A white owl tapped on the window of Professor McGonagall's office. As the witch hurried across the room to open the window, the owl shifted its wings, looking behind it to see if it had been followed.

As Hedwig fluttered inside and lit on the floor, becoming a white-haired Ravenclaw girl, McGonagall waved a scrap of parchment vehemently at the enchanted bird.

"For heaven's sake, Hedwig-"

"Quillienne, if you please. Using the name Harry gave me may raise questions."

"-Fine, Quillienne- You must do something! They cannot be left in the dark for so long! And especially not with little notes and hints. They'll go investigating, you know how they are!"

Quillienne nodded. "I'll tell them soon," she promised. "But perhaps they should find the answers themselves. You ought to teach a class on how to ask intriguing and useful questions. I sent Harry a- a 'little note', as you put it. Really, it was rather unfairly secretive, but do you know what he asked in his reply?"

McGonagall shook her head.

" 'Can you be more specific'. More specific? And that was most likely the vaguest question ever to be asked."

"Quillienne, this is beside the point. Potter already suspects something- what did you tell him in this note?"

Hedwig sighed. " 'Ask her about the owl and the spell. The forest is waiting.' "

"Hmph. Quite mysterious. Why don't you just tell him everything?"

"This has to be seen, not shown," Hedwig sighed. "He won't realize what I'm showing him unless he knows what it is. They'll investigate; you said it yourself. They're sure to find it on their own, and they'll see it. I can guide them towards it, but I can't show it to them."

McGonagall sighed. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"... Nothing is certain. I don't even know if help will be given, at this point. But Harry will need it, given or not. You've heard the whispers?"

"Of course," McGonagall said gravely. "Rumors of You-Know-Who's plans to return."

Hedwig nodded. "I believe if Harry finds it, and convinces the Council to help, You-Know-Who can be stopped in time."

"The Council? You would involve them?"

"They are likely the only ones who will be deciding wether to help or not," Quillienne raised an eyebrow, "So, naturally."

"I just don't know if they'll listen or not."

"Probably not. At least, not unless we do something outrageous."

McGonagall snorted. "Knowing those three, it shouldn't be hard."

"True, true," Quillienne tilted her head to one side. "And they have me."

"You? They know you as an owl. How are you going to reveal yourself, let alone your plans involving the Council?"

"... I'll think of something," Hedwig grimaced, then shifted back into an owl. She launched onto the windowsill, turning back to Professor McGonagall with wide, golden eyes for a moment before taking off into the pale winter sunlight.

Harry continued to frown at the reply to his question. He'd gotten Hermione to try and coax some magically hidden meaning out of it, but to no avail.

He turned the scrap over one more time, then back to the single line of writing:

You're joking, right?

A/N: SORRY! I haven't updated anything in FOREVER, I know... Yes, it's supposed to be mysterious, no, you're not supposed to know where it's going, no, I don't know where it's going either! So saying that, feel free to make suggestions or leave your ideas as a review! Even if you don't have ideas, leave a review, or I'll sic cjsmalley on you! Who will probably be killing me for not updating sooner, but still...