Chapter 17
Caught In The Act
The next day, Harry woke up anxious and excited. Half wanting to find the Crystal himself, and half wanting to go to Knockturn Alley as soon as possible. It didn't take a long time for Hermione and Ron wake up. It turns out they both were anxious and excited too. At breakfast, they discussed they're plan, and decided to leave at noon. Hermione, still worrying about the fact they might get caught, finally agreed to the plan. As they sat on the grass, throwing pebbles into the lake, waiting for the right time to leave. House-elves finally popped out of nowhere and served them their lunch. Harry gave Hermione and Ron a nod, signalling them that they should go now. Grabbing two turkey sandwiches each, they quickly ate it and finished their glass of apple juice, and hurried back to their cabins. Getting ready took them quite a while, for they kept on thinking of ideas on what to bring and what not to bring. Hermione kept on running back and forth deciding whether to bring the book or not. Harry and Ron sat in the common room waiting for Hermione as she walked in and out of the girl's room. Finally, she decided to bring the book along, "We might need it"! Hermione said at last. They brought out the water bottles and shoved it into the bag they brought along. Harry, put his wand, the potion, the key and locket, in his bag with no problem at all. Ron had no problem either, as for Hermione; she had some trouble fitting the potion in her bag for there were no more room. Ron finally grabbed the water bottle out of Hermione's hand and shoved it into his bag. The three finally finished and sneaked out of the cabin. Seeing if anyone was around, they carefully made their way towards the Forbidden Forest. Harry had to make a lie that he was going to go see Hagrid, when Professor McGonagall stopped them and asked where they were going. As they arrived safely in the Forbidden Forest, unnoticed, they hid behind an extremely thick tree. Carefully, they all took out their potion and drank 5 sips each. A cold tingling feeling crawled up Harry's spine as he took his final sip. He then could feel himself fade away as he looked at his hand, which was now nothing but air. Hermione and Ron both turned to look at Harry. They nodded to each other and Hermione pulled out her wand. "I was looking through some books I brought along from home, and found a spell that can lead us straight to Knockturn Alley. My guess is that we'll arrive there in about 25 minutes. We're running a bit late on time", Hermione explained as she looked at her own watch. She pointed her wand at the watch she was wearing on her outstretched arm and muttered "Waxon". The watch slowly turned into what looks like a compass but with 5 hands spinning around. One of the hands said, "East", the other three said "North", "South", and "West". The last hand was bright blue. "The bright blue hand is suppose to turn red when we're going the wrong way, and yellow when we go the right way", Hermione continued explaining. The three finally started making their way looking at Hermione's compass once in a while. They soon found themselves at a different part of Hogsmeade they never been to. It was very dark and cold indeed; they looked all around them making sure they don't bump into anyone. It took them a while to figure out that they were in Knockturn Alley, not Hogsmeade. A toothless wizard wearing ragged clothes yelled out "FAKE ROT TEETH, ONLY 5 SICKLES", and that was when Ron realized they were in Knockturn Alley. "Fake teeth. that guy could sure use some", Ron said pointing at the toothless wizard. Harry and Hermione couldn't help but laughed as they continued walking down the street. "Are we there yet"? Harry asked. Hermione looked at her compass which now was pointing west. They turned right and found themselves in a darker and damper street. Hermione took out her wand again and muttered "lumos". The tip of her wand lit up as she held it out so they can see where they were going. Even though Harry accidentally ended up in Knockturn Alley before, he never remembered any street looking like this one. No living human was walking around there, not even a stray cat. "There, look"! Hermione pointed at the shop at the end of the street. The three started run towards it, excited. They started at the store, which was made out of stone, with lots of weed growing along the side of the road. Harry knew Aunt Petunia would flip as soon if she saw the weed that was growing rather thick. There was a large sign that said "Antiques Galore". Hermione said another spell and her wand lights went out. She pointed her wand at herself and said "Opula Vixion", and she became visible again. She pointed her wand at Harry and Ron and said the same spell again. Harry and Ron both became visible again, and the three walked into the store. A young man who looked about 16 to 19 with sandy brown hair, blue eyes, and some freckles on his nose turned around and looked at them. "Hello.may I help you"? He said. "Yes, we need to ask you a question", Hermione explained while the young man nodded. "We were wondering if you sold a old fashioned locket to a guy named Cedric last year". "Cedric.oh yes, he was a very nice guy", the man said thinking hard. "Well, can you take a look at this locket and what we found inside it"? Hermione said motioning Harry to take out the locket and key. Harry nodded and dug through his bag, and found the locket and key. He settled it on the counter where the man was. "Do you own this store"? Hermione asked looking curiously around. "Oh no, this is my father's store. My father's name is Stuart Brown; he's currently at Hogwarts right now, something about looking for the Crystal. My name is Lance by the way, Lance Brown", Lance explained smiling at Hermione, which made her blush. "Aren't you a bit too young to run this store"? Ron asked looking curiously at him, but to Harry, it was clear Ron was furious about Lance smiling at Hermione. "Well.to tell you the truth, I'm only 18. I finished my education at Beauxbatons. My mother was French, and she thought it was best for me to attend a French school. I didn't like it much there, didn't really understand a thing they said. So my father took me out of that place and before I knew it, I was at home with my very own tutor. Sort of like home study", Lance explained still smiling. "Do you know anything about the Crystal? Anything at all"? Hermione asked looking hopefully at Lance. "Father doesn't really tell me much, only where he's going, the only thing he mentioned was a Crystal. I have no clue what it is though". "Well, we just want you to take a look at this locket, if it's no trouble at all. We were wondering if you could tell us anything about this locket. Like, how old it is", Hermione went on. Lance picked up the locket and stared at it closely. Almost cross-eyed, he flipped it open and looked at the pictures, and then looked at the back cover. "This is a very old locket, I have no idea how old though. It's very old and fragile, I see some pieces are missing from the back", Lance said without looking up from the locket he was still staring at. "Well.I was.looking at the locket, and I accidentally dropped it. Then the back cover broke and this key came out of it", Harry lied giving Lance the key. Lance's eyes went wide when he saw the key. "This is the same key I saw in my dad's research pamphlet"! Exclaimed Lance as he turned around to the shelf and took out a shoebox. He settled it on the counter and started digging through it. He pulled parchments, and bags containing sand out, and finally he found what he was looking for. He flipped the pamphlet open and muttered to himself as he looked through it. "There! Read this", Lance said pointing to the pamphlet. "My father wont mind me borrowing this". "The ancient Scrotkl key is said to buried in true love's heart. The key holds the power to open up the chest, containing the Crystal Ball of Fire", Hermione read from the pamphlet. "The marking on the key says Mystery, which is what the key is named. The key is named after a famous scientists named Mystery McKenzie. This famous scientist in fact was the first to find the key and discover that this key is used for unlocking the chest. Mystery, wanting to keep the key, so she carved her own name on the key in a secret writing she made up". "Whoa", Ron said astonished. "Exactly"! Harry said looking amazed. "So the Crystal is in a chest, and this key can open the chest up"? Hermione said excitedly pointing to the key. "Do-Do you think you can let me borrow that"? Lance said amazed too. "Umm.we can't, this locket isn't ours. It's.my friend's. He agreed to lend it to us", Harry lied again giving Hermione and Ron warning looks to agree with him. "Yeah.our friend, Eric's", Ron went along. "Sorry we can't lend it to you", Hermione apologized. "Oh well, I just thought that key might help my father", Lance muttered. "Well it was nice meeting you. Come back and visit any time you want". "Thanks, bye"! Hermione waved bye to him as the three walked out of the store. Without a word to each other, they all took out the water bottles and took 5 sips again. The same cold tingling feeling went down Harry's spine before he become invisible. The three made their way back to Hogwarts without a word to each other, it was clear that they were all thinking about what just happened. Finally, Hermione broke the silence as they were walking down Hogsmeade again. "Should we give the key to the scientists, just in case if they do find the Crystal"? Hermione asked. "I don't think we should.they'll ask tonnes of questions, and I don't want to admit that I took the locket from Cho", Harry muttered. Hermione shrugged, and there were more silence as they kept on walking. Checking on Hermione's compass once in a while making sure they were going the right way. Finally, they were walking on Hogwart's ground again. This time, Ron broke the silence. "Guys.", Ron said scared. "What"? Hermione asked. "You guys felt a cold feeling when you drank your potion's right"? Ron asked. "Yeah, what about it"? Harry said. "Well.the feeling isn't there anymore", Ron said. Ron was right, Harry thought. Harry couldn't feel the cold tingling feeling anymore. Instead, all he could feel was.himself. He could see Hermione and Ron more clearly now. "Do you think the potion wore off"? Harry asked looking at Hermione and Ron. "Yes, I do believe the potion DID wear off", a cold voice said from behind them.
The next day, Harry woke up anxious and excited. Half wanting to find the Crystal himself, and half wanting to go to Knockturn Alley as soon as possible. It didn't take a long time for Hermione and Ron wake up. It turns out they both were anxious and excited too. At breakfast, they discussed they're plan, and decided to leave at noon. Hermione, still worrying about the fact they might get caught, finally agreed to the plan. As they sat on the grass, throwing pebbles into the lake, waiting for the right time to leave. House-elves finally popped out of nowhere and served them their lunch. Harry gave Hermione and Ron a nod, signalling them that they should go now. Grabbing two turkey sandwiches each, they quickly ate it and finished their glass of apple juice, and hurried back to their cabins. Getting ready took them quite a while, for they kept on thinking of ideas on what to bring and what not to bring. Hermione kept on running back and forth deciding whether to bring the book or not. Harry and Ron sat in the common room waiting for Hermione as she walked in and out of the girl's room. Finally, she decided to bring the book along, "We might need it"! Hermione said at last. They brought out the water bottles and shoved it into the bag they brought along. Harry, put his wand, the potion, the key and locket, in his bag with no problem at all. Ron had no problem either, as for Hermione; she had some trouble fitting the potion in her bag for there were no more room. Ron finally grabbed the water bottle out of Hermione's hand and shoved it into his bag. The three finally finished and sneaked out of the cabin. Seeing if anyone was around, they carefully made their way towards the Forbidden Forest. Harry had to make a lie that he was going to go see Hagrid, when Professor McGonagall stopped them and asked where they were going. As they arrived safely in the Forbidden Forest, unnoticed, they hid behind an extremely thick tree. Carefully, they all took out their potion and drank 5 sips each. A cold tingling feeling crawled up Harry's spine as he took his final sip. He then could feel himself fade away as he looked at his hand, which was now nothing but air. Hermione and Ron both turned to look at Harry. They nodded to each other and Hermione pulled out her wand. "I was looking through some books I brought along from home, and found a spell that can lead us straight to Knockturn Alley. My guess is that we'll arrive there in about 25 minutes. We're running a bit late on time", Hermione explained as she looked at her own watch. She pointed her wand at the watch she was wearing on her outstretched arm and muttered "Waxon". The watch slowly turned into what looks like a compass but with 5 hands spinning around. One of the hands said, "East", the other three said "North", "South", and "West". The last hand was bright blue. "The bright blue hand is suppose to turn red when we're going the wrong way, and yellow when we go the right way", Hermione continued explaining. The three finally started making their way looking at Hermione's compass once in a while. They soon found themselves at a different part of Hogsmeade they never been to. It was very dark and cold indeed; they looked all around them making sure they don't bump into anyone. It took them a while to figure out that they were in Knockturn Alley, not Hogsmeade. A toothless wizard wearing ragged clothes yelled out "FAKE ROT TEETH, ONLY 5 SICKLES", and that was when Ron realized they were in Knockturn Alley. "Fake teeth. that guy could sure use some", Ron said pointing at the toothless wizard. Harry and Hermione couldn't help but laughed as they continued walking down the street. "Are we there yet"? Harry asked. Hermione looked at her compass which now was pointing west. They turned right and found themselves in a darker and damper street. Hermione took out her wand again and muttered "lumos". The tip of her wand lit up as she held it out so they can see where they were going. Even though Harry accidentally ended up in Knockturn Alley before, he never remembered any street looking like this one. No living human was walking around there, not even a stray cat. "There, look"! Hermione pointed at the shop at the end of the street. The three started run towards it, excited. They started at the store, which was made out of stone, with lots of weed growing along the side of the road. Harry knew Aunt Petunia would flip as soon if she saw the weed that was growing rather thick. There was a large sign that said "Antiques Galore". Hermione said another spell and her wand lights went out. She pointed her wand at herself and said "Opula Vixion", and she became visible again. She pointed her wand at Harry and Ron and said the same spell again. Harry and Ron both became visible again, and the three walked into the store. A young man who looked about 16 to 19 with sandy brown hair, blue eyes, and some freckles on his nose turned around and looked at them. "Hello.may I help you"? He said. "Yes, we need to ask you a question", Hermione explained while the young man nodded. "We were wondering if you sold a old fashioned locket to a guy named Cedric last year". "Cedric.oh yes, he was a very nice guy", the man said thinking hard. "Well, can you take a look at this locket and what we found inside it"? Hermione said motioning Harry to take out the locket and key. Harry nodded and dug through his bag, and found the locket and key. He settled it on the counter where the man was. "Do you own this store"? Hermione asked looking curiously around. "Oh no, this is my father's store. My father's name is Stuart Brown; he's currently at Hogwarts right now, something about looking for the Crystal. My name is Lance by the way, Lance Brown", Lance explained smiling at Hermione, which made her blush. "Aren't you a bit too young to run this store"? Ron asked looking curiously at him, but to Harry, it was clear Ron was furious about Lance smiling at Hermione. "Well.to tell you the truth, I'm only 18. I finished my education at Beauxbatons. My mother was French, and she thought it was best for me to attend a French school. I didn't like it much there, didn't really understand a thing they said. So my father took me out of that place and before I knew it, I was at home with my very own tutor. Sort of like home study", Lance explained still smiling. "Do you know anything about the Crystal? Anything at all"? Hermione asked looking hopefully at Lance. "Father doesn't really tell me much, only where he's going, the only thing he mentioned was a Crystal. I have no clue what it is though". "Well, we just want you to take a look at this locket, if it's no trouble at all. We were wondering if you could tell us anything about this locket. Like, how old it is", Hermione went on. Lance picked up the locket and stared at it closely. Almost cross-eyed, he flipped it open and looked at the pictures, and then looked at the back cover. "This is a very old locket, I have no idea how old though. It's very old and fragile, I see some pieces are missing from the back", Lance said without looking up from the locket he was still staring at. "Well.I was.looking at the locket, and I accidentally dropped it. Then the back cover broke and this key came out of it", Harry lied giving Lance the key. Lance's eyes went wide when he saw the key. "This is the same key I saw in my dad's research pamphlet"! Exclaimed Lance as he turned around to the shelf and took out a shoebox. He settled it on the counter and started digging through it. He pulled parchments, and bags containing sand out, and finally he found what he was looking for. He flipped the pamphlet open and muttered to himself as he looked through it. "There! Read this", Lance said pointing to the pamphlet. "My father wont mind me borrowing this". "The ancient Scrotkl key is said to buried in true love's heart. The key holds the power to open up the chest, containing the Crystal Ball of Fire", Hermione read from the pamphlet. "The marking on the key says Mystery, which is what the key is named. The key is named after a famous scientists named Mystery McKenzie. This famous scientist in fact was the first to find the key and discover that this key is used for unlocking the chest. Mystery, wanting to keep the key, so she carved her own name on the key in a secret writing she made up". "Whoa", Ron said astonished. "Exactly"! Harry said looking amazed. "So the Crystal is in a chest, and this key can open the chest up"? Hermione said excitedly pointing to the key. "Do-Do you think you can let me borrow that"? Lance said amazed too. "Umm.we can't, this locket isn't ours. It's.my friend's. He agreed to lend it to us", Harry lied again giving Hermione and Ron warning looks to agree with him. "Yeah.our friend, Eric's", Ron went along. "Sorry we can't lend it to you", Hermione apologized. "Oh well, I just thought that key might help my father", Lance muttered. "Well it was nice meeting you. Come back and visit any time you want". "Thanks, bye"! Hermione waved bye to him as the three walked out of the store. Without a word to each other, they all took out the water bottles and took 5 sips again. The same cold tingling feeling went down Harry's spine before he become invisible. The three made their way back to Hogwarts without a word to each other, it was clear that they were all thinking about what just happened. Finally, Hermione broke the silence as they were walking down Hogsmeade again. "Should we give the key to the scientists, just in case if they do find the Crystal"? Hermione asked. "I don't think we should.they'll ask tonnes of questions, and I don't want to admit that I took the locket from Cho", Harry muttered. Hermione shrugged, and there were more silence as they kept on walking. Checking on Hermione's compass once in a while making sure they were going the right way. Finally, they were walking on Hogwart's ground again. This time, Ron broke the silence. "Guys.", Ron said scared. "What"? Hermione asked. "You guys felt a cold feeling when you drank your potion's right"? Ron asked. "Yeah, what about it"? Harry said. "Well.the feeling isn't there anymore", Ron said. Ron was right, Harry thought. Harry couldn't feel the cold tingling feeling anymore. Instead, all he could feel was.himself. He could see Hermione and Ron more clearly now. "Do you think the potion wore off"? Harry asked looking at Hermione and Ron. "Yes, I do believe the potion DID wear off", a cold voice said from behind them.