Let Me Love You

by Newbie-22

As Gemma Arwin and Sirius Black navigate their way through their final years at Hogwarts, their friendship changes. Lines are crossed, and they soon realise that some things can never be undone. But as they risk their lives by joining The Order to fight against Voldemort, they must decide if they are also willing to risk their hearts. Rated M for sexual content in later chapters.

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: The Unknown

Gemma squeezed Mary's hand. Come on, Mary. Fight this.

It had been almost two days since Mary had fallen ill in Hogsmeade. When Gemma, Alice, Sirius and Remus had made it back to the castle, Lily had been in tears. Mary had collapsed on the walk back and James had carried her to the hospital wing. It had been a terrifying few minutes and it wasn't getting any better; Mary was barely conscious for more than a few moments, and when she was, she was incoherent.

Gemma looked over at the two other students lying in the hospital wing. Both of them were in a similar condition to Mary; racked with fever and barely conscious. No one knew exactly what had happened, but the school was filled with rumours. The most obvious being that they had all been poisoned.

Gemma closed her eyes and brought Mary's hand – which was clutched in her own – to her cheek. "Please Mary. Please fight this."

"She will." Sirius's voice startled Gemma and she looked up to see him, James and Lily standing behind her. Sirius placed his hand around her nape and squeezed gently. "She's tough."

Gemma nodded while Lily took a seat on the other side of Mary's bed. "Has she woken at all this morning?"

"No." Gemma sighed. "Alice was here before me and she said the same. She's just not waking." They had all been taking turns to sit with Mary so she was never alone.

Lily nodded and Gemma saw her lower lip tremble. She was clearly scared and worried for her best friend. James sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It was clear to see he had been a support for Lily over the last two days.

"Gem." Sirius gently rubbed his thumb up and down her nape, the affection sending shivers through her. "I know Potions is the last thing you want to be thinking about right now but…"

Gemma nodded and smiled up at Sirius. "I know. I need to write that essay." She had asked Sirius to remind her about the various essays they had on, so she didn't forget anything. "Thank you."

Gemma stood and gave Mary's hand one final squeeze. Sirius guided her out and she left Lily and James to sit with their friend. She sighed as she stepped out of the hospital wing. She wanted to cry.

"Hey." Sirius turned her and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. His hand lingered and he ran his thumb over her cheek. "She's going to be ok. Madam Pomfrey said last night that Slughorn has almost finished making an antidote. I'm sure it will work."

Gemma nodded. Slughorn had made an antidote to common poisons and an antidote to uncommon poisons, but neither had worked so far. Now he was experimenting. "Yeah. I just wish we knew what it was. And who was responsible."

Sirius frowned. "Yeah. I want to say it's related to Mulciber, but why were the other two students targeted as well? I can't see how a fourth year Ravenclaw and a third year Hufflepuff could have done anything to upset Mulciber. I doubt either of them even knew him."

"I agree. It doesn't seem connected." Gemma paused, a constant thought niggling in the back of her mind. "Mary was ill before, remember? On Peter's birthday. She had a fever then too, but she was also really sick. Violently, in fact." Gemma turned away from Sirius and paced back and forth slightly. "I've been thinking; what if Mary was poisoned back then as well but she was so sick from it that she threw it all back up? This time, Alice said Mary felt sick but she wasn't actually sick before the fever took over."

Sirius frowned. "It's possible. But why would someone target Mary like that? And what does it have to do with those other two?" He nodded his head towards the hospital wing.

Gemma sighed. "I don't know. That's the bit that doesn't make sense. This feels like an attack, whereas before it was just Mary who got sick."

Sirius nodded then suddenly frowned again. "That you know of. I'm sure James mentioned someone on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was ill around that time too. I remember him hoping it would spread to all the other players because they were a week or so away from their first game."

Gemma almost smiled; that sounded like James and his competitive nature when it came to Quidditch. But she was too focused on what Sirius had said. Someone else might have been ill around that time too? Suddenly a memory flew into her mind and she grabbed Sirius's sleeve.

"Wait. Kelly Roe was really sick too. Apparently she was throwing up for days; I remember the girls mentioning it because Alice said her friends left her alone and Lily said we wouldn't ever do that to Mary. I think we thought it was related to all the work we had on, but what if it was something else?" A second memory jumped into her head. She gripped Sirius's arm tightly. "And Julie Summers! Julie is a girl from my village. Fifth year. My mum wrote to me; said she had bumped into Julie's mum and Julie had been really ill with a fever." Gemma stared up at Sirius who looked just as shocked as she felt. "I think someone's definitely poisoning the students. And not just this last weekend."

---

Sirius stood at the end of Mary's hospital bed and listened to Gemma explain her theory to their friends. It was a good theory. Especially if as many students had been ill as they suspected. After their conversation in the corridor, Gemma had returned to Mary's side while he had run to find Alice, Remus and Peter. Now all seven of them – much to Pomfrey's frustration – were gathered together around a sleeping Mary.

"So, we need to remember who we know was ill, and we need to talk to them." Gemma announced. Sirius smiled to himself. She was taking charge and doing a good job of it. She would make an excellent Auror, bossing people around and solving crimes. "James, who on the Ravenclaw team was ill?"

James thought for a moment. "Dixon. I was happy because he's a decent Chaser and I figured they may have lost to Hufflepuff without him." He shifted slightly and glanced at Lily. "Obviously I feel bad now knowing the guy was probably poisoned."

"You weren't to know." Lily whispered to him, and Sirius smiled. Those two had grown even closer over the last few days, despite the situation with Mary. Likely because of the situation with Mary.

"Can you talk to him?" Gemma asked. "Find out exactly what symptoms he had and what he had been doing before he got ill?"

James let out a puff of air. "I can try, but we're not exactly best buddies, being on opposing teams and everything. He might think I'm trying to trick him or something."

"I'll come with you." Lily volunteered. "His little sister is one of the first years I ended up sitting with on the train journey here, after the attack. I'll help you convince him to talk to us."

"I can speak to Kelly." Alice added. "She knows Mary well so I'm sure she'll be happy to talk to us."

Gemma nodded. "Please do, Alice. I'll speak to Julie as I know her from home."

Sirius wanted to help too, and for some reason he wanted to stay close to Gemma. Something told him that someone, somewhere, wouldn't be happy about her sniffing around. "I'll join you, Gemma."

"Shall we come with you, Alice?" Peter asked, referring to himself and Remus.

Alice nodded, but Sirius glanced over to the other two students lying in the hospital wing. "Is it worth speaking to the friends of these two?" He nodded in their direction. "Maybe they saw someone around the time they fell ill. We know they were at The Three Broomsticks as well, so we need to know who else was there. We could compile a list of who was nearby when each student fell ill. That might give us some leads."

Gemma smiled over at him. "Good idea, Sirius." He smiled in response.

"We'll speak to their friends then." Remus offered.

"First though…" Lily sighed. "We've got class. We'll need to wait and talk to everyone later."

They all sighed and stood, none of them eager to go to class. Sirius stepped through the hospital wing doors first with James, Remus and Peter and they all turned to watch the girls say goodbye to a sleeping Mary.

Remus turned to James. "Lily seems better today."

James nodded, and stared affectionately at Lily. "She told me she slept better last night. I think yesterday she was still in shock from everything."

Sirius didn't blame her. Not only had her best friend been poisoned but she'd also found out about the threat Mulciber had made. And that Snape – someone she had at one point called a friend – was likely the person to watch out for. He'd been surprised she'd kept it together as well as she had.

James looked back at Remus. "You'll keep an eye on her in class?"

"Of course. Snape won't be able to get within an inch of her."

"Good." James folded his arms. "Shame she's got that stupid 'Slug-Club' thing next week. I'm going to have to sneak in under the cloak to keep an eye on her."

Sirius smiled. James hadn't left Lily's side all weekend and was making sure everyone knew that keeping her safe was a priority; she had bristled at the implication that she couldn't take care of herself. At one point, Sirius had thought she was going to refuse James's company. But somehow the charming git had won her around.

The three girls stepped into the corridor, then stepped around them, leading the way to Charms. The guys followed closely behind.

"So, are you and Lily official now?" Peter asked quietly, as he glanced over at James.

James sighed slightly. "I'm not sure. Our date was amazing and we both agreed we wanted to hang out again, but she's obviously been distracted since."

"You did get a kiss out of her though, didn't you?" Remus smiled and nudged James, who grinned in response.

"Yeah. I did."

Sirius chuckled. James was looking very pleased with himself. His kiss with Lily at The Three Broomsticks had been one of the first things he'd told Sirius about when they had returned to the castle; after they'd gotten an update on Mary. And it was obvious that James was still thinking about it.

"You going to kiss her again?" Peter asked.

"Hell yeah." James replied immediately. Then he shrugged slightly. "Well, if she'll have me."

"She will." Sirius had seen the way Lily had been looking at James. She wanted another kiss too. "You just need to get her alone."

Peter laughed. "Do what Sirius does and just drag her into a bathroom somewhere."

"Or a cupboard." Remus added.

James laughed. "Or the shack, apparently."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"How are things with Gemma?" James nodded his head towards her. She and the other two girls were now further ahead and out of earshot. "Remus tells us she was half naked when he came to get you."

Sirius stopped walking and turned to his friends. He glared at Remus. "You saw her?" He didn't like that, not one bit. The fact that Remus had seen Gemma half naked was unacceptable; and not just because it was an invasion of her privacy but because he hated the idea of anyone other than him seeing…

"No, I didn't see her." Remus's voice cut through Sirius's thoughts. "You told me that she was half naked, remember? When you blocked me from getting anywhere near that room."

Sirius shifted slightly. "Oh yeah." He'd forgotten about that.

James laughed. "You were obviously having a fun afternoon. How far did you get?"

Not far enough. Sirius looked up at Gemma, who was just ahead of him. Merlin did he want to pick up where they had left off. He'd had every intention of stripping her completely naked and tasting every inch of her. He'd never kissed a girl's pussy before, but he had been so ready to go down on Gemma. He glanced at his friends. "We haven't gone all the way yet, but we will." He paused for a moment. "And that's all I'm telling you."

They all laughed and James grinned at him. "If you ever want us to stay out of our dorm for the night, you only have to ask."

"Speak for yourself." Peter huffed.

James shoved him and laughed. "Pervert."

Peter looked horrified. "I didn't mean it like that! I just meant I don't want to give up sleeping in the dorm…"

Sirius placed his hand on Peter's shoulder. "We know what you meant. And don't worry, I won't be asking you all to sleep in the common room. But I wouldn't say no to an evening alone up there."

James smiled at him. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Just stick to your own bed." Peter added and Sirius burst out laughing. His friend knew him well; he would be tempted to do stuff in his mates' beds just to piss them off.

They arrived at Charms and followed the girls to their seats. As Sirius sat down next to Gemma, at the back of the room, he looked over at her. She was chewing her lip and she had a tiny crease in her forehead. She was clearly stressed.

"Hey." He placed his hand on her knee and gave it a squeeze. "Pomfrey will come and get you guys if anything changes with Mary. And we'll go find that Summers girl straight after class and start getting some answers, ok?"

She nodded and relaxed slightly. "Ok. Thank you."

Flitwick began talking but Sirius didn't pay him much attention. He kept his hand on Gemma's leg and rubbed his thumb back and forth over the smooth skin of her thigh. She shifted, and her legs parted ever so slightly. He held back a grin as he slowly trailed his fingers higher, under her skirt. He heard the sharp intake of her breath and felt his trousers tighten as he inched higher and higher…

"Mr Black, what is the proper incantation for the Gouging spell?"

Sirius jolted at the sound of Professor Flitwick's voice and pulled his hand from Gemma's thigh. She jolted away from him too. Other students in class looked back at him as they awaited his answer, and it took him a moment to collect himself. He cleared his throat. "Urm… Defodio, Professor."

"Very good. And Mr Pettigrew, what would one do with such a spell?"

Sirius glanced over at Gemma and caught her eye. Her cheeks flushed pink as she leaned into him. "You shouldn't touch me like that. Not in class."

He chuckled softly at her whispered comment. "You could have stopped me." He couldn't help himself; he returned his hand to her leg and squeezed slightly. She didn't push him away, so he trailed his fingers higher again. "If you really didn't want me to touch you like this, you'd tell me to stop."

He watched as she bit her lip but she didn't say anything. She didn't tell him to stop and she didn't push his hand away. His cock grew hard again as he slowly danced his fingers up the inside of her thigh. She parted her legs again, ever so slightly, and he held back a groan as his fingertips grazed at her underwear. He could feel her heat; he wanted to rip off her knickers and slide his fingers through…

"Miss Arwin…" Sirius pulled his hand away a moment before Gemma clamped her legs shut. Her face turned bright red as she looked towards the front of the room. "…which Herbologist was the first to use this Gouging spell to dig for Snargaluff Seedlings?"

"Urm…" She paused for a moment, clearly flustered. It was a tough question as well; Sirius wasn't sure he knew the answer. She closed her eyes briefly. "Beaumont Marjoribanks, Professor. In seventeen seventy-seven."

"Very good. And you answered my next question as well." Flitwick turned his attention to Lily. "Miss Evans, please name the other three Herbologists who all used this spell during the eighteenth century."

Sirius watched Gemma lean forward and cover her mouth with her hand. He leaned forward as well. "Sorry."

She threw him a small smile. "Don't be. I could have stopped you."

Sirius watched as Gemma's eyes lowered to his lips, before she returned her gaze to the front of the room. His cock stirred again; she wanted it. Wanted him to touch her, even in class. He liked this Gemma. Gone was the serious, overly focused and sometimes frustrating student, and in her place was a fun, slightly reckless and incredibly sexy student who wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Fuck, this could be dangerous.

---

Gemma focused on Professor Flitwick and ignored Sirius. She knew he was staring at her; she knew he was thinking about touching her again; and dammit – she knew he knew she wanted him to.

Charms dragged on and Gemma had concentrated just enough to learn something. She shook herself; she needed to focus. Seventh year was not the time to get distracted.

As soon as class ended, Gemma walked to Transfiguration with Alice and Lily, and took a seat near the front. They were learning to transform toads into toadstools – a deceptively difficult task - and Gemma knew she needed to concentrate.

After ten minutes of McGonagall talking through the basics, they were all instructed to collect their toads from the back of the room. As Gemma joined the line to pick one, the door opened and Madam Pomfrey stepped inside. Gemma held her breath as she watched Pomfrey move to the front of the classroom and whisper in McGonagall's ear. Was there news on Mary? Just as quickly as she had arrived, Pomfrey turned and left.

"Class." McGonagall captured their attention. "Please return your toads and return to your seats. I need to step out for a few moments, therefore please open your books to Chapter Eleven and read through the history of this transformation. Practical application will need to wait."

A few grumbles at the change of plan sounded around the room, but Gemma didn't care. She looked over at Alice and Lily as they moved back through the room; if McGonagall was stepping out, that must mean something had changed with Mary.

"Potter." McGonagall beckoned James forward. "As Head Boy, you are momentarily in charge."

James grinned and bounced on his toes. "Awesome."

"Potter." McGonagall's expression was stern. "Don't disappoint me."

James sobered immediately. "I won't, Professor."

She nodded quickly, then turned towards the class. "Evans, Fortescue, Arwin; please come with me."

Gemma's heart pounded as she stood and joined her friends in following McGonagall out of the classroom.

"Is it Mary?" Alice asked the moment they had stepped through the door.

"Miss MacDonald is awake, yes." McGonagall didn't turn towards them, and kept her strides long and determined as she navigated them through the corridors towards the hospital wing. None of them said anything further, but they did reach out for each other's hands. Mary was awake.

When they arrived at the hospital wing, McGonagall asked them to wait outside for a few moments so she could speak to Mary. They anxiously did as they were told, until they were finally able to head in.

Lily pushed through the doors first and ran straight to Mary's side. "Mary! Oh Merlin, I'm so happy you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Mary slowly lifted herself to sitting as she smiled weakly at her friends. "Tired."

"You need to continue to rest, Miss MacDonald." McGonagall turned to Gemma, Lily and Alice. "Ladies, you are excused from the rest of my class today. Take the time you need with your friend. I'll be sure to pass your homework assignments on to your study partners."

Their Professor swiftly turned and headed out the doors, just as Professor Sprout stepped through with two third year students. They rushed straight to the side of the young girl lying opposite Mary; one of the students who had also been poisoned.

"Slughorn worked his magic." Mary said softly, looking over at the other two students who had been poisoned and were now awake. "He left a moment ago, but he didn't tell me much."

"What did McGonagall say?" Alice asked, as they all turned their attention back to Mary.

"She asked how I was and whether I remember anything from before I got sick. But I told her it was all a blur. I just remember sitting with you, Peter and Remus, and then suddenly I felt funny." She shook her head. "I don't even remember leaving the pub."

Lily reached over and took Mary's hand, explaining exactly what had happened. Then she explained the theory they had about the poison; that perhaps this was not the first time.

Mary's eyes widened in shock. "Merlin, you think someone might be targeting me?"

"Maybe." Gemma leaned forward. "We didn't want to scare you, but it's a possibility, so you needed to know."

Mary nodded. "I'm glad you told me. I need to watch what I eat and drink. Although… both times I was just eating and drinking what everyone else was. I don't think I had anything different. It makes no sense."

"But at the pub, you were slower to drink your first Butterbeer so you did go up separately for a second one, remember?" Alice pointed out. "And you only took a couple sips before you felt ill."

"I remember. It tasted awful." Mary frowned. "But there was no one up at the bar besides some other students and a couple of locals. Plus the barman."

"If we're right that other students were poisoned before last weekend, inside the castle, then it wouldn't have been the locals or the barman who poisoned the drink." Gemma said. "Do you remember which students were at the bar?"

Mary sighed and frowned, leaning back against her pillows. She closed her eyes and shook her head; clearly struggling to remember. Lily reached over to take Mary's hand again. "Don't think about it now, Mary." She gave her friend a reassuring smile. "You've just woken up and you're exhausted."

Gemma nodded in agreement. "It will come back to you when the time's right. You need to focus on resting for now."

Mary smiled and closed her eyes again. "Rest does sound good."

"Johnson!" A loud shout from the door startled them all and they turned to see Flitwick bustle into the room with a fourth year student; the one who had clearly shouted. "Bloody hell mate. About time you woke up you lazy git." He laughed loudly, his bed-ridden friend joining in.

"Mr Castle, language. And please lower your voice." Flitwick frowned at his unruly student before turning to find Madam Pomfrey in her office.

The two Ravenclaw boys rolled their eyes but did lower their voices. Gemma caught snippets of the conversation; Castle was happily calling Johnson a variety of names in an attempt to be funny. They reminded Gemma of two other guys she knew, although certainly from a few years ago.

Alice turned to Mary. "We should leave you to rest."

"No." Mary leaned back and closed her eyes. "Stay, please. Just talk and I'll listen." She gasped slightly and opened her eyes to Lily. "Tell me about your date! I saw you kissing! What was it like? Have you kissed since? Are you officially together now?"

Lily chuckled at their friend. "It's nice having you back. You rest, and I'll talk." Mary leaned back and closed her eyes, a smile on her lips. Gemma and Alice got comfortable as Lily started talking. Gemma had heard about the date already, but she enjoyed hearing the happiness in Lily's voice. "The date was really lovely. James walked me around the woods and then we went and sat in the pub. He picked a lovely table in the corner – the one looking out over that huge tree I love – and he bought me lunch and some drinks. We talked and laughed and it was… well, it was a really good date." Lily paused and blushed slightly. "He reached for my hand after we'd finished eating and he held on to it while we talked. It was really sweet. Then he leaned in slightly and I thought, why not! He's so attractive and I've never been kissed and Merlin, I wanted to kiss him. So I leaned in too and then suddenly he was kissing me. It was wonderful. Soft and sweet, but passionate too. It just felt… perfect."

Alice sighed and smiled. "I know that feeling. When Frank first kissed me I was amazed by how perfect it felt. Even though I had nothing to compare it to."

"Oh I'm so jealous." Mary said to Lily, without any real envy evident in her tone or expression. "Has he kissed you again?"

Lily shook her head. "No. I want to, but I think he's giving me space." She laughed slightly. "Well, emotional space. Physical space is a separate issue thanks to that stupid threat."

"Threat?" Mary perked up slightly, confusion and worry lining her features.

Lily sighed. "I'm not sure on the details, but Remus and Sirius saw Snape meeting with Mulciber in the woods at Hogsmeade." Mary gasped and looked at Gemma, but Lily kept talking. "Apparently Mulciber wants to know about a secret passageway into Hogwarts; something the boys all know about. Mulciber told Snape to threaten me as a way of forcing James to reveal its location."

Mary looked stunned. "Woah. I've missed a lot. At some point I want to know more about this secret passageway, but right now… what's the plan with Snape? Has he actually threatened you or is James going to kill him before he gets the chance."

Alice chuckled but Lily just sighed. Gemma could see it was tough for her, given her past friendship with Snape. "James wants to kill him before he gets the chance. It took a lot of convincing yesterday to just leave it be and see what happens. I know you all think I'm foolish for believing that there is something good in Snape, but I honestly don't think he'll follow Mulciber's orders and threaten me."

Gemma disagreed. She didn't trust Snape. "Well, we're not taking any risks. We're sticking to Lily like a sticking charm and we're not giving Snape the opportunity to get near her."

"Good." Mary said with a definitive nod. "I don't think you're foolish, Lily, but I think you're too kind-hearted sometimes. You know what Snape called you. There's no excuse for that."

"I know." Lily looked down, sadness creeping over her features again.

"Let's talk about something else." Alice said as she grinned at Gemma. "Like how I caught Gemma half naked in the shack with Sirius!"

Gemma groaned as Mary gasped loudly and Lily and Alice both laughed. Was she ever going to live that moment down?

---

A few days had passed since Slughorn had created an antidote for the three poisoned students, and the school was still abuzz with concerns and theories. Most students believed the three poisoned at Hogsmeade were the only affected, but Gemma and her friends continued to think otherwise.

Gathered around a common room table, the eight Gryffindors quietly discussed everything they had learned after speaking to several affected students.

Alice leaned in. "Kelly said she remembered her pumpkin juice tasting really bad the morning she got sick. But she was so tired from working all night that she didn't care. So she drank it all anyway."

Gemma frowned. "That might be why she was the sickest of everyone. She was throwing up for days."

Alice nodded in agreement as James jumped in. "Dixon said his water tasted off before their Quidditch practice. Whoever is doing this is able to get close enough to peoples drinks."

"But who would be able to do that?" Remus asked. "The students affected have been from different Houses and different years."

"Except Slytherin." Sirius added, a dark expression over his features. "It's interesting that no one from Slytherin has been poisoned."

"It is." Gemma agreed. "But that doesn't mean a Slytherin is behind this. Maybe we should focus on why this is happening. What do the poisoned students have in common?" She glanced at Mary; as did the others. Gemma didn't expect Mary to know why she was being targeted, but she might know something.

Mary sighed. "I don't think I have anything in common with any of them. Except Kelly, I suppose. We're both girls, we're both seventh years. But different Houses."

"Half the students poisoned were boys." Alice added.

"And from a mix of years. Third, fourth, fifth." Remus sighed. "It's so random."

Gemma kept her eyes on Mary who was now frowning hard. "Mary? What is it?"

She chewed her lip. "There is one other thing we have in common." She glanced at Lily. "We're both muggle-born. And the others… I think they're muggle-born too."

Crap. Gemma didn't know for certain about the others, but she knew Mary, Kelly and Julie all were. "Julie Summers is." She confirmed.

"Johnson is." Sirius said solemnly, referring to the fourth year Ravenclaw.

"As is Susie Bolt, that third year Hufflepuff." Lily added.

James was shaking his head though. "Dixon isn't. His family goes way back. His dad works at The Ministry, I'm sure of it."

"You're right." Gemma nodded, suddenly recognising the name. "And I think his grandfather or great-grandfather is a famed Runologist."

"Ok, so Dixon isn't muggle born. But he's the only one who isn't, right?" Peter looked around the group and they all nodded. "Could it be a mistake he got poisoned?"

There was a brief pause before Lily suddenly gasped. "Yes!" She gripped James's sleeve and turned to him "Remember what he said? He said something about how he was amazed the poison had even got into the right bottle, given he and his team mates swap and share their drinks all the time. What if he wasn't the intended target?"

"Who else…" Remus began, but James cut him off.

"Carter. Another Chaser, Dixon's best mate and muggle-born. Maybe Carter was the intended victim."

A moment of silence passed around the room as they took everything in. Could it really be that muggle-born students were being poisoned? It seemed far-fetched, yet the evidence pointed in that direction.

Mary was the first to speak. "Well, at least we now know why I've been targeted. Shame it's for something I can't change about myself though."

Alice gave Mary's hand a quick squeeze. "You wouldn't want to change it about yourself. It makes you no less of a witch, Mary."

"And that might not even be the reason." Lily said, clearly trying to placate their friend. "I'm muggle-born and I haven't been poisoned."

Remus sighed. "There are plenty of other muggle-born students who also haven't been poisoned. I'm not sure the person responsible has much of a plan to be honest."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well, besides Mary, no other student has been poisoned twice, which makes me wonder if the attack is more random than orchestrated. And based on the varying levels of reaction, I'd say the person doing this doesn't have the poison right. So far, students are only getting sick. No one has…" Remus trailed off and glanced nervously at Mary.

"You can say it, Remus." Mary said. "No one has died." She sighed as she looked around at them all. "It's ok. I know that must be the plan; to poison and kill muggle-borns. I doubt the plan is to just piss me off by constantly making me throw up and get a fever."

Remus cleared his throat. "Luckily, no one has died yet. But yes, I think we all know the plan would be to kill these students. Which means…" He looked pointedly at Mary and Lily. "…you two need to be extremely careful over what you drink."

James placed an arm around Lily, as if trying to shield her from harm. "Remus is right."

Lily sighed as she leaned into James. "We need to tell Dumbledore. This isn't something we can keep to ourselves and try to avoid until the end of school. Other students are in danger. Muggle-born students need to know and Dumbledore needs to do a full investigation."

Gemma agreed. This was bigger than the eight of them. "I agree. One of us should go and speak with him."

"It should be you, Gemma." Alice said. "You already have a relationship with him, given he knows your father so well. He'll listen to you."

The others nodded in agreement, and Gemma admitted Alice was probably right. It wasn't that Dumbledore would ignore the theory coming from anyone else, but he would know that Gemma would press him hard to listen and do something. She glanced at the clock. "Ok. I'll go now; see if I can catch him before curfew."

Gemma stood and Sirius joined her. "I'll come with you."

Surprised, but pleased, Gemma agreed to Sirius's company. Together they walked to Dumbledore's office, mostly in silence. Gemma was too focused on what exactly she would say, and Sirius seemed equally distracted.

As they arrived at the bottom of Dumbledore's office, Sirius rang the bell. After a short while, the Phoenix statue turned and revealed the staircase which they ascended quickly. Dumbledore opened the door before they arrived at the top.

"Miss Arwin. Mr Black. To what do I owe the pleasure of such a late night visit? I hope you don't intend to stay with me beyond curfew. I don't fancy facing the wrath of our dear Professor McGonagall."

Dumbledore smiled and Gemma couldn't help but smile back at his small joke. Dumbledore often made her laugh. "We're sorry for such the late visit, Professor, but this is urgent and we really need to talk to you. It's about the poisoned students."

Dumbledore's expression sobered and he guided them into his office. "Please, take a seat."

Gemma and Sirius sat, and waited for Dumbledore to take his place behind his desk. He nodded to her to begin; Gemma launched into the theory her and her friends had come up with, and the information they had gathered.

Dumbledore listened silently, his facial expression giving nothing away. When she finished talking, he leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. He gave her a small smile. "You might duel like your father, Miss Arwin, but you have your mother's mind." Gemma frowned slightly, uncertain over what Dumbledore was saying. He continued. "Your theory is correct. I have already begun an investigation as, unfortunately, our muggle-born students are very much at risk."

Gemma leaned back heavily in her chair and she heard Sirius curse under his breath. While she was relieved that Dumbledore believed them – or rather, already knew – and that he was investigating the situation already, she was also disappointed that they had been right. A part of her had hoped they had been completely wrong and speaking to Dumbledore would reveal a much happier reality.

"Your father is involved in the investigation." Dumbledore added, and Gemma raised her head.

"He is?"

"Yes." Dumbledore glanced between Gemma and Sirius. "As you have clearly been doing your own investigation into these attacks, I will share some details with you. You are not to reveal this information to anyone though. I do not wish to cause panic amongst the students."

Sirius nodded, but Gemma didn't want to exclude the others. And she suspected Sirius would tell them all anyway, regardless of a promise to Dumbledore. "It wasn't just us who uncovered this, Sir." She announced. "It was with our friends too. Alice Fortescue, Lily Evans, Mary MacDonald, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Are we able to share this information with them too, please?"

Dumbledore stared at her for a moment, before gently nodding his head. "You may. But no others."

"We promise." Gemma looked over at Sirius, who nodded his agreement.

"Very well." Dumbledore stood and walked around his desk so he was leaning against it and directly in front of them. "Your father is following the trail of an old case; one which involved an unknown poison and a series of muggle-born murders. The case dates back to the early nineteen thirties, when an America Healer went from state to state, poisoning young muggle-born witches and wizards."

Dumbledore paused and Gemma glanced over at Sirius. He was frowning hard. She looked back up at Dumbledore. "What happened?"

"The man responsible – Healer Geoffrey Florey – was caught and executed. But the poison used was never fully identified. Knowing he was about to be discovered, Florey destroyed his home and all the evidence within. Other Healers tried to identify the poison at the time, but it was a unique and complex blend. As time wore on, other priorities took over."

"Do you think the poison being used now is the same one?" Sirius asked. "That someone is picking up where Florey left off?"

"I believe so. Which is why I have George Arwin looking back through the case."

"Has my dad found anything?" Dumbledore shook his head, so Gemma pressed on. "Who at Hogwarts would be connected to Florey?"

"That is unknown. The individual responsible may have heard of this original case and found it… interesting. Inspiring. They may be under duress from an outside influence. Perhaps following the demands of a powerful leader."

"You think You Know Who might be involved?" Sirius asked.

"It's always a possibility when muggle-born witches and wizards are affected. And You Know Who has followers everywhere." Sirius nodded solemnly at Dumbledore's words.

"What can we do?" Gemma asked.

"For now, please keep your eyes and ears open. Report anything suspicious directly to me. My door will remain open for you both."

"Will the students be told?" Gemma added.

"I will be speaking quietly with all muggle-born students to ensure they are aware of the dangers and prepared. We're gathering as much information as we can from Healers who were involved in the case and still alive today, and Professor Slughorn is creating more of the successful antidote from last week, as a precaution."

"Can we do more?" Sirius asked now. "We've started writing up a list of all students who were at The Three Broomsticks when Mary, Johnson and Bolt were poisoned. And the other three are all thinking back to who was around when they got sick. We wanted to compare lists, and see if we can find a single link."

"I appreciate the effort." Dumbledore smiled at Sirius. "That will be valuable. Please continue your work, but do be careful with your investigation. Remember, both Miss MacDonald and Miss Evans are in danger."

Gemma remembered; she wasn't sure she'd ever forget. "We'll be careful. We won't draw attention to ourselves."

"Very good." Dumbledore stood and returned to his seat behind his desk. He pulled out a sheet of parchment and began scribbling something. "Now, you two need to return to your common room." Dumbledore firmly added a full stop to his note and handed the parchment to Gemma. "For Mr Filch or any other teacher that may catch you out of bed tonight."

Gemma looked down at the note in her hand then back up to their headteacher. "Thank you, Sir."

Dumbledore gave them a small nod, then Gemma and Sirius headed out the office and back down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, Sirius grabbed the note and grinned. "Reckon I can use this on other days, too?"

Gemma laughed and rolled her eyes. "I should have known you'd think that. And no; Dumbledore dated it."

"No doubt he also cast a charm on the ink to disappear as soon as we step back through the common room doors." Gemma smiled. That was very likely. Sirius turned to her. "So, what's the plan?"

Gemma paused for a moment. She wasn't sure. While they had done everything they could, she still felt like they could do more. "We tell the others, and decide together what we do next. Compiling the list is key though, as that should narrow our focus down to a handful of students. We might need to start watching them, either using the map or simply following them around." She sighed. "Right now it feels like everyone is a suspect."

Sirius nodded solemnly. They walked back quickly and in near silence, the weight of the evening settling on Gemma's shoulders. She knew there wasn't much more she could do, but she hated the feeling of powerlessness. She wanted to find the person responsible and bring them to justice. Now.

As they entered the common room, they were greeted by their friends who were eager to learn about their conversation with Dumbledore. As if sensing her exhaustion, Sirius took the lead on sharing what they had learned, and answered the many, many questions from their friends. Gemma sat back and listened, her mind wandering to try and piece together the confusing puzzle.