The obvious answer was to call him. At dinner, I got a few weird glances from the others, but it didn't matter much. I'm sure I was asked if I was sick, but I was too busy trying to get John's attention. I was nearly certain he knew Morse code, so if I could blink a message- time for the call- at him, he wouldn't be stuck with the others. But he was staring at Mary most of the time. Only near the end did I get his attention.

Instead of blinking, I just waited for the rush of kids and went to talk to him in person. "Listen, I'm going to call you tonight at nine. Wear headphones. There's been a development on the Moriarty situation."

John blinked a moment. He hadn't remembered. I rolled my eyes. "Remember when I got kidnapped at the beginning of the year?"

His eyes lit up with recognition. "How did I manage to forget that?"

"You're simply too interested in Mary. Now, I need to go."

"Wait!" He ran up to me. "We have Astronomy tonight. You can tell me then." He must've seen my grimace.

"Do you not like Astronomy?"

"No! It's useless! Who cares what's up there! There is no proof that it has any use for future-telling, so what does it matter?"

John looked at me. "You can use magic, and you're telling me this is too much magic for you?"

I stared right back. "It's idiotic. But I'll go, if only to fill you in on what happened.

"Hey, what did happen today? You weren't in most of your classes."

"Research. That's part of what I was going to tell you about."

I'm sure he said something, but I was already on my way to the common room. My brain was going a hundred miles per hour, working on phrasings. No useful clues, but maybe people who didn't have last names in the roster?

I wasn't sure. And without that, I wouldn't know them. Maybe John would. But I'd seen all the names on there…

When I got to Astronomy, Molly was waiting for me. "Sherlock! I wanted to introduce you to my boyfriend. I know you've met him before. But anyway, Jim, say hi!"

"Hi." Jim was a lot shyer this time around. He'd seemed pretty headstrong. Maybe I was just not paying attention the first time. But it didn't really matter. He was very gay. He was wearing Muggle clothing, unusual for a pureblood, but his pants hung low enough to show he was a gay twink.

That was one of the more interesting things within the Muggle world. Their fashion could often tell you far more than their face or speech. Wizards just went "pretty" and bought on impulse. There was consideration of price, of course, but there was no "this piece of clothing will signify to those in on it that I am a lesbian because it's flannel, as long as I don't wear it with cowboy boots, at least cowboy boots that aren't white".

Jim and Molly left me alone to go listen to Professor Sinistra, so I grabbed John and brought him to the back of the crowd. The Hufflepuffs usually minded their own business, so I did my best to only speak within their earshot.

"Do you remember when I told you about the last coherent word Egan said to me?"

"... sort of? Wasn't it like Noriartis or something?"

"Moriarty."

"Whatever." Everyone was tired during Astronomy usually, so John's slightly snappy mood wasn't unsurprising.

"He's nowhere. There are a few names, but they're entirely unrelated. The person doesn't exist."

"So maybe it's a thing."

I blinked in surprise. It could be! But that was who Egan was working for… Maybe a group of people? All called Moriarty? Or a temple? John was pretty smart when tired. I told him so. He must've thought I was insulting him while fully awake but didn't act on it. Instead, he asked, "Why me though? You can figure this out on your own, can't you?"

What? "You saved my life! We make a great team. I need a partner, anyways. Don't you want to figure this out?"

John thought it over. In the weak moonlight, I could barely see his face, but it straightened out as he reached a conclusion.

"Sure." It was said with an air of tiredness, but I made a mental note of that victory. The one person who liked me for who I was and not just the fact I was there and lonely was now my partner in deduction! Yes!

I was starting to see what Mycroft had meant. I was also starting to doubt I was fully ace… Oh god, John was beautiful. But I wasn't usually attracted to people. Ever. This was a new experience. But he was dating Mary. And I could put aside my emotions forever if I needed to. It was likely just a short infatuation from a growing body.

But that wasn't important. What was was that now I had someone to fall back on. A source of information. Someone secure.

When the class was over, I pulled him aside for a moment. "Go to the library. Please. Go by the student records cabinet. I need to show you something."

And before he could respond, I ducked down and into the small crowd. I'd show him the passage and the little room. That was, he could see my thought process more spread out and understand it. It would all make sense that way.

I should've given him a time. It was approaching 2 AM and he wasn't there. Was he not going to show up? Great. Maybe he'd just been tired. But Astronomy was over 5 hours ago. Not nearly as late. I expected him to show up around 10… odd. Well, there was no use waiting here. Well, I could. There was no point in not. In the meantime, I could write out that potions essay. It wasn't difficult, just time-consuming. I Lumosed my wand and began writing.

3 came and went and was followed by 4. Still no John. Several sightings of Mrs. Norris, but no people.

Around 6 I gave up and snuck back into my common room, past Joseph. He wasn't a good Auror. I wasn't entirely sure how he got his job, being tired and unable to even fight off a student, albeit a mad one. I was reasonably sure I could beat Rose if I put my mind to it, but she was very strong.

I crawled into bed, then got right out and got changed. It was nearly 7, the passage longer than it seemed and sneaking up 7 floors more difficult than I planned. I wasn't sure how Joseph had managed not to notice the passage yet, but I wasn't planning on looking this gift horse in the mouth. It was pretty useful.

Joseph was easy to deduce. He was rich and pampered. He loved his lifestyle. He wasn't happy about being sent to babysit. He would rather be back at the office with his girlfriend who he was hiding from his wife. He had two kids and a dog, if the hair on his robe was a dog. It was the right length, and he smelled like he had a dog on him, but it could've been a cat. My nose wasn't the most well trained for this type of situation.

Eventually, everyone got up and headed down to the great hall. Somehow, despite all the attendants, Terezi had made her way over to the Ravenclaw table. She spoke in a rather annoying voice, but I paid attention to what she said.

"She took the case. Rights have been violated. Hopefully, we can get past on ex-post facto law. She wants some witnesses. I figured you guys would be the best. The trial takes place over the next summer. Until then, they're stuck in jail. If you want to be a witness and have a good enough recall of the events, we'll use your memory. I'll need a letter to get you connected to her. Her name is Neophyte Redglare Pyrope. Send an owl." She turned towards Ashley and Ashmin. "She can also send them a care package, and maybe get in that mirror I know you have. They're kept together, not old enough to need to be separated. It's actually a pretty nice place they're in. I went to visit over the weekend. They say hi by the way. And 'fuck Pardo and the entire goddamn Ministry one of us is going to kill the other in here and be arrested for murder and also the other is the only one keeping me sane' so that's something. Anyways, I gotta go before I get caught." She sniggered as she walked away.

That made a lot of sense. But wasn't ex-post facto American? Whatever. They probably insisted on staying together- in love or not, they could keep up with the other. I could keep up with them too, but they'd always had a closer bond.

I didn't want to send a care package, but the others probably did. I picked at my food for a little longer before deciding to go to class today. Maybe something would reveal itself.

My first class today was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Since the Taking, our schedules had been messed around a little so the Ravenclaws weren't with each other as much, especially with Lupin.

Lupin was a known sympathizer and if he had all the rebellious students, it would be easier to plan- well, a rebellion. God, we sounded like we were planning a terrorist attack instead of a protest.

But still, I did have to go to class. I headed out to the hallway, getting concealed by the crowd of students. Slowly but surely, I made my way to the room. Instead of our normal attendant whose name I'd never bothered to learn, the lady who arrested the Taken was there. I made a mental note to add her to the official list of Them as soon as I got back to the common room. Some 6th year had found a way to leave it on the bulletin board but hide it from Joseph so we had an ongoing list. If anyone needed to be added, they would be, and if a reason why was needed, you could go ahead and add it. It wasn't super policed, but everyone was pretty reasonable about keeping it accurate.

Meanwhile, Lupin was talking to her. I couldn't make out what either of them were saying, but Lupin was unhappy and the frog-lady was smiling. Lupin walked out of the classroom, nearly in tears. I didn't go after him, but I did think about it. He was my favorite teacher. I could see a few others debate it as well, but before anyone could, frog-lady closed the door.

"There have been some new werewolf regulations put into place and your professor is no longer allowed to teach you. He may stay to assist, but he will not be allowed to place you into harm's way. I am Professor Umbridge. I will be teaching you. Please put your wands away."

No. This meant she was making Defense Against the Dark Arts the same as what Charms was- a magic-free zone for the kids.

"We will only be studying theory the remainder of the school year in this class. It hasn't been proven yet, but I'm sure that this year, we will prove that simply thinking and reading over the notes will show OWL results just as high as the more dangerous hands-on teaching style. Now, some of you may not have copies of this book, so you will have to read with a partner, but you are expected to procure the book "A Study of Magical Defenses in Thought: Volume 4" by S. N. Mahalia within the next several weeks."

That was the same author as the Charms book. Did they just have one person write these? The writing wasn't even good for a textbook! But I did make another note to order it. Mycroft likely already had, having found out earlier as Head Boy.

The class was terribly dull. We just sat there, reading in silence, until the bell sounded for next class.

Now, I had History of Magic. It was unlikely Binns would get low marks. All he did was drone on, and it was history anyways. But he still had an observer in with him, rating him and looking extremely bored. The woman's eyelids drooped, and she didn't bother telling students to stop talking, but every once in a while she would make a mark on her clipboard, probably to look like she was working. Binns was probably staying.

There was yet another attendant in McGonagall's class. They, too, were talking. That observer was in for a treat if I knew McGonagall well.

I went through teachers in my head. Trelawney was gone for sure. Probably not Sprout or Sinistra. Vector and Bathsheba had been teaching for years and were unlikely to leave, but not as unlikely as Sprout. Hagrid was gone. For sure. Half-giant? Grubbly-Plank would probably take over. Snape… maybe. He taught well, and there was "no foolish wand-waving" in his class. He'd stay as long as they didn't hate him on sight. Madame Hooch would leave if the Ministry deemed her job unnecessary and dangerous. Maybe Quidditch, in general, would be cut. I didn't care for the sport, but Cecil the announcer did. Lots of Ravenclaw thought the sport was fun to watch, even if it wasn't useful. The Ravenclaw team didn't win very often, but when we did, it was mostly because someone who wasn't Cecil (Dan) was commentating.

Dan was a Slytherin in our year. He did his job, while Cecil spent all of his time fawning over Carlos on the field. To an obscene point. Actually, when was the next Quidditch game?

It didn't matter at the moment. For now, McGonagall was at the front of the classroom, asking for our attention. But she didn't need to.

"Class, I have an announcement to make. The Ministry would like you to learn- instead of from practice- from a book. And so, I will ask you to procure a copy of 'Transfiguration and Detransfiguration: A Study Through Thought' by S. N. Mahalia within the next few weeks."

Some Muggle-born in the back mumbled "more like a study in thot" or something and hi-fived their friend and were both quickly banned from being allowed to go to next week's Quidditch game. Oh, so it was next week. I should go and find out how far the Ministry is going to replace all the Hogwarts teachers.

McGonagall continued to speak. "However, until then, we will continue where we left off yesterday: Transfiguring hedgehogs to pincushions."

The Ministry observer in the back frowned, but couldn't do anything. She left, probably to go to another class. McGonagall turned to us. "Don't order the book. We will say the shipment didn't send and continue with class as usual."

Sighs of relief spread throughout the classroom, although Victoria and Willow- they weren't separated from me- frowned. It seemed likely they were going to snitch on her. So there went McGonagall.

I rubbed my eyes and got up to grab a hedgehog from the front. McGonagall came over to watch me cast the spell, saw that I did well, and gave me 10 points. Someone would probably lose them- and then some- for jinxing Willow and Victoria when they snitched on McGonagall, but that didn't matter.

The House Cup, like the Quidditch Cup, was never won by Ravenclaw. We always were too much of everything at once to get good points or bad points. Well, we had won. Never was an over exaggeration, but it was close. Always too loud and obnoxious.

Eventually, class ended. Herbology came and went- unsurprisingly, they let Sprout be. There was no magic to be used in Herbology, so there couldn't be a book to prevent it. Same with Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. All subjects without magic usage, simply relying on the attention span of the student.

I wasn't in Care of Magical Creatures, but at lunch, I heard that Hagrid was replaced by Grubbly-Plank. Unsurprising. Snape had been replaced though- very surprising to me. I'd expected him to remain. Someone must've had the same thought because across from me, I picked up bits and pieces of a conversation.

"-and I know he doesn't use a textbook, but-"

"-don't think that's why he's gone. I think they thought he was dangerous and abus-"

"-Pardo is too, so that's not why either. So then is it-"

It was probably the teaching style. He'd be replaced by someone who used a book instead of just writing on the board. The real question is would he be allowed to stay on the premises? Dumbledore had given Lupin, Trelawney, and Hagrid immunity when they first started teaching, saying they were allowed to stay at Hogwarts until they died- and since Dumbledore wasn't yet guilty, they had to stay, since "Acting" Headmistress Umbridge couldn't change that. She could add people and take away their jobs, but they would always have a home. Lupin could go back and live with his children until Dumbledore was let go, but Trelawney and Hagrid would likely stay here. And so would Snape, along with Lupin- to keep brewing him Wolfsbane.

The Forbidden Forest was the other problem. Full of half-breeds and giant spiders and- rumor had it- a flying car, left by a few students years ago. The Whomping Willow was a sore thumb in the already-dangerous forest. Maybe she'd cut it down! That'd be a sight. I'd have to borrow someone's broom and watch that spectacle.

But Quidditch was a dangerous sport. Which is why I doubted it would stay. Suddenly, a silence rang through the room. A Howler. It got up to where Lupin was at the table. His face was filled with fright. Surely, children had written home to their parents about being taught by a werewolf. And now he'd be getting a face-full of anger. If Dumbledore could get mail, he probably would too. But instead, George- or was it Fred?- Weasley's voice filled the room.

"Hey, Professor! Just wanted to say that you're the best teacher we've ever had! And I'd also like to extend a certain finger in the direction of anyone who says otherwise. Now, keep on going! We believe in you!"

The Weasleys were very famous for their impressive line of practical joke tech and other amazing pranking tools. There was quite a bit of laughter. Classes for the rest of the day were canceled as the Ministry must've been wanting to figure out what to do. When we got to our dorms, however- at least in Ravenclaw- there was a flyer hidden with the same magic as the Ministry list.

"Fred and I have heard about this terrible situation and would like to say one thing- 70% off all of our fireworks and pranking supplies as long as you promise to use them on these old geezers! Order now, because probably you won't be able to order later. We're ready to receive your owls. It's time for a good old-fashioned rebellion at Hogwarts."

That explained why there were so few kids in with me on a cold day. They must've been all at the Owlery ordering away. I decided to go as well. But instead, I might just summon one and send it off from my window.

The one I got had a name-tag that read "Owlberta". God, whoever named these things must've been on some serious Muggle drugs. I grabbed the catalog I knew Calvin kept in his trunk and looked over it. I ended up ordering one of "Fred-N-George's Pyrotechtrix Compendium", some Peruvian Darkness Powder, and 3 "Weather-in-a-Bottle"s. I sent off the owl. The delivery would likely arrive in the Great Hall tonight.

From the girl's room, I heard Roxy yell "You have a great ass!". I assumed it was a Howler for Professor Lupin, to be delivered at dinner tonight.

There were going to be quite a few owls in the Hall in a few hours, weren't there?

I was correct. Nearly all of the OWWHD™ had ordered something, and some of the others had too, taking advantage of the deals and maybe joining our cause. I'm sure we'd find out later.

Up at the table, Lupin was flooded with Howlers screaming all sorts of compliments. I couldn't even hear what Roxy said through the mass of screaming. And the Howlers weren't the only things. Now that the packages had arrived, fireworks were everywhere. I wasn't eating food in fear of ingesting a dropped "U-No-Poo" tablet. On the other side of the room, Phil had snuck off to join Mark, Sean, Felix, and Dan (Slytherins to his Hufflepuff) and began recording. They all had plans to be big stars on the Internet one day. I'd watched a few of their videos. They were pretty good, all things considered. I swore I could hear Felix say, "and this is our unboxing video!" but it was too loud to know for sure. I'd watch it later.

Chaos struck when someone saw McGonagall pick up a self-throwing cream pie from under the table and "throw" it at Umbridge. I whispered, "Incendio" and lit the entire box of fireworks on fire.

That whole box of samples of all of their Explosives Enterprises line only took up about a fifth of the amount in the room. Every once in a while, there would be a spot of darkness- especially up near the teachers, rendering them blind. The attendants, down from their assigned dorms, were stuck in Portable Swamps. I put a bubble around my head to block the stench of swamp water. Thor's Thunder Crackers went off from all sides of the room. I set off one of my "Weather-in-a-Bottle"s and blew all the powder to the other side of the room, where it met with the fireworks. The wheels picked up some of the powder and became disks of darkness just floating through the Hall. Someone had filled the front of the Hall with swamps, keeping everyone there. Everything was as it should be. This video was going to be amazing, although the Youtubers would have to make it only magic-accessible. That'd be an interesting challenge.

I dodged out of the way of a Silver Snake. The Ministry teachers were terrified, while the others looked like they were having the time of their lives. I threw my other two bottles out and put my darkness powder in one of the snake's mouths before finding John and grabbing his hand.

He turned to see me. "Sherlock! What are you doing?"

"Undercover of all this chaos. Just wanted to say hi. Now, let's get out of here. This way we won't get in trouble. I can get us over the swamps if you want. There are so many different things happening we can blame one person for all this trouble- but the Quidditch game on Friday could still be canceled. Anyways, that's not my point. Want to get out of this mess?"

John smiled. "Yeah, sure."