Summary: There are strange happenings at night. Will Malfoy tell the truth? Author's Notes: This plot is turning out to be more complicated than I thought. Sorry if this part just confuses you more - I promise it will all become clear later!
Disclaimer: These characters belong to JK Rowling, except for a couple I've added.
Harry was dreaming again. This time he dreamt that the Quidditch final was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore, announcing that they must all return to the castle at once to retake their exams. Harry was just about to protest at this when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. A moment later, he roused blearily from sleep to realize that somebody really was shaking his shoulder. It was Hermione, leaning over him in the darkened dormitory. "Harry! Wake up!"
"Huh? Uh?" Harry tried to shake off sleep. "Hermione! What are you doing here?" It was not like Hermione to forget her status as a prefect and break school rules by going into the boys' dormitories.
"Ssshhh!" she hissed. Her brown curls were tangled and she was wearing her dressing gown and slippers. "Get up, quickly. It's Ginny. I'll wake Ron."
Harry didn't ask any questions, but threw back the bedclothes and reached for his slippers. Hermione had pulled back Ron's bed-curtains and was sitting on his bed. She took the precaution of putting a hand over Ron's mouth, since he was prone to shouting out when woken suddenly - this had once caused much amusement in a History of Magic class. Ron mumbled and stirred reluctantly. Harry glanced across, and to his amusement saw Hermione lean down and kiss Ron lightly on the nose. That woke him up, and his eyes flew open. "Wha-?"
Hermione told him what she had told Harry. Ron got out of bed, muttering, "What about Ginny?" He looked worried.
"I'll tell you outside," Hermione murmured, and waited on the landing until Harry and Ron joined her, closing the dormitory door behind them. They hadn't awoken Dean, Neville or Seamus, who were all still slumbering heavily. "Something woke me up," Hermione explained quickly in low tones. "A noise on the girls' staircase. I went out to see what it was, and I saw Ginny going downstairs. I think she's sleep-walking - her eyes were open but she didn't seem to see me. She's in the common room. We've got to follow her."
Silently, they crept down to the empty, darkened common room. A shaft of moonlight shone through the window and showed them a white figure who was standing in the middle of the room. It was Ginny, pale-faced in a nightdress, her red hair looking darker in the dimness. As Hermione had said, her eyes were open and she was staring ahead of her, but she did not seem to see Hermione, Ron or Harry as they came into the room.
"Ginny?" said Ron quietly, but she gave no sign that she had heard him. She was now pacing around the room restlessly, and muttering under her breath. Harry edged closer, trying to hear what she was saying.
"No, no, it's all wrong - I can't do it - "
"Do what?" Harry thought. He turned to Hermione and Ron and whispered, "Should we wake her up?"
"No!" Ron hissed. "I remember now - she used to do this sometimes when we were little, when she was upset about something. Mum told me you should never wake sleep-walkers up suddenly; it might be bad for her."
"We should try to get her to come back to bed," Hermione whispered.
Ginny was still muttering, "Torquil, I don't want to know - I didn't want to find out - now *he* knows - what am I going to do?"
Harry raised his eyebrows inquiringly at Ron and Hermione, who both shrugged as if to say that Ginny's mutterings didn't make much sense to them either.
There were papers scattered about on some of the tables, left there by various students. Ginny picked one or two up, then put them down again, sighing. Hermione went quietly up to Ginny and put a hand on her arm. Ron went to her other side.
"Ginny, let me take you back to bed," said Hermione softly. "Come on." She and Ron pulled Ginny gently towards the girls' staircase. Ginny didn't put up any resistance, but went with them unprotestingly. Harry followed behind as they led her up the stairs to the fifth-year girls' dormitory. Hermione checked to make sure that the other fifth-years were all still fast asleep before they led Ginny across the room to her empty bed. She lay down in it, still not really seeming to be aware of where she was or who she was with. But when she was in bed, and Hermione had drawn the bedclothes over her, she closed her eyes and seemed to go to sleep again. They waited for five minutes, almost holding their breath, but she didn't move, lying still and breathing quietly. Hermione motioned to the others that they should leave, and they crept back down the stairs to the common room.
"D'you think she'll be all right now?" asked Ron.
"I don't think she'll get up again tonight," said Hermione. "Anyway, let's hope not. If I hear her I'll get up and check."
"What was she talking about?" asked Ron.
"About knowing something - she said she didn't want to know something - she said *now he knows* - whoever *he* is," said Harry.
"And she said Torquil's name - I heard her," said Hermione, starting to shiver in the cool, darkened room. Ron noticed, and put an arm around her.
"You should go back to bed. We all should. If someone catches us up at this hour, we'll be in big trouble."
"Yeah, it wouldn't look good for prefects to be breaking rules," said Harry. "We can talk about this in the morning."
In the morning, when they did have a chance to discuss what had happened, Harry told the other two that he had developed a theory.
"When Ginny said *now he knows*, do you think she could have meant Malfoy? You know he was hinting yesterday that he knew something."
"Unless he was just winding us up," said Ron, moodily.
"Perhaps we should ask Torquil if he knows anything," said Hermione. "Ginny did mention his name."
"You know what you said yesterday, Hermione, about using the Truth-Teller on Malfoy?" said Harry. "I think we should try that. We could catch him in the library - there's quite a good chance he'll be there revising, with exams starting on Monday."
"He's not going to hold the Truth-Teller if we ask him to though, is he?" said Ron. "He doesn't trust us."
"Well, of course I'm not going to ask him to," said Harry, pulling a face at Ron. "No, but if he thinks we want him to keep *away* from it, it would be just like him to pick it up."
"Yeah, that could work," said Ron, grinning, and they had a brief discussion to plan their tactics. They agreed that Hermione would find Torquil and see if she could get any useful information from him. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron would take the Truth-Teller to the library and lie in wait for Malfoy.
"And you might as well do some work while you're waiting," Hermione insisted, as they left her. "Don't forget the exams start the day after tomorrow!"
Harry and Ron sat at a table in the library, books piled around them, and the Truth-Teller in a prominent position. They had chosen a table with a good view of the door, so that they could see Malfoy if he came in. They had to wait half an hour before he did, though, so they took turns to read through their Transfiguration notes and watch the door. Finally, Ron grabbed Harry's arm. "There he is!" Malfoy had just strolled in, flanked by his usual simian sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle.
Harry pretended to be deeply interested in looking at the Truth-Teller. He turned it between his hands so that it sparkled eye-catchingly. "He's coming over," Ron muttered between clenched teeth. A moment later, from the corner of his eye, Harry saw movement as Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle stopped in front of their table.
"Well, if it isn't Potty and the Weasel again," Malfoy smirked, as Harry and Ron looked up. "Where's your know-it-all girlfriend, Weasley - has she got fed up with doing your revision for you?"
Under the table, Harry trod on Ron's foot to remind him not to lose his temper, before he spoke himself. "Shame *you* haven't got a girlfriend to help with your revision, Malfoy - you need all the help you can get!"
At this, Crabbe and Goyle both leaned over the table threateningly, but Harry hardly noticed them. He had set the Truth-Teller down on the table when Malfoy spoke, and now Malfoy's eyes were narrowing at the sight of it. "That's a pretty new toy you've got, Potter." To Harry and Ron's delight, Malfoy picked up the Truth-Teller and turned it in his hands. "I wish I had one," he said, sounding uncharacteristically sincere. He looked surprised, as if that wasn't what he had meant to say. Crabbe and Goyle looked at him, also surprised.
"You know what you were saying about Ginny yesterday, Malfoy?" asked Harry carefully.
"Yes."
"You said you thought she might play badly in the Quidditch final. Why do you think she might play badly?"
"Because I told her she had to, of course," said Malfoy, and looked horrified at what he had said. Crabbe and Goyle were now looking at Malfoy in alarm.
"And why would she play badly because you told her to?" asked Ron, mystified, but enjoying the sight of Malfoy being forced to speak truthfully.
"Because I told her if she didn't throw the match I'd tell on her." Malfoy's eyes were wide. He was still holding the Truth-Teller. "I don't understand - what's going on?"
"You'd tell on her? What would you tell about?" asked Harry.
"I'd tell everyone that she knows about - " But Malfoy's brain had finally made a connection between his unusual frankness and the object he was holding. He looked at it, as if putting two and two together, and suddenly dropped it, as if it was red hot. Harry jumped up, and with his Seeker's quick reactions just managed to catch it before it hit the floor.
Malfoy was backing away from the table. "How did you make me say all that? What is that thing?"
"It's a Truth-Teller, Malfoy," said Ron, who had enjoyed Malfoy's alarm very much. "Did you like telling us the truth? And will you like it when we tell Dumbledore you've been threatening my sister?"
Malfoy's face twisted in a sneer. "You won't tell him anything - or I'll tell him what your precious sister's been up to."
Ron had jumped up. "What has she done?" he asked angrily.
"Never you mind - but trust me, Weasley, you won't like it if everyone finds out about it. So you'll keep your mouth shut about me unless you want to see her expelled," said Malfoy, and beckoning to Crabbe and Goyle he left the library, casting dirty looks back at Harry and Ron.
Harry and Ron exchanged looks. Ron looked shocked. He sat down again. "Expelled? What has she done?"
"Come on Ron, just because Malfoy says she's been doing something wrong doesn't mean it has to be something terrible. You know how he enjoys making you feel bad," said Harry.
"Yeah - but -" Ron looked uneasy. At that moment Hermione joined them.
"Well? I saw Malfoy coming out of here. Did you get him?"
"Yeah." Harry and Ron told her what had happened. Hermione looked angry.
"That's so typical of Malfoy! I can just see him threatening poor Ginny - telling her to play badly or he'll sneak on her."
"Yes, but, Hermione," said Harry, "Ginny must have done something she's ashamed of, or she wouldn't have let Malfoy's threats have any effect on her."
Ron groaned, his head in his hands. "I hope she hasn't got herself into anything really bad. How could she even think about letting the team down? Mum and Dad'll go ballistic. "
Hermione rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. Harry asked her, "Did you find Torquil?"
"Yes. He's a bit strange, isn't he? I asked him if he knew why Ginny was so upset, and he said he had no idea. I think he was telling the truth. He was quite upset himself, actually - he says Ginny's been avoiding him for the past few days."
"I think we'd better talk to Ginny next," said Harry. "It's the only way we're going to find out what's really going on."
"Yes, then we can tell her about the sleep-walking and confront her with what Malfoy said," agreed Hermione.
"She'll probably just yell at us again and tell us to go away," said Ron, who still looked gloomy.
"Maybe, but we've got to try," said Harry. "We've just *got* to make her talk to us."
End of Part 4.