Threat or not, Tia didn't have time to think much about it the next morning. Snape was in a worse mood than she'd ever seen him, and spent nearly an hour delivering a tirade on the evils of students fighting, how many people had seen them, damages to school property, and student injuries due to a sudden loss of visibility in an entire wing of the school. Tia kept silent except for an occasional 'yes, Professor' when appropriate, though she was sorely tempted to point out that Snape had actively encouraged more student battles than he discouraged. She knew the real reason he was yelling at her was that she'd single handedly destroyed Slytherin's chances to win the Cup this year. Even teachers could be petty at times.

When Snape finally wound down, he'd sent her to help the house elves repair the stonework damaged in her fight. Tia thought this would be an easy way out, since the house elves would probably do most of the work, but when she got there she found that all the elves had been instructed most sternly to make sure she did her share. Which consisted of all of that hallway and touch ups on most of the adjoining ones as well. They wouldn't even let her use magic, though she bet they went around and used a repair spell on the whole thing when she was finished. She was a witch, not a stone mason, after all.

By the time she'd finished she felt drained and sore, not to mention covered in plaster dust which was just embarrassing, and wanted nothing more than to go back to her dorm and sleep, but her classes beckoned. She wasn't about to lose more points for skipping out. The only high point was the fact that she didn't have Potions that day. She'd certainly seen enough of Snape for the next month. After her last class finally wrapped up, Tia decided to go to the library. She was less likely to run into her House-mates there. Then she could wait to go back to the dorm until everyone was sleeping, and maybe avoid the recriminations for another day. She found herself missing Kerry. He would have known what to say…but he was probably busy comforting Cynthia.

Tia dropped her books on the library table with a loud thud. Everyone turned to look at her. She ignored them, pretending to be interested in a nearby bookshelf. Now that she was in the library, she had no idea what to do. She didn't feel like studying. She grabbed a random book off the shelf and opened it.

"…the magic of the caster, when combined with the innate channeling ability of the substance in the wand, creates a far more powerful spell than if the caster were to…"

Tia glanced at the cover of the book. The Magic Wand and its History. She rolled her eyes. This was kid stuff. She flipped to another page.

"…unicorns, dragons and phoenix are known to have such great natural magic about them that they were immediately targeted as sources for the wands' power. While unicorn hairs and phoenix feathers are easily obtainable and grow back swiftly, the heartstrings of dragons soon became a problem to obtain, and the various dragon breeds were hunted to near extinction…"

Tia glanced at her wand, sitting on the table next to her. She could still hear Ollivander's voice chanting, "Ash and dragon heartstring, twelve and three quarter inches…" She wondered what kind of dragon had died to give her that wand. Turning it over in her fingers she found herself staring at the open book in front of her. A triple picture of a dragon, a unicorn, and a phoenix adorned the top of the page. She traced the outline of each creature with her wand, still thinking about dragons, when another thought occurred to her. Her hand stopped over the picture of the phoenix. What had the teachers been talking about the night before? Revival magic…they were discussing theft of…a candle? Phoenix candle. That was it.

Curiosity sparked, Tia returned the wand book to the shelf and searched around for a book on magical objects. After four books and several misleading references, she finally found what she was looking for in a book of spells called Experiments in Communication by which, she found out, they meant communication with the dead. She wondered why the book wasn't in the restricted section, but after browsing it for a minute she figured it out. No self respecting student would ever read a book written in such a fashion. It was technical language, but the kind of technical written by people who want to sound smart so they string lots of big words together in a sentence that doesn't really make sense once you finish reading it. Tia almost put the book back, but she forced herself to wait until she found the passage that interested her.

The phoenix candle, it turned out, was a very old and not much used form of resurrection magic. The candles were made by some long drawn out process which involved catching the life force of a burning phoenix and imprisoning it in tallow. Tia didn't think much of that. Like the dragons for wands it seemed unfair to kill phoenixes to make candles. Supposedly, if you burnt the candle while chanting some odd spell and brewing a terribly complicated looking potion, you could possibly call back a spirit of the dead to the living. The complexity of the timing and the rarity of the ingredients soon made the candle method obsolete. Tia wondered why anyone would want to steal something that sounded like more trouble than it was worth to cast.

Curiosity sated, and bored out of her mind by the book's writing, she shoved it back on the shelf and left the library. She had just reached the common room and was about to head for her bed when she heard a familiar yowling coming from the door.

"Ember!" She flung the door open, admitting the cat, who jumped up on the table without pause. "Well fine, glad to see you too. Where have you been?" The cat purred, and dropped something on the table. Tia picked it up. It was a plant. "I didn't know you were vegetarian. Couldn't catch any mice?" Ember looked insulted. An insulted cat is an amusing sight. Tia looked more closely at the plant. "Nightshade? But that only grows in places of concentrated evil…where have you been?"

In reply, Ember hopped off the table and headed for the door again. "Now wait a minute, where do you think you're going?" She made to shut the door, but the cat slipped through. Flinging it open again, she stormed out after her. "Come back here! If you think I'm going to follow you to some mouse-hole you've found…" Muttering to herself about the wisdom of talking to cats, she tromped after Ember, who always stayed just out of reach. "I swear, I'm tempted just to leave you out here."

Suddenly, she recognized where they were. Ember had stopped in front of a familiar door and was staring at it, twitching her tail. It was the door she'd ended up in front of, the night of her accident with the broom closet. "Why?" she asked, moving to stand next to the cat. Then she heard voices from the room.

"…is set. All we need is the book."

"I looked all over the library and couldn't find it…" Grant. Tia could only assume the other voice was his father. She swallowed. It looked like she wasn't going to be able to leave it alone after all. She listened closer.

"…again. We can not afford to make a mistake. Voldemort must be revived, or our way of life is lost forever."

"But we don't even know if it will work. Don't you think you should consult the others first?"

"When Lord Voldemort returns, I want him to know that it was I who helped him, not some other dark wizard, eager to supplant me in the ranks."

"But…"

"Perhaps you are afraid? You think there is safety in numbers?"

"No!"

"Then go get that book. We must finish this tonight."

"Yes, father."

"And make sure you are not disturbed this time. That girl seemed a bit too interested for her own good. Just like her mother." Tia jumped, they were talking about her. She backed away from the door, hearing footsteps approach. She turned and ran as the doorknob rattled.

Tearing down the hall, Tia found it hard to think. Someone was trying to bring Voldemort back. Come to think of it, that wasn't such a strange idea, but someone was trying to bring him back now. This was the last thing she needed. What was she thinking, it was the last thing the world needed.

Of course, it probably wouldn't work. Tia remembered the book. It had been very uncertain of the actual results of the candle 'experiment'. Still, there was always a chance. She should tell someone. Fast. But who? Professor McGonagall? She'd never listen. Snape? No way. There was only one thing for it, go straight to the top.

Skidding to a halt outside Dumbledore's office, she banged on the statue of a griffin until her fists hurt, then started kicking it. "Let me in! I have to talk to you! Headmaster! Let me in!"

Slowly, the statue slid open. Tia fidgeted in impatience as the staircase slowly wound its way to the top. "Headmaster!" she called, jumping out into the room. Dumbledore looked up from his desk.

"Ah, Miss Raven. An unorthodox way to obtain entry to my office, but at least you weren't sent by Snape this time." He smiled, amused by his own joke. Tia shook her head.

"No…it's more important. I just found something, I mean I heard something, I mean…" Tia stopped, flustered. She forced herself to breath normally. "Sorry. It's about the phoenix candle, the one you were discussing yesterday when I…um…well anyway, I know its been stolen and I know who stole it!" She waited for Dumbledore to ask, but he just sat behind his desk, still looking amused. Tia wondered if she was missing something here.

"I heard them talking…they're trying to bring back Voldemort with the candle, I saw the book, too…" Tia hesitated again, thinking that maybe she should have gone to the library first and picked up the book before Grant could. At this rate… "You need to stop him! He's going to get the book…"

"Who?" Dumbledore asked. He no longer looked amused, only thoughtful.

"Grant…" What was it, what was it… "…Seldon. And his father. He's a dark wizard," she added unnecessarily.

"I don't recall a Grant Seldon in Slytherin…"

"He's in Gryffindor!" Tia knew this would come up. She hadn't wanted to mention it.

"Ah, of course. A Gryffindor." Dumbledore looked amused again. "And his father, a dark wizard, inside Hogwarts, planning to revive Voldemort." The headmaster peered over his glasses at Tia. "Am I right?"

"No…they're not in Hogwarts…I think they're in the forest." Tia could feel her audience slipping. "They…you don't believe me, do you?"

"I must admit, it sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn't it?"

Tia shifted her balance back and forth. She was imagining Grant taking the book and escaping while she stalled here with Dumbledore. "You have to listen…" she said, but without much conviction. She should have known better than to expect any teacher to take her word for anything. Especially against a Gryffindor.

"I suggest you forget all about it," Dumbledore continued. "I assure you we are in no danger of Voldemort being revived by…" Tia didn't stay to listen. This was a waste of time she didn't have. Racing back down the stairs, she kicked the closing statue on the way out.

"I should have known," she said to herself as she tore through the halls again. "Anyone whose office sports a griffin for a door would never listen to a Slytherin accuse a Gryffindor." Heading for the library by the fastest route she came to an unplanned halt in front of the Hufflepuff dormitory. Kerry would know what to do, and his credibility record wasn't shot. If there were two of them, Dumbledore would have to listen. Tia didn't really enjoy the idea of racing after Grant on her own. Fumbling in her pockets, she pulled out a folded paper and scanned it.

"Arctic Atlas," she announced to the statue guarding the Hufflepuff entrance, and it slid to the side. Thank goodness for Derrell and his password hunting skills.

Tia ran inside, not thinking for the moment of the reaction a student in Slytherin uniform might get barging into another House's common room. "I need to talk to Kerry: she announced to the startled Hufflepuffs inside. "Now!"

"Whoa, Tia, what are you doing here? This is…" Kerry stood up from a chair by the fire.

"Your common room, I know. But it's important." She grabbed his arm and dragged him outside the room. "There's a dark wizard on the loose," she said, once safely away from the rest of the Hufflepuffs. "I talked to Dumbledore, but he won't believe me and I want you to help me. He'll listen to you, I'm sure."

"Um…Tia…"

"Don't start! You have to believe me! I don't have time to explain…"

"You've got to be kidding me. Dark wizard? In Hogwarts? It's impossible!"

"But…" Tia stopped. This had been a waste of time after all. Grant would certainly have the book by now, and… "Fine! I told you I don't have time for this! If you can't trust me…" she stopped. "Forget it, I'll stop him myself." She turned and ran for the library, ignoring a faint protest from Kerry.

"Tia…wait…" Suddenly, she was jerked backwards as Kerry caught hold of her robe. "Wait! I believe you! Just…give me an explanation or something."

"I don't have time! It could be too late already…"

"But…we shouldn't get involved in…" Kerry stopped. He looked at Tia for a long moment, chewing his lip. "Okay, I'll come with you."

She nodded. "Forget Dumbledore, we'd better head for the library first."

"But…you said…"

"Come on!"

The two students ran for the library, Tia explaining the situation as best she could as they went. Kerry nodded without saying anything. He seemed strangely quiet. Tia just hoped he didn't have a panic attack or something.