Hagrid herded all the Slytherin and Gryffindor students into the front doors of Hogwarts. "Come on, go on. All o' you get to yer towers! I'll have a word with Dumbledore.." As they went up the stairs, Hagrid spotted the old wizard approaching. "Hey!"

Proffessor Dumbledore, wearing a purple robe, had a long white beard. He stopped in front of Hagrid, sensing trouble. "Hagrid..is there something amiss?"

Hagrid took a breath. "Well..ye might say that. We got a wee bit of a problem. Something..eh, something or someone in the woods. Big chasm, hot energy from it. The Gates of Hell is opening!" He threw up his arms.

Dumbledore held up his hand. "Calm down, please. Tell me from start to finish..what happened?"

"Well, as yer know, I was going to teach te class today. As usual. We were trying to find a wounded animal to treat, when..uhh..a gigantic rift came. It was like an earthquake had hit!"

"Strange..we didn't sense any earth-shattering movement."

"Neither did we. But I can't think of any other reason! The ground was opened, and it was getting *very* hot near the hole. But that ain't the worst of it. A pair of hands came up, it looked..well, like a woman! She was pulling herself up.."

"And you did not help?"

"Err..no. I didn't know WHAT this was! Or who. And I wasn't about to make the mistake of helping something evil escape that pit.. wherever the pit lead to..I don't think I even wanna know. I high-tailed it outta there as fast as I could, leading the sudents to safety."

"Hmm. Yes, you did good."

"Do ya..uh, do ya suppose the creature is from You-Know-Who?"

"I do not know. I shall have to investigate this matter fully. Please, take me to this location at once!"

"Alright..follow me." And with that, the giant led him to the doors.

*********************************

Dumbledore sat crouched over the sealed crevice, examining the surroundings. Hagrid stood several feet behind him, not wishing to get any closer to the rift than was necessary. The old wizard held his hands over the earth. "Hmm..strange. Still a little heat, but it's cooling now. And..the opening? There is none. Whatever part was open, some force sealed it up. And very quickly..almost a little *too* fast. I believe dark magic was at work here."

Hagrid asked nervously, "Who do ya think it could be, Professor? You-Know-Who?"

He shrugged, "I..I do not know. I have heard of other religions that speak of a dimension, they call it Hell. A netherworld for lost and evil souls, a place of containment and punishment for the dead. I believe that whatever came up, this woman..she may be up to no good. I cannot say for sure if the Dark Lord is behind it. Or which Dark Lord it was, for that matter, as there are several evil entities who have that title."

"What can we do about it?"

Dumbledore rose to his feet and turned around, facing his friend. "We must prepare for the worst. We have to learn more. I will research it further, then call a meeting with the other teachers. I will let you know if anything develops..though I shudder to think that there are *worse* foes than You-Know-Who." He walked past the giant, going back to the school.

Hagrid watched him go, then nodded silently to himself. "Aye..I hope we can figure somethin' out. Somebody's gotta protect thar kids.."

***************************************

The Slytherin students filed into halls of their tower, a small group of each kid going into their rooms. Lucius was in Draco's dorm room, talking to Narcissa. "So..you're alright? You seemed exhausted, a bit worn out."

She smiled. "Ohh..I'm just fine, dear. Perfect."

Just then, Draco walked in. He limped slightly, then sat on the bed.

Lucius stared at him in concern. "What..what happened?
Another fight with the mudblood and her Weasel boyfriend?"

Draco shook his head. "Uh-uh. It was..Alti."

Lucius yelled, "What?! That wench-"

Draco quickly stood up, then grabbed his ribs in pain.
"No..aggh! No, don't call her that. I tried to tell her who I was! But she overheard me talking to Crabbe and Goyle-"

Narcissa smirked, "And so, you thought you'd get away with insulting the Queen of Mean. Well, well..seems you're not the only one with a death wiah, Draco dear."

Her son looked at her in shock, as did his father.
"Mom? You, uh.. ok?"

She winced. "Huh? Oh..sorry. I wasn't myself for a minute there." Suddenly, she said with a leer, "But then, we all go a little bonkers now and then. Can't have everything our way, now can we? Hmm..no! Nevermind. So, uh..Lucius." She gave him a bottle of green liquid. "This is the potion."

Draco walked towards his father, curiously glancing at Narcissa. "Here, father. For once, Hagrid was useful."

Lucius held the pouch, looking inside. "Ahh, so he was! I knew he wouldn't let us down."

Narcissa said in a teasing voice. "Ohh, *did* you, now? Lucky for him."

Lucius ignored her, instead focusing on his son. "So, what about Alti?"

Draco relied, "You were right, she's powerful. She nearly killed me, even though she's a ghost for now. She didn't *need* to touch me. She made me remember all the times I got hurt. I felt it! It was so real..dammit, it still hurts a bit. It's starting to wear off, so I'll be better soon."

Narcissa, who paced for a moment, stopped to look at her son. Then, on impulse, she walked over to him and pinched his cheek. "Yes..you DO that, Draco dearie. That's a *good* boy! You be a good son and get better for your Auntie Calli--uh, *Narcissa*! Sorry. Well, you know what I mean."

Draco went on, as he shrinked away from her, "I.. think so. Anyway, I told her how to get to our house. She'll be there sometime today.."

Lucius smiled, "Excellent. You've done well. But there is the other matter. Have you been studying that history book as I told you to?"

"Uhh..yeah." He looked down. "It's, umm..almost done, I just got to finish taking notes."

Lucius said, "Good! Then you won't fail. Correct?"

He quickly nodded. "Yes, sir. I never have."

He smiled slyly. "Oh..you think so, do you? Well..we shall soon see if you can prove it. If you can show me proof that you're competent, then you will have truly earned the name Malfoy. That mudblood Granger girl seems to be passing you up! Don't let her."

"I *won't*."

"Hmm..we'll see. Come, Narcissa. It is time."

She nodded in silent agreement, aparently her normal self again. She appeared to be strained, as if she was fighting to be herself. Narcissa Malfoy, not some vengeful Warrior Queen from another life. She held his hand, as they pointed their wands at he wall. "Apparate!"

Draco watched them vanish. Alone now, he laid back on the bed, struggling to ignore the pressure. **Great. Just when you think you've completed all the necessary tasks, another one comes along. And what's with mother, she was acting funny. Acting like some crazy lady, then herself again, then..cripes! What the bloody Hell is wrong with her?**

Crabbe walked in, followed by Goyle. "Uh, Draco? You alright?"

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?! Dammit, I'm sick of everybody asking me that!"

"Oh, well..right. Everybody's inside their, uh.. rooms. You want us to go and-"

He sat up. "Yes. That's a good idea, guys. *GO*." He kicked his shoes off, as he was obviously in a foul mood.

"Ohh.." They knew better than to disturb him when he was like this. His famly was the most powerful wizarding sect, and it would not do well to get on their bad side. The two thugs left immediately.

He laid back in the bed, scowling at his predicament. **You want proof, father? Fine. You'll GET proof! Don't worry, dear father, I'll succeed. But not in the way you might think. Ohh..you'll see, alright. You'll see me get my way, more than you know. THEN, you will see who the failure truly is! Count on it..**