Disclaimer: Nope

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own Harry Potter yet.

Okay, this is a different kind of disclaimer, and sort of an almost spoiler. After much debate we decided that we could not have the scene of Sir Korman without some of you deciding it was crap and leaving us. So, we'd like to say that he is being a little facetious, to get our heroes to help him.

Chapter Three

Looking around, they gasped. Completely alone, they had single handedly found their way into the Faculty Room. By some wisp of luck no teachers happened to be in there at the moment, and they were puzzled as to who had spoken. Seeing nothing else to do, Rose called out, almost timidly, "Um…? Who's- Who's there?" There was a theatrical sigh that came from their left, and they turned, to once again see no one.

This time it was Henry who spoke. "Are- are you invisible?" Another theatrical sigh was heard from that direction, and finally the mysterious voice spoke again.

"I'm not invisible!" It seemed rather indignant. "I am stuck in a box!" Scorpius, Albus, and Henry all let out audible laughs. "Not like that, you fools! My spirit is stuck in box…ness, and I have no other wish but to pass on. You see, once, long ago, there was a headmaster of Hogwarts who was the most evil of sorts.

"His name was Dexter Fortescue. Back then, Hogwarts had knights for guards, and I was Sir Korman, the greatest and most noble of them all. Now, this headmaster was jealous of me, for all the ladies loved me, and all the males admired me. And everyone hated poor Dexter Fortescue. So, one stormy night, he crept into my innermost room, and poured poison in my ear. I never awoke, but I wanted to let everyone know just who had deprived them of their hero.

"When he found out I had decided not to pass on, Dexter was desperate. So he cast a spell that would cause me to be locked into this awful box until only the bravest and most pure of heart came," at this point he was interrupted.

It was by Scorpius, who had other ideas about just how pure of heart they were, "Sir? I think that we might not be the ones you want to talk to. We aren't exactly the most pure of heart."

"Scorp, maybe you aren't." Albus joked, and then turned to the direction of the ghostly voice, "Korman, go on." He said, clearly flattered.

"For the record, only the most pure of heart can hear my voice, so you must be-" this time it was a very skeptical Rose and Henry who interrupted him with cries of

"I don't believe a word of this!" and

"How do we know we can trust you?"

Sir Korman's voice became rather meek. "Why, don't you trust poor knights in need of assistance? You'd be doing me much good." Henry looked annoyed.

"Lies! What kind of idiots do you think we are?" Sir Korman had an answer.

"What kinds are there?" Albus laughed.

"You fell for the oldest tick there is, Henry." Sir Korman cleared his, well he would have cleared his throat if he actually had one.

They turned back to speak with Sir Korman. "As I was saying. The only way to free a poor, innocent soul, is to brew a potion that takes about a fortnight to concoct. Stultum-libare potion. You can definitely find how to make it in the Restricted Section of the library. Now go, for some awful teacher comes in right about now and chats with no one."

Rose and Henry still were not convinced, and as they left they argued in hushed whispers. "It simply isn't probable. It's almost impossible magic to seal a ghost, and to free one must be much more difficult!"

"So? It's worth a try to save someone," Albus said gallantly, still very much flattered by the former knight's compliments.

Henry laughed. "Don't you know the first rule of gaming?" They looked him, all with a one word question.

"Gaming?" Henry was surprised that wizard children had not picked this up.

"It's… videogames, on the television," they nodded, understanding somewhat, "See, you never free voices that say they're trapped in boxes, or anywhere else for that matter, or else you get giant black worms rushing into you. And then you get possessed and-" Albus let out a cry of shock as they climbed through the portrait.

"You've been possessed?!" The others' white faces made it clear that they had no better comprehension than they had before.

Laughing, Henry said, "No. I'll explain later. Anyway, it isn't such a good idea to listen to disembodied voices."

"That's right!" said Rose, making Henry blush. "Grampa Weasley always says 'Never trust anything with a mind of its own if you can't see where it keeps its brain.'" Albus was in doubt.

"So you mean to tell me this could be some terribly dark wizard who is using us to free himself and release untold horrors among the world?" Albus asked with a twinge of sarcasm.

Rose nodded, and said it was completely possible. Finally they reached an agreement. Rose and Henry would find as much evidence as possible against the theory, and Albus and Scorpius were supposed to learn of a Sir Korman who had guarded the school. They were about to depart into their respective dorms, when a certain two relations sauntered down the steps, half asleep.

"Ah! Good brother, did you get it?" Albus was not so pleased to see James, and couldn't help but bicker.

Narrowing his eyes, he said, "I notice it's good brother when you want something." This time it was Fred who needled into Albus's mind.

"Now, now, Alison don't act like such a hurt schoolgirl with her panties in a twist, because I have checked, and your panties are not in a twist." Albus stared at him blankly, and James did look a little embarrassed as Fred realized what he had said. "That, um, that came out wrong."

James nodded. "Now about the map, did you get it?" Albus and his cohorts had completely forgotten about the map they had agreed to find. As James folded it and slipped it into his pajama pocket he asked, "So, out of curiosity, could you get it to work?" They shook their heads.

"Except if it was supposed to insult you." The older boys laughed.

"If only they knew all that can be seen on this little," he bopped Albus on the head, "piece of paper. How much they could do." After they had the invisibility cloak stuffed away as well, James and Fred ambled happily up the stairs.

"Albus," said Rose, in a small voice, "I think they're going to be serial killers one day." Shrugging he said that it wouldn't surprise him in the least. Of course, they were joking, but even so, it was an unnerving thought.

That night, Albus had a dream.

"Hello, again, Severus." Albus, dressed in Gryffindor robes, addressed his alter ego, and seemingly twin.

"Ah. I see we have occasion to meet again," they nodded at each other, and went to shake hands, but decided against it at the same moment. Severus was the first to take his seat on nothing.

"So, how do you feel about the- predicament- our little friend has gotten himself into?" This was Albus, who wanted to feel out the water before stating his rash opinions. This of course did not mean he wasn't going to let them be known regardless of his companion's response.

"I think it's a brilliant idea. I mean, wandering around school at night, breaking into Slughorn's private potion cabinet- it'll be fun." Albus rolled his eyes as this response was spoken by his counterpart.

"Well, I do agree that we should- only, perhaps this isn't the wisest idea. I mean, we can't know if he's telling the truth and I'm not to keen to break half of the rules in the book-"

Severus scoffed, "But that's where all the fun lies!"

And so Albus dreamed on, as confused as ever.

….

Scorpius was on edge during breakfast, constantly checking the windows, seeing if the post was about to arrive. He was jabbering incoherently, but every now and again Albus would catch such a phrase as "Do you think they know yet?" or "How long do you think it takes to get mail from Greenland?" This seemed to agitate Rose more and more, so Albus was unsurprised when his cousin slammed down her fork and looked Scorpius dead in the eye.

"Scorp. Look. I seriously doubt they know yet. Now, stop talking about it, before Pucey hears!" Scorpius shut his mouth at her comment, but still sent distraught glances about the table, and every now and again towards where the post was sure to come.

Finally, the customary swarm of owls descended upon the Great Hall by storm. Albus had received a letter from his parents, which he quickly slipped into his bag before his brother could notice it. Peeking over his jug of pumpkin juice, he noticed that James had received a letter from their parental units as well.

Scorpius heaved a heavy sigh of relief as nothing fell in front of him, in a melancholy voice he mumbled, "I'll live another day, I suppose." He sipped his daily morning hot chocolate with a glum expression on his face.

Albus pitied his new friend. It seemed wherever they went another misfortune would befall the Malfoy. Pucey gave him a detention, although they weren't a hundred percent sure why, he accidentally sent something flying into the extremely ancient Professor Flitwick's new hat during charms, and managed to cause seven explosions in just one class of potions. Things were going very well today.

In any case, one good thing did happen that day. They had their free period, and spent the time in the library much to the chagrin of Scorpius. It was there, however, that he was awarded ten points for being diligent in his studies by Bones. Most likely, though, the teacher only felt bad for the poor thing. After all, he had transfigured half his books during the teacher in question's class.

Albus, on the other hand, was having a rather good day. Sure, he did feel for his friend, but really, all the mistakes happening around him only made him looked better in comparison. After tallying, he discovered he had gained a total of twenty three points and even had a potion's essay shortened by two inches for good conduct.

Now, Albus and Scorpius were supposed to be finding information that would prove they should free the voice from the previous night. As such, they turned to the once source the never thought they would look into: Hogwarts, A History. The more they searched, the more despaired they became. Eventually they found exactly what they were looking for.

There, depicted even with a detailed illustration, was a picture of one Sir James Edmund Korman. The knight didn't seem to match the shrill voice they had heard in the night, but then again, Scorpius said that his uncle in Greenland, who was very frightening, had a soft, gentle voice. The man in the drawing had large eyes, with a serious twinkle, and a cleft chin that was barely visible below a dark goatee. He had some hair, but most of it had fallen away. He looked exactly as you would expect a knight to.

Proudly, they went over to the table where Rose and Henry were skimming through large volumes that Albus and Scorpius would never dream of even opening, and plopped their findings down on the table.

"I believe you have been defeated," Albus said in a mock formal voice, most similar to the one his brother had used on the train to address Fred. Rose only laughed, and told them to read the caption, and do it carefully, for that matter. The two read, but saw nothing wrong with what was printed on the page.

Sir James Edmund Korman taught transfiguration in 1549 through 1601. He had been knighted by Queen Elizabeth I, but his records in Muggle History have since been erased because of some speculation as to whether or not he was behind some "unexplainable events."

"So?" asked Albus, not noticing the contradicting fact between what was on the page and what their Sir Korman of the night before had told them. "He was a teacher."

Rolling her eyes, Rose spoke in an irritated fashion, "The supposed Sir Korman who is stuck in a box was a guard of Hogwarts, whereas this man simply taught a class." Albus frowned.

"Well, perhaps he thought of himself as a guard and a teacher. In any case, Sir Korman really did exist, and at the same time as Dexter Fortescue!"

Frowning, Rose surrendered. "Fine," she said, her voice bearing a condescending tone, "Now, what was the name of the potion he wanted us to make?"

His first time speaking in this conversation, Henry responded almost instantaneously. "Stultum-libare. I'll ask Slughorn about it."

"Yeah. Like teachers would actually give away that kind of information to students," Rose interjected. The others were skeptical but Henry wore a confident smile, one they had only seen before in potions class.

Quickly checking his book to make sure that he was correct, Henry shrugged, "I think I read something about it in this book. Here we go. 'When mixed with Angelica, Camphor can give of a terrible stench among other distasteful qualities, and is therefore seldom used together in concoctions. However, they do have a powerful magic if prepared and mixed correctly, causing them to be used in a few obscure potions, such as Stultum-libare.'" He looked at them expectantly. They looked at him with blank stares.

"So if these two herbs are mixed they have a strong reaction, right?" Henry received comprehending nods. "So if I ask Slughorn for a book with the recipe for that potion, I can tell him I just want to read more about the reaction."

Rose raised her eyebrows, "Why'd he think you'd want to know that?" At this Scorpius started laughing.

"He actually could tell Slughorn why one of my explosions occurred because of the smell of the blueish sparks. Face it, Rose. He's a potion's nerd." Albus seconded that, and so they decided on the plan. They'd just have to wait until tomorrow for potions to roll around.

On Wednesdays they had a rotating block instead of their free period due to Astronomy, and the poor group was woeful to learn that today they were cursed with double Defense Against the Dark Arts. The class seemed to last forever, even though they were really not required to do something, except read a few pages out of their textbook, and take quick notes. Scorpius somehow managed to fail at this by blotting his ink so much that Professor Pucey took his quill away, for she feared the state of her desk. He had to write with her 'special utensil' which was actually a No. 2 pencil. Everyone, even his friends, found this quite funny.

Albus, Henry, and Rose resisted the urge to laugh somewhat successfully. Veronica was not so successful at this. In fact, one would think that she wasn't even trying to be polite. The only person in the class who seemed not to notice was Cyrus. Albus couldn't help but see the book strategically positioned in his classmate's lap.

After what felt like hours, mostly because it had been hours, the dreadful class came to a close, much to the relief of the group. When they received their instructions for the day, Henry asked Rose to fill his cauldron quarter of the way with an oily substance. She was nonplussed, so Scorpius offered to do the job. Fearing the worst, Henry declined and decided to do it himself.

While it was simmering for ten minutes, ("But it only is supposed to for four!") Henry went up to talk to their professor. When he returned to his desk they said nothing, to make the event seem more casual.

Class passed, and eventually ended with five points to Gryffindor because of Henry's new potion. As soon as they had turned the corner, the three in suspense surrounded their friend with whispers of "Did you get it?" , "How'd it go?" and "What did he say?"

Albus gave a cheer when he saw the little slip of paper held triumphantly in Henry's hand. They went to their next class, an air of cheerfulness around them.

Scorpius was so distracted from the missing watch that he did not make a single fumble for two periods. After Albus pointed this out, Scorpius promptly dropped all his books in a very crowded hallway.

It was two weeks later and the members of the quadumverate were all sitting around a sleek, but disgustingly brown colored potion. The location was so brilliant, which was surprising, because the anxiety ridden Scorpius had thought of it.

It was under Scorpius' bed. It didn't bubble, and Rose used a minor spell that her mother had taught her to rid things of foul odors. Brilliantly simple, they now took the cauldron and put its contents into a round tin, which had once held chocolates. The full moon was rising, and quietly as possible they made three punctures at the top of the box, and then set it on the window sill. If asked, they were to say that it was a present from Fred and James, and they had not intention of opening it for obvious reasons.

After a while, Rose left, and all were asleep. However, in the wee hours of the morning they heard a first, loud popping noise. The three companions knew immediately what had made the noise, and to their despair so did their roommates, "Mate, what on the face of the Earth is in the- the," so tired he was at a loss for words Jeffery Medici only finished his sentence with "thing."

"Oh. It's a 'present' from my brother," said Albus shakily, "He said it will explode all over our stuff if we touched it."

"Why'd he tell you that?" asked Jeff, now more awake and therefore more skeptical.

Thinking quickly, Albus had another answer. "Well. He… He's my brother. I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

Something of a morning ritual was bound to occur the next day. Scorpius would ask, impatiently, "Is today the day?"

And Henry would ever respond, "No. Not today."

Albus, prepared himself for both of his friends' agitation, but surprisingly when asked Henry only smiled. "Nope. But tomorrow is."

The day was a blur. Becoming so used to Scorpius' klutzy behavior due to worried nature about his missing heirloom Albus only notice when the blond boy's daily hot chocolate was spilled all over the freshly washed robes of a fourth year girl. Scorpius must have had a very sore face, for Albus couldn't help but see that it only seemed to get redder as each period passed.

At lunch Scorpius sighed. "Let's go to bed," nearly collapsing into his pie. When asked why, he responded simply. "I'm so tired of all the crap I've had to go through. My pillow is going to permanently stink. Why couldn't we have done this under Henry's bed?"

"Well. I need my cauldron. You know, I actually bring it to potions." Henry smiled at Scorpius' despair.

Scorpius scoffed. "I would if I didn't have a bleeding smelly potion in it." Shrugging the other boy told him that it would only melt if he brought it anyway. Albus was so entertained he let out a small laugh.

Promptly, he was hit on the back of the head by Scorpius.

It was the next morning. Just for good measure, Scorpius initiated the morning ritual one last time.

"So Dursley, is today the day?"

It was with an almost off hand sigh that Henry gave his one word reply, "Yeah."

To Albus, any events that followed were something of a blur. His mind was far too focused on the upcoming deeds to be bothered with such things as Ulrick the Evil's fifth victim or how to defend one's self against rampaging krupps (though if he had paid attention, it would have been clear that Pucey had not prepared a lesson plan for the day).

Soon it was after dinner and shortly before curfew, when Albus stopped short in the corridor on their way to the common room, and murmured, with a twinge of horror, "We… we don't have the cloak."

"Oh well," said Rose, surprisingly bold, "We'll have to make due without it then."

Scorpius questioned, "Couldn't we just ask Fred and James for it?"

To this, Rose rolled her eyes, "We practically had to grovel for it last time. I want this over with; let's not waste time on those two."

So it was that they were all standing around in the common room, long after everyone else was in bed. Holding the potion up triumphantly, Henry let out a half shout of, "Behold, for I have become a true potions master!"

The other three gave him odd looks, and Scorpius said, "Dursley, don't get ahead of yourself."

"Sorry, I just…"

Albus nodded in agreement with Scorpius, "You only made potion Henry, you're hardly a master yet."

"But I…"

Even Rose felt the need to burst Henry's bubble, "The book even said that it wasn't that advanced a potion."

"Oh… well… sorry about that," Henry carefully held the tin secure with both hands as Albus opened the portrait-hole in front of him and followed as he left.

The journey to the teacher's lounge was surprisingly uneventful, save for a few detours made to avoid the voices of the staff.

Soon, however, they arrived in the lounge, as made evident by Sir Korman's shrill cry of, "You have returned for Sir Korman!"

Afraid of who might hear, Albus said, "Yes, but keep your voice down, sir. Now… which box are you in exactly?"

The bound knight let out a dramatic sigh, "Towards that table with the three candles. Now, do you see right in the middle of the table? That's Sir Korman."

Albus looked in the direction the voice requested, "… you're in that little box?"

"Yes, it is quite small, isn't it… but it does seem much bigger on the inside!"

Indeed, the box was quite tiny, but on closer inspection, one would notice the intricate carvings of a girl holding a box of her own, from which flew (as Albus would later describe them), 'beastly little insects.' On its side, the box bore writing in a language Albus did not understand, or even recognize.

Shrugging, he motioned to Henry to set the potion on the floor. Now the four of them were kneeling on the floor, and Henry opened the tin.

The once disgusting brown of the potion now had become a somehow more grotesque green. As Albus and Scorpius lifted the box to place it within the potion, Sir Korman let out some last minute reminders, "Now, make sure the box is touching the bottom of the cauldron at all times. And you'll want as much strength on this box as you can muster."

The four of them pushed down on the box, at first wondering why they had been directed to do so, but as the potion began to shine, the box seemed to struggle against their grip, trying to shoot itself straight up out of the cauldron. They found their arms sliding about the tin's area, as the box tried all possible route of escape.

Suddenly, the shining abruptly stopped, and a sound not unlike that of a key unlocking a door was heard. It was then that the box stopped all motion, and the group toppled forward from the weight they'd been putting on it, all bumping heads with each other's.

After they regained their positions, they wondered why nothing was happening. Three minutes of waiting later, Sir Korman spoke, "Sir Korman hates to be a bother… but you do plan on actually opening the box, correct?"

Albus took the job, gently lifting the lid from the box, its age old hinges creaking ear splittingly. Before he even opened it fully, a swishing of fabric flew from it, and before the group could even comprehend what was happening, Sir Korman was screaming, "Now close it! Close it quickly before that devil gets out!"

But the group was too transfixed by the grayish hand with curling fingernails, reaching one finger at a time to grip the outside of the box, until finally there was a trio of sounds, a shriek from Sir Korman, a slam from the lid closing, and a hiss from the box burning the specter's hands.

The quadumverate stared in a mix of horror and utter shock at the spectacle before them. Sir Korman did not look as he did in the picture. His head was completely bald, with a hooked nose that looked familiar, but Albus couldn't place it. What was more shocking was that he paid no heed to his burned hands, though he did mutter 'ouch' again and again as he dusted off his… dress.

It was Rose who first reacted to the ghost's garb, "You're wearing a dress."

"Well, by all means, Sir Korman would hope so. Would you prefer him nude?" As Sir Korman spoke, he gestured wildly at his corset.

Scorpius was the next to respond to the crossdressing specter, "I didn't know knights wore dresses."

Rambling a bit, Sir Korman said, "Oh, Sir Korman always wears dresses… why wouldn't he? He means, he only wears them when he is alone… with his friends."

Albus sighed, "You're not even a ghost, are you?"

"Well…" Sir Korman stressed out the 'e' as long as possible, "Sir Korman supposes not. But does it matter if Sir Korman is a ghost if your goal is to save Sir Kor-"

"You're not even Sir Korman, are you?" Rose interrupted.

"…No… no, I'm not," At this, the… whatever he was, ascended up through the ceiling, coming back down only to say, "But I do know Sir Korman, if that counts for anything."

A/N:

The Other One: This was possibly the most boring chapter to write. Except the end. The end was fun.