It was late on Sunday evening and the whole of the Hogwarts building was dormant. Even Filch had gone to bed, to prepare for another school day tomorrow, and the students had long left their studies for some much needed sleep. The curtains to Harry's four poster swayed as the heavy winds outside came in through the windows, but they did not disturb him. The boys were all asleep, some snoring rather quietly, and there was not a single sound outdoors to disturb them.

Suddenly, there was a loud, ear piercing ring coming from out on the grounds. Even the Slytherins, alone in their underground dungeon, were awaken by the dreadful sound. Out of curiosity and a little annoyance, the students quickly jumped out of bed and raced to the windows, to find the source of that awful noise. In the darkness that only exists at 4am, no one could see anything from their windows, except a few professors rushing out onto the grounds.

Everyone rushed after them, following the Head of their own house, and pushed their way to the giant doors to the Entrance Hall. "Move!" they all shouted, tumbling over the slower Gryffindors on their way down from the tower. They were met on the ground story by a bunch of tired Slytherins, looking particularly venomous.

"What's going on?" Harry asked one of them, hoping they'd forget their grudge in a situation like this. The boy just shrugged and pointed into the crowd somewhere. Panting, he managed to cough out, "Ask him. He always knows." Harry dashed ahead of his friends to find the boy he had pointed to. He squeezed in between shoulders and elbows, and made his way up to--

"Malfoy?" Harry asked, after bumping his head into the pale boy. "What?" Malfoy grunted, shimmying through the swarms of students. Harry followed him easily, because they were the same build. "Do you know what's going on?" He demanded, as they ran out onto the grounds in front of the doors. They were some of the first people there, and the teachers were no where in sight.

Malfoy turned and looked Harry in the eyes. "Do you?" He snorted, his cheeks flushed. Harry shook his head, eager to be able to save his breath. "Then why should I tell you, Potter?" The boy said, the normal drawl gone from his voice. Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said, "don't tell me. I'll find out on my own." And with that, he ran off into the darkness, past the prefects that were trying to hold everyone back.

"Potter!" Harry heard behind him. He winced, knowing he was in trouble, but continued to run. He had adjusted to the ringing sound, which had faded into the background, and was listening for any other sign of-- anything. 'Hagrid!' he thought loudly in his head. 'Hagrid lives out on the grounds!' He tried to run faster, but he had a terrible knot in his side that slowed him down drastically. "Potter!" He heard again behind him. "Potter stop being stupid!" Harry almost doubled over from the pain in his stomach.

"Potter!" He heard as he sank to his knees, forcing the pain to subside slightly. "What?!" he shouted into the darkness. He had never been in dark quite this thick before. "Go hold back the other students! I have to find Hagrid!" Each sentence was filled with many pauses, where Harry had stopped to suck in a deep breath.

"Lumos," said the voice, now extremely close to him. The tip of a wand lit up right in his face, and so did a pair of silver eyes. "It's not my job to keep them back." He said, panting as heavily as Harry, but trying not to show it. Harry stared at the boy, taken aback by his behavior.

"Why did you follow me, Malfoy?" He said lightly, gaining back his breath. "You could've been hurt." Malfoy rolled his eyes and crouched in the grass in front of him. "Why did you come out here?" He asked, licking his dry lips and running his hand over his forehead. Harry sat for a moment, and tugged on his collar. "I wanted to find Hagrid and make sure he's alright." He said at last, and put the collar into his mouth. Malfoy eyed him and sat back into the damp grass. "Stupid," he breathed, and shook his head. "Do you even know where you are?" Harry glared at him. He hated it when the Slytherin was right, which was not often, but he still hated it. Malfoy raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response. "No," Harry grunted, wishing the boy would leave.

Malfoy shrugged and laid down in the grass. "My side hurts," he said, rubbing the area next to his hip. "I wish I hadn't followed you." Harry laid down also, his feet almost touching the boys bent knees. "Then why did you?" He asked, propping himself up just enough to see the silver-blond of Malfoy's hair. Malfoy rubbed his face and looked up at the sky. "Couldn't let you have all the fun," he said sarcastically. "Harry Potter always has all the fun."

"You followed me because you thought I was going to get myself into trouble." Harry stated, falling back into the grass. "Wouldn't it be fun to watch me die?" He said coldly to the boy laying near him.

"I didn't say that!" Malfoy said indignantly, sitting up quickly and making himself slightly dizzy. Harry looked at him, confused. "I just," Malfoy whispered, but his voice grew louder, "I figured if you did a good deed and I was around, I could get some credit for it to." He sounded almost as if he was lying, but Harry knew it was at least part truth.

"Figures," he mumbled. "But I'm not doing anything heroic tonight. I'm just getting caught in the wet grass with a Slytherin jerk, lost and useless."

"Jerk," Malfoy repeated, standing up. "I'm the jerk who brought you light so you wouldn't go falling into a hole or something!"

Harry laughed sarcastically. "You only lit your wand so you could see!" Malfoy glared at him, his eyes burning into Harry. "I don't need it anymore," he said flatly, the drawl starting to come back. "Nox," he whispered, and the light was gone.

Harry stood in the darkness, knowing the boy had not gone anywhere. "So you're just going to sit in the dark, Malfoy?" He prodded, secretly wishing he'd bring back the low, orange glow once emanating from his wand. "Unless you remembered your wand, Potter." He spat back, and began walking away.

Shoulders slumping, Harry sighed. 'No,' he thought, 'I did not bring my wand. I'm so stupid!' He followed after the Slytherin's steps, listening to when he stopped, so he could stop too. "Don't follow me, Potter." He sneered, and broke into a sprint into the blackness. Harry reluctantly ran after him, figuring he had no other choice.

"Malfoy, wait!" He called, but the boy did not let up. His side began to ache again, but he kept going, clinging to the only thing he knew right now--Malfoy. "Stop! The ringing is getting louder! I think we're moving away from the castle!" He got no response except more footsteps and strained breathing.

Harry's head was getting heavy, and the darkness consumed any alternative he had. Using the last of his strength, he pushed forward and tackled the boy to the ground. They landed with a splash in water.

Sitting up, Harry spat some of the foul water out of his mouth, and Malfoy lit up his wand again. "What'd you do that for?!" He shouted, splashing some water at Harry's face. "My glasses," Harry managed, and swished his hands around in search of them. "Now I'm all wet," Malfoy continued, not getting up from his spot in the lake.

"Shut up and help me find my glasses," Harry breathed. "Why should I?" the boy retorted, crossing his arms. Harry splashed some water on his own face and ran his fingers through his wet hair. "I don't know," he panted, "I just need them and you can see and I can't." He ran his fingers over the lake bottom, which was covered in sticks and grasses. "What is--" He murmured to himself, holding something in his hands.

"Don't get so touchy," Malfoy snapped, snatching his wet robe from the boys hands. He sat back, not moving and therefore not searching for Harry's lost spectacles. "Please help me," he pleaded. He hated seeming weak in front of him, but he had little else to chose from. He leaned forward to feel more of the ground, and found himself very close to Malfoy's face. He leaned back more to avoid him, and nearly feel completely under the water. "Don't get so close, Potter," he said flatly, sitting up again.

Harry merely shrugged him off and kept up his search. "Sorry about your specs, Potter," he said sarcastically as Harry raked the bottom. He found the boys hand, clamped into a fist and half buried in the sand. "My my Potter," he said, retracting himself from the black haired boy, "You certainly do like to touch." Harry felt himself turn red. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't see, but he was sure Malfoy would taunt him about it when they got back to school.

"I don't mean to," he mumbled, wondering if maybe his glasses could float. He had them for years, but never once tried to do it.

"It's understandable," he said, smirking although Harry could feel it rather than see it. "I am quite attractive. But I don't swing that way, Potter." Harry shook his head. "Whatever, Malfoy."

"Nox," the boy whispered again, much to Harry's dismay. "Why did you do that?" He asked, and stopped moving. The boy moved in the water and Harry thought he was going to run away again. 'How cruel!' he said to himself, but didn't have time to get up. "Quiet!" the boy sneered, thrusting something into Harry's chest.

"My glasses," Harry whispered, taking them from the boy's gentle hand. "You had them the whole time!"

"Don't shout!" Malfoy commanded him. "There's somewhere else here." Harry moved over to sit close to Malfoy, careful not to lose him in the darkness. Suddenly a light flickered.

"Mr. Potter!" Shouted a woman's voice. "And Mr. Malfoy! What are you doing out here?!" It was Professor McGonagall, and she looked slightly worried. She was holding her wand out in front of her, shinning it in their faces.

"We got lost," Harry whimpered, seeing Professor Sprout catch up to her. "Students!" She exclaimed, and then paced a little ways whispering, "Oh my, Oh my, Oh my!" McGonagall narrowed her eyes at them, but helped them out of the water. Harry's pajamas bottoms were heavy with water, and almost slid off of him. He held them up with one shivering hand, and the Professor shook her head. "You're going to catch pneumonia now." Malfoy slipped off his bathrobe, revealing black, silk pajamas.

"Can we go inside then?" He asked, lighting up his wand. Professor McGonagall eyed him for a moment, then shook her head again. "I don't think I can allow that. Severus?" A man came plodding through the water, and Harry exchanged worried glances with Malfoy. Snape was over at once, his nightclothes wet to his waist and his breath making a cloud in the chilly air.

"I'll take them to the school," he said, not looking at them. "Maybe they didn't pass through it. And we won't find out in the dark." McGonagall bit her lip. "Alright," she said cautiously, looking around her. Professor Flitcwick came up from behind her.

"We closed it," he said breathlessly to McGonagall, but his eyes were fixed on the two boys. "Are they, er. ours?" He asked, approaching the wet, shivering bodies.

"We don't know," Snape said shortly, and took Malfoy by the shoulder. "We should get inside before you get sick." Malfoy rubbed his arms and Snape led the two of them in the direction of the castle. They had walked about three steps, when Professor Flitwick stepped out of the darkness. Harry did a double-take.

"Professor," he said, eyeing him curiously, "weren't you just over there?" He turned about and pointed in the direction of where they had left, and straight at Professor Flitwick. Harry and Malfoy stood in shock, watching both of the Flitwicks.

"I will explain when we get inside," Snape sneered insistently, and continued pushing them towards the school. They walked for a few minutes, lit only by Professor Snape's wand. (He had taken Malfoy's away.) Harry shook as the cold clung to him, his pajamas felt like ice against his skin. Walking shoulder to shoulder in front of Snape, they did not speak.

When they could see again without the aid of lumos, Snape extinguished his wand and walked them up the steps to the Entrance Hall. The students watched the soaking boys being ushered up the stairs, but none were allowed to come near them. Hermione and Ron yelled for Harry's attention, but he merely gave them a quick glance and turned away. Crabbe and Goyle called for Malfoy, but he made no effort to look at them.

Snape led them through the Entrance Hall and down a corridor Harry had been down many times. They were heading in the direction of Dumbledore's office. It was not much warmer in the building, but they did not complain about the temperature, and were wondering just what was going on.

They finally made it to the room they were searching for. They had passed Dumbledore's office a while back, and were now in a circular room with a high ceiling. Snape waved for them to sit on a giant couch, and they did. He lit a fire, warming the room almost immediately. Still wet, Harry curled into a ball.

Dumbledore rushed in only a few moments later, and sat down on the sofa next to Snape. "Harry," he said, looking over the rim of his glasses, "and Draco. I would like to know why you went running off tonight."

Harry looked down at his feet on the couch, not wishing to respond. 'I can't tell him I went after Hagrid,' he said in his mind, 'or he'll think I'm stupid for thinking he couldn't protect himself.' Malfoy also shifted nervously. "I," he said, biting his lip, "I was following Harry." He said the words like they were poison, and he had to get them out of his mouth. Harry rolled his head back.

"And what were you doing out there, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, as he conjured Snape a towel. Harry shrugged. "I don't really know, Sir. It was just a stupid thing I did. I'm sorry." He pouted on the couch as the Headmaster rubbed his temples. Snape snorted.

"It was very stupid, Potter. You could have gotten yourself and Mr. Malfoy killed." Snape growled, looking pleased with himself. Harry stood up in protest, and his pants began to slid again. He grabbed them in one, hasty motion and spoke up. "He didn't have to follow me! I don't even know why he did!" He seemed to be yelling more at Malfoy then the Professor. Snape waved him off.

Dumbledore gave both the boys a towel, and smiled. "At least nobody's hurt." He said, as they dried their faces and necks. "You should get into dry clothes," he said as Malfoy shivered. "I don't want you getting sick." But Harry shook his head.

"I want to ask you something first," he said, trying to sound confidant. Dumbledore waited and looked at him expectantly. "Uh--" he said, rubbing the towel over his hair, "When we were outside, there were--uh, two Professor Flitwicks." He slowed his speech drastically at the last few words, fearing they might think he was mad. Dumbledore chuckled gravely.

"Oh yes, that. That's what that ringing sound was," he explained. Harry was confused. "The ringing was Flitwick?"

"Professor Flitwick," Dumbledore corrected, "and no. That's not what I meant at all. The noise was a symophone. They're small portholes, and when you pass through them," he paused, as if deciding if he should finish his thought, "they make a duplicate of whatever went through it. All the Professors passed through it before they realized what it was." He looked over at Snape, who hung his head. "It's sealed now," he continued, eyeing Harry and Malfoy.

"So there are two of every teacher?!" Harry shouted, dropping the towel on the floor.

"Yes, Harry. Almost every teacher. Professor McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout. The others were not there at the time." he trailed off, and loomed over Harry and the other boy. "I'm just afraid that you two passed through as well."