3.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Luna were running through one of the many corridors at Hogwarts, running so fast that most students they passed had to stop and think who it was that actually ran past them. When they came to a crossroad they stopped for a second to catch their breath, Luna coming in last.

"I think we should split up." gasped Harry.

"Ron, Hermione, try talking to the other prefects if they've seen her. Luna, you and I will go to Hufflepuff's basement."

Ron and Hermione darted away with once while Harry and Luna waited a little longer to catch their breath.

"This is getting really exciting." Luna said with an innocent smile on her lips.
"It's like we're detectives. I've always wanted to try out being a detective at least once."

Harry laughed at Luna for being so blunt in this serious situation, somehow it assured him that everything would be fine, that it was probably just some small love-issue. He grabbed her hand and they started jogging towards the basement. They asked every Hufflepuffstudent along the way if they had seen Hannah. The more they asked about her, the more they got Luna's theory confirmed: Hannah was possessed by something. The question now was: what kind of soul was it that had possessed her? Was it a dangerous soul? Could it already be to late? Harry and Luna gave each other a worried look and continued their run towards the Hufflepuffbasement.
_

"Ron, wait up!"

Hermione leaned against the cold stonewall, completely out of breath. Athletics had never really been her thing but since she started to hang out with Harry and Ron she had found herself constantly in running-situations. To bad she hadn't gotten any better at it.

"Hermione, we have to hurry." Ron said and gave out a sigh.
"I know that." Hermione hissed at him. She was getting irritated of his attitude towards her, so superior.

It was rather pathetic and she knew it. It was stupid of her to act this way but then again, Ron always seemed to tick her off.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to push you but something might have happened to Hannah." Ron walked up to Hermione and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, let's get going."

They started jogging down the hall, Ron in the front and Hermione behind him, which was good since she could feel her entire face turn red. She couldn't focus on anything but only stare at Ron's big hand holding hers so gently. She could even feel his bodyheat radiating from his body and hand, and it sent tingles through her arm, down her spine. She laughed at herself for reacting like this; he had held her hand before, but this felt… different, though he didn't seem to notice, inattentive as usual.
Ron looked back at her and stopped for a second.

"Hermione are you all right? You're all red, are you feeling sick?"

And that was the last drop. Hermione pulled her hand away from his and marched forward, ignoring his words. Idiot, didn't understand a thing about girls. Holding hands meant more to girls than most guys thought. But Hermione couldn't really blame him
for not understanding, it was Ron after all. Inattentive as usual… or just plain stupid.
_

Harry and Luna had finally reached the basement and were now in the kitchen. They both felt a little lost since neither of them had ever even seen the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. They started to look everywhere, behind stoves, cartons, boxes, barrels but they couldn't even find a doorknob.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Luna asked and looked around.

"I knew the entrance was hidden, but this is just ridiculous." Harry mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

He felt empty in his head, like there was just a big nothingness. It made him frustrated that he couldn't think of anything, and they were running out of time. Their DA lesson/meeting would start in less than one hour. He gave Luna a defeated look when they suddenly heard a laughter and it hit him.

"The Fat Friar!" Harry burst out and started to run towards the laughter that could only belong to one person, the Hufflepuff house-ghost.

The Fat Friar would surely know where Hannah was, and he could probably confirm if Hannah really was possessed. Luna darted after and they ran side by side until they turned around a corner and spotted the ghost. He was standing with a couple of
Hufflepuff students near some barrels standing stacked on each other.

"Fat Friar, we need your help." Luna said and interrupted their conversation.

The old ghost turned around with a gentle smile on his lips and Harry got the feeling he wasn't the only one who could see through the other. The Fat Friar had the look of someone who could read you as easily as an open book.

"Miss Hannah Abbott isn't here I'm afraid, haven't seen her since lunch. Though I do believe she might be at Hagrid's house,
looking after his garden…"

Harry started to run towards Hagrid's house, he had completely forgotten about asking the Fat Friar about Hannah being possessed. Luna, on the other hand, decided to stay for a while and chat with the ghost.

"It seems people are starting to worry about Hannah." The Fat Friar said.

"Yes, we believe she's been possessed by someone, or something…" Luna explained. The other students nodded wildly, wondering why the thought never had hit them.

"I have noticed this… greenish aura around Hannah lately, it is probably as you say." The Fat Friar confirmed.

"Well,thank you so much for your help. Have a nice day sir."

And so Luna ran after Harry with that dreamy look on her face, barefoot on the cold stonefloor and disappeared into the shadows.

Harry, Hermione and Ron met up outside close to the path to Hagrid's. Ron and Hermione had talked to Ernie Macmillan, a friend to them all, who told them he had seen her outside, digging in the ground, and it looked like she was looking for something. Ernie had tried to talk to her but she had refused to answer, only mumbling something inaudible.

"We have to hurry, we're supposed to meet the others in less than 30 minutes." Hermione said.

"If it comes to it, I think we should drag her to the Room of Requirements just to keep an eye on her." Ron said and the others agreed. They couldn't afford losing her now.

They all started to walk the path down to Hagrid's house. Harry looked up at the dull, grey sky as tiny snowflakes circled down towards the ground. Walking down this path to Hagrid's house made Harry emotional, he missed his friend. Hagrid had never done anything to harm anyone, and if he could Harry would do anything to get his friend back to where he belongs. He missed all their nights together, drinking hot cocoa, talking nonsense just for the sake of it. With Hagrid, Harry, Ron and Hermione all felt more at ease while they battled through the hardship they had to face. He was a light in the darkness. A light in this dull, grey winters evening.

After a while they could see Hagrid's house through the snowstorm and Harry couldn't help but look for the light in the window, the fire that was always burning. Nothing but darkness was there to be seen now.

"Look, there's someone there."

Ron pointed at a girl sitting down on the snow on Hagrid's field where he usually cultured pumpkins. The snow around her was stained red and the closer they got they could see it was indeed little Hannah, digging in the frozen ground with her bare hands.