Chapter 7: Mysterious Blue
Kentarre breathed a rather heavy sight of relief. She had made it without anyone the wiser. She tried very hard to fight the whoop of joy that was clawing to escape her. The girls' dormitory was very dark, and there were noises of very sound sleepers coming from each of the beds. Except for two of them. Hermione's bed was empty like her own, and Kentarre then heard voices coming from downstairs in the common room. Though she was very weary from lack of sleep and energy, she decided to risk it. She crept leopardlike down the wooden staircase and stood at the wall that separated the stairs from the common room. Yep, it was the infamous trio, no doubt discussing everything they had just witnessed- and done.
Finally, Kentarre's curiosity got the better of her. She flickered out of sight and slunk into the room. Hermione, Ron, and Harry sat in three armchairs that were facing each other, all trying to catch their breath. Ron's face looked slightly green, and Hermione's hair was, if possible, bushier than usual. Harry looked simply out of breath; his hair was always out of place, so there wasn't much to be done. All were covered in a rather sticky-looking sweat that shone in the firelight. Kentarre rather thought that they might reflect light if so provoked. Finally, Harry said in a gasping voice, "Well, the night wasn't totally wasted." The others looked at him, and Ron said, "I thought you said we were just going to look." Harry replied, "Apparently, someone changed the plans out there without telling us."
Hermione breathed, "Well, at least we got back all in one piece, although I'd rather be rescued some other way next time we decide to do something like that."
Then Ron voiced the question that was on all of their minds (except for Kentarre's, of course). "Who was she?" he wanted to know, his voice clearly betraying his bewilderment. "And what was she doing there? Was she following us, or did she just happen to be there?" Hermione gave him a stern look. "Ron, it was the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night. It's highly unlikely that someone could just 'happen to be there.'"
"Oh yeah. Well, I guess she was following us, then."
Harry input, "What I don't understand is how she knows about us. How did she know that we were going to be there?"
There was a pause. Kentarre found herself leaning in towards them, listening very hard to see what they would say next. *I don't like this,* she thought. *They're gradually coming to the conclusion. I can see it in their eyes. Will they figure it out? Can they?* Ron said slowly, "The only time we talked about it was that night in the common room when Kentarre's falcon made a delivery. Are they connected? Was she in the room and we didn't know it, or did someone tell her that we would be going out that night?"
Harry was staring at the floor. "Maybe," he said, "she has ways of listening without having to be in the room. Who knows what she's capable of? Did anyone notice that she didn't use a wand? She's definitely not a witch." Hermione shook her head. "You saw that mark on her hand, didn't you? I wonder what that's for."
Harry shook his head. "I don't know, but whatever it is, I suggest that we keep our eyes and ears open." Then, on a whim, he added, "Do you think we should tell Dumbledore about this? Maybe he knows something."
"If he knows something, he probably won't tell us," Ron disagreed. "It's one of his more maddening qualities." Hermione reminded him, "Yes, but he usually has a reason." Ron replied, "True, but we don't usually find out that reason until we find out what he's been keeping from us, so there really isn't any point, is there?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course there is," she sighed, "but he doesn't want us to know about it until we know enough to understand it." Ron shook his head. "Whatever."
Kentarre, meanwhile, listened to all of this and thought about it. *What would Dumbledore tell them?* she wondered. *Hmmm... he said he would keep it to himself and a few teachers... which reminds me; I have to go talk to Jycein.*
Harry was now saying, "Hey, I wonder who that guy in the Forest was. Was it just me, or did his voice sound very familiar?"
Hermione said, "Now that you mention it, I do remember recognizing his voice, but I couldn't quite put a name to it, could you?" Harry shook his head. "What about you, Ron?" Ron's reaction was similar. Hermione did some very quick thinking, and said, "Perhaps we should look up the Explosion Curse in the library. Maybe we'll find some answers there." Harry said, "Good idea. But I have a better one. Let's sleep on it; we'll meet in the far corner of the Entrance Hall in the morning to see what we've come up with. We'll go to the library during break."
The three friends trooped over to the staircases, where they parted with goodnights. Kentarre waited until all of the doors were shut and the footsteps climbing the stairs had diminished before she undid her invisibility charm. She began to pace. *I've got to be even more careful than that. They were too close to making the connection. And if they sleep on it, the chances increase for one of them thinking too hard and actually putting two and two together. I think I'll lay low for a while. Maybe I'll make myself sick... No, that wouldn't work. The nurse is too good for that; she'd have me out of there within two days no matter what I had. I'd better think of something quick. The year's fast disappearing on me, and I still don't have a reasonable lead... Oh well. Maybe I'll take a leaf out of Potter's book and sleep on it.*
Then she too ascended the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Silent as a gliding hawk she crept to her own bed and noiselessly slid into it, firmly shutting the drapes behind her. She lay down, but did not sleep until one more person's steady breathing joined that of the others. Then, slowly but surely, sleep overcame her whirling mind, and her own breaths slowed into that familiar pattern of one who is sleeping.
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The corridor leading to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom was unpopulated. Kentarre swept down it noiselessly, noticing that the door to the said classroom was partially open. There were voices coming from inside, and Kentarre quickly put her face to the doorway. One of the voices was Jycein; the other sounded like that kid Malfoy's father. Both of them sounded angry. Jycein was saying, "This is complete idiocy, Lucius. There is no way that Dumbledore won't see straight through that, not to mention that annoying prying brat."
"Well, then, you'll just have to keep quiet about it and not make a fuss," said Lucius. "I'm sure I'm not the only one growing impatient with you, Learst. If you mess this up again, we'll be forced to find somebody else, and you don't want that."
"That's perfectly all right, Lucius, don't go and do something drastic over one little slip-up that won't happen again. No one will know this time."
Kentarre smirked. *Don't count on it, pal.*
Inside, Lucius continued. "At any rate, I've been told to tell you to hurry this along. We want to be able to move as soon as possible, but we can't do it with you drawing this out. Just do it." Jycein replied, "The next attack is in place. All I have to do is give the word. It won't be long."
"Good. I wouldn't want to have to tell the master that you are incapable of doing things quickly and quietly."
Jycein now sounded worried. "But what if the Potter boy continues to pry? I can't seem to get rid of him."
"Just don't arouse any more suspicions. Come up with some clever way to clear this up. Come on, man, it's not that hard."
"All right, all right. I mean, it's not like we're up against some major force, like someone who doesn't use normal magic who could annihilate us with one stroke of her hand and who could see through just about any counterfeit just by looking."
"I wouldn't worry too much about her, Learst. She's got a few surprises in store for her as well, and when the master finally gets his chance to face her, she'll have finally met more than her match. Just remember that the sooner you get done doing your job, the sooner that can happen."
"Whatever you say, Lucius."
There were footsteps that seemed to be coming towards the door, and Kentarre straightened up and started to walk casually down the hall. She could hear the man called Lucius walking the other way down the hall, and she smirked at his retreating back. *Little does he know just who was listening in on his conversation,* she exulted. *Hmmmph... annoying prying brat... he has no idea just how annoying I'm about to get.*
* * *
Kentarre felt that the only thing that might have kept her from doing it would have been an official order from the King of England, and maybe not even that. She smirked again as she ran over her plan in her mind one more time. Everything was in order; Jycein would soon be going out, and she intended to follow him. *I love this job,* she thought happily. *I get to sneak around and use the best methods of stealth on the planet- and it's all legal!*
And there he was: wearing a cloak that was not very much unlike her own, but there was one difference between the two- Kentarre's looked natural on her. His made him look very much as though he was trying to be inconspicuous- and failing. Kentarre shook her head. *He's making this too easy for me, and it's ruining my fun.* Nonetheless, the moment he was the right distance ahead of her, she began to follow him the best way she knew how without actually becoming invisible. Slinking along in the shadows, she would appear to someone who was watching as one who is like a thief in the night- often not seen until they're running away with your purse in hand. And that's exactly what she was about to do to our retreating professor.
Jycein stopped just at the Entrance Hall, then he stole across the center of it, apparently trying to fight the urge to break out in a run for the door. Kentarre was not very far behind, and when he opened the front door, she was just close enough to slip out just before the doors closed.
Outside was dark, and as Kentarre looked on, the first snowfall of that winter began. *Hmmm... the snow's late. It should've been here at least a month ago. I'll have to look into that, but in the meantime, where's he going?* Jycein had veered sharply off to the left- to the rear of the castle. Kentarre had only seen what was behind the castle once, and that was from inside. There was the Quidditch field, but beyond that there was some tangled brush that led up to the other edge of the Forbidden Forest. Jycein seemed to be heading for the opposite end of the Quidditch field, but when he got to it he kept on walking. Kentarre skirted the edges of the field and continued on, taking care not to make any noise whatsoever.
Jycein was now wading through the brush, and Kentarre groaned. This was definitely going to increase the amount of noise she was making, and hers would continue after his had stopped. Nonetheless, she lightly stepped over some of the shallower areas, watching, waiting. Up ahead, Jycein stopped and turned his head slightly to the side as if listening for something. Simultaneously, Kentarre did the same, only she was watching him like a hawk watches a rabbit in a field. Then our sneaky professor apparently made some kind of decision and continued on. Kentarre slowly let out the breath that she had inadvertently been holding, and thought to herself, *That was way too close. I'd better find another way.* She bit her lip and thought for a moment. She estimated the height of the grass and stuck her left hand out in front of her, palm down. First, her image disappeared, though she knew that her hand had once again begun to glow. Then, slowly, she lifted off the ground, never taking her eyes from the shadowy figure who was rapidly moving away from her.
*I wonder if he'll be able to detect my magic,* she mused. Then, in a small panic, she thought, *What if he knows I'm following him? He could be just leading me on a wild goose chase through the woods. Hmmm...* Kentarre rose a bit faster now, taking care not to let her cloak billow out and risk the chance of the fabric flapping in her wake. She never took her eyes off her stalkee, making sure that she didn't miss a thing. Then she groaned silently as she realized that she would need to look up to make sure she didn't miss the roof of the castle. She was now a reasonable thirty feet off the ground, and still climbing.
Kentarre quickly turned her head upwards, gathering speed as she went. Snow slapped her face, sending chills through her body as a few stray flakes found their way into the back of her cloak. The roof was only about fifteen feet above her head now; she was nearly there. Almost... almost... she was on. She touched down lightly and immediately swung her head back towards the ground. Jycein was just entering the Forbidden Forest, and Kentarre breathed a prayer of thanksgiving that he had not done so earlier.
She quietly padded along the snow-dusted roof, trying not to lose sight of that personage who was obviously trying so hard to elude her gaze. She could see that he was going away from the castle, so she gently lifted off the roof and sailed off into the air as though she were walking. The man below, who now looked like a small wind-up gadget, had by no means decreased his speed- if anything, he had sped up. She squinted ahead of her, but she could see no specific destination through the trees. Then she reverted her eyes back to the hurrying professor- who was now nowhere to be seen. *Damn! This is not good! Where'd he go?*
Kentarre swiveled left and right, but she had already lost sight of him, who could be anywhere in the Forest by now. The snowstorm, as it promised to be, was picking up slightly, and Kentarre decided disgruntledly that she fare better to continue her search on the ground. *Hey, with any luck, he left a trail.* She began her shivering descent, scraping her clothes and skin on the tightly knitted branches. Suddenly, one swung up from out of nowhere and knocked her off balance, sending her reeling backwards into a tree trunk. She lost her grip on her descent, and she fell tumbling, bumping, crashing down through the branches. She heard herself grunt each time she hit as she came to the thicker lower branches, a little more wind being kicked out of her by each branch that she came in contact with.
Finally, she landed on her hands and knees on the ground, her hands barely feeling the frozen ground underneath her. She crouched there for a moment, attempting to regain some energy in her windpipes. Then, slowly, she stood and checked herself to make sure that all the aching she felt was just that.
From out of nowhere, a violent wind picked up, and Kentarre found herself buffeted by its strength and the snow that it bore, barely able to remain standing. She whirled around to face the gust- but it changed position on her and continued to blow from directly behind her. *What is this?* her mind demanded. *What am I up against?* She tried again to head the wind, but it remained obstinately at her back, refusing to let her see what caused it.
Kentarre shed her cloak, which fell to the forest floor behind her. *Okay, if you want to play that way, I can do that too.* She held up her left hand and balled it into a tight fist. She began to concentrate her thought, and soon the symbol on her hand started to glow. On the back of her hand, a white sphere appeared and slowly grew larger, soon completely surrounding her. The wind stilled- or so it felt to Kentarre, for the sphere did thwart the wind in its efforts to pummel her with snow and cold. She called out menacingly, "Who are you? What do you want?"
A cruel, cold laughter that chilled her more than the snow ever could was her answer. Even more shocking was the fact that the laughter appeared to be coming from just over her shoulder. Kentarre turned her head slightly to the side. "I believe that I asked a question, which would require an answer on your part, pal."
The thing replied in a voice that was soft and eluding, almost inaudible over the noise of the brewing blizzard. "I ammmmm the thinnnng that nnnno onnnne sees... as forrrr what I ammmm, that isss forrrr yyou to guessss, Kennnntarrrrre." Kentarre set her jaw in aggravation. "I see you've been keeping abreast of things. Who sent you?" The creature chuckled. "I llllovve guessssinnnng gammmmes. Wwould yyou llllike to plllllayy?" Kentarre growled back, "I've not got the stomach for them right now, and I'm telling you, neither do you, so why don't you just cut to the chase? Just answer a few questions for me and I'll not bother you. However, if you continue to play around, I can make this a lot harder."
Another chuckle, this time more mocking. "Rrrratherrr tesstyy, arrrren't wwe, Kennnntarrre?" She kept her fury in check and said, "Just tell me this. What do you want?"
"I wwannnt yyourrrr llllittlle Potterrrr frrriennnnd to sstop pokinnnnng arrrrounnnnd innnn mmmmy hidinnnng placesss. I'vve allllso beennnn tolllld to tellllll yyou that a certainnnn ssommmmeonnnne wwilllll be wwaitinnnng forrrr yyou onnnn the rrrrroof of the Ssouth Towwerrrrr onnnn Tuesdayy, Decemmmberrrrr twellllfth."
Kentarre tried hard not to keep from sighing with relief. *That's a little less than a week away. Well, at least that gives me some time to breathe- and think.* "All right," she said aloud. "Tell whoever it is that I'll be there- alone."
"Good. That's the otherrrrr thinnnng I wwass tolllld to sayyy. Wellll, if that'ss alllll, I'lllll be goinnnng nnnnoww. Unnntillll nnnnnext timmmme, thennnn, blllllue warrrriorrrr."
And then it was gone. Kentarre disabled her shield quickly and fetched her cloak from where it had fallen. Without bothering to beat the snow off of it, she put it on and rose up and out of the forest in order to get her bearings. Once she had got sight of the castle again, she lost no time in making for it. Oddly, the snow had stopped, and Kentarre got that tingling feeling that someone was tampering with the weather. *Hmmmph,* she thought wryly, *it's a pity I didn't think of that. I just love messing around with the weather. But that would cause a commotion, and I absolutely hate those.* She mentally sighed. *Oh well. I have plenty else to do besides play around with the sky. Tuesday is fast approaching.*
She frowned in her flight. Kentarre wondered what she was going to do about Potter. *He's too curious for his own good, and unfortunately that could get me into hot water. I'd better think of something to do about him- and fast.*
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"I'm telling you, this is absolute ludicris!" Ron muttered. Harry secretly agreed with him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Transfiguration homework had been steadily increasing over the past few days. McGonagall had just spent about fifteen minutes up in front of the class explaining why. "You've got to prepare for your N.E.W.T.s, and the only way to do that is by practicing all that you've learned so far. I'm supposed to drill you on your past Transfigurations lessons so that you can jog your memories, regretful as you are to remember." At this point she had glared sternly around at the lot of them and told them to get to work on their assignments.
Harry sighed. Their load of classwork for the day was way more than they could get done in an hour, so that would also add to their pile of homework that they had been allotted for the day. He inwardly thought that if this kept up, he would still be doing it during Christmas break.
Kentarre, however, seemed to have her mind somewhere else for most of the time. She spent most of her class time staring at the floor or the desk, apparently in deep thought, and she hardly spoke to anyone, even when she was spoken to. Harry had not mentioned this to his friends, but it seemed to him that Kentarre looked more tired and stressed than normal. He vaguely wondered what she was up to, but he kept this to himself as he struggled to get through their enormous overload.
Malfoy also, Harry noticed, had gotten, if possible, even nastier to Kentarre. Usually she was able to blow him off with a few scathing words thrown off here and there, but now he was an obvious constant annoyance to her, and he apparently knew it. Each time Harry saw Malfoy and Kentarre holding conversation, Kentarre always had the same if- you-don't-go-away-I'm-going-to-rip-your-heart-out-and-eat-it-in-front-of- you expression. Malfoy often walked right behind her in the corridors and mumbled in her ear just to force her to say something to him. Harry usually lost sight of them by then, but he was beginning to feel his curiosity taking hold of him. He wanted to know what was going on; for something was going on, he was sure of that. Kentarre didn't even bother coming to dinner anymore like she usually did, though she never ate. That was another thing that hadn't escaped Harry's notice. Instead, Kentarre could usually be found hidden away in the girls' dormitory of the Gryffindor house. Hermione had gone up there to see what she was doing, but so far all she had been able to uncover was that Kentarre was very busy doing something at the window behind Kentarre's bed.
Kentarre herself, if approached about this change in behavior, would simply blow the person off by giving them the most scorching glare she could muster. Harry received one of these himself, and was quite shocked at the amount of hostility that that girl could cram into one stare that lasted probably no longer than three or four seconds. He then concluded that he would have to find out what she was doing by other means.
Ron had asked them, in one of their late night conversations, why they bothered with Kentarre's business anyway. Hermione had said, "Because it apparently involves all of us. This whole thing arose because of an attack on one of Hagrid's wraiths. One thing led to another, and then another, and then another. This is just another one of those things, and I say that we should keep up with what's going on. It could be a lot more important that it seems." Harry himself agreed with her, but he didn't say it; Ron had looked a little disgruntled at this, as if he would rather just forget about it. That night he had been particularly grumpy because of the monumentous load that McGonagall had dumped on them that day, so he was not exactly enthralled about the idea of keeping up with homework and whatever Kentarre might be doing.
Meanwhile, Kentarre had been watching Harry very closely while she was concocting up her rather complicated plan, and she noticed that he seemed to be the one out of all three of them with the most interest in what she was doing. Sure, Hermione agreed with him, but with Harry, it seemed to be something more than just Hagrid's pets that concerned him. As usual, Kentarre was present in the common room when they had their late night talks; she had had a very stern conversation with one very shameful falcon, and he had grouchily promised to take all future packages straight to the dormitory. Harry had expressed a stronger reasoning for keeping up with Kentarre's doings around the school. She silently congratulated him. She knew that, though his interest in her activities might eventually get in the way, it would in the meantime give her a challenge. It would also let her know that, as long as she kept what she was doing a secret from Harry, then she could be fairly sure that no one else knew about it either. *But what about Jycein?* a small subconscious voice piped. *Hmmm... I'll have to keep an eye on him too... there are still some spaces that need filling where he's concerned. But that's only a matter of time. Once my plan's in place, all of it will begin to fall in line.*
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All of the classes for fifth years were now intensifying more than ever. Ron frequently came out of classes griping about how much homework had been assigned. Kentarre didn't pay much attention; she was too busy waiting for the right time to set her plan in motion. It was now Friday, and of course, they had been shouldered with plenty of occupation for the weekend. Kentarre, however, did not quite feel weighted; rather, she had a peculiar sense of lightness, and it felt somehow fake, and that made Kentarre a little uneasy. *I smell magic, and it's not the usual stuff that goes around this place. Someone's pulling strings, and I bet I know who.*
Kentarre stopped at the cracked entrance to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom. She could hear Jycein moving around in there, doing what Kentarre couldn't guess. His breathing sounded laboured, as though he were working very hard to do two things at once. Kentarre bit her lip and concentrated her magic, and she felt the light feeling disappear. Inside, she heard Jycein let out a loud, startled breath, and then she heard him groan. *Ha,* she thought triumphantly, *I knew it. I bet that was a rather nasty shock for old Jycein.*
And then Kentarre remembered something. In that conversation that had gone on between Jycein and that guy named Lucius, Lucius had called Jycein 'Learst.' *Could it be the same one? That very same Learst? But... what would he be doing here? Well, that explains how he knows who I am. Hmmmm... very clever of him, taking a disguise like that. Even I didn't go that far. If it is him. I'll have to look into that one...* Kentarre started off down the hall. *This changes things, because if I'd known that, it could have saved me a lot of trouble. This calls for executing the plan earlier than I had previously planned... drat. Oh well, here goes.*
Kentarre began to walk a little faster, heading for the Entrance Hall. Potter was there, and so were Ron and Hermione. She immediately made a beeline for where they were standing, but she was waylaid- by Malfoy. "Where're you going in such a hurry, Hisakata? Going to see your boyfriend, Potter?"
"Not now, Malfoy. I haven't got time to chitchat with you today."
"Oh, it's important, is it?"
"No, it's none of your business. Now go away."
"But I don't feel like going away today, Hisakata. As a matter of fact-"
"As a matter of fact, Malfoy, you should go away, point blank, before I decide to get more than just pissed."
"Ooh, touchy today, are we? What's the matter, your boyfriend break up with you? Is that why you're in such a hurry?"
"Leave it alone, Malfoy."
"But why should I?"
"Because I said so. That should be sufficient enough."
"You don't order me around, Hisakata."
"No, but my fist can."
"All right then, let's see it."
Kentarre already had her wand out. She suddenly whirled around and there was a flash of blue light that should have been no more than a blur to anyone who was watching at that moment. Suddenly, Malfoy found himself unable to talk. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. He appeared to be saying something very nasty to Kentarre, and she leaned closer with her hand to her ear and said, "What's that? You'll have to speak up, Malfoy, I can't hear a word you're saying!" Chortling with the rest of the hall, she swept away through the semi-cheering crowd towards Harry and the others, who were all looking at her inquisitively. Ron asked eagerly, "What happened? Was there a fight?" Kentarre smirked and said cryptically, "Oh, nothing really. Mr. Malfoy won't be able to say who hexed him, after all, because he has been left rather speechless." Harry said incredulously, "You?" Kentarre's smirk widened. "He's an annoying little twerp, and that's all that needs saying.
"On a more serious note," she continued, her smirk vanishing, "Harry, I want to talk you you on Sunday night at midnight in the common room. You can bring these two if you want, but it's you I want to talk to."
Harry's eyes looked questioning, but he agreed to meet her there at midnight. Kentarre nodded and then swiftly walked back out of the Entrance Hall, leaving them to their confused questions.
Kentarre breathed a rather heavy sight of relief. She had made it without anyone the wiser. She tried very hard to fight the whoop of joy that was clawing to escape her. The girls' dormitory was very dark, and there were noises of very sound sleepers coming from each of the beds. Except for two of them. Hermione's bed was empty like her own, and Kentarre then heard voices coming from downstairs in the common room. Though she was very weary from lack of sleep and energy, she decided to risk it. She crept leopardlike down the wooden staircase and stood at the wall that separated the stairs from the common room. Yep, it was the infamous trio, no doubt discussing everything they had just witnessed- and done.
Finally, Kentarre's curiosity got the better of her. She flickered out of sight and slunk into the room. Hermione, Ron, and Harry sat in three armchairs that were facing each other, all trying to catch their breath. Ron's face looked slightly green, and Hermione's hair was, if possible, bushier than usual. Harry looked simply out of breath; his hair was always out of place, so there wasn't much to be done. All were covered in a rather sticky-looking sweat that shone in the firelight. Kentarre rather thought that they might reflect light if so provoked. Finally, Harry said in a gasping voice, "Well, the night wasn't totally wasted." The others looked at him, and Ron said, "I thought you said we were just going to look." Harry replied, "Apparently, someone changed the plans out there without telling us."
Hermione breathed, "Well, at least we got back all in one piece, although I'd rather be rescued some other way next time we decide to do something like that."
Then Ron voiced the question that was on all of their minds (except for Kentarre's, of course). "Who was she?" he wanted to know, his voice clearly betraying his bewilderment. "And what was she doing there? Was she following us, or did she just happen to be there?" Hermione gave him a stern look. "Ron, it was the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night. It's highly unlikely that someone could just 'happen to be there.'"
"Oh yeah. Well, I guess she was following us, then."
Harry input, "What I don't understand is how she knows about us. How did she know that we were going to be there?"
There was a pause. Kentarre found herself leaning in towards them, listening very hard to see what they would say next. *I don't like this,* she thought. *They're gradually coming to the conclusion. I can see it in their eyes. Will they figure it out? Can they?* Ron said slowly, "The only time we talked about it was that night in the common room when Kentarre's falcon made a delivery. Are they connected? Was she in the room and we didn't know it, or did someone tell her that we would be going out that night?"
Harry was staring at the floor. "Maybe," he said, "she has ways of listening without having to be in the room. Who knows what she's capable of? Did anyone notice that she didn't use a wand? She's definitely not a witch." Hermione shook her head. "You saw that mark on her hand, didn't you? I wonder what that's for."
Harry shook his head. "I don't know, but whatever it is, I suggest that we keep our eyes and ears open." Then, on a whim, he added, "Do you think we should tell Dumbledore about this? Maybe he knows something."
"If he knows something, he probably won't tell us," Ron disagreed. "It's one of his more maddening qualities." Hermione reminded him, "Yes, but he usually has a reason." Ron replied, "True, but we don't usually find out that reason until we find out what he's been keeping from us, so there really isn't any point, is there?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course there is," she sighed, "but he doesn't want us to know about it until we know enough to understand it." Ron shook his head. "Whatever."
Kentarre, meanwhile, listened to all of this and thought about it. *What would Dumbledore tell them?* she wondered. *Hmmm... he said he would keep it to himself and a few teachers... which reminds me; I have to go talk to Jycein.*
Harry was now saying, "Hey, I wonder who that guy in the Forest was. Was it just me, or did his voice sound very familiar?"
Hermione said, "Now that you mention it, I do remember recognizing his voice, but I couldn't quite put a name to it, could you?" Harry shook his head. "What about you, Ron?" Ron's reaction was similar. Hermione did some very quick thinking, and said, "Perhaps we should look up the Explosion Curse in the library. Maybe we'll find some answers there." Harry said, "Good idea. But I have a better one. Let's sleep on it; we'll meet in the far corner of the Entrance Hall in the morning to see what we've come up with. We'll go to the library during break."
The three friends trooped over to the staircases, where they parted with goodnights. Kentarre waited until all of the doors were shut and the footsteps climbing the stairs had diminished before she undid her invisibility charm. She began to pace. *I've got to be even more careful than that. They were too close to making the connection. And if they sleep on it, the chances increase for one of them thinking too hard and actually putting two and two together. I think I'll lay low for a while. Maybe I'll make myself sick... No, that wouldn't work. The nurse is too good for that; she'd have me out of there within two days no matter what I had. I'd better think of something quick. The year's fast disappearing on me, and I still don't have a reasonable lead... Oh well. Maybe I'll take a leaf out of Potter's book and sleep on it.*
Then she too ascended the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Silent as a gliding hawk she crept to her own bed and noiselessly slid into it, firmly shutting the drapes behind her. She lay down, but did not sleep until one more person's steady breathing joined that of the others. Then, slowly but surely, sleep overcame her whirling mind, and her own breaths slowed into that familiar pattern of one who is sleeping.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The corridor leading to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom was unpopulated. Kentarre swept down it noiselessly, noticing that the door to the said classroom was partially open. There were voices coming from inside, and Kentarre quickly put her face to the doorway. One of the voices was Jycein; the other sounded like that kid Malfoy's father. Both of them sounded angry. Jycein was saying, "This is complete idiocy, Lucius. There is no way that Dumbledore won't see straight through that, not to mention that annoying prying brat."
"Well, then, you'll just have to keep quiet about it and not make a fuss," said Lucius. "I'm sure I'm not the only one growing impatient with you, Learst. If you mess this up again, we'll be forced to find somebody else, and you don't want that."
"That's perfectly all right, Lucius, don't go and do something drastic over one little slip-up that won't happen again. No one will know this time."
Kentarre smirked. *Don't count on it, pal.*
Inside, Lucius continued. "At any rate, I've been told to tell you to hurry this along. We want to be able to move as soon as possible, but we can't do it with you drawing this out. Just do it." Jycein replied, "The next attack is in place. All I have to do is give the word. It won't be long."
"Good. I wouldn't want to have to tell the master that you are incapable of doing things quickly and quietly."
Jycein now sounded worried. "But what if the Potter boy continues to pry? I can't seem to get rid of him."
"Just don't arouse any more suspicions. Come up with some clever way to clear this up. Come on, man, it's not that hard."
"All right, all right. I mean, it's not like we're up against some major force, like someone who doesn't use normal magic who could annihilate us with one stroke of her hand and who could see through just about any counterfeit just by looking."
"I wouldn't worry too much about her, Learst. She's got a few surprises in store for her as well, and when the master finally gets his chance to face her, she'll have finally met more than her match. Just remember that the sooner you get done doing your job, the sooner that can happen."
"Whatever you say, Lucius."
There were footsteps that seemed to be coming towards the door, and Kentarre straightened up and started to walk casually down the hall. She could hear the man called Lucius walking the other way down the hall, and she smirked at his retreating back. *Little does he know just who was listening in on his conversation,* she exulted. *Hmmmph... annoying prying brat... he has no idea just how annoying I'm about to get.*
* * *
Kentarre felt that the only thing that might have kept her from doing it would have been an official order from the King of England, and maybe not even that. She smirked again as she ran over her plan in her mind one more time. Everything was in order; Jycein would soon be going out, and she intended to follow him. *I love this job,* she thought happily. *I get to sneak around and use the best methods of stealth on the planet- and it's all legal!*
And there he was: wearing a cloak that was not very much unlike her own, but there was one difference between the two- Kentarre's looked natural on her. His made him look very much as though he was trying to be inconspicuous- and failing. Kentarre shook her head. *He's making this too easy for me, and it's ruining my fun.* Nonetheless, the moment he was the right distance ahead of her, she began to follow him the best way she knew how without actually becoming invisible. Slinking along in the shadows, she would appear to someone who was watching as one who is like a thief in the night- often not seen until they're running away with your purse in hand. And that's exactly what she was about to do to our retreating professor.
Jycein stopped just at the Entrance Hall, then he stole across the center of it, apparently trying to fight the urge to break out in a run for the door. Kentarre was not very far behind, and when he opened the front door, she was just close enough to slip out just before the doors closed.
Outside was dark, and as Kentarre looked on, the first snowfall of that winter began. *Hmmm... the snow's late. It should've been here at least a month ago. I'll have to look into that, but in the meantime, where's he going?* Jycein had veered sharply off to the left- to the rear of the castle. Kentarre had only seen what was behind the castle once, and that was from inside. There was the Quidditch field, but beyond that there was some tangled brush that led up to the other edge of the Forbidden Forest. Jycein seemed to be heading for the opposite end of the Quidditch field, but when he got to it he kept on walking. Kentarre skirted the edges of the field and continued on, taking care not to make any noise whatsoever.
Jycein was now wading through the brush, and Kentarre groaned. This was definitely going to increase the amount of noise she was making, and hers would continue after his had stopped. Nonetheless, she lightly stepped over some of the shallower areas, watching, waiting. Up ahead, Jycein stopped and turned his head slightly to the side as if listening for something. Simultaneously, Kentarre did the same, only she was watching him like a hawk watches a rabbit in a field. Then our sneaky professor apparently made some kind of decision and continued on. Kentarre slowly let out the breath that she had inadvertently been holding, and thought to herself, *That was way too close. I'd better find another way.* She bit her lip and thought for a moment. She estimated the height of the grass and stuck her left hand out in front of her, palm down. First, her image disappeared, though she knew that her hand had once again begun to glow. Then, slowly, she lifted off the ground, never taking her eyes from the shadowy figure who was rapidly moving away from her.
*I wonder if he'll be able to detect my magic,* she mused. Then, in a small panic, she thought, *What if he knows I'm following him? He could be just leading me on a wild goose chase through the woods. Hmmm...* Kentarre rose a bit faster now, taking care not to let her cloak billow out and risk the chance of the fabric flapping in her wake. She never took her eyes off her stalkee, making sure that she didn't miss a thing. Then she groaned silently as she realized that she would need to look up to make sure she didn't miss the roof of the castle. She was now a reasonable thirty feet off the ground, and still climbing.
Kentarre quickly turned her head upwards, gathering speed as she went. Snow slapped her face, sending chills through her body as a few stray flakes found their way into the back of her cloak. The roof was only about fifteen feet above her head now; she was nearly there. Almost... almost... she was on. She touched down lightly and immediately swung her head back towards the ground. Jycein was just entering the Forbidden Forest, and Kentarre breathed a prayer of thanksgiving that he had not done so earlier.
She quietly padded along the snow-dusted roof, trying not to lose sight of that personage who was obviously trying so hard to elude her gaze. She could see that he was going away from the castle, so she gently lifted off the roof and sailed off into the air as though she were walking. The man below, who now looked like a small wind-up gadget, had by no means decreased his speed- if anything, he had sped up. She squinted ahead of her, but she could see no specific destination through the trees. Then she reverted her eyes back to the hurrying professor- who was now nowhere to be seen. *Damn! This is not good! Where'd he go?*
Kentarre swiveled left and right, but she had already lost sight of him, who could be anywhere in the Forest by now. The snowstorm, as it promised to be, was picking up slightly, and Kentarre decided disgruntledly that she fare better to continue her search on the ground. *Hey, with any luck, he left a trail.* She began her shivering descent, scraping her clothes and skin on the tightly knitted branches. Suddenly, one swung up from out of nowhere and knocked her off balance, sending her reeling backwards into a tree trunk. She lost her grip on her descent, and she fell tumbling, bumping, crashing down through the branches. She heard herself grunt each time she hit as she came to the thicker lower branches, a little more wind being kicked out of her by each branch that she came in contact with.
Finally, she landed on her hands and knees on the ground, her hands barely feeling the frozen ground underneath her. She crouched there for a moment, attempting to regain some energy in her windpipes. Then, slowly, she stood and checked herself to make sure that all the aching she felt was just that.
From out of nowhere, a violent wind picked up, and Kentarre found herself buffeted by its strength and the snow that it bore, barely able to remain standing. She whirled around to face the gust- but it changed position on her and continued to blow from directly behind her. *What is this?* her mind demanded. *What am I up against?* She tried again to head the wind, but it remained obstinately at her back, refusing to let her see what caused it.
Kentarre shed her cloak, which fell to the forest floor behind her. *Okay, if you want to play that way, I can do that too.* She held up her left hand and balled it into a tight fist. She began to concentrate her thought, and soon the symbol on her hand started to glow. On the back of her hand, a white sphere appeared and slowly grew larger, soon completely surrounding her. The wind stilled- or so it felt to Kentarre, for the sphere did thwart the wind in its efforts to pummel her with snow and cold. She called out menacingly, "Who are you? What do you want?"
A cruel, cold laughter that chilled her more than the snow ever could was her answer. Even more shocking was the fact that the laughter appeared to be coming from just over her shoulder. Kentarre turned her head slightly to the side. "I believe that I asked a question, which would require an answer on your part, pal."
The thing replied in a voice that was soft and eluding, almost inaudible over the noise of the brewing blizzard. "I ammmmm the thinnnng that nnnno onnnne sees... as forrrr what I ammmm, that isss forrrr yyou to guessss, Kennnntarrrrre." Kentarre set her jaw in aggravation. "I see you've been keeping abreast of things. Who sent you?" The creature chuckled. "I llllovve guessssinnnng gammmmes. Wwould yyou llllike to plllllayy?" Kentarre growled back, "I've not got the stomach for them right now, and I'm telling you, neither do you, so why don't you just cut to the chase? Just answer a few questions for me and I'll not bother you. However, if you continue to play around, I can make this a lot harder."
Another chuckle, this time more mocking. "Rrrratherrr tesstyy, arrrren't wwe, Kennnntarrre?" She kept her fury in check and said, "Just tell me this. What do you want?"
"I wwannnt yyourrrr llllittlle Potterrrr frrriennnnd to sstop pokinnnnng arrrrounnnnd innnn mmmmy hidinnnng placesss. I'vve allllso beennnn tolllld to tellllll yyou that a certainnnn ssommmmeonnnne wwilllll be wwaitinnnng forrrr yyou onnnn the rrrrroof of the Ssouth Towwerrrrr onnnn Tuesdayy, Decemmmberrrrr twellllfth."
Kentarre tried hard not to keep from sighing with relief. *That's a little less than a week away. Well, at least that gives me some time to breathe- and think.* "All right," she said aloud. "Tell whoever it is that I'll be there- alone."
"Good. That's the otherrrrr thinnnng I wwass tolllld to sayyy. Wellll, if that'ss alllll, I'lllll be goinnnng nnnnoww. Unnntillll nnnnnext timmmme, thennnn, blllllue warrrriorrrr."
And then it was gone. Kentarre disabled her shield quickly and fetched her cloak from where it had fallen. Without bothering to beat the snow off of it, she put it on and rose up and out of the forest in order to get her bearings. Once she had got sight of the castle again, she lost no time in making for it. Oddly, the snow had stopped, and Kentarre got that tingling feeling that someone was tampering with the weather. *Hmmmph,* she thought wryly, *it's a pity I didn't think of that. I just love messing around with the weather. But that would cause a commotion, and I absolutely hate those.* She mentally sighed. *Oh well. I have plenty else to do besides play around with the sky. Tuesday is fast approaching.*
She frowned in her flight. Kentarre wondered what she was going to do about Potter. *He's too curious for his own good, and unfortunately that could get me into hot water. I'd better think of something to do about him- and fast.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm telling you, this is absolute ludicris!" Ron muttered. Harry secretly agreed with him, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Transfiguration homework had been steadily increasing over the past few days. McGonagall had just spent about fifteen minutes up in front of the class explaining why. "You've got to prepare for your N.E.W.T.s, and the only way to do that is by practicing all that you've learned so far. I'm supposed to drill you on your past Transfigurations lessons so that you can jog your memories, regretful as you are to remember." At this point she had glared sternly around at the lot of them and told them to get to work on their assignments.
Harry sighed. Their load of classwork for the day was way more than they could get done in an hour, so that would also add to their pile of homework that they had been allotted for the day. He inwardly thought that if this kept up, he would still be doing it during Christmas break.
Kentarre, however, seemed to have her mind somewhere else for most of the time. She spent most of her class time staring at the floor or the desk, apparently in deep thought, and she hardly spoke to anyone, even when she was spoken to. Harry had not mentioned this to his friends, but it seemed to him that Kentarre looked more tired and stressed than normal. He vaguely wondered what she was up to, but he kept this to himself as he struggled to get through their enormous overload.
Malfoy also, Harry noticed, had gotten, if possible, even nastier to Kentarre. Usually she was able to blow him off with a few scathing words thrown off here and there, but now he was an obvious constant annoyance to her, and he apparently knew it. Each time Harry saw Malfoy and Kentarre holding conversation, Kentarre always had the same if- you-don't-go-away-I'm-going-to-rip-your-heart-out-and-eat-it-in-front-of- you expression. Malfoy often walked right behind her in the corridors and mumbled in her ear just to force her to say something to him. Harry usually lost sight of them by then, but he was beginning to feel his curiosity taking hold of him. He wanted to know what was going on; for something was going on, he was sure of that. Kentarre didn't even bother coming to dinner anymore like she usually did, though she never ate. That was another thing that hadn't escaped Harry's notice. Instead, Kentarre could usually be found hidden away in the girls' dormitory of the Gryffindor house. Hermione had gone up there to see what she was doing, but so far all she had been able to uncover was that Kentarre was very busy doing something at the window behind Kentarre's bed.
Kentarre herself, if approached about this change in behavior, would simply blow the person off by giving them the most scorching glare she could muster. Harry received one of these himself, and was quite shocked at the amount of hostility that that girl could cram into one stare that lasted probably no longer than three or four seconds. He then concluded that he would have to find out what she was doing by other means.
Ron had asked them, in one of their late night conversations, why they bothered with Kentarre's business anyway. Hermione had said, "Because it apparently involves all of us. This whole thing arose because of an attack on one of Hagrid's wraiths. One thing led to another, and then another, and then another. This is just another one of those things, and I say that we should keep up with what's going on. It could be a lot more important that it seems." Harry himself agreed with her, but he didn't say it; Ron had looked a little disgruntled at this, as if he would rather just forget about it. That night he had been particularly grumpy because of the monumentous load that McGonagall had dumped on them that day, so he was not exactly enthralled about the idea of keeping up with homework and whatever Kentarre might be doing.
Meanwhile, Kentarre had been watching Harry very closely while she was concocting up her rather complicated plan, and she noticed that he seemed to be the one out of all three of them with the most interest in what she was doing. Sure, Hermione agreed with him, but with Harry, it seemed to be something more than just Hagrid's pets that concerned him. As usual, Kentarre was present in the common room when they had their late night talks; she had had a very stern conversation with one very shameful falcon, and he had grouchily promised to take all future packages straight to the dormitory. Harry had expressed a stronger reasoning for keeping up with Kentarre's doings around the school. She silently congratulated him. She knew that, though his interest in her activities might eventually get in the way, it would in the meantime give her a challenge. It would also let her know that, as long as she kept what she was doing a secret from Harry, then she could be fairly sure that no one else knew about it either. *But what about Jycein?* a small subconscious voice piped. *Hmmm... I'll have to keep an eye on him too... there are still some spaces that need filling where he's concerned. But that's only a matter of time. Once my plan's in place, all of it will begin to fall in line.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All of the classes for fifth years were now intensifying more than ever. Ron frequently came out of classes griping about how much homework had been assigned. Kentarre didn't pay much attention; she was too busy waiting for the right time to set her plan in motion. It was now Friday, and of course, they had been shouldered with plenty of occupation for the weekend. Kentarre, however, did not quite feel weighted; rather, she had a peculiar sense of lightness, and it felt somehow fake, and that made Kentarre a little uneasy. *I smell magic, and it's not the usual stuff that goes around this place. Someone's pulling strings, and I bet I know who.*
Kentarre stopped at the cracked entrance to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom. She could hear Jycein moving around in there, doing what Kentarre couldn't guess. His breathing sounded laboured, as though he were working very hard to do two things at once. Kentarre bit her lip and concentrated her magic, and she felt the light feeling disappear. Inside, she heard Jycein let out a loud, startled breath, and then she heard him groan. *Ha,* she thought triumphantly, *I knew it. I bet that was a rather nasty shock for old Jycein.*
And then Kentarre remembered something. In that conversation that had gone on between Jycein and that guy named Lucius, Lucius had called Jycein 'Learst.' *Could it be the same one? That very same Learst? But... what would he be doing here? Well, that explains how he knows who I am. Hmmmm... very clever of him, taking a disguise like that. Even I didn't go that far. If it is him. I'll have to look into that one...* Kentarre started off down the hall. *This changes things, because if I'd known that, it could have saved me a lot of trouble. This calls for executing the plan earlier than I had previously planned... drat. Oh well, here goes.*
Kentarre began to walk a little faster, heading for the Entrance Hall. Potter was there, and so were Ron and Hermione. She immediately made a beeline for where they were standing, but she was waylaid- by Malfoy. "Where're you going in such a hurry, Hisakata? Going to see your boyfriend, Potter?"
"Not now, Malfoy. I haven't got time to chitchat with you today."
"Oh, it's important, is it?"
"No, it's none of your business. Now go away."
"But I don't feel like going away today, Hisakata. As a matter of fact-"
"As a matter of fact, Malfoy, you should go away, point blank, before I decide to get more than just pissed."
"Ooh, touchy today, are we? What's the matter, your boyfriend break up with you? Is that why you're in such a hurry?"
"Leave it alone, Malfoy."
"But why should I?"
"Because I said so. That should be sufficient enough."
"You don't order me around, Hisakata."
"No, but my fist can."
"All right then, let's see it."
Kentarre already had her wand out. She suddenly whirled around and there was a flash of blue light that should have been no more than a blur to anyone who was watching at that moment. Suddenly, Malfoy found himself unable to talk. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. He appeared to be saying something very nasty to Kentarre, and she leaned closer with her hand to her ear and said, "What's that? You'll have to speak up, Malfoy, I can't hear a word you're saying!" Chortling with the rest of the hall, she swept away through the semi-cheering crowd towards Harry and the others, who were all looking at her inquisitively. Ron asked eagerly, "What happened? Was there a fight?" Kentarre smirked and said cryptically, "Oh, nothing really. Mr. Malfoy won't be able to say who hexed him, after all, because he has been left rather speechless." Harry said incredulously, "You?" Kentarre's smirk widened. "He's an annoying little twerp, and that's all that needs saying.
"On a more serious note," she continued, her smirk vanishing, "Harry, I want to talk you you on Sunday night at midnight in the common room. You can bring these two if you want, but it's you I want to talk to."
Harry's eyes looked questioning, but he agreed to meet her there at midnight. Kentarre nodded and then swiftly walked back out of the Entrance Hall, leaving them to their confused questions.