Disclaimer: this world belongs to JKR, I am just borrowing it.

A/N: I am glad that this chapter is finally out of my head. I hope you all had a happy new year! you've waited long enough for this, so I won't delay you any longer. Enjoy!

Betrayals (part 2)

10:00 pm, July 17, 1991

Lightning glanced up at the tempestuous sky as soon as he stepped out of the tunnels. With angry clouds covering every inch of the sky it was hardly brighter in the alley than it had been down in the sewers. That's just great, he thought sarcastically, but he knew that the darkness would work to their advantage once they were inside the facility. He decided to leave the manhole they had just exited uncovered in case they needed to make a quick retreat. The few seconds it took to open it could mean the difference between success and failure.

He took a few quick steps to catch up to the others who were already moving towards the fence that surrounded the warehouses. It had become a tradition not to speak just before a mission started. By this stage everything that needed saying had already been said. This small window of time allowed them each to make their final mental preparations before things started moving so fast there wouldn't be time to think. Lightning had noticed that they each had their own way of handling stress before a mission. Link would play with his deck of cards, shuffling them back and forth between his hands; even now as they walked his hands were constantly twitching. Dozer had gone over every piece of equipment they were carrying with them on the mission, and was now flicking a dangerous looking knife open and closed. Lightning hoped that he wouldn't have to use it, but knew that he would if he had to. He glanced over at Max and saw her shoot Dozer an irritated look. She was always testy before missions, snapping at people over the smallest things. Leaf usually focused her nervous energy on the kitchen or the furniture. Lightning was no longer surprised when he walked downstairs on the morning of a mission to find that the living room or the kitchen had been completely rearranged. Needless to say Max and Leaf were hardly ever on good terms before a mission.

It had been harder to find Con's nervous tick, and for a long time Lightning thought Con was too calm and collected to have one, but after nearly a dozen missions he finally found it. As their leader Con had every aspect of the mission memorized, and while the others were busy getting on each other's nerves he would be going over everything again and again, and coming up with contingencies that they usually never had to use. Lightning didn't catch on to this compulsion until he noticed Con muttering parts of it under his breath. As far as Con was concerned everything had to work like clockwork but just in case it didn't he knew every room and possible escape route in the building.

It wasn't until Max snapped at him about it that Lightning realized he had developed his own idiosyncrasy. He was the guy who watched other people, which didn't seem too bad on the surface, but Lightning knew that it went deeper than that. He would turn his attention to the others to avoid analyzing his own emotions, which always seemed to be filled with doubts. Even now, as they reached the end of alley Lightning was focusing all of his attention outward in an attempt to subdue the fears that he felt rising up just below the surface. He was relieved when he saw the chain linked fence that surrounded the warehouses and felt a familiar rush heighten his senses.

The light on this side of the complex was little and far between, leaving enough shadows for them to move toward the fence without fear of being seen. Dozer took the lead with a pair of lock cutters and made short work of the padlock that was keeping the gate closed. Con had timed it perfectly so that they arrived just as the guard was patrolling the other side of the facility. Once inside they moved through the shadows like ghost, only visible when they got close to the lights that hung from the sides of the buildings. They weaved between warehouse after warehouse, until they finally reached the one they were looking for near the center of the facility. Dozer fell back from the front of the group and allowed Max to take the lead as they reached the door to the warehouse. It only took her a few seconds to get the code to the keypad next to the door and pick the lock, letting the door swing open and reveal the pitch darkness inside. So far they had all kept their flashlights off to avoid detection, but they each quickly pulled them out as they stepped inside, and let the door close behind them. The small beacons of light only lit up a portion of the warehouse but it was enough for them to realize what they were dealing with and why The Rouge had insisted that all of them participate in such a seemingly simple mission. There were towering shelves everywhere, piled high with boxes, and spanning across the entire warehouse. Lightning remembered The Rouge's smirk when he told them that they would understand when they got there.

Con had specified that the key to this mission would be finding what they were looking for once they got in, but a quick glance over at their leader told Lightning that he was just as surprised as everyone else. Looking around the warehouse again Lightning let out a short sigh, he didn't know why the Rouge wanted the box they had come here to get and he really didn't care. He just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Con cleared his throat and when Lightning looked back at him he saw the older boy had regained his composure. He had to admire how easily Con could do that.

"We're going to have to split up. The box will be labeled 'G95'. Keep your radios on and contact me if you find anything." With that Con lifted his flashlight and walked away, down the nearest aisle to the right. Everyone else took his lead and splintered of into separate areas, searching. After nearly thirty minutes of walking around the warehouse Lightning had a nearly full bad of new toys and anything else he thought he might be able to sell, but absolutely no sign of the box they were looking for. He wondered if it was even in this warehouse. There seemed to be no logic to the way the boxes in here had been stored and he was already tired of looking. He would let one of the others find it, he decided, and started looking for a comfortable place to sit down. It was while he was stacking some of the boxes into the shape of a chair that he felt sensed somebody approaching from behind and quickly turned. He pointed his light down the aisle but there was no one there, just stack after stack of boxes, so he slowly turned back to his task. Soft footsteps behind him got closer, so quiet that Lightning was sure he wouldn't have heard them if he hadn't been straining to pickup any sound. This definitely wasn't his imagination but he didn't turn to look.

He waited until the person was right behind him before whipping around dropping the box he was holding and pointing his flashlight directly into the person's eyes. He balled his hand into a fist and punched his would be attacker in the arm.

"OW!" Link cried out, dropping his own flashlight onto the floor. Lightning simply smirked and went back to building his chair.

"What are you doing?" Link asked him, "Slacking off on the job?"

"I think I deserve a rest." Lightning answered unapologetically. He reached down to pick up the box he had dropped and add the final touch to his chair. It was as he was picking it up that he noticed number printed on the side and nearly dropped it again.

"What is it?" Link asked, noticing his strange reaction and coming to stand next to him.

"This is it." he laughed, catching Links eye before quickly ripping the box open and looking inside. After a moment of staring he reached in and pulled out its contents so Link could see too. It looked like a jewelry box, except for the strange engravings on the side. A bunch of symbols that didn't look like any language he had ever seen.

"What is it with The Rouge and weird stuff? And how come you're always the one to find it?" Link asked, but Lightning wasn't paying attention. He didn't take his eyes of the box as he took out his radio.

"Con, we've found it." he reported as he let his hands wander around the edge of the box, searching for the latch to open it. No matter which way he held it he couldn't find a lock or any indication that the box could be opened.

After a few seconds of static Con's voice came across, "Everyone meet back at the entrance." he said shortly. They didn't bother to disassemble the chair Lightning had made before going to find the others. They would be long gone before anyone discovered the evidence of their presence.

Leaf, Max, Con and Dozer were already standing by the door when Link and Lightning arrived. He handed the box off to Con and took stock of what they had accomplished tonight. Not only did they get what they came for but they each carried a bag full of merchandise that they could easily sell later on. They all knew better than to call it a success yet but Lightning couldn't help feeling pleased.

"One at a time," Con said to the others. They were more likely to be caught at this stage than any other and they couldn't risk all being caught together. "I'll go first and send a signal if it's all clear." It only took two minutes before Con's voice was coming back across the radio and they slowly began to trickle out of the warehouse. Link went next, followed by Max and then Leaf, until there was only Dozer and Lightning left.

When Leaf's signal arrived Lightning nodded at Dozer before stepping out into the unusually cool air. The thrill of the mission had returned to him, as he ran quickly and quietly away from the door. He saw a map of the complex in his mind as he turned the corner of the building he had just come out of. He needed to take a right at the end of this building, another left two buildings down, and then straight towards the fence. His mind was racing ahead of him which is probably why he didn't hear the guard walking around the edge of the building until he nearly ran into him.

For a moment they both stared at each other in shock. This was clearly the last thing the guard had been expecting. Not only were they being robbed, they were being robbed by a child. Before the guard could rap his mind around what he was seeing Lightning had come up with a plan. Without missing a beat the look on his face went from slight shock to complete horror and fear. The moment the guard took an uncertain step towards him he dropped the bag full of merchandise and put his hands in the air.

"Please don't shoot me!" He pleaded while making his voice go as high as possible. It didn't matter that the man didn't have any type of weapon in his hands.

The guards face went from a look of doubtful confusion to annoyance, "What are you doing here kid." he asked in a harsh voice. Lightning noticed him strain his back to make himself seem even more intimidating, but he didn't make any move to restrain Lightning or call for back up, figuring he could handle it himself. "Are you alone?" he asked looking around slightly as Lightning nodded his head vigorously. The guard looked down at him for a moment before asking, "Who put you up to this?"

"Adam and his friends," Lightning answered miserably, as he tried to make himself appear smaller, "They said that if I came in here and took some stuff they would let me hang out with them."

"'Adam' and his 'friends', eh? Well, do you know that Adam and his friends just had you commit a crime for them?" The guard raised his eyebrow, and Lightning wondered if he was trying to prove something with this tough guy act. He had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes before answering.

"Adam said it isn't illegal 'cause his dad owns the warehouse and I had his sons permission so that makes it OK, and they were just borrowing the stuff anyway and then he would give it all back to his dad, so it's OK. He even had the codes to get in and everything..." Lightning continued rambling until the guard cut him off, not noticing the person coming up behind him.

"No, kid, that doesn't make it OK." the guards annoyance was clearly growing, "what's your name?" he asked as he reached down towards his belt and unhooked his radio to call one of the other guards.

"Eric. Please don't call my parents!" he said quickly, trying to buy a few more seconds of time. "It was just a couple of toys! I'll go put them back. Promise you won't call them." he said taking a step towards the guard and grabbing onto the arm that held the radio.

"We'll see." the guard shook Lightning off and brought the radio back up to his mouth but he didn't get a word. Before he could say anything his eyes bugged out and he let out a gasp as he pitched forward and hit the ground with a hard thud. Dozer stood over him with a small smile on his face, glad that he had gotten to use his knife, even if it was the hilt instead of the blade.

"Time to go." Lightning grabbed his bag from the ground and took off after Dozer towards the fence. He couldn't believe that he had almost allowed himself to get caught. Adrenaline was once again coursing through his body. He felt like he could run all the way home. Only the sight of the others waiting just inside the mouth of the alley made him slow down. There were no questions asked until they were at least a few blocks away from the facility. He and Dozer explained what happened, Lightning telling them how the guard had come out of nowhere and he had played the 'dumb kid' while Dozer snuck up and took care of him.

"Did you kill him?" Lightning remembered a time when Con's casual manner of asking such a question would have disturbed him.

"No, he was still breathing." Dozer answered. He now understood that it was a necessary question to ask. The guard had seen his face and pretty soon he would be waking up to tell the police what had happened. If he remembered Lightning's face clearly enough it could cause trouble for all of them. Con simply nodded at the answer and continued walking in silence while the others talked quietly. Lightning tried not to worry about what might happen if the guard did remember what he looked like since there was nothing he could do about it. He listened to the others trying to one-up each other with the things they had stolen, but didn't join in. by the time they were half way home Leaf had been declared the winner and Link was quick to change the subject.

"Does anyone else think this thing is weird?" Link nodded towards the box. "What use is a box if there's no way to open it?"

Max shrugged, "It looks really old...probably valuable."

"Then why was it stuffed in a box in a warehouse?" Link asked refusing to be deterred. "If it were valuable then it would be in a safe."

"To throw people off? Who would look for it in there?" Leaf asked reasonably. It had become a kind of game for them, coming up with explanations for things whenever Link started talking about possible conspiracies going on. Even if they secretly agreed with him.

"So what's inside that's so important?" Link asked. Lightning had been asking himself all the same questions. What use was a box that couldn't be opened?

"That's for The Rouge to find out." Con finally decided to join the conversation. "We're going to bring it to him tomorrow." Lightning felt a ripple of excitement go through the group and the discussion quickly turned to the bar and what they all planned to do tomorrow. Lightning had a feeling that a change in topic was exactly what Con intended, but he didn't comment. Even he was looking forward to the trip, if only for the entertainment it usually provided. It was hard to be bored in a bar full of thieves and crooks. There was always something to do.

They were all happy when they finally reached the end of the tunnel that led up to the house. After nearly two hours of walking Lightning couldn't wait to go upstairs and take a shower or maybe he would go straight to bed. Both ideas seemed appealing and he was still debating with himself about it when they reached the living room. Lightning was the last one to enter the room, and stopped for a second to look around. There was nothing out of place as far as he could tell but something seemed off. He felt a chill as he stepped into the room that didn't have anything to do with the temperature.

"Wait." he called to the others who were already headed towards the stairs. They all turned to look at him and for a moment Lightning didn't know what to say. He walked to the middle of the room where all the others stood. "There's something wrong." he told them without knowing what had actually triggered his fear.

It was then that the walls suddenly began to ripple with movement and people began to appear around the room, shedding their camouflage like chameleons. Lightning felt his head spin as his mind tried to adjust to the sudden change, and while he closed his eyes for a moment he was able to hold on to the hope that he was simply hallucinating. This can't really be happening, he tried to convince himself but that hope was crushed the moment he opened his eyes. They were completely surrounded by the same people who had haunted Lightning's nightmares since the night they had burned down the orphanage. He heard Max gasp but he couldn't take his eyes off of the figures that surrounded them. How did they find me? He wondered as everything stood perfectly still and the whole world seemed to be holding its breath and waiting to see what would happen next.

It was Dozer who made the first move, running at the closest masked figure at full speed. "No!" Lightning yelled in a voice that didn't sound anything like his own but by the time the word left his mouth it was already too late. One second Dozer was barreling towards the closest masked person and the next he was withering on the floor with his body bending itself in ways that a body should never be bent. Dozer let out the type of scream that Lightning didn't think he was capable of and out of the corner of his eye he saw Leaf holding Con back and was glad for it. There was nothing any of them could do to stop this.

"Silencio!" the word was yelled from the top of the stairs, and as Dozer was cut off mid-scream. An image of Mrs. Sanders screaming silently into the night raced across his mind as he tore his eyes away from Dozer's pained face and turned towards the man who had spoken. He stood at the top of the stairs with a wooden stick casually pointed down at Dozer, and Lightning knew that he was their leader.

The man took a step down the stairs and spoke softly to Dozer. "Are you going to behave like a good little muggle?" He asked in the same patronizing voice that Lightning remembered. After a few more seconds he nodded to one of the other masked people and Dozer collapsed on the floor with a gasp of pain. Lightning felt the man's eyes focused on him during this whole show and knew that it was meant for him. A taste of what was coming.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to meet you." The man said quietly, finally addressing Lightning directly.

He felt everyone's eyes turn towards him, and avoided looking into his friends eyes as realization dawned on them. He focused his attention on the man at the top of the stairs instead, and asked the question that had haunted him for over a year now. "Who are you?" His voice came out barely louder than a whisper.

The man let out a hollow laugh as he slowly walked down the stairs, clearly enjoying himself. "I am the man who is finally going to kill you." A few of his followers tried to join in the laughter, but it quickly died away.

"You're the one from the orphanage." He was sure that it was true, but for some reason he needed this man to admit to it. A picture of Stan flitted through his mind, but instead of the guilt that usually accompanied memories of his dead friend he felt anger in its place. It is not my fault, and for the first time he actually believed it. These were the people responsible for Stan's death.

"Yes...it seems your just as slipper as your parents." he reached the bottom of the stairs, and let out another chuckle when he saw the shock on Lightning's face. "We all know how that ended though."

Lightning felt like the air had been electrocuted. My parents? What do my parents have to do with this? How does he know my parents? What is this all about? His mind was flooded with questions but he doubted that he would ever get the chance to ask them.

"I think it's about time you joined them." The man said and exited whispers broke out behind the masks that surrounded them. This was the main event, what they had all been waiting for. Lightning knew with a sick certainty that fate had finally caught up to him as the stick was leveled at his chest and a look of triumph entered the man's cold grey eyes.

It almost seemed fitting that the world should choose that exact moment to shatter around them.

Or at least that's what it sounded like to Lightning as the room was filled with cracks, screams and explosions. His would-be killer was blasted off his feet and Lightning was left staring at the spot where he had stood seconds before, trying to figure why he wasn't dead yet. He felt something heavy slam into him from behind, knocking him to the floor just as a jet of red light whizzed over his head. He looked around and was surprised to see that Leaf had pushed him to the ground. "Lightning, get moving!" She had to yell to be heard over all the noise and she was gone before he got the chance to reply, leaving him to scramble to his feet alone. His eyes swept the room collecting as much information as possible while his instincts kicked into gear. The first thing he noticed as he looked around was that there were at least twice as many people in the house as there were only seconds before and he couldn't figure it out. They wore masks to cover their faces and held the same dangerous sticks as the original masked figures, yet the two sides obviously weren't together. Full on battles had broken out between the two sides, and they were creating a light show that put every firecracker display Lightning had ever seen to shame. He didn't let himself get distracted by it, he knew that his first objective had to be getting out of the house, but everywhere he looked there were people with sticks dueling it out. One of the beams of light missed him by about an inch and he was forced to throw himself back down on the ground. He saw one of the new arrivals knock out his opponent and make a B-line towards him. He swiftly leaped to his feet and looked around, settling on the nearest route of escape. He saw Link only a few feet away and grabbed his arm, taking the other boy with him on his mad dash towards the stairs. Link didn't question the move, he simply followed behind Lightning until they reached the stairs and then zigzagged up as fast as possible, knowing that they were completely vulnerable with their backs turned towards the enemy.

A red beam of light hit the banister just as they reached the top of the stairs, and they were both thrown off of their feet. Against his better judgment Lightning looked behind him to see if they were being followed, but the person who had broken away from the crowd earlier was now engaged in a fierce battle with one of the black robbed figures. Both groups seemed to be doing their best to make sure that the other group didn't get to him first, and Lightning wasn't sure which side he wanted to win. The original group had clearly wanted him dead, but the other group's agenda was unknown, and as far as he was concerned that made them just as dangerous. He did a quick check of the bodies that littered the floor and was glad that none of them were his friends. He noticed that his would-be killer was no longer where he had fallen, but he didn't have time to worry about it.

"Lightning! Come on!" Link had to yell to be heard over all the noise downstairs and Lightning turned to follow him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another man appear in the middle of the room downstairs and had to fight the urge to turn back around. The man was only in his line of sight for a second, but three things about him immediately stood out in Lightning's mind; he wasn't wearing a mask, he had the longest beard Lightning had ever seen, and he looked more frightening in that moment than anyone Lightning had ever seen. He had to force himself not to turn back for a better look as he followed Link into the darkened hallway, and stored the image of the man in the back of his mind for later scrutiny.

"Tell me there's a way out from up here." He said to Link as he caught up to him. Coming upstairs had seemed like a good idea when they were standing in the middle of all that chaos but now that he was thinking more clearly he realized what a truly dumb move it had been. As far as he knew there was no way out of the house from up here and judging by Links lack of answer and strained look he didn't have any escape plans either.

"We need to get out of this hallway." Link told him, and turned to the nearest door. Lightning knew he was right and at any moment someone could come chasing after them, but he kept going straight anyway.

"Come on." He grabbed Links arm again without breaking stride and ran towards his own door. He didn't know why he thought being in his own room would make a difference but since Link didn't try to stop him that is where they ended up.

As soon as they were inside the room Link locked the door. Lightning repressed the urge to point out how futile that was, considering everybody downstairs seemed to know how to teleport. They both looked around the room for a possible route of escape, and Lightning felt like he was going to be sick when he realized what they were going to have to do. Link went over to the window and ripped open the curtains. After so many years of being closed it took their combined strength to push it open. Looking outside Lightning wasn't surprised to see one of the overgrown trees that surrounded the house was close enough to jump to. He pushed his fear aside.

"One good jump and you can make it to that tree over there." He told Link as they both pulled their heads back inside. Lightning heard footsteps in the hallway and looked over at the door. "You go first." he said determinedly.

For a minute Link looked like he was going to argue, but then thought better of it. He pulled himself out onto the window ledge hurriedly, and launched himself into the air without a hesitation. Lightning breathed a sigh of relief when Link reached the tree with a few inches to spare, and Lightning saw a few birds shoot up into the sky. He heard something in the hallway explode as the fighting continued into the hallway. He knew that he didn't have any time to waste, but he couldn't help turning to look around his bedroom for what would probably be the last time. It wasn't until his eyes landed on the bed that he realized what he had almost forgotten, and shot across the room. He ripped his mattress off the bed and saw the Silver watch lying exactly where he had left it. He stuffed it into his pocket along with all the cash that he had hidden and considered trying to take his emergency bag with him as well but decided against it. Speed and stealth were more important than any of the things that would slow him down in that bag.

He hurried back over to the window and crawled out onto the ledge. Link was already halfway to the ground and Lightning couldn't think of any more reasons to stall. So he swallowed his fear, took a deep breath, and jumped. For a moment he thought he was going to miss his mark, but a second later his breath was knocked out of him by the branch, and he somehow managed to grab on. On his way down he was sure that ever branch he touched was about to break, but he made it to the ground without any accidents. He silently made a promise to himself that he was never doing that again, and then ran to catch up with Link, who was waiting for him near the corner of the house.

"What do you think?" Link asked quietly, without taking his eyes off of the overgrown front yard. Lightning saw the vine covered gates and scanned the yard, trying to pick up on any strange movements, but found himself at a complete loss. How did you see an enemy who could literally blend in to his surroundings or appear out of thin air?

"There's only one way to know for sure." Lightning answered. Link nodded and without another word they both burst around the corner and sprinted towards the gate. Link was only a few feet out when his foot caught on something in the grass, and he hit the ground. By the time he got back on his feet Lightning was already ten feet away and pulling further ahead by the second. Link raced after him, and was almost halfway to the gate when a sharp cracking sound made him skid to a stop. A black robed figure had appeared a few feet in front of him and Link saw him point his stick directly at Lightning's back. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but before he could stop himself he went running towards the man and rammed into him, knocking them both to the ground and throwing the green ball of light completely off target.

Lightning threw himself to the ground when the ball of green light hit the bush next to him and spun around. He saw Link struggling with a masked man who had dropped his stick. He clearly didn't need it to take care of a thirteen year old boy though. Lightning saw Link trying to break the man's grip on his neck and knew that he would lose consciousness in a few seconds if the man didn't simply snap is neck. Lightning tried to push away thoughts of the gate that was only a few feet away as he raced back towards Link.

The man saw him coming, and let go of Link to reach for his abandoned stick, but Lightning hit him before he could use it. Link staggered to his feet the moment he felt the man's weight shift off of him and began running towards the gate. Lightning tried to follow, but a strong gloved hand on his ankle made him lose his balance. He tasted blood in his mouth when his face hit the concrete, and was momentarily dazed. Before he could get his bearings he felt strong hands flip him over onto his back and he saw the man taking aim directly at his chest. Lightning kicked him in the face before he could utter a word and then sent the stick flying out of his hand, which only served to enrage him more. He dragged Lightning closer and slammed him down by his throat. Lightning was sure that if he got out of this alive he would have a concussion of some kind but that seemed like a big if right now.

He briefly caught a glimpse of Link standing at the gate and wondered if the other boy would come back to help him. He grabbed hold of the man's hand and tried to pry it away from his neck but his grip was unrelenting. Lightning could feel himself losing strength, but he kept trying to break lose squirming under the man's hand to no avail. It was only when he could no longer move that he looked up into the man's eyes and saw the familiar icy grey eyes staring back at him. The edges of his vision began to fade into darkness until he was sure that the cold grey eyes above him would be the last things he ever saw.

His brain barely registered the light that suddenly assaulted his eyes until he felt the hand around his throat loosen slightly and noticed that his killer was suddenly distracted by something else. When you're killing someone you should at least give them your undivided attention, He thought indignantly. He vaguely heard a woman's voice yelling something, and turned his head just in time to see Link disappearing into the night before he was blinded by a flash of red light. The grey eyed man took the blunt of the blow, and was thrown off of him, but Lightning felt the sting of it as well.

He could hear footsteps running towards him but his eyes had already given into the darkness that was slowly pulling him away. Just before he passed out completely he could swear he heard a woman's voice calling him by the name that no one had called him in a nearly a year..."Harry..."

Review Replies:

KaiPhoenix: Considering how filch turned out (bitter and a little insane), wiping a squibs memory and leaving them with a muggle family seems like the most humane thing a parent could do. It would be horrible to live so close to all that magic and never really be able to participate in. The French Dark Lord: I'm surprised you caught on to the Abraxas Malfoy thing (I had to look it up first). Malfoy killed The Rouge last chapter. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much. Allen Pitt: If you go back to the first chapter you'll see why all of the DE's are trying to kill Harry. Whoever kills him gets to take over as Dark Lord. LadyofDragons089: I hope you were pleased with the change of pace this chapter. I might take you up on that Beta offer. goldentree: you always ask the best questions. Dumbledore will be showing up soon (He made an appearance in this chapter if you were paying attention), but I'm not sure if he will play as big of a role as I originally thought. I might have to change the category. Barranca: there is a light at the end of this tunnel. you might see it getting a little closer...or maybe that's just a truck. ;) AzNpRinCeSswaRrioR: those are all excellent questions, and I wish that I could continue to tell the rest of the gangs story (their story get's a lot more interesting when you take Harry out of the picture) but unfortunately this is where they and Harry part ways. As much as I would love to continue to tell their story, this is still a Harry potter fic. fhippogriff: you got most of it right. I don't think Harry will be able to run though, considering that he's currently unconscious. I wonder what'll happen to him. bill560682: I don't think the story would be very interesting if Harry never entered the wizarding world. that's where all the fun stuff happens. It would be interesting to see finally see the American equivalent to Hogwarts (I imagine it would be a bit more modern), but this story will probably stay in the usual places. As far as the prophecy goes, I like it in theory, but the one in the books seemed completely unnecessary to me. If there is a prophecy in this story, I doubt that it'll be the same one that was made in the books. Dragonrzice, Sushiz, itmethatu, bookworm3213: Thank you all for the reviews.