents with a horrified expression: "Mum, dad, please don't tell anyone that the man is not a Muggle. Please leave things as the Ministry believe them to be."

"Why Ginny? What's wrong?" the mother looked concerned and placed her hands on her only daughter's shoulders.

Ginny glanced at the twins and they had startled expressions as if they were suspecting the same thing as her. She looked at her mum and dad again: "Because I think I know who that man is and if I'm right then Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in very deep trouble."

XxXxX

One day after Severus received a message from his old friend, a tiny owl arrived with a letter and an obvious copy of The Daily Prophet. The little owl looked unbalanced when it entered the little cottage, making Ron react: "It's Pig!" Ron quickly took the paper and the note, freeing the tiny bird from its burdens. He opened the paper: "Oh grand! We are in the paper!"

Snape snatched the paper from Weasley's hands, scowled, and then swore. He then turned to them. "You were all identified."

Harry asked actually worried about the git: "How about you?"

Severus spoke with a tinge of disgust and in a bored voice: "For some reason they seem to believe I was a Muggle. I guess that the last thing they would expect is Severus Snape to be with Harry Potter and his insufferable friends." The teens laughed nervously and Snape read a part out loud: "Hermione Granger was wearing a pink top with Witch Princess written in glittering letters on it and light blue faded tight jeans. Ronald Weasley was wearing a black short-sleeved buttoned shirt and denim jeans. Harry Potter was wearing a blue t-shirt with FILA written on it and black jeans. The Muggle man was wearing a long sleeved red t-shirt full of yellow smiley faces, baggy dark blue jeans, shades covering his eyes, and wore his long black hair in a ponytail. An important detail is that Mr. Potter was not wearing his glasses. If anyone has seen people with the descriptions mentioned above, please communicate with the Ministry. The Floo network will be always open 24 hours a day."

After Severus finished reading, they were all silent. Then Pig started to fly around Ron's head and Ron remembered the letter. He quickly opened it and the rest, including Snape, hovered over him to read:

Letter courtesy of Gred and Feorge. Parenthesis translations and explanations courtesy of our annoying little sister. (Not true!)

Hello Harry, Ron, Hermione, and... whoever you are, but we know that you are no Muggle because you were wearing Ronniekins' clothes! Don't worry, we won't tell anyone. Even our parents are bothering us and we won't tell. (I know who you are, greasy git!) That was Ginny, but you already read about the parenthesis translations... (MURDERER!)

Anyway, hope you remain well hidden and if Pig finds you then the little freak is actually reliable. Next time we'll send one of our own owls. Our business is going great so we bought three. We will probably have to use the three owls to send you some of our stuff. You guys are going to need it! Everything here is fine, but mum wants to kill Ron the minute she gets her hands on him. She said something about blatantly lying to your own mother. We told her you didn't lie, Ron, as you are indeed on a special vacation with Hermione, only that you hid the fact that Harry and someone else would be included. (What are you people doing with a murderer? Have you gone mental?)

The same day we learned about you guys from The Daily Prophet, the Minister of Magic himself came to visit along with the world's biggest prat. (Alias Percy!) Mr. Scream gore (they do know how to spell... I think.) asked dad if he knew where you guys were. The man was obviously looking for information, but dad was of no help. The Minister seemed quite frustrated, but I think he believed mum and dad about not knowing where you people are. The Sinister Minister also asked if we knew who the Muggle man was. (I told them not to look him in the eyes.) We made sure not to look at him and with inclined heads told him that we didn't know anything. Mum and dad were better as they truly have no idea who the 'Muggle man' was. Then Ginny made a show with tears begging the Minister to find her friends. (He bought it!)

Harry! We wanted to warn you about Ginny. She is dating lots of boys again. (That is not true! I simply have many friends!) She has so many boyfriends we've lost count. (Liars! I haven't even seen anyone and barely receive notice from my friends! Most are on vacation and I've ignored all of Dean Thomas' letters begging for reconciliation by not replying to any of them!) Take care, you guys! (Don't let them get you, Harry!) If you need anything, just send an owl. (Harry... You know what I wanted to write here, but can't.)

Waiting for your calls if you need us,

Fred and George (And Ginny!)

I don't remember, but I think this was the last chapter I posted before deleting the original fic last time. Then I only finished the M version and hated it so much I had to start this rewriting, but for this section. That's why I deleted the other. I truly hope I'll make it better although right now I'm not even sure how I'm doing with this one.