Hello everyone! I know that last time I wrote to you all I said that I was going to publish the next chapter soon. About that…life sort of got me bogged down, especially with Uni work. But, with the current global situation I've found myself plenty of time to write! I won't lie and say that I have a regular schedule, but I will say that I have gotten my writing mojo back so I will be writing more often. Whilst I might not publish as often as you'd like, I'm still striving to write content that is good enough for my readers to enjoy.

Now, onto the current world situation. I, like many others around the world, are now quarantined at home. I know that it's a terrifying new world that we're facing and that there will inevitably be many casualties, we cannot forget out humanity in these times of crisis. Remember to look out for each other, to continue to exercise both your body and mind, eat well and enjoy a drink! In the words of Harry Craddock, the godfather of cocktails "Let this be a solemn lesson to us all to eat as much good food, and drink as much good wine, as we possibly can, when and wherever the opportunity presents itself, no matter what is costs-or who pays for it."

That being said, please don't be stupid and continue going out. Stay at home, wash your hands, maintain a healthy hygiene regimen and continue to remain calm. Focus on the good bits of life, stay out of the health service as long as possible and remember to help flatten the curve. Only by working together will we be able to defeat this virus. Humanity has faced many challenges before, and only through common action will we overcome this new trial. So, in the future, let it not be said that his generation panicked. Let us not be remembered for panic buying and stupidly ignoring the advice of the health authorities at the detriment of others. Let us be remembered as being a strong generation that kept our sanity, that continued to function as human beings in a time of crisis. Let them remember how strong we were, and that we never gave up. That we never surrendered.

So from me, to you my readers…stay safe, stay strong, and keep reading.

Polyjuice: Chapter 17

"Polyjuice potion Hermione! Are you completely mental!"

"No Ron, I can tell you now that I am completely and utterly sane." Hermione said, shooting Ron a dirty look as the group of friends wandered up the passageway.

"I've already told you that if you want to find something out, your best bet would be to sneak into the Slytherin common room." Hermione said, "And the only way you're going to achieve that is if you use Polyjuice potion and ask some questions."

Hermione had already explained to the group a week ago after the duelling club incident what her plan was for the group of friends to gain the information they needed. Harry and Rose had supported the plan fully, but Ron was sceptical at best. Alec was just trying to keep his head down, and for good cause too. The gossip about Harry being a dark wizard began to emerge not even an hour after the duelling club had ended, and many of the other houses were either terrified to go anywhere near him, or happy to hurl abuse at him as they walked by. Even members of Gryffindor were attacking Harry, watching him with beady eyes or refusing to sit next to him in class, or at meal times.

Fred and George were the only ones besides Harry's friends and sister to keep interacting with him, although it was arguable that it was positive interaction. The Weasley twins would find themselves walking ahead of Harry, calling to make way for the heir of Slytherin, as some had started to call him, lest he call down a plague of snakes on you, or petrify you. Although Harry couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it, it still miffed him that the twins were doing what they were doing. Rose and Hermione were a little more vocal on their thoughts, and either told them to knock it off, in Hermione's words, or to stick their thumbs up their proverbial backsides as Rose would tell them.

"Tell us again why we're going into the girl's bathroom again?" Harry asked as the group came to a stop outside of the second-floor girls' bathroom.

"Because this is where moaning Myrtle lives, nobody goes in here anymore on account of all the well…moaning." Hermione answered.

Stepping into the abandoned bathroom, the group of friends surveyed their surroundings, making sure that they were truly alone.

"Alright, I think we're in the clear, Hermione what..." Before Harry could finish his sentence, an ethereal creature came flying out of one of the many empty stools, moaning and screeching like a banshee.

"BOYS IN MY BATHROOM! You're not supposed to be in here!" The ethereal figure cried.

"Hello Myrtle, how are you today?" Hermione asked, giving the ghost a kindly smile.

"How am I today! Like I am every day, dead!" Myrtle huffed.

Hermione gave her friends an apologetic smile. "She's a little sensitive." She whispered to her friends.

"Myrtle, we're sorry for barging in here but could we please stay and set up an…experiment here." Rose asked nicely.

"Breaking school rules, are we? Well, we wouldn't want anyone to hear about that would we." Myrtle slyly remarked.

"Is that a threat Myrtle?" Hermione asked.

Myrtle gave a ghostly laugh as she zipped around the ceiling of the bathroom. "Oh no, I wouldn't possibly do that, not when I have people to keep me company."

Harry let out a sigh, he knew where this was going. "Alright Myrtle, what do you want in exchange for your silence?"

"Nothing much at all, just a little…company."

"Well we're going to be in here for a good month, so you'll have company for that entire time." Hermione reasoned.

Ron let out a cross between a gasp and snort. "A month! With that crazy broad! I don't think so!"

"Like it or not Ronald, the potion will take a month to brew, so we don't have much of a choice."

Grumbling to himself, Ron went and stood over by the wash basins as the group continued to haggle with Myrtle. "Alright Myrtle, we'll be here for a month, what more do you want?" Rose argued.

Myrtle let out a ghostly wail as she continued to zip around the students. "Only a month! You couldn't come back for visits?"

"I suppose we could pop in once and while, to keep you company." Harry said.

Myrtle seemed contented with the answer as she stopped zipping around the bathroom. "Oh that would be lovely, having people come and visit me."

With one last wail, Myrtle disappeared down into the pipes of the toilets. "Well…that was certainly something." Alec quipped.

"Come on, let's get set up." Rose hurried them along as she and Hermione set up a cauldron in one of the abandoned stalls.

"So, what is this potion going to need anyway?" Harry asked,

"Lacewing flies, which we have to strew for 21 days, Leeches, powdered bicorn horn, Knotgrass, Fluxweed, only to be picked in the full moon, Shredded Boomslang skin and finally a bit of the person you want to transform into." Hermione explained, reading off the ingredients like a checklist.

Ron groaned as he leaned up against the stool door. "Where the bloody hell are we going to get all that?" Hermione shot him a dirty look for his language, "I mean, Boomslang skin? What even is that?"

"It's skin off of the Boomslang, which is a snake from North Africa." Rose answered Ron's question.

"Alright we get it, it's bloody difficult. Surely Snape would have most of these?" Alec asked.

Rose flushed a little as she and Alec exchanged looks, earning a smirk from her brother. "Yeah, Snape would more than likely have them. But we could also buy them. I'm sure Sirius wouldn't ask many questions…would he?" Rose asked her brother.

Harry just shrugged. "No idea, but if he does start to ask questions, we'll just tell him the truth. We suspect someone from Slytherin is behind these attacks."

"You really think he wouldn't mind?" Hermione asked doubtfully.

"I think that if we think it's for a good cause then no, he wouldn't mind." Harry explained.

Nodding her head, Hermione set placing some basic privacy charms that they had learnt from Flitwick earlier in the school year. Once they were satisfied that they wouldn't be discovered, the group of friends exited the bathroom and headed straight towards the Great Hall for dinner. Harry made a detour however to send off a letter to Sirius. Upon entering, Harry noticed Ginny sitting with Luna by one of the fires, all thoughts of writing a letter suddenly gone from his mind as he watched the firelight dance off Ginny's hair like an extension of itself. The youngest Weasley wasn't looking very well at all though, a sight that had Harry feeling a little sick in his stomach.

"Hey Gin, you're looking pretty peaky, how are you feeling?" Harry had walked over to the pair, his hand going out to softly land on Ginny's shoulder.

Ginny for her part only shrugged as she turned to look at Harry. "I'm…fine, Harry. Don't worry about me. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Harry nodded his head. "We did, had to negotiate a bit with the resident ghost but eventually we came to an agreement."

"Well that's good to hear, you're lucky it was a ghost and not a certain poltergeist." Ginny chuckled lightly, an act that warmed Harry's heart.

"Do you think you'll be up to coming down for dinner later?" Harry asked softly, "Otherwise Rose and I would be more than happy to bring you back some food."

Ginny shook her head. "That's alright Harry, I think I'll be able to go down. I wouldn't want to keep Luna up here all to myself anyway."

Luna only smiled dreamily as she petted Ginny's hand lightly. "I don't mind sitting with you Ginny, besides, who else is going to keep the nargles away when Harry isn't here?"

Harry and Ginny shared a look, smiling to each other over Luna's antics. "Thank you, Luna, for keeping the Nargles away from me. I think Harry can take It from here though, don't you?" Ginny smiled.

"I'm sure Harry would be more than happy to take over. I think he's been missing you, haven't you Harry." Luna smiled dreamily at the pair of now blushing teens.

"Ah, yeah, sure Luna. Anyway, let's go and get some food, I'm sure your brother is waiting 'patiently' for us." Harry stood up and stretched before offering his hand to Ginny.

Accepting Harry's hand, with a blush, Ginny smiled slightly as she eyed the boy. "Patience? Ron? Those two words should never be used together. My brother is very lacking when it comes to patience."

Luna let out a small giggle next to them as they departed out of the common room and down into the great hall. "Well you know what they say, he's a growing boy." Harry teased.

"I won't be surprised if he starts growing sideways before long." Ginny countered.

Harry had to laugh at Ginny's comment. It wasn't far from the truth, the amount of food Ron ate was vastly larger than other students, rivalled only by the twins. Percy and Ginny seemed to eat more reasonable amounts by Harry's observations. Arriving at the Great Hall, Harry found them a seat next to their friends who were already busy eating. Rose looked up from her food, beaming as she saw her best friend had come down for dinner.

"Ginny! You came down! Are you okay? How are you feeling?" Rose gushed as she eyed her friend warily.

"Rose, take a breath would you. I'm fine. I was just a little tired that's all." Ginny sheepishly smiled at her best friend, "But thanks for asking Rose."

"What are friends for if not to look after each other." Rose beamed at her best friend.

True to Ginny and Harry's expectations, Ron was stuffing himself full, his plate piled high with all sorts of delicious Hogwarts made food. "Bloody hell Ron, could you pile more onto your plate?" Harry smirked as his friend shot him a dirty look.

"I'm a growing boy Harry. You should take a lesson out of my book you scrawny git." Ron smirked as Harry scowled at him.

"You know, Ron's right though Harry, you really are a skinny bugger." Rose said, "You should try fattening up."

Harry blushed at the words as he directed his scowl onto his sister. "I'm fine, thank you very much. I eat a healthy amount."

"My mum would disagree." Ginny smiled gently as she started to pile food onto both her and Harry's plate. Rose joined in the effort, piling more and more food onto Harry's plate.

Harry might have looked like he was annoyed, being coddled, but nothing could be further from the truth. He secretly loved having two of his favourite girls in the world look after him. He looked shyly at Ginny as he mumbled a 'thank you'.

"You're more than welcome Harry, now eat up, before I have to write a letter back to mum." Ginny smirked at the look that crossed Harry's face at the prospect of an upset Molly Weasley.

The sound of someone making a whipping noise drew Harry's attention to Alec, who made the motion again whilst looking backwards and forwards between Harry and Ginny. Harry just scowled, not really knowing the meaning behind it but still understood that it was negative.

"Watch it Henderson, Ginny and I aren't above hexing your bits off." Rose shot a playful yet firm look at Alec, who quickly stopped his antics.

Dinner was a quiet affair after that. The twins had come over for a while to annoy their siblings and chatter amongst the younger years. At one point, Harry had slipped his hand underneath the table and entwined it with Ginny's, smiling at the blush that spread on her face. Yet, she didn't let go, only squeezing a reassurance as she ate the rest of her dinner with one hand. Rose noticed that her brother was only eating with one hand as well and made the connection what the two lovebirds were doing. Deciding to tease her brother, Rose nudged him lightly. "Pass the Salt would you, you great lump."

Harry shot a look at his sister as he reluctantly let go of Ginny's hand in order to reach for the salt. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing you little bugger!" Harry nudged Rose back as he passed her the condiment.

"What on earth do you mean, dearest brother of mine."

Rolling his eyes, Harry slipped his hand back into Ginny's, resuming his honorary guarding of her emotions. Once everyone had their fair share of dinner and dessert, the group called it quits on the night.

"So, chess anyone?" Ron asked hopefully as he peered around at his friends.

Harry answered with a smile. "Alright, I'll subject myself to your torture. But I hope you know I'm wasting valuable homework time playing you."

Upon hearing that homework time was being sacrificed for a measly game, Hermione's hackles went up. "What! You two can't be serious!"

"No…he's Harry." Rose mumbled quietly, earning a snigger from Harry.

"You have to do your homework, it's important that you keep up with your work, otherwise you'll fall behind and…and…"

Ron Wrapped an arm around the bushy haired witch, causing her to stiffen. "Relax Hermione, one game and then we'll do all the homework in the world. Besides, chess helps to develop the mind, you've said so yourself."

"I suppose if it's just one game…"

"Excellent! Alec? Making a bet?"

Ron's expectant eyes only earned himself an eyeroll from the other boy. "Ah ha, sure, let me just lose all my money as I watch you wipe the floor with Harry, no thanks. No offence Harry."

"None taken, I thoroughly expect to be thrashed."

As promised, the boys only participated in one game of wizard's chess, although Ron made sure to drag it out, making Harry's suffering last a good hour or two. Finally, as Harry's king was checkmated, Hermione dragged the boys off towards a table where she already had work set out for them. For all her hard work, all Hermione got was a moan of complaint from the three boys. Off in the corner, Luna, Rose and Ginny all giggled as they watched their brothers and friends be subjected to Hermione's educational obsession.

"So, are you feeling any better Ginny?"

The sudden question caught Ginny off guard, who turned to look at Rose with a funny twitch in her eye. "I uhm…yeah, I think so. I'm looking forward to Christmas though! Mum told me that Bill was coming back from Egypt. Charlie can't make it though which is a shame."

"Bill's the cute one yeah?" Rose asked.

"ROSE! That's my brother!" An aghast Ginny chastised.

Rose just rolled her eyes as she smirked. "Relax would you Ginny, your brothers are way too old for me. Besides, you don't hear me complaining every time you make heart eyes at Harry."

Blushing a deep red, Ginny hmphed and buried herself in a novella she'd borrowed from Rose. The rest of the night took on the same relaxed atmosphere. But even as her friends laughed and giggled, Rose could feel something on the horizon, something growing in darkness. She couldn't help but feel that atmosphere coming from her best friend. Still, Rose pushed it down alongside all her other repressed emotions, denying the sense of foresight that she was beginning to believe she was gifted with. Instead, she focused on her first year Transfiguration book, which also happened to be her mothers. Tracing a finger alongside the margin written notes, Rose felt a sudden pang of loss as she realised the woman who wrote those words, her mother, would never grace the world with her knowledge again. Once more pushing the emotion down, Rose looked up and plastered the best smile she could on her face as she continued to try and act like a typical 11-year-old girl.

The days turned to weeks as the school year rushed along towards Christmas holidays. Sirius had written back to the Potter siblings that he was happy to make their purchases, his marauder intuition sensing a prank on the brew. News from home was also a welcome comfort to an increasingly paranoid Rose and depressed Harry. Hearing about Remus and Sirius refurbishing Stag Run was both amusing and heart-warming, although Sirius did express some faux sadness when he recounted the harrowing removal of the old gas stove from the kitchen. Remus had finally made Sirius see reason when a simple cup of tea almost turned into a thermobaric disaster. But all the good news in the world couldn't keep the harsh almost feral environment of student life at Hogwarts at bay. Harry had continued to be hounded as the Heir of Slytherin and whilst it had died down amongst the Gryffindors, the other houses were not so quick to forget. Rose for her part, was becoming more and more worried about Ginny every day. Sometime before December, Rose had caught Ginny walking around the room with her eyes closed.

"Ginny…Ginny! What are you doing?"

The redhead's eyes suddenly shot open as she looked around in a daze. "What…where…Rose? What's going on?"

"You're sleep walking, I think?" Rose's feet pitter pattered against the wooden floor as she got out of bed to help guide her best friend back to bed.

Thankfully the other girls were fast asleep as Rose tucked Ginny back into bed. She noticed by Ginny's bedside table the open and still blank diary that Ginny seemed to write in. "Maybe you shouldn't write before bed?"

"What? Oh…my diary. I um, no I wasn't writing I was just…I was thinking."

Rose looked sceptical but let it drop, too tired to continue that line of conversation. "Get some sleep Ginny."

A few days before the Polyjuice potion was finally ready, Hermione had approached the group and explained that they would need to get into the Slytherin common room during the end of semester feast, just before everyone left for the Christmas break. Whilst up there, Harry and Ron, the chosen infiltrators, were to dig around in Malfoy's letters to see if there had been any correspondence between him and his father. It was agreed that Malfoy would be the target, as if any of the slimy Slytherin gits were to know anything, it would be Malfoy.

"Who the hell are we going to disguise as anyway?" Ron had asked.

"Well, who's the two most Neanderthal like students in the school?" Hermione said.

Rose let out a snicker as she nodded towards her brother and Ron. "Those two obviously."

"Oi! Watch it Potter!" Ron shot back.

"Knock it off would you. Obviously, Crabbe and Goyle are our best bet." Harry answered Hermione's question.

Relieved that someone had understood her plan, Hermione nodded. "Exactly. Plus, they share a dorm with Malfoy, so if anything were to arise, you two could pass it off as a case of mistaken trunks. I do believe those two are stupid enough for that to be believable."

"Hermione! That's awfully cruel of you." Rose smirked good naturedly as she nudged the older and taller girl.

Blushing, Hermione returned the smirk as she chewed her lip. "Well, it's true isn't it?"

Hermione's assumption about the not-so-gentle giants was spot on. As the end of feast was winding down, most of the student population had retreated to their dorms for the night. Malfoy had left Crabbe and Goyle to stuff themselves full, leaving with Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. Harry and Ron, who both had a flask of Polyjuice potion in their pockets ready, stood behind one of the pillars just outside of the entrance to the Great Hall. Hermione had gone ahead and filled two delicious looking tarts that the twins had procured from the kitchen for them, full of a quick acting sleeping drought. As the two Slytherins exited the hall, arms filled with Christmas treats, Harry expertly levitated the two tarts directly in front of their targets. Still with mouths full, Crabbe eyed Goyle with a surprised but excited look as he managed to shift his load about to free up one hand. Goyle did the same, taking a bite out of the tart and directly into the gooey centre, grins on their faces, before slowly but surely, they fell flat on their faces with a loud crack.

"Honestly, I think I lost braincells just watching that." Ron looked surprised that so far, their plan had worked.

Harry just shrugged, equally surprised. "Never look a gift horse in the mouth. Come on! Help me get these great lugs into a broom closet."

With some heavy lifting and a lot of grunting, Harry and Ron were able to wrestle the two, fast asleep Slytherins into a nearby broom closet, but not before swiping a hefty lump of hair. Remembering Hermione's instructions, the two boys stuffed the hair into the flasks.

"Ugh! It smells even more foul!"

"Essence of Crabbe and Goyle, Ron. I doubt it was going to smell of roses and dandelions." Harry grimaced as he too took in a waft of the foul stench coming from their flasks.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Ron eyed Harry almost pleadingly. "Do we really have to do this?"

"Yes Ron, how else are we going to get into the Slytherin dorms. Just…think of it as a really foul Bertie Botts flavoured bean. Think of it as a challenge."

"I think I'd quite happily take a vomit flavoured bean right about now." Ron grimaced again, "Alright…on the count of three then. One…two…three!"

With gag reflexes already working overtime, Harry and Ron gulped the foul-tasting liquid down their throats as their eyes stung with tears. Bones seemed to rearrange themselves and a newfound weight grew on them to the point that Ron fell flat on his arse. The sensation quickly stopped, however Harry found himself in a dilemma as all his clothes had now ripped and stretched beyond repair as his now larger body broke through his previously thin frame.

"Bloody hell…you look like Crabbe!" Ron, whose voice sounded very much like Goyle's. let out an astonished gasp

Harry almost jumped as he heard Goyle's voice, only to realise that it was actually Ron who was speaking. "Oh this is weird, I don't like this at all. I feel all…jiggly."

"You're in Crabbe's body, I bet you feel jiggly." Scowling, Harry gave Ron the finger as he began to strip off his clothes, "What are you doing?"

"Getting Crabbe's clothes on. Mine are ruined and obviously we can't go around in Gryffindor robes."

Ron nodded as he finally understood Harry's actions. "Good point. At least Goyle and I are almost the same size."

Shifting the great big lumps, Harry and Ron managed to finally strip the boys off of almost everything, besides their underwear, replacing their now tattered clothes with the Slytherin's. Harry stashed their clothes in another broom closet closer to the stairs leading up to Gryffindor tower. Now fully prepared, or at least prepared as they could be, Ron and Harry descended down into the dungeons with the mission of finding the entrance to the Slytherin dorms.

As they were walking along, Ron had a sudden realisation. "Um…Harry. How are we actually going to get into the common room? We don't know the password."

Harry had to stop and think for a moment, a sudden sense of dread filling him. That dread was further exacerbated when an all too familiar voice rung out from down the hallway. "What do you two think you're doing?"

Down the sconce lit hallway, Percy Weasley was marching directly towards them, a look of pure authority on his face. "I said what are you doing here? It's past curfew, you should be in your dormitories."

Ron tried to speak up, excuses falling short in his head. "I um…we um…"

As Ron struggled to find the words to challenge his older brother, another equally horrifying voice echoed down the passage. "There you two are, done stuffing your faces then."

Draco Malfoy was coming towards them from the other end of the hallway, his signature sneer plastered on his face. "Weasley, done harassing my friends?"

"I would watch what you're saying Malfoy, I am a prefect and I'm not above demeriting points."

"Whatever Weasley, we were just going. Come Crabbe, Goyle." The two disguised Gryffindors stood petrified for a moment too long as Draco turned back around to face them, "What are you two idiots doing? Hurry up!"

Scurrying along after Malfoy, Harry and Ron looked over their shoulders at Percy one last time before they rounded a corner. Travelling in uncomfortable silence, Ron and Harry exchanged looks with each other as Malfoy hummed to himself some tune. Reaching a stretch of bare wall, Malfoy stopped abruptly, turning to look at the two disguised Gryffindors. Thinking they were discovered, Harry gulped as he waited for Malfoy to bust them.

"Well…what are you waiting for?"

"Huh?" Ron's response summed up Harry and Ron's thoughts at that moment.

For his part, Malfoy just looked on expectantly. "Aren't you going to open it up?"

"Um…we ah…we…"

"Don't tell me you forgot the password. You two really are the thickest pair of oafs." Malfoy sneered, "Pureblood."

The wall in front of the trio slowly began to open just as Malfoy had spoken what was presumably the password. Harry had to nudge Ron at one point to stop him from gawking, thankfully neither were caught by Malfoy. "Come on then idiots, get in."

Following Malfoy's lead, Harry and Ron ventured into unknown territory. Both boys were trying to hide their emotions, their hands clenched tightly as sweat gathered. Harrys first impression of the Slytherin common room was that there was very little light. There were a few wall sconces that were lit in an eery light that seemed to cast more darkness then light. Overall it produced an ominous, mysterious mood, projecting the rather hidden emotions of the Slytherins. A few elder students were gathered around a bunch of tables, huddled over texts and whispering quietly as they exchanged notes. None of them bade any attention to the two Gryffindors in disguise or the young Malfoy heir.

"Sit. So, stuffed yourselves full then? I'm surprised you haven't exploded; you eat almost as much as those Weasley pigs." Malfoy commanded disguised Ron and Harry to sit on a fireside couch in front of him.

It took Ron a moment to understand that Malfoy was talking to him and Harry, following the latter's movements by taking a seat on the black leather couch. "Those ah…those Weasley's are pretty thin though aren't they?"

"Thin? I suppose so. But they certainly eat like pigs, they probably can't afford to eat like that in that pigsty they call a home."

Ron shifted uncomfortably, using all his self-constraint to not lunge forward and whack Malfoy. Harry, sensing Ron's panic, decided to take hold of the situation. "Um, Draco…have you ah, heard anything from your d-father about the…you know…heir of Slytherin?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes as he propped his feet up on the edge of the couch he'd stretched out on. "I've told you two already plenty of times, if father knew anything, he'd tell me. But no, he doesn't know anything. It's insulting enough that everyone is saying scarhead is the heir of Slytherin. Imagine that! A Potter and a Gryffindor at that."

"So, what's causing all this then?" Harry asked, trying to keep the anger down in his voice.

"Dunno. But father said that last time this happened…a girl died. Personally, I hope it's that mudblood Granger. Or maybe we'll all get lucky and it'll take out Granger and that smarmy Potter whore as well."

Grinding his teeth, Harry felt Ron's hand grip his, begging him to keep calm. Just as Harry was about to lose his temper, he noticed a flash of bright orange to the side of him. Daring a look, Harry saw that Ron's hair was slowly turning back towards his Weasley red. Panicking, Harry dragged Ron up off the couch and quickly made a move for the entrance.

"Oi! Where are you two off to now?"

"Oh…um, infirmary! We're not feeling to well…stomach ache." Harry lied.

Malfoy recoiled his face a bit. "I see. Don't make a mess will you, we don't need Slytherin house to be made a mockery of."

Without thinking twice, Harry grabbed Ron and quickly fled out the door and into the hallway, just as his vision began to blur once more. "Bloody hell that was close." Ron exclaimed.

"Too right, we were seconds away from turning back. Bugger, where are my glasses!"

Ron felt around in his pockets, fishing out Harry's pair of old glasses. "Here, picked 'em up when you dropped them changing."

"Cheers Ron, don't know what I'd do without you."

"I think that makes us even considering you just saved our hides there."

Looking at each other, Harry and Ron broke into a fit of laughter as the gravity of the situation came into reality. Their moment was ruined when the sounds of footfalls echoed up the hallway towards them. Hightailing it away from the dungeons and up into the inner workings of the castle, the two boys thankfully made it safely back to the Gryffindor common room. There, waiting for them in dressing gowns and anxious looks, were the other five members of their group.

"Well! How did it go!" Hermione suddenly jumped up as she hurried over to the Slytherin clad Ron and Harry.

Standing there, Harry and Ron could only burst into more laughter as their night finally came to a conclusion. "What has gotten into you both! Tell us, what happened?"

"Oh for the love of…Harry! Ron! Snap out of it!" Alec, who was anxious about the entire plan from the start, stalked over and whacked the two boys upside the head, "Now speak."

"Merlin Henderson, what the bloody hell was that for!" A perturbed Ron asked, rubbing his now sore head.

Rolling his eyes, Alec waved his hand at the awaiting group. "We've been worried sick all night and we're desperate for information."

"Alright, alright, don't get your knickers in a twist. You're worse than Rose on Christmas Eve." Harry remarked.

Said sister had unfortunately heard Harrys words and stalked over to her elder brother. "If you think what Alec did hurt, then wait till I…"

"Enough! Leave them alone, the both of you!" Hermione finally took back control of the situation, "Harry, Ron, please…tell us what you discovered."

Nodding their heads, the two boys took their places around the fireplace, Ron standing in front of the fire itself whilst Harry occupied a couch with Rose and a very tired and subdued looking Ginny either side of him. The two boys relayed their discoveries with the others, explaining that Malfoy had no idea who the heir of Slytherin was, but was told that someone had died the last time it had opened.

"S-Someone died?" Ginny stuttered, "Do you know who?"

"No we Don't, Gin, but we very much need to find out who and when it happened." Harry cast a concerned look at Ginny's now blanched face, "Are you okay Gin?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, fine. It just shocked me a lil' that's all."

Ron snorted from his side of the room. "You think that's shocking? You should've heard what Malfoy said."

"That's enough Ron…" Harry demanded.

"What did Malfoy say Ron?" Hermione pressed.

"Said he hoped it was you or Ro-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Harry made everyone jump as he shouted for Ron to stop, "That's…enough. What Malfoy said after that isn't important."

Ron look put out as he crossed his arms. "Not important? The prick might try and make a move."

"And we're not going to let that happen, are we Ron?"

Biting his lip, Ron eyed Harry apprehensively but gave a nod of affirmation anyway as he took his seat again. Hermione, who looked rather shocked, reached out and grabbed his hand. "Thank you."

"Alright, so what are we going to do with this information." Rose spoke up, eyeing her brother with a look of pure adoration.

"Well, we could ask the teachers, but who would've been around then?"

Hermione tapped her fingers against her knee as she thought. "Professor Dumbledore would've been deputy headmaster at the time and professor Binns has been here for decades. I think we might have better luck asking Binns."

"You must be joking Hermione! That old ghost wouldn't even hear you!" Alec complained, "He just sits there and drones on, hovering."

"That's perfect! He must be bored just sitting there teaching a group of otherwise bored students. If we asked him a question about it, he would be ecstatic!" Rose exclaimed.

Nodding their heads in agreement, the group agreed that the next time they had Binns they would pressure him for an answer about the death of a student and the heir of Slytherin nonsense. As everyone began to retire back to bed, Rose pulled Harry back over towards the fireplace.

"What did Malfoy say about me?"

"What? Nothing, he didn't say anything. He's just full of hot air."

Rose quirked an eyebrow. "I've only seen you get angry in the rarest of circumstances. What did he say to make you like that?"

"He um…he said some rather nasty things that he wished would happen."

"Like?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't want to say it."

"Harry tell me, please. How am I supposed to know he won't try and attack me or something?"

Growling, Harry shook his head violently as he grabbed Rose's arm firmly. "That's not going to happen, I made a promise that I would protect you no matter the cost, I don't intend to break that promise."

"Oh Harry…fine, if you think it's too nasty for my precious little ears then fine." Rose let out a frustrated sigh as she spun out of her brothers grip and went to march up the stairs, "Goodnight Harry."

Staring up at the stairway where his sister had just disappeared from view, Harry felt defeated. Climbing his own set of stairs, Harry retreated to second year boy's dormitory where almost everyone else was beginning to climb into their own beds.

"What's wrong Harry?" Ron called out from his bed.

Shrugging, Harry went to sit on his own bed as he began removing articles of clothing. "Rose. I didn't want to tell her about what Malfoy said. I think she's rather upset about it."

"She'll get over it, she's not as hot tempered as Ginny."

Harry snorted. "I don't know about that, she can hold a grudge for a long while."

"Yeah but against her own brother? Her only brother?" Ron let out an awkward laugh, "Come on Harry, buck up, it's gonna be all right."

"Yeah, guess so. Thanks Ron, for everything. Couldn't have done tonight without you."

Ron turned a deep shade of red as he went to cover himself in his blankets. " 'S alright, just doin' what friends do best."

"And what's that?"

"Looking out for each other."

The two boys shared a smile as they ducked their heads in embarrassment. Leaving their conversation behind, Harry climbed into his own bed, his head hitting the pillows with a thud. Unable to fully process what had happened tonight, Harry sat there awake for some time, thinking things through and wanting to make sense of them. If what Malfoy said was true, if someone had died the last time these events started to happen, then everyone in the school could be in danger. He just wondered why now, why would someone unleash such a danger onto the school with children as young as 11 in the school. The thought horrified Harry, he could never stoop to so low of a mark, at least he thought he could. At least he thought he could.