Harry hadn't time to get his bucket out of his staff before Besel pulled him into the apparition twist and when his feet hit the pavement in the little alley off of Charing Cross Road all he could do was collapse to his hands and knees and hope that Besel stayed back.

"Oh, Haripreet! I forgot. We've got to get out of the way. The others will be following us quickly. Can you stand up?"

Harry tried to answer, but was hit by another spasm. Besel vanished the sick and leaned over him, putting a warm arm across his back.

"Try to move this way. I don't want them to land on you," she urged.

The sharp clatter of boots was ricocheting off the alley walls, quickly approaching them. "Besel, Haripreet. Come this way," Healer Jordan called to them, her voice bouncing off the walls as well.

Harry stood up shakily, then leaned on his knees, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. He swayed a little.

"Harry, are you all right?" Healer Jordan asked.

"He gets sick when he apparates. He did this when we went to join the group."

"Did you eat anything?"

"No, not since breakfast," Harry muttered.

"Circe! I should have brought a nutrition potion with me."

"I'm fine," Harry said, getting his staff out of his pocket and pulling his wand out of it to rinse his mouth while he tried to ignore the spinning sensation that made him feel as if he were apparating again. "What's going on?"

There were popping noises and feet moving on the loose gravel of the alley.

"Right. Thank you for bringing Aminah, Fitz. Who is coming next? Here, come over here so the others have room to apparate in."

"I think Gemma and Godric are coming next then Peter and Gaius," Fitz said.

"Why does it smell like peppermint?" Aminah asked.

"Just vanished my sick," Harry muttered, stepping closer to Besel.

"Oh, Harry."

"Come on now, we've got to start back to the Center."

The popping sound echoed off the narrow alley and Gemma's footsteps ran the few feet to where Harry was and she started peppering him with questions.

He muttered, "Scribunt loqui," so that at least she'd be able to understand him.

"I'm sorry, Gemma. I have no idea what's going on. Dog? I don't know. I'll ask. Anyone know about the big dog watching us? Gemma wants to know…"

There was a burst of light that made Harry cry out and then the sound of rubbish bins clattering, a yelp, and a scrabble of toenails on the alley that quickly receded. Gemma's grip on his wrist tightened painfully.

"Is the dog okay?" Harry said once the racket died down.

"Yes," Gemma signed.

"We don't need to draw attention to ourselves!" Healer Jordan hissed as Harry wondered who'd sent the blast after the dog.

"Sorry, Healer, there was something about that dog. Oi vey! I swear it was a Dybbuk!" Besel said. "I didn't think."

"It's okay. It did have a grim look about it. No matter, Besel."

Another pop meant that Peter and Gaius had joined the group. They were all there.

"Okay, we're going to take a passage to the Center from here. It's been a long time since I've used this tunnel… I can tell you that the last time I used it, it was filled with spider webs and debris. We'll just have to do our best. I'll go first and try to clear as much as I can. It'll also be dark," Healer Jordan said.

"Not a problem," Harry snorted under his breath, but Aminah and Fitz, who were shuffling nearby, made breathy noises in agreement.

Healer Jordan muttered a spell and tapped the wall, reminding Harry of the first time he traveled to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Then there was the sound of bricks and mortar moving against each other near the ground and cool, dank air was wafting around Harry's legs as if it were coming from beneath the alley.

"Right, stay together. Besel, it is pretty narrow in some spots—keep your wand handy."

Gemma grabbed Harry's hand to pull it to her shoulder—she must have also grabbed Aminah because she bumped up against Harry.

"Excuse me, Harry," Aminah muttered and put her hand on his shoulder and Harry felt as though they were in a macabre version of a conga line. The rhythm of the feet of those at the front of the line on the stone steps and echoing off the narrow tunnel they were descending reinforced the image.

Then Gemma was descending on gravel-strewn stairs while air thick with mildew crept up his legs, seeping in through the fabric of his trousers. Harry was unnerved to discover that a tunnel under Charing Cross Road could smell so much like the Chamber of Secrets. He held his breath as he walked down the uneven steps, expecting to hear the elephantine serpent sloughing over damp stone. He tapped each step with his staff to test the depth and reached up with the handle of his staff to make sure he wasn't about to walk into the lintel.

The silence was suffocating as they kept traveling farther and farther down and the darkness became complete until a bright light erupted ahead. Someone had cast a bright Lumos. The sounds of sand and gravel cascading off the steps as they made their way down reminded Harry of rodents and insects. Harry could smell his stress escaping from under his outstretched arm. As the walls came closer and the ceiling was only a foot over his head, his heart started to beat faster. He didn't like being in the middle and he still needed to pee. The stairs kept descending down and down. They were also spiraling down and he was starting to get dizzy. He felt his ears popping and he was sure they had traveled farther down than the distance of the tube station that he'd arrived at a few weeks ago with Hermione and her dad.

Harry was startled when they finally reached the tunnel floor and were walking on an uneven path. The weight of the city above them seemed oppressive as it continued to rumble through the walls. On occasion, he was sure that he heard the rattle of the underground trains going by.

Harry kept his hand on Gemma's shoulder and Aminah's hand on his shoulder was damp. Her fingers dug into his muscle. Gemma was trembling noticeably and he wished he could do something to comfort her. He imagined that this tunnel was too similar to the grave she'd fallen into through Aminah's book. It certainly had a lot of the same characteristics.

How far would they have to walk?

It was just a couple streets to the Center from the apparition point, but it felt as though they'd been walking for ages. The air was old and stale. They had to stop a few times while Besel performed charms to widen the passage so that her chair could pass through. Harry wished they would widen the whole passage. He didn't like how his elbows brushed against the walls and he heard Fitz exclaim a couple of times and suspected that the low ceiling was causing him even more trouble.

There was a yelp and the line stopped. He could hear Healer Jordan and Besel talking at the front of the line, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Then the word "snakes" was echoing off the walls. Aminah's grip on his shoulder became painful, but Gemma just seemed confused. He tapped on her shoulder so that she'd turn around and he repeated the word for her. She pressed her small frame against him and then he realized that she was trying to get behind him and was pushing him forward.

"What?"

"Talk to snakes," she signed.

"Oh, right," Harry said "Aminah, I'm going to see if I can help. Can you let go? Gemma is right here." He pried her fingers from his shoulder, while Gemma took her hand, and they switched places.

Harry reached forward to find Besel's chair.

"Besel, I can help with the snakes," Harry said. "How can I get by you?"

"Oh, here, come on this side, Harry," she grasped his hand and pulled him along her right side where she'd made the tunnel wider.

Fitz was in front of her, though pressed up against her chair as if he couldn't get far enough away from the snakes.

"I'm just going to squeeze around you, Fitz," Harry said.

"Why? Why on earth? There are snakes! I hate snakes!"

"I'm a parselmouth," Harry said.

"Blimey, Harry," Fitz sounded stunned and didn't move, then he let out a sigh. "Oh, right. By all means." He moved to the side of the passage so that Harry could get nearer. He could hear the snakes now as they moved on the dirt floor. Their voices were agitated. Healer Jordan's light was causing them alarm and they were in a panic.

"It's the light, Healer Jordan. Nox it. They don't like it," Harry advised as he crouched down to get closer to their level. He could tell when she silently ended the charm even though his eyelids were shut tight against the light.

"Hey, my friends. We're sorry to disturb your peace," Harry started, reaching his hands out toward their dismayed utterances. The snakes erupted in shocked surprise when Harry spoke to them. "It speaks! It speaks!"

"Yes, I speak your tongue. Please, is there a way for us to pass through here without trodding on you? There are nine of us," Harry felt a tongue gently connecting with his fingers and held still as the sound of the snakes' bodies gliding over each other and loose gravel of the tunnel drew closer to him. He had the sense that he was being closely examined by hundreds, maybe thousands of eyes.

"Young speaking leg-walker. You address us with respect. You douse the too-bright light. Your companions are big. They will crush us if they pass. There is no room in the passageway."

"Harry, the passage is thick with them. There must be thousands of them. I don't know how we can pass," Healer Jordan said speaking over the snake who was addressing Harry.

"Just a moment, most honored serpent. Maybe we can make this space big enough for our group to pass. Permit me a moment to speak with my companions," Harry said to the snake and when it consented he turned his head toward Healer Jordan. He resisted the urge to smile at the formality of the language… it reminded him of Shakespeare's flowery language.

"Can't you cast the same spell that Besel uses to make room for her chair? To give them room?"

"Oh, that's a good idea. Yes, I can do that. I'll make a space for us to walk around the snakes. Could you ask them to move away from the wall to the east of us?"

Harry reached out to touch the wall, "This one?"

"Yes, that's it."

"My companions will make the passage bigger so that we may pass by you without causing harm," Harry said, addressing the snake who now had crawled up his hand and was balancing on it, while her tongue tickled his nose.

Healer Jordan was busy behind him, widening the passage and leading the group around the snakes. Harry returned his attention to the snakes.

"That is good. We thank you. You are known to us. You are the sightless one who speaks respectfully… and yet your actions are even more so. You are unusual for your kind."

"What? Really? Oh, do you know Little Friend?" Harry's throat constricted thinking about the little snake friend he'd left at Privet Drive.

"Ah, yes, he said you'd graced him with that honored name. Yes. He awaits your return. He said that you smell fair, for a two-legged creature, and that you were most kind in providing him with delectable insects."

"Aw. I miss him. Would you be able to pass a message to him?"

"Certainly. It would be our pleasure."

"I'll be returning in… let's see… 11 suns," Harry said, counting the days by tapping his fingers on his staff. "And I send my greatest esteem to Little Friend as well as fond wishes."

"You honor us with this task. Thank you. May we also call you Big Friend?"

"Yes, I am honored. And what shall I call you?"

"I am known as Dahn by my Adelphi," the snake in his hand pressed her nose to Harry's nose.

"So you can talk to snakes?" Fitz asked as he walked by, his body dragging across the wall on the opposite side of the tunnel.

"Dahn, I am grateful that our paths crossed today. Thank you for passing my message to Little Friend," Harry said as he lowered his hand to the ground. He heard Besel moving along the passage so he knew that his friends were nearly done passing.

"We thank you, Big Friend, and wish you well on your travels."

Harry leaned on his staff and rose. He paused for a second, feeling dizzy and momentarily terrified that he'd fall on the snakes. Relief came when Gemma touched his arm and he placed his hand on her shoulder and waited while Aminah found his shoulder again. They walked through the passage that Healer Jordan made around the nest of snakes.

"A parselmouth? Really? What a rare gift," Gaius's voice carried along the passage.

Soon they were climbing seemingly endless stairs again and then suddenly the darkness gave way to the calming light of the reception area. They had reached the Center.

"Is anyone going to tell us what is going on?" Fitz demanded as soon as they had all exited the tunnel.

"Yes, of course," Healer Jordan said. "However, first we're going to gather everyone together so that we can tell you all at once. I believe you've missed lunch?"

"Yes, we were going to have a late lunch after the play at a nearby muggle restaurant," Godric explained.

Harry let out a sigh and raised his hand.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Ireallyneedtovisitatoilet," Harry blurted.

"Pardon me?"

"The loo!"

"Oh, right. Go through the door behind the reception desk to my office and use the one in there. Anyone else? We'll reconvene in the dining hall at half-past one. I'll talk to the kitchen about holding some of today's lunch for you."

Harry was grateful to have his staff again and the ability to tell it where he wanted to go. He hoped that the meeting to explain what was going on would be brief. He was shocked to learn that it was a quarter-past-one in the afternoon when he Tempus'd his staff. Not only had he missed lunch, but apparating twice meant that he'd lost any remnants of his breakfast.

Harry navigated to an empty seat in the dining hall and he was glad that it was next to Gemma. Her small warm hand was on his before he even found the seat, guiding him and sharing her thoughts with him in a steady stream of tactile images. She wanted to hear about the snakes.

"They were upset by the light, I guess," he explained.

"You talked to the snakes?" she asked.

"Yes. I told Healer Jordan that they didn't like the light and she turned it off, then we needed to make a space so that we could pass. They were grateful. They are even going to deliver a message to my snake friend."

"You saved us," Gemma said.

"No, I saved the snakes. I'm sure Healer Jordan could have vanished them… but then where would they be?"

"I'm glad you saved the snakes."

"Someone had to!" Harry said, smiling toward Gemma as the seats filled around them.

"Harry?" Godric asked as he neared.

"I'm here," Harry said.

"Healer Jordan wishes to speak with you before she addresses the entire group. Please come with me," Godric said, taking a step back from Harry to give him space to stand up.

"Save the seat for me?" Harry asked as he turned to Gemma. She tapped yes on his arm and he followed Godric out of the dining hall and to Healer Jordan's office. They went through the herb garden as it was a little closer. As their staves struck the stone and gravel in the garden, Harry could hear voices. They must have been coming through the window from Healer Jordan's office that overlooked the garden. They sounded angry and Harry hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself smaller.

"... has a right to know! If we don't tell him, he is in even greater danger!" Healer Jordan's voice was adamant as it echoed off the garden walls.

"But he's only twelve-years-old! His childhood, his innocence!" Professor McGonagall insisted.

Harry was surprised that she was here again.

"I know. And yet in his twelve years, he's faced more danger, endured more heart-ache, and lost more people than most people experience in a life-time! I can not abide by your wishes. I must tell him. He's on his way now. Right now he is in my care and I will tell him the danger that he faces in an attempt to keep him safe."

"Er, sorry, Harry. It seems as if Healer Jordan didn't realize that her window was open to the garden," Godric said as they reached the door and passed into Healer Jordan's office.

The air was thick with the disagreement that hung around Healer Jordan and Professor McGonagall.

"Ah, here you are. Thank you, Godric. Have your students had lunch yet?"

"We'll wait until after the gathering."

"Yes, that makes sense. Thank you. We'll be along shortly," Healer Jordan said as Godric left the room through the door to the garden. "Harry, there's a seat to your left. Professor McGonagall is here, too."

Harry heard the professor's starched robes moving as she walked crisply to a seat opposite of him.

"Oh, hello, Professor," Harry said, feeling his face grow hot as he thought about what she'd been saying moments before about him.

There was a knock at the office door that connected to the corridor. Healer Jordan excused herself and went to answer it.

"Harry, how are you doing?" Professor McGonagall inquired.

"I'm fine," Harry said automatically, one ear angled toward the door, trying to figure out who was there.

"Good, good," Professor McGonagall said. "Healer Jordan was just telling me how your parselmouth abilities got a group of you out of a tight spot as you were returning to the Center."

"Uh, yeah," Harry said. "I just talked to them. It wasn't that big of a deal."

Healer Jordan's distinctive footsteps approached them, followed by others that seemed familiar to Harry.

"Professor Lupin has joined us as well, Harry."

"Oh. Hello, Professor," Harry said as the professor settled into a nearby chair, his heart beating faster. He wished they'd just get on with it.

"Harry, we wanted to talk to you before we addressed the entire group. Something has happened that… well, puts you in danger. A prisoner has escaped from Azkaban. Sirius Black."

She paused when Harry gasped. "So you understand the concerns we have?"

"Is he coming for me?"

"From what the Ministry of Magic has told us, it is likely. It is also very likely that he's not lucid after being exposed to the effects of the dementors for so many years. We felt it was necessary to bring all the students in from their lessons and we're going to lock down the Egresses until he's been captured again."

"What about Mei? How will they get to the ocean if all the Egresses are shut down?"

"Mei has elected to work with the Jiāorén instructors remotely until we can open the Egresses again," Healer Jordan said. "They were very understanding and concerned about your safety. With luck, Black will be apprehended quickly… though it is a big mystery how he was able to escape."

"I think… there is some… I, er…" Professor Lupin sounded like he was struggling with the words that were falling from his tongue.

"What is it?" Healer Jordan's steel-edged tone slid through the tension.

"Sirius was… is… an unregistered animagus."

"What!" Professor McGonagall exploded from her seat so forcefully that Harry's shield erupted around him.