I do not own 'Harry Potter' or anything related.

The next morning, it seemed like all everyone could talk about was the events of last night. Everyone seemed to asking who was the mysterious Blood Traitor, and when he (or she) would strike again. Everyone seemed to shun away from Harry and his friends. Given that they were the ones who apparently found Fang, they were perhaps suspected of having something to do with it. It made Harry feel like a leper. Everyone seemed to stay away from Ron the most, probably logically assuming that since his family are infamous blood traitors then the culprit is likely him. It was probably the reason why Ginny looked so miserable.

"Let's go to Hagrid's later today," Harry suggested.

The rest agreed.

That day they walked down to Hagrid's hut.

"YEH CAME!" He roared after answering the door. He hugged all of them. "Yeh shouldn' have done! I'm all righ', yeh shouldn' worry about me!"

He smiled. But he didn't look fine at all. In fact him trying to look fine made him look worse, Harry thought. Throughout the day, Harry noticed Hagrid constantly giving Darren dirty looks. Surely he didn't believe Loki that Darren had something to do with what happened to Fang? There was something Harry wanted to ask Hagrid, but he remembered the promise he made to his mum about not getting involved in any trouble. However Darren asked the question instead.

"Hagrid, who's the Blood Traitor?"

Hagrid stared at Darren. He then looked at the others.

"Is this why yeh came ter see me?" He demanded, "Wantin' ter pump me of any information?"

"No, Hagrid!" Hermione screamed, "That's not true at all!"

"I know yeh lot!" Hagrid continued, "Yeh wantin' ter know everythin' abou' the mystery then try ter track the culpri' down! Jus' find out everythin' from the big fa' brute, no' carin' tha' his pe' jus' died-"

"Hagrid, that's not true at all!" Ron shouted.

Hagrid grunted.

"Anyway," He said rather innocently, "Wha' makes yeh think I know anythin'?"

"It was just what you said after reading the message," Darren explained, "It was as if the name was familiar to you."

Hagrid eyes shifted from side to side.

"Well, even if I did know anythin', which I'm no' sayin' I do!" He added quickly, "I wouldn' tell yeh lot anythin'. Wouldn' wan' yeh ter ge' in to danger because of me!"

"Hagrid, we can't," Harry told him, "I promised my mum that I wouldn't get involved in anything like the Philosopher's Stone again! Darren was just curious!"

Hagrid just stared at them.

"Well, all righ'. Sorry tha' I go' a bi' offensive. I can understand yeh a little curious. All righ', I'll tell yeh."

He now bent down so that he was at face level and whispered, "Jus' promise me tha' yeh won' go lookin' for him."

Everyone nodded, although Harry noticed that each of his friends had a hand in their pocket. Hagrid sniffed again.

"He's an urban legend," Hagrid told them, "Or a' leas' tha's wha' the teachers told us. An explanation given to random events. However, tha' didn' stop the students from thinkin' otherwise.

"It all started in meh fourth year. Students were dyin'. Of course they all seemed like accidents, or illnesses, or students dabbling in magic that they shouldn' have. But yeh see there hadn' been deaths at Hogwarts in over a hundred years, and now for students to suddenly be droppin' dead and so frequently and the fac' tha' all the deaths were Slytherins, well, I' go' people thinking, yeh see. Students were startin' ter think tha' these were no' random deaths, bu' tha' they were made to look unsuspicious, by someone who wanted all the Slytherins gone. The Slytherins had loads of names for him, or her. Some called him the 'Blood Traitor', others the 'Mudblood'. 'The Gryffindor' was the most popular, cos they thought that it was likely tha' i' was someone from our house who was killin' them off. Whatever the case they were all convinced tha' i' was someone against Slytherin.

"Then towards the end of meh fourth year, the deaths suddenly stopped. People at firs' though' tha' the Traitor had done a runner, or maybe tha' there really weren' anyone behind them after all."

Harry thought about what Hagrid had just told them. The Blood Traitor, Mudblood or whoever he or she was sounded like a proto-Eago.

Wait…

"Hagrid," Darren began to ask, "Was my grandfather at school during these murders?"

Hagrid stared at him.

"Yes, and many people did suspect him of being the Blood Traitor. He was infamous for his hatred of Slytherin, even at school, and he often bullied Slytherins. He terrified the whole house. But was he capable of murderin' them? At the time?"

Hagrid shook his head.

"I don' know. Lookin' back, knowin' wha' he did, he probably was. Bu' he was still at school when it was over. Nothin' seemed to be done abou' i'. If he was the Blood Traitor, well, likehood he porabably gave up, although I can' see him doin' tha'."

"And did the Blood Traitor ever attack you?" Ron asked.

Hagrid stared at him.

"No," He finally answered, "only Slytherins died. The rest of the school was safe. Back then I though' he was doin' us a favour. Ashamed of myself thinkin' tha' now."

Hagrid's lip started to shake.

"Bu' why? Why did he attack Fang? Was i' because of me? I hated Slytherin, I hated their whole creed about purebloods and how they were better than everyone else, why would he attack Fang?"

Hagrid buried his face in his hands. The foursome did their best to comfort him. They no longer pursued the subject.

Hours later they left Hagrid's hut. Although they had failed to cheer him up, they had definitely learnt a lot about the Blood Traitor.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Hermione asked.

"Eventually," Darren answered, "Of course I don't think he'll ever fully heal, but it will get better, I'm sure of it."

"You know," Ron said, "If he hadn't killed Hagrid's pet, I would have said that this Blood Traitor is doing us all a favour."

"RON!"

Everyone else had turned around and shouted at Ron. He was overwhelmed.

"I'm just saying," He tried to protest, "that the world is probably better with one less Slytherin."

"So people should just go about murdering Slytherins whenever they feel like it, then?" Hermione demanded.

Ron went pale and speechless. He also looked slightly ashamed. Harry himself could not believe what Ron had just said. True, Harry didn't like Slytherin as much as anyone, even if he was something of a hero within that house for defeating Eago, but he would never justify killing them! That would just make him worse than most of them!

"So do you think it was your grandfather who was the Blood Traitor?" Ron asked Darren.

He nodded.

"I'm sure of it," He answered, "It seems too much of a coincidence that this all happened when he was at school. Also killing people randomly throughout the year and making it look like accidents sounds like the sort of thing he is capable of."

Harry stared at the Forbidden Forest. He thought back to Sammie warning him not to return to Hogwarts. If his parents had allowed him the choice, there was another reason why not coming back to Hogwarts was appealing.

It's the fact that the wizard who tried to kill him twice now was situated right next to the school.

Ever since facing Eago again, Harry had been frequently having more nightmares. This of course had concerned his parents, but no amount of talking with a mensdica (Wizarding Therapist) stopped him from dreaming about Eago trying to kill him. After fleeing Quirrell's body, had he returned to the centaurs who gave him refuge before? His friends now also stared in the direction Harry was looking at.

"Why doesn't Dumbledore do something?" He asked aloud, "We know that Eago is in the Forbidden Forest, why doesn't he capture him or something?"

"I think Dumbledore fears that making any move to capture him would cause Eago to escape," Said Darren, "At least this way we all know exactly where he is."

"I'd prefer him to be anywhere but Hogwarts," Said Harry.

"Look, Harry," Said Hermione, "Dumbledore's not going to let Eago kill you or anything. He was hiding in Quirrell for a whole year and he didn't do anything to you."

"Yeah, you're right, except jinx my broom so that I almost fell off, and it's not like Dumbledore stopped Fang from dying. If Eago really was behind the killing then he could kill me wherever he liked."

This clearly upset his friends more than he anticipated.

"How do you think he did it?" Ron asked, "Possessed someone again? Or sent one of the centaurs?"

"I don't know," Darren said, "But what I can't get my head around is why assume an identity he hasn't used for fifty years? Well, fancy searching for some clues?"

"I can't," Harry instantly said, "I meant what I said back at Hagrid's hut. I promised my mum I wouldn't get involved with this sort of stuff anymore."

Darren looked at him.

"I'm not asking you to go up against the Blood Traitor, Harry. There's no harm in re-looking at the crime scene, is there?"

Harry guessed not. Later they returned to just outside the hall.

"See anything?" Harry asked.

"Nope," Said the others. The writing in blood was still there. Filch had been having problems wiping it off. It definitely smelt of blood.

"My, my, isn't this suspicious?"

Everyone jumped. Loki had appeared behind him. Harry wished he didn't just keep popping out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry," Darren asked "But what's suspicious?"

"Well," Loki shrugged, "Four suspects returning to the scene of the crime of course."

"Forgive me Sir," Said Darren, "But what reason would a criminal have in returning to the scene of the crime?"

Loki considered this.

"In that case," He said, "The only reason you four could have for being here is that you're trying to do some detective work."

He now looked at Harry.

"And I would have thought that some of your parents would have forbidden you from getting involved in anything like the Philosopher's Stone incident from last year."

"We were just passing through," Ron said, "It's a free country, isn't it?"

"Five points from Gryffindor, Mr Weasley," said Loki, "I do not tolerate cheek from my students."

Putting his hands behind his back, he decided to walk way. He turned his head around.

"I shall be keeping an eye on you four," He told them, "And I shall inform certain people's parents of any future detective work."

The others did not seem that concerned with Loki's threat.

"So what do we do now?" Asked Ron.

"Well, why don't we ask the victims?" Darren suggested.

Everyone else looked at him. Darren grinned.

"There's an old muggle saying," He said, "'Dead men tell no tales'. But in the wizarding world, dead men do tell tales, at least if they leave a ghost."

"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed, "Why didn't I think of that before?"

"But even if they did come back as ghosts, will they still likely be here?" Ron pointed out. Darren nodded.

"They're bound to be. Ghosts tend to haunt the places where they died."

"Should we go ask Hagrid where the ghosts are?"

Darrenn shook his head.

"And what, just get him upset again? Nah. Although if anyone's bound to know, it should be the ghosts of Hogwarts. Let's go ask Nearly Headless Nick."

As the three started to look for Nick, they stopped and turned around.

"Harry, aren't you coming?" Ron asked.

Harry had remained where he was.

"I'm sorry guys," He apologised, "But I promised my mum I wouldn't do this sort of thing again, and I don't want to risk Loki catching me."

Ron stared at him as if Harry had admitted something shameful. Hermione looked worried. It was hard to tell what Darren was thinking.

"It's okay, Harry," He said sincerely, "You don't have to get involved. But I want to know, I need to know, who's behind all of this."

The other two nodded. They continued walking away, leaving Harry alone. He watched them get further away, becoming separated from them. He felt so ashamed, like he did something cowardly. Well, he did promise his mum that he wouldn't go looking for trouble again. But why was he keeping his promise? Was he afraid of his mum getting angry, punishing him? No, he wasn't. What was stopping him was the fact that he gave her his word, and it would be wrong to break a promise. But did he really mean the promise? No, he didn't. He stared at his friends, getting further away from him. Well, it wasn't really like they were going after the Blood Traitor, Harry thought. They were only trying to find out more about him. Other students were bound to do the same! Surely there wasn't any harm in satisfying his curiosity, is there? And even if Loki does tell on him, he'll simply say that he didn't think his promise extended to finding out about the trouble as opposed to getting involved.

"Hey guys!" He called, running after them, "Wait up!"

They eventually found Nick haunting the Gryffindor tower. He seemed to guess what they wanted to know before they asked him.

"Let me guess," He asked, "You want to know about the incidents fifty years ago, correct?"

The group looked taken aback.

"How did you know?" Ron asked.

Nick shrugged.

"Everyone's been wanting a first hand account of the so-called 'Blood Traitor' killings."

So-called?

"So, you don't believe that anyone was behind these deaths?" Hermione asked.

"Certainly not," Replied Nick with absolute certainty, "It is a mere conspiracy theory. There was no one responsible for those deaths. People die because they die. Death is by nature random and unexpected."

"But also impartial," Replied Darren, "And don't you think it was odd that all those who died came from Slytherin?"

"Coincidence," Nick scoffed.

"Hagrid seemed to believe there was a serial killer," Harry pointed out.

"Hagrid was young at the time, and the idea that there was this mysterious, cunning murderer killing Slytherins and making it look like accidents was the kind of thing that enthralled young minds. Myself, and other mature people, were more down to earth about the whole matter."

"And what about now? After what happened to Fang?" Harry asked.

"Well clearly that was intentional," Nick admitted, "But I see no reason for it as proof that the Blood Traitor as he was so called by some people ever existed. It is obvious that it was some cruel prank passed off as the deed of a fifty year old serial killer."

Harry, however, was still not convinced, and he could see from the faces of his friends that they weren't either.

"Well anyway," He continued, "Could you please tell us about the incidents?"

Nick groaned.

"Very well," He gave in, "I see there's no way in swerving you away from this fantasy. Very well, although I still think you're wasting your time."

"There were three incidents associated with the Blood Traitor. The first incident was during the start of the new school term. Two students had been found dead in a hallway, opposite each other. It looked as though they had killed each other in a duel using dark magic. A spell later confirmed that they had used terrible magic with their wands, although each claimed that there was no duel, that each one attacked the other unprovoked. They're still arguing about it, in the hallway where they died, over who attacked the other. The deaths were quite shocking. Nobody had died within these walls for over a hundred years. And even though it was strange how each of them claimed that the other attacked them, it did not seem like the actions of another individual.

"Almost a fortnight had passed when another student, also from Slytherin, had died. Theodore Nott, from dragon pox."

"Dragon pox?" All of them exclaimed.

"Oh yes, it was most shocking. Even though his family claimed that he already had dragon pox, the symptoms were clear. Now already two incidents had passed within a fortnight of each other, the first deaths in Hogwarts for over a hundred years, both involving students from Slytherin. People were convinced that there was some terrible curse over the house of Slytherin. Many turned to religion, hoping to be protected from the hands of Death. However, despite this, nobody believed that these were deliberately committed by the hands of a human being.

"Then seven months later, just when everyone seemed to have put the deaths behind them, a third incident occurred, and that's when the Blood Traitor conspiracy theory started. Early morning, during a potions lesson, one of the cauldrons exploded, killing the pair who were working on it. The staff believed that it was a freak accident, that they accidentally put the wrong ingredient in causing a horrific explosion. However, others started to believe that it was no accident, that someone planted something in that cauldron to make it explode. Then people started connecting dots that weren't there with the previous deaths that year, noting that they were all Slytherins, and started believing that these weren't ordinary deaths either, that someone had poisoned poor Nott and made it looked like it was dragon pox, given that he had already had it. They also believed that someone had bewitched Lestrange and Avery into killing each other, taking note their conflicting stories and their claim that each was innocent. People started to believe that someone was out murdering Slytherins, and making it look like accidents or non-suspicious deaths. Some thought the culprit was a blood traitor, others a muggle born, someone opposed to the Slytherin creed. Most believed that it was someone from Gryffindor, Slytherin's greatest rival. The accusations caused a huge riot, Slytherins fighting and accusing Gryffindors of murdering them. It was utter chaos."

Nick shook his head, which almost came off.

"The whole house was terrified. It was like they were living under a storm cloud and that lightning was about to strike anyone and they didn't know when."

Nick coughed.

"Of course there were no more deaths after that, and by the next year everyone had given up on the Blood Traitor conspiracy. They started to realise that what happened in Potions really was an accident, and that even though Nott's infliction was strange there were incidents of people receiving dragon pox twice. Avery and Lestrange may have had conflicting stories about who attacked who, but they were probably trying to hide the fact that they were using dark magic."

There was silence. Despite Nick's assertion that the deaths weren't murders, Harry was still convinced that these were deliberate killings.

"Nicholas," Darren began. Harry noted how he used his full name rather than shortened, "Did all the victims leave ghosts?"

"Certainly," Nick replied, "You actually saw them at my Deathday party. It is such a tragedy that such a tremendous occasion should be tainted with such a horrific event."

Harry could sense Darren's excitement mounting.

"And are they all still here?" He asked.

"Oh yes, ghosts tend to stay close to the places where they died. Of course I never died at Hogwarts, but many ghosts have always been drawn to the school."

"And the victims, what were their names?" Darren asked.

"Well like I said, there were five victims in total whose deaths were associated with the blood traitor. There were Rabastan Lestrange, Avarius Avery, Theodore Nott, Evan Rosier and Michael Mulciber."