The Ravenclaw common room was a known location to most Hogwarts students, primarily thanks to Beignet, Victoire Weasley's cat. Entering the common room, however, was a different challenge than just finding it.

Aspen approached the knocker and it contorted to an ugly stone face as Aspen wondered what the password might be.

The knocker spoke, "In lack of light I prowl and howl, but you would not know me by man's scowl. What am I?"

Aspen raised her eyebrows. That's too easy! "A werewolf."

The face turned back to a knocker and the door opened, revealing a circular, blue-themed common room. Aspen stepped through to see towering bookshelves, star-patterned wallpaper, and several Ravenclaws milling about. Fourth, fifth, and seventh years were done with classes for the day, and Carlisle McKinnon and Victoire Weasley looked up at Aspen's entry. Beignet jumped down from Victoire's lap to greet her.

"Aspen!" Carlisle called to her. "What brings you here?"

The fluffy cat wound around Aspen's feet as the Gryffindor made her way to her two friends and sat at their table. "Needed somewhere to talk in private. To a Slytherin. His idea."

"Oh, Teddy comes here all the time for quiet study, so that's fine as long as Esme doesn't see," Victoire said pleasantly.

"Is it Levi Scoundrel?" Carlisle asked with a grin. "I heard about the bonfire party."

Aspen rolled her eyes. "It is him, but it's not like that."

Victoire and Carlisle exchanged smirks. "If you say so."

"Wonder if he's stranded in the hall?" Victoire mused.

Aspen shrugged. "Might be. Hey, is that homework for Charms? Can you help me?"

It was 4:30 and Aspen and Carlisle were locked in debate about the practicality of shielding versus disarming in a duel, Charms chart cast aside and Victoire reading Theories of Relativity in Astronomy, when the door opened to reveal a rather harried Levi Scoundrel. The Slytherin hurried in and spotted Aspen, making his way quickly to her and sitting down.

"We'll have to continue this discussion later," Aspen said to Carlisle, and Victoire marked her page in her book.

"C'mon, Carlisle- let's go see if that Merlin book is back in the library yet…"

The two Ravenclaws departed, leaving Aspen and Levi to themselves.

"So- what did you want to talk to me about?"

Aspen struggled to articulate her question. She didn't like this conversation- Tia Shannon was a Slytherin, and Levi was a Slytherin, and Aspen didn't want Levi to think she was prejudiced against his house. Rivalry was reserved for pranking and quidditch- not serious accusations.

"I… Noticed something and had a thought."

He set his elbow on the table and rested his head on his fist. "Go on."

The pose, completed with messy blond hair and bright gray-blue eyes, was ridiculously attractive and not helpful at all. Aspen reddened slightly at the thought and plowed forward. "The night McGonagall left- were there any Slytherins missing from the Great Hall?"

Levi's eyes narrowed in suspicion and he sat up. "Why?"

"I just- I remembered that wasn't long after Claire was kidnapped."

His eyes narrowed further. "What are you implying, Aspen?"

He wasn't taking it well. Aspen had never witnessed his anger directed at her. She cleared her throat. "Confession time- we used a source inside Slytherin to steal some polyjuice potion from Eloise Flint. I just- I had the thought that maybe the Granger impersonator was aware of the polyjuice potion in Slytherin dorms, too."

Relief crashed over Levi. "Is that all?" His anger dissipated. "Have you talked to anyone else about this?"

Aspen shook her head. "I wanted to talk to you about it first."

He leaned close and took her hand. "Aspen- Eloise had polyjuice potion because one of the younger Slytherins has a particular affliction. You wouldn't have seen her in the Great Hall that night because she was covering for him. That's why I got defensive just now."

"Oh. I… Sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"No, I'm glad it was you." He squeezed her hand. "It's crossed my mind, too, that the impersonator might be a Slytherin. But if it is, they're already graduated. We've been trying to figure it out ourselves- Slytherin has a bad enough reputation, we hoped to salvage some good reputation by catching the crook."

Aspen processed this. "So- you guys have no idea either?"

"No. Any Slytherins psychotic enough to try something like this are also too proud to condescend to being seeing as Hermione Granger. She was notoriously disliked by the Slytherins, and the ones that didn't hate her wouldn't be this crazy."

Aspen conceded he had a point. Besides, it wasn't Slytherin's way to attempt a coup d'etat via impersonation- they would more likely find a way to influence the school by subtle means. Aspen nodded. "Makes sense." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Thank you, Levi. I really don't- I mean, I just want to say I'm not suspecting Slytherin because of past reputations. It could just as well be a Gryffindor. It's just because of the polyjuice potion."

Levi lifted Aspen's chin with his finger. "Hey- it's alright. If I thought you were prejudiced, I wouldn't have told you anything about our afflicted student."

A shrill, tempered voice suddenly broke across the room: "Scoundrel! Lockhart! What are you doing in here!"

Aspen grinned. "She's oddly reminiscent of Claire MacMillan."

"Love you, Clearwater!" Levi called. He grinned at Aspen. "Let's go!"

The two non-Ravenclaws raced out past a rather disgruntled Esme Clearwater, the Head Girl howling all the while. They burst into the corridor laughing and Levi grasped Aspen's hand.

"Come with me!"

They tore off, landing on the moving staircase at a flying leap, and headed up through the castle. Esme Clearwater's elevated scolding vanished behind them. Levi led Aspen by the hand till they at last reached the Astronomy Tower, where they hunched over, gasping for breath.

"That was excellent," Aspen panted.

"Scoundrel! Lockhart!"

Levi looked up at her from behind a scruff of dark blond hair, grinning. "Deja vu, eh?"

Aspen chuckled and straightened up. Levi's eyes glinted with defiance as Granger stormed down the hall to them, looking furious.

"Why are you running in the halls!"

Granger faced them with glaring eyes and arms akimbo. Aspen crossed her arms out of habit and Levi raised his eyebrows at Aspen.

"Truth?"

She shrugged. "Sure."

Levi returned his glimmering gaze to Granger with a pleasant smile. "We smuggled ourselves into the Ravenclaw common room to discuss the merits of shielding spells compared to disarming. Then one of the Ravenclaws noticed us and screamed us out, so we went sprinting down the halls, vandalizing the property and bullying first years."

Aspen was well aware she had just landed herself in a heap of trouble larger than dragon-dung, yet she found herself laughing as Granger looked ready to combust. The headmistress fumed and then burst like a broken pipe:

"I don't know why you imbeciles believe you can do whatever you want anytime you like! Hogwarts has rules for a reason! I don't want to know what you were really running from but- but go now to my office! You're both in a world of trouble and I'm not putting up with this asinine disobedience! Go! Now!"

The verbal battery that followed was ever after a blur in Aspen's memory. Granger was so infuriated she was spitting and barely comprehensible- this, accompanied by Levi occasionally noting, "Really?" and "Incredible," had Aspen in stitches from suppressed laughter. When they left two hours later, it was with goofy grins and a month of detentions. They headed straight for the Great Hall.

"Well- that was an enlightening experience," Levi commented as they returned to their classmates, who were mostly nose-deep in the Halloween feast.

"How so?" Aspen asked.

"Granger definitely isn't a Slytherin."

ooo

It was the first time in five years that Aspen didn't indulge in the Halloween feast till she felt near to bursting.

She limited how much she ate, while encouraging others to eat plenty. James pretended to fret over her and she lied that she wasn't hungry. When they returned to the common room, James presented Aspen with a box containing chocolate cake, which he announced that he'd smuggled in from the feast, to the approval of their peers. Aspen thanked him and headed into her dorm to lay down, accounting the poor condition of her stomach as why she was going to bed so early.

Aubrey came up to check on her about the time Aspen laid down and leaned on the door. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

Aubrey lifted an eyebrow. "Not eating, turning in early, James Potter giving you a cake…? Disappearing for two hours and coming back with Leviathan Scoundrel?"

Aspen hadn't ever had to keep secrets from Aubrey. But Slytherin's afflicted student and James' heirloom cloak weren't Aspen's secrets to tell. She swallowed heavily. "I wish I could tell you, but…"

Aubrey sighed, closed the door, and sat down on the bed next to Aspen's. "Aspen, you know I love you, right?"

"Of course! I love you, too, Aubrey- this just isn't mine to tell."

"Well… I'm trying to help you with all this, but it feels like we've barely communicated since everything started. We always do the first Hogsmeade trip together, and spend the holidays together. Ben's alright, but you're the only reason he and I ever hang out. I'm not saying stop fighting- I see how much all this means to you- I'm just saying… Give yourself some time, too. And me. You're a teenage girl, Aspen, not a war hero, and I'm your best friend- maybe second to Ben- and you have to make time for these things. Let yourself be a teenager."

Aspen finally registered the tension in her shoulders and her eyes blurred. "I love you, Aubrey, and you're right. Keep reminding me when to slow down. I have to do something important tonight, but tomorrow night, after quidditch, we'll do a girls' night, alright?"

Aubrey nodded. "Do you want me to wait up for you?"

Aspen almost said yes, but remembered the cloak. "Thank you, but no. I'll be alright."

Aubrey stood and patted Aspen's copper hair. "Alright. Get some rest, and I'll wake you when everyone else is asleep."

"Thanks, Aub."

"Goodnight."

Aubrey disappeared back to the common room. Aspen tossed and turned for a while, not quite dozing. She had barely lapsed into a hazy dream when Aubrey shook her awake again.

Aspen lay awake until she was sure Aubrey was asleep. She crept out of bed and withdrew the chocolate cake box, making sure Claire and Jazz slept across the room. Aspen aimed her wand and cast the counter-spell to transfigure the cloak back into its original form. The chocolate cake vanished, replaced by crumpled, shimmering fabric. Aspen withdrew it and bunched it into her robes before stuffing the box back under her bed and leaving.

She donned the cloak in the common room and headed out into the corridor. The Fat Lady was asleep in her frame and the halls were silent. Aspen stepped quietly along; her fear of getting caught made Aspen impatient to get this over with, but she knew making even a sound would be the end.

The halls moved by around her, shadowy corridors not even disturbed by ghosts. Come to think of it, the only ghosts Aspen had seen much of since the Granger thing were the Bloody Baron and Peeves- she didn't hope to run into either of them. Aspen moved with all the silence and caution she could muster; when she saw a couple of suits of armor march by a couple corridors down, Aspen didn't move for ten minutes.

It seemed to take ages to reach the library. In truth it was only half an hour, but that was still much longer than usual. She hurried in and went straight to the Restricted Section, perusing the aisles in quick strides till she found a section about potions. She hesitated and grabbed three books- an advanced book of study, another for theoretical experimentation, and a book of extreme records. Aspen tucked all three into her robes and headed into the silent library once more, hoping beyond hope that Madam Pince didn't hide out in there after hours.

Aspen had just reached the seventh floor again when she heard voices and froze.

She crept along the corridor to an alcove and hid behind a statue of a crying woman, squeezing in against its shoulder. She listened to the voices and clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. It was Professor Potter and Professor Zabini.

"You know as well as I do that we have to do something," Professor Potter said as Aspen went silent and focused on their words.

"I know- but what is there to do? She has Ministry permission."

"I'm not so sure she does." Aspen strained her ears as Professor Potter lowered his voice further. "And even if Hermione does, that's not Hermione. We all know that."

Professor Zabini's sigh gusted down the empty halls. "I told you already, Potter- there's nothing we can do, and I'm not meddling in it."

"I'm not asking you as our old classmate, Blaise. I'm asking you as the Hogwarts potionmaster. I've thought of a way to solve this."

"How?"

"Veritaserum."

The shoulder of the crying woman statue then chipped under Aspen's weight and a piece cracked and clattered to the floor. The sound was like a firework in the near-silent corridor.

"Someone's here!" Professor Zabini hissed.

"Go!"

The two professors' footsteps shot off in opposite directions. Distantly, Aspen heard the cacophonic approach of suits of armor speeding in her direction. She ducked out of the alcoe and sped off on her toe-tips. The Fat Lady was just three corridors away- an alarm started caterwhauling elsewhere- Peeves could be heard shouting, "Students out of bed! Students out of bed!"

Abruptly, the suits of armor stopped approaching and headed for the direction of the alarm.

Aspen didn't wait around for them to come back.

ch. 13 one day early because we have to take my sister back to the airport tomorrow and i'll be gone all day ;-; enjoy the chapter!