Okay, super long chapter, but I bet you're all happy for that. A lot going on in this chapter. Reviews are very encouraging!

He heard Ginny scream as he came to, but a burning sensation all over his body paralyzed him to the ground. Sam blinked his eyes open before gasping in pain. He cried out, a foxish scream, before panting heavily. His fur was soaked with the firewhiskey, and he could feel the liquid seeping into his skin, flooding his blood with its toxins.

Sam tried crying out one last time, willing his legs to move to get help, willing himself to mist so he could find Severus—someone. Anyone. But he felt himself growing weaker by the second, and he gave up, lying on Lockhart's cold office floor. He struggled to keep his eyes open, blinking repeatedly, willing the darkness to engulf him quickly. Lightheaded and weak, Sam could only drop his head down to the floor. He was dying. Slowly. Agonizingly. But dying for sure.

Then, a bright light flashed in the room, vanishing just as suddenly as it happened. Sam looked up at a large red fox staring down at him, five tails curled around it. Sam knew the fox instantly.

"Otousan," Sam whined to his father, "tasukete."

The fox stared down at Sam silently, the yellow eyes never blinking. Then, the fivetails smiled and lowed his head to Sam's, nuzzling against his son. Sam felt a rush of energy run through his body from the touch of the spirit. The rush ended when the fivetails leaped away and jumped up to the top shelf, weaving between items until he came across a large container that read: milk thistle. The fox pushed the container off the shelf, and it shattered as it struck the floor, the crumbled plants and seeds falling everywhere.

The great fivetails bowed to Sam before fading away.

Sam, with renewed energy, crawled over to the largest pile of milk thistle and rolled in it, ignoring the small cuts he received from the glass. The energy the spirit gave him faded just as the other fox did, and Sam collapsed back to the ground, lying in the dried plants and broken glass. His breathing slowed and his eyes closed.

At the moment, Severus came running into the office. He paused as he scanned the empty room before his eyes fell on Sam.

"Sam!" he called to the fox as he slid by his side. The smell of alcohol burned his nose and his eyes widened. He put a hand on Sam's chest, feeling for a heartbeat. It was there, but faint.

Recognizing the milk thistle on the ground, Severus began rubbing the plant all over Sam before pulling out his wand and spelling luke-warm water to wash over the fox. He rubbed more of the plant and seeds around before summoning a mortar and pestle. He ground some of the seeds and poured more warm water into the mortar before pouring the drink into Sam's mouth.

The fox swallowed weakly.

Severus kept rubbing and applying more water. He wasn't sure how long he had been at it, but his arms were starting to ache, and Sam looked no better. He felt the fox's chest once more and was encouraged by the strengthening heartbeat.

More rubbing. More water summoning. More tea down the throat.

Finally, Sam's breathing quickened. The fox's eyes blinked open, and he rose to his feet, wobbling slightly.

"Oh, thank Merlin," Severus muttered, resting his forehead against Sam's. The fox whined his gratitude. Severus sat back and watched as Sam shook himself off and took a few unsteady steps. After another several moments, Sam was checking his fox fire, lighting his tails successfully.

: He has her, Sam said, he took Ginny.

"Who? Lockhart?"

: We have to stop him. He has the tooth.

"We need to inform the aurors and Albus," Severus said, standing up and heading out of the office, Sam trotting at his side, still slightly unsteady.

"I didn't imagine it," Harry said as he walked toward the pond, leading everyone else. They had survived a long night on the island, and now, it was morning once more, and the sun was slowly rising, providing enough light for Harry to lead the way to the pond. Everyone was keeping a close eye on the ground and their surroundings as they finished munching on fruit.

"I saw a kitsune," Harry said, searching the ground for tracks. "It had five tails, like I said last night."

"It's not that we don't believe you," Draco said, "it's just you always seem to be the lucky one."

"Besides," Hermione added, "even Sam said meeting two in a lifetime is a rare thing. And most kitsune don't live very far outside of Japan."

"And no fox tracks," Ron said, brushing aside some leaves near rabbit tracks. "Not helping your case, mate."

Finally, the five children arrived at the pond, and everyone used their hands to drink greedily. Harry had only been able to bring back one jug full of water from a jug they found on the ship. After that trip, everyone decided it was too dark to venture out again, and they shared the water, making sure to fill up Ivan as much as they could.

The poor griffin cried for nearly two hours last night, and everyone did their best to muffle his cries and ignore him. Presently, Ivan was locked in one of the rabbit cages that was still in good shape. It was for the baby's own safety while they were trapped on the island. Everyone felt bad for him, but they had little choice in the matter.

"You should have asked the kitsune if there was a way off this island," Draco said in between gulps.

"It wasn't exactly very chatty," Harry said. "It didn't say a word to me. And when it brought me here, it vanished. I didn't even see or hear it leave."

"Well," Neville spoke up, filling the jug he was carrying, "it looks like whatever it was, it's gone now. We've seen no evidence of any foxes here."

"Which is funny," Hermione frowned as she filled her jug. "You'd think something was keeping the rabbit population in check or all this vegetation would be gone. A fox would make a perfect predator-prey relationship."

"And those rabbits were afraid of Faolan when they first saw your animagus," Draco said, sitting back and watching Ron fill the final and third jug. "So, there must be a predator on this island for them to recognize danger."

"If they saw Harry as a danger," Ron said, "you don't think the predators on this island are—"

"Shh!" Hermione suddenly said, her eyes wide and her jug frozen under the water.

Everyone followed her gaze. Across the large pond, a huge, near-black cat was lapping water on the other side. If one looked closely enough, spots could be seen in the dark fur. Its tail twitched as it enjoyed a long drink.

"What is it, Hermione?" Neville asked as softly as he could.

"Oh, let's see, some kind of island leopard—how should I know?"

"Shh!" Draco shushed everyone again. "Let's go. Quickly and quietly."

Everyone slowly stood up and began leaving the pond, careful not to spill their jugs. As they did so, Harry tripped over a root and fell with an 'oof.' Everyone froze and looked back at the pond, Draco helping Harry up.

"Uh, guys," Ron said, "the panther thing is gone."

"Keep moving," Hermione encouraged, leading the way back to the ship.

Everyone walked in silence, hypervigilant of their surroundings to the point that a chirp of a bird had them jumping out of their skins. They were almost to the ship when Harry's sharp hearing picked up on the low guttural growl of a hunting cat. He froze with a gasp.

"We're being followed," he said.

Everyone stopped, unsure of what to do now. No one had any experience defending themselves against a wild cat. And worse, no one had their wands. They huddled closer together, trying to catch sight of anything in the vegetation around them. Bushes rustled and the low growl grew louder as something circled the group.

Harry tried to move with the creature, keeping himself in front of his friends. He tried to convince himself that he felt braver than he actually was. He didn't know what he would do if the creature decided to attack them. He did know that it would be nothing like the play fights with his father. Or even Sam. This was a deadly, wild animal. He wondered if he should have everyone make a run for the ship—it was so close. He could stay back and fight off anything that gave chase.

Suddenly, a loud creeing from the ship had everyone's eyes widening. Harry felt his heart stop. Ivan must have woken up and was wondering where his makeshift family was. The rustling in the bushes stopped at the sound of a baby animal's cry. Then, the creature bolted out of the trees and headed for the ship.

"It's going for Ivan!" Hermione cried as everyone ran to the ship as well.

Harry sprang into Faolan and gave chase, leaving behind his friends and catching up to the beast quickly.

He pounced, catching the lower half of the cat. They both tumbled but landed on their feet. The black cat swatted at Faolan.

Faolan snarled back, circling the animal. Size, they were evenly matched. Experience, Faolan couldn't judge that. For a moment, he wished his father was here with him. The full grown Animagus's size alone might have been enough to scare the cat away. But his father wasn't here. Sam wasn't here. And it was Faolan against the native animal.

He saw his friends run past the cats to the ship. Hopefully, they took Ivan and found hiding places.

Faolan snarled again, and the cat lunged for him.

There was loud spits and snarls, claws flying and teeth flashing as the two engaged. Faolan managed to bite down on the cat's forearm when it managed to pin him down, then kicked the cat off him with his rear legs. He rolled over, only for the cat to pounce on him again.

A loud pained cry echoed on the island.

Faolan smacked the cat as hard as he could with claws out before stumbling away. His shoulder bled from where the cat had bitten him, but he could see the small trails of blood from where he had clawed the cat's face. It was hard to focus with the pain from his wound, and he struggled to keep circling the cat.

He didn't want to fight anymore. He wanted nothing more than to back down. He wanted to run away and hide. He wasn't a wild tiger, but a twelve-year-old child trapped on some lost island, starving and thirsty. He wanted to go home. He wanted to see his father again.

However, his friends were behind him, and he was the only thing standing in the cat's way. He had to push on. Even as he could feel his shoulder double in size, he had to ignore his injury and get rid of the beast.

He roared at the cat. The cat hissed back.

"Get out of here!" Draco shouted from behind them, throwing a metal object. The cat jumped back before the object could hit it. It snarled at Draco but Faolan took advantage of the distraction and swiped at the cat with a paw.

The cat hissed at Faolan but more objects were thrown at it as the other children shouted, "Shoo! Go away! Bad cat! Go on, scram!"

While the other children threw objects and shouted, Faolan swatted at the cat when he could. The cat continued backing away, hissing and spitting, before it turned and ran back into the jungle. The kids cheered and Faolan limped into the ship. Everyone lost their enthusiasm as the tiger collapsed near them and moaned.

The rays of sunlight shined brokenly through the closed shades of the window. Ginny opened her eyes and looked around. Lockhart had used some kind of potion to knock her out last night. They had still been in Hogwarts then. She had no idea where she was now, but it didn't look like Hogwarts. She was in a small bedroom, lying on a twin sized bed. She wasn't tied down or anything, but that did not ease her fear.

Jumping out of the bed, she walked over to the window and peered through the shades. Below her was a street with people shopping around at the oddly named stores. One place looked like a tattoo parlor, and a heavily tattooed man exited the building, admiring his new, magically healed masterpiece on his arm. This place reminded Ginny of Knockturn Alley.

The thought startled Ginny and she backed away from the window with a gasp. She ran to the door and tried to grab the knob; however, her hand went right through the knob. She tried again and again before pounding on the door.

"Help!" she cried. "Someone help me! Let me out!"

The door finally opened, but Ginny backed away from who entered.

Lockhart.

"Ah, finally," the man smiled. "You're awake. I see you've discovered that you are unable to open the door or leave this room by any means. A nifty spell courtesy of our innkeeper, if I don't say so myself. And you might want to keep it down in here, the innkeeper isn't fond of noisy guests, and I'm sure you don't want to attract the wrong sort of people, now do you?"

"Where am I? What did you do to Sam?"

"The fox is dead. Some creatures just can't hold their alcohol. So he won't be interfering with my plans. As for where we are, this is Black Crow Inn. Few people come here, and it's a very disliked, filthy place. Which makes it a perfect hideout. No one would think Gilderoy Lockhart would willingly stay at a horrid place like this."

"Why am I here?" Ginny asked.

"I need to get this tooth to bond to me and me alone. The only way the tooth will do that is if I commit all seven deadly sins in one day. I'll need your help for that. Then, I will have all the unlimited power in the world, and no one would be able to stop me."

"That tooth will drive you mad. Only Sam can use it. And I'm not helping you. You can't make me."

"I don't need to make you help me. You see, you little brat, I need to commit sins and I don't need your permission for that," Lockhart stepped toward Ginny, who backed away from the man, terror rising in her chest. "I just need you. Perhaps you could help me commit wrath. I could kill you right in this room. I'll also need to commit lust. You're a bit young for my type, but I'm sure we could work something out. Perhaps I could do both at once. That would make for less work."

Ginny gasped as the back of her legs hit the bed and she fell on it. Lockhart smirked down at her before tapping the nightstand with his wand. A bowl of nose wrinkling sludge that wanted to be porridge appeared.

"You must be starving," Lockhart said. "Bon appétit."

With that Lockhart left Ginny in the room, shutting the door behind him. Ginny's breath shuddered as she held back a need to cry and glared at the food. She curled up on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest. What could she do anyway? She had no wand, no owl, and no way out.

Hogwarts was under lockdown. No one was allowed in or out of the castle. All classes had been canceled for the day and students were forbidden to leave their common rooms. All the professors had spent the entirety of the day searching every inch of the castle and it's grounds for any sign of the missing children or Lockhart. Albus has detected traces of apparition magic just outside the wards of Hogwarts. Lockhart could be anywhere.

The Aurors has left Hogwarts and were releasing Lockhart's photo to the public, they were searching everywhere they knew the man frequented, as well as random house checks throughout the UK.

Albus had called in the parents and guardians of the missing children, sending a portkey to the Grangers to bring them into his office. He informed everyone of what had occurred and what the Aurors and professors were doing to find the children.

"How could this have happened!" Augusta Longbottom proclaimed. "How could you have let this happen? Hiring that madman!"

"Madman?" Molly Weasley said, frowning. "He was such an accomplished wizard. Perhaps working at this school drove him mad. It takes a true trooper to handle so many children every day."

"You're one to talk! My grandson has been kidnapped and you're concerned about his mental health status?"

"Unless you've forgotten, my daughter and son are also missing! Oh dear, I hope they're somewhere safe."

"This is outrageous!" Narcissa Malfoy spoke up. "I trusted this school with my precious little boy's life. I should sue you, Dumbledore. You, the school, the Ministry, every Auror . . ."

"That's a lot of lawsuits," Severus commented softly to Lucius, who rolled his eyes and stepped toward his wife, embracing her and reassuring her how he will personally see to it that everyone is looking for their son.

The Grangers kept quiet, but their fidgeting and tight faces spoke enough for them.

"Now, now, everyone," Albus spoke, holding his hands up. "Gilderoy Lockhart is our prime suspect. He is considered armed and dangerous, and is holding six children hostage. We must proceed with caution at all times. Sam, here, has more information. Sam."

Albus motioned to the fox and stepped back.

: Thank you, headmaster, Sam said with a nod as he stepped forward.

"I didn't know foxes could talk," Mrs. Granger whispered to her husband.

"I've always wondered how they could be so sly," Mr. Granger whispered back.

: As of yesterday afternoon, Sam began, Lockhart has come into possession of a dark artifact. A tooth that grants the user anything he could possibly desire, no matter the cost that may be. Right now, he is most likely planning if not attempting to commit all seven deadly sins as we speak, for it is the only way to have the tooth's full willingness and power. He may be planning on using the children to achieve that goal, so we must work diligently and swiftly.

"Wait a second," Narcissa stopped Sam. "Are you talking about the tooth that is your necklace? The one I've seen you wear?"

"She's right," Arthur nodded in thought. "And you're not wearing it now. It's a dark artifact? You brought that to my house?"

"Near our children?" Molly gasped.

"You must have committed those deadly sins," Augusta added, glaring at the fox. Sam's ears dropped as Augusta pointed an accusing finger at Sam. "This is your doing. Our children are missing because of you!"

The Grangers eyes widened, but they remained quiet and observed as everyone else glared and shouted at the fox.

"Hey," Severus said, ready to defend Sam as he came to the fox's side.

: No, Sam said, his head lowering as he looked at Severus, it's all right. They are right. I brought us into this mess. I was not careful enough this year. And I did commit all sins several years ago, after I was set up by dark wizards who threatened my sister's life.

Everyone was quiet as they listened to the fox, still glaring at him. Sam walked in between everyone as he spoke, his tails lowered and his ears flat.

: They kept me hostage for two years, and one day, they would give me my freedom back if I did one last job for them. Kill their head Auror. I was so happy that morning I ate everything on the breakfast table. Like a glutton. Then, they had myself and a close human friend break into their Ministry, like yours, but a woman wouldn't let us through, so I used my forbidden seductive magic to make her do as I asked. I know, how dare I?

Sam sighed as he paused, looking back at Severus, who gave an encouraging nod. Sam continued, refusing to look at anyone else.

: I had to disable several wizards on my way to the Head's office to keep them from sounding the alarm. It was wrathful. Then a parchment appeared to me only, just as my friend and I were about to enter the Head's office. It ordered me to kill my friend since he was a liability. If I did not, it was my sister's life instead.

Severus bit on his inner cheek as he watched the fox. He knew how much this part of Sam's past affected him. Sam shook his head, his eyes closing. He took a deep breath before continuing.

: I did it. It was too easy. He had no idea it was coming and I made it swift, too greedy for my own freedom, too lazy to think of another way out of it. Up until then, I had felt so prideful of my work, but right there, I was envious that he wasn't me. I'd've taken my own life if I could go back in time, but they still may have killed my sister. It was a lose-lose no matter what.

Everyone was staring at Sam with sympathetic but cautious looks now. Severus was happy no one looked ready to curse the poor fox anymore and stepped back. Sam finished his tale.

: I finished the job, took out the Head, and even stole some objects out of greed, including the tooth, which had been glowing. We all know what shiny objects do to me. When I got out of the department, the same people who hired me had me arrested! It was all a set up for them to take over the department. They did not know of the tooth or it's magic, so they let me keep it as a token of my work. I was sentenced to life.

"How did you get out of prison?" Lucius asked.

: Oh, a kind gentleman helped me escape, but that's a story for another time. The tooth, though dark in nature, can be used for good. I've rarely used it since I went to that prison, but now it has fallen into the wrong hands.

"Why do you even keep it?" Molly asked, and everyone began murmuring their thoughts on that.

Albus's eyes twinkled and Severus looked down at Sam knowingly, crossing his arms as he waited for Sam's answer. Sam sat down in the middle of everyone, looking up at the ceiling, his ears perked up and his tails lifting.

: My father—a great fivetails, a spirit walker—once told me that the greatest of us can resist the temptation of evil and to such extremes as to wear that evil itself, tamed but not used. It is a symbol of what I can overcome. Now, Lockhart has every intention of using that tooth for evil, and we must stop him before he commits all seven sins, or the tooth will bond to him stronger than it ever has myself.

Everyone nodded and smiled, Severus smiling softly as well.

"Are you feeling like we're missing something?" Mr. Granger whispered to his wife.

"I've been practicing for fifteen years and never have I heard of a tooth being evil." Mrs Granger said.

"I did a root canal that seemed pretty evil once."

"Now that we are all informed of how truly dangerous this matter is," Albus said, stepping forward, "we need all eyes everywhere we can put them. The children have been missing for nearly twenty six hours at this point. We must keep our hopes up that none of them are harmed."

Faolan let out a loud, pained roar as Hermione poured vodka over the bite wound in his shoulder. They had found the vodka yesterday and had seen no purpose for it other than to clean the knife they had found to skin the rabbit and open cans. Now, it had a new use.

"Sorry," Hermione said. "But you don't want this to get infected. It still looks pretty bad, you know. Just one more time?"

"This is the third time you've poured that stuff on me," Faolan growled. "Just let me lie here, okay? I'm tired."

"Come on, Harry," Draco said. "All you've done is sleep since that attack. You haven't eaten, drank, or moved. That's concerning enough. Something's wrong with you."

Faolan said nothing. It hurt too much to move and he was afraid of how it would hurt if he shifted back into Harry. He faced his back to his friends and laid back down, Ivan curling up next to him and purring in his sleep.

Hermione sighed and set the bottle of vodka down. She stood up and allowed a blanket to fall from the head jamb, acting as a makeshift door to give Faolan some space to himself. She followed Draco to an opposite end of the ship. Ron and Neville had decided to brave a trip to the pond once more before it became too dark, hoping that fewer numbers might attract less attention. Faolan objected, but could do no more to protest. Hermione and Draco sat near their fire pit.

"We should probably start making a fire," Draco said. "With the sun lowering, it'll get cold pretty quickly."

"Yeah," Hermione said, hugging her knees to her chest and staring off into the trees.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Draco asked.

"What's wrong?" Hermione huffed. "We're trapped on this island and no one's found us yet. What if they never find us? What if we're stuck here until we starve to death? Or until a cat comes and eats us all? Faolan can't hunt anymore, cats chase us away from the only nearby source of fresh water, Ivan is starving . . ."

Hermione hid her face in her knees, her soft sniffles barely audible. Draco rested a hand on her shoulder, opening his mouth, then closing it again. He sighed and looked around the ship.

A familiar object caught his attention. It must have been uncovered when they were all grabbing objects to throw at the wild cat. He smiled and walked over to it, checking for any damage before grabbing the crank and turning it quickly.

Hermione lifted her head as an unfamiliar song played around them. Draco finished turning the motor but the song continued through the large horn as the record spun under the needle.

"It's a gramophone," Draco said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Mum is into these kind of things."

Hermione laughed at that, the music soothing her emotions. Draco moved over to her rhythmically and held out a hand. "May I have this dance?" he asked.

Hermione smiled and held out her hand. Draco pulled her to her feet. With his left hand gently placed on her hip and his right hand locked with her smaller hand, Draco led Hermione through a slow dance at the pace of the music playing around them. They smiled at each other, letting the unsureness of the world fade around them. Draco twirled Hermione around, earning a small giggle from her, before he pulled her back into his arms. Locking eyes, Draco was momentarily surprised at how close they were, how close their faces were to each other . . .

"If you two kiss," Ron's voice intruded, "I'm gonna throw up."

Draco and Hermione pushed away from each other, cheeks tinged red.

"Ronald Weasley," Hermione admonished.

"Not cool, mate," Draco growled, crossing his arms.

"Sorry." Ron snorted. Neville followed him inside the ship. They both set the three jugs of filled water down. "The cat is still hanging around the pond but we were able to get the water. This is it till morning."

"It will keep us alive," Draco said, nodding in approval as he stopped the gramophone. "Great job, guys."

"How's Harry?" Neville asked, looking over at the hanging blanket.

"Not good," Hermione said. "We need to get off this island. He needs medical help."

"He saved us," Neville said. "He was willing to give his life for us. He really is brave."

"The bravest," Draco agreed, sadly glancing Faolan's way. "He'll be okay. He always pulls through these things—with a lot of cheek saved for Uncle Sev. I know he will."

"We all know," Hermione agreed, smiling softly. "Let's get this fire going. Then we'll have to shove more water down Ivan's throat. I hope someone finds us soon."

"Yeah." Ron nodded. "That poor baby isn't going to last much longer."

Everyone gathered around the firepit to begin setting it up for another cold night.

Ginny struggled to move the lock on the window, using the fork as leverage. It refused to budge and she slammed down on the window with her fists. She had tried everything to open something in the room all day, searched for secret exits and her wand, and even tried expanding a rat hole in the room. Nothing worked.

She had not seen Lockhart since lunch, and he had let her out to use the restroom. She had tried running for the apartment door and screamed loudly when Lockhart snatched her and threw her back in the room. She had been denied restroom breaks period after that.

Food continued to appear on the nightstand for her, but it was the same gross sludge again and again. That evening, she had been so hungry, she tasted the sludge, only to nearly vomit. So, she drank the glass of water.

Ginny gave up on the window and sat back down on her bed. She really needed the restroom now. She wondered what Lockhart was doing or if he would even risk letting her out of the room. She stood up and knocked on the door.

"Professor Lockhart?" she called out.

There was no answer.

"Please, Professor, I need the restroom. I won't try anything."

Silence.

"Please, sir. I'm sorry."

After a long moment, the door finally opened. Ginny looked up at him sulkily.

"No funny business," the man snapped.

Ginny shook her head. Lockhart pointed at the restroom and Ginny walked over to it quickly, shutting the door. After relieving herself, she let the faucet run while she tried the window in the bathroom. However, whatever spell was used on the bedroom affected the bathroom as well, and she could not touch the lock. She looked around the washroom for anything she could use to escape, but came up empty handed. She sighed and washed her hands before leaving reluctantly.

Ginny stepped outside, expecting Lockhart to be close. Instead, the man seemed to have forgotten her and was busy analyzing a scroll at a nearby table where several more scrolls were laid out and the tooth necklace sat in the middle of it all.

It was the only furniture between her and the apartment door.

Ginny slowly approached the table, pausing just within arms reach from where the man stood.. She stared at the jargon scrawled on the parchment, but she couldn't understand it. Lockhart glanced her way but remained focused on his reading.

"Go back to the bedroom," Lockhart said. "I will shut the door in a minute."

"Please, sir," Ginny said, shuffling slightly. "Couldn't I just sit here for a few minutes?"

Lockhart gave her a disbelieving look.

"I've been locked up all day with no one to talk to or anything to do and . . . I'm lonely."

In all honesty, Ginny missed her family and friends. She was terrified of the man that held her hostage, but she wasn't ready to go back in that tiny room yet. Even if Lockhart was the last person she wanted to be near, she would take any amount of freedom given. Lockhart eyed her suspiciously before nodding.

"Fine. Sit."

Ginny smiled and was about to sit in the end seat when Lockhart pointed to the chair at his side and cleared his throat pointedly.

Ginny swallowed, wondering why the man didn't just sit down himself, but she moved closer to the man and pulled the chair out, sitting down.

Lockhart set down the scroll he was reading and pulled a book closer to himself. Ginny rested her head in her hands, looking down at the picture of the tooth and glancing at the real thing. She wondered how far she'd make it if she snatched the necklace and ran. With how close Lockhart was to her, she wouldn't even touch the tooth.

"What are you doing, sir?" Ginny asked.

It was a long moment before he sighed and said, "Studying the tooth's magic and limitations. It appears to work for anyone but it feeds more off of dark magic, and there's nothing darker than the seven deadly sins. Dark magic makes it more sentient, while light magic tames it. I plan to bring out its true potential by feeding it as much dark magic as possible."

"But . . ." Ginny frowned in thought. "If light magic tames it, won't you need it too to control it? If it has a mind of its own, it won't have to listen to anyone."

"Ah, but you see, my pupil, it wants to listen to someone. It wants to feed off someone's magic, and the darker, the better."

"But what happens when it can't feed anymore?"

"That would never happen. I know what I am doing. The tooth will obey me. And starting tomorrow, I begin unleashing my sinful ways and you will be apart of that."

"Not if you don't have the tooth," Ginny said, snatching the tooth and sliding under the table. Ginny crawled to the other side and ran to the fireplace and threw the tooth into the flames, her heart racing at the small rush of adrenaline.

Lockhart calmly walked over to her, grabbing her firmly by the upper arm.

The flames crackled and flickered before spitting out the tooth on the carpeted floor. The tooth was red from the heat and vibrated slightly from its own use of magic.

"Nice try," Lockhart said. "Now that's earned you an early bedtime."

Lockhart dragged a screaming and kicking Ginny back into the bedroom. Ginny's heart was racing even faster and tears stung her eyes. She had failed to stop the man. And now she would be locked away again, and who knew what tomorrow would bring. She tried to bite the man's arm, only to be lifted up onto the bed.

Lockhart sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her to pin her arms to her side.

"Let me go!" Ginny cried, still kicking her legs and trying to break free of the man's hold. "Please, I won't tell anyone! Just let me go!"

"Just relax," Lockhart said, summoning a vial and uncorking it with his free hand. "Drink this and you can go right to sleep."

Ginny clamped her mouth shut and swung her head away.

"None of that. Come on, be a good girl and I might even let you out again tomorrow."

Ginny wasn't about to fall for the trap. She kept her mouth shut, trying to avoid the vial shoved at her face repeatedly. Suddenly, the man muttered a spell and the vial hovered nearby. Lockhart grabbed Ginny's chin and squeezed until Ginny couldn't tolerate the pain and her mouth opened the slightest.

The vial shot forward and poured a revolting potion down her throat. Lockhart covered her mouth before she could spit it out. The taste burned her tongue and she swallowed.

A second later, the world went black.

Otousan: father

tasukete: help me

What a long one! please share your thoughts.