Chapter 8

Time seemed to pass quickly after that first week, it seemed even a magical school was still school. Soon the novelty of the subject matter wore thin for the majority of the first years, several bemoaning the increasingly long essays they had to write on the origins, development, uses and alternatives to various spells. This group did not include Harry though, instead he and his friends would immediately venture to the library after receiving an assignment and, sometimes with help from one of the others to read aloud sections from a book with no braille alternative, the group would complete the work before quickly heading to their room.

The slightly dusty old classroom had become Harry's favourite place in the Castle, in the weeks since they had first found the room Harry had spent at least an hour there every day, almost always joined by at least one of his friends, and in that time they had cleared a space in the centre of the room for spell practice while around the edge of the room chairs piled with cushions and desks with spare parchment and inkwells awaited those that wanted to take notes on one subject or another.

All in all, Harry's first two months had gone well, Charms continued to be his favourite subject, even with his struggles with Transfiguration he still enjoyed it, and the other lessons had their own merits. He had requested a note from Professor Flitwick to avoid having to attend any more Flying lessons, though he had enjoyed the beginning of his first, the encounter with Malfoy had soured the memory. Professor Flitwick had required him to attend another two lessons before Madam Hooch had declared him safe on a broom, after which he was granted leave to skip the remaining lessons.

Harry made it all the way up to the last weekend of October before he realised what was coming up, so enthralled with the magical Castle and learning as much as he could from it. Only on Monday morning, when the Great Hall was filled with floating pumpkins and Professor Dumbledore announced that the Halloween Feast that would be taking place that evening, did the realisation hit. A storm of guilt and grief overtaking him for a moment as he sat silently amidst the excited clamouring of his fellow students. He had almost forgotten the day his parents had died.

It was an unusually glum Harry that made his way to Charms that morning, his mind awash with thoughts of his parents and that night 10 years ago. He found his seat and nodded along as Hannah and Terry excitedly discussed the feast tonight, his attention was only brought back to the present when the short figure of Professor Flitwick made his way to his lectern and cleared his throat for the class.

"Now, I am sure you are all excited about the feast tonight, but for now I am afraid I will need you to bring about your focus to the lesson at hand. Today, we will be performing the Levitation Charm. We have already gone over the importance of correct wand movement and incantation, so please repeat after me – Wingardium Leviosa!" The class recited along with the Charms Master and there were shrieks of fear and laughter as the benches they were seated on rose a foot into the air before lowering back down a moment later.

Soon they were each given a feather and told to practice the spell and Harry was able to forget the date and its meaning as he focussed his attention entirely on the feather on his desk before him. In his sight it looked so fragile, a faint white and green shaft with skeletal barbs sprouting from it, and even smaller barbs sprouting from those barbs. Feathers often reminded him of leaves in Winter when the flesh of the leaf had fallen away, leaving just the remnants of its frame behind.

He brought his wand up, a clear image of the feather rising into the air, supported by his own green magic, and with a swish and flick and a whispered "Wingardium Leviosa!" he watched as his magic crept from his wand and wrapped around the feather, spreading around it like a cocoon before it lifted into the air and hovered a few feet above him, perfectly still.

"Marvellous, five points to Ravenclaw Mr Potter." He heard from the front of the room as he slowly let the feather drift back down to the tabletop.

"Well done mate!" Terry cheered next to him, a quick glance told Harry that his friend was likely only a few attempts behind him, his own blue magic stretching searching tendrils out to the feather. He was proven correct when a minute later Terry let out a cheer himself and Harry clapped for his friend, proud of his success. By the end of the lesson most everyone had succeeded at casting the spell, though there was an argument between two Gryffindor's that led to a young girl running off.

Defence Against the Dark Arts undertook a change of pace that day, instead of lecturing on dangerous creatures that they might encounter, Professor Quirrell instead began the new topic of defending against a dark wizard.

"So, w-who kn-knows wha-what they sh-should do if th-they enco-encounter a dark wi-wizard?" He began, and though several students around shuffled, none raised a hand until Susan, sat next to Harry did.

"Well, we should defend ourselves, shouldn't we?" She asked when he nodded to her.

"Re-really? You be-believe y-you could d-d-defend yours-self fro-from a dark wizard?" The professor paused before he drew his wand and Harry was shocked when his dull yellow magic swelled before it erupted into a gout of dark red that scorched the ceiling, the smell of sulfur filled the room as students shrieked and ducked beneath their desks. An oppressive heat filled the room for a moment before it vanished. "No, th-the correct ans-answer is to co-contact the Mi-ministry. I am surprised you didn't know that, Miss Bones."

Susan, who had been helping Harry to his feet from his retreat beneath the desk paused at that but before Harry could ask her about it, the professor continued.

"H-however, Miss B-bones is r-right that kn-knowing how to pro-protect yo-yourself fr-from att-attack is im-important. To-today, yo-you will be l-l-learning the m-most b-basic sh-shield charm." At that, Harry tapped his enchanted quill, he still found it easier to read the transcription than listen to the Professor's stutter, though he was pleased that the headache's he had experienced in his first few weeks had slowly dwindled, it seemed Professor Flitwick's breathing exercises helped with headache's as well. As the Professor continued to detail the charm they would be learning, Harry did his best to tune him out and instead let his fingers drift across the page behind the quill.

This charm is a simple one and you should have no problems with it, however it is simple because it has limits and weaknesses. This spell was actually developed in Rome and was used to defend against imp's and their magics. But it works well to defend against minor jinxes, though it will not stop any physical blows.

The incantation is 'Tutamentum' and the wand motion is a clockwise rotation, the circumference of the rotation will mark the size of the shield you conjure, I should warn you that the larger the shield the more focus and power will be required.

Now pair up and practice, one will shoot sparks and the other will try to "defend" against them.

As had become habit in their classes, Harry paired with Terry while Hannah and Susan stood next to each other, and Neville and Oliver stood off to one side. After a brief moment where no one spoke, none wanting to be the first to perform the charm, Terry stepped forward and shot loud bright sparks at Harry, prompting the rest of the class to begin as well.

Harry's wand was in his hand and tracing a large circle in the air the moment he saw Terry's magic begin to gather, his own magic already thrumming down his arm into his wand and with a quiet "Tutamentum", a spiralling green disc appeared just in time to catch Terry's blue sparks. The disc was a little wobbly, wavering and shivering the further out it got from the wand tip, but it had stopped Terry's sparks which was a success in Harry's book. Terry offered him a high five as they swapped places, by now unsurprised when Harry could get at least a partial success from the spell on his first attempt.

Harry gave Terry a few moments to prepare himself, his own breathing was deep and even, it was second nature for him to settle into the almost meditative state when using magic now and he could do so in seconds after all of his practice, his magic flowing freely, eager to act. Once Terry seemed ready, Harry flicked his wand and fired off a cluster of green sparks towards the boy. There was a flicker of blue that stopped the first of the sparks, but it quickly vanished, and the remaining sparks sputtered into nothing as they hit his chest. Harry was confident that Terry would get the spell on his next attempt and waved off the other boys attempt to swap again. He was proved correct when his next volley of sparks met a swirling blue disc and were immediately snuffed out, little ripples across the disc the only sign that they had ever existed.

"Well done Terry, that looked better than mine I think." Harry clapped his friend on the arm, though the other boy quickly shook his head and let out a short laugh at his praise.

"Mate, that would mean a lot if you weren't mostly blind." Terry laughed at Harry's expression of mock outrage. He laughed until there was a dull thwack and suddenly Terry was hopping and rubbing his shin in pain. "Oi!"

"Sorry Terry, I'm mostly blind so I didn't see your leg." Harry poked him in the chest with a grin. "I was aiming for your left one, hold still and let me try again."

As the day wore on, Harry's grief resurfaced, it was odd to feel such sadness, to miss people he didn't remember, but he did. The evening feast was accompanied by more floating pumpkins and candles, and a plethora of foods, the sound of cheering and laughter filled the Great Hall, but Harry was oblivious to most of it, picking at his food morosely.

His thoughts were disturbed when the large doors to the Great Hall heaved open with a crash and the limping form of Professor Quirrell made his way into the Hall. The Professor's right arm hung loose and bloody at his side and his turban was askew as he stumbled halfway up the Hall before speaking.

"T-T-Troll in the d-d-dungeons!" He shouted before he tripped and fell prone on the floor with a painful sounding crack. Panic. The cheers and laughter replaced by cries of fear and screams of terror.

Crack. A wave of violet magic erupted over the tables accompanied by the sound of thunder as the Headmaster stood with his wand raised.

"Madam Sprout please lead the Hufflepuff's to their common room, Professor Snape do the same with the Slytherins, Prefects please lead the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors to your towers, myself and the rest of the staff will head to the dungeons to find the Troll. Move calmly and quickly." The long-bearded headmaster led Professor McGonagall and Flitwick down to the doors, an oppressive thundercloud of violet magic rippling from him as he left the Hall.

Penelope and Jeremy were quick to stand and call out for the Ravenclaws to follow them, the Gryffindor Prefects following their lead and the Houses split at the staircase, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors making their way up the staircases together.

Harry was following with Terry when he noticed a splash of familiar warm brown magic making its way off of the staircase and onto the second floor landing. In the split second before he would have passed the landing, Harry whispered to Terry that he was going after Neville and to tell a Prefect where they were before he stepped to his left and onto the landing. He could see Neville's magic a ways ahead of him and around the corner and took off at a brisk pace to catch up to him. Neville turned as Harry approached, his cane once again giving him away.

"Harry! What are you doing here?" The young Gryffindor asked in surprise, though Harry thought he could hear a touch of relief in his friend's voice as well.

"I think I should be asking you that shouldn't I? There's a Troll in the castle Nev, now isn't the time to be wandering about alone." Neville had started walking again at this point and his steps didn't falter as he led them down another corridor, suits of armour lining the walls here.

"I had to get Hermione, she's been in the girl's bathroom ever since Ron was horrible to her in Charms, she wouldn't have known about the Troll." The Gryffindor explained as they approached the bathroom. "She's a bit pushy, but she's nice enough, she even helped me with my Astronomy homework a few weeks ago. And I know Malfoy's been awful to her as well, I couldn't leave her, she might have gotten hurt. Besides, I told Percy and he let me go, we're two floors up from the Troll and the Professor's will have dealt with it by the time we get Hermione surely."

Harry was about to admit that Neville was likely correct when the floor shook as a great crash came from up ahead, quickly followed by a scream of terror. Both boys broke into a run to reach the bathroom, but as they approached, Harry could see that the thick wooden doors to the bathroom were torn from their hinges, one lay splintered on the floor and the other was being crumbled into kindling by the 15-foot-tall Troll that stood towering above the curled up form of Hermione Granger. The Troll held a large wooden club in one of its heavy hands as it growled in the young girls direction, hunched over slightly it hurled the remains of the door at the wall over the sinks causing Hermione to let out another whimper of fear.

Harry was stunned for a moment; the Troll should have been far far away from here, how had it made it up from the dungeons so quickly? His thoughts were interrupted when the Troll slammed its club into the sink next to Hermione who screamed again, pieces of porcelain and stone clattering across the floor. Heart pumping, he shook the errant thoughts from his mind and focussed on the problem at hand.

"Nev, get to Hermione and get her out of here, find a teacher!" He shouted before he waved his wand and shouted "Parlux!" a shower of green sparks shooting from his wand to circle the Troll's head. The magic was harmless, but the noise and light did its job in distracting the Troll long enough for Neville to reach Hermione and help her stand. Though as the sparks faded and the Troll focussed on Harry, he did wonder if perhaps he could have thought up a better plan. With a deep, guttural roar of anger that Harry felt in his chest, the Troll started taking long steps towards the doorway and Harry.

Harry started backing up as he shot off another burst of sparks, aimed at the Troll's head again, though this time the Troll ignored them with a grunt, the dull grey-green magic that moved sluggishly beneath its hide only swirling slightly at the sparks that brushed against it. As the Troll gained distance and Harry backed further into the corridor, he thought back on all of the books he had read on Trolls and other Ogroids. He pictured the assignment he had written for Quirrell as he swept his wand at one of the suits of armour behind him, a little surprised when the armour and spear were sent hurtling towards the Troll as it stepped closer. The armour clanged off of the thick hide for the most part, but through luck or skill the spear hit head on and embedded itself into the Troll's thigh several inches deep. As the Troll fell to one knee and roared in pain, Harry remembered that Troll's were resistant to most magic like other Ogroids, but they were susceptible to fire and extreme heat.

He threw himself backwards by instinct as the now bloody spear was sent rocketing his way by the Troll, cracking into the wall behind him as he stumbled and did his best to keep his footing. The Troll let out another roar before it broke into a great loping run towards him. Harry didn't know any real fire spells, they were dangerous and not taught until second year for a reason, he did know a spell that might trick the Troll, for a time at least.

"Tutus Flagram" He cried as he swung his arm in a great circle around him, a ring of merry blue flames appearing behind his wand. The Troll's reaction was almost comical and in different circumstances Harry might have laughed as the Troll stumbled and fell backwards in its haste to avoid the warm flames that now danced around him. He was safe for the moment.

The Troll grunted frustratedly as it clambered to its feet and eyed Harry warily though the circling flames. Harry was now leaning heavily on his cane, his legs trembling slightly as the adrenaline that had fuelled his actions faded, leaving his body weak behind it. Although the flames didn't falter, the Troll seemed to sense his weakness and gain some confidence. It lashed out with its heavy club and tore through the fragile bluebell flames, the spell sputtering out. It had broken through his deception and as it stepped closer, the vicious grin on its face worried Harry almost as much as the club it raised into the air above him.

Desperate to ward off the Troll, Harry cast the sparks charm again, but instead of picturing harmless motes of light, he thought of the hot biting embers from a fire, hungry and angry. The sparks that erupted from his wand this time were not the jovial green lights that he had conjured previously, instead they were a harsh red and blazing white, a haze of heat washing out with them. The sparks landed across the Troll's arm and chest and instead of fizzling out, an awful sound of sizzling began leaking out as the Troll let out another bellow, but this time filled with fear and pain. The deep primal fear that all predators feel when faced with mans first defence against the dark. Fire.

The Troll staggered back as the sparks latched onto its grey hide, burning into its flesh, branding a constellation across its body. The great beast fell to its knees as it swatted at the hungry flecks that crawled across its body. Harry was stunned as he watched, and felt immense relief when a familiar magic washed past him to engulf the Troll. A great web of silver and blue wrapping around the Troll, constricting tightly until it lay still on the cracked scorched stone floor.

Harry slid to the floor as he felt Professor Flitwick running down the corridor towards him, followed closely by Professor McGonagall and behind her, Neville and Hermione.

"Harry? Are you hurt Harry?" Professor Flitwick leant down next to Harry and put his hand on his shoulder as he asked him again. "Did it hurt you, Harry?"

His mouth was dry, so he shook his head as Professor McGonagall approached and inspected the bound Troll curiously.

"Good, though Poppy will likely still want to check you over anyway. Now, Mr Longbottom was rather insistent that we come to help, so I didn't question him, but what on earth were you thinking Harry?" Flitwick asked, his tone stern but not unkind. Harry was about to reply when surprisingly Neville spoke up.

"Harry came to help me Professor, I realised Hermione was still in the girls bathroom and wouldn't know about the troll so I told Percy and then came to find her, we thought the troll was in the dungeons so I didn't think there would be any problems and I guess Harry noticed I was missing…" Here Neville paused and looked in Harry's direction and fell silent for a moment until Professor Flitwick coughed and looked pointedly at him.

"Well anyway, me and Harry found Hermione in the bathroom but the doors were broken in and the Troll was in there already. Harry told me to get Hermione and find a teacher, and then he distracted it and it followed him this way, and that's when I ran to the staircase and shouted for you Professor." Professor Flitwick hummed and nodded as Professor McGonagall turned to face the group.

"And then Mr Potter, what happened after you distracted the Troll?" Professor McGonagall asked, her Scottish brogue coming through a little thicker than usual. It took a gentle shake from Professor Flitwick for Harry to respond, still a little dazed that he had survived the encounter.

"Sorry Professor," He shook his head, doing his best to clear the numbing fog from his mind before he continued with his answer. "I distracted the Troll with sparks and then I remembered that most Ogroids fear fire, so I cast the bluebell charm, and it worked for a minute, but then it broke through that with its club. So, I tried the sparks charm again, but I wanted it to be hot and burn the Troll, not just be bright. I'm not sure what happened but the sparks came out different and then you and Professor Flitwick arrived and saved me."

"And the suit of armour? The bloody spear?" The Transfiguration teacher gestured with her wand as she spoke, reassembling the slightly dented armour as she did so, complete with the spear in question.

"Ah I'm…well I'm not entirely sure what happened there Professor, I just swung my wand and the armour and spear just sort of moved, it was all so quick I don't know what I did. I'll pay for the damages of course." Harry added nervously, he didn't want to be expelled already, after learning about magic he would never be able to go back to the normal world.

There was a brief snort of laughter from the Charms Master at his remark, though Professor McGonagall kept a straight face when she assured him that he would not need to pay to repair the armour.

"You defended yourself, your friends, the Castle itself even, from a dangerous creature, no you will not have to pay for the damages. In fact, I think a few house points are in order." Professor McGonagall turned to Neville and Hermione. "5 points from Gryffindor for foolishness, and ten points for bravery in the face of danger Mr Longbottom. Your parents would be proud." Neville stood a little straighter at that, a proud smile on his face.

"And 20 points to you Mr Potter, for quick thinking and marvellous spell work." Professor Flitwick patted him on the shoulder as he struggled to his feet, leaning on his cane as his legs were still quite shaky.

Professor McGonagall took Neville and Hermione up to the Gryffindor common room, while Professor Flitwick led Harry up the Ravenclaw Tower. It was only when they were approaching the bronze eagle that the Professor spoke again.

"Well done, Harry, you kept a calm head in danger, and you were able to keep your friends safe, but you endangered yourself as you did so. In the future, try to keep yourself safe as well, please? And be careful, the Castle Wards should have easily kept out a hundred Troll's, someone must have let that one in. I will investigate, but if you see or hear anything suspicious, please let me know." With that last warning, the Charms Master left Harry to enter the common room and explain to those waiting what had happened.

Headmasters Office

The Headmaster's and Headmistresses of Hogwarts have always been exceptional wizards and witches in their own rights, and as such the office had collected many rare and powerful spell books, enchanted objects and rare artifacts in the millennia since the schools founding. Under its current steward, the office held many shelves filled with tomes of knowledge and strange artifacts, some small and fragile, others large and heavy such as the deep stone basin that sat in the corner of the room, there was even a tall and rather ornate bird stand next to the window. And sat behind a wide desk piled high with parchments and books, was the current Headmaster; Albus Dumbledore, Master of Transfiguration and Alchemy, defeater of the Dark Lord Grindelwald.

He was joined in the large office by the short figure of Filius Flitwick, the hulking mass that was Rubeus Hagrid and his deputy, Minerva McGonagall who sat calmly in a straight-backed chair. The office was silent but for the occasional spitting from the fireplace to the side of the room. The silence was broken when the fire suddenly roared with emerald flames and tall cloaked figure stepped heavily out from the angry fire. The wizard limped forward, throwing his hood back as he leant on the tall carved staff he walked with, his face was heavily scarred, a chunk missing from his nose and a deep scar running up his cheek and disappearing into his dark hair. Most noticeably, the wizard had two very different eyes, one was a dark brown that stared directly at the headmaster, but the other was made of golden metal with a blue iris, it whirred and swivelled in its socket to look at each of the others in the room before pointing at the door.

"Ah thank you for joining us Alastor, I know the hour is late, but I thought it best to inform you as a representative of the Ministry." The Headmaster smiled at the Auror who grunted and nodded back to him, taking up a position beside the fireplace to stand, casually leaning the stave he held in front of him.

"Get on with it Albus, I'll pass on whatever it is to Amelia, but I have a lead on Greyback's whereabouts and I intend to have that dog by the end of the night so if you need a wand, you'll need to find someone else." The Auror reached into his long coat and withdrew a small silver flask, taking a swig of the liquid within before he tucked it back away.

"That is fine Alastor, we don't need your skills tonight, simply to alert Madam Bones that there was a breach of the Castle this evening. A mountain Troll entered the Castle and somehow made its way to the second floor. It has been found and removed from the grounds; it should be back in the Highlands now." The Auror froze at the mention of the Troll and turned his full attention back to the Headmaster.

"So, someone let it in then Albus, you have a traitor in the Castle." The blue eye whirled to point rapidly at the others in the room before pointing back at the door. "You have any suspects?"

The aged Headmaster shook his head. "None that seem more likely than another at this point, I had perhaps thought Quirinus, but I inspected his wand and he has not cast anything that would let a Troll through the wards. I did find, upon inspecting the wards, a sadly all too familiar signature at the eastern edge of the wards." The Professor gestured with his hand and a single silver hair hovered above the desk, shimmering in the candlelight. It was a pure silver, tainted only by a dark crimson along the last two inches of the long hair. "Someone sacrificed a unicorn at the boundary and used the resulting backlash to rend the ward, it was only temporary and by the time I found the weakness it had almost completely sealed back over." Hagrid let out a sad sigh at the sight of the bloody hair and slumped in on himself slightly.

"We've seen this done before Albus; the McKinnon estate was breached using the same method." Alastor added as he inspected the hair closely with both eyes for a moment. Minerva let out a gasp at Alastor's observation.

"You mean to say … He is back?" She asked, her face pale at the thought. She was calmed slightly as the Headmaster shook his head slowly.

"Not in any real way, no. My last sources had found his spirit broken, wandering the Albanian forests. I do not believe he has returned to Britain, not yet at least. But he could have agents here, it requires a deep knowledge of the Dark Arts to use a sacrifice like this which narrows the list down." The Headmaster trailed off, his eyes distant for a moment.

"Well, I know of one such individual in the school at the moment." The Auror looked at the Headmaster as he spoke those words, a frown forming on Dumbledore's face at the grizzled wizard's words.

"I will not deny that Severus likely does have the required knowledge to undertake such an act, but I do not believe it was him." Alastor snorted at that but otherwise didn't dispute the Headmaster, the scarred Auror instead turned to the so-far silent Charms Master.

"What about you Filius? Any theories? And who found the Troll? They might have been trying to avoid suspicion by catching the thing they let in." He asked, both eyes settling on the short teacher.

"Theories? Many, but as Albus stated, they are all half formed and each as unlikely as the next. I do think we can remove the ones who found the Troll from suspicion at least, it was a group of first years." At Alastor's look of disbelief, he added. "It was Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom who found the Troll, Mr Potter managed to defend himself quite admirably against the beast and Mr Longbottom helped another first year to safety."

"Hmph, so the rumours that Potter's blind are false then?" Filius laughed darkly at the Auror's question.

"No, he is quite blind. But he has learnt to deal with his disadvantages, as do we all." The Charms Master didn't clarify the vague statement despite the Auror's questioning stare, the wizard-catcher's attention only shifting when the Headmaster began to speak again.

"Indeed, young Mr Potter scarred the beast for life, I doubt it will soon forget its encounter. I would be most interested to learn what spell he used to leave such a unique and distinctive pattern on the creature." The Headmaster looked at the Transfiguration Mistress here for an explanation.

"He claims he tried to use the sparks charm but imbued it with heat." Minerva supplied. "And after inspecting the creature, I believe the boy. It is impressive, to manipulate a spell, even one as basic as the sparks charm at such a young age. It shows an aptitude I haven't seen in several years."

"Yes, very impressive, give the boy a gold star, but that doesn't help us with who let the bloody Troll in. Hagrid, you know if this thing was local? There's a tribe of them up near Cairn Toul isn't there?" The Auror tapped his stave against the stone floor angrily as he asked the half-giant caretaker.

"Aye, I reck'n it was a local one, it seemed to know where it were headin' once Pr'fessor Dumbledore left it outside the ward boundary at least." Hagrid replied. "I'm headin out tomorrow mornin' to hunt out any others that might be nearby."

"I'll look into it but you should ask that lowlife Fletcher to make some enquiries Albus." The Auror stomped over to the fireplace and threw a handful of glittering powder from his pocket into the low flames which immediately burst into lively emerald flames. "I'll inform Amelia of this Albus, but you need to find the culprit and quickly or Fudge might get involved. Now, I've a mongrel to hunt." And without another word, he stepped into the flames and vanished, leaving the room silent but for the rhythmic clicking and whirring of various silver instruments scattered around the office.

"I'll head out at firs' light and see what's goin' on in the Forest, Pr'fessor." Hagrid nodded to the room and made his way out and down the stairs, followed closely by Professor McGonagall as she bid goodnight to the Headmaster and Filius.

Once the door had closed behind the two, the Headmaster sighed and rubbed his glasses on his cloak as he watched the Charms Master closely.

"You have a question for me, Filius?" The Headmaster asked as he perched his glasses back on his nose.

"Not a question, a theory I would like to run past you Albus." The Charms Master hopped down from his chair and walked over to the tall window set behind the Headmaster's desk. "Someone performed a dangerous ritual, sacrificed a unicorn to tear a hole in the wards, and let a Troll into the Castle. Then the Troll made its way up from the dungeons along, not the shortest route, but the normally emptiest path it could take to the third floor. Now why would someone do this, unless they knew what was being kept there. A Troll would be a useful tool in getting past a Cerberus." Filius turned to face the Headmaster with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah, we are of one mind then Filius, yes I believe that the individual who let in the Troll intended to use it not as a distraction but as a tool to retrieve the Stone. This is the second reason I do not believe Quirrell to be the perpetrator, he alerted us to the beast, otherwise it could have made it significantly deeper into the Castle before alarm was raised." The Headmaster bowed his head as he studied a letter on his desk for a moment. "The Stone will be secure from anyone attempting to retrieve it by Yule, until then I will keep a close eye on it. I doubt the perpetrator of this attempt with rush to try again, we have time to prepare."

"And the students? Those first years could have been killed by that Troll." Filius asked angrily.

"Peace, Filius. I will do my best to protect the students, you know this, I was only moments from the Troll's location when Mr Potter so ably defeated the beast, I had hoped it would continue its path unmolested and I would catch the mastermind when it met them on the third floor. Mr Potter was in no real danger, nor was Miss Granger, it saw her to be approximately twelve feet to the left of her true location, a handy charm you taught me if I remember correctly." Albus countered calmly. The Charms Master shook his head irritably as he made his way to the door.

"Just be careful Albus, your plans have failed before." The short wizard called out as he left the room, the door closing heavily behind him. Once alone, Albus sagged slightly, his shoulders slumping and a weary sigh escaping his lips as he leant back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling.

"But who else is there to do the planning if not me?" He asked tiredly to the empty office, knowing no answer would come. Only a moment later the weariness seemed to flee the Headmaster's body as he stood and made his way to the window that the Charms Master had stood at minutes before.

"Preparations to be made, I suppose I too must go a'hunting." He whispered to himself before with a near silent crack he disappeared.

A/N I am alive! Sorry for the month-long absence everyone, I had a personal issue that I needed to focus on, but I am back now!

Unfortunately I have realised in my absence, that one update a week is likely going to be too often for me to be able to keep up with, so I will be updating once every month from now on, with bonus chapters if I am making good progress.

I hope you all like this chapter, please let me know if you do, and if you don't, then tell me why! Constructive criticism is always welcome! Review, Favourite and Follow if you do like the story as those are the best way for me to tell if people are liking and reading what I'm writing.

Thanks for all the support you've all shown me and this story, I hope you enjoy it.

Daedalus