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Chapter 6- Myrtle, Moody, and Macnair
Peter Pettigrew was at his fifth birthday party when he was first asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He never said that he would be something fancy like an alchemist or a dragon tamer. He was more of a realist than children twice his age. Even back then, he figured he would graduate with slightly-above-average marks at some wizarding academy, perhaps Hogwarts, go into a ho-hum desk job at some wizards business, and spent much of the rest of his life filing papers and performing actions that no other man or woman would pay attention to or care about. Even after he met Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, he never even thought that his life would be fraught with action, adventure, or peril and, to be brutally honest, he quite liked it that way. He was a lover of stability if nothing more.
Yet, here he was deep within the bowels of his old school searching for even the slightest chink in the acclaimed armor that was Albus Dumbledore's defense of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had spent the last two weeks searching throughout the school for anything useful he could find while no one had even the slightest clue that he was there. His decision to "look in" on Harry at the night of the Yule Ball was a bit risky, but it was quite a rewarding experience. However, his entire trip to Hogwarts was more of a refresher course if anything else. After all, he had spent much of his life at the acclaimed institution. From his days as an actual student and as a constructor of the infamous Marauder's Map to his twelve years as the Weasley family's beloved pet rat Scabbers, Pettigrew knew more about the mysteries and secrets of the school better than even Albus Dumbledore himself. He was a spy, the best the wizarding world had seen in many decades. He had only been caught once doing his work in nearly twenty years and that instance only occurred due to a product of his own making.
Of course, it was the ultimate purpose of his centrifuge that seemed to truly irk him tonight. He was searching for a safe entrance route so that Macnair, Voldemort's insanely powerful executioner, could enter Hogwarts unnoticed and assassinate Hermione Granger. Peter took another solid gaze at his crudely constructed of Hogwarts and the route that he had selected for the muscle-bound madman to employ, an underground passageway that had been dug over a hundred years ago that was used to escort soldiers back to safe ground after skirmishes with Grindewald's Army. He nibbled on a slice of ham that he had liberated from the kitchens while he carefully folded his picture of him, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and James back into one of the pockets of his robes. Macnair was scheduled to arrive tomorrow and it now seemed the opportune moment for Peter to make his timely exit, but he still couldn't force himself to do it.
'There's something more to do,' Peter thought as he transformed into his rodent-like counterpart and searched for a safe place to rest for the night.
"You mean to tell me that you STILL haven't found out the Triwizard clue!" Hermione nearly screamed while Harry almost seemed to cower in forgiveness. Just after the first task in the tournament, Harry and his three rivals were given a clue for solving what the labors they must endure in the second task. Unfortunately, Hermione was under the impression that her best friend had already solved the clue whereas, in reality, Harry didn't have the slightest clue. Procrastination was a crime of nigh- unfathomable proportions in the court of Hermione Granger, and the young Gryffindor with the lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead was now paying the penalty in the frenzied ambiance of the Hogwarts Great Hall.
"I thought I would have figured it out before you found out!" Harry nearly cried as he continued his cowering. He hadn't been this frightened since he was looking into the gaping maw of a vicious Hungarian Horntail.
"Let him off easy, Hermione," Matt said in a brave attempt to turn Hermione's unbridled anger away from his friend. "He still has a month to figure it out. I'm sure he'll be able to manage it." Despite the wisdom in the young Ravenclaw's comments, they were harshly ignored by Harry's judge, jury, and executioner.
"Somebody put your name in the Goblet of Fire for a reason, Harry!" Hermione hissed as her spoon pounded away furiously at her unbuttered, slightly burnt toast. "The more we know about the danger that you're going to get into, the better we'll be able to keep you safe."
"You know, you're beginning to sound like Professor Moody," Ron said dully while he pointed an unused knife at his steaming, bushy-haired friend.
"All you need is a peg leg, a third eye and just keep screaming 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE' in the halls and you'd be a dead ringer for him," Matt quipped as both he and Ron laughed.
"This is serious!" Hermione yelled at her two light-hearted compatriots. "Harry certainly didn't enter this tournament on his own accord so somebody must be plotting against him."
"Don't worry about me, Hermione," Harry said evenly while he placed a relaxed hand on one of Hermione's quivering ones. "It's not like I'm just going around blindfolded and asking for trouble."
"You certainly don't act the part, Harry," Hermione said with a concerned huff. "If you're not going to worry about your own safety then someone else has to!" Hermione said while she tried to ignore the warmth of Harry's touch.
"Look," Matt said as he placed down his silverware, "I'm certain that if we work together we can figure out the clue and keep Harry protected. Just trust me on this one." Hermione seemed to calm down a bit at that "So what is the clue for the second task?"
"You mean you haven't seen it?" Ron asked with a forkful of scrambled eggs lingering near his lips.
"What makes you thinks I should?" Matt asked back dully.
"Well, Fleur has been working in your common room, hasn't she?" Ron asked while his eyes seemed to mist over as he thought of the silver-haired half-veela. Matt chuckled.
"Ever since I hit her in the face with a pie it seems like she's lost interest in hanging out with me," Matt said while Harry sniggered and Hermione shook her head.
"Sounds like typical behavior for you, Matt." Hermione said coolly. "You don't suppose that you could do with a little tact when it comes to dealing with women, do you?"
"Why on earth would I want to hang out with something like you?" Matt said with mock exasperation as he took a big bite into his toast. "The last thing I need is a shrewish string bean with hideous hair yelling at me about every little thing I do." The cross look that Hermione after had in her eyes while dealing with Matt had once again returned. "I still don't know what Harry sees in you!" Harry gave a bright blush at Matt's last statement while Ron nearly exploded with laughter and Hermione fought back the strong desire to turn Matt into a chocolate frog
"Can we please get back to discussing something sane for a change?" Harry asked in exasperation.
"Sanity is a strange concept, grasshopper," Matt said in a codgery Oriental inflection.
"A concept that you have no idea of whatsoever," Hermione countered.
"To wit, Miss Granger," Matt said with an airy tone, "stuff it in your abnormally large ears."
"Anyway," Harry said as he tried to play the subtle peacemaker between his two quarrelsome companions, "why do you think Professor Moody changed the class schedule to include all four houses in this weeks classes," Harry said. Professor Alastor Moody was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts and after a mere four months, he had acquired a reputation for being quite eccentric and unpredictable. In one memorable class several months ago, he had taught fourth-year students about the Unforgivable Curses, an action that still had many members of the Ministry of Magic, as well as many of the school's professors, wanting him to quit once the word leaked out. Many of the students, particularly in the Gryffindor house, respected Moody during his illustrious days as an Auror, but many of them were also frightened of the man.
"He probably just wants to herd us all together to tell us another story about hunting death-eaters and punishing the guilty," Matt responded flatly. "I'll tell you this, he may know his stuff about the Dark Arts, but he's as flamin' nuts as The Daily Prophet says he is."
"Given your opinion of The Daily Prophet, that's quite an interesting statement," Hermione told him while she picked up the front page of the wizard newspaper.
"Just don't tell anyone," Matt said as he yanked the editorial page away from the rest of the rag. "For some strange reason, I feel the need to read Rita Skeeter." Before he could get into it, however, the busy breakfast table was greeted by another friendly face.
"'Lo children," Hagrid said, the half-giant groundskeeper walking arm- in-arm with Madame Maxine, the headmaster of Beauxbatons. "I hope you're not readin' too much into that!"
"We view it as an interesting break from reality," Harry said with a good-natured smirk.
"Good morning, Hagrid, Madame Maxine," Hermione said happily as she folded her severely abused copy as best as she could. "Would you like to join us for breakfast?" Maxine, looking surprisingly elegant in an enormous bright-yellow robe with a silky white shawl, gave an amiable smile before responding.
"No zank you," she responded in her thick French accent. "'Agrid an' I are simply seeing the zights."
"Just don't let Hagrid get you near the blast-ended skrewts, Madame Maxine," Ron said with a mischievous grin. "They've been eyeing your horses for food for quite a while now." Madame Maxine laughed quite a bit at that while Hagrid tried to sputter an unnecessary apology.
"I vill be sure to keep my eyes open," Madame Maxine said as she gave Ron a quaint bow. "It vas nice to zee you all again. I wish you luck in ze tournament, Mr. Potter."
"Thank you very much," Harry said with a broad grin. It was nice to see Hagrid and Madame Maxine getting along so well. Hagrid patted Maxine's hand politely.
"Would it be all right if I jus' spoke with 'em for a second?" Hagrid asked.
"Not at all, 'Agrid. I vill be at ze Ravenclaw table ven you are ready." Maxine responded with a winsome smile as she strode across the Great Hall to speak with Fleur Delaclour, her prize student.
"Nice catch, Hagrid," Matt said slyly once he was certain Maxine was out of ear's reach. "You have to tell me your secrets, mate!" Hagrid's beetle-black eyes were filled with amusement as he gave a huge laugh that almost seemed to shake the Great Hall itself.
"Now, Matt," Hagrid said while placing his massive left arm over Matt's shoulders. "Ye'll jus' have ta learn it fer yourself." Hermione smiled broadly towards Hagrid's attitude while Harry and Ron nearly put their fists in their mouths to stifle their laughter. With his enormous frame, moleskin overcoat, and nearly out-of-control beard, Rubeus Hagrid appeared to be the last person that anyone could have ever construed as a ladies' man.
"I'm not certain if that's wise, Hagrid," Hermione said tartly. "Matt needs all the help he could get."
"So says the obnoxious, holier-than-thou, bushy-haired bookworm," Matt responded tersely.
"Now, now," Hagrid said, well aware of the frequent quarrels between the two, "there's no need to bicker. Um, speakin' on the matter Matt," Hagrid continued slowly, "how are things 'tween you and, well, you know." The friendly half-giant gave a sideways glance to Ginny, who was trying to look in on their conversation while pretending to make every effort to avoid it altogether.
"Not as well as I'd like it," Matt murmured depressingly while Harry and Hermione both gave their friend a look of sympathy.
"What are you talking about now?" Ron asked suspiciously while he spread some more peanut butter on the last of his toast. Hagrid and Matt seemed to panic a bit at Ron's sudden interest in their conversation.
"Eat your food," Hermione said flatly. "The big boys and girls are talking now. No place for you."
"Don't just leave me out of this!" Ron shouted angrily while his mouth was stuffed with bread, peanut butter, and strawberry preserves.
"Well," Hermione said as she looked at her watch, "as much as I'd like to continue this wonderfully intelligent conversation with you Ron, we have Dark Arts to get to in ten minutes so we better hurry." In response, Matt and Harry quickly picked up their dishes and cleaned up the table while Ron tried desperately to get in a last bite to eat.
"You kids better get movin' then," Hagrid said while he rose back up to his full height. "I'll see all of you later this afternoon fer class!'
"Count on it, Hagrid!" Ron said.
"Good luck with Madame Maxine! Sweep her off her feet!" Hermione added brightly. Hagrid merely blushed as he turned away and stomped his way to the Ravenclaw table. A few moments later, the four young students had cleaned their mess from breakfast and dashed off into the depths of the castle, where Professor Moody would surely be waiting for them.
"Quickly get to your seats students," Alastor Moody grumbled, his magical blue eye blinking angrily at the throng of students as Matt, Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way into the Defense of the Dark Arts class. Due to the number of students that would be occupying it during the next week, it seemed that Moody or Dumbledore had used a spell to turn the ordinarily small room into a large hall that could fit as many as 150 people. Draco Malfoy and his ilk sneered at Harry and his friends as they took their seats, his ever-present "Potter stinks" button that he had created at the outset of the tournament shining prominently on his black wizard robe. The four students had a bit of difficulty finding a seat in the suddenly enlarged room until Mandy was able to wave them over into four open chairs.
"Do you know what on earth this could be about?" Mandy asked in a hushed tone while trying to avoid Moody's glaring.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Harry responded as he plunked down into his seat and opened his notebook.
As soon as the Professor Moody was able to hush the students, which he accomplished merely by making a soft growl that could be heard by everyone in the room, Moody retreated from the front row and circled around his desk. Watching Alastor Moody teach was much like watching a caged lion. You simply didn't know what was going to happen if it got the slightest amount of freedom. And, in this case, Moody had free rein.
"I've brought you fourth-years here together," Moody began while his false leg made a dull clunk on the wooden floor after every step, "to further your knowledge on the Unforgivable Curses."
There was quite a bit of murmuring that took place in the room after that comment. Some of the students whispered excitedly, expecting another example of their infamous class in the first month. Other students, such as Harry, Matt, and Hermione, whispered with voices of extreme concern. Some students, such as Neville Longbottom, were downright fearful of what was to come. No matter what the response, Moody took little heed of all of it and continued on.
"You've seen the effects that these dangerous incantations can have on other animals, and you Gryffindors have seen what these spells can do to humans," Moody said with a terrifying grin. Harry fought back the urge to shudder in fear, remembering all too well of the time when Moody tried to control his mind with the Imperius Curse.
"Now," Moody drawled, as he continued to pace about the floor, each and every student on his every move, "I'm going to show the students of the other houses what can occur when you are placed under the Imperius Curse."
The noise level in the room spiked dramatically at that declaration, so much so that even Moody could not ignore it.
"But, Professor," Draco Malfoy said shakily, "You can't put those curses on us! You'll go to Azkaban!" Ron gave a bitter chuckle at Malfoy's worried behavior. It was certain that Malfoy was definitely not worrying about Moody's future career as a teacher.
"I'll have you know, Malfoy, that Dumbledore has given me the fullest permission to place you under the Imperius Curse during this week!" Moody barked, his cold smile still on his scarred face. "Allow me to assure you, however, that I promise to execute as much caution as I can when performing the spell. I'm here to teach you that magic can be fought. It's not some technique that you can read about in a book and learn. It's something that either you have or you don't. It's strength of character, Malfoy! IT'S ABOUT CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Nearly the entire room jumped upon hearing Moody's words. Most of them had heard the wizened warrior violently shout with no real warning but the shock was still there.
"Now," Moody said, calming everyone down a bit by finally ceasing his laborious movements back and forth, "Who would like to volunteer?"
Needless to say, not a single witch or wizard volunteered to be submitted to such a dangerous technique. Most of the students were just trying not to make a sound, in the hopes that they could avoid Moody's attention and not be picked. Even some of the Gryffindors, who were well aware that they were not going to be chosen, had their heads down in their books and were not making a sound.
"I will, Professor Moody," Matt's voice pronounced softly.
One hundred and sixty-one eyes, plus Moody's magical pupil, were now focused on the young Ravenclaw. Harry and Hermione seemed to be trying to plead Matt to take it back while Mandy and Ron looked at the brown-haired boy as if he had gone insane. Professor Moody, meanwhile, gave Matt a scarred smile.
"Good man," Moody said, nodding his head in approval. "Come up to the front of the class, Mister MacDougal."
With the reserved calmness of an Azkaban prisoner, Matt lifted himself out of his desk and walked towards the front of the classroom. Malfoy gave the young man a dazzling smile, practically licking his chops at Matt's foolish decision. Matt's legs felt like jelly as he stood across from the acclaimed Auror who took his place across from him and produced his wand.
"Let's see if you have what it takes, young man," Moody said while he pointed his wand at the boy in a menacing manner. "Imperio!"
No light emerged from Moody's wand, but Matt felt as if he had been shot. He gritted his teeth to try to shut the monstrous yelling that seemed to attack him from every nerve.
"Follow my command, boy," Moody said with determination, his spell not wavering a bit. "Leap onto the table!"
Moody's grating voice bore into Matt's soul like a dentist's drill. He gritted his teeth to try to shut the monstrous yelling. He grasped his head with his hands with the strength of a vice. Drops of blood began to form at the bridge of the boy's nostrils and slid towards the wooden floor. His nearly animal instincts had kicked in trying urgently to fight the sheer intensity of Moody's spell.
Harry looked at the scene in front of him with abject horror. He had managed to block the effects of the curse by avoiding its effects. Matt, however, was trying to fight the effects head-on, almost making it a battle of wills between the student and the teacher. A battle in which Matt had little, if any way, to defend himself.
"Impressive," Moody confessed, his teeth gritted in concentration, "Let's see how well you can handle a larger dose, young man." Moody made a frenzied movement with his arm before he howled and cast another Imperio spell upon him.
The sheer strength of Moody's spell was enough to buckle the Ravenclaw's knees and send him crashing to the floor. His normally hazel eyes seemed to be turning red under the immense physical and psychological strain. His skin, flushed with exertion, was an ugly shade of burgundy that horrified many of the students. A slight bit of foam was emerging from each side of the boy's mouth. The phenomenal display of resolve and determination seemed to be turning the boy into some kind of animal. Even Malfoy, who despised Matt more than anyone he thought possible, looked at the scene with shock and barely-disguised horror.
"Stop it, Professor Moody!" Harry screamed while he and Hermione rushed to the front of the class.
"Leave him alone, you madman!" Hermione howled. It was only then that Moody snapped out of his trancelike state. The scar-laden Auror blinked a few times in exasperation as he stared at the boy who fought him with a nigh unparallel force. Within moments, the cruel smile had once again emerged.
"Are you all right, Matt?" Hermione asked worriedly while she tried to still Matt's trembling hands.
"Jus' get me out of here," Matt pleaded hoarsely.
"DID YOU SEE THAT!" Moody bellowed as he pointed his wand at Matt. "He did not move an inch! He did not back down for the slightest moment. Truly amazing, Mister MacDougal."
Matt couldn't respond to Moody's unabashed praising. Harry and Hermione were by his side attempting to lift him back to his feet. Matt felt as helpless as a newborn child.
"Thirty points to Ravenclaw for such an awe-inspiring effort, young man!" Moody continued as the two Gryffindors finally succeeded in hefting their friend back onto his feet.
"We're taking him to the infirmary," Hermione said coldly, looking at Moody as if he were the most detestable creature she had ever laid eyes on. "Take off as many points as you deem necessary." That statement seemed to bring Moody back to his normal demeanor.
"Very well then. Miss Granger, Mister Potter, see to it that Madam Pomfrey gives him treatment." Moody said as Harry and Hermione nearly carried their friend to the hospital wing.
"What on earth is that maniac thinking!" Madam Pomfrey screeched as she gently applied a cold compress to Matt's throbbing temples. "Placing the Imperius Curse on a child."
"He was trying to teach us about the Unforgivable Curses," Harry said dully in a half-hearted attempt to defend the teacher. He wasn't surprised to see the dubious look on the nurse's face.
"Teaching?" Pomfrey responded. "That fool just wants to cause trouble," she said as she yanked the thermometer from Matt's mouth. After giving a satisfactory nod, the nurse placed the thermometer in a water bath and looked at Harry and Hermione with an impatient look in her eyes.
"Now, I don't want you two troublemakers to interfere with his recuperation," Pomfrey said while pointing her thumb at the bed-ridden Ravenclaw. "I'll give you twenty minutes to talk with them, Mister MacDougal, before I throw them out. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," Matt whispered politely. In his current state, he wasn't foolish enough to defy the stoic caretaker. Then, with a sympathetic nod, Madam Pomfrey turned away from her newest patient and shut the door.
"Are you feeling any better?" Hermione asked, her eyes filled with concern.
"I'm lookin' on the bright side," Matt croaked with a whisper of a smile. "By the time I'm released, it'll be the end of the days' classes." Even Hermione couldn't avoid laughing a bit at her friend's attitude.
"Nice to see that spell didn't take your sense of humor," Harry said with a pleasant smile.
"That remains to be seen, mate," Matt responded while blowing back his hair and settling into his hospital bed. "So, tell me more about this second Triwizard clue."
"Now's hardly the time be thinking about that," Hermione said simply while she patted Matt's leg.
"Oh, rubbish Hermione!" Matt said with a dissident shrug. "I'll be out of here before sunset. That'll give us more than enough time to figure it out if we work together on it."
"As long as we don't invite Ron to distract us," Hermione added with a mischievous grin.
"Precisely," Matt followed up.
"Well," Harry started, "each of the competitors was given a golden egg after the first task. Bagman told us to discover the clue inside the egg by the twenty-fourth of February."
"What was inside the egg?" Matt asked.
"Nothing, the second I open the egg it makes a horrible yell."
"The sound of a banshee wailing," Hermione elaborated.
"A banshee?" Matt asked, his forehead slumping in concentration. "Maybe the yell of the creature itself is part of the clue."
"So maybe the second task has something to do with banshees?" Harry asked aloud. Hermione shook her head.
"I don't think so," the bushy-haired Gryffindor said. "I think the last thing the Triwizard audience would want to hear is a bunch of banshees screeching around the Hogwarts grounds. It just doesn't fit with the environment of the tournament."
"Good point," Matt said as he nodded his head towards Hermione in appreciation. "So maybe the clue has to do with the noise itself."
"Let's see," Hermione said as she wrenched one of her notebooks from her tightly packed knapsack. "What kind of situation would make a banshee wail?"
"Quite a few, Hermione," Matt said frowning. "They wail when they're hunting, when they're hunted, and they use a high-pitched wail for their mating call. That part of it just seems too vague." While Matt and Hermione argued, a light bulb seemed to go off in Harry's head.
"It wasn't a cry of success or danger!" Harry said while he quickly rose from his seat. "It was more of a desperate cry. Like a death throe."
"Okay," Matt said as he rose a bit from his bed. "Now what would cause a banshee to make a noise like that?" It was Hermione's turn to have an epiphany.
"Water!" she yelled triumphantly. "Most species of banshee are deathly afraid of water!"
"So, if you try to immerse the egg in water and open it. . ." Matt thought aloud.
"We may be able to understand it!" Hermione pronounced as she nearly jumped for joy. "Bloody brilliant!"
"This may work," Harry said in a relieved manner.
"There's only one way to find out for sure, Harry, and that's to test the theory itself." Matt said with a grin.
"That will be simple," Hermione said as she crossed to the foot of the bed. "All Harry has to do is drop the egg into the Gryffindor baths once we get back to the common room!"
"How about we just all pick a place where all of us can hear it?" Harry asked. Matt's hazel eyes nearly flickered with mischievous anticipation.
"We could always use the Prefects' bathroom!" Matt chirped cheerfully. Hermione looked at her laid up friend as if he were nutters.
"We're not allowed in there," Hermione whispered while Madam Pomfrey entered the room. "How do you expect for us to get in?"
"Simple," Matt said with a roguish grin. "At ten o'clock, you two can take the invisibility cloak while I'll make one of my invisibility potions. Besides, I've always to check out what the Prefects' bathroom looks like!" By now, Madam Pomfrey was already shooing Harry out the door.
"And why on earth are you so focused to see the Prefects bathroom?" Hermione asked while giving a suspicious glance at Matt's jovial behavior.
"Because I never have, my dear Hermione," Matt answered while Madam Pomfrey nearly shoved Hermione out of the infirmary.
A newborn unicorn looked into Macnair's emotionless eyes as he plodded his way through the Forbidden Forest. Macnair stooped down to pet the brave, little creature, caressing its newly grown horns and running a coursed hand through the unicorn's brilliant white mane.
"You must have received that mane from your mother," Macnair said as the unicorn neighed in appreciation of Macnair's nurturing. Macnair remembered the days when he was a student at Hogwarts and would occasionally sneak out to view the exquisite wonders of this magical glen. It was a time when the dewy patina of innocence seemed to cover him like a second skin, just as it was doing for this newborn creature. It was a time before he discovered his true place in the world.
"You're just a fragile soul," Macnair told the unicorn as he gazed into the eyes of the innocent creature. "A soul who does not know of the agony of pain and the glory of death. You can be shifted into something so superior that your mother and father would not have dreamed it possible." Macnair's right hand slid down the rest of the mane and made a firm grasp around the back of the steed's neck. "Unfortunately for you, my lord has no time to dwell with creatures such as you who have fallen off the evolutionary ladder," the man said coldly as his left hand coiled itself around the front of the unicorn's neck. The infant unicorn was not even remotely aware of the danger as Macnair slowly tightened his grip, the unicorn's profound emerald-green eyes gazing into Macnair's emotionless face.
"Allow me to escort you into your eventual place in life," Macnair said grimly as he began to squeeze the very life from the magical creature. Then, with a simple, violent motion, he yanked his hands in opposite directions and cracked the unicorn's neck. The creature could not even make a plea for help as it made its slow lifeless plummet to the soft forest floor, small trickles of blood escaping from its mouth.
Macnair rose to his feet and casually wiped the unicorn's blood onto his pants as he continued to traverse the mysterious forest. Not a single denizen of the forest made the slightest effort to spur the titanic man's attention as he continued his trek. Within minutes, the executioner was able to make out the hut that was owned by the school's grounds keeper. His master's informant had told him that he would find the passage thirty paces northwest of the hut, and he was not about to make a mistake. After arriving at the projected spot, Macnair pulled out his wand, a twelve-inch oak wand that had the stain of blood all over it. Whether it was his own blood or the blood of one of his many unfortunate victims during the war fifteen years ago was a secret that was only known by him.
"Open before mine eyes," Macnair pronounced as he pointed his wand at the supposed entrance to the secret passage. Within seconds, a six-by-six foot layer of wood and dirt began to lift itself up with impressive speed, revealing a dirt tunnel that looked as if it had not been used for years. Mold spores seemed to fester on the walls of the passage and the smell of death seemed to hang over it like a shroud. Macnair had no qualms for getting dirty, however, it was a small price to pay to help accomplish his master's grand vision. Once the passage was open completely, Macnair made a short leap into the passageway and provided a light with his wand and shut the door behind him. His blood seemed to boil in anticipation as Macnair made his way closer and closer towards the potions dungeon where he would inhabit himself until his time to strike came.
He would be hunting something much more satisfying than a unicorn soon enough.
Harry and Hermione were deathly silent as they made their way to the Prefects bathroom underneath Harry's invisibility cloak. Indeed, with Hermione making sure that the enlarged cloak fit over the both of them while Harry held on to the heavy golden egg and the Marauder's Map, they were probably taking enough risks already. Harry was quite thankful that Ron decided to stay behind on this venture, it would be nearly impossible for the three of them to make their way to the Prefects' bathroom without being noticed.
"Just be sure to tell me all about it once you get back," Ron said as he opened the door leading out of the Gryffindor common room allowing his two friends to leave without suspicion.
The two Gryffindors arrived at the door leading to the Prefects bathroom several minutes after ten while they waited for Matt. After five minutes of waiting in silence, Hermione impatiently poked her head out of the protection of the cloak.
"Where on earth could he be?" Hermione hissed in frustration.
"So there you are!"
Hermione nearly jumped out of the cloak in shock as Matt began to materialize in front of her, his hazel eyes looking extremely agitated. "I've been waiting on you guys for twenty minutes."
"Could you at least warn someone before you do that?" Hermione clucked in disapproval.
"I'm not the one whose head just popped out of nowhere!" Matt nearly shouted.
"Can we just get inside the bathroom now?" Harry asked impatiently while still covered in the invisibility cloak. Matt turned to the statue of Boris the Bewildered, the guardian of the Prefects bathing quarters, and leaned in close to it.
"Pine fresh," Matt whispered and the statue quickly slid aside. The three students quickly hustled inside, with Matt bolting the door behind him.
"Do I even want to know how you just happened to know the password to this room?" Hermione asked dully as she cast a Reducio charm on the cloak and began to fold it. Matt sighed in frustration.
"If you must know, I heard Roger Davies say it before you guys got here," Matt said as he pulled a second invisibility potion from out of his cloak.
Harry, meanwhile, was too busy staring at the amazingly lavish features of the bathroom to respond to his friends' bickering. The gentle lights from the chandelier at the top of the room seemed to bounce off the white marble floor, creating an intensely relaxing atmosphere. A generous pile of fluffy white towels sat in one corner while a painting of a fair- haired mermaid was framed above them. However, the most impressive aspect of the Prefects bathroom was the tub itself. The washbasin was so large that it dominated the center of the room. It looked to be as much as six feet deep and a diving board was placed on one end of the tub. The edge of the tub was clustered with golden taps, each with a differently colored jewel set into its handle.
"I wonder if it's possible to just live here," Harry said.
"We're not here to goof off," Hermione said steadily. "We're here to figure out that clue."
"I don't know, Hermione," Matt said as he took off his robe hastily, revealing a pair of solid blue swim trunks. "I always view goofing off as a very important secondary objective," he said to her with a wink and an impish smile as he dashed for the diving board. With an excited whoop, Matt ran off the board and dived into the tub with a very impressive forward-flip dive.
"How's the water?" Harry asked him as soon as Matt resurfaced.
"Warmer than you'd expect," Matt said as he began a steady backstroke to the other end of the bath. "Get your arse in here, Potter! You too, Granger!"
Needing no further prompting, Harry took off his pajamas, slippers, and dressing gown, leaving nothing more on than a pair of solid green trunks. After placing the discarded clothes in a somewhat organized pile, Harry clambered up to the diving board and cannon balled into the tub. As soon as Harry settled himself, Matt turned back to Hermione with an impatient look in his eyes.
"Are you getting in here or what?" he asked dully. Hermione was trying to stifle a bit of a blush at Harry's current state of lack of dress.
"Give me a minute!" Hermione stammered. Harry stopped fiddling with the bubbles that were emerging from the various golden taps and cocked his head to one side in notice of Hermione's hesitation.
"You're not naked under there, are you?" the black-haired boy asked innocently.
"NO!"
"Then get in here," Matt said gleefully as he made his way back to the middle of the pool. "It's not like we're going to be staring at you or anything. You're not that attractive."
Hermione, who was not about to ignore a comment like that, turned red in anger as she quickly removed her robe and pajamas, revealing a highly conservative white bathing suit that reminded Matt of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby.
"Nice swimsuit, Hermione," Matt said saucily as the bushy-haired Gryffindor stomped her way to the shallow end of the tub. "It makes me want to do The Charleston."
"Another word from you and I'll use my wand to turn you into a porcupine," Hermione growled as she gradually waded into the tub. While Harry and Hermione swam to the middle of the tub, which was only about four feet deep, Matt dogpaddled over to the edge of the tub where Harry had placed the golden egg and retrieved it.
"Your egg, sir," Matt said with a smirk as he presented it to his friend, who took it and began to undo the latches. As soon as Harry opened the egg, the wailing howl of the banshee flooded the room, making Matt yelp and clap his hands over his ears. "Shut it up!" Matt screamed, "Shut that goddamned thing up!"
Harry snapped the egg shut again while Hermione fretted about whether Filch had heard the noise.
"The odds of that are pretty high," Matt said calmly as he rubbed his forehead with one hand and played with a large pink bubble with the other. "Let's just worry about figuring that egg out right now."
"I'd try putting it in the water, if I were you."
All three of the students jumped at the sound of the voice, which caused the speaker to chuckle quite a bit. She was a glum-looking ghost who was casually sitting on one of the taps. Harry and Hermione recognized the apparition as Moaning Myrtle, a ghost of a former student at Hogwarts whom they had met in their second year.
"Who in the bloody hell are you?" Matt hollered as he tried to hide himself from the snooping specter.
"Who am I? Who are you?" Moaning Myrtle asked back indignantly. "You're awfully rude. I would have already called Filch on you if you weren't with Harry." Matt turned sharply to Harry.
"Do you know this weirdo?"
"Here name is Myrtle," Hermione said while trying to hush her friend. "We'll explain later."
"And what are you doing here?" Myrtle asked Hermione with a suspicious look upon her otherwise morose features. "This is a boy's bathroom, you know. You shouldn't be in here!"
"What about you?" Harry said crossly. "Have you been watching Diggory and the other prefects take their showers?"
"Every now and then," Myrtle answered reticently as her cheeks tinged scarlet.
"There goes my desire to be a prefect," Matt murmured as he began to slip under the water. "Being spied upon by a miserable pimply ghost is hardly my idea of a relaxing atmosphere." Harry was thankful that Myrtle didn't seem to catch Matt's last comment.
"Why don't you come to see me anymore?" Myrtle asked, her transparent eyes blinking behind her dense glasses. Harry hastily turned to Hermione to help him with Myrtle's piteous inquiry, but his friend had already dipped her head under the water as well.
'Thanks for the help, guys.' Harry thought with a wry grin.
"Well," Harry began, "I'm really not supposed to go in there. It is a girls' bathroom, after all, right?"
"You didn't used to care about that," Myrtle said miserably while blinking back tears. "You used to be in there all the time!" Of course, the real reason they were in Myrtle's bathroom was because they could brew an illegal potion there without anybody noticing it. However, Harry was too considerate to just admit that to her.
"I apologize," Harry said softly, not really knowing for certain how serious his apology was. "I promise to visit you every now and then from now on. We can be friends, how does that sound?" Moaning Myrtle perked up quite a bit at that proposal.
"Do you mean it?" Myrtle asked floating up a bit into the air with excitement. Matt and Hermione had both resurfaced by this time and were both looking at him with raised eyebrows.
"Um, sure," Harry said cautiously, slowly realizing just what he had gotten himself into.
"That's wonderful!" Myrtle gushed as she searched frantically for a handkerchief to dry her jubilant eyes. After several loud snorts into it, she gave a bit of a smile as she began to float towards the exit of the bathroom. "I'll be waiting for you, Harry," Myrtle said in a tone that Harry thought to believe was supposed to be tempting. "Remember to open that egg underwater, it's what Cedric did, after all." And, with that last revelation, Myrtle disappeared from the room, leaving the three shocked students to themselves.
"You meet the most interesting people, Harry," Matt said sarcastically.
"Like I said, Matt," Hermione said while she gently tugged the egg away from Harry, "we'll explain later. Now, let's get to work on this egg."
"We may as well try to open it underwater," Harry said while Hermione undid the latches under the hot and foaming water. Once the lid was removed, a strange song seemed to resonate from it, hardly the horrific screeching that had emerged moments ago. Matt, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other with bewildered expressions on their face while the egg continued its incomprehensible song.
"Perhaps you could hear it underwater?" Hermione said as she held the egg in her hands carefully.
"I'll check it out," Matt said as he took a deep breath and dove underwater. The young Ravenclaw was greeted with a chorus of peculiar voices singing with no set rhythm. After twenty seconds, Matt surfaced.
"What did you hear?" Hermione asked as Matt shook his head to avoid getting water in his eyes.
"It's a song, alright," Matt said, still a little out-of-breath, but I didn't catch the beginning of it. "It said, 'And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss, an hour long you'll have to look, and to recover what we took."
"What I'll sorely miss?" Harry pondered aloud. "What does that mean?"
"We need to hear the entire song," Hermione said as she handed the egg back to Harry before she took a deep breath and dipped underwater. After another twenty-seconds, she resurfaced gasping for air. Both Matt and Harry were looking at her expectantly.
"I heard some of the same lines!" Hermione said breathlessly. "It said, 'Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground.' Those must have been the first lines of the song!"
"Then let's figure out the rest of it!" Harry ordered while he handed Matt the egg and took his trip underwater. It had taken another trip by each of them to memorize the entire song.
"Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground. And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss. An hour long you'll have to look , and to recover what we took. But past and hour the prospect's black. Too late, it's gone, it won't come back." Hermione recited.
"All right then," Matt said while he sat down near the shallow edge of the pool. "So the question is, who cannot speak above the ground."
"Well," Harry said while he placed the egg back on the edge of the bath, "it must have something to do with underwater creatures. After all, this entire clue has been based around it so far."
"The task will probably take place at the lake of the giant squid," Hermione said with her arms folded in concentration. "It's the largest body of water within fifty miles of here? The question is, what kind of creatures reside in that lake?"
"Maybe it's the giant squid?" Matt said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I don't think that squid can talk underwater or out of it," Harry said flatly. "It must be something else!" Hermione's eyes chocolate-brown eyes lit up in understanding.
"Merpeople!" she yelped. "There's a small colony of merpeople living at the bottom of the lake! They speak a language that cannot be understood by most humans on land but could be understood under the water! I can't believe I didn't think of it before!"
"Leave it to Hermione Holmes to solve the mystery," Matt said as he and Harry gave their friend a round of golf claps. Hermione, not giving an inch, placed her feet on the bottom of the pool and gave them a curtsy that nearly sent her head into the water.
"You're too kind, my friends," Hermione said with a charming smile.
"So the second task is going to take place in the lake and it involves merpeople," Harry said while he leaned back against one of the edges of the tub.
"You got it, Harry." Matt said as he slapped Harry on the back. "Hope you got your swimming skills up to par!" Harry gave his friend a miserable look.
"That's the thing," Harry said nervously. "I don't know how to swim!"
"What do you mean?" Matt asked. "You were swimming just fine a minute ago."
"A couple laps around here is fine but I've never dived before!"
"Don't worry about that!" Hermione said as she glided over to Matt and Harry. "It's a month until the task actually begins. We can teach you how to swim." A little hope came into Harry's eyes at Hermione's enthusiasm.
"Could you?" Harry asked.
"Of course!" Matt said with a big grin. "We'll have you swimmin' like a guppy before you know it." Looking at Matt and Hermione's exuberant eyes, Harry felt like he wanted to cry.
"Of course, the real problem is figuring out to breathe underwater," Matt said matter-of-factly.
"Perhaps I can use transfiguration to turn me into something that can breathe underwater. Like a shark, maybe," Harry said.
"Yeah, and you can bite a big chunk out of Cedric's ass at the same time!" Matt said as he and Harry laughed.
"Leave it to the two of you to come up with the most ridiculous ideas," Hermione said flatly as she gave her friends a friendly splash of water.
"And what do you think is a good idea, Hermione?" Harry asked while returning Hermione's attack with one of his own.
"Well, you could always use a Bubblehead charm. It gives the caster an oxygen-rich shield that allows you to breath underwater so long as you maintain the spell itself."
"That could be tricky," Harry said as he placed his chin on the top of his left fist.
"Yeah, if Harry breaks concentration for just one second it could be the end for him. He doesn't know what's down there either." Matt said finishing up Harry's thought. "Still, it's far better than Harry's idea."
"Hey!" Harry said sharply as Hermione shook her head with a smile.
"I don't suppose we could just a buy an Aqua-Lung, could we?" Matt asked.
"That would probably be against the rules," Harry said, his frustration and nervousness beginning to resurface. "Besides, the nearest Muggle village is 75 miles southeast of here. I doubt even a summoning charm could bring something like that here."
"There must be something!" Hermione shouted as the three young magicians searched their minds for any possible answer. After a minute of silence, Matt stood up in the bathtub like a cruise missile, startling the two Gryffindors.
"Gillyweed!" Matt bellowed triumphantly. As proud as Matt was about it however, Harry and Hermione still looked at him with severe confusion.
"It's a plant that's found in some of the shallows of the Mediterranean River," Matt continued as he walked back to the shallow end of the bath. "Eating it brings about a transfiguration effect that allows a human to grow gills, thus allowing them to breathe underwater for as long as one hour!"
"That's brilliant, Matt!" Hermione shouted.
"But, if it's in the Mediterranean, how are we supposed to get some?" Harry asked looking from Matt to Hermione. Matt and Hermione looked each other right in the eyes and thought the same thing.
"Snape," Matt and Hermione said simultaneously. Harry nearly choked on some of the settling bubbles in the bath.
"First of all, how do you know Snape has some gillyweed?" Harry said with bewilderment as Matt climbed out of the bath and started to dry himself off.
"Come on, Harry," Hermione said simply. "Snape is a potions master. He has at least some of every plant under the sun. He must have it!"
"Are you two actually saying that we should ask Professor Snape if we can borrow some gillyweed?" Harry asked.
"Not at all, Harry," Matt said as he emerged behind a curtain wearing his wizard's robes. He handed Hermione his invisibility potion while he cast an Engorgio charm on the Invisibility cloak. With a flick of her wand, Hermione dried herself off and placed her pajamas back on. With that task done, she tossed a fluffy, white towel straight into Harry's hands "He'd never go for that!"
"Then what?" Harry asked as he proceeded to dry himself off.
"We're going to steal it," Hermione said flatly.
It took quite a bit of cajoling from his colleagues to convince Harry to enter Snape's dungeon in the dead of night. In fact, Harry was still secretly wondering if his friends had lost their minds. Harry wasn't loathe to break the rules once in a while, but getting caught by Snape while trying to steal some of his potions ingredients would be tantamount to a death sentence.
Of course, Severus Snape didn't despise Matt or Hermione either. That privilege had fallen to him.
So, Hermione had taken Matt's invisibility potion and the Marauder's Map and rushed back to the Gryffindor common room while Matt and Harry took the invisibility cloak with them to Snape's usual stomping grounds. Although Harry was relieved to see that there were no signs of Snape in the dungeon, it still wasn't enough to remove the pit in his stomach as they snuck by Filch and softly pried the door to the potions' dungeon open.
"Snape will skin us if he finds us down here," Harry said simply.
"He's not that bad," Matt said as he and Harry walked step-by-step downward. "You just get on his bad side easy."
"Snape doesn't have a good side!" Harry whispered angrily. "He's a miserable, slimy git that goes out of his way to make my life miserable." Matt stopped walking for a bit and, despite their invisibility, looked directly into Harry's eyes. Like he wouldn't allow anyone to insult Harry, Matt wasn't about to allow Harry to insult his favorite teacher.
"Look, you're my friend and I'll respect your opinion about Professor Snape, but he's taught me more about magic at this school than all my other teachers combined. If you can't appreciate him for what he does, then maybe it's you who has the problem."
"I'm not the one with the problem, it's you who has the blinders over his eyes," Harry said firmly.
"You know, maybe Snape was right about you. Maybe you are just a spoiled brat who thinks he's too big for the rest of us!" Harry, whose head now shot out from the invisibility cloak, looked at the Ravenclaw with a fire in his emerald eyes.
"Well, at least I'm not the one traipsing around at all hours of the night making an arse out of myself!" Matt shrunk quite a bit as Harry's comment hit home, causing Harry's eyes to soften a bit. For a few long seconds, the two young men were sitting down on one of the stone steps just trying not to make any noise.
"I'm sorry," Harry said softly. "You didn't deserve that."
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," Matt said with his head downcast, causing the tip of his brown hair to slip out of the cloak. "I shouldn't have gotten mad, especially not at a time like this." There was another long silence that permeated the air of the dungeons. After a bit, Harry yanked the invisibility cloak off the both of them and extended his hand.
"Let's just agree that we're sorry and agree to disagree. What do you say?"
Matt's face seemed to flicker a bit of a smile at the honest request and moved to shake Harry's hand. And, without another word, the two troublemakers lifted the invisibility cloak over themselves and slowly made their way down to Snape's laboratory.
'It looks a little weird without any students in it,' Harry mused as Matt abandoned the protection of the cloak to light one of the torches in the room. It was true, Harry had never been inside Snape's classroom except for Potions classes. Harry never viewed it as a cheery place but now it just seemed downright miserable. With Matt leading the way, the two finally made their way into Snape's storeroom.
The sheer size of Snape's storeroom was impressive enough. It was dominated with tall, black oak cabinets, each of which was filled to the brim with ingredients for potions. The back end of the room was filled with humble bookshelves, each of which was clustered with complex potions books, dark incantations, and history books. Harry was sorely tempted to see if he could find one of Snape's diaries or journals until the sound of Matt's rifling through the various drawers interrupted his thoughts.
"This is hopeless," Matt said as he slammed one of the drawers with a satisfying bang!. "It could take weeks to find what we're looking for!" Harry begrudgingly agreed with Matt's pessimism, although he wasn't about to admit it. He hadn't come this far only to be stopped now. Finally, with a sparkle of an idea, Harry pulled his wand from under his robes.
"Accio gillyweed!" he cried as the tip of his wand glowed white. Matt turned to Harry in confusion only to be smacked in the back of his head by a speeding ball of slimy gray-green weeds, which Harry collected neatly with his left hand. Harry couldn't help but grin while Matt dragged himself up.
"Nice trick with the summoning charm," Matt said as he gingerly rubbed the back of his hand. "You could warn me next time though, couldn't you?"
"Didn't you say that this search would take forever?" Harry said with a sardonic grin. "I just decided to speed it up a bit." At that revelation, Matt got back to his feet and gave his friend a smirk.
"I'll give you that one," Matt said as he passed by Harry and began to make his way out of the storeroom. "Now, let's don that cloak of yours and get our butts out of here!"
"I have a better idea," a rasping voice said before Matt was hit with a meat bone-sized fist that caused the young man to fly twenty feet before crashing into one of Snape's bookshelves. Harry shakily pointed his wand at the massive figure. The man disregarded the potential threat and gave the young Gryffindor a dreadful look that caused Harry's blood to curdle.
"It would be wise for you to stay out of this matter, Potter," Macnair said with a bloodthirsty grin. "I am here to kill your friends. You are to remain unharmed so that you may perform your final service for my master. Do not test my patience." Harry still pointed his wand at the executioner, this time with a more determined look on his face.
"I remember you," Harry said in defiance. "You're Macnair! The Ministry's executioner! You use to be one of Voldermort's Death Eaters!"
"I'm honored you still remember me," Macnair said as he stroked his straw-blond hair back casually, his muscular body a frightening sight to behold. "Allow me to correct you, however, I am still a Death Eater, one of the few and proud. I wanted to take care of your godfather on my last visit here, but you denied me that right." Harry's eyes flashed as the revelation kicked in.
"So you were sent to kill Sirius!"
"Indeed I was," Macnair replied as he moved closer to the young Gryffindor. "My master was quite upset when he learned that Black had escaped his kennel in Azkaban. It presented unfortunate complications."
"Get away from him, Harry!" Matt screamed. "He's a killer!" Macnair chuckled quite a bit as he turned his attention back to Matt, who was slowly rising back to his feet.
"You were always a tough little bastard," Macnair said as he pulled his wand out from one of the crooks of his belt. "Perhaps I should pay Minerva a visit while I'm here. It would be nice to get together with another old acquaintance."
"You leave her alone, you son of a bitch!" Matt screamed as he yanked his wand out from under his robes. "I'll kill you before you can even lay a finger on her!"
"You think you can possibly beat me, boy?" Macnair said his wand zeroing in on Matt's temples as it flared bright green. "I was sent to kill your little mudblood of a friend, but my master also allowed me to take care of you as well."
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Harry shouted, causing Macnair's wand to force itself from its owner and fly towards Harry. Macnair held his large, outstretched arm out a while longer and before twisting his head to glare back at his attacker. He then began a slow march towards the black-haired boy.
"An interesting tactic," Macnair said simply, advancing ever so slowly, "but I hardly need a wand to take care of powerless children like yourselves. Perhaps you can stop me before I get to you."
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shouted, causing a white wire of energy to shoot from Harry's wand, encasing Macnair with pure energy. However, with a simple motion of his considerably muscular arms, Macnair broke the spell and continued moving towards Harry.
"Incendio!" A red ball of energy shot from Harry's wand and collided with Macnair's barrel-like chest. It only seemed to irritate the gargantuan wizard further.
"Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" Two more bolts of energy emerged from Harry's wand and hit Macnair right between the eyes. But, like the monster in so many low-grade horror movies, Macnair just kept moving forward. Before Harry could think of another spell, Macnair had grabbed the scruff of Harry's robes with one of his hands and flung him out of the storeroom with a flick of his wrist. Harry's right knee crashed forcefully into one of the student tables.
"Of course, I highly doubt that my master would object to causing a bit of harm to you," Macnair said as he casually walked out of the storeroom while Harry did all he could to avoid screaming in pain from several broken bones. The evil man was met at the entrance by a side savate kick that would have broken the neck of most men. Macnair, however, simply shrugged off the blow and gave Matt a vicious backhand that missed him by inches.
What was to follow was a display a fighting prowess that most human beings could not even hope to witness in their lifetime. Matt's incredible agility and magical prowess coupled with Macnair's brute power produced a brawl that quickly reduced much of the classroom to splinters. Even Harry did everything he could, fighting back the awful pain as he cast every spell he could think of at Macnair. Despite all their efforts, however, Macnair would not be stopped by them this night. After five minutes of flirting with danger, Matt was hit hard by Macnair's left hook, causing the young man's jaw to break as he twirled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. Matt was still spitting up blood as Macnair's titanic battle-axe materialized before his eyes. With a heavy grunt, Macnair hefted the malicious weapon over his head and prepared to strike.
"Time for you to die, boy!" Macnair spat as he furiously swung the blade towards Matt's neck.
Whoo! Quite a chapter, don't you think? I'm quite proud of the efforts myself. Anyway, I would like to thank everybody who has read up to this point, particularly Kelli (a.k.a. Kravenclaw) who has really cheered me up with her reviews (and is probably going to be pretty mad about two straight chapters with cliffhangers). Don't worry, this will be the last cliffhanger for a while yet! Speaking of, how about a preview for the next chapter!
Yup, it certainly seems that our young heroes are up a creek without a paddle, as the old saying goes. Is there anyway for them to escape the grasp of the murderous Macnair? (Of course there is, it would be kind of silly to have two of the three main characters die in the middle of the novel. . . or would it?) Find out in the next installment of Harry Potter and The Scholar of Mystery: Hermione the Heroine! Gee, the title sort of gives it away, don't you think?
Disclaimer: Although I know many of you will be shocked to believe this, but I don't own anybody in the Harry Potter universe. Not a thing. I'm not even certain if I own the character that I've inserted into it! I'll have to check with my attorneys on that one. Ciao!
Chapter 6- Myrtle, Moody, and Macnair
Peter Pettigrew was at his fifth birthday party when he was first asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He never said that he would be something fancy like an alchemist or a dragon tamer. He was more of a realist than children twice his age. Even back then, he figured he would graduate with slightly-above-average marks at some wizarding academy, perhaps Hogwarts, go into a ho-hum desk job at some wizards business, and spent much of the rest of his life filing papers and performing actions that no other man or woman would pay attention to or care about. Even after he met Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, he never even thought that his life would be fraught with action, adventure, or peril and, to be brutally honest, he quite liked it that way. He was a lover of stability if nothing more.
Yet, here he was deep within the bowels of his old school searching for even the slightest chink in the acclaimed armor that was Albus Dumbledore's defense of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had spent the last two weeks searching throughout the school for anything useful he could find while no one had even the slightest clue that he was there. His decision to "look in" on Harry at the night of the Yule Ball was a bit risky, but it was quite a rewarding experience. However, his entire trip to Hogwarts was more of a refresher course if anything else. After all, he had spent much of his life at the acclaimed institution. From his days as an actual student and as a constructor of the infamous Marauder's Map to his twelve years as the Weasley family's beloved pet rat Scabbers, Pettigrew knew more about the mysteries and secrets of the school better than even Albus Dumbledore himself. He was a spy, the best the wizarding world had seen in many decades. He had only been caught once doing his work in nearly twenty years and that instance only occurred due to a product of his own making.
Of course, it was the ultimate purpose of his centrifuge that seemed to truly irk him tonight. He was searching for a safe entrance route so that Macnair, Voldemort's insanely powerful executioner, could enter Hogwarts unnoticed and assassinate Hermione Granger. Peter took another solid gaze at his crudely constructed of Hogwarts and the route that he had selected for the muscle-bound madman to employ, an underground passageway that had been dug over a hundred years ago that was used to escort soldiers back to safe ground after skirmishes with Grindewald's Army. He nibbled on a slice of ham that he had liberated from the kitchens while he carefully folded his picture of him, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and James back into one of the pockets of his robes. Macnair was scheduled to arrive tomorrow and it now seemed the opportune moment for Peter to make his timely exit, but he still couldn't force himself to do it.
'There's something more to do,' Peter thought as he transformed into his rodent-like counterpart and searched for a safe place to rest for the night.
"You mean to tell me that you STILL haven't found out the Triwizard clue!" Hermione nearly screamed while Harry almost seemed to cower in forgiveness. Just after the first task in the tournament, Harry and his three rivals were given a clue for solving what the labors they must endure in the second task. Unfortunately, Hermione was under the impression that her best friend had already solved the clue whereas, in reality, Harry didn't have the slightest clue. Procrastination was a crime of nigh- unfathomable proportions in the court of Hermione Granger, and the young Gryffindor with the lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead was now paying the penalty in the frenzied ambiance of the Hogwarts Great Hall.
"I thought I would have figured it out before you found out!" Harry nearly cried as he continued his cowering. He hadn't been this frightened since he was looking into the gaping maw of a vicious Hungarian Horntail.
"Let him off easy, Hermione," Matt said in a brave attempt to turn Hermione's unbridled anger away from his friend. "He still has a month to figure it out. I'm sure he'll be able to manage it." Despite the wisdom in the young Ravenclaw's comments, they were harshly ignored by Harry's judge, jury, and executioner.
"Somebody put your name in the Goblet of Fire for a reason, Harry!" Hermione hissed as her spoon pounded away furiously at her unbuttered, slightly burnt toast. "The more we know about the danger that you're going to get into, the better we'll be able to keep you safe."
"You know, you're beginning to sound like Professor Moody," Ron said dully while he pointed an unused knife at his steaming, bushy-haired friend.
"All you need is a peg leg, a third eye and just keep screaming 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE' in the halls and you'd be a dead ringer for him," Matt quipped as both he and Ron laughed.
"This is serious!" Hermione yelled at her two light-hearted compatriots. "Harry certainly didn't enter this tournament on his own accord so somebody must be plotting against him."
"Don't worry about me, Hermione," Harry said evenly while he placed a relaxed hand on one of Hermione's quivering ones. "It's not like I'm just going around blindfolded and asking for trouble."
"You certainly don't act the part, Harry," Hermione said with a concerned huff. "If you're not going to worry about your own safety then someone else has to!" Hermione said while she tried to ignore the warmth of Harry's touch.
"Look," Matt said as he placed down his silverware, "I'm certain that if we work together we can figure out the clue and keep Harry protected. Just trust me on this one." Hermione seemed to calm down a bit at that "So what is the clue for the second task?"
"You mean you haven't seen it?" Ron asked with a forkful of scrambled eggs lingering near his lips.
"What makes you thinks I should?" Matt asked back dully.
"Well, Fleur has been working in your common room, hasn't she?" Ron asked while his eyes seemed to mist over as he thought of the silver-haired half-veela. Matt chuckled.
"Ever since I hit her in the face with a pie it seems like she's lost interest in hanging out with me," Matt said while Harry sniggered and Hermione shook her head.
"Sounds like typical behavior for you, Matt." Hermione said coolly. "You don't suppose that you could do with a little tact when it comes to dealing with women, do you?"
"Why on earth would I want to hang out with something like you?" Matt said with mock exasperation as he took a big bite into his toast. "The last thing I need is a shrewish string bean with hideous hair yelling at me about every little thing I do." The cross look that Hermione after had in her eyes while dealing with Matt had once again returned. "I still don't know what Harry sees in you!" Harry gave a bright blush at Matt's last statement while Ron nearly exploded with laughter and Hermione fought back the strong desire to turn Matt into a chocolate frog
"Can we please get back to discussing something sane for a change?" Harry asked in exasperation.
"Sanity is a strange concept, grasshopper," Matt said in a codgery Oriental inflection.
"A concept that you have no idea of whatsoever," Hermione countered.
"To wit, Miss Granger," Matt said with an airy tone, "stuff it in your abnormally large ears."
"Anyway," Harry said as he tried to play the subtle peacemaker between his two quarrelsome companions, "why do you think Professor Moody changed the class schedule to include all four houses in this weeks classes," Harry said. Professor Alastor Moody was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts and after a mere four months, he had acquired a reputation for being quite eccentric and unpredictable. In one memorable class several months ago, he had taught fourth-year students about the Unforgivable Curses, an action that still had many members of the Ministry of Magic, as well as many of the school's professors, wanting him to quit once the word leaked out. Many of the students, particularly in the Gryffindor house, respected Moody during his illustrious days as an Auror, but many of them were also frightened of the man.
"He probably just wants to herd us all together to tell us another story about hunting death-eaters and punishing the guilty," Matt responded flatly. "I'll tell you this, he may know his stuff about the Dark Arts, but he's as flamin' nuts as The Daily Prophet says he is."
"Given your opinion of The Daily Prophet, that's quite an interesting statement," Hermione told him while she picked up the front page of the wizard newspaper.
"Just don't tell anyone," Matt said as he yanked the editorial page away from the rest of the rag. "For some strange reason, I feel the need to read Rita Skeeter." Before he could get into it, however, the busy breakfast table was greeted by another friendly face.
"'Lo children," Hagrid said, the half-giant groundskeeper walking arm- in-arm with Madame Maxine, the headmaster of Beauxbatons. "I hope you're not readin' too much into that!"
"We view it as an interesting break from reality," Harry said with a good-natured smirk.
"Good morning, Hagrid, Madame Maxine," Hermione said happily as she folded her severely abused copy as best as she could. "Would you like to join us for breakfast?" Maxine, looking surprisingly elegant in an enormous bright-yellow robe with a silky white shawl, gave an amiable smile before responding.
"No zank you," she responded in her thick French accent. "'Agrid an' I are simply seeing the zights."
"Just don't let Hagrid get you near the blast-ended skrewts, Madame Maxine," Ron said with a mischievous grin. "They've been eyeing your horses for food for quite a while now." Madame Maxine laughed quite a bit at that while Hagrid tried to sputter an unnecessary apology.
"I vill be sure to keep my eyes open," Madame Maxine said as she gave Ron a quaint bow. "It vas nice to zee you all again. I wish you luck in ze tournament, Mr. Potter."
"Thank you very much," Harry said with a broad grin. It was nice to see Hagrid and Madame Maxine getting along so well. Hagrid patted Maxine's hand politely.
"Would it be all right if I jus' spoke with 'em for a second?" Hagrid asked.
"Not at all, 'Agrid. I vill be at ze Ravenclaw table ven you are ready." Maxine responded with a winsome smile as she strode across the Great Hall to speak with Fleur Delaclour, her prize student.
"Nice catch, Hagrid," Matt said slyly once he was certain Maxine was out of ear's reach. "You have to tell me your secrets, mate!" Hagrid's beetle-black eyes were filled with amusement as he gave a huge laugh that almost seemed to shake the Great Hall itself.
"Now, Matt," Hagrid said while placing his massive left arm over Matt's shoulders. "Ye'll jus' have ta learn it fer yourself." Hermione smiled broadly towards Hagrid's attitude while Harry and Ron nearly put their fists in their mouths to stifle their laughter. With his enormous frame, moleskin overcoat, and nearly out-of-control beard, Rubeus Hagrid appeared to be the last person that anyone could have ever construed as a ladies' man.
"I'm not certain if that's wise, Hagrid," Hermione said tartly. "Matt needs all the help he could get."
"So says the obnoxious, holier-than-thou, bushy-haired bookworm," Matt responded tersely.
"Now, now," Hagrid said, well aware of the frequent quarrels between the two, "there's no need to bicker. Um, speakin' on the matter Matt," Hagrid continued slowly, "how are things 'tween you and, well, you know." The friendly half-giant gave a sideways glance to Ginny, who was trying to look in on their conversation while pretending to make every effort to avoid it altogether.
"Not as well as I'd like it," Matt murmured depressingly while Harry and Hermione both gave their friend a look of sympathy.
"What are you talking about now?" Ron asked suspiciously while he spread some more peanut butter on the last of his toast. Hagrid and Matt seemed to panic a bit at Ron's sudden interest in their conversation.
"Eat your food," Hermione said flatly. "The big boys and girls are talking now. No place for you."
"Don't just leave me out of this!" Ron shouted angrily while his mouth was stuffed with bread, peanut butter, and strawberry preserves.
"Well," Hermione said as she looked at her watch, "as much as I'd like to continue this wonderfully intelligent conversation with you Ron, we have Dark Arts to get to in ten minutes so we better hurry." In response, Matt and Harry quickly picked up their dishes and cleaned up the table while Ron tried desperately to get in a last bite to eat.
"You kids better get movin' then," Hagrid said while he rose back up to his full height. "I'll see all of you later this afternoon fer class!'
"Count on it, Hagrid!" Ron said.
"Good luck with Madame Maxine! Sweep her off her feet!" Hermione added brightly. Hagrid merely blushed as he turned away and stomped his way to the Ravenclaw table. A few moments later, the four young students had cleaned their mess from breakfast and dashed off into the depths of the castle, where Professor Moody would surely be waiting for them.
"Quickly get to your seats students," Alastor Moody grumbled, his magical blue eye blinking angrily at the throng of students as Matt, Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way into the Defense of the Dark Arts class. Due to the number of students that would be occupying it during the next week, it seemed that Moody or Dumbledore had used a spell to turn the ordinarily small room into a large hall that could fit as many as 150 people. Draco Malfoy and his ilk sneered at Harry and his friends as they took their seats, his ever-present "Potter stinks" button that he had created at the outset of the tournament shining prominently on his black wizard robe. The four students had a bit of difficulty finding a seat in the suddenly enlarged room until Mandy was able to wave them over into four open chairs.
"Do you know what on earth this could be about?" Mandy asked in a hushed tone while trying to avoid Moody's glaring.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Harry responded as he plunked down into his seat and opened his notebook.
As soon as the Professor Moody was able to hush the students, which he accomplished merely by making a soft growl that could be heard by everyone in the room, Moody retreated from the front row and circled around his desk. Watching Alastor Moody teach was much like watching a caged lion. You simply didn't know what was going to happen if it got the slightest amount of freedom. And, in this case, Moody had free rein.
"I've brought you fourth-years here together," Moody began while his false leg made a dull clunk on the wooden floor after every step, "to further your knowledge on the Unforgivable Curses."
There was quite a bit of murmuring that took place in the room after that comment. Some of the students whispered excitedly, expecting another example of their infamous class in the first month. Other students, such as Harry, Matt, and Hermione, whispered with voices of extreme concern. Some students, such as Neville Longbottom, were downright fearful of what was to come. No matter what the response, Moody took little heed of all of it and continued on.
"You've seen the effects that these dangerous incantations can have on other animals, and you Gryffindors have seen what these spells can do to humans," Moody said with a terrifying grin. Harry fought back the urge to shudder in fear, remembering all too well of the time when Moody tried to control his mind with the Imperius Curse.
"Now," Moody drawled, as he continued to pace about the floor, each and every student on his every move, "I'm going to show the students of the other houses what can occur when you are placed under the Imperius Curse."
The noise level in the room spiked dramatically at that declaration, so much so that even Moody could not ignore it.
"But, Professor," Draco Malfoy said shakily, "You can't put those curses on us! You'll go to Azkaban!" Ron gave a bitter chuckle at Malfoy's worried behavior. It was certain that Malfoy was definitely not worrying about Moody's future career as a teacher.
"I'll have you know, Malfoy, that Dumbledore has given me the fullest permission to place you under the Imperius Curse during this week!" Moody barked, his cold smile still on his scarred face. "Allow me to assure you, however, that I promise to execute as much caution as I can when performing the spell. I'm here to teach you that magic can be fought. It's not some technique that you can read about in a book and learn. It's something that either you have or you don't. It's strength of character, Malfoy! IT'S ABOUT CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Nearly the entire room jumped upon hearing Moody's words. Most of them had heard the wizened warrior violently shout with no real warning but the shock was still there.
"Now," Moody said, calming everyone down a bit by finally ceasing his laborious movements back and forth, "Who would like to volunteer?"
Needless to say, not a single witch or wizard volunteered to be submitted to such a dangerous technique. Most of the students were just trying not to make a sound, in the hopes that they could avoid Moody's attention and not be picked. Even some of the Gryffindors, who were well aware that they were not going to be chosen, had their heads down in their books and were not making a sound.
"I will, Professor Moody," Matt's voice pronounced softly.
One hundred and sixty-one eyes, plus Moody's magical pupil, were now focused on the young Ravenclaw. Harry and Hermione seemed to be trying to plead Matt to take it back while Mandy and Ron looked at the brown-haired boy as if he had gone insane. Professor Moody, meanwhile, gave Matt a scarred smile.
"Good man," Moody said, nodding his head in approval. "Come up to the front of the class, Mister MacDougal."
With the reserved calmness of an Azkaban prisoner, Matt lifted himself out of his desk and walked towards the front of the classroom. Malfoy gave the young man a dazzling smile, practically licking his chops at Matt's foolish decision. Matt's legs felt like jelly as he stood across from the acclaimed Auror who took his place across from him and produced his wand.
"Let's see if you have what it takes, young man," Moody said while he pointed his wand at the boy in a menacing manner. "Imperio!"
No light emerged from Moody's wand, but Matt felt as if he had been shot. He gritted his teeth to try to shut the monstrous yelling that seemed to attack him from every nerve.
"Follow my command, boy," Moody said with determination, his spell not wavering a bit. "Leap onto the table!"
Moody's grating voice bore into Matt's soul like a dentist's drill. He gritted his teeth to try to shut the monstrous yelling. He grasped his head with his hands with the strength of a vice. Drops of blood began to form at the bridge of the boy's nostrils and slid towards the wooden floor. His nearly animal instincts had kicked in trying urgently to fight the sheer intensity of Moody's spell.
Harry looked at the scene in front of him with abject horror. He had managed to block the effects of the curse by avoiding its effects. Matt, however, was trying to fight the effects head-on, almost making it a battle of wills between the student and the teacher. A battle in which Matt had little, if any way, to defend himself.
"Impressive," Moody confessed, his teeth gritted in concentration, "Let's see how well you can handle a larger dose, young man." Moody made a frenzied movement with his arm before he howled and cast another Imperio spell upon him.
The sheer strength of Moody's spell was enough to buckle the Ravenclaw's knees and send him crashing to the floor. His normally hazel eyes seemed to be turning red under the immense physical and psychological strain. His skin, flushed with exertion, was an ugly shade of burgundy that horrified many of the students. A slight bit of foam was emerging from each side of the boy's mouth. The phenomenal display of resolve and determination seemed to be turning the boy into some kind of animal. Even Malfoy, who despised Matt more than anyone he thought possible, looked at the scene with shock and barely-disguised horror.
"Stop it, Professor Moody!" Harry screamed while he and Hermione rushed to the front of the class.
"Leave him alone, you madman!" Hermione howled. It was only then that Moody snapped out of his trancelike state. The scar-laden Auror blinked a few times in exasperation as he stared at the boy who fought him with a nigh unparallel force. Within moments, the cruel smile had once again emerged.
"Are you all right, Matt?" Hermione asked worriedly while she tried to still Matt's trembling hands.
"Jus' get me out of here," Matt pleaded hoarsely.
"DID YOU SEE THAT!" Moody bellowed as he pointed his wand at Matt. "He did not move an inch! He did not back down for the slightest moment. Truly amazing, Mister MacDougal."
Matt couldn't respond to Moody's unabashed praising. Harry and Hermione were by his side attempting to lift him back to his feet. Matt felt as helpless as a newborn child.
"Thirty points to Ravenclaw for such an awe-inspiring effort, young man!" Moody continued as the two Gryffindors finally succeeded in hefting their friend back onto his feet.
"We're taking him to the infirmary," Hermione said coldly, looking at Moody as if he were the most detestable creature she had ever laid eyes on. "Take off as many points as you deem necessary." That statement seemed to bring Moody back to his normal demeanor.
"Very well then. Miss Granger, Mister Potter, see to it that Madam Pomfrey gives him treatment." Moody said as Harry and Hermione nearly carried their friend to the hospital wing.
"What on earth is that maniac thinking!" Madam Pomfrey screeched as she gently applied a cold compress to Matt's throbbing temples. "Placing the Imperius Curse on a child."
"He was trying to teach us about the Unforgivable Curses," Harry said dully in a half-hearted attempt to defend the teacher. He wasn't surprised to see the dubious look on the nurse's face.
"Teaching?" Pomfrey responded. "That fool just wants to cause trouble," she said as she yanked the thermometer from Matt's mouth. After giving a satisfactory nod, the nurse placed the thermometer in a water bath and looked at Harry and Hermione with an impatient look in her eyes.
"Now, I don't want you two troublemakers to interfere with his recuperation," Pomfrey said while pointing her thumb at the bed-ridden Ravenclaw. "I'll give you twenty minutes to talk with them, Mister MacDougal, before I throw them out. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," Matt whispered politely. In his current state, he wasn't foolish enough to defy the stoic caretaker. Then, with a sympathetic nod, Madam Pomfrey turned away from her newest patient and shut the door.
"Are you feeling any better?" Hermione asked, her eyes filled with concern.
"I'm lookin' on the bright side," Matt croaked with a whisper of a smile. "By the time I'm released, it'll be the end of the days' classes." Even Hermione couldn't avoid laughing a bit at her friend's attitude.
"Nice to see that spell didn't take your sense of humor," Harry said with a pleasant smile.
"That remains to be seen, mate," Matt responded while blowing back his hair and settling into his hospital bed. "So, tell me more about this second Triwizard clue."
"Now's hardly the time be thinking about that," Hermione said simply while she patted Matt's leg.
"Oh, rubbish Hermione!" Matt said with a dissident shrug. "I'll be out of here before sunset. That'll give us more than enough time to figure it out if we work together on it."
"As long as we don't invite Ron to distract us," Hermione added with a mischievous grin.
"Precisely," Matt followed up.
"Well," Harry started, "each of the competitors was given a golden egg after the first task. Bagman told us to discover the clue inside the egg by the twenty-fourth of February."
"What was inside the egg?" Matt asked.
"Nothing, the second I open the egg it makes a horrible yell."
"The sound of a banshee wailing," Hermione elaborated.
"A banshee?" Matt asked, his forehead slumping in concentration. "Maybe the yell of the creature itself is part of the clue."
"So maybe the second task has something to do with banshees?" Harry asked aloud. Hermione shook her head.
"I don't think so," the bushy-haired Gryffindor said. "I think the last thing the Triwizard audience would want to hear is a bunch of banshees screeching around the Hogwarts grounds. It just doesn't fit with the environment of the tournament."
"Good point," Matt said as he nodded his head towards Hermione in appreciation. "So maybe the clue has to do with the noise itself."
"Let's see," Hermione said as she wrenched one of her notebooks from her tightly packed knapsack. "What kind of situation would make a banshee wail?"
"Quite a few, Hermione," Matt said frowning. "They wail when they're hunting, when they're hunted, and they use a high-pitched wail for their mating call. That part of it just seems too vague." While Matt and Hermione argued, a light bulb seemed to go off in Harry's head.
"It wasn't a cry of success or danger!" Harry said while he quickly rose from his seat. "It was more of a desperate cry. Like a death throe."
"Okay," Matt said as he rose a bit from his bed. "Now what would cause a banshee to make a noise like that?" It was Hermione's turn to have an epiphany.
"Water!" she yelled triumphantly. "Most species of banshee are deathly afraid of water!"
"So, if you try to immerse the egg in water and open it. . ." Matt thought aloud.
"We may be able to understand it!" Hermione pronounced as she nearly jumped for joy. "Bloody brilliant!"
"This may work," Harry said in a relieved manner.
"There's only one way to find out for sure, Harry, and that's to test the theory itself." Matt said with a grin.
"That will be simple," Hermione said as she crossed to the foot of the bed. "All Harry has to do is drop the egg into the Gryffindor baths once we get back to the common room!"
"How about we just all pick a place where all of us can hear it?" Harry asked. Matt's hazel eyes nearly flickered with mischievous anticipation.
"We could always use the Prefects' bathroom!" Matt chirped cheerfully. Hermione looked at her laid up friend as if he were nutters.
"We're not allowed in there," Hermione whispered while Madam Pomfrey entered the room. "How do you expect for us to get in?"
"Simple," Matt said with a roguish grin. "At ten o'clock, you two can take the invisibility cloak while I'll make one of my invisibility potions. Besides, I've always to check out what the Prefects' bathroom looks like!" By now, Madam Pomfrey was already shooing Harry out the door.
"And why on earth are you so focused to see the Prefects bathroom?" Hermione asked while giving a suspicious glance at Matt's jovial behavior.
"Because I never have, my dear Hermione," Matt answered while Madam Pomfrey nearly shoved Hermione out of the infirmary.
A newborn unicorn looked into Macnair's emotionless eyes as he plodded his way through the Forbidden Forest. Macnair stooped down to pet the brave, little creature, caressing its newly grown horns and running a coursed hand through the unicorn's brilliant white mane.
"You must have received that mane from your mother," Macnair said as the unicorn neighed in appreciation of Macnair's nurturing. Macnair remembered the days when he was a student at Hogwarts and would occasionally sneak out to view the exquisite wonders of this magical glen. It was a time when the dewy patina of innocence seemed to cover him like a second skin, just as it was doing for this newborn creature. It was a time before he discovered his true place in the world.
"You're just a fragile soul," Macnair told the unicorn as he gazed into the eyes of the innocent creature. "A soul who does not know of the agony of pain and the glory of death. You can be shifted into something so superior that your mother and father would not have dreamed it possible." Macnair's right hand slid down the rest of the mane and made a firm grasp around the back of the steed's neck. "Unfortunately for you, my lord has no time to dwell with creatures such as you who have fallen off the evolutionary ladder," the man said coldly as his left hand coiled itself around the front of the unicorn's neck. The infant unicorn was not even remotely aware of the danger as Macnair slowly tightened his grip, the unicorn's profound emerald-green eyes gazing into Macnair's emotionless face.
"Allow me to escort you into your eventual place in life," Macnair said grimly as he began to squeeze the very life from the magical creature. Then, with a simple, violent motion, he yanked his hands in opposite directions and cracked the unicorn's neck. The creature could not even make a plea for help as it made its slow lifeless plummet to the soft forest floor, small trickles of blood escaping from its mouth.
Macnair rose to his feet and casually wiped the unicorn's blood onto his pants as he continued to traverse the mysterious forest. Not a single denizen of the forest made the slightest effort to spur the titanic man's attention as he continued his trek. Within minutes, the executioner was able to make out the hut that was owned by the school's grounds keeper. His master's informant had told him that he would find the passage thirty paces northwest of the hut, and he was not about to make a mistake. After arriving at the projected spot, Macnair pulled out his wand, a twelve-inch oak wand that had the stain of blood all over it. Whether it was his own blood or the blood of one of his many unfortunate victims during the war fifteen years ago was a secret that was only known by him.
"Open before mine eyes," Macnair pronounced as he pointed his wand at the supposed entrance to the secret passage. Within seconds, a six-by-six foot layer of wood and dirt began to lift itself up with impressive speed, revealing a dirt tunnel that looked as if it had not been used for years. Mold spores seemed to fester on the walls of the passage and the smell of death seemed to hang over it like a shroud. Macnair had no qualms for getting dirty, however, it was a small price to pay to help accomplish his master's grand vision. Once the passage was open completely, Macnair made a short leap into the passageway and provided a light with his wand and shut the door behind him. His blood seemed to boil in anticipation as Macnair made his way closer and closer towards the potions dungeon where he would inhabit himself until his time to strike came.
He would be hunting something much more satisfying than a unicorn soon enough.
Harry and Hermione were deathly silent as they made their way to the Prefects bathroom underneath Harry's invisibility cloak. Indeed, with Hermione making sure that the enlarged cloak fit over the both of them while Harry held on to the heavy golden egg and the Marauder's Map, they were probably taking enough risks already. Harry was quite thankful that Ron decided to stay behind on this venture, it would be nearly impossible for the three of them to make their way to the Prefects' bathroom without being noticed.
"Just be sure to tell me all about it once you get back," Ron said as he opened the door leading out of the Gryffindor common room allowing his two friends to leave without suspicion.
The two Gryffindors arrived at the door leading to the Prefects bathroom several minutes after ten while they waited for Matt. After five minutes of waiting in silence, Hermione impatiently poked her head out of the protection of the cloak.
"Where on earth could he be?" Hermione hissed in frustration.
"So there you are!"
Hermione nearly jumped out of the cloak in shock as Matt began to materialize in front of her, his hazel eyes looking extremely agitated. "I've been waiting on you guys for twenty minutes."
"Could you at least warn someone before you do that?" Hermione clucked in disapproval.
"I'm not the one whose head just popped out of nowhere!" Matt nearly shouted.
"Can we just get inside the bathroom now?" Harry asked impatiently while still covered in the invisibility cloak. Matt turned to the statue of Boris the Bewildered, the guardian of the Prefects bathing quarters, and leaned in close to it.
"Pine fresh," Matt whispered and the statue quickly slid aside. The three students quickly hustled inside, with Matt bolting the door behind him.
"Do I even want to know how you just happened to know the password to this room?" Hermione asked dully as she cast a Reducio charm on the cloak and began to fold it. Matt sighed in frustration.
"If you must know, I heard Roger Davies say it before you guys got here," Matt said as he pulled a second invisibility potion from out of his cloak.
Harry, meanwhile, was too busy staring at the amazingly lavish features of the bathroom to respond to his friends' bickering. The gentle lights from the chandelier at the top of the room seemed to bounce off the white marble floor, creating an intensely relaxing atmosphere. A generous pile of fluffy white towels sat in one corner while a painting of a fair- haired mermaid was framed above them. However, the most impressive aspect of the Prefects bathroom was the tub itself. The washbasin was so large that it dominated the center of the room. It looked to be as much as six feet deep and a diving board was placed on one end of the tub. The edge of the tub was clustered with golden taps, each with a differently colored jewel set into its handle.
"I wonder if it's possible to just live here," Harry said.
"We're not here to goof off," Hermione said steadily. "We're here to figure out that clue."
"I don't know, Hermione," Matt said as he took off his robe hastily, revealing a pair of solid blue swim trunks. "I always view goofing off as a very important secondary objective," he said to her with a wink and an impish smile as he dashed for the diving board. With an excited whoop, Matt ran off the board and dived into the tub with a very impressive forward-flip dive.
"How's the water?" Harry asked him as soon as Matt resurfaced.
"Warmer than you'd expect," Matt said as he began a steady backstroke to the other end of the bath. "Get your arse in here, Potter! You too, Granger!"
Needing no further prompting, Harry took off his pajamas, slippers, and dressing gown, leaving nothing more on than a pair of solid green trunks. After placing the discarded clothes in a somewhat organized pile, Harry clambered up to the diving board and cannon balled into the tub. As soon as Harry settled himself, Matt turned back to Hermione with an impatient look in his eyes.
"Are you getting in here or what?" he asked dully. Hermione was trying to stifle a bit of a blush at Harry's current state of lack of dress.
"Give me a minute!" Hermione stammered. Harry stopped fiddling with the bubbles that were emerging from the various golden taps and cocked his head to one side in notice of Hermione's hesitation.
"You're not naked under there, are you?" the black-haired boy asked innocently.
"NO!"
"Then get in here," Matt said gleefully as he made his way back to the middle of the pool. "It's not like we're going to be staring at you or anything. You're not that attractive."
Hermione, who was not about to ignore a comment like that, turned red in anger as she quickly removed her robe and pajamas, revealing a highly conservative white bathing suit that reminded Matt of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby.
"Nice swimsuit, Hermione," Matt said saucily as the bushy-haired Gryffindor stomped her way to the shallow end of the tub. "It makes me want to do The Charleston."
"Another word from you and I'll use my wand to turn you into a porcupine," Hermione growled as she gradually waded into the tub. While Harry and Hermione swam to the middle of the tub, which was only about four feet deep, Matt dogpaddled over to the edge of the tub where Harry had placed the golden egg and retrieved it.
"Your egg, sir," Matt said with a smirk as he presented it to his friend, who took it and began to undo the latches. As soon as Harry opened the egg, the wailing howl of the banshee flooded the room, making Matt yelp and clap his hands over his ears. "Shut it up!" Matt screamed, "Shut that goddamned thing up!"
Harry snapped the egg shut again while Hermione fretted about whether Filch had heard the noise.
"The odds of that are pretty high," Matt said calmly as he rubbed his forehead with one hand and played with a large pink bubble with the other. "Let's just worry about figuring that egg out right now."
"I'd try putting it in the water, if I were you."
All three of the students jumped at the sound of the voice, which caused the speaker to chuckle quite a bit. She was a glum-looking ghost who was casually sitting on one of the taps. Harry and Hermione recognized the apparition as Moaning Myrtle, a ghost of a former student at Hogwarts whom they had met in their second year.
"Who in the bloody hell are you?" Matt hollered as he tried to hide himself from the snooping specter.
"Who am I? Who are you?" Moaning Myrtle asked back indignantly. "You're awfully rude. I would have already called Filch on you if you weren't with Harry." Matt turned sharply to Harry.
"Do you know this weirdo?"
"Here name is Myrtle," Hermione said while trying to hush her friend. "We'll explain later."
"And what are you doing here?" Myrtle asked Hermione with a suspicious look upon her otherwise morose features. "This is a boy's bathroom, you know. You shouldn't be in here!"
"What about you?" Harry said crossly. "Have you been watching Diggory and the other prefects take their showers?"
"Every now and then," Myrtle answered reticently as her cheeks tinged scarlet.
"There goes my desire to be a prefect," Matt murmured as he began to slip under the water. "Being spied upon by a miserable pimply ghost is hardly my idea of a relaxing atmosphere." Harry was thankful that Myrtle didn't seem to catch Matt's last comment.
"Why don't you come to see me anymore?" Myrtle asked, her transparent eyes blinking behind her dense glasses. Harry hastily turned to Hermione to help him with Myrtle's piteous inquiry, but his friend had already dipped her head under the water as well.
'Thanks for the help, guys.' Harry thought with a wry grin.
"Well," Harry began, "I'm really not supposed to go in there. It is a girls' bathroom, after all, right?"
"You didn't used to care about that," Myrtle said miserably while blinking back tears. "You used to be in there all the time!" Of course, the real reason they were in Myrtle's bathroom was because they could brew an illegal potion there without anybody noticing it. However, Harry was too considerate to just admit that to her.
"I apologize," Harry said softly, not really knowing for certain how serious his apology was. "I promise to visit you every now and then from now on. We can be friends, how does that sound?" Moaning Myrtle perked up quite a bit at that proposal.
"Do you mean it?" Myrtle asked floating up a bit into the air with excitement. Matt and Hermione had both resurfaced by this time and were both looking at him with raised eyebrows.
"Um, sure," Harry said cautiously, slowly realizing just what he had gotten himself into.
"That's wonderful!" Myrtle gushed as she searched frantically for a handkerchief to dry her jubilant eyes. After several loud snorts into it, she gave a bit of a smile as she began to float towards the exit of the bathroom. "I'll be waiting for you, Harry," Myrtle said in a tone that Harry thought to believe was supposed to be tempting. "Remember to open that egg underwater, it's what Cedric did, after all." And, with that last revelation, Myrtle disappeared from the room, leaving the three shocked students to themselves.
"You meet the most interesting people, Harry," Matt said sarcastically.
"Like I said, Matt," Hermione said while she gently tugged the egg away from Harry, "we'll explain later. Now, let's get to work on this egg."
"We may as well try to open it underwater," Harry said while Hermione undid the latches under the hot and foaming water. Once the lid was removed, a strange song seemed to resonate from it, hardly the horrific screeching that had emerged moments ago. Matt, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other with bewildered expressions on their face while the egg continued its incomprehensible song.
"Perhaps you could hear it underwater?" Hermione said as she held the egg in her hands carefully.
"I'll check it out," Matt said as he took a deep breath and dove underwater. The young Ravenclaw was greeted with a chorus of peculiar voices singing with no set rhythm. After twenty seconds, Matt surfaced.
"What did you hear?" Hermione asked as Matt shook his head to avoid getting water in his eyes.
"It's a song, alright," Matt said, still a little out-of-breath, but I didn't catch the beginning of it. "It said, 'And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss, an hour long you'll have to look, and to recover what we took."
"What I'll sorely miss?" Harry pondered aloud. "What does that mean?"
"We need to hear the entire song," Hermione said as she handed the egg back to Harry before she took a deep breath and dipped underwater. After another twenty-seconds, she resurfaced gasping for air. Both Matt and Harry were looking at her expectantly.
"I heard some of the same lines!" Hermione said breathlessly. "It said, 'Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground.' Those must have been the first lines of the song!"
"Then let's figure out the rest of it!" Harry ordered while he handed Matt the egg and took his trip underwater. It had taken another trip by each of them to memorize the entire song.
"Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground. And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss. An hour long you'll have to look , and to recover what we took. But past and hour the prospect's black. Too late, it's gone, it won't come back." Hermione recited.
"All right then," Matt said while he sat down near the shallow edge of the pool. "So the question is, who cannot speak above the ground."
"Well," Harry said while he placed the egg back on the edge of the bath, "it must have something to do with underwater creatures. After all, this entire clue has been based around it so far."
"The task will probably take place at the lake of the giant squid," Hermione said with her arms folded in concentration. "It's the largest body of water within fifty miles of here? The question is, what kind of creatures reside in that lake?"
"Maybe it's the giant squid?" Matt said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I don't think that squid can talk underwater or out of it," Harry said flatly. "It must be something else!" Hermione's eyes chocolate-brown eyes lit up in understanding.
"Merpeople!" she yelped. "There's a small colony of merpeople living at the bottom of the lake! They speak a language that cannot be understood by most humans on land but could be understood under the water! I can't believe I didn't think of it before!"
"Leave it to Hermione Holmes to solve the mystery," Matt said as he and Harry gave their friend a round of golf claps. Hermione, not giving an inch, placed her feet on the bottom of the pool and gave them a curtsy that nearly sent her head into the water.
"You're too kind, my friends," Hermione said with a charming smile.
"So the second task is going to take place in the lake and it involves merpeople," Harry said while he leaned back against one of the edges of the tub.
"You got it, Harry." Matt said as he slapped Harry on the back. "Hope you got your swimming skills up to par!" Harry gave his friend a miserable look.
"That's the thing," Harry said nervously. "I don't know how to swim!"
"What do you mean?" Matt asked. "You were swimming just fine a minute ago."
"A couple laps around here is fine but I've never dived before!"
"Don't worry about that!" Hermione said as she glided over to Matt and Harry. "It's a month until the task actually begins. We can teach you how to swim." A little hope came into Harry's eyes at Hermione's enthusiasm.
"Could you?" Harry asked.
"Of course!" Matt said with a big grin. "We'll have you swimmin' like a guppy before you know it." Looking at Matt and Hermione's exuberant eyes, Harry felt like he wanted to cry.
"Of course, the real problem is figuring out to breathe underwater," Matt said matter-of-factly.
"Perhaps I can use transfiguration to turn me into something that can breathe underwater. Like a shark, maybe," Harry said.
"Yeah, and you can bite a big chunk out of Cedric's ass at the same time!" Matt said as he and Harry laughed.
"Leave it to the two of you to come up with the most ridiculous ideas," Hermione said flatly as she gave her friends a friendly splash of water.
"And what do you think is a good idea, Hermione?" Harry asked while returning Hermione's attack with one of his own.
"Well, you could always use a Bubblehead charm. It gives the caster an oxygen-rich shield that allows you to breath underwater so long as you maintain the spell itself."
"That could be tricky," Harry said as he placed his chin on the top of his left fist.
"Yeah, if Harry breaks concentration for just one second it could be the end for him. He doesn't know what's down there either." Matt said finishing up Harry's thought. "Still, it's far better than Harry's idea."
"Hey!" Harry said sharply as Hermione shook her head with a smile.
"I don't suppose we could just a buy an Aqua-Lung, could we?" Matt asked.
"That would probably be against the rules," Harry said, his frustration and nervousness beginning to resurface. "Besides, the nearest Muggle village is 75 miles southeast of here. I doubt even a summoning charm could bring something like that here."
"There must be something!" Hermione shouted as the three young magicians searched their minds for any possible answer. After a minute of silence, Matt stood up in the bathtub like a cruise missile, startling the two Gryffindors.
"Gillyweed!" Matt bellowed triumphantly. As proud as Matt was about it however, Harry and Hermione still looked at him with severe confusion.
"It's a plant that's found in some of the shallows of the Mediterranean River," Matt continued as he walked back to the shallow end of the bath. "Eating it brings about a transfiguration effect that allows a human to grow gills, thus allowing them to breathe underwater for as long as one hour!"
"That's brilliant, Matt!" Hermione shouted.
"But, if it's in the Mediterranean, how are we supposed to get some?" Harry asked looking from Matt to Hermione. Matt and Hermione looked each other right in the eyes and thought the same thing.
"Snape," Matt and Hermione said simultaneously. Harry nearly choked on some of the settling bubbles in the bath.
"First of all, how do you know Snape has some gillyweed?" Harry said with bewilderment as Matt climbed out of the bath and started to dry himself off.
"Come on, Harry," Hermione said simply. "Snape is a potions master. He has at least some of every plant under the sun. He must have it!"
"Are you two actually saying that we should ask Professor Snape if we can borrow some gillyweed?" Harry asked.
"Not at all, Harry," Matt said as he emerged behind a curtain wearing his wizard's robes. He handed Hermione his invisibility potion while he cast an Engorgio charm on the Invisibility cloak. With a flick of her wand, Hermione dried herself off and placed her pajamas back on. With that task done, she tossed a fluffy, white towel straight into Harry's hands "He'd never go for that!"
"Then what?" Harry asked as he proceeded to dry himself off.
"We're going to steal it," Hermione said flatly.
It took quite a bit of cajoling from his colleagues to convince Harry to enter Snape's dungeon in the dead of night. In fact, Harry was still secretly wondering if his friends had lost their minds. Harry wasn't loathe to break the rules once in a while, but getting caught by Snape while trying to steal some of his potions ingredients would be tantamount to a death sentence.
Of course, Severus Snape didn't despise Matt or Hermione either. That privilege had fallen to him.
So, Hermione had taken Matt's invisibility potion and the Marauder's Map and rushed back to the Gryffindor common room while Matt and Harry took the invisibility cloak with them to Snape's usual stomping grounds. Although Harry was relieved to see that there were no signs of Snape in the dungeon, it still wasn't enough to remove the pit in his stomach as they snuck by Filch and softly pried the door to the potions' dungeon open.
"Snape will skin us if he finds us down here," Harry said simply.
"He's not that bad," Matt said as he and Harry walked step-by-step downward. "You just get on his bad side easy."
"Snape doesn't have a good side!" Harry whispered angrily. "He's a miserable, slimy git that goes out of his way to make my life miserable." Matt stopped walking for a bit and, despite their invisibility, looked directly into Harry's eyes. Like he wouldn't allow anyone to insult Harry, Matt wasn't about to allow Harry to insult his favorite teacher.
"Look, you're my friend and I'll respect your opinion about Professor Snape, but he's taught me more about magic at this school than all my other teachers combined. If you can't appreciate him for what he does, then maybe it's you who has the problem."
"I'm not the one with the problem, it's you who has the blinders over his eyes," Harry said firmly.
"You know, maybe Snape was right about you. Maybe you are just a spoiled brat who thinks he's too big for the rest of us!" Harry, whose head now shot out from the invisibility cloak, looked at the Ravenclaw with a fire in his emerald eyes.
"Well, at least I'm not the one traipsing around at all hours of the night making an arse out of myself!" Matt shrunk quite a bit as Harry's comment hit home, causing Harry's eyes to soften a bit. For a few long seconds, the two young men were sitting down on one of the stone steps just trying not to make any noise.
"I'm sorry," Harry said softly. "You didn't deserve that."
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," Matt said with his head downcast, causing the tip of his brown hair to slip out of the cloak. "I shouldn't have gotten mad, especially not at a time like this." There was another long silence that permeated the air of the dungeons. After a bit, Harry yanked the invisibility cloak off the both of them and extended his hand.
"Let's just agree that we're sorry and agree to disagree. What do you say?"
Matt's face seemed to flicker a bit of a smile at the honest request and moved to shake Harry's hand. And, without another word, the two troublemakers lifted the invisibility cloak over themselves and slowly made their way down to Snape's laboratory.
'It looks a little weird without any students in it,' Harry mused as Matt abandoned the protection of the cloak to light one of the torches in the room. It was true, Harry had never been inside Snape's classroom except for Potions classes. Harry never viewed it as a cheery place but now it just seemed downright miserable. With Matt leading the way, the two finally made their way into Snape's storeroom.
The sheer size of Snape's storeroom was impressive enough. It was dominated with tall, black oak cabinets, each of which was filled to the brim with ingredients for potions. The back end of the room was filled with humble bookshelves, each of which was clustered with complex potions books, dark incantations, and history books. Harry was sorely tempted to see if he could find one of Snape's diaries or journals until the sound of Matt's rifling through the various drawers interrupted his thoughts.
"This is hopeless," Matt said as he slammed one of the drawers with a satisfying bang!. "It could take weeks to find what we're looking for!" Harry begrudgingly agreed with Matt's pessimism, although he wasn't about to admit it. He hadn't come this far only to be stopped now. Finally, with a sparkle of an idea, Harry pulled his wand from under his robes.
"Accio gillyweed!" he cried as the tip of his wand glowed white. Matt turned to Harry in confusion only to be smacked in the back of his head by a speeding ball of slimy gray-green weeds, which Harry collected neatly with his left hand. Harry couldn't help but grin while Matt dragged himself up.
"Nice trick with the summoning charm," Matt said as he gingerly rubbed the back of his hand. "You could warn me next time though, couldn't you?"
"Didn't you say that this search would take forever?" Harry said with a sardonic grin. "I just decided to speed it up a bit." At that revelation, Matt got back to his feet and gave his friend a smirk.
"I'll give you that one," Matt said as he passed by Harry and began to make his way out of the storeroom. "Now, let's don that cloak of yours and get our butts out of here!"
"I have a better idea," a rasping voice said before Matt was hit with a meat bone-sized fist that caused the young man to fly twenty feet before crashing into one of Snape's bookshelves. Harry shakily pointed his wand at the massive figure. The man disregarded the potential threat and gave the young Gryffindor a dreadful look that caused Harry's blood to curdle.
"It would be wise for you to stay out of this matter, Potter," Macnair said with a bloodthirsty grin. "I am here to kill your friends. You are to remain unharmed so that you may perform your final service for my master. Do not test my patience." Harry still pointed his wand at the executioner, this time with a more determined look on his face.
"I remember you," Harry said in defiance. "You're Macnair! The Ministry's executioner! You use to be one of Voldermort's Death Eaters!"
"I'm honored you still remember me," Macnair said as he stroked his straw-blond hair back casually, his muscular body a frightening sight to behold. "Allow me to correct you, however, I am still a Death Eater, one of the few and proud. I wanted to take care of your godfather on my last visit here, but you denied me that right." Harry's eyes flashed as the revelation kicked in.
"So you were sent to kill Sirius!"
"Indeed I was," Macnair replied as he moved closer to the young Gryffindor. "My master was quite upset when he learned that Black had escaped his kennel in Azkaban. It presented unfortunate complications."
"Get away from him, Harry!" Matt screamed. "He's a killer!" Macnair chuckled quite a bit as he turned his attention back to Matt, who was slowly rising back to his feet.
"You were always a tough little bastard," Macnair said as he pulled his wand out from one of the crooks of his belt. "Perhaps I should pay Minerva a visit while I'm here. It would be nice to get together with another old acquaintance."
"You leave her alone, you son of a bitch!" Matt screamed as he yanked his wand out from under his robes. "I'll kill you before you can even lay a finger on her!"
"You think you can possibly beat me, boy?" Macnair said his wand zeroing in on Matt's temples as it flared bright green. "I was sent to kill your little mudblood of a friend, but my master also allowed me to take care of you as well."
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Harry shouted, causing Macnair's wand to force itself from its owner and fly towards Harry. Macnair held his large, outstretched arm out a while longer and before twisting his head to glare back at his attacker. He then began a slow march towards the black-haired boy.
"An interesting tactic," Macnair said simply, advancing ever so slowly, "but I hardly need a wand to take care of powerless children like yourselves. Perhaps you can stop me before I get to you."
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shouted, causing a white wire of energy to shoot from Harry's wand, encasing Macnair with pure energy. However, with a simple motion of his considerably muscular arms, Macnair broke the spell and continued moving towards Harry.
"Incendio!" A red ball of energy shot from Harry's wand and collided with Macnair's barrel-like chest. It only seemed to irritate the gargantuan wizard further.
"Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" Two more bolts of energy emerged from Harry's wand and hit Macnair right between the eyes. But, like the monster in so many low-grade horror movies, Macnair just kept moving forward. Before Harry could think of another spell, Macnair had grabbed the scruff of Harry's robes with one of his hands and flung him out of the storeroom with a flick of his wrist. Harry's right knee crashed forcefully into one of the student tables.
"Of course, I highly doubt that my master would object to causing a bit of harm to you," Macnair said as he casually walked out of the storeroom while Harry did all he could to avoid screaming in pain from several broken bones. The evil man was met at the entrance by a side savate kick that would have broken the neck of most men. Macnair, however, simply shrugged off the blow and gave Matt a vicious backhand that missed him by inches.
What was to follow was a display a fighting prowess that most human beings could not even hope to witness in their lifetime. Matt's incredible agility and magical prowess coupled with Macnair's brute power produced a brawl that quickly reduced much of the classroom to splinters. Even Harry did everything he could, fighting back the awful pain as he cast every spell he could think of at Macnair. Despite all their efforts, however, Macnair would not be stopped by them this night. After five minutes of flirting with danger, Matt was hit hard by Macnair's left hook, causing the young man's jaw to break as he twirled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. Matt was still spitting up blood as Macnair's titanic battle-axe materialized before his eyes. With a heavy grunt, Macnair hefted the malicious weapon over his head and prepared to strike.
"Time for you to die, boy!" Macnair spat as he furiously swung the blade towards Matt's neck.
Whoo! Quite a chapter, don't you think? I'm quite proud of the efforts myself. Anyway, I would like to thank everybody who has read up to this point, particularly Kelli (a.k.a. Kravenclaw) who has really cheered me up with her reviews (and is probably going to be pretty mad about two straight chapters with cliffhangers). Don't worry, this will be the last cliffhanger for a while yet! Speaking of, how about a preview for the next chapter!
Yup, it certainly seems that our young heroes are up a creek without a paddle, as the old saying goes. Is there anyway for them to escape the grasp of the murderous Macnair? (Of course there is, it would be kind of silly to have two of the three main characters die in the middle of the novel. . . or would it?) Find out in the next installment of Harry Potter and The Scholar of Mystery: Hermione the Heroine! Gee, the title sort of gives it away, don't you think?