A/N: I'm back! Why is it that when I have time off from school I don't
have any time to write, but when I'm in school and have a million and one
things to do, I have time to update? I guess it just goes to show what I'd
rather be doing. Anyway, thanks everyone for the reviews, they mean a lot
to me! And a special thanks to Natalie for appreciating the no sex for the
14 year olds rule! OK, so on to pressing matters, we're going for another
time change! I know, it seems like there's one every chapter. I'm going
to be honest; I only wanted it to be Christmas for the proposal, it just
seemed cuter that way! I'm evil, I know! Besides, we have to get through
the school year somehow. So that's it for now, back to our regularly
scheduled programming.
~Chapter 21~
Harry would have thought the day in Hogsmeade the previous fall was all in his imagination if it hadn't been for the two days that Ginny and Hermione had spent in hospital and the fact that it had been witnessed by all the staff and half the student body.
As it was winter had come and gone and still nothing had happened. Now they were well into spring and still nothing seemed to be headed their way. While this was good news it was also torture because he knew someone had attacked them that day. He just wished he knew who it was. Still there were only a few months left of school at this point and then the students would be safe at home.
Of course it didn't make the staff to happy. The closer it got to the end of term the sadder they seemed to get. They had spent a lot of time with these kids getting to know them and teaching them. It wasn't going to be easy walking away from that when the year was over.
Now they would have to start thinking all over again about what they were going to do once the year was over. They had all taken the job teaching because, with the exception of Neville, none of them had a clear direction in life. Now, they had direction, but in a few months it would be taken away.
The teachers tried to make the most of their last few months with their kids by spending equal amounts of time teaching them relevant material as having fun with their classes. Even Draco, who was usually the strictest of teachers, was finding fun activities to keep them entertained.
On the weekends and in the afternoons they'd spend time outside with the students either playing Quidditch or helping them with study lessons. During dinners the teachers would sit at the house tables with the students and chat about their days or joke around with each other.
At one such dinner Harry was sitting with Tyler and Coop at the Gryffindor table while Draco was sitting with Ginny chatting with some Hufflepuffs at the next table. With a mischievous gleam in his eye, Harry grabbed a piece of chicken from his plate. Before Tyler and Coop knew what he was about he threw it across the room where it landed with a smack against the back of Draco's head. Tyler and Coop's faces paled as Draco turned around with a look of murder in his gray eyes. The entire hall stopped talking as Draco stood up.
"Thought that was funny, Potter?" Draco asked.
Tyler and Coop slid down in their seats out of sight before Draco decided to unleash the forces of hell. Harry kept on laughing, "Actually, it was rather hysterical if you ask me."
Harry kept on laughing and a moment later a giant wad of mashed potatoes hit him square in the face and Draco's laughter filled the hall. In the next instant Harry was up out of his seat and he and Draco were throwing food back and forth at each other. From another table Neville stood up and yelled, "Food fight!" In the next instant everyone in the hall was up on their feet throwing food from one side of the hall to the next.
McGonagall could do nothing but sit at the head table and shake her head, a slight smile tugging the corners of her lips.
~~~
It was a beautiful day in April and all of Hogwarts was out on the Quidditch pitch watching Gryffindor and Slytherin battle it out for the Quidditch cup. The scores were tied at 120 a piece and the two Seekers were currently battling it out for the snitch.
At the last second the snitch changed course and the Connie was able to dive quickly and grab it, clenching a Gryffindor victory. Pandemonium erupted in the Gryffindor stands as everyone cheered for their team. The team touched down in the middle of the field to celebrate.
Soon after the stands were thinning out as the students made their way back to the castle. "That was a great game!" Franklin said as they followed the others back.
"Yeah, and the celebration in the common room is going to last all night!" Andrew added.
"I can't wait," Sofia added.
Suddenly Franklin stopped walking, "Hey did you see that?"
"See what?" Daniel asked stopping next to him.
"Over there...by the forest." Franklin said.
"No," Richard said, "I didn't see anything.
Franklin took a step toward the woods, "Let's go take a look."
Sofia looked worried, "We're not supposed to go near there, it's forbidden."
"I thought I saw a flash. Come on," he insisted, "we won't actually go in, I just want to see what it was."
The group walked away from the rest of the students toward the woods. "I don't see anything, Franklin," Richard said. "I'm sure you just saw a shadow or something."
"Shh, do you hear something?" Sofia asked leaning close to listen.
The other four boys did hear something. It sounded like footsteps coming closer to them. Before they could step away a voice called out, "Imperio!" and there was a small green flash that hit Franklin.
"Franklin!" Sofia called.
The voice from the woods spoke, "Come here, Franklin." Franklin took a step forward. The triplets and Sofia grabbed hold of him and tried to keep him back, but with seeming superhuman strength he shook them off and continued into the forest.
"Oh my God, what do we do now?" Andrew asked.
~~~
"Tyler have you seen Franklin?" Emily asked as her eyes once again scanned the common room in search of her brother.
"No, Em, I'm surprised they aren't back yet, we're usually the last ones back from the pitch," Tyler answered.
After games it always took them some time to get back to the common room because of the after game meeting and because they needed to change out of their Quidditch robes. Usually by the time they got back to the common room the celebration was well on it's way, which it was, and Franklin was waiting to greet her by the Fat Lady, which he wasn't.
Emily sat in a chair near the portrait with her leg shaking nervously. Every second that he didn't walk through the door her anxiety would rise. "Where could he be?"
"Maybe we should go and tell one of the teachers," Coop suggested, hoping that it would do something to calm Emily's nerves. "They'd probably know better than us how to start looking for him."
"You're right, let's go," Emily said getting up.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Tyler said following them out of the portrait.
~~~
Sofia and the Abbott triplets came running down the hall straight to the teacher's lounge hoping that there would be someone there. As soon as they reached the door Daniel started banging desperately on the door.
Harry opened the door with a look of annoyance on his face. As soon as he saw the students in front of him, he was filled with alarm. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Professor Potter!" Sofia started out of breath. "Professor, it's Franklin! You have to help him!"
"Calm down, Sofia," Harry said kneeling down in front of her. "Where is Franklin? What happened?"
"What happened to Franklin?" Emily said. She, Coop and Tyler had just come around the corner when they saw the triplets and Sofia talking to Harry and Emily had only heard the tail end of Harry's question. She ran the rest of the way to Sofia and knelt down in front of her too. Taking her arms she said, "Sofia, where's my brother? Where's Franklin?"
"I don't know," she said, tears filling her green eyes. "We were heading back to the castle and near the forest we heard a noise. We went closer and we heard some one say Im-Impe, I've never heard that spell before."
"Sofia," Harry said, getting her attention, "did the person say 'Imperio?'"
"Yes! That was the one! And then Franklin just started walking away from us. He wouldn't stop when we tried to get him to come back. We came to find you as soon as we could," she finished.
Harry's heart started beating quickly, who could be out here using the Imperius Curse on his students? "Listen to me closely, I want you to go straight back to your common room. I promise, I'll go find Franklin."
"OK, Professor." Harry and Emily stood up as the four first years started walking away. Sofia turned back tears falling down her cheeks, "I'm sorry we went to the forest Professor."
"It's alright, Sofia," he told her. "Everything will be all right. Just go back to the common room." She nodded her head and the four headed off again. "I want you guys to go back to your common room as well."
"I don't think so!" Emily answered back.
Harry took a breath, "Emily, I can appreciate how you feel, but I can't take you out to the forest with us. I can't effectively find your brother if I'm constantly worrying about where you three are the whole time."
"Please Professor, he's my brother," Emily began.
"And I promise, I'll bring him back safe and sound. Now please, promise me you'll go back to your common room." Emily nodded feebly. "Good now if you'll excuse me, I've got to find the other teachers so we can go," he said starting off down the corridor.
"Don't worry Em," Coop said bringing his arms around Emily to comfort her, "Franklin will be alright."
"Do you guys have your wands?" she asked.
~~~
He quickly gathered all the teachers in McGonagall's office and filled them in on what was going on. "We must leave immediately and find him," Harry told the group.
"I can't allow you to do that," McGonagall told him, "You don't know if it's a trap."
"We can't leave Franklin to die," Neville said. "I'm with Harry on this."
The other's nodded their agreement and McGonagall gave in. "Just be careful out there. The eight teachers quickly made their way out of the castle across the lawns and into the Forbidden Forest.
"Just keep your eye's peeled when you're in here. We don't know exactly what we're up against right now," Harry said as they made their way into the forest.
They all stayed close with their wands out as they entered all trying to look everywhere at once. The slightest noise caused them all to jump and look in that direction. They didn't have any idea where they were going and they didn't think that splitting up would be in their best interest. What ever was out there it would be best to face it together.
The walked deeper and deeper into the woods and still they could find nothing. They'd walk in one direction for a while and then if nothing was found then they doubled back and changed direction.
"This is hopeless," Ron said after their third change of direction. "It would be best if we just split up."
"Wait a minute," Draco said, "I hear something this way." He started leading the way toward where he'd heard the noises coming from. Cutting through the woods they saw three figures walking ahead of them. They followed silently to see where they went.
~~~
"Emily, we should probably turn back," Tyler whispered. "We don't even know where we are."
"You guys go back if you want, but I'm not leaving without Franklin," she whispered back.
"Don't be ridiculous, Em, we're not leaving you alone," Coop said definitively, "Let's just keep going."
The moved forward through the trees and moved into a clearing. "Oh my God Franklin!" Emily cried out.
Franklin was lying on the ground towards the back of the clearing apparently knocked out. With a quick glance around the clearing to make sure it was deserted she darted out and ran toward her brother followed by Coop and Tyler.
"Franklin! Franklin, are you alright?" Emily asked giving him a shake trying to revive him. Franklin didn't move no matter how hard Emily shook. "Help me guys, we've got to get him back to the school."
The boys were about to help pick him up when they heard twigs cracking behind them. Immediately the three jumped up pulling their wands out in front of them.
"I thought you promised me you'd go right back to your common room," Harry said stepping into the clearing.
"I'm sorry Professor, I couldn't leave my brother out here without doing something myself," Emily answered.
Draco snickered at Harry, "Do they remind you of three other headstrong, think they know it alls, who never listened to anyone?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked away their faces turning slightly pink. "Is he all right?" Ginny asked stepping forward.
"He's knocked out," Emily said, her attention back on her brother, "I can't wake him."
"Let's just get him back to the school. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will know what to do," Hermione said.
"I don't think so," said a cold voice behind them. Everyone snapped around to look at the dark hooded figure, which now blocked their path to the school. "None of you will be going anywhere."
A/N: Dun, dun, dun!!! I know what you're all thinking! I'm just the meanest person on the face of this planet! The poo is flying everywhere and I'm just ending the chapter here! Well too bad! Cliffhangers are fun! Ha ha ha! So who is this masked man? You'll just have to tune in same Bat time same Bat channel to find out!
~Chapter 21~
Harry would have thought the day in Hogsmeade the previous fall was all in his imagination if it hadn't been for the two days that Ginny and Hermione had spent in hospital and the fact that it had been witnessed by all the staff and half the student body.
As it was winter had come and gone and still nothing had happened. Now they were well into spring and still nothing seemed to be headed their way. While this was good news it was also torture because he knew someone had attacked them that day. He just wished he knew who it was. Still there were only a few months left of school at this point and then the students would be safe at home.
Of course it didn't make the staff to happy. The closer it got to the end of term the sadder they seemed to get. They had spent a lot of time with these kids getting to know them and teaching them. It wasn't going to be easy walking away from that when the year was over.
Now they would have to start thinking all over again about what they were going to do once the year was over. They had all taken the job teaching because, with the exception of Neville, none of them had a clear direction in life. Now, they had direction, but in a few months it would be taken away.
The teachers tried to make the most of their last few months with their kids by spending equal amounts of time teaching them relevant material as having fun with their classes. Even Draco, who was usually the strictest of teachers, was finding fun activities to keep them entertained.
On the weekends and in the afternoons they'd spend time outside with the students either playing Quidditch or helping them with study lessons. During dinners the teachers would sit at the house tables with the students and chat about their days or joke around with each other.
At one such dinner Harry was sitting with Tyler and Coop at the Gryffindor table while Draco was sitting with Ginny chatting with some Hufflepuffs at the next table. With a mischievous gleam in his eye, Harry grabbed a piece of chicken from his plate. Before Tyler and Coop knew what he was about he threw it across the room where it landed with a smack against the back of Draco's head. Tyler and Coop's faces paled as Draco turned around with a look of murder in his gray eyes. The entire hall stopped talking as Draco stood up.
"Thought that was funny, Potter?" Draco asked.
Tyler and Coop slid down in their seats out of sight before Draco decided to unleash the forces of hell. Harry kept on laughing, "Actually, it was rather hysterical if you ask me."
Harry kept on laughing and a moment later a giant wad of mashed potatoes hit him square in the face and Draco's laughter filled the hall. In the next instant Harry was up out of his seat and he and Draco were throwing food back and forth at each other. From another table Neville stood up and yelled, "Food fight!" In the next instant everyone in the hall was up on their feet throwing food from one side of the hall to the next.
McGonagall could do nothing but sit at the head table and shake her head, a slight smile tugging the corners of her lips.
~~~
It was a beautiful day in April and all of Hogwarts was out on the Quidditch pitch watching Gryffindor and Slytherin battle it out for the Quidditch cup. The scores were tied at 120 a piece and the two Seekers were currently battling it out for the snitch.
At the last second the snitch changed course and the Connie was able to dive quickly and grab it, clenching a Gryffindor victory. Pandemonium erupted in the Gryffindor stands as everyone cheered for their team. The team touched down in the middle of the field to celebrate.
Soon after the stands were thinning out as the students made their way back to the castle. "That was a great game!" Franklin said as they followed the others back.
"Yeah, and the celebration in the common room is going to last all night!" Andrew added.
"I can't wait," Sofia added.
Suddenly Franklin stopped walking, "Hey did you see that?"
"See what?" Daniel asked stopping next to him.
"Over there...by the forest." Franklin said.
"No," Richard said, "I didn't see anything.
Franklin took a step toward the woods, "Let's go take a look."
Sofia looked worried, "We're not supposed to go near there, it's forbidden."
"I thought I saw a flash. Come on," he insisted, "we won't actually go in, I just want to see what it was."
The group walked away from the rest of the students toward the woods. "I don't see anything, Franklin," Richard said. "I'm sure you just saw a shadow or something."
"Shh, do you hear something?" Sofia asked leaning close to listen.
The other four boys did hear something. It sounded like footsteps coming closer to them. Before they could step away a voice called out, "Imperio!" and there was a small green flash that hit Franklin.
"Franklin!" Sofia called.
The voice from the woods spoke, "Come here, Franklin." Franklin took a step forward. The triplets and Sofia grabbed hold of him and tried to keep him back, but with seeming superhuman strength he shook them off and continued into the forest.
"Oh my God, what do we do now?" Andrew asked.
~~~
"Tyler have you seen Franklin?" Emily asked as her eyes once again scanned the common room in search of her brother.
"No, Em, I'm surprised they aren't back yet, we're usually the last ones back from the pitch," Tyler answered.
After games it always took them some time to get back to the common room because of the after game meeting and because they needed to change out of their Quidditch robes. Usually by the time they got back to the common room the celebration was well on it's way, which it was, and Franklin was waiting to greet her by the Fat Lady, which he wasn't.
Emily sat in a chair near the portrait with her leg shaking nervously. Every second that he didn't walk through the door her anxiety would rise. "Where could he be?"
"Maybe we should go and tell one of the teachers," Coop suggested, hoping that it would do something to calm Emily's nerves. "They'd probably know better than us how to start looking for him."
"You're right, let's go," Emily said getting up.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Tyler said following them out of the portrait.
~~~
Sofia and the Abbott triplets came running down the hall straight to the teacher's lounge hoping that there would be someone there. As soon as they reached the door Daniel started banging desperately on the door.
Harry opened the door with a look of annoyance on his face. As soon as he saw the students in front of him, he was filled with alarm. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Professor Potter!" Sofia started out of breath. "Professor, it's Franklin! You have to help him!"
"Calm down, Sofia," Harry said kneeling down in front of her. "Where is Franklin? What happened?"
"What happened to Franklin?" Emily said. She, Coop and Tyler had just come around the corner when they saw the triplets and Sofia talking to Harry and Emily had only heard the tail end of Harry's question. She ran the rest of the way to Sofia and knelt down in front of her too. Taking her arms she said, "Sofia, where's my brother? Where's Franklin?"
"I don't know," she said, tears filling her green eyes. "We were heading back to the castle and near the forest we heard a noise. We went closer and we heard some one say Im-Impe, I've never heard that spell before."
"Sofia," Harry said, getting her attention, "did the person say 'Imperio?'"
"Yes! That was the one! And then Franklin just started walking away from us. He wouldn't stop when we tried to get him to come back. We came to find you as soon as we could," she finished.
Harry's heart started beating quickly, who could be out here using the Imperius Curse on his students? "Listen to me closely, I want you to go straight back to your common room. I promise, I'll go find Franklin."
"OK, Professor." Harry and Emily stood up as the four first years started walking away. Sofia turned back tears falling down her cheeks, "I'm sorry we went to the forest Professor."
"It's alright, Sofia," he told her. "Everything will be all right. Just go back to the common room." She nodded her head and the four headed off again. "I want you guys to go back to your common room as well."
"I don't think so!" Emily answered back.
Harry took a breath, "Emily, I can appreciate how you feel, but I can't take you out to the forest with us. I can't effectively find your brother if I'm constantly worrying about where you three are the whole time."
"Please Professor, he's my brother," Emily began.
"And I promise, I'll bring him back safe and sound. Now please, promise me you'll go back to your common room." Emily nodded feebly. "Good now if you'll excuse me, I've got to find the other teachers so we can go," he said starting off down the corridor.
"Don't worry Em," Coop said bringing his arms around Emily to comfort her, "Franklin will be alright."
"Do you guys have your wands?" she asked.
~~~
He quickly gathered all the teachers in McGonagall's office and filled them in on what was going on. "We must leave immediately and find him," Harry told the group.
"I can't allow you to do that," McGonagall told him, "You don't know if it's a trap."
"We can't leave Franklin to die," Neville said. "I'm with Harry on this."
The other's nodded their agreement and McGonagall gave in. "Just be careful out there. The eight teachers quickly made their way out of the castle across the lawns and into the Forbidden Forest.
"Just keep your eye's peeled when you're in here. We don't know exactly what we're up against right now," Harry said as they made their way into the forest.
They all stayed close with their wands out as they entered all trying to look everywhere at once. The slightest noise caused them all to jump and look in that direction. They didn't have any idea where they were going and they didn't think that splitting up would be in their best interest. What ever was out there it would be best to face it together.
The walked deeper and deeper into the woods and still they could find nothing. They'd walk in one direction for a while and then if nothing was found then they doubled back and changed direction.
"This is hopeless," Ron said after their third change of direction. "It would be best if we just split up."
"Wait a minute," Draco said, "I hear something this way." He started leading the way toward where he'd heard the noises coming from. Cutting through the woods they saw three figures walking ahead of them. They followed silently to see where they went.
~~~
"Emily, we should probably turn back," Tyler whispered. "We don't even know where we are."
"You guys go back if you want, but I'm not leaving without Franklin," she whispered back.
"Don't be ridiculous, Em, we're not leaving you alone," Coop said definitively, "Let's just keep going."
The moved forward through the trees and moved into a clearing. "Oh my God Franklin!" Emily cried out.
Franklin was lying on the ground towards the back of the clearing apparently knocked out. With a quick glance around the clearing to make sure it was deserted she darted out and ran toward her brother followed by Coop and Tyler.
"Franklin! Franklin, are you alright?" Emily asked giving him a shake trying to revive him. Franklin didn't move no matter how hard Emily shook. "Help me guys, we've got to get him back to the school."
The boys were about to help pick him up when they heard twigs cracking behind them. Immediately the three jumped up pulling their wands out in front of them.
"I thought you promised me you'd go right back to your common room," Harry said stepping into the clearing.
"I'm sorry Professor, I couldn't leave my brother out here without doing something myself," Emily answered.
Draco snickered at Harry, "Do they remind you of three other headstrong, think they know it alls, who never listened to anyone?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked away their faces turning slightly pink. "Is he all right?" Ginny asked stepping forward.
"He's knocked out," Emily said, her attention back on her brother, "I can't wake him."
"Let's just get him back to the school. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will know what to do," Hermione said.
"I don't think so," said a cold voice behind them. Everyone snapped around to look at the dark hooded figure, which now blocked their path to the school. "None of you will be going anywhere."
A/N: Dun, dun, dun!!! I know what you're all thinking! I'm just the meanest person on the face of this planet! The poo is flying everywhere and I'm just ending the chapter here! Well too bad! Cliffhangers are fun! Ha ha ha! So who is this masked man? You'll just have to tune in same Bat time same Bat channel to find out!