Here is part 2! As usual, any likes, comments, questions, suggestions, reviews, etc. are appreciated. Also, the Cursed Vaults are a reference from the app game Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery (its pretty fun).

Chapter 6 A Spoopy Halloween – Part 2: Seamus and Ginny

Seamus Finnigan's mother could not EVER find out what he was doing.

Emphasis on the EVER. The not so recent excitement at Hogwarts concerning the cursed vaults throughout the campus had led to the women not wanting to send him to Hogwarts at all.

"That Dumbledore is getting more and more off the handle! He did nothing about those supposed Cursed Vaults. I've even heard from the Daily Prophet says that he was even encouraging children to investigate them themselves. Maybe I should send you to Beauxbatons instead…"

He eventually convinced her that Hogwarts was in fact the best choice, but not without severe stipulations. First, he was not to get into trouble. Second, he would especially not engage in life-risking behavior. Third, he would not interact with trouble-makers "like those Weasley children". So, what he, Ginny Weasley, and his best friend Dean Thomas were doing would most defiantly need remain on the need to know basis. The group reached the 3rd floor and headed towards the library when suddenly, a voice called out, "Ginny, what are you doing up here?"

They turned, it was Luna Lovegood.

"Luna, there's a Troll loose in the castle and we need to find Neville and warn him," Ginny said, straight to the point as usual.

"Oh, that's unusual. Well, he's isn't in the library, I checked both floors," Luna replied with a frown.

"Alright, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are checking the 6th floor, so we should go and help them," Ginny said, already heading in the direction of the stairs. Luna skipped and caught up and the two began to chat, out of earshot of Seamus and Dean.

He and Dean walked quietly together a nervous energy surrounding their every step. Both boys jumped when the sound of a door closing interrupted the tense silence. The both dashed to the nearby wall and Seamus looked around the corner. Limping up the corridor was Snape.

Seamus turned and whispered this to Dean, who replied, "Aren't teachers supposed to be in the Dungeons right now?"

Seamus nodded wordlessly and whispered, "We need to hide! If he catches us we'll get detention for a year."

A small voice in his head said, "And my mother will find out."

Quickly Seamus hid behind a suit of armour and watched a Dean found another one farther along the hall to hide behind. He froze as Snape limped by, not daring to even take a breath in case Snape's bat like ears heard him. After he past by Seamus breathed a sigh of relief for a moment, until Snape paused in front of the suit of armour Dean was hidden behind. Panic hit him and considered revealing himself, when Snape abruptly decided to continue forward.

After waiting for the sounds of footsteps to disappear, Seamus called out to Dean quietly, "Hey Dean, we better go find Luna and Ginny now."

No response.

"Dean? You there, buddy?"

He walked over and peered behind the suit of armour. Dean's eyes snapped open and Seamus stumbled back a few steps. Dean in turn stood up, and strode towards him. His glaring eyes had a strange blue tint to them.

"Dean, you don't look so good, your eyes are-"

Dean interrupted him, swinging his fist wildly at Seamus's head. Seamus nimbly dodged the taller boy and continued to back away, hands held defensively in front of him.

"Dean, stop! Why are you doing this?" he cried out, blocking poorly planned swing. Dean said nothing and continued his violent onslaught.

He's not right. There's something wrong with his head.

Suddenly Dean lunged forward, attempting to tackle him to the ground. Instinctually, Seamus dodged to the side, while Dean, unable to slow his momentum crashed headfirst into to very suit of armour he had been hiding behind only moments before. Seamus rolled away from the mess of armour pieces and stood, looking at the hunched over Dean.

Seamus picked up the discarded helmet of the suit and approached slowly. Dean raised his head and started, "Seamus-?"

He was cut off by Seamus crashing the helmet onto his head, knocking him out cold. Seamus froze, holding the helmet, and looked down at the unconscious Dean.

Looks like we won't need to pretend to need the hospital wing.

BREAK

Ginny strode down the floor of the 6th floor corridor, only her speed betraying her nerves about the situation. She cursed herself mentally, she should not have left Harry, Ron, and Hermione alone. With Harry's luck he's probably fighting that loose troll right now. Steps behind her, Luna called out, slightly out of breath.

"Wait Ginny, I think we might have lost Dean and Seamus".

Ginny turned and saw that neither boy were with them. She sighed impatiently and resumed her fast walking, "They know where we are, they can catch up later".

They turned the corner and confronted by a not quite unexpected sight. It was Draco and his gang, Crabbe and Goyle. They were locking the door of the 6th floor maintenance room and the laughter shared between them was harsh enough to break glass.

This wasn't necessary however as the sound of breaking glass came from inside the room, followed by a girl's scream and more crashing noises. A sudden realization struck her.

"DRACO! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Ginny yelled at the snickering blond. She drew her wand and the boys and Luna followed suite.

"This is crazy Draco! Let them out, the troll is going to kill them!" she pleaded. She eyed the door, she just needed to get past them, then she could rescue the group.

Draco, always one for a dishonorable hit, took advantage of her distraction and shot bright green sparks at her. Quick on her feet she dodged behind a suit of armour, knocking it over in the process. Righting herself, she grabbed at the suit to use a shield, but it collapsed into pieces, leaving her with the left arm.

Draco called out the same spell, and she acted quick, sliding the arm over hers. Reaching forward she blocked the spell with her armoured arm. Time seemed to freeze, and she grinned, flexing her armour at the stunned boys. Luna laughed and shot bright red sparks at the boys as well. Draco dodged in the nick of time, but the other two were not as lucky. Crying, more in embarrassment than pain, they fled the scene.

Now alone, Draco's confidence seemed to wane briefly, but suddenly, he called out, "It's easy to tell you're a blood traitor, Weasley, letting other people fight your battles for you."

His smirk did not stay long as her bright red stars hit their target square in the face.

"MISS WEASLEY!"

Ginny froze. Oh no.

She turned and watched as an angry Professor McGonagall strode towards her, with Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Quirrell, and Professor Snape following close behind.

"A troll on the loose in the castle and you three are dueling. What if the troll had attacked you? Explain yourselves all of you."

"Please Professor McGonagall, the troll is in there, Draco locked it in there with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville! You have to help them!"

The professor gasped and they all ran past Draco, unlocking the door with a flick of the wand. She and Luna followed behind, bracing for a violent sight. The group all breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione all standing and alive. Neville was also there, but he was on the ground, apparently unconscious.

But where was the troll?

BREAK

Ginny never expected lectures after 5 pm but she also didn't have much talent for divination.

So as the group sat, reunited, she started daydreaming as Professor McGonagall reiterated the importance of maintaining Neville's secret. And while she appreciated the heroism that Harry, Ron, and Hermione displayed, she was not going to award points due to it being balanced out by Ginny and Luna's "reckless dueling". Snape had decided that there was also no way of knowing that Draco had in fact locked the door, since Draco denied doing it, while ignoring that Ginny and Luna had seen him do it.

Finally, the professors left the hospital wing and Ginny broke the silence among her fellow students.

"What happened to Dean, Seamus? I thought you two would've been safe away from the troll- umm, Neville."

Seamus started to explain, "Well you see..."

Apparently, he and Dean had stayed back on the 3rd floor after hearing a strange noise. After hiding from Snape, Dean had started to act strangely, and had attacked Seamus. Seamus was able to stop him by hitting him in the head with a suit of armour. Immediately seeing the pattern, Harry interjected his thoughts.

"It must have been Snape. He was doing something in that hall, probably related to the three-headed dog, and-"

"Wait," Ginny interrupted, "A three-headed dog lives on the third floor?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked guiltily at each other. Ron explained, "You know how Harry was supposed to have that duel with Draco that he backed out on?"

Ginny nodded, and Ron continued. "Well, we may have run into it when we were hiding from Filch."

"It was standing over a hatch of some sort, so I think it may be hiding something important. Maybe the object Harry saw Hagrid take out Gringotts," Hermione added.

Suddenly Neville stirred and Harry, Ron, and Hermione all took out their wands ready for "Mimb" to emerge again. But only a set of very tired eyes looked at them, widening with the realization that they had seen his "other form".

"I know what you guys must be thinking but I promise that it wasn't what it looked like. The monster wasn't me, well it was me but-"

"Neville, stop," Harry interrupted. "Do you really think that we stop being friends with you after all that?"

"But I-it tried to kill you," Neville protested looking down in shame, "I'm not a good person to be around… I'm too dangerous."

Ginny laughed, and the rest starred at her before she shrugged, "I was nearly killed by a plant a week ago Neville. Its not new."

Luna, who had been seemly disconnected from the conversation, decided to re-enter the conversation, "Don't worry Neville we will keep you secret. Daddy says that Fudge is keeping an army of people like you in containment for fighting dragons, and we wouldn't want that to happen to you too."

Neville seemed to brighten at these words and sat up in his bed, looking more determined than Ginny had ever seen him look before.

She glanced over at Dean and Seamus, who were quietly talking a few feet away from the group, "Look guys, Dean is awake."

Upon hearing his name, Dean looked over and spoke.

"Whatever Snape is up to, we need to stop him. We have to get to the 3rd floor."

Hermione nodded, "He's right, Professor Snape is only going to get more reckless after this failure. We can't let any other student get hurt."

The rest nodded except for her twin, who voiced a concern that they had been discrediting, "What about the 3-headed dog," Ron said frowning. "We can't exactly walk past it."

"Oh, that's easy," said Luna with a smile, "We lull it to sleep with music, Daddy says that's the best way to knock out 3-headed dogs. He said that a wizard learned the technique from watching songbirds-"

Harry cut off her ramble, "Do you know how to play a musical instrument, Luna?"

"Oh no, but I do know a spell to play music".

"Then its settled," Harry continued looking around at the group, "we all sneak past the 3-headed dog tomorrow night."