Harry Potter and the Crisis at Nemesarium

by Professor Skylarke

In his 6th year, Harry slowly comes to a rude awakening and realizes that people whom he may have despised in previous years might actually be more grey than dark....Warning: contains mention of slash relationship between vampires. Warning: character dea

12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

The Hidden Talent of Celia Wells

Harry walked toward Turret Thirteen, and waited nearly twenty minutes for Ahsimal to come and unlock the door. "Sorry for the wait," the teacher said sleepily, "but I was delayed." He looked around him and said, "Oh, good; a few of you actually bothered to show up. I guess the others just forgot that they still had Necromancy today. I'll be giving today's participants ten points for their House each, because I only see Potter, Snape, Malfoy, Cantarus, Wells, and Goldman standing before me. Therefore, thirty points to Slytherin, ten to Gryffindor, ten to Hufflepuff, and ten to Ravenclaw." Harry felt kind of bad that neither Ron or Hermione had bothered to show up; he'd have to partner up with someone else for a change. He was sure that Ahsimal was going to put them in group projects today, and it was a no-brainer that Celia and Josh would be working together; they always did that.

Celia tapped Josh on the shoulder. "Hey, Josh?"

"Yeah?" Josh said, eyeing his friend. After that little argument in the Great Hall, Celia and Josh had gotten back to being what they had been all along…good friends.

"Did you do your homework for Snape?" she asked teasingly.

"No," Josh said calmly. "Because we didn't have any, you goof!"

Celia glared at Josh jokingly and said, "Damn; I almost got you that time!"

"No, you didn't," Josh jeered as he cuffed Celia on the shoulder.

"Hey, you!" she said, ruffling her friend's hair.

"No!" Josh whined. "Not my hair, Celia! I just fixed it to perfection!"

"Would the two of you please stop that childish behavior before we begin?" Ahsimal said coldly. He shivered for a minute and wrapped himself up tightly; October was cool temperature-wise this year. "Since it is such a small crowd, how about I show you what's up in Turret Four?"

"That's where the Summoning Room is!" Cassandra exclaimed in sickening delight. "I've always wanted to go up there, Darius!"

"You get to call him Darius, Cassandra?" Malfoy sneered. "I heard from Lisa that you two are quite a couple. Are you attracted to vampires, or just freaks?"

"Unlike you," Cassandra said in a rather angry tone. "Some people do not judge others by who and what they are on the outside. I do not portray myself as that shallow."

"Oooo!" said Celia. "That was a good one!"

The pale girl just blushed a little in the cheeks and said, "Thanks," before she moved up right next to Ahsimal. "So, what are the plans for today, Darius?"

"I'm going to show all of you the difference between Summoning and Reviving today," Ahsimal said. "To some of you, this is a mere review. However, I doubt all of you, with maybe one or two exceptions, have had any previous knowledge of Necromancy. Therefore, this will be quite a lesson today. You may work in groups of three or less, but be warned…everything we cover today will be on your exams, so don't forget any of it."

Cassandra turned around and tapped Harry on the shoulder, "It isn't like Hermione to miss a class, even if it's Necromancy, which I know she can't stand. Why didn't your best friends accompany you?"

"They just didn't feel like coming," Harry said. "I don't see why that would concern you in the least, Cassandra."

"You all know that Thursday, we'll be having the Halloween feast." Ahsimal gave off a fake-sinister laugh and then said, "Let us proceed with our Unit..."

Instead of the usual Necromancy lesson where they would be working with corpses that were already set up, Ahsimal had the students sit in a circle on the floor around the coffin. "Okay, if one of you acts up, I'll not only give you detention and take points away from your house, but you will be given absolutely no credit for today's lesson. Do I make myself clear? This is a very important subject, class, and should not be brushed aside if you have the desire to become a true Necromancer."

Harry sat between Marcus and Celia, waiting for his teacher to do something else. Ahsimal's pasty hands wiped the dust off of the casket's outer shell, but he didn't unlock the hinges like he usually did. Instead, he stood in his robes (they were scarlet taffeta today) and let out a rather long yawn. Everyone could see his two extremely sharp fangs as his mouth became wide open.

"We do not need a body today," he said quickly. "Since we are in Turret Four, the only reason we have one present is so I can show you, with a demonstration, the difference between the two most basic terms of the Magic of the Dead. Observe as I do this carefully, students." Ahsimal raised a ghostly white hand in the air. "Rigoris Mortata!" he shouted as a golden-yellow smoke rose from the tip of his wand. "Tybalt Tellulan!" The vampire winked at Harry and his mouth silently gave the words 'thanks a lot for the idea, Potter.' The coffin did nothing, but a soul rose up from the ground…and he didn't seem too thrilled to be awoken from his sleep.

"Am I back yet?" the soul said excitedly. He then looked at his transparent palms and groaned. "Damn, I thought someone had Resurrected me." Tellulan looked about the classroom and snarled, "Who's the dolt that brought me back like this?"

"That would be me, Tybalt," Ahsimal said coldly. "Students, you just saw me acting as the Reviver. Now, watch as I show the difference between Summoning and Reviving." He raised his wand and shouted, "Dispersium!" Tellulan's spirit got a frightened look to it, and then it split into several pieces before the "shards" finally plummeted underground. After the ghost had dispersed, Ahsimal let out a long yawn. "That was Reviving. According to idiots who know nothing about the art which is Necromancy, Summoning is when you conjure up the soul, and Reviving is when you put the soul back into the body. Neither of these are the correct terms to use. Reviving is when you simply conjure up the soul, and Summoning is when you wake the soul up by your own call. However, putting a soul into a dead body is the hardest thing to accomplish, and it took me a very long time to find out how to do so properly. The term used for that is Resurrection. Perhaps you have heard of it?" He raised a white eyebrow, and then said, "If you enjoy this course and don't already know, I have a second class where I teach the advanced forms of this magnificent practice late at night. Anyone who is trustworthy is welcome to attend these seminars." Ahsimal looked at Cassandra (and vice versa) and that glitter and sparkle was back in his mauve eyes. "There are some here that are truly devoted to Necromancy…I wish them the best."

Harry paid close attention to the lesson, and watched as Ahsimal actually Summoned two other dead souls into the room through the course of the class. It was obvious that not only were the students having a fun time, but Ahsimal seemed quite pleased with himself. Suddenly, the bell rang and Necromancy was finished for the day. Celia and Josh rushed out as quickly as they could, and Cassandra kissed Ahsimal on the cheek and whispered a rather intimate "I'll see you later," in his ear. After the pinkness in the professor's cheek subsided, only Harry was left in the room with Ahsimal. "Is there something you wish to talk to me about, Potter?" Ahsimal said in his exotic, velvety voice. Those effeminate eyes of his were staring straight back at Harry, and his expression was impossible to understand.

"Yes," Harry said. "I was a bit worried about my grade in Necromancy."

Ahsimal stared at Harry for a moment, and then the serious look on his face shattered. He burst out into laughter, and tears of amusement issued out of his eyes. "You have nothing to worry about in here, Potter," Ahsimal said. "It may come as a shock to you, but you have one of the highest averages in here…even higher than Hermione Granger." Ahsimal laughed again as he saw the look of surprise on Harry's face. "I thought you'd do that if I told you. Cassandra, of course, is succeeding in here, but it's not fair to compare the rest of you to her...she learned the basics of Necromancy before she learned how to walk." Ahsimal then got very quiet and then said, "Say, Potter…how would you like to attend my night lessons?"

"I…" Harry didn't know what to say. 'Maybe Ahsimal could show him how to bring Lupin and Sirius back from the dead...and maybe even his parents.' "I'd like that."

"If you are curious about a certain type of Necromancy, just let me know," Ahsimal's eyes were fiery now. "By the way, this option is not available to everyone; I only want the students with the most potential to be placed in my late-night course. Let's just make this our little secret." Ahsimal then handed Harry a piece of parchment with some handwriting on it. "In case any of your teachers give you any trouble for being tardy, I've written a note explaining everything." Suddenly, something sparked the albino's eyes, and then he faced Harry with a sudden look of remembrance. "I almost forgot! Harry, did you give Snape and Skylarke those letters a couple of days ago?"

"Er…" Harry said. 'Damn! I completely forgot!' "No, I didn't; it must have slipped my mind. After I saw Leir's body on the staircase, I didn't think the letters were so important anymore." Harry then realized that what he had said had been the absolute wrong thing to say. Ahsimal didn't look too happy about this statement.

"Those letters…do you want to know what they were about?" Ahsimal snarled. "They were concerning a close friend of ours that was wrongfully imprisoned. An innocent man is literally dying in Azkaban, and the longer it takes for Severus and Morty to get those letters, the more time is taken away from my colleague." He sighed, and then calmed down a bit. "Very well, Harry. I'll just talk to them in person about this matter. Your first Afterlight lesson will take place Friday, November 1, in this room, at a quarter 'til midnight. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Harry nodded, and then left the room. He made sure he kept Ahsimal's note with him, just in case Skylarke didn't excuse his tardiness. He had been heading toward Turret Fifteen, but soon caught a glimpse of Furrier, so he turned his attention toward the cat Animagus. "Hey, wait up!" he said. "When's our next lesson in An imagery?"

Furrier's left kitty ear twitched and then he let out a low growling noise. "Next Monday, Potter. Check your schedule." He then started walking away from Harry, swishing his fluffy tail behind him. Harry sighed; Furrier had never been this ornery before…not even after the first Hawkbane Quidditch game.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

Furrier let out a cat yawn and then sighed. "Halloween is tomorrow night, and do you know what that means?"

"It means that we'll be having our Halloween Feast on a Thursday," Harry said smoothly.

Furrier hissed and then said, "No, Potter...it may mean that for everyone else, but Halloween is a grim anniversary for me. You see, it will be half a decade tomorrow since I got stuck as a cat. Damn Quirrell; I hope he burns forever for what he did to me." Furrier then spat at Harry, "And I hope you'll join him someday! You ruined my only chance to be freed of the hex!" Furrier walked away from Harry in a rather angry fashion.

Josh and Celia came up behind Harry. Josh tapped him on the shoulder. "Guess what? I think Furrier hates you."

"You think!" Harry said, surprised. "Isn't it obvious, Josh? He thinks it's my fault that he's stuck as a cat for the rest of his life."

"Well, it partially is your fault," Josh replied. "I hate to tell you, but that's the truth, Harry. You turned his only way out of the hex into dust. I'd hate you, too."

"Say, Josh…"

"Yeah, Celia?" Josh said.

"Did you do your homework for Snape?" Celia said.

"No!" Josh laughed. "We didn't have any, silly!"

Celia then flinched. "Damn! I almost got you that time!"

"No, you didn't," Josh replied. "You tried that on me before Necromancy, too!"

It was not a long walk from Turret Four to Turret Fifteen…there was a shortcut that Harry, Josh, and Celia used to get there. However, they were the last three to walk into the door. Marcus and Draco hadn't bothered to show up for Curses & Rootwork, and neither had anyone that had missed Necromancy. Cassandra was the only student inside the classroom, and Skylarke was sitting by his fireplace, silently watching the flames rise up. He slowly turned to face the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw students. "I thought Cassandra would be my only pupil today…I guess I was wrong," was all the gaunt teacher had to say about the matter. He pulled his long, auburn hair back into a ponytail, and cleaned his glasses. "We will be studying the Laconus Curse today. Get out a quill and a piece of parchment…there is a lot you'll need to copy down."

Harry watched Josh and Celia sit next to each other. There was an empty seat in-between Josh and Cassandra, so Harry decided he'd sit there. "Hi, Cassandra," he said.

Cassandra yawned. "Hello, Harry." She then buried her face in a book she had been carrying with her all day, and didn't bother to look up again until Skylarke started the lesson.

"Write this down," the teacher said. "The Laconus Curse is an infamous spell that changes the appearance of the victim, and it will not wear off until a counter's used. This makes it more effective than a Polyjuice Potion. Can anyone tell me the words that activate the Laconus Curse?"

"Laconus Anata!" Celia shouted, and pointed her wand at Josh. The Hufflepuff shifted into a perfect copy of Lewn, and flexed around the room in a flamboyant manner. Nobody in there could stop laughing...Josh was acting exactly like seductive Professor Lewn.

"That was an excellent demonstration, Josh and Celia." Skylarke applauded his two Seventh Years, and then said, "Now, show me how you would counter it."

"Laconus Prioritum!" Josh said. He held his wand up at himself and he shifted from Lewn back to his surfer-boy self. He blushed as Skylarke congratulated him on a job well done. "Thanks, Professor," he said as he sat back down. He looked delighted to have gotten a compliment from Skylarke. Those were rarely given out at all.

"It isn't every day that I get two students that cooperate as well as you two do," Skylarke said. "I will give Ravenclaw andHufflepuff ten points each for being prepared in my class, and for your wonderful teamwork." He stretched for a moment, and let out a really long sigh. Harry thought he heard something that sounded like bones cracking. "Since we're such a small group today, I was wondering…would any of you be interested in testing this Curse out on unsuspecting passersby?" There was a look of mischief on Skylarke's face; he was up to something and was probably enjoying the suspense he had stirred up.

"You mean you're actually letting us use the Laconus Curse on people we run across in the hall!" Celia blurted. "I can't believe it…this is going to be so much fun!"

Cassandra pulled her wand out of her pocket and beamed. "If we run across Hagrid, I get first shot."

"You can attack Hagrid to your heart's desire, Cassandra," Celia said. "Josh and I want to fire this Curse at Mr. Filch…or Peeves!"

"Yeah!" said Josh. "I'll make Peeves pay for the time he stole my Dung Bombs! As for getting even with Filch, that's self-explanatory, isn't it?"

"Sure is," said Harry. He personally wanted to hit Snape or Malfoy with the Laconus Curse and turn them into a house elf for a day, but Filch sounded like he'd be fun to pester, too. "I couldn't agree with you more, my Hufflepuff friend."

"Everyone must stick with me in the hall," Skylarke said, opening the door. "We must all be very quiet and make sure nobody catches any of you without me. If things go wrong, I think I can back you up and get you out of trouble…but I wouldn't count on it if I were you."

The four students and the teacher walked down a long corridor, and they could hear a voice in the hall. "Okay, Adonis, we'll get to Turret Two in a minute. I've got to take a leak, so would you mind waiting on me for a couple of minutes?" That's Lewn, Harry thought. He was right; Lewn and Ebonyste were heading towards Lewn's classroom to go do something. 'I bet both of them would be fun to hit with the Laconus Curse.' Harry raised his wand, and was about to utter the spell, but then someone stopped him. He turned to see Skylarke didn't look too thrilled.

"Harry, I wouldn't go about provoking Professor Ebonyste today if I were you." Skylarke then whispered, "Parenein and Snitchgrass come here around the same time every day…they'd be a lot more fun to torment. Trust me on this. The reason I'm trying to persuade you away from attacking Ebonyste isn't because I like him—actually that's extremely far off, because I can't stand that pointy-eared weasel most of the time—but it's because he's having one of those bizarre mood swings again. He's really ornery and I'm not sure what's bothering him."

At that precise moment, Parenein and Snitchgrass came out toward the staircase and began talking about something. "Okay, everyone," Skylarke said. "On the count of three, all of you are to shout Laconus Anata and flick your wand at your Alchemy and Advanced Astrology teachers. Everyone, when you do this, picture a couple of Dementors in the back of your mind, okay? Does anyone have any questions?" There was dead silence except for the chatter coming from the two oblivious teachers. "Well, in that case," Skylarke said in his usually melancholy (however, today, it was pretty much the exact opposite; he sounded like he was having a very good time) voice, "Let's begin. One…two…three!"

"LACONUS ANATA!" the class shouted in unison. At that moment, Snitchgrass and Parenein both shifted into what looked like a pair of Dementors.

"Awesome!" said Celia. "This is great!" She then beamed at Josh. "You and I are going to have lots of fun with this Curse! Say, Josh? Why don't we get Peeves and Filch first chance that passes us by?" When Josh gave Celia a thumbs-up for approval, she squealed with delight.

"I really don't see any humor in Dementors," Cassandra said. "Professor, could we please change Professor Parenein and Professor Snitchgrass into something more amusing?"

Skylarke nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"Drat," said Harry. "They got away." That was really disappointing; Harry had wanted to give Parenein a full head of hair and a long, pointy nose. He looked about for something else to practice the Laconus Curse on, but couldn't find anything. Everyone was silent; footsteps could be heard coming down the corridor.

"Keep close to me, First Years," McGonagall said icily to a couple of First Year Gryffindors Harry recognized as Winnefred Weasley and Steve Goldman. "You know why I'm supposed to escort you both to your Charms class, don't you? It's because people caught completely alone or in small groups are ending up dead."

Josh turned to Celia and beamed. She returned the smile and said in a voice full of mischief, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, my clever friend?"

"I think so, Celia, my co-conspirator!" Josh said. "So…what will it be? Hog's nose, rat's tail, cat whiskers, or fish scales?"

"None of the above," Celia said evilly. "I was thinking about giving old McGonagall a beard. What do you think of that, my partner-in-crime?" She then asked the Slytherin and the Gryffindor. "Cassandra, Harry…what do you guys think? Doesn't a beard sound like fun?"

Cassandra rolled her eyes and engaged in a conversation with the lean professor. Harry, however, stated his opinion on the matter to his two older friends. "Yeah," was all he said to them. He then raised his wand and said in unison with Josh and Celia, "Laconus Anata!"

All of a sudden, McGonagall's chin started sprouting a long, iron-gray beard. She didn't realize this until Winnefred said something about it. Both of the First Years burst into giggling fits. It was hilarious until McGonagall found her culprits. "Potter, Wells, Goldman," she said, trying to figure out how to get rid of the beard. "What are you doing out of class…and why are you using a vulgar spell on innocent bystanders?"

"Well, Professor," Harry began, trying to figure out how he could word this without getting himself into even more trouble than he already was facing. "Actually..."

"Minerva, it's my fault," Skylarke blurted, coming out of the shadows. "We were practicing the Laconus Curse. I thought it would be a good idea to practice on people instead of wooden masks for a change, you know, to make my course a bit more interesting. If anyone's to blame, it's me." He lowered his head in what appeared to be shame. Harry was glad the new teacher was taking his side, and smiled as Skylarke winked and mouthed the words, "It's an act; fools her every time." 'He's a pretty good actor,' Harry thought happily.

"Well, just make sure I'm not around when you try to pull that stunt again, Mortimer," McGonagall said. "I'll forget all about this if you'd be so kind as to remove my beard."

Skylarke laughed (despite the fact that he looked dejected, he had a pretty cool laugh). "I'm glad you're being a good sport about this incident, Minerva. I really appreciate your cooperation." He stretched a bit and then said, "This brings us to the final part of our lesson today…the counter for the Laconus Curse. All you have to do is flick your wand and say Laconus Prioritum to revert your victim—I meant to say volunteer, honest!—back to their original state. Okay, everyone, let's do this together to get the feel of the counter."

Cassandra, Josh, Harry, and Celia all shouted together, "LACONUS PRIORITUM!"

McGonagall's beard, which had been trailing the floor by this point, disappeared. "Thanks, Mortimer…students." She then walked off with Winnefred and Steve. "I'm pretty sure Professor Flitwick will want to know why two of his First Years were late! Come on, you two!"

After McGonagall had left, Skylarke let out a long sigh. "My lesson for today is over, but the bell rings in two minutes. How about I just go ahead and let you go? Homework…read page 198 in Dr. Hemlock's Guide to the Most Maleficent Curses and answer the three questions on the Laconus Curse." The bell rang at that instant, so Skylarke just yawned. "I'll see all of you at dinner. Enjoy the rest of your day, since all other classes today are dismissed. I hear you all have Potions tomorrow? Good luck; your Potions Master's been in a pretty foul mood after hearing about the death of your Manipulations teacher, and for another...reason…" Skylarke walked off in the direction of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and seemed to disappear into the dark. Cassandra walked off in another direction.

"Harry," Celia said. "Josh and I are going to the Quidditch field, so I guess we'll be seeing you later. It's important that the two of us are alone, okay?"

'Is there something going on between them? I thought Celia said that she and Josh were never going to be a couple.' Harry sighed, somewhat relieved that the classes were over for the day. "Wait up, Cassandra!" he said, hoping the wan girl would obey the command.

Cassandra came to a complete halt. "What now?" she said in a rather irritable voice.

Harry jumped when he got a good look at her face; those were the darkest rings Harry had ever seen under a person's eyes. She didn't look too thrilled to see him, either. Apparently, something was bothering her. "You look like you didn't get any sleep last night."

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Vampires don't rest when they have a craving."

Craving? Was she craving blood? "Bloodthirsty?"

"Harry, stop joking; this is serious business. In a couple of days, I bet I'll be in Bloodlust. Madame Pomfrey won't even get me a bag out of the blood bank, and that's just making matters worse. If this keeps up, someone's going to have bite marks or worse on their neck." Cassandra's right eye twitched a bit and then she said, "Do you have any idea what Celia and Josh are going to be doing tonight at the Quidditch field? I couldn't help but overhear what they were talking about a moment ago, so I was wondering if they had told you."

"No, they didn't," Harry admitted. "Did they tell you?"

"Why would they?" Cassandra said halfheartedly. "I'm still an outsider, you know. Josh doesn't trust me, and Celia's also a bit wary of my kind." She yawned and said, "So, Harry…what exactly are you going to do with all of this free time we've got? It's the day before Halloween, and I just got a letter from my parents, telling me what my dad used to do that very evening when he was a student." Cassandra got a sneer on her face and let out a sinister giggle. "I'm going to try to talk to Darius and Mortimer about this…and see if they'd like to join in on the fun. Severus has been such a killjoy lately, so I really don't think he'd like to egg Hagrid's hut."

Harry's jaw dropped. "Don't do that to Hagrid!" he snapped. "What's he ever done to you?"

Cassandra tilted her head to one side, and the sneer got bigger. "What did I ever do to Damien Fallowin…or Mariko Mizuno, for that matter? No, wait…I'll scratch the egg thought out of my mind. A better idea just came up." She gave that sinister laugh again and said, "You'll find out what it is soon enough, and hopefully nobody's going to get hurt." Then, she smiled in a nicer way. "Maybe I should write my mum and dad and tell them that I finally made some friends here."

"Wait a minute," Harry said. "Who's your dad?"

"Claudius Snape," Cassandra said. "Severus is his younger brother. I've got a picture of my parents in here somewhere." She looked about in her bag until she pulled out that black book and then slipped a picture out of the pocket on the inside cover. "This is my whole family last Christmas. That's the last time we all did something together. There's me in the front, with a red stripe in my hair, and there's Severus in the back. The boy in the front is Teiresias, my kid brother, and there's my mum right beside him. Darius and Mortimer are right there—they came along with Severus—and that's my dad on the far left. On the far right is Priscilla, my aunt on my mum's side of the family. She really doesn't like my dad or Severus...especially Severus."

"I wonder why," Harry said sarcastically as he took the picture out of Cassandra's pale, icy hands. "Could I get a better look at this?" He studied each face in the photograph. Cassandra looked the same in the picture as she did now; except she had a long piece of hair in the front dyed ruby red and was wearing a spiked dog collar and gothic makeup. Cassandra's mum had long, wavy, raven-black hair that trailed down to her knees. Her skin was very pale, and she was wearing some pretty dark eyeshadow to emphasize her bright green eyes; she was a very pretty and elegant-looking woman, dressed in a green silk dress. Ahsimal and Skylarke looked like they were having quite a bit of fun; both of them had a glass of red wine and looked like they were laughing at a very good joke. Ahsimal had been wearing a long, red robe, and had a Christmas ornament dangling out of his right ear where an earring was supposed to be. Skylarke was dressed in his usual; worn brown leather and jade silk, covered from the upper neck and down. Snape was scowling in the background, obviously wanting to be anywhere but with the rest of his family.

There was a pallid little boy with oval glasses, greasy black hair, and a rather prominent nose; it was scary how much he looked like Snape…this had to be Teiresias. Teiresias had a book in his hands, and was looking around to see what everyone else was doing. Cassandra's aunt, Priscilla, had wavy hair like her sister, only hers was red instead of black, and she had a rather snobby look to her; she was wearing a lacey green taffeta dress. Like Snape, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here in the photo. And at the far left was Cassandra's dad, Claudius Snape. He really didn't look too much like his brother—he had light blue eyes, chestnut brown hair, and a rather friendly-looking face—only his hooked nose made it obvious he was from the same family tree. There was also a house elf in the picture, eating a sugar cookie. "Who's the house elf belong to?" Harry asked.

"Oh, that's Kimmy," Cassandra said. "She's Priscilla's." She then snatched the photo back from Harry and said, "That's the last time I got to see my mum, dad, and Teiresias, okay? Priscilla's come over here once or twice to visit, but she's not that much fun to be around. All she ever does is gripe, complain, and talk trash about my dad's side of the family...and Darius."

"You really like Professor Ahsimal, don't you?" Harry asked, knowing it wasn't altogether his business.

Cassandra nodded. "He's the only other vampire I know, so I can speak with him in a way I can't with any of you that are fully living. Darius is one of the noblest people I know, and I'd trust him with my very existence." She smiled as she said, "He was my first friend and never betrayed me…ever." Harry and Cassandra passed Turret Thirteen at that exact moment.

Harry kept on going, but Cassandra halted and got a bewildered expression on her face. "What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"It's been here…and it's taken--" Cassandra started, but then cut herself short. She rushed off without saying a word, her wand already pulled out in her left hand. "Don't follow me!"

Harry wanted to follow, but he decided it would be smarter to obey Cassandra for a change. He saw Celia and Josh walking down a corridor together, and he could hear their conversation…

"Someone's going to find out about you sooner or later, Celia. I don't see why you need to keep on hiding it from everyone but me."

"Josh, you wouldn't understand; it's a safety precaution."

"But you let me come, even though I can't do that."

"That's because you caught me when we were Second Years!"

"It's also because you like me..."

"As a friend, Josh; I like you as a friend."

"Yeah, sure, Celia; just admit it; you think I'm cute."

"Well, okay, you are, but you're still just my friend!"

"Look, I don't think anyone's going down this corridor. Why don't we just go down this way? It leads right to the Quidditch field….why in the name of Merlin do you want to go there of all places? Anyone could be out there..."

"The next Quidditch game isn't for another two weeks, silly. Nobody goes out there at night anymore due to that gorgonix thing Atticus keeps talking about."

"I guess you're right, but still…what if the gorgonix is out there?"

"Look, Josh…you know me, and you know what I can do…you know what I'm about to do. Do you think some monster's going to attack us after I shift?"

"I…I guess not."

"That's right. We'll be perfectly safe as long as nobody finds out about me."

Harry was very interested by now. Celia was going to do something at the Quidditch field, and only Josh knew about it. He pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and followed the two Seventh Years out to the field. He was not prepared to see what Celia did next.

"Accio Telescope!" Josh said, and then a telescope appeared on the field. "Okay, Celia. I'll make sure nobody disturbs you as you do your evening exercise."

"Thanks," Celia said, and then blew Josh a kiss. "This has been a lot easier for me since you've started coming along when I do this. Raise the shield, Josh!"

"You've got it!" Josh said. "Magarus Nistenia!" A golden mist surrounded the whole stadium. "Okay, I just made it where nobody on the outside can come in until we leave. Anyone already in here's stuck until I take that shielding spell off. Also, nothing from the outside can harm us, either. Any attacks will just be absorbed into the shield and make it stronger."

"Good thinking," Celia said. She then muttered a few words Harry couldn't hear, and shifted. She didn't look like Celia Wells anymore…Celia had transformed into a white wolf.

Harry had to hold his hand over his mouth to stifle a scream of shock and surprise. 'What am I so surprised for? She told everyone in Furrier's first Animagery lesson that she was a licensed Animagus.' Another thought struck him that made him a little jealous. 'Celia only told Josh that she could change into a white wolf. Why didn't she tell the rest of us? Didn't she say she felt comfortable around us too?' He just watched as Celia the wolf ran about ten laps around the entire Quidditch field before she shifted back to her human form. "That was a good run," Celia said. "I'm going to walk with you to dinner, Josh. I hope that's alright with you."

"It always is," Josh said. "Now, what exactly are we going to tell Harry and the others we were doing? They'll be wondering where we wandered off to."

"Let's just say something important turned up that we had to take care of," Celia said. "Well, what? It is the truth…we'd only be leaving out one very important part!" Josh looked about everywhere with a look of suspicion on his handsome face. "Is something wrong?"

"I get the feeling someone was watching us," Josh admitted. "Someone's been following us and saw you change into a wolf."

"It isn't that horrid Turpin girl, is it?" Celia asked nervously. "If Lisa saw us, the whole school will know what I've been doing every Thursday evening before dinner since I was eleven!"

Josh looked about in a wary manner, and then his eyes finally met Harry's. "Harry!" he said. "Were you spying on us?"

Harry gulped, knowing he had been caught. Josh and Celia didn't look too thrilled to see him, either. "I wanted to see what you two were going to do," he said. "Celia, I remember you mentioning that you were an Animagus. I had no idea you turned into a wolf!"

Celia sighed and rolled her eyes. "Look, Harry, don't tell anyone what you saw out here. You've got to promise to keep this secret. What would people do if they found out that I could turn into a wolf at will? That could jeopardize my life."

Josh gave Harry a cold look. "If you do anything to harm Celia, I swear I'll kill you."

Celia rolled her eyes. "Josh, spare us all the melodrama! Harry just made a mistake, that's all. It's no big deal…as long as he doesn't tell anybody." She then turned toward Harry and said, "Look, you can tell Ron and Hermione if you want to, but I don't trust any of those Slytherins, not even Rick. It would be best that you keep this out of their earshot. Who knows what Malfoy or Cassandra would do?"

Josh sighed. "Cassandra probably wouldn't do anything, because we know she's a filthy bloodsucker and could always threaten to blow her cover, but she'd act weirder than usual and probably wouldn't trust us anymore." He groaned. "Don't even get me started with Malloy."

"Does Atticus know?" Harry asked. Josh gave him another dirty look.

Celia nodded. "Yeah, he knows. Until you caught me, only Josh, Atticus, and Professor Furrier were in on my little secret. I'd given out a clue in Animagery, but you notice I didn't tell anyone what animal I was able to change into."

Josh said, "There are only seven registered Animagi in the past century. Minerva McGonagall the Transfigurations teacher, Cassandra Snape the vampire, Celia Wells the siren..."

"Oh, shut up, Josh," Celia said. "I'm not that pretty."

"Yes, you are," Josh said. "Now, where was I? Oh, right…the others that were registered were Alexander Furrier our Animagery teacher, Aurelius Fallowin who's currently in Azkaban for numerous crimes, Mia Twitchett the band and orchestra director over here, and an old fart named Albert Silverman." Josh groaned. "I actually got to meet Mr. Silverman before. He used to be in the Department of Relics for the Ministry of Magic. They deal with all sorts of magical weapons that are supposed to be kept top secret to the public, some of them are really old. Sure, he's really nice, but he's definitely lost a lot of marbles. He says there are demons possessing things in his house, yet he refuses to get an Exorcist to do anything about it. Silverman's a cuckoo, no doubt about it." He then jumped back on topic. "Well, enough of that; Harry, you better keep this under wraps!"

"Don't worry," Harry said. "I will."

Celia smiled, but Josh scowled. "I believe you, Harry," Celia said.

"I don't," Josh snarled. "Go away and don't bother us again."

Not everybody sat together at dinner; Josh, Atticus, and Celia were seated at the far end of the Hawkbane table. The rest of the group of friends sat with Harry in the opposite direction. Cassandra picked at her food and then nibbled a bit on her celery sticks. "What's the matter?" Ron asked. "Not hungry?"

Cassandra shook her head. "Pansy Parkinson's in the infirmary; whatever-it-is that's been killing everyone off lately tried to get rid of her. Lucky for her, Darius and Mortimer got there in time to ward it off. Whatever that monster is, it seems to be afraid of vampires and Mortimer."

"Are you sure Skylarke's not a vampire too?" Rick asked.

"He's not a vampire," Cassandra said flatly. "Trust me; I'd be one of the first to know if he was one, and I assure you he's far from being a vampire."

"He's not normal, though," Marcus said. "There's something really weird about that guy."

"Skylarke's hiding something," said Draco as he took a bite of his pork tenderloin. "He's got to be paranoid for a reason, right?"

"I couldn't agree more," Rick said as he slurped down the last of his French onion soup. "Draco, you seem to be finished, too. Why don't you and I head up to the Slytherin Common Room to go into detail about what we're going to be doing tomorrow night after the feast?"

"Good idea, Rick," Draco said. "Marcus, you're coming with us."

"Why me?" Marcus groaned. "I'm not finished with my cheesecake yet!"

"It's about you-know-what and concerns you-know-who." Rick dragged Marcus away from the table, and so all the Slytherins in the group (except Cassandra, who was being unnaturally quiet) left for their Common Room. "Come on, you two! Cain's waiting on us!"

"Well, that was weird," Ron said. "Malfoy, Rick, and Marcus aren't in a chatty mood, Cassandra and Hermione aren't trying to lecture us on good study habits, Celia and Josh don't want to talk to us and they've taken Atticus, and Harry…you seem preoccupied. What's going on? We're supposed to have fun tomorrow since it'll be Halloween."

"Ron, I can't tell you; I'd be putting someone in jeopardy if I did."

Cassandra looked up. "I'm in a similar situation, Harry. I already know about what you're trying to conceal."

"You do? How!" Harry said in surprise. He rolled his eyes as Cassandra muttered the words 'vangelico Macedalion.' "Mind your own business, Cassandra, and get a life."

"How can I get a life?" Cassandra snarled sarcastically. "Or shall I suck one out of a volunteer? Harry?" She then made her food disappear.

"Aren't you hungry?" Hermione asked. "You usually eat quite a lot."

Cassandra shook her head. "I think seeing Pansy made me lose my appetite for food. I'm beginning to crave something else…something much harder to get without hurting someone. Hermione, I am beginning to feel sick because I'm beginning to go into Bloodlust."

Hermione's face turned really pale. "Harry, Ron…I think we should move over to another spot and leave Cassandra alone for a while; vampires can get dangerous if they deny themselves blood for a very long period of time." She then asked Cassandra, "Have you ever bitten anyone?"

"No," Cassandra said smoothly. "Madame Pomfrey usually gives me small vials of blood out of the school blood bank and tells me to drink them whenever I like, as long as nobody is watching me. However, lately, everyone's been staring at me. It's all that Turpin girl's fault for spreading all of those rumors that I'm a cold-blooded killer that won't hesitate to murder someone for their blood. That would only happen if I lost my mind due to the cravings. Since everyone thinks I'm dangerous, Madame Pomfrey has been refusing to give me anymore blood until I calm down and control my temper. Nobody understands…it's the cravings that make me irritable."

Hermione turned toward Ron and Harry and asked, "Is there a vampire support group?"

Cassandra sighed. "Dumbledore's wary of vampires, and the only reason Darius still teaches here is because he's taught at Hogwarts ever since it began as a school…and also because there's not a better Necromancer to be found in the entire wizarding world. He tries his best to conveniently forget that I'm one. Most people here just think it's a stupid rumor that I'm a vampire, and don't completely believe it, and only very few know the actual truth." She smiled timidly, like a prisoner who knows in the back of their mind that they aren't going to be shown any mercy. "I trust you will keep that secret until I'm gone and completely dead."

"You can count on us," said Ron. "We haven't done anything that suggests otherwise, now have we?"

"Okay, you've proven your point," Cassandra said. "That is a heavy secret, so conceal it in the very depths of your soul. You know of this, so I trust all of you to be my Secret-Keepers as well as my best friend that I haven't introduced any of you to yet."

"You won't regret it," Hermione said, taking in her last bite of cranberry sauce. "We wouldn't betray you unless you gave us a reason to do so."

Cassandra then got up and said, "I've got to see Darius about something, so I guess I'll see all of you in Potions tomorrow. After all, that's our only class that hasn't been cancelled for Halloween…and we do have that together."

"I'm kind of glad she left," Hermione said as Cassandra walked off to talk to the Necromancy teacher. "That green flame in the back of her eyes gets me worried sometimes. That might just be a sign of vampiric Bloodlust, but it might also be a symbol of Voldemort—oh, stop shaking, Ron; it's just a name—and the Death Eaters. Is there any chance she's involved with that crowd, Harry?"

"When Snape caught me looking in her Pensieve when she was in the infirmary, he said Cassandra wouldn't want to join with the Death Eaters. Either we take that slimy git's word for it, or believe he lied straight to my face."

"Harry," Ron said, finishing off the last of his chocolate ice cream. "Knowing Snape, the latter wouldn't surprise me in the least."

"Ditto," Hermione said, writing a rather long essay on a piece of parchment.

"Who's that for?" Ron asked. "Is it another love letter to Krum?"

"No," Hermione said flatly. "This is that essay Wolfe wanted on manipulating inanimate objects. Have you and Harry finished yours yet?"

"Hermione," Ron said. "Wolfe Leir died this week, remember? There is no way that he's going to be checking those since he's a corpse now."

"I know that," Hermione snapped. "Dumbledore's trying to find another person to permanently teach Manipulations. Until then, we've got a substitute that will be checking those essays first thing Tuesday morning!"

Harry groaned; it was Wolfe Leir's revenge from beyond the grave…his final act as teacher was to assign everyone to write a five-foot essay to finish the excruciatingly long unit they'd covered on manipulating things that had never been alive. Even though the subject had been fairly interesting, it was still a long assignment nonetheless. 'I bet Hermione, Atticus, and Cassandra are the only ones that have started working on those damn essays.' "Any ideas who's going to be the substitute, Hermione?"

"Not a clue," Hermione said. "I just hope it's someone like Wolfe. He made Manipulations so much fun and so easy to understand for beginners…"

"Lisa Turpin told me you got an 'Acceptable' in that class, Hermione. If it's so easy, how come Manipulations is your lowest grade?" Ron asked, and then came up with a rather humorous thought. "Oh, I guess maybe you spent the whole period watching him and drooling over his stunning good looks!"

"Well," Harry said teasingly. "Ron, at least Hermione's not fawning over Lockhart anymore."

"Stop picking on me, you two!" Hermione snapped. She then got up to talk to Ginny and Luna. "So…what are you two up to?"

"Nothing much," Ginny said flatly. "Luna's just reading the Quibbler again."

Luna looked up and said, "Did you know that Professor Lewn is really a man?"

Ron sighed. "Harry, what are we going to do after the Halloween Feast tomorrow night?"

"I have no idea, Ron," Harry said honestly. "I was thinking about sitting in the study, writing a letter to Mad-Eye and see how he's doing."

"That's a good idea," Ron said. "Or maybe…we can spy on Cassandra again!"

Harry cringed, remembering what had happened the last time he and Ron had done that. Sebastian's ghost had panicked and almost killed Cassandra. "No, Ron! That would be a bad idea! Do you want to end up getting attacked by Sebastian again!"

"No," Ron said flatly. "I just thought that maybe we could see why she's been sticking really close to Skylarke and Ahsimal lately. She's connected to this gorgonix thing, I can tell. You personally said that Cassandra might know who Mortius really is. Before he kills someone else, I'd like to find out. Maybe this whole gorgonix thing is nothing but a cover-up for Mortis."

"You might be right, Ron…maybe Cassandra knows what's really going on and just doesn't want to tell us."

"So, are we going to follow her?"

"Why not?"

"Okay, when's our chance?"

"At the feast, we can always ask her..."

"No, Harry!"

"What's wrong now!"

"She might get angry. Maybe it would be better to just follow her from a safe distance?"

"That sounds reasonable..."

"What are you two up to?" a third voice asked.

"Professor Nezura!" Harry and Ron both gaped as Mitzi jumped into the conversation. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was eating, but then it looked like you two were going to do something roguish…I wanted to be part of it. So, what's up?" Mitzi's big eyes were looking straight at them, as if they were daring Harry and Ron to prove her wrong.

"Nothing much," Harry said. "Remember Mortis?"

Mitzi blanched, and her eyes widened a bit. "Y-yes…I r-remember Mortis."

"I think we might know someone who knows who he really is, but just doesn't want to tell us," said Ron. "Our witness's name is Cassandra Snape."

"You think she's part of this whole gorgonix story!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if she and some of the other teachers just made up that excuse to cover up Mortius," Harry said. "We're suspecting Skylarke, Ahsimal, Cassandra, and Snape right now..."

"I've had my eye on Ahsimal for a while, lads; he's definitely connected to what's going on," Mitzi yawned. "I wouldn't be too surprised if he's Mortis!"

Harry sighed. "You know, you might be right."

"So, how about you two spy on Cassandra, and I go spy on your Necromancy master?" Nezura said; her voice filled with excitement. She looked almost ecstatic about this whole ordeal.

"Sure," Ron said. "See you later, Professor."

"Bye!" Mitzi said as she hopped off to talk to Lewn about something. "Hello Claire!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "She's been really jumpy and accusatory lately. I wonder what's gotten into her."

"There's no telling," Harry said. "Ron, how about we go check out the Labyrinth again? I'm sure we'll get some sort of clue in there."

"I'm not going today, Harry. I want to talk to Celia about something," Ron said. "I'll see you in the Common Room later on tonight."

"Okay," Harry said. 'I don't want to go alone, though.' looked around, and noticed that Luna was still eating her dinner…macaroni and cheese with shrimp in it. "Luna, would you like to see something really weird?"

Weird had most certainly been a good choice of words; Luna finished her meal really quickly, and then beamed at Harry. "Sure! What is it?" she said in her dreamy voice.

Harry and Luna walked off toward the Labyrinth, and took the Invisibility Cloak with them. There was a light tapping of a girl's footsteps further on up, but Luna really didn't pay any attention to that. "Who's that?" Harry said, not quite sure.

"Nobody," Luna said. "At least, that's what I think. I'm guessing it was just me." She stopped, but the footsteps could still be heard. "Well, I guess it's just an echo of my walking. Who'd want to follow us anyway?"

"You know what, Luna? You'd be surprised," said Harry. "Come on, before someone notices we're off in this direction." He then froze to see a hooded figure, just like the one he had spotted last time. It walked gracefully deeper and deeper into the marble Labyrinth, and a ghostly green glow was issuing out of a lantern held in a rather pale hand…a girl's hand. I bet that's Cassandra, Harry thought. "Luna, I've got a pretty good feeling who the person in the hood is."

"So do I," Luna said dreamily. "I bet it's a Death Eater."

'That really wouldn't be all that surprising, either.' "Let's stay far behind whoever-it-is."

"Okay."

Luna and Harry followed the hooded girl even up to the point where everything but that dim green light was black in darkness. They both saw their "guide" finally come to a halt and pull her hood back; it was Cassandra, just as Harry had suspected. In her hand was a tiny bottle that had a dark, thick substance in it…fresh human blood. "Finally, a bit of privacy," Cassandra grumbled. She looked left and then right; her eyes wandered toward the Invisibility Cloak for what seemed like the longest time. However, her stare just went around the entire three hundred and sixty degrees before she opened the vial and poured the contents down her throat. It seemed like a bit of color had returned to her face, and her eyes seemed a lot more fiery now. She pulled her black book out once more, and sat there writing for nearly fifteen minutes. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming down from the Labyrinth…footsteps that were nowhere near as graceful as Cassandra's.

"Who's there?" Cassandra asked. "Argus, is that you? If so, you know perfectly well I've got permission to use the Aerie." She peered over to the side for a moment, and there was no reply. "Argus, I'm really not catching the humor in this--" Cassandra looked around the corner, and screamed. She dropped her black book (that was her journal and reference book as far as Harry knew; he did know, however, that this book was very important to Cassandra) and fled as fast as she could.

Luna whispered to Harry, "What do you think she saw?"

"I have no idea," Harry said seriously. He looked around, and then saw a silhouette that was slowly, but surely, getting bigger. There was no mistaking it; this was a Death Eater. After Cassandra had completely left the area (still screaming at the top of her lungs), everything went pitch-black in the utmost darkness. "Now what do we do?" he whispered to Luna. "We can't light up our wands, because that would attract attention toward us. We're supposed to be invisible, remember?"

"Damn," said Luna. "I wanted to see who the Death Eater was. Wait, listen…he or she wasn't alone."

Harry and Luna heard another set of footsteps at that very moment. "Ah, yes," said a voice that had become rather familiar to Harry by now…Mortius. "Nobody's allowed up here except a few select students and the most trusted members of the faculty. Thanks for supplying me with the key, my dear friend and ally."

"It's not a problem, Mortius," said another voice Harry recognized as Ebonyste. "I know where to get the mirror of Macedethe."

"So do I, Adonis."

"What about the vampire's elixir?"

"I know of two places I can get that; the Snape girl and we could always confront Darius."

"The blood of a Shadow…don't you think Atticus will object to giving you that?"

"Atticus Shadow the Ninth might, true," Mortius said. "I'll get it from his grandfather, so that's not such a big deal."

"So…you still need the tear from a descendant of Dumbledore, am I correct?"

"It needs to be shed for me, too," Mortius said. "How can I get something like that to happen?"

"Shift into her parents," Ebonyste suggested. "Celia Wells is the granddaughter of Dumbledore, after all. She lost both her parents, and I bet seeing one of them from beyond the grave would make her cry."

"I've already got the water from the Fountain of Youth; Claire gave it to me freely, probably because she always has had a soft spot for me."

"Part of the soul of the arch nemesis of the Dark Lord…won't that be hard to do? I'm sure everyone would raise Hell if Potter went missing for a long period of time; Mortius, you can't risk that! You'd blow your cover immediately!"

"Don't worry, my friend," Mortius said smoothly. "An old friend of mine is taking care of Harry personally. She owes me a favor, so helping me in the last thing I'll ever do…that would count, wouldn't it?"

"I…I guess so."

"To complete this ritual, I'll have to kill myself or someone else that might be good for the Cause," Mortius said. "I'm frightened. This Raid we're planning over at Hogwarts on the Sixth of November will probably be the last time I'll ever have some fun. I want to die a glorious death for our cause, even if that means letting my body become a shell for something more dangerous. Then, and only then, can I truthfully consider myself a true follower of Lord Voldemort."

"Mortius, you're loyal even to death; that is rare to find these days. I'm a traitor, and I've got to live the rest of my life with that guilt…"

"Adonis, don't kid yourself. You made some choices that changed you, that's all. Nobody's blaming you for changing sides."

"Lumos!" Ebonyste said. "Look, Mortius! Cassandra Snape left that mirror of hers when she took off just a minute or two ago. Maybe we can use it!"

'No, not that. Get your hands off of her stuff. She isn't here to defend herself, so lay off Cassandra's mirror.'

"Adonis!" Mortius shouted.

"Yes?"

"That's the Mirror of Macedethe! There were only three of them. We stole the first one from Míguel already, and Icarus is willing to let me borrow his for that one night we've got all planned out. Hand me that damn mirror, Adonis…now!"

"It'll look suspicious, so maybe we should leave it where it is," Ebonyste said, and then he gave out a quick, fake laugh. "Oh, look at the time! Mortius, we've got to be heading over toward breakfast now or people will get suspicious. You can't be late because you're pretending to be someone who is far from being expendable to Hogwarts."

'Is Mortius pretending to be Dumbledore!' Harry thought. He looked at Luna for a minute; she was being quiet as the grave because she wanted to hear the entire conversation.

Ebonyste stomped out, and Luna followed. "What are you doing, Luna?" said Harry.

"Following Professor Ebonyste," she said. "It's dark in here, and his eyes glow. Besides, he's a Ravenclaw teacher, so I can trust him."

"He was a Death Eater!" Harry whispered harshly.

"'Was' is the key word, Harry. Professor Ebonyste cut the Dark Mark out of his arm right in front of the whole Ravenclaw House at the beginning of the school year." Luna then walked off until there was a bit of light where she could see where she was going. Harry could hear her say, "Professor Ebonyste, can I ask you about something? What do you think of the Loch Ness sea monster?"

"I think it's just a bunch of bullshit," Ebonyste said flatly.

"Well, thanksfor being honest, Professor," Luna growled, walking off with the Quibbler.

Harry heard Mortius say in his deep, droning voice, "Ah, yes…Sebastian really didn't want Tybalt to find that one thing he'd been keeping up here for ages. Luckily, he didn't…but I did." He stood there, and Harry heard something that sounded like cloth being torn. "Tybalt, you didn't think I could do it! Look at me now…who's going to be remembered in wizarding history for centuries…you? Don't make me laugh; you'll just be remembered as the son of a bitch that killed the youngest Potions Master we ever had here at Hogwarts." There was some rather cruel laughter, and the tearing sound increased. "Mitzi Nezura, you're next on the list of the…er…gorgonix."

"No!" Harry shouted, tearing the Invisibility Cloak off of his body. He pulled out his wand and felt the deepest, darkest desire to do harm to this foul voice. He'd never seen the face of Mortius, yet he knew that deep inside he had an unquenchable hatred for this Death Eater.

"Who's there?" Mortius said calmly. He didn't even act alarmed. "Lumos!" At that exact moment, the light shone on Harry's face. "Harry Potter?" He didn't sound too intimidated to be face-to-face with a sixteen-year-old wizard. He gave a short, arrogant laugh. "Did you come to me unaccompanied?"

Harry tried to think up a lie that this man would believe. He remembered what McGonagall had been saying to Winnefred and Steve earlier…people caught completely alone or in small groups are ending up dead. He bit his lip and said, "No, I didn't."

"That's strange," Mortius taunted. "There doesn't seem to be anyone with you. Oh well, I guess that means that you're just stuck in the presence of a foe that you know that you cannot defeat." He laughed evilly. "You haven't even seen my face, so you'd never be able to spot me!"

Harry's lip curled in disgust. He raised his wand up and then shouted, "Crucio!" He knew that it was an illegal curse, but he didn't care right now; he just wanted to cause Mortius, whoever he was, serious pain and injury.

Mortius screamed for a minute and then laughed. "I thought Bellatrix taught you your lesson on the Crucatius Curse earlier this year when you were in the Department of Mysteries!" Mortius was wearing a hood; Harry couldn't see any of the man's face…except for below his nose. His skin was like that of a corpse, pure white with black, thin veins and a slimy-looking texture like a Dementor's flesh. His smile was cruel and mocking, and his teeth were like Tellulan's…large, bone-colored and skeleton-like. "Tell me, what was it like for you when you lost your godfather behind the Veil? How long did it take you to realize he died and wouldn't be coming back?" The shrill laughter was rather quiet; Mortius was trying his best not to raise his voice. As he laughed, something inside him seemed to be screaming deep within his body, as if it was being tortured. "Would you like to see who I am pretending to be, Harry?" Mortius crowed. "Nobody's going to believe you, anyway."

As Mortius pulled back his hood, Harry couldn't see him clearly; the light was too dim. When the man turned around, he looked exactly like Professor Snape. The deep voice changed to match the vocals of the Head of the Slytherin house. "Let me put it this way, Potter; I'm a Metamorphmagus. Tell whoever you like, but nobody's going to believe you when you say that I'm not Severus Snape." There was a cruel smile on that familiar and unpleasant face. "I'm one of the best actors you'll ever run across; never once have I behaved out-of-character when I had an audience."

"What happened to the real Snape?" Harry asked. Mortius didn't answer; he just grinned in a rather sickening and sadistic way. "Why you..."

"Severus, Harry…there you two are!" said Dumbledore, coming as quickly as he could. "Are you restarting your Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape, Harry?"

"Er..."

"Yes, he is," Mortius said in a voice that was identical to Snape's. If he hadn't admitted that he wasn't the real Snape, Harry would have never known; the impersonation was flawless. "I'm ready to start teaching him again, but he'll need to be more respectful and considerate. I think it's about time Potter learns his rightful place and realizes that he's not any better than anyone else." Mortius scowled perfectly and curled his lip up just like Snape did. Obviously, Dumbledore (and everyone else) was fooled by the imitation and saw no flaws in the character of the Potions Master.

"Harry needs to learn how to protect himself, Severus," Dumbledore said. "You just have to make sure that you don't confuse him with his father; they are not the same person, after all."

"They're pretty similar," Mortius grumbled, just so Harry and Dumbledore could hear him.

"Well, it's about time that we start getting some rest for tomorrow. Harry, I ran across Luna Lovegood in the hall on my way over here. She was wondering where you were."

"Oh," Harry said. "Well, it was nice of her to ask…"

At breakfast the next morning, Celia and Josh were still avoiding Harry and giving him the same disgusted look. They also had Atticus sitting with them. "Don't let them get to you, Harry," Neville said. "Josh is an arrogant prick that thinks he's better than everyone else, and Celia just follows his example most of the time because they're such good friends..."

"Don't go badmouthing Celia!" Ron said. "She's probably just afraid that Harry will tell someone like Lisa Turpin about her wolf transformation. Josh, on the other hand, is being an arrogant prick, just like you said, Neville."

"What about Atticus Shadow? Why's he over there with them?" Luna asked.

"Atticus is best friends with Celia and Josh," Hermione said flatly. "He's not mad at us, but they're holding him hostage over there…and there's no way to get him out."

Everyone sniggered at Hermione's jest, and then Cassandra walked over there with her breakfast bowl in her hands. "Hi," she said shakily. "Could I sit with you?"

"Sure, why not?" Ron said. "There's a seat available where Isis was supposed to be meeting us today."

"She's not coming," Hermione said. "Isis has a new boyfriend."

"Who's the lucky guy?" asked Harry, digging into his oatmeal. "I really hate this stuff."

"Seamus Finnigan," Hermione said. She then pointed at the Gryffindor table.