Disclaimer: Not mine.

The Brotherhood

A/N - My personal life has taken a bit of a nasty turn, and on top of that I just spent the last week away from home, with limited internet connection, so this chapter is a little late. Sorry about that. Still, I hope to get the next chapter out soon, possibly even tomorrow.

~~~ Chapter Thirty One ~~~

Harry sent one last jabbing curse at Voldemort, which caused Voldemort's wand to go flying across the room. Voldemort stared at Harry with narrowed eyes as Harry stood, panting slightly after the long work out.

"Very good, Harry," Voldemort complimented.

Harry nodded his head in a slight bow. "He has been trained well," a voice declared. They both turned to see Lucius standing in the doorway, looking impressed that Harry had managed to disarm the Dark Lord.

"Yes. What do you want, Lucius?" Voldemort asked, picking up his fallen wand.

"I have news, My Lord," Lucius stated with a bow of respect.

"You are finished, Harry," Voldemort dismissed the boy.

Harry nodded once again at Voldemort and walked across the room. The door was closed behind him, but he paused to listen through it.

"The imbecile Pettigrew has been caught and given the dementors kiss. Black has been declared innocent," Lucius informed Voldemort.

Harry smiled slightly, but then clenched his teeth as his scar flared up in pain.

Stumbling down the hallway, Harry cursed under his breath. As soon as he reached his room, he took a pain relieving potion, which Voldemort had made Snape supply for occasions such as this.

Harry went to his hiding place and pulled out the parchment that he had enchanted. With a grimace as the pain finally subsided, Harry wrote.

Ginny?

The reply came quickly. Obviously, she had been waiting for him to contact her.

Harry! Are you okay? Does You-Know-Who suspect you? How did you do it?

Harry smiled.

I'm fine, besides my scar. Voldemort is furious. How could he possibly suspect me? He has no reason to, I am a model heir. As to how I did it….it was simple. Pettigrew is a fool.

Ginny's reply didn't surprise him in the slightest.

That's good. We were worried. Sirius wants to write to you.

The writing paused, and then Sirius' print showed up on the parchment.

Harry? That was brilliant! When are you coming home?

Harry heard footsteps outside his door and quickly scribbled his answer before shoving the parchment back into its hiding place.

~~~TB~~~

Soon.

Sirius stared at the answer. "Soon. He says he's coming home soon. I wonder what progress he has made?" Sirius murmured.

"He is very vague when he talks to me about his progress. I think he feels guilty about what he is doing," Ginny informed him.

"I'm sure he is," Remus agreed.

Sirius went back to the parchment.

How soon?

They waited several minutes, but Harry didn't respond and it left them all feeling worried again.

~~~TB~~~

Harry stood in his bedroom, late at night. He had a book open in front of him and was reaching intently, whispering the words as he read.

Finally, he put the book down, straightened up, and closed his eyes to concentrate.

After a few moments of concentrating, he murmured a low spell under his breath. A bright light filled the room and Harry opened his eyes to see a glowing animal prowl around the room for several minutes before it disintegrated back into its original form of nothingness.

Harry smiled contentedly at the form. He was almost ready.

~~~TB~~~

Voldemort had been in a irritable mood in the last week, and it was rubbing off on Harry. Not only was his scar constantly aching, but The Dark Lord pushed him harder than ever in lessons, and was rougher with Harry if he didn't get something immediately.

After a week of this, Harry left his lesson in a sour mood, having been punished more harshly than usual. Out in the hallway, he bumped into Snape, who raised an eyebrow at him, silently questioning the scowl that was present on his face.

Harry didn't speak to him, not that he usually did, but pushed past the older man and continued back to his bedroom.

Harry slammed the door to his bedroom behind him and collapsed into a chair near the fireplace. He groaned as he stretched out his sore muscles.

Harry was used to working hard. Being on the run had made him nearly constantly rushing around, hiking miles without pausing. The thought made him frown. He felt a painful ache in his heart at the thought of his Godfather. He lingered on the thought of the man for a while. If only he could just see him for a short time, it would help everything.

Harry glanced at the clock. He had nothing to do for the rest of the day. He didn't have to attend the dinner meal, and he doubted that someone would unexpectedly drop in on him.

Making up his mind, Harry stood and strode across the room to the window. He yanked it open and breathed in some fresh air.

The window was small and Harry just barely fit through it, but he managed and landed smoothly on the ground with a grace that he had only achieved with his recent training.

Glancing in both directions, Harry walked across the wilted lawn and disappeared into the forest surrounding the manor. He crossed the wards and without a second thought, apparated away.

A/N - Review, please.