All the posted chapters are now reposted. This is also the only chapter that has a part of the story corrected (again), otherwise it was only the grammar.

Thank you for still reading this :) All the follows, favs and reviews are greatly appreciated.

(forTheLoveOfHades) Thank you! Harry is rather cool like that. Even Sherlock Homes cannot do anything against it :)

(goanago) Thanks :D

(Goodu) True, he was not as childish and openly rude, but he knew how to deliver masterful subtle insults :) It was brilliant when he did that. That said, I like them both and though BBC Sherlock has some of original Sherlock traits exaggerated, I for some reason think he is perfect for the century we live in. Of course that doesn't mean his 'I know the best' attitude cannot land him in a lot of trouble in the wizarding world.

(Sarah) Thank you. :)

(agirlgeek144) I'm glad you found and liked it :) Hermione and Ginny are both planned to appear - though I am not really sure how far are we from there (I would say around 5 chapters might me more or less though, I tend to change things a lot) I don't know, I was not thinking about Pensieve - the details from Harry's past will be left mostly to comment here and there during the actual case, but who knows what will Sherlock be up to once he gets bored?

(midnight-flurry) I'm glad you do :) Maybe it got, but I doubt he likes Ron any better yet :/

(zeynel) I am glad you like it :) Yeah, poor Ron, left to deal with Sherlock. Not much will be shown in this chapter, but I agree with you.

(lulu) Thanks :) Yeah, that was bound to happen sooner or later - what was Sherlock thinking, of course Harry would take his best friend's side. Absolutely - the moment they start digging details about Harry's past, finding out the entirety of Ron's (and others) involvement would be practically unavoidable.

(gabbygirl89) Thanks!

(USA-Jeanette) Thank you so much. Hope you won't be disappointed :)

(imkerfuffled) :D Thanks I appreciate it a lot (and of course Mycroft shall be in! He is awesome)

CHAPTER 16

The Muggle duo left the office on less friendly terms than when they entered... or at least Sherlock did. John didn't actually think it was wrong of Harry if he wanted them to cooperate with others. It was naive to think he would always have time for them. He was the Head of the Department; it was actually a miracle that he had the time until now.

Sherlock would just need to get used to that – the wizard was right, it wasn't like he didn't work with many Inspectors from Scotland Yard – this was no different. The only thing John wasn't so sure about was the sink or swim approach, but Harry was the one in charge, if he thought it could work, who was he to complain?

Just as the doctor imagined, Sherlock didn't share his opinion – at all. He was determined to reach the conclusion of this case before Weasley and show him just how inept he was. He didn't doubt for a second that it would be no problem at all - not even talking about the fact that he seemed rather dim-witted, the redhead may have the advantage of knowing the wizarding world perfectly, but in the Muggle world he was rather lost. Could Sherlock be blamed for taking advantage of that, when the man in question didn't even bother to do his research? The detective also made a mental note to talk to Mycroft again – his habit of sharing information about him was definitely getting out of hand, through this time it was more annoying than dangerous...

Weasley waited for them, trying and failing to appear nonchalant as he led them trough the Auror filled room back towards the lift. He did change his clothes, just as he said and was sporting the same suit he had yesterday, though this time he omitted the tie entirely, probably deciding it was not worth the trouble.

Both, Sherlock and John, noticed that though it lacked the annoying star-struck craze that accompanied Harry, most of the people hurried to nod respectfully towards the Auror upon seeing him.

Soon enough, they found themselves back in the Atrium, but here Weasley hesitated and didn't immediately take them towards the phone box lift.

"What's the matter?" asked John. It was the first time someone spoke since the three of them left Harry. The doctor feared the Auror would be resentful towards them (the animosity between Sherlock and Weasley was sort of obvious), but thankfully that was not the case. Apparently, he decided to pretend the whole thing in the office and yesterday in the morgue didn't happen... and that was just fine by John.

"Oh," replied the man frowning in the direction of the many fireplaces, "I was just deciding if we should use Muggle or wizarding transportation. I think it would be better if we just take a cab though."

"What is the other option?" asked John somewhat eagerly, hoping he might convince him to go for it... what were the chances of it being a broomstick?

"I think the most important thing to ask is where exactly are we going?" interjected Sherlock.

"Appledore Towers, Hampstead," replied the redhead curtly not even turning towards the detective, as he proceeded to explain things to John (okay, so maybe he decided to pretend Sherlock doesn't exist, not their disagreement). "Well, I had this idea that we might use a side-along apparition, but you might not react well as you've never used it, and of course there are two of you, which makes it even harder... So, at the end the cab would probably be a better idea."

"But this apparition... what it is?" asked the doctor.

"Well, disappearing from one place and appearing elsewhere. Just the official terms are apparition and disapparition," explained the wizard.

John thought so and just wanted to have it confirmed, least he makes a fool of himself. He was also getting more and more excited. "Like teleporting? You can teleport? And take other people with you?"

"Well, obviously," said Sherlock, feeling slightly left out. "How do you expect he disappeared from the alley next to Bart's?"

"How do you..." started Weasley.

"We followed you," the detective informed him dryly. "We wanted to know more about Aurors. At that time the idea of teleportation wasn't on my mind, so we lost you... at the end it didn't even matter."

"I am for using the apparition instead of a cab," said John suddenly.

Sherlock nodded. "It indeed seems like the fastest way. And one you would use were we not here. As you heard, you're to include us in wizarding matters, not change your ways to what Muggles do."

"It's not that... I wasn't thinking," told them Weasley. Sherlock smirked at the statement, to which the wizard replied with a glare, but surprisingly managed to keep his voice even, "I mean, there is the matter of splinching. And the cab ride won't take that much time... what is it? About twenty-five minutes?"

"And splinching is...?" started John.

"Leaving behind a part of the body – it sometimes happens, if you're not prepared for it, or if you're under difficult circumstances. And while it wouldn't be a problem to put you back together, I would rather move on with the investigation than go back to Mungo's so soon."

The doctor would have liked to think that the wizard wasn't being completely serious and was just making stuff up to change their mind, but he wasn't completely convinced, as a lot of exaggerated things that were mentioned so far were true at the end. And what in the world was Mungo's – some kind of hospital?

"And if you'll need to apparate us later?" Sherlock unknowingly halted John's question. He wouldn't back off – he didn't care how dangerous the man thought it was, he would be damned if he let Weasley convince them to forget about showing them how wizards apparate.

"Why would I need to do that?" challenged the Auror.

"Is that so hard to imagine a scenario like that?" scoffed the detective. The Head Auror wouldn't be nearly as difficult to be persuaded to see Sherlock's point of view, but instead they were stuck with this one. "What if we are cornered by someone and need to depart quickly? Would those be ideal circumstances under which apparition should be tried for the first time?" he drawled.

"I suppose. It's unlikely though..." replied Weasley reluctantly.

"Wait," started John who, despite wanting to try it (and wanting it badly), wasn't entirely without the sense of self-preservation. He also didn't wish to have another limb damaged – despite Weasley's conviction that anything can be remedied rather quickly, he wasn't sure it was just that easy, especially since he didn't see any proof of wizarding medical knowledge yet. As far as he was concerned they were rather backwards in this matter – the scene in the mortuary was a proof of that. "Is it really that dangerous?"

Weasley shrugged, "It happens from time to time. But even if everything goes well, it's rather uncomfortable…"

"If it was such a common occurrence, it wouldn't be used daily," said Sherlock. It calmed John a bit. His friend was right – there were masses disappearing and in the Atrium and not a single person seemed to be reporting any damage.

"Fine," said Weasley defeated and led them through the sea of people towards the fireplaces, but before they reached them he changed his direction slightly and led them to a corner close to them. It was only there that John noticed slightly discoloured lines on the floor, though he saw a mass of people concentrated around this place, it didn't occur to him before that this is also a travelling point, just like the fireplaces. Now that he was close there was no doubt. Sherlock probably already knew, because John was the only one who was staring at the people popping in and out in wonder.

"For side-along apparition you need to hold tightly onto me – don't slip up. It doesn't take much time, but you might feel like suffocating for a second. It will pass the moment we arrive at our destination and it's nothing dangerous, that's just how it works – the important thing is not to panic." As he stood between the two Muggles, he pointed at the fireplaces with people disappearing and appearing engulfed in green flames. "Don't mind those. That is the Floo Network. It's another method of travelling, I think Harry will explain it later since he wants to install it in your house, but for now we can forget about it. It may be easier to use, but Milverton was a Muggle, his fireplace is useless. But if you won't adapt to apparating, then you will have no other choice – well, maybe except for the Knight Bus, if someone would hail it for you."

With those words he let the men to grip his forearms (and wonder what exactly a Knight Bus is) and turned on his feet. John soon felt how the arm he was holding twisted and he clutched tightly to it. Then everything went black and not only did he have trouble breathing, but his head throbbed painfully and the pressure on his chest was more than uncomfortable.

Suddenly both men found themselves taking a large breaths of air and their knees were shaking a bit. Weasley freed himself from their grips, but they didn't even notice that properly.

"Steady," said the redhead as he guided the doctor towards a wall where leaned himself, trying to get rid of the ringing sensation in his ears and queasy feeling in his stomach. Through his misty eyes he saw Weasley approach Sherlock hesitantly, but the man just glared at him from his slightly crouched position, so he was left to fend for himself, though truth to be told he wasn't faring much better than John.

"Remind me to listen to you when you say we should take a cab in the future," wheezed the blond after a few seconds.

"Why? I think it went rather well. Some people can't apparate at all – not even side-along," said the Auror. "And even though it takes time to get used to it, I think you'll have no problem with that. Plus, you'll know what to expect next time."

"Oh Lord," groaned John, "please let there be no next time."

"That was rather… more uncomfortable that I expected," said Sherlock as he finally regained his composure. He truly wasn't expecting it to have such effect on him, but it seemed like Weasley's words back at the Ministry were truthful and not just his attempt to get out of something. He briefly wondered about those other wizarding methods of transport – were they all so shocking or was apparition the worst of them?

John threw him a look as if to say 'Noo?! Really?!' He wished to have something to say about stating obvious, just like Sherlock liked to, but his mind was blank.

"You were warned," Weasley reminded them. "Well, we should be going, if you both feel all right," he said as he waved towards the street.