Chapter 5: Unseen Snares
The castle was a welcome sight to Kentarre's eyes after hours and hours of cruel, relentless forest. The many lighted lamps in myriad windows twinkled gently at her as if to embrace her once again. But as soothing and comforting as Hogwarts was, it could not make her forget what she came back to do. She made her way past Hagrid's cabin, allowing her cloak to billow around her in the night breeze. A few scraggly clouds drifted past, some of them blinking in front of the moon and making the light on the grounds rather patchy. The front door was cast in an eerie shadow by one particularly large cloud, giving it an ominous sort of feel. But it wasn't enough to thwart Kentarre. She opened them by herself, not even bothering to knock and wait for someone to answer. She figured, the less people who knew she was out of bed, the less people she'd have to explain what she was doing out of bed to. Which came to another reason not to knock: if a teacher did open the door, he or she would certainly give her detention before she even got a chance to explain.
The halls were deathly quiet. Nothing moved except the shadows that were cast by the flickering torches that were posted on the walls every few yards or so. Kentarre glided down the familiar yet invisible pathway to the headmaster's office. The time was 10:15, or so she had been told by the clock in the Entrance Hall. When she arrived at the hidden doorway, the gargoyle's eyes were closed. Kentarre had to tap him on the shoulder, apologize for awakening him, and then give the password to gain entrance. The statue groggily trudged aside to allow her to pass through the door he concealed.
Kentarre rapped softly on the door to Dumbledore's office, which was opened immediately by a very anxious-looking headmaster. "Kentarre," he scolded, "you know you could get in trouble for being out this late. Where have you been that caused you to miss our meeting?" Kentarre replied smoothly, "I apologize, Headmaster, but the thing that caused me to be late simply couldn't wait. I should have sent someone to tell you that I would be late, but I was neglectful. Instead, I bring tidings of the urgent sort. May I come in?" The door was widened to allow for her entrance, and once the door was closed, Professor Dumbledore went to his chair behind his desk and motioned for her to take the one in front. She did and then proceeded to tell him all she could remember of what had happened in the forest since the end of History of Magic class, leaving out the part about Harry, Ron, and Hermione seeing the wraith.
When she was finished, Dumbledore linked his fingers together in thought. "I see," he said after a few moments consideration. "And you didn't see the man's face?"
"No. I thought I recognized his voice, but I couldn't put a name to it."
"Ah. Did you learn anything about this... creature?"
"I learned that it feeds on the blood of the wraiths. Whether that is the only blood it feeds on or not is anybody's guess."
"Well, we will have to inform Hagrid and tell him to put tighter security on the wraiths while they are here. We cannot have this beast swallowing up all the specimens for study, what what?"
"The man also mentioned some master that sent him a letter. I think I have some idea about who this master is, but I cannot be sure."
"Well, I think that we should keep this under wraps. I hope you do not mind if I share this with some of the teachers, hmm?"
"Whatever you feel is best, Professor. I myself will tell no one."
"Well, you do what you have to. But I don't want you going out again this late, do you understand me? Normally, I might understand that you need to procure information, but I cannot have the other students thinking that I am letting you off easy because you are new. As you probably well know, people talk, especially young people." Kentarre discreetly rolled her eyes, making Dumbledore smile wryly. "Which is another reason for you not to tell anyone where you've been tonight, am I right?" She smiled sardonically. "You have my word, Headmaster," she replied. "If there is nothing further you need to know for tonight, I will now retire to the dormitory." The elderly headmaster nodded. "You are free to go, my dear."
When Kentarre got back out into the deserted corridor, she leaned against the wall just outside for a moment, absently rubbing the back of her left hand. The blue rings had disappeared, just as they had always done, and faded into the color of her skin. She sighed; this coverup business was really starting to bug her.
She then heard voices coming towards her from one end of the corridor. "Are they here, my sweet? Can you still smell them?" came a simpering voice that didn't sound familiar, but didn't sound friendly either. Kentarre, not wanting to stick around to find out who the speaker was or whom he was talking to, now slunk silently down the hall away from the voices.
Kentarre realized with a groan that the Gryffindor common room was back that way, where the voices were coming from. She would now have to take the long way and risk being caught by someone else- or she could make herself invisible again. Pausing just on the other side of a suit of armor at an intersection, Kentarre hid her hand under her cloak and repeated the process she had done just moments before in the Forbidden Forest. Now completely unseeable, she doubled back, this time hearing the voice before she even reached Dumbledore's office. "They must be here somewhere, my sweet. Sniff around, we'll find them." Rounding a corner, Kentarre saw the speaker, a bony, sour-faced man whom she had seen cleaning the halls; she had been informed by Fred and George that this man's name was Filch, the caretaker. He had been apparently talking to the cat that was nosing around by his feet. Kentarre almost laughed when she saw the state of the man's dress and hair, but then she remembered that he couldn't see her.
Carefully, making no noise at all, she slipped around to his other side and glided noiselessly past on the opposite side of the comparatively narrow hall. There was one point that the cat looked up directly at her, but Kentarre thought that was due to the fact that cats have a very good sense of smell, and Kentarre had just been out in the forest. There was absolutely no way that the cat could see her; her spell had worked on the shadowy creature she could not name or see.
As she rounded the next corner, she would have breathed a sigh of relief if it had not been for the next obstacle that was just up ahead. Kentarre was facing a long corridor, and down it was a squat man with orange hair who appeared to be very busy with something behind a suit of armor. As Kentarre approached, she could hear him cackling viciously to himself as he worked. Suddenly, he perked, his ears twitching as though he was listening very, very hard but trying not to show it. Kentarre stopped entirely, staring very intently at the back of his head, waiting for him to make a move. Every muscle in her body tensed, ready to counter anything he might do. He turned sharply, his beady little eyes nearly bulging with excitement and his nose almost visibly elongating to sniff out intruders. "Somebody's sneaking and peeking at Peeves, they are," he called out in an irritating voice that sounded as though he had just found out a great secret. "Should tell Filch, I should."
Peeves, or so he called himself, cackled maliciously at this and began to advance down the corridor. He floated about two feet above the ground, his legs crossed as though he were sitting cross-legged on the floor. Kentarre had heard of this little man's antics from her fellow students; this was a poltergeist. Kentarre knew just what to do. Peeves began to taunt again. "I smell naughty taughty students out of bed, I do." Suddenly, a curtain rustled a little further down the hall from where Peeves was drifting. His eyes riveted sharply to that spot, and he cackled triumphantly to himself as he zipped over to the spot and began to poke around. Kentarre, calling upon her skills in stealth that had taken her so long to learn, made a quick getaway as soon as Peeves passed her.
She continued on, meeting no one, and finally Kentarre reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Spotted gryphon," muttered Kentarre, and the painting swung wide to admit her.
The common room inside was dark yet cozy. The fire looked like it had been reduced to smouldering coals hours ago, and was now just a few lit embers. The clock on the mantle told her, however dimly, that it was 12:05. Tempted though she was to stay up later and think in this sanctuary for deep thinkers, Kentarre reluctantly reminded herself that the week was not over yet. Giving a few last longing looks at her wonderfully silent surroundings, she swished across the room and up the girls' staircase.
The dormitory, though just as dark as the room below, was a little less complete where the silence came in. Kentarre looked over at her bed, silhouetted in the moonlight streaming in from the window behind it. Thus, instead of climbing through the velvet drapes, she sidestepped the bed and emerged on the other side, stopping to bathe fully in the silver moonlight. There was no breeze tonight; the trees of the Forbidden Forest stood stolid and also doused in the pale light of the moon. Hagrid's cabin, so small from this height, was now covered in a light sprinkling of frost, a reminder to all that winter was fast approaching, and with it, that white sprinkling that most people liked to call snow.
Kentarre breathed in a rush of cold air, and then blew it all out, watching her cloud of breath huff away from her and dissipate. She walked a bit closer to the window, close enough to lean out over the sill. All around was quiet, save for the occasional hoot of an owl just on its way to the Owlery. *I wonder where that unnamed creature is now,* she thought. *It probably has a lot more free range, now that it's dark. Though that shouldn't be much different than the light of the place it came from.*
Now that Kentarre looked back, which she seldom did, she realized that this was a preferable position to be in. Someone might contradict her, saying that there were far too many troubles in this time. Yet, Kentarre would tell them that it was far better to have troubles than to live in a world completely void of problems to solve. Kentarre should know; she had lived in that world before, and it was extremely uncomfortable: there was too much worry about why nothing was happening. Kentarre had told others before that she'd much rather worry about why something was happening than worry about why something was not, and it was still true to this day.
A cry in the dark, then a dark shape began to make its way towards Kentarre's window. Nemesis shortly landed on Kentarre's awaiting arm. She began to stroke his back feathers absently, having no food to give him and assuming he had found something to eat out somewhere on campus. "Hi, Nemesis," she greeted him. "So, where'd you go? Did you see anything interesting?" Nemesis cooed softly at her petting, and she took that as a "no."
A few more minutes of this temporary bliss left Kentarre's thoughts back home. *I wonder how they're getting along? And I wonder where the others are now.* It would be a whole fortnight before she got the next reports, and she still had a few of her own to make. This new information about the meeting in the Forest had to be spread; her friends didn't like to be kept in the dark. *I'll have to make the reports tomorrow,* she resolved. *They wouldn't get them until tommorow anyway if I sent them now.*
Bidding goodbye and goodnight to Nemesis, she turned reluctantly away from the window and the blessed light of the moon. *Now that we've found out some other things about what we're dealing with, it shouldn't be long until we can make something of it.* Kentarre already had some ideas about what was going on; all she needed was confirmation.
As her eyes focused to the darkness in the room, she briefly caught the movement of one of the girls' drapes around her bed. Being a bit disoriented, Kentarre couldn't tell whose bed it was, but it was probably just someone twitching in their sleep. Kentarre now got into her own bed, drawing the curtains tightly around. She then proceeded to make ready for sleep, finally draping her cloak over her and trying to ignore the fact that it had a few leaves still clinging to it. No doubt she would have to come up with some kind of explanation as to what happened after she went into the Forest to tell to Harry and his friends. But she would come up with that tomorrow. For now, sleep, a reprieve, however temporary, from this world and its complications.
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"Oh, fumblefeathers, I just don't know what to do with myself!" complained Ron one Saturday morning. They had sat in the common room for a couple of hours now, watching Fred and George cause a huge commotion by antagonizing the small yet pompous prefect, first by feeding him a Canary Cream, now a huge marketing business, then by bewitching his pointed cap to engage in swirls of color every time he turned his head. "That spell's a new development," confided George in one of the few lapses in the constant noise. "We've been dying to find someone to try it out on." He gave another devilish grin in the direction of the frustrated boy, whose name had turned out to be Chester. Kentarre couldn't help but laugh at him; he was utterly pathetic in every way, and he wasn't very good at hiding it. Harry and Ron had much the same reaction, but they had decided to engage in a game of wizard's chess, and weren't paying much attention. Kentarre, who had made a prediction on the outcome of the game only a few minutes before, was now staring intently into the fire, consumed by her thoughts about the previous night's action. *I tried doing some research in the library, but even there my time is limited for fear that someone will figure out what I'm trying to do. It's not likely, but I don't want to take any chances. The Potter boy and his friends are enough to hide from, but if someone else saw me go into the woods... I mean, I didn't exactly leave discreetly.* Kentarre groaned inwardly as she remembered how she had fled the castle in a rush, and everyone had stared at her. *There's a very high possibility that someone else has guessed what's happening, and if they haven't guessed what's happening, they might have guessed that something is happening, so I should still be careful.*
The chess game was over; Ron had won (as Kentarre had foretold). Kentarre, before the game had begun, had noticed that Harry's set's attitude was on the mutinous side, and she had also noted that Ron's set simply looked more seasoned. Harry later confided that his set had been acquired from a pulled wizard cracker, and had never served him very well.
The boy Chester was sitting in an armchair now, a look of complete exhaustion splayed across his features. One hand supported his head, with fingers resting on his brow and his thumb pressed against his cheek. Kentarre watched him with growing amusement. Fred and George apparently had complete control of the common room now; it was clear that the new prefect would do no more to stop them until he caught his breath, and by then it would be too late. They could already run circles around him. Kentarre thought fervently, *This might be useful in the future for quick exits, and I'm certainly not going to do anything to stop them. Besides, it's kinda funny.*
Kentarre stood and went to the window. There was no one sitting there because the window made the air around it rather cold. She couldn't see much through the window, and for a bit she was tempted to go up to her own window in the dormitory. From what she could see, the grounds below were quiet and still, which was strange, because there were usually people milling around outside at this time of day. For a split- second, she wanted to be out on the grounds, wandering around, watching and waiting for another appearance from the strange creature. Kentarre had spent many of the past few hours in deep thought about the animal, if that's what it was, and had come up with several possibilities; that it was a creature from another world, that it was something not yet discovered by man, or that it had been raised up from the Netherworld. None seemed too plausible, which is why Kentarre had been to the library.
Just then, a voice spoke from around her right shoulder. "Do you want to come with us to see Hagrid after lunch?" It was Harry. Kentarre gave him a long look. "All right," she replied. "I'll ask him about the wraith that I found. Maybe he'll know something."
"Good idea. Speaking of which, what did you find when you went out there?" asked Harry, lowering his voice.
"Nothing much. Just more drops of blood. It seemed to go on forever, until I came to a place where the trees formed a kind of wall. The blood trickled on through two of those trees. There were only a few gaps in the wall, and even those were too small for anyone to get through, so I turned back." Well, it wasn't exactly true, but she wasn't about to tell him the truth.
"Oh. Okay."
Seeming satisfied, Harry turned back and challenged Ron to just one more game before they went down for lunch. Ron accepted; Kentarre watched this game through to the end. It culminated almost the exact same way; Ron won by a fair amount. Then the trio got up and exited via the painting. "Where's Hermione?" asked Ron. Harry replied, "Oh, she said she would be in the library, but that she'd meet us for lunch so we can go see Hagrid together." Kentarre's ears perked. *Wonder what she's doing in the library,* she thought darkly. *There isn't anything in there that would let her know too much, but...* Kentarre couldn't resist the wave of dread that swept over her, but she tried not to let her face show it. Instead, she put on her customary scowl and continued on down the corridor.
Lunch was very noisy; the entire Great Hall seemed to be able to think about one thing: the Quidditch game this Friday. Kentarre herself wasn't that enthusiastic, but since Harry would be playing, she would go just to make him feel better. Under normal circumstances, Kentarre would see this as a perfect opportunity to have the common room and the library to herself, but this time she steeled herself and told Harry that she would be there. *I'll just write them during the next Quidditch game,* she told herself, and continued to stare at her plate.
*I wonder just how much Hagrid knows about those wraiths,* she pondered. Nevertheless, there was simply no other way to find out about them; the library's resources, though vast, simply didn't carry any information about what might eat them. Rather, it informed one about what it ate.
Hermione's voice broke Kentarre's train of thought. "Aren't you going to eat?" she asked, a tinge of concern staining her voice. Kentarre replied coldly, "No," and that seemed to end things, for Hermione shrugged and went back to her own plate. Kentarre had noticed that Hermione seemed completely uninterested when it came to Quidditch, but that no one had asked her yet if she would come to the game, as if that was inevitable.
Inwardly, Kentarre wanted to find an excuse not to go to the Quidditch game, but there was already none to be found. Besides, she told herself, she had promised Harry, and though it meant very little to her if something came up, she wasn't sure how much it meant to Harry. So she would have some trouble finding an excuse that he wouldn't think was a farce to get out of it. She couldn't have him suspecting her- not now, when she most needed to be trusted. *Trust,* she grumbled, *such a bothersome thing. Hard to gain, easy to break, and nearly impossible to put back together again. I'd just as soon do this without it.* But she knew that, no matter how much she griped, trust was something to be gained and kept, especially now. *Hmmph. Dumbledore's trust was easy to gain once he knew who I was. Unfortunately, Harry will not be so easy because of what he does not know.* Kentarre frowned. *If only there were some way... but that would mean causing a disruption. I can't allow it to go that far. There must be a way!* Kentarre's concentration was suddenly disturbed by a loud bang from somewhere else in the Hall. Several people laughed, and a few stood up to see what was up. Some kid from the Ravenclaw table had just had his boiled potatoes exploded in his face, and he was now looking around in shock and trying to get his face wiped clean. Some of it had stuck in clumps to his dark brown hair, and a few lumps had splattered his robes, but most of it had found its way to his face, which was completely unrecognizeable through the mush. Harry and Ron were chuckling at the practical joke, but none harder than Fred and George Weasley, who were nearly doubled over in their chairs. Kentarre turned back to her food, but not without an approving smile in the red haired twins' direction. *That was entertaining,* she thought with another smile, *but I have more important matters to attend to.*
Kentarre got up from her chair, grateful for the distraction as a coverup; no one noticed her leaving. Her intent was unknown to all but her, for no one could possibly have predicted where she went next; her path went up the marble staircase from the Entrance Hall, down a few other corridors leading from that, all the way to the Gryffindor common room. The Fat Lady, she discovered, was off somewhere, presumably visiting a few of her friends. Cursing, Kentarre briskly swept away in a fury, intending to find some way to get into that dormitory.
A way appeared to her scope of possibilities a moment later; if she could somehow get out of the window and climb up to find the dorm window that was by her bed, that would be ideal. A smile curled her small, naturally downturned mouth, and she made for the broad window that was nearest her. Checking around to see that no one was near, she opened it and leaned out to see her prospects for climbing. The stone outside the window was rather smoothed from wear, but it was still rocky enough that, with a little help, it would be surmountable. Kentarre got up on the windowsill and prepared to spring up towards a jutting stone that looked promising. She leapt and was able to grip it, pulling herself up and finding another handhold. She had at first received a shock because of how cold the stone was, and it was no wonder at this time of year. The first snow was expected any day now; it was early November.
Kentarre climbed higher and higher, her determination overcoming her icy fingers. *I will reach that window,* she told herself just as she began to lose feeling in her fingers. Kentarre gritted her teeth as her hand slipped on a wet stone, and kept going.
It wasn't easy climbing sideways. The window to the girls' dormitory was in the top of one of the Gryffindor towers, the one nearest her, which was a blessing in disguise. The window, just getting in sight, was closed, as she had expected it to be.
Kentarre finally reached the window. Placing her left hand over its smooth surface, she opened it with a brief flash of blue. She hurriedly climbed in the window, shutting it behind her with not a shiver. Then the steel haired girl, her purpose never lost, began rummaging in her trunk for something, making great haste because any minute lunch period would be over, and she would have to leave to go to Hagrid's. Shortly, she apparently found what she was looking for, because she stood back up and held something up to the light. Nodding in approval, Kentarre went down the stairs to the common room below. *Just because it won't let me in, there's no reason whatsoever for it not to let me out,* she reasoned. And she was right; she shoved open the painting with no trouble at all.
Once out in the hall, Kentarre looked around fervently and quietly concealed the item in her robe, slipping it into the breast pocket of her robe and out of sight. Then she started off down the hall, making her way back towards the Great Hall. Kentarre's face formed her usual don't-ask-any-questions-if-you-don't-want-your-face-smashed-in expression. That usually served very well for just that purpose.
Back in the Great Hall, the noise level had returned to normal. Kentarre guessed that the hysterics over the potato episode had died down, and she was right; everyone had returned to their meals and their own frivolous conversations. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had certainly done just that. When Kentarre sat down, Ron had been saying, "When are we going to find time to do all of this homework we've got! I think this is the most that McGonagall has ever given us on a weekend!"
Harry interrupted Ron and said to Kentarre, "Where'd you go? One minute you were here, and the next you had vanished!" *Ha,* exulted Kentarre, *so it worked. They didn't notice.* To Harry, she said nothing, deciding to leave him in suspense and make him think she didn't want to talk. To her chagrin, he decided to persue the subject, but she still did not answer him. "Well? Where'd you go?" he said, a bit louder. Kentarre knew that he had just realized that he was getting nowhere, and she caught herself just before she smiled to herself. Before this, she hadn't dared, but now she snuck a glance over in Harry's direction. He was apparently having an internal conflict, and Kentarre had a feeling she knew what that was about, so she went ahead and let him.
Harry finally went back to his meal, having clearly opted to say nothing else on that subject. Kentarre smirked inwardly. *His conscience clearly has a strong hold on him. I'd better watch out for that. I don't want any surprises.*
The bell rang, and following that was a shuffling of feet and a scraping of chairs on the floor as everyone groaned to their feet and made their way towards the door. No one had their bags with them, because it was Saturday, so the crowd was a bit thinner than usual, but there were just as many people, and most of them were talking about other things. Harry and his gang were saying that they would go up to the dormitory to get their coats, and Kentarre said, "I'll stay down here and wait for you to get back." She would have told them about the Fat Lady's abscence, but that would tell them where she had been, and she didn't feel like telling them just now. So while they went up the marble staircase, Kentarre found a less populated place by the foot of it to wait. She glared at people on their way out, just to make sure they let her alone. It worked marvelously; students took one look at her and quickly looked the other way, suggesting to their friends something else to do rather than stick around here. Kentarre chuckled to herself. *It's amazing how frightening you can look with a little practice.*
Just then, Malfoy and his posse came out of the Great Hall. He spotted Kentarre at the base of the staircase and sauntered right on up. "What do you want, Malfoy? I don't have time to play games with you right now, kid, so just buzz off," she said scathingly. "Ooh, a bit touchy today, aren't we, Hisakata?" he taunted, but she knew better than to take his bait. "I didn't stutter, Malfoy," she growled. "Take off."
"Oh, but I have no intention of doing that. Besides, this isn't your piece of floor, so I'll stand on it if I like."
"No objection about the floor, but if you like it so much, by all means, stomp all over it. But don't get in my way."
"Or what? You'll get your pet Potter to come and beat me up for you? Hmm, should I be scared?"
"No, actually, I'll do it myself. Potter's got enough on his plate now. Besides, I'd like a little exercise."
"Is that a threat, Hisakata? You can get in trouble for that, you know."
"Not as much trouble as I'll be in when I get finished smashing your head in, Malfoy."
"And what will you tell the headmaster when you do? That I was violating your space? That's likely."
"That's just like you, Malfoy, you always have to hide behind somebody, first your father, then Snape, and then Dumbledore. Who next, the Minister of Magic?"
"Why I should-"
A new voice popped in. "What's going on, Kentarre?" It was Harry. Ron and Hermione were just behind him. "Ah, Potter," said Malfoy, "you're just in time to see your friend Hisakata here get her lights knocked out."
"You know, Malfoy, you may be mistaken. I think that yours will be the lights going out."
"I can take both of you on, Potter."
"Would you like to wager on that one?"
"No, actually, I'd like to show you."
"Well, we're all here to see. Let's go."
Another voice sounded out. "What is going on here?" This time, it was Professor McGonagall, looking very sternly at them down her nose. "Hisakata was threatening me, Professor," said Malfoy. "He was getting in my face," countered Kentarre. "I was standing here waiting for Potter to get back, and Malfoy decided he wanted to 'talk.'"
"That's still no excuse, for either of you. I suggest that you all go outside and get some fresh air before you get some detention."
"Yes, Professor," grumbled the group, and they started off to do just that. Harry led the way down to Hagrid's cabin, while Malfoy gave them smug looks before turning off to go his way with Crabbe and Goyle in tow.
Hagrid's cabin was very frosted-over, but when Hagrid opened the door, a wave of warm air escaped through the door, making them all feel very comfortable for a moment. "Well, c'mon in!" boomed Hagrid. "I was wonderin' when you three- wait, four- was goin' t' come an' see me!"
They went inside and hurriedly closed the door behind them. Kentarre, who had never seen the inside of Hagrid's cabin before, got a good look around. There was a rather large bed in one corner, a fireplace with a blaze glowing from it, a table that came up to Kentarre's chest, and a stove in another corner, which was dark.
Hagrid passed around some tea cakes that were a bit on the stale side, but Kentarre played along with the rest of them and pretended to eat them. *The good part will come later,* she told herself.
The conversation went from one thing to another, first Quidditch, then mischief-making, then to Fred and George, and then Kentarre had had enough. Very abrutply, she said, "Hagrid, how much do you know about those wraiths?" He looked rather surprised, but replied, "Well, I'd reckon jus' a bit. Why d'yeh want t' know?" She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "What kind of thing eats them?" Hagrid looked doubly surprised. "Well... I never heard o' anythin' what could eat a wraith afore, but that don' mean there isn't anythin'. Now, I heard o' a few wraiths disappearin', but I'm not sure that's got anythin' to do with this."
Kentarre perked. "What happened that time?"
"Well, as far as I know, th' only thing that happened was a few people found a couple of 'em dead with some nasty cuts... blood all over th' place, and not a trace o' the culprit."
"Hmmm. Interesting. That sounds exactly the same as what happened to your wraith just the other day."
"Oh, yeah, abou' that. Dumbledore tol' me that if anyone came by who'd found out abou' it, that they shouldn't tell anyone else."
"Believe me, Hagrid, I have no intentions of letting anyone else know. Thanks a lot."
"Jus' one thing, though. How'd yeh find out abou' the wraith in th' firs' place?"
"I found it at the edge of the Forbidden Forest just a few minutes after it happened."
"Yeh didn't find anythin', well, out o' the ordinary, did yeh?"
"Just a trail of black blood. It looked like the wraith did some fighting before it went."
"Oh. Well, if that's all, then I guess yeh'd better be headin' on back t' the castle. It's almost time fer dinner."
"Goodbye, Hagrid. Thanks again."
They left the cheerful little hut in silence. It was Harry who finally broke it. "What do you think it was that killed the wraith?" he asked Kentarre, noting her set jaw and pensive eyes. She said nothing, knowing that she had nothing to tell him. He waited for a minute to see if she would reply, and then apparently he realized that she wasn't going to tell him. He exchanged glances with Ron and Hermione; the former's face had raised eyebrows and questioning eyes, the latter's expression was similar to Kentarre's.
They got to the castle and walked in the front door. The inside was very warm, and smells of dinner wafted towards them from the Great Hall before them. The others breathed in deeply; Kentarre veered off to a side corridor- the one leading to the library. No one said anything to her, for they saw that she had a purpose in mind just by the way she strode. She didn't really expect to run into any problems on the way; she had never considered that the librarian would give her so much trouble. However, Madam Pince did intercept her. "And where do you think you're going?" she snapped at Kentarre. "It's dinner time. You're supposed to be in the Great Hall! And you listen when one of your elders speaks to you!"
"Out of my way, woman. Today is not the day to mess with me," said Kentarre in a deadly quiet voice. That wouldn't thwart Madam Pince, however. "You look here, girl," said the librarian, who now looked more like a vulture who'd found a dying animal that simply refused to die and be eaten, "I won't tolerate any of that from you. I may not be a teacher, but I can have one here in a flash who'll give you detention so fast it'll make your head spin. Now, for the last time, go back to the Great Hall!" Kentarre curled her lip, but held her tongue. *Damn that woman. Why won't she just get out of my way?!* The furious girl swept angrily off back down the hall. *Well, it's not like she's going to follow me to make sure I go where she told me to. All she wanted was for me to be out of the library.* After a few alterations in her course, she found herself in front of the Fat Lady. "Unicorn feather," she snapped, and the Fat Lady replied, "If you say so." The painting swung open, and Kentarre zipped inside.
Once in, she sighed. *Finally alone.* But instead of collapsing down into one of the armchairs, she began pacing the floor. The fire smouldered in the hearth, and the room was warmer than she had expected, but she just barely noticed. Her mind was doing somersaults as her feet took her back and forth, back and forth. *What does all this mean?* she asked herself. *Why do I feel that there's someone here at the castle who knows what's going on?* And then something clicked inside her head, but the idea that followed it was so absurd, so totally off track that she almost ignored it. Jycein. He might know something. Kentarre stopped pacing for a moment and thought about it. She decided that asking him up front would get her nowhere. *He probably does know something. After all, he knew who I was.* But how much did he know? He hadn't known why she was here; maybe he was a lost cause. *I'm going to watch that man. Whenever he twitches, I'll be ready. If he twitches.*
Kentarre then thought of all the other people she was going to watch; Snape came at the top, then Malfoy, then Jycein, then Dumbledore. It was plain to see why the others should be watched, but Dumbledore needed to be observed for a different reason. If Dumbledore had a hunch, she had a feeling he would act on it, but very, very privately. She would almost have to confront him herself in order to know what he was up to, for she was certain he was up to something. He had a way of knowing everything that went on around the castle; he was, after all, Headmaster. Kentarre frowned. *How much of Dumbledore's help am I willing to accept? How much will he give me? Will I be able to work with him, or will I be forced to work around him? How much of this can he handle? And how much will he believe?* Kentarre told herself that this point was not that crucial. The wraith and the unseen creature that maimed it were the more pressing problem.
Then Kentarre decided that classtime would be the best time to observe the wraiths without arising any suspicion. *If I can't find any good resources, then I'll have to go right to the subject.* Gods, how she craved a computer! Back in America, she had been able to find information about anything she wanted. Now, where electrical contraptions were completely useless, she had to rely on the vast yet selective resources of the school library. *I wonder if there's a book about wraiths in the Restricted Section of the library. Hagrid would probably give me permission to get it.* Kentarre resolved to try this the next chance she got.
Apparently, dinner was over, because at that moment, the portrait swung open, interrupting Kentarre's pensivity. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Parvati, Fred, George, Lee, Alicia, and Ginny all walked in through the entrance. Kentarre immediately headed up to the girls' dormitory; if she couldn't be completely alone, she would go for second best. Kentarre felt Harry's eyes- among others- boring into her, watching her as she disappeared from sight. *Wait a minute,* she told herself, and she paused a moment. She wanted to hear what was going on in there. *If ever there was a time to eavesdrop, that time is now.* Kentarre went all the way up the stairs, opened the door at the top, and shut it, good and hard. Then she held up her left fist; after a brief show of blue sparks, the silver haired missionary was completely invisible to the naked eye. She slunk back downstairs and silently stowed away to the far reaches of the common room, certain not to be heard, seen, or otherwise detected. From her position, she couldn't hear every conversation that went on, but the one she was most interested in was right nearby. Sitting in armchairs not five feet in front of her were Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Their conversation was rather easy to hear, and that was all she needed.
Hermione had just asked the boys, "What do you think happened to that wraith?"
Ron said, "I dunno. I mean, she sounded like she knew what she was talking about, and you have to admit, it's kinda likely. Just about anything could live in the Forbidden Forest."
"Yeah," agreed Harry, "but it just doesn't make sense. Why would anyone choose now to loose that thing on the wraiths?"
"That's a good question. Maybe it's not who we think it is."
"Well, who else would it be? I mean, there's no evidence that it's not."
"At any rate, we should still investigate. I can't believe we haven't before now. This is serious. I wonder if that trail of blood is still there..."
"Well, we can't go check it out in broad daylight because someone will see us and we'll be in more trouble than we've ever been in."
Ron snorted. "And I thought that for once we might have a normal year. So when do we go?"
Harry cut in. "Wait, wait a minute. Why are we getting involved? This is not our problem, right? Besides, Kentarre seems well up to handling it."
Hermione said, "You don't know that. I think we should at least check it out to make sure it won't become our problem."
Ron input, "Well, if you two can agree on it, I suppose I'll go along. Not because I agree with Hermione, but because someone's got to keep an eye on you two."
Hermione said, "Well, I don't see any harm in just going to look."
Ron blinked at her. "Wow... I never thought I'd see the day when she was trying to convince us to do something that could get us in trouble. Anybody got a quill? I gotta write this down..."
It was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes. "What about tomorrow night?" she asked.
Ron said, "I say, let's do it."
Harry cut in. "All right. So it's set for tomorrow night, is it?"
The other two nodded, and the exchange took a different turn. This time the topic was (dun dun dun) Kentarre. "So..." said Harry, "what d'you think Kentarre's up to?"
Ron looked at him. "You mean the way she's so interested in that wraith? Yeah, I was wondering about that too."
Hermione said, "I think that her business is no concern of ours. It is, after all, her business."
"What d'you mean, none of our concern?" asked Harry, a little louder than he had intended.
"Well," said Hermione matter-of-factly, "it has nothing to do with us, and it won't affect us in any way that I can see." *Ha,* thought Kentarre, *it will if everything goes well.*
Ron scratched his head. "I dunno, Hermione... I would kinda like to know why those wraiths are so important to her. I mean, it's no secret why they're important to Hagrid, but why's Kentarre so concerned?"
The group paused in silence, each conjuring up their own idea about what the mysterious girl with strangely colored hair was up to. Kentarre watched Harry's face very intently. His green eyes, illuminated by the dim light of the fire, looked wind-tossed under furrowed black eyebrows.
"At any rate," said Harry, breaking the silence, "we should still go and have a look."
Hermione looked defeated but still disapproving. "All right. But how are we going to get out of the castle?" she inquired, lowering her voice even more.
"My cloak should do the trick. It's covered three of us before."
Ron snorted. "Barely," he grumbled.
Hermione ignored him. "We'll go right after the common room empties."
Kentarre, meanwhile, had not dared to move, lest she make a noise and alert them to her presence- or worse, her overhearing their conversation. She listened now with bated breath, intending to know their plans for their excursion. The subject of talk switched to other things, but Kentarre remained firmly rooted to the spot.
Suddenly, there were some taps at the window. Everyone looked there, and everyone saw a very cold falcon that had a package in its talons. Ron got up to let the bird in, and Kentarre's eyes widened. *Oh, sh-* Nemesis flew straight to her corner and landed on one of the nearby chairs, eyeing his master suspiciously. The entire room was watching the bird, all of them looking very interested, especially Harry's group. Kentarre silently cursed to herself, but she didn't dare move for fear someone would hear. She tried to communicate to the bird to drop the package on her bed, and Nemesis cocked his head but seemed to understand, for he took off up the girls' staircase. Looking around the room, Kentarre saw it was too late. Everyone that was left in the room was giving each other suspicious looks and muttering to themselves about the strangeness. Harry himself wondered aloud, "Why didn't the bird take it up to Kentarre first? Something's going on, here." He got up from his chair and began to slowly walk towards the shadowed corner where Kentarre was hiding, frozen in place. *Damn that bird,* she swore to herself. *He's ruined everything. Ohhh, this is bad.* She tried to ease her way out of the corner, but Potter was advancing too fast. His arms were not so outstretched that she could go under them, but he would eventually touch her, and then it would be really hard to explain. Besides, she didn't want to lose all she had gained in this one night.
Kentarre then saw her exit: one of the chairs was nearby, and it just might be tall enough for her to squeeze under. That was usually a risky maneuver, but what other choice did she have? All the other outlets were blocked- and Harry was fast approaching. Kentarre dropped to the ground without a sound and scooted over to the chair. It was rather narrow, but she could make it. She eased her head under and lay prone. Then she began to slide; her shoulders were the first obstacle, and muscled as they were, they were by far the most difficult. Then came her chest and hips, and then her knees, and her feet. *There.* She was out, but just barely in time, because just as she emerged unseen from the chair, Harry got to the wall. His slim fingers brushed up against the wall before he turned away. All eyes in the room were still on him, which gave Kentarre some cover to slink away back to the staircase.
Once on the other side of the wall, Kentarre stopped and leaned up against the wall, trying to get some air without making noise. That had been close- too close. Well, she had found out what she had wanted to, and no one was the wiser, although some (like Harry) might suspect what she had been up to. Now all that was left was to follow them out on Sunday night without being detected. Kentarre was going to follow them for two reasons; one, so that she might learn any new information that might turn up also, and two, so that she could make sure they didn't get hurt. *Hey, if I'm going to do this job, I'm going to do it right.* Kentarre padded up the stairs. *Now to see what this package is about...*
The castle was a welcome sight to Kentarre's eyes after hours and hours of cruel, relentless forest. The many lighted lamps in myriad windows twinkled gently at her as if to embrace her once again. But as soothing and comforting as Hogwarts was, it could not make her forget what she came back to do. She made her way past Hagrid's cabin, allowing her cloak to billow around her in the night breeze. A few scraggly clouds drifted past, some of them blinking in front of the moon and making the light on the grounds rather patchy. The front door was cast in an eerie shadow by one particularly large cloud, giving it an ominous sort of feel. But it wasn't enough to thwart Kentarre. She opened them by herself, not even bothering to knock and wait for someone to answer. She figured, the less people who knew she was out of bed, the less people she'd have to explain what she was doing out of bed to. Which came to another reason not to knock: if a teacher did open the door, he or she would certainly give her detention before she even got a chance to explain.
The halls were deathly quiet. Nothing moved except the shadows that were cast by the flickering torches that were posted on the walls every few yards or so. Kentarre glided down the familiar yet invisible pathway to the headmaster's office. The time was 10:15, or so she had been told by the clock in the Entrance Hall. When she arrived at the hidden doorway, the gargoyle's eyes were closed. Kentarre had to tap him on the shoulder, apologize for awakening him, and then give the password to gain entrance. The statue groggily trudged aside to allow her to pass through the door he concealed.
Kentarre rapped softly on the door to Dumbledore's office, which was opened immediately by a very anxious-looking headmaster. "Kentarre," he scolded, "you know you could get in trouble for being out this late. Where have you been that caused you to miss our meeting?" Kentarre replied smoothly, "I apologize, Headmaster, but the thing that caused me to be late simply couldn't wait. I should have sent someone to tell you that I would be late, but I was neglectful. Instead, I bring tidings of the urgent sort. May I come in?" The door was widened to allow for her entrance, and once the door was closed, Professor Dumbledore went to his chair behind his desk and motioned for her to take the one in front. She did and then proceeded to tell him all she could remember of what had happened in the forest since the end of History of Magic class, leaving out the part about Harry, Ron, and Hermione seeing the wraith.
When she was finished, Dumbledore linked his fingers together in thought. "I see," he said after a few moments consideration. "And you didn't see the man's face?"
"No. I thought I recognized his voice, but I couldn't put a name to it."
"Ah. Did you learn anything about this... creature?"
"I learned that it feeds on the blood of the wraiths. Whether that is the only blood it feeds on or not is anybody's guess."
"Well, we will have to inform Hagrid and tell him to put tighter security on the wraiths while they are here. We cannot have this beast swallowing up all the specimens for study, what what?"
"The man also mentioned some master that sent him a letter. I think I have some idea about who this master is, but I cannot be sure."
"Well, I think that we should keep this under wraps. I hope you do not mind if I share this with some of the teachers, hmm?"
"Whatever you feel is best, Professor. I myself will tell no one."
"Well, you do what you have to. But I don't want you going out again this late, do you understand me? Normally, I might understand that you need to procure information, but I cannot have the other students thinking that I am letting you off easy because you are new. As you probably well know, people talk, especially young people." Kentarre discreetly rolled her eyes, making Dumbledore smile wryly. "Which is another reason for you not to tell anyone where you've been tonight, am I right?" She smiled sardonically. "You have my word, Headmaster," she replied. "If there is nothing further you need to know for tonight, I will now retire to the dormitory." The elderly headmaster nodded. "You are free to go, my dear."
When Kentarre got back out into the deserted corridor, she leaned against the wall just outside for a moment, absently rubbing the back of her left hand. The blue rings had disappeared, just as they had always done, and faded into the color of her skin. She sighed; this coverup business was really starting to bug her.
She then heard voices coming towards her from one end of the corridor. "Are they here, my sweet? Can you still smell them?" came a simpering voice that didn't sound familiar, but didn't sound friendly either. Kentarre, not wanting to stick around to find out who the speaker was or whom he was talking to, now slunk silently down the hall away from the voices.
Kentarre realized with a groan that the Gryffindor common room was back that way, where the voices were coming from. She would now have to take the long way and risk being caught by someone else- or she could make herself invisible again. Pausing just on the other side of a suit of armor at an intersection, Kentarre hid her hand under her cloak and repeated the process she had done just moments before in the Forbidden Forest. Now completely unseeable, she doubled back, this time hearing the voice before she even reached Dumbledore's office. "They must be here somewhere, my sweet. Sniff around, we'll find them." Rounding a corner, Kentarre saw the speaker, a bony, sour-faced man whom she had seen cleaning the halls; she had been informed by Fred and George that this man's name was Filch, the caretaker. He had been apparently talking to the cat that was nosing around by his feet. Kentarre almost laughed when she saw the state of the man's dress and hair, but then she remembered that he couldn't see her.
Carefully, making no noise at all, she slipped around to his other side and glided noiselessly past on the opposite side of the comparatively narrow hall. There was one point that the cat looked up directly at her, but Kentarre thought that was due to the fact that cats have a very good sense of smell, and Kentarre had just been out in the forest. There was absolutely no way that the cat could see her; her spell had worked on the shadowy creature she could not name or see.
As she rounded the next corner, she would have breathed a sigh of relief if it had not been for the next obstacle that was just up ahead. Kentarre was facing a long corridor, and down it was a squat man with orange hair who appeared to be very busy with something behind a suit of armor. As Kentarre approached, she could hear him cackling viciously to himself as he worked. Suddenly, he perked, his ears twitching as though he was listening very, very hard but trying not to show it. Kentarre stopped entirely, staring very intently at the back of his head, waiting for him to make a move. Every muscle in her body tensed, ready to counter anything he might do. He turned sharply, his beady little eyes nearly bulging with excitement and his nose almost visibly elongating to sniff out intruders. "Somebody's sneaking and peeking at Peeves, they are," he called out in an irritating voice that sounded as though he had just found out a great secret. "Should tell Filch, I should."
Peeves, or so he called himself, cackled maliciously at this and began to advance down the corridor. He floated about two feet above the ground, his legs crossed as though he were sitting cross-legged on the floor. Kentarre had heard of this little man's antics from her fellow students; this was a poltergeist. Kentarre knew just what to do. Peeves began to taunt again. "I smell naughty taughty students out of bed, I do." Suddenly, a curtain rustled a little further down the hall from where Peeves was drifting. His eyes riveted sharply to that spot, and he cackled triumphantly to himself as he zipped over to the spot and began to poke around. Kentarre, calling upon her skills in stealth that had taken her so long to learn, made a quick getaway as soon as Peeves passed her.
She continued on, meeting no one, and finally Kentarre reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Spotted gryphon," muttered Kentarre, and the painting swung wide to admit her.
The common room inside was dark yet cozy. The fire looked like it had been reduced to smouldering coals hours ago, and was now just a few lit embers. The clock on the mantle told her, however dimly, that it was 12:05. Tempted though she was to stay up later and think in this sanctuary for deep thinkers, Kentarre reluctantly reminded herself that the week was not over yet. Giving a few last longing looks at her wonderfully silent surroundings, she swished across the room and up the girls' staircase.
The dormitory, though just as dark as the room below, was a little less complete where the silence came in. Kentarre looked over at her bed, silhouetted in the moonlight streaming in from the window behind it. Thus, instead of climbing through the velvet drapes, she sidestepped the bed and emerged on the other side, stopping to bathe fully in the silver moonlight. There was no breeze tonight; the trees of the Forbidden Forest stood stolid and also doused in the pale light of the moon. Hagrid's cabin, so small from this height, was now covered in a light sprinkling of frost, a reminder to all that winter was fast approaching, and with it, that white sprinkling that most people liked to call snow.
Kentarre breathed in a rush of cold air, and then blew it all out, watching her cloud of breath huff away from her and dissipate. She walked a bit closer to the window, close enough to lean out over the sill. All around was quiet, save for the occasional hoot of an owl just on its way to the Owlery. *I wonder where that unnamed creature is now,* she thought. *It probably has a lot more free range, now that it's dark. Though that shouldn't be much different than the light of the place it came from.*
Now that Kentarre looked back, which she seldom did, she realized that this was a preferable position to be in. Someone might contradict her, saying that there were far too many troubles in this time. Yet, Kentarre would tell them that it was far better to have troubles than to live in a world completely void of problems to solve. Kentarre should know; she had lived in that world before, and it was extremely uncomfortable: there was too much worry about why nothing was happening. Kentarre had told others before that she'd much rather worry about why something was happening than worry about why something was not, and it was still true to this day.
A cry in the dark, then a dark shape began to make its way towards Kentarre's window. Nemesis shortly landed on Kentarre's awaiting arm. She began to stroke his back feathers absently, having no food to give him and assuming he had found something to eat out somewhere on campus. "Hi, Nemesis," she greeted him. "So, where'd you go? Did you see anything interesting?" Nemesis cooed softly at her petting, and she took that as a "no."
A few more minutes of this temporary bliss left Kentarre's thoughts back home. *I wonder how they're getting along? And I wonder where the others are now.* It would be a whole fortnight before she got the next reports, and she still had a few of her own to make. This new information about the meeting in the Forest had to be spread; her friends didn't like to be kept in the dark. *I'll have to make the reports tomorrow,* she resolved. *They wouldn't get them until tommorow anyway if I sent them now.*
Bidding goodbye and goodnight to Nemesis, she turned reluctantly away from the window and the blessed light of the moon. *Now that we've found out some other things about what we're dealing with, it shouldn't be long until we can make something of it.* Kentarre already had some ideas about what was going on; all she needed was confirmation.
As her eyes focused to the darkness in the room, she briefly caught the movement of one of the girls' drapes around her bed. Being a bit disoriented, Kentarre couldn't tell whose bed it was, but it was probably just someone twitching in their sleep. Kentarre now got into her own bed, drawing the curtains tightly around. She then proceeded to make ready for sleep, finally draping her cloak over her and trying to ignore the fact that it had a few leaves still clinging to it. No doubt she would have to come up with some kind of explanation as to what happened after she went into the Forest to tell to Harry and his friends. But she would come up with that tomorrow. For now, sleep, a reprieve, however temporary, from this world and its complications.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, fumblefeathers, I just don't know what to do with myself!" complained Ron one Saturday morning. They had sat in the common room for a couple of hours now, watching Fred and George cause a huge commotion by antagonizing the small yet pompous prefect, first by feeding him a Canary Cream, now a huge marketing business, then by bewitching his pointed cap to engage in swirls of color every time he turned his head. "That spell's a new development," confided George in one of the few lapses in the constant noise. "We've been dying to find someone to try it out on." He gave another devilish grin in the direction of the frustrated boy, whose name had turned out to be Chester. Kentarre couldn't help but laugh at him; he was utterly pathetic in every way, and he wasn't very good at hiding it. Harry and Ron had much the same reaction, but they had decided to engage in a game of wizard's chess, and weren't paying much attention. Kentarre, who had made a prediction on the outcome of the game only a few minutes before, was now staring intently into the fire, consumed by her thoughts about the previous night's action. *I tried doing some research in the library, but even there my time is limited for fear that someone will figure out what I'm trying to do. It's not likely, but I don't want to take any chances. The Potter boy and his friends are enough to hide from, but if someone else saw me go into the woods... I mean, I didn't exactly leave discreetly.* Kentarre groaned inwardly as she remembered how she had fled the castle in a rush, and everyone had stared at her. *There's a very high possibility that someone else has guessed what's happening, and if they haven't guessed what's happening, they might have guessed that something is happening, so I should still be careful.*
The chess game was over; Ron had won (as Kentarre had foretold). Kentarre, before the game had begun, had noticed that Harry's set's attitude was on the mutinous side, and she had also noted that Ron's set simply looked more seasoned. Harry later confided that his set had been acquired from a pulled wizard cracker, and had never served him very well.
The boy Chester was sitting in an armchair now, a look of complete exhaustion splayed across his features. One hand supported his head, with fingers resting on his brow and his thumb pressed against his cheek. Kentarre watched him with growing amusement. Fred and George apparently had complete control of the common room now; it was clear that the new prefect would do no more to stop them until he caught his breath, and by then it would be too late. They could already run circles around him. Kentarre thought fervently, *This might be useful in the future for quick exits, and I'm certainly not going to do anything to stop them. Besides, it's kinda funny.*
Kentarre stood and went to the window. There was no one sitting there because the window made the air around it rather cold. She couldn't see much through the window, and for a bit she was tempted to go up to her own window in the dormitory. From what she could see, the grounds below were quiet and still, which was strange, because there were usually people milling around outside at this time of day. For a split- second, she wanted to be out on the grounds, wandering around, watching and waiting for another appearance from the strange creature. Kentarre had spent many of the past few hours in deep thought about the animal, if that's what it was, and had come up with several possibilities; that it was a creature from another world, that it was something not yet discovered by man, or that it had been raised up from the Netherworld. None seemed too plausible, which is why Kentarre had been to the library.
Just then, a voice spoke from around her right shoulder. "Do you want to come with us to see Hagrid after lunch?" It was Harry. Kentarre gave him a long look. "All right," she replied. "I'll ask him about the wraith that I found. Maybe he'll know something."
"Good idea. Speaking of which, what did you find when you went out there?" asked Harry, lowering his voice.
"Nothing much. Just more drops of blood. It seemed to go on forever, until I came to a place where the trees formed a kind of wall. The blood trickled on through two of those trees. There were only a few gaps in the wall, and even those were too small for anyone to get through, so I turned back." Well, it wasn't exactly true, but she wasn't about to tell him the truth.
"Oh. Okay."
Seeming satisfied, Harry turned back and challenged Ron to just one more game before they went down for lunch. Ron accepted; Kentarre watched this game through to the end. It culminated almost the exact same way; Ron won by a fair amount. Then the trio got up and exited via the painting. "Where's Hermione?" asked Ron. Harry replied, "Oh, she said she would be in the library, but that she'd meet us for lunch so we can go see Hagrid together." Kentarre's ears perked. *Wonder what she's doing in the library,* she thought darkly. *There isn't anything in there that would let her know too much, but...* Kentarre couldn't resist the wave of dread that swept over her, but she tried not to let her face show it. Instead, she put on her customary scowl and continued on down the corridor.
Lunch was very noisy; the entire Great Hall seemed to be able to think about one thing: the Quidditch game this Friday. Kentarre herself wasn't that enthusiastic, but since Harry would be playing, she would go just to make him feel better. Under normal circumstances, Kentarre would see this as a perfect opportunity to have the common room and the library to herself, but this time she steeled herself and told Harry that she would be there. *I'll just write them during the next Quidditch game,* she told herself, and continued to stare at her plate.
*I wonder just how much Hagrid knows about those wraiths,* she pondered. Nevertheless, there was simply no other way to find out about them; the library's resources, though vast, simply didn't carry any information about what might eat them. Rather, it informed one about what it ate.
Hermione's voice broke Kentarre's train of thought. "Aren't you going to eat?" she asked, a tinge of concern staining her voice. Kentarre replied coldly, "No," and that seemed to end things, for Hermione shrugged and went back to her own plate. Kentarre had noticed that Hermione seemed completely uninterested when it came to Quidditch, but that no one had asked her yet if she would come to the game, as if that was inevitable.
Inwardly, Kentarre wanted to find an excuse not to go to the Quidditch game, but there was already none to be found. Besides, she told herself, she had promised Harry, and though it meant very little to her if something came up, she wasn't sure how much it meant to Harry. So she would have some trouble finding an excuse that he wouldn't think was a farce to get out of it. She couldn't have him suspecting her- not now, when she most needed to be trusted. *Trust,* she grumbled, *such a bothersome thing. Hard to gain, easy to break, and nearly impossible to put back together again. I'd just as soon do this without it.* But she knew that, no matter how much she griped, trust was something to be gained and kept, especially now. *Hmmph. Dumbledore's trust was easy to gain once he knew who I was. Unfortunately, Harry will not be so easy because of what he does not know.* Kentarre frowned. *If only there were some way... but that would mean causing a disruption. I can't allow it to go that far. There must be a way!* Kentarre's concentration was suddenly disturbed by a loud bang from somewhere else in the Hall. Several people laughed, and a few stood up to see what was up. Some kid from the Ravenclaw table had just had his boiled potatoes exploded in his face, and he was now looking around in shock and trying to get his face wiped clean. Some of it had stuck in clumps to his dark brown hair, and a few lumps had splattered his robes, but most of it had found its way to his face, which was completely unrecognizeable through the mush. Harry and Ron were chuckling at the practical joke, but none harder than Fred and George Weasley, who were nearly doubled over in their chairs. Kentarre turned back to her food, but not without an approving smile in the red haired twins' direction. *That was entertaining,* she thought with another smile, *but I have more important matters to attend to.*
Kentarre got up from her chair, grateful for the distraction as a coverup; no one noticed her leaving. Her intent was unknown to all but her, for no one could possibly have predicted where she went next; her path went up the marble staircase from the Entrance Hall, down a few other corridors leading from that, all the way to the Gryffindor common room. The Fat Lady, she discovered, was off somewhere, presumably visiting a few of her friends. Cursing, Kentarre briskly swept away in a fury, intending to find some way to get into that dormitory.
A way appeared to her scope of possibilities a moment later; if she could somehow get out of the window and climb up to find the dorm window that was by her bed, that would be ideal. A smile curled her small, naturally downturned mouth, and she made for the broad window that was nearest her. Checking around to see that no one was near, she opened it and leaned out to see her prospects for climbing. The stone outside the window was rather smoothed from wear, but it was still rocky enough that, with a little help, it would be surmountable. Kentarre got up on the windowsill and prepared to spring up towards a jutting stone that looked promising. She leapt and was able to grip it, pulling herself up and finding another handhold. She had at first received a shock because of how cold the stone was, and it was no wonder at this time of year. The first snow was expected any day now; it was early November.
Kentarre climbed higher and higher, her determination overcoming her icy fingers. *I will reach that window,* she told herself just as she began to lose feeling in her fingers. Kentarre gritted her teeth as her hand slipped on a wet stone, and kept going.
It wasn't easy climbing sideways. The window to the girls' dormitory was in the top of one of the Gryffindor towers, the one nearest her, which was a blessing in disguise. The window, just getting in sight, was closed, as she had expected it to be.
Kentarre finally reached the window. Placing her left hand over its smooth surface, she opened it with a brief flash of blue. She hurriedly climbed in the window, shutting it behind her with not a shiver. Then the steel haired girl, her purpose never lost, began rummaging in her trunk for something, making great haste because any minute lunch period would be over, and she would have to leave to go to Hagrid's. Shortly, she apparently found what she was looking for, because she stood back up and held something up to the light. Nodding in approval, Kentarre went down the stairs to the common room below. *Just because it won't let me in, there's no reason whatsoever for it not to let me out,* she reasoned. And she was right; she shoved open the painting with no trouble at all.
Once out in the hall, Kentarre looked around fervently and quietly concealed the item in her robe, slipping it into the breast pocket of her robe and out of sight. Then she started off down the hall, making her way back towards the Great Hall. Kentarre's face formed her usual don't-ask-any-questions-if-you-don't-want-your-face-smashed-in expression. That usually served very well for just that purpose.
Back in the Great Hall, the noise level had returned to normal. Kentarre guessed that the hysterics over the potato episode had died down, and she was right; everyone had returned to their meals and their own frivolous conversations. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had certainly done just that. When Kentarre sat down, Ron had been saying, "When are we going to find time to do all of this homework we've got! I think this is the most that McGonagall has ever given us on a weekend!"
Harry interrupted Ron and said to Kentarre, "Where'd you go? One minute you were here, and the next you had vanished!" *Ha,* exulted Kentarre, *so it worked. They didn't notice.* To Harry, she said nothing, deciding to leave him in suspense and make him think she didn't want to talk. To her chagrin, he decided to persue the subject, but she still did not answer him. "Well? Where'd you go?" he said, a bit louder. Kentarre knew that he had just realized that he was getting nowhere, and she caught herself just before she smiled to herself. Before this, she hadn't dared, but now she snuck a glance over in Harry's direction. He was apparently having an internal conflict, and Kentarre had a feeling she knew what that was about, so she went ahead and let him.
Harry finally went back to his meal, having clearly opted to say nothing else on that subject. Kentarre smirked inwardly. *His conscience clearly has a strong hold on him. I'd better watch out for that. I don't want any surprises.*
The bell rang, and following that was a shuffling of feet and a scraping of chairs on the floor as everyone groaned to their feet and made their way towards the door. No one had their bags with them, because it was Saturday, so the crowd was a bit thinner than usual, but there were just as many people, and most of them were talking about other things. Harry and his gang were saying that they would go up to the dormitory to get their coats, and Kentarre said, "I'll stay down here and wait for you to get back." She would have told them about the Fat Lady's abscence, but that would tell them where she had been, and she didn't feel like telling them just now. So while they went up the marble staircase, Kentarre found a less populated place by the foot of it to wait. She glared at people on their way out, just to make sure they let her alone. It worked marvelously; students took one look at her and quickly looked the other way, suggesting to their friends something else to do rather than stick around here. Kentarre chuckled to herself. *It's amazing how frightening you can look with a little practice.*
Just then, Malfoy and his posse came out of the Great Hall. He spotted Kentarre at the base of the staircase and sauntered right on up. "What do you want, Malfoy? I don't have time to play games with you right now, kid, so just buzz off," she said scathingly. "Ooh, a bit touchy today, aren't we, Hisakata?" he taunted, but she knew better than to take his bait. "I didn't stutter, Malfoy," she growled. "Take off."
"Oh, but I have no intention of doing that. Besides, this isn't your piece of floor, so I'll stand on it if I like."
"No objection about the floor, but if you like it so much, by all means, stomp all over it. But don't get in my way."
"Or what? You'll get your pet Potter to come and beat me up for you? Hmm, should I be scared?"
"No, actually, I'll do it myself. Potter's got enough on his plate now. Besides, I'd like a little exercise."
"Is that a threat, Hisakata? You can get in trouble for that, you know."
"Not as much trouble as I'll be in when I get finished smashing your head in, Malfoy."
"And what will you tell the headmaster when you do? That I was violating your space? That's likely."
"That's just like you, Malfoy, you always have to hide behind somebody, first your father, then Snape, and then Dumbledore. Who next, the Minister of Magic?"
"Why I should-"
A new voice popped in. "What's going on, Kentarre?" It was Harry. Ron and Hermione were just behind him. "Ah, Potter," said Malfoy, "you're just in time to see your friend Hisakata here get her lights knocked out."
"You know, Malfoy, you may be mistaken. I think that yours will be the lights going out."
"I can take both of you on, Potter."
"Would you like to wager on that one?"
"No, actually, I'd like to show you."
"Well, we're all here to see. Let's go."
Another voice sounded out. "What is going on here?" This time, it was Professor McGonagall, looking very sternly at them down her nose. "Hisakata was threatening me, Professor," said Malfoy. "He was getting in my face," countered Kentarre. "I was standing here waiting for Potter to get back, and Malfoy decided he wanted to 'talk.'"
"That's still no excuse, for either of you. I suggest that you all go outside and get some fresh air before you get some detention."
"Yes, Professor," grumbled the group, and they started off to do just that. Harry led the way down to Hagrid's cabin, while Malfoy gave them smug looks before turning off to go his way with Crabbe and Goyle in tow.
Hagrid's cabin was very frosted-over, but when Hagrid opened the door, a wave of warm air escaped through the door, making them all feel very comfortable for a moment. "Well, c'mon in!" boomed Hagrid. "I was wonderin' when you three- wait, four- was goin' t' come an' see me!"
They went inside and hurriedly closed the door behind them. Kentarre, who had never seen the inside of Hagrid's cabin before, got a good look around. There was a rather large bed in one corner, a fireplace with a blaze glowing from it, a table that came up to Kentarre's chest, and a stove in another corner, which was dark.
Hagrid passed around some tea cakes that were a bit on the stale side, but Kentarre played along with the rest of them and pretended to eat them. *The good part will come later,* she told herself.
The conversation went from one thing to another, first Quidditch, then mischief-making, then to Fred and George, and then Kentarre had had enough. Very abrutply, she said, "Hagrid, how much do you know about those wraiths?" He looked rather surprised, but replied, "Well, I'd reckon jus' a bit. Why d'yeh want t' know?" She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "What kind of thing eats them?" Hagrid looked doubly surprised. "Well... I never heard o' anythin' what could eat a wraith afore, but that don' mean there isn't anythin'. Now, I heard o' a few wraiths disappearin', but I'm not sure that's got anythin' to do with this."
Kentarre perked. "What happened that time?"
"Well, as far as I know, th' only thing that happened was a few people found a couple of 'em dead with some nasty cuts... blood all over th' place, and not a trace o' the culprit."
"Hmmm. Interesting. That sounds exactly the same as what happened to your wraith just the other day."
"Oh, yeah, abou' that. Dumbledore tol' me that if anyone came by who'd found out abou' it, that they shouldn't tell anyone else."
"Believe me, Hagrid, I have no intentions of letting anyone else know. Thanks a lot."
"Jus' one thing, though. How'd yeh find out abou' the wraith in th' firs' place?"
"I found it at the edge of the Forbidden Forest just a few minutes after it happened."
"Yeh didn't find anythin', well, out o' the ordinary, did yeh?"
"Just a trail of black blood. It looked like the wraith did some fighting before it went."
"Oh. Well, if that's all, then I guess yeh'd better be headin' on back t' the castle. It's almost time fer dinner."
"Goodbye, Hagrid. Thanks again."
They left the cheerful little hut in silence. It was Harry who finally broke it. "What do you think it was that killed the wraith?" he asked Kentarre, noting her set jaw and pensive eyes. She said nothing, knowing that she had nothing to tell him. He waited for a minute to see if she would reply, and then apparently he realized that she wasn't going to tell him. He exchanged glances with Ron and Hermione; the former's face had raised eyebrows and questioning eyes, the latter's expression was similar to Kentarre's.
They got to the castle and walked in the front door. The inside was very warm, and smells of dinner wafted towards them from the Great Hall before them. The others breathed in deeply; Kentarre veered off to a side corridor- the one leading to the library. No one said anything to her, for they saw that she had a purpose in mind just by the way she strode. She didn't really expect to run into any problems on the way; she had never considered that the librarian would give her so much trouble. However, Madam Pince did intercept her. "And where do you think you're going?" she snapped at Kentarre. "It's dinner time. You're supposed to be in the Great Hall! And you listen when one of your elders speaks to you!"
"Out of my way, woman. Today is not the day to mess with me," said Kentarre in a deadly quiet voice. That wouldn't thwart Madam Pince, however. "You look here, girl," said the librarian, who now looked more like a vulture who'd found a dying animal that simply refused to die and be eaten, "I won't tolerate any of that from you. I may not be a teacher, but I can have one here in a flash who'll give you detention so fast it'll make your head spin. Now, for the last time, go back to the Great Hall!" Kentarre curled her lip, but held her tongue. *Damn that woman. Why won't she just get out of my way?!* The furious girl swept angrily off back down the hall. *Well, it's not like she's going to follow me to make sure I go where she told me to. All she wanted was for me to be out of the library.* After a few alterations in her course, she found herself in front of the Fat Lady. "Unicorn feather," she snapped, and the Fat Lady replied, "If you say so." The painting swung open, and Kentarre zipped inside.
Once in, she sighed. *Finally alone.* But instead of collapsing down into one of the armchairs, she began pacing the floor. The fire smouldered in the hearth, and the room was warmer than she had expected, but she just barely noticed. Her mind was doing somersaults as her feet took her back and forth, back and forth. *What does all this mean?* she asked herself. *Why do I feel that there's someone here at the castle who knows what's going on?* And then something clicked inside her head, but the idea that followed it was so absurd, so totally off track that she almost ignored it. Jycein. He might know something. Kentarre stopped pacing for a moment and thought about it. She decided that asking him up front would get her nowhere. *He probably does know something. After all, he knew who I was.* But how much did he know? He hadn't known why she was here; maybe he was a lost cause. *I'm going to watch that man. Whenever he twitches, I'll be ready. If he twitches.*
Kentarre then thought of all the other people she was going to watch; Snape came at the top, then Malfoy, then Jycein, then Dumbledore. It was plain to see why the others should be watched, but Dumbledore needed to be observed for a different reason. If Dumbledore had a hunch, she had a feeling he would act on it, but very, very privately. She would almost have to confront him herself in order to know what he was up to, for she was certain he was up to something. He had a way of knowing everything that went on around the castle; he was, after all, Headmaster. Kentarre frowned. *How much of Dumbledore's help am I willing to accept? How much will he give me? Will I be able to work with him, or will I be forced to work around him? How much of this can he handle? And how much will he believe?* Kentarre told herself that this point was not that crucial. The wraith and the unseen creature that maimed it were the more pressing problem.
Then Kentarre decided that classtime would be the best time to observe the wraiths without arising any suspicion. *If I can't find any good resources, then I'll have to go right to the subject.* Gods, how she craved a computer! Back in America, she had been able to find information about anything she wanted. Now, where electrical contraptions were completely useless, she had to rely on the vast yet selective resources of the school library. *I wonder if there's a book about wraiths in the Restricted Section of the library. Hagrid would probably give me permission to get it.* Kentarre resolved to try this the next chance she got.
Apparently, dinner was over, because at that moment, the portrait swung open, interrupting Kentarre's pensivity. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Parvati, Fred, George, Lee, Alicia, and Ginny all walked in through the entrance. Kentarre immediately headed up to the girls' dormitory; if she couldn't be completely alone, she would go for second best. Kentarre felt Harry's eyes- among others- boring into her, watching her as she disappeared from sight. *Wait a minute,* she told herself, and she paused a moment. She wanted to hear what was going on in there. *If ever there was a time to eavesdrop, that time is now.* Kentarre went all the way up the stairs, opened the door at the top, and shut it, good and hard. Then she held up her left fist; after a brief show of blue sparks, the silver haired missionary was completely invisible to the naked eye. She slunk back downstairs and silently stowed away to the far reaches of the common room, certain not to be heard, seen, or otherwise detected. From her position, she couldn't hear every conversation that went on, but the one she was most interested in was right nearby. Sitting in armchairs not five feet in front of her were Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Their conversation was rather easy to hear, and that was all she needed.
Hermione had just asked the boys, "What do you think happened to that wraith?"
Ron said, "I dunno. I mean, she sounded like she knew what she was talking about, and you have to admit, it's kinda likely. Just about anything could live in the Forbidden Forest."
"Yeah," agreed Harry, "but it just doesn't make sense. Why would anyone choose now to loose that thing on the wraiths?"
"That's a good question. Maybe it's not who we think it is."
"Well, who else would it be? I mean, there's no evidence that it's not."
"At any rate, we should still investigate. I can't believe we haven't before now. This is serious. I wonder if that trail of blood is still there..."
"Well, we can't go check it out in broad daylight because someone will see us and we'll be in more trouble than we've ever been in."
Ron snorted. "And I thought that for once we might have a normal year. So when do we go?"
Harry cut in. "Wait, wait a minute. Why are we getting involved? This is not our problem, right? Besides, Kentarre seems well up to handling it."
Hermione said, "You don't know that. I think we should at least check it out to make sure it won't become our problem."
Ron input, "Well, if you two can agree on it, I suppose I'll go along. Not because I agree with Hermione, but because someone's got to keep an eye on you two."
Hermione said, "Well, I don't see any harm in just going to look."
Ron blinked at her. "Wow... I never thought I'd see the day when she was trying to convince us to do something that could get us in trouble. Anybody got a quill? I gotta write this down..."
It was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes. "What about tomorrow night?" she asked.
Ron said, "I say, let's do it."
Harry cut in. "All right. So it's set for tomorrow night, is it?"
The other two nodded, and the exchange took a different turn. This time the topic was (dun dun dun) Kentarre. "So..." said Harry, "what d'you think Kentarre's up to?"
Ron looked at him. "You mean the way she's so interested in that wraith? Yeah, I was wondering about that too."
Hermione said, "I think that her business is no concern of ours. It is, after all, her business."
"What d'you mean, none of our concern?" asked Harry, a little louder than he had intended.
"Well," said Hermione matter-of-factly, "it has nothing to do with us, and it won't affect us in any way that I can see." *Ha,* thought Kentarre, *it will if everything goes well.*
Ron scratched his head. "I dunno, Hermione... I would kinda like to know why those wraiths are so important to her. I mean, it's no secret why they're important to Hagrid, but why's Kentarre so concerned?"
The group paused in silence, each conjuring up their own idea about what the mysterious girl with strangely colored hair was up to. Kentarre watched Harry's face very intently. His green eyes, illuminated by the dim light of the fire, looked wind-tossed under furrowed black eyebrows.
"At any rate," said Harry, breaking the silence, "we should still go and have a look."
Hermione looked defeated but still disapproving. "All right. But how are we going to get out of the castle?" she inquired, lowering her voice even more.
"My cloak should do the trick. It's covered three of us before."
Ron snorted. "Barely," he grumbled.
Hermione ignored him. "We'll go right after the common room empties."
Kentarre, meanwhile, had not dared to move, lest she make a noise and alert them to her presence- or worse, her overhearing their conversation. She listened now with bated breath, intending to know their plans for their excursion. The subject of talk switched to other things, but Kentarre remained firmly rooted to the spot.
Suddenly, there were some taps at the window. Everyone looked there, and everyone saw a very cold falcon that had a package in its talons. Ron got up to let the bird in, and Kentarre's eyes widened. *Oh, sh-* Nemesis flew straight to her corner and landed on one of the nearby chairs, eyeing his master suspiciously. The entire room was watching the bird, all of them looking very interested, especially Harry's group. Kentarre silently cursed to herself, but she didn't dare move for fear someone would hear. She tried to communicate to the bird to drop the package on her bed, and Nemesis cocked his head but seemed to understand, for he took off up the girls' staircase. Looking around the room, Kentarre saw it was too late. Everyone that was left in the room was giving each other suspicious looks and muttering to themselves about the strangeness. Harry himself wondered aloud, "Why didn't the bird take it up to Kentarre first? Something's going on, here." He got up from his chair and began to slowly walk towards the shadowed corner where Kentarre was hiding, frozen in place. *Damn that bird,* she swore to herself. *He's ruined everything. Ohhh, this is bad.* She tried to ease her way out of the corner, but Potter was advancing too fast. His arms were not so outstretched that she could go under them, but he would eventually touch her, and then it would be really hard to explain. Besides, she didn't want to lose all she had gained in this one night.
Kentarre then saw her exit: one of the chairs was nearby, and it just might be tall enough for her to squeeze under. That was usually a risky maneuver, but what other choice did she have? All the other outlets were blocked- and Harry was fast approaching. Kentarre dropped to the ground without a sound and scooted over to the chair. It was rather narrow, but she could make it. She eased her head under and lay prone. Then she began to slide; her shoulders were the first obstacle, and muscled as they were, they were by far the most difficult. Then came her chest and hips, and then her knees, and her feet. *There.* She was out, but just barely in time, because just as she emerged unseen from the chair, Harry got to the wall. His slim fingers brushed up against the wall before he turned away. All eyes in the room were still on him, which gave Kentarre some cover to slink away back to the staircase.
Once on the other side of the wall, Kentarre stopped and leaned up against the wall, trying to get some air without making noise. That had been close- too close. Well, she had found out what she had wanted to, and no one was the wiser, although some (like Harry) might suspect what she had been up to. Now all that was left was to follow them out on Sunday night without being detected. Kentarre was going to follow them for two reasons; one, so that she might learn any new information that might turn up also, and two, so that she could make sure they didn't get hurt. *Hey, if I'm going to do this job, I'm going to do it right.* Kentarre padded up the stairs. *Now to see what this package is about...*