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A/N: I forgot to put an a/n on the last chapter. I know this story is listed as action/adventure, but if that's what you're looking for in this fic, you're going to have to wait another 2 or 3 chapters. This starts out somewhat slowly, because I have to situate the readers in my version of Harry's 7th year. From here on out it should get a bit more interesting, though.

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Chapter Three: The Invisible, Uh -- Girl?
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You could even say it glowed --

Like a lightbulb--

And all the other reindeer --



Stop inturruptin' me! Where was I? Yeh mongrel!

Not looking so good yourself, either.

Harry ducked as the suit of armor blindly swung its mace at him. The armor tripped over the foot of one of the statues in the hall and fell on its visor, denting it.

Ron yanked Harry down by the back of his robes so he was hidden behind the statue along with him and Hermione. Hermione was trying to convince the two boys to stop tormenting the decorations, but Ron and Harry would have none of it.

It's highly dangerous -- that one with the axe! -- and Dumbledore wouldn't like you two to be --

Oh, come on, Hermione, said Ron exasperatedly, pulling her away and into the empty classroom just on the other side of the statue. The suit of armor was still blundering around in the hallway. There's another one in the next corridor. I just heard it singing Silent Night.' It serves them right anyway, for singing so badly. Shall we do the carpet, or something new? The last was directed at Harry.

Harry opened his mouth to suggest singing Silent Night' in a duo of Spanish and Latin to really confuse the armor, when there was a loud crash and string of cursing, creaking, and off-key notes from the corridor Ron had mentioned.

Sounds like Peeves got it first, Ron said sadly. Let's check the third floor corridor again.

Where's Sirius? Harry asked quietly as they headed for the third floor, Hermione whispering protests all the way.

I dunno, said Ron. He said something about the staircases --

Harry flung out an arm to stop Ron just in time. The stairs that had been just in front of them vanished. Along the hall behind them, a twisting staircase going up also went invisible, and another beyond that. It seemed that all the stairs in the castle were disappearing.

There's your answer, said Ron.

Apparently walking in midair, Sirius appeared around the corner of the landing right underneath them and trotted up thin air to greet them.

Ah! Harry. What've you been up to? Sirius said, stepping off the emptiness onto the floor in front of them.

Just -- tripping up the carolers, that's all. Harry looked at the nothing that was the staircase. What you've been up to seems a bit more important.

No worries, said Sirius cheerfully. They're only invisible, they're not insubstantial. Go on. Before Harry could stop him, he gave him a light shove in the small of the back. Harry was knocked forward a couple of steps, and his foot came down on the top stair. It was quite solid.

Lupin came down the spiral stairs (or at least the place they used to be) along the hall, apparently unfazed by the fact that he wasn't walking on anything.

Sirius? There you are. I thought you'd do something like this. Did you get Harry to help you or did you rig all hundred and forty-two by yourself?

Just me. Been working on it for a week. I'm surprised you didn't notice before now.

Didn't I? Sirius gave Lupin a blank look. Lupin sighed and pulled a crumpled old square of parchment out of his pocket.

Harry recognized it, but -- the Marauder's Map had been burned last year. It was caught in a fire in one of the classrooms. Harry asked, startled, Where'd you get that?

You don't think we only had one copy, do you, Harry? Lupin smiled and put the paper back in his pocket. It took me a while to find it. James was supposed to be the only one who knew where the hiding place was for the reserve copies. We only dared have one out at all times because of the danger that Filch might catch us.

Harry's tone was somewhat deflated.

continued Lupin, turning back to Sirius, how could I miss these? He went over to the invisible stairs, bent down, and brushed his fingers over the floor as if in search of something. Right at the edge of the top step they caught on something, and he yanked up a small string of some fine, almost invisible substance. With a flicker and a jolt, the stairs reappeared. Lupin held up the string and turned to Sirius with raised eyebrows. I saw them lying around all over the place.

Sirius shrugged. With only you to recognize them, I figured I didn't need to hide them quite so well. (Hide it? thought Harry. Why on earth would you have to go to any trouble to hide it? He looked at the barely visible strand and back to Sirius incredulously.)

Lupin made a derisive noise and dropped the string back on the stairs. They vanished again. Might as well let you have your fun, he said mildly. Sirius grinned. It grew wider when they heard a distant shout and crash.

So the game begins, he said softly. Momentarily he shook himself and added, I've got to go. Don't follow me, unless you want Filch on your backs. He ran as if well-experienced down the invisible stairs and turned the corner at the bottom in a swish of black robes.

There's one Marauder left, at least, commented Lupin.

Don't we count? asked Ron indignantly as they walked down the invisible stairs a bit more cautiously. Me and Harry? Hermione wouldn't be caught dead a Marauder.

It seems to me to be somewhat of a generational thing, said Lupin. I'm not sure you could replace us under the same name. But you've certainly earned a place in Filch's most secure records, he added wryly as they passed a suit of armor that had been bewitched to sing all its Christmas carols backwards.

Hermione sighed from behind them and they heard the rustling of her robes as she pulled out her wand to perform the counter-spell.

said Ron, turning. That one was hard to do! Leave -- He stopped midsentence and mouthed for a second. Then;

she asked irritably. Harry looked around. Ron's voice had sounded very strange.

Hermione wasn't there.

What is it? repeated Hermione.

Suddenly she screeched.

Wh-wh---where am I? Did Sirius curse me when I wasn't looking? What --

Calm down, Hermione, said Lupin, as if he weren't at all unused to people going spontaneously invisible (which he probably wasn't). I think I can fix this, unless it's one of Sirius's new inventions. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the place Hermione had been, muttering something.

Nothing happened. He frowned, and walked past them down the hall, to where a staircase used to be. Again he felt around, and came up with another piece of strange string-like stuff. He brought it over to them and asked Hermione to take one end of it and see if that helped, because, he explained, Sirius's invisibility spells always canceled each other out when they touched: that was their only flaw. The string moved by itself, as if a hand were picking it up; but the hand never reappeared.

Give me a moment. There's a spell that forces another spell to show it's true nature, said Lupin, his perpetually calm voice starting to become somewhat concerned in tone, which worried Harry and Ron immensely. Lupin pointed his wand at the location of Hermione's voice and said loudly, Revalium Incantatem!

Harry was hardly aware of what happened next, it was all so fast and confusing. A shadow seemed to pass over all the windows, and the hall grew dark; there was a sudden rush of cold wind, and Harry could swear it carried whispered words spoken by a voice like ice and fire as one, harsh as stone. The words were terrible though he couldn't understand the language, and they told of an evil beyond all name, that defied all description.

The suit of armor screeched to an off-key halt and the plates of steel that had been enchanted to stay together as one body fell apart and clattered to the floor; the enchantment had been overcome by this strange new power. Several monks sleeping in a nearby portrait woke up screaming and ran for cover in the landscape upstairs. There was more shouting and several crashes from downstairs, though whether these were Sirius's fault or the shadow's remained to be seen.

Harry was knocked backwards into Ron, and they both went sprawling to the floor. He heard as if from a great distance a scream that might might have been Hermione's, and a shout, crash, and thump that might have been from Lupin.

Then the shadow passed, and the echo of diminishing whispers came to Harry's ears, soft and sinister:

ash nazzzg...

Sunlight poured in again, thought it was colder now and seemed to Harry to be paler as well. He struggled to his feet and helped Ron up, then took stock of his surroundings -- the scattered pieces or armor, empty portraits, and the sound of worried shouting downstairs. But he ignored these and looked around for Lupin and Hermione instead.

Hermione was still gone; invisible or actually elsewhere, he didn't know. It was Lupin that worried him. The professor was lying in a crumpled heap at the foot of the wall. He had been thrown backwards and hit his head -- blood was trickling down into his eyes, his face was pale and cold sweat stood out on his forehead. Harry checked his pulse; he was alive but his heartbeat was uneven and racing.

gasped Harry. Try and find Hermione. I'm getting Madam Pomfrey --

What's happened here?

Dumbledore stood at the top of the stairs, which had become visible again as Sirius's enchantment was wiped away by whatever power Lupin had awoken.

I don't know, sir, said Harry truthfully. Professor Lupin needs to get to the hospital wing --

There was a small gasp and a clink. Ron jumped backwards -- he'd been about to step on Hermione, who had just reappeared. Her eyes were wide and her face pasty. The clink had been from her new ring falling on the stone floor. It didn't roll or spin, as something of its light weight ought to have done; but rather fell as though it were ten times its weight, making a soft clank as it hit the floor and lay still.

Hermione's breathing was heavy and ragged. She looked blankly up at Harry and mouthed for a moment before gasping out, Harry -- I don't know -- what happened -- the ring got so heavy, Harry, so cold and heavy, I don't know what's happening but --

Miss Granger, said Dumbledore.

She jumped.

Sir -- what's going on?

I don't know, Miss Granger. I don't believe any of us do. It may be something leftover from Voldemort, but we have to keep open minds -- but you needn't worry about it just now. Professor Lupin needs to be taken to Madam Pomfrey as quickly as possible.

Professor -- what's wrong with Professor Lu -- oh! Oh, God! Harry! Ron! What's happening?

She went into hysterics when she saw Lupin lying on the floor unconscious. She had gotten onto her feet by then and Harry had to grab her and hold her arms behind her back to keep her still. Dumbledore put a calming charm over her and she immediately relaxed.

Dumbledore reached down and picked up the ring. Harry grew more worried still when he didn't seem to be able to touch it. He drew in a sharp breath, quickly placed the ring back on the stones of the floor, and shook out his hand, shaking his head and frowning. The twinkle had gone out of his clear blue eyes.

Harry, Mr. Weasley, look after Hermione and Professor Lupin for a moment. He drew out a small pouch from his pocket, poured a tiny mound of its contents into his palm, and replaced the pouch. Then with a tap of his wand he conjured a small bluebell flame, just like the one Lupin had called up on the train at the beginning of Harry's third year. The fine powder Dumbledore had put in his palm crackled and made the fire flare green. Holding the flames in his cupped hand close to his face and careful not to breathe hard on them, Dumbledore called into the fire, Poppy. Poppy, you're needed urgently in the fifth floor secondary corridor.

Faintly Harry heard Madam Pomfrey's voice answering, Yes, Headmaster. I'll be there in a moment.

Pomfrey only called Dumbledore Headmaster' in that tone when she was really upset about something and was trying to keep herself from shouting at the first person who talked to her, so Harry gathered that the whole castle had felt the passage of the shadow.

Dumbledore twitched his hand and the fire leapt up again. Harry paid less attention as he continued calling staff members, and concentrated on the ring on the floor.

he muttered, handing Hermione over to Ron. He walked forward and crouched down to look at the ring. Remembering Dumbledore's reaction he knew better than to touch it, but he wanted a closer look, so he put his face so close to the floor that his nose was nearly touching the cold stone.

The ring was no longer the plain gold band it had been yesterday afternoon at the table, when Hermione had shown it to him. Tiny, fiery letters were fading from it -- they looked like they glowed with some inner fire, but Harry shook his head, telling himself it wasn't possible. Then again... the whispering shadow... anything seemed possible compared to it.

Harry looked up and rocked back on his heels. Something was stirring in his memory. He could almost place it... a ring... the shadow of a nameless fear, glowing letters; even the strange script the letters were written in seemed to make some strange, vague sense. But where had he seen it before....

Madam Pomfrey came bustling up the steps just then, and though he was on the verge of a breakthrough in his train of thought, it was all lost at the sound of her brisk voice.

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Lupin remained unconscious for a full day. Hermione needed calming down almost constantly, and it was four hours before she finally went to sleep in one of the hospital wing beds. Dumbledore had questioned Ron and Harry thoroughly, and they'd told them everything they knew, which wasn't much.

Everything they knew. Well, Harry didn't know anything quite yet about the thought that he had lost track of a moment before Dumbledore had started asking questions, he rationalized to himself in the common room that night. So it wasn't like he was withholding information or anything.

Still... he thought he might be able to know what was going on, if only he was given a chance to think in a quiet room with no other people around.

The Creevey brothers had stayed for the Christmas holidays, and they pestered Harry and Ron so much about the shadow that they weren't given a moment's peace. Several others were also curious, but some were shaken to the point of silence. Natalie McDonald, a fourth year who was usually a chatterbox and impossible to shut up, was now sitting quietly in the far corner with her arms crossed and her head down. It may have been his imagination, but he thought he saw the faint glimmer of tears on her face when she looked up at the fire at one point. Harry stole glances at her all the time. Some of the sudden changes of behavior in the castle's inhabitants worried him.

Ash nazg. The shadow's whispers held a far-off familiarity. Ash nazg.... gimbatul, gimbatul, that was it! But it was just another word... it wasn't the answer. Where had he heard it before...?

Finally Harry grew so sick of Colin Creevey's pestering that he shouted for the younger boys to leave him alone. Ron gave him a sidelong look, but when Harry stormed up the staircase to his dorm room, Ron stayed behind, sitting in front of the fire and apparently trying to warm up, despite the heat of the castle. Harry knew how he felt. Ever since the shadow had passed, nothing seemed warm anymore, even fire itself.

Harry laid down in bed and tried to settle. He failed miserably and ended up curled up with his knees pulled up to his chest. There had to be an explanation. He had to find some way to unwedge that memory... it was just like the whole Nicolas Flamel business in first year, he thought desperately. Just like it. I must have read it somewhere. What have I read recently?

But with all the reading in the library, studying for tests, this train of thoughts got him nowhere. He kept trying to think whether any of the thirty volumes of The Advancement of Magic in the 20th Century had mentioned anything about an evil ring, even though he knew they hadn't.

Finally Harry slipped into a restless sleep, his mind still working furiously in the depths of memory, trying to dig up... something...

***
One Ring to rule them all
Ash nazg durbatuluk
Three rings for the elven-kings....seven for dwarf-lords... nine... nine for...
The Land of... of, of Mordor, where Shadows...
Fly, you fools!
One Ring to find them
Ash nazg gimbatul
I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen --'
I will take the ring... though I do not know the way.
-- of meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been...'
One Ring to bring them all
Thrakatuluk agh
We wants it, my precious, yesss... ach, gollum! gollum!'
It was hot when I first took it, hot as a gelde, and my hand was scorched, so that I doubt if ever again I shall be free of the pain of it--
There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years...'
and in the darkness bind them!
burzum-ishi krimpatul!
ash nazg...
***

Harry woke with a start.
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