Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Not my disclaimer either. In simple words, YOU CAN'T SUE ME.

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, HBP, QTTA, FB.

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance.

Rating: M – For MATURE language and themes.

Author's Notes:

I am awfully sorry for the extremely long wait guys (and girls, too). Please forgive me just this once.

I would also like to thank everyone who sent me PMs and emails asking about my well being and about the story. I would like to assure you that I had been facing some RL issues, but now am much better. You guys inspired me to continue writing the story even with those issues.

Also, don't forget to read the Author's Notes at the end of the chapter. So without further ado, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 8 – The Hunt Begins

"Two questions, Blake," Bill said with barely controlled rage. "Are you really Blake Grimm? If so, why do you look like Harry Potter? And why the hell were you just kissing my fiancé?"

Harry did not have in his heart to tell the irate redhead that he had asked three questions instead of two.

Harry immediately had his wand in his hand as he considered his options carefully. He had already thought of what to do in the unlikely scenario that he was caught without his disguise. Option A was rather straightforward – he could Obliviate Bill and Fleur. The chunk of memory that needed to be erased wasn't a big one and he was proficient enough to be certain that he wouldn't cause them any damage. However, the kiss had put doubts in his mind. Somehow, he knew that it wasn't a onetime thing. He could easily hold himself against the Veela charm – he had done that before and Fleur was only a quarter Veela after all. However, this time, it had felt different – a lot more different. Moreover, there was always a chance that this might happen again. And he wanted to know the reason behind it. Not that I wouldn't like that to happen again, he thought.

It wasn't the kiss, per se, but rather how it had been initiated. Harry would have never minded kissing the French beauty – no male in his right mind would have. Although, he would at least have done it when her fiancé was not with her, and sitting just a few feet away. The kiss was unbelievable enough, but they had done it right in front of Bill and that was mindboggling and reckless to a completely new level. The thing that confused him was that no one had forced the other to kiss and both had been equally willing, which in itself was a miracle. Harry knew that however willing he might be, he wouldn't have kissed her, as he knew how much she loved Bill. She had stayed by Bill's side even when he was scarred by the werewolf attack. He didn't know why he had kissed her and he definitely wanted to find out. She might be the only help he could get to solve this problem.

Option B, on the other hand, was a risky one – he could tell them the truth about him. They would undoubtedly not accept it at face value – immediately at least – and even if they did, there was still a certain chance that the secret would not remain a secret for long. How tempting it would be for them to tell everyone that he was alive and had returned! That would reduce all his efforts to remain incognito to ashes. There was also a chance that Option B would have to be followed with Option A, but on a larger scale.

But he also knew that he would need Bill's help to retrieve the horcruxes. He was sure Voldemort must have put up many wards and cursed artefacts protecting the pieces of his soul, and Bill's expertise as a Curse Breaker would be extremely valuable. Dumbledore wasn't around to help him do this job anymore. On the other hand, Bill was no fool, and would definitely realise the magnitude of what he and Sirius were doing. There was a definite chance that he might help them willingly. And it would definitely be helpful if he were taken into confidence.

He glanced at Sirius who had his eyes fixed on Bill and was slowly moving his right hand behind his back. It had almost reached its limit, when he clenched his fingers and abruptly moved it forward to get to his wand. Harry almost laughed at this strange behaviour before concentrating on the current situation. Sirius saw him watching and gave a slight nod, indicating that he would support whatever decision Harry took. He just hoped it was the right one.

"Answer me Blake or I'll…" Bill began once again, but Harry met his eyes and halted him. The anger was still present in his voice.

"Bill, the answers to your questions are – I am not Blake Grimm. I am Harry Potter, probably the reason why I look like myself. And about the third question, I cannot answer it as I myself don't know the reason."

"That's bullshit," Bill responded vehemently. "Harry is dead. Voldemort himself killed him. You are nothing but an imposter using his face."

"An imposter who had not once used this face, but lost control only when your fiancé kissed him," Harry replied heatedly.

Fleur recoiled as if she had been slapped, and Harry realised how accusatory he had been. He regretted what he said, but he knew that he needed to be firm now if he were to get his point across and assert his identity.

"Look, I did not mean…"

"She did not kiss you. You forced her into a kiss."

Harry's only response was to raise his eyebrows bemusedly. Frankly speaking, he was quite impressed with how much Bill trusted her. That only meant that the task of proving his identity had become more difficult. The first step to overcome it would be to calm down the apoplectic man. Any argument with Bill wouldn't be successful until he calmed down. Overprotective boyfriends and Weasleys were never meant to think rationally when angry – unfortunately, Bill was both.

"Bill, listen to me carefully." Harry replied softly. "I know this seems rather farfetched and I wouldn't have believed it either, but it is the truth. I am Harry. Voldemort did not succeed in killing me. Somehow, due to a cruel twist of fate, I am still alive and need to finish what I did not the first time around. I need your help to do that and that's the reason why we asked for your help. As for kissing Fleur, I'll admit that I don't regret it. It was bloody fantastic. But that doesn't mean that I initiated the kiss or forced her to kiss me. I don't think it's her fault, but neither is it mine. If you don't believe me, you can ask her if I am telling the truth."

"And if I still don't believe you?"

"Then, I'm afraid I'll have to take the course which I decided against."

"And that is?"

"I'll just have to erase your memories. I had initially decided against it, thinking that, if I were to tell you the truth, it would have been beneficial to establish a mutual trust later on. But it isn't too late to go through with that yet."

"Are you threatening me?" Bill asked icily.

"Yes, I am, Bill." Harry replied firmly, making Bill flinch. "Look, just calm down for a few moments. Try to think rationally. As I said, this does seem rather unbelievable, but it is the truth. I know I can somehow prove it to you, but you won't accept it unless you try to use your brain."

Harry watched silently as Bill lost his tense posture and his shoulders dropped a bit. He was still alert and ready for a fight, seeing as how he held his wand.

"You are Harry?" He asked after a few moments.

"Yes."

"You weren't dead? Voldemort didn't kill you?"

"Yes."

"You are alive?"

"Yes."

"And you are alive, as in not dead?"

"Bill, I think the two terms basically mean the same thing. Life and Death are mutually exclusive events."

"And you are Harry?" He asked, once again.

"I think we already established that."

Harry wanted to hit himself for asking Bill to calm down. It seemed that his brain had calmed down so much that even processing simple thoughts had become a daunting task. Suddenly, Harry saw him tense once again as if he had reached a conclusion he did not like.

"Then why the hell were you kissing Fleur?" Bill roared, once again pointing his wand angrily.

Harry felt the faint vestiges of a headache starting to blossom and he rubbed his forehead in annoyance. He should just have modified their memories and be done with it. He could have dealt with the kiss later. He felt like making a scathing reply, when all of a sudden he saw a red beam travelling the short distance from Sirius to Bill, forcing the latter to sway and fall backwards on the sofa he had been sitting on earlier.

Harry looked towards the origin and saw Sirius giving him a small grin. Fleur, on the other hand, looked a little afraid. It was as if she thought they were going to hurt her now. Harry ignored that for a moment and just relaxed, leaning against the wall. His headache had already begun to clear and he knew exactly how to convince them. At least, it'll be easier to convince Fleur, he thought.

"Hello, Fleur." He said softly.

"'arry?" she asked, with her French accent even more pronounced.

"Yeah, it's me. I would have asked you to greet me with the customary kisses on my cheeks, but I don't think that'll now be necessary."

He saw her eyes widen slightly and a faint blush grace her cheeks. Her posture still spoke of her disbelief though he saw a bit of trust shine through.

"How is this possible? You are alive. But you were dead!"

"No… yes… I was, sort of. But look, I can prove it's me. Do you remember the Triwizard Tournament? How you called me a little boy? How Ron asked you to the ball? How you kissed my cheeks when I came out of the lake because you thought I had saved Gabrielle? How you brought breakfast for me at the Burrow? I even remember you saying you were beautiful enough for both you and Bill when he was in the Hospital Wing."

He smirked when he saw her blush once again at his last statement.

"Blame it on the Powers that be. They told me that since I hadn't done my job, I have to go back or they won't let me enter the afterlife. So, here I am."

"This is so incredible!"

"Is it really?" He made a bitter face. "Anyway, we should get Mr. I-am-a-dumb-redhead fiancé of yours to understand the situation before it gets complicates any further. Before that, answer me truthfully. Did you make me kiss you by using your Veela charm?"

"No," she shouted vehemently.

"I figured as much." He sighed in annoyance.

"Are you going to erase our memories?"

"I have a huge task set for me, Fleur, and I can't do it alone. I need help. Bill is the only candidate for that role simply because we know each other. This thing is too huge to trust anyone else."

"And you trust that man?" She asked pointing towards Sirius. "Who is he? And how do you know him?"

Harry figured that with the way the events had progressed, Bill and Fleur had completely forgotten about Sirius being present. He smirked, realising that Sirius' introduction would be another shocking one.

"Fleur, I'd like you to meet my godfather, Sirius Black, the last of the Most Noble and Ancient house of Black. Sirius, meet the lovely Miss Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons Champion in the Triwizard Tournament and our very own Bill's fiancée."

Sirius bowed in an aristocratic manner making Harry laugh. The man certainly knew the pureblood customs. He loved the look of shock that adorned Fleur's face. After staring at him open mouthed, for a few moments, she gave a soft sigh.

"You too?" She asked weakly and curtsied.

"Your beauty overwhelms me, but your words wound me, ma chéri." Sirius replied with a grin.

"Alright, stop it Casanova. Now that things are relatively under control, let's hope they remain so when we wake up the idiot redhead."

Things didn't go any smoother when Bill was woken up. Though any outright fights were avoided successfully, the tension and doubt still remained and Harry wished there would be some interference from the 'Powers That Be' to get rid of the mess. Luckily for him, his prayers were answered after a few minutes of tense silence and intense glaring.

All of a sudden, there was a loud hoot, a flurry of wings, and Harry found himself attacked, or rather clawed to death by an extremely irate snowy white owl.

"Hedwig!" he cried in joy. "Ow, ow, stop it! Stop it, woman!"

His cry of joy had turned into cries of pain as Hedwig kept pecking and clawing at him. In a moment of reprise, he saw the expressions of shock on the faces of the others, before he had to cover his face with his hands to avoid the sharp talons of his beautiful owl. I always knew there was a vicious beast hidden behind that ethereal beauty, he thought.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just stop it now, please," he pleaded.

There was one final sharp hoot and Hedwig flew away from him to the opposite side of the room and perched on the top of a chair. Harry slowly uncovered his face and saw her glaring at him; her stare so hard and unblinking that he couldn't help but squirm on his feet. He had absolutely forgotten about her in all this mess and as a result, Hedwig was angry at him. He couldn't blame her for that; he knew he was at fault. After all, she was his one and only faithful friend since the very beginning. A simple apology would never placate her.

"I'm sorry, Hedwig."

He approached her and slowly extended his hand to pet her. He saw that it was bleeding from a number of cuts and scratches, but he did deserve them. She tried to bite him when his hand came near her and he hastily moved it away. She was really very angry.

"Look Hedwig, I'm really sorry. I know I shouldn't have forgotten about you, but I did and I'm really sorry for that."

He received another angry hoot as a reply and she turned her back to him. He made one more attempt at petting her and was successful at last, mostly due to the fact that she was ignoring him. Or at least that was what she was trying to do, but he thought that she was enjoying it judging by the soft guttural sounds she made. At least he hoped that those were sounds of satisfaction and not angry growls. Harry now understood how much he really missed her and he felt a solitary tear slide down his cheek. He was indeed happy that she had returned to him. He knew that eventually her anger would subside and things would be back to normal. She too missed him very much to ignore him for too long.

Suddenly, she took off making him think that she was leaving. Instead, she circled the room and landed on his right shoulder and nibbled on his ear lovingly. Harry could literally feel the grin trying to stretch beyond his face. Things had started to brighten up already. He looked around to see the others staring at Hedwig nibbling his ear with a gobsmacked expression their faces.

"What?" he asked annoyed, but still smiling. "Have you never seen an owl being angry at a bloke?" Everyone shook their head. "Well, there's always a first time then, isn't there?"

The upside of suffering the owl attack was that Bill was now more than ready to listen to him. The redhead still held some disbelief, but Harry knew it would go away soon enough. Bill and Fleur listened to Harry and Sirius revealing the truth, which he did so rather patiently. Of course, they weren't told the entire truth, but enough so that they knew their true identities and the task that was set out before them. Both agreed to keep the truth about their identities a secret after understanding how important it was. That wasn't done without protesting though. Bill wanted them to reveal Harry's return to the world so that Voldemort would become doubtful about future actions and also because it would boost the public morale, which was running very low. But Harry was firm about his stand.

"You have to understand one thing, Bill. We have an advantage here, the only one we might ever have. We can accomplish many things without alerting anyone, be it Voldemort or the Ministry. Both are equally hazardous to our plans. It is true that if we reveal ourselves now, it'll renew the hopes of everyone. But it'll also alert Voldemort of our actions, whereas now he is sure to be complacent. We cannot use our only Ace to win a small hand. We might win the battle, but we will lose the war. It is the only thing we have in our favour."

Bill easily understood the point Harry was trying to make and agreed, though with some reluctance. With that, the talks turned towards the Horcruxes and an impromptu history lesson, wherein Harry gave them all information he had about Tom Riddle and how he managed to create them. He didn't do it as fancifully as Dumbledore had, but just enough to get the message along with its seriousness through to them. Even Sirius paid complete attention as this was the first time Harry had told him about the Horcruxes and Voldemort's plans of immortality – plans that they were going to burn to ashes.

As dinner time approached, the meeting was adjourned and the talk turned to more mundane topics. Harry learned that Fleur's mother had lent her one of the family's elf, who was responsible for the wonderful French cuisine laid out on the dinner table. He thought that it was more delicious that the one he had tasted at Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament, or maybe he was just that hungry. By a silent agreement, it was decided to refrain from leading the conversation towards the issues of war.

"So, where do we start?" Bill asked as soon as they had retired once again to the parlour.

"Well, we know the objects used as horcruxes are relics from the four Founders. We have no knowledge about one of them, except it that it belonged to Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. The snake Nagini has always been with Voldemort. The location of Helga's Cup is unknown. The locket is most likely with this R.A.B. person, whoever he or she is. We need to find these things, get them out of their traps and then destroy them. And finally there's Voldemort himself. I'll deal with him when the time comes. Do you have any suggestions?"

"I think we can rule out Gryffindor from that list," Bill said. "The only relics of any importance that are attributed as used by him are his Sword and the Sorting Hat, both of which you used in your second year. I think that had those been horcruxes, Dumbledore would have taken care of them."

"Yeah, I figured the same thing."

"There is a legend about Ravenclaw and the centaurs, but it has always been thought of as a fairy tale. If it were the truth, I think we'll be dealing with centaurs, which doesn't make the prospect good seeing their outlook on humans. I have no idea about the other two."

"What do you think Sirius?" Harry asked him, seeing him sit with an oddly detached expression.

"Have you given any thought to the mysterious person?"

"Yeah, Hermione searched the library for names, but didn't get any useful results. There are a lot of people who have those initials, but all we can guess is that the person was once a Death Eater, who gave up that path. He stole the real thing and replaced it with a fake one. He might also have destroyed it, but somehow I'm not too sure about that. Destroying a horcrux is no easy thing to do. Do you have an idea who this person might be?"

Sirius remained calm for a few moments, almost as if arranging his thoughts.

"I do know one person with those initials. By my reckoning, there is a chance that he might be the one we are looking for."

"Who is it then?"

"I think it was Reggie, as in Regulus Arcturus Black, R.A.B… my brother."

"Whoa…" Harry couldn't believe this at all. That was good news indeed. They were already doing a good amount of progress in a very short period of time.

"I do wonder though, how he managed to remove the real one from the cave," Sirius continued, "and that too without alerting Voldemort. As you said, he couldn't have taken anyone else with him. There was the issue of security and Voldemort had specific enchantments to protect that locket. And yet he overcame those, replaced the locket with a fake one and left after setting everything as it was. It sounds too good to be true. He was smart, but he wasn't one of the top ranking Death Eaters for him to have knowledge of Voldemort's whereabouts, much less about his horcruxes. He might not be the one we're after."

"Let us, for the time being, consider him as our man. What I'm more concerned about is what he did with the horcrux. As I said, it is highly doubtful that he might have destroyed it. And we cannot just hope that it has been destroyed. It would be optimism bordering on foolishness. And yet we need to know where it is and what happened to it. What do you say Bill?"

"I think that for the moment, we might just have to consider that Voldemort is in possession of this one. From what the Order knew about Regulus, he was killed by Voldemort himself. We might assume that Voldemort somehow got wind of what had happened, approached Regulus, obtained the locket and killed him. This is, of course, until we gain more information."

"Yes, that does seem likely," Sirius agreed. "But the prospect of getting the locket from Voldemort doesn't help us any. What about the others?"

"I have no clue whatsoever," Harry admitted. "What were you saying about the centaurs, Bill?"

"Well, there's a fairy tale that has been told from generation to generation. It is about a mysterious Crystal Orb that belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. This Orb was said to give her unmatched powers of Divination. She was a seer by birth, but her powers were limited. The Orb was so powerful that it magnified her powers and she had clear visions of the future. She foretold many things and was successful in avoiding many catastrophes, basically anything that did not directly involve her. Later, she came to realise that many things did happen just because she made those predictions known."

"Huh?" Harry was genuinely confused.

"Don't think she became egotistic," Sirius continued, taking over from Bill. "What it means is that things might have been different had she not let others know those predictions. There's this tale of a couple, who were happily married for twelve years. Not a single fight in that time. Rowena saw that things would change drastically in the next few days, and that would break up their marriage. She told the woman, who a close friend of her, about this. Since that day, she became somewhat distant, fearing the inevitable. There were continuous fights between husband and wife, over negligible differences even, which eventually led to the wife killing her husband while he was asleep."

"Ah, so they broke up just because the wife knew they would. There was no other apparent reason. The effect was the cause."

"Exactly, there are a couple of other such cases, where the same thing happened, the most notable being the beginning of rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. She saw how dark Slytherin would become and how their friendship would break. She cautioned them against it. It is said that before the warning, Salazar was neither in favour of the Light, nor the Dark. But the knowledge of his future, and the fact that Rowena's predictions always came true, led him to believe that Darkness was the path he was supposed to take. Once again the effect became the cause."

"That apparently was the final straw for her and the reason why she gave up the Orb," Bill said. "It was rumoured that she loved Slytherin and couldn't stand to see what he would become. She went into the Forbidden Forest to dispose of the Orb, where she came across the centaurs. Back then, they were simple brutes who were conceited, but actually were no good at all. They forcibly took away the Orb from her as punishment for coming into their territory. Rowena was only glad to get rid of it, didn't mind at all. She tried to return to Hogwarts, but the centaurs would have none of it. She fought with them, but in the end it was in all in vain. They ruthlessly killed her and then deposited her mangled body that night at the castle gates."

"Wow, that's pretty gruesome for a fairy tale." Harry said and Fleur nodded in agreement.

"What happened to happy endings?" She asked.

"Well, this one is not meant to have a happy ending," Sirius explained. "It's told so that children stay away from and fear other magical beasts. There are many others like this one – dragons, werewolves, etc. are the prominent villains. Of course, no one believes the stories these days… I never did when I was a kid. Plus the real motive behind it is totally different than what we see. It is supposed to show the superiority of wizards over other sentient beings. It is further believed that the knowledge of the divination that the centaurs display today is due to their possession of the Orb. Of course, no one has ever found any evidence in favour of this claim, and believe me, many people have tried to obtain it in the past. No one has ever succeeded."

"But there might be some truth in the supposed fairy tale, right?" Harry asked. "I mean, if the only item of some importance Ravenclaw ever possessed was that Orb, doesn't it seem natural that Voldemort might have searched for it? And let's face it, he's Voldemort. If anyone can get it, it's him."

"But we aren't even sure of its existence," Bill protested.

"Which might probably be the reason it really exists," Harry asserted. Seeing their questioning gazes, he explained. "It's a reverse psychology kind of thing, well not exactly. If anyone, like say Voldemort, comes across the Orb, will he ever advertise the fact? If anyone who finds the Orb wants to keep it, he'll most likely keep it a secret or he will get robbed. Plus, he'll make sure to scoff at rumours regarding its existence, thus making sure no one ever thinks that he has the Orb."

"Even so, we first need to confirm that said Orb really does exist," Sirius said. "How, I don't know. We don't need to waste time going on a wild goose chase looking for mythical objects that may or may not exist. I would rather insist that our short term goals be dedicated towards more achievable matters."

"And what would these goals be?"

"We need to get some guns."

Complete silence followed that statement as three pairs of eyes stared at Sirius in utter disbelief. Harry couldn't comprehend how Sirius, being a pureblood, could think of bringing guns into the battlefield in a world of magic. It just didn't fit into his imagination. It was inconceivable. He had seen some war movies on the telly, and yet he hadn't thought of using guns, even though he had had a muggle upbringing. Ah, so that's why he had moved his hand behind his back, he thought. He wanted to draw his gun.

The silence was broken by Hedwig who hooted and switched over to Harry's other shoulder. He had fed her soon after she had stopped being angry at him and she hadn't left him since then. She just sat on his shoulders, hooting now and then, nibbling on his ear or rubbing her head affectionately against his. And truth be told, Harry liked it too.

"You are mad!" Fleur exclaimed, breaking the silence.

Bill, who was sitting beside her with his mouth flapping, just nodded in agreement.

"Sirius, are you sure about that?" Harry asked. He needed to know the reasons behind Sirius' madness, er… beliefs.

"Guys, my time in Australia taught me some things that should come in handy whenever we need to make an impact. The first is that when you are dealing with the dark elements, you need to do something they won't expect… here it means guns. Guns have many advantages. First of all, we will have the element of surprise. Most wizards are so dependent on magic that they would never think of using muggle methods or defending from them too. Second is their arrogance – wizards have always thought that they are superiors to muggles. That will be their undoing some day, but that is another advantage for us. And thirdly, muggles have a monopoly when it comes to blowing things up. When you want things to go boom, you just need to act like a muggle. So believe it or not, we need guns. Every small thing we have to assist us will help us in the long run. We must make use of everything we can if we want to win this war. Of course, there's also the fact that Voldemort is fond of using inferi. And when dealing with the walking dead, guns are as harmful as fire, perhaps more so. So anything that goes down stays down."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"Don't worry, Harry. I know what I'm doing. Been there, done that…"

"But we don't know how to use them," Bill interjected.

"Bill, and you too Fleur, listen to me. Guns are easy to handle. You just need to point and pull the trigger. Don't worry, I'll teach you guys. You can learn it within a short time."

"Won't that be harmful for our friends too?" Fleur asked.

"Of course, that's why everyone won't get a gun, only those who can use them. I can handle a gun pretty good. When I teach you, I'll get to know how well you manage them. If you can't, well, no shooting for you. You will still carry it, but use it only in emergency situations – like when you have lost your wand and the enemies are closing in on you, etc. Believe me, they will be useful. Still if you don't like it, you can load it with tranquilizer darts so that it won't be too harmful in case of friendly fire."

Harry couldn't refute the points Sirius had made. He had accessed the situation correctly. Every small thing that was in their favour would lead them towards victory. Plus, if Sirius said it was easy, he believed it. He was really glad to have him back.

"I always wanted to shoot something," Harry mused. "Death Eaters are something everyone must shoot – again and again."

"That's the attitude, Potter. We'll make a soldier out of you yet. But first tell me that you didn't spend all the gold I left you. We'll need it to buy the hardware."

"Sirius, we both are officially dead. I don't think we can just waltz into the bank and ask the goblins to provide the gold."

"Hmm, I hadn't thought of that…"

"But don't worry. Before my, er… death, certain situations arose that made me give away everything I had. I divided it equally between Tonks and Remus. Once we get hold of those two, we will have enough money to buy whatever you need." Harry almost missed the sharp intake of breath from Fleur. "What is it Fleur, Bill? Is there a problem?"

Bill and Fleur looked uncertainly at each other making Harry dread the reply.

"Harry," Fleur said softly, "we haven't heard from or seen Tonks and Remus since… since that day."

"Yeah," Bill continued. "There's been no contact with those two. We searched for Remus at his usual hangouts, but no luck. And Shack says Tonks quit her job and hasn't been seen since then. Of course, there's the fact that even if you do see her, you won't know that it's truly her. She can be anyone and everyone among the people around you. But he did look for the usual signs she displayed whenever she was around. A personality match wasn't found either. Even her folks don't know where she is."

This was definitely not good, Harry thought. When Dumbledore had been killed, Harry only had those two to fall back on. Remus had been the last of the Marauders, and Tonks a very good friend, and dare he say, with a potential of being something more. He couldn't believe that he was back and both Tonks and Remus weren't here. He recalled that they both were present during his altercation with Voldemort after his trial. I swear, Tom, if you have done anything to them, I'll make you wish you were never born, he swore.

"Sirius…" Harry tried to speak, but the words just wouldn't come out.

"We'll find them Harry," Sirius said with complete conviction. "Do you guys think Voldemort had anything to do with their disappearances?"

That was another thing Harry liked about Sirius. The notion that Tonks and Remus were dead didn't even enter his thoughts. Harry took hope from that fact and reinforced his positive outlook.

"We don't really know anything about Remus. He just… disappeared. Tonks, on the other hand, resigned before leaving. Chances are that she went away on her own and no foul play was involved."

"That's something at least," Sirius muttered. "Alright, I think I know where Remus might be hiding. I'll take Harry with me and see if he's around, or if anyone's seen him, and then find him and bring him back. In the meantime, you two do er… whatever it is that you came here to do."

Harry and Sirius both laughed on seeing the blushing couple.

"And if you do get some time, try to think about what we have discussed and possible solutions. But please do not reveal anything that we have said to anyone else. You may end up doing more harm than good, if any at all," Harry said.

"But just to be safer, Bill, Fleur, would you guys mind performing the Secrecy Spell? It's not that we don't trust you to keep it a secret. It's just that you might do so inadvertently, without even knowing that you have revealed something. If you don't mind, that is…"

"We don't mind Sirius," Bill said and Fleur nodded in agreement. "After all, the spell is based on trust itself."

"What exactly does the spell do?" Harry asked. It was the first time he had heard of it, not unusual considering he didn't know all that much about the magical world.

"It's basically a privacy spell for that's based on challenge response. It's sort of like the Fidelius, just not that advanced or complex. When you perform the spell, you express it in such words that effectively keep something a secret. The wording depends on what secret you want to conceal. It's not foolproof. It just prevents you from accidentally revealing the secret. Of course, it doesn't work when you are under duress. But that's just a minor disadvantage."

Sirius then took a quill from the nearby desk and began writing the wordings for the spell on a piece of parchment. He spent several minutes scratching and rewriting so as to make it perfect. He then made two copies and gave them to Bill and Fleur.

"Just follow my lead, Harry," he told him. "Once you say the words of agreement, leave the rest to me and Bill."

Sirius then stood beside Harry while Bill and Fleur stood in front of them. Harry saw everyone raising their wand to their eye level pointing upwards and copied the movements.

"I, William Arthur Weasley, do hereby agree to protect the information regarding Harry James Potter, also known as Blake Grimm, and Sirius Ophiuchus Black, also known as Nigel Grimm, that has been revealed to me today unless it is already known and the listening parties know the revelation key."

As soon as Bill finished reciting the Oath, the tip of his wand lit in a brilliant red colour.

"I, Fleur Isabelle Delacour, do hereby agree to protect the information regarding Harry James Potter, also known as Blake Grimm, and Sirius Ophiuchus Black, also known as Nigel Grimm, that has been revealed to me today unless it is already known and the listening parties know the revelation key."

Fleur's wand too reacted similarly to Bill's as Harry waited for Sirius to guide him.

"I, Sirius Ophiuchus Black, trust the oaths taken to protect my secrets," Sirius agreed.

Taking his cue, Harry repeated after his godfather.

"I, Harry James Potter, trust the oaths taken to protect my secrets."

Both Harry and Sirius' wand tips lit in a bright green light. Thin tongues of brilliant colour shot out from all four wands – red for Bill and Fleur, and green for Harry and Sirius – and met together to form a sphere that shone with a mixture of red and green hues. It was bright, and yet everything could be seen very clearly.

"Is lunchtime the best time to drink?" Bill asked, reading from his paper. He had to fight to keep the smile off his face and Harry and Fleur just stared at him dumbly.

"Time is an illusion… lunchtime, doubly so." Sirius replied with a smirk and it was Harry's turn to fight the smile threatening to break his serious expression. Trust Sirius to use a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference here.

As soon as the words were said, the sphere pulsated with a brilliant golden light and split into four thin tongues that rushed into the participants' chests as the spell was completed.

"Glad to get it out of the way." Sirius said. "So now, any questions?"

"I have one," Harry replied with an amused snort. "Ophiuchus?"

Sirius scowled as the other three laughed at his name.

"All thanks to my dear old mother. She wanted the whole Slytherin motif thing, and so she chose Ophiuchus. It means 'the serpent holder' in Greek. She thought I'd be her pride and joy – the perfect son. I wasn't too sad to shatters her illusions though."

"You have to admit it's funny though," Fleur said while trying to cover her giggles.

"Yeah, some people have no tastes while naming their children. And Andromeda, she's my cousin by the way, takes after her in that respect. I mean, what kind of name is Nymphadora?"

"It's not that bad…" Harry tried to protest, but Sirius gave him no heed.

"Mother wasn't pleased when I was sorted into Gryffindor. But she didn't know how Potters have a tendency to change your life… forever. It's just about enough to live."

Seeing Sirius quietened lapse into memory lane, and also that it was late in the night, Harry made excuses for both of them and bid Fleur and Bill goodnight. He needed to get a good night's rest as he didn't know where Sirius was going to take him the next day. For all he knew, they might end up looking for Remus on the other side of the world. He realised that this was surely possible as the others hadn't been able to find the elusive werewolf wherever they searched. And if anyone really knew the guy, it was Sirius. They had been best friends since school, and Harry was sure Sirius had a fair idea where Remus might have holed himself – a secret sanctuary perhaps.

He opened the drapes of the window to let the faint moonlight shine in and thought about how quickly things had progressed since his return. He had a war to win, and here he was, collecting soldiers. He didn't like it one bit, but understood that this was their fight as much as it was his. The others too had a right to be a part of it and it wasn't in his hands to stop them. Had he tried to do that, he'd have been no different that Dumbledore. That didn't mean it was easy for him to lead them into battle. But he would… because he had to. He now understood the choices Dumbledore had to face while making such decisions.

Everyone was entitled to his or her own choices, and as Firenze had said, everything comes back to the choices we make. He just hoped that everyone, including him, would make the correct ones.

He had almost cried when he saw McGonagall performing the duties that Dumbledore usually did. He was just so used to seeing the old man address the students that he had never thought that someone else might take his place. And yet when McGonagall had done the same things, he could feel the difference that distinguished the two of them. While she had done everything perfectly, her heart had not been in it. It was more of a chore, a necessity to be done, and nothing else. And when Dumbledore gave the welcome speech, everyone could feel the words coming from his heart. The happiness that once saturated the castle seemed to have died a long time ago.

He remembered seeing Hermione, her Head Girl badge pinned to the front of her robes, and his other friends talk listlessly with each other. The energy that seemed to be a part of everyone at Hogwarts was lost, perhaps since the day he had died. Even Hagrid had not been his usual jovial self. But seeing Ron stare morosely at food in his plate had been the last straw. Harry couldn't take it anymore and had left the Great Hall to find some peace of mind. How he had wished to jump up on the tables and announce that he was alive and make everyone believe that everything was going to be alright, that he was going to kill the murdering bastards! Yet he had to restrain himself from doing that.

And then, standing by the Lake in the starlight, he had once again resolved to destroy Voldemort as soon as possible. He had vowed to resurrect the happiness, even if he lost his own life once again while doing so.

"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" Harry asked, as he began scraping the snow that was sticking to his boots.

"Of course I'm sure," Sirius answered, his voice tinged with impatience.

"And you're also sure that we are going to find Remus wherever it is that we are going?"

"Yes, this is the most likely, and perhaps the only, place where we will find him."

"If you say so," Harry replied.

Harry had woken up nice and early in the morning, eager to set out in search for Remus. His anticipation though, was all in vain, as Sirius had asked him to go back to sleep after a relatively heavy breakfast. Surprised, Harry had questioned him about this strange activity, but Sirius had refused to give any details except that they were supposed to leave sometime after noon and that they wouldn't get any sleep later. He had said that they would need all the rest they could get before they left.

Being wide awake, Harry had decided to take a mild Sleeping Potion, and had promptly fallen asleep. Sirius had awakened him at about two in the afternoon, by which Harry understood that it was time to leave. He saw that while he had been sleeping, Sirius had been busy making preparations for their journey. His trunk had been packed and neatly assembled and his clothes were laid out on his bed for him to wear.

What had surprised Harry though was the selection of clothes and accessories laid out – a heavy winter overcoat, gloves, hat, scarf, and knee high dragon hide boots – all present in addition to his usual clothes. That surely meant that they were going someplace that would be very cold. He had quickly dressed but decided to wear the winter clothes just before leaving.

A few minutes later, Sirius had arrived in the parlour, similarly attired, his own trunk hovering behind him a few inches off the ground. Harry had once again checked that his features matched Sirius'. Fleur had healed his injuries the day before and the faint scars left due to Hedwig's attack had almost disappeared. His godfather produced a spoon, which Harry assumed to be a portkey. He had waved Bill and Fleur goodbye, taken a hold of his trunk in one hand and touched the offered portkey with the other. He had felt the familiar sensation of being pulled by a hook behind his navel as the portkey activated and they had left France in a swirl of colours.

Harry had surprising managed to remain standing while landing, a feat that he had felt very proud of accomplishing. But his joy had been short-lived as he took a look of his surroundings.

The first thing that he felt was the biting cold on his face and the total lack of any kind of sound. They were standing, essentially, on a small snowy hill in the middle of nowhere. The entire view his eyes provided consisted of acres of snow with no animal or plant life in sight. The only thing close enough to be related to civilisation were a pair of decrepit old towers, which were about a mile away from where they were standing, and about the same distance from each other.

Harry had turned to his godfather with a disappointed look on his face, but Sirius, on the other hand, had looked rather happy to see where they were standing. When asked, Sirius had replied that he was happy because they had managed to land so near the towers. Had they portkeyed far from them, they wouldn't have been able to see them, and would have had to spend too much time in the icy desert to locate them. Harry had understood that the old towers had to be some kind of landmarks and was indeed glad that they had not missed them.

Sirius had then instructed him to apparate near one of the tower, for they would have to walk the rest of the way due to the wards surrounding the area. The towers were also indicators of the ward line and acted as the boundary enforcers. Inside the warded area, anti-apparation, anti-portkey and anti-flight wards were present. So any approach to the place they were visiting would have to be done on foot. Harry hadn't liked that fact one bit, but he knew he couldn't do anything against that. Harry had felt the faint humming of the wards as he had entered the warded area. He immediately knew that the wards were quite strong.

And so, they had started to walk. Within a few moments, Harry had begun to wish that he could soar in the skies on his Firebolt. But that had reminded him of the flight he had shared with Dumbledore and his desire to fly vanished.

After about an hour of trudging through several inches of snow, they had decided to rest for a few moments during which Harry decided to get some answers.

"Where exactly are we? Everywhere I look, there's nothing but snow."

"We are about five hundred miles to the northeast of The Himalayas, in Tibet to be precise. This place is called the Roof of the World, and you can guess why. The air is quite thin here, so conserve your energy, and don't speak if you don't have to. If you have trouble breathing, a simple solution would be performing the bubblehead charm, got it?"

"Hmm, alright, but where are we going? Why would Remus come here of all places? There's nothing here."

"That's where you are wrong, Harry. Contrary to what most people believe, Tibet is host to the world's one and only Werewolf Refuge. Very few people know that it exists, and many others who have heard of it can't come here simply because its location is a well guarded secret. It doesn't have something like a Fidelius protecting it, but it does have many safeguards. Like the wards for one – even though we, meaning I, know where exactly it exists, I cannot just apparate there. Everyone who wants to be there should prove that he or she really wants to be there."

"That's why we have to walk."

"Yes, it is a test of your dedication, so to speak. The village itself has similar wards, but they are permissions based so that those who are already inside and have permission can apparate, or use a portkey, or fly without facing any problems. But you cannot apparate or portkey or fly in from the outside. The only option to get in is to walk."

"How long will it take us to get there?" Harry asked, dreading the answer.

"Judging by our current pace, I'll say three days, maybe a bit less… more if we are caught in a blizzard."

"Three days? And what the hell do you mean blizzard?"

"Hey, I said 'maybe a bit less' too. And blizzards aren't really that common here – just once or twice a fortnight. Well, in any case, we've had enough rest. Come on, get up, slacking off won't get us there faster."

They started walking once again, while Harry wondered if his godfather had gone mad. Idly, he started thinking of ways to torture him, but decided against it. He had a job to do and would need his godfather's help and expertise. Perhaps after I deal with Voldemort… he mused. He had a terrible urge to cackle madly, but was successful to suppress it.

A couple of hours later, they stopped once again to have a light snack. Sirius had brought along with him some food that would have been enough to last the two of them for at least a week - all thanks to Fleur's house-elf, of course. It was the French cuisine once again, and though Harry liked it, he knew he didn't like it enough to eat it each and every day. But he was too damn hungry to complain.

When they started walking once again, a serious question began nagging Harry's mind – how exactly was Sirius directing their path? There had been no further landmarks after they had crossed the twin towers. They were surrounded by nothing except snow. There was nothing in their path that could be used as a guide. They had been travelling over the snow covered plains and small hills – and Sirius had never wavered from the course he had set. He had been surefooted and there was no flicker of doubt to be seen. Everything indicated that he knew where he was going and he hadn't put a foot wrong during the course they had travelled.

But the question still nagged him and finally Harry decided to ask him.

"Oh, it's easy," Sirius replied. "You just need to know how to walk in a straight line. When you cross the towers, you need to start moving in a line perpendicular to the line joining them, and keep moving in that direction. You will eventually reach the village. That's why I keep watching over my back from time to time. I check my position every hundred yards or so. Our footsteps act as points of reference for further navigation. This particular skill is very important when you need to move through deserts – such as this snow covered one, for example."

The explanation immediately put Harry's mind at ease. He didn't doubt Sirius; he was just curious and wanted to know how his godfather was doing it. He decided to try his hand at such navigation, and found that he just erred by a small margin. Harry had thought that such a small error would be insignificant. Sirius took great pleasure in informing him that such a small error over a distance of hundred yards would put him a few miles away from the destination over a time of three days. Harry wisely decided to let Sirius be the designated navigator.

As darkness fell, Sirius decided that they should stop now so that they would be well rested and so could start early the next morning.

"We can continue for a bit longer, can't we?" Harry asked.

"It's already getting dark, Harry. In another half an hour or so, it will be so dark that we won't be able to see our own footsteps where they fall, forget about seeing them a hundred yards off. And I, for one, don't fancy straying off course at all."

"Makes sense, I guess. But I don't feel tired at all. You'd think after walking so much, my legs should have been hurting like hell."

"Of course you aren't tired and hurting. You're wearing Seven League Boots after all. Bill got them from a couple of his contacts. These babies surely know how to make a man's purse lighter."

Harry's head snapped up in surprise. Seven League Boots!

"Wow," he muttered.

Harry had heard about them of course, but had never thought he himself would be wearing them one day. Of course, he knew that the boots weren't what they were made out to be in muggle fairytales. They didn't allow the wearer to take great strides – seven leagues in each step, to be precise – thereby resulting in great speed. Completely absurd, Harry thought. The muggles find a way to exaggerate the simplest of magical items. By their reckoning, the wearer would have his feet seven leagues apart for each stride. That would be a really painful lengthening.

The simple truth was that the boots were charmed to take such great care of the wearer and his feet that he could walk seven leagues at a stretch without tiring at all. When a distance of seven miles was travelled, the charm would expire and the wearer would begin to feel exhaustion. It took almost a couple of hours for the charms on the boots to recharge, after which another seven leagues could be travelled with ease.

Of course, such boots were invariably very costly – even more so that his Firebolt. Almost a handful of people across England had the necessary gold to buy a pair. And since wizards seldom walked, the sale of seven league boots became rare, and eventually died down.

Then eventually, in the 1700s, a wizard – whose name Harry couldn't recall, and neither had any inclination to do so – came up with a brilliant idea. He saw that Curse Breakers often complained about walking long distances under warded regions. They couldn't discharge the ward until they found its anchors, which were often hidden somewhere in the heart of the territory. As a result, they had to walk a lot searching for the well hidden as well as protected anchors. And so their feet ached.

Now the idea that the wizard had was to create a toned down version of the Seven League Boots – boots that would be charmed to last a league or two at most. This would be enough to satisfy the requirements of the Curse Breakers. The price would be less too, and far more affordable.

The name hadn't been changed though. They were still called Seven League Boots… why, he couldn't say. Wizards were strange that way. Perhaps the name offered brand recognition, Harry thought. Nah, wizards were just that dumb. Harry chuckled at the thought. He himself was a wizard, wasn't he?

Sirius used the last rays of sunlight to mark the last hundred yards with some solid stick markers that he had conjured. Harry knew that when snow fell, their footsteps would simply vanish. The sticks, though, would remain there for a long time. In the mean time, Harry removed the magical tent he saw in his trunk and set it up, this time with magic, unlike at the Quidditch World Cup. It was quicker and easier. The tent wasn't too big or fanciful – just a couple of rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom – and was quite similar to the one he had been in during the World Cup. Mass produced, perhaps, thought Harry.

Later, when Sirius was done marking, they had a quiet French dinner, and were soon fast asleep.

The next two days were pretty much like the first one – they did a lot of walking. It would have been pretty boring, but Sirius provided good company and the time flew by as they talked from mundane things like Quidditch and history to downright boring stuff such as politics and pureblood society. Harry found out that Sirius knew a lot of stuff.

On the third day, Harry started having slight trouble breathing due to the thin air. He performed the Bubblehead Charm as instructed and he felt normal once again. When Sirius continued on without the charm, Harry became concerned for his safety. But Sirius just flashed him a grin and reassured him that he would indeed perform the charm if he needed to. Otherwise, he was just fine.

In the end, fortune favoured them and they reached the outskirts of the Refuge around noon. Sirius and Harry were happy that they had taken even less time to reach there than what they had expected. They did not encounter any blizzards either.

The Refuge was a huge place and it consisted of eight small towns. It had comparatively less snow cover, and the weather was pretty good. There was also a small river running through the area which acted as the main supply of water. The interesting thing about the Refuge was that it not only housed the werewolves, but their families too. Of course, not everyone had a family for there were some outcasts too. But everyone was welcome here. Harry was glad to see the werewolves being treated like normal persons.

The towns were made of heavily fortified structures and Harry realised that even a werewolf couldn't destroy them with its immense strength. They had all facilities and the people worked together to see the town's welfare. Harry could feel a sense of unity present in the atmosphere there.

When they reached the town centre, they registered with the security and stated their purpose of visit as 'searching a friend to take him home'. Harry learnt that registration and stating the purpose of visit were important formalities for visitors to the Refuge, unless you were a werewolf in which case you had to register as a resident if you wanted a permanent stay. They rented a small house and after a quick lunch, they began roaming the town asking the people if they had seen Remus. Sirius had even brought photographs that they showed around. By evening time, they had finished asking half the town but weren't successful in finding him.

The next seven days were spent similarly. They would arrive at a town, register, rent a house and spend the day asking the residents about Remus' whereabouts. They covered five towns this way and made their way to the sixth. It was there that a blizzard arrived the day they were to leave the town for the next one, and they had to stay inside to remain safe from the heavy snowfall and violent winds. The snowstorm lasted three days.

On the third day, the winds quieted down but the snow continued to fall. The people were yet to venture out of their houses, but Sirius and Harry decided that the weather was good enough that they could travel to the next town. There were still about three hours to sunset and Sirius estimated that they would reach the next village in that time. The only disadvantage was that they would have to walk since apparation and portkeys were rather dangerous because of the severe climatic conditions. Harry didn't have a problem with that. He wouldn't have any trouble with his Seven League Boots.

But Sirius' estimate was off this time and they made a relatively slow progress as sleet had begun to fall. The sun had set and they would still need at least another half an hour to reach their destination. They continued on using their wands for light, and hurried their pace. But their journey was halted as Sirius abruptly stopped and Harry almost walked into him.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Shh," Sirius hissed. "Be quiet and don't make any noise."

"Why?" Harry hissed back.

"Look at that," Sirius replied, indicating something on the ground, a few feet from them.

In the dim light provided by his wand, Harry recognised what it was.

"They are tracks. So?"

"They aren't just any tracks, Harry. They are animal tracks, and quite fresh too, considering the snow that is falling."

"I don't understand."

"Think for moment where we are."

Harry was puzzled by Sirius' strange behaviour.

"Er, we are in Tibet, in the…" Harry started, and immediately came to a halt.

His eyes widened in shock and he looked at Sirius, waiting for him to deny the conclusion he had reached. But Sirius' face told him all he needed to know. He gulped. As if on cue, a piercing howl was heard coming from somewhere in front of them, and an answering one followed from behind them. The only positive thing was that the howls sounded as if coming from a great distance. Harry felt a chill go up his spine. They had completely forgotten about the full moon and the heavy cloud cover had blocked it from view.

"What do we do now?"

Sirius did not answer, but began walking swiftly once again and Harry followed him. A few moments later, they had to stop once again.

Four pairs of glowing eyes were staring at them from a distance of about ten feet. Then there were a couple of growls, and the huge beasts began a casual walk towards where they were standing.

"So, Sirius," Harry began, "any ideas?"

Author's Notes:

1. I have also penned the first chapter of a new story, a Harry Potter/Matrix crossover to be precise, titled 'Illusions of Reality'. It also has Honks as its main pairing. It is now posted and I'll be glad if you guys can check it out. All feedback will be greatly appreciated.

2. Once again, I'd like to ask all readers to review so as to let me know what you guys think. I'll admit that reviews are the only form of encouragement I get to continue the story, and as such, are very much required.

3. Some plot points from the previous chapter, like the kiss, haven't been explained in this one. But I'll assure you that everything will be clarified shortly.

4. This chapter is not Beta-ed. If you see any mistakes, please point them out and I'll be glad to fix them.

5. Next chapter – looks at the compass and smirks – What is it you want most? "Wink"