~*Chapter 12*~

Unseen

It was a little odd to be on the outside watching the Marathon teams scuttling around the school in packs, whispering together and frantically looking for places to train during the weekend. While Al distinctly remembered not enjoying the practices himself- he and Scorpius had to work twice as hard to impress their skeptical upperclassmen teammates –the Marathon itself had been a little thrilling. Everyone had admired the contestants, and he had definitely put on a good face for his House during the trials. People had talked about his team's final face-off against the golem endlessly.

Andrew was quick to bring him back to reality when Al made mention of the previous year's competition. "Yeah, but remember when you kind of ruined it all by using the Last Chance and turning most of Gryffindor against you?"

"Thanks," Al grumbled, glancing around to make sure no one had overheard. "And keep your voice down, will you? I don't want anyone else thinking about that right now and giving me dirty looks again."

"I'm here for you, buddy," Andrew said around a loud yawn, settling himself more comfortably in the grass.

It was still fairly chilly out, but Rose had impressed them all with an area-warming spell. She was lying on her back nearby, wand waving lazily in the air as it pushed warm air around their little group.

Felicia was watching a little wistfully, clearly debating on whether she should ask how the spell was done. She still struggled with half her spells. After a moment she instead pulled out her little hypogriff figurine and watched it walk around in the grass. Dustin, seated by Al with his nose in a book, smiled without looking up.

Al leaned back on his hands, looking around. There weren't many people outside, even though it was the middle of a Saturday. Very few students knew spells like Rose's, so had either gone down to Hogsmeade or were sitting by cheery fires in their common rooms. Al was wondering if he could spot a friendly Hufflepuff who might be willing to loan him an extra scarf. He wanted to wear the colors of Louis's House to the Marathon to support him.

He didn't see any Hufflepuffs, but he did see a knot of Slytherins hurrying back towards the school, huddled together and whispering. Al sat up straighter. There were five of them, and Evaine was with them. So was the big guy, Sean Dumford, who had threatened to jinx Scorpius in the alley before. He looked exhausted, dragging his feet, his eyes puffy from lack of sleep. His other big friend- Richmond, Zabini had called him –looked equally out of sorts, though he also seemed a little jumpy, glancing around nervously with bloodshot eyes every few seconds.

Andrew had noticed Al's sudden attentiveness and rolled onto his stomach to see what had him so interested. "Where are they off to?" he growled. "They look like they're up to no good."

"Leave it," Rose said firmly. "They're not hurting anybody. Don't go looking for trouble." She gave Al a significant look.

He pretended not to notice, still watching Evaine and her cronies hurry off towards the school. His heart rate had kicked up a couple of notches. What if they were off to one of their secret meetings? Or planning on jumping Scorpius again? Merlin's beard, what if they were heading off to teach Lily to mind her own business? Or what if Lily spotted them and decided to follow them and was caught? His mind spun with unpleasant possibilities.

He didn't realize he'd climbed to his feet until Felicia asked nervously, "Where are you going?"

Al hesitated. Perhaps it would be wise to bring backup. But Rose would flat-out refuse, Felicia wouldn't be any help if a duel started, and Dustin would probably be too scared, even if he was almost as big as Dumford. Al glanced at Andrew, but dismissed the idea immediately. Andrew wouldn't want to be stealthy, he'd want to pick a fight.

Al mentally scrambled for a plausible lie. "Seeing them made me think of Lily, that's all. She said she might be in the library today, I'm going to try and get her out into the fresh air. Maybe I can find Hugo, too."

"Yes, get both of them," Rose said. "They seemed to be getting along a little better at the Carnival, and I want to make sure they've patched things up."

"Sure," Al said with a wave. Felicia was frowning at him, clearly not buying it, and he hurried off before she could speak up.

He slipped inside the school through one of the side entrances and hurried down the halls, desperate to catch up with Evaine and the others in the main hall. He'd never figure which way they'd gone if he didn't see them first. He dodged a couple startled second-years, was forced to duck behind a suit of armor for a moment as Peeves floated by, and sprinted down the last corridor at a dead run, knowing he was probably already too late.

He rounded a corner and crashed right into someone coming the other way. They both went sprawling, and Al yelped in pain. He cracked his knee on the floor and his shoulder would surely have a bruise from where he'd slammed into the wall on the way down. The other student he was tangled with was spitting oaths like a furious cat, shoving at him roughly.

"Get off me, Potter! You idiot!"

"Scorpius!" Al scrambled backwards, wincing as he put pressure on his tender knee. "I'm sorry, I-"

Scorpius sat up slowly, looking a little dazed and very angry. He tested his elbow, cringing. "I should jinx you into next week," he snarled. "Watch where you're going, you stupid-"

"SHHH!" Al threw himself forward, muffling Scorpius's outburst with his hands. Scorpius grabbed his wrists to shove him off, glaring murder, but then they both froze at Evaine's voice, dangerously close.

"Hurry it up," she was saying. "We have to make sure everything's ready for Monday night."

"I can't wait," one of her friends snickered. "The looks on their faces..."

"Shush," Evaine snapped. "Wait until we get to the meeting."

Al and Scorpius had been staring at each other during the brief exchange, both holding their breath. Belatedly Al realized the voices were getting even closer. Any second now the Slytherins would pass the corridor where he and Scorpius were sprawled helplessly on the floor. With no nearby witnesses, Evaine would probably be only too happy to gang up on them and land them both in the infirmary all weekend.

Scorpius seemed to have come to the same conclusion. He jerked his head to the right, indicating a broom closet, and the both of them scooted hastily through it just in the nick of time. They crouched in the dark room, panting quietly, and listened as the others moved on by.

"Lumos," Al whispered the second he thought it was safe to do so. He found Scorpius already staring at him, his lips thin in consternation. "They're up to something."

"Oh, you think?" Scorpius hissed sarcastically. He tested his elbow again, carefully. "Didn't sound like anything good."

"The Marathon," Al gasped. "The Marathon is on Monday, right after dinner. Everyone will be there. Whatever they're going to do, it's gonna be aimed at the whole school."

Scorpius frowned. "Or they want to do something in the castle itself," he suggested. "While no one else is around."

Al paused, chewing it over. After a moment, he got to his feet, full of determination. "Whatever they're up to, I'm going to finally get to the bottom of this. I need some kind of proof if I'm going to go to a Professor about it."

Scorpius stared up at him, frown deepening. "If Evaine catches you-"

"She won't. I'll be careful. Anyway, I have to take that chance. Obviously no one else is looking into this. Except Lily, but they know to look out for her, don't they?" Before Scorpius could argue, he edged the door open and slipped out. He slipped down the hallway as quietly as he could, straining his ears and hearing the fading voices of Evaine and her friends.

There were one or two close calls, but he stayed far enough behind them that it was fairly easy to duck into empty classrooms or around corners. They were headed into the lower levels, and his heart sank as he realized where they were probably headed.

"The dungeons," a voice murmured right behind him, and he leapt into the air, barely choking back a shout of surprise. He whirled around to glare furiously at Scorpius, who looked amused by his reaction.

"How long have you been following me?"

"Not very observant, are you?" Scorpius drawled. "You make a horrible spy. Anyway, as I was saying, they're obviously heading for the dungeons. The Slytherin common room. Where you can't follow."

Al turned his back on the boy deliberately, continuing down the hall. Maybe Scorpius was wrong. Maybe they were heading for the potions classroom or something. Scorpius continued to follow him in smug silence, but Al wouldn't even give him the satisfaction of looking back at him.

He realized belatedly that it had gotten very quiet up ahead, and faltered right before turning a corner. Had they stopped, suspecting they were being followed? Or had they already reached their destination? He thought he heard a harsh whisper, then stealthy footsteps-

Scorpius realized what was happening a split second before Al did. He seized Al's arm and yanked him back away from the corner. "She's sending someone back to check," he hissed.

Al turned, looking around frantically. If they went sprinting down the hall, they'd be in full view of whoever came around the corner, and would probably catch a couple jinxes in the back. But the only nearby door was too far away to reach in time. Scorpius seemed to think it was worth the risk; he hauled Al across the hallway at a dead run and seized the handle.

It remained stubborn and unmoving in his hand. Locked.

Al heard a hissed curse from somewhere over his shoulder, then suddenly someone grabbed his shoulder and pulled him. Something voluminous and soft fell all around him, and the only thing that kept him from gasping was a small hand pushing hard against his mouth. He froze, disoriented and fearful, staring at Dumford, who'd just stepped around the corner and was looking right at him, blinking in confusion.

Slowly the scene clicked into place in Al's panicked mind. It was Lily's hand over his mouth. She was crushed up against him, holding his mouth shut with one hand and clutching Scorpius's sleeve in the other from where she'd also pulled him under-

Al took in a sharp breath through his nose. What he'd thought in a moment's confusion was some sort of sheer blanket or veil could only be one thing, because Dumford was giving a puzzled shake of his head and turning to return to Evaine without saying anything.

Slowly Lily released both boys, panting quietly and staring at Dumford's back until the bigger boy had vanished around the corner.

"Lily!" Al hissed, taking a fistful of the cloth and staring at it in bewilderment. "Is this- How did-"

"Yes," Lily whispered furiously, "it's Dad's old invisibility cloak. He sent it to me at the start of the year because I was so frightened about getting stuck in Slytherin. You two are lucky I was already tailing Evaine. Are you trying to end up in the infirmary?"

Al just gaped at her, at a loss for words. The bulky package she'd received her first night- it hadn't been a Weasley sweater after all. Harry had sent her one of the most valuable things he owned to help her hide from the bullies in her new House. He tried to squash a sudden surge of jealousy. It stung, but the truth was that Lily had obviously needed it more.

Scorpius had also taken a part of the cloak in his hands and was running it across his palm over and over in stunned wonderment. He stuck his foot out from under the cloak and stared down at what appeared to be a shoe and ankle with no leg attached. "This is how you've managed to keep spying on Evaine without getting hung by the rafters."

Suddenly a lot of things made sense. Al pointed accusingly at his sister. "So this is why you look so tired all the time; you keep wandering around the castle under this thing, trying to catch Evaine getting up to no good."

Lily shrugged. "I also just wanted to explore the castle. And it helped me get away when some of the meaner kids picked on me."

"I saw Peeves throwing stuff at the floor once, near some armor. The night I had detention. I thought he was just making a mess... but he caught you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he caught a glimpse of me once when I was tailing Dumford. He knew I was there somewhere." Lily glanced up at Al, chewing nervously on her lip. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Al. Dad suggested I keep it to myself for now, and only use it in emergencies. I knew telling James would be a bad idea, but I really did plan on telling you once I figured out what Evaine was up to." She gave Scorpius a wary look. "I never really planned on telling you, so you have to promise to keep this a secret, Malfoy. I mean it."

Scorpius dropped the corner of cloak and sighed with obvious bad grace. "Fine, whatever. I guess I might owe you for saving me from a thrashing." He looked down the hall. "We've lost them by now. Whatever they're planning, we have no way of knowing what it is, and we didn't hear enough to report them."

"They were headed for the Slytherin dungeon," Lily said promptly. "I heard them mention it before I doubled back to save your bacon. You and I might be able to eavesdrop on them there under this."

"What about me?" Al demanded.

"Forget it," Scorpius said.

"I really don't think we should risk smuggling you in there in the middle of the day," Lily admitted. "We'll see if we find out anything and let you know, all right? Send Trinity down and I'll have her fetch you if it turns out being anything important, all right?"

Al shrugged, defeated. He was curious about the Slytherin dungeon, but the consequences of getting caught far outweighed his curiosity. He looked at Scorpius, eyebrows raised. "Why do you suddenly care about this? You seemed pretty stubborn about looking the other way when I asked you about this in the library."

Scorpius sneered at him. "Because they're obviously planning something that could turn out to be bad. And because you're actually willing to bring a Professor into it. If this is connected to whatever is making my dad's life difficult, it might help put a stop it."

Al thought of Draco Malfoy's disheveled appearance in Diagon Alley and at the Carnival, but managed to keep his questions to himself. Whatever was going on at home, Scorpius wasn't willing to share. He stepped out from under the cloak and stared at the spot where he was sure they were standing. It was weird talking to empty air. "All right, I'll send Trinity. Both of you be careful. Don't let her do anything dumb, Scorpius."

"There isn't any dumb left," he heard Lily huff. "All the dummy genes went to you and James."

Al opened his mouth for a retort, but he heard their footsteps moving away. Hoping Scorpius, at least, would be cautious enough for both of them, he reluctantly turned and made his way towards Gryffindor tower to fetch Trinity.


Felicia came looking for him soon afterwards, and he gave her an abbreviated version of what had happened. At the last second he decided not to mention the invisibility cloak. He trusted Felicia, but the cloak- at least for now –seemed like family business. He still wasn't sure how he felt about having Scorpius in on the secret.

He was a bundle of nerves for the rest of the day. He remained in the common room so that Trinity could find him quickly if she needed to, trying half-heartedly to study for the following week's Potions exam. By late afternoon he gave up and joined Hugo and some others in a game of Gobstones. By dinnertime, Trinity still had not arrived, and he was beginning to suspect nothing was going to happen at all.

He ate dinner quickly, stealing looks towards the Slytherin table. He caught a glimpse of Scorpius once, but as usual Lily was small enough to be hidden by the older students sitting near here, so he couldn't even see her face to gauge her mood. Scorpius didn't even bother to turn and look at him.

After dinner, trying not to seem as restless as he felt, he helped Andrew with his Charms homework and watched Dustin teach Felicia how to play wizard chess. James, Roxie, Fred, and Vincent were conspicuously absent from the common room. Al wondered if they were studying again, or if James had finally decided to let them in on whatever he was up to in the greenhouse with Neville. He gave it no more than a moment's thought. He was too busy trying to guess what Evaine was up to.

Half an hour before curfew, when he was beginning to wonder if he should just go to bed so he could get his overworked brain to shush, Trinity came trotting into the common room and bounded up into his lap, demanding pets.

Al obliged, scratching her between her ears with one hand and retrieving the tiny scroll stuck under her collar with the other. He unrolled it and read the brief note, feeling a small surge of adrenaline.

Something's happening tonight.
Meet me in the hall were I saved your butts earlier
and I'll get you inside.

It wasn't signed, but Al understood the meaning. Tossing the note into the fireplace, he gave Trinity one last pat and shifted her over to Felicia's lap.

"Where are you going?" Dustin asked in surprise as Al rose to his feet and headed for the portrait hole. "It's almost curfew."

"I just have to talk to Lily in the hall real quick," Al said, trying to sound casual. "I won't be long." He left hastily before anyone could question him further, and looked down in surprise as Trinity slipped out after him. He considered shooing her back inside, but decided at the last minute to let her tag along. Perhaps he would need a messenger if things got dicey. Picking her up and letting her drape herself across his shoulders, he hurried downstairs.

It took him a few minutes to find the right hallway. Lily was pacing with nervous energy, and looked relieved to see him when he came jogging up. "Finally! I was starting to think Trinity had run into trouble or something on her way to the tower." She pulled the folded-up cloak out of her robe pocket and shook it out. "You ready?"

Al hesitated. He was really about to do it. Sneak into the Slyhterin common room. If he was caught, he'd definitely be stuck in detention for a week. Assuming some of the nastier Slytherins didn't punish him their own way. He really wasn't enjoying the thought of being stuffed up the chimney in their common room overnight. "First, how about you let me know what you found out?"

"Not much," she admitted, throwing the cloak over the both of them. "Come on, this way. We need to hurry." She led the way down the hall, explaining quietly, "Scorpius and I didn't hear much. We didn't catch up to Evaine and the others until they were wrapping up their conversation. We did hear them say there was some sort of meeting tonight, and they were going to meet in the common room as soon as everyone was in bed. That means we have awhile to wait, but I was afraid if you tried to sneak down here after curfew, you'd be caught. And I wouldn't be able to get into Gryffindor tower to smuggle you out; I don't know the password. I hope you brought your wand." She sounded a little nervous. "I don't know what to expect, but I guess we should be ready for a fight at least, if things go wrong. And I barely know any spells at all." She stopped. "Here we are. Most kids use the door near the school entrance, but I like this way better. Easier to get in and out unnoticed in the cloak. Evaine and her cronies sneak in and out this way, too. Especially lately."

They were standing in front of a black narrow door. The columns on either side were decorated with countless carvings of snakes twining their way up the stone, tangled with each other. Lily turned under the cloak to look at Al with a serious expression. "Look, one of the very first rules we were told on our first day of school was no outsiders allowed. Like, I know all the Houses say that, and no one is supposed to visit other House common rooms, but the Slytherins are serious about it. They hinted at some pretty wicked punishment for anyone caught smuggling an outsider in. They like to brag that no non-Slytherin has been inside the common room in centuries. Not even faculty."

Al arched a brow. "I guess no one ever told them about Dad and Uncle Ron sneaking in here when they were kids."

A smile played on Lily's lips. "Nope. And I never bothered to correct them. Anyway, I'm just saying you have to make sure you stay out of sight. If Evaine catches me, I just have to worry about her and her mean friends. If anyone in Slytherin catches you, we are both toast. Okay? So while we're in the common room, you stay under this cloak no matter what."

It was a little odd having Lily boss him around so firmly, but Al just nodded. She was right, after all, and he had absolutely no desire to get caught and land them both in a heap of trouble.

Lily's eyes shifted, and she frowned at Trinity. "Um, so why did you bring her?"

Al shrugged, and Trinity purred in his ear. "She wanted to come. I've kinda learned to just let her do what she wants. She usually knows what she's doing."

Lily sighed quietly and let it drop. "Okay. Here we go." She turned to the door and said clearly, "Serpentine."

The door opened slowly inwards, without so much as a squeak from its rusted hinges. Lily took a deep breath, checked to make sure the cloth was covering them both fully, and led the way inside.