A/N: Ok, I'll admit, Chapter 11 was slightly pointless--I know. I kept getting distracted while I was writing it, so I never managed to reveal anything really good--although Malfoy's connection to everything is starting to be revealed.

Chapter 12

The three students burst through the library doors, panting with exertion.

"What the bloody hell was going on back there?" Ron gasped, bending over. Running up three flights of steep stairs top speed had been draining.

"I have no idea, but whatever's going on, Malfoy is tied up in it. He's given himself away, calling to it like that." Harry pushed his glasses up.

Ginny, holding her thick, flame-colored hair off of her neck, looked at the two boys thoughtfully, "I guess you've noticed this, Harry, but Ron, I dunno if you saw it."

"What?" came two voices.

"That...erm...spirit thing looked exactly like Lucy."

"WHAT? Are you mad?" Ron looked at Ginny with wide-eyes.

"No. I'm not. But she looks just like Lucy," Ginny glanced at Harry for support.

Harry nodded his head, "She does. That's why I seemed paranoid at the start of school. I kept thinking I saw Ealia, but it was really Lucy. I think. Although Ealia seems to be here too..."

"Ealia?" Ron looked confused.

"The spirit who visited me over the summer," then seeing that Ron looked even more confused than before, Harry sighed, "I forgot. I told Ginny about this, but not you. This summer I got woken-up repeatedly by something--or someone--but I never saw whatever it was. Then I was lying on my bed and all of a sudden there she was," Harry grinned slightly at the memory, "I won't say she wasn't attractive...but I didn't have any idea who she was, so I made her leave. She tried to kiss me."

"WOW," Ron's eyes were lit-up, "I wish some spirit like that would come visit me in my room and try to snog me..."

"Mum would catch you," Ginny said simply, "She wouldn't be too happy. Especially after our family's experience with spirits," Ginny was referring to her brush with Tom Riddle's diary.

"Aw, c'mon Gin, did you have to ruin my daydream?"

"Sorry, Ronnikins," she shrugged, "So are we actually going to get some research done or are we just going to hang about here talking?'

"Yeah, yeah we ought to get some stuff done," nodded Harry, "Let's ask Madam Pince about that one ingredient. She might know where we could find out about it."

"But if it's something illegal she'll get suspiscious," Ron argued.

"Well we won't know until we ask, will we? Besides, I doubt it's illegal. The instructions said everything was easy to find," Ginny stated matter of factly, "Madam Pince!" she called to the rather severe looking librarian who was just sweeping by them.

The woman squinted down at her, "Miss Weasley?"

"Yes. Er...my friends and I were wondering whether you had any book on," Ginny consulted her piece of paper, "Harackidermis?"

To their surprise, Madam Pince made no objections, "Why certainly we do. Right over here in the potions section," she led them to one of the tall bookshelves that made-up the library and started flipping through the books that stood on the shelves, "Ah, here we are. Right here," she handed a heavy book to Ginny and pointed at a page with her finger.

"Thank you very much," Ginny smiled at the librarian and then carried the book over to a nearby table and read the passage that Madam Pince had just gestured to and her smile grew wider, "Well it's not illegal."

"Excellent!" Ron clapped his hands together.

"What is it then?" Harry came up beside her.

"Boomslang Skin."

"What! You're serious?"

"Yeah. Says so right here: 'Harackidermis is known in today's circles as Boomslang Skin. Its name is derived from the creatures' ancient magical name and is often used in potions when the writer did not want those who were uninformed in potion-making to make the potion.' It goes on, but that's really all that applies," Ginny said.

"We were just using Boomslang Skin in Potions today!" Ron said excitedly, "Ginny, we'll have your memory back in no time!"

"Yeah, thanks Ron. At what cost to me, exactly?" Ginny rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"You'll be fine Ginny, we'll do everything really carefully and take our time," Harry tried to pat her arm in a reassuring manner, secretly thinking that the sooner they got the potion done, the faster the situation would be remedied, and now that Malfoy was involved...

"Yeah, and now Malfoy's in the middle of this," Ron voiced Harry's thoughts exactly, "Although I suppose we should really be too surprised considering that he always seems to be at the root of problems here," Ron grumbled.

"Well that's not entirely true. He didn't have anything to do with the Triwizard Tournament--" Ginny trailed off, realizing what she was doing.

"Well no, he didn't. But he certainly tried to make my life hell during it," Harry looked at her confusedly.

Ron was looking at her like she was some foreign creature, "Ginny, are you defending Malfoy?"

"No! No no no. I just--well nevermind," Ginny hurriedly replied, feeling flustered.

Ron narrowed his eyes, "It sure sounded like it."

"I wasn't, ok? Can we please stop wasting time?"

"She's got a point, Ron," Harry grinned.

"I wasn't wasting time. She's my sister. I have a right to ask her stuff," mumbled Ron, but he let the subject dropped and proved to be an active participant in planning what would have to be done to get the potion finished.

The next bell rang, shrill and loud, startling all three from their hushed conversation.

"Oh! Well I guess we'd better get going then," Ginny began to shovel papers into her bag and Harry and Ron followed suit, "We're not in the same class next, so I won't see you until dinner probably."

"Yeah. Right. Ok, well keep thinking about things. I know you said that something about Ealia reminded you of something..." Harry nodded, thinking that it would be extremely useful if Ginny could remember the forgotten.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. I'll think," Ginny swung her bag over her shoulder and left the library.

Ron stared hard after his sister, "I'm worried, Harry. I think Malfoy's getting to her."

"Nah, he's not. I don't think he could get to anyone in Gryffindor, at least, not in the way you're hinting at. Especially not Ginny, she's too smart."

"But why would she defend him then?"

"I don't think she was, really."

"She was," Ron stated positively, "She's my sister. I know how she is, and she was defending him."

"Is this like the time you were sure that she and Seamus were going out because you thought you saw her sending 'furtive' glances at him across the common room?" Harry grinned, remembering how bent out of shape Ron had been for weeks during the last term, convinced that his sister was sneaking about with Seamus.

"Ok, well that was a mistake," Ron flushed, "But I'm sure about this."

"All right, mate," Harry shook his head, "We'd better get to class."

"Dunno, Hagrid might have some new sort of dangerous creature..."

"Yeah, like gigantic spiders." Harry snorted, thinking about Ron's intense fear of arachnids.

Ron paled slightly, "Don't say that. I've had enough of Hagrid's spiders."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. C'mon. We'll be late."

Harry and Ron left the library, never for a moment suspecting that they were being watched by a lone figure behind a book shelf.

"So," it whispered, a smile turning up the corners of its mouth, "Things are about to get interesting." It waited until it was sure no one was about, then it too left the library, following the same path as Harry and Ron.

A/N: This one was only 4 pages. Sorry guys. I'm trying to do a bunch of updating, so the chapters are a little shorter than before. Maybe one day I'll save up a bunch of entries and then make a ten page chapter, but until that point, they're a bit short. Besides, no one is REVIEWING anyway. Maybe no one reads this story. That makes me rather sad.