CHAPTER 2

A Secret from the Past

Ginny glared across the room at Tonks. "What do you mean? What does Harry have to do with it?"

Tonks frowned and gave her a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I know this isn't going to be fair. You've been through so much, and you were just starting to get over... Well, I guess I felt it wouldn't be fair not to tell you."

"What is it?" Ginny asked again, feeling a prickling of worry along her spine. "It's about Harry?" The look on Tonks's face had begun to concern Ginny. Harry had been insisting on staying hidden as long as possible. He had offered little explanation other than Josef's warning about the chance of rogue Brotherhood members.

"Something's happened at Hogwarts and well..." Tonks started to explain. She was looking down at her hands. "We think that Harry might be, er... involved somehow"

"Involved? You mean you think he's alive?" Ginny tried to clarify. She tossed a quick glance over to the corner she'd heard Harry sneaking off to.

"Well... now, I mean—" Tonks stumbled through her words. "It's been a year, and—" Tonks paused and looked up at Ginny. Her eyes were pink and watery. "Oh, Remus should have done this," she said with a quiet sniffle.

"Does this have anything to do with the break-in at the Ministry last week?" Ginny asked.

Tonks lifted her head to gaze confusedly at Ginny. "No..." she answered slowly. "Why would you— Are you going to be alright, Ginny?"

"Yes, I think so," Ginny replied. "Why shouldn't I be?"

"We found—" Tonks stopped as her voice hitched. "Well... we don't know what we've found. Actually—" she interrupted herself "—we know exactly what we found, we just don't know exactly what it means. Or rather, we don't know what it will mean—"

"But you know that Harry's involved?" Ginny commented, hoping to press the conversation in some direction that might force Tonks to say what she couldn't quite figure out how to say.

Tonks moved her head in a vague motion that seemed close to becoming a nod. "Remus and Minerva sent me to find Ron and Hermione. They thought that you two would have the best shot at figuring out just what might be happening. Remus said that I should be discrete around you," she added with a glance toward Ginny. "He didn't think we should tell you just yet. He thought it would only upset you, but— If anything ever happened to him and anyone refused to tell me about something like this—"

"Something like what?" Ron finally interjected.

"Something has happened," Tonks said evenly, "at Hogwarts."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny shared bewildered glances as Tonks continued. "It started months ago. I suppose it was two months or so before the end of the Spring Term. Some of the Aurors started... seeing things, I guess," she said with a shrug. "I was the second one to spot, er... it."

Hermione motioned for Ginny to come and sit down at the table. Whatever had brought Tonks to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, it was obviously not something easily spoken about. Hermione poured the young Auror a cup of tea and pushed it toward her. Tonks accepted it thankfully and took brief sip. "No one believed me when I reported it. No one had believed Rodgers either. But then Chatham saw it. He's the Auror in charge of all of us at Hogwarts. After that he had all of us on the watch."

"For what?" Ron asked impatiently. "You still haven't said what it is."

"It is a cloaked figure walking around the Hogwarts grounds," Tonks explained. "No one ever got a good look at it. It seemed to disappear as soon as anyone got close to it. You didn't need to get close to see that it was a man —the shape of a man, at least— with dark hair."

Ginny felt herself twitch involuntarily. Tonks noticed and gave her a sympathetic look. The implication was fairly obvious: they thought they were seeing Harry, but she hadn't been willing to say that they thought he was alive. Hermione started asking Tonks about the sightings but Ginny's mind was elsewhere. Could it have been Harry? He would have been running from the Brotherhood at the time. Was it possible that he had come to Hogwarts to try and find her?

"No, none of the detection spells worked," Tonks said in response to some question from Hermione. "The wards were still up and working. They even tried tracking animals. The only clue we had that we weren't all hallucinating was from a Sneak-o-Scope of all things. One of us had one on patrol and it went off right before one of the sightings. We tried putting Deception Detectors on the gates, but they're next to useless. I think I set them off every other time I pass them. Even Remus sets them off constantly. They have to remove them whenever the Care of Magical Creatures classes are nearby. In fact, they probably spend more time disabled than active."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said gently, "but where does Harry come into this story?"

"Well, none of us really knew what was going on. We had reported it to the Ministry and had been ordered to keep it quiet. The Department of Mysteries sent out a pair of Unspeakables to investigate. If they found anything, they didn't tell us. So, one night while Remus was spending the night in detention with some git who had released a Boggart in the Hufflepuff girls' dormitory, I went to the Burrow just to get away. I guess I was a little frustrated and mentioned it, and well..." Tonks gave Ginny an apologetic look. "Molly told me that you had... seen Harry and thought you were talking to him."

Ginny stiffened, feeling suddenly embarrassed that Harry had heard that. "I didn't— I knew it wasn't him, I just—"

"It's alright, Ginny," Tonks comforted her. "I don't think there's anything wrong with you. I don't think you were hallucinating."

Ginny tried to protest, but Tonks stopped her. "I hope you can forgive us but Remus and I decided to have you followed. He had an idea, and he wanted to know how often you thought you saw... well... Harry," Tonks finished as though it hurt to say the name.

Ginny wasn't sure which was more frustrating: The fact that her friends had been among the numerous people following her, or the disgust at actually wanting to argue that the reason she'd seen Harry was that she really had been almost mental with loneliness.

Tonks, however, seemed to take her silence as sadness instead of restrained frustration. "We knew it was wrong," she said as a mild apology, "and we were about to give up when one of the Aurors from Hogwarts spotted something interesting at a Quidditch match. You remember it, don't you, Ginny? August tenth, I believe. It was your first assignment for your new job."

"I remember it," Ginny said with a nod.

"It was just like the sightings at Hogwarts," Tonks said in a soft voice. "A dark haired wizard in a cloak who disappeared when followed. Of course, we didn't realize the Department of Mysteries was following you as well. I don't blame you for panicking when they tried to catch you."

"But... No... they weren't from the Department of Mysteries," Ginny tried to say. "They were..." Her voice trailed off as she saw the confused look on Tonks's face.

"They were from the Department of Mysteries, Ginny," Tonks assured her. "I spoke with one of them at the Ministry. He said he was sorry about frightening you, but he also said that it would be better if he didn't speak with you at that time. He told me I should send you to see them if you ever came asking about that day, though. Oh, what was his name..." Tonks closed her eyes tightly and tapped at the table.

"Right!" she called out suddenly. "Updike! Roberto or Randolf or something pompous like that. It's pretty rare for Unspeakables to give out their names, but I doubt that was his real name, so—"

"Updike wasn't an Unspeakable," Hermione interrupted.

This news seemed to catch Tonks off guard. "Really? Well... I suppose I might have just assumed he was— but that doesn't really matter. The point was that everyone agreed that we were seeing something and that Ginny had been seeing it as well."

At this comment, Ginny threw another nervous look at Ron and Hermione. Did Tonks think Harry was alive? Why didn't she just say it?

"I spoke with Remus about it," Tonks continued. "I wasn't supposed to, but I did anyway. He's the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor now, and well... I didn't trust the Ministry. At first he wasn't willing to say what he thought, even to me, but once the new term started it began to get worse."

"How soon after the start of the new term?" Hermione asked quickly. "What got worse? Were there more sightings?"

It was Tonks's turn to look confused now. "Hold on," she began. "Do you already know about this?"

Hermione frowned at Ginny. "Reginald Updike..." she began hesitantly, "I— I don't think he works for the Ministry anymore. It's possible that he was, er... responsible for what you saw."

"We didn't just see things, Hermione," replied Tonks, looking very serious. "And we'd have known if some wizard from the Ministry was lurking about. Like I said, after the start of the term, things got worse. In just the first week, at least eight different students had asked about—" Her voice was cut short as she glanced over at Ginny. "They asked if Harry Potter was at Hogwarts."

"Is that supposed to be some sort of joke?" Ron asked.

"No, Remus thinks it's very serious. None of them claimed to have any reason for asking, but even two students in a week would be quite suspicious. Eight is... difficult to accept."

"Maybe they just saw the same person you saw," Ginny suggested. She kept her eyes on the table in front of her, not wanting to betray any of her thoughts to Tonks just yet. Hermione seemed to be troubled and her eyes kept darting over to Ginny and warning her to keep quiet until Harry decided to reveal himself.

"Then, two weeks ago, a number of people started reporting feeling as though they were being followed as they walked about the grounds. Many of them were students. One was the daughter of an under-secretary in Scrimgeour's office. McGonagall spent two days fighting with the Ministry and the Daily Prophet in order to keep it quiet. Even the professors felt it. Remus— Remus saw it too. It followed him on one of his trips into the forest."

"That could still be the same people —or person," Hermione said, quickly correcting herself. "I mean, it wouldn't be hard for someone to sneak onto the grounds and—"

"And avoid detection by hundreds of students, a number of professors and eight Aurors?" finished Tonks. "It's one thing to break into the Ministry and avoid being seen for a couple hours, or even sneak onto Hogwarts grounds for a night or even a full day. This has been going on for months, Hermione. Until the attack on Grimmauld Place, we were trying to request extra Aurors from the Ministry."

"And what happened that day?" Hermione asked pointedly. "At Hogwarts, I mean. Did anyone see anything?"

"No," Tonks said, giving Hermione a sidelong glance. "Nothing at all. Remus had an explanation for that. He thinks the attack might have drawn off... whatever was at Hogwarts."

"I think he's right," Hermione declared. "In fact, I'm almost certain of it. The attack on Grimmauld Place, Gringott's and the Ministry were all linked. As were the attacks earlier at Giza and almost certainly the... things you saw at Hogwarts. I'm sorry we didn't speak to you earlier," she apologized. "The three of us have complicated lives at the moment and it's really best that we stay out of sight. The good news is that you won't have to worry about your sightings, anymore. I doubt you'll have any more problems."

Tonks raised her eyebrows and stared at Hermione. "And what would make you think that?"

"So... you've guessed that we were at the Ministry when it was attacked, haven't you?"

Tonks frowned slightly and nodded.

"That was only one part of a long battle," Hermione explained. "It wasn't the end, but it was the last part the rest of the world saw. That's over now. The, er... problem has been fixed. That's why you haven't seen anything since last week."

Tonks sat back and stared at the three of them. Her lips were pressed together tightly and she appeared to be searching for the right response. Finally she leaned forward and let out a deep breath as she ran a hand through her lime colored hair.

"I never said we haven't seen anything," she said slowly. "We haven't tried to request more Aurors because there aren't any to request. There are four wizards missing from the Department of Mysteries, and three more from other departments. Gringott's demanded the Ministry guard the bank while they make repairs and improvements. Two more Aurors are stuck in Romania after some sort of revolt they just had. Things didn't get better after the Ministry attack. They got worse."

"But— What are you saying?" Hermione asked, looking suddenly very unsure of herself.

"It's inside the castle now, Hermione," Tonks replied gravely. "Students have reported hearing someone walking about the castle in the night. No one's ever seen anything, though. One of the Aurors tried chasing it, but it disappeared down a corridor that was completely dark. I went to see the corridor for myself. There wasn't even enough light for an owl. Doors have been opened, doors that have been locked by powerful magic. We've found over a hundred broken mirrors throughout the castle. We've locked the rest in a vault in the dungeons but we don't know why."

Ginny stared at Hermione in disbelief while Ron tried to understand what it meant. "But, er— When did all this happen. It wasn't Monday, perhaps—"

"There's more," Tonks continued. "There was... an incident. Last night."

"Last night?" cried Hermione as she turned back to Tonks. "That's got nothing to do with us, then. It can't be— What were you saying before? Broken mirrors and opened doors? Are you certain they're related."

"Maybe not," admitted Tonks, "and yet, it's the only explanation that makes any sense. The dark haired figure. Its appearance at the Quidditch match. The students' questions. The sneaking about. Vanishing as if under an Invisibility Cloak. Remus suggested that the broken mirrors might be the result of a frustrated search for the Mirror of Erised. The one thing they've all got in common is Harry Potter."

"It's not Harry," Ginny blurted out suddenly. "It couldn't have been. He's—"

"Are you saying that Harry is alive?" interrupted Hermione before Ginny said anything she wasn't supposed to.

Tonks expression fell back to the sympathetic, concerned look she'd had when Ginny first walked in. "No," she answered simply. "Remus and I have done a lot of talking and he's been searching the Library for days for an explanation, and there's only one that fits." Tonks leaned forward and held one of Ginny's hands comfortingly.

"We think that Harry might be haunting Hogwarts," she announced. "It may be more complex than that, but it seems to be the best place to start."

Whatever response Tonks had expected, the one Ginny gave her was completely unexpected. Instead of crying or shouting or even sitting as still as a statue, Ginny simply looked at her and shook her head. "No, that's not it. It's something else."

Tonks stared consolingly at her. "I know it's hard to accept, Ginny, but—"

"No, it's impossible to accept," Ginny said as if Tonks had suggested the sky was normally a deep shade of maroon. "Harry isn't a ghost. You're wasting your time. Tell Lupin to start looking for something else."

Tonks eyed her warily. "Are you saying that he's not a ghost, or that he's not dead?"

Ginny glanced toward Ron and Hermione and found them both looking away from her rather conspicuously. She turned back to Tonks and found the young Auror watching her carefully. "I guess you could say I haven't given up hope, yet."

Tonks sighed and gave Ginny the same piteous look everyone had given her at Charlie's funeral. She knew Tonks was thinking the same thing she'd heard everyone whispering then: Poor girl. She's gone through so much. It's perfectly normal for her to hold onto her irrational fantasies. Of course, like them, Tonks didn't say it out loud, but the translation was the same:

"We should never lose all hope."

Ginny's eyes narrowed and she felt a growl of anger in her chest. "Harry isn't a ghost," she said more forcefully. "I know you fancy him, but Lupin made a mistake. I don't care how good of a snog he is, he's wrong."

Tonks recoiled, releasing Ginny's hands as though they had scalded her. For a moment her cheeks colored, but after closing her eyes for a brief moment, they returned to their previous pale tones. She frowned at Ginny and turned toward Ron and Hermione who were remaining completely quiet.

"Well, I, er—" Tonks stammered. She shook her head and let out a frustrated huff. "Remus is better at this sort of thing. I don't know why he thought this was a good idea." She stood up and smoothed out her robes. "The Headmistress has asked me if you two would return to Hogwarts with me. We can speak more about this when we—"

"I'm going with you," announced Ginny.

Tonks sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Er, Ginny. Neither Remus nor Minerva thought that would be a good—"

"Remus thinks that Harry is dead and haunting the one place that ever made him happy," Ginny shot back. "It seems he's not been thinking very clearly."

Tonks closed her eyes. "Er, Hermione, could you—"

"We'll talk to her," Hermione told her. "Could we have a bit of privacy? It might be a good idea to stand outside for a moment and make sure there isn't anyone watching the house."

"Why would anyone be watching the house?" Tonks asked.

"It's a long story," Ron replied.

With another sigh, Tonks nodded her acceptance and began walking for the front door. Ginny waited silently for the sound of the door opening and then closing a moment later. She walked over to the kitchen door and quickly checked to see that Tonks had really left. When she was satisfied, she closed the door and walked back toward the table.

"Well done," Hermione said with a sarcastic grin. "You managed to appear both unstable and delusional. That's going to make it so much easier to figure out what is going on."

"She thinks it's Harry's ghost!"

"Precisely, and she'll continue thinking that until we figure out what is really happening."

Ginny fixed Hermione with a smoldering glare. "That's what I was trying to tell her. The faster they figure out that they're wrong, the easier it will be to figure out what is really happening."

"Well that's a brilliant strategy," Hermione replied as she put her hands on her hips. "Of course, to the rest of the world, it looks like you're completely mental."

Ginny threw up her hands in annoyance. "What am I supposed to do? Agree with her? Tell her that it's completely possible that Harry is dead and haunting Hogwarts? Maybe I should suggest that the Crumple-Horned Snorkack might be helping him."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well it's going to be a lot harder to convince them you're right if you can't even convince them that you live in the real world."

"She's got a point," announced a bodiless voice from the other side of the room.

Ginny stepped toward the table, snatched up a piece of cold toast and flung it across the room and into the corner where Harry's voice had come from.

"Invisible wizards don't get to talk!" she shouted with a finger pointing at the empty space the toast had bounced off of.

Harry appeared suddenly as he pulled off his Invisibility Cloak. "Was that the last piece of toast? I am a bit hungry." With a scowl, Ginny picked up another piece of toast and threw it at Harry's chest. After wiping the crumbs from his robes, he frowned and began walking toward the table. "Right. I think I'll just get one myself. You three just go about your business."

"Our business?" Ginny choked. "This is your business Harry. What if they start telling other people that your ghost is doing this?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, that's a pretty easy theory to disprove," he said after taking a bite of toast.

"Then why didn't you do it?" Ginny asked while pointing toward the kitchen door Tonks had left through moments earlier.

"For the same reason we've been holed up in here for the last few days," replied Harry. "It's not safe until Dragomir has tracked down any of Brotherhood members who might still think I'm a threat."

"So what are we going to do?" Ron asked. "Tonks said McGonagall wanted us to go with her. She found us. It's not like there's much point trying to hide any longer."

Harry finished his toast and nodded his agreement. "Josef said Ginny and Hermione would return to their jobs tomorrow. They've got to come out of hiding to do that. Today seems just as good as tomorrow."

"What about you?" said Ron. "How are we supposed to pass messages to you? It would look a little suspicious if we were sending Hedwig a couple times a day."

"You're absolutely right. That's why I'm going with you," Harry said as he held up the Invisibility Cloak. "Just walk loudly, make sure you speak up and try to give me some warning before you run out of any rooms."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny filed out of the front door of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place to find Tonks standing at the foot of the steps staring out at the deserted street. Ginny knew that Harry was behind her somewhere, but she couldn't hear his footsteps. When Tonks heard them, she spun around and stared at Ginny.

"The Headmistress only called for Ron and Hermione," she said weakly. "If we're right, the situation may be a little too... sensitive for you, Ginny."

Ginny gave a shallow smile. "I'll be fine."

Tonks didn't look so confident. Hermione stopped in front of her and spoke in a hushed tone: "We had a bit of a talk with her. She's promised to be a little more open-minded. I think this way is better than leaving her all alone. She's had a rough week."

Ginny rolled her eyes, but Hermione's explanation worked. Tonks nodded reluctantly and motioned for Ginny to follow the rest of them. She led them across the street to the darkened alley they had always used for Disapparation. "Is everyone alright to Apparate to the Three Broomsticks?"

"Yes," Hermione replied. "That should work nicely. We'll see you there."

Ginny arrived outside the Three Broomsticks only seconds after Hermione and Tonks. Ron appeared a moment later with an oddly loud pop. He stumbled a bit, then regained his balance.

"Too much time on a broom?" Tonks asked him with a crooked smile.

Ron shot a glance off to the empty space beside him. "I guess so," he replied with a touch of annoyance. "I'm feeling a bit off today. I didn't get much for breakfast."

Tonks reached into her robes and pulled out a small apple. She tossed it to Ron and began walking down the street. Hogwarts Castle could be seen jutting up into the sky in the distance. Ginny felt an odd feeling seeing it again. It had been seven years since she had first seen it as a student, and this was the first time since then that she'd seen it since she'd left.

In truth, it had only been a few months, and yet it felt so much longer than that. She hadn't been happy to leave. She hadn't been happy at all. So much had changed in a few months. Charlie had died. Harry had returned. She'd been attacked and protected too many times to sort out without the use of at least a few feet of parchment. She had worked for the Ministry, and if Josef could be believed, she would return tomorrow. Hogwarts felt like part of some other life, and yet here she was, returning to the place that had changed her life so completely.

Tonks noticed the expression on her face and smiled warmly. "It feels strange returning, doesn't it?" she commented. "I still panic whenever a professor finds me walking about late at night. Old habits, I guess..." she added with a shrug.

As they left the streets of Hogsmeade and started down the path to Hogwarts' main gate, the number of other people around them tapered off quickly. Though they all knew the way, Tonks took the lead with Ron and Hermione following her. Ginny lagged behind them. As she walked, she feigned interest in mundane things they passed so that she could try and hear any signs that Harry was still following them.

After minutes without hearing a thing, they walked down into a shallow hollow where the path was littered with small pebbles. Ginny sped up, crossing the patch of gravel in two strides. Once on the other side, she paused and pretended to tie her shoe. Behind her, she could just barely make out the swishing of shoes through grass. With a smile, she stood up and began walking to catch up with the others.

Tonks froze ahead of her as Ginny heard a muffled snap from behind her. It sounded like someone stepping on a dry twig. Tonks stepped between Ron and Hermione, signaling for them to remain where they were. "Did you do that?" Tonks asked Ginny. Unable to decide which answer would be harder to justify, Ginny simply shook her head.

Tonks pulled out her wand and strode past her, back to the patch of gravel. As she bent down to inspect the footprints, Hermione flashed a worried look at Ginny.

"Ginny," Tonks called out, "were you the one who walked on the grass?"

"Er, yes," Ginny replied with some concern. If Tonks asked any more questions, it might get difficult to explain herself.

"One through the grass," mumbled Tonks as she traced the footprints, "and... three along the path." She stood and frowned. "Ginny," she called out in a serious voice, "are you certain you haven't seen anything? I know what I said before—" she quickly added, "but I really need the truth right now. Did you see anyone behind us?"

Ginny forced herself to swallow. It isn't a lie, she told herself, but it still felt like one. "No, I didn't see anything at all."

Tonks stared at her for a moment, but appeared to accept the answer. "Do any of you... feel anything odd?" Ginny put on an innocent expression and shook her head again. Tonks sighed and turned around. "Come on. We should go before I'm attacked by my own paranoia."

They continued down the path, and Ginny tried to keep track of where Harry might be, but it was impossible. The area they were walking through was rockier, with only short grass. Harry would be able to walk or run along the stones and they would never have any idea where he was. Tonks hadn't looked back since the brief interruption, but Ginny could tell that she was tense and distracted. It was obvious from the expressions on Ron and Hermione's faces that they had noticed as well.

They crested a hill and their pace slowed. The path to the main gate stretched out before them, but the distance was much shorter than it had been earlier. The castle and lake were now quite near. They could even spot small groups of students walking along the shores of the lake or strolling about the grounds.

"Weird," Ron said with a snort. Tonks stiffened. Her wand was suddenly in her hand and ready to cast a spell.

"Oh, no," Ron said waving his hand dismissively. "It's just, well, it looks just like it did when we were students. I don't know why, but I thought it would look different, you know?"

Tonks relaxed, slipping her wand back into a robe pocket. "It is different," she said with a sigh. "Everything changed after... after that day. Oh, you can't really tell from a distance, but many things have changed and they won't change back." Tonks turned and glanced at Ginny. "We just have to accept it. That's what living is: accepting changes and moving on."

Ginny wasn't sure just how she was supposed to pretend to act. She pulled back the corners of her mouth in what felt like a smile and a frown while she nodded her head. She didn't know just what emotion that was supposed to convey, but Tonks nodded in response and seemed to accept whatever it was.

As they walked toward the main gate, it became quite clear that a number of wizards were waiting for them there. Ginny could see what appeared to be four distinct wizards, all of them wearing robes that looked nothing like the ones the students wore. During her last year, there had never been more than two Aurors patrolling the grounds, even on Hogsmeade weekends. This morning, there were four at the gate alone. No one had commented yet, so Ginny remained silent.

Only a minute later, a pair of the wizards from the gate began walking briskly toward them. Finally Ron spoke up. "They're Aurors, aren't they?" Ron asked quietly, though they were still quite far away. "What are they doing?"

"I don't know," Tonks said uneasily.

"Are there always four Aurors on duty?" Hermione asked. "I thought there were still only eight of you. I mean, when I was here last year, no one was at the gate, so—"

"Did you forget what I said?" asked Tonks. "I can only guess that something's happened since I left. I hope it's nothing serious."

"Whatever it is, they don't seem to be too keen to wait," Ron commented toward the Aurors who were walking quite a bit faster than Ginny had expected.

"Well," began Tonks, "they've been awake for some time. We work in four shifts of eight hours. We work for eight hours and have the next twenty four off to sleep and relax. That way no one gets stuck working the early morning shift every single day. Lately we've been doubling up whenever something odd happens: Sixteen hour shifts with only sixteen hours of rest. It really wears on you. Those two were just about to come off their shift when— when they found it. They doubled the next shift with Chatham and Elderbridge. If they're still here, they've been working for the last eighteen hours. I expect they're eager to get some sleep."

"Eighteen hours? What happened? Why is everyone so tense?" Hermione asked. "I mean, it's not like anyone died. It would have—" Tonks's head turned sharply and Hermione cut herself short. "Hold on," she said in a wavering voice. "Did someone—"

"Not yet," Tonks replied heavily. "At least, not when I left, but that was four hours ago. I hope whatever Aberly and Wompleruff are coming to tell us is good news."

Ginny and the rest of them kept walking toward the gate, though in truth their intent was on meeting up with the pair of Aurors now. Tonks was visibly worried as they approached. As soon as they were within shouting distance, they reached into their robes and pulled out their wands. Tonks stopped suddenly and held out her hands to keep Ron, Hermione and Ginny behind her.

"What's happened?" Tonks called out.

"Put your hands out and stay where you are!" barked one of the Aurors.

"Aberly! What is the meaning of—"

"Hands out!" he shouted. With a huff, Tonks did as he said and told the others to do the same. The pair of Aurors approached. The one who had been shouting stayed back while the other strode forward to get a closer look at the four of them. He was a younger Auror, with a pointed nose and eyes so dark they appeared almost black.

"The Headmistress sent for two people: Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley," he said sharply. "You've brought three people."

"That's brilliant, Alston," snapped Tonks. "I'm glad that you're able to count so well."

The Auror had stopped in front of Ginny. His wand was lowered, but his hand was gripping it tightly. "We can't let her in, Tonks. We shouldn't let any of you in, but we'll ignore all that if she turns back."

"Do you even know who she is?"

"I don't care if she's the new head of the Wizengamot or Scrimgeour's mistress, she's not getting in," he announced. "Chatham and McGonagall were explicit. No one enters or leaves except Granger and Weasley."

"Open your eyes, you bleeding moron," Tonks replied with one arm pointing at Ginny. "She's Ginny Weasley. No one else knows more about this than she does. If Minerva was willing to let these two in, she'll have no problem with Ginny."

"You're wrong, Tonks," the older Auror called out. "Chatham asked McGonagall about Ginny, and it was decided that Granger and her brother should come, but not her. They were very clear."

"Well I think they should reconsider," Tonks argued. "I've already spoken to her about our concerns, and she wants to help."

"That's very charitable of her. However, the situation has changed since you left. If she wishes to help, she should return to Hogsmeade. I'm sure she'll have no problem finding a place to stay while we speak to the Headmistress."

For a moment Tonks appeared to be struggling with some tough decision. "I can't send her back, Aberly," she finally announced. "You know what she was. I think we were—" Her voice stopped as she glanced back at Ginny, then looked back at the Auror. "I think we were followed."

Aberly frowned. "All the more reason to send her back!" he cried out. "We have enough to deal with. I don't believe that is a talent we have a need for at the moment. In fact, we have every reason to want her to stay away."

"We won't go without her!" shouted Hermione. Ginny found Hermione looking at her from the corners of her eyes.

"You what?" replied an outraged Aberly.

Hermione's face hardened. "If you won't let her in, then we'll all wait right here for you to change your minds."

The Auror scowled and tugged mercilessly at his robes. "This is not a game girl. We are not here to bargain."

"No," Hermione replied stonily, "we're here to figure out what is happening, and that's not going to happen unless she comes with us."

"Fine!" he barked after a brief pause, "but this decision is on your head, Tonks!"

With quite a few suspicious looks, the Aurors led the four of them toward the main gates. Ginny tried to listen for any sign of Harry behind them but she heard nothing. If he was smart, he would have run on ahead of them. Of course, it was equally likely that he remained nearby where he could hear the argument. Whatever he'd done, he'd been silent about it and gave the Aurors no chance to notice him.

Ginny wondered if it was really worth the secrecy. Whatever had happened at Hogwarts, the idea of his involvement was obviously incorrect. Ginny felt that Harry was only making a potentially awkward situation worse by trying to sneak onto the grounds while the Aurors were already extremely paranoid.

There was no better demonstration of this fact than the scene caused by their arrival at the main gate. After yet another argument and another staunch refusal to leave Ginny behind, they were granted entrance onto the grounds. However, the second they walked toward the gate, a pair of piercing wails cut through the morning air.

A number of students appeared out of the nearby forest. One of the Aurors quickly dashed through the gate to warn them off and send them back to the castle. The other, an old grizzled wizard drew his wand on the four of them and ordered them to step away from the gate.

"Bloody hell, Archibald!" exclaimed Tonks. "You know I set those things off every time I get near them! You'd have more reason to draw your wand if you ever saw a witch who looks like me and didn't set off those detectors."

"What about them, then?" the old Auror questioned. "You might be alright, but what if they're hiding something?"

"Why don't I save you the trouble then? I know they're hiding something!" shouted Tonks. "Why do you think that the Headmistress sent me to get them? They're hiding themselves! They were involved in the attack on the Ministry. They won't even tell me about it, and I can't blame them."

"We lost three good Aurors that morning," the old wizard grumbled. "Maybe we should take a moment to see just what part they played, eh? Maybe the detectors don't like the fact that they've got guilty consciences?" He reached a gnarled hand into his robes and pulled out a small bottle. "Maybe a little Veritaserum would—"

"That's enough, Rife!" the other Auror shouted as he walked back to the gate. "I don't care what the bloody detectors say. We've got bigger worries than a few young wizards and whatever petty secrets they're trying to hide."

With an angry grunt, the older Auror waved them through the gate. Bizarrely, there were no alarms the second time. This seemed to annoy the Aurors even more than having them tripped the first time.

"Think you were followed, do you?" Aberly said in a low voice. "If this gets any worse—"

Tonks stepped close to him and spoke in an equally quiet voice: "—it won't be because of anything we did, Clavius. Those detectors are set off all the time. We haven't been able to stop it before, why would this time have been any different?"

Ginny still didn't understand just what they were talking about, but she was certain that this was not the right time to start asking questions about it. Once they had passed through the gate, the Aurors remained at the gate, following them only with suspicious glances.

"Sorry about all that," Tonks whispered as soon as they were out of sight. "As I said, things are a little tense right now. It sounds as though it might have gotten worse."

"How bad could it be?" Ron asked. "It hasn't stopped the students from enjoying themselves."

He was right. Now that they were closer to the castle, Ginny could see quite a few groups of students out and walking about. Quite a few more than anyone would expect for so early in the morning. It was common for students to sleep well into the late morning for the first few weekends of the term. Even later in the term, few students would spend their mornings walking around outside the castle unless there were Quidditch practices or some sort of event to coax them out of their common rooms.

"Minerva spoke with the professors. They encouraged the students to spend time outside the castle. They closed the Great Hall and blocked off a number of corridors, including the one leading to the Library," Tonks explained over Hermione's horrified gasp. "There really isn't much for them to do inside the castle. It'll make things easier for us once we're inside."

As they walked up the path, Ginny spotted Hagrid's hut. However, it looked quite a bit different than it had only a few months before. It was quite a bit neater and the large garden which used to stand behind it had been replaced with a large fenced paddock and a row of small wooden buildings that looked like small cottages.

As they got closer, she saw a small crowd of girls standing in a circle around a proud-looking centaur. He was not smiling, but he didn't look at all angry either. The girls were twittering, but looked otherwise rather respectful.

"Is that one of the Centaurs from the forest?" she asked quietly. It certainly wasn't Firenze. "Shouldn't someone be, well, keeping an eye on them?"

"Oh, someone is," replied Tonks lightly. As she spoke, a man strode into view carrying a large bow made of heavy wood. His back was to them as he handed it to the girls. They accepted it with a chorus of excited gasps and incomprehensible chatter. They were behaving as though the man was some sort of authority figure, yet Ginny didn't recognize him at all. Instead of robes, he was wearing a pair of worn pants made out of some sort of hide, and his hair was long and tied back in a ponytail. After letting the girls take the bow, he turned and spotted Tonks and the rest of them walking by.

Now that Ginny got a good look at him, he didn't look quite as shabby as she had expected him to be. He raised a hand in salute and smiled warmly. If his hair had been red instead of dark brown, Ginny might have mistaken him for Bill at a distance. Of course, Fleur never would have allowed him wear such pants.

"Oi!" he shouted as he stepped through the ring of girls. "Hold on there, Tonks!" Tonks gave an impatient look toward the castle, but stopped anyway. Hermione and Ron had noticed the man, now and they both turned to watch his approach.

"Oh my," gasped Hermione. "Who's that?" Ron's head turned about so quickly Ginny was surprised to see that hadn't spun all the way around.

"I told you things had changed," Tonks said in a low voice. "This is the new Care of Magical Creatures professor. Hagrid left this summer. He said he needed to take a bit of a vacation."

Hermione watched as the new professor strode toward them with a graceful, loping gate. "He's quite, er—"

"Young," finished Ron. "How much can he possibly know about magical creatures?" he added sourly. "He looks as though he just passed his N.E.W.T.s."

"Hello there!" he cried out as he stepped onto the path ahead of them. "Brilliant morning, don't you think?" he asked brightly as he reached out to shake Tonks's hand. "I was out in the forest this morning and convinced one of our Centaur friends to pop in for a bit and speak to some students. The girls simply adore them, of course." He leaned closer and dropped his voice. "I'd never dare say it, but I wager they don't mind the compliments, either."

"I'm sure you're right," Tonks replied. "However, we must be off. I need to take these three to see the Headmistress."

"Oh really?" he laughed. "It's a bit late for new students, isn't it? This lot looks accomplished enough, though. I'm sure they'll catch right up in no time." He reached out and grabbed Ron's hand, shaking it vigorously.

"My name is Justinian Lynch," he announced eagerly. "Of course, you should call me Professor Lynch," he added as he moved on to Hermione. "I don't like it one bit, myself, but the Headmistress insists." He turned to Ginny and gripped her hand firmly but not painfully so. He smiled and his blue eyes looked into hers. "It's too bad you have to go. I'm sure you would have loved to meet our centaur friend, there. His name's Loreth. Quite a friendly chap when he's not got any pressing tasks at hand. Of course, I do have room for three in my N.E.W.T-level class, if you've got the marks. I was hoping to convince him to come back another day."

"They're not students, Justinian," Tonks announced. "They're here to speak with Minerva on Hogwarts business."

"Oh," he replied with a surprised frown. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't realize— Well then, would you be willing to deliver a message for me, Tonks?" he asked.

"Yes, alright," she agreed, "but we really must be going. We're late already."

"Yes, of course. I should get back to the students, as well. Could you just tell Madam Desmoda that I found a pair of old dragon bones when I was out in the forest this morning and that I thought that Vink might appreciate them? If she's interested, she can come down and pick them up. Or I could—"

"I'll give her the message," interrupted Tonks. "I'm sorry, Justinian, we really must be off."

"Yes. Right. Of course," he said with a friendly nod. "Off you go then. I'll be out here all day if anyone needs me."

Tonks waved and led Ron, Hermione and Ginny away from the hut. Ron kept looking over his shoulder with an expression of annoyance and confusion. "Where did they find that bloke?" Ron whispered. "I mean, he's a bit irritating, of course, and he's a bit funny looking—"

"Funny looking?" snapped Hermione. "He looks just fine, and I thought he was rather charming."

"Well, I guess if you go for blokes like that, yeah, but that's not the point," Ron replied dismissively. "He's not going to be around long when McGonagall finds out he's been hexing centaurs to show off to the third-years."

"He didn't hex anyone, Ron," Tonks said as she turned off the path to take a more direct route to the main doors of the castle. "The centaurs have been much friendlier lately, especially with the wizards at Hogsmeade and the students here. It's still a fragile thing, but it's a step in the right direction."

"What changed?" Ginny asked, unable to put aside her curiosity. "They were mostly quiet last year. I don't think I heard anything about them."

"Then you weren't listening to the right rumors," replied Tonks. "It's the same old story. Bane forbid all interaction with humans, but it seems that centaur foals are just as obedient as human children. One of them had been sneaking off to the edge of the forest to watch the wizards at Hogsmeade. One night last winter, a witch from the Three Broomsticks broke her leg while walking near the forest and the foal walked out to help her. They fell in love, as young people are so good at doing."

A faint smile played across her lips. "It was a scandal for the centaurs, and the Hogsmeade wizards didn't know what to think, so they just kept it quiet. If he had been any other foal, I'm certain the centaurs would have hunted him down and killed him, but it was Bane's own son. Faced with the choice of losing his son or attempting to make peace with the wizards, he chose to keep his son."

"Bane's son fell in love with a witch?" Ron asked incredulously. "And she loves him? I've got nothing against the centaurs, but she must've had pretty poor luck in blokes to fall for one of them."

"I guess you'd know more about that than I do," Tonks replied with a chuckle. "The witch's name is Lavender Brown. I think you know her." Ron gagged. "I believe they have a small cottage just inside the forest. I've never been there, but I hear it's a nice place."

"Lavender?" Ron gasped again. "And they live together? But that's— I mean, I don't mind, but— I—" he stammered, then composed himself. After a moment of silence, he spoke up again.

"So, er... how do they... you know..."

Tonks turned to glare at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Right, so who's this Madam Desmoda?" Ron asked, quickly changing the subject.

The expression on Tonks's face changed suddenly. Her eyes narrowed and an instant later her hair had darkened and fallen into a silky sheet of midnight black hair. She turned to face Ron, blinking a pair of large, pale blue eyes. "Oh please," she replied in a soft Spanish accent, "call her Valencia," she mimicked.

A second later, Tonks was back to normal —or at least no more abnormal as she usually was— but her voice had taken on a strange tone that Ginny couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Valencia is the new librarian," Tonks continued. "She's so happy to be here, she simply loves it. Her last job for the Biblioteca de la Magia Antigua was getting so boring."

Ron and Hermione shared a confused look. "And she likes dragon bones, does she? That's a bit odd," commented Ron.

"No, Vink likes bones," explained Tonks. "Vink is a dire wolf. Very rare. She went all the way to the Americas to find one. It took her a year to find one. Valencia loves dogs, you see, especially wolves. Can you believe that? A young, Spanish, librarian who loves wolves?"

Ron looked confused. "Right," he replied while staring at Tonks as though she was losing her mind. "It's appalling, really. What was McGonagall thinking?" he commented sarcastically.

Tonks narrowed her eyes and Hermione rolled hers. "Ignore him," she said in a disgusted voice, "he's not terribly bright."

Ron looked insulted but knew when it was time to keep his mouth shut. The four of them walked across the last courtyard in a tense silence. The main doors to the castle were closed tight without anyone left outside to open them. Before they had a chance to ask her just how they were supposed to get in, Tonks had walked up to the door and pounded her fist on it with a surprising amount of force.

She turned and walked away, her eyes still filled with annoyance. Before she'd gotten far, the courtyard echoed with a loud creak and the doors slowly parted to reveal the torch lit Entrance Hall. Standing in the gap between the doors was a tall wizard with short, grey hair and a shorter witch with auburn hair tied up behind her head.

"You're late," announced the tall wizard. "Dawdling with Lynch, were you?"

"No more than necessary," Tonks replied sharply.

"No amount of wasted time is necessary, Nymphadora," the witch replied.

Tonks gritted her teeth. "You two know how he is. He's a nice wizard and a responsible one," she responded. "It's his job to watch the grounds just as much as it is ours. He thought he had three new students. What was I supposed to tell him? That something horrible had happened and I didn't have half a minute to explain three guests I was escorting to the castle?"

"Nonetheless, more haste would have served us better than more secrecy now," the wizard replied. "I'm afraid that we were unable to convince Gawain Robards to delay his weekly inspection of our work here. We might be able to put it off until this afternoon at the latest. We will need every moment between now and then to try and understand just what is happening here."

"Then why are we still talking?"

"Quite right," the Auror replied. "We should go. The Headmistress is waiting. I'll leave it to you to explain why you've ignored her orders to not bring Ginevra."

Tonks led Ron, Ginny and Hermione down corridors and up staircases, ignoring all of their requests for information. Early in their journey, she had told them that students were still walking about the castle and no one other than the Aurors and only a few professors knew what was truly going on. The others had merely been told that was something which was being dealt with. It explained the frivolous nature of their conversation with Professor Lynch.

As they walked, Ginny's mind was trying to focus on twenty things at once. They'd gone up two flights of stairs already, but they didn't seem to be headed toward any of the towers. As far as she could tell, all corridors that didn't lead to one of the bathrooms or common rooms had been blocked with translucent, shimmering barriers.

As Tonks had told them, none of the students seemed to be terribly worried about the fact that so many corridors had been barricaded. There were many rumors she heard them whispering to each other, but none could explain the urgency the Aurors seemed to be expressing. At the moment, the most distressing events in the castle seemed to be the arrival of three former students without any explanation. A few of the students had taken this to be a sign that it was more than some escaped creature and more likely the discovery of some new secret passage. Ginny doubted it was either.

Finally, there was the concern over Harry. Ginny felt certain that he was still following them. She would have sworn that she heard the soft tap of his shoes on the stairs behind them as the climbed the third staircase. However, it was a lot easier to stay hidden on an open, rocky field than a castle filled with unpredictable drafts and even less predictable students. Her heart beat strongly in her chest as she waited for one of the Aurors to suddenly spot him.

They approached a corner in the corridor and found one of the glowing barriers blocking their path. On the other side stood Professor Flitwick. He paused for a moment, frowning slightly. Then with a wave of his wand, the wall disappeared.

"Good morning, Tonks. Good morning to you as well, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley," he greeted them. "I would wish Miss Weasley a good morning as well, but I'm afraid she won't be with us for long." After they had passed, he swirled his wand and the barrier rebuilt itself.

They followed Tonks down the corridor. It was a corridor Ginny had only faint memories of. She didn't know what could have happened. None of the rooms at this end of the third floor had been used for years. Of course, that didn't explain why she had been there, either. Some part of her memories told her that it was something she wasn't proud of. Had this been where she and Dean had first kissed? It wasn't her worst memory, but it wasn't one she enjoyed reliving.

They turned one last corner and saw something truly odd before them. It was another barrier of sorts, though this one looked quite a bit less permanent. It appeared as though a thick curtain had been hung across the hallway blocking all sight of the end of the corridor.

Tonks reached the curtain first, and gently parted it. She stepped through and turned to see that everyone followed her. Ron was next. Then Hermione. As Ginny approached, she realized that the curtain was uniquely able to prevent the passing of wizards being hidden by Invisibility Cloaks. As she reached the curtain, she opened it much wider than she truly needed. She stepped forward slowly, hoping that if Harry was following, he'd thought of some way of handling this obstacle.

As she passed through the opening, she felt a pair of hands press against the small of her back. She took a few more steps and then came to a halt. There was a faint scuffle of shoes on dusty stone, and the warmth of Harry's hands disappeared. Standing not more than ten feet from her was Minerva McGonagall, looking rather cross. Remus Lupin stood behind her. He looked tired, but not unhappy to see them. Neither of them gave any sign that they'd noticed Harry.

"Welcome back," Lupin said gently. "I must say that I'm glad to see you all, though I wish the circumstances were less serious."

"Yes, it is reassuring," admitted McGonagall, "though I believe I said that Miss Weasley should not have been involved in this." Ginny bristled and opened her mouth to speak, but McGonagall raised a finger to quiet her.

"It is no insult, Ginny," she said in a more kindly tone. "I feel that this is a mystery uniquely suited to Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley. I felt that you might find this to be a little too... familiar. I didn't want to upset you. You shouldn't have to be involved with this. I did it for your own safety."

"Let me worry about my own safety," Ginny replied. "She said that you thought Harry was involved, but you think he's dead, don't you?"

"We don't know what to think," Lupin corrected her quickly. "There is only one thing which is common to all the occurrences over the past few months, and yes, that is Harry. We have some guesses, but— well, we just don't know. We hoped that perhaps Ron and Hermione would be able to discover anything that we have missed."

"Why us?" Ron asked. "Why would we spot something where eight Aurors and a school of professors failed?" Lupin stared back at him with an expressionless face.

"Because you did last time."

Lupin stepped aside and pointed down the corridor. The black curtain had blocked out most of the light, but there was still enough to see that there was something odd about the wall further down the corridor. Ginny found herself drawn forward. She stepped between Ron and Hermione and walked closer. Something was glistening on the wall. A chill ran down her back as torches flared to life on either side of her.

"No. It's not possible," Ron mumbled in disbelief.

However, the reality in front of Ginny didn't care about Ron's opinions of what was possible. She tried to tell herself that it had been some tasteless joke. A hundred students had seen it. It could have been any of them. And yet she could feel that it wasn't a joke.

Daubed across the wall in dripping red liquid were words that Ginny had only ever seen in her nightmares:

The chamber of secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.

Author Notes:

This is a taste of what is to come. This story is going to be less action-based than the previous one, but slightly more cerebral. Hopefully this sounds interesting to everyone. If not, well... it's too late to complain.

For those of you who are interested in actually speaking with me, I'll be the subject of an Author Chat over at WizardTales on August 5, 2006. See "www. wizardtales. net" (sorry for URL mangling) for more information.