Chapter 9: The Sister

Ron had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. He shouted something about Quidditch fouls when Harry roughly shook him awake. In a matter of seconds, though, he was wide-eyed as Harry and John began to tell him and Hermione what had happened in the forest.

Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was still shaking.

"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort… and Voldemort's waiting in the forest… and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich…"

"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.

Harry wasn't listening.

"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so… Bane was furious… he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen… They must show that Voldemort's coming back… Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me… I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron hissed.

"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Harry went on feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off… Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."

Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.

"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

"Aye," John said in agreement finally speaking up, "Hermione's right. Fortune telling is never accurate. Could mean that you die tonight or when you're an old man. Also, Dumbledore is an extremely powerful wizard. Nobody would dare try anything while he's around."

The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.

When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to it:

Just in case.

Later on in the year…

In years to come, Harry would never quite remember how he had managed to get through his exams when he half expected Voldemort to come bursting through the door at any moment. Yet the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door.

It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an AntiCheating spell.

They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tapdance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox… points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.

Harry did the best he could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his forehead, which had been bothering him ever since his trip into the forest. Neville thought Harry had a bad case of exam nerves because Harry couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Harry kept being woken by his old nightmare, except that it was now worse than ever because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it. Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Harry had seen in the forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their foreheads, but Ron and Hermione didn't seem as worried about the Stone as Harry. The idea of Voldemort certainly scared them, but he didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Snape or anyone else might be up to. He hadn't spoken to John in a while, because John said that he was too busy to hang with Potter and co. Harry suspected that John lied about what he was doing, because Harry refused to believe that Quirrell was the one behind every evil deed that had been done that year.

Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented selfstirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Harry couldn't help cheering with the rest.

"That was far easier than I thought it would be," said Hermione as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds, "I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."

Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterward, but Ron said this made him feel ill, so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows. "No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass, "You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."

Harry was rubbing his forehead.

"I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out angrily, "My scar keeps hurting… it's happened before, but never as often as this."

"It's a warning," said a familiar Liverpudlian voice, "It means that danger's coming."

They turned to see John there casually flicking his lucky lighter open and closed.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"That scar was giving to Potter the day that you-know-who tried to kill him," John explained, "It's a curse scar, and whenever it hurts it means that you-know-who is nearby. The stronger it hurts, the closer the danger. If I were you, I'd keep my head on a swivel."

That made Harry even more nervous which Ron noticed, but Ron was too hot to get worked up.

"Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."

Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."

Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy… never… but-

Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Where're you going?" asked Ron sleepily.

"I've just thought of something," said Harry. He had turned white, "We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."

John then came to the same realization and he hurried after Harry and Hermione with Ron reluctantly following behind.

"Why?" panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" said Ron, but Harry, sprinting across the grounds toward the forest, didn't answer.

"The guy who gave Hagrid the dragon egg is also the same wanker trying to steal the stone," John explained just before he sprinted after Harry.

Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.

"Hullo," he said, smiling, "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"

"Yes, please," said Ron, but Harry cut him off.

"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off."

He saw the four of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head… that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas, "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember, "Yeah… he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here… He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after… so I told him… an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon… an' then… I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks… Let's see… yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted… but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home… So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy…"

"And did he… did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Well… yeah… how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep-"

Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out, "Forget I said it! Hey… where're yeh goin'?"

John, Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry, "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak… it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"

"No idea," John replied, "May have gone to the Ministry with him, but I never saw his office."

They looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.

"We'll just have to-" Harry began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.

"What are you three doing inside?"

It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely, Harry and Ron thought. John didn't think it was all that brave, as Hermione was used to telling the truth and felt relieved she could do so now.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do, "Why?"

Harry swallowed… now what?

"I believe that there's a demon possessing one of the teachers," John said half lying, "and said demon is trying to steal something from the school that could give him a physical form once more."

"A demon," Professor McGonagall said skeptically, "seriously? You may be a demonologist, but there are no such things as demons."

"My sister was possessed by one," John said darkly, "so you go ahead and try telling me that demons don't exist."

That made Professor McGonagall's eyes widen, and then just as quickly she composed herself.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said, "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

"He's gone?" said Harry frantically, "Now?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Potter, he has many demands on his time-"

"But this is important."

"I do not doubt that," Professor McGonagall allowed, "But not many believe that demons actually exist, and Professor Dumbledore can't actually ignore the ministry just on Mr. Constantine's belief."

Harry was about to speak again, but John interrupted him.

"Please do forward the message," John said as he began walking off.

"I will," Professor McGonagall said, "You three need to follow Mr. Constantine's example."

She too took that moment to continue on her way.

"Why did you stop me from talking?" Harry demanded John.

"You were going to reveal that we know about the stone," John said, "and revealing your hand is never good. You do know the saying 'Knowledge is power' right?"

"I do," Hermione said, "You're saying that if we reveal that we know about the stone, there is a chance that the thief will find that out and prepare?"

"And the prize goes to the muggle-born," John said.

"It's tonight," said Harry changing the topic, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot, "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."

"But what can we-"

Hermione gasped. Harry and Ron wheeled round. John slowly followed suit.

Snape was standing there.

"Good afternoon," he said smoothly.

They stared at him.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.

"We were-" Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say.

"Just on our way out," John finished quickly.

"You want to be more careful," said Snape, "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"

Harry flushed. They turned to go outside, but Snape called them back.

"Be warned, Potter… any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."

He strode off in the direction of the staffroom.

Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.

"Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently, "One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape… wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that."

"Why me?"

"It's obvious," said Ron, "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice, "'Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong…'"

"Oh, shut up," said Hermione, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape.

"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry told Ron and John, "Come on."

But that part of the plan didn't work. No sooner had they reached the door separating Fluffy from the rest of the school than Professor McGonagall turned up again and this time, she lost her temper. Apparently, Professor McGonagall had taken John's half-truth seriously. She had decided to check on the 3rd floor corridor to see if everything was the way it was supposed to.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she stormed, "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you 've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw! Yes, Weasley, from my own house!"

Harry, John, and Ron went back to the Gryffindor common room, Harry had just said, "At least Hermione's on Snape's tail," when the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Hermione came in.

"I'm sorry, Harry!" she wailed, "Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said.

The other three stared at him. He was pale and his eyes were glittering.

"You're mad!" said Ron.

"You can't!" said Hermione, "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT!" Harry shouted, "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?"

"Welcome back to the fold mate," John said with a grin.

He glared at Hermione and Ron.

"You're right Harry," said Hermione in a small voice.

"I'll use the invisibility cloak," said Harry, "It's just lucky I got it back."

"But will it cover all four of us?" said Ron.

"All… all three of us?"

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"

"Of course not," said Hermione briskly, "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and took through my books, there might be something useful…"

"But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too."

"Not if I can help it," said Hermione grimly, "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

"All the teachers except for Snape said the same to me," John added, "So I'm in the clear."

After dinner the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to Harry any more, after all. This was the first night he hadn't been upset by it. Hermione was skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the enchantments they were about to try to break. Harry and Ron didn't talk much. Both of them were thinking about what they were about to do.

John also did the same, but in his own common room. He was currently preparing to tell Ritchie and Anne about what he was going to do that night.

"I really love my sleep," Ritchie said, "So please just spit it out."

Anne just stared at John with narrowed eyes and her arms crossed as she tapped her finger on her arm.

"I'm going to up to the 3rd floor corridor," John said finally, "Quirrell is going after whatever is being guarded by the 3-headed dog tonight. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I have to stop him. Otherwise, you-know-who will come back."

"You need to tell the teachers!" Ritchie exclaimed.

"Tried that," John said, "didn't work."

"I'm coming with you," Anne spoke up.

"You do know that there is a high probability of getting expelled right?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You'll need all the help you can get," Anne reasoned.

"Very well then," John said, "then, we best get a move on."

Back with Harry…

Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. Harry ran upstairs to their dark dormitory. He putted out the cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy… he didn't feel much like singing.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us… if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own-"

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back.

Suddenly, two people flew out of the fireplace which had green flame flaring up before it simmered down into a normal orange color.

"Someday I'm going to get the hang of travel by floo powder," John muttered to himself after he stood back up. Tonight, he decided to wear the outfit he boarded the train in. Anne Marie now wore blue jeans, and a pink t-shirt.

"Who's she?" Hermione asked as she narrowed her eyes at Anne.

"Anne Marie meet Hermione," John introduced quickly, "Hermione meet Anne Marie. Can we go now?"

At that sentence Neville realized what they were going to do.

"You're going out again," he said.

"No, no, no," said Hermione, "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"

"Then why are they here?" Neville demanded as he gestured at John and Anne, "I may be horrid at magic spells, but I'm not an idiot."

Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, Snape might even now be playing Fluffy to sleep.

"You can't go out," continued Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important."

But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.

"I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole, "I'll… I'll fight you!"

"Neville," Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot…"

"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville, "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but not to us," said Ron in exasperation, "Neville, you don't know
what you're doing."

He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.

"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists, "I'm ready!"

Just as Harry turned to Hermione, John stepped up and aimed his wand at Neville.

"I would say I'm sorry," John said, "But I'm not. Petrificus Totalus!"

Neville's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.

Hermione ran to turn him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror.

"What've you done to him?" Harry whispered.

"It's the full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably even though she wasn't the one who did it, "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."

"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry.

"You'll understand later, Neville," said Ron as they stepped over him and pulled on the invisibility cloak.

John just walked on top of Neville as he walked up to the trio hidden by the cloak. Anne gave an apologetic smile as she stepped over Neville.

"Since all five of us won't fit under your cloak I brought something of my own," John explained as he pulled out his special glasses, "we'll follow you three."

He put on his glasses so he could see the trio, and then pulled out two necklace like devices. He put one on himself, and the other on Anne.

"We're not invisible," Anne said confused as she looked at herself and John.

"No," John explained, "We're unnoticeable. As long as we're quiet and people don't bump into us, they won't see us. I enchanted these myself. Saw something like it on a show at one point."

But leaving Neville lying motionless on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them. At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. Norris skulking near the top.

"Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Ron whispered in Harry's ear, but Harry shook his head. As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs. Norris turned her lamplike eyes on them, but didn't do anything. John through a thing of catnip which immediately caught her attention. John and Anne hurried to follow the trio as Mrs. Norris rubbed herself in the catnip completely oblivious to everything else.

They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Geeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.

"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?"

He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.

"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."

All five of them just stood their not knowing what to do, till Harry had an idea.

"Geeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."

Geeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir," he said greasily, "My mistake, my mistake… I didn't see you… of course I didn't, you're invisible… forgive old Geevsie his little joke, sir."

"I have business here, Geeves," croaked Harry, "Stay away from this place tonight."

"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Geeves, rising up in the air again, "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you."

And he scooted off.

"Brilliant, Harry!" whispered Ron.

A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor… and the door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy."

Before John could take step, he hard some other footsteps nearby. He looked down and saw Felix Faust looking around nervously. John also noticed that he had something in his hands. John was extremely interested in finding out what Faust was up to, but getting to the stone first was the priority.

Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other four.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said, "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," said Ron.

"We're coming," said Hermione.

Harry nodded once and pushed the door open. As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.

"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.

"Looks like a harp," said Ron, "Snape must have left it there."

"Doubt it's enchantment will last long," John remarked, "I hope someone brought a musical instrument. Otherwise, this trip will end very quick and very bloody."

"Yeah," Harry nodded, "I have something. Hagrid got it for me for Christmas. Well, here goes."

He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased… it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.

"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back, "Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!"

"I'll do it," John said as he stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.

"Nothing… just black… there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."

Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his attention and pointed at himself. John saw that however, and disagreed.

"Not a good idea mate," John said, "If that music stops for however long it takes to give it to the next person, the beast will probably wake. In that case, I'll go first."

However, Harry was too stubborn to follow that logic. He handed the flute over to Anne who quickly began playing it with disgust on her face. In the few seconds' silence, the dog growled and twitched, but the moment Hermione began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep.

Harry climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom.

He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then he looked up at Ron and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"

"Right," said Ron.

"See you in a minute, I hope"

And Harry let go. Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and… FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.

"It's okay!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Ron followed right away. He landed, sprawled next to Harry.

"Anne and I will go send that owl," John sighed, "Just in case you don't make it."

"Okay," Hermione said.

"Good luck," John said to Hermione.

As soon as Hermione jumped in, John and Anne slowly backed out of the 3rd corridor without stopping the music. As soon as they had exited the door, anne stopped playing and they ran down the steps.

"Now what?" Anne asked.

"We go find Felix Faust," John said, "He was definitely up to something."

"What about the letter?" Anne asked.

"Right," John said, "We split up. You do the letter, and I'll tail Felix."

Anne was reluctant to split up, but she agreed nonetheless.

With Harry…

The distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but Hermione had already jumped. She landed on Harry's other side. They had already lost two members of the team, but since those two would be sending the letter they had some hope.

"We must be miles under the school," she said.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.

"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione, "Look at you both!"

She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. As for Harry and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing.

Hermione had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the two boys fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.

"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them, "I know what this is… it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.

"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.

"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare… what did Professor Sprout say? It likes the dark and the damp-"

"So light a fire!" Harry choked.

"Yes… of course… but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed, "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.

"Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis… 'there's no wood,' honestly."

"This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward.

With John…

Anne and John had separated once they reached a certain point in the castle after John heard Felix muttering to himself somewhere down a hallway. John was currently walking as slowly and quietly as possible so he could spy and eavesdrop on Felix. Eventually, he reached a point where he could do just that.

"You failed me Felix," said the icy voice of the cloaked figure from before.

"But mistress," Felix begged, "It wasn't my fault! I followed your orders to the letter!"

Felix was then slapped… hard. He ended up sprawled on the floor crying his eyes red.

"You know full well that I don't do second chances," snarled the voice, "now leave my presence at once or I'll punish you in the likes you've never been punished before!"

John heard and saw Felix scramble to his feet before running as fast he could away from the figure.

"I know you're there," the cloaked figure said as it looked straight at John, "No use hiding from me John. I'll always be able to find you. You may as well come out."

John slowly walked out of the shadows and stared at the cloaked figure with his hands in his pockets. He had one hand wrapped around his wand.

"Who are you?" John demanded, "And why did you have that pratt spy on me?"

"I wouldn't expect you to recognize my voice," the figure said, "You were only a baby when we first met."

The figure then removed the hood revealing that the cloaked figure was… his sister. This whole time it was his sister.

"You," John gasped as he stumbled back a step.

"Yes me," his sister sneered, "I have been watching you your entire life. Not always in person of course, but I was always there. I hated you for so loing, because I blamed you for mom's death. However, you were just a child. There is no way it could be your fault."

"Why did you have Faust spy on me?" John asked again after he steeled himself.

"I needed to know if I could trust you," his sister sighed, "and I needed to know if you have what it takes."

She then grinned evilly.

"You definitely have what it takes," she said.

"What are you-" John began.

"You used the cruciatus curse on poor Felix," his sister said with a mock pout, "You scarred him so bad he became useless to me, I had to use a memory charm to make him forget the experience."

"The wanker didn't leave me a choice," John said as he glared at his sister, "What do you want with me?"

"I want you to join me brother of mine," his sister said as she walked towards him, "together, we can rule the world. We can surpass Voldemort himself, if we work together."

"You-know-who's dead," John said dryly, "I'd say that pretty much everyone has surpassed him at this point."

"Well," his sister said as she bit her lip, "Not exactly."

"What do you mean?" John asked with narrowed eyes.

"I found his spirit," his sister grinned, "and I turned his attention to the Sorcerer's Stone. Once he comes back, you and I can both kill him and become the new Dark Lords."

"Why did you do all this?" John asked.

"Why?" his sister said, "so we can have the relationship we never got to have. I want us to be a family again… excluding that drunk of a father we have."

"As much as I'd love for that to happen," John said sadly, "I can't join you. I have no desire to become a dark wizard. I'll do whatever it takes to reach my goals, yes, but I will never join the dark side. I'll happily stay in the grey area."

His sister looked at him with a hurt expression in her eyes before she backed up.

"You made the wrong choice," his sister said sadly, "Next time we meet… I will have to kill you."

She then spun on the spot and vanished with a pop.

Meanwhile, with Harry…

All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon… Norbert had been bad enough…

"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered.

Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.

"Do you think it's a ghost?"

"I don't know… sounds like wings to me."

"There's light ahead… I can see something moving."