Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of his friends. Or in fact any of his enemies.

What time do you call this?

"Do you actually know where you're going?"

Sam swung around irritatedly. "Of course I do, doesn't it look like I do?" he gestured airily to the dark tunnel they were presently travelling through.

"No," replied Luna pleasantly. "Maybe we should retrace our steps?"

"Yeah if you want to go backwards," Sam muttered.

"Give it a rest Fawcett," said Michael Corner from the front of the small procession. He turned to look at the two girls and Sam. "Crossroads. Left or right Sam?"

"Um," the sandy-haired boy paused to think. "Right, I think."

"See you don't know!" exclaimed Sally-Anne, knitting her dark brows.

"Calm down Sal," Sam assured. "Even if I get it wrong, the worst place we'll end up is the kitchens."

"But this place is different. Can't you feel it? It doesn't even feel like Hogwarts." The dark-haired Ravenclaw clutched her arms to herself nervously.

"Where's the Ravenclaw cool we're famed for?" Luna asked absently, watching the flickering torch in Michael's hand with bright eyes.

Sam shot her a strange look before rolling his eyes. "C'mon lets keep moving, we want to get back to the common room before everyone else comes back from… wherever they are."

"Where are they though?" Luna shook blonde hair out of her eyes. She didn't want an answer; she just wanted the others to think about the question.

"Don't know," muttered Sam. Of all the people that they had to be stuck with, it just had to be Loony Lovegood didn't it? Oh well, maybe she'd wander off into that bizarre world she always dreamt about.

The four Ravenclaws fell into silence once more, travelling single file along the passageway. Michael went first, bearing the torch, and then Sally-Anne, looking accountably nervous, Luna followed next, trailing with misty eyes, and Sam bought up the rear, giving Luna a wide berth.

They reached the end of the corridor, finding a small hatch in which to climb through.

"Here, look, the kitchens," announced Sam, smugly.

"But we wanted to go to the library," Sally-Anne said slowly. "Where are all the house elves anyway?" The three students looked around confusedly. Luna, on the other hand, picked up a glass interestedly.

"Harry Potter was here," she announced. "And so was Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley," she added, glancing at the other two empty glasses.

Michael, Sam and Sally looked at her strangely; she was a very bizarre person. "How do you kn-"

At that point there was a thump and raised voices from the adjoining corridor. The Ravenclaws, including Luna, hurried through the portrait hole into the outside corridor, wondering what they would find.

Ron had Draco pinned against the wall. "Take that back!" he bellowed.

"Temper, temper, Weasley," the tall blonde mocked.

"Ron, calm down," Ginny squeaked from the sidelines, but neither of the boys paid the slightest attention. "Look before we all get detention…"

As if on cue, heavy steps came cascading down a nearby corridor. "Now we're in for it," Hermione muttered, fixing Ron with a death look.

The four Ravenclaws looked at each other, unsure whether it was a good idea to stick around. They stayed though, there was nothing like a good drama to kick off the day.

Draco pushed Ron's hands off him in disgust. "There goes the cleaning bill," he snapped. Ron's ears went pink and one of his eyes twitched slightly but he managed to restrain himself.

A very crazy-looking Pansy, closely followed by Blaise Zabini and a fifth year that Draco didn't recognise, catapulted around the corner.

"It's McGonagall!" Pansy panted as the skidded to a vague stop in front of the gathered students. "She's gone mad! The whole world's gone mad!"

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked curiously, Sally-Anne nodded her head as well, mentally asking the question.

"I wasn't talking to you, mudblood lover," Pansy spat, finally recovering her breath.

Draco mentally rolled his eyes. The sun would always rise in the east and Pansy would always be bitchy. "What do you mean?" he asked, repeating the younger Gryffindor.

But any answer that Pansy could have given was cut off by the recognisable form of Minerva McGonagall herself storming around the corner.

"Heavens above! There are so many!" she exclaimed. "What do you think you are doing here? Honestly, no manners… what a cheek! And Weasley! Malfoy! I should have guessed! A complete disrespect for the rules, as ever!" she took a breath before continuing. The gathered Slytherins, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws listened without comprehension. "How dare you… I just can't believe it! And so many! I always thought… but never would have guessed. Oh you will all be punished for this!"

The head of Gryffindor house was beside herself with rage and the group of students were still clueless. What was she talking about?

"Do you have anything to say in your defence?" she demanded, tapping her foot impatiently. Her neat bun was beginning to become unravelled as she had shaken her head so much during the rant. None of the students had ever seen her this angry before.

"Well, Professor," Hermione begun in a very small voice, treading lightly even though McGonagall was her favourite teacher. "When we awoke there was no one around anywhere… so we came to the kitchens... and then the house elves were unhelpful. Being a Sunday…" she trailed off as the professor seemed to get angrier with every word.

"That's enough from you Kathryn," she snapped "I know as much as I'll ever need to. The headmaster's office now. And no talking!" The formidable student glared them into submission and they moved in the direction she was pointing.

"Kathryn?" Harry mouthed at her in confusion from the front of the silent procession. Hermione shrugged, as confused as he was.

"I said no talking, Potter!" the transfiguration teacher barked from the rear. Harry frowned. Something was very, very wrong.

The twelve students continued in silence, even the Slytherins didn't dare to make eye contact until they reached the familiar gargoyle guarding the staircase to Dumbledore's office.

"Fizzing Whisbees," McGonagall snapped, moving to the front. The gargoyle came to life and jumped elegantly to one side in a movement of liquid stone. The stone doors rolled away to reveal the narrow staircase. This was nothing special to Harry, Hermione and Ron as they'd been there many times before, but the Ravenclaws hitched simultaneous breaths. "Up. Now." The Professor's pinched face was hard and unforgiving.

The students climbed the stairs in twos, Ginny and Hermione going first and Blaise and Draco coming last.

They filed into the office in twos as well, only just managing to fit into the room. The portraits goggled at them curiously, crossing from one portrait to the next and whispering.

"Stay silent," McGonagall commanded. "I shall go and find Professor Dumbledore." She exited the room, but not before giving them one final glare.

"Look what you've got us into now," Draco snarled, looking directly at Harry.

Ginny looked up. "It was hardly Harry's fault."

"No it was all of your faults," the blond continued, his voice dripping with malice. "This school is brought down by the likes of you."

"Whatever Malfoy," Hermione replied keeping an admirable calm. "I don't know, but I think she was actually angry about us being there at all."

Sally-Anne and Sam nodded in agreement. "Yes," Sam said. "I think that it had nothing to do with the fighting, although she really seems to hate you two," he gestured towards Ron and Draco.

The blonde Slytherin shrugged and Ron frowned. Harry looked around at the add assortment if students. Ginny and Michael Corner were whispering in the… well, corner, Blaise Zabini stood a little way away from the rest of the Slytherins where Pansy was pawing Malfoy and he was looking disgusted. Luna appeared to be attempting to have a discussion with one the portraits, the younger Slytherin, a dark haired fifth year who Harry racked his brains to name was standing to one side and Sally-Anne Perks was trying to make conversation with her, somewhat unsuccessfully.

McGonagall strode back in and the students immediately silenced in caution. Professor Dumbledore followed rather more sublimely, shuffling across to his high-backed seat. Harry thought he'd never seen him look so old.

"Now, now, what do we have here?" the silver-bearded wizard questioned, his eyes were unfamiliar as they stared at Harry; there was confusion but not recognition, and the light that usually danced there appeared not to exist.

"Troublemakers and lawbreakers," McGonagall replied. "In my opinion, they should all be expelled."

The twelve students burst into whispers indignantly.

"And I would be inclined to agree with you," said Dumbledore, eyeing each student in turn. Harry's jaw dropped, he wouldn't… would he? "Had it not been for the fact that they are not our students."

McGonagall started. "Of course they are! Look, this is -" she gestured to Hermione "- Kathryn, and that is –"

"Look again Minerva," Dumbledore commanded, cutting her off.

The transfiguration professor glanced at Hermione briefly before doing another, longer, double take. "Good grief, who are you?"

"Hermione," she replied slowly, eyes wide in confusion.

"But we don't… have any Hermiones…"

The headmaster nodded his head in agreement. "How did you come to be here, and where are you from?" he asked.

The separate houses exchanged looks with each other. "Where's 'here'?" the unknown Slytherin, Ginny and Sally-Anne asked in union.

There was silence while no one had an answer, not even Dumbledore. "It's Hogwarts," Ron tried, blushing slightly as every gaze swivelled to rest on him.

"Not as we know it," Sam muttered.

"Where are the Hufflepuffs then?" Dumbledore asked, taking them off-balance, his bright blue eyes running over the badges on their robes.

"What makes you think...?" Draco questioned.

"Well, four of each house," Hermione pondered aloud. "I suppose it makes sense for there to be four Hufflepuffs left as well."

"Four left over from what?" Ginny asked, as the others burst into questions as well.

"Why us?"

"Where's everyone else?"

"How did we get here?"

"Where is here?"

The headmaster held his hand up, effectively producing silence. "All very good questions to be sure, but first we must locate the whereabouts of the Hufflepuffs. The castle is not as safe as it once was, especially not before the students arrive tomorrow."

"Why, where do they go?" Michael asked, unable to keep the question to himself.

"Home for the weekend of course," McGonagall replied briskly, eyeing them all warily. "The students only board during the week usually."

Twelve mouths opened in question. "Later," Dumbledore quickly injected. "Hufflepuffs first. Ravenclaws, I'm sorry, I do not know your names, you search the dungeons and the first two floors. Check the greenhouses too, just to be on the safe side," he added as an afterthought. "Slytherins, you take the top two floors, check both towers and try to avoid knocking over the memorial. Gryffindors, you can take the middle three floors and library." He paused to look at them all. "Be careful, all of you, and try to be back here within the hour."

The students filed out mostly in silence, but the Slytherins still found the opportunity to mutter about the unimportance of Hufflepuffs.

After they had gone, Minerva slumped into the chair opposite Dumbledore. "Albus, what on earth is happening?" she asked.

He smiled a secretive smile and linked his fingers. A little light danced in his pupils, one that she had not seen for a long time. "Well, they've gone away to answer all the questions that I am not able to and we are left with a little peace and quiet before the chaos begins." He got up and rustled through one of his desk draws which – Minerva noted with disapproval – was a mess. "Liquorice stick?" he offered.

Responses

Sabin Strohem-Moss - thank you so much for reviewing both chapter! It's the only thing that kept this story going! I hope you liked this chapter as well :)

Rubber-duckiesofdoom - nice name by the way. And good place to insert the dramatic music. There is, of course, more drama on the way. Hehe

xx Susannah xx