Hello everyone, I'm back. I apologize for the long wait. A few days after I posted my last chapter my mom passed away some what unexpectedly and since then I just didn't feel like writing anymore. With almot one year past, I have managed to rekindle the flame/ I'd like to dedicate this story, my longest and most successful, to my mom who had been my biggest supporter and listened to me endlessly prattle on about anime though she didn't understand it.

I hope you enjoy.

.:Gone:.

It had been a few weeks since DA had been discovered and Harry was feeling more sullen than usual. Everything was changing and it wasn't for the better. Dumbledore had vanished, Cho had betrayed them, everyone involved was being forced to endure Umbridge's sadistic detentions, and it was all Harry's fault. He hadn't been able to protect any of them and now even the guards had gone missing. They were defenseless against the ever present darkness that seemed to be crawling closer day by day.

For the weeks following the disappearance of the guards Harry had looked for subtle signs of their presence in the castle, unfortunately he always managed to come up short. They had disappeared before, but never quite so completely. There had always been hints of their presence, they would appear randomly or stand guardedly in a shadowed corner, small things every so often. They remained out of the way, but very much present. This time though, nothing. Not even a displaced shadow, it was if they had never been there at all.

In the wake of Dumbledore's escape from incarceration, Umbridge had ordered the capture and arrest of the foreigners as co-conspirators and hired thugs, attempting to help Dumbledore in his plot to overthrow the ministry. Fudge, a man paranoid of his own shadow's intentions, whole heartedly supported the decision.

Harry remembered the guards had been in the room during the confrontation with the mister and his posse, standing silently to the side, observing. When Fawkes had burst into flames, sending the occupants of the room tumbling back and Dumbledore into the unknown, Naruto had literally appeared behind Harry stopping him from falling over. When the smoke had cleared, the room descended into chaos. Umbridge began encroaching on the guards, wand ablaze, shouting to the heavens about traitors and order. Light flashed from her wand before Harry even registered the spell and just like Dumbledore the guards vanished. All that was left was a jagged burn on the stone where thy once stood.

Not much could be done after that, but Umbridge persisted they be found. The grounds were covered in ministry men for several days, searching for the likes of Dumbledore and the guards. Neither search came up fruitful and Harry watched smugly as day by day the searches grew fewer and the men grew sparser until there was no one left looking at all. However, the thought of Umbridge's annoyance only brought him slight satisfaction. After his own searches had come up empty he began to feel the creeping disappointment and dare he say loneliness.

In an odd way, he missed the guards. They had in a way, understood him better than Hermione and Ron could. They seemed to know his suffering and that was something he had never quite felt with others. It had been somewhat nice for the time. Now they were seemingly gone and Harry felt alone in his darkness again.

Alone.

"Harry, are you listening?"

Harry looked up suddenly from the table to see Hermione staring irately back at him.

"Yeah, I was just...thinking," he lamely shuffled through his notes spread out over both the table and the floor of the common room.

"Right, thinking. You both ought to be studying," she pressed, shooting Ron and him both disapproving looks.

"Come on Hermione, we've been at it for hours. How am I supposed to pass my OWLs if you turn my brain into mush?" Ron's eyes bulged dramatically and his mouth hung open in exasperation.

"It's barely been an hour! And I can't do what's already been done Ronald," Hermione huffed.

"What are you trying to say?" When Hermione didn't answer Ron turned his sights on Harry, " what's she on about? Are you saying my brain is mush?"

Hermione just shrugged.

"Are you hearing this Harry? " Ron looked flabbergasted. " She's saying I have mush for brains!"

Harry felt a smile creeping onto his lips but forced it down knowing it would only add fuel to this fire.

"Honestly, I don't have time for this," Hermione began collecting her papers in a fury and jamming them into her satchel. "You'd think that neither of you cared that OWLs start tomorrow."

Hermione stared judgingly at the two of them. Ron made the mistake of shrugging, the wrong decision in this situation apparently. The action sent Hermione into a rage of muttering and throwing all her supplies into her bag.

"I don't even know why I try helping you? You both could care less. It's not like this affects everything! I'd think at least you, Harry would want to study a bit more considering you want to be an Auror, but no you two just sit here and have your laughs. I'll be taking this seriously, thank you very much!"

"It's not like I could even if I wanted to, seeing as I apparently have mush for brain," Ron muttered.

Hermione shot him an unimpressed look.

"Hermione," Harry tried.

"I'll be in the library, if either of you decides to start taking this seriously."

"Hermione," he tried again.

"Good day," and with that she turned and all but stomped out of the common room.

Ron sighed as all the fight drained out of him and he slumped back into the plush red couch. Harry too pushed back into the comfort of his own chair, mentally exhausted from the rigorous studying Hermione had subjected them to. The heat of the fire burning just a few feet away enveloped him in a soft warmth and he slouched even further back in the chair, relishing in the relaxing moment.

.:.:.:.:.

Harry hadn't realized he fell asleep until he woke up. Rightly disoriented, he breathed in heavily through his nose glancing around the dark room, now lit only by the dying embers of the fire and what little of the stars and moonlight managed to glimmer through the window. It was late now, far later than anyone would be in the common room and yet he heard whispers.

"Did you talk to him?"

"Yeah, yeah he's in, I'm sure of it. "

"Alright now when N..."

"What'sa...What's going on here?" Ron whipped up suddenly, sleep still weighing down his eyes.

The whispering stopped.

"What's that, Ron?" the whispers suddenly spoke at a regular volume. The change in volume threw Harry off a bit, it seemed at odd with the deafening silence from before.

"Eh, he's still sleeping, George."

"Why I think you're right, Fred. Should we wake him?"

"Naaaah, leave him."

Harry heard a rustle of clothing and then the light tapping noises of someone heading up the stairs. After there was a muffled click of a door closing Harry stood up and carefully shook Ron awake. He lazily shuffled them both up the stairs to bed.

Once he was all settled, laying under the canopy, Harry couldn't help but think of the whispered conversation he had heard. But of course, what he was thinking couldn't be true. He must have misheard.

For a second there he could have sworn he heard George mention Naruto.

So I hope you liked it. It's a bit of a filler, but I needed a set up for my next chapter. Quite a few of you have asked me to write a collab between the twins and Naruto so I'm going to give it a shot! I'll be back again soon, hopefully