Ok its time I do some explaining: Sage is in the same year house and dormitory as Harry, they are friends just like Dean or Neville. Think of him as the one J.K never mentions. This story is set in the summer after the Sixth Book.

Disclaimer:If I owned Harry Potter the fourth and fifth books wouldn't be so brilliant. In a way that would be good because then the sixth would have been less disapointing!

In north London there was an estate named Redwood, a middle class suburbia where the early morning sun played upon the modern buildings consisting of pleasant blotches of red, grey and brown.

There were many cats that lived in this neighbourhood, the majority of them well fed, they were groomed and most rested upon chairs or windowsills for the majority of their time venturing only as far as where the street ended. It was therefore clear to anyone who might have taken interest in these animals that this cat was not from this neighbourhood. This cat was shockingly thin, its ribcage sticking out under the flea bitten fur, a scrawny wretched creature with scars lining it body and half an ear missing. It sat upon a garden wall watching.

There was a large bang from the centre of the road and there stood a young man in serious need of a wash and change of clothes and a bare footed girl clutching him wearing jeans, a pink pyjama top with a teddy bear imprinted on the front. The noise had not been loud enough to be heard in the surrounding homes but enough to make several cats run for shelter. But not the gaunt looking animal on the wall, he simply sat and watched the pair. If cats could smile broadly like humans this one would have, the boy had walked straight into the trap. The cat that wasn't a cat sat and watched until the pair moved on towards one of the houses, then leapt from the wall to tell its master that everything was going to plan.

Oblivious to their watcher Sage and Katie stood beside the neatly trimmed garden of one of the suburban houses.

"This the place?" Sage asked staring at the home enviously while stroking his greasy unwashed hair.

"Yep, this is it, we can go and get new clothes, food and rest right till tonight, that the plan?" Katie replied cheerily. It had taken several apparitions to arrive at the correct location. Sage didn't reply as they walked up the carless drive and stopped at the door.

"Are you sure about this?" Sage asked nervously

"Sage I've told you, my cousins are on holiday, the ministry wouldn't have picked up on it because my uncle is supposed to be in St Mungo's after..."

"A department of mysteries related illness for which the cure is relaxation and so there on an unofficial holiday, I know, but how are we supposed to get in without being seen and without using magic?"

"We can use magic here, Sage" Katie replied in a slightly frustrated tone. Sage stared at her blankly.

"In case you've forgotten last time I used magic on a door a crazed Auror came bursting through and started blasting spells at us" he replied.

"When you used a spell on our door the ministry were alerted because there is a charm on our door that alerts them of intruders while locking it, remember our front door was locked. All ministry workers have protection especially now You Know Who's back. The ministry can't track all magic either" Katie explained

"Ok but your uncle is a ministry worker doesn't he have protection?" enquired Sage. A grin came to Katie's face

"Ah well my uncle is a wizard but his family don't know, there muggles you see, his wife and kids, so he wouldn't let the ministry install the charm, thought it would expose him and of course, the ministry had to respect his liberties" Sage grinned back, it seemed perfect for the moment.

"Well" he said "if an Auror bursts through the door, I'm throwing you to them as bait!" She scowled at him and he took out his wand and pointed it at the lock and muttered "Alohomora". He turned the knob and the door opened silently.

"You see I was right, there's a slight pinging noise when you open our door to show you the charms there" Katie told him, Sage could vaguely remember such a noise.

The door opened to a large carpeted hallway leading to the kitchen at the back of the house, and deviated to the living, dinning and study rooms and a set of modern wooden stairs. The house was unnaturally clean; the family were obviously one that habitually cleaned before going on holiday so they could come back to a clean house.

"The shower is upstairs, you go and I'll find us some clothes to wear" Katie instructed.

"Ok, you couldn't see if there's an anything to eat could you? I've hardly eaten in days." Sage replied.

"I noticed last night." Katie commented tonelessly.

Sage quickly found the bathroom, undressed and got in the shower. He was surprised by how thin he suddenly looked. Under the hot water he suddenly felt more awake than he had in days and he had chance to reflect on the nights events.

The situation had suddenly gotten a lot more serious. He was supposed to be a murderer. Everyone was looking for him; doubtlessly he had been in muggle news as well. How the hell was he to get out of this? It was really quite hopeless when he thought like that. Tears started to fill his eyes threatening to slide out and mingle with the shower water. Don't think like that he told himself. You're going to this Grimsfield road and you'll find something that shows you didn't do it. Grimsfield road he thought. Was going there suicide? What was it that he hoped to find? But then what choice did he have? Did they have actually he thought. What did he think of Katie? Well he knew so far she was smart, somewhat fierce and a little bossy but also self-pitying when it came to the fact that she was a squib. He also knew he could trust her, he'd seen the fear in her eyes as he had in his own; she knew he was her only chance of evading those Aurors. What else? Katie was really quite pretty Sage suddenly thought surprising himself.

He climbed out of the shower to find a fresh pile of clothes on the floor. Grateful as he was for the change of clothing he couldn't help wondering about Katie coming in as he showered.

Several minutes' later Sage had towel dried and dressed in a slightly too big black shirt, blazer and trousers and entered the kitchen to find Katie rummaging through cupboards.

"Ah Sage" she started but paused, noticing the difference in looks, the new clothes with the wet hair and the stubble now looking reasonably fashionable rather than ragged. She couldn't help but be impressed. "You look, um, better"

"You sure your uncle won't mind me borrowing these" he asked

"Oh no, there old and he's too fat to fit into them now, you look much better in them!" she giggled "Anyway I'm going to have a shower myself now, get out of my pyjamas. There's nothing in the fridge, try and find something edible would you."

She left and by the time she returned Sage had found several tins of food and rice.

"Rice isn't exactly breakfast food but I suppose if you haven't eaten for days" she said startling him. He turned around and found her dressed in something vaguely akin to his Hogwarts robes.

"Are you trying to be a witch?" he asked. She looked abashed for a few seconds and Sage wondered if it were the right thing to say, but then she burst into laughter.

"No my cousins a Goth" she replied

"Goth" he enquired.

"Oh I forgot you were a wizard, don't worry it's a muggle thing." she replied laughing again "My cousin is a bit older than me but these fit, what do you think anyway?"

"I think I preferred the Jim Jams" he smirked.

Half an hour later they had cooked a meal of rice and the various contents of the tins and had also made some instant coffee. The electric kettle had fascinated Sage for several minutes. As they sat at the dining table Katie looked at him.

"So what exactly have you done the last few days or however long it's been" she asked him directly

"Not much" he replied, his tone darkened "I kept walking mostly with no real direction, avoided places with people. I slept out the first few nights and then I found an abandoned house all boarded up and I don't really remember much else. Um, I remember stealing several bars of chocolate from a corner shop and being scared around crowds and being scared to use magic but really not much else." How odd he thought to himself; surely I should remember more. He looked over at Katie, she evidently shared his thought. He decided to change the subject.

"Anyway I know nothing about you, tell me about yourself"

"I'm a squib" she said simply and bitterly her face contorting in the same self-pity he'd seen several times. He simply stared at her and she realised that wasn't enough. "My mother works at the ministry and my dad died before I was born, killed by a death eater actually. My mum works long shifts in the department of mysteries; she loves it, that's why she wasn't there last night. When I was young I showed no magical ability whatsoever. My mother was devastated. We tried Kwikspell but that didn't work. So I never went to Hogwarts but some of my friends did, I saw them at holidays, they all talk about Hogwarts among themselves. I went to a muggle school but hated it and pulled out and we got a tutor and I was home schooled. I didn't have many muggle friends but the few I do have are good friends, of course they think some of our habits are peculiar"

She dreamt of suddenly finding she had magic and going to this magical Hogwarts. No wonder she was so lonely, no wonder she was bitter.

"Tell me everything about Hogwarts Sage" she burst out "My friends are always vague but I want to know everything

"Well it's a good place, or at least it was 'till Dumbledore died" he said. That was only a few weeks ago, he thought, scary how time flew. He had been at the funeral with the rest of the school and he had cried with the rest of them, not for Dumbledore himself, he hadn't known him personally, but for all that he stood for and all that was lost. "I could talk for days, of the times at Hogwarts, the buildings, the lessons, the students, the teachers, all the adventures we've had, the D.A, Harry. How long have you got"

"Till dusk" she replied eagerly

The next few hours were spent eating, talking, resting but neither of them slept. They gathered supplies, as they called it and Katie found a reasonable amount of muggle money and managed to convince Sage that they were borrowing rather than stealing.

When Sage and Katie approached Grimsfield at around eleven that night, so there wouldn't be see many people, they did not go by the main road instead they apparated some way away and approached through side alleys, pathways and through gardens. Grimsfield did not live up to its depressing name nor was it particularly special, it was simply a normal street with a series of shops further on down the street including a large department store. As the road came into view they saw muggle police tents situated in the middle of the road which had been cornered off with police tape. All was quiet except two muggle security guards.

"How do we get past the guards" Katie whispered as they hid around a street corner, out of view.

"Hmmm, Muffliato" Sage cast the spell "that means they won't hear us, but I can't make us invisible, we will just have to be careful"

And so Sage and Katie sprinted hand in hand over to the police tape, making sure the guards were on the other side of the tent.

"Wait here, I'll deal with the guards" Sage said and seeing the look she gave him added "Don't worry I'll be gentle."

Ducking under the police tape, he sprinted to the side of the tent and pressed himself against it. He then slid himself along the fabric circumnavigating the reasonably large rectangular tent. He peered around the opposite side of the tent to find the two guards sat upon stools drinking coffee from flask and talking quietly. So much for the dedication of the British police force Sage thought. Holding up his wand he whispered "Lumos" and a bight orb came to the tip. He pushed the wand out past the corner of the tent. It took a matter of seconds for one of the guards to notice.

"Hey look" he said

"What?" asked the other.

"There was a weird light by the tent"

"I didn't see anything"

"Wait here. I'll check it out" the first guard replied moving towards the corner. He strode over to the tent and turned the corner to find nothing. What the hell he thought. He strode down the side of the tent towards the opposite side.

Sage was now crouched half behind the corner cloaked in the darkness. He waited until the guard had come to around half way down the breadth of the tent before whispering his spell.

"Rictusempra"

The man instantly doubled over and burst into fits of laughter. The other guard came with a broad smile on his face.

"What's so fu…?"

"Petrificus Totalus" The second man went rigid and fell to the floor. From where he stood Sage removed the effects of the tickling charm only to use the body locking jinx on the other guard.

He returned to Katie wondering whether that had been the best thing to do, the ministry would surely come to their aid and would undoubtedly modify their memory.

"Come on Kate lets get on with it."

"Right"

They drew back the canvas door to the tent and went inside. Sage lit his wand. The first thing that was noticeable was that the bodies had been removed. The second was the small crater in the centre of the tarmac.

"Well that's not right for a start" Katie stated "The paper said that there was no struggle the other day that you simply walked up to them and brought all three down one after the other in quick succession"

"Why would three ministry workers be in a housing estate anyway? And why would somebody take them out on a muggle street?" Sage asked rhetorically. "They were quick to remove the bodies too"

Sage shone his wand light into the corner of the tent and noticed a pattern on the floor. He bent down to the marks and realised what they were.

"Scorch marks" he said "out lining where the body was"

"Sage look above you" Katie called, he did and found a series of photographs

"They must have left these here" he said taking one down and examined it. It showed two name tags and a wand scattered on the floor. He took down another and found that it was another shot of the name tags only this time the writing on them was legible. Instead of reading them he stuffed them into his blazer for later. As he pulled down a third photograph he swore as everything became evident. The photograph showed two set of blacked ashes sitting in the middle of the road as if the bodies had been blasted. Sage almost threw up as he realised that must have been just what happened. The scorch marks were there for a reason.

"Damn, these men weren't killed by the killing curse" he told Katie as he passed her the photograph "they were incinerated with a fire spell and then the killer used the Reducto spell to blast the bodies into dust"

"They must have left the name tags and wands on purpose" Katie deducted

"Yeah but look there are only two sets of wands, two name tags and two ,uhhh, sets of ashes. Didn't the paper say that there were three victims?" Sage said peering at the grisly scene on the photograph.

"So what you're saying is why would the ministry lie about it?" Katie said

"The ministry lied because the public wouldn't want the truth" came a voice. Sage and Katie didn't need to turn around to know that the voices owner was the blond haired Auror from the previous night but when they did they found he was accompanied by two female Aurors.

Reveiws are as ever appreciated.

Next Chapter- The chase is on and help comes from an unexpected place.