To Harry's surprise, when he had finally reached the Common Room, he already found Ron and Hermione there. They seemed to be in the midst of a deep conversation, and as he walked in, causing the portrait of the Fat Lady to slam, they jumped, and instinctively turned around to see who came in.

"Oh, hello, Harry," Hermione replied, now seeing who it was. "How'd it go with Mandy?"

"We saw her burst in here awhile ago in tears before she darted up the stairs to the girl's common room," Ron replied promptly, pausing a bit before continuing, "why do you always get interested in the ones that are bawling all over the place, anyway?"

"Ronald!" Hermione cried, her face showing distinct anger. "There are reasons girls cry you know, and knowing what Mandy's been through, there is surely a reason!"

"And what would that be?" Ron yelled back at her.

"I- I don't know," she replied, defeated, "but recently, I have caught her at certain times pacing around, mumbling to herself. She is obviously occupied with something very important..." she trailed off, her face screwed up in concentration.

Within a few moments, Hermione became suddenly flustered, as she then proceeded to search for something in the pockets of her robe.

"Here," said Hermione, thrusting a note to Harry, which he instantly opened, "I found a note for you on the table when we walked in."

"What does it say?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Hermione replied shrilly, "It was addressed to Harry."

"I was asking Harry," Ron retorted.

"Oh," Hermione blushed deeply, "sorry."

"It's all right," Ron said softly, apparently feeling bad that he made Hermione blush.

Harry cleared his voice, having just finished reading the surprisingly short letter addressed to him, and noticing that once again his two best friends' were averting each other's eyes.

"Oh, so what does it say?" Hermione asked, blushing even deeper.

"Here, you read it," Harry said, handing the piece of parchment to Hermione.

Harry,
Be warned: Do not go after the thing you seek.


"It isn't signed," Ron replied bluntly, having read the note over Hermione's shoulder.

"Hmm, I wonder," Hermione replied vaguely, "yes, it does certainly look as if..."

Without paying any notice to the boys' mystified looks, Hermione hurriedly walked to the stairs leading to the girl's Common Room, and disappeared behind the door leading into her destination.

"It would've been horrible had she been vague in her explanation," Ron replied sarcastically.

Harry laughed, "I think she forgot that that letter was addressed to me, maybe we should go get it back and get the answer out of it."

Ron replied, reminding Harry something he had forgotten, "We can't, remember? The stairs melt into a slide if any boys try to go up them."

Harry thought back to the time they had attempted to walk up the stairs to visit Hermione, and Ron's embarrassment when he had found out that they couldn't do that.

Jerking Harry out of his thoughts, and Harry and Ron out of their conversation, he heard what he thought was Hermione coming down the stairs.

Apparently, Ron was thinking along the same lines and called out, "Oy, Hermione, you finally going to tell us what you were thinking about before?"

To Ron's and Harry's astonishment though, when the footsteps had stopped, Hermione wasn't standing there... in fact, no one was.

Although Harry had no idea of who had just come down the stairs from the girl's dormitories, he knew that they must've put on an invisibility cloak before they came down. And although his mind was swirling with confusion including thoughts of who else would own an invisibility cloak or if someone had had access to his, there were a few definite facts in his mind. The first fact was that it could not be Hermione as they had originally thought, because Hermione did not own an invisibility cloak, she would've had no reason to hide herself from them, and the fact that had she tried to retrieve Harry's cloak for this specific moment she would've had to use a summoning charm, which Harry did not see take place. The second fact is that whoever was hiding beneath the invisibility cloak would not come out until Harry and Ron, (who at the time were the only two remaining in the Gryffindor Common Room,) left the room or had successfully convinced the person that they had left the room. Luckily, Harry processed all this information quickly in his mind, quick enough to prevent Ron from doing anything that would cause another roadblock in this situation, and made up an excuse loudly to drag Ron up to the boy's dormitories with him.

Harry cleared his throat as to catch Ron's attention, warily watching the spot where he was sure the person was still hovering, and created an alibi. "Err... Ron, I forgot something that we'll need to finish our homework in our room, come up with me to get it?"

Ron looked at Harry with a high degree of confusion, perhaps as to why Harry would need Ron's assistance to retrieve an item from their room. "Err... sure, Harry. Let's go, then, mate."

Harry nodded shortly, and quickened his pace towards the boy's dormitories in order to pick up two of the most important items in his current possession, with Ron jogging behind him in an attempt to catch up.

Halfway to their Common Room, Ron had finally caught up with Harry and roughly asked Harry what he really had to get, why he was walking so fast, and why they didn't stay down there to find out whom it was.

"Well," Harry replied, still walking at his quickened pace, "obviously we weren't going to find out whoever they were if they found the need to stay underneath their invisibility cloak, so I figured we'd be better off getting two possessions of mine that would come handy in a position like this."

"Which would be?" Ron asked, dumbfounded, as he watched Harry rummage through his trunk after having arrived at their room moments ago.

"Here's my invisibility cloak!" Harry proclaimed, "Now where's the map... ah, here it is! Let's go!"

Ron stood glued to the ground as Harry went to leave the room; it wasn't until Harry called out to Ron that he moved.

"Here!" said Harry, thrusting his invisibility cloak at Ron, and heading off back towards the Gryffindor Common Room, "take this... We're going to need it later... I can't carry it because I'm going to try and figure out who was underneath the cloak using the map."

Harry and Ron continued to jog back to the Gryffindor Common Room, until all of a sudden, Harry stopped in his place and gawked at the map, not believing his sight, and why he had not suspected her to begin with. A moment later, when Ron had come to see why Harry had stopped, one word; one name, escaped Harry's lips, revealing the identity of the person beneath the cloak.

"Mandy?" He whispered in confusion.

"What about her, mate?" Ron asked, "Why'd you stop? Shouldn't we be going down to the Common Room to see who's there?"

Mandy," Harry said flatly, "Mandy's under the cloak." He paused for a moment to wonder why had she had shown them so much of her past, and yet, was now drawing back from the trio to which she clung her first day at Hogwarts. "Let's go," he said determinedly.

Ron nodded briefly, to show he had now comprehended the situation entirely, and continued to jog with Harry until they had reached the door linking the boy's Common Room to the Gryffindor Common Room at which both had paused with mounting anticipation.

"Quietly," Harry said warningly, as he opened the door as silently as he could.

Ron, knowing what to do next because of previous years of hiding from those who would be searching for them, draped the cloak over he and Harry.

With the cloak draped over their bodies, they proceeded to tiptoe down the stairs and stop at one that they found was at a good enough position to see and hear Mandy.

When they finally rested upon the staircase, they saw Mandy pacing back and forth nervously in front of a table, occasionally glancing at her watch. On the table lie the invisibility cloak she had used to hide her identity, a piece of parchment with writing on it, and a quill – presumably, she had just written a message on the piece of parchment beside it.

"It's time," she said, glancing one last nervous time at her watch, grabbing her invisibility cloak, and heading out into the corridors after having the portrait of the Fat Lady slam behind her.

Harry and Ron slid out from underneath their invisibility cloak, and headed towards the table where Mandy's quill and parchment still lie.

"Blimey," Ron said, "I wonder what that was all about."

Harry ignored Ron's comment and picked up Mandy's quill, twirling it between his fingers whilst reading a message she had apparently left him, a strange sensation sweeping through him.

Harry,

Sometimes the truth is meant to be kept a secret, and the truth that will be told tonight should only be burdened upon the one whose life it lives through. I repeat, do not go after the thing you seek, it will only cause more trouble.

Like the previous note Harry had read that day, this one remained unsigned. Within a moment, Harry had put everything together. Both notes were unsigned and had the same exact writing style. Harry had just seen Mandy around the note moments ago, her quill beside the parchment, only after she had hidden herself from them in an invisibility cloak. She had also been keeping her distance from the trio lately, showing odd behavior as she had consistently told Harry within the past week or so to leave her alone or trouble would ensue. This letter warned him of trouble that would follow if he were to go after the answers he seeked was looking for. It all made sense now. Regardless of what the letters warned, and Mandy told him, he knew he had to go after Mandy and find out what she had been hiding these last few weeks that was so important to keep him out of it only weeks after revealing some of the most important parts of her past to him, and to the trio.

"Mandy," Harry whispered in conclusion.

"Mate," said Ron, "you're going to wear out her name at the rate you're using it."

"No, Ron," said Harry, "I meant... Mandy wrote these letters. Don't you find it suspicious that Mandy's been keeping away from us and warning us about trouble just like the letters have been telling us to keep away and warning us of trouble if we don't?"

Ron's eyes widened in comprehension, as he replied: "I reckon Hermione would want to know about this as well."

"Yeah," Harry replied, "but how are we supposed to get her back down here? We both know that we can't go up those stairs."

"Well," Hermione replied slyly, seemingly coming out of nowhere, "she could walk down the stairs and into the Common Room herself... that might solve your problem."

Ron beamed. "Hermione," he replied, "good timing."

"Yeah," Harry responded, "what brought you back down here now anyway, and where did you go to begin with?"

"Oh, well, I had a suspicion that Mandy had written the note because of her behavior lately, and because the handwriting on the note looked oddly like her schoolwork handwriting... so I went upstairs to confirm my suspicions, and surely enough, it was the same exact handwriting. But I can see you found all that out without me," Hermione beamed proudly.

"Well," Ron abruptly joined the conversation, "I helped too you know... I always thought that Mandy was a suspicious character."

Harry attempted to cough back the laughter that was bursting to come out as Ron looked hopefully at Hermione, who in return, smiled warmly at him.

Harry awkwardly glanced between the two, and coughed loudly as to bring their attention back to the situation instead of the focus that had brewed between the two to look into each other's eyes. Both then averted their eyes from each other's stare, and attempted to look anywhere but the pair of eyes they were just looking into.

"Right," Harry said awkwardly, "Well then, we should be off following her, shouldn't we?"

"Right," Hermione replied firmly, as she swept towards the portrait, "let's go."

Harry then quickly took the note and the quill and shoved them into his robe pockets amongst the Marauder's Map, as he headed after Ron and Hermione who were already waiting for him by the portrait hole with the invisibility cloak.

The trio then proceeded to roam the corridors under the invisibility cloak in search of Mandy. Fortunately for them, Harry had come into possession with the Marauder's Map, which had been bequeathed upon him by Fred and George in his third year, which also made the task of searching for Mandy fairly easy, seeing as it labeled every person within the castle regardless of any disguises or invisibility cloaks they might be wearing.

They followed Mandy's dot throughout the castle, and ended up in a part of the castle they never even knew existed – although it had most likely been on the map, they had never personally explored it.

It was a dark corridor, and Harry felt as if he were entering Firenze's Divination class again; as he stepped on the ground, he was sure he felt grass beneath his feet. The air had a lingering weight as Harry felt it pack down upon his skin. As he continued walking with Hermione and Ron he also noticed a fresh mist that was stilled within the air; it was as if they were walking through a light rainstorm frozen in time.

Harry felt Hermione shiver beneath the cloak because the three of them were so packed together underneath it, and couldn't blame her – the atmosphere created a cold eerie feeling, almost similar to one a Dementor created.

"This," Hermione whispered, her breath becoming visible in the air, "must be the graveyard," she concluded.

"The what?" Harry whispered back furiously.

"The graveyard," Hermione replied in her hushed tones promptly.

"We have one of those?" Harry asked, perplexed that such a wonderful place would have such a depressing corridor.

"Yes," she replied vaguely, "I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."

Even through the dark, Harry distinctly saw Ron roll his eyes at Hermione's love of literature.

Then, in the distance, Harry heard two voices, one very soft; presumably trying to avoid being heard, the other very furious and rapid; stacatto – he naturally concluded that Mandy was one, but Harry could not figure out the other. He went to consult the map, but it was so dark that he could no longer see the names on the map anymore, he supposed this would be a problem on the way back to the Gryffindor Tower – but he'd worry about that later.

As they quickly made their way further into the corridor, Harry heard the voices grow louder and more distinct – they must be getting closer. Surely enough, the trio found themselves audience to a very interesting conversation.

"Hello, Mandy..." a deep male voice said slowly; a voice that contained tones of maliciousness.

"Go away," a more feminine voice, one Harry instantly recognized as Mandy's, replied harshly, "The Ministry has no role interfering in my school work."

"Oh, but I'm not here on behalf of the Ministry..." the male voice replied smoothly; challengingly, "I am here for other reasons."

For some reason, the male voice sounded oddly familiar to Harry – he had heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember exactly who it belonged to.

"You will not harm the three people you are seeking," Mandy replied with as much fervor as she had before, "if that's what you are implying..."

Harry's pulse was quickening, and he could hear his every heart every time it beat within his head.

"You will not harm the three people you are seeking..."

Those words echoed in his head as he was making sense of it all. Her distance from them; the way she kept away from them after her coma. She did have a vision, and she did everything she could to warn him, them. Those notes that told him to not follow her; those notes that warned of trouble if he were to follow. He should've put it together quicker. That time in the hallway where he had followed her until she told him why she was acting the way she was – to keep him out of trouble. This was the trouble she warned of. She did not want them there because this man, whoever he was, was after them, and she wanted to ensure that they not get hurt.

As Harry was piecing this all together, he could hear Hermione making the same exact connections he had by the soft "Oh" that fell out of her mouth.

The next thing he knew, Harry had looked up, and was staring into Mandy's eyes. Her beautiful ocean blue eyes. He was swimming through the depths of blue, drowning in all her essence – and he found himself wanting to fall deeper and deeper into them. He wanted to be everything those beautiful blue eyes saw. Suddenly, Harry snapped out of his trance with reality impeding upon his thoughts. She knew. She knew they were there now. Hermione's "Oh," as soft as it was, had given them away.

Luckily, the man who was after them paid no notice; he seemed to be talking just as Hermione had released her realization.

"You knew?" he said outraged, furious at her knowledge. "I should've seen this coming; the Dark Lord warned me... If only you would follow him, it would make this much easier. You would greatly benefit from being on his side, your power will expand beyond your wildest dreams..." he said persuasively, trying to tempt her.

"I will never join him! I don't care about power!" she shouted back, her words only amplified in the dead silence of the corridor.

He smiled evilly, "It really doesn't matter if you want to join him or not, you know. Do you know you've been our pawn the whole time, regardless, Mandy? Why yes, you've been quite useful."

"W-what are you talking about?" Mandy faltered; her tone wavering a bit, making her suddenly seem unsure of herself. This was something she clearly hadn't expected to hear.

"Do you remember that boyfriend of yours," he smiled, as his eyes flickered with glee, "what was his name again? Oh yes, I believe it was... Elliot," he paused, as Harry was sure he could see this man's grin widen.

"Elliot," she said, her voice hushed; her eyes open in confusion. "What does he have to do with any of this?"

"Why yes, Elliot." He continued as if he hadn't heard anything she said, "All this time you had thought he was a wizard, one who had believed strongly in our beliefs, in what was right. No, no, Dear Mandy, you were wrong I'm afraid. Yes, while all during this the time, he was in fact, placed under the Imperius curse, controlled to do all of our bidding. Yet, you, caring and faithful to human kind, did not even suspect it all those days."

Harry watched as a look of pure terror glazed over her eyes, and she seemed to carry a certain amount of disbelief, confusion, and disappointment. "No, you are lying, this is not true! It's all lies! You are just trying to test me, Mark, you and Voldemort... Well I won't fall for it!" She screamed, attempting to convince herself more than to tell this man, Mark, off.

'Mark,' Harry thought, 'that name sounds familiar... Mark, Mark...'

Harry's eyes suddenly widened with the realization of who this Mark was that he remembered; Mark was Mandy's trainer.

"Every bit of it is indeed true," he said, tauntingly, "and the even more shocking thing that you will learn tonight is that what I have just told you barely hit the surface of what you do not know; there is more, much more."

"How much?" Mandy asked, testing her own emotional strength, as her eyes pleaded for information.

"Rachel, such a nice girl, I do remember you were quite close with her." His smile, if possible, widened even more, as he mentioned the name of Mandy's deceased friend – the one who died from Mandy's own wand.

Mandy gritted her teeth, appalled that Mark had used Rachel's name. "How dare you speak of her! She was my best friend, and she was murdered all because..."

"Of you," he replied, still cheerful. "Yes, it is true we did torture her repetitively until she spoke. Yes, it is true that we captured her, but it was because of you, my darling, it was all because of you. It was your fault she died, you silly girl. In fact, do you remember who told you Rachel was betraying you?" He paused, waiting for her response.

"You," she whispered in a venomous voice.

"Correct yet again, Mandy," he cried with a sadistic delight. "Perhaps you belonged in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor, what with all this intelligence you are displaying to me tonight," he said, sneering at her while she suffered the burden of this newfound knowledge.

She glared at him with all the anger she could muster after just being told of all her downfalls – one by one.

"Yes, me," he continued, "I'd like to think I was one of Voldemort's greatest helps in his rise this time around. Do you know why? I made sure her betrayal leaked to you, but as your trainer, a trainer whom you though innocent. Isn't it funny how easily appearances can deceive? You were so easy to deceive, Mandy, you were putty in our hands. You killed her when we wanted you to. We happened to be done with her right when I leaked the information to you, in hopes that you would dispose of her for us, as to not draw attention to Voldemort's killings, and all at the same time, to torment you. It was killing two birds with one stone, isn't that just convenient?" He asked, completely chipper as he slowly tore Mandy apart.

"No... No..." Mandy cried in denial.

"Yes, you are a naive little girl, Mandy, always following rules - well it was quite easy to control you when I was training you, wasn't it?"

"But why train me?" Mandy asked, her voice losing the strength and fury it had started with in this conversation.

"Why train you? Well, the Dark Lord loved the irony, it amused him so," he paused for reflection, to make sure his points were correct, "and he wanted a challenge to face. It is much more fun to him that way: when he beats them without even their knowledge of it. That's all you are, Mandy... A couple of prophecies, and a challenge, oh yes, your a challenge..." he said, lunging towards her, pressing her up against a tombstone, and grabbing her face with one hand, "but you are nothing else."

Harry felt anger and disgust swarm through his veins, as he had the greatest desire to go up to this man and push him away and off of Mandy. He felt so hopeless sitting there, knowing that he had to stay under this invisibility cloak in order to protect Hermione and Ron as well.

Harry watched as Mark then pushed her further upon the tombstone at wand-point, and scraped her cheek with his wand, leaving a deep cut. "And remember, you best stay out of our way, you little witch..." he said, piercing her skin further with his wand. "I'll get them later," he added before mysteriously disappearing into air, leaving Mandy stranded by the tombstone.

Harry watched as she slowly slid down the tombstone, only to fall with a thud upon the ground. He watched as she buried her head within her hands and shook it furiously. He watched as her hands slid through her hair vigorously, shaking with emotion, and then got up in a fit of anger, striding towards where they were located.

She abruptly stopped right in front of them, her eyes full of tears that were slowly spilling onto her cheeks. "You can come out," she whispered sorrowfully, with a small hint of anger still hiding in her voice.

Harry slowly pulled the invisibility cloak off of the three of them, standing up to meet Mandy in the eyes.

"You shouldn't have come," she said with the same tone of sorrow, staring Harry straight in the eyes "I warned you not to come."

She pushed through them, and ran down the corridor, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

Harry felt horrible. Maybe he shouldn't have come.