**Author's Note** If you read this, please write a review. I want to know
if you like this story or not because if nobody is enjoying it, I'll stop
posting. Thanks
Disclaimer - Obviously I didn't make up the characters that are in J. K. Rowling's books but this is just a fanfic with the plot totally and completely original. It makes references to characters and situations from the books and the descriptions are similar to those in the book but they are original as well.
Chapter Six: Spelling Trouble
"I thought you really did get lost," Hermione said as Oscie walked up to the large group of students waiting outside the Divination door.
"I would have been if Walt hadn't shown me where the classroom was," she laughed. Hermione frowned.
"Walt.Frost?" she asked; Oscie nodded. "He's only the most sought- after boy in the entire school!"
"I didn't know that, but I do know that he likes long walks outside, friendly people, and plans to be an author," Oscie replied. "I must say he definitely is quite nice but I didn't spend the whole time with him. I went off by myself for a while for some.er, fresh air."
"I absolutely cannot believe that you spent part of the evening with him. Every girl in this school has fancied him at one time or another and most of them haven't even been given the time of day by him," Hermione stated as they walked into the classroom. The entire room was bewitched to look like a part of the forest near Hogwarts and even the ground was covered in grass. At one side of the patch was a centaur staring up at the ceiling that was actually the night sky.
"Welcome, Harry Potter," Firenze said as Harry passed by him and Harry returned the greeting.
"You didn't tell me our teacher was a centaur," Oscie whispered as she and Hermione sat on a patch of grass next to Ron and Harry.
"Sorry," Hermione replied in a whisper. "He was new to our school last year and since he can't go back to the Forbidden Forest he decided to stay." The class laid back on the grass and stared up at the stars to examine them during the class period.
Oscie noticed two Gryffindors, Lavender and Parvati, whispering with one another and staring more at the Firenze than at the stars. She smiled to herself at their obvious interest and then resumed the star gazing.
A month at Hogwarts went by without anything exuberating or out of the ordinary happening. Harry still wasn't talking much and even got in a few quarrels with Ron, Hermione, and a sometimes even with Oscie. Draco continued to pursue Oscie and she even sat at the Slytherin table once a week, getting to know Crabbe and Goyle as well as anyone could since they didn't talk much. Potions was going downhill since Snape's new target of ridicule was Oscie and she wouldn't let herself be insulted, resulting in a loss of fifty points to Gryffindor in one month by her alone. The only plus side so far was that Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Oscie were becoming close friends and were able to confide in one another.
"I've decided to go talk to Snape and try and get him to come to his senses. I know it won't work but I might be able to get Gryffindor to stop losing points on my account because I obviously can't let him walk on me," Oscie said as she and Hermione were walking down the stairs together.
"You do realize it's not worth it, don't you?" Hermione replied. "He won't ever give in to anything, especially to the niece of a man he despises."
They turned the corner of a corridor and found Harry and Draco standing there facing one another with wands out. Hermione and Oscie hurried down the empty hall to see what the problem was.
"This is their first time alone since what happened last year at the Ministry of Magic and this can't be good," Hermione said as they jogged forward.
"Your father deserves to be in prison but got off because of a bribe!" Harry was snarling as they walked up, but were undetected by the two boys since they were involved in their argument.
"My father is where he should be at my own house but I can't say the same for your godfather," Draco spat. Oscie realized that something bad was going to happen and jumped between the two.
"No!" she screamed, but it was too late. At that moment two curses were shot from both wands but they didn't hit the intended targets. Oscie fell to the floor with a yelp as she was hit full blast with two different spells.
"Oscie," Draco gasped and Hermione shrieked. All three stood stunned for a moment and then rushed to her side to check on her.
"I.didn't.she just appeared.I can't believe.I wouldn't ever.not on purpose," were being muttered from Draco as he, Hermione, and Harry were checking on Oscie.
"Shut up, Draco! You've already done enough!" Hermione said savagely. "One of you help me get her to the hospital wing!" Draco immediately lifted Oscie since she was unable to walk and carried her down the hallways. Her face was a blur of black splotches and boils were breaking out all over her arms. Harry and Hermione walked on either side of Draco as they hurried to the hospital. A few people in the halls stopped to stare and a few laughed or talked in hushed whispers as they passed.
The group of four burst into the hospital wing and immediately caught Madam Pomfrey's attention with their odd appearance; one looking very nervous, two slightly shaken, and one looking nothing like herself.
"Set her down on that bed," Madam Promfrey commanded. Draco did as she said and the gray-haired nurse began to examine Oscie.
"Oh my. This doesn't look good," she muttered to herself. "Now how did this happen? What spells were used?" There was silence as Hermione looked between Draco and Harry who both seemed unwilling to speak or blame the other one.
"Well Oscie and I came across Draco and Harry in the hall and." Hermione began but her voice faded out as she waited for one of the others to speak and tell the story.
"It was my fault," Oscie said. Nobody had realized she had come to. "They were practicing spells and I tripped, falling right in the way of them."
"Practicing spells in the hallway! You two should know better! Insane students.not knowing anything.getting injured." Madam Pomfrey was saying as she bustled about getting medicines from around the hospital wing. She came back and had Oscie drink an entire glass of a disgusting tonic.
"That should stop the pain. I'm afraid there is nothing to do but wait for the spells to wear off, which may take a few days," the nurse stated. "Try and get some rest and you three keep your wands in your robes." Madam Pomfrey walked off to her office leaving them alone in the large room.
"You didn't have to cover for him," Harry said, glaring at Draco.
"I noticed you didn't seem to want to place the blame, Potter. Why blame her when you helped cover for me as well," Draco replied with a sneer.
"Would you both just quit?" Hermione asked, exasperated.
"I've got to be going," Draco stated, still glaring at Hermione and Harry. "I hope you get well soon and I might visit you when the company is more civilized."
"Thanks for getting me here," Oscie replied. He nodded and left the hospital wing. Hermione sat down on the edge of the bed and Harry sank into a chair next to the bed.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, all the anger had left her voice.
"I feel like a pile of dragon dung," Oscie replied. She tried to smile but her face was too disfigured at the moment to move that much.
"I'm sorry," Harry said.
"Oh, it's okay. I could have let you two go at it but I figured a little time in the hospital wing would do me some good. Besides, I needed to meet Madam Pomfrey anyway," Oscie replied in a happy tone, trying to be optimistic.
"What started the argument?" Hermione questioned.
"I did," Harry replied. "He was there and he got out of going to prison by bribing them! He aided in the death of Sirius but of course they don't care because he's supposedly a fugitive!"
"Draco's father isn't in prison?" Oscie asked in shock.
"Oh! We should have told you but Hagrid told us when we visited him without you. I didn't realize we hadn't said anything," Hermione explained.
"What ever happened to justice? I know these are dark times and all but just because a wizard has pure blood and a vault full of galleons shouldn't mean he gets to walk free!" Oscie exclaimed, appalled.
"Justice was thrown out the window. He's a personal friend of Fudge, the Minister himself," Harry replied bitterly.
"I didn't get enough sleep," Ron said through a yawn as he sat in front of his breakfast, not eating it. The group had stayed up late doing a few essays for their classes since Oscie had just gotten out of the hospital wing and was extremely behind in her class work.
"Watch out," Hermione warned as a letter dropped in front of Oscie and a newspaper fell in the middle of the four friends. It was mail time and the owls were swooping into the Great Hall in an immense number to drop off the letters and packages to the students.
"Ugh," Oscie complained as she pulled the letter out of the center of her untouched plate of food. The envelope had a few spots of food on it but the letter inside was intact. She opened it while Harry picked up The Daily Prophet.
"It's happened," Harry stated. Oscie set down her letter and they all turned towards him. "An entire wizard family was found in their house dead and all killed by the only curse that can kill. It says here that someone broke into their house and cornered them all in the living room and only after torturing them with the unforgivable curses did they kill them."
"Whose family was it?" Ron questioned, slightly frightened as he thought of his own family.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt's," Harry replied. "They must have found out he was in The Order." Hermione, Ron, and Oscie looked dumbfounded.
"But.how?" Hermione stammered.
"They don't know why they targeted him," Harry replied after scanning the rest of the article.
"Voldemort's first strike since the end of last year," Oscie said quietly. "Maybe he's trying to target the members of The Order to dwindle down the devoted wizards and witches." A wave of terror passed over Ron's face.
"You may be right, but I hope beyond all hope that you aren't," Hermione replied. The mood in the Great Hall seemed to have been shadowed by the headlines and it was quieter than usual. Many heads were bent together around the room over issues of the newspaper. A sinking feeling was in the pit of Oscie's stomach and by the look on the faces of her friends, they had the same feeling. They had known Kingsley and he was a magnificent auror, meaning that if he could be cornered and killed, anyone could.
Oscie had forgotten about the letter she had received and now took the silence around her as opportunity to read it.
Loup,
Tonya got caught! Last night she was around our favorite tree and I'm not sure on the details, all I know is that she's now back in California and her wand has been split. Oh, Oz.why didn't we think about this more before we did it? She didn't say anything about us and went down on her own but I feel so guilty. I convinced you two to do it. I'm so sorry and I just want you to be very careful.
Love,
Cerf
"Oh my gosh," Oscie gasped. Her hand shook as she set the letter on the table feeling even sicker than before as the feeling in her stomach increased.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked since he was sitting next to her and was the only one who could hear her.
"My.my friend," Oscie said. "She got kicked out of school. She can't be a witch."
"But why'd she get kicked out?" Ron asked. Oscie looked at her friends and yearned to tell them but realized she was in the middle of the Great Hall and anyone could be listening in.
"I'll have to tell you later," she said.
"Why don't we go for a walk and you can talk to us?" Ron suggested.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts is about to start and we don't have time. I'll tell you, but only once we're completely alone," Oscie replied, looking completely ill.
Defense Against the Dark Arts felt as though it too ages to be over that day. Professor Tucker, a teacher appointed by the Ministry of Magic since nobody wanted the job, droned on and on the entire period about the necessity of a strong will to avoid being tricked by any creature. He then assigned them a two parchment essay on will power.
After Defense Against the Dark Arts was Potions and even when Snape commented on the 'imperfections' of Oscie's draught she couldn't bring herself to argue, much to his dismay it seemed. She was too immersed in her own thoughts to even give Snape's ridicule time to register.
"Let's skip lunch and go over near the lake," Hermione suggested as they left the dungeon. All three were anxious to hear Oscie's story so as all the other students headed for the Great Hall they went outside.
They sat silently on the grass near the lake as Ron, Hermione, and Harry waited for Oscie to speak.
"In our third year my friends Tonya, Jen, and I came across an old recipe for a potion. Jen convinced me to make it and I foolishly consented. Well making it wasn't enough.we had to try it to see if it worked and since we started out together, we made a pact to finish what we started together. The potion actually only helped us learn something else and of course I made it right so it worked," Oscie began to explain but she realized that showing them would probably have more effect than just telling them. "Here, I'll show you what the potion helped teach us," Oscie said while standing and walking towards the Forbidden Forest. The others followed her, looking apprehensively around for any onlookers since the forest is off limits.
"Nobody is looking," Hermione said and they quickly dashed into the cover of the trees. They went far enough in so that the grounds were no longer visible and then stopped, facing Oscie.
"I came in here so nobody else can see us," she stated. For a moment they just started at her slender figure outlined by the trees and shrubs but before they knew what had happened, her form shrunk and she was on the ground on all fours.
"You're an animagus!" Ron exclaimed as they stared, wide-eyed, at a large gray wolf. The wolf lifted its head towards them and they could see its gray eyes, unmistakably Oscie's. Just as quick as the transformation occurred the first time it occurred again but this time Oscie now stood where the wolf had been.
"Loup means wolf in French, Cerf means deer, and Tonya was Chevre which is goat. Tonya never was good at details and must not have noticed she was followed or whatever happened. Her being an illegal animagus was an accident waiting to happen and we should have seen that," Oscie explained.
"So that's why you've been going out sometimes right before curfew when it's night out!" Hermione exclaimed as the realization dawned on her face. "You were keeping up with your magic."
"When I found out my uncle was a werewolf I almost laughed at my grandpa. The similarity was too great for it to be a coincidence and even though I'm not proud to say I've broken a million laws and could be expelled and not allowed to do magic, I think there is a reason for it all," Oscie replied.
"You're full of surprises," Harry said, flabbergasted. Oscie shrugged and they left the forest together and went to the Great Hall to at least get something to eat.
"Just make sure you don't tell anyone," Oscie warned as they sat down at the table.
"Tell anyone what?" Ginny, Ron's sister questioned. She was within earshot and had now turned her attention towards the group. Ron's parents had prohibited him from talking with her much since they thought he was having too much influence on her. She had gone with them to the Ministry of Magic at the end of last year to battle Voldemort and so for the summer she had been sent off to her friend's house to stay and be away from her brother. Ginny had even kept her distance at Hogwarts for the most part because she wanted time with her boyfriend and Ron was overprotective.
"Nothing," Ron replied, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Fine, don't tell me anything," she complained. Ron smirked.
"Alright, we won't," he replied simply. Ginny turned her back on him, very put out by his bluntness.
"Maybe we should send an owl to Lupin to see what happened to Kingsley exactly," Harry suggested as they sat around the common room doing their assignments that night. Hermione snorted.
"You know what his response would be? Don't worry about it. Just make sure you stay safe," Hermione replied. "He's not big on telling us stuff we 'shouldn't' know."
"If Sirius were here he'd tell us," Harry mused. He seemed to be coping with Sirius' death better now and was even able to talk about him without getting into a rage and wanting to jinx anything that moved.
"Do you think Hagrid would know?" Oscie questioned as she peered from behind a book at them.
"He might.but it's after curfew," Ron replied.
"I have an invisibility cloak," Harry and Oscie said at the same time. They both looked at each other in shock.
"You have one too?" Harry asked. Oscie nodded. "Mine was a gift from my father."
"Mine was a gift from my grandpa."
"Well that'll work nicely since we'd be hard pressed to fit four under one," Hermione commented. "Want to go get them?"
Oscie and Harry dashed up the staircase and both returned at relatively the same time with their cloaks in hand. Ron and Harry got under one while Hermione and Oscie got under the other. The hall outside the common room was empty and they stopped for a moment outside the painting to talk.
"We'll go first to make sure we don't bump into each other. Take whatever way you want but meet at Hagrid's hut," Harry commanded. The girls could hear faint footsteps walking away from them and after they were out of earshot they began.
"Let's go this way," Hermione whispered as they began their trek to the grounds outside. Nobody was in the corridors and that allowed them to go quickly. Soon they were outside without any problems and they sped across the lawn to Hagrid's hut.
They stopped in front of the large hut and Hermione knocked on the large wooden door.
"Just a minute," the gruff voice of Hagrid stated. After a minute the door opened and the warm glow from his fire lit up the doorstep. "Who's there?"
"It's us Hagrid," Hermione said, still covered in the cloak. Hagrid took a step aside and the two girls passed inside. Fang, Hagrid's dog was sitting on a couch next to Harry and Ron, licking Harry across the face.
"So why've you come?" Hagrid asked as he poured tea into mugs for them.
"Well we were just wondering if you knew any of the particulars about the Shacklebolts," Hermione said. Hagrid eyed them suspiciously and then sat down.
"Didn' ya read 'bout it in the Daily Prophet?" he questioned, handing out the mugs.
"Yes, but it's just a little suspicious. One of The Order attacked and it's Voldemort's first murder since being announced to the wizard community. There has to be some logical reason behind it and it's most likely got something to do with The Order," Oscie replied. Hagrid sighed.
"Yer quick ter notice the gaps," he replied. He took a big gulp of the tea and then continued, "I don' want you to get all riled up 'bout this but You-Know-Who is targeting The Order. He has informants everywhere an' he's tryin' ter get names of them."
"So that's why he hasn't been attacking! He's trying to get rid of the greatest opposition first!" Hermione exclaimed. Hagrid nodded gravely.
"He's also tryin' ter find out the location of the headquarters," Hagrid added. "Not been successful though. Tha's enough questions for now. You four are out past curfew and should be getting' up to bed."
"But Hagrid." Harry began to protest.
"No 'but' Harry. Off you go," Hagrid replied. They put the cloaks back on and after thanking Hagrid they left the hut. The trip back to the common room was just as uneventful for the girls except for Ms. Norris, the caretaker's cat, almost ran into them.
"What do you make of it all?" Harry asked as they stood in the common room about to go up to bed.
"It means all our friends and family are in grave danger," Ron replied. His face was pale and it was obvious he was shaken by the information that his parents were a main target of Voldemort.
Disclaimer - Obviously I didn't make up the characters that are in J. K. Rowling's books but this is just a fanfic with the plot totally and completely original. It makes references to characters and situations from the books and the descriptions are similar to those in the book but they are original as well.
Chapter Six: Spelling Trouble
"I thought you really did get lost," Hermione said as Oscie walked up to the large group of students waiting outside the Divination door.
"I would have been if Walt hadn't shown me where the classroom was," she laughed. Hermione frowned.
"Walt.Frost?" she asked; Oscie nodded. "He's only the most sought- after boy in the entire school!"
"I didn't know that, but I do know that he likes long walks outside, friendly people, and plans to be an author," Oscie replied. "I must say he definitely is quite nice but I didn't spend the whole time with him. I went off by myself for a while for some.er, fresh air."
"I absolutely cannot believe that you spent part of the evening with him. Every girl in this school has fancied him at one time or another and most of them haven't even been given the time of day by him," Hermione stated as they walked into the classroom. The entire room was bewitched to look like a part of the forest near Hogwarts and even the ground was covered in grass. At one side of the patch was a centaur staring up at the ceiling that was actually the night sky.
"Welcome, Harry Potter," Firenze said as Harry passed by him and Harry returned the greeting.
"You didn't tell me our teacher was a centaur," Oscie whispered as she and Hermione sat on a patch of grass next to Ron and Harry.
"Sorry," Hermione replied in a whisper. "He was new to our school last year and since he can't go back to the Forbidden Forest he decided to stay." The class laid back on the grass and stared up at the stars to examine them during the class period.
Oscie noticed two Gryffindors, Lavender and Parvati, whispering with one another and staring more at the Firenze than at the stars. She smiled to herself at their obvious interest and then resumed the star gazing.
A month at Hogwarts went by without anything exuberating or out of the ordinary happening. Harry still wasn't talking much and even got in a few quarrels with Ron, Hermione, and a sometimes even with Oscie. Draco continued to pursue Oscie and she even sat at the Slytherin table once a week, getting to know Crabbe and Goyle as well as anyone could since they didn't talk much. Potions was going downhill since Snape's new target of ridicule was Oscie and she wouldn't let herself be insulted, resulting in a loss of fifty points to Gryffindor in one month by her alone. The only plus side so far was that Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Oscie were becoming close friends and were able to confide in one another.
"I've decided to go talk to Snape and try and get him to come to his senses. I know it won't work but I might be able to get Gryffindor to stop losing points on my account because I obviously can't let him walk on me," Oscie said as she and Hermione were walking down the stairs together.
"You do realize it's not worth it, don't you?" Hermione replied. "He won't ever give in to anything, especially to the niece of a man he despises."
They turned the corner of a corridor and found Harry and Draco standing there facing one another with wands out. Hermione and Oscie hurried down the empty hall to see what the problem was.
"This is their first time alone since what happened last year at the Ministry of Magic and this can't be good," Hermione said as they jogged forward.
"Your father deserves to be in prison but got off because of a bribe!" Harry was snarling as they walked up, but were undetected by the two boys since they were involved in their argument.
"My father is where he should be at my own house but I can't say the same for your godfather," Draco spat. Oscie realized that something bad was going to happen and jumped between the two.
"No!" she screamed, but it was too late. At that moment two curses were shot from both wands but they didn't hit the intended targets. Oscie fell to the floor with a yelp as she was hit full blast with two different spells.
"Oscie," Draco gasped and Hermione shrieked. All three stood stunned for a moment and then rushed to her side to check on her.
"I.didn't.she just appeared.I can't believe.I wouldn't ever.not on purpose," were being muttered from Draco as he, Hermione, and Harry were checking on Oscie.
"Shut up, Draco! You've already done enough!" Hermione said savagely. "One of you help me get her to the hospital wing!" Draco immediately lifted Oscie since she was unable to walk and carried her down the hallways. Her face was a blur of black splotches and boils were breaking out all over her arms. Harry and Hermione walked on either side of Draco as they hurried to the hospital. A few people in the halls stopped to stare and a few laughed or talked in hushed whispers as they passed.
The group of four burst into the hospital wing and immediately caught Madam Pomfrey's attention with their odd appearance; one looking very nervous, two slightly shaken, and one looking nothing like herself.
"Set her down on that bed," Madam Promfrey commanded. Draco did as she said and the gray-haired nurse began to examine Oscie.
"Oh my. This doesn't look good," she muttered to herself. "Now how did this happen? What spells were used?" There was silence as Hermione looked between Draco and Harry who both seemed unwilling to speak or blame the other one.
"Well Oscie and I came across Draco and Harry in the hall and." Hermione began but her voice faded out as she waited for one of the others to speak and tell the story.
"It was my fault," Oscie said. Nobody had realized she had come to. "They were practicing spells and I tripped, falling right in the way of them."
"Practicing spells in the hallway! You two should know better! Insane students.not knowing anything.getting injured." Madam Pomfrey was saying as she bustled about getting medicines from around the hospital wing. She came back and had Oscie drink an entire glass of a disgusting tonic.
"That should stop the pain. I'm afraid there is nothing to do but wait for the spells to wear off, which may take a few days," the nurse stated. "Try and get some rest and you three keep your wands in your robes." Madam Pomfrey walked off to her office leaving them alone in the large room.
"You didn't have to cover for him," Harry said, glaring at Draco.
"I noticed you didn't seem to want to place the blame, Potter. Why blame her when you helped cover for me as well," Draco replied with a sneer.
"Would you both just quit?" Hermione asked, exasperated.
"I've got to be going," Draco stated, still glaring at Hermione and Harry. "I hope you get well soon and I might visit you when the company is more civilized."
"Thanks for getting me here," Oscie replied. He nodded and left the hospital wing. Hermione sat down on the edge of the bed and Harry sank into a chair next to the bed.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, all the anger had left her voice.
"I feel like a pile of dragon dung," Oscie replied. She tried to smile but her face was too disfigured at the moment to move that much.
"I'm sorry," Harry said.
"Oh, it's okay. I could have let you two go at it but I figured a little time in the hospital wing would do me some good. Besides, I needed to meet Madam Pomfrey anyway," Oscie replied in a happy tone, trying to be optimistic.
"What started the argument?" Hermione questioned.
"I did," Harry replied. "He was there and he got out of going to prison by bribing them! He aided in the death of Sirius but of course they don't care because he's supposedly a fugitive!"
"Draco's father isn't in prison?" Oscie asked in shock.
"Oh! We should have told you but Hagrid told us when we visited him without you. I didn't realize we hadn't said anything," Hermione explained.
"What ever happened to justice? I know these are dark times and all but just because a wizard has pure blood and a vault full of galleons shouldn't mean he gets to walk free!" Oscie exclaimed, appalled.
"Justice was thrown out the window. He's a personal friend of Fudge, the Minister himself," Harry replied bitterly.
"I didn't get enough sleep," Ron said through a yawn as he sat in front of his breakfast, not eating it. The group had stayed up late doing a few essays for their classes since Oscie had just gotten out of the hospital wing and was extremely behind in her class work.
"Watch out," Hermione warned as a letter dropped in front of Oscie and a newspaper fell in the middle of the four friends. It was mail time and the owls were swooping into the Great Hall in an immense number to drop off the letters and packages to the students.
"Ugh," Oscie complained as she pulled the letter out of the center of her untouched plate of food. The envelope had a few spots of food on it but the letter inside was intact. She opened it while Harry picked up The Daily Prophet.
"It's happened," Harry stated. Oscie set down her letter and they all turned towards him. "An entire wizard family was found in their house dead and all killed by the only curse that can kill. It says here that someone broke into their house and cornered them all in the living room and only after torturing them with the unforgivable curses did they kill them."
"Whose family was it?" Ron questioned, slightly frightened as he thought of his own family.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt's," Harry replied. "They must have found out he was in The Order." Hermione, Ron, and Oscie looked dumbfounded.
"But.how?" Hermione stammered.
"They don't know why they targeted him," Harry replied after scanning the rest of the article.
"Voldemort's first strike since the end of last year," Oscie said quietly. "Maybe he's trying to target the members of The Order to dwindle down the devoted wizards and witches." A wave of terror passed over Ron's face.
"You may be right, but I hope beyond all hope that you aren't," Hermione replied. The mood in the Great Hall seemed to have been shadowed by the headlines and it was quieter than usual. Many heads were bent together around the room over issues of the newspaper. A sinking feeling was in the pit of Oscie's stomach and by the look on the faces of her friends, they had the same feeling. They had known Kingsley and he was a magnificent auror, meaning that if he could be cornered and killed, anyone could.
Oscie had forgotten about the letter she had received and now took the silence around her as opportunity to read it.
Loup,
Tonya got caught! Last night she was around our favorite tree and I'm not sure on the details, all I know is that she's now back in California and her wand has been split. Oh, Oz.why didn't we think about this more before we did it? She didn't say anything about us and went down on her own but I feel so guilty. I convinced you two to do it. I'm so sorry and I just want you to be very careful.
Love,
Cerf
"Oh my gosh," Oscie gasped. Her hand shook as she set the letter on the table feeling even sicker than before as the feeling in her stomach increased.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked since he was sitting next to her and was the only one who could hear her.
"My.my friend," Oscie said. "She got kicked out of school. She can't be a witch."
"But why'd she get kicked out?" Ron asked. Oscie looked at her friends and yearned to tell them but realized she was in the middle of the Great Hall and anyone could be listening in.
"I'll have to tell you later," she said.
"Why don't we go for a walk and you can talk to us?" Ron suggested.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts is about to start and we don't have time. I'll tell you, but only once we're completely alone," Oscie replied, looking completely ill.
Defense Against the Dark Arts felt as though it too ages to be over that day. Professor Tucker, a teacher appointed by the Ministry of Magic since nobody wanted the job, droned on and on the entire period about the necessity of a strong will to avoid being tricked by any creature. He then assigned them a two parchment essay on will power.
After Defense Against the Dark Arts was Potions and even when Snape commented on the 'imperfections' of Oscie's draught she couldn't bring herself to argue, much to his dismay it seemed. She was too immersed in her own thoughts to even give Snape's ridicule time to register.
"Let's skip lunch and go over near the lake," Hermione suggested as they left the dungeon. All three were anxious to hear Oscie's story so as all the other students headed for the Great Hall they went outside.
They sat silently on the grass near the lake as Ron, Hermione, and Harry waited for Oscie to speak.
"In our third year my friends Tonya, Jen, and I came across an old recipe for a potion. Jen convinced me to make it and I foolishly consented. Well making it wasn't enough.we had to try it to see if it worked and since we started out together, we made a pact to finish what we started together. The potion actually only helped us learn something else and of course I made it right so it worked," Oscie began to explain but she realized that showing them would probably have more effect than just telling them. "Here, I'll show you what the potion helped teach us," Oscie said while standing and walking towards the Forbidden Forest. The others followed her, looking apprehensively around for any onlookers since the forest is off limits.
"Nobody is looking," Hermione said and they quickly dashed into the cover of the trees. They went far enough in so that the grounds were no longer visible and then stopped, facing Oscie.
"I came in here so nobody else can see us," she stated. For a moment they just started at her slender figure outlined by the trees and shrubs but before they knew what had happened, her form shrunk and she was on the ground on all fours.
"You're an animagus!" Ron exclaimed as they stared, wide-eyed, at a large gray wolf. The wolf lifted its head towards them and they could see its gray eyes, unmistakably Oscie's. Just as quick as the transformation occurred the first time it occurred again but this time Oscie now stood where the wolf had been.
"Loup means wolf in French, Cerf means deer, and Tonya was Chevre which is goat. Tonya never was good at details and must not have noticed she was followed or whatever happened. Her being an illegal animagus was an accident waiting to happen and we should have seen that," Oscie explained.
"So that's why you've been going out sometimes right before curfew when it's night out!" Hermione exclaimed as the realization dawned on her face. "You were keeping up with your magic."
"When I found out my uncle was a werewolf I almost laughed at my grandpa. The similarity was too great for it to be a coincidence and even though I'm not proud to say I've broken a million laws and could be expelled and not allowed to do magic, I think there is a reason for it all," Oscie replied.
"You're full of surprises," Harry said, flabbergasted. Oscie shrugged and they left the forest together and went to the Great Hall to at least get something to eat.
"Just make sure you don't tell anyone," Oscie warned as they sat down at the table.
"Tell anyone what?" Ginny, Ron's sister questioned. She was within earshot and had now turned her attention towards the group. Ron's parents had prohibited him from talking with her much since they thought he was having too much influence on her. She had gone with them to the Ministry of Magic at the end of last year to battle Voldemort and so for the summer she had been sent off to her friend's house to stay and be away from her brother. Ginny had even kept her distance at Hogwarts for the most part because she wanted time with her boyfriend and Ron was overprotective.
"Nothing," Ron replied, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Fine, don't tell me anything," she complained. Ron smirked.
"Alright, we won't," he replied simply. Ginny turned her back on him, very put out by his bluntness.
"Maybe we should send an owl to Lupin to see what happened to Kingsley exactly," Harry suggested as they sat around the common room doing their assignments that night. Hermione snorted.
"You know what his response would be? Don't worry about it. Just make sure you stay safe," Hermione replied. "He's not big on telling us stuff we 'shouldn't' know."
"If Sirius were here he'd tell us," Harry mused. He seemed to be coping with Sirius' death better now and was even able to talk about him without getting into a rage and wanting to jinx anything that moved.
"Do you think Hagrid would know?" Oscie questioned as she peered from behind a book at them.
"He might.but it's after curfew," Ron replied.
"I have an invisibility cloak," Harry and Oscie said at the same time. They both looked at each other in shock.
"You have one too?" Harry asked. Oscie nodded. "Mine was a gift from my father."
"Mine was a gift from my grandpa."
"Well that'll work nicely since we'd be hard pressed to fit four under one," Hermione commented. "Want to go get them?"
Oscie and Harry dashed up the staircase and both returned at relatively the same time with their cloaks in hand. Ron and Harry got under one while Hermione and Oscie got under the other. The hall outside the common room was empty and they stopped for a moment outside the painting to talk.
"We'll go first to make sure we don't bump into each other. Take whatever way you want but meet at Hagrid's hut," Harry commanded. The girls could hear faint footsteps walking away from them and after they were out of earshot they began.
"Let's go this way," Hermione whispered as they began their trek to the grounds outside. Nobody was in the corridors and that allowed them to go quickly. Soon they were outside without any problems and they sped across the lawn to Hagrid's hut.
They stopped in front of the large hut and Hermione knocked on the large wooden door.
"Just a minute," the gruff voice of Hagrid stated. After a minute the door opened and the warm glow from his fire lit up the doorstep. "Who's there?"
"It's us Hagrid," Hermione said, still covered in the cloak. Hagrid took a step aside and the two girls passed inside. Fang, Hagrid's dog was sitting on a couch next to Harry and Ron, licking Harry across the face.
"So why've you come?" Hagrid asked as he poured tea into mugs for them.
"Well we were just wondering if you knew any of the particulars about the Shacklebolts," Hermione said. Hagrid eyed them suspiciously and then sat down.
"Didn' ya read 'bout it in the Daily Prophet?" he questioned, handing out the mugs.
"Yes, but it's just a little suspicious. One of The Order attacked and it's Voldemort's first murder since being announced to the wizard community. There has to be some logical reason behind it and it's most likely got something to do with The Order," Oscie replied. Hagrid sighed.
"Yer quick ter notice the gaps," he replied. He took a big gulp of the tea and then continued, "I don' want you to get all riled up 'bout this but You-Know-Who is targeting The Order. He has informants everywhere an' he's tryin' ter get names of them."
"So that's why he hasn't been attacking! He's trying to get rid of the greatest opposition first!" Hermione exclaimed. Hagrid nodded gravely.
"He's also tryin' ter find out the location of the headquarters," Hagrid added. "Not been successful though. Tha's enough questions for now. You four are out past curfew and should be getting' up to bed."
"But Hagrid." Harry began to protest.
"No 'but' Harry. Off you go," Hagrid replied. They put the cloaks back on and after thanking Hagrid they left the hut. The trip back to the common room was just as uneventful for the girls except for Ms. Norris, the caretaker's cat, almost ran into them.
"What do you make of it all?" Harry asked as they stood in the common room about to go up to bed.
"It means all our friends and family are in grave danger," Ron replied. His face was pale and it was obvious he was shaken by the information that his parents were a main target of Voldemort.