Enjoy the next chapter! Thank you for all the great reviews! They are really encouraging in getting me to write more. I guess sometimes I just need a good push.
Ginny hummed happily as she walked down the hall, holding her Dragons and Thestrals, and Puffs, Oh My! book against her chest. She rounded a corner, gasped, then pulled back, her eyes wide. She peeked around the corner, careful to keep herself out of sight.
"I have found something worth more than any creature on this planet," Professor Lockhart said to Hermione, Ron, Draco, Neville, and Harry. Harry was holding the small griffin in his arms. Lockhart held up a dragon tooth necklace that looked very familiar. "Something with power greater than our minds could ever comprehend. The Dragon's Tooth of Requital itself! In my grasp, it's surreal! It was thought to be a myth. And now it is mine."
"It's not!" Draco snapped. "That's Sam's, and only he can use it."
Ginny frowned, remembering where she had seen the necklace. Harry's familiar usually wore it, but she never thought of it as something more than a necklace.
"It'll drive you mad," Hermione added.
"Mad with power, indeed," Lockhart smiled devilishly, admiring the tooth. "Imagine the possibilities. All the fame and power in the world. Everyone will know my name! I just have to plan this out perfectly."
"No!" Ron said, holding up his wand and stepping toward Lockhart. "We'll tell everyone about what you did to this poor griffin."
"And then," Draco said, lifting his own wand and standing next to Ron, "we'll tell Sam about the tooth."
"And," Hermione said, her wand raised as she stepped next to Draco, "he'll take it back from you, even if he has to burn you to the ground."
"You won't get away with this," Neville said, lifting his wand and joining the three.
Harry, with his hands full of the griffin, also stepped forward, wandless but unafraid, Ivan snarling at Lockhart in his arms. "We won't let you," Harry added to Neville's statement.
Lockhart stared at all the wands aimed at him and the serious expressions on the kids' faces. The man laughed out loud, startling the kids, but they didn't back down. Lockhart shook his head as he slipped on the necklace, his white teeth dazzling down on them.
"I see how this is going to go," he said.
Lockhart gripped the tooth firmly in his hand, his smile transforming into a glare as he said, "Get rid of them."
Ginny's eyes grew wider as she watched the tooth glow blue and then a thick, bluish fog began to settle around everyone.
"Expelliarmus!" Draco shouted, but Ginny couldn't tell what was happening anymore. The thick fog was swallowing the five kids whole. She could only hear their startled voices and struggles. After a minute, five loud screams echoed in the hall and the fog cleared, and Ginny's friends and brother were gone.
And Lockhart was walking down the hall toward her.
Ginny gasped and pulled back, clutching her book tightly. Her heart raced in her chest as the steady fall of shoes came closer. There was no way the man wouldn't know she had seen everything. She had to get out of there, then tell someone what happened quickly.
Making up her mind, Ginny pushed off the wall and ran away. She heard Lockhart curse and chase after her. Panting, she nearly slipped as she turned a corner. She slid into an empty, unused classroom and shut the door, covering her mouth with a hand to keep quiet.
Outside the door, she saw Lockhart's shadow pause and look around. Her entire body froze when the doorknob slowly turned, the door creaking as it opened. Lockhart glared at Ginny for a moment before raising a finger to his lips. Then, he shut the door with an audible click.
"No!" Ginny cried, running forward and pulling on the doorknob. "Let me out! Help!"
Ginny pounded on the door, calling out for help and demanding to be let out. Lockhart was long gone.
"We should search for shelter," Draco said. "It'll probably be a while before anyone realizes we are gone—forget that we are on some lost island."
"We're also going to need water," Hermione added. "It's got to be a hundred degrees here. We'll all die of dehydration before anything else."
"I saw a haunted ship while I was trying to find you guys," Ron said.
"How do you know it was haunted?" Draco frowned at Ron.
"It had that look about it. It was all dark and broken and creepy."
"It was probably marooned here." Hermione tapped her chin in thought. "And it's probably not haunted. I think it would make a great place to get out of this sun. And maybe there's some collected rainwater or jugs on the ship. If we can't find a spring or something here, it would be the next best thing."
"Yeah," Neville said, hugging himself and shuddering. "But if it happens to be haunted and all, what do we do about that?"
"We'll take care of that when we get there," Harry said. "For now, let's find that ship."
Ron led the way, or at least, he tried to. He rambled on about how he remembered a certain rock or tree, then changed his mind about it. Everything looked about the same. There was the coastline, then the tree line, then trees. And more trees. Birds chirped around them, catching Ivan's attention, who cruu'd and cree'd in response to all the sounds from the safety of Harry's arms. The sounds of gruffs, hisses, and sharp cries made everyone uneasy, and they huddled closer together. Ivan's feathers puffed up at those noises and he growled in response.
Finally, as warm sand squished under their shoes, they came across a large, old, torn apart reefer ship trapped and held tight by the rocks and reefs of the coastline. The ship was falling apart and looked as though it had been gutted out. As the children approached a hole in the ship's side, it looked bare inside, save for several empty pens that lined the back wall. A couple broken shelves held a couple cans of corn here and there. In the center of the wreckage was a makeshift fireplace surrounded by small bones and empty cans.
"Someone beat us here," Ron said, studying the mess on the floor.
"Or it was the same person who crashed this ship," Draco commented, stepping further in and picking up a can off a shelf. "No date. These should still be good though."
"Canned food can last a long time without losing a lot nutritional value," Hermione said.
"Just my thought," Draco said, tossing the can to Hermione while he grabbed another.
"Look at this," Neville called out from where he was digging through a trunk. "Utensils. A lot of these are rusted but this knife in here looks like it's never been pulled from its sheath." Neville pulled the knife out and admired it. "Might help get those cans open."
"Or skin a rabbit," Harry said, looking at the many pens. He knew the scent of a rabbit from all his time assisting his father and Sam in hunts and from Severus's family recipe of rabbit stew.
"With the way rabbits breed," Hermione said, "there might be a population on the island."
Harry set Ivan down and the griffin sniffed the pens before running around the ship, sniffing at various things. Harry and the others continued to search for any other canned food or useful item.
"Found a lantern," Draco announced, holding up an old lantern. "Anyone found a way to light it?"
"I think I found some blankets, guys," Ron said, pulling on some sheets on a bunker like structure. "Who knows, it might get cold at night. If we're here that long, I mean."
As Ron pulled the blankets down, a skeleton fell to the ground and broke apart, earning several shouts of surprise and a couple screams. Everyone backed up to the hole they had entered from, their eyes straying from the bones on the floor to each other.
Hogwarts was in chaos. The entire school was on lockdown as an intense search began for the five missing children. It started when Minerva noticed that four of her Gryffindors missed their afternoon lecture and Flitwick noted that Draco was absent from his class. Severus had been quick to send Sam ahead of him to sniff the children out, only to draw a dead end in a hallway near the tower. It was as if the children had disappeared into thin air.
The search had begun in Gryffindor tower:
"What happened in here?" Minerva asked, her eyes wide and her mouth dropping. Her nose scrunched and she sneezed.
"I can explain," Seamus said, holding his hands up. He had tried to clean up as much as he could, but the curtains were still shredded, and feathers were still flying around the room from the pillows. Dean sat on his bed licking his lips and drumming his fingers on his desk.
Severus entered the room then and froze, Sam at his heels. His eyes scanned the room while Sam began sniffing around. "What in Merlin's name . . .?"
"We don't know where it came from," Seamus said, "but Harry and the others found the baby's egg and we've all been helping to take care of it. It was fun and we thought he might be a good mascot or something."
Sam picked up a large, brownish feather in his jaws and gave it to Severus, who held it up, studying it. Minerva stepped closer to see it but began sneezing repeatedly.
"That's right," she muttered. "I'm allergic to griffin dander."
"We didn't mean for this to happen," Dean said. "He was such a small and cute baby. I never thought he'd cause all this damage."
"And he got out on me earlier," Seamus admitted. "They were all chasing him around and he slipped right by me."
"Then Neville let him escape into the hall," Dean added. He frowned in thought, drumming his fingers harder on his desk. "The griffin was carrying something—a tooth, I think."
: It was what? Sam growled, snapping his head Dean's way.
Dean shrunk back in his seat. "I could be wrong, but that's what it looked like."
Before Severus or Minerva could comment, Sam had misted and flown out of the room. Severus sighed, disappointed that he couldn't even question Sam on what that could mean. Had the tooth had something to do with the kids' disappearance? He hoped not.
That had all occurred nearly two hours ago. Now, Severus was searching every part of the castle and questioning anyone he encountered. The rest of the students were confined in their common rooms and Aurors had been called in to investigate. Sam had yet to reappear. He had to find his son and the others. And he would not stop until he had.
Meanwhile, Ginny was focused on escaping the room she was locked. She had transfigured a broken quill she found into a hairpin, as she had just learned in Transfiguration. Like Fred and George had shown her, she used the hairpin to pick the lock.
It took her several tries. The lock finally turned, and she opened the door and ran out of the room, crashing into someone n her rush. She fell back with an oof.
"Dobby is very sorry," the house elf spoke. "Let Dobby help you up. Is you hurt? Dobby will take you right to Madam Pomfrey, Dobby will!"
"No, I'm okay," Ginny said, standing up. "Thank you, though. I have to go to the headmaster, though. Right now. Do you know the way?"
"Oh yes, Dobby will show the way to Headmaster," the house elf nodded, motioning for Ginny to follow. "He will."
"Wait up." Ginny grabbed her book and ran after the house elf. "I'm Ginny by the way. And you must be Dobby."
"Oh yes, Ginny is very smart."
Dobby led the way to the headmaster's office, where two Aurors were standing outside the entryway. They looked down at Ginny curiously, Dobby quickly disappearing from sight.
"I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore," Ginny said, holding her book against her chest.
"No can do, miss," one of the Aurors said. "There is an ongoing investigation, and no one is allowed in or out."
"But I can help. I know what happened to the missing students. It was Lockhart."
The Aurors snorted. "The same Lockhart who said he would find the missing students at any cost? Go back to your common room, kid, no one is supposed to be out of their respective houses. Don't make me call your head of house."
"You don't even know what house I'm from," Ginny snapped, but she reluctantly walked away. Lockhart had already beat her to the headmaster and told some cock-and-bull story to everyone. She had to set things straight. But who would believe her? Lockhart was a professor, and a hero supposedly, and he had that tooth . . .
"Sam's tooth. Dobby, come back!"
Dobby popped up in front of her. "Ginny called for Dobby?"
"Yes, do you know where Sam is?"
"The fox!" Dobby gasped dramatically. "Dobby knew the fox was danger, but Harry Potter sir did not believe Dobby. The fox brought danger to Hogwarts. Dobby sensed this coming, he did. He knew this would happen."
"If you knew it would happen, why didn't you say something?"
"Dobby wasn't sure what exactly would happen."
Ginny sighed. "I need you to take me to Sam. Now."
"Dobby will take Ginny to Sam. Follow Dobby."
The rabbit nibbled on some leaves contently. Faolan growled softly from behind the bushes. He aligned himself better for a big leap, his tail flicking behind him. The rabbit continued eating, oblivious to the half-grown tiger hunting it. Faolan took a daring step closer.
The small snap of a twig alerted the rabbit and it bolted into the trees. Snarling, Faolan charged after it. The rabbit dodged under thickets and Faolan gave up on the chase, letting out a frustrated roar. He had yet to catch his first rabbit. They were too quick for him and their ears heard everything. Faolan pouted as he trotted back to the ship everyone had cleaned up.
He paused in the entryway, studying his friends. Earlier, they had used the sheets to sweep out the bones to bury in the sand as best as they could, giving their respect to whoever had been trapped on this island years ago. A couple untouched sheets would work to cover them for the chilly night. Then, they worked on building a fire in the fireplace using small pieces of flint rock Hermione had found. Ron collected tufts of rabbit hair for tinder while Draco searched for wood in the trees. Neville used the knife to open a few cans of corn for everyone to share, each child drinking the juice and eating some of the corn.
While Draco was out, he found trees with a strange fruit no one could name. They debated if it might be edible when a few rabbits were spotted munching away on some fallen fruits. Starving and trusting the rabbits' instincts, Harry and Ron climbed the trees and threw down fruit to Draco. It was a tangy thing but satisfied everyone.
Ivan was showing his signs of hunger through loudly crying once more. Hermione searched the entire cabin for something that might satisfy the griffin, but only came up with a bottle of vodka. Near tears, Hermione poured only the juice from a can of corn into an empty can and forced as much as she could into Ivan's beak, taking advantage of when the baby screamed. It wasn't milk, but it would help keep the baby hydrated. Neville counted five cans of corn remaining, and he set those aside for tomorrow, should they all still be there. The gathered fruit would have to hold everyone over, including Ivan. Hermione and Neville began squeezing as much juice as they could out of the fruit and into an empty can for Ivan should he start screaming again.
When everyone had settled back in the ship and Hermione and Ron managed to get a steady flame going in the fireplace, Harry had shifted into Faolan and taken off in search of meat for them. He was sad to return emptyhanded. Everyone was sitting in a circle around the fire, the evening wind cooling the day off quickly.
Faolan walked deeper into the ship and sat next to Draco.
"Hey," Draco complained, pushing on the tiger's shoulder. "Personal space, you big brute."
Faolan gave Draco a half-hearted snarl.
"No luck again, huh, Harry?" Hermione said, cradling a sleeping Ivan.
"Nothing," Faolan chuffed, speaking through telepathy as Sam had taught him. "I tried my best."
"It's okay. I'm sure we'll all survive one night without a big meal. Not that a single rabbit would give us much anyway."
"Speak for yourself," Ron said. "My stomach is not happy with just some corn and whatever this fruit is."
"I'll try again," Faolan growled, standing. "I won't let us down. Any fruit left? I'm parched."
Draco rolled a large piece of fruit to Faolan, who bit down on it and lapped the juice. He forced himself to eat the fruit, something his animagus wouldn't usually snack on. "We still have no water," Draco said. "If you can't catch a rabbit, at least look for where they're all getting a drink from. It's more important at this point."
Faolan chuffed in response.
"If he catches a rabbit," Hermione asked, "who's skinning it?"
"Not it!" Draco, Ron, and even Faolan said.
"Stop doing that!" Hermione yelled at the boys, waking Ivan who croo'd up at her. Hermione huffed as she rocked Ivan, ignoring the small apologies from her three friends as Neville explained that he's skinned a rabbit before helping his grandmother in the kitchen.
Faolan took the opportunity to slip out and try tracking down one more rabbit before nightfall. He charged into the trees, starling a group of rabbits away from the fruit. An idea hit his mind, remembering one hunting day when Sam had been trying to bait a badger. Faolan grabbed a piece of fruit and silently made his way deeper into the trees. He found a slight opening and set the fruit down before retreating into the bushes.
He waited.
It did not take long for a rabbit to appear and begin nibbling on the fruit.
But Faolan waited.
Another rabbit joined the first.
Faolan did not move.
Another rabbit came. And another. A good half hour passed, and several rabbits were interested in a bite of the fruit. Faolan licked his lips and adjusted his paws underneath himself.
He leaped.
A loud rabbit scream echoed in the trees as Faolan bit down on it and broke its spine. The other rabbits scattered. Faolan could not resist the roar of triumph at his first rabbit catch. His father would be so proud of him right now. And Sam. Too bad they were not sharing in this moment. The thought killed the mood quickly and Faolan prepared to walk away when something red caught his eyes and he froze.
A large fox walked toward him, pausing and sitting on a rock. It gave a curious tilt of its head, an ear flopping over.
"Sam?" Faolan chuffed at it, taking a step toward it.
The fox stood and turned around. Faolan stepped back at the sight of the five tails trailing behind it. The fox looked back at him, then motioned with its head to follow before walking deeper in the trees.
Faolan hesitated, biting down harder on the rabbit before deciding to follow the fox at a safe distance away. He had never thought he would meet another kitsune. Sam had said to meet one kitsune was a one in a billion chance. Was Faolan just that lucky?
After ten minutes of following the fox, Faolan nearly dropped his kill and charged into the pond in front of him. Instead, he watched as the fox jumped on a rock once more, staring down at him and watching. Faolan set his kill down near himself and took a long drink from the pond, unable to stop after the first sip. He could see tadpoles swimming in it, but water was water, and he would return with some kind of container to collect water for everyone. It would have to do.
Quenched, Faolan looked up at the fox to thank it, but the creature had disappeared. Faolan was sure he would have heard it get up and leave, or at least seen it jump off the rock. Faolan looked around the forest, but he did not see where the five-tailed fox had gone to. Faolan shook out his fur before picking up the rabbit and running as quickly as he could back to the ship.
Sam sat on a window ledge, staring up at the sky. It was dark and storming out, and from years of experience, Sam couldn't help but make the awful connection: five children go missing, and the weather turns for the worst. Lightning struck the ground while thunder shook the castle. There was no escaping this building without being struck.
Despite the storm, Sam knew that Severus and Sirius, who had come with other Aurors, were out there searching for the children, checking Hagrid's hut and the forest. Sam hoped they would not be harmed, but he also knew the storm was intended for whoever had used the tooth. He closed his eyes. The children should have learned their lesson by now about that tooth. They wouldn't dare use it again, would they? But if they were nowhere to be found, then that could mean someone else used the tooth to make them disappear. But who?
The tooth must have found a way to get back to the children through the new baby griffin they were apparently raising. It was exactly what Sam had feared would happen. Perhaps a small vacation away from everyone would remind the tooth of its place. Far away where he could be alone with the tooth. He knew he could resist its temptation, and he would have to break in the tooth once more.
"Sam!" a voice called to him.
Sam looked over his shoulder to see a house elf and Ginny Weasley running over to him, her long hair flowing behind her. Sam jumped off the ledge and growled at the familiar house elf.
: Not you again! Sam snarled, his fur bristling.
"Dobby is here to help—Dobby swears!" Dobby said, holding his hands out defensively.
"It's okay, he's with me," Ginny said. "I know what happened to Harry and the others. It was Lockhart. He took the tooth from them and used it to make them disappear. I don't know where they went, but Lockhart still has the tooth! He saw me, too, and he locked me in a room."
: That explains why you are still out, Sam observed. All prefects should be keeping their housemates in their respective houses. You would not have known this. Lockhart, you say? I knew he was bad news. I must retrieve that tooth before he does something stupid with it. Elf, you know where all the professors are. Lead me to Lockhart.
"I'm coming, too," Ginny said.
: I must advise against it.
"What if you end up needing help?"
: I've already sent a telepathic message to Severus Snape. But I said I must advise against it; I didn't say I'd stop you.
And with that, Dobby began leading the way to Lockhart's office, chanting all the while.
"Dobby will show you the way! Lockhart has threatened all the other elves not to tell but Dobby is not afraid of him. Dobby knows Fox is far more dangerous. Dobby will save Harry Potter sir no matter what."
Dobby grew silent as they neared Lockhart's office. "Dobby must not disobey Hogwarts staff, or he loses job. But Dobby must protect Harry Potter sir." The distressed elf tugged on his ears before popping away.
: Looks like it's just you and I, Gin-chan, Sam said, lowering himself and stalking closer to the door. Wait here.
Ginny paused outside the office, smiling at the name as she tightened her hold on her book.
Sam misted and flew under the door, solidifying in a dark corner behind a bookcase. He peered around it, watching Lockhart pack his belongings.
"Now that I have the Dragon's Tooth of Requital," Lockhart said as he moved around the office, "I will make it, so everyone knows my name. Everyone will see me for the great Lockhart that I've become. I won't have to go on any more trips to steal people's fame and fortune and wipe their memories. This is the beginning of a new era for me."
Sam snarled softly as he moved slowly behind the bookcase, eyeing the necklace around the man's neck. His heart stopped at Lockhart's next words.
"First, I'll rescue those children from wherever they ended up. I'll have to wipe their minds and get rid of that griffin. I'll be a hero here at Hogwarts. I can already see the title of me new book: Heroism at Hogwarts."
: Well, Sam smirked from where he sat on top of the bookshelf, it's no more creative than your other book titles.
Lockhart jumped and pulled out his wand, pointing it at Sam. Sam jumped off the bookshelf, his fur bristling.
: I especially like how well you play the villain. You even have your own tell all monologue.
Lockhart fired a hex, but Sam dodged it and lunged for the man, catching the wand and throwing it aside. Lockhart ran around his desk, knocking the chair over to slow Sam down. But the fox leaped on to the desk and jumped for Lockhart, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground. He snarled down at the man, his ears flat, and his teeth inches away from the fraud's face.
"Please, have mercy, great kitsune!" Lockhart said, blocking his face with his hands slightly. "I mean no real harm. This thing"—Lockhart motioned to the tooth resting on his chest—"It would never bond with me anyway. I mean, I could never commit all seven deadly sins in one day. How could anyone do such a terrible thing? I don't have it in me."
Sam's snarls softened and his ears perked. The man struck a nerve with that one. He remembered the day he had obtained the tooth. It was the day he had been set up by some dark wizards and had been forced to kill his own friend. He would never make that mistake again. He sighed irritably. He could not harm the man. Not while he looked so defenseless and weak, clearly having no idea how to defend himself against a kitsune. He would make the man pay, however.
Sam backed off Lockhart, but he snarled as he sat in front of him.
: Here's what you'll do. First, you're going to give me that necklace. Then, when Severus arrives, you're going to lead us to the children. Then, you will turn yourself in to the headmaster, where the Aurors will come and dispose of you. Is that clear?
"Of course, of course," Lockhart agreed, standing up slowly, keeping his back against the shelf behind him. He nodded his head enthusiastically. "Whatever you say, Sam."
: Give me the necklace.
"As you wish." As Lockhart raised a hand to the necklace around his neck, his other hand snatched a bottle off the shelf. Quicker than Sam could leap away, he broke the glass over the fox's body, dousing Sam in firewhiskey while knocking him out as well.
Lockhart summoned his wand and grabbed his suitcase and locked it, running for the door and swinging it open.
Ginny jumped and raised her wand, glancing at Sam then Lockhart. Lockhart froze. His wand was in hand, but he sneered at the girl in front of him.
"Aren't you quite the Gryffindor. What are you going to do? A little firstie who I know I haven't taught a single thing in Defense Against the Dark Arts to this year. But I'd love to see what you come up with. Well? Let's see it!"
Ginny glared up at the man, her hold tightening on her book. Lockhart stepped toward her and she backed up and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
Lockhart paused, but when nothing happened, he smirked. "Good try. You almost had me convinced. But you need to know the right flick of the wand for that spell."
Ginny truly wished she had seen Draco's wand movement earlier. It was the only spell she could think of right now. Lockhart snatched her wand and pocketed it. He pointed his own wand at her. "I should obliviate you."
Voices from the hall startled them both. Thinking fast, Lockhart shook his head and growled. "But that will have to wait. Looks like you're coming with me."
Ginny let out a short scream as she was grabbed and taken away, her book falling to the ground.
There are lots of questions that need answers, I know. I will work hard on getting the next chapter finished soon.