Chapter Forty-Four: To Catch a Spy

Ron took off at a sprint without looking to see if the others would follow; Harry stared blankly at his retreating figure for a split second before his own brain clunked into place, and he turned to Ginny and Hermione.

'Come on!' he urged, and the three of them took off after Ron, struggling to catch up with his long strides.

As it turned out, getting upstairs was no easy feat. They had to dodge panicking students who were rushing to their dormitories; halfway up the stairs they found themselves defending against yet another attack from Peeves, who thought it funny to send objects from the trophy room hurtling down at them. By the time they approached the fourth floor landing, at least ten minutes had passed.

Ron, his face red and furious, reached the fourth floor first; he leapt onto the landing. Hermione screamed as a beam of red light shot towards him, but Ron threw up a Shield Charm and deflected the spell; Harry ducked out of the way of the spell as it ricocheted.

'Stop!' Ron bellowed, and Harry saw him raise his wand and fire a spell at a black-robed figure that was slipping behind the mirror.

The figure dove behind the mirror, just ducking out of the way of Ron's spell; then the figure leapt out and his hood came off, revealing long, pale blond hair.

'Incendio!' Lucius Malfoy shouted, sending a spell at Ron.

'Protego!' Ron bellowed, and Malfoy's spell bounced away from Ron's Shield Charm in a ball of flame. 'Expelliarmus!'

Lucius ducked behind the mirror and the spell caught the frame. In the next instant he shouted 'Diffindo!' and a Cutting Charm headed straight for Ron's throat.

'Protego!' Hermione screamed; the spell bounced away. Ginny and Harry ducked quickly as the beam of light zoomed past them. Hermione then hurled an Asphyxiation Spell at Malfoy, but he deflected it and jumped behind the mirror again. Ron advanced, blocking yet another curse sent his way by Malfoy, but then Hermione aimed her wand at the mirror.

'Reducto!' she bellowed. It shattered into a thousand pieces. Ron threw up his hands to avoid getting glass in the face, but Malfoy wasn't quick enough. He gave a furious howl of pain as glass slashed at his face, and Harry winced as a piece slashed at the Death Eater's right eye. Malfoy howled and blindly threw a curse with his wand hand as his left hand clapped over his right eye. Blood seeped down his face as Harry blocked Malfoy's wild curse.

Just then, another black-robed figure appeared; it was Theodore Nott, and he had an oddly shaped lump under his robes.

'Stupefy!' Harry shouted, throwing a Stunner at Nott; Nott deflected it as Lucius Malfoy pointed his wand at several nearby suits of armor.

'Animare!' he yelled; he shouted the spell several times, and the suits of armor sprang to life. 'Kill them!' he added, and the suits of armor began to advance at Harry and the others; the ones that had weapons began swinging them dangerously. Nott fired off two more curses, which Hermione and Harry blocked.

'Reducto!' Ginny screamed, and she blew apart a suit of armor. Its axe when flying at Harry and he shouted an Impediment Jinx, halting it in midair for a moment, and then letting it drop heavily to the floor.

Ron, meanwhile, was deftly moving closer to the entrance of the passage. Nott fired an Amputation Curse and Ron leapt easily out of the way, letting the spell hit the wall; in the next instant Ron aimed at another suit of armor and shouted 'Immobilius!'

Lucius's face was streaked with blood as he shouted another curse, this one at Harry; Harry blocked it, and sent another Reductor Curse at one of the suits of armor. It came apart, its shield falling over, but Harry caught it with a Levitation Spell, and then he sent it hurtling toward Lucius Malfoy with a Banishing Charm. Malfoy leapt into the passageway but the shield caught him on the ankle, hard. He went tumbling and yelled out in pain again.

'Don't let him get away!' Ron cried, leaping aside just in time to avoid a Leg Breaker Curse that Nott had thrown.

Harry saw Nott clutching at the lump beneath his robes--it was rather oddly shaped to be a sword--but at once Harry was struck by an idea.

'Accio sword!' he shouted, aiming at Nott. The spell struck Nott and the lump beneath his robes stirred, but Nott was quick; he clapped a hand firmly over it and shot a Stunner at Harry in retaliation, which Harry blocked.

'Get inside!' Lucius roared at Nott, who threw up a Shield Charm to block a Stunner from Ginny.

Nott obeyed and dove into the passage just as Ron advanced again, kicking past a fallen suit of armor.

'Ron, look out!' Hermione screamed, as Lucius Malfoy, bloodied and standing on ankle that was bent at an odd angle, stood up and pointed his wand at Ron's chest.

'Avada Kedavra!' he hissed.

'NO!' The scream resonated through the hall, and Harry knew he, Hermione and Ginny had all made it, but Ron's expression didn't change as he screamed 'Protego!'

The force of his Shield Charm was so strong that the entire room lit up with it; the magic made the hair on the back of Harry's neck stand up. The green beam of light slowed but continued its inexorable path to Ron. Harry didn't waste time thinking--he levitated and Banished yet another of the shields from the derelict suits of armor and send it speeding toward the green light.

The explosion knocked them all off their feet. Harry felt his hand smack the stone floor painfully and his wand go skittering across the flagstones. The green light of the Killing Curse struck the shield and the shield didn't so much shatter as disintegrate. Harry rolled onto his side and saw, to his horror, that the Killing Curse still moved, but almost in slow motion, and when he looked over at Ron, he saw Ron flat on his back, staring up wide-eyed as the curse sailed over head, heading straight for a portrait of a young girl knitting. The girl in the portrait gave scream and leapt out of the painting just before the beam of light smashed into it, turning it to dust and taking a chunk out of the wall.

Lucius Malfoy gave a growl of frustration; Harry looked up and went to lift his wand but then he remembered that his wand was across the corridor.

'Accio wand!' he yelled, stretching his swelling hand towards it. To Harry's amazement, the wand came sailing across the corridor to land in his palm.

'Stupefy!' Harry roared, but he was too late. Lucius Malfoy dove into the passageway, a piece of his black Death Eater robes tearing as he went.

'No!' Ron shouted, and he leapt up and in two strides he'd crossed to the passageway. In the next instant, he moved off to the left and slammed himself against the wall.

'Get back,' he hissed to the others. Harry pulled Ginny up and they flattened themselves to the right wall beside the passage. Without really knowing he was doing it, Harry began to sidle over to the entrance, keeping his wand out--his hand was swelling painfully now, but the adrenaline racing through his body dulled the pain and allowed him to hold onto his wand firmly. Ginny was right behind him, crouched in a defensive stance, with her back to the wall.

Hermione went behind Ron as he put a finger to his lips.

Ron then pointed to his own chest, and then to the passage entrance. His intention was clear.

I go first,Harry thought. He shook his head and pointed to himself.

'Harry,' Ginny whispered. 'Ron's right. Let him go first.'

Harry looked back at Ginny, and saw the look on her face. She was terrified, but determined, and yet there was something else. Another emotion. She gripped his wrist for a moment, and he could almost read her thoughts.

Nothing can happen to you. That's why Ron goes first.

The implication was horrible, and Harry's first instinct was to resist.

No way. Ron can't go throwing himself in front of me!

Harry, you're the one who has to beat Voldemort. Let Ron go first!

Ginny bit her lip, and Harry knew what it cost her to feel this way. The idea of losing her brother to protect him, the Boy Who Must Defeat Voldemort...

Harry swallowed, and looked back at Ron, whose whole body was tensed; Ron's blue eyes were wide and he shrugged at Harry, as if to say, 'Well?'

Harry let out a breath and nodded.

If anything happens to him...

Before Harry could even finish that thought, Ron, with his wand outstretched, leapt into the passage, shouting a loud and powerful Impediment Jinx, followed immediately by a Shield Charm.

Harry and the girls stumbled into the passage after him, only to find it empty.

'No,' Ron groaned, and he ran forward, only to collide, hard, with an invisible wall. Harry winced as Ron's nose bounced against the barrier, but Ron didn't seem to notice.

'No, no, NO!' Ron howled, pounding the invisible barrier with his fist. He then stepped back and pointed his wand at the barrier. Harry kicked at it, but it was as solid as steel.

Ron, meanwhile, aimed his wand at the barrier.

'Wait,' said Harry at once. 'It could bounce back.'

'Good point,' Ron conceded, running a hand through his sweaty hair. He turned back to the girls. 'Be ready with a Shield Charm in case this spell ricochets.'

Ron gave the three of them about a second to lift their wands and he shouted a Reductor Curse at the invisible barrier.

The curse didn't bounce back. Rather, it seemed to be absorbed into the barrier and disappear.

The four of them tried several more curses, but nothing worked. The barrier simply seemed to suck up all the magical energy, and it was Hermione who finally ordered them to stop.

'For all we know, we're only making this thing stronger by throwing curses at it,' she said.

'Dammit,' Ron muttered, and as the four of them conceded defeat, they exited the passage and re-entered the corridor, which was littered with shattered suits of armor.

'They got away,' Ron groaned. 'We were so close.'

'Nott had something under his robes,' said Ginny. 'Do you reckon...was it the sword?'

'It could have been,' said Hermione, 'but...I'm not sure.'

'The lump didn't look like a sword,' said Harry, 'but maybe he wrapped it up in something.'

'We have to find McGonagall, or an Auror,' said Ron. 'Let's go.'

As it turned out, finding McGonagall was easier than they expected; she was just coming into the main entrance when Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny burst down the stairs and into the Entrance Hall.

'What on earth?' McGonagall cried.

Ron came to an abrupt halt in front of Harry and the girls; the three of them plowed into Ron, who stumbled but didn't fall. McGonagall was very disheveled and had a bruise on her right cheek; her normally tidy hair was falling out of its bun and her hat was gone. She stood wide-eyed and furious in front of several other Aurors, including James Marchbanks and Kenneth Towler. Just behind the teachers was, Harry guessed, half the Hogwarts' teaching staff.

'Explain yourselves!' McGonagall hissed. 'Explain why you are not in Gryffindor Tower as I expressly ordered you!'

Harry, Ron and Ginny started to talk as one, but Hermione cut in loudly.

'We're sorry, Professor,' said Hermione, 'but Ron...well, he saw something.'

McGonagall's eyes widened even further for a brief moment, and then she quickly crossed to them.

'You had a vision, Weasley?' McGonagall muttered, in a very low voice.

'Er...yeah,' said Ron quickly. He clearly knew that Hermione was about to fudge the truth, so he didn't elaborate further; he simply glanced at Hermione, who jumped in on cue.

'It's Lucius Malfoy,' Hermione whispered. 'He's been breaking into the school all this time, tearing down your wards. Ron saw it. And...he saw Malfoy and Nott stealing something.'

McGonagall took a deep breath. 'Well, we'd better get on this right away--'

'It's too late,' Hermione said quickly. 'They've already been inside; they just got away.'

'What?' McGonagall breathed. 'Are you saying...?'

'The attack in Hogsmeade was a diversion,' said Harry. 'They stole the sword of Gryffindor.'

'How do you know this?' McGonagall hissed.

Ron started to speak, but Hermione intervened with a half-truth. 'We were coming down to tell you about Ron's vision,' she said, 'but we heard something on the fourth floor corridor. It was them, and they attacked us.'

'Good lord!' McGonagall cried, momentarily forgetting to keep her voice down.

'It's okay,' said Hermione. 'We fought them off but...it's a mess upstairs. We tried to stop them but they got away.'

At this, McGonagall swore. Harry had never heard her utter a swear word in his life. She looked livid.

'How on earth did Lucius Malfoy...I should have known...and Nott, all this time, I never knew he could take it this far...' Her voice trailed off. The last time Harry had seen her this angry, it had been just after Cornelius Fudge had allowed a Dementor to Kiss Barty Crouch, Jr. before he could give evidence against Lucius Malfoy after Harry's ordeal in the graveyard.

'You four, get upstairs immediately,' she said suddenly. 'I have things to do. Weasley, Granger,' she added, nodding sharply at Ron and Hermione, 'make sure all the Gryffindors are accounted for. After that, I want all the seventh year prefects in each house to thoroughly patrol their surrounding areas and report back to you; let the sixth years keep the other students contained in their dormitories or common rooms. Under no circumstances is anyone else to leave, understood?'

'Yes, ma'am,' said Ron and Hermione obediently.

'That means you stay put, too, Potter,' said McGonagall, giving him a pointed look, before she turned back to gather with the other teachers and the Aurors.

It was an unspoken agreement among all four of them not to mention one word about what they had seen, or the battle they had fought, to their housemates. Hermione had managed to patch up Ron's bleeding cheek with a quick healing spell before they went inside. Considering the battle they'd just had, it was amazing they got through it with only one of them getting a small cut on the face. The Fat Lady gave them an arch look before letting them in.

The common room was in an uproar. Several younger students were crying; Seamus and Dean were arguing; Colin Creevey and Neville Longbottom were trying to keep some semblance of order and failing miserably.

'QUIET!' Ron bellowed, and the whole room went suddenly silent; the entire first-year population gazed up at Ron in fear.

'Everyone calm down,' said Ron in a gentler voice.

'P-please, Ron,' said Lizzie Towler, in a tiny voice, 'what's going on? We were locked in and we saw all these flashes of light in the distance, and we heard what sounded like explosions and crashes--'

'There was an attack in Hogsmeade,' said Ron, fighting to keep his voice steady, as several younger students gasped, 'but the teachers are on top of it.' He faltered and glanced at Hermione; Ron had never been a facile liar. Hermione caught his expression and spoke up.

'Nobody's getting into the school that doesn't belong here,' she lied. Then she added, 'You're all safe and McGonagall will be back to explain everything, okay?'

'Can't you tell us what happened?' Dennis Creevey asked.

'We don't know anything more than you do,' said Ron. 'We weren't allowed to go outside the castle.'

'We had to make a quick sweep of the corridors to make sure they were all clear,' said Hermione quickly.

'We just have to stay calm,' said Ron, his voice more even. 'Now listen up. McGonagall wants Hermione and I to do...another patrol of the floor and the surrounding area, okay? You're all to stay here until we get back. We won't be long.'

'Sixth year prefects, it's your job to make sure everyone stays here,' said Hermione, and with that, they left the common room.

Indeed, it took very little time for Ron and Hermione to return. Harry wasn't surprised. It didn't seem likely that any Death Eaters would linger in the castle, not now with all the Aurors and teachers back.

But in the fifteen minutes that Ron and Hermione were gone, Harry had time to reflect on what had happened, and something that had been nagging him from the moment Ron had led them to the fourth floor corridor suddenly struck him.

'Ginny,' Harry whispered, moving closer to her, 'Goyle wasn't there.'

'What?' Ginny whispered back.

'Goyle,' said Harry. 'He wasn't there. The fake one, I mean. It was just Lucius and Nott.'

Ginny moved closer to Harry; they had huddled in a far corner, sitting on the floor (all the chairs and the sofa were taken). Nobody seemed to be paying them much attention, for which Harry was grateful.

'Do you think...Lucius could be the imposter?' Ginny murmured.

'Could be,' said Harry. 'He's smart enough for something like that. He might not have even needed Polyjuice Potion. He'd know how to do a bunch of Glamour Spells and pass himself off as Goyle.'

'Maybe,' said Ginny, but then her brow furrowed. 'Except...didn't Ron say when he saw Nott and Goyle--the fake one--talking that one night, that Goyle seemed a bit nervous? Lucius Malfoy doesn't strike me as the nervous sort at all.'

'True,' said Harry. 'But who else could it be? I mean, wouldn't the imposter have been there helping Nott and Malfoy get away?'

'Not necessarily,' said Ginny. 'If the fake Goyle isn't Malfoy, maybe he just stayed away tonight. Maybe Malfoy figured it would be easier to just have two people on the job. It's less to keep track of.'

'Good point,' said Harry.

Any further conversation on this subject was halted when Ron and Hermione returned. They hurried over to Harry and Ginny, who stood up, but a look from Hermione told Harry enough: the common room was simply too crowded to talk about anything in great depth, and they couldn't get to Ron's room at the moment.

'McGonagall's about to make an announcement,' Ron said instead.

And indeed, as if on cue, McGonagall's voice piped into the common room.

'All students are to report to the Great Hall immediately.'

'We'll talk about this later,' Hermione muttered.

The scene in the Great Hall was no less noisy, than the one Harry had just left upstairs. Everywhere were the curious murmurs, the nervous glances, the worrying hands of the students.

It was in that moment that Harry remembered he hadn't felt any pain in his scar. Voldemort must surely have gotten his hands on the sword by now; he would be overjoyed to have it. So why hadn't Harry felt any surge in emotion?

Voldemort's blocking you completely now. That's why.

Harry was just starting to wonder about this when he glanced over at the large clump of Slytherins. The real Goyle--it had to be him, owing to the vacant, confused expression on his face--stood next to Crabbe, who looked slightly dazed, as though he'd been awoken in the midst of sleepwalking. Blaise and Daphne looked decidedly agitated and both seemed to use pacing to calm themselves down, occasionally snapping at a younger student to keep still. Draco Malfoy stood in a far corner, looking nervous and...

Guilty.

At once Harry felt his stomach clench. Did Draco know about what his father had done?

Harry glanced at Ginny, who was deep in conversation with Lizzie Towler; Ginny had been adamant all along that Draco was innocent of any and all current involvement with the Death Eaters; Ginny was convinced that Pansy's brutal murder had set Draco firmly on a course away from the Death Eaters even as he retreated further into himself. Up until that moment, Harry was prepared, however hesitantly, to accept Ginny's assessment. Nobody who had gotten up close to Ginny's power--to her acute and somewhat unnerving ability to see through a person's inner shields--would question that she would have sensed deceit on Draco as handily as Crookshanks had once sniffed out Scabbers' true nature.

But to see Draco just now, Harry suddenly felt a swirling of doubt. The look on the other boy's face was one of a suspect under interrogation. It was, in fact, a similar expression to the one Draco had worn that fateful day last summer during his father's trial.

Could Draco be involved? What if Ginny was wrong? What if Draco had fooled her, had fooled them all? Was it possible to fool an Empath? Harry had never been able to fool Ginny--he thought of all those times in their recent training sessions, how Ginny had been so easily able to penetrate his feelings, to understand him with just a simple touch of her hand on his face.

But you wanted her to know what you were feeling. You want to communicate with her like that, and she wants that with you. You're not holding back.

Could Draco have held back? Ginny was positive he hadn't, but she could be wrong. And now, come to think of it, Draco had been suspiciously quiet for some time now. He hadn't caused Harry or any of his closest friends a speck of trouble. Ginny had insisted it was because of the trauma of Pansy's death, but what if it was something else?

What if he's the imposter?

It seemed far-fetched, to say the least. Harry had known Draco long enough to know he wasn't much of an actor. It was this, even more than Ginny's insistence that Draco was innocent, that determined for Harry that Draco was a very unlikely suspect to be the imposter.

And yet...

Harry stared at Draco, willing him to look back. At last, Draco did; his grey eyes fixed on Harry for a moment before looking away quickly. Harry then noticed that Draco was shivering, but that his forehead was shiny with sweat. He looked almost as if he was about to be sick.

Something is definitely going on with him. Even if he's not the imposter, he knows something.

Harry made a mental note to take Draco aside, forcefully if necessary, and confront him.

'Your attention, please!' a voice called. Harry blinked and looked up. He hadn't even been aware of McGonagall or the other teachers entering the room.

'The disturbance in Hogsmeade has been quelled,' said McGonagall.

Harry smirked.

A disturbance? That's what they're calling an attack of rampaging giants these days?

'At this time I would like the seventh-year prefects to please inform me whether there are any missing students from their houses,' McGonagall instructed. 'Mr. Zabini?'

Blaise swallowed.

'Everyone's here,' he said slowly, 'except...we can't account for Theodore Nott at this time.'

A swell of murmurs went up at this news; Crabbe and Goyle looked distinctly confused.

'That's the real Goyle, all right,' Ginny muttered. 'Looks like someone was just trying to explain how two plus two equals four.'

'Quiet, please,' McGonagall called. 'Miss Abbott?' she added, turning to large cluster of Hufflepuffs.

'All here,' said Hannah, in a tremulous voice.

'Mr. Goldstein?'

'Present and accounted for, Professor,' said Anthony.

'Miss Granger?'

'We're all here,' said Hermione.

'Well,' said McGonagall, 'it appears Mr. Nott has slipped off grounds. We will deal with him in due course. In the meantime, in light of this attack, I regret to inform you all that next week's Quidditch final must be postponed indefinitely.'

Harry and Ron sighed, but when Harry looked at Ron, he shrugged. It was a mark of the situation that neither of them was loudly protesting the postponement of the Cup match. Indeed, what few murmurs of protest there were, were decidedly subdued.

'Furthermore, I am ordering all students to remain indoors at all times,' said McGonagall, 'except during those times when you must go outdoors for lessons. And of course, our next Hogsmeade visit must be cancelled.'

This did bring a howl of protest from the crowd, but McGonagall raised her hand and called for silence.

'I am sorry, but such precautions are necessary for the time being,' she said. 'I have another announcement. I regret to inform you all that Professor Snape has taken ill and has been sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for treatment and recovery.'

'Snape?' Ron hissed. 'What happened?'

Harry didn't answer; for some reason his eyes automatically strayed back to Draco, whose face was slightly grey.

'In his absence, your Potions lessons will be taken by both Professor Sprout and Professor Hopkirk,' McGonagall was saying.

'Damn,' Seamus muttered. 'Was hopin' we'd get out of Potions.'

Hermione bit her lip; she looked like she wanted to snap at Seamus, but held back. Harry was immediately suspicious of Snape's 'illness' and automatically assumed that he had been injured during the giant attack. McGonagall's untruthfulness, if any, was clearly meant to keep the students from panicking further.

'At this time you will all return to your common rooms for the evening,' McGonagall was saying. 'Lunch will be sent to you. Please form queues; the Aurors and your prefects will escort you back.'

Harry saw Ron pull a nervous fifth-year--one of the Gryffindor prefects--aside, and mutter something to him. The boy nodded and he and his fellow prefects saw to the job of getting the Gryffindors queued up and moving out of the Great Hall.

Ron then sidled over to Harry.

'Blend in,' he said. 'We'll bring up the rear and then cut off to my room.'

Harry nodded, but just then McGonagall pulled Ron and Hermione aside and began speaking with them. The Headmistress glanced over at Harry and Ginny with a kind of resigned air about her, but kept speaking to Ron and Hermione in a voice too low for Harry to hear. After a few minutes she headed out of the Great Hall with Professor Hopkirk, who shot Harry a penetrating, inscrutable look before sweeping out, her strawberry hair swinging behind her.

When Ron and Hermione came back to Harry and Ginny, they both looked decidedly paler and unsettled.

'Let's go,' said Ron.

They took up their usual positions in Ron's room: Harry at the desk, Hermione and Ginny seated at the head of the bed, Ron standing and leaning against the wall, next to Hermione. Almost at once they fell to talking.

'What's up with Snape?' was the first question Harry asked. 'Ill, my arse. He must have got injured during--'

'Actually, he wasn't,' said Hermione. 'He didn't go with the other teachers into the village.'

'Why not?' said Ginny.

'Because he was guarding the sword,' said Ron.

Harry goggled at Ron. 'Snape was guarding Gryffindor's sword?'

'Yes,' said Hermione. 'But he wasn't the only one. Apparently the sword was moved around amongst the teachers. They had a kind of rotating system; McGonagall would hold it for a few days, then Snape, then Flitwick, etcetera.'

'They knew Snape would have it today, then,' said Harry. 'They attacked him and grabbed the sword and got out.'

'Made short work of it all, too,' said Ron.

'The timing of this whole thing is what's important,' said Hermione. 'This thing was planned very carefully. We learn about the giant attack, and not a minute later, Ron has his vision. Whether or not Voldemort was expecting Ron to see something, he would have known that Malfoy and Nott couldn't afford to dawdle. They'd have to get in and out really fast.'

'Which begs the question,' said Ron. 'How did they get through the fourth floor passage, get all the way down to Snape's office, attack him, steal the sword and get back upstairs in the space of ten minutes? I don't see how it's possible. The whole school was running about, there were Aurors everywhere. Unless they had an Invisibility Cloak, I don't see how they pulled it off.'

Harry mused on this for a moment, and then voiced aloud what was bothering him. 'Why go to the trouble of this big plan in the first place? Pulling off a giant attack to drag the teachers off grounds, just to give Malfoy and Nott ten whole minutes to steal the sword? That's risky. Stupidly risky. Because not only did the teachers know about this right after it happened, they now know Lucius Malfoy's behind it, and Nott as well. They'll know whom to look for. The Ministry's only going to go after Malfoy harder now.'

'Good point, Harry,' said Hermione, nodding. 'That is strange. The only logical explanation for it is that Voldemort or Malfoy took a calculated risk.'

'Why do that?' Ginny asked. 'Why not just have the imposter slip into Snape's office while he's at dinner, steal the sword, and quietly slip back out again. Nobody would have been the wiser for at least a few hours, and Malfoy could have saved himself some pain and trouble.'

'To throw us off the scent,' said Ron at once, his eyes widening. 'It's convenient for them, don't you think, if we go on assuming Malfoy's the imposter. After all, he's clever enough to pull the acting part of it off, and we know he's powerful enough to undermine McGonagall's wards.'

'There's another thing,' said Hermione fretfully. 'The only way Malfoy could have learned how to do that is if he witnessed McGonagall putting them up in the first place, or if someone else did, and reported back to him.'

'And McGonagall would never have let anyone watch her do that,' said Hermione. 'Nobody but another teacher.'

'Would she have cast a Fidelius Charm?' said Harry. 'Why not do that? That way her secret's safe, and the other teacher or teachers who know how to undo the wards can't reveal anything, right?'

'It would make sense, but then that would mean that whoever learned about what McGonagall was doing would have had to break the charm,' said Hermione. 'The only time that's happened was when Luna's mother managed to find her book, remember?'

'But the Death Eaters knew about Grimmauld Place,' said Ginny. 'They learned it from Lee, surely.'

'Not if there was a Secret-Keeper,' said Hermione. 'If Dumbledore died, the charm would have weakened and then faded but I can't imagine McGonagall letting that happen. I'm guessing the Death Eaters found out about Grimmauld Place because Lucius Malfoy already knew about it. He or Rodolphus Lestrange.'

'But why wouldn't McGonagall put a Fidelius Charm on herself when it comes to fixing the wards?' said Ron.

'She must have figured that using the Charm would do more harm than good.'

'How d'you reckon?' said Ron.

'If McGonagall were under the Fidelius Charm, and something happened to her, like…like last year…and we needed to take down the wards for some reason,' said Hermione, 'we wouldn't be able to, even if she told certain people how to do it. That's the magic of the Charm—only the Secret Keeper can reveal information in a way that's usable. Even if Snape knew how to undo every last inch of the wards, if McGonagall were under Fidelius when she told him or showed him, he couldn't pass the information on, under any circumstances.'

'Why would we want to take down the wards?' said Harry.

'If the castle were under attack,' said Ron at once. 'We'd need a way out that was guaranteed, even if the Secret Keeper got hurt or…or killed.'

'And even if she told a few other teachers,' said Hermione, 'she knew that the possibility was that the other teachers might get hurt. So she leaves a way for people to get out in the event that she or another teacher can't do it herself.'

'Risky,' said Harry. 'It takes time to undo the wards, you said so yourself, and the Death Eaters got in anyway. It would take us time to get out.'

'I agree it was risky,' said Hermione, 'and I'm sure she regrets it now.'

'Makes sense, though,' said Ron. 'If the castle were ever under siege, we'd want a way out. Another calculated risk, then.'

'But she didn't count on someone being privy to how she was building the wards. That's the only explanation for them coming down as fast as they did.'

'Somehow, somebody found out how to break down those wards,' said Harry. 'If not Lucius Malfoy directly, then somebody else.'

'The imposter,' said Ginny.

'But the imposter wasn't there during that attack,' said Harry. 'Nott's gone, so he couldn't have been posing as Nott.'

And suddenly, everything clunked into Harry's brain.

'That's why they planned the attack the way they did,' he said. 'They create a bunch of confusion, and try to make us think Malfoy's been the one getting in and out of the school. Meanwhile…'

'The imposter is still in business,' said Hermione.

'Blimey,' said Ron. 'He could still be in the castle for all we know!'

'That's how they got the sword so fast,' said Ginny. 'The imposter was the one who got into Snape's office, before the giant attack. He must have taken Snape down and grabbed the sword, and just waited for Lucius Malfoy to show up.'

'That makes sense,' said Hermione. 'Chances are the imposter just strolled upstairs, minding his own business. At some point the attack happens, people are running all over the corridors—the imposter would have blended in, and in the confusion, he could have passed the sword off to Nott.'

'Who went right to the corridor with the mirror, where Malfoy was waiting for him,' said Harry.

'And,' said Ron, 'think of this: they knew they had to move fast because of me. I could have been tipped off ages ago if someone was trying to get into Snape's office on the sly. But they make up this big attack of giants—which nobody saw coming—and do a smash and grab for the sword.'

'Exactly,' said Hermione. 'More to the point, that's also partly why the Death Eaters went for Fred and George. Not only to get their formula for that poison gas, but to create another distraction for the Seer.'

'It worked,' said Ron glumly. 'I spent a whole week focusing only on Fred and George, and then I managed to put myself out of commission for another whole week. They could have accomplished a lot in two weeks, and I wouldn't have known about it, unless I had some sort of spontaneous vision, but I don't get those very often.'

'Given that the imposter has had free reign of the school so far, he would have been able to work out the schedule of which teacher was guarding the sword and when,' said Hermione.

'Okay,' said Harry. 'So Lucius Malfoy's not the imposter, and neither is Nott. Who is it, then?'

'It could be anyone,' said Hermione, her shoulders sagging.

'Would he still be in the castle now?' said Ron.

'Possibly,' said Hermione. 'But he could have gotten out, right after our little battle with Malfoy and Nott. For all we know he watched the whole thing underneath an Invisibility Cloak, or he hid himself and waited until the coast was clear. But if he did slip out, his window of opportunity would have been small; he'd have to get out before the teachers showed up to put up new wards on the secret passages.'

'Could this person have been the one to pass along information about the old wards?' said Ron.

'I don't see how that's possible,' said Hermione, 'unless the person was…' Her eyes went wide.

'An Animagus,' said Harry.

'Wormtail?' said Ron. 'No way, McGonagall would have noticed a great ugly rat hanging around. Especially one with no hair and a silver limb. Besides, McGonagall's an Animagus herself—the first thing she'd think of is to check for that, if she came across any rats or other critters crawling about.'

Harry was just about to voice his agreement with Ron when Hermione gasped.

'Oh my god,' she whispered.

'What?' said Harry, all too aware that Hermione was having another of her strokes of brilliance.

'Of course,' said Hermione. 'It makes perfect sense. And McGonagall wouldn't have known…I swore I wouldn't mention it to anyone and I haven't…they're so much smaller and much harder to see, too…and she wouldn't have registered herself, I'm sure of it…'

'Er, Hermione?' said Ron. 'You mind telling us what you're onto?'

'Rita Skeeter,' she said.

'What?' said Harry, Ron and Ginny together.

'Rita Skeeter,' said Hermione. 'I can't believe I didn't think of it right when Luna said…' Her voice trailed off.

'When Luna said what?' Ginny prompted.

'We had that picnic here when Ron got out of hospital, remember?' said Hermione. 'And Luna made that off-hand comment about Rita not working for The Quibbler anymore! What if she's found a new employer?'

'Voldemort?' said Harry. 'You actually think Rita Skeeter's working for Voldemort?'

'Hermione,' said Ron gently, 'I agree the woman's a snake, but…you don't think maybe your…absolute loathing of her isn't coloring your judgment a bit?'

'I know it's far-fetched, Ron,' said Hermione impatiently, 'but it's the only explanation that makes sense! McGonagall doesn't know about Rita being an Animagus. She's still not in the Ministry registry. She quits working for The Quibbler because she's not getting paid, but I don't recall seeing a Rita Skeeter byline in the Prophet lately, do you?'

'Hermione…' said Harry doubtfully.

'Wait, Hermione could be right,' said Ginny slowly.

'Really?' said Harry and Ginny.

'You forget, Luna and I are in the same year, and some of the same classes,' said Ginny, smiling at them.

'I guess we do forget that, don't we?' said Ron.

'Anyway, Luna mentioned Rita to me about a month ago,' said Ginny. 'I didn't think anything of it, of course. I figured it was just Luna being Luna—you know she talks about anything and everything under the sun, and half the time I just let her go because there's no point in interrupting. Anyway, she mentioned that her dad and Rita Skeeter had had this big blow-up argument about the fact that Mr. Lovegood wasn't paying her. Rita got some residuals from when Mr. Lovegood sold Harry's interview to the Prophet way back, but the residuals have long since dried up. Mr. Lovegood said he couldn't pay Rita because he couldn't afford to publish the magazine, circulate it and be able to pay for his yearly research trips to Sweden.'

'Rita lost out to the Crumple-Horned Snorkack,' said Ron dryly. 'I can see why she might be a bit fussed.'

'Well, apparently Mr. Lovegood told her she was under no obligation to keep working for him,' said Ginny. 'He told her she was always free to go back to The Daily Prophet, but Rita said the Prophet wouldn't have her. Apparently, ever since Fudge's disgrace and the election of Madam Bones as Minister, every story Rita's tried to submit to them has been rejected as too sensational and without evidence.'

'Poor Rita,' said Harry. 'Can't find work because the Prophet no longer traffics in outright lies and smears.'

'Well,' said Ginny, 'if I were Rita I'd be plenty hacked off that I couldn't get decent work.'

'Enough to go work for Voldemort?' said Ron dubiously.

'He could have coerced her,' said Harry. 'He's been known to do that.'

'Rita's not a shrinking violet, though,' said Ron. 'I mean, yeah, it's Voldemort, but Rita's not Wormtail. She won't do something unless there's something in it for her.'

'If Voldemort didn't coerce her,' said Harry, 'then he made her a sweet offer she couldn't refuse.'

'Money?' said Ginny.

'That,' said Harry, 'and…maybe she becomes the star journalist for Voldemort if he wins and takes over the world. Yeah, I can see that.'

'It's not like Rita has any convictions,' said Ginny, 'except to help herself, and to get the story.'

'Hermione?' said Ron suddenly, and Harry and Ginny glanced at Hermione, whose lower lip was suddenly trembling.

'What's wrong?' said Harry.

'If this is true,' said Hermione fretfully, 'if Rita is working for Voldemort now…then…it's my fault.'

'What?' said Ron.

'Don't be daft,' said Harry.

'It is!' Hermione protested, her eyes filling with tears. 'Ron, you were right, I shouldn't have messed with her! I was the one who found her out and forced her to be unemployed all that time, don't you see! I ruined her career. If anyone put her on the path to working for Voldemort it was me!'

'Hermione…' Harry began.

'Hey,' said Ron, and he gripped her shoulders fiercely, 'we don't know if Rita's working for Voldemort. And it's not your fault, Hermione. You didn't force Rita to be a horrible, selfish person, did you?'

'No, but…'

'No buts,' said Ron. 'Look, what's done is done. We can tell McGonagall what we know, and spread the word that Rita's an unregistered Animagus. If she is working for Voldemort, that ought to cramp her style quite a bit, to have the whole Ministry looking for her.'

Hermione bit her lip; she still looked very upset, but she nodded.

'I have a better idea,' said Harry. 'What if we tell McGonagall about it, but convince her that it's best not to alert the Ministry too soon about Rita? That way, if she is the imposter and the spy, we can be on our guard, and maybe catch her in the act.'

'That is a good idea,' Ron agreed firmly. 'See, Hermione, we're on top of this. No real harm done.'

Ron's reassurances, and the act of pulling Hermione into his arms, seemed to soothe her, but Harry's own doubts wouldn't stop tickling him. If Rita was the imposter, Harry couldn't help but think that perhaps this might not have happened if Hermione hadn't been so keen to go after her in the first place.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

Ron let go of Hermione.

'Who is it?' he called.

'It's Professor McGonagall,' she called, and she sounded just a bit annoyed.

Ron quickly opened his door, and McGonagall strode in.

'I should have known you lot would come back here instead of doing what I told you,' she said impatiently. Hermione started to explain, but McGonagall held up a hand.

'Never mind,' she said. 'I meant to ask Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger to my office. Naturally I suspected the two of you were here, given that technically Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger are not supposed to be in the Head Boy's room without others present.'

She gave Ron and Hermione a significant look, and they both blushed.

'Of course not,' said Ron unconvincingly. At this, Harry could swear he saw the corners of McGonagall's mouth twitch, as though she were trying not to laugh. Harry himself felt like laughing. Discreet as Ron and Hermione tried to be about their 'extracurricular activities,' Harry was sure that McGonagall had figured out long ago that Hermione was visiting Ron alone in his room quite frequently, for reasons that had nothing to do with academics.

'All right, you lot,' said McGonagall, finally showing Ron and Hermione a bit of mercy and moving her hawk-like gaze away from them, 'come with me. There are some things I need to discuss with you.'

Harry's thoughts were buzzing about his head like an angry swarm of bees as he followed Ginny, Ron and Hermione to McGonagall's office. They entered and she conjured up comfortable chairs for them--an improvement over her usual straight, hard-backed ones--and the four of them sank gratefully into them. Hermione, however, was very alert, and Harry didn't have to guess why.

'Now,' said McGonagall, 'I have decided it would be counterproductive at this point to punish all of you for disobeying my orders and trying to go after Lucius Malfoy on your own.'

'Please, Professor--' Ron began.

'Silence, Weasley,' said McGonagall brusquely. 'You were not entirely honest with me about what happened today. A small white lie is still a lie, whatever the well-meaning intentions behind it. But given Mr. Weasley's insight, and given your attempt, we at least have somewhere with which to assess our next move.'

'Can you at least tell us about the giant attack?' Hermione asked. 'Everything happened so fast.'

McGonagall paused and pushed her glasses up her nose. 'The attack itself was an elaborate ruse,' she said at last. 'Several Death Eaters charmed themselves to look like giants. Their purpose was not to fight but, clearly, to keep us occupied long enough for Lucius Malfoy and Theodore Nott to steal what they had come to steal. The ruse would not have worked had we not received legitimate news from Olympe Maxime that a small band of giants was, indeed, spotted moving quickly up through the north of England several days ago. We assumed, incorrectly, that these giants were attacking Hogsmeade.'

'Death Eaters charmed themselves to look like giants?' said Hermione, unable to disguise that she was, in fact, impressed.

'Yes,' said McGonagall. 'Not all that convincingly, mind you. If anyone had taken a few seconds to just look at the so-called giants, they would have seen through the Glamours the Death Eaters used, but given that the sight of a giant typically sends the average person into a panic, it's understandable that the villagers didn't see the disguises for what they were. We only noticed because we had prolonged contact with them, if you can call several minutes in skirmishing prolonged contact.'

'Was anyone hurt?' said Hermione.

'Apart from the Potions Master, no,' said McGonagall wearily. 'They were not looking to engage us in a protracted battle. The first contingent of Death Eaters began to Disapparate within five minutes of our arrival. Several minutes later it was over. They had hardly even caused much damage to the village itself.'

'How is Professor Snape?' Hermione asked.

'Very poorly,' said McGonagall, her lips drawing into a thin line. 'He appears to be in a kind of magically-induced coma. Nothing Madam Pomfrey did could rouse him.' At this, McGonagall leveled her eyes at Harry.

'Poppy is concerned,' she said, 'that the damage done to Severus could be temporarily irreversible.'

'What does that mean?' Harry asked.

McGonagall sighed again. 'As you all know by now, Severus was...he served You-Know-Who for a time, and like all of his followers, Severus was given the Dark Mark. When we found him, the Mark was livid and infected, and he was unconscious. We're not sure, but Poppy believes Severus was poisoned, and that the point of entry for the poison was the tattoo on his arm.'

'Is he going to be all right?' Ginny asked.

'We don't know,' said McGonagall, and she looked distinctly upset by this. Harry's own feelings were uncomfortably ambivalent. He still hated Snape, of course, but it wasn't as if Harry wanted the Potions Master dead.

Into the silence, Hermione cleared her throat, and brought forth the subject she, Harry, Ron and Ginny had just been discussing.

'Professor,' said Hermione. 'We have something to tell you...'

She related the entire theory to McGonagall, who listened with rapt attention. When Hermione mentioned Rita Skeeter's unregistered Animagus status, McGonagall looked truly horrified.

'Miss Granger,' she said angrily, 'you should have reported Miss Skeeter to the authorities at once! Why on earth would you keep such important information secret? You realize that if what you're saying is true that you have inadvertently abetted Miss Skeeter undermining my efforts to protect this school and my students.'

Hermione's eyes filled with tears, and Harry's heart went out to her.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered.

'She didn't mean it, Professor,' said Ron, leaping to Hermione's defense.

'Of course she didn't,' said McGonagall in exasperation. 'She wanted to teach that woman a lesson, I'm sure. Fine lesson it turned out to be.'

'It wasn't just that!' Ron protested. Hermione was now crying quietly in her chair, and Ron had his arm round her shoulder. Harry could only imagine what it must feel like for her to be dressed down by her favorite teacher and mentor.

'Professor, Hermione was trying to protect me,' said Harry quickly. 'That's all it was about, I swear.'

Obviously this wasn't the whole truth; Hermione had wanted to get back at Rita, and very badly. And a small part of Harry couldn't help but agree with McGonagall, but he didn't think Hermione deserved to feel any worse about the situation than she already did.

Hermione forced herself to look into McGonagall's eyes. 'I'm really sorry, Professor,' she whispered pleadingly, sniffing and wiping her eyes.

McGonagall let out a frustrated breath. 'It is often the case that the best intentions lead to the worst of consequences,' she said at last, but her tone was considerably softer, and she gave Hermione a sad, warm look. 'Miss Granger...I trust you have learned your lesson. And I do thank you, all the same, for bringing this to my attention. Whether the Skeeter woman works for You-Know-Who or not, her days of spying on innocent people are effectively over.'

With that, McGonagall offered Hermione a Ginger Newt biscuit and a handkerchief, both of which Hermione accepted. She cast her eyes about the room again as she took a dainty bite of the biscuit, and leaned back against Ron.

'Professor,' said Ginny hesitantly, 'what's to be done about the sword? Harry...well, I think he needs it.'

'Yeah,' said Ron, turning his attention away from Hermione, although he kept his arm around her and held her close as she wiped her eyes. 'I keep seeing Harry with that sword, I think he needs it to kill Voldemort.'

McGonagall stiffened slightly when Ron said the name, but sat back.

'The particulars of re-obtaining Godric Gryffindor's sword are, I'm afraid, a matter for the Aurors,' she said.

'But we don't have much time,' said Harry. 'When Vol--You-Know-Who gets his hands on that sword...'

He didn't want to think about what it might mean, for Voldemort to have such a powerful weapon, a weapon that, as Ron's visions seemed to make obvious, Harry himself needed to destroy Voldemort once and for all.

'Do not panic, Potter,' said McGonagall. 'This situation is serious, yes, but we do have some time. The sword will guarantee us that.'

'How do you mean?' said Ron.

'I mean that the sword of Gryffindor has a few powerful defense mechanisms,' said McGonagall. 'It could be some time indeed before You-Know-Who can "get his hands" on it.' She looked pointedly at Harry. 'I'm sure you remember, Potter, what one of those defense mechanisms is. Dumbledore mentioned it to you back in your second year, if I'm not mistaken.'

Harry paused and forced his brain to remember.

His eyes widened. 'Only a true Gryffindor can pull it out of the Hat,' he said.

'What?' said Ron. 'A hat? The sword's in a hat?'

'Yes,' said McGonagall. 'Which, I imagine, You-Know-Who already knows, which means--'

'He'll try to kidnap one,' said Harry.

'Most likely,' said McGonagall. 'Neither he nor his associates will be able to retrieve the sword otherwise. The protection surrounding the sword was set by Gryffindor himself. Not even Salazar Slytherin was able to penetrate it. But it does mean that Gryffindors are in danger. This is why security precautions must be tightened here at the school.'

'What about the general public?' Hermione asked. 'Voldemort could find a victim who's already left the school.'

'Madam Bones is arranging a press release for tomorrow's Prophet,' said McGonagall. 'Thank goodness we have a Minister who seeks to keep the public informed. And a Seer'--she nodded warmly at Ron--'on our side who can help us just in case. And rest assured, Miss Granger, the news about the Skeeter woman will also be reported. You-Know-Who appears to be preparing--'

But at that moment, Hermione leapt up from her seat, and yanked her wand from her robes.

'What the--'

'Transformare!' Hermione shrieked, and a jet of gold light burst from her wand at a bookshelf just behind McGonagall's desk. The spell burst against the shelf, causing it to tremble and a few books to tumble from it. Harry gaped at her; what was she doing?

'Miss Granger, what on earth are you doing?' McGonagall cried, leaping up from her desk chair.

'Professor, make sure the room is sealed!' Hermione yelled. 'Transformare!' Another jet of gold light flew from Hermione's wand, to strike at the wall just behind the book case. In the next instant, Hermione slammed shut the windows of McGonagall's office.

'Miss Granger, sit down at once--' McGonagall cried, but just then, Harry's eyes, so accustomed to looking for small, rapidly moving objects, fixed on the thing Hermione was aiming for.

It was a black beetle with very familiar markings on it.

Harry leapt up and pointed his wand at McGonagall's door, sealing it shut. McGonagall was beside herself and had pulled out her wand, aiming it at Hermione, who fired another spell at the buzzing, frantically retreating beetle. Harry's eyes followed its progress as it raced toward a nearby air vent. In so doing, the beetle buzzed right past Harry. Too late, it recognized its mistake and tried to correct, but Harry wasn't a great Seeker for nothing: with his Quidditch-honed reflexes he snatched at the beetle and caught it gently in his hand.

'Hermione, I've got her!' Harry shouted, and Hermione, about to fire another spell in his direction, lowered her wand, her hair wild, her face flushed.

'Potter, Granger!' McGonagall breathed furiously, 'I demand to know the meaning of this!'

'It's okay, Professor,' said Harry triumphantly, clutching the beetle as he felt it twitter about in his fist.

'It is most certainly not okay, Potter!' McGonagall huffed. 'The two of you had better--'

'Harry just caught the spy!' Hermione interjected triumphantly, beaming at him. Ron and Ginny were gawping at both of them.

'You mean...' Ron said.

'Professor McGonagall, say hello to Rita Skeeter,' said Harry, and he very carefully held out his hand, opening it just enough so that McGonagall could peer at the small black beetle buzzing angrily about inside.

McGonagall's face went white. 'You...good lord...she was here...what on earth...' For a moment, Harry was worried that McGonagall just might faint from the excitement, but then she took a deep breath.

'Get ready to open your fist, Potter,' she said, her voice snappish and businesslike again.

Harry nodded, and very slowly, he opened his fist.

The black beetle moved at once, but McGonagall was faster. Without a word, she fired a gold beam of light at the beetle; Harry leapt back as the beam of light hit the insect, and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all watched in awe as the beetle transformed, as legs and arms and a torso and a woman's head came into view, as messy blonde curls sprung out of a skull and long, carelessly broken fingernails replaced delicate feelers.

Rita Skeeter looked up at them, her eyes blank and unseeing, her whole manner like one who has been drugged, before collapsing unceremoniously to the floor in a heap of tattered black robes.

A/N: Thanks as ever to lina and to Buckbeaky, my wonderful team of betas.