Everyone waited, anxious of what was happening. Lucy's fist was to her lips, her leg shaking at the table. Erza was in the dome, keeping an eye on the situation, everyone else lingered around the room, blankly staring into suspicions and confusions.
Erza came down to the main area, her face stoic, as Natsu and Gray entered the room, their faces confused, and worried. "Well? How did it go?" Makarov asked, looking up to the boys. Gray and Natsu stayed silent for a while, before replying. "He…. He said no…" Natsu said with a bit of a mutter. "What? Then if it isn't him, then who….?" Levy muttered. Mavis looked down, hand to her chin. "Even though I trust a family member of Percival, I don't know if he is right to make this decision…." She admitted. Everyone stayed silent, then Makarov looked to his Godmother. "Master Mavis…. I trust Dumbledore. If he said no, then I trust him." He said firmly.
Everyone stayed silent, then Erza sighed, looking around the room. "Well, what should we do?" She asked. "Dumbledore asked us to patrol the school. So we'll do that." Mavis said with no hesitation. "And what will we do if we find the perpetrator?" Levy asked. "Then we fight." Gajeel said. Mavis nodded, agreeing with Gajeel. "We are here to protect the school and students. So if we do engage, then fight. But try to take it away from the castle." Mavis ordered. Everyone nodded and summoned their cloaks. But before they left, Mavis called out to them. "Before you go, I asked Dumbledore to add a little feature into your cloaks…" She said with a smirk.
The school went into lock down that night, and to ensure the safety of all students, Dumbledore decided that all the students would sleep together, each house taking a different room away from their Common Rooms in case of an attack, each house taking a different study hall.
Harry couldn't sleep, soft footsteps of the teachers that looked over them, leaving with the doors slamming an echo. He tossed and turned, the conversation between Dumbledore and Snape lingering in his mind. He rolled onto his stomach and breathed out, looking out the clean window. He stared at it for a while, before he turned on his side, facing the door. His eyes began to drift a bit, his eyes closing softly.
The echoes of the hall bounced around, the air howling from the outside. Harry tightened his grip on the blanket, feeling a bit of a shiver, then sweated as a wave of heat overcame his body. He opened his eyes a bit, wondering what was the deal with the sudden changes in temperature. He stared at the door, having a bad feeling. Suddenly, there they were.
Right there, phasing through the door!
The White Shadows…. He silently gasped, and ducked his head under his blanket. He pulled out his wand, his breath crisp from the cold air. The footsteps got closer and closer, silence from them. The shadows of the strangers loomed over his blanket, and stopped. Harry covered his mouth, trying not to make a sound. Harry slowly used his wand to give a peak at the mysterious figures. He could only see their chins, but not their eyes from this angle. One of them had the ruby on his hood, the other an amber.
"Uuuuugh…. Why am I paired up with you?!" One of them softly whined. "Shut up, I hate this as much as you, but we have a job!" The other one whispered with a snap. "Or would you rather be with your girlfriend?" The one with the amber sneered. "I would take both she-devils over you…" His partner growled. The man with the amber grumbled, before looking around.
"Well, seems alright over here…." One of them sighed. "Well, the culprit would be here, then there'd be a major battle here…." The other one muttered, looking around. "Thought they'd be here, especially since Harry's here too…." Harry's breath stopped a bit, and layed still to listen. "Smell anything?" The one with the ruby gem took a deep breath in, and held it in. A few seconds passed, and he let it go. He shook his head, confirming there was nothing. The man in amber sighed, and walked towards the door. "Come on dragon breath." He whispered, his hand beckoning him to follow. "Don't tell me what to do ice queen…" His partner grumbled. "Oh an upgrade from Ice Princess, that's nice…" The other said sarcastically, as they both phased through the doors. Harry immediately flicked off his blanket and sat up. He stepped quietly towards the door, careful not to wake anybody up. As he reached the door, he took a deep breath. He put his hand on the door, and as he was about to push it, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He gasped silently, violently turning around, almost banging into the door.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Harry let out a relieved sigh, his hand to his chest. "Hermione, Ron… Don't scare me like that…" He panted softly. "Where are you goin'?" Ron asked, looking at the door. Harry gulped a bit, and pointed at the door. "They were here…" He whispered. "Who?" Hermione asked. "The figures in white! The ones you and Ron dreamt about!" Harry softly hissed. Ron and Hermione's eyes widened, and looked at each other. "There right there, and I'm going to find out who they are!" Harry softly declared, turning around. "No, Harry!" Hermione stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No, not tonight. There's a criminal wandering the halls, not to mention Dementors as well. If we go, you could end up in trouble." She reasoned.
"She's right." Ron nodded, agreeing with her. "Now isn't the perfect time…. Just go back to sleep Harry." He argued. Harry stood there for a bit, biting his lip. He looked at the door, then at his friends. "...Alright." He agreed. All three of them made their way back to their beds and snuggled in for the night. As Harry began to drift away, he swore he saw a ghoul fly past the window into the night sky.
Lucy patrolled the outsides of the castle, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activities from the forest or grounds. She looked up at the sky, admiring the full moon, illuminating the beauty of the night. It was almost…. Hypnotising.
"Lucy!" Lucy snapped out of her trance and looked to her right. "Loke, Capricorn, Sagittarius…" She smiled, turning to greet them. "Anything unusual?" She asked. "Nothing around the major and noticeable entrances." Loke reported. "The training grounds and courtyards are clear." Capricorn confirmed. "Nothing around the border of the Forbidden Forest mushi-mushi!" Sagittarius saluted. Suddenly a head popped out of the ground, looking up at Lucy. "Nothing under the castle princess. Is it punishment time?" Virgo asked, tilting her head a bit. Lucy groaned a bit, and sighed.
She put her hand on her hip, looking to the main lake as her sapphire gem glittered in the moonlight. "...Lucy….She's not ready yet. She's still refusing to come out…." Loke said. Lucy stayed silent, still looking at the lake. "I know…. But I need to try…." She made her way down to the lake, pulling out Aquarius's key. She plunged it into the water, and chanted for Aquarius to appear. But nothing happened.
Lucy sighed, and put the key away. "Don't worry Lucy, we'll talk to her." Loke promised. Lucy said nothing, staring at the lake. She suddenly felt a cold chill over her. She looked up, Dementors were flying above her. "Lady Lucy, it's not safe here. Let's go." Capricorn gently led Lucy back to the castle, Lucy blindly following. "We'll take our leave Luce." Loke said once they were safe in the castle. "Okay, thanks for your help." Lucy nodded. All four of her spirits vanished in a golden sparkle, leaving Lucy all alone. She looked outside the window, the moonlight vanishing in the black clouds. She sighed and continued on her way.
Everyone met up at the secret room, all of them saying they had a result of nothing. "Maybe the perpetrator fled." Gajeel suspected. "But if they did, they wouldn't have gone that far." Levy reasoned. "Levy's right. We took an air view and nothing." Charla vouched. "But we don't know when The Fat Lady was attacked. So there is a chance that the perpetrator had left." Lily countered.
"Maybe…" Mira pondered. "What is it Mira?" Gray asked. "Maybe…. The perpetrator is still here…" She proposed. "What?" Everyone gasped. "What if we're not dealing with a monster…. But someone with transforming abilities." Mira explained. Everyone's eyes widened, thinking about this theory.
"Yes, it would make sense…. It would be perfect, making it look like a monster, but in reality, the person responsible is human…." Mavis pondered. "Then that means…." Erza gasped, looking around. "Everyone at this school is a suspect." Makarov said sternly. The moon light shone into the room, as a howl from the forest carried from outside.
Everyone stayed silent looking down at the ground, thinking. Wendy sighed, breaking the silence. "We better find them soon then." She said, the others nodding. Natsu sighed, rubbing his hair. He wasn't looking forward to going through the files.
"Here we go again…"