.


-O-

CHAPTER 3

Greenhouse Two buzzed with the low hum of student voices, gossiping over the latest rumour or bemoaning the mountain of homework Professor Moore had given them this morning. Professor Longbottom silently counted heads, trying to work out how to divide them into equal groups for the lesson.

"Four students to a pot!" Longbottom said loudly over the chatter. "And don't forget the dragon skin gloves!"

Moe, Larry, Rose and Curly huddled over one of the deceptively peaceful-looking Snargaluff stumps and exchanged a tense look.

Larry's stomach squirmed with nerves. What would Longbottom say if he caught them? Would he be angry? Or just sad? Betrayed? Larry couldn't take disappointment on his favourite professor's face.

"Okay," Curly said in a low whisper. "Are we ready to do this?"

Larry, Rose and Moe exchanged an uncertain look over the plant.

"No," Rose said, voicing Larry's thoughts. "I changed my mind; we shouldn't do this. It's a horrible plan."

"It's your plan," Curly reminded her.

"Well, yes, but," Rose floundered, "I don't like it."

Moe glanced at her. "It's a g-good p-p—It's a good plan. It'll work."

Rose bit her lip, eyeing Curly with worry. "I don't know... What if it works too well? I mean... this can go so wrong in so many ways... What if I'm the bait instead? I can scream too."

Moe frowned. "You aren't being bait. We're guys, we can handle it."

"I'm not made of glass," Rose reminded him.

"What Moe means," Larry interjected quickly, "is that we've done reckless stunts like this before." He threw a pointed look at Curly before returning his eyes to her. "You haven't."

"I'll be okay," Curly said reassuringly, squeezing her hand briefly. "I survived a bear... and an Acromantula. How bad can a weed be?"

Larry held in a huff. Those were not the only things Curly had survived, but the spider in particular was a bad example to bring up — Larry still had scars from that encounter. Rose, just like him, did not seem reassured.

"I really don't like this," she echoed.

"We don't have a choice," Curly said. "Larry is the one that knows what to look for, and Moe is the one that can bypass Longbottom's spells. That leaves you and me to be distractions, and we all agree that we're not feeding you to a plant."

"Oh, but we agree to feed you to it?" Rose returned coldly.

"Curly will be fine. That poor plant's probably never had anything as annoying as him in its mouth; it'll spit him out in seconds," Larry said drily, making Moe snort. Curly huffed a laugh and halfheartedly punched him in the shoulder.

Rose ignored them. "We're not actually going to let it get that far, are we?" she said imploringly.

"It needs to be c-c-convincing," Moe said. When he saw Rose pale, he added quickly, "It's really not that dangerous. It m-m—It might bite him a few times, but Longbottom won't let it eat him. He's a war hero, r-remember?"

Rose sighed. Her eyes travelled to the Herbology professor and the tension in her shoulders seemed to relax a little. "Okay," she said, looking between Larry and Moe. "Be careful."

The boys nodded, and Curly rolled up his sleeves. "It's go time," he said. With a silent summoning spell, a giant Venus Flower vine jumped into his hand. He coiled it tightly around his waist and gave it a sharp pull.

The result was instantaneous. Curly yelled at the top of his lungs as the plant jerked him up, waving him about the Greenhouse. A few girls shrieked and panic spread through the clusters of students, who either ran for cover or tried to send spells at the towering green plant.

"Keep calm!" Professor Longbottom shouted over the racket. He tried a few spells, which Rose deftly managed to reflect. A confused expression dawned on his face, but he didn't have time to ponder the sudden ineffectiveness of his magic — a few students had tried to inch closer in an attempt to help their classmate, getting a few vines to the face for their trouble.

Curly continued to scream as loud as a fog horn, and Rose fussed and gasped in horror, effectively drawing the attention of the crowd well away from Moe and Larry. The two friends exchanged a determined nod and carefully made their way along the wall, ducking behind the desks and various pots, eyes glued to the back of the Herbology Professor.

"No, Rose, don't!" Longbottom shouted as Rose, in a stroke of genius, 'accidentally' enlarged the vines.

A spark of concern flared inside Larry as he watched the plant tighten its hold on Curly, whose screams died down, his face turning red. Rose's fussing started to sound more and more genuine. Meanwhile, Moe was fiddling with the door of Longbottom's office using some sort of weirdly shaped metal bit sticking out of his wristwatch. After a few more seconds, Larry heard a satisfied grunt, and the door lock clicked.

"You're a genius!" Larry whispered excitedly. A part of him didn't actually believe they would get this far. Or maybe he'd hoped they wouldn't.

"Told you," Moe muttered, grinning. "They never think to secure the doors against Muggle lockpicks."

The two of them threw one last glance at the chaos on the other end of the classroom and slipped inside the office. Once the door clicked shut, the outside noise became somewhat muffled, making it easier to think.

"Okay," Moe said, looking around cautiously. "Where do we start?"

"The desk," Larry said immediately, reaching it in two wide strides. "I saw him put it in one of the drawers..." His hand froze in mid-air.

"What is it?" Moe whispered, throwing a worried look at the door. The commotion on the other side grew louder.

Larry frowned. "Magic." He let his hand fall back to his side. "I can practically feel it. Longbottom's put so many enchantments on this thing the air is thick as gravy."

"So? You said you saw him do the spells, that you could—"

"He's added more."

Moe's dark expression matched his friend's. "So wh-what now? Should I try...?"

Larry shook his head. "I don't think it'll work." To test his theory, he tried to put a hand on the handle. His palm met resistance a few inches above the shiny metal knob. "We can't even get near it. I'm gonna have to undo these." He took out his wand.

Moe's face grew worried. "B-but won't that take forever?"

"Probably," Larry said shortly, starting with the easiest spell.

Moe moved closer to the tall plants Professor Longbottom had strategically placed along the glass wall to hide his office from view and peered above the leaves. Larry threw a glance in that direction and saw that the Venus Flower was shaking Curly upside down, while some of their classmates were trying to approach the whirlwind of green appendages. Longbottom was shouting and trying to keep everyone at a safe distance, but just as it seemed he might get a handle on the situation, Rose stepped forward to 'help'. Larry tried to concentrate on the spells.

"He's coming!" Moe hissed suddenly and scrambled back, throwing Larry a panicked look.

The Ravenclaw stopped what he was doing and dropped down, finding cover under the desk. Moe tucked himself away in the farthest corner and turned a dial on his watch. Almost immediately the Disillusionment Charm took effect and spread over his body, hiding him from view just as Longbottom burst into the room.

"Okay... Okay..." he muttered under his breath while his trembling hands shuffled the tools atop his work table. "Where are they, where did I put them?!" With a sharp turn, he made toward the desk, wand tracing a wide arch as he approached.

Under the solid wood, Larry tried to fold upon himself, wishing he could disappear. The tails of Longbottom's robes swished around the corner, and he prepared for the worst.

Suddenly, a loud explosion shattered the glass wall separating the office from the rest of the greenhouse. Without a word, Longbottom whipped around and ran back into the classroom.

Larry looked up, worry for his friends creeping up his back. Had something gone wrong? Then he felt invisible fingers wrap around his wrist and pull him up as magic spread over his body like a cold, wet blanket, making him transparent.

"What... What was that?" he said, throwing a glance at what remained of the wall. "Curly and Rose?"

"No," Moe's voice whispered somewhere near his ear, "I broke it; they're fi-fine. It looked like Longbottom brought down the wards, grab what you n-need and let's go!"

Larry's eyes returned to the desk. "Right." He reached out and pulled the drawer open with no resistance. Rummaging quickly through the various papers, his fingers had just found the spotted bit of parchment he was looking for when an ear-piercing scream cut the air.

"Rose!" Moe muttered, almost in panic, and tugged Larry along. The Ravenclaw was barely able to shut the drawer.

The two made their way out of the office and into the crowd of students, where Moe turned back the dial of his wristwatch, making them visible again. The class was watching helplessly as Professor Longbottom struggled with the plant. He had tried to restrain the vines with ropes connected to the tip of his wand and was huffing, red-faced, with the effort of holding it still. Curly was still being tossed around the greenhouse, but the Venus Flower had, somehow, gotten its vines around a second student, and it took Larry a second to recognise the blonde struggling in the air.

"Rose!" Larry's mouth exclaimed before he could stop himself.

"Larry," Longbottom grunted, his voice strained. "My desk, bottom left drawer. The wooden box with rare specimen. Get it!"

Larry sprang back and elbowed his way out of the crowd that had closed behind him. Darting in and out at top speed, he shouted, "It's here!" once he had it in his hands. "What now?"

"Ice blossoms," Longbottom said through gritted teeth. "Throw two in its mouth at my signal."

Larry fumbled with the box. There were four ice blossoms in total; he gathered a bit of sleeve into the palm of his hand and gingerly took two, being careful not to touch them with his bare skin. Even through the fabric they were so cold it burned.

"Get ready!" Longbottom said. One of his hands left the wand and curled around a pair of pruning shears. Without the support, the ropes holding the plant fell away and it broke loose. Vines whipped every which way, making the class shriek. Longbottom threw the shears, which collided with the base of the big, red blossom. The Venus Flower burped.

"Now!"

Larry was not very quidditch-inclined, but thankfully his target was big. The two delicate flowers landed inside the plant's mouth, and it emitted an odd rumbling sound that shook the glass walls. Almost like... a scream. The whipping vines came to a standstill.

Longbottom aimed a Severing Charm at the vine holding Rose and caught her when she dropped. Moe made his way to Curly, who was hanging upside down, and freed him from the stiff appendage.

"Is everyone okay?" Longbottom called over the class.

There were a few murmurs from the moaning student body. Most of them had gotten away without a scratch, but some were holding a bleeding cheek or a bruised arm. The ice burn on Larry's hand stung painfully when he flexed it. Longbottom turned to Curly, who looked like he was about to throw up, or maybe just faint.

"Alright," the professor said with a sigh. "North, help him to the Hospital Wing, would you?" Moe nodded quickly, wrapping Curly's arm around his neck. "Everyone else who was hit by the Venus Flower, please make your way to the Hospital Wing," he called to the rest. Then he turned to Larry and mussed his hair absentmindedly, adding, "Well done, Larry — twenty points to Ravenclaw. You okay to help me clean up here?"

Guilt wiggled unpleasantly in the young wizard's stomach. Not only had he staged this very accident and directly betrayed Longbottom's trust, but he was being rewarded for it.

Larry exchanged a look with his friends. "Actually, Sir," he said, turning up his palm where angry red blisters were already forming. "I think I need to see Madam Longbottom, too."

"Sure, right," Longbottom said with a sigh. "I'll get hell from Hannah about this. On you go, then," he added. "Make sure to tell her it wasn't my fault."

The injured shuffled out of the greenhouse, and Larry wrapped Curly's other arm around his shoulders, taking off some of the weight. Rose walked beside them, limping slightly, and the four friends lagged behind the rest.

"Did you get it?" Rose whispered to Larry, and he nodded.

"We need," Moe said quietly, adjusting his grip with a grunt, "a safe space."

"Kitchen," Curly said dizzily.

They slowly made their way to the castle and into the Entrance Hall, then took a right towards the Hufflepuff basement.

"Which one was it?" Larry asked as they walked by the row of paintings.

They had all been down there at one point or another, either to try some of Curly's new wacky recipes or simply to look for him if he couldn't be found anywhere else. While Larry preferred to unwind by hiding in the Library with a good book, and Moe did so by cooping up in his Lab and tinkering with inventions, Curly's choice was always the kitchen. He tended to stress-bake.

"Green pear… Should be in a fruit bowl..." Curly said.

Larry threw his friend a side-glance. He was barely walking straight. "You don't look so good."

Curly tried to smile, but it was more of a grimace. "Just a little dizzy. I'm fine."

Rose stopped in front of the fruit bowl painting and tickled the pear. It turned into a knob, and the four friends made their way inside the kitchen, letting Curly slump over one of the long tables. Within seconds, they were surrounded by a crowd of worried House Elves.

"Water," Rose said to the nearest one with the commanding air of a pureblood used to being obeyed. She sat opposite the boys as five silver platters somehow appeared around them, carrying goblets of various sizes. She took one at random and placed it in front of Curly. "Drink it," she said softly. "It should help."

He did as she said, and Moe turned to her. "Are you h-hurt too?"

She shook her head. "Banged my knee against a table when the vines caught me, but it'll heal. Larry, what was that thing on your hand?"

He left his palm up on the table. "Longbottom's Ice blossoms."

Curly grabbed his wrist and brought it closer to his face. Squinting with the effort to focus, he said, "Second degree. I'll fix you right up, hold on..."

He reached for his wand, but Rose stopped him. "I'd rather you didn't," she said. "You're not in a state to be healing other people, and you might end up blasting his hand clear off." Larry pulled his hand away, startled by the mental image. "Rest up; we'll get to the Hospital Wing later. But first..." She turned to Larry. "Did you get it?"

Without a word, he reached into an inside pocket of his robes with his good hand and pulled out the spotted piece of parchment he'd stolen from Longbottom's desk. Guilt twinged inside him again as Moe and Rose leaned over it.

"Hey, can I get an ice pack or something?" Curly said to one of the House Elves while Rose unfolded the mysterious letter.

"Dear Neville," she read aloud, "Thank you very much for the home-made cauldron cakes. The kids ate them all before I could try them, though I'm sure they were delicious. We're all a bit sad that we don't get to see Hannah when we make a trip to London now that she's taken up the matron spot, but we'll still be sure to stop by the Leaky Cauldron and get you some business anyway."

A House Elf in the standard Hogwarts towel came up to Curly and handed him an ice pack, which he pressed to his forehead with a groan.

Larry listened to the contents of the letter, feeling a little underwhelmed. He'd been expecting something more... well, more exciting. "Why would anyone throw grenades around to get to this letter?" he muttered, but Moe shushed him.

"Albus loved the little hopping pot you sent him," Rose continued, "but Lily said it would be perfect for her rainbow flower, since she doesn't have to move it around to catch the light all the time, and they got into an argument over it. I don't have a clue where you got it from, so if you can send a second one and I'll cover the costs; I'd be eternally grateful. Otherwise the next time you come to dinner the house will be a ruin, so you can help yourself to as much of Ginny's pies as you can salvage."

What does any of that have to do with anything? Larry thought in frustration. It felt very invasive to just be reading Professor Longbottom's personal, non-conspiracy-containing post.

Rose's face turned into a frown as she read on. "In regards to the questions in your last letter, I don't have simple answers. The attacks appear random, as far as we can tell, and we still don't know where they're getting their ammunition from or how they're counteracting spells. If Hogwarts really is their next target—and I have every reason to believe it is—they won't stop coming until they find whatever it is they're looking for. Be on your guard, and be ready for absolutely anything — we don't know a thing about these terrorists, other than the fact that they hit magical repositories and that they're not afraid to kill.

"I want to protect Hogwarts, Neville, you know I do, but no one knows all of the castle's secrets, not even me. The map you asked for is in Teddy's possession; he'll keep an eye out for anyone suspicious and watch over the secret passages we do know about. Don't hesitate to go to him if you need help, I have complete confidence in him. If the sightings continue, I can send a few Aurors to patrol the outskirts, maybe even the corridors. I'll write to McGonagall about it right after I send this. Ginny and the kids send their love." Rose looked up. "Harry."

Curly almost fell out of the chair, scrambling to get a hold of the parchment. "Harry, as in HARRY POTTER?!" His eyes scanned the bottom. "Oh. My. God. I HAVE HARRY POTTER'S AUTOGRAPH!"

"We don't know if this Harry is Harry Potter," Rose said sensibly.

"He said he'd 'send Aurors'," Curly countered immediately, drooling over the letter. "Who else but the Head Auror can do that? Plus, everyone knows Longbottom and Harry Potter are old friends. I can't believe this is the real deal! I'm going to frame it and put it over my bed!"

"You will do no such thing," Rose said, snatching the parchment. Curly looked like a kid who had just been denied a trip to Disneyland. "Unless you want to explain how it is you got it."

"Can I just keep the bottom bit?" he asked hopefully.

"Wait, aren't we going to put it back?" Larry chimed in. The others gave him bewildered looks.

"And who will be the b-bait this time?" Moe asked sardonically.

"No one is being bait," Rose said firmly, folding the parchment and stuffing it in the inside pocket of her robes. "We can't return it, Larry, we barely got it out of there. And if we're all done fanboying," she threw a look at Curly, "can we discuss the fact that there are terrorists that can somehow enter the school?"

The three boys exchanged somber looks.

"They haven't blown up anything yet," Moe said slowly.

"They did," Larry corrected him. "The greenhouse."

"Before that, I mean," Moe said. "It said in this letter 'if the sightings continue'. M-multiple sightings, before the greenhouse when they tried to get this."

"And they're looking for something," Curly added thoughtfully. "Something hidden in the school."

"That doesn't exactly narrow it down," Rose pointed out. "A lot of things are hidden in this place, and whatever it is, we can probably count on three things — it being ancient, powerful and dangerous."

"And they're not afraid to kill to get it," Larry said hollowly.

A long silence stretched over the group.

"Okay," Curly said finally. "So we just have to make sure they don't get their hands on 'the thing'. And that they don't end up killing anyone while trying."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Rose said quietly. "We're just four kids."

Curly smiled reassuringly. "So were Harry and his friends when they saved the world. Barely older than us."

"He had a point, though," Larry said. "In the letter. No one knows all of Hogwarts' secrets. Maybe we'll run into them again, but maybe we won't. It's a big castle."

"They're using Muggle tech," Moe mused quietly, and Larry wondered if he was still paying any attention at all to the conversation. "Why are they using Muggle tech?"

Curly shrugged. "No point in worrying about it." He stood up and stretched. "At least now we know what's going on, and if we do run into them—what to expect. Now." He rubbed his hands together. "Who wants muffins?"


-O-

Later that night, with a bandage tightly wound around his palm, Larry sat in front of the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room, trying to finish his Defence Against the Dark Arts essay with little success. This was partly due to the awkward angle he had to hold the quill in, and partly because his gaze kept wandering to the fire, mind going over the letter again and again. Something about it was just… bothering him. What would a bunch of terrorists be looking for in Hogwarts? What was their deal anyway; usually terrorist groups had a purpose, a cause. If the Aurors didn't know anything about them, that meant that they hadn't released any statements. And why were they hitting repositories? Were they common thieves? Surely there would be easier, more lucrative targets than Hogwarts if petty theft was the goal?

A purr disrupted his thoughts as a spot of yellow fur rubbed against his ankle. He reached down absentmindedly and scratched it behind the ears.

"How's your hand?" Rose's voice came from his side as she took a seat beside him.

"Only moderately agonising," he replied with a slight smirk.

"Don't joke about it," Rose said softly, though she was smiling too. "Are you working on the ghoul essay?" she added, picking up her kitten.

He sighed. "Oui. Just need three more inches."

"Do you want some help?"

Larry smiled. "Please."

"Let me see what you've got so far."

She drew the parchment closer and started reading it. Fitz climbed up her arm and onto the table, curiously investigating the objects on top. He made a circle around the candle, walked across the open textbook, then pawed at the ink bottle.

"Oh no, you don't." Larry reached over and took the kitten into his lap. "You little troublemaker." He pet the yellow fur, and Fitz purred again, standing still for once. "What do you think," he piped up suddenly, "they're after?"

"Hm?" Rose looked up from the essay. "Who is?"

"The terrorists."

"Oh." Her face fell. "I don't know."

"Something just doesn't make sense to me," he continued thoughtfully, looking back down at Fitz. "What are they trying to do?"

"Steal magical objects?" Rose ventured uncertainly.

"Yes, but why?" he insisted. "They're not using them. In fact, they apparently prefer grenades and other Muggle tech that's not even from this country. How are they getting their hands on it?"

"Allies? They may have contacts in America," she mused.

"Or... they're American themselves. Peddling the goods, maybe?"

"So they came here to loot the UK in a series of dangerous heists?" Rose raised an eyebrow sceptically. "That's not likely. Not to mention that Americans don't know any of Hogwarts' secrets."

"Maybe they do," Larry argued. "Ilvermorny was modelled after Hogwarts. And," his eyes lit up with an idea, "we have someone in Hogwarts that went to Ilvermorny! Someone who might know how much information they have access to."

"You think we can get something out of Smith," Rose caught on. "Curly won't be happy about this."

"I'm not saying he's guilty," Larry said hastily. "But he is a connection, the only connection we have. It wouldn't hurt to… ask him a few questions."

"About Ilvermorny or about his possible access to American firearms?" Rose asked perceptively. When he didn't reply, she added, "You still think he has something to do with this, don't you."

"Well..." Larry drawled. "It has crossed my mind. He was in the military, the Muggle military, in the US. He might still have… friends on the other side."

"You really believe he might be the supplier? That is insane!"

Larry didn't let this comment deter him. "But it makes sense, doesn't it? Coming here under the guise of teaching, exploring the castle without raising suspicion..."

"Larry, I really don't think Professor Smith is in on this."

"Because Curly doesn't think so?"

"Yes!"

Fitz jumped off Larry's lap, uncomfortable with the heated atmosphere.

Rose looked around cautiously, realising how loud that last word had been. Then she leaned in and continued in a quiet voice, "Curly is a good judge of character. And your theory has very little to go on — I'd like to see more than his nationality in the evidence column before we brand him as a terrorist. Innocent until proven guilty."

Larry kept down the snarky remark that came to mind, instead saying, "He can't be proven either way until we investigate him."

There was an intense silence between them.

"Okay," Rose finally conceded. "Have your little investigation, but do try to be subtle. Also, you've forgotten to mention the chameleon ghouls," she added, handing him his essay. "Add a paragraph about those and you'll be set."

The tension in the air ebbed as he took it back. "I will," Larry said.